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Jin L, Sun C, Li Z, Shen J, Zeng H. A K +-selective channel with a record-high K +/Na + selectivity of 20.1. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:3610-3613. [PMID: 36891811 DOI: 10.1039/d2cc04396c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
For compounds each containing a phenylalanine moiety with its two ends amidated to have a 15-crown-5 unit and an alkyl chain, a simple tuning of the alkyl chain length delivered a K+-selective channel with a record-high K+/Na+ selectivity of 20.1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Jin
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shannxi 710072, China
| | - Chang Sun
- College of Textile Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Zhongyan Li
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350116, China.
| | - Jie Shen
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shannxi 710072, China
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350116, China.
| | - Huaqiang Zeng
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shannxi 710072, China
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350116, China.
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2
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Cholesterol-stabilized membrane-active nanopores with anticancer activities. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5985. [PMID: 36216956 PMCID: PMC9551035 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33639-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cholesterol-enhanced pore formation is one evolutionary means cholesterol-free bacterial cells utilize to specifically target cholesterol-rich eukaryotic cells, thus escaping the toxicity these membrane-lytic pores might have brought onto themselves. Here, we present a class of artificial cholesterol-dependent nanopores, manifesting nanopore formation sensitivity, up-regulated by cholesterol of up to 50 mol% (relative to the lipid molecules). The high modularity in the amphiphilic molecular backbone enables a facile tuning of pore size and consequently channel activity. Possessing a nano-sized cavity of ~ 1.6 nm in diameter, our most active channel Ch-C1 can transport nanometer-sized molecules as large as 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein and display potent anticancer activity (IC50 = 3.8 µM) toward human hepatocellular carcinomas, with high selectivity index values of 12.5 and >130 against normal human liver and kidney cells, respectively. Bacterial cells utilize cholesterol-enhanced pore formation to specifically target eukaryotic cells. Here, the authors present a class of bio-inspired, cholesterol-enhanced nanopores which display anticancer activities in vitro.
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Xin W, Jiang L, Wen L. Engineering Bio‐inspired Self‐assembled Nanochannels for Smart Ion Transport. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022; 61:e202207369. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.202207369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Weiwen Xin
- Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences 100190 Beijing P. R. China
- School of Future Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 100049 Beijing P. R. China
| | - Lei Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences 100190 Beijing P. R. China
- School of Future Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 100049 Beijing P. R. China
| | - Liping Wen
- Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences 100190 Beijing P. R. China
- School of Future Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 100049 Beijing P. R. China
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Xin W, Jiang L, Wen L. Engineering Bioinspired Self‐assembled Nanochannels for Smart Ion Transport. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202207369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Weiwen Xin
- Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences: Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science 29 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China 100190 Beijing CHINA
| | - Lei Jiang
- Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences: Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science CHINA
| | - Liping Wen
- Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired materials and interfacial science 29 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District 100190 Beijing CHINA
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Abstract
Both biological and artificial membrane transporters mediate passive transmembrane ion flux predominantly via either channel or carrier mechanisms, tightly regulating the transport of materials entering and exiting the cell. One early elegant example unclassifiable as carriers or channels was reported by Smith who derivatized a phospholipid molecule into an anion transporter, facilitating membrane transport via a two-station relay mechanism (Smith et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 17274-17275). Our journey toward blurring or even breaking the boundaries defined by the carrier and channel mechanisms starts in January of 2018 when seeing a child swinging on the swing at the playground park. Since then, I have been wondering whether we could build a nanoscale-sized molecular swing able to perform the swing function at the molecular level to induce transmembrane ion flux. Such research journey culminates in several membrane-active artificial molecular machines, including molecular swings, ion fishers, ion swimmers, rotors, tetrapuses and dodecapuses that permeabilize the membrane via swinging, ion-fishing, swimming, rotating, or swing-relaying actions, respectively. Except for molecular ion swimmers, these unconventional membrane transporters in their most stable states readily span across the entire membrane in a way akin to channels. With built-in flexible arms that can swing or bend in the dynamic membrane environment, they transport ions via constantly changing ion permeation pathways that are more defined than carriers but less defined than channels. Applying the same benzo-crown ether groups as the sole ion-binding and -transporting units, these transporters however differ immensely in ion transport property. While the maximal K+ transport activity is achieved by the molecular swing also termed "motional channel" that displays an EC50 value of 0.021 mol % relative to lipid and transports K+ ions at rate 27% faster than gramicidin A, the highest K+/Na+ selectivity of 18.3 is attained by the molecular ion fisher, with the highest Na+/K+ selectivity of 13.7 by the molecular dodecapus. Having EC50 values of 0.49-1.60 mol % and K+/Na+ values of 1.1-6.3, molecular rotors and tetrapuses are found to be generally active but weakly to moderately K+-selective. For molecular ion swimmers that contain 10 to 14 carbon atom alkyl linkers, they all turn out to be highly active (EC50 = 0.18-0.41 mol %) and highly selective (RK+/RNa+ = 7.0-9.5) transporters. Of special note are crown ether-appended molecular dodecapuses that establish the C60-fullerene core as an excellent platform to allow for a direct translation of solution binding affinity to transmembrane ion transport selectivity, providing a de novo basis for rationally designing artificial ion transporters with high transport selectivity. Considering remarkable cytotoxic activities displayed by molecular swings and ion swimmers, the varied types of existing and emerging unconventional membrane transporters with enhanced activities and selectivities eventually might lead to medical benefits in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Shen
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710072, China
| | - Changliang Ren
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Huaqiang Zeng
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710072, China
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Picci G, Marchesan S, Caltagirone C. Ion Channels and Transporters as Therapeutic Agents: From Biomolecules to Supramolecular Medicinal Chemistry. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10040885. [PMID: 35453638 PMCID: PMC9032600 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10040885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ion channels and transporters typically consist of biomolecules that play key roles in a large variety of physiological and pathological processes. Traditional therapies include many ion-channel blockers, and some activators, although the exact biochemical pathways and mechanisms that regulate ion homeostasis are yet to be fully elucidated. An emerging area of research with great innovative potential in biomedicine pertains the design and development of synthetic ion channels and transporters, which may provide unexplored therapeutic opportunities. However, most studies in this challenging and multidisciplinary area are still at a fundamental level. In this review, we discuss the progress that has been made over the last five years on ion channels and transporters, touching upon biomolecules and synthetic supramolecules that are relevant to biological use. We conclude with the identification of therapeutic opportunities for future exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Picci
- Chemical and Geological Sciences Department, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy;
| | - Silvia Marchesan
- Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
- Correspondence: (S.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Claudia Caltagirone
- Chemical and Geological Sciences Department, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy;
- Correspondence: (S.M.); (C.C.)
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Mechanisms of Efficient Desalination by a Two-Dimensional Porous Nanosheet Prepared via Bottom-Up Assembly of Cucurbit[6]urils. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:membranes12030252. [PMID: 35323727 PMCID: PMC8954457 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12030252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Many researchers have examined the desalination performance of various kinds of two-dimensional (2D) porous nanosheets prepared by top-down approaches such as forming pores on the plain based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In contrast, it is rare to find MD simulations addressing the desalination performance of a 2D porous nanosheet prepared by bottom-up approaches. We investigated the desalination performance of a 2D porous nanosheet prepared by the assembly of cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) via MD simulation. The model 2D CB[6] nanosheet features CB[6] with the carbonyl-fringed portals of 3.9 Å and the interstitial space filled with hydrophobic linkers and dangling side chains. Our MD simulation demonstrated that the 2D porous CB[6] nanosheet possesses a 70 to 140 times higher water permeance than commercial reverse osmosis membranes while effectively preventing salt passage. The extremely high water permeance and perfect salt rejection stem from not only CB[6]’s nature (hydrophilicity, negative charge, and the right dimension for size exclusion) but also the hydrophobic and tightly filled interstitial space. We also double-checked that the extremely high water permeance was attributable to only CB[6]’s nature, not water leakage, by contrasting it with a 2D nanosheet comprising CB[6]-spermine complexes. Lastly, this paper provides a discussion on a better cucurbituril homologue to prepare a next-generation desalination membrane possessing great potential to such an extent to surpass the 2D porous CB[6] nanosheet based on quantum mechanics calculations.
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Li Y, Dong J, Gong W, Tang X, Liu Y, Cui Y, Liu Y. Artificial Biomolecular Channels: Enantioselective Transmembrane Transport of Amino Acids Mediated by Homochiral Zirconium Metal-Organic Cages. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:20939-20951. [PMID: 34851640 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c09992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Natural transport channels (or carriers), such as aquaporins, are a distinct type of biomacromolecule capable of highly effective transmembrane transport of water or ions. Such behavior is routine for biology but has proved difficult to achieve in synthetic systems. Perhaps most significantly, the enantioselective transmembrane transport of biomolecules is an especially challenging problem both for chemists and for natural systems. Herein, a group of homochiral zirconium metal-organic cages with four triangular opening windows have been proposed as artificial biomolecular channels for enantioselective transmembrane transport of natural amino acids. These structurally well-defined coordination cages are assembled from six synthetically accessible BINOL-derived chiral ligands as spacers and four n-Bu3-Cp3Zr3 clusters as vertices, forming tetrahedral-shaped architectures that feature an intrinsically chiral cavity decorated with an array of specifically positioned binding sites mediated from phenol to phenyl ether to crown ether groups. Fascinatingly, the transformation of single-molecule chirality to global supramolecular chirality within the space-restricted chiral microenvironments accompanies unprecedented chiral amplification, leading to the enantiospecific recognition of amino acids. By virtue of the highly structural stability and excellent biocompatibility, the orientation-independent cages can be molecularly embedded into lipid membranes, biomimetically serving as single-molecular chiral channels for polar-residue amino acids, with the properties that cage-1 featuring hydroxyl groups preferentially transports the l-asparagine, whereas cage-2 attaching crown ether groups spontaneously favor transporting d-arginine. We therefore develop a new type of self-assembled system that can potentially mimic the functions of transmembrane proteins in nature, which is a realistic candidate for further biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingguo Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jinqiao Dong
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Wei Gong
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xianhui Tang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yuhao Liu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yong Cui
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yan Liu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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