Latest Publication in eLife on Non-Opioid Peptide-Based Pain Therapeutics

January 4, 2023

We are pleased to introduce the latest publication in eLife with AmbioPharm CSO, Michael Pennington, PhD, and longtime collaborators at UC Davis, where AmbioPharm synthesized these novel and complex peptides, inspired by spider venom peptides:

Computational design of peptides to target Na_V1.7 channel with high potency and selectivity for the treatment of pain

Abstract

The voltage-gated sodium NaV1.7 channel plays a key role as a mediator of action potential propagation in C-fiber nociceptors and is an established molecular target for pain therapy. ProTx-II is a potent and moderately selective peptide toxin from tarantula venom that inhibits human NaV1.7 activation. Here we used available structural and experimental data to guide Rosetta design of potent and selective ProTx-II-based peptide inhibitors of human NaV1.7 channels. Functional testing of designed peptides using electrophysiology identified the PTx2-3127 and PTx2-3258 peptides with IC50s of 7 nM and 4 nM for hNaV1.7 and more than 1,000-fold selectivity over human NaV1.1, NaV1.3, NaV1.4, NaV1.5, NaV1.8, and NaV1.9 channels. PTx2-3127 inhibits NaV1.7 currents in mouse and human sensory neurons and shows efficacy in rat models of chronic and thermal pain when administered intrathecally. Rationally-designed peptide inhibitors of human NaV1.7 channels have transformative potential to define a new class of biologics to treat pain.

Read on the publisher’s website: https://elifesciences.org/articles/81727

Citation:

Nguyen, P. T., Nguyen, H. M., Wagner, K. M., Stewart, R., Singh, V., Thapa, P., Chen, Y. J., Lillya, M. W., Ton, A. T., Kondo, R., Ghetti, A., Pennington, M. W., Hammock, B., Griffith, T. N., Sack, J. T., Wulff, H., & Yarov-Yarovoy, V. (2022, December 28). Computational design of peptides to target NaV1.7 channel with high potency and selectivity for the treatment of pain. ELife, 11. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.81727

View our previous press release on this work: https://www.ambiopharm.com/news-press/ambiopharm-inc-working-with-university-of-california-davis-to-develop-non-opioid-peptide-based-pain-therapeutics/