4-methylene-2-octyl-5-oxofuran-3-carboxylic-acid and Disease-Models--Animal

Abnormalities of lipid metabolism through overexpression of fatty acid synthase (FASN), which catalyzes the formation of long-chain fatty acids, are associated with the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). C75 is a synthetic α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone compound that inhibits FASN activity. We hypothesized that C75 treatment could effectively reduce the severity of experimental colitis. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed 4% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) for 7 d. C75 (5 mg/kg body weight) or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (vehicle) was administered intraperitoneally from d 2 to 6. Clinical parameters were monitored daily. Mice were euthanized on d 8 for histological evaluation and measurements of colon length, chemokine, cytokine and inflammatory mediator expression. C75 significantly reduced body weight loss from 23% to 15% on d 8, compared with the vehicle group. The fecal bleeding, diarrhea and colon histological damage scores in the C75-treated group were significantly lower than scores in the vehicle animals. Colon shortening was significantly improved after C75 treatment. C75 protected colon tissues from DSS-induced apoptosis by inhibiting caspase-3 activity. Macrophage inflammatory protein 2, keratinocyte-derived chemokine, myeloperoxidase activity and proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin [IL]-1β and IL-6) in the colon were significantly downregulated in the C75-treated group, compared with the vehicle group. Treatment with C75 in colitis mice inhibited the elevation of FASN, cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression as well as IκB degradation in colon tissues. C75 administration alleviates the severity of colon damage and inhibits the activation of inflammatory pathways in DSS-induced colitis. Thus, inhibition of FASN may represent an attractive therapeutic potential for treating IBD.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Animals; Chemokines; Colitis; Colon; Cyclooxygenase 2; Cytokines; Dextran Sulfate; Disease Models, Animal; Fatty Acid Synthases; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is an emerging target for anticancer therapy with a variety of new FAS inhibitors being explored in preclinical models. The aim of this study was to use positron emission tomography with [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) to monitor the effects of the FAS inhibitor C75 on tumor glucose metabolism in a rodent model of human A549 lung cancer.. After a baseline FDG-PET scan, C75 was administered and post-treatment scans were performed serially. FAS activity was measured in treated animals ex vivo by [(14)C]acetate incorporation in animals euthanized in parallel to those imaged.. Longitudinally measured metabolic volumes of interest and tumor/background ratios demonstrated a transient, reversible decrease in glucose metabolism and tumor metabolic volume after treatment, with the peak effect seen at 4 h. FDG-PET measurements correlated with changes in tumor FAS activity measured ex vivo.. Because C75 causes an effect that is shorter in duration than expected, modification of the current weekly dosing regimen should be considered. These results demonstrate the utility of small animal FDG-PET in assessing the pharmacodynamics of new anticancer agents in preclinical models.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Enzyme Inhibitors; Fatty Acid Synthases; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Lung Neoplasms; Positron-Emission Tomography; Rats

The restoration of energy balance during ischemia is critical to cellular survival; however, relatively little is known concerning the regulation of neuronal metabolic pathways in response to central nervous system ischemia. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a master sensor of energy balance in peripheral tissues, is phosphorylated and activated when energy balance is low. We investigated whether AMPK might also modulate neuronal energy homeostasis during ischemia. We utilized two model systems of ischemia, middle cerebral artery occlusion in vivo and oxygen-glucose deprivation in vitro, to delineate changes in AMPK activity incurred from a metabolic stress. AMPK is highly expressed in cortical and hippocampal neurons under both normal and ischemic conditions. AMPK activity, as assessed by phosphorylation status, is increased following both middle cerebral artery occlusion and oxygen-glucose deprivation. Pharmacological inhibition of AMPK by either C75, a known modulator of neuronal ATP levels, or compound C reduced stroke damage. In contrast, activation of AMPK by 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside exacerbated damage. Mice deficient in neuronal nitric-oxide synthase demonstrated a decrease in both stroke damage and AMPK activation compared with wild type, suggesting a possible interaction between NO and AMPK activation in stroke. These data demonstrate a role for AMPK in the response of neurons during metabolic stress and suggest that in ischemia the activation of AMPK is deleterious. The ability to manipulate pharmacologically neuronal energy balance during ischemia represents an innovative approach to neuroprotection.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Aminoimidazole Carboxamide; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; Animals; Brain Ischemia; Cerebral Cortex; Constriction; Disease Models, Animal; Energy Metabolism; Enzyme Activation; Enzyme Inhibitors; Fatty Acid Synthases; Glucose; Hippocampus; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Middle Cerebral Artery; Multienzyme Complexes; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neurons; Neuroprotective Agents; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; Oxygen; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Rats; Ribonucleotides; Stroke

Obesity and its attendant disorders, such as Type II diabetes, have reached epidemic proportions in the USA, and their prevalence is increasing globally. C75 is a small-molecule inhibitor of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and a stimulator of carnitine palmitoyl 1 activity, which causes profound weight loss in mice. Although C75 is not a compound that is destined for human drug development, it has provided two potential pathways to target in obesity therapy: fatty acid synthesis and fatty acid oxidation. In this article, we discuss the latest data challenging the relationship between fatty acid synthase inhibition and C75-induced anorexia.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; Animals; Anorexia; Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase; Disease Models, Animal; Eating; Energy Metabolism; Enzyme Inhibitors; Fatty Acid Synthases; Fatty Acids; Feeding Behavior; Hypothalamus; Mice; Multienzyme Complexes; Obesity; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Rats; Rhombencephalon

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Fatty Acid Synthases; Mice; Obesity

Many common human cancer tissues express high levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS), the primary enzyme for the synthesis of fatty acids, and the differential expression of FAS between normal and neoplastic tissues has led to the consideration of FAS as a target for anticancer therapy. To investigate the potential of targeting FAS for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma, we first determined whether FAS is overexpressed in human mesothelioma. By immunohistochemistry, we found 22 of 30 human mesothelioma tissue samples tested to express significantly increased levels of FAS compared with normal tissues, including mesothelium. To further explore FAS as a therapeutic target in mesothelioma, we established a nude mouse xenograft model for human mesothelioma using the H-Meso cell line. The i.p. xenografts of this cell line have high levels of FAS expression and fatty acid synthesis pathway activity and grow along mesothelial surfaces in a manner similar to the growth pattern of human mesothelioma. Growth of these tumor xenografts was essentially abolished in mice treated with weekly i.p. injections of C75, a synthetic, small molecule inhibitor of FAS, at levels that resulted in no significant systemic toxicity except for reversible weight loss. These results suggest that FAS may be an effective target for pharmacological therapy in a high proportion of human mesotheliomas.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Animals; Antifungal Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Cerulenin; Disease Models, Animal; Fatty Acid Synthases; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Mesothelioma; Mice; Mice, Nude; Neoplasm Transplantation; Neoplasms, Mesothelial; Paraffin Embedding; Prognosis; Tumor Cells, Cultured