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Precursors of Viral Proteases as Distinct Drug Targets. Viruses 2021; 13:v13101981. [PMID: 34696411 PMCID: PMC8537868 DOI: 10.3390/v13101981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Viral proteases are indispensable for successful virion maturation, thus making them a prominent drug target. Their enzyme activity is tightly spatiotemporally regulated by expression in the precursor form with little or no activity, followed by activation via autoprocessing. These cleavage events are frequently triggered upon transportation to a specific compartment inside the host cell. Typically, precursor oligomerization or the presence of a co-factor is needed for activation. A detailed understanding of these mechanisms will allow ligands with non-canonical mechanisms of action to be designed, which would specifically modulate the initial irreversible steps of viral protease autoactivation. Binding sites exclusive to the precursor, including binding sites beyond the protease domain, can be exploited. Both inhibition and up-regulation of the proteolytic activity of viral proteases can be detrimental for the virus. All these possibilities are discussed using examples of medically relevant viruses including herpesviruses, adenoviruses, retroviruses, picornaviruses, caliciviruses, togaviruses, flaviviruses, and coronaviruses.
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Ait Braham S, Hussain F, Morellon-Sterling R, Kamal S, Kornecki JF, Barbosa O, Kati DE, Fernandez-Lafuente R. Cooperativity of covalent attachment and ion exchange on alcalase immobilization using glutaraldehyde chemistry: Enzyme stabilization and improved proteolytic activity. Biotechnol Prog 2018; 35:e2768. [PMID: 30575340 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Alcalase was scarcely immobilized on monoaminoethyl-N-aminoethyl (MANAE)-agarose beads at different pH values (<20% at pH 7). The enzyme did not immobilize on MANAE-agarose activated with glutaraldehyde at high ionic strength, suggesting a low reactivity of the enzyme with the support functionalized in this manner. However, the immobilization is relatively rapid when using low ionic strength and glutaraldehyde activated support. Using these conditions, the enzyme was immobilized at pH 5, 7, and 9, and in all cases, the activity vs. Boc-Ala-ONp decreased to around 50%. However, the activity vs. casein greatly depends on the immobilization pH, while at pH 5 it is also 50%, at pH 7 it is around 200%, and at pH 9 it is around 140%. All immobilized enzymes were significantly stabilized compared to the free enzyme when inactivated at pH 5, 7, or 9. The highest stability was always observed when the enzyme was immobilized at pH 9, and the worst stability occurred when the enzyme was immobilized at pH 5, in agreement with the reactivity of the amino groups of the enzyme. Stabilization was lower for the three preparations when the inactivation was performed at pH 5. Thus, this is a practical example on how the cooperative effect of ion exchange and covalent immobilization may be used to immobilize an enzyme when only one independent cause of immobilization is unable to immobilize the enzyme, while adjusting the immobilization pH leads to very different properties of the final immobilized enzyme preparation. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2768, 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Ait Braham
- Departamento de Biocatálisis, ICP-CSIC, Campus UAM-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.,Laboratoire de Biotechnologies Végétales et Ethnobotanique, Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université de Bejaia, Bejaia, Algeria
| | - Fouzia Hussain
- Departamento de Biocatálisis, ICP-CSIC, Campus UAM-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Roberto Morellon-Sterling
- Laboratoire de Biotechnologies Végétales et Ethnobotanique, Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université de Bejaia, Bejaia, Algeria
| | - Shagufta Kamal
- Department of Biochemistry, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Jakub F Kornecki
- Departamento de Biocatálisis, ICP-CSIC, Campus UAM-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Oveimar Barbosa
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia
| | - Djamel Edine Kati
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université de Bejaia, Bejaia, Algeria
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Huang S, Zhang D, Mei H, Kevin M, Qu S, Pan X, Lu L. SMD-Based Interaction-Energy Fingerprints Can Predict Accurately the Dissociation Rate Constants of HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors. J Chem Inf Model 2018; 59:159-169. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Xianchao Pan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
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Humpolíčková J, Weber J, Starková J, Mašínová E, Günterová J, Flaisigová I, Konvalinka J, Majerová T. Inhibition of the precursor and mature forms of HIV-1 protease as a tool for drug evaluation. Sci Rep 2018; 8:10438. [PMID: 29992979 PMCID: PMC6041310 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-28638-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 protease (PR) is a homodimeric enzyme that is autocatalytically cleaved from the Gag-Pol precursor. Known PR inhibitors bind the mature enzyme several orders of magnitude more strongly than the PR precursor. Inhibition of PR at the precursor level, however, may stop the process at its rate-limiting step before the proteolytic cascade is initiated. Due to its structural heterogeneity, limited solubility and autoprocessing, the PR precursor is difficult to access by classical methods, and limited knowledge regarding precursor inhibition is available. Here, we describe a cell-based assay addressing precursor inhibition. We used a reporter molecule containing the transframe (TFP) and p6* peptides, PR, and N-terminal fragment of reverse transcriptase flanked by the fluorescent proteins mCherry and EGFP on its N- and C- termini, respectively. The level of FRET between EGFP and mCherry indicates the amount of unprocessed reporter, allowing specific monitoring of precursor inhibition. The inhibition can be quantified by flow cytometry. Additionally, two microscopy techniques confirmed that the reporter remains unprocessed within individual cells upon inhibition. We tested darunavir, atazanavir and nelfinavir and their combinations against wild-type PR. Shedding light on an inhibitor’s ability to act on non-mature forms of PR may aid novel strategies for next-generation drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Humpolíčková
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Weber
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Starková
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Mašínová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Günterová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Iva Flaisigová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Konvalinka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, 12843, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Taťána Majerová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.
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Ingr M, Kutálková E, Hrnčiřík J, Lange R. Equilibria of oligomeric proteins under high pressure - A theoretical description. J Theor Biol 2016; 411:16-26. [PMID: 27717844 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2016.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Revised: 09/14/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
High pressure methods have become a useful tool for studying protein structure and stability. Using them, various physico-chemical processes including protein unfolding, aggregation, oligomer dissociation or enzyme-activity decrease were studied on many different proteins. Oligomeric protein dissociation is a process that can perfectly utilize the potential of high-pressure techniques, as the high pressure shifts the equilibria to higher concentrations making them better observable by spectroscopic methods. This can be especially useful when the oligomeric form is highly stable at atmospheric pressure. These applications may be, however, hindered by less intensive experimental response as well as interference of the oligomerization equilibria with unfolding or aggregation of the subunits, but also by more complex theoretical description. In this study we develop mathematical models describing different kinds of oligomerization equilibria, both closed (equilibrium of monomer and the highest possible oligomer without any intermediates) and consecutive. Closed homooligomer equilibria are discussed for any oligomerization degree, while the more complex heterooligomer equilibria and the consecutive equilibria in both homo- and heterooligomers are taken into account only for dimers and trimers. In all the cases, fractions of all the relevant forms are evaluated as functions of pressure and concentration. Significant points (inflection points and extremes) of the resulting transition curves, that can be determined experimentally, are evaluated as functions of pressure and/or concentration. These functions can be further used in order to evaluate the thermodynamic parameters of the system, i.e. atmospheric-pressure equilibrium constants and volume changes of the individual steps of the oligomer-dissociation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Ingr
- Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Technology, Department of Physics and Materials Engineering, nám. T. G. Masaryka 5555, 76001 Zlín, Czechia; Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry, Hlavova 2030, 12843 Prague 2, Czechia.
| | - Eva Kutálková
- Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Technology, Department of Physics and Materials Engineering, nám. T. G. Masaryka 5555, 76001 Zlín, Czechia
| | - Josef Hrnčiřík
- Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Technology, Department of Physics and Materials Engineering, nám. T. G. Masaryka 5555, 76001 Zlín, Czechia
| | - Reinhard Lange
- Université Montpellier, INRA UMR IATE, Biochimie et Technologie Alimentaires, cc023, Place Eugene Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
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Louis JM, Roche J. Evolution under Drug Pressure Remodels the Folding Free-Energy Landscape of Mature HIV-1 Protease. J Mol Biol 2016; 428:2780-92. [PMID: 27170547 PMCID: PMC4905781 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2016] [Revised: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Using high-pressure NMR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, we investigate the folding landscape of the mature HIV-1 protease homodimer. The cooperativity of unfolding was measured in the absence or presence of a symmetric active site inhibitor for the optimized wild type protease (PR), its inactive variant PRD25N, and an extremely multidrug-resistant mutant, PR20. The individual fit of the pressure denaturation profiles gives rise to first order, ∆GNMR, and second order, ∆VNMR (the derivative of ∆GNMR with pressure); apparent thermodynamic parameters for each amide proton considered. Heterogeneity in the apparent ∆VNMR values reflects departure from an ideal cooperative unfolding transition. The narrow to broad distribution of ∆VNMR spanning the extremes from inhibitor-free PR20D25N to PR-DMP323 complex, and distinctively for PRD25N-DMP323 complex, indicated large variations in folding cooperativity. Consistent with this data, the shape of thermal unfolding transitions varies from asymmetric for PR to nearly symmetric for PR20, as dimer-inhibitor ternary complexes. Lack of structural cooperativity was observed between regions located close to the active site, including the hinge and tip of the glycine-rich flaps, and the rest of the protein. These results strongly suggest that inhibitor binding drastically decreases the cooperativity of unfolding by trapping the closed flap conformation in a deep energy minimum. To evade this conformational trap, PR20 evolves exhibiting a smoother folding landscape with nearly an ideal two-state (cooperative) unfolding transition. This study highlights the malleability of retroviral protease folding pathways by illustrating how the selection of mutations under drug pressure remodels the free-energy landscape as a primary mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Louis
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Julien Roche
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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