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ChEBI ID: 48295
There are 2 compounds belonging to this class, involving 3 studies.
Member | Definition | Role |
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(R)-alpha-methylserotonin | ||
(S)-alpha-methylserotonin |
Pre-1990 | 1990-2000 | 2001-2010 | 2011-2020 | Post-2020 |
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1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Article |
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A target-agnostic screen identifies approved drugs to stabilize the endoplasmic reticulum-resident proteome.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dysregulation is associated with pathologies including neurodegenerative, muscular, and diabetic conditions. Depletion of ER calcium can lead to the loss of resident proteins in a process termed exodosis. To identify compounds that attenuate the redistribution of ER proteins under pathological conditions, we performed a quantitative high-throughput screen using the Gaussia luciferase (GLuc)-secreted ER calcium modulated protein (SERCaMP) assay, which monitors secretion of ER-resident proteins triggered by calcium depletion. We identify several clinically used drugs, including bromocriptine, and further characterize them using assays to measure effects on ER calcium, ER stress, and ER exodosis. Bromocriptine elicits protective effects in cell-based models of exodosis as well as in vivo models of stroke and diabetes. Bromocriptine analogs with reduced dopamine receptor activity retain similar efficacy in stabilizing the ER proteome, indicating a non-canonical mechanism of action. This study describes a strategic approach to identify small-molecule drugs capable of improving ER proteostasis in human disease conditions. |
Therapeutic candidates for the Zika virus identified by a high-throughput screen for Zika protease inhibitors.
When Zika virus emerged as a public health emergency there were no drugs or vaccines approved for its prevention or treatment. We used a high-throughput screen for Zika virus protease inhibitors to identify several inhibitors of Zika virus infection. We expressed the NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease and conducted a biochemical screen for small-molecule inhibitors. A quantitative structure-activity relationship model was employed to virtually screen ∼138,000 compounds, which increased the identification of active compounds, while decreasing screening time and resources. Candidate inhibitors were validated in several viral infection assays. Small molecules with favorable clinical profiles, especially the five-lipoxygenase-activating protein inhibitor, MK-591, inhibited the Zika virus protease and infection in neural stem cells. Members of the tetracycline family of antibiotics were more potent inhibitors of Zika virus infection than the protease, suggesting they may have multiple mechanisms of action. The most potent tetracycline, methacycline, reduced the amount of Zika virus present in the brain and the severity of Zika virus-induced motor deficits in an immunocompetent mouse model. As Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, the tetracyclines could be quickly translated to the clinic. The compounds identified through our screening paradigm have the potential to be used as prophylactics for patients traveling to endemic regions or for the treatment of the neurological complications of Zika virus infection. |
Synthesis and serotonin receptor affinities of a series of enantiomers of alpha-methyltryptamines: evidence for the binding conformation of tryptamines at serotonin 5-HT1B receptors.
A procedure for the preparation of optically pure alpha-methyltryptamines (AMTs) from substituted indoles was developed. The key step in the sequence was the reductive amination of substituted indole-2-propanones with the commercially available pure enantiomers of alpha-methylbenzylamine, followed by the chromatographic separation of the resulting pair of diastereomeric amines by preparative centrifugal (Chromatotron) chromatography. Catalytic N-debenzylation then afforded the pure AMT enantiomers. Optical purity was established by chiral HPLC analysis of the 2-naphthoylamide derivatives. An improved procedure for the preparation of indole-2-propanones was also developed. To probe structure-activity relationships of serotonin receptors, affinities of the alpha-methyltryptamine enantiomers were then measured at the 5-HT2 antagonist receptor subtype, with displacement of [3H]ketanserin, and were estimated at the 5-HT1B receptor, with displacement of [3H]serotonin, respectively, in rat frontal cortex homogenates. Enantioselectivity at the receptor subtypes varied, depending on aromatic substituents. For a 5-hydroxy or 5-methoxy, the S enantiomer had higher affinity or was equipotent to the R enantiomer. This selectivity at [3H]serotonin binding sites was reversed for 4-oxygenated alpha-methyltryptamines, where a 4-hydroxy or 4-methoxy did not enhance affinity over the unsubstituted compounds. These results can be explained, for the [3H]serotonin displacement data, if the binding conformation is one where the ethylamine side chain is trans and lying in a plane perpendicular to the indole ring plane. |