Random peptide mixtures of tryptophan and lysine suppress the aggregation of a cancer-related mutant of the Axin protein

Aggregation of dysfunctional proteins can lead to a variety of diseases including cancer. We have previously developed chaperone-derived peptides that inhibit aggregation of the cancer-related L106R mutant of Axin RGS. Here we show that significantly improved inhibition was achieved using random peptide mixtures (RPMs) designed to mimic the chemical characteristics of the chaperone-like peptides. 20-mer RPMs of tryptophan and lysine suppressed aggregation of Axin RGS L106R with up to 50-fold improved activity compared to parent inhibitors. Conversely, peptides derived from the lead hotspot of Axin RGS aggregation that were designed to be specific, were unable to prevent aggregation of the protein. RPMs constitute the most efficient strategy to date to magnify peptide inhibitory activity against Axin RGS L106R aggregation, as they contain multiple active species and conformations that cover a larger inhibitory space and shield multiple hotspots at once. Our results demonstrate that the chemical composition of the peptide, and not the specific sequence, is the key factor for inhibitory activity.