Search

Vesicle entrapment remains a major bottleneck for the application of fluorescent nanoprobes (FNPs) with excellent optical properties in the field of super-resolution imaging of subcellular structures in living cells. Here, we developed a cell-penetrating peptide, fR8, which enables efficient cytoplasmic delivery of 3.5 nm FNPs instead of being trapped in vesicles, with a delivery efficiency of up to 75.6%. Further, we have successfully combined fusion protein technology with FNPs-fR8 to achieve high specificity and stable labeling of FNPs to various subcellular structures within live cells. Utilizing the advantages of FNPs, such as high brightness and resistance to photobleaching, FNPs modified with fR8 and the HaloTag ligand can be used for long-term super-resolution imaging of subcellular structures in living cells, allowing us to study the dynamic interactions between them. This work provides a practical tool for applying FNPs to live-cell super-resolution imaging and expands the application of super-resolution imaging technology in live-cell studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cyclic hexapeptide of D, L-alpha-aminoxy acids can function as a selective receptor for chloride ion. It is found that cyclic hexapeptide consisting of alternating D, L-alpha-aminoxy acids adopted the highly symmetrical bracelet-like conformation, which is quite different from those of cyclic D, L-alpha-peptides and Beta (super 3) peptides but similar to that of valinomycin.

Discusses the function of cyclic hexapeptide of a class of unnatural amino acids as a selective receptor for chloride ion. Oligomers of amino acids with significant antimicrobial activities; Preparation of linear hexapeptide of alternating amino acids; Solubility of cyclic hexapeptide in nonpolar organic solvents.

Exploring a collection of naturally occurring imine reductases (IREDs) identified two stereocomplementary IREDs with reducing activity toward sterically hindered 2-aryl-substituted pyrrolines. Using ( R )-selective Sc IR and ( S )-selective Sv IR, various chiral 2-aryl-substituted pyrrolidines with excellent enantioselectivity (>99% ee) were stereocomplementarily synthesized in good yield (60-80%), demonstrating the feasibility of IREDs for generating pharmaceutically relevant chiral 2-aryl-substituted pyrrolidine intermediates.

A multifunctional supramolecular assembly was successfully constructed by the host-guest complexation of doubly positively charged adamantane (ADA) with β-CD-modified hexabenzocoronene and the π-stacking of coronene with mitoxantrone, which was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light-scattering, and zeta potential experiments. Possessing a small size and rigid backbone coronene center, the water-soluble biocompatible supramolecular assembly has intracellular imaging abilities. Moreover, after the ester group of ADA was hydrolyzed into a carboxyl group, the positively charged quaternary amine strand converted into a zwitterion structure, which realized the controlled plasmid DNA binding and release. Besides, the cytotoxicity experiments showed that the supramolecular assembly possesses slightly lower toxicity and a slightly higher anticancer activity than free drug. We believe that this work might present a convenient method for synergetic cancer treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Supramolecular encapsulation has been developed into a powerful tool in clearance of toxic substances and hazardous waste from living body and external environments. Herein we tested the special efficacy of tyramine-modified β-cyclodextrin (1) in inhibiting and reversing of the inherent cytotoxicity of deoxycholic acid (DCA). The decarboxylation from tyrosine to tyramine in 1 is crucial to the mutual electrostatic communication, ultimately leading to great enhancement in binding affinity and molecular selectivity toward bile acids. As a result, the DCA-mediated cytotoxicity could be largely eliminated by the biocompatible 1. Meanwhile, the excess DCA could be rapidly excreted by 1 via rat urinary clearance, thus facilitating the decrease of DCA concentration in blood. This study presents a proof of principle that the supramolecular encapsulation with functional cyclodextrin derivatives can efficiently modulate the cell progression and remove the cytotoxic DCA, which provides a practical approach to prevent or treat bile acid-involved diseases.

Possessing a small size and C3-symmetrical rigid backbone, a coronene derivative was synthesized from β-cyclodextrins and hexa-cata-hexabenzocoronene, and then a water-soluble and biocompatible nanographene/polysaccharide supramolecular assembly was successfully fabricated through noncovalent interactions between adamantly grafted hyaluronic acids and β-cyclodextrin-modified hexa-cata-hexabenzocoronene. Moreover, the ternary supramolecular assembly showed not only a fluorescence imaging ability toward cancer cells but also good anticancer activity and low toxicity.

Cell-permeable activity-based probes (ABPs) are capable of labeling target proteins in living cells, thereby providing a powerful tool for profiling active enzymes in their native environment. In this study, we describe the synthesis and use of a novel trifunctional cell-permeable activity-based probe (TCpABP) for proteomic profiling of active cysteine cathepsins in living cells. We demonstrate that although TCpABP contains cell-impermeable tags, it was able to enter living cells efficiently via the delivery of a cell-penetrating peptide. TCpABP also allowed simultaneous detection and affinity isolation of labeled proteins with a fluorophore and a biotin motif, respectively. We optimized the enrichment protocol to minimize contaminants and identified 7 cathepsins, 2 of which have never been identified using existing ABPs. We also used a label-free quantification approach to quantify the relative abundances of active cathepsins and compared them with their previously published mRNA expression levels. A high degree of correlation between the mRNA expression levels and protein relative activities was observed for most of the identified cathepsins except cathepsin H. The results herein indicate that TCpABP is valuable for the detection of active cathepsins in living cells and provides useful guidelines for designing novel cell-permeable ABPs for in vivo labeling and their applications in in vivo proteomics studies.

In this study, we describe a new strategy for labeling and tracking lysosomes with a cell-permeable fluorescent activity-based probe (CpFABP) that is covalently bound to select lysosomal proteins. Colocalization studies that utilized LysoTracker probes as standard lysosomal markers demonstrated that our novel probe is effective in specifically labeling lysosomes in various kinds of live cells. Furthermore, our studies revealed that this probe has the ability to label fixed cells, permeabilized cells, and NH4Cl-treated cells, unlike LysoTracker probes, which show ineffective labeling under the same conditions. Remarkably, when applied to monitor the process of lysosome-dependent apoptosis, our probe not only displayed the expected release of lysosomal cathepsins from lysosomes into the cytosol but also revealed additional information about the location of the cathepsins during apoptosis, which is undetectable by other chemical lysosome markers. These results suggest a wide array of promising applications for our probe and provide useful guidelines for its use as a lysosome marker in lysosome-related studies.

The monomer 1 derived from achiral 1-(aminoxy)cyclopropanecarboxylic acid (OAcc) and oligopeptides 2-9 consisting of a chiral alpha-aminoxy acid and an achiral alpha-aminoxy acid such as OAcc were synthesized and their structures characterized. The eight-membered-ring intramolecular hydrogen bond, namely the alpha N-O turn, was formed between adjacent residues independent of their chirality. However, the helix formation was sequence-dependent. Dipeptide 2 bearing chiral alpha-aminoxy acid (d-OAA) at the N-terminus and achiral OAcc at the C-terminus preferentially adopted a right-handed 1.8(8) helical structure, but dipeptide 3 (OAcc-d-OAA) did not. Theoretical calculation results, in good agreement with experimental ones, revealed that the biased handedness of alpha N-O turn found in OAcc residue depends on its preceding chiral residue. It was then found that the helical conformation was destroyed in the case of oligopeptides 6 and 7 [OAA-(OAcc)(n), n = 2, 3]. The crystal structure of tripeptide 8 ((i)PrCO-d-OVal-OAcc-d-OVal-NH(i)Bu) further disclosed the helical structure formed by three consecutive homochiral alpha N-O turns. This study has uncovered achiral aminoxy acid residues such as the OAcc unit as a useful building block to be incorporated into chiral aminoxy peptides to mimic chiral helix structure.

Wall teichoic acids (WTAs) are anionic polymers that coat the cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria. Because they are essential for survival or virulence in many organisms, the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of WTAs are attractive antibiotic targets. The first committed step in the WTA biosynthetic pathway in Bacillus subtilis is catalyzed by TagA, which transfers N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) to the C4 hydroxyl of a membrane-anchored N-acetylglucosaminyl diphospholipid (GlcNAc-pp-undecaprenyl, lipid I) to make ManNAc-beta-(1,4)-GlcNAc-pp-undecaprenyl (lipid II). We have previously shown that TagA utilizes an alternative substrate containing a saturated C(13)H(27) lipid chain. Here we use unnatural substrates and products to establish the lipid preferences of the enzyme and to characterize the kinetic mechanism. We report that TagA is a metal ion-independent glycosyltransferase that follows a steady-state ordered Bi-Bi mechanism in which UDP-ManNAc binds first and UDP is released last. TagA shares homology with a large family of bacterial glycosyltransferases, and the work described here should facilitate structural analysis of the enzyme in complex with its substrates.

A series of chiral beta(3)-aminoxy acids or amides with various side chains have been synthesized via two different approaches. One is the Arndt-Eistert homologation approach, using chiral alpha-aminoxy acids as starting materials. The other approach, utilizing the enantioselective reduction of beta-keto esters catalyzed by baker's yeast or chiral Ru(II) complexes, produces chiral beta(3)-aminoxy acids with nonproteinaceous side chains. The oligomers of beta(3)-aminoxy acids can be readily prepared using EDCI/HOAt as the coupling reagent.

We have investigated, using NMR, IR, and CD spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, the conformational properties of peptides 1-10 of beta(3)-aminoxy acids (NH(2)OCHRCH(2)COOH) having different side chains on the beta carbon atom (e.g., R = Me, Et, COOBn, CH(2)CH(2)CH=CH(2), i-Bu, i-Pr). The beta N-O turns and beta N-O helices that involve a nine-membered-ring intramolecular hydrogen bond between NH(i)(+2) and CO(i), which have been found previously in peptides of beta(2,2)-aminoxy acids (NH(2)OCH(2)CMe(2)COOH), are also present in those beta(3)-aminoxy peptides. X-ray crystal structures and NMR spectral analysis reveal that, in the beta N-O turns and beta N-O helices induced by beta(3)-aminoxy acids, the N-O bond could be either anti or gauche to the C(alpha)-C(beta) bond depending on the size of the side chain; in contrast, only the anti conformation was found in beta(2,2)-aminoxy peptides. Both diamide 1 and triamide 9 exist in different conformations in solution and in the solid state: parallel sheet structures in the solid state and predominantly beta N-O turn and beta N-O helix conformations in nonpolar solvents. Theoretical studies on a series of model diamides rationalize very well the experimentally observed conformational features of these beta(3)-aminoxy peptides.

The conformational properties of peptides 1-4 built from 3-aminoxy-2,2-dimethyl-propionic acid, a beta2,2-aminoxy acid, were investigated by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. A novel beta N-O turn involving a nine-membered-ring intramolecular hydrogen bond between NHi+2 and COi was formed in diamides 1 and 2, which was further stabilized by another six-membered-ring intramolecular hydrogen bond between NHi+2 and NOi+1. Triamides 3 and 4 displayed a well-defined helical structure featuring two consecutive beta N-O turns. The X-ray structure of 4 revealed that the amide carbonyl group at position i+2 was twisted +65.9 degrees from that at i position, suggesting a novel 1.79 helix. Therefore, beta2,2-aminoxy acid can be used as a new building block for turns and helices.