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Sun T, Zhen T, Harakandi CH, Wang L, Guo H, Chen Y, Sun H. New insights into butyrylcholinesterase: Pharmaceutical applications, selective inhibitors and multitarget-directed ligands. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 275:116569. [PMID: 38852337 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116569] [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: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), also known as pseudocholinesterase and serum cholinesterase, is an isoenzyme of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). It mediates the degradation of acetylcholine, especially under pathological conditions. Proverbial pharmacological applications of BChE, its mutants and modulators consist of combating Alzheimer's disease (AD), influencing multiple sclerosis (MS), addressing cocaine addiction, detoxifying organophosphorus poisoning and reflecting the progression or prognosis of some diseases. Of interest, recent reports have shed light on the relationship between BChE and lipid metabolism. It has also been proved that BChE is going to increase abnormally as a compensator for AChE in the middle and late stages of AD, and BChE inhibitors can alleviate cognitive disorders and positively influence some pathological features in AD model animals, foreboding favorable prospects and potential applications. Herein, the selective BChE inhibitors and BChE-related multitarget-directed ligands published in the last three years were briefly summarized, along with the currently known pharmacological applications of BChE, aiming to grasp the latest research directions. Thereinto, some emerging strategies for designing BChE inhibitors are intriguing, and the modulators based on target combination of histone deacetylase and BChE against AD is unprecedented. Furthermore, the involvement of BChE in the hydrolysis of ghrelin, the inhibition of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake, and the down-regulation of LDL receptor (LDLR) expression suggests its potential to influence lipid metabolism disorders. This compelling prospect likely stimulates further exploration in this promising research direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyu Sun
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, People's Republic of China
| | - Tengfei Zhen
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Lei Wang
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, People's Republic of China
| | - Huanchao Guo
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, People's Republic of China
| | - Yao Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China.
| | - Haopeng Sun
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, People's Republic of China.
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2
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Shang L, Wei H, Deng J, Stewart MJ, LeSaint JE, Kyomuhangi A, Park S, Maul EC, Zhan CG, Zheng F. In vitro and in vivo stability of a highly efficient long-acting cocaine hydrolase. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10952. [PMID: 38740850 PMCID: PMC11091111 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61646-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
It is recognized as a promising therapeutic strategy for cocaine use disorder to develop an efficient enzyme which can rapidly convert cocaine to physiologically inactive metabolites. We have designed and discovered a series of highly efficient cocaine hydrolases, including CocH5-Fc(M6) which is the currently known as the most efficient cocaine hydrolase with both the highest catalytic activity against (-)-cocaine and the longest biological half-life in rats. In the present study, we characterized the time courses of protein appearance, pH, structural integrity, and catalytic activity against cocaine in vitro and in vivo of a CocH5-Fc(M6) bulk drug substance produced in a bioreactor for its in vitro and in vivo stability after long-time storage under various temperatures (- 80, - 20, 4, 25, or 37 °C). Specifically, all the tested properties of the CocH5-Fc(M6) protein did not significantly change after the protein was stored at any of four temperatures including - 80, - 20, 4, and 25 °C for ~ 18 months. In comparison, at 37 °C, the protein was less stable, with a half-life of ~ 82 days for cocaine hydrolysis activity. Additionally, the in vivo studies further confirmed the linear elimination PK profile of CocH5-Fc(M6) with an elimination half-life of ~ 9 days. All the in vitro and in vivo data on the efficacy and stability of CocH5-Fc(M6) have consistently demonstrated that CocH5-Fc(M6) has the desired in vitro and in vivo stability as a promising therapeutic candidate for treatment of cocaine use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linyue Shang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Madeline J Stewart
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Johnathan E LeSaint
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Annet Kyomuhangi
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Shawn Park
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Elise C Maul
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
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3
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Wei H, LeSaint JE, Jin Z, Zhan CG, Zheng F. Long-lasting blocking of interoceptive effects of cocaine by a highly efficient cocaine hydrolase in rats. Sci Rep 2024; 14:927. [PMID: 38195724 PMCID: PMC10776848 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50678-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Cocaine dependence is a serious world-wide public health problem without an FDA-approved pharmacotherapy. We recently designed and discovered a highly efficient long-acting cocaine hydrolase CocH5-Fc(M6). The present study examined the effectiveness and duration of CocH5-Fc(M6) in blocking interoceptive effects of cocaine by performing cocaine discrimination tests in rats, demonstrating that the duration of CocH5-Fc(M6) in blocking cocaine discrimination was dependent on cocaine dose and CocH5-Fc(M6) plasma concentration. Particularly, a dose of 3 mg/kg CocH5-Fc(M6) effectively attenuated discriminative stimulus effects of 10 mg/kg cocaine, cumulative doses of 10 and 32 mg/kg cocaine, and cumulative doses of 10, 32 and 56 mg/kg cocaine by ≥ 20% for 41, 19, and 10 days, and completely blocked the discriminative stimulus effects for 30, 13, and 5 days with corresponding threshold plasma CocH5-Fc(M6) concentrations of 15.9, 72.2, and 221 nM, respectively, under which blood cocaine concentration was negligible. Additionally, based on the data obtained, cocaine discrimination model is more sensitive than the locomotor activity to reveal cocaine effects and that CocH5-Fc(M6) itself has no long-term toxicity regarding behavioral activities such as lever pressing and food consumption in rats, further demonstrating that CocH5-Fc(M6) has the desired properties as a promising therapeutic candidate for prevenance of cocaine dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimei Wei
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Johnathan E LeSaint
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Zhenyu Jin
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
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Zheng F, Hou S, Xue L, Yang W, Zhan CG. Human Butyrylcholinesterase Mutants for (-)-Cocaine Hydrolysis: A Correlation Relationship between Catalytic Efficiency and Total Hydrogen Bonding Energy with an Oxyanion Hole. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:10723-10729. [PMID: 38063500 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
A combined computational and experimental study has been carried out to explore and test a quantitative correlation relationship between the relative catalytic efficiency (RCE) of human butyrylcholinesrase (BChE) mutant-catalyzed hydrolysis of substrate (-)-cocaine and the total hydrogen bonding energy (tHBE) of the carbonyl oxygen of the substrate with the oxyanion hole of the enzyme in the modeled transition-state structure (TS1), demonstrating a satisfactory linear correlation relationship between ln(RCE) and tHBE. The satisfactory correlation relationship has led us to computationally predict and experimentally confirm new human BChE mutants that have a further improved catalytic activity against (-)-cocaine, including the most active one (the A199S/F227S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant) with a 2790-fold improved catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM = 2.5 × 109 min-1 M-1) compared to the wild-type human BChE. Compared to the reference mutant (the A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant) tested in the reported clinical development of an enzyme therapy for cocaine dependence treatment, this new mutant (with a newly predicted additional F227S mutation) has an improved catalytic efficiency against (-)-cocaine by ∼2.6-fold. The good agreement between the computational and experimental ln(RCE) values suggests that the obtained correlation relationship is robust for computational prediction. A similar correlation relationship could also be explored in studying BChE or other serine hydrolases/esterases with an oxyanion hole stabilizing the carbonyl oxygen in the rate-determining reaction step of the enzymatic hydrolysis of other substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
| | - Shurong Hou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
| | - Liu Xue
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
| | - Wenchao Yang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
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5
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Pseudo-irreversible butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors: Structure-activity relationships, computational and crystallographic study of the N-dialkyl O-arylcarbamate warhead. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 247:115048. [PMID: 36586299 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.115048] [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: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Alongside reversible butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors, a plethora of covalent butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors have been reported in the literature, typically pseudo-irreversible carbamates. For these latter, however, most cases lack full confirmation of their covalent mode of action. Additionally, the available reports regarding the structure-activity relationships of the O-arylcarbamate warhead are incomplete. Therefore, a follow-up on a series of pseudo-irreversible covalent carbamate human butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors and the structure-activity relationships of the N-dialkyl O-arylcarbamate warhead are presented in this study. The covalent mechanism of binding was tested by IC50 time-dependency profiles, and sequentially and increasingly confirmed by kinetic analysis, whole protein LC-MS, and crystallographic analysis. Computational studies provided valuable insights into steric constraints and identified problematic, bulky carbamate warheads that cannot reach and carbamoylate the catalytic Ser198. Quantum mechanical calculations provided further evidence that steric effects appear to be a key factor in determining the covalent binding behaviour of these carbamate cholinesterase inhibitors and their duration of action. Additionally, the introduction of a clickable terminal alkyne moiety into one of the carbamate N-substituents and in situ derivatisation with azide-containing fluorophore enabled fluorescent labelling of plasma human butyrylcholinesterase. This proof-of-concept study highlights the potential of this novel approach and for these compounds to be further developed as clickable molecular probes for investigating tissue localisation and activity of cholinesterases.
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6
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Catalytic activities of a highly efficient cocaine hydrolase for hydrolysis of biologically active cocaine metabolites norcocaine and benzoylecgonine. Sci Rep 2023; 13:640. [PMID: 36635293 PMCID: PMC9837138 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-27280-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Cocaine is a widely abused, hepatotoxic drug without an FDA-approved pharmacotherapy specific for cocaine addiction or overdose. It is recognized as a promising therapeutic strategy to accelerate cocaine metabolism which can convert cocaine to pharmacologically inactive metabolite(s) using an efficient cocaine-metabolizing enzyme. Our previous studies have successfully designed and discovered a highly efficient cocaine hydrolase, denoted as CocH5-Fc(M6), capable of rapidly hydrolyzing cocaine at the benzoyl ester moiety. In the present study, we determined the kinetic parameters of CocH5-Fc(M6) against norcocaine (kcat = 9,210 min-1, KM = 20.9 μM, and kcat/KM = 1.87 × 105 min-1 M-1) and benzoylecgonine (kcat = 158 min-1, KM = 286 μM, and kcat/KM = 5.5 × 105 min-1 M-1) for the first time. Further in vivo studies have demonstrated that CocH5-Fc(M6) can effectively accelerate clearance of not only cocaine, but also norcocaine (known as a cocaine metabolite which is more toxic than cocaine itself) and benzoylecgonine (known as an unfavorable long-lasting metabolite with some long-term toxicity concerns) in rats. Due to the desired high catalytic activity against norcocaine, CocH5-Fc(M6) is capable of quickly detoxifying both cocaine and its more toxic metabolite norcocaine after intraperitoneally administering lethal dose of 60 or 180 mg/kg cocaine. In addition, the ability of CocH5-Fc(M6) to accelerate clearance of benzoylecgonine should also be valuable for the use of CocH5-Fc(M6) in treatment of cocaine use disorder.
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7
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Zheng F, Jin Z, Deng J, Chen X, Zheng X, Wang G, Kim K, Shang L, Zhou Z, Zhan CG. Development of a Highly Efficient Long-Acting Cocaine Hydrolase Entity to Accelerate Cocaine Metabolism. Bioconjug Chem 2022; 33:1340-1349. [PMID: 35767675 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.2c00210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
It is particularly challenging to develop a truly effective pharmacotherapy for cocaine use disorder (CUD) treatment. Accelerating cocaine metabolism via hydrolysis at cocaine benzoyl ester using an efficient cocaine hydrolase (CocH) is known as a promising pharmacotherapeutic approach to CUD treatment. Preclinical and clinical studies on our first CocH (CocH1), in its human serum albumin-fused form known as TV-1380, have demonstrated the promise of a general concept of CocH-based pharmacotherapy for CUD treatment. However, the biological half-life of TV-1380 (t1/2 = 8 h in rats, associated with t1/2 = 43-77 h in humans) is not long enough for practical treatment of cocaine dependence, which requires enzyme injection for no more than once weekly. Through protein fusion of a human butyrylcholinesterase mutant (denoted as CocH5) with a mutant (denoted as Fc(M6)) of Fc from human IgG1, we have designed, prepared, and tested a new fusion protein (denoted as CocH5-Fc(M6)) for its pharmacokinetic profile and in vivo catalytic activity against (-)-cocaine. CocH5-Fc(M6) represents the currently most efficient long-acting cocaine hydrolase with both the highest catalytic activity against (-)-cocaine and the longest elimination half-life (t1/2 = 229 ± 5 h) in rats. As a result, even at a single modest dose of 3 mg/kg, CocH5-Fc(M6) can significantly and effectively accelerate the metabolism of cocaine in rats for at least 60 days. In addition, ∼70 nM CocH5-Fc(M6) in plasma was able to completely block the toxicity and physiological effects induced by intraperitoneal injection of a lethal dose of cocaine (60 mg/kg).
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From tryptophan-based amides to tertiary amines: Optimization of a butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor series. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 234:114248. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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De Boer D, Nguyen N, Mao J, Moore J, Sorin EJ. A Comprehensive Review of Cholinesterase Modeling and Simulation. Biomolecules 2021; 11:580. [PMID: 33920972 PMCID: PMC8071298 DOI: 10.3390/biom11040580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The present article reviews published efforts to study acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase structure and function using computer-based modeling and simulation techniques. Structures and models of both enzymes from various organisms, including rays, mice, and humans, are discussed to highlight key structural similarities in the active site gorges of the two enzymes, such as flexibility, binding site location, and function, as well as differences, such as gorge volume and binding site residue composition. Catalytic studies are also described, with an emphasis on the mechanism of acetylcholine hydrolysis by each enzyme and novel mutants that increase catalytic efficiency. The inhibitory activities of myriad compounds have been computationally assessed, primarily through Monte Carlo-based docking calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. Pharmaceutical compounds examined herein include FDA-approved therapeutics and their derivatives, as well as several other prescription drug derivatives. Cholinesterase interactions with both narcotics and organophosphate compounds are discussed, with the latter focusing primarily on molecular recognition studies of potential therapeutic value and on improving our understanding of the reactivation of cholinesterases that are bound to toxins. This review also explores the inhibitory properties of several other organic and biological moieties, as well as advancements in virtual screening methodologies with respect to these enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danna De Boer
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA;
| | - Nguyet Nguyen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA; (N.N.); (J.M.)
| | - Jia Mao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA; (N.N.); (J.M.)
| | - Jessica Moore
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA;
| | - Eric J. Sorin
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA;
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10
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A Computational Method to Predict Effects of Residue Mutations on the Catalytic Efficiency of Hydrolases. Catalysts 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/catal11020286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
With scientific and technological advances, growing research has focused on engineering enzymes that acquire enhanced efficiency and activity. Thereinto, computer-based enzyme modification makes up for the time-consuming and labor-intensive experimental methods and plays a significant role. In this study, for the first time, we collected and manually curated a data set for hydrolases mutation, including structural information of enzyme-substrate complexes, mutated sites and Kcat/Km obtained from vitro assay. We further constructed a classification model using the random forest algorithm to predict the effects of residue mutations on catalytic efficiency (increase or decrease) of hydrolases. This method has achieved impressive performance on a blind test set with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.86 and the Matthews Correlation Coefficient of 0.659. Our results demonstrate that computational mutagenesis has an instructive effect on enzyme modification, which may expedite the design of engineering hydrolases.
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12
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Larrimore KE, Kannan L, Kendle RP, Jamal T, Barcus M, Stefanko K, Kilbourne J, Brimijoin S, Zhan CG, Neisewander J, Mor TS. A plant-derived cocaine hydrolase prevents cocaine overdose lethality and attenuates cocaine-induced drug seeking behavior. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 102:109961. [PMID: 32387315 PMCID: PMC7398606 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine use disorders include short-term and acute pathologies (e.g. overdose) and long-term and chronic disorders (e.g. intractable addiction and post-abstinence relapse). There is currently no available treatment that can effectively reduce morbidity and mortality associated with cocaine overdose or that can effectively prevent relapse in recovering addicts. One recently developed approach to treat these problems is the use of enzymes that rapidly break down the active cocaine molecule into inactive metabolites. In particular, rational design and site-directed mutagenesis transformed human serum recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) into a highly efficient cocaine hydrolase with drastically improved catalytic efficiency toward (-)-cocaine. A current drawback preventing the clinical application of this promising enzyme-based therapy is the lack of a cost-effective production strategy that is also flexible enough to rapidly scale-up in response to continuous improvements in enzyme design. Plant-based expression systems provide a unique solution as this platform is designed for fast scalability, low cost and the advantage of performing eukaryotic protein modifications such as glycosylation. A Plant-derived form of the Cocaine Super Hydrolase (A199S/F227A/S287G/A328W/Y332G) we designate PCocSH protects mice from cocaine overdose, counters the lethal effects of acute cocaine overdose, and prevents reinstatement of extinguished drug-seeking behavior in mice that underwent place conditioning with cocaine. These results demonstrate that the novel PCocSH enzyme may well serve as an effective therapeutic for cocaine use disorders in a clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Latha Kannan
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA; Center of Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Virotherapy, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
| | - R Player Kendle
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
| | - Tameem Jamal
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
| | - Matthew Barcus
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
| | - Kathryn Stefanko
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
| | - Jacquelyn Kilbourne
- Center of Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Virotherapy, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
| | - Stephen Brimijoin
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.
| | - Janet Neisewander
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
| | - Tsafrir S Mor
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA; Center of Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Virotherapy, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
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Clinical potential of a rationally engineered enzyme for treatment of cocaine dependence: Long-lasting blocking of the psychostimulant, discriminative stimulus, and reinforcing effects of cocaine. Neuropharmacology 2020; 176:108251. [PMID: 32710979 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
It is a grand challenge to develop a truly effective treatment of substance use disorder (SUD), particularly for cocaine and other drugs without an FDA-approved treatment available, because a truly effective therapy must effectively block the drug's physiological and reinforcing effects during the entire period of treatment in order to achieve the long-time abstinence required by the FDA. Whether a biologic, such as monoclonal antibody, vaccine, or therapeutic enzyme, can be truly effective for SUD treatment or not has been the subject of extensive debate. The main debate question is whether a biologic, particularly an exogenous enzyme, can effectively block the drug's reinforcing effect. In this report, we demonstrate that a modest dose of a recently redesigned long-acting cocaine hydrolase, CocH3-Fc(M6), can be used to effectively block the psychostimulant, discriminative stimulus, and reinforcing effects of cocaine for a sufficiently long period of time. For example, a dose of 3 mg/kg CocH3-Fc(M6) completely blocked the discriminative stimulus and reinforcing effects for 24/25 days and continued to significantly attenuate/decrease the cocaine effects for at least 29 days in rats. All the animal data consistently suggest that the long-acting cocaine hydrolase is a truly promising candidate of enzyme therapy for treatment of cocaine use disorder.
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14
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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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Tricyclic Derivative of Acyclovir and Its Esters in Relation to the Esters of Acyclovir Enzymatic Stability: Enzymatic Stability Study. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25092156. [PMID: 32380673 PMCID: PMC7249156 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25092156] [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: 03/30/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The 3,9-dihydro-3-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]-6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-9-oxo-5H-imidazo[1,2-a]-purine (6-(4-MeOPh)-TACV) was selected to assess the enzymatic stability of the tricyclic acyclovir derivatives from the imidazo[1,2-a]-purine group. The parent compound and its esters (acetyl, isobutyryl, pivaloyl, nicotinic, ethoxycarbonyl) were subjected to kinetic studies and compared with the stability of analogous acyclovir (ACV) esters. The enzymatic hydrolysis was observed in vitro in a medium of 80% human plasma in the absence and presence of porcine liver esterase (PLE). The tests were carried out at 37 °C. To determine the kinetic parameters (kobs., t0.5) of the observed reaction, the validated HPLC-UV method in the reversed phase was used. The HPLC-MS/MS method was used to identify the degradation products under the tested conditions. In summary, it was found that 6-(4-MeOPh)-TACV esters are more susceptible to esterase metabolism than ACV esters. It was confirmed by HPLC-MS/MS that in the plasma, the main product of their hydrolysis is 6-(4-MeOPh)-TACV and not ACV, which confirms that their antiviral activity observed in vitro does not result from ring degradation.
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Zheng F, Chen X, Kim K, Zhang T, Huang H, Zhou S, Zhang J, Jin Z, Zhan CG. Structure-Based Design and Discovery of a Long-Acting Cocaine Hydrolase Mutant with Improved Binding Affinity to Neonatal Fc Receptor for Treatment of Cocaine Abuse. AAPS JOURNAL 2020; 22:62. [PMID: 32189158 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-020-00442-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite decades of efforts to develop a pharmacotherapy for cocaine abuse treatment, there is still no FDA-approved treatment of diseases associated with this commonly abused drug. Our previously designed highly efficient cocaine hydrolases (CocHs) and the corresponding Fc-fusion proteins (e.g., CocH3-Fc) are recognized as potentially promising therapeutic enzyme candidates for cocaine abuse treatment, but all with limited biological half-lives. In order to prolong the biological half-life and, thus, decrease the required frequency of the enzyme administration for cocaine abuse treatment, we have modeled the Fc-fusion CocH binding with neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) in the present study. This approach led to the design and testing of CocH3-Fc(M6), a CocH3-Fc mutant with nearly 100-fold increased binding affinity: from Kd = ~ 4 μM to Kd = 43 nM. As a result, CocH3-Fc(M6) indeed revealed a markedly prolonged biological half-life (t1/2 = 206 ± 7 h or ~ 9 days) in rats, longer than other known Fc-fusion protein drugs such as abatacept and alefacept (for other therapeutic purposes) in the same species (rats). It has been demonstrated that a single dose of 3 mg/kg CocH3-Fc(M6) effectively blocked 20 mg/kg cocaine-induced hyperactivity on day 18 after CocH3-Fc(M6) administration. This is the first attempt to rationally design long-acting Fc-fusion enzyme mutant based on combined computational modeling and experimental measurement of the Fc-fusion CocH binding with FcRn. The similar structure-based design strategy may be used to prolong the biological half-lives of other Fc-fusion protein drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Xiabin Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Kyungbo Kim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Ting Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Haifeng Huang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Shuo Zhou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Jinling Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Zhenyu Jin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA. .,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.
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Zheng X, Chen X, Zhang T, Zhan M, Zhan CG, Zheng F. Catalytic activities of cocaine hydrolases against the most toxic cocaine metabolite norcocaethylene. Org Biomol Chem 2020; 18:1968-1977. [PMID: 32101217 PMCID: PMC7362898 DOI: 10.1039/c9ob02762a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
A majority of cocaine users also consume alcohol. The concurrent use of cocaine and alcohol produces the pharmacologically active metabolites cocaethylene and norcocaethylene, in addition to norcocaine. Both cocaethylene and norcocaethylene are more toxic than cocaine itself. Hence, a truly valuable cocaine-metabolizing enzyme for cocaine abuse/overdose treatment should be effective for the hydrolysis of not only cocaine, but also its metabolites norcocaine, cocaethylene, and norcocaethylene. However, there has been no report on enzymes capable of hydrolyzing norcocaethylene (the most toxic metabolite of cocaine). The catalytic efficiency parameters (kcat and KM) of human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and two mutants (known as cocaine hydrolases E14-3 and E12-7) against norcocaethylene have been characterized in the present study for the first time, and they are compared with those against cocaine. According to the obtained kinetic data, wild-type human BChE showed a similar catalytic efficiency against norcocaethylene (kcat = 9.5 min-1, KM = 11.7 μM, and kcat/KM = 8.12 × 105 M-1 min-1) to that against (-)-cocaine (kcat = 4.1 min-1, KM = 4.5 μM, and kcat/KM = 9.1 × 105 M-1 min-1). E14-3 and E12-7 showed an improved catalytic activity against norcocaethylene compared to wild-type BChE. E12-7 showed a 39-fold improved catalytic efficiency against norcocaethylene (kcat = 210 min-1, KM = 6.6 μM, and kcat/KM = 3.18 × 107 M-1 min-1). It has been demonstrated that E12-7 as an exogenous enzyme can efficiently metabolize norcocaethylene in rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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.
| | - 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.
| | - Ting 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.
| | - Max 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.
| | - 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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Cai Y, Zhou S, Jin Z, Wei H, Shang L, Deng J, Zhan CG, Zheng F. Reengineering of Albumin-Fused Cocaine Hydrolase CocH1 (TV-1380) to Prolong Its Biological Half-Life. AAPS JOURNAL 2019; 22:5. [PMID: 31754920 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-019-0377-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic treatment of cocaine toxicity or addiction is a grand medical challenge. As a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of cocaine toxicity and addiction to develop a highly efficient cocaine hydrolase (CocH) capable of accelerating cocaine metabolism to produce physiologically/biologically inactive metabolites, our previously designed A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant of human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), known as cocaine hydrolase-1 (CocH1), possesses the desirably high catalytic activity against cocaine. The C-terminus of CocH1, truncated after amino acid #529, was fused to human serum albumin (HSA) to extend the biological half-life. The C-terminal HSA-fused CocH1 (CocH1-HSA), known as Albu-CocH1, Albu-CocH, AlbuBChE, Albu-BChE, or TV-1380 in literature, has shown favorable preclinical and clinical profiles. However, the actual therapeutic value of TV-1380 for cocaine addiction treatment is still limited by the short half-life. In this study, we designed and tested a new type of HSA-fused CocH1 proteins, i.e., N-terminal HSA-fused CocH1, with or without a linker between the HSA and CocH1 domains. It has been demonstrated that the catalytic activity of these new fusion proteins against cocaine is similar to that of TV-1380. However, HSA-CocH1 (without a linker) has a significantly longer biological half-life (t1/2 = 14 ± 2 h) compared to the corresponding C-terminal HSA-fused CocH1, i.e., CocH1-HSA (TV-1380 with t1/2 = 5-8 h), in rats. Further, the N-terminal HSA-fused CocH1 proteins with a linker have further prolonged biological half-lives: t1/2 = 17 ± 2 h for both HSA-EAAAK-CocH1 and HSA-PAPAP-CocH1, and t1/2 = 18 ± 3 h for HSA-(PAPAP)2-CocH1. These N-terminal HSA-fused CocH1 proteins may serve as more promising protein drug candidates for cocaine addiction treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingting Cai
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Shuo Zhou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Zhenyu Jin
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 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, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Linyue Shang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 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, Kentucky, 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, Kentucky, 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, Kentucky, 40536, USA.
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19
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Yan M, Zhang Z, Liu Z, Zhang C, Zhang J, Fan S, Yang Z. Catalytic Hydrolysis Mechanism of Cocaine by Human Carboxylesterase 1: An Orthoester Intermediate Slows Down the Reaction. Molecules 2019; 24:molecules24224057. [PMID: 31717501 PMCID: PMC6891567 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24224057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human carboxylesterase 1 (hCES1) is a major carboxylesterase in the human body and plays important roles in the metabolism of a wide variety of substances, including lipids and drugs, and therefore is attracting more and more attention from areas including lipid metabolism, pharmacokinetics, drug–drug interactions, and prodrug activation. In this work, we studied the catalytic hydrolysis mechanism of hCES1 by the quantum mechanics computation method, using cocaine as a model substrate. Our results support the four-step theory of the esterase catalytic hydrolysis mechanism, in which both the acylation stage and the deacylation stage include two transition states and a tetrahedral intermediate. The roles and cooperation of the catalytic triad, S221, H468, and E354, were also analyzed in this study. Moreover, orthoester intermediates were found in hCES1-catalyzed cocaine hydrolysis reaction, which significantly elevate the free energy barrier and slow down the reaction. Based on this finding, we propose that hCES1 substrates with β-aminocarboxylester structure might form orthoester intermediates in hCES1-catalyzed hydrolysis, and therefore prolong their in vivo half-life. Thus, this study helps to clarify the catalytic mechanism of hCES1 and elucidates important details of its catalytic process, and furthermore, provides important insights into the metabolism of hCES1 substrates and drug designing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maocai Yan
- School of Pharmacy, Jining Medical University, Rizhao 276800, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
- Correspondence: (M.Y.); (Z.Y.); Tel.: +86-(633)-2983781 (M.Y.); +86-(10)-63165283 (Z.Y.)
| | - Zhen Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Jining Medical University, Rizhao 276800, China
| | - Zhaoming Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Jining Medical University, Rizhao 276800, China
| | - Chunyan Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Jining Medical University, Rizhao 276800, China
| | - Jingchang Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Jining Medical University, Rizhao 276800, China
| | - Shuai Fan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
- Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Zhaoyong Yang
- Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
- Correspondence: (M.Y.); (Z.Y.); Tel.: +86-(633)-2983781 (M.Y.); +86-(10)-63165283 (Z.Y.)
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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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Li Y, Kong Q, Yue J, Gou X, Xu M, Wu X. Genome-edited skin epidermal stem cells protect mice from cocaine-seeking behaviour and cocaine overdose. Nat Biomed Eng 2019; 3:105-113. [PMID: 30899600 PMCID: PMC6423967 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-018-0293-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine addiction is associated with compulsive drug-seeking, and exposure to the drug or to drug-associated cues leads to relapse, even after long periods of abstention. A variety of pharmacological targets and behavioral interventions have been explored to counteract cocaine addiction, but to date no market-approved medications for treating cocaine addiction or relapse exist, and effective interventions for acute emergencies resulting from cocaine overdose are lacking. We recently demonstrated that skin epidermal stem cells can be readily edited by using CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) and then transplanted back into the donor mice. Here, we show that the transplantation, into mice, of skin cells modified to express an enhanced form of butyrylcholinesterase, an enzyme that hydrolyzes cocaine, enables the long-term release of the enzyme and efficiently protects the mice from cocaine-seeking behavior and cocaine overdose. Cutaneous gene therapy through skin transplants that elicit drug elimination may offer a therapeutic option to address drug abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Li
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Qingyao Kong
- Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jiping Yue
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Xuewen Gou
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ming Xu
- Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Xiaoyang Wu
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
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Purification of recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase on Hupresin®. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2018; 1102-1103:109-115. [PMID: 30384187 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2018.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Revised: 10/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Affinity chromatography on procainamide-Sepharose has been an important step in the purification of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) since its introduction in 1978. The procainamide affinity gel has limitations. In the present report a new affinity gel called Hupresin® was evaluated for its ability to purify truncated, recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase (rHuBChE) expressed in a stably transfected Chinese Hamster Ovary cell line. We present a detailed example of the purification of rHuBChE secreted into 3940 mL of serum-free culture medium. The starting material contained 13,163 units of BChE activity (20.9 mg). rHuBChE was purified to homogeneity in a single step by passage over 82 mL of Hupresin® eluted with 0.1 M tetramethylammonium bromide in 20 mM TrisCl pH 7.5. The fraction with the highest specific activity of 630 units/mg contained 11 mg of BChE. Hupresin® is superior to procainamide-Sepharose for purification of BChE, but is not suitable for purifying native AChE because Hupresin® binds AChE so tightly that AChE is not released with buffers, but is desorbed with denaturing solvents such as 50% acetonitrile or 1% trifluoroacetic acid. Procainamide-Sepharose will continue to be useful for purification of AChE.
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Kim K, Yao J, Jin Z, Zheng F, Zhan CG. Kinetic characterization of cholinesterases and a therapeutically valuable cocaine hydrolase for their catalytic activities against heroin and its metabolite 6-monoacetylmorphine. Chem Biol Interact 2018; 293:107-114. [PMID: 30080993 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
As the most popularly abused one of opioids, heroin is actually a prodrug. In the body, heroin is hydrolyzed/activated to 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM) first and then to morphine to produce its toxic and physiological effects. It has been known that heroin hydrolysis to 6-MAM and morphine is accelerated by cholinesterases, including acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and/or butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). However, there has been controversy over the specific catalytic activities and functional significance of the cholinesterases, which requires for the more careful kinetic characterization under the same experimental conditions. Here we report the kinetic characterization of AChE, BChE, and a therapeutically promising cocaine hydrolase (CocH1) for heroin and 6-MAM hydrolyses under the same experimental conditions. It has been demonstrated that AChE and BChE have similar kcat values (2100 and 1840 min-1, respectively) against heroin, but with a large difference in KM (2170 and 120 μM, respectively). Both AChE and BChE can catalyze 6-MAM hydrolysis to morphine, with relatively lower catalytic efficiency compared to the heroin hydrolysis. CocH1 can also catalyze hydrolysis of heroin (kcat = 2150 min-1 and KM = 245 μM) and 6-MAM (kcat = 0.223 min-1 and KM = 292 μM), with relatively larger KM values and lower catalytic efficiency compared to BChE. Notably, the KM values of CocH1 against both heroin and 6-MAM are all much larger than previously reported maximum serum heroin and 6-MAM concentrations observed in heroin users, implying that the heroin use along with cocaine will not drastically affect the catalytic activity of CocH1 against cocaine in the CocH1-based enzyme therapy for cocaine abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyungbo Kim
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | | | - Zhenyu Jin
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, USA; 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, USA; 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, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
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Shemesh-Darvish L, Shinar D, Hallak H, Gross A, Rosenstock M. TV-1380 attenuates cocaine-induced changes in cardiodynamic parameters in monkeys and reduces the formation of cocaethylene. Drug Alcohol Depend 2018; 188:295-303. [PMID: 29807217 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.01.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND TV-1380 is a rationally mutated, human BChE fused to human serum albumin that has high hydrolytic enzymatic activity against cocaine and as well as an extended elimination half-life. OBJECTIVE The present studies examined the safety of TV-1380 and its protective effect when given to monkeys alone or concomitantly with cocaine and ethanol. METHODS A set of studies was conducted in monkeys with TV-1380. The parameters tested included telemetric assessment of cardiovascular parameters, clinical pathology, plasma analysis of cardiac troponin I, ex-vivo analyses of cocaethylene and PK analysis of serum concentrations of TV-1380, cocaine and its metabolites, and histopathological examinations. RESULTS TV-1380 treatment in monkeys was well tolerated. TV-1380 pretreatment prior to cocaine significantly attenuated the cardiac effects of cocaine and reduced cocaine-induced elevations in serum cardiac troponin I. TV-1380 changed the metabolic fate of cocaine resulting in decreased exposure to benzoylecgonine, while increasing the exposure to ecgonine methyl ester in plasma.TV-1380 reduced the plasma levels of the toxic metabolite cocaethylene formed after co-administration of ethanol and cocaine. CONCLUSION The results of this study demonstrate that TV-1380 not only accelerates the elimination of cocaine, but also protects the treated animal from the cardiac effects of cocaine, and inhibits the formation of the toxic cocaethylene metabolite when cocaine is given together with ethanol, supporting further clinical development of modified BChE products as possible treatments for cocaine abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Doron Shinar
- Non-Clinical Development, Teva Pharmaceutical Ltd, Netanya, Israel
| | - Hussein Hallak
- Non-Clinical Development, Teva Pharmaceutical Ltd, Netanya, Israel
| | - Aviva Gross
- Non-Clinical Development, Teva Pharmaceutical Ltd, Netanya, Israel
| | - Moti Rosenstock
- Non-Clinical Development, Teva Pharmaceutical Ltd, Netanya, Israel
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Chen X, Deng J, Cui W, Hou S, Zhang J, Zheng X, Ding X, Wei H, Zhou Z, Kim K, Zhan CG, Zheng F. Development of Fc-Fused Cocaine Hydrolase for Cocaine Addiction Treatment: Catalytic and Pharmacokinetic Properties. AAPS JOURNAL 2018; 20:53. [PMID: 29556863 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-018-0214-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine abuse is a worldwide public health and social problem without a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medication. Accelerating cocaine metabolism that produces biologically inactive metabolites by administration of an efficient cocaine hydrolase (CocH) has been recognized as a promising strategy for cocaine abuse treatment. However, the therapeutic effects of CocH are limited by its short biological half-life (e.g., 8 h or shorter in rats). In this study, we designed and prepared a set of Fc-fusion proteins constructed by fusing Fc(M3) with CocH3 at the N-terminus of CocH3. A linker between the two protein domains was optimized to improve both the biological half-life and catalytic activity against cocaine. It has been concluded that Fc(M3)-G6S-CocH3 not only has fully retained the catalytic efficiency of CocH3 against cocaine but also has the longest biological half-life (e.g., ∼ 136 h in rats) among all of the long-acting CocHs identified so far. A single dose (0.2 mg/kg, IV) of Fc(M3)-G6S-CocH3 was able to significantly attenuate 15 mg/kg cocaine-induced hyperactivity for at least 11 days (268 h) after the Fc(M3)-G6S-CocH3 administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiabin Chen
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center (MMBC) 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 (MMBC) and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Wenpeng Cui
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center (MMBC) and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Shurong Hou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center (MMBC) 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 (MMBC) 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 (MMBC) and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Xin Ding
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center (MMBC) 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 (MMBC) 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 (MMBC) and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Kyungbo Kim
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center (MMBC) 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 (MMBC) 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 (MMBC) and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
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Brimijoin S, Gao Y, Geng L, Chen VP. Treating Cocaine Addiction, Obesity, and Emotional Disorders by Viral Gene Transfer of Butyrylcholinesterase. Front Pharmacol 2018. [PMID: 29535625 PMCID: PMC5835039 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a plasma enzyme that hydrolyses the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine relatively well, with far lower efficiency than acetylcholinesterase (AChE) but with the capability to degrade a broad range of bioactive esters. AChE is universally understood as essential to cholinergic neurotransmission, voluntary muscle performance, and cognition, among other roles, and its catalytic impact is essential for life. A total absence of BChE activity, whether by enzyme inhibition or simple lack of enzyme protein is not only compatible with life, but does not lead to obvious physiologic disturbance. However, very recent studies at Mayo Clinic have amassed support for the concept that BChE does have a true physiological role as a "ghrelin hydrolase" and, pharmacologically, as a cocaine hydrolase. Human subjects and animal mutations that lack functional BChE show higher than normal levels of ghrelin, an acylated peptide that drives hunger and feeding, along with certain emotional behaviors. Mice treated by viral gene transfer of BChE show higher plasma levels of enzyme and lower levels of ghrelin. Ghrelin is acknowledged as a driver of food-seeking and stress. This brief review examines some key phenomena and considers means of modulating BChE as treatments for cocaine addiction, anxiety, aggression, and obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Brimijoin
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Yang Gao
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Liyi Geng
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Vicky P Chen
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
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Zheng X, Zhou Z, Zhang T, Jin Z, Chen X, Deng J, Zhan CG, Zheng F. Effectiveness of a Cocaine Hydrolase for Cocaine Toxicity Treatment in Male and Female Rats. AAPS JOURNAL 2017; 20:3. [PMID: 29181644 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-017-0167-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Development of a truly effective medication for treatment of cocaine abuse has been a grand challenge. There is no FDA-approved therapeutic agent specific for cocaine addiction or overdose. An enzyme therapy using an efficient cocaine-metabolizing enzyme could be a promising treatment strategy for cocaine overdose and addiction. One of our previously designed cocaine hydrolases (CocHs), known as CocH1, was fused with human serum albumin (HSA) to prolong the biological half-life. The fusion protein CocH1-HSA is an investigational new drug (IND) approved by the FDA for clinical trials in cocaine addiction treatment, but not in cocaine overdose/toxicity treatment. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile of CocH1-HSA and its effectiveness for cocaine toxicity treatment in male and female rats and demonstrate the clinical potential. The data demonstrate that enzyme CocH1-HSA has very similar pharmacokinetic profile in male and female rats. For both male and female rats, the enzyme can rapidly eliminate cocaine even if the cocaine dose is as high as 180 mg/kg (LD100). Based on the animal data, whenever the enzyme is given to a living subject, the remaining cocaine in the body will be converted rapidly to physiologically inactive metabolites and, thus, reverse the cocaine toxicity and help the subject to recover. So, an enzyme therapy using CocH1-HSA can effectively treat cocaine toxicity and prevent the subject from further damage by cocaine. The data obtained clearly demonstrate the promising clinical potential of CocH1-HSA in cocaine overdose treatment for both genders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xirong Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Ziyuan Zhou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Ting Zhang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Zhenyu Jin
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Xiabin Chen
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Jing Deng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA. .,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.
| | - Fang Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA. .,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA.
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Garcia-Borràs M, Houk KN, Jiménez-Osés G. Computational Design of Protein Function. COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR CHEMICAL BIOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/9781788010139-00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The computational design of enzymes is a tremendous challenge for both chemistry and biochemistry. The ability to design stable and functional biocatalysts that could operate under different conditions to perform chemical reactions without precedent in nature, allowing the large-scale production of chemicals à la carte, would revolutionise both synthetic, pharmacologic and materials chemistry. Despite the great advances achieved, this highly multidisciplinary area of research is still in its infancy. This chapter describes the ‘inside-out’ protocol for computational enzyme design and both the achievements and limitations of the current technology are highlighted. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations have proved to be invaluable in the enzyme design process, constituting an important tool for discovering elusive catalytically relevant conformations of the engineered or designed enzyme. As a complement to the ‘inside-out’ design protocol, different examples where hybrid QM/MM approaches have been directly applied to discover beneficial mutations in rational computational enzyme design are described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Garcia-Borràs
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles California CA 90095-1569 USA
| | - Kendall N. Houk
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles California CA 90095-1569 USA
| | - Gonzalo Jiménez-Osés
- Departamento de Química, Centro de Investigación en Síntesis Química Universidad de La Rioja 26006 Logroño La Rioja Spain
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Plant-expressed cocaine hydrolase variants of butyrylcholinesterase exhibit altered allosteric effects of cholinesterase activity and increased inhibitor sensitivity. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10419. [PMID: 28874829 PMCID: PMC5585256 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10571-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is an enzyme with broad substrate and ligand specificities and may function as a generalized bioscavenger by binding and/or hydrolyzing various xenobiotic agents and toxicants, many of which target the central and peripheral nervous systems. Variants of BChE were rationally designed to increase the enzyme’s ability to hydrolyze the psychoactive enantiomer of cocaine. These variants were cloned, and then expressed using the magnICON transient expression system in plants and their enzymatic properties were investigated. In particular, we explored the effects that these site-directed mutations have over the enzyme kinetics with various substrates of BChE. We further compared the affinity of various anticholinesterases including organophosphorous nerve agents and pesticides toward these BChE variants relative to the wild type enzyme. In addition to serving as a therapy for cocaine addiction-related diseases, enhanced bioscavenging against other harmful agents could add to the practicality and versatility of the plant-derived recombinant enzyme as a multivalent therapeutic.
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Gao Y, Geng L, Chen VP, Brimijoin S. Therapeutic Delivery of Butyrylcholinesterase by Brain-Wide Viral Gene Transfer to Mice. Molecules 2017; 22:molecules22071145. [PMID: 28698452 PMCID: PMC5963683 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22071145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research shows that butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is not simply a liver enzyme that detoxifies bioactive esters in food and medications. In fact, in pursuing other goals, we recently found that it has an equally important role in regulating the peptide hormone ghrelin and its impact on hunger, obesity, and emotions. Here, we present and examine means of manipulating brain BChE levels by viral gene transfer, either regionally or globally, to modulate ghrelin signaling for long-term therapeutic purposes and to set the stage for exploring the neurophysiological impact of such an intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Gao
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
| | - Liyi Geng
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
| | - Vicky Ping Chen
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
| | - Stephen Brimijoin
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
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Lesniewska-Kowiel MA, Muszalska I. Strategies in the designing of prodrugs, taking into account the antiviral and anticancer compounds. Eur J Med Chem 2017; 129:53-71. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Revised: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Lutz S, Williams E, Muthu P. Engineering Therapeutic Enzymes. DIRECTED ENZYME EVOLUTION: ADVANCES AND APPLICATIONS 2017:17-67. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-50413-1_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
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Wang G, Zhang T, Huang H, Hou S, Chen X, Zheng F, Zhan CG. Plant expression of cocaine hydrolase-Fc fusion protein for treatment of cocaine abuse. BMC Biotechnol 2016; 16:72. [PMID: 27756365 PMCID: PMC5069871 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-016-0302-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2016] [Accepted: 10/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A recently reported cocaine hydrolase (CocH3) fused with fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of human immunoglobulin G1, denoted as CocH3-Fc, is known as a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of cocaine overdose and addiction. A challenge for practical therapeutic use of this enzyme exists in the large-scale protein production and, therefore, it is interesting to identify a low-cost and feasible, sustainable source of CocH3-Fc production. RESULTS CocH3-Fc was transiently expressed in plant Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The plant-expressed protein, denoted as pCocH3-Fc, was as active as that expressed in mammalian cells both in vitro and in vivo. However, compared to the mammalian-cell expressed CocH3-Fc protein, pCocH3-Fc had a shorter biological half-life, probably due to the lack of protein sialylation in plant. Nevertheless, the in vivo half-life was significantly extended upon the PEGylation of pCocH3-Fc. The Fc fusion did not prolong the biological half-life of the plant-expressed enzyme pCocH3-Fc, but increased the yield of the enzyme expression in the plant under the same experimental conditions. CONCLUSIONS It is feasible to express pCocH3-Fc in plants. Further studies on the pCocH3-Fc production in plants should focus on the development of vectors with additional genes/promoters for the complete protein sialylation and for a better yield.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guojun Wang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- Present address: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946 USA
| | - Ting Zhang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
| | - Haifeng Huang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
| | - Shurong Hou
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
| | - Xiabin Chen
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- 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, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
- Chemoinformatics and Drug Design Core, Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536 USA
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Chen X, Zheng X, Zhou Z, Zhan CG, Zheng F. Effects of a cocaine hydrolase engineered from human butyrylcholinesterase on metabolic profile of cocaine in rats. Chem Biol Interact 2016; 259:104-109. [PMID: 27154495 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2016.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Revised: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Accelerating cocaine metabolism through enzymatic hydrolysis at cocaine benzoyl ester is recognized as a promising therapeutic approach for cocaine abuse treatment. Our more recently designed A199S/F227A/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant of human BChE, denoted as cocaine hydrolase-3 (CocH3), has a considerably improved catalytic efficiency against cocaine and has been proven active in blocking cocaine-induced toxicity and physiological effects. In the present study, we have further characterized the effects of CocH3 on the detailed metabolic profile of cocaine in rats administrated intravenously (IV) with 5 mg/kg cocaine, demonstrating that IV administration of 0.15 mg/kg CocH3 dramatically changed the metabolic profile of cocaine. Without CocH3 administration, the dominant cocaine-metabolizing pathway in rats was cocaine methyl ester hydrolysis to benzoylecgonine (BZE). With the CocH3 administration, the dominant cocaine-metabolizing pathway in rats became cocaine benzoyl ester hydrolysis to ecgonine methyl ester (EME), and the other two metabolic pathways (i.e. cocaine methyl ester hydrolysis to BZE and cocaine oxidation to norcocaine) became insignificant. The CocH3-catalyzed cocaine benzoyl ester hydrolysis to EME was so efficient such that the measured maximum blood cocaine concentration (∼38 ng/ml) was significantly lower than the threshold blood cocaine concentration (∼72 ng/ml) required to produce any measurable physiological effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiabin Chen
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Xirong Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Ziyuan Zhou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States.
| | - Fang Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, United States.
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Smethells JR, Swalve N, Brimijoin S, Gao Y, Parks RJ, Greer A, Carroll ME. Long-Term Blockade of Cocaine Self-Administration and Locomotor Activation in Rats by an Adenoviral Vector-Delivered Cocaine Hydrolase. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2016; 357:375-81. [PMID: 26968195 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.116.232504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A promising approach in treating cocaine abuse is to metabolize cocaine in the blood using a mutated butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) that functions as a cocaine hydrolase (CocH). In rats, a helper-dependent adenoviral (hdAD) vector-mediated delivery of CocH abolished ongoing cocaine use and cocaine-primed reinstatement of drug-seeking for several months. This enzyme also metabolizes ghrelin, an effect that may be beneficial in maintaining healthy weights. The effect of a single hdAD-CocH vector injection was examined in rats on measures of anxiety, body weight, cocaine self-administration, and cocaine-induced locomotor activity. To examine anxiety, periadolescent rats were tested in an elevated-plus maze. Weight gain was then examined under four rodent diets. Ten months after CocH-injection, adult rats were trained to self-administer cocaine intravenously and, subsequently, cocaine-induced locomotion was tested. Viral gene transfer produced sustained plasma levels of CocH for over 13 months of testing. CocH-treated rats did not differ from controls in measures of anxiety, and only showed a transient reduction in weight gain during the first 3 weeks postinjection. However, CocH-treated rats were insensitive to cocaine. At 10 months postinjection, none of the CocH-treated rats initiated cocaine self-administration, unlike 90% of the control rats. At 13 months postinjection, CocH-treated rats showed no cocaine-induced locomotion, whereas control rats showed a dose-dependent enhancement of locomotion. CocH vector produced a long-term blockade of the rewarding and behavioral effects of cocaine in rats, emphasizing its role as a promising therapeutic intervention in cocaine abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Smethells
- Research Fellow, Pharmaco-Neuro-Immunology Training Program (J.R.S.) and Department of Biological Science (A.G.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School (N.S., M.E.C.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (S.B., Y.G.); Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (R.J.P.)
| | - Natashia Swalve
- Research Fellow, Pharmaco-Neuro-Immunology Training Program (J.R.S.) and Department of Biological Science (A.G.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School (N.S., M.E.C.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (S.B., Y.G.); Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (R.J.P.)
| | - Stephen Brimijoin
- Research Fellow, Pharmaco-Neuro-Immunology Training Program (J.R.S.) and Department of Biological Science (A.G.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School (N.S., M.E.C.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (S.B., Y.G.); Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (R.J.P.)
| | - Yang Gao
- Research Fellow, Pharmaco-Neuro-Immunology Training Program (J.R.S.) and Department of Biological Science (A.G.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School (N.S., M.E.C.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (S.B., Y.G.); Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (R.J.P.)
| | - Robin J Parks
- Research Fellow, Pharmaco-Neuro-Immunology Training Program (J.R.S.) and Department of Biological Science (A.G.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School (N.S., M.E.C.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (S.B., Y.G.); Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (R.J.P.)
| | - Adam Greer
- Research Fellow, Pharmaco-Neuro-Immunology Training Program (J.R.S.) and Department of Biological Science (A.G.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School (N.S., M.E.C.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (S.B., Y.G.); Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (R.J.P.)
| | - Marilyn E Carroll
- Research Fellow, Pharmaco-Neuro-Immunology Training Program (J.R.S.) and Department of Biological Science (A.G.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School (N.S., M.E.C.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (S.B., Y.G.); Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (R.J.P.)
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Yao Y, Liu J, Zheng F, Zhan CG. Reaction Pathway for Cocaine Hydrolase-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of (+)-Cocaine. Theor Chem Acc 2016; 135. [PMID: 28250715 DOI: 10.1007/s00214-015-1788-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A recently designed and discovered cocaine hydrolase (CocH), engineered from human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), has been proven promising as a novel enzyme therapy for treatment of cocaine overdose and addiction because it is highly efficient in catalyzing hydrolysis of naturally occurring (-)-cocaine. It has been known that the CocH also has a high catalytic efficiency against (+)-cocaine, a synthetic enantiomer of cocaine. Reaction pathway and the corresponding free energy profile for the CocH-catalyzed hydrolysis of (+)-cocaine have been determined, in the present study, by performing first-principles pseudobond quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM)-free energy (FE) calculations. Acordingt to the QM/MM-FE results, the catalytic hydrolysis process is initiated by the nucleophilic attack on carbonyl carbon of (-)-cocaine benzoyl ester via hydroxyl oxygen of S198 side chain, and the second reaction step (i.e. dissociation of benzoyl ester) is rate-determining. This finding for CocH-catalyzed hydrolysis of (+)-cocaine is remarkably different from that for the (+)-cocaine hydrolysis catalyzed by bacterial cocaine esterase in which the first reaction step of the deacylation is associated with the highest free energy barrier (~17.9 kcal/mol). The overall free energy barrier (~16.0 kcal/mol) calculated for the acylation stage of CocH-catalyzed hydrolysis of (+)-cocaine is in good agreement with the experimental free energy barrier of ~14.5 kcal/mol derivated from the experimental kinetic data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Yao
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536; The Academy of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, P.R. China
| | - Junjun Liu
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536; Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, P.R. China
| | - Fang Zheng
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536
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Abstract
Cocaine abuse is a world-wide public health and social problem without a US Food and Drug Administration-approved medication. An ideal anticocaine medication would accelerate cocaine metabolism, producing biologically inactive metabolites by administration of an efficient cocaine-specific exogenous enzyme. Our recent studies have led to the discovery of the desirable, highly efficient cocaine hydrolases (CocHs) that can efficiently detoxify and inactivate cocaine without affecting normal functions of the CNS. Preclinical and clinical data have demonstrated that these CocHs are safe for use in humans and are effective for accelerating cocaine metabolism. However, the actual therapeutic use of a CocH in cocaine addiction treatment is limited by its short biological half-life (e.g., 8 h or shorter in rats). Here we demonstrate a novel CocH form, a catalytic antibody analog, which is a fragment crystallizable (Fc)-fused CocH dimer (CocH-Fc) constructed by using CocH to replace the Fab region of human IgG1. The CocH-Fc not only has a high catalytic efficiency against cocaine but also, like an antibody, has a considerably longer biological half-life (e.g., ∼107 h in rats). A single dose of CocH-Fc was able to accelerate cocaine metabolism in rats even after 20 d and thus block cocaine-induced hyperactivity and toxicity for a long period. Given the general observation that the biological half-life of a protein drug is significantly longer in humans than in rodents, the CocH-Fc reported in this study could allow dosing once every 2-4 wk, or longer, for treatment of cocaine addiction in humans.
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Murthy V, Reyes S, Geng L, Gao Y, Brimijoin S. Cocaine Hydrolase Gene Transfer Demonstrates Cardiac Safety and Efficacy against Cocaine-Induced QT Prolongation in Mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2015; 356:720-5. [PMID: 26669428 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.115.228825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cocaine addiction is associated with devastating medical consequences, including cardiotoxicity and risk-conferring prolongation of the QT interval. Viral gene transfer of cocaine hydrolase engineered from butyrylcholinesterase offers therapeutic promise for treatment-seeking drug users. Although previous preclinical studies have demonstrated benefits of this strategy without signs of toxicity, the specific cardiac safety and efficacy of engineered butyrylcholinesterase viral delivery remains unknown. Here, telemetric recording of electrocardiograms from awake, unrestrained mice receiving a course of moderately large cocaine doses (30 mg/kg, twice daily for 3 weeks) revealed protection against a 2-fold prolongation of the QT interval conferred by pretreatment with cocaine hydrolase vector. By itself, this prophylactic treatment did not affect QT interval duration or cardiac structure, demonstrating that viral delivery of cocaine hydrolase has no intrinsic cardiac toxicity and, on the contrary, actively protects against cocaine-induced QT prolongation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vishakantha Murthy
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging (V.M., L.G., Y.G., S.B.), and Marriott Heart Disease Research Program, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases (S.R.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Santiago Reyes
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging (V.M., L.G., Y.G., S.B.), and Marriott Heart Disease Research Program, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases (S.R.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Liyi Geng
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging (V.M., L.G., Y.G., S.B.), and Marriott Heart Disease Research Program, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases (S.R.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Yang Gao
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging (V.M., L.G., Y.G., S.B.), and Marriott Heart Disease Research Program, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases (S.R.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Stephen Brimijoin
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging (V.M., L.G., Y.G., S.B.), and Marriott Heart Disease Research Program, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases (S.R.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
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Radiometric assay of ghrelin hydrolase activity and 3H-ghrelin distribution into mouse tissues. Biochem Pharmacol 2015; 98:732-9. [PMID: 26514871 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2015.10.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2015] [Accepted: 10/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A high-throughput radiometric assay was developed to characterize enzymatic hydrolysis of ghrelin and to track the peptide's fate in vivo. The assay is based on solvent partitioning of [(3)H]-octanoic acid liberated from [(3)H]-octanoyl ghrelin during enzymatic hydrolysis. This simple and cost-effective method facilitates kinetic analysis of ghrelin hydrolase activity of native and mutated butyrylcholinesterases or carboxylesterases from multiple species. In addition, the assay's high sensitivity facilitates ready evaluation of ghrelin's pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution in mice after i.v. bolus administration of radiolabeled peptide.
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Reilly PJ, Rovira C. Computational Studies of Glycoside, Carboxylic Ester, and Thioester Hydrolase Mechanisms: A Review. Ind Eng Chem Res 2015. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.5b01312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Peter J. Reilly
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011-2230, United States
| | - Carme Rovira
- Departament de Química Orgànica
and Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució
Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain
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41
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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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42
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Chen X, Huang X, Geng L, Xue L, Hou S, Zheng X, Brimijoin S, Zheng F, Zhan CG. Kinetic characterization of a cocaine hydrolase engineered from mouse butyrylcholinesterase. Biochem J 2015; 466:243-51. [PMID: 25486543 PMCID: PMC4367957 DOI: 10.1042/bj20141266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mouse butyrylcholinesterase (mBChE) and an mBChE-based cocaine hydrolase (mCocH, i.e. the A¹⁹⁹S/S²²⁷A/S²⁸⁷G/A³²⁸W/Y³³²G mutant) have been characterized for their catalytic activities against cocaine, i.e. naturally occurring (-)-cocaine, in comparison with the corresponding human BChE (hBChE) and an hBChE-based cocaine hydrolase (hCocH, i.e. the A¹⁹⁹S/F²²⁷A/S²⁸⁷G/A³²⁸W/Y³³²G mutant). It has been demonstrated that mCocH and hCocH have improved the catalytic efficiency of mBChE and hBChE against (-)-cocaine by ~8- and ~2000-fold respectively, although the catalytic efficiencies of mCocH and hCocH against other substrates, including acetylcholine (ACh) and butyrylthiocholine (BTC), are close to those of the corresponding wild-type enzymes mBChE and hBChE. According to the kinetic data, the catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(M)) of mBChE against (-)-cocaine is comparable with that of hBChE, but the catalytic efficiency of mCocH against (-)-cocaine is remarkably lower than that of hCocH by ~250-fold. The remarkable difference in the catalytic activity between mCocH and hCocH is consistent with the difference between the enzyme-(-)-cocaine binding modes obtained from molecular modelling. Further, both mBChE and hBChE demonstrated substrate activation for all of the examined substrates [(-)-cocaine, ACh and BTC] at high concentrations, whereas both mCocH and hCocH showed substrate inhibition for all three substrates at high concentrations. The amino-acid mutations have remarkably converted substrate activation of the enzymes into substrate inhibition, implying that the rate-determining step of the reaction in mCocH and hCocH might be different from that in mBChE and hBChE.
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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
| | - Xiaoqin Huang
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536
| | - Liyi Geng
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905
| | - Liu Xue
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536
| | - Shurong Hou
- Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536
| | - 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
| | - Stephen Brimijoin
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905
| | - 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
| | - 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
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43
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Kinetic characterization of human butyrylcholinesterase mutants for the hydrolysis of cocaethylene. Biochem J 2014; 460:447-57. [PMID: 24870023 DOI: 10.1042/bj20140360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
It is known that the majority of cocaine users also consume alcohol. Alcohol can react with cocaine to produce a significantly more cytotoxic compound, cocaethylene. Hence a truly valuable cocaine-metabolizing enzyme as treatment for cocaine abuse/overdose should be efficient for not only cocaine itself, but also cocaethylene. The catalytic parameters (kcat and KM) of human BChE (butyrylcholinesterase) and two mutants (known as cocaine hydrolases E14-3 and E12-7) for cocaethylene are characterized in the present study, for the first time, in comparison with those for cocaine. On the basis of the obtained kinetic data, wild-type human BChE has a lower catalytic activity for cocaethylene (kcat=3.3 min(-1), KM=7.5 μM and kcat/KM=4.40 × 10(5) M(-1)·min(-1)) compared with its catalytic activity for (-)-cocaine. E14-3 and E12-7 have a considerably improved catalytic activity against cocaethylene compared with the wild-type BChE. E12-7 is identified as the most efficient enzyme for hydrolysing cocaethylene in addition to its high activity for (-)-cocaine. E12-7 has an 861-fold improved catalytic efficiency for cocaethylene (kcat=3600 min(-1), KM=9.5 μM and kcat/KM=3.79 × 10(8) M(-1)·min(-1)). It has been demonstrated that E12-7 as an exogenous enzyme can indeed rapidly metabolize cocaethylene in rats. Further kinetic modelling has suggested that E12-7 with an identical concentration as that of the endogenous BChE in human plasma can effectively eliminate (-)-cocaine, cocaethylene and norcocaine in simplified kinetic models of cocaine abuse and overdose associated with the concurrent use of cocaine and alcohol.
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Ramakrishnan M, Kinsey BM, Singh RA, Kosten TR, Orson FM. Hapten optimization for cocaine vaccine with improved cocaine recognition. Chem Biol Drug Des 2014; 84:354-63. [PMID: 24803171 DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.12326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
In the absence of any effective pharmacotherapy for cocaine addiction, immunotherapy is being actively pursued as a therapeutic intervention. While several different cocaine haptens have been explored to develop anticocaine antibodies, none of the hapten was successfully designed, which had a protonated tropane nitrogen as is found in native cocaine under physiological conditions, including the succinyl norcocaine (SNC) hapten that has been tested in phase II clinical trials. Herein, we discuss three different cocaine haptens: hexyl norcocaine (HNC), bromoacetamido butyl norcocaine (BNC), and succinyl butyl norcocaine (SBNC), each with a tertiary nitrogen structure mimicking that of native cocaine which could optimize the specificity of anticocaine antibodies for better cocaine recognition. Mice immunized with these haptens conjugated to immunogenic proteins produced high titre anticocaine antibodies. However, during chemical conjugation of HNC and BNC haptens to carrier proteins, the 2β methyl ester group is hydrolyzed, and immunizing mice with these conjugate vaccines in mice produced antibodies that bound both cocaine and the inactive benzoylecgonine metabolite. While in the case of the SBNC conjugate, vaccine hydrolysis of the methyl ester did not appear to occur, leading to antibodies with high specificity to cocaine over BE. Although we observed similar specificity with a SNC hapten, the striking difference is that SBNC carries a positive charge on the tropane nitrogen atom, and therefore, it is expected to have better binding of cocaine. The 50% cocaine inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) value for SBNC antibodies (2.8 μm) was significantly better than the SNC antibodies (9.4 μm) when respective hapten-BSA was used as a substrate. In addition, antibodies from both sera had no inhibitory effect from BE. In contrast to BNC and HNC, the SBNC conjugate was also found to be highly stable without any noticeable hydrolysis for several months at 4 °C and 2-3 days in pH 10 buffer at 37 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muthu Ramakrishnan
- Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030, TX, USA; Department of Medicine and Clinical Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030, TX, USA
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Murthy V, Gao Y, Geng L, LeBrasseur NK, White TA, Parks RJ, Brimijoin S. Physiologic and metabolic safety of butyrylcholinesterase gene therapy in mice. Vaccine 2014; 32:4155-62. [PMID: 24892251 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.05.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2014] [Revised: 05/13/2014] [Accepted: 05/20/2014] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
In continuing efforts to develop gene transfer of human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) as therapy for cocaine addiction, we conducted wide-ranging studies of physiological and metabolic safety. For that purpose, mice were given injections of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector or helper-dependent adenoviral (hdAD) vector encoding human or mouse BChE mutated for optimal cocaine hydrolysis. Age-matched controls received saline or AAV-luciferase control vector. At times when transduced BChE was abundant, physiologic and metabolic parameters in conscious animals were evaluated by non-invasive Echo-MRI and an automated "Comprehensive Laboratory Animal Monitoring System" (CLAMS). Despite high vector doses (up to 10(13) particles per mouse) and high levels of transgene protein in the plasma (∼1500-fold above baseline), the CLAMS apparatus revealed no adverse physiologic or metabolic effects. Likewise, body composition determined by Echo-MRI, and glucose tolerance remained normal. A CLAMS study of vector-treated mice given 40 mg/kg cocaine showed none of the physiologic and metabolic fluctuations exhibited in controls. We conclude that neither the tested vectors nor great excesses of circulating BChE affect general physiology directly, while they protect mice from disturbance by cocaine. Hence, viral gene transfer of BChE appears benign and worth exploring as a therapy for cocaine abuse and possibly other disorders as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vishakantha Murthy
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
| | - Yang Gao
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - Liyi Geng
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - Nathan K LeBrasseur
- Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - Thomas A White
- Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - Robin J Parks
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephen Brimijoin
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
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46
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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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Long-term reduction of cocaine self-administration in rats treated with adenoviral vector-delivered cocaine hydrolase: evidence for enzymatic activity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:1538-46. [PMID: 24407266 PMCID: PMC3988560 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2013] [Revised: 12/29/2013] [Accepted: 12/31/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
A new pharmacokinetic approach treating cocaine addiction involves rapidly metabolizing cocaine before it reaches brain reward centers using mutated human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) or cocaine hydrolase (CocH). Recent work has shown that helper-dependent adenoviral (hdAD) vector-mediated plasma CocH reduced the locomotor-activating effects of cocaine and prevented reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior up to 6 months in rats. The present study investigated whether hdAD-CocH could decrease ongoing intravenous cocaine (0.4 mg/kg) self-administration. The hdAD-CocH vector was injected into self-administering rats, and after accumulation of plasma CocH, there was a dramatic reduction in cocaine infusions earned under a fixed ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement that lasted for the length of the study (>2 months). Pretreatment with the selective BChE and CocH inhibitor iso-OMPA (1.5 mg/kg) restored cocaine intake; therefore, the decline in self-administration was likely due to rapid CocH-mediated cocaine metabolism. Direct measurements of cocaine levels in plasma and brain samples taken after the conclusion of behavioral studies provided strong support for this conclusion. Further, rats injected with hdAD-CocH did not experience a deficit in operant responding for drug reinforcement and self-administered methamphetamine (0.05 mg/kg) at control levels. Overall, these outcomes suggest that viral gene transfer can yield plasma CocH levels that effectively diminish long-term cocaine intake and may have potential treatment implications for cocaine-dependent individuals seeking to become and remain abstinent.
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48
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Zheng F, Xue L, Hou S, Liu J, Zhan M, Yang W, Zhan CG. A highly efficient cocaine-detoxifying enzyme obtained by computational design. Nat Commun 2014; 5:3457. [PMID: 24643289 PMCID: PMC3996704 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2013] [Accepted: 02/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Compared to naturally occurring enzymes, computationally designed enzymes are usually much less efficient, with their catalytic activities being more than six orders of magnitude below the diffusion limit. Here we use a two-step computational design approach, combined with experimental work, to design a highly efficient cocaine hydrolising enzyme. We engineer E30-6 from human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), which is specific for cocaine hydrolysis, and obtain a much higher catalytic efficiency for cocaine conversion than for conversion of the natural BChE substrate, acetylcholine (ACh). The catalytic efficiency of E30-6 for cocaine hydrolysis is comparable to that of the most efficient known naturally-occurring hydrolytic enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, the catalytic activity of which approaches the diffusion limit. We further show that E30-6 can protect mice from a subsequently administered lethal dose of cocaine, suggesting the enzyme may have therapeutic potential in the setting of cocaine detoxification or cocaine abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Zheng
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Liu Xue
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Shurong Hou
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Junjun Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Max Zhan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Wenchao Yang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
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49
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Kinetic characterization of high-activity mutants of human butyrylcholinesterase for the cocaine metabolite norcocaine. Biochem J 2014; 457:197-206. [PMID: 24125115 DOI: 10.1042/bj20131100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
It has been known that cocaine produces its toxic and physiological effects through not only cocaine itself, but also norcocaine formed from cocaine oxidation catalysed by microsomal CYP (cytochrome P450) 3A4 in the human liver. The catalytic parameters (kcat and Km) of human BChE (butyrylcholinesterase) and its three mutants (i.e. A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G, A199S/F227A/S287G/A328W/E441D and A199S/F227A/S287G/A328W/Y332G) for norcocaine have been characterized in the present study for the first time and compared with those for cocaine. On the basis of the obtained kinetic data, wild-type human BChE has a significantly lower catalytic activity for norcocaine (kcat=2.8 min(-1), Km=15 μM and kcat/Km=1.87 × 10(5) M(-1)·min(-1)) compared with its catalytic activity for (-)-cocaine. The BChE mutants examined in the present study have considerably improved catalytic activities against both cocaine and norcocaine compared with the wild-type enzyme. Within the enzymes examined in the present study, the A199S/F227A/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant (CocH3) is identified as the most efficient enzyme for hydrolysing both cocaine and norcocaine. CocH3 has a 1080-fold improved catalytic efficiency for norcocaine (kcat=2610 min(-1), Km=13 μM and kcat/Km=2.01 × 10(8) M(-1)·min(-1)) and a 2020-fold improved catalytic efficiency for cocaine. It has been demonstrated that CocH3 as an exogenous enzyme can rapidly metabolize norcocaine, in addition to cocaine, in rats. Further kinetic modelling has suggested that CocH3 with an identical concentration with that of the endogenous BChE in human plasma can effectively eliminate both cocaine and norcocaine in a simplified kinetic model of cocaine abuse.
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50
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Fang L, Zheng F, Zhan CG. A model of glycosylated human butyrylcholinesterase. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2014; 10:348-54. [PMID: 24327294 PMCID: PMC3947857 DOI: 10.1039/c3mb70313d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and its mutants have shown great potential in treating cocaine overdose and addiction. In order to effectively suppress cocaine reward in the brain for a long period of time after an exogenous cocaine hydrolase administration, the therapeutic enzyme should have not only a high catalytic efficiency against cocaine, but also a sufficiently long circulation time. It has been known that PEGylation (covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol) modification of a therapeutic protein can prolong the biological half-life of the protein without affecting its biological function. However, the asparagine-linked glycans on the surface of glycosylated BChE may interfere with the PEGylation modification. In this study, we built a three-dimensional (3D) model of glycosylated human BChE to investigate the influence of glycans on the PEGylation modification. Glycans did not change the overall stability of the BChE structure, but could increase the flexibility of some local structures. For further evaluating the accessibility of the PEGylation reaction sites, particularly lysine residues, on the protein surface, we calculated the Solvent Accessible Surface Areas (SASAs) of these residues. The results indicate that some lysine residues show a significant decrease in SASA due to the direct or indirect influence of their surrounding glycans. The results also indicate that PEGylation reaction agents with smaller functional groups could have a better chance to react with lysine residues. This investigation provides a structural basis for rational engineering of human BChE and its mutants as therapeutic candidates.
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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, USA.
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