Prolyl Endopeptidase Inhibitory Activity of 6-O-Palmitoyl L-Ascorbic Acid

Prolyl endopeptidase (PEP, EC 3.4.21.26, also referred to as prolyl oligopeptidase) degrades proline containing, biologically active neuropeptides such as vasopressin, substance P and thyrotropin-releasing hormone by cleaving peptide bonds on carboxyl side of prolyl residue within neuropeptides of less than 30 amino acids. Evaluation of PEP levels in postmortem brains of Alzheimer's disease patients revealed significant increases in PEP activity. Therefore, a specific PEP inhibitor can be a good candidate of drug against memory loss. Upon our examination for PEP inhibitory activity from micronutrients, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) showed small but significant PEP inhibition (13% PEP inhibition at $8{\mu}g{\cdot}ml^{-1}$). Palmitic acid showed almost no PEP inhibition. However, 6-O-palmitoyl ascorbic acid ($\underline{1}$) showed 70% PEP inhibition at $8{\mu}g{\cdot}ml^{-1}$ indicating that hydrophobic portion of the compound $\underline{1}$ may facilitate the inhibitory effect. $IC_{50}$ value of compound $\underline{1}$ was $12.6{\pm}0.2{\mu}M$. The primary and secondary Lineweaver Burk and Dixon plots for compound $\underline{1}$ indicated that it is a non-competitive inhibitor with inhibition constant (Ki) value of $23.7{\mu}M$.