Role of PEPT2 in peptide/mimetic trafficking at the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier: studies in rat choroid plexus epithelial cells in primary culture.

Recent studies have established the functional and molecular presence of a high-affinity peptide transporter, PEPT2, in whole tissue rat choroid plexus. However, the precise membrane location and directionality of PEPT2-mediated transport is uncertain at present. In this study, we examined the transport kinetics of a model dipeptide, glycylsarcosine (GlySar), along with the protein expression of PEPT2 using primary cell cultures of choroidal epithelium from neonatal rats. GlySar accumulation and transepithelial transport were 3 to 4 times higher when introduced from the apical as opposed to the basal side of the monolayers. GlySar apical uptake was also stimulated by an inwardly directed proton gradient. The uptake of GlySar was inhibited by di/tripeptides, carnosine, and alpha-amino cephalosporins but was unaffected by amino acids, cephalosporins lacking an alpha-amino group, and organic anions and cations. The Michaelis constant (K(m)) of GlySar was 59.6 microM for apical uptake and 1.4 mM for basal uptake; this is consistent with the high-affinity properties of PEPT2 at the apical membrane. Immunoblot analyses and immunofluorescent confocal microscopy demonstrated the presence of PEPT2, but not PEPT1, in rat choroid plexus epithelial cells. Moreover, PEPT2 was present in the apical and subapical regions of the cell but was absent in the basolateral membrane. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, that PEPT2 protein is present at the apical membrane of choroidal epithelial cells and that it is functionally active at this membrane surface. The results suggest that PEPT2 may have a role in the efflux of peptides and/or mimetics from cerebrospinal fluid to the blood.

A novel nucleoside prodrug-activating enzyme: substrate specificity of biphenyl hydrolase-like protein.

Biphenyl hydrolase-like protein (BPHL, NCBI accession number NP_004323) is a novel human serine hydrolase recently identified as a human valacyclovirase, catalyzing the hydrolytic activation of the antiviral prodrugs valacyclovir and valganciclovir. The substrate specificity of BPHL was investigated with a series of amino acid ester prodrugs of the therapeutic nucleoside analogues: acyclovir, zidovudine, floxuridine, 2-bromo-5,6-dichloro-1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl) benzimidazole, and gemcitabine. The hydrolysis of typical esterase and aminopeptidase substrates by BPHL was also investigated. The results indicate that the substrate specificity of BPHL is largely determined by the amino acid acyl promoiety, and is less sensitive to the nucleoside parent drugs. For all nucleoside parent drugs, BPHL preferred the hydrophobic amino acids valine, phenylalanine, and proline over the charged amino acids lysine and aspartic acid. The position and monoester or diester form of the prodrug were also important, with BPHL exhibiting higher affinity for the 5'-esters than for the 3'-esters and the 3',5'-diesters irrespective of amino acid type. Further, the presence of the 3'-amino acid ester considerably reduced the hydrolysis rate of the 5'-amino acid ester functionality. BPHL exhibited stereoselectivity with an L/D specificity ratio of 32 for 5'-valyl floxuridine and 1.5 for 5'-phenylalanyl floxuridine. The substrate specificity suggests that the substrate-binding pocket of BPHL has a hydrophobic acyl binding site which can accommodate the positively charged alpha-amino group, while having an alcohol leaving group binding site that can accommodate nucleoside analogues with a relatively generous spatial allowance. In conclusion, BPHL catalyzes the hydrolytic activation of amino acid esters of a broad range of therapeutic nucleoside analogues in addition to valacyclovir and valganciclovir and has considerable potential for utilization as an activation target for design of antiviral and anticancer nucleoside analogue prodrugs.

Amino acid ester prodrugs of floxuridine: synthesis and effects of structure, stereochemistry, and site of esterification on the rate of hydrolysis.

PURPOSE: To synthesize amino acid ester prodrugs of floxuridine (FUdR) and to investigate the effects of structure, stereochemistry, and site of esterification of promoiety on the rates of hydrolysis of these prodrugs in Caco-2 cell homogenates. METHODS: Amino acid ester prodrugs of FUdR were synthesized using established procedures. The kinetics of hydrolysis of prodrugs was evaluated in human adenocarcinoma cell line (Caco-2) homogenates and pH 7.4 phosphate buffer. RESULTS: 3'-Monoester, 5'-monoester, and 3',5'-diester prodrugs of FUdR utilizing proline, L-valine, D-valine, L-phenylalanine, and D-phenylalanine as promoieties were synthesized and characterized. In Caco-2 cell homogenates, the L-amino acid ester prodrugs hydrolyzed 10 to 75 times faster than the corresponding D-amino acid ester prodrugs. Pro and Phe ester prodrugs hydrolyzed much faster (3- to 30-fold) than the corresponding Val ester prodrugs. Further, the 5'-monoester prodrugs hydrolyzed significantly faster (3-fold) than the 3',5'-diester prodrugs. CONCLUSIONS: Novel amino acid ester prodrugs of FUdR were successfully synthesized. The results presented here clearly demonstrate that the rate of FUdR prodrug activation in Caco-2 cell homogenates is affected by the structure, stereochemistry, and site of esterification of the promoiety. Finally, the 5'-Val and 5'-Phe monoesters exhibited desirable characteristics such as good solution stability and relatively fast enzymatic conversion rates.