title: Lipophilicity plays a major role in modulating the inhibition of monoamine oxidase B by 7-substituted coumarins.
abstract: A series of coumarin derivatives (1-22), bearing at the 7-position ether, ketone, ester, carbamate, or amide functions of varying size and lipophilicity, were synthesized and investigated for their in vitro monoamine oxidase-A and -B (MAO-A and -B) inhibitory activities. Most of the compounds acted preferentially as MAO-B inhibitors, with IC(50) values in the micromolar to low-nanomolar range. A structure-activity-relationship (SAR) study highlighted lipophilicity as an important property modulating the MAO-B inhibition potency of 7-substituted coumarins, as shown by a linear correlation (n=20, r(2)=0.72) between pIC(50) and calculated log P values. The stability of ester-containing coumarin derivatives in rat plasma provided information on factors that either favor (lipophilicity) or decrease (steric hindrance) esterase-catalyzed hydrolysis. Two compounds (14 and 22) were selected to investigate how lipophilicity and enzymatic stability may affect in vivo MAO activities, as assayed ex vivo in rat. The most-potent and -selective MAO-B inhibitor 22 (=7-[(3,4-difluorobenzyl)oxy]-3,4-dimethyl-1-benzopyran-2(2H)-one) within the examined series significantly inhibited (>60%) ex vivo rat-liver and striatal MAO-B activities 1 h after intraperitoneal administration of high doses (100 and 300 mumol kg(-1)), revealing its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. At the same doses, liver and striatum MAO-A was less inhibited in vivo, somehow reflecting MAO-B selectivity, as assessed in vitro. In contrast, the metabolically less stable derivative 14, bearing an isopropyl ester in the lateral chain, had a weak effect on hepatic MAO-B activity in vivo, and none on striatal MAO-B, but, surprisingly, displayed inhibitory effects on MAO-A in both peripheral and brain tissues.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Farmaco-chimico, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, I-70125 Bari, Italy. carotti@farmchim.uniba.it
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carotti
authors.forename: Cosimo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Altomare
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Catto
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gnerre
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Summo
authors.forename: Agostino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Marco
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jenner
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Testa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003374:Coumarins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008055:Lipids / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000378:metabolism*; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D003374:Coumarins; D008055:Lipids; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; C030123:coumarin; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase