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Cheng L, De Leon-Rodriguez LM, Gilbert EP, Loo T, Petters L, Yang Z. Self-assembly and hydrogelation of a potential bioactive peptide derived from quinoa proteins. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 259:129296. [PMID: 38199549 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.129296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
In this work the identification of peptides derived from quinoa proteins which could potentially self-assemble, and form hydrogels was carried out with TANGO, a statistical mechanical based algorithm that predicts β-aggregate propensity of peptides. Peptides with the highest aggregate propensity were subjected to gelling screening experiments from which the most promising bioactive peptide with sequence KIVLDSDDPLFGGF was selected. The self-assembling and hydrogelation properties of the C-terminal amidated peptide (KIVLDSDDPLFGGF-NH2) were studied. The effect of concentration, pH, and temperature on the secondary structure of the peptide were probed by circular dichroism (CD), while its nanostructure was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Results revealed the existence of random coil, α-helix, twisted β-sheet, and well-defined β-sheet secondary structures, with a range of nanostructures including elongated fibrils and bundles, whose proportion was dependant on the peptide concentration, pH, or temperature. The self-assembly of the peptide is demonstrated to follow established models of amyloid formation, which describe the unfolded peptide transiting from an α-helix-containing intermediate into β-sheet-rich protofibrils. The self-assembly is promoted at high concentrations, elevated temperatures, and pH values close to the peptide isoelectric point, and presumably mediated by hydrogen bond, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, and π-π interactions (from the F residue). At 15 mg/mL and pH 3.5, the peptide self-assembled and formed a self-supporting hydrogel exhibiting viscoelastic behaviour with G' (1 Hz) ~2300 Pa as determined by oscillatory rheology measurements. The study describes a straightforward method to monitor the self-assembly of plant protein derived peptides; further studies are needed to demonstrate the potential application of the formed hydrogels in food and biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lirong Cheng
- Riddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
| | | | - Elliot Paul Gilbert
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001, Kirrawee, NSW, Australia; Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Trevor Loo
- BioProtection Aotearoa, School of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
| | - Ludwig Petters
- School of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
| | - Zhi Yang
- School of Food and Advanced Technology, Massey University, Auckland 0632, New Zealand.
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Xia Y, Fu S, Ma Q, Liu Y, Zhang N. Application of Nano-Delivery Systems in Lymph Nodes for Tumor Immunotherapy. NANO-MICRO LETTERS 2023; 15:145. [PMID: 37269391 PMCID: PMC10239433 DOI: 10.1007/s40820-023-01125-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy has become a promising research "hotspot" in cancer treatment. "Soldier" immune cells are not uniform throughout the body; they accumulate mostly in the immune organs such as the spleen and lymph nodes (LNs), etc. The unique structure of LNs provides the microenvironment suitable for the survival, activation, and proliferation of multiple types of immune cells. LNs play an important role in both the initiation of adaptive immunity and the generation of durable anti-tumor responses. Antigens taken up by antigen-presenting cells in peripheral tissues need to migrate with lymphatic fluid to LNs to activate the lymphocytes therein. Meanwhile, the accumulation and retaining of many immune functional compounds in LNs enhance their efficacy significantly. Therefore, LNs have become a key target for tumor immunotherapy. Unfortunately, the nonspecific distribution of the immune drugs in vivo greatly limits the activation and proliferation of immune cells, which leads to unsatisfactory anti-tumor effects. The efficient nano-delivery system to LNs is an effective strategy to maximize the efficacy of immune drugs. Nano-delivery systems have shown beneficial in improving biodistribution and enhancing accumulation in lymphoid tissues, exhibiting powerful and promising prospects for achieving effective delivery to LNs. Herein, the physiological structure and the delivery barriers of LNs were summarized and the factors affecting LNs accumulation were discussed thoroughly. Moreover, developments in nano-delivery systems were reviewed and the transformation prospects of LNs targeting nanocarriers were summarized and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiming Xia
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), NMPA Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Shunli Fu
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), NMPA Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingping Ma
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), NMPA Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongjun Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), NMPA Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
| | - Na Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), NMPA Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
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Ligorio C, Mata A. Synthetic extracellular matrices with function-encoding peptides. NATURE REVIEWS BIOENGINEERING 2023; 1:1-19. [PMID: 37359773 PMCID: PMC10127181 DOI: 10.1038/s44222-023-00055-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
The communication of cells with their surroundings is mostly encoded in the epitopes of structural and signalling proteins present in the extracellular matrix (ECM). These peptide epitopes can be incorporated in biomaterials to serve as function-encoding molecules to modulate cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions. In this Review, we discuss natural and synthetic peptide epitopes as molecular tools to bioengineer bioactive hydrogel materials. We present a library of functional peptide sequences that selectively communicate with cells and the ECM to coordinate biological processes, including epitopes that directly signal to cells, that bind ECM components that subsequently signal to cells, and that regulate ECM turnover. We highlight how these epitopes can be incorporated in different biomaterials as individual or multiple signals, working synergistically or additively. This molecular toolbox can be applied in the design of biomaterials aimed at regulating or controlling cellular and tissue function, repair and regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosimo Ligorio
- Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Alvaro Mata
- Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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Spectroscopic Characterization of the Binding and Release of Hydrophilic, Hydrophobic and Amphiphilic Molecules from Ovalbumin Supramolecular Hydrogels. Gels 2022; 9:gels9010014. [PMID: 36661784 PMCID: PMC9857392 DOI: 10.3390/gels9010014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein-based hydrogels have attracted growing attention for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Ovalbumin (OVA), the hen egg white albumin, possessing good foaming and gelling properties and being widely used in the food industry, has recently been indicated as a potential pharmaceutical vehicle. In this study, the binding and release properties of pure OVA hydrogels were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin labeling. The comparative analysis between OVA and serum albumin (SA) hydrogels revealed the same release kinetics of hydrophilic 3-carbamoyl-proxyl and 3-carboxy-proxyl, suggesting the diffusion-dominated release of small probes from both hydrogel types. The results obtained with the amphiphilic 16-doxylstearate (16-DS) indicate that OVA, unlike SAs, does not possess a specific fatty acid binding site. However, the OVA hydrogels were able to accommodate a two-fold excess of 16-DS, resulting from protein thermally induced conformational changes, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Similarly, the hydrophobic modified paullone ligand HL, which was initially free in the OVA solution, was bound in the hydrogel. The hydrogels were found to retain a significant amount of 16-DS and HL after 7-day dialysis in physiological saline. The observed facilitated binding of amphiphilic/hydrophobic molecules in OVA hydrogels compared to the solution, and their sustained release, demonstrate the applicability of OVA hydrogels in pharmaceutics.
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Self-assembly and Hydrogelation Properties of Peptides Derived from Peptic Cleavage of Aggregation-prone Regions of Ovalbumin. Gels 2022; 8:gels8100641. [PMID: 36286142 PMCID: PMC9601990 DOI: 10.3390/gels8100641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Egg white protein hydrolysate generated with pepsin was investigated for the presence of peptides with self-assembly and hydrogelation properties. Incubation of the hydrolysates for 16 h resulted in aggregates with significantly (p < 0.05) lower free amino nitrogen and sulfhydryl contents, and higher particle diameter and surface hydrophobicity compared to the hydrolysates. LC-MS/MS analysis of the aggregates resulted in identification of 429 ovalbumin-derived peptides, among which the top-six aggregation-prone peptides IFYCPIAIM, NIFYCPIAIM, VLVNAIVFKGL, YCPIAIMSA, MMYQIGLF, and VYSFSLASRL were predicted using AGGRESCAN by analysis of the aggregation “Hot Spots”. NIFYCPIAIM had the highest thioflavin T fluorescence intensity, particle diameter (5611.3 nm), and polydispersity index (1.0) after 24 h, suggesting the formation of β-sheet structures with heterogeneous particle size distribution. Transmission electron microscopy of MMYQIGLF, and VYSFSLASRL demonstrated the most favorable peptide self-assembly, based on the formation of densely packed, intertwined fibrils. Rheological studies confirmed the viscoelastic and mechanical properties of the hydrogels, with IFYCPIAIM, NIFYCPIAIM, VLVNAIVFKGL, and VYSFSLASRL forming elastic solid hydrogels (tan δ < 1), while YCPIAIMSA and MMYQIGLF formed viscous liquid-like hydrogels (tan δ > 1). The results provide valuable insight into the influence of peptide sequence on hydrogelation and self-assembly progression, and prospects of food peptides in biomaterial applications.
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Housmans JAJ, Houben B, Monge-Morera M, Asvestas D, Nguyen HH, Tsaka G, Louros N, Carpentier S, Delcour JA, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J. Investigating the Sequence Determinants of the Curling of Amyloid Fibrils Using Ovalbumin as a Case Study. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:3779-3797. [PMID: 36027608 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Highly ordered, straight amyloid fibrils readily lend themselves to structure determination techniques and have therefore been extensively characterized. However, the less ordered curly fibrils remain relatively understudied, and the structural organization underlying their specific characteristics remains poorly understood. We found that the exemplary curly fibril-forming protein ovalbumin contains multiple aggregation prone regions (APRs) that form straight fibrils when isolated as peptides or when excised from the full-length protein through hydrolysis. In the context of the intact full-length protein, however, the regions separating the APRs facilitate curly fibril formation. In fact, a meta-analysis of previously reported curly fibril-forming proteins shows that their inter-APRs are significantly longer and more hydrophobic when compared to straight fibril-forming proteins, suggesting that they may cause strain in the amyloid state. Hence, inter-APRs driving curly fibril formation may not only apply to our model protein but rather constitute a more general mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joëlle A J Housmans
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bert Houben
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Margarita Monge-Morera
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Biochemistry and Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Diego Asvestas
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hung Huy Nguyen
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Grigoria Tsaka
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nikolaos Louros
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sebastien Carpentier
- Facility for Systems Biology Based Mass Spectrometry, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan A Delcour
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Biochemistry and Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frederic Rousseau
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joost Schymkowitz
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Kakwere H, Harriman R, Pirir M, Avila C, Chan K, Lewis J. Engineering immunomodulatory nanoplatforms from commensal bacteria-derived polysaccharide A. J Mater Chem B 2022; 10:1210-1225. [DOI: 10.1039/d1tb02590b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Capsular zwitterionic polysaccharides (CZPs), typically found on the surfaces of commensal gut bacteria, are important immunomodulatory molecules due to their ability to produce a T-cell dependent immune response upon processing...
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Belwal VK, Chaudhary N. Amyloids and their untapped potential as hydrogelators. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:10013-10028. [PMID: 33146652 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01578d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils are cross-β-sheet-rich fibrous aggregates. They were originally identified as disease-associated protein/peptide deposits. The cross-β motif was consequently labelled as an alien and pathogenic fold. Subsequent research revealed that the fibrillar aggregates were benign, and the cytotoxicity in the amyloid diseases was attributed to the pre-fibrillar structures. Research in the past two decades has identified the native functional amyloids in organisms ranging from bacteria to human. The amyloid-like fibrils, therefore, are not necessarily pathogenic, and the cross-β motif is very much native. This premise makes way for the amyloids to be used as biocompatible materials. Many naturally occurring amyloidogenic proteins/peptides or their fragments have been reported in the literature to form hydrogels. Hydrogels constitute one of the most interesting classes of soft materials that find application in diverse fields such as environmental, electronic, and biomedical engineering. Applications of hydrogels in medicine are particularly extensive. Among various classes of peptides that form hydrogels, the potential of amyloids is largely untapped. In this review, we have attempted to compile the literature on amyloid hydrogels and discuss their potential applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinay Kumar Belwal
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati - 781 039, India.
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