Inhibition of dihydropteridine reductase by novel 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine analogs

Role of Lipoamide Dehydrogenase and Metallothionein on 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6- tetrahydropyridine-induced Neurotoxicity

In the present study, we investigated the effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on lipoamide dehydrogenase activity and metallothionein content. Lipoamide dehydrogenase is a flavoprotein enzyme, which reduces lipoamide and low molecular weight thiols. This enzyme has also been involved in the conversion of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q-10, oxidized form) to ubiquinol (reduced form). Lipoamide dehydrogenase activity was measured spectrophotometrically following its incubation with different doses of MPTP, MPP+, and divalent metals. MPTP at higher concentrations inhibited the lipoamide dehydrogenase activity, whereas it's potent toxic metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) had a similar effect at lower concentration. Calcium and copper did not affect the enzyme activity at any of the doses tested, whereas, zinc dose dependently enhanced the lipoamide dehydrogenase activity. Additionally, levels of metallothionein in the mouse nigrostriatal system were measured by cadmium affinity method following administration of MPTP. Metallothionein content was significantly reduced in the substantia nigra (SN), and not in the nucleus caudatus putamen (NCP) following a single administration of MPTP (30 mg/kg, i.p.). Our results suggests that both lipoamide dehydrogenase activity and metallothionein levels may be critical for dopaminergic neuronal survival in Parkinson's disease and provides further insights into the neurotoxic mechanisms involved in MPTP-induced neurotoxicity.

NADH-ferric reductase activity associated with dihydropteridine reductase

In mammals dietary ferric iron is reduced to ferrous iron for more efficient absorption by the intestine. Analysis of a pig duodenal membrane fraction revealed two NADH-dependent ferric reductase activities, one associated with a b-type cytochrome and the other not. Purification and characterization of the non-cytochrome ferric reductase identified a 31 kDa protein. MALDI-MS analysis and amino acid sequencing identified the ferric reductase as being related to the 26 kDa liver NADH-dependent quinoid dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR). The NADH-dependent DHPR ferric reductase activity was found to be pteridine-independent since exhaustive dialysis did not reduce activity and heat-inactivation destroyed activity. In intestinal Caco-2 cells, DHPR mRNA levels were found to be regulated by iron. Thus, DHPR appears to be a dual function enzyme, a NADH-dependent dihydopteridine reductase and an iron-regulated, NADH-dependent, pteridine-independent ferric reductase.

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-methyl-4,6,7-isoquinolinetriol inhibits tyrosine hydroxylase activity in rat striatal synaptosomes

1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4,6,7-isoquinolinetriol (TMIQ), a tetrahydroisoquinoline derivative of adrenaline, was tested for potency as an analog of the dopamine depleting agent 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in assays of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity in the striatal synaptosome preparation. TMIQ inhibited TH activity with an IC50 (4 x 10(-6)M) similar to that found for MPTP (IC50 1 x 10(-6)M). TH inhibitions produced by IC50 concentrations of TMIQ were reversed by monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A or MAO-B inhibitors (clorgyline or deprenyl), or the dopamine reuptake blocker nomifensine, or excess cofactor (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin. TMIQ did not appear to act at the presynaptic D2 sulpiride sensitive autoreceptor for dopamine synthesis modulation. These in vitro data are consistent with earlier findings that TMIQ acts as a dopamine depleting agent, and with the possibility that TMIQ may have a degree of MPTP-like activity in vivo.

Difference in recovery patterns of striatal dopamine content, tyrosine hydroxylase activity and total biopterin content after 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) administration: a comparison of young and older mice

Striatal dopamine (DA) content, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, and total biopterin content were measured as parameters of recovery, after administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in 7-week-old (young) and 28-week-old (older) C57 BL/6 mice. After 10 consecutive days of injection of MPTP (30 mg/kg/day) young mice were sacrificed at one day and 2, 4, 8, 12 and 20 weeks; older mice (20 mg/kg/day) at one day and 4, 8, and 12 weeks. All 3 parameters were markedly reduced one day after the last injection of MPTP. During the observation period, the parameters showed a gradual and partial recovery. The recovery rates of the 3 parameters differed significantly, especially during the early phases of 2-8 weeks. Total biopterin content showed a greater rate of recovery than TH activity and TH activity, a greater rate of recovery than DA content. In the older mice group, the recovery of all 3 parameters was retarded significantly, and dissociation of the recovery rates between the 3 parameters was more prominent. The results of our present study suggest that, following neurotoxic injury, the recovery of biopterin may play a significant role in dopaminergic terminal regeneration.

Neurotoxic effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine on striatal biopterin in BALB/c mice

The neurotoxic effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on striatal total biopterin were examined both in rats and mice at different time courses. Results indicate that MPTP caused a significant decrease of total biopterin content in the striatum of mice. This effect occurred as soon as 6 h after a single acute MPTP injection (40 mg/kg). The same phenomenon was not observed in rats. Furthermore, the neurotoxic action of MPTP on striatal biopterin was prevented by pretreatment with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor pargyline at a dose of pargyline having no significant effect on biopterin alone (12 mg/kg). These results confirm previous reports of the selectivity of MPTP in certain species of animals and suggest that MPTP may also impair the biosynthesis of dopamine and possibility other monoamine neurotransmitters through its action upon biopterin. Moreover, the neurotoxicity of MPTP on biopterin is possibly mediated through its oxidative metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+).

The oxidation of apomorphine and other catechol compounds by horseradish peroxidase: relevance to the measurement of dihydropteridine reductase activity

It has been reported by Shen et al. (Shen, R.-S., Smith, R.V., Davis, P.J. and Abell, C.W. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 8894-9000) that apomorphine and dopamine are potent, non-competitive inhibitors of quinonoid dihydropteridine reductase. In this paper we show that apomorphine, dopamine and other catechol-containing compounds are oxidized rapidly to quinones by the horseradish peroxidase-H2O2 system which is used to generate the quinonoid dihydropterin substrate. These quinones react non-enzymatically with reduced pyridine nucleotides, depleting the other substrate of dihydropteridine reductase. When true initial rates of dihydropteridine reductase-dependent reduction of quinonoid dihydropterins are measured, neither apomorphine nor any other catechol-containing compound that has been tested has been found to inhibit dihydropteridine reductase.

Rat striatal synaptosomes as a model system for studying the inhibition of dihydropteridine reductase activity

The distribution of dihydropteridine reductase between soluble and particulate fractions in synaptosomes parallels that of lactate dehydrogenase, but not monoamine oxidase. Ki and I50 values for inhibitors obtained with the enzyme-rich P2 fraction and its twice-washed fraction (P2W2) were essentially the same, and were similar to those obtained with highly purified human liver enzyme. Dihydropteridine reductase inhibitory potency of multi-ring compounds containing a catechol-moiety was greater than that of single ring catecholic compounds, which in turn was greater than that of p-hydroxy-phenolic compounds. The P2 fraction of rat striatal synaptosomal preparations may serve as a convenient source of dihydropteridine reductase for studying the inhibition of this enzyme.

Synthetic analgesics and other phenylpiperidines: effects on uptake and storage of dopamine and other monoamines mouse forebrain tissue

The neurotoxin N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) can induce degeneration of dopamine (DA) and other central monoamine neurons, leading to Parkinson's disease-like effects in man, monkey, and mouse. MPTP and other substituted phenylpiperidines related to synthetic analgesics including alphaprodine and meperidine were evaluated for potency vs. uptake of 0.1 microM tritiated DA, norepinephrine (NE), or serotonin (5HT) in synaptosomal preparations of mouse striatum or cerebral cortex. The most potent inhibitor of the uptake of 3H-DA was N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+; IC50 = 1 microM, Ki = 0.4 microM), a metabolite of MPTP; its effect was competitive and reversible. Other analogs of MPTP: the N-ethylindole AHR-1709, N,N-dimethyl-MPTP, and N-methyl-4-phenylpiperidine were all more potent than MPTP against 3H-DA uptake. N-dealkylation and N-propyl substitution, as well as pyridine ring substitution, decreased affinity for DA uptake while 3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl substitution increased potency and selectivity for catecholamine uptake, and quarternarization of the pyridine ring also increased potency against DA uptake. Active compounds showed higher potency against the uptake of NE than of DA. MPP+ was also more potent than MPTP in releasing endogenous DA from striatal synaptosomes (EC50 = 3 vs. 30 microM), but did not release the cytoplasmic markers tyrosine hydroxylase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). In contrast to MPTP, synthetic phenylpiperidine analgesics, their potential metabolites and the experimental neuroleptic agent AHR-1709 all failed to deplete striatal DA in vivo, even if active in vitro against DA uptake.

Early and late effects of systemically administered 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on tyrosine hydroxylase activity in vitro and on tyrosine hydroxylation in tissue slices of mouse striatum

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induces a parkinsonian-like state in humans and some animals. To compare the early biochemical abnormalities produced by this neurotoxin with late effects, we examined both in vitro tyrosine hydroxylase activity in striatal homogenates and in situ tyrosine hydroxylation in striatal tissue slices after single and repeated systemic injection of MPTP to mice. The acute administration of MPTP (30 mg/kg, s.c., 1 h prior to sacrifice) in mice resulted in a decrease of tyrosine hydroxylation in situ in tissue slices but not in vitro in homogenates. In contrast, repeated treatment of mice with MPTP (30 mg/kg, s.c. daily for 8 days) caused a decrease of tyrosine hydroxylase activity both in vitro in homogenates and in situ in tissue slices. These results suggest that MPTP inhibits tyrosine hydroxylation in dopaminergic neurons in an early stage and causes reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase itself after repeated administration.

The effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine on presynaptic dopamine uptake sites in the mouse striatum

The effects of the specific dopaminergic neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), were studied on the kinetics of [3H]mazindol binding to striatal membranes of C57 black mice. This radioligand was used to label dopamine uptake sites and when administered in vivo, MPTP caused an irreversible, non-competitive inhibition of mazindol binding, consistent with damage to dopaminergic terminals. This effect was abolished by pretreatment with pargyline, a MAOB inhibitor, suggesting that oxidation of MPTP to the pyridinium moiety, MPP+, is a necessary step for toxicity when mazindol binding is used as an end point. In keeping with these findings, pretreatment of mice with mazindol protected against the dopamine-depleting effects of MPTP in vivo. This data suggests that MPTP exerts its toxic effects via MPP+ which is concentrated intraneuronally via the dopamine uptake system. During this process the neurotoxin irreversibly inactivates the dopamine uptake sites.

Biochemical changes caused by the infusion into the substantia nigra of the rat of MPTP and related compounds which antagonise dihydropteridine reductase

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium bromide (MPP+), 1-methyl-4-(3', 4'-dihydroxyphenyl)pyridinium bromide, 4-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl)pyridine, 4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine and 4-(3',4'-dimethoxyphenyl)1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine were infused bilaterally into the substantia nigra of the rat (10 micrograms/24 hr for 4 days). The ability to inhibit spontaneous locomotor activity and to reduce levels of neurotransmitters and metabolites in the nigrostriatal system (striatum, substantia nigra) was compared with activity to inhibit dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR) in vitro. The compound MPP+ was most effective to reduce motor responding and to decrease levels of dopamine, DOPAC and HVA (50-56%) in the striatum in addition to reducing levels of dopamine, DOPAC, noradrenaline, serotonin and 5-HIAA (42-86%) in the substantia nigra, yet MPP+ has been shown to have very weak ability to inhibit DHPR. In contrast, 4-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl)pyridine and 1-methyl-4-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl)pyridinium bromide were in the order of 10(4) and 2 X 10(5) times, respectively, more potent than MPP+ to inhibit DHPR in vitro, but these compounds failed to modify dopamine neuronal function when assessed in vivo. Therefore, there would not appear to be any correlation between the ability to modify dopamine neuronal function, as assessed behaviourally or biochemically, and ability to inhibit DHPR in synaptosomes from the striatum of the rat in vitro.

Injury of nigral neurons exposed to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine: a tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemical study in monkey

Six monkeys treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine developed a Parkinsonian syndrome (rigidity, akinesia, flexed posture and tremor). In both high and low dose groups, neurons in the substantia nigra were selectively damaged. At high dose levels, nigral neurons were severely damaged, but because the monkeys died, the evolution of the pathology could not be studied. At low dose levels, some nigral neurons survived, and a significant number of these nerve cells showed reductions in the immunoreactivity of tyrosine hydroxylase. Axonal pathology was conspicuous in the nigrostriatal pathway. Loss of the immunoreactivity of tyrosine hydroxylase in perikarya may represent a retrograde axonal reaction, a potentially reversible response. The 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine model should prove useful for investigating abnormalities occurring as a consequence of dysfunction of the nigrostriatal system, for examining processes associated with repair of damaged neuronal systems, and for developing and testing therapeutic approaches designed to prevent or ameliorate the Parkinsonian syndrome.

In vitro demonstration of dopamine uptake by neostriatal serotonergic neurons of the rat

Dopamine (DA) has been suggested as the penultimate agent in the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine on serotonergic neurons. DA increases the efflux of tritium from rat neostriatal slices preloaded with [3H]serotonin in a concentration-dependent manner. This serotonin (5-HT) release is inhibited by the same selective uptake blockers previously shown to protect serotonergic neurons from the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine in vivo. The results indicate that the 5-HT uptake carrier transports DA into the serotonergic neuron by a heteroexchange process with 5-HT. This further suggests that the excessive DA release induced by methamphetamine in vivo could lead to the uptake of DA into serotonergic neurons.

Inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylation in tissue slices of the rat striatum by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a nigrostriatal neurotoxin in humans and primates, at 10(-5) M inhibited hydroxylation of tyrosine to 3,4-dihydrophenylalanine (DOPA), the rate-limiting step of dopamine synthesis, in tissue slices of the striatum and nucleus accumbens of the rat. Nomifensine, an inhibitor of dopamine uptake, reversed the inhibition but sulpiride, a dopamine receptor antagonist, did not affect the inhibition. MPTP at 10(-5) M inhibited neither the purified tyrosine hydroxylase nor dihydropteridine reductase in vitro. The level of total biopterin did not change significantly, but the tetrahydrobiopterin level was decreased in the striatal slices incubated in the presence of MPTP. These results suggest that MPTP inhibits dopamine synthesis in situ at the tyrosine hydroxylase step probably through inhibition of dihydropteridine reductase.

Inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylation in rat striatal tissue slices by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion

Pargyline, an inhibitor of monoamine oxidase (MAO), prevented 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced inhibition of dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) production by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) system in rat striatal tissue slices. The result suggests that the metabolism of MPTP in rat striatal tissue slices by MAO is necessary for the expression of the inhibitory effect. 1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), the metabolic product of MPTP by MAO, also inhibited DOPA formation in rat striatal tissue slices. The concentration of MPP+ producing significant inhibition was lower than that of MPTP, and the maximal inhibition produced by MPP+ was greater than that caused by MPTP. Since MPP+ at a concentration of 10(-4) M had no effect on the activity of pure TH in vitro, the inhibition of DOPA formation in tissue slices induced by MPP+ may not be due to direct inhibition of TH. Although hydroxylated derivatives of MPTP were reported to inhibit dihydropteridine reductase in vitro at lower concentrations than MPTP, 1-methyl-4-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine showed only weak inhibition for tyrosine hydroxylation in striatal tissue slices.

Responses of the pigmented rabbit retina to NMPTP, a chemical inducer of parkinsonism

The electrophysiological and neurochemical effects of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (NMPTP), a chemical inducer of Parkinsonism in man and monkeys, on the pigmented rabbit retina were determined under both chronic and acute conditions. The implicit time, the oscillatory potentials, and the amplitude of the b-wave of the rabbit electroretinogram were affected; both dopamine and dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) levels were depressed. Ultrastructural analysis of acute and chronic retinas showed the occurrence of an intranuclear filamentous inclusion in the nucleus of some cells in the inner nuclear and ganglion cell layer of chronic samples. The effects of the neurotoxin NMPTP on the retina suggest that dopaminergic metabolism is impaired, which then affects the components of the electroretinogram attributed to both bipolar and amacrine cells. In addition, the retina may provide a model in which to study the bichemical and pharmacological mechanisms of NMPTP toxicity.

New amphibian models for the study of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)

We report the development of two animal models in amphibians (frogs and salamanders) in whom 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) produces the behavioral (neurological) and biochemical equivalents of the human disease and, in addition, a measurable modification in at least one form of pigment-bearing cell from the neural crest, the skin melanocyte. We propose that this new approach can become an inexpensive, easily quantifiable model for the study of the effect of MPTP on the central and peripheral nervous systems. We also demonstrate that the toxic effect of MPTP can be completely abolished in vivo by treatment with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor and potentiated by an inhibitor of catechol-O-methyltransferase. MPTP is catabolised by oxidation into toxic metabolites, but 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), the proposed end-metabolite, is even more toxic than MPTP in this model, possibly through a different mechanism.

Inhibition of dihydropteridine reductase in rat striatal synaptosomes and from human liver by metabolites of biogenic amines

Catecholamines are potent noncompetitive inhibitors of dihydropteridine reductase in rat striatal synaptosomal preparations or purified from human liver. Their metabolites, except homovanillic acid, also inhibit the enzyme from both sources. The inhibitory potency of these compounds depends on the presence of the catechol or the 4-hydroxyphenyl structure, but may be modified by the 2-carbon side chain and its substituents. Indoleamines which have a hydroxylated aromatic nucleus (5-hydroxytryptamine and 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine) are equally inhibitory to the enzyme. These results suggest that biogenic amines themselves rather than their metabolites may serve as physiological inhibitors of dihydropteridine reductase in rat brain.