Aminopeptidase A is a functional target in angiogenic blood vessels

Development of a ligand-directed approach to study the pathogenesis of invasive aspergillosis

Invasive aspergillosis is a leading cause of infectious death in immunosuppressed patients. Here, we adapted a phage display library-based selection to screen and identify binding peptides to the surface of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia and hyphae. We identified a peptide (sequence CGGRLGPFC) that reliably binds to the surface of Aspergillus fumigatus hyphae. Binding was not Aspergillus strain specific, as it was also observed in hyphae of other Aspergillus clinical isolates. Furthermore, CGGRLGPFC-displaying phage targets Aspergillus fumigatus hyphae on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded histopathology sections of lung tissue recovered from mice with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. This approach may yield reagents such as peptidomimetics for novel diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in invasive aspergillosis.

Structural Basis for the Interaction of a Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Mimic Peptide Motif and Its Corresponding Receptors

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is central to the survival and development of the vascular and nervous systems. We screened phage display libraries and built a peptide-based ligand-receptor map of binding sites within the VEGF family. We then validated a cyclic peptide, CPQPRPLC, as a VEGF-mimic that binds specifically to neuropilin-1 and VEGF receptor-1. Here, we use NMR spectroscopy to understand the structural basis of the interaction between our mimic peptide and the VEGF receptors. We show that: (1) CPQPRPLC has multiple interactive conformations; (2) receptor binding is mediated by the motif Arg-Pro-Leu; and (3) the Pro residue within Arg-Pro-Leu participates in binding to neuropilin-1 but not to VEGF receptor-1, perhaps representing an evolutionary gain-of-function. Therefore, Arg-Pro-Leu is a differential ligand motif to VEGF receptors and a candidate peptidomimetic lead for VEGF pathway modulation.

Antineovascular therapy, a novel antiangiogenic approach

Angiogenesis is a crucial event in tumour growth, since the growth of tumour cells depends on the supply of essentials such as oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, suppression of angiogenesis is expected to show potent therapeutic effects on various cancers. Additionally, this 'antiangiogenic therapy' is thought not only to eradicate primary tumour cells, but also suppress tumour metastases through disruption of haematogenous metastatic pathways. Tumour dormancy therapy does not aim to disrupt newly formed angiogenic vessels but aims to inhibit further formation of neovessels through inhibiting certain processes of angiogenesis. This raises a question of whether or not these antiangiogenic agents bring complete cure of tumours as complete cut-off of oxygen and nutrients is not expected by the treatment with these agents. This paper will review a novel antiangiogenic therapy, antineovascular therapy (ANET). ANET is categorised in antiangiogenic therapy but is different from tumour dormancy therapy using conventional angiogenic inhibitors: ANET aims to disrupt neovessels rather than to inhibit neovessel formation. ANET is based on the fact that angiogenic endothelial cells are growing cells and would be effectively damaged by cytotoxic agents when the agents are effectively delivered to the neovessels. The complete eradication of angiogenic endothelial cells may cause complete cut-off of essential supplies to the tumour cells and lead to indirect but strong cytotoxicity instead of cytostasis caused by the inhibition of angiogenesis. For the purpose of ANET, an angiogenic vasculature-targeting probe has been developed, by which cytotoxic anticancer agents are actively delivered to the angiogenic endothelial cells by using drug delivery system (DDS) technology. Another way to damage newly formed vessels by cytotoxic agents is achieved by metronomic-dosing chemotherapy. This chemotherapy shifts the target of chemotherapeutic agents from tumour cells to angiogenic endothelial cells by selective dosing schedule. Similarly, the shift of target from tumour cells to angiogenic endothelial cells enhanced therapeutic efficacy of cancer photo-dynamic therapy (PDT): in this antiangiogenic PDT, photosensitizers are delivered more to neovessel endothelial cells than to tumour cells. These therapeutic strategies would be clinically applied in the future.

Identification of Human Aminopeptidase O, a Novel Metalloprotease with Structural Similarity to Aminopeptidase B and Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase

We have cloned and characterized a human brain cDNA encoding a new metalloprotease that has been called aminopeptidase O (AP-O). AP-O exhibits a series of structural features characteristic of aminopeptidases, including a conserved catalytic domain with a zinc-binding site (HEXXHX18E) that allows its classification in the M1 family of metallopeptidases or gluzincins. The structural complexity of AP-O is further increased by the presence of an additional C-terminal domain 170 residues long, which is predicted to have an ARM repeat fold originally identified in the Drosophila segment polarity gene product Armadillo. This ARM repeat domain is also present in aminopeptidase B, aminopeptidase B-like, and leukotriene A4 hydrolase and defines a novel subfamily of aminopeptidases that we have called ARM aminopeptidases. Northern blot analysis revealed that AP-O is mainly expressed in the pancreas, placenta, liver, testis, and heart. Human AP-O was produced in Escherichia coli, and the purified recombinant protein hydrolyzed synthetic substrates used for assaying aminopeptidase activity. This activity was abolished by general inhibitors of metalloproteases and specific inhibitors of aminopeptidases. Recombinant AP-O also cleaved angiotensin III to generate angiotensin IV, a bioactive peptide of the renin-angiotensin pathway with multiple actions on diverse tissues, including brain, testis, and heart. On the basis of these results we suggest that AP-O could play a role in the proteolytic processing of bioactive peptides in those tissues where it is expressed.

Cell surface expression of the stress response chaperone GRP78 enables tumor targeting by circulating ligands

We have recently identified glucose-regulated protein-78 (GRP78) as a relevant molecular target expressed in metastatic tumors by fingerprinting the circulating repertoire of antibodies from cancer patients. Here we design and evaluate a ligand-receptor system based on the tumor cell membrane expression of GRP78. We show that GRP78 binding peptide motifs target tumor cells specifically in vivo and in human cancer specimens ex vivo. Moreover, synthetic chimeric peptides composed of GRP78 binding motifs fused to a programmed cell death-inducing sequence can suppress tumor growth in xenograft and isogenic mouse models of prostate and breast cancer. Together, these preclinical data validate GRP78 on the tumor cell surface as a functional molecular target that may prove useful for translation into clinical applications.