scholarly journals Novel alanine serine cysteine transporter 2 (ASCT2) inhibitors based on sulfonamide and sulfonic acid ester scaffolds

2019 ◽  
Vol 151 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias Ndaru ◽  
Rachel-Ann A. Garibsingh ◽  
YueYue Shi ◽  
Evan Wallace ◽  
Paul Zakrepine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Acid Ester ◽  
Sulfonic Acid ◽  
Chemical Space ◽  
Glutamate Transporter ◽  
Homology Model ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Large Variability

The neutral amino acid transporter alanine serine cysteine transporter 2 (ASCT2) belongs to the solute carrier 1 (SLC1) family of transport proteins and transports neutral amino acids, such as alanine and glutamine, into the cell in exchange with intracellular amino acids. This amino acid transport is sodium dependent, but not driven by the transmembrane Na+ concentration gradient. Glutamine transport by ASCT2 is proposed to be important for glutamine homoeostasis in rapidly growing cancer cells to fulfill the energy and nitrogen demands of these cells. Thus, ASCT2 is thought to be a potential anticancer drug target. However, the pharmacology of the amino acid binding site is not well established. Here, we report on the synthesis and characterization of a novel class of ASCT2 inhibitors based on an amino acid scaffold with a sulfonamide/sulfonic acid ester linker to a hydrophobic group. The compounds were designed based on an improved ASCT2 homology model using the human glutamate transporter hEAAT1 crystal structure as a modeling template. The compounds were shown to inhibit with a competitive mechanism and a potency that scales with the hydrophobicity of the side chain. The most potent compound binds with an apparent affinity, Ki, of 8 ± 4 µM and can block the alanine response with a Ki of 40 ± 23 µM at 200 µM alanine concentration. Computational analysis predicts inhibitor interactions with the binding site through molecular docking. In conclusion, the sulfonamide/sulfonic acid ester scaffold provides facile synthetic access to ASCT2 inhibitors with a potentially large variability in chemical space of the hydrophobic side chain. These inhibitors will be useful chemical tools to further characterize the role of ASCT2 in disease as well as improve our understanding of inhibition mechanisms of this transporter.

Schistosomal Sulfotransferase Interaction with Oxamniquine Involves Hybrid Mechanism of Induced-fit and Conformational Selection

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fortunatus C. Ezebuo ◽  
Ikemefuna C. Uzochukwu
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Energy ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Conformational Selection ◽  
Hybrid Mechanism ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Background: Sulfotransferase family comprises key enzymes involved in drug metabolism. Oxamniquine is a pro-drug converted into its active form by schistosomal sulfotransferase. The conformational dynamics of side-chain amino acid residues at the binding site of schistosomal sulfotransferase towards activation of oxamniquine has not received attention. Objective: The study investigated the conformational dynamics of binding site residues in free and oxamniquine bound schistosomal sulfotransferase systems and their contribution to the mechanism of oxamniquine activation by schistosomal sulfotransferase using molecular dynamics simulations and binding energy calculations. Methods: Schistosomal sulfotransferase was obtained from Protein Data Bank and both the free and oxamniquine bound forms were subjected to molecular dynamics simulations using GROMACS-4.5.5 after modeling it’s missing amino acid residues with SWISS-MODEL. Amino acid residues at its binding site for oxamniquine was determined and used for Principal Component Analysis and calculations of side-chain dihedrals. In addition, binding energy of the oxamniquine bound system was calculated using g_MMPBSA. Results: The results showed that binding site amino acid residues in free and oxamniquine bound sulfotransferase sampled different conformational space involving several rotameric states. Importantly, Phe45, Ile145 and Leu241 generated newly induced conformations, whereas Phe41 exhibited shift in equilibrium of its conformational distribution. In addition, the result showed binding energy of -130.091 ± 8.800 KJ/mol and Phe45 contributed -9.8576 KJ/mol. Conclusion: The results showed that schistosomal sulfotransferase binds oxamniquine by relying on hybrid mechanism of induced fit and conformational selection models. The findings offer new insight into sulfotransferase engineering and design of new drugs that target sulfotransferase.

scholarly journals Transdermal Delivery Systems for Ibuprofen and Ibuprofen Modified with Amino Acids Alkyl Esters Based on Bacterial Cellulose

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6252
Author(s):  
Paula Ossowicz-Rupniewska ◽  
Rafał Rakoczy ◽  
Anna Nowak ◽  
Maciej Konopacki ◽  
Joanna Klebeko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Bacterial Cellulose ◽  
Acid Ester ◽  
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient ◽  
Amino Acid Ester ◽  
Isopropyl Ester ◽  
Isopropyl Esters ◽  
Transdermal Application

The potential of bacterial cellulose as a carrier for the transport of ibuprofen (a typical example of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) through the skin was investigated. Ibuprofen and its amino acid ester salts-loaded BC membranes were prepared through a simple methodology and characterized in terms of structure and morphology. Two salts of amino acid isopropyl esters were used in the research, namely L-valine isopropyl ester ibuprofenate ([ValOiPr][IBU]) and L-leucine isopropyl ester ibuprofenate ([LeuOiPr][IBU]). [LeuOiPr][IBU] is a new compound; therefore, it has been fully characterized and its identity confirmed. For all membranes obtained the surface morphology, tensile mechanical properties, active compound dissolution assays, and permeation and skin accumulation studies of API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) were determined. The obtained membranes were very homogeneous. In vitro diffusion studies with Franz cells were conducted using pig epidermal membranes, and showed that the incorporation of ibuprofen in BC membranes provided lower permeation rates to those obtained with amino acids ester salts of ibuprofen. This release profile together with the ease of application and the simple preparation and assembly of the drug-loaded membranes indicates the enormous potentialities of using BC membranes for transdermal application of ibuprofen in the form of amino acid ester salts.

Determination of total proteinogenic amino acids and taurine by pre-column derivatisation and UHPLC: Single Laboratory Validation, First Action 2019.09

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Joseph ◽  
Asha Varughese ◽  
Ann Daniel
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Infant Formula ◽  
Retention Time ◽  
Sulfonic Acid ◽  
Internal Standard ◽  
The Other ◽  
Method Performance ◽  
Single Laboratory

Abstract Background A method has been developed and validated for selective, accurate and precise determination of total proteinogenic amino acids and taurine from Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formulas (powders, ready-to-feed liquids, and liquid concentrates). The method was reviewed by the AOAC INTERNATIONAL SPIFAN Expert Review Panel (ERP) during the 133rd AOAC Annual Meeting & Expo on September 7, 2019 in Denver, CO, USA and was recommended to First Action Official MethodsSM status. Objective The method involves protein hydrolysis to amino acids, a simple pre-column derivatisation of amino acids and separation of derivatised amino acids by UHPLC. The quantification of amino acids is performed by multi-point calibration using norvaline as the internal standard. The analytical method is capable of quantitative determination for 22 proteinogenic amino acids, but cannot be used to quantitate tryptophan, which is destroyed during the acid hydrolysis step. Asparagine is determined as aspartic acid and glutamine as glutamic acid. The cystine and cysteine are converted to S-2-carboxyethylthiocysteine (CYSx) and the derivative is separated from the other amino acids. Citrulline which is present in some matrices and it is separated from other amino acids is not included in the method performance evaluation in the single laboratory validation (SLV). Method The proposed method met all the performance requirement limits set in standard method performance requirements (SMPR) 2014.013 for total proteinogenic amino acids and taurine. The correlation coefficient of multi-point calibration was not less than 0.999 for any amino acids at any point in the SLV study confirming the validity of linear dynanic range (LDR) and linearity of the method. The individual amino acids in the chromatogram were identified by absolute retention time and relative retention time (RRT) with respect to the internal standard norvaline. There were no significant (S/N Ratio <10) interferences from the reagents or by-products of derivatisation and targeted matrices. The method demonstrated high selectivity. Result Accuracy of the method was validated using standard reference materials (NIST SRM 1869 and 1849a) and spike recovery studies. The amino acid results in the SRMs were within the ranges of Reference Mass Fraction Values. The accuracy of the method was corroboratively validated by spike recovery studies. The average spike recovery range between 93 to 107% ensure the accuracy of the method for amino acids and compliance to the AOAC SMPR 2014.013. Conclusions Precision data of the method demonstrate that it meets the stakeholder requirements as per the SMPR. The mean RSDr for all the amino acids for 17 matrices selected for the SLV were not more than 4%. The method is very sensitive and the LOQ can go down to approximately ten times lower than the SMPR requirements. The sensitivity of method is a direct reflection of its signal to noise ratio which ensures guaranteed method performance at the lower levels of amino acids in these matrices. Highlights Taurine (aminoethane sulfonic acid) unlike the other amino acids is a beta-sulfonic amino acid that is not used in protein synthesis but is found as a free amino acid in tissues. The acidic functional group (-COOH) in common amino acid is replaced with a sulfonic acid (-SO3H) group in Taurine. The method offers baseline separation of citrulline which is an alpha amino acid generally present in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional products. The separation of citrulline eliminates the risk of interference of this compound with other amino acids. The method can also separate and quantitate hydroxyproline, an important component of collagen that is often used to quantitate collagen. The method is simple and does not include any proprietary chemicals or instruments and can be performed on any basic reverse phase UHPLC system with UV detection.

Interactions of neutral and acidic amino acids in renal tubular transport

1962 ◽  
Vol 202 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Webber
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Neutral Amino Acids ◽  
Acidic Amino Acids ◽  
Renal Tubular Reabsorption ◽  
Renal Tubular Transport ◽  
Renal Tubular ◽  
Amino Acid Concentrations

The effects of intravenous infusions of a variety of neutral and acidic amino acids on the plasma concentrations and excretions of naturally occurring amino acids were studied in dogs. Conventional clearance techniques were used, and the amino acid concentrations were determined by ion exchange column chromatography. Infusion of either l-glutamic acid or l-aspartic acid caused a gross increase in the plasma concentration and excretion of the other. Infusions of neutral amino acids including glycine, l-alanine, l-leucine, l-methionine, l-proline, and l-phenylalanine caused some minor changes in the endogenous plasma amino acid concentrations. They produced increases in the excretion of other neutral amino acids and, in some cases, of acidic and basic amino acids as well. In general, amino acids with long side chains were most effective in inhibiting reabsorption while cyclic side-chain compounds were less effective. There appear to be at least three somewhat separable mechanisms for renal tubular reabsorption of amino acids in dogs.

Localization of the high-affinity glutamate transporter EAAC1 in rat kidney

1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (6) ◽  
pp. F1023-F1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chairat Shayakul ◽  
Yoshikatsu Kanai ◽  
Wen-Sen Lee ◽  
Dennis Brown ◽  
Jeffrey D. Rothstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Rat Kidney ◽  
Cell Volume Regulation ◽  
Glutamate Transporter ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Kidney Cortex ◽  
Acid Base Balance ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
High Affinity

Most amino acids filtered by the glomerulus are reabsorbed in the kidney via specialized transport systems. Recently, the cDNA encoding a high-affinity glutamate transporter, EAAC1, has been isolated and shown to be expressed at high levels in the kidney. To determine the potential role of EAAC1 in renal acidic amino acid reabsorption, the distribution of EAAC1 mRNA and protein in rat kidney was examined. In situ hybridization revealed that EAAC1 mRNA is expressed predominantly in S2 and S3 segments of the proximal tubules and at low levels in the inner stripe of outer medulla and inner medulla. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the carboxy terminus of EAAC1 recognized a single band of ∼70 kDa on Western blots of membrane protein from kidney cortex and medulla. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed intense signals in the luminal membrane of S2 and S3 segments and weaker signals in S1 segments, descending thin limbs of long-loop nephrons, medullary thick ascending limbs, and distal convoluted tubules. These results are consistent with EAAC1 encoding the previously described apical high-affinity glutamate transporter in the kidney that mediates reabsorption of acidic amino acids in tubules beyond early proximal tubule S1 segments. Potential additional roles of EAAC1 in acid/base balance, cell volume regulation, and amino acid metabolism are discussed.

Decomposition of copper – amino acid complexes by oxalic acid dihydrate

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 557-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Liu ◽  
Genguang Jia ◽  
Xin Ling ◽  
Nuo Lan ◽  
Youguang Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Oxalic Acid ◽  
Free Amino Acid ◽  
Free Amino ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Acid Complex ◽  
Oxalic Acid Dihydrate ◽  
Amino Acid Complex

A facile approach to the synthesis of some side-chain-protected amino acids via oxalic acid dihydrate as the copper sequestering reagent is presented. The copper in the amino acid complex reacted with oxalic acid dihydrate to form insoluble cupric oxalate, with the free amino acid released. Compared with conventional methods, this method is convenient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly.

scholarly journals Probing the Molecular Determinant for the Catalytic Efficiency of l-Arabinose Isomerase from Bacillus licheniformis

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 1653-1660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ponnandy Prabhu ◽  
Marimuthu Jeya ◽  
Jung-Kul Lee
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Bacillus Licheniformis ◽  
Catalytic Efficiency ◽  
Homology Model ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Arabinose Isomerase

ABSTRACT Bacillus licheniformis l-arabinose isomerase (l-AI) is distinguished from other l-AIs by its high degree of substrate specificity for l-arabinose and its high turnover rate. A systematic strategy that included a sequence alignment-based first screening of residues and a homology model-based second screening, followed by site-directed mutagenesis to alter individual screened residues, was used to study the molecular determinants for the catalytic efficiency of B. licheniformis l-AI. One conserved amino acid, Y333, in the substrate binding pocket of the wild-type B. licheniformis l-AI was identified as an important residue affecting the catalytic efficiency of B. licheniformis l-AI. Further insights into the function of residue Y333 were obtained by replacing it with other aromatic, nonpolar hydrophobic amino acids or polar amino acids. Replacing Y333 with the aromatic amino acid Phe did not alter catalytic efficiency toward l-arabinose. In contrast, the activities of mutants containing a hydrophobic amino acid (Ala, Val, or Leu) at position 333 decreased as the size of the hydrophobic side chain of the amino acid decreased. However, mutants containing hydrophilic and charged amino acids, such as Asp, Glu, and Lys, showed almost no activity with l-arabinose. These data and a molecular dynamics simulation suggest that Y333 is involved in the catalytic efficiency of B. licheniformis l-AI.

A convenient preparative method for esters of amino acids

1972 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Maclaren
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Acid Ester ◽  
Preparative Method ◽  
Amino Acid Ester ◽  
Carboxyl Group ◽  
Amino Groups ◽  
Amino Protection

The amino groups of amino acids can be protected by using ethyl ecetoacetate as a ,β-dicarbonyl component. The resulting derivatives are readily alkylated at the carboxyl group by substituted benzyl and other halides. Mild acidolysis then removes the amino protection to give the salt of the amino acid ester. This three-step synthesis can be performed without isolation of intermediates and provides a convenient preparative method for 4-methoxybenzyl, 2,4,6-trimethyl-benzyl, 4-nitrobenzyl, and 4-picolyl esters of amino acids. The products are not racemized.

scholarly journals Structural basis for stereospecific inhibition of ASCT2 from rational design

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel-Ann A. Garibsingh ◽  
Elias Ndaru ◽  
Alisa A. Garaeva ◽  
Massimiliano Bonomi ◽  
Dirk J. Slotboom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Homology Model ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Protein Targets ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Ligand Discovery ◽  
Multiple Conformations

ABSTRACTASCT2 (SLC1A5) is a sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter that controls amino acid homeostasis in peripheral tissues. ASCT2 is upregulated in cancer, where it modulates intracellular glutamine levels, fueling cell proliferation. Nutrient deprivation via ASCT2 inhibition provides an emerging strategy for cancer therapy. Here, guided by a homology model of ASCT2 in an outward-facing conformation, we rationally designed novel inhibitors exploiting stereospecific pockets in the substrate binding site. A cryo-EM structure of ASCT2 in complex with inhibitor (Lc-BPE) validated our predictions and was subsequently refined based on computational analysis. The final structures, combined with MD simulations, show that the inhibitor samples multiple conformations in the ASCT2 binding site. Our results demonstrate the utility of combining computational modeling and cryo-EM for SLC ligand discovery, and a viable strategy for structure determination of druggable conformational states for challenging membrane protein targets.

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