Plasmodium falciparum Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Interacts with a Subunit of the Parasite Proteasome.

Malaria is caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium, which undergoes a complex life cycle in a human host and a mosquito vector. The parasite's cyclic GMP (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG) is essential at multiple steps of the life cycle. Phosphoproteomic studies in Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic stages and Plasmodium berghei ookinetes have identified proteolysis as a major biological pathway dependent on PKG activity. To further understand PKG's mechanism of action, we screened a yeast two-hybrid library for P. falciparum proteins that interact with P. falciparum PKG (PfPKG) and tested peptide libraries to identify its phosphorylation site preferences. Our data suggest that PfPKG has a distinct phosphorylation site and that PfPKG directly phosphorylates parasite RPT1, one of six AAA+ ATPases present in the 19S regulatory particle of the proteasome. PfPKG and RPT1 interact in vitro, and the interacting fragment of RPT1 carries a PfPKG consensus phosphorylation site; a peptide carrying this consensus site competes with the RPT1 fragment for binding to PfPKG and is efficiently phosphorylated by PfPKG. These data suggest that PfPKG's phosphorylation of RPT1 could contribute to its regulation of parasite proteolysis. We demonstrate that proteolysis plays an important role in a biological process known to require Plasmodium PKG: invasion by sporozoites of hepatocytes. A small-molecule inhibitor of proteasomal activity blocks sporozoite invasion in an additive manner when combined with a Plasmodium PKG-specific inhibitor. Mining the previously described parasite PKG-dependent phosphoproteomes using the consensus phosphorylation motif identified additional proteins that are likely to be direct substrates of the enzyme.

Determination of protease cleavage site motifs using mixture-based oriented peptide libraries.

The number of known proteases is increasing at a tremendous rate as a consequence of genome sequencing projects. Although one can guess at the functions of these novel enzymes by considering sequence homology to known proteases, there is a need for new tools to rapidly provide functional information on large numbers of proteins. We describe a method for determining the cleavage site specificity of proteolytic enzymes that involves pooled sequencing of peptide library mixtures. The method was used to determine cleavage site motifs for six enzymes in the matrix metalloprotease (MMP) family. The results were validated by comparison with previous literature and by analyzing the cleavage of individually synthesized peptide substrates. The library data led us to identify the proteoglycan neurocan as a novel MMP-2 substrate. Our results indicate that a small set of libraries can be used to quickly profile an expanding protease family, providing information applicable to the design of inhibitors and to the identification of protein substrates.

Selective inhibition of amino-terminal methionine processing by TNP-470 and ovalicin in endothelial cells.

BACKGROUND: The angiogenesis inhibitors TNP-470 and ovalicin potently suppress endothelial cell growth. Both drugs also specifically inhibit methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2) in vitro. Inhibition of MetAP2 and changes in initiator methionine removal in drug-treated endothelial cells have not been demonstrated, however. RESULTS: Concentrations of TNP-470 sufficient to inactivate MetAP2 in intact endothelial cells were comparable to those that inhibited cell proliferation, suggesting that MetAP2 inhibition by TNP-470 underlies the ability of the drug to inhibit cell growth. Both drug-sensitive and drug-insensitive cell lines express MetAP1 and MetAP2, indicating that drug sensitivity in mammalian cells is not simply due to the absence of compensating MetAP activity. With a single exception, detectable protein N-myristoylation is unaffected in sensitive endothelial cells treated with TNP-470, so MetAP1 activity can generally compensate when MetAP2 is inactive. Analysis of total protein extracts from cells pulse-labeled with [(35)S]-methionine following TNP-470 treatment revealed changes in the migration of several newly synthesized proteins. Two of these proteins were identified as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and cyclophilin A. Purification and amino-terminal sequencing of GAPDH from TNP-470-treated cells revealed partial retention of its initiator methionine, indicating that methionine removal from some, but not all, proteins is affected by MetAP2 inactivation. CONCLUSIONS: Amino-terminal processing defects occur in cells treated with TNP-470, indicating that inhibition of MetAP2 by the drug occurs in intact cells. This work renders plausible a mechanism for growth inhibition by TNP-470 as a consequence of initiator methionine retention, leading to the inactivation of as yet unidentified proteins essential for endothelial cell growth.

Methionine aminopeptidase (type 2) is the common target for angiogenesis inhibitors AGM-1470 and ovalicin.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is essential for tumor growth. The inhibition of angiogenesis is therefore emerging as a promising therapy for cancer. Two natural products, fumagillin and ovalicin, were discovered to be potent inhibitors of angiogenesis due to their inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation. An analog of fumagillin, AGM-1470, is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of a variety of cancers. The underlying molecular mechanism of the inhibition of angiogenesis by these natural drugs has remained unknown. RESULTS: Both AGM-1470 and ovalicin bind to a common bifunctional protein, identified by mass spectrometry as the type 2 methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP2). This protein also acts as an inhibitor of eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha (elF-2alpha) phosphorylation. Both drugs potently inhibit the methionine aminopeptidase activity of MetAP2 without affecting its ability to block elF-2alpha phosphorylation. There are two types of methionine aminopeptidase found in eukaryotes, but only the type 2 enzyme is inhibited by the drugs. A series of analogs of fumagillin and ovalicin were synthesized and their potency for inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation and inhibition of methionine aminopeptidase activity was determined. A significant correlation was found between the two activities. CONCLUSIONS: The protein MetAP2 is a common molecular target for both AGM-1470 and ovalicin. This finding suggests that MetAP2 may play a critical role in the proliferation of endothelial cells and may serve as a promising target for the development of new anti-angiogenic drugs.

Binding of thalidomide to alpha1-acid glycoprotein may be involved in its inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha production.

In addition to its well known sedative and teratogenic effects, thalidomide also possesses potent immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory activities, being most effective against leprosy and chronic graft-versus-host disease. The immunomodulatory activity of thalidomide has been ascribed to the selective inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha from monocytes. The molecular mechanism for the immunomodulatory effect of thalidomide remains unknown. To elucidate this mechanism, we synthesized an active photoaffinity label of thalidomide as a probe to identify the molecular target of the drug. Using the probe, we specifically labeled a pair of proteins of 43-45 kDa with high acidity from bovine thymus extract. Purification of these proteins and partial peptide sequence determination revealed them to be alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP). We show that the binding of thalidomide photoaffinity label to authentic human AGP is competed with both thalidomide and the nonradioactive photoaffinity label at concentrations comparable to those required for inhibition of production of tumor necrosis factor alpha from human monocytes, suggesting that AGP may be involved in the immunomodulatory activity of thalidomide.

Synthetic analogues of TNP-470 and ovalicin reveal a common molecular basis for inhibition of angiogenesis and immunosuppression.

TNP-470 (1), a synthetic derivative of the natural product fumagillin (2), potently inhibits angiogenesis in vivo and the growth of endothelial cell cultures in vitro. The structurally related natural product ovalicin (3) also inhibits angiogenesis but possesses potent immunosuppressive activity. The recent finding that all three drugs bind and inhibit the same target, methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2), raised the question of whether TNP-470 is also immunosuppressive and whether inhibition of MetAP2 underlies both activities of ovalicin. To address these questions, we synthesized a series of analogues of TNP-470 and ovalicin and tested them for their abilities to inhibit the proliferation of either endothelial cell or mixed lymphocyte cultures. TNP-470 and its analogues were found to possess both immunosuppressive and anti-angiogenic activities. A strong correlation was observed between the ability of compounds to inhibit bovine and human endothelial cell growth and their ability to inhibit the mouse mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR), implying that the two activities share a common molecular basis, i.e., inhibition of MetAP2. Interestingly, ovalicin and several other compounds behaved differently in the human MLR than in either the mouse MLR or human endothelial cell proliferation assays, pointing to possible species-specific and cell type-specific differences in the metabolism or uptake of these compounds.

Enhanced potency of perfluorinated thalidomide derivatives for inhibition of LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha production is associated with a change of mechanism of action.

Perfluorination of phthalimides leads to dramatically increased potency as inhibitors of TNF-alpha production. We examined the enantiodependence for several tetrafluorophthalimides and alpha-methylthalidomide, 3. Only 3 exhibited strikingly enantiodependent activity. The key structural determinant for the enhanced activity is the tetrafluorophthaloyl group, which confers enhanced potency and a change in the mechanism of inhibition.

Marked differences between metalloproteases meprin A and B in substrate and peptide bond specificity.

Meprin A and B are highly regulated, secreted, and cell-surface metalloendopeptidases that are abundantly expressed in the kidney and intestine. Meprin oligomers consist of evolutionarily related alpha and/or beta subunits. The work herein was carried out to identify bioactive peptides and proteins that are susceptible to hydrolysis by mouse meprins and kinetically characterize the hydrolysis. Gastrin-releasing peptide fragment 14-27 and gastrin 17, regulatory molecules of the gastrointestinal tract, were found to be the best peptide substrates for meprin A and B, respectively. Peptide libraries and a variety of naturally occurring peptides revealed that the meprin beta subunit has a clear preference for acidic amino acids in the P1 and P1' sites of substrates. The meprin alpha subunit selected for small (e.g. serine, alanine) or hydrophobic (e.g. phenylalanine) residues in the P1 and P1' sites, and proline was the most preferred amino acid at the P2' position. Thus, although the meprin alpha and beta subunits share 55% amino acid identity within the protease domain and are normally localized at the same tissue cell surfaces, they have very different substrate and peptide bond specificities indicating different functions. Homology models of the mouse meprin alpha and beta protease domains, based on the astacin crystal structure, revealed active site differences that can account for the marked differences in substrate specificity of the two subunits.