Folic acid derived-P5779 mimetics regulate DAMP-mediated inflammation through disruption of HMGB1:TLR4:MD-2 axes.

Shan Sun, Mingzhu He, Yongjun Wang, Huan Yang, Yousef Al-Abed

PloS one 2018

filter terms:

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) protein that mediates inflammatory responses after infection or injury. Previously, we reported a peptide inhibitor of HMGB1 (P5779) that acts by directly interrupting HMGB1/MD-2 binding. Here, fingerprint similarity search and docking studies suggest folic acid derived-drugs function as P5779 mimetopes. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation studies demonstrate that folic acid mimics the binding of P5779 at the TLR4 and MD-2 intersection. In surface plasmon resonance (SPR) studies, these drugs showed direct binding to TLR4/MD-2 but not HMGB1. Furthermore, these P5779 mimetopes inhibit HMGB1 and MD-2 binding and suppress HMGB1-induced TNF release in human macrophages in the nanomolar range. We assert from our findings that their demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects may be working through TLR4-dependent signaling.

Citation

Shan Sun, Mingzhu He, Yongjun Wang, Huan Yang, Yousef Al-Abed. Folic acid derived-P5779 mimetics regulate DAMP-mediated inflammation through disruption of HMGB1:TLR4:MD-2 axes. PloS one. 2018;13(2):e0193028