Christine Lenoir

Cooperative Exosite-dependent Cleavage of Synaptobrevin by Tetanus Toxin Light Chain

The light chain (L chain) of tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) has been shown to have been endowed with zinc endopeptidase activity, selectively directed toward the Gln76-Phe77 bond of synaptobrevin, a vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP) critically involved in neuroexocytosis. In previous reports, truncations at the NH2 and COOH terminus of synaptobrevin have shown that the sequence 39-88 of synaptobrevin is the minimum substrate of TeNT, suggesting either the requirement of a well defined three-dimensional structure of synaptobrevin or a role in the mechanism of substrate hydrolysis for residues distal from the cleavage site. In this study, the addition of NH2- and COOH-terminal peptides of synaptobrevin, S 27-55 (S1) and S 82-93 (S2), to the synaptobrevin fragment S 56-81 allowed the cleavage of this latter peptide by TeNT to occur. This appears to result from an activation process mediated by the simultaneous binding of S1 and S2 with complementary sites present on TeNT as shown by surface plasmon resonance experiments and the determination of kinetic constants. All these results favor an exosite-controlled hydrolysis of synaptobrevin by TeNT, probably involving a conformational change of the toxin. This could account for the high degree of substrate specificity of TeNT and, probably, botulinum neurotoxins.

Preliminary biological evaluations of new thalidomide analogues for multiple sclerosis application

The present work deals with the synthesis of a new series of thalidomide derivatives for therapeutic applications. These compounds were evaluated in vitro on a human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 for their antiproliferative potential and in vivo on an experimental animal multiple sclerosis model called EAE as angiogenesis inhibitors. The preliminary results obtained on EAE assays seem to validate that anti-angiogenesis compounds could be promising tools for the treatment of MS.

Synthesis of aryl phosphates based on pyrimidine and triazine scaffolds

The syntheses of the triazinyl-based bis-aryl phosphates 2 and 3, and of the aminopyrimidyl-based aryl phosphate 4 are described. Each compound contains a diaryl ether-phosphate structural motif. The synthetic route to bis-aryl phosphates 2 and 3 consisted in two nucleophilic substitution reactions with amines from cyanuric chloride, followed by a Suzuki coupling with the resulting 2,4-diamino-6-chloro-1,3,5-triazine derivative 12 to introduce the diaryl ether functionality. Aryl phosphate 4 was obtained via condensation of aryl guanidine 34 with aryloxyphenyl butenone 31. These de novo-designed aryl phosphates were evaluated as potential inhibitors of the Grb2-SH2 domain using an ELISA assay. The water-soluble sodium salt 26 of 3 gave an IC(50) value in the high micromolar range. Molecular modeling studies were subsequently performed upon modifying the 1,3,5-trisubstituted triazine scaffold of 3. Non-phosphate derivatives encompassing cyclopropane, pyrrole, keto-acid, and IZD fragments were thus step-wise designed and their Grb2-SH2 complexes were modeled by molecular dynamics. Some derivatives gave rise to an enriched pattern of H-bonds and cation-pi interactions with Grb2-SH2.

Allosteric-type control of synaptobrevin cleavage by tetanus toxin light chain

The light chain of tetanus neurotoxin (TeNTL chain) has been shown to be endowed with zine endopeptidase activity, selectively directed towards the Gln76-Phe77 bond of synaptobrevin, a vesicle-associated membrane protein critically involved in neuroexocytosis. In previous reports, truncations at the NH2- and COOH-terminus of synaptobrevin have shown that the sequence 39–88 of synaptobrevin is the minimum substrate of TeNT, suggesting either the requirement of a well-defined three-dimensional structure of synaptobrevin or a role in the mechanism of substrate hydrolysis for residues distal from the cleavage site. In this study, the addition of NH2- and COOH-terminal peptides of synaptobrevin, S 27–55 (S1) and S 82–93 (S2), to the synaptobrevin fragment S 56–81 allowed the cleavage of this latter peptide by TeNT to occur. This appears to result from an activation process mediated by the simultaneous binding of S1 and S2 with complementary sites present on TeNT as shown by surface plasmon resonance experiments. All these results favor an exosite-controlled hydrolysis of synaptobrevin by TeNT probably involving a conformational change of the toxin. This could accound for the high degree of substrate specificity of TeNT and, probably, botulinum neurotoxins.