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Kang C, Shrestha KL, Kwon S, Park S, Kim J, Kwon Y. Intein-Mediated Protein Engineering for Cell-Based Biosensors. BIOSENSORS 2022; 12:bios12050283. [PMID: 35624584 PMCID: PMC9138240 DOI: 10.3390/bios12050283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Cell-based sensors provide a flexible platform for screening biologically active targets and for monitoring their interactions in live cells. Their applicability extends across a vast array of biological research and clinical applications. Particularly, cell-based sensors are becoming a potent tool in drug discovery and cell-signaling studies by allowing function-based screening of targets in biologically relevant environments and enabling the in vivo visualization of cellular signals in real-time with an outstanding spatiotemporal resolution. In this review, we aim to provide a clear view of current cell-based sensor technologies, their limitations, and how the recent improvements were using intein-mediated protein engineering. We first discuss the characteristics of cell-based sensors and present several representative examples with a focus on their design strategies, which differentiate cell-based sensors from in vitro analytical biosensors. We then describe the application of intein-mediated protein engineering technology for cell-based sensor fabrication. Finally, we explain the characteristics of intein-mediated reactions and present examples of how the intein-mediated reactions are used to improve existing methods and develop new approaches in sensor cell fabrication to address the limitations of current technologies.
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2
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SufB intein splicing in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is influenced by two remote conserved N-extein histidines. Biosci Rep 2022; 42:230724. [PMID: 35234249 PMCID: PMC8891592 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20212207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Inteins are auto-processing domains that implement a multistep biochemical reaction termed protein splicing, marked by cleavage and formation of peptide bonds. They excise from a precursor protein, generating a functional protein via covalent bonding of flanking exteins. We report the kinetic study of splicing and cleavage reaction in [Fe–S] cluster assembly protein SufB from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtu). Although it follows a canonical intein splicing pathway, distinct features are added by extein residues present in the active site. Sequence analysis identified two conserved histidines in the N-extein region; His-5 and His-38. Kinetic analyses of His-5Ala and His-38Ala SufB mutants exhibited significant reductions in splicing and cleavage rates relative to the SufB wildtype (WT) precursor protein. Structural analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations suggested that Mtu SufB displays a unique mechanism where two remote histidines work concurrently to facilitate N-terminal cleavage reaction. His-38 is stabilized by the solvent-exposed His-5, and can impact N–S acyl shift by direct interaction with the catalytic Cys1. Development of inteins as biotechnological tools or as pathogen-specific novel antimicrobial targets requires a more complete understanding of such unexpected roles of conserved extein residues in protein splicing.
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3
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Tharappel AM, Li Z, Li H. Inteins as Drug Targets and Therapeutic Tools. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:821146. [PMID: 35211511 PMCID: PMC8861304 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.821146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Multidrug-resistant pathogens are of significant concern in recent years. Hence new antifungal and anti-bacterial drug targets are urgently needed before the situation goes beyond control. Inteins are polypeptides that self-splice from exteins without the need for cofactors or external energy, resulting in joining of extein fragments. Inteins are present in many organisms, including human pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Cryptococcus neoformans, C. gattii, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Because intein elements are not present in human genes, they are attractive drug targets to develop antifungals and antibiotics. Thus far, a few inhibitors of intein splicing have been reported. Metal-ions such as Zn2+ and Cu2+, and platinum-containing compound cisplatin inhibit intein splicing in M. tuberculosis and C. neoformans by binding to the active site cysteines. A small-molecule inhibitor 6G-318S and its derivative 6G-319S are found to inhibit intein splicing in C. neoformans and C. gattii with a MIC in nanomolar concentrations. Inteins have also been used in many other applications. Intein can be used in activating a protein inside a cell using small molecules. Moreover, split intein can be used to deliver large genes in experimental gene therapy and to kill selected species in a mixed population of microbes by taking advantage of the toxin-antitoxin system. Furthermore, split inteins are used in synthesizing cyclic peptides and in developing cell culture model to study infectious viruses including SARS-CoV-2 in the biosafety level (BSL) 2 facility. This mini-review discusses the recent research developments of inteins in drug discovery and therapeutic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anil Mathew Tharappel
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Zhong Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Hongmin Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- BIO5 Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- *Correspondence: Hongmin Li,
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4
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Alexander LT, Lepore R, Kryshtafovych A, Adamopoulos A, Alahuhta M, Arvin AM, Bomble YJ, Böttcher B, Breyton C, Chiarini V, Chinnam NB, Chiu W, Fidelis K, Grinter R, Gupta GD, Hartmann MD, Hayes CS, Heidebrecht T, Ilari A, Joachimiak A, Kim Y, Linares R, Lovering AL, Lunin VV, Lupas AN, Makbul C, Michalska K, Moult J, Mukherjee PK, Nutt W(S, Oliver SL, Perrakis A, Stols L, Tainer JA, Topf M, Tsutakawa SE, Valdivia‐Delgado M, Schwede T. Target highlights in CASP14: Analysis of models by structure providers. Proteins 2021; 89:1647-1672. [PMID: 34561912 PMCID: PMC8616854 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The biological and functional significance of selected Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction 14 (CASP14) targets are described by the authors of the structures. The authors highlight the most relevant features of the target proteins and discuss how well these features were reproduced in the respective submitted predictions. The overall ability to predict three-dimensional structures of proteins has improved remarkably in CASP14, and many difficult targets were modeled with impressive accuracy. For the first time in the history of CASP, the experimentalists not only highlighted that computational models can accurately reproduce the most critical structural features observed in their targets, but also envisaged that models could serve as a guidance for further studies of biologically-relevant properties of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila T. Alexander
- Biozentrum, University of BaselBaselSwitzerland
- Computational Structural BiologySIB Swiss Institute of BioinformaticsBaselSwitzerland
| | | | | | - Athanassios Adamopoulos
- Oncode Institute and Division of BiochemistryNetherlands Cancer InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Markus Alahuhta
- Bioscience Center, National Renewable Energy LaboratoryGoldenColoradoUSA
| | - Ann M. Arvin
- Department of PediatricsStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Microbiology and ImmunologyStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Yannick J. Bomble
- Bioscience Center, National Renewable Energy LaboratoryGoldenColoradoUSA
| | - Bettina Böttcher
- Biocenter and Rudolf Virchow Center, Julius‐Maximilians Universität WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Cécile Breyton
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Institute for Structural BiologyGrenobleFrance
| | - Valerio Chiarini
- Program in Structural Biology and BiophysicsInstitute of Biotechnology, University of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Naga babu Chinnam
- Department of Molecular and Cellular OncologyThe University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Wah Chiu
- Microbiology and ImmunologyStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- BioengineeringStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Division of Cryo‐EM and Bioimaging SSRLSLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryMenlo ParkCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Rhys Grinter
- Infection and Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of MicrobiologyMonash UniversityClaytonAustralia
| | - Gagan D. Gupta
- Radiation Biology & Health Sciences DivisionBhabha Atomic Research CentreMumbaiIndia
| | - Marcus D. Hartmann
- Department of Protein EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Developmental BiologyTübingenGermany
| | - Christopher S. Hayes
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental BiologyUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering ProgramUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
| | - Tatjana Heidebrecht
- Oncode Institute and Division of BiochemistryNetherlands Cancer InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Andrea Ilari
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR)RomeItaly
| | - Andrzej Joachimiak
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
- X‐ray Science DivisionArgonne National Laboratory, Structural Biology CenterArgonneIllinoisUSA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Youngchang Kim
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
- X‐ray Science DivisionArgonne National Laboratory, Structural Biology CenterArgonneIllinoisUSA
| | - Romain Linares
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Institute for Structural BiologyGrenobleFrance
| | | | - Vladimir V. Lunin
- Bioscience Center, National Renewable Energy LaboratoryGoldenColoradoUSA
| | - Andrei N. Lupas
- Department of Protein EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Developmental BiologyTübingenGermany
| | - Cihan Makbul
- Biocenter and Rudolf Virchow Center, Julius‐Maximilians Universität WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Karolina Michalska
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
- X‐ray Science DivisionArgonne National Laboratory, Structural Biology CenterArgonneIllinoisUSA
| | - John Moult
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular GeneticsInstitute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of MarylandRockvilleMarylandUSA
| | - Prasun K. Mukherjee
- Nuclear Agriculture & Biotechnology DivisionBhabha Atomic Research CentreMumbaiIndia
| | - William (Sam) Nutt
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
- X‐ray Science DivisionArgonne National Laboratory, Structural Biology CenterArgonneIllinoisUSA
| | - Stefan L. Oliver
- Department of PediatricsStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Anastassis Perrakis
- Oncode Institute and Division of BiochemistryNetherlands Cancer InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Lucy Stols
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
- X‐ray Science DivisionArgonne National Laboratory, Structural Biology CenterArgonneIllinoisUSA
| | - John A. Tainer
- Department of Molecular and Cellular OncologyThe University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTexasUSA
- Department of Cancer BiologyUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Maya Topf
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck, University College LondonLondonUK
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Leibniz‐Institut für Experimentelle VirologieHamburgGermany
| | - Susan E. Tsutakawa
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated BioimagingLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Torsten Schwede
- Biozentrum, University of BaselBaselSwitzerland
- Computational Structural BiologySIB Swiss Institute of BioinformaticsBaselSwitzerland
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5
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Williams JE, Jaramillo MV, Li Z, Zhao J, Wang C, Li H, Mills KV. An alternative domain-swapped structure of the Pyrococcus horikoshii PolII mini-intein. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11680. [PMID: 34083592 PMCID: PMC8175363 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91090-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein splicing is a post-translational process by which an intein catalyzes its own excision from flanking polypeptides, or exteins, concomitant with extein ligation. Many inteins have nested homing endonuclease domains that facilitate their propagation into intein-less alleles, whereas other inteins lack the homing endonuclease (HEN) and are called mini-inteins. The mini-intein that interrupts the DNA PolII of Pyrococcus horikoshii has a linker region in place of the HEN domain that is shorter than the linker in a closely related intein from Pyrococcus abyssi. The P. horikoshii PolII intein requires a higher temperature for catalytic activity and is more stable to digestion by the thermostable protease thermolysin, suggesting that it is more rigid than the P. abyssi intein. We solved a crystal structure of the intein precursor that revealed a domain-swapped dimer. Inteins found as domain swapped dimers have been shown to promote intein-mediated protein alternative splicing, but the solved P. horikoshii PolII intein structure has an active site unlikely to be catalytically competent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennie E Williams
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Mario V Jaramillo
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Zhong Li
- Division of Genetics, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Jing Zhao
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
- China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Chunyu Wang
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Hongmin Li
- Division of Genetics, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Kenneth V Mills
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA, USA.
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6
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Panda S, Nanda A, Nasker SS, Sen D, Mehra A, Nayak S. Metal effect on intein splicing: A review. Biochimie 2021; 185:53-67. [PMID: 33727137 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2021.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Inteins are intervening polypeptides that interrupt the functional domains of several important proteins across the three domains of life. Inteins excise themselves from the precursor protein, ligating concomitant extein residues in a process called protein splicing. Post-translational auto-removal of inteins remain critical for the generation of active proteins. The perspective of inteins in science is a robust field of research, however fundamental studies centralized upon splicing regulatory mechanism are imperative for addressing more intricate issues. Controlled engineering of intein splicing has many applications; intein inhibition can facilitate novel drug design, while activation of intein splicing is exploited in protein purification. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the past and recent advances in the splicing regulation via metal-intein interaction. We compare the behavior of different metal ions on diverse intein systems. Though metals such as Zn, Cu, Pt, Cd, Co, Ni exhibit intein inhibitory effect heterogeneously on different inteins, divalent metal ions such as Ca and Mg fail to do so. The observed diversity in the metal-intein interaction arises mostly due to intein polymorphism and variations in atomic structure of metals. A mechanistic understanding of intein regulation by metals in native as well as synthetically engineered intein systems may yield potent intein inhibitors via direct or indirect approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunita Panda
- School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India
| | - Ananya Nanda
- School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India
| | - Sourya Subhra Nasker
- School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India
| | - Debjani Sen
- School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India
| | - Ashwaria Mehra
- School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India
| | - Sasmita Nayak
- School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India.
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7
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Mafi A, Purohit R, Vielmas E, Lauinger AR, Lam B, Cheng YS, Zhang T, Huang Y, Kim SK, Goddard WA, Ondrus AE. Hedgehog proteins create a dynamic cholesterol interface. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246814. [PMID: 33630857 PMCID: PMC7906309 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
During formation of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling proteins, cooperative activities of the Hedgehog INTein (Hint) fold and Sterol Recognition Region (SRR) couple autoproteolysis to cholesterol ligation. The cholesteroylated Hh morphogens play essential roles in embryogenesis, tissue regeneration, and tumorigenesis. Despite the centrality of cholesterol in Hh function, the full structure of the Hint-SRR ("Hog") domain that attaches cholesterol to the last residue of the active Hh morphogen remains enigmatic. In this work, we combine molecular dynamics simulations, photoaffinity crosslinking, and mutagenesis assays to model cholesterolysis intermediates in the human Sonic Hedgehog (hSHH) protein. Our results provide evidence for a hydrophobic Hint-SRR interface that forms a dynamic, non-covalent cholesterol-Hog complex. Using these models, we suggest a unified mechanism by which Hh proteins can recruit, sequester, and orient cholesterol, and offer a molecular basis for the effects of disease-causing hSHH mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amirhossein Mafi
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Rahul Purohit
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Erika Vielmas
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Alexa R. Lauinger
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Brandon Lam
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Yu-Shiuan Cheng
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Tianyi Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Yiran Huang
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Soo-Kyung Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - William A. Goddard
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AEO); (WAG)
| | - Alison E. Ondrus
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AEO); (WAG)
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Boral S, Maiti S, Basak AJ, Lee W, De S. Structural, Dynamic, and Functional Characterization of a DnaX Mini-intein Derived from Spirulina platensis Provides Important Insights into Intein-Mediated Catalysis of Protein Splicing. Biochemistry 2020; 59:4711-4724. [PMID: 33289560 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Protein splicing is a self-catalyzed post-translational modification in which the intein enzyme excises itself from a precursor protein and ligates the flanking sequences to produce a mature protein. We report the solution structure of a 136-residue DnaX mini-intein enzyme derived from the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis. This sequence adopts a well-defined globular structure and forms a horseshoe-shaped fold commonly found in the HINT (hedgehog intein) topology. Backbone dynamics and hydrogen exchange experiments revealed conserved motions on various time scales, which is proposed to be a characteristic of the intein fold. Interestingly, several dynamic motions were found in symmetrically equivalent positions within the protein structure, which might be a consequence of the symmetrical intein fold. In cell splicing activity showed that Spl DnaX mini-intein is a highly active enzyme. The precursor protein was not detected at any timepoint of the assay. Apart from the splicing reaction, catalytic cleavage at the N- and C-termini of the precursor protein was also observed. To determine the roles of the catalytic residues in splicing and cleavage reactions, all combinations of alanine mutations of these residues were generated and functionally characterized. This in-depth analysis revealed cooperativity between these catalytic residues, which suppresses the N- and C-terminal cleavage reactions and enhances the yield of the spliced product. Overall, this study provides a thorough structural, dynamic, and functional characterization of a new intein sequence and adds to the collection of these unique enzymes that have found tremendous applications in biochemistry and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumendu Boral
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Snigdha Maiti
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Aditya J Basak
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Woonghee Lee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80217, United States
| | - Soumya De
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
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9
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Inteins in Science: Evolution to Application. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8122004. [PMID: 33339089 PMCID: PMC7765530 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8122004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Inteins are mobile genetic elements that apply standard enzymatic strategies to excise themselves post-translationally from the precursor protein via protein splicing. Since their discovery in the 1990s, recent advances in intein technology allow for them to be implemented as a modern biotechnological contrivance. Radical improvement in the structure and catalytic framework of cis- and trans-splicing inteins devised the development of engineered inteins that contribute to various efficient downstream techniques. Previous literature indicates that implementation of intein-mediated splicing has been extended to in vivo systems. Besides, the homing endonuclease domain also acts as a versatile biotechnological tool involving genetic manipulation and control of monogenic diseases. This review orients the understanding of inteins by sequentially studying the distribution and evolution pattern of intein, thereby highlighting a role in genetic mobility. Further, we include an in-depth summary of specific applications branching from protein purification using self-cleaving tags to protein modification, post-translational processing and labelling, followed by the development of intein-based biosensors. These engineered inteins offer a disruptive approach towards research avenues like biomaterial construction, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. Therefore, this linear perspective allows for a more comprehensive understanding of intein function and its diverse applications.
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10
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Structural basis for RING-Cys-Relay E3 ligase activity and its role in axon integrity. Nat Chem Biol 2020; 16:1227-1236. [PMID: 32747811 PMCID: PMC7610530 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-020-0598-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
MYCBP2 is a ubiquitin (Ub) E3 ligase (E3) that is essential for neurodevelopment and regulates axon maintenance. MYCBP2 transfers Ub to non-lysine substrates via a newly discovered RING-Cys-Relay (RCR) mechanism where Ub is relayed from an upstream cysteine to a downstream substrate esterification site. The molecular bases for E2-E3 Ub transfer and Ub relay are unknown. Whether these activities are linked to the neural phenotypes is also unclear. We describe the crystal structure of a covalently trapped E2-Ub:MYCBP2 transfer intermediate revealing key structural rearrangements upon E2-E3 Ub transfer and Ub relay. Our data suggest that transfer to the dynamic upstream cysteine, whilst mitigating lysine activity, requires a closed-like E2-Ub conjugate with tempered reactivity, and Ub relay is facilitated by a helix-coil transition. Furthermore, neurodevelopmental defects and delayed injury-induced degeneration in RCR-defective knock-in mice suggest its requirement, and that of substrate esterification activity, for normal neural development and programmed axon degeneration.
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11
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Chiarolanzio KC, Pusztay JM, Chavez A, Zhao J, Xie J, Wang C, Mills KV. Allosteric Influence of Extremophile Hairpin Motif Mutations on the Protein Splicing Activity of a Hyperthermophilic Intein. Biochemistry 2020; 59:2459-2467. [PMID: 32559373 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Protein splicing is a post-translational process mediated by an intein, whereby the intein excises itself from a precursor protein with concomitant ligation of the two flanking polypeptides. The intein that interrupts the DNA polymerase II in the extreme hyperthermophile Pyrococcus abyssi has a β-hairpin that extends the central β-sheet of the intein. This β-hairpin is mostly found in inteins from archaea, as well as halophilic eubacteria, and is thus called the extremophile hairpin (EXH) motif. The EXH is stabilized by multiple favorable interactions, including electrostatic interactions involving Glu29, Glu31, and Arg40. Mutations of these residues diminish the extent of N-terminal cleavage and the extent of protein splicing, likely by interfering with the coordination of the steps of splicing. These same mutations decrease the global stability of the intein fold as measured by susceptibility to thermolysin cleavage. 15N-1H heteronuclear single-quantum coherence demonstrated that these mutations altered the chemical environment of active site residues such as His93 (B-block histidine) and Ser166 (F-block residue 4). This work again underscores the connected and coordinated nature of intein conformation and dynamics, where remote mutations can disturb a finely tuned interaction network to inhibit or enhance protein splicing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn C Chiarolanzio
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
| | - Jennifer M Pusztay
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
| | - Angel Chavez
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
| | - Jing Zhao
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Jian Xie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Chunyu Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Kenneth V Mills
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
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Abstract
Cyclotides are naturally occurring microproteins (≈30 residues long) present in several families of plants. All cyclotides share a unique head-to-tail circular knotted topology containing three disulfide bridges forming a cystine knot topology. Cyclotides possess high stability to chemical, physical, and biological degradation and have been reported to cross cellular membranes. In addition, naturally occurring and engineered cyclotides have shown to possess various pharmacologically relevant activities. These unique features make the cyclotide scaffold an excellent tool for the design of novel peptide-based therapeutics by using molecular evolution and/or peptide epitope grafting techniques. In this chapter, we provide protocols to recombinantly produce a natively folded cyclotide making use of a standard bacterial expression system in combination with an intein-mediated backbone cyclization with concomitant oxidative folding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Jose Campbell
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jingtan Su
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Julio A Camarero
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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13
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Abstract
The split inteins from the DnaE cyanobacterial family are efficient and versatile tools for protein engineering and chemical biology applications. Their ultrafast splicing kinetics allow for the efficient production of native proteins from two separate polypeptides both in vitro and in cells. They can also be used to generate proteins with C-terminal thioesters for downstream applications. In this chapter, we describe a method based on a genetically fused version of the DnaE intein Npu for the preparation of doubly modified proteins through recombinant expression. In particular, we provide protocols for the recombinant production of modified ubiquitin through amber suppression where fused Npu is used (1) as a traceless purification tag or (2) as a protein engineering tool to introduce C-terminal modifications for subsequent attachment to other proteins of interest. Our purification protocol allows for quick and facile separation of truncated products and eliminates the need for engineering protease cleavage sites. Our approach can be easily adapted to different proteins and applications where the simultaneous presence of internal and C-terminal modifications is desirable.
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14
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Mukhopadhyay D, Gupta C, Theint T, Jaroniec CP. Peptide bond conformation in peptides and proteins probed by dipolar coupling-chemical shift tensor correlation solid-state NMR. JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE (SAN DIEGO, CALIF. : 1997) 2018; 297:152-160. [PMID: 30396157 PMCID: PMC6289736 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2018.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2018] [Revised: 10/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Multidimensional magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR experiments are described that permit cis and trans peptide bonds in uniformly 13C,15N-labeled peptides and proteins to be unambiguously distinguished in residue-specific manner by determining the relative orientations of the amide 13C' CSA and 1H-15N dipolar coupling tensors. The experiments are demonstrated for model peptides glycylglycine and 2,5-diketopiperazine containing trans and cis peptide bonds, respectively. Subsequently, the measurements are extended to two representative proteins that contain exclusively trans peptide bonds, microcrystalline B3 immunoglobulin domain of protein G and Y145Stop human prion protein amyloid fibrils, to illustrate their applicability to a wide range of protein systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dwaipayan Mukhopadhyay
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Chitrak Gupta
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Theint Theint
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Christopher P Jaroniec
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
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15
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Pearson CS, Nemati R, Liu B, Zhang J, Scalabrin M, Li Z, Li H, Fabris D, Belfort M, Belfort G. Structure of an engineered intein reveals thiazoline ring and provides mechanistic insight. Biotechnol Bioeng 2018; 116:709-721. [PMID: 30450538 DOI: 10.1002/bit.26875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 10/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We have engineered an intein which spontaneously and reversibly forms a thiazoline ring at the native N-terminal Lys-Cys splice junction. We identified conditions to stablize the thiazoline ring and provided the first crystallographic evidence, at 1.54 Å resolution, for its existence at an intein active site. The finding bolsters evidence for a tetrahedral oxythiazolidine splicing intermediate. In addition, the pivotal mutation maps to a highly conserved B-block threonine, which is now seen to play a causative role not only in ground-state destabilization of the scissile N-terminal peptide bond, but also in steering the tetrahedral intermediate toward thioester formation, giving new insight into the splicing mechanism. We demonstrated the stability of the thiazoline ring at neutral pH as well as sensitivity to hydrolytic ring opening under acidic conditions. A pH cycling strategy to control N-terminal cleavage is proposed, which may be of interest for biotechnological applications requiring a splicing activity switch, such as for protein recovery in bioprocessing.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Seth Pearson
- Howard P Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
| | - Reza Nemati
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Albany, New York
| | - Binbin Liu
- Laboratory of Computational & Structural Biology, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York
| | - Jing Zhang
- Laboratory of Computational & Structural Biology, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York
| | - Matteo Scalabrin
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Albany, New York
| | - Zhong Li
- Laboratory of Computational & Structural Biology, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York
| | - Hongmin Li
- Laboratory of Computational & Structural Biology, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York
| | - Dan Fabris
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Albany, New York
| | - Marlene Belfort
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York.,Department of Biological Sciences, Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York
| | - Georges Belfort
- Howard P Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
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16
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Friedel K, Popp MA, Matern JCJ, Gazdag EM, Thiel IV, Volkmann G, Blankenfeldt W, Mootz HD. A functional interplay between intein and extein sequences in protein splicing compensates for the essential block B histidine. Chem Sci 2018; 10:239-251. [PMID: 30713635 PMCID: PMC6333167 DOI: 10.1039/c8sc01074a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Steric bulk can compensate for a catalytically critical histidine in an intein's active site and promote the N–S acyl shift.
Inteins remove themselves from a precursor protein by protein splicing. Due to the concomitant structural changes of the host protein, this self-processing reaction has enabled many applications in protein biotechnology and chemical biology. We show that the evolved M86 mutant of the Ssp DnaB intein displays a significantly improved tolerance towards non-native amino acids at the N-terminally flanking (–1) extein position compared to the parent intein, in the form of both an artificially trans-splicing split intein and the cis-splicing mini-intein. Surprisingly, side chains with increased steric bulk compared to the native Gly(–1) residue, including d-amino acids, were found to compensate for the essential block B histidine in His73Ala mutants in the initial N–S acyl shift of the protein splicing pathway. In the case of the M86 intein, large (–1) side chains can even rescue protein splicing activity as a whole. With the comparison of three crystal structures, namely of the M86 intein as well as of its Gly(–1)Phe and Gly(–1)Phe/His73Ala mutants, our data supports a model in which the intein's active site can exert a strain by varying mechanisms on the different angles of the scissile bond at the extein–intein junction to effect a ground-state destabilization. The compensatory mechanism of the block B histidine is the first example for the direct functional role of an extein residue in protein splicing. It sheds new light on the extein–intein interplay and on possible consequences of their co-evolution as well as on the laboratory engineering of improved inteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Friedel
- Institute of Biochemistry , University of Muenster , Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2 , 48149 Münster , Germany .
| | - Monika A Popp
- Structure and Function of Proteins , Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research , Inhoffenstraße 7 , 38124 , Braunschweig , Germany
| | - Julian C J Matern
- Institute of Biochemistry , University of Muenster , Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2 , 48149 Münster , Germany .
| | - Emerich M Gazdag
- Structure and Function of Proteins , Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research , Inhoffenstraße 7 , 38124 , Braunschweig , Germany
| | - Ilka V Thiel
- Institute of Biochemistry , University of Muenster , Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2 , 48149 Münster , Germany .
| | - Gerrit Volkmann
- Institute of Biochemistry , University of Muenster , Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2 , 48149 Münster , Germany .
| | - Wulf Blankenfeldt
- Structure and Function of Proteins , Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research , Inhoffenstraße 7 , 38124 , Braunschweig , Germany.,Institute for Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics , Technische Universität Braunschweig , Spielmannstraße 7 , 38106 Braunschweig , Germany
| | - Henning D Mootz
- Institute of Biochemistry , University of Muenster , Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2 , 48149 Münster , Germany .
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17
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Gordo V, Aparicio D, Pérez-Luque R, Benito A, Vilanova M, Usón I, Fita I, Ribó M. Structural Insights into Subunits Assembly and the Oxyester Splicing Mechanism of Neq pol Split Intein. Cell Chem Biol 2018; 25:871-879.e2. [PMID: 29754955 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2018.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Split inteins are expressed as two separated subunits (N-intein and C-intein) fused to the corresponding exteins. The specific association of both intein subunits precedes protein splicing, which results in excision of the intein subunits and in ligation, by a peptide bond, of the concomitant exteins. Catalytically active intein precursors are typically too reactive for crystallization or even isolation. Neq pol is the trans-intein of the B-type DNA polymerase I split gene from hyperthermophile Nanoarchaeum equitans. We have determined the crystal structures of both the isolated NeqN and the complex of NeqN and NeqC subunits carrying the wild-type sequences, including the essential catalytic residues Ser1 and Thr+1, in addition to seven and three residues of the N- and C-exteins, respectively. These structures provide detailed information on the unique oxyester chemistry of the splicing mechanism of Neq pol and of the extensive rearrangements that occur in NeqN during the association step.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Gordo
- Laboratori d'Enginyeria de Proteïnes, Departament de Biologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany 40, 17003 Girona, Spain; IdIBGi Hospital Universitari Josep Trueta, Girona, Spain
| | - David Aparicio
- Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), Parc Cientific de Barcelona, Baldiri i Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rosa Pérez-Luque
- Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), Parc Cientific de Barcelona, Baldiri i Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antoni Benito
- Laboratori d'Enginyeria de Proteïnes, Departament de Biologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany 40, 17003 Girona, Spain; IdIBGi Hospital Universitari Josep Trueta, Girona, Spain
| | - Maria Vilanova
- Laboratori d'Enginyeria de Proteïnes, Departament de Biologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany 40, 17003 Girona, Spain; IdIBGi Hospital Universitari Josep Trueta, Girona, Spain
| | - Isabel Usón
- Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), Parc Cientific de Barcelona, Baldiri i Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; ICREA Lluís Companys 23, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio Fita
- Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), Parc Cientific de Barcelona, Baldiri i Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Marc Ribó
- Laboratori d'Enginyeria de Proteïnes, Departament de Biologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany 40, 17003 Girona, Spain; IdIBGi Hospital Universitari Josep Trueta, Girona, Spain.
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18
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Li X, Zhang XL, Cai YM, Zhang L, Lin Y, Meng Q. Site specific labeling of two proteins in one system by atypical split inteins. Int J Biol Macromol 2018; 109:921-931. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.11.077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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19
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Ji Y, Lu Y, Yan Y, Liu X, Su N, Zhang C, Bi S, Xing XH. Design of Fusion Proteins for Efficient and Soluble Production of Immunogenic Ebola Virus Glycoprotein in Escherichia coli. Biotechnol J 2018; 13:e1700627. [PMID: 29500882 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Revised: 01/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The Ebola hemorrhagic fever caused by Ebola virus is an extremely dangerous disease, and effective therapeutic agents are still lacking. Platforms for the efficient production of vaccines are crucial to ensure quick response against an Ebola virus outbreak. Ebola virus glycoprotein (EbolaGP) on the virion surface is responsible for membrane binding and virus entry, thus becoming the key target for vaccine development. However, heterologous expression of this protein still faces engineering challenges such as low production levels and insoluble aggregation. Here, the authors design and compare various fusion strategies, attaching great importance to the solubility-enhancing effect, and tag removal process. It is found that a C-terminal intein-based tag greatly enhances the solubility of EbolaGP and allows one-step chromatographic purification of the untagged EbolaGP through thiol-catalyzed self-cleavage. The purified untagged EbolaGP alone or with Freund's adjuvant are highly immunogenic, as confirmed in a mouse model. Consequently, the present study puts forward a new strategy for the efficient and soluble expression of untagged immunogenic EbolaGP. The intein-based protein fusion approach may be of importance for the large-scale production of Ebola virus subunit vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Ji
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
| | - Yuan Lu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
| | - Yishu Yan
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
| | - Xinxin Liu
- Bio-Cell Co. Ltd., Beijing, 100085, P. R. China
| | - Nan Su
- Bio-Cell Co. Ltd., Beijing, 100085, P. R. China
| | - Chong Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China.,Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
| | - Shengli Bi
- Institute of Virology Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Xin-Hui Xing
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China.,Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
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20
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Detection of Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity by Bioluminescence via Intein-Mediated Biotinylation of Luciferase. SENSORS 2018; 18:s18030875. [PMID: 29543764 PMCID: PMC5877304 DOI: 10.3390/s18030875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Revised: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We report bioluminescence analysis of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in biological substances using a surface-bound luciferase probe. Intein-fused luciferase protein enables site-specific biotinylation of luciferase in the presence of N-terminus cysteine-biotin via intein-mediated splicing process, resulting in a strong association with high bioluminescence signal onto a NeutrAvidin-coated surface. When the peptide substrate for MMP-7 was inserted into a region between luciferase and intein, the biotinylated probe detected MMP-7 activity by cleaving the peptide, and surface-induced bioluminescence signal was strongly reduced in the MMP-secreted media or mouse tissue extracts, compared with that in MMP-deficient control set. Our approach is anticipated to be useful for generating biotinylated proteins and for their applications in diagnosing MMP activity in human diseases.
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21
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Devaraj NK, Perrin CL. Approach control. Stereoelectronic origin of geometric constraints on N-to-S and N-to-O acyl shifts in peptides. Chem Sci 2018; 9:1789-1794. [PMID: 29675223 PMCID: PMC5892126 DOI: 10.1039/c7sc04046f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 01/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Intramolecular N-to-S or N-to-O acyl shifts in peptides are of fundamental and practical importance, as they constitute the first step in protein splicing and can be used for the synthesis of thioester-modified peptides required for native chemical ligation. It has been stated that the nucleophile must be positioned anti to the carbonyl oxygen, as in a cis amide. Despite the importance of such reactions, an understanding of this geometric restriction remains obscure. Here we argue that the empirical requirement for positioning the nucleophile is a stereoelectronic effect arising from the ease of approach of the nucleophile to a carbonyl group, not ground-state destabilization. DFT calculations on model amides support our explanation and indicate a significant decrease in both the transition-state energy and the activation energy for a cis amide. However, the approach of the nucleophile must be anti not only to the carbonyl oxygen but also to the nitrogen. The direction of approach is expressed by a new, modified Bürgi-Dunitz angle. Our data shed light on the mechanisms of acyl shifts in peptides, and they explain why a cis peptide might be required for protein splicing. The further implications for acyl shits in homoserine and homocysteine peptides and for aldol condensations are also considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neal K Devaraj
- Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry , Univ. Calif. San Diego , La Jolla , CA 92093-0358 , USA .
| | - Charles L Perrin
- Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry , Univ. Calif. San Diego , La Jolla , CA 92093-0358 , USA .
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22
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Iwaï H, Mikula KM, Oeemig JS, Zhou D, Li M, Wlodawer A. Structural Basis for the Persistence of Homing Endonucleases in Transcription Factor IIB Inteins. J Mol Biol 2017; 429:3942-3956. [PMID: 29055778 PMCID: PMC6309676 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2017.10.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Inteins are mobile genetic elements that are spliced out of proteins after translation. Some inteins contain a homing endonuclease (HEN) responsible for their propagation. Hedgehog/INTein (HINT) domains catalyzing protein splicing and their nested HEN domains are thought to be functionally independent because of the existence of functional mini-inteins without HEN domains. Despite the lack of obvious mutualism between HEN and HINT domains, HEN domains are persistently found at one specific site in inteins, indicating their potential functional role in protein splicing. Here we report crystal structures of inactive and active mini-inteins derived from inteins residing in the transcription factor IIB of Methanococcus jannaschii and Methanocaldococcus vulcanius, revealing a novel modified HINT fold that might provide new insights into the mutualism between the HEN and HINT domains. We propose an evolutionary model of inteins and a functional role of HEN domains in inteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideo Iwaï
- Research Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland.
| | - Kornelia M Mikula
- Research Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland
| | - Jesper S Oeemig
- Research Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland
| | - Dongwen Zhou
- Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Mi Li
- Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA; Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Alexander Wlodawer
- Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
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23
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Mujika JI, Lopez X. Unveiling the Catalytic Role of B-Block Histidine in the N–S Acyl Shift Step of Protein Splicing. J Phys Chem B 2017; 121:7786-7796. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b04276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. I. Mujika
- Kimika Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) and Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), P.K. 1072, 20080 Donostia, Euskadi Spain
| | - X. Lopez
- Kimika Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) and Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), P.K. 1072, 20080 Donostia, Euskadi Spain
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24
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Burke HM, McSweeney L, Scanlan EM. Exploring chemoselective S-to-N acyl transfer reactions in synthesis and chemical biology. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15655. [PMID: 28537277 PMCID: PMC5458133 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2016] [Accepted: 04/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
S -to-N acyl transfer is a high-yielding chemoselective process for amide bond formation. It is widely utilized by chemists for synthetic applications, including peptide and protein synthesis, chemical modification of proteins, protein-protein ligation and the development of probes and molecular machines. Recent advances in our understanding of S -to-N acyl transfer processes in biology and innovations in methodology for thioester formation and desulfurization, together with an extension of the size of cyclic transition states, have expanded the boundaries of this process well beyond peptide ligation. As the field develops, this chemistry will play a central role in our molecular understanding of Biology. The conversion of thioesters to amides via acyl transfer has become one of the most important synthetic techniques for the chemical synthesis and modification of proteins. This review discusses this S-to-N acyl transfer process, and highlights some of the key applications across chemistry and biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen M. Burke
- School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D2, Ireland
| | | | - Eoin M. Scanlan
- School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D2, Ireland
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25
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Ma Y, Yu J, Lin J, Wu S, Li S, Wang J. High Efficient Expression, Purification, and Functional Characterization of Native Human Epidermal Growth Factor in Escherichia coli. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2016; 2016:3758941. [PMID: 27766259 PMCID: PMC5059520 DOI: 10.1155/2016/3758941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2016] [Accepted: 09/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) is a small, mitotic growth polypeptide that promotes the proliferation of various cells and is widely applied in clinical practices. However, high efficient expression of native hEGF in Escherichia coli has not been successful, since three disulfide bonds in monomer hEGF made it unable to fold into correct 3D structure using in vivo system. To tackle this problem, we fused Mxe GyrA intein (Mxe) at the C-terminal of hEGF followed by small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) and 10x His-tag to construct a chimeric protein hEGF-Mxe-SUMO-H10. The fusion protein was highly expressed at the concentration of 281 mg/L and up to 59.5% of the total cellular soluble proteins. The fusion protein was purified by affinity chromatography and 29.4 mg/L of native hEGF can be released by thiol induced N-terminal cleavage without any proteases. The mitotic activity in Balb/c 3T3 cells is proliferated by commercial and recombinant hEGF measured with methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay which indicated that recombinant hEGF protein stimulates the cell proliferation similar to commercial protein. This study significantly improved the yield and reduced the cost of hEGF in the recombinant E. coli system and could be a better strategy to produce native hEGF for pharmaceutical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ma
- School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Jieying Yu
- School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Jinglian Lin
- School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Shaomin Wu
- School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Shan Li
- School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Jufang Wang
- School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
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26
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Camarero JA, Kimura RH, Woo YH, Shekhtman A, Cantor J. Biosynthesis of a fully functional cyclotide inside living bacterial cells. Chembiochem 2016; 8:1363-6. [PMID: 17590879 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.200700183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Julio A Camarero
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, 7000 East Avenue, L-231, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
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28
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Pearson CS, Belfort G, Belfort M, Shekhtman A. Backbone assignments of mini-RecA intein with short native exteins and an active N-terminal catalytic cysteine. BIOMOLECULAR NMR ASSIGNMENTS 2015; 9:235-238. [PMID: 25281002 PMCID: PMC4385508 DOI: 10.1007/s12104-014-9581-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The backbone resonance assignments of an engineered splicing-inactive mini-RecA intein based on triple resonance experiments with [(13)C,(15)N]-labeled protein are reported. The construct contains inactivating mutations specifically designed to retain most catalytic residues, especially those that are potentially metal-coordinating. The assignments are essential for protein structure determination of a precursor with an active N-terminal catalytic cysteine and for investigation of the atomic details of splicing.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Seth Pearson
- Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
| | - Georges Belfort
- Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
| | - Marlene Belfort
- Department of Biological Sciences and The RNA Institute, University at Albany, Albany, NY, 12222, USA.
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29
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Strieter ER, Andrew TL. Restricting the ψ Torsion Angle Has Stereoelectronic Consequences on a Scissile Bond: An Electronic Structure Analysis. Biochemistry 2015; 54:5748-56. [PMID: 26332921 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5b00845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Protein motion is intimately linked to enzymatic catalysis, yet the stereoelectronic changes that accompany different conformational states of a substrate are poorly defined. Here we investigate the relationship between conformation and stereoelectronic effects of a scissile amide bond. Structural studies have revealed that the C-terminal glycine of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins adopts a syn (ψ ∼ 0°) or gauche (ψ ∼ ±60°) conformation upon interacting with deubiquitinases/ubiquitin-like proteases. We used hybrid density functional theory and natural bond orbital analysis to understand how the stereoelectronic effects of the scissile bond change as a function of φ and ψ torsion angles. This led to the discovery that when ψ is between 30° and -30° the scissile bond becomes geometrically and electronically deformed. Geometric distortion occurs through pyramidalization of the carbonyl carbon and amide nitrogen. Electronic distortion is manifested by a decrease in the strength of the donor-acceptor interaction between the amide nitrogen and antibonding orbital (π*) of the carbonyl. Concomitant with the reduction in nN → π* delocalization energy, the sp(2) hybrid orbital of the carbonyl carbon becomes richer in p-character, suggesting the syn configuration causes the carbonyl carbon hybrid orbitals to adopt a geometry reminiscent of a tetrahedral-like intermediate. Our work reveals important insights into the role of substrate conformation in activating the reactive carbonyl of a scissile bond. These findings have implications for designing potent active site inhibitors based on the concept of transition state analogues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric R Strieter
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Trisha L Andrew
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
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30
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Bastiaansen KC, van Ulsen P, Wijtmans M, Bitter W, Llamas MA. Self-cleavage of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cell-surface Signaling Anti-sigma Factor FoxR Occurs through an N-O Acyl Rearrangement. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:12237-46. [PMID: 25809487 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.643098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The Fox system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a cell-surface signaling (CSS) pathway employed by the bacterium to sense and respond to the presence of the heterologous siderophore ferrioxamine in the environment. This regulatory pathway controls the transcription of the foxA ferrioxamine receptor gene through the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σ(FoxI). In the absence of ferrioxamine, the activity of σ(FoxI) is inhibited by the transmembrane anti-sigma factor FoxR. Upon binding of ferrioxamine by the FoxA receptor, FoxR is processed by a complex proteolytic cascade leading to the release and activation of σ(FoxI). Interestingly, we have recently shown that FoxR undergoes self-cleavage between the periplasmic Gly-191 and Thr-192 residues independent of the perception of ferrioxamine. This autoproteolytic event, which is widespread among CSS anti-sigma factors, produces two distinct domains that interact and function together to transduce the presence of the signal. In this work, we provide evidence that the self-cleavage of FoxR is not an enzyme-dependent process but is induced by an N-O acyl rearrangement. Mutation analysis showed that the nucleophilic side chain of the Thr-192 residue at +1 of the cleavage site is required for an attack on the preceding Gly-191, after which the resulting ester bond is likely hydrolyzed. Because the cleavage site is well preserved and the hydrolysis of periplasmic CSS anti-sigma factors is widely observed, we hypothesize that cleavage via an N-O acyl rearrangement is a conserved feature of these proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karlijn C Bastiaansen
- From the Department of Environmental Protection, Estación Experimental del Zaidín-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada E-18008, Spain and Section of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Molecular Cell Biology and
| | - Peter van Ulsen
- Section of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Molecular Cell Biology and
| | - Maikel Wijtmans
- Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wilbert Bitter
- Section of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Molecular Cell Biology and
| | - María A Llamas
- From the Department of Environmental Protection, Estación Experimental del Zaidín-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada E-18008, Spain and
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31
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Marshall CJ, Grosskopf VA, Moehling TJ, Tillotson BJ, Wiepz GJ, Abbott NL, Raines RT, Shusta EV. An evolved Mxe GyrA intein for enhanced production of fusion proteins. ACS Chem Biol 2015; 10:527-38. [PMID: 25384269 PMCID: PMC4340354 DOI: 10.1021/cb500689g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Expressing antibodies as fusions to the non-self-cleaving Mxe GyrA intein enables site-specific, carboxy-terminal chemical modification of the antibodies by expressed protein ligation (EPL). Bacterial antibody-intein fusion protein expression platforms typically yield insoluble inclusion bodies that require refolding to obtain active antibody-intein fusion proteins. Previously, we demonstrated that it was possible to employ yeast surface display to express properly folded single-chain antibody (scFv)-intein fusions, therefore permitting the direct small-scale chemical functionalization of scFvs. Here, directed evolution of the Mxe GyrA intein was performed to improve both the display and secretion levels of scFv-intein fusion proteins from yeast. The engineered intein was shown to increase the yeast display levels of eight different scFvs by up to 3-fold. Additionally, scFv- and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-intein fusion proteins can be secreted from yeast, and while fusion of the scFvs to the wild-type intein resulted in low expression levels, the engineered intein increased scFv-intein production levels by up to 30-fold. The secreted scFv- and GFP-intein fusion proteins retained their respective binding and fluorescent activities, and upon intein release, EPL resulted in carboxy-terminal azide functionalization of the target proteins. The azide-functionalized scFvs and GFP were subsequently employed in a copper-free, strain-promoted click reaction to site-specifically immobilize the proteins on surfaces, and it was demonstrated that the functionalized, immobilized scFvs retained their antigen binding specificity. Taken together, the evolved yeast intein platform provides a robust alternative to bacterial intein expression systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie J. Marshall
- Dept.
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Vanessa A. Grosskopf
- Dept.
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Taylor J. Moehling
- Dept.
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Benjamin J. Tillotson
- Dept.
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Gregory J. Wiepz
- Dept.
of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 420
Henry Mall, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Nicholas L. Abbott
- Dept.
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Ronald T. Raines
- Dept.
of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 433 Babcock Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
- Dept.
of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Eric V. Shusta
- Dept.
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
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32
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Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of C-terminal Cleavage Intein-Based Constructs in Producing a Recombinant Analog of Anophelin, an Anticoagulant from Anopheles albimanus. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2014; 175:2468-88. [DOI: 10.1007/s12010-014-1400-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 11/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Bionda N, Cryan AL, Fasan R. Bioinspired strategy for the ribosomal synthesis of thioether-bridged macrocyclic peptides in bacteria. ACS Chem Biol 2014; 9:2008-13. [PMID: 25079213 PMCID: PMC4168796 DOI: 10.1021/cb500311k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Inspired
by the biosynthetic logic of lanthipeptide natural products,
a new methodology was developed to direct the ribosomal synthesis
of macrocyclic peptides constrained by an intramolecular thioether
bond. As a first step, a robust and versatile strategy was implemented
to enable the cyclization of ribosomally derived peptide sequences
via a chemoselective reaction between a genetically encoded cysteine
and a cysteine-reactive unnatural amino acid (O-(2-bromoethyl)-tyrosine).
Combination of this approach with intein-catalyzed protein splicing
furnished an efficient route to achieve the spontaneous, post-translational
formation of structurally diverse macrocyclic peptides in bacterial
cells. The present peptide cyclization strategy was also found to
be amenable to integration with split intein-mediated circular ligation,
resulting in the intracellular synthesis of conformationally constrained
peptides featuring a bicyclic architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Bionda
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Abby L. Cryan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Rudi Fasan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
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34
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Branching out of the intein active site in protein splicing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:8323-4. [PMID: 24872446 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1407116111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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35
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Qiu Y, Hemu X, Liu DX, Tam JP. Selective Bi-directional Amide Bond Cleavage ofN-Methylcysteinyl Peptide. European J Org Chem 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.201402261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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36
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Aranko AS, Oeemig JS, Zhou D, Kajander T, Wlodawer A, Iwaï H. Structure-based engineering and comparison of novel split inteins for protein ligation. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2014; 10:1023-34. [PMID: 24574026 PMCID: PMC7709711 DOI: 10.1039/c4mb00021h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Protein splicing is an autocatalytic process involving self-excision of an internal protein domain, the intein, and concomitant ligation of the two flanking sequences, the exteins, with a peptide bond. Protein splicing can also take place in trans by naturally split inteins or artificially split inteins, ligating the exteins on two different polypeptide chains into one polypeptide chain. Protein trans-splicing could work in foreign contexts by replacing the native extein sequences with other protein sequences. Protein ligation using protein trans-splicing increasingly becomes a useful tool for biotechnological applications such as semi-synthesis of proteins, segmental isotopic labeling, and in vivo protein engineering. However, only a few split inteins have been successfully applied for protein ligation. Naturally split inteins have been widely used, but they are cross-reactive to each other, limiting their applications to multiple-fragment ligation. Based on the three-dimensional structures including two newly determined intein structures, we derived 21 new split inteins from four highly efficient cis-splicing inteins, in order to develop novel split inteins suitable for protein ligation. We systematically compared trans-splicing of 24 split inteins and tested the cross-activities among them to identify orthogonal split intein fragments that could be used in chemical biology and biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sesilja Aranko
- Research Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, FIN-00014, Finland.
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37
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Abstract
Inteins are autoprocessing domains that cut themselves out of host proteins in a traceless manner. This process, known as protein splicing, involves multiple chemical steps that must be coordinated to ensure fidelity in the process. The committed step in splicing involves attack of a conserved Asn side-chain amide on the adjacent backbone amide, leading to an intein-succinimide product and scission of that peptide bond. This cleavage reaction is stimulated by formation of a branched intermediate in the splicing process. The mechanism by which the Asn side-chain becomes activated as a nucleophile is not understood. Here we solve the crystal structure of an intein trapped in the branched intermediate step in protein splicing. Guided by this structure, we use protein-engineering approaches to show that intein-succinimide formation is critically dependent on a backbone-to-side-chain hydrogen-bond. We propose that this interaction serves to both position the side-chain amide for attack and to activate its nitrogen as a nucleophile. Collectively, these data provide an unprecedented view of an intein poised to carry out the rate-limiting step in protein splicing, shedding light on how a nominally nonnucleophilic group, a primary amide, can become activated in a protein active site.
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38
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Eryilmaz E, Shah NH, Muir TW, Cowburn D. Structural and dynamical features of inteins and implications on protein splicing. J Biol Chem 2014; 289:14506-11. [PMID: 24695731 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.r113.540302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein splicing is a posttranslational modification where intervening proteins (inteins) cleave themselves from larger precursor proteins and ligate their flanking polypeptides (exteins) through a multistep chemical reaction. First thought to be an anomaly found in only a few organisms, protein splicing by inteins has since been observed in microorganisms from all domains of life. Despite this broad phylogenetic distribution, all inteins share common structural features such as a horseshoe-like pseudo two-fold symmetric fold, several canonical sequence motifs, and similar splicing mechanisms. Intriguingly, the splicing efficiencies and substrate specificity of different inteins vary considerably, reflecting subtle changes in the chemical mechanism of splicing, linked to their local structure and dynamics. As intein chemistry has widespread use in protein chemistry, understanding the structural and dynamical aspects of inteins is crucial for intein engineering and the improvement of intein-based technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ertan Eryilmaz
- From the Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461 and
| | - Neel H Shah
- the Department of Chemistry, Frick Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
| | - Tom W Muir
- the Department of Chemistry, Frick Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
| | - David Cowburn
- From the Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461 and
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39
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Abstract
Inteins are nature's escape artists; they facilitate their excision from flanking polypeptides (exteins) concomitant with extein ligation to produce a mature host protein. Splicing requires sequential nucleophilic displacement reactions catalyzed by strategies similar to proteases and asparagine lyases. Inteins require precise reaction coordination rather than rapid turnover or tight substrate binding because they are single turnover enzymes with covalently linked substrates. This has allowed inteins to explore alternative mechanisms with different steps or to use different methods for activation and coordination of the steps. Pressing issues include understanding the underlying details of catalysis and how the splicing steps are controlled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth V Mills
- From the Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610
| | - Margaret A Johnson
- the Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, and
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40
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Mihaylov TT, Parac-Vogt TN, Pierloot K. A computational study of the glycylserine hydrolysis at physiological pH: a zwitterionic versus anionic mechanism. Org Biomol Chem 2014; 12:1395-404. [PMID: 24430931 DOI: 10.1039/c3ob42372g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The hydrolysis of GlySer at physiological pH was investigated by modeling the most feasible reaction mechanisms in aqueous phase at the MP2/6-311+(2df,2p)//SMD-M06/6-311+(2df,2p) level of the theory. To refine the energies of the most relevant transition states along the reaction paths the cluster-continuum concept was adopted. The hydrolytic process could proceed through two competitive mechanisms involving either the zwitterionic or the anionic form of GlySer. The calculations suggest that at physiological pH the actual mechanism is most probably mixed, anionic-zwitterionic. In this reaction scheme the first stage of N→O acyl transfer involves the anionic form whereas the second stage, during which the resultant ester is hydrolyzed, most likely involves the zwitterionic ester form of GlySer. The energy requirement for the first reaction stage is estimated to be slightly lower than for the second one. The calculated activation parameters (e.g. ΔG(#) = 27.8 kcal mol(-1)) for the nucleophilic addition of a water molecule to the ester carbonyl group of the zwitterionic ester are in good agreement with the experimentally determined values at pD 7.4 (ΔG(#) = 28.7 kcal mol(-1)).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzvetan T Mihaylov
- KU Leuven, Department of Chemistry, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium.
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41
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Abstract
Inteins are auto-processing domains found in organisms from all domains of life. These proteins carry out a process known as protein splicing, which is a multi-step biochemical reaction comprised of both the cleavage and formation of peptide bonds. While the endogenous substrates of protein splicing are specific essential proteins found in intein-containing host organisms, inteins are also functional in exogenous contexts and can be used to chemically manipulate virtually any polypeptide backbone. Given this, protein chemists have exploited various facets of intein reactivity to modify proteins in myriad ways for both basic biological research as well as potential therapeutic applications. Here, we review the intein field, first focusing on the biological context and phylogenetic diversity of inteins, followed by a description of intein structure and biochemical function. Finally, we discuss prevalent inteinbased technologies, focusing on their applications in chemical biology, followed by persistent caveats of intein chemistry and approaches to alleviate these shortcomings. The findings summarized herein describe two and a half decades of research, leading from a biochemical curiosity to the development of powerful protein engineering tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neel H Shah
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Frick Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
| | - Tom W Muir
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Frick Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
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42
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Mihaylov TT, Parac-Vogt TN, Pierloot K. A Mechanistic Study of the Spontaneous Hydrolysis of Glycylserine as the Simplest Model for Protein Self-Cleavage. Chemistry 2013; 20:456-66. [DOI: 10.1002/chem.201303564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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43
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Albertsen L, Shaw AC, Norrild JC, Strømgaard K. Recombinant production of peptide C-terminal α-amides using an engineered intein. Bioconjug Chem 2013; 24:1883-94. [PMID: 24138202 DOI: 10.1021/bc4002689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Peptides are of increasing interest as therapeutics in a wide range of diseases, including metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. In the latter, peptide hormones such as peptide YY (PYY) and pancreatic peptide (PP) are important templates for drug design. Characteristic for these peptides is that they contain a C-terminal that is α-amidated, and this amidation is crucial for biological function. A challenge is to generate such peptides by recombinant means and particularly in a production scale. Here, we have examined an intein-mediated approach to generate a PYY derivative in a larger scale. Initially, we experienced challenges with hydrolysis of the intein fusion protein, which was reduced by a T3C mutation in the intein. Subsequently, we further engineered the intein to decrease the absolute size and improve the relative yield of the PYY derivative, which was achieved by substituting 54 residues of the 198 amino acid intein with an eight amino acid linker. The optimized intein construct was used to produce the PYY derivative under high cell density cultivation conditions, generating the peptide thioester precursor in good yields and subsequent amidation provided the target peptide.
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44
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Intermolecular domain swapping induces intein-mediated protein alternative splicing. Nat Chem Biol 2013; 9:616-22. [DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.1320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2013] [Accepted: 07/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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45
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Analysis of inteins in the Candida parapsilosis complex for simple and accurate species identification. J Clin Microbiol 2013; 51:2830-6. [PMID: 23784117 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.00981-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Inteins are coding sequences that are transcribed and translated with flanking sequences and then are excised by an autocatalytic process. There are two types of inteins in fungi, mini-inteins and full-length inteins, both of which present a splicing domain containing well-conserved amino acid sequences. Full-length inteins also present a homing endonuclease domain that makes the intein a mobile genetic element. These parasitic genetic elements are located in highly conserved genes and may allow for the differentiation of closely related species of the Candida parapsilosis (psilosis) complex. The correct identification of the three psilosis complex species C. parapsilosis, Candida metapsilosis, and Candida orthopsilosis is very important in the clinical setting for improving antifungal therapy and patient care. In this work, we analyzed inteins that are present in the vacuolar ATPase gene VMA and in the threonyl-tRNA synthetase gene ThrRS in 85 strains of the Candida psilosis complex (46 C. parapsilosis, 17 C. metapsilosis, and 22 C. orthopsilosis). Here, we describe an accessible and accurate technique based on a single PCR that is able to differentiate the psilosis complex based on the VMA intein. Although the ThrRS intein does not distinguish the three species of the psilosis complex by PCR product size, it can differentiate them by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Furthermore, this intein is unusually present as both mini- and full-length forms in C. orthopsilosis. Additional population studies should be performed to address whether this represents a common intraspecific variability or the presence of subspecies within C. orthopsilosis.
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46
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Lin Y, Li M, Song H, Xu L, Meng Q, Liu XQ. Protein trans-splicing of multiple atypical split inteins engineered from natural inteins. PLoS One 2013; 8:e59516. [PMID: 23593141 PMCID: PMC3620165 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2012] [Accepted: 02/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein trans-splicing by split inteins has many uses in protein production and research. Splicing proteins with synthetic peptides, which employs atypical split inteins, is particularly useful for site-specific protein modifications and labeling, because the synthetic peptide can be made to contain a variety of unnatural amino acids and chemical modifications. For this purpose, atypical split inteins need to be engineered to have a small N-intein or C-intein fragment that can be more easily included in a synthetic peptide that also contains a small extein to be trans-spliced onto target proteins. Here we have successfully engineered multiple atypical split inteins capable of protein trans-splicing, by modifying and testing more than a dozen natural inteins. These included both S1 split inteins having a very small (11–12 aa) N-intein fragment and S11 split inteins having a very small (6 aa) C-intein fragment. Four of the new S1 and S11 split inteins showed high efficiencies (85–100%) of protein trans-splicing both in E. coli cells and in vitro. Under in vitro conditions, they exhibited reaction rate constants ranging from ∼1.7×10−4 s−1 to ∼3.8×10−4 s−1, which are comparable to or higher than those of previously reported atypical split inteins. These findings should facilitate a more general use of trans-splicing between proteins and synthetic peptides, by expanding the availability of different atypical split inteins. They also have implications on understanding the structure-function relationship of atypical split inteins, particularly in terms of intein fragment complementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Lin
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Mengmeng Li
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Huiling Song
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, P.R. China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Lingling Xu
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, P.R. China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Qing Meng
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, P.R. China
- * E-mail: (QM); (XQL)
| | - Xiang-Qin Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- * E-mail: (QM); (XQL)
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47
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Volkmann G, Mootz HD. Recent progress in intein research: from mechanism to directed evolution and applications. Cell Mol Life Sci 2013; 70:1185-206. [PMID: 22926412 PMCID: PMC11113529 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-012-1120-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2011] [Revised: 07/23/2012] [Accepted: 08/06/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Inteins catalyze a post-translational modification known as protein splicing, where the intein removes itself from a precursor protein and concomitantly ligates the flanking protein sequences with a peptide bond. Over the past two decades, inteins have risen from a peculiarity to a rich source of applications in biotechnology, biomedicine, and protein chemistry. In this review, we focus on developments of intein-related research spanning the last 5 years, including the three different splicing mechanisms and their molecular underpinnings, the directed evolution of inteins towards improved splicing in exogenous protein contexts, as well as novel applications of inteins for cell biology and protein engineering, which were made possible by a clearer understanding of the protein splicing mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerrit Volkmann
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Henning D. Mootz
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
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Dearden AK, Callahan B, Roey PV, Li Z, Kumar U, Belfort M, Nayak SK. A conserved threonine spring-loads precursor for intein splicing. Protein Sci 2013; 22:557-63. [PMID: 23423655 DOI: 10.1002/pro.2236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2012] [Revised: 02/12/2013] [Accepted: 02/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Protein splicing is an autocatalytic process where an "intein" self-cleaves from a precursor and ligates the flanking N- and C-"extein" polypeptides. Inteins occur in all domains of life and have myriad uses in biotechnology. Although the reaction steps of protein splicing are known, mechanistic details remain incomplete, particularly the initial peptide rearrangement at the N-terminal extein/intein junction. Recently, we proposed that this transformation, an N-S acyl shift, is accelerated by a localized conformational strain, between the intein's catalytic cysteine (Cys1) and the neighboring glycine (Gly-1) in the N-extein. That proposal was based on the crystal structure of a catalytically competent trapped precursor. Here, we define the structural origins and mechanistic relevance of the conformational strain using a combination of quantum mechanical simulations, mutational analysis, and X-ray crystallography. Our results implicate a conserved, but largely unstudied, threonine residue of the Ssp DnaE intein (Thr69) as the mediator of conformational strain through hydrogen bonding. Further, the strain imposed by this residue is shown to position the splice junction in a manner that enhances the rate of the N-S acyl shift substantially. Taken together, our results not only provide fundamental understanding of the control of the first step of protein splicing but also have important implications in various biotechnological applications that require precursor manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert K Dearden
- Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
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Binschik J, Mootz HD. Chemical bypass of intein-catalyzed N-S acyl shift in protein splicing. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013; 52:4260-4. [PMID: 23468274 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201208863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2012] [Revised: 12/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jens Binschik
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Muenster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
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50
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Binschik J, Mootz HD. Chemischer “Bypass” des Intein-katalysierten N-S-Acyltransfers im Proteinspleißen. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201208863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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