Issue 26, 2023

DNA-templated self-assembly of bradykinin into bioactive nanofibrils

Abstract

Bradykinin (BK) is a peptide hormone that plays a crucial role in blood pressure control, regulates inflammation in the human body, and has recently been implicated in the pathophysiology of COVID-19. In this study, we report a strategy for fabricating highly ordered 1D nanostructures of BK using DNA fragments as a template for self-assembly. We have combined synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering and high-resolution microscopy to provide insights into the nanoscale structure of BK-DNA complexes, unveiling the formation of ordered nanofibrils. Fluorescence assays hint that BK is more efficient at displacing minor-groove binders in comparison with base-intercalant dyes, thus, suggesting that interaction with DNA strands is mediated by electrostatic attraction between cationic groups at BK and the high negative electron density of minor-grooves. Our data also revealed an intriguing finding that BK-DNA complexes can induce a limited uptake of nucleotides by HEK-293t cells, which is a feature that has not been previously reported for BK. Moreover, we observed that the complexes retained the native bioactivity of BK, including the ability to modulate Ca2+ response into endothelial HUVEC cells. Overall, the findings presented here demonstrate a promising strategy for the fabrication of fibrillar structures of BK using DNA as a template, which keep bioactivity features of the native peptide and may have implications in the development of nanotherapeutics for hypertension and related disorders.

Graphical abstract: DNA-templated self-assembly of bradykinin into bioactive nanofibrils

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Mar 2023
Accepted
12 Jun 2023
First published
12 Jun 2023

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 4869-4879

DNA-templated self-assembly of bradykinin into bioactive nanofibrils

T. C. Lourenço, L. R. de Mello, M. Y. Icimoto, R. N. Bicev, I. W. Hamley, V. Castelletto, C. R. Nakaie and E. R. da Silva, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 4869 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM00431G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements