Crystal structures of cyclophilin A complexed with cyclosporin A and N-methyl-4-[(E)-2-butenyl]-4,4-dimethylthreonine cyclosporin A

Cyclophilin A complexed with a fragment of HIV-1 gag protein: insights into HIV-1 infectious activity

BACKGROUND

Cyclophilin A (CyPA), a receptor of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A, catalyzes the cis-trans isomerization of peptidyl-prolyl bonds and is required for the infectious activity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The crystal structure of CyPA complexed with a fragment of the HIV-1 gag protein should provide insights into the nature of CyPA-gag interactions and may suggest a role for CyPA in HIV-1 infectious activity.

RESULTS

The crystal structure of CyPA complexed with a 25 amino acid peptide of HIV-1 gag capsid protein (25-mer) was determined and refined to an R factor of 0.195 at 1.8 A resolution. The sequence Ala88-Gly89-Pro90-Ile91 of the gag fragment is the major portion to bind to the active site of CyPA. Two residues of the 25-mer (Pro90-Ile91) bind to CyPA in a similar manner to two residues (Pro-Phe) of the CyPA substrate, succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide (AAPF). However, the N-terminus of the 25-mer (Ala88-Gly89) exhibits a different hydrogen-bonding pattern and molecular conformation than AAPF. The peptidyl-prolyl bond between Gly89 and Pro90 of the 25-mer has a trans conformation, in contrast to the cis conformation observed in other known CyPA-peptide complexes. The residue preceding proline, Gly89, has an unfavorable backbone conformation usually only adopted by glycine.

CONCLUSIONS

The unfavorable backbone conformation of Gly89 of the gag 25-mer fragment suggests that binding between HIV-1 gag protein and CyPA requires a special sequence, Gly-Pro. Thus, in HIV-1 infectivity, CyPA is likely to function as a chaperone, rather than as a cis-trans isomerase. However, the observation of similarities between the C termini of the 25-mer and the substrate AAPF means that the involvement of the cis-trans isomerase activity of CyPA cannot be completely ruled out.

Crystal structures of peptides and modified peptides

The X-ray diffraction experiments on peptides and related molecules which have been carried out in Western Europe, except Italy, in the last eight years are reviewed. The crystal structures of some bioactive peptides such as Leu-enkephalin (a neurotransmitter), cyclosporin A (an immunomodulator in both the free and protein-bound state), balhimycin (an antibiotic) and octreotide (a somatostatin analogue) are briefly presented. Crystallized N- and C-protected model peptides have given an insight into the folding tendency and folding modes depending on the peptide sequences. The crystal structures of various pseudopeptide molecules reveal how the three-dimensional structure of peptide analogues can be modulated by substituting non-peptide groups for the peptide bond. A few examples of structural mimetics of the beta- and gamma-turns, and of templates for alpha-helix induction are also presented.

Modeling conformational changes in cyclosporin A

NMR and X-ray structures for the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA) reveal a remarkable difference between the unbound (free) conformation in organic solvents and the conformation bound to cyclophilin. We have performed computer simulations of the molecular dynamics of CsA under a variety of conditions and confirmed the stability of these two conformations at room temperature in water and in vacuum. However, when the free conformation was modeled in vacuum at 600 K, a transition pathway leading to the bound conformation was observed. This involved a change in the cis MeLeu-9 peptide bond to a trans conformation and the movement of the side chains forming the dominant hydrophobic cluster (residues MeBmt-1, MeLeu-4, MeLeu-6, and MeLeu-10) to the opposite side of the plane formed by the backbone atoms in the molecular ring. The final conformation had a backbone RMS deviation from the bound conformation of 0.53 A and was as stable in dynamics simulations as the bound conformation. Our calculations allowed us to make a detailed analysis of a transition pathway between the free and the bound conformations of CsA and to identify two distinct regions of coordinated movement in CsA, both of which underwent transitions independently.

Mapping of cyclosporin A binding sites in cyclophilin A by using synthetic peptides

In order to map cyclosporin A (CsA) binding sites of cyclophilin (CyP), we synthesized the complete set of overlapping 157 octapeptides corresponding to human CyP A using the multi-pin peptide synthesis system. The pin-coupled synthetic octapeptides were examined in terms of binding ability to CsA by a modification of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Significant binding of CsA was detected with 35 synthetic N alpha-acetylated octapeptides possessing the N-terminal amino acids corresponding to the residues in positions 24-26, 42-44, 69-73, 75, 76, 89-91, 102, 116, 124-131, 144-151 and 152 in human CyP A, respectively. Other eight octapeptides showed moderate CsA binding activity. The distinct binding of octapeptides covering the C-terminal region of the CyP A was particularly significant. These data are to be compared with the information provided by X-ray and NMR studies on the CsA binding sites and furnish thus a test of the reported method. The present study also gave added insight into the CsA interaction sites of CyP.

Cyclophilin binding to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag polyprotein is mimicked by an anti-cyclosporine antibody

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 is unique among retroviruses in that infectivity requires specific incorporation into virions of the cellular protein cyclophilin A through interactions with the Gag polyprotein. Here we show that monoclonal antibody B11 1.4, which recognizes a cyclophilin-binding epitope on cyclosporine, detects denatured or native human immunodeficiency virus type 1 capsid. B11 1.4 does not recognize the capsids of other retroviruses, and binding is inhibited by cyclosporine or by cyclophilin A.

Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus replication by nonimmunosuppressive analogs of cyclosporin A

Analogs of the immunosuppressive cyclic undecapeptide cyclosporin A (CsA) with substitutions in positions 1, 4, 6, and/or 11 were rationally designed to possess substantially diminished or no immunosuppressive activity. When these compounds were assayed for their capacity to interfere with the replication of human immunodeficiency virus, some displayed a potent antiviral activity in newly infected cells. However, only CsA could interfere with virus replication in persistently infected cells. One CsA analog with antiviral activity costimulated the phytohemagglutinin-induced production of interleukin 2 by human lymphocytes. Human immunodeficiency virus particles from drug-exposed cells showed lower infectivity than virions from untreated cells. Thus, these nonimmunosuppressive analogs of CsA constitute a promising class of lead compounds to develop drugs for effective treatment of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Cyclophilin A and an antibody against cyclosporin A resemble each other in their binding sites

The three-dimensional structures of cyclosporin A complexed with cyclophilin A or Fab fragment of a monoclonal antibody were compared. In these two complexes conformations of the fragment D-alanine8-N-methylvaline11 in cyclosporin A were in a good agreement. In addition, cyclophilin A and the Fab fragment had related arrangements of the aromatic amino acids in their binding sites, implying that antibody independently utilizes similar structural themes for binding cyclosporin A as cyclophilin A.