Treating Cocaine Addiction, Obesity, and Emotional Disorders by Viral Gene Transfer of Butyrylcholinesterase

Solid-Phase Microextraction/Gas Chromatography-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Approach Combined with Network Pharmacology Analysis to Evaluate the Quality of Agarwood from Different Regions against Anxiety Disorder

Agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis Lam.) is a resinous material from different geographical locations. The current evaluation of agarwood quality is usually based on its physical properties and chemical compounds, yet only a few studies have linked agarwood quality with its anxiolytic effect, as indicated by characteristic compounds. In this study, using solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPME/GC-TOFMS) and multivariate analysis, we found 116 significantly different compounds in agarwood samples from four locations in Southeast Asia with regard to their quality. Brunei and Nha Trang agarwood had abundant sesquiterpenoids, exhibiting notable pharmacological efficacy in relieving anxiety. Malaysian and Irian agarwood had abundant alcohols and aldehydes, qualifying them as high-quality spices. Compound-target-disease network and pathway enrichment analysis were further employed to predict 79 gene targets and 20 pathways associated with the anxiolytic effects based on the 62 sesquiterpenoids. The correlated relationships among the sesquiterpenoids and targets suggest that agarwood treats anxiety via multiple compounds acting on multiple targets. Varying levels of sesquiterpenes across agarwood groups might lead to differences in the anxiolytic effects via signaling pathways, such as neurotransmitter- and hormone-regulated pathways. Our study originally evaluates agarwood quality and its anxiolytic effect by linking the characteristic compounds to potential gene targets and pathways.

Drug and pro-drug substrates and pseudo-substrates of human butyrylcholinesterase

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is present in plasma and numerous cells and organs. Its physiological function(s) is(are) still unclear. However, this enzyme is of pharmacological and toxicological importance. It displays a broad specificity and is capable of hydrolyzing a wide range of substrates with turnovers differing by several orders of magnitude. Nowaday, these substrates include more than two dozen carboxyl-ester drugs, numerous acetylated prodrugs, and transition state analogues of acetylcholine. In addition, BChE displays a promiscuous hydrolytic activity toward amide bonds of arylacylamides, and slowly hydrolyzes carbamyl- and phosphoryl-esters. Certain pseudo-substrates like carbamates and organophosphates are major drugs of potential medical interest. The existence of a large genetic poly-allelism, affecting the catalytic properties of BChE is at the origin of clinical complications in the use of certain drugs catabolized by BChE. The number of drugs and prodrugs hydrolyzed by BChE is expected to increase in the future. However, very few quantitative data (Km, kcat) are available for most marketed drugs, and except for myorelaxants like succinylcholine and mivacurium, the impact of BChE genetic mutations on catalytic parameters has not been evaluated for most of these drugs.

β-glucuronidase as a biomarker for assessing the exposure to anticholinergic pesticides: A meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

The human exposure to anticholinergic pesticides has been associated with the development of various diseases. Therefore, several biomarkers have been proposed for biomonitoring human exposure to anticholinergic pesticides.

OBJECTIVE

This work evaluated the effect of human exposure to anticholinergic pesticides on β-glucuronidase (GUSB) levels.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO databases up to December 2021. The statistical analysis employed standardized mean differences and meta-regression. And the trial sequential analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Nine studies were included. A monotonic relationship was observed between poisoning severity and GUSB. Furthermore, BuChE levels were correlated with GUSB levels.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicated that GUSB levels could be used as a possible diagnosis biomarker in poisoning related to anticholinergic pesticide exposure. However, the use of GUSB to assess the chronic exposure to anticholinergic pesticides could be only performed in recent exposure (≈ 7 days after last exposure).

Highly selective butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors related to Amaryllidaceae alkaloids - Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is one of the most frequently implicated enzymes in the advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). As part of our endeavors to develop new drug candidates for AD, we have focused on natural template structures, namely the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids carltonine A and B endowed with high BChE selectivity. Herein, we report the design, synthesis, and in vitro evaluation of 57 novel highly selective human BChE (hBChE) inhibitors. Most synthesized compounds showed hBChE inhibition potency ranging from micromolar to low nanomolar scale. Compounds that revealed BChE inhibition below 100 nM were selected for detailed biological investigation. The CNS-targeted profile of the presented compounds was confirmed theoretically by calculating the BBB score algorithm, these data were corroborated by determining the permeability in vitro using PAMPA-assay for the most active derivatives. The study highlighted compounds 87 (hBChE IC₅₀ = 3.8 ± 0.2 nM) and 88 (hBChE IC₅₀ = 5.7 ± 1.5 nM) as the top-ranked BChE inhibitors. Compounds revealed negligible cytotoxicity for the human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines compared to BChE inhibitory potential. A crystallographic study was performed to inspect the binding mode of compound 87, revealing essential interactions between 87 and hBChE active site. In addition, multidimensional QSAR analyses were applied to determine the relationship between chemical structures and biological activity in a dataset of designed agents. Compound 87 is a promising lead compound with potential implications for treating the late stages of AD.

Integrated in silico and experimental discovery of trimeric peptide ligands targeting Butyrylcholinesterase

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is recognized as a high value biotherapeutic in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and drug addiction. This study presents the rational design and screening of an in-silico library of trimeric peptides against BChE and the experimental characterization of peptide ligands for purification. The selected peptides consistently afforded high BChE recovery (> 90 %) and purity, yielding up to a 1000-fold purification factor. This study revealed a marked anti-correlated conformational movement governed by the ionic strength and pH of the aqueous environment, which ultimately controls BChE binding and release during chromatographic purification; and highlighted the role of residues within and allosteric to the catalytic triad of BChE in determining biorecognition, thus providing useful guidance for ligand design and affinity maturation.

Risk assessment of glycoalkaloids in feed and food, in particular in potatoes and potato-derived products

The European Commission asked EFSA for a scientific opinion on the risks for animal and human health related to the presence of glycoalkaloids (GAs) in feed and food. This risk assessment covers edible parts of potato plants and other food plants containing GAs, in particular, tomato and aubergine. In humans, acute toxic effects of potato GAs (α-solanine and α-chaconine) include gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. For these effects, the CONTAM Panel identified a lowest-observed-adverse-effect level of 1 mg total potato GAs/kg body weight (bw) per day as a reference point for the risk characterisation following acute exposure. In humans, no evidence of health problems associated with repeated or long-term intake of GAs via potatoes has been identified. No reference point for chronic exposure could be identified from the experimental animal studies. Occurrence data were available only for α-solanine and α-chaconine, mostly for potatoes. The acute dietary exposure to potato GAs was estimated using a probabilistic approach and applying processing factors for food. Due to the limited data available, a margin of exposure (MOE) approach was applied. The MOEs for the younger age groups indicate a health concern for the food consumption surveys with the highest mean exposure, as well as for the P95 exposure in all surveys. For adult age groups, the MOEs indicate a health concern only for the food consumption surveys with the highest P95 exposures. For tomato and aubergine GAs, the risk to human health could not be characterised due to the lack of occurrence data and the limited toxicity data. For horses, farm and companion animals, no risk characterisation for potato GAs could be performed due to insufficient data on occurrence in feed and on potential adverse effects of GAs in these species.

Slow-binding inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase of medical interest

Certain ligands slowly bind to acetylcholinesterase. As a result, there is a slow establishment of enzyme-inhibitor equilibrium characterized by a slow onset of inhibition prior reaching steady state. Three mechanisms account for slow-binding inhibition: a) slow binding rate constant k_on, b) slow ligand induced-fit following a fast binding step, c) slow conformational selection of an enzyme form. The slow equilibrium may be followed by a chemical step. This later that can be irreversible has been observed with certain alkylating agents and substrate transition state analogs. Slow-binding inhibitors present long residence times on target. This results in prolonged pharmacological or toxicological action. Through several well-known molecules (e.g. huperzine) and new examples (tocopherol, trifluoroacetophenone and a 6-methyluracil alkylammonium derivative), we show that slow-binding inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase are promising drugs for treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer disease and myasthenia gravis. Moreover, they may be of interest for neuroprotection (prophylaxis) against organophosphorus poisoning. This article is part of the special issue entitled 'Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors: From Bench to Bedside to Battlefield'.

Acetylcholinesterase: The "Hub" for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Chemical Weapons Convention

This article describes acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme involved in parasympathetic neurotransmission, its activity, and how its inhibition can be pharmacologically useful for treating dementia, caused by Alzheimer’s disease, or as a warfare method due to the action of nerve agents. The chemical concepts related to the irreversible inhibition of AChE, its reactivation, and aging are discussed, along with a relationship to the current international legislation on chemical weapons.

Assessment of biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer (Review)

The assessment of the risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) is critical in the management of males with prostate cancer (PC). Over the past decades, a comprehensive effort has been focusing on improving risk stratification; a variety of models have been constructed using PC-associated pathological features and molecular alterations occurring at the genome, protein and RNA level. Alterations in RNA expression (lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA) constitute the largest proportion of the biomarkers of BCR. In this article, we systemically review RNA-based BCR biomarkers reported in PubMed according to the PRISMA guidelines. Individual miRNAs, mRNAs, lncRNAs and multi-gene panels, including the commercially available signatures, Oncotype DX and Prolaris, will be discussed; details related to cohort size, hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals will be provided. Mechanistically, these individual biomarkers affect multiple pathways critical to tumorigenesis and progression, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), Wnt, growth factor receptor, cell proliferation, immune checkpoints and others. This variety in the mechanisms involved not only validates their associations with BCR, but also highlights the need for the coverage of multiple pathways in order to effectively stratify the risk of BCR. Updates of novel biomarkers and their mechanistic insights are considered, which suggests new avenues to pursue in the prediction of BCR. Additionally, the management of patients with BCR and the potential utility of the stratification of the risk of BCR in salvage treatment decision making for these patients are briefly covered. Limitations will also be discussed.

Structural stability of human butyrylcholinesterase under high hydrostatic pressure

Human butyrylcholinesterase is a nonspecific enzyme of clinical, pharmacological and toxicological significance. Although the enzyme is relatively stable, its activity is affected by numerous factors, including pressure. In this work, hydrostatic pressure dependence of the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence in native and salted human butyrylcholinesterase was studied up to the maximum pressure at ambient temperature of about 1200 MPa. A correlated large shift toward long wavelengths and broadening observed at pressures between 200 and 700 MPa was interpreted as due to high pressure-induced denaturation of the protein, leading to an enhanced exposure of tryptophan residues into polar solvent environment. This transient process in native butyrylcholinesterase presumably involves conformational changes of the enzyme at both tertiary and secondary structure levels. Pressure-induced mixing of emitting local indole electronic transitions with quenching charge transfer states likely describes the accompanying fluorescence quenching that reveals different course from spectral changes. All the pressure-induced changes turned irreversible after passing a mid-point pressure of about 400 ± 50 MPa. Addition of either 0.1 M ammonium sulphate (a kosmotropic salt) or 0.1 M lithium thiocyanate (a chaotropic salt) to native enzyme similarly destabilized its structure.

Biphasic Alteration of Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) During Prostate Cancer Development

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is a plasma enzyme that hydrolyzes ghrelin and bioactive esters, suggesting a role in modulating metabolism. Serum BChE is reduced in cancer patients. In prostate cancer (PC), the down-regulation is associated with disease recurrence. Nonetheless, how BChE is expressed in PC and its impact on PC remain unclear. We report here the biphasic changes of BChE expression in PC. In vitro, BChE expression was decreased in more tumorigenic PC stem-like cells (PCSLCs), DU145, and PC3 cells compared to less tumorigenic non-stem PCs and LNCaP cells. On the other hand, BChE was expressed at a higher level in LNCaP cells than immortalized but non-tumorigenic prostate epithelial BPH-1 cells. In vivo, BChE expression was up-regulated in DU145 xenografts compared to LNCaP xenografts; DU145 cell-derived lung metastases displayed comparable levels of BChE as subcutaneous tumors. Furthermore, LNCaP xenografts produced in castrated mice exhibited a significant increase of BChE expression compared to xenografts generated in intact mice. In patients, BChE expression was down-regulated in PCs (n = 340) compared to prostate tissues (n = 86). In two independent PC populations MSKCC (n = 130) and TCGA Provisional (n = 490), BChE mRNA levels were reduced from World Health Organization grade group 1 (WHOGG 1) PCs to WHOGG 3 PCs, followed by a significant increase in WHOGG 5 PCs. The up-regulation was associated with a reduction in disease-free survival (P = .008). Collectively, we demonstrated for the first time a biphasic alteration of BChE, its down-regulation at early stage of PC and its up-regulation at advanced PC.