Targeted inhibition of amyloidogenesis using a non-toxic, serum stable strategically designed cyclic peptide with therapeutic implications

Amyloidogenic disorders are currently rising as a global health issue, prompting more and more studies dedicated to the development of effective targeted therapeutics. The innate affinity of these amyloidogenic proteins towards the biomembranes adds further complexities to the systems. Our previous studies have shown that biologically active peptides can effectively target amyloidogenesis serving as an efficient therapeutic alternative in several amyloidogenic disorders. The structural uniqueness of the PWWP motif in the de novo designed heptapeptide, KR7 (KPWWPRR-NH2) was demonstrated to target insulin fiber elongation specifically. By working on insulin, an important model system in amyloidogenic studies, we gained several mechanistic insights into the inhibitory actions at the protein-peptide interface. Here, we report a second-generation non-toxic and serum stable cyclic peptide, based primarily on the PWWP motif that resulted in complete inhibition of insulin fibrillation both in the presence and absence of the model membranes. Using both low- and high-resolution spectroscopic techniques, we could delineate the specific mechanism of inhibition, at atomistic resolution. Our studies put forward an effective therapeutic intervention that redirects the default aggregation kinetics towards off-pathway fibrillation. Based on the promising results, this novel cyclic peptide can be considered an excellent lead to design pharmaceutical molecules against amyloidogenesis.