1
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Majekodunmi T, Britton D, Montclare JK. Engineered Proteins and Materials Utilizing Residue-Specific Noncanonical Amino Acid Incorporation. Chem Rev 2024. [PMID: 39008623 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
The incorporation of noncanonical amino acids into proteins and protein-based materials has significantly expanded the repertoire of available protein structures and chemistries. Through residue-specific incorporation, protein properties can be globally modified, resulting in the creation of novel proteins and materials with diverse and tailored characteristics. In this review, we highlight recent advancements in residue-specific incorporation techniques as well as the applications of the engineered proteins and materials. Specifically, we discuss their utility in bio-orthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT), fluorescent noncanonical amino acid tagging (FUNCAT), threonine-derived noncanonical amino acid tagging (THRONCAT), cross-linking, fluorination, and enzyme engineering. This review underscores the importance of noncanonical amino acid incorporation as a tool for the development of tailored protein properties to meet diverse research and industrial needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Temiloluwa Majekodunmi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York 11201, United States
| | - Dustin Britton
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York 11201, United States
| | - Jin Kim Montclare
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York 11201, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York 11201, United States
- Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, United States
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10012, United States
- Department of Biomaterials, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010, United States
- Department of Radiology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York 10016, United States
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2
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Kubyshkin V, Rubini M. Proline Analogues. Chem Rev 2024; 124:8130-8232. [PMID: 38941181 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.4c00007] [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: 06/30/2024]
Abstract
Within the canonical repertoire of the amino acid involved in protein biogenesis, proline plays a unique role as an amino acid presenting a modified backbone rather than a side-chain. Chemical structures that mimic proline but introduce changes into its specific molecular features are defined as proline analogues. This review article summarizes the existing chemical, physicochemical, and biochemical knowledge about this peculiar family of structures. We group proline analogues from the following compounds: substituted prolines, unsaturated and fused structures, ring size homologues, heterocyclic, e.g., pseudoproline, and bridged proline-resembling structures. We overview (1) the occurrence of proline analogues in nature and their chemical synthesis, (2) physicochemical properties including ring conformation and cis/trans amide isomerization, (3) use in commercial drugs such as nirmatrelvir recently approved against COVID-19, (4) peptide and protein synthesis involving proline analogues, (5) specific opportunities created in peptide engineering, and (6) cases of protein engineering with the analogues. The review aims to provide a summary to anyone interested in using proline analogues in systems ranging from specific biochemical setups to complex biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marina Rubini
- School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
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3
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Koch NG, Budisa N. Evolution of Pyrrolysyl-tRNA Synthetase: From Methanogenesis to Genetic Code Expansion. Chem Rev 2024. [PMID: 38953775 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.4c00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Over 20 years ago, the pyrrolysine encoding translation system was discovered in specific archaea. Our Review provides an overview of how the once obscure pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS) tRNA pair, originally responsible for accurately translating enzymes crucial in methanogenic metabolic pathways, laid the foundation for the burgeoning field of genetic code expansion. Our primary focus is the discussion of how to successfully engineer the PylRS to recognize new substrates and exhibit higher in vivo activity. We have compiled a comprehensive list of ncAAs incorporable with the PylRS system. Additionally, we also summarize recent successful applications of the PylRS system in creating innovative therapeutic solutions, such as new antibody-drug conjugates, advancements in vaccine modalities, and the potential production of new antimicrobials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaj G Koch
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Basel, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Biocatalysis Group, Institute of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
- Chemical Synthetic Biology Chair, Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB R3T 2N2, Canada
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4
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Enninful GN, Kuppusamy R, Tiburu EK, Kumar N, Willcox MDP. Non-canonical amino acid bioincorporation into antimicrobial peptides and its challenges. J Pept Sci 2024; 30:e3560. [PMID: 38262069 DOI: 10.1002/psc.3560] [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: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
The rise of antimicrobial resistance and multi-drug resistant pathogens has necessitated explorations for novel antibiotic agents as the discovery of conventional antibiotics is becoming economically less viable and technically more challenging for biopharma. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have emerged as a promising alternative because of their particular mode of action, broad spectrum and difficulty that microbes have in becoming resistant to them. The AMPs bacitracin, gramicidin, polymyxins and daptomycin are currently used clinically. However, their susceptibility to proteolytic degradation, toxicity profile, and complexities in large-scale manufacture have hindered their development. To improve their proteolytic stability, methods such as integrating non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) into their peptide sequence have been adopted, which also improves their potency and spectrum of action. The benefits of ncAA incorporation have been made possible by solid-phase peptide synthesis. However, this method is not always suitable for commercial production of AMPs because of poor yield, scale-up difficulties, and its non-'green' nature. Bioincorporation of ncAA as a method of integration is an emerging field geared towards tackling the challenges of solid-phase synthesis as a green, cheaper, and scalable alternative for commercialisation of AMPs. This review focusses on the bioincorporation of ncAAs; some challenges associated with the methods are outlined, and notes are given on how to overcome these challenges. The review focusses particularly on addressing two key challenges: AMP cytotoxicity towards microbial cell factories and the uptake of ncAAs that are unfavourable to them. Overcoming these challenges will draw us closer to a greater yield and an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach to make AMPs more druggable.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rajesh Kuppusamy
- University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Naresh Kumar
- University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mark D P Willcox
- University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
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5
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Feng RR, Wang M, Zhang W, Gai F. Unnatural Amino Acids for Biological Spectroscopy and Microscopy. Chem Rev 2024; 124:6501-6542. [PMID: 38722769 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00944] [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: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Due to advances in methods for site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into proteins, a large number of UAAs with tailored chemical and/or physical properties have been developed and used in a wide array of biological applications. In particular, UAAs with specific spectroscopic characteristics can be used as external reporters to produce additional signals, hence increasing the information content obtainable in protein spectroscopic and/or imaging measurements. In this Review, we summarize the progress in the past two decades in the development of such UAAs and their applications in biological spectroscopy and microscopy, with a focus on UAAs that can be used as site-specific vibrational, fluorescence, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes. Wherever applicable, we also discuss future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran-Ran Feng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Manxi Wang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Wenkai Zhang
- Department of Physics and Applied Optics Beijing Area Major Laboratory, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Feng Gai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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6
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Chen L, Xin X, Zhang Y, Li S, Zhao X, Li S, Xu Z. Advances in Biosynthesis of Non-Canonical Amino Acids (ncAAs) and the Methods of ncAAs Incorporation into Proteins. Molecules 2023; 28:6745. [PMID: 37764520 PMCID: PMC10534643 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28186745] [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: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The functional pool of canonical amino acids (cAAs) has been enriched through the emergence of non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs). NcAAs play a crucial role in the production of various pharmaceuticals. The biosynthesis of ncAAs has emerged as an alternative to traditional chemical synthesis due to its environmental friendliness and high efficiency. The breakthrough genetic code expansion (GCE) technique developed in recent years has allowed the incorporation of ncAAs into target proteins, giving them special functions and biological activities. The biosynthesis of ncAAs and their incorporation into target proteins within a single microbe has become an enticing application of such molecules. Based on that, in this study, we first review the biosynthesis methods for ncAAs and analyze the difficulties related to biosynthesis. We then summarize the GCE methods and analyze their advantages and disadvantages. Further, we review the application progress of ncAAs and anticipate the challenges and future development directions of ncAAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Chen
- College of Bioengineering, Beijing Polytechnic, Beijing 100176, China; (X.X.); (Y.Z.); (S.L.); (X.Z.); (S.L.); (Z.X.)
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7
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Goettig P, Koch NG, Budisa N. Non-Canonical Amino Acids in Analyses of Protease Structure and Function. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14035. [PMID: 37762340 PMCID: PMC10531186 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241814035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
All known organisms encode 20 canonical amino acids by base triplets in the genetic code. The cellular translational machinery produces proteins consisting mainly of these amino acids. Several hundred natural amino acids serve important functions in metabolism, as scaffold molecules, and in signal transduction. New side chains are generated mainly by post-translational modifications, while others have altered backbones, such as the β- or γ-amino acids, or they undergo stereochemical inversion, e.g., in the case of D-amino acids. In addition, the number of non-canonical amino acids has further increased by chemical syntheses. Since many of these non-canonical amino acids confer resistance to proteolytic degradation, they are potential protease inhibitors and tools for specificity profiling studies in substrate optimization and enzyme inhibition. Other applications include in vitro and in vivo studies of enzyme kinetics, molecular interactions and bioimaging, to name a few. Amino acids with bio-orthogonal labels are particularly attractive, enabling various cross-link and click reactions for structure-functional studies. Here, we cover the latest developments in protease research with non-canonical amino acids, which opens up a great potential, e.g., for novel prodrugs activated by proteases or for other pharmaceutical compounds, some of which have already reached the clinical trial stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Goettig
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy, Paracelsus Medical University, Strubergasse 21, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Nikolaj G. Koch
- Biocatalysis Group, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany;
- Bioanalytics Group, Institute of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany;
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Bioanalytics Group, Institute of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
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8
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Tijaro-Bulla S, Nyandwi SP, Cui H. Physiological and engineered tRNA aminoacylation. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. RNA 2023; 14:e1789. [PMID: 37042417 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases form the protein family that controls the interpretation of the genetic code, with tRNA aminoacylation being the key chemical step during which an amino acid is assigned to a corresponding sequence of nucleic acids. In consequence, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases have been studied in their physiological context, in disease states, and as tools for synthetic biology to enable the expansion of the genetic code. Here, we review the fundamentals of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase biology and classification, with a focus on mammalian cytoplasmic enzymes. We compile evidence that the localization of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases can be critical in health and disease. In addition, we discuss evidence from synthetic biology which made use of the importance of subcellular localization for efficient manipulation of the protein synthesis machinery. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing Translation > Translation Regulation RNA Processing > tRNA Processing RNA Export and Localization > RNA Localization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Haissi Cui
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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9
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Shao J, Kuiper BP, Thunnissen AMWH, Cool RH, Zhou L, Huang C, Dijkstra BW, Broos J. The Role of Tryptophan in π Interactions in Proteins: An Experimental Approach. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:13815-13822. [PMID: 35868012 PMCID: PMC9354243 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c04986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
![]()
In proteins, the amino acids Phe, Tyr, and especially
Trp are frequently
involved in π interactions such as π–π, cation−π,
and CH−π bonds. These interactions are often crucial
for protein structure and protein–ligand binding. A powerful
means to study these interactions is progressive fluorination of these
aromatic residues to modulate the electrostatic component of the interaction.
However, to date no protein expression platform is available to produce
milligram amounts of proteins labeled with such fluorinated amino
acids. Here, we present a Lactococcus lactis Trp
auxotroph-based expression system for efficient incorporation (≥95%)
of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrafluorinated, as well as a methylated
Trp analog. As a model protein we have chosen LmrR, a dimeric multidrug
transcriptional repressor protein from L. lactis. LmrR binds aromatic drugs, like daunomycin and riboflavin, between
Trp96 and Trp96′ in the dimer interface. Progressive fluorination
of Trp96 decreased the affinity for the drugs 6- to 70-fold, clearly
establishing the importance of electrostatic π–π
interactions for drug binding. Presteady state kinetic data of the
LmrR–drug interaction support the enthalpic nature of the interaction,
while high resolution crystal structures of the labeled protein–drug
complexes provide for the first time a structural view of the progressive
fluorination approach. The L. lactis expression system
was also used to study the role of Trp68 in the binding of riboflavin
by the membrane-bound riboflavin transport protein RibU from L. lactis. Progressive fluorination of Trp68 revealed a
strong electrostatic component that contributed 15–20% to the
total riboflavin-RibU binding energy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Shao
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Bastiaan P Kuiper
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Andy-Mark W H Thunnissen
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Robbert H Cool
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Liang Zhou
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Chenxi Huang
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Bauke W Dijkstra
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jaap Broos
- Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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10
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Haernvall K, Fladischer P, Schoeffmann H, Zitzenbacher S, Pavkov-Keller T, Gruber K, Schick M, Yamamoto M, Kuenkel A, Ribitsch D, Guebitz GM, Wiltschi B. Residue-Specific Incorporation of the Non-Canonical Amino Acid Norleucine Improves Lipase Activity on Synthetic Polyesters. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:769830. [PMID: 35155387 PMCID: PMC8826565 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.769830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmentally friendly functionalization and recycling processes for synthetic polymers have recently gained momentum, and enzymes play a central role in these procedures. However, natural enzymes must be engineered to accept synthetic polymers as substrates. To enhance the activity on synthetic polyesters, the canonical amino acid methionine in Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus lipase (TTL) was exchanged by the residue-specific incorporation method for the more hydrophobic non-canonical norleucine (Nle). Strutural modelling of TTL revealed that residues Met-114 and Met-142 are in close vicinity of the active site and their replacement by the norleucine could modulate the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Indeed, hydrolysis of the polyethylene terephthalate model substrate by the Nle variant resulted in significantly higher amounts of release products than the Met variant. A similar trend was observed for an ionic phthalic polyester containing a short alkyl diol (C5). Interestingly, a 50% increased activity was found for TTL [Nle] towards ionic phthalic polyesters containing different ether diols compared to the parent enzyme TTL [Met]. These findings clearly demonstrate the high potential of non-canonical amino acids for enzyme engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Patrik Fladischer
- Acib–Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
| | | | | | - Tea Pavkov-Keller
- Acib–Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
- Field of Excellence BioHealth—University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Karl Gruber
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
- Field of Excellence BioHealth—University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | | | | | | | - Doris Ribitsch
- Acib–Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
- Institute for Environmental Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- *Correspondence: Doris Ribitsch,
| | - Georg M. Guebitz
- Acib–Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
- Institute for Environmental Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Birgit Wiltschi
- Acib–Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
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11
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Hou J, Chen X, Jiang N, Wang Y, Cui Y, Ma L, Lin Y, Lu Y. Toward efficient multiple-site incorporation of unnatural amino acids using cell-free translation system. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2022; 7:522-532. [PMID: 35024479 PMCID: PMC8718814 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2021.12.007] [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: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Amber suppression has been widely used to incorporate unnatural amino acids (UNAAs) with unique structures or functional side-chain groups into specific sites of the target protein, which expands the scope of protein-coding chemistry. However, this traditional strategy does not allow multiple-site incorporation of different UNAAs into a single protein, which limits the development of unnatural proteins. To address this challenge, the suppression method using multiple termination codons (TAG, TAA or TGA) was proposed, and cell-free unnatural protein synthesis (CFUPS) system was employed. By the analysis of incorporating 3 different UNAAs (p-propargyloxy-l-phenylalanine, p-azyl-phenylalanine and L-4-Iodophenylalanine) and mass spectrometry, the simultaneous usage of the codons TAG and TAA were suggested for better multiple-site UNAA incorporation. The CFUPS conditions were further optimized for better UNAA incorporation efficiency, including the orthogonal translation system (OTS) components, magnesium ions, and the redox environment. This study established a CFUPS approach based on multiple termination codon suppression to achieve efficient and precise incorporation of different types of UNAAs, thereby synthesizing unnatural proteins with novel physicochemical functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Hou
- College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, 110034, China.,Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xinjie Chen
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Nan Jiang
- College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, 110034, China.,Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yanan Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, 110034, China.,Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yi Cui
- College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, 110034, China.,Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Lianju Ma
- College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, 110034, China
| | - Ying Lin
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yuan Lu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
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12
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Hartman MCT. Non-canonical Amino Acid Substrates of E. coli Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases. Chembiochem 2022; 23:e202100299. [PMID: 34416067 PMCID: PMC9651912 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In this comprehensive review, I focus on the twenty E. coli aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and their ability to charge non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) onto tRNAs. The promiscuity of these enzymes has been harnessed for diverse applications including understanding and engineering of protein function, creation of organisms with an expanded genetic code, and the synthesis of diverse peptide libraries for drug discovery. The review catalogues the structures of all known ncAA substrates for each of the 20 E. coli aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, including ncAA substrates for engineered versions of these enzymes. Drawing from the structures in the list, I highlight trends and novel opportunities for further exploitation of these ncAAs in the engineering of protein function, synthetic biology, and in drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew C T Hartman
- Department of Chemistry and Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1001 W Main St., Richmond, VA 23220, USA
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13
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Kubyshkin V. Experimental lipophilicity scale for coded and noncoded amino acid residues. Org Biomol Chem 2021; 19:7031-7040. [PMID: 34333582 DOI: 10.1039/d1ob01213d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Among other features, the polarity of amino acid residues is the key parameter for understanding their role in proteins. The wide occurrence of protein modifications in nature and the advent of genetic code engineering techniques created a need for an experimental polarity value integrating both coded (canonical) and noncoded (noncanonical) residues on one universal scale. To address this issue, this work reports on a polarity scale based on the experimental lipophilicity of methyl esters of N-acetylamino acids. The derivatization of amino acids was performed in two steps under mild conditions that allowed conversion of a wide array of amino acids into analytical derivatives. The partitioning/distribution between octan-1-ol and water/buffer was measured using the intensity of the NMR signal as a characteristic for the concentration. The reference set of twenty coded amino acids generated log P values spanning 5.1 units: from tryptophan being the most hydrophobic to aspartate being the most hydrophilic. Furthermore, lipophilicity was measured for a set of analogues of phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, methionine, proline, and lysine that are typical in nature and/or laboratory practice. The polarity scale reported here will aid the rationalization of amino acid replacements in proteins, and will guide further efforts in experimental genetic code engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Kubyshkin
- Chemistry Department, University of Manitoba, 144 Dysart road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada.
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14
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Agostini F, Sinn L, Petras D, Schipp CJ, Kubyshkin V, Berger AA, Dorrestein PC, Rappsilber J, Budisa N, Koksch B. Multiomics Analysis Provides Insight into the Laboratory Evolution of Escherichia coli toward the Metabolic Usage of Fluorinated Indoles. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2021; 7:81-92. [PMID: 33532571 PMCID: PMC7844855 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c00679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Organofluorine compounds are known to be toxic to a broad variety of living beings in different habitats, and chemical fluorination has been historically exploited by mankind for the development of therapeutic drugs or agricultural pesticides. On the other hand, several studies so far have demonstrated that, under appropriate conditions, living systems (in particular bacteria) can tolerate the presence of fluorinated molecules (e.g., amino acids analogues) within their metabolism and even repurpose them as alternative building blocks for the synthesis of cellular macromolecules such as proteins. Understanding the molecular mechanism behind these phenomena would greatly advance approaches to the biotechnological synthesis of recombinant proteins and peptide drugs. However, information about the metabolic effects of long-term exposure of living cells to fluorinated amino acids remains scarce. Hereby, we report the long-term propagation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in an artificially fluorinated habitat that yielded two strains naturally adapted to live on fluorinated amino acids. In particular, we applied selective pressure to force a tryptophan (Trp)-auxotrophic strain to use either 4- or 5-fluoroindole as essential precursors for the in situ synthesis of Trp analogues, followed by their incorporation in the cellular proteome. We found that full adaptation to both fluorinated Trp analogues requires a low number of genetic mutations but is accompanied by large rearrangements in regulatory networks, membrane integrity, and quality control of protein folding. These findings highlight the cellular mechanisms behind the adaptation to unnatural amino acids and provide the molecular foundation for bioengineering of novel microbial strains for synthetic biology and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Agostini
- Institute
of Biochemistry—Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin 10117, Germany
| | - Ludwig Sinn
- Institute
of Biotechnology—Bioanalytics, Technische
Universität Berlin, Berlin 10623, Germany
| | - Daniel Petras
- Skaggs School
of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Christian J. Schipp
- Institute
of Chemistry—Biocatalysis, Technische
Universität Berlin, Berlin 10623, Germany
| | - Vladimir Kubyshkin
- Institute
of Chemistry—Biocatalysis, Technische
Universität Berlin, Berlin 10623, Germany
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Allison Ann Berger
- Institute
of Chemistry and Biochemistry—Organic Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Pieter C. Dorrestein
- Skaggs School
of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Juri Rappsilber
- Institute
of Biotechnology—Bioanalytics, Technische
Universität Berlin, Berlin 10623, Germany
- Wellcome
Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, United Kingdom
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Institute
of Chemistry—Biocatalysis, Technische
Universität Berlin, Berlin 10623, Germany
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Beate Koksch
- Institute
of Chemistry and Biochemistry—Organic Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 14195, Germany
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15
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Schipp CJ, Ma Y, Al‐Shameri A, D'Alessio F, Neubauer P, Contestabile R, Budisa N, di Salvo ML. An Engineered Escherichia coli Strain with Synthetic Metabolism for in-Cell Production of Translationally Active Methionine Derivatives. Chembiochem 2020; 21:3525-3538. [PMID: 32734669 PMCID: PMC7756864 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In the last decades, it has become clear that the canonical amino acid repertoire codified by the universal genetic code is not up to the needs of emerging biotechnologies. For this reason, extensive genetic code re-engineering is essential to expand the scope of ribosomal protein translation, leading to reprogrammed microbial cells equipped with an alternative biochemical alphabet to be exploited as potential factories for biotechnological purposes. The prerequisite for this to happen is a continuous intracellular supply of noncanonical amino acids through synthetic metabolism from simple and cheap precursors. We have engineered an Escherichia coli bacterial system that fulfills these requirements through reconfiguration of the methionine biosynthetic pathway and the introduction of an exogenous direct trans-sulfuration pathway. Our metabolic scheme operates in vivo, rescuing intermediates from core cell metabolism and combining them with small bio-orthogonal compounds. Our reprogrammed E. coli strain is capable of the in-cell production of l-azidohomoalanine, which is directly incorporated into proteins in response to methionine codons. We thereby constructed a prototype suitable for economic, versatile, green sustainable chemistry, pushing towards enzyme chemistry and biotechnology-based production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Johannes Schipp
- Chair of Bioprocess Engineering, Institute of BiotechnologyTechnische Universität Berlin ACK 24Ackerstraße 7613355BerlinGermany
| | - Ying Ma
- Paraxel International GmbH, Berlin, Campus DRK Kliniken Berlin Westend Haus 18Spandauer Damm 13014050BerlinGermany
| | - Ammar Al‐Shameri
- Institut für ChemieTechnische Universität BerlinMüller-Breslau-Straße. 1010623BerlinGermany
| | - Federico D'Alessio
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche “A. Rossi Fanelli”Sapienza Università di RomaPiazzale Aldo Moro, 5 – Edificio CU2000185RomaItaly
| | - Peter Neubauer
- Chair of Bioprocess Engineering, Institute of BiotechnologyTechnische Universität Berlin ACK 24Ackerstraße 7613355BerlinGermany
| | - Roberto Contestabile
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche “A. Rossi Fanelli”Sapienza Università di RomaPiazzale Aldo Moro, 5 – Edificio CU2000185RomaItaly
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Institut für ChemieTechnische Universität BerlinMüller-Breslau-Straße. 1010623BerlinGermany
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of ManitobaWinnipegMB, R3T 2N2Canada
| | - Martino Luigi di Salvo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche “A. Rossi Fanelli”Sapienza Università di RomaPiazzale Aldo Moro, 5 – Edificio CU2000185RomaItaly
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16
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Ilamaran M, Sundarapandian A, Aarthy M, Shanmugam G, Ponesakki G, Ramudu KN, Niraikulam A. Growth factor-mimicking 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine-encoded bioartificial extracellular matrix like protein promotes wound closure and angiogenesis. Biomater Sci 2020; 8:6773-6785. [PMID: 33141121 DOI: 10.1039/d0bm01379j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The present work reports a new route to prepare a "smart biomaterial" by mimicking long-acting cellular growth factor showing enhanced cell-material interactions by promoting cell proliferation and angiogenesis. For that, reactive non-proteogenic amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) was genetically introduced into an intrinsic triple-helical hierarchical structure forming protein to initiate hierarchical self-assembly to form a macromolecular structure. The self-assembled scaffold displayed vascular endothelial growth factor mimicking the pro-angiogenic reactive group for repairing and remodeling of damaged tissue cells. We customized the recombinant collagen-like protein (CLP) with DOPA to promote rapid wound healing and cell migrations. Selective incorporation of catechol in variable and C-terminal region of CLP enhanced interaction between inter- and intra-triple-helical collagen molecules that resulted in a structure resembling higher-order native collagen fibril. Turbidity analysis indicated that the triple-helical CLP self-assembled at neutral pH via a catechol intra-crosslinking mechanism. After self-assembly, only DOPA-encoded CLP formed branched filamentous structures suggesting that catechol mediated network coordination. The catechol-encoded CLP also acted as a "smart material" by mimicking long-acting cellular growth factor showing enhanced cell-material interactions by promoting cell proliferation and angiogenesis. It eliminates release rate, stability, and shelf-life of hybrid growth factor conjugated biomaterials. The newly synthesized CLP has the potential to promote accelerated cell migration, pro-angiogenesis, and biocompatibility and could be used in the field of implantable medical devices and tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meganathan Ilamaran
- Division of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - CLRI, Chennai, India.
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17
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Karbalaei-Heidari HR, Budisa N. Combating Antimicrobial Resistance With New-To-Nature Lanthipeptides Created by Genetic Code Expansion. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:590522. [PMID: 33250877 PMCID: PMC7674664 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.590522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the rapid emergence of multi-resistant bacterial strains in recent decades, the commercially available effective antibiotics are becoming increasingly limited. On the other hand, widespread antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as the lantibiotic nisin has been used worldwide for more than 40 years without the appearance of significant bacterial resistance. Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized antimicrobials generated by posttranslational modifications. Their biotechnological production is of particular interest to redesign natural scaffolds improving their pharmaceutical properties, which has great potential for therapeutic use in human medicine and other areas. However, conventional protein engineering methods are limited to 20 canonical amino acids prescribed by the genetic code. Therefore, the expansion of the genetic code as the most advanced approach in Synthetic Biology allows the addition of new amino acid building blocks (non-canonical amino acids, ncAAs) during protein translation. We now have solid proof-of-principle evidence that bioexpression with these novel building blocks enabled lantibiotics with chemical properties transcending those produced by natural evolution. The unique scaffolds with novel structural and functional properties are the result of this bioengineering. Here we will critically examine and evaluate the use of the expanded genetic code and its alternatives in lantibiotics research over the last 7 years. We anticipate that Synthetic Biology, using engineered lantibiotics and even more complex scaffolds will be a promising tool to address an urgent problem of antibiotic resistance, especially in a class of multi-drug resistant microbes known as superbugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Reza Karbalaei-Heidari
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
- Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Institute of Chemistry, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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18
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Chung CZ, Amikura K, Söll D. Using Genetic Code Expansion for Protein Biochemical Studies. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:598577. [PMID: 33195171 PMCID: PMC7604363 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.598577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein identification has gone beyond simply using protein/peptide tags and labeling canonical amino acids. Genetic code expansion has allowed residue- or site-specific incorporation of non-canonical amino acids into proteins. By taking advantage of the unique properties of non-canonical amino acids, we can identify spatiotemporal-specific protein states within living cells. Insertion of more than one non-canonical amino acid allows for selective labeling that can aid in the identification of weak or transient protein-protein interactions. This review will discuss recent studies applying genetic code expansion for protein labeling and identifying protein-protein interactions and offer considerations for future work in expanding genetic code expansion methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Z. Chung
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Kazuaki Amikura
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Dieter Söll
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
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19
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Wang Z, Matthews H. Translational incorporation of modified phenylalanines and tyrosines during cell-free protein synthesis. RSC Adv 2020; 10:11013-11023. [PMID: 35495348 PMCID: PMC9050441 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra00655f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Inherent promiscuity of bacterial translation is demonstrated by mass spectrometric quantification of the translational incorporation of ring-substituted phenylalanines and tyrosines bearing fluoro-, hydroxyl-, methyl-, chloro- and nitro-groups in an E. coli-derived cell-free system. Competitive studies using the cell-free system show that the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) have at least two orders of magnitude higher specificity for the native substrate over these structural analogues, which correlates with studies on the purified synthetase. E. coli wild-type translational machinery utilizes a range of nonproteinogenic amino acids for protein synthesis with incorporation levels greater than 95%.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongqiang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis & Chiral Drug Synthesis of Guizhou Province
- Generic Drug Research Center of Guizhou Province
- School of Pharmacy
- Zunyi Medical University
- Zunyi
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20
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Kubyshkin V, Budisa N. Anticipating alien cells with alternative genetic codes: away from the alanine world! Curr Opin Biotechnol 2019; 60:242-249. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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21
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Gupta K, Toombes GE, Swartz KJ. Exploring structural dynamics of a membrane protein by combining bioorthogonal chemistry and cysteine mutagenesis. eLife 2019; 8:50776. [PMID: 31714877 PMCID: PMC6850778 DOI: 10.7554/elife.50776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The functional mechanisms of membrane proteins are extensively investigated with cysteine mutagenesis. To complement cysteine-based approaches, we engineered a membrane protein with thiol-independent crosslinkable groups using azidohomoalanine (AHA), a non-canonical methionine analogue containing an azide group that can selectively react with cycloalkynes through a strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) reaction. We demonstrate that AHA can be readily incorporated into the Shaker Kv channel in place of methionine residues and modified with azide-reactive alkyne probes in Xenopus oocytes. Using voltage-clamp fluorometry, we show that AHA incorporation permits site-specific fluorescent labeling to track voltage-dependent conformational changes similar to cysteine-based methods. By combining AHA incorporation and cysteine mutagenesis in an orthogonal manner, we were able to site-specifically label the Shaker Kv channel with two different fluorophores simultaneously. Our results identify a facile and straightforward approach for chemical modification of membrane proteins with bioorthogonal chemistry to explore their structure-function relationships in live cells. Living cells can sense cues from their environment via molecules located at the interface between the inside and the outside of the cell. These molecules are mostly proteins and are made up of building blocks known as amino acids. To understand how these proteins work, fluorescent probes can be attached to amino acids within them – which can then tell when different parts of proteins move in response to a signal. Scientists often target fluorescent probes at the amino acid cysteine, because it has a chemically reactive side group and is rare enough so that unique positions can be labeled in the protein of interest. However, being able to target other amino acids would allow scientists to ask, and potentially solve, more precise questions about these proteins. Methionine is another amino acid that has a low abundance in most proteins. Previous research has shown that the cell’s normal protein-building machinery can incorporate synthetic versions of methionine into proteins. This suggested that the introduction of chemically reactive alternatives to methionine could offer a way to label membrane proteins with fluorescent probes and free up the cysteines to be targeted with other approaches. Gupta et al. set out to develop a straightforward method to achieve this and started with a well-studied membrane protein, called Shaker, and cells from female African clawed frogs, which are widely used to study membrane proteins. Gupta et al. found that the cells could readily take up a chemically reactive methionine alternative called azidohomoalanine (AHA) from their surrounding solution and incorporate it within the Shaker protein. The AHA took the place of the methionines that are normally found in Shaker, and just like in cysteine-based methods, fluorescent probes could be easily attached to the AHAs in this membrane protein. Shaker is a protein that allows potassium ions to flow across the cell membrane by changing shape in response to the membrane voltage. The fluorescence from those probes also changed with the membrane voltage in a way that was comparable to cysteine-mediated approaches. This indicated that the AHA modification could also be used to track structural changes in the Shaker protein. Finally, Gupta et al. showed that AHA- and cysteine-mediated labeling approaches could be combined to attach two different fluorescent probes onto the Shaker protein. This method will expand the toolbox for researchers studying the relationship between the structure and function of membrane proteins in live cells. In future, it could be applied more widely once the properties of the fluorescent probes for AHA-mediated labeling can be optimized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanchan Gupta
- Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Gilman Es Toombes
- Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Kenton J Swartz
- Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
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22
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Schmidt M. A metric space for semantic containment: Towards the implementation of genetic firewalls. Biosystems 2019; 185:104015. [PMID: 31408698 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2019.104015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Analysing or engineering the genetic code has mainly been considered as an approach to reduce or increase the mutational robustness of the genetic code, i.e. the error tolerance in DNA mutations, or to enable the incorporation of non-canonical amino acids. The approach of "semantic containment", however, is less interested in altering the mutational tolerance of the standard code, but to create synthetic alternative genetic codes that limit or all together impede horizontal gene transfer between a natural and genomically recoded organisms (GRO). A major claim or conjecture of semantic containment is: "the farther, the safer", meaning, the less similarity there is between two codes, the less chance of a horizontal gene transfer, and the stronger the genetic firewall. So far, no metrics were available to measure and quantify the "genetic distance" between different genetic codes. Such a metric, however, is iis paramount to allow the experimental testing and evaluation of the validity of semantic biocontainment for the first time. Here, we introduce a metric space to measure exactly the distance (dissimilarity) between different genetic codes, in order to provide a framework to evaluate the relation between distance and strength of a genetic firewall. Results are presented that incorporate bespoken metrics when producing alternative genetic codes according to predefined goals, specifications and limitations. Finally, as an outlook, implications and challenges for genetic firewall(s) are discussed for dual- and multi-code systems.
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23
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Budisa N, Schneider T. Expanding the DOPA Universe with Genetically Encoded, Mussel-Inspired Bioadhesives for Material Sciences and Medicine. Chembiochem 2019; 20:2163-2190. [PMID: 30830997 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201900030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Catechols are a biologically relevant group of aromatic diols that have attracted much attention as mediators of adhesion of "bio-glue" proteins in mussels of the genus Mytilus. These organisms use catechols in the form of the noncanonical amino acid l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) as a building block for adhesion proteins. The DOPA is generated post-translationally from tyrosine. Herein, we review the properties, natural occurrence, and reactivity of catechols in the design of bioinspired materials. We also provide a basic description of the mussel's attachment apparatus, the interplay between its different molecules that play a crucial role in adhesion, and the role of post-translational modifications (PTMs) of these proteins. Our focus is on the microbial production of mussel foot proteins with the aid of orthogonal translation systems (OTSs) and the use of genetic code engineering to solve some fundamental problems in the bioproduction of these bioadhesives and to expand their chemical space. The major limitation of bacterial expression systems is their intrinsic inability to introduce PTMs. OTSs have the potential to overcome these challenges by replacing canonical amino acids with noncanonical ones. In this way, PTM steps are circumvented while the genetically programmed precision of protein sequences is preserved. In addition, OTSs should enable spatiotemporal control over the complex adhesion process, because the catechol function can be masked by suitable chemical protection. Such caged residues can then be noninvasively unmasked by, for example, UV irradiation or thermal treatment. All of these features make OTSs based on genetic code engineering in reprogrammed microbial strains new and promising tools in bioinspired materials science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nediljko Budisa
- Institute of Chemistry, Technical University of Berlin, Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10, Berlin, 10623, Germany.,Chair of Chemical Synthetic Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, 144 Dysart Road, R3T 2N2, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Tobias Schneider
- Institute of Chemistry, Technical University of Berlin, Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10, Berlin, 10623, Germany
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24
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A general model on the origin of biological codes. Biosystems 2019; 181:11-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2019.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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25
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Yong KW, Yuen D, Chen MZ, Porter CJH, Johnston APR. Pointing in the Right Direction: Controlling the Orientation of Proteins on Nanoparticles Improves Targeting Efficiency. NANO LETTERS 2019; 19:1827-1831. [PMID: 30773887 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b04916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Protein-conjugated nanoparticles have the potential to precisely deliver therapeutics to target sites in the body by specifically binding to cell surface receptors. To maximize targeting efficiency, the three-dimensional presentation of ligands toward these receptors is crucial. Herein, we demonstrate significantly enhanced targeting of nanoparticles to cancer cells by controlling the protein orientation on the nanoparticle surface. To engineer the point of attachment, we used amber codon reassignment to incorporate a synthetic amino acid, p-azidophenylalanine (azPhe), at specific locations within a single domain antibody (sdAb or nanobody) that recognizes the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The azPhe modified sdAb can be tethered to the nanoparticle in a specific orientation using a bioorthogonal click reaction with a strained cyclooctyne. The crystal structure of the sdAb bound to EGFR was used to rationally select sites likely to optimally display the sdAb upon conjugation to a fluorescent nanocrystal (Qdot). Qdots with sdAb attached at the azPhe13 position showed 6 times greater binding affinity to EGFR expressing A549 cells, compared to Qdots with conventionally (succinimidyl ester) conjugated sdAb. As ligand-targeted delivery systems move toward clinical application, this work shows that nanoparticle targeting can be optimized by engineering the site of protein conjugation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken W Yong
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Parkville , Victoria 3052 , Australia
| | - Daniel Yuen
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Parkville , Victoria 3052 , Australia
| | - Moore Z Chen
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Parkville , Victoria 3052 , Australia
| | - Christopher J H Porter
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Parkville , Victoria 3052 , Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology , Monash University , Parkville , Victoria 3052 , Australia
| | - Angus P R Johnston
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Monash University , Parkville , Victoria 3052 , Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology , Monash University , Parkville , Victoria 3052 , Australia
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26
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Nandy T, Mondal S, Singh PC. Solvent organization around the noncanonical part of tyrosine modulates its fluorescence properties. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:6042-6050. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp06410e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Solvent interactions with the fluorocarbon group of noncanonical amino acids are the cause of their diverse fluorescence behaviors, which implies their usefulness as solvent-sensitive environmental sensors in many biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tonima Nandy
- Department of Spectroscopy
- Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
- Kolkata
- India
| | - Saptarsi Mondal
- Department of Spectroscopy
- Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
- Kolkata
- India
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27
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28
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Bhushan B, Lin YA, Bak M, Phanumartwiwath A, Yang N, Bilyard MK, Tanaka T, Hudson KL, Lercher L, Stegmann M, Mohammed S, Davis BG. Genetic Incorporation of Olefin Cross-Metathesis Reaction Tags for Protein Modification. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:14599-14603. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b09433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bhaskar Bhushan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Yuya A. Lin
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Martin Bak
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Anuchit Phanumartwiwath
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Nan Yang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Matthew K. Bilyard
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Tomonari Tanaka
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Kieran L. Hudson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Lukas Lercher
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Monika Stegmann
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
| | - Shabaz Mohammed
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
| | - Benjamin G. Davis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
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29
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Schmidt M, Pei L, Budisa N. Xenobiology: State-of-the-Art, Ethics, and Philosophy of New-to-Nature Organisms. ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY 2018; 162:301-315. [PMID: 28567486 DOI: 10.1007/10_2016_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The basic chemical constitution of all living organisms in the context of carbon-based chemistry consists of a limited number of small molecules and polymers. Until the twenty-first century, biology was mainly an analytical science and has now reached a point where it merges with engineering science, paving the way for synthetic biology. One of the objectives of synthetic biology is to try to change the chemical compositions of living cells, that is, to create an artificial biological diversity, which in turn fosters a new sub-field of synthetic biology, xenobiology. In particular, the genetic code in living systems is based on highly standardized chemistry composed of the same "letters" or nucleotides as informational polymers (DNA, RNA) and the 20 amino acids which serve as basic building blocks for proteins. The universality of the genetic code enables not only vertical gene transfer within the same species but also horizontal gene transfer across biological taxa, which require a high degree of standardization and interconnectivity. Although some minor alterations of the standard genetic code are found in nature (e.g., proteins containing non-conical amino acids exist in nature, and some organisms use alternated coding systems), all structurally deep chemistry changes within living systems are generally lethal, making the creation of artificial biological system an extremely difficult challenge.In this context, one of the great challenges for bioscience is the development of a strategy for expanding the standard basic chemical repertoire of living cells. Attempts to alter the meaning of the genetic information stored in DNA as an informational polymer by changing the chemistry of the polymer (i.e., xeno-nucleic acids) or by changes in the genetic code have already yielded successful results. In the future this should enable the partial or full redirection of the biological information flow to generate "new" version(s) of the genetic code derived from the "old" biological world.In addition to the scientific challenges, the attempt to increase biochemical diversity also raises important ethical and philosophical issues. Although promotors of this branch of synthetic biology highlight the many potential applications to come (e.g., novel tools for diagnostics and fighting infection diseases), such developments could also bring risks affecting social, political, and other structures of nearly all societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Schmidt
- Biofaction KG, Kundmanngasse 39/12, Vienna, 1030, Austria.
| | - Lei Pei
- Biofaction KG, Kundmanngasse 39/12, Vienna, 1030, Austria
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- AK Biokatalyse, Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Müller-Breslau-Straße 10, 10623, Berlin, Germany
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30
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Pickens CJ, Johnson SN, Pressnall MM, Leon MA, Berkland CJ. Practical Considerations, Challenges, and Limitations of Bioconjugation via Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition. Bioconjug Chem 2018; 29:686-701. [PMID: 29287474 PMCID: PMC6310217 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Interrogating biological systems is often limited by access to biological probes. The emergence of "click chemistry" has revolutionized bioconjugate chemistry by providing facile reaction conditions amenable to both biologic molecules and small molecule probes such as fluorophores, toxins, or therapeutics. One particularly popular version is the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (AAC) reaction, which has spawned new alternatives such as the strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction, among others. This focused review highlights practical approaches to AAC reactions for the synthesis of peptide or protein bioconjugates and contrasts current challenges and limitations in light of recent advances in the field. The conical success of antibody drug conjugates has expanded the toolbox of linkers and payloads to facilitate practical applications of bioconjugation to create novel therapeutics and biologic probes. The AAC reaction in particular is poised to enable a large set of functionalized molecules as a combinatorial approach to high-throughput bioconjugate generation, screening, and honing of lead compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad J Pickens
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry , University of Kansas , 2095 Constant Avenue , Lawrence , Kansas 66047 , United States
| | - Stephanie N Johnson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry , University of Kansas , 2095 Constant Avenue , Lawrence , Kansas 66047 , United States
| | - Melissa M Pressnall
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry , University of Kansas , 2095 Constant Avenue , Lawrence , Kansas 66047 , United States
| | - Martin A Leon
- Department of Chemistry , University of Kansas , 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive , Lawrence , Kansas 66047 , United States
| | - Cory J Berkland
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry , University of Kansas , 2095 Constant Avenue , Lawrence , Kansas 66047 , United States
- Department of Chemistry , University of Kansas , 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive , Lawrence , Kansas 66047 , United States
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering , University of Kansas , , 4132 Learned Hall, 1530 W. 15th , Lawrence , Kansas 66045 , United States
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31
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Barbieri M. What is code biology? Biosystems 2018; 164:1-10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2017.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 10/04/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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32
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Kubyshkin V, Acevedo-Rocha CG, Budisa N. On universal coding events in protein biogenesis. Biosystems 2018; 164:16-25. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2017.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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33
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Fang KY, Lieblich SA, Tirrell DA. Incorporation of Non-Canonical Amino Acids into Proteins by Global Reassignment of Sense Codons. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1798:173-186. [PMID: 29868959 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7893-9_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Non-canonical amino acids are finding increasing use in basic and applied research. Proteins that evolved naturally for biological function did so by exploiting the chemistries of the canonical amino acids; however, when proteins are repurposed for biomedical and pharmacological applications, they are often subject to conditions different from those characteristic of their original biological environments. Non-canonical amino acids can impart properties that are inaccessible within canonical protein sequence space, and can thereby lead to improved or new functionality. We describe simple methods for global replacement of canonical amino acids by their non-canonical counterparts in recombinant proteins made in high yield in bacterial expression hosts. These methods can be used to engineer both chemical and physical properties of recombinant proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine Y Fang
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Seth A Lieblich
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - David A Tirrell
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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34
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van Wilderen LJGW, Brunst H, Gustmann H, Wachtveitl J, Broos J, Bredenbeck J. Cyano-tryptophans as dual infrared and fluorescence spectroscopic labels to assess structural dynamics in proteins. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:19906-19915. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp00846a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
By moving the cyano group position on the indole ring, both artificial amino acids report differently to their microscopic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - H. Brunst
- Institute of Biophysics
- Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität
- Frankfurt am Main
- Germany
| | - H. Gustmann
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität
- Frankfurt am Main
- Germany
| | - J. Wachtveitl
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität
- Frankfurt am Main
- Germany
| | - J. Broos
- Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry and GBB (Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute)
- University of Groningen
- 9747 AG Groningen
- The Netherlands
| | - J. Bredenbeck
- Institute of Biophysics
- Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität
- Frankfurt am Main
- Germany
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35
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van Eldijk MB, van Hest JCM. Residue-Specific Incorporation of Noncanonical Amino Acids for Protein Engineering. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1728:137-145. [PMID: 29404995 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7574-7_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The incorporation of noncanonical amino acids has given protein chemists access to an expanded repertoire of amino acids. This methodology has significantly broadened the scope of protein engineering allowing introduction of amino acids with non-native functionalities, such as bioorthogonal reactive handles (azides and alkynes) and hydrophobic fluorinated side chains. Here, we describe the efficient residue-specific replacement of methionine by azidonorleucine in an engineered green fluorescent protein using a bacterial expression system to introduce a single reactive site for the strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark B van Eldijk
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Jan C M van Hest
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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36
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Helma J, Leonhardt H, Hackenberger CPR, Schumacher D. Tub-Tag Labeling; Chemoenzymatic Incorporation of Unnatural Amino Acids. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1728:67-93. [PMID: 29404991 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7574-7_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Tub-tag labeling is a chemoenzymatic method that enables the site-specific labeling of proteins. Here, the natural enzyme tubulin tyrosine ligase incorporates noncanonical tyrosine derivatives to the terminal carboxylic acid of proteins containing a 14-amino acid recognition sequence called Tub-tag. The tyrosine derivative carries a unique chemical reporter allowing for a subsequent bioorthogonal modification of proteins with a great variety of probes. Here, we describe the Tub-tag protein modification protocol in detail and explain its utilization to generate labeled proteins for advanced applications in cell biology, imaging, and diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Helma
- Department of Biology II, Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Heinrich Leonhardt
- Department of Biology II, Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Christian P R Hackenberger
- Department of Chemical-Biology, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Berlin, Germany
- Department of Chemistry, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dominik Schumacher
- Department of Chemical-Biology, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Chemistry, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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37
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Evaluating the role of puckering and fluorine atom in stability and folding of fluoroproline containing proteins. BIOTECHNOL BIOPROC E 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s12257-017-0257-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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38
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Berger AA, Völler JS, Budisa N, Koksch B. Deciphering the Fluorine Code-The Many Hats Fluorine Wears in a Protein Environment. Acc Chem Res 2017; 50:2093-2103. [PMID: 28803466 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.7b00226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Deciphering the fluorine code is how we describe not only the focus of this Account, but also the systematic approach to studying the impact of fluorine's incorporation on the properties of peptides and proteins used by our groups and others. The introduction of fluorine has been shown to impart favorable, but seldom predictable, properties to peptides and proteins, but up until about two decades ago the outcomes of fluorine modification of peptides and proteins were largely left to chance. Driven by the motivation to extend the application of the unique properties of the element fluorine from medicinal and agro chemistry to peptide and protein engineering we have established extensive research programs that enable the systematic investigation of effects that accompany the introduction of fluorine into this class of biopolymers. The introduction of fluorine into amino acids offers a universe of options for modifications with regard to number and position of fluorine substituents in the amino acid side chain. Moreover, it is important to emphasize that the consequences of incorporating the C-F bond into a biopolymer can be attributed to two distinct yet related phenomena: (i) the fluorine substituent can directly engage in intermolecular interactions with its environment and/or (ii) the other functional groups present in the molecule can be influenced by the electron withdrawing nature of this element (intramolecular) and in turn interact differently with their immediate environment (intermolecular). Based on our studies, we have shown that a change in number and/or position of as subtle as one single fluorine substituent has the power to considerably modify key properties of amino acids such as hydrophobicity, polarity, and secondary structure propensity. These properties are crucial factors in peptide and protein engineering, and thus, fluorinated amino acids can be applied to fine-tune properties such as protein folding, proteolytic stability, and protein-protein interactions provided we understand and become able to predict the outcome of a fluorine substitution in this context. With this Account, we attempt to analyze information we gained from our recent projects on how the nature of the fluorine atom and C-F bond influence four key properties of peptides and proteins: peptide folding, protein-protein interactions, ribosomal translation, and protease stability. These results impressively show why the introduction of fluorine creates a new class of amino acids with a repertoire of functionalities that is unique to the world of proteins and in some cases orthogonal to the set of canonical and natural amino acids. Our concluding statements aim to offer a few conserved design principles that have emerged from systematic studies over the last two decades; in this way, we hope to advance the field of peptide and protein engineering based on the judicious introduction of fluorinated building blocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Ann Berger
- Institute
of Chemistry and Biochemistry − Organic Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan-Stefan Völler
- Institute
of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Müller-Breslau-Str. 10, 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Institute
of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Müller-Breslau-Str. 10, 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Beate Koksch
- Institute
of Chemistry and Biochemistry − Organic Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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39
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Agostini F, Völler J, Koksch B, Acevedo‐Rocha CG, Kubyshkin V, Budisa N. Biocatalysis with Unnatural Amino Acids: Enzymology Meets Xenobiology. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017; 56:9680-9703. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201610129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2016] [Revised: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Federica Agostini
- Institut für ChemieTechnische Universität Berlin Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry—Organic ChemistryFreie Universität Berlin Takustrasse 3 14195 Berlin Germany
| | - Jan‐Stefan Völler
- Institut für ChemieTechnische Universität Berlin Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Beate Koksch
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry—Organic ChemistryFreie Universität Berlin Takustrasse 3 14195 Berlin Germany
| | | | - Vladimir Kubyshkin
- Institut für ChemieTechnische Universität Berlin Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Institut für ChemieTechnische Universität Berlin Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
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40
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Hauf M, Richter F, Schneider T, Faidt T, Martins BM, Baumann T, Durkin P, Dobbek H, Jacobs K, Möglich A, Budisa N. Photoactivatable Mussel-Based Underwater Adhesive Proteins by an Expanded Genetic Code. Chembiochem 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201700327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Hauf
- Institut für Chemie; Technische Universität Berlin; Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Florian Richter
- Institut für Biologie; Biophysikalische Chemie; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
| | - Tobias Schneider
- Institut für Chemie; Technische Universität Berlin; Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Thomas Faidt
- Experimental Physics; Saarland University; Campus E2 9 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
| | - Berta M. Martins
- Institut für Biologie, Strukturbiologie/Biochemie; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
| | - Tobias Baumann
- Institut für Chemie; Technische Universität Berlin; Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Patrick Durkin
- Institut für Chemie; Technische Universität Berlin; Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Holger Dobbek
- Institut für Biologie, Strukturbiologie/Biochemie; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
| | - Karin Jacobs
- Experimental Physics; Saarland University; Campus E2 9 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
| | - Andreas Möglich
- Institut für Biologie; Biophysikalische Chemie; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
- Lehrstuhl für Biochemie; Universität Bayreuth; Universitätsstrasse 30 95440 Bayreuth Germany
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Institut für Chemie; Technische Universität Berlin; Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10 10623 Berlin Germany
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41
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Biokatalyse mit nicht‐natürlichen Aminosäuren: Enzymologie trifft Xenobiologie. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201610129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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42
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Salehi ASM, Smith MT, Schinn S, Hunt JM, Muhlestein C, Diray‐Arce J, Nielsen BL, Bundy BC. Efficient t
RNA
degradation and quantification in
Escherichia coli
cell extract using R
N
ase‐coated magnetic beads: A key step toward codon emancipation. Biotechnol Prog 2017; 33:1401-1407. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Revised: 06/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Amin S. M. Salehi
- Department of Chemical EngineeringBrigham Young UniversityProvo UT84602
| | - Mark T. Smith
- Department of Chemical EngineeringBrigham Young UniversityProvo UT84602
| | - Song‐Min Schinn
- Department of Chemical EngineeringBrigham Young UniversityProvo UT84602
| | - Jeremy M. Hunt
- Department of Chemical EngineeringBrigham Young UniversityProvo UT84602
| | | | - Joann Diray‐Arce
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvo UT84602
| | - Brent L. Nielsen
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvo UT84602
| | - Bradley C. Bundy
- Department of Chemical EngineeringBrigham Young UniversityProvo UT84602
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43
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Owens AE, Grasso KT, Ziegler CA, Fasan R. Two-Tier Screening Platform for Directed Evolution of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases with Enhanced Stop Codon Suppression Efficiency. Chembiochem 2017; 18:1109-1116. [PMID: 28383180 PMCID: PMC5586079 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201700039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Genetic code expansion through amber stop codon suppression provides a powerful tool for introducing non-proteinogenic functionalities into proteins for a broad range of applications. However, ribosomal incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) by means of engineered aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) often proceeds with significantly reduced efficiency compared to sense codon translation. Here, we report the implementation of a versatile platform for the development of engineered aaRSs with enhanced efficiency in mediating ncAA incorporation by amber stop codon suppression. This system integrates a white/blue colony screen with a plate-based colorimetric assay, thereby combining high-throughput capabilities with reliable and quantitative measurement of aaRS-dependent ncAA incorporation efficiency. This two-tier functional screening system was successfully applied to obtain a pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS) variant (CrtK-RS(4.1)) with significantly improved efficiency (+250-370 %) for mediating the incorporation of Nϵ -crotonyl-lysine and other lysine analogues of relevance for the study of protein post-translational modifications into a target protein. Interestingly, the beneficial mutations accumulated by CrtK-RS(4.1) were found to localize within the noncatalytic N-terminal domain of the enzyme and could be transferred to another PylRS variant, improving the ability of the variant to incorporate its corresponding ncAA substrate. This work introduces an efficient platform for the improvement of aaRSs that could be readily extended to other members of this enzyme family and/or other target ncAAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew E Owens
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Hutchinson Hall, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Katherine T Grasso
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Hutchinson Hall, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Christine A Ziegler
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Hutchinson Hall, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Rudi Fasan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Hutchinson Hall, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
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44
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Kwon I, Yang B. Bioconjugation and Active Site Design of Enzymes Using Non-natural Amino Acids. Ind Eng Chem Res 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.7b00612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Inchan Kwon
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering (SMSE) and ‡Department of Biomedical Science
and Engineering (BMSE), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Byungseop Yang
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering (SMSE) and ‡Department of Biomedical Science
and Engineering (BMSE), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
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45
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Ausländer S, Ausländer D, Fussenegger M. Synthetische Biologie - die Synthese der Biologie. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201609229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Ausländer
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering; ETH Zürich; Mattenstrasse 26 4058 Basel Schweiz
| | - David Ausländer
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering; ETH Zürich; Mattenstrasse 26 4058 Basel Schweiz
| | - Martin Fussenegger
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering; ETH Zürich; Mattenstrasse 26 4058 Basel Schweiz
- Faculty of Science; Universität Basel; Mattenstrasse 26 4058 Basel Schweiz
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46
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Ausländer S, Ausländer D, Fussenegger M. Synthetic Biology-The Synthesis of Biology. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017; 56:6396-6419. [PMID: 27943572 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201609229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Revised: 11/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology concerns the engineering of man-made living biomachines from standardized components that can perform predefined functions in a (self-)controlled manner. Different research strategies and interdisciplinary efforts are pursued to implement engineering principles to biology. The "top-down" strategy exploits nature's incredible diversity of existing, natural parts to construct synthetic compositions of genetic, metabolic, or signaling networks with predictable and controllable properties. This mainly application-driven approach results in living factories that produce drugs, biofuels, biomaterials, and fine chemicals, and results in living pills that are based on engineered cells with the capacity to autonomously detect and treat disease states in vivo. In contrast, the "bottom-up" strategy seeks to be independent of existing living systems by designing biological systems from scratch and synthesizing artificial biological entities not found in nature. This more knowledge-driven approach investigates the reconstruction of minimal biological systems that are capable of performing basic biological phenomena, such as self-organization, self-replication, and self-sustainability. Moreover, the syntheses of artificial biological units, such as synthetic nucleotides or amino acids, and their implementation into polymers inside living cells currently set the boundaries between natural and artificial biological systems. In particular, the in vitro design, synthesis, and transfer of complete genomes into host cells point to the future of synthetic biology: the creation of designer cells with tailored desirable properties for biomedicine and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Ausländer
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - David Ausländer
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Fussenegger
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland.,Faculty of Science, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
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47
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Ozer E, Chemla Y, Schlesinger O, Aviram HY, Riven I, Haran G, Alfonta L. In vitro suppression of two different stop codons. Biotechnol Bioeng 2016; 114:1065-1073. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.26226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2016] [Revised: 09/22/2016] [Accepted: 11/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Eden Ozer
- Department of Life Sciences and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; P. O. Box 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Yonatan Chemla
- Department of Life Sciences and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; P. O. Box 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Orr Schlesinger
- Department of Life Sciences and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; P. O. Box 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Haim Yuval Aviram
- Department of Chemical Physics; Weizmann Institute of Science; Rehovot Israel
| | - Inbal Riven
- Department of Chemical Physics; Weizmann Institute of Science; Rehovot Israel
| | - Gilad Haran
- Department of Chemical Physics; Weizmann Institute of Science; Rehovot Israel
| | - Lital Alfonta
- Department of Life Sciences and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; P. O. Box 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
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Quast RB, Ballion B, Stech M, Sonnabend A, Varga BR, Wüstenhagen DA, Kele P, Schiller SM, Kubick S. Cell-free synthesis of functional human epidermal growth factor receptor: Investigation of ligand-independent dimerization in Sf21 microsomal membranes using non-canonical amino acids. Sci Rep 2016; 6:34048. [PMID: 27670253 PMCID: PMC5037433 DOI: 10.1038/srep34048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Accepted: 09/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-free protein synthesis systems represent versatile tools for the synthesis and modification of human membrane proteins. In particular, eukaryotic cell-free systems provide a promising platform for their structural and functional characterization. Here, we present the cell-free synthesis of functional human epidermal growth factor receptor and its vIII deletion mutant in a microsome-containing system derived from cultured Sf21 cells. We provide evidence for embedment of cell-free synthesized receptors into microsomal membranes and asparagine-linked glycosylation. Using the cricket paralysis virus internal ribosome entry site and a repetitive synthesis approach enrichment of receptors inside the microsomal fractions was facilitated thereby providing analytical amounts of functional protein. Receptor tyrosine kinase activation was demonstrated by monitoring receptor phosphorylation. Furthermore, an orthogonal cell-free translation system that provides the site-directed incorporation of p-azido-L-phenylalanine is characterized and applied to investigate receptor dimerization in the absence of a ligand by photo-affinity cross-linking. Finally, incorporated azides are used to generate stable covalently linked receptor dimers by strain-promoted cycloaddition using a novel linker system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert B Quast
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Biljana Ballion
- Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.,Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), School of Soft Matter Research, University of Freiburg, Albertstr. 19, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Biosystems Analysis (ZBSA), University of Freiburg, Habsburger Str. 49, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marlitt Stech
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Andrei Sonnabend
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Balázs R Varga
- Chemical Biology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, CNS, IOC, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Doreen A Wüstenhagen
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Péter Kele
- Chemical Biology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, CNS, IOC, Magyar tudósok krt. 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Stefan M Schiller
- Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.,Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), School of Soft Matter Research, University of Freiburg, Albertstr. 19, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Biosystems Analysis (ZBSA), University of Freiburg, Habsburger Str. 49, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Kubick
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
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Salem MA, Twelves I, Brown A. Prediction of two-photon absorption enhancement in red fluorescent protein chromophores made from non-canonical amino acids. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2016; 18:24408-16. [PMID: 27534378 DOI: 10.1039/c6cp03865d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Two-photon spectroscopy of fluorescent proteins is a powerful bio-imaging tool known for deep tissue penetration and little cellular damage. Being less sensitive than the one-photon microscopy alternatives, a protein with a large two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-section is needed. Here, we use time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) at the B3LYP and CAM-B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) levels of theory to screen twenty-two possible chromophores that can be formed upon replacing the amino-acid Tyr66 that forms the red fluorescent protein (RFP) chromophore with a non-canonical amino acid. The two-level model for TPA was used to assess the properties (i.e., transition dipole moment, permanent dipole moment difference, and the angle between them) leading to the TPA cross-sections determined via response theory. Computing TPA cross-sections with B3LYP and CAM-B3LYP yields similar overall trends. Results using both functionals agree that the RFP-derived model of the Gold Fluorescent Protein chromophore (Model 20) has the largest intrinsic TPA cross-section at the optimized geometry. TPA was further computed for selected chromophores following conformational changes: variation of both the dihedral angle of the acylimine moiety and the tilt and twist angles between the rings of the chromophore. The TPA cross-section assumed an oscillatory trend with the rotation of the acylimine dihedral, and the TPA is maximized in the planar conformation for almost all models. Model 21 (a hydroxyquinoline derivative) is shown to be comparable to Model 20 in terms of TPA cross-section. The conformational study on Model 21 shows that the acylimine angle has a much stronger effect on the TPA than its tilt and twist angles. Having an intrinsic TPA ability that is more than 7 times that of the native RFP chromophore, Models 20 and 21 appear to be very promising for future experimental investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Alaraby Salem
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G2, Canada.
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