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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Preparation and In Vivo Use of an Activity-based Probe for N-acylethanolamine Acid Amidase
Published on: November 23, 2016
Design of a Hyperpolarized Molecular Probe for Detection of Aminopeptidase N Activity
Ryunosuke Hata1, Hiroshi Nonaka2, Yoichi Takakusagi3
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Moto-oka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
Abstract:
Aminopeptidase N (APN) is an important enzyme that is involved in tumor angiogenesis. Detection of APN activity can thus lead to early diagnosis and elucidation of tumor development. Although some molecular probes for APN have been developed, the detection of APN activity in opaque biological samples remains a challenge. To this end, we designed a hyperpolarized NMR probe [1-(13) C]Ala-NH2 which satisfies the prerequisites for APN detection, namely, sufficient retention of the hyperpolarized state, a high reactivity to APN, and an APN-induced chemical shift change. The [1-(13) C]Ala-NH2 probe allowed sensitive detection of APN activity using (13) C NMR spectroscopy.
