M-2420

A novel liquid chromatographic method has been developed for use in throughput screening of new inhibitors of human recombinant beta-amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme (hrBACE1). The approach is based on the use of an immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) containing the target enzyme (hrBACE1-IMER) and uses fluorescence detection. The bioreactor was prepared by immobilizing hrBACE1 on an ethylendiamine (EDA) monolithic disk (CIM) and a fluorogenic peptide (M-2420) containing the beta-secretase site of the Swedish mutation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) was used as substrate. After injection into the hrBACE1-IMER system, M-2420 was enzymatically cleaved, giving rise to a fluorescent methoxycoumaryl-fragment (Rt=1.6min), which was separated from the substrate and selectively detected at lambda(exc)=320 and lambda(em)=420nm. Product and substrate were characterized by using a post monolithic C18 stationary phase coupled to an ion trap mass analyser. A calibration curve was constructed to determine the immobilized hrBACE1-IMER rate of catalysis and kinetic constants. Specificity of the enzymatic cleavage was confirmed by injecting the substrate on a blank CIM-EDA. The proposed method was validated by the determination of the inhibitory potency of five reference compounds with activities ranked over four order of magnitude (four peptidic inhibitors and a green tea polyphenol, (-)gallocatechin gallate). The obtained results were found in agreement with the data reported in literature, confirming the validity and the applicability of the hrBACE1-IMER as a tool for the fast screening of unknown inhibitors (more than 6 compounds per hour). Moreover, the hrBACE1-IMER showed high stability during the analysis, permitting its use for more than three months without affecting enzyme activity.

In the present work, a human recombinant BACE1 immobilized enzyme reactor (hrBACE1-IMER) has been applied for the sensitive fast screening of 38 compounds selected through a virtual screening approach. HrBACE1-IMER was inserted into a liquid chromatograph coupled with a fluorescent detector. A fluorogenic peptide substrate (M-2420), containing the β-secretase site of the Swedish mutation of APP, was injected and cleaved in the on-line HPLC-hrBACE1-IMER system, giving rise to the fluorescent product. The compounds of the library were tested for their ability to inhibit BACE1 in the immobilized format and to reduce the area related to the chromatographic peak of the fluorescent enzymatic product. The results were validated in solution by using two different FRET methods. Due to the efficient virtual screening methodology, more than fifty percent of the selected compounds showed a measurable inhibitory activity. One of the most active compound (a bis-indanone derivative) was characterized in terms of IC(50) and K(i) determination on the hrBACE1-IMER. Thus, the hrBACE1-IMER has been confirmed as a valid tool for the throughput screening of different chemical entities with potency lower than 30μM for the fast hits' selection and for mode of action determination.

High throughput screening (HTS) techniques are required for the fast hit inhibitors selection in the early discovery process. However, in Beta-secretase (BACE1) inhibitors screening campaign, the most frequently used methoxycoumarin based peptide substrate (M-2420) is not widely applicable when aromatic or heterocycle compounds of natural source show auto-fluorescence interferences. Here, in order to overcome these drawbacks, we propose the use of a highly selective 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo)benzoic acid/5-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (DABCYL/1,5-EDANS) based peptide substrate (Substrate IV), whose cleavage product is devoid of spectroscopic interference. HrBACE1-IMER was prepared and characterized in terms of units of immobilised hrBACE1. BACE1 catalyzed Substrate IV cleavage was on-line kinetically characterized in terms of KM and vmax, in a classical Michaelis and Menten study. The on-line kinetic constants were found consistent with those obtained with the in solution fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) standard method. In order to further validate the use of Substrate IV for inhibition studies, the inhibitory potency of the well-known BACE1 peptide InhibitorIV (IC₅₀: 0.19 ± 0.02 μM) and of the natural compound Uleine (IC₅₀: 0.57 ± 0.05) were determined in the optimized on-line hrBACE1-IMER. The IC₅₀ values on the hrBACE1-IMER system were found in agreement with that obtained by the conventional methods confirming the applicability of Substrate IV for on-line BACE1 kinetic and inhibition studies.