Hydrocarbon-stapled lipopeptides exhibit selective antimicrobial activity.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) occur widely in nature and have been studied for their therapeutic potential. AMPs are of interest due to the large number of possible chemical structural combinations using natural and unnatural amino acids, with varying effects on their biological activities. Using physicochemical properties from known naturally occurring amphipathic cationic AMPs, several hydrocarbon-stapled lipopeptides (HSLPs) were designed, synthesized, and tested for antimicrobial properties. Peptides were chemically modified by N-terminal acylation, C-terminal amidation, and some were hydrocarbon stapled by intramolecular olefin metathesis. The effects of peptide length, amphipathic character, and stapling on antimicrobial activity were tested against Escherichia coli, three species of Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus megaterium, and Enterococcus faecalis), and two strains of Candida albicans. Peptides were shown to disrupt liposomes of different phospholipid composition, as measured by leakage of a fluorescent compound from vesicles. Peptides with (S)-2-(4'-pentenyl)-alanine substituted for l-alanine in a reference peptide showed a marked increase in antimicrobial activity, hemolysis, and membrane disruption. Stapled peptides exhibited slightly higher antimicrobial potency; those with greatest hydrophobic character showed the greatest hemolysis and liposome leakage, but lower antimicrobial activity. The results support a model of HSLPs as membrane-disruptive AMPs with potent antimicrobial activity and relatively low hemolytic potential at biologically active peptide concentrations.

Exploitation of the Ornithine Effect Enhances Characterization of Stapled and Cyclic Peptides.

A method to facilitate the characterization of stapled or cyclic peptides is reported via an arginine-selective derivatization strategy coupled with MS/MS analysis. Arginine residues are converted to ornithine residues through a deguanidination reaction that installs a highly selectively cleavable site in peptides. Upon activation by CID or UVPD, the ornithine residue cyclizes to promote cleavage of the adjacent amide bond. This Arg-specific process offers a unique strategy for site-selective ring opening of stapled and cyclic peptides. Upon activation of each derivatized peptide, site-specific backbone cleavage at the ornithine residue results in two complementary products: the lactam ring-containing portion of the peptide and the amine-containing portion. The deguanidination process not only provides a specific marker site that initiates fragmentation of the peptide but also offers a means to unlock the staple and differentiate isobaric stapled peptides.

A rapid quantitative method of carisoprodol and meprobamate by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The identification and quantitation of carisoprodol (Soma) and its chief metabolite meprobamate, which is also a clinically prescribed drug, remains a challenge for forensic toxicology laboratories. Carisoprodol and meprobamate are notable for their widespread use as muscle relaxants and their frequent identification in the blood of impaired drivers. Routine screening is possible in both an acidic/neutral pH screen and a traditional basic screen. An improvement in directed testing quantitations was desirable over the current options of an underivatized acidic/neutral extraction or a basic screen, neither of which used ideal internal standards. A new method was developed that utilized a simple protein precipitation, deuterated internal standards and a short 2-min isocratic liquid chromatography separation, followed by multiple reaction monitoring with tandem mass spectrometry. The linear quantitative range for carisoprodol was determined to be 1-35mg/L and for meprobamate was 0.5-50mg/L. The method was validated for specificity and selectivity, matrix effects, and accuracy and precision.

Autoinhibition of the ligand-binding site of GGA1/3 VHS domains by an internal acidic cluster-dileucine motif.

The GGAs (Golgi-localizing, gamma-adaptin ear homology domain, ARF-binding proteins) are a family of proteins implicated in protein trafficking from the Golgi to endosomes/lysosomes. These proteins have modular structures with an N-terminal VHS (VPS-27, Hrs, and STAM) domain followed by a GAT (GGA and TOM1) domain, a connecting hinge segment, and a C-terminal GAE (gamma-adaptin ear) domain. Isolated VHS domains have been shown to bind specifically to acidic cluster (AC)-dileucine motifs present in the cytoplasmic tails of the mannose 6-phosphate receptors. Here we report that full-length cytoplasmic GGA1 and GGA3 but not GGA2 bind the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor very poorly because of autoinhibition. This inhibition is caused by the binding of an AC-LL sequence present in the hinge segment to the ligand-binding site in the VHS domain. The inhibition depends on the phosphorylation of a serine located three residues upstream of the AC-LL motif. The serine is phosphorylated by casein kinase 2 in in vitro assays. Substitution of the GGA1 inhibitory sequence into the analogous location in GGA2, which lacks the AC-LL motif, results in autoinhibition of the latter protein. These data indicate that the activity of GGA1 and GGA3 is regulated by cycles of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.

Interaction of the cation-dependent mannose 6-phosphate receptor with GGA proteins.

The GGAs (Golgi-localizing, gamma-adaptin ear homology domain, ARF-binding) are a multidomain family of proteins implicated in protein trafficking between the Golgi and endosomes. Recent evidence has established that the cation-independent (CI) and cation-dependent (CD) mannose 6-phosphate receptors (MPRs) bind specifically to the VHS domains of the GGAs through acidic cluster-dileucine motifs at the carboxyl ends of their cytoplasmic tails. However, the CD-MPR binds the VHS domains more weakly than the CI-MPR. Alignment of the C-terminal residues of the two receptors revealed a number of non-conservative differences in the acidic cluster-dileucine motifs and the flanking residues. Mutation of these residues in the CD-MPR cytoplasmic tail to the corresponding residues in the CI-MPR conferred either full binding (H63D mutant), intermediate binding (R60S), or unchanged binding (E56F/S57H) to the GGAs as determined by in vitro glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays. Furthermore, the C-terminal methionine of the CD-MPR, but not the C-terminal valine of the CI-MPR, inhibited GGA binding. Addition of four alanines to the C-terminal valine of the CI-MPR also severely reduced GGA binding, demonstrating the importance of the spacing of the acidic cluster-dileucine motif relative to the C terminus for optimal GGA interaction. Mouse L cells stably expressing CD-MPRs with mutations that enhance GGA binding sorted cathepsin D more efficiently than wild-type CD-MPR. These studies provide an explanation for the observed differences in the relative affinities of the two MPRs for the GGA proteins. Furthermore, they indicate that the GGAs participate in lysosomal enzyme sorting mediated by the CD-MPR.