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Relitti N, Saraswati AP, Carullo G, Papa A, Monti A, Benedetti R, Passaro E, Brogi S, Calderone V, Butini S, Gemma S, Altucci L, Campiani G, Doti N. Design and Synthesis of New Oligopeptidic Parvulin Inhibitors. ChemMedChem 2022; 17:e202200050. [PMID: 35357776 PMCID: PMC9321596 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202200050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Pin1 catalyzes the cis-trans isomerization of pThr-Pro or pSer-Pro amide bonds of different proteins involved in several physio/pathological processes. In this framework, recent research activity is directed towards the identification of new selective Pin1 inhibitors. Here, we developed a set ( 5a - p ) of peptide-based Pin1 inhibitors. Direct-binding experiments allowed the identification of the peptide-based inhibitor 5k as a potent ligand of Pin1. Notably, 5k binds Pin1 with a higher affinity compared to Pin4. The comparative analysis of molecular models of Pin1 and Pin4 with the selected compound, gave a rational explanation of the biochemical activity, and pinpointed the chemical elements that, if opportunely modified, may further improve inhibitory potency, pharmacological properties and selectivity of future peptide-based Parvulin inhibitors. Since 5k showed a limited cell penetration and no antiproliferative activity, it was conjugated to a polyarginine stretch, known to promote cell penetration of peptides, to obtain R8-5k derivative, which displayed an anti-proliferative effect on cancer cell lines compared to non-tumor cells. The effect of R8 on cell proliferation was also investigated. This work doubts the application of the R8 strategy for the development of cell penetrating antiproliferative peptides since it is not inert.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Relitti
- University of Siena: Universita degli Studi di Siena, DBCF, ITALY
| | | | - Gabriele Carullo
- University of Siena: Universita degli Studi di Siena, DBCF, 2, Aldo Moro, 53100 Siena Italy, 53100, Siena, ITALY
| | - Alessandro Papa
- University of Siena: Universita degli Studi di Siena, DBCF, ITALY
| | | | - Rosaria Benedetti
- University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli: Universita degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Medicine, ITALY
| | - Eugenia Passaro
- University of Pisa Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences: Universita degli Studi di Pisa Dipartimento di Farmacia, Pharmacy, ITALY
| | - Simone Brogi
- University of Pisa Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences: Universita degli Studi di Pisa Dipartimento di Farmacia, Pharmacy, ITALY
| | - Vincenzo Calderone
- University of Pisa Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences: Universita degli Studi di Pisa Dipartimento di Farmacia, Pharmacy, ITALY
| | - Stefania Butini
- University of Siena: Universita degli Studi di Siena, DBCF, ITALY
| | - Sandra Gemma
- University of Siena: Universita degli Studi di Siena, DBCF, ITALY
| | - Lucia Altucci
- University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli: Universita degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Medicine, ITALY
| | - Giuseppe Campiani
- Universita degli Studi di Siena, Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, ITALY
| | - Nunzianna Doti
- CNR: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Bioimaging, ITALY
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Russo L, Mascanzoni F, Farina B, Dolga AM, Monti A, Caporale A, Culmsee C, Fattorusso R, Ruvo M, Doti N. Design, Optimization, and Structural Characterization of an Apoptosis-Inducing Factor Peptide Targeting Human Cyclophilin A to Inhibit Apoptosis Inducing Factor-Mediated Cell Death. J Med Chem 2021; 64:11445-11459. [PMID: 34338510 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Blocking the interaction between the apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and cyclophilin A (CypA) by the AIF fragment AIF(370-394) is protective against glutamate-induced neuronal cell death and brain injury in mice. Starting from AIF(370-394), we report the generation of the disulfide-bridged and shorter variant AIF(381-389) and its structural characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in the free and CypA-bound state. AIF(381-389) in both the free and bound states assumes a β-hairpin conformation similar to that of the fragment in the AIF protein and shows a highly reduced conformational flexibility. This peptide displays a similar in vitro affinity for CypA, an improved antiapoptotic activity in cells and an enhanced proteolytic stability compared to the parent peptide. The NMR-based 3D model of the AIF(381-389)/CypA complex provides a better understanding of the binding hot spots on both the peptide and the protein and can be exploited to design AIF/CypA inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Russo
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Fabiola Mascanzoni
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB)-CNR, Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Biancamaria Farina
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB)-CNR, Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Amalia Mihaela Dolga
- Institute of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, University of Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany.,Faculty of Science and Engineering, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP), Research School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences (BCN), Department of Molecular Pharmacology, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Alessandra Monti
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB)-CNR, Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Andrea Caporale
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB)-CNR, Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Carsten Culmsee
- Institute of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, University of Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Roberto Fattorusso
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Menotti Ruvo
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB)-CNR, Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Nunzianna Doti
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB)-CNR, Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
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Chelko SP, Keceli G, Carpi A, Doti N, Agrimi J, Asimaki A, Beti CB, Miyamoto M, Amat-Codina N, Bedja D, Wei AC, Murray B, Tichnell C, Kwon C, Calkins H, James CA, O'Rourke B, Halushka MK, Melloni E, Saffitz JE, Judge DP, Ruvo M, Kitsis RN, Andersen P, Di Lisa F, Paolocci N. Exercise triggers CAPN1-mediated AIF truncation, inducing myocyte cell death in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:13/581/eabf0891. [PMID: 33597260 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abf0891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Myocyte death occurs in many inherited and acquired cardiomyopathies, including arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a genetic heart disease plagued by the prevalence of sudden cardiac death. Individuals with ACM and harboring pathogenic desmosomal variants, such as desmoglein-2 (DSG2), often show myocyte necrosis with progression to exercise-associated heart failure. Here, we showed that homozygous Dsg2 mutant mice (Dsg2 mut/mut), a model of ACM, die prematurely during swimming and display myocardial dysfunction and necrosis. We detected calcium (Ca2+) overload in Dsg2 mut/mut hearts, which induced calpain-1 (CAPN1) activation, association of CAPN1 with mitochondria, and CAPN1-induced cleavage of mitochondrial-bound apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). Cleaved AIF translocated to the myocyte nucleus triggering large-scale DNA fragmentation and cell death, an effect potentiated by mitochondrial-driven AIF oxidation. Posttranslational oxidation of AIF cysteine residues was due, in part, to a depleted mitochondrial thioredoxin-2 redox system. Hearts from exercised Dsg2 mut/mut mice were depleted of calpastatin (CAST), an endogenous CAPN1 inhibitor, and overexpressing CAST in myocytes protected against Ca2+ overload-induced necrosis. When cardiomyocytes differentiated from Dsg2 mut/mut embryonic stem cells (ES-CMs) were challenged with β-adrenergic stimulation, CAPN1 inhibition attenuated CAPN1-induced AIF truncation. In addition, pretreatment of Dsg2 mut/mut ES-CMs with an AIF-mimetic peptide, mirroring the cyclophilin-A (PPIA) binding site of AIF, blocked PPIA-mediated AIF-nuclear translocation, and reduced both apoptosis and necrosis. Thus, preventing CAPN1-induced AIF-truncation or barring binding of AIF to the nuclear chaperone, PPIA, may avert myocyte death and, ultimately, disease progression to heart failure in ACM and likely other forms of cardiomyopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen P Chelko
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA. .,Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Gizem Keceli
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Andrea Carpi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova 35122, Italy
| | - Nunzianna Doti
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Naples 80134, Italy
| | - Jacopo Agrimi
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Angeliki Asimaki
- Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St. George's, University of London, London WC1E 6BS, UK
| | - Carlos Bueno Beti
- Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St. George's, University of London, London WC1E 6BS, UK
| | - Matthew Miyamoto
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Nuria Amat-Codina
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Djahida Bedja
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.,Australian School of Advanced Medicine, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - An-Chi Wei
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Brittney Murray
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Crystal Tichnell
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Chulan Kwon
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Hugh Calkins
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Cynthia A James
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Brian O'Rourke
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Marc K Halushka
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Edon Melloni
- Department of Medicine, University of Genova, Genova 16126, Italy
| | - Jeffrey E Saffitz
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 20115, USA
| | - Daniel P Judge
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.,Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Menotti Ruvo
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Naples 80134, Italy
| | - Richard N Kitsis
- Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Peter Andersen
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Fabio Di Lisa
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova 35122, Italy
| | - Nazareno Paolocci
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. .,Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova 35122, Italy
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Monti A, Sturlese M, Caporale A, Roger JDA, Mascanzoni F, Ruvo M, Doti N. Design, synthesis, structural analysis and biochemical studies of stapled AIF(370-394) analogues as ligand of CypA. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2020; 1864:129717. [PMID: 32861757 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2020.129717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The neuronal apoptotic process requires the nuclear translocation of Apoptosis Inducing Factor (AIF) in complex with Cyclophilin A (CypA) with consequent chromatin condensation and DNA degradation events. Targeting CypA by delivering an AIF-blocking peptide (AIF(370-394)) provides a significant neuroprotection, demonstrating the biological relevance of the AIF/CypA complex. To date pharmaceutical compounds targeting this complex are missing. METHODS We designed and synthesized a set of mono and bicyclic AIF(370-394) analogs containing both disulfide and 1,2,3-triazole bridges, in the attempt to both stabilize the peptide conformation and improve its binding affinity to CypA. Peptide structures in solution and in complex with CypA have been studied by circular dichroism (CD), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and molecular modeling. The ability of stapled peptides to interact with CypA was evaluated by using Epic Corning label free technique and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry experiments. RESULTS We identified a stapled peptide analogue of AIF(370-394) with a ten-fold improved affinity for CypA. Molecular modeling studies reveal that the new peptide acquires β-turn/β-fold structures and shares with the parent molecule the same binding region on CypA. CONCLUSIONS Data obtained provide invaluable assistance in designing new ligand of CypA for therapeutic approaches in neurodegenerative diseases. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE Due to the crucial role of AIF/CypA complex formation in neurodegeneration, identification of selective inhibitors is of high importance for targeted therapies. We describe new bicyclic peptide inhibitors with improved affinity for CypA, investigating the kinetic, thermodynamic and structural effects of conformational constraints on the protein-ligand interaction, and their utility for drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Monti
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR; Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy; DISTABIF, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, CE, Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- Molecular Modeling Section, Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università di Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Andrea Caporale
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR; Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Jessica De Almeida Roger
- Molecular Modeling Section, Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università di Padova, via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Fabiola Mascanzoni
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR; Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Menotti Ruvo
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR; Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Nunzianna Doti
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR; Via Mezzocannone, 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
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