title: Binding of 1-benzopyran-4-one derivatives to aldose reductase: a free energy perturbation study.
abstract: The relative binding affinities to human aldose reductase (ALR2) of three new 7-hydroxy-2-benzyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one inhibitors were predicted by free energy perturbation (FEP) simulations. Molecular substitutions were specifically designed to investigate the role of hydrogen bonding at the active site of ALR2. Starting from the lead inhibitor 7-hydroxy-2-(4'-hydroxybenzyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one, the 4'-hydroxyl was mutated to methyl and to trifluoromethyl, and an hydroxyl at position 8 was additionally introduced. Once synthesized and tested as inhibitors of ALR2, the compounds displayed variations of K(i) that were in qualitative to quantitative agreement with the calculated relative free energies of binding. The results, discussed in terms of balance between free energies of solvation and free energies of binding to ALR2, elucidate the importance of hydrogen bonding with Thr113 and with Trp111 and cofactor, and provide a rationale to the observed differences in binding affinities.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, 183, 41100, Modena, Italy. rastelli.giulio@unimo.it
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rastelli
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Costantino
authors.forename: M Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gamberini
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Del Corso
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mura
authors.forename: J Mark
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Petrash
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pacchioni
mesh_terms: D000449:Aldehyde Reductase / Q000378:metabolism*; D002867:Chromones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011485:Protein Binding; D012997:Solvents / Q000494:pharmacology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D002867:Chromones; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D012997:Solvents; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase