Mechanisms of drug photobinding to proteins: photobinding of suprofen to human serum albumin

NMR Investigation of the Interaction of Three Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs with Human Serum Albumin

The understanding of the interaction between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and human serum albumin plays a fundamental role in the development of new drugs and new therapeutic strategies. Several studies have been performed, nevertheless, the interaction phenomena are still not fully understood. In this work, high-field solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was applied to compare the strength of the interaction of diclofenac sodium salt, ketorolac tris salt and flurbiprofen sodium salt toward albumin. To this aim, mono- and bi-selective relaxation rate measurements were performed by applying selective π-pulses at the selected frequencies and by following magnetization recovery. On the basis of the dependence of relaxation parameters on albumin concentration, normalized affinity indexes were calculated for several protons of the drugs. Affinity indexes for diclofenac were about five-fold higher in comparison with ketorolac and flurbiprofen. Aromatic moieties of the three drugs and methine protons at the chiral centers of ketorolac and flurbiprofen were more involved in the interaction with albumin. In conclusion, NMR spectroscopy allows not only for the comparison of drug-to-protein affinities but also points out the nature of the drug sites that are more extensively involved in the interaction.

Mapping a protein recognition centre with chiral photoactive ligands. An integrated approach combining photophysics, reactivity, proteomics and molecular dynamics simulation studies

A multidisciplinary strategy to obtain structural information on the intraprotein region is described here. As probe ligands, (S)- and (R)-CPFMe (the methyl esters of the chiral drug carprofen) have been selected, while bovine α1-acid glycoprotein (BAAG) has been chosen as a biological host. The procedure involves the separate irradiation of the BAAG/(S)-CPFMe and BAAG/(R)-CPFMe complexes, coupled with fluorescence spectroscopy, laser flash photolysis, proteomic analysis, docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Thus, irradiation of the BAAG/CPFMe complexes at λ = 320 nm was followed by fluorescence spectroscopy. The intensity of the emission band obtained after irradiation indicated photodehalogenation, whereas its structureless shape suggested covalent binding of the resulting radical CBZMe˙ to the biopolymer. After gel filtration chromatography, the spectra still displayed emission, in agreement with covalent attachment of CBZMe˙ to BAAG. Stereodifferentiation was observed in this process. After trypsin digestion and ESI-MS/MS, the incorporation of CBZMe was detected at Phe68. Docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies, which were carried out using a homology model of BAAG, reveal that the closer proximity of the aromatic moiety of the (S)-enantiomer to the phenyl group of Phe68 would be responsible for the experimentally observed, more effective chemical modification of the protein. The proposed tridimensional structure of BAAG covalently modified by the two enantiomers is also provided. In principle, this approach can be extended to a variety of protein/ligand complexes.

Supramolecular photochemistry of drugs in biomolecular environments

We illustrate how the interaction of drugs with proteins or DNA in supramolecular complexes can influence the reactions initiated by drug absorbed photons, evidencing the differences with respect to solution.

Photoallergy

Abstract Photoallergic contact dermatitis (PACD) is a hypersensitivity reaction mounting from skin exposure to generally harmless amounts of ultraviolet and/or visible light in the presence of a photoreactive allergen. These reactions are typically delayed type (Gell and Coombs type IV) reactions and require pre-sensitization to photoallergens. Phototoxic reactions are clinically similar and often difficult to differentiate from photoallergies, but they are caused by interaction of light with photoirritants and do not require sensitization. The main investigative technique to diagnose PACD is photopatch testing, which is not commonly used; therefore, PACD may be overlooked in many patients. Currently, leading contact photosensitizers are sunscreens and topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This article provides an overview on photocontact allergies.

Studies on the interaction between tetraphenylporphyrin compounds and bovine serum albumin

The interaction of three porphyrin compounds with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was examined by fluorescence emission spectra at the excitation wavelength 280 nm and in UV-Vis absorption spectra. Through fluorescence quenching experiments, it was confirmed that the combination of three porphyrin compounds with BSA was a single static quenching process. The binding constant K(A), the thermodynamic parameters enthalpy change (DeltaH(0)), Gibbs free energy change (DeltaG(0)) and entropy change (DeltaS(0)) were obtained. It was found that hydrophobic interaction played a main role in tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) or tetraparacholophenylporphyrin (TClPP) binding to BSA, while tetraparamethoxyphenylporphyrin (TMEOPP) mainly based on van der Waals' force. According to Föster energy transfer, the separate distance r, the energy transfer efficiency E and Föster radium R(0) were calculated. The results obtained from the above experiments showed that three porphyrin compounds were tightly bound to BSA.

Stereodifferentiating Drug−Biomolecule Interactions in the Triplet Excited State: Studies on Supramolecular Carprofen/Protein Systems and on Carprofen−Tryptophan Model Dyads

Stereoselective interaction between a chiral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, namely carprofen (CP), and human serum albumin (HSA) was studied, and the results were compared with those obtained with model dyads. In the presence of albumin the same triplet-triplet transition was detected for both CP stereoisomers; however, time-resolved measurements revealed a remarkable stereodifferentiation in the CP/HSA interaction. For each stereoisomer, the decay dynamics evidenced the presence of two components with different lifetimes that can be correlated with complexation of CP to the two possible albumin binding sites (site I and site II). This assignment was confirmed by using ibuprofen, a site II displacer. Thus, the shorter lived components, for which stereodifferentiation was more important (tauR/tauS ca. 4), were ascribed to the CP triplet state in site I; the lifetime shortening can be attributed to electron-transfer quenching by the only tryptophan (Trp) of the protein. Laser flash photolysis of model dyads containing covalently linked CP and Trp revealed formation of the expected Trp radical cation, providing support for such a mechanism. Moreover, significant stereodifferentiation was observed between the (R)- and (S)-CP-Trp dyads. In the case of CP/HSA complexes, as well as in the model compounds, the stereodifferentiation detected in the decays is in good agreement with that observed in the formation of the only CP photoproduct, resulting from a photodehalogenation process. Moreover, stereodifferentiation was also found to occur for the photobinding of CP to the protein.