Arenas NE, Pieffet G, Rocha-Roa C, Guerrero MI. Design of a specific peptide against phenolic glycolipid-1 from Mycobacterium leprae and its implications in leprosy bacilli entry.
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2022;
117:e220025. [PMID:
35857971 PMCID:
PMC9296141 DOI:
10.1590/0074-02760220025]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of Hansen’s
disease, causes neural damage through the specific interaction between the
external phenolic glycolipid-1 (PGL-1) and laminin subunit alpha-2 (LAMA2)
from Schwann cells.
OBJECTIVE
To design a LAMA2-based peptide that targets PGL-1 from M.
leprae.
METHODS
We retrieved the protein sequence of human LAMA2 and designed a specific
peptide using the Antimicrobial Peptide Database and physicochemical
parameters for antimycobacterial peptide-lipid interactions. We used the
AlphaFold2 server to predict its three-dimensional structure, AUTODOCK-VINA
for docking, and GROMACS programs for molecular dynamics simulations.
FINDINGS
We analysed 52 candidate peptides from LAMA2, and subsequent screening
resulted in a single 60-mer peptide. The mapped peptide comprises four
β-sheets and a random coiled region. This peptide exhibits a 45% hydrophobic
ratio, in which one-third covers the same surface. Molecular dynamics
simulations show that our predicted peptide is stable in aqueous solution
and remains stable upon interaction with PGL-1 binding. In addition, we
found that PGL-1 has a preference for one of the two faces of the predicted
peptide, which could act as the preferential binding site of PGL-1.
MAIN CONCLUSIONS
Our LAMA2-based peptide targeting PGL-1 might have the potential to
specifically block this key molecule, suggesting that the preferential
region of the peptide is involved in the initial contact during the
attachment of leprosy bacilli to Schwann cells.
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