1
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Hilvert D. Spiers Memorial Lecture: Engineering biocatalysts. Faraday Discuss 2024. [PMID: 39046423 DOI: 10.1039/d4fd00139g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
Enzymes are being engineered to catalyze chemical reactions for many practical applications in chemistry and biotechnology. The approaches used are surveyed in this short review, emphasizing methods for accessing reactivities not expressed by native protein scaffolds. The successful generation of completely de novo enzymes that rival the rates and selectivities of their natural counterparts highlights the potential role that designer enzymes may play in the coming years in research, industry, and medicine. Some challenges that need to be addressed to realize this ambitious dream are considered together with possible solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald Hilvert
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
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2
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Yu L, Li D, Ma C, Kauffmann B, Liao S, Gan Q. Redox-Regulated and Guest-Driven Transformations of Aromatic Oligoamide Foldamers in Advanced Structures. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:12907-12912. [PMID: 38691420 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c03275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
In this study, we demonstrate that an aromatic oligoamide sequence assembles into a trimeric helix-turn-helix architecture with a disulfide linkage, and upon cleavage of this linkage, it reconstructs into an antiparallel double helix. The antiparallel double helix is accessible to encapsulate a diacid guest within its cavity, forming a 2:1 host-guest complex. In contrast, hydrogen-bonding interactions between the trimeric-assembled structure and guests induce a conformational shift in the trimeric helix, resulting in a cross-shaped double-helix complex at a 2:2 host-guest ratio. Interconversions between the trimeric helix and the antiparallel double helix, along with their respective host-guest complexes, can be initiated through thiol/disulfide redox-mediated regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Yu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry & Materia Medica, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road No. 1037, 430074, Wuhan, China
| | - Dongyao Li
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, Guangzhou International Campus, South China University of Technology, 777 Xingye Avenue East, Panyu District, 511442, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunmiao Ma
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry & Materia Medica, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road No. 1037, 430074, Wuhan, China
| | - Brice Kauffmann
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Européen de Chimie Biologie (UMS3033/US001), 2 Rue Escarpit, 33600, Pessac, France
| | - Sibei Liao
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry & Materia Medica, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road No. 1037, 430074, Wuhan, China
| | - Quan Gan
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry & Materia Medica, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road No. 1037, 430074, Wuhan, China
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3
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Wang J, Chen C, Yao G, Ding J, Wang L, Jiang H. Intelligent Protein Design and Molecular Characterization Techniques: A Comprehensive Review. Molecules 2023; 28:7865. [PMID: 38067593 PMCID: PMC10707872 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28237865] [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: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the widespread application of artificial intelligence algorithms in protein structure, function prediction, and de novo protein design has significantly accelerated the process of intelligent protein design and led to many noteworthy achievements. This advancement in protein intelligent design holds great potential to accelerate the development of new drugs, enhance the efficiency of biocatalysts, and even create entirely new biomaterials. Protein characterization is the key to the performance of intelligent protein design. However, there is no consensus on the most suitable characterization method for intelligent protein design tasks. This review describes the methods, characteristics, and representative applications of traditional descriptors, sequence-based and structure-based protein characterization. It discusses their advantages, disadvantages, and scope of application. It is hoped that this could help researchers to better understand the limitations and application scenarios of these methods, and provide valuable references for choosing appropriate protein characterization techniques for related research in the field, so as to better carry out protein research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Junjie Ding
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 102205, China; (J.W.); (C.C.); (G.Y.)
| | - Liangliang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 102205, China; (J.W.); (C.C.); (G.Y.)
| | - Hui Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 102205, China; (J.W.); (C.C.); (G.Y.)
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4
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Kurihara K, Umezawa K, Donnelly AE, Sperling B, Liao G, Hecht MH, Arai R. Crystal structure and activity of a de novo enzyme, ferric enterobactin esterase Syn-F4. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2218281120. [PMID: 37695900 PMCID: PMC10515146 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218281120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Producing novel enzymes that are catalytically active in vitro and biologically functional in vivo is a key goal of synthetic biology. Previously, we reported Syn-F4, the first de novo protein that meets both criteria. Syn-F4 hydrolyzed the siderophore ferric enterobactin, and expression of Syn-F4 allowed an inviable strain of Escherichia coli (Δfes) to grow in iron-limited medium. Here, we describe the crystal structure of Syn-F4. Syn-F4 forms a dimeric 4-helix bundle. Each monomer comprises two long α-helices, and the loops of the Syn-F4 dimer are on the same end of the bundle (syn topology). Interestingly, there is a penetrated hole in the central region of the Syn-F4 structure. Extensive mutagenesis experiments in a previous study showed that five residues (Glu26, His74, Arg77, Lys78, and Arg85) were essential for enzymatic activity in vivo. All these residues are located around the hole in the central region of the Syn-F4 structure, suggesting a putative active site with a catalytic dyad (Glu26-His74). The complete inactivity of purified proteins with mutations at the five residues supports the putative active site and reaction mechanism. Molecular dynamics and docking simulations of the ferric enterobactin siderophore binding to the Syn-F4 structure demonstrate the dynamic property of the putative active site. The structure and active site of Syn-F4 are completely different from native enterobactin esterase enzymes, thereby demonstrating that proteins designed de novo can provide life-sustaining catalytic activities using structures and mechanisms dramatically different from those that arose in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kodai Kurihara
- Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano386-8567, Japan
| | - Koji Umezawa
- Department of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Minami-minowa, Kami-ina, Nagano399-4598, Japan
- Department of Biomolecular Innovation, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano390-8621, Japan
| | - Ann E. Donnelly
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Brendan Sperling
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Guanyu Liao
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Michael H. Hecht
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Ryoichi Arai
- Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano386-8567, Japan
- Department of Biomolecular Innovation, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano390-8621, Japan
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5
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Hess SS, Coppola F, Dang VT, Tran PN, Mickel PJ, Oktawiec J, Ren Z, Král P, Nguyen AI. Noncovalent Peptide Assembly Enables Crystalline, Permutable, and Reactive Thiol Frameworks. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:19588-19600. [PMID: 37639365 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c03645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Though thiols are exceptionally versatile, their high reactivity has also hindered the synthesis and characterization of well-defined thiol-containing porous materials. Leveraging the mild conditions of the noncovalent peptide assembly, we readily synthesized and characterized a number of frameworks with thiols displayed at many unique positions and in several permutations. Importantly, nearly all assemblies were structurally determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction to reveal their rich sequence-structure landscape and the cooperative noncovalent interactions underlying their assembly. These observations and supporting molecular dynamics calculations enabled rational engineering by the positive and negative design of noncovalent interactions. Furthermore, the thiol-containing frameworks undergo diverse single-crystal-to-single-crystal reactions, including toxic metal ion coordination (e.g., Cd2+, Pb2+, and Hg2+), selective uptake of Hg2+ ions, and redox transformations. Notably, we find a framework that supports thiol-nitrosothiol interconversion, which is applicable for biocompatible nitric oxide delivery. The modularity, ease of synthesis, functionality, and well-defined nature of these peptide-based thiol frameworks are expected to accelerate the design of complex materials with reactive active sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina S Hess
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Francesco Coppola
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Viet Thuc Dang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Phuong Nguyen Tran
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Philip J Mickel
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Julia Oktawiec
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Zhong Ren
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Petr Král
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Andy I Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
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6
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Smith A, Naudin EA, Edgell CL, Baker EG, Mylemans B, FitzPatrick L, Herman A, Rice HM, Andrews DM, Tigue N, Woolfson DN, Savery NJ. Design and Selection of Heterodimerizing Helical Hairpins for Synthetic Biology. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:1845-1858. [PMID: 37224449 PMCID: PMC10278171 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology applications would benefit from protein modules of reduced complexity that function orthogonally to cellular components. As many subcellular processes depend on peptide-protein or protein-protein interactions, de novo designed polypeptides that can bring together other proteins controllably are particularly useful. Thanks to established sequence-to-structure relationships, helical bundles provide good starting points for such designs. Typically, however, such designs are tested in vitro and function in cells is not guaranteed. Here, we describe the design, characterization, and application of de novo helical hairpins that heterodimerize to form 4-helix bundles in cells. Starting from a rationally designed homodimer, we construct a library of helical hairpins and identify complementary pairs using bimolecular fluorescence complementation in E. coli. We characterize some of the pairs using biophysics and X-ray crystallography to confirm heterodimeric 4-helix bundles. Finally, we demonstrate the function of an exemplar pair in regulating transcription in both E. coli and mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail
J. Smith
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Elise A. Naudin
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Caitlin L. Edgell
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Emily G. Baker
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Bram Mylemans
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | | | - Andrew Herman
- Flow
Cytometry Facility, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Helen M. Rice
- Flow
Cytometry Facility, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | | | - Natalie Tigue
- BioPharmaceuticals
R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB4 0WG, U.K.
| | - Derek N. Woolfson
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Nigel J. Savery
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
- BrisEngBio,
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
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7
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Merljak E, Malovrh B, Jerala R. Segmentation strategy of de novo designed four-helical bundles expands protein oligomerization modalities for cell regulation. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1995. [PMID: 37031229 PMCID: PMC10082849 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37765-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions govern most biological processes. New protein assemblies can be introduced through the fusion of selected proteins with di/oligomerization domains, which interact specifically with their partners but not with other cellular proteins. While four-helical bundle proteins (4HB) have typically been assembled from two segments, each comprising two helices, here we show that they can be efficiently segmented in various ways, expanding the number of combinations generated from a single 4HB. We implement a segmentation strategy of 4HB to design two-, three-, or four-chain combinations for the recruitment of multiple protein components. Different segmentations provide new insight into the role of individual helices for 4HB assembly. We evaluate 4HB segmentations for potential use in mammalian cells for the reconstitution of a protein reporter, transcriptional activation, and inducible 4HB assembly. Furthermore, the implementation of trimerization is demonstrated as a modular chimeric antigen receptor for the recognition of multiple cancer antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estera Merljak
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Benjamin Malovrh
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Roman Jerala
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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8
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Woolfson DN. Understanding a protein fold: the physics, chemistry, and biology of α-helical coiled coils. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104579. [PMID: 36871758 PMCID: PMC10124910 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein science is being transformed by powerful computational methods for structure prediction and design: AlphaFold2 can predict many natural protein structures from sequence, and other AI methods are enabling the de novo design of new structures. This raises a question: how much do we understand the underlying sequence-to-structure/function relationships being captured by these methods? This perspective presents our current understanding of one class of protein assembly, the α-helical coiled coils. At first sight, these are straightforward: sequence repeats of hydrophobic (h) and polar (p) residues, (hpphppp)n, direct the folding and assembly of amphipathic α helices into bundles. However, many different bundles are possible: they can have two or more helices (different oligomers); the helices can have parallel, antiparallel or mixed arrangements (different topologies); and the helical sequences can be the same (homomers) or different (heteromers). Thus, sequence-to-structure relationships must be present within the hpphppp repeats to distinguish these states. I discuss the current understanding of this problem at three levels: First, physics gives a parametric framework to generate the many possible coiled-coil backbone structures. Second, chemistry provides a means to explore and deliver sequence-to-structure relationships. Third, biology shows how coiled coils are adapted and functionalized in nature, inspiring applications of coiled coils in synthetic biology. I argue that the chemistry is largely understood; the physics is partly solved, though the considerable challenge of predicting even relative stabilities of different coiled-coil states remains; but there is much more to explore in the biology and synthetic biology of coiled coils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek N Woolfson
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Medical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol, United Kingdom; BrisEngBio, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; Max Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
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9
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Niitsu A, Sugita Y. Towards de novo design of transmembrane α-helical assemblies using structural modelling and molecular dynamics simulation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:3595-3606. [PMID: 36647771 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03972a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Computational de novo protein design involves iterative processes consisting of amino acid sequence design, structural modelling and scoring, and design validation by synthesis and experimental characterisation. Recent advances in protein structure prediction and modelling methods have enabled the highly efficient and accurate design of water-soluble proteins. However, the design of membrane proteins remains a major challenge. To advance membrane protein design, considering the higher complexity of membrane protein folding, stability, and dynamic interactions between water, ions, lipids, and proteins is an important task. For introducing explicit solvents and membranes to these design methods, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of designed proteins provide useful information that cannot be obtained experimentally. In this review, we first describe two major approaches to designing transmembrane α-helical assemblies, consensus and de novo design. We further illustrate recent MD studies of membrane protein folding related to protein design, as well as advanced treatments in molecular models and conformational sampling techniques in the simulations. Finally, we discuss the possibility to introduce MD simulations after the existing static modelling and screening of design decoys as an additional step for refinement of the design, which considers membrane protein folding dynamics and interactions with explicit membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Niitsu
- Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
| | - Yuji Sugita
- Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan. .,Computational Biophysics Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science, 7-1-26 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan.,Laboratory for Biomolecular Function Simulation, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-1 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
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10
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Lu H, Cheng Z, Hu Y, Tang LV. What Can De Novo Protein Design Bring to the Treatment of Hematological Disorders? BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12020166. [PMID: 36829445 PMCID: PMC9952452 DOI: 10.3390/biology12020166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Protein therapeutics have been widely used to treat hematological disorders. With the advent of de novo protein design, protein therapeutics are not limited to ameliorating natural proteins but also produce novel protein sequences, folds, and functions with shapes and functions customized to bind to the therapeutic targets. De novo protein techniques have been widely used biomedically to design novel diagnostic and therapeutic drugs, novel vaccines, and novel biological materials. In addition, de novo protein design has provided new options for treating hematological disorders. Scientists have designed protein switches called Colocalization-dependent Latching Orthogonal Cage-Key pRoteins (Co-LOCKR) that perform computations on the surface of cells. De novo designed molecules exhibit a better capacity than the currently available tyrosine kinase inhibitors in chronic myeloid leukemia therapy. De novo designed protein neoleukin-2/15 enhances chimeric antigen receptor T-cell activity. This new technique has great biomedical potential, especially in exploring new treatment methods for hematological disorders. This review discusses the development of de novo protein design and its biological applications, with emphasis on the treatment of hematological disorders.
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11
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Liu B, Xing P. Hydrogen Bonded Foldamers with Axial Chirality: Chiroptical Properties and Applications. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202202665. [PMID: 36281580 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202202665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Folding phenomenon refers to the formation of a specific conformation widely featured by the intramolecular interactions, which broadly exist in biomacromolecules, and are closely related to their structures and functions. A variety of oligomeric folded molecules have been designed and synthesized, namely "foldamer", exhibiting potentials in pharmaceutical and catalysis. Molecular folding is a promising strategy to transfer chirality from substituents to the whole skeleton, when chirality transfer, amplification, evolution, and other behaviors could be achieved. Investigating chirality using foldamer model deepens the understanding of the structure-function correlation in biomacromolecules and expands the molecular toolbox towards chiroptical and asymmetrical chemistry. Substitutes with abundant hydrogen bonding sites conjugated to a rotatable aryl group afford a parallel β-sheet-like conformation, which enables the emergence and manipulation of axial chirality. This concept aims to give a brief introduction and summary of the hydrogen bonded foldamers with anchored axial chirality, by taking some recent cases as examples. Design principles, control over axial chirality and applications are also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingyu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of Ministry of Education and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, P. R. China
| | - Pengyao Xing
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of Ministry of Education and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, P. R. China
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12
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Khatri B, Pramanick I, Malladi SK, Rajmani RS, Kumar S, Ghosh P, Sengupta N, Rahisuddin R, Kumar N, Kumaran S, Ringe RP, Varadarajan R, Dutta S, Chatterjee J. A dimeric proteomimetic prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection by dimerizing the spike protein. Nat Chem Biol 2022; 18:1046-1055. [PMID: 35654847 PMCID: PMC9512702 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-022-01060-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Protein tertiary structure mimetics are valuable tools to target large protein-protein interaction interfaces. Here, we demonstrate a strategy for designing dimeric helix-hairpin motifs from a previously reported three-helix-bundle miniprotein that targets the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Through truncation of the third helix and optimization of the interhelical loop residues of the miniprotein, we developed a thermostable dimeric helix-hairpin. The dimeric four-helix bundle competes with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in binding to RBD with 2:2 stoichiometry. Cryogenic-electron microscopy revealed the formation of dimeric spike ectodomain trimer by the four-helix bundle, where all the three RBDs from either spike protein are attached head-to-head in an open conformation, revealing a novel mechanism for virus neutralization. The proteomimetic protects hamsters from high dose viral challenge with replicative SARS-CoV-2 viruses, demonstrating the promise of this class of peptides that inhibit protein-protein interaction through target dimerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhavesh Khatri
- Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Ishika Pramanick
- Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | | | - Raju S Rajmani
- Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Sahil Kumar
- Virology Unit, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India
| | - Pritha Ghosh
- Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Nayanika Sengupta
- Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - R Rahisuddin
- Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India
| | - Narender Kumar
- Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India
| | - S Kumaran
- Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India
| | - Rajesh P Ringe
- Virology Unit, Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India
| | | | - Somnath Dutta
- Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
| | - Jayanta Chatterjee
- Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
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13
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Qing R, Hao S, Smorodina E, Jin D, Zalevsky A, Zhang S. Protein Design: From the Aspect of Water Solubility and Stability. Chem Rev 2022; 122:14085-14179. [PMID: 35921495 PMCID: PMC9523718 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Water solubility and structural stability are key merits for proteins defined by the primary sequence and 3D-conformation. Their manipulation represents important aspects of the protein design field that relies on the accurate placement of amino acids and molecular interactions, guided by underlying physiochemical principles. Emulated designer proteins with well-defined properties both fuel the knowledge-base for more precise computational design models and are used in various biomedical and nanotechnological applications. The continuous developments in protein science, increasing computing power, new algorithms, and characterization techniques provide sophisticated toolkits for solubility design beyond guess work. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the protein design field with respect to water solubility and structural stability. After introducing fundamental design rules, we discuss the transmembrane protein solubilization and de novo transmembrane protein design. Traditional strategies to enhance protein solubility and structural stability are introduced. The designs of stable protein complexes and high-order assemblies are covered. Computational methodologies behind these endeavors, including structure prediction programs, machine learning algorithms, and specialty software dedicated to the evaluation of protein solubility and aggregation, are discussed. The findings and opportunities for Cryo-EM are presented. This review provides an overview of significant progress and prospects in accurate protein design for solubility and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Qing
- State
Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and
Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- The
David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Shilei Hao
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Key
Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
| | - Eva Smorodina
- Department
of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo
University Hospital, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - David Jin
- Avalon GloboCare
Corp., Freehold, New Jersey 07728, United States
| | - Arthur Zalevsky
- Laboratory
of Bioinformatics Approaches in Combinatorial Chemistry and Biology, Shemyakin−Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic
Chemistry RAS, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Shuguang Zhang
- Media
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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14
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Lam NT, McCluskey JB, Glover DJ. Harnessing the Structural and Functional Diversity of Protein Filaments as Biomaterial Scaffolds. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2022; 5:4668-4686. [PMID: 35766918 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.2c00275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The natural ability of many proteins to polymerize into highly structured filaments has been harnessed as scaffolds to align functional molecules in a diverse range of biomaterials. Protein-engineering methodologies also enable the structural and physical properties of filaments to be tailored for specific biomaterial applications through genetic engineering or filaments built from the ground up using advances in the computational prediction of protein folding and assembly. Using these approaches, protein filament-based biomaterials have been engineered to accelerate enzymatic catalysis, provide routes for the biomineralization of inorganic materials, facilitate energy production and transfer, and provide support for mammalian cells for tissue engineering. In this review, we describe how the unique structural and functional diversity in natural and computationally designed protein filaments can be harnessed in biomaterials. In addition, we detail applications of these protein assemblies as material scaffolds with a particular emphasis on applications that exploit unique properties of specific filaments. Through the diversity of protein filaments, the biomaterial engineer's toolbox contains many modular protein filaments that will likely be incorporated as the main structural component of future biomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nga T Lam
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Joshua B McCluskey
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Dominic J Glover
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
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15
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Abstract
The ability to design efficient enzymes from scratch would have a profound effect on chemistry, biotechnology and medicine. Rapid progress in protein engineering over the past decade makes us optimistic that this ambition is within reach. The development of artificial enzymes containing metal cofactors and noncanonical organocatalytic groups shows how protein structure can be optimized to harness the reactivity of nonproteinogenic elements. In parallel, computational methods have been used to design protein catalysts for diverse reactions on the basis of fundamental principles of transition state stabilization. Although the activities of designed catalysts have been quite low, extensive laboratory evolution has been used to generate efficient enzymes. Structural analysis of these systems has revealed the high degree of precision that will be needed to design catalysts with greater activity. To this end, emerging protein design methods, including deep learning, hold particular promise for improving model accuracy. Here we take stock of key developments in the field and highlight new opportunities for innovation that should allow us to transition beyond the current state of the art and enable the robust design of biocatalysts to address societal needs.
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16
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Singer JM, Novotney S, Strickland D, Haddox HK, Leiby N, Rocklin GJ, Chow CM, Roy A, Bera AK, Motta FC, Cao L, Strauch EM, Chidyausiku TM, Ford A, Ho E, Zaitzeff A, Mackenzie CO, Eramian H, DiMaio F, Grigoryan G, Vaughn M, Stewart LJ, Baker D, Klavins E. Large-scale design and refinement of stable proteins using sequence-only models. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265020. [PMID: 35286324 PMCID: PMC8920274 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Engineered proteins generally must possess a stable structure in order to achieve their designed function. Stable designs, however, are astronomically rare within the space of all possible amino acid sequences. As a consequence, many designs must be tested computationally and experimentally in order to find stable ones, which is expensive in terms of time and resources. Here we use a high-throughput, low-fidelity assay to experimentally evaluate the stability of approximately 200,000 novel proteins. These include a wide range of sequence perturbations, providing a baseline for future work in the field. We build a neural network model that predicts protein stability given only sequences of amino acids, and compare its performance to the assayed values. We also report another network model that is able to generate the amino acid sequences of novel stable proteins given requested secondary sequences. Finally, we show that the predictive model—despite weaknesses including a noisy data set—can be used to substantially increase the stability of both expert-designed and model-generated proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jedediah M. Singer
- Two Six Technologies, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Scott Novotney
- Two Six Technologies, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Devin Strickland
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Hugh K. Haddox
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Nicholas Leiby
- Two Six Technologies, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Gabriel J. Rocklin
- Department of Pharmacology and Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Cameron M. Chow
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Anindya Roy
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Asim K. Bera
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Francis C. Motta
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, United States of America
| | - Longxing Cao
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Eva-Maria Strauch
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Tamuka M. Chidyausiku
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Alex Ford
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Ethan Ho
- Texas Advanced Computing Center, Austin, Texas, United States of America
| | | | - Craig O. Mackenzie
- Quantitative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Hamed Eramian
- Netrias, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Frank DiMaio
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Gevorg Grigoryan
- Departments of Computer Science and Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Matthew Vaughn
- Texas Advanced Computing Center, Austin, Texas, United States of America
| | - Lance J. Stewart
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Eric Klavins
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
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17
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Naudin EA, Albanese KI, Smith AJ, Mylemans B, Baker EG, Weiner OD, Andrews DM, Tigue N, Savery NJ, Woolfson DN. From peptides to proteins: coiled-coil tetramers to single-chain 4-helix bundles. Chem Sci 2022; 13:11330-11340. [PMID: 36320580 PMCID: PMC9533478 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc04479j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The design of completely synthetic proteins from first principles—de novo protein design—is challenging. This is because, despite recent advances in computational protein–structure prediction and design, we do not understand fully the sequence-to-structure relationships for protein folding, assembly, and stabilization. Antiparallel 4-helix bundles are amongst the most studied scaffolds for de novo protein design. We set out to re-examine this target, and to determine clear sequence-to-structure relationships, or design rules, for the structure. Our aim was to determine a common and robust sequence background for designing multiple de novo 4-helix bundles. In turn, this could be used in chemical and synthetic biology to direct protein–protein interactions and as scaffolds for functional protein design. Our approach starts by analyzing known antiparallel 4-helix coiled-coil structures to deduce design rules. In terms of the heptad repeat, abcdefg—i.e., the sequence signature of many helical bundles—the key features that we identify are: a = Leu, d = Ile, e = Ala, g = Gln, and the use of complementary charged residues at b and c. Next, we implement these rules in the rational design of synthetic peptides to form antiparallel homo- and heterotetramers. Finally, we use the sequence of the homotetramer to derive in one step a single-chain 4-helix-bundle protein for recombinant production in E. coli. All of the assembled designs are confirmed in aqueous solution using biophysical methods, and ultimately by determining high-resolution X-ray crystal structures. Our route from peptides to proteins provides an understanding of the role of each residue in each design. Rules for designing 4-helix bundles are defined, tested, and used to generate de novo peptide assemblies and a single-chain protein.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise A. Naudin
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Katherine I. Albanese
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
- Max Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Abigail J. Smith
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Medical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Bram Mylemans
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
- Max Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Emily G. Baker
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Medical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Orion D. Weiner
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, 555 Mission Bay Blvd. South, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - David M. Andrews
- Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge Science Park, Darwin Building, Cambridge CB4 0WG, UK
| | - Natalie Tigue
- BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Nigel J. Savery
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Medical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
- BrisEngBio, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Derek N. Woolfson
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
- Max Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Medical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
- BrisEngBio, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
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18
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Glionna C, Kumar V, Le Saux G, Pramanik B, Wagner N, Cohen-Luria R, Ashkenasy G, Ashkenasy N. Dynamic Surface Layer Coiled Coil Proteins Processing Analog-to-Digital Information. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:17441-17451. [PMID: 34652148 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c06356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Surface layer proteins perform multiple functions in prokaryotic cells, including cellular defense, cell-shape maintenance, and regulation of import and export of materials. However, mimicking the complex and dynamic behavior of such two-dimensional biochemical systems is challenging, and hence research has so far focused mainly on the design and manipulation of the structure and functionality of protein assemblies in solution. Motivated by the new opportunities that dynamic surface layer proteins may offer for modern technology, we herein demonstrate that immobilization of coiled coil proteins onto an inorganic surface facilitates complex behavior, manifested by reversible chemical reactions that can be rapidly monitored as digital surface readouts. Using multiple chemical triggers as inputs and several surface characteristics as outputs, we can realize reversible switching and logic gate operations that are read in parallel. Moreover, using the same coiled coil protein monolayers for derivatization of nanopores drilled into silicon nitride membranes facilitates control over ion and mass transport through the pores, thereby expanding the applicability of the dynamic coiled coil system for contemporary stochastic biosensing applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Glionna
- Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Vinod Kumar
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Guillaume Le Saux
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Bapan Pramanik
- Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Nathaniel Wagner
- Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Rivka Cohen-Luria
- Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Gonen Ashkenasy
- Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.,Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Nurit Ashkenasy
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.,Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
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19
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Unravelling the Structure of the Tetrahedral Metal-Binding Site in METP3 through an Experimental and Computational Approach. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26175221. [PMID: 34500655 PMCID: PMC8434281 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26175221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the structural determinants for metal ion coordination in metalloproteins is a fundamental issue for designing metal binding sites with predetermined geometry and activity. In order to achieve this, we report in this paper the design, synthesis and metal binding properties of METP3, a homodimer made up of a small peptide, which self assembles in the presence of tetrahedrally coordinating metal ions. METP3 was obtained through a redesign approach, starting from the previously developed METP molecule. The undecapeptide sequence of METP, which dimerizes to house a Cys4 tetrahedral binding site, was redesigned in order to accommodate a Cys2His2 site. The binding properties of METP3 were determined toward different metal ions. Successful assembly of METP3 with Co(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II), in the expected 2:1 stoichiometry and tetrahedral geometry was proven by UV-visible spectroscopy. CD measurements on both the free and metal-bound forms revealed that the metal coordination drives the peptide chain to fold into a turned conformation. Finally, NMR data of the Zn(II)-METP3 complex, together with a retrostructural analysis of the Cys-X-X-His motif in metalloproteins, allowed us to define the model structure. All the results establish the suitability of the short METP sequence for accommodating tetrahedral metal binding sites, regardless of the first coordination ligands.
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20
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Woolfson DN. A Brief History of De Novo Protein Design: Minimal, Rational, and Computational. J Mol Biol 2021; 433:167160. [PMID: 34298061 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.167160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Protein design has come of age, but how will it mature? In the 1980s and the 1990s, the primary motivation for de novo protein design was to test our understanding of the informational aspect of the protein-folding problem; i.e., how does protein sequence determine protein structure and function? This necessitated minimal and rational design approaches whereby the placement of each residue in a design was reasoned using chemical principles and/or biochemical knowledge. At that time, though with some notable exceptions, the use of computers to aid design was not widespread. Over the past two decades, the tables have turned and computational protein design is firmly established. Here, I illustrate this progress through a timeline of de novo protein structures that have been solved to atomic resolution and deposited in the Protein Data Bank. From this, it is clear that the impact of rational and computational design has been considerable: More-complex and more-sophisticated designs are being targeted with many being resolved to atomic resolution. Furthermore, our ability to generate and manipulate synthetic proteins has advanced to a point where they are providing realistic alternatives to natural protein functions for applications both in vitro and in cells. Also, and increasingly, computational protein design is becoming accessible to non-specialists. This all begs the questions: Is there still a place for minimal and rational design approaches? And, what challenges lie ahead for the burgeoning field of de novo protein design as a whole?
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek N Woolfson
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK; School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK; Bristol BioDesign Institute, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
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21
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Koga N, Koga R, Liu G, Castellanos J, Montelione GT, Baker D. Role of backbone strain in de novo design of complex α/β protein structures. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3921. [PMID: 34168113 PMCID: PMC8225619 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24050-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously elucidated principles for designing ideal proteins with completely consistent local and non-local interactions which have enabled the design of a wide range of new αβ-proteins with four or fewer β-strands. The principles relate local backbone structures to supersecondary-structure packing arrangements of α-helices and β-strands. Here, we test the generality of the principles by employing them to design larger proteins with five- and six- stranded β-sheets flanked by α-helices. The initial designs were monomeric in solution with high thermal stability, and the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structure of one was close to the design model, but for two others the order of strands in the β-sheet was swapped. Investigation into the origins of this strand swapping suggested that the global structures of the design models were more strained than the NMR structures. We incorporated explicit consideration of global backbone strain into the design methodology, and succeeded in designing proteins with the intended unswapped strand arrangements. These results illustrate the value of experimental structure determination in guiding improvement of de novo design, and the importance of consistency between local, supersecondary, and global tertiary interactions in determining protein topology. The augmented set of principles should inform the design of larger functional proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuyasu Koga
- University of Washington, Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, Washington, WA, USA. .,Research Center of Integrative Molecular Systems, Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan. .,Protein Design Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan. .,SOKENDAI, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan.
| | - Rie Koga
- University of Washington, Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, Washington, WA, USA.,Protein Design Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
| | - Gaohua Liu
- Nexomics Biosciences, Rocky Hill, NJ, USA
| | - Javier Castellanos
- University of Washington, Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, Washington, WA, USA
| | - Gaetano T Montelione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, NY, USA.
| | - David Baker
- University of Washington, Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, Washington, WA, USA.
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22
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Arnittali M, Rissanou AN, Amprazi M, Kokkinidis M, Harmandaris V. Structure and Thermal Stability of wtRop and RM6 Proteins through All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Experiments. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22115931. [PMID: 34073028 PMCID: PMC8199364 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In the current work we study, via molecular simulations and experiments, the folding and stability of proteins from the tertiary motif of 4-α-helical bundles, a recurrent motif consisting of four amphipathic α-helices packed in a parallel or antiparallel fashion. The focus is on the role of the loop region in the structure and the properties of the wild-type Rop (wtRop) and RM6 proteins, exploring the key factors which can affect them, through all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and supporting by experimental findings. A detailed investigation of structural and conformational properties of wtRop and its RM6 loopless mutation is presented, which display different physical characteristics even in their native states. Then, the thermal stability of both proteins is explored showing RM6 as more thermostable than wtRop through all studied measures. Deviations from native structures are detected mostly in tails and loop regions and most flexible residues are indicated. Decrease of hydrogen bonds with the increase of temperature is observed, as well as reduction of hydrophobic contacts in both proteins. Experimental data from circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD), are also presented, highlighting the effect of temperature on the structural integrity of wtRop and RM6. The central goal of this study is to explore on the atomic level how a protein mutation can cause major changes in its physical properties, like its structural stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arnittali
- Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), IACM/FORTH, GR-71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; (M.A.); (V.H.)
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, GR-71409 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Anastassia N. Rissanou
- Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), IACM/FORTH, GR-71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; (M.A.); (V.H.)
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, GR-71409 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +30-2810-393746
| | - Maria Amprazi
- Department of Biology, University of Crete, GR-71409 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; (M.A.); (M.K.)
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation of Research and Technology, GR-70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Michael Kokkinidis
- Department of Biology, University of Crete, GR-71409 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; (M.A.); (M.K.)
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation of Research and Technology, GR-70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Vagelis Harmandaris
- Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), IACM/FORTH, GR-71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; (M.A.); (V.H.)
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, GR-71409 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
- Computation-Based Science and Technology Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, 2121 Nicosia, Cyprus
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23
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Irumagawa S, Kobayashi K, Saito Y, Miyata T, Umetsu M, Kameda T, Arai R. Rational thermostabilisation of four-helix bundle dimeric de novo proteins. Sci Rep 2021; 11:7526. [PMID: 33824364 PMCID: PMC8024369 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86952-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The stability of proteins is an important factor for industrial and medical applications. Improving protein stability is one of the main subjects in protein engineering. In a previous study, we improved the stability of a four-helix bundle dimeric de novo protein (WA20) by five mutations. The stabilised mutant (H26L/G28S/N34L/V71L/E78L, SUWA) showed an extremely high denaturation midpoint temperature (Tm). Although SUWA is a remarkably hyperstable protein, in protein design and engineering, it is an attractive challenge to rationally explore more stable mutants. In this study, we predicted stabilising mutations of WA20 by in silico saturation mutagenesis and molecular dynamics simulation, and experimentally confirmed three stabilising mutations of WA20 (N22A, N22E, and H86K). The stability of a double mutant (N22A/H86K, rationally optimised WA20, ROWA) was greatly improved compared with WA20 (ΔTm = 10.6 °C). The model structures suggested that N22A enhances the stability of the α-helices and N22E and H86K contribute to salt-bridge formation for protein stabilisation. These mutations were also added to SUWA and improved its Tm. Remarkably, the most stable mutant of SUWA (N22E/H86K, rationally optimised SUWA, ROSA) showed the highest Tm (129.0 °C). These new thermostable mutants will be useful as a component of protein nanobuilding blocks to construct supramolecular protein complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shin Irumagawa
- Department of Science and Technology, Graduate School of Medicine, Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano, 386-8567, Japan
- Department of Biomolecular Innovation, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano, 390-8621, Japan
- Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano, 386-8567, Japan
| | - Kaito Kobayashi
- Artificial Intelligence Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, 135-0064, Japan
| | - Yutaka Saito
- Artificial Intelligence Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, 135-0064, Japan
- AIST-Waseda University Computational Bio Big-Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8561, Japan
| | - Takeshi Miyata
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan
| | - Mitsuo Umetsu
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8579, Japan
| | - Tomoshi Kameda
- Artificial Intelligence Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, 135-0064, Japan
| | - Ryoichi Arai
- Department of Science and Technology, Graduate School of Medicine, Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano, 386-8567, Japan.
- Department of Biomolecular Innovation, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano, 390-8621, Japan.
- Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano, 386-8567, Japan.
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24
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Besenius P, Zengerling L, Kemper B, Hellmich UA. Synthesis and Structural Stability of α-Helical Gold(I)-Metallopeptidesy. Synlett 2021. [DOI: 10.1055/a-1290-8412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe synthesis of hexa- and dodecapeptides functionalized with two Au(I)–phosphine complexes is reported. The high stability of the Au(I)–phosphine bond allowed orthogonal peptide-protecting-group chemistry, even when using hard Lewis acids like boron tribromide. This enabled the preparation of an Fmoc-protected lysine derivative carrying the Au(I) complex in a side chain, which was used in standard Fmoc-based solid-phase peptide synthesis protocols. Alanine and leucine repeats in the metallododecapeptide formed α-helical secondary structures in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol–H2O and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol–H2O mixtures with high thermal stability, as shown by temperature-dependent CD spectroscopy studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pol Besenius
- Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
| | | | - Benedict Kemper
- Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
| | - Ute A. Hellmich
- Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
- Centre for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt
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25
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Lapenta F, Aupič J, Vezzoli M, Strmšek Ž, Da Vela S, Svergun DI, Carazo JM, Melero R, Jerala R. Self-assembly and regulation of protein cages from pre-organised coiled-coil modules. Nat Commun 2021; 12:939. [PMID: 33574245 PMCID: PMC7878516 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21184-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Coiled-coil protein origami (CCPO) is a modular strategy for the de novo design of polypeptide nanostructures. CCPO folds are defined by the sequential order of concatenated orthogonal coiled-coil (CC) dimer-forming peptides, where a single-chain protein is programmed to fold into a polyhedral cage. Self-assembly of CC-based nanostructures from several chains, similarly as in DNA nanotechnology, could facilitate the design of more complex assemblies and the introduction of functionalities. Here, we show the design of a de novo triangular bipyramid fold comprising 18 CC-forming segments and define the strategy for the two-chain self-assembly of the bipyramidal cage from asymmetric and pseudo-symmetric pre-organised structural modules. In addition, by introducing a protease cleavage site and masking the interfacial CC-forming segments in the two-chain bipyramidal cage, we devise a proteolysis-mediated conformational switch. This strategy could be extended to other modular protein folds, facilitating the construction of dynamic multi-chain CC-based complexes. Coiled-coil protein origami is a strategy for the de novo design of polypeptide nanostructures based on coiled-coil dimer forming peptides, where a single chain protein folds into a polyhedral cage. Here, the authors design a single-chain triangular bipyramid and also demonstrate that the bipyramid can be self-assembled as a heterodimeric complex, comprising pre-defined subunits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Lapenta
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,EN-FIST Centre of Excellence, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jana Aupič
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marco Vezzoli
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Žiga Strmšek
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | | | | | | | - Roberto Melero
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Roman Jerala
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia. .,EN-FIST Centre of Excellence, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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26
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Jiang Y, Zhang W, Yang F, Wan C, Cai X, Liu J, Zhang Q, Li Z, Han W. Molecular design of stapled pentapeptides as building blocks of self-assembled coiled coil-like fibers. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabd0492. [PMID: 33523941 PMCID: PMC10662664 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd0492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Peptide self-assembly inspired by natural superhelical coiled coils has been actively pursued but remains challenging due to limited helicity of short peptides. Side chain stapling can strengthen short helices but is unexplored in design of self-assembled helical nanofibers as it is unknown how staples could be adapted to coiled coil architecture. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of this design for pentapeptides using a computational method capable of predicting helicity and fiber-forming tendency of stapled peptides containing noncoded amino acids. Experiments showed that the best candidates, which carried an aromatically substituted staple and phenylalanine analogs, displayed exceptional helicity and assembled into nanofibers via specific head-to-tail hydrogen bonding and packing between staple and noncoded side chains. The fibers exhibited sheet-of-helix structures resembling the recently found collapsed coiled coils whose formation was sensitive to side chain flexibility. This study expands the chemical space of coiled coil assemblies and provides guidance for their design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yixiang Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518055, China
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Wan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Fadeng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Chuan Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xiang Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jianbo Liu
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Qianling Zhang
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Zigang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China.
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Wei Han
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China.
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27
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Pan X, Kortemme T. Recent advances in de novo protein design: Principles, methods, and applications. J Biol Chem 2021; 296:100558. [PMID: 33744284 PMCID: PMC8065224 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The computational de novo protein design is increasingly applied to address a number of key challenges in biomedicine and biological engineering. Successes in expanding applications are driven by advances in design principles and methods over several decades. Here, we review recent innovations in major aspects of the de novo protein design and include how these advances were informed by principles of protein architecture and interactions derived from the wealth of structures in the Protein Data Bank. We describe developments in de novo generation of designable backbone structures, optimization of sequences, design scoring functions, and the design of the function. The advances not only highlight design goals reachable now but also point to the challenges and opportunities for the future of the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingjie Pan
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; UC Berkeley - UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
| | - Tanja Kortemme
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; UC Berkeley - UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
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28
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Robust folding of a de novo designed ideal protein even with most of the core mutated to valine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:31149-31156. [PMID: 33229587 PMCID: PMC7739874 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2002120117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
De novo designed proteins exhibit a remarkable property of extremely high thermal stability compared with naturally occurring proteins. The designed proteins are completely optimized for folding; the backbone structures are created by using a set of rules that relate local backbone structures to preferred tertiary motifs and the side chains are designed to favor both the local backbone structures and the entire tertiary structures. Here, we found that one of the de novo designed proteins, which was mutated to fill the core with mostly valine residues, still has the folding ability and shows high stability (Tm = 106 °C) even with its reduced and loosened core packing. This result supports the importance of local backbone structures to protein folding. Protein design provides a stringent test for our understanding of protein folding. We previously described principles for designing ideal protein structures stabilized by consistent local and nonlocal interactions, based on a set of rules relating local backbone structures to tertiary packing motifs. The principles have made possible the design of protein structures having various topologies with high thermal stability. Whereas nonlocal interactions such as tight hydrophobic core packing have traditionally been considered to be crucial for protein folding and stability, the rules proposed by our previous studies suggest the importance of local backbone structures to protein folding. In this study, we investigated the robustness of folding of de novo designed proteins to the reduction of the hydrophobic core, by extensive mutation of large hydrophobic residues (Leu, Ile) to smaller ones (Val) for one of the designs. Surprisingly, even after 10 Leu and Ile residues were mutated to Val, this mutant with the core mostly filled with Val was found to not be in a molten globule state and fold into the same backbone structure as the original design, with high stability. These results indicate the importance of local backbone structures to the folding ability and high thermal stability of designed proteins and suggest a method for engineering thermally stabilized natural proteins.
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29
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Pan X, Thompson MC, Zhang Y, Liu L, Fraser JS, Kelly MJS, Kortemme T. Expanding the space of protein geometries by computational design of de novo fold families. Science 2020; 369:1132-1136. [PMID: 32855341 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc0881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Naturally occurring proteins vary the precise geometries of structural elements to create distinct shapes optimal for function. We present a computational design method, loop-helix-loop unit combinatorial sampling (LUCS), that mimics nature's ability to create families of proteins with the same overall fold but precisely tunable geometries. Through near-exhaustive sampling of loop-helix-loop elements, LUCS generates highly diverse geometries encompassing those found in nature but also surpassing known structure space. Biophysical characterization showed that 17 (38%) of 45 tested LUCS designs encompassing two different structural topologies were well folded, including 16 with designed non-native geometries. Four experimentally solved structures closely matched the designs. LUCS greatly expands the designable structure space and offers a new paradigm for designing proteins with tunable geometries that may be customizable for novel functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingjie Pan
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. .,UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michael C Thompson
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Lin Liu
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - James S Fraser
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Mark J S Kelly
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Tanja Kortemme
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. .,UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
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30
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Mancini JA, Pike DH, Tyryshkin AM, Haramaty L, Wang MS, Poudel S, Hecht M, Nanda V. Design of a Fe 4 S 4 cluster into the core of a de novo four-helix bundle. Biotechnol Appl Biochem 2020; 67:574-585. [PMID: 32770861 DOI: 10.1002/bab.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
We explore the capacity of the de novo protein, S824, to incorporate a multinuclear iron-sulfur cluster within the core of a single-chain four-helix bundle. This topology has a high intrinsic designability because sequences are constrained largely by the pattern of hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, thereby allowing for the extensive substitution of individual side chains. Libraries of novel proteins based on these constraints have surprising functional potential and have been shown to complement the deletion of essential genes in E. coli. Our structure-based design of four first-shell cysteine ligands, one per helix, in S824 resulted in successful incorporation of a cubane Fe4 S4 cluster into the protein core. A number of challenges were encountered during the design and characterization process, including nonspecific metal-induced aggregation and the presence of competing metal-cluster stoichiometries. The introduction of buried iron-sulfur clusters into the helical bundle is an initial step toward converting libraries of designed structures into functional de novo proteins with catalytic or electron-transfer functionalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua A Mancini
- Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Douglas H Pike
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Alexei M Tyryshkin
- Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Liti Haramaty
- Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Michael S Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Saroj Poudel
- Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Michael Hecht
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Vikas Nanda
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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31
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Glasgow AA, Huang YM, Mandell DJ, Thompson M, Ritterson R, Loshbaugh AL, Pellegrino J, Krivacic C, Pache RA, Barlow KA, Ollikainen N, Jeon D, Kelly MJS, Fraser JS, Kortemme T. Computational design of a modular protein sense-response system. Science 2020; 366:1024-1028. [PMID: 31754004 DOI: 10.1126/science.aax8780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Sensing and responding to signals is a fundamental ability of living systems, but despite substantial progress in the computational design of new protein structures, there is no general approach for engineering arbitrary new protein sensors. Here, we describe a generalizable computational strategy for designing sensor-actuator proteins by building binding sites de novo into heterodimeric protein-protein interfaces and coupling ligand sensing to modular actuation through split reporters. Using this approach, we designed protein sensors that respond to farnesyl pyrophosphate, a metabolic intermediate in the production of valuable compounds. The sensors are functional in vitro and in cells, and the crystal structure of the engineered binding site closely matches the design model. Our computational design strategy opens broad avenues to link biological outputs to new signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anum A Glasgow
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yao-Ming Huang
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Daniel J Mandell
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michael Thompson
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ryan Ritterson
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Amanda L Loshbaugh
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Biophysics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jenna Pellegrino
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Biophysics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Cody Krivacic
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Roland A Pache
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kyle A Barlow
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Noah Ollikainen
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Deborah Jeon
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Mark J S Kelly
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - James S Fraser
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Biophysics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Tanja Kortemme
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. .,Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Biophysics Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
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32
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Pham AT, Matile S. Peptide Stapling with Anion-π Catalysts. Chem Asian J 2020; 15:1562-1566. [PMID: 32311232 DOI: 10.1002/asia.202000309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
We report design, synthesis and evaluation of a series of naphthalenediimides (NDIs) that are bridged with short peptides. Reminiscent of peptide stapling technologies, the macrocycles are conveniently accessible by a chromogenic nucleophilic aromatic substitution of two bromides in the NDI core with two thiols from cysteine sidechains. The dimension of core-bridged NDIs matches that of one turn of an α helix. NDI-stapled peptides exist as two, often separable atropisomers. Introduction of tertiary amine bases in amino-acid sidechains above the π-acidic NDI surface affords operational anion-π catalysts. According to an enolate chemistry benchmark reaction, anion-π catalysis next to peptides occurs with record chemoselectivity but weak enantioselectivity. Catalytic activity drops with increasing distance of the amine base to the NDI surface, looser homocysteine bridges, mismatched, shortened and elongated α-helix turns, and acyclic peptide controls. Elongation of isolated turns into short α helices significantly increases activity. This increase is consistent with remote control of anion-π catalysis from the α-helix macrodipole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh-Tuan Pham
- Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Matile
- Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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33
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Kimura N, Mochizuki K, Umezawa K, Hecht MH, Arai R. Hyperstable De Novo Protein with a Dimeric Bisecting Topology. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:254-259. [PMID: 31951376 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Recently, we designed and assembled protein nanobuilding blocks (PN-Blocks) from an intermolecularly folded dimeric de novo protein called WA20. Using this dimeric 4-helix bundle, we constructed a series of self-assembling supramolecular nanostructures including polyhedra and chain-type complexes. Here we describe the stabilization of WA20 by designing mutations that stabilize the helices and hydrophobic core. The redesigned proteins denature with substantially higher midpoints, with the most stable variant, called Super WA20 (SUWA), displaying an extremely high midpoint (Tm = 122 °C), much higher than the Tm of WA20 (75 °C). The crystal structure of SUWA reveals an intermolecularly folded dimer with bisecting U topology, similar to the parental WA20 structure, with two long α-helices of a protomer intertwined with the helices of another protomer. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that the redesigned hydrophobic core in the center of SUWA significantly suppresses the deformation of helices observed in the same region of WA20, suggesting this is a critical factor stabilizing the SUWA structure. This hyperstable de novo protein is expected to be useful as nanoscale pillars of PN-Block components in new types of self-assembling nanoarchitectures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoya Kimura
- Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
| | - Kenji Mochizuki
- Department of Chemistry and Materials, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
- Institute for Fiber Engineering, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
| | - Koji Umezawa
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621, Japan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Minamiminowa, Nagano 399-4598, Japan
| | - Michael H. Hecht
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Ryoichi Arai
- Department of Biomolecular Innovation, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621, Japan
- Department of Supramolecular Complexes, Research Center for Fungal and Microbial Dynamism, Shinshu University, Minamiminowa, Nagano 399-4598, Japan
- Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
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34
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Abstract
Proteins are molecular machines whose function depends on their ability to achieve complex folds with precisely defined structural and dynamic properties. The rational design of proteins from first-principles, or de novo, was once considered to be impossible, but today proteins with a variety of folds and functions have been realized. We review the evolution of the field from its earliest days, placing particular emphasis on how this endeavor has illuminated our understanding of the principles underlying the folding and function of natural proteins, and is informing the design of macromolecules with unprecedented structures and properties. An initial set of milestones in de novo protein design focused on the construction of sequences that folded in water and membranes to adopt folded conformations. The first proteins were designed from first-principles using very simple physical models. As computers became more powerful, the use of the rotamer approximation allowed one to discover amino acid sequences that stabilize the desired fold. As the crystallographic database of protein structures expanded in subsequent years, it became possible to construct proteins by assembling short backbone fragments that frequently recur in Nature. The second set of milestones in de novo design involves the discovery of complex functions. Proteins have been designed to bind a variety of metals, porphyrins, and other cofactors. The design of proteins that catalyze hydrolysis and oxygen-dependent reactions has progressed significantly. However, de novo design of catalysts for energetically demanding reactions, or even proteins that bind with high affinity and specificity to highly functionalized complex polar molecules remains an importnant challenge that is now being achieved. Finally, the protein design contributed significantly to our understanding of membrane protein folding and transport of ions across membranes. The area of membrane protein design, or more generally of biomimetic polymers that function in mixed or non-aqueous environments, is now becoming increasingly possible.
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35
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Trotter D, Wallin S. Effects of Topology and Sequence in Protein Folding Linked via Conformational Fluctuations. Biophys J 2020; 118:1370-1380. [PMID: 32061276 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Experiments have compared the folding of proteins with different amino acid sequences but the same basic structure, or fold. Results indicate that folding is robust to sequence variations for proteins with some nonlocal folds, such as all-β, whereas the folding of more local, all-α proteins typically exhibits a stronger sequence dependence. Here, we use a coarse-grained model to systematically study how variations in sequence perturb the folding energy landscapes of three model sequences with 3α, 4β + α, and β-barrel folds, respectively. These three proteins exhibit folding features in line with experiments, including expected rank order in the cooperativity of the folding transition and stability-dependent shifts in the location of the free-energy barrier to folding. Using a generalized-ensemble simulation approach, we determine the thermodynamics of around 2000 sequence variants representing all possible hydrophobic or polar single- and double-point mutations. From an analysis of the subset of stability-neutral mutations, we find that folding is perturbed in a topology-dependent manner, with the β-barrel protein being the most robust. Our analysis shows, in particular, that the magnitude of mutational perturbations of the transition state is controlled in part by the size or "width" of the underlying conformational ensemble. This result suggests that the mutational robustness of the folding of the β-barrel protein is underpinned by its conformationally restricted transition state ensemble, revealing a link between sequence and topological effects in protein folding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Trotter
- Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Stefan Wallin
- Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
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36
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Engineering Metalloprotein Functions in Designed and Native Scaffolds. Trends Biochem Sci 2019; 44:1022-1040. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2019.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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37
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Chowdhury R, Maranas CD. From directed evolution to computational enzyme engineering—A review. AIChE J 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/aic.16847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ratul Chowdhury
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
| | - Costas D. Maranas
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
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38
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Rhys GG, Wood CW, Beesley JL, Zaccai NR, Burton AJ, Brady RL, Thomson AR, Woolfson DN. Navigating the Structural Landscape of De Novo α-Helical Bundles. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:8787-8797. [PMID: 31066556 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b13354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The association of amphipathic α helices in water leads to α-helical-bundle protein structures. However, the driving force for this-the hydrophobic effect-is not specific and does not define the number or the orientation of helices in the associated state. Rather, this is achieved through deeper sequence-to-structure relationships, which are increasingly being discerned. For example, for one structurally extreme but nevertheless ubiquitous class of bundle-the α-helical coiled coils-relationships have been established that discriminate between all-parallel dimers, trimers, and tetramers. Association states above this are known, as are antiparallel and mixed arrangements of the helices. However, these alternative states are less well understood. Here, we describe a synthetic-peptide system that switches between parallel hexamers and various up-down-up-down tetramers in response to single-amino-acid changes and solution conditions. The main accessible states of each peptide variant are characterized fully in solution and, in most cases, to high resolution with X-ray crystal structures. Analysis and inspection of these structures helps rationalize the different states formed. This navigation of the structural landscape of α-helical coiled coils above the dimers and trimers that dominate in nature has allowed us to design rationally a well-defined and hyperstable antiparallel coiled-coil tetramer (apCC-Tet). This robust de novo protein provides another scaffold for further structural and functional designs in protein engineering and synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guto G Rhys
- School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Cantock's Close , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | - Christopher W Wood
- School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Cantock's Close , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | - Joseph L Beesley
- School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Cantock's Close , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | - Nathan R Zaccai
- School of Biochemistry , University of Bristol , Medical Sciences Building, University Walk , Bristol BS8 1TD , United Kingdom
| | - Antony J Burton
- School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Cantock's Close , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
- Frick Chemistry Laboratory , Princeton University , Princeton , New Jersey 08544 , United States
| | - R Leo Brady
- School of Biochemistry , University of Bristol , Medical Sciences Building, University Walk , Bristol BS8 1TD , United Kingdom
| | - Andrew R Thomson
- School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Cantock's Close , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
- School of Chemistry , University of Glasgow , Glasgow G12 8QQ , United Kingdom
| | - Derek N Woolfson
- School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Cantock's Close , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
- School of Biochemistry , University of Bristol , Medical Sciences Building, University Walk , Bristol BS8 1TD , United Kingdom
- BrisSynBio , University of Bristol , Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue , Bristol BS8 1TQ , United Kingdom
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Acharyya A, Ge Y, Wu H, DeGrado WF, Voelz VA, Gai F. Exposing the Nucleation Site in α-Helix Folding: A Joint Experimental and Simulation Study. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:1797-1807. [PMID: 30694671 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b12220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
One of the fundamental events in protein folding is α-helix formation, which involves sequential development of a series of helical hydrogen bonds between the backbone C═O group of residues i and the -NH group of residues i + 4. While we now know a great deal about α-helix folding dynamics, a key question that remains to be answered is where the productive helical nucleation event occurs. Statistically, a helical nucleus (or the first helical hydrogen-bond) can form anywhere within the peptide sequence in question; however, the one that leads to productive folding may only form at a preferred location. This consideration is based on the fact that the α-helical structure is inherently asymmetric, due to the specific alignment of the helical hydrogen bonds. While this hypothesis is plausible, validating it is challenging because there is not an experimental observable that can be used to directly pinpoint the location of the productive nucleation process. Therefore, in this study we combine several techniques, including peptide cross-linking, laser-induced temperature-jump infrared spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations, to tackle this challenge. Taken together, our experimental and simulation results support an α-helix folding mechanism wherein the productive nucleus is formed at the N-terminus, which propagates toward the C-terminal end of the peptide to yield the folded structure. In addition, our results show that incorporation of a cross-linker can lead to formation of differently folded conformations, underscoring the need for all-atom simulations to quantitatively assess the proposed cross-linking design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arusha Acharyya
- Department of Chemistry , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19104 , United States
| | - Yunhui Ge
- Department of Chemistry , Temple University , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19122 , United States
| | - Haifan Wu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry , University of California , San Francisco , California 94158 , United States
| | - William F DeGrado
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry , University of California , San Francisco , California 94158 , United States
| | - Vincent A Voelz
- Department of Chemistry , Temple University , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19122 , United States
| | - Feng Gai
- Department of Chemistry , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19104 , United States
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40
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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.
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41
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Tian Y, Polzer FB, Zhang HV, Kiick KL, Saven JG, Pochan DJ. Nanotubes, Plates, and Needles: Pathway-Dependent Self-Assembly of Computationally Designed Peptides. Biomacromolecules 2018; 19:4286-4298. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b01163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Tian
- Materials Science and Engineering Department, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Frank B. Polzer
- Materials Science and Engineering Department, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Huixi Violet Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Kristi L. Kiick
- Materials Science and Engineering Department, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Jeffery G. Saven
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Darrin J. Pochan
- Materials Science and Engineering Department, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
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Zhang M, Case DA, Peng JW. Propagated Perturbations from a Peripheral Mutation Show Interactions Supporting WW Domain Thermostability. Structure 2018; 26:1474-1485.e5. [PMID: 30197038 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2018.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Inter-residue interactions stabilize protein folds and facilitate allosteric communication. Predicting which interactions are crucial and understanding why remain challenging. We highlight this through studies of a single peripheral mutation (Q33E) on the surface of the Pin1 WW domain that causes an unexpected loss of thermostability. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies attribute the loss to reorganizations of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, resulting in propagated conformational perturbations. The propagation demonstrates the cooperative response of Pin1 WW to external perturbations, consistent with its allosteric behavior within Pin1. Microsecond molecular dynamics simulations suggest the wild-type fold relies on couplings between a surface electrostatic network and a highly conserved hydrophobic core; Q33E directly perturbs the former, thereby disrupting the latter. These couplings suggest that predictions of mutation consequences that assume dominance of a single interaction type can be limiting, and highlight challenges in predicting protein mutational landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meiling Zhang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, 251 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - David A Case
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, 174 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Jeffrey W Peng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, 251 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
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43
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Razali NN, Hashim NH, Leow ATC, Salleh AB. Conformational Design and Characterisation of a Truncated Diamine Oxidase from Arthrobacter globiformis. High Throughput 2018; 7:ht7030021. [PMID: 30149644 PMCID: PMC6163217 DOI: 10.3390/ht7030021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A functional mini protein can be developed by miniaturising its size. The minimisation technique provides an excellent model system for studying native enzymes, especially in creating an alternative novel biocatalyst. Miniaturised proteins may have enhanced stability, a crucial characteristic for large-scale production and industrial applications. In this study, a huge enzyme molecule, known as diamine oxidase (DAO, comprising 700 amino acids), was selected to undergo the process. By retaining the arrangement of the original functional sites of DAO in the fourth domain, a mini DAO can be designed via homology modelling. After several downsizing processes, a final configuration of 220 amino acids displayed high binding affinity towards histamine, a short-chain substrate that was catalysed by the parental DAO. The configuration also showed enhanced affinity towards a long-chain substrate known as spermidine. The gene for the designed protein was cloned and expressed in pET102/TOPO vector and overexpressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The new mini DAO had similar temperature tolerance and versatile substrates specificity characteristics as its parental protein. An active mini-protein with these characteristics is potentially useful for several applications such as detecting biogenic amines in the biological fluids and the environment that may give rise to health issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nur Nadia Razali
- Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Center, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
| | - Nur Hafizah Hashim
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Center, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
| | - Adam Thean Chor Leow
- Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Center, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
| | - Abu Bakar Salleh
- Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Center, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
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44
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Su G, He W, Zhao M, Waterhouse GI, Sun-Waterhouse D. Effect of different buffer systems on the xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of tuna ( Katsuwonus pelamis ) protein hydrolysate. Food Res Int 2018; 105:556-562. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.11.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2017] [Revised: 11/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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45
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Shi YD, Tang Q, Jiang YF, Pei Q, Tan HW, Lu ZL, Gong B. Effective formation of stable and versatile double-stranded β-sheets templated by a hydrogen-bonded duplex. Chem Commun (Camb) 2018; 54:3719-3722. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cc01564c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
An effective approach to construct stable and versatile double-stranded β-sheets composed of tetra- and penta-peptides through a hydrogen-bonded duplex template has been explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- You-Di Shi
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
| | - Quan Tang
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
| | - Ya-Fei Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
| | - Qiang Pei
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
| | - Hong-Wei Tan
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
| | - Zhong-Lin Lu
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
| | - Bing Gong
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
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46
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Espinoza EM, Larsen-Clinton JM, Krzeszewski M, Darabedian N, Gryko DT, Vullev VI. Bioinspired approach toward molecular electrets: synthetic proteome for materials. PURE APPL CHEM 2017. [DOI: 10.1515/pac-2017-0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
AbstractMolecular-level control of charge transfer (CT) is essential for both, organic electronics and solar-energy conversion, as well as for a wide range of biological processes. This article provides an overview of the utility of local electric fields originating from molecular dipoles for directing CT processes. Systems with ordered dipoles, i.e. molecular electrets, are the centerpiece of the discussion. The conceptual evolution from biomimicry to biomimesis, and then to biological inspiration, paves the roads leading from testing the understanding of how natural living systems function to implementing these lessons into optimal paradigms for specific applications. This progression of the evolving structure-function relationships allows for the development of bioinspired electrets composed of non-native aromatic amino acids. A set of such non-native residues that are electron-rich can be viewed as a synthetic proteome for hole-transfer electrets. Detailed considerations of the electronic structure of an individual residue prove of key importance for designating the points for optimal injection of holes (i.e. extraction of electrons) in electret oligomers. This multifaceted bioinspired approach for the design of CT molecular systems provides unexplored paradigms for electronic and energy science and engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli M. Espinoza
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | | | - Maciej Krzeszewski
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44-52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Narek Darabedian
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Daniel T. Gryko
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44-52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Valentine I. Vullev
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
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47
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Xie S, Wen K, Peng T, Wang J, Yao K, Jiang H. A novel variable antibody fragment dimerized by the dHLX peptide with enhanced affinity against amantadine compared to its corresponding scFv antibody. FOOD AGR IMMUNOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09540105.2017.1368459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sanlei Xie
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Kai Wen
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Tao Peng
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jianyi Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Kai Yao
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Haiyang Jiang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
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48
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Attri P, Kim M, Sarinont T, Ha Choi E, Seo H, Cho AE, Koga K, Shiratani M. The protective action of osmolytes on the deleterious effects of gamma rays and atmospheric pressure plasma on protein conformational changes. Sci Rep 2017; 7:8698. [PMID: 28821765 PMCID: PMC5562882 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08643-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Both gamma rays and atmospheric pressure plasma are known to have anticancer properties. While their mechanism actions are still not clear, in some contexts they work in similar manner, while in other contexts they work differently. So to understand these relationships, we have studied Myoglobin protein after the treatment of gamma rays and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, and analyzed the changes in thermodynamic properties and changes in the secondary structure of protein after both treatments. The thermodynamic properties were analyzed using chemical and thermal denaturation after both treatments. We have also studied the action of gamma rays and DBD plasma on myoglobin in the presence of osmolytes, such as sorbitol and trehalose. For deep understanding of the action of gamma rays and DBD plasma, we have analyzed the reactive species generated by them in buffer at all treatment conditions. Finally, we have used molecular dynamic simulation to understand the hydrogen peroxide action on myoglobin with or without osmolytes, to gain deeper insight into how the osmolytes can protect the protein structure from the reactive species generated by gamma rays and DBD plasma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pankaj Attri
- Plasma Bioscience Research Center/Department of Electrical and Biological Physics, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, 01897, Korea.,Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Minsup Kim
- Department of Bioinformatics, Korea University, Sejong, 02841, Korea
| | - Thapanut Sarinont
- Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Eun Ha Choi
- Plasma Bioscience Research Center/Department of Electrical and Biological Physics, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, 01897, Korea
| | - Hyunwoong Seo
- Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Art E Cho
- Department of Bioinformatics, Korea University, Sejong, 02841, Korea.
| | - Kazunori Koga
- Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
| | - Masaharu Shiratani
- Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
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49
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Schwizer F, Okamoto Y, Heinisch T, Gu Y, Pellizzoni MM, Lebrun V, Reuter R, Köhler V, Lewis JC, Ward TR. Artificial Metalloenzymes: Reaction Scope and Optimization Strategies. Chem Rev 2017; 118:142-231. [PMID: 28714313 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 490] [Impact Index Per Article: 70.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The incorporation of a synthetic, catalytically competent metallocofactor into a protein scaffold to generate an artificial metalloenzyme (ArM) has been explored since the late 1970's. Progress in the ensuing years was limited by the tools available for both organometallic synthesis and protein engineering. Advances in both of these areas, combined with increased appreciation of the potential benefits of combining attractive features of both homogeneous catalysis and enzymatic catalysis, led to a resurgence of interest in ArMs starting in the early 2000's. Perhaps the most intriguing of potential ArM properties is their ability to endow homogeneous catalysts with a genetic memory. Indeed, incorporating a homogeneous catalyst into a genetically encoded scaffold offers the opportunity to improve ArM performance by directed evolution. This capability could, in turn, lead to improvements in ArM efficiency similar to those obtained for natural enzymes, providing systems suitable for practical applications and greater insight into the role of second coordination sphere interactions in organometallic catalysis. Since its renaissance in the early 2000's, different aspects of artificial metalloenzymes have been extensively reviewed and highlighted. Our intent is to provide a comprehensive overview of all work in the field up to December 2016, organized according to reaction class. Because of the wide range of non-natural reactions catalyzed by ArMs, this was done using a functional-group transformation classification. The review begins with a summary of the proteins and the anchoring strategies used to date for the creation of ArMs, followed by a historical perspective. Then follows a summary of the reactions catalyzed by ArMs and a concluding critical outlook. This analysis allows for comparison of similar reactions catalyzed by ArMs constructed using different metallocofactor anchoring strategies, cofactors, protein scaffolds, and mutagenesis strategies. These data will be used to construct a searchable Web site on ArMs that will be updated regularly by the authors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Schwizer
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Yasunori Okamoto
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tillmann Heinisch
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Yifan Gu
- Searle Chemistry Laboratory, University of Chicago , 5735 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Michela M Pellizzoni
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Lebrun
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Raphael Reuter
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Valentin Köhler
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jared C Lewis
- Searle Chemistry Laboratory, University of Chicago , 5735 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Thomas R Ward
- Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, University of Basel , CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
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50
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Disruption of drug-resistant biofilms using de novo designed short α-helical antimicrobial peptides with idealized facial amphiphilicity. Acta Biomater 2017; 57:103-114. [PMID: 28457962 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2017.04.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Revised: 04/17/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance has increased pressure to develop novel therapeutic strategies to tackle drug-resistant infections. Antimicrobial peptides have emerged as a promising class of therapeutics for various systemic and topical clinical applications. In this study, the de novo design of α-helical peptides with idealized facial amphiphilicities, based on an understanding of the pertinent features of protein secondary structures, is presented. Synthetic amphiphiles composed of the backbone sequence (X1Y1Y2X2)n, where X1 and X2 are hydrophobic residues (Leu or Ile or Trp), Y1 and Y2 are cationic residues (Lys), and n is the number repeat units (2 or 2.5 or 3), demonstrated potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities against clinical isolates of drug-susceptible and multi-drug resistant bacteria. Live-cell imaging revealed that the most selective peptide, (LKKL)3, promoted rapid permeabilization of bacterial membranes. Importantly, (LKKL)3 not only suppressed biofilm growth, but effectively disrupted mature biofilms after only 2h of treatment. The peptides (LKKL)3 and (WKKW)3 suppressed the production of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediators to levels of unstimulated controls at low micromolar concentrations. Thus, the rational design strategies proposed herein can be implemented to develop potent, selective and multifunctional α-helical peptides to eradicate drug-resistant biofilm-associated infections. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are increasingly explored as therapeutics for drug-resistant and biofilm-related infections to help expand the size and quality of the current antibiotic pipeline in the face of mounting antimicrobial resistance. Here, synthetic peptides rationally designed based upon principles governing the folding of natural α-helical AMPs, comprising the backbone sequence (X1Y1Y2X2)n, and which assemble into α-helical structures with idealized facial amphiphilicity, is presented. These multifunctional peptide amphiphiles demonstrate high bacterial selectivity, promote the disruption of pre-formed drug-resistant biofilms, and effectively neutralize endotoxins at low micromolar concentrations. Overall, the design strategies presented here could provide a useful tool for developing therapeutic peptides with broad-ranging clinical applications from the treatment and prevention of drug-resistant biofilms to the neutralization of bacterial endotoxins.
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