Publications
Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCPFeb 2025 |
24
(
2
),
100901
DOI:
10.1016/j.mcpro.2024.100901

Molecular Display of the Animal Meta-Venome for Discovery of Novel Therapeutic Peptides

Hsiao, Meng-Hsuan; Miao, Yang; Liu, Zixing; Schütze, Konstantin; Limjunyawong, Nathachit; Chien, Daphne Chun-Che; Monteiro, Wayne Denis; Chu, Lee-Shin; Morgenlander, William; Jayaraman, Sahana; Jang, Sung-Eun; Gray, Jeffrey J; Zhu, Heng; Dong, Xinzhong; Steinegger, Martin; Larman, H Benjamin
Product Used
Genes
Abstract
Animal venoms, distinguished by their unique structural features and potent bioactivities, represent a vast and relatively untapped reservoir of therapeutic molecules. However, limitations associated with comprehensively constructing and expressing highly complex venom and venom-like molecule libraries have precluded their therapeutic evaluation via high-throughput screening. Here, we developed an innovative computational approach to design a highly diverse library of animal venoms and metavenoms. We used programmable M13 hyperphage display to preserve critical disulfide-bonded structures for highly parallelized single-round biopanning with quantitation via high-throughput DNA sequencing. Our approach led to the discovery of Kunitz-type domain containing proteins that target the human itch receptor Mas-related G-protein coupled receptor member X4, which plays a crucial role in itch perception. Deep learning-based structural homology mining identified two endogenous human homologs, tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), and serine peptidase inhibitor, Kunitz type 2 (SPINT2), which exhibit agonist-dependent potentiation of Mas-related G-protein coupled receptor member X4. Highly multiplexed screening of animal venoms and metavenoms is therefore a promising approach to uncover new drug candidates.
Product Used
Genes

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