Citrus greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB), is a disease that devastates citrus production all over the world. The culprit behind HLB is the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter spp. (e.g., CLas), an unculturable pathogen that has proven very difficult to treat. Once a tree is infected, it becomes unproductive and dies within years, costing the global citrus market billions. While current attempts to combat HLB rely on controlling the insect vector, scientists have turned some attention toward the potential of peptides. Their work displayed how antimicrobial peptides show promise for combatting citrus greening, mainly by methods against CLas itself.

Antimicrobial peptides effective against CLas bacteria

With not many current effective options to fight HLB, scientists believe the next area of interest is targeting the CLas secretory pathway using antimicrobial peptides provided by LifeTein. Specifically, the antimicrobial peptides would be blocking the TolC efflux pump protein. The study found three peptides capable of doing this by binding tightly with the TolC receptors and even the β barrel entrance of the protein as well. Treatment with peptides in this manner showed effective inhibition and even mortality in models closely resembling CLas.

The studies displayed using antimicrobial peptides show major promise for future treatment of HLB. With the chemical-resistant bacteria CLas being nearly impossible to slow down, peptides just may have been holding the solution all along. There is hope that new therapies can be developed utilizing the strategies shown, and global citrus production can rest easy after decades of HLB ravaging the farms.

Wang, Haoqi, Nirmitee Mulgaonkar, Samavath Mallawarachchi, Manikandan Ramasamy, Carmen S. Padilla, Sonia Irigoyen, Gitta Coaker, Kranthi K. Mandadi, and Sandun Fernando. 2022. “Evaluation of Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus Efflux Pump Inhibition by Antimicrobial Peptides” Molecules 27, no. 24: 8729. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27248729

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.

Most of the potential therapeutic peptides have low solubility, chemical instability or low stability against protease. So it is essential to modify and optimize the peptides to improve the peptide bioavailability.

One novel approach is to create a self-assembly, highly ordered, and stable nanostructure. For instance, many peptide hormones including glucagon are stored in the form of β-sheet rich amyloid-like fibrils via a hydrogen bond network in the secretory cell.

The oxyntomodulin is a peptide with a potential to treat obesity and diabetes. It is a 37-amino-acid proglucagon-derived peptide hormone with sequence homology to both glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). The oxyntomodulin peptide self-assembles into a stable nanofibril formulation and later on releases an active peptide.

Here is the sequence of human oxyntomodulin: His-Ser-Gln-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Tyr-Ser-Lys-Tyr-Leu-Asp-Ser-Arg-Arg-Ala-Gln-Asp-Phe-Val-Gln-Trp-Leu-Met-Asn-Thr-Lys-Arg-Asn-Arg-Asn-Asn-Ile-Ala, HSQGTFTSDY SKYLDSRRAQ DFVQWLMNTK RNRNNIA.

Oxyntomodulin self-assembles into fibrillar nanostructures

1. The peptide concentration was 10 mg/mL in water at an incubation pH of between 7.0 and 7.3 and low ionic strength (0.09% saline).
2. The solution was incubated at 37 °C and agitated by orbital shaking.
3. After incubation for five days, the solution turned turbid due to the formation of a suspension of aggregates. The conversion yield of the self-assembly of Oxyntomodulin into fibrillar nanostructures was estimated to be 99% under these conditions.
4. The nanofibrils were next used to seed a solution of free peptide at 10 mg/mL in water. 5. The solution was incubated without agitation for one week and then diluted to 1 mg/mL in 0.09% saline for another 2–9 days of incubation at 37 °C and then nine days at room temperature.
5. Free peptides were mainly in an α-helical conformation. The fibrillar Oxm showed the majority of β-sheet and some α-helical content.

Peptide nanofibrils dissociate to release intact peptide

1. 1 mg/mL nanofibrils were incubated in water. 37% of the peptide was released after four hours of incubation.
2. In aqueous HCl, a 77% release was observed after only four hours. The peptide remained chemically intact after discharge from the nanofibrils

Benefits:

1. The released peptide is active and nontoxic in vitro.
2. The nanofibrils prolong peptide serum bioactivity in vivo. And there is no need to engineer or modify the original peptide. Other peptide hormones including glucagon, GLP-1, exendin-4, calcitonin, and gastric inhibitory peptide, are known to self-assemble. The self-assembly method may be used for the clinical application of reversibly self-assembling nanofibrils.

Reference:
Controlling the bioactivity of a peptide hormone in vivo by reversible self-assembly. Nature Communications, volume 8, Article number: 1026 (2017)

Tumor antigens can be classified into two categories based on their expression pattern: tumor-specific antigens (TSA) and tumor-associated antigens (TAA).

Targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) is a promising approach for cancer immunotherapy. Neoantigens are tumor-specific antigens originating from somatic mutations in cancer cells but not healthy tissues. So the TAAs are considered as ideal targets for novel immunotherapies. Antigens of three classes can induce tumor-specific T-cell responses.

1. Antigens derived from viral proteins: Viral proteins are produced inside the tumor cells. So the antigenic peptides can be detected by T cells.

2. Antigens derived from point mutations: Many CTL isolated from the tumors were found to recognize antigens that arise from point mutations in ubiquitously expressed genes. These mutations are passenger mutations, and the corresponding antigenic peptides are unique to the tumors in which they were identified.

3. Antigens encoded by cancer-germline genes: Cancer-germline genes are expressed in many cancer types and not in normal tissues except germline and trophoblastic cells. The tumor-specific pattern of expression results from the genome-wide demethylation in male germ cells.

A large number of antigenic peptides recognized by antitumor CTL have been identified. Candidate peptides can be synthesized and tested for HLA binding in vitro. The elution of antigenic peptides from MHC class I molecules immunopurified from the surface of tumor cells can be used to identify the antigens. TAAs can be targeted using peptide vaccines or by cellular approaches. The delivery of new peptide drugs might show great promise for future therapies.

Tumor-associated peptide antigens

LifeTein can customize a discovery and development path to fit your exact needs for peptide synthesis.

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Short Peptide Folding

How does the amino acid sequence of a protein chain determine and maintain its 3D folded state? How do small proteins fold?

Short Peptide Folding

Many small proteins or miniproteins are peptides shorter than 40-50 residues with stable folding that contain secondary structure elements such as alpha helices and beta strands.

An autonomously folding, 35-residue, thermostable subdomain (HP36) of the villain headpiece is the smallest folded domain of a naturally occurring protein. Polypeptides simplify the protein-folding problem. They allow in-depth examinations of sequence-structure-stability relationships without using the complex larger proteins.

In this recent study, Rocklin et al. designed sequences intended to fold into desired structures. The novel proteins may be helpful in bioengineering or pharmacological applications.

Check the paper from here: https://goo.gl/Tregb7

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6347/168

LifeTein is unveiling an expedited peptide synthesis program, promising to place peptides in its customers’ hands within 3-5 business days. The RushPep™ peptide synthesis service was designed to circumvent the existing limitations of conventional solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), which involves a long coupling time and low yield. RushPep™ shortens the time needed for individual coupling, deprotection, and washing steps. The proprietary methodology renders processing ten times faster than in classical synthesis while circumventing the limitations caused by forming by-products or intermediates to which traditional SPPS approaches are subject.

LifeTein’s Rush Custom Peptide Synthesis Service

“When designing the RushPep™ methodology, our focus was not only to produce peptides of high quality and purity but also to offer a streamlined solution that would increase the efficiency of researchers’ protein discovery workflows,” stated Dr. Ya Chen, Head of LifeTein’s Rush Peptide Synthesis Group. “RushPep™ achieves these goals by synthesizing the peptides in 3–5 business days to accelerate research and discovery.”

Chen continued, “The reliability of RushPep™ rush peptide synthesis ensures that the peptides are finished in 3–5 business days with high-batch-to-batch reproducibility. ” Most of the crude peptides have a purity of over 80%. RushPep™ peptide service is valuable for scientists and researchers because it allows them to finish their proteomics projects quickly and cost-effectively.

LifeTein’s ID2 Peptides Can Inhibit Tumour Growth

Nature, 529, 172–177 (14 January 2016) doi:10.1038/nature16475, An ID2-dependent mechanism for VHL inactivation in cancer.

• Cell, Volume 159, Issue 4, 6 November 2014, Pages 844–856, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.10.032 A Noncanonical Frizzled2 Pathway Regulates Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Metastasis

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