An anticancer drug to probe non-specific protein-DNA interactions

Decoding the binding interaction of steroidal pyridines with bovine serum albumin using spectroscopic and molecular docking techniques

The present study reports a comprehensive and conformational aspect of binding of steroidal pyridines (1-6) with a model transport protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA) by fluorescence, UV-visible, circular dichroism, and molecular docking techniques. Quenching of BSA emission was attributed to the formation of the ground state complex after the compound (1-6) binds to the backbone of the protein. Synchronous fluorescence spectra reveals changes in the microenvironment of the aromatic residues. UV-visible absorption spectra further reiterate the quenching mechanism to be static and binding of compound (1-6) results in the formation of a ground-state complex. Circular dichroism spectra indicated that compound 1-3 causes unfolding and compound 4-6 leads to the stabilization of the protein structure. In addition, a molecular docking study revealed the binding pocket for the formation of the ligand-protein complex through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Furthermore, hemolytic activity suggested that the compounds (1-6) are biocompatible in nature. Evaluation of such steroid-protein interaction helps in better understanding of the biomolecular interaction of steroidal compounds with biomacromolecule and opens up new approaches in steroid based drug-design process.

Molecular-Scale Investigations Reveal Noncovalent Bonding Underlying the Adsorption of Environmental DNA on Mica

Mineral-soil organic matter (SOM including DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides) associations formed through various interactions, play a key role in regulating long-term SOM preservation. The mechanisms underlying DNA-mineral and DNA-protein/polysaccharide interactions at nanometer and molecular scales in environmentally relevant solutions remain uncertain. Here, we present a model mineral-SOM system consisting of mineral (mica)-nucleic acid (environmental DNA, eDNA)/protein (bovine serum albumin)/polysaccharide (alginate), and combine atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based dynamic force spectroscopy and PeakForce quantitative nanomechanical mapping using DNA-decorated tips. Single-molecule binding and adhesion force of eDNA to mineral and to mineral adsorbed by protein/polysaccharide reveal the noncovalent bonds and that systematically changing ion compositions, ionic strength, and pH result in significant differences in organic-organic and organic-mineral binding energies. Consistent with the bond-strength measurements, protein, rather than polysaccharide, promotes mineral-bound DNA molecules by ex situ AFM deposition observations in relatively high concentrations of divalent cation-containing acidic solutions. These molecular-scale determinations and nanoscale observations should substantially improve our understanding of how environmental factors influence the organic-mineral interfacial interactions through the synergy of collective noncovalent and/or covalent bonds in mineral-organic associations.

Ellipticine, its Derivatives: Re-evaluation of Clinical Suitability with the Aid of Drug Delivery Systems

Targeted drug delivery systems gave newer dimensions for safer and more effective use of therapeutic drugs, thus helping in circumventing the issues of toxicity and unintended drug accumulation. These ongoing developments in delivery systems can, in turn, bring back drugs that suffered various limitations, Ellipticine (EPT) being a candidate. EPT derivatives witnessed entry into clinical settings but failed to survive in clinics citing various toxic side effects. A large body of preclinical data deliberates the potency of drug delivery systems in increasing the efficiency of EPT/derivatives while decreasing their toxic side effects. Recent developments in drug delivery systems provide a platform to explore EPT and its derivatives as good clinical candidates in treating tumors. The present review deals with delivery mechanisms of EPT/EPT derivatives as antitumor drugs, in vitro and in vivo, and evaluates the suitability of EPT-carriers in clinical settings.

Steroidal thiazolidinone derivatives: Design, synthesis and their molecular interaction with human serum albumin

A series of steroidal thiazolidinone derivatives have been synthesized through one-pot multicomponent reaction involving steroidal ketone, thiosemicarbazide/methyl-thiosemicarbazide and DMAD in presence of AlCl₃ as a Lewis acid catalyst. Among all the synthesized steroidal thiazolidinone derivatives, compound 7-9 (ST 7-9) were investigated for their in vitro molecular interaction with human serum albumin. Intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy, constant wavelength synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism and UV-visible absorption techniques have been exploited to characterize the binding phenomena in phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.4. The experimental results indicated that ST 7-9 bind to HSA and the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA was quenched through static quenching mechanism. The binding parameters were calculated and the binding constants obtained were 1.44 × 10⁵ M^-1 for ST 7, 0.84 × 10⁵ M^-1 for ST 8 and 1.06 × 10⁵ M^-1 for ST 9. Circular dichroism analysis confirms that the presence of ST 7-9, altered the secondary structure of HSA due to partial unfolding of the polypeptide chain. Furthermore, hemolytic activity assay demonstrated that the synthesized steroidal thiazolidinone derivatives have good compatibility towards human red blood cells. Finally, molecular docking studies revealed that the steroidal thiazolidinones can bind in the hydrophobic cavity of HSA, by hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interaction. These results provided valuable information about the binding mechanism of ST 7-9 with HSA and play a pivotal role in the development of steroidal heterocycle inspired compounds.

Polymyxins interaction to the human serum albumin: A thermodynamic and computational study

Polymyxin B and E (colistin), are a group of cationic charged cyclic antibiotic lipopeptides that are frequently used in the clinics to treat infections caused by the multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Since the interactions with the blood plasma drug-transport proteins may play a critical role in determining their pharmacological and pharmacokinetic profiles, we studied the binding properties of polymyxins to the human serum albumin (HSA) under simulated physiological conditions by the combination of biophysical approaches, such as isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), fluorescence anisotropy, circular dichroism (CD) buttressed by computational studies. The HSA binding to the polymyxins was relatively strong (K_a ≈ 1.0 × 10⁷ M^-1). Molecular docking indicated that polymyxins bind to the cleft of HSA between domains I and III via the electrostatic interactions. This evidence was further confirmed by the entropy-driven interaction for the polymyxins bound HSA. Far UV-CD experiments showed that the secondary structure of HSA doesn't alter and its stable structure is preserved. Collectively, these investigations revealed that the polymyxins bind preferentially to the partially unfolded intermediate forms of the protein structure; however, HSA molecule does not undergo any significant conformational changes upon binding. This is promising as it may limit the unfavorable side effects of the medicine. On the whole, the results provide quantitative and qualitative insight of the binding interaction between HSA and polymyxins, which is important in understanding their effect as therapeutic agents.

Quantitative Comparison of Protein Adsorption and Conformational Changes on Dielectric-Coated Nanoplasmonic Sensing Arrays

Nanoplasmonic sensors are a popular, surface-sensitive measurement tool to investigate biomacromolecular interactions at solid-liquid interfaces, opening the door to a wide range of applications. In addition to high surface sensitivity, nanoplasmonic sensors have versatile surface chemistry options as plasmonic metal nanoparticles can be coated with thin dielectric layers. Within this scope, nanoplasmonic sensors have demonstrated promise for tracking protein adsorption and substrate-induced conformational changes on oxide film-coated arrays, although existing studies have been limited to single substrates. Herein, we investigated human serum albumin (HSA) adsorption onto silica- and titania-coated arrays of plasmonic gold nanodisks by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) measurements and established an analytical framework to compare responses across multiple substrates with different sensitivities. While similar responses were recorded on the two substrates for HSA adsorption under physiologically-relevant ionic strength conditions, distinct substrate-specific behavior was observed at lower ionic strength conditions. With decreasing ionic strength, larger measurement responses occurred for HSA adsorption onto silica surfaces, whereas HSA adsorption onto titania surfaces occurred independently of ionic strength condition. Complementary quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation (QCM-D) measurements were also performed, and the trend in adsorption behavior was similar. Of note, the magnitudes of the ionic strength-dependent LSPR and QCM-D measurement responses varied, and are discussed with respect to the measurement principle and surface sensitivity of each technique. Taken together, our findings demonstrate how the high surface sensitivity of nanoplasmonic sensors can be applied to quantitatively characterize protein adsorption across multiple surfaces, and outline broadly-applicable measurement strategies for biointerfacial science applications.

Loading of an anti-cancer drug into mesoporous silica nano-channels and its subsequent release to DNA

Mesoporous silica nano-channel (MCM-41) based molecular switching of a biologically important anticancer drug, namely, ellipticine (EPT) has been utilized to probe its efficient loading onto MCM-41, and its subsequent release to intra-cellular biomolecules, like DNA. By exploiting various spectroscopic techniques (like, steady state fluorescence, time-resolved fluorescence and circular dichroism), it has been shown that EPT can be easily translocated from MCM-41 to DNA without using any external stimulant. Blue emission of EPT in a polar aprotic solvent, i.e., dichloromethane (DCM), completely switches to green upon loading inside MCM-41 due to the conversion from a neutral to a protonated form of the drug inside nano-pores. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), N₂ gas adsorption and confocal fluorescence microscopy results confirm the adsorption of EPT inside the nano-pores of MCM-41. Here, the lysozyme (Lyz) protein has been utilized as a pore blocker of MCM-41 in order to prevent premature drug release. Interestingly, EPT is released to DNA even from the EPT-MCM-Lyz composite system, and results in intensification of green fluorescence. Electron microscopy results reveal the formation of a distinctive garland kind of morphology involving MCM-41 and DNA probably through non-covalent interactions, and this is believed to be responsible for the DNA assisted release of drug molecules from silica nano-pores. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging revealed that EPT-MCM is successfully internalized into the HeLa cervical cancer cells and localized into the nucleus. Cell viability assay results infer that EPT-MCM and EPT-MCM-Lyz showed much improved efficacy in HeLa cancer cells compared to free ellipticine.

X-ray Structure Analysis of Indazolium trans-[Tetrachlorobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)] (KP1019) Bound to Human Serum Albumin Reveals Two Ruthenium Binding Sites and Provides Insights into the Drug Binding Mechanism

Ruthenium(III) complexes are promising candidates for anticancer drugs, especially the clinically studied indazolium trans-[tetrachlorobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)] (KP1019) and its analogue sodium trans-[tetrachlorobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)] (NKP-1339). Several studies have emphasized the likely role of human serum proteins in the transportation and accumulation of ruthenium(III) complexes in tumors. Therefore, the interaction between KP1019 and human serum albumin was investigated by means of X-ray crystallography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The structural data unambiguously reveal the binding of two ruthenium atoms to histidine residues 146 and 242, which are both located within well-known hydrophobic binding pockets of albumin. The ruthenium centers are octahedrally coordinated by solvent molecules revealing the dissociation of both indazole ligands from the ruthenium-based drug. However, a binding mechanism is proposed indicating the importance of the indazole ligands for binding site recognition and thus their indispensable role for the binding of KP1019.

Dimeric binding of plant alkaloid ellipticine to human serum proteins

Induced exciton circular dichroism signals reveal the accommodation of a pair of ellipticine molecules to the subdomain IB of human serum albumin and the β-barrel of α₁-acid glycoprotein.

Excited state proton transfer dynamics of an eminent anticancer drug, ellipticine, in octyl glucoside micelle

Photophysics and proton transfer dynamics of an eminent anticancer drug, ellipticine (EPT), have been investigated inside a biocompatible octyl-β-D-glucoside (OBG) micellar medium using steady state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. EPT exists as protonated form in aqueous solution of pH 7. When EPT molecules are encapsulated in OBG micelles, protonated form is converted to neutral form in the ground state due to the hydrophobic effect of the micellar environment. Interestingly, steady state fluorescence results indicate the existence of both neutral and protonated forms of EPT in the excited state, even though neutral molecules are selectively excited, and it is attributed to the conversion of neutral to protonated form of EPT by the excited state proton transfer (ESPT) process. A clear isoemissive point in the time-resolved area normalized emission spectra (TRANES) further supports the excited state conversion of neutral to protonated form of EPT. Notably, this kind of proton transfer dynamics is not observed in other conventional micelles, such as, SDS, Triton-X and CTAB. Therefore, the observed ESPT dynamics is believed to be an outcome of combined effects of the local dielectric constant felt by EPT and the local proton concentration at the OBG micellar surface.

pH responsive translocation of an anticancer drug between cyclodextrin and DNA

Herein, the pH triggered translocation of EPT in between γ-cyclodextrin and DNA is monitored using fluorescence switch of the drug.