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| Author(s): |
Karen Cacilda Weber
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Carlos. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC/BT) |
| Defense date: | 2008-08-29 |
| Examining board members: |
Albérico Borges Ferreira da Silva;
Cláudio Nahum Alves;
Adriano Defini Andricopulo;
Regina Helena de Almeida Santos;
Julio Zukerman Schpector
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| Advisor: | Albérico Borges Ferreira da Silva |
| Abstract | |
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most important class of antidepressants in current clinical use. However, they present the serious drawback of a delay of two to six weeks in the onset of therapeutic effect. Clinical studies have shown that when a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist is administrated along with a SSRI, an increase of extracellular serotonin concentration in neuronal terminal areas is observed. Thus, the combination of a 5- HT1A receptor antagonist and a SSRI could accelerate the onset of antidepressant action, improving the pharmacological treatment of depression. The most important class of 5-HT1A receptor ligands are arylpiperazine compounds. In the present study, our aim was to understand the main features of the interaction between a series of arylpiperazines and the 5- HT1A receptor. Bi- and Tridimensional Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies were conducted employing the following approaches: chemometric methods based on theoretical descriptors, Hologram QSAR (HQSAR), and Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA). These analyses were complemented by 5-HT1A receptor homology modeling and ligand-receptor docking studies. QSAR models presenting good internal consistency, predictive power and stability were obtained in all cases. The observed binding modes are consistent with available experimental data on residues considered crucial for interactions with arylpiperazine compounds. The main results have indicated some important features for optimal binding to the 5-HT1A receptor, such as the presence of a benzothiophene ring as Ar2 substituent, small groups at position Z and hydrogen bond acceptors at the ortho position of Ar1 ring. These results were corroborated by modeling the interactions with the 5- HT1A receptor, which has indicated an important hydrophobic interaction between the benzothiophene group and residue Trp6.48, a hydrogen bond between the OH group at position Z and residue Thr3.37, as well as between the oxygen in Ar1 and residue Asn7.39. The information gathered in these studies can be useful for the design of new ligands displaying affinity to the 5-HT1A receptor. (AU) | |