The alteration of the expression level of neuropathy target esterase in human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells disrupts cellular phospholipids homeostasis

Neuropathy target esterase (NTE) has been proven to act as a lysophospholipase (LysoPLA) and phospholipase B (PLB) in mammalian cells. In this study, we took human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells as the research object and explored the effect of NTE on phospholipid homeostasis. The results showed that phosphatidylcholine (PC) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) levels significantly increased (> 40%), while glycerophosphocholine (GPC) decreased (below 60%) after NTE gene was knockdown in the cells (NTE < 30% of control), which were prepared by gene silencing with dsRNA-NTE. However, in the NTE-overexpressed cells (NTE > 50% of control), which were prepared by expressing recombinant catalytic domain of NTE, LPC remarkably decreased (below 80%) and GPC enhanced (> 40%). Mipafox, a neuropathic organophosphorus compound (OP), significantly inhibited NTE-LysoPLA and NTE-PLB activities (> 95–99% inhibition at 50 μM), which was accompanied with a decreased GPC level (below 40%) although no change of the PC and LPC levels was observed; while paraoxon, a non-neuropathic OP, suppresses neither the activities of NTE-phospholipases nor the levels of PC, LPC, and GPC. Thus, we concluded that both the stable up- or down-regulated expression of NTE gene and the loss of NTE-LysoPLA/PLB activities disrupts phospholipid homeostasis in the cells although the inhibition of NTE activity only decreased GPC content without altering PC and LPC levels.