1. An Integrated Molecular Grafting Approach for the Design of Keap1-Targeted Peptide Inhibitors
- Author
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Sarah A. Best, Yen-Hua Huang, David J. Craik, Conan K. Wang, Kate D. Sutherland, and Huawu Yin
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Male ,NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ,Proteolysis ,Peptide ,Cyclotides ,Plasma protein binding ,Cell-Penetrating Peptides ,01 natural sciences ,Biochemistry ,Proof of Concept Study ,Protein–protein interaction ,03 medical and health sciences ,medicine ,Humans ,Short linear motif ,Amino Acid Sequence ,Peptide sequence ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1 ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,010405 organic chemistry ,Protein Stability ,General Medicine ,Cyclic peptide ,Peptide Fragments ,0104 chemical sciences ,Cyclotide ,030104 developmental biology ,Blood ,chemistry ,Drug Design ,Biophysics ,Molecular Medicine ,HeLa Cells ,Protein Binding - Abstract
Inhibiting the Nrf2:Keap1 interaction to trigger cytoprotective gene expression is a promising treatment strategy for oxidative stress-related diseases. A short linear motif from Nrf2 has the potential to directly inhibit this protein-protein interaction, but poor stability and limited cellular uptake impede its therapeutic development. To address these limitations, we utilized an integrated molecular grafting strategy to re-engineer the Nrf2 motif. We combined the motif with an engineered non-native disulfide bond and a cell-penetrating peptide onto a single multifunctionalizable and ultrastable molecular scaffold, namely, the cyclotide MCoTI-II, resulting in the grafted peptide MCNr-2c. The engineered disulfide bond enhanced the conformational rigidity of the motif, resulting in a nanomolar affinity of MCNr-2c for Keap1. The cell-penetrating peptide led to an improved cellular uptake and increased ability to enhance the intracellular expression of two well-described Nrf2-target genes NQO1 and TALDO1. Furthermore, the stability of the scaffold was inherited by the grafted peptide, which became resistant to proteolysis in serum. Overall, we have provided proof-of-concept for a strategy that enables the encapsulation of multiple desired and complementary activities into a single molecular entity to design a Keap1-targeted inhibitor. We propose that this integrated approach could have broad utility for the design of peptide drug leads that require multiple functions and/or biopharmaceutical properties to elicit a therapeutic activity.
- Published
- 2021