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Development of chemokine network inhibitors using combinatorial saturation mutagenesis

Abstract:
Targeting chemokine-driven inflammation has been elusive due to redundant pathways constituting chemokine-immune cell networks. Tick evasins overcome redundant pathways by broadly targeting either CC or CXC-chemokine classes. Recently identified evasin-derived peptides inhibiting both chemokine classes provide a starting point for developing agents with enhanced potency and breadth of action. Structure-guided and affinity maturation approaches to achieve this are unsuitable when multiple targets are concerned. Here we develop a combinatorial saturation mutagenesis optimisation strategy (CoSMOS). This identifies a combinatorially mutated evasin-derived peptide with significantly enhanced pIC50 against three different inflammatory disease chemokine pools. Using AlphaFold 3 to model peptide - chemokine interactions, we show that the combinatorially mutated peptide has increased total and hydrophobic inter-chain bonding via tryptophan residues and is predicted to sterically hinder chemokine interactions required for immune cell migration. We suggest that CoSMOS-generated promiscuous binding activities could target disease networks where structurally related proteins drive redundant signalling pathways.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Files:
Publisher copy:
10.1038/s42003-025-07778-6

Authors

More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
NDM
Sub department:
Centre for Human Genetics
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0009-0001-6473-9192
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
NDM
Sub department:
Centre for Human Genetics
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0009-0000-3170-5861
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
NDM
Sub department:
Centre for Human Genetics
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-3306-5620
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
NDM
Sub department:
Centre for Human Genetics
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Radcliffe Department of Medicine
Sub department:
RDM-Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-7942-0424


More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/050rgn017
Funding agency for:
Bhattacharya, S
Grant:
24/0006744
More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/02wdwnk04
Funding agency for:
Bhattacharya, S
Grant:
CH/09/003/26631
RG/F/23/110121
RE/13/1/30181
RG/18/1/33351


Publisher:
Nature Research
Journal:
Communications Biology More from this journal
Volume:
8
Issue:
1
Article number:
549
Publication date:
2025-04-03
Acceptance date:
2025-02-19
DOI:
EISSN:
2399-3642


Language:
English
Pubs id:
2102035
Local pid:
pubs:2102035
Source identifiers:
W4409154226
Deposit date:
2025-04-03
ARK identifier:

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