Multivariate design and evaluation of a set of RGRPQ-derived innate immunity peptides

J Biol Chem. 2006 Jun 2;281(22):15164-71. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M511727200. Epub 2006 Apr 4.

Abstract

Oral commensal Streptococcus gordonii proteolytically cleave the salivary PRP-1 polypeptide into an RGRPQ innate peptide. The Arg and Gln termini are crucial for RGRPQ-mediated ammonia production and proliferation by S. gordonii SK12 and adhesion inhibition and desorption by Actinomyces naeslundii T14V, respectively. Here we have applied (i) a multivariate approach using RGRPQ-related peptides varied at amino acids 2, 3, and 4 simultaneously and (ii) size and N- and C-terminal modifications of RGRPQ to generate structure activity information. While the N-terminal arginine motif mediated ammonia production independent of peptide size, other responses required more or less full-length peptide motifs. The motifs for adhesion inhibition and desorption were the same. The adhesion and proliferation motifs required similarly a hydrophobic/low polarity amino acid 4 but differentially a hydrophilic or hydrophobic character of amino acids 2/3, respectively; polar peptides with small/hydrophilic and hydrophilic amino acids 2 and 3, respectively, had high adhesion inhibition/desorption activity, and lipophilic peptides with large/hydrophobic amino acids 2 and 3 had high proliferation activity. Accordingly, while RIWWQ had increased proliferation but abolished adhesion/desorption activity, peptides designed with hydrophilic amino acids 2 and 3 were predicted to behave in the opposite way. Moreover, a RGRPQ mimetic for all three responses should mimic small hydrophilic, large nitrogen-containing, and hydrophobic/low polarity amino acids 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Peptides fulfilling these criteria were 1-1.6-fold improved in all three responses. Thus, both mimetics and peptides with differential proliferation and adhesion activities may be generated for evaluation in biofilm models.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actinomyces / immunology
  • Actinomyces / pathogenicity
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Ammonia / metabolism
  • Bacterial Adhesion / drug effects
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Innate*
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Oligopeptides / chemistry
  • Oligopeptides / immunology*
  • Oligopeptides / pharmacology
  • Peptide Library
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / immunology
  • Proline-Rich Protein Domains
  • Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Saliva / immunology
  • Salivary Proteins and Peptides / chemistry
  • Salivary Proteins and Peptides / immunology
  • Streptococcus / immunology
  • Streptococcus / pathogenicity

Substances

  • Oligopeptides
  • Peptide Library
  • Peptides
  • Salivary Proteins and Peptides
  • Ammonia