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Li M, Qing R, Tao F, Xu P, Zhang S. Inhibitory effect of truncated isoforms on GPCR dimerization predicted by combinatorial computational strategy. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:278-286. [PMID: 38173876 PMCID: PMC10762321 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.12.008] [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: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a pivotal role in fundamental biological processes and disease development. GPCR isoforms, derived from alternative splicing, can exhibit distinct signaling patterns. Some highly-truncated isoforms can impact functional performance of full-length receptors, suggesting their intriguing regulatory roles. However, how these truncated isoforms interact with full-length counterparts remains largely unexplored. Here, we computationally investigated the interaction patterns of three human GPCRs from three different classes, ADORA1 (Class A), mGlu2 (Class C) and SMO (Class F) with their respective truncated isoforms because their homodimer structures have been experimentally determined, and they have truncated isoforms deposited and identified at protein level in Uniprot database. Combining the neural network-based AlphaFold2 and two physics-based protein-protein docking tools, we generated multiple complex structures and assessed the binding affinity in the context of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Our computational results suggested all the four studied truncated isoforms showed potent binding to their counterparts and overlapping interfaces with homodimers, indicating their strong potential to block homodimerization of their counterparts. Our study offers insights into functional significance of GPCR truncated isoforms and supports the ubiquity of their regulatory roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengke Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Rui Qing
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Fei Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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2
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Karagöl A, Karagöl T, Smorodina E, Zhang S. Structural bioinformatics studies of glutamate transporters and their AlphaFold2 predicted water-soluble QTY variants and uncovering the natural mutations of L->Q, I->T, F->Y and Q->L, T->I and Y->F. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0289644. [PMID: 38598436 PMCID: PMC11006163 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Glutamate transporters play key roles in nervous physiology by modulating excitatory neurotransmitter levels, when malfunctioning, involving in a wide range of neurological and physiological disorders. However, integral transmembrane proteins including the glutamate transporters remain notoriously difficult to study, due to their localization within the cell membrane. Here we present the structural bioinformatics studies of glutamate transporters and their water-soluble variants generated through QTY-code, a protein design strategy based on systematic amino acid substitutions. These include 2 structures determined by X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and 6 predicted by AlphaFold2, and their predicted water-soluble QTY variants. In the native structures of glutamate transporters, transmembrane helices contain hydrophobic amino acids such as leucine (L), isoleucine (I), and phenylalanine (F). To design water-soluble variants, these hydrophobic amino acids are systematically replaced by hydrophilic amino acids, namely glutamine (Q), threonine (T) and tyrosine (Y). The QTY variants exhibited water-solubility, with four having identical isoelectric focusing points (pI) and the other four having very similar pI. We present the superposed structures of the native glutamate transporters and their water-soluble QTY variants. The superposed structures displayed remarkable similarity with RMSD 0.528Å-2.456Å, despite significant protein transmembrane sequence differences (41.1%->53.8%). Additionally, we examined the differences of hydrophobicity patches between the native glutamate transporters and their QTY variants. Upon closer inspection, we discovered multiple natural variations of L->Q, I->T, F->Y and Q->L, T->I, Y->F in these transporters. Some of these natural variations were benign and the remaining were reported in specific neurological disorders. We further investigated the characteristics of hydrophobic to hydrophilic substitutions in glutamate transporters, utilizing variant analysis and evolutionary profiling. Our structural bioinformatics studies not only provided insight into the differences between the hydrophobic helices and hydrophilic helices in the glutamate transporters, but they are also expected to stimulate further study of other water-soluble transmembrane proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alper Karagöl
- Istanbul University Istanbul Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Taner Karagöl
- Istanbul University Istanbul Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Eva Smorodina
- Laboratory for Computational and Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
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3
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Li M, Wang Y, Tao F, Xu P, Zhang S. QTY code designed antibodies for aggregation prevention: A structural bioinformatic and computational study. Proteins 2024; 92:206-218. [PMID: 37795805 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are the most rapidly growing class of molecular medicine, and they are beneficial to the treatment of a broad spectrum of human diseases. However, the aggregation of antibodies during the process of manufacture, distribution, and storage poses significant challenges, potentially compromising efficacy and inducing adverse immune responses. We previously conceived a QTY (glutamine, threonine, tyrosine) code, a simple tool for enhancing protein water-solubility by systematically pairwise replacing hydrophobic residues L (leucine), V (valine)/I (isoleucine), and F (phenylalanine). The QTY code offers a promising alternative to traditional methods of controlling aggregation in integral transmembrane proteins. In this study, we designed variants of four antibodies applying the QTY code, changing only the β-sheets. Through the structure-based aggregation analysis, we found that these QTY antibody variants demonstrated significantly decreased aggregation propensity compared to their wild-type counter parts. Our results of molecular dynamics simulations showed that the design by QTY code is capable of maintaining the antigen-binding affinity and structural stability. Our structural informatic and computational study suggests that the QTY code offers a significant potential in mitigating antibody aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengke Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Yanze Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fei Tao
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ping Xu
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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4
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Pan E, Tao F, Smorodina E, Zhang S. Structural bioinformatics studies of six human ABC transporters and their AlphaFold2-predicted water-soluble QTY variants. QRB DISCOVERY 2024; 5:e1. [PMID: 38577032 PMCID: PMC10988169 DOI: 10.1017/qrd.2024.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Human ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are one of the largest families of membrane proteins and perform diverse functions. Many of them are associated with multidrug resistance that often results in cancer treatment with poor outcomes. Here, we present the structural bioinformatics study of six human ABC membrane transporters with experimentally determined cryo-electron microscopy (CryoEM) structures including ABCB7, ABCC8, ABCD1, ABCD4, ABCG1, ABCG5, and their AlphaFold2-predicted water-soluble QTY variants. In the native structures, there are hydrophobic amino acids such as leucine (L), isoleucine (I), valine (V), and phenylalanine (F) in the transmembrane alpha helices. These hydrophobic amino acids are systematically replaced by hydrophilic amino acids glutamine (Q), threonine (T), and tyrosine (Y). Therefore, these QTY variants become water soluble. We also present the superposed structures of native ABC transporters and their water-soluble QTY variants. The superposed structures show remarkable similarity with root mean square deviations between 1.064 and 3.413 Å despite significant (41.90-54.33%) changes to the protein sequence of the transmembrane domains. We also show the differences in hydrophobicity patches between the native ABC transporters and their QTY variants. We explain the rationale behind why the QTY membrane protein variants become water soluble. Our structural bioinformatics studies provide insight into the differences between the hydrophobic helices and hydrophilic helices and will likely further stimulate designs of water-soluble multispan transmembrane proteins and other aggregated proteins. The water-soluble ABC transporters may be useful as soluble antigens to generate therapeutic monoclonal antibodies for combating multidrug resistance in clinics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Pan
- The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA
| | - Fei Tao
- Laboratory of Food Microbial Technology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Eva Smorodina
- Laboratory for Computational and Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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5
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Li M, Qing R, Tao F, Xu P, Zhang S. Dynamic Dimerization of Chemokine Receptors and Potential Inhibitory Role of Their Truncated Isoforms Revealed through Combinatorial Prediction. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16266. [PMID: 38003455 PMCID: PMC10671024 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216266] [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: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemokine receptors play crucial roles in fundamental biological processes. Their malfunction may result in many diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and HIV. The oligomerization of chemokine receptors holds significant functional implications that directly affect their signaling patterns and pharmacological responses. However, the oligomerization patterns of many chemokine receptors remain poorly understood. Furthermore, several chemokine receptors have highly truncated isoforms whose functional role is not yet clear. Here, we computationally show homo- and heterodimerization patterns of four human chemokine receptors, namely CXCR2, CXCR7, CCR2, and CCR7, along with their interaction patterns with their respective truncated isoforms. By combining the neural network-based AlphaFold2 and physics-based protein-protein docking tool ClusPro, we predicted 15 groups of complex structures and assessed the binding affinities in the context of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Our results are in agreement with previous experimental observations and support the dynamic and diverse nature of chemokine receptor dimerization, suggesting possible patterns of higher-order oligomerization. Additionally, we uncover the strong potential of truncated isoforms to block homo- and heterodimerization of chemokine receptors, also in a dynamic manner. Our study provides insights into the dimerization patterns of chemokine receptors and the functional significance of their truncated isoforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengke Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA;
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; (R.Q.); (F.T.); (P.X.)
| | - Rui Qing
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; (R.Q.); (F.T.); (P.X.)
| | - Fei Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; (R.Q.); (F.T.); (P.X.)
| | - Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; (R.Q.); (F.T.); (P.X.)
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA;
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6
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Zhu G, Zhang L, Ma L, Liu Q, Wang K, Li J, Qu G, Zhu B, Fu D, Luo Y, Zhu H. Efficient large fragment deletion in plants: double pairs of sgRNAs are better than dual sgRNAs. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2023; 10:uhad168. [PMID: 37841500 PMCID: PMC10569238 DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhad168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Guoning Zhu
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Lingling Zhang
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Liqun Ma
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Qing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310006, China
| | - Kejian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310006, China
| | - Jinyan Li
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Guiqin Qu
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Benzhong Zhu
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Daqi Fu
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Yunbo Luo
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Hongliang Zhu
- College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
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7
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Ma L, Zhang S, Liang Q, Huang W, Wang H, Pan E, Xu P, Zhang S, Tao F, Tang J, Qing R. CrMP-Sol database: classification, bioinformatic analyses and comparison of cancer-related membrane proteins and their water-soluble variant designs. BMC Bioinformatics 2023; 24:360. [PMID: 37743473 PMCID: PMC10518928 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-023-05477-9] [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: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Membrane proteins are critical mediators for tumor progression and present enormous therapeutic potentials. Although gene profiling can identify their cancer-specific signatures, systematic correlations between protein functions and tumor-related mechanisms are still unclear. We present here the CrMP-Sol database ( https://bio-gateway.aigene.org.cn/g/CrMP ), which aims to breach the gap between the two. Machine learning was used to extract key functional descriptions for protein visualization in the 3D-space, where spatial distributions provide function-based predictive connections between proteins and cancer types. CrMP-Sol also presents QTY-enabled water-soluble designs to facilitate native membrane protein studies despite natural hydrophobicity. Five examples with varying transmembrane helices in different categories were used to demonstrate the feasibility. Native and redesigned proteins exhibited highly similar characteristics, predicted structures and binding pockets, and slightly different docking poses against known ligands, although task-specific designs are still required for proteins more susceptible to internal hydrogen bond formations. The database can accelerate therapeutic developments and biotechnological applications of cancer-related membrane proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Sitao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Qi Liang
- Zhejiang Lab, Research Center for Intelligent Computing Platforms, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenting Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Hui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Emily Pan
- The Lawrenceville School, 2500 Main Street, Lawrenceville, NJ, 08648, USA
| | - Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Fei Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
| | - Jin Tang
- Zhejiang Lab, Research Center for Intelligent Computing Platforms, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Rui Qing
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
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8
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Chen JP, Gong JS, Su C, Li H, Xu ZH, Shi JS. Improving the soluble expression of difficult-to-express proteins in prokaryotic expression system via protein engineering and synthetic biology strategies. Metab Eng 2023; 78:99-114. [PMID: 37244368 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Solubility and folding stability are key concerns for difficult-to-express proteins (DEPs) restricted by amino acid sequences and superarchitecture, resolved by the precise distribution of amino acids and molecular interactions as well as the assistance of the expression system. Therefore, an increasing number of tools are available to achieve efficient expression of DEPs, including directed evolution, solubilization partners, chaperones, and affluent expression hosts, among others. Furthermore, genome editing tools, such as transposons and CRISPR Cas9/dCas9, have been developed and expanded to construct engineered expression hosts capable of efficient expression ability of soluble proteins. Accounting for the accumulated knowledge of the pivotal factors in the solubility and folding stability of proteins, this review focuses on advanced technologies and tools of protein engineering, protein quality control systems, and the redesign of expression platforms in prokaryotic expression systems, as well as advances of the cell-free expression technologies for membrane proteins production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Ping Chen
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing, 214200, PR China
| | - Jin-Song Gong
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing, 214200, PR China.
| | - Chang Su
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China
| | - Heng Li
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China
| | - Zheng-Hong Xu
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China; Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing, 214200, PR China
| | - Jin-Song Shi
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing, 214200, PR China
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9
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Smorodina E, Diankin I, Tao F, Qing R, Yang S, Zhang S. Structural informatic study of determined and AlphaFold2 predicted molecular structures of 13 human solute carrier transporters and their water-soluble QTY variants. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20103. [PMID: 36418372 PMCID: PMC9684436 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23764-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Solute carrier transporters are integral membrane proteins, and are important for diverse cellular nutrient transports, metabolism, energy demand, and other vital biological activities. They have recently been implicated in pancreatic cancer and other cancer metastasis, angiogenesis, programmed cell death and proliferation, cell metabolism and chemo-sensitivity. Here we report the study of 13 human solute carrier membrane transporters using the highly accurate AlphaFold2 predictions of 3D protein structures. In the native structures, there are hydrophobic amino acids leucine (L), isoleucine (I), valine (V) and phenylalanine (F) in the transmembrane alpha-helices. These hydrophobic amino acids L, I, V, F are systematically replaced by hydrophilic amino acids glutamine (Q), threonine (T) and tyrosine (Y), thus the QTY code. Therefore, these QTY variant transporters become water-soluble without requiring detergents. We present the superposed structures of these native solute carrier transporters and their water-soluble QTY variants. The superposed structures show remarkable similarity with RMSD ~ 1 Å-< 3 Å despite > 46% protein sequence substitutions in transmembrane alpha-helices. We also show the differences of surface hydrophobicity between the native solute carrier transporters and their QTY variants. Our study may further stimulate designs of water-soluble transmembrane proteins and other aggregated proteins for drug discovery and biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Smorodina
- grid.55325.340000 0004 0389 8485Laboratory for Computational and Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Igor Diankin
- grid.78780.300000 0004 0613 1044Department of Computer Science, American University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Fei Tao
- grid.16821.3c0000 0004 0368 8293Laboratory of Food Microbial Technology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240 China
| | - Rui Qing
- grid.16821.3c0000 0004 0368 8293Laboratory of Food Microbial Technology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240 China
| | - Steve Yang
- PT Metiska Farma, Daerah Khusus Ibukota, Jakarta, 12220 Indonesia
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- grid.116068.80000 0001 2341 2786Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
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10
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Qing R, Hao S, Smorodina E, Jin D, Zalevsky A, Zhang S. Protein Design: From the Aspect of Water Solubility and Stability. Chem Rev 2022; 122:14085-14179. [PMID: 35921495 PMCID: PMC9523718 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Water solubility and structural stability are key merits for proteins defined by the primary sequence and 3D-conformation. Their manipulation represents important aspects of the protein design field that relies on the accurate placement of amino acids and molecular interactions, guided by underlying physiochemical principles. Emulated designer proteins with well-defined properties both fuel the knowledge-base for more precise computational design models and are used in various biomedical and nanotechnological applications. The continuous developments in protein science, increasing computing power, new algorithms, and characterization techniques provide sophisticated toolkits for solubility design beyond guess work. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the protein design field with respect to water solubility and structural stability. After introducing fundamental design rules, we discuss the transmembrane protein solubilization and de novo transmembrane protein design. Traditional strategies to enhance protein solubility and structural stability are introduced. The designs of stable protein complexes and high-order assemblies are covered. Computational methodologies behind these endeavors, including structure prediction programs, machine learning algorithms, and specialty software dedicated to the evaluation of protein solubility and aggregation, are discussed. The findings and opportunities for Cryo-EM are presented. This review provides an overview of significant progress and prospects in accurate protein design for solubility and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Qing
- State
Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and
Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- The
David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Shilei Hao
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Key
Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
| | - Eva Smorodina
- Department
of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo
University Hospital, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - David Jin
- Avalon GloboCare
Corp., Freehold, New Jersey 07728, United States
| | - Arthur Zalevsky
- Laboratory
of Bioinformatics Approaches in Combinatorial Chemistry and Biology, Shemyakin−Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic
Chemistry RAS, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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11
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Wang ZJ, Thomson M. Localization of signaling receptors maximizes cellular information acquisition in spatially structured natural environments. Cell Syst 2022; 13:530-546.e12. [PMID: 35679857 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2022.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Cells in natural environments, such as tissue or soil, sense and respond to extracellular ligands with intricately structured and non-monotonic spatial distributions, sculpted by processes such as fluid flow and substrate adhesion. In this work, we show that spatial sensing and navigation can be optimized by adapting the spatial organization of signaling pathways to the spatial structure of the environment. We develop an information-theoretic framework for computing the optimal spatial organization of a sensing system for a given signaling environment. We find that receptor localization previously observed in cells maximizes information acquisition in simulated natural contexts, including tissue and soil. Specifically, information acquisition is maximized when receptors form localized patches at regions of maximal ligand concentration. Receptor localization extends naturally to produce a dynamic protocol for continuously redistributing signaling receptors, which when implemented using simple feedback, boosts cell navigation efficiency by 30-fold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zitong Jerry Wang
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - Matt Thomson
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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12
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Zhu G, Zhu H. Modified Gene Editing Systems: Diverse Bioengineering Tools and Crop Improvement. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:847169. [PMID: 35371136 PMCID: PMC8969578 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.847169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Gene-editing systems have emerged as bioengineering tools in recent years. Classical gene-editing systems include zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) with CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) (CRISPR/Cas9), and these tools allow specific sequences to be targeted and edited. Various modified gene-editing systems have been established based on classical gene-editing systems. Base editors (BEs) can accurately carry out base substitution on target sequences, while prime editors (PEs) can replace or insert sequences. CRISPR systems targeting mitochondrial genomes and RNA have also been explored and established. Multiple gene-editing techniques based on CRISPR/Cas9 have been established and applied to genome engineering. Modified gene-editing systems also make transgene-free plants more readily available. In this review, we discuss the modifications made to gene-editing systems in recent years and summarize the capabilities, deficiencies, and applications of these modified gene-editing systems. Finally, we discuss the future developmental direction and challenges of modified gene-editing systems.
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Abstract
Membrane proteins, particularly those that are α-helical, such as transporters and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), have significant biological relevance. However, their expression and purification pose difficulties because of their poor water solubilities, which impedes progress in this field. The QTY method, a code-based protein-engineering approach, was recently developed to produce soluble transmembrane proteins. Here, we describe a comprehensive Web server built for QTY design and its relevance for in silico analyses. Typically, the simple design model is expected to require only 2 to 4 min of computer time, and the library design model requires 2 to 5 h, depending on the target protein size and the number of transmembrane helices. Detailed protocols for using the server with both the simple design and library design modules are provided. Methods for experiments following the QTY design are also included to facilitate the implementation of this approach. The design pipeline was further evaluated using microbial transmembrane proteins and structural alignment between the designed proteins and their origins by employing AlphaFold2. The results reveal that mutants generated by the developed pipeline were highly identical to their origins in terms of three-dimensional (3D) structures. In summary, the utilization of our Web server and associated protocols will enable QTY-based protein engineering to be implemented in a convenient, fast, accurate, and rational manner. The Protein Solubilizing Server (PSS) is publicly available at http://pss.sjtu.edu.cn. IMPORTANCE Water-soluble expression and purification are of considerable importance for protein identification and characterization. However, there has been a lack of an effective method for water-soluble expression of membrane proteins, which has severely hampered their studies. Here, an enabling comprehensive Web server, PSS, was developed for designing water-soluble mutants of α-helical membrane proteins, based on QTY design, a code-based protein-engineering approach. With microbial transmembrane proteins and GPCRs as examples, we systematically evaluated the server and demonstrated its successful performance. PSS is readily available for worldwide users as a Web-based tool, rendering QTY-based protein engineering convenient, efficient, accurate, and rational.
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Comparing Native Crystal Structures and AlphaFold2 Predicted Water-Soluble G Protein-Coupled Receptor QTY Variants. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11121285. [PMID: 34947816 PMCID: PMC8704054 DOI: 10.3390/life11121285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate predictions of 3-dimensional protein structures by AlphaFold2 is a game-changer for biology, especially for structural biology. Here we present the studies of several native chemokine receptors including CCR5, CCR9, CXCR2 and CXCR4 determined by X-ray crystallography, and their water-soluble QTY counter parts predicted by AlphaFold2. In the native structures, there are hydrophobic amino acids leucine (L), isoleucine (I), valine (V) and phenylalanine (F) in the transmembrane helices. These hydrophobic amino acids are systematically replaced by hydrophilic amino acids glutamine (Q), threonine (T), and tyrosine (Y). Thus, the QTY variants become water-soluble. We also present the superimposed structures of native CCR10, CXCR5, CXCR7 and an olfactory receptor OR1D2 and their water-soluble QTY variants. Since the CryoEM structural determinations for the QTY variants of CCR10QTY and OR1D2QTY are in progress, it will be of interest to compare them when the structures become available. The superimposed structures show remarkable similarity within RMSD 1Å–2Å despite significant sequence differences (~26%–~33%). We also show the differences of hydrophobicity patches between the native GPCR and their QTY variants. Our study provides insight into the subtle differences between the hydrophobic helices and hydrophilic helices, and may further stimulate designs of water-soluble membrane proteins and other aggregated proteins.
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Root-Bernstein R, Churchill B. Co-Evolution of Opioid and Adrenergic Ligands and Receptors: Shared, Complementary Modules Explain Evolution of Functional Interactions and Suggest Novel Engineering Possibilities. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11111217. [PMID: 34833093 PMCID: PMC8623292 DOI: 10.3390/life11111217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cross-talk between opioid and adrenergic receptors is well-characterized and involves second messenger systems, the formation of receptor heterodimers, and the presence of extracellular allosteric binding regions for the complementary ligand; however, the evolutionary origins of these interactions have not been investigated. We propose that opioid and adrenergic ligands and receptors co-evolved from a common set of modular precursors so that they share binding functions. We demonstrate the plausibility of this hypothesis through a review of experimental evidence for molecularly complementary modules and report unexpected homologies between the two receptor types. Briefly, opioids form homodimers also bind adrenergic compounds; opioids bind to conserved extracellular regions of adrenergic receptors while adrenergic compounds bind to conserved extracellular regions of opioid receptors; opioid-like modules appear in both sets of receptors within key ligand-binding regions. Transmembrane regions associated with homodimerization of each class of receptors are also highly conserved across receptor types and implicated in heterodimerization. This conservation of multiple functional modules suggests opioid–adrenergic ligand and receptor co-evolution and provides mechanisms for explaining the evolution of their crosstalk. These modules also suggest the structure of a primordial receptor, providing clues for engineering receptor functions.
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Karuppusamy KV, Babu P, Thangavel S. The Strategies and Challenges of CCR5 Gene Editing in Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells for the Treatment of HIV. Stem Cell Rev Rep 2021; 17:1607-1618. [PMID: 33788143 DOI: 10.1007/s12015-021-10145-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
HIV infection continues to be a serious health issue with an alarming global spread, owing to the fact that attempts at developing an effective vaccine or a permanent cure remains futile. So far, the only available treatment for the clinical management of HIV is the combined Anti-Retroviral Therapy (cART), but the long-term cART is associated with metabolic changes, organ damages, and development and transmission of drug resistant HIV strains. Thus, there is a need for the development of one-time curative treatment for HIV infection. The allogeneic transplantation with the Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor cells (HSPCs) having 32 bp deletion in Chemokine receptor 5 gene (CCR5 Δ32) demonstrated successful HIV remission in the Berlin and London patients, and highlighted that transplantation of CCR5 null HSPCs is a promising approach for a long- term HIV remission. The advent of gene editing technologies offers a new choice of generating ex vivo CCR5 ablated allogeneic or autologous HSPCs for stem cell transplantation into HIV patients. Many groups are attempting CCR5 disruption in HSPCs using various gene-editing strategies. At least two such studies, involving CCR5 gene editing in HSPCs have entered the clinical trials. This review aims to outline the strategies taken for CCR5 gene editing and discuss the challenges associated with the development of CCR5 manipulated HSPCs for the gene therapy of HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthik V Karuppusamy
- Centre for Stem Cell Research (A unit of inStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.,Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Prathibha Babu
- Centre for Stem Cell Research (A unit of inStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.,Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Saravanabhavan Thangavel
- Centre for Stem Cell Research (A unit of inStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. .,Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
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