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Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) May 2024The renin-angiotensin system is the most important peptide hormone system in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis. Its classical arm consists of the enzymes,... (Review)
Review
The renin-angiotensin system is the most important peptide hormone system in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis. Its classical arm consists of the enzymes, renin, and angiotensin-converting enzyme, generating angiotensin II from angiotensinogen, which activates its AT receptor, thereby increasing blood pressure, retaining salt and water, and inducing cardiovascular hypertrophy and fibrosis. However, angiotensin II can also activate a second receptor, the AT receptor. Moreover, the removal of the C-terminal phenylalanine from angiotensin II by ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) yields angiotensin-(1-7), and this peptide interacts with its receptor Mas. When the aminoterminal Asp of angiotensin-(1-7) is decarboxylated, alamandine is generated, which activates the Mas-related G-protein-coupled receptor D, MrgD (Mas-related G-protein-coupled receptor type D). Since Mas, MrgD, and the AT receptor have opposing effects to the classical AT receptor, they and the enzymes and peptides activating them are called the alternative or protective arm of the renin-angiotensin system. This review will cover the historical aspects and the current standing of this recent addition to the biology of the renin-angiotensin system.
Topics: Angiotensin I; Angiotensin II; Peptide Fragments; Peptides; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; Renin; Renin-Angiotensin System; Humans
PubMed: 38362781
DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21364 -
Theranostics 2023Recent studies indicate that microglial activation and the resulting inflammatory response could be potential targets of adjuvant therapy for ischemic stroke. Many...
Recent studies indicate that microglial activation and the resulting inflammatory response could be potential targets of adjuvant therapy for ischemic stroke. Many studies have emphasized a well-established function of Annexin-A1 (ANXA1) in the immune system, including the regulation of microglial activation. Nevertheless, few therapeutic interventions targeting ANXA1 in microglia for ischemic stroke have been conducted. In the present study, Tat-NTS, a small peptide developed to prevent ANXA1 from entering the nucleus, was utilized. We discovered the underlying mechanism that Tat-NTS peptide targets microglial ANXA1 to protect against ischemic brain injury. Preclinical studies of ischemic stroke were performed using an oxygen-glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R) cell model in vitro and the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) animal model of ischemic stroke in vivo. Confocal imaging and 3D reconstruction analyses for detecting the protein expression and subcellular localization of microglia in vivo. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), immunoblotting, ELISA, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Luciferase reporter assay for determining the precise molecular mechanism. Measurement on the cytotoxicity of Tat-NTS peptide for microglia was assessed by CCK-8 and LDH assay. TUNEL staining was used to detect the microglia conditioned medium-mediated neuronal apoptosis. Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) were injected into the cerebral cortex, striatum and hippocampal CA1 region of adult male Cx3cr1-Cre mice, to further verify the neurofunctional outcome and mechanism of Tat-NTS peptide by TTC staining, the modified Neurological Severity Score (mNSS) test, the open field test (OFT), the novel object recognition task (NORT), the Morris water maze (MWM) test, the long-term potentiation (LTP) and the Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was observed that administration of Tat-NTS led to a shift of subcellular localization of ANXA1 in microglia from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in response to ischemic injury. Notably, this shift was accompanied by an increase in ANXA1 SUMOylation in microglia and a transformation of microglia towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype. We confirmed that Tat-NTS-induced ANXA1 SUMOylation in microglia mediated IKKα degradation via NBR1-dependent selective autophagy, then blocking the activation of the NF-κB pathway. As a result, the expression and release of the pro-inflammatory factors IL-1β and TNF-α were reduced in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Furthermore, we found that Tat-NTS peptide's protective effect on microglia relieved ischemic neuron apoptosis. Finally, we demonstrated that Tat-NTS peptide administration, through induction of ANXA1 SUMOylation in microglia, reduced infarct volume, improved neurological function and facilitated behavioral recovery in MCAO mice. Our study provides evidence for a novel mechanism of Tat-NTS peptide in regulating microglial ANXA1 function and its substantial neuroprotective effect on neurons with ischemic injuries. These findings suggest that Tat-NTS peptides have a high potential for clinical application and may be a promising therapeutic candidate for treating cerebral ischemia.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Male; Microglia; Annexin A1; Sumoylation; Brain Ischemia; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery; Peptides; Ischemic Stroke; Reperfusion Injury; Neurons
PubMed: 37908731
DOI: 10.7150/thno.85390 -
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in... Sep 2023Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are generally activated through their dimerization and/or oligomerization induced by their cognate ligands, and one such RTK hepatocyte...
Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are generally activated through their dimerization and/or oligomerization induced by their cognate ligands, and one such RTK hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor, known as MET, plays an important role in tissue regeneration. Here we show the development of ubiquitin (Ub)-based protein ligand multimers, referred to as U-bodies, which act as surrogate agonists for MET and are derived from MET-binding macrocyclic peptides. Monomeric Ub constructs (U-body) were first generated by genetic implantation of a macrocyclic peptide pharmacophore into a structural loop of Ub (lasso-grafting) and subsequent optimization of its flanking spacer sequences via mRNA display. Such U-body constructs exhibit potent binding affinity to MET, thermal stability, and proteolytic stability. The U-body constructs also partially/fully inhibited or enhanced HGF-induced MET-phosphorylation. Their multimerization to dimeric, tetrameric, and octameric U-bodies linked by an appropriate peptide linker yielded potent MET activation activity and downstream cell proliferation-promoting activity. This work suggests that lasso-grafting of macrocycles to Ub is an effective approach to devising protein-based artificial RTK agonists and it can be useful in the development of a new class of biologics for various therapeutic applications.
Topics: Hepatocyte Growth Factor; Ubiquitin; Protein Binding; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met; Phosphorylation; Peptides
PubMed: 37450419
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202307157 -
Nature Communications Jul 2023Small humanin-like peptide 2 (SHLP2) is a mitochondrial-derived peptide implicated in several biological processes such as aging and oxidative stress. However, its...
Small humanin-like peptide 2 (SHLP2) is a mitochondrial-derived peptide implicated in several biological processes such as aging and oxidative stress. However, its functional role in the regulation of energy homeostasis remains unclear, and its corresponding receptor is not identified. Hereby, we demonstrate that both systemic and intracerebroventricular (ICV) administrations of SHLP2 protected the male mice from high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and improved insulin sensitivity. In addition, the activation of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons by SHLP2 in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) is involved in the suppression of food intake and the promotion of thermogenesis. Through high-throughput structural complementation screening, we discovered that SHLP2 binds to and activates chemokine receptor 7 (CXCR7). Taken together, our study not only reveals the therapeutic potential of SHLP2 in metabolic disorders but also provides important mechanistic insights into how it exerts its effects on energy homeostasis.
Topics: Male; Animals; Mice; Hypothalamus; Neurons; Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus; Peptides; Diet, High-Fat; Homeostasis; Mitochondria; Pro-Opiomelanocortin; Energy Metabolism
PubMed: 37468558
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40082-7 -
Nature Oct 2023Lysine residues in histones and other proteins can be modified by post-translational modifications that encode regulatory information. Lysine acetylation and methylation...
Lysine residues in histones and other proteins can be modified by post-translational modifications that encode regulatory information. Lysine acetylation and methylation are especially important for regulating chromatin and gene expression. Pathways involving these post-translational modifications are targets for clinically approved therapeutics to treat human diseases. Lysine methylation and acetylation are generally assumed to be mutually exclusive at the same residue. Here we report cellular lysine residues that are both methylated and acetylated on the same side chain to form N-acetyl-N-methyllysine (Kacme). We show that Kacme is found on histone H4 (H4Kacme) across a range of species and across mammalian tissues. Kacme is associated with marks of active chromatin, increased transcriptional initiation and is regulated in response to biological signals. H4Kacme can be installed by enzymatic acetylation of monomethyllysine peptides and is resistant to deacetylation by some HDACs in vitro. Kacme can be bound by chromatin proteins that recognize modified lysine residues, as we demonstrate with the crystal structure of acetyllysine-binding protein BRD2 bound to a histone H4Kacme peptide. These results establish Kacme as a cellular post-translational modification with the potential to encode information distinct from methylation and acetylation alone and demonstrate that Kacme has all the hallmarks of a post-translational modification with fundamental importance to chromatin biology.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Acetylation; Chromatin; Histones; Lysine; Methylation; Peptides; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Transcription Initiation Site; Histone Deacetylases
PubMed: 37731000
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06565-9 -
Journal of the American Chemical Society Aug 2023Cyclic peptides as a therapeutic modality are attracting a lot of attention due to their potential for oral absorption and accessibility to intracellular tough targets....
Cyclic peptides as a therapeutic modality are attracting a lot of attention due to their potential for oral absorption and accessibility to intracellular tough targets. Here, starting with a drug-like hit discovered using an mRNA display library, we describe a chemical optimization that led to the orally available clinical compound known as LUNA18, an 11-mer cyclic peptide inhibitor for the intracellular tough target RAS. The key findings are as follows: (i) two peptide side chains were identified that each increase RAS affinity over 10-fold; (ii) physico-chemical properties (PCP) including log can be adjusted by side-chain modification to increase membrane permeability; (iii) restriction of cyclic peptide conformation works effectively to adjust PCP and improve bio-activity; (iv) cellular efficacy was observed in peptides with a permeability of around 0.4 × 10 cm/s or more in a Caco-2 permeability assay; and (v) while keeping the cyclic peptide's main-chain conformation, we found one example where the RAS protein structure was changed dramatically through induced-fit to our peptide side chain. This study demonstrates how the chemical optimization of bio-active peptides can be achieved without scaffold hopping, much like the processes for small molecule drug discovery that are guided by Lipinski's rule of five. Our approach provides a versatile new strategy for generating peptide drugs starting from drug-like hits.
Topics: Humans; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras); Caco-2 Cells; Peptides; Peptides, Cyclic; Molecular Conformation
PubMed: 37463267
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c03886 -
Journal of Molecular Biology Mar 2024Stalling of ribosomes engaged in protein synthesis can lead to significant defects in the function of newly synthesized proteins and thereby impair protein homeostasis.... (Review)
Review
Stalling of ribosomes engaged in protein synthesis can lead to significant defects in the function of newly synthesized proteins and thereby impair protein homeostasis. Consequently, partially synthesized polypeptides resulting from translation stalling are recognized and eliminated by several quality control mechanisms. First, if translation elongation reactions are halted prematurely, a quality control mechanism called ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) initiates the ubiquitination of the nascent polypeptide chain and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Additionally, when ribosomes with defective codon recognition or peptide-bond formation stall during translation, a quality control mechanism known as non-functional ribosomal RNA decay (NRD) leads to the degradation of malfunctioning ribosomes. In both of these quality control mechanisms, E3 ubiquitin ligases selectively recognize ribosomes in distinct translation-stalling states and ubiquitinate specific ribosomal proteins. Significant efforts have been devoted to characterize E3 ubiquitin ligase sensing of ribosome 'collision' or 'stalling' and subsequent ribosome is rescued. This article provides an overview of our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of ribosome dynamics control and quality control of abnormal translation.
Topics: Peptides; Ribosomal Proteins; Ribosomes; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; Ubiquitination; Humans; Animals; RNA, Messenger; RNA Stability; Peptide Chain Elongation, Translational
PubMed: 38365086
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168496 -
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine... Aug 2023Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP)-targeting radioligands have recently demonstrated high diagnostic potential. However, their therapeutic value is impaired by the...
Head-to-head comparison of different classes of FAP radioligands designed to increase tumor residence time: monomer, dimer, albumin binders, and small molecules vs peptides.
PURPOSE
Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP)-targeting radioligands have recently demonstrated high diagnostic potential. However, their therapeutic value is impaired by the short tumor residence time. Several strategies have been tested to overcome this limitation, but a head-to-head comparison has never been done. With the aim to identify strengths and limitations of the suggested strategies, we compared the monomer FAPI-46 versus (a) its dimer (FAPI-46-F1D), (b) two albumin binders conjugates (FAPI-46-Ibu (ibuprofen) and FAPI-46-EB (Evans Blue)), and (c) cyclic peptide FAP-2286.
METHODS
Lu-labeled ligands were evaluated in vitro in cell lines with low (HT-1080.hFAP) and high (HEK-293.hFAP) humanFAP expression. SPECT/CT imaging and biodistribution studies were conducted in HT-1080.hFAP and HEK-293.hFAP xenografts. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the tumor uptake and tumor-to-critical-organs ratios and the absorbed doses were estimated.
RESULTS
Radioligands showed IC in the picomolar range. Striking differences were observed in vivo regarding tumor uptake, residence, specificity, and total body distribution. All [Lu]Lu-FAPI-46-based radioligands showed similar uptake between the two tumor models. [Lu]Lu-FAP-2286 showed higher uptake in HEK-293.hFAP and the least background. The AUC of the tumor uptake and absorbed dose was higher for [Lu]Lu-FAPI-46-F1D and the two albumin binder conjugates, [Lu]Lu-FAPI-46-Ibu and [Lu]Lu-FAPI-46-EB, in HT1080.hFAP xenografts and for [Lu]Lu-FAPI-46-EB and [Lu]Lu-FAP-2286 in HEK293.hFAP xenografts. The tumor-to-critical-organs AUC values and the absorbed doses were in favor of [Lu]Lu-FAP-2286, but tumor-to-kidneys.
CONCLUSION
The study indicated dimerization and cyclic peptide structures as promising strategies for prolonging tumor residence time, sparing healthy tissues. Albumin binding strategy outcome depended on the albumin binding moiety. The peptide showed advantages in terms of tumor-to-background ratios, besides tumor-to-kidneys, but its tumor uptake was FAP expression-dependent.
Topics: Humans; HEK293 Cells; Tissue Distribution; Cell Line, Tumor; Albumins; Peptides; Peptides, Cyclic; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; Gallium Radioisotopes
PubMed: 37261473
DOI: 10.1007/s00259-023-06272-7 -
Biochemistry. Biokhimiia Sep 2023Extensive application of technologies like phage display in screening peptide and protein combinatorial libraries has not only facilitated creation of new recombinant... (Review)
Review
Extensive application of technologies like phage display in screening peptide and protein combinatorial libraries has not only facilitated creation of new recombinant antibodies but has also significantly enriched repertoire of the protein binders that have polypeptide scaffolds without homology to immunoglobulins. These innovative synthetic binding protein (SBP) platforms have grown in number and now encompass monobodies/adnectins, DARPins, lipocalins/anticalins, and a variety of miniproteins such as affibodies and knottins, among others. They serve as versatile modules for developing complex affinity tools that hold promise in both diagnostic and therapeutic settings. An optimal scaffold typically has low molecular weight, minimal immunogenicity, and demonstrates resistance against various challenging conditions, including proteolysis - making it potentially suitable for peroral administration. Retaining functionality under reducing intracellular milieu is also advantageous. However, paramount to its functionality is the scaffold's ability to tolerate mutations across numerous positions, allowing for the formation of a sufficiently large target binding region. This is achieved through the library construction, screening, and subsequent expression in an appropriate system. Scaffolds that exhibit high thermodynamic stability are especially coveted by the developers of new SBPs. These are steadily making their way into clinical settings, notably as antagonists of oncoproteins in signaling pathways. This review surveys the diverse landscape of SBPs, placing particular emphasis on the inhibitors targeting the oncoprotein KRAS, and highlights groundbreaking opportunities for SBPs in oncology.
Topics: Peptides; Recombinant Proteins; Lipocalins; Cloning, Molecular; Peptide Library; Protein Binding
PubMed: 37770391
DOI: 10.1134/S0006297923090043 -
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in... Jul 2023Deep learning is revolutionizing structural biology to an unprecedented extent. Spearheaded by DeepMind's Alphafold2, structural models of high quality can be generated,... (Review)
Review
Deep learning is revolutionizing structural biology to an unprecedented extent. Spearheaded by DeepMind's Alphafold2, structural models of high quality can be generated, and are now available for most known proteins and many protein interactions. The next challenge will be to leverage this rich structural corpus to learn about binding: which protein can contact which partner(s), and at what affinity? In a recent study, Chang and Perez have presented an elegant approach towards this challenging goal for interactions that involve a short peptide binding to its receptor. The basic idea is straightforward: given a receptor that binds to two peptides, if the receptor sequence is presented with both peptides together at the same time, AlphaFold2 should model the tighter binding peptide into the binding site, while excluding the second. A simple idea that works!
Topics: Protein Binding; Proteins; Peptides; Binding Sites; Protein Domains
PubMed: 37114568
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202303526