Design of a stapled peptide that binds to the Ebola virus matrix protein dimer interface

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

mutagenesis inhibits assembly and budding of VP40. A series of conformationally constrained mimics of the VP40 α2 helix were designed based on the crystal structures of the VP40 dimer. A thermal shift assay was used to screen constrained and native peptides for significant alterations in VP40 stability. The most meritorious peptides were then confirmed to directly bind VP40 using microscale thermophoresis and isothermal titration calorimetry. A constrained VP40 peptide mimetic with a di-cysteine staple emerged with micromolar affinity for the VP40 dimer. This peptide was able to shift the VP40 dimer-monomer equilibrium as evidenced by size exclusion chromatography and bound near the NTD α-helix dimer interface. This study provides the first evidence of a designed small molecule induced disruption of VP40 dimer-monomer equilibrium.