Xanthine oxidase (XO), a key enzyme in purine catabolism, is widely distributed in human tissues. It can catalyze xanthine to generate uric acid and cause hyperuricemia and gout. Inhibition kinetics assay showed that kaempferol inhibited XO activity reversibly in a competitive manner. Strong fluorescence quenching and conformational changes of XO were found due to the formation of a kaempferol-XO complex, which was driven mainly by hydrophobic forces. The molecular docking further revealed that kaempferol inserted into the hydrophobic cavity of XO to interact with some amino acid residues. The main inhibition mechanism of kaempferol on XO activity may be due to the insertion of kaempferol into the active site of XO occupying the catalytic center of the enzyme to avoid the entrance of the substrate and inducing conformational changes of XO. In addition, luteolin exhibited a stronger synergistic effect with kaempferol than did morin at the lower concentration.

Novel insights into the inhibitory mechanism of kaempferol on xanthine oxidase.

Inhibitory effect of morin on tyrosinase: Insights from spectroscopic and molecular docking studies

Quercetin as a tyrosinase inhibitor: Inhibitory activity, conformational change and mechanism.

The binding interactions of three kinds of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as gefitinib, lapatinib and sunitinib, with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied using ultraviolet spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and molecular docking methods. The experimental results showed that the intrinsic fluorescence quenching of BSA induced by the three TKIs resulted from the formation of stable TKIs-BSA complexes through the binding interaction of TKIs with BSA. The stoichiometry of three stable TKIs-BSA complexes was 1:1 and the binding constants (Kb) of the three TKIs-BSA complexes were in the order of 10(4)M(-1) at 310 K, indicating that there was a strong binding interaction of the three TKIs with BSA. Based on the analysis of the signs and magnitudes of the free energy change (ΔG(0)), enthalpic change (ΔH(0)) and entropic change (ΔS(0)) in the binding process, it can be deduced that the binding process of the three TKIs with BSA was spontaneous and enthalpy-driven process, and the main interaction forces between the three TKIs and BSA were van der Waals force and hydrogen bonding interaction. Moreover, from the results of CD, FT-IR and molecular docking, it can be concluded that there was a significant difference between the three TKIs in the binding site on BSA, lapatinib was located on site II (m) of BSA while gefitinib and sunitinib were bound on site I of BSA, and there were some changes in the BSA conformation when binding three TKIs to BSA but BSA still retains its secondary structure α-helicity.

Spectroscopic and molecular docking studies of binding interaction of gefitinib, lapatinib and sunitinib with bovine serum albumin (BSA).

The flavonoid family has been reported to possess a high potential for inhibition of xanthine oxidase (XO). This study concerned the structural aspects of inhibitory activities and binding affinities of flavonoids as XO inhibitors. The result indicated that the hydrophobic interaction was important in the binding of flavonoids to XO, and the XO inhibitory ability increased generally with increasing affinities within the class of flavones and flavonols. The planar structure and the C2═C3 double bonds of flavonoids were advantageous for binding to XO and for XO inhibition. Both the hydroxylation on ring B and the substitution at C3 were unfavorable for XO inhibition more profoundly than their XO affinity. The methylation greatly reduced the inhibition (0.75–3.07 times) but hardly affected the affinity. The bulky sugar substitutions of flavonoids decreased the inhibition (1.69–1.99 times) and lowered the affinities (4.20–9.22 times) to different degrees depending on the conjunction site.

Dietary Flavonoids as Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitors: Structure-Affinity and Structure-Activity Relationships.

Effect of luteolin on xanthine oxidase: inhibition kinetics and interaction mechanism merging with docking simulation.

A combination of fluorescence, UV–Vis absorption, circular dichroism (CD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and molecular modeling approaches were employed to determine the interaction between lysionotin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) at physiological pH. The fluorescence titration suggested that the fluorescence quenching of BSA by lysionotin was a static procedure. The binding constant at 298 K was in the order of 105 L mol−1, indicating that a high affinity existed between lysionotin and BSA. The thermodynamic parameters obtained at different temperatures (292, 298, 304 and 310 K) showed that the binding process was primarily driven by hydrogen bond and van der Waals forces, as the values of the enthalpy change (ΔH°) and entropy change (ΔS°) were found to be −40.81 ± 0.08 kJ mol−1 and −35.93 ± 0.27 J mol−1 K−1, respectively. The surface hydrophobicity of BSA increased upon interaction with lysionotin. The site markers competitive experiments revealed that the binding site of lysionotin was in the sub-domain IIA (site I) of BSA. Furthermore, the molecular docking results corroborated the binding site and clarified the specific binding mode. The results of UV–Vis absorption, CD and FT-IR spectra demonstrated that the secondary structure of BSA was altered in the presence of lysionotin.

Yuting Hu

Papers

Effect of luteolin on xanthine oxidase: inhibition kinetics and interaction mechanism merging with docking simulation.

Detection of interaction between lysionotin and bovine serum albumin using spectroscopic techniques combined with molecular modeling