Use of a cysteine protease of Plasmodium vivax

Abstract

A use of vivapain-4 (VX-4), which is a cysteine protease of Plasmodium vivax, showing pH-dependent switching of substrate specificity, is provided. More specifically, a method of treating a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium vivax by inhibiting VX-4; a method of screening a protease inhibitor acting on VX-4, wherein the protease inhibitor is useful as an anti-malarial agent acting on Plasmodium species, for example, Plasmodium vivax; and a method of identifying the activity of VX-4, are provided.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 236,198, filed Aug. 24, 2009, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for any purpose.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to vivapain-4 (VX-4), which is a cysteine protease of Plasmodium vivax, showing pH-dependent switching of substrate specificity. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of treating a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium vivax by inhibiting VX-4, a method of screening a protease inhibitor acting on VX-4, wherein the protease inhibitor is useful as an anti-malarial agent acting on Plasmodium species, for example, Plasmodium vivax, and a method of identifying the activity of VX-4.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART[0003]Plasmodium vivax, one of the most predominant human malarial species worldwide, causes hundreds of millions of illnesses each year, and can result in severe morbidity and mortality. Emergence and spread of multid...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]The inventors isolated and identified a novel cysteine protease of P. vivax, designated as vivapain-4 (VX-4, AAT91956, SEQ ID NO: 1), which displays highly unusual pH-dependent substrate specificity, and characterized the biochemical properties of VX-4. Molecular modeling and subsequent mutation analysis of VX-4 demonstrated that Glu180 is involved in the pH-dependent substrate specificity of VX-4. The protease is localized in the cytoplasm of the whole erythrocytic stages of the parasite. It effectively hydrolyzes actin at neutral pH (e.g., pH 6.8 to 7.2, preferably approximately pH 7) and plasmepsin 4 at neutral and acidic pHs (e.g., pH 5-7), supporting its role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and architectural remodeling of the parasite during development.

[0013]Plasmodium vivax affects hundreds of millions each year and results in severe morbidity and mortality. Plasmodial cysteine proteases (CPs) play crucial roles during the progression of malaria since inhibition of these molecules impairs parasite growth. These CPs might targeted for new antimalarial drugs. The inventors herein characterized a novel P. vivax CP (VX-4), which appeared to evolve differentially among primate Plasmodium species. VX-4 showed highly unique substrate preference depending on surrounding micro-environmental pH. It effectively hydrolyzed benzyloxycarbonyl-Leu-Arg-4-methyl-coumaryl-7-amide (Z-Leu-Arg-MCA) and Z-Phe-Arg-MCA at acidic pH and Z-Arg-Arg-MCA at neutral pH. Three amino acids (Ala90, Gly157 and Glu180) that delineate the S2 pocket were found to be substituted in VX-4. Hereinafter, the amino acid positions of Ala90, Gly157 and Glu180 are numbered from the mature domain of VX-4, and the mature domain (SEQ ID NO: 1) of VX-4 and the initial peptide thereof are shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Alteration of Glu180 abolished activity against Z-Arg-Arg-MCA at neutral pH, indicating the importance of Glu180 in the pH-dependent substrate preference. VX-4 hydrolyzed actin at neutral pH and hemoglobin at acidic pH, and participated in plasmepsin IV activation at neutral / acidic pH. VX-4 was localized in the food vacuoles and cytoplasm of the erythrocytic stage of P. vivax. The differential substrate preferences depending on pH suggested a highly efficient mechanism to enlarge biological implications of VX-4, including hemoglobin degradation, maturation of plasmepsin, and remodeling of the parasite architecture during growth and development of P. vivax.

[0037]As described above, glutamic acid at 180th position (Glu180) in VX-4 plays an important role in the pH-dependent substrate specificity, and thus, the Glu180 may be useful in developing an agent for preventing and / or treating a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium vivax, such as malaria.

[0063]Finally, VX-4 demonstrates pH-dependent substrate switching, which might offer an efficient mechanism for the specific cleavage of different substrates in different intracellular environments. VX-4 might be function as a hemoglobinase in the acidic parasite food vacuole, a maturase of P. vivax plasmepsin 4 at neutral or acidic pH, and a cytoskeleton-degrading protease in the neutral erythrocyte cytosol.

Problems solved by technology

Plasmodium vivax, one of the most predominant human malarial species worldwide, causes hundreds of millions of illnesses each year, and can result in severe morbidity and mortality.

Emergence and spread of multidrug resistant vivax malaria is an increasing problem, and is associated with fatal disease, especially in children.

However, comprehensive studies of P. vivax cysteine proteases have been highly hindered mainly due to the inability to culture P. vivax.

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