Brain Microdialysis Coupled to LC-MS/MS Revealed That CVT-10216, a Selective Inhibitor of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2, Alters the Neurochemical and Behavioral Effects of Methamphetamine

Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogen: Role in Biopsy for Precision Medicine

Biopsy, including tissue and liquid biopsy, offers comprehensive and real-time physiological and pathological information for disease detection, diagnosis, and monitoring. Fluorescent probes are frequently selected to obtain adequate information on pathological processes in a rapid and minimally invasive manner based on their advantages for biopsy. However, conventional fluorescent probes have been found to show aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) properties, impeding greater progresses in this area. Since the discovery of aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) have promoted rapid advancements in molecular bionanomaterials owing to their unique properties, including high quantum yield (QY) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), etc. This review seeks to present the latest advances in AIEgen-based biofluorescent probes for biopsy in real or artificial samples, and also the key properties of these AIE probes. This review is divided into: (i) tissue biopsy based on smart AIEgens, (ii) blood sample biopsy based on smart AIEgens, (iii) urine sample biopsy based on smart AIEgens, (iv) saliva sample biopsy based on smart AIEgens, (v) biopsy of other liquid samples based on smart AIEgens, and (vi) perspectives and conclusion. This review could provide additional guidance to motivate interest and bolster more innovative ideas for further exploring the applications of various smart AIEgens in precision medicine.

Experimental and numerical investigation of microdialysis probes for ethanol metabolism studies

Microdialysis is an important technique for in vivo sampling of tissue's biochemical composition. Understanding the factors that affect the performance of the microdialysis probes and developing methods for sample analysis are crucial for obtaining reliable results. In this work, we used experimental and numerical procedures to study the performance of microdialysis probes having different configurations, membrane materials and dimensions. For alcohol research, it is important to understand the dynamics of ethanol metabolism, particularly in the brain and in other organs, and to simultaneously measure the concentrations of ethanol and its metabolites - acetaldehyde and acetate. Our work provides a comprehensive characterization of three microdialysis probes, in terms of recovery rates and backpressure, allowing for interpretation and optimization of experimental procedures. In vivo experiments were performed to measure the time course concentration of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate in the rat brain dialysate. Additionally, the combination of in vitro experimental results with numerical simulations enabled us to calculate diffusion coefficients of molecules in the microdialysis membranes and study the extent of the depletion effect caused by continuous microdialysis sampling, thus providing additional insights for probe selection and data interpretation.

Unravelling the brain metabolome: A review of liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry strategies for extracellular brain metabolomics

The analysis of the brain extracellular metabolome is of interest for numerous subdomains within neuroscience. Not only does it provide information about normal physiological functions, it is even more of interest for biomarker discovery and target discovery in disease. The extracellular analysis of the brain is particularly interesting as it provides information about the release of mediators in the brain extracellular fluid to look at cellular signaling and metabolic pathways through the release, diffusion and re-uptake of neurochemicals. In vivo samples are obtained through microdialysis, cerebral open-flow microperfusion or solid-phase microextraction. The analytes of potential interest are typically low in concentration and can have a wide range of physicochemical properties. Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has proven its usefulness in brain metabolomics. It allows sensitive and specific analysis of low sample volumes, obtained through different approaches. Several strategies for the analysis of the extracellular fluid have been proposed. The most widely used approaches apply sample derivatization, specific stationary phases and/or hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography. Miniaturization of these methods allows an even higher sensitivity. The development of chiral metabolomics is indispensable, as it allows to compare the enantiomeric ratio of compounds and provides even more challenges. Some limitations continue to exist for the previously developed methods and the development of new, more sensitive methods remains needed. This review provides an overview of the methods developed for sampling and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the extracellular metabolome.

Repurposing Drugs for Inhibition against ALDH2 via a 2D/3D Ligand-Based Similarity Search and Molecular Simulation

Aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) is a crucial enzyme participating in intracellular aldehyde metabolism and is acknowledged as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of alcohol use disorder and other addictive behaviors. Using previously reported ALDH2 inhibitors of Daidzin, CVT-10216, and CHEMBL114083 as reference molecules, here we perform a ligand-based virtual screening of world-approved drugs via 2D/3D similarity search methods, followed by the assessments of molecular docking, toxicity prediction, molecular simulation, and the molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) analysis. The 2D molecular fingerprinting of ECFP4 and FCFP4 and 3D molecule-shape-based USRCAT methods show good performances in selecting compounds with a strong binding behavior with ALDH2. Three compounds of Zeaxanthin (q = 0), Troglitazone (q = 0), and Sequinavir (q = +1 e) are singled out as potential inhibitors; Zeaxanthin can only be hit via USRCAT. These drugs displayed a stronger binding strength compared to the reported potent inhibitor CVT-10216. Sarizotan (q = +1 e) and Netarsudil (q = 0/+1 e) displayed a strong binding strength with ALDH2 as well, whereas they displayed a shallow penetration into the substrate-binding tunnel of ALDH2 and could not fully occupy it. This likely left a space for substrate binding, and thus they were not ideal inhibitors. The MM-PBSA results indicate that the selected negatively charged compounds from the similarity search and Vina scoring are thermodynamically unfavorable, mainly due to electrostatic repulsion with the receptor (q = -6 e for ALDH2). The electrostatic attraction with positively charged compounds, however, yielded very strong binding results with ALDH2. These findings reveal a deficiency in the modeling of electrostatic interactions (in particular, between charged moieties) in the virtual screening via the 2D/3D similarity search and molecular docking with the Vina scoring system.

Pharmacokinetics of tilmicosin in chicken joints based on a novel microdialysis sampling method

Microdialysis is a continuous direct sampling technique used in live animals to study pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics of drugs directly in target organs. The antibiotic tilmicosin used to treat arthritis in chickens caused by Mycoplasma synoviae. However, the PK study of tilmicosin in chicken joint has not been reported. The aim of this study was to explore the PK characteristics and penetration of tilmicosin by microdialysis incorporated with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). An articular cavity microdialysis sampling model was established by determining in vivo and in vitro recovery results. Tilmicosin was orally administered to chickens and flow rate testing combined with retro-dialysis were used to determine tilmicosin concentration in the target synovial space. HPLC-MS/MS quantification of tilmicosin from plasma and joint dialysate indicated that recovery was negatively correlated with flow rate and the optimal perfusion rate was determined to be 1.0 μL/min. The AUC, C_max , MRT and t_1/2 in plasma were 4.6, 3.0, 2.2 and 1.6 times higher than in the joint dialysate, respectively, but T_max did not significantly differ. The penetration of tilmicosin from plasma to joint (AUC_dialysate /AUC_plasma ) was 0.24 and indicated tilmicosin concentration in joints was much lower than that of plasma. Microdialysis technology provides a novel technique to study pharmacokinetics directly in target tissues and our study provides a reference for the clinical use of tilmicosin for treatment of M. synoviae infections in articular cavities.

Virtual Screening of FDA-Approved Drugs for Enhanced Binding with Mitochondrial Aldehyde Dehydrogenase

Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) is a potential target for the treatment of substance use disorders such as alcohol addiction. Here, we adopted computational methods of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, docking, and molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) analysis to perform a virtual screening of FDA-approved drugs, hitting potent inhibitors against ALDH2. Using MD-derived conformations as receptors, butenafine (net charge q = +1 e) and olaparib (q = 0) were selected as promising compounds with a low toxicity and a binding strength equal to or stronger than previously reported potent inhibitors of daidzin and CVT-10216. A few negatively charged compounds were also hit from the docking with the Autodock Vina software, while the MM-PBSA analysis yielded positive binding energies (unfavorable binding) for these compounds, mainly owing to electrostatic repulsion in association with a negatively charged receptor (q = -6 e for ALDH2 plus the cofactor NAD⁺). This revealed a deficiency of the Vina scoring in dealing with strong charge-charge interactions between binding partners, due to its built-in protocol of not using atomic charges for electrostatic interactions. These observations indicated a requirement of further verification using MD and/or MM-PBSA after docking prediction. The identification of key residues for the binding implied that the receptor residues at the bottom and entrance of the substrate-binding hydrophobic tunnel were able to offer additional interactions with different inhibitors such as π-π, π-alkyl, van der Waals contacts, and polar interactions, and that the rational use of these interactions is beneficial to the design of potent inhibitors against ALDH2.

Zebrafish as a potential non-traditional model organism in translational bipolar disorder research: Genetic and behavioral insights

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and debilitating illness that affects 1-2% of the population worldwide. BD is characterized by recurrent and extreme mood swings, including mania/hypomania and depression. Animal experimental models have been used to elucidate the mechanisms underlying BD and different strategies have been proposed to assess BD-like symptoms. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been considered a suitable vertebrate system for modeling BD-like responses, due to the genetic tractability, molecular/physiological conservation, and well-characterized behavioral responses. In this review, we discuss how zebrafish-based models can be successfully used to understand molecular, biochemical, and behavioral alterations paralleling those found in BD. We also outline some advantages and limitations of this aquatic species to examine BD-like phenotypes in translational neurobehavioral research. Overall, we reinforce the use of zebrafish as a promising tool to investigate the neural basis associated with BD-like behaviors, which may foster the discovery of novel pharmacological therapies.

Computational Investigation of Structural Basis for Enhanced Binding of Isoflavone Analogues with Mitochondrial Aldehyde Dehydrogenase

Isoflavone compounds are potent inhibitors against mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) for the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction, and an in-depth understanding of the underlying structural basis helps design new inhibitors for enhanced binding. Here, we investigated the binding poses and strengths of eight isoflavone analogues (including CVT-10216 and daidzin) with ALDH2 via computational methods of molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA), steered MD, and umbrella sampling. Neither the Vina scoring of docked and MD-sampled complexes nor the nonbonded protein-inhibitor interaction energy from MD simulations is able to reproduce the relative binding strength of the inhibitors compared to experimental IC₅₀ values. Considering the solvation contribution, MM-PBSA and relatively expensive umbrella sampling yield good performance for the relative binding (free) energies. The isoflavone skeleton prefers to form π-π stacking, π-sulfur, and π-alkyl interactions with planar (Phe and Trp) or sulfur-containing (Cys and Met) residues. The enhanced inhibition of CVT-10216 originates from both end groups of the isoflavone skeleton offering strong van der Waals contacts and from the methylsulfonamide group at the 4' position by hydrogen bonding (HB) with neighboring receptor residues. These results indicate that the hydrophobic binding tunnel of ALDH2 is larger than the isoflavone skeleton in length and thus an extended hydrophobic core is likely a premise for potent inhibitors.

A rapid screening method to select microdialysis carriers for hydrophobic compounds

Microdialysis is a minimally invasive sampling technique which is widely applied in many fields including clinical studies. This technique usually has limitation on sampling hydrophobic compounds as aqueous solutions are commonly used as the perfusates. The relative recovery of hydrophobic compounds is often low and irreproducible because of the non-specific binding to microdialysis membranes or catheter tubing. Carriers such as cyclodextrins have been used to improve the recovery and consistency, however the identification of an optimal carrier can only be achieved after time-consuming and costly microdialysis experiments. We therefore developed a rapid, convenient, and low-cost method to identify the optimal carriers for sampling hydrophobic compounds with the use of centrifugal ultrafiltration. Doxorubicin was used as the model compound and its relative recoveries obtained from centrifugal ultrafiltration and from microdialysis were compared. The results show that the relative recoveries are highly correlated (correlation coefficient ≥ 0.9) between centrifugal ultrafiltration and microdialysis when different types or different concentrations of cyclodextrins were used as the carriers. In addition to doxorubicin, this method was further confirmed on three other drugs with different hydrophobicity. This method may facilitate and broaden the use of microdialysis perfusion on sampling or delivering hydrophobic substances in various applications.

Exercise Pills for Drug Addiction: Forced Moderate Endurance Exercise Inhibits Methamphetamine-Induced Hyperactivity through the Striatal Glutamatergic Signaling Pathway in Male Sprague Dawley Rats

Physical exercise reduces the extent, duration, and frequency of drug use in drug addicts during the drug initiation phase, as well as during prolonged addiction, withdrawal, and recurrence. However, information about exercise-induced neurobiological changes is limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of forced moderate endurance exercise training on methamphetamine (METH)-induced behavior and the associated neurobiological changes. Male Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to the administration of METH (1 mg/kg/day, i.p.) and/or forced moderate endurance exercise (treadmill running, 21 m/min, 60 min/day) for 2 weeks. Over the two weeks, endurance exercise training significantly reduced METH-induced hyperactivity. METH and/or exercise treatment increased striatal dopamine (DA) levels, decreased p(Thr308)-Akt expression, and increased p(Tyr216)-GSK-3β expression. However, the phosphorylation levels of Ser9-GSK-3β were significantly increased in the exercise group. METH administration significantly increased the expression of NMDAr1, CaMKK2, MAPKs, and PP1 in the striatum, and exercise treatment significantly decreased the expression of these molecules. Therefore, it is apparent that endurance exercise inhibited the METH-induced hyperactivity due to the decrease in GSK-3β activation by the regulation of the striatal glutamate signaling pathway.