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Mahanta PJ, Lhouvum K. Plasmodium falciparum proteases as new drug targets with special focus on metalloproteases. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2024; 258:111617. [PMID: 38554736 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2024.111617] [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: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Malaria poses a significant global health threat particularly due to the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. With the emergence of parasite resistance to existing drugs including the recently discovered artemisinin, ongoing research seeks novel therapeutic avenues within the malaria parasite. Proteases are promising drug targets due to their essential roles in parasite biology, including hemoglobin digestion, merozoite invasion, and egress. While exploring the genomic landscape of Plasmodium falciparum, it has been revealed that there are 92 predicted proteases, with only approximately 14 of them having been characterized. These proteases are further distributed among 26 families grouped into five clans: aspartic proteases, cysteine proteases, metalloproteases, serine proteases, and threonine proteases. Focus on metalloprotease class shows further role in organelle processing for mitochondria and apicoplasts suggesting the potential of metalloproteases as viable drug targets. Holistic understanding of the parasite intricate life cycle and identification of potential drug targets are essential for developing effective therapeutic strategies against malaria and mitigating its devastating global impact.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kimjolly Lhouvum
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
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2
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Riera-Ferrer E, Mazanec H, Mladineo I, Konik P, Piazzon MC, Kuchta R, Palenzuela O, Estensoro I, Sotillo J, Sitjà-Bobadilla A. An inside out journey: biogenesis, ultrastructure and proteomic characterisation of the ectoparasitic flatworm Sparicotyle chrysophrii extracellular vesicles. Parasit Vectors 2024; 17:175. [PMID: 38570784 PMCID: PMC10993521 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-024-06257-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Helminth extracellular vesicles (EVs) are known to have a three-way communication function among parasitic helminths, their host and the host-associated microbiota. They are considered biological containers that may carry virulence factors, being therefore appealing as therapeutic and prophylactic target candidates. This study aims to describe and characterise EVs secreted by Sparicotyle chrysophrii (Polyopisthocotyla: Microcotylidae), a blood-feeding gill parasite of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), causing significant economic losses in Mediterranean aquaculture. METHODS To identify proteins involved in extracellular vesicle biogenesis, genomic datasets from S. chrysophrii were mined in silico using known protein sequences from Clonorchis spp., Echinococcus spp., Fasciola spp., Fasciolopsis spp., Opisthorchis spp., Paragonimus spp. and Schistosoma spp. The location and ultrastructure of EVs were visualised by transmission electron microscopy after fixing adult S. chrysophrii specimens by high-pressure freezing and freeze substitution. EVs were isolated and purified from adult S. chrysophrii (n = 200) using a newly developed ultracentrifugation-size-exclusion chromatography protocol for Polyopisthocotyla, and EVs were characterised via nanoparticle tracking analysis and tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS Fifty-nine proteins involved in EV biogenesis were identified in S. chrysophrii, and EVs compatible with ectosomes were observed in the syncytial layer of the haptoral region lining the clamps. The isolated and purified nanoparticles had a mean size of 251.8 nm and yielded 1.71 × 108 particles · mL-1. The protein composition analysis identified proteins related to peptide hydrolases, GTPases, EF-hand domain proteins, aerobic energy metabolism, anticoagulant/lipid-binding, haem detoxification, iron transport, EV biogenesis-related, vesicle-trafficking and other cytoskeletal-related proteins. Several identified proteins, such as leucyl and alanyl aminopeptidases, calpain, ferritin, dynein light chain, 14-3-3, heat shock protein 70, annexin, tubulin, glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, enolase and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, have already been proposed as target candidates for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes. CONCLUSIONS We have unambiguously demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge the secretion of EVs by an ectoparasitic flatworm, inferring their biogenesis machinery at a genomic and transcriptomic level, and by identifying their location and protein composition. The identification of multiple therapeutic targets among EVs' protein repertoire provides opportunities for target-based drug discovery and vaccine development for the first time in Polyopisthocotyla (sensu Monogenea), and in a fish-ectoparasite model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Riera-Ferrer
- Fish Pathology Group, Institute of Aquaculture Torre de La Sal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATS, CSIC), Ribera de Cabanes, 12595, Castellón, Spain
| | - Hynek Mazanec
- Laboratory of Helminthology, Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, (BC CAS), České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Ivona Mladineo
- Laboratory of Functional Helminthology, Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences (BC CAS), České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Konik
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1160/31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - M Carla Piazzon
- Fish Pathology Group, Institute of Aquaculture Torre de La Sal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATS, CSIC), Ribera de Cabanes, 12595, Castellón, Spain
| | - Roman Kuchta
- Laboratory of Helminthology, Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, (BC CAS), České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Oswaldo Palenzuela
- Fish Pathology Group, Institute of Aquaculture Torre de La Sal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATS, CSIC), Ribera de Cabanes, 12595, Castellón, Spain
| | - Itziar Estensoro
- Fish Pathology Group, Institute of Aquaculture Torre de La Sal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATS, CSIC), Ribera de Cabanes, 12595, Castellón, Spain.
| | - Javier Sotillo
- Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ariadna Sitjà-Bobadilla
- Fish Pathology Group, Institute of Aquaculture Torre de La Sal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATS, CSIC), Ribera de Cabanes, 12595, Castellón, Spain
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3
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Ariefta NR, Pagmadulam B, Hatano M, Ikeda N, Isshiki K, Matoba K, Igarashi M, Nihei CI, Nishikawa Y. Antiplasmodial Activity Evaluation of a Bestatin-Related Aminopeptidase Inhibitor, Phebestin. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2023; 67:e0160622. [PMID: 37314349 PMCID: PMC10353437 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01606-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The increasing burden and spread of resistant malaria parasites remains an immense burden to public health. These factors have driven the demand to search for a new therapeutic agent. From our screening, phebestin stood out with nanomolar efficacy against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7. Phebestin was initially identified as an aminopeptidase N inhibitor. Phebestin inhibited the in vitro multiplication of the P. falciparum 3D7 (chloroquine-sensitive) and K1 (chloroquine-resistant) strains at IC50 values of 157.90 ± 6.26 nM and 268.17 ± 67.59 nM, respectively. Furthermore, phebestin exhibited no cytotoxic against human foreskin fibroblast cells at 2.5 mM. In the stage-specific assay, phebestin inhibited all parasite stages at 100 and 10-fold its IC50 concentration. Using 72-h in vitro exposure of phebestin at concentrations of 1 μM on P. falciparum 3D7 distorted the parasite morphology, showed dying signs, shrank, and prevented reinvasion of RBCs, even after the compound was washed from the culture. An in silico study found that phebestin binds to P. falciparum M1 alanyl aminopeptidase (PfM1AAP) and M17 leucyl aminopeptidase (PfM17LAP), as observed for bestatin. In vivo evaluation using P. yoelii 17XNL-infected mice with administrations of 20 mg/kg phebestin, once daily for 7 days, resulted in significantly lower parasitemia peaks in the phebestin-treated group (19.53%) than in the untreated group (29.55%). At the same dose and treatment, P. berghei ANKA-infected mice showed reduced parasitemia levels and improved survival compared to untreated mice. These results indicate that phebestin is a promising candidate for development as a potential therapeutic agent against malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanang R. Ariefta
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Japan
| | - Baldorj Pagmadulam
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Japan
- Laboratory of Microbial Synthesis, Institute of General and Experimental Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Masaki Hatano
- Institute of Microbial Chemistry (BIKAKEN), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Noriko Ikeda
- Institute of Microbial Chemistry (BIKAKEN), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kunio Isshiki
- Institute of Microbial Chemistry (BIKAKEN), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuaki Matoba
- Institute of Microbial Chemistry (BIKAKEN), Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Coh-ichi Nihei
- Institute of Microbial Chemistry (BIKAKEN), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshifumi Nishikawa
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Japan
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4
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Changklungmoa N, Cheukamud W, Jaikua W, Meemon K, Sobhon P, Kueakhai P. Combination Vaccines of Fasciola gigantica Saposin-like Protein-2 and Leucine Aminopeptidase. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023; 8:334. [PMID: 37505630 PMCID: PMC10384649 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8070334] [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: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Saposin-like protein-2 (SAP-2) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) are major proteins involved in the digestive process of Fasciola gigantica (Fg). Both SAP-2 and LAP are highly expressed in F. gigantica; therefore, they could be vaccine candidates for fasciolosis. The aims of this study are (1) to observe the tissue expression of F. gigantica SAP-2 (FgSAP-2) and F. gigantica LAP (FgLAP) in F. gigantica by indirect immunofluorescence technique under confocal microscopy and (2) to test the vaccine potentials of individual and combined recombinant (r) FgSAP-2 and rFgLAP against F. gigantica in Imprinting Control Region (ICR) mice (n = 10 per group). By indirect immunofluorescence-confocal microscopy, FgSAP-2 and FgLAP were localized in the caecal epithelium but at different sites: FgSAP-2 appeared in small granules that are distributed in the middle and lower parts of the cytoplasm of epithelial cells, while FgLAP appeared as a line or zone in the apical cytoplasm of caecal epithelial cells. For vaccine testing, the percent protection of combined rFgSAP-2 and rFgLAP vaccines against F. gigantica was at 80.7 to 81.4% when compared with aluminum hydroxide (alum) adjuvant and unimmunized controls, respectively. The levels of IgG1 and IgG2a in the sera were significantly increased in single and combine vaccinated groups compared with the control groups. Vaccinated mice showed reduced liver damage when compared with control groups. This study indicates that the combined rFgSAP-2 and rFgLAP vaccine had a higher vaccine potential than a single vaccine. These results support the further testing and application of this combined vaccine against F. gigantica infection in farmed livestock animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narin Changklungmoa
- Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Saen Sook Sub-District, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
- Research Unit for Vaccine and Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
| | - Werachon Cheukamud
- Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Saen Sook Sub-District, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
- Research Unit for Vaccine and Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
| | - Wipaphorn Jaikua
- Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Saen Sook Sub-District, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
- Research Unit for Vaccine and Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
| | - Krai Meemon
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Rama VI Rd, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
| | - Prasert Sobhon
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Rama VI Rd, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
| | - Pornanan Kueakhai
- Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Saen Sook Sub-District, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
- Research Unit for Vaccine and Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases, Burapha University, Long-Hard Bangsaen Road, Mueang District, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
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Pascual Alonso I, Almeida García F, Valdés Tresanco ME, Arrebola Sánchez Y, Ojeda Del Sol D, Sánchez Ramírez B, Florent I, Schmitt M, Avilés FX. Marine Invertebrates: A Promissory Still Unexplored Source of Inhibitors of Biomedically Relevant Metallo Aminopeptidases Belonging to the M1 and M17 Families. Mar Drugs 2023; 21:md21050279. [PMID: 37233473 DOI: 10.3390/md21050279] [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: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteolytic enzymes, also known as peptidases, are critical in all living organisms. Peptidases control the cleavage, activation, turnover, and synthesis of proteins and regulate many biochemical and physiological processes. They are also involved in several pathophysiological processes. Among peptidases, aminopeptidases catalyze the cleavage of the N-terminal amino acids of proteins or peptide substrates. They are distributed in many phyla and play critical roles in physiology and pathophysiology. Many of them are metallopeptidases belonging to the M1 and M17 families, among others. Some, such as M1 aminopeptidases N and A, thyrotropin-releasing hormone-degrading ectoenzyme, and M17 leucyl aminopeptidase, are targets for the development of therapeutic agents for human diseases, including cancer, hypertension, central nervous system disorders, inflammation, immune system disorders, skin pathologies, and infectious diseases, such as malaria. The relevance of aminopeptidases has driven the search and identification of potent and selective inhibitors as major tools to control proteolysis with an impact in biochemistry, biotechnology, and biomedicine. The present contribution focuses on marine invertebrate biodiversity as an important and promising source of inhibitors of metalloaminopeptidases from M1 and M17 families, with foreseen biomedical applications in human diseases. The results reviewed in the present contribution support and encourage further studies with inhibitors isolated from marine invertebrates in different biomedical models associated with the activity of these families of exopeptidases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isel Pascual Alonso
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana 10400, Cuba
| | - Fabiola Almeida García
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana 10400, Cuba
| | - Mario Ernesto Valdés Tresanco
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana 10400, Cuba
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | | | - Daniel Ojeda Del Sol
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana 10400, Cuba
| | | | - Isabelle Florent
- Unité Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR7245), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP52, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Marjorie Schmitt
- Université de Haute-Alsace, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, LIMA UMR 7042, 68000 Mulhouse, France
| | - Francesc Xavier Avilés
- Institute for Biotechnology and Biomedicine and Department of Biochemistry, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
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6
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Anand A, Chandana M, Ghosh S, Das R, Singh N, Vaishalli PM, Gantasala NP, Padmanaban G, Nagaraj VA. Significance of Plasmodium berghei Amino Acid Transporter 1 in Food Vacuole Functionality and Its Association with Cerebral Pathogenesis. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0494322. [PMID: 36976018 PMCID: PMC10101031 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04943-22] [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: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The food vacuole plays a central role in the blood stage of parasite development by digesting host hemoglobin acquired from red blood cells and detoxifying the host heme released during hemoglobin digestion into hemozoin. Blood-stage parasites undergo periodic schizont bursts, releasing food vacuoles containing hemozoin. Clinical studies in malaria-infected patients and in vivo animal studies have shown the association of hemozoin with disease pathogenesis and abnormal host immune responses in malaria. Here, we perform a detailed in vivo characterization of putative Plasmodium berghei amino acid transporter 1 localized in the food vacuole to understand its significance in the malaria parasite. We show that the targeted deletion of amino acid transporter 1 in Plasmodium berghei leads to a swollen food vacuole phenotype with the accumulation of host hemoglobin-derived peptides. Plasmodium berghei amino acid transporter 1-knockout parasites produce less hemozoin, and the hemozoin crystals display a thin morphology compared with wild-type parasites. The knockout parasites show reduced sensitivity to chloroquine and amodiaquine by showing recrudescence. More importantly, mice infected with the knockout parasites are protected from cerebral malaria and display reduced neuronal inflammation and cerebral complications. Genetic complementation of the knockout parasites restores the food vacuole morphology with hemozoin levels similar to that of wild-type parasites, causing cerebral malaria in the infected mice. The knockout parasites also show a significant delay in male gametocyte exflagellation. Our findings highlight the significance of amino acid transporter 1 in food vacuole functionality and its association with malaria pathogenesis and gametocyte development. IMPORTANCE Food vacuoles of the malaria parasite are involved in the degradation of red blood cell hemoglobin. The amino acids derived from hemoglobin degradation support parasite growth, and the heme released is detoxified into hemozoin. Antimalarials such as quinolines target hemozoin formation in the food vacuole. Food vacuole transporters transport hemoglobin-derived amino acids and peptides from the food vacuole to the parasite cytosol. Such transporters are also associated with drug resistance. Here, we show that the deletion of amino acid transporter 1 in Plasmodium berghei leads to swollen food vacuoles with the accumulation of hemoglobin-derived peptides. The transporter-deleted parasites generate less hemozoin with thin crystal morphology and show reduced sensitivity to quinolines. Mice infected with transporter-deleted parasites are protected from cerebral malaria. There is also a delay in male gametocyte exflagellation, affecting transmission. Our findings uncover the functional significance of amino acid transporter 1 in the life cycle of the malaria parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Anand
- Infectious Disease Biology, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
- Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Manjunatha Chandana
- Infectious Disease Biology, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
- School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Sourav Ghosh
- Infectious Disease Biology, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
- Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Rahul Das
- Infectious Disease Biology, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
- Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Nalini Singh
- Infectious Disease Biology, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Pradeep Mini Vaishalli
- Infectious Disease Biology, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
- Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, Haryana, India
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7
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Aguado ME, Izquierdo M, González-Matos M, Varela AC, Méndez Y, Del Rivero MA, Rivera DG, González-Bacerio J. Parasite Metalo-aminopeptidases as Targets in Human Infectious Diseases. Curr Drug Targets 2023; 24:416-461. [PMID: 36825701 DOI: 10.2174/1389450124666230224140724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parasitic human infectious diseases are a worldwide health problem due to the increased resistance to conventional drugs. For this reason, the identification of novel molecular targets and the discovery of new chemotherapeutic agents are urgently required. Metalo- aminopeptidases are promising targets in parasitic infections. They participate in crucial processes for parasite growth and pathogenesis. OBJECTIVE In this review, we describe the structural, functional and kinetic properties, and inhibitors, of several parasite metalo-aminopeptidases, for their use as targets in parasitic diseases. CONCLUSION Plasmodium falciparum M1 and M17 aminopeptidases are essential enzymes for parasite development, and M18 aminopeptidase could be involved in hemoglobin digestion and erythrocyte invasion and egression. Trypanosoma cruzi, T. brucei and Leishmania major acidic M17 aminopeptidases can play a nutritional role. T. brucei basic M17 aminopeptidase down-regulation delays the cytokinesis. The inhibition of Leishmania basic M17 aminopeptidase could affect parasite viability. L. donovani methionyl aminopeptidase inhibition prevents apoptosis but not the parasite death. Decrease in Acanthamoeba castellanii M17 aminopeptidase activity produces cell wall structural modifications and encystation inhibition. Inhibition of Babesia bovis growth is probably related to the inhibition of the parasite M17 aminopeptidase, probably involved in host hemoglobin degradation. Schistosoma mansoni M17 aminopeptidases inhibition may affect parasite development, since they could participate in hemoglobin degradation, surface membrane remodeling and eggs hatching. Toxoplasma gondii M17 aminopeptidase inhibition could attenuate parasite virulence, since it is apparently involved in the hydrolysis of cathepsin Cs- or proteasome-produced dipeptides and/or cell attachment/invasion processes. These data are relevant to validate these enzymes as targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirtha E Aguado
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Maikel Izquierdo
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Maikel González-Matos
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Ana C Varela
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Yanira Méndez
- Center for Natural Products Research, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Havana, Zapata y G, 10400, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Maday A Del Rivero
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Daniel G Rivera
- Center for Natural Products Research, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Havana, Zapata y G, 10400, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Jorge González-Bacerio
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Calle 25 #455 Entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
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8
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Georgiadis D, Skoulikas N, Papakyriakou A, Stratikos E. Phosphinic Peptides as Tool Compounds for the Study of Pharmacologically Relevant Zn-Metalloproteases. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2022; 5:1228-1253. [PMID: 36524013 PMCID: PMC9745897 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.2c00183] [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: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Phosphinic peptides constitute an important class of bioactive compounds that have found a wide range of applications in the field of biology and pharmacology of Zn-metalloproteases, the largest family of proteases in humans. They are designed to mimic the structure of natural substrates during their proteolysis, thus acting as mechanism-based, transition state analogue inhibitors. A combination of electrostatic interactions between the phosphinic acid group and the Zn cation as well as optimal noncovalent enzyme-ligand interactions can result in both high binding affinity for the desired target and selectivity against other proteases. Due to these unique properties, phosphinic peptides have been mainly employed as tool compounds for (a) the purposes of rational drug design by serving as ligands in X-ray crystal structures of target enzymes and allowing the identification of crucial interactions that govern optimal molecular recognition, and (b) the delineation of biological pathways where Zn-metalloproteases are key regulators. For the latter objective, inhibitors of the phosphinopeptidic type have been used either unmodified or after being transformed to probes of various types, thus expanding the arsenal of functional tools available to researchers. The aim of this review is to summarize all recent research achievements in which phosphinic peptides have played a central role as tool compounds in the understanding of the mechanism and biological functions of Zn-metalloproteases in both health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitris Georgiadis
- Department
of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens, GR-15784 Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos Skoulikas
- Department
of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens, GR-15784 Athens, Greece
| | - Athanasios Papakyriakou
- National
Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Agia Paraskevi GR-15341 Athens, Greece
| | - Efstratios Stratikos
- Department
of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens, GR-15784 Athens, Greece
- National
Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Agia Paraskevi GR-15341 Athens, Greece
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9
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González-Bacerio J, Izquierdo M, Aguado ME, Varela AC, González-Matos M, Del Rivero MA. Using microbial metalo-aminopeptidases as targets in human infectious diseases. MICROBIAL CELL 2021; 8:239-246. [PMID: 34692819 PMCID: PMC8485470 DOI: 10.15698/mic2021.10.761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Several microbial metalo-aminopeptidases are emerging as novel targets for the treatment of human infectious diseases. Some of them are well validated as targets and some are not; some are essential enzymes and others are important for virulence and pathogenesis. For another group, it is not clear if their enzymatic activity is involved in the critical functions that they mediate. But one aspect has been established: they display relevant roles in bacteria and protozoa that could be targeted for therapeutic purposes. This work aims to describe these biological functions for several microbial metalo-aminopeptidases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge González-Bacerio
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Maikel Izquierdo
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Mirtha Elisa Aguado
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Ana C Varela
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Maikel González-Matos
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Maday Alonso Del Rivero
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
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10
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Huang B, Xiong X, Zhang L, Liu X, Wang Y, Gong X, Sang Q, Lu Y, Qu H, Zheng H, Zheng Y. PSA controls hepatic lipid metabolism by regulating the NRF2 signaling pathway. J Mol Cell Biol 2021; 13:527-539. [PMID: 34048566 PMCID: PMC8530519 DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjab033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The activity of proteinase is reported to correlate with the development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase (PSA/NPEPPS) is an integral nontransmembrane enzyme that functions to catalyze the cleavage of amino acids near the N-terminus of polypeptides. A previous study suggested that this enzyme acts as a regulator of neuropeptide activity; however, the metabolic function of this enzyme in the liver has not been explored. Here, we identified the novel role of PSA in hepatic lipid metabolism. Specifically, PSA expression was lower in fatty livers from NAFLD patients and mice (HFD, ob/ob, and db/db). PSA knockdown in cultured hepatocytes exacerbated diet-induced triglyceride accumulation through enhanced lipogenesis and attenuated fatty acid β-oxidation. Moreover, PSA mediated activation of the master regulator of antioxidant response, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), by stabilizing NRF2 protein expression, which further induced downstream antioxidant enzymes to protect the liver from oxidative stress and lipid overload. Accordingly, liver-specific PSA overexpression attenuated hepatic lipid accumulation and steatosis in ob/ob mice. Furthermore, in human liver tissue samples, decreased PSA expression correlated with the progression of NAFLD. Overall, our findings suggest that PSA is a pivotal regulator of hepatic lipid metabolism and its antioxidant function occurs by suppressing NRF2 ubiquitination. Moreover, PSA may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for treating NAFLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bangliang Huang
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xin Xiong
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Linlin Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiufei Liu
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuren Wang
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaoli Gong
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qian Sang
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yongling Lu
- Medical Research Center, Southwest Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hua Qu
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hongting Zheng
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yi Zheng
- Department of Endocrinology, Translational Research of Diabetes Key Laboratory of Chongqing Education Commission of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
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11
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Shaikh I, Jadeja R, Patel R, Mevada V, Gupta VK. 4-Acylhydrazone-5-Pyrazolones and their Zinc(II) Metal Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, Crystal Feature and Antimalarial Activity. J Mol Struct 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2021.130051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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12
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Mathew R, Wunderlich J, Thivierge K, Cwiklinski K, Dumont C, Tilley L, Rohrbach P, Dalton JP. Biochemical and cellular characterisation of the Plasmodium falciparum M1 alanyl aminopeptidase (PfM1AAP) and M17 leucyl aminopeptidase (PfM17LAP). Sci Rep 2021; 11:2854. [PMID: 33536500 PMCID: PMC7858622 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82499-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The Plasmodium falciparum M1 alanyl aminopeptidase and M17 leucyl aminopeptidase, PfM1AAP and PfM17LAP, are potential targets for novel anti-malarial drug development. Inhibitors of these aminopeptidases have been shown to kill malaria parasites in culture and reduce parasite growth in murine models. The two enzymes may function in the terminal stages of haemoglobin digestion, providing free amino acids for protein synthesis by the rapidly growing intra-erythrocytic parasites. Here we have performed a comparative cellular and biochemical characterisation of the two enzymes. Cell fractionation and immunolocalisation studies reveal that both enzymes are associated with the soluble cytosolic fraction of the parasite, with no evidence that they are present within other compartments, such as the digestive vacuole (DV). Enzyme kinetic studies show that the optimal pH of both enzymes is in the neutral range (pH 7.0-8.0), although PfM1AAP also possesses some activity (< 20%) at the lower pH range of 5.0-5.5. The data supports the proposal that PfM1AAP and PfM17LAP function in the cytoplasm of the parasite, likely in the degradation of haemoglobin-derived peptides generated in the DV and transported to the cytosol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rency Mathew
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X 3V9 Canada ,grid.4777.30000 0004 0374 7521School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland UK
| | - Juliane Wunderlich
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X 3V9 Canada ,grid.4709.a0000 0004 0495 846XEuropean Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Karine Thivierge
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X 3V9 Canada ,grid.434819.30000 0000 8929 2775Laboratoire de Santé Publique du Québec, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC Canada
| | - Krystyna Cwiklinski
- grid.4777.30000 0004 0374 7521School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland UK ,grid.6142.10000 0004 0488 0789Centre for One Health & Ryan Institute, School of Natural Sciences, NUI Galway, Galway, Republic of Ireland
| | - Claire Dumont
- grid.1008.90000 0001 2179 088XDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC Australia
| | - Leann Tilley
- grid.1008.90000 0001 2179 088XDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC Australia
| | - Petra Rohrbach
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X 3V9 Canada
| | - John P. Dalton
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X 3V9 Canada ,grid.4777.30000 0004 0374 7521School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland UK ,grid.6142.10000 0004 0488 0789Centre for One Health & Ryan Institute, School of Natural Sciences, NUI Galway, Galway, Republic of Ireland
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13
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Schipper S, Wu H, Furdui CM, Poole LB, Delahunty CM, Park R, Yates JR, Becker K, Przyborski JM. Identification of sulfenylation patterns in trophozoite stage Plasmodium falciparum using a non-dimedone based probe. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2021; 242:111362. [PMID: 33513391 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2021.111362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum causes the deadliest form of malaria. Adequate redox control is crucial for this protozoan parasite to overcome oxidative and nitrosative challenges, thus enabling its survival. Sulfenylation is an oxidative post-translational modification, which acts as a molecular on/off switch, regulating protein activity. To obtain a better understanding of which proteins are redox regulated in malaria parasites, we established an optimized affinity capture protocol coupled with mass spectrometry analysis for identification of in vivo sulfenylated proteins. The non-dimedone based probe BCN-Bio1 shows reaction rates over 100-times that of commonly used dimedone-based probes, allowing for a rapid trapping of sulfenylated proteins. Mass spectrometry analysis of BCN-Bio1 labeled proteins revealed the first insight into the Plasmodium falciparum trophozoite sulfenylome, identifying 102 proteins containing 152 sulfenylation sites. Comparison with Plasmodium proteins modified by S-glutathionylation and S-nitrosation showed a high overlap, suggesting a common core of proteins undergoing redox regulation by multiple mechanisms. Furthermore, parasite proteins which were identified as targets for sulfenylation were also identified as being sulfenylated in other organisms, especially proteins of the glycolytic cycle. This study suggests that a number of Plasmodium proteins are subject to redox regulation and it provides a basis for further investigations into the exact structural and biochemical basis of regulation, and a deeper understanding of cross-talk between post-translational modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schipper
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Hanzhi Wu
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Molecular Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA
| | - Cristina M Furdui
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Molecular Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA
| | - Leslie B Poole
- Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA
| | - Claire M Delahunty
- Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Robin Park
- Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - John R Yates
- Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Katja Becker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Jude M Przyborski
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
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14
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Padilla A, Dovell S, Chesnokov O, Hoggard M, Oleinikov AV, Marí F. Conus venom fractions inhibit the adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 domains to the host vascular receptors. J Proteomics 2020; 234:104083. [PMID: 33373718 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.104083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Using high-throughput BioPlex assays, we determined that six fractions from the venom of Conus nux inhibit the adhesion of various recombinant PfEMP-1 protein domains (PF08_0106 CIDR1α3.1, PF11_0521 DBL2β3, and PFL0030c DBL3X and DBL5e) to their corresponding receptors (CD36, ICAM-1, and CSA, respectively). The protein domain-receptor interactions permit P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IE) to evade elimination in the spleen by adhering to the microvasculature in various organs including the placenta. The sequences for the main components of the fractions, determined by tandem mass spectrometry, yielded four T-superfamily conotoxins, one (CC-Loop-CC) with I-IV, II-III connectivity and three (CC-Loop-CXaaC) with a I-III, II-IV connectivity. The 3D structure for one of the latter, NuxVA = GCCPAPLTCHCVIY, revealed a novel scaffold defined by double turns forming a hairpin-like structure stabilized by the two disulfide bonds. Two other main fraction components were a miniM conotoxin, and a O2-superfamily conotoxin with cysteine framework VI/VII. This study is the first one of its kind suggesting the use of conotoxins for developing pharmacological tools for anti-adhesion adjunct therapy against malaria. Similarly, mitigation of emerging diseases like AIDS and COVID-19, can also benefit from conotoxins as inhibitors of protein-protein interactions as treatment. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Among the 850+ species of cone snail species there are hundreds of thousands of diverse venom exopeptides that have been selected throughout several million years of evolution to capture prey and deter predators. They do so by targeting several surface proteins present in target excitable cells. This immense biomolecular library of conopeptides can be explored for potential use as therapeutic leads against persistent and emerging diseases affecting non-excitable systems. We aim to expand the pharmacological reach of conotoxins/conopeptides by revealing their in vitro capacity to disrupt protein-protein and protein-polysaccharide interactions that directly contribute to pathology of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. This is significant for severe forms of malaria, which might be deadly even after treated with current parasite-killing drugs because of persistent cytoadhesion of P. falciparum infected erythrocytes even when parasites within red blood cells are dead. Anti-adhesion adjunct drugs would de-sequester or prevent additional sequestration of infected erythrocytes and may significantly improve survival of malaria patients. These results provide a lead for further investigations into conotoxins and other venom peptides as potential candidates for anti-adhesion or blockade-therapies. This study is the first of its kind and it suggests that conotoxins can be developed as pharmacological tools for anti-adhesion adjunct therapy against malaria. Similarly, mitigation of emerging diseases like AIDS and COVID-19, can also benefit from conotoxins as potential inhibitors of protein-protein interactions as treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Padilla
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
| | - Sanaz Dovell
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
| | - Olga Chesnokov
- Department of Biomedical Science, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
| | - Mickelene Hoggard
- Chemical Sciences Division, Hollings Marine Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA
| | - Andrew V Oleinikov
- Department of Biomedical Science, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA.
| | - Frank Marí
- Chemical Sciences Division, Hollings Marine Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA.
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15
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Phosphinic Dehydrodipeptides: Diversification of the P1′ Residue with the Morita–Baylis–Hillman Acetates and Inhibition of Alanyl Aminopeptidases. Int J Pept Res Ther 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10989-019-10004-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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16
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Morris G, Athan E, Walder K, Bortolasci CC, O'Neil A, Marx W, Berk M, Carvalho AF, Maes M, Puri BK. Can endolysosomal deacidification and inhibition of autophagy prevent severe COVID-19? Life Sci 2020; 262:118541. [PMID: 33035581 PMCID: PMC7537668 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The possibility is examined that immunomodulatory pharmacotherapy may be clinically useful in managing the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), known to result from infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus. The dominant route of cell entry of the coronavirus is via phagocytosis, with ensconcement in endosomes thereafter proceeding via the endosomal pathway, involving transfer from early (EEs) to late endosomes (LEs) and ultimately into lysosomes via endolysosomal fusion. EE to LE transportation is a rate-limiting step for coronaviruses. Hence inhibition or dysregulation of endosomal trafficking could potentially inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication. Furthermore, the acidic luminal pH of the endolysosomal system is critical for the activity of numerous pH-sensitive hydrolytic enzymes. Golgi sub-compartments and Golgi-derived secretory vesicles also depend on being mildly acidic for optimal function and structure. Activation of endosomal toll-like receptors by viral RNA can upregulate inflammatory mediators and contribute to a systemic inflammatory cytokine storm, associated with a worsened clinical outcome in COVID-19. Such endosomal toll-like receptors could be inhibited by the use of pharmacological agents which increase endosomal pH, thereby reducing the activity of acid-dependent endosomal proteases required for their activity and/or assembly, leading to suppression of antigen-presenting cell activity, decreased autoantibody secretion, decreased nuclear factor-kappa B activity and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine production. It is also noteworthy that SARS-CoV-2 inhibits autophagy, predisposing infected cells to apoptosis. It is therefore also suggested that further pharmacological inhibition of autophagy might encourage the apoptotic clearance of SARS-CoV-2-infected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerwyn Morris
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Eugene Athan
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia,Department of Infectious Disease, Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia
| | - Ken Walder
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Chiara C. Bortolasci
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia,Deakin University, Centre for Molecular and Medical Research, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Adrienne O'Neil
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Wolf Marx
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael Berk
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia,Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, the Department of Psychiatry, the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - André F. Carvalho
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Michael Maes
- Deakin University, IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Victoria, Australia,Department of Psychiatry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Basant K. Puri
- C.A.R., Cambridge, UK,Corresponding author at: Level 1, Block A, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS, UK
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17
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Pascual Alonso I, Rivera Méndez L, Valdés-Tresanco ME, Bounaadja L, Schmitt M, Arrebola Sánchez Y, Alvarez Lajonchere L, Charli JL, Florent I. Biochemical evidences for M1-, M17- and M18-like aminopeptidases in marine invertebrates from Cuban coastline. Z NATURFORSCH C 2020; 75:397-407. [PMID: 32609656 DOI: 10.1515/znc-2019-0169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Metallo-aminopeptidases (mAPs) control many physiological processes. They are classified in different families according to structural similarities. Neutral mAPs catalyze the cleavage of neutral amino acids from the N-terminus of proteins or peptide substrates; they need one or two metallic cofactors in their active site. Information about marine invertebrate's neutral mAPs properties is scarce; available data are mainly derived from genomics and cDNA studies. The goal of this work was to characterize the biochemical properties of the neutral APs activities in eight Cuban marine invertebrate species from the Phyla Mollusca, Porifera, Echinodermata, and Cnidaria. Determination of substrate specificity, optimal pH and effects of inhibitors (1,10-phenanthroline, amastatin, and bestatin) and cobalt on activity led to the identification of distinct neutral AP-like activities, whose biochemical behaviors were similar to those of the M1 and M17 families of mAPs. Additionally, M18-like glutamyl AP activities were detected. Thus, marine invertebrates express biochemical activities likely belonging to various families of metallo-aminopeptidases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isel Pascual Alonso
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba
| | - Laura Rivera Méndez
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba
| | - Mario E Valdés-Tresanco
- Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Lotfi Bounaadja
- Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Marjorie Schmitt
- Laboratoire d'Innovation Moléculaire et Applications - Université de Haute-Alsace, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, LIMA UMR7042, Mulhouse, France
| | | | - Luis Alvarez Lajonchere
- Museum of Natural History Felipe Poey, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba
| | - Jean-Louis Charli
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Isabelle Florent
- Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France
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18
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Driving antimalarial design through understanding of target mechanism. Biochem Soc Trans 2020; 48:2067-2078. [PMID: 32869828 PMCID: PMC7609028 DOI: 10.1042/bst20200224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Malaria continues to be a global health threat, affecting approximately 219 million people in 2018 alone. The recurrent development of resistance to existing antimalarials means that the design of new drug candidates must be carefully considered. Understanding of drug target mechanism can dramatically accelerate early-stage target-based development of novel antimalarials and allows for structural modifications even during late-stage preclinical development. Here, we have provided an overview of three promising antimalarial molecular targets, PfDHFR, PfDHODH and PfA-M1, and their associated inhibitors which demonstrate how mechanism can inform drug design and be effectively utilised to generate compounds with potent inhibitory activity.
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19
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Chen X, Geiger JD. Janus sword actions of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19. Cell Signal 2020; 73:109706. [PMID: 32629149 PMCID: PMC7333634 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2020.109706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Chloroquine (CQ) and its analogue hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have been thrust into our everyday vernacular because some believe, based on very limited basic and clinical data, that they might be helpful in preventing and/or lessening the severity of the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, lacking is a temperance in enthusiasm for their possible use as well as sufficient perspective on their effects and side-effects. CQ and HCQ have well-known properties of being diprotic weak bases that preferentially accumulate in acidic organelles (endolysosomes and Golgi apparatus) and neutralize luminal pH of acidic organelles. These primary actions of CQ and HCQ are responsible for their anti-malarial effects; malaria parasites rely on acidic digestive vacuoles for survival. Similarly, de-acidification of endolysosomes and Golgi by CQ and HCQ may block severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) integration into host cells because SARS-CoV-2 may require an acidic environment for its entry and for its ability to bud and infect bystander cells. Further, de-acidification of endolysosomes and Golgi may underly the immunosuppressive effects of these two drugs. However, modern cell biology studies have shown clearly that de-acidification results in profound changes in the structure, function and cellular positioning of endolysosomes and Golgi, in signaling between these organelles and other subcellular organelles, and in fundamental cellular functions. Thus, studying the possible therapeutic effects of CQ and HCQ against COVID-19 must occur concurrent with studies of the extent to which these drugs affect organellar and cell biology. When comprehensively examined, a better understanding of the Janus sword actions of these and other drugs might yield better decisions and better outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuesong Chen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States of America.
| | - Jonathan D Geiger
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States of America
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20
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Aminobenzosuberone derivatives as PfA-M1 inhibitors: Molecular recognition and antiplasmodial evaluation. Bioorg Chem 2020; 98:103750. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2020.103750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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21
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P1' Residue-Oriented Virtual Screening for Potent and Selective Phosphinic (Dehydro) Dipeptide Inhibitors of Metallo-Aminopeptidases. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10040659. [PMID: 32344658 PMCID: PMC7225938 DOI: 10.3390/biom10040659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Designing side chain substituents complementary to enzyme binding pockets is of great importance in the construction of potent and selective phosphinic dipeptide inhibitors of metallo-aminopeptidases. Proper structure selection makes inhibitor construction more economic, as the development process typically consists of multiple iterative preparation/bioassay steps. On the basis of these principles, using noncomplex computation and modeling methodologies, we comprehensively screened 900 commercial precursors of the P1′ residues of phosphinic dipeptide and dehydrodipeptide analogs to identify the most promising ligands of 52 metallo-dependent aminopeptidases with known crystal structures. The results revealed several nonproteinogenic residues with an improved energy of binding compared with the best known inhibitors. The data are discussed taking into account the selectivity and stereochemical implications of the enzymes. Using this approach, we were able to identify nontrivial structural elements substituting the recognized phosphinic peptidomimetic scaffold of metallo-aminopeptidase inhibitors.
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22
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Localization and enzyme kinetics of aminopeptidase N3 from Toxoplasma gondii. Parasitol Res 2019; 119:357-364. [PMID: 31836922 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-019-06512-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Aminopeptidase N is an important metalloenzyme from the M1 zinc metallopeptidase family, which is present in numerous apicomplexan parasites, including Plasmodium, Eimeria, and Cryptosporidium. Aminopeptidase N is a potential drug target, and hence, its properties have been widely investigated. In the current study, the cellular localization and enzyme characteristics of Toxoplasma gondii aminopeptidase N3 (TgAPN3) were evaluated in vitro. Cellular localization analysis revealed that TgAPN3 and GRA protein were co-located in the organelle and parasitophorous vacuole of T. gondii. The secretion assay showed that TgAPN3 could be co-secreted from the tachyzoites with GRA protein. A functional recombinant Toxoplasma aminopeptidase N3 (rTgAPN3) was produced in Escherichia coli. The enzyme activity was first determined using a fluorogenic H-Ala-MCA substrate. Some activity of rTgAPN3 was observed between pH 3.0 and 8.0, with a peak at pH 7.0. The activity was significantly enhanced in the presence of Co2+ ions. Substrate specificity of rTgAPN3 was then evaluated. The enzyme showed a preference for substrates containing N-terminal Ala residues, followed by Tyr and Cys. The rTgAPN3 activity was significantly inhibited by bestatin and phebestatin. In general, TgAPN3 was a structurally conserved member of the M1 family, although it also displayed unique biochemical characteristics. These results lay the foundation for a functional study of TgAPN3 and constitute its putative identification as a drug target.
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23
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Su S, Pan B, Hu Y, Wang M. Characterization of aminopeptidase encoding gene anp-1 and its association with development in Caenorhabditis elegans. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7944. [PMID: 31737443 PMCID: PMC6857582 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Aminopeptidases play important roles in various biological processes in nematodes including growth, development and reproduction. Although the aminopeptidases have been shown to regulate reproduction in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), the role of aminopeptidases in development and aging has not been reported. This study focused on the function of aminopeptidase AlaNyl aminopeptidase 1 (ANP-1) on development in C. elegans. Methods In the present study, we reported the identification of ANP-1 in C. elegans along with sequence analysis and its functional expression and characterization. The phenotype changes were observed when anp-1 mutated. Then, differential expression genes (DEGs) between wild type strain (N2) and anp-1 deletion strain (RB804) were identified using transcriptome sequencing method. Finally, DEGs were verified by qRT-PCR assay. Results Our observations suggested that anp-1 mutation induced small body size in the L4/young adult stage of C. elegans, however, there was no difference between N2 and RB804 in adult stage. Moreover, deletion of anp-1 resulted in shortening lifespan and laying fewer eggs. DEGs (184 genes) were observed between N2 groups and RB804 groups by transcriptome sequencing. According to GO annotations and KEGG enrichment analysis, these DEGs play vital roles in development regulation in C. elegans. These data demonstrate ANP-1 participates in development and aging of C. elegans and will considerably contribute to the existing knowledge of aminopeptidase function in C. elegans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanchun Su
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, Beijing, China.,Institute of Anesthesiology and Pain (IAP), Taihe Hospital, Shiyan, Hubei, China
| | - Baoliang Pan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Yanxin Hu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Ming Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, Beijing, China
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24
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Shaikh IU, Patel RK, Mevada VA, Gupta VK, Jadeja RN. Binary and Ternary Zinc(II) Complexes of Acyl Pyrazolones: Synthesis, Spectroscopic Analysis, Crystal Structure and Antimalarial Activity. ChemistrySelect 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/slct.201901058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Irfan U. Shaikh
- Department of ChemistryFaculty of ScienceThe M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara 390 002 India
| | - Rajesh K. Patel
- Department of BioscienceVeer Narmad South Gujarat University Surat- 395007 India
| | - Vishal A. Mevada
- Super Computing FacilityVeer Narmad South Gujarat University Surat- 395007 India
| | - Vivek K. Gupta
- Post-Graduate Department of Physics & ElectronicsUniversity of Jammu Jammu Tawi 180 006 India
| | - Rajendrasinh N. Jadeja
- Department of ChemistryFaculty of ScienceThe M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara 390 002 India
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25
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Mishra M, Singh V, Singh S. Structural Insights Into Key Plasmodium Proteases as Therapeutic Drug Targets. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:394. [PMID: 30891019 PMCID: PMC6411711 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria, caused by protozoan of genus Plasmodium, remains one of the highest mortality infectious diseases. Malaria parasites have a complex life cycle, easily adapt to their host’s immune system and have evolved with an arsenal of unique proteases which play crucial roles in proliferation and survival within the host cells. Owing to the existing knowledge of enzymatic mechanisms, 3D structures and active sites of proteases, they have been proven to be opportune for target based drug development. Here, we discuss in depth the crucial roles of essential proteases in Plasmodium life cycle and particularly focus on highlighting the atypical “structural signatures” of key parasite proteases which have been exploited for drug development. These features, on one hand aid parasites pathogenicity while on the other hand could be effective in designing targeted and very specific inhibitors for counteracting them. We conclude that Plasmodium proteases are suitable as multistage targets for designing novel drugs with new modes of action to combat malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manasi Mishra
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Dadri, India
| | - Vigyasa Singh
- Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Shailja Singh
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Dadri, India.,Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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26
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Wang F, Hu X, Zhou B. Structural characterization of plasmodial aminopeptidase: a combined molecular docking and QSAR-based in silico approaches. Mol Divers 2019; 23:965-984. [DOI: 10.1007/s11030-019-09921-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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27
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Vinh NB, Drinkwater N, Malcolm TR, Kassiou M, Lucantoni L, Grin PM, Butler GS, Duffy S, Overall CM, Avery VM, Scammells PJ, McGowan S. Hydroxamic Acid Inhibitors Provide Cross-Species Inhibition of Plasmodium M1 and M17 Aminopeptidases. J Med Chem 2018; 62:622-640. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie B. Vinh
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Nyssa Drinkwater
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Tess R. Malcolm
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Michael Kassiou
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Leonardo Lucantoni
- Discovery Biology, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia
| | | | | | - Sandra Duffy
- Discovery Biology, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia
| | | | - Vicky M. Avery
- Discovery Biology, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia
| | - Peter J. Scammells
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Sheena McGowan
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
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28
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Moore DS, Brines C, Jewhurst H, Dalton JP, Tikhonova IG. Steered molecular dynamics simulations reveal critical residues for (un)binding of substrates, inhibitors and a product to the malarial M1 aminopeptidase. PLoS Comput Biol 2018; 14:e1006525. [PMID: 30379805 PMCID: PMC6239339 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread by mosquitoes. Plasmodium falciparum M1 alanyl aminopeptidase (PfM1-AAP) is a promising target for the treatment of malaria. The recently solved crystal structures of PfM1-AAP revealed that the buried active site can be accessed through two channel openings: a short N-terminal channel with the length of 8 Å and a long C-terminal channel with the length of 30 Å. It is unclear, however, how substrates and inhibitors migrate to the active site and a product of cleavage leaves. Here, we study the molecular mechanism of substrate and inhibitor migration to the active site and the product release using steered molecular dynamics simulations. We identified a stepwise passage of substrates and inhibitors in the C-terminal channel of PfM1-AAP, involving (I) ligand recognition at the opening of the channel, (II) ionic translation to the 'water reservoir', (III) ligand reorientation in the 'water reservoir' and (IV) passage in a suitable conformation into the active site. Endorsed by enzymatic analysis of functional recombinant PfM1-AAP and mutagenesis studies, our novel ligand-residue binding network analysis has identified the functional residues controlling ligand migration within the C-terminal channel of PfM1-AAP. Furthermore, from unbinding simulations of the Arg product we propose a charge repulsion as the driving force to expel the product out from the N-terminal channel of PfM1-AAP. Our work paves the way towards the design of a novel class of PfM1-AAP inhibitors based on preventing substrate entry to the active site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Moore
- School of Pharmacy, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Conor Brines
- School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Heather Jewhurst
- School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - John P Dalton
- School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Irina G Tikhonova
- School of Pharmacy, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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Fitness Loss under Amino Acid Starvation in Artemisinin-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum Isolates from Cambodia. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12622. [PMID: 30135481 PMCID: PMC6105667 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30593-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Artemisinin is the most rapidly effective drug for Plasmodium falciparum malaria treatment currently in clinical use. Emerging artemisinin-resistant parasites pose a great global health risk. At present, the level of artemisinin resistance is still relatively low with evidence pointing towards a trade-off between artemisinin resistance and fitness loss. Here we show that artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum isolates from Cambodia manifested fitness loss, showing fewer progenies during the intra-erythrocytic developmental cycle. The loss in fitness was exacerbated under the condition of low exogenous amino acid supply. The resistant parasites failed to undergo maturation, whereas their drug-sensitive counterparts were able to complete the erythrocytic cycle under conditions of amino acid deprivation. The artemisinin-resistant phenotype was not stable, and loss of the phenotype was associated with changes in the expression of a putative target, Exp1, a membrane glutathione transferase. Analysis of SNPs in haemoglobin processing genes revealed associations with parasite clearance times, suggesting changes in haemoglobin catabolism may contribute to artemisinin resistance. These findings on fitness and protein homeostasis could provide clues on how to contain emerging artemisinin-resistant parasites.
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30
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Dash HR, Das S. Microbial Degradation of Forensic Samples of Biological Origin: Potential Threat to Human DNA Typing. Mol Biotechnol 2018; 60:141-153. [PMID: 29214499 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-017-0052-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Forensic biology is a sub-discipline of biological science with an amalgam of other branches of science used in the criminal justice system. Any nucleated cell/tissue harbouring DNA, either live or dead, can be used as forensic exhibits, a source of investigation through DNA typing. These biological materials of human origin are rich source of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, trace elements as well as water and, thus, provide a virtuous milieu for the growth of microbes. The obstinate microbial growth augments the degradation process and is amplified with the passage of time and improper storage of the biological materials. Degradation of these biological materials carriages a huge challenge in the downstream processes of forensic DNA typing technique, such as short tandem repeats (STR) DNA typing. Microbial degradation yields improper or no PCR amplification, heterozygous peak imbalance, DNA contamination from non-human sources, degradation of DNA by microbial by-products, etc. Consequently, the most precise STR DNA typing technique is nullified and definite opinion can be hardly given with degraded forensic exhibits. Thus, suitable precautionary measures should be taken for proper storage and processing of the biological exhibits to minimize their decaying process by micro-organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirak Ranjan Dash
- DNA Fingerprinting Unit, State Forensic Science Laboratory, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, 470001, India
| | - Surajit Das
- Department of Life Science, Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology and Ecology (LEnME), National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, 769008, India.
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31
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Escotte-Binet S, Huguenin A, Aubert D, Martin AP, Kaltenbach M, Florent I, Villena I. Metallopeptidases of Toxoplasma gondii: in silico identification and gene expression. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 25:26. [PMID: 29737275 PMCID: PMC5939537 DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2018025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Metallopeptidases are a family of proteins with domains that remain highly conserved throughout evolution. These hydrolases require divalent metal cation(s) to activate the water molecule in order to carry out their catalytic action on peptide bonds by nucleophilic attack. Metallopeptidases from parasitic protozoa, including Toxoplasma, are investigated because of their crucial role in parasite biology. In the present study, we screened the T. gondii database using PFAM motifs specific for metallopeptidases in association with the MEROPS peptidase Database (release 10.0). In all, 49 genes encoding proteins with metallopeptidase signatures were identified in the Toxoplasma genome. An Interpro Search enabled us to uncover their domain/motif organization, and orthologs with the highest similarity by BLAST were used for annotation. These 49 Toxoplasma metallopeptidases clustered into 15 families described in the MEROPS database. Experimental expression analysis of their genes in the tachyzoite stage revealed transcription for all genes studied. Further research on the role of these peptidases should increase our knowledge of basic Toxoplasma biology and provide opportunities to identify novel therapeutic targets. This type of study would also open a path towards the comparative biology of apicomplexans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandie Escotte-Binet
- EA 7510, ESCAPE, Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51100 Reims, France - Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, Toxoplasmosis National Reference Center, Toxoplasma Biological Resource Center, Maison Blanche Hospital, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Antoine Huguenin
- EA 7510, ESCAPE, Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51100 Reims, France - Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, Toxoplasmosis National Reference Center, Toxoplasma Biological Resource Center, Maison Blanche Hospital, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Dominique Aubert
- EA 7510, ESCAPE, Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51100 Reims, France - Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, Toxoplasmosis National Reference Center, Toxoplasma Biological Resource Center, Maison Blanche Hospital, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Anne-Pascaline Martin
- EA 7510, ESCAPE, Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Matthieu Kaltenbach
- EA 7510, ESCAPE, Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Isabelle Florent
- UMR7245 CNRS-MNHN, National Museum of Natural History, Department Adaptations of the Living, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Villena
- EA 7510, ESCAPE, Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51100 Reims, France - Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, Toxoplasmosis National Reference Center, Toxoplasma Biological Resource Center, Maison Blanche Hospital, 51100 Reims, France
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32
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Perfluorophenyl phosphonate analogues of aromatic amino acids: Synthesis, X-ray and DFT studies. Tetrahedron 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2018.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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33
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Kumar P, Kaalia R, Srinivasan A, Ghosh I. Multiple target-based pharmacophore design from active site structures. SAR AND QSAR IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2018; 29:1-19. [PMID: 29243947 DOI: 10.1080/1062936x.2017.1401555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Health care systems have benefitted from rational drug discovery processes like vHTS, virtual high throughput screening pharmacophores and quantitative structure-activity relationships, and many challenges have been explored using such techniques: decisions on specificity and selectivity are made after screening millions of molecules for multiple targets. Recent challenges in drug research emphasize the design of drugs that bind with more than one target of interest (multi-target) and do not bind with undesirable targets. This work attempts to use a three-dimensional interaction profile of the active site of a class of proteins, identify selective positions for the binding of functional groups, called features, and develop ensembles of multi-targeted pharmacophores that retain specificity and selectivity. The goal of this study is to develop multi-target pharmacophores by computational methods using protein structures alone to guide the discovery of novel inhibitors of plasmepsins, displaying selectivity over their human homologs, cathepsin D and pepsin. The development of such novel tools is attempted using a combination of different approaches such as the molecular interaction field, clique graph and inductive logic programming to identify and compare specific and selective complementary features. The identification of selective combinations of features has resulted in the design of multi-featured specific and selective pharmacophores that are validated using antimalarial compounds in ChEMBL that are known for their anti-plasmepsin II activity. This novel method is computationally less intensive and is applicable to any known class of target structures for finding specific and selective binders simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Kumar
- a School of Computational and Integrative Sciences , Jawaharlal Nehru University , New Delhi , India
| | - R Kaalia
- b Biomedical Informatics Lab , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore
| | - A Srinivasan
- c Department of Computer Science and Information Systems , BITS , Goa , India
| | - I Ghosh
- a School of Computational and Integrative Sciences , Jawaharlal Nehru University , New Delhi , India
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Henriques BS, Gomes B, da Costa SG, Moraes CDS, Mesquita RD, Dillon VM, Garcia EDS, Azambuja P, Dillon RJ, Genta FA. Genome Wide Mapping of Peptidases in Rhodnius prolixus: Identification of Protease Gene Duplications, Horizontally Transferred Proteases and Analysis of Peptidase A1 Structures, with Considerations on Their Role in the Evolution of Hematophagy in Triatominae. Front Physiol 2017; 8:1051. [PMID: 29326597 PMCID: PMC5736985 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.01051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Triatominae is a subfamily of the order Hemiptera whose species are able to feed in the vertebrate blood (i.e., hematophagy). This feeding behavior presents a great physiological challenge to insects, especially in Hemipteran species with a digestion performed by lysosomal-like cathepsins instead of the more common trypsin-like enzymes. With the aim of having a deeper understanding of protease involvement in the evolutionary adaptation for hematophagy in Hemipterans, we screened peptidases in the Rhodnius prolixus genome and characterized them using common blast (NCBI) and conserved domain analyses (HMMER/blast manager software, FAT, plus PFAM database). We compared the results with available sequences from other hemipteran species and with 18 arthropod genomes present in the MEROPS database. Rhodnius prolixus contains at least 433 protease coding genes, belonging to 71 protease families. Seven peptidase families in R. prolixus presented higher gene numbers when compared to other arthropod genomes. Further analysis indicated that a gene expansion of the protease family A1 (Eukaryotic aspartyl protease, PF00026) might have played a major role in the adaptation to hematophagy since most of these peptidase genes seem to be recently acquired, are expressed in the gut and present putative secretory pathway signal peptides. Besides that, most R. prolixus A1 peptidases showed high frequencies of basic residues at the protein surface, a typical structural signature of Cathepsin D-like proteins. Other peptidase families expanded in R. prolixus (i.e., C2 and M17) also presented significant differences between hematophagous (higher number of peptidases) and non-hematophagous species. This study also provides evidence for gene acquisition from microorganisms in some peptidase families in R. prolixus: (1) family M74 (murein endopeptidase), (2) family S29 (Hepatitis C virus NS3 protease), and (3) family S24 (repressor LexA). This study revealed new targets for studying the adaptation of these insects for digestion of blood meals and their competence as vectors of Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca S Henriques
- Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Institute - Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Bruno Gomes
- Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Institute - Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Samara G da Costa
- Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Institute - Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Caroline da Silva Moraes
- Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Institute - Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Rafael D Mesquita
- National Institute of Science and Technology for Molecular Entomology (INCT-EM), Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Chemistry Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Viv M Dillon
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Eloi de Souza Garcia
- Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Institute - Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,National Institute of Science and Technology for Molecular Entomology (INCT-EM), Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Patricia Azambuja
- Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Institute - Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,National Institute of Science and Technology for Molecular Entomology (INCT-EM), Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Roderick J Dillon
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Fernando A Genta
- Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Institute - Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,National Institute of Science and Technology for Molecular Entomology (INCT-EM), Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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35
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Peng CT, Liu L, Li CC, He LH, Li T, Shen YL, Gao C, Wang NY, Xia Y, Zhu YB, Song YJ, Lei Q, Yu LT, Bao R. Structure-Function Relationship of Aminopeptidase P from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:2385. [PMID: 29259588 PMCID: PMC5723419 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
PepP is a virulence-associated gene in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, making it an attractive target for anti-P. aeruginosa drug development. The encoded protein, aminopeptidases P (Pa-PepP), is a type of X-prolyl peptidase that possesses diverse biological functions. The crystal structure verified its canonical pita-bread fold and functional tetrameric assembly, and the functional studies measured the influences of different metal ions on the activity. A trimetal manganese cluster was observed at the active site, elucidating the mechanism of inhibition by metal ions. Additionally, a loop extending from the active site appeared to be important for specific large-substrate binding. Based on the structural comparison and bacterial invasion assays, we showed that this non-conserved surface loop was critical for P. aeruginosa virulence. Taken together, these findings can extend our understanding of the catalytic mechanism and virulence-related functions of Pa-PepP and provide a solid foundation for the design of specific inhibitors against pathogenic-bacterial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cui-Ting Peng
- Pharmaceutical and Biological Engineering Department, School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Li Liu
- Pharmaceutical and Biological Engineering Department, School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Chang-Cheng Li
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Li-Hui He
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Tao Li
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Ya-Lin Shen
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Chao Gao
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Ning-Yu Wang
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China,School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yong Xia
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Yi-Bo Zhu
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Ying-Jie Song
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Qian Lei
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Luo-Ting Yu
- Pharmaceutical and Biological Engineering Department, School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Rui Bao, Luo-Ting Yu,
| | - Rui Bao
- Center of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Rui Bao, Luo-Ting Yu,
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Ng’ong’a F, Nyanjom S, Adunga V, Wamunyokoli F. Computational identification of tricorn protease interacting factor 3 in Trypanosoma brucei brucei. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/biohorizons/hzx012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Florence Ng’ong’a
- Department of Biochemistry, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-00100 Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Steven Nyanjom
- Department of Biochemistry, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Vincent Adunga
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-00100 Nairobi, Kenya
- Department of Biochemistry, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536 Njoro, Kenya
| | - Fred Wamunyokoli
- Department of Biochemistry, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
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Bounaadja L, Schmitt M, Albrecht S, Mouray E, Tarnus C, Florent I. Selective inhibition of PfA-M1, over PfA-M17, by an amino-benzosuberone derivative blocks malaria parasites development in vitro and in vivo. Malar J 2017; 16:382. [PMID: 28934959 PMCID: PMC5609037 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-017-2032-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Plasmodium falciparum M1 family aminopeptidase is currently considered as a promising target for anti-malarial chemotherapy. Several series of inhibitors developed by various research groups display IC50/Ki values down to nM range on native PfA-M1 or recombinant forms and block the parasite development in culture at µM to sub-µM concentrations. A handful of these inhibitors has been tested on murine models of malaria and has shown anti plasmodial in vivo activity. However, most of these inhibitors do also target the other neutral malarial aminopeptidase, PfA-M17, often with lower Ki values, which questions the relative involvement and importance of each enzyme in the parasite biology. Results An amino-benzosuberone derivative from a previously published collection of chemicals targeting specifically the M1-aminopeptidases has been identified; it is highly potent on PfA-M1 (Ki = 50 nM) and devoid of inhibitory activity on PfA-M17 (no inhibition up to 100 µM). This amino-benzosuberone derivative (T5) inhibits, in the µM range, the in vitro growth of two P. falciparum strains, 3D7 and FcB1, respectively chloroquino-sensitive and resistant. Evaluated in vivo, on the murine non-lethal model of malaria Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi, this amino-benzosuberone derivative was able to reduce the parasite burden by 44 and 40% in a typical 4-day Peters assay at a daily dose of 12 and 24 mg/kg by intraperitoneal route of administration. Conclusions The evaluation of a highly selective inhibitor of PfA-M1, over PfA-M17, active on Plasmodium parasites in vitro and in vivo, highlights the relevance of PfA-M1 in the biological development of the parasite as well as in the list of promising anti-malarial targets to be considered in combination with current or future anti-malarial drugs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-017-2032-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotfi Bounaadja
- Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes, (MCAM, UMR7245), Muséum National Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, CP 52, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Marjorie Schmitt
- Laboratoire de Chimie Moléculaire, CNRS-UMR7509, Université de Strasbourg, 67037, Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Sébastien Albrecht
- Laboratoire de Chimie Organique et Bioorganique, EA4566, Université de Haute Alsace, 68093, Mulhouse Cedex, France
| | - Elisabeth Mouray
- Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes, (MCAM, UMR7245), Muséum National Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, CP 52, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Céline Tarnus
- Laboratoire de Chimie Organique et Bioorganique, EA4566, Université de Haute Alsace, 68093, Mulhouse Cedex, France
| | - Isabelle Florent
- Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes, (MCAM, UMR7245), Muséum National Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, CP 52, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France.
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Rosati M, Dalal S, Klemba M. Two cap residues in the S1 subsite of a Plasmodium falciparum M1-family aminopeptidase promote broad specificity and enhance catalysis. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2017; 217:7-12. [PMID: 28811124 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The aminopeptidase PfA-M1 is a key contributor to peptide catabolism in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. PfA-M1 substrate specificity is shaped by the cylindrical S1 subsite, which accommodates the sidechain of the substrate P1 residue. At the top of the S1 subsite are two "cap" residues, E572 and M1034, that are positioned to influence S1 subsite specificity. In this study, we have mutated the cap residues, individually and together, and have evaluated the effects on PfA-M1 specificity and catalytic efficiency. When the P1 residue was too small to engage the cap residues, the mutations had no effect on catalysis. Hydrolysis of dipeptide substrates with a basic P1 residue was significantly impaired in the E572A mutant, most likely due to the loss of a stabilizing salt bridge between E572 and the P1 sidechain. With M1034A, a substantial reduction in catalytic efficiency was observed when the P1 sidechain was large and non-polar. The double E572A/M1034A exhibited significant decreases in catalytic efficiency for most substrates. This effect was not reversed with the polar substitutions E572N/M1034Q, which replaced the PfA-M1 cap residues with those of Escherichia coli aminopeptidase N. Both E572 and M1034 contributed to the binding of the competitive aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Rosati
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Seema Dalal
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Michael Klemba
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
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Li Q, Jia H, Cao S, Zhang Z, Zheng J, Zhang Y. Biochemical characterization of aminopeptidase N2 from Toxoplasma gondii. J Vet Med Sci 2017; 79:1404-1411. [PMID: 28701624 PMCID: PMC5573830 DOI: 10.1292/jvms.17-0119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Aminopeptidase N (APN) is a member of the highly conserved M1 family of metalloproteases, and is considered to be a valuable target for the treatment of a variety of diseases, e.g., cancer, malaria, and coccidiosis. In this study, we identified an APN gene (TgAPN2) in the Toxoplasma gondii genome, and performed a biochemical characterization of the recombinant TgAPN2 (rTgAPN2) protein. Active rTgAPN2 was first produced and purified in Escherichia coli. The catalytic activity of the enzyme was verified using a specific fluorescent substrate, H-Ala-MCA; the rTgAPN2 was relatively active in the absence of added metal ions. The addition of some metal ions, especially Zn2+, inhibited the activity of the recombinant enzyme. The activity of rTgAPN2 was reduced in the presence of the EDTA chelator in the absence of added metal ions. The optimum pH for enzyme activity was 8.0; the enzyme was active in the 3-10 pH range. The substrate preference of rTgAPN2 was evaluated. The enzyme showed a preference for substrates containing N-terminal Ala and Arg residues. Finally, bestatin and amastatin were shown to inhibit the activity of the enzyme. In conclusion, rTgAPN2 shared general characteristics with the M1 family of aminopeptidases but also had some unique characteristics. This provides a basis for the function of aminopeptidases and the study of drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingwei Li
- Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Honglin Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Shinuo Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Zhaoxia Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Jun Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Yanqiao Zhang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China
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40
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González-Bacerio J, Maluf SEC, Méndez Y, Pascual I, Florent I, Melo PMS, Budu A, Ferreira JC, Moreno E, Carmona AK, Rivera DG, Alonso Del Rivero M, Gazarini ML. KBE009: An antimalarial bestatin-like inhibitor of the Plasmodium falciparum M1 aminopeptidase discovered in an Ugi multicomponent reaction-derived peptidomimetic library. Bioorg Med Chem 2017; 25:4628-4636. [PMID: 28728898 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2017.06.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Revised: 06/23/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is a global human parasitic disease mainly caused by the protozoon Plasmodium falciparum. Increased parasite resistance to current drugs determines the relevance of finding new treatments against new targets. A novel target is the M1 alanyl-aminopeptidase from P. falciparum (PfA-M1), which is essential for parasite development in human erythrocytes and is inhibited by the pseudo-peptide bestatin. In this work, we used a combinatorial multicomponent approach to produce a library of peptidomimetics and screened it for the inhibition of recombinant PfA-M1 (rPfA-M1) and the in vitro growth of P. falciparum erythrocytic stages (3D7 and FcB1 strains). Dose-response studies with selected compounds allowed identifying the bestatin-based peptidomimetic KBE009 as a submicromolar rPfA-M1 inhibitor (Ki=0.4μM) and an in vitro antimalarial compound as potent as bestatin (IC50=18μM; without promoting erythrocyte lysis). At therapeutic-relevant concentrations, KBE009 is selective for rPfA-M1 over porcine APN (a model of these enzymes from mammals), and is not cytotoxic against HUVEC cells. Docking simulations indicate that this compound binds PfA-M1 without Zn2+ coordination, establishing mainly hydrophobic interactions and showing a remarkable shape complementarity with the active site of the enzyme. Moreover, KBE009 inhibits the M1-type aminopeptidase activity (Ala-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin substrate) in isolated live parasites with a potency similar to that of the antimalarial activity (IC50=82μM), strongly suggesting that the antimalarial effect is directly related to the inhibition of the endogenous PfA-M1. These results support the value of this multicomponent strategy to identify PfA-M1 inhibitors, and make KBE009 a promising hit for drug development against malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge González-Bacerio
- Centro de Estudio de Proteínas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, Calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba.
| | - Sarah El Chamy Maluf
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo, 669, 7 andar, 04039-032, Vila Mariana, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Yanira Méndez
- Centro de Estudio de Productos Naturales, Facultad de Química, Universidad de La Habana, Zapata y G, 10400 La Habana, Cuba.
| | - Isel Pascual
- Centro de Estudio de Proteínas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, Calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba.
| | - Isabelle Florent
- Unité Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes, (MCAM, UMR 7245), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP 52, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Pollyana M S Melo
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo, 669, 7 andar, 04039-032, Vila Mariana, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Alexandre Budu
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo, 669, 7 andar, 04039-032, Vila Mariana, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Juliana C Ferreira
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo, 669, 7 andar, 04039-032, Vila Mariana, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Ernesto Moreno
- Centro de Inmunología Molecular, Calle 15 esq. 216, Siboney, Playa, La Habana, Cuba; Universidad de Medellín, Carrera 87 #30-65, Medellín, Colombia.
| | - Adriana K Carmona
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo, 669, 7 andar, 04039-032, Vila Mariana, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Daniel G Rivera
- Centro de Estudio de Productos Naturales, Facultad de Química, Universidad de La Habana, Zapata y G, 10400 La Habana, Cuba.
| | - Maday Alonso Del Rivero
- Centro de Estudio de Proteínas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, Calle 25 #455 entre I y J, 10400, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba.
| | - Marcos L Gazarini
- Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, R. Silva Jardim, 136, 11015-020, Vila Mathias, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil.
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41
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Roy KK. Targeting the active sites of malarial proteases for antimalarial drug discovery: approaches, progress and challenges. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2017; 50:287-302. [PMID: 28668681 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2017.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Revised: 04/12/2017] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Malaria is an infectious disease causing vast mortality and morbidity worldwide. Although antimalarial drugs are effective in several parts of the world, there is a serious threat to malaria control as malaria parasites are continuously developing widespread resistance against currently available antimalarial drugs, including artemisinin. Such widespread antimalarial drug resistance confirms the need to improve the efficacy of existing or new drugs as well as to develop alternative treatments through the identification of novel drug targets and the development of candidate drugs. Similar to proteases in other parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, Chagas disease and African sleeping sickness, malarial proteases constitute the major virulence factors in malaria. Malarial proteases belong to several classes and many of them have been targeted for the design and discovery of antimalarial agents. This review summarises the approaches, progress and challenges in the design of small-molecule inhibitors as antimalarial drugs targeting the inhibition of various malarial proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuldeep K Roy
- National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), 4 Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, West Bengal, India.
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42
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Correa AF, Bastos IMD, Neves D, Kipnis A, Junqueira-Kipnis AP, de Santana JM. The Activity of a Hexameric M17 Metallo-Aminopeptidase Is Associated With Survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:504. [PMID: 28396657 PMCID: PMC5366330 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most prevalent human pathogens causing millions of deaths in the last years. Moreover, tuberculosis (TB) treatment has become increasingly challenging owing to the emergence of multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis strains. Thus, there is an immediate need for the development of new anti-TB drugs. Proteases appear to be a promising approach and may lead to shortened and effective treatments for drug-resistant TB. Although the M. tuberculosis genome predicts more than 100 genes encoding proteases, only a few of them have been studied. Aminopeptidases constitute a set of proteases that selectively remove amino acids from the N-terminus of proteins and peptides and may act as virulence factors, essential for survival and maintenance of many microbial pathogens. Here, we characterized a leucine aminopeptidase of M. tuberculosis (MtLAP) as a cytosolic oligomeric metallo-aminopeptidase. Molecular and enzymatic properties lead us to classify MtLAP as a typical member of the peptidase family M17. Furthermore, the aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin strongly inhibited MtLAP activity, in vitro M. tuberculosis growth and macrophage infection. In murine model of TB, bestatin treatment reduced bacterial burden and lesion in the lungs of infected mice. Thus, our data suggest that MtLAP participates in important metabolic pathways of M. tuberculosis necessary for its survival and virulence and consequently may be a promising target for new anti-TB drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andre F Correa
- Laboratório de Interação Patógeno-Hospedeiro, Instituto de Biologia Universidade de BrasíliaBrasília, Brazil; Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública Universidade Federal de GoiásGoiânia, Brazil
| | - Izabela M D Bastos
- Laboratório de Interação Patógeno-Hospedeiro, Instituto de Biologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília, Brazil
| | - David Neves
- Laboratório de Interação Patógeno-Hospedeiro, Instituto de Biologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília, Brazil
| | - Andre Kipnis
- Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública Universidade Federal de Goiás Goiânia, Brazil
| | - Ana P Junqueira-Kipnis
- Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública Universidade Federal de Goiás Goiânia, Brazil
| | - Jaime M de Santana
- Laboratório de Interação Patógeno-Hospedeiro, Instituto de Biologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília, Brazil
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Viveros-Ceballos JL, Ordóñez M, Sayago FJ, Cativiela C. Stereoselective Synthesis of α-Amino-C-phosphinic Acids and Derivatives. Molecules 2016; 21:molecules21091141. [PMID: 27589703 PMCID: PMC6274224 DOI: 10.3390/molecules21091141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2016] [Revised: 08/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
α-Amino-C-phosphinic acids and derivatives are an important group of compounds of synthetic and medicinal interest and particular attention has been dedicated to their stereoselective synthesis in recent years. Among these, phosphinic pseudopeptides have acquired pharmacological importance in influencing physiologic and pathologic processes, primarily acting as inhibitors for proteolytic enzymes where molecular stereochemistry has proven to be critical. This review summarizes the latest developments in the asymmetric synthesis of acyclic and phosphacyclic α-amino-C-phosphinic acids and derivatives, following in the first case an order according to the strategy used, whereas for cyclic compounds the nitrogen embedding in the heterocyclic core is considered. In addition selected examples of pharmacological implications of title compounds are also disclosed.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Luis Viveros-Ceballos
- Secretaría Académica, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, 62209 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
| | - Mario Ordóñez
- Centro de Investigaciones Químicas-IICBA, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, 62209 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
| | - Francisco J Sayago
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Zaragoza-CSIC, ISQCH, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Carlos Cativiela
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Zaragoza-CSIC, ISQCH, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
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Węglarz-Tomczak E, Berlicki Ł, Pawełczak M, Nocek B, Joachimiak A, Mucha A. A structural insight into the P1S1 binding mode of diaminoethylphosphonic and phosphinic acids, selective inhibitors of alanine aminopeptidases. Eur J Med Chem 2016; 117:187-96. [PMID: 27100031 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2016.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
N'-substituted 1,2-diaminoethylphosphonic acids and 1,2-diaminoethylphosphinic dipeptides were explored to unveil the structural context of the unexpected selectivity of these inhibitors of M1 alanine aminopeptidases (APNs) versus M17 leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). The diaminophosphonic acids were obtained via aziridines in an improved synthetic procedure that was further expanded for the phosphinic pseudodipeptide system. The inhibitory activity, measured for three M1 and one M17 metalloaminopeptidases of different sources (bacterial, human and porcine), revealed several potent compounds (e.g., Ki = 65 nM of 1u for HsAPN). Two structures of an M1 representative (APN from Neisseria meningitidis) in complex with N-benzyl-1,2-diaminoethylphosphonic acid and N-cyclohexyl-1,2-diaminoethylphosphonic acid were determined by the X-ray crystallography. The analysis of these structures and the models of the phosphonic acid complexes of the human ortholog provided an insight into the role of the additional amino group and the hydrophobic substituents of the ligands within the S1 active site region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewelina Węglarz-Tomczak
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Łukasz Berlicki
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Bogusław Nocek
- Midwest Center for Structural Genomics and Structural Biology Center, Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
| | - Andrzej Joachimiak
- Midwest Center for Structural Genomics and Structural Biology Center, Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
| | - Artur Mucha
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland.
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Munkhjargal T, Ishizaki T, Guswanto A, Takemae H, Yokoyama N, Igarashi I. Molecular and biochemical characterization of methionine aminopeptidase of Babesia bovis as a potent drug target. Vet Parasitol 2016; 221:14-23. [PMID: 27084466 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.02.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Revised: 02/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Aminopeptidases are increasingly being investigated as therapeutic targets in various diseases. In this study, we cloned, expressed, and biochemically characterized a member of the methionine aminopeptidase (MAP) family from Babesia bovis (B. bovis) to develop a potential molecular drug target. Recombinant B. bovis MAP (rBvMAP) was expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) as a glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion protein, and we found that it was antigenic. An antiserum against the rBvMAP protein was generated in mice, and then a native B. bovis MAP was identified in B. bovis by Western blot assay. Further, an immunolocalization assay showed that MAP is present in the cytoplasm of the B. bovis merozoite. Analysis of the biochemical properties of rBvMAP revealed that it was enzymatically active, with optimum activity at pH 7.5. Enhanced enzymatic activity was observed in the presence of divalent manganese cations and was effectively inhibited by a metal chelator, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Moreover, the enzymatic activity of BvMAP was inhibited by amastatin and bestatin as inhibitors of MAP (MAPi) in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, MAPi was also found to significantly inhibit the growth of Babesia parasites both in vitro and in vivo; additionally, they induced high levels of cytokines and immunoglobulin (IgG) titers in the host. Therefore, our results suggest that BvMAP is a molecular target of amastatin and bestatin, and those inhibitors may be drug candidates for the treatment of babesiosis, though more studies are required to confirm this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tserendorj Munkhjargal
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Zaisan 17042, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Takahiro Ishizaki
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Azirwan Guswanto
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Takemae
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Naoaki Yokoyama
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Ikuo Igarashi
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
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Berenstein AJ, Magariños MP, Chernomoretz A, Agüero F. A Multilayer Network Approach for Guiding Drug Repositioning in Neglected Diseases. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004300. [PMID: 26735851 PMCID: PMC4703370 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug development for neglected diseases has been historically hampered due to lack of market incentives. The advent of public domain resources containing chemical information from high throughput screenings is changing the landscape of drug discovery for these diseases. In this work we took advantage of data from extensively studied organisms like human, mouse, E. coli and yeast, among others, to develop a novel integrative network model to prioritize and identify candidate drug targets in neglected pathogen proteomes, and bioactive drug-like molecules. We modeled genomic (proteins) and chemical (bioactive compounds) data as a multilayer weighted network graph that takes advantage of bioactivity data across 221 species, chemical similarities between 1.7 105 compounds and several functional relations among 1.67 105 proteins. These relations comprised orthology, sharing of protein domains, and shared participation in defined biochemical pathways. We showcase the application of this network graph to the problem of prioritization of new candidate targets, based on the information available in the graph for known compound-target associations. We validated this strategy by performing a cross validation procedure for known mouse and Trypanosoma cruzi targets and showed that our approach outperforms classic alignment-based approaches. Moreover, our model provides additional flexibility as two different network definitions could be considered, finding in both cases qualitatively different but sensible candidate targets. We also showcase the application of the network to suggest targets for orphan compounds that are active against Plasmodium falciparum in high-throughput screens. In this case our approach provided a reduced prioritization list of target proteins for the query molecules and showed the ability to propose new testable hypotheses for each compound. Moreover, we found that some predictions highlighted by our network model were supported by independent experimental validations as found post-facto in the literature. Neglected tropical diseases are human infectious diseases that are often associated with poverty. Historically, lack of interest from the pharmaceutical industry resulted in the lack of good drugs to combat the majority of the pathogens that cause these diseases. Recently, the availability of open chemical information has increased with the advent of public domain chemical resources and the release of data from high throughput screening assays. Our aim in this work was to make use of data from extensively studied organisms like human, mouse, E. coli and yeast, among others, to prioritize and identify candidate drug targets in neglected pathogen proteomes, and drug-like bioactive molecules to foster drug development against neglected diseases. Our approach to the problem relied on applying bioinformatics and computational biology strategies to model large datasets spanning complete proteomes and extensive chemical information from publicly available sources. As a result, we were able to prioritize drug targets and identify potential targets for orphan bioactive drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel José Berenstein
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática, Fundación Instituto Leloir, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Física, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Paula Magariños
- Laboratorio de Genómica y Bioinformática, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas–Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús, Universidad de San Martín–CONICET, Sede San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ariel Chernomoretz
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática, Fundación Instituto Leloir, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Física, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernán Agüero
- Laboratorio de Genómica y Bioinformática, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas–Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús, Universidad de San Martín–CONICET, Sede San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- * E-mail: ,
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Aneja B, Kumar B, Jairajpuri MA, Abid M. A structure guided drug-discovery approach towards identification of Plasmodium inhibitors. RSC Adv 2016. [DOI: 10.1039/c5ra19673f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This article provides a comprehensive review of inhibitors from natural, semisynthetic or synthetic sources against key targets ofPlasmodium falciparum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Babita Aneja
- Medicinal Chemistry Lab
- Department of Biosciences
- Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University)
- New Delhi 110025
- India
| | - Bhumika Kumar
- Medicinal Chemistry Lab
- Department of Biosciences
- Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University)
- New Delhi 110025
- India
| | - Mohamad Aman Jairajpuri
- Protein Conformation and Enzymology Lab
- Department of Biosciences
- Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University)
- New Delhi 110025
- India
| | - Mohammad Abid
- Medicinal Chemistry Lab
- Department of Biosciences
- Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University)
- New Delhi 110025
- India
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Modak JK, Rut W, Wijeyewickrema LC, Pike RN, Drag M, Roujeinikova A. Structural basis for substrate specificity of Helicobacter pylori M17 aminopeptidase. Biochimie 2015; 121:60-71. [PMID: 26616008 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2015.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The M17 aminopeptidase from the carcinogenic gastric bacterium Helicobacter pylori (HpM17AP) is an important housekeeping enzyme involved in catabolism of endogenous and exogenous peptides. It is implicated in H. pylori defence against the human innate immune response and in the mechanism of metronidazole resistance. Bestatin inhibits HpM17AP and suppresses H. pylori growth. To address the structural basis of catalysis and inhibition of this enzyme, we have established its specificity towards the N-terminal amino acid of peptide substrates and determined the crystal structures of HpM17AP and its complex with bestatin. The position of the D-phenylalanine moiety of the inhibitor with respect to the active-site metal ions, bicarbonate ion and with respect to other M17 aminopeptidases suggested that this residue binds to the S1 subsite of HpM17AP. In contrast to most characterized M17 aminopeptidases, HpM17AP displays preference for L-Arg over L-Leu residues in peptide substrates. Compared to very similar homologues from other bacteria, a distinguishing feature of HpM17AP is a hydrophilic pocket at the end of the S1 subsite that is likely to accommodate the charged head group of the L-Arg residue of the substrate. The pocket is flanked by a sodium ion (not present in M17 aminopeptidases that show preference for L-Leu) and its coordinating water molecules. In addition, the structure suggests that variable loops at the entrance to, and in the middle of, the substrate-binding channel are important determinants of substrate specificity of M17 aminopeptidases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joyanta K Modak
- Infection and Immunity Program, Monash Biomedical Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Wioletta Rut
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Lakshmi C Wijeyewickrema
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Robert N Pike
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Marcin Drag
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Anna Roujeinikova
- Infection and Immunity Program, Monash Biomedical Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
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Aboge GO, Cao S, Terkawi MA, Masatani T, Goo Y, AbouLaila M, Nishikawa Y, Igarashi I, Suzuki H, Xuan X. Molecular Characterization ofBabesia bovisM17 Leucine Aminopeptidase and Inhibition ofBabesiaGrowth by Bestatin. J Parasitol 2015; 101:536-41. [DOI: 10.1645/15-745.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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50
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Ruggeri C, Drinkwater N, Sivaraman KK, Bamert RS, McGowan S, Paiardini A. Identification and Validation of a Potent Dual Inhibitor of the P. falciparum M1 and M17 Aminopeptidases Using Virtual Screening. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0138957. [PMID: 26406322 PMCID: PMC4583420 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 09/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The Plasmodium falciparum PfA-M1 and PfA-M17 metalloaminopeptidases are validated drug targets for the discovery of antimalarial agents. In order to identify dual inhibitors of both proteins, we developed a hierarchical virtual screening approach, followed by in vitro evaluation of the highest scoring hits. Starting from the ZINC database of purchasable compounds, sequential 3D-pharmacophore and molecular docking steps were applied to filter the virtual 'hits'. At the end of virtual screening, 12 compounds were chosen and tested against the in vitro aminopeptidase activity of both PfA-M1 and PfA-M17. Two molecules showed significant inhibitory activity (low micromolar/nanomolar range) against both proteins. Finally, the crystal structure of the most potent compound in complex with both PfA-M1 and PfA-M17 was solved, revealing the binding mode and validating our computational approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Ruggeri
- Dipartimento di Scienze biochimiche "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Nyssa Drinkwater
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Komagal Kannan Sivaraman
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Rebecca S. Bamert
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Sheena McGowan
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
- * E-mail: (SM); (AP)
| | - Alessandro Paiardini
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
- * E-mail: (SM); (AP)
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