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Biomedical subjects

G E Wright

Publications and source records attributed to G E Wright.

86 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Inhibitors of Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III. 6-Anilinouracils and 6-(alkylamino)uracils.

Substituted 6-anilinouracils were found to be potent inhibitors of the replication-specific enzyme, DNA polymerase III, from Bacillus subtilis. Inhibition potency was maximized by inclusion of small alkyl groups or halogens in the meta and para positions of the phenyl ring; polar substituents decreased activity considerably. Qualitative structure--activity relationships indicated that the meta position can tolerate larger groups, suggesting that this position may be suitable for the introduction of a group capable of irreversibly binding to the enzyme. Several 6-(alkylamino)uracils were weak inhibitors of DNA polymerases III; the optimum alkyl groups for enzyme binding were n-pentyl and n-hexyl, which apparently can occupy the planar enzyme binding site. The varied activities of 6-anilinouracils on a mutant DNA polymerase, resistant to 6-(phenylhydrazino)- and 6-(benzylamino)uracils bearing a p-OH or NH2 group, have altered previous postulates for the structural basis of inhibitor resistance and have permitted construction of a refined model for inhibitor conformation in the latter series.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Inhibitors of Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III. Structure-activity relationships of 6-(phenylhydrazino)uracils.

6-(Phenylhydrazino)uracils inhibit the replication-specific enzyme DNA polymerase III of Bacillus subtilis by forming a strong, reversible complex with template-primer DNA and enzyme. The phenyl ring interacts with a hydrophobic enzyme site which, on the basis of structure-activity relationships of substituted analogues, appears to possess the following characteristics: (1) planarity or near-planarity; (2) a finite capacity to accommodate bulky substituents; and (3) location near the domain of the enzyme active site. A mutant DNA polymerase III, derived from a mutant strain of B. subtilis selected for resistance to 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)pyrimidines, is resistant only to inhibitors bearing p-hydroxy or amino groups and is hypersensitive to inhibitors containing nonpolar substituents; these results suggest the existence of mutable, secondary regions of the binding site which interact with para substituents and, thus, influence the strength of the primary phenyl-enzyme interaction.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Inhibitors of Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III. 6-(arylalkylamino)uracils and 6-anilinouracils.

6-(Benzylamino)uracils and substituted 6-anilinouracils have been found to be potent inhibitors of Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III by a mechanism identical with that of 6-(phenylhydrazino)uracils. Higher phenylalkylamino homologues are progressively weaker inhibitors of the enzyme. Examination of the effects of substituents on the activity of 6-(benzylamino)uracils against wild-type and mutant enzymes and preliminary results for 6-anilinouracils have permitted further dissection of the mechanism of inhibition. The experimental results indicate that (1) the polymerase inhibitor binding site is compact, accommodating only small alterations in the distance between the uracil and phenyl rings, (2) the phenyl ring, which provides the major contribution to inhibitor-enzyme binding, adopts a specific active conformation, and (3) an enzyme site which interacts with substituents in the phenyl ring forms a part of the active site of DNA polymerase III.

Aniline Compounds↗

Inhibition of Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III by arylhydrazinopyrimidines. Novel properties of 2-thiouracil derivatives.

6-(p-Tolylhydrazino)-uracil, 6-(p-tolylhydrazino)-isocytosine and 6-(p-tolylhydrazino)-2-thiouracil were synthesized and compared with respect to their chemical properties, their activity as inhibitors of DNA polymerase III of Bacillus subtilis, and their capacity to induce the formation of a complex between polymerase III and template DNA. As expected from earlier studies of analogous hydroxyphenylhydrazino compounds, the effects of the uracil derivative were reversed specifically by dGTP and those of the isocytosine derivative were reversed specifically by dATP. In contrast, reversal of the effects of the thiouracil derivative required both dGTP and dATP. The unique capacity of the 2-thiouracil analog to mimic either purine deoxyribonucleotide appears to reside in its ability to undergo tautomerism between the 2-thione and 2-thiol forms, which can pair with, respectively, template cytosine and thymine.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Sebaceous carcinoma.

A series of 11 sebaceous carcinomas is reported. None of the tumours recurred or metastasized. Two growth patterns were observed: basal-cell carcinomas with sebaceous differentiation, and pure sebaceous carcinomas. Since both these types may occur together they are considered to be merely variants of a single tumour entity. The clinical and histological characteristics of sebaceous carcinomas of our series are compared with those recorded in the literature. It is concluded that sebaceous carcinomas originate in the epidermis, in the skin appendages, or in both.

Age Factors↗

BL-S640, a cephalosporin with a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity: bioavailability and therapeutic properties in rodents.

The bioavailability and therapeutic properties of BL-S 640 in rodents were compared with those of cephalothin, cephaloridine, and cefazolin after parenteral administration, and cephalexin after oral administration. When given intramuscularly in dosages of 5 to 40 mg/kg, peak concentrations of BL-S 640 in the blood of mice were proportional to dose, but when given orally, they were proportional only up to a dose of 25 mg/kg. After either route of administration, the concentration of BL-S 640 in the blood declined at a slower rate than that of the control compounds. Rats receiving BL-S 640 orally excreted an average of 39% of the drug in the urine. BL-S 640 was highly effective in the treatment of mice infected systemically with a variety of pathogenic bacteria, its therapeutic efficacy in comparison with that of other cephalosporins being frequently in excess of what would have been predicted on the basis of comparative activities in vitro.

Animals↗

Hydroxyphenylazopyrimidines: characterization of the active forms and their inhibitory action on a DNA polymerase from Bacillus subtilis.

The active forms of 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)-uracil and 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)-isocytosine were isolated and identified as their respective hydrazino derivatives. These arylhydrazino pyrimidines selectively inhibited a chromatographically distinct DNA polymerase from Bacillus subtilis. The actions of the reduced drugs on this polymerase were identical to those observed on ATP-dependent DNA synthesis in toluene-treated cells; dGTP competitively antagonized the inhibitory activity of the uracil derivative, and dATP competitively antagonized that of the isocytosine derivative. Analysis of the interactions of the arylhydrazinopyrimidines and nucleic acid bases by nuclear magnetic resonance suggested that hydroxyphenylhydrazino-uracil and hydroxyphenylhydrazino-isocytosine pair in a novel manner with, respectively, cytosine and thymine. A mechanism of inhibitor action, involving binding of the reduced drugs to enzyme and the pyrimidines of DNA template, is proposed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Synthesis and molecular modeling of novel HSV1 uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitors.

In a recent paper the first selective inhibitors of HSV1 uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) acting in the micromolar range have been reported. A 28.5 kDa catalytic fragment of HSV1 UDG has been crystallized in the presence of uracil, and the structure was recently solved. Starting with the optimized model of binding between 6-(4'-n-octylanilino)uracil (octAU) and UDG some new derivatives have been predicted to be active. In vitro studies with the novel synthetized compounds confirm the plausibility of the model and define the structure features for UDG inhibitors.

DNA Glycosylases↗