Enzyme irreversible inhibition

Most poly(HA) depolymerases are inhibited by reducing agents, e.g., dithio-erythritol (DTT), which indicates the presence of essential disulfide bonds, and by serine hydrolase inhibitors such as diisopropyl-fluoryl phosphate (DFP) or acylsulfonyl derivates. The latter compounds covalently bind to the active site serine of serine hydrolases and irreversibly inhibit enzyme activity [48]. 

Desaturation of alkyl groups. This novel reaction, which converts a saturated alkyl compound into a substituted alkene and is catalyzed by cytochromes P-450, has been described for the antiepileptic drug, valproic acid (VPA) (2-n-propyl-4-pentanoic acid) (Fig. 4.29). The mechanism proposed involves formation of a carbon-centered free radical, which may form either a hydroxy la ted product (alcohol) or dehydrogenate to the unsaturated compound. The cytochrome P-450-mediated metabolism yields 4-ene-VPA (2-n-propyl-4pentenoic acid), which is oxidized by the mitochondrial p-oxidation enzymes to 2,4-diene-VPA (2-n-propyl-2, 4-pentadienoic acid). This metabolite or its Co A ester irreversibly inhibits enzymes of the p-oxidation system, destroys cytochrome P-450, and may be involved in the hepatotoxicity of the drug. Further metabolism may occur to give 3-keto-4-ene-VPA (2-n-propyl-3-oxo-4-pentenoic acid), which inhibits the enzyme 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase, the terminal enzyme of the fatty acid oxidation system. 

DEMO is a suicide irrhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase. Although it also inhibits mammalian ornithine decarboxylase, DMFO is less toxic to the host because of more rapid turnover and replacement of the irreversibly inhibited enzyme itr the host than in parasites. The answer rs (A). The anticoccidial 4-amitroquinolines inhibit mitochorrdrial respiration itr eimeria species, probably through itrteractiorr with a comporrerrt between NADH oxidase atrd C54ochrome b in the electron transport chaitr. The answer is (A). 

Analysis of the kinetics of inactivation followed the procedure of Kitz and Wilson. " A slight modification of the original scheme " is necessary to accommodate the fact that in the present case the active alkylating species of inhibitor (Ia, allenic sccosteroid) is generated from a precursor (I, the acetylenic secosteroid), which serves as a substrate for the enzyme. The scheme for the formation of the irreversibly inhibited enzyme species (EIa ) from either acetylenic or allenic secosteroid may be pictured as follow s ... 

Most of the PHA depolymerases are serine hydrolases. Their hydrolytic activity on polymers is due to the presence of serine (an amino acid) at the active site of the enzyme. This was proved by the inhibition of enzyme activity in presence of diisopropyl-fluoryl phosphate (DFP) or acylsulfonyl derivatives. This compounds bind to the active site serine and irreversibly inhibits enzyme activity. ... 

Mechanistic studies (6,26,27,67) have shown that the acyl enzyme species is the ring opened compound (13), which can tautomerize to the transientiy inhibited amino acrylate (14), and both of these species can react further to give irreversibly inactivated enzyme. Three inactivated forms of the enzyme have been detected. Two, according to labeling studies, retain the complete clavulanate skeleton and the other retains only the carbon chain of the P-lactam ring. Stmcture (15) has been suggested as one possible inactivated form. 

Enzyme inhibitors are classified in several ways. The inhibitor may interact either reversibly or irreversibly with the enzyme. Reversible inhibitors interact with the enzyme through noncovalent association/dissociation reactions. In contrast, irreversible inhibitors usually cause stable, covalent alterations in the enzyme. That is, the consequence of irreversible inhibition is a decrease in the concentration of active enzyme. The kinetics observed are consistent with this interpretation, as we shall see later. 

Fosfomycin is an antibiotic produced by several Streptomyces species [95, 96] as well as by the Gram-negative Pseudomonas syringiae and Pseudomonas viridiflava. dl, 98] As an analogue of phosphoenolpyruvate, it irreversibly inhibits UDP-N-acetylglu-cosamine-3-O-enolpymvyltransferase (MurA), the enzyme that catalyzes the first step in peptidoglycan biosynthesis [99]. 

Following concurrent administration of two drugs, especially when they are metabolized by the same enzyme in the liver or small intestine, the metabolism of one or both drugs can be inhibited, which may lead to elevated plasma concentrations of the dtug(s), and increased pharmacological effects. The types of enzyme inhibition include reversible inhibition, such as competitive or non-competitive inhibition, and irreversible inhibition, such as mechanism-based inhibition. The clinically important examples of drug interactions involving the inhibition of metabolic enzymes are listed in Table 1 [1,4]. 

Acetylsalicylic acid irreversibly inhibits both COX-1 and COX-2 by acetylating the enzymes. Since mature platelets lack a nucleus, they are unable to synthesise new enzyme. The anti-platelet effects of acetylsalicylic acid persist therefore throughout the lifetime of the platelet and the half-life of this effect is thus being much longer than the elimination half-life of acetylsalicylic acid (15 min). Since new platelets are continuously launched into the circulation, the clinically relevant anti-platelet effect of aspirin lasts for up to five days. This is the reason why low doses of acetylsalicylic acid (ca. 100 mg per day) are sufficient in the prophylaxis of heart attacks. 

In cases where the mode of action is the strong or irreversible inhibition of an enzyme system, the assay may measure the extent of inhibition of this enzyme. This may be accomplished by first measuring the activity of the inhibited enzyme and then making comparison with the uninhibited enzyme. This practice is followed when studying acetylcholinesterase inhibition by organophosphates (OP). Acetylcholinesterase activity is measured in a sample of tissue of brain from an animal that has been exposed to an OP. Activity is measured in the same way in tissue samples from untreated controls of the same species, sex, age, etc. Comparison is then made between the two activity measurements, and the percentage inhibition is estimated. 

A case similar to the slow, practically irreversible inhibition of jack bean a-D-mannosidase by swainsonine is represented by the interaction of castanospermine with isomaltase and rat-intestinal sucrase. Whereas the association constants for the formation of the enzyme-inhibitor complex were similar to those of other slow-binding glycosidase inhibitors (6.5 10 and 0.3 10 M s for sucrase and isomaltase, respectively), the dissociation constant of the enzyme-inhibitor complex was extremely low (3.6 10 s for sucrase) or could not be measured at all (isomaltase), resulting in a virtually irreversible inhibition. Danzin and Ehrhard discussed the strong binding of castanospermine in terms of the similarity of the protonated inhibitor to a D-glucosyl oxocarbenium ion transition-state, but were unable to give an explanation for the extremely slow dissociation of the enzyme-inhibitor complex. 

Figure 3. Plot of V against total enzyme [ET] showing the irreversible inhibition of el tric eel acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by ANTX-A(S). The enzymes were incubated with 0.32 fig/mL ANTX-A(S) for 1.0 min and acetylthiocholine (final concentrations 2.5, 4.7, 6.3, and 7.8 X 10 M) was added. V was determined from the double reciprocal plots (not shown). Key (o) control ( ) ANTX-A(S). (Reproduced with permission from Ref. 42. Copyright 1987 Pergamon Press)...

Reducing the availability of GABA by blocking the synthesising enzyme GAD also promotes convulsions. This may be achieved by substrate competition (e.g. 3-mercapto propionic acid), irreversible inhibition (e.g. allylglycine) or reducing the action or availability of its co-factor pyridoxal phosphate (e.g. various hydrazides such as semi-carbazide). In fact pyridoxal phosphate deficiency has been shown to be the cause of convulsions in children. 

ACh is metabolised extraneuronally by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, to reform precursor choline and acetate. Blocking its activity with various anticholinesterases has been widely investigated and some improvement in memory noted. Such studies have invariably used reversible inhibition because of the toxicity associated with long-term irreversible inhibition of the enzyme. Physostigmine was the pilot drug. It is known to improve memory in animals and some small effects have been seen in humans (reduces number of mistakes in word-recall tests rather than number of words recalled), but it really needs to be given intravenously and has a very short half-life (30 min). 

In contrast, iproniazid, introduced in 1951 for treatment of tuberculosis, induced euphoria and was described as a psychic energiser . In fact, these patients, when given iproniazid, could become quite disruptive and this action was regarded as an undesirable side-effect However, its beneficial effects in depression were soon recognised and it was regarded as the first effective antidepressant drug. Studies of peripheral sympathetic neurons, later extended to noradrenergic neurons in the brain, showed that iproniazid irreversibly inhibits the catalytic enzyme, monoamine oxidase (MAO). Because only cytoplasmic monoamines are accessible to MAO, inhibition of this enzyme first increases the concentration of the pool of soluble transmitter but this leads to a secondary increase in the stores of vesicle-bound transmitter i.e. the pool available for impulse-evoked release (Fillenz and Stanford 1981). 

Gold and Linder (17) studied the esterase catalyzed hydrolysis of A-(-)-acetoxymethyl-(l-phenylethyl)nitrosamine. They found that the stereochemistry of 1-phenylethanol produced in the reaction was the same as that observed in the base catalyzed hydrolysis of the nitrosamine and also of N-(l-phenylethyl)nitrosocarbamate. These results indicated that the same diazotate was produced in all three reactions. The fact that no irreversible inhibition of the enzymatic hydrolysis of the nitrosamine was observed, while extensive irreversible inhibition was obtained with the nitrosocarba-mate, led these workers to conclude that the a-hydroxynitro-samine produced by the hydrolysis had sufficient stability to diffuse away from the active site of the enzyme. 

All the enzymes discussed above belong to the class of dimetalloenzymes. In this context, it should be mentioned that serine-type hydrolases are irreversibly inhibited by organophosphorus esters, among them highly toxic chemical warfare agents. However, in some cases, for example of human butyrylcholi-noesterase, the inhibited enzyme could be reactivated by proper mutations." Moreover, such mutahons were found to confer phosphotriesterase activity in this... 

Mutagenesis of known enzyme towards a desired activity will be the fastest developing direction. The use of mutants of simple serine-hydrolases, which exhibit the phosphotriesterase activity (in contrast to the native enzymes, which are irreversibly inhibited under such conditions), clearly shows that practically any kind of substrates can be enzymatically transformed. The... 

After the nucleophilic attack by the hydroxyl function of the active serine on the carbonyl group of the lactone, the formation of the acyl-enzyme unmasks a reactive hydroxybenzyl derivative and then the corresponding QM. The cyclic structure of the inhibitor prevents the QM from rapidly diffusing out of the active center. Substitution of a second nucleophile leads to an irreversible inhibition. The second nucleophile was shown to be a histidine residue in a-chymotrypsin28 and in urokinase.39 Thus, the action of a functionalized dihydrocoumarin results in the cross-linking of two of the most important residues of the protease catalytic triad. 

All these 3,4-dihydro-2H-1 -benzopyran-2-ones 17 and 18 are substrates of class A and class C (3-lactamases. They are thus the first 8-lactones that are hydrolyzed by [3-lactamases. The kcat values for these substrates are generally smaller than those of the analogous acyclic phenaceturates suggesting that the tethered leaving group obstructs the attack of water on the acyl-enzyme. Despite the apparent advantage of the long-lived acyl-enzymes, the irreversible inhibition by the functionalized compounds is no better than that of acyclic molecules 16. Thus, even the tethered QM cannot efficiently trap a second nucleophile at the [3-lactamase active site, at least as placed as dictated by the structure of compounds 18.70... 

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