Analogues Of Glucosylceramide Research Articles

Eliglustat: First Global Approval

Eliglustat [Cerdelga™ (US, EU)], a small-molecule oral glucosylceramide analogue that inhibits the enzyme glucosylceramide synthase has been developed by Genzyme Corporation (a subsidiary of Sanofi) for the treatment of Gaucher disease type 1 in adults. Inhibition of this enzyme reduces the accumulation of the lipid glucosylceramide in the liver, spleen, bone marrow and other organs. Eliglustat received its first global approval in this indication in the US, for use in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced adult patients. It is also under regulatory review in the EU and Japan. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of eliglustat leading to this first approval for Gaucher disease type 1.

Eliglustat tartrate

Eliglustat tartrate (Genz-112638) is a novel, orally administered agent currently in development for the treatment of lysosomal storage disorders, including type 1 Gaucher disease and Fabry disease. This glucosylceramide analogue acts as an inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase, a Golgi complex enzyme that catalyzes the formation of glucosylceramide from ceramide and UDP-glucose and is the first step in the formation of glucocerebroside-based glycosphingolipids. Pre-clinical pharmacological studies demonstrate that the agent has a high therapeutic index, excellent oral bioavailability and limited toxicity. Phase I studies in healthy volunteers revealed limited toxicity with an excellent pharmacodynamic response, as measured by decreased plasma glucosylceramide concentrations. Phase II studies in patients with type 1 Gaucher disease have demonstrated promising clinical responses, as measured by decreases in spleen size, improvement in hemoglobin concentrations and increased platelet counts. Two randomized phase III trials testing the efficacy and safety of eliglustat tartrate are currently in progress.

Ceramide and glucosylceramide upregulate expression of the multidrug resistance gene MDR1 in cancer cells

In the present study we used human breast cancer cell lines to assess the influence of ceramide and glucosylceramide (GC) on expression of MDR1, the multidrug resistance gene that codes for P-glycoprotein (P-gp), because GC has been shown to be a substrate for P-gp. Acute exposure (72 h) to C8-ceramide (5 μg/ml culture medium), a cell-permeable ceramide, increased MDR1 mRNA levels by 3- and 5-fold in T47D and in MDA-MB-435 cells, respectively. Acute exposure of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells to C8-GC (10 μg/ml culture medium), a cell-permeable analog of GC, increased MDR1 expression by 2- and 4- fold, respectively. Chronic exposure of MDA-MB-231 cells to C8-ceramide for extended periods enhanced MDR1 mRNA levels 45- and 390-fold at passages 12 and 22, respectively, and also elicited expression of P-gp. High-passage C8-ceramide-grown MDA-MB-231 (MDA-MB-231/C8cer) cells were more resistant to doxorubicin and paclitaxel. Incubation with [1- 14C]C6-ceramide showed that cells converted short-chain ceramide into GC, lactosylceramide, and sphingomyelin. When challenged with 5 μg/ml [1- 14C]C6-ceramide, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-435, MCF-7, and T47D cells took up 31, 17, 21, and 13%, respectively, and converted 82, 58, 62, and 58% of that to short-chain GC. Exposing cells to the GCS inhibitor, ethylenedioxy-P4, a substituted analog of 1-phenyl-2-hexadecanoylamino-3-pyrrolidino-1-propanol, prevented ceramide's enhancement of MDR1 expression. These experiments show that high levels of ceramide and GC enhance expression of the multidrug resistance phenotype in cancer cells. Therefore, ceramide's role as a messenger of cytotoxic response might be linked to the multidrug resistance pathway.

(Glyco)sphingolipids are sorted in sub-apical compartments in HepG2 cells: a role for non-Golgi-related intracellular sites in the polarized distribution of (glyco)sphingolipids.

In polarized HepG2 cells, the fluorescent sphingolipid analogues of glucosylceramide (C6-NBD-GlcCer) and sphingomyelin (C6-NBD-SM) display a preferential localization at the apical and basolateral domain, respectively, which is expressed during apical to basolateral transcytosis of the lipids (van IJzendoorn, S.C.D., M.M. P. Zegers, J.W. Kok, and D. Hoekstra. 1997. J. Cell Biol. 137:347-457). In the present study we have identified a non-Golgi-related, sub-apical compartment (SAC), in which sorting of the lipids occurs. Thus, in the apical to basolateral transcytotic pathway both C6-NBD-GlcCer and C6-NBD-SM accumulate in SAC at 18 degreesC. At this temperature, transcytosing IgA also accumulates, and colocalizes with the lipids. Upon rewarming the cells to 37 degreesC, the lipids are transported from the SAC to their preferred membrane domain. Kinetic evidence is presented that shows in a direct manner that after leaving SAC, sphingomyelin disappears from the apical region of the cell, whereas GlcCer is transferred to the apical, bile canalicular membrane. The sorting event is very specific, as the GlcCer epimer C6-NBD-galactosylceramide, like C6-NBD-SM, is sorted in the SAC and directed to the basolateral surface. It is demonstrated that transport of the lipids to and from SAC is accomplished by a vesicular mechanism, and is in part microtubule dependent. Furthermore, the SAC in HepG2 bear analogy to the apical recycling compartments, previously described in MDCK cells. However, in contrast to the latter, the structural integrity of SAC does not depend on an intact microtubule system. Taken together, we have identified a non-Golgi-related compartment, acting as a "traffic center" in apical to basolateral trafficking and vice versa, and directing the polarized distribution of sphingolipids in hepatic cells.

Differential targeting of glucosylceramide and galactosylceramide analogues after synthesis but not during transcytosis in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells.

A short-chain analogue of galactosylceramide (6-NBD-amino-hexanoyl-galactosylceramide, C6-NBD-GalCer) was inserted into the apical or the basolateral surface of MDCK cells and transcytosis was monitored by depleting the opposite cell surface of the analogue with serum albumin. In MDCK I cells 32% of the analogue from the apical surface and 9% of the analogue from the basolateral surface transcytosed to the opposite surface per hour. These numbers were very similar to the flow of membrane as calculated from published data on the rate of fluid-phase transcytosis in these cells, demonstrating that C6-NBD-GalCer acted as a marker of bulk membrane flow. It was calculated that in MDCK I cells 155 microns membrane transcytosed per cell per hour in each direction. The fourfold higher percentage transported from the apical surface is explained by the apical to basolateral surface area ratio of 1:4. In MDCK II cells, with an apical to basolateral surface ratio of 1:1, transcytosis of C6-NBD-GalCer was 25% per hour in both directions. Similar numbers were obtained from measuring the fraction of endocytosed C6-NBD-GalCer that subsequently transcytosed. Under these conditions lipid leakage across the tight junction could be excluded, and the vesicular nature of lipid transcytosis was confirmed by the observation that the process was blocked at 17 degrees C. After insertion into one surface of MDCK II cells, the glucosylceramide analogue C6-NBD-GlcCer randomly equilibrated over the two surfaces in 8 h. C6-NBD-GalCer and -GlcCer transcytosed with identical kinetics. Thus no lipid selectivity in transcytosis was observed. Whereas the mechanism by which MDCK cells maintain the different lipid compositions of the two surface domains in the absence of lipid sorting along the transcytotic pathway is unclear, newly synthesized C6-NBD-GlcCer was preferentially delivered to the apical surface of MDCK II cells as compared with C6-NBD-GalCer.

Internalization and sorting of a fluorescent analogue of glucosylceramide to the Golgi apparatus of human skin fibroblasts: utilization of endocytic and nonendocytic transport mechanisms.

We examined the uptake and intracellular transport of the fluorescent glucosylceramide analogue N-[5-(5,7-dimethyl BODIPYTM)-1-pentanoyl]-glucosyl sphingosine (C5-DMB-GlcCer) in human skin fibroblasts, and we compared its behavior to that of the corresponding fluorescent analogues of sphingomyelin, galactosylceramide, and lactosylceramide. All four fluorescent analogues were readily transferred from defatted BSA to the plasma membrane during incubation at 4 degrees C. When cells treated with C5-DMB-GlcCer were washed, warmed to 37 degrees C, and subsequently incubated with defatted BSA to remove fluorescent lipid at the cell surface, strong fluorescence was observed at the Golgi apparatus, as well as weaker labeling at the nuclear envelope and other intracellular membranes. Similar results were obtained with C5-DMB-galactosylceramide, except that labeling of the Golgi apparatus was weaker than with C5-DMB-GlcCer. Internalization of C5-DMB-GlcCer was not inhibited by various treatments, including ATP depletion or warming to 19 degrees C, and biochemical analysis demonstrated that the lipid was not metabolized during its internalization. However, accumulation of C5-DMB-GlcCer at the Golgi apparatus was reduced when cells were treated with a nonfluorescent analogue of glucosylceramide, suggesting that accumulation of C5-DMB-GlcCer at the Golgi apparatus was a saturable process. In contrast, cells treated with C5-DMB-analogues of sphingomyelin or lactosylceramide internalized the fluorescent lipid into a punctate pattern of fluorescence during warming at 37 degrees C, and this process was temperature and energy dependent. These results with C5-DMB-sphingomyelin and C5-DMB-lactosylceramide were analogous to those obtained with another fluorescent analogue of sphingomyelin in which labeling of endocytic vesicles and plasma membrane lipid recycling were documented (Koval, M., and R. E. Pagano. 1990. J. Cell Biol. 111:429-442). Incubation of perforated cells with C5-DMB-sphingomyelin resulted in prominent labeling of the nuclear envelope and other intracellular membranes, similar to the pattern observed with C5-DMB-GlcCer in intact cells. These observations are consistent with the transbilayer movement of fluorescent analogues of glucosylceramide and galactosylceramide at the plasma membrane and early endosomes of human skin fibroblasts, and suggest that both endocytic and nonendocytic pathways are used in the internalization of these lipids from the plasma membrane.

Rationales for cancer chemotherapy with PDMP, a specific inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase

A proposed weak point in cancer cells is their need to synthesize novel or rare glucosphingolipids. It is further proposed that cancer patients be treated with a drug that slows the synthesis of glucosylceramide, the precursor of a large family of glucosphingolipids. Experimental data are furnished for chemotherapeutic and biochemical effects of PDMP, an analog of glucosylceramide and its precursor, ceramide. Promising results were obtained in the treatment of mice carrying Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells and rats carrying C6 glioma cells. PDMP was found to be oxidized by cytochrome P-450, but this process could be blocked in vivo with piperonyl butoxide or cimetidine. A high level of blood glucose was found to elevate the size of rat kidneys and their content of UDP-glucose and its product, glucosylceramide. The excessive growth could be blocked by PDMP, which competes with UDP-glc for binding to glucosylceramide synthase. It is suggested that cancer patients be maintained at a low glucose level in order to slow the synthesis of glucosylceramide by tumor cells. Metabolic changes produced by PDMP in cultured cells, besides a rapid deletion of glucosphingolipids, were accumulation of the precursors (ceramide and sphingosine), loss of protein kinase C, and accumulation of diacylglycerol. It is suggested that many of the cellular changes produced by PDMP, such as loss of cell binding, are owing to existence of glucosylceramide-based "islands" floating in the outer cell surface; the islands may contain growth factor receptors and adhesion factors. An inhibitor that blocks sphingolipid synthesis, such as cycloserine, may prove to be a useful adjuvant for therapy with PDMP.

Synthesis of 4- C-methyl analogues of glucosylceramide

Benzyl 2,3,6-tri- O-benzyl-4-deoxy-4- C-methylene-α- d- xylo-hexopyranoside ( 3) was transformed with 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid into of the anomeric O-acetyl group, and then treatment with trichloroacetonitrile in the presence of base afforded 2,3,4,6-tetra- O-acetyl-4- C-methyl- d-glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate ( 9). Reaction of 9 with th respectively. Treatment of 14a,b with triphenylphosphine and the carboxylic acid anhydride in the presence of water and then with methanolic sodium

Synthesis of a 4-Deoxy-4-C-Methylene Analog of Glucosylceramide

Abstract D-Glucose was transformed into 2,3:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene dithioacetal 1; its oxidation to ketone 2 and subsequent Wittig reaction afforded 4-deoxy-4-C-methylene derivative 3. Hydrolytic removal of the protective groups, then O-acetylation, selective anomeric O-deacetylation, and base catalyzed trichloroacetonitrile addition furnished 4-deoxy-4-C-methylene substituted glycopyranosyl donor 7 as an anomeric mixture. Reaction of 7 with azidosphingosine derivative 8 under BF3-OEt2 catalysis gave β-glycopy-ranoside 9. Azido group reduction with triphenylphospnine in the presence of palmitic anhydride and water afforded directly O-acyl protected glycosphingolipid derivative 10 which yielded after Zemplen O-deacylation target molecule 11

Salvage of glucosylceramide by recycling after internalization along the pathway of receptor-mediated endocytosis.

To examine the (intra)cellular fate of a glycolipid, normally residing at the cell surface, a fluorescent analog of glucosylceramide, 6-[N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino]hexanoylglucosylsp hingosine (C6-NBD-glucosylceramide), was inserted into the plasma membrane of baby hamster kidney cells at low temperature. Upon warming the cells to 37 degrees C, part of the glycolipid analog was internalized. A comparison with receptor-mediated uptake of transferrin revealed that after 2 min of warming, both C6-NBD-glucosylceramide and the transferrin-transferrin receptor complex are localized in the same intracellular compartment (early endosomes). We conclude that C6-NBD-glucosylceramide is internalized along the pathway of receptor-mediated endocytosis. When, after internalization of part of the membrane-inserted glycolipid analog, the residual pool of plasma membrane C6-NBD-lipid was removed by "back exchange" with a lipid acceptor, C6-NBD-glucosylceramide molecules can be shown to return intact to the plasma membrane. This demonstrates that glycolipids, analogous to a variety of protein receptors, are able to recycle to the plasma membrane after internalization.

55] Inhibitors of cerebroside metabolism

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the different aspects of inhibitors of cerebroside metabolism. A competitive inhibitor of glucocerebroside β-glucosidase is N -hexylglucosylsphingosine. This analog of glucosylceramide is a secondary amine, unlike the enzyme's substrate, which is an amide. It differs also in having a much shorter alkyl chain attached to the nitrogen atom. It has been found to be highly effective at about 1 μM with the enzyme in rat, mouse, and human tissues. Glucocerebroside is formed from ceramide in many or all tissues. The aminopropiophenone derivative is an analog of ceramide in which a benzene ring replaces the alkyl chain of sphingosine, a short-chain fatty acid replaces the more customary stearoyl or lignoceroyl moiety, and a bulky basic group replaces the primary hydroxyl group of ceramide. The hydroxyl group at the C-3 position of the sphingoid base is also modified. It is found that the UDPglucose glucosyltransferase is obtained by reducing the ketone group of the compound DL -2-decanoyl-amino-3-morpholinopropiophenone.

An improved method for diagnosis of gaucher’s disease using skin fibroblasts and a chromogenic substrate for glucocerebrosidase

The glucosylceramide analogue, 2-N-hexadecanoylamino-4-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranosidc (HNGIu) has been shown to be a suitable glucocerebrosidase substrate for the diagnosis of Gaucher’s disease. We report a procedure giving up to 20-fold more activity in normal skin fibroblasts than the reported procedure, but still showing negligible activity in Gaucher’s disease fibroblasts. The assay involves the incubation of the fibroblast extract with HNGIu (1.08 mM) at pH 5.0 in the presence of sodium taurocholate (9.3 mM) and oleic acid (1.06 mM) as activators. Normal fibroblasts showed an activity of 3.0-9.3 U/g protein, with a Km (apparent) of 0.15 mM. Fibroblasts from a patient with infantile Gaucher’s disease showed minimal activity from pH 4.0 6.4, indicating the absence of any other acid β glucosidase activity towards HNGIu. At pH 5.0, the patient’s activity was 0.3 U/g protein, while his parents had activities of 3.5 U/g protein and 1.5 U/g protein. This reduced activity resulted from a marked decrease in V max with no change in Km (apparent). The assay appears suitable for the diagnosis of Gaucher’s disease and, possibly, for Gaucher’s disease hcterozygotes.