In this report, we expanded the study to i,i+7 hydrocarbon-stapled peptides to delineate their mechanism of action and antiviral activity. We identified three potent inhibitors, NYAD-36, -66 and -67, which showed strong binding to CA in NMR and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) studies and disrupted the formation of mature-like particles. They showed typical α-helical structures and penetrated cells; however, the cell penetration was not as efficient as observed with the i,i+4 peptides.
Abstract
Background
Previously, we reported the conversion of the 12-mer linear and cell-impermeable peptide CAI to a cell-penetrating peptide NYAD-1 by using an i,i + 4 hydrocarbon stapling technique and confirmed its binding to the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the HIV-1 capsid (CA) protein with an improved affinity (Kd ~ 1 μM) compared to CAI (Kd ~ 15 μM). NYAD-1 disrupts the formation of both immature- and mature-like virus particles in in vitro and cell-based assembly assays. In addition, it displays potent anti-HIV-1 activity in cell culture against a range of laboratory-adapted and primary HIV-1 isolates.
Results
In this report, we expanded the study to i,i + 7 hydrocarbon-stapled peptides to delineate their mechanism of action and antiviral activity. We identified three potent inhibitors, NYAD-36, -66 and -67, which showed strong binding to CA in NMR and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) studies and disrupted the formation of mature-like particles. They showed typical α-helical structures and penetrated cells; however, the cell penetration was not as efficient as observed with the i,i + 4 peptides. Unlike NYAD-1, the i,i + 7 peptides did not have any effect on virus release; however, they impaired Gag precursor processing. HIV-1 particles produced in the presence of these peptides displayed impaired infectivity. Consistent with an effect on virus entry, selection for viral resistance led to the emergence of two mutations in the gp120 subunit of the viral envelope (Env) glycoprotein, V120Q and A327P, located in the conserved region 1 (C1) and the base of the V3 loop, respectively.
Conclusion
The i,i + 7 stapled peptides derived from CAI unexpectedly target both CA and the V3 loop of gp120. This dual-targeted activity is dependent on their ability to penetrate cells as well as their net charge. This mechanistic revelation will be useful in further modifying these peptides as potent anti-HIV-1 agents.
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Baba, Osamu, Andrew Elvington, Martyna Szpakowska, Deborah Sultan, Gyu Seong Heo, Xiaohui Zhang, Hannah Luehmann et al. bioRxiv (2020).
The FC131 peptide (cyclo[2-Nal-Gly-d-Tyr-NMe-d-Orn-Arg]) was synthesized by CPC Scientific (Sunnyvale, CA).
This guide will help you understand how to read ESI spectra for large and complex bio-molecules like peptides. Other techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) show one major peak (i.e., absorbance and purity for RP-HPLC) in the spectra, making the interpretation straightforward. ESI-MS spectra are more complicated due to the multiplicity of the data. While most small molecules (100-500 AMU) behave well in ESI-MS and ionize as a single charged state, larger biomolecules, such as peptides, ionize as multiple charged variants. A major advantage of ESI-MS over other mass spectroscopy techniques is that molecular fragmentation is rare (t-Boc groups and a few other protection groups are an exception), which is why ESI-MS is often referred to as a soft ionization technique.
Vickers, Timothy A., Meghdad Rahdar, Thazha P. Prakash, and Stanley T. Crooke. Nucleic Acids Research (2019).
A solution of 1.5 umol SmBiT peptide (Val-Thr-Gly-Tyr-Arg-Leu-Phe-Glu-Glu-Ile-Leu-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Lys(N3)-NH2) containing an azide group at the C-terminus (CPC Scientific, 1245 Reamwood Ave, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) in DMSO (0.5 ml) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 5 h.
Solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) has many advantages over liquid-phase peptide synthesis (LPPS) for preparing and manufacturing synthetic peptides. Except the synthesis of short peptide sequences (i.e., less than five amino acid residues), SPPS is faster, more efficient, and more economical than liquid-phase peptide synthesis (LPPS). Some of the advantages of SPPS include: (1) Excess reagents and products can be easily washed away, (2) using excess reagents to increase reaction rates and drive reactions to completion, (3) intermediates do not require isolation or characterization, (4) access to a broader range of solvents with low volatility and high polarity, (5) tethered peptide provides a ‘pseudo-dilute’ microenvironment, which can inhibit intermolecular reactions, making some modifications easier to accomplish, and (6) compatibility with automated synthesis technology.
Lo, J.H., Hao, L., Muzumdar, M.D., Raghavan, S., Kwon, E.J., Pulver, E.M., Hsu, F., Aguirre, A.J., Wolpin, B.M., Fuchs, C.S. and Hahn, W.C. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 17, no. 11 (2018): 2377-2388.
pTP-TAMRA-iRGD (CH3(CH)15-[GWTLNSAGYLLGKINLKALAALAKKIL-GGK(TAMRA)GGCRGDKGPDC, Cys-Cys bridge]) used in all figures except Fig. S1 was synthesized by CPC Scientific.
Ng, Ee Xien, Myat Noe Hsu, Guoyun Sun, and Chia-Hung Chen. Methods in Enzymology 628 (2019): 59-94.
The peptide sequences of the four FRET-based substrates ([..] CPC Scientific) are as follows: UV: AlexaFluor405-Leu-Ala-Gln-Ala-HompheArg-Ser-Lys (QSY35)-NH2; Blue: Dabcyl-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly-Met-Arg-Gly-Lys (5-FAM)-NH2; Green: QSY7-Ala-Pro-Phe-Glu..
West, J.A., Tsakmaki, A., Huang, J.H., Ghosh, S.S., Parkes, D.G., Wismann, P., Rigbolt, K.T., Pedersen, P.J., Pavlidis, P., Maggs, D. and Lopez-Talavera, J.C. bioRxiv (2019) 822122.
- Fractyl Laboratories Inc, Lexington, MA, 02421, USA
- Diabetes Research Group, School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Science and Medicine, King’s College London, London, WC2R 2LS, England, UK
[..] infusion of vehicle 2 via osmotic minipump; (2) glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist (0.2 mg/kg liraglutide, SC, QD, Victoza (Novo Nordisk, Bagsværd, Denmark) and continuous infusion of vehicle 2 via osmotic minipump; (3) vehicle 1 (SC, QD) and continuous infusion of a glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) antagonist (∼4.5 mg/kg/day / 56.8 nmol/kg/h GIP[3-30]NH2, CPC Scientific Inc, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) via osmotic minipump;
Artur Javmen, Vladimir Y. Toshchakov, et al. Journal of Leukocyte Biology (2019).
All CPDPs included the N‐terminal Antennapedia homeodomain sequence RQIKIWFQNRRMKWKK.38 The Cy3‐labeled peptides were produced by CPC Scientific (Sunnyvale, CA, USA). The Cy3 label was placed at the peptide N‐terminus..
Gilles, Maud-Emmanuelle, Slack, Frank J, et al. Oncotarget, 2019, Vol. 10, (No. 51), pp: 5349-5358
"Tandem peptide (pTP-iRGD: CH3(CH)15-GWTLNSAGYLLGKINLKALAALAKKIL-GGK(TAMRA)GGCRGDKGPDC, Cys-Cys bridge) was synthesized by CPC Scientific."
