title: Characterization of engineered hepatitis C virus NS3 protease inhibitors affinity selected from human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor and minibody repertoires.
abstract: Given the extent of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as a worldwide health problem and the lack of effective treatment, the development of anti-HCV drugs is an important and pressing objective. Previous studies have indicated that proteolytic events mediated by the NS3 protease of HCV are fundamental to the generation of an active viral replication apparatus, as unequivocably demonstrated for flaviviruses. As a result, the NS3 protease has become a major target for discovering anti-HCV drugs. To gain further insight into the biochemical and biophysical properties of the NS3 enzyme binding pocket(s) and to generate biological tools for developing antiviral strategies, we decided to engineer macromolecular ligands of the NS3 protease domain. Phage-displayed repertoires of minibodies ("minimized" antibody-like proteins) and human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor were sampled by using the recombinant NS3 protease domain as a ligate molecule. Two protease inhibitors were identified and characterized biochemically. These inhibitors show marked specificity for the viral protease and potency in the micromolar range but display different mechanisms of inhibition. The implications for prospective development of low-molecular-weight inhibitors of this enzyme are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Istituto di Ricerche di Biologia Molecolare P. Angeletti, Pomezia, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dimasi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Volpari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biasiol
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Altamura
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cortese
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Francesco
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steinkühler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sollazzo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D017931:DNA Primers; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017510:Protein Folding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014359:Trypsin Inhibitor, Kazal Pancreatic / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors; D014359:Trypsin Inhibitor, Kazal Pancreatic; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C084422:NS3 protein, hepatitis C virus; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases