Enzyme inhibitor determination

The classical kinetic analytical methods [1-3] are mainly appUed in two versions (1) kinetic catalytic method based on catalytic reactions and (2) kinetic differential method based on the use of systems with simultaneous reactions of a reagent with several mixture components with similar properties. These versions are recommended for enzyme reactions with a view to determining enzymes, inhibitors and substrates. These reactions are highly sensitive and specific their use is without any doubt of particular interest for some systems for the selective and highly sensitive determination of some components of systems [3] to which GC can be applied. 

Finally, it is possible to determine enzyme inhibitors instead of substrates. Inhibitors affect the rates of enzymatic reactions, and hence the intensity of the signal obtained. One example is the cholinesterase electrode which determines inhibittm, especially pesticides. 

One approach to combating antibiotic resistance caused by P-lactamase is to inhibit the enzyme (see Enzyme inhibition). Effective combinations of enzyme inhibitors with P-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins or cephalosporins, result in a synergistic response, lowering the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) by a factor of four or more for each component. However, inhibition of P-lactamases alone is not sufficient. Pharmacokinetics, stability, ability to penetrate bacteria, cost, and other factors are also important in determining whether an inhibitor is suitable for therapeutic use. Almost any class of P-lactam is capable of producing P-lactamase inhibitors. Several reviews have been pubUshed on P-lactamase inhibitors, detection, and properties (8—15). 

Usually, a rapid binding step of the inhibitor I to the enzyme E leads to the formation of the initial noncovalent enzyme-inhibitor complex E-I. This is usually followed by a rate determining catalytic step, leading to the formation of a highly reactive species [E—I ]. This species can either undergo reaction with an active site amino acid residue of the enzyme to form the covalent enzyme-inhibitor adduct E—I", or be released into the medium to form product P and free active enzyme E. 

The often fast binding step of the inhibitor I to the enzyme E, forming the enzyme inhibitor complex E-I, is followed by a rate-determining inactivation step to form a covalent bond. The evaluation of affinity labels is based on the fulfillment of the following criteria (/) irreversible, active site-directed inactivation of the enzyme upon the formation of a stable covalent linkage with the activated form of the inhibitor, (2) time- and concentration-dependent inactivation showing saturation kinetics, and (3) a binding stoichiometry of 1 1 of inhibitor to the enzyme s active site (34). 

Kuyper LF, Roth B, Baccanari DP, Ferone R, Beddell CR, Champness JN et al. Receptor-based design of dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors comparison of crys-tallographically determined enzyme binding with enzyme affinity in a series of carboxy-substituted trimethoprim analogues. J Med Chem 1982 25 1120-2... 

The inactivation is normally a first-order process, provided that the inhibitor is in large excess over the enzyme and is not depleted by spontaneous or enzyme-catalyzed side-reactions. The observed rate-constant for loss of activity in the presence of inhibitor at concentration [I] follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics and is given by kj(obs) = ki(max) [I]/(Ki + [1]), where Kj is the dissociation constant of an initially formed, non-covalent, enzyme-inhibitor complex which is converted into the covalent reaction product with the rate constant kj(max). For rapidly reacting inhibitors, it may not be possible to work at inhibitor concentrations near Kj. In this case, only the second-order rate-constant kj(max)/Kj can be obtained from the experiment. Evidence for a reaction of the inhibitor at the active site can be obtained from protection experiments with substrate [S] or a reversible, competitive inhibitor [I(rev)]. In the presence of these compounds, the inactivation rate Kj(obs) should be diminished by an increase of Kj by the factor (1 + [S]/K, ) or (1 + [I(rev)]/I (rev)). From the dependence of kj(obs) on the inhibitor concentration [I] in the presence of a protecting agent, it may sometimes be possible to determine Kj for inhibitors that react too rapidly in the accessible range of concentration. ... 

Characterization of inhibition modality, and from this quantitative determination of enzyme-inhibitor dissociation constants, constitutes the only rational, quantitative means of assessing relative compound affinity for a target enzyme. 

If the inhibition is found to be rapidly reversible, we must next determine if the approach to equilibrium for the enzyme-inhibitor complex is also rapid. As described in Chapter 4, some inhibitors bind slowly to their target enzymes, on a time scale that is long in comparision to the time scale of the reaction velocity measurement. The effect of such slow binding inhibition is to convert the linear progress curve seen in the absence of inhibitor to a curvilinear function (Figure 5.10). When nonlinear progress curves are observed in the presence of inhibitor, the analysis of... 

DETERMINING MODALITY FOR TIGHT BINDING ENZYME INHIBITORS... 

Determining Modality for Tight Binding Enzyme Inhibitors... 

For a soluble enzyme that is not part of a multi-enzyme complex, the fastest rate of enzyme-inhibitor association is determined by the rate of molecular collisions between the two binding partners (i.e., the enzyme and the inhibitor) in solution. The rate of molecular collisions is in turn controlled by the rate of diffusion. The diffusion-limited rate of molecular collisions is dependent on the radii of the two binding molecules and the solution temperature and viscosity (Fersht, 1999) ... 

Let us assume that for a particular enzyme-inhibitor pair, association is diffusion limited so that k, is I O9 M s1. Fixing k n at this value, and using Equation (7.26), we can determine the value of koB for different values of Kn as summarized in Table 7.3 (this is taken from the more comprehensive table presented in Chapter 2). We have already seen examples in Chapter 6 of compounds with A) values (or Kf values) in the lOnM to lOpM range for which the half-life for binary complex dissociation is far longer than 2 hours. For example, we saw that inhibition of COX2 by DuP697 resulted in a final E I complex with Kf = 5 nM and the lm for complex... 

Inhibition Effects in Enzyme Catalyzed Reactions. Enzyme catalyzed reactions are often retarded or inhibited by the presence of species that do not participate in the reaction in question as well as by the products of the reaction. In some cases the reactants themselves can act as inhibitors. Inhibition usually results from the formation of various enzyme-inhibitor complexes, a situation that decreases the amount of enzyme available for the normal reaction sequence. The study of inhibition is important in the investigation of enzyme action. By determining what compounds behave as inhibitors and what type of kinetic patterns are followed, it may be possible to draw important conclusions about the mechanism of an enzyme s action or the nature of its active site. 

Enzymes can be used not only for the determination of substrates but also for the analysis of enzyme inhibitors. In this type of sensors the response of the detectable species will decrease in the presence of the analyte. The inhibitor may affect the vmax or KM values. Competitive inhibitors, which bind to the same active site than the substrate, will increase the KM value, reflected by a change on the slope of the Lineweaver-Burke plot but will not change vmax. Non-competitive inhibitors, i.e. those that bind to another site of the protein, do not affect KM but produce a decrease in vmax. For instance, the acetylcholinesterase enzyme is inhibited by carbamate and organophosphate pesticides and has been widely used for the development of optical fiber sensors for these compounds based on different chemical transduction schemes (hydrolysis of a colored substrate, pH changes). 

Concept A new approach to the rational design of enzyme inhibitors has emerged in the last ten to fifteen years that incorporates a substrate (or transition state) analog "core" molecule with additional binding determinants spanning beyond the immediate... 

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