Current Protein and Peptide Science - Volume 17, Issue 2, 2016

The present review article highlights recent findings in the reactions between different dinuclear Pt(II) complexes with peptides containing cysteine, methionine and histidine residues. The reactions of {trans-[Pt(NH3)2Cl]2(μ-X)}2+ and {trans-[Pt(NH3)2(H2O)]2(μ-X)}4+ type complexes with different bridging ligands (X) (X = pyrazine, 4,4′-bipyridyl and 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane) with the tripeptide glutathione proceeded in two steps. In the first step, one water or chlorido ligand of the dinuclear Pt(II) complex was substituted by the sulfhydryl group of GSH, while in the second step, the remaining water or chlorido ligand from the dinuclear Pt(II)-peptide complex was replaced by the second molecule of glutathione, finally leading to the formation of the {trans-[Pt(NH3)2(GS)]2(μ-X)}2+ complex. It was shown that the bridging ligand had an important influence on the reactivity of these complexes with glutathione. No hydrolytic cleavage of any amide bond was observed in the reactions between these complexes and glutathione. However, in reactions performed in acidic media (2.0 < pH < 2.5) between dinuclear Pt(II) complexes with the general formulae {[Pt(L)(H2O)]2(μ-diazine)}4+ (L is different bidentate coordinated diamine ligands and diazine is a pyrazine- or pyridazine-bridging ligand) and Nacetylated peptides containing L-methionine and L-histidine amino acids in the side chains (Ac-L-Met-Gly, Ac-L-His-Gly and Ac-L-Met-Gly-L-His-GlyNH2), regioselective cleavage of these peptides occurred. The mechanism of these hydrolytic reactions was discussed in relation to the structure of the diazine-bridged Pt(II) complex and the investigated peptides. A systematic summary of these results could contribute to the future design of new dinuclear Pt(II) complexes as potential reagents for regioselective cleavage of peptides and proteins.

Earlier, we have collected an experimental evidence showing that low molecular weight chiral carboxylic acids (amino acids included) can spontaneously undergo an oscillatory chiral conversion and an oscillatory condensation in abiotic aqueous and non-aqueous liquid systems, stored for certain amount of time under mild external conditions. These earlier findings are summarized in the introductory part of this study. In the second part, a preliminary report is given on spontaneous pulsation of peptide microfibers in the aged proline–phenylalanine (Pro–Phe) solution in 70% aqueous acetonitrile. The experimental evidence originates from a number of advanced analytical techniques. In view of our earlier and present findings, a presumption is made that the mechanism of spontaneous pulsation (formation and decay) of Pro-Phe microfibers is directly related to the oscillatory chiral conversion and oscillatory peptidization. The entity of the discussed results pointing out to spontaneous and uncontrolled instability of peptide structures might be a bad prognostic for employing such structures in nanobiotechnology.

The relatively simple peptides assembled on the templates are excellent mimic of complex conformational and functional defined binding sites of proteins. The main benefit of experiments with artificial receptors arises from the relative simplicity of the interacting host-guest system allowing the understanding of the rules controlling the model process of the molecular recognition. Efficient modification of molecular receptors by using rational design of their structure or combinatorial methods is crucial for verification of any hypothesis concerning the binding forces or enhancing the binding properties. This approach is presenting promising strategy for understanding mode of action and the control of biological functions of proteins, for designing new pharmaceutically active compounds, new tools for medical diagnostic and molecular sensing.

Interactions between DNA/RNA and huge variety of peptides are quite common in nature, controlling vast number of processes. Also, there are several naturally occurring small molecules which contain peptide and DNA intercalator in structure, whereby their biological activity is based on synergistic interactions of both components; for instance bis-intercalator echinomycin. Versatility of synthetic approaches to short peptides allowed their usage as simple recognition units within the DNA or RNA grooves or as backbone carriers for variety of bioactive substituents attached to amino acid side chains, one of very popular examples being PNAs. Such peptide-backbones were also used for synthesis of novel intercalators and poly-intercalators, many of them showing intriguing novel DNA/RNA interacting properties.

STATs promote fundamental cellular processes, marking them as convergence points of many oncogenic and inflammatory pathways. Therefore, aberrant activation of STAT signaling is implicated in a plethora of human diseases, like cancer, inflammation and auto-immunity. Identification of STAT-specific inhibitors is the topic of great practical importance, and various inhibitory strategies are being pursued. An interesting approach includes peptides and peptide-like biopolymers, because they allow the manipulation of STAT signaling without the transfer of genetic material. Phosphopeptides and peptidomimetics directly target STATs by inhibiting dimerization. Despite that a large number of efficient peptide- based STAT3-specific inhibitors have been reported to date, none of them was able to meet the pharmacological requirements to serve as a potent anti-cancer drug. The existing limitations, like metabolic instability and poor cell permeability during in vivo tests, excluded these macromolecules from further clinical development. To overcome these liabilities, in the last five years many advances have been made to develop next generation STAT-specific inhibitors. Here we discuss the pitfalls of current STAT inhibitory strategies and review the progress on the development of peptide-like prodrugs directly targeting STATs. Novel strategies involve screening of high-complexity libraries of random peptides, as specific STAT3 or STAT5 DNA-binding inhibitors, to construct cell permeable peptide aptamers and aptides for cancer therapy. Another new direction is synthesis of negative dominant α-helical mimetics of the STAT3 N-domain, preventing oligomerization on DNA. Moreover, construction of phosphopeptide conjugates with molecules mediating cellular uptake offers new therapeutic possibilities in treatment of cancer, asthma and allergy.

By using two different synthetic techniques several polypeptides interacting with Class B type G-protein coupled receptors were prepared. These polypeptides of different lengths (20 ≤ amino acids ≤ 40), structural and aggregation properties, were prepared both by solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and E.coli bacterial expression. Their purity, synthetic yields, by-products and 15N/13Clabelling characteristics were compared as function of i) the applied method, ii) amino acid length and iii) folding propensities. Their tentative yields, costs and “environmental footprints” were analyzed and found as follows. For unlabelled and short polypeptides (n= 20 aa.) the method of choice is the less environmentally friendly however, quick and effective SPPS. If the polypeptide is (un)folded and/or has no aggregation propensity, then SPPS gives relatively good yield (e.g. 14±4%) and a pure product (>97%). For aggregating polypeptides production yields drop for both methods 4±2% (SPPS) and 2±1% (E. coli), respectively. For longer (n≥ 30 aa.) macromolecules (e.g. miniproteins) bacterial expression efficacy gets higher. Moreover biotechnology is “greener”, the resulting in raw material is purer (2.8±1.5 mg). All these advantages for at a lower cost: ~4 /aa. If isotopic labelling is needed for heteronuclear NMR measurements, bacterial expression is the sole option, due to the high cost of 15N/13C labelled Fmoc(Boc)-L-aa-OH starting materials needed for SPPS. In E.coli uniformly double-labelled, pure polypeptides can be obtained for less than 5-700 /mg, regardless of the length of the polypeptide chain. Thus, chemists are encouraged to use E.coli expression systems when adequate to make not only proteins but polypeptides and miniproteins as well.

The structure-based drug design has been an extremely useful technique used for searching and developing of new therapeutic agents in various biological systems. In the case of AD, this approach has been difficult to implement. Among other several causes, the main problem might be the lack of a specific stable and reliable molecular target. In this paper the results obtained using a pentameric amyloid beta (Aβ) model as a molecular target are discussed. Our MD simulations have shown that this system is relatively structured and stable, displaying a lightly conformational flexibility during 2.0 μs of simulation time. This study allowed us to distinguish characteristic structural features in specific regions of the pentamer which should be taken into account when choosing this model as a molecular target. This represents a clear advantage compared to the monomer or dimer models which are highly flexible structures with large numbers of possible conformers. Using this pentameric model we performed two types of studies usually carried out on a molecular target: a virtual screening and the design on structural basis of new mimetic peptides with antiaggregant properties. Our results indicate that this pentameric model might be a good molecular target for these particular studies of molecular modeling. Details about the predictive power of our virtual screening as well as about the molecular interactions that stabilize the mimetic peptide-pentamer Aβ complexes are discussed in this paper

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by severe cognitive impairment and memory loss. AD is classified both into the “protein conformational” and the “endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria stress” disorders. AD is a very complex, multifactorial disease of heterogeneous genetic and environmental background. The amyloid hypothesis of AD cannot fully explain the various clinical forms of the disease. Protein folding and misfolding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and accumulation of several misfolded proteins (β-amyloid, Tau, alpha-synuclein, etc.) in ER and mitochondria (MT) may play a key role in the development of AD. Functional degradation of the synapse and the synapse holding neurites represents the first step in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration. MT and ER are tightly coupled both physically and functionally with a special lipid raft called mitochondria-associated ER-membrane (MAM). MAM is crucial for Ca2+ signalling and metabolic regulation of the cell. In turn, the impairment of ER-MT interplay is a common mechanism of different neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss recent findings focusing on the protein conformational and metabolic dysfunction, and the role of MAM and ER-MT crosstalk in neurodegeneration.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of infection in humans and animals, causing a wide variety of diseases, from local inflammations to fatal sepsis. The bacterium is commonly multi-drug resistant and thus many front-line antibiotics have been rendered ineffective for treating such infections. Research on murein/peptidoglycan hydrolases, derived from bacterial viruses (bacteriophages), has demonstrated that such proteins are attractive candidates for development as novel antibacterial agents for combatting Gram-positive pathogens. Here we review the research produced to-date on the bacteriophage-derived CHAPK murein peptidase. Initially, we sequenced and annotated the genome of anti-staphylococcal bacteriophage K and cloned the gene for the bacteriophage endolysin, a murein hydrolase which plays a role in cell killing during the bacteriophage life cycle. An highly active domain of the enzyme, a cysteine, histidine-dependent amido hydrolase/peptidase (CHAPK), was cloned, overexpressed in E. coli and purified. This CHAPK enzyme was demonstrated to rapidly lyse several strains of methicillin resistant S. aureus and both disrupted and prevented the formation of a staphylococcal biofilm. The staphylolytic activity of the peptidase was demonstrated in vivo using a mouse model, without adverse effects on the animals. The crystal structure of the enzyme was elucidated, revealing a calcium ion close to the active site. Site-directed mutagenesis indicated that this calcium ion is involved in the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme. The crystal structure of this enzyme is a valuable source of information for efficient engineering of this and similar CHAP-domain-containing proteins. Overall, the data collected to date on CHAPK has demonstrated its strong potential as a novel therapeutic candidate for treatment of staphylococcal infections and has provided us with insight into the fundamental enzymatic mechanisms of CHAP domaincontaining peptidoglycan hydrolases.

Artificial nucleases are designed for in vivo gene engineering, as the DNA cleavage performed at a specific target site enhances the effectiveness of the cell’s DNA repair machinery. The therapeutic potential of the above phenomenon stems from the knowledge that (i) the shifted reading frame can be restored by non-homologous end-joining, or (ii) a DNA of erroneous sequence – causing a genetic disease – can be corrected by homologous recombination in the presence of a suitable DNA template. Besides the advantageous properties of the nowadays applied zinc finger nucleases, TALE nucleases and the CRISPR/Cas9 system, they possess a residual citotoxicity. This is related to offtarget cleavages, which could be prevented by the strict regulation of the enzymes. The studies on enzymes acting naturally in a controlled manner are beneficial to get better insight into their mechanism. Such enzymes or their appropriate domains may be the most promising alternatives to the presently applied ones. As an example, the DNA cleavage of the inactive HNH nuclease mutants is inducible in a multiple way. This property may be used for establishing a control mechanism and thus, in combination with specific DNA-binding domains they are good candidates for the catalytic site of artificial nucleases. Here we collect the results on the properties of the HNH nucleases that allow for their redesign into enzymes with possible therapeutic applications.

Structural changes of human serum albumin (HSA) caused by old age and coexisting diseases result in differences in the binding of doxazosin (DOX). DOX is a postsynaptic α1- adrenoreceptor antagonist used for treatment of hypertension and benign prostatic hyperplasia. In elderly people suffering from various renal or hepatic diseases the significant portion of N-form of human serum albumin (normal) is converted to A-form (aged). The differences in binding of doxazosin to N- and Aform of albumin are an important factor, which may determines therapeutic dosage and toxicity of the test drug. To indicate these differences, the technique of fluorescence spectroscopy was used. The association constant (Ka) obtained from fluorescence quenching demonstrated that doxazosin has higher affinity for AHSA than for HSA. In order to describe the cooperativity in binding process, the values of the Hill’s coefficient has been analysed. For DOX-HSA system (λex 295 nm) Hill’s coefficient is close to 1 and it indicates that there is a single class of binding sites. For DOX-HSA (λex 275 nm) and DOX-AHSA (λex 275 nm and λex 295 nm) systems we observed positive cooperativity (nH>1). A greater red shift of fluorescence emission maximum of AHSA than HSA in the presence of DOX was observed. This suggests that the binding of DOX to AHSA was accompanied by a stronger increase in polarity around the fluorophores in comparison to HSA. The binding interaction between DOX and HSA has been also studied by molecular docking simulation.