Time-dependent inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase, by 3-hydroxybenzylhydrazine

Inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transaminase BioA by aryl hydrazines and hydrazides

7,8-Diaminopelargonic acid synthase (BioA) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a recently validated target for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Using biophysical fragment screening and structural characterization of compounds, we have identified a potent aryl hydrazine inhibitor of BioA that reversibly modifies the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) cofactor, forming a stable quinonoid. Analogous hydrazides also form covalent adducts that can be observed crystallographically but are incapable of inactivating the enzyme. In the X-ray crystal structures, small molecules induce unexpected conformational remodeling in the substrate binding site. We compared these conformational changes to those induced upon binding of the substrate (7-keto-8-aminopelargonic acid), and characterized the inhibition kinetics and the X-ray crystal structures of BioA with the hydrazine compound and analogues to unveil the mechanism of this reversible covalent modification.

Phenylethylidenehydrazine, a novel GABA-transaminase inhibitor, reduces epileptiform activity in rat hippocampal slices

Phenylethylidenehydrazine (PEH), an analog of the monoamine oxidase inhibitor, beta-phenylethylhydrazine (phenelzine), inhibits the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) catabolic enzyme GABA-transaminase and increases brain levels of GABA. GABA is the predominant fast inhibitory transmitter counteracting glutamatergic excitation, and increased neural GABA could influence a wide range of synaptic and circuit properties under both physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions. To examine the scope of these effects, we applied PEH (or vehicle) to rat hippocampal slices and measured basal glutamatergic transmission, synaptic plasticity, and epileptiform activity using extracellular field and whole cell patch clamp recordings. In vitro pre-treatment with PEH (100 microM) increased the GABA content of hippocampal slices by approximately 60% over vehicle-treated controls, but it had no effect on basal field excitatory postsynaptic potentials, tonic GABA currents, paired-pulse facilitation, or long-term potentiation. In contrast, pre-incubation with PEH caused a dose- and time-dependent reduction in epileptiform burst frequency induced by superfusion with Mg2+-free or high-K+ artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Thus, the inhibitory effects of PEH are state-dependent: hyper-excitation during epileptiform bursting was reduced, whereas synaptic transmission and plasticity were unaffected.

The effect of tyrosine-deficient total parenteral nutrition on the synthesis of dihydroxyphenylalanine in neural tissue and the activities of tyrosine and branched-chain aminotransferases

The poor solubility of tyrosine (Tyr) limits the amount of this amino acid in total parenteral nutrition (TPN). In rats maintained on a standard pediatric TPN mixture, plasma and brain concentrations of Tyr are reduced to about 25% of the levels in chow-fed controls. To determine whether these low concentrations of Tyr affect the synthesis of catecholamines in neural tissue, the rate-limiting step (conversion of Tyr to dihydroxyphenylalanine [DOPA]) is studied by administering NSD-1015 to block the pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent decarboxylation of DOPA. However, in TPN rats, plasma concentrations of Tyr are increased by drug treatment. Because brain Tyr is also increased, these and other experiments using NSD-1015 clearly overestimate the rate of DOPA synthesis for drug-free rats on TPN. Nevertheless, in TPN rats, there is less DOPA in the brain in one experiment and less DOPA in the olfactory bulbs in another, versus control rats. Further examination of the metabolic effects of NSD-1015 reveals that the drug also elevates the concentration of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the plasma of TPN rats. These findings result from inhibition by NSD-1015 of the PLP-dependent aminotransferases that initiate catabolism of Tyr in the liver and BCAAs in the muscle. Despite the pronounced reduction in plasma Tyr, TPN rats showed a marked increase in the activity of hepatic Tyr aminotransferase compared with chow-fed controls. Conversely, although TPN elevates BCAA concentrations in plasma, the activity of branched-chain aminotransferase (BCAT) in the heart muscle of TPN rats is not different from control values. Different values but the same relationships are seen in drug-free rats.

Slow-binding inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase by hydrazine analogues

(3-Hydroxybenzyl)hydrazine and methylhydrazine have been found to be potent slow-binding inhibitors of the pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme gamma-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase (GABA-AT). Both compounds follow mechanism A (Morrison, J.F.; Walsh, C. T. Adv. Enzymol. 1988, 61, 201-301) which does not involve formation of a rapidly reversible enzyme-inhibitor complex before the formation of the final tight complex. The rate constant for formation of the enzyme-inhibitor complex determined from the slow-binding kinetics was 2.08 x 10(3) and 1.98 x 10(4) M-1 min-1 for methylhydrazine and (3-hydroxybenzyl)hydrazine, respectively. The rate constant for dissociation of the enzyme--inhibitor complex determined for the slow-binding kinetics was 4.6 x 10(-3) and 5 x 10(-3) min-1, respectively. The inhibition constants calculated from the slow-binding inhibition kinetics are 2.2 microM for methylhydrazine and 0.3 microM for (3-hydroxybenzyl)hydrazine. Reactivation of the inhibited enzyme was not first order, perhaps due to a side reaction of the hydrazine, but was consistent with the results obtained from the slow-binding kinetics. Inhibition constants were calculated from the level of enzyme activity at equilibrium inhibition. These constants are 2.8 and 0.46 microM for methylhydrazine and (3-hydroxybenzyl)hydrazine, respectively, in good agreement with those calculated from the slow-binding inhibition kinetics. 3-Hydrazinopropionate also behaved as a slow-binding inhibitor. However, the dependence of its kinetics on the concentration of inhibitor could not be described by the slow-binding or slow, tight-binding inhibition models. These kinetics could not be described by the tight-binding character of the inhibition because the addition of the competitive inhibitor propionic acid at 100 times its Ki did not affect the shape of the curve for inhibitor concentration dependence. The slow-binding inhibition appeared to require 2-4 molecules of 3-hydrazinopropionate/enzyme. The reactivation of enzyme inhibited by 3-hydrazinopropionate was first order with a rate constant of 6.9 x 10(-3) min-1. Its equilibrium inhibition constant was calculated to be < 20 nM. However, the inhibition constant calculated was dependent on the concentration of inhibitor because of the unusual character discussed above and may be much lower. Only 1 PLP/enzyme dimer reacted with methylhydrazine or (3-hydroxybenzyl)hydrazine, as indicated by Scatchard plots, or with 3-hydrazinopropionate, as shown by a spectrophotometric titration. Slow-binding inhibition does not appear to be the result of a significant enzyme conformational change because there is no change in the tryptophan fluorescence of GABA-AT upon binding either methylhydrazine or 3-hydrazinopropionate. Implications for the design of hydrazine inhibitors of GABA-AT are discussed.