Abstract. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a multi-ligand cell surface receptor and a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. RAGE is involved in a wide range of inflammatory, degenerative and hyper-proliferative disorders which span over different organs by engaging diverse ligands, including advanced glycation end products, S100 family proteins, high-mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) and amyloid β. We previously demonstrated that the cytoplasmic domain of RAGE is phosphorylated upon the binding of ligands, enabling the recruitment of two distinct pairs of adaptor proteins, Toll-interleukin 1 receptor domain-containing adaptor protein (TIRAP) and myeloid differentiation protein 88 (MyD88). This engagement allows the activation of downstream effector molecules, and thereby mediates a wide variety of cellular processes, such as inflammatory responses, apoptotic cell death, migration and cell growth. Therefore, inhibition of the binding of TIRAP to RAGE may abrogate intracellular signaling from ligand-activated RAGE. In the present study, we developed inhibitor peptides for RAGE signaling (RAGE-I) by mimicking the phosphorylatable cytosolic domain of RAGE. RAGE-I was efficiently delivered into the cells by polyethylenimine (PEI) cationization. We demonstrated that RAGE-I specifically bound to TIRAP and abrogated the activation of Cdc42 induced by ligand-activated RAGE. Furthermore, we were able to reduce neuronal cell death induced by an excess amount of S100B and to inhibit the migration and invasion of glioma cells in vitro. Our results indicate that RAGE-I provides a powerful tool for therapeutics to block RAGE-mediated multiple signaling.
IntroductionThe receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell surface receptors. It comprises of three domains, an extracellular domain (with one V-type and two C-type domains), a transmembrane-spanning domain and a cytoplasmic domain (1). RAGE is activated by binding to a diverse repertoire of ligands (2). These ligands include advanced glycation end products (AGEs) (3), S100 family proteins (4-6), high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) (5,7) and amyloid β (Aβ) peptides (8). Activated RAGE triggers multiple intracellular pathways, such as the production of reactive oxygen species, the activation of p21ras, Erk1/2 (p44/p42) mitogen-activated protein kinases, p38 and stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinases, rhoGTPases, phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase and Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT), eventually leading to the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), activator protein-1 (AP-1) and .RAGE is physiologically expressed in multiple tissues during embryonic development, but is mostly downregulated as cells reach homeostasis in adult life. Therefore, with the exception of the skin and lungs, RAGE expression is kept at low levels in the adult body (13,14). The binding of ligands and the increased expr...