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Chen J, Zhang X, Lin C, Gao B. Synthesis and insecticidal activity of cysteine-free conopeptides from Conus betulinus. Toxicon 2023; 233:107253. [PMID: 37586612 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107253] [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: 04/22/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
The cone snail Conus betulinus is a vermivorous species that is widely distributed in the South China Sea. Its crude venom contains various peptides used to prey on marine worms. In previous studies, a systematic analysis of the peptide toxin sequences from C. betulinus was carried out using a multiomics technique. In this study, 10 cysteine-free peptides that may possess insecticidal activity were selected from a previously constructed conopeptide library of C. betulinus using the CPY-Fe conopeptide as a template. These conopeptides were prepared by solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), then characterized by the reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry. Insect cytotoxicity and injection experiments revealed that these cysteine-free peptides exerted favorable insecticidal effects, and two of them (Bt010 and Bt016) exhibited high insecticidal efficacy with LD50 of 9.07 nM and 10.93 nM, respectively. In addition, the 3D structures of these peptides were predicted by homology modeling, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the nucleotide data of conopeptides to analyze the relationships among structures, functions, and evolution. A preliminary mechanism for the insecticidal activity of the cysteine-free conopeptides was predicted by molecular docking. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the insecticidal activity of cysteine-free conopeptides derived from Conus betulinus, signaling that they could potentially be developed into bioinsecticides with desirable properties such as easy preparation, low cost, and high potency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiao Chen
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Tropical Herbs, School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Xueying Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Tropical Herbs, School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Chengzhang Lin
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Tropical Herbs, School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Bingmiao Gao
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Tropical Herbs, School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.
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Fu P, Mei YS, Liu WJ, Chen P, Jin QC, Guo SQ, Wang HY, Xu JP, Zhang YCF, Ding XY, Liu CP, Liu CY, Mao RT, Zhang G, Jing J. Identification of three elevenin receptors and roles of elevenin disulfide bond and residues in receptor activation in Aplysia californica. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7662. [PMID: 37169790 PMCID: PMC10175484 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34596-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuropeptides are ubiquitous intercellular signaling molecules in the CNS and play diverse roles in modulating physiological functions by acting on specific G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Among them, the elevenin signaling system is now believed to be present primarily in protostomes. Although elevenin was first identified from the L11 neuron of the abdominal ganglion in mollusc Aplysia californica, no receptors have been described in Aplysia, nor in any other molluscs. Here, using two elevenin receptors in annelid Platynereis dumerilii, we found three putative elevenin GPCRs in Aplysia. We cloned the three receptors and tentatively named them apElevR1, apElevR2, and apElevR3. Using an inositol monophosphate (IP1) accumulation assay, we demonstrated that Aplysia elevenin with the disulfide bond activated the three putative receptors with low EC50 values (ranging from 1.2 to 25 nM), supporting that they are true receptors for elevenin. In contrast, elevenin without the disulfide bond could not activate the receptors, indicating that the disulfide bond is required for receptor activity. Using alanine substitution of individual conserved residues other than the two cysteines, we showed that these residues appear to be critical to receptor activity, and the three different receptors had different sensitivities to the single residue substitution. Finally, we examined the roles of those residues outside the disulfide bond ring by removing these residues and found that they also appeared to be important to receptor activity. Thus, our study provides an important basis for further study of the functions of elevenin and its receptors in Aplysia and other molluscs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu-Shuo Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei-Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qing-Chun Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shi-Qi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Ying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ju-Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan-Chu-Fei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xue-Ying Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cui-Ping Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cheng-Yi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Rui-Ting Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Jian Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
- Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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Xu JP, Ding XY, Guo SQ, Wang HY, Liu WJ, Jiang HM, Li YD, Fu P, Chen P, Mei YS, Zhang G, Zhou HB, Jing J. Characterization of an Aplysia vasotocin signaling system and actions of posttranslational modifications and individual residues of the ligand on receptor activity. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1132066. [PMID: 37021048 PMCID: PMC10067623 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1132066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The vasopressin/oxytocin signaling system is present in both protostomes and deuterostomes and plays various physiological roles. Although there were reports for both vasopressin-like peptides and receptors in mollusc Lymnaea and Octopus, no precursor or receptors have been described in mollusc Aplysia. Here, through bioinformatics, molecular and cellular biology, we identified both the precursor and two receptors for Aplysia vasopressin-like peptide, which we named Aplysia vasotocin (apVT). The precursor provides evidence for the exact sequence of apVT, which is identical to conopressin G from cone snail venom, and contains 9 amino acids, with two cysteines at position 1 and 6, similar to nearly all vasopressin-like peptides. Through inositol monophosphate (IP1) accumulation assay, we demonstrated that two of the three putative receptors we cloned from Aplysia cDNA are true receptors for apVT. We named the two receptors as apVTR1 and apVTR2. We then determined the roles of post-translational modifications (PTMs) of apVT, i.e., the disulfide bond between two cysteines and the C-terminal amidation on receptor activity. Both the disulfide bond and amidation were critical for the activation of the two receptors. Cross-activity with conopressin S, annetocin from an annelid, and vertebrate oxytocin showed that although all three ligands can activate both receptors, the potency of these peptides differed depending on their residue variations from apVT. We, therefore, tested the roles of each residue through alanine substitution and found that each substitution could reduce the potency of the peptide analog, and substitution of the residues within the disulfide bond tended to have a larger impact on receptor activity than the substitution of those outside the bond. Moreover, the two receptors had different sensitivities to the PTMs and single residue substitutions. Thus, we have characterized the Aplysia vasotocin signaling system and showed how the PTMs and individual residues in the ligand contributed to receptor activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xue-Ying Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shi-Qi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Ying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei-Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Min Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ya-Dong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu-Shuo Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hai-Bo Zhou
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jian Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
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Nguyen LTT, Craik DJ, Kaas Q. Bibliometric Review of the Literature on Cone Snail Peptide Toxins from 2000 to 2022. Mar Drugs 2023; 21:md21030154. [PMID: 36976203 PMCID: PMC10058278 DOI: 10.3390/md21030154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The venom of marine cone snails is mainly composed of peptide toxins called conopeptides, among which conotoxins represent those that are disulfide-rich. Publications on conopeptides frequently state that conopeptides attract considerable interest for their potent and selective activity, but there has been no analysis yet that formally quantifies the popularity of the field. We fill this gap here by providing a bibliometric analysis of the literature on cone snail toxins from 2000 to 2022. Our analysis of 3028 research articles and 393 reviews revealed that research in the conopeptide field is indeed prolific, with an average of 130 research articles per year. The data show that the research is typically carried out collaboratively and worldwide, and that discoveries are truly a community-based effort. An analysis of the keywords provided with each article revealed research trends, their evolution over the studied period, and important milestones. The most employed keywords are related to pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. In 2004, the trend in keywords changed, with the pivotal event of that year being the approval by the FDA of the first peptide toxin drug, ziconotide, a conopeptide, for the treatment of intractable pain. The corresponding research article is among the top ten most cited articles in the conopeptide literature. From the time of that article, medicinal chemistry aiming at engineering conopeptides to treat neuropathic pain ramped up, as seen by an increased focus on topological modifications (e.g., cyclization), electrophysiology, and structural biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linh T. T. Nguyen
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - David J. Craik
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Quentin Kaas
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Gao B, Huang Y, Peng C, Lin B, Liao Y, Bian C, Yang J, Shi Q. High-Throughput Prediction and Design of Novel Conopeptides for Biomedical Research and Development. BIODESIGN RESEARCH 2022; 2022:9895270. [PMID: 37850131 PMCID: PMC10521759 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9895270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Cone snail venoms have been considered a valuable treasure for international scientists and businessmen, mainly due to their pharmacological applications in development of marine drugs for treatment of various human diseases. To date, around 800 Conus species are recorded, and each of them produces over 1,000 venom peptides (termed as conopeptides or conotoxins). This reflects the high diversity and complexity of cone snails, although most of their venoms are still uncharacterized. Advanced multiomics (such as genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics) approaches have been recently developed to mine diverse Conus venom samples, with the main aim to predict and identify potentially interesting conopeptides in an efficient way. Some bioinformatics techniques have been applied to predict and design novel conopeptide sequences, related targets, and their binding modes. This review provides an overview of current knowledge on the high diversity of conopeptides and multiomics advances in high-throughput prediction of novel conopeptide sequences, as well as molecular modeling and design of potential drugs based on the predicted or validated interactions between these toxins and their molecular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingmiao Gao
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 570102, China
| | - Yu Huang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Marine Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Molecular Breeding in Marine Economic Animals, BGI Academy of Marine Sciences, BGI Marine, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518081, China
| | - Chao Peng
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Marine Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Molecular Breeding in Marine Economic Animals, BGI Academy of Marine Sciences, BGI Marine, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518081, China
- BGI-Marine Research Institute for Biomedical Technology, Shenzhen Huahong Marine Biomedicine Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong 518119, China
| | - Bo Lin
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 570102, China
| | - Yanling Liao
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 570102, China
| | - Chao Bian
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Marine Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Molecular Breeding in Marine Economic Animals, BGI Academy of Marine Sciences, BGI Marine, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518081, China
| | - Jiaan Yang
- Research and Development Department, Micro Pharmtech Ltd., Wuhan, Hubei 430075, China
| | - Qiong Shi
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Marine Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Molecular Breeding in Marine Economic Animals, BGI Academy of Marine Sciences, BGI Marine, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518081, China
- BGI-Marine Research Institute for Biomedical Technology, Shenzhen Huahong Marine Biomedicine Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong 518119, China
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Merkler DJ, Hawley AJ, Eipper BA, Mains RE. Peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase as a therapeutic target or biomarker for human diseases. Br J Pharmacol 2022; 179:3306-3324. [PMID: 35124797 PMCID: PMC9177522 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Peptides play a key role in controlling many physiological and neurobiological pathways. Many bioactive peptides require a C-terminal α-amide for full activity. The bifunctional enzyme catalysing α-amidation, peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM), is the sole enzyme responsible for amidated peptide biosynthesis, from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to Homo sapiens. Many neuronal and endocrine functions are dependent upon amidated peptides; additional amidated peptides are growth promoters in tumours. The amidation reaction occurs in two steps, glycine α-hydroxylation followed by dealkylation to generate the α-amide product. Currently, most potentially useful inhibitors target the first reaction, which is rate-limiting. PAM is a membrane-bound enzyme that visits the cell surface during peptide secretion. PAM is then used again in the biosynthetic pathway, meaning that cell-impermeable inhibitors or inactivators could have therapeutic value for the treatment of cancer or psychiatric abnormalities. To date, inhibitor design has not fully exploited the structures and mechanistic details of PAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Merkler
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Aidan J Hawley
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Betty A Eipper
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, 06030 USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, 06030 USA
| | - Richard E Mains
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, 06030 USA
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Feng S, Zhang A, Wu F, Luo X, Zhang J. Boronic acid grafted metal-organic framework for selective enrichment of cis-diol-containing compounds. J Chromatogr A 2022; 1677:463281. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Abstract
Covering: 2020This review covers the literature published in 2020 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 757 citations (747 for the period January to December 2020) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangroves and other intertidal plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on new compounds (1407 in 420 papers for 2020), together with the relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Pertinent reviews, biosynthetic studies, first syntheses, and syntheses that led to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included. A meta analysis of bioactivity data relating to new MNPs reported over the last five years is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R Carroll
- School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. .,Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Brent R Copp
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Rohan A Davis
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.,School of Enivironment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Robert A Keyzers
- Centre for Biodiscovery, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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Neurocosmetics in Skincare—The Fascinating World of Skin–Brain Connection: A Review to Explore Ingredients, Commercial Products for Skin Aging, and Cosmetic Regulation. COSMETICS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/cosmetics8030066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The “modern” cosmetology industry is focusing on research devoted to discovering novel neurocosmetic functional ingredients that could improve the interactions between the skin and the nervous system. Many cosmetic companies have started to formulate neurocosmetic products that exhibit their activity on the cutaneous nervous system by affecting the skin’s neuromediators through different mechanisms of action. This review aims to clarify the definition of neurocosmetics, and to describe the features of some functional ingredients and products available on the market, with a look at the regulatory aspect. The attention is devoted to neurocosmetic ingredients for combating skin stress, explaining the stress pathways, which are also correlated with skin aging. “Neuro-relaxing” anti-aging ingredients derived from plant extracts and neurocosmetic strategies to combat inflammatory responses related to skin stress are presented. Afterwards, the molecular basis of sensitive skin and the suitable neurocosmetic ingredients to improve this problem are discussed. With the aim of presenting the major application of Botox-like ingredients as the first neurocosmetics on the market, skin aging is also introduced, and its theory is presented. To confirm the efficacy of the cosmetic products on the market, the concept of cosmetic claims is discussed.
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