Background: Postoperative outcomes of portoenterostomy (PE) and redo-PE were evaluated using selected biochemical markers (SBM) and biochemical status categories (BSC). Methods: Subjects were 70 consecutive PE performed for biliary atresia. SBM were aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT), cholinesterase (ChE), and platelet count (PLT) assessed at 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months, and thence, annually for a maximum of 10 years. BSC were as follows: all SBM normal (N-SBM), normal AST/ALT (N-SLT), normal ChE (N-ChE), normal PC (N-PLT), all abnormal (A-SBM), abnormal AST/ALT (A-SLT), abnormal ChE (A-ChE), and abnormal PC (A-PLT). Subjects achieving jaundice clearance (JC) and surviving with native livers (SNL) also had gamma glutamyl transpeptidase assessed. Redo-PE indicated for failed PE was assessed postoperatively using the same SBM/BSC protocol. Results: PE were laparoscopic (LPE; n = 40) or open (OPE; n = 30). Mean age/weight at PE and duration of follow-up were similar. For JC, LPE = 34/40 (85.0%) and OPE = 22/30 (73.3%); P = .23. For SNL, LPE = 29/40 (72.5%) and OPE = 16/30 (53.3%); P = .10. LPE and OPE were similar for SBM/BSC, except for a single significant increase in ALT in OPE at 6 months. Redo-PE was performed 17-180 days (mean 67.1 days) after primary PE. AST was significantly increased at the last preredo assessment 3 months after primary PE; P < .05. After redo, AST decreased and SBM/BSC results were equivalent to nonredo subjects. Conclusion: Postoperative biochemical data for all PE cases were comparable; redo-PE would appear to be viable for restoring SBM, and AST could be valuable as a single marker of deterioration in redo cases.
Title: Mammalian enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of N-acylethanolamines Hussain Z, Uyama T, Tsuboi K, Ueda N Ref: Biochimica & Biophysica Acta, 1862:1546, 2017 : PubMed
Bioactive N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) are ethanolamides of long-chain fatty acids, including palmitoylethanolamide, oleoylethanolamide and anandamide. In animal tissues, NAEs are biosynthesized from membrane phospholipids. The classical "transacylation-phosphodiesterase" pathway proceeds via N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE), which involves the actions of two enzymes, NAPE-generating Ca(2+)-dependent N-acyltransferase (Ca-NAT) and NAPE-hydrolyzing phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD). Recent identification of Ca-NAT as E isoform of cytosolic phospholipase A2 enabled the further molecular biological approaches toward this enzyme. In addition, Ca(2+)-independent NAPE formation was shown to occur by N-acyltransferase activity of a group of proteins named phospholipase A/acyltransferases (PLAAT)-1-5. The analysis of NAPE-PLD-deficient mice confirmed that NAEs can be produced through multi-step pathways bypassing NAPE-PLD. The NAPE-PLD-independent pathways involved three members of the glycerophosphodiesterase (GDE) family (GDE1, GDE4 and GDE7) as well as alpha/beta-hydrolase domain-containing protein (ABHD)4. In this review article, we will focus on recent progress made and latest insights in the enzymes involved in NAE synthesis and their further characterization.
Protein palmitoylation is an essential post-translational modification necessary for trafficking and localization of regulatory proteins that play key roles in cell growth and signaling. Multiple oncogenes, including HRAS and SRC, require palmitoylation for malignant transformation. Lysophospholipase 1 (LYPLA1) has been identified as a candidate protein palmitoyl thioesterase responsible for HRAS depalmitoylation in mammalian cells. Seeking chemical tools to investigate biochemical pathway involvement and potential roles in cancer pathogenesis, we conducted a fluorescence polarization-based competitive activity-based protein profiling (fluopol-ABPP) HTS campaign to identify inhibitors of LYPLA1 and the structurally related LYPLA2. HTS identified a lead triazole urea micromolar inhibitor, which we optimized as dual LYPLA1/LYPLA2 inhibitor ML211, and reversible compounds ML348 and ML349 that act as selective LYPLA1 and LYPLA2 inhibitors, respectively. Using an advanced competitive ABPP strategy employing ABPP probes with controlled reactivity rates, we successfully confirmed potent and selective target engagement of these reversible compounds in living systems as detailed here for ML348 and in the accompanying ML349 Probe Report. Together, these compounds should greatly aid investigations into the biological function of LYPLA1 and LYPLA2
Protein palmitoylation is an essential post-translational modification necessary for trafficking and localization of regulatory proteins that play key roles in cell growth and signaling. Multiple oncogenes, including HRAS and SRC, require palmitoylation for malignant transformation. Lysophospholipase 1 (LYPLA1) has been identified as a candidate protein palmitoyl thioesterase responsible for HRAS depalmitoylation in mammalian cells. LYPLA1 has a close homolog, LYPLA2 (65% sequence identity), whose substrate specificity and biochemical roles are, as yet, uncharacterized. Seeking chemical tools to investigate biochemical pathway involvement and potential roles in cancer pathogenesis of these enzymes, we conducted a fluorescence polarization-based competitive activity-based protein profiling (fluopol-ABPP) HTS campaign to identify inhibitors of LYPLA1 and LYPLA2. HTS identified a lead triazole urea micromolar inhibitor, which we optimized as dual LYPLA1/LYPLA2 inhibitor ML211, and reversible compounds ML348 and ML349 that act as selective LYPLA1 and LYPLA2 inhibitors, respectively. Using an advanced competitive ABPP strategy employing ABPP probes with controlled reactivity rates, we successfully confirmed potent and selective target engagement of these reversible compounds in living systems as detailed here for ML349 and in the accompanying ML348 Probe Report. Together, these compounds should greatly aid investigations into the biological function of LYPLA1 and LYPLA2.
Title: Discovery and optimization of piperidyl-1,2,3-triazole ureas as potent, selective, and in vivo-active inhibitors of alpha/beta-hydrolase domain containing 6 (ABHD6) Hsu KL, Tsuboi K, Chang JW, Whitby LR, Speers AE, Pugh H, Cravatt BF Ref: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 56:8270, 2013 : PubMed
alpha/beta-Hydrolase domain containing 6 (ABHD6) is a transmembrane serine hydrolase that hydrolyzes the endogenous cannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) to regulate certain forms of cannabinoid receptor-dependent signaling in the nervous system. The full spectrum of ABHD6 metabolic activities and functions is currently unknown and would benefit from selective, in vivo-active inhibitors. Here, we report the development and characterization of an advanced series of irreversible (2-substituted)-piperidyl-1,2,3-triazole urea inhibitors of ABHD6, including compounds KT182 and KT203, which show exceptional potency and selectivity in cells (<5 nM) and, at equivalent doses in mice (1 mg kg(-1)), act as systemic and peripherally restricted ABHD6 inhibitors, respectively. We also describe an orally bioavailable ABHD6 inhibitor, KT185, that displays excellent selectivity against other brain and liver serine hydrolases in vivo. We thus describe several chemical probes for biological studies of ABHD6, including brain-penetrant and peripherally restricted inhibitors that should prove of value for interrogating ABHD6 function in animal models.
Title: Development and optimization of piperidyl-1,2,3-triazole ureas as selective chemical probes of endocannabinoid biosynthesis Hsu KL, Tsuboi K, Whitby LR, Speers AE, Pugh H, Inloes J, Cravatt BF Ref: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 56:8257, 2013 : PubMed
We have previously shown that 1,2,3-triazole ureas (1,2,3-TUs) act as versatile class of irreversible serine hydrolase inhibitors that can be tuned to create selective probes for diverse members of this large enzyme class, including diacylglycerol lipase-beta (DAGLbeta), a principal biosynthetic enzyme for the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Here, we provide a detailed account of the discovery, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship (SAR) of (2-substituted)-piperidyl-1,2,3-TUs that selectively inactivate DAGLbeta in living systems. Key to success was the use of activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) with broad-spectrum and tailored activity-based probes to guide our medicinal chemistry efforts. We also describe an expanded repertoire of DAGL-tailored activity-based probes that includes biotinylated and alkyne agents for enzyme enrichment coupled with mass spectrometry-based proteomics and assessment of proteome-wide selectivity. Our findings highlight the broad utility of 1,2,3-TUs for serine hydrolase inhibitor development and their application to create selective probes of endocannabinoid biosynthetic pathways.
The development of small-molecule inhibitors for perturbing enzyme function requires assays to confirm that the inhibitors interact with their enzymatic targets in vivo. Determining target engagement in vivo can be particularly challenging for poorly characterized enzymes that lack known biomarkers (e.g., endogenous substrates and products) to report on their inhibition. Here, we describe a competitive activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) method for measuring the binding of reversible inhibitors to enzymes in animal models. Key to the success of this approach is the use of activity-based probes that show tempered rates of reactivity with enzymes, such that competition for target engagement with reversible inhibitors can be measured in vivo. We apply the competitive ABPP strategy to evaluate a newly described class of piperazine amide reversible inhibitors for the serine hydrolases LYPLA1 and LYPLA2, two enzymes for which selective, in vivo active inhibitors are lacking. Competitive ABPP identified individual piperazine amides that selectively inhibit LYPLA1 or LYPLA2 in mice. In summary, competitive ABPP adapted to operate with moderately reactive probes can assess the target engagement of reversible inhibitors in animal models to facilitate the discovery of small-molecule probes for characterizing enzyme function in vivo.
The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is biosynthesized by diacylglycerol lipases DAGLalpha and DAGLbeta. Chemical probes to perturb DAGLs are needed to characterize endocannabinoid function in biological processes. Here we report a series of 1,2,3-triazole urea inhibitors, along with paired negative-control and activity-based probes, for the functional analysis of DAGLbeta in living systems. Optimized inhibitors showed high selectivity for DAGLbeta over other serine hydrolases, including DAGLalpha ( approximately 60-fold selectivity), and the limited off-targets, such as ABHD6, were also inhibited by the negative-control probe. Using these agents and Daglb(-/-) mice, we show that DAGLbeta inactivation lowers 2-AG, as well as arachidonic acid and eicosanoids, in mouse peritoneal macrophages in a manner that is distinct and complementary to disruption of cytosolic phospholipase-A2. We observed a corresponding reduction in lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha release. These findings indicate that DAGLbeta is a key metabolic hub within a lipid network that regulates proinflammatory responses in macrophages.
Endocannabinoids (ECs) are a unique group of lipids that function as chemical messengers in the nervous system. The two principle ECs thus far identified in mammals are N-arachidonoyl-ethanolamine (anandamide) and 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG). These compounds have been implicated in various physiological and pathological functions including appetite, pain, sensation, memory, and addiction. Because ECs are synthesized and released on demand and then rapidly degraded to terminate signaling, the metabolic pathways that govern EC turnover directly influence the magnitude and duration of neuronal signaling events. There is strong evidence that two serine hydrolases, diacylglycerol lipase-alpha and -beta (DAGL-alpha and -beta) function as 2-AG synthetic enzymes both in vitro and in vivo. However, because constitutive gene disruption, the only currently available means to investigate DAGL-alpha/beta biology due to a lack of selective chemical inhibitors, can result in compensatory effects and network-wide changes, there is still uncertainty surrounding the extent to which DAGL-alpha/beta contribute to 2-AG-mediated signaling. In an effort to provide chemical tools for manipulation of DAGL-beta activity, we initiated a competitive activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) screen of triazole urea compounds to identify selective enzyme inhibitors. This campaign, made possible by previous inhibitor development efforts for LYPLA1/2 (ML211), PAFAH2 (ML225), and ABHD11 (ML226) based on the triazole urea scaffold, yielded the medchem optimized probe ML294 (SID 125269120). ML294 is highly potent against its target enzyme (IC50 = 56 nM in vitro; 12 nM in situ), and is active in vivo, showing both oral bioavailability and blood-brain barrier penetration. Out of more than 20 serine hydrolases (SHs) profiled by gel-based competitive ABPP, ML294 is observed to have one anti-target, alpha/beta hydrolase domain-containing protein 6 (ABHD6). Otherwise, ML294 is at least 35-fold selective for all other brain SHs (approximately 20) assessed by gel-based competitive ABPP and 7-fold selective vs. its closest homolog, DAGL-alpha. To control for ABHD6-directed activity in biological studies, we also developed a structurally related ABHD6-selective control "anti-probe", ML295, also based on the triazole urea scaffold. The complete properties, characterization, and synthesis of ML294 are detailed in this report, and full details of ABHD6 inhibitors are detailed in the Probe Report for ML295 and ML296.
Title: Biosynthesis and degradation of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol Ueda N, Tsuboi K, Uyama T, Ohnishi T Ref: Biofactors, 37:1, 2011 : PubMed
2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is a monoacylglycerol (MAG) molecule containing an esterified arachidonic acid chain at sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone. Together with structurally similar N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide), 2-AG has been extensively studied as an endogenous ligand of cannabinoid receptors (an endocannabinoid) in brain and other mammalian tissues. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that the endocannabinoid system, including the central-type cannabinoid receptor CB1 and 2-AG, is responsible for synaptic retrograde signaling in the central nervous system. As 2-AG is rapidly formed from membrane phospholipids on cellular stimuli and degraded to arachidonic acid and glycerol, the enzymes catalyzing its biosynthesis and degradation are believed to play crucial roles in the regulation of its tissue levels. The major biosynthetic pathway appears to consist of sequential hydrolyses of inositol phospholipids via diacylglycerol (DAG) by alpha-type phospholipase C and DAG lipase, while MAG lipase is a principal enzyme in the degradation. In this short review, we will briefly outline rapid advances in enzymological research on the biosynthetic and degradative pathways of 2-AG.
