Augmentation of mitochondrial oxidative stress through activating a series of deadly events has implicated as the main culprit of arsenic toxicity and therapeutic approaches based on improving mitochondrial function hold a great promise for attenuating the arsenic-induced toxicity. Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) through balancing the coenzyme A (CoA)/acyl-CoA ratio plays an important role in mitochondrial metabolism and thereby can help protect hippocampal neurons from oxidative damage. In the present study, we aimed to explore the effect of arsenic interactions on the mitochondrial function in the hippocampus of rats. Rats were randomly divided into five groups of control (distilled water), sodium arsenite (NaAsO, 20 mg/kg), and co-treatment of NaAsO with various doses of ALC in three groups (100, 200, 300 mg/kg) and were treated orally for 21 consecutive days. Our results point out that arsenic exposure caused oxidative stress in rats' hippocampus, which led to the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial swelling, the collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and release of cytochrome c. It also altered Bcl-2/Bax expression ratio and increased caspase-3 and caspase-9 activities. Furthermore, arsenic exposure via activation of NF-κB and microglia increased inflammation. ALC could concentration-dependently counteract the arsenic-induced oxidative stress, modulate the antioxidant defense capacity, and improve mitochondrial functions. In addition, ALC decreased the expression of both death-associated proteins and of inflammatory markers. These findings indicate that ALC improved the arsenic-induced hippocampal mitochondrial dysfunction which underlines the importance of ALC in providing a possible therapeutic strategy for the prevention of arsenic-induced neurodegeneration.
The present research study discusses discovery of the novel drugs based on Zonisamide (FDA-approved drug) to treat the autism disease. We designed novel compounds by changing the pyrazole ring of the molecular structure with its isosteric rings. The main goal of the present study is evaluation of isosterism effect on Zonisamide compound. The studied pyrazole isosters are isothiazole, [c] azaphosphole, [d] azaphosphole, oxaphosphole, thiaphosphole and diphosphole. First, all designed molecular structures were optimized using density functional theory (DFT) computational method by B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) basis set of theory. All the computations were performed in isolated form at room temperature. Then, making complex of all optimized molecular structures with A-type potassium voltage gated subfamily d member 2 (Kv 4.2) was studied. The ligand-receptor complexes energy data showed all designed molecules except (1H-indazol-3-yl)methanesulfonamide interct with channel weakly. The residues Phe 75, Asp 86, Phe 84, and Phe 74 played main role in making complex with (1H-indazol-3-yl)methanesulfonamide. However, the ADME and biological properties of the designed molecules were carried out using swissADME and FAF-Drugs4 web tools. Based on the ligand-channel complexes docking data and biochemical properties of the compounds, the pyrazole pentet ring is a suitable isostere for isoxazole ring in Zonisamide.
In this study, the electronic properties of the novel medicinal compound 3-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl) benzyl nitrate as a treatment of sickle cell disease are obtained using density functional theory (DFT) method. In first step, the molecular structure of the title compound is optimized at B3LYP/6-311++G (d,p) level of theory at room temperature. Then, its stability and reactivity properties are calculated by frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) energies. The global reactivity indices show this medicinal molecule is a more stable compound and the nitrogen atom of the nitrate group has positive charge. So, the nitrate group can quit nitric oxide molecule in binding to Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) enzyme. On the other hand, the docking analysis of the ligand-enzyme complex shows the steric interactions play the main role in this complex formation. Also, the data shows the PDE5 residues containing Phe [A]
Design of novel antipsoriatic drugs based on the medicinal compound Tazarotene is the main purpose of the present study. Firstly, the molecular structures of Tazarotene and its derivatives (F, Cl, CH3, OCH3, COOH, OH, NH2 and CF3) were optimized using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-311++G (d, p) computational method. Then, the optimized molecules were docked into the active site of the retinoic acid receptors. The molecular docking analyses revealed that, the Tazarotene derivatives with COOH, CF3 and OCH3 substituents can make strongest complexes with RAR-alpha, RARbeta and RAR-gamma, respectively. Based on the physicochemical properties calculations, it was cleared that the CF3 derivative of Tazarotene has better properties (receptor-ligand interaction efficiency, lipophilicity and skin permeation) compared with that of the Tazarotene.
The main purpose of the present article is reactivity and stability properties study of the antagonist compound esketamine and analyzing of its binding to the noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunits (NR1, NR2A, NR2B and NR2D). In first step, the molecular structure of esketamine was optimized using density functional theory (DFT) method at B3YP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. The reactivity and stability properties of the title medicinal compound were studied by global reactivity indices. The computational data showed the molecule is stable and has low tendency to interact with residues of the biomolecules like receptors and proteins. Secondly, the molecule binding to the receptors were analyzed by molegro virtual docker (MVD) program. Our computations indicated that the compound asserts its pharmacological effects mainly through interactions with NR2B receptors and the NR2B residues containing Gly [A] 128, His [A] 127, Gly [A] 264, Tyr [A] 282, Ser [A] 131, Asp [A] 265, Ser [A] 260 and Met [A] 132 are the main amino acids involved in the ligand-receptor complex formation.
The present research exploration will contain studying the molecular structure, bonds nature, stability, reactivity and electronic properties of the title molecule.The molecular optimization and all theoretical computations were carried out by density functional theory (DFT) method using the hybrid B3LYP (Becke, three-parameter, Lee-Yang-Parr) exchangecorrelation functional employing the 6-31G(d,p) basis set of theory. Quantum-mechanical (QM) computations of the molecular structure geometry of the molecule under study were calculated with scaled quantum mechanics. The global reactivity descriptors like energy gap (Eg), ionization potential (IP), electron affinity (EA), chemical hardness (η), chemical softness (S), electronegativity (χ), electronic chemical potential (µ) and electrophilicity index (ω) can be obtained from the energies of the frontier molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO). The calculated global reactivity indices indicated that metoclopramide which was a stable small molecule can bind with the residues of the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R). Molecular docking studies showed that the steric interactions of the ligand with the residues Phe 198, Phe 382, Ala 122, Thr 119, Ser 197, Trp 386, Phe 390, Val 115, Cys 118 and Asp 114 from the protein binding site are the main binding modes between the ligand and the receptor.
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