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The bicyclic dihydropyrazolopyridinone scaffold allowed for incorporation of multiple P1 moieties with subnanomolar binding affinities for blood coagulation factor Xa. The compound 3-[6-(2′-dimethylaminomethyl-biphenyl-4-yl)-7-oxo-3-trifluoro-methyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine-l-yl]-benzamide 6d shows good fXa potency, selectivity, in vivo efficacy and oral bioavailability. Compound 6d was selected for further pre-clinical evaluations.

Attempts to further optimize the pyrazole factor Xa inhibitors centered on masking the aryl aniline P4 moiety. Scaffold optimization resulted in the identification of a novel bicyclic pyrazolo-pyridinone scaffold which retained fXa potency. The novel bicyclic scaffold preserved all binding interactions observed with the monocyclic counterpart and importantly the carboxamido moiety was integrated within the scaffold making it less susceptible to hydrolysis. These efforts led to the identification of 1-[3-aminobenzisoxazol-5'-yl]-3-trifluoromethyl-6-[2'-(3-(R)-hydroxy-N-pyrrolidinyl)methyl-[1,1']-biphen-4-yl]-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrazolo-[3,4-c]-pyridin-7-one 6f (BMS-740808), a highly potent (fXa Ki=30 pM) with a rapid onset of inhibition (2.7x10(7) M-1 s-1) in vitro, selective (>1000-fold over other proteases), efficacious in the AVShunt thrombosis model, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of blood coagulation factor Xa.

N,N'-Disubstituted ketene aminals are good bioisosteres of thiourea functional groups. We report the design and synthesis of a novel class of ketene aminal-based lactam derivatives as potent and orally active FXa inhibitors.

C75, a synthetic inhibitor of FAS (fatty acid synthase), has both anti-tumour and anti-obesity properties. In this study we provide a detailed kinetic characterization of the mechanism of in vitro inhibition of rat liver FAS. At room temperature, C75 is a competitive irreversible inhibitor of the overall reaction with regard to all three substrates, i.e. acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA and NADPH, exhibiting pseudo-first-order kinetics of the complexing type, i.e. a weak non-covalent enzyme-inhibitor complex is formed before irreversible enzyme modification. C75 is a relatively inefficient inactivator of FAS, with a maximal rate of inactivation of 1 min(-1) and an extrapolated K(I) (dissociation constant for the initial complex) of approx. 16 mM. The apparent second-order rate constants calculated from these values are 0.06 mM(-1).min(-1) at room temperature and 0.21 mM(-1).min(-1) at 37 degrees C. We also provide experimental evidence that C75 inactivates the beta-ketoacyl synthase (3-oxoacyl synthase) partial activity of FAS. Unexpectedly, C75 also inactivates the enoyl reductase and thioesterase partial activities of FAS with about the same rates as for inactivation of the beta-ketoacyl synthase. In contrast with the overall reaction, the beta-ketoacyl synthase activity and the enoyl reductase activity, substrates do not protect the thioesterase activity of rat liver FAS from inactivation by C75. These results differentiate inactivation by C75 from that by cerulenin, which only inactivates the beta-ketoacyl synthase activity of FAS, by forming an adduct with an active-site cysteine. Interference by dithiothreitol and protection by the substrates, acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA and NADPH, further distinguish the mechanism of C75-mediated inactivation from that of cerulenin. The most likely explanation for the multiple effects observed with C75 on rat liver FAS and its partial reactions is that there are multiple sites of interaction between C75 and FAS.

In this paper, the main features of a new advanced integrated approach to the problem of numerically predicting the distribution of the magnetic flux density generated by power lines is presented. This approach is based on an accurate model which takes into account both the three-dimensional structures of the power lines and the land altimetry. Two non-commercial computer programs have been developed in this framework, aimed to fulfd the needs of environmental control institutions and overhead line designers. In fact, they respectively allow to i) carry out thorough Environmental Impact Assessment (ETA) studies on new power lines and ii) assist the designer to calculate, in real time, the effects of his design options on the magnetic field levels.

The paper illustrates the experience acquired by CESI and ENEL in studying and designing technical solutions to reduce the magnetic field generated by high voltage (HV) and extra-high voltage (EHV) overhead lines and underground cables. In particular, after a brief description of the various "mitigation" methods characterised by the research on the subject, the paper will be focused on the main techniques for possible application to existing installations, since they represent the real challenge a power line operator may encounter.

The conversion of pyruvoyl-H4-pterin to pyrimidodiazepine (PDA), which is an essential step in the biosynthesis of the red components of Drosophila eye pigments known as drosopterins, requires the products of the genes sepia and clot. While the product of sepia has been shown to correspond to the enzyme PDA-synthase, the role of clot remains unknown, although the clot 1 allele was one of the first eye-color mutants to be isolated in Drosophila melanogaster, and much genetic and biochemical data has become available since. Here we report the cloning of the clot gene, describe its molecular organization and characterize the sequence alterations associated with the alleles cl 1 and cl 2 . The coding properties of the gene show that it encodes a protein related to the Glutaredoxin class of the Thioredoxin-like enzyme superfamily, conserved members of which are found in human, mouse and plants. We suggest that the Clot protein is an essential component of a glutathione redox system required for the final step in the biosynthetic pathway for drosopterins.

Dethiobiotin synthetase (DTBS) catalyzes the penultimate step in biotin biosynthesis, the formation of the ureido ring of dethiobiotin from (7R,8S)-7,8-diaminononanoic acid (7,8-diaminopelargonic acid, DAPA), CO2, and ATP. Solutions of DAPA at neutral pH readily formed a mixture of the N7- and N8-carbamates in the presence of CO2. However, four lines of evidence together indicated that only the N7-carbamate of DAPA was an intermediate in the reaction catalyzed by DTBS. (1) Addition of diazomethane to mixtures of DAPA and [14C]CO2 yielded a mixture of the N7- and N8-methyl carbamate esters, consistent with carbamate formation in free solution. In the presence of excess DTBS (over DAPA), the ratio of N7:N8-methyl carbamate esters recovered was roughly doubled, suggesting that the enzyme preferentially bound the N7-DAPA-carbamate. (2) Both N7- and N8-DAPA-carbamates were observed directly by 1H and 13C NMR in solutions containing DAPA and [13C]CO2. In the presence of excess DTBS (over DAPA) only one carbamate was observed, showing that carbamate binding to the enzyme was regiospecific. 13C NMR of mixtures containing enzyme, [7-15N]DAPA, and [13C]CO2 showed that the enzyme-bound carbamate was at N7 of DAPA. In addition, pulse-chase experiments showed that the binary complex of DTBS and N7-DAPA-carbamate became kinetically committed upon addition of MgATP. (3) The N7-DAPA-carbamate mimic, 3-(1-aminoethyl)nonanedioic acid, in which the carbamate nitrogen was replaced with a methylene group, cyclized to the corresponding lactam in the presence of DTBS and ATP; ADP and P(i) were also formed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Apixaban, previously known as BMS-562247, is a high affinity, highly selective, orally-active, reversible inhibitor of coagulation factor Xa (fXa), in clinical studies as a therapeutic agent for prevention and treatment of thromboembolic diseases. The in vitro characteristics of apixaban were evaluated in purified systems and in human blood from healthy volunteers. Detailed kinetic analysis of apixaban inhibition of human fXa showed that it is a readily reversible, potent and competitive inhibitor versus a synthetic tripeptide substrate with a Ki of 0.08 nM, an association rate of 2 × 107 M−1s−1and a dissociation half life of 3.4 min. Weak affinity (Ki ~3 μM) is observed for thrombin, plasma kallikrein, and chymotrypsin. Affinity for trypsin and all other serine proteases tested is negligible with Ki > 15 μM. Apixaban is an effective inhibitor of free fXa and of prothrombinase, in buffer, platelet poor plasma, and whole blood. The anticoagulant activity of apixaban was determined in platelet-poor human plasma. Apixaban causes concentration dependent prolongation of the fXa mediated clotting assays. The human plasma concentration required to produce a doubling of the clotting time is 3.6 μM for prothrombin time, 7.4 μM for activated partial thromboplastin time and 0.4 μM for HepTest. To support preclinical efficacy and safety studies purified fXa from rabbit, dog and rat plasma was also found to be inhibited by apixaban (0.17, 2.6, and 1.3 nM, respectively). In summary the in vitro properties of apixaban show that it is a highly selective and potentially potent antithrombotic agent for venous and arterial thrombotic diseases.

Michaelis constants for MgATP with yeast hexokinase vary from 28 microM with D-mannose to above 4 mM for the slow ATPase reaction, with the different values reflecting the degree of synergism in binding of MgATP and the sugar substrate. The best substrates show the greatest synergism, but the correlation is not exact. Similar synergistic binding between MgADP or its methylene analogue and phosphorylated sugars is seen. Product inhibiton of MgADP vs. MgATP and vice versa appears noncompetitive at low levels of variable substrate but becomes competitive at high levels. These patterns show that MgATP can combine with E-glucose-6-P (Ki = 4 mM) and MgADP with E-glucose (Ki = 1.6 mM). Isotope partitioning studies with glucose or glucose-6-P have determined the rates of release of these substrates from binary and ternary complexes and, together with reverse isotope exchange studies and the product inhibition studies mentioned above, have shown that the kinetic mechanism is a somewhat random one in which dissociation of sugars from productive ternary complexes is very slow, but release from nonproductive ternary complexes occurs at rates similar to those from binary enzyme-sugar complexes. D-Arabinose-5-P has a Km of 4.6 mM and a Vmax 5% that for glucose-6-P, confirming that the high Km for D-arabinose in the forward direction is caused by the low proportion in the furanose form. The dissociation constant of MgADP in the absence of sugars was determined from the Ki of 5.8 mM for MgADP as a competitive inhibitor vs. MgATP of the slow ATPase reaction.

Biochemical studies of plant species susceptible to the cyclohexanedione herbicides, alloxydim, sethoxydim, and clethodim, have demonstrated that these selective grass herbicides inhibit acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase, the second enzyme common to both fatty acid and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways. The K(i)s for the cyclohexanediones tested ranged from 0.02 to 1.95 micromolar, depending on the species. The enzyme isolated from broadleaf plants was much less sensitive to inhibition by these herbicides (K(i)s from 53 micromolar to 2.2 millimolar). These results may explain the mechanism of action of these herbicides and their selectivity for monocotyledonous species.

A method has been developed for calculating rate constants for dehydration of aldehydes that induce ATPase reactions by kinases and where 18O is transferred from the aldehyde or its hydrate to inorganic phosphate during the reaction. The method involves measurement of the fraction of 18O in phosphate by 31P NMR after the ATPase reaction has proceeded for several minutes with zero-order kinetics. The reaction is started by addition of the aldehyde in a small volume of H2 18O, and the speed of washout of 18O by reversible dehydration relative to the rate of the ATPase reaction allows calculation of the rate constants if the hydration equilibrium constant is known from the proton NMR spectrum of the aldehyde. Dehydration rate constants (s-1 at pH 8-8.5, 0.1 M buffer, 25 degrees C) for the following aldehydes (all over 95% hydrated) and kinases used are as follows: D-glyceraldehyde with glycerokinase, 0.03; 2,5-anhydro-D-mannose 6-phosphate with fructose-6-phosphate kinase, 0.025; 2,5-anhydro-D-mannose or 2,5-anhydro-D-talose with fructokinase, 0.029 and 0.017, respectively; D-gluco-hexodialdose with hexokinase, 0.068. With betaine aldehyde and choline kinase or glyoxylate and pyruvate kinase, no 18O was transferred to phosphate during the ATPase reactions. However, the dehydration rate constant for glyoxylate (0.007 s-1 at pH 7 extrapolated to zero buffer concentration and up to 0.11 s-1 at pH 9.0 with 0.3 M buffer) was determined by extrapolating the initial rate of reduction of the free aldehyde catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase to infinite enzyme levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The selective grass herbicides diclofop, haloxyfop, and trifop were found to be potent reversible inhibitors of acetyl-CoA carboxylase from the susceptible species barley, corn, and wheat. Kis values with variable concentrations of acetyl-CoA ranged from 0.01 to 0.06 microM at pH 8.5 depending on the species of grass. Inhibition of the wheat enzyme by diclofop was noncompetitive versus acetyl-CoA with Kis less than Kii and noncompetitive versus MgATP and bicarbonate, but with Kis approximately equal to Kii. Since the apparent inhibition constant was most sensitive to the level of acetyl-CoA, these compounds probably interact with the transcarboxylase site rather than the biotin carboxylation site. With the wheat enzyme the Kis value for the R-(+)-enantiomer of trifop was 1.98 +/- 0.22 times lower than that of the racemic mixture. This confirms the stereoselectivity observed in the whole plant. The enzyme from tolerant broadleaf species (spinach and mung bean) was much less sensitive to these herbicides (Kis values varied from 16 to 515 microM). These data confirm that acetyl-CoA carboxylase is the site of action for the aryloxyphenoxypropionic acid herbicides and may explain their selectivity for monocotyledenous species.

We describe a method for the differentiation of 3-iron from 2-iron and 4-iron Fe/S proteins based on consideration of both the magnetic field dependence of shifts in g induced by an externally applied electric field (LEFE) and the continuous wave EPR spectra properties. The magnetic field dependence and the magnitude of the LEFE for 3-iron ferredoxins are similar to those for 4-iron ferredoxins but differ considerably from those for 2-iron ferredoxins or for high potential iron proteins. Furthermore, as 3-iron ferredoxins and high potential iron proteins are EPR-active when oxidized while 2-iron and 4-iron ferredoxins are only EPR-active when reduced, the differentiation among all of them can be made on the basis of both continuous wave EPR and LEFE properties, but not by each individually.

The multiple isotope effect method of Hermes et al. [Hermes, J. D., Roeske, C. A., O'Leary, M. H., & Cleland, W. W. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 5106-5114] has been used to study the mechanism of the oxidative decarboxylation catalyzed by 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase from yeast. 13C kinetic isotope effects of 1.0096 and 1.0081 with unlabeled or 3-deuterated 6-phosphogluconate, plus a 13C equilibrium isotope effect of 0.996 and a deuterium isotope effect on V/K of 1.54, show that the chemical reaction after the substrates have bound is stepwise, with hydride transfer preceding decarboxylation. The kinetic mechanism of substrate addition is random at pH 8, since the deuterium isotope effect is the same when either NADP or 6-phosphogluconate or 6-phosphogluconate-3-d is varied at fixed saturating levels of the other substrate. Deuterium isotope effects on V and V/K decrease toward unity at high pH at the same time that V and V/K are decreasing, suggesting that proton removal from the 3-hydroxyl may precede dehydrogenation. Comparison of the tritium effect of 2.05 with the other measured isotope effects gives limits of 3-4 on the intrinsic deuterium and of 1.01-1.05 for the intrinsic 13C isotope effect for C-C bond breakage in the forward direction and suggests that reverse hydride transfer is 1-4 times faster than decarboxylation.

A technique is developed that separates a number of carbonyl-containing compounds on the basis of chemical interaction with ethylenediamine in a column of polystyrene resin (AG-50W-X2) in the ethylenediamine form eluted with 10 m m ethylenediamine-phosphate, pH 8.0, at 25°C. Aldehydes are retained more strongly than ketones on this column. Relative elution volumes for several representative compounds are acetaldehyde > glyceraldehyde > 2,5-anhydromannose (chitose) > cyclohexanone > dihydroxyacetone > glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate > pyruvate > dihydroxyacetone phosphate ≥ glucose, chitose 6-phosphate, and glucose 1-phosphate. Within a given class of compounds the extent of hydration does not appear to affect how well a substance is retained, whereas the presence of negative charge(s) appears to decrease retention. In the absence of anionic functional groups, the retention of carbonyl compounds corresponds roughly to what is known about the relative stability of imines.

We describe a method for the differentiation of 3-iron from 2-iron and 4-iron Fe/S proteins based on consideration of both the magnetic field dependence of shifts in g induced by an externally applied electric field (LEFE) and the continuous wave EPR spectra properties. The magnetic field dependence and the magnitude of the LEFE for 3-iron ferredoxins are similar to those for 4-iron ferredoxins but differ considerably from those for 2-iron ferredoxins or for high potential iron proteins. Furthermore, as 3-iron ferredoxins and high potential iron proteins are EPR-active when oxidized while 2-iron and 4-iron ferredoxins are only EPR-active when reduced, the differentiation among all of them can be made on the basis of both continuous wave EPR and LEFE properties, but not by each individually.

Fructokinase from beef liver showed a clear reversal in specificity when the two isomers of ATP beta S were used as substrates with Mg2+ and Cd2+, with the Sp isomer having the higher V/K value with Mg2+ and the Rp isomer the higher value with Cd2+. The delta isomer of MgATP is thus the active form of the substrate. The substitution of sulfur for oxygen in the noncoordinated position of the beta-phosphate caused a 102-fold decrease in V/K over the value seen with MgATP, while substitution in the coordinated position gave a 21-fold decrease over the V/K value seen with CdATP. The Km values were little affected by sulfur substitution, showing that the wrong screw sense isomers were nonproductively bound almost as well as the correct ones. When ADP alpha S was used as a substrate in the reverse reaction, the Sp isomer showed the highest V/K value with both Mg2+ and Cd2+, suggesting that the metal ion is not coordinated to the alpha-phosphate during transphosphorylation. The failure of CrATP to act as a substrate for fructokinase suggests that the enzyme inserts one of its side chains into the inner coordination sphere of the metal ion during the reaction.

Aldehyde analogues of the normal alcohol substrates induce ATPase activities by glycerokinase (D-glyceraldehyde), fructose-6-phosphate kinase (2,5-anhydromannose 6-phosphate), fructokinase (2,5-anhydromannose or 2,5-anhydrotalose), hexokinase (D-gluco-hexodialdose), choline kinase (betaine aldehyde), and pyruvate kinase (glyoxylate). Since purified deuterated aldehydes give V and V/K isotope effects near 1.0 for glycerokinase, fructokinase with 2,5-anhydro[1-2H]talose, hexokinase, choline kinase, and pyruvate kinase, the hydrates of these almost fully hydrated aldehydes are the activators of the ATPase reactions. Fructose-6-phosphate kinase and fructokinase with 2,5-anhydro[1-2H]mannose show V/K deuterium isotope effects of 1.10 and 1.22, respectively, suggesting either that both hydrate and free aldehyde may be activators (predicted values are 1.37 if only the free aldehyde activates the ATPase) or, more likely, that the phosphorylated hydrate breaks down in a rate-limiting step on the enzyme while MgADP is still present and the back-reaction to yield free hydrate in solution is still possible. 18O was transferred from the aldehyde hydrate to phosphate during the ATPase reactions of glycerokinase, fructose-6-phosphate kinase, fructokinase, and hexokinase but not with choline kinase or pyruvate kinase. Thus, direct phosphorylation of the hydrates by the first four enzymes gives the phosphate adduct of the aldehyde, which decomposes nonenzymatically, while with choline kinase and pyruvate kinase the hydrates induce transfer to water (metal-bound hydroxide or water with pyruvate kinase on the basis of pH profiles). Observation of a lag in the release of phosphate from the glycerokinase ATPase reaction at 15 degrees C supports the existence of a phosphorylated hydrate intermediate with a rate constant for breakdown of 0.035-0.043 s-1 at this temperature. Kinases that phosphorylate creatine, 3-phosphoglycerate, and acetate did not exhibit ATPase activities in the presence of keto or aldehyde analogues (N-methylhydantoic acid, D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, and acetaldehyde, respectively), possibly because of the absence of an acid-base catalytic group in the latter two cases. These analogues were competitive inhibitors vs. the normal substrates, and in the latter case, the hydrate of acetaldehyde was shown to be the inhibitory species on the basis of the deuterium isotope effect on the inhibition constant.

BAP and PBAP constitute the two different forms of the Drosophila melanogaster Brahma chromatin remodelers. A common multisubunit core, containing the Brahma ATPase, can associate either with Osa to form the BAP complex or with Bap170, Bap180, and Sayp to constitute the PBAP complex. Although required for many biological processes, recent genetic analyses revealed that one role of the BAP complex during Drosophila wing development is the proper regulation of EGFR target genes. Here, we show that Bap170, a distinctive subunit of the PBAP complex, participates instead in the negative regulation of EGFR signaling. In adults, loss of Bap170 generates phenotypes similar to the defects induced by hyperactivation of the EGFR pathway, such as overrecruitment of cone and photoreceptor cells and formation extra veins. In genetic interactions, bap170 mutations suppress the loss of veins and photoreceptors caused by mutations affecting the activity of the EGFR pathway. Our results suggest a dual requirement of the PBAP complex: for transcriptional repression of rhomboid and for efficient expression of argos. Interestingly, genetic evidence also indicates that Bap170-mediated repression of rho is inhibited by EGFR signaling, suggesting a scenario of mutual antagonism between EGFR signaling and PBAP function.