Coronaviruses (CoVs) primarily cause enzootic infections in birds and mammals but, in the last few decades, have shown to be capable of infecting humans as well. The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and, more recently, Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS) has demonstrated the lethality of CoVs when they cross the species barrier and infect humans. A renewed interest in coronaviral research has led to the discovery of several novel human CoVs and since then much progress has been made in understanding the CoV life cycle. The CoV envelope (E) protein is a small, integral membrane protein involved in several aspects of the virus’ life cycle, such as assembly, budding, envelope formation, and pathogenesis. Recent studies have expanded on its structural motifs and topology, its functions as an ion-channelling viroporin, and its interactions with both other CoV proteins and host cell proteins. This review aims to establish the current knowledge on CoV E by highlighting the recent progress that has been made and comparing it to previous knowledge. It also compares E to other viral proteins of a similar nature to speculate the relevance of these new findings. Good progress has been made but much still remains unknown and this review has identified some gaps in the current knowledge and made suggestions for consideration in future research. The most progress has been made on SARS-CoV E, highlighting specific structural requirements for its functions in the CoV life cycle as well as mechanisms behind its pathogenesis. Data shows that E is involved in critical aspects of the viral life cycle and that CoVs lacking E make promising vaccine candidates. The high mortality rate of certain CoVs, along with their ease of transmission, underpins the need for more research into CoV molecular biology which can aid in the production of effective anti-coronaviral agents for both human CoVs and enzootic CoVs.

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Coronavirus envelope protein: current knowledge

Concepts of nanoparticle cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, and kinetics in nanomedicine.

Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) execute many fundamental cellular functions and have served as prime drug targets over the last two decades. Interfering intracellular PPIs with small molecules has been extremely difficult for larger or flat binding sites, as antibodies cannot cross the cell membrane to reach such target sites. In recent years, peptides smaller size and balance of conformational rigidity and flexibility have made them promising candidates for targeting challenging binding interfaces with satisfactory binding affinity and specificity. Deciphering and characterizing peptide–protein recognition mechanisms is thus central for the invention of peptide-based strategies to interfere with endogenous protein interactions, or improvement of the binding affinity and specificity of existing approaches. Importantly, a variety of computation-aided rational designs for peptide therapeutics have been developed, which aim to deliver comprehensive docking for peptide–protein interaction interfaces. Over 60 peptides have been approved and administrated globally in clinics. Despite this, advances in various docking models are only on the merge of making their contribution to peptide drug development. In this review, we provide (i) a holistic overview of peptide drug development and the fundamental technologies utilized to date, and (ii) an updated review on key developments of computational modeling of peptide–protein interactions (PepPIs) with an aim to assist experimental biologists exploit suitable docking methods to advance peptide interfering strategies against PPIs.

A Comprehensive Review on Current Advances in Peptide Drug Development and Design.

Peptides as a therapeutic modality attract much attention due to their synthetic accessibility, high degree of specific binding, and the ability to target protein surfaces traditionally considered “undruggable”. Unfortunately, at the same time, other pharmacological properties of a generic peptide, such as metabolic stability and cell permeability, are quite poor, which limits the success of de novo discovered biologically active peptides as drug candidates. Here, we review how macrocyclization as well as the incorporation of nonproteogenic amino acids and various conjugation strategies may be utilized to improve on these characteristics to create better drug candidates. We analyze recent progress and remaining challenges in improving individual pharmacological properties of bioactive peptides, and offer our opinion on interfacing these, often conflicting, considerations, to create balanced drug candidates as a potential way to make further progress in this area.

Macrocyclic Peptides as Drug Candidates: Recent Progress and Remaining Challenges

Peptides and proteins are not orally bioavailable in mammals, although a few peptides are intestinally absorbed in small amounts. Polypeptides are generally too large and polar to passively diffuse through lipid membranes, while most known active transport mechanisms facilitate cell uptake of only very small peptides. Systematic evaluations of peptides with molecular weights above 500 Da are needed to identify parameters that influence oral bioavailability. Here we describe 125 cyclic peptides containing four to thirty-seven amino acids that are orally absorbed by mammals. Cyclization minimizes degradation in the gut, blood, and tissues by removing cleavable N- and C-termini and by shielding components from metabolic enzymes. Cyclization also folds peptides into bioactive conformations that determine exposure of polar atoms to solvation by water and lipids and therefore can influence oral bioavailability. Key chemical properties thought to influence oral absorption and bioavailability are analyzed, includ...

https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:675105/UQ675105_OA.pdf

Orally Absorbed Cyclic Peptides

Previous cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) generally have low cytosolic delivery efficiencies, because of inefficient endosomal escape. In this study, a family of small, amphipathic cyclic peptides was found to be highly efficient CPPs, with cytosolic delivery efficiencies of up to 120% (compared to 2.0% for Tat). These cyclic CPPs bind directly to the plasma membrane phospholipids and enter mammalian cells via endocytosis, followed by efficient release from the endosome. Their total cellular uptake efficiency correlates positively with the binding affinity for the plasma membrane, whereas their endosomal escape efficiency increases with the endosomal membrane-binding affinity. The cyclic CPPs induce membrane curvature on giant unilamellar vesicles and budding of small vesicles, which subsequently collapse into amorphous lipid/peptide aggregates. These data suggest that cyclic CPPs exit the endosome by binding to the endosomal membrane and inducing CPP-enriched lipid domains to bud off as small vesicles. Together with their high proteolytic stability, low cytotoxicity, and oral bioavailability, these cyclic CPPs should provide a powerful system for intracellular delivery of therapeutic agents and chemical probes.

Discovery and Mechanism of Highly Efficient Cyclic Cell-Penetrating Peptides

Membrane scission is a crucial step in all budding processes, from endocytosis to viral budding. Many proteins have been associated with scission, though the underlying molecular details of how scission is accomplished often remain unknown. Here, we investigate the process of M2-mediated membrane scission during the budding of influenza viruses. Residues 50-61 of the viral M2 protein bind membrane and form an amphipathic α-helix (AH). Membrane binding requires hydrophobic interactions with the lipid tails but not charged interactions with the lipid headgroups. Upon binding, the M2AH induces membrane curvature and lipid ordering, constricting and destabilizing the membrane neck, causing scission. We further show that AHs in the cellular proteins Arf1 and Epsin1 behave in a similar manner. Together, they represent a class of membrane-induced AH domains that alter membrane curvature and fluidity, mediating the scission of constricted membrane necks in multiple biological pathways.

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Membrane remodeling by the M2 amphipathic helix drives influenza virus membrane scission.

Membrane scission is the final step in all budding processes wherein a membrane neck is sufficiently constricted so as to allow for fission and the release of the budded particle. For influenza viruses, membrane scission is mediated by an amphipathic helix (AH) domain in the viral M2 protein. While it is known that the M2AH alters membrane curvature, it is not known how the protein is localized to the center neck of budding virions where it would be able to cause membrane scission. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations on buckled lipid bilayers to show that the M2AH senses membrane curvature and preferentially localizes to regions of high membrane curvature, comparable to that seen at the center neck of budding influenza viruses. These results were then validated using in vitro binding assays to show that the M2AH senses membrane curvature by detecting lipid packing defects in the membrane. Our results show that the M2AH senses membrane curvature and suggest that the AH domain may localize the prote...

Curvature Sensing by a Viral Scission Protein

The influenza virus M2 amphipathic helix (M2AH) alters membrane curvature in a cholesterol-dependent manner, mediating viral membrane scission during influenza virus budding. Here, we have investigated the biophysical effects of cholesterol on the ability of an M2AH peptide to manipulate membrane properties. We see that the ability of the M2AH to interact with membranes and form an α-helix is independent of membrane cholesterol concentration; however, cholesterol affects the angle of the M2AH peptide within the membrane. This change in membrane orientation affects the ability of the M2AH to alter lipid order. In low-cholesterol membranes, the M2AH is inserted near the level of the lipid head groups, increasing lipid order, which may contribute to generation of the membrane curvature. As the cholesterol content increases, the M2AH insertion becomes flatter and slightly deeper in the membrane below the lipid headgroups, where the polar face can continue to interact with the headgroups while the hydrophobic face binds cholesterol. This changed orientation minimizes lipid packing defects and lipid order changes, likely reducing the generation of membrane curvature. Thus, cholesterol regulates M2 membrane scission by precisely modulating M2AH positioning within the membrane. This has implications for the understanding of many of amphipathic-helix-driven cellular budding processes that occur in specific lipid environments.

Cholesterol Alters the Orientation and Activity of the Influenza Virus M2 Amphipathic Helix in the Membrane.

Influenza A virus belongs to the Orthomyxoviridae family. It is an enveloped virus that contains a segmented and negative-sense RNA genome. Influenza A viruses cause annual epidemics and occasional major pandemics, are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and have a significant financial impact on society. Assembly and budding of new viral particles are a complex and multi-step process involving several host and viral factors. Influenza viruses use lipid raft domains in the apical plasma membrane of polarized epithelial cells as sites of budding. Two viral glycoproteins, haemagglutinin and neuraminidase, concentrate in lipid rafts, causing alterations in membrane curvature and initiation of the budding process. Matrix protein 1 (M1), which forms the inner structure of the virion, is then recruited to the site followed by incorporation of the viral ribonucleoproteins and matrix protein 2 (M2). M1 can alter membrane curvature and progress budding, whereas lipid raft-associated M2 stabilizes the site of budding, allowing for proper assembly of the virion. In the later stages of budding, M2 is localized to the neck of the budding virion at the lipid phase boundary, where it causes negative membrane curvature, leading to scission and virion release.

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Agnieszka Martyna

Papers

Discovery and Mechanism of Highly Efficient Cyclic Cell-Penetrating Peptides

Membrane remodeling by the M2 amphipathic helix drives influenza virus membrane scission.

Curvature Sensing by a Viral Scission Protein

Cholesterol Alters the Orientation and Activity of the Influenza Virus M2 Amphipathic Helix in the Membrane.

Alterations of membrane curvature during influenza virus budding.