1
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Tran HNT, Budusan E, Saez NJ, Norman A, Tucker IJ, King GF, Payne RJ, Rash LD, Vetter I, Schroeder CI. Evaluation of Peptide Ligation Strategies for the Synthesis of the Bivalent Acid-Sensing Ion Channel Inhibitor Hi1a. Org Lett 2023; 25:4439-4444. [PMID: 37306339 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c01346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Hi1a is a naturally occurring bivalent spider-venom peptide that is being investigated as a promising molecule for limiting ischemic damage in strokes, myocardial infarction, and organ transplantation. However, the challenges associated with the synthesis and production of the peptide in large quantities have slowed the progress in this area; hence, access to synthetic Hi1a is an essential milestone for the development of Hi1a as a pharmacological tool and potential therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Elena Budusan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Natalie J Saez
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Research, https://cipps.org.au/
| | - Alexander Norman
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Isaac J Tucker
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Research, https://cipps.org.au/
| | - Glenn F King
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Research, https://cipps.org.au/
| | - Richard J Payne
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Research, https://cipps.org.au/
| | - Lachlan D Rash
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Christina I Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Research, https://cipps.org.au/
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
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2
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Tran P, Tran HNT, McMahon KL, Deuis JR, Ragnarsson L, Norman A, Sharpe SJ, Payne RJ, Vetter I, Schroeder CI. Changes in Potency and Subtype Selectivity of Bivalent Na V Toxins are Knot-Specific. Bioconjug Chem 2023. [PMID: 37262436 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Disulfide-rich peptide toxins have long been studied for their ability to inhibit voltage-gated sodium channel subtype NaV1.7, a validated target for the treatment of pain. In this study, we sought to combine the pore blocking activity of conotoxins with the gating modifier activity of spider toxins to design new bivalent inhibitors of NaV1.7 with improved potency and selectivity. To do this, we created an array of heterodimeric toxins designed to target human NaV1.7 by ligating a conotoxin to a spider toxin and assessed the potency and selectivity of the resulting bivalent toxins. A series of spider-derived gating modifier toxins (GpTx-1, ProTx-II, gHwTx-IV, JzTx-V, CcoTx-1, and Pn3a) and two pore-blocker μ-conotoxins, SxIIIC and KIIIA, were used for this study. We employed either enzymatic ligation with sortase A for C- to N-terminal ligation or click chemistry for N- to N-terminal ligation. The bivalent peptide resulting from ligation of ProTx-II and SxIIIC (Pro[LPATG6]Sx) was shown to be the best combination as native ProTx-II potency at hNaV1.7 was conserved following ligation. At hNaV1.4, a synergistic effect between the pore blocker and gating modifier toxin moieties was observed, resulting in altered sodium channel subtype selectivity compared to the parent peptides. Further studies including mutant bivalent peptides and mutant hNaV1.7 channels suggested that gating modifier toxins have a greater contribution to the potency of the bivalent peptides than pore blockers. This study delineated potential benefits and drawbacks of designing pharmacological hybrid peptides targeting hNaV1.7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Poanna Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Kirsten L McMahon
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jennifer R Deuis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Lotten Ragnarsson
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Alexander Norman
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Simon J Sharpe
- Molecular Medicine Program, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Richard J Payne
- School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia
| | - Christina I Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702-1201, United States
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
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3
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Jami S, Deuis JR, Klasfauseweh T, Cheng X, Kurdyukov S, Chung F, Okorokov AL, Li S, Zhang J, Cristofori-Armstrong B, Israel MR, Ju RJ, Robinson SD, Zhao P, Ragnarsson L, Andersson Å, Tran P, Schendel V, McMahon KL, Tran HNT, Chin YKY, Zhu Y, Liu J, Crawford T, Purushothamvasan S, Habib AM, Andersson DA, Rash LD, Wood JN, Zhao J, Stehbens SJ, Mobli M, Leffler A, Jiang D, Cox JJ, Waxman SG, Dib-Hajj SD, Neely GG, Durek T, Vetter I. Pain-causing stinging nettle toxins target TMEM233 to modulate Na V1.7 function. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2442. [PMID: 37117223 PMCID: PMC10147923 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37963-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels are critical regulators of neuronal excitability and are targeted by many toxins that directly interact with the pore-forming α subunit, typically via extracellular loops of the voltage-sensing domains, or residues forming part of the pore domain. Excelsatoxin A (ExTxA), a pain-causing knottin peptide from the Australian stinging tree Dendrocnide excelsa, is the first reported plant-derived NaV channel modulating peptide toxin. Here we show that TMEM233, a member of the dispanin family of transmembrane proteins expressed in sensory neurons, is essential for pharmacological activity of ExTxA at NaV channels, and that co-expression of TMEM233 modulates the gating properties of NaV1.7. These findings identify TMEM233 as a previously unknown NaV1.7-interacting protein, position TMEM233 and the dispanins as accessory proteins that are indispensable for toxin-mediated effects on NaV channel gating, and provide important insights into the function of NaV channels in sensory neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sina Jami
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jennifer R Deuis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Tabea Klasfauseweh
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Xiaoyang Cheng
- Department of Neurology and Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Rehabilitation Research Center, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sergey Kurdyukov
- Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre, Centenary Institute, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Felicity Chung
- Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre, Centenary Institute, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Andrei L Okorokov
- Molecular Nociception Group, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, Division of Medicine, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Shengnan Li
- Molecular Nociception Group, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, Division of Medicine, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Jiangtao Zhang
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Ben Cristofori-Armstrong
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Mathilde R Israel
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, SE1 1UL, London, UK
| | - Robert J Ju
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Samuel D Robinson
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Peng Zhao
- Department of Neurology and Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Rehabilitation Research Center, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lotten Ragnarsson
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Åsa Andersson
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Poanna Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Vanessa Schendel
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Kirsten L McMahon
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Yanni K-Y Chin
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Yifei Zhu
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Junyu Liu
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Theo Crawford
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | | | - Abdella M Habib
- College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - David A Andersson
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, SE1 1UL, London, UK
| | - Lachlan D Rash
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - John N Wood
- Molecular Nociception Group, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, Division of Medicine, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Jing Zhao
- Molecular Nociception Group, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, Division of Medicine, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Samantha J Stehbens
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Mehdi Mobli
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Andreas Leffler
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, 30625, Germany
| | - Daohua Jiang
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - James J Cox
- Molecular Nociception Group, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, Division of Medicine, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Stephen G Waxman
- Department of Neurology and Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Rehabilitation Research Center, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sulayman D Dib-Hajj
- Department of Neurology and Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Rehabilitation Research Center, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - G Gregory Neely
- Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre, Centenary Institute, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Thomas Durek
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102, Australia.
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4
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McMahon KL, Tran HNT, Deuis JR, Craik DJ, Vetter I, Schroeder CI. µ-Conotoxins Targeting the Human Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Subtype NaV1.7. Toxins (Basel) 2022; 14:toxins14090600. [PMID: 36136538 PMCID: PMC9506549 DOI: 10.3390/toxins14090600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
µ-Conotoxins are small, potent, peptide voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channel inhibitors characterised by a conserved cysteine framework. Despite promising in vivo studies indicating analgesic potential of these compounds, selectivity towards the therapeutically relevant subtype NaV1.7 has so far been limited. We recently identified a novel µ-conotoxin, SxIIIC, which potently inhibits human NaV1.7 (hNaV1.7). SxIIIC has high sequence homology with other µ-conotoxins, including SmIIIA and KIIIA, yet shows different NaV channel selectivity for mammalian subtypes. Here, we evaluated and compared the inhibitory potency of µ-conotoxins SxIIIC, SmIIIA and KIIIA at hNaV channels by whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology and discovered that these three closely related µ-conotoxins display unique selectivity profiles with significant variations in inhibitory potency at hNaV1.7. Analysis of other µ-conotoxins at hNaV1.7 shows that only a limited number are capable of inhibition at this subtype and that differences between the number of residues in loop 3 appear to influence the ability of µ-conotoxins to inhibit hNaV1.7. Through mutagenesis studies, we confirmed that charged residues in this region also affect the selectivity for hNaV1.4. Comparison of µ-conotoxin NMR solution structures identified differences that may contribute to the variance in hNaV1.7 inhibition and validated the role of the loop 1 extension in SxIIIC for improving potency at hNaV1.7, when compared to KIIIA. This work could assist in designing µ-conotoxin derivatives specific for hNaV1.7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten L. McMahon
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Hue N. T. Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jennifer R. Deuis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - David J. Craik
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- The School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
- Correspondence: (I.V.); (C.I.S.)
| | - Christina I. Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
- Correspondence: (I.V.); (C.I.S.)
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5
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Abstract
![]()
Inherent susceptibility
of peptides to enzymatic degradation in
the gastrointestinal tract is a key bottleneck in oral peptide drug
development. Here, we present a systematic analysis of (i) the gut
stability of disulfide-rich peptide scaffolds, orally administered
peptide therapeutics, and well-known neuropeptides and (ii) medicinal
chemistry strategies to improve peptide gut stability. Among a broad
range of studied peptides, cyclotides were the only scaffold class
to resist gastrointestinal degradation, even when grafted with non-native
sequences. Backbone cyclization, a frequently applied strategy, failed
to improve stability in intestinal fluid, but several site-specific
alterations proved efficient. This work furthermore highlights the
importance of standardized gut stability test conditions and suggests
defined protocols to facilitate cross-study comparison. Together,
our results provide a comparative overview and framework for the chemical
engineering of gut-stable peptides, which should be valuable for the
development of orally administered peptide therapeutics and molecular
probes targeting receptors within the gastrointestinal tract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Kremsmayr
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 38, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Aws Aljnabi
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 38, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Juan B Blanco-Canosa
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona 08034, Spain
| | - Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Nayara Braga Emidio
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Markus Muttenthaler
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 38, Vienna 1090, Austria.,Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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6
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Tran HNT, McMahon KL, Deuis JR, Vetter I, Schroeder CI. Structural and functional insights into the inhibition of human voltage-gated sodium channels by μ-conotoxin KIIIA disulfide isomers. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:101728. [PMID: 35167877 PMCID: PMC8927997 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
μ-Conotoxins are components of cone snail venom, well-known for their analgesic activity through potent inhibition of voltage-gated sodium channel (NaV) subtypes, including NaV1.7. These small, disulfide-rich peptides are typically stabilized by three disulfide bonds arranged in a ‘native’ CysI-CysIV, CysII-CysV, CysIII-CysVI pattern of disulfide connectivity. However, μ-conotoxin KIIIA, the smallest and most studied μ-conotoxin with inhibitory activity at NaV1.7, forms two distinct disulfide bond isomers during thermodynamic oxidative folding, including Isomer 1 (CysI-CysV, CysII-CysIV, CysIII-CysVI) and Isomer 2 (CysI-CysVI, CysII-CysIV, CysIII-CysV), but not the native μ-conotoxin arrangement. To date, there has been no study on the structure and activity of KIIIA comprising the native μ-conotoxin disulfide bond arrangement. Here, we evaluated the synthesis, potency, sodium channel subtype selectivity, and 3D structure of the three isomers of KIIIA. Using a regioselective disulfide bond-forming strategy, we synthetically produced the three μ-conotoxin KIIIA isomers displaying distinct bioactivity and NaV subtype selectivity across human NaV channel subtypes 1.2, 1.4, and 1.7. We show that Isomer 1 inhibits NaV subtypes with a rank order of potency of NaV1.4 > 1.2 > 1.7 and Isomer 2 in the order of NaV1.4≈1.2 > 1.7, while the native isomer inhibited NaV1.4 > 1.7≈1.2. The three KIIIA isomers were further evaluated by NMR solution structure analysis and molecular docking with hNaV1.2. Our study highlights the importance of investigating alternate disulfide isomers, as disulfide connectivity affects not only the overall structure of the peptides but also the potency and subtype selectivity of μ-conotoxins targeting therapeutically relevant NaV subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Kirsten L McMahon
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jennifer R Deuis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia; School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Christina I Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia; Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland, USA.
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7
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Tran HNT, Tran P, Deuis JR, McMahon KL, Yap K, Craik DJ, Vetter I, Schroeder CI. Evaluation of Efficient Non-reducing Enzymatic and Chemical Ligation Strategies for Complex Disulfide-Rich Peptides. Bioconjug Chem 2021; 32:2407-2419. [PMID: 34751572 PMCID: PMC10167913 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.1c00452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Double-knotted peptides identified in venoms and synthetic bivalent peptide constructs targeting ion channels are emerging tools for the study of ion channel pharmacology and physiology. These highly complex and disulfide-rich peptides contain two individual cystine knots, each comprising six cysteines and three disulfide bonds. Until now, native double-knotted peptides, such as Hi1a and DkTx, have only been isolated from venom or produced recombinantly, whereas engineered double-knotted peptides have successfully been produced through enzymatic ligation using sortase A to form a seamless amide bond at the ligation site between two knotted toxins, and by alkyne/azide click chemistry, joining two peptide knots via a triazole linkage. To further pursue these double-knotted peptides as pharmacological tools or probes for therapeutically relevant ion channels, we sought to identify a robust methodology resulting in a high yield product that lends itself to rapid production and facile mutational studies. In this study, we evaluated the ligation efficiency of enzymatic (sortase A5°, butelase 1, wild-type OaAEP 1, C247A-OaAEP 1, and peptiligase) and mild chemical approaches (α-ketoacid-hydroxylamine, KAHA) for forming a native amide bond linking the toxins while maintaining the native disulfide connectivity of each pre-folded peptide. We used two NaV1.7 inhibitors: PaurTx3, a spider-derived gating modifier peptide, and KIIIA, a small cone snail-derived pore blocker peptide, which have previously been shown to increase affinity and inhibitory potency on hNaV1.7 when ligated together. Correctly folded peptides were successfully ligated in varying yields, without disulfide bond shuffling or reduction, with sortase A5° being the most efficient, resulting in 60% ligation conversion within 15 min. In addition, electrophysiology studies demonstrated that for these two peptides, the amino acid composition of the linker did not affect the activity of the double-knotted peptides. This study demonstrates the powerful application of enzymes in efficiently ligating complex disulfide-rich peptides, paving the way for facile production of double-knotted peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Poanna Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jennifer R Deuis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Kirsten L McMahon
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Kuok Yap
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - David J Craik
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.,School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia
| | - Christina I Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.,Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
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8
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Gulsevin A, Papke RL, Stokes C, Tran HNT, Jin AH, Vetter I, Meiler J. The Allosteric Activation of α7 nAChR by α-Conotoxin MrIC Is Modified by Mutations at the Vestibular Site. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:toxins13080555. [PMID: 34437426 PMCID: PMC8402416 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13080555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
α-conotoxins are 13–19 amino acid toxin peptides that bind various nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes. α-conotoxin Mr1.7c (MrIC) is a 17 amino acid peptide that targets α7 nAChR. Although MrIC has no activating effect on α7 nAChR when applied by itself, it evokes a large response when co-applied with the type II positive allosteric modulator PNU-120596, which potentiates the α7 nAChR response by recovering it from a desensitized state. A lack of standalone activity, despite activation upon co-application with a positive allosteric modulator, was previously observed for molecules that bind to an extracellular domain allosteric activation (AA) site at the vestibule of the receptor. We hypothesized that MrIC may activate α7 nAChR allosterically through this site. We ran voltage-clamp electrophysiology experiments and in silico peptide docking calculations in order to gather evidence in support of α7 nAChR activation by MrIC through the AA site. The experiments with the wild-type α7 nAChR supported an allosteric mode of action, which was confirmed by the significantly increased MrIC + PNU-120596 responses of three α7 nAChR AA site mutants that were designed in silico to improve MrIC binding. Overall, our results shed light on the allosteric activation of α7 nAChR by MrIC and suggest the involvement of the AA site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alican Gulsevin
- Center for Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37212, USA;
- Correspondence:
| | - Roger L. Papke
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; (R.L.P.); (C.S.)
| | - Clare Stokes
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; (R.L.P.); (C.S.)
| | - Hue N. T. Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.N.T.T.); (A.H.J.); (I.V.)
| | - Aihua H. Jin
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.N.T.T.); (A.H.J.); (I.V.)
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.N.T.T.); (A.H.J.); (I.V.)
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Jens Meiler
- Center for Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37212, USA;
- Institute for Drug Discovery, Leipzig University Medical School, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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9
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Braga Emidio N, Tran HNT, Andersson A, Dawson PE, Albericio F, Vetter I, Muttenthaler M. Improving the Gastrointestinal Stability of Linaclotide. J Med Chem 2021; 64:8384-8390. [PMID: 33979161 PMCID: PMC8237258 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
High susceptibility to proteolytic degradation in the gastrointestinal tract limits the therapeutic application of peptide drugs in gastrointestinal disorders. Linaclotide is an orally administered peptide drug for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and abdominal pain. Linaclotide is however degraded in the intestinal environment within 1 h, and improvements in gastrointestinal stability might enhance its therapeutic application. We therefore designed and synthesized a series of linaclotide analogues employing a variety of strategic modifications and evaluated their gastrointestinal stability and pharmacological activity at its target receptor guanylate cyclase-C. All analogues had substantial improvements in gastrointestinal half-lives (>8 h vs linaclotide 48 min), and most remained active at low nanomolar concentrations. This work highlights strategic approaches for the development of gut-stable peptides toward the next generation of orally administered peptide drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nayara Braga Emidio
- Institute
for Molecular Bioscience, The University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Hue N. T. Tran
- Institute
for Molecular Bioscience, The University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Asa Andersson
- Institute
for Molecular Bioscience, The University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Philip E. Dawson
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Fernando Albericio
- CIBER-BBN,
Networking Centre on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine,
and Department of Organic Chemistry, University
of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute
for Molecular Bioscience, The University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- School
of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Markus Muttenthaler
- Institute
for Molecular Bioscience, The University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Institute
of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
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10
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Braga Emidio N, Meli R, Tran HNT, Baik H, Morisset-Lopez S, Elliott AG, Blaskovich MAT, Spiller S, Beck-Sickinger AG, Schroeder CI, Muttenthaler M. Chemical Synthesis of TFF3 Reveals Novel Mechanistic Insights and a Gut-Stable Metabolite. J Med Chem 2021; 64:9484-9495. [PMID: 34142550 PMCID: PMC8273887 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
![]()
TFF3 regulates essential
gastro- and neuroprotective functions,
but its molecular mode of action remains poorly understood. Synthetic
intractability and lack of reliable bioassays and validated receptors
are bottlenecks for mechanistic and structure–activity relationship
studies. Here, we report the chemical synthesis of TFF3 and its homodimer via native chemical ligation followed by oxidative folding.
Correct folding was confirmed by NMR and circular dichroism, and TFF3
and its homodimer were not cytotoxic or hemolytic. TFF3, its homodimer,
and the trefoil domain (TFF310-50) were susceptible
to gastrointestinal degradation, revealing a gut-stable metabolite
(TFF37-54; t1/2 >
24
h) that retained its trefoil structure and antiapoptotic bioactivity.
We tried to validate the putative TFF3 receptors CXCR4 and LINGO2,
but neither TFF3 nor its homodimer displayed any activity up to 10
μM. The discovery of a gut-stable bioactive metabolite and reliable
synthetic accessibility to TFF3 and its analogues are cornerstones
for future molecular probe development and structure–activity
relationship studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nayara Braga Emidio
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Rajeshwari Meli
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Hayeon Baik
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Séverine Morisset-Lopez
- Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CNRS, Unité Propre de Recherche 4301, Université d'Orléans, Orleans 45071, France
| | - Alysha G Elliott
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Mark A T Blaskovich
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Sabrina Spiller
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | | | - Christina I Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.,Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Markus Muttenthaler
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.,Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
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11
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Agwa AJ, Tran P, Mueller A, Tran HNT, Deuis JR, Israel MR, McMahon KL, Craik DJ, Vetter I, Schroeder CI. Manipulation of a spider peptide toxin alters its affinity for lipid bilayers and potency and selectivity for voltage-gated sodium channel subtype 1.7. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:5067-5080. [PMID: 32139508 PMCID: PMC7152767 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra119.012281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Huwentoxin-IV (HwTx-IV) is a gating modifier peptide toxin from spiders that has weak affinity for the lipid bilayer. As some gating modifier toxins have affinity for model lipid bilayers, a tripartite relationship among gating modifier toxins, voltage-gated ion channels, and the lipid membrane surrounding the channels has been proposed. We previously designed an HwTx-IV analogue (gHwTx-IV) with reduced negative charge and increased hydrophobic surface profile, which displays increased lipid bilayer affinity and in vitro activity at the voltage-gated sodium channel subtype 1.7 (NaV1.7), a channel targeted in pain management. Here, we show that replacements of the positively-charged residues that contribute to the activity of the peptide can improve gHwTx-IV's potency and selectivity for NaV1.7. Using HwTx-IV, gHwTx-IV, [R26A]gHwTx-IV, [K27A]gHwTx-IV, and [R29A]gHwTx-IV variants, we examined their potency and selectivity at human NaV1.7 and their affinity for the lipid bilayer. [R26A]gHwTx-IV consistently displayed the most improved potency and selectivity for NaV1.7, examined alongside off-target NaVs, compared with HwTx-IV and gHwTx-IV. The lipid affinity of each of the three novel analogues was weaker than that of gHwTx-IV, but stronger than that of HwTx-IV, suggesting a possible relationship between in vitro potency at NaV1.7 and affinity for lipid bilayers. In a murine NaV1.7 engagement model, [R26A]gHwTx-IV exhibited an efficacy comparable with that of native HwTx-IV. In summary, this study reports the development of an HwTx-IV analogue with improved in vitro selectivity for the pain target NaV1.7 and with an in vivo efficacy similar to that of native HwTx-IV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akello J Agwa
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Poanna Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Alexander Mueller
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Hue N T Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jennifer R Deuis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Mathilde R Israel
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Kirsten L McMahon
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - David J Craik
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4103, Australia
| | - Christina I Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Pain Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland 21702, USA
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12
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Tran HNT, Tran P, Deuis JR, Agwa AJ, Zhang AH, Vetter I, Schroeder CI. Enzymatic Ligation of a Pore Blocker Toxin and a Gating Modifier Toxin: Creating Double-Knotted Peptides with Improved Sodium Channel NaV1.7 Inhibition. Bioconjug Chem 2019; 31:64-73. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hue N. T. Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Poanna Tran
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jennifer R. Deuis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Akello J. Agwa
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Alan H. Zhang
- Center for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia
| | - Christina I. Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
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