Mitocryptide-2: Identification of Its Minimum Structure for Specific Activation of FPR2-Possible Receptor Switching from FPR2 to FPR1 by Its Physiological C-terminal Cleavages.

Mitocryptides are a novel family of endogenous neutrophil-activating peptides originating from various mitochondrial proteins. Mitocryptide-2 (MCT-2) is one of such neutrophil-activating peptides, and is produced as an N-formylated pentadecapeptide from mitochondrial cytochrome b. Although MCT-2 is a specific endogenous ligand for formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2), the chemical structure within MCT-2 that is responsible for FPR2 activation is still obscure. Here, we demonstrate that the N-terminal heptapeptide structure of MCT-2 with an N-formyl group is the minimum structure that specifically activates FPR2. Moreover, the receptor molecule for MCT-2 is suggested to be shifted from FPR2 to its homolog formyl peptide receptor 1 (FPR1) by the physiological cleavages of its C-terminus. Indeed, N-terminal derivatives of MCT-2 with seven amino acid residues or longer caused an increase of intracellular free Ca2+ concentration in HEK-293 cells expressing FPR2, but not in those expressing FPR1. Those MCT-2 derivatives also induced ß-hexosaminidase secretion in neutrophilic/granulocytic differentiated HL-60 cells via FPR2 activation. In contrast, MCT-2(1-4), an N-terminal tetrapeptide of MCT-2, specifically activated FPR1 to promote those functions. Moreover, MCT-2 was degraded in serum to produce MCT-2(1-4) over time. These findings suggest that MCT-2 is a novel critical factor that not only initiates innate immunity via the specific activation of FPR2, but also promotes delayed responses by the activation of FPR1, which may include resolution and tissue regeneration. The present results also strongly support the necessity of considering the exact chemical structures of activating factors for the investigation of innate immune responses.

Identification of Residues Critical for FPR2 Activation by the Cryptic Peptide Mitocryptide-2 Originating from the Mitochondrial DNA-Encoded Cytochrome b.

Similar to bacteria, synthesis of mitochondrial DNA-encoded proteins requires an N-formylated methionine to initiate translation. Thus, the N-formylated methionine peptides originating from mitochondria should be recognized as danger signals. To date, only one such peptide, denoted as mitocryptide-2 (MCT-2), originating from the N-terminal of the mitochondrial cytochrome b, has been isolated from mammalian tissues. Human neutrophils express FPR1 and FPR2 that detect formyl peptides, and the precise structural determinants for receptor recognition remain to be elucidated. MCT-2 is known to activate neutrophils through FPR2 but not FPR1. The aim of this study was to elucidate the structural determinants of importance for receptor preference and human neutrophil activation in MCT-2 by generating a series of MCT-2 variants. We show that there is an absolute requirement for the N-formyl group and the side chain of Met1 at position 1 of MCT-2 but also the C terminus is of importance for MCT-2 activity. We also uncovered individual side chains that positively contribute to MCT-2 activity as well as those suppressed in the response. The MCT-2 peptide and its two polymorphic variants ([Thr7]MCT-2 and [Ser8]MCT-2) all activated neutrophils, but MCT-2 containing Ile7 and Asn8 was the most potent. We also show that some peptide variants displayed a biased FPR2-signaling property related to NADPH oxidase activation and ß-arrestin recruitment, respectively. In conclusion, we disclose several critical elements in MCT-2 that are required for neutrophil activation and disclose structural insights into how FPR2 recognition of this mitochondrial DNA-derived peptide may increase our understanding of the role of FPR2 in aseptic inflammation.

Generation of monoclonal antibodies against mitocryptide-2: toward a new strategy to investigate the biological roles of cryptides.

We recently identified a novel family of neutrophil-activating peptides including mitocryptide-1 and mitocryptide-2 (MCT-2) that are endogenously produced from various mitochondrial proteins. Among them, MCT-2 is an N-formylated pentadecapeptide derived from mitochondrial cytochrome b and is found to promote neutrophilic migration and phagocytosis efficiently. Signaling mechanisms of neutrophil activation by MCT-2 have been investigated at the cellular level, and MCT-2 has been demonstrated to be an endogenous specific ligand for formyl peptide receptor-2 (also referred to as formyl peptide receptor-like 1). It was also found that MCT-2 promoted neutrophilic functions via the activation of Gi2 proteins and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 consecutively. However, the physiological production, distribution, and functions of MCT-2 are not yet elucidated. Here, to investigate the roles of MCT-2 in vivo, we generated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human MCT-2 (hMCT-2) that have two different characteristics. One mAb, NhM2A1, not only bound to the region of positions 10-15 of hMCT-2 but also recognized its C-terminal cleavage site that is presumably produced upon enzymatic hydrolysis of cytochrome b, indicating that NhM2A1 specifically interacts with hMCT-2 but not its parent protein. Moreover, we succeeded in acquiring a specific neutralizing mAb, NhM2A5, which blocks the bioactivities of hMCT-2. Specifically, NhM2A5 inhibited hMCT-2-induced ß-hexosaminidase release in neutrophilic/granulocytic differentiated HL-60 cells by binding to the region of positions 5-12 of hMCT-2. Functional analysis using obtained mAbs that specifically recognize hMCT-2 but not its parent protein, cytochrome b, and that neutralize bioactivities of hMCT-2 is expected to reveal the physiological roles of MCT-2, which are presently very difficult to investigate. Copyright © 2017 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.