Globally, peptide-based anticancer therapies have drawn much attention. Marine organisms are a reservoir of anticancer peptides that await discovery. In this study, we aimed to identify cytotoxic oligopeptides from Sa...Globally, peptide-based anticancer therapies have drawn much attention. Marine organisms are a reservoir of anticancer peptides that await discovery. In this study, we aimed to identify cytotoxic oligopeptides from Sarcophyton glaucum. Peptides were purified from among the S. glaucum hydrolysates produced by alcalase, chymotrypsin, papain, and trypsin, guided by a methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay on the human cervical cancer(HeLa) cell line for cytotoxicity evaluation. Purification techniques adopted were membrane ultrafiltration, gel filtration chromatography, solid phase extraction(SPE), and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography(RP-HPLC). Purified peptides were identified by de novo peptide sequencing. From papain hydrolysate, three peptide sequences were identified: AGAPGG, AERQ, and RDTQ(428.45, 502.53, and 518.53 Da, respectively). Peptides synthesized from these sequences exhibited cytotoxicity on HeLa cells with median effect concentration(EC50) values of 8.6, 4.9, and 5.6 mmol/L, respectively, up to 5.8-fold stronger than the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil. When tested at their respective EC50, AGAPGG, AERQ, and RDTQ showed only 16%, 25%, and 11% cytotoxicity to non-cancerous Hek293 cells, respectively. In conclusion, AERQ, AGAPGG, and RDTQ are promising candidates for future development as peptide-based anticancer drugs.展开更多
Molecular dynamics(MD)simulation is a computational technique that analyzes the movement of a system of particles over a given period.MD can provide detailed information about the fluctuations and conformational chang...Molecular dynamics(MD)simulation is a computational technique that analyzes the movement of a system of particles over a given period.MD can provide detailed information about the fluctuations and conformational changes of biomolecules at the atomic level over time.In recent years,MD has been widely applied to the discovery of peptides and peptide-like molecules that may serve as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)inhibitors.This review summarizes recent advances in such explorations,focusing on four protein targets:angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2),spike protein(S protein),main protease(M^(pro)),and papain-like protease(PL^(pro)).These four proteins are important druggable targets of SARS-CoV-2 because of their roles in viral entry,maturation,and infectivity of the virus.A review of the literature revealed that ACE2,S protein,and M^(pro) have received more attention in MD research than PL^(pro).Inhibitors of the four targets identified by MD simulations included peptides derived from food and other bioresources,peptides designed using the targets as templates,and peptide-like molecules retrieved from databases.Many of the inhibitors have yet to be validated in experimental assays for potency.Nevertheless,the role of MD simulation as an efficient tool in the early stages of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug discovery agents has been demonstrated.展开更多
Seagrasses are marine plants that form economically and ecologically important ecosystems in coastal seas around the world.Unlike seaweeds,another group of marine flora,seagrasses are flowering and seed-bearing plants...Seagrasses are marine plants that form economically and ecologically important ecosystems in coastal seas around the world.Unlike seaweeds,another group of marine flora,seagrasses are flowering and seed-bearing plants.Globally,there are only 72 known species of seagrasses,distributed over six bioregions,spanning from the Temperate North Atlantic to the Temperate Southern Ocean[1].This contrasts with 295,383 species of terrestrial flowering plants[2]and 225,000 species of seaweeds known to science[3].展开更多
基金Project supported by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme of the Ministry of Higher Education,Malaysia(FRGS/1/2013/ST04/UTAR/02/1)
文摘Globally, peptide-based anticancer therapies have drawn much attention. Marine organisms are a reservoir of anticancer peptides that await discovery. In this study, we aimed to identify cytotoxic oligopeptides from Sarcophyton glaucum. Peptides were purified from among the S. glaucum hydrolysates produced by alcalase, chymotrypsin, papain, and trypsin, guided by a methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay on the human cervical cancer(HeLa) cell line for cytotoxicity evaluation. Purification techniques adopted were membrane ultrafiltration, gel filtration chromatography, solid phase extraction(SPE), and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography(RP-HPLC). Purified peptides were identified by de novo peptide sequencing. From papain hydrolysate, three peptide sequences were identified: AGAPGG, AERQ, and RDTQ(428.45, 502.53, and 518.53 Da, respectively). Peptides synthesized from these sequences exhibited cytotoxicity on HeLa cells with median effect concentration(EC50) values of 8.6, 4.9, and 5.6 mmol/L, respectively, up to 5.8-fold stronger than the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil. When tested at their respective EC50, AGAPGG, AERQ, and RDTQ showed only 16%, 25%, and 11% cytotoxicity to non-cancerous Hek293 cells, respectively. In conclusion, AERQ, AGAPGG, and RDTQ are promising candidates for future development as peptide-based anticancer drugs.
文摘Molecular dynamics(MD)simulation is a computational technique that analyzes the movement of a system of particles over a given period.MD can provide detailed information about the fluctuations and conformational changes of biomolecules at the atomic level over time.In recent years,MD has been widely applied to the discovery of peptides and peptide-like molecules that may serve as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)inhibitors.This review summarizes recent advances in such explorations,focusing on four protein targets:angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2),spike protein(S protein),main protease(M^(pro)),and papain-like protease(PL^(pro)).These four proteins are important druggable targets of SARS-CoV-2 because of their roles in viral entry,maturation,and infectivity of the virus.A review of the literature revealed that ACE2,S protein,and M^(pro) have received more attention in MD research than PL^(pro).Inhibitors of the four targets identified by MD simulations included peptides derived from food and other bioresources,peptides designed using the targets as templates,and peptide-like molecules retrieved from databases.Many of the inhibitors have yet to be validated in experimental assays for potency.Nevertheless,the role of MD simulation as an efficient tool in the early stages of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug discovery agents has been demonstrated.
文摘Seagrasses are marine plants that form economically and ecologically important ecosystems in coastal seas around the world.Unlike seaweeds,another group of marine flora,seagrasses are flowering and seed-bearing plants.Globally,there are only 72 known species of seagrasses,distributed over six bioregions,spanning from the Temperate North Atlantic to the Temperate Southern Ocean[1].This contrasts with 295,383 species of terrestrial flowering plants[2]and 225,000 species of seaweeds known to science[3].
