Fluorogenic Tissue-Based Assessment of Acid Ceramidase Activity

Acid ceramidase (aCDase) is a lysosomal amidase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of sphingolipids (SphL), including ceramides and glucosylceramides. Altered expressions of aCDase are associated with several pathological conditions, such as cancer, inflammation, pain, and pulmonary disorders. aCDase activity is reduced in Farber disease, spinal muscular atrophy with progressive myoclonic epilepsy, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Recent reports suggest that aCDase inhibition may be an emerging strategy for treating several SphL-related neurodegenerative conditions, such as Krabbe, Gaucher, and Parkinson's disease, due to its role in the accumulation of glycosphingolipids. Therefore, the development of a tissue-based aCDase activity assay has potential applications in clinical diagnostics and drug discovery, enabling the evaluation of the onset and progression of disease from biological samples of patients, drug-target engagement analysis, and identification of biomarkers. Here, we report a detailed protocol for detecting aCDase activity in tissue lysates, using Rbm14-12 as a specific fluorogenic substrate for aCDase. Assay protocol optimization, including a procedure for the preparation and storage of tissue lysates and the identification of optimal protein tissue lysate amounts and substrate concentrations based on kinetic enzymatic parameter analyses, is described. Key features • This protocol relies on the use of the Rbm14-12 fluorogenic substrate. • This protocol was developed out of a need to measure the target engagement of an aCDase-targeting therapeutic in a Parkinson's disease-related animal model. • This protocol can be broadly useful for sensitively measuring aCDase activity in central and peripheral organ tissues.