Lysophosphatidylserine analogues differentially activate three LysoPS receptors

Lysophosphatidylserine (1-oleoyl-2 R-lysophosphatidylserine, LysoPS) has been shown to have lipid mediator-like actions such as stimulation of mast cell degranulation and suppression of T lymphocyte proliferation, although the mechanisms of LysoPS actions have been elusive. Recently, three G protein-coupled receptors (LPS1/GPR34, LPS2/P2Y10 and LPS3/GPR174) were found to react specifically with LysoPS, raising the possibility that LysoPS serves as a lipid mediator that exerts its role through these receptors. Previously, we chemically synthesized a number of LysoPS analogues and evaluated them as agonists for mast-cell degranulation. Here, we used a transforming growth factor-α (TGFα) shedding assay to see if these LysoPS analogues activated the three LysoPS receptors. Modification of the serine moiety significantly reduced the ability of the analogues to activate the three LysoPS receptors, whereas modification of other parts resulted in loss of activity in receptor-specific manner. We found that introduction of methyl group to serine moiety (1-oleoyl-lysophosphatidylallothreonine) and removal of sn-2 hydroxyl group (1-oleoyl-2-deoxy-LysoPS) resulted in reduction of reactivity with LPS1 and LPS3, respectively. Accordingly, we synthesized a LysoPS analogue with the two modifications (1-oleoyl-2-deoxy-lysophosphatidylallothreonine) and found it to be an LPS2-selective agonist. These pharmacological tools will definitely help to identify the biological roles of these LysoPS receptors.