Sites of Action of Noncompetitive GABA Antagonists in Houseflies and Rats: Three-Dimensional QSAR Analysis

Abstract

Quantitative structure-activity relationships for insecticidal activity (against houseflies) and competitive activity against a specific [ 35 S]tert-butyl-bicyclophosphorothionate binding (to rat brain membranes) of some picrotoxinin-type 4-aminobutyric acid antagonists, including γ-BHC, endosulfan, bicyclophosphates, dioxatricyclododecenes and related compounds, were examined three-dimensionally using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA). The antagonists were classified into two series according to their molecular shapes: i.e. whether their structure was 'linearly' extended beyond the 'mast-head' position of the 'boat-like' skeletons (series 1) or not (series 2). The CoMFA showed that the slopes in steric and electrostatic fields around the molecule were significant for both series in governing the potency variations in insecticidal and binding activities. Hydrophobicity, a possible factor controlling transport behaviour of compounds, was significant in governing variations in insecticidal activity, but not for the case of the rat membrane binding. Assuming that there is a slight topological difference between series 1 and 2 compounds in terms of the mode of binding with the housefly receptor site, the insecticidal activity was analysable with a single equation for the combined set of compounds, but the rat membrane binding was not. The sterically and electrostatically favourable regions surrounding the molecular series indicated by CoMFA were roughly located at positions so as to interact with the binding subsites on the receptors proposed previously.