The aminoesters as inhibitors of plasma membrane H+-ATPase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

: A set of oxalates of alpha-dimethylamino fatty acids n-alkyl esters (MEM-ns and n-MEM-8s) and n-dodecyl-N,N-dimethylalaninate (DMAL-12s) were synthesized. Their activities on the growth, transport, and ATPases from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were compared. The compounds differ in the number of carbon atoms in their aliphatic chain and in the position of that chain in their molecular structure. The tested aminoesters with twelve carbon atoms (MEM-10s and DMAL-12s) appeared to have the highest level of activity. These drugs inhibited plasma membrane H+-ATPase, but no inhibition of mitochondrial ATPase was observed. Under nitrogen-derepressed conditions, the aminoesters inhibited amino acid uptake by yeast cells.