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Lau J, Rousseau J, Kwon D, Bénard F, Lin KS. A Systematic Review of Molecular Imaging Agents Targeting Bradykinin B1 and B2 Receptors. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2020; 13:ph13080199. [PMID: 32824565 PMCID: PMC7464927 DOI: 10.3390/ph13080199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Kinins, bradykinin and kallidin are vasoactive peptides that signal through the bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors (B1R and B2R). B2R is constitutively expressed in healthy tissues and mediates responses such as vasodilation, fluid balance and retention, smooth muscle contraction, and algesia, while B1R is absent in normal tissues and is induced by tissue trauma or inflammation. B2R is activated by kinins, while B1R is activated by kinins that lack the C-terminal arginine residue. Perturbations of the kinin system have been implicated in inflammation, chronic pain, vasculopathy, neuropathy, obesity, diabetes, and cancer. In general, excess activation and signaling of the kinin system lead to a pro-inflammatory state. Depending on the disease context, agonism or antagonism of the bradykinin receptors have been considered as therapeutic options. In this review, we summarize molecular imaging agents targeting these G protein-coupled receptors, including optical and radioactive probes that have been used to interrogate B1R/B2R expression at the cellular and anatomical levels, respectively. Several of these preclinical agents, described herein, have the potential to guide therapeutic interventions for these receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Lau
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3 Canada
| | - Julie Rousseau
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3 Canada
| | - Daniel Kwon
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3 Canada
| | - François Bénard
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3 Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Kuo-Shyan Lin
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3 Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Marceau F, Bachelard H, Bouthillier J, Fortin JP, Morissette G, Bawolak MT, Charest-Morin X, Gera L. Bradykinin receptors: Agonists, antagonists, expression, signaling, and adaptation to sustained stimulation. Int Immunopharmacol 2020; 82:106305. [PMID: 32106060 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.106305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Bradykinin-related peptides, the kinins, are blood-derived peptides that stimulate 2 G protein-coupled receptors, the B1 and B2 receptors (B1R, B2R). The pharmacologic and molecular identities of these 2 receptor subtypes will be succinctly reviewed herein, with emphasis on drug development, receptor expression, signaling, and adaptation to persistent stimulation. Peptide and non-peptide antagonists and fluorescent ligands have been produced for each receptor. The B2R is widely and constitutively expressed in mammalian tissues, whereas the B1R is mostly inducible under the effect of cytokines during infection and immunopathology. The B2R is temporarily desensitized by a cycle of phosphorylation/endocytosis followed by recycling, whereas the nonphosphorylable B1R is relatively resistant to desensitization and translocated to caveolae on activation. Both receptor subtypes, mainly coupled to protein G Gq, phospholipase C and calcium signaling, mediate the vascular aspects of inflammation (vasodilation, edema formation). On this basis, icatibant, a peptide antagonist of the B2R, is approved in the management of hereditary angioedema attacks. This disease is the therapeutic showcase of the kallikrein-kinin system, with an orally bioavailable B2R antagonist under development, as well as other agents that inhibit the kinin forming protease, plasma kallikrein. Other clinical applications are still elusive despite the maturity of the medicinal chemistry efforts applied to kinin receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Marceau
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
| | - Hélène Bachelard
- Division of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Johanne Bouthillier
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Jean-Philippe Fortin
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Guillaume Morissette
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Marie-Thérèse Bawolak
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Xavier Charest-Morin
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Lajos Gera
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, USA
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Marceau F, Bawolak MT, Fortin JP, Morissette G, Roy C, Bachelard H, Gera L, Charest-Morin X. Bifunctional ligands of the bradykinin B 2 and B 1 receptors: An exercise in peptide hormone plasticity. Peptides 2018; 105:37-50. [PMID: 29802875 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2018.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Kinins are the small and fragile hydrophilic peptides related to bradykinin (BK) and derived from circulating kininogens via the action of kallikreins. Kinins bind to the preformed and widely distributed B2 receptor (B2R) and to the inducible B1 receptor (B1R). B2Rs and B1Rs are related G protein coupled receptors that possess natural agonist ligands of nanomolar affinity (BK and Lys BK for B2Rs, Lys-des-Arg9-BK for B1R). Decades of structure-activity exploration have resulted in the production of peptide analogs that are antagonists, one of which is clinically used (the B2R antagonist icatibant), and also non-peptide ligands for both receptor subtypes. The modification of kinin receptor ligands has made them resistant to extracellular or endosomal peptidases and/or produced bifunctional ligands, defined as agonist or antagonist peptide ligands conjugated with a chemical fluorophore (emitting in the whole spectrum, from the infrared to the ultraviolet), a drug-like moiety, an epitope, an isotope chelator/carrier, a cleavable sequence (thus forming a pro-drug) and even a fused protein. Dual molecular targets for specific modified peptides may be a source of side effects or of medically exploitable benefits. Biotechnological protein ligands for either receptor subtype have been produced: they are enhanced green fluorescent protein or the engineered peroxidase APEX2 fused to an agonist kinin sequence at their C-terminal terminus. Antibodies endowed with pharmacological actions (agonist, antagonist) at B2R have been reported, though not monoclonal antibodies. These findings define classes of alternative ligands of the kinin receptor of potential therapeutic and diagnostic value.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Caroline Roy
- CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1 V 4G2, Canada
| | | | - Lajos Gera
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
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Charest-Morin X, Lodge R, Marceau F. Bifunctional fusion proteins containing the sequence of the bradykinin homologue maximakinin: activities at the rat bradykinin B2 receptor. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 2018; 96:459-470. [DOI: 10.1139/cjpp-2017-0692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
To support bradykinin (BK) B2 receptor (B2R) detection and therapeutic stimulation, we developed and characterized fusion proteins consisting of the BK homolog maximakinin (MK), or variants, positioned at the C-terminus of functional proteins (enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), the peroxidase APEX2, or human serum albumin (HSA)). EGFP-MK loses its reactivity with anti-BK antibodies and molecular mass as it progresses in the endosomal tract of cells expressing rat B2Rs (immunoblots, epifluorescence microscopy). APEX2-(NG)15-MK is a bona fide agonist of the rat, but not of the human B2R (calcium and c-Fos signaling) and is compatible with the cytochemistry reagent TrueBlue (microscopy), a luminol-based reagent, or 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (luminescence or colourimetric B2R detection, cell well plate format). APEX2-(NG)15-MK is a non-isotopic ligand suitable for drug discovery via binding competition. Affinity-purified secreted forms of HSA fused with peptides possessing the C-terminal MK or BK sequence failed to stimulate the rat B2R in the concentration range of 50–600 nmol/L. However, the non-secreted construction myc-HSA-MK is a B2R agonist, indicating that protein denaturation made the C-terminal sequence available for receptor binding. Fusion protein ligands of the B2R are stable but subjected to slow intracellular inactivation, strong species specificity, and possible steric hindrance between the receptor and large proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Charest-Morin
- Axe Microbiologie-Infectiologie et Immunologie, Research Center, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Robert Lodge
- Human Retrovirology Laboratory, Montreal Clinical Research Institute, Montréal, QC H2W 1R7, Canada
| | - François Marceau
- Axe Microbiologie-Infectiologie et Immunologie, Research Center, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
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Bachelard H, Charest-Morin X, Marceau F. D-Arg 0-Bradykinin-Arg-Arg, a Latent Vasoactive Bradykinin B 2 Receptor Agonist Metabolically Activated by Carboxypeptidases. Front Pharmacol 2018; 9:273. [PMID: 29636689 PMCID: PMC5880945 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously reported hypotensive and vasodilator effects from C-terminally extended bradykinin (BK) sequences that behave as B2 receptor (B2R) agonists activated by vascular or plasma peptidases. D-Arg0-BK-Arg-Arg (r-BK-RR) is a novel prodrug peptide hypothetically activated by two catalytic cycles of Arg-carboxypeptidases (CPs) to release the direct agonist D-Arg0-BK. N-terminally extending the BK sequence with D-Arg0 in the latter peptide was meant to block the second kinin inactivation pathway in importance, aminopeptidase P. The affinity of r-BK and r-BK-RR for recombinant B2R was assessed using a [3H]BK binding displacement assay. Their pharmacology was evaluated in human isolated umbilical vein, a contractile bioassay for the B2R, in a morphological assay involving the endocytosis of B2R-green fusion protein (GFP) and in anesthetized rats instrumented to record hemodynamic responses to bolus intravenous injection of both peptides. r-BK exhibited an affinity equal to that of BK for the rat B2R, while r-BK-RR was 61-fold less potent. In the vein and the B2R-GFP internalization assay, r-BK was a direct agonist unaffected by the blockade of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) with enalaprilat, or Arg-CPs with Plummer’s inhibitor. However, the in vitro effects of r-BK-RR were reduced by these inhibitors, more so by enalaprilat. In anesthetized rats, r-BK and r-BK-RR were equipotent hypotensive agents and their effects were inhibited by icatibant (a B2R antagonist). The hypotensive effects of r-BK were potentiated by enalaprilat, but not influenced by the Arg-CPs inhibitor, which is consistent with a minor role of Arg-CPs in the metabolism of r-BK. However, in rats pretreated with both enalaprilat and Plummer’s inhibitor, the hypotensive responses and the duration of the hypotensive episode to r-BK were significantly potentiated. The hypotensive responses to r-BK-RR were not affected by enalaprilat, but were reduced by pre-treatment with the Arg-CPs inhibitor alone or combined with enalaprilat. Therefore, in vivo, Arg-CPs activity is dominant over ACE to regenerate the B2R agonist r-BK from r-BK-RR, a prodrug activator of the B2R. A B2R agonist activated only at the level of the microcirculation by resident peptidases could be developed as an intravenously infused drug for ischemic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Bachelard
- Division of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-CHUL, Laval University, Quebec, QC, Canada
| | - Xavier Charest-Morin
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-CHUL, Laval University, Quebec, QC, Canada
| | - François Marceau
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-CHUL, Laval University, Quebec, QC, Canada
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Charest-Morin X, Bachelard H, Jean M, Marceau F. Species-specific pharmacology of maximakinin, an amphibian homologue of bradykinin: putative prodrug activity at the human B 2 receptor and peptidase resistance in rats. PeerJ 2017; 5:e2911. [PMID: 28133580 PMCID: PMC5248581 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Maximakinin (MK), an amphibian peptide possessing the C-terminal sequence of bradykinin (BK), is a BK B2 receptor (B2R) agonist eliciting prolonged signaling. We reinvestigated this 19-mer for species-specific pharmacologic profile, in vivo confirmation of resistance to inactivation by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), value as a module for the design of fusion proteins that bind to the B2R in mammalian species and potential activity as a histamine releaser. Competition of the binding of [3H]BK to recombinant human myc-B2Rs in cells that express these receptors revealed that MK possessed a tenuous fraction (<0.1%) of the affinity of BK, despite being only ∼20-fold less potent than BK in a contractility assay based on the human isolated umbilical vein. These findings are reconciled by the generation of C-terminal fragments, like Lys-Gly-Pro-BK and Gly-Pro-BK, when the latent MK is incubated with human venous tissue (LC-MS), supporting activation via hydrolysis upstream of the BK sequence. At the rat recombinant myc-B2R, MK had a lesser affinity than that of BK, but with a narrower margin (6.2-fold, radioligand binding competition). Accordingly, MK (10 nM) stimulated calcium transients in cells that expressed the rat receptors, but not the human B2R. Recombinant MRGPRX2, a receptor that mediates cationic peptide-induced mast cell secretion, minimally responded by increased [Ca+2]i to MK at 10 µM. Enhanced green fluorescent protein fused to MK (EGFP-MK) labeled cells that expressed rat, but not human B2Rs. Intravenous MK induced dose-dependent hypotensive, vasodilator and tachycardic responses in anesthetized rats and the effects were antagonized by pretreatment with icatibant but not modified by pyrilamine or enalaprilat. Strong species-specific responses to the toxin-derived peptide MK and its prodrug status in the isolated human vein were evidenced. Accordingly, MK in the EGFP-MK fusion protein is a pharmacophore module that confers affinity for the rat B2R, but not for the human form of the B2R. MK is unlikely to be an efficient mast cell activator, but its resistance to inactivation by ACE was confirmed in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Charest-Morin
- Axe Microbiologie-Infectiologie et Immunologie, CHU de Québec-Université Laval and Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Hélène Bachelard
- Axe endocrinologie et néphrologie, CHU de Québec-Université Laval and Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Melissa Jean
- Axe endocrinologie et néphrologie, CHU de Québec-Université Laval and Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Francois Marceau
- Axe Microbiologie-Infectiologie et Immunologie, CHU de Québec-Université Laval and Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
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