1
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Urokinase plasminogen activator as an anti-metastasis target: inhibitor design principles, recent amiloride derivatives, and issues with human/mouse species selectivity. Biophys Rev 2022; 14:277-301. [PMID: 35340592 PMCID: PMC8921380 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-021-00921-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) is a widely studied anticancer drug target with multiple classes of inhibitors reported to date. Many of these inhibitors contain amidine or guanidine groups, while others lacking these groups show improved oral bioavailability. Most of the X-ray co-crystal structures of small molecule uPA inhibitors show a key salt bridge with the side chain carboxylate of Asp189 in the S1 pocket of uPA. This review summarises the different classes of uPA inhibitors, their binding interactions and experimentally measured inhibitory potencies and highlights species selectivity issues with attention to recently described 6-substituted amiloride and 5‑N,N-(hexamethylene)amiloride (HMA) derivatives.
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2
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Zhan R, Li X, Zang L, Xu K. An Au-Se nanoprobe for the evaluation of the invasive potential of breast cancer cells via imaging the sequential activation of uPA and MMP-2. Analyst 2020; 145:1008-1013. [PMID: 31830149 DOI: 10.1039/c9an01830a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) has been shown to activate matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) that leads to the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. Overexpressed uPA and MMP-2 are regarded as signs of malignant tumors in clinical practice. Therefore, real-time monitoring of the sequential activation of these two signal molecules may have important implications for the evaluation of the invasive potential and tumor progression of breast cancer. However, due to the complicated intracellular environment, visualizing the dynamic changes of protein expression levels in living cells with a noninvasive method is still a great challenge. Here, a novel gold-selenium (Au-Se) fluorescent nanoprobe with excellent selectivity and strong anti-interference capability was designed for the simultaneous in situ imaging of uPA and MMP-2 and real-time monitoring of their changes in living cells. The imaging results demonstrated that the nanoprobe achieved a better prevention of glutathione interference compared to the conventional Au-S nanoprobe, thus it could be applied to actually reflect the expression level of uPA and MMP-2 in different breast cancer cells. Furthermore, the Au-Se nanoprobe could visually present the activation process of the two signal molecules, which play a dual role of insuring the invasiveness evaluation of breast cancer cells. Overall, our work offers a visual biomarker detection method for the judgment of the degree of breast cancer malignancy, and also provides an effective strategy to investigate the relationships among signal molecules of other signaling pathways in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renhui Zhan
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, P. R. China.
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3
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Goettig P, Brandstetter H, Magdolen V. Surface loops of trypsin-like serine proteases as determinants of function. Biochimie 2019; 166:52-76. [PMID: 31505212 PMCID: PMC7615277 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2019.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Trypsin and chymotrypsin-like serine proteases from family S1 (clan PA) constitute the largest protease group in humans and more generally in vertebrates. The prototypes chymotrypsin, trypsin and elastase represent simple digestive proteases in the gut, where they cleave nearly any protein. Multidomain trypsin-like proteases are key players in the tightly controlled blood coagulation and complement systems, as well as related proteases that are secreted from diverse immune cells. Some serine proteases are expressed in nearly all tissues and fluids of the human body, such as the human kallikreins and kallikrein-related peptidases with specialization for often unique substrates and accurate timing of activity. HtrA and membrane-anchored serine proteases fulfill important physiological tasks with emerging roles in cancer. The high diversity of all family members, which share the tandem β-barrel architecture of the chymotrypsin-fold in the catalytic domain, is conferred by the large differences of eight surface loops, surrounding the active site. The length of these loops alters with insertions and deletions, resulting in remarkably different three-dimensional arrangements. In addition, metal binding sites for Na+, Ca2+ and Zn2+ serve as regulatory elements, as do N-glycosylation sites. Depending on the individual tasks of the protease, the surface loops determine substrate specificity, control the turnover and allow regulation of activation, activity and degradation by other proteins, which are often serine proteases themselves. Most intriguingly, in some serine proteases, the surface loops interact as allosteric network, partially tuned by protein co-factors. Knowledge of these subtle and complicated molecular motions may allow nowadays for new and specific pharmaceutical or medical approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Goettig
- Division of Structural Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Billrothstrasse 11, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Hans Brandstetter
- Division of Structural Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Billrothstrasse 11, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Viktor Magdolen
- Clinical Research Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Strasse 22, 81675, München, Germany
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4
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Flora T, González de Torre I, Alonso M, Rodríguez-Cabello JC. Use of proteolytic sequences with different cleavage kinetics as a way to generate hydrogels with preprogrammed cell-infiltration patterns imparted over their given 3D spatial structure. Biofabrication 2019; 11:035008. [DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ab10a5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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5
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Li CY, de Veer SJ, Law RHP, Whisstock JC, Craik DJ, Swedberg JE. Characterising the Subsite Specificity of Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator and Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator using a Sequence-Defined Peptide Aldehyde Library. Chembiochem 2018; 20:46-50. [PMID: 30225958 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201800395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Revised: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) are two serine proteases that contribute to initiating fibrinolysis by activating plasminogen. uPA is also an important tumour-associated protease due to its role in extracellular matrix remodelling. Overexpression of uPA has been identified in several different cancers and uPA inhibition has been reported as a promising therapeutic strategy. Although several peptide-based uPA inhibitors have been developed, the extent to which uPA tolerates different tetrapeptide sequences that span the P1-P4 positions remains to be thoroughly explored. In this study, we screened a sequence-defined peptide aldehyde library against uPA and tPA. Preferred sequences from the library screen yielded potent inhibitors for uPA, led by Ac-GTAR-H (Ki =18 nm), but not for tPA. Additionally, synthetic peptide substrates corresponding to preferred inhibitor sequences were cleaved with high catalytic efficiency by uPA but not by tPA. These findings provide new insights into the binding specificity of uPA and tPA and the relative activity of tetrapeptide inhibitors and substrates against these enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Choi Yi Li
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Simon J de Veer
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Ruby H P Law
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - James C Whisstock
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - David J Craik
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Joakim E Swedberg
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
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6
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Luan M, Yu L, Li Y, Pan W, Gao X, Wan X, Li N, Tang B. Visualizing Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation and Invasion for Assessing Drug Efficacy with a Fluorescent Nanoprobe. Anal Chem 2017; 89:10601-10607. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b03146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mingming Luan
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
| | - Longhai Yu
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
| | - Yanhua Li
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
| | - Wei Pan
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
| | - Xiaonan Gao
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
| | - Xiuyan Wan
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
| | - Na Li
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
| | - Bo Tang
- College of Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center
of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong,
Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education,
Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P. R. China
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7
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Braun GB, Sugahara KN, Yu OM, Kotamraju VR, Mölder T, Lowy AM, Ruoslahti E, Teesalu T. Urokinase-controlled tumor penetrating peptide. J Control Release 2016; 232:188-95. [PMID: 27106816 PMCID: PMC5359125 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Revised: 03/30/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Tumor penetrating peptides contain a cryptic (R/K)XX(R/K) CendR element that must be C-terminally exposed to trigger neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) binding, cellular internalization and malignant tissue penetration. The specific proteases that are involved in processing of tumor penetrating peptides identified using phage display are not known. Here we design de novo a tumor-penetrating peptide based on consensus cleavage motif of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). We expressed the peptide, uCendR (RPARSGR↓SAGGSVA, ↓ shows cleavage site), on phage or coated it onto silver nanoparticles and showed that it is cleaved by uPA, and that the cleavage triggers binding to recombinant NRP-1 and to NPR-1-expressing cells. Upon systemic administration to mice bearing uPA-overexpressing breast tumors, FAM-labeled uCendR peptide and uCendR-coated nanoparticles preferentially accumulated in tumor tissue. We also show that uCendR phage internalization into cultured cancer cells and its penetration in explants of murine tumors and clinical tumor explants can be potentiated by combining the uCendR peptide with tumor-homing module, CRGDC. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of designing tumor-penetrating peptides that are activated by a specific tumor protease. As upregulation of protease expression is one of the hallmarks of cancer, and numerous tumor proteases have substrate specificities compatible with proteolytic unmasking of cryptic CendR motifs, the strategy described here may provide a generic approach for designing proteolytically-actuated peptides for tumor-penetrative payload delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary B Braun
- Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Cancer Research Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kazuki N Sugahara
- Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Cancer Research Center, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
| | - Olivia M Yu
- Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Cancer Research Center, La Jolla, CA, USA; Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | | | - Tarmo Mölder
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Andrew M Lowy
- Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Erkki Ruoslahti
- Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Cancer Research Center, La Jolla, CA, USA; Center for Nanomedicine, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Tambet Teesalu
- Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Cancer Research Center, La Jolla, CA, USA; Center for Nanomedicine, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA; Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
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8
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Su SC, Lin CW, Yang WE, Fan WL, Yang SF. The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) system as a biomarker and therapeutic target in human malignancies. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2015; 20:551-66. [DOI: 10.1517/14728222.2016.1113260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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9
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Poreba M, Szalek A, Kasperkiewicz P, Rut W, Salvesen GS, Drag M. Small Molecule Active Site Directed Tools for Studying Human Caspases. Chem Rev 2015; 115:12546-629. [PMID: 26551511 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Caspases are proteases of clan CD and were described for the first time more than two decades ago. They play critical roles in the control of regulated cell death pathways including apoptosis and inflammation. Due to their involvement in the development of various diseases like cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, or autoimmune disorders, caspases have been intensively investigated as potential drug targets, both in academic and industrial laboratories. This review presents a thorough, deep, and systematic assessment of all technologies developed over the years for the investigation of caspase activity and specificity using substrates and inhibitors, as well as activity based probes, which in recent years have attracted considerable interest due to their usefulness in the investigation of biological functions of this family of enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Poreba
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Technology , Wyb. Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Szalek
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Technology , Wyb. Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Paulina Kasperkiewicz
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Technology , Wyb. Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Wioletta Rut
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Technology , Wyb. Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Guy S Salvesen
- Program in Cell Death and Survival Networks, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute , La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Marcin Drag
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Technology , Wyb. Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
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10
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Ji HL, Zhao R, Komissarov AA, Chang Y, Liu Y, Matthay MA. Proteolytic regulation of epithelial sodium channels by urokinase plasminogen activator: cutting edge and cleavage sites. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:5241-55. [PMID: 25555911 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.623496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) level is extremely elevated in the edematous fluid of acutely injured lungs and pleurae. Elevated PAI-1 specifically inactivates pulmonary urokinase-type (uPA) and tissue-type plasminogen activators (tPA). We hypothesized that plasminogen activation and fibrinolysis may alter epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) activity, a key player in clearing edematous fluid. Two-chain urokinase (tcuPA) has been found to strongly stimulate heterologous human αβγ ENaC activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This activity of tcuPA was completely ablated by PAI-1. Furthermore, a mutation (S195A) of the active site of the enzyme also prevented ENaC activation. By comparison, three truncation mutants of the amino-terminal fragment of tcuPA still activated ENaC. uPA enzymatic activity was positively correlated with ENaC current amplitude prior to reaching the maximal level. In sharp contrast to uPA, neither single-chain tPA nor derivatives, including two-chain tPA and tenecteplase, affected ENaC activity. Furthermore, γ but not α subunit of ENaC was proteolytically cleaved at ((177)GR↓KR(180)) by tcuPA. In summary, the underlying mechanisms of urokinase-mediated activation of ENaC include release of self-inhibition, proteolysis of γ ENaC, incremental increase in opening rate, and activation of closed (electrically "silent") channels. This study for the first time demonstrates multifaceted mechanisms for uPA-mediated up-regulation of ENaC, which form the cellular and molecular rationale for the beneficial effects of urokinase in mitigating mortal pulmonary edema and pleural effusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Long Ji
- From the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and the Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center, Tyler, Texas 75708,
| | - Runzhen Zhao
- From the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and
| | | | - Yongchang Chang
- the Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona 85013
| | - Yongfeng Liu
- the College of Public Health, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan 453100, China, and
| | - Michael A Matthay
- the Departments of Medicine and Anesthesia, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143
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11
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Yang RT, Lim GL, Dong Z, Lee AM, Yee CT, Fuller RS, Ritchie HH. The efficiency of dentin sialoprotein-phosphophoryn processing is affected by mutations both flanking and distant from the cleavage site. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:6024-33. [PMID: 23297400 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.382952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Normal dentin mineralization requires two highly acidic proteins, dentin sialoprotein (DSP) and phosphophoryn (PP). DSP and PP are synthesized as part of a single secreted precursor, DSP-PP, which is conserved in marsupial and placental mammals. Using a baculovirus expression system, we previously found that DSP-PP is accurately cleaved into DSP and PP after secretion into medium by an endogenous, secreted, zinc-dependent Sf9 cell activity. Here we report that mutation of conserved residues near and distant from the G(447)↓D(448) cleavage site in DSP-PP(240) had dramatic effects on cleavage efficiency by the endogenous Sf9 cell processing enzyme. We found that: 1) mutation of residues flanking the cleavage site from P(4) to P(4)' blocked, impaired, or enhanced DSP-PP(240) cleavage; 2) certain conserved amino acids distant from the cleavage site were important for precursor cleavage; 3) modification of the C terminus by appending a C-terminal tag altered the pattern of processing; and 4) mutations in DSP-PP(240) had similar effects on cleavage by recombinant human BMP1, a candidate physiological processing enzyme, as was seen with the endogenous Sf9 cell activity. An analysis of a partial TLR1 cDNA from Sf9 cells indicates that residues that line the substrate-binding cleft of Sf9 TLR1 and human BMP1 are nearly perfectly conserved, offering an explanation of why Sf9 cells so accurately process mammalian DSP-PP. The fact that several mutations in DSP-PP(240) significantly modified the amount of PP(240) product generated from DSP-PP(240) precursor protein cleavage suggests that such mutation may affect the mineralization process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert T Yang
- Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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12
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Synthesis and Biological Activity of N-Sulfonyltripeptides with C-Terminal Arginine as Potential Serine Proteases Inhibitors. Int J Pept Res Ther 2012; 19:191-198. [PMID: 23926446 PMCID: PMC3726930 DOI: 10.1007/s10989-012-9338-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Tripeptides of the general X-SO2-d-Ser-AA-Arg-CO-Y formula, where X = α-tolyl, p-tolyl, 2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl; AA = alanine, glycine, norvaline and Y = OH, NH-(CH2)5NH2 were obtained and tested for their effect on the amidolytic activities of urokinase, thrombin, trypsin, plasmin, t-PA and kallikrein. The most active compound towards urokinase was PhCH2SO2-d-Ser-Gly-Arg-OH with Ki value 5.4 μM and the most active compound toward thrombin was PhCH2SO2-d-Ser-NVa-Arg-OH with Ki value 0.82 μM. The peptides were nontoxic against porcine erythrocytes in vitro. PhCH2SO2-d-Ser-Gly-Arg-OH showed cytotoxic effect against DLD cell lines with IC50 values of 5 μM. For the highly selective determination of the interaction of some of the synthesised acids of tripeptides with urokinase and plasmin the Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging sensor has been applied. These compounds bind to urokinase and plasmin in 0.05 mM concentration.
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13
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Salvi N, Buratto R, Bornet A, Ulzega S, Rentero Rebollo I, Angelini A, Heinis C, Bodenhausen G. Boosting the sensitivity of ligand-protein screening by NMR of long-lived states. J Am Chem Soc 2012; 134:11076-9. [PMID: 22686687 DOI: 10.1021/ja303301w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A new NMR method for the study of ligand-protein interactions exploits the unusual lifetimes of long-lived states (LLSs). The new method provides better contrast between bound and free ligands and requires a protein-ligand ratio ca. 25 times lower than for established T(1ρ) methods, thus saving on costly proteins. The new LLS method was applied to the screening of inhibitors of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), which is a prototypical target of cancer research. With only 10 μM protein, a dissociation constant (K(D)) of 180 ± 20 nM was determined for the strong ligand (inhibitor) UK-18, which can be compared with K(D) = 157 ± 39 nM determined by the established surface plasmon resonance method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Salvi
- Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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14
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Angelini A, Cendron L, Chen S, Touati J, Winter G, Zanotti G, Heinis C. Bicyclic peptide inhibitor reveals large contact interface with a protease target. ACS Chem Biol 2012; 7:817-21. [PMID: 22304751 DOI: 10.1021/cb200478t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
From a large combinatorial library of chemically constrained bicyclic peptides we isolated a selective and potent (K(i) = 53 nM) inhibitor of human urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and crystallized the complex. This revealed an extended structure of the peptide with both peptide loops engaging the target to form a large interaction surface of 701 Å(2) with multiple hydrogen bonds and complementary charge interactions, explaining the high affinity and specificity of the inhibitor. The interface resembles that between two proteins and suggests that these constrained peptides have the potential to act as small protein mimics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Angelini
- Institute
of Chemical Sciences
and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laura Cendron
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Padua, Viale G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padua,
Italy
- Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), Via Giuseppe Orus 2, 35129
Padua, Italy
| | - Shiyu Chen
- Institute
of Chemical Sciences
and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jeremy Touati
- Institute
of Chemical Sciences
and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Greg Winter
- Laboratory of
Molecular Biology, Medical Research Council, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2
0QH, U.K
| | - Giuseppe Zanotti
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Padua, Viale G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padua,
Italy
- Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), Via Giuseppe Orus 2, 35129
Padua, Italy
| | - Christian Heinis
- Institute
of Chemical Sciences
and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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15
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Zhang XX, Eden HS, Chen X. Peptides in cancer nanomedicine: drug carriers, targeting ligands and protease substrates. J Control Release 2012; 159:2-13. [PMID: 22056916 PMCID: PMC3288222 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2011] [Accepted: 10/18/2011] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Peptides are attracting increasing attention as therapeutic agents, as the technologies for peptide development and manufacture continue to mature. Concurrently, with booming research in nanotechnology for biomedical applications, peptides have been studied as an important class of components in nanomedicine, and they have been used either alone or in combination with nanomaterials of every reported composition. Peptides possess many advantages, such as smallness, ease of synthesis and modification, and good biocompatibility. Their functions in cancer nanomedicine, discussed in this review, include serving as drug carriers, as targeting ligands, and as protease-responsive substrates for drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Xiang Zhang
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Platelet-derived growth factor-C (PDGF-C) activation by serine proteases: implications for breast cancer progression. Biochem J 2012; 441:909-18. [PMID: 22035541 DOI: 10.1042/bj20111020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor) family members are potent mitogens for cells of mesenchymal origin and serve as important regulators of cell migration, survival, apoptosis and transformation. Tumour-derived PDGF ligands are thought to function in both autocrine and paracrine manners, activating receptors on tumour and surrounding stromal cells. PDGF-C and -D are secreted as latent dimers, unlike PDGF-A and -B. Cleavage of the CUB domain from the PDGF-C and -D dimers is required for their biological activity. At present, little is known about the proteolytic processing of PDGF-C, the rate-limiting step in the regulation of PDGF-C activity. In the present study we show that the breast carcinoma cell line MCF7, engineered to overexpress PDGF-C, produces proteases capable of cleaving PDGF-C to its active form. Increased PDGF-C expression enhances cell proliferation, anchorage-independent cell growth and tumour cell motility by autocrine signalling. In addition, MCF7-produced PDGF-C induces fibroblast cell migration in a paracrine manner. Interestingly, PDGF-C enhances tumour cell invasion in the presence of fibroblasts, suggesting a role for tumour-derived PDGF-C in tumour-stromal interactions. In the present study, we identify tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) and matriptase as major proteases for processing of PDGF-C in MCF7 cells. In in vitro studies, we also show that uPA (urokinase-type plasminogen activator) is able to process PDGF-C. Furthermore, by site-directed mutagenesis, we identify the cleavage site for these proteases in PDGF-C. Lastly, we provide evidence suggesting a two-step proteolytic processing of PDGF-C involving creation of a hemidimer, followed by GFD-D (growth factor domain dimer) generation.
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Markowska A, Bruzgo M, Surażyński A, Midura-Nowaczek K. Tripeptides with non-code amino acids as potential serine proteases inhibitors. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2012; 28:639-43. [PMID: 22299583 DOI: 10.3109/14756366.2011.651463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eight peptides of the general H-D-Ser-AA-Arg-OH formula, where AA = phenylglycine, phenylalanine, homophenylalanine, cyclohexylglycine, cyclohexylalanine, homocyclohexylalanine, α-methylphenylalanine and 1-aminocyclohexyl carboxylic acid were obtained and tested for their effect on the amidolytic activities of urokinase, thrombin, trypsin, plasmin, t-PA and kallikrein. We tested the hemolytic activity of the peptides against porcine erythrocytes and the antitumor activity against the human breast cancer cells, standard MCF-7 and estrogen-independent MDA-MB-231. The most active compounds were H-D-Ser-Chg-Arg-OH towards thrombin and H-D-Ser-Phg-Arg-OH towards plasmin with K(i) value 5.02 μM and 5.7 μM, respectively.
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Lowe SB, Dick JAG, Cohen BE, Stevens MM. Multiplex sensing of protease and kinase enzyme activity via orthogonal coupling of quantum dot-peptide conjugates. ACS NANO 2012; 6:851-7. [PMID: 22148227 DOI: 10.1021/nn204361s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Nanoparticle-based labels are emerging as simpler and more sensitive alternatives to traditional fluorescent small molecules and radioactive reporters in biomarker assays. The determination of biomarker levels is a recommended clinical practice for the assessment of many diseases, and detection of multiple analytes in a single assay, known as multiplexing, can increase predictive accuracy. While multiplexed detection can also simplify assay procedures and reduce systematic variability, combining multiple assays into a single procedure can lead to complications such as substrate cross-reactivity, signal overlap, and loss of sensitivity. By combining the specificity of biomolecular interactions with the tunability of quantum dot optical properties, we have developed a detection system capable of simultaneous evaluation of the activity of two critical enzyme classes, proteases and kinases. We avoid cross-reactivity and signal overlap by synthesizing enzyme-specific peptide sequences with orthogonal terminal functionalization for attachment to quantum dots with distinct emission spectra. Enzyme activity is reported via binding of either gold nanoparticle-peptide conjugates or FRET acceptor dye-labeled antibodies, which mediate changes in quantum dot emission spectra. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the multiplexed sensing of the activity of two different classes of enzymes via a nanoparticle-based activity assay. Using the quantum dot-based assay described herein, we were able to detect the protease activity of urokinase-type plasminogen activator at concentrations ≥ 50 ng/mL and the kinase activity of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 at concentrations ≥ 7.5 nM, levels that are clinically relevant for determination of breast cancer prognosis. The modular nature of this assay design allows for the detection of different classes of enzymes simultaneously and represents a generic platform for high-throughput enzyme screening in rapid disease diagnosis and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart B Lowe
- Department of Materials, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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19
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Guo Y, Gaiki S. Retention and selectivity of stationary phases for hydrophilic interaction chromatography. J Chromatogr A 2011; 1218:5920-38. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2011.06.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 245] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2010] [Revised: 06/13/2011] [Accepted: 06/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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20
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Malik R, Qian S, Law B. Design and synthesis of a near-infrared fluorescent nanofiber precursor for detecting cell-secreted urokinase activity. Anal Biochem 2011; 412:26-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2011.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2010] [Revised: 12/28/2010] [Accepted: 01/10/2011] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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21
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Markowska A, Bruzgo I, Miltyk W, Midura-Nowaczek K. Tripeptides with C-Terminal Arginine as Potential Inhibitors of Urokinase. Int J Pept Res Ther 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10989-011-9239-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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22
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan L Deutscher
- Biochemistry Department, 117 Schweitzer Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.
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Pericellular activation of hepatocyte growth factor by the transmembrane serine proteases matriptase and hepsin, but not by the membrane-associated protease uPA. Biochem J 2010; 426:219-28. [PMID: 20015050 DOI: 10.1042/bj20091448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
HGF (hepatocyte growth factor) is a pleiotropic cytokine homologous to the serine protease zymogen plasminogen that requires canonical proteolytic cleavage to gain functional activity. The activating proteases are key components of its regulation, but controversy surrounds their identity. Using quantitative analysis we found no evidence for activation by uPA (urokinase plasminogen activator), despite reports that this is a principal activator of pro-HGF. This was unaffected by a wide range of experimental conditions, including the use of various molecular forms of both HGF and uPA, and the presence of uPAR (uPA receptor) or heparin. In contrast the catalytic domains of the TTSPs (type-II transmembrane serine proteases) matriptase and hepsin were highly efficient activators (50% activation at 0.1 and 3.4 nM respectively), at least four orders of magnitude more efficient than uPA. PS-SCL (positional-scanning synthetic combinatorial peptide libraries) were used to identify consensus sequences for the TTSPs, which in the case of hepsin corresponded to the pro-HGF activation sequence, demonstrating a high specificity for this reaction. Both TTSPs were also found to be efficient activators at the cell surface. Activation of pro-HGF by PC3 prostate carcinoma cells was abolished by both protease inhibition and matriptase-targeting siRNA (small interfering RNA), and scattering of MDCK (Madin-Darby canine kidney) cells in the presence of pro-HGF was abolished by inhibition of matriptase. Hepsin-transfected HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells also activated pro-HGF. These observations demonstrate that, in contrast with the uPA/uPAR system, the TTSPs matriptase and hepsin are direct pericellular activators of pro-HGF, and that together these proteins may form a pathway contributing to their involvement in pathological situations, including cancer.
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Sgier D, Zuberbuehler K, Pfaffen S, Neri D. Isolation and characterization of an inhibitory human monoclonal antibody specific to the urokinase-type plasminogen activator, uPA. Protein Eng Des Sel 2010; 23:261-9. [DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzp089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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25
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Markowska A, Bruzgo I, Midura-Nowaczek K. Synthesis and activity of amides of tripeptides as potential urokinase inhibitors. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2009; 25:139-42. [DOI: 10.3109/14756360903049042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Markowska
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Irena Bruzgo
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
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Mekkawy AH, Morris DL, Pourgholami MH. Urokinase plasminogen activator system as a potential target for cancer therapy. Future Oncol 2009; 5:1487-99. [DOI: 10.2217/fon.09.108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteolysis of extracellular matrix (ECM) and basement membrane is an essential mechanism used by cancer cells for their invasion and metastasis. The ECM proteinases are divided into three groups: metalloproteinases, cysteine proteinases and serine proteinases. The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) system is one of the serine proteinase systems involved in ECM degradation. Members of this system, including uPA and its receptor (uPAR), are overexpressed in several malignant tumors. This system plays a major role in adhesion, migration, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, thus making it an important target for anticancer drug therapy. Several strategies, including the use of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides, ribozymes, DNAzyme, RNAi, uPA inhibitors, soluble uPAR, catalytically inactive uPA fragments, synthetic peptides and synthetic hybrids are under study, as they interfere with the expression and/or activity of uPA or uPAR in tumor cells. Herein, we discuss the various pharmaceutical strategies under investigation to combat the uPA activity in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mohammad H Pourgholami
- Cancer Research Laboratories, University of New South Wales, Department of Surgery, St George Hospital (SESIAHS), Sydney, NSW 2217, Australia
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Henrich S, Feierberg I, Wang T, Blomberg N, Wade RC. Comparative binding energy analysis for binding affinity and target selectivity prediction. Proteins 2009; 78:135-53. [DOI: 10.1002/prot.22579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Abstract
Anthrax toxin is a three-part toxin secreted by Bacillus anthracis, consisting of protective antigen (PrAg), edema factor (EF), and lethal factor (LF). To intoxicate host mammalian cells, PrAg, the cell-binding moiety of the toxin, binds to cells and is then proteolytically activated by furin on the cell surface, resulting in the active heptameric form of PrAg. This heptamer serves as a protein-conducting channel that translocates EF and LF, the two enzymatic moieties of the toxin, into the cytosol of the cells where they exert cytotoxic effects. The anthrax toxin delivery system has been well characterized. The amino-terminal PrAg-binding domain of LF (residues 1-254, LFn) is sufficient to allow translocation of fused "passenger" polypeptides, such as the ADP-ribosylation domain of Pseudomonas exotoxin A, to the cytosol of the cells in a PrAg-dependent process. The protease specificity of the anthrax toxin delivery system can also be reengineered by replacing the furin cleavage target sequence of PrAg with other protease substrate sequences. PrAg-U2 is such a PrAg variant, one that is selectively activated by urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA). The uPA-dependent proteolytic activation of PrAg-U2 on the cell surface is readily detected by western blotting analysis of cell lysates in vitro, or cell or animal death in vivo. Here, we describe the use of PrAg-U2 as a molecular reporter tool to test the controversial question of what components are required for uPAR-mediated cell surface pro-uPA activation. The results demonstrate that both uPAR and plasminogen play critical roles in pro-uPA activation both in vitro and in vivo.
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Law B, Tung CH. Proteolysis: A Biological Process Adapted in Drug Delivery, Therapy, and Imaging. Bioconjug Chem 2009; 20:1683-95. [DOI: 10.1021/bc800500a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Benedict Law
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58105, and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Ching-Hsuan Tung
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58105, and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, Texas 77030
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Generation of optimized and urokinase-targeted oncolytic Sendai virus vectors applicable for various human malignancies. Gene Ther 2008; 16:392-403. [PMID: 19037241 DOI: 10.1038/gt.2008.167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We previously reported the development of a prototype 'oncolytic Sendai virus (SeV) vector' formed by introducing two major genomic modifications to the original SeV, namely deletion of the matrix (M) gene to avoid budding of secondary viral particles and manipulation of the trypsin-dependent cleavage site of the fusion (F) gene to generate protease-specific sequences. As a result, the 'oncolytic SeV' that was susceptible to matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was shown to selectively kill MMP-expressing tumors through syncytium formation in vitro and in vivo. However, its efficacy has been relatively limited because of the requirement of higher expression of MMPs and smaller populations of MMP-expressing tumors. To overcome these limitations, we have designed an optimized and dramatically powerful oncolytic SeV vector. Truncation of 14-amino acid residues of the cytoplasmic domain of F protein resulted in dramatic enhancement of cell-killing activities of oncolytic SeV, and the combination with replacement of the trypsin cleavage site with the new urokinase type plasminogen activator (uPA)-sensitive sequence (SGRS) led a variety of human tumors, including prostate (PC-3), renal (CAKI-I), pancreatic (BxPC3) and lung (PC14) cancers, to extensive death through massive cell-to-cell spreading without significant dissemination to the surrounding noncancerous tissue in vivo. These results indicate a dramatic improvement of antitumor activity; therefore, extensive utility of the newly designed uPA-targeted oncolytic SeV has significant potential for treating patients bearing urokinase-expressing cancers in clinical settings.
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31
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Effects of Tripeptides on the Amidolytic Activities of Urokinase, Thrombin, Plasmin and Trypsin. Int J Pept Res Ther 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s10989-008-9132-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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32
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Law B, Tung CH. Structural Modification of Protease Inducible Preprogrammed Nanofiber Precursor. Biomacromolecules 2008; 9:421-5. [DOI: 10.1021/bm7012026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benedict Law
- Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Ching-Hsuan Tung
- Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
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33
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Abstract
Molecular imaging is at the forefront in the advancement of in-vivo diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. New peptide-based molecular probes to facilitate cancer detection are rapidly evolving. Peptide-based molecular probes that target apoptosis, angiogenesis, cell signaling and cell adhesion events are in place. Bacteriophage (phage) display technology, a molecular genetic approach to ligand discovery, is commonly employed to identify peptides as tumor-targeting molecules. The peptide itself may perhaps have functional properties that diminish tumor growth or metastasis. More often, a selected peptide is chemically synthesized, coupled to a radiotracer or fluorescent probe, and utilized in the development of new noninvasive molecular imaging probes. A myriad of peptides that bind cancer cells and cancer-associated antigens have been reported from phage library selections. Phage selections have also been performed in live animals to obtain peptides with optimal stability and targeting properties in vivo. To this point, few in-vitro, in-situ, or in-vivo selected peptides have shown success in the molecular imaging of cancer, the notable exception being vascular targeting peptides identified via in-vivo selections. The success of vasculature targeting peptides, such as those with an RGD motif that bind alpha(v)beta(3)integrin, may be due to the abundance and expression patterns of integrins in tumors and supporting vasculature. The discovery of molecular probes that bind tumor-specific antigens has lagged considerably. One promising means to expedite discovery is through the implementation of selected phage themselves as tumor-imaging agents in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Newton
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, M743 Medical Sciences Bldg., Columbia, MO 65212, USA
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Joossens J, Ali OM, El-Sayed I, Surpateanu G, Van der Veken P, Lambeir AM, Setyono-Han B, Foekens JA, Schneider A, Schmalix W, Haemers A, Augustyns K. Small, potent, and selective diaryl phosphonate inhibitors for urokinase-type plasminogen activator with in vivo antimetastatic properties. J Med Chem 2007; 50:6638-46. [PMID: 18052026 DOI: 10.1021/jm700962j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
A set of small nonpeptidic diaryl phosphonate inhibitors was prepared. Some of these inhibitors show potent and highly selective irreversible uPA inhibition. The biochemical and modeling data prove that the combination of a benzylguanidine moiety with a diaryl phosphonate ester results in optimized molecules for derivatizing the serine alcohol in the uPA active site. Selected compounds show significant antimetastatic effects in the BN-472 rat mammary carcinoma model. We report in this paper a preclinical proof of concept that selective, irreversible uPA inhibitors could be valuable in antimetastatic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jurgen Joossens
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
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Abstract
We report the design and synthesis of enzyme-responsive nanofibers. The fibers are composed of self-assembled hydrophobic beta-sheet peptides incorporating protease-sensitive domains, fluorescent reporters, and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) units. Using urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) as a model system, nanofibers were developed to release fluorescent fragments upon uPA incubation. These protease-sensitive nanofibers may have considerable biomedical applications as diagnostic sensors or for protease-assisted drug deliveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedict Law
- Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
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36
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Al-Ayyoubi M, Schwartz BS, Gettins PGW. Maspin Binds to Urokinase-type and Tissue-type Plasminogen Activator through Exosite-Exosite Interactions. J Biol Chem 2007; 282:19502-9. [PMID: 17510061 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m702445200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Maspin is a member of the serpin family with a reactive center loop that is incompatible with proteinase inhibition by the serpin conformational change mechanism. Despite this there are reports that maspin might regulate uPA-dependent processes in vivo. Using exogenous and endogenous fluorescence, we demonstrate here that maspin can bind uPA and tPA in both single-chain and double-chain forms, with K(d) values between 300 and 600 nM. Binding is at an exosite on maspin close to, but outside of, the reactive center loop and is therefore insensitive to mutation of Arg(340) within the reactive center loop. The binding site on tPA does not involve the proteinase active site, with the result that maspin can bind to S195A tPA that is already complexed to plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. The ability of maspin to bind these proteinases without involvement of the reactive center loop leaves the latter free to engage in additional, as yet unidentified, maspin-protein interactions that may serve to regulate the properties of the exosite-bound proteinase. This may help to reconcile apparently conflicting studies that demonstrate the importance of the reactive center loop in certain maspin functions, despite the inability of maspin to directly inhibit tPA or uPA catalytic activity in in vitro assays through engagement between its reactive center loop and the active site of the proteinase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maher Al-Ayyoubi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA
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37
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Chen KH, Liu S, Bankston LA, Liddington RC, Leppla SH. Selection of anthrax toxin protective antigen variants that discriminate between the cellular receptors TEM8 and CMG2 and achieve targeting of tumor cells. J Biol Chem 2007; 282:9834-9845. [PMID: 17251181 PMCID: PMC2530824 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m611142200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthrax toxin, a three-component protein toxin secreted by Bacillus anthracis, assembles into toxic complexes at the surface of receptor-bearing eukaryotic cells. The protective antigen (PA) protein binds to receptors, either tumor endothelial cell marker 8 (TEM8) or CMG2 (capillary morphogenesis protein 2), and orchestrates the delivery of the lethal and edema factors into the cytosol. TEM8 is reported to be overexpressed during tumor angiogenesis, whereas CMG2 is more widely expressed in normal tissues. To extend prior work on targeting of tumor with modified anthrax toxins, we used phage display to select PA variants that preferentially bind to TEM8 as compared with CMG2. Substitutions were randomly introduced into residues 605-729 of PA, within the C-terminal domain 4 of PA, which is the principal region that contacts receptor. Candidates were characterized in cellular cytotoxicity assays with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing either TEM8 or CMG2. A PA mutant having the substitutions R659S and M662R had enhanced specificity toward TEM8-overexpressing CHO cells. This PA variant also displayed broad and potent tumoricidal activity to various human tumor cells, especially to HeLa and A549/ATCC cells. By contrast, the substitution N657Q significantly reduced toxicity to TEM8 but not CMG2-overexpressing CHO cells. Our results indicate that certain amino acid substitutions within PA domain 4 create anthrax toxins that selectively kill human tumor cells. The PA R659S/M662R protein may be useful as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuang-Hua Chen
- Laboratory of Bacterial Diseases, NIAID, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-3202
| | - Shihui Liu
- Laboratory of Bacterial Diseases, NIAID, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-3202
| | - Laurie A Bankston
- Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, California 92037
| | - Robert C Liddington
- Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, California 92037
| | - Stephen H Leppla
- Laboratory of Bacterial Diseases, NIAID, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-3202.
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Iakhiaev AV, Nalian A, Koenig K, Idell S. Thrombin-thrombomodulin inhibits prourokinase-mediated pleural mesothelial cell-dependent fibrinolysis. Thromb Res 2007; 120:715-25. [PMID: 17275887 PMCID: PMC2100409 DOI: 10.1016/j.thromres.2006.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2006] [Revised: 11/12/2006] [Accepted: 12/05/2006] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Fibrin deposition is a hallmark of pleural inflammation and loculation but understanding of mechanisms by which mesothelial cells regulate intrapleural fibrinolysins remains incomplete. We speculated that pleural mesothelial cells regulate local fibrinolytic capacity via processing of single chain urokinase type plasminogen activator (scuPA). Pretreatment of human pleural mesothelial (MeT-5A) cells with TGF-beta or thrombin, either alone or in combination, inhibited urokinase (uPA)-mediated fibrinolysis by MeT-5A. Thrombin, unlike TGF-beta, inhibited fibrinolysis without induction of PAI-1, suggesting that thrombin-mediated cleavage of scuPA inhibits the fibrinolytic capacity of MeT-5A cells. Thrombin cleaves both purified scuPA as well as that secreted by MeT-5A cells and cell surface thrombomodulin accelerates thrombin-mediated cleavage of scuPA to inhibit cellular fibrinolytic activity. Molecular dynamics analyses demonstrated that thrombin-cleaved scuPA (uPAt) do not acquire a catalytically active conformation and that secondary plasminogen binding sites of uPA implicated in plasminogen activation are distorted in uPAt, explaining, at least in part, why uPAt is a poor enzyme. uPAt was detectable in transudative and exudative pleural effusions from patients. Intrapleural administration of scuPA generated increased levels of uPAt in PF of rabbits with pleural injury and loculation induced by tetracycline in vivo. This pathway is operative in diverse forms of pleural injury, restricts the urokinase-dependent fibrinolytic capacity of pleural mesothelial cells and contributes to local control of fibrinolytic activity via processing of endogenous or exogenous scuPA within the pleural compartment.
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Affiliation(s)
- A V Iakhiaev
- The Texas Lung Injury Institute, The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler 11937 US HWY 271 Tyler, TX 75708, USA.
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Gerspach J, Németh J, Münkel S, Wajant H, Pfizenmaier K. Target-selective activation of a TNF prodrug by urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) mediated proteolytic processing at the cell surface. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2006; 55:1590-600. [PMID: 16636812 PMCID: PMC11029883 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-006-0162-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2006] [Accepted: 03/16/2006] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We have previously developed TNF prodrugs comprised of a N-terminal scFv targeting, a TNF effector and a C-terminal TNFR1-derived inhibitor module linked to TNF via a MMP-2 motif containing peptide, allowing activation by MMP-2-expressing tumor cells. To overcome the known heterogeneity of matrix metalloprotease expression, we developed TNF prodrugs that become processed by other tumor and/or stroma-associated proteases. These TNF prodrugs comprise either an uPA-selective or a dual uPA-MMP-2-specific linker which displayed efficient, target-dependent and cleavage sequence-specific activation by the corresponding tumor cell-expressed proteases. Selective pharmacologic inhibition of endogenous uPA and MMP-2 confirm independent prodrug processing by these two model proteases and indicate the functional superiority of a prodrug containing a multi-specific protease linker. Processing optimised TNF prodrugs should increase the proportion of active therapeutic within the targeted tissue and thus potentially enhance tumor response rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeannette Gerspach
- Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 31, Stuttgart, 70569 Germany
| | - Julia Németh
- Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 31, Stuttgart, 70569 Germany
| | - Sabine Münkel
- Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 31, Stuttgart, 70569 Germany
| | - Harald Wajant
- Department of Molecular Internal Medicine, Medical Clinic and Polyclinic II, University of Würzburg, Wurzburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Pfizenmaier
- Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 31, Stuttgart, 70569 Germany
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Sun Z, Liu JN. Mutagenesis at Pro309 of single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator alters its catalytic properties. Proteins 2006; 61:870-7. [PMID: 16231330 DOI: 10.1002/prot.20686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The charge of Lys300(c143) located within a flexible loop(297-313) of sc-uPA has been identified as an important determinant for its high intrinsic activity. Mutations affecting the flexibility of the loop also modulate the intrinsic activity. Glu-plasminogen activation by sc-uPA is strongly promoted by fibrin fragment E but not fibrin fragment D-dimer, whereas plasminogen activation by t-PA is strongly promoted by fragment D-dimer but not fragment E. To further investigate the effect of conformation changes in the flexible loop on catalytic properties of sc-uPA, cassette mutations at Pro309(c152) were made and characterized. It was found that the activation of Pro309(c152) mutants by Lys-plasmin was only moderately affected. In contrast, the intrinsic and two-chain activities of Pro309(c152) mutants against S2444 were both significantly decreased. The two-chain activities of these mutants against Glu-plasminogen were also reduced in a range of 1.1- to 127-fold. The mutations of Pro309(c152) to Trp/Phe and Arg/Asp more significantly affected both intrinsic and two-chain activities, while only a moderate decrease in activity was found with mutations to Ala/Ser/Thr. In contrast to wild-type sc-uPA, plasminogen activation by Pro309(c152) mutants was found to be promoted by both fibrin fragment E and D-dimer. In the presence of 2.0 microM D-dimer, plasminogen activation by mutant Pro309(c152) --> His was promoted by 22-fold, while only 2.0-fold promotion was found with mutant Pro309(c152) --> Gly. In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that conformation changes in the flexible loop of sc-uPA not only affect its intrinsic and two-chain activity, but also extend its promotion of plasminogen activation by fragment E to D-dimer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyong Sun
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
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41
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Abstract
The roles of proteases in cancer are now known to be much broader than simply degradation of extracellular matrix during tumor invasion and metastasis. Furthermore, proteases from tumor-associated cells (e.g., fibroblasts, inflammatory cells, endothelial cells) as well as tumor cells are recognized to contribute to pathways critical to neoplastic progression. Although elevated expression (transcripts and proteins) of proteases, and in some cases protease inhibitors, has been documented in many tumors, techniques to assess functional roles for proteases require that we measure protease activity and inhibition of that activity rather than levels of proteases, activators, and inhibitors. Novel techniques for functional imaging of protease activity, both in vitro and in vivo, are being developed as are imaging probes that will allow us to determine protease activity and in some cases to discriminate among protease activities. These should be useful clinically as surrogate endpoints for therapies that alter protease activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie F Sloane
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
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42
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Rønø B, Rømer J, Liu S, Bugge TH, Leppla SH, Kristjansen PEG. Antitumor efficacy of a urokinase activation–dependent anthrax toxin. Mol Cancer Ther 2006; 5:89-96. [PMID: 16432166 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-05-0163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Previously, we have generated a potent prodrug consisting of modified anthrax toxins that is activated by urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA). The cytotoxicity of the drug, PrAg-U2 + FP59, is dependent on the presence of receptor-associated uPA activity. Local intradermal administration of PrAg-U2 + FP59 adjacent to the tumor nodules in mice with transplanted solid tumors had a potent antitumor effect. In succession of these experiments, we have now investigated the systemic antitumor efficacy of PrAg-U2 + FP59. C57Bl/6J mice bearing syngenic tumors derived from B16 melanoma, T241 fibrosarcoma, or Lewis lung carcinoma cells were treated with different mass ratios and doses of PrAg-U2 + FP59. Tumor volumes were recorded daily by caliper measurements. In some experiments, dexamethasone was coadministered. Our data show a significant antitumor effect of systemic administration of PrAg-U2 + FP59 in three syngenic tumor models. Optimal antitumor effect and low toxicity was obtained with a 25:1 mass ratio between the two components (PrAg-U2 and FP59). The experiments show that PrAg-U2 + FP59 displays a clear dose-response relationship with regard to both antitumor efficacy and systemic toxicity. Dose-limiting toxicity seemed to be due to activation of the prodrug by uPA and its receptor in the intestinal mucosa. Concurrent treatment with dexamethasone was found to prevent dose-limiting toxicity. Taken together, these data indicate that uPA-activated toxins may be promising candidates for targeted therapy of human cancers that overexpress uPA and its receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgitte Rønø
- Institute of Molecular Pathology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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43
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Ustach CV, Kim HRC. Platelet-derived growth factor D is activated by urokinase plasminogen activator in prostate carcinoma cells. Mol Cell Biol 2005; 25:6279-88. [PMID: 15988036 PMCID: PMC1168822 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.25.14.6279-6288.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2004] [Revised: 01/07/2005] [Accepted: 04/15/2005] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) protein family members are potent mitogens and chemoattractants for mesenchymal cells. The classic PDGF ligands A and B are single-domain protein chains which are secreted as active dimers capable of activating their cognate PDGF receptors (PDGFRs). In contrast to PDGFs A and B, PDGF D contains an N-terminal complement subcomponent C1r/C1s, Uegf, and Bmp1 (CUB) domain and a C-terminal PDGF domain. PDGF D must undergo extracellular proteolytic processing, separating the CUB domain from the PDGF domain, before the PDGF domain can stimulate beta-PDGFR-mediated cell signal transduction. Here, we report that prostate carcinoma cells LNCaP and PC3 autoactivate latent full-length PDGF D into its active form under serum-independent conditions and that this autoactivation is inhibited by PAI-1, a urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)/tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) inhibitor. Interestingly, uPA, but not the closely related protease tPA, is capable of processing recombinant latent PDGF DD into the active form. We identify the uPA cleavage site between the CUB and PDGF domains of the full-length PDGF D by mutational analysis and show that PDGF D and uPA colocalize in human prostate carcinoma. This evidence provides a direct link between uPA- and PDGF D-mediated cell signaling, which may contribute to the progression of prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn V Ustach
- Department of Pathology, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 E. Canfield, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA
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Gosalia DN, Salisbury CM, Maly DJ, Ellman JA, Diamond SL. Profiling serine protease substrate specificity with solution phase fluorogenic peptide microarrays. Proteomics 2005; 5:1292-8. [PMID: 15742319 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.200401011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
A novel microarray-based proteolytic profiling assay enabled the rapid determination of protease substrate specificities with minimal sample and enzyme usage. A 722-member library of fluorogenic protease substrates of the general format Ac-Ala-X-X-(Arg/Lys)-coumarin was synthesized and microarrayed, along with fluorescent calibration standards, in glycerol nanodroplets on microscope slides. The arrays were then activated by deposition of an aerosolized enzyme solution, followed by incubation and fluorometric scanning. The specificities of human blood serine proteases (human thrombin, factor Xa, plasmin, and urokinase plasminogen activator) were examined. The arrays provided complete maps of protease specificity for all of the substrates tested and allowed for detection of cooperative interactions between substrate subsites. The arrays were further utilized to explore the conservation of thrombin specificity across species by comparing the proteolytic fingerprints of human, bovine, and salmon thrombin. These enzymes share nearly identical specificity profiles despite approximately 390 million years of divergent evolution. Fluorogenic substrate microarrays provide a rapid way to determine protease substrate specificity information that can be used for the design of selective inhibitors and substrates, the study of evolutionary divergence, and potentially, for diagnostic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhaval N Gosalia
- Department of Bioengineering, Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
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Law B, Hsiao JK, Bugge TH, Weissleder R, Tung CH. Optical zymography for specific detection of urokinase plasminogen activator activity in biological samples. Anal Biochem 2005; 338:151-8. [PMID: 15707946 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2004.11.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2004] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Zymography techniques are routinely used to quantify proteolytic activity. In the current study, we describe an optical zymographic procedure that specifically detects urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) activity in biological samples. The method employs a synthetic polymeric uPA fluorescent probe, which is copolymerized in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel. Following electrophoresis and renaturation, enzymatic digestions of the substrate in 50 mM of Tris buffer at pH 7.4 generates fluorescence emission at 695 nm. The enzymatic activities can be analyzed directly by conventional gel imaging systems with a detection limit of 40 pg. This protocol is fast (hours) and does not require staining and destaining steps. The procedure is independent of plasminogen and, therefore, can efficiently distinguish the active two-chain uPA from its proenzyme. Densitometry analysis demonstrated a highly correlative relationship (r2=0.999) between the amount of uPA (over the range of 0.1-8.0 ng) and the average intensity of the fluorescent band. We were able to directly measure uPA activities in different cancer cell lines. This newly developed technique could be expanded to nearly all proteases, including the ones that cannot be analyzed by traditional zymography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedict Law
- Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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47
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Law B, Curino A, Bugge TH, Weissleder R, Tung CH. Design, synthesis, and characterization of urokinase plasminogen-activator-sensitive near-infrared reporter. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004; 11:99-106. [PMID: 15112999 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2003.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2003] [Revised: 10/30/2003] [Accepted: 11/03/2003] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) plays a critical role in malignancies, and its overexpression has been linked to poor clinical prognosis in breast cancer. The ability to noninvasively and serially map uPA expression as a biomarker would thus have significant potential in improving novel cancer therapies. Here, we describe the development of a selective uPA activatable near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent imaging probe. The probe consists of multiple peptide motifs, GGSGRSANAKC-NH2, terminally capped with different NIR fluorochromes (Cy5.5 or Cy7) and a pegylated poly-L-lysine graft copolymer. Upon addition of recombinant human uPA to the probe, significant fluorescence amplification was observed, up to 680% with the optimized preparation. No activation with negative control compounds and uPA inhibitors could be measured. These data indicate that the optimized preparation should be useful for imaging uPA in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedict Law
- Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA
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48
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McCarter JD, Stephens D, Shoemaker K, Rosenberg S, Kirsch JF, Georgiou G. Substrate specificity of the Escherichia coli outer membrane protease OmpT. J Bacteriol 2004; 186:5919-25. [PMID: 15317797 PMCID: PMC516829 DOI: 10.1128/jb.186.17.5919-5925.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
OmpT is a surface protease of gram-negative bacteria that has been shown to cleave antimicrobial peptides, activate human plasminogen, and degrade some recombinant heterologous proteins. We have analyzed the substrate specificity of OmpT by two complementary substrate filamentous phage display methods: (i) in situ cleavage of phage that display protease-susceptible peptides by Escherichia coli expressing OmpT and (ii) in vitro cleavage of phage-displayed peptides using purified enzyme. Consistent with previous reports, OmpT was found to exhibit a virtual requirement for Arg in the P1 position and a slightly less stringent preference for this residue in the P1' position (P1 and P1' are the residues immediately prior to and following the scissile bond). Lys, Gly, and Val were also found in the P1' position. The most common residues in the P2' position were Val or Ala, and the P3 and P4 positions exhibited a preference for Trp or Arg. Synthetic peptides based upon sequences selected by bacteriophage display were cleaved very efficiently, with kcat/Km values up to 7.3 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1). In contrast, a peptide corresponding to the cleavage site of human plasminogen was hydrolyzed with a kcat/Km almost 10(6)-fold lower. Overall, the results presented in this work indicate that in addition to the P1 and P1' positions, additional amino acids within a six-residue window (between P4 and P2') contribute to the binding of substrate polypeptides to the OmpT binding site.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D McCarter
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, and Center for Advanced Materials, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
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49
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De Taeye B, Gils A, Vleugels N, Rabijns A, Declerck PJ. Comparative analysis of the proteinase specificity in wild-type and stabilized plasminogen activator inhibitor-1: evidence for contribution of intramolecular flexibility. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2004; 321:746-51. [PMID: 15358169 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2004] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PAI-1, the physiological inhibitor of tissue-type and urokinase-type plasminogen activator, is a unique member of the serpins as it exists in three distinct conformations: an active inhibitory conformation, a non-inhibitory substrate conformation, and a non-reactive latent conformation. Proline substitution of single residues in the P16-P20 region (situated at the proximal hinge of the reactive site loop) of wild-type PAI-1 (wtPAI-1) and a stabilized PAI-1-variant (PAI-1-stab; N150H, K154T, Q301P, Q319L, and M354I, t(1/2)=150), respectively, resulted in two series of PAI-1-variants with different properties. In wtPAI-1 only substitution at P18 resulted in a pronounced u-PA specificity and substrate behaviour towards t-PA. In contrast, in PAI-1-stab substitution at either P18, P19 or P20 resulted in a u-PA specificity and a significantly increased substrate behaviour towards t-PA and u-PA. Importantly, analysis of the kinetics of inhibition did not reveal any differences in the second-order rate constants of inhibition (k approximately 10(7)M(-1)s(-1)). The pronounced differences observed for identical mutations in wtPAI-1 vs PAI-1-stab demonstrate that not merely the sequence of the reactive loop but also intramolecular interactions between the hF/s3A-loop and the main part of the molecule govern the functional and conformational behaviour of PAI-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart De Taeye
- Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytopharmacology, K.U.Leuven, Van Evenstraat 4, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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50
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Behrendt N. The urokinase receptor (uPAR) and the uPAR-associated protein (uPARAP/Endo180): membrane proteins engaged in matrix turnover during tissue remodeling. Biol Chem 2004; 385:103-36. [PMID: 15101555 DOI: 10.1515/bc.2004.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The breakdown of the barriers formed by extracellular matrix proteins is a pre-requisite for all processes of tissue remodeling. Matrix degradation reactions take part in specific physiological events in the healthy organism but also represent a crucial step in cancer invasion. These degradation processes involve a highly organized interplay between proteases and their cellular binding sites as well as specific substrates and internalization receptors. This review article is focused on two components, the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and the uPAR-associated protein (uPARAP, also designated Endo180), that are considered crucially engaged in matrix degradation. uPAR and uPARAP have highly diverse functions, but on certain cell types they interact with each other in a process that is still incompletely understood. uPAR is a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein on the surface of various cell types that serves to bind the urokinase plasminogen activator and localize the activation reactions in the proteolytic cascade system of plasminogen activation. uPARAP is an integral membrane protein with a pronounced role in the internalization of collagen for intracellular degradation. Both receptors have additional functions that are currently being unraveled. The present discussion of uPAR and uPARAP is centered on their protein structure and molecular and cellular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niels Behrendt
- Finsen Laboratory, Rigshospitalet, Strandboulevarden 49, Bldg. 7.2, DK-2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark
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