daidzein and daidzin

The ALDH2*2 gene encoding the inactive variant form of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) protects nearly all carriers of this gene from alcoholism. Inhibition of ALDH2 has hence become a possible strategy to treat alcoholism. The natural product 7-O-glucosyl-4'-hydroxyisoflavone (daidzin), isolated from the kudzu vine ( Peruraria lobata), is a specific inhibitor of ALDH2 and suppresses ethanol consumption. Daidzin is the active principle in a herbal remedy for "alcohol addiction" and provides a lead for the design of improved ALDH2. The structure of daidzin/ALDH2 in complex at 2.4 A resolution shows the isoflavone moiety of daidzin binding close to the aldehyde substrate-binding site in a hydrophobic cleft and the glucosyl function binding to a hydrophobic patch immediately outside the isoflavone-binding pocket. These observations provide an explanation for both the specificity and affinity of daidzin (IC50 =80 nM) and the affinity of analogues with different substituents at the glucosyl position.

Topics: Alcoholism; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; Animals; Behavior, Addictive; Binding Sites; Cricetinae; Crystallography, X-Ray; Humans; Isoenzymes; Isoflavones; Mitochondria; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; Retinal Dehydrogenase; Structure-Activity Relationship

Recent studies showed that daidzin suppresses ethanol intake in ethanol-preferring laboratory animals. In vitro, it potently and selectively inhibits the mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH-2). Further, it inhibits the conversion of monoamines such as serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) into their respective acid metabolites, 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in isolated hamster or rat liver mitochondria. Studies on the suppression of ethanol intake and inhibition of 5-HIAA (or DOPAC) formation by six structural analogues of daidzin suggested a potential link between these two activities. This, together with the finding that daidzin does not affect the rates of mitochondria-catalyzed oxidative deamination of these monoamines, raised the possibility that the ethanol intake-suppressive (antidipsotropic) action of daidzin is not mediated by the monoamines but rather by their reactive biogenic aldehyde intermediates such as 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetaldehyde (5-HIAL) and/or 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL) which accumulate in the presence of daidzin. To further evaluate this possibility, we synthesized more structural analogues of daidzin and tested and compared their antidipsotropic activities in Syrian golden hamsters with their effects on monoamine metabolism in isolated hamster liver mitochondria using 5-HT as the substrate. Effects of daidzin and its structural analogues on the activities of monoamine oxidase (MAO) and ALDH-2, the key enzymes involved in 5-HT metabolism in the mitochondria, were also examined. Results from these studies reveal a positive correlation between the antidipsotropic activities of these analogues and their abilities to increase 5-HIAL accumulation during 5-HT metabolism in isolated hamster liver mitochondria. Daidzin analogues that potently inhibit ALDH-2 but have no or little effect on MAO are most antidipsotropic, whereas those that also potently inhibit MAO exhibit little, if any, antidipsotropic activity. These results, although inconclusive, are consistent with the hypothesis that daidzin may act via the mitochondrial MAO/ALDH pathway and that a biogenic aldehyde such as 5-HIAL may be important in mediating its antidipsotropic action.

Topics: Alcohol Deterrents; Alcohol Drinking; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; Animals; Biological Availability; Cricetinae; Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; In Vitro Techniques; Isoflavones; Mesocricetus; Mitochondria, Liver; Monoamine Oxidase; Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; Serotonin; Structure-Activity Relationship