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H B Lowman

Publications and source records attributed to H B Lowman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

A novel family of hairpin peptides that inhibit IgE activity by binding to the high-affinity IgE receptor.

A family of structured peptides that bind to FcepsilonRIalpha, the alpha-chain of the high-affinity receptor for IgE, has been identified. Binding selections using FcepsilonRIalpha and polyvalent peptide-phage libraries yielded a dominant 18-residue peptide-phage clone, as well as related sequences that did not resemble fragments of IgE. Synthetic peptides based on these sequences inhibited IgE binding to its receptor, and were found by NMR analysis to adopt a stable beta-hairpin structure in solution. Optimized peptides with micromolar receptor affinity exhibited high stability in biological fluids and inhibited cellular histamine release in an in vitro bioassay of IgE activity. The structure-activity relationships of these peptides, which are less than 1% of the size of IgE, suggest an overlap between their binding site and that of IgE on FcepsilonRI. Thus, the peptides demonstrate that blocking a small epitope on this receptor chain is sufficient to block IgE activity. Such structured peptides represent a possible starting point for the design of novel antagonists, and offer the potential for testing in vivo a new approach for treating allergic disease.

Amino Acid Motifs↗
PubMed2001

Structure-function analysis of a phage display-derived peptide that binds to insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1.

Highly structured, peptide antagonists of the interaction between insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) and IGF binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) have recently been discovered by phage display of naïve peptide libraries [Lowman, H. B., et al. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 8870--8878]. We now report a detailed analysis of the features of this turn-helix peptide motif that are necessary for IGFBP-1 binding and structural integrity. Further rounds of phage randomization indicate the importance of residues contributing to a hydrophobic patch on one face of the helix. Alanine-scanning substitutions confirm that the hydrophobic residues are necessary for binding. However, structural analysis by NMR spectroscopy indicates that some of these analogues are less well folded. Structured, high-affinity analogues that lack the disulfide bond were prepared by introducing a covalent constraint between side chains at positions i and i + 7 or i + 8 within the helix. Analogues based on this scaffold demonstrate that a helical conformation is present in the bound state, and that hydrophobic side chains in this helix, and residues immediately preceding it, interact with IGFBP-1. By comparison of alanine scanning data for IGF-I and the turn-helix peptide, we propose a model for common surface features of these molecules that recognize IGFBP-1.

Alanine↗
PubMed2001

Binding protein-3-selective insulin-like growth factor I variants: engineering, biodistributions, and clearance.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is a potent anabolic peptide that mediates most of its pleiotropic effects through association with the IGF type I receptor. Biological availability and plasma half-life of IGF-I are modulated by soluble binding proteins (IGFBPs), which sequester free IGF-I into high affinity complexes. Elevated levels of specific IGFBPs have been observed in several pathological conditions, resulting in inhibition of IGF-I activity. Administration of IGF-I variants that are unable to bind to the up-regulated IGFBP species could potentially counteract this effect. We engineered two IGFBP-selective variants that demonstrated 700- and 80,000-fold apparent reductions in affinity for IGFBP-1 while preserving low nanomolar affinity for IGFBP-3, the major carrier of IGF-I in plasma. Both variants displayed wild-type-like potency in cellular receptor kinase assays, stimulated human cartilage matrix synthesis, and retained their ability to associate with the acid-labile subunit in complex with IGFBP-3. Furthermore, pharmacokinetic parameters and tissue distribution of the IGF-I variants in rats differed from those of wild-type IGF-I as a function of their IGFBP affinities. These IGF-I variants may potentially be useful for treating disease conditions associated with up-regulated IGFBP-1 levels, such as chronic or acute renal and hepatic failure or uncontrolled diabetes. More generally, these results suggest that the complex biology of IGF-I may be clarified through in vivo studies of IGFBP-selective variants.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

FIZZ1, a novel cysteine-rich secreted protein associated with pulmonary inflammation, defines a new gene family.

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from mice with experimentally induced allergic pulmonary inflammation contains a novel 9.4 kDa cysteine-rich secreted protein, FIZZ1 (found in inflammatory zone). Murine (m) FIZZ1 is the founding member of a new gene family including two other murine genes expressed, respectively, in intestinal crypt epithelium and white adipose tissue, and two related human genes. In control mice, FIZZ1 mRNA and protein expression occur at low levels in a subset of bronchial epithelial cells and in non-neuronal cells adjacent to neurovascular bundles in the peribronchial stroma, and in the wall of the large and small bowel. During allergic pulmonary inflammation, mFIZZ1 expression markedly increases in hypertrophic, hyperplastic bronchial epithelium and appears in type II alveolar pneumocytes. In vitro, recombinant mFIZZ1 inhibits the nerve growth factor (NGF)-mediated survival of rat embryonic day 14 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and NGF-induced CGRP gene expression in adult rat DRG neurons. In vivo, FIZZ1 may modulate the function of neurons innervating the bronchial tree, thereby altering the local tissue response to allergic pulmonary inflammation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

A neutralizing monoclonal antibody specific for the dimer interface region of IL-8.

We have generated two mAbs, 6G4.2.5 and A5.12.14, that are similarly capable of neutralizing the biologic activity of wild-type IL-8. To characterize these antibodies further, their reactivity against a series of engineered IL-8 monomer and dimer variants was examined using a neutrophil degranulation assay. While 6G4.2.5 was found to block effectively the biologic activity of all variants regardless of their dimerization status, the results for A5.12.14 differed dramatically. A5.12.14 fully inhibited the agonist activity of one of the monomer variants, partially blocked the activity of another, and had no effect on the activity of two other variants. These results suggested that the binding epitope of A5.12.14 was being affected by the particular amino acid substitutions introduced into the dimer interface region of the variants to disfavor dimerization. If A5.12.14 indeed binds to the dimer interface region of IL-8, it could be predicted that this mAb would be unable to inhibit the activity of dimeric IL-8. This was confirmed in studies which showed that A5.12.14 had no demonstrable effect on the activity of a constitutively dimeric IL-8 variant. These studies represent the first example of a mAb specific for the dimerization status of IL-8.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2000

Anticalins versus antibodies: made-to-order binding proteins for small molecules.

Engineering proteins to bind small molecules presents a challenge as daunting as drug discovery, for both hinge upon our understanding of receptor-ligand molecular recognition. However, powerful techniques from combinatorial molecular biology can be used to rapidly select artificial receptors. While traditionally researchers have relied upon antibody technologies as a source of new binding proteins, the lipocalin scaffold has recently emerged as an adaptable receptor for small molecule binding. 'Anticalins', engineered lipocalin variants, offer some advantages over traditional antibody technology and illuminate features of molecular recognition between receptors and small molecule ligands.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Selection and analysis of an optimized anti-VEGF antibody: crystal structure of an affinity-matured Fab in complex with antigen.

The Fab portion of a humanized antibody (Fab-12; IgG form known as rhuMAb VEGF) to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been affinity-matured through complementarity-determining region (CDR) mutation, followed by affinity selection using monovalent phage display. After stringent binding selections at 37 degrees C, with dissociation (off-rate) selection periods of several days, high affinity variants were isolated from CDR-H1, H2, and H3 libraries. Mutations were combined to obtain cumulatively tighter-binding variants. The final variant identified here, Y0317, contained six mutations from the parental antibody. In vitro cell-based assays show that four mutations yielded an improvement of about 100-fold in potency for inhibition of VEGF-dependent cell proliferation by this variant, consistent with the equilibrium binding constant determined from kinetics experiments at 37 degrees C. Using X-ray crystallography, we determined a high-resolution structure of the complex between VEGF and the affinity-matured Fab fragment. The overall features of the binding interface seen previously with wild-type are preserved, and many contact residues are maintained in precise alignment in the superimposed structures. However, locally, we see evidence for improved contacts between antibody and antigen, and two mutations result in increased van der Waals contact and improved hydrogen bonding. Site-directed mutants confirm that the most favorable improvements as judged by examination of the complex structure, in fact, have the greatest impact on free energy of binding. In general, the final antibody has improved affinity for several VEGF variants as compared with the parental antibody; however, some contact residues on VEGF differ in their contribution to the energetics of Fab binding. The results show that small changes even in a large protein-protein binding interface can have significant effects on the energetics of interaction.

Alanine↗
PubMed1999

Total alanine-scanning mutagenesis of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) identifies differential binding epitopes for IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3.

The bioavailability of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in the serum and tissues is controlled by members of the IGF binding protein family (IGFBP). These proteins form high-affinity complexes with IGF-I and thereby either inhibit or potentiate its mitogenic and metabolic effects. Thus, understanding the IGF-IGFBP interaction at the molecular level is crucial for attempts to modulate IGF-I activity in vivo. We have systematically investigated the binding contribution of each IGF-I amino acid side chain toward IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3, combining alanine-scanning mutagenesis and monovalent phage display. Surprisingly, most IGF-I residues could be substituted by alanines, resulting in less than 5-fold affinity losses for IGFBP-3. In contrast, binding of IGFBP-1 was more sensitive to alanine substitutions in IGF-I. The glutamate and phenylalanine at positions 3 and 49 were identified as major specificity determinants for IGFBP-1: the corresponding alanine mutations, E3A and F49A, selectively decreased IGFBP-1 binding by 34- and 100-fold, whereas IGFBP-3 affinity was not affected or reduced maximally 4-fold. No side chain specificity determinant was found for IGFBP-3. Instead, our results suggest that the N-terminal backbone region of IGF-I is important for binding to IGFBP-3. The fact that the functional binding epitopes on IGF-I are overlapping but distinct for both binding proteins may be exploited to design binding protein-specific IGF variants.

Alanine↗
PubMed1998

VEGF and the Fab fragment of a humanized neutralizing antibody: crystal structure of the complex at 2.4 A resolution and mutational analysis of the interface.

BACKGROUND: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a highly specific angiogenic growth factor; anti-angiogenic treatment through inhibition of receptor activation by VEGF might have important therapeutic applications in diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and cancer. A neutralizing anti-VEGF antibody shown to suppress tumor growth in an in vivo murine model has been used as the basis for production of a humanized version. RESULTS: We present the crystal structure of the complex between VEGF and the Fab fragment of this humanized antibody, as well as a comprehensive alanine-scanning analysis of the contact residues on both sides of the interface. Although the VEGF residues critical for antibody binding are distinct from those important for high-affinity receptor binding, they occupy a common region on VEGF, demonstrating that the neutralizing effect of antibody binding results from steric blocking of VEGF-receptor interactions. Of the residues buried in the VEGF-Fab interface, only a small number are critical for high-affinity binding; the essential VEGF residues interact with those of the Fab fragment, generating a remarkable functional complementarity at the interface. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the character of antigen-antibody interfaces is similar to that of other protein-protein interfaces, such as ligand-receptor interactions; in the case of VEGF, the principal difference is that the residues essential for binding to the Fab fragment are concentrated in one continuous segment of polypeptide chain, whereas those essential for binding to the receptor are distributed over four different segments and span across the dimer interface.

Alanine↗
PubMed1998

Molecular mimics of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) for inhibiting IGF-1: IGF-binding protein interactions.

IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) is a 70-residue protein hormone which has both metabolic and mitogenic activities mediated through IGF-1 binding to cell surface receptors. However, an unrelated class of proteins, the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) also bind IGF-1 in the serum and tissues and block or modulate its activity in vivo. Therefore, inhibitors of the IGFBPs can alter the distribution between free and bound IGF-1 [Loddick, S. A., Liu, X.-J., Lu, Z.-X., Liu, C., Behan, D. P., Chalmers, D. C., Foster, A. C., Vale, W. W., Ling, N., and De Souza, E. B. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95, 1894-1898] and potentially affect the distribution of IGF-1 among body tissues. We report here that phage-displayed peptide libraries have yielded a peptide that binds IGFBP-1 and produces IGF-like activity at sub-micromolar concentrations. The 14-residue peptide has an extremely well-defined solution conformation that can aid in the design of smaller, orally active compounds. Interestingly, the peptide structure contains a helix, as does one region of IGF-1 previously implicated in IGFBP binding, yet displays side chains different from those of the IGF-1 helix I. Furthermore, an IGF-1 variant lacking receptor-signaling activity in vitro is shown here to produce IGF-like mitogenic and metabolic activity in vivo. These results suggest that small antagonist mimetics of protein ligands, identified by binding selection to otherwise inhibitory factors, may be useful as indirect agonists for a variety of therapeutic applications.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Monomeric variants of IL-8: effects of side chain substitutions and solution conditions upon dimer formation.

IL-8 dimers have been observed in NMR and X-ray structures of the protein. We have engineered IL-8 monomers by mutations of residues throughout the dimer interface, which introduce hindrance determinants to dimerization. These IL-8 variants are shown by NMR to have wild-type monomer folding, but by ultracentrifugation to have a range of dimerization constants from microM to mM, as compared with a dimerization constant of about 10 microM for wild-type IL-8, under physiological salt and temperature conditions. The monomeric variants of IL-8 bind the erythrocyte chemokine receptor DARC, as well as the neutrophil IL-8 receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 with affinities similar to that of wild-type IL-8. In addition, the monomeric variants were shown to have agonist activity, with similar potency to wild-type, in both Ca(2+)-flux assays on CXCR1 and CXCR2 transfected cells, and in chemotaxis assays on neutrophils. Thus, these variants confirm that monomeric IL-8 is functionally equivalent to wild-type in vitro assays. We have also investigated the effects of various solution conditions upon IL-8 dimer formation using analytical ultracentrifugation. At salt concentrations, temperatures, and pH conditions lower than physiological, the dimerization affinity of IL-8 is greatly enhanced. This suggests that, under some conditions, IL-8 dimer formation may occur at concentrations of IL-8 considerably lower than 10 microM, with consequences in vivo that are yet to be determined.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

IL-8 single-chain homodimers and heterodimers: interactions with chemokine receptors CXCR1, CXCR2, and DARC.

Covalent single-chain dimers of the chemokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) have been designed to mimic the dimeric form of IL-8 in solution and facilitate the production of heterodimer variants of IL-8. Physical studies indicated that use of a simple peptide linker to join two subunits, while allowing receptor binding and activation, led to self-association of the tethered dimers. However, addition of a single disulfide crosslink between the tethered subunits prevented this multimer from forming, yielding a species of dimer molecular weight. Crosslinked single-chain dimers bind to both IL-8 neutrophil receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 as well as to DARC, as does a double disulfide-linked dimer with no peptide linker. In addition, neutrophil response to these dimers as measured by chemotaxis or beta-glucuronidase release is similar to that elicited by wild-type IL-8, providing evidence that the dissociation of the dimeric species is not required for these biologically relevant activities. Finally, through construction of single-chain heterodimer mutants, we show that only the first subunit's ELR motif is the single-chain variants.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1997

Bacteriophage display and discovery of peptide leads for drug development.

Phage display makes large-peptide diversity libraries readily attainable for identifying novel peptide ligands for receptors and other protein or non-protein targets. This technology kindles enthusiasm for the idea that large and protein-protein interaction surfaces (epitopes) can be distilled down to small pharmacophores. These may be accessible to organic scaffolding, yielding new orally active drugs that might otherwise have taken greater time and effort to be discovered through chemical-library screening. This review, though not comprehensive with respect to the explosive volume of phage display work over the last few years, focuses on recent developments in phage-displayed peptide technology.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Structural change and receptor binding in a chemokine mutant with a rearranged disulfide: X-ray structure of E38C/C50AIL-8 at 2 A resolution.

The characteristic CXC chemokine disulfide core of interleukin-8 (IL-8) has been rearranged in a variant replacing the 9-50 disulfide with a 9-38 disulfide. The new variant has been characterized by its binding affinity to IL-8 receptors A and B and the erythrocyte receptor DARC. This variant binds the three receptors with affinities between 500- and 2,500-fold lower than wild-type IL-8. Binding affinity results are also reported for the variant with alanine substituted for both cysteines 9 and 50. The Glu38-->Cys/Cys50-->Ala IL-8 crystallizes in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with cell parameters a = 46.4, b = 49.2, and c = 69.5 A, and has been refined to an R-value of 19.4% for data from 10 to 2 A resolution. Analysis of the structure confirms the new disulfide arrangement and suggests that changes at Ile10 may be the principal cause of the lowered affinities.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1996

Exchanging interleukin-8 and melanoma growth-stimulating activity receptor binding specificities.

Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a CXC chemokine, is known to bring about chemotaxis and activation of neutrophils through high affinity binding to at least two distinct receptors, receptor-A and receptor-B. The IL-8 homolog melanoma growth stimulating activity (MGSA) is also active toward neutrophils. In contrast to IL-8, MGSA binds receptor-B with high affinity and binds receptor-A with approximately 400-fold lower affinity. Using the structure of IL-8 (Clore et al.(1990) Biochemistry, 29, 1689-1696; Baldwin et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 502-506) and the NMR-determined structure of MGSA (Fairbrother et al. (1994) J. Mol. Biol. 242, 252-270), we designed variants of both IL-8 and MGSA to investigate the basis of specificity for binding of these chemokines to the IL-8 receptors. The most outstanding structural difference between IL-8 and MGSA lies in the loop preceding the first beta-strand. When the corresponding (shorter) loop from MGSA was swapped into IL-8, both receptor-A and receptor-B binding affinities were significantly (>300-fold) reduced. However, with additional mutations that affect packing interactions, an IL-8 variant specific for receptor-B binding was produced. Conversely, when the same loop from IL-8 was swapped into MGSA, receptor-B binding was maintained with only a approximately 30-fold reduction in receptor-A affinity. Again, mutations affecting packing of the loop yielded a MGSA variant with high affinity for both receptors, like IL-8. Finally, we show, through point mutations in a monomeric IL-8 framework, that individual side chain substitutions can affect receptor specificity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗