Modeling of substrate-binding region of the active site of monoamine oxidase A
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Updated: Oct 13, 2026

Modeling an Enzyme Active Site using Molecular Visualization Freeware
Published on: December 25, 2021
A V Veselovsky1, A E Medvedev, O V Tikhonova
1Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, 119832, Russia. veselov@ibmh.msk.su
Abstract:
The mold of the substrate-binding region of the active site of monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) was designed using data of the enzyme interaction with reversible competitive inhibitors and the analysis of their three-dimensional structures. The superposition of ligands in biologically active conformations allowed determination of the shape and dimension of the active site cavity accommodating these compounds. The correctness of this approach was validated by the analysis of HIV protease interaction with its inhibitors using three-dimensional structures of HIV protease-inhibitor complexes. The mold of the substrate/inhibitor-binding site can be used for searching for new ligands in molecular databases and the development of a new generation of MAO inhibitors using lead structures that have not been employed for this purpose yet.
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