Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42589213›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of molecular sciences2026

Docking Analysis of Drugs Used in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, Using Cell Membrane Receptors and Enzymes of the Kynurenine Pathway: A Pilot Study.

Abdulla A B Badawy, Shazia Dawood, Felix I L Clanchy, Richard O Williams, Trevor W Stone

Abstract read
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Article in International journal of molecular sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Abdulla A B BadawySchool of Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Western Avenue, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8743-2804
Shazia DawoodPharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, Iqra University, Karachi 7580, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-1087-1411
Felix I L ClanchyThe Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FY, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3629-3613
Richard O WilliamsThe Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FY, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5473-5270
Trevor W StoneThe Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FY, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5532-0031

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Molecular docking in silico techniques were used to assess the interactions between several drugs used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AlzD) with neuronal receptors and with tryptophan and glycolytic pathway enzymes. AlzD drugs believed to act by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) docked to that enzyme, whereas other drugs did not. No docking was observed to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α-7-nAChR). All the drugs tested docked to the kainic acid receptor for glutamate, whereas donepezil, galantamine, tropisetron and N-acetylcysteine docked to the glutamate-NMDA receptor, but none docked to the glutamate-AMPA receptor. Two compounds docked to GABA receptors. Since the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism has been linked to AlzD, docking was examined with its various enzymes. Docking to tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO2), indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) and 2-amino-3-carboxymuconic acid-6-semialdehyde decarboxylase was seen with most of the AlzD drugs. Donepezil docked to kynurenine monooxygenase, while rivastigmine, memantine and tropisetron docked to kynurenine aminotransferase-2. There was limited docking to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and glycolytic enzymes, whereas most drugs docked to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK). Despite their strong docking ability to IDO1 and TDO, none of the compounds tested inhibited their enzyme activity in an assay of kynurenine production. This pilot study highlights the varied pharmacological profile of drugs used in AlzD and suggests that a detailed examination of their functional effects should be considered to assist understanding of their different profiles at on- and off- target sites in human treatment.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseKynurenineMolecular Docking SimulationCholinesterase InhibitorsHumansIndoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-DioxygenasePilot ProjectsCholinesterase InhibitorsIndoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-DioxygenaseKynurenineacetylcholinesteraseAlzheimer’s diseasedockingindoleamine 2,3-dioxygenasekynurenineNMDA receptorstryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase

Identifiers

PMID42589213
PMCPMC13465198

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.