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Szarszoń K, Mikołajczyk A, Grelich-Mucha M, Wieczorek R, Matera-Witkiewicz A, Olesiak-Bańska J, Rowińska-Żyrek M, Wątły J. Bioinorganic chemistry of shepherin II complexes helps to fight Candida albicans? J Inorg Biochem 2024; 253:112476. [PMID: 38171045 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2023.112476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
The fungal cell wall and cell membrane are an important target for antifungal therapies, and a needle-like cell wall or membrane disruption may be an entirely novel antifungal mode of action. In this work, we show how the coordination of Zn(II) triggers the antifungal properties of shepherin II, a glycine- and histidine-rich antimicrobial peptide from the root of Capsella bursa-pastoris. We analyze Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of this peptide using experimental and theoretical methods, such as: mass spectrometry, potentiometry, UV-Vis and CD spectroscopies, AFM imaging, biological activity tests and DFT calculations in order to understand the correlation between their metal binding mode, structure, morphology and biological activity. We observe that Zn(II) coordinates to Shep II and causes a structural change, resulting in fibril formation, what has a pronounced biological consequence - a strong anticandidal activity. This phenomenon was observed neither for the peptide itself, nor for its copper(II) complex. The Zn(II) - shepherin II complex can be considered as a starting point for further anticandidal drug discovery, which is extremely important in the era of increasing antifungal drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaudia Szarszoń
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wrocław, F. Joliot-Curie 14, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Mikołajczyk
- Screening of Biological Activity Assays and Collection of Biological Material Laboratory, Wrocław Medical University Biobank, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Manuela Grelich-Mucha
- Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Robert Wieczorek
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wrocław, F. Joliot-Curie 14, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Matera-Witkiewicz
- Screening of Biological Activity Assays and Collection of Biological Material Laboratory, Wrocław Medical University Biobank, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Joanna Olesiak-Bańska
- Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Joanna Wątły
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wrocław, F. Joliot-Curie 14, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland.
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Bellotti D, Leveraro S, Hecel A, Remelli M. Investigation of metal interactions with YrpE protein of Bacillus subtilis by a polyhistidine peptide model. Anal Biochem 2023; 680:115315. [PMID: 37689096 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2023.115315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
The use of model peptides that can simulate the behaviour of a protein domain is a very successful analytical method to study the metal coordination sites in biological systems. Here we study zinc and copper binding ability of the sequence HTHEHSHDHSHAH, which serves as model for the metal interactions with YrpE, a putative metal-binding protein of the ZinT family identified in Bacillus subtilis. Compared to other ZinT proteins secreted by Gram-negative bacteria, the metal-coordination properties of YrpE N-terminal histidine-rich domain have not been yet characterized. Different independent analytical methods, aimed at providing information on the stability and structure of the formed species, have been employed, including potentiometric titrations, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, circular dichroism and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The obtained speciation models and equilibrium constants allowed to compare the metal-binding ability of the investigated polyhistidine sequence with that of other well-known histidine-rich peptides. Our thermodynamic results revealed that the YrpE domain HTHEHSHDHSHAH forms more stable metal complexes than other His-rich domains of similar ZinT proteins. Moreover, the studied peptide, containing the alternated (-XH-)n motif, proved to be even more effective than the His6-tag (widely used in immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography) in binding zinc ions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise Bellotti
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy; Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wrocław, 50-383, Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Silvia Leveraro
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Aleksandra Hecel
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wrocław, 50-383, Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Maurizio Remelli
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
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Simpson-Lavy K, Kupiec M. Glucose Inhibits Yeast AMPK (Snf1) by Three Independent Mechanisms. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1007. [PMID: 37508436 PMCID: PMC10376661 DOI: 10.3390/biology12071007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Snf1, the fungal homologue of mammalian AMP-dependent kinase (AMPK), is a key protein kinase coordinating the response of cells to a shortage of glucose. In fungi, the response is to activate respiratory gene expression and metabolism. The major regulation of Snf1 activity has been extensively investigated: In the absence of glucose, it becomes activated by phosphorylation of its threonine at position 210. This modification can be erased by phosphatases when glucose is restored. In the past decade, two additional independent mechanisms of Snf1 regulation have been elucidated. In response to glucose (or, surprisingly, also to DNA damage), Snf1 is SUMOylated by Mms21 at lysine 549. This inactivates Snf1 and leads to Snf1 degradation. More recently, glucose-induced proton export has been found to result in Snf1 inhibition via a polyhistidine tract (13 consecutive histidine residues) at the N-terminus of the Snf1 protein. Interestingly, the polyhistidine tract plays also a central role in the response to iron scarcity. This review will present some of the glucose-sensing mechanisms of S. cerevisiae, how they interact, and how their interplay results in Snf1 inhibition by three different, and independent, mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kobi Simpson-Lavy
- The Shmunis School of Biomedicine & Cancer Research, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Martin Kupiec
- The Shmunis School of Biomedicine & Cancer Research, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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Bellotti D, Leveraro S, Remelli M. Metal-protein solution interactions investigated using model systems: Thermodynamic and spectroscopic methods. Methods Enzymol 2023; 687:279-341. [PMID: 37666636 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The first-row D-block metal ions are essential for the physiology of living organisms, functioning as cofactors in metalloproteins or structural components for enzymes: almost half of all proteins require metals to perform the biological function. Understanding metal-protein interactions is crucial to unravel the mysteries behind molecular biology, understanding the effects of metal imbalance and toxicity or the diseases due to disorders in metal homeostasis. Metal-protein interactions are dynamic: they are noncovalent and affected by the environment to which the system is exposed. To reach a complete comprehension of the system, different conditions must be considered for the experimental investigation, in order to get information on the species distribution, the ligand coordination modes, complex stoichiometry and geometry. Thinking about the whole environment where a protein acts, investigations are often challenging, and simplifications are required to study in detail the mechanisms of metal interaction. This chapter is intended to help researchers addressing the problem of the complexity of metal-protein interactions, with particular emphasis on the use of peptides as model systems for the metal coordination site. The thermodynamic and spectroscopic methods most widely employed to investigate the interaction between metal ions and peptides in solution are here covered. These include solid-phase peptide synthesis, potentiometric titrations, calorimetry, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, circular dichroism (CD), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Additional experimental methods, which can be employed to study metal complexes with peptides, are also briefly mentioned. A case-study is finally reported providing a practical example of the investigation of metal-protein interaction by means of thermodynamic and spectroscopic methods applied to peptide model systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise Bellotti
- University of Ferrara, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, via L. Borsari, Ferrara, Italy; Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wrocław, F. Joliot-Curie, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Silvia Leveraro
- University of Ferrara, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, via L. Borsari, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Maurizio Remelli
- University of Ferrara, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, via L. Borsari, Ferrara, Italy.
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Pelucelli A, Peana M, Orzeł B, Piasta K, Gumienna-Kontecka E, Medici S, Zoroddu MA. Zn 2+ and Cu 2+ Interaction with the Recognition Interface of ACE2 for SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24119202. [PMID: 37298154 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24119202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The spike protein (S) of SARS-CoV-2 is able to bind to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor with a much higher affinity compared to other coronaviruses. The binding interface between the ACE2 receptor and the spike protein plays a critical role in the entry mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There are specific amino acids involved in the interaction between the S protein and the ACE2 receptor. This specificity is critical for the virus to establish a systemic infection and cause COVID-19 disease. In the ACE2 receptor, the largest number of amino acids playing a crucial role in the mechanism of interaction and recognition with the S protein is located in the C-terminal part, which represents the main binding region between ACE2 and S. This fragment is abundant in coordination residues such as aspartates, glutamates, and histidine that could be targeted by metal ions. Zn2+ ions bind to the ACE2 receptor in its catalytic site and modulate its activity, but it could also contribute to the structural stability of the entire protein. The ability of the human ACE2 receptor to coordinate metal ions, such as Zn2+, in the same region where it binds to the S protein could have a crucial impact on the mechanism of recognition and interaction of ACE2-S, with consequences on their binding affinity that deserve to be investigated. To test this possibility, this study aims to characterize the coordination ability of Zn2+, and also Cu2+ for comparison, with selected peptide models of the ACE2 binding interface using spectroscopic and potentiometric techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Pelucelli
- Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Peana
- Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Bartosz Orzeł
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw, 50-383 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Karolina Piasta
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw, 50-383 Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | - Serenella Medici
- Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Maria Antonietta Zoroddu
- Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
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Zn2+ and Cu2+ Binding to the Extramembrane Loop of Zrt2, a Zinc Transporter of Candida albicans. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12010121. [PMID: 35053269 PMCID: PMC8773511 DOI: 10.3390/biom12010121] [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: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Zrt2 is a zinc transporter of the ZIP family. It is predicted to be located in the plasma membrane and it is essential for Candida albicans zinc uptake and growth at acidic pH. Zrt2 from C. albicans is composed of 370 amino acids and contains eight putative transmembrane domains and an extra-membrane disordered loop, corresponding to the amino acid sequence 126–215. This protein region contains at least three possible metal binding motifs: HxHxHxxD (144–153), HxxHxxEHxD (181–193) and the Glu- and Asp- rich sequence DDEEEDxE (161–168). The corresponding model peptides, protected at their termini (Ac-GPHTHSHFGD-NH2, Ac-DDEEEDLE-NH2 and Ac-PSHFAHAQEHQDP-NH2), have been investigated in order to elucidate the thermodynamic and coordination properties of their Zn2+ and Cu2+ complexes, with the further aim to identify the most effective metal binding site among the three fragments. Furthermore, we extended the investigation to the peptides Ac-GPHTHAHFGD-NH2 and Ac-PAHFAHAQEHQDP-NH2, where serine residues have been substituted by alanines in order to check if the presence of a serine residue may favor the displacement of amidic protons by Cu2+. In the native Zrt2 protein, the Ac-GPHTHSHFGD-NH2 region of the Zrt2 loop has the highest metal binding affinity, showing that three alternated histidines separated by only one residue (-HxHxH-) bind Zn2+ and Cu2+ more strongly than the region in which three histidines are separated by two and three His residues (-HxxHxxxH- in Ac-PSHFAHAQEHQDP-NH2). All studied Zrt2 loop fragments have lower affinity towards Zn2+ than the zinc(II) binding site on the Zrt1 transporter; also, all three Zrt2 regions bind Zn2+ and Cu2+ with comparable affinity below pH 5 and, therefore, may equally contribute to the metal acquisition under the most acidic conditions in which the Zrt2 transporter is expressed.
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Stokowa-Sołtys K, Wojtkowiak K, Dzyhovskyi V, Wieczorek R. Effect of Copper(II) Ion Binding by Porin P1 Precursor Fragments from Fusobacterium nucleatum on DNA Degradation. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222212541. [PMID: 34830424 PMCID: PMC8623562 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Fusobacterium nucleatum is one of the most notorious species involved in colorectal cancer. It was reported that numerous outer membrane proteins (OMP) are actively involved in carcinogenesis. In this paper, the structure and stability of certain complexes, as well as DNA cleavage and ROS generation by fragments of OMP, were investigated using experimental and theoretical methods. Mass spectrometry, potentiometry, UV-Vis, CD, EPR, gel electrophoresis and calculations at the density functional theory (DFT) level were applied. Two consecutive model peptides, Ac-AKGHEHQLE-NH2 and Ac-FGEHEHGRD-NH2, were studied. Both of these were rendered to form a variety of thermodynamically stable complexes with copper(II) ions. All of the complexes were stabilized, mainly due to interactions of metal with nitrogen and oxygen donor atoms, as well as rich hydrogen bond networks. It was also concluded that these complexes in the presence of hydrogen peroxide or ascorbic acid can effectively produce hydroxyl radicals and have an ability to cleave the DNA strands. Surprisingly, the second studied ligand at the micromolar concentration range causes overall DNA degradation.
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