In VitroandIn SilicoStudies to Explore Structural Features of Flavonoids for Aldehyde Oxidase Inhibition

A comprehensive review of in silico approaches for the prediction and modulation of aldehyde oxidase-mediated drug metabolism: The current features, challenges and future perspectives

The importance of aldehyde oxidase (AOX) in drug metabolism necessitates the development and application of the in silico rational drug design methods as an integral part of drug discovery projects for the early prediction and modulation of AOX-mediated metabolism. The current study represents an up-to-date and thorough review of in silico studies of AOX-mediated metabolism and modulation methods. In addition, the challenges and the knowledge gap that should be covered have been discussed. The importance of aldehyde oxidase (AOX) in drug metabolism is a hot topic in drug discovery. Different strategies are available for the modulation of the AOX-mediated metabolism of drugs. Application of the rational drug design methods as an integral part of drug discovery projects is necessary for the early prediction of AOX-mediated metabolism. The current study represents a comprehensive review of AOX molecular structure, AOX-mediated reactions, AOX substrates, AOX inhibition, approaches to modify AOX-mediated metabolism, prediction of AOX metabolism/substrates/inhibitors, and the AOX related structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies. Furthermore, an up-to-date and thorough review of in silico studies of AOX metabolism has been carried out. In addition, the challenges and the knowledge gap that should be covered in the scientific literature have been discussed in the current review.

Aldehyde oxidase and its role as a drug metabolizing enzyme

Aldehyde oxidase (AO) is a cytosolic enzyme that belongs to the family of structurally related molybdoflavoproteins like xanthine oxidase (XO). The enzyme is characterized by broad substrate specificity and marked species differences. It catalyzes the oxidation of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes and various heteroaromatic rings as well as reduction of several functional groups. The references to AO and its role in metabolism date back to the 1950s, but the importance of this enzyme in the metabolism of drugs has emerged in the past fifteen years. Several reviews on the role of AO in drug metabolism have been published in the past decade indicative of the growing interest in the enzyme and its influence in drug metabolism. Here, we present a comprehensive monograph of AO as a drug metabolizing enzyme with emphasis on marketed drugs as well as other xenobiotics, as substrates and inhibitors. Although the number of drugs that are primarily metabolized by AO are few, the impact of AO on drug development has been extensive. We also discuss the effect of AO on the systemic exposure and clearance these clinical candidates. The review provides a comprehensive analysis of drug discovery compounds involving AO with the focus on developmental candidates that were reported in the past five years with regards to pharmacokinetics and toxicity. While there is only one known report of AO-mediated clinically relevant drug-drug interaction (DDI), a detailed description of inhibitors and inducers of AO known to date has been presented here and the potential risks associated with DDI. The increasing recognition of the importance of AO has led to significant progress in predicting the site of AO-mediated metabolism using computational methods. Additionally, marked species difference in expression of AO makes it is difficult to predict human clearance with high confidence. The progress made towards developing in vivo, in vitro and in silico approaches for predicting AO metabolism and estimating human clearance of compounds that are metabolized by AO have also been discussed.

Effects of Phenothiazines on Aldehyde Oxidase Activity Towards Aldehydes and N-Heterocycles: an In Vitro and In Silico Study

BACKGROUND

Aldehyde oxidase (AOX) is an important molybdenum-containing enzyme with high similarity with xanthine oxidase (XO). AOX involved in the metabolism of a large array of aldehydes and N-heterocyclic compounds and its activity is highly substrate-dependent.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this work was to study the effect of five important phenothiazine drugs on AOX activity using benzaldehyde and phenanthridine as aldehyde and N-heterocyclic substrates, respectively.

METHODS

The effect of trifluperazine, chlorpromazine, perphenazine, thioridazine and promethazine on rat liver AOX was measured spectrophotometrically. To predict the mode of interactions between the studied compounds and AOX, a combination of homology modeling and a molecular docking study was performed.

RESULTS

All phenothiazines could inhibit AOX activity measured either by phenanthridine or benzaldehyde with almost no effect on XO activity. In the case of benzaldehyde oxidation, the lowest and highest half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values were obtained for promethazine (IC₅₀ = 0.9 µM), and trifluoperazine (IC₅₀ = 3.9 µM), respectively; whereas perphenazine (IC₅₀ = 4.3 µM), and trifluoperazine (IC₅₀ = 49.6 µM) showed the strongest and weakest inhibitory activity against AOX-catalyzed phenanthridine oxidation, respectively. The in silico findings revealed that the binding site of thioridazine is near the dimer interference, and that hydrophobic interactions are of great importance in all the tested phenothiazines.

CONCLUSION

The five studied phenothiazine drugs showed dual inhibitory effects on AOX activity towards aldehydes and N-heterocycles as two major classes of enzyme substrates. Most of the interactions between the phenothiazine-related drugs and AOX in the binding pocket showed a hydrophobic nature.

Natural products chemistry: The emerging trends and prospective goals

The role and contributions of natural products chemistry in advancements of the physical and biological sciences, its interdisciplinary domains, and emerging of new avenues by providing novel applications, constructive inputs, thrust, comprehensive understanding, broad perspective, and a new vision for future is outlined. The developmental prospects in bio-medical, health, nutrition, and other interrelated sciences along with some of the emerging trends in the subject area are also discussed as part of the current review of the basic and core developments, innovation in techniques, advances in methodology, and possible applications with their effects on the sciences in general and natural products chemistry in particular. The overview of the progress and ongoing developments in broader areas of the natural products chemistry discipline, its role and concurrent economic and scientific implications, contemporary objectives, future prospects as well as impending goals are also outlined. A look at the natural products chemistry in providing scientific progress in various disciplines is deliberated upon.

Molecular Docking at a Glance

The current chapter introduces different aspects of molecular docking technique in order to give an overview to the readers about the topics which will be dealt with throughout this volume. Like many other fields of science, molecular docking studies has experienced a lagging period of slow and steady increase in terms of acquiring attention of scientific community as well as its frequency of application, followed by a pronounced era of exponential expansion in theory, methodology, areas of application and performance due to developments in related technologies such as computational resources and theoretical as well as experimental biophysical methods. In the following sections the evolution of molecular docking will be reviewed and its different components including methods, search algorithms, scoring functions, validation of the methods, and area of applications plus few case studies will be touched briefly.

Extraction, partial purification and characterisation of vanillic acid decarboxylase from Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris DSM 3923

BACKGROUND

Vanillic acid decarboxylase (VAD) is the key enzyme responsible for guaiacol production in Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris; however, information related to this enzyme is currently unavailable. The aim of this study is to characterise the VAD from A. acidoterrestris.

RESULTS

Specific activity of VAD in vanillic acid-induced A. acidoterrestris DSM 3923 cells was highest in the early stage of the log phase, and almost undetectable in the stationary and death phases. Of the four techniques used to extract VAD, sonication was found to be the most effective and recovered 3.23 U mg(-1) of VAD. Through optimisation of the crucial parameters for sonication, the recovery of VAD had more than doubled (6.81 U mg(-1) ). The crude enzyme extract was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and a 9.87-fold purification was obtained. The partially purified VAD exhibited optimum activity at pH 6.0-6.5, 45°C and was stable at pH 5.0-7.5, 20-45°C. The Km and Vmax values of the VAD were 0.53 mmol L(-1) and 96 U mg(-1) protein, respectively. VAD activity was stimulated by Co(2+) and Mn(2+) , but was inhibited by Ni(2+) , Cu(2+) , Ba(2+) and Fe(3+) . Cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, resveratrol, quercetin and rutin at the concentration of 1 mmol L(-1) could completely inhibit the activity of VAD.

CONCLUSION

The present study provides the first report on the characteristics of the VAD from A. acidoterrestris, which will contribute to the development of more effective control methods to minimise A. acidoterrestris-related spoilage in fruit juices. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Inhibition of human aldehyde oxidase activity by diet-derived constituents: structural influence, enzyme-ligand interactions, and clinical relevance

The mechanistic understanding of interactions between diet-derived substances and conventional medications in humans is nascent. Most investigations have examined cytochrome P450-mediated interactions. Interactions mediated by other phase I enzymes are understudied. Aldehyde oxidase (AO) is a phase I hydroxylase that is gaining recognition in drug design and development programs. Taken together, a panel of structurally diverse phytoconstituents (n = 24) was screened for inhibitors of the AO-mediated oxidation of the probe substrate O(6)-benzylguanine. Based on the estimated IC50 (<100 μM), 17 constituents were advanced for Ki determination. Three constituents were described best by a competitive inhibition model, whereas 14 constituents were described best by a mixed-mode model. The latter model consists of two Ki terms, Kis and Kii, which ranged from 0.26-73 and 0.80-120 μM, respectively. Molecular modeling was used to glean mechanistic insight into AO inhibition. Docking studies indicated that the tested constituents bound within the AO active site and elucidated key enzyme-inhibitor interactions. Quantitative structure-activity relationship modeling identified three structural descriptors that correlated with inhibition potency (r(2) = 0.85), providing a framework for developing in silico models to predict the AO inhibitory activity of a xenobiotic based solely on chemical structure. Finally, a simple static model was used to assess potential clinically relevant AO-mediated dietary substance-drug interactions. Epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate, prominent constituents in green tea, were predicted to have moderate to high risk. Further characterization of this uncharted type of interaction is warranted, including dynamic modeling and, potentially, clinical evaluation.