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Melittin-glutathione S-transferase fusion protein exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and minimal toxicity.

ABSTRACT: Although potent, proteins often require chemical modification for therapeutic use. Immunogenicity, difficult synthesis, and scale-up of these modifications are all engineering obstacles that stand in the way of expanding the use of these therapeutics. Melittin, a peptide derived from bee venom, has been shown to modulate inflammation. Although potentially therapeutic, the native peptide causes cell lysis and toxicity significantly hindering therapeutic application. Based upon the knowledge of the pore formation mechanism, we examined the toxicity and therapeutic effect of a melittin fusion protein with glutathione-S-transferase. The fusion of melittin and glutathione S-transferase results in diminished toxicity of the peptide and retained anti-inflammatory properties at doses that exceed toxic concentration of native melittin. Our results suggest that fusion proteins, particularly those of glutathione-S-transferase, may be facile modifications to control protein activity.

SUBMITTER: Rayahin JE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4253680 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Melittin-glutathione S-transferase fusion protein exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and minimal toxicity.

Rayahin Jamie E JE Buhrman Jason S JS Gemeinhart Richard A RA

European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences 20140921

Although potent, proteins often require chemical modification for therapeutic use. Immunogenicity, difficult synthesis, and scale-up of these modifications are all engineering obstacles that stand in the way of expanding the use of these therapeutics. Melittin, a peptide derived from bee venom, has been shown to modulate inflammation. Although potentially therapeutic, the native peptide causes cell lysis and toxicity significantly hindering therapeutic application. Based upon the knowledge of th ...[more]

PMID: 25240321

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Project description:The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that mediates the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. However, the role of the AHR in normal physiology is still an area of intense investigation. For example, this receptor plays an important role in certain immune responses. We have previously determined that the AHR can mediate repression of acute-phase genes in the liver. For this observation to be therapeutically useful, selective activation of the AHR would likely be necessary. Recently, the selective estrogen receptor ligand WAY-169916 has also been shown to be a selective AHR ligand. WAY-169916 can efficiently repress cytokine-mediated acute-phase gene expression (e.g., SAA1) yet fail to mediate a dioxin response element-driven increase in transcriptional activity. The goals of this study were to structurally modify WAY-169916 to block binding to the estrogen receptor and increase its affinity for the AHR. A number of WAY-169916 derivatives were synthesized and subjected to characterization as AHR ligands. The substitution of a key hydroxy group for a methoxy group ablates binding to the estrogen receptor and increases its affinity for the AHR. The compound 1-allyl-7-trifluoromethyl-1H-indazol-3-yl]-4-methoxyphenol (SGA 360), in particular, exhibited essentially no AHR agonist activity yet was able to repress cytokine-mediated SAA1 gene expression in Huh7 cells. SGA 360 was tested in a 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-mediated ear inflammatory edema model using C57BL6/J and Ahr(-/-) mice. Our findings indicate that SGA 360 significantly inhibits TPA-mediated ear swelling and induction of a number of inflammatory genes (e.g., Saa3, Cox2, and Il6) in C57BL6/J mice. In contrast, SGA 360 had no effect on TPA-mediated ear swelling or inflammatory gene expression in Ahr(-/-) mice. Collectively, these results indicate that SGA 360 is a selective Ah receptor modulator (SAhRM) that exhibits anti-inflammatory properties in vivo.

Dataset Information

Melittin-glutathione S-transferase fusion protein exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and minimal toxicity.

Publications

Melittin-glutathione S-transferase fusion protein exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and minimal toxicity.

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