5-amino-1MQ studies and research data

5-amino-1MQ is 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium (C10H11N2+, 159.21), a small organic cation. It is usually sold as the iodide salt (C10H11IN2, 286.11). The name 5-amino-1MQ comes from the group of Stanley Watowich at the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston). Their 2017 J Med Chem paper screened N-methylated quinolinium, isoquinolinium, pyridinium and benzimidazolium/benzothiazolium compounds and found quinoliniums with NNMT inhibition at about 1 micromolar (PMID 28548833). ChEMBL records an IC50 of 1,200 nM for the iodide against recombinant human NNMT (a triple mutant protein made in E. coli, document CHEMBL4011619). NNMT transfers a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to nicotinamide. The 2018 Biochemical Pharmacology paper (PMID 29155147) reports that NNMT inhibitors of this series passed cell membranes, did not inhibit related methyltransferases or NAD+ salvage enzymes, lowered 1-methylnicotinamide, raised NAD+ and SAM, and reduced lipogenesis in cultured fat cells. In diet-induced obese mice, 5-amino-1MQ at 20 mg/kg by subcutaneous injection three times a day (about 34 mg/kg/day) for 11 days lowered body weight and white fat mass and plasma total cholesterol, without a change in food intake and with no observable adverse effects (PMC5826726). A 2021 rat study (PMID 34304009) found an oral bioavailability of 38.4 percent and a terminal half-life of 6.9 hours after an oral dose and 3.8 hours after an intravenous dose. A 2022 mouse study combined the compound with a low-fat diet (PMID 35013352). Later cell and mouse papers use it as a tool compound in cancer and other models. All published work found in this review is preclinical. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 0 studies. FDA has no approved product. FDA lists the compound on neither the 503A nor the 503B bulk drug substance list. On 2026-01-20 FDA sent a warning letter (WL 718739) to a 503B outsourcing facility, GenoGenix LLC, for compounding with 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium iodide, because it is not on the 503B bulks list. WADA does not name the compound. The S0 class of the 2026 and 2027 Prohibited Lists covers any substance with no approval for human therapeutic use that no other section addresses, so by that wording it is prohibited at all times (this is a reading of the list text, not a WADA statement about this compound).

Kind

Small molecule

Formula

C₁₀H₁₁IN₂

Identifiers

ChEMBLCHEMBL4088008 (opens in a new tab)CHEMBL4116828 (opens in a new tab)PubChem CID66522933 (opens in a new tab)950107 (opens in a new tab)176507677 (opens in a new tab)UNIIK9G33W2TTZ (opens in a new tab)PMX593N4N3 (opens in a new tab)KK7LU6YQL5 (opens in a new tab)CAS42464-96-0685079-15-6

Development

PreclinicalUniversity of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (Stanley J. Watowich, Harshini Neelakantan and colleagues) with chemists at the University of Texas at San Antonio (Stanton McHardy, Hua-Yu Leo Wang), per the author affiliations of Neelakantan 2018. No sponsor was found. One author (Neelakantan) lists Ridgeline Therapeutics (Houston, TX) as affiliation in PMID 35013352 (2022). Whether that company holds rights to the compound was not checked.Preclinical. The compound was identified in a 2017 screen (J Med Chem, PMID 28548833) and tested in obese mice in 2018 (Biochem Pharmacol, PMID 29155147, PMC5826726). A 2021 paper measured rat pharmacokinetics (PMID 34304009: oral bioavailability 38.4 percent, half-life 6.9 h oral and 3.8 h intravenous). Later papers from the same group and others use it in mice (diet-induced obesity with a low-fat diet, PMID 35013352) and in cell or mouse models of cancer (for example PMID 39067875 and PMID 33645410). ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 on 2026-10-13: 0 studies for '5-amino-1-methylquinolinium', '5-amino-1MQ', '5-amino-1-methylquinolin-1-ium' and 'NNMT inhibitor'. ChEMBL max_phase is empty for both records. Vendor and clinic pages claim human use, but no human trial, human pharmacokinetic study or human safety study was found. PubChem lists patent documents for the cation (for example CA-3057849-A1 and JP-2020512356-A); the owner and status were not read. Two US patents titled 'Quinoline derived small molecule inhibitors of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) and uses thereof' (11401243 and 12071409) appeared in a web search; their text was not read as text, so whether they cover this compound is not confirmed. Source (opens in a new tab)

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