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Ungri AM, Dos Santos Sabatke BF, Rossi IV, das Neves GB, Marques J, Ribeiro BG, Borges GK, Moreira RS, Ramírez MI, Miletti LC. Extracellular vesicles released by Trypanosoma evansi: induction analysis and proteomics. Parasitol Res 2024; 123:314. [PMID: 39225716 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-024-08330-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 08/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Trypanosoma evansi is a unicellular protozoan responsible for causing a disease known as "surra," which is found in different regions of the world and primarily affects horses and camels. Few information is known about virulence factors released from the parasite within the animals. The organism can secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs), which transport a variety of molecules, including proteins. Before being considered exclusively as a means for eliminating unwanted substances, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as key players in intercellular communication, facilitating interactions between cells, host cells, and parasites, and even between parasites themselves. Thus, they may be used as potential biomarkers. This study aimed to assess the induction of EVs production by Ca+2, conduct a proteomic analysis of the EVs released by T. evansi, and identify epitopes that could serve as biomarkers. The findings indicated that Ca+2 is not an effective promoter of vesiculation in T. evansi. Furthermore, the proteomic analysis has identified multiple proteins that have been investigated as biomarkers or vaccine antigens, previously. A total of 442 proteins were identified, with 7 of them specifically recognizing 9 epitopes that are unique to T. evansi. At least one of these epitopes of TevSTIB805.9.11580 have been previously identified, which increases the possibility of further investigating its potential as a biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Martins Ungri
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas E Vetores, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade Do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, Lages, 88520-000, SC, Brazil
| | - Bruna Fernanda Dos Santos Sabatke
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular, EVAHPI-Extracellular Vesicles and Host-Parasite Interactions Research Group, Instituto Carlos Chagas-Fiocruz, Curitiba, 81310-020, Brazil
| | - Izadora Volpato Rossi
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular, EVAHPI-Extracellular Vesicles and Host-Parasite Interactions Research Group, Instituto Carlos Chagas-Fiocruz, Curitiba, 81310-020, Brazil
| | - Gabriella Bassi das Neves
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas E Vetores, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade Do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, Lages, 88520-000, SC, Brazil
| | - Júlia Marques
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas E Vetores, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade Do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, Lages, 88520-000, SC, Brazil
| | - Brenda Guedes Ribeiro
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas E Vetores, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade Do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, Lages, 88520-000, SC, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Kaiser Borges
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas E Vetores, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade Do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, Lages, 88520-000, SC, Brazil
| | - Renato Simões Moreira
- Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC), Campus Gaspar, R. Adriano Kormann, 510-Bela Vista, Gaspar, SC, Brazil
| | - Marcel Ivan Ramírez
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular, EVAHPI-Extracellular Vesicles and Host-Parasite Interactions Research Group, Instituto Carlos Chagas-Fiocruz, Curitiba, 81310-020, Brazil
| | - Luiz Claudio Miletti
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas E Vetores, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade Do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, Lages, 88520-000, SC, Brazil.
- Departamento de Produção Animal E Alimentos, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias, Universidade Do Estado de Santa Catarina, Av. Luiz de Camões, 2090 Bairro Conta Dinheiro, Lages, SC, 88520-000, Brazil.
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Schön JC. Energy landscapes-Past, present, and future: A perspective. J Chem Phys 2024; 161:050901. [PMID: 39101536 DOI: 10.1063/5.0212867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Energy landscapes and the closely related cost function landscapes have been recognized in science, mathematics, and various other fields such as economics as being highly useful paradigms and tools for the description and analysis of the properties of many systems, ranging from glasses, proteins, and abstract global optimization problems to business models. A multitude of algorithms for the exploration and exploitation of such landscapes have been developed over the past five decades in the various fields of applications, where many re-inventions but also much cross-fertilization have occurred. Twenty-five years ago, trying to increase the fruitful interactions between workers in different fields led to the creation of workshops and small conferences dedicated to the study of energy landscapes in general instead of only focusing on specific applications. In this perspective, I will present some history of the development of energy landscape studies and try to provide an outlook on in what directions the field might evolve in the future and what larger challenges are going to lie ahead, both from a conceptual and a practical point of view, with the main focus on applications of energy landscapes in chemistry and physics.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C Schön
- Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstr. 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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3
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Ahmed MH, Samia NSN, Singh G, Gupta V, Mishal MFM, Hossain A, Suman KH, Raza A, Dutta AK, Labony MA, Sultana J, Faysal EH, Alnasser SM, Alam P, Azam F. An immuno-informatics approach for annotation of hypothetical proteins and multi-epitope vaccine designed against the Mpox virus. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:5288-5307. [PMID: 37519185 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2239921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
A worrying new outbreak of Monkeypox (Mpox) in humans is caused by the Mpox virus (MpoxV). The pathogen has roughly 28 hypothetical proteins of unknown structure, function, and pathogenicity. Using reliable bioinformatics tools, we attempted to analyze the MpoxV genome, identify the role of hypothetical proteins (HPs), and design a potential candidate vaccine. Out of 28, we identified seven hypothetical proteins using multi-server validation with high confidence for the occurrence of conserved domains. Their physical, chemical, and functional characterizations, including molecular weight, theoretical isoelectric point, 3D structures, GRAVY value, subcellular localization, functional motifs, antigenicity, and virulence factors, were performed. We predicted possible cytotoxic T cell (CTL), helper T cell (HTL) and linear and conformational B cell epitopes, which were combined in a 219 amino acid multiepitope vaccine with human β defensin as a linker. This multi-epitopic vaccine was structurally modelled and docked with toll-like receptor-3 (TLR-3). The dynamical stability of the vaccine-TLR-3 docked complexes exhibited stable interactions based on RMSD and RMSF tests. Additionally, the modelled vaccine was cloned in-silico in an E. coli host to check the appropriate expression of the final vaccine built. Our results might conform to an immunogenic and safe vaccine, which would require further experimental validation.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Hridoy Ahmed
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh
| | - Nure Sharaf Nower Samia
- Department of Life Sciences (DLS), School of Environment and Life Sciences (SELS), Independent University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Gagandeep Singh
- Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
- Section of Microbiology, Central Ayurveda Research Institute, Jhansi CCRAS, Ministry of Ayush, India
| | - Vandana Gupta
- Department of Microbiology, Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Alomgir Hossain
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | | | - Adnan Raza
- Bioscience department, COMSATS University of Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Amit Kumar Dutta
- Department of Microbiology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | - Moriom Akhter Labony
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh
| | - Jakia Sultana
- Department of Botany, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
| | | | - Sulaiman Mohammed Alnasser
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Prawez Alam
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia
| | - Faizul Azam
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
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Van Nguyen T, Kasantikul T, Piewbang C, Techangamsuwan S. Evolutionary dynamics of canine kobuvirus in Vietnam and Thailand reveal the evidence of viral ability to evade host immunity. Sci Rep 2024; 14:12037. [PMID: 38802579 PMCID: PMC11130191 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62833-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Canine kobuvirus (CaKoV) is a pathogen associated with canine gastrointestinal disease (GID). This study examined 327 rectal swabs (RS), including 113 from Vietnam (46 healthy, 67 with GID) and 214 from Thailand (107 healthy and 107 with GID). CaKoV was detected in both countries, with prevalences of 28.3% (33/113) in Vietnam and 7.9% (17/214) in Thailand. Additionally, CaKoV was found in both dogs with diarrhea and healthy dogs. CaKoV was mainly found in puppies under six months of age (30.8%). Co-detection with other canine viruses were also observed. The complete coding sequence (CDS) of nine Vietnamese and four Thai CaKoV strains were characterized. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close genetic relationship between Vietnamese and Thai CaKoV strains, which were related to the Chinese strains. CDS analysis indicated a distinct lineage for two Vietnamese CaKoV strains. Selective pressure analysis on the viral capsid (VP1) region showed negative selection, with potential positive selection sites on B-cell epitopes. This study, the first of its kind in Vietnam, provides insights into CaKoV prevalence in dogs of different ages and healthy statuses, updates CaKoV occurrence in Thailand, and sheds light on its molecular characteristics and immune evasion strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tin Van Nguyen
- The International Graduate Program of Veterinary Science and Technology (VST), Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Animal Virome and Diagnostic Development Research Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Tanit Kasantikul
- Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Chutchai Piewbang
- Animal Virome and Diagnostic Development Research Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
| | - Somporn Techangamsuwan
- Animal Virome and Diagnostic Development Research Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
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Naveed M, Ali U, Aziz T, Naveed R, Mahmood S, Khan MM, Alharbi M, Albekairi TH, Alasmari AF. An Aedes-Anopheles Vaccine Candidate Supplemented with BCG Epitopes Against the Aedes and Anopheles Genera to Overcome Hypersensitivity to Mosquito Bites. Acta Parasitol 2024; 69:483-504. [PMID: 38194049 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-023-00771-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Skeeter syndrome is a severe local allergic response to mosquito bites that is accompanied by considerable inflammation and, in some cases, a systemic response like fever. People with the syndrome develop serious allergies, ranging from rashes to anaphylaxis or shock. The few available studies on mosquito venom immunotherapy have utilized whole-body preparations and small sample sizes. Still, owing to their little success, vaccination remains a promising alternative as well as a permanent solution for infections like Skeeter's. METHODS This study, therefore, illustrated the construction of an epitope-based vaccine candidate against Skeeter Syndrome using established immunoinformatic techniques. We selected three species of mosquitoes, Anopheles melas, Anopheles funestus, and Aedes aegypti, to derive salivary antigens usually found in mosquito bites. Our construct was also supplemented with bacterial epitopes known to elicit a strong TH1 response and suppress TH2 stimulation that is predicted to reduce hypersensitivity against the bites. RESULTS A quality factor of 98.9496, instability index of 38.55, aliphatic index of 79.42, solubility of 0.934747, and GRAVY score of -0.02 indicated the structural (tertiary and secondary) stability, thermostability, solubility, and hydrophilicity of the construct, respectively. The designed Aedes-Anopheles vaccine (AAV) candidate was predicted to be flexible and less prone to deformability with an eigenvalue of 1.5911e-9 and perfected the human immune response against Skeeter (hypersensitivity) and many mosquito-associated diseases as we noted the production of 30,000 Th1 cells per mm3 with little (insignificant production of Th2 cells. The designed vaccine also revealed stable interactions with the pattern recognition receptors of the host. The TLR2/vaccine complex interacted with a free energy of - 1069.2 kcal/mol with 26 interactions, whereas the NLRP3/vaccine complex interacted with a free energy of - 1081.2 kcal/mol with 16 molecular interactions. CONCLUSION Although being a pure in-silico study, the in-depth analysis performed herein speaks volumes of the potency of the designed vaccine candidate predicting that the proposition can withstand rigorous in-vitro and in-vivo clinical trials and may proceed to become the first preventative immunotherapy against mosquito bite allergy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Naveed
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, 54590, Punjab, Pakistan.
| | - Urooj Ali
- Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Tariq Aziz
- Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina Arta, 47100, Arta, Greece.
| | - Rida Naveed
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, 54590, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Sarmad Mahmood
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, 54590, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Mustajab Khan
- Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Metab Alharbi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Thamer H Albekairi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah F Alasmari
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Wang X, Chang W, Khosraviani M, Phung W, Peng L, Cohen S, Andrews BT, Sun Y, Davies CW, Koerber JT, Yang J, Song A. Application of N-Terminal Site-Specific Biotin and Digoxigenin Conjugates to Clinical Anti-drug Antibody Assay Development. Bioconjug Chem 2024; 35:174-186. [PMID: 38050929 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Biotin- and digoxigenin (DIG)-conjugated therapeutic drugs are critical reagents used for the development of anti-drug antibody (ADA) assays for the assessment of immunogenicity. The current practice of generating biotin and DIG conjugates is to label a therapeutic antibody with biotin or DIG via primary amine groups on lysine or N-terminal residues. This approach modifies lysine residues nonselectively, which can impact the ability of an ADA assay to detect those ADAs that recognize epitopes located at or near the modified lysine residue(s). The impact of the lysine modification is considered greater for therapeutic antibodies that have a limited number of lysine residues, such as the variable heavy domain of heavy chain (VHH) antibodies. In this paper, for the first time, we report the application of site-specifically conjugated biotin- and DIG-VHH reagents to clinical ADA assay development using a model molecule, VHHA. The site-specific conjugation of biotin or DIG to VHHA was achieved by using an optimized reductive alkylation approach, which enabled the majority of VHHA molecules labeled with biotin or DIG at the desirable N-terminus, thereby minimizing modification of the protein after labeling and reducing the possibility of missing detection of ADAs. Head-to-head comparison of biophysical characterization data revealed that the site-specific biotin and DIG conjugates demonstrated overall superior quality to biotin- and DIG-VHHA prepared using the conventional amine coupling method, and the performance of the ADA assay developed using site-specific biotin and DIG conjugates met all acceptance criteria. The approach described here can be applied to the production of other therapeutic-protein- or antibody-based critical reagents that are used to support ligand binding assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangdan Wang
- BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Wenping Chang
- Department of Peptide Therapeutics, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Mehraban Khosraviani
- BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Wilson Phung
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics, and Lipidomics, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Lingling Peng
- Department of Peptide Therapeutics, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Sivan Cohen
- BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Benjamin T Andrews
- BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Yonglian Sun
- Antibody Engineering, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Christopher W Davies
- Antibody Engineering, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - James T Koerber
- Antibody Engineering, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Jihong Yang
- BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Aimin Song
- Department of Peptide Therapeutics, Genentech, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
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Morán‐Lalangui M, Coutinho A, Prieto M, Fedorov A, Pérez‐Gil J, Loura LMS, García‐Álvarez B. Exploring protein-protein interactions and oligomerization state of pulmonary surfactant protein C (SP-C) through FRET and fluorescence self-quenching. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4835. [PMID: 37984447 PMCID: PMC10731621 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Pulmonary surfactant (PS) is a lipid-protein complex that forms films reducing surface tension at the alveolar air-liquid interface. Surfactant protein C (SP-C) plays a key role in rearranging the lipids at the PS surface layers during breathing. The N-terminal segment of SP-C, a lipopeptide of 35 amino acids, contains two palmitoylated cysteines, which affect the stability and structure of the molecule. The C-terminal region comprises a transmembrane α-helix that contains a ALLMG motif, supposedly analogous to a well-studied dimerization motif in glycophorin A. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential interaction between SP-C molecules using approaches such as Bimolecular Complementation assays or computational simulations. In this work, the oligomerization state of SP-C in membrane systems has been studied using fluorescence spectroscopy techniques. We have performed self-quenching and FRET assays to analyze dimerization of native palmitoylated SP-C and a non-palmitoylated recombinant version of SP-C (rSP-C) using fluorescently labeled versions of either protein reconstituted in different lipid systems mimicking pulmonary surfactant environments. Our results reveal that doubly palmitoylated native SP-C remains primarily monomeric. In contrast, non-palmitoylated recombinant SP-C exhibits dimerization, potentiated at high concentrations, especially in membranes with lipid phase separation. Therefore, palmitoylation could play a crucial role in stabilizing the monomeric α-helical conformation of SP-C. Depalmitoylation, high protein densities as a consequence of membrane compartmentalization, and other factors may all lead to the formation of protein dimers and higher-order oligomers, which could have functional implications under certain pathological conditions and contribute to membrane transformations associated with surfactant metabolism and alveolar homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mishelle Morán‐Lalangui
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyFaculty of Biology, Complutense UniversityMadridSpain
- Research Institute “Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12)”MadridSpain
| | - Ana Coutinho
- iBB Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, IST, Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
- Associate Lab i4HB, Institute for Health and Bioeconomy at IST, Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryFaculty of Sciences, University of LisbonLisbonPortugal
| | - Manuel Prieto
- iBB Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, IST, Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
- Associate Lab i4HB, Institute for Health and Bioeconomy at IST, Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
| | - Alexander Fedorov
- iBB Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, IST, Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
- Associate Lab i4HB, Institute for Health and Bioeconomy at IST, Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
| | - Jesús Pérez‐Gil
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyFaculty of Biology, Complutense UniversityMadridSpain
- Research Institute “Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12)”MadridSpain
| | - Luís M. S. Loura
- Department of Chemistry, Coimbra Chemistry Centre, Institute of Molecular Sciences (CQC‐IMS)University of CoimbraCoimbraPortugal
- CNC Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of CoimbraCoimbraPortugal
- Faculty of PharmacyUniversity of CoimbraCoimbraPortugal
| | - Begoña García‐Álvarez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyFaculty of Biology, Complutense UniversityMadridSpain
- Research Institute “Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12)”MadridSpain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyFaculty of Chemistry, Complutense UniversityMadridSpain
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Grakh K, Mittal D, Prakash A, Kumar R, Jindal N. uspA gene-based phylogenetic analysis and antigenic epitope prediction for Escherichia coli strains of avian origin. Front Vet Sci 2023; 10:1183048. [PMID: 38188721 PMCID: PMC10767999 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1183048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) is responsible for various local and systemic infections in animal and human populations. Conventional methods for the detection and identification of E. coli are time-consuming and less reliable for atypical strains. The uspA gene has been widely used as a target for the detection of E. coli. The present study was aimed at phylogenetic analysis of the uspA gene sequences to determine the evolutionary relationships between the strains and other members of the Enterobacteriaceae family. In addition, the unique differences in the sequences of the current study with Salmonella and Shigella species were tested using Tajima's molecular clock test. Antigenic epitope prediction was performed to locate the B-cell epitope region of the UspA protein. Two E. coli isolates of avian origin and strains from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database were used for prediction. The Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) server, Bepitope, ABCpred, SVMTrip, and ElliPro server were used to identify B-cell epitopes. The 3D structure was predicted using SWISS-MODEL. Phylogenetic analysis of the isolates from the current study revealed that both OM837340 and OM837341 sequences from the current study had maximum nucleotide homology (nt) of 99.87%-100% with E. coli isolates and minimum nt homology of 84.08% with Salmonella enteritidis and S. Hissar. The isolates in the current study had a homology of 98.87%, while the homology with Shigella species was 99.25%. Seven silent mutations were observed in the coding region of the UspA protein of ECO9LTBW (current study). Modeling of the UspA protein revealed a maximum homology of 67.86% with the Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe), also validated by the Ramachandran plot. No significant differences were found in the coding regions of uspA of Salmonella, Shigella, and E. coli with Tajima's test. For the E. coli isolates, a total of 24 linear B-cell and seven discontinuous epitopes were predicted using in-silico analysis. When the results of the predicted peptides were compared, two peptides, namely ARPYNA and YSDLYTGLIDVNLGDMQKRISEE, were found suitable candidates. In conclusion, the uspA gene appears to be conserved among E. coli isolates and can be used for molecular detection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dinesh Mittal
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, India
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Girija ASS. Prediction of Antigenic Vaccine Peptide Candidates From BfmRS Associated With Biofilm Formation in Acinetobacter baumannii. Cureus 2023; 15:e47804. [PMID: 38022156 PMCID: PMC10676731 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.47804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION A. baumannii is categorized as a priority pathogen due to its propensity for multi-drug resistance, exhibiting resistance against the last resort of antibiotics. It is also considered a potent nosocomial pathogen, so targeting the microbe using novel strategies would be the need of the hour. In this context, the in-silico computational approach would serve the best to design the possible epitope peptides, which may be further considered for the experimental trials for their immunological response. Objective: To predict the immune-dominant epitope peptide candidates against the bfmR and bfmS proteins mediating the two-component system adaptation in the formation of biofilm in A. baumannii. MATERIALS AND METHODS 11 different FASTA sequences of bfmR and bfmS from A. baumannii strains retrieved based on the blast-p similarity search tool were subjected to linear epitope B-cell epitope predictions under the IEDB B-cell epitope prediction server. Further analysis on antigenicity, allergenicity, and toxigenicity was achieved using the AntigenPro, Vaxijen, and AlgPred tools, with the physical and chemical properties evaluated using the Expasy Protparam server. Selection of the immunodominant peptides for T-cells was done through the databases under IEDB. The final assessment of protein-TLR2 interactions was done by MHC cluster servers. RESULTS Four peptide sequences (E1-E4) were predicted for B-cell dominance, with E1, E2, and E4 as probable antigens. All were soluble and non-toxigenic. E1 and E3 were considered non-allergens. GRAVY values were negative for all the peptides, indicating the protein to be hydrophilic in nature. Analysis of the T-cell epitopes was promising, with 100% conservancy for class-I HLA alleles, high interaction scores for similarity with TLR2, and more hydrogen bonds for E2, followed by other epitope peptides. CONCLUSION The promising four epitopes, as predicted for bfmR and bfmS in the present study, suggest their potent role as possible candidates for the design of vaccines targeting the TCS of A. baumannii, recommending further in vitro and in vivo experimental validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S Smiline Girija
- Department of Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences [SIMATS] Saveetha University, Chennai, IND
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10
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Peterson SM, Watowich MM, Renner LM, Martin S, Offenberg E, Lea A, Montague MJ, Higham JP, Snyder-Mackler N, Neuringer M, Ferguson B. Genetic variants in melanogenesis proteins TYRP1 and TYR are associated with the golden rhesus macaque phenotype. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:jkad168. [PMID: 37522525 PMCID: PMC10542561 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are vital translational research models due to their high genetic, physiological, and anatomical homology with humans. The "golden" rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) phenotype is a naturally occurring, inherited trait with a visually distinct pigmentation pattern resulting in light blonde colored fur. Retinal imaging also reveals consistent hypopigmentation and occasional foveal hypoplasia. Here, we describe the use of genome-wide association in 2 distinct NHP populations to identify candidate variants in genes linked to the golden phenotype. Two missense variants were identified in the Tyrosinase-related protein 1 gene (Asp343Gly and Leu415Pro) that segregate with the phenotype. An additional and distinct association was also found with a Tyrosinase variant (His256Gln), indicating the light-colored fur phenotype can result from multiple genetic mechanisms. The implicated genes are related through their contribution to the melanogenesis pathway. Variants in these 2 genes are known to cause pigmentation phenotypes in other species and to be associated with oculocutaneous albinism in humans. The novel associations presented in this study will permit further investigations into the role these proteins and variants play in the melanogenesis pathway and model the effects of genetic hypopigmentation and altered melanogenesis in a naturally occurring nonhuman primate model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel M Peterson
- Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
| | - Marina M Watowich
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Lauren M Renner
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
| | - Samantha Martin
- Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
| | - Emma Offenberg
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Amanda Lea
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
- School for Human Evolution & Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Martha Neuringer
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
- Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Betsy Ferguson
- Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
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11
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Agarwal A, Kant S, Bahadur RP. Efficient mapping of RNA-binding residues in RNA-binding proteins using local sequence features of binding site residues in protein-RNA complexes. Proteins 2023; 91:1361-1379. [PMID: 37254800 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Protein-RNA interactions play vital roles in plethora of biological processes such as regulation of gene expression, protein synthesis, mRNA processing and biogenesis. Identification of RNA-binding residues (RBRs) in proteins is essential to understand RNA-mediated protein functioning, to perform site-directed mutagenesis and to develop novel targeted drug therapies. Moreover, the extensive gap between sequence and structural data restricts the identification of binding sites in unsolved structures. However, efficient use of computational methods demanding only sequence to identify binding residues can bridge this huge sequence-structure gap. In this study, we have extensively studied protein-RNA interface in known RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). We find that the interface is highly enriched in basic and polar residues with Gly being the most common interface neighbor. We investigated several amino acid features and developed a method to predict putative RBRs from amino acid sequence. We have implemented balanced random forest (BRF) classifier with local residue features of protein sequences for prediction. With 5-fold cross-validations, the sequence pattern derived dipeptide composition based BRF model (DCP-BRF) resulted in an accuracy of 87.9%, specificity of 88.8%, sensitivity of 82.2%, Mathew's correlation coefficient of 0.60 and AUC of 0.93, performing better than few existing methods. We further validated our prediction model on known human RBPs through RBR prediction and could map ~54% of them. Further, knowledge of binding site preferences obtained from computational predictions combined with experimental validations of potential RNA binding sites can enhance our understanding of protein-RNA interactions. This may serve to accelerate investigations on functional roles of many novel RBPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Agarwal
- School of Bio Science, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
- Computational Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
| | - Shri Kant
- Computational Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
| | - Ranjit Prasad Bahadur
- Computational Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
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12
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Delle Vedove A, Natarajan J, Zanni G, Eckenweiler M, Muiños-Bühl A, Storbeck M, Guillén Boixet J, Barresi S, Pizzi S, Hölker I, Körber F, Franzmann TM, Bertini ES, Kirschner J, Alberti S, Tartaglia M, Wirth B. CAPRIN1 P512L causes aberrant protein aggregation and associates with early-onset ataxia. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:526. [PMID: 36136249 PMCID: PMC9499908 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04544-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
CAPRIN1 is a ubiquitously expressed protein, abundant in the brain, where it regulates the transport and translation of mRNAs of genes involved in synaptic plasticity. Here we describe two unrelated children, who developed early-onset ataxia, dysarthria, cognitive decline and muscle weakness. Trio exome sequencing unraveled the identical de novo c.1535C > T (p.Pro512Leu) missense variant in CAPRIN1, affecting a highly conserved residue. In silico analyses predict an increased aggregation propensity of the mutated protein. Indeed, overexpressed CAPRIN1P512L forms insoluble ubiquitinated aggregates, sequestrating proteins associated with neurodegenerative disorders (ATXN2, GEMIN5, SNRNP200 and SNCA). Moreover, the CAPRIN1P512L mutation in isogenic iPSC-derived cortical neurons causes reduced neuronal activity and altered stress granule dynamics. Furthermore, nano-differential scanning fluorimetry reveals that CAPRIN1P512L aggregation is strongly enhanced by RNA in vitro. These findings associate the gain-of-function Pro512Leu mutation to early-onset ataxia and neurodegeneration, unveiling a critical residue of CAPRIN1 and a key role of RNA–protein interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Delle Vedove
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Cologne, University Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Janani Natarajan
- Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ginevra Zanni
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division and Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders - the Department of Neurosciences of the Bambino Gesù Childrens' Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Matthias Eckenweiler
- Department of Neuropediatrics and Muscle Disorders, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Anixa Muiños-Bühl
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Cologne, University Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Markus Storbeck
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Cologne, University Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jordina Guillén Boixet
- Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Sabina Barresi
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division and Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders - the Department of Neurosciences of the Bambino Gesù Childrens' Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Pizzi
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division and Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders - the Department of Neurosciences of the Bambino Gesù Childrens' Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Irmgard Hölker
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Cologne, University Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.,Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Friederike Körber
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, 50937, Cologne, Germany
| | - Titus M Franzmann
- Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Enrico S Bertini
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division and Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders - the Department of Neurosciences of the Bambino Gesù Childrens' Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Janbernd Kirschner
- Department of Neuropediatrics and Muscle Disorders, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simon Alberti
- Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marco Tartaglia
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division and Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders - the Department of Neurosciences of the Bambino Gesù Childrens' Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Brunhilde Wirth
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Cologne, University Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany. .,Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany. .,Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany. .,Center for Rare Diseases, University Hospital of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.
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13
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Huang KY, Kan SL, Shen TT, Gong P, Feng YY, Du H, Zhao YP, Wan T, Wang XQ, Ran JH. A Comprehensive Evolutionary Study of Chloroplast RNA Editing in Gymnosperms: A Novel Type of G-to-A RNA Editing Is Common in Gymnosperms. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231810844. [PMID: 36142757 PMCID: PMC9505161 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231810844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Although more than 9100 plant plastomes have been sequenced, RNA editing sites of the whole plastome have been experimentally verified in only approximately 21 species, which seriously hampers the comprehensive evolutionary study of chloroplast RNA editing. We investigated the evolutionary pattern of chloroplast RNA editing sites in 19 species from all 13 families of gymnosperms based on a combination of genomic and transcriptomic data. We found that the chloroplast C-to-U RNA editing sites of gymnosperms shared many common characteristics with those of other land plants, but also exhibited many unique characteristics. In contrast to that noted in angiosperms, the density of RNA editing sites in ndh genes was not the highest in the sampled gymnosperms, and both loss and gain events at editing sites occurred frequently during the evolution of gymnosperms. In addition, GC content and plastomic size were positively correlated with the number of chloroplast RNA editing sites in gymnosperms, suggesting that the increase in GC content could provide more materials for RNA editing and facilitate the evolution of RNA editing in land plants or vice versa. Interestingly, novel G-to-A RNA editing events were commonly found in all sampled gymnosperm species, and G-to-A RNA editing exhibits many different characteristics from C-to-U RNA editing in gymnosperms. This study revealed a comprehensive evolutionary scenario for chloroplast RNA editing sites in gymnosperms, and reported that a novel type of G-to-A RNA editing is prevalent in gymnosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai-Yuan Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Sheng-Long Kan
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Ting-Ting Shen
- School of Earth Sciences, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
| | - Pin Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hong Du
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Yun-Peng Zhao
- Laboratory of Systematic & Evolutionary Botany and Biodiversity, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Tao Wan
- Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Xiao-Quan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jin-Hua Ran
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Correspondence:
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14
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Tropomyosin micelles are the major components contributing to the white colour of boiled shellfish soups. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15253. [PMID: 36085349 PMCID: PMC9463138 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17911-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Basket clam soup, a popular Asian dish, is prepared by boiling clams in hot water. The soup is generally cloudy, and it is considered that increased cloudiness enhances taste. However, the composition of the whitening ingredients and their association with taste enhancement remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify the components contributing to the white colour of the boiled soup. The white component upon precipitation with trichloroacetic acid reacted positively with ninhydrin, indicating the presence of proteins. The separation of proteins using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed an intense band of size 33 kDa. Peptide mass fingerprinting of the identified protein using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry revealed the protein as tropomyosin. To validate the involvement of tropomyosin in the turbidity of the soup, tropomyosin was expressed and extracted from Escherichia coli. As expected, the purified protein suspended in water resulted in turbid appearance. To determine whether lipids have any association with the observed cloudiness of the soup, the amounts of fatty acids were measured. The proportion of estimated fatty acids was very low compared to that of proteins. Overall, we identified the major component contributing to soup cloudiness as tropomyosin forming micelles.
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15
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Ravindranath MH, El Hilali F, Amato-Menker CJ, El Hilali H, Selvan SR, Filippone EJ. Role of HLA-I Structural Variants and the Polyreactive Antibodies They Generate in Immune Homeostasis. Antibodies (Basel) 2022; 11:antib11030058. [PMID: 36134954 PMCID: PMC9495617 DOI: 10.3390/antib11030058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-surface HLA-I molecules consisting of β2-microglobulin (β2m) associated heavy chains (HCs), referred to as Face-1, primarily present peptides to CD8+ T-cells. HCs consist of three α-domains, with selected amino acid sequences shared by all alleles of all six isoforms. The cell-surface HLA undergoes changes upon activation by pathological conditions with the expression of β2m-free HCs (Face-2) resulting in exposure of β2m-masked sequences shared by almost all alleles and the generation of HLA-polyreactive antibodies (Abs) against them. Face-2 may homodimerize or heterodimerize with the same (Face-3) or different alleles (Face-4) preventing exposure of shared epitopes. Non-allo immunized males naturally carry HLA-polyreactive Abs. The therapeutic intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) purified from plasma of thousands of donors contains HLA-polyreactive Abs, admixed with non-HLA Abs. Purified HLA-polyreactive monoclonal Abs (TFL-006/007) generated in mice after immunizing with Face-2 are documented to be immunoregulatory by suppressing or activating different human lymphocytes, much better than IVIg. Our objectives are (a) to elucidate the complexity of the HLA-I structural variants, and their Abs that bind to both shared and uncommon epitopes on different variants, and (b) to examine the roles of those Abs against HLA-variants in maintaining immune homeostasis. These may enable the development of personalized therapeutic strategies for various pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mepur H. Ravindranath
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
- Emeritus Research Scientist, Terasaki Foundation Laboratory, Santa Monica, CA 90064, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Fatiha El Hilali
- Medico-Surgical, Biomedicine and Infectiology Research Laboratory, The Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Laayoune & Agadir, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir 80000, Morocco
| | - Carly J. Amato-Menker
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Hajar El Hilali
- Medico-Surgical, Biomedicine and Infectiology Research Laboratory, The Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Laayoune & Agadir, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir 80000, Morocco
| | - Senthamil R. Selvan
- Division of Immunology and Hematology Devices, OHT 7: Office of In Vitro Diagnostics, Office of Product Evaluation and Quality, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Edward J. Filippone
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19145, USA
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16
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Local Backbone Geometry Plays a Critical Role in Determining Conformational Preferences of Amino Acid Residues in Proteins. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12091184. [PMID: 36139023 PMCID: PMC9496368 DOI: 10.3390/biom12091184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The definition of the structural basis of the conformational preferences of the genetically encoded amino acid residues is an important yet unresolved issue of structural biology. In order to gain insights into this intricate topic, we here determined and compared the amino acid propensity scales for different (φ, ψ) regions of the Ramachandran plot and for different secondary structure elements. These propensities were calculated using the Chou–Fasman approach on a database of non-redundant protein chains retrieved from the Protein Data Bank. Similarities between propensity scales were evaluated by linear regression analyses. One of the most striking and unexpected findings is that distant regions of the Ramachandran plot may exhibit significantly similar propensity scales. On the other hand, contiguous regions of the Ramachandran plot may present anticorrelated propensities. In order to provide an interpretative background to these results, we evaluated the role that the local variability of protein backbone geometry plays in this context. Our analysis indicates that (dis)similarities of propensity scales between different regions of the Ramachandran plot are coupled with (dis)similarities in the local geometry. The concept that similarities of the propensity scales are dictated by the similarity of the NCαC angle and not necessarily by the similarity of the (φ, ψ) conformation may have far-reaching implications in the field.
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17
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Abstract
The potential of miniproteins in the biological and chemical sciences is constantly increasing. Significant progress in the design methodologies has been achieved over the last 30 years. Early approaches based on propensities of individual amino acid residues to form individual secondary structures were subsequently improved by structural analyses using NMR spectroscopy and crystallography. Consequently, computational algorithms were developed, which are now highly successful in designing structures with accuracy often close to atomic range. Further perspectives include construction of miniproteins incorporating non-native secondary structures derived from sequences with units other than α-amino acids. Noteworthy, miniproteins with extended structures, which are now feasibly accessible, are excellent scaffolds for construction of functional molecules.
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18
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Klinke N, Meyer H, Ratnavadivel S, Reinhardt M, Heinisch JJ, Malmendal A, Milting H, Paululat A. A Drosophila melanogaster model for TMEM43-related arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy type 5. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:444. [PMID: 35869176 PMCID: PMC9307560 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04458-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractArrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a severe cardiac disease that leads to heart failure or sudden cardiac death (SCD). For the pathogenesis of ARVC, various mutations in at least eight different genes have been identified. A rare form of ARVC is associated with the mutation TMEM43 p.S358L, which is a fully penetrant variant in male carriers. TMEM43 p.S358 is homologous to CG8111 p.S333 in Drosophila melanogaster. We established CRISPR/Cas9-mediated CG8111 knock-out mutants in Drosophila, as well as transgenic fly lines carrying an overexpression construct of the CG8111 p.S333L substitution. Knock-out flies developed normally, whereas the overexpression of CG8111 p.S333L caused growth defects, loss of body weight, cardiac arrhythmias, and premature death. An evaluation of a series of model mutants that replaced S333 by selected amino acids proved that the conserved serine is critical for the physiological function of CG8111. Metabolomic and proteomic analyses revealed that the S333 in CG8111 is essential to proper energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism in the fly. Of note, metabolic impairments were also found in the murine Tmem43 disease model, and fibrofatty replacement is a hallmark of human ARVC5. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular functions of CG8111 in Drosophila, and can represent a valuable basis to assess the aetiology of the human TMEM43 p.S358L variant in more detail.
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Kakkanas A, Karamichali E, Koufogeorgou EI, Kotsakis SD, Georgopoulou U, Foka P. Targeting the YXXΦ Motifs of the SARS Coronaviruses 1 and 2 ORF3a Peptides by In Silico Analysis to Predict Novel Virus-Host Interactions. Biomolecules 2022; 12:1052. [PMID: 36008946 PMCID: PMC9405953 DOI: 10.3390/biom12081052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The emerging SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 belong to the family of "common cold" RNA coronaviruses, and they are responsible for the 2003 epidemic and the current pandemic with over 6.3 M deaths worldwide. The ORF3a gene is conserved in both viruses and codes for the accessory protein ORF3a, with unclear functions, possibly related to viral virulence and pathogenesis. The tyrosine-based YXXΦ motif (Φ: bulky hydrophobic residue-L/I/M/V/F) was originally discovered to mediate clathrin-dependent endocytosis of membrane-spanning proteins. Many viruses employ the YXXΦ motif to achieve efficient receptor-guided internalisation in host cells, maintain the structural integrity of their capsids and enhance viral replication. Importantly, this motif has been recently identified on the ORF3a proteins of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Given that the ORF3a aa sequence is not fully conserved between the two SARS viruses, we aimed to map in silico structural differences and putative sequence-driven alterations of regulatory elements within and adjacently to the YXXΦ motifs that could predict variations in ORF3a functions. Using robust bioinformatics tools, we investigated the presence of relevant post-translational modifications and the YXXΦ motif involvement in protein-protein interactions. Our study suggests that the predicted YXXΦ-related features may confer specific-yet to be discovered-functions to ORF3a proteins, significant to the new virus and related to enhanced propagation, host immune regulation and virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Athanassios Kakkanas
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 115-21 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (E.K.); (E.I.K.); (U.G.)
| | - Eirini Karamichali
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 115-21 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (E.K.); (E.I.K.); (U.G.)
| | - Efthymia Ioanna Koufogeorgou
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 115-21 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (E.K.); (E.I.K.); (U.G.)
| | - Stathis D. Kotsakis
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 115-21 Athens, Greece;
| | - Urania Georgopoulou
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 115-21 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (E.K.); (E.I.K.); (U.G.)
| | - Pelagia Foka
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 115-21 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (E.K.); (E.I.K.); (U.G.)
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20
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Proteome Exploration of
Legionella pneumophila
To Identify Novel Therapeutics: a Hierarchical Subtractive Genomics and Reverse Vaccinology Approach. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0037322. [PMID: 35863001 PMCID: PMC9430848 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00373-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Legionella pneumophila
is a human pathogen distributed worldwide, causing Legionnaires’ disease (LD), a severe form of pneumonia and respiratory tract infection.
L. pneumophila
is emerging as an antibiotic-resistant strain, and controlling LD is now difficult. Hence, developing novel drugs and vaccines against
L. pneumophila
is a major research priority.
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21
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Mitra D, Pandey J, Jain A, Swaroop S. In silico design of multi-epitope-based peptide vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 using its spike protein. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:5189-5202. [PMID: 33403946 PMCID: PMC7876912 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1869092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 has been efficient in ensuring that many countries are brought to a standstill. With repercussions ranging from rampant mortality, fear, paranoia, and economic recession, the virus has brought together countries to look at possible therapeutic countermeasures. With prophylactic interventions possibly months away from being particularly effective, a slew of measures and possibilities concerning the design of vaccines are being worked upon. We attempted a structure-based approach utilizing a combination of epitope prediction servers and Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations to develop a multi-epitope-based subunit vaccine that involves the two subunits of the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 (S1 and S2) coupled with a substantially effective chimeric adjuvant to create stable vaccine constructs. The designed constructs were evaluated based on their docking with Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) 4. Our findings provide an epitope-based peptide fragment that can be a potential candidate for the development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Recent experimental studies based on determining immunodominant regions across the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 indicate the presence of the predicted epitopes included in this study.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debarghya Mitra
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
| | - Janmejay Pandey
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
| | - Alok Jain
- Department of Bio-Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
| | - Shiv Swaroop
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
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22
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Imran MA, Islam MR, Saha A, Ferdousee S, Mishu MA, Ghosh A. Development of Multi-epitope Based Subunit Vaccine Against Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Using Reverse Vaccinology Approach. Int J Pept Res Ther 2022; 28:124. [PMID: 35789799 PMCID: PMC9244561 DOI: 10.1007/s10989-022-10430-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Md. Ashik Imran
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114 Bangladesh
| | - Md. Rubiath Islam
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114 Bangladesh
| | - Akash Saha
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114 Bangladesh
| | - Shahida Ferdousee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114 Bangladesh
| | - Moshiul Alam Mishu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114 Bangladesh
| | - Ajit Ghosh
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114 Bangladesh
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23
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Pérez-Sánchez R, Cano-Argüelles AL, González-Sánchez M, Oleaga A. First Data on Ornithodoros moubata Aquaporins: Structural, Phylogenetic and Immunogenic Characterisation as Vaccine Targets. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11060694. [PMID: 35745548 PMCID: PMC9227307 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11060694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Ornithodoros moubata transmits African swine fever and human relapsing fever in Africa. The elimination of O. moubata populations from anthropic environments is expected to improve the prevention and control of these diseases. Tick vaccines have emerged as a sustainable method for tick control, and tick aquaporins (AQPs) are promising targets for tick vaccines due to their vital functions, immunogenicity and ease of access by neutralising host antibodies. This study aimed at the systematic identification of the AQPs expressed by O. moubata (OmAQPs) and their characterisation as vaccine targets. Therefore, AQP coding sequences were recovered from available transcriptomic datasets, followed by PCR amplification, cloning, sequence verification and the analysis of the AQP protein structure and epitope exposure. Seven OmAQPs were identified and characterised: six were aquaglyceroporins, and one was a water-specific aquaporin. All of these were expressed in the salivary glands and midgut and only three in the coxal glands. Epitope exposure analysis identified three extracellular domains in each AQP, which concentrate overlapping B and T cell epitopes, making them interesting vaccine targets. Based on these domain sequences, a set of ten antigenic peptides was designed, which showed adequate properties to be produced and tested in pilot vaccine trials.
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24
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Mane A, Limaye S, Patil L, Kulkarni-Kale U. Genetic variability in minor capsid protein (L2 gene) of human papillomavirus type 16 among Indian women. Med Microbiol Immunol 2022; 211:153-160. [PMID: 35552511 PMCID: PMC9101989 DOI: 10.1007/s00430-022-00739-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) is the predominant genotype worldwide associated with invasive cervical cancer and hence remains as the focus for diagnostic development and vaccine research. L2, the minor capsid protein forms the packaging unit for the HPV genome along with the L1 protein and is primarily associated with transport of genomic DNA to the nucleus. Unlike L1, L2 is known to elicit cross-neutralizing antibodies and thus becomes a suitable candidate for pan-HPV prophylactic vaccine development. In the present study, a total of 148 cervical HPV-16 isolates from Indian women were analyzed by PCR-directed sequencing, phylogenetic analysis and in silico immunoinformatics tools to determine the L2 variations that may impact the immune response and oncogenesis. Ninety-one SNPs translating to 35 non-synonymous amino acid substitutions were observed, of these 16 substitutions are reported in the Indian isolates for the first time. T245A, L266F, S378V and S384A substitutions were significantly associated with high-grade cervical neoplastic status. Multiple substitutions were observed in samples from high-grade cervical neoplastic status as compared to those from normal cervical status (p = 0.027), specifically from the D3 sub-lineage. It was observed that substitution T85A was part of both, B and T cell epitopes recognized by MHC-I molecules; T245A was common to B and T cell epitopes recognized by MHC-II molecules and S122P/A was common to the region recognized by both MHC-I and MHC-II molecules. These findings reporting L2 protein substitutions have implications on cervical oncogenesis and design of next-generation L2-based HPV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arati Mane
- ICMR - National AIDS Research Institute, '73' G Block, MIDC, Bhosari, Pune, 411026, India.
| | - Sanket Limaye
- Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune, 411007, India
| | - Linata Patil
- ICMR - National AIDS Research Institute, '73' G Block, MIDC, Bhosari, Pune, 411026, India
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25
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Louros N, Ramakers M, Michiels E, Konstantoulea K, Morelli C, Garcia T, Moonen N, D'Haeyer S, Goossens V, Thal DR, Audenaert D, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J. Mapping the sequence specificity of heterotypic amyloid interactions enables the identification of aggregation modifiers. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1351. [PMID: 35292653 PMCID: PMC8924238 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28955-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterotypic amyloid interactions between related protein sequences have been observed in functional and disease amyloids. While sequence homology seems to favour heterotypic amyloid interactions, we have no systematic understanding of the structural rules determining such interactions nor whether they inhibit or facilitate amyloid assembly. Using structure-based thermodynamic calculations and extensive experimental validation, we performed a comprehensive exploration of the defining role of sequence promiscuity in amyloid interactions. Using tau as a model system we demonstrate that proteins with local sequence homology to tau amyloid nucleating regions can modify fibril nucleation, morphology, assembly and spreading of aggregates in cultured cells. Depending on the type of mutation such interactions inhibit or promote aggregation in a manner that can be predicted from structure. We find that these heterotypic amyloid interactions can result in the subcellular mis-localisation of these proteins. Moreover, equilibrium studies indicate that the critical concentration of aggregation is altered by heterotypic interactions. Our findings suggest a structural mechanism by which the proteomic background can modulate the aggregation propensity of amyloidogenic proteins and we discuss how such sequence-specific proteostatic perturbations could contribute to the selective cellular susceptibility of amyloid disease progression. In this work, Louros et al. uncover a rule book for interactions of amyloids with other proteins. This grammar was shown to promote cellular spreading of tau aggregates in cells, but can also be harvested to develop structure-based aggregation blockers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Louros
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Meine Ramakers
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Emiel Michiels
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Katerina Konstantoulea
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Chiara Morelli
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Teresa Garcia
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nele Moonen
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sam D'Haeyer
- VIB Screening Core, Ghent, Belgium.,Centre for Bioassay Development and Screening (C-BIOS), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Vera Goossens
- VIB Screening Core, Ghent, Belgium.,Centre for Bioassay Development and Screening (C-BIOS), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dietmar Rudolf Thal
- KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Laboratory for Neuropathology, KU Leuven, and Department of Pathology, UZ Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dominique Audenaert
- VIB Screening Core, Ghent, Belgium.,Centre for Bioassay Development and Screening (C-BIOS), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frederic Rousseau
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. .,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Joost Schymkowitz
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. .,Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
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26
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Multiple Genetic Alterations as Resistance Mechanism during Second-Line Lorlatinib for Advanced ALK-Rearranged Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Case Report. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12:diagnostics12030682. [PMID: 35328235 PMCID: PMC8947659 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12030682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Second and third-generation ALK-TKI inhibitors have showed better activity and have replaced crizotinib in most of cases of advanced ALK-rearranged lung adenocarcinoma. The emergence of resistance adversely affects also the activity of these newer drugs; in particular, lorlatinib often shows multiple and complex resistance mechanisms. The case reported here highlights the importance of reassessing the biomolecular profile during the disease course, both by tissutal and liquid biopsy, with the aim of improving the knowledge of these resistance mechanisms, and so identifying new drugs or sequences able to optimize the management of these patients.
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27
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The properties of human disease mutations at protein interfaces. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009858. [PMID: 35120134 PMCID: PMC8849535 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The assembly of proteins into complexes and their interactions with other biomolecules are often vital for their biological function. While it is known that mutations at protein interfaces have a high potential to be damaging and cause human genetic disease, there has been relatively little consideration for how this varies between different types of interfaces. Here we investigate the properties of human pathogenic and putatively benign missense variants at homomeric (isologous and heterologous), heteromeric, DNA, RNA and other ligand interfaces, and at different regions in proteins with respect to those interfaces. We find that different types of interfaces vary greatly in their propensity to be associated with pathogenic mutations, with homomeric heterologous and DNA interfaces being particularly enriched in disease. We also find that residues that do not directly participate in an interface, but are close in three-dimensional space, show a significant disease enrichment. Finally, we observe that mutations at different types of interfaces tend to have distinct property changes when undergoing amino acid substitutions associated with disease, and that this is linked to substantial variability in their identification by computational variant effect predictors. Nearly all proteins interact with other molecules as part of their biological function. For example, proteins can interact with other copies of the same type of protein, with different proteins, with DNA, or with small ligand molecules. Many mutations at protein interfaces, the regions of proteins that interact with other molecules, are known to cause human genetic disease. In this study, we first investigate how different types of protein interfaces have different tendencies to be associated with disease. We also show that the closer a mutation is to an interface, the more likely it is to cause disease. Finally, we study how mutations at different types of interfaces tend to be associated with different changes in amino acid properties, which appears to influence our ability to computationally predict the effects of mutations. Ultimately, we hope that consideration of protein interface properties will eventually improve our ability to identify new disease-causing mutations.
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28
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Gong W, Pan C, Cheng P, Wang J, Zhao G, Wu X. Peptide-Based Vaccines for Tuberculosis. Front Immunol 2022; 13:830497. [PMID: 35173740 PMCID: PMC8841753 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.830497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the global TB mortality rate in 2020 is rising, making TB prevention and control more challenging. Vaccination has been considered the best approach to reduce the TB burden. Unfortunately, BCG, the only TB vaccine currently approved for use, offers some protection against childhood TB but is less effective in adults. Therefore, it is urgent to develop new TB vaccines that are more effective than BCG. Accumulating data indicated that peptides or epitopes play essential roles in bridging innate and adaptive immunity and triggering adaptive immunity. Furthermore, innovations in bioinformatics, immunoinformatics, synthetic technologies, new materials, and transgenic animal models have put wings on the research of peptide-based vaccines for TB. Hence, this review seeks to give an overview of current tools that can be used to design a peptide-based vaccine, the research status of peptide-based vaccines for TB, protein-based bacterial vaccine delivery systems, and animal models for the peptide-based vaccines. These explorations will provide approaches and strategies for developing safer and more effective peptide-based vaccines and contribute to achieving the WHO's End TB Strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenping Gong
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Cheng
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
- Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou City, China
| | - Jie Wang
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guangyu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xueqiong Wu
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
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29
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Ismail H, White C, Al-Barakati H, Newman RH, Kc DB. FEPS: A Tool for Feature Extraction from Protein Sequence. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2499:65-104. [PMID: 35696075 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2317-6_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Machine learning has become one of the most popular choices for developing computational approaches in protein structural bioinformatics. The ability to extract features from protein sequence/structure often becomes one of the crucial steps for the development of machine learning-based approaches. Over the years, various sequence, structural, and physicochemical descriptors have been developed for proteins and these descriptors have been used to predict/solve various bioinformatics problems. Hence, several feature extraction tools have been developed over the years to help researchers to generate numeric features from protein sequences. Most of these tools have some limitations regarding the number of sequences they can handle and the subsequent preprocessing that is required for the generated features before they can be fed to machine learning methods. Here, we present Feature Extraction from Protein Sequences (FEPS), a toolkit for feature extraction. FEPS is a versatile software package for generating various descriptors from protein sequences and can handle several sequences: the number of which is limited only by the computational resources. In addition, the features extracted from FEPS do not require subsequent processing and are ready to be fed to the machine learning techniques as it provides various output formats as well as the ability to concatenate these generated features. FEPS is made freely available via an online web server as well as a stand-alone toolkit. FEPS, a comprehensive toolkit for feature extraction, will help spur the development of machine learning-based models for various bioinformatics problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Ismail
- Department of Animal Science, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Clarence White
- Computational Science and Engineering Department, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Hussam Al-Barakati
- Department of Computer Science, Jamoum University College, Umm Al-Qura University, Jamoum, Saudi Arabia
| | - Robert H Newman
- Department of Biology, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Dukka B Kc
- Department of Computer Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA.
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30
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Jibiki K, Liu MY, Lei CS, Kodama TS, Kojima C, Fujiwara T, Yasuhara N. Biochemical propensity mapping for structural and functional anatomy of importin α IBB domain. Genes Cells 2021; 27:173-191. [PMID: 34954861 DOI: 10.1111/gtc.12917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Importin α has been described as a nuclear protein transport receptor that enables proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm to translocate into the nucleus. Besides its function in nuclear transport, an increasing number of studies have examined its non-nuclear transport functions. In both nuclear transport and non-nuclear transport, a functional domain called the IBB domain (importin β binding domain) plays a key role in regulating importin α behavior, and is a common interacting domain for multiple binding partners. However, it is not yet fully understood how the IBB domain interacts with multiple binding partners, which leads to the switching of importin α function. In this study, we have distinguished the location and propensities of amino acids important for each function of the importin α IBB domain by mapping the biochemical/physicochemical propensities of evolutionarily conserved amino acids of the IBB domain onto the structure associated with each function. We found important residues that are universally conserved for IBB functions across species and family members, in addition to those previously known, as well as residues that are presumed to be responsible for the differences in complex-forming ability among family members and for functional switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuya Jibiki
- Graduate School of Integrated Basic Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mo-Yan Liu
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chao-Sen Lei
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takashi S Kodama
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Sita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Chojiro Kojima
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Sita, Osaka, Japan.,Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, kanagawa, Japan
| | - Toshimichi Fujiwara
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Sita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Noriko Yasuhara
- Graduate School of Integrated Basic Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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31
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Srivastava S, Chatziefthymiou SD, Kolbe M. Vaccines Targeting Numerous Coronavirus Antigens, Ensuring Broader Global Population Coverage: Multi-epitope and Multi-patch Vaccines. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2021; 2410:149-175. [PMID: 34914046 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1884-4_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Coronaviruses are causative agents of different zoonosis including SARS, MERS, or COVID-19 in humans. The high transmission rate of coronaviruses, the time-consuming development of efficient anti-infectives and vaccines, the possible evolutionary adaptation of the virus to conventional vaccines, and the challenge to cover broad human population worldwide are the major reasons that made it challenging to avoid coronaviruses outbreaks. Although, a plethora of different approaches are being followed to design and develop vaccines against coronaviruses, most of them target subunits, full-length single, or only a very limited number of proteins. Vaccine targeting multiple proteins or even the entire proteome of the coronavirus is yet to come. In the present chapter, we will be discussing multi-epitope vaccine (MEV) and multi-patch vaccine (MPV) approaches to design and develop efficient and sustainably successful strategies against coronaviruses. MEV and MPV utilize highly conserved, potentially immunogenic epitopes and antigenic patches, respectively, and hence they have the potential to target large number of coronavirus proteins or even its entire proteome, allowing us to combat the challenge of its evolutionary adaptation. In addition, the large number of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles targeted by the chosen specific epitopes enables MEV and MPV to cover broader global population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukrit Srivastava
- Infection Biology Group, Indian Foundation for Fundamental Research, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Spyros D Chatziefthymiou
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg, Germany.,Department of Structural Infection Biology, Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research (HZI), Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael Kolbe
- Department of Structural Infection Biology, Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research (HZI), Hamburg, Germany. .,MIN-Faculty University Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
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32
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Paul D, Pyne N, Paul S. Mutation profile of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and identification of potential multiple epitopes within spike protein for vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2. Virusdisease 2021; 32:703-726. [PMID: 34754886 PMCID: PMC8569294 DOI: 10.1007/s13337-021-00747-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has resulted in over 176 million cases and roughly 3.8 million deaths so far. We could analyze mutation dynamics across the genome from countries such as the USA, Italy, the UK, France, Brazil, and India considering the rapid mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. The analysis would help us to understand the genome diversity, the implications of the mutations in protein stability, and viral transmission. Among the 11 genes, surface glycoprotein (S) was singled out because of its crucial function associated with the entry of virion into the human cell upon binding with the hACE2 receptor. 749 S protein sequences from India were retrieved from the NCBI database for our study. The S protein is an important antigenic component responsible for inducing host immune responses, neutralizing antibodies, and providing protective immunity against viral infection. During an epitope prediction from a mutation-prone S-protein region, it is necessary to ascertain how new mutations significantly change the S protein, such that our vaccine is effective against all the mutated strains as well. The S1 region of the S protein had been our prime focus for identifying immune epitopes against SARS-COV-2. Antigenic B- cell epitopes were YYPDKVF from NTD and LFRKSNLKP from RBD. Cytotoxic T-cell epitopes WTAGAAAYY (within NTD) and CVADYSVLY (within RBD) exhibited binding with a maximum number of MHC I alleles. The T-cell epitopes which showed a maximum affinity for MHC II alleles were FLPFFSNVT within NTD and YFPLQSYGF within RBD. Furthermore, the best epitopes were characterized in terms of their physicochemical properties to establish their potentiality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debadrita Paul
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, Department of Botany, Centre of Advanced Study, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019 India
| | - Nibedita Pyne
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, Department of Botany, Centre of Advanced Study, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019 India
| | - Santanu Paul
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, Department of Botany, Centre of Advanced Study, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019 India
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33
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Belkahia H, Ben Abdallah M, Andolsi R, Selmi R, Zamiti S, Kratou M, Mhadhbi M, Darghouth MA, Messadi L, Ben Said M. Screening and Analysis of Anaplasma marginale Tunisian Isolates Reveal the Diversity of lipA Phylogeographic Marker and the Conservation of OmpA Protein Vaccine Candidate. Front Vet Sci 2021; 8:731200. [PMID: 34746278 PMCID: PMC8566978 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.731200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Bovine anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale is a disease responsible for serious animal health problems and great economic losses all over the world. Thereby, the identification of A. marginale isolates from various bioclimatic areas in each country, the phylogeographic analysis of these isolates based on the most informative markers, and the evaluation of the most promising candidate antigens are crucial steps in developing effective vaccines against a wide range of A. marginale strains. In order to contribute to this challenge, a total of 791 bovine samples from various bioclimatic areas of Tunisia were tested for the occurrence of A. marginale DNA through msp4 gene fragment amplification. Phylogeographic analysis was performed by using lipA and sucB gene analyses, and the genetic relationship with previously characterized A. marginale isolates and strains was analyzed by applying similarity comparison and phylogenetic analysis. To evaluate the conservation of OmpA protein vaccine candidate, almost complete ompA nucleotide sequences were also obtained from Tunisian isolates, and various bioinformatics software were used in order to analyze the physicochemical properties and the secondary and tertiary structures of their deduced proteins and to predict their immunodominant epitopes of B and T cells. A. marginale DNA was detected in 19 bovine samples (2.4%). Risk factor analysis shows that cattle derived from subhumid bioclimatic area were more infected than those that originated from other areas. The analysis of lipA phylogeographic marker indicated a higher diversity of Tunisian A. marginale isolates compared with other available worldwide isolates and strains. Molecular, phylogenetic, and immuno-informatics analyses of the vaccine candidate OmpA protein demonstrated that this antigen and its predicted immunodominant epitopes of B and T cells appear to be highly conserved between Tunisian isolates and compared with isolates from other countries, suggesting that the minimal intraspecific modifications will not affect the potential cross-protective capacity of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses against multiple A. marginale worldwide strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanène Belkahia
- Service de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Meriem Ben Abdallah
- Service de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Rihab Andolsi
- Service de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Rachid Selmi
- Service de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia.,Ministère de la Défense Nationale, Direction Générale de la Santé Militaire, Service Vétérinaire, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Sayed Zamiti
- Service de Parasitologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Myriam Kratou
- Service de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Moez Mhadhbi
- Service de Parasitologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Mohamed Aziz Darghouth
- Service de Parasitologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Lilia Messadi
- Service de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Mourad Ben Said
- Service de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia.,Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
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Paiz EA, Allen JH, Correia JJ, Fitzkee NC, Hough LE, Whitten ST. Beta turn propensity and a model polymer scaling exponent identify intrinsically disordered phase-separating proteins. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:101343. [PMID: 34710373 PMCID: PMC8592878 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The complex cellular milieu can spontaneously demix, or phase separate, in a process controlled in part by intrinsically disordered (ID) proteins. A protein's propensity to phase separate is thought to be driven by a preference for protein-protein over protein-solvent interactions. The hydrodynamic size of monomeric proteins, as quantified by the polymer scaling exponent (v), is driven by a similar balance. We hypothesized that mean v, as predicted by protein sequence, would be smaller for proteins with a strong propensity to phase separate. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed protein databases containing subsets of proteins that are folded, disordered, or disordered and known to spontaneously phase separate. We find that the phase-separating disordered proteins, on average, had lower calculated values of v compared with their non-phase-separating counterparts. Moreover, these proteins had a higher sequence-predicted propensity for β-turns. Using a simple, surface area-based model, we propose a physical mechanism for this difference: transient β-turn structures reduce the desolvation penalty of forming a protein-rich phase and increase exposure of atoms involved in π/sp2 valence electron interactions. By this mechanism, β-turns could act as energetically favored nucleation points, which may explain the increased propensity for turns in ID regions (IDRs) utilized biologically for phase separation. Phase-separating IDRs, non-phase-separating IDRs, and folded regions could be distinguished by combining v and β-turn propensity. Finally, we propose a new algorithm, ParSe (partition sequence), for predicting phase-separating protein regions, and which is able to accurately identify folded, disordered, and phase-separating protein regions based on the primary sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisia A Paiz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Jeffre H Allen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - John J Correia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
| | - Nicholas C Fitzkee
- Department of Chemistry, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, USA
| | - Loren E Hough
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
| | - Steven T Whitten
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA.
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LGFC-CNN: Prediction of lncRNA-Protein Interactions by Using Multiple Types of Features through Deep Learning. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12111689. [PMID: 34828296 PMCID: PMC8621699 DOI: 10.3390/genes12111689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) plays a crucial role in many critical biological processes and participates in complex human diseases through interaction with proteins. Considering that identifying lncRNA–protein interactions through experimental methods is expensive and time-consuming, we propose a novel method based on deep learning that combines raw sequence composition features, hand-designed features and structure features, called LGFC-CNN, to predict lncRNA–protein interactions. The two sequence preprocessing methods and CNN modules (GloCNN and LocCNN) are utilized to extract the raw sequence global and local features. Meanwhile, we select hand-designed features by comparing the predictive effect of different lncRNA and protein features combinations. Furthermore, we obtain the structure features and unifying the dimensions through Fourier transform. In the end, the four types of features are integrated to comprehensively predict the lncRNA–protein interactions. Compared with other state-of-the-art methods on three lncRNA–protein interaction datasets, LGFC-CNN achieves the best performance with an accuracy of 94.14%, on RPI21850; an accuracy of 92.94%, on RPI7317; and an accuracy of 98.19% on RPI1847. The results show that our LGFC-CNN can effectively predict the lncRNA–protein interactions by combining raw sequence composition features, hand-designed features and structure features.
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Structure-Based Functional Analysis of a Hormone Belonging to an Ecdysozoan Peptide Superfamily: Revelation of a Common Molecular Architecture and Residues Possibly for Receptor Interaction. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222011142. [PMID: 34681803 PMCID: PMC8541221 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222011142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A neuropeptide (Sco-CHH-L), belonging to the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) superfamily and preferentially expressed in the pericardial organs (POs) of the mud crab Scylla olivacea, was functionally and structurally studied. Its expression levels were significantly higher than the alternative splice form (Sco-CHH) in the POs, and increased significantly after the animals were subjected to a hypo-osmotic stress. Sco-CHH-L, but not Sco-CHH, significantly stimulated in vitro the Na+, K+-ATPase activity in the posterior (6th) gills. Furthermore, the solution structure of Sco-CHH-L was resolved using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, revealing that it has an N-terminal tail, three α-helices (α2, Gly9-Asn28; α3, His34-Gly38; and α5, Glu62-Arg72), and a π-helix (π4, Cys43-Tyr54), and is structurally constrained by a pattern of disulfide bonds (Cys7-Cys43, Cys23-Cys39, and Cys26-Cys52), which is characteristic of the CHH superfamily-peptides. Sco-CHH-L is topologically most similar to the molt-inhibiting hormone from the Kuruma prawn Marsupenaeus japonicus with a backbone root-mean-square-deviation of 3.12 Å. Ten residues of Sco-CHH-L were chosen for alanine-substitution, and the resulting mutants were functionally tested using the gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity assay, showing that the functionally important residues (I2, F3, E45, D69, I71, and G73) are located at either end of the sequence, which are sterically close to each other and presumably constitute the receptor binding sites. Sco-CHH-L was compared with other members of the superfamily, revealing a folding pattern, which is suggested to be common for the crustacean members of the superfamily, with the properties of the residues constituting the presumed receptor binding sites being the major factors dictating the ligand-receptor binding specificity.
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Ahmadpour NB, Dalimi A, Pirestani M, Sadraei J. A Novel Chimeric Antigen as a Vaccine Candidate against Leishmania major: In silico Analysis. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY 2021; 16:186-198. [PMID: 34557233 PMCID: PMC8418661 DOI: 10.18502/ijpa.v16i2.6267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Background: Leishmania is a mandatory intracellular pathogen and causing neglected disease. Hence, protection against leishmaniasis by a development vaccine is an important subject. This study aimed to design a poly-epitope vaccine for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Methods: The present study was conducted in the Parasitology Department of Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran during 2017–2019. Several bioinformatics methods at online servers were used for prediction of different aspects of poly-epitope, including, physico-chemical attributes, allergenicity, antigenicity, secondary and tertiary structures, B-cell, T-cell and MHC (I, II) potential epitopes of LACK, LEIF, GP63 and SMT antigens of L. major. Results: After designing the construct (GLSL), the outputs of PTM sites demonstrated that the poly-epitope had 57 potential sites for phosphorylation. Furthermore, the secondary of GLSL structure includes 59.42%, 20.94% and 19.63% for random coil, extended strand and alpha-helix, respectively. The GLSL is an immunogenic protein with an acceptable antigenicity (0.8410) and non-allergen. Afterward, 20 potential epitopes of LACK, LEIF, GP63 and SMT antigens were linked by a flexible linker (SAPGTP), then was synthesized, and sub-cloned in pLEXY– neo2. The results were confirmed the expression of 38.7 kDa poly-epitope in secretory and cytosolic sites, separately. Conclusion: A good expression in the L. tarentulae and confirmation of the GLSL poly-epitope could be a basis for developing a vaccine candidate against leishmaniasis that should be confirmed via experimental tests in BALB/c mice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Abdolhossein Dalimi
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Majid Pirestani
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Javid Sadraei
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
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Banerjee R, Sheet T, Banerjee S, Biondi B, Formaggio F, Toniolo C, Peggion C. C α-Methyl-l-valine: A Preferential Choice over α-Aminoisobutyric Acid for Designing Right-Handed α-Helical Scaffolds. Biochemistry 2021; 60:2704-2714. [PMID: 34463474 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In synthetic peptides containing Gly and coded α-amino acids, one of the most common practices to enhance their helical extent is to incorporate a large number of l-Ala residues along with noncoded, strongly foldameric α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) units. Earlier studies have established that Aib-based peptides, with propensity for both the 310- and α-helices, have a tendency to form ordered three-dimensional structure that is much stronger than that exhibited by their l-Ala rich counterparts. However, the achiral nature of Aib induces an inherent, equal preference for the right- and left-handed helical conformations as found in Aib homopeptide stretches. This property poses challenges in the analysis of a model peptide helical conformation based on chirospectroscopic techniques like electronic circular dichroism (ECD), a very important tool for assigning secondary structures. To overcome such ambiguity, we have synthesized and investigated a thermally stable 14-mer peptide in which each of the Aib residues of our previously designed and reported analogue ABGY (where B stands for Aib) is replaced by Cα-methyl-l-valine (L-AMV). Analysis of the results described here from complementary ECD and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic techniques in a variety of environments firmly establishes that the L-AMV-containing peptide exhibits a significantly stronger preference compared to that of its Aib parent in terms of conferring α-helical character. Furthermore, being a chiral α-amino acid, L-AMV shows an intrinsic, extremely strong bias for a quite specific (right-handed) screw sense. These findings emphasize the relevance of L-AMV as a more appropriate unit for the design of right-handed α-helical peptide models that may be utilized as conformationally constrained scaffolds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Barbara Biondi
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.,Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Padova Unit, CNR, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Fernando Formaggio
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.,Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Padova Unit, CNR, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Claudio Toniolo
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.,Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Padova Unit, CNR, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Cristina Peggion
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.,Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Padova Unit, CNR, 35131 Padova, Italy
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Mihaljica D, Marković D, Repac J, Božić B, Radulović Ž, Veinović G, Sukara R, Ristanović E, Chochlakis D, Nedeljković BB, Tomanović S. Exploring immunogenicity of tick salivary AV422 protein in persons exposed to ticks: prospects for utilization. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2021; 85:83-99. [PMID: 34432178 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-021-00653-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In order to determine whether conserved tick salivary protein AV422 is immunogenic, the goal of our study was to detect specific IgG response within at-risk populations. Study groups included 76 individuals, differing in occurrence of recently recorded tick bites and health status. Western blotting with recombinant (r) protein derived from Ixodes ricinus (Ir) was performed. IgG response to Borrelia/Rickettsia, as indicators of previous tick infestations, was also assessed. Additionally, a detailed in silico AV422 protein sequence analysis was performed, followed by modelling of the interactions between peptides and corresponding MHC II molecules by molecular docking. Anti-rIrAV422 seroprevalences among individuals exposed to ticks were high (62.5, 57.9 and 66.7%) and anti-Borrelia/Rickettsia seroprevalences were 54.2, 15.8 and 44.4% among individuals with/without recent tick bite and patients suspected of tick-borne disease, respectively. In silico analysis of AV422 protein sequence showed a high level of conservation across tick genera, including also the predicted antigenic determinants specific for T and B cells. Docking to the restricted MHC II molecules was performed for all predicted AV422 T cell epitopes, and the most potent (highly immunogenic) epitope determinants were suggested. The epitope prediction reveals that tick salivary protein AV422 may elicit humoral immune response in humans, which is consistent with the high anti-rIrAV422 seroprevalence in tested at-risk subjects. Tick-borne diseases are a growing public health concern worldwide, and AV422 is potentially useful in clinical practice and epidemiological studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darko Mihaljica
- Group for Medical Entomology, Centre of Excellence for Food- and Vector-Borne Zoonoses, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Dragana Marković
- Group for Immunology, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Jelena Repac
- Institute for Physiology and Biochemistry "Ivan Djaja", University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Bojan Božić
- Institute for Physiology and Biochemistry "Ivan Djaja", University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Željko Radulović
- Department of Biology, College of Sciences and Mathematics, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, USA
| | - Gorana Veinović
- Group for Medical Entomology, Centre of Excellence for Food- and Vector-Borne Zoonoses, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ratko Sukara
- Group for Medical Entomology, Centre of Excellence for Food- and Vector-Borne Zoonoses, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Elizabeta Ristanović
- Institute for Microbiology, University of Defense, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Dimosthenis Chochlakis
- Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | | | - Snežana Tomanović
- Group for Medical Entomology, Centre of Excellence for Food- and Vector-Borne Zoonoses, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
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40
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Intrinsically disordered protein regions and phase separation: sequence determinants of assembly or lack thereof. Emerg Top Life Sci 2021; 4:307-329. [PMID: 33078839 DOI: 10.1042/etls20190164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs) - regions that do not fold into a fixed three-dimensional structure but instead exist in a heterogeneous ensemble of conformations - have recently entered mainstream cell biology in the context of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). IDRs are frequently found to be enriched in phase-separated compartments. Due to this observation, the presence of an IDR in a protein is frequently assumed to be diagnostic of its ability to phase separate. In this review, we clarify the role of IDRs in biological assembly and explore the physical principles through which amino acids can confer the attractive molecular interactions that underlie phase separation. While some disordered regions will robustly drive phase separation, many others will not. We emphasize that rather than 'disorder' driving phase separation, multivalency drives phase separation. As such, whether or not a disordered region is capable of driving phase separation will depend on the physical chemistry encoded within its amino acid sequence. Consequently, an in-depth understanding of that physical chemistry is a prerequisite to make informed inferences on how and why an IDR may be involved in phase separation or, more generally, in protein-mediated intermolecular interactions.
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Elhassan RM, Alsony NM, Othman KM, Izz-Aldin DT, Alhaj TA, Ali AA, Abashir LA, Ahmed OH, Hassan MA. Epitope-Based Immunoinformatic Approach on Heat Shock 70 kDa Protein Complex of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii. J Immunol Res 2021; 2021:9921620. [PMID: 34471644 PMCID: PMC8405342 DOI: 10.1155/2021/9921620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cryptococcosis is a ubiquitous opportunistic fungal disease caused by Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii. It has high global morbidity and mortality among HIV patients and non-HIV carriers with 99% and 95%, respectively. Furthermore, the increasing prevalence of undesired toxicity profile of antifungal, multidrug-resistant organisms and the scarcity of FDA-authorized vaccines were the hallmark in the present days. This study was undertaken to design a reliable epitope-based peptide vaccine through targeting highly conserved immunodominant heat shock 70 kDa protein of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii that covers a considerable digit of the world population through implementing a computational vaccinology approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 38 sequences of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii's heat shock 70 kDa protein were retrieved from the NCBI protein database. Different prediction tools were used to analyze the aforementioned protein at the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) to discriminate the most promising T-cell and B-cell epitopes. The proposed T-cell epitopes were subjected to the population coverage analysis tool to compute the global population's coverage. Finally, the T-cell projected epitopes were ranked based on their binding scores and modes using AutoDock Vina software. Results and Discussion. The epitopes (ANYVQASEK, QSEKPKNVNPVI, SEKPKNVNPVI, and EKPKNVNPVI) had shown very strong binding affinity and immunogenic properties to B-cell. (FTQLVAAYL, YVYDTRGKL) and (FFGGKVLNF, FINAQLVDV, and FDYALVQHF) exhibited a very strong binding affinity to MHC-I and MHC-II, respectively, with high population coverage for each, while FYRQGAFEL has shown promising results in terms of its binding profile to MHC-II and MHC-I alleles and good strength of binding when docked with HLA-C∗12:03. In addition, there is massive global population coverage in the three coverage modes. Accordingly, our in silico vaccine is expected to be the future epitope-based peptide vaccine against Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii that covers a significant figure of the entire world citizens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reham M. Elhassan
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sudan International University, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Nagla M. Alsony
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Kamlin Ahlia College, Gazira, Sudan
| | - Khadeejah M. Othman
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Sudan University for Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Microbiology, Abu Huzaifa Health Center, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Duaa T. Izz-Aldin
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Sudan University for Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Tamadour A. Alhaj
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Abdelrahman A. Ali
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Endemic Disease, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Ribat University Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Lena A. Abashir
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Pharmacy, Fedail Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Omar H. Ahmed
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Gazira, Wad Medany, Sudan
| | - Mohammed A. Hassan
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan
- Department of Bioinformatics, DETAGEN Genetic Diagnostics Center, Kayseri, Turkey
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Yang Y, Zeng L, Vihinen M. PON-Sol2: Prediction of Effects of Variants on Protein Solubility. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:8027. [PMID: 34360790 PMCID: PMC8348231 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22158027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic variations have a multitude of effects on proteins. A substantial number of variations affect protein-solvent interactions, either aggregation or solubility. Aggregation is often related to structural alterations, whereas solubilizable proteins in the solid phase can be made again soluble by dilution. Solubility is a central protein property and when reduced can lead to diseases. We developed a prediction method, PON-Sol2, to identify amino acid substitutions that increase, decrease, or have no effect on the protein solubility. The method is a machine learning tool utilizing gradient boosting algorithm and was trained on a large dataset of variants with different outcomes after the selection of features among a large number of tested properties. The method is fast and has high performance. The normalized correct prediction rate for three states is 0.656, and the normalized GC2 score is 0.312 in 10-fold cross-validation. The corresponding numbers in the blind test were 0.545 and 0.157. The performance was superior in comparison to previous methods. The PON-Sol2 predictor is freely available. It can be used to predict the solubility effects of variants for any organism, even in large-scale projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China; (Y.Y.); (L.Z.)
| | - Lianjie Zeng
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China; (Y.Y.); (L.Z.)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Novel Software Technology and Industrialization, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Mauno Vihinen
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, BMC B13, SE-221 84 Lund, Sweden
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Taghipour A, Tavakoli S, Sabaghan M, Foroutan M, Majidiani H, Soltani S, Badri M, Ghaffari AD, Soltani S. Immunoinformatic Analysis of Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 7 (CDPK7) Showed Potential Targets for Toxoplasma gondii Vaccine. J Parasitol Res 2021; 2021:9974509. [PMID: 34336254 PMCID: PMC8295510 DOI: 10.1155/2021/9974509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Apicomplexan parasites, including Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), express different types of calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs), which perform a variety of functions, including attacking and exiting the host cells. In the current bioinformatics study, we have used several web servers to predict the basic features and specifications of the CDPK7 protein. The findings showed that CDPK7 protein has 2133 amino acid residues with an average molecular weight (MW) of 219085.79 D. The aliphatic index with 68.78 and grand average of hydropathicity (GRAVY) with -0.331 score were estimated. The outcomes of current research showed that the CDPK7 protein included 502 alpha-helix, 1311 random coils, and 320 extended strands with GOR4 method. Considering the Ramachandran plot, the favored region contains more than 92% of the amino acid residues. In addition, evaluation of antigenicity and allergenicity showed that CDPK7 protein has immunogenic and nonallergenic nature. The present research provides key data for more animal-model study on the CDPK7 protein to design an efficient vaccine against toxoplasmosis in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Taghipour
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sanaz Tavakoli
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | | | - Masoud Foroutan
- USERN Office, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran
| | - Hamidreza Majidiani
- Zoonotic Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
| | - Shahrzad Soltani
- USERN Office, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran
| | - Milad Badri
- Medical Microbiology Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
| | - Ali Dalir Ghaffari
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sheyda Soltani
- USERN Office, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran
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Calzada D, Cremades-Jimeno L, López-Ramos M, Cárdaba B. Peptide Allergen Immunotherapy: A New Perspective in Olive-Pollen Allergy. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13071007. [PMID: 34371699 PMCID: PMC8309132 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13071007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Allergic diseases are highly prevalent disorders, mainly in industrialized countries where they constitute a high global health problem. Allergy is defined as an immune response “shifted toward a type 2 inflammation” induced by the interaction between the antigen (allergen) and IgE antibodies bound to mast cells and basophils that induce the release of inflammatory mediators that cause the clinical symptoms. Currently, allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the only treatment able to change the course of these diseases, modifying the type 2 inflammatory response by an allergenic tolerance, where the implication of T regulatory (Treg) cells is considered essential. The pollen of the olive tree is one of the most prevalent causes of respiratory allergic diseases in Mediterranean countries, inducing mainly nasal and conjunctival symptoms, although, in areas with a high antigenic load, olive-tree pollen may cause asthma exacerbation. Classically, olive-pollen allergy treatment has been based on specific immunotherapy using whole-olive pollen extracts. Despite extracts standardization, the effectiveness of this strategy varies widely, therefore there is a need for more effective AIT approaches. One of the most attractive is the use of synthetic peptides representing the B- or T-cell epitopes of the main allergens. This review summarizes experimental evidence of several T-cell epitopes derived from the Ole e 1 sequence to modulate the response to olive pollen in vitro, associated with several possible mechanisms that these peptides could be inducing, showing their usefulness as a safe preventive tool for these complex diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Calzada
- Immunology Department, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz-UAM, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (D.C.); (L.C.-J.); (M.L.-R.)
| | - Lucía Cremades-Jimeno
- Immunology Department, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz-UAM, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (D.C.); (L.C.-J.); (M.L.-R.)
| | - María López-Ramos
- Immunology Department, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz-UAM, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (D.C.); (L.C.-J.); (M.L.-R.)
| | - Blanca Cárdaba
- Immunology Department, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz-UAM, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (D.C.); (L.C.-J.); (M.L.-R.)
- Ciber de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Correspondence:
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Tong T, Wang Z, Xu Y, Shen J. Immunization with Pneumocystis carinii A12 1-85 antigen activates immune function against P. carinii. BMC Immunol 2021; 22:40. [PMID: 34174820 PMCID: PMC8236001 DOI: 10.1186/s12865-021-00436-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP), which is caused by Pneumocystis carinii, is a life-threatening infection that affects immunocompromised individuals. Unfortunately, chemoprophylaxis and dapsone are only effective for half of the patients with PcP, indicating that additional preventive methods are needed. We predicated the pneumocystis surface protein A12 sequence 1-85 by DNAStar software and BepiPred, and identified it as a potential vaccine candidate by bioresearch. METHODS We used recombinant A121-85 as antigen to immunized mice and detected serum titer of IgG, expression of inflammatory factors by EILSA, qRT-PCR and flow cytometry. RESULTS Our results showed that immunization with recombinant A121-85 increased the serum titer of IgG, promoted the secretion of T lymphocytes, increased the expression of inflammatory factors, and elevated lung inflammatory injury in mice. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that A121-85 is a potential vaccine target for preventing Pneumocystis carinii. The evaluation of A121-85-elicited antibodies in the prevention of PcP in humans deserves further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Tong
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, 218 Jixi Road, Hefei, Anhui 230022 People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhongxin Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, 218 Jixi Road, Hefei, Anhui 230022 People’s Republic of China
| | - Yuanhong Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, 218 Jixi Road, Hefei, Anhui 230022 People’s Republic of China
| | - Jilu Shen
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, 100 Huaihai Road, Hefei, Anhui People’s Republic of China
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Ravindranath MH, Hilali FE, Filippone EJ. Therapeutic Potential of HLA-I Polyreactive mAbs Mimicking the HLA-I Polyreactivity and Immunoregulatory Functions of IVIg. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:680. [PMID: 34205517 PMCID: PMC8235337 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9060680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
HLA class-I (HLA-I) polyreactive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) reacting to all HLA-I alleles were developed by immunizing mice with HLA-E monomeric, α-heavy chain (αHC) open conformers (OCs). Two mAbs (TFL-006 and TFL-007) were bound to the αHC's coated on a solid matrix. The binding was inhibited by the peptide 117AYDGKDY123, present in all alleles of the six HLA-I isoforms but masked by β2-microglobulin (β2-m) in intact HLA-I trimers (closed conformers, CCs). IVIg preparations administered to lower anti-HLA Abs in pre-and post-transplant patients have also shown HLA-I polyreactivity. We hypothesized that the mAbs that mimic IVIg HLA-I polyreactivity might also possess the immunomodulatory capabilities of IVIg. We tested the relative binding affinities of the mAbs and IVIg for both OCs and CCs and compared their effects on (a) the phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-activation T-cells; (b) the production of anti-HLA-II antibody (Ab) by B-memory cells and anti-HLA-I Ab by immortalized B-cells; and (c) the upregulation of CD4+, CD25+, and Fox P3+ T-regs. The mAbs bound only to OC, whereas IVIg bound to both CC and OC. The mAbs suppressed blastogenesis and proliferation of PHA-activated T-cells and anti-HLA Ab production by B-cells and expanded T-regs better than IVIg. We conclude that a humanized version of the TFL-mAbs could be an ideal, therapeutic IVIg-mimetic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mepur H. Ravindranath
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
- Emeritus Research Scientist at Terasaki Foundation Laboratory, Santa Monica, CA 90064, USA
| | | | - Edward J. Filippone
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson Univsity, Philadelphia, PA 19145, USA;
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Emenecker RJ, Holehouse AS, Strader LC. Sequence determinants of in cell condensate morphology, dynamics, and oligomerization as measured by number and brightness analysis. Cell Commun Signal 2021; 19:65. [PMID: 34090478 PMCID: PMC8178893 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-021-00744-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Biomolecular condensates are non-stoichiometric assemblies that are characterized by their capacity to spatially concentrate biomolecules and play a key role in cellular organization. Proteins that drive the formation of biomolecular condensates frequently contain oligomerization domains and intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), both of which can contribute multivalent interactions that drive higher-order assembly. Our understanding of the relative and temporal contribution of oligomerization domains and IDRs to the material properties of in vivo biomolecular condensates is limited. Similarly, the spatial and temporal dependence of protein oligomeric state inside condensates has been largely unexplored in vivo. METHODS In this study, we combined quantitative microscopy with number and brightness analysis to investigate the aging, material properties, and protein oligomeric state of biomolecular condensates in vivo. Our work is focused on condensates formed by AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 19 (ARF19), a transcription factor integral to the auxin signaling pathway in plants. ARF19 contains a large central glutamine-rich IDR and a C-terminal Phox Bem1 (PB1) oligomerization domain and forms cytoplasmic condensates. RESULTS Our results reveal that the IDR amino acid composition can influence the morphology and material properties of ARF19 condensates. In contrast the distribution of oligomeric species within condensates appears insensitive to the IDR composition. In addition, we identified a relationship between the abundance of higher- and lower-order oligomers within individual condensates and their apparent fluidity. CONCLUSIONS IDR amino acid composition affects condensate morphology and material properties. In ARF condensates, altering the amino acid composition of the IDR did not greatly affect the oligomeric state of proteins within the condensate. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J. Emenecker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110 USA
- Center for Science and Engineering Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
- Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
| | - Alex S. Holehouse
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110 USA
- Center for Science and Engineering Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
| | - Lucia C. Strader
- Center for Science and Engineering Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
- Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 USA
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Ezaj MMA, Haque MS, Syed SB, Khan MSA, Ahmed KR, Khatun MT, Nayeem SMA, Rizvi GR, Al-Forkan M, Khaleda L. Comparative proteomic analysis to annotate the structural and functional association of the hypothetical proteins of S. maltophilia k279a and predict potential T and B cell targets for vaccination. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0252295. [PMID: 34043709 PMCID: PMC8159010 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a multidrug-resistant bacterium with no precise clinical treatment. This bacterium can be a vital cause for death and different organ failures in immune-compromised, immune-competent, and long-time hospitalized patients. Extensive quorum sensing capability has become a challenge to develop new drugs against this pathogen. Moreover, the organism possesses about 789 proteins which function, structure, and pathogenesis remain obscured. In this piece of work, we tried to enlighten the aforementioned sectors using highly reliable bioinformatics tools validated by the scientific community. At first, the whole proteome sequence of the organism was retrieved and stored. Then we separated the hypothetical proteins and searched for the conserved domain with a high confidence level and multi-server validation, which resulted in 24 such proteins. Furthermore, all of their physical and chemical characterizations were performed, such as theoretical isoelectric point, molecular weight, GRAVY value, and many more. Besides, the subcellular localization, protein-protein interactions, functional motifs, 3D structures, antigenicity, and virulence factors were also evaluated. As an extension of this work, 'RTFAMSSER' and 'PAAPQPSAS' were predicted as potential T and B cell epitopes, respectively. We hope our findings will help in better understating the pathogenesis and smoothen the way to the cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md. Muzahid Ahmed Ezaj
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
- Reverse Vaccinology Research Division, Advanced Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Data Science Laboratory, Chittagong, Bangladesh
| | - Md. Sajedul Haque
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
| | - Shifath Bin Syed
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh
| | - Md. Shakil Ahmed Khan
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh
| | - Kazi Rejvee Ahmed
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh
| | - Mst. Tania Khatun
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh
| | - S. M. Abdul Nayeem
- Reverse Vaccinology Research Division, Advanced Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Data Science Laboratory, Chittagong, Bangladesh
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
| | - Golam Rosul Rizvi
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
| | - Mohammad Al-Forkan
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
| | - Laila Khaleda
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
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Li Y, Sun H, Feng S, Zhang Q, Han S, Du W. Capsule-LPI: a LncRNA-protein interaction predicting tool based on a capsule network. BMC Bioinformatics 2021; 22:246. [PMID: 33985444 PMCID: PMC8120853 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-021-04171-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in multiple biological processes. Identifying LncRNA-protein interactions (LPIs) is key to understanding lncRNA functions. Although some LPIs computational methods have been developed, the LPIs prediction problem remains challenging. How to integrate multimodal features from more perspectives and build deep learning architectures with better recognition performance have always been the focus of research on LPIs. RESULTS We present a novel multichannel capsule network framework to integrate multimodal features for LPI prediction, Capsule-LPI. Capsule-LPI integrates four groups of multimodal features, including sequence features, motif information, physicochemical properties and secondary structure features. Capsule-LPI is composed of four feature-learning subnetworks and one capsule subnetwork. Through comprehensive experimental comparisons and evaluations, we demonstrate that both multimodal features and the architecture of the multichannel capsule network can significantly improve the performance of LPI prediction. The experimental results show that Capsule-LPI performs better than the existing state-of-the-art tools. The precision of Capsule-LPI is 87.3%, which represents a 1.7% improvement. The F-value of Capsule-LPI is 92.2%, which represents a 1.4% improvement. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a novel and feasible LPI prediction tool based on the integration of multimodal features and a capsule network. A webserver ( http://csbg-jlu.site/lpc/predict ) is developed to be convenient for users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Li
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Qianjin Street, 130012, Changchun, China
| | - Hang Sun
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Qianjin Street, 130012, Changchun, China
| | - Shiyao Feng
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Qianjin Street, 130012, Changchun, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Qianjin Street, 130012, Changchun, China
| | - Siyu Han
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Qianjin Street, 130012, Changchun, China
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1UB, UK
| | - Wei Du
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Qianjin Street, 130012, Changchun, China.
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Lusche DF, Wessels DJ, Reis RJ, Forrest CC, Thumann AR, Soll DR. New monoclonal antibodies that recognize an unglycosylated, conserved, extracellular region of CD44 in vitro and in vivo, and can block tumorigenesis. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0250175. [PMID: 33891595 PMCID: PMC8064539 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
CD44 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that binds to hyaluronic acid, plays roles in a number of cellular processes and is expressed in a variety of cell types. It is up-regulated in stem cells and cancer. Anti-CD44 monoclonal antibodies affect cell motility and aggregation, and repress tumorigenesis and metastasis. Here we describe four new anti-CD44 monoclonal antibodies originating from B cells of a mouse injected with a plasmid expressing CD44 isoform 12. The four monoclonal antibodies bind to the terminal, extracellular, conserved domain of CD44 isoforms. Based on differences in western blot patterns of cancer cell lysates, the four anti-CD44 mAbs separated into three distinct categories that include P4G9, P3D2, and P3A7, and P3G4. Spot assay analysis with peptides generated in Escherichia coli support the conclusion that the monoclonal antibodies recognize unglycosylated sequences in the N-terminal conserved region between amino acid 21-220, and analyses with a peptide generated in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, demonstrate that these monoclonal antibodies bind to these peptides only after deglycosylation. Western blots with lysates from three cancer cell lines demonstrate that several CD44 isoforms are unglycosylated in the anti-CD44 target regions. The potential utility of the monoclonal antibodies in blocking tumorigenesis was tested by co-injection of cells of the breast cancer-derived tumorigenic cell line MDA-MB-231 with the anti-CD44 monoclonal antibody P3D2 into the mammary fat pads of mice. All five control mice injected with MDA-MB-231 cells plus anti-IgG formed palpable tumors, while only one of the six test mice injected with MDA-MB-231 cells plus P3D2 formed a tiny tumor, while the remaining five were tumor-free, indicating that the four anti-CD44 mAbs may be useful therapeutically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel F. Lusche
- Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Deborah J. Wessels
- Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Ryan J. Reis
- Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Cristopher C. Forrest
- Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Alexis R. Thumann
- Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - David R. Soll
- Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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