1
|
Shpakov AO. Signal protein-derived peptides as functional probes and regulators of intracellular signaling. JOURNAL OF AMINO ACIDS 2011; 2011:656051. [PMID: 22312467 PMCID: PMC3268021 DOI: 10.4061/2011/656051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2010] [Accepted: 06/01/2011] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The functionally important regions of signal proteins participating in their specific interaction and responsible for transduction of hormonal signal into cell are rather short in length, having, as a rule, 8 to 20 amino acid residues. Synthetic peptides corresponding to these regions are able to mimic the activated form of full-size signal protein and to trigger signaling cascades in the absence of hormonal stimulus. They modulate protein-protein interaction and influence the activity of signal proteins followed by changes in their regulatory and catalytic sites. The present review is devoted to the achievements and perspectives of the study of signal protein-derived peptides and to their application as selective and effective regulators of hormonal signaling systems in vitro and in vivo. Attention is focused on the structure, biological activity, and molecular mechanisms of action of peptides, derivatives of the receptors, G protein α subunits, and the enzymes generating second messengers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander O Shpakov
- I.M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Thorez avenue 44, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chillar A, Wu J, Cervantes V, Ruan KH. Structural and Functional Analysis of the C-Terminus of Gαq in Complex with the Human Thromboxane A2 Receptor Provides Evidence of Constitutive Activity. Biochemistry 2010; 49:6365-74. [DOI: 10.1021/bi100047n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Annirudha Chillar
- Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacoinformatics, Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204
| | - Jiaxin Wu
- Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacoinformatics, Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204
| | - Vanessa Cervantes
- Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacoinformatics, Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204
| | - Ke-He Ruan
- Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacoinformatics, Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Shpakov AO, Gur'yanov IA, Kuznetsova LA, Plesneva SA, Shpakova EA, Vlasov GP, Pertseva MN. Studies of the molecular mechanisms of action of relaxin on the adenylyl cyclase signaling system using synthetic peptides derived from the LGR7 relaxin receptor. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007; 37:705-14. [PMID: 17763990 DOI: 10.1007/s11055-007-0071-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2005] [Revised: 01/10/2006] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The peptide hormone relaxin produces dose-dependent stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity in rat tissues (striatum, cardiac and skeletal muscle) and the muscle tissues of invertebrates, i.e., the bivalve mollusk Anodonta cygnea and the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris, adenylyl cyclase stimulation being more marked in the rat striatum and cardiac muscle. Our studies of the type of relaxin receptor involved in mediating these actions of relaxin involved the first synthesis of peptides 619-629, 619-629-Lys(Palm), and 615-629, which are derivatives of the primary structure of the C-terminal part of the third cytoplasmic loop of the type 1 relaxin receptor (LGR7). Peptides 619-629-Lys(Palm) and 615-629 showed competitive inhibition of adenylyl cyclase stimulation by relaxin in rat striatum and cardiac muscle but had no effect on the action of relaxin in rat skeletal muscle or invertebrate muscle, which is evidence for the tissue and species specificity of their actions. On the one hand, this indicates involvement of the LGR7 receptor in mediating the adenylyl cyclase-stimulating action of relaxin in rat striatum and cardiac muscle and, on the other, demonstrates the existence of other adenylyl cyclase signal mechanisms for the actions of relaxin in rat skeletal muscle and invertebrate muscle, not involving LGR7 receptors. The adenylyl cyclase-stimulating effect of relaxin in the striatum and cardiac muscles was found to be decreased in the presence of C-terminal peptide 385-394 of the alpha(s) subunit of the mammalian G protein and to be blocked by treatment of membranes with cholera toxin. These data provide evidence that in the striatum and cardiac muscle, relaxin stimulates adenylyl cyclase via the LGR7 receptor, this being functionally linked with G(s) protein. It is also demonstrated that linkage of relaxin-activated LGR7 receptor with the G(s) protein is mediated by interaction of the C-terminal half of the third cytoplasmic loop of the receptor with the C-terminal segment of the alpha(s) subunit of the G protein.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A O Shpakov
- I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 44 Torez Prospekt, 194223, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Albrizio S, Giusti L, D'Errico G, Esposito C, Porchia F, Caliendo G, Novellino E, Mazzoni MR, Rovero P, D'Ursi AM. Driving forces in the delivery of penetratin conjugated G protein fragment. J Med Chem 2007; 50:1458-64. [PMID: 17348636 DOI: 10.1021/jm060935b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A42 is a chimera peptide consisting of Galphas(374-394)C379A--the 21-mer C terminus of the Galphas protein, able of adenosine inhibitory activity--and penetratin--the 16 residue fragment, derived from the homeodomain of the Drosophila transcription factor Antennapedia. A42 is able to cross cell membranes and to inhibit A2A and A2B adenosine and beta-adrenergic receptor stimulated camps (D'Ursi et al. Mol. Pharmacol. 2006, 69, 727-36). Here we present an extensive biophysical study of A42 in different membrane mimetics, with the objective to evaluate the molecular mechanisms which promote the membrane permeation. Fluorescence, CD, and NMR data were acquired in the presence of negatively charged and zwitterionic sodium dodecyl sulfate and dodecylphosphocholine surfactants. To validate the spectroscopic results in a larger scale, fluorescence microscopy experiments were performed on negatively charged and zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles. Our results show that the internalization of A42 is mainly driven by electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions playing only a secondary, sinergistic role. The distribution of the charges along the molecule has an important role, highlighting that internalization is a process which requires a specific matching of peptide and membrane properties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Albrizio
- Department of Chemistry, University of Naples Federico II, I-80131 Naples, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zhang L, Bastepe M, Jüppner H, Ruan KH. Characterization of the molecular mechanisms of the coupling between intracellular loops of prostacyclin receptor with the C-terminal domain of the Galphas protein in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells. Arch Biochem Biophys 2006; 454:80-8. [PMID: 16942748 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2006.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2006] [Revised: 06/28/2006] [Accepted: 06/29/2006] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The C-terminal domain of the Gs protein alpha subunit (Galphas Ct) and the first intracellular loop (iLP1) of prostacyclin receptor (IP) have been predicted to be involved in the receptor signaling mediated through the IP/Gs protein coupling by our previous NMR studies using synthetic peptides. To test whether the results of the peptide studies can be applied to the protein interaction between the IP receptor and the Gs protein in cells, a minigene technique was used to construct cDNAs that encoded either the amino acid residues of the Galphas or that of the individual intracellular loops of the IP receptor. The effects of the minigene-expressed protein fragments on cAMP production mediated by the IP/Gs coupling were evaluated through experiments that co-expressed peptides either through the Galphas Ct or the IP intracellular loops with the IP receptor in HEK293 cells. The first (iLP1) and third (iLP3) IP intracellular loops, as well as the Galphas Ct, which are important to the IP/Gs coupling-mediated signaling, were identified by the significant reduction of cAMP production when the corresponding peptides were expressed in the cells. Furthermore, the cAMP productions were significantly impaired in Galphas-knockout cells co-expressing the IP receptor with the Galphas C-terminal mutants (E392A, L393A and L394A), compared with the Galphas wild type. Blocking of the endogenous IP/Gs coupling by the minigene-expressed peptides of the Galphas CT, iLP1 and iLP3 was further observed in the human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (SMCs). These results indicate that the three residues (E392-L394) of the Galphas protein predicted from NMR peptide studies, and the IP iLP1 and iLP3 play important roles in the Galphas-mediated IP receptor signaling in the cells, which may be a general binding site for the corresponding regions of the other prostanoid receptors that couple to Gs protein.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lihai Zhang
- Vascular Biology Research Center and Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Shpakov AO, Pertseva MN. Use of Peptide Strategy for Study of Molecular Mechanisms of Hormonal Signal Transduction into Cell. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2005. [DOI: 10.1007/s10893-005-0088-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
7
|
Shpakov AO, Korol'kov VI, Plesneva SA, Kuznetsova LA, Pertseva MN. Effects of the C-terminal peptide of the alphaS subunit of the G protein on the regulation of adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase A activities by biogenic amines and glucagon in mollusk and rat muscles. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005; 35:177-86. [PMID: 15779331 DOI: 10.1007/s11055-005-0066-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The C-terminal parts of the a subunits of heteromeric G proteins play an important role in the functional linkage of G proteins with receptors of the serpentine type. The present report describes studies of the effects of the C-terminal octapeptide 387-394 of the alphaS subunit of the mammalian G protein on the transmission of the hormonal signal via the hormone-sensitive adenylyl cyclase signal system, whose major components are receptors of the serpentine type, G proteins, and the enzymes adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase A. The peptide synthesized here, 387-394 amide (10(-7) - 10(-4) M), dose-dependently decreased adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase A activities stimulated by serotonin and glucagon in smooth muscle from the freshwater bivalve mollusk Anodonta cygnea and by the beta agonist isoproterenol in rat skeletal muscle. At a concentration as low as 10(-7) M, the peptide released potentiation of the stimulatory effects of hormones on adenylyl cyclase activity due to the non-hydrolyzable guanine nucleotide analog Gpp[NH]p. At the same time, it had almost no effect on the stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity by non-hormonal agents (NaF, Gpp[NH]p, and forskolin). The inhibitory effects of hormones on adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase A activities persisted in the presence of the peptide. Our data demonstrate the importance of the C-terminal part of the alphaS subunit of the stimulatory G protein for its functional linkage with receptors of the serpentine type and throw light on the molecular mechanisms of the interactions between G proteins and receptors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A O Shpakov
- I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 44 M. Torez Prospekt, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Albrizio S, Caliendo G, D'Errico G, Novellino E, Rovero P, D'Ursi AM. Gαs proteinC-terminal α-helix at the interface: does the plasma membrane play a critical role in the Gαs protein functionality? J Pept Sci 2005; 11:617-26. [PMID: 15898053 DOI: 10.1002/psc.677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (G proteins, Galphabetagamma) mediate the signalling process of a large number of receptors, known as G protein-coupled receptors. The C-terminal domain of the heterotrimeric G protein alpha-subunit plays a key role in the selective activation of G proteins by their cognate receptors. The interaction of this domain can take place at the end of a cascade including several successive conformational modifications. Galpha(s)(350-394) is the 45-mer peptide corresponding to the C-terminal region of the Galpha(s) subunit. In the crystal structure of the Galpha(s) subunit it encompasses the alpha4/beta6 loop, the beta6 beta-sheet segment and the alpha5 helix region. Following a previous study based on the synthesis, biological activity and conformational analysis of shorter peptides belonging to the same Galpha(s) region, Galpha(s)(350-394) was synthesized and investigated. The present study outlines the central role played by the residues involved in the alpha4/beta6 loop and beta6/alpha5 loops in the stabilization of the C-terminal Galpha(s)alpha-helix. H(2)O/(2)H(2)O exchange experiments, and NMR diffusion experiments show interesting evidence concerning the interaction between the SDS micelles and the polypeptide. These data prompt intriguing speculations on the role of the intracellular environment/cellular membrane interface in the stabilization and functionality of the C-terminal Galpha(s) region.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Albrizio
- Dipartimento di Chimica Farmaceutica e Tossicologica, Università di Napoli Federico II, 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Dursi AM, Albrizio S, Greco G, Mazzeo S, Mazzoni MR, Novellino E, Rovero P. Conformational analysis of the Galpha(s) protein C-terminal region. J Pept Sci 2002; 8:476-88. [PMID: 12212810 DOI: 10.1002/psc.410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The C-terminal domain of the heterotrimeric G protein a-subunits plays a key role in selective activation of G proteins by their cognate receptors. Several C-terminal fragments of Galpha(s) (from 11 to 21 residues) were recently synthesized. The ability of these peptides to stimulate agonist binding was found to be related to their size. Galpha(s)(380-394) is a 15-mer peptide of intermediate length among those synthesized and tested that displays a biological activity surprisingly weak compared with that of the corresponding 21-mer peptide, shown to be the most active. In the present investigation, Galpha(s)(380-394) was subjected to a conformational NMR analysis in a fluorinated isotropic environment. An NMR structure, calculated on the basis of the data derived from conventional 1D and 2D homonuclear experiments, shows that the C-terminal residues of Galpha(s)(380-394) are involved in a helical arrangement whose length is comparable to that of the most active 21 -mer peptide. A comparative structural refinement of the NMR structures of Galpha(s)(380-394) and Galpha(s)(374-394)C379A was performed using molecular dynamics calculations. The results give structural elements to interpret the role played by both the backbone conformation and the side chain arrangement in determining the activity of the G protein C-terminal fragments. The orientation of the side chains allows the peptides to assume contacts crucial for the G protein/receptor interaction. In the 15-mer peptide the lack as well as the disorder of some N-terminal residues could explain the low biological activity observed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Maria Dursi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università di Salerno, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|