5
|
Mansbach RA, Travers T, McMahon BH, Fair JM, Gnanakaran S. Snails In Silico: A Review of Computational Studies on the Conopeptides. Mar Drugs 2019; 17:E145. [PMID: 30832207 PMCID: PMC6471681 DOI: 10.3390/md17030145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine cone snails are carnivorous gastropods that use peptide toxins called conopeptides both as a defense mechanism and as a means to immobilize and kill their prey. These peptide toxins exhibit a large chemical diversity that enables exquisite specificity and potency for target receptor proteins. This diversity arises in terms of variations both in amino acid sequence and length, and in posttranslational modifications, particularly the formation of multiple disulfide linkages. Most of the functionally characterized conopeptides target ion channels of animal nervous systems, which has led to research on their therapeutic applications. Many facets of the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for the specificity and virulence of conopeptides, however, remain poorly understood. In this review, we will explore the chemical diversity of conopeptides from a computational perspective. First, we discuss current approaches used for classifying conopeptides. Next, we review different computational strategies that have been applied to understanding and predicting their structure and function, from machine learning techniques for predictive classification to docking studies and molecular dynamics simulations for molecular-level understanding. We then review recent novel computational approaches for rapid high-throughput screening and chemical design of conopeptides for particular applications. We close with an assessment of the state of the field, emphasizing important questions for future lines of inquiry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachael A Mansbach
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
| | - Timothy Travers
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
- Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
| | - Benjamin H McMahon
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
| | - Jeanne M Fair
- Biosecurity and Public Health Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
| | - S Gnanakaran
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Hone AJ, McIntosh JM, Azam L, Lindstrom J, Lucero L, Whiteaker P, Passas J, Blázquez J, Albillos A. α-Conotoxins Identify the α3β4* Subtype as the Predominant Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Expressed in Human Adrenal Chromaffin Cells. Mol Pharmacol 2015; 88:881-93. [PMID: 26330550 DOI: 10.1124/mol.115.100982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Ligands that selectively inhibit human α3β2 and α6β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChRs) and not the closely related α3β4 and α6β4 subtypes are lacking. Current α-conotoxins (α-Ctxs) that discriminate among these nAChR subtypes in rat fail to discriminate among the human receptor homologs. In this study, we describe the development of α-Ctx LvIA(N9R,V10A) that is 3000-fold more potent on oocyte-expressed human α3β2 than α3β4 and 165-fold more potent on human α6/α3β2β3 than α6/α3β4 nAChRs. This analog was used in conjuction with three other α-Ctx analogs and patch-clamp electrophysiology to characterize the nAChR subtypes expressed by human adrenal chromaffin cells. LvIA(N9R,V10A) showed little effect on the acetylcholine-evoked currents in these cells at concentrations expected to inhibit nAChRs with β2 ligand-binding sites. In contrast, the β4-selective α-Ctx BuIA(T5A,P6O) inhibited >98% of the acetylcholine-evoked current, indicating that most of the heteromeric receptors contained β4 ligand-binding sites. Additional studies using the α6-selective α-Ctx PeIA(A7V,S9H,V10A,N11R,E14A) indicated that the predominant heteromeric nAChR expressed by human adrenal chromaffin cells is the α3β4* subtype (asterisk indicates the possible presence of additional subunits). This conclusion was supported by polymerase chain reaction experiments of human adrenal medulla gland and of cultured human adrenal chromaffin cells that demonstrated prominent expression of RNAs for α3, α5, α7, β2, and β4 subunits and a low abundance of RNAs for α2, α4, α6, and α10 subunits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arik J Hone
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - J Michael McIntosh
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - Layla Azam
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - Jon Lindstrom
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - Linda Lucero
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - Paul Whiteaker
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - Juan Passas
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - Jesús Blázquez
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| | - Almudena Albillos
- Departamento de Farmacología y Terapéutica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (A.J.H., A.A.); Departments of Biology and Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M., L.A.); George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (J.M.M.); Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.L.); Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (L.L., P.W.); Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain (J.P.); and Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid, Spain (J.B.)
| |
Collapse
|