Inhibition Of Neutral Endopeptidase Activity Research Articles

Peptides in seminal fluid and their role in infertility: a potential role for opiorphin inhibition of neutral endopeptidase activity as a clinically relevant modulator of sperm motility: a review.

Infertility is a devastating medical condition that adversely affects emotional health and well-being of couples who desire pregnancy and parenthood. The overall demographic data suggest that the indication for more than one-third of assisted reproductive technology cycles performed in the United States includes male factor infertility. There is increasing recognition of the role that peptides present in seminal plasma have in determining sperm motility. Several recent studies suggest that peptidases, such as neutral endopeptidase (NEP) and aminopeptidase N (APN), impose significant adverse effects on sperm motility. Interestingly, several recent studies demonstrate that there is an endogenous NEP/APN inhibitor peptide called opiorphin in human seminal plasma. Our pilot studies suggest opiorphin promotes sperm motility and may positively influence sperm motility parameters in some cases of males infertility characterized by asthenozoospermia.

Ex vivo Effects of an Oenothera paradoxa Extract on the Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Neutral Endopeptidase Activity in Neutrophils from Patients after Acute Myocardial Infarction

Oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is considered to play an important part in the aetiology of coronary heart disease. Apart from ROS, neutrophils are a source of neutral endopeptidase (NEP) that inactivates protective natriuretic peptides. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro ROS generation and inhibition of NEP activity in neutrophils obtained from healthy volunteers and from patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by an aqueous extract of Oenothera paradoxa. Neutrophils isolated from AMI patients showed two-fold higher ROS generation compared with cells from healthy donors, especially in the lucigenin-enhanced luminescence model, which suggests intensive O₂⁻ generation. The addition of O. paradoxa extract at concentrations of 0.2, 2 and 20 µg/mL resulted in a significant reduction in ROS generation. The extracellular NEP activity was higher in patients after AMI compared with healthy individuals (15.0 ± 0.9 versus 10.3 ± 0.5 nmol AMC/10(6) cells/60 min; p = 0.001). The addition of O. paradoxa extract at concentrations of 20, 50 and 100 µg/mL resulted in a significant reduction in NEP activity in both groups. O. paradoxa extract appears to be an interesting candidate for supplementation in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Solid state and solution studies of a vanadium(III)- l-cysteine compound and demonstration of its antimetastatic, antioxidant and inhibition of neutral endopeptidase activities

Reaction of one equivalent of vanadium(III) chloride with three equivalents of l-cysteine(H 2Cys) in methyl alcohol affords a V III-Cys compound that is formulated as [V III(Hcys) 3] · 2HCl · 2.5H 2O 1. The solid state characterization of 1 was performed by microanalysis, circular dichroism (CD) and infrared studies as well as room temperature magnetic susceptibility. These studies have shown coordination of each HCys − ligand to the V III atom through an amine nitrogen and a carboxylate oxygen atoms. Solution studies of 1 were carried out in water and methanol by UV–visible, CD and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. According to these studies, it was evident that despite the progressive oxidation of 1 to oxovanadium(IV) species, some V(III) species were also present in solution after several hours. Compound 1, V IVOSO 4 · 5H 2O and l-cysteine were examined for their total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and lag time. Compound 1 exhibited significantly greater total antioxidant capacity and lag time values than l-cysteine. V IVOSO 4 · 5H 2O did not show any total antioxidant capacity or lag time. The inhibition of neutral endopeptidase (NEP) activity caused by 1, V IVOSO 4 · 5H 2O and thiorphan was also measured. Compound 1, at a concentration of 10 −3 M, showed inhibition of NEP activity as potent as thiorphan at 10 −6 M, while V IVOSO 4 · 5H 2O in the same concentration exhibited less than 50% inhibitory activity than that of thiorphan at 10 −6 M. Moreover, the antimetastatic effects of compound 1, l-cysteine and V IVOSO 4 · 5H 2O were examined on Wistar rats, treated with 3,4-benzopyrene. The results revealed that 1 prevents significantly lung metastases (only 9.5% of animals treated with 1 showed metastases), whereas 47–52% of the rats of the control group and those treated with l-cysteine and V IVOSO 4 · 5H 2O exhibited metastases.

Inhibition of kidney neutral endopeptidase after administration of the neutral endopeptidase inhibitor candoxatril: quantitation by autoradiography.

Inhibition of neutral endopeptidase (NEP) in the kidney was studied ex vivo after oral administration of candoxatril (UK79300), an NEP inhibitor, to rats to study the time course and dose response by quantitative in vitro autoradiography by using the NEP inhibitor 125I-SCH47896 as a radioligand. In control rats, high NEP binding was demonstrated in the deep proximal tubule. After oral administration of candoxatril (10 mg/kg), kidney NEP binding was rapidly decreased and recovered gradually over a period of 24 h. The inhibition was maximal at 1 h (13.3 +/- 2.5% of control). Increasing doses of candoxatril administered to rats produced progressive inhibition of NEP binding in the kidney. A dose of 100 mg/kg inhibited kidney NEP binding to 2.6 +/- 0.2% of the control value at 1 h after administration. Candoxatrilat (UK73967), an active metabolite of candoxatril, given intravenously inhibited kidney NEP binding also in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This inhibition of NEP activity at the tissue level may be important in the actions of NEP inhibitors.

The Effects of Indomethacin and Thiorphan on Bradykinin-induced Albumin Output and Submucosal Gland Secretion in the Ferret Trachea in vivo

Summary: In the ferret liquid-filled trachea in vivo, intraluminal bradykinin (BK, 3-300 μM) produced concentration-dependent increases in the output of lysozyme from submucosal gland serous cells and albumin movement into the lumen. Baseline outputs of albumin and lysozyme were not altered significantly by intraluminal indomethacin (10 μM) or thiorphan (10 μM). However, intraluminal indomethacin completely blocked the BK-induced increase in albumin output. Intraluminal thiorphan (10 μM) did not significantly potentiate BK-induced albumin output, although mean output was higher. Neither indomethacin nor thiorphan significantly altered BK-induced lysozyme output, although mean output was reduced in the presence of indomethacin. Thus BK increases albumin output and may increase lysozyme output via the action of cyclooxygenase products. Inhibition of neutral endopeptidase activity may enhance the action of BK on albumin output.

Viral infection increases contractile but not secretory responses to substance P in ferret trachea.

Viral infection increases the airway smooth muscle response to substance P. This effect is due to decreased activity of neutral endopeptidase (EC 3.4.24.11), an enzyme that degrades substance P. Inhibition of neutral endopeptidase activity also potentiates substance P-induced 35SO4-labeled macromolecule secretion. Therefore we examined the in vitro effects of substance P on 35SO4-macromolecule secretion from the tracheae of influenza-infected ferrets. Despite a virus-induced loss of neutral endopeptidase activity (demonstrated in muscle bath experiments), there was no difference between control and infected tracheae in either baseline secretion [697 +/- 125 vs. 579 +/- 67 (SE) cpm/15 min; n = 15 tissues) or in the response to 10(-6) M substance P (increased by 218 +/- 63 and 195 +/- 51, respectively) or 10(-5) M substance P (increased by 416 +/- 95 and 354 +/- 54, respectively). Although phosphoramidon (10(-6) M) potentiated the secretory response to substance P, there was again no difference between control and infected tracheae. These data show that although viral infection decreases airway neutral endopeptidase activity, virus-induced hypersecretion is not due to a resulting increase in the secretory response to substance P.

Inhibition of Neutral Endopeptidase Activity by Extracts of Selected Basidiomycetes

Inhibition of Neutral Endopeptidase Activity by Extracts of Selected Basidiomycetes

Atrial natriuretic factor inhibits ciliary motility in cultured rabbit tracheal epithelium

To study the effect of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) on airway ciliary motility, we measured ciliary beat frequency by a photoelectric method in response to ANF in cultured tracheal epithelial cells from rabbits. Addition of ANF but not [Tyr8]ANF-(5-27) decreased ciliary beat frequency in a dose-dependent fashion; the maximal decrease from the baseline value was 24.1 +/- 1.5% (+/- SE, P less than 0.001), and a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 3 x 10(-12) M. Inhibition of neutral endopeptidase activity by phosphoramidon (10(-6) M) or thiorphan (10(-6) M) potentiated the effect of ANF so that the dose-response curve for ANF was shifted to lower concentrations by approximately 0.5 log units (P less than 0.05, in each case). The inhibition of ciliary motility induced by ANF was not affected by the blockade of arachidonic acid metabolism with indomethacin, piroxicam, or nordihydroguaiaretic acid, but it was blocked by methylene blue, a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, and was potentiated by M & B 22948, a guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The intracellular cGMP levels were increased by ANF, an effect that was further potentiated by phosphoramidon or thiorphan. These results suggest that ANF inhibits ciliary motility presumably through a guanylate cyclase-dependent regulatory pathway and that neutral endopeptidase may play a role in modulating the ANF effect on airway mucociliary transport function.