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Wiedemann B, Kamps D, Depta L, Weisner J, Cvetreznik J, Tomassi S, Gentz S, Hoffmann JE, Müller MP, Koch O, Dehmelt L, Rauh D. Design and synthesis of Nrf2-derived hydrocarbon stapled peptides for the disruption of protein-DNA-interactions. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267651. [PMID: 35731722 PMCID: PMC9216541 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Misregulation and mutations of the transcription factor Nrf2 are involved in the development of a variety of human diseases. In this study, we employed the technology of stapled peptides to address a protein-DNA-complex and designed a set of Nrf2-based derivatives. Varying the length and position of the hydrocarbon staple, we chose the best peptide for further evaluation in both fixed and living cells. Peptide 4 revealed significant enrichment within the nucleus compared to its linear counterpart 5, indicating potent binding to DNA. Our studies suggest that these molecules offer an interesting strategy to target activated Nrf2 in cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Wiedemann
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Dominic Kamps
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Laura Depta
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Jörn Weisner
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Jana Cvetreznik
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stefano Tomassi
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples “Federico II”, Napoli, Italy
| | - Sascha Gentz
- Protein Chemistry Facility, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Jan-Erik Hoffmann
- Protein Chemistry Facility, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Matthias P. Müller
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Oliver Koch
- Institute of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry and German Center of Infection Research, Münster, Germany
| | - Leif Dehmelt
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Daniel Rauh
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University and Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD), Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), Dortmund, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Ray-Gallet D, Almouzni G. H3–H4 histone chaperones and cancer. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2022; 73:101900. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2022.101900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Yu Z, Tang H, Cong W, Gao F, Li H, Hu H, Wang X, He S. Hydrocarbon stapling modification of peptide alyteserin-2a: Discovery of novel stapled peptide antitumor agents. J Pept Sci 2022; 28:e3401. [PMID: 34989078 DOI: 10.1002/psc.3401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Alyteserin-2a (ILGKLLSTAAGLLSNL.NH2 ) is isolated from the skin exudates of midwife toad and has a wide range of biological applications. However, the use of alyteserin-2a as an antitumor agent is limited due to its structural flexibility. In this study, a series of stapled peptides were prepared through hydrocarbon stapling modification without destroying the key residues, and their chemical and biological properties were further evaluated for enhancing the application potential of alyteserin-2a in the field of antitumor drugs development. Among them, alyteserin-2a-Sp3 displayed significant improvement in helicity levels, protease resistance, and antitumor activity compared to that of the template peptide alyteserin-2a, indicating that alyteserin-2a-Sp3 had a potential to become a lead compound for the development of novel antitumor drugs. This study confirms the important effect of hydrocarbon stapling strategy on the secondary structure, hydrolase stability and biological activity of alyteserin-2a.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqiang Yu
- College of Sciences, Shanghai University, China
| | - Hua Tang
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, China
| | - Wei Cong
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, China
| | - Fei Gao
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, China
| | - Huaqiang Li
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, China
| | - Honggang Hu
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wang
- Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children, Chongqing, China
| | - Shipeng He
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, China
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4
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Wang H, Dawber RS, Zhang P, Walko M, Wilson AJ, Wang X. Peptide-based inhibitors of protein-protein interactions: biophysical, structural and cellular consequences of introducing a constraint. Chem Sci 2021; 12:5977-5993. [PMID: 33995995 PMCID: PMC8098664 DOI: 10.1039/d1sc00165e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are implicated in the majority of cellular processes by enabling and regulating the function of individual proteins. Thus, PPIs represent high-value, but challenging targets for therapeutic intervention. The development of constrained peptides represents an emerging strategy to generate peptide-based PPI inhibitors, typically mediated by α-helices. The approach can confer significant benefits including enhanced affinity, stability and cellular penetration and is ingrained in the premise that pre-organization simultaneously pays the entropic cost of binding, prevents a peptide from adopting a protease compliant β-strand conformation and shields the hydrophilic amides from the hydrophobic membrane. This conceptual blueprint for the empirical design of peptide-based PPI inhibitors is an exciting and potentially lucrative way to effect successful PPI inhibitor drug-discovery. However, a plethora of more subtle effects may arise from the introduction of a constraint that include changes to binding dynamics, the mode of recognition and molecular properties. In this review, we summarise the influence of inserting constraints on biophysical, conformational, structural and cellular behaviour across a range of constraining chemistries and targets, to highlight the tremendous success that has been achieved with constrained peptides alongside emerging design opportunities and challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongshuang Wang
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences 5625 Renmin St. Changchun 130022 Jilin China
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Nanjing University Nanjing 210023 Jiangsu China
| | - Robert S Dawber
- School of Chemistry, University of Leeds Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Peiyu Zhang
- School of Chemistry, University of Leeds Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Martin Walko
- School of Chemistry, University of Leeds Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Andrew J Wilson
- School of Chemistry, University of Leeds Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Xiaohui Wang
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences 5625 Renmin St. Changchun 130022 Jilin China
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
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Lindsey‐Crosthwait A, Rodriguez‐Lema D, Walko M, Pask CM, Wilson AJ. Structural optimization of reversible dibromomaleimide peptide stapling. Pept Sci (Hoboken) 2021; 113:e24157. [PMID: 34938942 PMCID: PMC8650577 DOI: 10.1002/pep2.24157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Methods to constrain peptides in a bioactive α-helical conformation for inhibition of protein-protein interactions represent an ongoing area of investigation in chemical biology. Recently, the first example of a reversible "stapling" methodology was described which exploits native cysteine or homocysteine residues spaced at the i and i + 4 positions in a peptide sequence together with the thiol selective reactivity of dibromomaleimides (a previous study). This manuscript reports on the optimization of the maleimide based constraint, focusing on the kinetics of macrocyclization and the extent to which helicity is promoted with different thiol containing amino acids. The study identified an optimal stapling combination of X 1 = L-Cys and X 5 = L-hCys in the context of the model peptide Ac-X1AAAX5-NH2, which should prove useful in implementing the dibromomaleimide stapling strategy in peptidomimetic ligand discovery programmes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayanna Lindsey‐Crosthwait
- School of Chemistry, University of LeedsLeedsUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Diana Rodriguez‐Lema
- School of Chemistry, University of LeedsLeedsUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Martin Walko
- School of Chemistry, University of LeedsLeedsUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of LeedsLeedsUK
| | | | - Andrew J. Wilson
- School of Chemistry, University of LeedsLeedsUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of LeedsLeedsUK
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Hetherington K, Hegedus Z, Edwards TA, Sessions RB, Nelson A, Wilson AJ. Stapled Peptides as HIF-1α/p300 Inhibitors: Helicity Enhancement in the Bound State Increases Inhibitory Potency. Chemistry 2020; 26:7638-7646. [PMID: 32307728 PMCID: PMC7318359 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202000417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) control virtually all cellular processes and have thus emerged as potential targets for development of molecular therapeutics. Peptide-based inhibitors of PPIs are attractive given that they offer recognition potency and selectivity features that are ideal for function, yet, they do not predominantly populate the bioactive conformation, frequently suffer from poor cellular uptake and are easily degraded, for example, by proteases. The constraint of peptides in a bioactive conformation has emerged as a promising strategy to mitigate against these liabilities. In this work, using peptides derived from hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1α) together with dibromomaleimide stapling, we identify constrained peptide inhibitors of the HIF-1α/p300 interaction that are more potent than their unconstrained sequences. Contrary to expectation, the increased potency does not correlate with an increased population of an α-helical conformation in the unbound state as demonstrated by experimental circular dichroism analysis. Rather, the ability of the peptide to adopt a bioactive α-helical conformation in the p300 bound state is better supported in the constrained variant as demonstrated by molecular dynamics simulations and circular dichroism difference spectra.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Hetherington
- School of ChemistryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Zsofia Hegedus
- School of ChemistryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Thomas A. Edwards
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- School of Molecular and Cellular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Richard B. Sessions
- School of BiochemistryUniversity of BristolMedical Sciences Building, University WalkBristolBS8 1TDUK
- BrisSynBioUniversity of Bristol, Life Sciences BuildingTyndall AvenueBristolBS8 1TQUK
| | - Adam Nelson
- School of ChemistryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Andrew J. Wilson
- School of ChemistryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
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Bakail M, Rodriguez‐Marin S, Hegedüs Z, Perrin ME, Ochsenbein F, Wilson AJ. Recognition of ASF1 by Using Hydrocarbon-Constrained Peptides. Chembiochem 2019; 20:891-895. [PMID: 30512234 PMCID: PMC6468270 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201800633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Inhibiting the histone H3-ASF1 (anti-silencing function 1) protein-protein interaction (PPI) represents a potential approach for treating numerous cancers. As an α-helix-mediated PPI, constraining the key histone H3 helix (residues 118-135) is a strategy through which chemical probes might be elaborated to test this hypothesis. In this work, variant H3118-135 peptides bearing pentenylglycine residues at the i and i+4 positions were constrained by olefin metathesis. Biophysical analyses revealed that promotion of a bioactive helical conformation depends on the position at which the constraint is introduced, but that the potency of binding towards ASF1 is unaffected by the constraint and instead that enthalpy-entropy compensation occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- May Bakail
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC)IBITECSCEACNRSUniversité Paris–SudUniversité Paris–Saclay91198Gif-sur-Yvette CedexFrance
- Present address: Inserm, U1016Institut CochinCNRSUMR8104Université Paris Descartes27, rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques75014ParisFrance
| | - Silvia Rodriguez‐Marin
- School of ChemistryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Zsófia Hegedüs
- School of ChemistryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Marie E. Perrin
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC)IBITECSCEACNRSUniversité Paris–SudUniversité Paris–Saclay91198Gif-sur-Yvette CedexFrance
| | - Françoise Ochsenbein
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC)IBITECSCEACNRSUniversité Paris–SudUniversité Paris–Saclay91198Gif-sur-Yvette CedexFrance
| | - Andrew J. Wilson
- School of ChemistryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular BiologyUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
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