The effect of palmitoylation on the conformation and physical stability of a model peptide hormone

Lipopeptides development in cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications: A comprehensive review

Lipopeptides are surface active, natural products of bacteria, fungi and green-blue algae origin, having diverse structures and functionalities. In analogy, a number of chemical synthesis techniques generated new designer lipopeptides with desirable features and functions. Lipopetides are self-assembly guided, supramolecular compounds which have the capacity of high-density presentation of the functional epitopes at the surface of the nanostructures. This feature contributes to their successful application in several industry sectors, including food, feed, personal care, and pharmaceutics. In this comprehensive review, the novel class of ribosomally synthesized lipopeptides is introduced alongside the more commonly occuring non-ribosomal lipopeptides. We highlight key representatives of the most researched as well as recently described lipopeptide families, with emphasis on structural features, self-assembly and associated functions. The common biological, chemical and hybrid production routes of lipopeptides, including prominent analogues and derivatives are also discussed. Furthermore, genetic engineering strategies aimed at increasing lipopeptide yields, diversity and biological activity are summarized and exemplified. With respect to application, this work mainly details the potential of lipopeptides in personal care and cosmetics industry as cleansing agents, moisturizer, anti-aging/anti-wrinkling, skin whitening and preservative agents as well as the pharmaceutical industry as anitimicrobial agents, vaccines, immunotherapy, and cancer drugs. Given that this review addresses human applications, we conclude on the topic of safety of lipopeptide formulations and their sustainable production.

Purification of Modified Therapeutic Proteins Available on the Market: An Analysis of Chromatography-Based Strategies

Proteins, which have inherent biorecognition properties, have long been used as therapeutic agents for the treatment of a wide variety of clinical indications. Protein modification through covalent attachment to different moieties improves the therapeutic's pharmacokinetic properties, affinity, stability, confers protection against proteolytic degradation, and increases circulation half-life. Nowadays, several modified therapeutic proteins, including PEGylated, Fc-fused, lipidated, albumin-fused, and glycosylated proteins have obtained regulatory approval for commercialization. During its manufacturing, the purification steps of the therapeutic agent are decisive to ensure the quality, effectiveness, potency, and safety of the final product. Due to the robustness, selectivity, and high resolution of chromatographic methods, these are recognized as the gold standard in the downstream processing of therapeutic proteins. Moreover, depending on the modification strategy, the protein will suffer different physicochemical changes, which must be considered to define a purification approach. This review aims to deeply analyze the purification methods employed for modified therapeutic proteins that are currently available on the market, to understand why the selected strategies were successful. Emphasis is placed on chromatographic methods since they govern the purification processes within the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, to discuss how the modification type strongly influences the purification strategy, the purification processes of three different modified versions of coagulation factor IX are contrasted.

Free Radicals and ROS Induce Protein Denaturation by UV Photostability Assay

Oxidative stress, photo-oxidation, and photosensitizers are activated by UV irradiation and are affecting the photo-stability of proteins. Understanding the mechanisms that govern protein photo-stability is essential for its control enabling enhancement or reduction. Currently, two major mechanisms for protein denaturation induced by UV irradiation are available: one generated by the local heating of water molecules bound to the proteins and the other by the formation of reactive free radicals. To discriminate which is the likely or dominant mechanism we have studied the effects of thermal and UV denaturation of aqueous protein solutions with and without DHR-123 as fluorogenic probe using circular dichroism (CD), synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD), and fluorescence spectroscopies. The results indicated that the mechanism of protein denaturation induced by VUV and far-UV irradiation were mediated by the formation of reactive free radicals (FR) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The development at Diamond B23 beamline for SRCD of a novel protein UV photo-stability assay based on consecutive repeated CD measurements in the far-UV (180-250 nm) region has been successfully used to assess and characterize the photo-stability of protein formulations and ligand binding interactions, in particular for ligand molecules devoid of significant UV absorption.

Photostability studies of GarKS peptides for topical formulation development

There is a growing interest in the use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as potent alternatives for conventional antibiotics, especially in chronic infected wounds. The development of a suitable topical formulation requires a thorough assessment of the photostability profiles of AMPs. In this study, we sought to investigate the photostability of novel Garvicin KS (GarKS; composed of three peptides GakA, GakB, and GakC) peptides either as an individual peptide or in combinations. The photostability of the aqueous peptide solution was determined using Suntest (indoor and outdoor conditions). Furthermore, the antimicrobial efficacy of the peptides was evaluated following UVA irradiations. Photodegradation of the peptides under indoor and outdoor conditions followed first-order kinetics. Individual peptides (GakA, GakB, and GakC) were more prone to photodegradation as compared to combination peptides (GakA+GakB, GakB+GakC, and GakA+GakC) both under indoor and outdoor conditions where the GakA+GakB combination was the most photostable. A combination of GakA+GakB+GakC enhanced photostability under indoor conditions but was reduced under outdoor conditions. A combination of three peptides with an antioxidant (glutathione) or superoxide/hydrogen peroxide scavenger (trehalose) enhanced the photostability of peptides with the highest stability achieved at a peptide:photostabilizer molar ratio of 1:0.8 for glutathione. A nominal increase in the MIC value for the peptide combinations as opposed to a larger increase for individual peptides further supports the photostability effects of combination peptides following UVA irradiations. These results suggest that the GakA+GakB or GakA+GakB+GakC combinations exhibited the highest photostability with excellent antimicrobial efficacy deemed suitable for the development of a potent AMP formulation for topical applications.

Lipidated Short Analogue of α-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone Exerts Bactericidal Activity against the Stationary Phase of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Inhibits Biofilm Formation

Stationary phase Staphylococcus aureus, especially methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has been widely associated with many persistent infections as well as biofilm-associated infections, which are challenging due to their increasing antibiotic resistance. α-Melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with well-established potent activity against S. aureus , but little is known about its antimicrobial efficacy against the stationary phase of the bacteria. We investigated the in vitro activities of two palmitoylated analogues, Pal-α-MSH(6-13) and Pal-α-MSH(11-13), of the C-terminal fragments of α-MSH against biofilm-producing strains of methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and MRSA. While both the peptides demonstrated anti-staphylococcal efficacy, Pal-α-MSH(11-13) emerged as the most effective AMP as palmitoylation led to a remarkable enhancement in its activity against stationary phase bacteria. Similar to α-MSH, both the designed analogues were membrane-active and exhibited improved bacterial membrane depolarization and permeabilization, as further confirmed via electron microscopy studies. Of the two peptides, Pal-α-MSH(11-13) was able to retain its activity in the presence of standard microbiological media, which otherwise is a major limiting factor toward the therapeutic use of α-MSH-based peptides. More importantly, Pal-α-MSH(11-13) was also highly effective in inhibiting the formation of biofilms. Furthermore, it did not lead to resistance development in MRSA cells even upon 18 serial passages at sub-MIC concentrations. These observations support the potential use of Pal-α-MSH(11-13) in the treatment of planktonic as well as sessile S. aureus infections.

UV-Denaturation Assay to Assess Protein Photostability and Ligand-Binding Interactions Using the High Photon Flux of Diamond B23 Beamline for SRCD

Light irradiation with high photon flux in the vacuum and far-UV region is known to denature the conformation of biopolymers. Measures are in place at Diamond Light Source B23 beamline for Synchrotron Radiation Circular Dichroism (SRCD) to control and make this effect negligible. However, UV denaturation of proteins can also be exploited as a novel method for assessing biopolymer photostability as well as ligand-binding interactions. Usually, host–ligand binding interactions can be assessed monitoring CD changes of the host biopolymer upon ligand addition. The novel method of identifying ligand binding monitoring the change of relative rate of UV denaturation using SRCD is especially important when there are very little or insignificant secondary structure changes of the host protein upon ligand binding. The temperature study, another method used to determine molecular interactions, can often be inconclusive when the thermal effect associated with the displacement of the bound solvent molecules by the ligand is also small, making the determination of the binding interaction inconclusive. Herein we present a review on the UV-denaturation assay as a novel method to determine the relative photostability of protein formulations as well as the screening of ligand-binding interactions using the high photon flux Diamond B23 beamline for SRCD.

Purification of bacterial membrane sensor kinases and biophysical methods for determination of their ligand and inhibitor interactions

This article reviews current methods for the reliable heterologous overexpression in Escherichia coli and purification of milligram quantities of bacterial membrane sensor kinase (MSK) proteins belonging to the two-component signal transduction family of integral membrane proteins. Many of these methods were developed at Leeds alongside Professor Steve Baldwin to whom this review is dedicated. It also reviews two biophysical methods that we have adapted successfully for studies of purified MSKs and other membrane proteins–synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) spectroscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), both of which are non-immobilization and matrix-free methods that require no labelling strategies. Other techniques such as isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) also share these features but generally require high concentrations of material. In common with many other biophysical techniques, both of these biophysical methods provide information regarding membrane protein conformation, oligomerization state and ligand binding, but they possess the additional advantage of providing direct assessments of whether ligand binding interactions are accompanied by conformational changes. Therefore, both methods provide a powerful means by which to identify and characterize inhibitor binding and any associated protein conformational changes, thereby contributing valuable information for future drug intervention strategies directed towards bacterial MSKs.

Gold nanoparticles increases UV and thermal stability of human serum albumin

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, temperature, and time can degrade proteins. Here, the authors show that gold nanoparticles significantly protect human serum albumin from denaturation when exposed to "stressing" conditions such as UV irradiation and sustained exposure in suboptimal conditions. In particular, the authors show that gold nanoparticles significantly reduce the decrease in secondary structure induced by UV irradiation or extended exposure to ambient temperature.

Lipidation Effect on Surface Adsorption and Associated Fibrillation of the Model Protein Insulin

Lipidation of proteins is used in the pharmaceutical field to increase the therapeutic efficacy of proteins. In this study, we investigate the effect of a 14-carbon fatty acid modification on the adsorption behavior of human insulin to a hydrophobic solid surface and the subsequent fibrillation development under highly acidic conditions and elevated temperature by comparing to the fibrillation of human insulin. At these stressed conditions, the lipid modification accelerates the rate of fibrillation in bulk solution. With the use of several complementary surface-sensitive techniques, including quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and neutron reflectivity (NR), we show that there are two levels of structurally different protein organization at a hydrophobic surface for both human insulin and the lipidated analogue: a dense protein layer formed within minutes on the surface and a diffuse outer layer of fibrillar structures which took hours to form. The two layers may only be weakly connected, and proteins from both layers are able to desorb from the surface. The lipid modification increases the protein surface coverage and the thickness of both layer organizations. Upon lipidation not only the fibrillation extent but also the morphology of the fibrillar structures changes from fibril clusters on the surface to a more homogeneous network of fibrils covering the entire hydrophobic surface.

Characterisation of Conformational and Ligand Binding Properties of Membrane Proteins Using Synchrotron Radiation Circular Dichroism (SRCD)

Membrane proteins are notoriously difficult to crystallise for use in X-ray crystallographic structural determination, or too complex for NMR structural studies. Circular dichroism (CD) is a fast and relatively easy spectroscopic technique to study protein conformational behaviour in solution. The advantage of synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) measured with synchrotron beamlines compared to the CD from benchtop instruments is the extended spectral far-UV region that increases the accuracy of secondary structure estimations, in particular under high ionic strength conditions. Membrane proteins are often available in small quantities, and for this SRCD measured at the Diamond B23 beamline has successfully facilitated molecular recognition studies. This was done by probing the local tertiary structure of aromatic amino acid residues upon addition of chiral or non-chiral ligands using long pathlength cells (1-5 cm) of small volume capacity (70 μl-350 μl). In this chapter we describe the use of SRCD to qualitatively and quantitatively screen ligand binding interactions (exemplified by Sbma, Ace1 and FsrC proteins); to distinguish between functionally similar drugs that exhibit different mechanisms of action towards membrane proteins (exemplified by FsrC); and to identify suitable detergent conditions to observe membrane protein-ligand interactions using stabilised proteins (exemplified by inositol transporters) as well as the stability of membrane proteins (exemplified by GalP, Ace1). The importance of the in solution characterisation of the conformational behaviour and ligand binding properties of proteins in both far- andnear-UV regions and the use of high-throughput CD (HT-CD) using 96- and 384-well multiplates to study the folding effects in various protein crystallisation buffers are also discussed.

Forced degradation studies of biopharmaceuticals: Selection of stress conditions

Stability studies under stress conditions or forced degradation studies play an important role in different phases of development and production of biopharmaceuticals and biological products. These studies are mostly applicable to selection of suitable candidates and formulation developments, comparability studies, elucidation of possible degradation pathways and identification of degradation products, as well as, development of stability indicating methods. Despite the integral part of these studies in biopharmaceutical industry, there is no well-established protocol for the selection of stress conditions, timing of stress testing and required extent of degradation. Therefore, due to the present gap in the stability studies guidelines, it is the responsibility of researchers working in academia and biopharmaceutical industry to set up forced degradation experiments that could fulfill all the expectations from the stability studies of biopharmaceuticals under stress conditions. Concerning the importance of the function of desired stress conditions in forced degradation studies, the present review aims to provide a practical summary of the applicable stress conditions in forced degradation studies of biopharmaceuticals according to the papers published in a time period of 1992-2015 giving detailed information about the experimental conditions utilized to induce required stresses.