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NAPE-PLD: the healthy intersection of N-acylethanolamines and bile acids in physiology and diseases
Gianpiero Garau1, Lucia Chico2, Maico Polzella2
1Laboratori ALIVEDA, Viale Karol Wojtyla 19, Crespina Lorenzana, Pisa, 56042, Italy. gianpierogarau@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Linking the distinctive structural and functional properties of lipids belonging to different signaling classes is a frontier of physiology. The present minireview focuses on the endocannabinoidome phospholipase NAPE-PLD, which has bile acids (BAs) as structural cofactors at membrane interface and generates bioactive N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) that promote pleiotropic effects. NAPE-PLD is thus at the crossroads of both their physiological functions, an area of ongoing research. The wide internal channel of NAPE-PLD facilitates the transmembrane transport of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) and can support the activity of PLP-dependent enzymes in mitochondria, peroxisome and other subcellular compartments. Recent insights demonstrate that drugs and agents that stabilize NAPE-PLD can control blood pressure, vascular resistance and cardiovascular morbidity in clinics, offering new perspectives on the interaction between NAEs and BAs in cardiometabolic and neurological disorders.
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