Background: Intoxication by nerve agents could be prevented by using small acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (eg, pyridostigmine) for potentially exposed personnel. However, the serious side effects of currently used drugs led to research of novel potent molecules for prophylaxis of organophosphorus intoxication. Methods: The molecular design, molecular docking, chemical synthesis, in vitro methods (enzyme inhibition, cytotoxicity, and nicotinic receptors modulation), and in vivo methods (acute toxicity and prophylactic effect) were used to study bispyridinium, bisquinolinium, bisisoquinolinium, and pyridinium-quinolinium/isoquinolinium molecules presented in this study. Results: The studied molecules showed non-competitive inhibitory ability towards human acetylcholinesterase in vitro that was further confirmed by molecular modelling studies. Several compounds were selected for further studies. First, their cytotoxicity, nicotinic receptors modulation, and acute toxicity (lethal dose for 50% of laboratory animals [LD50]; mice and rats) were tested to evaluate their safety with promising results. Furthermore, their blood levels were measured to select the appropriate time for prophylactic administration. Finally, the protective ratio of selected compounds against soman-induced toxicity was determined when selected compounds were found similarly potent or only slightly better to standard pyridostigmine. Conclusion: The presented small bisquaternary molecules did not show overall benefit in prophylaxis of soman-induced in vivo toxicity.
Title: A comparison of the efficacy of newly developed reversible inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase with commonly used pyridostigmine as pharmacological pre-treatment of soman-poisoned mice Kassa J, Musilek K, Koomlova M, Bajgar J Ref: Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol, 110:322, 2012 : PubMed
The ability of three newly developed reversible inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (K298, K344 and K474) and currently available carbamate pyridostigmine to increase the resistance of mice against soman and the efficacy of antidotal treatment of soman-poisoned mice was compared. Neither pyridostigmine nor new reversible inhibitors of AChE were able to increase the LD(50) value of soman. Thus, the pharmacological pre-treatment with pyridostigmine or newly synthesized inhibitors of AChE was not able to protect mice against soman-induced lethal acute toxicity. The pharmacological pre-treatment with pyridostigmine alone or with K474 was able to slightly increase the efficacy of antidotal treatment (the oxime HI-6 in combination with atropine) of soman-poisoned mice, but the increase in the efficacy of antidotal treatment was not significant. The other newly developed reversible inhibitors of AChF (K298, K344) were completely ineffective. These findings demonstrate that pharmacological pre-treatment of soman-poisoned mice with tested reversible inhibitors of AChF is not promising.
Title: Preparation, in vitro screening and molecular modelling of symmetrical bis-quinolinium cholinesterase inhibitors--implications for early myasthenia gravis treatment Komloova M, Musilek K, Horova A, Holas O, Dohnal V, Gunn-Moore F, Kuca K Ref: Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Lett, 21:2505, 2011 : PubMed
This paper describes the preparation and in vitro evaluation of 18 newly prepared bis-quinolinium inhibitors on human recombinant acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and human plasmatic butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). Their inhibitory (IC(50)) and was compared to the chosen standards ambenonium dichloride, edrophonium chloride, BW284c51 and ethopropazine hydrochloride. One novel compound was found to be a promising inhibitor of hAChE (in nM range) and was better than edrophonium chloride or BW284c51, but was worse than ambenonium chloride. This compound also showed selectivity towards hAChE and it was confirmed as a non-competitive inhibitor of hAChE by kinetic analysis. A molecular modelling study further confirmed its binding to the peripheral active site of hAChE via apparent pi-pi or pi-cationic interactions.
