To Explore the Binding Affinity of Human γ-Secretase Activating Protein (GSAP) Isoform 4 with APP-C99 Peptides.

γ-Secretase activating protein (GSAP) is known to play an important role in the ß-amyloid pathway. It acts as a modulator and accentuates the truncation of the amyloid precursor protein C-99 fragment through the γ-secretase complex. GSAP has four isoforms, out of which canonical isoform 1, a 16 kDa C-terminal portion, has been extensively studied, whereas the function of other three isoforms remains unknown. Here, we explore the GSAP isoform 4 (GSAP_I4) expression and purification from inclusion bodies followed by the refolding of the protein. The secondary structure of GSAP_I4 is predicted using circular dichroism. The protein is further characterized by western blotting and mass spectroscopy analysis. Additionally, biochemical assays and in silico molecular docking and molecular simulation are performed to investigate the binding of GSAP_I4 and APP-C99 peptide fragments. The results reflect that although GSAP_I1 and GSAP_I4 share high sequence similarity, the isoform 4 does not show any affinity toward APP-C99 peptide fragments. This hints toward the fact that GSAP_I4 might have a different role in the living system that is yet unexplored.

Characterization of P. aeruginosa Glucose 6- Phosphate Isomerase: A Functional Insight via In-Vitro Activity Study.

BACKGROUND: Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (G6PI) catalyses the second step in glycolysis in the reversible interconversion of an aldohexose glucose 6-phosphate, a six membered ring moiety to a ketohexose, fructose 6-phosphate five membered ring moiety. This enzyme is of utmost importance due to its multifunctional role like neuroleukin, autocrine motility factor, etc. in various species. G6PI from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is less explored for its moonlighting properties. These properties can be predicted by studying the active site conservation of residues and their interaction with the specific ligand. METHODS: Here, we study the G6PI in a self-inducible construct in bacterial expression system with its purification using Ni-NTA chromatography. The secondary structure of pure G6PI is estimated using circular dichroism to further predict the proper folding form of the protein. The bioactivity of the purified enzyme is quantified using phosphoglucose isomerase colorimetric kit with a value of 12.5 mU/mL. Differential scanning fluorimetry and isothermal titration calorimetry were employed to monitor the interaction of G6PI with its competitive inhibitor, erythrose 4-phosphate and calculated the Tm, Kd and IC50 values. Further, the homology model for the protein was prepared to study the interaction with the erythrose 4-phosphate. MD simulation of the complex was performed at 100 ns to identify the binding interactions. RESULTS: We identified hydrogen bonds and water bridges dominating the interactions in the active site holding the protein and ligand with strong affinity. CONCLUSION: G6PI was successfully crystallized and data has been collected at 6Å. We are focused on improving the crystal quality for obtaining higher resolution data.

Structural and strategic landscape of PIKK protein family and their inhibitors: an overview.

Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase-related kinases (PIKKs) is a class of six unique serine/threonine kinases that are characterized as high molecular mass colossal proteins present in multicellular organisms. They predominantly regulate the innumerable eukaryotic cellular processes, for instance, cell-signaling cascades related to DNA damage and repair, cell growth and proliferation, cell cycle arrest, genome surveillance, gene expression and many other important yet diverse functions. A characteristic PIKK member comprises of an N-terminal HEAT domain, followed by FAT domain, a highly conserved kinase catalytic domain, and a C-terminal FATC domain. In this comprehensive review, we reassess and discuss various established functions of all the six PIKK members with each function corroborated by their structural topology. In addition to the domain architecture of these atypical kinases, their specific inhibitors have been briefly deliberated. This review gives us the impression of the emergent importance of PIKKs, which, despite of their complexity, are the hub of research with respect to the inhibitor development.

Tracing the GSAP-APP C-99 Interaction Site in the ß-Amyloid Pathway Leading to Alzheimer's Disease.

Gamma secretase activating protein (GSAP) present in ß-amyloid pathway orchestrates the formation of ß-amyloid plaques by γ-secretase activation and is an emerging therapeutic target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. It forms a ternary complex with γ-secretase and APP C-99. However, there are limited reports for the interaction of APP C-99 with GSAP. Here, we report the characterization of purified maltose binding protein (MBP) tagged human GSAP and its interaction with synthetic APP C-99 peptide fragments (712IATVIVITLVMLKKQ727 (712IQ727), 719TLVMLKKKQYTSIHHGVVEVDAAVT743 (719TT743) 734GVVEVDAAVTPEERHLSKMQQNGY757 (734GY757), and 746ERHLSKMQQNGYENPTYKFFEQMQN770 (746EN770)). The results emphasize the selective interaction of peptide (719TT743) with MBP-GSAP with a dissociation constant of 0.136 µM. Further, computational modeling of the GSAP-719TT743 complex finds an optimal bound pose of 719TT743 within an extended groove on the surface of GSAP. The preliminary results highlight the interaction between the two major proteins in the plausible ternary complex: APP C-99-GSAP-γ-secretase. It paves a futuristic path to investigate the GSAP-APP C-99 binding in detail and accentuates the role of GSAP in the ß-amyloid pathway.

Exploring a solvated dimer of Gefitinib: a quantitative analysis.

Gefitinib or Iressa is an orally administered anilinoquinazoline used in cancer chemotherapy for the treatment of lung and breast cancer. It is reported to exist in two polymorphic forms, a stable form I and a metastable form II. Both of the forms belong to the triclinic P-1 space group. In this work, we report the crystallization of Gefitinib to form a methanol solvate [systematic name: N-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-7-methoxy-6-[3-(morpholin-4-yl)propoxy]quinazolin-4-amine methanol hemisolvate, C22H24ClFN4O3·0.5CH3OH] that was theoretically and experimentally investigated. The unit cell is composed of two independent Gefitinib molecules (A and B) that form a stable molecular complex with methanol in the crystal lattice. To understand the crystal lattice stabilization, a combination of techniques, namely X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), Hirshfeld surface analysis and CLP-PIXEL methods were used. The analysis of the crystal structure of this dimer revealed a three-dimensional isostructurality with the already reported form II. The A and B molecules are connected via trifurcated C-H...O and N-H...O hydrogen bonding. In addition, the presence of the methanol molecule stabilizes the crystal structure via C-H...O, N-H...O and C-H...Cl interactions between the two monomers. The IR analysis of the dimer has shown characteristic fingerprint values when compared to the commercial form. The TG-DSC analysis of the solvated dimer is in good agreement with the patent reporting cocrystals of Gefitinib. Finally, theoretical calculations by the CLP-PIXEL method and Hirshfeld surface and two-dimensional (2D) fingerprint plot analysis were carried out in order to quantify the different intermolecular interactions and their energies in the crystal packing.