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Wang H, Wang X, Li J, Li Q, Feng S, Lu L, Wang C, Jiang S. Design of artificial α-helical peptides targeting both gp41 deep pocket and subpocket as potent HIV-1 fusion inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 236:114336. [PMID: 35395438 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Both the deep pocket region and its neighboring subpocket site on the N-trimer of HIV-1 gp41 protein can serve as targets for the development of HIV-1 entry inhibitors. Pocket-binding domain (PBD)-containing peptides with the potential to inhibit HIV-1 fusion through targeting the deep pocket have been extensively exploited. However, using an artificial peptide strategy, we herein report the design of α-helical lipopeptides with non-native protein sequences as HIV-1 fusion inhibitors that can occupy both gp41 deep cavity and subpocket sites. The most active compound, PP24C, inhibited HIV-1 replication, including T20-resistant HIV-1 mutants, at low nanomolar level. Biophysical approaches revealed that both the artificial α-helical peptide P35A4 and its cholesterol-tagged peptide PP24C could bind to T21 peptide used as a target surrogate comprising both pockets. Our study offers a new template for the design of artificial anti-HIV-1 therapeutics and highlights the novel concept of peptide secondary structure-based virus fusion inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Xinling Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, 131 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jiahui Li
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design and Discovery of the Ministry of Education, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Qing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Siliang Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Lu Lu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, 131 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Chao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing, 100850, China.
| | - Shibo Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, 131 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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2
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Wang C, Xia S, Wang X, Li Y, Wang H, Xiang R, Jiang Q, Lan Q, Liang R, Li Q, Huo S, Lu L, Wang Q, Yu F, Liu K, Jiang S. Supercoiling Structure-Based Design of a Trimeric Coiled-Coil Peptide with High Potency against HIV-1 and Human β-Coronavirus Infection. J Med Chem 2022; 65:2809-2819. [PMID: 33929200 PMCID: PMC8117781 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Hexameric structure formation through packing of three C-terminal helices and an N-terminal trimeric coiled-coil core has been proposed as a general mechanism of class I enveloped virus entry. In this process, the C-terminal helical repeat (HR2) region of viral membrane fusion proteins becomes transiently exposed and accessible to N-terminal helical repeat (HR1) trimer-based fusion inhibitors. Herein, we describe a mimetic of the HIV-1 gp41 HR1 trimer, N3G, as a promising therapeutic against HIV-1 infection. Surprisingly, we found that in addition to protection against HIV-1 infection, N3G was also highly effective in inhibiting infection of human β-coronaviruses, including MERS-CoV, HCoV-OC43, and SARS-CoV-2, possibly by binding the HR2 region in the spike protein of β-coronaviruses to block their hexameric structure formation. These studies demonstrate the potential utility of anti-HIV-1 HR1 peptides in inhibiting human β-coronavirus infection. Moreover, this strategy could be extended to the design of broad-spectrum antivirals based on the supercoiling structure of peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical
Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing 100850,
China
| | - Shuai Xia
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology
(MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical
Center, Fudan University, 130 Dong An Road, Shanghai 200032,
China
| | - Xinling Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology
(MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical
Center, Fudan University, 130 Dong An Road, Shanghai 200032,
China
| | - Yue Li
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical
Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing 100850,
China
| | - Huan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical
Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing 100850,
China
| | - Rong Xiang
- Hebei Center for Wildlife Health, College of Life
Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001,
China
| | - Qinwen Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design &
Discovery of the Ministry of Education, Shenyang Pharmaceutical
University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Qiaoshuai Lan
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology
(MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical
Center, Fudan University, 130 Dong An Road, Shanghai 200032,
China
| | - Ruiying Liang
- Hebei Center for Wildlife Health, College of Life
Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001,
China
| | - Qing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical
Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing 100850,
China
| | - Shanshan Huo
- Hebei Center for Wildlife Health, College of Life
Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001,
China
| | - Lu Lu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology
(MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical
Center, Fudan University, 130 Dong An Road, Shanghai 200032,
China
| | - Qian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology
(MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical
Center, Fudan University, 130 Dong An Road, Shanghai 200032,
China
| | - Fei Yu
- Hebei Center for Wildlife Health, College of Life
Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001,
China
| | - Keliang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical
Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, 27 Tai-Ping Road, Beijing 100850,
China
| | - Shibo Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology
(MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences & Shanghai Public Health Clinical
Center, Fudan University, 130 Dong An Road, Shanghai 200032,
China
- Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute,
New York Blood Center, New York, New York 10065,
United States
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Wang C, Xia S, Zhang P, Zhang T, Wang W, Tian Y, Meng G, Jiang S, Liu K. Discovery of Hydrocarbon-Stapled Short α-Helical Peptides as Promising Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Fusion Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2018; 61:2018-2026. [PMID: 29442512 PMCID: PMC7075646 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b01732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The hexameric α-helical coiled-coil formed between the C-terminal and N-terminal heptad repeat (CHR and NHR) regions of class I viral fusion proteins plays an important role in mediating the fusion of the viral and cellular membranes and provides a clear starting point for molecular mimicry that drives viral fusion inhibitor design. Unfortunately, such peptide mimicry of the short α-helical region in the CHR of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) spike protein has been thwarted by the loss of the peptide's native α-helical conformation when taken out of the parent protein structure. Here, we describe that appropriate all-hydrocarbon stapling of the short helical portion-based peptide to reinforce its bioactive secondary structure remarkably improves antiviral potency. The resultant stapled peptide P21S10 could effectively inhibit infection by MERS-CoV pseudovirus and its spike protein-mediated cell-cell fusion; additionally, P21S10 exhibits improved pharmacokinetic properties than HR2P-M2, suggesting strong potential for development as an anti-MERS-CoV therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures , Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology , 27 Tai-Ping Road , Beijing 100850 , China
| | - Shuai Xia
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/MOH, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center , Fudan University , 130 Dong An Road , Shanghai 200032 , China
| | - Peiyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design and Discovery of the Ministry of Education , Shenyang Pharmaceutical University , Shenyang 110016 , China
| | - Tianhong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures , Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology , 27 Tai-Ping Road , Beijing 100850 , China
| | - Weicong Wang
- Pharmaceutical Preparation Section, Plastic Surgery Hospital , Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College , Beijing 100144 , China
| | - Yangli Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures , Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology , 27 Tai-Ping Road , Beijing 100850 , China
| | - Guangpeng Meng
- Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design and Discovery of the Ministry of Education , Shenyang Pharmaceutical University , Shenyang 110016 , China
| | - Shibo Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/MOH, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center , Fudan University , 130 Dong An Road , Shanghai 200032 , China.,Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute , New York Blood Center , New York , New York 10065 , United States
| | - Keliang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures , Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology , 27 Tai-Ping Road , Beijing 100850 , China.,Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design and Discovery of the Ministry of Education , Shenyang Pharmaceutical University , Shenyang 110016 , China
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Heptad repeat-derived peptides block protease-mediated direct entry from the cell surface of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus but not entry via the endosomal pathway. J Virol 2007; 82:588-92. [PMID: 17942557 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01697-07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The peptides derived from the heptad repeat (HRP) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SCoV) spike protein (sHRPs) are known to inhibit SCoV infection, yet their efficacies are fairly low. Recently our research showed that some proteases facilitated SCoV's direct entry from the cell surface, resulting in a more efficient infection than the previously known infection via endosomal entry. To compare the inhibitory effect of the sHRP in each pathway, we selected two sHRPs, which showed a strong inhibitory effect on the interaction of two heptad repeats in a rapid and virus-free in vitro assay system. We found that they efficiently inhibited SCoV infection of the protease-mediated cell surface pathway but had little effect on the endosomal pathway. This finding suggests that sHRPs may effectively prevent infection in the lungs, where SCoV infection could be enhanced by proteases produced in this organ. This is the first observation that HRP exhibits different effects on virus that takes the endosomal pathway and virus that enters directly from the cell surface.
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Sha Y, Wu Y, Cao Z, Xu X, Wu W, Jiang D, Mao X, Liu H, Zhu Y, Gong R, Li W. A convenient cell fusion assay for the study of SARS-CoV entry and inhibition. IUBMB Life 2006; 58:480-6. [PMID: 16916786 PMCID: PMC7165495 DOI: 10.1080/15216540600820974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV spike (S) protein-mediated cell fusion is important for the viral entry mechanism and identification of SARS-CoV entry inhibitors. In order to avoid the high risks involved in handling SARS-CoV and to facilitate the study of viral fusion mechanism, we established the cell lines: SR-COS7 cells that stably express both SARS-CoV S protein and red fluorescence protein, R-COS7 cells that stably express red fluorescence protein, and AG-COS7 cells that stably express both ACE2 and green fluorescence protein, respectively. When SR-COS7 cells or R-COS7 cells were cocultured with AG-COS7 cells, syncytia with yellow fluorescence were conveniently observed after 12 h in SR-COS7 cells plus AG-COS7 cells, but not in R-COS7 cells plus AG-COS7 cells. The cell-to-cell fusion efficiency was simply determined for quantitative analysis based on the number of syncytium detected by flow cytometry. Such new cell-to-cell fusion model was further assessed by the potent HR2 peptide inhibitor, which led to the obvious decrease of the cell-to-cell fusion efficiency. The successful fusion and inhibition of cell-based binding assay shows that it can be well used for the study of SARS-CoV entry and inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- YongGang Sha
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, PR China
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Tripet B, Kao DJ, Jeffers SA, Holmes KV, Hodges RS. Template-based coiled-coil antigens elicit neutralizing antibodies to the SARS-coronavirus. J Struct Biol 2006; 155:176-94. [PMID: 16697221 PMCID: PMC7129695 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2006.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2006] [Accepted: 03/09/2006] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Spike (S) glycoprotein of coronaviruses (CoV) mediates viral entry into host cells. It contains two hydrophobic heptad repeat (HR) regions, denoted HRN and HRC, which oligomerize the S glycoprotein into a trimer in the native state and when activated collapse into a six-helix bundle structure driving fusion of the host and viral membranes. Previous studies have shown that peptides of the HR regions can inhibit viral infectivity. These studies imply that the HR regions are accessible and that agents which can interact with them may prevent viral entry. In the present study, we have investigated an approach to generate antibodies that specifically recognize the HRN and HRC regions of the SARS-CoV spike (S) glycoprotein in order to evaluate whether these antibodies can inhibit viral infectivity and thus neutralize the SARS-CoV. In this regard, we incorporated HRN and HRC coiled-coil surface residues into a de novo designed two-stranded α-helical coiled-coil template for generating conformation-specific antibodies that recognize α-helices in proteins (Lu, S.M., Hodges, R.S., 2002. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 23515–23524). Eighteen surface residues from two regions of HRN and HRC were incorporated into the template and used to generate four anti-sera, HRN1, HRN2, HRC1, and HRC2. Our results show that all of the elicited anti-sera can specifically recognize HRN or HRC peptides and the native SARS-CoV S protein in an ELISA format. Flow cytometry (FACS) analysis, however, showed only HRC1 and HRC2 anti-sera could bind to native S protein expressed on the cell surface of Chinese hamster ovary cells, i.e., the cell surface structure of the S glycoprotein precluded the ability of the HRN1 or HRN2 anti-sera to see their respective epitope sites. In in vitro viral infectivity assays, no inhibition was observed for either HRN1 or HRN2 anti-serum, whereas both HRC1 and HRC2 anti-sera could inhibit SARS-CoV infection in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, the HRC1 anti-serum, which was a more effective inhibitor of viral infectivity compared to HRC2 anti-serum, could only bind the pre-fusogenic state of HRC, i.e., the HRC1 anti-serum did not recognize the six-helix bundle conformation (fusion state) whereas HRC2 anti-serum did. These results suggest that antibodies that are more specific for the pre-fusogenic state of HRC may be better neutralizing antibodies. Overall, these results clearly demonstrate that the two-stranded coiled-coil template acts as an excellent presentation system for eliciting helix-specific antibodies against highly conserved viral antigens and HRC1 and HRC2 peptides may represent potential candidates for use in a peptide vaccine against the SARS-CoV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Tripet
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Daniel J. Kao
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Scott A. Jeffers
- Department of Microbiology, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Kathryn V. Holmes
- Department of Microbiology, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Robert S. Hodges
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- Corresponding author. Fax: +1 303 724 3249.
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Chan WE, Chuang CK, Yeh SH, Chang MS, Chen SSL. Functional characterization of heptad repeat 1 and 2 mutants of the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. J Virol 2006; 80:3225-37. [PMID: 16537590 PMCID: PMC1440416 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.80.7.3225-3237.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
To understand the roles of heptad repeat 1(HR1) and HR2 of the spike (S) protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in virus-cell interactions, the conserved Leu or Ile residues located at positions 913, 927, 941, and 955 in HR1 and 1151, 1165, and 1179 in HR2 were individually replaced with an alpha-helix-breaker Pro residue. The 913P mutant was expressed mainly as a faster-migrating, lower-molecular-weight S(L) form, while the wild type and all other mutants produced similar levels of both the S(L) form and the slower-migrating, higher-molecular-weight S(H) form. The wild-type S(L) form was processed to the S(H) form, whereas the S(L) form of the 913P mutant was inefficiently converted to the S(H) form after biosynthesis. None of these mutations affected cell surface expression or binding to its cognate ACE2 receptor. In a human immunodeficiency virus type 1/SARS S coexpression study, all mutants except the 913P mutant incorporated the S(H) form into the virions as effectively as did the wild-type S(H) form. The mutation at Ile-1151 did not affect membrane fusion or viral entry. The impaired viral entry of the 927P, 941P, 955P, and 1165P mutants was due to their inability to mediate membrane fusion, whereas the defect in viral entry of the 1179P mutant occurred not at the stage of membrane fusion but rather at a postfusion stage. Our study demonstrates the functional importance of HR1 and HR2 of the SARS-CoV spike protein in membrane fusion and viral entry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woan-Eng Chan
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, Republic of China
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Follis KE, York J, Nunberg JH. Furin cleavage of the SARS coronavirus spike glycoprotein enhances cell-cell fusion but does not affect virion entry. Virology 2006; 350:358-69. [PMID: 16519916 PMCID: PMC7111780 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2006.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2005] [Revised: 01/27/2006] [Accepted: 02/03/2006] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The fusogenic potential of Class I viral envelope glycoproteins is activated by proteloytic cleavage of the precursor glycoprotein to generate the mature receptor-binding and transmembrane fusion subunits. Although the coronavirus (CoV) S glycoproteins share membership in this class of envelope glycoproteins, cleavage to generate the respective S1 and S2 subunits appears absent in a subset of CoV species, including that responsible for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). To determine whether proteolytic cleavage of the S glycoprotein might be important for the newly emerged SARS-CoV, we introduced a furin recognition site at single basic residues within the putative S1–S2 junctional region. We show that furin cleavage at the modified R667 position generates discrete S1 and S2 subunits and potentiates membrane fusion activity. This effect on the cell–cell fusion activity by the S glycoprotein is not, however, reflected in the infectivity of pseudotyped lentiviruses bearing the cleaved glycoprotein. The lack of effect of furin cleavage on virion infectivity mirrors that observed in the normally cleaved S glycoprotein of the murine coronavirus and highlights an additional level of complexity in coronavirus entry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn E Follis
- Montana Biotechnology Center, Science Complex Room 221, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
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