title: Dual-targeting peptide probe for sequence- and structure-sensitive sensing of serum albumin.
abstract: Peptide-protein interactions mediate numerous biologic processes and provide great opportunity for developing peptide probes and analytical approaches for detecting and interfering with recognition events. Molecular interactions usually take place on the heterogeneous surface of proteins, and the spatial distribution and arrangement of probes are therefore crucial for achieving high specificity and sensitivity in the bioassays. In this study, small linear peptides, homogenous peptide dimers and hetero bivalent peptides were designed for site-specific recognition of human serum albumin (HSA). Three hydrophilic regions located at different subdomains of HSA were chosen as targets for the molecular design. The binding affinity, selectivity and kinetics of the candidates were screened with surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) and fluoroimmuno assays. Benefiting from the synergistic effect from the surface-targeted peptide binders and the flexible spacer, a heterogenetic dimer peptide (heter-7) with fast binding and slow dissociation behavior was identified as the optimized probe. Heter-7 specifically recognizes the target protein HSA, and effectively blocks the binding of antibody to HSA. Its inhibitory activity was estimated as 83nM. It is noteworthy that heter-7 can distinguish serum albumins from different species despite high similarities in sequence and structure of these proteins. This hetero bivalent peptide shows promise for use in serum proteomics, disease detection and drug transport, and provides an effective approach for promoting the affinity and selectivity of ligands to achieve desirable chemical and biological outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: yyhuang@iccas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: zhaorui@iccas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011485:Protein Binding; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D012709:Serum Albumin
keywords: Dual-targeted interaction; Peptide probe; Sequence-sensitive; Serum albumin; Surface plasmon resonance imaging