The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019 was awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza. One of the key peptides was made by LifeTein: HIF1a-P564: DLDLEMLAPYIPMDDDFQLR.
Our Services:
Custom Peptide Synthesis Services
Other Posts:
Smaller Ions Stabilize β-sheets
A click chemistry was reported about the formation of azides from primary amines. This powerful tool enables the reaction of just one equivalent of a simple diazotizing species, and fluorosulfuryl azide (FSO2N3), for the preparation of over 1,200 azides on 96-well plates in a safe and practical manner. This method greatly expands the number of accessible azides and 1,2,3-triazoles because the primary amine is one of the most abundant functional groups in small compounds, proteins and antibodies.
The method opens the door for numerous applications in drug screening and discovery. The cell penetration peptides can be easily introduced to conjugate with any azide containing drugs, compounds, antibodies, or proteins.
The cell penetration peptides (CPPs) are capable of delivering biologically active cargo to the cell interior. The desired therapeutic cargo could be attached to a CPP using the copper free click chemistry and then delivered to an intracellular target, thereby overcoming the entry restrictions set by the plasma membrane.
Our Services:
Custom Peptide Synthesis Services
Other Posts:
Smaller Ions Stabilize β-sheets
BRAF is an RAF kinase. It is a core component of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling cascade, known as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. It is one of the major effectors of oncogene RAS, and is often mutated in human cancer cells.
Two FDA approved drugs, Dabrafenib, and vemurafenib, effectively inhibit the most common BRAF variant V600E, a monomeric BRAF. But, the non-V600E BRAF mutations are intrinsically resistant to these drugs. These drugs may also paradoxically stimulate the pathway when the tumor cells contain wild-type BRAF and oncogenic RAS, causing secondary malignancies.
The researchers tried to tackle the dimeric BRAF. The dimeric BRAF, such as the wild type and G469A, a most prevalent non-V600E variant in lung cancer cells, hinges on dimer interface (DIF), a 20aa span near the tail end of the alpha-C helix of BRAF. The researchers designed Braftide using computational modeling, aiming to block the dimerization. They tested the functionality in vitro, in HEK263 cells and colon cancer cell lines.
LifeTein synthesized Braftide (TRHVNILLFM), Null-Braftide (THHVNILLFM), Cy3-Braftide (TRHVNILLFM-Cy3), TAT-Braftide (GRKKRRQRRRPQ-PEG-TRHVNILLFM), and TAT (GRKKRRQRRRPQ). We reviewed here some of the assays that helped support Braftide as an allosteric inhibitor of BRAF dimer and down-regulator of MAPK signaling pathway for cancer therapy.
1) Cell-free in vitro assay: dose-response curve. First of all, the researchers show that Braftide has a sub-micromolar IC50 for dimeric BRAF. Full-length dimeric BRAF-WT and BRAF-G469A (from HEK293F cells) were used for dose-response curves, and the BRAF activity was probed by pMEK production.
2) Cell-free in vitro assay: Saturation binding assay. The researchers used Cy3-labeled Braftide (Cy3-Braftide) to characterize (KD) the binding of Braftide with dimeric BRAF-WT using fluorescence quantification.
3) Cell-free in vitro assay: Immunoprecipitation (IP). The purpose of IP was to show Braftide disrupted the BRAF dimerization. Braftide was added to HEK293 cell lysate coexpressing V5- and FLAG-tagged BRAF-WT. FLAG-tagged BRAF was pulled down by FLAG antibody-conjugated resin, which was further probed for V5-tagged BRAF. Braftide indeed reduced homodimer BRAF.
4) Delivery of Braftide into HEK cell for BRAF inhibition. Braftide was tagged with cell-penetrating peptide TAT. TAT-Braftide (and its negative control TAT alone) was used to treat HEK293 cells transiently transfected with BRAF-WT and BRAF-G469A. Four hours of treatment resulted in reductions of BRAF, pMEK, MEK (i.e. the MAPK pathway), which were analyzed with respective antibodies by immunoblotting.
5) Delivery of Braftide into cancer cells for BRAF inhibition and cell proliferation inhibition. Two colon cancer cell lines (KRAS-G13D-colon carcinoma) were treated with cell-penetrating TAT-Braftide and assayed for the inhibition of BRAF activity, down-regulation of MAPK signaling, and cell proliferation. All were shown positive, while the negative control TAT alone were negative.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acschembio.9b00191
Our Services:
Custom Peptide Synthesis Services
Other Posts:
Smaller Ions Stabilize β-sheets
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with LifeTein, have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of pain management. LifeTein’s expertise in peptide synthesis was crucial in developing synthetic scorpion toxin peptides that specifically target the “wasabi receptor,” a key player in the body’s response to certain types of pain.
The wasabi receptor, scientifically known as TRPA1, is an ion channel protein that triggers the familiar sinus-clearing or eye-watering sensation experienced when consuming wasabi or cutting onions. This receptor is also implicated in the perception of chronic pain.
The focus of this research is a peptide derived from scorpion toxin, referred to as WaTx. Remarkably, WaTx, synthesized by LifeTein, can activate the TRPA1 receptor, mimicking the pain response to irritants. Unlike other molecules, WaTx has the unique ability to penetrate cell membranes directly, bypassing the need for channel proteins. This property makes it an invaluable tool for studying chronic pain and inflammation.
In addition to its research applications, WaTx holds promise for the development of new, non-opioid pain therapies. It has been observed to induce pain and pain hypersensitivity without causing neurogenic inflammation, a common side effect of many pain treatments.
Further expanding on this concept, a study titled “Identification and Characterization of ProTx-III [μ-TRTX-Tp1a], a New Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Inhibitor from Venom of the Tarantula Thrixopelma pruriens” delves into the potential of spider venoms in pain management. This study, conducted by F. C. Cardoso and colleagues, discovered a novel inhibitor, μ-TRTX-Tp1a (Tp1a), from the venom of the Peruvian green-velvet tarantula. Tp1a selectively inhibits human NaV1.
7 channels, which are key contributors to pain perception.
The study found that Tp1a, both in its recombinant and synthetic forms, preferentially targets NaV1.7 channels, offering a new avenue for analgesic drug development. Unlike many other spider toxins affecting NaV channels, Tp1a does not significantly alter the voltage dependence of activation or inactivation of these channels. This unique feature of Tp1a was demonstrated to be effective in reversing spontaneous pain in animal models.
The structural analysis of Tp1a revealed an inhibitor cystine knot motif, common in spider toxins but with distinct pharmacological properties that could be crucial in developing more selective and potent treatments for chronic pain.
The research at UCSF, along with the findings on spider venom peptides and the significant contributions of LifeTein in peptide synthesis, represents a significant step forward in understanding and potentially treating chronic pain. These discoveries highlight the vast potential of natural toxins in medical research, offering hope for more effective and safer pain management strategies in the future.
Reference:
In humans, liver-derived insulin-like growth factor (IGF1) drives postnatal growth. Early childhood infection of E. coli, Campylobacter spp., even asymptomatic, reduces IGF1 level and restricts early-childhood growth. Does the pathogen-induced Toll-like innate immune signaling contribute to growth restriction? To answer the question, the researchers examined a corresponding pathway in fruit flies.
In fruit flies, Dilps (Drosophila insulin-like peptides) drive their growth, for example, the growth rate of imaginal discs which give rise to adult structures such as wings. Dilps share homology with insulin and IGF1, and they bind to the insulin receptor. Dilp6 is produced by fat body, an organ for nutrient storage and immune functions.
The researchers found Dilp6 is a selective target of Toll signaling in the fat body, an innate immune response from bacterial infections. They also found that Toll signaling reduces Dilp6 transcripts, and dramatically suppresses circulatory Dilp6 levels, and restricts whole-body growth. Restoring Dilp6, on the other hand, rescues growth and viability in fruit flies even with active Toll signaling.
LifeTein’s peptide FLAG(GS)HA was used as a standard in ELISA to quantify Dilp6 in fruit fly hemolymph samples. Here, Dilp6 was tagged with FLAG and HA because of FLAG- and HA-tagged Dilp6HF allele from CRISPR/CAS9. In this ELISA assay, the plate wells were coated with anti-FLAG antibody, then FLAG(GS)HA or fruit fly hemolymph sample were added to the wells. FLAG(GS)HA and FLAG- and HA-tagged Dilp6 were quantified by anti-HA-Peroxidase 3F10 antibody and subsequent chromogenic reaction. For more details of the method, see the section “Hemolymph Dilp6 measurements by ELISA” in the link.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124719309052
Our Services:
Custom Peptide Synthesis Services
Other Posts:
Smaller Ions Stabilize β-sheets
Synthetic Scorpion Toxin Peptides for Chronic Pain
Peptide amphiphiles are composed of hydrophobic alkyl tails and peptide regions designed to self-assemble into cylindrical supramolecular nanofibers in solution. While hydrogen bonds form some β-sheets between short β-strands (2 or 3 residues), others are formed by extended-strands.
The strongly-hydrated ions (F- and Cl-) are more attracted to the positively charged lysine residues on the surface of the peptide nanofiber. When peptide residues form β-sheets, an F- or Cl- ion forms a salt bridge between the side chains of lysine residues from two neighboring peptide amphiphile chains. The salt bridge stabilizes the peptide by bringing the backbones closer, resulting in a transition from random coil to extended β-sheets structures. The smaller ions (F- and Cl-, 50mM NaF and NaCl solutions) tend to stabilize β-sheets slightly better compared to the larger ions (I-, Br-).
So, the self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles into supramolecular nanofibers can be regulated by modifying the salt solution.
Reference: doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b05532
Hydrogels with a capacity to absorb and hold water within a porous, swelled structure make it a great candidate as a drug delivery system due to their broad range of physical properties as well as chemical adaptability. For example, a positively charged polypeptide (poly-l-lysine, PLL) coupling to a self-assembling dipeptide (Fmoc-FF) leads to the formation of hydrogels with rheological properties suitable for injection.
Hydrogenation via self-assembly is a hierarchical process. The hydrogels can be easily prepared via simple mixing and incorporated with various stoichiometric ratios of peptides without any additional synthetic processes. Peptides can form hydrogels by multiple non-covalent interactions. It was found that PTZ-Gly-Phe-Phe-Tyr can form gels at ultra-low concentrations of 0.01 wt.%. The π-π stacking may be another driving forces in the self-assembly to form the final hydrogel structure. The N-cadherin mimic peptide (CLRAHAVDIN) and TGF-β1 mimic peptide (CESPLKRQ) synthesized by LifeTein were used to form an injectable 3D hydrogel. Increased retention of stem cells by using an injectable hydrogel has resulted in successful tissue engineering outcomes.
Another efficient method to facilitate hydrogel formation is based on the electrostatic attraction of oppositely charged peptides. The order of amino acids is of great importance for hydrogenation. Self-assembling beta-hairpin peptides, with high arginine content, exhibited extremely good performance in killing bacteria. The peptide hydrogels also have been demonstrated to be used as wound healing agents and other therapeutic instruments under different conditions. Curcumin could be encapsulated into hairpin hydrogels as an injectable agent for localized delivery.
Our Services:
Custom Peptide Synthesis Services
Other Posts:
Smaller Ions Stabilize β-sheets
Blocking the interaction between Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) and its receptor, PD-1, is an effective method of treating many types of cancers.
By utilizing a peptide-based approach, it is possible to detect all levels of PD-L1 with high sensitivity and specificity.
Reference:
Reference:
Synthetic peptides have proven an excellent type of molecule for the mimicry of protein sites. The modified peptides increase the proteolytic stability of the molecules, enhancing their utility for biological applications.
Toolbox for Peptide Synthesis: Non-Proteinogenic Amino Acids and Site-Selective Ligation
The long peptides can be synthesized by the ligation method. Amino acid derivatives with modified backbone length and side-chain orientation, such as d-amino acids, N-alkyl glycine monomers, or proteolytically stable amino acid derivatives can be introduced to the peptides.
Protein Secondary Structure Mimics: α-Helix Mimics, β-Sheet Mimics
Peptide chains can be organized into secondary structures, such as α-helices and β-sheets. Peptides that mimic α-helices and β-sheets of proteins are attractive targets for drug development and tools to explore protein binding mechanism.
The α-helical conformation of a peptide can be induced by adding covalent links between amino acid side chains at selected positions. These links can be formed by lactam and disulfide bridges, triazole-based linkages, and hydrocarbon staples.
In β-sheets, β-strands are connected via loops or turns. Methods to mimic turn structures include macrocyclization, dipeptide of d-proline and l-proline, or α-aminoisobutyric acid in combination with either a d-α-amino acid or an achiral α-amino acid. An example of stimuli-responsive peptides is the temperature-dependent formation of hydrogels by β-sheet peptides. The β-hairpin mimic undergoes gelation upon heating at 60°C, and is completely reversible while cooling.
Protein Mimics in Biomedical Research
Peptides mimicking the CHR region of gp41 were developed to inhibit the formation of the six-helical bundle. Peptides that mimic these receptors are useful tools to explore the details of virus infection mechanism, as well as to develop new drugs against HIV-1. Peptides that mimic the extracellular domains of seven transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which is composed of the N-terminus (NT) and the three extracellular loops (ECLs) were explored. Peptide Ac-RERF-NH2 has a high propensity to adopt an α-turn structure and could be a promising drug candidate against cancer.
The design of peptides as protein mimics has evolved as a promising strategy for the exploration of protein-protein interactions, as they are biocompatible, biodegradable, and functionally selective.