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Phenyl valerate esterase activity of human butyrylcholinesterase

  • Toxicokinetics and Metabolism
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Abstract

Phenyl valerate is used for detecting and measuring neuropathy target esterase (NTE) and has been used for discriminating esterases as potential target in hen model of organophosphorus delayed neuropathy. In previous studies we observed that phenyl valerate esterase (PVase) activity of an enzymatic fraction in chicken brain might be due to a butyrylcholinesterase protein (BuChE), and it was suggested that this enzymatic fraction could be related to the potentiation/promotion phenomenon of the organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN). In this work, PVase activity of purified human butyrylcholinesterase (hBuChE) is demonstrated and confirms the novel observation that a relationship of BuChE with PVase activities is also relevant for humans, as is, therefore the potential role in toxicity for humans. The KM and catalytic constant (kcat) were estimated as 0.52/0.72 µM and 45,900/49,200 min−1 respectively. Furthermore, this work studies the inhibition by preincubation of PVase and cholinesterase activities of hBuChE with irreversible inhibitors (mipafox, iso-OMPA or PMSF), showing that these inhibitors interact similarly in both activities with similar second-order inhibition constants. Acethylthiocholine and phenyl valerate partly inhibit PVase and cholinesterase activities, respectively. All these observations suggest that both activities occur in the same active center. The interaction with a reversible inhibitor (ethopropazine) showed that the cholinesterase activity was more sensitive than the PVase activity, showing that the sensitivity for this reversible inhibitor is affected by the nature of the substrate. The present work definitively establishes the capacity of BuChE to hydrolyze the carboxylester phenyl valerate using a purified enzyme (hBuChE). Therefore, BuChE should be considered in the research of organophosphorus targets of toxicity related with PVase proteins.

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Abbreviations

AChE:

Acetylcholinesterase

AtCh:

Acetylthiocholine

BuChE:

Butyrylcholinesterase protein

ChE:

AtCh hydrolyzing activity

DTNB:

5,5′-Dithio-bis-2-nitrobenzoate

hBuChE:

Human butyrylcholinesterase

kcat :

Catalytic constant

NTE:

Neuropathy target esterase

OP:

Organophosphorus

OPIDN:

Organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy

PMSF:

Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride

PV:

Phenyl valerate

PVase:

Phenyl valerate esterase

SDS:

Sodium dodecyl sulfate

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Acknowledgements

We are most grateful to Dr David Lenz and Dr Douglas Cerasoli [USAMRICD (US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense), Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, USA] for the supply of hBuChE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Bioengineering, University “Miguel Hernandez” of Elche, Alicante, Spain

    Iris Mangas, Eugenio Vilanova & Jorge Estévez

  2. Laboratory of Molecular Modeling Applied to the Chemical and Biological Defense, Military Institute of Engineering, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Iris Mangas

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  1. Iris Mangas
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  2. Eugenio Vilanova
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Correspondence to Jorge Estévez.

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Mangas, I., Vilanova, E. & Estévez, J. Phenyl valerate esterase activity of human butyrylcholinesterase. Arch Toxicol 91, 3295–3305 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-017-1946-5

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