Structure-based design and analysis of MAO-B inhibitors for Parkinson's disease: using in silico approaches.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the CNS, characterized by cerebral depletion of dopamine (DA), hence one of the approaches to delay the depletion of DA is to inhibit its oxidative deamination. Monoamine oxidases (MAO) carry out the oxidative deamination of monoamines like DA. These are intracellular enzymes, located on the outer mitochondrial membrane. MAO-A and MAO-B are the two subtypes of which MAO-B is the most predominant enzyme and is commonly found in the brain. Inhibition of the MAO-B enzyme boosts the effect of both endogenous and exogenous DA. In this study, we have carried out crystal structure analysis and structure-based design of MAO-B inhibitors. We also performed molecular dynamics, flexible docking, induced-fit docking and ADME prediction of the newly designed compounds.

Molecular docking of inhibitors into monoamine oxidase B.

Monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) functions in the deamination of monoamines, including dopamine and norepinephrine. The search for MAO-B inhibitors increased following the discovery that the enzyme may be responsible for generating neurotoxins from various endogenous or exogenous compounds. Computational screening methods aid in the search for new inhibitors, but validation studies for specific software packages and receptors are necessary for effective application of these methods. In this study, DOCK 6.0.0 was used to dock a series of inhibitors to MAO-B. Included were studies of re-docking ligands into MAO-B crystal structures, after which a set of 30 compounds with known inhibition constants for MAO-B were docked, including 15 strong inhibitors and 15 weak inhibitors. Good agreement was observed between the top experimental inhibitors and the top ranked docking results, and key interactions between the ligands and receptor were identified.

Secondary structure of monoamine oxidase by FTIR spectroscopy.

The secondary structure of human monoamine oxidase A and bovine monoamine oxidase B has been investigated by Fourier Transform Attenuated Total Reflection Spectroscopy (FTIR ATR). The experimental results are compared for both isoenzymes and the data are incorporated in a statistical attribution of secondary structure of the enzyme describing the distinct folding and molecular specificity of the two types of monoamine oxidase.

Ultrastructural localization of cytochrome oxidase and monoamine oxidase on microcylinders, a Long-Evans rat-specific mitochondrial inclusion.

The presence of a unique inclusion body, the microcylinder, in the intracristal space of mitochondria was previously reported in various types of cells from spotted rats of the Long-Evans strain, but was not found in cells of albino rats. The microcylinder is about 30 nm in diameter and of indefinite length, and is composed of six filamentous subunits surrounding a central one. We performed electron microscopic cytochemical studies on the cells of uriniferous tubules and the corpus striatum in normal spotted rats of the Long-Evans strain and albino rats of Wistar and Sprague-Dawley strains. On the basis of oxidative polymerization of 3, 3'-diaminobenzidine by cytochrome oxidase (CYO) an cupric ferrocyanide deposition by monoamine oxidase (MAO), microcylinders were demonstrated to exhibit activity of these enzymes. Reaction products of other mitochondrial enzymes, such as succinate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase, were not deposited on microcylinders. We conclude that microcylinders are rat strain-specific mitochondrial inclusions and consist of protein components, particularly containing the mitochondrial enzymes CYO and MAO.