The protein glycogen phosphorylase has been linked to type 2 diabetes, indicating the importance of this target to human health. Hence, the search for potent and selective inhibitors of this enzyme, which may lead to antihyperglycaemic drugs, has received particular attention. Glycogen phosphorylase is a typical allosteric protein with five different ligand binding sites, thus offering multiple opportunities for modulation of enzyme activity. The present survey is focused on recent new molecules, potential inhibitors of the enzyme. The biological activity can be modified by these molecules through direct binding, allosteric effects or other structural changes. Progress in our understanding of the mechanism of action of these inhibitors has been made by the determination of high-resolution enzyme inhibitor structures (both muscle and liver). The knowledge of the three-dimensional structures of protein-ligand complexes allows analysis of how the ligands interact with the target and has the potential to facilitate structure-based drug design. In this review, the synthesis, structure determination and computational studies of the most recent inhibitors of glycogen phosphorylase at the different binding sites are presented and analyzed.

The uncatalyzed reactions of 2,4-TDI (2,4-toluenediisocyanate) and MDI (4,4 0 -diphenylmethane-diisocyanate) with alcohols including butan-1-ol, butan-2-ol, diethylene glycol monomethylether (DEGME) were studied by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The reactions were carried out at different temperatures from 22 C to 75 C using high molar ratios of alcohols to diisocyanates. It was found that the first isocyanate group of the MDI reacts about 1.5 times faster with the alcohols than the second one. The relative reactivities of the isocyanate groups (para and ortho) of 2,4-TDI as a function of the temperature was also deduced. From the temperature dependence of the rate constants the apparent activation energies were determined. Furthermore, the dependence of the apparent rate constant on the concentration of alcohols was also investigated and a mechanism was proposed for the reaction of diisocyanates with alcohols.

triazoles are novel skeletons to inhibit glycogen phosphorylase in the nanomolar range.Best inhibitors of rabbit muscle R = 4-aminophenyl

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Glucopyranosylidene-spiro-1,4,2-oxathiazoles were prepared in high yields by NBS-mediated spiro-cyclization of the corresponding glucosyl-hydroximothioates. In an effort to synthesize analogous glucopyranosylidene-spiro-1,2,4-oxadiazolines, with a nitrogen atom instead of the sulphur, attempted cyclizations resulted in aromatization of the heterocycle with opening of the pyranosyl ring. Enzymatic measurements showed that some of the glucose-based inhibitors were active in the micromolar range. The 2-naphthyl-substituted 1,4,2-oxathiazole displayed the best inhibition against RMGPb (K(i)=160 nM), among glucose-based inhibitors known to date.