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Marzano M, Falanga AP, Marasco D, Borbone N, D’Errico S, Piccialli G, Roviello GN, Oliviero G. Evaluation of an Analogue of the Marine ε-PLL Peptide as a Ligand of G-quadruplex DNA Structures. Mar Drugs 2020; 18:md18010049. [PMID: 31940851 PMCID: PMC7024349 DOI: 10.3390/md18010049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 01/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
ε-poly-l-Lysine (ε-PLL) peptide is a product of the marine bacterium Bacillus subtilis with antibacterial and anticancer activity largely used worldwide as a food preservative. ε-PLL and its synthetic analogue α,ε-poly-l-lysine (α,ε-PLL) are also employed in the biomedical field as enhancers of anticancer drugs and for drug and gene delivery applications. Recently, several studies reported the interaction between these non-canonical peptides and DNA targets. Among the most important DNA targets are the DNA secondary structures known as G-quadruplexes (G4s) which play relevant roles in many biological processes and disease-related mechanisms. The search for novel ligands capable of interfering with G4-driven biological processes elicits growing attention in the screening of new classes of G4 binders. In this context, we have here investigated the potential of α,ε-PLL as a G4 ligand. In particular, the effects of the incubation of two different models of G4 DNA, i.e., the parallel G4 formed by the Pu22 (d[TGAGGGTGGGTAGGGTGGGTAA]) sequence, a mutated and shorter analogue of the G4-forming sequence known as Pu27 located in the promoter of the c-myc oncogene, and the hybrid parallel/antiparallel G4 formed by the human Tel22 (d[AGGGTTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGGG]) telomeric sequence, with α,ε-PLL are discussed in the light of circular dichroism (CD), UV, fluorescence, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) evidence. Even though the SPR results indicated that α,ε-PLL is capable of binding with µM affinity to both the G4 models, spectroscopic and SEC investigations disclosed significant differences in the structural properties of the resulting α,ε-PLL/G4 complexes which support the use of α,ε-PLL as a G4 ligand capable of discriminating among different G4 topologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Marzano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Andrea Patrizia Falanga
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Daniela Marasco
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging—CNR 1, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Naples, Italy
| | - Nicola Borbone
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Stefano D’Errico
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Gennaro Piccialli
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Giovanni Nicola Roviello
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging—CNR 1, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Naples, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Giorgia Oliviero
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
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Peptides as Therapeutic Agents for Inflammatory-Related Diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19092714. [PMID: 30208640 PMCID: PMC6163503 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19092714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2018] [Revised: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Inflammation is a physiological mechanism used by organisms to defend themselves against infection, restoring homeostasis in damaged tissues. It represents the starting point of several chronic diseases such as asthma, skin disorders, cancer, cardiovascular syndrome, arthritis, and neurological diseases. An increasing number of studies highlight the over-expression of inflammatory molecules such as oxidants, cytokines, chemokines, matrix metalloproteinases, and transcription factors into damaged tissues. The treatment of inflammatory disorders is usually linked to the use of unspecific small molecule drugs that can cause undesired side effects. Recently, many efforts are directed to develop alternative and more selective anti-inflammatory therapies, several of them imply the use of peptides. Indeed, peptides demonstrated as elected lead compounds toward several targets for their high specificity as well as recent and innovative synthetic strategies. Several endogenous peptides identified during inflammatory responses showed anti-inflammatory activities by inhibiting, reducing, and/or modulating the expression and activity of mediators. This review aims to discuss the potentialities and therapeutic use of peptides as anti-inflammatory agents in the treatment of different inflammation-related diseases and to explore the importance of peptide-based therapies.
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La Manna S, Lopez-Sanz L, Leone M, Brandi P, Scognamiglio PL, Morelli G, Novellino E, Gomez-Guerrero C, Marasco D. Structure-activity studies of peptidomimetics based on kinase-inhibitory region of suppressors of cytokine signaling 1. Biopolymers 2017; 110. [PMID: 29154500 DOI: 10.1002/bip.23082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) proteins are negative regulators of JAK proteins that are receptor-associated tyrosine kinases, which play key roles in the phosphorylation and subsequent activation of several transcription factors named STATs. Unlike the other SOCS proteins, SOCS1 and 3 show, in the N-terminal portion, a small kinase inhibitory region (KIR) involved in the inhibition of JAK kinases. Drug discovery processes of compounds based on KIR sequence demonstrated promising in functional in vitro and in inflammatory animal models and we recently developed a peptidomimetic called PS5, as lead compound. Here, we investigated the cellular ability of PS5 to mimic SOCS1 biological functions in vascular smooth muscle cells and simultaneously we set up a new binding assay for the screening and identification of JAK2 binders based on a SPR experiment that revealed more robust with respect to previous ELISAs. On this basis, we designed several peptidomimetics bearing new structural constraints that were analyzed in both affinities toward JAK2 and conformational features through Circular Dichroism and NMR spectroscopies. Introduced chemical modifications provided an enhancement of serum stabilities of new sequences that could aid the design of future mimetic molecules of SOCS1 as novel anti-inflammatory compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara La Manna
- Department of Pharmacy, CIRPEB: Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca sui Peptidi Bioattivi- University of Naples "Federico II,", Naples, 80134, Italy
| | - Laura Lopez-Sanz
- Renal and Vascular Inflammation Group, Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria-Fundacion Jimenez Diaz (IIS-FJD), Autonoma University of Madrid (UAM), Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Disorders (CIBERDEM), Madrid, 28040, Spain
| | - Marilisa Leone
- Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Naples, 80134, Italy
| | - Paola Brandi
- Department of Pharmacy, CIRPEB: Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca sui Peptidi Bioattivi- University of Naples "Federico II,", Naples, 80134, Italy
| | - Pasqualina Liana Scognamiglio
- Department of Pharmacy, CIRPEB: Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca sui Peptidi Bioattivi- University of Naples "Federico II,", Naples, 80134, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Morelli
- Department of Pharmacy, CIRPEB: Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca sui Peptidi Bioattivi- University of Naples "Federico II,", Naples, 80134, Italy
- Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Naples, 80134, Italy
| | - Ettore Novellino
- Department of Pharmacy, CIRPEB: Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca sui Peptidi Bioattivi- University of Naples "Federico II,", Naples, 80134, Italy
| | - Carmen Gomez-Guerrero
- Renal and Vascular Inflammation Group, Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria-Fundacion Jimenez Diaz (IIS-FJD), Autonoma University of Madrid (UAM), Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Disorders (CIBERDEM), Madrid, 28040, Spain
| | - Daniela Marasco
- Department of Pharmacy, CIRPEB: Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca sui Peptidi Bioattivi- University of Naples "Federico II,", Naples, 80134, Italy
- Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Naples, 80134, Italy
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Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel Amadori compound. Amino Acids 2016; 49:327-335. [DOI: 10.1007/s00726-016-2363-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 11/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Roviello GN, Vicidomini C, Costanzo V, Roviello V. Nucleic acid binding and other biomedical properties of artificial oligolysines. Int J Nanomedicine 2016; 11:5897-5904. [PMID: 28115843 PMCID: PMC5108602 DOI: 10.2147/ijn.s121247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we report the interaction of an artificial oligolysine (referred to as AOL) realized in our laboratory with targets of biomedical importance. These included polyinosinic acid (poly rI) and its complex with polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), RNAs with well-known interferon-inducing ability, and double-stranded (ds) DNA. The ability of the peptide to bind both single-stranded poly rI and ds poly I:C RNAs emerged from our circular dichroism (CD) and ultraviolet (UV) studies. In addition, we found that AOL forms complexes with dsDNA, as shown by spectroscopic binding assays and UV thermal denaturation experiments. These findings are encouraging for the possible use of AOL in biomedicine for nucleic acid targeting and oligonucleotide condensation, with the latter being a key step preceding their clinical application. Moreover, we tested the ability of AOL to bind to proteins, using serum albumin as a model protein. We demonstrated the oligolysine-protein binding by CD experiments which suggested that AOL, positively charged under physiological conditions, binds to the protein regions rich in anionic residues. Finally, the morphology characterization of the solid oligolysine, performed by scanning electron microscopy, showed different crystal forms including cubic-shaped crystals confirming the high purity of AOL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni N Roviello
- CNR Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini, Via Mezzocannone site and Headquarters
| | - Caterina Vicidomini
- CNR Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini, Via Mezzocannone site and Headquarters
| | - Vincenzo Costanzo
- CNR Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini, Via Mezzocannone site and Headquarters
| | - Valentina Roviello
- Centro Regionale di Competenza (CRdC) Tecnologie, Via Nuova Agnano, Napoli, Italy
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Fangkangwanwong J, Sae-Liang N, Sriworarat C, Sereemaspun A, Chirachanchai S. Water-Based Chitosan for Thymine Conjugation: A Simple, Efficient, Effective, and Green Pathway to Introduce Cell Compatible Nucleic Acid Recognition. Bioconjug Chem 2016; 27:2301-2306. [PMID: 27547985 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.6b00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Chitosan is a potential biopolymer for cell recognition and targeting; however, when those functions are based on cationic amine groups of chitosan, cell damage is a concern. This study presents water-based chitosan conjugated with thymine (CsT) through a mild and homogeneous conjugating reaction via amide bond without the use of organic and/or acidic solvents. The CsT displays water-solubility in a wide range of pH. A series of comparative gel retardation assays confirm the selective binding with poly(A), resulting in nanoparticles of 100 to 250 nm in size. PrestoBlue cell viability assay clarifies nontoxicity and reveals noncytotoxicity to normal colon cells but inhibition of colon cancer cells. This simple pathway for water-soluble chitosan-nucleic acid leads to synergistic effects of cell compatibility and DNA recognition.
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Roviello GN, Musumeci D. Synthetic approaches to nucleopeptides containing all four nucleobases, and nucleic acid-binding studies on a mixed-sequence nucleo-oligolysine. RSC Adv 2016; 6:63578-63585. [PMID: 28496969 PMCID: PMC5361140 DOI: 10.1039/c6ra08765e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article we describe two solid-phase synthetic routes to obtain a nucleo-oligolysine α-peptide containing all four natural nucleobases.
In this article we describe two solid-phase synthetic routes to obtain a nucleo-oligolysine α-peptide containing all four natural nucleobases. The first one is based on the oligomerization of the nucleobase-containing monomers, easily synthesized as herein described. The second strategy has the advantage of avoiding the solution synthesis of the monomeric building blocks, leading to the final nucleopeptide by direct solid-phase couplings of the suitably protected nucleobases with the free amino groups on the growing peptide chain still anchored to the resin. Both strategies are general and can be applied to the synthesis of nucleopeptides having backbones formed by any other diamino acid moiety decorated with the four nucleobases. We also report the CD and UV studies on the hybridization properties of the obtained nucleopeptide, containing all four nucleobases on alternate lysines in the sequence, towards complementary DNA and RNA strands. The nucleo-oligolysine with a mixed-base sequence did not prove to bind complementary DNA, but was able to recognize the complementary RNA forming a complex with a higher melting temperature than that of the corresponding RNA/RNA natural duplex and comparable with that of the analogous PNA/RNA system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni N Roviello
- CNR , Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini , Via Mezzocannone 16 , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-81-2534585
| | - Domenica Musumeci
- CNR , Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini , Via Mezzocannone 16 , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-81-2534585.,Università di Napoli "Federico II" , Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche , 80126 Napoli , Italy . ; Tel: +39-81-674143
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8
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Musumeci D, Platella C, Riccardi C, Merlino A, Marzo T, Massai L, Messori L, Montesarchio D. A first-in-class and a fished out anticancer platinum compound: cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2] and cis-[PtI2(NH3)2] compared for their reactivity towards DNA model systems. Dalton Trans 2016; 45:8587-600. [PMID: 27126508 DOI: 10.1039/c6dt00294c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Contrary to what was believed for many years, cis-PtI2(NH3)2, the diiodido analogue of cisplatin, displays high in vitro antiproliferative activity toward a set of tumour cell lines, overcoming resistance to cisplatin in a platinum-resistant cancer cell line. In the context of a general reappraisal of iodinated Pt(ii) derivatives, aiming at a more systematic evaluation of their chemical and biological profiles, here we report on the reactivity of cis-PtI2(NH3)2 with selected DNA model systems, in single, double strand or G-quadruplex form, using cisplatin as a control. A combined approach has been exploited in this study, including circular dichroism (CD), UV-visible spectroscopy and electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analyses. The data reveal that cis-PtI2(NH3)2 shows an overall reactivity towards the investigated oligonucleotides significantly higher than cisplatin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenica Musumeci
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Cintia, 21, I-80126 Napoli, Italy.
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9
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Roviello GN, Roviello V, Autiero I, Saviano M. Solid phase synthesis of TyrT, a thymine-tyrosine conjugate with poly(A) RNA-binding ability. RSC Adv 2016; 6:27607-27613. [PMID: 29057072 PMCID: PMC5647564 DOI: 10.1039/c6ra00294c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2016] [Accepted: 03/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
TyrT nucleoamino amide interacts with poly(A) RNA.
The present work deals with the synthesis and characterization of a novel nucleoamino acid derivative based on a l-tyrosine moiety to which a thymine nucleobase was anchored by means of an amide bond to the N-alpha group. This derivative, denominated by us TyrT, belongs to the family of the nucleobase–amino acid conjugates that show a wide range of biological activities, frequently associated with their ability to interact with nucleic acids. In this respect, the interaction of TyrT with poly(A), a proposed RNA target for anticancer strategies, was studied by circular dichroism (CD) which suggested its ability to bind this RNA. Moreover, the modification of the morphology of a sample of TyrT in the presence of poly(A) was visualised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which was in agreement with the evidence that the thyminyl l-tyrosine interacts with poly(A). Finally, computational analyses have been performed to hypothesize the binding mode from a structural point of view, suggesting that the binding is mainly kept via hydrophobic contacts, reproducing a stacking-like interaction between the thymine ring of TyrT and the two successive adenine rings of a poly(A) model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni N Roviello
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - CNR (UOS Napoli Centro) , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-81-2534585
| | - Valentina Roviello
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica , dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale (DICMaPI) , Università di Napoli "Federico II" , 80125 Napoli , Italy
| | - Ida Autiero
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - CNR (UOS Napoli Centro) , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-81-2534585
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10
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Roviello GN, Vicidomini C, Di Gaetano S, Capasso D, Musumeci D, Roviello V. Solid phase synthesis and RNA-binding activity of an arginine-containing nucleopeptide. RSC Adv 2016; 6:14140-14148. [PMID: 29057071 PMCID: PMC5635565 DOI: 10.1039/c5ra25809j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2015] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Here we report the solid phase synthesis and characterization (LC-ESIMS, CD) of a cationic nucleobase-containing α-peptide, composed of both l-arginine residues and l-lysine-based nucleoamino acids sequentially present in the structure. The binding properties of this novel basic nucleopeptide towards nucleic acids were investigated by CD spectroscopy which revealed the ability of the thymine-containing oligomer to bind both adenine-containing DNA (dA12) and RNA (poly rA) molecules inducing high conformational variations in the nucleic acid structures. Moreover, the artificial oligonucleotide inhibited the enzymatic activity of HIV reverse transcriptase, opening the door to the exploitation of novel antiviral strategies inspired to this molecular tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- G N Roviello
- CNR , Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - (Mezzacannone site and Headquarters) , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-081-2534585
| | - C Vicidomini
- CNR , Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - (Mezzacannone site and Headquarters) , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-081-2534585
| | - S Di Gaetano
- CNR , Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - (Mezzacannone site and Headquarters) , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-081-2534585
| | - D Capasso
- Università di Napoli "Federico II" , Dipartimento di Farmacia , 80134 Napoli , Italy
| | - D Musumeci
- CNR , Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - (Mezzacannone site and Headquarters) , 80134 Napoli , Italy . ; ; Tel: +39-081-2534585
- Università di Napoli "Federico II" , Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche , 80126 Napoli , Italy
| | - V Roviello
- Università di Napoli "Federico II" , Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica , dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale (DICMaPI) , 80125 Napoli , Italy
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Roviello GN, Musumeci D, Roviello V, Pirtskhalava M, Egoyan A, Mirtskhulava M. Natural and artificial binders of polyriboadenylic acid and their effect on RNA structure. BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY 2015; 6:1338-1347. [PMID: 26199837 PMCID: PMC4505092 DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.6.138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Accepted: 05/22/2015] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The employment of molecular tools with nucleic acid binding ability to specifically control crucial cellular functions represents an important scientific area at the border between biochemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry. In this review we describe several molecular systems of natural or artificial origin, which are able to bind polyriboadenylic acid (poly(rA)) both in its single-stranded or structured forms. Due to the fundamental role played by the poly(rA) tail in the maturation and stability of mRNA, as well as in the initiation of the translation process, compounds able to bind this RNA tract, influencing the mRNA fate, are of special interest for developing innovative biomedical strategies mainly in the field of anticancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni N Roviello
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - CNR, via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Domenica Musumeci
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini - CNR, via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, 80126 Napoli, Italy
| | - Valentina Roviello
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale (DICMaPI), Università di Napoli “Federico II”, 80125 Napoli, Italy
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