title: Inhibition of human glutamine synthetase by L-methionine-S,R-sulfoximine-relevance to the treatment of neurological diseases.
abstract: At high concentrations, the glutamine synthetase inhibitor L-methionine-S,R-sulfoximine (MSO) is a convulsant, especially in dogs. Nevertheless, sub-convulsive doses of MSO are neuroprotective in rodent models of hyperammonemia, acute liver disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and suggest MSO may be clinically useful. Previous work has also shown that much lower doses of MSO are required to produce convulsions in dogs than in primates. Evidence from the mid-20th century suggests that humans are also less sensitive. In the present work, the inhibition of recombinant human glutamine synthetase by MSO is shown to be biphasic-an initial reversible competitive inhibition (K i 1.19 mM) is followed by rapid irreversible inactivation. This K i value for the human enzyme accounts, in part, for relative insensitivity of primates to MSO and suggests that this inhibitor could be used to safely inhibit glutamine synthetase activity in humans.
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Biomedical Research Core, Winthrop University Hospital, 222 Station Plaza North, Mineola, NY, 11501, USA, tjeitner@winthrop.org.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Jeitner
authors.forename: Arthur J L
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D003292:Convulsants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004285:Dogs / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008717:Methionine Sulfoximine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D011485:Protein Binding; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000187:drug effects; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D012756:Sheep / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003292:Convulsants; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D008717:Methionine Sulfoximine; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase