Identification and characterization of a selective radioligand for ELOVL6

ELOVL6, a member of the elongation of very long-chain fatty acids (ELOVL) family, has recently been identified as the rate-limiting enzyme for the elongation of palmitoyl-CoA. ELOVL6 deficient mice are protected from high-fat diet induced insulin resistance, suggesting that ELOVL6 might be a promising target for the treatment of metabolic disorders. Despite the increasing interest in Elovl6 as a therapeutic target, the lack of chemical tools for this enzyme has limited further elucidation of the biochemical and pharmacological properties of ELOVL6. We have identified Compound-A, a potent inhibitor for ELOVL6, by screening our company library and subsequently optimizing hit compounds. Compound-A potently inhibited human and mouse ELOVL6 and displayed >100-fold greater selectivity for ELOVL6 over other ELOVL family members. Consistent with its potent and selective inhibitory activity toward ELOVL6, [(3)H]Compound-A bound to ELOVL6 with high affinity while showing no specific binding to other ELOVL enzymes. The observation that [(3)H]Compound-A bound to ELOVL6 in a palmitoyl-CoA-dependent manner in the absence of malonyl-CoA and NADPH suggests that Compound-A might recognize an enzyme-substrate complex, e.g. an acyl-enzyme intermediate. Collectively, these observations demonstrate that Compound-A and its tritiated form are useful tools for biochemical and pharmacological characterization of ELOVL6.