The Effects of Conformational Constraints in the Polyamine Moiety of Philanthotoxins on AMPAR Inhibition

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  • Franzyk, Henrik
  • John W Grzeskowiak
  • Denis B Tikhonov
  • Jerzy W Jaroszewski
  • Ian R Mellor

Philanthotoxin-433 (PhTX-433) is a known potent inhibitor of ionotropic glutamate receptors, and analogues have been synthesised to identify more potent and selective antagonists. Herein we report the synthesis of four PhTXs with a cyclopropane moiety introduced into their polyamine chain, and their inhibition of an α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subtype by using two-electrode voltage-clamp assays on Xenopus oocytes expressing the GluA1flop subunit. All analogues were found to be more potent than PhTX-343, with trans-cyclopropyl-PhTX-343 being the most potent (∼28-fold) and cis-cyclopropyl-PhTX-343 least potent (∼4-fold). Both cis- and trans-cyclopropyl-PhTX-444 had intermediate potency (both ∼12-fold). Molecular modelling indicates that a cyclopropane moiety confers a favourable steric constraint to the polyamine part, but this is compromised by a cis conformation due to enhanced intramolecular folding. Elongated PhTX-444 analogues alleviate this to some extent, but optimal positioning of the amines is not permitted.

Original languageEnglish
JournalChemMedChem
Volume9
Issue number8
Pages (from-to)1725-31
Number of pages7
ISSN1860-7179
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2014

ID: 120011380