A Short Peptide That Mimics the Binding Domain of TGF-β1 Presents Potent Anti-Inflammatory Activity

PLoS One. 2015 Aug 27;10(8):e0136116. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136116. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) is a pleiotropic cytokine with multiple roles in development, wound healing, and immune regulation. TGF-β1-mediated immune dysfunction may lead to pathological conditions, such as inflammation. Chronic inflammatory process is characterized by a continuous release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the inhibition or the blockage of these cytokines signaling pathways are considered a target treatment. In this context, despite the high numbers of TGF-β-targeted pathways, the inducible regulatory T cells (iTreg) to control inflammation seems to be a promising approach. Our aim was to develop novel peptides through phage display (PhD) technology that could mimic TGF-β1 function with higher potency. Specific mimetic peptides were obtained through a PhD subtraction strategy from whole cell binding using TGF-β1 recombinant as a competitor during elution step. We have selected a peptide that seems to play an important role on cellular differentiation and modulation of TNF-α and IL-10 cytokines. The synthetic pm26TGF-β1 peptide tested in PBMC significantly down-modulated TNF-α and up-regulated IL-10 responses, leading to regulatory T cells (Treg) phenotype differentiation. Furthermore, the synthetic peptide was able to decrease leukocytes rolling in BALB/C mice and neutrophils migration during inflammatory process in C57BL/6 mice. These data suggest that this peptide may be useful for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, especially because it displays potent anti-inflammatory properties and do not exhibit neutrophils' chemoattraction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / chemistry
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / pharmacology*
  • Biomimetic Materials / chemistry
  • Biomimetic Materials / pharmacology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interleukin-10 / immunology
  • Leukocyte Rolling / drug effects*
  • Leukocyte Rolling / immunology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Neutrophils / immunology*
  • Neutrophils / pathology
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / pharmacology*
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / pathology
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / chemistry
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / pharmacology*
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / immunology

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
  • IL10 protein, human
  • Peptides
  • TGFB1 protein, human
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Interleukin-10

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from Brazilian research funding agencies: Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG- APQ 00981-11), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES).