Two series of novel heterobivalent tacrine derivatives were synthesized. A trimethoxy substituted benzene was linked to the tacrine moiety by a hydrazide-based linker. The compounds were evaluated as cholinesterase inhibitors, and trimethoxybenzoic acid derivatives with 11- or 12-atom spacers were the most potent inhibitors of human acetylcholinesterase. The inhibitors showed a surprising selectivity toward human butyrylcholinesterase, where several trimethoxyphenylpropionic acid derivatives had IC(50) values less than 250 pM.

The enzyme catalyzing the ring-contracting conversion of the flavanonol taxifolin to the auronol alphitonin in the course of flavonoid degradation by the human intestinal anaerobe Eubacterium ramulus was purified and characterized. It stereospecifically catalyzed the isomerization of (؉)-taxifolin but not that of (؊)-taxifolin. The K m for (؉)-taxifolin was 6.4 ؎ 0.8 M, and the V max was 108 ؎ 4 mol min ؊1 (mg protein) ؊1 . The enzyme also isomerized (؉)-dihydrokaempferol, another flavanonol, to maesopsin. Inspection of the encoding gene revealed its complete identity to that of the gene encoding chalcone isomerase (CHI) from E. ramulus. Based on the reported X-ray crystal structure of CHI (M. Gall et al., Angew Chem Int Ed 53:1439 -1442, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201306952), docking experiments suggest the substrate binding mode of flavanonols and their stereospecific conversion. Mutation of the active-site histidine (His33) to alanine led to a complete loss of flavanonol isomerization by CHI, which indicates that His33 is also essential for this activity. His33 is proposed to mediate the stereospecific abstraction of a proton from the hydroxymethylene carbon of the flavanonol C-ring followed by ring opening and recyclization. A flavanonol-isomerizing enzyme was also identified in the flavonoid-converting bacterium Flavonifractor plautii based on its 50% sequence identity to the CHI from E. ramulus. IMPORTANCE Chalcone isomerase was known to be involved in flavone/flavanone conversion by the human intestinal bacterium E. ramulus.Here we demonstrate that this enzyme moreover catalyzes a key step in the breakdown of flavonols/flavanonols. Thus, a single isomerase plays a dual role in the bacterial conversion of dietary bioactive flavonoids. The identification of a corresponding enzyme in the human intestinal bacterium F. plautii suggests a more widespread occurrence of this isomerase in flavonoid-degrading bacteria. F lavonoids represent a major group of plant-derived polyphenolic compounds and have been implicated in beneficial effects on human health (1-4). The flavonoids are classified into several subgroups, which include, among others, flavonols, flavanonols, flavones, flavanones, and chalcones. Quercetin (Fig. 1) is a highly abundant dietary flavonoid that shows a broad range of biological activities. Thus, this flavonol has been intensively studied with respect to its role in disease prevention and use in therapy (5-7). The effects of quercetin and other flavonoids depend on how they are metabolized in the human body, including their conversion by intestinal bacteria (8). Beside deglycosylation and deconjugation, intestinal bacteria are also able to further transform the resulting flavonoid aglycones. However, knowledge about the corresponding bacterial species and, in particular, the enzymes involved is still limited.Eubacterium ramulus and Flavonifractor plautii (formerly Clostridium orbiscindens) are human intestinal bacteria that have been demonstrated to cleave the central heterocyc...

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Gallamine and tacrine are allosteric antagonists at muscarinic M2 acetylcholine receptors and inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase. At both acetylcholine-binding proteins, gallamine and tacrine are known to occupy two different binding sites: in M2 receptors within the allosteric binding area and in acetylcholinesterase at its catalytic and its peripheral site. To find new ligands of both targets, we designed a gallamine-tacrine dimer and several derived hybrid compounds to address the two binding sites. Their M2 receptor allosteric and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory potential was determined. The hybrid compounds revealed an allosteric potency in the low nanomolar range exceeding the allosteric potency of gallamine and tacrine by factors of 100 and 4800, respectively. Cholinesterase inhibition was augmented by hybrid formation, and all compounds exhibited IC50 values in the lower nanomolar range. Thus, gallamine-tacrine hybrid formation is a valuable approach toward high affinity ligands concurrently targeting these acetylcholine-binding proteins.