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The introduction of a methylene bridge between the phenyl and tetrahydropyridyl moieties of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) results in increased selectivity for monoamine oxidase B (MAO B) over monoamine oxidase A (MAO A). However, lengthening of this bridge results in a total loss of selectivity. In the present study, a number of isomeric 4-naphthyl-, 4-(naphthylalkyl)-, 4-thienyl-, and 4-(thienylalkyl)tetrahydropyridines, conformationally restrained and flexible analogs of MPTP, were synthesized and evaluated as potential selective substrates of MAO A and B. In terms of the parameter (turnover number)/Km, the bulky naphthyl analogs were invariably better substrates of MAO A than kynuramine, the reference substrate for this enzyme. In addition, all naphthyl analogs, regardless of conformational mobility, were more effective substrates of MAO A than MAO B. Similarly, all thienyl analogs were found to be more effective substrates of MAO B. In contrast to the naphthalenes, the conformationally restrained thiophenes 9a and 10a were found to be poor substrates of MAO B, relative to benzylamine, the reference substrate. These results suggest that the selectivity of these compounds for either MAO A or B is determined by the complex interplay of molecular size and flexibility. In this interplay, either one of these two factors may predominate.

Eighteen analogues of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) were synthesized and evaluated as substrates of monoamine oxidase. In general, the flexible analogues, characterized by the presence of a methylene (or ethylene) bridge between the aryl/heteroaryl and tetrahydropyridyl moieties, were better substrates of the enzyme than the conformationally restricted MPTP. It is suggested that the increased oxidative activity of these flexible analogues reflects enhanced binding due to the ability of the C-4-aryl/heteroaryl substituent to gain access to a hydrophobic pocket within the substrate binding site.

Racemic (m-iodobenzyl)trozamicol (6, MIBT), a high-affinity vesamicol receptor ligand, was radiolabeled, resolved, and evaluated in rats. Following iv injection, (+)- and (-)-[125I]MIBT achieved initial brain levels of 0.57 and 0.92% dose/g of tissue, respectively. The level of (+)-[125I]MIBT subsequently declined by 74% within 3 h, while that of (-)-[125I]MIBT remained stable for the duration. Ex vivo autoradiographic mapping of (-)-[125I]MIBT distribution in rat brain revealed a pattern which was inconsistent with central cholinergic innervation. However, high levels of (+)-[125I]MIBT were observed over the amygdala, striatum, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, and nuclei of the fifth and seventh cranial nerves, while moderate to low levels were detected within the cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. Thus, the distribution of (+)-[125I]MIBT parallels that of other presynaptic cholinergic markers. Co-injection of (+)-[125I]MIBT with 4-aminobenzovesamicol (2b), a potent vesamicol receptor ligand, reduced the levels of radiotracer in the striatum, cortex, and cerebellum by 58, 35, and 9%, respectively. Thus, (+)-[125I]MIBT binds to vesamicol receptors in vivo. In contrast, coadministration of (+)-[125I]MIBT with haloperidol (0.5 mumol/kg), reduced radiotracer levels in the cortex and cerebellum by 34 and 59%, respectively, while increasing the levels in the striatum by 32%. We conclude that although the distribution of (+)-[125I]MIBT qualitatively reflects cholinergic innervation, a fraction of radiotracer in the cortex and cerebellum is bound to sigma receptors.

Sixteen analogs of N-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) of varying degrees of flexibility have been studied as substrates of highly purified monoamine oxidases (MAO) A and B. The relative effectiveness of the various tetrahydropyridines as substrates of MAO A and B were evaluated in terms of the function turnover number/Km, as determined by initial rate measurements. The insertion of a methylene bridge between the phenyl and tetrahydropyridine moieties of MPTP to yield N-methyl-4-benzyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, rendering the molecule more flexible, greatly enhances reactivity with MAO B, but not with MAO A, as compared with MPTP itself, in accord with data in the literature (Youngster et al., 1989a). The ethylene-bridged MPTP analog, on the other hand, is a far better substrate of both forms of MAO than is MPTP itself. The effect of molecular flexibility on the rate of oxidation of these compounds is obscured by substituents on the aromatic ring. Branching and rigidity were detrimental to the activity as substrates of both forms of MAO. Those analogs of 1 which contain small electron-withdrawing substituents in the phenyl ring were found to be more selective for MAO B, while those substituted with bulky groups were selectively oxidized by MAO A. The substrate binding site of MAO A probably contains a lipophilic pocket larger than that found in a similar site in MAO B.

Several 1,3-disubstituted propan-2-ols and one alpha,beta-disubstituted ethanol (11i) were synthesized and evaluated as potential acyclic mimics of the vesicular acetylcholine transport inhibitor 2-(4-phenylpiperidinyl)cyclohexanol (1, vesamicol, AH5183). Analogues containing the 4-phenylpiperidyl fragment (11a, 11b) were more potent than those containing the 4-phenylpiperazyl moiety (11e, 11f). Substitution at the second terminal carbon of the propyl (or ethyl) fragment with simple lipophilic aryl substituents yielded potent inhibitors of vesicular acetylcholine storage, including (-)-11a and d-11i, which are equipotent with vesamicol. However, the activity of analogues containing bicyclic aryl groups was susceptible to aryl substitution patterns (11g vs 11h), indicating a definite receptor site topography. In addition, the inhibitory activity of these acyclic analogues was enantioselective, exhibiting a preference, similar to the parent vesamicol, for the levorotatory isomer [(-)-11a vs (+)-11a]. Therefore, the simple lipophilic acyclic vicinal amino alcohols may successfully mimic the biological activity of vesamicol.

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