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Sanches K, Ashwood LM, Olushola-Siedoks AAM, Wai DCC, Rahman A, Shakeel K, Naseem MU, Panyi G, Prentis PJ, Norton RS. Structure-function relationships in ShKT domain peptides: ShKT-Ts1 from the sea anemone Telmatactis stephensoni. Proteins 2024; 92:192-205. [PMID: 37794633 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Diverse structural scaffolds have been described in peptides from sea anemones, with the ShKT domain being a common scaffold first identified in ShK toxin from Stichodactyla helianthus. ShK is a potent blocker of voltage-gated potassium channels (KV 1.x), and an analog, ShK-186 (dalazatide), has completed Phase 1 clinical trials in plaque psoriasis. The ShKT domain has been found in numerous other species, but only a tiny fraction of ShKT domains has been characterized functionally. Despite adopting the canonical ShK fold, some ShKT peptides from sea anemones inhibit KV 1.x, while others do not. Mutagenesis studies have shown that a Lys-Tyr (KY) dyad plays a key role in KV 1.x blockade, although a cationic residue followed by a hydrophobic residue may also suffice. Nevertheless, ShKT peptides displaying an ShK-like fold and containing a KY dyad do not necessarily block potassium channels, so additional criteria are needed to determine whether new ShKT peptides might show activity against potassium channels. In this study, we used a combination of NMR and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to assess the potential activity of a new ShKT peptide. We determined the structure of ShKT-Ts1, from the sea anemone Telmatactis stephensoni, examined its tissue localization, and investigated its activity against a range of ion channels. As ShKT-Ts1 showed no activity against KV 1.x channels, we used MD simulations to investigate whether solvent exposure of the dyad residues may be informative in rationalizing and potentially predicting the ability of ShKT peptides to block KV 1.x channels. We show that either a buried dyad that does not become exposed during MD simulations, or a partially exposed dyad that becomes buried during MD simulations, correlates with weak or absent activity against KV 1.x channels. Therefore, structure determination coupled with MD simulations, may be used to predict whether new sequences belonging to the ShKT family may act as potassium channel blockers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karoline Sanches
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- ARC Centre for Fragment-Based Design, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Lauren M Ashwood
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Dorothy C C Wai
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Arfatur Rahman
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kashmala Shakeel
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Peter J Prentis
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Raymond S Norton
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- ARC Centre for Fragment-Based Design, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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Elnahriry KA, Wai DCC, Ashwood LM, Naseem MU, Szanto TG, Guo S, Panyi G, Prentis PJ, Norton RS. Structural and functional characterisation of Tst2, a novel TRPV1 inhibitory peptide from the Australian sea anemone Telmatactis stephensoni. Biochim Biophys Acta Proteins Proteom 2024; 1872:140952. [PMID: 37640250 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2023.140952] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Sea anemone venoms are complex mixtures of biologically active compounds, including disulfide-rich peptides, some of which have found applications as research tools, and others as therapeutic leads. Our recent transcriptomic and proteomic studies of the Australian sea anemone Telmatactis stephensoni identified a transcript for a peptide designated Tst2. Tst2 is a 38-residue peptide showing sequence similarity to peptide toxins known to interact with a range of ion channels (NaV, TRPV1, KV and CaV). Recombinant Tst2 (rTst2, which contains an additional Gly at the N-terminus) was produced by periplasmic expression in Escherichia coli, enabling the production of both unlabelled and uniformly 13C,15N-labelled peptide for functional assays and structural studies. The LC-MS profile of the recombinant Tst2 showed a pure peak with molecular mass 6 Da less than that of the reduced form of the peptide, indicating the successful formation of three disulfide bonds from its six cysteine residues. The solution structure of rTst2 was determined using multidimensional NMR spectroscopy and revealed that rTst2 adopts an inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) structure. rTst2 was screened using various functional assays, including patch-clamp electrophysiological and cytotoxicity assays. rTst2 was inactive against voltage-gated sodium channels (NaV) and the human voltage-gated proton (hHv1) channel. rTst2 also did not possess cytotoxic activity when assessed against Drosophila melanogaster flies. However, the recombinant peptide at 100 nM showed >50% inhibition of the transient receptor potential subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) and slight (∼10%) inhibition of transient receptor potential subfamily A member 1 (TRPA1). Tst2 is thus a novel ICK inhibitor of the TRPV1 channel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khaled A Elnahriry
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Dorothy C C Wai
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Lauren M Ashwood
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen 4032, Hungary
| | - Tibor G Szanto
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen 4032, Hungary
| | - Shaodong Guo
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen 4032, Hungary
| | - Peter J Prentis
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia; Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Raymond S Norton
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; ARC Centre for Fragment-Based Design, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
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Shakeel K, Olamendi-Portugal T, Naseem MU, Becerril B, Zamudio FZ, Delgado-Prudencio G, Possani LD, Panyi G. Of Seven New K + Channel Inhibitor Peptides of Centruroides bonito, α-KTx 2.24 Has a Picomolar Affinity for Kv1.2. Toxins (Basel) 2023; 15:506. [PMID: 37624263 PMCID: PMC10467108 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15080506] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Seven new peptides denominated CboK1 to CboK7 were isolated from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides bonito and their primary structures were determined. The molecular weights ranged between 3760.4 Da and 4357.9 Da, containing 32 to 39 amino acid residues with three putative disulfide bridges. The comparison of amino acid sequences with known potassium scorpion toxins (KTx) and phylogenetic analysis revealed that CboK1 (α-KTx 10.5) and CboK2 (α-KTx 10.6) belong to the α-KTx 10.x subfamily, whereas CboK3 (α-KTx 2.22), CboK4 (α-KTx 2.23), CboK6 (α-KTx 2.21), and CboK7 (α-KTx 2.24) bear > 95% amino acid similarity with members of the α-KTx 2.x subfamily, and CboK5 is identical to Ce3 toxin (α-KTx 2.10). Electrophysiological assays demonstrated that except CboK1, all six other peptides blocked the Kv1.2 channel with Kd values in the picomolar range (24-763 pM) and inhibited the Kv1.3 channel with comparatively less potency (Kd values between 20-171 nM). CboK3 and CboK4 inhibited less than 10% and CboK7 inhibited about 42% of Kv1.1 currents at 100 nM concentration. Among all, CboK7 showed out-standing affinity for Kv1.2 (Kd = 24 pM), as well as high selectivity over Kv1.3 (850-fold) and Kv1.1 (~6000-fold). These characteristics of CboK7 may provide a framework for developing tools to treat Kv1.2-related channelopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kashmala Shakeel
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter. 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (K.S.); (M.U.N.)
| | - Timoteo Olamendi-Portugal
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico; (T.O.-P.); (B.B.); (F.Z.Z.); (G.D.-P.)
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter. 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (K.S.); (M.U.N.)
| | - Baltazar Becerril
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico; (T.O.-P.); (B.B.); (F.Z.Z.); (G.D.-P.)
| | - Fernando Z. Zamudio
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico; (T.O.-P.); (B.B.); (F.Z.Z.); (G.D.-P.)
| | - Gustavo Delgado-Prudencio
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico; (T.O.-P.); (B.B.); (F.Z.Z.); (G.D.-P.)
| | - Lourival Domingos Possani
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico; (T.O.-P.); (B.B.); (F.Z.Z.); (G.D.-P.)
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter. 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (K.S.); (M.U.N.)
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Ashwood LM, Elnahriry KA, Stewart ZK, Shafee T, Naseem MU, Szanto TG, van der Burg CA, Smith HL, Surm JM, Undheim EAB, Madio B, Hamilton BR, Guo S, Wai DCC, Coyne VL, Phillips MJ, Dudley KJ, Hurwood DA, Panyi G, King GF, Pavasovic A, Norton RS, Prentis PJ. Genomic, functional and structural analyses elucidate evolutionary innovation within the sea anemone 8 toxin family. BMC Biol 2023; 21:121. [PMID: 37226201 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01617-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [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: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ShK toxin from Stichodactyla helianthus has established the therapeutic potential of sea anemone venom peptides, but many lineage-specific toxin families in Actiniarians remain uncharacterised. One such peptide family, sea anemone 8 (SA8), is present in all five sea anemone superfamilies. We explored the genomic arrangement and evolution of the SA8 gene family in Actinia tenebrosa and Telmatactis stephensoni, characterised the expression patterns of SA8 sequences, and examined the structure and function of SA8 from the venom of T. stephensoni. RESULTS We identified ten SA8-family genes in two clusters and six SA8-family genes in five clusters for T. stephensoni and A. tenebrosa, respectively. Nine SA8 T. stephensoni genes were found in a single cluster, and an SA8 peptide encoded by an inverted SA8 gene from this cluster was recruited to venom. We show that SA8 genes in both species are expressed in a tissue-specific manner and the inverted SA8 gene has a unique tissue distribution. While the functional activity of the SA8 putative toxin encoded by the inverted gene was inconclusive, its tissue localisation is similar to toxins used for predator deterrence. We demonstrate that, although mature SA8 putative toxins have similar cysteine spacing to ShK, SA8 peptides are distinct from ShK peptides based on structure and disulfide connectivity. CONCLUSIONS Our results provide the first demonstration that SA8 is a unique gene family in Actiniarians, evolving through a variety of structural changes including tandem and proximal gene duplication and an inversion event that together allowed SA8 to be recruited into the venom of T. stephensoni.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Ashwood
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia.
- Cancer Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia.
| | - Khaled A Elnahriry
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Zachary K Stewart
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Thomas Shafee
- Department of Animal Plant & Soil Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tibor G Szanto
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Chloé A van der Burg
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand
| | - Hayden L Smith
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Joachim M Surm
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190401, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Eivind A B Undheim
- Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Blindern, PO Box 1066, 0316, Oslo, Norway
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Bruno Madio
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Brett R Hamilton
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Shaodong Guo
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Dorothy C C Wai
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Victoria L Coyne
- Research Infrastructure, Central Analytical Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Matthew J Phillips
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Kevin J Dudley
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- Research Infrastructure, Central Analytical Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - David A Hurwood
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Glenn F King
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
- ARC Centre for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Ana Pavasovic
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Raymond S Norton
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- ARC Centre for Fragment-Based Design, Monash University, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Peter J Prentis
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
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Cozzolino M, Gyöngyösi A, Korpos E, Gogolak P, Naseem MU, Kállai J, Lanyi A, Panyi G. The Voltage-Gated Hv1 H+ Channel Is Expressed in Tumor-Infiltrating Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076216. [PMID: 37047188 PMCID: PMC10094655 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are key determinants of the immunosuppressive microenvironment in tumors. As ion channels play key roles in the physiology/pathophysiology of immune cells, we aimed at studying the ion channel repertoire in tumor-derived polymorphonuclear (PMN-MDSC) and monocytic (Mo-MDSC) MDSCs. Subcutaneous tumors in mice were induced by the Lewis lung carcinoma cell line (LLC). The presence of PMN-MDSC (CD11b+/Ly6G+) and Mo-MDSCs (CD11b+/Ly6C+) in the tumor tissue was confirmed using immunofluorescence microscopy and cells were identified as CD11b+/Ly6G+ PMN-MDSCs and CD11b+/Ly6C+/F4/80−/MHCII− Mo-MDSCs using flow cytometry and sorting. The majority of the myeloid cells infiltrating the LLC tumors were PMN-MDSC (~60%) as compared to ~10% being Mo-MDSCs. We showed that PMN- and Mo-MDSCs express the Hv1 H+ channel both at the mRNA and at the protein level and that the biophysical and pharmacological properties of the whole-cell currents recapitulate the hallmarks of Hv1 currents: ~40 mV shift in the activation threshold of the current per unit change in the extracellular pH, high H+ selectivity, and sensitivity to the Hv1 inhibitor ClGBI. As MDSCs exert immunosuppression mainly by producing reactive oxygen species which is coupled to Hv1-mediated H+ currents, Hv1 might be an attractive target for inhibition of MDSCs in tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Cozzolino
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (M.C.); (E.K.); (M.U.N.)
| | - Adrienn Gyöngyösi
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.G.); (P.G.); (J.K.); (A.L.)
| | - Eva Korpos
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (M.C.); (E.K.); (M.U.N.)
- ELKH-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Peter Gogolak
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.G.); (P.G.); (J.K.); (A.L.)
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (M.C.); (E.K.); (M.U.N.)
| | - Judit Kállai
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.G.); (P.G.); (J.K.); (A.L.)
- ELKH-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Arpad Lanyi
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.G.); (P.G.); (J.K.); (A.L.)
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (M.C.); (E.K.); (M.U.N.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +36-52-352201
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Naseem MU, Gurrola-Briones G, Romero-Imbachi MR, Borrego J, Carcamo-Noriega E, Beltrán-Vidal J, Zamudio FZ, Shakeel K, Possani LD, Panyi G. Characterization and Chemical Synthesis of Cm39 (α-KTx 4.8): A Scorpion Toxin That Inhibits Voltage-Gated K + Channel K V1.2 and Small- and Intermediate-Conductance Ca 2+-Activated K + Channels K Ca2.2 and K Ca3.1. Toxins (Basel) 2023; 15:41. [PMID: 36668861 PMCID: PMC9866218 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15010041] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
A novel peptide, Cm39, was identified in the venom of the scorpion Centruroides margaritatus. Its primary structure was determined. It consists of 37 amino acid residues with a MW of 3980.2 Da. The full chemical synthesis and proper folding of Cm39 was obtained. Based on amino acid sequence alignment with different K+ channel inhibitor scorpion toxin (KTx) families and phylogenetic analysis, Cm39 belongs to the α-KTx 4 family and was registered with the systematic number of α-KTx 4.8. Synthetic Cm39 inhibits the voltage-gated K+ channel hKV1.2 with high affinity (Kd = 65 nM). The conductance-voltage relationship of KV1.2 was not altered in the presence of Cm39, and the analysis of the toxin binding kinetics was consistent with a bimolecular interaction between the peptide and the channel; therefore, the pore blocking mechanism is proposed for the toxin-channel interaction. Cm39 also inhibits the Ca2+-activated KCa2.2 and KCa3.1 channels, with Kd = 502 nM, and Kd = 58 nM, respectively. However, the peptide does not inhibit hKV1.1, hKV1.3, hKV1.4, hKV1.5, hKV1.6, hKV11.1, mKCa1.1 K+ channels or the hNaV1.5 and hNaV1.4 Na+ channels at 1 μM concentrations. Understanding the unusual selectivity profile of Cm39 motivates further experiments to reveal novel interactions with the vestibule of toxin-sensitive channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter. 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Georgina Gurrola-Briones
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Margarita R. Romero-Imbachi
- Grupo de Investigaciones Herpetológicas y Toxinológicas, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y de la Educación, Universidad del Cauca, Sector Tulcan, Calle 2 N 3N-100, Popayán 190002, Cauca, Colombia
| | - Jesus Borrego
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter. 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Edson Carcamo-Noriega
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Morelos, Mexico
| | - José Beltrán-Vidal
- Grupo de Investigaciones Herpetológicas y Toxinológicas, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y de la Educación, Universidad del Cauca, Sector Tulcan, Calle 2 N 3N-100, Popayán 190002, Cauca, Colombia
| | - Fernando Z. Zamudio
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Kashmala Shakeel
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter. 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Lourival Domingos Possani
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca 62210, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter. 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
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Borrego J, Naseem MU, Sehgal ANA, Panda LR, Shakeel K, Gaspar A, Nagy C, Varga Z, Panyi G. Recombinant Expression in Pichia pastoris System of Three Potent Kv1.3 Channel Blockers: Vm24, Anuroctoxin, and Ts6. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8111215. [PMID: 36422036 PMCID: PMC9697831 DOI: 10.3390/jof8111215] [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: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Kv1.3 channel has become a therapeutic target for the treatment of various diseases. Several Kv1.3 channel blockers have been characterized from scorpion venom; however, extensive studies require amounts of toxin that cannot be readily obtained directly from venoms. The Pichia pastoris expression system provides a cost-effective approach to overcoming the limitations of chemical synthesis and E. coli recombinant expression. In this work, we developed an efficient system for the production of three potent Kv1.3 channel blockers from different scorpion venoms: Vm24, AnTx, and Ts6. Using the Pichia system, these toxins could be obtained in sufficient quantities (Vm24 1.6 mg/L, AnTx 46 mg/L, and Ts6 7.5 mg/L) to characterize their biological activity. A comparison was made between the activity of tagged and untagged recombinant peptides. Tagged Vm24 and untagged AnTx are nearly equivalent to native toxins in blocking Kv1.3 (Kd = 4.4 pM and Kd = 0.72 nM, respectively), whereas untagged Ts6 exhibits a 53-fold increase in Kd (Kd = 29.1 nM) as compared to the native peptide. The approach described here provides a method that can be optimized for toxin production to develop more selective and effective Kv1.3 blockers with therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Borrego
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Al Nasar Ahmed Sehgal
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Lipsa Rani Panda
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Kashmala Shakeel
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Attila Gaspar
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Cynthia Nagy
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zoltan Varga
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +36-52-258-603
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Wai DCC, Naseem MU, Mocsár G, Babu Reddiar S, Pan Y, Csoti A, Hajdu P, Nowell C, Nicolazzo JA, Panyi G, Norton RS. Fluorescent Peptide Toxin for Selective Visualization of the Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel K V1.3. Bioconjug Chem 2022; 33:2197-2212. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.2c00436] [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: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dorothy C. C. Wai
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria3052, Australia
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen4032, Hungary
| | - Gábor Mocsár
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen4032, Hungary
- Damjanovich Cell Analysis Core Facility, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen4032, Hungary
| | - Sanjeevini Babu Reddiar
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria3052, Australia
| | - Yijun Pan
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria3052, Australia
| | - Agota Csoti
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen4032, Hungary
| | - Peter Hajdu
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen4032, Hungary
- Department of Dental Biochemistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen4032, Hungary
| | - Cameron Nowell
- Imaging, FACS and Analysis Core, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria3052, Australia
| | - Joseph A. Nicolazzo
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria3052, Australia
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen4032, Hungary
| | - Raymond S. Norton
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria3052, Australia
- ARC Centre for Fragment-Based Design, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria3052, Australia
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Naseem MU, Carcamo-Noriega E, Beltrán-Vidal J, Borrego J, Szanto TG, Zamudio FZ, Delgado-Prudencio G, Possani LD, Panyi G. Cm28, a scorpion toxin having a unique primary structure, inhibits KV1.2 and KV1.3 with high affinity. J Gen Physiol 2022; 154:213282. [PMID: 35699659 PMCID: PMC9202693 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.202213146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Cm28 in the venom of Centruroides margaritatus is a short peptide consisting of 27 amino acid residues with a mol wt of 2,820 D. Cm28 has <40% similarity with other known α-KTx from scorpions and lacks the typical functional dyad (lysine-tyrosine) required to block KV channels. However, its unique sequence contains the three disulfide-bond traits of the α-KTx scorpion toxin family. We propose that Cm28 is the first example of a new subfamily of α-KTxs, registered with the systematic number α-KTx32.1. Cm28 inhibited voltage-gated K+ channels KV1.2 and KV1.3 with Kd values of 0.96 and 1.3 nM, respectively. There was no significant shift in the conductance-voltage (G-V) relationship for any of the channels in the presence of toxin. Toxin binding kinetics showed that the association and dissociation rates are consistent with a bimolecular interaction between the peptide and the channel. Based on these, we conclude that Cm28 is not a gating modifier but rather a pore blocker. In a selectivity assay, Cm28 at 150 nM concentration (>100× Kd value for KV1.3) did not inhibit KV1.5, KV11.1, KCa1.1, and KCa3.1 K+ channels; NaV1.5 and NaV1.4 Na+ channels; or the hHV1 H+ channel but blocked ∼27% of the KV1.1 current. In a biological functional assay, Cm28 strongly inhibited the expression of the activation markers interleukin-2 receptor and CD40 ligand in anti-CD3-activated human CD4+ effector memory T lymphocytes. Cm28, due to its unique structure, may serve as a template for the generation of novel peptides targeting KV1.3 in autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Edson Carcamo-Noriega
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - José Beltrán-Vidal
- Grupo de Investigaciones Herpetológicas y Toxinológicas, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y de la Educación, Universidad del Cauca, Popayán, Colombia
| | - Jesus Borrego
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tibor G. Szanto
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Fernando Z. Zamudio
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Gustavo Delgado-Prudencio
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Lourival D. Possani
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary,Correspondence to Gyorgy Panyi:
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Bosire R, Fadel L, Mocsár G, Nánási P, Sen P, Sharma AK, Naseem MU, Kovács A, Kugel J, Kroemer G, Vámosi G, Szabó G. Doxorubicin impacts chromatin binding of HMGB1, Histone H1 and retinoic acid receptor. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8087. [PMID: 35577872 PMCID: PMC9110345 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11994-z] [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: 12/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Doxorubicin (Dox), a widely used anticancer DNA-binding drug, affects chromatin in multiple ways, and these effects contribute to both its efficacy and its dose-limiting side effects, especially cardiotoxicity. Here, we studied the effects of Dox on the chromatin binding of the architectural proteins high mobility group B1 (HMGB1) and the linker histone H1, and the transcription factor retinoic acid receptor (RARα) by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) in live cells. At lower doses, Dox increased the binding of HMGB1 to DNA while decreasing the binding of the linker histone H1. At higher doses that correspond to the peak plasma concentrations achieved during chemotherapy, Dox reduced the binding of HMGB1 as well. This biphasic effect is interpreted in terms of a hierarchy of competition between the ligands involved and Dox-induced local conformational changes of nucleosome-free DNA. Combined, FRAP and FCS mobility data suggest that Dox decreases the overall binding of RARα to DNA, an effect that was only partially overcome by agonist binding. The intertwined interactions described are likely to contribute to both the effects and side effects of Dox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosevalentine Bosire
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Doctoral School of Molecular Cell and Immune Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Lina Fadel
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gábor Mocsár
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Péter Nánási
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Pialy Sen
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Anshu Kumar Sharma
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Attila Kovács
- Department of Radiation Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Jennifer Kugel
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
| | - Guido Kroemer
- Centre de Recherche Des Cordeliers, Equipe Labellisée Par La Ligue Contre Le Cancer, Université de Paris, Sorbonne Université, Inserm U1138, Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.,Metabolomics and Cell Biology Platforms, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.,Pôle de Biologie, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, AP-HP, Paris, France
| | - György Vámosi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
| | - Gábor Szabó
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
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Umair Naseem M, Beltrán-Vidal J, Carcamo-Noriega E, Possani LD, Panyi G. A novel peptide from the venom of Centruroides margaritatus has unique primary structure and inhibits Kv1.2 and Kv1.3 with high affinity. Biophys J 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.11.810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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12
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Naseem MU, Tajti G, Gaspar A, Szanto TG, Borrego J, Panyi G. Optimization of Pichia pastoris Expression System for High-Level Production of Margatoxin. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:733610. [PMID: 34658872 PMCID: PMC8511391 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.733610] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Margatoxin (MgTx) is a high-affinity blocker of voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels. It inhibits Kv1.1–Kv1.3 ion channels in picomolar concentrations. This toxin is widely used to study physiological function of Kv ion channels in various cell types, including immune cells. Isolation of native MgTx in large quantities from scorpion venom is not affordable. Chemical synthesis and recombinant production in Escherichia coli need in vitro oxidative refolding for proper disulfide bond formation, resulting in a very low yield of peptide production. The Pichia pastoris expression system offers an economical approach to overcome all these limitations and gives a higher yield of correctly refolded recombinant peptides. In this study, improved heterologous expression of recombinant MgTx (rMgTx) in P. pastoris was obtained by using preferential codons, selecting the hyper-resistant clone against Zeocin, and optimizing the culturing conditions. About 36 ± 4 mg/L of >98% pure His-tagged rMgTx (TrMgTx) was produced, which is a threefold higher yield than has been previously reported. Proteolytic digestion of TrMgTx with factor Xa generated untagged rMgTx (UrMgTx). Both TrMgTx and UrMgTx blocked the Kv1.2 and Kv1.3 currents (patch-clamp) (Kd for Kv1.2 were 64 and 14 pM, and for Kv1.3, 86 and 50 pM, respectively) with comparable potency to the native MgTx. The analysis of the binding kinetics showed that TrMgTx had a lower association rate than UrMgTx for both Kv1.2 and Kv1.3. The dissociation rate of both the analogues was the same for Kv1.3. However, in the case of Kv1.2, TrMgTx showed a much higher dissociation rate with full recovery of the block than UrMgTx. Moreover, in a biological functional assay, both peptides significantly downregulated the expression of early activation markers IL2R and CD40L in activated CD4+ TEM lymphocytes whose activation was Kv1.3 dependent. In conclusion, the authors report that the Pichia expression system is a powerful method to produce disulfide-rich peptides, the overexpression of which could be enhanced noticeably through optimization strategies, making it more cost-effective. Since the presence of the His-tag on rMgTx only mildly altered the block equilibrium and binding kinetics, recombinant toxins could be used in ion channel research without removing the tag and could thus reduce the cost and time demand for toxin production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gabor Tajti
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Attila Gaspar
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tibor G Szanto
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Jesús Borrego
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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Naseem MU, Ahmed N, Khan MA, Tahir S, Zafar AU. Production of potent long-lasting consensus interferon using albumin fusion technology in Pichia pastoris expression system. Protein Expr Purif 2019; 166:105509. [PMID: 31604114 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2019.105509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [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: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Consensus interferon (cIFN) is a wholly synthetic therapeutic protein which is used to treat hepatitis C/B and certain types of malignancies. It has short serum half-life, therefore, to maintain its therapeutic level in the human body it requires thrice-weekly administration. Various strategies like PEGylation and micro-encapsulation have been developed during the last few years to enhance the pharmacokinetics of small therapeutic peptides. This study executed the human albumin-fusion technology, a simple and flexible approach to extend the serum circulating half-life of cIFN, because human serum albumin (HSA) has long circulating half-life (19 days) and very minute immunological activities. We integrated the codon-optimized HSA-cIFN fusion gene into Pichia pastoris genome by homologous recombination. The selection of hyper-resistant P. pastoris clone against Zeocin™ achieved a high-level secretory expression (250 mg/L) of fusion protein. HSA-cIFN fusion protein was purified using one-step purification by affinity chromatography with 34% recovery. The SDS-PAGE and SEC-HPLC analysis confirmed the final purified product has molecular weight of 87 kDa with 98% purity. Western blot analysis using anti-IFN antibodies further verified the purified HSA-cIFN fusion protein. The specific biological activity was 2.1 × 106 IU/mg as assessed by cytopathic inhibition assay, and half-life of fusion protein was estimated by in vitro thermal and proteolytic stability studies. This work concludes that by using albumin fusion technology, codon optimization and one-step purification a high yield of 86 mg/L of biologically active protein with improved serum half-life was obtained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Umair Naseem
- National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB), University of the Punjab, 87 West Canal Bank Road, Thokar Niazbaig, Lahore 53700, Pakistan; Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter 1. Debrecen 4032, Hungary.
| | - Nadeem Ahmed
- National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB), University of the Punjab, 87 West Canal Bank Road, Thokar Niazbaig, Lahore 53700, Pakistan
| | - Mohsin Ahmad Khan
- National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB), University of the Punjab, 87 West Canal Bank Road, Thokar Niazbaig, Lahore 53700, Pakistan
| | - Saad Tahir
- National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB), University of the Punjab, 87 West Canal Bank Road, Thokar Niazbaig, Lahore 53700, Pakistan
| | - Ahmad Usman Zafar
- National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB), University of the Punjab, 87 West Canal Bank Road, Thokar Niazbaig, Lahore 53700, Pakistan
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