Carboxylic Esterase and Its Associations With Long-term Effects of Organophosphorus Pesticides

To examine a） the effect of organophosphorus pesticide exposure on activity of carboxylic esterases, namely butyrylcholinesterase （BChE）, carboxylesterase （CarbE） and paraoxonase （PonE）; and b） the association of polymorphisms of BChE and PonE with individual genetic susceptibility to organophosphorus pesticide exposure. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 75 workers exposed to organophosphorus pesticides and 100 non-exposed controls. The serum activity of these enzymes was measured. Variant forms of BCHE-K, PON-192, and PON-55 were detected. A symptom score was developed as a proxy measure of clinical outcomes. Results Activities of both BChE and CarbE were lower in exposed workers （27.3±21.65 runol.hl.mL^-l and 235.6±104.03 nmol-min^-l.mL^-l） than in non-exposed workers （78.313±30.354 nmol.h^-l.mL^-1 and 362.681_＋194.997 nmol.min^-1.mL^-1）. The activity of PonE was not associated with exposure status. The AChE activity in the exposed workers with BCHE-K genotype UU （61 cases）, genotype UK （12 cases） and genotype KK （2 cases） was 105.05, 84.42 and 79.00 mmol-h^-1.mL^-1, respectively and the accumulative symptom scores were 3.74, 9.17, and 12.50 accordingly. The AChE activity in the exposed workers with PON-192 genotype BB （37）, genotype AB （27） and genotype AA （11） was 116.8, 91.2, and 72,3 mmol-h^-1.mL^-1, respectively and the symptom scores were 2.00, 6.74, and 9.73 accordingly. The AChE activity in those with PON-55 genotype LL （70） and genotype LM （5） was 102.4 and 82.8 mmol-h^-1.mL^-1 and the symptom scores were 4.53 and 9.20. The symptom score was the highest in individuals with abnormal homozygote for each of the three gene loci. Condusions Long-term exposure to organophosphorus pesticides can inhibit BChE and CarbE activity, but exerts no inhibitory effect on PonE activity. Different genotypes of BCHE-K, PON-192, and PON-55 may be related to the severity of adverse health effects of organophosphorus pesticide exposure. Implications of potentially higher susceptibility of workers with mutant homozygotes should be evaluated to reduce health risks.

Purification and Biochemical Characterization of N-methyl-Histidylesterase from Camel （Camelus dromedarius） Liver

Camel Liver Esterase （LE） was isolated through five consecutive steps： Extraction with Tris/HCl buffer, pH 8, precipitation with ammonium sulfate, affinity chromatography on Affi-gel-butyric acid and on Affi-gel-oleic acid, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis （PAGE）. The Km values were found as： methyl butyrate （8.3 mM）, α-naphthyl acetate （3.65 mM）, 13-naphthyl myristate （66.7 mM）, p-nitrophenyl acetate （0.29 mM）, and phenyl acetate （5.26 mM）. The Ki of LE inhibition by bis（4-nitrophenyl） phosphate was 7.9 p.M, and 58 μM by phenyl-methyl-sulfonyl fluoride. The inhibition by these inhibitors is irreversible. p-Hydroxymercuribenzoate or ethylenediamine-tetra-acetic acid did not inhibit the enzyme. LE showed a dimeric structure with molecular weight of 129 kD. The energy of activation of LE was 15.0, 5.5 and 10.75 Kcal, using the substrates： a-naphthyl acetate, p-nitrophenyl acetate, and methyl butyrate, respectively. The optimal pH for LE was between 8 and 10. The N-terminus was found as aspartic acid. The percentage of glycine residues （13.3%） was the highest whereas the percentage of cysteine residues （0.68%） was the lowest in LE. Amino acid composition shows that LE has -50% of its histidine residues as N-methylhistidines.

Alternative splicing of a carboxyl/choline esterase gene enhances the fenpropathrin tolerance of Tetranychus cinnabarinus

Detoxification plays a crucial role in agricultural pests to withstand pesticides,and cytochrome P450s,carboxyl/choline esterases(CCEs),and glutathione-S-transferases are the main proteins responsible for their detoxification ability.The activity of CCEs can be upregulated,downregulated,or modified by mutation.However,few studies have examined the role of alternative splicing in altering the properties of CCEs.We identified 2 variants of TcCCE23 in Tetranychus cinnabarinus:a long version(CCE23-V1)and a short version that is 18 nucleotides shorter than CCE23-V1(CCE23-V2).Whether splicing affects the activity of TcCCE23 remains unclear.Overexpression of CCE23-V2 in fenpropathrin-resistant T.cinnabarinus revealed that splicing affected the detoxification of fenpropathrin by CCE23-V2.The mortality of mites was significantly higher when the expression of CCE23-V2 was knocked down(43.2%±3.3%)via injection of CCE23-dsRNA(double-stranded RNA)compared with the control group injected with green fluorescent protein-dsRNA under fenpropathrin exposure;however,the downregulation of CCE23-V1(61.3%±6.3%)by CCE23-small interfering RNA had no such effect,indicating CCE23-V2 plays a greater role in xenobiotic metabolism than CCE23-V1.The tolerance of flies overexpressing CCE23-V2 to fenpropathrin(50%lethal dose[LD_(50)]=19.47μg/g)was significantly higher than that of Gal4/UAS-CCE23-V1 transgenic flies(LD_(50)=13.11μg/g).Molecular docking analysis showed that splicing opened a“gate”that enlarges the substrate binding cavity of CCE23-V2,might enhance the ability of CCE23-V2 to harbor fenpropathrin molecules.These findings suggest that splicing might enhance the detoxifying capability of TcCCE23.Generally,our data improve the understanding of the diversity and complexity of the mechanisms underlying the regulation of CCEs.

Statins markedly potentiate aminopeptidase inhibitor activity against(drug-resistant)human acute myeloid leukemia cells

Aim: This study aimed to decipher the molecular mechanism underlying the synergistic effect of inhibitors of the mevalonate-cholesterol pathway (i.e., statins) and aminopeptidase inhibitors (APis) on APi-sensitive and -resistant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells.Methods: U937 cells and their sublines with low and high levels of acquired resistance to (6S)-[(R)-2-((S)-Hydroxy-hydroxycarbamoyl-methoxy-methyl)-4-methyl-pentanoylamino]-3,3 dimethyl-butyric acid cyclopentyl ester (CHR2863), an APi prodrug, served as main AML cell line models. Drug combination effects were assessed with CHR2863 and in vitro non-toxic concentrations of various statins upon cell growth inhibition, cell cycle effects, and apoptosis induction. Mechanistic studies involved analysis of Rheb prenylation required for mTOR activation.Results: A strong synergy of CHR2863 with the statins simvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, and pravastatin was demonstrated in U937 cells and two CHR2863-resistant sublines. This potent synergy between simvastatin and CHR2863 was also observed with a series of other human AML cell lines (e.g., THP1, MV4-11, and KG1), but not with acute lymphocytic leukemia or multiple solid tumor cell lines. This synergistic activity was: (i) specific for APis (e.g., CHR2863 and Bestatin), rather than for other cytotoxic agents;and (ii) corroborated by enhanced induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest which increased the sub-G1 fraction. Consistently, statin potentiation of CHR2863 activity was abrogated by co-administration of mevalonate and/or farnesyl pyrophosphate, suggesting the involvement of protein prenylation;this was experimentally confirmed by impaired Rheb prenylation by simvastatin.Conclusion: These novel findings suggest that the combined inhibitory effect of impaired Rheb prenylation and CHR2863-dependent mTOR inhibition instigates a potent synergistic inhibition of statins and APis on human AML cells.

Predicting hiCE inhibitors based upon pharmacophore models derived from the receptor and its ligands

Human intestinal carboxyl esterase （hiCE） is a drug target for ameliorating irinotecan-induced diarrhea. By reducing irinotecan- induced diarrhea, hiCE inhibitors can improve the anti-cancer efficacy of irinotecan. To find effective hiCE inhibitors, a new virtual screening protocol that combines pharmacophore models derived from the hiCE structure and its ligands has been pro- posed. The hiCE structure has been constructed through homology techniques using hCESI＇s crystal structure. The hiCE structure was optimized via molecular dynamics simulations with the most known active hiCE inhibitors docked into the structure. An optimized pharmacophore, derived from the receptor, was then generated. A ligand-based pharmacophore was also generated from a larger set of known hiCE inhibitors. The final hiCE inhibitor predictions were based upon the virtual screening hits from both ligand-based and receptor-based pharmacophore models. The hit rates from the ligand-based and receptor-based pharmacophore models are 88% and 86%, respectively. The final hit rate is 94%. The two models are highly consistent with one another （85%）. This proves that both models are reliable.