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Belinskaya T, Saxena A. Low levels of endogenous cholinesterases support the choice of cows, sheep and goats for the transgenic expression of human butyrylcholinesterase in milk. Chem Biol Interact 2023; 383:110691. [PMID: 37659623 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2023.110691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023]
Abstract
Butyrylcholinesterase purified from human plasma (Hu BChE) as well as recombinant (r) Hu BChE are candidate enzymes that can protect humans from toxicity of organophosphorus compounds (OPs). Domestic animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, and goats have been used for the transgenic expression of a variety of valuable therapeutic proteins. Indeed, rHu BChE was successfully expressed in the milk of transgenic goats, but the presence of any endogenous cholinesterases (ChE) in milk would interfere with the isolation of expressed rHu BChE. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of endogenous ChEs in bovine, ovine, caprine, and porcine milk to determine the suitability of these species for the production of rHu BChE. Using acetyl- and butyryl- thiocholine as substrates, ChE activity (2-4 U/mL) was detected in pig milk only. ChE activities in milk from other animals were <0.01 U/mL and could only be detected following enrichment on procainamide-Sepharose gel. Two different methods based on measuring activity in the presence of acetylcholinesterase (AChE)- or BChE- specific inhibitors were used to estimate the proportions of AChE and BChE activities in enriched milk. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), against fetal bovine serum AChE that recognize AChEs from ruminants only, were also used to confirm the identity of AChEs. While bovine and ovine milk contain both AChE and BChE activities, caprine and porcine milk contain predominantly BChE activity. The presence of very low ChE activity supports the choice of cows, sheep, and goats for the transgenic expression of rHu BChE in milk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatyana Belinskaya
- Division of Biochemistry, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA
| | - Ashima Saxena
- Division of Biochemistry, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA.
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2
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Allard JL, Shields KA, Munro T, Lua LHL. Design and production strategies for developing a recombinant butyrylcholinesterase medical countermeasure for Organophosphorus poisoning. Chem Biol Interact 2022; 363:109996. [PMID: 35654125 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2022.109996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Organophosphorus nerve agents represent a serious chemical threat due to their ease of production and scale of impact. The recent use of the nerve agent Novichok has re-emphasised the need for broad-spectrum medical countermeasures (MCMs) to these agents. However, current MCMs are limited. Plasma derived human butyrylcholinesterase (huBChE) is a promising novel bioscavenger MCM strategy, but is prohibitively expensive to isolate from human plasma at scale. Efforts to produce recombinant huBChE (rBChE) in various protein expression platforms have failed to achieve key critical attributes of huBChE such as circulatory half-life. These proteins often lack critical features such as tetrameric structure and requisite post-translational modifications. This review evaluates previous attempts to generate rBChE and assesses recent advances in mammalian cell expression and protein engineering strategies that could be deployed to achieve the required half-life and yield for a viable rBChE MCM. This includes the addition of a proline-rich attachment domain, fusion proteins, post translational modifications, expression system selection and optimised downstream processes. Whilst challenges remain, a combinatorial approach of these strategies demonstrates potential as a technically feasible approach to achieving a bioactive and cost effective bioscavenger MCM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne L Allard
- Defence Science and Technology Group, Fishermans Bend, Victoria, 3207, Australia; The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
| | - Katherine A Shields
- Defence Science and Technology Group, Fishermans Bend, Victoria, 3207, Australia
| | - TrentP Munro
- The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Linda H L Lua
- The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
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3
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Leung MR, Zeev-Ben-Mordehai T. Cryo-electron microscopy of cholinesterases, present and future. J Neurochem 2020; 158:1236-1243. [PMID: 33222205 PMCID: PMC8518539 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) exist in a variety of oligomeric forms, each with defined cellular and subcellular distributions. Although crystal structures of AChE and BChE have been available for many years, structures of the physiologically relevant ChE tetramer were only recently solved by cryo‐electron microscopy (cryo‐EM) single‐particle analysis. Here, we briefly review how these structures contribute to our understanding of cholinesterase oligomerization, highlighting the advantages of using cryo‐EM to resolve structures of protein assemblies that cannot be expressed recombinantly. We argue that the next frontier in cholinesterase structural biology is to image membrane‐anchored ChE oligomers directly in their native environment—the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Ricardo Leung
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,The Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tzviya Zeev-Ben-Mordehai
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,The Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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4
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Xing S, Li Q, Xiong B, Chen Y, Feng F, Liu W, Sun H. Structure and therapeutic uses of butyrylcholinesterase: Application in detoxification, Alzheimer's disease, and fat metabolism. Med Res Rev 2020; 41:858-901. [PMID: 33103262 DOI: 10.1002/med.21745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Structural information of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and its variants associated with several diseases are discussed here. Pure human BChE has been proved safe and effective in treating organophosphorus (OPs) poisoning and has completed Phase 1 and 2 pharmacokinetic (PK) and safety studies. The introduction of specific mutations into native BChE to endow it a self-reactivating property has gained much progress in producing effective OPs hydrolases. The hydrolysis ability of native BChE on cocaine has been confirmed but was blocked to clinical application due to poor PK properties. Several BChE mutants with elevated cocaine hydrolysis activity were published, some of which have shown safety and efficiency in treating cocaine addiction of human. The increased level of BChE in progressed Alzheimer's disease patients made it a promising target to elevate acetylcholine level and attenuate cognitive status. A variety of selective BChE inhibitors with high inhibitory activity published in recent years are reviewed here. BChE could influence the weight and insulin secretion and resistance of BChE knockout (KO) mice through hydrolyzing ghrelin. The BChE-ghrelin pathway could also regulate aggressive behaviors of BChE-KO mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuaishuai Xing
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qi Li
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Baichen Xiong
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yao Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Feng Feng
- Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.,Institute of Food and Pharmaceuticals Research, Jiangsu Food and Pharmaceuticals Science College, Nanjing, China
| | - Wenyuan Liu
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Haopeng Sun
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
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5
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Mirzaie V, Eslaminejad T, Babaei H, Nematollahi-Mahani SN. Enhancing the Butyrylcholinesterase Activity in HEK-293 Cell Line by Dual-Promoter Vector Decorated on Lipofectamine. DRUG DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND THERAPY 2020; 14:3589-3599. [PMID: 32943846 PMCID: PMC7481294 DOI: 10.2147/dddt.s260419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) serves as a bio scavenger to counteract organophosphate poisoning. It is also a potential drug candidate in several therapeutic fields. Therefore, in the present study, we constructed a new dual-promoter plasmid consisting of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and human elongation factor 1α (EF-1α) promoters and transfected that into HEK-293 cells using Lipofectamine to enhance the BChE secretion. Methods The new dual-promoter construction (pBudCE dual BChE) including two copies of the BChE gene was designed and transfected into cells by liposomal structures. The cloned plasmids were evaluated by enzyme digestion and gel electrophoresis analysis. Experimental groups were categorized into the cells transfected by pBudCE dual BChE (treatment), pCMV (positive control) vectors, and nontransfected cells (negative control). BChE gene expression was evaluated by qRT-PCR and the enzyme activity was assessed using modified Ellman’s method. The freeze-thaw process was carried out for analyzing the stability of the pBudCE dual BChE vector. Results Validation examination of the cloned plasmids confirmed the successful cloning process. The gene expression level and Ellman’s method value in pBudCE dual BChE was higher than the other groups. CMV promoter has also increased the enzyme activity, although the difference was not significant compared with the control group. Interestingly, freeze-thaw cycles followed by several passages did not affect the enzyme activity. Conclusion The designed construction with CMV and EF-1α promoters could increase BChE gene expression and the activity of the BChE enzyme in HEK-293 cell line. Large-scale production of BChE enzyme can be achieved by using dual-promoter plasmid construction compared to a single-promoter vector to be used in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vida Mirzaie
- Department of Anatomy, Afzalipour School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Touba Eslaminejad
- Pharmaceutics Research Centre, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Homayoon Babaei
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
| | - Seyed Noureddin Nematollahi-Mahani
- Neuroscience Research Centre, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.,Afzal Research Institute (NGO), Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
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6
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Rosenberg Y, Saxena A. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition resulting from exposure to inhaled OP can be prevented by pretreatment with BChE in both macaques and minipigs. Neuropharmacology 2020; 174:108150. [PMID: 32442543 PMCID: PMC7365266 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
More frequent and widespread nerve agent attacks highlight the need for efficacious pre- and post-exposure organophosphate (OP) counter-measures to protect military and civilian populations. Because of critical targeting of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the CNS by OPs, a pre-treatment candidate for preventing/reducing poisoning will be a broadly acting molecule that scavenges OPs in blood before they reach their physiological targets. Prophylactic human butyrylcholinesterase (HuBChE), the leading pretreatment candidate, has been shown to protect against multiple LD50's of nerve agents in rodents, macaques, and minipigs. This review describes the development of a HuBChE bioscavenger pretreatment from early proof-of-concept studies to pre-clinical studies with the native injectable enzyme and the development of aerosolized forms of recombinant enzyme, which can be delivered by inhalation nebulizer devices, to effect protection against inhaled OP nerve agents and insecticides. Early animal studies utilized parenteral exposure. However, lungs are the portal of entry for most volatile OP vapors and represent the major means of OP intoxication. In this regard, pretreat-ment with 7.5 mg/kg of HuBChE by IM injection protected minipigs against lethal sarin vapor and prevented AChE inhibition in the blood. This is similar to the five-day protection in macaques by an aerosolized rHuBChE using a nebulizer against aerosolized paraoxon (estimated to be an 8 mg/kg estimated human dose). Importantly, lethal inhaled doses of OP may be smaller relative to the same dose delivered by injection, thus reducing the protective HuBChE dose, while a combination of HuBChE and post-exposure oxime may prolong protection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ashima Saxena
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA
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7
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Meghwanshi GK, Kaur N, Verma S, Dabi NK, Vashishtha A, Charan PD, Purohit P, Bhandari HS, Bhojak N, Kumar R. Enzymes for pharmaceutical and therapeutic applications. Biotechnol Appl Biochem 2020; 67:586-601. [PMID: 32248597 DOI: 10.1002/bab.1919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Enzymes are highly efficient and selective biocatalysts, present in the living beings. They exist in enormous varieties in terms of the types of reactions catalyzed by them for instance oxidation-reduction, group transfers within the molecules or between the molecules, hydrolysis, isomerization, ligation, bond cleavage, and bond formation. Besides, enzyme based catalyses are performed with much higher fidelity, under mild reaction conditions and are highly efficient in terms of number of steps, giving them an edge over their chemical counter parts. The unique characteristics of enzymes makes them highly applicable fora number of chemical transformation reactions in pharmaceutical industries, such as group protection and deprotection, selective acylation and deacylation, selective hydrolysis, deracemization, kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures, esterification, transesterification, and many others. In this review, an overview of the enzymes, their production and their applications in pharmaceutical syntheses and enzyme therapies are presented with diagrams, reaction schemes and table for easy understanding of the readers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Navpreet Kaur
- Department of Microbiology, M.G.S. University, Bikaner, India
| | - Swati Verma
- Department of Microbiology, M.G.S. University, Bikaner, India
| | | | | | - P D Charan
- Department of Environmental Science, M.G.S. University, Bikaner, India
| | - Praveen Purohit
- Department of Chemistry, Engineering College, Bikaner, India
| | - H S Bhandari
- Department of Chemistry, GCRC Govt. Dungar College, Bikaner, India
| | - N Bhojak
- Department of Chemistry, GCRC Govt. Dungar College, Bikaner, India
| | - Rajender Kumar
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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8
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Chung CY, Wang Q, Yang S, Chough S, Seo Y, Cipollo JF, Balthasar JP, Betenbaugh MJ. The impact of sialylation linkage-type on the pharmacokinetics of recombinant butyrylcholinesterases. Biotechnol Bioeng 2019; 117:157-166. [PMID: 31544955 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Revised: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells typically produce glycoproteins with N-glycans terminating in α-2,3 sialylation. Human cells produce glycoproteins that include α-2,3 and α-2,6 sialic acids. To examine the impact of altering protein sialylation on pharmacokinetic properties, recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) was produced in CHO cells by knocking out the α-2,3 sialyltransferase genes followed by overexpression of the α-2,6 sialyltransferase (26BChE) enzyme. The N-glycan composition of 26BChE was compared to BChE with α-2,3 sialylation (23BChE) derived from wild-type CHO cells. Both 23BChE and 26BChE exhibited comparable antennarity distributions with bi-antennary di-sialylated glycans representing the most abundant glycoform. CD-1 mice were intravenously injected with the 23BChE or 26BChE, and residual BChE activities from blood collected at various time points for pharmacokinetic analyses. Although 23BChE contained a slightly lower initial sialylation level compared to 26BChE, the molecule exhibited higher residual activity between 5 and 24 hr postinjection. Pharmacokinetic analyses indicated that 23BChE exhibited an increase in area under the curve and a lower volume of distribution at steady state than that of 26BChE. These findings suggest that the type of sialylation linkage may play a significant role in the pharmacokinetic behavior of a biotherapeutic when tested in in vivo animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Yu Chung
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Qiong Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Shuang Yang
- Laboratory for Bacterial Polysaccharides, Division of Bacterial, Parasitic and Allergenic Products (DBPAP), Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland
| | - Sandra Chough
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Younji Seo
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - John F Cipollo
- Laboratory for Bacterial Polysaccharides, Division of Bacterial, Parasitic and Allergenic Products (DBPAP), Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland
| | - Joseph P Balthasar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Michael J Betenbaugh
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
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9
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Rosenberg Y, Fink J, MacLoughlin R, Ooms-Konecny T, Sullivan D, Gerk W, Mao L, Jiang X, Lees J, Urban L, Rajendran N. Aerosolized recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase delivered by a nebulizer provides long term protection against inhaled paraoxon in macaques. Chem Biol Interact 2019; 309:108712. [PMID: 31201777 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2019.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The recent intentional use of nerve agents and pesticides in Europe and Afghanistan highlights the need for an effective countermeasure against organophosphates (OP) toxins. The most developed pretreatment candidate to date is plasma (native) human butyrylcholinesterase (HuBChE), which is limited in availability and because of its 1:1 stoichiometry with OPs, a large dose will present challenges when delivered parenterally both in terms of pharmacokinetics and manageability in the field. A tetrameric recombinant (r) form of human BChE produced in CHO-K1 cells with similar structure, in vivo stability and antidotal efficacy as the native form, has been developed to deliver rHuBChE as an aerosol (aer) to form a pulmonary bioshield capable of neutralizing inhaled OPs in situ and prevent AChE inhibition in the blood and in the brain; the latter associated with the symptoms of OP toxicity. Previous proof-of-concept macaque studies demonstrated that delivery of 9 mg/kg using a microsprayer inserted down the trachea, resulted in protection against an inhaled dose of 15ug/kg of aer-paraoxon (aer-Px) given 72 h later. In the present studies, pulmonary delivery of rHuBChE in macaques was achieved using Aerogen vibrating mesh nebulizers, similar to that used for human self-administration. The promising findings indicate that despite the poor lung deposition observed in macaques using nebulizers (13-20%), protective levels of RBC-AChE were still present in the blood even when exposure aer-Px (55 μg/kg) was delayed for five days. This long term retention of 5 mg/kg rHuBChE deposited in the lung bodes well for the use of an aer-rHuBChE pretreatment in humans where a user-friendly customized nebulizer with increased lung deposition up to 50% will provide even longer protection at a lower dose.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James Fink
- Department of Respiratory Care, Texas State University, Round Rock, TX, 78665, USA
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Chen X, Deng J, Zheng X, Zhang J, Zhou Z, Wei H, Zhan CG, Zheng F. Development of a long-acting Fc-fused cocaine hydrolase with improved yield of protein expression. Chem Biol Interact 2019; 306:89-95. [PMID: 30986387 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2019.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is known as a safe and effective protein for detoxification of organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents. Its rationally designed mutants with considerably improved catalytic activity against cocaine, known as cocaine hydrolases (CocHs), are recognized as the most promising drug candidates for the treatment of cocaine abuse. However, it is a grand challenge to efficiently produce active recombinant BChE and CocHs with a sufficiently long biological half-life. In the present study, starting from a promising CocH, known as CocH3 (i.e. A199S/F227A/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant of human BChE), which has a ~2000-fold improved catalytic activity against cocaine compared to wild-type BChE, we designed an N-terminal fusion protein, Fc(M3)-(PAPAP)2-CocH3, which was constructed by fusing Fc of human IgG1 to the N-terminal of CocH3 and further optimized by inserting a linker between the two protein domains. Without lowering the enzyme activity, Fc(M3)-(PAPAP)2-CocH3 expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells has not only a long biological half-life of 105 ± 7 h in rats, but also a high yield of protein expression. Particularly, Fc(M3)-(PAPAP)2-CocH3 has a ~21-fold increased protein expression yield in CHO cells compared to CocH3 under the same experimental conditions. Given the observations that Fc(M3)-(PAPAP)2-CocH3 has not only a high catalytic activity against cocaine and a long biological half-life, but also a high yield of protein expression, this new protein entity reported in this study would be a more promising candidate for therapeutic treatment of cocaine overdose and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiabin Chen
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Jing Deng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Xirong Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Jinling Zhang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Ziyuan Zhou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Huimei Wei
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
| | - Fang Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
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11
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Franjesevic AJ, Sillart SB, Beck JM, Vyas S, Callam CS, Hadad CM. Resurrection and Reactivation of Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase. Chemistry 2019; 25:5337-5371. [PMID: 30444932 PMCID: PMC6508893 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201805075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents and pesticides present significant threats to civilian and military populations. OP compounds include the nefarious G and V chemical nerve agents, but more commonly, civilians are exposed to less toxic OP pesticides, resulting in the same negative toxicological effects and thousands of deaths on an annual basis. After decades of research, no new therapeutics have been realized since the mid-1900s. Upon phosphylation of the catalytic serine residue, a process known as inhibition, there is an accumulation of acetylcholine (ACh) in the brain synapses and neuromuscular junctions, leading to a cholinergic crisis and eventually death. Oxime nucleophiles can reactivate select OP-inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Yet, the fields of reactivation of AChE and butyrylcholinesterase encounter additional challenges as broad-spectrum reactivation of either enzyme is difficult. Additional problems include the ability to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and to provide therapy in the central nervous system. Yet another complication arises in a competitive reaction, known as aging, whereby OP-inhibited AChE is converted to an inactive form, which until very recently, had been impossible to reverse to an active, functional form. Evaluations of uncharged oximes and other neutral nucleophiles have been made. Non-oxime reactivators, such as aromatic general bases and Mannich bases, have been developed. The issue of aging, which generates an anionic phosphylated serine residue, has been historically recalcitrant to recovery by any therapeutic approach-that is, until earlier this year. Mannich bases not only serve as reactivators of OP-inhibited AChE, but this class of compounds can also recover activity from the aged form of AChE, a process referred to as resurrection. This review covers the modern efforts to address all of these issues and notes the complexities of therapeutic development along these different lines of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Franjesevic
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Sydney B Sillart
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Jeremy M Beck
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Shubham Vyas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
- Current Address: Department of Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO, 80401, USA
| | - Christopher S Callam
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Christopher M Hadad
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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12
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Iyengar ARS, Pande AH. Is Human Paraoxonase 1 the Saviour Against the Persistent Threat of Organophosphorus Nerve Agents? Protein Pept Lett 2019; 26:471-478. [PMID: 30942142 DOI: 10.2174/0929866526666190403120259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Nerve agents have been used extensively in chemical warfare in the past. However, recent use of Novichok agents have reignited the debate on the threat posed by Organophosphorus Nerve Agents (OPNAs). The currently available therapy for OPNA toxicity is only symptomatic and is potentially ineffective in neutralizing OPNAs. Hence, there is a dire need to develop a prophylactic therapy for counteracting OPNA toxicity. In this regard, human paraoxonase 1 has emerged as the enzyme of choice. In this review, we have focussed upon the recent and past events of OPNA use, their mechanism of action and toxicity. Further, we have emphasized upon the potential of enzyme based therapy and the various advances in the development of paraoxonase 1 as a countermeasure for OPNA poisoning. Finally, we have elaborated the shortcomings of paraoxonase 1 and the work that needs to be undertaken in order to develop human paraoxonase 1 as a prophylactic against OPNA poisoning.
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Affiliation(s)
- A R Satvik Iyengar
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, 2308 NSW, Australia
| | - Abhay H Pande
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, Punjab, India
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Braid LR, Wood CA, Ford BN. Human umbilical cord perivascular cells: A novel source of the organophosphate antidote butyrylcholinesterase. Chem Biol Interact 2019; 305:66-78. [PMID: 30926319 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2019.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2018] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is a well-characterized bioscavenger with significant potential as a prophylactic or post-exposure treatment for organophosphate poisoning. Despite substantial efforts, BChE has proven technically challenging to produce in recombinant systems. Recombinant BChE tends to be insufficiently or incorrectly glycosylated, and consequently exhibits a truncated half-life, compromised activity, or is immunogenic. Thus, expired human plasma remains the only reliable source of the benchmark BChE tetramer, but production is costly and time intensive and presents possible blood-borne disease hazards. Here we report a human BChE production platform that produces functionally active, tetrameric BChE enzyme, without the addition of external factors such as polyproline peptides or chemical or gene modification required by other systems. Human umbilical cord perivascular cells (HUCPVCs) are a rich population of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from Wharton's jelly. We show that HUCPVCs naturally and stably secrete BChE during culture in xeno- and serum-free media, and can be gene-modified to increase BChE output. However, BChE secretion from HUCPVCs is limited by innate feedback mechanisms that can be interrupted by addition of miR 186 oligonucleotide mimics or by competitive inhibition of muscarinic cholinergic signalling receptors by addition of atropine. By contrast, adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells neither secrete measurable levels of BChE naturally, nor after gene modification. Further work is required to fully characterize and disable the intrinsic ceiling of HUCPVC-mediated BChE secretion to achieve commercially relevant enzyme output. However, HUCPVCs present a unique opportunity to produce both native and strategically engineered recombinant BChE enzyme in a human platform with the innate capacity to secrete the benchmark human plasma form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena R Braid
- Aurora BioSolutions Inc., PO Box 21053, Crescent Heights PO, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 6N0, Canada.
| | - Catherine A Wood
- Aurora BioSolutions Inc., PO Box 21053, Crescent Heights PO, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 6N0, Canada
| | - Barry N Ford
- DRDC Suffield Research Centre, Casualty Management Section, Box 4000 Station Main, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 8K6, Canada
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Structural stability of human butyrylcholinesterase under high hydrostatic pressure. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2018; 1867:107-113. [PMID: 30414450 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2018.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Wang Q, Chen CH, Chung CY, Priola J, Chu JH, Tang J, Ulmschneider MB, Betenbaugh MJ. Proline-Rich Chaperones Are Compared Computationally and Experimentally for Their Abilities to Facilitate Recombinant Butyrylcholinesterase Tetramerization in CHO Cells. Biotechnol J 2017; 13:e1700479. [DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2017] [Revised: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 221 Maryland Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
| | - Charles H. Chen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 204C Shaffer Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London; Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street London SE1 1DB UK
| | - Cheng-yu Chung
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 221 Maryland Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
| | - Joseph Priola
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 221 Maryland Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
| | - Jeffrey H. Chu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 221 Maryland Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
| | - Juechun Tang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 221 Maryland Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
| | - Martin B. Ulmschneider
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 204C Shaffer Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London; Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street London SE1 1DB UK
| | - Michael J. Betenbaugh
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; 221 Maryland Hall, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore Maryland 21218 USA
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Bacterial Expression of Human Butyrylcholinesterase as a Tool for Nerve Agent Bioscavengers Development. Molecules 2017; 22:molecules22111828. [PMID: 29077024 PMCID: PMC6150354 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22111828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Human butyrylcholinesterase is a performant stoichiometric bioscavenger of organophosphorous nerve agents. It is either isolated from outdated plasma or functionally expressed in eukaryotic systems. Here, we report the production of active human butyrylcholinesterase in a prokaryotic system after optimization of the primary sequence through the Protein Repair One Stop Shop process, a structure- and sequence-based algorithm for soluble bacterial expression of difficult eukaryotic proteins. The mutant enzyme was purified to homogeneity. Its kinetic parameters with substrate are similar to the endogenous human butyrylcholinesterase or recombinants produced in eukaryotic systems. The isolated protein was prone to crystallize and its 2.5-Å X-ray structure revealed an active site gorge region identical to that of previously solved structures. The advantages of this alternate expression system, particularly for the generation of butyrylcholinesterase variants with nerve agent hydrolysis activity, are discussed.
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Terekhov SS, Bobik TV, Mokrushina YA, Stepanova AV, Aleksandrova NM, Smirnov IV, Belogurov AA, Ponomarenko NA, Gabibov AG. Expression of DNA-Encoded Antidote to Organophosphorus Toxins in the Methylotrophic Yeast Pichia Pastoris. APPL BIOCHEM MICRO+ 2016. [DOI: 10.1134/s0003683816020162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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18
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Alkanaimsh S, Karuppanan K, Guerrero A, Tu AM, Hashimoto B, Hwang MS, Phu ML, Arzola L, Lebrilla CB, Dandekar AM, Falk BW, Nandi S, Rodriguez RL, McDonald KA. Transient Expression of Tetrameric Recombinant Human Butyrylcholinesterase in Nicotiana benthamiana. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:743. [PMID: 27379103 PMCID: PMC4909763 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/17/2016] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
To optimize the expression, extraction and purification of plant-derived tetrameric recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase (prBChE), we describe the development and use of plant viral amplicon-based gene expression system; Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) RNA-based overexpression vector (TRBO) to express enzymatically active FLAG-tagged plant made recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (rBChE) in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves using transient agroinfiltration. Two gene expression cassettes were designed to express the recombinant protein in either the ER or to the apoplastic compartment. Leaf homogenization was used to isolate ER-retained recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (prBChE-ER) while apoplast-targeted rBChE was isolated by either leaf homogenization (prBChE) or vacuum-extraction of apoplastic wash fluid (prBChE-AWF). rBChE from apoplast wash fluid had a higher specific activity but lower enzyme yield than leaf homogenate. To optimize the isolation and purification of total recombinant protein from leaf homogenates, an acidic extraction buffer was used. The acidic extraction buffer yielded >95% enzymatically active tetrameric rBChE as verified by Coomassie stained and native gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, when compared to human butyrylcholinesterase, the prBChE was found to be similar in terms of tetramerization and enzyme kinetics. The N-linked glycan profile of purified prBChE-ER was found to be mostly high mannose structures while the N-linked glycans on prBChE-AWF were primarily complex. The glycan profile of the prBChE leaf homogenates showed a mixture of high mannose, complex and paucimannose type N-glycans. These findings demonstrate the ability of plants to produce rBChE that is enzymatically active and whose oligomeric state is comparable to mammalian butyrylcholinesterase. The process of plant made rBChE tetramerization and strategies for improving its pharmacokinetics properties are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salem Alkanaimsh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Kalimuthu Karuppanan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Andrés Guerrero
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Aye M. Tu
- Department of Plant Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Bryce Hashimoto
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Min Sook Hwang
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - My L. Phu
- Department of Plant Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Lucas Arzola
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | | | - Abhaya M. Dandekar
- Department of Plant Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Bryce W. Falk
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
- Department of Global HealthShare Initiative, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Raymond L. Rodriguez
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
- Department of Global HealthShare Initiative, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Karen A. McDonald
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
- Department of Global HealthShare Initiative, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
- *Correspondence: Karen A. McDonald,
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Corbin JM, Hashimoto BI, Karuppanan K, Kyser ZR, Wu L, Roberts BA, Noe AR, Rodriguez RL, McDonald KA, Nandi S. Semicontinuous Bioreactor Production of Recombinant Butyrylcholinesterase in Transgenic Rice Cell Suspension Cultures. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:412. [PMID: 27066048 PMCID: PMC4814504 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
An active and tetrameric form of recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a large and complex human enzyme, was produced via semicontinuous operation in a transgenic rice cell suspension culture. After transformation of rice callus and screening of transformants, the cultures were scaled up from culture flask to a lab scale bioreactor. The bioreactor was operated through two phases each of growth and expression. The cells were able to produce BChE during both expression phases, with a maximum yield of 1.6 mg BChE/L of culture during the second expression phase. Cells successfully regrew during a 5-day growth phase. A combination of activity assays and Western blot analysis indicated production of an active and fully assembled tetramer of BChE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine M. Corbin
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Bryce I. Hashimoto
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Kalimuthu Karuppanan
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Zachary R. Kyser
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Raymond L. Rodriguez
- Global HealthShare®, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Karen A. McDonald
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
| | - Somen Nandi
- Global HealthShare®, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
- *Correspondence: Somen Nandi
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20
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Pope C, Uchea C, Flynn N, Poindexter K, Geng L, Brimijoin WS, Hartson S, Ranjan A, Ramsey JD, Liu J. In vitro characterization of cationic copolymer-complexed recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase. Biochem Pharmacol 2015; 98:531-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2015.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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21
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Terekhov S, Smirnov I, Bobik T, Shamborant O, Zenkova M, Chernolovskaya E, Gladkikh D, Murashev A, Dyachenko I, Palikov V, Palikova Y, Knorre V, Belogurov A, Ponomarenko N, Blackburn GM, Masson P, Gabibov A. A novel expression cassette delivers efficient production of exclusively tetrameric human butyrylcholinesterase with improved pharmacokinetics for protection against organophosphate poisoning. Biochimie 2015; 118:51-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2015.07.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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22
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John H, Breyer F, Schmidt C, Mizaikoff B, Worek F, Thiermann H. Small-scale purification of butyrylcholinesterase from human plasma and implementation of a μLC-UV/ESI MS/MS method to detect its organophosphorus adducts. Drug Test Anal 2015; 7:947-56. [DOI: 10.1002/dta.1792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Revised: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 03/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Harald John
- Bundeswehr Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Munich Germany
| | - Felicitas Breyer
- Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry; University of Ulm; Germany
| | | | - Boris Mizaikoff
- Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry; University of Ulm; Germany
| | - Franz Worek
- Bundeswehr Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Munich Germany
| | - Horst Thiermann
- Bundeswehr Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Munich Germany
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23
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Abstract
Human butyrylcholinesterase protects against nerve agents and pesticides, but the quantity of this plasma-derived tetrameric bioscavenger is limited. The present study demonstrates that recombinantly produced butyrylcholinesterase can be converted into stable tetramers without the cellular machinery by providing polyproline peptides.
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24
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Fang L, Hou S, Xue L, Zheng F, Zhan CG. Amino-acid mutations to extend the biological half-life of a therapeutically valuable mutant of human butyrylcholinesterase. Chem Biol Interact 2014; 214:18-25. [PMID: 24582612 PMCID: PMC3996703 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2014.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2014] [Revised: 02/09/2014] [Accepted: 02/16/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine is a widely abused and addictive drug without an FDA-approved medication. Our recently designed and discovered cocaine hydrolase, particularly E12-7 engineered from human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), has the promise of becoming a valuable cocaine abuse treatment. An ideal anti-cocaine therapeutic enzyme should have not only a high catalytic efficiency against cocaine, but also a sufficiently long biological half-life. However, recombinant human BChE and the known BChE mutants have a much shorter biological half-life compared to the native human BChE. The present study aimed to extend the biological half-life of the cocaine hydrolase without changing its high catalytic activity against cocaine. Our strategy was to design possible amino-acid mutations that can introduce cross-subunit disulfide bond(s) and, thus, change the distribution of the oligomeric forms and extend the biological half-life. Three new BChE mutants (E364-532, E377-516, and E535) were predicted to have a more stable dimer structure with the desirable cross-subunit disulfide bond(s) and, therefore, a different distribution of the oligomeric forms and a prolonged biological half-life. The rational design was followed by experimental tests in vitro and in vivo, confirming that the rationally designed new BChE mutants, i.e. E364-532, E377-516, and E535, indeed had a remarkably different distribution of the oligomeric forms and prolonged biological half-life in rats from ∼7 to ∼13h without significantly changing the catalytic activity against (-)-cocaine. This is the first demonstration that rationally designed amino-acid mutations can significantly prolong the biological half-life of a high-activity enzyme without significantly changing the catalytic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Fang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Shurong Hou
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Liu Xue
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Fang Zheng
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States.
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25
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Schneider JD, Castilho A, Neumann L, Altmann F, Loos A, Kannan L, Mor TS, Steinkellner H. Expression of human butyrylcholinesterase with an engineered glycosylation profile resembling the plasma-derived orthologue. Biotechnol J 2014; 9:501-10. [PMID: 24130173 PMCID: PMC3975692 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201300229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Revised: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 10/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is considered a candidate bioscavenger of nerve agents for use in pre- and post-exposure treatment. However, the presence and functional necessity of complex N-glycans (i.e. sialylated structures) is a challenging issue in respect to its recombinant expression. Here we transiently co-expressed BChE cDNA in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana with vectors carrying the genes necessary for in planta protein sialylation. Site-specific sugar profiling of secreted recombinant BChE (rBChE) collected from the intercellular fluid revealed the presence of mono- and di-sialylated N-glycans, which largely resembles to the plasma-derived orthologue. Attempts to increase that sialylation content of rBChE by the over-expression of an additional glycosylation enzyme that generates branched N-glycans (i.e. β1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyl-transferase IV), allowed the production of rBChE decorated with tri-sialylated structures (up to 70%). Sialylated and non-sialylated plant-derived rBChE exhibited functional in vitro activity comparable to that of its commercially available equine-derived counterpart. These results demonstrate the ability of plants to generate valuable proteins with designed sialylated glycosylation profiles optimized for therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, the efficient synthesis of carbohydrates present only in minute amounts on the native protein (tri-sialylated N-glycans) facilitates the generation of a product with superior efficacies and/or new therapeutic functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeannine D. Schneider
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexandra Castilho
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Laura Neumann
- Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Friedrich Altmann
- Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Loos
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Latha Kannan
- The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Tsafrir S. Mor
- The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Herta Steinkellner
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
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26
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Preparation and in vivo characterization of a cocaine hydrolase engineered from human butyrylcholinesterase for metabolizing cocaine. Biochem J 2013; 453:447-54. [PMID: 23849058 DOI: 10.1042/bj20130549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine is a widely abused drug without an FDA (Food and Drug Administration)-approved medication. It has been recognized that an ideal anti-cocaine medication would accelerate cocaine metabolism producing biologically inactive metabolites via a route similar to the primary cocaine-metabolizing pathway, i.e. human BChE (butyrylcholinesterase)-catalysed hydrolysis. However, the native human BChE has a low catalytic activity against cocaine. We recently designed and discovered a BChE mutant (A199S/F227A/S287G/A328W/Y332G) with a high catalytic activity (kcat=5700 min-1, Km=3.1 μM) specifically for cocaine, and the mutant was proven effective in protecting mice from acute cocaine toxicity of a lethal dose of cocaine (180 mg/kg of body weight, LD100). Further characterization in animal models requires establishment of a high-efficiency stable cell line for the BChE mutant production at a relatively larger scale. It has been extremely challenging to develop a high-efficiency stable cell line expressing BChE or its mutant. In the present study, we successfully developed a stable cell line efficiently expressing the BChE mutant by using a lentivirus-based repeated-transduction method. The scaled-up protein production enabled us to determine for the first time the in vivo catalytic activity and the biological half-life of this high-activity mutant of human BChE in accelerating cocaine clearance. In particular, it has been demonstrated that the BChE mutant (administered to mice 1 min prior to cocaine) can quickly metabolize cocaine and completely eliminate cocaine-induced hyperactivity in rodents, implying that the BChE mutant may be developed as a promising therapeutic agent for cocaine abuse treatment.
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27
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Nachon F, Brazzolotto X, Trovaslet M, Masson P. Progress in the development of enzyme-based nerve agent bioscavengers. Chem Biol Interact 2013; 206:536-44. [PMID: 23811386 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2013.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2013] [Revised: 06/15/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Acetylcholinesterase is the physiological target for acute toxicity of nerve agents. Attempts to protect acetylcholinesterase from phosphylation by nerve agents, is currently achieved by reversible inhibitors that transiently mask the enzyme active site. This approach either protects only peripheral acetylcholinesterase or may cause side effects. Thus, an alternative strategy consists in scavenging nerve agents in the bloodstream before they can reach acetylcholinesterase. Pre- or post-exposure administration of bioscavengers, enzymes that neutralize and detoxify organophosphorus molecules, is one of the major developments of new medical counter-measures. These enzymes act either as stoichiometric or catalytic bioscavengers. Human butyrylcholinesterase is the leading stoichiometric bioscavenger. Current efforts are devoted to its mass production with care to pharmacokinetic properties of the final product for extended lifetime. Development of specific reactivators of phosphylated butyrylcholinesterase, or variants with spontaneous reactivation activity is also envisioned for rapid in situ regeneration of the scavenger. Human paraoxonase 1 is the leading catalytic bioscavenger under development. Research efforts focus on improving its catalytic efficiency toward the most toxic isomers of nerve agents, by means of directed evolution-based strategies. Human prolidase appears to be another promising human enzyme. Other non-human efficient enzymes like bacterial phosphotriesterases or squid diisopropylfluorophosphatase are also considered though their intrinsic immunogenic properties remain challenging for use in humans. Encapsulation, PEGylation and other modifications are possible solutions to address this problem as well as that of their limited lifetime. Finally, gene therapy for in situ generation and delivery of bioscavengers is for the far future, but its proof of concept has been established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Nachon
- Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, BP87, 38702 La Tronche Cédex, France.
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Sun W, Luo C, Tipparaju P, Doctor BP, Saxena A. Effect of polyethylene glycol conjugation on the circulatory stability of plasma-derived human butyrylcholinesterase in mice. Chem Biol Interact 2013; 203:172-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2012.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2012] [Revised: 11/26/2012] [Accepted: 11/28/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Chemical polysialylation of human recombinant butyrylcholinesterase delivers a long-acting bioscavenger for nerve agents in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:1243-8. [PMID: 23297221 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211118110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The creation of effective bioscavengers as a pretreatment for exposure to nerve agents is a challenging medical objective. We report a recombinant method using chemical polysialylation to generate bioscavengers stable in the bloodstream. Development of a CHO-based expression system using genes encoding human butyrylcholinesterase and a proline-rich peptide under elongation factor promoter control resulted in self-assembling, active enzyme multimers. Polysialylation gives bioscavengers with enhanced pharmacokinetics which protect mice against 4.2 LD(50) of S-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl) O-isobutyl methanephosphonothioate without perturbation of long-term behavior.
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Biberoglu K, Schopfer LM, Tacal O, Lockridge O. The proline-rich tetramerization peptides in equine serum butyrylcholinesterase. FEBS J 2012; 279:3844-58. [PMID: 22889087 DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2012.08744.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2012] [Revised: 07/27/2012] [Accepted: 08/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Soluble, tetrameric, plasma butyrylcholinesterase from horse has previously been shown to include a non-covalently attached polyproline peptide in its structure. The polyproline peptide matched the polyproline-rich region of human lamellipodin. Our goal was to examine the tetramer-organizing peptides of horse butyrylcholinesterase in more detail. Horse butyrylcholinesterase was denatured by boiling, thus releasing a set of polyproline peptides ranging in mass from 1173 to 2098 Da. The peptide sequences were determined by fragmentation in MALDI-TOF-TOF and linear ion trap quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometers. Twenty-seven polyproline peptides grouped into 13 families were identified. Peptides contained a minimum of 11 consecutive proline residues and as many as 21. Many of the peptides had a non-proline amino acid at the N-terminus. A search of the protein databanks matched peptides to nine proteins, although not all peptides matched a known protein. It is concluded that polyproline peptides of various lengths and sequences are included in the tetramer structure of horse butyrylcholinesterase. The function of these polyproline peptides is to serve as tetramer-organizing peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevser Biberoglu
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
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Accelerating cocaine metabolism as an approach to the treatment of cocaine abuse and toxicity. Future Med Chem 2012; 4:163-75. [PMID: 22300096 DOI: 10.4155/fmc.11.181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
One pharmacokinetic approach to the treatment of cocaine abuse and toxicity involves the development of compounds that can be safely administered to humans and that accelerate the metabolism of cocaine to inactive components. Catalytic antibodies have been developed and shown to accelerate cocaine metabolism, but their catalytic efficiency for cocaine is relatively low. Mutations of human butyrylcholinesterase and a bacterial cocaine esterase found in the soil of coca plants have also been developed. These compounds accelerate cocaine metabolism and antagonize the behavioral and toxic effects of cocaine in animal models. Of these two approaches, the human butyrylcholinesterase mutants show the most immediate promise as they would not be expected to evoke an immune response in humans.
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Fang L, Pan Y, Muzyka JL, Zhan CG. Active site gating and substrate specificity of butyrylcholinesterase and acetylcholinesterase: insights from molecular dynamics simulations. J Phys Chem B 2011; 115:8797-805. [PMID: 21682268 PMCID: PMC3135420 DOI: 10.1021/jp112030p] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) are highly homologous proteins with distinct substrate preferences. In this study we compared the active sites of monomers and tetramers of human BChE and human AChE after performing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in water-solvated systems. By comparing the conformational dynamics of gating residues of AChE and BChE, we found that the gating mechanisms of the main door of AChE and BChE are responsible for their different substrate specificities. Our simulation of the tetramers of AChE and BChE indicates that both enzymes could have two dysfunctional active sites due to their restricted accessibility to substrates. The further study on catalytic mechanisms of multiple forms of AChE and BChE would benefit from our comparison of the active sites of the monomers and tetramers of both enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Fang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
| | - Yongmei Pan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
| | | | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
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Romani R, Galeazzi R, Rosi G, Fiorini R, Pirisinu I, Ambrosini A, Zolese G. Anandamide and its congeners inhibit human plasma butyrylcholinesterase. Possible new roles for these endocannabinoids? Biochimie 2011; 93:1584-91. [PMID: 21664223 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2011.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2011] [Accepted: 05/24/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a serine hydrolase biochemically related to the cholinergic enzyme Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), is found in many mammalian tissues, such as serum and central nervous system, but its physiological role is still unclear. BChE is an important human plasma esterase, where it has detoxifying roles. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that brain BChE can have a role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The endocannabinoid arachidonoylethanolamide (anandamide) and other acylethanolamides (NAEs) are almost ubiquitary molecules and are physiologically present in many tissues, including blood and brain, where they show neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. This paper demonstrates that they are uncompetitive (oleoylethanolamide and palmitoylethanolamide) or non competitive (anandamide) inhibitors of BChE (Ki in the range 1.32-7.48 nM). On the contrary, NAEs are ineffective on AChE kinetic features. On the basis of the X-ray crystallographic structure of human BChE, and by using flexible docking procedures, an hypothesis on the NAE-BChE interaction is formulated by molecular modeling studies. Our results suggest that anandamide and the other acylethanolamides studied could have a role in the modulation of the physiological actions of BChE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Romani
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, Perugia, Italy
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Asojo OA, Asojo OA, Ngamelue MN, Homma K, Lockridge O. Cocrystallization studies of full-length recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with cocaine. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun 2011; 67:434-7. [PMID: 21505234 DOI: 10.1107/s1744309111004805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2010] [Accepted: 02/08/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8) is a 340 kDa tetrameric glycoprotein that is present in human serum at about 5 mg l(-1) and has well documented therapeutic effects on cocaine toxicity. BChE holds promise as a therapeutic that reduces and finally eliminates the rewarding effects of cocaine, thus weaning an addict from the drug. There have been extensive computational studies of cocaine hydrolysis by BChE. Since there are no reported structures of BChE with cocaine or any of the hydrolysis products, full-length monomeric recombinant wild-type BChE was cocrystallized with cocaine. The refined 3 Å resolution structure appears to retain the hydrolysis product benzoic acid in sufficient proximity to form a hydrogen bond to the active-site Ser198.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oluwatoyin Ajibola Asojo
- Pathology and Microbiology Department, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986495 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-6495, USA.
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Parikh K, Duysen EG, Snow B, Jensen NS, Manne V, Lockridge O, Chilukuri N. Gene-Delivered Butyrylcholinesterase Is Prophylactic against the Toxicity of Chemical Warfare Nerve Agents and Organophosphorus Compounds. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2010; 337:92-101. [DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.175646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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36
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Geyer BC, Kannan L, Garnaud PE, Broomfield CA, Cadieux CL, Cherni I, Hodgins SM, Kasten SA, Kelley K, Kilbourne J, Oliver ZP, Otto TC, Puffenberger I, Reeves TE, Robbins N, Woods RR, Soreq H, Lenz DE, Cerasoli DM, Mor TS. Plant-derived human butyrylcholinesterase, but not an organophosphorous-compound hydrolyzing variant thereof, protects rodents against nerve agents. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:20251-6. [PMID: 21059932 PMCID: PMC2996644 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1009021107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of using cholinesterase bioscavengers for prophylaxis against organophosphorous nerve agents and pesticides has progressed from the bench to clinical trial. However, the supply of the native human proteins is either limited (e.g., plasma-derived butyrylcholinesterase and erythrocytic acetylcholinesterase) or nonexisting (synaptic acetylcholinesterase). Here we identify a unique form of recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase that mimics the native enzyme assembly into tetramers; this form provides extended effective pharmacokinetics that is significantly enhanced by polyethylene glycol conjugation. We further demonstrate that this enzyme (but not a G117H/E197Q organophosphorus acid anhydride hydrolase catalytic variant) can prevent morbidity and mortality associated with organophosphorous nerve agent and pesticide exposure of animal subjects of two model species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian C. Geyer
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Latha Kannan
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Pierre-Emmanuel Garnaud
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Clarence A. Broomfield
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - C. Linn Cadieux
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Irene Cherni
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Sean M. Hodgins
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Shane A. Kasten
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Karli Kelley
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Jacquelyn Kilbourne
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Zeke P. Oliver
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Tamara C. Otto
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Ian Puffenberger
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Tony E. Reeves
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Neil Robbins
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Ryan R. Woods
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
| | - Hermona Soreq
- Silberman Life Sciences Institute, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel 91904
| | - David E. Lenz
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Douglas M. Cerasoli
- Research Division, Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, 3100 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5400; and
| | - Tsafrir S. Mor
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
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Geyer BC, Kannan L, Cherni I, Woods RR, Soreq H, Mor TS. Transgenic plants as a source for the bioscavenging enzyme, human butyrylcholinesterase. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2010; 8:873-86. [PMID: 20353404 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2010.00515.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Organophosphorous pesticides and nerve agents inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase at neuronal synapses and in neuromuscular junctions. The resulting accumulation of acetylcholine overwhelms regulatory mechanisms, potentially leading to seizures and death from respiratory collapse. While current therapies are only capable of reducing mortality, elevation of the serum levels of the related enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) by application of the purified protein as a bioscavenger of organophosphorous compounds is effective in preventing all symptoms associated with poisoning by these toxins. However, BChE therapy requires large quantities of enzyme that can easily overwhelm current sources. Here, we report genetic optimization, cloning and high-level expression of human BChE in plants. Plant-derived BChE is shown to be biochemically similar to human plasma-derived BChE in terms of catalytic activity and inhibitor binding. We further demonstrate the ability of the plant-derived bioscavenger to protect animals against an organophosphorous pesticide challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian C Geyer
- School of Life Sciences and The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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38
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Saxena A, Sun W, Fedorko JM, Koplovitz I, Doctor BP. Prophylaxis with human serum butyrylcholinesterase protects guinea pigs exposed to multiple lethal doses of soman or VX. Biochem Pharmacol 2010; 81:164-9. [PMID: 20846507 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2010.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2010] [Revised: 09/03/2010] [Accepted: 09/07/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Human serum butyrylcholinesterase (Hu BChE) is currently under advanced development as a bioscavenger for the prophylaxis of organophosphorus (OP) nerve agent toxicity in humans. It is estimated that a dose of 200mg will be required to protect a human against 2×LD(50) of soman. To provide data for initiating an investigational new drug application for the use of this enzyme as a bioscavenger in humans, we purified enzyme from Cohn fraction IV-4 paste and initiated safety and efficacy evaluations in mice, guinea pigs, and non-human primates. In mice, we demonstrated that a single dose of enzyme that is 30 times the therapeutic dose circulated in blood for at least four days and did not cause any clinical pathology in these animals. In this study, we report the results of safety and efficacy evaluations conducted in guinea pigs. Various doses of Hu BChE delivered by i.m. injections peaked at ∼24h and had a mean residence time of 78-103h. Hu BChE did not exhibit any toxicity in guinea pigs as measured by general observation, serum chemistry, hematology, and gross and histological tissue changes. Efficacy evaluations showed that Hu BChE protected guinea pigs from an exposure of 5.5×LD(50) of soman or 8×LD(50) of VX. These results provide convincing data for the development of Hu BChE as a bioscavenger that can protect humans against all OP nerve agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashima Saxena
- Division of Biochemistry, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
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39
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Demonstration of in vivo stability and lack of immunogenicity of a polyethyleneglycol-conjugated recombinant CHO-derived butyrylcholinesterase bioscavenger using a homologous macaque model. Chem Biol Interact 2010; 187:279-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2010.02.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2009] [Revised: 02/23/2010] [Accepted: 02/24/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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40
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Saxena A, Tipparaju P, Luo C, Doctor BP. Pilot-scale production of human serum butyrylcholinesterase suitable for use as a bioscavenger against nerve agent toxicity. Process Biochem 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2010.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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41
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Narasimhan D, Nance MR, Gao D, Ko MC, Macdonald J, Tamburi P, Yoon D, Landry DM, Woods JH, Zhan CG, Tesmer JJ, Sunahara RK. Structural analysis of thermostabilizing mutations of cocaine esterase. Protein Eng Des Sel 2010; 23:537-47. [PMID: 20436035 PMCID: PMC2920302 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzq025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2009] [Revised: 02/22/2010] [Accepted: 03/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cocaine is considered to be the most addictive of all substances of abuse and mediates its effects by inhibiting monoamine transporters, primarily the dopamine transporters. There are currently no small molecules that can be used to combat its toxic and addictive properties, in part because of the difficulty of developing compounds that inhibit cocaine binding without having intrinsic effects on dopamine transport. Most of the effective cocaine inhibitors also display addictive properties. We have recently reported the use of cocaine esterase (CocE) to accelerate the removal of systemic cocaine and to prevent cocaine-induced lethality. However, wild-type CocE is relatively unstable at physiological temperatures (tau(1/2) approximately 13 min at 37 degrees C), presenting challenges for its development as a viable therapeutic agent. We applied computational approaches to predict mutations to stabilize CocE and showed that several of these have increased stability both in vitro and in vivo, with the most efficacious mutant (T172R/G173Q) extending half-life up to 370 min. Here we present novel X-ray crystallographic data on these mutants that provide a plausible model for the observed enhanced stability. We also more extensively characterize the previously reported variants and report on a new stabilizing mutant, L169K. The improved stability of these engineered CocE enzymes will have a profound influence on the use of this protein to combat cocaine-induced toxicity and addiction in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark R. Nance
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Daquan Gao
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - John J.G. Tesmer
- Department of Pharmacology and
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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42
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Brim RL, Nance MR, Youngstrom DW, Narasimhan D, Zhan CG, Tesmer JJG, Sunahara RK, Woods JH. A thermally stable form of bacterial cocaine esterase: a potential therapeutic agent for treatment of cocaine abuse. Mol Pharmacol 2010; 77:593-600. [PMID: 20086035 DOI: 10.1124/mol.109.060806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodococcal cocaine esterase (CocE) is an attractive potential treatment for both cocaine overdose and cocaine addiction. CocE directly degrades cocaine into inactive products, whereas traditional small-molecule approaches require blockade of the inhibitory action of cocaine on a diverse array of monoamine transporters and ion channels. The usefulness of wild-type (wt) cocaine esterase is hampered by its inactivation at 37 degrees C. Herein, we characterize the most thermostable form of this enzyme to date, CocE-L169K/G173Q. In vitro kinetic analyses reveal that CocE-L169K/G173Q displays a half-life of 2.9 days at 37 degrees C, which represents a 340-fold improvement over wt and is 15-fold greater than previously reported mutants. Crystallographic analyses of CocE-L169K/G173Q, determined at 1.6-A resolution, suggest that stabilization involves enhanced domain-domain interactions involving van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding. In vivo rodent studies reveal that intravenous pretreatment with CocE-L169K/G173Q in mice provides protection from cocaine-induced lethality for longer time periods before cocaine administration than wt CocE. Furthermore, intravenous administration (pretreatment) of CocE-L169K/G173Q prevents self-administration of cocaine in a time-dependent manner. Termination of the in vivo effects of CoCE seems to be dependent on, but not proportional to, its clearance from plasma as its half-life is approximately 2.3 h and similar to that of wt CocE (2.2 h). Taken together these data suggest that CocE-L169K/G173Q possesses many of the properties of a biological therapeutic for treating cocaine abuse but requires additional development to improve its serum half-life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remy L Brim
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, 1301 Medical Sciences Research Building III, 1150 W Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0600, USA
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John H, Binder T, Höchstetter H, Thiermann H. LC-ESI MS/MS quantification of atropine and six other antimuscarinic tropane alkaloids in plasma. Anal Bioanal Chem 2009; 396:751-63. [DOI: 10.1007/s00216-009-3209-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2009] [Revised: 09/29/2009] [Accepted: 10/01/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Rajesh RV, Chitra L, Layer PG, Boopathy R. The aryl acylamidase activity is much more sensitive to Alzheimer drugs than the esterase activity of acetylcholinesterase in chicken embryonic brain. Biochimie 2009; 91:1087-94. [PMID: 19607873 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2009.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2009] [Accepted: 07/06/2009] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The appearance of cholinergic trait often precedes synaptogenesis, indicating the involvement of cholinesterase proteins in nervous system development, particularly so acetylcholinesterase (AChE). In addition to AChE's acclaimed esterase activity, its lesser known non-cholinergic functions have gained much attention, because of AChE protein expression in areas other than cholinergic innervations; one such function could be exerted by its associated aryl acylamidase (AAA) activity. In this study, an attempt has been made in profiling esterase and AAA activities of AChE at different developmental stages of the chick embryo, e.g. at embryonic day 6 (E6), E9, E12, E15 and E18. AAA activity showed a correlated expression with esterase activity at all stages, but the relative ratios of AAA to esterase activity were higher at younger stages. The inhibition of AAA activity was shown to be more sensitive towards Huperzine, Donepezil whereas inhibition of esterase activity was sensitive to Tacrine and DFP. Remarkably, the major Alzheimer drugs- Huperzine and Donepezil, much more strongly inhibited AAA activity of AChE at younger developmental stages whose IC50 values are 0.01 muM and 0.1 muM respectively. In the case of BW284c51, inhibition was more pronounced at older stages and IC50 value was 0.1 muM. Since in Alzheimer's disease (AD), embryonic forms of AChE have been reported to reappear, a possible role of AAA activity in the pathogenesis of AD should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramanna V Rajesh
- Animal Genomics and Bioinformatics Division, Department of Livestock Biotechnology & Environment, National institute of Animal science, Suwon 441-706, South Korea
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Pan Y, Muzyka JL, Zhan CG. Model of human butyrylcholinesterase tetramer by homology modeling and dynamics simulation. J Phys Chem B 2009; 113:6543-52. [PMID: 19402731 DOI: 10.1021/jp8114995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A mutant of human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with high activity against cocaine would be highly promising as a drug for therapeutic treatment of cocaine abuse and overdose. It is desirable to design a recombinant BChE mutant with a long half-life in human circulation. Studies showed that BChE subunits can be assembled by a peptide containing the proline-rich attachment domain (PRAD) to form a stable tetramer. The models of BChE tetramer complexed with PRAD with various sequences have been constructed, in the present study, on the basis of homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulation of explicit water-solvated systems. The 3D models enable us to understand how the BChE subunits are arranged in the tetramer and how the tetramerization domain of BChE is associated with PRAD to form a stable tetramer of human BChE. It has been shown that the six conserved hydrophobic residues located on the C-terminal of BChE are responsible for the key electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between the tetramerization domain of BChE and PRAD. The simulated tetramer structures suggest that mutation of three residues, i.e., Phe547, Met554, and Phe561, to other hydrophobic residues may be beneficial for increasing the binding between the tetramerization domain of BChE and PRAD. Thus, the detailed structural insights obtained from this study may be valuable for rational design of a recombinant BChE tetramer with a longer residence time in circulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongmei Pan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 725 Rose Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, USA
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Chilukuri N, Duysen EG, Parikh K, diTargiani R, Doctor BP, Lockridge O, Saxena A. Adenovirus-transduced human butyrylcholinesterase in mouse blood functions as a bioscavenger of chemical warfare nerve agents. Mol Pharmacol 2009; 76:612-7. [PMID: 19542320 DOI: 10.1124/mol.109.055665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Human serum butyrylcholinesterase (Hu BChE) is a promising therapeutic against the toxicity of chemical warfare nerve agents. We have showed previously that recombinant (r) Hu BChE can be expressed at very high levels, 400 to 600 U/ml in mouse blood, by delivering the Hu BChE gene using adenovirus (Ad). Here, we report the biochemical properties of the Ad-expressed full-length and truncated rHu BChE in mouse blood. The molecular sizes of the full-length rHu BChE subunit and its oligomers were similar to those of native Hu BChE, although only a small portion of the full-length rHu BChE subunit underwent assembly into dimers and tetramers. As expected, Ad containing the truncated Hu BChE gene transduced the expression of monomeric rHu BChE only. Compared with 415 U of rHu BChE per milliliter in blood, tissues including liver, lung, heart, brain, kidney, muscle, intestine, diaphragm, salivary gland, and fat expressed <10 U/g of rHu BChE activity. Ad-expressed rHu BChE in mouse blood neutralized soman and O-ethyl S-2-N,N-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate at rates similar to those of native Hu BChE and rHu BChE expressed in vitro. Because the expression of rHu BChE rapidly decreased 6 days after virus administration, sera were assayed for the presence of anti-Hu BChE antibodies. Anti-Hu BChE antibodies were detected on day 7 and in increased amounts thereafter, which coincided with the loss of Hu BChE expression in sera. In conclusion, the delivery of Hu BChE gene using Ad can be a promising strategy that can provide protection against multiple lethal doses of chemical warfare nerve agents in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nageswararao Chilukuri
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Division of Biochemistry, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910-7500, USA.
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Gao Y, Brimijoin S. Lasting reduction of cocaine action in neostriatum--a hydrolase gene therapy approach. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2009; 330:449-57. [PMID: 19478136 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.109.152231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously found that a quadruple mutant cocaine hydrolase derived from human butyrylcholinesterase [termed cocaine esterase (CocE)] can suppress or reverse cocaine toxicity and abolish drug-primed reinstatement in rats. Here, we examined whether gene transfer of CocE reduces cocaine actions in brain reward centers. Early experiments used a standard, early region 1-deleted adenoviral vector, which, after intravenous delivery of 10(10) plaque-forming units, caused plasma cocaine hydrolase activity to rise 25,000-fold between day 4 and day 7. During this period, under a protocol that typically induces FosB expression in the caudate nucleus, these rats and unprotected controls given only empty vector or saline were subjected to repeated twice-daily injections of cocaine (30 mg/kg i.p.). Immunohistochemistry of the neostriatum on day 7 showed many FosB-reactive nuclei in unprotected rats but few if any in rats pretreated with active vector, which resembled rats never exposed to cocaine. Western blots confirmed this result. In contrast there was a more localized protection against cocaine-elicited FosB induction when hydrolase vector was injected directly into the ventral striatum, which generated high transgene expression in many neurons of the target area. Similar results were obtained with systemic and local injection of a more efficient helper-dependent adenoviral vector, which transduced high levels of hydrolase for at least 2 months, with lesser expression continued up to 1 year. Behavioral tests are now warranted to determine whether such effects can reduce drug-seeking behavior and lower the probability of relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Gao
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA
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Abstracts of the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists XXV International Congress. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/07313820500207624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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Geyer BC, Woods RR, Mor TS. Increased organophosphate scavenging in a butyrylcholinesterase mutant. Chem Biol Interact 2008; 175:376-9. [PMID: 18514178 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2008.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2007] [Revised: 04/09/2008] [Accepted: 04/10/2008] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Nicotiana benthamiana plant lines expressing a reengineered human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with enhanced cocaine hydrolase activity were created. Subsequent purification and biochemical analysis revealed that compared to wild-type butyrylcholinesterase, the cocaine hydrolase displayed increased affinity to the organophosphate (OP) pesticides paraoxon (6.8 4x 10(-10)M vs. 1.11 x 10(-8)M) and malaoxon (9.81 x 10(-8)M vs. 5.99 x 10(-7)M). Furthermore, the cocaine hydrolase retained identical anticholinesterase binding profiles for all other compounds tested. Thus we have demonstrated a potential large-scale production platform for a multivalent antidote for cocaine and anticholinesterase poisoning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian C Geyer
- School of Life Sciences and The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
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Duysen EG, Lockridge O. Whole body and tissue imaging of the butyrylcholinesterase knockout mouse injected with near infrared dye labeled butyrylcholinesterase. Chem Biol Interact 2008; 175:119-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2008.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2007] [Revised: 02/15/2008] [Accepted: 02/18/2008] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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