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,
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Departments of
*
Microbiology, College of Biological Sciences;
Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics;
Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Public Health; and
Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
response unit(s); MBP, myelin basic protein; CD, circular dichroism/dichroic;
= mean residue molar ellipticity; SPR, surface plasmon resonance; L-CD28, CD28 free peptide; EL-CD28, end group-blocked CD28; RI-CD28, end group-blocked retro-inverso CD28; RL-CD28, end group-blocked reverse L CD28; D-CD28, end group-blocked D-CD28; LNC, lymph node cell(s).
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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The critical role played by B7/CD28:CTLA-4 costimulatory interactions in determining the fate of immune responses (activation vs anergy/apoptosis) makes it an attractive target for therapeutic immunomodulation (4). Administration of mAbs to B7 or CTLA-4 Ig fusion protein, both of which abrogate B7:CD28 interactions, have been shown to ameliorate autoimmune diseases in animal models including experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE),3 diabetes, and systemic lupus erythematosus (5, 6, 7, 8). However, the results of these studies were variable and dependent upon the timing of administration. Prevention of CTLA-4 engagement has been shown to augment T cell responses in vitro and exacerbate disease in vivo (9, 10). Anti-CD28 Fab that specifically blocks B7:CD28 interactions has been shown to suppress the encephalitogenicity of myelin basic protein (MBP)-primed T cells (11). Thus, a therapeutic strategy aimed at selectively blocking the B7:CD28 interactions while retaining the B7:CTLA-4 pathway is likely to be more efficient in suppressing T cell responses.
In recent years, mutagenesis and protein structural studies have been adopted to develop rationally designed small peptide or nonpeptidyl molecules as antagonists for protein-protein interaction. Structurally engineered peptide analogs of the binding epitope(s) of a protein have been known to block functional interactions both in vitro and in vivo (12, 13). Hence, we addressed the question of whether a minimal peptide sequence derived from the ligand-binding region of CD28 can be designed to selectively block B7:CD28 interactions.
The CD28 molecule on the T cell surface is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily with an extracellular IgV-like domain, which provides a stable platform for the display of specific determinants for recognition reactions (14, 15). Sequence alignment studies of the IgV fold revealed a rigorous conservation of a hexapeptide motif MYPPPY in the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3)-like region of CD28. The localization of the motif in the solvent-exposed CDR and conservation across species strongly suggest the presence of a candidate ligand-binding epitope in this region. The hydrophobic motif forms a loop that is conformationally constrained due to the presence of adjacent proline residues (16, 17). Similar proline-rich sequences in other globular proteins, such as the proteins involved in the Ras pathway, are known to form part of an adaptor system bringing together proteins for transient interactions (18).
A unique feature of the B7:CD28/CTLA-4 interaction that can be exploited for selective blockade of CD28 signaling is the differential kinetics of binding, with CTLA-4 exhibiting a faster on rate and higher affinity for B7 ligands than CD28 (14, 19). Thus, we hypothesized that a mimic of the ligand-binding region of CD28 could selectively block B7:CD28 interactions by competing with cell surface CD28 for binding B7 ligands. In contrast, cell surface CTLA-4 could theoretically overcome this competition due to its higher affinity for B7 ligands.
We have identified a 20-residue peptide sequence consisting of the polyproline motif and the flanking residues derived from the solvent-exposed region of the mouse CD28 molecule as a short peptide mimic of the ligand-binding epitope of CD28. To design a functionally stable peptide that mimics the putative bioactive topology as well as to circumvent the problem of rapid proteolytic degradation we used a retro-inverso modification of the synthetic CD28 peptide incorporating D-amino acids (20).
In this study, the design, synthesis, and structural and functional
characterization of a synthetic CD28 peptide and its retro-inverso
isomer (end group-blocked retro-inverso CD28, RI-CD28) are
described. By circular dichroism (CD), it is shown that the synthetic
CD28 peptides adopt a polyproline type II (PP II) helical conformation,
and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) studies indicate that the peptides
compete with CD28 Ig for binding the B7-1 ligand. To test whether the
peptides have an inhibitory potential, the biological assays were
performed using T cells from transgenic mice that carry the
V
4/V
8.2 TCR specific for the encephalitogenic epitope of
MBP, MBP Ac111. Our results indicate that exposure to CD28 peptide
analogs inhibits expansion of encephalitogenic T cells accompanied by
decreased IL-2 production. The binding properties of these peptides,
their preliminary structural features, and their functional efficiency
in blocking T cell activation indicate that the synthetic CD28 peptide
mimics act as B7:CD28 antagonists and may be potentially useful for
down-regulating T cell responses in vivo.
| Materials and Methods |
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Peptides of the CD28 CDR3-like region were synthesized by solid phase peptide synthesis following 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-t-butyl chemistry with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide/1-hydroxybenzotriazole as coupling reagent on a fully automated peptide synthesizer (model 396-5000 Multiple Peptide Synthesizer; Advanced ChemTech, Louisville, KY) as described previously (21). The CD28 free peptide (L-CD28) was assembled on 4-methylbenzhydrylamine resin with 4-(hydroxymethyl) phenoxyacetic acid as the linker. The end group-blocked peptides were assembled on F-moc-2,4-dimethyloxy-4'-(carboxymethyloxy)-benzylhydrylamine (Rink amide) resin (Advanced ChemTech) as peptide amides. Immediately after the final deprotection step, the free NH2 group of the terminal amino acid residue was acetylated with 3 mmol acetylimidazole in dimethyl formamide. The completion of acetylation was confirmed by a negative Kaiser ninhydrin test. With respect to the parent peptide, the retro-inverso peptide was assembled in reverse order of amino acids with F-moc-D-amino acid derivatives. The crude peptides were purified by semipreparative reversed phase HPLC using a C18 column (Vydac, Hesperia, CA). Analytical HPLC was performed using a VIDAC C18 column using a linear gradient of 60% acetonitrile in water containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid. The identity of peptides was finally confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry.
Mice
Female B10.PL mice (68 wk old) were obtained from The Jackson
Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). TCR-transgenic mice (B10.PL background,
H-2u), which express a TCR
(V
4/V
8.2)
specific for MBP peptide NAc1-11, were generated as described
previously (22, 23). The transgenic mice were bred and
maintained under specific pathogen-free conditions at The Ohio State
University.
Antigens
MBP was extracted from guinea pig spinal cords (Harlan Sprague Dawley, Indianapolis, IN) as described previously (24). MBP NAc1-11 (Ac-A-S-Q-K-R-P-S-Q-R-H-G-COOH) peptide was synthesized as described above.
Circular dichroism
CD measurements were recorded on an Aviv model 62A DS
spectrometer equipped with a thermostatic temperature controller and
microcomputer (Aviv Associates, Lakewood, NJ) as described
previously (21). CD spectra were recorded in a quartz cell
of 0.1-cm pathlength. Each spectrum was obtained by averaging 1 nm/s in
the 190- to 270-nm wavelength range, using a bandwidth of 1.0 nm and a
response time of 1 s. CD28 peptides were dissolved in PBS, pH 7.4,
in 50% trifluoroethanol or in 46 M CaCl2 at a
412 µM concentration for CD measurements. The CD spectra were
recorded at a range of temperatures between 5°C and 90°C. Raw
CD signals (in millidegrees) were converted to mean residue molar
ellipticity (
) in deg·cm2/dmol using the
formula [
]MRW =
[
]obs/10lcn, where
obs is the observed ellipticity, l
is the pathlength in centimeters, c is the molar
concentration of peptide, and n is the number of residues in
the peptide (21).
SPR experiments
Binding experiments were performed by SPR, which measures biomolecular interactions in real time on a BIAcore instrument (Pharmacia Biosensor, Uppsala, Sweden). All experiments were performed at 37°C using HBS-EP buffer (25 mM HEPES, pH 7.4, 150 nM NaCl, 3.4 mM EDTA, and 0.005% surfactant P20).
CD80 Ig (extracellular domain of murine CD80 fused with the constant region of mouse IgG1 heavy chain, a gift from Jay Fine, Schering-Plough Institute, Kenilworth, NJ) at 35 µg/ml in 10 mM sodium acetate buffer, pH 4.2, was coupled to a research grade CM 5 sensor chip using a standard amine-coupling procedure (25). This typically resulted in immobilization of 14221660 response units (RU) of CD80 Ig on the sensor chip. Following coupling, noncovalently bound ligand was removed by washing twice with 5 mM NaOH. Kinetic analysis was performed by injecting the analytes (L-CD28, end group-blocked CD28 (EL-CD28), RI-CD28, end group-blocked reverse L-CD28 (RL-CD28), and end group-blocked D CD28 (D-CD28) peptides) at 0.37518.5 µM concentrations in HBSS-EP, pH 7.4, for 300 s with a flow rate of 10 µl/min. The analytes were also injected at the same concentration and injection times over an empty flow cell with nothing immobilized. Data analysis was performed with BIAevaluation and BIAsimulation software version 2.1 (Pharmacia Biosensor). Before kinetic analysis, data were adjusted to a zero baseline by subtracting the background responses obtained by injection of the analytes through a control flow cell with no ligand immobilized. Kd, (units: s-1), Ka, (units: M-1s-1), and the affinity constant were determined as described previously (26).
Competitive kinetic analysis
Competitive binding assays were performed as described previously using purified anti-mouse IgG1 Fc (31437zz; Pierce, Rockford, IL) to indirectly immobilize CD80 Ig (27). Initially, the affinity constant of the interaction between the CD28 Ig or CTLA-4 Ig and CD80 Ig was determined as described (26). For competitive kinetic analysis, 100 µl of a 3.2 µM CD28 Ig solution was mixed with 100 µl of EL-CD28 or RI-CD28 peptides (51.6503 µM in HBS-EP) and injected over the surface of CD80 Ig as secondary analyte for 5 min at a flow rate of 5 µl/min. For competition between CTLA-4 Ig and the CD28 peptides, CTLA-4 Ig at a constant concentration of 0.8 µM mixed with increasing concentrations of EL-CD28 or RI-CD28 peptides (6.181237 µM) were used as analytes. The CD80 Ig surface was regenerated between injections by washing for 3 min with 5 mM NaOH. The mixtures were also injected on an empty flow cell with no protein immobilized, as a control. The observed response Rt is the sum of the contributions of R1 (CD28 Ig or CTLA-4 Ig) and R2 from the two analytes (EL-CD28 peptide or RI-CD28 peptide) (27).
Proliferation analysis
CD4+ T cells were purified by positive
selection from lymph nodes (inguinal, axillary, brachial, cervical,
popliteal), mesenteric lymph nodes, and spleens of 6- to 8-wk-old
V
4/V
8.2 TCR-transgenic mice. Briefly, single cell suspensions
were prepared using a lympholyte M gradient, followed by washing and
incubation with magnetic bead-conjugated anti-mouse CD4 (L3T4)
(Miltenyi Biotec, Auburn, CA) and by positive selection using magnetic
selection columns. Purity of the CD4+ cells was
>90% as assessed by staining with FITC-labeled anti-mouse V
8.2
mAb (PharMingen, San Diego, CA). During the selection process, T cells
maintain a naive phenotype with no evidence of T cell activation as
measured by proliferation in culture. Purified
CD4+ T cells (5 x 104
cells/well) were cultured together with splenocytes from B10.PL mice as
APCs (1 x 105 cells/well) in RPMI 1640
containing 10% FCS, 25 mM HEPES, 2 mM L-glutamine, 50 U/ml
penicillin, 50 µg/ml streptomycin, and 5 x
10-5 M 2-ME in round-bottom 96-well plates with
or without MBP NAc111 (0.1100 µg/ml) for 72 h, including a
final 18-h pulse with [3H]thymidine. Cultures
contained synthetic CD28 peptide analogs at different concentrations in
triplicate wells. Cultures were harvested onto glass-fiber mats using a
Skatron harvester (Skatron, Sterling, VA) and counted by liquid
scintillation on an LKB Betaplate (LKB Instruments, Gaithersburg, MD).
The means of triplicate wells were determined and the results are
expressed as
cpm (mean cpm of cultures with Ag - mean cpm of
cultures with medium alone) ± SE.
Cytokine ELISPOT assay
ELISPOT analysis was performed as described previously (28). Unifilter 350 plates (Polyfiltronics, Clifton, NJ) were coated overnight at 4°C with rat anti-mouse IL-2 (clone JES6-1A12) (PharMingen) at 2 µg/ml. The plates were washed with PBS and blocked with 1% BSA in DMEM (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD) for 2 h at room temperature. Single cell suspensions of CD4+ lymph node cells (LNC) specific for MBP-NAc111 from TCR-transgenic mice were washed and resuspended in HL-1 medium (BioWhittaker, Walkersville, MD) supplemented with 1% L-glutamine and 50 µg/ml gentamicin (Life Technologies, Grand Island, NY). CD4+ LNC (5 x 106 cells/ml) were added to the plates in triplicate with or without 40 µg/ml MBP in the presence of CD28 peptides or control peptides at 50, 75, and 120 µM concentrations under the conditions as specified for the proliferation assays. After 24 h of culture at 37°C, the plates were washed with PBS and thereafter with PBS containing Tween 20 (1:2000) (PBST). Biotinylated anti mouse-IL-2 (clone JES6-5H4; PharMingen), 2 µg/ml was then added and the plates were incubated at 4°C overnight. After washing with PBST and PBS, goat anti-biotin Ab conjugated to alkaline phosphatase (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA) diluted to 1/1000 in PBST containing 1% BSA was added for 2 h at room temperature. The spots were visualized by adding 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitroblue tetrazolium phosphatase substrate (Kirkegaard & Perry Laboratories, Gaithersburg, MD). Image analysis of ELISPOT wells was performed on an Immunospot Image Analyzer (Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany). Frequencies are expressed as the number of MBP-responsive cells per million ± SEM.
Statistical analysis
For in vitro proliferation and ELISPOT analyses, a one-way ANOVA with Tukeys post hoc test was performed to determine the differences between groups.
| Results |
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Mutagenesis studies have shown that truncation or substitution of the conserved 99MYPPYLDN106 sequence in the CDR3-like loop region of CD28 abrogated CD28 binding to B7 ligands (29, 30). Molecular modeling of the CD28 extracellular domain using the solution structure of CTLA-4 as a template predicted several charged residues conserved only in CD28 (95K, 97E, 109R) that may modulate ligand binding (16). Based on these observations, we defined a 20-residue linear peptide that comprised the polyproline motif and the delineated flanking sequence.
To mimic the end groups of the ligand-binding region of the parent CD28 molecule, the amino terminus was acetylated and the carboxyl terminus of L-CD28 was obtained as an amide. In addition, this modification would likely stabilize the secondary structure of the CD28 peptide that may be important for its functional interaction.
We also synthesized a retro-inverso isomer of the CD28 peptide, which exhibits increased resistance to proteases. The retro-inverso modification involves the reversal of all amide bonds within the peptide backbone achieved by reversing the direction of the sequence and inverting the chirality of each amino acid residue by using D-amino acids. The goal of this topochemical approach is to create an analog such that the reversed amide bonds (NHCO) in the modified peptide retain both the planarity and conformational restrictions of peptide bonds (CONH). As such, the spatial orientation of the side chains remains closely related to that of the original peptide (31).
As controls for the retro-inverso peptide, D-CD28 and RL-CD28
were also synthesized. The sequence of all CD28 peptides used in this
study is shown in Table I
.
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To gain an understanding of the conformational characteristics of
the CD28 peptides, we studied the CD spectrum in aqueous solution.
CD is a powerful analytical method for the characterization and
quantification of peptides and protein secondary structures (e.g.,
helix,
sheet, etc.). The CD spectrum of L-CD28 showed a
large minimum at 202 nm (
= -62.73 x
103
deg·cm2·dmol-1) and a
slight maximum at 221 nm (
= -3.5 x
103
degt·cm2·dmol-1) (data
not shown) at 25°C. The CD spectrum of the EL-CD28 peptide presented
a strong
minimum at 205 nm and a weak maximum at 221 nm although
still in the negative ellipticity region at 25°C (Fig. 1
A). Compared with the free
L-CD28 spectrum, the intensity of ellipticity near 200 nm
was considerably enhanced in the EL-CD28 peptide, suggesting
stabilization of the helical secondary structure (data not shown). The
retro-inverso CD28 peptide made up of
D-enantiomers presented a mirror image-like
spectrum of the EL-CD28 peptide. At 25°C, the RI-CD28 peptide
exhibited a
maximum at 205 nm, a weak minimum at 215 nm, and a weak
maximum at 223 nm (Fig. 1
B). These observations are
consistent with the CD spectrum of polypeptide sequences reported to
prefer a PP II-type helical structure (32). Because it is
known that the secondary structures of the peptides are sensitive to
higher temperatures, we studied the CD signal of the CD28 peptides at
an elevated temperature. When the temperature was raised to 90°C,
there was a decrease in the
of the EL-CD28 peptide
(Fig. 1
A), in the
maximum of RI-CD28 peptide (Fig. 1
B), and a shift to the right. A similar destabilizing
effect of elevated temperature has been observed in other proline-rich
peptides due to a transition from the PP II helical structure to a
disordered random coil conformation (33). The CD spectrum
of EL-CD28 peptide in 6 M CaCl2 at 25°C
exhibited a dramatic decrease in the intensity of the
minimum at
205 nM (
= -28 x 103
deg·cm2·dmol-1) (Fig. 1
A). Similarly, the CD spectrum of the retro-inverso CD28
peptide in 6 M CaCl2 showed a dramatic decrease
in molar ellipticity maximum at 205 nM (
= 1.10 x
104
deg·cm2·dmol-1),
complete loss of both the molar ellipticity minimum at 215 nM, and the
maximum at 223 nM (Fig. 1
B). These observations reflect the
destabilizing effect of CaCl2 on the PP II
helical conformation adopted by the retro-inverso CD28 peptide. The CD
spectrum of the six residue-free peptides comprising the MYPPPY motif
alone showed a weak minimum (
= -8.6 x
101
deg·cm2·dmol-1) at 208
nm (data not shown). This suggests that the length of the CD28 peptide
and the side chain interactions with the flanking residues are
important in the formation of a PP II helix.
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Sensograms from direct kinetic analyses of EL-CD28 and RI-CD28
peptides are represented in Fig. 2
, A and B, respectively. Both peptides reached
equilibrium binding very rapidly (1220 s) and in the washing phase
dissociated rapidly (1012 s). The background responses following
injection of EL-CD28 and RI-CD28 peptides over an empty flow cell with
no protein immobilized were equivalent and very similar to the
responses obtained following injections of control peptides (data not
shown). The RU observed at the beginning and end of the experiments
were similar, indicating that the bound CD80 Ig was stable.
Dissociation of L-CD28, EL-CD28, and RI-CD28 peptides from bound CD80
Ig was analyzed from the buffer flow phase of the sensogram.
Kd and
Ka for each curve were determined and
were quite consistent over the entire range of concentrations used. A
linear regression plot of the rate of change in the response against RU
was plotted using these values of Ka
and Kd for each CD28 peptide analyte.
The slope of this plot was then plotted against the concentration of
the peptide to yield a Kd of 2.44,
2.34, and 2.53 µM for L-CD28, EL-CD28, and RI-CD28, respectively, for
binding to CD80 Ig (data not shown, Fig. 2
, E and
F). A short linear six-residue peptide encompassing the
polyproline motif alone (MYPPPY) did not bind CD80 Ig consistent with
the lack of PP II helix formation observed by CD studies (data not
shown). This observation is not without foundation, because it is well
known that small linear peptides do not exhibit defined conformation in
solution.
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To investigate the inhibitory potential of the CD28 peptides, in
vitro T cell proliferation assays were performed. MBP-specific
proliferative responses of CD4+ lymphocytes from
transgenic mice bearing the V
4/V
8.2 TCR specific for MBP Ac111
were determined in vitro in the presence of varying concentrations of
CD28 peptides. Fig. 4
shows a significant
decrease in the proliferative response of CD4+
LNC to MBP NAc111 when treated with L-CD28, EL-CD28, or
RI-CD28 peptides. Maximum inhibition was observed in
CD4+ LNC at 120 µM concentrations of
L-CD28 (59.5%), EL-CD28 (47.6%), and RI-CD28 (45.7%)
peptide. The proliferative responses of CD4+
splenocytes were also decreased but to a slightly lesser extent with
the observed maximum inhibition of 50.2, 38.2, and 42% with
L-CD28, EL-CD28, and RI-CD28 peptides, respectively (data
not shown). In addition, the blocking effect of the synthetic CD28
peptides was assessed over a wide range of MBP NAc111 concentrations,
reflecting widely differing TCR ligation signals.
CD4+ spleen cells exhibited a significant
decrease in the proliferative response when stimulated with MBP
NAc111 at concentrations of 0.0110 µg/ml in the presence of
EL-CD28 or RI-CD28 peptides (Fig. 5
).
However, at the highest Ag concentration (100 µg/ml), this inhibitory
effect was lost. These results are consistent with previous
observations that CD28 costimulation can be bypassed in the presence of
increased TCR ligation (2). The control RL-CD28 and D-CD28
peptides did not show inhibition (Fig. 4
). Moreover, the hexapeptide
consisting of the hydrophobic motif only did not show inhibition of T
cell proliferation either. These results suggest that synthetic CD28
peptides block the CD28 signaling required for sustained T cell
proliferation in vitro.
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To determine whether the observed reduction in proliferation is
reflected in IL-2 secretion, the ELISPOT assay was performed. Fig. 6
shows that MBP-stimulated
CD4+ LNC bearing V
4/V
8.2 TCR exhibited a
significantly reduced frequency of IL-2-secreting cells in the presence
of 75 µM EL-CD28 or 100 µM RI-CD28 peptide when compared with
untreated cells.
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| Discussion |
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Previous studies targeting the members of B7:CD28/CTLA-4 pathway for immunotherapeutic modulation of T cell responses reported variable outcomes (5, 6, 35). In EAE, anti-B7-1 treatment suppressed disease induction, injection of both anti-B7-1 and anti-B7-2 or anti-B7-2 alone exacerbated the disease (36). Interestingly, treatment with CTLA-4 Ig, which blocks both B7-1 and B7-2, has been shown to either suppress or enhance clinical signs of EAE depending on the time of administration (37). These opposing results have been attributed to unintended simultaneous inhibition of down-regulatory B7:CTLA-4 interactions. Therefore, a method to selectively block B7:CD28 interaction alone, sparing the B7:CTLA-4 interaction, would be an attractive approach for achieving maximum therapeutic advantage. Perrin et al. (11) have shown that adoptive transfer of MBP-primed cells cultured in the presence of anti-CD28 Fab resulted in decreased incidence and severity of EAE. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the development of nonimmunogenic peptide therapeutics with greater access across tissue barriers as antagonists for protein-protein interactions.
The importance of the polyproline motif in the CDR-3-like region of CD28 for binding B7 ligands is well documented by mutagenesis (16, 29, 30, 38). However, the results of a previous study (39) and our observations have shown that a synthetic peptide consisting of the MYPPPY motif alone does not constitute a minimal ligand-binding epitope. In general, a "functional epitope" defined by mutagenesis is much smaller than the "structural epitope" seen in the three-dimensional structures (40).
Using the solution structure of the extracellular domain of
CTLA-4 as a template, Bajorath et al. (16) constructed a
model of the extracellular domain of CD28 and predicted that the
conserved 99MYPPPY104 motif may be modeled as a
bulge. However, the
authors also suggested that this region is likely to be more flexible
in CD28 than in CTLA-4 and may possibly adopt a different conformation
due to the presence of an N-linked glycosylation site at N107
(16). In this study, we show that 20-mer synthetic CD28
peptides consisting of the MYPPPY motif and flanking residues exhibit a
typical CD spectrum of a PP II helix. Similar nonrepetitive
proline-rich sequences implicated in binding include the PXXP motif in
Src homology 3 domains of cytoskeletal proteins and the PPPGHR
motif in the cytoplasmic region of CD2 (41). Proline-rich
sequences in these proteins have been demonstrated to preferentially
adopt a PP II helical conformation presenting an easily accessible
hydrophobic surface as well as a good hydrogen-bonding site
(18). The presence of proline with a bulky side chain in
the solvent-exposed region precludes tight binding. However, the weaker
binding by proline-rich regions offers the potential advantage of rapid
modulation that favors very fast on and off rates. Such interactions
are commonly observed under conditions of rapid recruitment and/or
interchange of proteins such as cytoskeletal rearrangements. To our
knowledge, this is the first report of a PP II helical conformation in
the ligand-binding region of a TCR protein involved in signal
transduction.
We evaluated the kinetics of binding of synthetic CD28 peptide to B7 ligands. Both EL-CD28 (2.34 µM) and RI-CD28 (2.53 µM) interacted with CD80 Ig with an affinity constant that is slightly lower than that of CD28 Ig (3.17 µM). Comparable binding with fast kinetics and low affinities for B7-1:CD28 interaction has been previously reported (19). In contrast, a linear peptide derived from the conserved regions of the human CTLA-4 molecule (KICKVELMYPPPYYLGIGNGA) did not bind B7-1 (39). A plausible explanation for the lack of binding by this peptide is the presence of multiple glycines distal to the polyproline motif in the CTLA-4 molecule, in accord with the CD studies of glycine/proline copolymers showing that the presence of glycine in polyproline peptides disrupts the PP II helical structure that may be important for binding (42).
Significantly, synthetic CD28 peptides competed efficiently with CD28 Ig to bind CD80. This demonstrates that the CD28 peptides form complexes with CD80 and thus represent a ligand-binding epitope. Due to their weaker affinity for binding CD80, the synthetic CD28 peptides compete weakly at high concentrations (3 mg/ml) with CTLA-4 fusion protein for binding the CD80 ligand. The use of synthetic CD28 peptides at such high concentrations may not be therapeutically achievable in vivo without toxic effects. Collectively, these results suggest that the CD28 peptides have a greater potential to selectively block B7:CD28 interactions while maintaining the higher affinity B7:CTLA-4 interactions largely intact.
Functionally, CD28 peptides act as antagonists of B7:CD28 interaction as evidenced by their ability to inhibit MBP-stimulated encephalitogenic T cells in vitro. Furthermore, treatment with CD28 peptides also resulted in a significant decrease in the frequency of IL-2-secreting cells among activated encephalitogenic T cells, substantiating the inhibitory potential of the synthetic CD28 peptides. This suggests that the competition between the synthetic CD28 peptides and the cell surface CD28 for binding the B-7 ligands may result in a quantitative reduction in CD28 receptor occupancy, thereby decreasing the probability of signaling. Previous studies have reported a similar reduction in the expansion of encephalitogenic cells following CD28 blockade by anti-CD80 Ab or CTLA-4 Ig (43, 44, 45, 46).
Aside from the ability to augment T cell proliferation, CD28 costimulation has the potential to directly enhance the survival of T cells in vitro by preventing their deletion by apoptosis (44, 47). A previous study has shown that blockade of B7:CD28 interaction decreases T cell survival in response to Ag stimulation in vitro (48, 49). Our preliminary results show that the number of apoptotic cells is significantly higher in cultures treated with EL-CD28 peptide than in untreated or control peptide-treated cells stimulated with MBP Ac111.
Current strategies for immunomodulation of autoreactive T cell responses include the use of mAbs to block the critical molecules involved in T cell activation (50). However, the value of these Abs as effective therapeutic agents is limited by virtue of their inherent immunogenicity. By comparison, small peptide-based therapeutics are less likely to be immunogenic, with the potential for use over longer periods. Furthermore, in contrast to large proteins, peptides have substantially lower m.w. and are more likely to cross tissue barriers into the target organ such as the CNS. Previously, Jameson et al. (13) showed that insertion of a "P-G-P" motif in the peptide analogs derived from the CDR3-like region of murine CD4 resulted in a structural mimic of CD4 that exhibited similar therapeutic effects as anti-CD4 Abs in EAE.
Data presented in this study demonstrate that a peptide mimic of the ligand-binding region of CD28 inhibits expansion of encephalitogenic CD4+ T cells in vitro. Thus, we have identified an active peptide derived from a well-characterized cell surface receptor, CD28, wherein the binding affinity of the large protein has been transferred to a short peptide mimic. Recently, our results show that a single in vivo administration of the EL-CD28 or RI-CD28 peptide prevented the induction of EAE and, more importantly, suppressed established EAE in B10.PL mice.4 Inhibition of T cell activation by synthetic CD28 peptides has been achieved in the absence of a cross-linking agent. Thus, in addition to providing a novel approach to develop new therapeutic agents, synthesis of bioactive peptides designed to mimic the surface epitopes involved in protein-protein interaction offers a powerful technique for characterization of the mechanisms involved in immune responses.
| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Pravin T. P. Kaumaya, College of Medicine, Obstetrics, and Gynecology, Suite 302, Comprehensive Cancer Center, 410 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210. E-mail address: kaumaya.1{at}osu.edu ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: EAE, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; CDR, complementarity-determining region; PP II, polyproline type II; RU, ![]()
4 M. Srinivasan, I. E. Gienappp, S. S. Stuckman, C. J. Rogers, P. T. P. Kaumaya, and C. C. Whitacre. Suppression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis using a retro-inverso peptide mimic of CD28. Submitted for publication. ![]()
Received for publication November 7, 2000. Accepted for publication April 26, 2001.
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4 integrin interaction. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:5714.This article has been cited by other articles:
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