The cyclic peptide AF17121 (VDECWRIIASHTWFCAEE) is a library-derived antagonist forhu
man Interleukin-5 receptor
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0> (IL5R
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0>). We have previously de
monstrated that AF17121
mi
micsInterleukin-5 (IL5) by binding in a region of IL5R
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0> that overlaps the IL5 binding epitope. In the presentstudy, to explore the functional i
mportance of the a
mino acid residues of AF17121 required for effectivebinding to, and antagonis
m of, IL5R
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0>, each charged residue was subjected to site-directed
mutagenesisand exa
mined for IL5R
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0> interaction by using a surface plas
mon resonance biosensor. One residue, Arg
6,was found to be essential for receptor antagonis
m; its replace
ment with either alanine or lysine co
mpletelyabolished the interaction between AF17121 and IL5R
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0>. Other charged residues play
modulatory roles.One class consists of the N-ter
minal acidic cluster (Asp
2 and Glu
3) for which alanine replace
ment decreasedthe association rate. A second class consists of His
11 and the C-ter
minal acidic cluster (Glu
17 and Glu
18)for which alanine replace
ment increased the dissociation rate. Binding
model analysis of the
mutants ofthe latter class of residues indicated the existence of confor
mational rearrange
ment during the interaction.On the basis of these results, we propose a
model in which Arg
6 and N-ter
minal acidic residues drive theencounter co
mplex, while Arg
6, His
11, and C-ter
minal acidic residues are involved in stabilizing the finalco
mplex. These data argue that the charged residues of AF17121 are utilized asy
mmetrically in the pathwayof inhibitor-receptor co
mplex for
mation to deactivate the receptor function. The results also help focuse
merging
models for the
mechanis
m by which IL5 activates the IL5R
mages/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0>-
mages/gifchars/beta2.gif" BORDER=0 ALIGN="
middle">c receptor syste
m.