Thermodynamic in vitro studies as a method to investigate the pharmacodynamic behavior of adenosine A1 receptor ligands

Binding Thermodynamics as a Tool To Investigate the Mechanisms of Drug−Receptor Interactions: Thermodynamics of Cytoplasmic Steroid/Nuclear Receptors in Comparison with Membrane Receptors

Drug-receptor binding thermodynamics has proved to be a valid tool for pharmacological and pharmaceutical characterization of molecular mechanisms of receptor-recognition phenomena. The large number of membrane receptors so far studied has led to the discovery of enthalpy-entropy compensation effects in drug-receptor binding and discrimination between agonists and antagonists by thermodynamic methods. Since a single thermodynamic study on cytoplasmic receptors was known, this paper reports on binding thermodynamics of estradiol, ORG2058, and R1881 bound to estrogen, progesterone, and androgen steroid/nuclear receptors, respectively, as determined by variable-temperature binding constant measurements. The binding at 25 degrees C appears enthalpy/entropy-driven (-53.0 </= DeltaG degrees </= -48.6, -34.5 </= DeltaH degrees </= -19.9 kJ/mol, 0.057 </= DeltaS degrees </= 0.111, and -2.4 </= DeltaC(p) degrees </= -1.7 kJ mol(-1) K(-1)) and is interpreted in terms of hydrophobic and hydrogen-bonded specific interactions. Results obtained for cytoplasmic receptors are extensively compared with those known for typical membrane receptors, in particular the adenosine A(1) receptor, to investigate the thermodynamic bases of drug-receptor binding from the most general point of view.

Temperature dependence of the affinity enhancement of selective adenosine A1 receptor agonism: a thermodynamic analysis

The 2-amino-benzoylthiophene derivatives LUF 5468 [(2-amino-4-ethyl-5-methyl-3-thienyl)[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]methanone] and LUF 5484 [(2-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)(3,4-dichlorophenyl)methanone] have been shown to allosterically enhance the adenosine A(1) receptor agonist binding. We report a thermodynamic analysis of the agonist affinity obtained at human adenosine A(1) receptors, in the presence and absence of LUF 5468 and LUF 5484. Moreover, an analysis of the temperature dependence for association and dissociation rates of N(6)-cyclohexyladenosine (CHA) binding was performed in the absence and presence of LUF 5484. Thermodynamic data were obtained by affinity measurements performed at different temperatures followed by van't Hoff analysis. The results indicate that the agonist binding is always totally entropy-driven, and that the modulators contribute to decrease the deltaG(o), deltaH(o) and deltaS(o) values. It is concluded that the enhancers are able to increase the non-bonded interactions of the binding site with agonists as CHA, N(6)-cyclopentlyladenosine (CPA), 2'-methyl-N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine (MeCPA) and 2-chloro-2'methyl-N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine (MeCCPA).

Binding thermodynamics at the human A(3) adenosine receptor

The thermodynamic parameters DeltaG , DeltaH and DeltaS of the binding equilibrium of six adenosine receptor agonists and five antagonists at adenosine A(3) receptors were determined by means of affinity measurements at six different temperatures (4, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30) and van't Hoff plots were constructed. Affinity constants were measured on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with the human A(3) receptors by inhibition assays of the binding of the selective A(3) antagonist [3H]MRE 3008F20. van't Hoff plots were linear for agonists and antagonists in the temperature range 4-30 degree. Their thermodynamic parameters fall in the ranges 21 < or = DeltaH < or = 67kJmol(-1) and 208 < or = DeltaS < or =410 J(Kmol)(-1) for agonists and -52 < or = DeltaH < or = -9 kJmol(-1) and 16 < or = DeltaS < or =81 J(K/mol)(-1) for antagonists, showing that agonist binding is always totally entropy-driven while antagonist binding is enthalpy- and entropy-driven. The results are discussed with the aim of obtaining new details on the nature of the forces driving the A(3) binding at a molecular level.

Determination of the adenosine A(1) agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine in rat blood by solid-phase extraction and HPLC

A solid-phase extraction procedure has been developed for the isolation of the adenosine A1 receptor agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine from rat blood. The biological samples were spiked with N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine and the analogue N(6)-cyclohexladenosine (internal standard), diluted with sodium hydroxide, loaded onto disposable cartridges with subsequent desorption with methanol and analysis by HPLC. The performance of columns pre-packed with different C18-bonded silica phases or with a polymeric reversed-phase sorbent (Oasis HLB) was assessed. The highest extraction efficiencies (recovery rates>83.3%) for the two N6-alkyl substituted adenosines were achieved by the Oasis HLB cartridges. In addition, the polymeric sorbent provided reproducible recoveries (relative standard deviation<4.8%), whereas large variations (relative standard deviation values, 9--16.3%) in the extraction yields were observed using the conventional silica-based C18 cartridges. The described sample preparation method is rapid, simple, selective and it is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies.

Can thermodynamic measurements of receptor binding yield information on drug affinity and efficacy?

The present commentary surveys the methods for obtaining the thermodynamic parameters of the drug-receptor binding equilibrium, DeltaG degrees, DeltaH degrees, DeltaS degrees, and DeltaC degrees (p) (standard free energy, enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity, respectively). Moreover, it reviews the available thermodynamic data for the binding of agonists and antagonists to several G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ligand-gated ion channel receptors (LGICRs). In particular, thermodynamic data for five GPCRs (beta-adrenergic, adenosine A(1), adenosine A(2A), dopamine D(2), and 5-HT(1A)) and four LGICRs (glycine, GABA(A), 5-HT(3), and nicotinic) have been collected and analyzed. Among these receptor systems, seven (three GPCRs and all LGICRs) show "thermodynamic agonist-antagonist discrimination": when the agonist binding to a given receptor is entropy-driven, the binding of its antagonist is enthalpy-driven, or vice versa. A scatter plot of all entropy versus enthalpy values of the database gives a regression line with the equation TDeltaS degrees (kJ mol(-1); T = 298.15 K) = 40.3 (+/- 0.7) + 1.00 (+/-0.01) DeltaH degrees (kJ mol(-1)); N = 184; r = 0.981; P < 0.0001 - which is of the form DeltaH degrees = beta. DeltaS degrees, revealing the presence of the "enthalpy-entropy compensation" phenomenon. This means that any decrease of binding enthalpy is compensated for by a parallel decrease of binding entropy, and vice versa, in such a manner that affinity constant values (K(A)) of drug-receptor equilibrium (DeltaG degrees = -RT ln K(A) = DeltaH degrees - TDeltaS degrees ) cannot be greater than 10(11) M(-1). According to the most recent hypotheses concerning drug-receptor interaction mechanisms, these thermodynamic phenomena appear to be a consequence of the rearrangement of solvent molecules that occurs during the binding.