Butyrylcholinesterase and Its Synthetic C-Terminal Peptide Confer In Vitro Suppression of Amyloid Fibril Formation

Erez Podoly, Sophia Diamant, Assaf Friedler, Oded Livnah, Hermona Soreq

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The reaction of alcohols and phosphoric acid yields organophosphate (OP) molecules that prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) through inhibition of the hydrolytic activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). OPs were initially aimed to fight insects, but further developments turned them into chemical weapons (Gallo and Lawryk, 1991; Chambers et al., 2001). Within the central nervous system and in the neuromuscular junctions, AChE is vital for the transmission of cholinergic impulses. A closely similar enzyme, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is also capable of hydrolyzing ACh. It has been suggested that human BChE from plasma participates in the endogenous scavenging of naturally occurring drugs (e.g., physostigmine, cocaine), manmade therapeutics (e.g., succinylcholine), as well as anticholinesterase-based pesticides and chemical warfare agents (Raveh et al., 1993, 1997; Jbilo et al., 1994; Schwarz et al., 1995; Sun et al., 2002; Giacobini, 2004), and as such serves as an inherent protector from the short-term damages caused by neurotoxic agents (Glick et al., 2003). Consequently, BChE administration was proposed as a putative prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of OP-poisoned subjects (Doctor and Saxena, 2005). Preclinical studies in various experimental animal models (rats, mice, and monkeys) supported the notion that this treatment may be palliatively successful (Ashani et al., 1991; Doctor and Saxena, 2005). However, the dangers of OP poisoning are not limited to the immediate effects, and it remained unclear whether BChE administration per se would not entail long-term damages. This question became particularly important in view of findings that synaptic acetylcholinesterase (AChE-S) exacerbates the formation of amyloid fibrils, the primary neuropathology characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Inestrosa et al., 1996a, 1996b, 2005; Rees et al., 2003, 2005).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationChemical Warfare Agents
Subtitle of host publicationChemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutics
PublisherCRC Press
Pages203-218
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic)9781420046625
ISBN (Print)9781420046618
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2007

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© 2008 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

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