Rhomboid proteases are ubiquitous intramembrane serine proteases that can cleave transmembrane substrates within lipid bilayers. They exhibit many and diverse functions, such as but not limited to, growth factor signaling, immune and inflammatory response, protein quality control, and parasitic invasion. Human rhomboid protease RHBDL4 has been demonstrated to play a critical role in removing misfolded proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum and is implicated in severe diseases such as various cancers and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, RHBDL4 is expected to constitute an important therapeutic target for such devastating diseases. Despite its critical role in many biological processes, the enzymatic properties of RHBDL4 remain largely unknown. To enable a comprehensive characterization of RHBDL4's kinetics, catalytic parameters, substrate specificity, and binding modality, we expressed and purified recombinant RHBDL4 and employed it in a Förster resonance energy transfer-based cleavage assay. Until now, kinetic studies have been limited mostly to bacterial rhomboid proteases. Our in vitro platform offers a new method for studying RHBDL4's enzymatic function and substrate preferences. Furthermore, we developed and tested potential inhibitors using our assay and successfully identified peptidyl α-ketoamide inhibitors of RHBDL4 that are highly effective against recombinant RHBDL4. We utilize ensemble docking and molecular dynamics simulations to explore the binding modality of substrate-derived peptides bound to RHBDL4. Our analysis focused on key interactions and dynamic movements within RHBDL4's active site that contributed to binding stability, offering valuable insights for optimizing the nonprime side of RHBDL4 ketoamide inhibitors. In summary, our study offers fundamental insights into RHBDL4's catalytic activities and substrate preferences, laying the foundation for downstream applications such as drug inhibitor screenings and structure-function studies, which will enable the identification of lead drug compounds for RHBDL4.

• Klíčová slova
• endoplasmic reticulum stress, endoplasmic-reticulum-associated protein degradation, enzyme inhibitor, enzyme kinetics, enzyme purification, enzyme structure, protein misfolding, rhomboid protease, serine protease,
• MeSH
• kinetika MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• membránové proteiny * metabolismus   chemie   genetika   antagonisté a inhibitory   MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny chemie   metabolismus   genetika   MeSH
• rezonanční přenos fluorescenční energie MeSH
• serinové endopeptidasy * chemie   metabolismus   genetika   MeSH
• substrátová specifita MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• membránové proteiny * MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny MeSH
• serinové endopeptidasy * MeSH

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease (Mpro) autocatalytically releases itself out of the viral polyprotein to form a fully active mature dimer in a manner that is not fully understood. Here, we introduce several tools to help elucidate differences between cis (intramolecular) and trans (intermolecular) proteolytic processing and to evaluate inhibition of precursor Mpro. We found that many mutations at the P1 position of the N-terminal autoprocessing site do not block cis autoprocessing but do inhibit trans processing. Notably, substituting the WT glutamine at the P1 position with isoleucine retains Mpro in an unprocessed precursor form that can be purified and further studied. We also developed a cell-based reporter assay suitable for compound library screening and evaluation in HEK293T cells. This assay can detect both overall Mpro inhibition and the fraction of uncleaved precursor form of Mpro through separable fluorescent signals. We observed that inhibitory compounds preferentially block mature Mpro. Bofutrelvir and a novel compound designed in-house showed the lowest selectivity between precursor and mature Mpro, indicating that inhibition of both forms may be possible. Additionally, we observed positive modulation of precursor activity at low concentrations of inhibitors. Our findings help expand understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 viral life cycle and may facilitate development of strategies to target precursor form of Mpro for inhibition or premature activation of Mpro.

• Klíčová slova
• Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), SARS-CoV-2 main protease, activation, autoprocessing, cell-based assay, fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS), fluorescence life-time imaging, inhibitor, maturation, nsp5, precursor, protease, virus,
• MeSH
• antivirové látky * farmakologie   chemie   MeSH
• COVID-19 virologie   MeSH
• farmakoterapie COVID-19 * MeSH
• HEK293 buňky MeSH
• inhibitory proteas * farmakologie   chemie   MeSH
• koronavirové proteasy 3C * metabolismus   genetika   antagonisté a inhibitory   chemie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mutace MeSH
• objevování léků * MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 * enzymologie   účinky léků   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• 3C-like proteinase, SARS-CoV-2 MeSH Prohlížeč
• antivirové látky * MeSH
• inhibitory proteas * MeSH
• koronavirové proteasy 3C * MeSH

Rhomboid proteases play a variety of physiological roles, but rhomboid protease inhibitors have been mostly developed for the E. coli model rhomboid GlpG. In this work, we screened different electrophilic scaffolds against the human mitochondrial rhomboid PARL and found 4-oxo-β-lactams as submicromolar inhibitors. Multifaceted computations suggest explanations for the activity at the molecular scale and provide models of covalently bound complexes. Together with the straightforward synthesis of the 4-oxo-β-lactam scaffold, this may pave the way toward selective, nonpeptidic PARL inhibitors.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

The mitochondrial rhomboid protease PARL regulates mitophagy by balancing intramembrane proteolysis of PINK1 and PGAM5. It has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, but its investigation as a possible therapeutic target is challenging in this context because genetic deficiency of PARL may result in compensatory mechanisms. To address this problem, we undertook a hitherto unavailable chemical biology strategy. We developed potent PARL-targeting ketoamide inhibitors and investigated the effects of acute PARL suppression on the processing status of PINK1 intermediates and on Parkin activation. This approach revealed that PARL inhibition leads to a robust activation of the PINK1/Parkin pathway without major secondary effects on mitochondrial properties, which demonstrates that the pharmacological blockage of PARL to boost PINK1/Parkin-dependent mitophagy is a feasible approach to examine novel therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's disease. More generally, this study showcases the power of ketoamide inhibitors for cell biological studies of rhomboid proteases.

• MeSH
• endopeptidasy MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• metaloproteasy genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• mitochondriální proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• mitofagie MeSH
• Parkinsonova nemoc * farmakoterapie   MeSH
• proteasy * MeSH
• proteinkinasy metabolismus   MeSH
• ubikvitinligasy metabolismus   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• endopeptidasy MeSH
• metaloproteasy MeSH
• mitochondriální proteiny MeSH
• PARL protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• proteasy * MeSH
• proteinkinasy MeSH
• ubikvitinligasy MeSH

Rhomboid intramembrane proteases regulate pathophysiological processes, but their targeting in a disease context has never been achieved. We decoded the atypical substrate specificity of malaria rhomboid PfROM4, but found, unexpectedly, that it results from "steric exclusion": PfROM4 and canonical rhomboid proteases cannot cleave each other's substrates due to reciprocal juxtamembrane steric clashes. Instead, we engineered an optimal sequence that enhanced proteolysis >10-fold, and solved high-resolution structures to discover that boronates enhance inhibition >100-fold. A peptide boronate modeled on our "super-substrate" carrying one "steric-excluding" residue inhibited PfROM4 but not human rhomboid proteolysis. We further screened a library to discover an orthogonal alpha-ketoamide that potently inhibited PfROM4 but not human rhomboid proteolysis. Despite the membrane-immersed target and rapid invasion, ultrastructural analysis revealed that single-dosing blood-stage malaria cultures blocked host-cell invasion and cleared parasitemia. These observations establish a strategy for designing parasite-selective rhomboid inhibitors and expose a druggable dependence on rhomboid proteolysis in non-motile parasites.

• Klíčová slova
• Plasmodium, Ras-converting enzyme, Toxoplasma, apicomplexan parasites, malaria, presenilin, regulated intramembrane proteolysis, rhomboid protease, serine protease, site-2 protease,
• MeSH
• amidy chemická syntéza   chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• antimalarika chemická syntéza   chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• HEK293 buňky MeSH
• inhibitory proteas chemická syntéza   chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• kyseliny boronové chemická syntéza   chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• malárie krev   farmakoterapie   metabolismus   MeSH
• molekulární struktura MeSH
• parazitické testy citlivosti MeSH
• peptidy chemická syntéza   chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• Plasmodium falciparum účinky léků   metabolismus   MeSH
• proteasy krev   metabolismus   MeSH
• proteolýza účinky léků   MeSH
• protozoální proteiny antagonisté a inhibitory   krev   metabolismus   MeSH
• racionální návrh léčiv * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Názvy látek
• amidy MeSH
• antimalarika MeSH
• inhibitory proteas MeSH
• kyseliny boronové MeSH
• peptidy MeSH
• proteasy MeSH
• protozoální proteiny MeSH
• ROM4 protein, Plasmodium falciparum MeSH Prohlížeč

Magnesium homeostasis is essential for life and depends on magnesium transporters, whose activity and ion selectivity need to be tightly controlled. Rhomboid intramembrane proteases pervade the prokaryotic kingdom, but their functions are largely elusive. Using proteomics, we find that Bacillus subtilis rhomboid protease YqgP interacts with the membrane-bound ATP-dependent processive metalloprotease FtsH and cleaves MgtE, the major high-affinity magnesium transporter in B. subtilis. MgtE cleavage by YqgP is potentiated in conditions of low magnesium and high manganese or zinc, thereby protecting B. subtilis from Mn2+ /Zn2+ toxicity. The N-terminal cytosolic domain of YqgP binds Mn2+ and Zn2+ ions and facilitates MgtE cleavage. Independently of its intrinsic protease activity, YqgP acts as a substrate adaptor for FtsH, a function that is necessary for degradation of MgtE. YqgP thus unites protease and pseudoprotease function, hinting at the evolutionary origin of rhomboid pseudoproteases such as Derlins that are intimately involved in eukaryotic ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Conceptually, the YqgP-FtsH system we describe here is analogous to a primordial form of "ERAD" in bacteria and exemplifies an ancestral function of rhomboid-superfamily proteins.

• Klíčová slova
• ER-associated degradation, intramembrane protease, membrane transporter, proteostasis, rhomboid,
• MeSH
• ATPázy spojené s různými buněčnými aktivitami metabolismus   MeSH
• Bacillus subtilis růst a vývoj   metabolismus   MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• endopeptidasy metabolismus   MeSH
• membránové proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• proteomika metody   MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u bakterií MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• ATPázy spojené s různými buněčnými aktivitami MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny MeSH
• endopeptidasy MeSH
• membránové proteiny MeSH

Rhomboids are intramembrane serine proteases and belong to the group of structurally and biochemically most comprehensively characterized membrane proteins. They are highly conserved and ubiquitously distributed in all kingdoms of life and function in a wide range of biological processes, including epidermal growth factor signaling, mitochondrial dynamics, and apoptosis. Importantly, rhomboids have been associated with multiple diseases, including Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, and malaria. However, despite a thorough understanding of many structural and functional aspects of rhomboids, potent and selective inhibitors of these intramembrane proteases are still not available. In this study, we describe the computer-based rational design, chemical synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel N-methylene saccharin-based rhomboid protease inhibitors. Saccharin inhibitors displayed inhibitory potency in the submicromolar range, effectiveness against rhomboids both in vitro and in live Escherichia coli cells, and substantially improved selectivity against human serine hydrolases compared to those of previously known rhomboid inhibitors. Consequently, N-methylene saccharins are promising new templates for the development of rhomboid inhibitors, providing novel tools for probing rhomboid functions in physiology and disease.

• MeSH
• design s pomocí počítače MeSH
• HEK293 buňky MeSH
• inhibitory serinových proteinas chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• membránové proteiny MeSH
• racionální návrh léčiv * MeSH
• sacharin analogy a deriváty   farmakologie   MeSH
• serinové proteasy metabolismus   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Názvy látek
• inhibitory serinových proteinas MeSH
• membránové proteiny MeSH
• sacharin MeSH
• serinové proteasy MeSH