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Mazzocato Y, Perin S, Morales-Sanfrutos J, Romanyuk Z, Pluda S, Acquasaliente L, Borsato G, De Filippis V, Scarso A, Angelini A. A novel genetically-encoded bicyclic peptide inhibitor of human urokinase-type plasminogen activator with better cross-reactivity toward the murine orthologue. Bioorg Med Chem 2023; 95:117499. [PMID: 37879145 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2023.117499] [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: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
The inhibition of human urokinase-type plasminogen activator (huPA), a serine protease that plays an important role in pericellular proteolysis, is a promising strategy to decrease the invasive and metastatic activity of tumour cells. However, the generation of selective small molecule huPA inhibitors has proven to be challenging due to the high structural similarity of huPA to other paralogue serine proteases. Efforts to generate more specific therapies have led to the development of cyclic peptide-based inhibitors with much higher selectivity against huPA. While this latter property is desired, the sparing of the orthologue murine poses difficulties for the testing of the inhibitor in preclinical mouse model. In this work, we have applied a Darwinian evolution-based approach to identify phage-encoded bicyclic peptide inhibitors of huPA with better cross-reactivity towards murine uPA (muPA). The best selected bicyclic peptide (UK132) inhibited huPA and muPA with Ki values of 0.33 and 12.58 µM, respectively. The inhibition appears to be specific for uPA, as UK132 only weakly inhibits a panel of structurally similar serine proteases. Removal or substitution of the second loop with one not evolved in vitro led to monocyclic and bicyclic peptide analogues with lower potency than UK132. Moreover, swapping of 1,3,5-tris-(bromomethyl)-benzene with different small molecules not used in the phage selection, resulted in an 80-fold reduction of potency, revealing the important structural role of the branched cyclization linker. Further substitution of an arginine in UK132 to a lysine resulted in a bicyclic peptide UK140 with enhanced inhibitory potency against both huPA (Ki = 0.20 µM) and murine orthologue (Ki = 2.79 µM). By combining good specificity, nanomolar affinity and a low molecular mass, the bicyclic peptide inhibitor developed in this work may provide a novel human and murine cross-reactive lead for the development of a potent and selective anti-metastatic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ylenia Mazzocato
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy
| | - Stefano Perin
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy
| | - Julia Morales-Sanfrutos
- Proteomics Unit, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), C. de Melchor Fernández Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Zhanna Romanyuk
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy
| | - Stefano Pluda
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy; Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A., Via Ponte della Fabbrica 3/A, Abano Terme 35031, Italy
| | - Laura Acquasaliente
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Borsato
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy
| | - Vincenzo De Filippis
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Alessandro Scarso
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy
| | - Alessandro Angelini
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy; European Centre for Living Technology (ECLT), Ca' Bottacin, Dorsoduro 3911, Calle Crosera, 30123 Venice, Italy.
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Chen Y, Duan C, Chen K, Sun S, Zhang D, Meng X. Screening technology of cyclic peptide library based on gene encoding. MEDICINE IN DRUG DISCOVERY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.medidd.2022.100145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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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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Rudzińska M, Daglioglu C, Savvateeva LV, Kaci FN, Antoine R, Zamyatnin AA. Current Status and Perspectives of Protease Inhibitors and Their Combination with Nanosized Drug Delivery Systems for Targeted Cancer Therapy. DRUG DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND THERAPY 2021; 15:9-20. [PMID: 33442233 PMCID: PMC7797289 DOI: 10.2147/dddt.s285852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In cancer treatments, many natural and synthetic products have been examined; among them, protease inhibitors are promising candidates for anti-cancer agents. Since dysregulated proteolytic activities can contribute to tumor development and metastasis, antagonization of proteases with tailored inhibitors is an encouraging approach. Although adverse effects of early designs of these inhibitors disappeared after the introduction of next-generation agents, most of the proposed inhibitors did not pass the early stages of clinical trials due to their nonspecific toxicity and lack of pharmacological effects. Therefore, new applications that modulate proteases more specifically and serve their programmed way of administration are highly appreciated. In this context, nanosized drug delivery systems have attracted much attention because preliminary studies have demonstrated that the therapeutic capacity of inhibitors has been improved significantly with encapsulated formulation as compared to their free forms. Here, we address this issue and discuss the current application and future clinical prospects of this potential combination towards targeted protease-based cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Rudzińska
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Cenk Daglioglu
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Application and Research Center, Integrated Research Centers, Izmir Institute of Technology, Urla, Izmir 35430, Turkey
| | - Lyudmila V Savvateeva
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Fatma Necmiye Kaci
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Erzurum Technical University, Yakutiye, Erzurum 25050, Turkey
| | - Rodolphe Antoine
- CNRS, Institut Lumière Matière, Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon F-69622, France
| | - Andrey A Zamyatnin
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Department of Biotechnology, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi 354340, Russia
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5
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Mishra M, Singh V, Tellis MB, Joshi RS, Pandey KC, Singh S. Cyclic peptide engineered from phytocystatin inhibitory hairpin loop as an effective modulator of falcipains and potent antimalarial. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020; 40:3642-3654. [PMID: 33292080 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1848629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Cystatins are classical competitive inhibitors of C1 family cysteine proteases (papain family). Phytocystatin superfamily shares high sequence homology and typical tertiary structure with conserved glutamine-valine-glycine (Q-X-V-X-G) loop blocking the active site of C1 proteases. Here, we develop a cysteine-bounded cyclic peptide (CYS-cIHL) and linear peptide (CYS-IHL), using the conserved inhibitory hairpin loop amino acid sequence. Using an in silico approach based on modeling, protein-peptide docking, molecular dynamics simulations and calculation of free energy of binding, we designed and validated inhibitory peptides against falcipain-2 (FP-2) and -3 (FP-3), cysteine proteases from the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Falcipains are critical hemoglobinases of P. falciparum that are validated targets for the development of antimalarial therapies. CYS-cIHL was able to bind with micromolar affinity to FP-2 and modulate its binding with its substrate, hemoglobin in in vitro and in vivo assays. CYS-cIHL could effectively block parasite growth and displayed antimalarial activity in culture assays with no cytotoxicity towards human cells. These results indicated that cyclization can substantially increase the peptide affinity to the target. Furthermore, this can be applied as an effective strategy for engineering peptide inhibitory potency against proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manasi Mishra
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vigyasa Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Meenakshi B Tellis
- Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
| | - Rakesh S Joshi
- Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Kailash C Pandey
- Parasite-Host Biology Group, ICMR National Institute of Malaria Research, Dwarka, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh, India.,Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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Lin H, Xu L, Yu S, Hong W, Huang M, Xu P. Therapeutics targeting the fibrinolytic system. Exp Mol Med 2020; 52:367-379. [PMID: 32152451 PMCID: PMC7156416 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-020-0397-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Revised: 12/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The function of the fibrinolytic system was first identified to dissolve fibrin to maintain vascular patency. Connections between the fibrinolytic system and many other physiological and pathological processes have been well established. Dysregulation of the fibrinolytic system is closely associated with multiple pathological conditions, including thrombosis, inflammation, cancer progression, and neuropathies. Thus, molecules in the fibrinolytic system are potent therapeutic and diagnostic targets. This review summarizes the currently used agents targeting this system and the development of novel therapeutic strategies in experimental studies. Future directions for the development of modulators of the fibrinolytic system are also discussed. The fibrinolytic system was originally identified to dissolve blood clots, and is shown to have important roles in other pathological processes, including cancer progression, inflammation, and thrombosis. Molecules or therapeutics targeting fibrinolytic system have been successfully used in the clinical treatments of cancer and thrombotic diseases. The clinical studies and experimental models targeting fibrinolytic system are reviewed by Haili Lin at Sanming First Hosipital, Mingdong Huang at Fuzhou University in China, and Peng Xu at A*STAR in Singapore to demonstrate fibrinolytic system as novel therapeutic targets. As an example, the inhibition of fibrinolytic system protein can be used to suppress cancer prolifieration and metastasis. This review also discusses the potential therapeutic effects of inhibitiors of fibrinolytic system on inflammatory disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haili Lin
- Department of Pharmacy, Sanming First Hospital, 365000, Sanming, Fujian, People's Republic of China
| | - Luning Xu
- Department of Pharmacy, Sanming First Hospital, 365000, Sanming, Fujian, People's Republic of China
| | - Shujuan Yu
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, 350116, Fuzhou, Fujian, People's Republic of China
| | - Wanjin Hong
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore, 138673, Singapore
| | - Mingdong Huang
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, 350116, Fuzhou, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
| | - Peng Xu
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore, 138673, Singapore.
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7
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Morais PA, Maia FF, Solis-Calero C, Caetano EWS, Freire VN, Carvalho HF. The urokinase plasminogen activator binding to its receptor: a quantum biochemistry description within an in/homogeneous dielectric function framework with application to uPA–uPAR peptide inhibitors. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:3570-3583. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cp06530j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
DFT calculations using the MFCC fragment-based model considering a spatial-dependent dielectric function based on the Poisson–Boltzmann approximation were performed to describe the uPA–uPAR interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo A. Morais
- Instituto Federal de Educação
- Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará
- Campus Horizonte
- Horizonte
- Brazil
| | - Francisco Franciné Maia
- Departamento de Ciências Naturais
- Matemática e Estatística
- Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido
- Mossoró
- Brazil
| | - Christian Solis-Calero
- Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional
- Instituto de Biologia
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas
- Campinas
- Brazil
| | | | | | - Hernandes F. Carvalho
- Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional
- Instituto de Biologia
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas
- Campinas
- Brazil
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Malde AK, Hill TA, Iyer A, Fairlie DP. Crystal Structures of Protein-Bound Cyclic Peptides. Chem Rev 2019; 119:9861-9914. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alpeshkumar K. Malde
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Timothy A. Hill
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Abishek Iyer
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - David P. Fairlie
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
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9
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Wang D, Yang Y, Jiang L, Wang Y, Li J, Andreasen PA, Chen Z, Huang M, Xu P. Suppression of Tumor Growth and Metastases by Targeted Intervention in Urokinase Activity with Cyclic Peptides. J Med Chem 2019; 62:2172-2183. [PMID: 30707839 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a diagnostic marker for breast and prostate cancers recommended by American Society for Clinical Oncology and German Breast Cancer Society. Inhibition of uPA was proposed as an efficient strategy for cancer treatments. In this study, we report peptide-based uPA inhibitors with high potency and specificity comparable to monoclonal antibodies. We revealed the binding and inhibitory mechanisms by combining crystallography, molecular dynamic simulation, and other biophysical and biochemical approaches. Besides, we showed that our peptides efficiently inhibited the invasion of cancer cells via intervening with the processes of the degradation of extracellular matrices. Furthermore, our peptides significantly suppressed the tumor growth and the cancer metastases in tumor-bearing mice. This study demonstrates that these uPA peptides are highly potent anticancer agents and reveals the mechanistic insights of these uPA inhibitors, which can be useful for developing other serine protease inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter , Chinese Academy of Sciences , 155 West Yangqiao Road , Fuzhou , Fujian 350002 , China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No.19 (A) Yuquan Road , Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Yongshuai Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter , Chinese Academy of Sciences , 155 West Yangqiao Road , Fuzhou , Fujian 350002 , China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No.19 (A) Yuquan Road , Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049 , China.,College of Life Science , Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University , Fuzhou , Fujian 350002 , China
| | - Longguang Jiang
- College of Chemistry , Fuzhou University , Fuzhou , Fujian 350116 , China
| | - Yu Wang
- College of Life Science , Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University , Fuzhou , Fujian 350002 , China
| | - Jinyu Li
- College of Chemistry , Fuzhou University , Fuzhou , Fujian 350116 , China
| | - Peter A Andreasen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics , Aarhus University , Aarhus C 8000 , Denmark
| | - Zhuo Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter , Chinese Academy of Sciences , 155 West Yangqiao Road , Fuzhou , Fujian 350002 , China
| | - Mingdong Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter , Chinese Academy of Sciences , 155 West Yangqiao Road , Fuzhou , Fujian 350002 , China.,College of Chemistry , Fuzhou University , Fuzhou , Fujian 350116 , China
| | - Peng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter , Chinese Academy of Sciences , 155 West Yangqiao Road , Fuzhou , Fujian 350002 , China
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