Rationally designed insect neuropeptide agonists and antagonists: application for the characterization of the pyrokinin/Pban mechanisms of action in insects
Authors: Altstein Miriam , Nachman Ronald 
Published: December 2021

The general objective of this BARD project focused on rationally designed insect neuropeptide (NP) agonists and antagonists, their application for the characterization of the mechanisms of action of the pyrokinin/PBAN (PK-PBAN) family and the development of biostable, bioavailable versions that can provide the basis for development of novel, environmentally-friendly pest insect control agents. The specific objectives of the study, as originally proposed, were to: (i) Test stimulatory potencies of rationally designed backbone cyclic (BBC) peptides on pheromonotropic, melanotropic, myotropic and pupariation activities; (ii) Test the inhibitory potencies of the BBC compounds on the above activities evoked either by synthetic peptides (PBAN, LPK, myotropin and pheromonotropin) or by the natural endogenous mechanism; (iii) Determine the bioavailability of the most potent BBC compounds that will be found in (ii); (iv) Design, synthesize and examine novel PK/PBAN analogs with enhanced bioavailability and receptor binding; (v) Design and synthesize ‘magic bullet’ analogs and examine their ability to selectively kill cells expressing the PK/PBAN receptor. To achieve these goals the agonistic and antagonistic activities/properties of rationally designed linear and BBC neuropeptide (NP) were thoroughly studied and the information obtained was further used for the design and synthesis of improved compounds toward the design of an insecticide prototype. The study revealed important information on the structure activity relationship (SAR) of agonistic/antagonistic peptides, including definitive identification of the orientation of the Pro residue as trans for agonist activity in 4 PK/PBANbioassays (pheromonotropic, pupariation, melanotropic, & hindgut contractile) and a PK-related CAP₂b bioassay (diuretic); indications that led to the identification of a novel scaffold to develop biostbiostable, bioavailable peptidomimetic PK/PBANagonists/antagonists. The work led to the development of an arsenal of PK/PBAN antagonists with a variety of selectivity profiles; whether between different PKbioassays, or within the same bioassay between different natural elicitors. Examples include selective and non-selective BBC and novel amphiphilic PK pheromonotropic and melanotropic antagonists some of which are capable of penetrating the moth cuticle in efficacious quantities. One of the latter analog group demonstrated unprecedented versatility in its ability to antagonize a broad spectrum of pheromonotropic elicitors. A novel, transPro mimetic motif was proposed & used to develop a strong, selective PK agonist of the melanotropic bioassay in moths. The first antagonist (pure) of PK-related CAP₂b diuresis in flies was developed using a cisPro mimetic motif; an indication that while a transPro orientation is associated with receptor agonism, a cisPro orientation is linked with an antagonist interaction. A novel, biostablePK analog, incorporating β-amino acids at key peptidase-susceptible sites, exhibited in vivo pheromonotropic activity that by far exceeded that of PBAN when applied topically. Direct analysis of neural tissue by state-of-the-art MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry was used to identify specific PK/PK-related peptides native to eight arthropod pest species [house (M. domestica), stable (S. calcitrans), horn (H. irritans) & flesh (N. bullata) flies; Southern cattle fever tick (B. microplus), European tick (I. ricinus), yellow fever mosquito (A. aegypti), & Southern Green Stink Bug (N. viridula)]; including the unprecedented identification of mass-identical Leu/Ile residues and the first identification of NPs from a tick or the CNS of Hemiptera. Evidence was obtained for the selection of Neb-PK-2 as the primary pupariation factor of the flesh fly (N. bullata) among native PK/PK-related candidates. The peptidomic techniques were also used to map the location of PK/PK-related NP in the nervous system of the model fly D. melanogaster. Knowledge of specific PK sequences can aid in the future design of species specific (or non-specific) NP agonists/antagonists. In addition, the study led to the first cloning of a PK/PBAN receptor from insect larvae (S. littoralis), providing the basis for SAR analysis for the future design of 2ⁿᵈgeneration selective and/or nonselective agonists/antagonists. Development of a microplate ligand binding assay using the PK/PBAN pheromone gland receptor was also carried out. The assay will enable screening, including high throughput, of various libraries (chemical, molecular & natural product) for the discovery of receptor specific agonists/antagonists. In summary, the body of work achieves several key milestones and brings us significantly closer to the development of novel, environmentally friendly pest insect management agents based on insect PK/PBANNPs capable of disrupting critical NP-regulated functions.