1
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Deb R, Torres MDT, Boudný M, Koběrská M, Cappiello F, Popper M, Dvořáková Bendová K, Drabinová M, Hanáčková A, Jeannot K, Petřík M, Mangoni ML, Balíková Novotná G, Mráz M, de la Fuente-Nunez C, Vácha R. Computational Design of Pore-Forming Peptides with Potent Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities. J Med Chem 2024. [PMID: 39116273 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Peptides that form transmembrane barrel-stave pores are potential alternative therapeutics for bacterial infections and cancer. However, their optimization for clinical translation is hampered by a lack of sequence-function understanding. Recently, we have de novo designed the first synthetic barrel-stave pore-forming antimicrobial peptide with an identified function of all residues. Here, we systematically mutate the peptide to improve pore-forming ability in anticipation of enhanced activity. Using computer simulations, supported by liposome leakage and atomic force microscopy experiments, we find that pore-forming ability, while critical, is not the limiting factor for improving activity in the submicromolar range. Affinity for bacterial and cancer cell membranes needs to be optimized simultaneously. Optimized peptides more effectively killed antibiotic-resistant ESKAPEE bacteria at submicromolar concentrations, showing low cytotoxicity to human cells and skin model. Peptides showed systemic anti-infective activity in a preclinical mouse model of Acinetobacter baumannii infection. We also demonstrate peptide optimization for pH-dependent antimicrobial and anticancer activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Deb
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
| | - Marcelo D T Torres
- Machine Biology Group, Departments of Psychiatry and Microbiology, Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Penn Institute for Computational Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Miroslav Boudný
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
- Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Koběrská
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec 252 50, Czech Republic
| | - Floriana Cappiello
- Department of Biochemical Sciences, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Miroslav Popper
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Dvořáková Bendová
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Martina Drabinová
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
| | - Adelheid Hanáčková
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
| | - Katy Jeannot
- University of Franche-Comté, CNRS, Chrono-environment, Besançon 25030, France
- National Reference Centre for Antibiotic Resistance, Besançon 25030, France
| | - Miloš Petřík
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
- Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute, Palacký University, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Maria Luisa Mangoni
- Department of Biochemical Sciences, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
| | | | - Marek Mráz
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
- Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
| | - Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez
- Machine Biology Group, Departments of Psychiatry and Microbiology, Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Penn Institute for Computational Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Robert Vácha
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno 611 37, Czech Republic
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2
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Kalyvas JT, Wang Y, Toronjo-Urquiza L, Stachura DL, Yu J, Horsley JR, Abell AD. A New Gramicidin S Analogue with Potent Antibacterial Activity and Negligible Hemolytic Toxicity. J Med Chem 2024; 67:10774-10782. [PMID: 38900970 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is an urgent threat to global health, with the decreasing efficacy of conventional drugs underscoring the urgency for innovative therapeutic strategies. Antimicrobial peptides present as promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Gramicidin S is one such naturally occurring antimicrobial peptide that is effective against Staphylococcus aureus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 4 μg/mL (3.6 μM). Despite this potent activity, its significant hemolytic toxicity restricts its clinical use to topical applications. Herein, we present rational modifications to the key β-strand and β-turn regions of gramicidin S to concurrently mitigate hemolytic effects, while maintaining potency. Critically, peptide 9 displayed negligible hemolytic toxicity, while possessing significant antibacterial potency against a panel of methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant S. aureus clinical isolates (MIC of 8 μg/mL, 7.2 μM). Given the substantial antibacterial activity and near absence of cytotoxicity, 9 presents as a potential candidate for systemic administration in the treatment of S. aureus bacteremia/sepsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- John T Kalyvas
- School of Physics, Chemistry & Earth Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Yifei Wang
- School of Physics, Chemistry & Earth Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Luis Toronjo-Urquiza
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Damian L Stachura
- School of Physics, Chemistry & Earth Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Jingxian Yu
- College of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
| | - John R Horsley
- School of Physics, Chemistry & Earth Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Andrew D Abell
- School of Physics, Chemistry & Earth Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
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3
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Jordan J, Gibb CL, Tran T, Yao W, Rose A, Mague JT, Easson MW, Gibb BC. Anion Binding to Ammonium and Guanidinium Hosts: Implications for the Reverse Hofmeister Effects Induced by Lysine and Arginine Residues. J Org Chem 2024; 89:6877-6891. [PMID: 38662908 PMCID: PMC11110012 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.4c00242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Anions have a profound effect on the properties of soluble proteins. Such Hofmeister effects have implications in biologics stability, protein aggregation, amyloidogenesis, and crystallization. However, the interplay between the important noncovalent interactions (NCIs) responsible for Hofmeister effects is poorly understood. To contribute to improving this state of affairs, we report on the NCIs between anions and ammonium and guanidinium hosts 1 and 2, and the consequences of these. Specifically, we investigate the properties of cavitands designed to mimic two prime residues for anion-protein NCIs─lysines and arginines─and the solubility consequences of complex formation. Thus, we report NMR and ITC affinity studies, X-ray analysis, MD simulations, and anion-induced critical precipitation concentrations. Our findings emphasize the multitude of NCIs that guanidiniums can form and how this repertoire qualitatively surpasses that of ammoniums. Additionally, our studies demonstrate the ease by which anions can dispense with a fraction of their hydration-shell waters, rearrange those that remain, and form direct NCIs with the hosts. This raises many questions concerning how solvent shell plasticity varies as a function of anion, how the energetics of this impact the different NCIs between anions and ammoniums/guanidiniums, and how this affects the aggregation of solutes at high anion concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacobs
H. Jordan
- The
Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1100 Allen Toussaint Blvd., New Orleans, Louisiana 70124, United States
| | - Corinne L.D. Gibb
- Department
of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Thien Tran
- Department
of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Wei Yao
- Department
of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Austin Rose
- Department
of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Joel T. Mague
- Department
of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Michael W. Easson
- The
Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1100 Allen Toussaint Blvd., New Orleans, Louisiana 70124, United States
| | - Bruce C. Gibb
- Department
of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
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4
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Huang C, Liu YC, Oh H, Guo DS, Nau WM, Hennig A. Cellular Uptake of Cell-Penetrating Peptides Activated by Amphiphilic p-Sulfonatocalix[4]arenes. Chemistry 2024; 30:e202400174. [PMID: 38456376 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202400174] [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: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
We report the synthesis of a series of amphiphilic p-sulfonatocalix[4]arenes with varying alkyl chain lengths (CX4-Cn) and their application as efficient counterion activators for membrane transport of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs). The enhanced membrane activity is confirmed with the carboxyfluorescein (CF) assay in vesicles and by the direct cytosolic delivery of CPPs into CHO-K1, HCT 116, and KTC-1 cells enabling excellent cellular uptake of the CPPs into two cancer cell lines. Intracellular delivery was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy after CPP entry into live cells mediated by CX4-Cn, which was also quantified after cell lysis by fluorescence spectroscopy. The results present the first systematic exploration of structure-activity relationships for calixarene-based counterion activators and show that CX4-Cn are exceptionally effective in cellular delivery of CPPs. The dodecyl derivative, CX4-C12, serves as best activator. A first mechanistic insight is provided by efficient CPP uptake at 4 °C and in the presence of the endocytosis inhibitor dynasore, which indicates a direct translocation of the CPP-counterion complexes into the cytosol and highlights the potential benefits of CX4-Cn for efficient and direct translocation of CPPs and CPP-conjugated cargo molecules into the cytosol of live cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chusen Huang
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany
- The Education Ministry Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai, 200234, China
| | - Yan-Cen Liu
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany
| | - Hyeyoung Oh
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany
| | - Dong-Sheng Guo
- College of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Werner M Nau
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany
| | - Andreas Hennig
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany
- Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs) and Department of Biology and Chemistry, Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 7, 49069, Osnabrück, Germany
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5
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Poe D, Seifert S, Servis MJ. Molecular-scale understanding of diluent effects on ligand assembly for metal ion separations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:14108-14121. [PMID: 38568739 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05972c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Use of metal-selective ligands in solvent extraction is instrumental in extraction of critical materials and recycling, yet, diluent effects on extraction performance are not well understood. Experimental and empirical solvent parameters have been proposed to correlate with extraction performance, but are often inadequate predictors. We follow the hypothesis that the diluents' primary influence on extraction efficiency is whether or not it hinders assembly of the bulky extracting ligands into a geometry necessary for metal complexation. This behavior is readily accessible with molecular dynamics (MD), where the atomistic description of molecules can be applied to arbitrary extractant-solvent molecules and their mixtures. Several simulated quantities are considered, from both pairwise and graph theoretical analyses, and compared to experimental distribution ratio data for americium extraction by TODGA in a series of inert, non-interacting diluents. These simple properties, especially the formation of closed triplets corresponding to the 3 : 1 ligand : metal stoichiometric solvate, suggest a potential predictive power of this approach. This methodology provides a path forward to comprehensively understand and predict diluent effects in more complex systems involving different extracting ligands and multi-component diluent mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derrick Poe
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA.
| | - Soenke Seifert
- X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Michael J Servis
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA.
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6
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Dinic J, Tirrell MV. Effects of Charge Sequence Pattern and Lysine-to-Arginine Substitution on the Structural Stability of Bioinspired Polyampholytes. Biomacromolecules 2024; 25:2838-2851. [PMID: 38567844 PMCID: PMC11094733 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.4c00002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
A comprehensive study focusing on the combined influence of the charge sequence pattern and the type of positively charged amino acids on the formation of secondary structures in sequence-specific polyampholytes is presented. The sequences of interest consisting exclusively of ionizable amino acids (lysine, K; arginine, R; and glutamic acid, E) are (EKEK)5, (EKKE)5, (ERER)5, (ERRE)5, and (EKER)5. The stability of the secondary structure was examined at three pH values in the presence of urea and NaCl. The results presented here underscore the combined prominent effects of the charge sequence pattern and the type of positively charged monomers on secondary structure formation. Additionally, (ERRE)5 readily aggregated across a wide range of pH. In contrast, sequences with the same charge pattern, (EKKE)5, as well as the sequences with the equivalent amino acid content, (ERER)5, exhibited no aggregate formation under equivalent pH and concentration conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Dinic
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
- Center
for Molecular Engineering and Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Matthew V. Tirrell
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
- Center
for Molecular Engineering and Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
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7
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Pramod M, Alnajjar MA, Schöpper SN, Schwarzlose T, Nau WM, Hennig A. Adamantylglycine as a high-affinity peptide label for membrane transport monitoring and regulation. Chem Commun (Camb) 2024; 60:4810-4813. [PMID: 38602391 DOI: 10.1039/d4cc00602j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
The non-canonical amino acid adamantylglycine (Ada) is introduced into peptides to allow high-affinity binding to cucurbit[7]uril (CB7). Introduction of Ada into a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) sequence had minimal influence on the membrane transport, yet enabled up- and down-regulation of the membrane transport activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malavika Pramod
- Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs) and Department of Biology and Chemistry, Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 7, Osnabrück 49069, Germany.
| | - Mohammad A Alnajjar
- Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs) and Department of Biology and Chemistry, Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 7, Osnabrück 49069, Germany.
| | - Sandra N Schöpper
- Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs) and Department of Biology and Chemistry, Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 7, Osnabrück 49069, Germany.
| | - Thomas Schwarzlose
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, Bremen 28759, Germany.
| | - Werner M Nau
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, Bremen 28759, Germany.
| | - Andreas Hennig
- Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs) and Department of Biology and Chemistry, Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 7, Osnabrück 49069, Germany.
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8
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Gupta MN, Uversky VN. Reexamining the diverse functions of arginine in biochemistry. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2024; 705:149731. [PMID: 38432110 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.149731] [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: 12/24/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Arginine in a free-state and as part of peptides and proteins shows distinct tendency to form clusters. In free-form, it has been found useful in cryoprotection, as a drug excipient for both solid and liquid formulations, as an aggregation suppressor, and an eluent in protein chromatography. In many cases, the mechanisms by which arginine acts in all these applications is either debatable or at least continues to attract interest. It is quite possible that arginine clusters may be involved in many such applications. Furthermore, it is possible that such clusters are likely to behave as intrinsically disordered polypeptides. These considerations may help in understanding the roles of arginine in diverse applications and may even lead to better strategies for using arginine in different situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munishwar Nath Gupta
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India.
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Biological Instrumentation, Institutskaya Str., 7, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia; Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
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9
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Gibb CD, Tran TH, Gibb BC. Assessing Weak Anion Binding to Small Peptides. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:3605-3613. [PMID: 38592238 PMCID: PMC11033870 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Since Hofmeister's seminal studies in the late 19th century, it has been known that salts and buffers can drastically affect the properties of peptides and proteins. These Hofmeister effects can be conceived of in terms of three distinct phenomena/mechanisms: water-salt interactions that indirectly induce the salting-out of a protein by water sequestration by the salt, and direct salt-protein interactions that can either salt-in or salt-out the protein. Unfortunately, direct salt-protein interactions responsible for Hofmeister effects are weak and difficult to quantify. As such, they are frequently construed of as being nonspecific. Nevertheless, there has been considerable effort to better specify these interactions. Here, we use pentapeptides to demonstrate the utility of the H-dimension of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to assess anion binding using N-H signal shifts. We qualify binding using these, demonstrating the upfield shifts induced by anion association and revealing how they are much larger than the corresponding downfield shifts induced by magnetic susceptibility and other ionic strength change effects. We also qualify binding in terms of how the pattern of signal shifts changes with point mutations. In general, we find that the observed upfield shifts are small compared with those induced by anion binding to amide-based hosts, and MD simulations suggest that this is so. Thus, charge-diffuse anions associate mostly with the nonpolar regions of the peptide rather than directly interacting with the amide N-H groups. These findings reveal the utility of 1H NMR spectroscopy for qualifying affinity to peptides─even when affinity constants are very low─and serve as a benchmark for using NMR spectroscopy to study anion binding to more complex systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne
L. D. Gibb
- Department of Chemistry, Tulane University School of Science and Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Thien H. Tran
- Department of Chemistry, Tulane University School of Science and Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Bruce C. Gibb
- Department of Chemistry, Tulane University School of Science and Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
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10
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Zhou J, Gu J, Sun X, Ye Q, Wu X, Xi J, Han J, Liu Y. Supramolecular Chiral Binding Affinity-Achieved Efficient Synergistic Cancer Therapy. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2308493. [PMID: 38380492 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202308493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Supramolecular chirality-mediated selective interaction among native assemblies is essential for precise disease diagnosis and treatment. Herein, to fully understand the supramolecular chiral binding affinity-achieved therapeutic efficiency, supramolecular chiral nanoparticles (WP5⊃D/L-Arg+DOX+ICG) with the chirality transfer from chiral arginine (D/L-Arg) to water-soluble pillar[5]arene (WP5) are developed through non-covalent interactions, in which an anticancer drug (DOX, doxorubicin hydrochloride) and a photothermal agent (ICG, indocyanine green) are successfully loaded. Interestingly, the WP5⊃D-Arg nanoparticles show 107 folds stronger binding capability toward phospholipid-composed liposomes compared with WP5⊃L-Arg. The enantioselective interaction further triggers the supramolecular chirality-specific drug accumulation in cancer cells. As a consequence, WP5⊃D-Arg+DOX+ICG exhibits extremely enhanced chemo-photothermal synergistic therapeutic efficacy (tumor inhibition rate of 99.4%) than that of WP5⊃L-Arg+DOX+ICG (tumor inhibition rate of 56.4%) under the same condition. This work reveals the breakthrough that supramolecular chiral assemblies can induce surprisingly large difference in cancer therapy, providing strong support for the significance of supramolecular chirality in bio-application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Zhou
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225002, P. R. China
| | - Jiake Gu
- School of Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225002, P. R. China
| | - Xiaohuan Sun
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225002, P. R. China
| | - Qianyun Ye
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225002, P. R. China
| | - Xuan Wu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225002, P. R. China
| | - Juqun Xi
- School of Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225002, P. R. China
| | - Jie Han
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225002, P. R. China
| | - Yu Liu
- College of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, P. R. China
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11
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Ng YK, Konermann L. Mechanism of Protein Aggregation Inhibition by Arginine: Blockage of Anionic Side Chains Favors Unproductive Encounter Complexes. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:8394-8406. [PMID: 38477601 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c14180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Aggregation refers to the assembly of proteins into nonphysiological higher order structures. While amyloid has been studied extensively, much less is known about amorphous aggregation, a process that interferes with protein expression and storage. Free arginine (Arg+) is a widely used aggregation inhibitor, but its mechanism remains elusive. Focusing on myoglobin (Mb), we recently applied atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for gaining detailed insights into amorphous aggregation (Ng J. Phys. Chem. B 2021, 125, 13099). Building on that approach, the current work for the first time demonstrates that MD simulations can directly elucidate aggregation inhibition mechanisms. Comparative simulations with and without Arg+ reproduced the experimental finding that Arg+ significantly decreased the Mb aggregation propensity. Our data reveal that, without Arg+, protein-protein encounter complexes readily form salt bridges and hydrophobic contacts, culminating in firmly linked dimeric aggregation nuclei. Arg+ promotes the dissociation of encounter complexes. These "unproductive" encounter complexes are favored because Arg+ binding to D- and E- lowers the tendency of these anionic residues to form interprotein salt bridges. Side chain blockage is mediated largely by the guanidinium group of Arg+, which binds carboxylates through H-bond-reinforced ionic contacts. Our MD data revealed Arg+ self-association into a dynamic quasi-infinite network, but we found no evidence that this self-association is important for protein aggregation inhibition. Instead, aggregation inhibition by Arg+ is similar to that mediated by free guanidinium ions. The computational strategy used here should be suitable for the rational design of aggregation inhibitors with enhanced potency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuen Ki Ng
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Lars Konermann
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
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12
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Qiao H, Wu B, Sun S, Wu P. Entropy-Driven Design of Highly Impact-Stiffening Supramolecular Polymer Networks with Salt-Bridge Hydrogen Bonds. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:7533-7542. [PMID: 38451015 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c13392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Impact-stiffening materials that undergo a strain rate-induced soft-to-rigid transition hold great promise as soft armors in the protection of the human body and equipment. However, current impact-stiffening materials, such as polyborosiloxanes and shear-thickening fluids, often exhibit a limited impact-stiffening response. Herein, we propose a design strategy for fabricating highly impact-stiffening supramolecular polymer networks by leveraging high-entropy-penalty physical interactions. We synthesized a fully biobased supramolecular polymer comprising poly(α-thioctic acid) and arginine clusters, whose chain dynamics are governed by highly specific guanidinium-carboxylate salt-bridge hydrogen bonds. The resulting material exhibits an exceptional impact-stiffening response of ∼2100 times, transitioning from a soft dissipating state (21 kPa, 0.1 Hz) to a highly stiffened glassy state (45.3 MPa, 100 Hz) with increasing strain rates. Moreover, the material's high energy-dissipating and hot-melting properties bring excellent damping performance and easy hybridization with other scaffolds. This entropy-driven approach paves the way for the development of next-generation soft, sustainable, and impact-resistant materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Qiao
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Baohu Wu
- Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) Forschungszentrum Jülich, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Shengtong Sun
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Peiyi Wu
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
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13
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Wu J, Roesger S, Jones N, Hu CMJ, Li SD. Cell-penetrating peptides for transmucosal delivery of proteins. J Control Release 2024; 366:864-878. [PMID: 38272399 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.01.038] [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: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Enabling non-invasive delivery of proteins across the mucosal barriers promises improved patient compliance and therapeutic efficacies. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are emerging as a promising and versatile tool to enhance protein and peptide permeation across various mucosal barriers. This review examines the structural and physicochemical attributes of the nasal, buccal, sublingual, and oral mucosa that hamper macromolecular delivery. Recent development of CPPs for overcoming those mucosal barriers for protein delivery is summarized and analyzed. Perspectives regarding current challenges and future research directions towards improving non-invasive transmucosal delivery of macromolecules for ultimate clinical translation are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiamin Wu
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Sophie Roesger
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Natalie Jones
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Che-Ming J Hu
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Shyh-Dar Li
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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14
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Gupta MN, Uversky VN. Biological importance of arginine: A comprehensive review of the roles in structure, disorder, and functionality of peptides and proteins. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 257:128646. [PMID: 38061507 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128646] [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: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Arginine shows Jekyll and Hyde behavior in several respects. It participates in protein folding via ionic and H-bonds and cation-pi interactions; the charge and hydrophobicity of its side chain make it a disorder-promoting amino acid. Its methylation in histones; RNA binding proteins; chaperones regulates several cellular processes. The arginine-centric modifications are important in oncogenesis and as biomarkers in several cardiovascular diseases. The cross-links involving arginine in collagen and cornea are involved in pathogenesis of tissues but have also been useful in tissue engineering and wound-dressing materials. Arginine is a part of active site of several enzymes such as GTPases, peroxidases, and sulfotransferases. Its metabolic importance is obvious as it is involved in production of urea, NO, ornithine and citrulline. It can form unusual functional structures such as molecular tweezers in vitro and sprockets which engage DNA chains as part of histones in vivo. It has been used in design of cell-penetrating peptides as drugs. Arginine has been used as an excipient in both solid and injectable drug formulations; its role in suppressing opalescence due to liquid-liquid phase separation is particularly very promising. It has been known as a suppressor of protein aggregation during protein refolding. It has proved its usefulness in protein bioseparation processes like ion-exchange, hydrophobic and affinity chromatographies. Arginine is an amino acid, whose importance in biological sciences and biotechnology continues to grow in diverse ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munishwar Nath Gupta
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
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15
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Rao Y, Zou X, Shen X, Zhang H, Gao S, Guo J, Chen H. Regulation of Hydrophobic Structures of Antibacterial Guanidinium-Based Amphiphilic Polymers for Subcutaneous Implant Applications. Biomacromolecules 2024; 25:89-103. [PMID: 38056946 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptide mimics have been used to kill bacteria and construct antibacterial materials. Precise design and construction of chemical structure are essential for easy access to highly effective antimicrobial peptide mimics. Herein, cationic guanidinium-based polymers (PGXs) with varying hydrophobic structures were synthesized to explore the structure and antibacterial activity relationship of antimicrobial peptide mimics and to construct antibacterial implants. The effect of the hydrophobic chemical structure, including carbon chain length and configuration, on the antimicrobial activities against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. The antibacterial activities of PGXs improved with increasing alkyl chain length, and PGXs with a straight-chain hydrophobic structure exhibited better bactericidal activities than those with cyclic alkane and aromatic hydrocarbon. Furthermore, PGXs grafted with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS-PGXs) showed a similar bactericidal change tendency of PGXs in solution. Additionally, the PDMS-PGXs showed potent antibiofilm performance in vitro, which can inhibit bacterial infection in vivo as subcutaneous implants. This study may propose a basis for the precise design and construction of antibacterial materials and provide a promising way of designing biomedical devices and implants with bacterial infection-combating activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Rao
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Xiuyang Zou
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
| | - Xiran Shen
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Hengyuan Zhang
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Shuna Gao
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jiangna Guo
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Hong Chen
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
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16
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Jagrosse ML, Baliga UK, Jones CW, Russell JJ, García CI, Najar RA, Rahman A, Dean DA, Nilsson BL. Impact of Peptide Sequence on Functional siRNA Delivery and Gene Knockdown with Cyclic Amphipathic Peptide Delivery Agents. Mol Pharm 2023; 20:6090-6103. [PMID: 37963105 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Short-interfering RNA (siRNA) oligonucleotide therapeutics that modify gene expression by accessing RNA-interference (RNAi) pathways have great promise for the treatment of a range of disorders; however, their application in clinical settings has been limited by significant challenges in cellular delivery. Herein, we report a structure-function study using a series of modified cyclic amphipathic cell-penetrating peptides (CAPs) to determine the impact of peptide sequence on (1) siRNA-binding efficiency, (2) cellular delivery and knockdown efficiency, and (3) the endocytic uptake mechanism. Nine cyclic peptides of the general sequence Ac-C[XZ]4CG-NH2 in which X residues are hydrophobic/aromatic (Phe, Tyr, Trp, or Leu) and Z residues are charged/hydrophilic (Arg, Lys, Ser, or Glu) are assessed along with one acyclic peptide, Ac-(WR)4G-NH2. Cyclization is enforced by intramolecular disulfide bond formation between the flanking Cys residues. Binding analyses indicate that strong cationic character and the presence of aromatic residues that are competent to participate in CH-π interactions lead to CAP sequences that most effectively interact with siRNA. CAP-siRNA binding increases in the following order as a function of CAP hydrophobic/aromatic content: His < Phe < Tyr < Trp. Both cationic charge and disulfide-constrained cyclization of CAPs improve uptake of siRNA in vitro. Net neutral CAPs and an acyclic peptide demonstrate less-efficient siRNA translocation compared to the cyclic, cationic CAPs tested. All CAPs tested facilitated efficient siRNA target gene knockdown of at least 50% (as effective as a lipofectamine control), with the best CAPs enabling >80% knockdown. Significantly, gene knockdown efficiency does not strongly correlate with CAP-siRNA internalization efficiency but moderately correlates with CAP-siRNA-binding affinity. Finally, utilization of small-molecule inhibitors and targeted knockdown of essential endocytic pathway proteins indicate that most CAP-siRNA nanoparticles facilitate siRNA delivery through clathrin- and caveolin-mediated endocytosis. These results provide insight into the design principles for CAPs to facilitate siRNA delivery and the mechanisms by which these peptides translocate siRNA into cells. These studies also demonstrate the nature of the relationships between peptide-siRNA binding, cellular delivery of siRNA cargo, and functional gene knockdown. Strong correlations between these properties are not always observed, which illustrates the complexity in the design of optimal next-generation materials for oligonucleotide delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L Jagrosse
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0216, United States
| | - Uday K Baliga
- Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology, University of Rochester Medical Center, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642, United States
| | - Christopher W Jones
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0216, United States
| | - Jade J Russell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0216, United States
| | - Claudia I García
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0216, United States
| | - Rauf Ahmad Najar
- Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology, University of Rochester Medical Center, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642, United States
| | - Arshad Rahman
- Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology, University of Rochester Medical Center, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642, United States
| | - David A Dean
- Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology, University of Rochester Medical Center, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642, United States
| | - Bradley L Nilsson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0216, United States
- Materials Science Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
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17
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Tempra C, Brkljača Z, Vazdar M. Why do polyarginines adsorb at neutral phospholipid bilayers and polylysines do not? An insight from density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:27204-27214. [PMID: 37791394 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp02411c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Adsorption of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) at cellular membranes is the first and necessary step for their subsequent translocation across cellular membranes into the cytosol. It has been experimentally shown that CPPs rich in arginine (Arg) amino acid penetrate across phospholipid bilayers more effectively than their lysine (Lys) rich counterparts. In this work, we aim to understand the differences in the first translocation step, adsorption of Arg9 and Lys9 peptides at fully hydrated neutral phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) lipid bilayers and evaluate in detail the energetics of the process using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and free energy calculations of adsorption of the single peptide. We show that the adsorption of Arg9 is energetically feasible, with the free energy of adsorption being ∼-5.0 kcal mol-1 at PC and ∼-5.5 kcal mol-1 at PE bilayers. In contrast, adsorption of Lys9 is not observed at PC bilayers, and their adsorption at PE bilayers is very weak, being ∼-0.5 kcal mol-1. We show by energy decomposition and analysis of peptide hydration along the membrane that significantly stronger electrostatic interactions of Arg9 with lipid phosphate groups, together with the greater loss of peptide hydration (and in turn stronger hydrophobic interactions) along the membrane translocation path, are the main driving factors governing the adsorption of Arg-rich peptides at neutral lipid bilayers in contrast to Lys-rich peptides. Finally, we also compare the energetics in lipid/bilayer systems with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the corresponding model systems in the continuum water model and reveal the energetic differences in different environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmelo Tempra
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 542/2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zlatko Brkljača
- Division of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mario Vazdar
- Department of Mathematics, Informatics, and Cybernetics, University of Chemistry and Technology, Technická 5, 16628 Prague, Czech Republic.
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18
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Eskandari S, Rezayof A, Asghari SM, Hashemizadeh S. Neurobiochemical characteristics of arginine-rich peptides explain their potential therapeutic efficacy in neurodegenerative diseases. Neuropeptides 2023; 101:102356. [PMID: 37390744 DOI: 10.1016/j.npep.2023.102356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer̕ s disease (AD), Parkinson̕ s disease (PD), Huntington̕ s disease (HD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) require special attention to find new potential treatment methods. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge of the relationship between the biochemical properties of arginine-rich peptides (ARPs) and their neuroprotective effects to deal with the harmful effects of risk factors. It seems that ARPs have portrayed a promising and fantastic landscape for treating neurodegeneration-associated disorders. With multimodal mechanisms of action, ARPs play various unprecedented roles, including as the novel delivery platforms for entering the central nervous system (CNS), the potent antagonists for calcium influx, the invader molecules for targeting mitochondria, and the protein stabilizers. Interestingly, these peptides inhibit the proteolytic enzymes and block protein aggregation to induce pro-survival signaling pathways. ARPs also serve as the scavengers of toxic molecules and the reducers of oxidative stress agents. They also have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-cancer properties. Moreover, by providing an efficient nucleic acid delivery system, ARPs can play an essential role in developing various fields, including gene vaccines, gene therapy, gene editing, and imaging. ARP agents and ARP/cargo therapeutics can be raised as an emergent class of neurotherapeutics for neurodegeneration. Part of the aim of this review is to present recent advances in treating neurodegenerative diseases using ARPs as an emerging and powerful therapeutic tool. The applications and progress of ARPs-based nucleic acid delivery systems have also been discussed to highlight their usefulness as a broad-acting class of drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sedigheh Eskandari
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ameneh Rezayof
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
| | - S Mohsen Asghari
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Shiva Hashemizadeh
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, IPM, Tehran, Iran
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19
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Pradhan SS, R SS, Kanikaram SP, V M DD, Pargaonkar A, Dandamudi RB, Sivaramakrishnan V. Metabolic deregulation associated with aging modulates protein aggregation in the yeast model of Huntington's disease. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-18. [PMID: 37732342 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2257322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Huntington's disease is associated with increased CAG repeat resulting in an expanded polyglutamine tract in the protein Huntingtin (HTT) leading to its aggregation resulting in neurodegeneration. Previous studies have shown that N-terminal HTT with 46Q aggregated in the stationary phase but not the logarithmic phase in the yeast model of HD. We carried out a metabolomic analysis of logarithmic and stationary phase yeast model of HD expressing different polyQ lengths attached to N-terminal HTT tagged with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The results show significant changes in the metabolic profile and deregulated pathways in stationary phase cells compared to logarithmic phase cells. Comparison of metabolic pathways obtained from logarithmic phase 46Q versus 25Q with those obtained for presymptomatic HD patients from our previous study and drosophila model of HD showed considerable overlap. The arginine biosynthesis pathway emerged as one of the key pathways that is common in stationary phase yeast compared to logarithmic phase and HD patients. Treatment of yeast with arginine led to a significant decrease, while transfer to arginine drop-out media led to a significant increase in the size of protein aggregates in both logarithmic and stationary phase yeast model of HD. Knockout of arginine transporters in the endoplasmic reticulum and vacuole led to a significant decrease in mutant HTT aggregation. Overall our results highlight arginine as a critical metabolite that modulates the aggregation of mutant HTT and disease progression in HD.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai Sanwid Pradhan
- Disease Biology Lab, Department of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - Sai Swaroop R
- Disease Biology Lab, Department of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - Sai Phalguna Kanikaram
- Disease Biology Lab, Department of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - Datta Darshan V M
- Disease Biology Lab, Department of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - Ashish Pargaonkar
- Application Division, Agilent Technologies Ltd., Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | | | - Venketesh Sivaramakrishnan
- Disease Biology Lab, Department of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
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20
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Li Y, Deng K, Shen C, Liang X, Zeng Z, Liu L, Xu X. Enantiomeric Virus-Inspired Oncolytic Particles for Efficient Antitumor Immunotherapy. ACS NANO 2023; 17:17320-17331. [PMID: 37506386 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c05288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Synthesizing biomimetic systems with stereospecific architectures and advanced bioactivity remains an enormous challenge in modern science. To fundamentally eliminate biosafety issues of natural oncolytic viruses, the development of synthetic virus-inspired particles with high oncolytic activity is urgently needed for clinical antitumor treatments. Here, we describe the design and synthesis of enantiomeric virus-inspired particles for efficient oncolytic therapy from homochiral building blocks to stereospecific supramolecular constructions. The L-virus-inspired oncolytic particles (L-VOPs) and D-VOPs possess similar biomimetic nanostructures but mirror-imaged enantiomeric forms. It is important that both L-VOPs and D-VOPs successfully mimic the pharmacological activity of oncolytic viruses, including direct tumor lysis and antitumor immune activation. D-VOPs provide quite better oncolytic efficacy than that of clinical-grade oncolytic agents (LTX-315, IC50 = 53.00 μg mL-1) with more than 5-fold decrease in IC50 value (10.93 μg mL-1) and close to 100% tumor suppression (98.79%) against 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, attributed to the chirality-dependent tumor recognition, interaction, antidegradation, and immunotherapy. This work provides a strategy for the synthesis of stereospecific biomimetic material systems as well as develops an advanced candidate for biomimetic oncolytic agents without biosafety risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yachao Li
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Kefurong Deng
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Cheng Shen
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Xiaoyu Liang
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Zenan Zeng
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Liguo Liu
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Xianghui Xu
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
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21
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Yeung J, Jin Z, Ling C, Retout M, Barbosa da Silva E, Damani M, Chang YC, Yim W, O'Donoghue AJ, Jokerst JV. An approach to zwitterionic peptide design for colorimetric detection of the Southampton norovirus SV3CP protease. Analyst 2023; 148:4504-4512. [PMID: 37578304 PMCID: PMC10614164 DOI: 10.1039/d3an00873h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Noroviruses are highly contagious and are one of the leading causes of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Due to a lack of effective antiviral therapies, there is a need to diagnose and surveil norovirus infections to implement quarantine protocols and prevent large outbreaks. Currently, the gold standard of diagnosis uses reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), but PCR can have limited availability. Here, we propose a combination of a tunable peptide substrate and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to colorimetrically detect the Southampton norovirus 3C-like protease (SV3CP), a key protease in viral replication. Careful design of the substrate employs a zwitterionic peptide with opposite charged moieties on the C- and N- termini to induce a rapid color change visible to the naked eye; thus, this color change is indicative of SV3CP activity. This work expands on existing zwitterionic peptide strategies for protease detection by systematically evaluating the effects of lysine and arginine on nanoparticle charge screening. We also determine a limit of detection for SV3CP of 28.0 nM with comparable results in external breath condensate, urine, and fecal matter for 100 nM of SV3CP. The key advantage of this system is its simplicity and accessibility, thus making it an attractive tool for qualitative point-of-care diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Yeung
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Zhicheng Jin
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States.
| | - Chuxuan Ling
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States.
| | - Maurice Retout
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States.
| | - Elany Barbosa da Silva
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Manan Damani
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Yu-Ci Chang
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Wonjun Yim
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Anthony J O'Donoghue
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Jesse V Jokerst
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States.
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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22
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Frolov NE, Shishkina AV, Vener MV. Specific Proton-Donor Properties of Glycine Betaine. Metric Parameters and Enthalpy of Noncovalent Interactions in its Dimer, Water Complexes and Crystalline Hydrate. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12971. [PMID: 37629150 PMCID: PMC10455243 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241612971] [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: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Trimethylglycine (glycine betaine, GB) is an important organic osmolyte that accumulates in various plant species in response to environmental stresses and has significant potential as a bioactive agent with low environmental impact. It is assumed that the hydration of GB is playing an important role in the protective mechanism. The hydration and aggregation properties of GB have not yet been studied in detail at the atomistic level. In this work, noncovalent interactions in the GB dimer and its complexes with water and crystalline monohydrate are studied. Depending on the object, periodic and non-periodic DFT calculations are used. Particular attention is paid to the metric parameters and enthalpies of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The identification of noncovalent interactions is carried out by means of the Bader analysis of periodic or non-periodic electron density. The enthalpy of hydrogen bonds is estimated using the Rosenberg formula (PCCP 2 (2000) 2699). The specific proton donor properties of glycine betaine are due to its ability to form intermolecular C-H∙∙∙O bonds with the oxygen atom of a water molecule or the carboxylate group of a neighboring GB. The enthalpy of these bonds can be significantly greater than 10 kJ/mol. The water molecule that forms a hydrogen bond with the carboxylate group of GB also interacts with its CH groups through lone pairs of electrons. The C-H∙∙∙O bonds contribute up to 40% of the total entropy of the GB-water interaction, which is about 45 kJ/mol. The possibility of identifying C-H∙∙∙O bonds by the proton nuclear magnetic resonance method is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita E. Frolov
- V. M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems, Talalikhina St., 26, Moscow 109316, Russia;
| | - Anastasia V. Shishkina
- Department of Physics and Engineering Environmental Protection, Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Severnaya Dvina Emb. 17, Arkhangelsk 163001, Russia;
| | - Mikhail V. Vener
- Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii prosp. 31, Moscow 119991, Russia
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23
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Saha D, Jana B. Decoupling of Interactions between Model-Charged Peptides Reveals Key Factors Responsible for Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:6656-6667. [PMID: 37480340 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c03087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) by disordered proteins has been shown to govern biological processes and cause numerous diseases. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the interactions and their variation with external factors is key to modulating the LLPS behavior of different systems and protecting proteins from pathological aggregation. In this context, we have looked at interactions between similarly charged peptides to understand the molecular features that may drive or prevent condensate formation under various conditions. We have studied dimer formation for model peptides where charged and noncharged amino acids have been placed alternatively. Using arginine and glutamic acid as the charged residues and varying the other residues with glycine, alanine, and proline to alter hydrophobicity, we have obtained the free-energy surface (FES) for the dimer formation for these systems under high salt concentration at two different temperatures using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and the well-tempered metadynamics method. Our results indicate that a combination of effects such as hydrophobicity, arginine-arginine interactions, or water release from the solvation shell makes dimerization free energy more favorable for the positively charged peptides with lower flexibility. For the negatively charged peptides, the crucial role of water has been found in governing the FES. Systems having charged residues and phenylalanine in the peptide sequence also have been studied at high salt concentrations using unbiased simulations. In this case, only the positively charged peptides were found to aggregate through temperature-dependent hydrophobic and cation-π interactions. Overall, our study indicates that the negatively charged peptides are more likely to remain in the dilute phase under various conditions compared to the positively charged systems. The findings from our study would be helpful in designing and controlling systems to obtain LLPS behavior for therapeutic usage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debasis Saha
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Biman Jana
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata 700032, India
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24
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Linko V, Keller A. Stability of DNA Origami Nanostructures in Physiological Media: The Role of Molecular Interactions. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2301935. [PMID: 37093216 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202301935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Programmable, custom-shaped, and nanometer-precise DNA origami nanostructures have rapidly emerged as prospective and versatile tools in bionanotechnology and biomedicine. Despite tremendous progress in their utilization in these fields, essential questions related to their structural stability under physiological conditions remain unanswered. Here, DNA origami stability is explored by strictly focusing on distinct molecular-level interactions. In this regard, the fundamental stabilizing and destabilizing ionic interactions as well as interactions involving various enzymes and other proteins are discussed, and their role in maintaining, modulating, or decreasing the structural integrity and colloidal stability of DNA origami nanostructures is summarized. Additionally, specific issues demanding further investigation are identified. This review - through its specific viewpoint - may serve as a primer for designing new, stable DNA objects and for adapting their use in applications dealing with physiological media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veikko Linko
- Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Nooruse 1, Tartu, 50411, Estonia
- Biohybrid Materials, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, P. O. Box 16100, Aalto, 00076, Finland
| | - Adrian Keller
- Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Paderborn University, Warburger Str. 100, 33098, Paderborn, Germany
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25
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Van Wieren A, Durrant JD, Majumdar S. Computational and experimental analyses of alanine racemase suggest new avenues for developing allosteric small-molecule antibiotics. Drug Dev Res 2023; 84:999-1007. [PMID: 37129190 PMCID: PMC10524904 DOI: 10.1002/ddr.22068] [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: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Given the ever-present threat of antibacterial resistance, there is an urgent need to identify new antibacterial drugs and targets. One such target is alanine racemase (Alr), an enzyme required for bacterial cell-wall biosynthesis. Alr is an attractive drug target because it is essential for bacterial survival but is absent in humans. Existing drugs targeting Alr lack specificity and have severe side effects. We here investigate alternative mechanisms of Alr inhibition. Alr functions exclusively as an obligate homodimer, so we probed seven conserved interactions on the dimer interface, distant from the enzymatic active site, to identify possible allosteric influences on activity. Using the Alr from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT) as a model, we found that the Lys261/Asp135 salt bridge is critical for catalytic activity. The Lys261Ala mutation completely inactivated the enzyme, and the Asp135Ala mutation reduced catalytic activity eight-fold. Further investigation suggested a potential drug-binding site near the Lys261/Asp135 salt bridge that may be useful for allosteric drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arie Van Wieren
- Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics and Engineering, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705
- Current address: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Jacob D Durrant
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
| | - Sudipta Majumdar
- Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics and Engineering, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705
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26
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Interaction of guanidinium and ammonium cations with phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine lipid bilayers - Calorimetric, spectroscopic and molecular dynamics simulations study. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOMEMBRANES 2023; 1865:184122. [PMID: 36739930 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2023.184122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The ability of arginine-rich peptides to cross the lipid bilayer and enter cytoplasm, unlike their lysine-based analogues, is intensively studied in the context of cell-penetrating peptides. Although the experiments have not yet reconstructed their internalization mechanism, the computational studies have shown that the type or charge of lipid polar groups is one of the crucial factors in their translocation. In order to gain more detailed insight into the interaction of guanidinium (Gdm+) and ammonium (NH4+) cations, as important building blocks in arginine and lysine amino acids, with lipid bilayers, we conducted the experimental and computational study that tackles this phenomenon. The adsorption of Gdm+ and NH4+ on lipid bilayers prepared from a zwitterionic (DPPC) and an anionic (DPPS) lipid was examined by thermoanalytic and spectroscopic techniques. Using temperature-dependent UV-Vis spectroscopy and DSC calorimetry we determined the impact of Gdm+ and NH4+ on the thermotropic properties of lipid bilayers. FTIR data, along with molecular dynamics simulations, unraveled the molecular-level details on the nature of their interactions, showing the proton transfer between NH4+ and DPPS, but not between Gdm+ and DPPS. The findings originated from this work imply that Gdm+ and NH4+ form qualitatively different interactions with lipids of different charge which is reflected in the physico-chemical interactions that arginine-and lysine-based peptides establish at a complex and chemically heterogeneous environment such as the biological membrane.
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27
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Drexler CI, Cyran JD, Webb LJ. Lipid-Specific Direct Translocation of the Cell-Penetrating Peptide NAF-1 44-67 across Bilayer Membranes. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:2002-2010. [PMID: 36827970 PMCID: PMC10127249 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c08076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
The cell-penetrating peptide NAF-1 has recently emerged as a promising candidate for selective penetration and destruction of cancer cells. It displays numerous membrane-selective behaviors including cell-specific uptake and organelle-specific degradation. In this work, we explore membrane penetration and translocation of NAF-1 in model lipid bilayer vesicles as a function of lipid identity in zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine lipids mixed with anionic phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidic acid lipids. By monitoring the digestion of NAF-1 using the protease trypsin located inside but not outside the vesicles, we determined that the translocation of NAF-1 was significantly enhanced by the presence of phosphatidic acid in the membrane compared to the other three anionic or zwitterionic lipids. These findings were correlated to fluorescence measurements of dansyl-labeled NAF-1, which revealed whether noncovalent interactions between NAF-1 and the bilayer were most stable either at the membrane/solution interface or within the membrane interior. Phosphatidic acid promoted interactions with fatty acid tails, while phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylglycerol stabilized interactions with polar lipid headgroups. Interfacial vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy experiments revealed that the phosphate moiety on phosphatidic acid headgroups was better hydrated than on the other three lipids, which helped to shuttle NAF-1 into the hydrophobic region. Our findings demonstrate that permeation does not depend on the net charge on phospholipid lipid headgroups in these model vesicles and suggest a model wherein NAF-1 crosses membranes selectively due to lipid-specific interactions at bilayer surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad I Drexler
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Jenée D Cyran
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
| | - Lauren J Webb
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
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28
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Gao X, Yuan C, Tan E, Li Z, Cheng Y, Xiao J, Rong G. Dual-responsive bioconjugates bearing a bifunctional adaptor for robust cytosolic peptide delivery. J Control Release 2023; 355:675-684. [PMID: 36791993 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.02.014] [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: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Peptide drugs have been successfully used for the treatment of various diseases. However, it is still challenging to develop therapeutic peptides working on intracellular targets due to their poor membrane permeability. Here, we proposed a type of dual-responsive bioconjugates bearing a heterobifunctional adaptor containing both aldehyde and catechol moieties for efficient cytosolic peptide delivery. Hydrazine-terminated cargo peptides were tagged to a boronated dendrimer with the help of the adaptor via dynamic acylhydrazone and catechol‑boronate linkages. The bioconjugates efficiently delivered peptides with distinct physicochemical properties into various cells, and could release the cargo peptides triggered by intracellular reactive oxygen species and endolysosomal acidity, restoring the biofunctions of delivered peptides. In addition, the designed complexes efficiently delivered a pro-apoptotic peptide into osteosarcoma cancer cells and successfully inhibited the tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. This study provides a universal and efficient platform for cytosolic therapeutic peptide delivery to intracellular targets for treating various diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Gao
- Department of Orthopedic Oncology, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200003, PR China
| | - Chunyang Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China
| | - Echuan Tan
- South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China
| | - Zhan Li
- College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, PR China
| | - Yiyun Cheng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China.
| | - Jianru Xiao
- Department of Orthopedic Oncology, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200003, PR China.
| | - Guangyu Rong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China; South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China.
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29
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Khan A, Nayeem SM. Stability of the Aβ42 Peptide in Mixed Solutions of Denaturants and Proline. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:1572-1585. [PMID: 36786778 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c08505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) is responsible for the neuronal damage and death of a patient with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aβ42 oligomeric forms are dominant neurotoxins and are related to neurodegeneration. Their different forms are related to various pathological conditions in the brain. We investigated Aβ42 peptides in different environments of proline, urea, and GdmCl solutions (in pure and mixed binary forms) through atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Preferential exclusion from the protein surface and facile formation of a large number of weak molecular interactions are the driving forces for the osmolyte's action. We have focused on these interactions between peptide monomers and pure/mixed osmolytes and denaturants. Urea, as usual, denatures the peptide strongly compared to the GdmCl by accumulation around the peptide. GdmCl shows lesser build-up around protein in contrast to urea but is involved in destabilizing the salt bridge formation of Asp23 and Lys28. Proline as an osmolyte protects the peptide from aggregation when mixed with urea and GdmCl solutions. In mixed solutions of two denaturants and osmolyte plus denaturant, the peptide shows enhanced stability as compared to pure denaturant urea solution. The enhanced stability of peptides in proline may be attributed to its exclusion from the peptide surface and favoring salt bridge formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashma Khan
- Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, UP, India
| | - Shahid M Nayeem
- Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, UP, India
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30
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El Harrar T, Gohlke H. Cumulative Millisecond-Long Sampling for a Comprehensive Energetic Evaluation of Aqueous Ionic Liquid Effects on Amino Acid Interactions. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:281-298. [PMID: 36520535 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The interactions of amino acid side-chains confer diverse energetic contributions and physical properties to a protein's stability and function. Various computational tools estimate the effect of changing a given amino acid on the protein's stability based on parametrized (free) energy functions. When parametrized for the prediction of protein stability in water, such energy functions can lead to suboptimal results for other solvents, such as ionic liquids (IL), aqueous ionic liquids (aIL), or salt solutions. However, to our knowledge, no comprehensive data are available describing the energetic effects of aIL on intramolecular protein interactions. Here, we present the most comprehensive set of potential of mean force (PMF) profiles of pairwise protein-residue interactions to date, covering 50 relevant interactions in water, the two biotechnologically relevant aIL [BMIM/Cl] and [BMIM/TfO], and [Na/Cl]. These results are based on a cumulated simulation time of >1 ms. aIL and salt ions can weaken, but also strengthen, specific residue interactions by more than 3 kcal mol-1, depending on the residue pair, residue-residue configuration, participating ions, and concentration, necessitating considering such interactions specifically. These changes originate from a complex interplay of competitive or cooperative noncovalent ion-residue interactions, changes in solvent structural dynamics, or unspecific charge screening effects and occur at the contact distance but also at larger, solvent-separated distances. This data provide explanations at the atomistic and energetic levels for complex IL effects on protein stability and should help improve the prediction accuracies of computational tools that estimate protein stability based on (free) energy functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Till El Harrar
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), and Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG-4: Bioinformatics), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Holger Gohlke
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), and Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG-4: Bioinformatics), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, Germany.,Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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31
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Negi I, Jangra R, Gharu A, Trant JF, Sharma P. Guanidinium–amino acid hydrogen-bonding interactions in protein crystal structures: implications for guanidinium-induced protein denaturation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:857-869. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04943k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Structural analysis of guanidinium–amino acid interaction pairs in protein crystal structures is coupled with an effective scheme for classifying the optimized pairs, to gain understanding of the guanidinium:protein hydrogen bonding modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indu Negi
- Computational Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
| | - Raman Jangra
- Computational Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
| | - Amit Gharu
- Computational Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
| | - John F. Trant
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave. Windsor ON, N9B 3P4, Canada
- Binary Star Research Services, LaSalle, ON, N9J 3 X 8, Canada
| | - Purshotam Sharma
- Computational Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave. Windsor ON, N9B 3P4, Canada
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32
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Ailuno G, Balboni A, Caviglioli G, Lai F, Barbieri F, Dellacasagrande I, Florio T, Baldassari S. Boron Vehiculating Nanosystems for Neutron Capture Therapy in Cancer Treatment. Cells 2022; 11:cells11244029. [PMID: 36552793 PMCID: PMC9776957 DOI: 10.3390/cells11244029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy is a low-invasive cancer therapy based on the neutron fission process that occurs upon thermal neutron irradiation of 10B-containing compounds; this process causes the release of alpha particles that selectively damage cancer cells. Although several clinical studies involving mercaptoundecahydro-closo-dodecaborate and the boronophenylalanine-fructose complex are currently ongoing, the success of this promising anticancer therapy is hampered by the lack of appropriate drug delivery systems to selectively carry therapeutic concentrations of boron atoms to cancer tissues, allowing prolonged boron retention therein and avoiding the damage of healthy tissues. To achieve these goals, numerous research groups have explored the possibility to formulate nanoparticulate systems for boron delivery. In this review. we report the newest developments on boron vehiculating drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles, distinguished on the basis of the type of carrier used, with a specific focus on the formulation aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Ailuno
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, 16147 Genova, Italy
- Correspondence: (G.A.); (T.F.)
| | - Alice Balboni
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, 16147 Genova, Italy
| | | | - Francesco Lai
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Federica Barbieri
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | | | - Tullio Florio
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
- Correspondence: (G.A.); (T.F.)
| | - Sara Baldassari
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, 16147 Genova, Italy
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33
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Hong Y, Najafi S, Casey T, Shea JE, Han SI, Hwang DS. Hydrophobicity of arginine leads to reentrant liquid-liquid phase separation behaviors of arginine-rich proteins. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7326. [PMID: 36443315 PMCID: PMC9705477 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35001-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins rich in cationic amino acid groups can undergo Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) in the presence of charge-balancing anionic counterparts. Arginine and Lysine are the two most prevalent cationic amino acids in proteins that undergo LLPS, with arginine-rich proteins observed to undergo LLPS more readily than lysine-rich proteins, a feature commonly attributed to arginine's ability to form stronger cation-π interactions with aromatic groups. Here, we show that arginine's ability to promote LLPS is independent of the presence of aromatic partners, and that arginine-rich peptides, but not lysine-rich peptides, display re-entrant phase behavior at high salt concentrations. We further demonstrate that the hydrophobicity of arginine is the determining factor giving rise to the reentrant phase behavior and tunable viscoelastic properties of the dense LLPS phase. Controlling arginine-induced reentrant LLPS behavior using temperature and salt concentration opens avenues for the bioengineering of stress-triggered biological phenomena and drug delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri Hong
- School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
- Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Saeed Najafi
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Thomas Casey
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
| | - Song-I Han
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
| | - Dong Soo Hwang
- School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea.
- Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea.
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34
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Rong G, Wang C, Hu J, Li Y, Cheng Y. Benzaldehyde-tethered fluorous tags for cytosolic delivery of bioactive peptides. J Control Release 2022; 351:703-712. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.09.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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35
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Deogratias G, Shadrack DM, Munissi JJE, Kinunda GA, Jacob FR, Mtei RP, Masalu RJ, Mwakyula I, Kiruri LW, Nyandoro SS. Hydrophobic π-π stacking interactions and hydrogen bonds drive self-aggregation of luteolin in water. J Mol Graph Model 2022; 116:108243. [PMID: 35777224 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2022.108243] [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: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Luteolin is a flavonoid obtained from different plant species. It is known for its versatile biological activities. However, the beneficial effects of luteolin have been limited to small concentrations as a result of poor water solubility. This study aimed at investigating the hydrophobic interaction and hydration of luteolin towards the improvement of its solubility when used as a drug. We report the aggregation properties of luteolin in water by varying the number of monomers using atomistic molecular dynamics simulation. Results show that the equilibrium structure of luteolin occurs in an aggregated state with different structural arrangements. As the monomers size increase, the antiparallel flipped conformation dominates over T-shaped antiparallel, T-shaped parallel, and antiparallel conformations. The formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonding of 0.19 nm between the keto-enol groups results in hydrophobic characteristics. A larger cluster exhibits slow hydrogen bond dynamics for luteolin-luteolin than luteolin-water interaction. Water structure at large cluster size exhibited slow dynamics and low self-diffusion of luteolin. The existence of hydrophobic π-π and hydrogen bonds between luteolin molecules drives strong self-aggregation resulting in poor water solubility. Breakage of these established interactions would result in increased solubility of luteolin in water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geradius Deogratias
- Chemistry Department, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
| | - Daniel M Shadrack
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, St. John's University of Tanzania, P.O. Box 47, Dodoma, Tanzania
| | - Joan J E Munissi
- Chemistry Department, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Grace A Kinunda
- Chemistry Department, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Fortunatus R Jacob
- Chemistry Department, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Regina P Mtei
- Chemistry Department, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Rose J Masalu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 25179, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Issakwisa Mwakyula
- Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 608, Mbeya, Tanzania
| | - Lucy W Kiruri
- Department of Chemistry, Kenyatta University, P.O.Box, 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Stephen S Nyandoro
- Chemistry Department, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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36
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Hou W, Pande A, Pande J. Oxidation of active cysteines mediates protein aggregation of S10R, the cataract-associated mutant of mouse GammaB-crystallin. Proteins 2022; 90:1987-2000. [PMID: 35726360 PMCID: PMC9561057 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26391] [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: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The Ser10 to Arg mutation in mouse γB-crystallin (MGB) has been associated with protein aggregation, dense nuclear opacity, and the degeneration of fiber cells in the lens core. Overexpression of the gap junction protein, connexin 46 (Cx46), was found to suppress the nuclear opacity and restore normal cell-cell contact. However, the molecular basis for the protein aggregation and related downstream effects were not evident from these studies. Here, we provide a comparison of the structures and solution properties of wild type MGB and the S10R mutant in vitro and show that, even though the mutation does not directly involve cysteine residues, some cysteines in the mutant protein are activated, leading to the enhanced formation of intermolecular disulfide-crosslinked protein aggregates relative to the wild-type. This occurs even as the protein structure is essentially unaltered. Thus, the primary event is enhanced protein aggregation due to the disulfide crosslinking of the mutant protein. We suggest that these aggregates eventually get deposited on fiber cell membranes. Since the gap junction protein, Cx46 is involved in the transport of reduced glutathione, we posit that these deposits interfere in Cx46-mediated glutathione transport and facilitate the oxidative stress-mediated downstream changes. Overexpression of Cx46 suppresses such oxidative aggregation. These studies provide a plausible explanation for the protein aggregation and other changes that accompany this mutation. If indeed cysteine oxidation is the primary event for protein aggregation also in vivo, then the S10R mutant mouse, which is currently available, could serve as a viable animal model for human age-onset cataract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjuan Hou
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences, University at
Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
- Current address: BioLegend Inc., 8999 BioLegend Way, San
Diego, CA 92121, United States
| | - Ajay Pande
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences, University at
Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Jayanti Pande
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences, University at
Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
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37
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Improved prediction and characterization of blood-brain barrier penetrating peptides using estimated propensity scores of dipeptides. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2022; 36:781-796. [DOI: 10.1007/s10822-022-00476-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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38
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Li W, Whitcomb KL, Warncke K. Confinement dependence of protein-associated solvent dynamics around different classes of proteins, from the EPR spin probe perspective. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:23919-23928. [PMID: 36165617 PMCID: PMC10371532 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03047k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Protein function is modulated by coupled solvent fluctuations, subject to the degree of confinement from the surroundings. To identify universal features of the external confinement effect, the temperature dependence of the dynamics of protein-associated solvent over 200-265 K for proteins representative of different classes and sizes is characterized by using the rotational correlation time (detection bandwidth, 10-10-10-7 s) of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR, X-band) spin probe, TEMPOL, which is restricted to regions vicinal to protein in frozen aqueous solution. Weak (protein surrounded by aqueous-dimethylsulfoxide cryosolvent mesodomain) and strong (no added crysolvent) conditions of ice boundary confinement are imposed. The panel of soluble proteins represents large and small oligomeric (ethanolamine ammonia-lyase, 488 kDa; streptavidin, 52.8 kDa) and monomeric (myoglobin, 16.7 kDa) globular proteins, an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP, β-casein, 24.0 kDa), an unstructured peptide (protamine, 4.38 kDa) and a small peptide with partial backbone order (amyloid-β residues 1-16, 1.96 kDa). Expanded and condensate structures of β-casein and protamine are resolved by the spin probe under weak and strong confinement, respectively. At each confinement condition, the soluble globular proteins display common T-dependences of rotational correlation times and normalized weights, for two mobility components, protein-associated domain, PAD, and surrounding mesodomain. Strong confinement induces a detectable PAD component and emulation of globular protein T-dependence by the amyloid-β peptide. Confinement uniformly impacts soluble globular protein PAD dynamics, and is therefore a generic control parameter for modulation of soluble globular protein function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Li
- Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322.
| | | | - Kurt Warncke
- Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322.
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39
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Vedadghavami A, He T, Zhang C, Amiji SM, Hakim B, Bajpayee AG. Charge-based drug delivery to cartilage: Hydrophobic and not electrostatic interactions are the dominant cause of competitive binding of cationic carriers in synovial fluid. Acta Biomater 2022; 151:278-289. [PMID: 35963518 PMCID: PMC10441566 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Charge-based drug delivery has proven to be effective for targeting negatively charged cartilage for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Cartilage is surrounded by synovial fluid (SF), which is comprised of negatively charged hyaluronic acid and hydrophobic proteins that can competitively bind cationic carriers and prevent their transport into cartilage. Here we investigate the relative contributions of charge and hydrophobic effects on the binding of cationic carriers within healthy and arthritic SF by comparing the transport of arginine-rich cartilage targeting cationic peptide carriers with hydrophilic (CPC +14N) or hydrophobic property (CPC +14A). CPC +14N had significantly greater intra-cartilage uptake in presence of SF compared to CPC +14A in-vitro and in vivo. In presence of individual anionic SF constituents, both CPCs maintained similar high intra-cartilage uptake while in presence of hydrophobic constituents, CPC +14N had greater uptake confirming that hydrophobic and not charge interactions are the dominant cause of competitive binding within SF. Results also demonstrate that short-range effects can synergistically stabilize intra-cartilage charge-based binding - a property that can be utilized for enhancing drug-carrier residence time in arthritic cartilage with diminished negative fixed charge density. The work provides a framework for the rational design of cationic carriers for developing targeted therapies for another complex negatively charged environments. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This work demonstrates that hydrophobic and not charge interactions are the dominant cause of the binding of cationic carriers in synovial fluid. Therefore, cationic carriers can be effectively used for cartilage targeting if they are made hydrophilic. This can facilitate clinical translation of various osteoarthritis drugs for cartilage repair that have failed due to a lack of effective cartilage targeting methods. It also demonstrates that short-range hydrogen bonds can synergistically stabilize electrostatic binding in cartilage offering a method for enhancing the targeting and residence time of cationic carriers within arthritic cartilage with reduced charge density. Finally, the cartilage-synovial fluid unit provides an excellent model of a complex negatively charged environment and allows us to generalize these findings and develop targeted therapies for other charged tissue-systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armin Vedadghavami
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Tengfei He
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Chenzhen Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Salima M Amiji
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Bill Hakim
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ambika G Bajpayee
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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40
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Fehér B, Gascoigne L, Giezen SN, Voets IK. Impact of arginine modified SNARE peptides on interactions with phospholipid bilayers and coiled-coil formation: A molecular dynamics study. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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41
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Nguyen MT, Biriukov D, Tempra C, Baxova K, Martinez-Seara H, Evci H, Singh V, Šachl R, Hof M, Jungwirth P, Javanainen M, Vazdar M. Ionic Strength and Solution Composition Dictate the Adsorption of Cell-Penetrating Peptides onto Phosphatidylcholine Membranes. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:11284-11295. [PMID: 36083171 PMCID: PMC9494944 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c01435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Adsorption of arginine-rich positively charged peptides onto neutral zwitterionic phosphocholine (PC) bilayers is a key step in the translocation of those potent cell-penetrating peptides into the cell interior. In the past, we have shown both theoretically and experimentally that polyarginines adsorb to the neutral PC-supported lipid bilayers in contrast to polylysines. However, comparing our results with previous studies showed that the results often do not match even at the qualitative level. The adsorption of arginine-rich peptides onto 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) may qualitatively depend on the actual experimental conditions where binding experiments have been performed. In this work, we systematically studied the adsorption of R9 and K9 peptides onto the POPC bilayer, aided by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS) experiments. Using MD simulations, we tested a series of increasing peptide concentrations, in parallel with increasing Na+ and Ca2+ salt concentrations, showing that the apparent strength of adsorption of R9 decreases upon the increase of peptide or salt concentration in the system. The key result from the simulations is that the salt concentrations used experimentally can alter the picture of peptide adsorption qualitatively. Using FCCS experiments with fluorescently labeled R9 and K9, we first demonstrated that the binding of R9 to POPC is tighter by almost 2 orders of magnitude compared to that of K9. Finally, upon the addition of an excess of either Na+ or Ca2+ ions with R9, the total fluorescence correlation signal is lost, which implies the unbinding of R9 from the PC bilayer, in agreement with our predictions from MD simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Man Thi
Hong Nguyen
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Denys Biriukov
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Carmelo Tempra
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Katarina Baxova
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Hector Martinez-Seara
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Hüseyin Evci
- J.
Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy
of Sciences, Dolejškova
2155/3, CZ-18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University
of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech
Republic
| | - Vandana Singh
- J.
Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy
of Sciences, Dolejškova
2155/3, CZ-18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
- Faculty
of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Šachl
- J.
Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy
of Sciences, Dolejškova
2155/3, CZ-18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hof
- J.
Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy
of Sciences, Dolejškova
2155/3, CZ-18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Jungwirth
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Matti Javanainen
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
- Institute
of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 University
of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mario Vazdar
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 542/2, CZ-16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
- Department
of Mathematics, University of Chemistry
and Technology, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic
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42
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Korn V, Pluhackova K. Not sorcery after all: Roles of multiple charged residues in membrane insertion of gasdermin-A3. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:958957. [PMID: 36120563 PMCID: PMC9479151 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.958957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Gasdermins execute programmatory cell death, known as pyroptosis, by forming medium-sized membrane pores. Recently, the molecular structure of those pores as well as the diversity in their shape and size have been revealed by cryoTEM and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Even though a growth of smaller to larger oligomers and reshaping from slits to rings could be documented, the initiation of the gasdermin pore formation remains a mystery. In one hypothesis, gasdermin monomers insert into membranes before associating into oligomeric pores. In the other hypothesis, gasdermin oligomers preassemble on the membrane surface prior to membrane insertion. Here, by studying the behavior of monomeric membrane-inserted gasdermin-A3 (GSDMA3), we unveil that a monomeric gasdermin prefers the membrane-adsorbed over the membrane-inserted state. Our results thus support the hypothesis of oligomers preassembling on the membrane surface before membrane penetration. At the same time, our simulations of small membrane-inserted arcs of GSDMA3 suggest that the inserting oligomer can be small and does not have to comprise a full ring of approximately 26–30 subunits. Moreover, our simulations have revealed an astonishingly large impact of salt-bridge formation and protein surroundings on the transmembrane passage of charged residues, reducing the energetic cost by up to 53% as compared to their free forms. The here observed free energy barrier of mere 5.6 kcal/mol for the membrane insertion of monomeric GSDMA3 explains the surprising ability of gasdermins to spontaneously self-insert into cellular membranes.
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43
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Rong G, Chen L, Zhu F, Tan E, Cheng Y. Polycatechols with Robust Efficiency in Cytosolic Peptide Delivery via Catechol-Boronate Chemistry. NANO LETTERS 2022; 22:6245-6253. [PMID: 35900805 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Cytosolic delivery of peptides remains a challenging task because of the limited binding sites on peptides and the existence of multiple intracellular barriers. Here, we proposed the use of polycatechols with a high cell permeability to deliver peptides of different physicochemical properties using the catechol-boronate chemistry. Peptides were decorated with boronate moieties via three strategies, and the introduced boronate groups greatly increased the binding affinity of cargo peptides with polycatechols. The loading peptides could be released under the endolysosomal acidity. When the cargo peptide was modified with boronate moiety via a p-hydroxybenzylcarbamate self-immolative spacer, it could be loaded by polycatechols and released in a traceless manner triggered by reactive oxygen species. The proposed strategies greatly promote the cytosolic delivery efficiency of different peptides into various cell lines and restored their biofunctions after intracellular delivery and release. This study provides a general and robust platform for the intracellular delivery of membrane-impermeable peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyu Rong
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Genome Editing and Cell Therapy, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China
- South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China
| | - Lijie Chen
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Genome Editing and Cell Therapy, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China
| | - Fang Zhu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Genome Editing and Cell Therapy, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China
| | - Echuan Tan
- South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China
| | - Yiyun Cheng
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Genome Editing and Cell Therapy, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China
- South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China
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44
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Xiong W, Wang X, Liu Y, Luo C, Lu X, Cai Y. Polymerization-Induced Electrostatic Self-Assembly Governed by Guanidinium Ionic Hydrogen Bonds. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Weixing Xiong
- State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymer Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Xiyu Wang
- State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymer Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yuanyuan Liu
- State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymer Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Caihui Luo
- State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymer Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Xinhua Lu
- State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymer Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yuanli Cai
- State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymer Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
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45
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Han Y, Lafleur RPM, Zhou J, Xu W, Lin Z, Richardson JJ, Caruso F. Role of Molecular Interactions in Supramolecular Polypeptide-Polyphenol Networks for Engineering Functional Materials. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:12510-12519. [PMID: 35775928 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c05052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Supramolecular assembly affords the development of a wide range of polypeptide-based biomaterials for drug delivery and nanomedicine. However, there remains a need to develop a platform for the rapid synthesis and study of diverse polypeptide-based materials without the need for employing complex chemistries. Herein, we develop a versatile strategy for creating polypeptide-based materials using polyphenols that display multiple synergistic cross-linking interactions with different polypeptide side groups. We evaluated the diverse interactions operating within these polypeptide-polyphenol networks via binding affinity, thermodynamics, and molecular docking studies and found that positively charged polypeptides (Ka of ∼2 × 104 M-1) and polyproline (Ka of ∼2 × 106 M-1) exhibited stronger interactions with polyphenols than other amino acids (Ka of ∼2 × 103 M-1). Free-standing particles (capsules) were obtained from different homopolypeptides using a template-mediated strategy. The properties of the capsules varied with the homopolypeptide used, for example, positively charged polypeptides produced thicker shell walls (120 nm) with reduced permeability and involved multiple interactions (i.e., electrostatic and hydrogen), whereas uncharged polypeptides generated thinner (10 nm) and more permeable shell walls due to the dominant hydrophobic interactions. Polyarginine imparted cell penetration and endosomal escape properties to the polyarginine-tannic acid capsules, enabling enhanced delivery of the drug doxorubicin (2.5 times higher intracellular fluorescence after 24 h) and a corresponding higher cell death in vitro when compared with polyproline-tannic acid capsules. The ability to readily complex polyphenols with different types of polypeptides highlights that a wide range of functional materials can be generated for various applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyuan Han
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - René P M Lafleur
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Jiajing Zhou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.,Department of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Wanjun Xu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Zhixing Lin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Joseph J Richardson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.,Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Frank Caruso
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
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46
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Hu G, Ou X, Li J. Mechanistic Insight on General Protein-Binding Ability of ATP and the Impacts of Arginine Residues. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:4647-4658. [PMID: 35713479 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recent experiments suggested that adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can regulate liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of various proteins and inhibit protein aggregations at its physiological concentration, which is highly correlated with the nonspecific interactions of ATP to a wide variety of proteins. However, the mechanism underlying the general binding capability of ATP largely remains unclear. In this work, we used molecular dynamics simulation to study the binding of ATPs to three proteins with distinct net charges: TDP-43 NTD (-7 e), TAF15-RRM (0 e), HWEL (+8 e). Negatively charged ATP exhibits a strong trend to accumulate around all of these proteins. While only a fraction of the accumulated ATPs directly binds to the limited regions of the protein surface, additional ATPs indirectly bind to proteins by aggregating into ATP clusters. Hence, the proportion of the directly bound ATPs in the clusters as well as their binding regions can be adjusted in response to different proteins, which makes ATP well adapted to a variety of proteins. Moreover, our results suggest that ATP tightly binds to Arg with high affinity, and Arg dominates the direct binding of ATP. Meanwhile, Arg also affects the self-association of accumulated ATPs. The size of the ATP cluster is effectively regulated by the distribution of Arg. Considering the ubiquity of Arg in proteins, our findings are helpful to understand the general binding capability of ATP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guorong Hu
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Zheda Road 38, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Xinwen Ou
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Zheda Road 38, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Jingyuan Li
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Zheda Road 38, Hangzhou 310027, China
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47
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Luther DC, Nagaraj H, Goswami R, Çiçek YA, Jeon T, Gopalakrishnan S, Rotello VM. Direct Cytosolic Delivery of Proteins Using Lyophilized and Reconstituted Polymer-Protein Assemblies. Pharm Res 2022; 39:1197-1204. [PMID: 35297498 PMCID: PMC10587898 DOI: 10.1007/s11095-022-03226-w] [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: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Cytosolic delivery of proteins accesses intracellular targets for chemotherapy and immunomodulation. Current delivery systems utilize inefficient endosomal pathways of uptake and escape that lead to degradation of delivered cargo. Cationic poly(oxanorbornene)imide (PONI) polymers enable highly efficient cytosolic delivery of co-engineered proteins, but aggregation and denaturation in solution limits shelf life. In the present study we evaluate polymer-protein nanocomposite vehicles as candidates for lyophilization and point-of-care resuspension to provide a transferrable technology for cytosolic protein delivery. METHODS Self-assembled nanocomposites of engineered poly(glutamate)-tagged (E-tagged) proteins and guanidinium-functionalized PONI homopolymers were generated, lyophilized, and stored for 2 weeks. After reconstitution and delivery, cytosolic access of E-tagged GFP cargo (GFPE15) was assessed through diffuse cytosolic and nuclear fluorescence, and cell killing with chemotherapeutic enzyme Granzyme A (GrAE10). Efficiency was quantified between freshly prepared and lyophilized samples. RESULTS Reconstituted nanocomposites retained key structural features of freshly prepared assemblies, with minimal loss of material. Cytosolic delivery (> 80% efficiency of freshly prepared nanocomposites) of GFPE15 was validated in several cell lines, with intracellular access validated and quantified through diffusion into the nucleus. Delivery of GrAE10 elicited significant tumorigenic cell death. Intracellular access of cytotoxic protein was validated through cell viability. CONCLUSION Reconstituted nanocomposites achieved efficient cytosolic delivery of protein cargo and demonstrated therapeutic applicability with delivery of GrAE10. Overall, this strategy represents a versatile and highly translatable method for cytosolic delivery of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Luther
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 379A LGRT Tower A, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA
| | - Harini Nagaraj
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 379A LGRT Tower A, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA
| | - Ritabrita Goswami
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 379A LGRT Tower A, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA
| | - Yağız Anıl Çiçek
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 379A LGRT Tower A, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA
| | - Taewon Jeon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 379A LGRT Tower A, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA
| | - Sanjana Gopalakrishnan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 379A LGRT Tower A, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA
| | - Vincent M Rotello
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 379A LGRT Tower A, 710 North Pleasant St., Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, USA.
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48
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Diclofenac Ion Hydration: Experimental and Theoretical Search for Anion Pairs. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27103350. [PMID: 35630826 PMCID: PMC9146526 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27103350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-assembly of organic ions in aqueous solutions is a hot topic at the present time, and substances that are well-soluble in water are usually studied. In this work, aqueous solutions of sodium diclofenac are investigated, which, like most medicinal compounds, is poorly soluble in water. Classical MD modeling of an aqueous solution of diclofenac sodium showed equilibrium between the hydrated anion and the hydrated dimer of the diclofenac anion. The assignment and interpretation of the bands in the UV, NIR, and IR spectra are based on DFT calculations in the discrete-continuum approximation. It has been shown that the combined use of spectroscopic methods in various frequency ranges with classical MD simulations and DFT calculations provides valuable information on the association processes of medical compounds in aqueous solutions. Additionally, such a combined application of experimental and calculation methods allowed us to put forward a hypothesis about the mechanism of the effect of diclofenac sodium in high dilutions on a solution of diclofenac sodium.
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49
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Rao Y, Wang J, Wang H, Wang H, Gu R, Shen J, Hao Q, Brash JL, Chen H. Optimizing the Bacteriostatic and Cytocompatibility Properties of Poly(hexamethylene guanidine) Hydrochloride (PHMG) via the Guanidine/Alkane Ratio. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:2170-2183. [PMID: 35465654 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of "superbugs" is not only problematic and potentially lethal for infected subjects but also poses serious challenges for the healthcare system. Although existing antibacterial agents have been effective in some cases, the side effects and biocompatibility generally present difficulties. The development of new antibacterial agents is therefore urgently required. In this work, we have adapted a strategy for the improvement of poly(hexamethylene guanidine) hydrochloride (PHMG), a common antibacterial agent. This involves copolymerization of separate monomer units in varying ratios to find the optimum ratio of the hydrocarbon to guanidine units for antibacterial activity. A series of these copolymers, designated as PGB, was synthesized. By varying the guanidine/hydrophobic ratio and the copolymer molecular weight, a structure-optimized PGB was identified that showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and excellent biocompatibility in solution. In an antibacterial assay, the copolymer with the optimum composition (hydrophobic unit content 25%) inhibited >99% Staphylococcus aureus and was compatible with mammalian cells. A polyurethane emulsion containing this PGB component formed transparent, flexible films (PGB-PU films) on a wide range of substrate surfaces, including soft polymers and metals. The PGB-PU films showed excellent bacteriostatic efficiency against nosocomial drug-resistant bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). It is concluded that our PGB polymers can be used as bacteriostatic agents generally and in particular for the design of antibacterial surfaces in medical devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Rao
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Jinghong Wang
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Huanhuan Wang
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Hong Wang
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Rong Gu
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Jie Shen
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Qing Hao
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - John L Brash
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China.,School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Hong Chen
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
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Chen N, He Y, Zang M, Zhang Y, Lu H, Zhao Q, Wang S, Gao Y. Approaches and materials for endocytosis-independent intracellular delivery of proteins. Biomaterials 2022; 286:121567. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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