Dataset Information

Potential new therapeutic modality revealed through agent-based modeling of the neuromuscular junction and acetylcholinesterase inhibition.

ABSTRACT:

Background

One of the leading causes of death and illness within the agriculture industry is through unintentionally ingesting or inhaling organophosphate pesticides. OP intoxication directly inhibits acetylcholinesterase, resulting in an excitatory signaling cascade leading to fasciculation, loss of control of bodily fluids, and seizures.

Methods

Our model was developed using a discrete, rules-based modeling approach in NetLogo. This model includes acetylcholinesterase, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor responsible for signal transduction, a single release of acetylcholine, organophosphate inhibitors, and a theoretical novel medical countermeasure. We have parameterized the system considering the molecular reaction rate constants in an agent-based approach, as opposed to apparent macroscopic rates used in differential equation models.

Results

Our model demonstrates how the cholinergic crisis can be mitigated by therapeutic intervention with an acetylcholinesterase activator. Our model predicts signal rise rates and half-lives consistent with in vitro and in vivo data in the absence and presence of inhibitors. It also predicts the efficacy of theoretical countermeasures acting through three mechanisms: increasing catalytic turnover of acetylcholine, increasing acetylcholine binding affinity to the enzyme, and decreasing binding rates of inhibitors.

Conclusion

We present a model of the neuromuscular junction confirming observed acetylcholine signaling data and suggesting that developing a countermeasure capable of reducing inhibitor binding, and not activator concentration, is the most important parameter for reducing organophosphate (OP) intoxication.

SUBMITTER: Chapleau RR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4209019 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Potential new therapeutic modality revealed through agent-based modeling of the neuromuscular junction and acetylcholinesterase inhibition.

Chapleau Richard R RR Robinson Peter J PJ Schlager John J JJ Gearhart Jeffery M JM

Theoretical biology & medical modelling 20141002

<h4>Background</h4>One of the leading causes of death and illness within the agriculture industry is through unintentionally ingesting or inhaling organophosphate pesticides. OP intoxication directly inhibits acetylcholinesterase, resulting in an excitatory signaling cascade leading to fasciculation, loss of control of bodily fluids, and seizures.<h4>Methods</h4>Our model was developed using a discrete, rules-based modeling approach in NetLogo. This model includes acetylcholinesterase, the nicot ...[more]

PMID: 25273339

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Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease which leads to the gradual loss of neuronal cells. Several hypotheses for AD exists (e.g., cholinergic, amyloid, tau hypotheses, etc.). As per the cholinergic hypothesis, the deficiency of choline is responsible for AD; therefore, the inhibition of AChE is a lucrative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AD. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that is essential for cognition and memory. A large non-redundant data set of 2,570 compounds with reported IC50 values against AChE was obtained from ChEMBL and employed in quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study so as to gain insights on their origin of bioactivity. AChE inhibitors were described by a set of 12 fingerprint descriptors and predictive models were constructed from 100 different data splits using random forest. Generated models afforded R (2), [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] values in ranges of 0.66-0.93, 0.55-0.79 and 0.56-0.81 for the training set, 10-fold cross-validated set and external set, respectively. The best model built using the substructure count was selected according to the OECD guidelines and it afforded R (2), [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] values of 0.92 ± 0.01, 0.78 ± 0.06 and 0.78 ± 0.05, respectively. Furthermore, Y-scrambling was applied to evaluate the possibility of chance correlation of the predictive model. Subsequently, a thorough analysis of the substructure fingerprint count was conducted to provide informative insights on the inhibitory activity of AChE inhibitors. Moreover, Kennard-Stone sampling of the actives were applied to select 30 diverse compounds for further molecular docking studies in order to gain structural insights on the origin of AChE inhibition. Site-moiety mapping of compounds from the diversity set revealed three binding anchors encompassing both hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interaction. Molecular docking revealed that compounds 13, 5 and 28 exhibited the lowest binding energies of -12.2, -12.0 and -12.0 kcal/mol, respectively, against human AChE, which is modulated by hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking and hydrophobic interaction inside the binding pocket. These information may be used as guidelines for the design of novel and robust AChE inhibitors.

Dataset Information

Potential new therapeutic modality revealed through agent-based modeling of the neuromuscular junction and acetylcholinesterase inhibition.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Potential new therapeutic modality revealed through agent-based modeling of the neuromuscular junction and acetylcholinesterase inhibition.

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