scholarly journals Novel peptide inhibitors of Leishmania gp63 based on the cleavage site of MARCKS (myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate)-related protein

2002 ◽  
Vol 367 (3) ◽  
pp. 761-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally CORRADIN ◽  
Adriana RANSIJN ◽  
Giampietro CORRADIN ◽  
Jacques BOUVIER ◽  
Maria Belen DELGADO ◽  
...  

The zinc metalloprotease gp63 (leishmanolysin; promastigote surface protease) is expressed at high density at the surface of Leishmania promastigotes. Efficient non-toxic inhibitors of gp63 do not exist, and its precise role in parasite physiology remains unknown. MARCKS (myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate) and MARCKS-related protein (MRP; MacMARCKS) are protein kinase C substrates in various cells, including macrophages. We reported previously that MRP is an excellent substrate for gp63. A major cleavage site was identified within the MRP effector domain (ED), a highly basic 24-amino-acid sequence, and the synthetic ED peptide (MRPED) was shown to inhibit MRP hydrolysis. In the present study, MRP cleavage was used as an assay to measure the capacity of various MRP or MARCKS ED peptides to block gp63 activity. On a molar basis, MRPED inhibited gp63 to a greater extent than two previously described gp63 inhibitors, o-phenanthroline and benzyloxycarbonyl-Tyr-Leu-NHOH. MARCKSED analogues containing modifications in the gp63 consensus cleavage site showed significant differences in inhibitory capacity. As phosphorylation of ED serine residues prevented gp63-mediated MRP degradation, we synthesized a pseudophosphorylated peptide in which serine residues were substituted by aspartate (3DMRPED). 3DMRPED was a highly effective inhibitor of both soluble and parasite-associated gp63. Finally, MRP ED peptides were synthesized together with an N-terminal HIV-1 Tat transduction domain (TD) to obtain cell-permeant peptide constructs. Such peptides retained gp63 inhibitory activity and efficiently entered both macrophages and parasites in a Tat TD-dependent manner. These studies may provide the basis for developing potent cell-permeant inhibitors of gp63.

1998 ◽  
Vol 330 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy VERGÈRES ◽  
J. Jeremy RAMSDEN

The myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) protein family has two known members, MARCKS itself and MARCKS-related protein (MRP, also called MacMARCKS or F52). They are essential for brain development and are believed to regulate the structure of the actin cytoskeleton at the plasma membrane. Hence membrane binding is central to their function. MARCKS has been quite extensively characterized; MRP much less so. Despite the fact that MRP is only two thirds the size of MARCKS, it has hitherto been assumed that the two proteins have similar properties. Here we make a detailed study, including the effects of myristoylation, lipid composition, calmodulin and phosphorylation of the binding of MRP to phospholipid vesicles. We show that both the N-terminal myristoyl moiety and the central effector domain mediate binding. MRP behaves like MARCKS in the presence of neutral phospholipids. In contrast to MARCKS, however, the incorporation of 20% of negatively-charged phospholipids only marginally increases the affinity of myristoylated MRP. Co-operativity between the myristoyl moiety and the effector domain of MRP is weak and the protein has a significantly lower affinity for these vesicles compared with MARCKS. Furthermore, calmodulin or phosphorylation of the effector domain by the catalytic subunit of protein kinase C do not significantly decrease the binding of myristoylated MRP to negatively-charged phospholipid vesicles. Our results show that the mechanisms regulating the interactions of MARCKS and MRP with phospholipid vesicles are, at least quantitatively, different. In agreement with cellular studies, we therefore propose that MARCKS and MRP have different subcellular localization and, consequently, different functions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjana Persaud ◽  
Anastasia Selyutina ◽  
Cindy Buffone ◽  
Silvana Opp ◽  
Daniel A. Donahue ◽  
...  

AbstractOverexpression of the human Sad-1-Unc-84 homology protein 2 (SUN2) blocks HIV-1 infection in a capsid-dependent manner. In agreement, we showed that overexpression of SUN1 (Sad1 and UNC-84a) also blocks HIV-1 infection in a capsid-dependent manner. SUN2 and the related protein SUN1 are transmembrane proteins located in the inner membrane of the nuclear envelope. The N-terminal domains of SUN1/2 localizes to the nucleoplasm while the C-terminal domains are localized in the nuclear lamina. Because the N-terminal domains of SUN1/2 are located in the nucleoplasm, we hypothesized that SUN1/2 might be interacting with the HIV-1 replication complex in the nucleus leading to HIV-1 inhibition. Our results demonstrated that SUN1/2 interacts with the HIV-1 capsid, and in agreement with our hypothesis, the use of N-terminal deletion mutants showed that SUN1/2 proteins bind to the viral capsid by using its N-terminal domain. SUN1/2 deletion mutants correlated restriction of HIV-1 with capsid binding. Interestingly, the ability of SUN1/2 to restrict HIV-1 also correlated with perinuclear localization of these proteins. In agreement with the notion that SUN proteins interact with the HIV-1 capsid in the nucleus, we found that restriction of HIV-1 by overexpression of SUN proteins do not block the entry of the HIV-1 core into the nucleus. Our results showed that HIV-1 restriction is mediated by the interaction of SUN1/2N-terminal domains with the HIV-1 core in the nuclear compartment.


1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (05) ◽  
pp. 800-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Ternisien ◽  
M Ramani ◽  
V Ollivier ◽  
F Khechai ◽  
T Vu ◽  
...  

SummaryTissue factor (TF) is a transmembrane receptor which, in association with factors VII and Vila, activates factor IX and X, thereby activating the coagulation protease cascades. In response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) monocytes transcribe, synthesize and express TF on their surface. We investigated whether LPS-induced TF in human monocytes is mediated by protein kinase C (PKC) activation. The PKC agonists phorbol 12- myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and phorbol 12, 13 dibutyrate (PdBu) were both potent inducers of TF in human monocytes, whereas 4 alpha-12, 13 didecanoate (4 a-Pdd) had no such effect. Both LPS- and PMA-induced TF activity were inhibited, in a concentration dependent manner, by three different PKC inhibitors: H7, staurosporine and calphostin C. TF antigen determination confirmed that LPS-induced cell-surface TF protein levels decreased in parallel to TF functional activity under staurosporine treatment. Moreover, Northern blot analysis of total RNA from LPS- or PMA-stimulated monocytes showed a concentration-dependent decrease in TF mRNA levels in response to H7 and staurosporine. The decay rate of LPS-induced TF mRNA evaluated after the arrest of transcription by actinomycin D was not affected by the addition of staurosporine, suggesting that its inhibitory effect occurred at a transcriptional level. We conclude that LPS-induced production of TF and its mRNA by human monocytes are dependent on PKC activation.


1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Litera ◽  
Jan Weber ◽  
Ivana Křížová ◽  
Iva Pichová ◽  
Jan Konvalinka ◽  
...  

Twelve pseudotetrapeptides, Boc-NHCH(CH2Ph)CH(OH)CH2CH(CH2Ph) CO-Xaa-Phe-NH2 9-11, were prepared by [(benzotriazol-1-yl)oxy]tris(dimethylamino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate-mediated couplings of diastereoisomeric O-silylated (2R or 2S,4R or 4S,5S)-2-benzyl-5-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino-4-hydroxy-6-phenylhexanoic acids 1 with dipeptides H-Xaa-Phe-NH2 (Xaa = Gln, Glu(OBzl) or Ile) 3-5, followed by O-deprotection. Pseudotetrapeptides 9-11 were tested for inhibition of aspartic proteinases secreted by Candida albicans and C. tropicalis. The level of inhibition of both yeast proteinases was very low, contrasting with the nanomolar IC50 values obtained for inhibition of HIV-1 proteinase.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1443
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Kamiyama ◽  
Sotaro Katagiri ◽  
Taishi Umezawa

Reversible phosphorylation is a major mechanism for regulating protein function and controls a wide range of cellular functions including responses to external stimuli. The plant-specific SNF1-related protein kinase 2s (SnRK2s) function as central regulators of plant growth and development, as well as tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. Although the activity of SnRK2s is tightly regulated in a phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent manner, recent investigations have revealed that SnRK2s can be activated by group B Raf-like protein kinases independently of ABA. Furthermore, evidence is accumulating that SnRK2s modulate plant growth through regulation of target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling. Here, we summarize recent advances in knowledge of how SnRK2s mediate plant growth and osmotic stress signaling and discuss future challenges in this research field.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1092
Author(s):  
János András Mótyán ◽  
Márió Miczi ◽  
Stephen Oroszlan ◽  
József Tőzsér

To explore the sequence context-dependent nature of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease’s specificity and to provide a rationale for viral mutagenesis to study the potential role of the nucleocapsid (NC) processing in HIV-1 replication, synthetic oligopeptide substrates representing the wild-type and modified versions of the proximal cleavage site of HIV-1 NC were assayed as substrates of the HIV-1 protease (PR). The S1′ substrate binding site of HIV-1 PR was studied by an in vitro assay using KIVKCF↓NCGK decapeptides having amino acid substitutions of N17 residue of the cleavage site of the first zinc-finger domain, and in silico calculations were also performed to investigate amino acid preferences of S1′ site. Second site substitutions have also been designed to produce “revertant” substrates and convert a non-hydrolysable sequence (having glycine in place of N17) to a substrate. The specificity constants obtained for peptides containing non-charged P1′ substitutions correlated well with the residue volume, while the correlation with the calculated interaction energies showed the importance of hydrophobicity: interaction energies with polar residues were related to substantially lower specificity constants. Cleavable “revertants” showed one residue shift of cleavage position due to an alternative productive binding mode, and surprisingly, a double cleavage of a substrate was also observed. The results revealed the importance of alternative binding possibilities of substrates into the HIV-1 PR. The introduction of the “revertant” mutations into infectious virus clones may provide further insights into the potential role of NC processing in the early phase of the viral life-cycle.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Qu ◽  
Sarah Fourman ◽  
Maureen Fitzgerald ◽  
Min Liu ◽  
Supna Nair ◽  
...  

AbstractApolipoprotein A4 (APOA4) is one of the most abundant and versatile apolipoproteins facilitating lipid transport and metabolism. APOA4 is synthesized in the small intestine, packaged onto chylomicrons, secreted into intestinal lymph and transported via circulation to several tissues, including adipose. Since its discovery nearly 4 decades ago, to date, only platelet integrin αIIbβ3 has been identified as APOA4 receptor in the plasma. Using co-immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry, we probed the APOA4 interactome in mouse gonadal fat tissue, where ApoA4 gene is not transcribed but APOA4 protein is abundant. We demonstrate that lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is the cognate receptor for APOA4 in adipose tissue. LRP1 colocalized with APOA4 in adipocytes; it interacted with APOA4 under fasting condition and their interaction was enhanced during lipid feeding concomitant with increased APOA4 levels in plasma. In 3T3-L1 mature adipocytes, APOA4 promoted glucose uptake both in absence and presence of insulin in a dose-dependent manner. Knockdown of LRP1 abrogated APOA4-induced glucose uptake as well as activation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)-mediated protein kinase B (AKT). Taken together, we identified LRP1 as a novel receptor for APOA4 in promoting glucose uptake. Considering both APOA4 and LRP1 are multifunctional players in lipid and glucose metabolism, our finding opens up a door to better understand the molecular mechanisms along APOA4-LRP1 axis, whose dysregulation leads to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.


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