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Guo AB, Akpinaroglu D, Kelly MJS, Kortemme T. Deep learning guided design of dynamic proteins. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.17.603962. [PMID: 39071443 PMCID: PMC11275770 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.17.603962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Deep learning has greatly advanced design of highly stable static protein structures, but the controlled conformational dynamics that are hallmarks of natural switch-like signaling proteins have remained inaccessible to de novo design. Here, we describe a general deep-learning-guided approach for de novo design of dynamic changes between intra-domain geometries of proteins, similar to switch mechanisms prevalent in nature, with atom-level precision. We solve 4 structures validating the designed conformations, show microsecond transitions between them, and demonstrate that the conformational landscape can be modulated by orthosteric ligands and allosteric mutations. Physics-based simulations are in remarkable agreement with deep-learning predictions and experimental data, reveal distinct state-dependent residue interaction networks, and predict mutations that tune the designed conformational landscape. Our approach demonstrates that new modes of motion can now be realized through de novo design and provides a framework for constructing biology-inspired, tunable and controllable protein signaling behavior de novo .
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2
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Kortemme T. De novo protein design-From new structures to programmable functions. Cell 2024; 187:526-544. [PMID: 38306980 PMCID: PMC10990048 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.028] [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: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Methods from artificial intelligence (AI) trained on large datasets of sequences and structures can now "write" proteins with new shapes and molecular functions de novo, without starting from proteins found in nature. In this Perspective, I will discuss the state of the field of de novo protein design at the juncture of physics-based modeling approaches and AI. New protein folds and higher-order assemblies can be designed with considerable experimental success rates, and difficult problems requiring tunable control over protein conformations and precise shape complementarity for molecular recognition are coming into reach. Emerging approaches incorporate engineering principles-tunability, controllability, and modularity-into the design process from the beginning. Exciting frontiers lie in deconstructing cellular functions with de novo proteins and, conversely, constructing synthetic cellular signaling from the ground up. As methods improve, many more challenges are unsolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Kortemme
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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3
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Godbole SS, Dokholyan NV. Allosteric regulation of kinase activity in living cells. eLife 2023; 12:RP90574. [PMID: 37943025 PMCID: PMC10635643 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90574] [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] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The dysregulation of protein kinases is associated with multiple diseases due to the kinases' involvement in a variety of cell signaling pathways. Manipulating protein kinase function, by controlling the active site, is a promising therapeutic and investigative strategy to mitigate and study diseases. Kinase active sites share structural similarities, making it difficult to specifically target one kinase, and allosteric control allows specific regulation and study of kinase function without directly targeting the active site. Allosteric sites are distal to the active site but coupled via a dynamic network of inter-atomic interactions between residues in the protein. Establishing an allosteric control over a kinase requires understanding the allosteric wiring of the protein. Computational techniques offer effective and inexpensive mapping of the allosteric sites on a protein. Here, we discuss the methods to map and regulate allosteric communications in proteins, and strategies to establish control over kinase functions in live cells and organisms. Protein molecules, or 'sensors,' are engineered to function as tools to control allosteric activity of the protein as these sensors have high spatiotemporal resolution and help in understanding cell phenotypes after immediate activation or inactivation of a kinase. Traditional methods used to study protein functions, such as knockout, knockdown, or mutation, cannot offer a sufficiently high spatiotemporal resolution. We discuss the modern repertoire of tools to regulate protein kinases as we enter a new era in deciphering cellular signaling and developing novel approaches to treat diseases associated with signal dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nikolay V Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology, Penn State College of MedicineHersheyUnited States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Penn State University, University ParkHersheyUnited States
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Penn State University, University ParkHersheyUnited States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State College of MedicineHersheyUnited States
- Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University ParkHersheyUnited States
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4
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Godbole S, Dokholyan NV. Allosteric regulation of kinase activity in living cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.19.549709. [PMID: 37503033 PMCID: PMC10370130 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.19.549709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The dysregulation of protein kinases is associated with multiple diseases due to the kinases' involvement in a variety of cell signaling pathways. Manipulating protein kinase function, by controlling the active site, is a promising therapeutic and investigative strategy to mitigate and study diseases. Kinase active sites share structural similarities making it difficult to specifically target one kinase, allosteric control allows specific regulation and study of kinase function without directly targeting the active site. Allosteric sites are distal to the active site but coupled via a dynamic network of inter-atomic interactions between residues in the protein. Establishing an allosteric control over a kinase requires understanding the allosteric wiring of the protein. Computational techniques offer effective and inexpensive mapping of the allosteric sites on a protein. Here, we discuss methods to map and regulate allosteric communications in proteins, and strategies to establish control over kinase functions in live cells and organisms. Protein molecules, or "sensors" are engineered to function as tools to control allosteric activity of the protein as these sensors have high spatiotemporal resolution and help in understanding cell phenotypes after immediate activation or inactivation of a kinase. Traditional methods used to study protein functions, such as knockout, knockdown, or mutation, cannot offer a sufficiently high spatiotemporal resolution. We discuss the modern repertoire of tools to regulate protein kinases as we enter a new era in deciphering cellular signaling and developing novel approaches to treat diseases associated with signal dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivani Godbole
- Department of Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA
| | - Nikolay V. Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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5
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Rennella E, Sahtoe DD, Baker D, Kay LE. Exploiting conformational dynamics to modulate the function of designed proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2303149120. [PMID: 37094170 PMCID: PMC10161014 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2303149120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
With the recent success in calculating protein structures from amino acid sequences using artificial intelligence-based algorithms, an important next step is to decipher how dynamics is encoded by the primary protein sequence so as to better predict function. Such dynamics information is critical for protein design, where strategies could then focus not only on sequences that fold into particular structures that perform a given task, but would also include low-lying excited protein states that could influence the function of the designed protein. Herein, we illustrate the importance of dynamics in modulating the function of C34, a designed α/β protein that captures β-strands of target ligands and is a member of a family of proteins designed to sequester β-strands and β hairpins of aggregation-prone molecules that lead to a variety of pathologies. Using a strategy to "see" regions of apo C34 that are invisible to NMR spectroscopy as a result of pervasive conformational exchange, as well as a mutagenesis approach whereby C34 molecules are stabilized into a single conformer, we determine the structures of the predominant conformations that are sampled by C34 and show that these attenuate the affinity for cognate peptide. Subsequently, the observed motion is exploited to develop an allosterically regulated peptide binder whose binding affinity can be controlled through the addition of a second molecule. Our study emphasizes the unique role that NMR can play in directing the design process and in the construction of new molecules with more complex functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Rennella
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Danny D. Sahtoe
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
- HHMI, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
- HHMI, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
| | - Lewis E. Kay
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5S 3H6, Canada
- Program in Molecular Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ONM5G 0A4, Canada
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6
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Ruan B, He Y, Chen Y, Choi EJ, Chen Y, Motabar D, Solomon T, Simmerman R, Kauffman T, Gallagher DT, Orban J, Bryan PN. Design and characterization of a protein fold switching network. Nat Commun 2023; 14:431. [PMID: 36702827 PMCID: PMC9879998 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36065-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
To better understand how amino acid sequence encodes protein structure, we engineered mutational pathways that connect three common folds (3α, β-grasp, and α/β-plait). The structures of proteins at high sequence-identity intersections in the pathways (nodes) were determined using NMR spectroscopy and analyzed for stability and function. To generate nodes, the amino acid sequence encoding a smaller fold is embedded in the structure of an ~50% larger fold and a new sequence compatible with two sets of native interactions is designed. This generates protein pairs with a 3α or β-grasp fold in the smaller form but an α/β-plait fold in the larger form. Further, embedding smaller antagonistic folds creates critical states in the larger folds such that single amino acid substitutions can switch both their fold and function. The results help explain the underlying ambiguity in the protein folding code and show that new protein structures can evolve via abrupt fold switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biao Ruan
- Potomac Affinity Proteins, 11305 Dunleith Pl, North Potomac, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Yanan He
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Yingwei Chen
- Potomac Affinity Proteins, 11305 Dunleith Pl, North Potomac, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Eun Jung Choi
- Potomac Affinity Proteins, 11305 Dunleith Pl, North Potomac, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Yihong Chen
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Dana Motabar
- Potomac Affinity Proteins, 11305 Dunleith Pl, North Potomac, MD, 20878, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Tsega Solomon
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Richard Simmerman
- Potomac Affinity Proteins, 11305 Dunleith Pl, North Potomac, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Thomas Kauffman
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - D Travis Gallagher
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
- National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - John Orban
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
| | - Philip N Bryan
- Potomac Affinity Proteins, 11305 Dunleith Pl, North Potomac, MD, 20878, USA.
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA.
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7
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Porter LL, Kim AK, Rimal S, Looger LL, Majumdar A, Mensh BD, Starich MR, Strub MP. Many dissimilar NusG protein domains switch between α-helix and β-sheet folds. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3802. [PMID: 35778397 PMCID: PMC9247905 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31532-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Folded proteins are assumed to be built upon fixed scaffolds of secondary structure, α-helices and β-sheets. Experimentally determined structures of >58,000 non-redundant proteins support this assumption, though it has recently been challenged by ~100 fold-switching proteins. Though ostensibly rare, these proteins raise the question of how many uncharacterized proteins have shapeshifting-rather than fixed-secondary structures. Here, we use a comparative sequence-based approach to predict fold switching in the universally conserved NusG transcription factor family, one member of which has a 50-residue regulatory subunit experimentally shown to switch between α-helical and β-sheet folds. Our approach predicts that 24% of sequences in this family undergo similar α-helix ⇌ β-sheet transitions. While these predictions cannot be reproduced by other state-of-the-art computational methods, they are confirmed by circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for 10 out of 10 sequence-diverse variants. This work suggests that fold switching may be a pervasive mechanism of transcriptional regulation in all kingdoms of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren L Porter
- National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA.
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Allen K Kim
- National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Swechha Rimal
- National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Loren L Looger
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA
| | - Ananya Majumdar
- The Johns Hopkins University Biomolecular NMR Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Brett D Mensh
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA
| | - Mary R Starich
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Marie-Paule Strub
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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8
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Dishman AF, Volkman BF. Design and discovery of metamorphic proteins. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2022; 74:102380. [PMID: 35561475 PMCID: PMC9664977 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2022.102380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Metamorphic proteins are single amino acid sequences that reversibly interconvert between multiple, dramatically different native structures, often with distinct functions. Since the discovery of the first metamorphic proteins in the early 2000s, several additional metamorphic proteins have been identified, and it was suggested that up to 4% of proteins in the PDB may switch folds. Metamorphic proteins have been found to share common features such as marginal thermostability and inconsistencies in predicted secondary structures. Outstanding challenges in the field include the search for more metamorphic proteins and the design of new proteins that switch folds. Identification of novel metamorphic proteins in nature will improve therapeutic targeting of fold-switching proteins involved in human pathology and will enhance the design of protein-based therapies. Designed fold switching proteins have applications as biosensors, molecular switches, molecular machines, and self-assembling systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Acacia F Dishman
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA. https://twitter.com/@cacidish
| | - Brian F Volkman
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
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9
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Kretschmer S, Kortemme T. Advances in the Computational Design of Small-Molecule-Controlled Protein-Based Circuits for Synthetic Biology. PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE. INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS 2022; 110:659-674. [PMID: 36531560 PMCID: PMC9754107 DOI: 10.1109/jproc.2022.3157898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology approaches living systems with an engineering perspective and promises to deliver solutions to global challenges in healthcare and sustainability. A critical component is the design of biomolecular circuits with programmable input-output behaviors. Such circuits typically rely on a sensor module that recognizes molecular inputs, which is coupled to a functional output via protein-level circuits or regulating the expression of a target gene. While gene expression outputs can be customized relatively easily by exchanging the target genes, sensing new inputs is a major limitation. There is a limited repertoire of sensors found in nature, and there are often difficulties with interfacing them with engineered circuits. Computational protein design could be a key enabling technology to address these challenges, as it allows for the engineering of modular and tunable sensors that can be tailored to the circuit's application. In this article, we review recent computational approaches to design protein-based sensors for small-molecule inputs with particular focus on those based on the widely used Rosetta software suite. Furthermore, we review mechanisms that have been harnessed to couple ligand inputs to functional outputs. Based on recent literature, we illustrate how the combination of protein design and synthetic biology enables new sensors for diverse applications ranging from biomedicine to metabolic engineering. We conclude with a perspective on how strategies to address frontiers in protein design and cellular circuit design may enable the next generation of sense-response networks, which may increasingly be assembled from de novo components to display diverse and engineerable input-output behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Kretschmer
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158 USA, and affiliated with the California Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) at UCSF, San Francisco, CA 94158 USA
| | - Tanja Kortemme
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158 USA, and affiliated with the California Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) at UCSF, San Francisco, CA 94158 USA
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10
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Abstract
The natural function of many proteins depends on their ability to switch their conformation driven by environmental changes. In this work, we present a small, monomeric β-sheet peptide that switches between a molten globule and a folded state through Zn(II) binding. The solvent-exposed hydrophobic core on the β-sheet surface was substituted by a His3-site, whereas the internal hydrophobic core was left intact. Zn(II) is specifically recognized by the peptide relative to other divalent metal ions, binds in the lower micromolar range, and can be removed and re-added without denaturation of the peptide. In addition, the peptide is fully pH-switchable, has a pKa of about 6, and survives several cycles of acidification and neutralization. In-depth structural characterization of the switch was achieved by concerted application of circular dichroism (CD) and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Thus, this study represents a viable approach toward a globular β-sheet Zn(II) mini-receptor prototype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Truc Lam Pham
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Centre for Advanced Materials, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Kovermann
- Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Franziska Thomas
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Centre for Advanced Materials, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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11
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Xiao X, Sarma S, Menegatti S, Crook N, Magness ST, Hall CK. In Silico Identification and Experimental Validation of Peptide-Based Inhibitors Targeting Clostridium difficile Toxin A. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:118-128. [PMID: 34965093 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.1c00743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Clostridium difficile infection is mediated by two major exotoxins: toxins A (TcdA) and B (TcdB). Inhibiting the biocatalytic activities of these toxins with targeted peptide-based drugs can reduce the risk of C. difficile infection. In this work, we used a computational strategy that integrates a peptide binding design (PepBD) algorithm and explicit-solvent atomistic molecular dynamics simulation to determine promising toxin A-targeting peptides that can recognize and bind to the catalytic site of the TcdA glucosyltransferase domain (GTD). Our simulation results revealed that two out of three in silico discovered peptides, viz. the neutralizing peptides A (NPA) and B (NPB), exhibit lower binding free energies when bound to the TcdA GTD than the phage-display discovered peptide, viz. the reference peptide (RP). These peptides may serve as potential inhibitors against C. difficile infection. The efficacy of the peptides RP, NPA, and NPB to neutralize the cytopathic effects of TcdA was tested in vitro in human jejunum cells. Both phage-display peptide RP and in silico peptide NPA were found to exhibit strong toxin-neutralizing properties, thereby preventing the TcdA toxicity. However, the in silico peptide NPB demonstrates a relatively low efficacy against TcdA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingqing Xiao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Sudeep Sarma
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Stefano Menegatti
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
- Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Nathan Crook
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Scott T Magness
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, United States
| | - Carol K Hall
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
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12
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Kim AK, Looger LL, Porter LL. A high-throughput predictive method for sequence-similar fold switchers. Biopolymers 2021; 112:e23416. [PMID: 33462801 PMCID: PMC8404102 DOI: 10.1002/bip.23416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Although most experimentally characterized proteins with similar sequences assume the same folds and perform similar functions, an increasing number of exceptions is emerging. One class of exceptions comprises sequence-similar fold switchers, whose secondary structures shift from α-helix <-> β-sheet through a small number of mutations, a sequence insertion, or a deletion. Predictive methods for identifying sequence-similar fold switchers are desirable because some are associated with disease and/or can perform different functions in cells. Here, we use homology-based secondary structure predictions to identify sequence-similar fold switchers from their amino acid sequences alone. To do this, we predicted the secondary structures of sequence-similar fold switchers using three different homology-based secondary structure predictors: PSIPRED, JPred4, and SPIDER3. We found that α-helix <-> β-strand prediction discrepancies from JPred4 discriminated between the different conformations of sequence-similar fold switchers with high statistical significance (P < 1.8*10-19 ). Thus, we used these discrepancies as a classifier and found that they can often robustly discriminate between sequence-similar fold switchers and sequence-similar proteins that maintain the same folds (Matthews Correlation Coefficient of 0.82). We found that JPred4 is a more robust predictor of sequence-similar fold switchers because of (a) the curated sequence database it uses to produce multiple sequence alignments and (b) its use of sequence profiles based on Hidden Markov Models. Our results indicate that inconsistencies between JPred4 secondary structure predictions can be used to identify some sequence-similar fold switchers from their sequences alone. Thus, the negative information from inconsistent secondary structure predictions can potentially be leveraged to identify sequence-similar fold switchers from the broad base of genomic sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allen K. Kim
- National Library of MedicineNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Loren L. Looger
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteJanelia Research CampusAshburnVirginiaUSA
| | - Lauren L. Porter
- National Library of MedicineNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
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13
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Mishra S, Looger LL, Porter LL. A sequence-based method for predicting extant fold switchers that undergo α-helix ↔ β-strand transitions. Biopolymers 2021; 112:e23471. [PMID: 34498740 PMCID: PMC8545793 DOI: 10.1002/bip.23471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Extant fold-switching proteins remodel their secondary structures and change their functions in response to cellular stimuli, regulating biological processes and affecting human health. Despite their biological importance, these proteins remain understudied. Predictive methods are needed to expedite the process of discovering and characterizing more of these shapeshifting proteins. Most previous approaches require a solved structure or all-atom simulations, greatly constraining their use. Here, we propose a high-throughput sequence-based method for predicting extant fold switchers that transition from α-helix in one conformation to β-strand in the other. This method leverages two previous observations: (a) α-helix ↔ β-strand prediction discrepancies from JPred4 are a robust predictor of fold switching, and (b) the fold-switching regions (FSRs) of some extant fold switchers have different secondary structure propensities when expressed by themselves (isolated FSRs) than when expressed within the context of their parent protein (contextualized FSRs). Combining these two observations, we ran JPred4 on 99-fold-switching proteins and found strong correspondence between predicted and experimentally observed α-helix ↔ β-strand discrepancies. To test the overall robustness of this finding, we randomly selected regions of proteins not expected to switch folds (single-fold proteins) and found significantly fewer predicted α-helix ↔ β-strand discrepancies. Combining these discrepancies with the overall percentage of predicted secondary structure, we developed a classifier to identify extant fold switchers (Matthews correlation coefficient of .71). Although this classifier had a high false-negative rate (7/17), its false-positive rate was very low (2/136), suggesting that it can be used to predict a subset of extant fold switchers from a multitude of available genomic sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumya Mishra
- National Library of MedicineNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research CampusAshburnVirginiaUSA
| | - Loren L. Looger
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research CampusAshburnVirginiaUSA
| | - Lauren L. Porter
- National Library of MedicineNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
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14
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Lella M, Mahalakshmi R. De novo
design of metal‐binding cleft in a
Trp‐Trp
stapled thermostable β‐hairpin peptide. Pept Sci (Hoboken) 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/pep2.24240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Muralikrishna Lella
- Molecular Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal India
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahalakshmi
- Molecular Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal India
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15
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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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16
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Bouchiba Y, Cortés J, Schiex T, Barbe S. Molecular flexibility in computational protein design: an algorithmic perspective. Protein Eng Des Sel 2021; 34:6271252. [PMID: 33959778 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzab011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Computational protein design (CPD) is a powerful technique for engineering new proteins, with both great fundamental implications and diverse practical interests. However, the approximations usually made for computational efficiency, using a single fixed backbone and a discrete set of side chain rotamers, tend to produce rigid and hyper-stable folds that may lack functionality. These approximations contrast with the demonstrated importance of molecular flexibility and motions in a wide range of protein functions. The integration of backbone flexibility and multiple conformational states in CPD, in order to relieve the inaccuracies resulting from these simplifications and to improve design reliability, are attracting increased attention. However, the greatly increased search space that needs to be explored in these extensions defines extremely challenging computational problems. In this review, we outline the principles of CPD and discuss recent effort in algorithmic developments for incorporating molecular flexibility in the design process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Younes Bouchiba
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, TBI, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, ANITI, Toulouse 31400, France.,Laboratoire d'Analyse et d'Architecture des Systèmes, LAAS CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse 31400, France
| | - Juan Cortés
- Laboratoire d'Analyse et d'Architecture des Systèmes, LAAS CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse 31400, France
| | - Thomas Schiex
- Université de Toulouse, ANITI, INRAE, UR MIAT, F-31320, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - Sophie Barbe
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, TBI, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, ANITI, Toulouse 31400, France
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17
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Structural resolution of switchable states of a de novo peptide assembly. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1530. [PMID: 33750792 PMCID: PMC7943578 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21851-8] [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: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
De novo protein design is advancing rapidly. However, most designs are for single states. Here we report a de novo designed peptide that forms multiple α-helical-bundle states that are accessible and interconvertible under the same conditions. Usually in such designs amphipathic α helices associate to form compact structures with consolidated hydrophobic cores. However, recent rational and computational designs have delivered open α-helical barrels with functionalisable cavities. By placing glycine judiciously in the helical interfaces of an α-helical barrel, we obtain both open and compact states in a single protein crystal. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate a free-energy landscape with multiple and interconverting states. Together, these findings suggest a frustrated system in which steric interactions that maintain the open barrel and the hydrophobic effect that drives complete collapse are traded-off. Indeed, addition of a hydrophobic co-solvent that can bind within the barrel affects the switch between the states both in silico and experimentally. So far most of the de novo designed proteins are for single states only. Here, the authors present the de novo design and crystal structure determination of a coiled-coil peptide that assembles into multiple, distinct conformational states under the same conditions and further characterise its properties with biophysical experiments, NMR and MD simulations.
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18
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De novo design of a reversible phosphorylation-dependent switch for membrane targeting. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1472. [PMID: 33674566 PMCID: PMC7935970 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21622-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Modules that switch protein-protein interactions on and off are essential to develop synthetic biology; for example, to construct orthogonal signaling pathways, to control artificial protein structures dynamically, and for protein localization in cells or protocells. In nature, the E. coli MinCDE system couples nucleotide-dependent switching of MinD dimerization to membrane targeting to trigger spatiotemporal pattern formation. Here we present a de novo peptide-based molecular switch that toggles reversibly between monomer and dimer in response to phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. In combination with other modules, we construct fusion proteins that couple switching to lipid-membrane targeting by: (i) tethering a ‘cargo’ molecule reversibly to a permanent membrane ‘anchor’; and (ii) creating a ‘membrane-avidity switch’ that mimics the MinD system but operates by reversible phosphorylation. These minimal, de novo molecular switches have potential applications for introducing dynamic processes into designed and engineered proteins to augment functions in living cells and add functionality to protocells. The ability to dynamically control protein-protein interactions and localization of proteins is critical in synthetic biological systems. Here the authors develop a peptide-based molecular switch that regulates dimer formation and lipid membrane targeting via reversible phosphorylation.
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19
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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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20
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A De Novo Designed Esterase with p-Nitrophenyl Acetate Hydrolysis Activity. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25204658. [PMID: 33066055 PMCID: PMC7587395 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25204658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 10/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Esterases are a large family of enzymes with wide applications in the industry. However, all esterases originated from natural sources, limiting their use in harsh environments or newly- emerged reactions. In this study, we designed a new esterase to develop a new protocol to satisfy the needs for better biocatalysts. The ideal spatial conformation of the serine catalytic triad and the oxygen anion hole at the substrate-binding site was constructed by quantum mechanical calculation. The catalytic triad and oxygen anion holes were then embedded in the protein scaffold using the new enzyme protocol in Rosetta 3. The design results were subsequently evaluated, and optimized designs were used for expression and purification. The designed esterase had significant lytic activities towards p-nitrophenyl acetate, which was confirmed by point mutations. Thus, this study developed a new protocol to obtain novel enzymes that may be useful in unforgiving environments or novel reactions.
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21
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Nagarkar RP, Fichman G, Schneider JP. Engineering and characterization of apH‐sensitive homodimeric antiparallel coiled coil. Pept Sci (Hoboken) 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pep2.24180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Radhika P. Nagarkar
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA
| | - Galit Fichman
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health Frederick Maryland USA
| | - Joel P. Schneider
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health Frederick Maryland USA
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22
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Role of carboxylic group pattern on protein surface in the recognition of iron oxide nanoparticles: A key for protein corona formation. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 164:1715-1728. [PMID: 32758605 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.07.295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 07/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The knowledge of protein-nanoparticle interplay is of crucial importance to predict the fate of nanomaterials in biological environments. Indeed, protein corona on nanomaterials is responsible for the physiological response of the organism, influencing cell processes, from transport to accumulation and toxicity. Herein, a comparison using four different proteins reveals the existence of patterned regions of carboxylic groups acting as recognition sites for naked iron oxide nanoparticles. Readily interacting proteins display a distinctive surface distribution of carboxylic groups, recalling the geometric shape of an ellipse. This is morphologically complementary to nanoparticles curvature and compatible with the topography of exposed FeIII sites laying on the nanomaterial surface. The recognition site, absent in non-interacting proteins, promotes the nanoparticle harboring and allows the formation of functional protein coronas. The present work envisages the possibility of predicting the composition and the biological properties of protein corona on metal oxide nanoparticles.
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23
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Wei KY, Moschidi D, Bick MJ, Nerli S, McShan AC, Carter LP, Huang PS, Fletcher DA, Sgourakis NG, Boyken SE, Baker D. Computational design of closely related proteins that adopt two well-defined but structurally divergent folds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:7208-7215. [PMID: 32188784 PMCID: PMC7132107 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1914808117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The plasticity of naturally occurring protein structures, which can change shape considerably in response to changes in environmental conditions, is critical to biological function. While computational methods have been used for de novo design of proteins that fold to a single state with a deep free-energy minimum [P.-S. Huang, S. E. Boyken, D. Baker, Nature 537, 320-327 (2016)], and to reengineer natural proteins to alter their dynamics [J. A. Davey, A. M. Damry, N. K. Goto, R. A. Chica, Nat. Chem. Biol. 13, 1280-1285 (2017)] or fold [P. A. Alexander, Y. He, Y. Chen, J. Orban, P. N. Bryan, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 21149-21154 (2009)], the de novo design of closely related sequences which adopt well-defined but structurally divergent structures remains an outstanding challenge. We designed closely related sequences (over 94% identity) that can adopt two very different homotrimeric helical bundle conformations-one short (∼66 Å height) and the other long (∼100 Å height)-reminiscent of the conformational transition of viral fusion proteins. Crystallographic and NMR spectroscopic characterization shows that both the short- and long-state sequences fold as designed. We sought to design bistable sequences for which both states are accessible, and obtained a single designed protein sequence that populates either the short state or the long state depending on the measurement conditions. The design of sequences which are poised to adopt two very different conformations sets the stage for creating large-scale conformational switches between structurally divergent forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy Y Wei
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Danai Moschidi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
| | - Matthew J Bick
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Santrupti Nerli
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
- Department of Computer Science, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
| | - Andrew C McShan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
| | - Lauren P Carter
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Po-Ssu Huang
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Daniel A Fletcher
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Joint UC Berkeley-UC San Francisco Graduate Group in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158
| | - Nikolaos G Sgourakis
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
| | - Scott E Boyken
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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24
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Chakraborty D, Chebaro Y, Wales DJ. A multifunnel energy landscape encodes the competing α-helix and β-hairpin conformations for a designed peptide. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:1359-1370. [PMID: 31854397 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp04778f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Depending on the amino acid sequence, as well as the local environment, some peptides have the capability to fold into multiple secondary structures. Conformational switching between such structures is a key element of protein folding and aggregation. Specifically, understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the transition from an α-helix to a β-hairpin is critical because it is thought to be a harbinger of amyloid assembly. In this study, we explore the energy landscape for an 18-residue peptide (DP5), designed by Araki and Tamura to exhibit equal propensities for the α-helical and β-hairpin forms. We find that the degeneracy is encoded in the multifunnel nature of the underlying free energy landscape. In agreement with experiment, we also observe that mutation of tyrosine at position 12 to serine shifts the equilibrium in favor of the α-helix conformation, by altering the landscape topography. The transition from the α-helix to the β-hairpin is a complex stepwise process, and occurs via collapsed coil-like intermediates. Our findings suggest that even a single mutation can tune the emergent features of the landscape, providing an efficient route to protein design. Interestingly, the transition pathways for the conformational switch seem to be minimally perturbed upon mutation, suggesting that there could be universal microscopic features that are conserved among different switch-competent protein sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debayan Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, UK.
| | - Yassmine Chebaro
- Department of Integrative Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), CNRS UMR 7104, INSERM U964, Université de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch, France
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, UK.
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25
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Engineering protein assemblies with allosteric control via monomer fold-switching. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5703. [PMID: 31836707 PMCID: PMC6911049 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13686-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The macromolecular machines of life use allosteric control to self-assemble, dissociate and change shape in response to signals. Despite enormous interest, the design of nanoscale allosteric assemblies has proven tremendously challenging. Here we present a proof of concept of allosteric assembly in which an engineered fold switch on the protein monomer triggers or blocks assembly. Our design is based on the hyper-stable, naturally monomeric protein CI2, a paradigm of simple two-state folding, and the toroidal arrangement with 6-fold symmetry that it only adopts in crystalline form. We engineer CI2 to enable a switch between the native and an alternate, latent fold that self-assembles onto hexagonal toroidal particles by exposing a favorable inter-monomer interface. The assembly is controlled on demand via the competing effects of temperature and a designed short peptide. These findings unveil a remarkable potential for structural metamorphosis in proteins and demonstrate key principles for engineering protein-based nanomachinery. The design of protein assemblies is a major thrust for biomolecular engineering and nanobiotechnology. Here the authors demonstrate a general mechanism for designing allosteric macromolecular assemblies and showcase a proof of concept for engineered allosteric protein assembly.
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26
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Kuhlman B, Bradley P. Advances in protein structure prediction and design. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2019; 20:681-697. [PMID: 31417196 PMCID: PMC7032036 DOI: 10.1038/s41580-019-0163-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 387] [Impact Index Per Article: 77.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The prediction of protein three-dimensional structure from amino acid sequence has been a grand challenge problem in computational biophysics for decades, owing to its intrinsic scientific interest and also to the many potential applications for robust protein structure prediction algorithms, from genome interpretation to protein function prediction. More recently, the inverse problem - designing an amino acid sequence that will fold into a specified three-dimensional structure - has attracted growing attention as a potential route to the rational engineering of proteins with functions useful in biotechnology and medicine. Methods for the prediction and design of protein structures have advanced dramatically in the past decade. Increases in computing power and the rapid growth in protein sequence and structure databases have fuelled the development of new data-intensive and computationally demanding approaches for structure prediction. New algorithms for designing protein folds and protein-protein interfaces have been used to engineer novel high-order assemblies and to design from scratch fluorescent proteins with novel or enhanced properties, as well as signalling proteins with therapeutic potential. In this Review, we describe current approaches for protein structure prediction and design and highlight a selection of the successful applications they have enabled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Kuhlman
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Philip Bradley
- Computational Biology Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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27
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Towards functional de novo designed proteins. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2019; 52:102-111. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2019.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Revised: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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28
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Sannigrahi A, Nandi I, Chall S, Jawed JJ, Halder A, Majumdar S, Karmakar S, Chattopadhyay K. Conformational Switch Driven Membrane Pore Formation by Mycobacterium Secretory Protein MPT63 Induces Macrophage Cell Death. ACS Chem Biol 2019; 14:1601-1610. [PMID: 31241303 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains cause cell death of macrophages (Mϕ) inside TB granuloma using a mechanism which is not well understood. Many bacterial systems utilize toxins to induce host cell damage, which occurs along with immune evasion. These toxins often use chameleon sequences to generate an environment-sensitive conformational switch, facilitating the process of infection. The presence of toxins is not yet known for MTB. Here, we show that MTB-secreted immunogenic MPT63 protein undergoes a switch from β-sheet to helix in response to mutational and environmental stresses. MPT63 in its helical form creates pores in both synthetic and Mϕ membranes, while the native β-sheet protein remains inert toward membrane interactions. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, we show further that the helical form undergoes self-association to produce toxic oligomers of different morphology. Trypan blue and flow cytometry analyses reveal that the helical state can be utilized by MTB for killing Mϕ cells. Collectively, our study emphasizes for the first time a toxin-like behavior of MPT63 induced by an environment-dependent conformational switch, resulting in membrane pore formation by toxic oligomers and Mϕ cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achinta Sannigrahi
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Indrani Nandi
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Kolkata 700032, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Sayantani Chall
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Kolkata 700032, India
| | | | - Animesh Halder
- Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, 188, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Subrata Majumdar
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Bose Institute, Kolkata 700054, India
| | - Sanat Karmakar
- Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, 188, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Krishnananda Chattopadhyay
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Kolkata 700032, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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29
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Mishra S, Looger LL, Porter LL. Inaccurate secondary structure predictions often indicate protein fold switching. Protein Sci 2019; 28:1487-1493. [PMID: 31148305 PMCID: PMC6635839 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Although most proteins conform to the classical one‐structure/one‐function paradigm, an increasing number of proteins with dual structures and functions have been discovered. In response to cellular stimuli, such proteins undergo structural changes sufficiently dramatic to remodel even their secondary structures and domain organization. This “fold‐switching” capability fosters protein multi‐functionality, enabling cells to establish tight control over various biochemical processes. Accurate predictions of fold‐switching proteins could both suggest underlying mechanisms for uncharacterized biological processes and reveal potential drug targets. Recently, we developed a prediction method for fold‐switching proteins using structure‐based thermodynamic calculations and discrepancies between predicted and experimentally determined protein secondary structure (Porter and Looger, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:5968–5973). Here we seek to leverage the negative information found in these secondary structure prediction discrepancies. To do this, we quantified secondary structure prediction accuracies of 192 known fold‐switching regions (FSRs) within solved protein structures found in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). We find that the secondary structure prediction accuracies for these FSRs vary widely. Inaccurate secondary structure predictions are strongly associated with fold‐switching proteins compared to equally long segments of non‐fold‐switching proteins selected at random. These inaccurate predictions are enriched in helix‐to‐strand and strand‐to‐coil discrepancies. Finally, we find that most proteins with inaccurate secondary structure predictions are underrepresented in the PDB compared with their alternatively folded cognates, suggesting that unequal representation of fold‐switching conformers within the PDB could be an important cause of inaccurate secondary structure predictions. These results demonstrate that inconsistent secondary structure predictions can serve as a useful preliminary marker of fold switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumya Mishra
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, 20147
| | - Loren L Looger
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, 20147
| | - Lauren L Porter
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, 20147
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30
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Vucinic J, Simoncini D, Ruffini M, Barbe S, Schiex T. Positive multistate protein design. Bioinformatics 2019; 36:122-130. [DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btz497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Motivation
Structure-based computational protein design (CPD) plays a critical role in advancing the field of protein engineering. Using an all-atom energy function, CPD tries to identify amino acid sequences that fold into a target structure and ultimately perform a desired function. The usual approach considers a single rigid backbone as a target, which ignores backbone flexibility. Multistate design (MSD) allows instead to consider several backbone states simultaneously, defining challenging computational problems.
Results
We introduce efficient reductions of positive MSD problems to Cost Function Networks with two different fitness definitions and implement them in the Pompd (Positive Multistate Protein design) software. Pompd is able to identify guaranteed optimal sequences of positive multistate full protein redesign problems and exhaustively enumerate suboptimal sequences close to the MSD optimum. Applied to nuclear magnetic resonance and back-rubbed X-ray structures, we observe that the average energy fitness provides the best sequence recovery. Our method outperforms state-of-the-art guaranteed computational design approaches by orders of magnitudes and can solve MSD problems with sizes previously unreachable with guaranteed algorithms.
Availability and implementation
https://forgemia.inra.fr/thomas.schiex/pompd as documented Open Source.
Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Vucinic
- LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, 31400 Toulouse, France
- MIAT, Université de Toulouse, INRA, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, France
| | - David Simoncini
- LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, 31400 Toulouse, France
- IRIT UMR 5505-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, 31042 Cedex 9, France
| | - Manon Ruffini
- LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, 31400 Toulouse, France
- MIAT, Université de Toulouse, INRA, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, France
| | - Sophie Barbe
- LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Thomas Schiex
- MIAT, Université de Toulouse, INRA, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, France
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31
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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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32
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Kundert K, Kortemme T. Computational design of structured loops for new protein functions. Biol Chem 2019; 400:275-288. [PMID: 30676995 PMCID: PMC6530579 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2018-0348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The ability to engineer the precise geometries, fine-tuned energetics and subtle dynamics that are characteristic of functional proteins is a major unsolved challenge in the field of computational protein design. In natural proteins, functional sites exhibiting these properties often feature structured loops. However, unlike the elements of secondary structures that comprise idealized protein folds, structured loops have been difficult to design computationally. Addressing this shortcoming in a general way is a necessary first step towards the routine design of protein function. In this perspective, we will describe the progress that has been made on this problem and discuss how recent advances in the field of loop structure prediction can be harnessed and applied to the inverse problem of computational loop design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kale Kundert
- Graduate Group in Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Tanja Kortemme
- Graduate Group in Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, 499 Illinois St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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33
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Greener JG, Moffat L, Jones DT. Design of metalloproteins and novel protein folds using variational autoencoders. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16189. [PMID: 30385875 PMCID: PMC6212568 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34533-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The design of novel proteins has many applications but remains an attritional process with success in isolated cases. Meanwhile, deep learning technologies have exploded in popularity in recent years and are increasingly applicable to biology due to the rise in available data. We attempt to link protein design and deep learning by using variational autoencoders to generate protein sequences conditioned on desired properties. Potential copper and calcium binding sites are added to non-metal binding proteins without human intervention and compared to a hidden Markov model. In another use case, a grammar of protein structures is developed and used to produce sequences for a novel protein topology. One candidate structure is found to be stable by molecular dynamics simulation. The ability of our model to confine the vast search space of protein sequences and to scale easily has the potential to assist in a variety of protein design tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe G Greener
- Department of Computer Science, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London, NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Lewis Moffat
- Department of Computer Science, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London, NW1 1AT, UK
| | - David T Jones
- Department of Computer Science, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
- Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London, NW1 1AT, UK.
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34
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Aupič J, Lapenta F, Jerala R. SwitCCh: Metal-Site Design for Controlling the Assembly of a Coiled-Coil Homodimer. Chembiochem 2018; 19:2453-2457. [PMID: 30260542 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201800578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Conformational change of proteins in response to chemical or physical signals is the underlying principle of many regulatory and transport mechanisms in biological systems. The ability to design proteins the conformational state of which can be precisely and reversibly controlled would facilitate the development of molecular machines tailored for specific applications. Here we explore metal-binding site design to engineer a peptide-based conformational switch called SwitCCh that assembles into a homodimeric coiled-coil in response to the addition of ZnII ions or low pH. Addition of ZnII promoted formation of a parallel homodimer with an increase in thermal stability by more than 30 °C. The peptide could be reversibly cycled between the coiled-coil and random conformation. Furthermore, the SwitCCh peptide was orthogonal to the previously developed coiled-coil dimer set, indicating it could be used for regulated self-assembly of coiled-coil based nanostructures and materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Aupič
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Doctoral Study Programme in Chemical Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 113, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Fabio Lapenta
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme in Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, Kongresni trg 12, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Roman Jerala
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,EN-FIST Centre of Excellence, Trg OF 13, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Abstract
Motivation Multistate protein design addresses real-world challenges, such as multi-specificity design and backbone flexibility, by considering both positive and negative protein states with an ensemble of substates for each. It also presents an enormous challenge to exact algorithms that guarantee the optimal solutions and enable a direct test of mechanistic hypotheses behind models. However, efficient exact algorithms are lacking for multistate protein design. Results We have developed an efficient exact algorithm called interconnected cost function networks (iCFN) for multistate protein design. Its generic formulation allows for a wide array of applications such as stability, affinity and specificity designs while addressing concerns such as global flexibility of protein backbones. iCFN treats each substate design as a weighted constraint satisfaction problem (WCSP) modeled through a CFN; and it solves the coupled WCSPs using novel bounds and a depth-first branch-and-bound search over a tree structure of sequences, substates, and conformations. When iCFN is applied to specificity design of a T-cell receptor, a problem of unprecedented size to exact methods, it drastically reduces search space and running time to make the problem tractable. Moreover, iCFN generates experimentally-agreeing receptor designs with improved accuracy compared with state-of-the-art methods, highlights the importance of modeling backbone flexibility in protein design, and reveals molecular mechanisms underlying binding specificity. Availability and implementation https://shen-lab.github.io/software/iCFN. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mostafa Karimi
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and TEES-AgriLife Center for Bioinformatics and Genomic Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Yang Shen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and TEES-AgriLife Center for Bioinformatics and Genomic Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
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36
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Sannigrahi A, Chall S, Jawed JJ, Kundu A, Majumdar S, Chattopadhyay K. Nanoparticle Induced Conformational Switch Between α-Helix and β-Sheet Attenuates Immunogenic Response of MPT63. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:8807-8817. [PMID: 29986589 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Although significant efforts have been devoted to develop nanoparticle-based biopharmaceuticals, it is not understood how protein conformation and nanoparticle surface modulate each other in optimizing the activity and/or toxicity of the biological molecules. This is particularly important for a protein, which can adopt different conformational states separated by a relatively small energy barrier. In this paper, we have studied nanoparticle binding-induced conformational switch from β-sheet to α-helix of MPT63, a small major secreted protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a drug target against Tuberculosis. The binding of magnetite nanoparticles to MPT63 results in a β-sheet to α-helix switch near the sequence stretch between the 19th and 30th amino acids. As a consequence, the immunogenic response of the protein becomes compromised, which could be restored by protein engineering. This study emphasizes that conformational stability toward NP surface binding may require optimization involving genetic engineering for development of a nanoparticle conjugated pharmaceutical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achinta Sannigrahi
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division , CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology , 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road , Kolkata 700032 , India
| | - Sayantani Chall
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division , CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology , 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road , Kolkata 700032 , India
| | | | - Amrita Kundu
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division , CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology , 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road , Kolkata 700032 , India
| | - Subrata Majumdar
- Department of Molecular Medicine , Bose Institute , Kolkata 700054 , India
| | - Krishnananda Chattopadhyay
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division , CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology , 4, Raja S. C. Mallick Road , Kolkata 700032 , India
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37
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Abstract
It is commonly thought that each globular protein has a single 3D structure, or fold, that fosters its function. In contrast, recent studies have identified several fold-switching proteins whose secondary structures can be remodeled in response to cellular stimuli. Although thought to be rare, we found 96 literature-validated fold-switching proteins by exhaustively searching the database of protein structures [Protein Data Bank (PDB)]. Characterizing these proteins led us to hypothesize that their abundance may be underrepresented in the PDB. Thus, we developed a computational method that identifies fold-switching proteins and used it to estimate that 0.5–4% of PDB proteins switch folds. These results suggest that proteins switch folds with significant frequency, which has implications for cell biology, genomics, and human health. A central tenet of biology is that globular proteins have a unique 3D structure under physiological conditions. Recent work has challenged this notion by demonstrating that some proteins switch folds, a process that involves remodeling of secondary structure in response to a few mutations (evolved fold switchers) or cellular stimuli (extant fold switchers). To date, extant fold switchers have been viewed as rare byproducts of evolution, but their frequency has been neither quantified nor estimated. By systematically and exhaustively searching the Protein Data Bank (PDB), we found ∼100 extant fold-switching proteins. Furthermore, we gathered multiple lines of evidence suggesting that these proteins are widespread in nature. Based on these lines of evidence, we hypothesized that the frequency of extant fold-switching proteins may be underrepresented by the structures in the PDB. Thus, we sought to identify other putative extant fold switchers with only one solved conformation. To do this, we identified two characteristic features of our ∼100 extant fold-switching proteins, incorrect secondary structure predictions and likely independent folding cooperativity, and searched the PDB for other proteins with similar features. Reassuringly, this method identified dozens of other proteins in the literature with indication of a structural change but only one solved conformation in the PDB. Thus, we used it to estimate that 0.5–4% of PDB proteins switch folds. These results demonstrate that extant fold-switching proteins are likely more common than the PDB reflects, which has implications for cell biology, genomics, and human health.
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38
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Alberstein R, Suzuki Y, Paesani F, Tezcan FA. Engineering the entropy-driven free-energy landscape of a dynamic nanoporous protein assembly. Nat Chem 2018; 10:732-739. [PMID: 29713036 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-018-0053-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
De novo design and construction of stimuli-responsive protein assemblies that predictably switch between discrete conformational states remains an essential but highly challenging goal in biomolecular design. We previously reported synthetic, two-dimensional protein lattices self-assembled via disulfide bonding interactions, which endows them with a unique capacity to undergo coherent conformational changes without losing crystalline order. Here, we carried out all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to map the free-energy landscape of these lattices, validated this landscape through extensive structural characterization by electron microscopy and established that it is predominantly governed by solvent reorganization entropy. Subsequent redesign of the protein surface with conditionally repulsive electrostatic interactions enabled us to predictably perturb the free-energy landscape and obtain a new protein lattice whose conformational dynamics can be chemically and mechanically toggled between three different states with varying porosities and molecular densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Alberstein
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Yuta Suzuki
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Francesco Paesani
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. .,Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - F Akif Tezcan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. .,Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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39
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Lapenta F, Aupič J, Strmšek Ž, Jerala R. Coiled coil protein origami: from modular design principles towards biotechnological applications. Chem Soc Rev 2018; 47:3530-3542. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cs00822h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
This review illustrates the current state in designing coiled-coil-based proteins with an emphasis on coiled coil protein origami structures and their potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Lapenta
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology
- National Institute of Chemistry
- Ljubljana
- Slovenia
| | - Jana Aupič
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology
- National Institute of Chemistry
- Ljubljana
- Slovenia
| | - Žiga Strmšek
- 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
- EN-FIST Centre of Excellence
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40
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Rational design of proteins that exchange on functional timescales. Nat Chem Biol 2017; 13:1280-1285. [DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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41
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Gaillard T, Simonson T. Full Protein Sequence Redesign with an MMGBSA Energy Function. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:4932-4943. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Gaillard
- Laboratoire de Biochimie
(CNRS UMR7654), Department of Biology, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - Thomas Simonson
- Laboratoire de Biochimie
(CNRS UMR7654), Department of Biology, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France
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42
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Nanda V, Belure SV, Shir OM. Searching for the Pareto frontier in multi-objective protein design. Biophys Rev 2017; 9:339-344. [PMID: 28799089 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-017-0288-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The goal of protein engineering and design is to identify sequences that adopt three-dimensional structures of desired function. Often, this is treated as a single-objective optimization problem, identifying the sequence-structure solution with the lowest computed free energy of folding. However, many design problems are multi-state, multi-specificity, or otherwise require concurrent optimization of multiple objectives. There may be tradeoffs among objectives, where improving one feature requires compromising another. The challenge lies in determining solutions that are part of the Pareto optimal set-designs where no further improvement can be achieved in any of the objectives without degrading one of the others. Pareto optimality problems are found in all areas of study, from economics to engineering to biology, and computational methods have been developed specifically to identify the Pareto frontier. We review progress in multi-objective protein design, the development of Pareto optimization methods, and present a specific case study using multi-objective optimization methods to model the tradeoff between three parameters, stability, specificity, and complexity, of a set of interacting synthetic collagen peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Nanda
- Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
| | - Sandeep V Belure
- Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Ofer M Shir
- Department of Computer Science, Tel-Hai College, Kiryat Shmona, Upper Galilee, Israel
- The Galilee Research Institute-Migal, Kiryat Shmona, Upper Galilee, Israel
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43
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Anderson JM, Andersen NH. A pH Switch for β-Sheet Protein Folding. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017; 56:7074-7077. [PMID: 28523654 PMCID: PMC5607017 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201700860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2017] [Revised: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Protein design advancements have led to biotechnological strategies based on more stable and more specific structures. Herein we present a 6-residue sequence (HPATGK) that acts as a stable structure-nucleating turn at physiological and higher pH but is notably unfavorable for chain direction reversal at low pH. When placed into the turn of a β-sheet, this leads to a pH switch of folding. Using a standard 3-stranded β-sheet model, the WW domain, it was found that the pH switch sequence insertion caused minimal change at pH 8 but a ca. 50 °C drop in the melting temperature (Tm ) was observed at pH 2.5: ΔΔGF ≥11.3 kJ mol-1 . Using the strategies demonstrated in this article, the redesign of β-sheets to contain a global, or local, pH-dependent conformational switch should be possible.
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44
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Löffler P, Schmitz S, Hupfeld E, Sterner R, Merkl R. Rosetta:MSF: a modular framework for multi-state computational protein design. PLoS Comput Biol 2017; 13:e1005600. [PMID: 28604768 PMCID: PMC5484525 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 05/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Computational protein design (CPD) is a powerful technique to engineer existing proteins or to design novel ones that display desired properties. Rosetta is a software suite including algorithms for computational modeling and analysis of protein structures and offers many elaborate protocols created to solve highly specific tasks of protein engineering. Most of Rosetta’s protocols optimize sequences based on a single conformation (i. e. design state). However, challenging CPD objectives like multi-specificity design or the concurrent consideration of positive and negative design goals demand the simultaneous assessment of multiple states. This is why we have developed the multi-state framework MSF that facilitates the implementation of Rosetta’s single-state protocols in a multi-state environment and made available two frequently used protocols. Utilizing MSF, we demonstrated for one of these protocols that multi-state design yields a 15% higher performance than single-state design on a ligand-binding benchmark consisting of structural conformations. With this protocol, we designed de novo nine retro-aldolases on a conformational ensemble deduced from a (βα)8-barrel protein. All variants displayed measurable catalytic activity, testifying to a high success rate for this concept of multi-state enzyme design. Protein engineering, i. e. the targeted modification or design of proteins has tremendous potential for medical and industrial applications. One generally applicable strategy for protein engineering is rational protein design: based on detailed knowledge of structure and function, computer programs like Rosetta propose the sequence of a protein possessing the desired properties. So far, most computer protocols have used rigid structures for design, which is a simplification because a protein’s structure is more accurately specified by a conformational ensemble. We have now implemented a framework for computational protein design that allows certain design protocols of Rosetta to make use of multiple design states like structural ensembles. An in silico assessment simulating ligand-binding design showed that this new approach generates more reliably native-like sequences than a single-state approach. As a proof-of-concept, we introduced de novo retro-aldolase activity into a scaffold protein and characterized nine variants experimentally, all of which were catalytically active.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Löffler
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Samuel Schmitz
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Enrico Hupfeld
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Reinhard Sterner
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Rainer Merkl
- Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- * E-mail:
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45
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A pH Switch for β-Sheet Protein Folding. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201700860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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46
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Lella M, Mahalakshmi R. Metamorphic Proteins: Emergence of Dual Protein Folds from One Primary Sequence. Biochemistry 2017; 56:2971-2984. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.7b00375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Muralikrishna Lella
- Molecular Biophysics Laboratory,
Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal 462066, India
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahalakshmi
- Molecular Biophysics Laboratory,
Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal 462066, India
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47
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Computationally optimized deimmunization libraries yield highly mutated enzymes with low immunogenicity and enhanced activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E5085-E5093. [PMID: 28607051 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1621233114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic proteins of wide-ranging function hold great promise for treating disease, but immune surveillance of these macromolecules can drive an antidrug immune response that compromises efficacy and even undermines safety. To eliminate widespread T-cell epitopes in any biotherapeutic and thereby mitigate this key source of detrimental immune recognition, we developed a Pareto optimal deimmunization library design algorithm that optimizes protein libraries to account for the simultaneous effects of combinations of mutations on both molecular function and epitope content. Active variants identified by high-throughput screening are thus inherently likely to be deimmunized. Functional screening of an optimized 10-site library (1,536 variants) of P99 β-lactamase (P99βL), a component of ADEPT cancer therapies, revealed that the population possessed high overall fitness, and comprehensive analysis of peptide-MHC II immunoreactivity showed the population possessed lower average immunogenic potential than the wild-type enzyme. Although similar functional screening of an optimized 30-site library (2.15 × 109 variants) revealed reduced population-wide fitness, numerous individual variants were found to have activity and stability better than the wild type despite bearing 13 or more deimmunizing mutations per enzyme. The immunogenic potential of one highly active and stable 14-mutation variant was assessed further using ex vivo cellular immunoassays, and the variant was found to silence T-cell activation in seven of the eight blood donors who responded strongly to wild-type P99βL. In summary, our multiobjective library-design process readily identified large and mutually compatible sets of epitope-deleting mutations and produced highly active but aggressively deimmunized constructs in only one round of library screening.
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Toward high-resolution computational design of the structure and function of helical membrane proteins. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2017; 23:475-80. [PMID: 27273630 DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.3231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2016] [Accepted: 04/20/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The computational design of α-helical membrane proteins is still in its infancy but has already made great progress. De novo design allows stable, specific and active minimal oligomeric systems to be obtained. Computational reengineering can improve the stability and function of naturally occurring membrane proteins. Currently, the major hurdle for the field is the experimental characterization of the designs. The emergence of new structural methods for membrane proteins will accelerate progress.
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Xiao X, Hung ME, Leonard JN, Hall CK. Adding energy minimization strategy to peptide-design algorithm enables better search for RNA-binding peptides: Redesigned λ N peptide binds boxB RNA. J Comput Chem 2016; 37:2423-35. [PMID: 27487990 PMCID: PMC5314887 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.24466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Revised: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 07/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Our previously developed peptide-design algorithm was improved by adding an energy minimization strategy which allows the amino acid sidechains to move in a broad configuration space during sequence evolution. In this work, the new algorithm was used to generate a library of 21-mer peptides which could substitute for λ N peptide in binding to boxB RNA. Six potential peptides were obtained from the algorithm, all of which exhibited good binding capability with boxB RNA. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were then conducted to examine the ability of the λ N peptide and three best evolved peptides, viz. Pept01, Pept26, and Pept28, to bind to boxB RNA. Simulation results demonstrated that our evolved peptides are better at binding to boxB RNA than the λ N peptide. Sequence searches using the old (without energy minimization strategy) and new (with energy minimization strategy) algorithms confirm that the new algorithm is more effective at finding good RNA-binding peptides than the old algorithm. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingqing Xiao
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695-7905
| | - Michelle E Hung
- Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, and Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60208
| | - Joshua N Leonard
- Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, and Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60208
| | - Carol K Hall
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695-7905.
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Lizatović R, Aurelius O, Stenström O, Drakenberg T, Akke M, Logan D, André I. A De Novo Designed Coiled-Coil Peptide with a Reversible pH-Induced Oligomerization Switch. Structure 2016; 24:946-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2016.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Revised: 03/18/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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