A matrix-focused structure-activity and binding site flexibility study of quinolinol inhibitors of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A.

Our initial discovery of 8-hydroxyquinoline inhibitors of BoNT/A and separation/testing of enantiomers of one of the more active leads indicated considerable flexibility in the binding site. We designed a limited study to investigate this flexibility and probe structure-activity relationships; utilizing the Betti reaction, a 36 compound matrix of quinolinol BoNT/A LC inhibitors was developed using three 8-hydroxyquinolines, three heteroaromatic amines, and four substituted benzaldehydes. This study has revealed some of the most effective quinolinol-based BoNT/A inhibitors to date, with 7 compounds displaying IC50 values ⩽1µM and 11 effective at ⩽2µM in an ex vivo assay.

Ex vivo inhibition of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin types B, C, E, and F by small molecular weight inhibitors.

Two small molecular weight inhibitors, compounds CB7969312 and CB7967495, that displayed inhibition of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A in a previous study, were evaluated for inhibition of botulinum neurotoxin serotypes B, C, E, and F. The small molecular weight inhibitors were assessed by molecular modeling, UPLC-based peptide cleavage assay; and an ex vivo assay, the mouse phrenic nerve - hemidiaphragm assay (MPNHDA). While both compounds were inhibitors of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) serotypes B, C, and F in the MPNHDA, compound CB7969312 was effective at lower molar concentrations than compound CB7967495. However, compound CB7967495 was significantly more effective at preventing BoNTE intoxication than compound CB7969312. In the UPLC-based peptide cleavage assay, CB7969312 was also more effective against LcC. Both compounds inhibited BoNTE, but not BoNTF, LcE, or LcF in the UPLC-based peptide cleavage assay. Molecular modeling studies predicted that both compounds would be effective inhibitors of BoNTs B, C, E, and F. But CB7967495 was predicted to be a more effective inhibitor of the four serotypes (B, C, E, and F) than CB7969312. This is the first report of a small molecular weight compound that inhibits serotypes B, C, E, and F in the ex vivo assay.

Fungal bis-Naphthopyrones as Inhibitors of Botulinum Neurotoxin Serotype A.

An in silico screen of the NIH Molecular Library Small Molecule Repository (MLSMR) of ∼350000 compounds and confirmatory bioassays led to identification of chaetochromin A (1) as an inhibitor of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT A). Subsequent acquisition and testing of analogues of 1 uncovered two compounds, talaroderxines A (2) and B (3), with improved activity. These are the first fungal metabolites reported to exhibit BoNT/A inhibitory activity.

Separation of Betti Reaction Product Enantiomers: Absolute Configuration and Inhibition of Botulinum Neurotoxin A.

The racemic product of the Betti reaction of 5-chloro-8-hydroxyquinoline, benzaldehyde and 2-aminopyridine was separated by chiral HPLC to determine which enantiomer inhibited botulinum neurotoxin serotype A. When the enantiomers unexpectedly proved to have comparable activity, the absolute structures of (+)-(R)-1 and (-)-(S)-1 were determined by comparison of calculated and observed circular dichroism spectra. Molecular modeling studies were undertaken in an effort to understand the observed bioactivity and revealed different ensembles of binding modes, with roughly equal binding energies, for the two enantiomers.

Quinolinol and peptide inhibitors of zinc protease in botulinum neurotoxin A: effects of zinc ion and peptides on inhibition.

Quinolinol derivatives were found to be effective inhibitors of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A). Studies of the inhibition and binding of 7-(phenyl(8-quinolinylamino)methyl)-8-quinolinol (QAQ) to the light chain domain (BoNT/A LC) showed that QAQ is a non-competitive inhibitor for the zinc protease activity. Binding and molecular modeling studies reveal that QAQ binds to a hydrophobic pocket near the active site. Its inhibitor effect does not involve the removal of zinc ion from the light chain. A 24-mer SNAP-25 peptide containing E183 to G206 with Q197C mutation (Peptide C) binds to BoNT/A LC with an unusually slow second order binding rate constant of 76.7M(-1)s(-1). QAQ binds to Zn(2+)-free BoNT/A LC with a K(D) of 0.67microM and to Peptide C-BoNT/A LC complex with a K(D) of 2.33microM. The insights of the interactions of quinolinols and peptides with the zinc protease of BoNT/A should aid in the development of inhibitors of metalloproteases.

Identification and biochemical characterization of small-molecule inhibitors of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin serotype A.

An integrated strategy that combined in silico screening and tiered biochemical assays (enzymatic, in vitro, and ex vivo) was used to identify and characterize effective small-molecule inhibitors of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A). Virtual screening was initially performed by computationally docking compounds of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) database into the active site of BoNT/A light chain (LC). A total of 100 high-scoring compounds were evaluated in a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based protease assay using recombinant full-length BoNT/A LC. Seven compounds that significantly inhibited the BoNT/A protease activity were selected. Database search queries of the best candidate hit [7-((4-nitro-anilino)(phenyl)methyl)-8-quinolinol (NSC 1010)] were performed to mine its nontoxic analogs. Fifty-five analogs of NSC 1010 were synthesized and examined by the HPLC-based assay. Of these, five quinolinol derivatives that potently inhibited both full-length BoNT/A LC and truncated BoNT/A LC (residues 1 to 425) were selected for further inhibition studies in neuroblastoma (N2a) cell-based and tissue-based mouse phrenic nerve hemidiaphragm assays. Consistent with enzymatic assays, in vitro and ex vivo studies revealed that these five quinolinol-based analogs effectively neutralized BoNT/A toxicity, with CB 7969312 exhibiting ex vivo protection at 0.5 microM. To date, this is the most potent BoNT/A small-molecule inhibitor that showed activity in an ex vivo assay. The reduced toxicity and high potency demonstrated by these five compounds at the biochemical, cellular, and tissue levels are distinctive among the BoNT/A small-molecule inhibitors reported thus far. This study demonstrates the utility of a multidisciplinary approach (in silico screening coupled with biochemical testing) for identifying promising small-molecule BoNT/A inhibitors.

Finding a new vaccine in the ricin protein fold.

Previous attempts to produce a vaccine for ricin toxin have been hampered by safety concerns arising from residual toxicity and the undesirable aggregation or precipitation caused by exposure of hydrophobic surfaces on the ricin A-chain (RTA) in the absence of its natural B-chain partner. We undertook a structure-based solution to this problem by reversing evolutionary selection on the 'ribosome inactivating protein' fold of RTA to arrive at a non-functional, compacted single-domain scaffold (sequence RTA1-198) for presentation of a specific protective epitope (RTA loop 95-110). An optimized protein based upon our modeling design (RTA1-33/44-198) showed greater resistance to thermal denaturation, less precipitation under physiological conditions and a reduction in toxic activity of at least three orders of magnitude compared with RTA. Most importantly, RTA1-198 or RTA1-33/44-198 protected 100% of vaccinated animals against supra-lethal challenge with aerosolized ricin. We conclude that comparative protein analysis and engineering yielded a superior vaccine by exploiting a component of the toxin that is inherently more stable than is the parent RTA molecule.