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Chaves EJF, Coêlho DF, Cruz CHB, Moreira EG, Simões JCM, Nascimento-Filho MJ, Lins RD. Structure-based computational design of antibody mimetics: challenges and perspectives. FEBS Open Bio 2024. [PMID: 38925955 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The design of antibody mimetics holds great promise for revolutionizing therapeutic interventions by offering alternatives to conventional antibody therapies. Structure-based computational approaches have emerged as indispensable tools in the rational design of those molecules, enabling the precise manipulation of their structural and functional properties. This review covers the main classes of designed antigen-binding motifs, as well as alternative strategies to develop tailored ones. We discuss the intricacies of different computational protein-protein interaction design strategies, showcased by selected successful cases in the literature. Subsequently, we explore the latest advancements in the computational techniques including the integration of machine and deep learning methodologies into the design framework, which has led to an augmented design pipeline. Finally, we verse onto the current challenges that stand in the way between high-throughput computer design of antibody mimetics and experimental realization, offering a forward-looking perspective into the field and the promises it holds to biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elton J F Chaves
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
| | - Danilo F Coêlho
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Carlos H B Cruz
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, UK
| | | | - Júlio C M Simões
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Manassés J Nascimento-Filho
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Roberto D Lins
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
- Fiocruz Genomics Network, Brazil
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2
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Lindner C, Friemel A, Schwegler N, Timmermann L, Pham TL, Reusche V, Kovermann M, Thomas F. Thermostable WW-Domain Scaffold to Design Functional β-Sheet Miniproteins. J Am Chem Soc 2024. [PMID: 38853610 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c03498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
There has been a recent surge in the design of miniproteins for medicinal chemistry, biomaterial design, or synthetic biology. In particular, there is an interest in peptide scaffolds that fold reliably, predictably, and with solid stability. In this article, we present the design of a highly thermostable WW domain, a three-stranded β-sheet motif, with a superior melting temperature of about 90 °C to serve as a core scaffold onto which receptor-like properties can be grafted. We have performed specific rounds of sequence iteration on a WW-domain consensus sequence to decipher sequence positions that affect structural and, thus, thermal stability. We identified a sequence-structure relationship that yields a highly thermostable WW-domain scaffold. High-resolution NMR spectroscopy was applied, which enabled the identification of structural features at the atomic scale that contribute to this high thermostability. Finally, we grafted the binding motifs of the three WW-domain groups─Group I, Group II/III, and Group IV─and organophosphate and metal binding onto the highly thermostable WW-domain scaffold and obtained thermostable de novo WW domains that indeed display the different binding modes that were intended. The organophosphate-binding WW domains exhibit melting temperatures that are up to 34 K higher than previously reported top-down designs. These results impressively demonstrate that the highly thermostable WW-domain core scaffold is a solid platform for the design of discrete and reliably folding functional β-sheet peptide miniproteins, providing an essential addition to the toolbox of peptide scaffolds previously used in synthetic biology and material design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Lindner
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Anke Friemel
- Physical Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Niklas Schwegler
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lisa Timmermann
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Truc Lam Pham
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Reusche
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Kovermann
- Physical Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Franziska Thomas
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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3
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Ham JM, Kim M, Kim T, Ryu SE, Park H. Structure-Based De Novo Design for the Discovery of Miniprotein Inhibitors Targeting Oncogenic Mutant BRAF. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5535. [PMID: 38791574 PMCID: PMC11122373 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105535] [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: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Being a component of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway crucial for cellular responses, the VRAF murine sarcoma viral oncogene homologue B1 (BRAF) kinase has emerged as a promising target for anticancer drug discovery due to oncogenic mutations that lead to pathway hyperactivation. Despite the discovery of several small-molecule BRAF kinase inhibitors targeting oncogenic mutants, their clinical utility has been limited by challenges such as off-target effects and suboptimal pharmacological properties. This study focuses on identifying miniprotein inhibitors for the oncogenic V600E mutant BRAF, leveraging their potential as versatile drug candidates. Using a structure-based de novo design approach based on binding affinity to V600E mutant BRAF and hydration energy, 39 candidate miniprotein inhibitors comprising three helices and 69 amino acids were generated from the substructure of the endogenous ligand protein (14-3-3). Through in vitro binding and kinase inhibition assays, two miniproteins (63 and 76) were discovered as novel inhibitors of V600E mutant BRAF with low-micromolar activity, with miniprotein 76 demonstrating a specific impediment to MEK1 phosphorylation in mammalian cells. These findings highlight miniprotein 76 as a potential lead compound for developing new cancer therapeutics, and the structural features contributing to its biochemical potency against V600E mutant BRAF are discussed in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Min Ham
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimri-ro, Seong-dong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea; (J.M.H.); (M.K.)
| | - Myeongbin Kim
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimri-ro, Seong-dong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea; (J.M.H.); (M.K.)
| | - Taeho Kim
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Kwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea;
| | - Seong Eon Ryu
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimri-ro, Seong-dong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea; (J.M.H.); (M.K.)
| | - Hwangseo Park
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Kwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea;
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Kovalenko V, Rudzińska-Szostak E, Ślepokura K, Berlicki Ł. Scalable Synthesis of All Stereoisomers of 2-Aminocyclopentanecarboxylic Acid─A Toolbox for Peptide Foldamer Chemistry. J Org Chem 2024; 89:4760-4767. [PMID: 38544408 PMCID: PMC11002926 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c02991] [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: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Although the construction of peptides with well-defined three-dimensional structures and predictable functions, including biological activity, using conformationally constrained β-amino acids has been shown to be a very successful strategy, their broad application is limited by access to the appropriate building blocks. In particular, trans- and cis-stereoisomers of 2-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid (ACPC) are of high interest. The scalable synthesis of all four stereoisomers of Fmoc derivatives of ACPC is presented with NMR-based analysis methods for their enantiomeric purity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitaly Kovalenko
- Department
of Bioorganic Chemistry, Wrocław University
of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Ewa Rudzińska-Szostak
- Department
of Bioorganic Chemistry, Wrocław University
of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Ślepokura
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Wrocław, F. Joliot-Curie 14, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Łukasz Berlicki
- Department
of Bioorganic Chemistry, Wrocław University
of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
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Sang P, Cai J. Unnatural helical peptidic foldamers as protein segment mimics. Chem Soc Rev 2023; 52:4843-4877. [PMID: 37401344 PMCID: PMC10389297 DOI: 10.1039/d2cs00395c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Unnatural helical peptidic foldamers have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique folding behaviours, diverse artificial protein binding mechanisms, and promising applications in chemical, biological, medical, and material fields. Unlike the conventional α-helix consisting of molecular entities of native α-amino acids, unnatural helical peptidic foldamers are generally comprised of well-defined backbone conformers with unique and unnatural structural parameters. Their folded structures usually arise from unnatural amino acids such as N-substituted glycine, N-substituted-β-alanine, β-amino acid, urea, thiourea, α-aminoxy acid, α-aminoisobutyric acid, aza-amino acid, aromatic amide, γ-amino acid, as well as sulfono-γ-AA amino acid. They can exhibit intriguing and predictable three-dimensional helical structures, generally featuring superior resistance to proteolytic degradation, enhanced bioavailability, and improved chemodiversity, and are promising in mimicking helical segments of various proteins. Although it is impossible to include every piece of research work, we attempt to highlight the research progress in the past 10 years in exploring unnatural peptidic foldamers as protein helical segment mimics, by giving some representative examples and discussing the current challenges and future perspectives. We expect that this review will help elucidate the principles of structural design and applications of existing unnatural helical peptidic foldamers in protein segment mimicry, thereby attracting more researchers to explore and generate novel unnatural peptidic foldamers with unique structural and functional properties, leading to more unprecedented and practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Sang
- Tianjian Laboratory of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
| | - Jianfeng Cai
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
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Ożga K, Berlicki Ł. Miniprotein-Based Artificial Retroaldolase. ACS Catal 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.2c04311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Ożga
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Łukasz Berlicki
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
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