Target identification of covalently binding drugs by activity-based protein profiling (ABPP)

The characterization of the target proteins of drug molecules has become an important goal in understanding its mode of action and origin of side effects due to off-target binding. This is especially important for covalently binding drugs usually containing electrophilic moieties, which potentially can react with nucleophilic residues found in many proteins. This review gives a comprehensive overview of the use of activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) as an efficient tool for the target identification of covalently binding drugs.

Development of a selective activity-based probe for glycosylated LIPA

Loss of LIPA activity leads to diseases such as Wolman's Disease and Cholesterol Ester Storage Disease. While it is possible to measure defects in LIPA protein levels, it is difficult to directly measure LIPA activity in cells. In order to measure LIPA activity directly we developed a LIPA specific activity based probe. LIPA is heavily glycosylated although it is unclear how glycosylation affects LIPA activity or function. Our probe is specific for a glycosylated form of LIPA in cells, although it labels purified LIPA regardless of glycosylation.

Activity based protein profiling to detect serine hydrolase alterations in virus infected cells

Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is a newly emerging technique that uses active site-directed probes to monitor the functional status of enzymes. Serine hydrolases are one of the largest families of enzymes in mammals. More than 200 serine hydrolases have been identified, but little is known about their specific roles. Serine hydrolases are involved in a variety of physiological functions, including digestion, immune response, blood coagulation, and reproduction. ABPP has been used recently to investigate host-virus interactions and to understand the molecular pathogenesis of virus infections. Monitoring the altered serine hydrolases during viral infection gives insight into the catalytic activity of these enzymes that will help to identify novel targets for diagnostic and therapeutic application. This review presents the usefulness of ABPP in detecting and analyzing functional annotation of host cell serine hydrolases as a result of host-virus interaction.