1
|
Chaves EJF, Coêlho DF, Cruz CHB, Moreira EG, Simões JCM, Nascimento-Filho MJ, Lins RD. Structure-based computational design of antibody mimetics: challenges and perspectives. FEBS Open Bio 2024. [PMID: 38925955 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The design of antibody mimetics holds great promise for revolutionizing therapeutic interventions by offering alternatives to conventional antibody therapies. Structure-based computational approaches have emerged as indispensable tools in the rational design of those molecules, enabling the precise manipulation of their structural and functional properties. This review covers the main classes of designed antigen-binding motifs, as well as alternative strategies to develop tailored ones. We discuss the intricacies of different computational protein-protein interaction design strategies, showcased by selected successful cases in the literature. Subsequently, we explore the latest advancements in the computational techniques including the integration of machine and deep learning methodologies into the design framework, which has led to an augmented design pipeline. Finally, we verse onto the current challenges that stand in the way between high-throughput computer design of antibody mimetics and experimental realization, offering a forward-looking perspective into the field and the promises it holds to biotechnology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elton J F Chaves
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
| | - Danilo F Coêlho
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Carlos H B Cruz
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, UK
| | | | - Júlio C M Simões
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Manassés J Nascimento-Filho
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Roberto D Lins
- Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
- Fiocruz Genomics Network, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rahman MA, Becerra-Flores M, Patskovsky Y, Silva de Castro I, Bissa M, Basu S, Shen X, Williams LD, Sarkis S, N’guessan KF, LaBranche C, Tomaras GD, Aye PP, Veazey R, Paquin-Proulx D, Rao M, Franchini G, Cardozo T. Cholera toxin B scaffolded, focused SIV V2 epitope elicits antibodies that influence the risk of SIV mac251 acquisition in macaques. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1139402. [PMID: 37153584 PMCID: PMC10160393 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1139402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction An efficacious HIV vaccine will need to elicit a complex package of innate, humoral, and cellular immune responses. This complex package of responses to vaccine candidates has been studied and yielded important results, yet it has been a recurring challenge to determine the magnitude and protective effect of specific in vivo immune responses in isolation. We therefore designed a single, viral-spike-apical, epitope-focused V2 loop immunogen to reveal individual vaccine-elicited immune factors that contribute to protection against HIV/SIV. Method We generated a novel vaccine by incorporating the V2 loop B-cell epitope in the cholera toxin B (CTB) scaffold and compared two new immunization regimens to a historically protective 'standard' vaccine regimen (SVR) consisting of 2xDNA prime boosted with 2xALVAC-SIV and 1xΔV1gp120. We immunized a cohort of macaques with 5xCTB-V2c vaccine+alum intramuscularly simultaneously with topical intrarectal vaccination of CTB-V2c vaccine without alum (5xCTB-V2/alum). In a second group, we tested a modified version of the SVR consisting of 2xDNA prime and boosted with 1xALVAC-SIV and 2xALVAC-SIV+CTB-V2/alum, (DA/CTB-V2c/alum). Results In the absence of any other anti-viral antibodies, V2c epitope was highly immunogenic when incorporated in the CTB scaffold and generated highly functional anti-V2c antibodies in the vaccinated animals. 5xCTB-V2c/alum vaccination mediated non-neutralizing ADCC activity and efferocytosis, but produced low avidity, trogocytosis, and no neutralization of tier 1 virus. Furthermore, DA/CTB-V2c/alum vaccination also generated lower total ADCC activity, avidity, and neutralization compared to the SVR. These data suggest that the ΔV1gp120 boost in the SVR yielded more favorable immune responses than its CTB-V2c counterpart. Vaccination with the SVR generates CCR5- α4β7+CD4+ Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells, which are less likely to be infected by SIV/HIV and likely contributed to the protection afforded in this regimen. The 5xCTB-V2c/alum regimen likewise elicited higher circulating CCR5- α4β7+ CD4+ T cells and mucosal α4β7+ CD4+ T cells compared to the DA/CTB-V2c/alum regimen, whereas the first cell type was associated with reduced risk of viral acquisition. Conclusion Taken together, these data suggest that individual viral spike B-cell epitopes can be highly immunogenic and functional as isolated immunogens, although they might not be sufficient on their own to provide full protection against HIV/SIV infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Arif Rahman
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, NIH Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Manuel Becerra-Flores
- NYU Langone Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Yury Patskovsky
- NYU Langone Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Isabela Silva de Castro
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, NIH Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Massimiliano Bissa
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, NIH Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Shraddha Basu
- United States Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Xiaoying Shen
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - LaTonya D. Williams
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Sarkis Sarkis
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, NIH Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Kombo F. N’guessan
- United States Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Celia LaBranche
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Georgia D. Tomaras
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Pyone Pyone Aye
- Veterinary Medicine, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, LA, United States
| | - Ronald Veazey
- Division of Comparative Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, Covington, LA, United States
| | - Dominic Paquin-Proulx
- United States Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Mangala Rao
- United States Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Genoveffa Franchini
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, NIH Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Timothy Cardozo
- NYU Langone Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bootwala A, An HH, Franklin MW, Manning BJ, Xu LY, Panchal S, Garlick JD, Baral R, Hudson ME, Grigoryan G, Murakami MA, Hopson K, Leventhal DS. Protein re-surfacing of E. coli L-Asparaginase to evade pre-existing anti-drug antibodies and hypersensitivity responses. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1016179. [PMID: 36569945 PMCID: PMC9767956 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1016179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The optimal use of many biotherapeutics is restricted by Anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) and hypersensitivity responses which can affect potency and ability to administer a treatment. Here we demonstrate that Re-surfacing can be utilized as a generalizable approach to engineer proteins with extensive surface residue modifications in order to avoid binding by pre-existing ADAs. This technique was applied to E. coli Asparaginase (ASN) to produce functional mutants with up to 58 substitutions resulting in direct modification of 35% of surface residues. Re-surfaced ASNs exhibited significantly reduced binding to murine, rabbit and human polyclonal ADAs, with a negative correlation observed between binding and mutational distance from the native protein. Reductions in ADA binding correlated with diminished hypersensitivity responses in an in vivo mouse model. By using computational design approaches to traverse extended distances in mutational space while maintaining function, protein Re-surfacing may provide a means to generate novel or second line therapies for life-saving drugs with limited therapeutic alternatives.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ali Bootwala
- Generate Biomedicines, Somerville, MA, United States
| | - Hyun Hwan An
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | | | - Lucy Y. Xu
- Generate Biomedicines, Somerville, MA, United States
| | | | | | - Reshica Baral
- Generate Biomedicines, Somerville, MA, United States
| | | | | | - Mark A. Murakami
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Rahban M, Zolghadri S, Salehi N, Ahmad F, Haertlé T, Rezaei-Ghaleh N, Sawyer L, Saboury AA. Thermal stability enhancement: Fundamental concepts of protein engineering strategies to manipulate the flexible structure. Int J Biol Macromol 2022; 214:642-654. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.06.154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
|
5
|
Schoeder CT, Gilchuk P, Sangha AK, Ledwitch KV, Malherbe DC, Zhang X, Binshtein E, Williamson LE, Martina CE, Dong J, Armstrong E, Sutton R, Nargi R, Rodriguez J, Kuzmina N, Fiala B, King NP, Bukreyev A, Crowe JE, Meiler J. Epitope-focused immunogen design based on the ebolavirus glycoprotein HR2-MPER region. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010518. [PMID: 35584193 PMCID: PMC9170092 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The three human pathogenic ebolaviruses: Zaire (EBOV), Bundibugyo (BDBV), and Sudan (SUDV) virus, cause severe disease with high fatality rates. Epitopes of ebolavirus glycoprotein (GP) recognized by antibodies with binding breadth for all three ebolaviruses are of major interest for rational vaccine design. In particular, the heptad repeat 2 -membrane-proximal external region (HR2-MPER) epitope is relatively conserved between EBOV, BDBV, and SUDV GP and targeted by human broadly-neutralizing antibodies. To study whether this epitope can serve as an immunogen for the elicitation of broadly-reactive antibody responses, protein design in Rosetta was employed to transplant the HR2-MPER epitope identified from a co-crystal structure with the known broadly-reactive monoclonal antibody (mAb) BDBV223 onto smaller scaffold proteins. From computational analysis, selected immunogen designs were produced as recombinant proteins and functionally validated, leading to the identification of a sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain displaying the BDBV-HR2-MPER epitope near its C terminus as a promising candidate. The immunogen was fused to one component of a self-assembling, two-component nanoparticle and tested for immunogenicity in rabbits. Robust titers of cross-reactive serum antibodies to BDBV and EBOV GPs and moderate titers to SUDV GP were induced following immunization. To confirm the structural composition of the immunogens, solution NMR studies were conducted and revealed structural flexibility in the C-terminal residues of the epitope. Overall, our study represents the first report on an epitope-focused immunogen design based on the structurally challenging BDBV-HR2-MPER epitope.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Clara T. Schoeder
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Institute for Drug Discovery, University Leipzig Medical School, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Pavlo Gilchuk
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Amandeep K. Sangha
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Kaitlyn V. Ledwitch
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Delphine C. Malherbe
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
- Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Xuan Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Elad Binshtein
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Lauren E. Williamson
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Cristina E. Martina
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Jinhui Dong
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Erica Armstrong
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Rachel Sutton
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Rachel Nargi
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Jessica Rodriguez
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Natalia Kuzmina
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
- Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Brooke Fiala
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Neil P. King
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Alexander Bukreyev
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
- Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, Unites States, United States of America
| | - James E. Crowe
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Departments of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Jens Meiler
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Institute for Drug Discovery, University Leipzig Medical School, Leipzig, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Di Vona ML, Rossolini GM, Sette M. A Strategy Based on Loop Analysis to Develop Peptide Epitopes: Application to SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:658687. [PMID: 34026833 PMCID: PMC8131536 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.658687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many current strategies for inducing an immune response rely on the production of an antigenic protein. Such methods can be problematic if the folding of the antigenic protein is incorrect. To avoid this problem, we propose a method based on grafting specific regions of the chosen antigenic protein onto biocompatible polymeric matrices, so that they can mimic portions of the antigenic protein. These regions are selected following the criterion according to which they are not folded, are exposed to the solvent and are not already present in the human body, so that they are not recognized by the immune system as self. Regions are selected using the primary sequence of the protein and, where possible, its tertiary structure. The application of this strategy to the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is presented.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Luisa Di Vona
- Department of Industrial Engineering and International Associated Laboratory: Ionomer Materials for Energy, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Gian Maria Rossolini
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Microbiology and Virology Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Marco Sette
- Department of Chemical Sciences and Technology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Sorbonne Paris Cité, CSPBAT Laboratory, University of Paris 13, UMR 7244, CNRS, Bobigny, France
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Schoeder CT, Schmitz S, Adolf-Bryfogle J, Sevy AM, Finn JA, Sauer MF, Bozhanova NG, Mueller BK, Sangha AK, Bonet J, Sheehan JH, Kuenze G, Marlow B, Smith ST, Woods H, Bender BJ, Martina CE, Del Alamo D, Kodali P, Gulsevin A, Schief WR, Correia BE, Crowe JE, Meiler J, Moretti R. Modeling Immunity with Rosetta: Methods for Antibody and Antigen Design. Biochemistry 2021; 60:825-846. [PMID: 33705117 PMCID: PMC7992133 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Structure-based antibody
and antigen design has advanced greatly
in recent years, due not only to the increasing availability of experimentally
determined structures but also to improved computational methods for
both prediction and design. Constant improvements in performance within
the Rosetta software suite for biomolecular modeling have given rise
to a greater breadth of structure prediction, including docking and
design application cases for antibody and antigen modeling. Here,
we present an overview of current protocols for antibody and antigen
modeling using Rosetta and exemplify those by detailed tutorials originally
developed for a Rosetta workshop at Vanderbilt University. These tutorials
cover antibody structure prediction, docking, and design and antigen
design strategies, including the addition of glycans in Rosetta. We
expect that these materials will allow novice users to apply Rosetta
in their own projects for modeling antibodies and antigens.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Clara T Schoeder
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Samuel Schmitz
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Jared Adolf-Bryfogle
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States.,IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Alexander M Sevy
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0301, United States.,Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0417, United States
| | - Jessica A Finn
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0417, United States.,Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Marion F Sauer
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0301, United States.,Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0417, United States
| | - Nina G Bozhanova
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Benjamin K Mueller
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Amandeep K Sangha
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Jaume Bonet
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan H Sheehan
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Georg Kuenze
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Institute for Drug Discovery, University Leipzig Medical School, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Brennica Marlow
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0301, United States
| | - Shannon T Smith
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0301, United States
| | - Hope Woods
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0301, United States
| | - Brian J Bender
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
| | - Cristina E Martina
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Diego Del Alamo
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0301, United States
| | - Pranav Kodali
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - Alican Gulsevin
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| | - William R Schief
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States.,IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Bruno E Correia
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - James E Crowe
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0417, United States.,Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Jens Meiler
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States.,Institute for Drug Discovery, University Leipzig Medical School, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Rocco Moretti
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States.,Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7917, United States
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Structure-Guided Design of a Synthetic Mimic of an Endothelial Protein C Receptor-Binding PfEMP1 Protein. mSphere 2021; 6:6/1/e01081-20. [PMID: 33408232 PMCID: PMC7845591 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.01081-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines train our immune systems to generate antibodies which recognize pathogens. Some of these antibodies are highly protective, preventing infection, while others are ineffective. Structure-guided vaccine design provides a route to elicit a focused immune response against the most functionally important regions of a pathogen surface. This can be achieved by identifying epitopes for neutralizing antibodies through structural methods and recapitulating these epitopes by grafting their core structural features onto smaller scaffolds. In this study, we conducted a modified version of this protocol. We focused on the PfEMP1 protein family found on the surfaces of erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum. A subset of PfEMP1 proteins bind to endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR), and their expression correlates with development of the symptoms of severe malaria. Structural studies revealed that PfEMP1 molecules present a helix-kinked-helix motif that forms the core of the EPCR-binding site. Using Rosetta-based design, we successfully grafted this motif onto a three-helical bundle scaffold. We show that this synthetic binder interacts with EPCR with nanomolar affinity and adopts the expected structure. We also assessed its ability to bind to antibodies found in immunized animals and in humans from malaria-endemic regions. Finally, we tested the capacity of the synthetic binder to effectively elicit antibodies that prevent EPCR binding and analyzed the degree of cross-reactivity of these antibodies across a diverse repertoire of EPCR-binding PfEMP1 proteins. Despite our synthetic binder adopting the correct structure, we find that it is not as effective as the CIDRα domain on which it is based for inducing adhesion-inhibitory antibodies. This cautions against the rational design of focused immunogens that contain the core features of a ligand-binding site of a protein family, rather than those of a neutralizing antibody epitope. IMPORTANCE Vaccines train our immune systems to generate antibodies which recognize pathogens. Some of these antibodies are highly protective, preventing infection, while others are ineffective. Structure-guided rational approaches allow design of synthetic molecules which contain only the regions of a pathogen required to induce production of protective antibodies. On the surfaces of red blood cells infected by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are parasite molecules called PfEMP1 proteins. PfEMP1 proteins, which bind to human receptor EPCR, are linked to development of severe malaria. We have designed a synthetic protein on which we grafted the EPCR-binding surface of a PfEMP1 protein. We use this molecule to show which fraction of protective antibodies recognize the EPCR-binding surface and test its effectiveness as a vaccine immunogen.
Collapse
|
9
|
Sesterhenn F, Galloux M, Vollers SS, Csepregi L, Yang C, Descamps D, Bonet J, Friedensohn S, Gainza P, Corthésy P, Chen M, Rosset S, Rameix-Welti MA, Éléouët JF, Reddy ST, Graham BS, Riffault S, Correia BE. Boosting subdominant neutralizing antibody responses with a computationally designed epitope-focused immunogen. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000164. [PMID: 30789898 PMCID: PMC6400402 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Throughout the last several decades, vaccination has been key to prevent and eradicate infectious diseases. However, many pathogens (e.g., respiratory syncytial virus [RSV], influenza, dengue, and others) have resisted vaccine development efforts, largely because of the failure to induce potent antibody responses targeting conserved epitopes. Deep profiling of human B cells often reveals potent neutralizing antibodies that emerge from natural infection, but these specificities are generally subdominant (i.e., are present in low titers). A major challenge for next-generation vaccines is to overcome established immunodominance hierarchies and focus antibody responses on crucial neutralization epitopes. Here, we show that a computationally designed epitope-focused immunogen presenting a single RSV neutralization epitope elicits superior epitope-specific responses compared to the viral fusion protein. In addition, the epitope-focused immunogen efficiently boosts antibodies targeting the palivizumab epitope, resulting in enhanced neutralization. Overall, we show that epitope-focused immunogens can boost subdominant neutralizing antibody responses in vivo and reshape established antibody hierarchies. A computationally designed epitope-focused immunogen presenting a single neutralization epitope from Respiratory Syncytial Virus elicits superior epitope-specific responses compared to the viral fusion protein. Furthermore, epitope-focused immunogens can reshape established antibody hierarchies. Vaccines are one of the most valuable instruments to prevent and control infectious diseases. Their primary correlate of protection is the level of induction of neutralizing antibodies that target critical antigenic sites and thereby block infection. Natural infections with pathogens such as the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or influenza induce a broad repertoire of antibodies that target multiple epitopes. Among those, functional antibodies with key specificities are often subdominant (present in low titers). Thus, a central goal for vaccine development is to focus antibody responses on such neutralization epitopes. Here, we show that a computationally designed, epitope-focused immunogen mimicking an important RSV neutralization epitope (site II) can focus antibodies onto this well-defined epitope. In a scenario of preexisting immunity, in which site II–specific antibodies were subdominant, the epitope-focused immunogen selectively boosted site II–specific antibodies, resulting in an increased viral neutralization through this epitope. We propose that rationally designed immunogens spotlighting defined epitopes have a unique potential to focus antibody responses on functionally conserved sites in cases of preexisting immunity. Our results have broad implications for vaccine design as a strategy to steer preexisting antibody responses away from immunodominant, variable epitopes and toward subdominant epitopes that confer broad and potent neutralization.
Collapse
MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/chemistry
- Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/immunology
- Antibodies, Neutralizing/biosynthesis
- Antibodies, Neutralizing/genetics
- Antibodies, Viral/biosynthesis
- Antibodies, Viral/genetics
- Cloning, Molecular
- Computer-Aided Design
- Epitopes/chemistry
- Epitopes/immunology
- Escherichia coli/genetics
- Escherichia coli/metabolism
- Female
- Gene Expression
- Genetic Vectors/chemistry
- Genetic Vectors/metabolism
- Immunization/methods
- Immunogenicity, Vaccine
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Nanoparticles/administration & dosage
- Nanoparticles/chemistry
- Palivizumab/chemistry
- Palivizumab/immunology
- Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell/chemistry
- Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell/immunology
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/administration & dosage
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/chemistry
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/genetics
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/immunology
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines/administration & dosage
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines/biosynthesis
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines/genetics
- Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/immunology
- Structural Homology, Protein
- Viral Fusion Proteins/administration & dosage
- Viral Fusion Proteins/chemistry
- Viral Fusion Proteins/genetics
- Viral Fusion Proteins/immunology
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Sesterhenn
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marie Galloux
- Unité de Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires (UR892), INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Sabrina S. Vollers
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lucia Csepregi
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Che Yang
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Delphyne Descamps
- Unité de Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires (UR892), INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Jaume Bonet
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Simon Friedensohn
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Pablo Gainza
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patricia Corthésy
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Man Chen
- Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Stéphane Rosset
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti
- UMR1173, INSERM, Université de Versailles St. Quentin, Montigny le Bretonneux, France
- AP-HP, Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Hôpital Ambroise Paré, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
| | - Jean-François Éléouët
- Unité de Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires (UR892), INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Sai T. Reddy
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Barney S. Graham
- Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Sabine Riffault
- Unité de Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires (UR892), INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Bruno E. Correia
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Rosetta FunFolDes - A general framework for the computational design of functional proteins. PLoS Comput Biol 2018; 14:e1006623. [PMID: 30452434 PMCID: PMC6277116 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Revised: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The robust computational design of functional proteins has the potential to deeply impact translational research and broaden our understanding of the determinants of protein function and stability. The low success rates of computational design protocols and the extensive in vitro optimization often required, highlight the challenge of designing proteins that perform essential biochemical functions, such as binding or catalysis. One of the most simplistic approaches for the design of function is to adopt functional motifs in naturally occurring proteins and transplant them to computationally designed proteins. The structural complexity of the functional motif largely determines how readily one can find host protein structures that are "designable", meaning that are likely to present the functional motif in the desired conformation. One promising route to enhance the "designability" of protein structures is to allow backbone flexibility. Here, we present a computational approach that couples conformational folding with sequence design to embed functional motifs into heterologous proteins-Rosetta Functional Folding and Design (FunFolDes). We performed extensive computational benchmarks, where we observed that the enforcement of functional requirements resulted in designs distant from the global energetic minimum of the protein. An observation consistent with several experimental studies that have revealed function-stability tradeoffs. To test the design capabilities of FunFolDes we transplanted two viral epitopes into distant structural templates including one de novo "functionless" fold, which represent two typical challenges where the designability problem arises. The designed proteins were experimentally characterized showing high binding affinities to monoclonal antibodies, making them valuable candidates for vaccine design endeavors. Overall, we present an accessible strategy to repurpose old protein folds for new functions. This may lead to important improvements on the computational design of proteins, with structurally complex functional sites, that can perform elaborate biochemical functions related to binding and catalysis.
Collapse
|
11
|
Zhao J, Nussinov R, Wu WJ, Ma B. In Silico Methods in Antibody Design. Antibodies (Basel) 2018; 7:E22. [PMID: 31544874 PMCID: PMC6640671 DOI: 10.3390/antib7030022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibody therapies with high efficiency and low toxicity are becoming one of the major approaches in antibody therapeutics. Based on high-throughput sequencing and increasing experimental structures of antibodies/antibody-antigen complexes, computational approaches can predict antibody/antigen structures, engineering the function of antibodies and design antibody-antigen complexes with improved properties. This review summarizes recent progress in the field of in silico design of antibodies, including antibody structure modeling, antibody-antigen complex prediction, antibody stability evaluation, and allosteric effects in antibodies and functions. We listed the cases in which these methods have helped experimental studies to improve the affinities and physicochemical properties of antibodies. We emphasized how the molecular dynamics unveiled the allosteric effects during antibody-antigen recognition and antibody-effector recognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jun Zhao
- Division of Biotechnology Review and Research I, Office of Biotechnology Products, Office of Pharmaceutical Quality, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA.
- Interagency Oncology Task Force (IOTF) Fellowship: Oncology Product Research/Review Fellow, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
- Sackler Inst. of Molecular Medicine, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
| | - Wen-Jin Wu
- Division of Biotechnology Review and Research I, Office of Biotechnology Products, Office of Pharmaceutical Quality, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA.
| | - Buyong Ma
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
In silico methods for design of biological therapeutics. Methods 2017; 131:33-65. [PMID: 28958951 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2017.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Revised: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 09/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been twenty years since the first rationally designed small molecule drug was introduced into the market. Since then, we have progressed from designing small molecules to designing biotherapeutics. This class of therapeutics includes designed proteins, peptides and nucleic acids that could more effectively combat drug resistance and even act in cases where the disease is caused because of a molecular deficiency. Computational methods are crucial in this design exercise and this review discusses the various elements of designing biotherapeutic proteins and peptides. Many of the techniques discussed here, such as the deterministic and stochastic design methods, are generally used in protein design. We have devoted special attention to the design of antibodies and vaccines. In addition to the methods for designing these molecules, we have included a comprehensive list of all biotherapeutics approved for clinical use. Also included is an overview of methods that predict the binding affinity, cell penetration ability, half-life, solubility, immunogenicity and toxicity of the designed therapeutics. Biotherapeutics are only going to grow in clinical importance and are set to herald a new generation of disease management and cure.
Collapse
|
13
|
Differential Antibody Responses to Conserved HIV-1 Neutralizing Epitopes in the Context of Multivalent Scaffolds and Native-Like gp140 Trimers. mBio 2017; 8:mBio.00036-17. [PMID: 28246356 PMCID: PMC5347340 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00036-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) have provided valuable insights into the humoral immune response to HIV-1. While rationally designed epitope scaffolds and well-folded gp140 trimers have been proposed as vaccine antigens, a comparative understanding of their antibody responses has not yet been established. In this study, we probed antibody responses to the N332 supersite and the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) in the context of heterologous protein scaffolds and native-like gp140 trimers. Ferritin nanoparticles and fragment crystallizable (Fc) regions were utilized as multivalent carriers to display scaffold antigens with grafted N332 and MPER epitopes, respectively. Trimeric scaffolds were also identified to stabilize the MPER-containing BG505 gp140.681 trimer in a native-like conformation. Following structural and antigenic evaluation, a subset of scaffold and trimer antigens was selected for immunization in BALB/c mice. Serum binding revealed distinct patterns of antibody responses to these two bNAb targets presented in different structural contexts. For example, the N332 nanoparticles elicited glycan epitope-specific antibody responses that could also recognize the native trimer, while a scaffolded BG505 gp140.681 trimer generated a stronger and more rapid antibody response to the trimer apex than its parent gp140.664 trimer. Furthermore, next-generation sequencing (NGS) of mouse splenic B cells revealed expansion of antibody lineages with long heavy-chain complementarity-determining region 3 (HCDR3) loops upon activation by MPER scaffolds, in contrast to the steady repertoires primed by N332 nanoparticles and a soluble gp140.664 trimer. These findings will facilitate the future development of a coherent vaccination strategy that combines both epitope-focused and trimer-based approaches.IMPORTANCE Both epitope-focused and trimer-based strategies are currently being explored in HIV-1 vaccine development, which aims to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) targeting conserved epitopes on the viral envelope (Env). However, little is known about the differences in antibody response to these bNAb targets presented by foreign scaffolds and native Env. In this study, a systematic effort was undertaken to design multivalent epitope scaffolds and soluble gp140.681 trimers with a complete antigenic surface, and to comparatively analyze the antibody responses elicited by these antigens to the N332 supersite and MPER in a mouse model. This study will inform both epitope-focused and trimer-based vaccine design and will facilitate integration of the two vaccine strategies.
Collapse
|
14
|
Capelli R, Marchetti F, Tiana G, Colombo G. SAGE: A Fast Computational Tool for Linear Epitope Grafting onto a Foreign Protein Scaffold. J Chem Inf Model 2017; 57:6-10. [PMID: 27992203 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.6b00584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Computational design is becoming a driving force of structural vaccinology, whereby protein antigens are engineered to generate new biomolecules with optimized immunological properties. In particular, the design of new proteins that contain multiple, different epitopes can potentially provide novel highly efficient vaccine candidates. In this context, epitope grafting, which entails the transplantation of an antibody recognition motif from one protein onto a different protein scaffold (possibly containing other immunoreactive sequences) holds great promise for the realization of superantigens. Herein, we present SAGE (strategy for alignment and grafting of epitopes), an automated computational tool for the implantation of immunogenic epitopes onto a given scaffold. It is based on the comparison between the expected secondary structures of the candidates to be grafted with all the secondary structures in the target scaffold. Evaluating the differences both in sequence and in structure between the epitope and the scaffold returns a ranking of most probable molecules containing the new antigenic sequence. We validate this approach identifying the grafting positions obtained in previous works by experimental and computational methods, proving an efficient, flexible, and fast tool to perform the initial scanning for epitope grafting. This approach is fully general and may be applied to any target antigen and candidate epitopes with known 3D structures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Capelli
- Center for Complexity & Biosystems and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN , via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan, Italy.,Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche , via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milan, Italy
| | - Filippo Marchetti
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche , via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milan, Italy
| | - Guido Tiana
- Center for Complexity & Biosystems and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN , via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche , via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Abstract
Computational protein design (CPD), a yet evolving field, includes computer-aided engineering for partial or full de novo designs of proteins of interest. Designs are defined by a requested structure, function, or working environment. This chapter describes the birth and maturation of the field by presenting 101 CPD examples in a chronological order emphasizing achievements and pending challenges. Integrating these aspects presents the plethora of CPD approaches with the hope of providing a "CPD 101". These reflect on the broader structural bioinformatics and computational biophysics field and include: (1) integration of knowledge-based and energy-based methods, (2) hierarchical designated approach towards local, regional, and global motifs and the integration of high- and low-resolution design schemes that fit each such region, (3) systematic differential approaches towards different protein regions, (4) identification of key hot-spot residues and the relative effect of remote regions, (5) assessment of shape-complementarity, electrostatics and solvation effects, (6) integration of thermal plasticity and functional dynamics, (7) negative design, (8) systematic integration of experimental approaches, (9) objective cross-assessment of methods, and (10) successful ranking of potential designs. Future challenges also include dissemination of CPD software to the general use of life-sciences researchers and the emphasis of success within an in vivo milieu. CPD increases our understanding of protein structure and function and the relationships between the two along with the application of such know-how for the benefit of mankind. Applied aspects range from biological drugs, via healthier and tastier food products to nanotechnology and environmentally friendly enzymes replacing toxic chemicals utilized in the industry.
Collapse
|
16
|
Wu M, Li M, Yue Y, Xu W. DNA vaccine with discontinuous T-cell epitope insertions into HSP65 scaffold as a potential means to improve immunogenicity of multi-epitope Mycobacterium tuberculosis
vaccine. Microbiol Immunol 2016; 60:634-45. [DOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.12410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Revised: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Manli Wu
- Institute of Biology and Medical Sciences; Soochow University; Building 703, 199 Ren-ai Road Suzhou 215123 China
| | - Min Li
- Institute of Biology and Medical Sciences; Soochow University; Building 703, 199 Ren-ai Road Suzhou 215123 China
| | - Yan Yue
- Institute of Biology and Medical Sciences; Soochow University; Building 703, 199 Ren-ai Road Suzhou 215123 China
| | - Wei Xu
- Institute of Biology and Medical Sciences; Soochow University; Building 703, 199 Ren-ai Road Suzhou 215123 China
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
An immunogen containing four tandem 10E8 epitope repeats with exposed key residues induces antibodies that neutralize HIV-1 and activates an ADCC reporter gene. Emerg Microbes Infect 2016; 5:e65. [PMID: 27329850 PMCID: PMC4932654 DOI: 10.1038/emi.2016.86] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2016] [Revised: 06/05/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
After three decades of intensive research efforts, an effective vaccine against HIV-1 remains to be developed. Several broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV-1, such as 10E8, recognize the membrane proximal external region (MPER) of the HIV-1 gp41 protein. Thus, the MPER is considered to be a very important target for vaccine design. However, the MPER segment has very weak immunogenicity and tends to insert its epitope residues into the cell membrane, thereby avoiding antibody binding. To address this complication in vaccine development, we herein designed a peptide, designated 10E8-4P, containing four copies of the 10E8 epitope as an immunogen. As predicted by structural simulation, 10E8-4P exhibits a well-arranged tandem helical conformation, with the key residues in the 10E8 epitope oriented at different angles, thus suggesting that some of these key residues may be exposed outside of the lipid membrane. Compared with a peptide containing a single 10E8 epitope (10E8-1P), 10E8-4P not only exhibited better antigenicity but also elicited neutralizing antibody response against HIV-1 pseudoviruses, whereas 10E8-1P could not induce detectable neutralizing antibody response. Importantly, antibodies elicited by 10E8-4P also possessed a strong ability to activate an antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) reporter gene, thus suggesting that they may have ADCC activity. Therefore, this strategy shows promise for further optimization and application in future HIV-1 vaccine design.
Collapse
|
18
|
Rudolph MJ, Vance DJ, Cassidy MS, Rong Y, Shoemaker CB, Mantis NJ. Structural analysis of nested neutralizing and non-neutralizing B cell epitopes on ricin toxin's enzymatic subunit. Proteins 2016; 84:1162-72. [PMID: 27159829 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Revised: 03/31/2016] [Accepted: 04/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
In this report, we describe the X-ray crystal structures of two single domain camelid antibodies (VH H), F5 and F8, each in complex with ricin toxin's enzymatic subunit (RTA). F5 has potent toxin-neutralizing activity, while F8 has weak neutralizing activity. F5 buried a total of 1760 Å(2) in complex with RTA and made contact with three prominent secondary structural elements: α-helix B (Residues 98-106), β-strand h (Residues 113-117), and the C-terminus of α-helix D (Residues 154-156). F8 buried 1103 Å(2) in complex with RTA that was centered primarily on β-strand h. As such, the structural epitope of F8 is essentially nested within that of F5. All three of the F5 complementarity determining regions CDRs were involved in RTA contact, whereas F8 interactions were almost entirely mediated by CDR3, which essentially formed a seventh β-strand within RTA's centrally located β-sheet. A comparison of the two structures reported here to several previously reported (RTA-VH H) structures identifies putative contact sites on RTA, particularly α-helix B, associated with potent toxin-neutralizing activity. This information has implications for rational design of RTA-based subunit vaccines for biodefense. Proteins 2016; 84:1162-1172. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - David J Vance
- Division of Infectious Diseases, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Albany, New York, 12208
| | | | - Yinghui Rong
- Division of Infectious Diseases, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Albany, New York, 12208
| | - Charles B Shoemaker
- Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, Massachusetts, 01536
| | - Nicholas J Mantis
- Division of Infectious Diseases, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Albany, New York, 12208.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, New York, 12201
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Xiao X, Agris PF, Hall CK. Designing peptide sequences in flexible chain conformations to bind RNA: a search algorithm combining Monte Carlo, self-consistent mean field and concerted rotation techniques. J Chem Theory Comput 2016; 11:740-52. [PMID: 26579605 DOI: 10.1021/ct5008247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
A search algorithm combining Monte Carlo, self-consistent mean field, and concerted rotation techniques was developed to discover peptide sequences that are reasonable HIV drug candidates due to their exceptional binding to human tRNAUUU(Lys3), the primer of HIV replication. The search algorithm allows for iteration between sequence mutations and conformation changes during sequence evolution. Searches conducted for different classes of peptides identified several potential peptide candidates. Analysis of the energy revealed that the asparagine and cysteine at residues 11 and 12 play important roles in "recognizing" tRNA(Lys3) via van der Waals interactions, contributing to binding specificity. Arginines preferentially attract the phosphate linkage via charge-charge interaction, contributing to binding affinity. Evaluation of the RNA/peptide complex's structure revealed that adding conformation changes to the search algorithm yields peptides with better binding affinity and specificity to tRNA(Lys3) than a previous mutation-only algorithm.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xingqing Xiao
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| | - Paul F Agris
- The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York , Albany, New York 12222, United States
| | - Carol K Hall
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Post-Transcriptional Modifications of RNA: Impact on RNA Function and Human Health. MODIFIED NUCLEIC ACIDS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-34175-0_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
|
21
|
Watanabe H, Honda S. Adaptive Assembly: Maximizing the Potential of a Given Functional Peptide with a Tailor-Made Protein Scaffold. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 22:1165-73. [PMID: 26299673 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2015.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2015] [Revised: 06/18/2015] [Accepted: 07/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Protein engineering that exploits known functional peptides holds great promise for generating novel functional proteins. Here we propose a combinatorial approach, termed adaptive assembly, which provides a tailor-made protein scaffold for a given functional peptide. A combinatorial library was designed to create a tailor-made scaffold, which was generated from β hairpins derived from a 10-residue minimal protein "chignolin" and randomized amino acid sequences. We applied adaptive assembly to a peptide with low affinity for the Fc region of human immunoglobulin G, generating a 54-residue protein AF.p17 with a 40,600-fold enhanced affinity. The crystal structure of AF.p17 complexed with the Fc region revealed that the scaffold fixed the active conformation with a unique structure composed of a short α helix, β hairpins, and a loop-like structure. Adaptive assembly can take full advantage of known peptides as assets for generating novel functional proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hideki Watanabe
- Biomedical Research Institute, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1, Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
| | - Shinya Honda
- Biomedical Research Institute, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1, Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Approaching rational epitope vaccine design for hepatitis C virus with meta-server and multivalent scaffolding. Sci Rep 2015; 5:12501. [PMID: 26238798 PMCID: PMC4533164 DOI: 10.1038/srep12501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/18/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Development of a prophylactic vaccine against hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been hampered by the extraordinary viral diversity and the poor host immune response. Scaffolding, by grafting an epitope onto a heterologous protein scaffold, offers a possible solution to epitope vaccine design. In this study, we designed and characterized epitope vaccine antigens for the antigenic sites of HCV envelope glycoproteins E1 (residues 314–324) and E2 (residues 412–423), for which neutralizing antibody-bound structures are available. We first combined six structural alignment algorithms in a “scaffolding meta-server” to search for diverse scaffolds that can structurally accommodate the HCV epitopes. For each antigenic site, ten scaffolds were selected for computational design, and the resulting epitope scaffolds were analyzed using structure-scoring functions and molecular dynamics simulation. We experimentally confirmed that three E1 and five E2 epitope scaffolds bound to their respective neutralizing antibodies, but with different kinetics. We then investigated a “multivalent scaffolding” approach by displaying 24 copies of an epitope scaffold on a self-assembling nanoparticle, which markedly increased the avidity of antibody binding. Our study thus demonstrates the utility of a multi-scale scaffolding strategy in epitope vaccine design and provides promising HCV immunogens for further assessment in vivo.
Collapse
|
23
|
Loomis RJ, Johnson PR. Emerging Vaccine Technologies. Vaccines (Basel) 2015; 3:429-47. [PMID: 26343196 PMCID: PMC4494353 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines3020429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2014] [Revised: 05/05/2015] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccination has proven to be an invaluable means of preventing infectious diseases by reducing both incidence of disease and mortality. However, vaccines have not been effectively developed for many diseases including HIV-1, hepatitis C virus (HCV), tuberculosis and malaria, among others. The emergence of new technologies with a growing understanding of host-pathogen interactions and immunity may lead to efficacious vaccines against pathogens, previously thought impossible.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J Loomis
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Philip R Johnson
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Molecular Engineering of Ghfp, the Gonococcal Orthologue of Neisseria meningitidis Factor H Binding Protein. CLINICAL AND VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY : CVI 2015; 22:769-77. [PMID: 25947148 DOI: 10.1128/cvi.00794-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2014] [Accepted: 04/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge of the sequences and structures of proteins produced by microbial pathogens is continuously increasing. Besides offering the possibility of unraveling the mechanisms of pathogenesis at the molecular level, structural information provides new tools for vaccine development, such as the opportunity to improve viral and bacterial vaccine candidates by rational design. Structure-based rational design of antigens can optimize the epitope repertoire in terms of accessibility, stability, and variability. In the present study, we used epitope mapping information on the well-characterized antigen of Neisseria meningitidis factor H binding protein (fHbp) to engineer its gonococcal homologue, Ghfp. Meningococcal fHbp is typically classified in three distinct antigenic variants. We introduced epitopes of fHbp variant 1 onto the surface of Ghfp, which is naturally able to protect against meningococcal strains expressing fHbp of variants 2 and 3. Heterologous epitopes were successfully transplanted, as engineered Ghfp induced functional antibodies against all three fHbp variants. These results confirm that structural vaccinology represents a successful strategy for modulating immune responses, and it is a powerful tool for investigating the extension and localization of immunodominant epitopes.
Collapse
|
25
|
Computational tools for epitope vaccine design and evaluation. Curr Opin Virol 2015; 11:103-12. [PMID: 25837467 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2015.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2014] [Revised: 03/13/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Rational approaches will be required to develop universal vaccines for viral pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus, and influenza, for which empirical approaches have failed. The main objective of a rational vaccine strategy is to design novel immunogens that are capable of inducing long-term protective immunity. In practice, this requires structure-based engineering of the target neutralizing epitopes and a quantitative readout of vaccine-induced immune responses. Therefore, computational tools that can facilitate these two areas have played increasingly important roles in rational vaccine design in recent years. Here we review the computational techniques developed for protein structure prediction and antibody repertoire analysis, and demonstrate how they can be applied to the design and evaluation of epitope vaccines.
Collapse
|
26
|
Lei C, Wang Z, Nie Z, Deng H, Hu H, Huang Y, Yao S. Resurfaced fluorescent protein as a sensing platform for label-free detection of copper(II) ion and acetylcholinesterase activity. Anal Chem 2015; 87:1974-80. [PMID: 25560517 DOI: 10.1021/ac504390e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Protein engineering by resurfacing is an efficient approach to provide new molecular toolkits for biotechnology and bioanalytical chemistry. H39GFP is a new variant of green fluorescent protein (GFP) containing 39 histidine residues in the primary sequence that was developed by protein resurfacing. Herein, taking H39GFP as the signal reporter, a label-free fluorometric sensor for Cu(2+) sensing was developed based on the unique multivalent metal ion-binding property of H39GFP and fluorescence quenching effect of Cu(2+) by electron transfer. The high affinity of H39GFP with Cu(2+) (Kd, 16.2 nM) leads to rapid detection of Cu(2+) in 5 min with a low detection limit (50 nM). Using acetylthiocholine (ATCh) as the substrate, this H39GFP/Cu(2+) complex-based sensor was further applied for the turn-on fluorescence detection of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. The assay was based on the reaction between Cu(2+) and thiocholine, the hydrolysis product of ATCh by AChE. The proposed sensor is highly sensitive (limit of detection (LOD) = 0.015 mU mL(-1)) and is feasible for screening inhibitors of AChE. Furthermore, the practicability of this method was demonstrated by the detection of pesticide residue (carbaryl) in real food samples. Hence, the successful applications of H39GFP in the detection of metal ion and enzyme activity present the prospect of resurfaced proteins as versatile biosensing platforms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chunyang Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University , Changsha 410082, P. R. China
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Bird GH, Irimia A, Ofek G, Kwong PD, Wilson IA, Walensky LD. Stapled HIV-1 peptides recapitulate antigenic structures and engage broadly neutralizing antibodies. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2014; 21:1058-67. [PMID: 25420104 PMCID: PMC4304871 DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2014] [Accepted: 10/23/2014] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Hydrocarbon stapling can restore bioactive α-helical structure to natural peptides, yielding research tools and prototype therapeutics to dissect and target protein interactions. Here we explore the capacity of peptide stapling to generate high-fidelity, protease-resistant mimics of antigenic structures for vaccine development. HIV-1 has been refractory to vaccine technologies thus far, although select human antibodies can broadly neutralize HIV-1 by targeting sequences of the gp41 juxtamembrane fusion apparatus. To develop candidate HIV-1 immunogens, we generated and characterized stabilized α-helices of the membrane-proximal external region (SAH-MPER) of gp41. SAH-MPER peptides were remarkably protease resistant and bound to the broadly neutralizing 4E10 and 10E8 antibodies with high affinity, recapitulating the structure of the MPER epitope when differentially engaged by the two anti-HIV Fabs. Thus, stapled peptides may provide a new opportunity to develop chemically stabilized antigens for vaccination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory H. Bird
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Adriana Irimia
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Scripps Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Gilad Ofek
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Peter D. Kwong
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ian A. Wilson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Scripps Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Loren D. Walensky
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Abstract
ABSTRACT
With the advent of high-throughput sequencing, and the increased availability of experimental structures of antibodies and antibody-antigen complexes, comes the improvement of computational approaches to predict the structure and design the function of antibodies and antibody-antigen complexes. While antibodies pose formidable challenges for protein structure prediction and design due to their large size and highly flexible loops in the complementarity-determining regions, they also offer exciting opportunities: the central importance of antibodies for human health results in a wealth of structural and sequence information that—as a knowledge base—can drive the modeling algorithms by limiting the conformational and sequence search space to likely regions of success. Further, efficient experimental platforms exist to test predicted antibody structure or designed antibody function, thereby leading to an iterative feedback loop between computation and experiment. We briefly review the history of computer-aided prediction of structure and design of function in the antibody field before we focus on recent methodological developments and the most exciting application examples.
Collapse
|
29
|
Finton KAK, Friend D, Jaffe J, Gewe M, Holmes MA, Larman HB, Stuart A, Larimore K, Greenberg PD, Elledge SJ, Stamatatos L, Strong RK. Ontogeny of recognition specificity and functionality for the broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibody 4E10. PLoS Pathog 2014; 10:e1004403. [PMID: 25254371 PMCID: PMC4177983 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2014] [Accepted: 08/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The process of antibody ontogeny typically improves affinity, on-rate, and thermostability, narrows polyspecificity, and rigidifies the combining site to the conformer optimal for binding from the broader ensemble accessible to the precursor. However, many broadly-neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies incorporate unusual structural elements and recognition specificities or properties that often lead to autoreactivity. The ontogeny of 4E10, an autoreactive antibody with unexpected combining site flexibility, was delineated through structural and biophysical comparisons of the mature antibody with multiple potential precursors. 4E10 gained affinity primarily by off-rate enhancement through a small number of mutations to a highly conserved recognition surface. Controverting the conventional paradigm, the combining site gained flexibility and autoreactivity during ontogeny, while losing thermostability, though polyspecificity was unaffected. Details of the recognition mechanism, including inferred global effects due to 4E10 binding, suggest that neutralization by 4E10 may involve mechanisms beyond simply binding, also requiring the ability of the antibody to induce conformational changes distant from its binding site. 4E10 is, therefore, unlikely to be re-elicited by conventional vaccination strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn A. K. Finton
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Della Friend
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - James Jaffe
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Mesfin Gewe
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Margaret A. Holmes
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - H. Benjamin Larman
- Department of Genetics, Harvard University Medical School, and Division of Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Andrew Stuart
- Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Kevin Larimore
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Philip D. Greenberg
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Program in Immunology, Cancer Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Stephen J. Elledge
- Department of Genetics, Harvard University Medical School, and Division of Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Leonidas Stamatatos
- Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Roland K. Strong
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Gaillard T, Simonson T. Pairwise decomposition of an MMGBSA energy function for computational protein design. J Comput Chem 2014; 35:1371-87. [PMID: 24854675 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.23637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 05/01/2014] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Computational protein design (CPD) aims at predicting new proteins or modifying existing ones. The computational challenge is huge as it requires exploring an enormous sequence and conformation space. The difficulty can be reduced by considering a fixed backbone and a discrete set of sidechain conformations. Another common strategy consists in precalculating a pairwise energy matrix, from which the energy of any sequence/conformation can be quickly obtained. In this work, we examine the pairwise decomposition of protein MMGBSA energy functions from a general theoretical perspective, and an implementation proposed earlier for CPD. It includes a Generalized Born term, whose many-body character is overcome using an effective dielectric environment, and a Surface Area term, for which we present an improved pairwise decomposition. A detailed evaluation of the error introduced by the decomposition on the different energy components is performed. We show that the error remains reasonable, compared to other uncertainties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Gaillard
- Department of Biology, Laboratoire de Biochimie (CNRS UMR7654), Ecole Polytechnique, 91128, Palaiseau, France
| | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
Correia BE, Bates JT, Loomis RJ, Baneyx G, Carrico C, Jardine JG, Rupert P, Correnti C, Kalyuzhniy O, Vittal V, Connell MJ, Stevens E, Schroeter A, Chen M, Macpherson S, Serra AM, Adachi Y, Holmes MA, Li Y, Klevit RE, Graham BS, Wyatt RT, Baker D, Strong RK, Crowe JE, Johnson PR, Schief WR. Proof of principle for epitope-focused vaccine design. Nature 2014; 507:201-6. [PMID: 24499818 PMCID: PMC4260937 DOI: 10.1038/nature12966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 382] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2013] [Accepted: 12/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Vaccines prevent infectious disease largely by inducing protective neutralizing antibodies against vulnerable epitopes. Multiple major pathogens have resisted traditional vaccine development, although vulnerable epitopes targeted by neutralizing antibodies have been identified for several such cases. Hence, new vaccine design methods to induce epitope-specific neutralizing antibodies are needed. Here we show, with a neutralization epitope from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that computational protein design can generate small, thermally and conformationally stable protein scaffolds that accurately mimic the viral epitope structure and induce potent neutralizing antibodies. These scaffolds represent promising leads for research and development of a human RSV vaccine needed to protect infants, young children and the elderly. More generally, the results provide proof of principle for epitope-focused and scaffold-based vaccine design, and encourage the evaluation and further development of these strategies for a variety of other vaccine targets including antigenically highly variable pathogens such as HIV and influenza.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno E Correia
- 1] Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] PhD Program in Computational Biology, Instituto Gulbenkian Ciência and Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal [3] Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - John T Bates
- The Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Rebecca J Loomis
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Gretchen Baneyx
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Chris Carrico
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA
| | - Joseph G Jardine
- 1] Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [4] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Peter Rupert
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA
| | - Colin Correnti
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA
| | - Oleksandr Kalyuzhniy
- 1] Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Vinayak Vittal
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Mary J Connell
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Eric Stevens
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Alexandria Schroeter
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Man Chen
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Skye Macpherson
- 1] Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [4] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Andreia M Serra
- 1] Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Yumiko Adachi
- 1] Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Margaret A Holmes
- 1] Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA [2]
| | - Yuxing Li
- 1] Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [2] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Rachel E Klevit
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Barney S Graham
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Richard T Wyatt
- 1] Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [2] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Roland K Strong
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA
| | - James E Crowe
- 1] The Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA [2] Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA [3] Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Philip R Johnson
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - William R Schief
- 1] Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [3] IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA [4] Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Sattentau QJ. Envelope Glycoprotein Trimers as HIV-1 Vaccine Immunogens. Vaccines (Basel) 2013; 1:497-512. [PMID: 26344344 PMCID: PMC4494206 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines1040497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2013] [Revised: 10/11/2013] [Accepted: 10/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein spike is the target of neutralizing antibody attack, and hence represents the only relevant viral antigen for antibody-based vaccine design. Various approaches have been attempted to recapitulate Env in membrane-anchored and soluble forms, and these will be discussed here in the context of recent successes and challenges still to be overcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Quentin J Sattentau
- The Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, The University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX13RE, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Schiffner T, Sattentau QJ, Dorrell L. Development of prophylactic vaccines against HIV-1. Retrovirology 2013; 10:72. [PMID: 23866844 PMCID: PMC3722125 DOI: 10.1186/1742-4690-10-72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2013] [Accepted: 07/11/2013] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The focus of most current HIV-1 vaccine development is on antibody-based approaches. This is because certain antibody responses correlated with protection from HIV-1 acquisition in the RV144 phase III trial, and because a series of potent and broad spectrum neutralizing antibodies have been isolated from infected individuals. Taken together, these two findings suggest ways forward to develop a neutralizing antibody-based vaccine. However, understanding of the correlates of protection from disease in HIV-1 and other infections strongly suggests that we should not ignore CTL-based research. Here we review recent progress in the field and highlight the challenges implicit in HIV-1 vaccine design and some potential solutions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Torben Schiffner
- The Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, The University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
Choi Y, Griswold KE, Bailey-Kellogg C. Structure-based redesign of proteins for minimal T-cell epitope content. J Comput Chem 2013; 34:879-91. [PMID: 23299435 PMCID: PMC3763725 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.23213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2012] [Revised: 11/16/2012] [Accepted: 11/28/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The protein universe displays a wealth of therapeutically relevant activities, but T-cell driven immune responses to non-"self" biological agents present a major impediment to harnessing the full diversity of these molecular functions. Mutagenic T-cell epitope deletion seeks to mitigate the immune response, but can typically address only a small number of epitopes. Here, we pursue a "bottom-up" approach that redesigns an entire protein to remain native-like but contain few if any immunogenic epitopes. We do so by extending the Rosetta flexible-backbone protein design software with an epitope scoring mechanism and appropriate constraints. The method is benchmarked with a diverse panel of proteins and applied to three targets of therapeutic interest. We show that the deimmunized designs indeed have minimal predicted epitope content and are native-like in terms of various quality measures, and moreover that they display levels of native sequence recovery comparable to those of non-deimmunized designs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yoonjoo Choi
- Department of Computer Science, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire 03755, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
35
|
Burton DR, Ahmed R, Barouch DH, Butera ST, Crotty S, Godzik A, Kaufmann DE, McElrath MJ, Nussenzweig MC, Pulendran B, Scanlan CN, Schief WR, Silvestri G, Streeck H, Walker BD, Walker LM, Ward AB, Wilson IA, Wyatt R. A Blueprint for HIV Vaccine Discovery. Cell Host Microbe 2013; 12:396-407. [PMID: 23084910 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2012.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 300] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Despite numerous attempts over many years to develop an HIV vaccine based on classical strategies, none has convincingly succeeded to date. A number of approaches are being pursued in the field, including building upon possible efficacy indicated by the recent RV144 clinical trial, which combined two HIV vaccines. Here, we argue for an approach based, in part, on understanding the HIV envelope spike and its interaction with broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) at the molecular level and using this understanding to design immunogens as possible vaccines. BnAbs can protect against virus challenge in animal models, and many such antibodies have been isolated recently. We further propose that studies focused on how best to provide T cell help to B cells that produce bnAbs are crucial for optimal immunization strategies. The synthesis of rational immunogen design and immunization strategies, together with iterative improvements, offers great promise for advancing toward an HIV vaccine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dennis R Burton
- Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
36
|
Sullivan MA, Brooks LR, Weidenborner P, Domm W, Mattiacio J, Xu Q, Tiberio M, Wentworth T, Kobie J, Bryk P, Zheng B, Murphy M, Sanz I, Dewhurst S. Anti-idiotypic monobodies derived from a fibronectin scaffold. Biochemistry 2013; 52:1802-13. [PMID: 23394681 DOI: 10.1021/bi3016668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Mimetics of conformational protein epitopes have broad applications but have been difficult to identify using conventional peptide phage display. The 10th type III domain of human fibronectin (FNfn10) has two extended, randomizable surface-exposed loops and might be more amenable to the identification of such mimetics. We therefore selected a library of FNfn10 clones, randomized in both loops (15 residues in all), for binding to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that recognize the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. Anti-idiotypic monobodies (αIMs) mimicking both "linear" epitopes (2F5 and 4E10 mAbs) and conformational epitopes (b12 and VRC01 mAbs) were generated. αIMs selected against 2F5 and 4E10 frequently displayed sequence homology to the corresponding linear native epitopes. In the case of b12 and VRC01, we expected that the two constrained loop domains of FNfn10 would both contribute to complex conformational interactions with target antibodies. However, mutagenesis studies revealed differences from this simple model. An αIM selected against b12 was found to bind its cognate antibody via only a few residues within the BC loop of FNfn10, with minimal contribution from the FG loop. Unexpectedly, this was sufficient to generate a protein that engaged its cognate antibody in a manner very similar to that of HIV-1 Env, and with a strong KD (43 nM). In contrast, an αIM selected against VRC01 engaged its cognate antibody in a manner that was dependent on both BC and FG loop sequences. Overall, these data suggest that the FNfn10 scaffold can be used to identify complex structures that mimic conformational protein epitopes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology and ‡Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry , Rochester, New York 14642, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
Viana IFT, Soares TA, Lima LFO, Marques ETA, Krieger MA, Dhalia R, Lins RD. De novo design of immunoreactive conformation-specific HIV-1 epitopes based on Top7 scaffold. RSC Adv 2013. [DOI: 10.1039/c3ra41562g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
|
38
|
Mata-Fink J, Kriegsman B, Yu HX, Zhu H, Hanson MC, Irvine DJ, Wittrup KD. Rapid conformational epitope mapping of anti-gp120 antibodies with a designed mutant panel displayed on yeast. J Mol Biol 2012; 425:444-56. [PMID: 23159556 PMCID: PMC3785227 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2012.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2012] [Revised: 11/06/2012] [Accepted: 11/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
gp120 is a substrate for protein engineering both for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) immunogen design and as a bait for isolating anti-HIV antibodies from patient samples. In this work, we describe the display of a stripped core gp120 on the yeast cell surface. Validation against a panel of neutralizing antibodies confirms that yeast-displayed gp120 presents the CD4 binding site in the correct conformation. We map the epitope of the broadly neutralizing anti-gp120 antibody VRC01 using both a random mutagenesis library and a defined mutant panel and find that the resultant epitope maps are consistent with one another and with the crystallographically identified contact residues. Mapping the VRC01-competitive antibodies b12 and b13 reveals energetic differences in their epitopes that are not obvious from existing crystal structures. These data suggest mutation sets that abrogate binding to broadly neutralizing antibodies with greater specificity than the canonical mutation D368R, useful in rapidly assessing the nature of a vaccine response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Mata-Fink
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Kuroda D, Shirai H, Jacobson MP, Nakamura H. Computer-aided antibody design. Protein Eng Des Sel 2012; 25:507-21. [PMID: 22661385 PMCID: PMC3449398 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzs024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2012] [Revised: 04/14/2012] [Accepted: 04/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent clinical trials using antibodies with low toxicity and high efficiency have raised expectations for the development of next-generation protein therapeutics. However, the process of obtaining therapeutic antibodies remains time consuming and empirical. This review summarizes recent progresses in the field of computer-aided antibody development mainly focusing on antibody modeling, which is divided essentially into two parts: (i) modeling the antigen-binding site, also called the complementarity determining regions (CDRs), and (ii) predicting the relative orientations of the variable heavy (V(H)) and light (V(L)) chains. Among the six CDR loops, the greatest challenge is predicting the conformation of CDR-H3, which is the most important in antigen recognition. Further computational methods could be used in drug development based on crystal structures or homology models, including antibody-antigen dockings and energy calculations with approximate potential functions. These methods should guide experimental studies to improve the affinities and physicochemical properties of antibodies. Finally, several successful examples of in silico structure-based antibody designs are reviewed. We also briefly review structure-based antigen or immunogen design, with application to rational vaccine development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Kuroda
- Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
Design of Escherichia coli-expressed stalk domain immunogens of H1N1 hemagglutinin that protect mice from lethal challenge. J Virol 2012; 86:13434-44. [PMID: 23015722 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01429-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The hemagglutinin protein (HA) on the surface of influenza virus is essential for viral entry into the host cells. The HA1 subunit of HA is also the primary target for neutralizing antibodies. The HA2 subunit is less exposed on the virion surface and more conserved than HA1. We have previously designed an HA2-based immunogen derived from the sequence of the H3N2 A/HK/68 virus. In the present study, we report the design of an HA2-based immunogen from the H1N1 subtype (PR/8/34). This immunogen (H1HA0HA6) and its circular permutant (H1HA6) were well folded and provided complete protection against homologous viral challenge. Antisera of immunized mice showed cross-reactivity with HA proteins of different strains and subtypes. Although no neutralization was observable in a conventional neutralization assay, sera of immunized guinea pigs competed with a broadly neutralizing antibody, CR6261, for binding to recombinant Viet/04 HA protein, suggesting that CR6261-like antibodies were elicited by the immunogens. Stem domain immunogens from a seasonal H1N1 strain (A/NC/20/99) and a recent pandemic strain (A/Cal/07/09) provided cross-protection against A/PR/8/34 viral challenge. HA2-containing stem domain immunogens therefore have the potential to provide subtype-specific protection.
Collapse
|
41
|
Lakhashe SK, Silvestri G, Ruprecht RM. No acquisition: a new ambition for HIV vaccine development? Curr Opin Virol 2012; 1:246-53. [PMID: 22081778 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2011.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Development of a safe and effective prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine presents unique challenges. The pessimism following the failure of two HIV-1 vaccine concepts in clinical trials, HIV-1 gp120 and an adenovirus-based approach to induce only cellular immune responses, has been replaced by cautious optimism engendered by the RV144 trial outcome, the isolation of several new broadly reactive neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, and recent primate model data indicating prevention of viral acquisition by active or passive immunization. Intense efforts are underway to optimize immunogen design, adjuvants, and the tools for preclinical evaluation of candidate vaccines in primates, where correlates of protection can be examined in detail - as proof-of-concept for clinical trials.
Collapse
|
42
|
Goldsmith M, Tawfik DS. Directed enzyme evolution: beyond the low-hanging fruit. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2012; 22:406-12. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2012.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2012] [Revised: 03/14/2012] [Accepted: 03/14/2012] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
|
43
|
Murphy GS, Mills JL, Miley MJ, Machius M, Szyperski T, Kuhlman B. Increasing sequence diversity with flexible backbone protein design: the complete redesign of a protein hydrophobic core. Structure 2012; 20:1086-96. [PMID: 22632833 PMCID: PMC3372604 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2012.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2011] [Revised: 02/15/2012] [Accepted: 03/30/2012] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Protein design tests our understanding of protein stability and structure. Successful design methods should allow the exploration of sequence space not found in nature. However, when redesigning naturally occurring protein structures, most fixed backbone design algorithms return amino acid sequences that share strong sequence identity with wild-type sequences, especially in the protein core. This behavior places a restriction on functional space that can be explored and is not consistent with observations from nature, where sequences of low identity have similar structures. Here, we allow backbone flexibility during design to mutate every position in the core (38 residues) of a four-helix bundle protein. Only small perturbations to the backbone, 1-2 Å, were needed to entirely mutate the core. The redesigned protein, DRNN, is exceptionally stable (melting point >140°C). An NMR and X-ray crystal structure show that the side chains and backbone were accurately modeled (all-atom RMSD = 1.3 Å).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Grant S. Murphy
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, USA
| | - Jeffrey L. Mills
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
,Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium
| | - Michael J. Miley
- Center for Structural Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Mischa Machius
- Center for Structural Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Thomas Szyperski
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
,Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium
| | - Brian Kuhlman
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7260, USA
,Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
,corresponding author. , Phone: 919-843-0188, Fax: 919-966-2852
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Stamatatos L. HIV vaccine design: the neutralizing antibody conundrum. Curr Opin Immunol 2012; 24:316-23. [PMID: 22595693 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2012.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2012] [Accepted: 04/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leonidas Stamatatos
- Seattle BioMed and the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Kong L, Sattentau QJ. Antigenicity and Immunogenicity in HIV-1 Antibody-Based Vaccine Design. JOURNAL OF AIDS & CLINICAL RESEARCH 2012; S8:3. [PMID: 23227445 PMCID: PMC3515071 DOI: 10.4172/2155-6113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Neutralizing antibodies can protect from infection by immunodeficiency viruses. However, the induction by active vaccination of antibodies that can potently neutralize a broad range of circulating virus strains is a goal not yet achieved, despite more than 2 decades of research. Here we review progress made in the field, from early empirical studies to today's rational structure-based vaccine antigen design. We discuss the existence of broadly neutralizing antibodies, their implications for epitope discovery and recent progress made in antigen design. Finally, we consider the relationship between antigenicity and immunogenicity for B cell recognition and antibody production, a major hurdle for rational vaccine design to overcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leopold Kong
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Quentin J Sattentau
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Jacak R, Leaver-Fay A, Kuhlman B. Computational protein design with explicit consideration of surface hydrophobic patches. Proteins 2011; 80:825-38. [PMID: 22223219 DOI: 10.1002/prot.23241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2011] [Revised: 10/16/2011] [Accepted: 10/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
De novo protein design requires the identification of amino-acid sequences that favor the target-folded conformation and are soluble in water. One strategy for promoting solubility is to disallow hydrophobic residues on the protein surface during design. However, naturally occurring proteins often have hydrophobic amino acids on their surface that contribute to protein stability via the partial burial of hydrophobic surface area or play a key role in the formation of protein-protein interactions. A less restrictive approach for surface design that is used by the modeling program Rosetta is to parameterize the energy function so that the number of hydrophobic amino acids designed on the protein surface is similar to what is observed in naturally occurring monomeric proteins. Previous studies with Rosetta have shown that this limits surface hydrophobics to the naturally occurring frequency (∼28%), but that it does not prevent the formation of hydrophobic patches that are considerably larger than those observed in naturally occurring proteins. Here, we describe a new score term that explicitly detects and penalizes the formation of hydrophobic patches during computational protein design. With the new term, we are able to design protein surfaces that include hydrophobic amino acids at naturally occurring frequencies, but do not have large hydrophobic patches. By adjusting the strength of the new score term, the emphasis of surface redesigns can be switched between maintaining solubility and maximizing folding free energy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ron Jacak
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
47
|
Stanfield RL, Julien JP, Pejchal R, Gach JS, Zwick MB, Wilson IA. Structure-based design of a protein immunogen that displays an HIV-1 gp41 neutralizing epitope. J Mol Biol 2011; 414:460-76. [PMID: 22033480 PMCID: PMC3245871 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2011.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2011] [Revised: 10/03/2011] [Accepted: 10/10/2011] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Antibody Z13e1 is a relatively broadly neutralizing anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antibody that recognizes the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein gp41. Based on the crystal structure of an MPER epitope peptide in complex with Z13e1 Fab, we identified an unrelated protein, interleukin (IL)-22, with a surface-exposed region that is structurally homologous in its backbone to the gp41 Z13e1 epitope. By grafting the gp41 Z13e1 epitope sequence onto the structurally homologous region in IL-22, we engineered a novel protein (Z13-IL22-2) that contains the MPER epitope sequence for use as a potential immunogen and as a reagent for the detection of Z13e1-like antibodies. The Z13-IL22-2 protein binds Fab Z13e1 with a K(d) of 73 nM. The crystal structure of Z13-IL22-2 in complex with Fab Z13e1 shows that the epitope region is faithfully replicated in the Fab-bound scaffold protein; however, isothermal calorimetry studies indicate that Fab binding to Z13-IL22-2 is not a lock-and-key event, leaving open the question of whether conformational changes upon binding occur in the Fab, in Z13-IL-22, or in both.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robyn L Stanfield
- Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Azoitei ML, Ban YEA, Julien JP, Bryson S, Schroeter A, Kalyuzhniy O, Porter JR, Adachi Y, Baker D, Pai EF, Schief WR. Computational design of high-affinity epitope scaffolds by backbone grafting of a linear epitope. J Mol Biol 2011; 415:175-92. [PMID: 22061265 PMCID: PMC7105911 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2011.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2011] [Revised: 10/01/2011] [Accepted: 10/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Computational grafting of functional motifs onto scaffold proteins is a promising way to engineer novel proteins with pre-specified functionalities. Typically, protein grafting involves the transplantation of protein side chains from a functional motif onto structurally homologous regions of scaffold proteins. Using this approach, we previously transplanted the human immunodeficiency virus 2F5 and 4E10 epitopes onto heterologous proteins to design novel “epitope-scaffold” antigens. However, side-chain grafting is limited by the availability of scaffolds with compatible backbone for a given epitope structure and offers no route to modify backbone structure to improve mimicry or binding affinity. To address this, we report here a new and more aggressive computational method—backbone grafting of linear motifs—that transplants the backbone and side chains of linear functional motifs onto scaffold proteins. To test this method, we first used side-chain grafting to design new 2F5 epitope scaffolds with improved biophysical characteristics. We then independently transplanted the 2F5 epitope onto three of the same parent scaffolds using the newly developed backbone grafting procedure. Crystal structures of side-chain and backbone grafting designs showed close agreement with both the computational models and the desired epitope structure. In two cases, backbone grafting scaffolds bound antibody 2F5 with 30- and 9-fold higher affinity than corresponding side-chain grafting designs. These results demonstrate that flexible backbone methods for epitope grafting can significantly improve binding affinities over those achieved by fixed backbone methods alone. Backbone grafting of linear motifs is a general method to transplant functional motifs when backbone remodeling of the target scaffold is necessary.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mihai L Azoitei
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Engineering, expression, purification, and characterization of stable clade A/B recombinant soluble heterotrimeric gp140 proteins. J Virol 2011; 86:128-42. [PMID: 22031951 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.06363-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The envelope glycoprotein (Env) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is composed of two noncovalently associated subunits: an extracellular subunit (gp120) and a transmembrane subunit (gp41). The functional unit of Env on the surface of infectious virions is a trimer of gp120/gp41 heterodimers. Env is the target of anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies. A considerable effort has been invested in the engineering of recombinant soluble forms of the virion-associated Env trimer as vaccine candidates to elicit anti-HIV neutralizing antibody responses. These soluble constructs contain three gp120 subunits and the extracellular segments of the corresponding gp41 subunits. The individual gp120/gp41 protomers on these soluble trimers are identical in amino acid sequence (homotrimers). Here, we engineered novel soluble trimeric gp140 proteins that are formed by the association of gp140 protomers that differ in amino acid sequence and glycosylation patterns (heterotrimers). Specifically, we engineered soluble heterotrimeric proteins composed of clade A and clade B Env protomers. The clade A gp140 protomers were derived from viruses isolated during acute infection (Q168a2, Q259d2.17, and Q461e2), whereas the clade B gp140 protomers were derived from a virus isolated during chronic infection (SF162). The amino acid sequence divergence between the clade A and the clade B Envs is approximately 24%. Neutralization epitopes in the CD4 binding sites and coreceptor binding sites, as well as the membrane-proximal external region (MPER), were differentially expressed on the heterotrimeric and homotrimeric proteins. The heterotrimeric gp140s elicited broader anti-tier 1 isolate neutralizing antibody responses than did the homotrimeric gp140s.
Collapse
|
50
|
Correia BE, Holmes MA, Huang PS, Strong RK, Schief WR. High-resolution structure prediction of a circular permutation loop. Protein Sci 2011; 20:1929-34. [PMID: 21898647 DOI: 10.1002/pro.725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2011] [Revised: 08/10/2011] [Accepted: 08/12/2011] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Methods for rapid and reliable design and structure prediction of linker loops would facilitate a variety of protein engineering applications. Circular permutation, in which the existing termini of a protein are linked by the polypeptide chain and new termini are created, is one such application that has been employed for decreasing proteolytic susceptibility and other functional purposes. The length and sequence of the linker can impact the expression level, solubility, structure and function of the permuted variants. Hence it is desirable to achieve atomic-level accuracy in linker design. Here, we describe the use of RosettaRemodel for design and structure prediction of circular permutation linkers on a model protein. A crystal structure of one of the permuted variants confirmed the accuracy of the computational prediction, where the all-atom rmsd of the linker region was 0.89 Å between the model and the crystal structure. This result suggests that RosettaRemodel may be generally useful for the design and structure prediction of protein loop regions for circular permutations or other structure-function manipulations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno E Correia
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|