1
|
Perisic M, Woolcock K, Hering A, Mendel H, Muttenthaler M. Oxytocin and vasopressin signaling in health and disease. Trends Biochem Sci 2024; 49:361-377. [PMID: 38418338 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2024.01.010] [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: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
Neurohypophysial peptides are ancient and evolutionarily highly conserved neuropeptides that regulate many crucial physiological functions in vertebrates and invertebrates. The human neurohypophysial oxytocin/vasopressin (OT/VP) signaling system with its four receptors has become an attractive drug target for a variety of diseases, including cancer, pain, cardiovascular indications, and neurological disorders. Despite its promise, drug development faces hurdles, including signaling complexity, selectivity and off-target concerns, translational interspecies differences, and inefficient drug delivery. In this review we dive into the complexity of the OT/VP signaling system in health and disease, provide an overview of relevant pharmacological probes, and discuss the latest trends in therapeutic lead discovery and drug development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monika Perisic
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Vienna Doctoral School in Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Katrina Woolcock
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Anke Hering
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Australia
| | - Helen Mendel
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Australia
| | - Markus Muttenthaler
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ramanujam V, Crawford T, Cristofori‐Armstrong B, Deuis JR, Jia X, Maxwell MJ, Jami S, Ma L, Vetter I, Mobli M. Structural Basis of the Bivalency of the TRPV1 Agonist DkTx. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202314621. [PMID: 37953402 PMCID: PMC10952689 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202314621] [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: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Bivalency is a prevalent natural mechanism to enhance receptor avidity. Various two-domain disulfide-rich peptides exhibiting bivalent action have been identified from animal venoms. A unique characteristic of these peptides is that they induce a pharmacological response different from that provoked by any of the constituent domains. The enhanced potency and avidity of such peptides is therefore a consequence of their domain fusion by a peptide linker. The role of the linker itself, beyond conjugation, remains unclear. Here, we investigate how the linker affects the bivalency of the capsaicin receptor (TRPV1) agonist DkTx. We recombinantly produced isotope labelled DkTx using a protein splicing approach, to solve the high-resolution solution structure of DkTx, revealing residual linker order stabilised by linker-domain interactions leading to biased domain orientations. The significance of this was studied using a combination of mutagenesis, spin relaxation studies and electrophysiology measurements. Our results reveal that disrupting the pre-organisation of the domains of DkTx is accompanied by reductions in potency and onset of avidity. Our findings support a model of pre-configured two-domain binding, in favour of the previously suggested sequential binding model. This highlights the significance of ordered elements in linker design and the natural evolution of these in bivalent toxins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Venkatraman Ramanujam
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Theo Crawford
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Ben Cristofori‐Armstrong
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Jennifer R. Deuis
- Institute for Molecular BiosciencesSchool of PharmacyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Xinying Jia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Michael J. Maxwell
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Sina Jami
- Institute for Molecular BiosciencesSchool of PharmacyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Linlin Ma
- Griffith Institute for Drug DiscoverySchool of Environment and ScienceGriffith UniversityNathan4111QueenslandAustralia
| | - Irina Vetter
- Institute for Molecular BiosciencesSchool of PharmacyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| | - Mehdi Mobli
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt Lucia4072QueenslandAustralia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Peptide Multimerization as Leads for Therapeutic Development. Biologics 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/biologics2010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Multimerization of peptide structures has been a logical evolution in their development as potential therapeutic molecules. The multivalent properties of these assemblies have attracted much attention from researchers in the past and the development of more complex branching dendrimeric structures, with a wide array of biocompatible building blocks is revealing previously unseen properties and activities. These branching multimer and dendrimer structures can induce greater effect on cellular targets than monomeric forms and act as potent antimicrobials, potential vaccine alternatives and promising candidates in biomedical imaging and drug delivery applications. This review aims to outline the chemical synthetic innovations for the development of these highly complex structures and highlight the extensive capabilities of these molecules to rival those of natural biomolecules.
Collapse
|
4
|
Fmoc Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis of Oxytocin and Analogues. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2021; 2384:175-199. [PMID: 34550575 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1759-5_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Solid phase peptide synthesis is the most commonly used method for the production of peptides. In this chapter, we outline the standard operating procedures used in our laboratory to efficiently access oxytocin-like peptides. This includes detailed descriptions of equipment setup, reagent selection, peptide assembly on solid support, peptide side chain deprotection and cleavage from the solid support, oxidative folding, purification, and analysis.
Collapse
|
5
|
Tombling BJ, Lammi C, Bollati C, Anoldi A, Craik DJ, Wang CK. Increased Valency Improves Inhibitory Activity of Peptides Targeting Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9). Chembiochem 2021; 22:2154-2160. [PMID: 33755275 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a clinically validated target for treating hypercholesterolemia. Peptide-based PCSK9 inhibitors have attracted pharmaceutical interest, but the effect of multivalency on bioactivity is poorly understood. Here we designed bivalent and tetravalent dendrimers, decorated with the PCSK9 inhibitory peptides Pep2-8[RRG] or P9-38, to study relationships between peptide binding affinity, peptide valency, and PCSK9 inhibition. Increased valency resulted in improved PCSK9 inhibition for both peptides, with activity improvements of up to 100-fold achieved for the P9-38-decorated dendrimers compared to monomeric P9-38 in in vitro competition binding assays. Furthermore, the P9-38-decorated dendrimers showed improved potency at restoring functional low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor levels and internalizing LDL in the presence of PCSK9, demonstrating significant cell-based activity at picomolar concentrations. This study demonstrates the potential of increasing valency as a strategy for increasing the efficacy of peptide-based PCSK9 therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J Tombling
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Carmen Lammi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via L. Mangiagalli 25, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Carlotta Bollati
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via L. Mangiagalli 25, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Anna Anoldi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via L. Mangiagalli 25, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - David J Craik
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Conan K Wang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Dekan Z, Kremsmayr T, Keov P, Godin M, Teakle N, Dürrauer L, Xiang H, Gharib D, Bergmayr C, Hellinger R, Gay M, Vilaseca M, Kurzbach D, Albericio F, Alewood PF, Gruber CW, Muttenthaler M. Nature-inspired dimerization as a strategy to modulate neuropeptide pharmacology exemplified with vasopressin and oxytocin. Chem Sci 2021; 12:4057-4062. [PMID: 34163676 PMCID: PMC8179488 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc05501h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) are cyclic neuropeptides that regulate fundamental physiological functions via four G protein-coupled receptors, V1aR, V1bR, V2R, and OTR. Ligand development remains challenging for these receptors due to complex structure–activity relationships. Here, we investigated dimerization as a strategy for developing ligands with novel pharmacology. We regioselectively synthesised and systematically studied parallel, antiparallel and N- to C-terminal cyclized homo- and heterodimer constructs of VP, OT and dVDAVP (1-deamino-4-valine-8-d-arginine-VP). All disulfide-linked dimers, except for the head-to-tail cyclized constructs, retained nanomolar potency despite the structural implications of dimerization. Our results support a single chain interaction for receptor activation. Dimer orientation had little impact on activity, except for the dVDAVP homodimers, where an antagonist to agonist switch was observed at the V1aR. This study provides novel insights into the structural requirements of VP/OT receptor activation and spotlights dimerization as a strategy to modulate pharmacology, a concept also frequently observed in nature. Structural and pharmacological study of parallel, antiparallel and N- to C-terminal cyclized homo- and heterodimers of vasopressin and oxytocin. This study spotlights dimerization as a strategy to modulate the pharmacology of neuropeptides.![]()
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zoltan Dekan
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland Brisbane 4072 Australia
| | - Thomas Kremsmayr
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna Währingerstraße 38 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Peter Keov
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane 4072 Australia
| | - Mathilde Godin
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland Brisbane 4072 Australia
| | - Ngari Teakle
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland Brisbane 4072 Australia
| | - Leopold Dürrauer
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna Währingerstraße 38 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Huang Xiang
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna Schwarzspanierstraße 17 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Dalia Gharib
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna Schwarzspanierstraße 17 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Christian Bergmayr
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna Schwarzspanierstraße 17 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Roland Hellinger
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna Schwarzspanierstraße 17 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Marina Gay
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine Barcelona C/ Baldiri Reixac 10 08028 Barcelona Spain
| | - Marta Vilaseca
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine Barcelona C/ Baldiri Reixac 10 08028 Barcelona Spain
| | - Dennis Kurzbach
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna Währingerstraße 38 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Fernando Albericio
- Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Barcelona Barcelona Science Park, Baldiri Reixac 10 08028 Barcelona Spain
| | - Paul F Alewood
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland Brisbane 4072 Australia
| | - Christian W Gruber
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane 4072 Australia.,Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna Schwarzspanierstraße 17 1090 Vienna Austria
| | - Markus Muttenthaler
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland Brisbane 4072 Australia .,Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna Währingerstraße 38 1090 Vienna Austria
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Xu X, Liang J, Zhang Z, Jiang T, Yu R. Blockade of Human α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor by α-Conotoxin ImI Dendrimer: Insight from Computational Simulations. Mar Drugs 2019; 17:md17050303. [PMID: 31126085 PMCID: PMC6563025 DOI: 10.3390/md17050303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ligand-gated ion channels that are involved in fast synaptic transmission and mediated physiological activities in the nervous system. α-Conotoxin ImI exhibits subtype-specific blockade towards homomeric α7 and α9 receptors. In this study, we established a method to build a 2×ImI-dendrimer/h (human) α7 nAChR model, and based on this model, we systematically investigated the molecular interactions between the 2×ImI-dendrimer and hα7 nAChR. Our results suggest that the 2×ImI-dendrimer possessed much stronger potency towards hα7 nAChR than the α-ImI monomer and demonstrated that the linker between α-ImI contributed to the potency of the 2×ImI-dendrimer by forming a stable hydrogen-bond network with hα7 nAChR. Overall, this study provides novel insights into the binding mechanism of α-ImI dendrimer to hα7 nAChR, and the methodology reported here opens an avenue for the design of more selective dendrimers with potential usage as drug/gene carriers, macromolecular drugs, and molecular probes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiao Xu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266003, China.
| | - Jiazhen Liang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266003, China.
| | - Zheyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
| | - Tao Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266003, China.
| | - Rilei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266003, China.
- Innovation Center for Marine Drug Screening & Evaluation, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266003, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Contribution of membrane receptor signalling to chronic visceral pain. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2018; 98:10-23. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2018.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Revised: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
|