Fluorescence activation mechanism and imaging of drug permeation with new sensors for smoking-cessation ligands.

Nicotinic partial agonists provide an accepted aid for smoking cessation and thus contribute to decreasing tobacco-related disease. Improved drugs constitute a continued area of study. However, there remains no reductionist method to examine the cellular and subcellular pharmacokinetic properties of these compounds in living cells. Here, we developed new intensity-based drug-sensing fluorescent reporters (iDrugSnFRs) for the nicotinic partial agonists dianicline, cytisine, and two cytisine derivatives - 10-fluorocytisine and 9-bromo-10-ethylcytisine. We report the first atomic-scale structures of liganded periplasmic binding protein-based biosensors, accelerating development of iDrugSnFRs and also explaining the activation mechanism. The nicotinic iDrugSnFRs detect their drug partners in solution, as well as at the plasma membrane (PM) and in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of cell lines and mouse hippocampal neurons. At the PM, the speed of solution changes limits the growth and decay rates of the fluorescence response in almost all cases. In contrast, we found that rates of membrane crossing differ among these nicotinic drugs by >30-fold. The new nicotinic iDrugSnFRs provide insight into the real-time pharmacokinetic properties of nicotinic agonists and provide a methodology whereby iDrugSnFRs can inform both pharmaceutical neuroscience and addiction neuroscience.

Probing Binding Interactions of Cytisine Derivatives to the α4ß2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are crucial for communication between synapses in the central nervous system. As such, they are also implicated in several neuropsychiatric and addictive diseases. Cytisine is a partial agonist of some nAChRs and has been used for smoking cessation. Previous studies have established a binding model for several agonists to several nAChR subtypes. Here, we evaluate the extent to which this model applies to cytisine at the α4ß2 nAChR, which is a subtype that is known to play a prominent role in nicotine addiction. Along with the commonly seen cation-π interaction and two hydrogen bonds, we find that cytisine makes a second cation-π interaction at the agonist binding site. We also evaluated a series of C(10)-substituted cytisine derivatives, using two-electrode voltage-clamp electrophysiology and noncanonical amino acid mutagenesis. Double-mutant cycle analyses revealed that C(10) substitution generally strengthens the newly established second cation-π interaction, while it weakens the hydrogen bond typically seen to LeuE in the complementary subunit. The results suggest a model for how cytisine derivatives substituted at C(10) (as well as C(9)/C(10)) adjust their binding orientation, in response to pyridone ring substitution.

Identification of the Initial Steps in Signal Transduction in the α4ß2 Nicotinic Receptor: Insights from Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Simulations.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) modulate synaptic transmission in the nervous system. These receptors have emerged as therapeutic targets in drug discovery for treating several conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, pain, and nicotine addiction. In this in silico study, we use a combination of equilibrium and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to map dynamic and structural changes induced by nicotine in the human α4ß2 nAChR. They reveal a striking pattern of communication between the extracellular binding pockets and the transmembrane domains (TMDs) and show the sequence of conformational changes associated with the initial steps in this process. We propose a general mechanism for signal transduction for Cys-loop receptors: the mechanistic steps for communication proceed firstly through loop C in the principal subunit, and are subsequently transmitted, gradually and cumulatively, to loop F of the complementary subunit, and then to the TMDs through the M2-M3 linker.

Asymmetric Reduction of Lactam-Based ß-Aminoacrylates. Synthesis of Heterocyclic ß(2)-Amino Acids.

The ability to affect asymmetric reduction of heterocyclic ß-aminoacrylates 1 (n = 1-3) has been assessed with pyrrolidine and piperidone variants generating the corresponding N-heterocyclic ß(2)-amino acids 3b and 5b with high enantioselectivity (≥97% ee) using a Rh/WALPHOS catalyst combination. The use of the carboxylic acid substrate was essential; the corresponding esters do undergo reduction but led to racemic products. The seven-ring azepanone variant (as the carboxylic acid 9b) underwent reduction, but only a minimal level of asymmetric induction was observed.