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Nature Research, Scientific Reports, 1(6), 2016

DOI: 10.1038/srep29931

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Lupin Peptides Modulate the Protein-Protein Interaction of PCSK9 with the Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor in HepG2 Cells

Journal article published in 2016 by Carmen Lammi, Chiara Zanoni, Gilda Aiello, Anna Arnoldi, Giovanni Grazioso ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

AbstractProprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has been recently identified as a new useful target for hypercholesterolemia treatment. This work demonstrates that natural peptides, deriving from the hydrolysis of lupin protein and absorbable at intestinal level, are able to inhibit the protein-protein interaction between PCSK9 and the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR). In order to sort out the best potential inhibitors among these peptides, a refined in silico model of the PCSK9/LDLR interaction was developed. Docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and peptide binding energy estimations, by MM-GBSA approach, permitted to select the two best candidates among tested peptides that were synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activity. The most active was P5 that induced a concentration dependent inhibition of the PCSK9-LDLR binding, with an IC50 value equal to 1.6 ± 0.33 μM. Tested at a 10 μM concentration, this peptide increased by 66 ± 21.4% the ability of HepG2 cells to take up LDL from the extracellular environment.