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Discover how PEPperPRINT Peptide Microarray products have been used in different fields of research.

Survivin prevents the polycomb repressor complex 2 from methylating histone 3 lysine 27

Jensen, Maja; Chandrasekaran, Venkataragavan; García-Bonete, María-José; Li, Shuxiang; Anindya, Atsarina Larasati; Andersson, Karin; Erlandsson, Malin C.; Oparina, Nina Y.; Burmann, Björn M.; Brath, Ulrika; Panchenko, Anna R.; Bokarewa I., Maria; Katona, Gergely
iScience.
Jul 2023

AAV-mediated expression of a new conformational anti-aggregated α-synuclein antibody prolongs survival in a genetic model of α-synucleinopathies

Düchs, Matthias; Blazevic, Dragica; Rechtsteiner, Philipp; Kenny, Cynthia; Lamla, Thorsten; Low, Sarah; Savistchenko, Jimmy; Neumann, Manuela; Melki, Ronald; Schönberger, Tanja; Stierstorfer, Birgit; Wyatt, David; Igney, Frederik; Ciossek, Thomas
npj Parkinsons Dis..
Jun 2023
Abstract Prion-like transmission of pathology in α-synucleinopathies like Parkinson’s disease or multiple system atrophy is increasingly recognized as one potential mechanism to address disease progression. Active and passive immunotherapies targeting insoluble, aggregated α-synuclein are already being actively explored in the clinic with mixed outcomes so far. Here, we report the identification of 306C7B3, a highly selective, aggregate-specific α-synuclein antibody with picomolar affinity devoid of binding to the monomeric, physiologic protein. 306C7B3 binding is Ser129-phosphorylation independent and shows high affinity to several different aggregated α-synuclein polymorphs, increasing the likelihood that it can also bind to the pathological seeds assumed to drive disease progression in patients. In support of this, highly selective binding to pathological aggregates in postmortem brains of MSA patients was demonstrated, with no staining in samples from other human neurodegenerative diseases. To achieve CNS exposure of 306C7B3, an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based approach driving expression of the secreted antibody within the brain of (Thy-1)-[A30P]-hα-synuclein mice was used. Widespread central transduction after intrastriatal inoculation was ensured by using the AAV2HBKO serotype, with transduction being spread to areas far away from the inoculation site. Treatment of (Thy-1)-[A30P]-hα-synuclein mice at the age of 12 months demonstrated significantly increased survival, with 306C7B3 concentration reaching 3.9 nM in the cerebrospinal fluid. These results suggest that AAV-mediated expression of 306C7B3, targeting extracellular, presumably disease-propagating aggregates of α-synuclein, has great potential as a disease-modifying therapy for α-synucleinopathies as it ensures CNS exposure of the antibody, thereby mitigating the selective permeability of the blood-brain barrier.

Machine learning-driven multifunctional peptide engineering for sustained ocular drug delivery

Hsueh, Henry T.; Chou, Renee Ti; Rai, Usha; Liyanage, Wathsala; Kim, Yoo Chun; Appell, Matthew B.; Pejavar, Jahnavi; Leo, Kirby T.; Davison, Charlotte; Kolodziejski, Patricia; Mozzer, Ann; Kwon, HyeYoung; Sista, Maanasa; Anders, Nicole M.; Hemingway, Avelina; Rompicharla, Sri Vishnu Kiran; Edwards, Malia; Pitha, Ian; Hanes, Justin; Cummings, Michael P.; Ensign, Laura M.
Nat Commun.
May 2023
Abstract Sustained drug delivery strategies have many potential benefits for treating a range of diseases, particularly chronic diseases that require treatment for years. For many chronic ocular diseases, patient adherence to eye drop dosing regimens and the need for frequent intraocular injections are significant barriers to effective disease management. Here, we utilize peptide engineering to impart melanin binding properties to peptide-drug conjugates to act as a sustained-release depot in the eye. We develop a super learning-based methodology to engineer multifunctional peptides that efficiently enter cells, bind to melanin, and have low cytotoxicity. When the lead multifunctional peptide (HR97) is conjugated to brimonidine, an intraocular pressure lowering drug that is prescribed for three times per day topical dosing, intraocular pressure reduction is observed for up to 18 days after a single intracameral injection in rabbits. Further, the cumulative intraocular pressure lowering effect increases ~17-fold compared to free brimonidine injection. Engineered multifunctional peptide-drug conjugates are a promising approach for providing sustained therapeutic delivery in the eye and beyond.

Antigen discovery by bioinformatics analysis and peptide microarray for the diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis

Batisti Biffignandi, Gherard; Vola, Ambra; Sassera, Davide; Najafi-Fard, Saeid; Gomez Morales, Maria Angeles; Brunetti, Enrico; Teggi, Antonella; Goletti, Delia; Petrone, Linda; Tamarozzi, Francesca
PLoS Negl Trop Dis.
Apr 2023
Background Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, is a neglected zoonosis. Its diagnosis relies on imaging, supported by serology, while only imaging is useful for staging and follow-up. Since diagnostic tools and expertise are not widely available, new accurate and easily implementable assays for the diagnosis and follow-up of CE are highly needed. Methodology/Principal Findings We aimed to identify new E . granulosus antigens through a bioinformatics selection applied to the parasite genome, followed by peptide microarray screening and validation in ELISA, using independent panels of sera from patients with hepatic CE and clinically relevant controls. From 950 proteins selected in silico , 2,379 peptides were evaluated by microarray for IgG reactivity and eight candidates selected for validation. Reactivity to one peptide was significantly higher in the CE group (p = 0.044), but had suboptimal diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions/Significance Here we performed bioinformatics analysis and peptide microarray for antigen discovery, useful for the diagnosis of CE. Eight candidates were selected and validated. Reactivity to one peptide associated to CE but had suboptimal diagnostic accuracy. Importantly, the database developed in this study may be used to identify other antigenic candidates for CE diagnosis and follow-up.

Funneling modulatory peptide design with generative models: Discovery and characterization of disruptors of calcineurin protein-protein interactions

Tubiana, Jérôme; Adriana-Lifshits, Lucia; Nissan, Michael; Gabay, Matan; Sher, Inbal; Sova, Marina; Wolfson, Haim J.; Gal, Maayan
PLoS Comput Biol.
Feb 2023
Design of peptide binders is an attractive strategy for targeting “undruggable” protein-protein interfaces. Current design protocols rely on the extraction of an initial sequence from one known protein interactor of the target protein, followed by in-silico or in-vitro mutagenesis-based optimization of its binding affinity. Wet lab protocols can explore only a minor portion of the vast sequence space and cannot efficiently screen for other desirable properties such as high specificity and low toxicity, while in-silico design requires intensive computational resources and often relies on simplified binding models. Yet, for a multivalent protein target, dozens to hundreds of natural protein partners already exist in the cellular environment. Here, we describe a peptide design protocol that harnesses this diversity via a machine learning generative model. After identifying putative natural binding fragments by literature and homology search, a compositional Restricted Boltzmann Machine is trained and sampled to yield hundreds of diverse candidate peptides. The latter are further filtered via flexible molecular docking and an in-vitro microchip-based binding assay. We validate and test our protocol on calcineurin, a calcium-dependent protein phosphatase involved in various cellular pathways in health and disease. In a single screening round, we identified multiple 16-length peptides with up to six mutations from their closest natural sequence that successfully interfere with the binding of calcineurin to its substrates. In summary, integrating protein interaction and sequence databases, generative modeling, molecular docking and interaction assays enables the discovery of novel protein-protein interaction modulators.

Spot peptide arrays and SPR measurements: throughput and quantification in antibody selectivity studies: Peptide Arrays for Antibody Selectivity Studies

Vernet, Thierry; Choulier, Laurence; Nominé, Yves; Bellard, Laure; Baltzinger, Mireille; Travé, Gilles; Altschuh, Danièle
J. Mol. Recognit..
Oct 2015
Antibody selectivity represents a major issue in the development of efficient immuno-therapeutics and detection assays. Its description requires a comparison of the affinities of the antibody for a significant number of antigen variants. In the case of peptide antigens, this task can now be addressed to a significant level of details owing to improvements in spot peptide array technologies. They allow the high-throughput mutational analysis of peptides with, depending on assay design, an evaluation of binding stabilities. Here, we examine the cross-reactive capacity of an antibody fragment using the PEPperCHIP® technology platform (PEPperPRINT GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany; >8800 peptides per microarray) combined with the surface plasmon resonance characterization (Biacore® technology; GE-Healthcare Biacore, Uppsala, Sweden) of a subset of interactions. ScFv1F4 recognizes the N-terminal end of oncoprotein E6 of human papilloma virus 16. The spot permutation analysis (i.e. each position substituted by all amino acids except cysteine) of the wild type decapeptide (sequence 6TAMFQDPQER15) and of 15 variants thereof defined the optimal epitope and provided a ranking for variant recognition. The SPR affinity measurements mostly validated the ranking of complex stabilities deduced from array data and defined the sensitivity of spot fluorescence intensities, bringing further insight into the conditions for cross-reactivity. Our data demonstrate the importance of throughput and quantification in the assessment of antibody selectivity.

Sensing Immune Responses with Customized Peptide Microarrays

Schirwitz, Christopher; Loeffler, Felix F.; Felgenhauer, Thomas; Stadler, Volker; Breitling, Frank; Bischoff, F. Ralf
Biointerphases.
Aug 2012
The intent to solve biological and biomedical questions in high-throughput led to an immense interest in microarray technologies. Nowadays, DNA microarrays are routinely used to screen for oligonucleotide interactions within a large variety of potential interaction partners. To study interactions on the protein level with the same efficiency, protein and peptide microarrays offer similar advantages, but their production is more demanding. A new technology to produce peptide microarrays with a laser printer provides access to affordable and highly complex peptide microarrays. Such a peptide microarray can contain up to 775 peptide spots per cm², whereby the position of each peptide spot and, thus, the amino acid sequence of the corresponding peptide, is exactly known. Compared to other techniques, such as the SPOT synthesis, more features per cm² at lower costs can be synthesized which paves the way for laser printed peptide microarrays to take on roles as efficient and affordable biomedical sensors. Here, we describe the laser printer-based synthesis of peptide microarrays and focus on an application involving the blood sera of tetanus immunized individuals, indicating the potential of peptide arrays to sense immune responses.

Physical Characterization of the “Immunosignaturing Effect”

Stafford, Phillip; Halperin, Rebecca; Legutki, Joseph Bart; Magee, Dewey Mitchell; Galgiani, John; Johnston, Stephen Albert
Mol Cell Proteomics.
Apr 2012
Identifying new, effective biomarkers for diseases is proving to be a challenging problem. We have proposed that antibodies may offer a solution to this problem. The physical features and abundance of antibodies make them ideal biomarkers. Additionally, antibodies are often elicited early in the ontogeny of different chronic and infectious diseases. We previously reported that antibodies from patients with infectious disease and separately those with Alzheimer’s disease display a characteristic and reproducible immunosignature on a microarray of 10,000 random sequence peptides. Here we investigate the physical and chemical parameters underlying how immunosignaturing works. We first show that a variety of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies raised against different classes of antigens produce distinct profiles on this microarray and the relative affinities are determined. A proposal for how antibodies bind the random sequences is tested. Sera from vaccinated mice and people suffering from a fugal infection are individually assayed to determine the complexity of signals that can be distinguished. Based on these results, we propose that this simple, general and inexpensive system could be optimized to generate a new class of antibody biomarkers for a wide variety of diseases.

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