Signaling by committee: receptor clusters determine pathways of cellular activation

How does the same ligand activate signaling of different receptors in TNFR superfamily: a computational study

TNFα is a highly pleiotropic cytokine inducing inflammatory signaling pathways. It is initially presented on plasma membrane of cells (mTNFα), and also exists in a soluble variant (sTNFα) after cleavage. The ligand is shared by two structurally similar receptors, TNFR1 and TNFR2. Interestingly, while sTNFα preferentially stimulates TNFR1, TNFR2 signaling can only be activated by mTNFα. How can two similar receptors respond to the same ligand in such a different way? We employed computational simulations in multiple scales to address this question. We found that both mTNFα and sTNFα can trigger the clustering of TNFR1. The size of clusters induced by sTNFα is constantly larger than the clusters induced by mTNFα. The systems of TNFR2, on the other hand, show very different behaviors. Only when the interactions between TNFR2 are very weak, mTNFα can trigger the receptors to form very large clusters. Given the same weak binding affinity, only small oligomers were obtained in the system of sTNFα. Considering that TNF-mediated signaling is modulated by the ligand-induced clustering of receptors on cell surface, our study provided the mechanistic foundation to the phenomenon that different isoforms of the ligand can lead to highly distinctive signaling patterns for its receptors.

The Impact of Membrane Protein Diffusion on GPCR Signaling

Spatiotemporal signal shaping in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling is now a well-established and accepted notion to explain how signaling specificity can be achieved by a superfamily sharing only a handful of downstream second messengers. Dozens of Gs-coupled GPCR signals ultimately converge on the production of cAMP, a ubiquitous second messenger. This idea is almost always framed in terms of local concentrations, the differences in which are maintained by means of spatial separation. However, given the dynamic nature of the reaction-diffusion processes at hand, the dynamics, in particular the local diffusional properties of the receptors and their cognate G proteins, are also important. By combining some first principle considerations, simulated data, and experimental data of the receptors diffusing on the membranes of living cells, we offer a short perspective on the modulatory role of local membrane diffusion in regulating GPCR-mediated cell signaling. Our analysis points to a diffusion-limited regime where the effective production rate of activated G protein scales linearly with the receptor–G protein complex’s relative diffusion rate and to an interesting role played by the membrane geometry in modulating the efficiency of coupling.

Understanding the functional role of membrane confinements in TNF-mediated signaling by multiscale simulations

The interaction between TNFα and TNFR1 is essential in maintaining tissue development and immune responses. While TNFR1 is a cell surface receptor, TNFα exists in both soluble and membrane-bound forms. Interestingly, it was found that the activation of TNFR1-mediated signaling pathways is preferentially through the soluble form of TNFα, which can also induce the clustering of TNFR1 on plasma membrane of living cells. We developed a multiscale simulation framework to compare receptor clustering induced by soluble and membrane-bound ligands. Comparing with the freely diffusive soluble ligands, we hypothesize that the conformational dynamics of membrane-bound ligands are restricted, which affects the clustering of ligand-receptor complexes at cell-cell interfaces. Our simulation revealed that only small clusters can form if TNFα is bound on cell surface. In contrast, the clustering triggered by soluble TNFα is more dynamic, and the size of clusters is statistically larger. We therefore demonstrated the impact of membrane-bound ligand on dynamics of receptor clustering. Moreover, considering that larger TNFα-TNFR1 clusters is more likely to provide spatial platform for downstream signaling pathway, our studies offer new mechanistic insights about why the activation of TNFR1-mediated signaling pathways is not preferred by membrane-bound form of TNFα.

A multiscale study on the mechanisms of spatial organization in ligand-receptor interactions on cell surfaces

The binding of cell surface receptors with extracellular ligands triggers distinctive signaling pathways, leading into the corresponding phenotypic variation of cells. It has been found that in many systems, these ligand-receptor complexes can further oligomerize into higher-order structures. This ligand-induced oligomerization of receptors on cell surfaces plays an important role in regulating the functions of cell signaling. The underlying mechanism, however, is not well understood. One typical example is proteins that belong to the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily. Using a generic multiscale simulation platform that spans from atomic to subcellular levels, we compared the detailed physical process of ligand-receptor oligomerization for two specific members in the TNFR superfamily: the complex formed between ligand TNFα and receptor TNFR1 versus the complex formed between ligand TNFβ and receptor TNFR2. Interestingly, although these two systems share high similarity on the tertiary and quaternary structural levels, our results indicate that their oligomers are formed with very different dynamic properties and spatial patterns. We demonstrated that the changes of receptor’s conformational fluctuations due to the membrane confinements are closely related to such difference. Consistent to previous experiments, our simulations also showed that TNFR can preassemble into dimers prior to ligand binding, while the introduction of TNF ligands induced higher-order oligomerization due to a multivalent effect. This study, therefore, provides the molecular basis to TNFR oligomerization and reveals new insights to TNFR-mediated signal transduction. Moreover, our multiscale simulation framework serves as a prototype that paves the way to study higher-order assembly of cell surface receptors in many other bio-systems.

Exploring higher-order EGFR oligomerisation and phosphorylation--a combined experimental and theoretical approach

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase is generally considered to be activated by either ligand-induced dimerisation or a ligand-induced conformational change within pre-formed dimers. Ligand-induced higher-order EGFR oligomerisation or clustering has been reported but it is not clear how EGFR oligomers, as distinct from EGFR dimers, influence signaling outputs. To address this question, we combined measures of receptor clustering (microscopy; image correlation spectroscopy) and phosphorylation (Western blots) with modelling of mass-action chemical kinetics. A stable BaF/3 cell-line that contains a high proportion (>90%) of inactive dimers of EGFR-eGFP but no secreted ligand and no other detectable ErbB receptors was used as the model cell system. EGF at concentrations of greater than 1 nM was found to cluster EGFR-eGFP dimers into higher-order complexes and cause parallel increases in EGFR phosphorylation. The kinetics of EGFR clustering and phosphorylation were both rapid, plateauing within 2 minutes after stimulation with 30 nM EGF. A rule-based model was formulated to interpret the data. This model took into account ligand binding, ligand-induced conformational changes in the cytosolic tail, monomer-dimer-trimer-tetramer transitions via ectodomain- and kinase-mediated interactions, and phosphorylation. The model predicts that cyclic EGFR tetramers are the predominant phosphorylated species, in which activated receptor dimers adopt a cyclic side-by-side orientation, and that receptor kinase activation is stabilised by the intramolecular interactions responsible for cyclic tetramerization.

Theranostic magnetic nanoparticles

Early detection and treatment of disease is the most important component of a favorable prognosis. Biomedical researchers have thus invested tremendous effort in improving imaging techniques and treatment methods. Over the past decade, concepts and tools derived from nanotechnology have been applied to overcome the problems of conventional techniques for advanced diagnosis and therapy. In particular, advances in nanoparticle technology have created new paradigms for theranostics, which is defined as the combination of therapeutic and diagnostic agents within a single platform. In this Account, we examine the potential advantages and opportunities afforded by magnetic nanoparticles as platform materials for theranostics. We begin with a brief overview of relevant magnetic parameters, such as saturation magnetization, coercivity, and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Understanding the interplay of these parameters is critical for optimizing magnetic characteristics needed for effective imaging and therapeutics, which include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) relaxivity, heat emission, and attractive forces. We then discuss approaches to constructing an MRI nanoparticle contrast agent with high sensitivity. We further introduce a new design concept for a fault-free contrast agent, which is a T1 and T2 dual mode hybrid. Important capabilities of magnetic nanoparticles are the external controllability of magnetic heat generation and magnetic attractive forces for the transportation and movement of biological objects. We show that these functions can be utilized not only for therapeutic hyperthermia of cancer but also for controlled release of cancer drugs through the application of an external magnetic field. Additionally, the use of magnetic nanoparticles to drive mechanical forces is demonstrated to be useful for molecular-level cell signaling and for controlling the ultimate fate of the cell. Finally, we show that targeted imaging and therapy are made possible by attaching a variety of imaging and therapeutic components. These added components include therapeutic genes (small interfering RNA, or siRNA), cancer-specific ligands, and optical reporting dyes. The wide range of accessible features of magnetic nanoparticles underscores their potential as the most promising platform material available for theranostics.