Biology subjects

Posnograjeva, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Posnograjeva, K..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Brain-specific PP1/LRRK2 interaction-targeting peptides as a novel strategy for Parkinson's disease treatment

The LRRK2 kinase has emerged as a priority therapeutic target due to its well-documented role in Parkinson-s diseases (PD). One of LRRK2s key partners is the phosphatase PP1, which dephosphorylates LRRK2. Therefore, modulating this protein/protein interaction represents a promising therapeutic strategy for PD. We have developed a bi-functional peptide, PEP 3, capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and disrupting the LRRK2/PP1 interaction. In vitro competition assays confirmed that PEP 3 specifically targets this interaction. The in vivo imaging demonstrated that the peptide remains detectable in the mouse brain up to 6 hours or retro-orbital vein post-injection. The PEP 3 peptide does not show chronic toxicity in CD1 mice and is resistant to degradation by mouse, human, dog and monkey serum proteases. In mouse models overexpressing alpha-synuclein, repeated intraperitoneal injections of PEP 3 for 15 and 30 days were well tolerated. Immunohistochemistry revealed a significant reduction of dopaminergic cell death in the substantia nigra, and quantification of phosphorylated pathological alpha-synuclein showed decreased levels in the PEP 3-treated group compared to controls. These findings support the potential of PEP 3 as a therapeutic agent for Parkinsons disease.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Proximity labelling-based identification of vascular homing peptide receptors

Identifying the receptors of vascular homing peptides (VHPs) is critical for mechanistic understanding and development of peptide-guided precision therapeutics. Conventional receptor discovery methods, such as affinity chromatography, require cell disruption and often expose intracellular proteins, resulting in high background and low specificity. To overcome these limitations, we developed a proximity labelling approach that tags proteins near VHP receptors on intact live cells. Cells were incubated with VHP-horseradish peroxidase (HRP) complexes, which, upon hydrogen peroxide treatment, activate biotin-tyramide to produce short-lived radicals that covalently label nearby membrane proteins. Using the prototypic C-end Rule peptide RPARPAR and its known receptor neuropilin-1 (NRP-1), we validated this method by successful receptor tagging and mass spectrometric identification. Using RPARPAR-HRP conjugates, we achieved selective proximity labeling of membrane proteins in NRP-1-positive PPC1 cells, with a 3- to 5-fold increase in fluorescence intensity over controls by flow cytometry. Affinity purification and Western blotting identified a strong [~]130 kDa band corresponding to NRP-1 exclusively in labeled PPC1 cells. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed a [~]20-fold enrichment of NRP-1 and significant enrichment of integrins (ITGAV, ITGB1, ITGA3), ALCAM, EPHA2, CD109, and PLXNB2 in RPARPAR-labeled samples compared to controls. This approach could be broadly used for molecular mapping of the homing peptide interactome and its spatial proximity in live cells, streamlining the discovery of homing peptide receptors and their associated partners.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2024

A CYCLIC PEPTIDE TARGETS GLIOBLASTOMA BY BINDING TO ABERRANTLY EXPOSED SNAP25

Disease-specific changes in tumors and other diseased tissues are an important target of research because they provide clues on the pathophysiology of the disease as well as uncovering potentially useful markers for diagnosis and treatment. Here, we report a new cyclic peptide, CESPLLSEC (CES), that specifically accumulated (homed) in intracranial U87MG and the WT-GBM model of glioblastoma from intravenous (IV) injection, associating with the vasculature. Affinity chromatography of U87MG tumor extracts on insolubilized CES peptide identified Synaptosomal Associated Protein 25 (SNAP25) as a candidate target molecule (receptor) for CES. Several results supported the identification of SNAP25 as the CES receptor. IV-injected FAM-CES colocalized with SNAP25 in the tumors, and direct binding studies showed specific CES peptide binding to recombinant human SNAP25. A CES peptide-drug conjugate designed for photodynamic therapy showed selective cytotoxicity to SNAP25+ glioblastoma cell lines. Specific accumulation of systemically injected anti-SNAP25 antibody in U87MG glioblastoma, and labeling of intact U87MG cells with anti-SNAP in flow cytometry showed that SNAP25 is available from the circulation but not in normal tissues and that it is present at the cell surface. Using an array of ECM proteins and surface plasmon resonance revealed that SNAP25 binds moderately to collagen V and strongly to collagen VI. Modeling studies suggested that CES and collagen VI compete for the same binding site on SNAP25. Our results introduce CES as a valuable targeting peptide for drug delivery, and its receptor SNAP25 as a possible molecular marker of interest for glioblastoma.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2021

PL1 Peptide Engages Acidic Surfaces on Tumor-Associated Fibronectin and Tenascin Isoforms to Trigger Cellular Uptake.

Tumor extracellular matrix (ECM) is a high-capacity and genetically stable target for the precision delivery of affinity ligand-guided drugs and imaging agents. Recently, we developed a PL1 peptide (sequence: PPRRGLIKLKTS) for systemic targeting of malignant ECM. Here we map the dynamics of PL1 binding to its receptors Fibronectin Extra Domain B (FN-EDB) and Tenascin C C-isoform (TNC-C) by computational modeling and cell-free binding studies on mutated receptor proteins, and study cellular binding and internalization of PL1 nanoparticles in cultured cells. Molecular dynamics simulation and docking analysis suggested that the engagement of PL1 peptide with both receptors is primarily driven by electrostatic interactions. Substituting acidic amino acid residues with neutral amino acids at predicted PL1 binding sites in FN-EDB (D52N-D49N-D12N) and TNC-C (D39N-D45N) resulted in the loss of binding of PL1 nanoparticles. Remarkably, PL1-functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) were not only deposited on the target ECM but bound the cells and initiated a robust cellular uptake via a pathway resembling macropinocytosis. Our studies establish the mode of engagement of the PL1 peptide with its receptors and suggest applications for intracellular delivery of nanoscale payloads. The outcomes of this work can be used for the development of PL1-derived peptides with improved stability, affinity and specificity for precision targeting of the tumor ECM and malignant cells. One Sentence SummaryPL1 peptide is recruited to the acidic surfaces on oncofetal fibronectin EDB and tenascin C-C isoform, triggering cellular uptake of PL1-functionalized nanoparticles.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

In vivo phage display: identification of organ-specific peptides using deep sequencing and differential profiling across tissues

In vivo phage display is widely used for identification of organ- or disease-specific homing peptides. However, the current in vivo phage biopanning approaches fail to assess biodistribution of specific peptide phages across tissues during the screen, thus necessitating laborious and time-consuming post-screening validation studies on individual peptide phages. Here, we adopted bioinformatics tools used for RNA sequencing for analysis of high throughput sequencing (HTS) data to estimate the representation of individual peptides during biopanning in vivo. The data from in vivo phage screen were analyzed using differential binding - relative representation of each peptide in the target organ vs. in a panel of control organs. Application of this approach in a model study using low-diversity peptide T7 phage library with spiked-in brain homing phage, demonstrated brain-specific differential binding of brain homing phage and resulted in identification of novel lung and brain specific homing peptides. Our study provides a broadly applicable approach to streamline in vivo peptide phage biopanning and to increase its reproducibility and success rate. Graphic abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=90 SRC="FIGDIR/small/181974v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (22K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1853e75org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c7ad8corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@152f4feorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@15261d0_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG In vivo phage display using differential binding approach

molecular biology↗