MMK 1

Orally administered FPRL1 receptor agonist peptide MMK-1 inhibits etoposide-induced alopecia by a mechanism different from intraperitoneally administered MMK-1.[Pubmed:16183167]

Peptides. 2006 Apr;27(4):820-5.

Oral administration for 6 days of 100 mg/kg MMK-1, an agonist peptide selective for the FPRL1 receptor, suppressed alopecia induced by the anticancer drug etoposide in neonatal rats. The anti-alopecia effect of orally administered MMK-1 was not inhibited by pyrilamine or cimetidine, antagonists for histamine H1 and H2 receptors, respectively, which blocked the anti-alopecia effect of intraperitoneally administered MMK-1 at a dose of 10 mg/kg for 4 days. However, the anti-alopecia effect of orally administered MMK-1 was inhibited by indomethacin, an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase (COX), or AH-23848B, an antagonist of the EP4 receptor for prostaglandin (PG) E2, suggesting involvement of PGE2 release and the EP4 receptor in the oral MMK-1 anti-alopecia mechanism. The anti-alopecia effect of orally administered MMK-1 was also blocked by an inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, suggesting that the oral anti-alopecia effect of MMK-1 may be mediated by activation of NF-kappaB. These results suggest that MMK-1 bound to FPRL1 receptor might suppress etoposide-induced apoptosis of hair follicle cells and alopecia by way of PGE2 release and NF-kappaB activation.

Synthetic peptide MMK-1 is a highly specific chemotactic agonist for leukocyte FPRL1.[Pubmed:11435499]

J Leukoc Biol. 2001 Jul;70(1):155-61.

Human phagocytic leukocytes express the seven-transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptors formyl peptide receptor (FPR) and FPR-like 1 (FPRL1). MMK-1, a synthetic peptide derived from a random peptide library, is reported to induce calcium mobilization specifically in human FPRL1 gene-transfected cells. However, its actions on human phagocytic leukocytes remain poorly defined. We found that MMK-1 is a potent chemotactic and calcium-mobilizing agonist for human monocytes, neutrophils, and FPRL1-transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells but is inactive in cells transfected with FPR. MMK-1 also activated HEK 293 cells transfected with FPR2, a mouse counterpart of human FPRL1. Furthermore, MMK-1 increased pertussis toxin-sensitive production of inflammatory cytokines in human monocytes. MMK-1 signaling in human phagocytes was completely desensitized by a well-defined FPRL1 agonist, suggesting that FPRL1 is likely a receptor that mediates the action of MMK-1 in primary cells. Since MMK-1 is one of the most potent FPRL1-specific agonists identified so far, it can serve as a modulator of the host defense and a useful agent for further studying the signaling and function of FPRL1.

The FPR2-specific ligand MMK-1 activates the neutrophil NADPH-oxidase, but triggers no unique pathway for opening of plasma membrane calcium channels.[Pubmed:19282028]

Cell Calcium. 2009 May;45(5):431-8.

Human neutrophils express formyl peptide receptor 1 and 2 (FPR1 and FPR2), two highly homologous G-protein-coupled cell surface receptors important for the cellular recognition of chemotactic peptides. They share many functional as well as signal transduction features, but some fundamental differences have been described. One such difference was recently presented when the FPR2-specific ligand MMK-1 was shown to trigger a unique signal in neutrophils [S. Partida-Sanchez, P. Iribarren, M.E. Moreno-Garcia, et al., Chemotaxis and calcium responses of phagocytes to formyl peptide receptor ligands is differentially regulated by cyclic ADP ribose, J. Immunol. 172 (2004) 1896-1906]. This signal bypassed the emptying of the intracellular calcium stores, a route normally used to open the store-operated calcium channels present in the plasma membrane of neutrophils. Instead, the binding of MMK-1 to FPR2 was shown to trigger a direct opening of the plasma membrane channels. In this report, we add MMK-1 to a large number of FPR2 ligands that activate the neutrophil superoxide-generating NADPH-oxidase. In contrast to earlier findings we show that the transient rise in intracellular free calcium induced by MMK-1 involves both a release of calcium from intracellular stores and an opening of channels in the plasma membrane. The same pattern was obtained with another characterized FPR2 ligand, WKYMVM, and it is also obvious that the two formyl peptide receptor family members trigger the same type of calcium response in human neutrophils.