Inhibition of pancreatic lipase in vitro by the covalent inhibitor tetrahydrolipstatin.

Tetrahydrolipstatin inhibits pancreatic lipase from several species, including man, with comparable potency. The lipase is progressively inactivated through the formation of a long-lived covalent intermediate, probably with a 1:1 stoichiometry. The lipase substrate triolein and also a boronic acid derivative, which is presumed to be a transition-state-form inhibitor, retard the rate of inactivation. Therefore, in all probability, tetrahydrolipstatin reacts with pancreatic lipase at, or near, the substrate binding or active site. Tetrahydrolipstatin is a selective inhibitor of lipase; other hydrolases tested were at least a thousand times less potently inhibited.