Development of Bifunctional Lysophosphatidic Acid & Lysophosphatidylcholine Activity Probes to Characterize Their Specific Binding Protein Receptors

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) activity has been found to be dysregulated in cancer cells and therefore is a crucial target for research. Only a few LPA receptors have been identified to date, namely LPA 1, LPA 2, LPA 3, LPA 4 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR). In order to identify receptors, we are designing and synthesizing bifunctional LPA and LPC activity probes to characterize their protein targets using activity based protein profiling (ABPP) among other proteomic technologies. By synthesizing bifunctional signaling probes that can mimic the naturally occurring LPA and LPC molecules and selectively capture receptors by virtue of their binding properties, we can identify and study the different proteins that are aberrantly expressed in various pathophysiological states such as cancer.