Liver production of N-alkylated porphyrins caused in mice by treatment with substituted dihydropyridines : Evidence that the alkyl group on the pyrrole nitrogen atom originates from the drug

Abstract

The porphyrogenic drug, 3,Sdiethoxycarbonyl1,4-dihydro-2,4,6_trimethylpyridine causes a marked inhibition of the enzyme protohaem ferro-lyase (EC 4.99.1 .l) in the liver of rats, mice and chick embryos [l-4] an effect which is thought to be responsible for the very pronounced accumulation of protoporphyrin seen in this type of experimental porphyria. We have isolated a potent inhibitor of protohaem ferro-lyase from the liver of mice made porphyric by treatment with this drug [5,6] and have identified the inhibitor as N-methyl protoporphyrin [7]. Inhibition of protohaem ferro-lyase has also been obtained both in vivo and in vitro with synthetic N-alkylated porphyrins [7-91, and the size of the alkyl group present on the pyrrole nitrogen atom has been shown to be important for the inhibitory effect, N-ethylmesoporphyrin being less active than N-methylmesoporphyrin [8]. Isotopic experiments have suggested that the N-methylated protoporphyrin produced by treatment with 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydro-2,4,6-trimethylpyridine originates from liver haem [5,6,10], but the source of the methyl group bound onto the pyrrole nitrogen atom has not yet been determined. The following findings have raised the possibility that the methyl group may originate from the 4-methyl substituent of the drug: under relatively mild chemical conditions certain dihydropyridines lose their 4-alkyl substituent on oxidation and that this alkyl group can be donated to suitable nucleophiles [ 111. A series of dihydropyridine analogues have been compared for their ability to inhibit liver protohaem ferro-lyase