Piotr Ruchala

Minihepcidins are rationally designed small peptides that mimic hepcidin activity in mice and may be useful for the treatment of iron overload

Iron overload is the hallmark of hereditary hemochromatosis and a complication of iron-loading anemias such as β-thalassemia. Treatment can be burdensome and have significant side effects, and new therapeutic options are needed. Iron overload in hereditary hemochromatosis and β-thalassemia intermedia is caused by hepcidin deficiency. Although transgenic hepcidin replacement in mouse models of these diseases prevents iron overload or decreases its potential toxicity, natural hepcidin is prohibitively expensive for human application and has unfavorable pharmacologic properties. Here, we report the rational design of hepcidin agonists based on the mutagenesis of hepcidin and the hepcidin-binding region of ferroportin and computer modeling of their docking. We identified specific hydrophobic/aromatic residues required for hepcidin-ferroportin binding and obtained evidence in vitro that a thiol-disulfide interaction between ferroportin C326 and the hepcidin disulfide cage may stabilize binding. Guided by this model, we showed that 7–9 N-terminal amino acids of hepcidin, including a single thiol cysteine, comprised the minimal structure that retained hepcidin activity, as shown by the induction of ferroportin degradation in reporter cells. Further modifications to increase resistance to proteolysis and oral bioavailability yielded minihepcidins that, after parenteral or oral administration to mice, lowered serum iron levels comparably to those after parenteral native hepcidin. Moreover, liver iron concentrations were lower in mice chronically treated with minihepcidins than those in mice treated with solvent alone. Minihepcidins may be useful for the treatment of iron overload disorders.

Minihepcidins prevent iron overload in a hepcidin-deficient mouse model of severe hemochromatosis

The deficiency of hepcidin, the hormone that controls iron absorption and its tissue distribution, is the cause of iron overload in nearly all forms of hereditary hemochromatosis and in untransfused iron-loading anemias. In a recent study, we reported the development of minihepcidins, small drug-like hepcidin agonists. Here we explore the feasibility of using minihepcidins for the prevention and treatment of iron overload in hepcidin-deficient mice. An optimized minihepcidin (PR65) was developed that had superior potency and duration of action compared with natural hepcidin or other minihepcidins, and favorable cost of synthesis. PR65 was administered by subcutaneous injection daily for 2 weeks to iron-depleted or iron-loaded hepcidin knockout mice. PR65 administration to iron-depleted mice prevented liver iron loading, decreased heart iron levels, and caused the expected iron retention in the spleen and duodenum. At high doses, PR65 treatment also caused anemia because of profound iron restriction. PR65 administration to hepcidin knockout mice with pre-existing iron overload had a more moderate effect and caused partial redistribution of iron from the liver to the spleen. Our study demonstrates that minihepcidins could be beneficial in iron overload disorders either used alone for prevention or possibly as adjunctive therapy with phlebotomy or chelation.

Roles of Arginine and Lysine Residues in the Translocation of a Cell-Penetrating Peptide from 13C, 31P and 19F Solid-State NMR

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are small cationic peptides that cross the cell membrane while carrying macromolecular cargoes. We use solid-state NMR to investigate the structure and lipid interaction of two cationic residues, Arg(10) and Lys(13), in the CPP penetratin. (13)C chemical shifts indicate that Arg(10) adopts a rigid beta-strand conformation in the liquid-crystalline state of anionic lipid membranes. This behavior contrasts with all other residues observed so far in this peptide, which adopt a dynamic beta-turn conformation with coil-like chemical shifts at physiological temperature. Low-temperature (13)C-(31)P distances between the peptide and the lipid phosphates indicate that both the Arg(10) guanidinium Czeta atom and the Lys(13) Cepsilon atom are close to the lipid (31)P (4.0-4.2 A), proving the existence of charge-charge interaction for both Arg(10) and Lys(13) in the gel-phase membrane. However, since lysine substitution in CPPs is known to weaken their translocation ability, we propose that the low temperature stabilizes interactions of both lysine and arginine with the phosphates, whereas at high temperatures, the lysine-phosphate interaction is much weaker than the arginine-phosphate interaction. This is supported by the unusually high rigidity of the Arg(10) side chain and its beta-strand conformation at high temperatures. The latter is proposed to be important for ion pair formation by allowing close approach of the lipid headgroups to guanidinium side chains. (19)F and (13)C spin diffusion experiments indicate that penetratin is oligomerized into beta-sheets in gel-phase membranes. These solid-state NMR data indicate that guanidinium-phosphate interactions exist in penetratin, and guanidinium groups play a stronger structural role than ammonium groups in the lipid-assisted translocation of CPPs across liquid-crystalline cell membranes.

Interactions of α-, β-, and θ-Defensins with Influenza A Virus and Surfactant Protein D

We have reported that the α-defensins human neutrophil peptides (HNP)-1 and HNP-2 neutralize and aggregate influenza A virus (IAV) and promote uptake of IAV by neutrophils. These α-defensins were also shown to bind to surfactant protein (SP)-D and reduce its antiviral activity. In this study, we examined retrocyclin (RC)1 and RC2, humanized versions of the antiviral θ-defensins found in the leukocytes of certain nonhuman primates. RC1 was just as effective as HNP-1–3 in neutralizing IAV, and RC2 and RC101 (an analog of RC1) were more effective. In contrast, human β-defensins (HBDs) showed less neutralizing activity. Human defensins 5 and 6 (mainly produced by intestinal Paneth cells) had viral neutralizing activity similar to HNP-1–3. Like HNP-1–3, RCs induced viral aggregation and promoted the uptake of IAV by neutrophils. We used surface plasmon resonance to evaluate binding of defensins to SP-D. HBDs, HD6, and HNP-4 bound minimally to SP-D. HNP-1–3 and RCs bound SP-D with high affinity; however, unlike HNP-1 and HNP-2, RCs did not inhibit SP-D antiviral activity. HBDs also did not inhibit antiviral activity of SP-D. Given their strong neutralizing activity and compatibility with SP-D, RCs may provide attractive prototypes for designing therapeutics that can prevent or treat respiratory infections caused by IAV.

Hepcidin-Induced Hypoferremia Is a Critical Host Defense Mechanism Against the Siderophilic Bacterium Vibrio vulnificus

Hereditary hemochromatosis, an iron overload disease caused by a deficiency in the iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin, is associated with lethal infections by siderophilic bacteria. To elucidate the mechanisms of this susceptibility, we infected wild-type and hepcidin-deficient mice with the siderophilic bacterium Vibrio vulnificus and found that hepcidin deficiency results in increased bacteremia and decreased survival of infected mice, which can be partially ameliorated by dietary iron depletion. Additionally, timely administration of hepcidin agonists to hepcidin-deficient mice induces hypoferremia that decreases bacterial loads and rescues these mice from death, regardless of initial iron levels. Studies of Vibrio vulnificus growth ex vivo show that high iron sera from hepcidin-deficient mice support extraordinarily rapid bacterial growth and that this is inhibited in hypoferremic sera. Our findings demonstrate that hepcidin-mediated hypoferremia is a host defense mechanism against siderophilic pathogens and suggest that hepcidin agonists may improve infection outcomes in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis or thalassemia.

Reawakening retrocyclins: ancestral human defensins active against HIV-1.

Human alpha and beta defensins contribute substantially to innate immune defenses against microbial and viral infections. Certain nonhuman primates also produce theta-defensins—18 residue cyclic peptides that act as HIV-1 entry inhibitors. Multiple human theta-defensin genes exist, but they harbor a premature termination codon that blocks translation. Consequently, the theta-defensins (retrocyclins) encoded within the human genome are not expressed as peptides. In vivo production of theta-defensins in rhesus macaques involves the post-translational ligation of two nonapeptides, each derived from a 12-residue “demidefensin” precursor. Neither the mechanism of this unique process nor its existence in human cells is known. To ascertain if human cells retained the ability to process demidefensins, we transfected human promyelocytic cells with plasmids containing repaired retrocyclin-like genes. The expected peptides were isolated, their sequences were verified by mass spectrometric analyses, and their anti-HIV-1 activity was confirmed in vitro. Our study reveals for the first time, to our knowledge, that human cells have the ability to make cyclic theta-defensins. Given this evidence that human cells could make theta-defensins, we attempted to restore endogenous expression of retrocyclin peptides. Since human theta-defensin genes are transcribed, we used aminoglycosides to read-through the premature termination codon found in the mRNA transcripts. This treatment induced the production of intact, bioactive retrocyclin-1 peptide by human epithelial cells and cervicovaginal tissues. The ability to reawaken retrocyclin genes from their 7 million years of slumber using aminoglycosides could provide a novel way to secure enhanced resistance to HIV-1 infection.

Membrane-Bound Dynamic Structure of an Arginine-Rich Cell-Penetrating Peptide, the Protein Transduction Domain of HIV TAT, from Solid-State NMR

The protein transduction domain of HIV-1 TAT, TAT(48-60), is an efficient cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) that diffuses across the lipid membranes of cells despite eight cationic Arg and Lys residues. To understand its mechanism of membrane translocation against the free energy barrier, we have conducted solid-state NMR experiments to determine the site-specific conformation, dynamics, and lipid interaction of the TAT peptide in anionic lipid bilayers. We found that TAT(48-60) is a highly dynamic and nearly random coil peptide in the lipid bilayer and inserts into the membrane-water interface near the glycerol backbone region. Arg-phosphate salt bridge interaction was revealed by short guanidinium-phosphate distances and restricted dynamics of the guanidinium. Together with the observation of strong peptide-water cross-peaks in (1)H spin diffusion spectra, these results indicate that TAT binding to the membrane-water interface is stabilized not only by electrostatic attraction to the anionic lipids but also by intermolecular hydrogen bonding with the lipid phosphates and water, which may take the role of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in canonical secondary structures. The random coil structure of TAT and another CPP, penetratin, suggests that the lack of amphipathic structure is essential for rapid translocation of these Arg-rich CPPs across the lipid membrane without causing permanent damages to the membrane integrity.

The pathophysiology and pharmacology of hepcidin

Inappropriate production of the iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin contributes to the pathogenesis of common iron disorders. Absolute or relative deficiency of hepcidin causes iron overload in hereditary hemochromatosis and iron-loading anemias. Elevated hepcidin causes iron restriction in inflammatory conditions including autoimmune disease, critical illness, some cancers, and chronic kidney disease. Multiple agents targeting hepcidin and its regulators are under development as novel therapeutics for iron disorders. This review summarizes hepcidin biology and discusses the current landscape for hepcidin-targeting therapeutic strategies.

Multivalent Binding of Carbohydrates by the Human α-Defensin, HD5

Four of the six human α-defensins (human neutrophil peptides 1–3 and human α-defensin 5; HD5) have a lectin-like ability to bind glycosylated proteins. Using HD5 as a model, we applied surface plasmon resonance techniques to gain insights into this property. HD5 bound natural glycoproteins > neoglycoproteins based on BSA > nonglycosylated BSA ≫ free sugars. The affinity of HD5 for simple sugars covalently bound to BSA was orders of magnitude greater than its affinity for the same sugars in solution. The affinity of HD5 for protein-bound carbohydrates resulted from multivalent interactions which may also involve noncarbohydrate residues of the proteins. HD5 showed concentration-dependent self-association that began at submicromolar concentrations and proceeded to dimer and tetramer formation at concentrations below 5 μM. The (R9A, R28A) and (R13A, R32A) analogs of HD5 showed greatly reduced self-association as well as minimal binding to BSA and to BSA-affixed sugars. From this and other evidence, we conclude that the extensive binding of HD5 to (neo)glycoproteins results from multivalent nonspecific interactions of individual HD5 molecules with carbohydrate and noncarbohydrate moieties of the target molecule and that the primary binding events are magnified and enhanced by subsequent in situ assembly and oligomerization of HD5. Self-association and multivalent binding may play integral roles in the ability of HD5 to protect against infections caused by viruses and other infectious agents.

A novel method for oral delivery of apolipoprotein mimetic peptides synthesized from all L-amino acids.

Administered subcutaneously, D-4F or L-4F are equally efficacious, but only D-4F is orally efficacious because of digestion of L-4F by gut proteases. Orally administering niclosamide (a chlorinated salicylanilide used as a molluscicide, antihelminthic, and lampricide) in temporal proximity to oral L-4F (but not niclosamide alone) in apoE null mice resulted in significant improvement (P < 0.001) in the HDL-inflammatory index (HII), which measures the ability of HDL to inhibit LDL-induced monocyte chemotactic activity in endothelial cell cultures. Oral administration of L-[113-122]apoJ with niclosamide also resulted in significant improvement (P < 0.001) in HII. Oral administration of niclosamide and L-4F together with pravastatin to female apoE null mice at 9.5 months of age for six months significantly reduced aortic sinus lesion area (P = 0.02), en face lesion area (P = 0.033), and macrophage lesion area (P = 0.02) compared with pretreatment, indicating lesion regression. In contrast, lesions were significantly larger in mice receiving only niclosamide and pravastatin or L-4F and pravastatin (P < 0.001). In vitro niclosamide and L-4F tightly associated rendering the peptide resistant to trypsin digestion. Niclosamide itself did not inhibit trypsin activity. The combination of niclosamide with apolipoprotein mimetic peptides appears to be a promising method for oral delivery of these peptides.—Navab, M. P., Ruchala, A. J. Waring, R. I. Lehrer, S. Hama, G. Hough, M. N. Palgunachari, G. M. Anantharamaiah, and A. M. Fogelman. A novel method for oral delivery of apolipoprotein mimetic peptides synthesized from all L-amino acids. J. Lipid Res. 2009. 50: 1538–1547.