作为药物靶点的埃博拉病毒糖蛋白前发夹中间体模拟物的设计与表征

Design and characterization of ebolavirus GP prehairpin intermediate mimics as drug targets.

作者信息

Clinton Tracy R, Weinstock Matthew T, Jacobsen Michael T, Szabo-Fresnais Nicolas, Pandya Maya J, Whitby Frank G, Herbert Andrew S, Prugar Laura I, McKinnon Rena, Hill Christopher P, Welch Brett D, Dye John M, Eckert Debra M, Kay Michael S

机构信息

Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112-5650.

出版信息

Protein Sci. 2015 Apr;24(4):446-63. doi: 10.1002/pro.2578. Epub 2014 Oct 31.

Abstract

Ebolaviruses are highly lethal filoviruses that cause hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. With no approved treatments or preventatives, the development of an anti-ebolavirus therapy to protect against natural infections and potential weaponization is an urgent global health need. Here, we describe the design, biophysical characterization, and validation of peptide mimics of the ebolavirus N-trimer, a highly conserved region of the GP2 fusion protein, to be used as targets to develop broad-spectrum inhibitors of ebolavirus entry. The N-trimer region of GP2 is 90% identical across all ebolavirus species and forms a critical part of the prehairpin intermediate that is exposed during viral entry. Specifically, we fused designed coiled coils to the N-trimer to present it as a soluble trimeric coiled coil as it appears during membrane fusion. Circular dichroism, sedimentation equilibrium, and X-ray crystallography analyses reveal the helical, trimeric structure of the designed N-trimer mimic targets. Surface plasmon resonance studies validate that the N-trimer mimic binds its native ligand, the C-peptide region of GP2. The longest N-trimer mimic also inhibits virus entry, thereby confirming binding of the C-peptide region during viral entry and the presence of a vulnerable prehairpin intermediate. Using phage display as a model system, we validate the suitability of the N-trimer mimics as drug screening targets. Finally, we describe the foundational work to use the N-trimer mimics as targets in mirror-image phage display, which will be used to identify D-peptide inhibitors of ebolavirus entry.

摘要

埃博拉病毒是高度致命的丝状病毒,可导致人类和非人类灵长类动物出现出血热。由于没有获批的治疗方法或预防措施,开发一种抗埃博拉病毒疗法以防范自然感染和潜在的武器化用途是全球紧迫的健康需求。在此,我们描述了埃博拉病毒N三聚体(GP2融合蛋白的一个高度保守区域)的肽模拟物的设计、生物物理特性表征及验证,该肽模拟物将用作开发埃博拉病毒进入广谱抑制剂的靶点。GP2的N三聚体区域在所有埃博拉病毒物种中90%相同,并且形成了病毒进入过程中暴露的前发夹中间体的关键部分。具体而言,我们将设计的卷曲螺旋与N三聚体融合,使其呈现为膜融合过程中出现的可溶性三聚体卷曲螺旋。圆二色性、沉降平衡和X射线晶体学分析揭示了所设计的N三聚体模拟靶点的螺旋三聚体结构。表面等离子体共振研究验证了N三聚体模拟物与其天然配体GP2的C肽区域结合。最长的N三聚体模拟物还抑制病毒进入,从而证实了病毒进入过程中C肽区域的结合以及存在易受攻击的前发夹中间体。使用噬菌体展示作为模型系统,我们验证了N三聚体模拟物作为药物筛选靶点的适用性。最后,我们描述了将N三聚体模拟物用作镜像噬菌体展示靶点的基础工作,该工作将用于鉴定埃博拉病毒进入的D肽抑制剂。

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