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Discovery and Characterization of an Endogenous CXCR4 Antagonist

  • CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling controls multiple physiological processes and its dysregulation is associated with cancers and inflammatory diseases. To discover as-yet-unknown endogenous ligands of CXCR4, we screened a blood-derived peptide library for inhibitors of CXCR4-tropic HIV-1 strains. This approach identified a 16 amino acid fragment of serum albumin as an effective and highly specific CXCR4 antagonist. The endogenous peptide, termed EPI-X4, is evolutionarily conserved and generated from the highly abundant albumin precursor by pH-regulated proteases. EPI-X4 forms an unusual lasso-like structure and antagonizes CXCL12-induced tumor cell migration, mobilizes stem cells, and suppresses inflammatory responses in mice. Furthermore, the peptide is abundant in the urine of patients with inflammatory kidney diseases and may serve as a biomarker. Our results identify EPI-X4 as a key regulator of CXCR4 signaling and introduce proteolysis of an abundant precursor protein as an alternative concept for chemokine receptor regulation.

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Author details:Onofrio Zirafi, Kyeong-Ae Kim, Ludger Ständker, Katharina B. Mohr, Daniel Sauter, Anke Heigele, Silvia F. Kluge, Eliza Wiercinska, Doreen Chudziak, Rudolf Richter, Barbara Möpps, Peter Gierschik, Virag Vas, Hartmut Geiger, Markus Lamla, Tanja Weil, Timo Burster, Andreas Zgraja, Francois Daubeuf, Nelly Frossard, Muriel Hachet-Haas, Fabian Heunisch, Christoph ReichetzederORCiDGND, Jean-Luc Galzi, Javier Perez-Castells, Angeles Canales-Mayordomo, Jesus Jimenez-Barbero, Guillermo Gimenez-Gallego, Marion Schneider, James Shorter, Amalio Telenti, Berthold HocherORCiDGND, Wolf-Georg Forssmann, Halvard Bonig, Frank Kirchhoff, Jan Münch
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2015.03.061
ISSN:2211-1247
Pubmed ID:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25921529
Title of parent work (English):Cell reports
Publisher:Cell Press
Place of publishing:Cambridge
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Year of first publication:2015
Publication year:2015
Release date:2017/03/27
Volume:11
Issue:5
Number of pages:11
First page:737
Last Page:747
Funding institution:government of Lower Saxony; DFG [MU3115/3-1, BO3553/1-1, SCHI510/7-1]; E-Rare/BMBF grant; Elisabeth-Glaser Foundation; Gottfried-Wilhelm Leibniz award; Advanced ERC grant; Humboldt grant [DPK-422-1658/2013]; LABEX [ANR-10LABX-0034_Medalis]; Swiss National Science Foundation
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Ernährungswissenschaft
Peer review:Referiert
Publishing method:Open Access
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