1
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Budusan E, Payne CD, Gonzalez TI, Obergrussberger A, Becker N, Clark RJ, Johan Rosengren K, Rash LD, Cristofori-Armstrong B. The funnel-web spider venom derived single knot peptide Hc3a modulates acid-sensing ion channel 1a desensitisation. Biochem Pharmacol 2024:116175. [PMID: 38552850 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2024.116175] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is a proton-gated channel involved in synaptic transmission, pain signalling, and several ischemia-associated pathological conditions. The spider venom-derived peptides PcTx1 and Hi1a are two of the most potent ASIC1a inhibitors known and have been instrumental in furthering our understanding of the structure, function, and biological roles of ASICs. To date, homologous spider peptides with different pharmacological profiles at ASIC1a have yet to be discovered. Here we report the characterisation of Hc3a, a single inhibitor cystine knot peptide from the Australian funnel-web spider Hadronyche cerberea with sequence similarity to PcTx1. We show that Hc3a has complex pharmacology and binds different ASIC1a conformational states (closed, open, and desensitised) with different affinities, with the most prominent effect on desensitisation. Hc3a slows the desensitisation kinetics of proton-activated ASIC1a currents across multiple application pHs, and when bound directly to ASIC1a in the desensitised conformation promotes current inhibition. The solution structure of Hc3a was solved, and the peptide-channel interaction examined via mutagenesis studies to highlight how small differences in sequence between Hc3a and PcTx1 can lead to peptides with distinct pharmacology. The discovery of Hc3a expands the pharmacological diversity of spider venom peptides targeting ASIC1a and adds to the toolbox of compounds to study the intricacies of ASIC1 gating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Budusan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Colton D Payne
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Tye I Gonzalez
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | | | | | - Richard J Clark
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
| | - Lachlan D Rash
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
| | - Ben Cristofori-Armstrong
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
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2
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Bathgate RAD, Praveen P, Sethi A, Furuya WI, Dhingra RR, Kocan M, Ou Q, Valkovic AL, Gil-Miravet I, Navarro-Sánchez M, Olucha-Bordonau FE, Gundlach AL, Rosengren KJ, Gooley PR, Dutschmann M, Hossain MA. Noncovalent Peptide Stapling Using Alpha-Methyl-l-Phenylalanine for α-Helical Peptidomimetics. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:20242-20247. [PMID: 37439676 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c02743] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Peptides and peptidomimetics are attractive drug candidates because of their high target specificity and low-toxicity profiles. Developing peptidomimetics using hydrocarbon (HC)-stapling or other stapling strategies has gained momentum because of their high stability and resistance to proteases; however, they have limitations. Here, we take advantage of the α-methyl group and an aromatic phenyl ring in a unique unnatural amino acid, α-methyl-l-phenylalanine (αF), and propose a novel, noncovalent stapling strategy to stabilize peptides. We utilized this strategy to create an α-helical B-chain mimetic of a complex insulin-like peptide, human relaxin-3 (H3 relaxin). Our comprehensive data set (in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo) confirmed that the new high-yielding B-chain mimetic, H3B10-27(13/17αF), is remarkably stable in serum and fully mimics the biological function of H3 relaxin. H3B10-27(13/17αF) is an excellent scaffold for further development as a drug lead and an important tool to decipher the physiological functions of the neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptor, RXFP3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ross A D Bathgate
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Praveen Praveen
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Ashish Sethi
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation, The Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Werner I Furuya
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Rishi R Dhingra
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Martina Kocan
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Qinghao Ou
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Adam L Valkovic
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Isis Gil-Miravet
- Predepartmental Unit of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Jaume I, Avenida de Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071 Castelló de La Plana, Spain
| | - Mónica Navarro-Sánchez
- Predepartmental Unit of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Jaume I, Avenida de Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071 Castelló de La Plana, Spain
| | - Francisco E Olucha-Bordonau
- Predepartmental Unit of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Jaume I, Avenida de Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071 Castelló de La Plana, Spain
| | - Andrew L Gundlach
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Paul R Gooley
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Mathias Dutschmann
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- The Florey, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
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3
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Adams Z, Silvestri AP, Chiorean S, Flood DT, Balo BP, Shi Y, Holcomb M, Walsh SI, Maillie CA, Pierens GK, Forli S, Rosengren KJ, Dawson PE. Stretching Peptides to Generate Small Molecule β-Strand Mimics. ACS Cent Sci 2023; 9:648-656. [PMID: 37122474 PMCID: PMC10141592 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.2c01462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Advances in the modulation of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) enable both characterization of PPI networks that govern diseases and design of therapeutics and probes. The shallow protein surfaces that dominate PPIs are challenging to target using standard methods, and approaches for accessing extended backbone structures are limited. Here, we incorporate a rigid, linear, diyne brace between side chains at the i to i+2 positions to generate a family of low-molecular-weight, extended-backbone peptide macrocycles. NMR and density functional theory studies show that these stretched peptides adopt stable, rigid conformations in solution and can be tuned to explore extended peptide conformational space. The diyne brace is formed in excellent conversions (>95%) and amenable to high-throughput synthesis. The minimalist structure-inducing tripeptide core (<300 Da) is amenable to further synthetic elaboration. Diyne-braced inhibitors of bacterial type 1 signal peptidase demonstrate the utility of the technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë
C. Adams
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Anthony P. Silvestri
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
- Unnatural
Products, Inc., 2161
Delaware Ave, Suite A., Santa Cruz, California 95060, United States
| | - Sorina Chiorean
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Dillon T. Flood
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Brian P. Balo
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Yifan Shi
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Matthew Holcomb
- Department
of Integrated Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Shawn I. Walsh
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Colleen A. Maillie
- Department
of Integrated Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Gregory K. Pierens
- Centre
for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Stefano Forli
- Department
of Integrated Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- Institute
for Molecular Bioscience and School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Philip E. Dawson
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
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4
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Goncalves Monteiro D, Rishi G, Gorman DM, Burnet G, Aliyanto R, Rosengren KJ, Frazer DM, Subramaniam VN, Clark RJ. Engineering Peptide Inhibitors of the HFE-Transferrin Receptor 1 Complex. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27196581. [PMID: 36235117 PMCID: PMC9570809 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27196581] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The protein HFE (homeostatic iron regulator) is a key regulator of iron metabolism, and mutations in HFE underlie the most frequent form of hereditary haemochromatosis (HH-type I). Studies have shown that HFE interacts with transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1), a homodimeric type II transmembrane glycoprotein that is responsible for the cellular uptake of iron via iron-loaded transferrin (holo-transferrin) binding. It has been hypothesised that the HFE/TFR1 interaction serves as a sensor to the level of iron-loaded transferrin in circulation by means of a competition mechanism between HFE and iron-loaded transferrin association with TFR1. To investigate this, a series of peptides based on the helical binding interface between HFE and TFR1 were generated and shown to significantly interfere with the HFE/TFR1 interaction in an in vitro proximity ligation assay. The helical conformation of one of these peptides, corresponding to the α1 and α2 helices of HFE, was stabilised by the introduction of sidechain lactam “staples”, but this did not result in an increase in the ability of the peptide to disrupt the HFE/TFR1 interaction. These peptides inhibitors of the protein–protein interaction between HFE and TFR1 are potentially useful tools for the analysis of the functional role of HFE in the regulation of hepcidin expression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gautam Rishi
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
| | - Declan M. Gorman
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Guillaume Burnet
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Randy Aliyanto
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - David M. Frazer
- The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, 300 Herston Rd, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - V. Nathan Subramaniam
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
- Correspondence: (V.N.S.); (R.J.C.)
| | - Richard J. Clark
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Correspondence: (V.N.S.); (R.J.C.)
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5
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Prasad AK, Tiwari C, Ray S, Holden S, Armstrong DA, Rosengren KJ, Rodger A, Panwar AS, Martin LL. Secondary Structure Transitions for a Family of Amyloidogenic, Antimicrobial Uperin 3 Peptides in Contact with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate. Chempluschem 2022; 87:e202100408. [DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202100408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anup K. Prasad
- IITB-Monash Research Academy Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Powai Mumbai 400076 India
- Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Powai Mumbai 400076 India
| | - Chandni Tiwari
- IITB-Monash Research Academy Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Powai Mumbai 400076 India
- School of Chemistry Monash University Clayton VIC 3800 Australia
| | - Sourav Ray
- IITB-Monash Research Academy Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Powai Mumbai 400076 India
- Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Powai Mumbai 400076 India
| | - Stephanie Holden
- School of Chemistry Monash University Clayton VIC 3800 Australia
| | - David A. Armstrong
- School of Biomedical Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD, 4072 Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD, 4072 Australia
| | - Alison Rodger
- Department of Molecular Sciences Macquarie University Macquarie Park NSW, 2109 Australia
| | - Ajay S. Panwar
- Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Powai Mumbai 400076 India
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6
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Steffen K, Laborde Q, Gunasekera S, Payne CD, Rosengren KJ, Riesgo A, Göransson U, Cárdenas P. Barrettides: A Peptide Family Specifically Produced by the Deep-Sea Sponge Geodia barretti. J Nat Prod 2021; 84:3138-3146. [PMID: 34874154 PMCID: PMC8713285 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Natural product discovery by isolation and structure elucidation is a laborious task often requiring ample quantities of biological starting material and frequently resulting in the rediscovery of previously known compounds. However, peptides are a compound class amenable to an alternative genomic, transcriptomic, and in silico discovery route by similarity searches of known peptide sequences against sequencing data. Based on the sequences of barrettides A and B, we identified five new barrettide sequences (barrettides C-G) predicted from the North Atlantic deep-sea demosponge Geodia barretti (Geodiidae). We synthesized, folded, and investigated one of the newly described barrettides, barrettide C (NVVPCFCVEDETSGAKTCIPDNCDASRGTNP, disulfide connectivity I-IV, II-III). Co-elution experiments of synthetic and sponge-derived barrettide C confirmed its native conformation. NMR spectroscopy and the anti-biofouling activity on larval settlement of the bay barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus (IC50 0.64 μM) show that barrettide C is highly similar to barrettides A and B in both structure and function. Several lines of evidence suggest that barrettides are produced by the sponge itself and not one of its microbial symbionts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Steffen
- Pharmacognosy,
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, 751
23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Quentin Laborde
- Pharmacognosy,
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, 751
23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sunithi Gunasekera
- Pharmacognosy,
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, 751
23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Colton D. Payne
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Ana Riesgo
- Department
of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, United
Kingdom
- Department
of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales−CSIC, Calle José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ulf Göransson
- Pharmacognosy,
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, 751
23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Paco Cárdenas
- Pharmacognosy,
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, 751
23 Uppsala, Sweden
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7
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Gorman D, Li XX, Payne CD, Cui CS, Lee JD, Rosengren KJ, Woodruff TM, Clark RJ. Development of Synthetic Human and Mouse C5a: Application to Binding and Functional Assays In Vitro and In Vivo. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2021; 4:1808-1817. [PMID: 34927012 PMCID: PMC8669711 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.1c00199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The complement activation peptide C5a is a key mediator of inflammation that is associated with numerous immune disorders. C5a binds and activates two seven-transmembrane receptors, C5aR1 and C5aR2. Experimentally, C5a is utilized to investigate C5a receptor biology and to screen for potential C5aR1/C5aR2 therapeutics. Currently, laboratory sources of C5a stem from either isolation of endogenous C5a from human serum or most predominantly via recombinant expression. An alternative approach to C5a production is chemical synthesis, which has several advantages, including the ability to introduce non-natural amino acids and site-specific modifications whilst also maintaining a lower probability of C5a being contaminated with microbial molecules or other endogenous proteins. Here, we describe the efficient synthesis of both human (hC5a) and mouse C5a (mC5a) without the need for ligation chemistry. We validate the synthetic peptides by comparing pERK1/2 signaling in CHO-hC5aR1 cells and primary human macrophages (for hC5a) and in RAW264.7 cells (for mC5a). C5aR2 activation was confirmed by measuring β-arrestin recruitment in C5aR2-transfected HEK293 cells. We also demonstrate the functionalization of synthetic C5a through the introduction of a lanthanide chelating cage to facilitate a screen for the binding of ligands to C5aR1. Finally, we verify that the synthetic ligands are functionally similar to recombinant or native C5a by assessing hC5a-induced neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro and mC5a-mediated neutrophil mobilization in vivo. We propose that the synthetic hC5a and mC5a described herein are valuable alternatives to recombinant or purified C5a for in vitro and in vivo applications and add to the growing complement reagent toolbox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Declan
M. Gorman
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Xaria X. Li
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Colton D. Payne
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Cedric S. Cui
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - John D. Lee
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Trent M. Woodruff
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Queensland
Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Richard J. Clark
- School
of Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Institute
for Molecular Bioscience, The University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
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8
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Payne CD, Vadlamani G, Hajiaghaalipour F, Muhammad T, Fisher MF, Andersson HS, Göransson U, Clark RJ, Bond CS, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. Solution NMR and racemic crystallography provide insights into a novel structural class of cyclic plant peptides. RSC Chem Biol 2021; 2:1682-1691. [PMID: 34977583 PMCID: PMC8637875 DOI: 10.1039/d1cb00155h] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Head-to-tail cyclic and disulfide-rich peptides are natural products with applications in drug design. Among these are the PawS-Derived Peptides (PDPs) produced in seeds of the daisy plant family. PDP-23 is a unique member of this class in that it is twice the typical size and adopts two β-hairpins separated by a hinge region. The β-hairpins, both stabilised by a single disulfide bond, fold together into a V-shaped tertiary structure creating a hydrophobic core. In water two PDP-23 molecules merge their hydrophobic cores to form a square prism quaternary structure. Here, we synthesised PDP-23 and its enantiomer comprising d-amino acids and achiral glycine, which allowed us to confirm these solution NMR structural data by racemic crystallography. Furthermore, we discovered the related PDP-24. NMR analysis showed that PDP-24 does not form a dimeric structure and it has poor water solubility, but in less polar solvents adopts near identical secondary and tertiary structure to PDP-23. The natural role of these peptides in plants remains enigmatic, as we did not observe any antimicrobial or insecticidal activity. However, the plasticity of these larger PDPs and their ability to change structure under different conditions make them appealing peptide drug scaffolds. Larger members of the PawS-Derived family of cyclic plant peptides form complex structures. The graphical abstract shows the racemic crystal structure of the homodimeric PDP-23 as well as the solution NMR structure of PDP-24.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Colton D Payne
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Grishma Vadlamani
- Curtin University, Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences Bentley WA 6102 Australia.,The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences Crawley WA 6009 Australia.,The University of Western Australia, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, School of Molecular Sciences Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | | | - Taj Muhammad
- Uppsala University, Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences 75124 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Mark F Fisher
- Curtin University, Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences Bentley WA 6102 Australia.,The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences Crawley WA 6009 Australia.,The University of Western Australia, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, School of Molecular Sciences Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Håkan S Andersson
- Uppsala University, Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences 75124 Uppsala Sweden.,Karolinska Institute, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics 17177 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Ulf Göransson
- Uppsala University, Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences 75124 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Richard J Clark
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Charles S Bond
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Joshua S Mylne
- Curtin University, Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences Bentley WA 6102 Australia.,The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences Crawley WA 6009 Australia.,The University of Western Australia, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, School of Molecular Sciences Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
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9
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Clark RJ, Phan TH, Song A, Ouellette AJ, Conibear AC, Rosengren KJ. A conserved β‐bulge glycine residue facilitates folding and increases stability of the mouse α‐defensin cryptdin‐4. Pept Sci (Hoboken) 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/pep2.24250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard J. Clark
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Thanh Huyen Phan
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Angela Song
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - André J. Ouellette
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA
| | - Anne C. Conibear
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane Queensland Australia
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10
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Payne CD, Fisher MF, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. Structural Characterization of the PawL-Derived Peptide Family, an Ancient Subfamily of Orbitides. J Nat Prod 2021; 84:2914-2922. [PMID: 34672199 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00672] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Plants are an excellent source of bioactive peptides, often with disulfide bonds and/or a cyclic backbone. While focus has predominantly been directed at disulfide-rich peptides, a large family of small, cyclic plant peptides lacking disulfide bonds, known as orbitides, has been relatively ignored. A recently discovered subfamily of orbitides is the PawL-derived peptides (PLPs), produced during the maturation of precursors for seed storage albumins. Although their evolutionary origins have been dated, in-depth exploration of the family's structural characteristics and potential bioactivities remains to be conducted. Here we present an extensive and systematic characterization of the PLP family. Nine PLPs were chosen and prepared by solid phase peptide synthesis. Their structural features were studied using solution NMR spectroscopy, and seven were found to possess regions of backbone order. Ordered regions consist of β-turns, with some PLPs adopting two well-defined β-turns within sequences as short as seven residues, which are largely the result of side chain interactions. Our data highlight that the sequence diversity within this family results in equally diverse structures. None of these nine PLPs showed antibacterial or antifungal activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colton D Payne
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Mark F Fisher
- School of Molecular Sciences and The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Joshua S Mylne
- School of Molecular Sciences and The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
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11
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Ho TNT, Lee HS, Swaminathan S, Goodwin L, Rai N, Ushay B, Lewis RJ, Rosengren KJ, Conibear AC. Posttranslational modifications of α-conotoxins: sulfotyrosine and C-terminal amidation stabilise structures and increase acetylcholine receptor binding. RSC Med Chem 2021; 12:1574-1584. [PMID: 34671739 PMCID: PMC8459321 DOI: 10.1039/d1md00182e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Conotoxins are peptides found in the venoms of marine cone snails. They are typically highly structured and stable and have potent activities at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which make them valuable research tools and promising lead molecules for drug development. Many conotoxins are also highly modified with posttranslational modifications such as proline hydroxylation, glutamic acid gamma-carboxylation, tyrosine sulfation and C-terminal amidation, amongst others. The role of these posttranslational modifications is poorly understood, and it is unclear whether the modifications interact directly with the binding site, alter conotoxin structure, or both. Here we synthesised a set of twelve conotoxin variants bearing posttranslational modifications in the form of native sulfotyrosine and C-terminal amidation and show that these two modifications in combination increase their activity at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and binding to soluble acetylcholine binding proteins, respectively. We then rationalise how these functional differences between variants might arise from stabilization of the three-dimensional structures and interactions with the binding sites, using high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance data. This study demonstrates that posttranslational modifications can modulate interactions between a ligand and receptor by a combination of structural and binding alterations. A deeper mechanistic understanding of the role of posttranslational modifications in structure-activity relationships is essential for understanding receptor biology and could help to guide structure-based drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thao N T Ho
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia
| | - Han Siean Lee
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia +61 7 3365 1738
| | - Shilpa Swaminathan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia +61 7 3365 1738
| | - Lewis Goodwin
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia +61 7 3365 1738
| | - Nishant Rai
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia +61 7 3365 1738
| | - Brianna Ushay
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia +61 7 3365 1738
| | - Richard J Lewis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia +61 7 3365 1738
| | - Anne C Conibear
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Brisbane Australia +61 7 3365 1738
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12
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Smallwood TB, Navarro S, Cristofori-Armstrong B, Watkins TS, Tungatt K, Ryan RYM, Haigh OL, Lutzky VP, Mulvenna JP, Rosengren KJ, Loukas A, Miles JJ, Clark RJ. Synthetic hookworm-derived peptides are potent modulators of primary human immune cell function that protect against experimental colitis in vivo. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:100834. [PMID: 34051231 PMCID: PMC8239465 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of autoimmune diseases is on the rise globally. Currently, autoimmunity presents in over 100 different forms and affects around 9% of the world's population. Current treatments available for autoimmune diseases are inadequate, expensive, and tend to focus on symptom management rather than cure. Clinical trials have shown that live helminthic therapy can decrease chronic inflammation associated with inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal autoimmune inflammatory conditions. As an alternative and better controlled approach to live infection, we have identified and characterized two peptides, Acan1 and Nak1, from the excretory/secretory component of parasitic hookworms for their therapeutic activity on experimental colitis. We synthesized Acan1 and Nak1 peptides from the Ancylostoma caninum and Necator americanus hookworms and assessed their structures and protective properties in human cell-based assays and in a mouse model of acute colitis. Acan1 and Nak1 displayed anticolitic properties via significantly reducing weight loss and colon atrophy, edema, ulceration, and necrosis in 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-exposed mice. These hookworm peptides prevented mucosal loss of goblet cells and preserved intestinal architecture. Acan1 upregulated genes responsible for the repair and restitution of ulcerated epithelium, whereas Nak1 downregulated genes responsible for epithelial cell migration and apoptotic cell signaling within the colon. These peptides were nontoxic and displayed key immunomodulatory functions in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by suppressing CD4+ T cell proliferation and inhibiting IL-2 and TNF production. We conclude that Acan1 and Nak1 warrant further development as therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmunity, particularly gastrointestinal inflammatory conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor B Smallwood
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD, Australia
| | - Severine Navarro
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia; Woolworths Centre for Child Nutrition Research, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, QLD, Australia
| | - Ben Cristofori-Armstrong
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD, Australia
| | - Thomas S Watkins
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia
| | - Katie Tungatt
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia; Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, QLD, Australia
| | - Rachael Y M Ryan
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia; Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia
| | - Oscar L Haigh
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Viviana P Lutzky
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Jason P Mulvenna
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD, Australia
| | - Alex Loukas
- Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia
| | - John J Miles
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia; Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, Australia; Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, QLD, Australia; Institute of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
| | - Richard J Clark
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD, Australia.
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13
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Payne CD, Franke B, Fisher MF, Hajiaghaalipour F, McAleese CE, Song A, Eliasson C, Zhang J, Jayasena AS, Vadlamani G, Clark RJ, Minchin RF, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. A chameleonic macrocyclic peptide with drug delivery applications. Chem Sci 2021; 12:6670-6683. [PMID: 34040741 PMCID: PMC8132947 DOI: 10.1039/d1sc00692d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Head-to-tail cyclized peptides are intriguing natural products with unusual properties. The PawS-Derived Peptides (PDPs) are ribosomally synthesized as part of precursors for seed storage albumins in species of the daisy family, and are post-translationally excised and cyclized during proteolytic processing. Here we report a PDP twice the typical size and with two disulfide bonds, identified from seeds of Zinnia elegans. In water, synthetic PDP-23 forms a unique dimeric structure in which two monomers containing two β-hairpins cross-clasp and enclose a hydrophobic core, creating a square prism. This dimer can be split by addition of micelles or organic solvent and in monomeric form PDP-23 adopts open or closed V-shapes, exposing different levels of hydrophobicity dependent on conditions. This chameleonic character is unusual for disulfide-rich peptides and engenders PDP-23 with potential for cell delivery and accessing novel targets. We demonstrate this by conjugating a rhodamine dye to PDP-23, creating a stable, cell-penetrating inhibitor of the P-glycoprotein drug efflux pump.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colton D Payne
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Bastian Franke
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Mark F Fisher
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences, The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | | | - Courtney E McAleese
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Angela Song
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Carl Eliasson
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Jingjing Zhang
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences, The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Achala S Jayasena
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences, The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Grishma Vadlamani
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences, The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Richard J Clark
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Rodney F Minchin
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Joshua S Mylne
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences, The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
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14
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Niederacher G, Urwin D, Dijkwel Y, Tremethick DJ, Rosengren KJ, Becker CFW, Conibear AC. Site-specific modification and segmental isotope labelling of HMGN1 reveals long-range conformational perturbations caused by posttranslational modifications. RSC Chem Biol 2021; 2:537-550. [PMID: 34458797 PMCID: PMC8341956 DOI: 10.1039/d0cb00175a] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Interactions between histones, which package DNA in eukaryotes, and nuclear proteins such as the high mobility group nucleosome-binding protein HMGN1 are important for regulating access to DNA. HMGN1 is a highly charged and intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) that is modified at several sites by posttranslational modifications (PTMs) - acetylation, phosphorylation and ADP-ribosylation. These PTMs are thought to affect cellular localisation of HMGN1 and its ability to bind nucleosomes; however, little is known about how these PTMs regulate the structure and function of HMGN1 at a molecular level. Here, we combine the chemical biology tools of protein semi-synthesis and site-specific modification to generate a series of unique HMGN1 variants bearing precise PTMs at their N- or C-termini with segmental isotope labelling for NMR spectroscopy. With access to these precisely-defined variants, we show that PTMs in both the N- and C-termini cause changes in the chemical shifts and conformational populations in regions distant from the PTM sites; up to 50-60 residues upstream of the PTM site. The PTMs investigated had only minor effects on binding of HMGN1 to nucleosome core particles, suggesting that they have other regulatory roles. This study demonstrates the power of combining protein semi-synthesis for introduction of site-specific PTMs with segmental isotope labelling for structural biology, allowing us to understand the role of PTMs with atomic precision, from both structural and functional perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard Niederacher
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna Währinger Straße 38 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Debra Urwin
- John Curtin School of Medical Research, Department of Genome Sciences, The Australian National University ACT 2601 Australia
| | - Yasmin Dijkwel
- John Curtin School of Medical Research, Department of Genome Sciences, The Australian National University ACT 2601 Australia
| | - David J Tremethick
- John Curtin School of Medical Research, Department of Genome Sciences, The Australian National University ACT 2601 Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia +61-7-3365-1738
| | - Christian F W Becker
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna Währinger Straße 38 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Anne C Conibear
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia +61-7-3365-1738
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15
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Armstrong DA, Jin AH, Braga Emidio N, Lewis RJ, Alewood PF, Rosengren KJ. Chemical Synthesis and NMR Solution Structure of Conotoxin GXIA from Conus geographus. Mar Drugs 2021; 19:md19020060. [PMID: 33530397 PMCID: PMC7912261 DOI: 10.3390/md19020060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Conotoxins are disulfide-rich peptides found in the venom of cone snails. Due to their exquisite potency and high selectivity for a wide range of voltage and ligand gated ion channels they are attractive drug leads in neuropharmacology. Recently, cone snails were found to have the capability to rapidly switch between venom types with different proteome profiles in response to predatory or defensive stimuli. A novel conotoxin, GXIA (original name G117), belonging to the I3-subfamily was identified as the major component of the predatory venom of piscivorous Conus geographus. Using 2D solution NMR spectroscopy techniques, we resolved the 3D structure for GXIA, the first structure reported for the I3-subfamily and framework XI family. The 32 amino acid peptide is comprised of eight cysteine residues with the resultant disulfide connectivity forming an ICK+1 motif. With a triple stranded β-sheet, the GXIA backbone shows striking similarity to several tarantula toxins targeting the voltage sensor of voltage gated potassium and sodium channels. Supported by an amphipathic surface, the structural evidence suggests that GXIA is able to embed in the membrane and bind to the voltage sensor domain of a putative ion channel target.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Armstrong
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia;
| | - Ai-Hua Jin
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (A.-H.J.); (N.B.E.); (R.J.L.); (P.F.A.)
| | - Nayara Braga Emidio
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (A.-H.J.); (N.B.E.); (R.J.L.); (P.F.A.)
| | - Richard J. Lewis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (A.-H.J.); (N.B.E.); (R.J.L.); (P.F.A.)
| | - Paul F. Alewood
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (A.-H.J.); (N.B.E.); (R.J.L.); (P.F.A.)
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia;
- Correspondence:
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16
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Johnstone EKM, See HB, Abhayawardana RS, Song A, Rosengren KJ, Hill SJ, Pfleger KDG. Investigation of Receptor Heteromers Using NanoBRET Ligand Binding. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:1082. [PMID: 33499147 PMCID: PMC7866079 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22031082] [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] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Receptor heteromerization is the formation of a complex involving at least two different receptors with pharmacology that is distinct from that exhibited by its constituent receptor units. Detection of these complexes and monitoring their pharmacology is crucial for understanding how receptors function. The Receptor-Heteromer Investigation Technology (Receptor-HIT) utilizes ligand-dependent modulation of interactions between receptors and specific biomolecules for the detection and profiling of heteromer complexes. Previously, the interacting biomolecules used in Receptor-HIT assays have been intracellular proteins, however in this study we have for the first time used bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) with fluorescently-labeled ligands to investigate heteromerization of receptors on the cell surface. Using the Receptor-HIT ligand binding assay with NanoBRET, we have successfully investigated heteromers between the angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor and the β2 adrenergic receptor (AT1-β2AR heteromer), as well as between the AT1 and angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT1-AT2 heteromer).
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth K. M. Johnstone
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology Group, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; (H.B.S.); (R.S.A.); (S.J.H.)
- Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Canberra, NSW 2609, Australia
| | - Heng B. See
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology Group, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; (H.B.S.); (R.S.A.); (S.J.H.)
- Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Canberra, NSW 2609, Australia
| | - Rekhati S. Abhayawardana
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology Group, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; (H.B.S.); (R.S.A.); (S.J.H.)
- Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Canberra, NSW 2609, Australia
| | - Angela Song
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; (A.S.); (K.J.R.)
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; (A.S.); (K.J.R.)
| | - Stephen J. Hill
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology Group, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; (H.B.S.); (R.S.A.); (S.J.H.)
- Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Division of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
- Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Nottingham, Midlands NG7 2UH, UK
| | - Kevin D. G. Pfleger
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology Group, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; (H.B.S.); (R.S.A.); (S.J.H.)
- Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Canberra, NSW 2609, Australia
- Dimerix Limited, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
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17
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Krumpe LRH, Wilson BAP, Marchand C, Sunassee SN, Bermingham A, Wang W, Price E, Guszczynski T, Kelley JA, Gustafson KR, Pommier Y, Rosengren KJ, Schroeder CI, O'Keefe BR. Recifin A, Initial Example of the Tyr-Lock Peptide Structural Family, Is a Selective Allosteric Inhibitor of Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase I. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:21178-21188. [PMID: 33263997 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c10418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1) is a molecular target for the sensitization of cancer cells to the FDA-approved topoisomerase inhibitors topotecan and irinotecan. High-throughput screening of natural product extract and fraction libraries for inhibitors of TDP1 activity resulted in the discovery of a new class of knotted cyclic peptides from the marine sponge Axinella sp. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the source extract resulted in the isolation of the active component which was determined to be an unprecedented 42-residue cysteine-rich peptide named recifin A. The native NMR structure revealed a novel fold comprising a four strand antiparallel β-sheet and two helical turns stabilized by a complex disulfide bond network that creates an embedded ring around one of the strands. The resulting structure, which we have termed the Tyr-lock peptide family, is stabilized by a tyrosine residue locked into three-dimensional space. Recifin A inhibited the cleavage of phosphodiester bonds by TDP1 in a FRET assay with an IC50 of 190 nM. Enzyme kinetics studies revealed that recifin A can specifically modulate the enzymatic activity of full-length TDP1 while not affecting the activity of a truncated catalytic domain of TDP1 lacking the N-terminal regulatory domain (Δ1-147), suggesting an allosteric binding site for recifin A on the regulatory domain of TDP1. Recifin A represents both the first of a unique structural class of knotted disulfide-rich peptides and defines a previously unseen mechanism of TDP1 inhibition that could be productively exploited for potential anticancer applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren R H Krumpe
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States.,Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Brice A P Wilson
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Christophe Marchand
- Developmental Therapeutics Branch, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Suthananda N Sunassee
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Alun Bermingham
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Wenjie Wang
- Developmental Therapeutics Branch, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Edmund Price
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Tad Guszczynski
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - James A Kelley
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Kirk R Gustafson
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Yves Pommier
- Developmental Therapeutics Branch, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Christina I Schroeder
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States.,Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Barry R O'Keefe
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, NIH, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States.,Natural Products Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
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18
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Praveen P, Tailhades J, Rosengren KJ, Liu M, Wade JD, Bathgate RAD, Hossain MA. Effects of C-Terminal B-Chain Modifications in a Relaxin 3 Agonist Analogue. ACS Med Chem Lett 2020; 11:2336-2340. [PMID: 33214850 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.0c00456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The receptor for the neuropeptide relaxin 3, relaxin family peptide 3 (RXFP3) receptor, is an attractive pharmacological target for the control of eating, addictive, and psychiatric behaviors. Several structure-activity relationship studies on both human relaxin 3 (containing 3 disulfide bonds) and its analogue A2 (two disulfide bonds) suggest that the C-terminal carboxylic acid of the tryptophan residue in the B-chain is important for RXFP3 activity. In this study, we have added amide, alcohol, carbamate, and ester functionalities to the C-terminus of A2 and compared their structures and functions. As expected, the C-terminal amide form of A2 showed lower binding affinity for RXFP3 while ester and alcohol substitutions also demonstrated lower affinity. However, while these analogues showed slightly lower binding affinity, there was no significant difference in activation of RXFP3 compared to A2 bearing a C-terminal carboxylic acid, suggesting the binding pocket is able to accommodate additional atoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Praveen Praveen
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Julien Tailhades
- The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
- EMBL Australia, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Mengjie Liu
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - John D. Wade
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Ross A. D. Bathgate
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
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19
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Payne CD, Vadlamani G, Fisher MF, Zhang J, Clark RJ, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. Defining the Familial Fold of the Vicilin-Buried Peptide Family. J Nat Prod 2020; 83:3030-3040. [PMID: 32997497 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c00594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Plants and their seeds have been shown to be a rich source of cystine-stabilized peptides. Recently a new family of plant seed peptides whose sequences are buried within precursors for seed storage vicilins was identified. Members of this Vicilin-Buried Peptide (VBP) family are found in distantly related plant species including the monocot date palm, as well as dicotyledonous species like pumpkin and sesame. Genetic evidence for their widespread occurrence indicates that they are of ancient origin. Limited structural studies have been conducted on VBP family members, but two members have been shown to adopt a helical hairpin fold. We present an extensive characterization of VBPs using solution NMR spectroscopy, to better understand their structural features. Four peptides were produced by solid phase peptide synthesis and shown to favor a helix-loop-helix hairpin fold, as a result of the I-IV/II-III ladderlike connectivity of their disulfide bonds. Interhelical interactions, including hydrophobic contacts and salt bridges, are critical for the fold stability and control the angle at which the antiparallel α-helices interface. Activities reported for VBPs include trypsin inhibitory activity and inhibition of ribosomal function; however, their diverse structural features despite a common fold suggest that additional bioactivities yet to be revealed are likely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colton D Payne
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | | | | | - Richard J Clark
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
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20
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Fisher MF, Payne CD, Chetty T, Crayn D, Berkowitz O, Whelan J, Rosengren KJ, Mylne JS. The genetic origin of evolidine, the first cyclopeptide discovered in plants, and related orbitides. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:14510-14521. [PMID: 32817170 PMCID: PMC7573267 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.014781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [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: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyclic peptides are reported to have antibacterial, antifungal, and other bioactivities. Orbitides are a class of cyclic peptides that are small, head-to-tail cyclized, composed of proteinogenic amino acids and lack disulfide bonds; they are also known in several genera of the plant family Rutaceae. Melicope xanthoxyloides is the Australian rain forest tree of the Rutaceae family in which evolidine, the first plant cyclic peptide, was discovered. Evolidine (cyclo-SFLPVNL) has subsequently been all but forgotten in the academic literature, so to redress this we used tandem MS and de novo transcriptomics to rediscover evolidine and decipher its biosynthetic origin from a short precursor just 48 residues in length. We also identified another six M. xanthoxyloides orbitides using the same techniques. These peptides have atypically diverse C termini consisting of residues not recognized by either of the known proteases plants use to macrocyclize peptides, suggesting new cyclizing enzymes await discovery. We examined the structure of two of the novel orbitides by NMR, finding one had a definable structure, whereas the other did not. Mining RNA-seq and whole genome sequencing data from other species of the Rutaceae family revealed that a large and diverse family of peptides is encoded by similar sequences across the family and demonstrates how powerful de novo transcriptomics can be at accelerating the discovery of new peptide families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark F Fisher
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences & The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Crawley, Australia
| | - Colton D Payne
- The University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Thaveshini Chetty
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences & The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Crawley, Australia
| | - Darren Crayn
- Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Oliver Berkowitz
- Department of Animal, Plant and Soil Sciences, School of Life Sciences & ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, AgriBio, The Centre for AgriBioscience, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - James Whelan
- Department of Animal, Plant and Soil Sciences, School of Life Sciences & ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, AgriBio, The Centre for AgriBioscience, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Joshua S Mylne
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences & The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Crawley, Australia
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21
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Lee HS, Wang SH, Daniel JT, Hossain MA, Clark RJ, Bathgate RAD, Rosengren KJ. Exploring the Use of Helicogenic Amino Acids for Optimising Single Chain Relaxin-3 Peptide Agonists. Biomedicines 2020; 8:biomedicines8100415. [PMID: 33066369 PMCID: PMC7602263 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines8100415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Relaxin-3 is a highly conserved two-chain neuropeptide that acts through its endogenous receptor the Relaxin Family Peptide-3 (RXFP3) receptor. The ligand/receptor system is known to modulate several physiological processes, with changes in food intake and anxiety-levels the most well studied in rodent models. Agonist and antagonist analogues based on the native two-chain peptide are costly to synthesise and not ideal drug leads. Since RXFP3 interacting residues are found in the relaxin B-chain only, this has been the focus of analogue development. The B-chain is unstructured without the A-chain support, but in single-chain variants structure can be induced by dicarba-based helical stapling strategies. Here we investigated whether alternative helical inducing strategies also can enhance structure and activity at RXFP3. Combinations of the helix inducing α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) were incorporated into the sequence of the relaxin-3 B-chain. Aib residues at positions 13, 17 and 18 partially reintroduce helicity and activity of the relaxin-3 B-chain, but other positions are generally not suited for modifications. We identify Thr21 as a putative new receptor contact residue important for RXFP3 binding. Cysteine residues were also incorporated into the sequence and cross-linked with dichloroacetone or α, α'-dibromo-m-xylene. However, in contrast to previously reported dicarba variants, neither were found to promote structure and RXFP3 activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Siean Lee
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.S.L.); (S.H.W.); (J.T.D.); (R.J.C.)
| | - Shu Hui Wang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.S.L.); (S.H.W.); (J.T.D.); (R.J.C.)
| | - James T. Daniel
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.S.L.); (S.H.W.); (J.T.D.); (R.J.C.)
| | - Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia; (M.A.H.); (R.A.D.B.)
- School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Richard J. Clark
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.S.L.); (S.H.W.); (J.T.D.); (R.J.C.)
| | - Ross A. D. Bathgate
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia; (M.A.H.); (R.A.D.B.)
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; (H.S.L.); (S.H.W.); (J.T.D.); (R.J.C.)
- Correspondence:
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22
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Gunasekera S, Muhammad T, Strömstedt AA, Rosengren KJ, Göransson U. Backbone Cyclization and Dimerization of LL-37-Derived Peptides Enhance Antimicrobial Activity and Proteolytic Stability. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:168. [PMID: 32153522 PMCID: PMC7046553 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [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: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Can antimicrobial activity and peptide stability of alpha-helical peptides be increased by making them into dimers and macrocycles? Here, we explore that concept by using KR-12 as the starting point for peptide engineering. KR-12 has previously been determined as the minimalized antimicrobial fragment of the human host defense peptide LL-37. Backbone-cyclized KR-12 dimers, tethered by linkers of two to four amino acid residues, were synthesized and their antimicrobial activity, proteolytic stability and structures characterized. A modified KR-12 sequence, with substitutions at previously identified key residues, were also included in the screening panel. The backbone cyclized KR-12 dimers showed improved antimicrobial activity and increased stability compared to monomeric KR-12. The most active cyclic dimer displayed 16-fold higher antibacterial activity compared to KR-12 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, and 8-fold increased fungicidal activity against Candida albicans. It also showed increased hemolytic and cytotoxic activity. Enhanced antimicrobial activity coincided with increased membrane permeabilization of liposomes with one distinct discrepancy: monomeric KR-12 was much less disruptive of liposomes with bacterial lipid composition compared to liposomes from fungal lipid extract. Circular dichroism showed that the four-residue linked most active cyclic dimer had 65% helical content when bound to lyso-phosphatidylglycerol micelles, indicating that the helical propensity of the parent peptide is maintained in the new macrocyclic form. In conclusion, the current work on KR-12 suggests that dimerization together with backbone cyclization is an effective strategy for improving both potency and stability of linear antimicrobial peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunithi Gunasekera
- Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Taj Muhammad
- Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Adam A Strömstedt
- Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Ulf Göransson
- Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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23
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Lee HS, Postan M, Song A, Clark RJ, Bathgate RAD, Haugaard-Kedström LM, Rosengren KJ. Development of Relaxin-3 Agonists and Antagonists Based on Grafted Disulfide-Stabilized Scaffolds. Front Chem 2020; 8:87. [PMID: 32133341 PMCID: PMC7039932 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Relaxin-3 is a neuropeptide with important roles in metabolism, arousal, learning and memory. Its cognate receptor is the relaxin family peptide-3 (RXFP3) receptor. Relaxin-3 agonist and antagonist analogs have been shown to be able to modulate food intake in rodent models. The relaxin-3 B-chain is sufficient for receptor interactions, however, in the absence of a structural support, linear relaxin-3 B-chain analogs are rapidly degraded and thus unsuitable as drug leads. In this study, two different disulfide-stabilized scaffolds were used for grafting of important relaxin-3 B-chain residues to improve structure and stability. The use of both Veronica hederifolia Trypsin inhibitor (VhTI) and apamin grafting resulted in agonist and antagonist analogs with improved helicity. VhTI grafted peptides showed poor binding and low potency at RXFP3, on the other hand, apamin variants retained significant activity. These variants also showed improved half-life in serum from ~5 min to >6 h, and thus are promising RXFP3 specific pharmacological tools and drug leads for neuropharmacological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Siean Lee
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Michael Postan
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Angela Song
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Richard J Clark
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Linda M Haugaard-Kedström
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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24
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Conibear AC, Rosengren KJ, Becker CFW, Kaehlig H. Random coil shifts of posttranslationally modified amino acids. J Biomol NMR 2019; 73:587-599. [PMID: 31317299 PMCID: PMC6859290 DOI: 10.1007/s10858-019-00270-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Most eukaryotic proteins are modified during and/or after translation, regulating their structure, function and localisation. The role of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) in both normal cellular processes and in diseases is already well recognised and methods for detection of PTMs and generation of specifically modified proteins have developed rapidly over the last decade. However, structural consequences of PTMs and their specific effects on protein dynamics and function are not well understood. Furthermore, while random coil NMR chemical shifts of the 20 standard amino acids are available and widely used for residue assignment, dihedral angle predictions and identification of structural elements or propensity, they are not available for most posttranslationally modified amino acids. Here, we synthesised a set of random coil peptides containing common naturally occurring PTMs and determined their random coil NMR chemical shifts under standardised conditions. We highlight unique NMR signatures of posttranslationally modified residues and their effects on neighbouring residues. This comprehensive dataset complements established random coil shift datasets of the 20 standard amino acids and will facilitate identification and assignment of posttranslationally modified residues. The random coil shifts will also aid in determination of secondary structure elements and prediction of structural parameters of proteins and peptides containing PTMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne C Conibear
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 38, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD, 4072, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD, 4072, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Christian F W Becker
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 38, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hanspeter Kaehlig
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 38, 1090, Vienna, Austria
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25
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Abstract
Cyclic peptides are abundant in plants and have attracted interest due to their bioactivity and potential as drug scaffolds. Orbitides are head-to-tail cyclic peptides that are ribosomally synthesized, post-translationally modified, and lack disulfide bonds. All known orbitides contain 5-12 amino acid residues. Here we describe PLP-53, a novel orbitide from the seed of Ratibida columnifera. PLP-53 consists of 16 amino acids, four residues larger than any known orbitide. NMR structural studies showed that, compared to previously characterized orbitides, PLP-53 is more flexible and, under the studied conditions, did not adopt a single ordered conformation based on analysis of NOEs and chemical shifts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark F Fisher
- School of Molecular Sciences , The University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Highway , Crawley , WA 6009 , Australia
| | - Colton D Payne
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - Joshua S Mylne
- School of Molecular Sciences , The University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Highway , Crawley , WA 6009 , Australia
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26
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Franke B, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. Buried treasure: biosynthesis, structures and applications of cyclic peptides hidden in seed storage albumins. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 35:137-146. [PMID: 29379937 DOI: 10.1039/c7np00066a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Covering: 1999 up to the end of 2017The small cyclic peptide SunFlower Trypsin Inhibitor-1 (SFTI-1) from sunflower seeds is the prototypic member of a novel family of natural products. The biosynthesis of these peptides is intriguing as their gene-encoded peptide backbone emerges from a precursor protein that also contains a seed storage albumin. The peptide sequence is cleaved out from the precursor and cyclised by the albumin-maturing enzymatic machinery. Three-dimensional solution NMR structures of a number of these peptides, and of the intact precursor protein preproalbumin with SFTI-1, have now been elucidated. Furthermore, the evolution of the family has been described and a detailed understanding of the biosynthetic steps, which are necessary to produce cyclic SFTI-1, is emerging. Macrocyclisation provides peptide stability and thus represents a key strategy in peptide drug development. Consequently the constrained structure of SFTI-1 has been explored as a template for protein engineering, for tuning selectivity towards clinically relevant proteases and for grafting in sequences with completely novel functions. Here we review the discovery of the SFTI-1 peptide family, their evolution, biosynthetic origin, and structural features, as well as highlight the potential applications of this unique class of natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Franke
- The University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
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27
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Zhang J, Payne CD, Pouvreau B, Schaefer H, Fisher MF, Taylor NL, Berkowitz O, Whelan J, Rosengren KJ, Mylne JS. An Ancient Peptide Family Buried within Vicilin Precursors. ACS Chem Biol 2019; 14:979-993. [PMID: 30973714 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
New proteins can evolve by duplication and divergence or de novo, from previously noncoding DNA. A recently observed mechanism is for peptides to evolve within a "host" protein and emerge by proteolytic processing. The first examples of such interstitial peptides were ones hosted by precursors for seed storage albumin. Interstitial peptides have also been observed in precursors for seed vicilins, but current evidence for vicilin-buried peptides (VBPs) is limited to seeds of the broadleaf plants pumpkin and macadamia. Here, an extensive sequence analysis of vicilin precursors suggested that peptides buried within the N-terminal region of preprovicilins are widespread and truly ancient. Gene sequences indicative of interstitial peptides were found in species from Amborellales to eudicots and include important grass and legume crop species. We show the first protein evidence for a monocot VBP in date palm seeds as well as protein evidence from other crops including the common tomato, sesame and pumpkin relatives, cucumber, and the sponge loofah ( Luffa aegyptiaca). Their excision was consistent with asparaginyl endopeptidase-mediated maturation, and sequences were confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry. Our findings suggest that the family is large and ancient and that based on the NMR solution structures for loofah Luffin P1 and tomato VBP-8, VBPs adopt a helical hairpin fold stapled by two internal disulfide bonds. The first VBPs characterized were a protease inhibitor, antimicrobials, and a ribosome inactivator. The age and evolutionary retention of this peptide family suggest its members play important roles in plant biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Colton D. Payne
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - Hanno Schaefer
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Plant Biodiversity Research, Technical University of Munich, 85354, Freising, Germany
| | | | | | - Oliver Berkowitz
- Department of Animal, Plant, and Soil Sciences, School of Life Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, AgriBio, The Centre for AgriBioscience, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086 Australia
| | - James Whelan
- Department of Animal, Plant, and Soil Sciences, School of Life Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, AgriBio, The Centre for AgriBioscience, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086 Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
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28
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Minchin RF, Rosengren KJ, Burow R, Butcher NJ. Allosteric regulation of arylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 by adenosine triphosphate. Biochem Pharmacol 2018; 158:153-160. [PMID: 30342020 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2018.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In the present study, a screen of adenosine analogs as potential modulators of arylamine-N-acetyltransferase 1 activity identified ATP as an inhibitor within its range of physiological concentrations. Kinetically, ATP was a non-competitive inhibitor with respect to the acetyl acceptor but a competitive inhibitor with respect to the acetyl donor (acetyl-coenzyme A). In silico modelling predicted that ATP bound within the active site cleft arranged with the triphosphate group in close proximity to arginine 127. Since lysine 100 has previously been implicated in the binding of acetyl-coenzyme A to the enzyme, this amino acid was mutated to either an arginine or a glutamine. Both substitutions significantly changed the affinity of ATP for the enzyme, as well as the nature of the interaction to one with a large Hill coefficient (>3). Under these conditions, ATP was a strong allosteric modulator of arylamine-N-acetyltransferase 1 activity. Western blot analysis identified lysine 100 as a site of post-translational modification by acetylation. The results suggest that acetylation of lysine 100 converts arylamine-N-acetyltransferase 1 into a switch modulated by ATP. This observation provides important understanding of the molecular regulation of NAT1 activity and may reveal possible insight into the endogenous role of the enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodney F Minchin
- Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Laboratory, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- Peptide Structural Biology Laboratory, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Rachel Burow
- Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Laboratory, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Neville J Butcher
- Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Laboratory, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
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29
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Sousa SR, McArthur JR, Brust A, Bhola RF, Rosengren KJ, Ragnarsson L, Dutertre S, Alewood PF, Christie MJ, Adams DJ, Vetter I, Lewis RJ. Novel analgesic ω-conotoxins from the vermivorous cone snail Conus moncuri provide new insights into the evolution of conopeptides. Sci Rep 2018; 8:13397. [PMID: 30194442 PMCID: PMC6128854 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31245-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [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] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cone snails are a diverse group of predatory marine invertebrates that deploy remarkably complex venoms to rapidly paralyse worm, mollusc or fish prey. ω-Conotoxins are neurotoxic peptides from cone snail venoms that inhibit Cav2.2 voltage-gated calcium channel, demonstrating potential for pain management via intrathecal (IT) administration. Here, we isolated and characterized two novel ω-conotoxins, MoVIA and MoVIB from Conus moncuri, the first to be identified in vermivorous (worm-hunting) cone snails. MoVIA and MoVIB potently inhibited human Cav2.2 in fluorimetric assays and rat Cav2.2 in patch clamp studies, and both potently displaced radiolabeled ω-conotoxin GVIA (125I-GVIA) from human SH-SY5Y cells and fish brain membranes (IC50 2–9 pM). Intriguingly, an arginine at position 13 in MoVIA and MoVIB replaced the functionally critical tyrosine found in piscivorous ω-conotoxins. To investigate its role, we synthesized MoVIB-[R13Y] and MVIIA-[Y13R]. Interestingly, MVIIA-[Y13R] completely lost Cav2.2 activity and MoVIB-[R13Y] had reduced activity, indicating that Arg at position 13 was preferred in these vermivorous ω-conotoxins whereas tyrosine 13 is preferred in piscivorous ω-conotoxins. MoVIB reversed pain behavior in a rat neuropathic pain model, confirming that vermivorous cone snails are a new source of analgesic ω-conotoxins. Given vermivorous cone snails are ancestral to piscivorous species, our findings support the repurposing of defensive venom peptides in the evolution of piscivorous Conidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silmara R Sousa
- IMB Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jeffrey R McArthur
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Andreas Brust
- IMB Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Rebecca F Bhola
- Discipline of Pharmacology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Lotten Ragnarsson
- IMB Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Sebastien Dutertre
- Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron, UMR 5247, Université Montpellier - CNRS, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Paul F Alewood
- IMB Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Macdonald J Christie
- Discipline of Pharmacology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - David J Adams
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Irina Vetter
- IMB Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.,School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia
| | - Richard J Lewis
- IMB Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
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30
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Armstrong DA, Kaas Q, Rosengren KJ. Prediction of disulfide dihedral angles using chemical shifts. Chem Sci 2018; 9:6548-6556. [PMID: 30310586 PMCID: PMC6115640 DOI: 10.1039/c8sc01423j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [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] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cystine residues result from the formation of disulfide bonds between pairs of cysteine residues. This cross linking of the backbone is essential for the structure and activity of peptides and proteins. The conformation of a cystine side chain can be described using five dihedral angles, χ1, χ2, χ3, χ2', and χ1', with cystines favouring certain combinations of these angles. 2D NMR spectroscopy is ideally suited for structure determination of disulfide-rich peptides, because of their small size and constrained nature. However, only limited information of the cystine side chain conformation can be determined by NMR spectroscopy, leading to ambiguity in the deduced 3D structures. Resolving accurate structures is important as disulfide-rich peptides have proven to be promising drug candidates in a number of fields, either as bioactive leads or scaffolds. Using a database of NMR chemical shifts combined with crystallographic structures, we have developed a method called DISH that uses support vector machines to predict the dihedral angles of cysteine side chains. It is able to successfully predict χ2 angles with 91% accuracy, and has improved performance over existing prediction methods for χ1 angles, with 87% accuracy. For 81% of cysteine residues, DISH successfully predicted both the χ1 and χ2 angles. By revisiting published solution structures of peptides determined using NMR spectroscopy, we assessed the impact of additional cystine dihedral restraints on the quality of 3D models. DISH improved the resolution and accuracy, highlighting the potential for improving the understanding of structure-activity relationships and rational development of peptide drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Armstrong
- The University of Queensland , Faculty of Medicine , School of Biomedical Sciences , Brisbane , Australia . ;
| | - Quentin Kaas
- The University of Queensland , Institute for Molecular Biosciences , Brisbane , Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland , Faculty of Medicine , School of Biomedical Sciences , Brisbane , Australia . ;
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31
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Wong LLL, Scott DJ, Hossain MA, Kaas Q, Rosengren KJ, Bathgate RAD. Distinct but overlapping binding sites of agonist and antagonist at the relaxin family peptide 3 (RXFP3) receptor. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:15777-15789. [PMID: 30131340 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.002645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Revised: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The relaxin-3 neuropeptide activates the relaxin family peptide 3 (RXFP3) receptor to modulate stress, appetite, and cognition. RXFP3 shows promise as a target for treating neurological disorders, but realization of its clinical potential requires development of smaller RXFP3-specific drugs that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Designing such drugs is challenging and requires structural knowledge of agonist- and antagonist-binding modes. Here, we used structure-activity data for relaxin-3 and a peptide RXFP3 antagonist termed R3 B1-22R to guide receptor mutagenesis and develop models of their binding modes. RXFP3 residues were alanine-substituted individually and in combination and tested in cell-based binding and functional assays to refine models of agonist and antagonist binding to active- and inactive-state homology models of RXFP3, respectively. These models suggested that both agonists and antagonists interact with RXFP3 via similar residues in their B-chain central helix. The models further suggested that the B-chain Trp27 inserts into the binding pocket of RXFP3 and interacts with Trp138 and Lys271, the latter through a salt bridge with the C-terminal carboxyl group of Trp27 in relaxin-3. R3 B1-22R, which does not contain Trp27, used a non-native Arg23 residue to form cation-π and salt-bridge interactions with Trp138 and Glu141 in RXFP3, explaining a key contribution of Arg23 to affinity. Overall, relaxin-3 and R3 B1-22R appear to share similar binding residues but may differ in binding modes, leading to active and inactive RXFP3 conformational states, respectively. These mechanistic insights may assist structure-based drug design of smaller relaxin-3 mimetics to manage neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel James Scott
- From the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and
| | - Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- From the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.,School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia and
| | | | - K Johan Rosengren
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- From the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, .,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and
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32
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Haugaard-Kedström LM, Lee HS, Jones MV, Song A, Rathod V, Hossain MA, Bathgate RAD, Rosengren KJ. Binding conformation and determinants of a single-chain peptide antagonist at the relaxin-3 receptor RXFP3. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:15765-15776. [PMID: 30131342 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.002611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The neuropeptide relaxin-3 and its receptor relaxin family peptide receptor-3 (RXFP3) play key roles in modulating behavior such as memory and learning, food intake, and reward seeking. A linear relaxin-3 antagonist (R3 B1-22R) based on a modified and truncated relaxin-3 B-chain was recently developed. R3 B1-22R is unstructured in solution; thus, the binding conformation and determinants of receptor binding are unclear. Here, we have designed, chemically synthesized, and pharmacologically characterized more than 60 analogues of R3 B1-22R to develop an extensive understanding of its structure-activity relationships. We show that the key driver for affinity is the nonnative C-terminal Arg23 Additional contributors to binding include amino acid residues that are important also for relaxin-3 binding, including Arg12, Ile15, and Ile19 Intriguingly, amino acid residues that are not exposed in native relaxin-3, including Phe14 and Ala17, also interact with RXFP3. We show that R3 B1-22R has a propensity to form a helical structure, and modifications that support a helical conformation are functionally well-tolerated, whereas helix breakers such as proline residues disrupt binding. These data suggest that the peptide adopts a helical conformation, like relaxin-3, upon binding to RXFP3, but that its smaller size allows it to penetrate deeper into the orthosteric binding site, creating more extensive contacts with the receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda M Haugaard-Kedström
- From the Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.,the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark, and
| | - Han Siean Lee
- From the Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Maryon V Jones
- From the Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Angela Song
- From the Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Vishaal Rathod
- From the Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - Ross A D Bathgate
- the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, .,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- From the Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia,
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33
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Gunasekera S, Muhammad T, Strömstedt AA, Rosengren KJ, Göransson U. Front Cover: Alanine and Lysine Scans of the LL-37-Derived Peptide Fragment KR-12 Reveal Key Residues for Antimicrobial Activity (ChemBioChem 9/2018). Chembiochem 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201800188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sunithi Gunasekera
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Taj Muhammad
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Adam A. Strömstedt
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland; School of Biomedical Sciences; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Ulf Göransson
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
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34
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Gunasekera S, Muhammad T, Strömstedt AA, Rosengren KJ, Göransson U. Alanine and Lysine Scans of the LL-37-Derived Peptide Fragment KR-12 Reveal Key Residues for Antimicrobial Activity. Chembiochem 2018; 19:931-939. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201700599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sunithi Gunasekera
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Taj Muhammad
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Adam A. Strömstedt
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland; School of Biomedical Sciences; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Ulf Göransson
- Pharmacognosy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Uppsala University; Biomedical Centre; Box 574 75123 Uppsala Sweden
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35
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Jacobsson E, Andersson HS, Strand M, Peigneur S, Eriksson C, Lodén H, Shariatgorji M, Andrén PE, Lebbe EKM, Rosengren KJ, Tytgat J, Göransson U. Peptide ion channel toxins from the bootlace worm, the longest animal on Earth. Sci Rep 2018; 8:4596. [PMID: 29567943 PMCID: PMC5864730 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22305-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Polypeptides from animal venoms have found important uses as drugs, pharmacological tools, and within biotechnological and agricultural applications. We here report a novel family of cystine knot peptides from nemertean worms, with potent activity on voltage-gated sodium channels. These toxins, named the α-nemertides, were discovered in the epidermal mucus of Lineus longissimus, the ‘bootlace worm’ known as the longest animal on earth. The most abundant peptide, the 31-residue long α-1, was isolated, synthesized, and its 3D NMR structure determined. Transcriptome analysis including 17 species revealed eight α-nemertides, mainly distributed in the genus Lineus. α-1 caused paralysis and death in green crabs (Carcinus maenas) at 1 µg/kg (~300 pmol/kg). It showed profound effect on invertebrate voltage-gated sodium channels (e.g. Blattella germanica Nav1) at low nanomolar concentrations. Strong selectivity for insect over human sodium channels indicates that α-nemertides can be promising candidates for development of bioinsecticidal agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Jacobsson
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Box 574, SE-751 23, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Håkan S Andersson
- Linnaeus University Centre for Biomaterials Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Malin Strand
- Swedish Species Information Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Steve Peigneur
- Toxicology & Pharmacology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), O&N 2, PO Box 992, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Camilla Eriksson
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Box 574, SE-751 23, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Henrik Lodén
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Imaging (BMSI), National and SciLifeLab Resource for Mass Spectrometry Imaging, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Box 591, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mohammadreza Shariatgorji
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Imaging (BMSI), National and SciLifeLab Resource for Mass Spectrometry Imaging, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Box 591, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Per E Andrén
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Imaging (BMSI), National and SciLifeLab Resource for Mass Spectrometry Imaging, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Box 591, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Eline K M Lebbe
- Toxicology & Pharmacology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), O&N 2, PO Box 992, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jan Tytgat
- Toxicology & Pharmacology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), O&N 2, PO Box 992, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ulf Göransson
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Box 574, SE-751 23, Uppsala, Sweden.
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36
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Franke B, James AM, Mobli M, Colgrave ML, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. Two proteins for the price of one: Structural studies of the dual-destiny protein preproalbumin with sunflower trypsin inhibitor-1. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:12398-12411. [PMID: 28536266 PMCID: PMC5535016 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.776955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 02/20/2017] [Revised: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Seed storage proteins are both an important source of nutrition for humans and essential for seedling establishment. Interestingly, unusual napin-type 2S seed storage albumin precursors in sunflowers contain a sequence that is released as a macrocyclic peptide during post-translational processing. The mechanism by which such peptides emerge from linear precursor proteins has received increased attention; however, the structural characterization of intact precursor proteins has been limited. Here, we report the 3D NMR structure of the Helianthus annuus PawS1 (preproalbumin with sunflower trypsin inhibitor-1) and provide new insights into the processing of this remarkable dual-destiny protein. In seeds, PawS1 is matured by asparaginyl endopeptidases (AEPs) into the cyclic peptide SFTI-1 (sunflower trypsin inhibitor-1) and a heterodimeric 2S albumin. The structure of PawS1 revealed that SFTI-1 and the albumin are independently folded into well-defined domains separated by a flexible linker. PawS1 was cleaved in vitro with recombinant sunflower HaAEP1 and in situ using a sunflower seed extract in a way that resembled the expected in vivo cleavages. Recombinant HaAEP1 cleaved PawS1 at multiple positions, and in situ, its flexible linker was removed, yielding fully mature heterodimeric albumin. Liberation and cyclization of SFTI-1, however, was inefficient, suggesting that specific seed conditions or components may be required for in vivo biosynthesis of SFTI-1. In summary, this study has revealed the 3D structure of a macrocyclic precursor protein and provided important mechanistic insights into the maturation of sunflower proalbumins into an albumin and a macrocyclic peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Franke
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Amy M James
- School of Molecular Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Mehdi Mobli
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - Joshua S Mylne
- School of Molecular Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
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37
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Deuis JR, Dekan Z, Wingerd JS, Smith JJ, Munasinghe NR, Bhola RF, Imlach WL, Herzig V, Armstrong DA, Rosengren KJ, Bosmans F, Waxman SG, Dib-Hajj SD, Escoubas P, Minett MS, Christie MJ, King GF, Alewood PF, Lewis RJ, Wood JN, Vetter I. Corrigendum: Pharmacological characterisation of the highly Na V1.7 selective spider venom peptide Pn3a. Sci Rep 2017; 7:46816. [PMID: 28548111 PMCID: PMC5445320 DOI: 10.1038/srep46816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Scientific Reports 7: Article number: 40883; published online: 20 January 2017; updated: 26 May 2017 In this Article, Affiliation 6 is incorrectly listed as ‘Venomtech, Sophie-Antipolis, 06560, Valbonne, France’. The correct affiliation is listed below: VenomeTech, Sophie-Antipolis, 06560, Valbonne,France.
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38
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Franke B, Jayasena AS, Fisher MF, Swedberg JE, Taylor NL, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. Diverse cyclic seed peptides in the Mexican zinnia (Zinnia haageana). Biopolymers 2017; 106:806-817. [PMID: 27352920 DOI: 10.1002/bip.22901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Revised: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 06/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
A new family of small plant peptides was recently described and found to be widespread throughout the Millereae and Heliantheae tribes of the sunflower family Asteraceae. These peptides originate from the post-translational processing of unusual seed-storage albumin genes, and have been termed PawS-derived peptides (PDPs). The prototypic family member is a 14-residue cyclic peptide with potent trypsin inhibitory activity named SunFlower Trypsin Inhibitor (SFTI-1). In this study we present the features of three new PDPs discovered in the seeds of the sunflower species Zinnia haageana by a combination of de novo transcriptomics and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Two-dimensional solution NMR spectroscopy was used to elucidate their structural characteristics. All three Z. haageana peptides have well-defined folds with a head-to-tail cyclized peptide backbone and a single disulfide bond. Although two possess an anti-parallel β-sheet structure, like SFTI-1, the Z. haageana peptide PDP-21 has a more irregular backbone structure. Despite structural similarities with SFTI-1, PDP-20 was not able to inhibit trypsin, thus the functional roles of these peptides is yet to be discovered. Defining the structural features of the small cyclic peptides found in the sunflower family will be useful for guiding the exploitation of these peptides as scaffolds for grafting and protein engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Franke
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Achala S Jayasena
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry & ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Mark F Fisher
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry & ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Joakim E Swedberg
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, St, Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Nicolas L Taylor
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry & ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Joshua S Mylne
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry & ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
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39
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Patil NA, Rosengren KJ, Separovic F, Wade JD, Bathgate RAD, Hossain MA. Relaxin family peptides: structure-activity relationship studies. Br J Pharmacol 2017; 174:950-961. [PMID: 27922185 DOI: 10.1111/bph.13684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Revised: 11/25/2016] [Accepted: 11/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The human relaxin peptide family consists of seven cystine-rich peptides, four of which are known to signal through relaxin family peptide receptors, RXFP1-4. As these peptides play a vital role physiologically and in various diseases, they are of considerable importance for drug discovery and development. Detailed structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies towards understanding the role of important residues in each of these peptides have been reported over the years and utilized for the design of antagonists and minimized agonist variants. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the SAR of human relaxin 2 (H2 relaxin), human relaxin 3 (H3 relaxin), human insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) and human insulin-like peptide 5 (INSL5). LINKED ARTICLES This article is part of a themed section on Recent Progress in the Understanding of Relaxin Family Peptides and their Receptors. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v174.10/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nitin A Patil
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Frances Separovic
- School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - John D Wade
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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40
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Park S, Yoo KO, Marcussen T, Backlund A, Jacobsson E, Rosengren KJ, Doo I, Göransson U. Cyclotide Evolution: Insights from the Analyses of Their Precursor Sequences, Structures and Distribution in Violets ( Viola). Front Plant Sci 2017; 8:2058. [PMID: 29326730 PMCID: PMC5741643 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.02058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Cyclotides are a family of plant proteins that are characterized by a cyclic backbone and a knotted disulfide topology. Their cyclic cystine knot (CCK) motif makes them exceptionally resistant to thermal, chemical, and enzymatic degradation. By disrupting cell membranes, the cyclotides function as host defense peptides by exhibiting insecticidal, anthelmintic, antifouling, and molluscicidal activities. In this work, we provide the first insight into the evolution of this family of plant proteins by studying the Violaceae, in particular species of the genus Viola. We discovered 157 novel precursor sequences by the transcriptomic analysis of six Viola species: V. albida var. takahashii, V. mandshurica, V. orientalis, V. verecunda, V. acuminata, and V. canadensis. By combining these precursor sequences with the phylogenetic classification of Viola, we infer the distribution of cyclotides across 63% of the species in the genus (i.e., ~380 species). Using full precursor sequences from transcriptomes, we show an evolutionary link to the structural diversity of the cyclotides, and further classify the cyclotides by sequence signatures from the non-cyclotide domain. Also, transcriptomes were compared to cyclotide expression on a peptide level determined using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the novel cyclotides discovered were associated with the emergence of new biological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sungkyu Park
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ki-Oug Yoo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, South Korea
| | - Thomas Marcussen
- Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders Backlund
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erik Jacobsson
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Inseok Doo
- Biotech Research Team, Biotech Research Center of Dong-A Pharm Co Ltd., Seoul, South Korea
| | - Ulf Göransson
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- *Correspondence: Ulf Göransson
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41
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Franke B, Colgrave ML, Mylne JS, Rosengren KJ. Mature forms of the major seed storage albumins in sunflower: A mass spectrometric approach. J Proteomics 2016; 147:177-186. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2016.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2016] [Revised: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 05/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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42
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Kwon S, Bosmans F, Kaas Q, Cheneval O, Conibear AC, Rosengren KJ, Wang CK, Schroeder CI, Craik DJ. Efficient enzymatic cyclization of an inhibitory cystine knot-containing peptide. Biotechnol Bioeng 2016; 113:2202-12. [PMID: 27093300 DOI: 10.1002/bit.25993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Disulfide-rich peptides isolated from cone snails are of great interest as drug leads due to their high specificity and potency toward therapeutically relevant ion channels and receptors. They commonly contain the inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) motif comprising three disulfide bonds forming a knotted core. Here we report the successful enzymatic backbone cyclization of an ICK-containing peptide κ-PVIIA, a 27-amino acid conopeptide from Conus purpurascens, using a mutated version of the bacterial transpeptidase, sortase A. Although a slight loss of activity was observed compared to native κ-PVIIA, cyclic κ-PVIIA is a functional peptide that inhibits the Shaker voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel. Molecular modeling suggests that the decrease in potency may be related to the loss of crucial, but previously unidentified electrostatic interactions between the N-terminus of the peptide and the Shaker channel. This hypothesis was confirmed by testing an N-terminally acetylated κ-PVIIA, which shows a similar decrease in activity. We also investigated the conformational dynamics and hydrogen bond network of cyc-PVIIA, both of which are important factors to be considered for successful cyclization of peptides. We found that cyc-PVIIA has the same conformational dynamics, but different hydrogen bond network compared to those of κ-PVIIA. The ability to efficiently cyclize ICK peptides using sortase A will enable future protein engineering for this class of peptides and may help in the development of novel therapeutic molecules. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2202-2212. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soohyun Kwon
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Frank Bosmans
- Department of Physiology and Solomon H Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Quentin Kaas
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Olivier Cheneval
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Anne C Conibear
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | - Conan K Wang
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Christina I Schroeder
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia.
| | - David J Craik
- The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia.
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Hojo K, Hossain MA, Tailhades J, Shabanpoor F, Wong LLL, Ong-Pålsson EEK, Kastman HE, Ma S, Gundlach AL, Rosengren KJ, Wade JD, Bathgate RAD. Development of a Single-Chain Peptide Agonist of the Relaxin-3 Receptor Using Hydrocarbon Stapling. J Med Chem 2016; 59:7445-56. [PMID: 27464307 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Structure-activity studies of the insulin superfamily member, relaxin-3, have shown that its G protein-coupled receptor (RXFP3) binding site is contained within its central B-chain α-helix and this helical structure is essential for receptor activation. We sought to develop a single B-chain mimetic that retained agonist activity. This was achieved by use of solid phase peptide synthesis together with on-resin ruthenium-catalyzed ring closure metathesis of a pair of judiciously placed i,i+4 α-methyl, α-alkenyl amino acids. The resulting hydrocarbon stapled peptide was shown by solution NMR spectroscopy to mimic the native helical conformation of relaxin-3 and to possess potent RXFP3 receptor binding and activation. Alternative stapling procedures were unsuccessful, highlighting the critical need to carefully consider both the peptide sequence and stapling methodology for optimal outcomes. Our result is the first successful minimization of an insulin-like peptide to a single-chain α-helical peptide agonist which will facilitate study of the function of relaxin-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiko Hojo
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cooperative Research Center of Life Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University , Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-8586, Japan
| | - Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.,School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Julien Tailhades
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Fazel Shabanpoor
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.,School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Lilian L L Wong
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Emma E K Ong-Pålsson
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Hanna E Kastman
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Sherie Ma
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Andrew L Gundlach
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - John D Wade
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.,School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
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44
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Rosengren KJ, Daly NL, Harvey PJ, Craik DJ. The self-association of the cyclotide kalata B2 in solution is guided by hydrophobic interactions. Biopolymers 2016; 100:453-60. [PMID: 23893463 DOI: 10.1002/bip.22269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2013] [Revised: 04/17/2013] [Accepted: 04/19/2013] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The cyclotides are a family of small head-to-tail cyclic plant defense proteins. In addition to their cyclic backbone, cyclotides comprise three disulfide bonds in a knotted arrangement, resulting in a highly cross-braced structure that provides exceptional chemical and proteolytic stability. A number of bioactivities have been associated with cyclotides, including insecticidal, antimicrobial, anti-viral and cytotoxic, and these activities are related to an ability to target and disrupt biological membranes. Kalata B2 and to a lesser extent kalata B1, isolated from Oldenlandia affinis, self-associate to tetramers and octamers in aqueous buffers, and this oligomerization has been suggested to be relevant for their ability to form pores in membranes. Here we demonstrate by solution NMR spectroscopy analysis that the oligomerization of kalata B2 is concentration dependent and that it involves the packing of hydrophobic residues normally exposed on the surface of kalata B2 into a multimeric hydrophobic core. Interestingly, the hydrophobic surface that is "quenched" has previously been shown to be responsible for the ability of kalata B2 to insert into membranes. Thus, it seems unlikely that the oligomers observed in aqueous solution are related to any multimeric state present in a membrane environment, and responsible for the formation of pores. The ability to self-associate might alternatively provide a mechanism for preventing self-toxicity when stored at high concentrations in intracellular compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia; Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
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Hossain MA, Kocan M, Yao ST, Royce SG, Nair VB, Siwek C, Patil NA, Harrison IP, Rosengren KJ, Selemidis S, Summers RJ, Wade JD, Bathgate RAD, Samuel CS. A single-chain derivative of the relaxin hormone is a functionally selective agonist of the G protein-coupled receptor, RXFP1. Chem Sci 2016; 7:3805-3819. [PMID: 30155023 PMCID: PMC6013806 DOI: 10.1039/c5sc04754d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [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] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A single-chain derivative of the relaxin hormone ameliorates fibrosis without side-effects.
Human gene-2 relaxin (H2 relaxin) is a pleiotropic hormone with powerful vasodilatory and anti-fibrotic properties which has led to its clinical evaluation and provisional FDA approval as a treatment for acute heart failure. The diverse effects of H2 relaxin are mediated via its cognate G protein coupled-receptor (GPCR), Relaxin Family Peptide Receptor (RXFP1), leading to stimulation of a combination of cell signalling pathways that includes cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and extracellular-signal-regulated kinases (ERK)1/2. However, its complex two-chain (A and B), disulfide-rich insulin-like structure is a limitation to its facile preparation, availability and affordability. Furthermore, its strong activation of cAMP signaling is likely responsible for reported detrimental tumor-promoting actions that may preclude long-term use of this drug for treating human disease. Here we report the design and synthesis of a H2 relaxin B-chain-only analogue, B7-33, which was shown to bind to RXFP1 and preferentially activate the pERK pathway over cAMP in cells that endogenously expressed RXFP1. Thus, B7-33 represents the first functionally selective agonist of the complex GPCR, RXFP1. Importantly, this small peptide agonist prevented or reversed organ fibrosis and dysfunction in three pre-clinical rodent models of heart or lung disease with similar potency to H2 relaxin. The molecular mechanism behind the strong anti-fibrotic actions of B7-33 involved its activation of RXFP1-angiotensin II type 2 receptor heterodimers that induced selective downstream signaling of pERK1/2 and the collagen-degrading enzyme, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2. Furthermore, in contrast to H2 relaxin, B7-33 did not promote prostate tumor growth in vivo. Our results represent the first known example of the minimisation of a two-chain cyclic insulin-like peptide to a single-chain linear peptide that retains potent beneficial agonistic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia . ; ; .,School of Chemistry , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Martina Kocan
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Victoria , Australia
| | - Song T Yao
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia . ; ;
| | - Simon G Royce
- Cardiovascular Disease Program , Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Pharmacology , Monash University , Victoria , Australia .
| | - Vinojini B Nair
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia . ; ; .,School of Chemistry , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Christopher Siwek
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Victoria , Australia
| | - Nitin A Patil
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia . ; ; .,School of Chemistry , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Ian P Harrison
- Cardiovascular Disease Program , Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Pharmacology , Monash University , Victoria , Australia .
| | - K Johan Rosengren
- The University of Queensland , School of Biomedical Sciences , Brisbane , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - Stavros Selemidis
- Cardiovascular Disease Program , Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Pharmacology , Monash University , Victoria , Australia .
| | - Roger J Summers
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Victoria , Australia
| | - John D Wade
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia . ; ; .,School of Chemistry , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia . ; ; .,Department of Biochemistry , The University of Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Chrishan S Samuel
- Cardiovascular Disease Program , Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Pharmacology , Monash University , Victoria , Australia .
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46
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Patil NA, Hughes RA, Rosengren KJ, Kocan M, Ang SY, Tailhades J, Separovic F, Summers RJ, Grosse J, Wade JD, Bathgate RAD, Hossain MA. Engineering of a Novel Simplified Human Insulin-Like Peptide 5 Agonist. J Med Chem 2016; 59:2118-25. [PMID: 26824523 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b01786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Insulin-like peptide 5 (INSL5) has recently been discovered as only the second orexigenic gut hormone after ghrelin. As we have previously reported, INSL5 is extremely difficult to assemble and oxidize into its two-chain three-disulfide structure. The focus of this study was to generate structure-activity relationships (SARs) of INSL5 and use it to develop a potent and simpler INSL5 mimetic with RXFP4 agonist activity. A series of human and mouse INSL5 (hINSL5/mINSL5) analogues were designed and chemically synthesized, resulting in a chimeric INSL5 analogue exhibiting more than 10-fold higher potency (0.35 nM) at human RXFP4 compared with native hINSL5 (4.57 nM). The SAR study also identified a key residue (K(A15)) in the A-chain of mINSL5 that contributes to improved RXFP4 affinity and potency of mINSL5 compared with hINSL5. This knowledge ultimately led us to engineer a minimized hINSL5 mimetic agonist that retains native hINSL5-like RXFP4 affinity and potency at human RXFP4. This minimized analogue was synthesized in 17.5-fold higher yield and in less time compared with hINSL5.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - K Johan Rosengren
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland , Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Martina Kocan
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University , Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Sheng Yu Ang
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University , Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | | | | | - Roger J Summers
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University , Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
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47
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Conibear AC, Chaousis S, Durek T, Johan Rosengren K, Craik DJ, Schroeder CI. Approaches to the stabilization of bioactive epitopes by grafting and peptide cyclization. Biopolymers 2016; 106:89-100. [DOI: 10.1002/bip.22767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Anne C. Conibear
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Stephanie Chaousis
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Thomas Durek
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - K. Johan Rosengren
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - David J. Craik
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Christina I. Schroeder
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
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48
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Zhang C, Chua BE, Yang A, Shabanpoor F, Hossain MA, Wade JD, Rosengren KJ, Smith CM, Gundlach AL. Central relaxin-3 receptor (RXFP3) activation reduces elevated, but not basal, anxiety-like behaviour in C57BL/6J mice. Behav Brain Res 2015; 292:125-32. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2015] [Revised: 05/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Hossain MA, Haugaard-Kedström LM, Rosengren KJ, Bathgate RAD, Wade JD. Chemically synthesized dicarba H2 relaxin analogues retain strong RXFP1 receptor activity but show an unexpected loss of in vitro serum stability. Org Biomol Chem 2015; 13:10895-903. [PMID: 26368576 DOI: 10.1039/c5ob01539a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Peptides and proteins are now acknowledged as viable alternatives to small molecules as potential therapeutic agents. A primary limitation to their more widespread acceptance is their generally short in vivo half-lives due to serum enzyme susceptibility and rapid renal clearance. Numerous chemical approaches to address this concern have been undertaken in recent years. The replacement of disulfide bonds with non-reducible elements has been demonstrated to be one effective means by eliminating the deleterious effect of serum reductases. In particular, substitution with dicarba bonds via ring closure metathesis has been increasingly applied to many bioactive cystine-rich peptides. We used this approach for the replacement of the A-chain intramolecular disulfide bond of human relaxin 2 (H2 relaxin), an insulin-like peptide that has important regulatory roles in cardiovascular and connective tissue homeostasis that has led to successful Phase IIIa clinical trials for the treatment of acute heart failure. Use of efficient solid phase synthesis of the two peptide chains was followed by on-resin ring closure metathesis and formation of the dicarba bond within the A-chain and then by off-resin combination with the B-chain via sequential directed inter-chain disulfide bond formation. After purification and comprehensive chemical characterization, the two isomeric synthetic H2 relaxin analogues were shown to retain near-equipotent RXFP1 receptor binding and activation propensity. Unexpectedly, the in vitro serum stability of the analogues was greatly reduced compared with the native peptide. Circular dichroism spectroscopy studies showed subtle differences in the secondary structures between dicarba analogues and H2 relaxin suggesting that, although the overall fold is retained, it may be destabilized which could account for rapid degradation of dicarba analogues in serum. Caution is therefore recommended when using ring closure metathesis as a general approach to enhance peptide stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
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50
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Carstens BB, Rosengren KJ, Gunasekera S, Schempp S, Bohlin L, Dahlström M, Clark RJ, Göransson U. Isolation, Characterization, and Synthesis of the Barrettides: Disulfide-Containing Peptides from the Marine Sponge Geodia barretti. J Nat Prod 2015; 78:1886-1893. [PMID: 26222779 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Two disulfide-containing peptides, barrettides A (1) and B (2), from the cold-water marine sponge Geodia barretti are described. Those 31 amino acid residue long peptides were sequenced using mass spectrometry methods and structurally characterized using NMR spectroscopy. The structure of 1 was confirmed by total synthesis using the solid-phase peptide synthesis approach that was developed. The two peptides were found to differ only at a single position in their sequence. The three-dimensional structure of 1 revealed that these peptides possess a unique fold consisting of a long β-hairpin structure that is cross-braced by two disulfide bonds in a ladder-like arrangement. The peptides are amphipathic in nature with the hydrophobic and charged residues clustered on separate faces of the molecule. The barrettides were found not to inhibit the growth of either Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus but displayed antifouling activity against barnacle larvae (Balanus improvisus) without lethal effects in the concentrations tested.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sunithi Gunasekera
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University , Box 574, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Stefanie Schempp
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University , Box 574, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lars Bohlin
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University , Box 574, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mia Dahlström
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden , Arvid Wallgrens Backe 20, SE-413 46 Göteborg, Sweden
| | | | - Ulf Göransson
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University , Box 574, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
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