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Biomedical subjects

B Testa

Publications and source records attributed to B Testa.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Mechanism of ligand binding to alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (orosomucoid): correlated thermodynamic factors and molecular parameters of polarity.

Eight ligands were used in this study, four basic, three neutral and one acidic. Their binding to serum alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (orosomucoid) was measured at several temperatures, and the data were analysed together by a general model with three unknowns, number of binding sites, delta H0 and delta S0. The partition coefficients of the ligands were measured in octanol/water and heptane/water systems (log Poct. and log Phep.), and their molecular volumes were calculated by molecular modelling techniques. These structural properties allow determination of polarity parameters (delta log Poct.-hep., lambda oct. and lambda hep.) which encode in different proportions the various polar interactions between the solute and the aqueous and organic phases, i.e. hydrogen-bonding capacity and dipolarity/polarizability. This study shows that good correlations exist between delta H0 or delta S0 and polarity parameters, such that the enthalpic contribution to binding increases with increasing polarity of the ligands, mainly hydrogen-bond-donor acidity, whereas their entropic contribution to binding decreases.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1995

X-ray crystal structure, partitioning behavior, and molecular modeling study of piracetam-type nootropics: insights into the pharmacophore.

To detect possible molecular determinants of amnesia-reverting activity, the conformational properties of a number of rigid and flexible piracetam-type cognition enhancers have been assessed by X-ray diffraction, NMR spectroscopy, and ab initio and high-temperature-quenched molecular dynamics (QMD) calculations. The structures of the preferred conformers in solution derived from 1H-NMR spectral analysis were in good agreement with those found by QMD calculations. Interestingly, the calculation of the average molecular lipophilicity potential on the water-accessible surface of the selected conformers was helpful in interpreting the partitioning behavior observed by measuring octanol-water partition coefficients and capacity factors in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. While lipophilicity does not play a relevant role, the distance between polar groups, accounted for by the distance between carbonyl oxygens, emerges as a factor, among others, which should influence the amnesia-reversal activity of piracetam-type nootropics.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1995

Determination of the enantiomers of citalopram, its demethylated and propionic acid metabolites in human plasma by chiral HPLC.

A stereoselective HPLC assay has been developed to analyze the enantiomers of citalopram and of its three main metabolites in plasma after their separation on a Chiracel OD column. Using a fluorescence detector, the limit of quantification in plasma samples was 15, 4, 5 and 2 ng/ml for the enantiomers of citalopram (CIT), desmethylcitalopram (DCIT), didesmethylcitalopram (DDCIT), and for the citalopram propionic acid derivative (CIT-PROP), respectively. Except for CIT, all metabolites were derivatized with achiral reagents. Identification of the enantiomers was realized with an optical rotation detector which showed that the enantiomers invert their rotation depending on the polarity and nature of the solvent. Under varying conditions, a racemization study has shown that the pure enantiomers of CIT and its demethylated metabolites are configurationally stable. Preliminary results obtained with five patients treated with CIT show a mean S/R ratio of 0.7 for both CIT and its active metabolite DCIT and of 3.6 for CIT-PROP in plasma. This suggests that the pharmacologically relevant (+)-(S)-isomers of CIT and DCIT could be preferentially and stereoselectively metabolized to CIT-PROP.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1995

Structure-affinity relationships of baclofen and 3-heteroaromatic analogues.

Substituting a furan, a thiophene, a benzo[b]furan, a benzo[b]thiophene, or a quinoline ring for the p-chlorophenyl moiety of baclofen has led to GABAB ligands with different affinities depending on the nature of the heteroaromatic ring, and on the nature and position of its substituent. As steric effects cannot account for all the affinity variations, we have studied the lipophilic and electronic properties of baclofen and selected 3-heteroaromatic analogues, gaining insight into the structural features necessary for GABAB affinity. Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) has been used to measure octan-1-ol water distribution coefficients, while ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations were performed to study electronic properties.

Baclofen↗
PubMed1995

Stabilization of the hydrophilic sphere of iobitridol, an iodinated contrast agent, as revealed by experimental and computational investigations.

PURPOSE: The regular distribution in space and the stability in time of the hydrophilic sphere surrounding iobitridol were investigated. This is a novel yet important concept in the design of polyiodinated contrast agents since such a sphere is meant to hide their hydrophobic core and thus prevent hydrophobic interactions with biomacromolecules and hence chemotoxicity. METHODS: The methods used were experimental (HPLC, 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy) and computational (calculation of conformational behavior and molecular electrostatic potentials). RESULTS: Iobitridol exists as a mixture of stereoisomers due to hindered rotation around several bonds. High-temperature molecular dynamics established the existence between 0 and 15 kcal/mol of 238 conformers belonging to 14 classes. Most of these conformers have an inaccessible hydrophobic core, and variable temperature molecular dynamics confirmed that the hydrophilic sphere around iobitridol is stable against external disruption. CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated that iobitridol fulfils the physicochemical and structural criteria believed to render a polyiodinated contrast agent inert toward interacting with biomacromolecules.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1995

A cellular automata model of the hydrophobic effect.

Dynamic simulations of solute molecules in water are made using cellular automata. By varying the parameter governing the breaking probability of water-solute tesselated pairs, sets of configurations were modeled of solutions ranging from polar to non-polar solutes. The emergent behavior of the non-polar solute models leads us to believe that this is a possible model of the hydrophobic effect.

Models, Chemical↗
PubMed1995

Esters of L-dopa: structure-hydrolysis relationships and ability to induce circling behaviour in an experimental model of hemiparkinsonism.

A number of carboxylate esters of L-dopa, some of which are novel, were examined for their physicochemical and biological properties. A few esters of tyrosine and phenylalanine were included for comparison. The compounds displayed great differences in their lipophilicity and stability towards chemical and enzymatic (human plasma) hydrolysis. Within subseries, relationships exist between structural properties and rate constants of chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis. In an experimental model of hemiparkinsonism (circling behaviour in rats), some of the L-dopa esters (the isopropyl, sec-butyl and 2-(tetrahydropyranyl)methyl esters) showed an activity distinctly greater than that of L-dopa, although the difference was not statistically significant.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Glutathione in the upper respiratory tract.

Glutathione (GSH), a major extracellular antioxidant, has been found in high concentrations in the epithelial lining fluid of the lower respiratory tract. The GSH concentrations in nasal fluid, in normal and pathologic conditions, were investigated and found to be very low. A GSH aerosol (600 mg daily for 10 days) increased GSH levels in the nasal mucosa and induced a statistically significant improvement in nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, and ear fullness. Thus, GSH administered by aerosol could be a means of defending the epithelial respiratory cells against a toxic oxidant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Screening of unsubstituted cyclic compounds as inhibitors of monoamine oxidases.

A number of unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbons, azaheterocycles, oxaheterocycles and cyclic ketones were screened for their inhibitory potency towards monoamine oxidases (MAO; EC 1.4.3.4.) A and B. Fair activities (IC50 10-100 microM) and selectivities were found for, e.g. naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, isoquinoline and acridine. The most active inhibitors are oxygen-containing compounds (e.g. coumarin, flavone, dibenzofuran, xanthene, thioxanthone and acridone), with xanthone emerging as a potent (IC50 0.8 microM) and reversible MAO-A inhibitor. All tested inhibitors seem to act in a reversible and time-independent manner.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The temperature dependence of steady-state kinetics: what can be learned about pig liver esterase stereospecificity?

The steady-state kinetic parameters for pig liver carboxylesterase (PLE)-catalyzed hydrolysis of the prochiral substrate dimethyl phenylmalonate (DMPM) (product enantioselectivity) and the separate enantiomers of three chiral 2-phenylpropionic acid esters (substrate enantioselectivity) were measured at seven temperatures between 288 K and 312 K. Arrhenius plots of turnover numbers against the reciprocal of experimental temperatures yielded enthalpies and entropies of activation at enzyme saturation. (+)-(S)-methyl-2-phenylpropionate, (+)-(S)-4-nitrophenyl 2-phenylpropionate, and both enantiomers of phenyl 2-phenylpropionate showed very similar activation enthalpies and entropies (approximately 50 kJ mol-1 and -50 J mol-1 K-1, respectively), but differences were observed for (-)-(R)-methyl 2-phenylpropionate and (-)-(R)-4-nitrophenyl 2-phenylpropionate. Whereas the entropies of activation of all 2-phenylpropionates were negative, positive entropies of activation were measured in the formation of monomethyl phenylmalonate enantiomers from DMPM. Enthalpy-entropy compensation analysis of the data indicates a common mechanism of PLE substrate and product enantiospecificity in the reactions studied here.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Molecular lipophilicity potential, a tool in 3D QSAR: method and applications.

A new method is presented to calculate the Molecular Lipophilicity Potential (MLP). The method is validated by showing that the MLP thus generated on the solvent-accessible surface can be used to back-calculate log P. Because the MLP is shown to be sensitive to conformational effects, the MLP/log P relation is best sought by taking all conformers into account. The MLP method presented here can be used as a third field in CoMFA studies, as illustrated with two series of alpha 1-adrenoceptor ligands. In the first series, the steric, electrostatic and lipophilic fields are highly intercorrelated, and taken separately yield comparable models. In the second series of ligands, the best model is obtained with the lipophilic field alone, allowing insights into ligand-receptor interactions.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
PubMed1994

An antifungal gamma-pyrone and xanthones with monoamine oxidase inhibitory activity from Hypericum brasiliense.

A new gamma-pyrone (hyperbrasilone), three known xanthones (1,5-dihydroxyxanthone, 5-hydroxy-1-methoxyxanthone and 6-deoxyjacareubin) and betulinic acid have been isolated from a dichloromethane extract of stems and roots of Hypericum brasiliense. Their structures were established by spectroscopic methods (UV, EI-MS, 1H and 13C NMR) and that of the gamma-pyrone was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Hyperbrasilone and the xanthones were all antifungal against Cladosporium cucumerinum, while the three xanthones showed differing degrees of inhibition of monoamine oxidase A and B.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Interactions of anti-inflammatory 2-arylpropionates (profens) with the metabolism of fatty acids: in vitro studies.

This review shows conclusively that profens can enter physiological pathways of lipid biochemistry. The first step in this interaction is the formation of an acyl-CoA thioester. These conjugates can lead to the incorporation of the xenobiotic acid into lipids. The resulting hybrid triglycerides have the potential to form long-lasting residues in adipose tissues and to be incorporated into membranes. Furthermore, the acyl-CoA conjugate may also alter lipid biochemistry by inhibiting lipid beta-oxidation either by interfering with the acyl-CoA synthetases or by modifying CoA levels. Thus, the acyl-CoA conjugates of profens intermediates in the inversion of inactive (R)-profens to active (S)-profens can be viewed as pivotal to bioactivation and to pathways of potential toxicity.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1993

Solvent-dependent conformation and hydrogen-bonding capacity of cyclosporin A: evidence from partition coefficients and molecular dynamics simulations.

The partition coefficient of cyclosporin A (CsA) was measured in octanol/water and heptane/water by centrifugal partition chromatography. By comparison with results from model compounds, it was deduced that the hydrogen-bonding capacity of CsA changed dramatically from an apolar solvent (where it is internally H-bonded) to polar solvents (where it exposes its H-bonding groups to the solvent). Molecular dynamics simulations in water and CCl4 support the suggestion that CsA undergoes a solvent-dependent conformational changes and that the interconversion process is slow on the molecular dynamics time scale.

Amino Acid Isomerases↗
PubMed1993

pH-dependence of warfarin binding to alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (orosomucoid).

The binding of warfarin to alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) was found to increase with decreasing pH. The u.v.-visible difference spectra generated upon binding to AAG at pH 5.0 or 7.4 showed warfarin to bind as the anion. Warfarin-binding data were satisfactorily fitted to a model that incorporates the effect of pH and discriminates the association constants of the non-protonated and protonated binding site of the protein. It was shown that AAG-binding site in the protonated form had a markedly higher affinity for warfarin than the non-protonated form, with a pK value of 7.7 +/- 0.1, which is likely to be a histidine residue. Among other possible interactions, it is suggested that ligand binding to AAG involves a reinforced hydrogen bond.

Anions↗
PubMed1993

Effects of solvation on the ionization and conformation of raclopride and other antidopaminergic 6-methoxysalicylamides: insight into the pharmacophore.

Previous work has shown that raclopride in water at neutral pH exists in a zwitterionic form, suggesting a stereoelectronic structure largely different from that of other benzamides. In the present study, the acid-base behavior of other 6-methoxysalicylamides is shown to be comparable to that of raclopride. An extensive investigation by high-temperature molecular dynamics gave insight into the conformational behavior of neutral and zwitterionic raclopride in vacuum and in water. Partitioning of raclopride and a more rigid analogue with characterization (by first-derivative UV spectroscopy) of the predominant forms in the organic phase indicated that only neutral, internally H-bonded forms partition into the organic solvent. Thus, the predominant forms of 6-methoxysalicylamides will be very different in the aqueous and organic phases. In the latter phase, and hence presumably also in the receptor phase, the drugs exist with a neutral, internally H-bonded phenolic group and are therefore stereoelectronically similar to other substituted benzamides.

Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists↗