Nalinee Kongkaew. Design of pralidoxime analogs as antidote for organophosphate insecticide via computational chemistry approaches. Master's Degree(Bioinformatics and Computational Biology). Chulalongkorn University. Office of Academic Resources. : Chulalongkorn University, 2569.
Design of pralidoxime analogs as antidote for organophosphate insecticide via computational chemistry approaches
Abstract:
To exposure the toxicity of insecticides is common among agriculturalists, especially organophosphate pesticides (OPs), which are widely used in Thailand due to their easy availability and low cost. OPs act by disrupting the nervous system, resulting in frequent poisoning and higher mortality rates compared to general toxicity. Their mechanism involves irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which normally breaks down acetylcholine neurotransmitters, leading to the accumulation of acetylcholine, which stimulates or inhibits the central nervous system. Currently, oxime compounds are commonly used for antidotal treatment, particularly the 2-pyridine aldoxime known as "2-PAM," approved by FDA for treating poisoning. However, 2-PAM has limitations, including its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and effectiveness in antidote action due to the complexity of AChE, leading to low treatment outcomes. This research aims to study the binding and unbinding pathways of 2-PAM and design novel effective antidotes for inhibited AChE using computational chemistry approaches. We found that 2-PAM can effectively move into the catalytic site of acetylcholinesterase through the acyl door, side door, and back door, providing the in-line/apical and adjacent/side conformations. However, only the acyl door that allows in-line conformation has been confirmed to be effective in reactivation by nucleophilic substitution (SN2) mechanisms. Y341 plays a critical role in determining the binding mode. On the other hand, phosphorylated 2-PAM, which is the product from reactivation, was released through only the acyl door. This effective binding mode has been utilized in designing 2-PAM analogs by adding electron-donating groups on the para and/or ortho positions of the pyridinium core, which have shown enhanced binding energy, particularly with aromatic amino acids: Y124, W286, F297, W338, and Y341. Molecular dynamics simulations further confirm the improved in-line conformation of the newly designed analogs (3-1). These discoveries provide insights into the binding and unbinding pathways toward inhibited AChE and a rational guide for developing new antidotes to treat organophosphate insecticide toxicity.