Mechanisms of Action and Medicinal Applications of Abscisic Acid

Abstract

Since its discovery in the early 1960's, abscisic acid (ABA) has received considerable attention as an important phytohormone, and more recently, as a candidate medicinal in humans. In plants it has been shown to regulate important physiological processes such as response to drought stress, and dormancy. The discovery of ABA synthesis in animal cells has generated interest in the possible parallels between its role in plant and animal systems. The importance of this molecule has prompted the development of several methods for the chemical synthesis of ABA, which differ significantly from the biosynthesis of ABA in plants through the mevalonic acid pathway. ABA recognition in plants has been shown to occur at both the intra- and extracellularly but little is known about the perception of ABA by animal cells. A few ABA molecular targets have been identified in vitro (e.g., calcium signaling, G protein-coupled receptors) in both plant and animal systems. A unique finding in mammalian systems, however, is that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, PPAR gamma, is upregulated by ABA in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Comparison of the human PPAR gamma gene network with Arabidopsis ABA-related genes reveal important orthologs between these groups. Also, ABA can ameliorate the symptoms of type II diabetes, targeting PPAR gamma in a similar manner as the thiazolidinediones class of anti-diabetic drugs. The use of ABA in the treatment of type II diabetes, offers encouragement for further studies concerning the biomedical applications of ABA.

Abscisic Acid Regulates Inflammation via Ligand-binding Domain-independent Activation of Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor γ

“…ABA is a phytohormone that plays important roles in the plant life cycle (1). In addition to its effects in regulating plant response to stress, endogenous ABA activity has also been reported in fungi (47), marine sponges (48,49), and more recently human granulocytes (50), monocytes (44), and pancreatic ␤-cells (7), suggesting that endogenously generated ABA may play an important role in regulating immune and inflammatory processes.…”

“…Abscisic acid (ABA) 3 is an isoprenoid phytohormone discovered in the early 1960s that has received some recent attention due to its medicinal applications (1). Specifically, oral ABA administration has shown prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy in mouse models of diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and atherosclerosis (2)(3)(4)(5)(6).…”

The ABA-mediated switch between submersed and emersed life-styles in aquatic macrophytes

“…Moreover, the crosstalk of ABA with other developmental and cellular processes appears to be conserved in all terrestrial macrophytes from bryophytes to ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms (Takezawa et al 2011). An interesting notion is that ABA as a signaling molecule is a rather 'old invention', as it is not restricted to plants and can be found in all kingdoms of life (Bassaganya-Riera et al 2010;Cutler et al 2010;Fujita et al 2011;Hubbard et al 2010;Takezawa et al 2011). Although ancient origin implies the involvement in conserved signaling cascades, this could only be shown for principal processes throughout the green plant lineage (Cutler et al 2010;Fujita et al 2011;Takezawa et al 2011).…”

Abscisic Acid Receptors

“…It has been suggested that ABA is an endogenous proinflammatory cytokine in human granulocytes and can stimulate the secretion of insulin in pancreatic beta cells (Bruzzone et al, 2008). This finding, along with others that indicate that ABA can up-regulate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (Bassaganya-Riera et al, 2010), has put ABA on the map as a potential pharmacological treatment for human diabetes. In fact, ABA has structural similarities to conventional thiazolidinedione diabetes drugs, and dietary supplementation of ABA in mice was found to decrease fasting Glc concentrations (Guri et al, 2007).…”