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  • Tezacaftor is a direct inhi...
    Ciobanu, Dinu Zinovie; Liessi, Nara; Tomati, Valeria; Capurro, Valeria; Bertozzi, Sine Mandrup; Summa, Maria; Bertorelli, Rosalia; Loberto, Nicoletta; Dobi, Dorina; Aureli, Massimo; Nobbio, Lucilla; Bandiera, Tiziano; Pedemonte, Nicoletta; Bassi, Rosaria; Armirotti, Andrea

    Journal of cystic fibrosis, 2024-May-23
    Journal Article

    •Tezacaftor inhibits sphingolipid delta-4 desaturase (DEGS) in a concentration-dependent manner.•Irrespective of the genotype, treatment of human bronchial cells and hepatocytes with Tezacaftor results in accumulation of dihydroceramides.•A minor accumulation also occurs in-vivo, in mice brain, following five days oral treatment with the drug. We recently demonstrated that 48 h exposure of primary human bronchial epithelial (hBE) cells, obtained from both CF (F508del homozygous) and non-CF subjects, to the triple drug combination Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor (ETI) results in a CFTR genotype-independent modulation of the de novo synthethic pathway of sphingolipids, with an accumulation of dihydroceramides (dHCer). Since dHCer are converted into ceramides (Cer) by the action of a delta-4 sphingolipid desaturase (DEGS) enzyme, we aimed to better understand this off-target effect of ETI (i.e., not related to CFTR rescue) hBE cells, both F508del and wild-type, were cultured to create fully differentiated bronchial epithelia. We analyzed Cer and dHCer using an LC-MS based method previously developed by our lab. DEGS expression levels in differentiated hBE cells lysates were quantified by western blot analysis. We demonstrated that 1) dHCer accumulate in hBE with time following prolonged ETI exposure, that 2) similar inhibition occurs in wild-type primary human hepatocytes and that 3) this does not result in an alteration of DEGS expression. We then proved that 4) ETI is a direct inhibitor of DEGS, that 5) Tezacaftor is the molecule responsible for this effect, that 6) the inhibition is concentration dependent. Finally, after repeated oral administration of ETI to naïve, non-CF, mice, we observed a slight accumulation of dHCer in the brain. We believe that further investigations on Tezacaftor should be envisaged, particularly for the use of ETI during pregnancy, breastfeeding and in the early stages of development. DEGS dysfunction and dHCer accumulation causes impairment in the development of the nervous system, due to a derangement in myelin formation and maintenance.