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K. T. Douglas - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Rabih Jaouhari - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

David J. Craik - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Fmoc-Based Synthesis of Disulfide-Rich Cyclic Peptides
    Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2014
    Co-Authors: Olivier Cheneval, Christina I. Schroeder, Thomas Durek, Phillip Walsh, Yen-hua Huang, Spiros Liras, David A. Price, David J. Craik
    Abstract:

    Disulfide-rich cyclic peptides have exciting potential as leads or frameworks in drug discovery; however, their use is faced with some synthetic challenges, mainly associated with construction of the circular backbone and formation of the correct disulfides. Here we describe a simple and efficient Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS)-based method for synthesizing disulfide-rich cyclic peptides. This approach involves SPPS on 2-chlorotrityl resin, cyclization of the partially protected peptide in solution, cleavage of the side-chain protecting groups, and oxidization of cysteines to yield the desired product. We illustrate this method with the synthesis of peptides from three different classes of cyclic cystine knot motif-containing cyclotides: Mobius (M), trypsin inhibitor (T), and bracelet (B). We show that the method is broadly applicable to peptide engineering, illustrated by the synthesis of two mutants and three grafted analogues of kalata B1. The method reduces the use of highly caustic and tox...

  • Knots in rings. The circular knotted protein Momordica cochinchinensis trypsin inhibitor-II folds via a stable two-disulfide intermediate.
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2006
    Co-Authors: Maša Čemažar, Sara Häggblad, Kai Pong Lo, Ernie Yulyaningsih, Norelle L Daly, David J. Craik
    Abstract:

    The aim of this work was to elucidate the oxidative folding mechanism of the macrocyclic cystine knot protein MCoTI-II. We aimed to investigate how the six-cysteine residues distributed on the circular backbone of the reduced unfolded peptide recognize their correct partner and join up to form a complex cystine-knotted topology. To answer this question, we studied the oxidative folding of the naturally occurring peptide using a range of spectroscopic methods. For both oxidative folding and reductive unfolding, the same disulfide intermediate species was prevalent and was characterized to be a native-like two-disulfide intermediate in which the Cys(1)-Cys(18) disulfide bond was absent. Overall, the folding pathway of this head-to-tail cyclized protein was found to be similar to that of linear cystine knot proteins from the squash family of trypsin inhibitors. However, the pathway differs in an important way from that of the cyclotide kalata B1, in that the equivalent two-disulfide intermediate in that case is not a direct precursor of the native protein. The size of the embedded ring within the cystine knot motif appears to play a crucial role in the folding pathway. Larger rings contribute to the independence of disulfides and favor an on-pathway native-like intermediate that has a smaller energy barrier to cross to form the native fold. The fact that macrocyclic proteins are readily able to fold to a complex knotted structure in vitro in the absence of chaperones makes them suitable as protein engineering scaffolds that have remarkable stability.

  • disulfide mapping of the cyclotide kalata b1 chemical proof of the cyclic cystine knot motif
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2003
    Co-Authors: Ulf Goransson, David J. Craik
    Abstract:

    The cyclotides are a recently discovered family of plant proteins that have the fascinating structural feature of a continuous cyclic backbone and, putatively, a knotted arrangement of their three conserved disulfide bonds. We here show definite chemical proof of the I-IV, II-V, III-VI knotted disulfide connectivity of the prototypic cyclotide kalata B1. This has been achieved by a new approach for disulfide analysis, involving partial reduction and stepwise alkylation including introduction of charges and enzymatic cleavage sites by aminoethylation of cysteines. The approach overcomes the intrinsic difficulties for disulfide mapping of cyclotides, i.e. the cyclic amide backbone, lack of cleavage sites between cysteines, and a low or clustered content of basic amino acids, and allowed a direct determination of the disulfide bonds in kalata B1 using analysis by mass spectrometry. The established disulfide connectivity is unequivocally shown to be cystine knotted by a topological analysis. This is the first direct chemical determination of disulfides in native cyclotides and unambiguously confirms the unique cyclic cystine knot motif.

  • solution structures of the cis and trans pro30 isomers of a novel 38 residue toxin from the venom of hadronyche infensa sp that contains a cystine knot motif within its four disulfide bonds
    Biochemistry, 2002
    Co-Authors: Johan K Rosengren, Paul F. Alewood, Norelle L Daly, David Wilson, David J. Craik
    Abstract:

    The primary sequence and three-dimensional structure of a novel peptide toxin isolated from the Australian funnel-web spider Hadronyche infensa sp. is reported. ACTX-Hi:OB4219 contains 38 amino acids, including eight-cysteine residues that form four disulfide bonds. The connectivities of these disulfide bonds were previously unknown but have been unambiguously determined in this study. Three of these disulfide bonds are arranged in an inhibitor cystine-knot (ICK) motif, which is observed in a range of other disulfide-rich peptide toxins. The motif incorporates an embedded ring in the structure formed by two of the disulfides and their connecting backbone segments penetrated by a third disulfide bond. Using NMR spectroscopy, we determined that despite the isolation of a single native homologous product by RP-HPLC, ACTX-Hi:OB4219 possesses two equally populated conformers in solution. These two conformers were determined to arise from cis/trans isomerization of the bond preceding Pro30. Full assignment of t...

T. Besheya - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

James H Mckie - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.