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Stefanucci A, Amato J, Brancaccio D, Pagano B, Randazzo A, Santoro F, Mayol L, Learte-Aymamí S, Rodriguez J, Mascareñas JL, Novellino E, Carotenuto A, Mollica A. A novel β-hairpin peptide derived from the ARC repressor selectively interacts with the major groove of B-DNA. Bioorg Chem 2021; 112:104836. [PMID: 33812270 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2021.104836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) have a remarkable role in the homeostasis of the organisms and there is a growing interest in how they recognize and interact with specific DNA sequences. TFs recognize DNA using a variety of structural motifs. Among those, the ribbon-helix-helix (RHH) proteins, exemplified by the MetJ and ARC repressors, form dimers that insert antiparallel β-sheets into the major groove of DNA. A great chemical challenge consists of using the principles of DNA recognition by TFs to design minimized peptides that maintain the DNA affinity and specificity characteristics of the natural counterparts. In this context, a peptide mimic of an antiparallel β-sheet is very attractive since it can be obtained by a single peptide chain folding in a β-hairpin structure and can be as short as 14 amino acids or less. Herein, we designed eight linear and two cyclic dodeca-peptides endowed with β-hairpins. Their DNA binding properties have been investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy together with the conformational analysis through circular dichroism and solution NMR. We found that one of our peptides, peptide 6, is able to bind DNA, albeit without sequence selectivity. Notably, it shows a topological selectivity for the major groove of the DNA which is the interaction site of ARC and many other DNA-binding proteins. Moreover, we found that a type I' β-hairpin folding pattern is a favorite peptide structure for interaction with the B-DNA major groove. Peptide 6 is a valuable lead compound for the development of novel analogs with sequence selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azzurra Stefanucci
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Chieti-Pescara "G. d'Annunzio", Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Jussara Amato
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Diego Brancaccio
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Bruno Pagano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Antonio Randazzo
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Federica Santoro
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Mayol
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Soraya Learte-Aymamí
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), and Departamento de Química Orgánica. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Jessica Rodriguez
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), and Departamento de Química Orgánica. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - José Luis Mascareñas
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), and Departamento de Química Orgánica. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Ettore Novellino
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Alfonso Carotenuto
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy.
| | - Adriano Mollica
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Chieti-Pescara "G. d'Annunzio", Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy.
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Stefanucci A, Mosquera J, Vázquez E, Mascareñas JL, Novellino E, Mollica A. Synthesis, Characterization, and DNA Binding Profile of a Macrocyclic β-Sheet Analogue of ARC Protein. ACS Med Chem Lett 2015; 6:1220-4. [PMID: 26713108 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.5b00363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [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: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 10/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
ARC repressor (apoptosis repressor with caspase recruitment domain) is a protein which binds selectively to a specific sequence of DNA. In humans, ARC is primarily expressed in striated muscle tissue, which normally does not undergo rapid cell turnover. This suggests that ARC may play a protective role in the prevention against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and several types of tumors. In this Letter we report the synthesis, characterization, and conformational analysis of a β-sheet ARC repressor mimetic, based on the amino acid sequence of the β-sheet domain in the ARC protein. The ability of this β-sheet macrocycle to bind to double-stranded DNA was also evaluated using spectroscopic methods. Our data show that the synthetic peptide has a defined conformation and is able to bind DNA with reasonable affinity. These initial results lay the groundwork for the design of novel β-sheets folded peptides as valuable substitutes of transcription factor proteins in drug therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azzurra Stefanucci
- Dipartimento
di Chimica, Sapienza, Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro
5, 00187 Rome, Italy
| | - Jesús Mosquera
- Centro
Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica
e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago
de Compostela, Spain
| | - Eugènio Vázquez
- Centro
Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica
e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago
de Compostela, Spain
| | - José L. Mascareñas
- Centro
Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica
e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago
de Compostela, Spain
| | - Ettore Novellino
- Dipartimento
di Farmacia, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Via D. Montesano, 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Adriano Mollica
- Dipartimento
di Farmacia, Università di Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio”, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
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