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Zhu Q, Mulligan VK, Shasha D. Heuristic energy-based cyclic peptide design. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.03.601955. [PMID: 39005429 PMCID: PMC11244984 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.03.601955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Rational computational design is crucial to the pursuit of novel drugs and therapeutic agents. Meso-scale cyclic peptides, which consist of 7-40 amino acid residues, are of particular interest due to their conformational rigidity, binding specificity, degradation resistance, and potential cell permeability. Because there are few natural cyclic peptides, de novo design involving non-canonical amino acids is a potentially useful goal. Here, we develop an efficient pipeline (CyclicChamp) for cyclic peptide design. After converting the cyclic constraint into an error function, we employ a variant of simulated annealing to search for low-energy peptide backbones while maintaining peptide closure. Compared to the previous random sampling approach, which was capable of sampling conformations of cyclic peptides of up to 14 residues, our method both greatly accelerates the computation speed for sampling conformations of small macrocycles (ca. 7 residues), and addresses the high-dimensionality challenge that large macrocycle designs often encounter. As a result, CyclicChamp makes conformational sampling tractable for 15- to 24-residue cyclic peptides, thus permitting the design of macrocycles in this size range. Microsecond-length molecular dynamics simulations on the resulting 15, 20, and 24 amino acid cyclic designs identify trajectories with kinetic stability. To test their thermodynamic stability, we perform additional replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations and generate free energy surfaces. Two 15-residue designs and one 20-residue design emerge as promising candidates, along with one viable 24-residue candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiyao Zhu
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, NY, U.S.A
| | | | - Dennis Shasha
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, U.S.A
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2
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Harris BJ, Nguyen PT, Zhou G, Wulff H, DiMaio F, Yarov-Yarovoy V. Toward high-resolution modeling of small molecule-ion channel interactions. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1411428. [PMID: 38919257 PMCID: PMC11196768 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1411428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Ion channels are critical drug targets for a range of pathologies, such as epilepsy, pain, itch, autoimmunity, and cardiac arrhythmias. To develop effective and safe therapeutics, it is necessary to design small molecules with high potency and selectivity for specific ion channel subtypes. There has been increasing implementation of structure-guided drug design for the development of small molecules targeting ion channels. We evaluated the performance of two RosettaLigand docking methods, RosettaLigand and GALigandDock, on the structures of known ligand-cation channel complexes. Ligands were docked to voltage-gated sodium (NaV), voltage-gated calcium (CaV), and transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channel families. For each test case, RosettaLigand and GALigandDock methods frequently sampled a ligand-binding pose within a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 1-2 Å relative to the experimental ligand coordinates. However, RosettaLigand and GALigandDock scoring functions cannot consistently identify experimental ligand coordinates as top-scoring models. Our study reveals that the proper scoring criteria for RosettaLigand and GALigandDock modeling of ligand-ion channel complexes should be assessed on a case-by-case basis using sufficient ligand and receptor interface sampling, knowledge about state-specific interactions of the ion channel, and inherent receptor site flexibility that could influence ligand binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon J. Harris
- Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Phuong T. Nguyen
- Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Guangfeng Zhou
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Heike Wulff
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Frank DiMaio
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy
- Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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3
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Xu X, Xu C, He W, Wei L, Li H, Zhou J, Zhang R, Wang Y, Xiong Y, Gao X. HELM-GPT: de novo macrocyclic peptide design using generative pre-trained transformer. Bioinformatics 2024; 40:btae364. [PMID: 38867692 PMCID: PMC11256930 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae364] [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: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Macrocyclic peptides hold great promise as therapeutics targeting intracellular proteins. This stems from their remarkable ability to bind flat protein surfaces with high affinity and specificity while potentially traversing the cell membrane. Research has already explored their use in developing inhibitors for intracellular proteins, such as KRAS, a well-known driver in various cancers. However, computational approaches for de novo macrocyclic peptide design remain largely unexplored. RESULTS Here, we introduce HELM-GPT, a novel method that combines the strength of the hierarchical editing language for macromolecules (HELM) representation and generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) for de novo macrocyclic peptide design. Through reinforcement learning (RL), our experiments demonstrate that HELM-GPT has the ability to generate valid macrocyclic peptides and optimize their properties. Furthermore, we introduce a contrastive preference loss during the RL process, further enhanced the optimization performance. Finally, to co-optimize peptide permeability and KRAS binding affinity, we propose a step-by-step optimization strategy, demonstrating its effectiveness in generating molecules fulfilling both criteria. In conclusion, the HELM-GPT method can be used to identify novel macrocyclic peptides to target intracellular proteins. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The code and data of HELM-GPT are freely available on GitHub (https://github.com/charlesxu90/helm-gpt).
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaopeng Xu
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Chencheng Xu
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Wenjia He
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Lesong Wei
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Haoyang Li
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Juexiao Zhou
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Yu Wang
- Syneron Technology, Guangzhou 510000, China
| | | | - Xin Gao
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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4
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Cheng Z, Aitha M, Thomas CA, Sturgill A, Fairweather M, Hu A, Bethel CR, Rivera DD, Dranchak P, Thomas PW, Li H, Feng Q, Tao K, Song M, Sun N, Wang S, Silwal SB, Page RC, Fast W, Bonomo RA, Weese M, Martinez W, Inglese J, Crowder MW. Machine Learning Models Identify Inhibitors of New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:3977-3991. [PMID: 38727192 PMCID: PMC11129921 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c02015] [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: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
The worldwide spread of the metallo-β-lactamases (MBL), especially New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1), is threatening the efficacy of β-lactams, which are the most potent and prescribed class of antibiotics in the clinic. Currently, FDA-approved MBL inhibitors are lacking in the clinic even though many strategies have been used in inhibitor development, including quantitative high-throughput screening (qHTS), fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD), and molecular docking. Herein, a machine learning-based prediction tool is described, which was generated using results from HTS of a large chemical library and previously published inhibition data. The prediction tool was then used for virtual screening of the NIH Genesis library, which was subsequently screened using qHTS. A novel MBL inhibitor was identified and shown to lower minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of Meropenem for a panel of E. coli and K. pneumoniae clinical isolates expressing NDM-1. The mechanism of inhibition of this novel scaffold was probed utilizing equilibrium dialyses with metal analyses, native state electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and molecular docking. The uncovered inhibitor, compound 72922413, was shown to be 9-hydroxy-3-[(5-hydroxy-1-oxa-9-azaspiro[5.5]undec-9-yl)carbonyl]-4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-4-one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zishuo Cheng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Mahesh Aitha
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | - Caitlyn A. Thomas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Aidan Sturgill
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Mitch Fairweather
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Amy Hu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Christopher R. Bethel
- Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Dann D. Rivera
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Patricia Dranchak
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | - Pei W. Thomas
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Han Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Qi Feng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Kaicheng Tao
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Minshuai Song
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Na Sun
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Shuo Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | | | - Richard C. Page
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Walt Fast
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Robert A. Bonomo
- Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Clinician Scientist Investigator, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- CWRU-Cleveland VAMC Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Epidemiology (Case VA CARES) Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Maria Weese
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Waldyn Martinez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - James Inglese
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
- Metabolic Medicine Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA
| | - Michael W. Crowder
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
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5
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Salveson PJ, Moyer AP, Said MY, Gӧkçe G, Li X, Kang A, Nguyen H, Bera AK, Levine PM, Bhardwaj G, Baker D. Expansive discovery of chemically diverse structured macrocyclic oligoamides. Science 2024; 384:420-428. [PMID: 38662830 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk1687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Small macrocycles with four or fewer amino acids are among the most potent natural products known, but there is currently no way to systematically generate such compounds. We describe a computational method for identifying ordered macrocycles composed of alpha, beta, gamma, and 17 other amino acid backbone chemistries, which we used to predict 14.9 million closed cycles composed of >42,000 monomer combinations. We chemically synthesized 18 macrocycles predicted to adopt single low-energy states and determined their x-ray or nuclear magnetic resonance structures; 15 of these were very close to the design models. We illustrate the therapeutic potential of these macrocycle designs by developing selective inhibitors of three protein targets of current interest. By opening up a vast space of readily synthesizable drug-like macrocycles, our results should considerably enhance structure-based drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Salveson
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Adam P Moyer
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Meerit Y Said
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Gizem Gӧkçe
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Xinting Li
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Alex Kang
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Hannah Nguyen
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Asim K Bera
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Paul M Levine
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Gaurav Bhardwaj
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - David Baker
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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6
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Chen Z, Li Y, Wang X, Qiu X, Wang C, Wang Z, Chen X, Wang J. A high-throughput molecular dynamics screening (HTMDS) approach to the design of novel cyclopeptide inhibitors of ATAD2B based on the non-canonical combinatorial library. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:2809-2824. [PMID: 37194299 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2212796] [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: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Cyclic peptides (CPs) are a promising class of drugs because of their high biological activity and specificity. However, the design of CP remains challenging due to their conformational flexibility and difficulties in designing stable binding conformation. Herein, we present a high-throughput MD screening (HTMDS) process for the iterative design of stable CP binders with a combinatorial CP library composed of canonical and non-canonical amino acids. As a proof of concept, we apply our methods to design CP inhibitors for the bromodomain (BrD) of ATAD2B. 698,800 CP candidates with a total of 25,570 ns MD simulations were performed to study the protein-ligand binding interactions. The binding free energies (ΔGbind) estimated by MM/PBSA approach for eight lead CP designs were found to be low. CP-1st.43 was the best CP candidate with an estimated ΔGbind of -28.48 kcal/mol when compared to the standard inhibitor C-38 which has been experimentally validated and shown to exhibit ΔGbind of -17.11 kcal/mol. The major contribution of binding sites for BrD of ATAD2B involved the hydrogen-bonding anchor within the Aly-binding pocket, salt bridging, and hydrogen-bonding mediated stabilization of the ZA loop and BC loop, and the complementary Van der Waals attraction. Our methods demonstrate encouraging results by yielding conformationally stable and high-potential CP binders that should have potential applicability in future CP drug development.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhidong Chen
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yongxiao Li
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xinpei Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaohui Qiu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chenglin Wang
- Shenzhen Qiyu Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- Department of Pathology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xu Chen
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Junqing Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
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7
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Hsueh SCC, Nijland M, Aina A, Plotkin SS. Cyclization Scaffolding for Improved Vaccine Immunogen Stability: Application to Tau Protein in Alzheimer's Disease. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:2035-2044. [PMID: 38427576 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01556] [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: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Effective scaffolding of immunogens is crucial for generating conformationally selective antibodies through active immunization, particularly in the treatment of protein misfolding diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Previous computational work has revealed that a disorder-prone region of the tau protein, when in a stacked form, is predicted to structurally resemble a small, soluble protofibril, having conformational properties similar to those of experimental in vitro tau oligomers. Such an oligomeric structural mimic has the potential to serve as a vaccine immunogen design for Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we developed a cyclization scaffolding method in Rosetta, in which multiple cyclic peptides are stacked into a protofibril. Cyclization results in significant stabilization of protofibril-like structures by constraining the conformational space. Applying this method to the disorder-prone region of the tau fibril, we evaluated the metastability of the cyclized tau immunogen using molecular dynamics simulations, and we identified sequences of two cyclic constructs having high metastability in the protofibril. We then assessed their thermodynamic stability by computing the free energy required to separate a distal chain from the rest of the stacked structure. Our computational results, based on molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations, demonstrate that two cyclized constructs, cyclo-(VKSEKLDFKDRVQSKIFyN) and cyclo-(VKSEKLDFKDRVQSKIYvG) (lowercase letters indicate d-form amino acids), possess significantly increased thermodynamic stability in the protofibril over an uncyclized linear construct VKSEKLDFKDRVQSKI. The cyclization scaffolding approach proposed here holds promise as a means to effectively design immunogens for protein misfolding diseases, particularly those involving liposome-conjugated peptide constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn C C Hsueh
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Mark Nijland
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 WG, The Netherlands
| | - Adekunle Aina
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Steven S Plotkin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
- Genome Science and Technology Program, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
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8
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Abstract
Cyclic peptides are fascinating molecules abundantly found in nature and exploited as molecular format for drug development as well as other applications, ranging from research tools to food additives. Advances in peptide technologies made over many years through improved methods for synthesis and drug development have resulted in a steady stream of new drugs, with an average of around one cyclic peptide drug approved per year. Powerful technologies for screening random peptide libraries, and de novo generating ligands, have enabled the development of cyclic peptide drugs independent of naturally derived molecules and now offer virtually unlimited development opportunities. In this review, we feature therapeutically relevant cyclic peptides derived from nature and discuss the unique properties of cyclic peptides, the enormous technological advances in peptide ligand development in recent years, and current challenges and opportunities for developing cyclic peptides that address unmet medical needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinjian Ji
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, School of Basic Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alexander L Nielsen
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, School of Basic Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Christian Heinis
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, School of Basic Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
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9
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Muratspahić E, Deibler K, Han J, Tomašević N, Jadhav KB, Olivé-Marti AL, Hochrainer N, Hellinger R, Koehbach J, Fay JF, Rahman MH, Hegazy L, Craven TW, Varga BR, Bhardwaj G, Appourchaux K, Majumdar S, Muttenthaler M, Hosseinzadeh P, Craik DJ, Spetea M, Che T, Baker D, Gruber CW. Design and structural validation of peptide-drug conjugate ligands of the kappa-opioid receptor. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8064. [PMID: 38052802 PMCID: PMC10698194 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43718-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the increasing number of GPCR structures and recent advances in peptide design, the development of efficient technologies allowing rational design of high-affinity peptide ligands for single GPCRs remains an unmet challenge. Here, we develop a computational approach for designing conjugates of lariat-shaped macrocyclized peptides and a small molecule opioid ligand. We demonstrate its feasibility by discovering chemical scaffolds for the kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) with desired pharmacological activities. The designed De Novo Cyclic Peptide (DNCP)-β-naloxamine (NalA) exhibit in vitro potent mixed KOR agonism/mu-opioid receptor (MOR) antagonism, nanomolar binding affinity, selectivity, and efficacy bias at KOR. Proof-of-concept in vivo efficacy studies demonstrate that DNCP-β-NalA(1) induces a potent KOR-mediated antinociception in male mice. The high-resolution cryo-EM structure (2.6 Å) of the DNCP-β-NalA-KOR-Gi1 complex and molecular dynamics simulations are harnessed to validate the computational design model. This reveals a network of residues in ECL2/3 and TM6/7 controlling the intrinsic efficacy of KOR. In general, our computational de novo platform overcomes extensive lead optimization encountered in ultra-large library docking and virtual small molecule screening campaigns and offers innovation for GPCR ligand discovery. This may drive the development of next-generation therapeutics for medical applications such as pain conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edin Muratspahić
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Kristine Deibler
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Novo Nordisk Research Center Seattle, Novo Nordisk A/S, 530 Fairview Ave N #5000, Seattle, WA, 97403, USA
| | - Jianming Han
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy at St. Louis and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Nataša Tomašević
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kirtikumar B Jadhav
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Aina-Leonor Olivé-Marti
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Nadine Hochrainer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Roland Hellinger
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johannes Koehbach
- 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
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty for Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jonathan F Fay
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Mohammad Homaidur Rahman
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, Saint Louis College of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Lamees Hegazy
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, Saint Louis College of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Timothy W Craven
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Balazs R Varga
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy at St. Louis and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Gaurav Bhardwaj
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Kevin Appourchaux
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy at St. Louis and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Susruta Majumdar
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy at St. Louis and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Markus Muttenthaler
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Parisa Hosseinzadeh
- Department of Bioengineering, Knight Campus, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA
| | - 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
| | - Mariana Spetea
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Tao Che
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy at St. Louis and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - David Baker
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - Christian W Gruber
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
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10
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Chen C, Li J, Dan H, He J, Wang D, Oelschlaeger P, Wang N, Zhang Y, Pei Y, Yang KW. A self-reported inhibitor of metallo-carbapenemases for reversing carbapenem resistance. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 252:126441. [PMID: 37607651 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126441] [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: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
Metallo-carbapenemases-mediated carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CREs) has been acknowledged as "urgent threat" by the World Health Organization. The discovery of new strategies that block metallo-carbapenemases activity to reverse carbapenem resistance is an urgent need. In this study, a coumarin copper complex containing a PEG linker and glucose ligand, GluC-Cu, was used to reverse carbapenem resistance. Interestingly, it could effectively inhibit metallo-carbapenemases (NDM-1, IMP-1 and ImiS) with an IC50 value in the range of 0.23-1.21 μM, and simultaneously release the green fluorescence signal (GluC), therefore exhibiting self-reported inhibition performance. The inhibition mechanism of oxidizing Zn(II) thiolate site of NDM-1 from Cu2+ to Cu+ was verified by fluorescence assay, HR-MS, and XPS. Moreover, GluC-Cu in combination with meropenem showed excellent synergistic antibacterial effect to effectively combat E. coli expressing metallo-carbapenemases in vitro and in a mice infection model. This bifunctional metallo-carbapenemases inhibitor provides a novel chemical tool to overcome carbapenem resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Chen
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Economic Plant Resources Development and Utilization, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China; Key laboratory synthetic and Natural Functional Molecular Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Innovation Laboratory, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, PR China
| | - Jiahui Li
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China
| | - Heng Dan
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Economic Plant Resources Development and Utilization, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China
| | - Jingyi He
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Economic Plant Resources Development and Utilization, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China
| | - Dongmei Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Economic Plant Resources Development and Utilization, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China.
| | - Peter Oelschlaeger
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, 91766, CA, United States
| | - Nana Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Economic Plant Resources Development and Utilization, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China
| | | | - Yuxin Pei
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China.
| | - Ke-Wu Yang
- Key laboratory synthetic and Natural Functional Molecular Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Innovation Laboratory, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, PR China.
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11
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Xiang H, Zhou M, Li Y, Zhou L, Wang R. Drug discovery by targeting the protein-protein interactions involved in autophagy. Acta Pharm Sin B 2023; 13:4373-4390. [PMID: 37969735 PMCID: PMC10638514 DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2023.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Autophagy is a cellular process in which proteins and organelles are engulfed in autophagosomal vesicles and transported to the lysosome/vacuole for degradation. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play a crucial role at many stages of autophagy, which present formidable but attainable targets for autophagy regulation. Moreover, selective regulation of PPIs tends to have a lower risk in causing undesired off-target effects in the context of a complicated biological network. Thus, small-molecule regulators, including peptides and peptidomimetics, targeting the critical PPIs involved in autophagy provide a new opportunity for innovative drug discovery. This article provides general background knowledge of the critical PPIs involved in autophagy and reviews a range of successful attempts on discovering regulators targeting those PPIs. Successful strategies and existing limitations in this field are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honggang Xiang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Mi Zhou
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Yan Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Lu Zhou
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Renxiao Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China
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12
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Ochoa R, Brown JB, Fox T. pyPept: a python library to generate atomistic 2D and 3D representations of peptides. J Cheminform 2023; 15:79. [PMID: 37700347 PMCID: PMC10498622 DOI: 10.1186/s13321-023-00748-2] [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: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
We present pyPept, a set of executables and underlying python-language classes to easily create, manipulate, and analyze peptide molecules using the FASTA, HELM, or recently-developed BILN notations. The framework enables the analysis of both pure proteinogenic peptides as well as those with non-natural amino acids, including support to assemble a customizable monomer library, without requiring programming. From line notations, a peptide is transformed into a molecular graph for 2D depiction tasks, the calculation of physicochemical properties, and other systematic analyses or processing pipelines. The package includes a module to rapidly generate approximate peptide conformers by incorporating secondary structure restraints either given by the user or predicted via pyPept, and a wrapper tool is also provided to automate the generation and output of 2D and 3D representations of a peptide directly from the line notation. HELM and BILN notations that include circular, branched, or stapled peptides are fully supported, eliminating errors in structure creation that are prone during manual drawing and connecting. The framework and common workflows followed in pyPept are described together with illustrative examples. pyPept has been released at: https://github.com/Boehringer-Ingelheim/pyPept .
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Ochoa
- Medicinal Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, 88397, Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - J B Brown
- Medicinal Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, 88397, Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Thomas Fox
- Medicinal Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, 88397, Biberach/Riss, Germany.
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13
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Bonadio A, Oguche S, Lavy T, Kleifeld O, Shifman J. Computational design of matrix metalloprotenaise-9 (MMP-9) resistant to auto-cleavage. Biochem J 2023; 480:1097-1107. [PMID: 37401540 PMCID: PMC10422929 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20230139] [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: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an endopeptidase that remodels the extracellular matrix. MMP-9 has been implicated in several diseases including neurodegeneration, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, fibrosis and several types of cancer, resulting in a high demand for MMP-9 inhibitors for therapeutic purposes. For such drug design efforts, large amounts of MMP-9 are required. Yet, the catalytic domain of MMP-9 (MMP-9Cat) is an intrinsically unstable enzyme that tends to auto-cleave within minutes, making it difficult to use in drug design experiments and other biophysical studies. We set our goal to design MMP-9Cat variant that is active but stable to auto-cleavage. For this purpose, we first identified potential auto-cleavage sites on MMP-9Cat using mass spectroscopy and then eliminated the auto-cleavage site by predicting mutations that minimize auto-cleavage potential without reducing enzyme stability. Four computationally designed MMP-9Cat variants were experimentally constructed and evaluated for auto-cleavage and enzyme activity. Our best variant, Des2, with 2 mutations, was as active as the wild-type enzyme but did not exhibit auto-cleavage after 7 days of incubation at 37°C. This MMP-9Cat variant, with an identical with MMP-9Cat WT active site, is an ideal candidate for drug design experiments targeting MMP-9 and enzyme crystallization experiments. The developed strategy for MMP-9CAT stabilization could be applied to redesign other proteases to improve their stability for various biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Bonadio
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Solomon Oguche
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Tali Lavy
- Faculty of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Oded Kleifeld
- Faculty of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Julia Shifman
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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14
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Ayipo YO, Chong CF, Mordi MN. Small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial-producing metallo-β-lactamases: insights into their resistance mechanisms and biochemical analyses of their activities. RSC Med Chem 2023; 14:1012-1048. [PMID: 37360393 PMCID: PMC10285742 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00036b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance (AR) remains one of the major threats to the global healthcare system, which is associated with alarming morbidity and mortality rates. The defence mechanisms of Enterobacteriaceae to antibiotics occur through several pathways including the production of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs). The carbapenemases, notably, New Delhi MBL (NDM), imipenemase (IMP), and Verona integron-encoded MBL (VIM), represent the critical MBLs implicated in AR pathogenesis and are responsible for the worst AR-related clinical conditions, but there are no approved inhibitors to date, which needs to be urgently addressed. Presently, the available antibiotics including the most active β-lactam-types are subjected to deactivation and degradation by the notorious superbug-produced enzymes. Progressively, scientists have devoted their efforts to curbing this global menace, and consequently a systematic overview on this topic can aid the timely development of effective therapeutics. In this review, diagnostic strategies for MBL strains and biochemical analyses of potent small-molecule inhibitors from experimental reports (2020-date) are overviewed. Notably, N1 and N2 from natural sources, S3-S7, S9 and S10 and S13-S16 from synthetic routes displayed the most potent broad-spectrum inhibition with ideal safety profiles. Their mechanisms of action include metal sequestration from and multi-dimensional binding to the MBL active pockets. Presently, some β-lactamase (BL)/MBL inhibitors have reached the clinical trial stage. This synopsis represents a model for future translational studies towards the discovery of effective therapeutics to overcome the challenges of AR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuf Oloruntoyin Ayipo
- Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia USM 11800 Pulau Pinang Malaysia
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, Kwara State University P. M. B., 1530, Malete Ilorin Nigeria
| | - Chien Fung Chong
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman 31900 Kampar Perak Malaysia
| | - Mohd Nizam Mordi
- Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia USM 11800 Pulau Pinang Malaysia
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15
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Ramelot TA, Palmer J, Montelione GT, Bhardwaj G. Cell-permeable chameleonic peptides: Exploiting conformational dynamics in de novo cyclic peptide design. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2023; 80:102603. [PMID: 37178478 PMCID: PMC10923192 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Membrane-traversing peptides offer opportunities for targeting intracellular proteins and oral delivery. Despite progress in understanding the mechanisms underlying membrane traversal in natural cell-permeable peptides, there are still several challenges to designing membrane-traversing peptides with diverse shapes and sizes. Conformational flexibility appears to be a key determinant of membrane permeability of large macrocycles. We review recent developments in the design and validation of chameleonic cyclic peptides, which can switch between alternative conformations to enable improved permeability through cell membranes, while still maintaining reasonable solubility and exposed polar functional groups for target protein binding. Finally, we discuss the principles, strategies, and practical considerations for rational design, discovery, and validation of permeable chameleonic peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa A Ramelot
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
| | - Jonathan Palmer
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Gaetano T Montelione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA.
| | - Gaurav Bhardwaj
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
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16
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Bonadio A, Oguche S, Lavy T, Kleifeld O, Shifman J. Computational design of Matrix Metalloprotenaise-9 (MMP-9) resistant to auto-cleavage. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.11.536383. [PMID: 37090502 PMCID: PMC10120622 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.11.536383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an endopeptidase that remodels the extracellular matrix and has been implicated as a major driver in cancer metastasis. Hence, there is a high demand for MMP-9 inhibitors for therapeutic purposes. For such drug design efforts, large amounts of MMP-9 are required. Yet, the catalytic domain of MMP-9 (MMP-9 Cat ) is an intrinsically unstable enzyme that tends to auto-cleave within minutes, making it difficult to use in drug design experiments and other biophysical studies. We set our goal to design MMP-9 Cat variant that is active but stable to autocleavage. For this purpose, we first identified potential autocleavage sites on MMP-9 Cat using mass spectroscopy and then eliminated the autocleavage site by predicting mutations that minimize autocleavage potential without reducing enzyme stability. Four computationally designed MMP-9 Cat variants were experimentally constructed and evaluated for auto-cleavage and enzyme activity. Our best variant, Des2, with 2 mutations, was as active as the wild-type enzyme but did not exhibit auto-cleavage after seven days of incubation at 37°C. This MMP-9 Cat variant, with an identical to MMP- 9 Cat WT active site, is an ideal candidate for drug design experiments targeting MMP-9 and enzyme crystallization experiments. The developed strategy for MMP-9 CAT stabilization could be applied to redesign of other proteases to improve their stability for various biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Bonadio
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Solomon Oguche
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Tali Lavy
- Faculty of Biology, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Oded Kleifeld
- Faculty of Biology, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Julia Shifman
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
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17
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Rosa S, Tagliani A, Bertaso C, Tadini L, Visentin C, Gourlay LJ, Pricl S, Feni L, Pellegrino S, Pesaresi P, Masiero S. The cyclic peptide G4CP2 enables the modulation of galactose metabolism in yeast by interfering with GAL4 transcriptional activity. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1017757. [PMID: 36936986 PMCID: PMC10014601 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1017757] [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: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetically-encoded combinatorial peptide libraries are convenient tools to identify peptides to be used as therapeutics, antimicrobials and functional synthetic biology modules. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a cyclic peptide, G4CP2, that interferes with the GAL4 protein, a transcription factor responsible for the activation of galactose catabolism in yeast and widely exploited in molecular biology. G4CP2 was identified by screening CYCLIC, a Yeast Two-Hybrid-based combinatorial library of cyclic peptides developed in our laboratory. G4CP2 interferes with GAL4-mediated activation of galactose metabolic enzymes both when expressed intracellularly, as a recombinant peptide, and when provided exogenously, as a chemically-synthesized cyclic peptide. Our results support the application of G4CP2 in microbial biotechnology and, additionally, demonstrate that CYCLIC can be used as a tool for the rapid identification of peptides, virtually without any limitations with respect to the target protein. The possible biotechnological applications of cyclic peptides are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Rosa
- Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Tagliani
- Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Bertaso
- Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Tadini
- Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Cristina Visentin
- Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Sabrina Pricl
- Molecular Biology and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MolBNL@Units), DEA, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Department of General Biophysics, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland
| | - Lucia Feni
- DISFARM-Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Pellegrino
- DISFARM-Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Pesaresi
- Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Simona Masiero
- Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
- *Correspondence: Simona Masiero,
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18
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Dodd-O J, Acevedo-Jake AM, Azizogli AR, Mulligan VK, Kumar VA. How to Design Peptides. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2597:187-216. [PMID: 36374423 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2835-5_15] [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] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Novel design of proteins to target receptors for treatment or tissue augmentation has come to the fore owing to advancements in computing power, modeling frameworks, and translational successes. Shorter proteins, or peptides, can offer combinatorial synergies with dendrimer, polymer, or other peptide carriers for enhanced local signaling, which larger proteins may sterically hinder. Here, we present a generalized method for designing a novel peptide. We first show how to create a script protocol that can be used to iteratively optimize and screen novel peptide sequences for binding a target protein. We present a step-by-step introduction to utilizing file repositories, data bases, and the Rosetta software suite. RosettaScripts, an .xml interface that allows for sequential functions to be performed, is used to order the functions for repeatable performance. These strategies may lead to more groups venturing into computational design, which may result in synergies from artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) to phage display and screening. Importantly, the beginner is expected to be able to design their first peptide ligand and begin their journey in peptide drug discovery. Generally, these peptides potentially could be used to interact with any enzyme or receptor, for example, in the study of chemokines and their interactions with glycosoaminoglycans and their receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Dodd-O
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Amanda M Acevedo-Jake
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
| | | | | | - Vivek A Kumar
- York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA.
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19
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Hsueh SCC, Aina A, Plotkin SS. Ensemble Generation for Linear and Cyclic Peptides Using a Reservoir Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Implementation in GROMACS. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:10384-10399. [PMID: 36410027 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The profile of shapes presented by a cyclic peptide modulates its therapeutic efficacy and is represented by the ensemble of its sampled conformations. Although some algorithms excel at creating a diverse ensemble of cyclic peptide conformations, they seldom address the entropic contribution of flexible conformations and often have significant practical difficulty producing an ensemble with converged and reliable thermodynamic properties. In this study, an accelerated molecular dynamics (MD) method, namely, reservoir replica exchange MD (R-REMD or Res-REMD), was implemented in GROMACS ver. 4.6.7 and benchmarked on two small cyclic peptide model systems: a cyclized furin cleavage site of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (cyclo-(CGPRRARSG)) and oxytocin (disulfide-bonded CYIQNCPLG). Additionally, we also benchmarked Res-REMD on alanine dipeptide and Trpzip2 to demonstrate its validity and efficiency over REMD. For Trpzip2, Res-REMD coupled with an umbrella-sampling-derived reservoir generated similar folded fractions as regular REMD but on a much faster time scale. For cyclic peptides, Res-REMD appeared to be marginally faster than REMD in ensemble generation. Finally, Res-REMD was more effective in sampling rare events such as trans to cis peptide bond isomerization. We provide a GitHub page with the modified GROMACS source code for running Res-REMD at https://github.com/PlotkinLab/Reservoir-REMD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn C C Hsueh
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Adekunle Aina
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Steven S Plotkin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV6T 1Z1, Canada.,Genome Science and Technology Program, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV6T 1Z1, Canada
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20
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Cheng Q, Zeng P, Chi Chan EW, Chen S. Development of Peptide-based Metallo-β-lactamase Inhibitors as a New Strategy to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: A Mini-review. Curr Pharm Des 2022; 28:3538-3545. [PMID: 36177630 DOI: 10.2174/1381612828666220929154255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Global dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) not only poses a significant threat to human health, food security, and social development but also results in millions of deaths each year. In Gram-negative bacteria, the primary mechanism of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is the production of β-lactamases, one of which is carbapenem-hydrolyzing β-lactamases known as carbapenemases. As a general scheme, these enzymes are divided into Ambler class A, B, C, and D based on their protein sequence homology. Class B β-lactamases are also known as metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs). The incidence of recovery of bacteria expressing metallo-β- lactamases (MBLs) has increased dramatically in recent years, almost reaching a pandemic proportion. MBLs can be further divided into three subclasses (B1, B2, and B3) based on the homology of protein sequences as well as the differences in zinc coordination. The development of inhibitors is one effective strategy to suppress the activities of MBLs and restore the activity of β-lactam antibiotics. Although thousands of MBL inhibitors have been reported, none have been approved for clinical use. This review describes the clinical application potential of peptide-based drugs that exhibit inhibitory activity against MBLs identified in past decades. In this report, peptide-based inhibitors of MBLs are divided into several groups based on the mode of action, highlighting compounds of promising properties that are suitable for further advancement. We discuss how traditional computational tools, such as in silico screening and molecular docking, along with new methods, such as deep learning and machine learning, enable a more accurate and efficient design of peptide-based inhibitors of MBLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qipeng Cheng
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Enzymology and Mechanism of Major Diseases and Key Laboratory of Biomedicine in Gene Diseases and Health of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China
| | - Ping Zeng
- School of Pharmacy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Edward Wai Chi Chan
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Sheng Chen
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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21
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Ochoa R, Cossio P, Fox T. Protocol for iterative optimization of modified peptides bound to protein targets. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2022; 36:825-835. [PMID: 36258137 PMCID: PMC9640467 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-022-00482-1] [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: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Peptides are commonly used as therapeutic agents. However, they suffer from easy degradation and instability. Replacing natural by non-natural amino acids can avoid these problems, and potentially improve the affinity towards the target protein. Here, we present a computational pipeline to optimize peptides based on adding non-natural amino acids while improving their binding affinity. The workflow is an iterative computational evolution algorithm, inspired by the PARCE protocol, that performs single-point mutations on the peptide sequence using modules from the Rosetta framework. The modifications can be guided based on the structural properties or previous knowledge of the biological system. At each mutation step, the affinity to the protein is estimated by sampling the complex conformations and applying a consensus metric using various open protein-ligand scoring functions. The mutations are accepted based on the score differences, allowing for an iterative optimization of the initial peptide. The sampling/scoring scheme was benchmarked with a set of protein-peptide complexes where experimental affinity values have been reported. In addition, a basic application using a known protein-peptide complex is also provided. The structure- and dynamic-based approach allows users to optimize bound peptides, with the option to personalize the code for further applications. The protocol, called mPARCE, is available at: https://github.com/rochoa85/mPARCE/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Ochoa
- Biophysics of Tropical Diseases, Max Planck Tandem Group, University of Antioquia, Medellín, 050010, Colombia. .,Medicinal Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, 88397, Biberach/Riss, Germany.
| | - Pilar Cossio
- Biophysics of Tropical Diseases, Max Planck Tandem Group, University of Antioquia, Medellín, 050010, Colombia.,Center for Computational Mathematics, Flatiron Institute, New York, 10010, USA.,Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, 10010, USA
| | - Thomas Fox
- Medicinal Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, 88397, Biberach/Riss, Germany
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22
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Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of New 1H-Imidazole-2-Carboxylic Acid Derivatives as Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem 2022; 72:116993. [PMID: 36084491 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2022.116993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
As one of important mechanisms to β-lactam antimicrobial resistance, metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) have been receiving increasing worldwide attentions. Ambler subclass B1 MBLs are most clinically relevant, because they can hydrolyze almost all β-lactams with the exception of monobactams. However, it is still lacking of clinically useful drugs to combat MBL-medicated resistance. We previously identified 1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid as a core metal-binding pharmacophore (MBP) to target multiple B1 MBLs. Herein, we report structural optimization of 1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid and substituents. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) analyses revealed that replacement of 1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid with other structurally highly similar MBPs excepting thiazole-4-carboxylic acid resulted in decreased MBL inhibition. Further SAR studies identified more potent inhibitors to MBLs, of which 28 manifested IC50 values of 0.018 µM for both VIM-2 and VIM-5. The microbiological tests demonstrated that the most tested compounds showed improved synergistic effects; some compounds at 1 µg/ml were able to reduce meropenem MIC by at least 16-fold, which will be worth further development of new potent inhibitors particularly targeting VIM-type MBLs.
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23
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Qing R, Hao S, Smorodina E, Jin D, Zalevsky A, Zhang S. Protein Design: From the Aspect of Water Solubility and Stability. Chem Rev 2022; 122:14085-14179. [PMID: 35921495 PMCID: PMC9523718 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Water solubility and structural stability are key merits for proteins defined by the primary sequence and 3D-conformation. Their manipulation represents important aspects of the protein design field that relies on the accurate placement of amino acids and molecular interactions, guided by underlying physiochemical principles. Emulated designer proteins with well-defined properties both fuel the knowledge-base for more precise computational design models and are used in various biomedical and nanotechnological applications. The continuous developments in protein science, increasing computing power, new algorithms, and characterization techniques provide sophisticated toolkits for solubility design beyond guess work. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the protein design field with respect to water solubility and structural stability. After introducing fundamental design rules, we discuss the transmembrane protein solubilization and de novo transmembrane protein design. Traditional strategies to enhance protein solubility and structural stability are introduced. The designs of stable protein complexes and high-order assemblies are covered. Computational methodologies behind these endeavors, including structure prediction programs, machine learning algorithms, and specialty software dedicated to the evaluation of protein solubility and aggregation, are discussed. The findings and opportunities for Cryo-EM are presented. This review provides an overview of significant progress and prospects in accurate protein design for solubility and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Qing
- State
Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and
Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- The
David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Shilei Hao
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Key
Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
| | - Eva Smorodina
- Department
of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo
University Hospital, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - David Jin
- Avalon GloboCare
Corp., Freehold, New Jersey 07728, United States
| | - Arthur Zalevsky
- Laboratory
of Bioinformatics Approaches in Combinatorial Chemistry and Biology, Shemyakin−Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic
Chemistry RAS, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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24
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Bhardwaj G, O'Connor J, Rettie S, Huang YH, Ramelot TA, Mulligan VK, Alpkilic GG, Palmer J, Bera AK, Bick MJ, Di Piazza M, Li X, Hosseinzadeh P, Craven TW, Tejero R, Lauko A, Choi R, Glynn C, Dong L, Griffin R, van Voorhis WC, Rodriguez J, Stewart L, Montelione GT, Craik D, Baker D. Accurate de novo design of membrane-traversing macrocycles. Cell 2022; 185:3520-3532.e26. [PMID: 36041435 PMCID: PMC9490236 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
We use computational design coupled with experimental characterization to systematically investigate the design principles for macrocycle membrane permeability and oral bioavailability. We designed 184 6-12 residue macrocycles with a wide range of predicted structures containing noncanonical backbone modifications and experimentally determined structures of 35; 29 are very close to the computational models. With such control, we show that membrane permeability can be systematically achieved by ensuring all amide (NH) groups are engaged in internal hydrogen bonding interactions. 84 designs over the 6-12 residue size range cross membranes with an apparent permeability greater than 1 × 10-6 cm/s. Designs with exposed NH groups can be made membrane permeable through the design of an alternative isoenergetic fully hydrogen-bonded state favored in the lipid membrane. The ability to robustly design membrane-permeable and orally bioavailable peptides with high structural accuracy should contribute to the next generation of designed macrocycle therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Bhardwaj
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Biological Physics, Structure and Design program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Jacob O'Connor
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Biological Physics, Structure and Design program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Stephen Rettie
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Molecular Cell and Biology program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Yen-Hua Huang
- 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
| | - Theresa A Ramelot
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | | | - Gizem Gokce Alpkilic
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Molecular Engineering and Sciences Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jonathan Palmer
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Asim K Bera
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Matthew J Bick
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Maddalena Di Piazza
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Xinting Li
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Parisa Hosseinzadeh
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Timothy W Craven
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Roberto Tejero
- Departamento de Quίmica Fίsica, Universidad de Valencia, Avenida Dr. Moliner 50, Burjassot, 46100 Valencia, Spain
| | - Anna Lauko
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Biological Physics, Structure and Design program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ryan Choi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Calina Glynn
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Linlin Dong
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Wesley C van Voorhis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jose Rodriguez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Lance Stewart
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Gaetano T Montelione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - David 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
| | - David Baker
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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25
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Li X, Craven TW, Levine PM. Cyclic Peptide Screening Methods for Preclinical Drug Discovery. J Med Chem 2022; 65:11913-11926. [PMID: 36074956 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Cyclic peptides are among the most diverse architectures for current drug discovery efforts. Their size, stability, and ease of synthesis provide attractive scaffolds to engage and modulate some of the most challenging targets, including protein-protein interactions and those considered to be "undruggable". With a variety of sophisticated screening technologies to produce libraries of cyclic peptides, including phage display, mRNA display, split intein circular ligation of peptides, and in silico screening, a new era of cyclic peptide drug discovery is at the forefront of modern medicine. In this perspective, we begin by discussing cyclic peptides approved for clinical use in the past two decades. Particular focus is placed around synthetic chemistries to generate de novo libraries of cyclic peptides and novel methods to screen them. The perspective culminates with future prospects for generating cyclic peptides as viable therapeutic options and discusses the advantages and disadvantages currently being faced with bringing them to market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinting Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Timothy W Craven
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Paul M Levine
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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26
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Eastwood JRB, Jiang L, Bonneau R, Kirshenbaum K, Renfrew PD. Evaluating the Conformations and Dynamics of Peptoid Macrocycles. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:5161-5174. [PMID: 35820178 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Peptoid macrocycles are versatile and chemically diverse peptidomimetic oligomers. However, the conformations and dynamics of these macrocycles have not been evaluated comprehensively and require extensive further investigation. Recent studies indicate that two degrees of freedom, and four distinct conformations, adequately describe the behavior of each monomer backbone unit in most peptoid oligomers. On the basis of this insight, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations of model macrocycles using an exhaustive set of idealized possible starting conformations. Simulations of various sizes of peptoid macrocycles yielded a limited set of populated conformations. In addition to reproducing all relevant experimentally determined conformations, the simulations accurately predicted a cyclo-octamer conformation for which we now present the first experimental observation. Sets of three adjacent dihedral angles (ϕi, ψi, ωi+1) exhibited correlated crankshaft motions over the course of simulation for peptoid macrocycles of six residues and larger. These correlated motions may occur in the form of an inversion of one amide bond and the concerted rotation of the preceding ϕ and ψ angles to their mirror-image conformation, a variation on "crankshaft flip" motions studied in polymers and peptides. The energy landscape of these peptoid macrocycles can be described as a network of conformations interconnected by transformations of individual crankshaft flips. For macrocycles of up to eight residues, our mapping of the landscape is essentially complete.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R B Eastwood
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Linhai Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Richard Bonneau
- Center for Data Science, New York University, New York, New York 10011, United States.,Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, New York 10010 United States
| | - Kent Kirshenbaum
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - P Douglas Renfrew
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, New York 10010 United States
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27
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The development of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 inhibitors since 2018. Microbiol Res 2022; 261:127079. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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28
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Gupta S, Azadvari N, Hosseinzadeh P. Design of Protein Segments and Peptides for Binding to Protein Targets. BIODESIGN RESEARCH 2022; 2022:9783197. [PMID: 37850124 PMCID: PMC10521657 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9783197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent years have witnessed a rise in methods for accurate prediction of structure and design of novel functional proteins. Design of functional protein fragments and peptides occupy a small, albeit unique, space within the general field of protein design. While the smaller size of these peptides allows for more exhaustive computational methods, flexibility in their structure and sparsity of data compared to proteins, as well as presence of noncanonical building blocks, add additional challenges to their design. This review summarizes the current advances in the design of protein fragments and peptides for binding to targets and discusses the challenges in the field, with an eye toward future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suchetana Gupta
- Knight Campus Center for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403, USA
| | - Noora Azadvari
- Knight Campus Center for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403, USA
| | - Parisa Hosseinzadeh
- Knight Campus Center for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403, USA
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29
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Holden JK, Pavlovicz R, Gobbi A, Song Y, Cunningham CN. Computational Site Saturation Mutagenesis of Canonical and Non-Canonical Amino Acids to Probe Protein-Peptide Interactions. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:848689. [PMID: 35495632 PMCID: PMC9047896 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.848689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Technologies for discovering peptides as potential therapeutics have rapidly advanced in recent years with significant interest from both academic and pharmaceutical labs. These advancements in turn drive the need for new computational tools to design peptides for purposes of advancing lead molecules into the clinic. Here we report the development and application of a new automated tool, AutoRotLib, for parameterizing a diverse set of non-canonical amino acids (NCAAs), N-methyl, or peptoid residues for use with the computational design program Rosetta. In addition, we developed a protocol for designing thioether-cyclized macrocycles within Rosetta, due to their common application in mRNA display using the RaPID platform. To evaluate the utility of these new computational tools, we screened a library of canonical and NCAAs on both a linear peptide and a thioether macrocycle, allowing us to quickly identify mutations that affect peptide binding and subsequently measure our results against previously published data. We anticipate in silico screening of peptides against a diverse chemical space will be a fundamental component for peptide design and optimization, as more amino acids can be explored in a single in silico screen than an in vitro screen. As such, these tools will enable maturation of peptide affinity for protein targets of interest and optimization of peptide pharmacokinetics for therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey K. Holden
- Department of Early Discovery Biochemistry, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States
| | | | - Alberto Gobbi
- Department of Discovery Chemistry, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Yifan Song
- Cyrus Biotechnology, Seattle, WA, United States
- *Correspondence: Christian N. Cunningham, ; Yifan Song,
| | - Christian N. Cunningham
- Department of Early Discovery Biochemistry, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Christian N. Cunningham, ; Yifan Song,
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30
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Chen CH, Bepler T, Pepper K, Fu D, Lu TK. Synthetic molecular evolution of antimicrobial peptides. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 75:102718. [PMID: 35395425 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
As we learn more about how peptide structure and activity are related, we anticipate that antimicrobial peptides will be engineered to have strong potency and distinct functions and that synthetic peptides will have new biomedical applications, such as treatments for emerging infectious diseases. As a result of the enormous number of possible amino acid sequences and the low-throughput nature of antimicrobial peptide assays, computational tools for peptide design and optimization are needed for direct experimentation toward obtaining functional sequences. Recent developments in computational tools have improved peptide design, saving labor, reagents, costs, and time. At the same time, improvements in peptide synthesis and experimental platforms continue to reduce the cost and increase the throughput of peptide-drug screening. In this review, we discuss the current methods of peptide design and engineering, including in silico methods and peptide synthesis and screening, and highlight areas of potential improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles H Chen
- Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Synthetic Biology Group, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
| | - Tristan Bepler
- Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Synthetic Biology Group, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Simons Machine Learning Center, New York Structural Biology Center, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Karen Pepper
- Synthetic Biology Group, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Debbie Fu
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Timothy K Lu
- Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Synthetic Biology Group, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Senti Biosciences, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
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31
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Ayipo YO, Osunniran WA, Babamale HF, Ayinde MO, Mordi MN. Metalloenzyme mimicry and modulation strategies to conquer antimicrobial resistance: Metal-ligand coordination perspectives. Coord Chem Rev 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2021.214317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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32
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Tsaban T, Varga JK, Avraham O, Ben-Aharon Z, Khramushin A, Schueler-Furman O. Harnessing protein folding neural networks for peptide-protein docking. Nat Commun 2022; 13:176. [PMID: 35013344 PMCID: PMC8748686 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27838-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 214] [Impact Index Per Article: 107.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Highly accurate protein structure predictions by deep neural networks such as AlphaFold2 and RoseTTAFold have tremendous impact on structural biology and beyond. Here, we show that, although these deep learning approaches have originally been developed for the in silico folding of protein monomers, AlphaFold2 also enables quick and accurate modeling of peptide-protein interactions. Our simple implementation of AlphaFold2 generates peptide-protein complex models without requiring multiple sequence alignment information for the peptide partner, and can handle binding-induced conformational changes of the receptor. We explore what AlphaFold2 has memorized and learned, and describe specific examples that highlight differences compared to state-of-the-art peptide docking protocol PIPER-FlexPepDock. These results show that AlphaFold2 holds great promise for providing structural insight into a wide range of peptide-protein complexes, serving as a starting point for the detailed characterization and manipulation of these interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomer Tsaban
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Julia K Varga
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Orly Avraham
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ziv Ben-Aharon
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Alisa Khramushin
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ora Schueler-Furman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
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33
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Koehler Leman J, Lyskov S, Lewis SM, Adolf-Bryfogle J, Alford RF, Barlow K, Ben-Aharon Z, Farrell D, Fell J, Hansen WA, Harmalkar A, Jeliazkov J, Kuenze G, Krys JD, Ljubetič A, Loshbaugh AL, Maguire J, Moretti R, Mulligan VK, Nance ML, Nguyen PT, Ó Conchúir S, Roy Burman SS, Samanta R, Smith ST, Teets F, Tiemann JKS, Watkins A, Woods H, Yachnin BJ, Bahl CD, Bailey-Kellogg C, Baker D, Das R, DiMaio F, Khare SD, Kortemme T, Labonte JW, Lindorff-Larsen K, Meiler J, Schief W, Schueler-Furman O, Siegel JB, Stein A, Yarov-Yarovoy V, Kuhlman B, Leaver-Fay A, Gront D, Gray JJ, Bonneau R. Ensuring scientific reproducibility in bio-macromolecular modeling via extensive, automated benchmarks. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6947. [PMID: 34845212 PMCID: PMC8630030 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27222-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Each year vast international resources are wasted on irreproducible research. The scientific community has been slow to adopt standard software engineering practices, despite the increases in high-dimensional data, complexities of workflows, and computational environments. Here we show how scientific software applications can be created in a reproducible manner when simple design goals for reproducibility are met. We describe the implementation of a test server framework and 40 scientific benchmarks, covering numerous applications in Rosetta bio-macromolecular modeling. High performance computing cluster integration allows these benchmarks to run continuously and automatically. Detailed protocol captures are useful for developers and users of Rosetta and other macromolecular modeling tools. The framework and design concepts presented here are valuable for developers and users of any type of scientific software and for the scientific community to create reproducible methods. Specific examples highlight the utility of this framework, and the comprehensive documentation illustrates the ease of adding new tests in a matter of hours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Koehler Leman
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
| | - Sergey Lyskov
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Steven M Lewis
- Cyrus Biotechnology, 1201 Second Ave, Suite 900, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Jared Adolf-Bryfogle
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Rebecca F Alford
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Kyle Barlow
- Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Ziv Ben-Aharon
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, POB 12272, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel
| | - Daniel Farrell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Jason Fell
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - William A Hansen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Ameya Harmalkar
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Jeliazko Jeliazkov
- Program in Molecular Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Georg Kuenze
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
- Institute for Drug Discovery, Medical School, Leipzig University, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Justyna D Krys
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biological and Chemical Research Center, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ajasja Ljubetič
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Amanda L Loshbaugh
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
- Biophysics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Jack Maguire
- Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Rocco Moretti
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Vikram Khipple Mulligan
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, 10010, USA
| | - Morgan L Nance
- Program in Molecular Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Phuong T Nguyen
- Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Shane Ó Conchúir
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Shourya S Roy Burman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Rituparna Samanta
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Shannon T Smith
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
- Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Frank Teets
- Department of Bioochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, USA
| | - Johanna K S Tiemann
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200, Copenhagen N., Denmark
| | - Andrew Watkins
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Hope Woods
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
- Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Brahm J Yachnin
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Christopher D Bahl
- Institute for Protein Innovation, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | | | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Rhiju Das
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Frank DiMaio
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Sagar D Khare
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Tanja Kortemme
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
- Biophysics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Jason W Labonte
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200, Copenhagen N., Denmark
| | - Jens Meiler
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
- Institute for Drug Discovery, Medical School, Leipzig University, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - William Schief
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Ora Schueler-Furman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, POB 12272, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel
| | - Justin B Siegel
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Amelie Stein
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200, Copenhagen N., Denmark
| | - Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy
- Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Brian Kuhlman
- Department of Bioochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, USA
| | - Andrew Leaver-Fay
- Department of Bioochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, USA
| | - Dominik Gront
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biological and Chemical Research Center, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jeffrey J Gray
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
| | - Richard Bonneau
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
- Department of Computer Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
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Anchor extension: a structure-guided approach to design cyclic peptides targeting enzyme active sites. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3384. [PMID: 34099674 PMCID: PMC8185074 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23609-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite recent success in computational design of structured cyclic peptides, de novo design of cyclic peptides that bind to any protein functional site remains difficult. To address this challenge, we develop a computational "anchor extension" methodology for targeting protein interfaces by extending a peptide chain around a non-canonical amino acid residue anchor. To test our approach using a well characterized model system, we design cyclic peptides that inhibit histone deacetylases 2 and 6 (HDAC2 and HDAC6) with enhanced potency compared to the original anchor (IC50 values of 9.1 and 4.4 nM for the best binders compared to 5.4 and 0.6 µM for the anchor, respectively). The HDAC6 inhibitor is among the most potent reported so far. These results highlight the potential for de novo design of high-affinity protein-peptide interfaces, as well as the challenges that remain.
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Mulligan VK. Current directions in combining simulation-based macromolecular modeling approaches with deep learning. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2021; 16:1025-1044. [PMID: 33993816 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2021.1918097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Structure-guided drug discovery relies on accurate computational methods for modeling macromolecules. Simulations provide means of predicting macromolecular folds, of discovering function from structure, and of designing macromolecules to serve as drugs. Success rates are limited for any of these tasks, however. Recently, deep neural network-based methods have greatly enhanced the accuracy of predictions of protein structure from sequence, generating excitement about the potential impact of deep learning.Areas covered: This review introduces biologists to deep neural network architecture, surveys recent successes of deep learning in structure prediction, and discusses emerging deep learning-based approaches for structure-function analysis and design. Particular focus is given to the interplay between simulation-based and neural network-based approaches.Expert opinion: As deep learning grows integral to macromolecular modeling, simulation- and neural network-based approaches must grow more tightly interconnected. Modular software architecture must emerge allowing both types of tools to be combined with maximal versatility. Open sharing of code under permissive licenses will be essential. Although experiments will remain the gold standard for reliable information to guide drug discovery, we may soon see successful drug development projects based on high-accuracy predictions from algorithms that combine simulation with deep learning - the ultimate validation of this combination's power.
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Yachnin BJ, Mulligan VK, Khare SD, Bailey-Kellogg C. MHCEpitopeEnergy, a Flexible Rosetta-Based Biotherapeutic Deimmunization Platform. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2368-2382. [PMID: 33900750 PMCID: PMC8225355 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
As non-"self" macromolecules, biotherapeutics can trigger an immune response that can reduce drug efficacy, require patients to be taken off therapy, or even cause life-threatening reactions. To enable the flexible and facile design of protein biotherapeutics while reducing the prevalence of T-cell epitopes that drive immune recognition, we have integrated into the Rosetta protein design suite a new scoring term that allows design protocols to account for predicted or experimentally identified epitopes in the optimized objective function. This flexible scoring term can be used in any Rosetta design trajectory, can be targeted to specific regions of a protein, and can be readily extended to work with a variety of epitope predictors. By performing extensive design runs with varied design parameter choices for three case study proteins as well as a larger diverse benchmark, we show that the incorporation of this scoring term enables the effective exploration of an alternative, deimmunized sequence space to discover diverse proteins that are potentially highly deimmunized while retaining physical and chemical qualities similar to those yielded by equivalent nondeimmunizing sequence design protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brahm J. Yachnin
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Vikram Khipple Mulligan
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, 162 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10010, USA
| | - Sagar D. Khare
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
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