Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of two progressive series of bifunctional polyhydroxybenzamide catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors

Analytical methodologies for sensing catechol-O-methyltransferase activity and their applications

Mammalian catechol-O-methyltransferases (COMT) are an important class of conjugative enzymes, which play a key role in the metabolism and inactivation of catechol neurotransmitters, catechol estrogens and a wide range of endobiotics and xenobiotics that bear the catechol group. Currently, COMT inhibitors are used in combination with levodopa for the treatment of Parkinson's disease in clinical practice. The crucial role of COMT in human health has raised great interest in the development of more practical assays for highly selective and sensitive detection of COMT activity in real samples, as well as for rapid screening and characterization of COMT inhibitors as drug candidates. This review summarizes recent advances in analytical methodologies for sensing COMT activity and their applications. Several lists of biochemical assays for measuring COMT activity, including the probe substrates, along with their analytical conditions and kinetic parameters, are presented. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives in the field, such as visualization of COMT activity in vivo and in situ, are highlighted. Collectively, this review article overviews the practical assays for measuring COMT activities in complex biological samples, which will strongly facilitate the investigations on the relevance of COMT to human diseases and promote the discovery of COMT inhibitors via high-throughput screening.

Acylpolyamine Mygalin as a TLR4 Antagonist Based on Molecular Docking and In Vitro Analyses

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are transmembrane proteins that are key regulators of innate and adaptive immune responses, particularly TLR4, and they have been identified as potential drug targets for the treatment of disease. Several low-molecular-weight compounds are being considered as new drug targets for various applications, including as immune modulators. Mygalin, a 417 Da synthetic bis-acylpolyamine, is an analog of spermidine that has microbicidal activity. In this study, we investigated the effect of mygalin on the innate immune response based on a virtual screening (VS) and molecular docking analysis. Bone marrow-derived macrophages and the cell lines J774A.1 and RAW 264.7 stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used to confirm the data obtained in silico. Virtual screening and molecular docking suggested that mygalin binds to TLR4 via the protein myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD-2) and LPS. Macrophages stimulated by mygalin plus LPS showed suppressed gene expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukine 6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), as well as inhibition of signaling protein p65 of the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), resulting in decreased production of nitric oxide (NO) and TNF-α. These results indicate that mygalin has anti-inflammatory potential, being an attractive option to be explored. In addition, we reinforce the importance of virtual screening analysis to assist in the discovery of new drugs.

Medicinal chemistry of catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors and their therapeutic utility

Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) is the enzyme responsible for the O-methylation of endogenous neurotransmitters and of xenobiotic substances and hormones incorporating catecholic structures. COMT is a druggable biological target for the treatment of various central and peripheral nervous system disorders, including Parkinson's disease, depression, schizophrenia, and other dopamine deficiency-related diseases. The purpose of this perspective is fourfold: (i) to summarize the physiological role of COMT inhibitors in central and peripheral nervous system disorders; (ii) to provide the history and perspective of the medicinal chemistry behind the discovery and development of COMT inhibitors; (iii) to discuss how the physicochemical properties of recognized COMT inhibitors are understood to exert influence over their pharmacological properties; and (iv) to evaluate the clinical benefits of the most relevant COMT inhibitors.

Catechol‐O‐Methyl‐Transferase Inhibitors: Present Problems and Relevance of the New Ones

Levodopa, in association with a DOPA decarboxylase inhibitor (e.g., carbidopa or benserazide) has for many years been the undisputed gold standard drug for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, given its rapid disposition and elimination in the periphery, it was hypothesized that significant enhancements in levodopa bioavailability and clinical efficacy could be achieved through co‐adjuvant therapy with a catechol‐O‐methyl‐transferase (COMT) inhibitor. Early attempts, dating back to the late 1950s, to discover COMT inhibitors were generally hampered by their lack of in vivo efficacy, target selectivity or by considerable toxicity. It was not until the late 1990s that entacapone and tolcapone, representatives of a new class of potent COMT inhibitors (nitrocatechol derivatives), made their way to clinical practice for the treatment of PD. Even though these drugs have since contributed to an increase in the usefulness of levodopa therapy, each of them presents known limitations, namely concerning their clinical efficacy and safety. The unmet medical need for more efficacious and safer COMT inhibitors has motivated intense research in this field over the last decade. Opicapone is the first, third‐generation COMT inhibitor among the nitrocatechol derivatives under clinical development, and demonstrates superior pharmacodynamic and safety profiles in humans, over previous drugs. In this chapter, we review the major advances in this field, summarize the relevant non‐clinical and clinical human pharmacology and discuss new insights into the mechanism of action of opicapone.

Pharmacophore modeling and virtual screening studies to design potential COMT inhibitors as new leads

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) catalyzes the methylation of catecholamines, including neurotransmitters like dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine, leading to their degradation. COMT has been a subject of study for its implications in numerous neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease (PD), schizophrenia, and depression. The COMT gene is associated with many allelic variants, the Val108Met polymorphism being the most clinically significant. Availability of crystal structure of both 108V and 108M forms of human soluble-COMT (S-COMT) facilitated us to use structure-based virtual screening approach to obtain new hits by screening a library of CNS permeable compounds from ZINC database. In this study, E-pharmacophore was also used to generate pharmacophore models based on a series of known COMT inhibitors. A five-point pharmacophore model consisting of one hydrogen-bond acceptor (A), two hydrogen bond donors (D), and two aromatic rings (R) was generated for both the polymorphic forms of COMT. These models were then used for filtering ZINC-CNS permeable library to obtain new hits. Physicochemical properties were also calculated for all the hits obtained from both the approaches for favorable ADME properties. These identified hits maybe of interest for further structural optimization and biological evaluation assays.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase and its inhibitors in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, with consequent reduction in striatal dopamine levels leading to characteristic motor symptoms. The most effective treatment for this disease continues to be the dopamine replacement therapy with levodopa together with an inhibitor of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC). The efficacy of this therapy, however, decreases with time and most patients develop fluctuating responses and dyskinesias. The last decade showed that the use of catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors as adjuvants to the levodopa/AADC inhibitor therapy, significantly improves the clinical benefits of this therapy. The purpose of this article is to review the current knowledge on the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and the role of COMT inhibitors in PD as a new therapeutic approach to PD involving conversion of levodopa to dopamine at the target region in the brain and facilitation of the continuous action of this amine at the receptor sites. A historical overview of the discovery and development of COMT inhibitors is presented with a special emphasis on nebicapone, presently under clinical development, as well as entacapone and tolcapone, which are already approved as adjuncts in the therapy of PD. This article reviews human pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of these drugs as well as their clinical efficacy and safety.

Synthesis and evaluation of bifunctional nitrocatechol inhibitors of pig liver catechol-O-methyltransferase

Bifunctional compounds were tested in vitro as potential inhibitors of pig liver catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) with respect to the catechol substrate 4-[(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)azo]benzenesulfonate. The bifunctional compounds were a composite of either two nitrocatechols or one nitrocatechol and one phenol, linked by amide bonds to a spacer unit comprising two to five methylene groups. The unsymmetrical compounds N-[2-(4-hydroxybenzoylamine)ethyl]-3,4-dihydroxy-5-nitrobenzamide], N-[3-(4-hydroxybenzoyl-amine)propyl]-3,4-dihydroxy-5-nitrobenzamide] and N-[5-(4-hydroxybenzoylamine)pentyl]-3,4-dihydroxy-5-nitrobenzamide] demonstrated strong inhibitory action against COMT with K(i) values in the 100 nM range. In comparison, the monofunctional nitrocatechol analogues of these compounds had K(i) values that were significantly higher.

A colormetric assay for catechol-O-methyltransferase

A series of catechol diazo dyes were synthesized and tested as substrates for the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) with the aim of developing a sensitive HPLC assay method using visible wavelength light detection. A method was developed which allowed for the determination of the two regioisomeric methylated products of the COMT catalyzed reaction of 4-[(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)azo]benzenesulfonate with S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet). Separation of the assay components was achieved by reverse phase chromatography using an isocratic mobile phase. No pre-preparation of the assay samples was required.

Separation methods for catechol O-methyltransferase activity assay: physiological and pathophysiological relevance

Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) transfers a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to the catechol substrate in the presence of magnesium. After the characterisation of COMT more than four decades ago, a wide variety of COMT enzyme assays have been introduced. COMT activity analysis usually consists of the handling of the sample and incubation followed by separation and detection of the reaction products. Several of these assays are validated, reliable and sensitive. Besides the studies of the basic properties of COMT, the activity assay has also been applied to explore the relation of COMT to various disease states or disorders. In addition, COMT activity analysis has been applied clinically since COMT inhibitors have been introduced as adjuvant drugs in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Kinetics and crystal structure of catechol-o-methyltransferase complex with co-substrate and a novel inhibitor with potential therapeutic application

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT; E.C. 2.1.1.6) is a ubiquitous enzyme in nature that plays an important role in the metabolism of catechol neurotransmitters and xenobiotics. In particular, inactivation of drugs such as L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) via O-methylation is of relevant pharmacological importance, because L-DOPA is currently the most effective drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. This justified the interest in developing COMT inhibitors as potential adjuncts to L-DOPA therapy. The kinetics of inhibition by BIA 3-335 (1-[3,4-dihydroxy-5-nitrophenyl]-3-(N-3'-trifluormethylphenyl)-piperazine-1-propanone dihydrochloride) were characterized using recombinant rat soluble COMT. BIA 3-335 was found to act as a potent, reversible, tight-binding inhibitor of COMT with a K(i) of 6.0 +/- 1.6 nM and displaying a competitive inhibition toward the substrate binding site and uncompetitive inhibition toward the S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) binding site. The 2.0-A resolution crystal structure of COMT in complex with its cosubstrate SAM and a novel inhibitor BIA 3-335 shows the atomic interactions between the important residues at the active site and the inhibitor. This is the first report of a three-dimensional structure determination of COMT complexed with a potent, reversible, and tight-binding inhibitor that is expected to have therapeutic applications.

Characterization of Phase I and Phase II hepatic drug metabolism activities in a panel of human liver preparations

The role of drug metabolism in drug discovery (lead compound selection) and the traditional role of identifying the enzymes involved in biotransformation pathways (reaction phenotyping) have both relied heavily on the availability and use of a human liver bank. The assessment of drug metabolizing enzyme activity and variability in a series of individual human livers is essential when characterizing the enzymes involved in metabolic pathways (i.e. correlation analysis). In this regard, a human liver bank of 21 samples (14 males, six females, and one unknown) was characterized with respect to the activity of several important drug metabolizing enzymes. The total CYP450 content of the livers ranged from 0.06 to 0.46 nmol/mg microsomal protein. The fold variations found in specific enzyme contents were as follows: CYP1A2 (3x), CYP2A6 (21x), CYP2C9 (8x), CYP2C19 (175x), CYP2D6 (18x), CYP2E1 (5x), CYP3A4 (18x), FMO (2.5x), UDPGT (4x), NAT (7x), COMT (5x), ST (5x), TPMT (3x), and GST (2.5x). In general, the fold variation of the Phase II enzymes was lower compared with the Phase I enzymes, with the exceptions of CYP1A2, CYP2E1, and FMO. Similar data were reviewed from other established liver banks and compared with regard to the relative variability observed in drug metabolizing capacities found in this study.