1-Methyl Substituent and Stereochemical Effects of 2-Phenylcyclopropylamines on the Inhibition of Rat Brain Mitochondrial Monoamine Oxidase A and B

(E)-2-Phenylcyclopropylamine ((E)-TCP), (Z)-2-Phenylacyclopropylamine ((Z)-TCP), (E)-1-methyl-2-phenylcyclopropylamine ((E)-MTCP), and (Z)-1-methyl-2-phenylcyclopropylamine ((Z)-MTCP) were synthesized and used to determine to what extent 1-methylsubstitution and stereochemistry of 2-phenycyclopropylamines affect inhibition of monoamine oxidase (MAO). Inhibition of rat brain mitochondrial MAO-A and B by the compounds were measured using serotonin and benzylamine as the substrate, respectively and $IC_{50}$ values obtianed with 95% confidence limits by the method of computation. For the inhibition of MAO-A, (E)-MTPC ($IC_{50}$ = 6.2 * $10^{-8}$M) was found to be 37 times more potent than (Z)-MTCP ($IC_{50}$ = 7.8 * $10^{-8}$M), was 7 times more potent than (Z)-MTCP($IC_{50}$= 4.7 * $10^{-7}$M) and (E)-TCP($IC_{50}$ =7.8 * $10^{-8}$M),0.6 times as potent as (Z)- TCP ($IC_{50}$ = 4.4 * $10^{-8}$M). The results suggested that while without 1-methyl group, potency of a (Z)-isomer was comparable to that of (E)-isomer, the methyl group in its (Z)-position was very unfavorable to the inhibition of MAO and that in its (E)-position, the methyl group contributed positively to the potency as found by the fact that (E)-MTCP was 1-5 times more potent than (E)-TCP. In view of the selective inhibition of MAO-A- or B over MAO-A and 1-methyl substitution as well as the stereochemical factors did not significantly influence the selectivity.