Cholesterol esterase action on human high density lipoproteins and inhibition studies: detection by MALDI-TOF MS

Hydrolytic Activity of Esterase-Antibody Complexes Retained Within Gel Capsules After Complex Isolation

Delipidation in biological samples is important for some diagnostic tests and protein analyses. Lipids in the samples can be hydrolyzed by native esterases (ESs) within gel capsules after ES, and ES-antibody complexes are specifically trapped, extracted, and separated. Acrylamide and agarose gel capsules containing complexes of ES antibody were produced after the complexes were extracted using protein A-immobilized membranes, separated by non-denaturing electrophoresis, and stained by colloidal silver using glucose as a reductant. ES activity of ES-antibody complexes within the gel capsule was significantly higher than that in the complexes with the control antibodies upon isolation, separation, and detection of the complex. In addition, lipids bound to human serum albumin decreased after human plasma was treated with gel capsules containing ES-antibody complexes. We demonstrate that the gel capsule containing ES-antibody complexes can be successfully isolated using techniques described in this study. Furthermore, delipidation of human plasma is obtained by incubation with the gel capsule. These results indicate that surplus materials such as lipids in biological samples can be removed or reduced by gel capsule containing enzymes.

Newborn boys and girls differ in the lipid composition of vernix caseosa

Vernix caseosa protects the skin of a human fetus during the last trimester of pregnancy and of a newborn after the delivery. Besides its cellular and proteinaceous components, an important constituent and functional agent is a complex lipid fraction, implicated in a multitude of salubrious effects of vernix caseosa. Little is known about how the chemical composition of vernix caseosa lipids is affected by various biological characteristics of the baby, such as the gestational age, birth weight, and, last but not least, the gender of the newborn. This study reports on the chemical variability of lipids contained in the vernix caseosa of twenty newborn girls and boys and shows that the quantitative patterns of the lipids are sex-specific. The specificity of lipids was investigated at the level of fatty acids in the total lipid extracts and intact lipids of several neutral lipid classes. Hydrocarbons, wax esters, cholesteryl esters, diol diesters and triacylglycerols were isolated using optimized semipreparative thin-layer chromatography, and the molecular species within each class were characterized using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Statistical evaluation revealed significant quantitative sex-related differences in the lipid composition of vernix caseosa among the newborns, pronounced in the two lipid classes associated with the activity of sebaceous glands. Higher proportions of wax esters and triacylglycerols with longer hydrocarbon chains were observed in newborn girls.

Surface analysis of lipids by mass spectrometry: more than just imaging

Mass spectrometry is now an indispensable tool for lipid analysis and is arguably the driving force in the renaissance of lipid research. In its various forms, mass spectrometry is uniquely capable of resolving the extensive compositional and structural diversity of lipids in biological systems. Furthermore, it provides the ability to accurately quantify molecular-level changes in lipid populations associated with changes in metabolism and environment; bringing lipid science to the "omics" age. The recent explosion of mass spectrometry-based surface analysis techniques is fuelling further expansion of the lipidomics field. This is evidenced by the numerous papers published on the subject of mass spectrometric imaging of lipids in recent years. While imaging mass spectrometry provides new and exciting possibilities, it is but one of the many opportunities direct surface analysis offers the lipid researcher. In this review we describe the current state-of-the-art in the direct surface analysis of lipids with a focus on tissue sections, intact cells and thin-layer chromatography substrates. The suitability of these different approaches towards analysis of the major lipid classes along with their current and potential applications in the field of lipid analysis are evaluated.

MALDI-TOF MS analysis of lipids from cells, tissues and body fluids

Many diseases as atherosclerosis and metabolic dysfunctions are known to correlate with changes of the lipid profile of tissues and body fluids. Therefore, the importance of reliable methods of lipid analysis is obvious. Although matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was so far primarily used for protein analysis, this method has itself proven to be very useful in lipid analysis, too. This review provides an overview of applications of MALDI-TOF MS in lipid analysis and summarizes the specific advantages and drawbacks of this modern soft-ionization method. The focus will be on the analysis of body fluids and cells as well as the diagnostic potential of the method in the lipid field. It will be shown that MALDI-TOF mass spectra can be recorded in a very short time and provide important information on the lipid as well as the fatty acyl composition of the lipids of an unknown sample. However, it will also be shown that only selected lipid classes (in particular those with quaternary ammonia groups as phosphatidylcholine) are detected if crude mixtures are analyzed as they are more sensitively detectable than other ones. This review ends with a short outlook emphasizing current methodological developments.

Hydrolytic activity of lipase on anion-exchange solid phase column after separation and electrotransfer by non-denaturing electrophoresis

This study reports the initial separation of phospholipase C-alpha from porcine retina using non-denaturing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Detection was by negative staining and then its hydrolytic activity was estimated using alpha-naphthyl acetate in a 2-DE gel. A spot of phospholipase C-alpha separated by 2-DE was excised. It was then electrophoretically transferred to an anion-exchange solid phase column after 40 mg, equal to dry weight of the solid resin from the cartridge (Accell Plus QMA, Waters Corporation), was packed into a disposable 1 ml syringe to make an anion-exchange solid phase column. Phosphatidylcholine was hydrolyzed in the anion-exchange solid phase column containing phospholipase C-alpha. The results indicated that a column with hydrolytic activity could be produced once lipases separated by non-denaturing 2-DE were transferred to the solid phase column.

Analysis of lipid hydrolytic activity by esterase on blotting membrane followed by separation using non-denaturing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

After separation by microscale non-denaturing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and transferring to a blotting membrane, major proteins are detected by a staining of direct blue 71 in a neutral solution. The carboxylesterase on the membrane hydrolyzes phosphatidylcholine after the spot of carboxylesterase is excised from the membrane, and incubated with phosphatidylcholine. Lipids of human serum proteins and the purified human high density lipoprotein (HDL) are removed by enzymatic hydrolysis when human serum proteins and the purified HDL are respectively incubated with the spot of carboxylesterase on the membrane. These results indicate that carboxylesterase on the membrane hydrolyzes not only lipids such as phosphatidylcholine but also lipids of lipoproteins such as HDL after separation by the 2DE, transferring to the membrane and staining without impairing the activity. These results also indicate that a micro-immobilized enzyme reactor on the membrane can be produced when biological enzymes are separated by microscale 2DE, transferred to the membrane and stained without impairing their activities.

Linoleoyl lysophosphatidylcholine is an efficient substrate for soybean lipoxygenase-1

Oxygenation of 1-linoleoyl lysophosphatidylcholine (linoleoyl-lysoPC) by soybean lipoxygenase-1 was monitored by measuring the increase of absorbance at 234nm. In support of this, the hydroperoxy derivative of linoleoyl-lysoPC as a major product and its reduction product as a minor one were detected by LC/MS analyses. The greater part of the hydroperoxy derivative was found to contain hydroperoxide group at C-13 rather than C-9, consistent with the position specificity of soybean lipoxygenase-1 in oxygenation of linoleic acid. Such a preferential production of 13-hydroperoxy derivative of linoleoyl-lysoPC was also observed at pH 7.4, suggesting that the positional specificity of lipoxygenase-1 is not affected greatly by pH. In addition, the pH-dependent oxygenation of linoleoyl-lysoPC, showing an optimal activity around pH 9, was similar to that of linoleic acid. In kinetic study, lipoxygenase 1-catalyzed oxygenation of linoleoyl-lysoPC followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics (V(m), 167.5U/mg protein; K(m), 12.9muM). In comparison, linoleoyl-lysoPC was no less efficient than linoleic acid as a substrate of soybean lipoxygenase-1. Moreover, oxygenation of linoleoyl-lysoPC by LOX-1 was not affected by detergent. Thus, linoleoyl-lysoPC could be utilized as a convenient substrate in the assay of soybean lipoxygeanse-1.

Differential effect of lysophospholipids on activities of human plasma paraoxonase1, either soluble or lipid-bound

Interaction of paraoxonase1 (PON1) with lysophospholipids was examined with respect to activity regulation and binding property. Paraoxonase activity of purified PON1 was partially inhibited by palmitoyl-lysophosphatidyl-glycerol (palmitoyl-lysoPG) and lysophosphatidylinositol (lysoPI), which had a stimulatory effect on arylesterase and diazoxonase activities. The selective inhibition of paraoxonase activity by palmitoyl-lysoPG, characterized by noncompetitiveness and charge interaction, was also observed with HDL- or dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC)-bound PON1. Meanwhile, lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) stimulated all three activities of purified PON1, although it stimulated DMPC-bound or HDL-bound PON1 to a lesser extent. The stimulatory action of lysophospholipids was observed around their CMC, suggesting that micelle formation of lysophospholpids might be involved in the stimulation of PON1 activity. Presumably in support of this, the tryptophan fluorescence intensity of PON1 was increased by lysophospholipids at concentrations required for the stimulation of PON1 activity. Separately, lysoPC stimulation was less remarkable for DMPC-bound PON1 than for either dimyristoylphosphatidylserine (DMPS)- or dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol-bound PON1, suggesting a tight association between PON1 and DMPC. In support of this, the stimulatory role of apolipoprotein A-I was less prominent for DMPC-bound PON1 than for DMPS-bound PON1. Taken together, these data suggest that the inhibition of paraoxonase activity by lysoPG or lysoPI may be due to binding to a site distinct from the active center, whereas the stimulation by lysophospholipid may be ascribed to the micelle formation around the lipid-associable region of PON1.

Synthesis of tricyclic 1,3-oxazin-4-ones and kinetic analysis of cholesterol esterase and acetylcholinesterase inhibition

A series of thieno[1,3]oxazin-4-ones and thieno[1,3]thiazin-4-ones were synthesized and investigated as inhibitors of the alpha/beta hydrolases cholesterol esterase (CEase) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The introduction of a cycloaliphatic five- or six-membered ring fused at the thiophene was favorable for CEase inhibition. Such compounds were analyzed as true alternate substrate inhibitors. 6,7-Dihydro-2-(dimethylamino)-4H,5H-cyclopenta[4,5]thieno[2,3-d][1,3]oxazin-4-one (33) exhibited a K(i) value of 630 nM and excelled in its low susceptibility to CEase-catalyzed degradation. Compound 33 and its analogues did not inhibit AChE. The introduction of a tetrahydropyrido ring with bulky hydrophobic substituents at the basic nitrogen provided inhibitors of AChE which were completely inactive toward CEase. 7-Benzyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-(N-3,4-dimethoxybenzyl-N-methylamino)-4H-pyrido[4',3':4,5]thieno[2,3-d][1,3]oxazin-4-one (21) had the IC(50) value of 330 nM for AChE inhibition. A residual enzymatic activity at an infinite inhibitor concentration and thus a catalytically active ternary enzyme-substrate-inhibitor complex was concluded. To specify kinetic parameters of inhibition, a new method was derived to characterize selected thieno[1,3]oxazin-4-ones as hyperbolic mixed-type inhibitors of AChE.