Screening of plant derived chalcones on the inhibition of potato apyrase: Potential protein biotechnological applications in health

NTPDases (EC 3.6.1.5) are enzymes belonging to a protein family which have as a common feature the ability to hydrolyze di- and triphosphate nucleotides (ADP and ATP) to monophosphate nucleosides (AMP) in the presence of Ca⁺² and Mg⁺. The potato apyrase has been the first protein of the NTPDase family to be purified. In mammals, these enzymes are involved in physiologic and sick processes as thromboregulation, inflammatory and immunologic responses. In this study, we investigated the in vitro potential of synthetic chalcones on the inhibition of potato apyrase purified from Solanum tuberosum. The protein was purified with high grade purity and its identity was confirmed by electrophoresis, western blot, and LC-MS/MS. Five out of the eight chemically synthetized chalcones analyzed in this study showed significant inhibition of the apyrase activity. The compound with the best rate of inhibition of ATP hydrolytic activity was able to promote 54% inhibition with a concentration of 3.125 μM. Ticlopidine, used as an inhibition drug control, was able to promote inhibitions around 50% of the activity (IC₅₀ = 2.167 μM). Our results with the potato apyrase inhibition with the synthetic chalcones suggest that these compounds may use as potential lead candidates for the treatment of some diseases associated with nucleotides.

Keywords: Chalcones; Enzyme inhibition; NTPDase; Solanum tuberosum.