Fluorophore ATCUN complexes: combining agent and probe for oxidative DNA cleavage

How metals fuel fungal virulence, yet promote anti-fungal immunity

Invasive fungal infections represent a significant global health problem, and present several clinical challenges, including limited treatment options, increasing rates of antifungal drug resistance and compounding comorbidities in affected patients. Metals, such as copper, iron and zinc, are critical for various biological and cellular processes across phyla. In mammals, these metals are important determinants of immune responses, but pathogenic microbes, including fungi, also require access to these metals to fuel their own growth and drive expression of major virulence traits. Therefore, host immune cells have developed strategies to either restrict access to metals to induce starvation of invading pathogens or deploy toxic concentrations within phagosomes to cause metal poisoning. In this Review, we describe the mechanisms regulating fungal scavenging and detoxification of copper, iron and zinc and the importance of these mechanisms for virulence and infection. We also outline how these metals are involved in host immune responses and the consequences of metal deficiencies or overloads on how the host controls invasive fungal infections.

The effect of metalation on antimicrobial piscidins imbedded in normal and oxidized lipid bilayers

Metalation of the N-terminal Amino Terminal Cu(ii)- and Ni(ii)-binding (ATCUN) motif may enhance the antimicrobial properties of piscidins. Molecular dynamics simulations of free and nickelated piscidins 1 and 3 (P1 and P3) were performed in 3 : 1 POPC/POPG and 2.6 : 1 : 0.4 POPC/POPG/aldo-PC bilayers (POPC, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine: POPG, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol; aldo-PC, 1-palmitoyl-2-(9'-oxo-nonanoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) bilayer models. Nickel(ii) binding decreases the conformation dynamics of the ATCUN motif and lowers the charge of the N-terminus to allow it to embed deeper in the bilayer without significantly changing the overall depth due to interactions of the charged half-helix of the peptide with the headgroups. Phe1⋯Ni2+ cation-π and Phe2-Phe1 CH-π interactions contribute to a small fraction of structures within the nickelated P1 simulations and may partially protect a bound metal from metal-centered chemical activity. The substitution of Phe2 for Ile2 in P3 sterically blocks conformations with cation-π interactions offering less protection to the metal. This difference between metalated P1 and P3 may indicate a mechanism by which peptide sequence can influence antimicrobial properties. Any loss of bilayer integrity due to chain reversal of the oxidized phospholipid chains of aldo-PC may be enhanced in the presence of metalated piscidins.

Functionalized antibacterial peptide with DNA cleavage activity for enhanced bacterial disinfection

Antibiotics are commonly used to treat bacterial infections, but the misuse and abuse of antibiotics have given rise to a severe problem of the drug resistance of bacteria. Solving this problem has been a vitally important task in the modern medical arena. Antibacterial peptide (AMPs) has become a promising candidate drug to replace antibiotics because of their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and their difficulty in making bacteria resistant. However, its wider clinical application is limited by the shortcomings of high cytotoxicity and low antibacterial efficiency. In this paper, we constructed an antibacterial peptide (Cu-GGH-KKLRKIAFK, abbreviated as Cu-GGH-AMP) with a DNA cleavage function. The peptide has two functional regions, the C-terminal antibacterial peptide PaDBS1R6F10 (KKLRLKIAFK) and the N-terminal Cu-GGH complex. PaDBS1R6F10 is a unique antibacterial peptide, which shows lower tendency to produce bacterial resistance than traditional antibiotics. Cu-GGG complexes are formed by chelating Cu with the classical amino terminal Cu (II)- and Ni (II) -Binding (ATCUN) motif GGH. In the presence of ascorbic acid, Cu-GGH can efficiently catalyze the oxidative cleavage of bacterial DNA, thus playing a synergistic antibacterial role with antibacterial peptides. The in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated this functionalized antibacterial peptide possesses excellent antibacterial and anti-skin infection capability, as well as the activity of promoting wound healing.

Impact of N-heteroaromatic N-termini in Cu(II) ATCUN metallopeptides on their biorelevant redox activity

Cu(II) complexes with ATCUN peptide ligands have been investigated for their ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation and oxidative DNA degradation abilities. The biological activity of most ATCUN complexes such as Cu-GGH (Gly-Gly-His) is, however, low. Tuning the redox chemistry by incorporation of N-heteroaromatics reinstates ROS production which leads to efficient DNA cleavage.

In silico analysis prediction of HepTH1-5 as a potential therapeutic agent by targeting tumour suppressor protein networks

Many studies reported that the activation of tumour suppressor protein, p53 induced the human hepcidin expression. However, its expression decreased when p53 was silenced in human hepatoma cells. Contrary to Tilapia hepcidin TH1-5, HepTH1-5 was previously reported to trigger the p53 activation through the molecular docking approach. The INhibitor of Growth (ING) family members are also shown to directly interact with p53 and promote cell cycle arrest, senescence, apoptosis and participate in DNA replication and DNA damage responses to suppress the tumour initiation and progression. However, the interrelation between INGs and HepTH1-5 remains unknown. Therefore, this study aims to identify the mechanism and their protein interactions using in silico approaches. The finding revealed that HepTH1-5 and its ligands had interacted mostly on hotspot residues of ING proteins which involved in histone modifications via acetylation, phosphorylation, and methylation. This proves that HepTH1-5 might implicate in an apoptosis signalling pathway and preserve the protein structure and function of INGs by reducing the perturbation of histone binding upon oxidative stress response. This study would provide theoretical guidance for the design and experimental studies to decipher the role of HepTH1-5 as a potential therapeutic agent for cancer therapy. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Structural and functional characterisation of HepTH1-5 peptide as a potential hepcidin replacement

Hepcidin is a principal regulator of iron homeostasis and its dysregulation has been recognised as a causative factor in cancers and iron disorders. The strategy of manipulating the presence of hepcidin peptide has been used for cancer treatment. However, this has demonstrated poor efficiency and has been short-lived in patients. Many studies reported using minihepcidin therapy as an alternative way to treat hepcidin dysregulation, but this was only applied to non-cancer patients. Highly conserved fish hepcidin protein, HepTH1-5, was investigated to determine its potential use in developing a hepcidin replacement for human hepcidin (Hepc25) and as a therapeutic agent by targeting the tumour suppressor protein, p53, through structure-function analysis. The authors found that HepTH1-5 is stably bound to ferroportin, compared to Hepc25, by triggering the ferroportin internalisation via Lys42 and Lys270 ubiquitination, in a similar manner to the Hepc25 activity. Moreover, the residues Ile24 and Gly24, along with copper and zinc ligands, interacted with similar residues, Lys24 and Asp1 of Hepc25, respectively, showing that those molecules are crucial to the hepcidin replacement strategy. HepTH1-5 interacts with p53 and activates its function through phosphorylation. This finding shows that HepTH1-5 might be involved in the apoptosis signalling pathway upon a DNA damage response. This study will be very helpful for understanding the mechanism of the hepcidin replacement and providing insights into the HepTH1-5 peptide as a new target for hepcidin and cancer therapeutics.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Nuclease-like metalloscissors: Biomimetic candidates for cancer and bacterial and viral infections therapy

Despite the extensive and rapid discovery of modern drugs for treatment of cancer, microbial infections, and viral illnesses; these diseases are still among major global health concerns. To take inspiration from natural nucleases and also the therapeutic potential of metallopeptide antibiotics such as the bleomycin family, artificial metallonucleases with the ability of promoting DNA/RNA cleavage and eventually affecting cellular biological processes can be introduced as a new class of therapeutic candidates. Metal complexes can be considered as one of the main categories of artificial metalloscissors, which can prompt nucleic acid strand scission. Accordingly, biologists, inorganic chemists, and medicinal inorganic chemists worldwide have been designing, synthesizing and evaluating the biological properties of metal complexes as artificial metalloscissors. In this review, we try to highlight the recent studies conducted on the nuclease-like metalloscissors and their potential therapeutic applications. Under the light of the concurrent Covid-19 pandemic, the human need for new therapeutics was highlighted much more than ever before. The nuclease-like metalloscissors with the potential of RNA cleavage of invading viral pathogens hence deserve prime attention.

Antimicrobial peptides: mechanism of action, activity and clinical potential

The management of bacterial infections is becoming a major clinical challenge due to the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria. As an excellent candidate to overcome antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are produced from the synthetic and natural sources demonstrate a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity with the high specificity and low toxicity. These peptides possess distinctive structures and functions by employing sophisticated mechanisms of action. This comprehensive review provides a broad overview of AMPs from the origin, structural characteristics, mechanisms of action, biological activities to clinical applications. We finally discuss the strategies to optimize and develop AMP-based treatment as the potential antimicrobial and anticancer therapeutics.

Antimicrobial Peptides and Copper(II) Ions: Novel Therapeutic Opportunities

The emergence of new pathogens and multidrug resistant bacteria is an important public health issue that requires the development of novel classes of antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a promising platform with great potential for the identification of new lead compounds that can combat the aforementioned pathogens due to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and relatively low rate of resistance emergence. AMPs of multicellular organisms made their debut four decades ago thanks to ingenious researchers who asked simple questions about the resistance to bacterial infections of insects. Questions such as "Do fruit flies ever get sick?", combined with pioneering studies, have led to an understanding of AMPs as universal weapons of the immune system. This review focuses on a subclass of AMPs that feature a metal binding motif known as the amino terminal copper and nickel (ATCUN) motif. One of the metal-based strategies of hosts facing a pathogen, it includes wielding the inherent toxicity of copper and deliberately trafficking this metal ion into sites of infection. The sudden increase in the concentration of copper ions in the presence of ATCUN-containing AMPs (ATCUN-AMPs) likely results in a synergistic interaction. Herein, we examine common structural features in ATCUN-AMPs that exist across species, and we highlight unique features that deserve additional attention. We also present the current state of knowledge about the molecular mechanisms behind their antimicrobial activity and the methods available to study this promising class of AMPs.

Designed Metal-ATCUN Derivatives: Redox- and Non-redox-Based Applications Relevant for Chemistry, Biology, and Medicine

The designed "ATCUN" motif (amino-terminal copper and nickel binding site) is a replica of naturally occurring ATCUN site found in many proteins/peptides, and an attractive platform for multiple applications, which include nucleases, proteases, spectroscopic probes, imaging, and small molecule activation. ATCUN motifs are engineered at periphery by conjugation to recombinant proteins, peptides, fluorophores, or recognition domains through chemically or genetically, fulfilling the needs of various biological relevance and a wide range of practical usages. This chemistry has witnessed significant growth over the last few decades and several interesting ATCUN derivatives have been described. The redox role of the ATCUN moieties is also an important aspect to be considered. The redox potential of designed M-ATCUN derivatives is modulated by judicious choice of amino acid (including stereochemistry, charge, and position) that ultimately leads to the catalytic efficiency. In this context, a wide range of M-ATCUN derivatives have been designed purposefully for various redox- and non-redox-based applications, including spectroscopic probes, target-based catalytic metallodrugs, inhibition of amyloid-β toxicity, and telomere shortening, enzyme inactivation, biomolecules stitching or modification, next-generation antibiotic, and small molecule activation.

A terbium(iii) luminescent ATCUN-based peptide sensor for selective and reversible detection of copper(ii) in biological media

Detection of copper(ii) in biological media via time-delayed luminescence by a selective and reversible terbium(iii)-luminescent peptide sensor with pM affinity.

A fluorescence assay for the detection of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals generated by metallonucleases

Metal complexes can initiate DNA cleavage by the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A conventional assay to probe for ROS is to add quenchers in a gel electrophoresis experiment. As we show here, such an assay is neither selective nor reliable. Instead, we suggest the use of simple fluorogens, as tested here with several metallonucleases for the detection of H2O2 and HO˙.

Binding of Divalent Metal Ions with Deprotonated Peptides: Do Gas-Phase Anions Parallel the Condensed Phase?

Chelation complexes of the histidine-containing tripeptides HisAlaAla, AlaHisAla, and AlaAlaHis with Ni(II) and Cu(II) having a −1 net charge are characterized in the gas phase by infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. We address the question of whether the gas-phase complexes carry over characteristics from the corresponding condensed-phase species. We focus particularly on three aspects of their structure: (i) square-planar chelation by the deprotonated amide nitrogens around the metal ion (low-spin for the Ni case), (ii) metal-ion coordination of the imidazole side chain nitrogen, and (iii) the exceptional preference for metal-ion chelation by peptides with His in the third position from the N-terminus, as in the amino terminal Cu and Ni (ATCUN) motif. We find that square-planar binding around the metal ion, involving bonds to both deprotonated backbone nitrogens, one of the carboxylate oxygens and the N-terminal nitrogen, is the dominant binding motif for all three isomers. In contrast to the condensed-phase behavior, the dominant mode of binding for all three isomers does not involve the imidazole side chain, which is instead placed outside the coordination zone. Only for the AlaAlaHis isomer, the imidazole-bound structure is also detected as a minority population, as identified from a distinctive short-wavelength IR absorption. The observation that this conformation exists only for AlaAlaHis correlates with condensed-phase behavior at neutral-to-basic pH, in the sense that the isomer with His in the third position is exceptionally disposed to metal ion chelation by four nitrogen atoms (4N) when compared with the other isomers. These results also emphasize the divergence between the conformational stabilities in the gas phase and in solution or crystalline environments: in the gas phase, direct metal binding of the imidazole is overall less favorable than the alternative of a remote imidazole that can act as an intramolecular H-bond donor enhancing the gas-phase stability.

N-Terminal Cu-Binding Motifs (Xxx-Zzz-His, Xxx-His) and Their Derivatives: Chemistry, Biology and Medicinal Applications

Peptides and proteins with N-terminal amino acid sequences NH2 -Xxx-His (XH) and NH2 -Xxx-Zzz-His (XZH) form well-established high-affinity CuII -complexes. Key examples are Asp-Ala-His (in serum albumin) and Gly-His-Lys, the wound healing factor. This opens a straightforward way to add a high-affinity CuII -binding site to almost any peptide or protein, by chemical or recombinant approaches. Thus, these motifs, NH2 -Xxx-Zzz-His in particular, have been used to equip peptides and proteins with a multitude of functions based on the redox activity of Cu, including nuclease, protease, glycosidase, or oxygen activation properties, useful in anticancer or antimicrobial drugs. More recent research suggests novel biological functions, mainly based on the redox inertness of CuII in XZH, like PET imaging (with 64 Cu), chelation therapies (for instance in Alzheimer's disease and other types of neurodegeneration), antioxidant units, Cu transporters and activation of biological functions by strong CuII binding. This Review gives an overview of the chemical properties of Cu-XH and -XZH motifs and discusses the pros and cons of the vastly different biological applications, and how they could be improved depending on the application.

Designing metallodrugs with nuclease and protease activity

The accidental discovery of cisplatin some 50 years ago generated renewed interest in metallopharmaceuticals. Beyond cisplatin, many useful metallodrugs have been synthesized for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, but toxicity concerns, and the propensity to induce chemoresistance and secondary cancers make it imperative to search for novel metallodrugs that address these limitations. The Amino Terminal Cu(ii) and Ni(ii) (ATCUN) binding motif has emerged as a suitable template to design catalytic metallodrugs with nuclease and protease activities. Unlike their classical counterparts, ATCUN-based metallodrugs exhibit low toxicity, employ novel mechanisms to irreversibly inactivate disease-associated genes or proteins providing in principle, a channel to circumvent the rapid emergence of chemoresistance. The ATCUN motif thus presents novel strategies for the treatment of many diseases including cancers, HIV and infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria at the genetic level. This review discusses their design, mechanisms of action and potential for further development to expand their scope of application.

Silica-coated triangular gold nanoprisms as distance-dependent plasmon-enhanced fluorescence-based probes for biochemical applications

Plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (PEF)-based anisotropic nanostructures are considered extremely promising tools for improving the inherent problems of traditional fluorophores and for detecting important biomolecules with high sensitivity. Herein, a novel triangular gold nanoprism (AuNPR)-based fluorescence probe, AuNPR@SiO₂@12,17-tetramethyl-3-dihydro-(2s-trans)-thyl-7(Ce6), was developed for PEF by virtue of multiple "hot spots" of AuNPRs. Fluorescence enhancement of fluorophores can be realized owing to the larger and stronger electromagnetic fields located at the sharp tips of AuNPRs than those on spherical particles and nanorods. A silica shell was employed as a rigid spacer to precisely adjust the distance between the AuNPR and Ce6 for optimal PEF. Owing to the improved fluorescence signal, core-shell PEF-based AuNPRs can be applied as a turn-on probe for highly selective and sensitive detection of pyrophosphate (PPi) with a desirable detection limit of 0.2 μM using a displacement approach. Meanwhile, we demonstrated that these nanomaterials have great potential for real-time monitoring of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products, successfully revealing an approximately 240 times higher detectable fluorescence response than that of traditional gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, cell imaging indicates the potential applications of PEF-based probes in living cells.

Tunable DNA cleavage activity promoted by copper(ii) ternary complexes with N-donor heterocyclic ligands

Several small molecules have the capacity to cleave DNA promptly at high yields, even under mild conditions. Usually, this activity has no constraints, occurring without external or user control. Here, we demonstrate that UV-light exposure can greatly enhance the DNA cleavage activity promoted by four ternary copper(ii) complexes. A remarkable photocontrolled activity was achieved, which may be interesting for chemical and biochemical applications.