In silico and in vivo discovery of antioxidant sea cucumber peptides with antineurodegenerative properties

Abstract

Since oxidative stress is often associated with neurodegenerative diseases, antioxidants are likely to confer protection against neurodegeneration. Despite an increasing number of food-derived peptides being identified as antioxidants, their antineurodegenerative potentials remain largely unexplored. Here, a sea cucumber peptide preparation – the peptide-rich fraction of <3 kDa (UF<3K) obtained by ultrafiltration from Apostichopus japonicus protein hydrolyzate – was found to protect PC12 cells and Caenorhabditis elegans from neurodegeneration by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis, demonstrating its in vitro and in vivo neuroprotective effects. As many food-originated peptides are cryptides (cryptic peptides – short amino acid sequences encrypted in parent proteins) released in quantities by protein hydrolysis, UF<3K was subjected to sequencing analysis. As expected, a large repertoire of peptides were identified in UF<3K, establishing a sea cucumber cryptome (1238 peptides in total). Then 134 peptides were randomly selected from the cryptome (>10%) and analyzed for their antioxidant activities using a number of in silico bioinformatic programs as well as in vivo experimental assays in C. elegans. From these results, a novel antioxidant peptide – HoloPep#362 (FETLMPLWGNK) – was shown to not only inhibit aggregation of neurodegeneration-associated polygluatmine proteins but also ameliorate behavioral deficits in proteotoxicity nematodes. Proteomic analysis revealed an increased expression of several lysosomal proteases by HoloPep#362, suggesting proteostasis maintenance as a mechanism for its antineurodegenerative action. These findings provide an insight into the health-promoting potential of sea cucumber peptides as neuroprotective nutraceuticals and also into the importance of training in silico peptide bioactivity prediction programs with in vivo experimental data.