Real-Time Analysis of Specific Protein-DNA Interactions with Surface Plasmon Resonance

Several proteins, like transcription factors, bind to certain DNA sequences, thereby regulating biochemical pathways that determine the fate of the corresponding cell. Due to these key positions, it is indispensable to analyze protein-DNA interactions and to identify their mode of action. Surface plasmon resonance is a label-free method that facilitates the elucidation of real-time kinetics of biomolecular interactions. In this article, we focus on this biosensor-based method and provide a detailed guide how SPR can be utilized to study binding of proteins to oligonucleotides. After a description of the physical phenomenon and the instrumental realization including fiber-optic-based SPR and SPR imaging, we will continue with a survey of immobilization methods. Subsequently, we will focus on the optimization of the experiment, expose pitfalls, and introduce how data should be analyzed and published. Finally, we summarize several interesting publications of the last decades dealing with protein-DNA and RNA interaction analysis by SPR

Recent Advances in Synthetic Application and Engineering of Halogenases

Minges H, Sewald N. Recent Advances in Synthetic Application and Engineering of Halogenases. ChemCatChem. 2020;12(18):4450-4470.Halogenating enzymes are able to introduce halogen substituents under ambient conditions using non-hazardous reagents with intriguing selectivity, which is highly desired in green chemistry. Although C-H functionalization such as halogenation is a well-known transformation in synthetic chemistry, the selective incorporation of halogens using conventional chemical approaches often remains challenging. Therefore, enzyme-based strategies have been emerging as valuable alternatives in recent years. Inspired by manifold developments of enzymatic halogenation, this review focuses on advances of halogenating enzymes and their application with particular emphasis on FAD-dependent halogenases (FDHs). Catalytic strategies, application scope and engineering of FDHs are outlined pointing to the increasing utility of halogenases as promising biocatalysts. Current limitations as well as potential future developments of their synthetic utility are being discussed

Size-Dependent Cellular Uptake of RGD Peptides

Kemker I, Feiner R, Müller K, Sewald N. Size-Dependent Cellular Uptake of RGD Peptides. ChemBioChem. 2020;21(4):496-499.Monomeric RGD peptides show unspecific fluid-phase uptake in cells, whereas multimeric RGD peptides are thought to be internalized by integrin-mediated endocytosis. However, a potential correlation between uptake mechanism and molecular mass has been neglected so far. A dual derivatization of peptide c(RGDw(7Br)K) was performed to investigate this. A fluorescent probe was installed by chemoselective Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of the 7-bromotryptophan and a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) linker was attached to the lysine residue. Flow cytometry and live cell imaging confirmed unspecific uptake of the small, non-PEGylated peptide, whereas the PEG(5000) peptide conjugate unveiled a selective internalization by M21 cells overexpressing alpha(v)beta(3) and no uptake in alpha(v)-deficient M21L cells

Reversible photoswitching of the DNA-binding properties of styrylquinolizinium derivatives through photochromic [2+2] cycloaddition and cycloreversion

Koelsch S, Ihmels H, Mattay J, Sewald N, Patrick BO. Reversible photoswitching of the DNA-binding properties of styrylquinolizinium derivatives through photochromic [2+2] cycloaddition and cycloreversion. Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry. 2020;16:111-124.It was demonstrated that styrylquinolizinium derivatives may be applied as photoswitchable DNA ligands. At lower ligand:DNA ratios (<= 1.5), these compounds bind to duplex DNA by intercalation, with binding constants ranging from K-b = 4.1 x 10(4) M to 2.6 x 10(5) M (four examples), as shown by photometric and fluorimetric titrations as well as by CD and LD spectroscopic analyses. Upon irradiation at 450 nm, the methoxy-substituted styrylquinolizinium derivatives form the corresponding syn head-to-tail cyclobutanes in a selective [2 + 2] photocycloaddition, as revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis of the reaction products. These photodimers bind to DNA only weakly by outside-edge association, but they release the intercalating monomers upon irradiation at 315 nm in the presence of DNA. As a result, it is possible to switch between these two ligands and likewise between two different binding modes by irradiation with different excitation wavelengths

Novel unit B cryptophycin analogues as payloads for targeted therapy

Figueras Agustí E, Borbély AN, Ismail M, Frese M, Sewald N. Novel unit B cryptophycin analogues as payloads for targeted therapy. Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry. 2018;14:1281-1286.Cryptophycins are naturally occurring cytotoxins with great potential for chemotherapy. Since targeted therapy provides new perspectives for treatment of cancer, new potent analogues of cytotoxic agents containing functional groups for conjugation to homing devices are required. We describe the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of three new unit B cryptophycin analogues. The O-methyl group of the unit B D-tyrosine analogue was replaced by an O-(allyloxyethyl) moiety, an O-(hydroxyethyl) group, or an O-(((azidoethoxy) ethoxy) ethoyxethyl) substituent. While the former two maintain cytotoxicity in the subnanomolar range, the attachment of the triethylene glycol spacer with a terminal azide results in a complete loss of activity. Docking studies of the novel cryptophycin analogues to beta-tubulin provided a rationale for the observed cytotoxicities

Tumor-Targeting Peptides: The Functional Screen of Glioblastoma Homing Peptides to the Target Protein FABP3 (MDGI)

We recently identified the glioblastoma homing peptide CooP (CGLSGLGVA) using in vivo phage display screen. The mammary-derived growth inhibitor (MDGI/FABP3) was identified as its interacting partner. Here, we present an alanine scan of A-CooP to investigate the contribution of each amino acid residue to the binding to FABP3 by microscale thermophoresis (MST) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). We also tested the binding affinity of the A-CooP-K, KA-CooP, and retro-inverso A-CooP analogues to the recombinant FABP3. According to the MST analysis, A-CooP showed micromolar (KD = 2.18 µM) affinity to FABP3. Alanine replacement of most of the amino acids did not affect peptide affinity to FABP3. The A-CooP-K variant showed superior binding affinity, while A-[Ala5]CooP and A-[Ala7]CooP, both replacing a glycine residue with alanine, showed negligible binding to FABP3. These results were corroborated in vitro and in vivo using glioblastoma models. Both A-CooP-K and A-CooP showed excellent binding in vitro and homing in vivo, while A-[Ala5]CooP and control peptides failed to bind the cells or home to the intracranial glioblastoma xenografts. These results provide insight into the FABP3–A-CooP interaction that may be important for future applications of drug conjugate design and development

Turn szerkezeti elemeket tartalmazó modell vegyületek szintézise és spektroszkópiai jellemzése (cirkuláris dikroizmus - CD, vibrációs spektroszkópia - FTIR, mágneses rezonancia - NMR) = Synthesis and spectroscopic studies on turn structured models

A kanyarszerkezetek spektroszkópiai vizsgálatára választott ciklopeptid modellekben egy α-aminosavat kicseréltünk a megfelelő β-aminosavra és az így bekövetkezett konformációváltozást mértük. N-védett α-aminosavból Arndt-Eistert lánchosszabbítással enantiomer-tisztán előállítható a N-védett β3-aminosav (β-homo-aminosav). β-homo-aminosav tartalmú ciklotetra-, ciklopenta- és ciklohexapeptidek sorozatát állítottuk elő szilárd fázisú szintézissel, a ciklizációt oldatfázisban végezve. A vegyületeket HPLC-vel tisztítottuk és FAB-, illetve ESI-MS mérések alapján azonosítottuk.A modelleket és ezek kation-kötő képességét különböző oldószerekben vizsgáltuk CD- és FTIR-spektroszkópiával; néhány vegyületet NMR-spektroszkópiai adatokkal is jellemeztünk. A CD/FTIR spektroszkópiai analízis eredményei a következők: - a kis gyűrűméretű, erősen feszült ciklotetrapeptideknél a β-aminosavegységek jelenléte a szomszédos α-aminosavegységek körül γ-kanyart (C7) indukált - a ciklopentapeptidekél a β-homo-aminosavegység hajlékonyabb peptidgerincet biztosít és pszeudo-β-, vagy pszeudo-γ-kanyarok jönnek létre a β-aminosavegység körül. - CD/FTIR adataink segítségével a γ- és pszeudo-γ-kanyarszerkezet különböző oldószerekben jól jellemezhető. Több oligopeptid térszerkezetvizsgálatánál használtuk eredményesen a CD/FTIR komplex spektroszkópiai módszert.| Cyclic peptides in which one α-amino acid is replaced by its β-amino acid analogy are also suitable for the conformational investigation of turn structures induced by β-amino acids in cyclic peptides. Enantiomerically pure β3-amino acids (β-homo-amino acids) were prepared from N-protected α-amino acids by Arndt-Eistert homologation reaction. A series of cyclic tetra-, penta- and hexapeptides containing β3-amino acid residue was synthesized on solid phase, cyclized in solution phase, purified by HPLC and characterised with FAB- and ESI-MS. The models and their cation-binding ability were investigated systematically by FTIR and CD spectroscopy in different solvents; some of them were studied by NMR spectroscopy, too. The combined CD/FTIR studies clearly show the followings: - the cyclic tetrapeptides are small and rather rigid molecules where the β-homo-amino acid residue induces a γ-turn (C7) which is centered on the neighbouring α-amino acid(s). - cyclic pentapeptides with β-homo-amino acid give rise to a more flexible peptide backbone and measured pseudo-β-turn or pseudo-γ-turns, which centered on the β-homo-amino acid.- the γ- and pseudo-γ-turn are well characterized in different solvents using CD- and FTIR spectroscopy. We investigated also the secondary structure of biologically active oligopeptides by combined CD/FTIR method

Endiandric Acid Derivatives and Other Constituents of Plants from the Genera Beilschmiedia and Endiandra (Lauraceae)

Lenta Ndjakou B, Chouna JR, Nkeng-Efouet PA, Sewald N. Endiandric Acid Derivatives and Other Constituents of Plants from the Genera Beilschmiedia and Endiandra (Lauraceae). BIOMOLECULES. 2015;5(2):910-942.Plants of the Lauraceae family are widely used in traditional medicine and are sources of various classes of secondary metabolites. Two genera of this family, Beilschmiedia and Endiandra, have been the subject of numerous investigations over the past decades because of their application in traditional medicine. They are the only source of bioactive endiandric acid derivatives. Noteworthy is that their biosynthesis contains two consecutive non-enzymatic electrocyclic reactions. Several interesting biological activities for this specific class of secondary metabolites and other constituents of the two genera have been reported, including antimicrobial, enzymes inhibitory and cytotoxic properties. This review compiles information on the structures of the compounds described between January 1960 and March 2015, their biological activities and information on endiandric acid biosynthesis, with 104 references being cited

Tumor-Targeting Peptides: The Functional Screen of Glioblastoma Homing Peptides to the Target Protein FABP3 (MDGI)

We recently identified the glioblastoma homing peptide CooP (CGLSGLGVA) using in vivo phage display screen. The mammary-derived growth inhibitor (MDGI/FABP3) was identified as its interacting partner. Here, we present an alanine scan of A-CooP to investigate the contribution of each amino acid residue to the binding to FABP3 by microscale thermophoresis (MST) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). We also tested the binding affinity of the A-CooP-K, KA-CooP, and retro-inverso A-CooP analogues to the recombinant FABP3. According to the MST analysis, A-CooP showed micromolar (KD = 2.18 µM) affinity to FABP3. Alanine replacement of most of the amino acids did not affect peptide affinity to FABP3. The A-CooP-K variant showed superior binding affinity, while A-[Ala5]CooP and A-[Ala7]CooP, both replacing a glycine residue with alanine, showed negligible binding to FABP3. These results were corroborated in vitro and in vivo using glioblastoma models. Both A-CooP-K and A-CooP showed excellent binding in vitro and homing in vivo, while A-[Ala5]CooP and control peptides failed to bind the cells or home to the intracranial glioblastoma xenografts. These results provide insight into the FABP3–A-CooP interaction that may be important for future applications of drug conjugate design and development

Antimicrobial Abietane-Type diterpenoids from Plectranthus punctatus

Abdissa Ayana N, Frese M, Sewald N. Antimicrobial Abietane-Type diterpenoids from Plectranthus punctatus. Molecules. 2017;22(11): 1919.Four new para-benzoquinone containing abietane-type diterpenoids (1–4) along with thirteen known diterpenoids (5–17) were isolated from the roots of Plectranthus punctatus. The structures of the compounds were established by detailed spectroscopic analyses and comparison with literature data. The compounds were tested for their antibacterial and cytotoxic activity and showed significant inhibitory activity against all bacterial strains used, with compounds 6, 8, 10, and 11 showing an inhibition zone for Staphylococcus warneri even greater than the reference drug, gentamycin