1
|
Muellers SN, Allen KN, Whitty A. MEnTaT: A machine-learning approach for the identification of mutations to increase protein stability. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2309884120. [PMID: 38039271 PMCID: PMC10710055 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309884120] [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: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancing protein thermal stability is important for biomedical and industrial applications as well as in the research laboratory. Here, we describe a simple machine-learning method which identifies amino acid substitutions that contribute to thermal stability based on comparison of the amino acid sequences of homologous proteins derived from bacteria that grow at different temperatures. A key feature of the method is that it compares the sequences based not simply on the amino acid identity, but rather on the structural and physicochemical properties of the side chain. The method accurately identified stabilizing substitutions in three well-studied systems and was validated prospectively by experimentally testing predicted stabilizing substitutions in a polyamine oxidase. In each case, the method outperformed the widely used bioinformatic consensus approach. The method can also provide insight into fundamental aspects of protein structure, for example, by identifying how many sequence positions in a given protein are relevant to temperature adaptation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Karen N. Allen
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, MA02215
| | - Adrian Whitty
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, MA02215
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lattice engineering enables definition of molecular features allowing for potent small-molecule inhibition of HIV-1 entry. Nat Commun 2019; 10:47. [PMID: 30604750 PMCID: PMC6318274 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07851-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Diverse entry inhibitors targeting the gp120 subunit of the HIV-1 envelope (Env) trimer have been developed including BMS-626529, also called temsavir, a prodrug version of which is currently in phase III clinical trials. Here we report the characterization of a panel of small-molecule inhibitors including BMS-818251, which we show to be >10-fold more potent than temsavir on a cross-clade panel of 208-HIV-1 strains, as well as the engineering of a crystal lattice to enable structure determination of the interaction between these inhibitors and the HIV-1 Env trimer at higher resolution. By altering crystallization lattice chaperones, we identify a lattice with both improved diffraction and robust co-crystallization of HIV-1 Env trimers from different clades complexed to entry inhibitors with a range of binding affinities. The improved diffraction reveals BMS-818251 to utilize functional groups that interact with gp120 residues from the conserved β20-β21 hairpin to improve potency. Temsavir, a compound that inhibits HIV entry by binding envelope (Env), is currently in clinical development. Here, Lai et al. identify a more than 10-fold improved compound and, using lattice engineering, obtain crystal structures that give insights into improved inhibition between small molecules and Env.
Collapse
|
3
|
Entzminger KC, Hyun JM, Pantazes RJ, Patterson-Orazem AC, Qerqez AN, Frye ZP, Hughes RA, Ellington AD, Lieberman RL, Maranas CD, Maynard JA. De novo design of antibody complementarity determining regions binding a FLAG tetra-peptide. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10295. [PMID: 28860479 PMCID: PMC5579192 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10737-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Computational antibody engineering efforts to date have focused on improving binding affinities or biophysical characteristics. De novo design of antibodies binding specific epitopes could greatly accelerate discovery of therapeutics as compared to conventional immunization or synthetic library selection strategies. Here, we employed de novo complementarity determining region (CDR) design to engineer targeted antibody-antigen interactions using previously described in silico methods. CDRs predicted to bind the minimal FLAG peptide (Asp-Tyr-Lys-Asp) were grafted onto a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) acceptor framework. Fifty scFvs comprised of designed heavy and light or just heavy chain CDRs were synthesized and screened for peptide binding by phage ELISA. Roughly half of the designs resulted in detectable scFv expression. Four antibodies, designed entirely in silico, bound the minimal FLAG sequence with high specificity and sensitivity. When reformatted as soluble antigen-binding fragments (Fab), these clones expressed well, were predominantly monomeric and retained peptide specificity. In both formats, the antibodies bind the peptide only when present at the amino-terminus of a carrier protein and even conservative peptide amino acid substitutions resulted in a complete loss of binding. These results support in silico CDR design of antibody specificity as an emerging antibody engineering strategy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin C Entzminger
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Jeong-Min Hyun
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Robert J Pantazes
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | | | - Ahlam N Qerqez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Zach P Frye
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Randall A Hughes
- Applied Research Laboratories, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Andrew D Ellington
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Raquel L Lieberman
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Costas D Maranas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Jennifer A Maynard
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. .,Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Johnson JL, Entzminger KC, Hyun J, Kalyoncu S, Heaner DP, Morales IA, Sheppard A, Gumbart JC, Maynard JA, Lieberman RL. Structural and biophysical characterization of an epitope-specific engineered Fab fragment and complexation with membrane proteins: implications for co-crystallization. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA. SECTION D, BIOLOGICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY 2015; 71:896-906. [PMID: 25849400 PMCID: PMC4388267 DOI: 10.1107/s1399004715001856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Crystallization chaperones are attracting increasing interest as a route to crystal growth and structure elucidation of difficult targets such as membrane proteins. While strategies to date have typically employed protein-specific chaperones, a peptide-specific chaperone to crystallize multiple cognate peptide epitope-containing client proteins is envisioned. This would eliminate the target-specific chaperone-production step and streamline the co-crystallization process. Previously, protein engineering and directed evolution were used to generate a single-chain variable (scFv) antibody fragment with affinity for the peptide sequence EYMPME (scFv/EE). This report details the conversion of scFv/EE to an anti-EE Fab format (Fab/EE) followed by its biophysical characterization. The addition of constant chains increased the overall stability and had a negligible impact on the antigen affinity. The 2.0 Å resolution crystal structure of Fab/EE reveals contacts with larger surface areas than those of scFv/EE. Surface plasmon resonance, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and size-exclusion chromatography were used to assess Fab/EE binding to EE-tagged soluble and membrane test proteins: namely, the β-barrel outer membrane protein intimin and α-helical A2a G protein-coupled receptor (A2aR). Molecular-dynamics simulation of the intimin constructs with and without Fab/EE provides insight into the energetic complexities of the co-crystallization approach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L. Johnson
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Kevin C. Entzminger
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, MC0400, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Jeongmin Hyun
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, MC0400, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Sibel Kalyoncu
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - David P. Heaner
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Ivan A. Morales
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Aly Sheppard
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - James C. Gumbart
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Jennifer A. Maynard
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, MC0400, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Raquel L. Lieberman
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| |
Collapse
|