Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Vol.179, No.4, 597-609, 2016
Discovering Peptide Inhibitors of Human Squalene Synthase Through Screening the Phage-Displayed Cyclic Peptide c7c Library
Many drugs for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia are targeting the enzymes involved in human cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Squalene synthase, the rate-limiting enzyme located at the downstream of cholesterol synthesis pathway, has become a better candidate to develop next-generation hypocholesterolemia drugs. In the present study, we cloned and expressed the recombinant human squalene synthase (hSQS) as the lure to isolate potential peptide inhibitors from screening the conformation-constrained phage-displayed cyclic peptide c7c library. Their binding capabilities were further estimated by ELISA. Their pharmaceutical potentials were then analyzed through molecular modeling and the ADMET property evaluations. Four ennea-peptides and nine tetra-peptides were finally synthesized to evaluate their inhibitory potentials toward hSQS. The results indicate that the ennea-peptide CLSPHSMFC, tetra-peptides SMFC, CKTE, and WHQW can effectively inhibit hSQS activities (IC50 values equal to 64, 76, 87, and 90 mu M, respectively). These peptides may have potentials to develop future cholesterol-lowering therapeutics. The ligand-protein interaction analysis also reveals that the inner hydrophobic pocket could be a more critical site of hSQS.