Cress and potato soluble epoxide hydrolases: purification, biochemical characterization, and comparison to mammalian enzymes

Affinity chromatographic methods were developed for the one-step purification to homogeneity of recombinant soluble epoxide hydrolases (sEHs) from cress and potato. The enzymes are monomeric, with masses of 36 and 39 kDa and pI values of 4.5 and 5.0, respectively. In spite of a large difference in sequence, the two plant enzymes have properties of inhibition and substrate selectivity which differ only slightly from mammalian sEHs. Whereas mammalian sEHs are highly selective for trans- versus cis-substituted stilbene oxide and 1,3-diphenylpropene oxide (DPPO), plant sEHs exhibit far greater selectivity for trans- versus cis-stilbene oxide, but little to no selectivity for DPPO isomers. The isolation of a covalently linked plant sEH-substrate complex indicated that the plant and mammalian sEHs have a similar mechanism of action. We hypothesize an in vivo role for plant sEH in cutin biosynthesis, based on relatively high plant sEH activity on epoxystearate to form a cutin precursor, 9,10-dihydroxystearate. Plant sEHs display a high thermal stability relative to mammalian sEHs. This stability and their high enantioselectivity for a single substrate suggest that their potential as biocatalysts for the preparation of enantiopure epoxides should be evaluated.     

Isolation and characterization of Xenopus soluble epoxide hydrolase

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) contributes to cell growth, but the contribution of sEH to embryonic development is not well understood. In this study, Xenopus sEH cDNA was isolated from embryos of Xenopus laevis. The Xenopus sEH was expressed in Escherichia coli and was purified. The epoxide hydrolase and phosphatase activities of purified sEH were investigated. The Xenopus sEH did not show phosphatase activity toward 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate or several lysophosphatidic acids although it had EH activity. The amino acid sequence of Xenopus sEH was compared with that reported previously. We found amino acid substitutions of the 29th Thr to Asn and the 146th Arg to His and prepared a sEH mutant (N29T/H146R), designed as mutant 1. Neither wild-type sEH nor mutant 1 had phosphatase activity. Additional substitution of the 11th Gly with Asp was found by comparison with human sEH which has phosphatase activity, but the Xenopus sEH mutant G11D prepared as mutant 2 did not have phosphatase activity. The epoxide hydrolase activity of sEH seemed to be similar to that of human sEH, while Xenopus sEH did not have phosphatase activity toward several substrates that human sEH metabolizes.     

Brassica napus soluble epoxide hydrolase (BNSEH1).

Epoxide hydrolase (EC 3.3.2.3) in plants is involved in the metabolism of epoxy fatty acids and in mediating defence responses. We report the cloning of a full-length epoxide hydrolase cDNA (BNSEH1) from oilseed rape (Brassica napus) obtained by screening of a cDNA library prepared from methyl jasmonate induced leaf tissue, and the 5'-RACE technique. The cDNA encodes a soluble protein containing 318 amino acid residues. The identity on the protein level is 85% to an Arabidopsis soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) and 50-60% to sEHs cloned from other plants. A 5 x His tag was added to the N-terminus of the BNSEH1 and the construct was over-expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris. The recombinant protein was recovered at high levels after Ni-agarose chromatography of lysed cell extracts, had a molecular mass of 37 kDa on SDS/PAGE and cross-reacted on Western blots with antibodies raised to a sEH from Arabidopsis thaliana. BNSEH1 was shown to be a monomer by gel filtration analysis. The activity was low towards cis-stilbene oxide but much higher using trans-stilbene oxide as substrate with Vmax of 0.47 micro mol.min.mg-1, Km of 11 micro m and kcat of 0.3 s-1. The optimum temperature of the recombinant enzyme was 55 degrees C and the optimum pH 6-7 for trans-stilbene oxide hydrolysis. The isolation of BNSEH1 will facilitate metabolic engineering of epoxy fatty acid metabolism for functional studies of resistance and seed oil modification in this important oilcrop.     

Isocucurbic Acid Derivatives and Soluble Epoxide Hydroxylase Inhibitors from the Flowers of Chrysanthemum indicum L.

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitory activity guided fractionation and isolation of two new isocucurbic acid derivatives ( 1 and 2 ) and nine known compounds ( 3 – 11 ) from the flowers of Chrysanthemum indicum L. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data interpretation and comparison with those reported in previous studies. Luteolin ( 3 ), acacetin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside ( 6 ), and methyl 3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinate ( 10 ) displayed sEH inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ values ranging from 13.7±3.6 to 20.8±0.4 μM. Enzyme kinetic analysis revealed that 3 , 6 , and 10 were non-competitive inhibitors with K_i values of 14.8±0.5, 31.2±0.8, and 3.9±0.2 μM, respectively. Additionally, molecular docking studies indicated compound 10 had the ability to form six hydrogen bonds at sEH active site, resulting binding energy as low as −9.58 Kcal/mol.     

Cloning and characterization of a cold-and ABA-inducible Arabidopsis gene

We have identified by differential screening a novel Arabidopsis thaliana gene, called kin1, which is induced at +44 °C. The nucleotide sequences of both the genomic clone and the corresponding cDNA were determined. The deduced 6.5 kDa polypeptide has an unusual amino acid composition being rich in alanine, glycine and lysine. The gene belongs to a family of at least two genes. Northern blot analysis revealed that the level of kin1 mRNA is increased 20-fold in cold-treated plants. In addition to being expressed in cold, kin1 mRNAlso induced by water stress and the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) which has been suggested to be a common mediator for osmotic stress responses and cold acclimation in plants. Sequence comparisons showed that the kin1 gene product has similarities to fish antifreeze proteins (AFPs).     

Identification and optimization of soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors with dual potency towards fatty acid amide hydrolase

Multi-target inhibitors have become increasing popular as a means to leverage the advantages of poly-pharmacology while simplifying drug delivery. Here, we describe dual inhibitors for soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), two targets known to synergize when treating inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The structure activity relationship (SAR) study described herein initially started with t-TUCB (trans-4-[4-(3-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-l-ureido)-cyclohexyloxy]-benzoic acid), a potent sEH inhibitor that was previously shown to weakly inhibit FAAH. Inhibitors with a 6-fold increase of FAAH potency while maintaining high sEH potency were developed by optimization. Interestingly, compared to most FAAH inhibitors that inhibit through time-dependent covalent modification, t-TUCB and related compounds appear to inhibit FAAH through a time-independent, competitive mechanism. These inhibitors are selective for FAAH over other serine hydrolases. In addition, FAAH inhibition by t-TUCB appears to be higher in human FAAH over other species; however, the new dual sEH/FAAH inhibitors have improved cross-species potency. These dual inhibitors may be useful for future studies in understanding the therapeutic application of dual sEH/FAAH inhibition.     

Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibition Attenuates MPTP-Induced Neurotoxicity in the Nigrostriatal Dopaminergic System: Involvement of α-Synuclein Aggregation and ER Stress

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is widely expressed in the mammalian brain and possesses dual enzymatic activities, including C-terminal epoxide hydrolase (C-EH) which degrades epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET), a beneficial arachidonic acid metabolite. In the present study, the neuroprotective effect of sEH inhibition on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced neurodegeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic system was investigated using genetic and pharmacological approaches. MPTP (15 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected in sEH knockout (KO) mice and C57BL/6J mice as wild-type (WT) mice. Compared with the MPTP-treated WT mice, MPTP-induced reductions in striatal dopamine content and nigral tyrosine hydroxylase level (TH, a biomarker of dopaminergic neurons) were less significant in the treated sEH mice. Furthermore, MPTP-induced HO-1 elevation (a redox-regulated protein), α-synuclein aggregation, and caspase 12 activation (a hallmark of ER stress) were less prominent in sEH KO mice than in WT mice. These data indicate that sEH KO mice are more resistant to MPTP-induced neurotoxicity. The pharmacological effect of N-[1-(1-oxopropyl)-4-piperidinyl]-N0-[4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl)-urea (TPPU, an sEH inhibitor) on MPTP-induced neurotoxicity was investigated in WT mice. TPPU (1 mg/kg, i.p.) attenuated MPTP-induced reduction in striatal dopamine content, TH-positive cell numbers, TH, and pro-caspase 9 protein levels (an initiator caspase of apoptosis) in mouse SN. Moreover, TPPU reduced MPTP-induced HO-1 elevation, α-synuclein aggregation and caspase 12 activation, indicating that TPPU is effective in attenuating MPTP-induced oxidative stress, apoptosis, protein aggregation, and ER stress. In conclusion, our study suggests that sEH is a potential target for developing therapies for parkinsonism. Furthermore, sEH inhibitors may be of clinical significance for treating CNS neurodegenerative diseases.     

Regulation of forskolin-induced cAMP production by cytochrome P450 epoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid in HEK293 cells

Introduction  

Cytochrome P450 epoxygenases metabolize arachidonic acid to epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which in turn are converted to dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs) by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). EETs are known to modulate a number of vascular and renal functions, but the exact signaling mechanism(s) of these EET-mediated effects remains unknown.     

The interaction of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase with chiral epoxides

• 1.1. The kinetic parameters of the cytosolic epoxide hydrolase were examined with two sets of spectrophotometric substrates. The (2S,3S)- and (2R,3R)-enantiomers of 4-nitrophenyl trans-2,3-epoxy-3-phenylpropyl carbonate had a K_mof 33 and 68 μm and a V_max of 16 and 27 μmol/min/mg, respectively. With the (2S,3S)- and (2R,3R)- enantiomers of 4-nitrophenyl trans-2,3-epoxy-3-(4-nitrophenyl)propyl carbonate, cytosolic epoxide hydrolase had a K_M of 8.0 and 15 μM and a V_max of 7.8 and 5.0 μmol/min/mg, respectively.
• 2.2. Glycidyl 4-nitrobenzoate had the lowest I₅₀ of the compounds tested in the glycidyl 4-nitrobenzoate series (I₅₀= 140 μM). The I₅₀ of the (2R)-enantiomer was 3.7-fold higher. The inhibitor with the lowest i₅₀ in the glycidol series, and the lowest I₅₀ of any compound tested, was (2S,3S)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)glycidol (I₅₀ = 13.0μM). It also showed the greatest difference in I₅₀ between the enantiomers (330-fold).
• 3.3. All enantiomers of glycidyl 4-nitrobenzoates and _trans-3-phenylglycidols gave differential inhibition of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase. However, neither the (S,S)-/(S)- or (R,R)-/(R)-enantiomer always had the lower I₅₀.
• 4.4. Addition of one or more methyl groups to either enantiomer of glycidyl 4-nitrobenzoate resulted in increased I₅₀. However, addition of a methyl group to C₂ of either enantiomer of 3-phenylglycidol resulted in a decreased I₅₀. Finally, when the hydroxyl group of trans-3-(4-nitrophenyl)glycidol was esterified the I₅₀ of the (2S,3S)- but not the (2R,3R)-enantiomer increased.

     

Discovery of 3,3-disubstituted piperidine-derived trisubstituted ureas as highly potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors

3,3-Disubstituted piperidine-derived trisubstituted urea entA-2b was discovered as a highly potent and selective soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitor. Despite the good compound oral exposure, excellent sEH inhibition in whole blood, and remarkable selectivity, compound entA-2b failed to lower blood pressure acutely in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). This observation further challenges the premise that sEH inhibition can provide a viable approach to the treatment of hypertensive patients.     

Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) in Arabidopsis thaliana

Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) synthesizes phosphatidic acid from diacylglycerol, an activator of protein kinase C (PKC), to resynthesize phosphatidylinositols. The structure of DGK has not been characterized in plants. We report the cloning of a cDNA, cATDGK1, encoding DGK from Arabidopsis thaliana. The cATDGK1 cDNA contains an open reading frame of 2184 bp, and encodes a putative protein of 728 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 79.4 kDa. The deduced ATDGK1 amino acid sequence exhibits significant similarity to that of rat, pig, and Drosophila DGKs. The ATDGK1 mRNA was detected in roots, shoots, and leaves. Southern blot analysis suggests that the ATDGK1 gene is a single-copy gene. The existence of DGK as well as phospholipase C suggests the existence of PKC in plants.     

Inhibition of the Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase by Tyrosine Nitration

Inhibition of the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) has beneficial effects on vascular inflammation and hypertension indicating that the enzyme may be a promising target for drug development. As the enzymatic core of the hydrolase domain of the human sEH contains two tyrosine residues (Tyr³⁸³ and Tyr⁴⁶⁶) that are theoretically crucial for enzymatic activity, we addressed the hypothesis that the activity of the sEH may be affected by nitrosative stress. Epoxide hydrolase activity was detected in human and murine endothelial cells as well in HEK293 cells and could be inhibited by either authentic peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻) or the ONOO⁻ generator 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1). Protection of the enzymatic core with 1-adamantyl-3-cyclohexylurea in vitro decreased sensitivity to SIN-1. Both ONOO⁻ and SIN-1 elicited the tyrosine nitration of the sEH protein and mass spectrometry analysis of tryptic fragments revealed nitration on several tyrosine residues including Tyr³⁸³ and Tyr⁴⁶⁶. Mutation of the latter residues to phenylalanine was sufficient to abrogate epoxide hydrolase activity. In vivo, streptozotocin-induced diabetes resulted in the tyrosine nitration of the sEH in murine lungs and a significant decrease in its activity. Taken together, these data indicate that the activity of the sEH can be regulated by the tyrosine nitration of the protein. Moreover, nitrosative stress would be expected to potentiate the physiological actions of arachidonic acid epoxides by preventing their metabolism to the corresponding diols.Over the last decade, a great deal has been discovered about the physiological role of cytochrome P450-derived epoxides, such as those generated from arachidonic and linoleic acid, in the regulation of vascular homeostasis (1). For example, CYP2C- and CYP2J-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs)³ can acutely regulate vascular tone by inducing endothelial and smooth muscle cell hyperpolarization in the systemic circulation while promoting constriction in pulmonary circulation. EETs also stimulate a number of endothelial signaling cascades to promote angiogenesis (2).The arachidonic acid epoxides (apart from 5,6-EET) are chemically stable, and their intracellular level is tightly regulated by a number of different mechanisms including β-oxidation (3), chain elongation (4), and hydration. However, of these regulatory mechanisms, it appears that the physiologically most important enzyme for the intracellular regulation of EET levels is the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) (5). The dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs) generated from the EETs by sEH are biologically active, although generally less so than the parent epoxides (for review, see Ref. 6). Indeed, when the EETs are converted to the more polar DHETs, they are not as readily incorporated into membrane lipids (7, 8) and rapidly leave cells as diols or as still more polar conjugates.Surprisingly little is known about the mechanisms that regulate sEH activity, and although there have been a number of studies linking changes in sEH expression with inflammatory or hormonal stimuli (9, 10), nothing is known about the regulation of sEH by post-translational modification. Given that two tyrosine residues (Tyr³⁸³ and Tyr⁴⁶⁶) in the active site of the hydrolase are reportedly essential for enzyme activity (11), we determined whether or not the sEH could be regulated by tyrosine nitration.     

Cloning and expression of soluble epoxide hydrolase from potato

Five cDNAs encoding a putative soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) from potato were isolated and characterized. The cDNAs contained open reading frames encoding 36 kDa polypeptides which were highly homologous to the carboxy terminal region of mammalian sEH. When one of the cDNAs was expressed in a baculovirus system a soluble 38 kDa protein with epoxide hydrolase activity was produced. The recombinant enzyme hydrolyzed a commonly used diagnostic substrate for the soluble form of mammalian EH. Inhibitor profiles of the recombinant potato and mammalian sEH were also similar. The expression of sEH in potato was found to be regulated by both developmental and environmental signals. Levels of mRNA for sEH were higher in meristematic tissue than in mature leaves. This mRNA was also observed to accumulate on wounding and application of exogenous methyl jasmonate.     

Cloning and functional expression of AtCOQ3, the Arabidopsis homologue of the yeast COQ3 gene, encoding a methyltransferase from plant mitochondria involved in ubiquinone biosynthesis

A mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae deleted for the COQ3 gene was constructed. COQ3 encodes a 3,4-dihydroxy-5-hexaprenylbenzoate (DHHB) methyltransferase that catalyses the fourth step in the biosynthesis of ubiquinone from p-hydroxybenzoic acid. A full length cDNA encoding a homologue of DHHB-methyltransferase was cloned from an Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA library by functional complementation of a yeast coq3 deletion mutant. The Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA (AtCOQ3) was able to restore the respiration ability and ubiquinone synthesis of the mutant. The product of the 1372 bp cDNA contained 322 amino acids and had a molecular mass of 35 360 Da. The predicted amino acid sequence contained all consensus regions for S-adenosyl methionine methyltransferases and presented 26% identity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae DHHB-methyltransferase and 38% identity with the rat protein, as well as with a bacterial (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium) methyltransferase encoded by the UBIG gene. Southern analysis showed that the Arabidopsis thaliana enzyme was encoded by a single nuclear gene. The NH₂-terminal part of the cDNA product contained features consistent with a putative mitochondrial transit sequence. The cDNA in Escherichia coli was overexpressed and antibodies were raised against the recombinant protein. Western blot analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana and pea protein extracts indicated that the AtCOQ3 gene product is localized within mitochondrial membranes. This result suggests that at least this step of ubiquinone synthesis takes place in mitochondria.     

Lysophosphatidic acids are new substrates for the phosphatase domain of soluble epoxide hydrolase

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is a bifunctional enzyme that has a C-terminus epoxide hydrolase domain and an N-terminus phosphatase domain. The endogenous substrates of epoxide hydrolase are known to be epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, but the endogenous substrates of the phosphatase activity are not well understood. In this study, to explore the substrates of sEH, we investigated the inhibition of the phosphatase activity of sEH toward 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate by using lecithin and its hydrolyzed products. Although lecithin itself did not inhibit the phosphatase activity, the hydrolyzed lecithin significantly inhibited it, suggesting that lysophospholipid or fatty acid can inhibit it. Next, we investigated the inhibition of phosphatase activity by lysophosphatidyl choline, palmitoyl lysophosphatidic acid, monopalmitoyl glycerol, and palmitic acid. Palmitoyl lysophosphatidic acid and fatty acid efficiently inhibited phosphatase activity, suggesting that lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs) are substrates for the phosphatase activity of sEH. As expected, palmitoyl, stearoyl, oleoyl, and arachidonoyl LPAs were efficiently dephosphorylated by sEH (Km, 3-7 μM; Vmax, 150-193 nmol/min/mg). These results suggest that LPAs are substrates of sEH, which may regulate physiological functions of cells via their metabolism.     

The anti-inflammatory effects of soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors are independent of leukocyte recruitment

Excess leukocyte recruitment to the lung plays a central role in the development or exacerbation of several lung inflammatory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are cytochrome P-450 metabolites of arachidonic acid reported to have multiple biological functions, including blocking of leukocyte recruitment to inflamed endothelium in cell culture through reduction of adhesion molecule expression. Inhibition of the EET regulatory enzyme, soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) also has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects in vivo including reduced leukocyte recruitment to the lung. We tested the hypothesis that the in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of sEH inhibitors act through the same mechanisms as the in vitro anti-inflammatory effects of EETs in a rat model of acute inflammation following exposure to tobacco smoke. Contrary to previously published data, we found that sEH inhibition did not reduce tobacco smoke-induced leukocyte recruitment to the lung. Furthermore, sEH inhibition did not reduce tobacco smoke-induced adhesion molecule expression in the lung vasculature. Similarly, concentrations of EETs greater than or equal to their reported effective dose did not reduce TNFα induced expression of the adhesion molecules. These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of sEH inhibitors are independent of leukocyte recruitment and EETs do not reduce the adhesion molecules responsible for leukocyte recruitment in vitro. This demonstrates that the widely held belief that sEH inhibition prevents leukocyte recruitment via EET prevention of adhesion molecule expression is not consistently reproducible.     

Cloning and characterization of an epoxide hydrolase-encoding gene from Rhodotorula glutinis

We cloned and characterized the epoxide hydrolase gene, EPH1, from Rhodotorula glutinis. The EPH1 open reading frame of 1230 bp was interrupted by nine introns and encoded a polypeptide of 409 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 46.3 kDa. The amino acid sequence was similar to that of microsomal epoxide hydrolase, which suggests that the epoxide hydrolase of R. glutinis also belongs to the α/β hydrolase fold family. EPH1 cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli and resting cells showed a specific activity of 200 nmol min⁻¹ (mg protein)⁻¹ towards 1,2-epoxyhexane. Received: 2 August 1999 / Received revision: 4 October 1999 / Accepted: 10 October 1999