Expression, purification and characterization of aprotinin and a human analogue of aprotinin

Aprotinin (II): Inhalational Administration for the Treatment of COVID-19 and Other Viral Conditions

Aprotinin is a broad-spectrum inhibitor of human proteases that has been approved for the treatment of bleeding in single coronary artery bypass surgery because of its potent antifibrinolytic actions. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an urgent need to find new antiviral drugs. Aprotinin is a good candidate for therapeutic repositioning as a broad-spectrum antiviral drug and for treating the symptomatic processes that characterise viral respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. This is due to its strong pharmacological ability to inhibit a plethora of host proteases used by respiratory viruses in their infective mechanisms. The proteases allow the cleavage and conformational change of proteins that make up their viral capsid, and thus enable them to anchor themselves by recognition of their target in the epithelial cell. In addition, the activation of these proteases initiates the inflammatory process that triggers the infection. The attraction of the drug is not only its pharmacodynamic characteristics but also the possibility of administration by the inhalation route, avoiding unwanted systemic effects. This, together with the low cost of treatment (≈2 Euro/dose), makes it a good candidate to reach countries with lower economic means. In this article, we will discuss the pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and toxicological characteristics of aprotinin administered by the inhalation route; analyse the main advances in our knowledge of this medication; and the future directions that should be taken in research in order to reposition this medication in therapeutics.

Controlling Optical and Catalytic Activity of Genetically Engineered Proteins by Ultrasound

Ultrasound (US) produces cavitation-induced mechanical forces stretching and breaking polymer chains in solution. This type of polymer mechanochemistry is widely used for synthetic polymers, but not biomacromolecules, even though US is biocompatible and commonly used for medical therapy as well as in vivo imaging. The ability to control protein activity by US would thus be a major stepping-stone for these disciplines. Here, we provide the first examples of selective protein activation and deactivation by means of US. Using GFP as a model system, we engineer US sensitivity into proteins by design. The incorporation of long and highly charged domains enables the efficient transfer of force to the protein structure. We then use this principle to activate the catalytic activity of trypsin by inducing the release of its inhibitor. We expect that this concept to switch "on" and "off" protein activity by US will serve as a blueprint to remotely control other bioactive molecules.

Kunitz-Type Peptides from the Sea Anemone Heteractis crispa Demonstrate Potassium Channel Blocking and Anti-Inflammatory Activities

The Kunitz/BPTI peptide family includes unique representatives demonstrating various biological activities. Electrophysiological screening of peptides HCRG1 and HCRG2 from the sea anemone Heteractis crispa on six Kv1.x channel isoforms and insect Shaker IR channel expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes revealed their potassium channels blocking activity. HCRG1 and HCRG2 appear to be the first Kunitz-type peptides from sea anemones blocking Kv1.3 with IC₅₀ of 40.7 and 29.7 nM, respectively. In addition, peptides mainly vary in binding affinity to the Kv1.2 channels. It was established that the single substitution, Ser5Leu, in the TRPV1 channel antagonist, HCRG21, induces weak blocking activity of Kv1.1, Kv1.2, and Kv1.3. Apparently, for the affinity and selectivity of Kunitz-fold toxins to Kv1.x isoforms, the number and distribution along their molecules of charged, hydrophobic, and polar uncharged residues, as well as the nature of the channel residue at position 379 (Tyr, Val or His) are important. Testing the compounds in a model of acute local inflammation induced by the introduction of carrageenan administration into mice paws revealed that HCRG1 at doses of 0.1–1 mg/kg reduced the volume of developing edema during 24 h, similar to the effect of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin, at a dose of 5 mg/kg. ELISA analysis of the animals blood showed that the peptide reduced the synthesis of TNF-α, a pro-inflammatory mediator playing a leading role in the development of edema in this model.

Fibrinolysis Inhibitors: Potential Drugs for the Treatment and Prevention of Bleeding

Hyperfibrinolytic situations can lead to life-threatening bleeding, especially during cardiac surgery. The approved antifibrinolytic agents such as tranexamic acid, ε-aminocaproic acid, 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid, and aprotinin were developed in the 1960s without the structural insight of their respective targets. Crystal structures of the main antifibrinolytic targets, the lysine binding sites on plasminogen's kringle domains, and plasmin's serine protease domain greatly contributed to the structure-based drug design of novel inhibitor classes. Two series of ligands targeting the lysine binding sites have been recently described, which are more potent than the most-widely used antifibrinolytic agent, tranexamic acid. Furthermore, four types of promising active site inhibitors of plasmin have been developed: tranexamic acid conjugates targeting the S1 pocket and primed sites, substrate-analogue linear homopiperidylalanine-containing 4-amidinobenzylamide derivatives, macrocyclic inhibitors addressing nonprimed binding regions, and bicyclic 14-mer SFTI-1 analogues blocking both, primed and nonprimed binding sites of plasmin. Furthermore, several allosteric plasmin inhibitors based on heparin mimetics have been developed.

Dengue Protease Substrate Recognition: Binding of the Prime Side

Dengue virus (DENV), transmitted predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, infects millions of people and leads to dengue fever and thousands of deaths each year. There are no direct-acting antivirals to combat DENV, and molecular and structural knowledge is required to develop such compounds. The dengue NS2B/NS3 protease is a promising target for direct-acting antivirals, as viral polyprotein cleavage during replication is required for the maturation of the viral particle. The NS2B/NS3 protease processes 8 of the 13 viral polyprotein cleavage sites to allow viral maturation. Although these sites share little sequence homology beyond the P1 and P2 positions, most are well conserved among the serotypes. How the other substrate residues, especially at the P' side, affect substrate recognition remains unclear. We exploited the tight-binding general serine protease inhibitor aprotinin to investigate protease-substrate interactions at the molecular level. We engineered aprotinin's binding loop with sequences mimicking the P' side of DENV substrates. P' residues significantly modulate substrate affinity to protease, with inhibition constants varying from nanomolar to sub-millimolar. Structural and dynamic analysis revealed the molecular basis of this modulation and allowed identifying optimal residues for each of the P' positions. In addition, isothermal titration calorimetry showed binding to be solely entropy driven for all constructs. Potential flaviviral P' side inhibitors could benefit from mimicking the optimal residues at P' positions and incorporate hydrophobicity and rigidity to maintain entropic advantage for potency.

Affinity purification of aprotinin from bovine lung

An affinity protocol for the purification of aprotinin from bovine lung was developed. To simulate the structure of sucrose octasulfate, a natural specific probe for aprotinin, the affinity ligand was composed of an acidic head and a hydrophobic stick, and was then linked with Sepharose. The sorbent was then subjected to adsorption analysis with pure aprotinin. The purification process consisted of one step of affinity chromatography and another step of ultrafiltration. Then purified aprotinin was subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, trypsin inhibitor activity, gel-filtration, and thin-layer chromatography analysis. As calculated, the theoretical maximum adsorption (Qmax ) of the affinity sorbent was 25,476.0 ± 184.8 kallikrein inactivator unit/g wet gel; the dissociation constant of the complex "immobilized ligand-aprotinin" (Kd ) was 4.6 ± 0.1 kallikrein inactivator unit/mL. After the affinity separation of bovine lung aprotinin, reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis and gel-filtration chromatography revealed that the protein was a single polypeptide, and the purities were ∼ 97 and 100%, respectively; the purified peptide was also confirmed with aprotinin standard by gel-filtration chromatography and thin-layer chromatography. After the whole purification process, protein, and bioactivity recoveries were 2.2 and 92.6%, respectively; and the specific activity was up to 15,907.1 ± 10.2 kallikrein inactivator unit/mg.

Multiplexed tracking of protease activity using a single color of quantum dot vector and a time-gated Förster resonance energy transfer relay

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are attractive probes for optical sensing and imaging due to their unique photophysical attributes and nanoscale size. In particular, the development of assays and biosensors based on QDs and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) continues to be a prominent focus of research. Here, we demonstrate the application of QDs as simultaneous donors and acceptors in a time-gated FRET relay for the multiplexed detection of protease activity. In contrast to the current state-of-the-art, which uses multiple colors of QDs, multiplexing was achieved using only a single color of QD. The other constituents of the FRET relay, a luminescent terbium complex and fluorescent dye, were assembled to QDs via peptides that were selected as substrates for the model proteases trypsin and chymotrypsin. Loss of prompt FRET between the QD and dye signaled the activity of chymotrypsin; loss of time-gated FRET between the terbium and QD signaled the activity of trypsin. We applied the FRET relay in a series of quantitative, real-time kinetic assays of increasing biochemical complexity, including multiplexed sensing, measuring inhibition in a multiplexed format, and tracking the proteolytic activation of an inactive pro-protease to its active form in a coupled, multienzyme system. These capabilities were derived from a ratiometric analysis of the two FRET pathways in the relay and permitted extraction of initial reaction rates, enzyme specificity constants, and apparent inhibition constants. This work adds to the growing body of research on multifunctional nanoparticles and introduces multiplexed sensing as a novel capability for a single nanoparticle vector. Furthermore, the ability to track both enzymes within a coupled biological system using one vector represents a significant advancement for nanoparticle-based biosensing. Prospective applications in biochemical research, applied diagnostics, and drug discovery are discussed.

Aprotinin and similar protease inhibitors as drugs against influenza

Efforts to develop new antiviral chemotherapeutic approaches are focusing on compounds that target either influenza virus replication itself or host factor(s) that are critical to influenza replication. Host protease mediated influenza hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage is critical for activation of virus infectivity and as such is a chemotherapeutic target. Influenza pathogenesis involves a "vicious cycle" in which host proteases activate progeny virus which in turn amplifies replication and stimulates further protease activities which may be detrimental to the infected host. Aprotinin, a 58 amino acid polypeptide purified from bovine lung that is one of a family of host-targeted antivirals that inhibit serine proteases responsible for influenza virus activation. This drug and similar agents, such as leupeptin and camostat, suppress virus HA cleavage and limit reproduction of human and avian influenza viruses with a single arginine in the HA cleavage site. Site-directed structural modifications of aprotinin are possible to increase its intracellular targeting of cleavage of highly virulent H5 and H7 hemagglutinins possessing multi-arginine/lysine cleavage site. An additional mechanism of action for serine protease inhibitors is to target a number of host mediators of inflammation and down regulate their levels in virus-infected hosts. Aprotinin is a generic drug approved for intravenous use in humans to treat pancreatitis and limit post-operative bleeding. As an antiinfluenzal compound, aprotinin might be delivered by two routes: (i) a small-particle aerosol has been approved in Russia for local respiratory application in mild-to-moderate influenza and (ii) a proposed intravenous administration for severe influenza to provide both an antiviral effect and a decrease in systemic pathology and inflammation.

Engineered aprotinin for improved stability of fibrin biomaterials

Fibrin has been long used clinically for hemostasis and sealing, yet extension of use in other applications has been limited due to its relatively rapid resorption in vivo, even with addition of aprotinin or other protease inhibitors. We report an engineered aprotinin variant that can be immobilized within fibrin and thus provide extended longevity. When recombinantly fused to a transglutaminase substrate domain from α(2)-plasmin inhibitor (α(2)PI(1-8)), the resulting variant, aprotinin-α(2)PI(1-8), was covalently crosslinked into fibrin matrices during normal thrombin/factor XIIIa-mediated polymerization. Challenge with physiological plasmin concentrations revealed that aprotinin-α(2)PI(1-8)-containing matrices retained 78% of their mass after 3 wk, whereas matrices containing wild type (WT) aprotinin degraded completely within 1 wk. Plasmin challenge of commercial sealants Omrixil and Tisseel, supplemented with aprotinin-α(2)PI(1-8) or WT aprotinin, showed extended longevity as well. When seeded with human dermal fibroblasts, aprotinin-α(2)PI(1-8)-supplemented matrices supported cell growth for at least 33% longer than those containing WT aprotinin. Subcutaneously implanted matrices containing aprotinin-α(2)PI(1-8) were detectable in mice for more than twice as long as those containing WT aprotinin. We conclude that our engineered recombinant aprotinin variant can confer extended longevity to fibrin matrices more effectively than WT aprotinin in vitro and in vivo.

Carrier proteins for fusion expression of antimicrobial peptides in Escherichia coli

Antimicrobial peptides are an essential component of innate immunity and play an important role in host defence against microbial pathogens. They have received increasing attention recently as potential novel pharmaceutical agents. To meet the requirement for necessary basic science studies and clinical trials, large quantities of these peptides are needed. In general, isolation from natural sources and chemical synthesis are not cost-effective. The relatively low cost and easy scale-up of the recombinant approach renders it the most attractive means for large-scale production of antimicrobial peptides. Among the many systems available for protein expression, Escherichia coli remains the most widely used host. Antimicrobial peptides produced in E. coli are often expressed as fusion proteins, which effectively masks these peptides' potential lethal effect towards the bacterial host and protects the peptides from proteolytic degradation. Although some carriers confer peptide solubility, others promote the formation of inclusion bodies. The present minireview considers the most commonly used carrier proteins for fusion expression of antimicrobial peptides in E. coli. The favourable properties of SUMO (small ubiquitin-related modifier) as a novel fusion partner are also discussed.