Selection of goat β-casein derived ACE-inhibitory peptide SQPK and insights into its effect and regulatory mechanism on the function of endothelial cells

Yulong Wu; Jin Zhang; Tong Mu; Hong Zhang; Jianxin Cao; Huanhuan Li; Honggang Tang; Lihong Chen; Hongyun Liu; Xianrong Xu; Ke Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127312

Selection of goat β-casein derived ACE-inhibitory peptide SQPK and insights into its effect and regulatory mechanism on the function of endothelial cells

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Dec 31;253(Pt 6):127312. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127312. Epub 2023 Oct 10.

Authors

Yulong Wu¹, Jin Zhang², Tong Mu², Hong Zhang², Jianxin Cao², Huanhuan Li², Honggang Tang², Lihong Chen², Hongyun Liu³, Xianrong Xu⁴, Ke Zhao⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310021, PR China; School of Public Health, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, PR China.
² State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310021, PR China.
³ Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China.
⁴ School of Public Health, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, PR China. Electronic address: xuxianrong@hznu.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310021, PR China; Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China. Electronic address: kzhao@snnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37827416
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127312

Abstract

The angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory peptide SQPK was selected by in silico digestion and virtual screening from goat β-casein, and its effect and regulatory mechanism on function of endothelial cells was further evaluated. The results showed that SQPK exhibited relatively good ACE inhibition capacity (IC₅₀ = 452.7 μg/mL). Treatment with 25 μg/mL SQPK for 12 h significantly elevated nitric oxide (NO) production, stimulated eNOS expression (p < 0.05) and affected the transcriptomic profiling of EA. Hy926 cells. In particular, SQPK stimulated the expression of genes encoding inflammatory cytokines (CXCL1/2 and IL6) but depressed encoding mesenchymal markers (FN1 and CNN3). Furthermore, SQPK modified the expression of genes involved in endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). Therefore, the selected peptide SQPK may exert potential protective effects on the function of endothelial cells by inhibiting the EndMT.

Keywords: ACE inhibitory peptide; Endothelial cells; Goat β-casein; SQPK; Transcriptomic profiling.

MeSH terms

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors* / pharmacology
Animals
Caseins* / metabolism
Endothelial Cells / metabolism
Goats / metabolism
Peptides / metabolism
Peptides / pharmacology
Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / genetics
Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / metabolism

Substances

Caseins
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A
Peptides