1. Inhibition of acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) by means of a GABA A Rγ2-derived peptide.
- Author
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Anagnostopoulos G, Saavedra E, Lambertucci F, Motiño O, Dimitrov J, Roiz-Valle D, Quesada V, Alvarez-Valadez K, Chen H, Sauvat A, Rong Y, Nogueira-Recalde U, Li S, Montégut L, Djavaheri-Mergny M, Castedo M, Lopez-Otin C, Maiuri MC, Martins I, and Kroemer G
- Subjects
- Animals, Mice, Diazepam Binding Inhibitor pharmacology, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
- Abstract
Acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) encoded by diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) is an extracellular inhibitor of autophagy acting on the gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABA
A R) γ2 subunit (GABAA Rγ2). Here, we show that lipoanabolic diets cause an upregulation of GABAA Rγ2 protein in liver hepatocytes but not in other major organs. ACBP/DBI inhibition by systemically injected antibodies has been demonstrated to mediate anorexigenic and organ-protective, autophagy-dependent effects. Here, we set out to develop a new strategy for developing ACBP/DBI antagonists. For this, we built a molecular model of the interaction of ACBP/DBI with peptides derived from GABAA Rγ2. We then validated the interaction between recombinant and native ACBP/DBI protein and a GABAA Rγ2-derived eicosapeptide (but not its F77I mutant) by pull down experiments or surface plasmon resonance. The GABAA Rγ2-derived eicosapeptide inhibited the metabolic activation of hepatocytes by recombinant ACBP/DBI protein in vitro. Moreover, the GABAA Rγ2-derived eicosapeptide (but not its F77I-mutated control) blocked appetite stimulation by recombinant ACBP/DBI in vivo, induced autophagy in the liver, and protected mice against the hepatotoxin concanavalin A. We conclude that peptidomimetics disrupting the interaction between ACBP/DBI and GABAA Rγ2 might be used as ACBP/DBI antagonists. This strategy might lead to the future development of clinically relevant small molecules of the ACBP/DBI system., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
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