High-throughput screening for fatty acid uptake inhibitors in humanized yeast identifies atypical antipsychotic drugs that cause dyslipidemias

Leveraging a Fluorescent Fatty Acid Probe to Discover Cell-Permeable Inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum Glycerolipid Biosynthesis

A sensitive and quantitative fluorescence-based approach is presented for characterizing fatty acid acquisition and lipid biosynthesis by asexually replicating, intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum. We show that a BODIPY-containing, green-fluorescent fatty acid analog is efficiently and rapidly incorporated into parasite neutral lipids and phospholipids. Prelabeling with a red-fluorescent ceramide analog permits normalization and enables reliable quantitation of glycerolipid labeling. Inhibition of lipid labeling by competition with natural fatty acids and by acyl-coenzyme A synthetase and diacylglycerol acyltransferase inhibitors demonstrates that the fluorescent fatty acid probe is acquired, activated, and transferred to lipids through physiologically-relevant pathways. To assess its utility in discovering small molecules that block parasite lipid biosynthesis, the lipid labeling assay was used to screen a panel of mammalian lipase inhibitors and a selection of compounds from the "Malaria Box" anti-malarial collection. Several compounds were identified that inhibited the incorporation of the fluorescent fatty acid probe into lipids in cultured parasites at low micromolar concentrations. Two contrasting profiles of suppression of neutral lipid and phospholipid synthesis were observed, which implies the inhibition of distinct pathways. IMPORTANCE The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum relies on fatty acid scavenging to supply this essential precursor of lipid synthesis during its asexual replication cycle in human erythrocytes. This dependence on host fatty acids represents a potential vulnerability that can be exploited to develop new anti-malarial therapies. The quantitative experimental approach described here provides a platform for simultaneously interrogating multiple facets of lipid metabolism- fatty acid uptake, fatty acyl-CoA synthesis, and neutral lipid and phospholipid biosynthesis- and of identifying cell-permeable inhibitors that are active in situ.

In Vivo Optical Metabolic Imaging of Long-Chain Fatty Acid Uptake in Orthotopic Models of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Simple Summary

A dysregulated metabolism is a hallmark of cancer. Once understood, tumor metabolic reprogramming can lead to targetable vulnerabilities, spurring the development of novel treatment strategies. Beyond the common observation that tumors rely heavily on glucose, building evidence indicates that a subset of tumors use lipids to maintain their proliferative or metastatic phenotype. This study developed an intra-vital microscopy method to quantify lipid uptake in breast cancer murine models using a fluorescently labeled palmitate molecule, Bodipy FL c16. This work highlights optical imaging’s ability to both measure metabolic endpoints non-destructively and repeatedly, as well as inform small animal metabolic phenotyping beyond in vivo optical imaging of breast cancer alone.

Abstract

Targeting a tumor’s metabolic dependencies is a clinically actionable therapeutic approach; however, identifying subtypes of tumors likely to respond remains difficult. The use of lipids as a nutrient source is of particular importance, especially in breast cancer. Imaging techniques offer the opportunity to quantify nutrient use in preclinical tumor models to guide development of new drugs that restrict uptake or utilization of these nutrients. We describe a fast and dynamic approach to image fatty acid uptake in vivo and demonstrate its relevance to study both tumor metabolic reprogramming directly, as well as the effectiveness of drugs targeting lipid metabolism. Specifically, we developed a quantitative optical approach to spatially and longitudinally map the kinetics of long-chain fatty acid uptake in in vivo murine models of breast cancer using a fluorescently labeled palmitate molecule, Bodipy FL c16. We chose intra-vital microscopy of mammary tumor windows to validate our approach in two orthotopic breast cancer models: a MYC-overexpressing, transgenic, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) model and a murine model of the 4T1 family. Following injection, Bodipy FL c16 fluorescence increased and reached its maximum after approximately 30 min, with the signal remaining stable during the 30–80 min post-injection period. We used the fluorescence at 60 min (Bodipy₆₀), the mid-point in the plateau region, as a summary parameter to quantify Bodipy FL c16 fluorescence in subsequent experiments. Using our imaging platform, we observed a two- to four-fold decrease in fatty acid uptake in response to the downregulation of the MYC oncogene, consistent with findings from in vitro metabolic assays. In contrast, our imaging studies report an increase in fatty acid uptake with tumor aggressiveness (6NR, 4T07, and 4T1), and uptake was significantly decreased after treatment with a fatty acid transport inhibitor, perphenazine, in both normal mammary pads and in the most aggressive 4T1 tumor model. Our approach fills an important gap between in vitro assays providing rich metabolic information at static time points and imaging approaches visualizing metabolism in whole organs at a reduced resolution.

Classical Activation of Macrophages Leads to Lipid Droplet Formation Without de novo Fatty Acid Synthesis

Altered lipid metabolism in macrophages is associated with various important inflammatory conditions. Although lipid metabolism is an important target for therapeutic intervention, the metabolic requirement involved in lipid accumulation during pro-inflammatory activation of macrophages remains incompletely characterized. We show here that macrophage activation with IFNγ results in increased aerobic glycolysis, iNOS-dependent inhibition of respiration, and accumulation of triacylglycerol. Surprisingly, metabolite tracing with ¹³C-labeled glucose revealed that the glucose contributed to the glycerol groups in triacylglycerol (TAG), rather than to de novo synthesis of fatty acids. This is in stark contrast to the otherwise similar metabolism of cancer cells, and previous results obtained in activated macrophages and dendritic cells. Our results establish a novel metabolic pathway whereby glucose provides glycerol to the headgroup of TAG during classical macrophage activation.

Hypolipidemic effects of herbal extracts by reduction of adipocyte differentiation, intracellular neutral lipid content, lipolysis, fatty acid exchange and lipid droplet motility

An increase in adipose tissue is caused by the increased size and number of adipocytes. Lipids accumulate in intracellular stores, known as lipid droplets (LDs). Recent studies suggest that parameters such as LD size, shape and dynamics are closely related to the development of obesity. Berberine (BBR), a natural plant alkaloid, has been demonstrated to possess anti-obesity effects. However, it remains unknown which cellular processes are affected by this compound or how effective herbal extracts containing BBR and other alkaloids actually are. For this study, we used extracts of Coptis chinensis, Mahonia aquifolium, Berberis vulgaris and Chelidonium majus containing BBR and other alkaloids and studied various processes related to adipocyte functionality. The presence of extracts resulted in reduced adipocyte differentiation, as well as neutral lipid content and rate of lipolysis. We observed that the intracellular fatty acid exchange was reduced in different LD size fractions upon treatment with BBR and Coptis chinensis. In addition, LD motility was decreased upon incubation with BBR, Coptis chinensis and Chelidonium majus extracts. Furthermore, Chelidonium majus was identified as a potent fatty acid uptake inhibitor. This is the first study that demonstrates the selected regulatory effects of herbal extracts on adipocyte function.

Intestinal Saturated Long-Chain Fatty Acid, Glucose and Fructose Transporters and Their Inhibition by Natural Plant Extracts in Caco-2 Cells

The intestinal absorption of fatty acids, glucose and fructose is part of the basic requirements for the provision of energy in the body. High access of saturated long-chain fatty acids (LCFA), glucose and fructose can facilitate the development of metabolic diseases, particularly the metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Research has been done to find substances which decelerate or inhibit intestinal resorption of these specific food components. Promising targets are the inhibition of intestinal long-chain fatty acid (FATP2, FATP4), glucose (SGLT1, GLUT2) and fructose (GLUT2, GLUT5) transporters by plant extracts and by pure substances. The largest part of active components in plant extracts belongs to the group of polyphenols. This review summarizes the knowledge about binding sites of named transporters and lists the plant extracts which were tested in Caco-2 cells regarding uptake inhibition.

Yeast as a tool to identify anti-aging compounds

In the search for interventions against aging and age-related diseases, biological screening platforms are indispensable tools to identify anti-aging compounds among large substance libraries. The budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has emerged as a powerful chemical and genetic screening platform, as it combines a rapid workflow with experimental amenability and the availability of a wide range of genetic mutant libraries. Given the amount of conserved genes and aging mechanisms between yeast and human, testing candidate anti-aging substances in yeast gene-deletion or overexpression collections, or de novo derived mutants, has proven highly successful in finding potential molecular targets. Yeast-based studies, for example, have led to the discovery of the polyphenol resveratrol and the natural polyamine spermidine as potential anti-aging agents. Here, we present strategies for pharmacological anti-aging screens in yeast, discuss common pitfalls and summarize studies that have used yeast for drug discovery and target identification.

Kidney Proximal Tubule Lipoapoptosis Is Regulated by Fatty Acid Transporter-2 (FATP2)

Albuminuria and tubular atrophy are among the highest risks for CKD progression to ESRD. A parsimonious mechanism involves leakage of albumin-bound nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) across the damaged glomerular filtration barrier and subsequent reabsorption by the downstream proximal tubule, causing lipoapoptosis. We sought to identify the apical proximal tubule transporter that mediates NEFA uptake and cytotoxicity. We observed transporter-mediated uptake of fluorescently labeled NEFA in cultured proximal tubule cells and microperfused rat proximal tubules, with greater uptake from the apical surface than from the basolateral surface. Protein and mRNA expression analyses revealed that kidney proximal tubules express transmembrane fatty acid transporter-2 (FATP2), encoded by Slc27a2, but not the other candidate transporters CD36 and free fatty acid receptor 1. Kidney FATP2 localized exclusively to proximal tubule epithelial cells along the apical but not the basolateral membrane. Treatment of mice with lipidated albumin to induce proteinuria caused a decrease in the proportion of tubular epithelial cells and an increase in the proportion of interstitial space in kidneys from wild-type but not Slc27a2^-/- mice. Ex vivo microperfusion and in vitro experiments with NEFA-bound albumin at concentrations that mimic apical proximal tubule exposure during glomerular injury revealed significantly reduced NEFA uptake and palmitate-induced apoptosis in microperfused Slc27a2^-/- proximal tubules and Slc27a2^-/- or FATP2 shRNA-treated proximal tubule cell lines compared with wild-type or scrambled oligonucleotide-treated cells, respectively. We conclude that FATP2 is a major apical proximal tubule NEFA transporter that regulates lipoapoptosis and may be an amenable target for the prevention of CKD progression.

Fatty Acid Transport Proteins: Targeting FATP2 as a Gatekeeper Involved in the Transport of Exogenous Fatty Acids

The fatty acid transport proteins (FATP) are classified as members of the Solute Carrier 27 (Slc27) family of proteins based on their ability to function in the transport of exogenous fatty acids. These proteins, when localized to the plasma membrane or at intracellular membrane junctions with the endoplasmic reticulum, function as a gate in the regulated transport of fatty acids and thus represent a therapeutic target to delimit the acquisition of fatty acids that contribute to disease as in the case of fatty acid overload. To date, FATP1, FATP2, and FATP4 have been used as targets in the selection of small molecule inhibitors with the goal of treating insulin resistance and attenuating dietary absorption of fatty acids. Several studies targeting FATP1 and FATP4 were based on the intrinsic acyl CoA synthetase activity of these proteins and not on transport directly. While several classes of compounds were identified as potential inhibitors of fatty acid transport, in vivo studies using a mouse model failed to provide evidence these compounds were effective in blocking or attenuating fatty acid transport. Studies targeting FATP2 employed a naturally occurring splice variant, FATP2b, which lacks intrinsic acyl CoA synthetase due to the deletion of exon 3, yet is fully functional in fatty acid transport. These studies identified two compounds, 5'-bromo-5-phenyl-spiro[3H-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2,3'-indoline]-2'-one), now referred to as Lipofermata, and 2-benzyl-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(4-nitrophenyl)pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7(4H)-one, now called Grassofermata, that are effective fatty acid transport inhibitors both in vitro using a series of model cell lines and in vivo using a mouse model.

Fatty acid transport protein-2 inhibitor Grassofermata/CB5 protects cells against lipid accumulation and toxicity

The inhibition of the fatty acid uptake into non-adipose tissues provides an attractive target for prevention of lipotoxicity leading to obesity-associated non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes. Fatty acid transport proteins (FATPs) are bifunctional proteins involved in the uptake and activation of fatty acids by esterification with coenzyme A. Here we characterize Grassofermata/CB5, previously identified as a fatty acid uptake inhibitor directed against HsFATP2. The compound was effective in inhibiting the uptake of fatty acids in the low micro-molar range (IC50 8-11 μM) and prevented palmitate-mediated lipid accumulation and cell death in cell lines that are models for intestines, liver, muscle and pancreas. In adipocytes, uptake inhibition was less effective (IC50 58 μM). Inhibition was specific for long chain fatty acids and was ineffective toward medium chain fatty acids, which are transported by diffusion. Kinetic analysis of Grassofermata-dependent FA transport inhibition verified a non-competitive mechanism. By comparison with Grassofermata, several atypical antipsychotic drugs previously implicated as inhibitors of FA uptake were ineffectual. In mice Grassofermata decreased absorption of (13)C-oleate demonstrating its potential as a therapeutic agent.

Lipid metabolism enzyme ACSVL3 supports glioblastoma stem cell maintenance and tumorigenicity

Background

Targeting cell metabolism offers promising opportunities for the development of drugs to treat cancer. We previously found that the fatty acyl-CoA synthetase VL3 (ACSVL3) is elevated in malignant brain tumor tissues and involved in tumorigenesis. This study investigates the role of ACSVL3 in the maintenance of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) stem cell self-renewal and the capacity of GBM stem cells to initiate tumor xenograft formation.

Methods

We examined ACSVL3 expression during differentiation of several GBM stem cell enriched neurosphere cultures. To study the function of ACSVL3, we performed loss-of-function by using small interfering RNAs to target ACSVL3 and examined stem cell marker expression, neurosphere formation and tumor initiation properties.

Results

ACSVL3 expression levels were substantially increased in GBM stem cell enriched neurosphere cultures and decreased after differentiation of the neurospheres. Down-regulating ACSVL3 with small inhibiting RNAs decreased the expression of markers and regulators associated with stem cell self-renewal, including CD133, ALDH, Musashi-1 and Sox-2. ACSVL3 knockdown in neurosphere cells led to increased expression of differentiation markers GFAP and Tuj1. Furthermore, ACSVL3 knockdown reduced anchorage-independent neurosphere cell growth, neurosphere-forming capacity as well as self-renewal of these GBM stem cell enriched neurosphere cultures. In vivo studies revealed that ACSVL3 loss-of-function substantially inhibited the ability of neurosphere cells to propagate orthotopic tumor xenografts. A link between ACSVL3 and cancer stem cell phenotype was further established by the findings that ACSVL3 expression was regulated by receptor tyrosine kinase pathways that support GBM stem cell self-renewal and tumor initiation, including EGFR and HGF/c-Met pathways.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that the lipid metabolism enzyme ACSVL3 is involved in GBM stem cell maintenance and the tumor-initiating capacity of GBM stem cell enriched-neurospheres in animals.

The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2013/14: transporters

The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2013/14 provides concise overviews of the key properties of over 2000 human drug targets with their pharmacology, plus links to an open access knowledgebase of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. The full contents can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.12444/full. Transporters are one of the seven major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being G protein-coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, ion channels, catalytic receptors, nuclear hormone receptors and enzymes. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. A new landscape format has easy to use tables comparing related targets. It is a condensed version of material contemporary to late 2013, which is presented in greater detail and constantly updated on the website www.guidetopharmacology.org, superseding data presented in previous Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in conjunction with NC-IUPHAR and provides the official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate. It consolidates information previously curated and displayed separately in IUPHAR-DB and the Guide to Receptors and Channels, providing a permanent, citable, point-in-time record that will survive database updates.

The emergence of lipid droplets in yeast: current status and experimental approaches

The ‘discovery’ of lipid droplets as a metabolically highly active subcellular organelle has sparked great scientific interest in its research in recent years. The previous view of a rather inert storage pool of neutral lipids—triacylglycerol and sterols or steryl esters—has markedly changed. Driven by the endemic dimensions of lipid-associated disorders on the one hand, and the promising biotechnological application to generate oils (‘biodiesel’) from single-celled organisms on the other, multiple model organisms are exploited in basic and applied research to develop a better understanding of biogenesis and metabolism of this organelle. This article summarizes the current status of LD research in yeast and experimental approaches to obtain insight into the regulatory and structural components driving lipid droplet formation and their physiological and pathophysiological roles in lipid homeostasis.

SLC27 fatty acid transport proteins

The uptake and metabolism of long chain fatty acids (LCFA) are critical to many physiological and cellular processes. Aberrant accumulation or depletion of LCFA underlie the pathology of numerous metabolic diseases. Protein-mediated transport of LCFA has been proposed as the major mode of LCFA uptake and activation. Several proteins have been identified to be involved in LCFA uptake. This review focuses on the SLC27 family of fatty acid transport proteins, also known as FATPs, with an emphasis on the gain- and loss-of-function animal models that elucidate the functions of FATPs in vivo and how these transport proteins play a role in physiological and pathological situations.

Cross-species discovery of syncretic drug combinations that potentiate the antifungal fluconazole

The authors screen for compounds that show synergistic antifungal activity when combined with the widely-used fungistatic drug fluconazole. Chemogenomic profiling explains the mode of action of synergistic drugs and allows the prediction of additional drug synergies.

The authors screen for compounds that show synergistic antifungal activity when combined with the widely-used fungistatic drug fluconazole. Chemogenomic profiling explains the mode of action of synergistic drugs and allows the prediction of additional drug synergies.

Chemical screens with a library enriched for known drugs identified a diverse set of 148 compounds that potentiated the action of the antifungal drug fluconazole against the fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii and Candida albicans, and the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, often in a species-specific manner.

Chemogenomic profiles of six confirmed hits in S. cerevisiae revealed different modes of action and enabled the prediction of additional synergistic combinations; three-way synergistic interactions exhibited even stronger synergies at low doses of fluconazole.

The synergistic combination of fluconazole and the antidepressant sertraline was active against fluconazole-resistant clinical fungal isolates and in an in vivo model of Cryptococcal infection.

Rising fungal infection rates, especially among immune-suppressed individuals, represent a serious clinical challenge (Gullo, 2009). Cancer, organ transplant and HIV patients, for example, often succumb to opportunistic fungal pathogens. The limited repertoire of approved antifungal agents and emerging drug resistance in the clinic further complicate the effective treatment of systemic fungal infections. At the molecular level, the paucity of fungal-specific essential targets arises from the conserved nature of cellular functions from yeast to humans, as well as from the fact that many essential yeast genes can confer viability at a fraction of wild-type dosage (Yan et al, 2009). Although only ∼1100 of the ∼6000 genes in yeast are essential, almost all genes become essential in specific genetic backgrounds in which another non-essential gene has been deleted or otherwise attenuated, an effect termed synthetic lethality (Tong et al, 2001). Genome-scale surveys suggest that over 200 000 binary synthetic lethal gene combinations dominate the yeast genetic landscape (Costanzo et al, 2010). The genetic buffering phenomenon is also manifest as a plethora of differential chemical–genetic interactions in the presence of sublethal doses of bioactive compounds (Hillenmeyer et al, 2008). These observations frame the difficulty of interdicting network functions in eukaryotic pathogens with single agent therapeutics. At the same time, however, this genetic network organization suggests that judicious combinations of small molecule inhibitors of both essential and non-essential targets may elicit additive or synergistic effects on cell growth (Sharom et al, 2004; Lehar et al, 2008). Unbiased screens for drugs that synergistically enhance a specific bioactive effect, but which are not themselves individually active—termed a syncretic combination—are one means to substantially elaborate chemical space (Keith et al, 2005). Indeed, compounds that enhance the activity of known agents in model yeast and cancer cell line systems have been identified both by focused small molecule library screens and by computational methods (Borisy et al, 2003; Lehar et al, 2007; Nelander et al, 2008; Jansen et al, 2009; Zinner et al, 2009).

To extend the stratagem of chemical synthetic lethality to clinically relevant fungal pathogens, we screened a bioactive library of known drugs for synergistic enhancers of the widely used fungistatic drug fluconazole against the clinically relevant pathogens C. albicans, C. neoformans and C. gattii, as well as the genetically tractable budding yeast S. cerevisiae. Fluconazole is an azole drug that inhibits lanosterol 14α-demethylase, the gene product of ERG11, an essential cytochrome P450 enzyme in the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway (Groll et al, 1998). We identified 148 drugs that potentiate the antifungal action of fluconazole against the four species. These syncretic compounds had not been previously recognized in the clinic as antifungal agents, and many acted in a species-specific manner, often in a potent fungicidal manner.

To understand the mechanisms of synergism, we interrogated six syncretic drugs—trifluoperazine, tamoxifen, clomiphene, sertraline, suloctidil and L-cycloserine—in genome-wide chemogenomic profiles of the S. cerevisiae deletion strain collection (Giaever et al, 1999). These profiles revealed that membrane, vesicle trafficking and lipid biosynthesis pathways are targeted by five of the synergizers, whereas the sphingolipid biosynthesis pathway is targeted by L-cycloserine. Cell biological assays confirmed the predicted membrane disruption effects of the former group of compounds, which may perturb ergosterol metabolism, impair fluconazole export by drug efflux pumps and/or affect active import of fluconazole (Kuo et al, 2010; Mansfield et al, 2010). Based on the integration of chemical–genetic and genetic interaction space, a signature set of deletion strains that are sensitive to the membrane active synergizers correctly predicted additional drug synergies with fluconazole. Similarly, the L-cycloserine chemogenomic profile correctly predicted a synergistic interaction between fluconazole and myriocin, another inhibitor of sphingolipid biosynthesis. The structure of genetic networks suggests that it should be possible to devise higher order drug combinations with even greater selectivity and potency (Sharom et al, 2004). In an initial test of this concept, we found that the combination of a non-synergistic pair drawn from the membrane active and sphingolipid target classes exhibited potent three-way synergism with a low dose of fluconazole. Finally, the combination of sertraline and fluconazole was active in a G. mellonella model of Cryptococcal infection, and was also efficacious against fluconazole-resistant clinical isolates of C. albicans and C. glabrata.

Collectively, these results demonstrate that the combinatorial redeployment of known drugs defines a powerful antifungal strategy and establish a number of potential lead combinations for future clinical assessment.

Resistance to widely used fungistatic drugs, particularly to the ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitor fluconazole, threatens millions of immunocompromised patients susceptible to invasive fungal infections. The dense network structure of synthetic lethal genetic interactions in yeast suggests that combinatorial network inhibition may afford increased drug efficacy and specificity. We carried out systematic screens with a bioactive library enriched for off-patent drugs to identify compounds that potentiate fluconazole action in pathogenic Candida and Cryptococcus strains and the model yeast Saccharomyces. Many compounds exhibited species- or genus-specific synergism, and often improved fluconazole from fungistatic to fungicidal activity. Mode of action studies revealed two classes of synergistic compound, which either perturbed membrane permeability or inhibited sphingolipid biosynthesis. Synergistic drug interactions were rationalized by global genetic interaction networks and, notably, higher order drug combinations further potentiated the activity of fluconazole. Synergistic combinations were active against fluconazole-resistant clinical isolates and an in vivo model of Cryptococcus infection. The systematic repurposing of approved drugs against a spectrum of pathogens thus identifies network vulnerabilities that may be exploited to increase the activity and repertoire of antifungal agents.

Antifungal testing and high-throughput screening of compound library against Geomyces destructans, the etiologic agent of geomycosis (WNS) in bats

Bats in the northeastern U.S. are affected by geomycosis caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans (Gd). This infection is commonly referred to as White Nose Syndrome (WNS). Over a million hibernating bats have died since the fungus was first discovered in 2006 in a cave near Albany, New York. A population viability analysis conducted on little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), one of six bat species infected with Gd, suggests regional extinction of this species within 20 years. The fungus Gd is a psychrophile (“cold loving”), but nothing is known about how it thrives at low temperatures and what pathogenic attributes allow it to infect bats. This study aimed to determine if currently available antifungal drugs and biocides are effective against Gd. We tested five Gd strains for their susceptibility to antifungal drugs and high-throughput screened (HTS) one representative strain with SpectrumPlus compound library containing 1,920 compounds. The results indicated that Gd is susceptible to a number of antifungal drugs at concentrations similar to the susceptibility range of human pathogenic fungi. Strains of Gd were susceptible to amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole and voriconazole. In contrast, very high MICs (minimum inhibitory concentrations) of flucytosine and echinocandins were needed for growth inhibition, which were suggestive of fungal resistance to these drugs. Of the1,920 compounds in the library, a few caused 50% - to greater than 90% inhibition of Gd growth. A number of azole antifungals, a fungicide, and some biocides caused prominent growth inhibition. Our results could provide a theoretical basis for future strategies aimed at the rehabilitation of most affected bat species and for decontamination of Gd in the cave environment.

γ-Secretase component presenilin is important for microglia β-amyloid clearance

OBJECTIVE

The cleavage of amyloid precursor protein by γ-secretase is an important aspect of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. γ-Secretase also cleaves other membrane proteins (eg, Notch), which control cell development and homeostasis. Presenilin 1 and 2 are considered important determinants of the γ-secretase catalytic site. Our aim was to investigate whether γ-secretase can be important for microglial phagocytosis of Alzheimer's disease β-amyloid.

METHODS

We investigated the role of γ-secretase in microglia activity toward β-amyloid phagocytosis in cell culture using γ-secretase inhibitors and small hairpin RNA and presenilin-deficient mice.

RESULTS

We found that γ-secretase inhibitors impair microglial activity as measured in gene expression, protein levels, and migration ability, which resulted in a reduction of soluble β-amyloid phagocytosis. Moreover, microglia deficient in presenilin 1 and 2 showed impairment in phagocytosis of soluble β-amyloid. Dysfunction in the γ-secretase catalytic site led to an impairment in clearing insoluble β-amyloid from brain sections taken from an Alzheimer's disease mouse model when compared to microglia from wild-type mice.

INTERPRETATION

We suggest for the first time, a dual role for γ-secretase in Alzheimer's disease. One role is the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein for pathologic β-amyloid production and the other is to regulate microglia activity that is important for clearing neurotoxic β-amyloid deposits. Further studies of γ-secretase-mediated cellular pathways in microglia may provide useful insights into the development of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, providing future avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Development and validation of a high-throughput screening assay for human long-chain fatty acid transport proteins 4 and 5

Dietary long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) uptake across cell membranes is mediated principally by fatty acid transport proteins (FATPs). Six subtypes of this transporter are differentially expressed throughout the human and rodent body. To facilitate drugs discovery against FATP subtypes, the authors used mammalian cell lines stably expressing the recombinant human FATP4 and 5 and developed a high-throughput screening (HTS) assay using a 96-well fluorometric imaging plate reader (FLIPR). LCFA uptake signal-to-background ratios were between 3- and 5-fold. Two 4-aryl-dihydropyrimidinones, j3 and j5, produced inhibition of FATP4 with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of 0.21 and 0.63 microM, respectively, and displayed approximately 100-fold selectivity over FATP5. The US Drug Collection library was screened against the FATP5. A hit rate of around 0.4% was observed with a Z' factor of 0.6 +/- 0.2. Two confirmed hits are bile acids, chenodiol and ursodiol with an IC(50) of 2.4 and 0.22 microM, respectively. To increase throughput, a single time point measurement in a 384-well format was developed using the Analyst HT, and the results are comparable with the 96-well format. In conclusion, the FATP4 and 5 cell-based fluorescence assays are suitable for a primary drug screen, whereas differentiated cell lines are useful for a secondary drug screen.

Identification and characterization of small compound inhibitors of human FATP2

Fatty acid transport proteins (FATPs) are bifunctional proteins, which transport long chain fatty acids into cells and activate very long chain fatty acids by esterification with coenzyme A. In an effort to understand the linkage between cellular fatty acid transport and the pathology associated with excessive accumulation of exogenous fatty acids, we targeted FATP-mediated fatty acid transport in a high throughput screen of more than 100,000 small diverse chemical compounds in yeast expressing human FATP2 (hsFATP2). Compounds were selected for their ability to depress the transport of the fluorescent long chain fatty acid analogue, C(1)-BODIPY-C(12). Among 234 hits identified in the primary screen, 5 compounds, each representative of a structural class, were further characterized in the human Caco-2 and HepG2 cell lines, each of which normally expresses FATP2, and in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which do not. These compounds were effective in inhibiting uptake with IC(50)s in the low micromolar range in both Caco-2 and HepG2 cells. Inhibition of transport was highly specific for fatty acids and there were no effects of these compounds on cell viability, trans-epithelial electrical resistance, glucose transport, or long chain acyl-CoA synthetase activity. The compounds were less effective when tested in 3T3-L1 adipocytes suggesting selectivity of inhibition. These results suggest fatty acid transport can be inhibited in a FATP-specific manner without causing cellular toxicity.

Methods to monitor Fatty Acid transport proceeding through vectorial acylation

The process of fatty acid transport across the plasma membrane occurs by several mechanisms that involve distinct membrane-bound and membrane-associated proteins and enzymes. Among these are the fatty acid transport proteins (FATP) and long-chain acyl CoA synthetases (Acsl). Previous studies in yeast and adipocytes have shown FATP and Acsl form a physical complex at the plasma membrane and are required for fatty acid transport, which proceeds through a coupled process-linking transport with metabolic activation termed vectorial acylation. At present, six isoforms of FATP and five isoforms of ACSL have been identified in mice and man. In addition, there are a number of splice variants of different FATP and Acsl isoforms. The different FATP and Acsl isoforms have distinct tissue expression profiles and different cellular locations suggesting they function in the channeling of fatty acids into discrete metabolic pools. The concerted activity of these proteins is proposed to allow cells to discriminate different classes of fatty acids and provides the mechanistic basis underpinning the selectivity and specificity of the fatty acid transport process.

Fatty acid transport and activation and the expression patterns of genes involved in fatty acid trafficking

These studies defined the expression patterns of genes involved in fatty acid transport, activation and trafficking using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and established the kinetic constants of fatty acid transport in an effort to define whether vectorial acylation represents a common mechanism in different cell types (3T3-L1 fibroblasts and adipocytes, Caco-2 and HepG2 cells and three endothelial cell lines (b-END3, HAEC, and HMEC)). As expected, fatty acid transport protein (FATP)1 and long-chain acyl CoA synthetase (Acsl)1 were the predominant isoforms expressed in adipocytes consistent with their roles in the transport and activation of exogenous fatty acids destined for storage in the form of triglycerides. In cells involved in fatty acid processing including Caco-2 (intestinal-like) and HepG2 (liver-like), FATP2 was the predominant isoform. The patterns of Acsl expression were distinct between these two cell types with Acsl3 and Acsl5 being predominant in Caco-2 cells and Acsl4 in HepG2 cells. In the endothelial lines, FATP1 and FATP4 were the most highly expressed isoforms; the expression patterns for the different Acsl isoforms were highly variable between the different endothelial cell lines. The transport of the fluorescent long-chain fatty acid C(1)-BODIPY-C(12) in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts and 3T3-L1 adipocytes followed typical Michaelis-Menten kinetics; the apparent efficiency (k(cat)/K(T)) of this process increases over 2-fold (2.1 x 10(6)-4.5 x 10(6)s(-1)M(-1)) upon adipocyte differentiation. The V(max) values for fatty acid transport in Caco-2 and HepG2 cells were essentially the same, yet the efficiency was 55% higher in Caco-2 cells (2.3 x 10(6)s(-1)M(-1) versus 1.5 x 10(6)s(-1)M(-1)). The kinetic parameters for fatty acid transport in three endothelial cell types demonstrated they were the least efficient cell types for this process giving V(max) values that were nearly 4-fold lower than those defined form 3T3-L1 adipocytes, Caco-2 cells and HepG2 cells. The same cells had reduced efficiency for fatty acid transport (ranging from 0.82 x 10(6)s(-1)M(-1) to 1.35 x 10(6)s(-1)M(-1)).

Functional domains of the fatty acid transport proteins: studies using protein chimeras

Fatty acid transport proteins (FATP) function in fatty acid trafficking pathways, several of which have been shown to participate in the transport of exogenous fatty acids into the cell. Members of this protein family also function as acyl CoA synthetases with specificity towards very long chain fatty acids or bile acids. These proteins have two identifying sequence motifs: The ATP/AMP motif, an approximately 100 amino acid segment required for ATP binding and common to members of the adenylate-forming super family of proteins, and the FATP/VLACS motif that consists of approximately 50 amino acid residues and is restricted to members of the FATP family. This latter motif has been implicated in fatty acid transport in the yeast FATP orthologue Fat1p. In the present studies using a yeast strain containing deletions in FAT1 (encoding Fat1p) and FAA1 (encoding the major acyl CoA synthetase (Acsl) Faa1p) as an experimental platform, the phenotypic and functional properties of specific murine FATP1-FATP4 and FATP6-FATP4 protein chimeras were evaluated in order to define elements within these proteins that further distinguish the fatty acid transport and activation functions. As expected from previous work FATP1 and FATP4 were functional in the fatty acid transport pathway, while and FATP6 was not. All three isoforms were able to activate the very long chain fatty acids arachidonate (C(20:4)) and lignocerate (C(24:0)), but with distinguishing activities between saturated and highly unsaturated ligands. A 73 amino acid segment common to FATP1 and FATP4 and between the ATP/AMP and FATP/VLACS motifs was identified by studying the chimeras, which is hypothesized to contribute to the transport function.