Assay and Inhibition of the Purified Catalytic Domain of Diacylglycerol Lipase Beta.

The diacylglycerol lipases (DAGLα and DAGLβ) hydrolyze DAG to generate 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), the principal endocannabinoid and main precursor of arachidonic acid (AA). The DAGLs make distinct tissue specific contributions toward 2-AG and AA levels, and therefore, selective modulators for these enzymes could play crucial roles toward harnessing their therapeutic potential. Relatively high-throughput assays have recently been reported for DAGLα and have proven useful toward the characterization of inhibitors of this enzyme. Similar assays are also warranted for DAGLβ which was the aim of this study. We first adapted previously reported DAGLα membrane assays (using PNPB and DiFMUO as substrates) to measure recombinant DAGLβ activity in membranes. In contrast to results with DAGLα, both substrates provided a relatively limited signal window for measuring DAGLβ activity, however, an improved window was obtained when employing a third commercially available substrate, EnzChek. In order to further improve on the assay parameters, we successfully purified the glutathione S-transferase (GST) tagged catalytic domain of DAGLβ. Activity of the enzyme was confirmed using EnzChek as well as two DAGL inhibitors (THL and OMDM-188). The purified DAGLβ catalytic domain assay described here provides the basis for a relatively clean and convenient assay with the potential to be adapted for high-throughput drug discovery efforts.

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