1
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Gonzalez-de la Rosa T, Montserrat-de la Paz S, Rivero-Pino F. Production, characterisation, and biological properties of Tenebrio molitor-derived oligopeptides. Food Chem 2024; 450:139400. [PMID: 38640536 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Three protein hydrolysates from Tenebrio molitor were obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis employing two food-grade proteases (i.e. Alcalase and Flavourzyme), and a complete characterisation of their composition was done. The digestion-derived products were obtained using the INFOGEST protocol. In vitro antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated. Tenebrio molitor flour and the protein hydrolysates showed a high ability to scavenge the DPPH radical (EC50 values from 0.30 to 0.87 mg/mL). The hydrolysate obtained with a combination of the two food-grade proteases could decrease the gene expression of pro-inflammatory genes after being digested. Furthermore, the peptidome was fully determined for the first time for T. molitor hydrolysates and digests, and 40 peptides were selected based on their bioactivity to be evaluated by in silico tools, including prediction tools and molecular docking. These results provide new perspectives on the use of edible insects as sustainable and not nutritionally disadvantageous food for human consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Gonzalez-de la Rosa
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain; Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, IBiS, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio/CSIC/University of Seville, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Sergio Montserrat-de la Paz
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain; Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, IBiS, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio/CSIC/University of Seville, 41013 Seville, Spain.
| | - Fernando Rivero-Pino
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain; Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, IBiS, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio/CSIC/University of Seville, 41013 Seville, Spain
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2
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Chakraborty G, Patra N. Elucidating the Molecular Basis of 14-3-3 Interaction with α-Synuclein: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations and the Design of a Novel Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitor. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:7068-7085. [PMID: 38857533 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c01743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease is a widespread age-related neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain along with the appearance of protein aggregates, termed as "Lewy bodies" in the surviving neuronal cells. The components of Lewy bodies include proteins such as α-synuclein, 14-3-3, Parkin, and LRRK2, along with other cellular organelles, which, in their native state, perform a plethora of vital biological functions within the human biome. Formation of these aggregates renders these components inactive, thereby interfering with homeostasis. In this regard, the current study attempts to investigate the complexation behavior of all human-based 14-3-3 isoforms with α-synuclein via a combination of classical and enhanced sampling techniques and thereby determine the causality of these protein-protein interactions. The study indicated that upon complexation, the aggregation propensity of both 14-3-3 and α-synuclein increases, and this increment is propelled by the interfacial residues on either protein. Furthermore, mutagenesis studies revealed that Lys214 of 14-3-3 (henceforth termed K214A) is crucial for the formation of this binary complex. Principal component analysis combined with clustering studies unveiled the stability of these complexes in terms of their conformational distribution across the entire MD trajectory. For K214A, these clustered states were sparsely located, thereby making the transitions between them slightly difficult. Dynamic cross-correlation maps (DCCM) revealed the role of residues in the range 80-130 of 14-3-3 having a potential allosteric role in driving this complexation process. Finally, a novel peptide-based supramolecular inhibitor was designed, which exhibited higher proficiency in limiting the 14-3-3/α-synuclein interaction compared to the previous inhibitor model. It was also revealed that the presence of this inhibitor induces structural rigidity in α-synuclein, making changes in its conformations extremely difficult, as observed through Umbrella Sampling studies. Based on available information, the current study provides an insight into the molecular-level understanding of protein-protein interactions underlying Parkinson's disease and adds on to the methods of devising novel therapeutic approaches to treat the same.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gourav Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Dhanbad 826004, India
| | - Niladri Patra
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Dhanbad 826004, India
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3
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Vakirlis N, Kupczok A. Large-scale investigation of species-specific orphan genes in the human gut microbiome elucidates their evolutionary origins. Genome Res 2024; 34:888-903. [PMID: 38977308 PMCID: PMC11293555 DOI: 10.1101/gr.278977.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Species-specific genes, also known as orphans, are ubiquitous across life's domains. In prokaryotes, species-specific orphan genes (SSOGs) are mostly thought to originate in external elements such as viruses followed by horizontal gene transfer, whereas the scenario of native origination, through rapid divergence or de novo, is mostly dismissed. However, quantitative evidence supporting either scenario is lacking. Here, we systematically analyzed genomes from 4644 human gut microbiome species and identified more than 600,000 unique SSOGs, representing an average of 2.6% of a given species' pangenome. These sequences are mostly rare within each species yet show signs of purifying selection. Overall, SSOGs use optimal codons less frequently, and their proteins are more disordered than those of conserved genes (i.e., non-SSOGs). Importantly, across species, the GC content of SSOGs closely matches that of conserved ones. In contrast, the ∼5% of SSOGs that share similarity to known viral sequences have distinct characteristics, including lower GC content. Thus, SSOGs with similarity to viruses differ from the remaining SSOGs, contrasting an external origination scenario for most of them. By examining the orthologous genomic region in closely related species, we show that a small subset of SSOGs likely evolved natively de novo and find that these genes also differ in their properties from the remaining SSOGs. Our results challenge the notion that external elements are the dominant source of prokaryotic genetic novelty and will enable future studies into the biological role and relevance of species-specific genes in the human gut.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Vakirlis
- Institute For Fundamental Biomedical Research, B.S.R.C. "Alexander Fleming," Vari 166 72, Greece;
- Institute for General Microbiology, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Anne Kupczok
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, 6700 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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4
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Tang Y, Zhang Y, Zhang D, Liu Y, Nussinov R, Zheng J. Exploring pathological link between antimicrobial and amyloid peptides. Chem Soc Rev 2024. [PMID: 39041297 DOI: 10.1039/d3cs00878a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
Amyloid peptides (AMYs) and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered as the two distinct families of peptides, characterized by their unique sequences, structures, biological functions, and specific pathological targets. However, accumulating evidence has revealed intriguing pathological connections between these peptide families in the context of microbial infection and neurodegenerative diseases. Some AMYs and AMPs share certain structural and functional characteristics, including the ability to self-assemble, the presence of β-sheet-rich structures, and membrane-disrupting mechanisms. These shared features enable AMYs to possess antimicrobial activity and AMPs to acquire amyloidogenic properties. Despite limited studies on AMYs-AMPs systems, the cross-seeding phenomenon between AMYs and AMPs has emerged as a crucial factor in the bidirectional communication between the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and host defense against microbial infections. In this review, we examine recent developments in the potential interplay between AMYs and AMPs, as well as their pathological implications for both infectious and neurodegenerative diseases. By discussing the current progress and challenges in this emerging field, this account aims to inspire further research and investments to enhance our understanding of the intricate molecular crosstalk between AMYs and AMPs. This knowledge holds great promise for the development of innovative therapies to combat both microbial infections and neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijing Tang
- Department of Chemical, Biomolecular, and Corrosion Engineering, The University of Akron, Ohio 44325, USA.
| | - Yanxian Zhang
- Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
| | - Dong Zhang
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Yonglan Liu
- Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Jie Zheng
- Department of Chemical, Biomolecular, and Corrosion Engineering, The University of Akron, Ohio 44325, USA.
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5
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Cattaneo ER, Gisonno RA, Abba MC, Santana M, Rosú SA, Nucifora E, Aguirre MA, Giordani MC, Tricerri MA, Ramella NA. Hereditary Amyloidosis: Insights Into a Fibrinogen A Variant Protein. Proteins 2024. [PMID: 39031927 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/22/2024]
Abstract
Amyloidosis are a group of diseases in which soluble proteins aggregate and deposit in fibrillar conformation extracellularly in tissues. The effectiveness of therapeutic strategies depends on the specific protein involved, being crucial to accurately determine its nature. Moreover, following the diagnosis, the search for the mutation within relatives allows the clinical advice. Here we report the precise diagnosis and explored the possible reasons of the structural pathogenicity for a renal amyloidosis related to a fibrinogen Aα-chain variant. Whole-exome sequencing and GATK calling pipeline were leveraged to characterize the protein variant present in a patient with kidney failure. Bioinformatics strategies were applied to suggest potential explanations of the variants aggregation. Our pipeline allowed the identification of a single-point variant of fibrinogen Aα-chain, which opened the possibility of curative transplantation. In silico structural analysis suggested that the pathogenicity of the variant may be attributed to a heightened susceptibility to yield a peptide prone to deposit as an oligomer with a β-sheet structure. Exploiting the comprehensive coverage of whole-genome sequencing, we managed to fill a vacant stage in the diagnosis of hereditary amyloidosis and to stimulate the advancement in biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth R Cattaneo
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Romina A Gisonno
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Martín C Abba
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Centro de Investigaciones Inmunológicas Básicas y Aplicadas (CINIBA), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marianela Santana
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Silvana A Rosú
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Elsa Nucifora
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (HIBA), Calle Perón, Argentina
| | - María A Aguirre
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (HIBA), Calle Perón, Argentina
| | - María C Giordani
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (HIBA), Calle Perón, Argentina
| | - M Alejandra Tricerri
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Nahuel A Ramella
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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6
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Paschold A, Schäffler M, Miao X, Gardon L, Krüger S, Heise H, Röhr MIS, Ott M, Strodel B, Binder WH. Photocontrolled Reversible Amyloid Fibril Formation of Parathyroid Hormone-Derived Peptides. Bioconjug Chem 2024; 35:981-995. [PMID: 38865349 PMCID: PMC11261605 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.4c00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Peptide fibrillization is crucial in biological processes such as amyloid-related diseases and hormone storage, involving complex transitions between folded, unfolded, and aggregated states. We here employ light to induce reversible transitions between aggregated and nonaggregated states of a peptide, linked to the parathyroid hormone (PTH). The artificial light-switch 3-{[(4-aminomethyl)phenyl]diazenyl}benzoic acid (AMPB) is embedded into a segment of PTH, the peptide PTH25-37, to control aggregation, revealing position-dependent effects. Through in silico design, synthesis, and experimental validation of 11 novel PTH25-37-derived peptides, we predict and confirm the amyloid-forming capabilities of the AMPB-containing peptides. Quantum-chemical studies shed light on the photoswitching mechanism. Solid-state NMR studies suggest that β-strands are aligned parallel in fibrils of PTH25-37, while in one of the AMPB-containing peptides, β-strands are antiparallel. Simulations further highlight the significance of π-π interactions in the latter. This multifaceted approach enabled the identification of a peptide that can undergo repeated phototriggered transitions between fibrillated and defibrillated states, as demonstrated by different spectroscopic techniques. With this strategy, we unlock the potential to manipulate PTH to reversibly switch between active and inactive aggregated states, representing the first observation of a photostimulus-responsive hormone.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Paschold
- Macromolecular
Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Science II, Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg, von-Danckelmann-Platz 4, Halle 06120, Germany
| | - Moritz Schäffler
- Institute
of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
- Institute
of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
| | - Xincheng Miao
- Center
for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Theodor-Boveri Weg, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg 97074, Germany
| | - Luis Gardon
- Institute
of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institut
für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität
Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Stephanie Krüger
- Biozentrum,
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Weinberweg 22, Halle 06120, Germany
| | - Henrike Heise
- Institute
of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
- Institut
für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität
Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Merle I. S. Röhr
- Center
for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Theodor-Boveri Weg, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg 97074, Germany
| | - Maria Ott
- Institute
of Biophysics, Faculty of Natural Science I, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Straße 3, Halle 06120, Germany
| | - Birgit Strodel
- Institute
of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
- Institute
of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany
| | - Wolfgang H. Binder
- Macromolecular
Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Science II, Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg, von-Danckelmann-Platz 4, Halle 06120, Germany
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7
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Mittal S, Prajapati KP, Ansari M, Joshi K, Mishra N, Mahato OP, Anand BG, Kar K. Cu(II) Specifically Disassembles Insulin Amyloid Nanostructures via Direct Interaction with Cross-β Fibrils. NANO LETTERS 2024. [PMID: 38990555 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
In this work, we demonstrate direct evidence of the antiamyloid potential of Cu(II) ions against amyloid formation of insulin. The Cu(II) ions were found to efficiently disassemble the preformed amyloid nanostructures into soluble species and suppress monomer fibrillation under aggregation-prone conditions. The direct interaction of Cu(II) ions with the cross-β structure of amyloid fibrils causes substantial disruption of both the interchain and intrachain interactions, predominantly the H-bonds and hydrophobic contacts. Further, the Cu(II) ions show a strong affinity for the aggregation-prone conformers of the protein and inhibit their spontaneous self-assembly. These results reveal the possible molecular mechanism for the antiamyloidogenic potential of Cu(II) which could be important for the development of metal-ion specific therapeutic strategies against amyloid linked complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shikha Mittal
- Biophysical and Biomaterials Research Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Kailash Prasad Prajapati
- Biophysical and Biomaterials Research Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Masihuzzaman Ansari
- Biophysical and Biomaterials Research Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Kajal Joshi
- Biophysical and Biomaterials Research Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Nishant Mishra
- Biomolecular Self-Assembly Lab, Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu 603203, India
| | - Om Prakash Mahato
- Biophysical and Biomaterials Research Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Bibin Gnanadhason Anand
- Biomolecular Self-Assembly Lab, Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu 603203, India
| | - Karunakar Kar
- Biophysical and Biomaterials Research Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
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8
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Katina N, Marchenkov V, Lapteva Y, Balobanov V, Ilyina N, Ryabova N, Evdokimov S, Suvorina M, Surin A, Glukhov A. Authentic hSAA related with AA amyloidosis: New method of purification, folding and amyloid polymorphism. Biophys Chem 2024; 313:107293. [PMID: 39004034 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2024.107293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
The secondary amyloidosis of humans is caused by the formation of hSAA fibrils in different organs and tissues. Until now hSAA was thought to have low amyloidogenicity in vitro and the majority of SAA aggregation experiments were done using murine protein or hSAA non-pathogenic isoforms. In this work a novel purification method for recombinant hSAA was introduced, enabling to obtain monomeric protein capable of amyloid aggregation under physiological conditions. The stability and amyloid aggregation of hSAA have been examined using a wide range of biophysical methods. It was shown that the unfolding of monomeric protein occurs through the formation of molten globule-like intermediate state. Polymorphism of hSAA amyloids was discovered to depend on the solution pH. At pH 8.5, rapid protein aggregation occurs, which leads to the formation of twisted short fibrils. Even a slight decrease of the pH to 7.8 results in delayed aggregation with the formation of long straight amyloids composed of laterally associated protofilaments. Limited proteolysis experiments have shown that full-length hSAA is involved in the formation of intermolecular interactions in both amyloid polymorphs. The results obtained, and the experimental approach used in this study can serve as a basis for further research on the mechanism of authentic hSAA amyloid formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalya Katina
- Branch of the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS, Prospekt Nauki, 6, Pushchino, 142290, Russia; Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
| | - Victor Marchenkov
- Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
| | - Yulia Lapteva
- Institute for Biological Instrumentation RAS, Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nauki av., 3, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
| | - Vitalii Balobanov
- Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
| | - Nelly Ilyina
- Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
| | - Natalya Ryabova
- Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
| | | | - Mariya Suvorina
- Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
| | - Alexey Surin
- Branch of the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS, Prospekt Nauki, 6, Pushchino, 142290, Russia; Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia; State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Kvartal A, 24, Obolensk, 142279, Russia.
| | - Anatoly Glukhov
- Institute of Protein Research RAS, Institutskaya, 4, Pushchino, 142290, Russia.
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9
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Tiroli-Cepeda AO, Linhares LA, Aragão AZB, de Jesus JR, Wasilewska-Sampaio AP, De Felice FG, Ferreira ST, Borges JC, Cyr DM, Ramos CHI. Type I Hsp40s/DnaJs aggregates exhibit features reminiscent of amyloidogenic structures. FEBS J 2024. [PMID: 38975859 DOI: 10.1111/febs.17215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024]
Abstract
A rise in temperature triggers a structural change in the human Type I 40 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp40/DnaJ), known as DNAJA1. This change leads to a less compact structure, characterized by an increased presence of solvent-exposed hydrophobic patches and β-sheet-rich regions. This transformation is validated by circular dichroism, thioflavin T binding, and Bis-ANS assays. The formation of this β-sheet-rich conformation, which is amplified in the absence of zinc, leads to protein aggregation. This aggregation is induced not only by high temperatures but also by low ionic strength and high protein concentration. The aggregated conformation exhibits characteristics of an amyloidogenic structure, including a distinctive X-ray diffraction pattern, seeding competence (which stimulates the formation of amyloid-like aggregates), cytotoxicity, resistance to SDS, and fibril formation. Interestingly, the yeast Type I Ydj1 also tends to adopt a similar β-sheet-rich structure under comparable conditions, whereas Type II Hsp40s, whether human or from yeast, do not. Moreover, Ydj1 aggregates were found to be cytotoxic. Studies using DNAJA1- and Ydj1-deleted mutants suggest that the zinc-finger region plays a crucial role in amyloid formation. Our discovery of amyloid aggregation in a C-terminal deletion mutant of DNAJA1, which resembles a spliced homolog expressed in the testis, implies that Type I Hsp40 co-chaperones may generate amyloidogenic species in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana O Tiroli-Cepeda
- Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Leonardo A Linhares
- Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Annelize Z B Aragão
- Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Jemmyson R de Jesus
- Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | | | - Fernanda G De Felice
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sérgio T Ferreira
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Júlio C Borges
- São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
| | | | - Carlos H I Ramos
- Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
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10
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Chuang HY, He RY, Huang YA, Hsu WT, Cheng YJ, Guo ZR, Wali N, Hwang IS, Shie JJ, Huang JJT. Engineered droplet-forming peptide as photocontrollable phase modulator for fused in sarcoma protein. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5686. [PMID: 38971830 PMCID: PMC11227587 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50025-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The assembly and disassembly of biomolecular condensates are crucial for the subcellular compartmentalization of biomolecules in the control of cellular reactions. Recently, a correlation has been discovered between the phase transition of condensates and their maturation (aggregation) process in diseases. Therefore, modulating the phase of condensates to unravel the roles of condensation has become a matter of interest. Here, we create a peptide-based phase modulator, JSF1, which forms droplets in the dark and transforms into amyloid-like fibrils upon photoinitiation, as evidenced by their distinctive nanomechanical and dynamic properties. JSF1 is found to effectively enhance the condensation of purified fused in sarcoma (FUS) protein and, upon light exposure, induce its fibrilization. We also use JSF1 to modulate the biophysical states of FUS condensates in live cells and elucidate the relationship between FUS phase transition and FUS proteinopathy, thereby shedding light on the effect of protein phase transition on cellular function and malfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao-Yu Chuang
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
- Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
| | - Ruei-Yu He
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Yung-An Huang
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Wan-Ting Hsu
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Jen Cheng
- Neuroscience Program of Academia Sinica, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Zheng-Rong Guo
- Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Niaz Wali
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | | | - Jiun-Jie Shie
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Joseph Jen-Tse Huang
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
- Neuroscience Program of Academia Sinica, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
- Sustainable Chemical Science and Technology, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiayi University, Chiayi City, 600, Taiwan.
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11
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Planas-Iglesias J, Borko S, Swiatkowski J, Elias M, Havlasek M, Salamon O, Grakova E, Kunka A, Martinovic T, Damborsky J, Martinovic J, Bednar D. AggreProt: a web server for predicting and engineering aggregation prone regions in proteins. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:W159-W169. [PMID: 38801076 PMCID: PMC11223854 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Recombinant proteins play pivotal roles in numerous applications including industrial biocatalysts or therapeutics. Despite the recent progress in computational protein structure prediction, protein solubility and reduced aggregation propensity remain challenging attributes to design. Identification of aggregation-prone regions is essential for understanding misfolding diseases or designing efficient protein-based technologies, and as such has a great socio-economic impact. Here, we introduce AggreProt, a user-friendly webserver that automatically exploits an ensemble of deep neural networks to predict aggregation-prone regions (APRs) in protein sequences. Trained on experimentally evaluated hexapeptides, AggreProt compares to or outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms on two independent benchmark datasets. The server provides per-residue aggregation profiles along with information on solvent accessibility and transmembrane propensity within an intuitive interface with interactive sequence and structure viewers for comprehensive analysis. We demonstrate AggreProt efficacy in predicting differential aggregation behaviours in proteins on several use cases, which emphasize its potential for guiding protein engineering strategies towards decreased aggregation propensity and improved solubility. The webserver is freely available and accessible at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/aggreprot/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Planas-Iglesias
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Simeon Borko
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Swiatkowski
- IT4Innovations, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - Matej Elias
- IT4Innovations, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Havlasek
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondrej Salamon
- IT4Innovations, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - Ekaterina Grakova
- IT4Innovations, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - Antonín Kunka
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Martinovic
- IT4Innovations, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Damborsky
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Martinovic
- IT4Innovations, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - David Bednar
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
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12
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Fonda BD, Murray DT. The Potent PHL4 Transcription Factor Effector Domain Contains Significant Disorder. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.27.601048. [PMID: 39005418 PMCID: PMC11244893 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.27.601048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
The phosphate-starvation response transcription-factor protein family is essential to plant response to low-levels of phosphate. Proteins in this transcription factor (TF) family act by altering various gene expression levels, such as increasing levels of the acid phosphatase proteins which catalyze the conversion of inorganic phosphates to bio-available compounds. There are few structural characterizations of proteins in this TF family, none of which address the potent TF activation domains. The phosphate-starvation response-like protein-4 (PHL4) protein from this family has garnered interest due to the unusually high TF activation activity of the N-terminal domain. Here, we demonstrate using solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements that the PHL4 N-terminal activating TF effector domain is mainly an intrinsically disordered domain of over 200 residues, and that the C-terminal region of PHL4 is also disordered. Additionally, we present evidence from size-exclusion chromatography, diffusion NMR measurements, and a cross-linking assay suggesting full-length PHL4 forms a tetrameric assembly. Together, the data indicate the N- and C-terminal disordered domains in PHL4 flank a central folded region that likely forms the ordered oligomer of PHL4. This work provides a foundation for future studies detailing how the conformations and molecular motions of PHL4 change as it acts as a potent activator of gene expression in phosphate metabolism. Such a detailed mechanistic understanding of TF function will benefit genetic engineering efforts that take advantage of this activity to boost transcriptional activation of genes across different organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake D. Fonda
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
| | - Dylan T. Murray
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06926, United States of America
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13
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Kobayashi N, Iwaide S, Fukui H, Une Y, Itoh Y, Hisada M, Murakami T. Apolipoprotein C-III amyloidosis in white lions ( Panthera leo). Vet Pathol 2024; 61:574-581. [PMID: 38345009 DOI: 10.1177/03009858241230100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Apolipoprotein C-III (ApoC-III) amyloidosis in humans is a hereditary amyloidosis caused by a D25V mutation in the APOC3 gene. This condition has only been reported in a French family and not in animals. We analyzed a 19-year-old white lion (Panthera leo) that died in a Japanese safari park and found renal amyloidosis characterized by severe deposition confined to the renal corticomedullary border zone. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis identified ApoC-III as a major component of renal amyloid deposits. Amyloid deposits were also positive for ApoC-III by immunohistochemistry. Based on these results, this case was diagnosed as ApoC-III amyloidosis for the first time in nonhuman animals. Five additional white lions were also tested for amyloid deposition retrospectively. ApoC-III amyloid deposition was detected in 3 white lions aged 19 to 21 years but not in 2 cases aged 0.5 and 10 years. Genetic analysis of white and regular-colored lions revealed that the APOC3 sequences of the lions were identical, regardless of amyloid deposition. These results suggest that ApoC-III amyloidosis in lions, unlike in humans, may not be a hereditary condition but an age-related condition. Interestingly, lion ApoC-III has a Val30 substitution compared with other species of Panthera that have Met30. Structural predictions suggest that the conformation of ApoC-III with Met30 and ApoC-III with Val30 are almost identical, but this substitution may alter the ability to bind to lipids. As with the D25V mutation in human ApoC-III, the Val30 substitution in lions may increase the proportion of free ApoC-III, leading to amyloid formation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susumu Iwaide
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu-shi, Japan
| | - Hiroto Fukui
- Okayama University of Science, Imabari-shi, Japan
| | - Yumi Une
- Okayama University of Science, Imabari-shi, Japan
| | - Yoshiyuki Itoh
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu-shi, Japan
| | - Miki Hisada
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu-shi, Japan
| | - Tomoaki Murakami
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu-shi, Japan
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14
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Manning MC, Holcomb RE, Payne RW, Stillahn JM, Connolly BD, Katayama DS, Liu H, Matsuura JE, Murphy BM, Henry CS, Crommelin DJA. Stability of Protein Pharmaceuticals: Recent Advances. Pharm Res 2024; 41:1301-1367. [PMID: 38937372 DOI: 10.1007/s11095-024-03726-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
There have been significant advances in the formulation and stabilization of proteins in the liquid state over the past years since our previous review. Our mechanistic understanding of protein-excipient interactions has increased, allowing one to develop formulations in a more rational fashion. The field has moved towards more complex and challenging formulations, such as high concentration formulations to allow for subcutaneous administration and co-formulation. While much of the published work has focused on mAbs, the principles appear to apply to any therapeutic protein, although mAbs clearly have some distinctive features. In this review, we first discuss chemical degradation reactions. This is followed by a section on physical instability issues. Then, more specific topics are addressed: instability induced by interactions with interfaces, predictive methods for physical stability and interplay between chemical and physical instability. The final parts are devoted to discussions how all the above impacts (co-)formulation strategies, in particular for high protein concentration solutions.'
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Cornell Manning
- Legacy BioDesign LLC, Johnstown, CO, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
| | - Ryan E Holcomb
- Legacy BioDesign LLC, Johnstown, CO, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Robert W Payne
- Legacy BioDesign LLC, Johnstown, CO, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Joshua M Stillahn
- Legacy BioDesign LLC, Johnstown, CO, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Charles S Henry
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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15
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Lin YJ, Menon AS, Hu Z, Brenner SE. Variant Impact Predictor database (VIPdb), version 2: Trends from 25 years of genetic variant impact predictors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.25.600283. [PMID: 38979289 PMCID: PMC11230257 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.25.600283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Background Variant interpretation is essential for identifying patients' disease-causing genetic variants amongst the millions detected in their genomes. Hundreds of Variant Impact Predictors (VIPs), also known as Variant Effect Predictors (VEPs), have been developed for this purpose, with a variety of methodologies and goals. To facilitate the exploration of available VIP options, we have created the Variant Impact Predictor database (VIPdb). Results The Variant Impact Predictor database (VIPdb) version 2 presents a collection of VIPs developed over the past 25 years, summarizing their characteristics, ClinGen calibrated scores, CAGI assessment results, publication details, access information, and citation patterns. We previously summarized 217 VIPs and their features in VIPdb in 2019. Building upon this foundation, we identified and categorized an additional 186 VIPs, resulting in a total of 403 VIPs in VIPdb version 2. The majority of the VIPs have the capacity to predict the impacts of single nucleotide variants and nonsynonymous variants. More VIPs tailored to predict the impacts of insertions and deletions have been developed since the 2010s. In contrast, relatively few VIPs are dedicated to the prediction of splicing, structural, synonymous, and regulatory variants. The increasing rate of citations to VIPs reflects the ongoing growth in their use, and the evolving trends in citations reveal development in the field and individual methods. Conclusions VIPdb version 2 summarizes 403 VIPs and their features, potentially facilitating VIP exploration for various variant interpretation applications. Availability VIPdb version 2 is available at https://genomeinterpretation.org/vipdb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Jen Lin
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Center for Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Arul S. Menon
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Zhiqiang Hu
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Currently at: Illumina, Foster City, California 94404, USA
| | - Steven E. Brenner
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Center for Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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16
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Zheng S, Cui R, Yu D, Niu Y, Wu X, Yang F, Chen J. Novel Antioxidant Self-Assembled Peptides Extracted from Azumapecten farreri Meat: In Vitro- and In Silico-Assisted Identification. Antioxidants (Basel) 2024; 13:790. [PMID: 39061861 PMCID: PMC11273597 DOI: 10.3390/antiox13070790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have found that the self-assembled supramolecules of Azumapecten farreri meat peptides have antioxidant effects. Therefore, this study aims to isolate and identify novel antioxidant peptides with self-assembly characteristics and analyze their structure-activity relationship through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. The in vitro results show that as the purification steps increased, the antioxidant activity of peptides became stronger. Additionally, the purification step did not affect its pH-responsive self-assembly. Using LC-MS/MS, 298 peptide sequences were identified from the purified fraction PF1, and 12 safe and antioxidant-active peptides were acquired through in silico screening. The molecular docking results show that they had good binding interactions with key antioxidant-related protein ligands (KEAP1 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1) and MPO (myeloperoxidase)). The peptide QPPALNDSYLYGPQ, with the lowest docking energy, was selected for a 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation. The results show that the peptide QPPALNDSYLYGPQ exhibited excellent stability when docked with KEAP1 and MPO, thus exerting antioxidant effects by regulating the KEAP1-NRF2 pathway and inhibiting MPO activity. This study further validates the antioxidant and self-assembling properties of the self-assembled supramolecules of Azumapecten farreri meat peptide and shows its potential for developing new, effective, and stable antioxidants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Zheng
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China; (S.Z.); (R.C.); (D.Y.); (Y.N.); (X.W.)
| | - Ronghua Cui
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China; (S.Z.); (R.C.); (D.Y.); (Y.N.); (X.W.)
| | - Dingyi Yu
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China; (S.Z.); (R.C.); (D.Y.); (Y.N.); (X.W.)
| | - Yanxiang Niu
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China; (S.Z.); (R.C.); (D.Y.); (Y.N.); (X.W.)
| | - Xuehan Wu
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China; (S.Z.); (R.C.); (D.Y.); (Y.N.); (X.W.)
| | - Faming Yang
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China; (S.Z.); (R.C.); (D.Y.); (Y.N.); (X.W.)
| | - Jingdi Chen
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China; (S.Z.); (R.C.); (D.Y.); (Y.N.); (X.W.)
- Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing, Yantai 265599, China
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17
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Fonda BD, Kato M, Li Y, Murray DT. Cryo-EM and Solid State NMR Together Provide a More Comprehensive Structural Investigation of Protein Fibrils. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.30.596698. [PMID: 38853912 PMCID: PMC11160737 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.30.596698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
The Tropomyosin 1 isoform I/C C-terminal domain (Tm1-LC) fibril structure is studied jointly with cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This study demonstrates the complementary nature of these two structural biology techniques. Chemical shift assignments from solid state NMR are used to determine the secondary structure at the level of individual amino acids, which is faithfully seen in cryo-EM reconstructions. Additionally, solid state NMR demonstrates that the region not observed in the reconstructed cryo-EM density is primarily in a highly mobile random coil conformation rather than adopting multiple rigid conformations. Overall, this study illustrates the benefit of investigations combining cryo-EM and solid state NMR to investigate protein fibril structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake D. Fonda
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
| | - Masato Kato
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States of America
| | - Yang Li
- Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States of America
| | - Dylan T. Murray
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, United States of America
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18
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Ghosh D, Biswas A, Radhakrishna M. Advanced computational approaches to understand protein aggregation. BIOPHYSICS REVIEWS 2024; 5:021302. [PMID: 38681860 PMCID: PMC11045254 DOI: 10.1063/5.0180691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Protein aggregation is a widespread phenomenon implicated in debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cataracts, presenting complex hurdles for the field of molecular biology. In this review, we explore the evolving realm of computational methods and bioinformatics tools that have revolutionized our comprehension of protein aggregation. Beginning with a discussion of the multifaceted challenges associated with understanding this process and emphasizing the critical need for precise predictive tools, we highlight how computational techniques have become indispensable for understanding protein aggregation. We focus on molecular simulations, notably molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, spanning from atomistic to coarse-grained levels, which have emerged as pivotal tools in unraveling the complex dynamics governing protein aggregation in diseases such as cataracts, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. MD simulations provide microscopic insights into protein interactions and the subtleties of aggregation pathways, with advanced techniques like replica exchange molecular dynamics, Metadynamics (MetaD), and umbrella sampling enhancing our understanding by probing intricate energy landscapes and transition states. We delve into specific applications of MD simulations, elucidating the chaperone mechanism underlying cataract formation using Markov state modeling and the intricate pathways and interactions driving the toxic aggregate formation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Transitioning we highlight how computational techniques, including bioinformatics, sequence analysis, structural data, machine learning algorithms, and artificial intelligence have become indispensable for predicting protein aggregation propensity and locating aggregation-prone regions within protein sequences. Throughout our exploration, we underscore the symbiotic relationship between computational approaches and empirical data, which has paved the way for potential therapeutic strategies against protein aggregation-related diseases. In conclusion, this review offers a comprehensive overview of advanced computational methodologies and bioinformatics tools that have catalyzed breakthroughs in unraveling the molecular basis of protein aggregation, with significant implications for clinical interventions, standing at the intersection of computational biology and experimental research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepshikha Ghosh
- Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
| | - Anushka Biswas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
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19
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Florio D, Luciano P, Di Natale C, Marasco D. The effects of histidine substitution of aromatic residues on the amyloidogenic properties of the fragment 264-277 of nucleophosmin 1. Bioorg Chem 2024; 147:107404. [PMID: 38678777 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Histidine (His) plays a key role in mediating protein interactions and its unique side chain determines pH responsive self-assembling processes and thus in the formation of nanostructures. In this study, To identify novel self-assembling bioinspired sequences, we analyzed a series of peptide sequences obtained through the point mutation of aromatic residues of 264-277 fragment of nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) with single and double histidines. Through several orthogonal biophysical techniques and under different pH and ionic strength conditions we evaluated the effects of these substitutions in the amyloidogenic features of derived peptides. The results clearly indicate that both the type of aromatic mutated residue and its position can have different effect on amyloid-like behaviors. They corroborate the crucial role exerted by Tyr271 in the self-assembling process of CTD of NPM1 in AML mutated form and add novel insights in the accurate investigation of how side chain orientations can determine successful design of innovative bioinspired materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Florio
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Paolo Luciano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Concetta Di Natale
- Department of Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale (DICMAPI), Italy
| | - Daniela Marasco
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy.
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20
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Wang YL, Lin HC, Liang T, Lin JY, Simmer J, Hu JC, Wang SK. ENAM Mutations Can Cause Hypomaturation Amelogenesis Imperfecta. J Dent Res 2024; 103:662-671. [PMID: 38716742 PMCID: PMC11122092 DOI: 10.1177/00220345241236695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a diverse group of inherited diseases featured by various presentations of enamel malformations that are caused by disturbances at different stages of enamel formation. While hypoplastic AI suggests a thickness defect of enamel resulting from aberrations during the secretory stage of amelogenesis, hypomaturation AI indicates a deficiency of enamel mineralization and hardness established at the maturation stage. Mutations in ENAM, which encodes the largest enamel matrix protein, enamelin, have been demonstrated to cause generalized or local hypoplastic AI. Here, we characterized 2 AI families with disparate hypoplastic and hypomaturation enamel defects and identified 2 distinct indel mutations at the same location of ENAM, c588+1del and c.588+1dup. Minigene splicing assays demonstrated that they caused frameshifts and truncation of ENAM proteins, p.Asn197Ilefs*81 and p.Asn197Glufs*25, respectively. In situ hybridization of Enam on mouse mandibular incisors confirmed its restricted expression in secretory stage ameloblasts and suggested an indirect pathogenic mechanism underlying hypomaturation AI. In silico analyses indicated that these 2 truncated ENAMs might form amyloid structures and cause protein aggregation with themselves and with wild-type protein through the added aberrant region at their C-termini. Consistently, protein secretion assays demonstrated that the truncated proteins cannot be properly secreted and impede secretion of wild-type ENAM. Moreover, compared to the wild-type, overexpression of the mutant proteins significantly increased endoplasmic reticulum stress and upregulated the expression of unfolded protein response (UPR)-related genes and TNFRSF10B, a UPR-controlled proapoptotic gene. Caspase, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase UTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL), and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays further revealed that both truncated proteins, especially p.Asn197Ilefs*81, induced cell apoptosis and decreased cell survival, suggesting that the 2 ENAM mutations cause AI through ameloblast cell pathology and death rather than through a simple loss of function. This study demonstrates that an ENAM mutation can lead to generalized hypomaturation enamel defects and suggests proteinopathy as a potential pathogenesis for ENAM-associated AI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y.-L. Wang
- Department of Dentistry, National Taiwan University School of Dentistry, Taipei City, Taiwan
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry, National Taiwan University Children’s Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - H.-C. Lin
- Department of Dentistry, National Taiwan University School of Dentistry, Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - T. Liang
- Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - J.C.-Y. Lin
- Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Defense Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - J.P. Simmer
- Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - J.C.-C. Hu
- Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - S.-K. Wang
- Department of Dentistry, National Taiwan University School of Dentistry, Taipei City, Taiwan
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry, National Taiwan University Children’s Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan
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21
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Belur NR, Bustos BI, Lubbe SJ, Mazzulli JR. Nuclear aggregates of NONO/SFPQ and A-to-I-edited RNA in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Neuron 2024:S0896-6273(24)00328-3. [PMID: 38761794 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are commonly classified as proteinopathies that are defined by the aggregation of a specific protein. Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are classified as synucleinopathies since α-synuclein (α-syn)-containing inclusions histopathologically define these diseases. Unbiased biochemical analysis of PD and DLB patient material unexpectedly revealed novel pathological inclusions in the nucleus comprising adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I)-edited mRNAs and NONO and SFPQ proteins. These inclusions showed no colocalization with Lewy bodies and accumulated at levels comparable to α-syn. NONO and SFPQ aggregates reduced the expression of the editing inhibitor ADAR3, increasing A-to-I editing mainly within human-specific, Alu-repeat regions of axon, synaptic, and mitochondrial transcripts. Inosine-containing transcripts aberrantly accumulated in the nucleus, bound tighter to recombinant purified SFPQ in vitro, and potentiated SFPQ aggregation in human dopamine neurons, resulting in a self-propagating pathological state. Our data offer new insight into the inclusion composition and pathophysiology of PD and DLB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandkishore R Belur
- The Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Bernabe I Bustos
- The Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Steven J Lubbe
- The Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Joseph R Mazzulli
- The Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
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22
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Szulc N, Gąsior-Głogowska M, Żyłka P, Szefczyk M, Wojciechowski JW, Żak AM, Dyrka W, Kaczorowska A, Burdukiewicz M, Tarek M, Kotulska M. Structural effects of charge destabilization and amino acid substitutions in amyloid fragments of CsgA. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2024; 313:124094. [PMID: 38503257 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.124094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
The most studied functional amyloid is the CsgA, major curli subunit protein, which is produced by numerous strains of Enterobacteriaceae. Although CsgA sequences are highly conserved, they exhibit species diversity, which reflects the specific evolutionary and functional adaptability of the major curli subunit. Herein, we performed bioinformatics analyses to uncover the differences in the amyloidogenic properties of the R4 fragments in Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica and proposed four mutants for more detailed studies: M1, M2, M3, and M4. The mutated sequences were characterized by various experimental techniques, such as circular dichroism, ATR-FTIR, FT-Raman, thioflavin T, transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to determine the role of buffer ions in the aggregation process. Our results demonstrated that the aggregation kinetics, fibril morphology, and overall structure of the peptide were significantly affected by the positions of charged amino acids within the repeat sequences of CsgA. Notably, substituting glycine with lysine resulted in the formation of distinctive spherically packed globular aggregates. The differences in morphology observed are attributed to the influence of phosphate ions, which disrupt the local electrostatic interaction network of the polypeptide chains. This study provides knowledge on the preferential formation of amyloid fibrils based on charge states within the polypeptide chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Szulc
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland; CNRS, University of Lorraine, F-5400 Nancy, France; Department of Physics and Biophysics, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Norwida 25, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Marlena Gąsior-Głogowska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Paweł Żyłka
- Department of Electrical Engineering Fundamentals, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Monika Szefczyk
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jakub W Wojciechowski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej M Żak
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Witold Dyrka
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Kaczorowska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland; Laboratory of Cytobiochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wroclaw, F. Joliot-Curie 14a, 50-383 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Michał Burdukiewicz
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Plaça Cívica Bellaterra, s/n, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, Jana Kilinskiego 1, 15-089 Bialystok, Poland
| | - Mounir Tarek
- CNRS, University of Lorraine, F-5400 Nancy, France.
| | - Malgorzata Kotulska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
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23
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Louros N, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J. CORDAX web server: an online platform for the prediction and 3D visualization of aggregation motifs in protein sequences. Bioinformatics 2024; 40:btae279. [PMID: 38662570 PMCID: PMC11078773 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Proteins, the molecular workhorses of biological systems, execute a multitude of critical functions dictated by their precise three-dimensional structures. In a complex and dynamic cellular environment, proteins can undergo misfolding, leading to the formation of aggregates that take up various forms, including amorphous and ordered aggregation in the shape of amyloid fibrils. This phenomenon is closely linked to a spectrum of widespread debilitating pathologies, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type-II diabetes, and several other proteinopathies, but also hampers the engineering of soluble agents, as in the case of antibody development. As such, the accurate prediction of aggregation propensity within protein sequences has become pivotal due to profound implications in understanding disease mechanisms, as well as in improving biotechnological and therapeutic applications. RESULTS We previously developed Cordax, a structure-based predictor that utilizes logistic regression to detect aggregation motifs in protein sequences based on their structural complementarity to the amyloid cross-beta architecture. Here, we present a dedicated web server interface for Cordax. This online platform combines several features including detailed scoring of sequence aggregation propensity, as well as 3D visualization with several customization options for topology models of the structural cores formed by predicted aggregation motifs. In addition, information is provided on experimentally determined aggregation-prone regions that exhibit sequence similarity to predicted motifs, scores, and links to other predictor outputs, as well as simultaneous predictions of relevant sequence propensities, such as solubility, hydrophobicity, and secondary structure propensity. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The Cordax webserver is freely accessible at https://cordax.switchlab.org/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Louros
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, VIB, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Switch Laboratory, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for AI & Computational Biology, VIB, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frederic Rousseau
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, VIB, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Switch Laboratory, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for AI & Computational Biology, VIB, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joost Schymkowitz
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, VIB, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Switch Laboratory, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Switch Laboratory, VIB Center for AI & Computational Biology, VIB, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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24
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Baronaitė I, Šulskis D, Kopu̅stas A, Tutkus M, Smirnovas V. Formation of Calprotectin Inhibits Amyloid Aggregation of S100A8 and S100A9 Proteins. ACS Chem Neurosci 2024; 15:1915-1925. [PMID: 38634811 PMCID: PMC11066842 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 03/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Calcium-binding S100A8 and S100A9 proteins play a significant role in various disorders due to their pro-inflammatory functions. Substantially, they are also relevant in neurodegenerative disorders via the delivery of signals for the immune response. However, at the same time, they can aggregate and accelerate the progression of diseases. Natively, S100A8 and S100A9 exist as homo- and heterodimers, but upon aggregation, they form amyloid-like oligomers, fibrils, or amorphous aggregates. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the aggregation propensities of S100A8, S100A9, and their heterodimer calprotectin by investigating aggregation kinetics, secondary structures, and morphologies of the aggregates. For the first time, we followed the in vitro aggregation of S100A8, which formed spherical aggregates, unlike the fibrillar structures of S100A9 under the same conditions. The aggregates were sensitive to amyloid-specific ThT and ThS dyes and had a secondary structure composed of β-sheets. Similarly to S100A9, S100A8 protein was stabilized by calcium ions, resulting in aggregation inhibition. Finally, the formation of S100A8 and S100A9 heterodimers stabilized the proteins in the absence of calcium ions and prevented their aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ieva Baronaitė
- Institute
of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Darius Šulskis
- Institute
of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Aurimas Kopu̅stas
- Institute
of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
- Department
of Molecular Compound Physics, Center for
Physical Sciences and Technology, LT- 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Marijonas Tutkus
- Institute
of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
- Department
of Molecular Compound Physics, Center for
Physical Sciences and Technology, LT- 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Vytautas Smirnovas
- Institute
of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
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25
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Pusara S. Molecular Dynamics Insights into the Aggregation Behavior of N-Terminal β-Lactoglobulin Peptides. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4660. [PMID: 38731878 PMCID: PMC11083573 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
β-lactoglobulin (BLG) forms amyloid-like aggregates at high temperatures, low pH, and low ionic strengths. At a pH below 2, BLG undergoes hydrolysis into peptides, with N-terminal peptides 1-33 and 1-52 being prone to fibrillization, forming amyloid-like fibrils. Due to their good mechanical properties, BLG amyloids demonstrate great potential for diverse applications, including biosensors, nanocomposites, and catalysts. Consequently, further studies are essential to comprehensively understand the factors governing the formation of BLG amyloid-like morphologies. In this study, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were employed to explore the aggregation of N-terminal 1-33 and 1-52 BLG peptides under conditions of pH 2 and at 10 mM NaCl concentration. The simulations revealed that the peptides spontaneously assembled into aggregates of varying sizes. The aggregation process was enabled by the low charge of peptides and the presence of hydrophobic residues within them. As the peptides associated into aggregates, there was a concurrent increase in β-sheet structures and the establishment of hydrogen bonds, enhancing the stability of the aggregates. Notably, on average, 1-33 peptides formed larger aggregates compared to their 1-52 counterparts, while the latter exhibited a slightly higher content of β-sheets and higher cluster orderliness. The applied approach facilitated insights into the early stages of amyloid-like aggregation and molecular-level insight into the formation of β-sheets, which serve as nucleation points for further fibril growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srdjan Pusara
- Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
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26
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Sarkar S, Kumari A, Tiwari M, Tiwari V. Interaction and simulation studies suggest the possible molecular targets of intrinsically disordered amyloidogenic antimicrobial peptides in Acinetobacter baumannii. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:2747-2764. [PMID: 37144752 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2208219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the causing agents of nosocomial infections. A wide range of antibiotics fails to work against these pathogens. Hence, there is an urgent requirement to develop other therapeutics to solve this problem. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a diverse group of naturally occurring peptides that have the ability to kill diverse groups of microorganisms. The major challenge of using AMPs as therapeutics is their unstable nature and the fact that most of their molecular targets are still unknown. In this study, we have selected intrinsically disordered and amyloidogenic AMPs, showing activity against A. baumannii, that is, Bactenecin, Cath BF, Citropin 1.1, DP7, NA-CATH, Tachyplesin, and WAM-1. To identify the probable target of these AMPs in A. baumannii, calculation of docking score, binding energy, dissociation constant, and molecular dynamics analysis was performed with selected seventeen possible molecular targets. The result showed that the most probable molecular targets of most of the intrinsically disordered amyloidogenic AMPs were UDP-N-acetylenol-pyruvoyl-glucosamine reductase (MurB), followed by 33-36 kDa outer membrane protein (Omp 33-36), UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-l-alanyl-d-glutamate-2,6-diaminopimelate ligase (MurE), and porin Subfamily Protein (PorinSubF). Further, molecular dynamics analysis concluded that the target of antimicrobial peptide Bactenecin is MurB of A. baumannii, and identified other molecular targets of selected AMPs. Additionally, the oligomerization capacity of the selected AMPs was also investigated, and it was shown that the selected AMPs form oligomeric states, and interact with their molecular targets in that state. Experimental validation using purified AMPs and molecular targets needs to be done to confirm the interaction.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayani Sarkar
- Department of Biochemistry, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India
| | - Aruna Kumari
- Department of Biochemistry, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India
| | - Monalisa Tiwari
- Department of Biochemistry, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India
| | - Vishvanath Tiwari
- Department of Biochemistry, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India
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27
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Sulatskaya AI, Stepanenko OV, Sulatsky MI, Mikhailova EV, Kuznetsova IM, Turoverov KK, Stepanenko OV. Structural determinants of odorant-binding proteins affecting their ability to form amyloid fibrils. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 264:130699. [PMID: 38460650 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.130699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
The formation of amyloid fibrils is associated with many severe pathologies as well as the execution of essential physiological functions by proteins. Despite the diversity, all amyloids share a similar morphology and consist of stacked β-strands, suggesting high amyloidogenicity of native proteins enriched with β-structure. Such proteins include those with a β-barrel-like structure with β-strands arranged into a cylindrical β-sheet. However, the mechanisms responsible for destabilization of the native state and triggering fibrillogenesis have not thoroughly explored yet. Here we analyze the structural determinants of fibrillogenesis in proteins with β-barrel structures on the example of odorant-binding protein (OBP), whose amyloidogenicity was recently demonstrated in vitro. We reveal a crucial role in the fibrillogenesis of OBPs for the "open" conformation of the molecule. This conformation is achieved by disrupting the interaction between the β-barrel and the C-terminus of protein monomers or dimers, which exposes "sticky" amyloidogenic sites for interaction. The data suggest that the "open" conformation of OBPs can be induced by destabilizing the native β-barrel structure through the disruption of: 1) intramolecular disulfide cross-linking and non-covalent contacts between the C-terminal fragment and β-barrel in the protein's monomeric form, or 2) intermolecular contacts involved in domain swapping in the protein's dimeric form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna I Sulatskaya
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky ave., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Olga V Stepanenko
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky ave., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Maksim I Sulatsky
- Laboratory of Cell Morphology, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky ave., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Ekaterina V Mikhailova
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky ave., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Irina M Kuznetsova
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky ave., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Konstantin K Turoverov
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky ave., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Olesya V Stepanenko
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky ave., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia.
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28
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Nabi F, Ahmad O, Khan A, Hassan MN, Hisamuddin M, Malik S, Chaari A, Khan RH. Natural compound plumbagin based inhibition of hIAPP revealed by Markov state models based on MD data along with experimental validations. Proteins 2024. [PMID: 38497314 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Human islet amyloid polypeptide (amylin or hIAPP) is a 37 residue hormone co-secreted with insulin from β cells of the pancreas. In patients suffering from type-2 diabetes, amylin self-assembles into amyloid fibrils, ultimately leading to the death of the pancreatic cells. However, a research gap exists in preventing and treating such amyloidosis. Plumbagin, a natural compound, has previously been demonstrated to have inhibitory potential against insulin amyloidosis. Our investigation unveils collapsible regions within hIAPP that, upon collapse, facilitates hydrophobic and pi-pi interactions, ultimately leading to aggregation. Intriguingly plumbagin exhibits the ability to bind these specific collapsible regions, thereby impeding the aforementioned interactions that would otherwise drive hIAPP aggregation. We have used atomistic molecular dynamics approach to determine secondary structural changes. MSM shows metastable states forming native like hIAPP structure in presence of PGN. Our in silico results concur with in vitro results. The ThT assay revealed a striking 50% decrease in fluorescence intensity at a 1:1 ratio of hIAPP to Plumbagin. This finding suggests a significant inhibition of amyloid fibril formation by plumbagin, as ThT fluorescence directly correlates with the presence of these fibrils. Further TEM images revealed disappearance of hIAPP fibrils in plumbagin pre-treated hIAPP samples. Also, we have shown that plumbagin disrupts the intermolecular hydrogen bonding in hIAPP fibrils leading to an increase in the average beta strand spacing, thereby causing disaggregation of pre-formed fibrils demonstrating overall disruption of the aggregation machinery of hIAPP. Our work is the first to report a detailed atomistic simulation of 22 μs for hIAPP. Overall, our studies put plumbagin as a potential candidate for both preventive and therapeutic candidate for hIAPP amyloidosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faisal Nabi
- Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Owais Ahmad
- Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Adeeba Khan
- Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Md Nadir Hassan
- Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Malik Hisamuddin
- Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Sadia Malik
- Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Ali Chaari
- Premedical Division, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Rizwan Hasan Khan
- Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
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29
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Marques M, Ramos B, Albuquerque H, Pereira M, Ribeiro DR, Nunes A, Sarabando J, Brás D, Ferreira AR, Vitorino R, Amorim MJ, Silva AM, Soares AR, Ribeiro D. Influenza A virus propagation requires the activation of the unfolded protein response and the accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates. iScience 2024; 27:109100. [PMID: 38405606 PMCID: PMC10884513 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Influenza A virus (IAV) employs multiple strategies to manipulate cellular mechanisms and support proper virion formation and propagation. In this study, we performed a detailed analysis of the interplay between IAV and the host cells' proteostasis throughout the entire infectious cycle. We reveal that IAV infection activates the inositol requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) branch of the unfolded protein response, and that this activation is important for an efficient infection. We further observed the accumulation of virus-induced insoluble protein aggregates, containing both viral and host proteins, associated with a dysregulation of the host cell RNA metabolism. Our data indicate that this accumulation is important for IAV propagation and favors the final steps of the infection cycle, more specifically the virion assembly. These findings reveal additional mechanisms by which IAV disrupts host proteostasis and uncovers new cellular targets that can be explored for the development of host-directed antiviral strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Marques
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Bruno Ramos
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Hélio Albuquerque
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Marisa Pereira
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Diana Roberta Ribeiro
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Alexandre Nunes
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Jéssica Sarabando
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Daniela Brás
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Ana Rita Ferreira
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Rui Vitorino
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Maria João Amorim
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
- Católica Biomedical Research Centre, Católica Medical School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Artur M.S. Silva
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Ana Raquel Soares
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Daniela Ribeiro
- Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
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30
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Eskandari A, Nezhad NG, Leow TC, Rahman MBA, Oslan SN. Essential factors, advanced strategies, challenges, and approaches involved for efficient expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Arch Microbiol 2024; 206:152. [PMID: 38472371 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-03871-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Producing recombinant proteins is a major accomplishment of biotechnology in the past century. Heterologous hosts, either eukaryotic or prokaryotic, are used for the production of these proteins. The utilization of microbial host systems continues to dominate as the most efficient and affordable method for biotherapeutics and food industry productions. Hence, it is crucial to analyze the limitations and advantages of microbial hosts to enhance the efficient production of recombinant proteins on a large scale. E. coli is widely used as a host for the production of recombinant proteins. Researchers have identified certain obstacles with this host, and given the growing demand for recombinant protein production, there is an immediate requirement to enhance this host. The following review discusses the elements contributing to the manifestation of recombinant protein. Subsequently, it sheds light on innovative approaches aimed at improving the expression of recombinant protein. Lastly, it delves into the obstacles and optimization methods associated with translation, mentioning both cis-optimization and trans-optimization, producing soluble recombinant protein, and engineering the metal ion transportation. In this context, a comprehensive description of the distinct features will be provided, and this knowledge could potentially enhance the expression of recombinant proteins in E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azadeh Eskandari
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Biochemistry, FacultyofBiotechnologyand BiomolecularSciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Nima Ghahremani Nezhad
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Thean Chor Leow
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Enzyme Technology and X-Ray Crystallography Laboratory, VacBio 5, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | | | - Siti Nurbaya Oslan
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
- Department of Biochemistry, FacultyofBiotechnologyand BiomolecularSciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
- Enzyme Technology and X-Ray Crystallography Laboratory, VacBio 5, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
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31
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Liao S, Zhang Y, Han X, Wang T, Wang X, Yan Q, Li Q, Qi Y, Zhang Z. A sequence-based model for identifying proteins undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation/forming fibril aggregates via machine learning. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4927. [PMID: 38380794 PMCID: PMC10880426 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and the solid aggregate (also referred to as amyloid aggregates) formation of proteins, have gained significant attention in recent years due to their associations with various physiological and pathological processes in living organisms. The systematic investigation of the differences and connections between proteins undergoing LLPS and those forming amyloid fibrils at the sequence level has not yet been explored. In this research, we aim to address this gap by comparing the two types of proteins across 36 features using collected data available currently. The statistical comparison results indicate that, 24 of the selected 36 features exhibit significant difference between the two protein groups. A LLPS-Fibrils binary classification model built on these 24 features using random forest reveals that the fraction of intrinsically disordered residues (FIDR ) is identified as the most crucial feature. While, in the further three-class LLPS-Fibrils-Background classification model built on the same screened features, the composition of cysteine and that of leucine show more significant contributions than others. Through feature ablation analysis, we finally constructed a model FLFB (Feature-based LLPS-Fibrils-Background protein predictor) using six refined features, with an average area under the receiver operating characteristics of 0.83. This work indicates using sequence features and a machine learning model, proteins undergoing LLPS or forming amyloid fibrils can be identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaofeng Liao
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yujun Zhang
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xinchen Han
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Tinglan Wang
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xi Wang
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Qinglin Yan
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Qian Li
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yifei Qi
- School of PharmacyFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zhuqing Zhang
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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32
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Janke JJ, Starr CG, Kingsbury JS, Furtmann N, Roberts CJ, Calero-Rubio C. Computational Screening for mAb Colloidal Stability with Coarse-Grained, Molecular-Scale Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:1515-1526. [PMID: 38315822 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c05303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are an important modality of protein therapeutics with broad applications for numerous diseases. However, colloidal instabilities occurring at high protein concentrations can limit the ability to develop stable, high-concentration liquid dosage forms that are required for patient-centric, device-mediated products. Therefore, it is advantageous to identify colloidally stable mAbs early in the discovery process to ensure that they are selected for development. Experimental screening for colloidal stability can be time- and resource-consuming and is most feasible at the later stages of drug development due to material requirements. Alternatively, computational approaches have emerging potential to provide efficient screening and focus developmental efforts on mAbs with the greatest developability potential, while providing mechanistic relationships for colloidal instability. In this work, coarse-grained, molecular-scale models were fine-tuned to screen for colloidal stability at amino-acid resolution. This model parameterization provides a framework to screen for mAb self-interactions and extrapolate to bulk solution behavior. This approach was applied to a wide array of mAbs under multiple buffer conditions, demonstrating the utility of the presented computational approach to augment early candidate screening and later formulation strategies for protein therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Joel Janke
- Biologics Drug Product Development and Manufacturing, Sanofi, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701, United States
| | - Charles G Starr
- Biologics Drug Product Development and Manufacturing, Sanofi, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701, United States
| | - Jonathan S Kingsbury
- Biologics Drug Product Development and Manufacturing, Sanofi, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701, United States
| | - Norbert Furtmann
- Large Molecules Research Platform, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Frankfurt 65926, Germany
| | - Christopher J Roberts
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Cesar Calero-Rubio
- Biologics Drug Product Development and Manufacturing, Sanofi, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701, United States
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Rathee P, Moorkkannur SN, Prabhakar R. Structural studies of catalytic peptides using molecular dynamics simulations. Methods Enzymol 2024; 697:151-180. [PMID: 38816122 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2024.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Many self-assembling peptides can form amyloid like structures with different sizes and morphologies. Driven by non-covalent interactions, their aggregation can occur through distinct pathways. Additionally, they can bind metal ions to create enzyme like active sites that allow them to catalyze diverse reactions. Due to the non-crystalline nature of amyloids, it is quite challenging to elucidate their structures using experimental spectroscopic techniques. In this aspect, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide a useful tool to derive structures of these macromolecules in solution. They can be further validated by comparing with experimentally measured structural parameters. However, these simulations require a multi-step process starting from the selection of the initial structure to the analysis of MD trajectories. There are multiple force fields, parametrization protocols, equilibration processes, software and analysis tools available for this process. Therefore, it is complicated for non-experts to select the most relevant tools and perform these simulations effectively. In this chapter, a systematic methodology that covers all major aspects of modeling of catalytic peptides is provided in a user-friendly manner. It will be helpful for researchers in this critical area of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parth Rathee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
| | | | - Rajeev Prabhakar
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States.
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34
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Hannon Bozorgmehr J. Four classic "de novo" genes all have plausible homologs and likely evolved from retro-duplicated or pseudogenic sequences. Mol Genet Genomics 2024; 299:6. [PMID: 38315248 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-023-02090-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Despite being previously regarded as extremely unlikely, the idea that entirely novel protein-coding genes can emerge from non-coding sequences has gradually become accepted over the past two decades. Examples of "de novo origination", resulting in lineage-specific "orphan" genes, lacking coding orthologs, are now produced every year. However, many are likely cases of duplicates that are difficult to recognize. Here, I re-examine the claims and show that four very well-known examples of genes alleged to have emerged completely "from scratch"- FLJ33706 in humans, Goddard in fruit flies, BSC4 in baker's yeast and AFGP2 in codfish-may have plausible evolutionary ancestors in pre-existing genes. The first two are likely highly diverged retrogenes coding for regulatory proteins that have been misidentified as orphans. The antifreeze glycoprotein, moreover, may not have evolved from repetitive non-genic sequences but, as in several other related cases, from an apolipoprotein that could have become pseudogenized before later being reactivated. These findings detract from various claims made about de novo gene birth and show there has been a tendency not to invest the necessary effort in searching for homologs outside of a very limited syntenic or phylostratigraphic methodology. A robust approach is used for improving detection that draws upon similarities, not just in terms of statistical sequence analysis, but also relating to biochemistry and function, to obviate notable failures to identify homologs.
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Pitman C, Santiago-McRae E, Lohia R, Bassi K, Joseph TT, Hansen MEB, Brannigan G. The blobulator: a webtool for identification and visual exploration of hydrophobic modularity in protein sequences. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.15.575761. [PMID: 38293114 PMCID: PMC10827107 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.15.575761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Motivation Clusters of hydrophobic residues are known to promote structured protein stability and drive protein aggregation. Recent work has shown that identifying contiguous hydrophobic residue clusters (termed "blobs") has proven useful in both intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) simulation and human genome studies. However, a graphical interface was unavailable. Results Here, we present the blobulator: an interactive and intuitive web interface to detect intrinsic modularity in any protein sequence based on hydrophobicity. We demonstrate three use cases of the blobulator and show how identifying blobs with biologically relevant parameters provides useful information about a globular protein, two orthologous membrane proteins, and an IDP. Other potential applications are discussed, including: predicting protein segments with critical roles in tertiary interactions, providing a definition of local order and disorder with clear edges, and aiding in predicting protein features from sequence. Availability The blobulator GUI can be found at www.blobulator.branniganlab.org, and the source code with pip installable command line tool can be found on GitHub at www.GitHub.com/BranniganLab/blobulator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor Pitman
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
| | - Ezry Santiago-McRae
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
| | - Ruchi Lohia
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, M5S 1A8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kaitlin Bassi
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
| | - Thomas T Joseph
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, JMB 305, 3620 Hamilton Walk, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Matthew E B Hansen
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Civic Center Blvd, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Grace Brannigan
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
- Department of Physics, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
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36
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Sharma K, Stockert F, Shenoy J, Berbon M, Abdul-Shukkoor MB, Habenstein B, Loquet A, Schmidt M, Fändrich M. Cryo-EM observation of the amyloid key structure of polymorphic TDP-43 amyloid fibrils. Nat Commun 2024; 15:486. [PMID: 38212334 PMCID: PMC10784485 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44489-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The transactive response DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) is a multi-facet protein involved in phase separation, RNA-binding, and alternative splicing. In the context of neurodegenerative diseases, abnormal aggregation of TDP-43 has been linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration through the aggregation of its C-terminal domain. Here, we report a cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM)-based structural characterization of TDP-43 fibrils obtained from the full-length protein. We find that the fibrils are polymorphic and contain three different amyloid structures. The structures differ in the number and relative orientation of the protofilaments, although they share a similar fold containing an amyloid key motif. The observed fibril structures differ from previously described conformations of TDP-43 fibrils and help to better understand the structural landscape of the amyloid fibril structures derived from this protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kartikay Sharma
- Institute of Protein Biochemistry, Ulm University, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Fabian Stockert
- Institute of Protein Biochemistry, Ulm University, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Jayakrishna Shenoy
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, Pessac, France
| | - Mélanie Berbon
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, Pessac, France
| | | | - Birgit Habenstein
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, Pessac, France
| | - Antoine Loquet
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, Pessac, France
| | - Matthias Schmidt
- Institute of Protein Biochemistry, Ulm University, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Marcus Fändrich
- Institute of Protein Biochemistry, Ulm University, 89081, Ulm, Germany
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37
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Bondarev SA, Uspenskaya MV, Leclercq J, Falgarone T, Zhouravleva GA, Kajava AV. AmyloComp: A Bioinformatic Tool for Prediction of Amyloid Co-aggregation. J Mol Biol 2024:168437. [PMID: 38185324 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Typically, amyloid fibrils consist of multiple copies of the same protein. In these fibrils, each polypeptide chain adopts the same β-arc-containing conformation and these chains are stacked in a parallel and in-register manner. In the last few years, however, a considerable body of data has been accumulated about co-aggregation of different amyloid-forming proteins. Among known examples of the co-aggregation are heteroaggregates of different yeast prions and human proteins Rip1 and Rip3. Since the co-aggregation is linked to such important phenomena as infectivity of amyloids and molecular mechanisms of functional amyloids, we analyzed its structural aspects in more details. An axial stacking of different proteins within the same amyloid fibril is one of the most common type of co-aggregation. By using an approach based on structural similarity of the growing tips of amyloids, we developed a computational method to predict amyloidogenic β-arch structures that are able to interact with each other by the axial stacking. Furthermore, we compiled a dataset consisting of 26 experimentally known pairs of proteins capable or incapable to co-aggregate. We utilized this dataset to test and refine our algorithm. The developed method opens a way for a number of applications, including the identification of microbial proteins capable triggering amyloidosis in humans. AmyloComp is available on the website: https://bioinfo.crbm.cnrs.fr/index.php?route=tools&tool=30.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislav A Bondarev
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology and Laboratory of Amyloid Biology, St. Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russian Federation.
| | - Mayya V Uspenskaya
- Institute of Bioengineering, ITMO University, St. Petersburg 197101, Russian Federation
| | - Jérémy Leclercq
- Centre de Recherche en Biologie Cellulaire de Montpellier, CNRS, Université Montpellier, Montpellier 34293, France
| | - Théo Falgarone
- Centre de Recherche en Biologie Cellulaire de Montpellier, CNRS, Université Montpellier, Montpellier 34293, France
| | - Galina A Zhouravleva
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology and Laboratory of Amyloid Biology, St. Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russian Federation
| | - Andrey V Kajava
- Centre de Recherche en Biologie Cellulaire de Montpellier, CNRS, Université Montpellier, Montpellier 34293, France.
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38
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Šulskis D, Žiaunys M, Sakalauskas A, Sniečkutė R, Smirnovas V. Formation of amyloid fibrils by the regulatory 14-3-3 ζ protein. Open Biol 2024; 14:230285. [PMID: 38228169 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.230285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The 14-3-3 proteins are a highly conserved adaptor protein family with multi-layer functions, abundantly expressed in the brain. The 14-3-3 proteins modulate phosphorylation, regulate enzymatic activity and can act as chaperones. Most importantly, they play an important role in various neurodegenerative disorders due to their vast interaction partners. Particularly, the 14-3-3ζ isoform is known to co-localize in aggregation tangles in both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases as a result of protein-protein interactions. These abnormal clumps consist of amyloid fibrils, insoluble aggregates, mainly formed by the amyloid-β, tau and α-synuclein proteins. However, the molecular basis of if and how 14-3-3ζ can aggregate into amyloid fibrils is unknown. In this study, we describe the formation of amyloid fibrils by 14-3-3ζ using a comprehensive approach that combines bioinformatic tools, amyloid-specific dye binding, secondary structure analysis and atomic force microscopy. The results presented herein characterize the amyloidogenic properties of 14-3-3ζ and imply that the well-folded protein undergoes aggregation to β-sheet-rich amyloid fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darius Šulskis
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Mantas Žiaunys
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Andrius Sakalauskas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Rūta Sniečkutė
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Vytautas Smirnovas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
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39
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Wojciechowski JW, Szczurek W, Szulc N, Szefczyk M, Kotulska M. PACT - Prediction of amyloid cross-interaction by threading. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22268. [PMID: 38097650 PMCID: PMC10721876 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48886-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid proteins are often associated with the onset of diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and many others. However, there is a wide class of functional amyloids that are involved in physiological functions, e.g., formation of microbial biofilms or storage of hormones. Recent studies showed that an amyloid fibril could affect the aggregation of another protein, even from a different species. This may result in amplification or attenuation of the aggregation process. Insight into amyloid cross-interactions may be crucial for better understanding of amyloid diseases and the potential influence of microbial amyloids on human proteins. However, due to the demanding nature of the needed experiments, knowledge of such interactions is still limited. Here, we present PACT (Prediction of Amyloid Cross-interaction by Threading) - the computational method for the prediction of amyloid cross-interactions. The method is based on modeling of a heterogeneous fibril formed by two amyloidogenic peptides. The resulting structure is assessed by the structural statistical potential that approximates its plausibility and energetic stability. PACT was developed and first evaluated mostly on data collected in the AmyloGraph database of interacting amyloids and achieved high values of Area Under ROC (AUC=0.88) and F1 (0.82). Then, we applied our method to study the interactions of CsgA - a bacterial biofilm protein that was not used in our in-reference datasets, which is expressed in several bacterial species that inhabit the human intestines - with two human proteins. The study included alpha-synuclein, a human protein that is involved in Parkinson's disease, and human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP), which is involved in type 2 diabetes. In both cases, PACT predicted the appearance of cross-interactions. Importantly, the method indicated specific regions of the proteins, which were shown to play a central role in both interactions. We experimentally confirmed the novel results of the indicated CsgA fragments interacting with hIAPP based on the kinetic characteristics obtained with the ThT assay. PACT opens the possibility of high-throughput studies of amyloid interactions. Importantly, it can work with fairly long protein fragments, and as a purely physicochemical approach, it relies very little on scarce training data. The tool is available as a web server at https://pact.e-science.pl/pact/ . The local version can be downloaded from https://github.com/KubaWojciechowski/PACT .
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub W Wojciechowski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370, Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Witold Szczurek
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Natalia Szulc
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370, Wrocław, Poland
- Department of Physics and Biophysics, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Norwida 25, 50-375, Wrocław, Poland
- LPCT, CNRS, Université de Lorraine, F-54000, Nancy, France
| | - Monika Szefczyk
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Malgorzata Kotulska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370, Wrocław, Poland.
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40
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Rahban M, Ahmad F, Piatyszek MA, Haertlé T, Saso L, Saboury AA. Stabilization challenges and aggregation in protein-based therapeutics in the pharmaceutical industry. RSC Adv 2023; 13:35947-35963. [PMID: 38090079 PMCID: PMC10711991 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra06476j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein-based therapeutics have revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry and become vital components in the development of future therapeutics. They offer several advantages over traditional small molecule drugs, including high affinity, potency and specificity, while demonstrating low toxicity and minimal adverse effects. However, the development and manufacturing processes of protein-based therapeutics presents challenges related to protein folding, purification, stability and immunogenicity that should be addressed. These proteins, like other biological molecules, are prone to chemical and physical instabilities. The stability of protein-based drugs throughout the entire manufacturing, storage and delivery process is essential. The occurrence of structural instability resulting from misfolding, unfolding, and modifications, as well as aggregation, poses a significant risk to the efficacy of these drugs, overshadowing their promising attributes. Gaining insight into structural alterations caused by aggregation and their impact on immunogenicity is vital for the advancement and refinement of protein therapeutics. Hence, in this review, we have discussed some features of protein aggregation during production, formulation and storage as well as stabilization strategies in protein engineering and computational methods to prevent aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahdie Rahban
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences Kerman Iran
| | - Faizan Ahmad
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Chemical & Life Sciences, Jamia Hamdard New Delhi-110062 India
| | | | | | - Luciano Saso
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "Vittorio Erspamer", Sapienza University Rome Italy
| | - Ali Akbar Saboury
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran Tehran 1417614335 Iran +9821 66404680 +9821 66956984
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41
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Upadhyay V, Panja S, Lucas A, Patrick C, Mallela KMG. Biophysical evolution of the receptor-binding domains of SARS-CoVs. Biophys J 2023; 122:4489-4502. [PMID: 37897042 PMCID: PMC10719049 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
With hundreds of coronaviruses (CoVs) identified in bats that can infect humans, it is essential to understand how CoVs that affected the human population have evolved. Seven known CoVs have infected humans, of which three CoVs caused severe disease with high mortalities: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV emerged in 2002, Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 belong to the same family, follow the same receptor pathway, and use their receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike protein to bind to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the human epithelial cell surface. The sequence of the two RBDs is divergent, especially in the receptor-binding motif that directly interacts with ACE2. We probed the biophysical differences between the two RBDs in terms of their structure, stability, aggregation, and function. Since RBD is being explored as an antigen in protein subunit vaccines against CoVs, determining these biophysical properties will also aid in developing stable protein subunit vaccines. Our results show that, despite RBDs having a similar three-dimensional structure, they differ in their thermodynamic stability. RBD of SARS-CoV-2 is significantly less stable than that of SARS-CoV. Correspondingly, SARS-CoV-2 RBD shows a higher aggregation propensity. Regarding binding to ACE2, less stable SARS-CoV-2 RBD binds with a higher affinity than more stable SARS-CoV RBD. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 RBD is more homogenous in terms of its binding stoichiometry toward ACE2 compared to SARS-CoV RBD. These results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 RBD differs from SARS-CoV RBD in terms of its stability, aggregation, and function, possibly originating from the diverse receptor-binding motifs. Higher aggregation propensity and decreased stability of SARS-CoV-2 RBD warrant further optimization of protein subunit vaccines that use RBD as an antigen by inserting stabilizing mutations or formulation screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaibhav Upadhyay
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Sudipta Panja
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Alexandra Lucas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Casey Patrick
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Krishna M G Mallela
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
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42
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Jasiecki J, Targońska M, Janaszak-Jasiecka A, Kalinowski L, Waleron K, Wasąg B. Butyrylcholinesterase signal sequence self-aggregates and enhances amyloid fibril formation in vitro. Chem Biol Interact 2023; 386:110783. [PMID: 37884182 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2023.110783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis has been attributed to extracellular aggregates of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the human brain. It has been reported that butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) also accumulates in the brain Aβ plaques in AD. We have previously found that the BChE substitution in 5'UTR caused an in-frame N-terminal extension of 41 amino acids of the BChE signal peptide. The resultant variant with a 69 amino acid signal peptide, designated N-BChE, could play a role in AD development. Here, we report that the signal sequence of the BChE, if produced in an extended 69 aa version, can self-aggregate and could form seeds that enhance amyloid fibril formation in vitro in a dose-dependent manner and create larger co-aggregates. Similar phenomena could have been observed in the human brain if such an extended form of the signal sequence had been, in some circumstances, translated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacek Jasiecki
- Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-416, Gdańsk, Poland.
| | - Monika Targońska
- Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Anna Janaszak-Jasiecka
- Department of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics-Fahrenheit Biobank BBMRI.pl, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Leszek Kalinowski
- Department of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics-Fahrenheit Biobank BBMRI.pl, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland; BioTechMed Centre, Department of Mechanics of Materials and Structures, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Waleron
- Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-416, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Bartosz Wasąg
- Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210, Gdańsk, Poland; Laboratory of Clinical Genetics, University Clinical Centre, 80-952, Gdańsk, Poland
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43
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Rauch-Wirth L, Renner A, Kaygisiz K, Weil T, Zimmermann L, Rodriguez-Alfonso AA, Schütz D, Wiese S, Ständker L, Weil T, Schmiedel D, Münch J. Optimized peptide nanofibrils as efficient transduction enhancers for in vitro and ex vivo gene transfer. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1270243. [PMID: 38022685 PMCID: PMC10666768 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1270243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is a groundbreaking immunotherapy for cancer. However, the intricate and costly manufacturing process remains a hurdle. Improving the transduction rate is a potential avenue to cut down costs and boost therapeutic efficiency. Peptide nanofibrils (PNFs) serve as one such class of transduction enhancers. PNFs bind to negatively charged virions, facilitating their active engagement by cellular protrusions, which enhances virion attachment to cells, leading to increased cellular entry and gene transfer rates. While first-generation PNFs had issues with aggregate formation and potential immunogenicity, our study utilized in silico screening to identify short, endogenous, and non-immunogenic peptides capable of enhancing transduction. This led to the discovery of an 8-mer peptide, RM-8, which forms PNFs that effectively boost T cell transduction rates by various retroviral vectors. A subsequent structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis refined RM-8, resulting in the D4 derivative. D4 peptide is stable and assembles into smaller PNFs, avoiding large aggregate formation, and demonstrates superior transduction rates in primary T and NK cells. In essence, D4 PNFs present an economical and straightforward nanotechnological tool, ideal for refining ex vivo gene transfer in CAR-T cell production and potentially other advanced therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Rauch-Wirth
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Alexander Renner
- Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kübra Kaygisiz
- Department Synthesis of Macromolecules, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Tatjana Weil
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Laura Zimmermann
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Armando A. Rodriguez-Alfonso
- Core Facility Functional Peptidomics, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
- Core Unit of Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Desiree Schütz
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wiese
- Core Unit of Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Ludger Ständker
- Core Facility Functional Peptidomics, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Tanja Weil
- Department Synthesis of Macromolecules, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Dominik Schmiedel
- Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jan Münch
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
- Core Facility Functional Peptidomics, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
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44
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Kandola T, Venkatesan S, Zhang J, Lerbakken BT, Von Schulze A, Blanck JF, Wu J, Unruh JR, Berry P, Lange JJ, Box AC, Cook M, Sagui C, Halfmann R. Pathologic polyglutamine aggregation begins with a self-poisoning polymer crystal. eLife 2023; 12:RP86939. [PMID: 37921648 PMCID: PMC10624427 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
A long-standing goal of amyloid research has been to characterize the structural basis of the rate-determining nucleating event. However, the ephemeral nature of nucleation has made this goal unachievable with existing biochemistry, structural biology, and computational approaches. Here, we addressed that limitation for polyglutamine (polyQ), a polypeptide sequence that causes Huntington's and other amyloid-associated neurodegenerative diseases when its length exceeds a characteristic threshold. To identify essential features of the polyQ amyloid nucleus, we used a direct intracellular reporter of self-association to quantify frequencies of amyloid appearance as a function of concentration, conformational templates, and rational polyQ sequence permutations. We found that nucleation of pathologically expanded polyQ involves segments of three glutamine (Q) residues at every other position. We demonstrate using molecular simulations that this pattern encodes a four-stranded steric zipper with interdigitated Q side chains. Once formed, the zipper poisoned its own growth by engaging naive polypeptides on orthogonal faces, in a fashion characteristic of polymer crystals with intramolecular nuclei. We further show that self-poisoning can be exploited to block amyloid formation, by genetically oligomerizing polyQ prior to nucleation. By uncovering the physical nature of the rate-limiting event for polyQ aggregation in cells, our findings elucidate the molecular etiology of polyQ diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tej Kandola
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
- The Open UniversityMilton KeynesUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Jiahui Zhang
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State UniversityRaleighUnited States
| | | | | | | | - Jianzheng Wu
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Kansas Medical CenterKansas CityUnited States
| | - Jay R Unruh
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
| | - Paula Berry
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
| | - Jeffrey J Lange
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
| | - Andrew C Box
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
| | - Malcolm Cook
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
| | - Celeste Sagui
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State UniversityRaleighUnited States
| | - Randal Halfmann
- Stowers Institute for Medical ResearchKansas CityUnited States
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45
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Pang KT, Yang YS, Zhang W, Ho YS, Sormanni P, Michaels TCT, Walsh I, Chia S. Understanding and controlling the molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation in mAb therapeutics. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 67:108192. [PMID: 37290583 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In antibody development and manufacturing, protein aggregation is a common challenge that can lead to serious efficacy and safety issues. To mitigate this problem, it is important to investigate its molecular origins. This review discusses (1) our current molecular understanding and theoretical models of antibody aggregation, (2) how various stress conditions related to antibody upstream and downstream bioprocesses can trigger aggregation, and (3) current mitigation strategies employed towards inhibiting aggregation. We discuss the relevance of the aggregation phenomenon in the context of novel antibody modalities and highlight how in silico approaches can be exploited to mitigate it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuin Tian Pang
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore
| | - Yuan Sheng Yang
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | - Wei Zhang
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | - Ying Swan Ho
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | - Pietro Sormanni
- Chemistry of Health, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas C T Michaels
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biochemistry, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland; Bringing Materials to Life Initiative, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ian Walsh
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
| | - Sean Chia
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
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46
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Yu Z, Yin Z, Zou H. iAMY-RECMFF: Identifying amyloidgenic peptides by using residue pairwise energy content matrix and features fusion algorithm. J Bioinform Comput Biol 2023; 21:2350023. [PMID: 37899353 DOI: 10.1142/s0219720023500233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
Various diseases, including Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, have been reported to be linked to amyloid. Therefore, it is crucial to distinguish amyloid from non-amyloid proteins or peptides. While experimental approaches are typically preferred, they are costly and time-consuming. In this study, we have developed a machine learning framework called iAMY-RECMFF to discriminate amyloidgenic from non-amyloidgenic peptides. In our model, we first encoded the peptide sequences using the residue pairwise energy content matrix. We then utilized Pearson's correlation coefficient and distance correlation to extract useful information from this matrix. Additionally, we employed an improved similarity network fusion algorithm to integrate features from different perspectives. The Fisher approach was adopted to select the optimal feature subset. Finally, the selected features were inputted into a support vector machine for identifying amyloidgenic peptides. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method significantly improves the identification of amyloidgenic peptides compared to existing predictors. This suggests that our method may serve as a powerful tool in identifying amyloidgenic peptides. To facilitate academic use, the dataset and codes used in the current study are accessible at https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/iAMY-RECMFF/22816916.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zizheng Yu
- School of Communications and Electronics Jiangxi, Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, P. R. China
| | - Zhijian Yin
- School of Communications and Electronics Jiangxi, Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, P. R. China
- Jiangxi Engineering Research Center of Unattended Perception System and Artificial Intelligence Technology Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Jiangxi 330088, P. R. China
| | - Hongliang Zou
- School of Communications and Electronics Jiangxi, Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, P. R. China
- Jiangxi Engineering Research Center of Unattended Perception System and Artificial Intelligence Technology Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Jiangxi 330088, P. R. China
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47
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von Rosen T, Pepelnjak M, Quast JP, Picotti P, Weber-Ban E. ATP-independent substrate recruitment to proteasomal degradation in mycobacteria. Life Sci Alliance 2023; 6:e202301923. [PMID: 37562848 PMCID: PMC10415612 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202301923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Mycobacteria and other actinobacteria possess proteasomal degradation pathways in addition to the common bacterial compartmentalizing protease systems. Proteasomal degradation plays a crucial role in the survival of these bacteria in adverse environments. The mycobacterial proteasome interacts with several ring-shaped activators, including the bacterial proteasome activator (Bpa), which enables energy-independent degradation of heat shock repressor HspR. However, the mechanism of substrate selection and processing by the Bpa-proteasome complex remains unclear. In this study, we present evidence that disorder in substrates is required but not sufficient for recruitment to Bpa-mediated proteasomal degradation. We demonstrate that Bpa binds to the folded N-terminal helix-turn-helix domain of HspR, whereas the unstructured C-terminal tail of the substrate acts as a sequence-specific threading handle to promote efficient proteasomal degradation. In addition, we establish that the heat shock chaperone DnaK, which interacts with and co-regulates HspR, stabilizes HspR against Bpa-mediated proteasomal degradation. By phenotypical characterization of Mycobacterium smegmatis parent and bpa deletion mutant strains, we show that Bpa-dependent proteasomal degradation supports the survival of the bacterium under stress conditions by degrading HspR that regulates vital chaperones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatjana von Rosen
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Monika Pepelnjak
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, Zurich Switzerland
| | - Jan-Philipp Quast
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, Zurich Switzerland
| | - Paola Picotti
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, Zurich Switzerland
| | - Eilika Weber-Ban
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Zurich, Switzerland
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48
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Eshari F, Momeni F, Nezhadi AF, Shemehsavar S, Habibi-Rezaei M. Prediction of protein aggregation propensity employing SqFt-based logistic regression model. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 249:126036. [PMID: 37516225 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Here we present a novel machine-learning approach to predict protein aggregation propensity (PAP) which is a key factor in the formation of amyloid fibrils based on logistic regression (LR). Amyloid fibrils are associated with various neurodegenerative diseases (ND) such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), which are caused by oxidative stress and impaired protein homeostasis. Accordingly, the paper uses a dataset of hexapeptides with known aggregation tendencies and eight physiochemical features to train and test the LR model. Also, it evaluates the performance of the LR model using F-measure and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) as metrics and compares it with other existing methods. Moreover, it investigates the effect of combining sequence and feature information in the prediction. In conclusion, the LR model with sequence and feature information achieves high F-measure (0.841) and MCC (0.6692), outperforming other methods and demonstrating its efficiency and reliability for PAP prediction. In addition, the overall performance of the concluded method was higher than the other known servers, for instance, Aggrescan, Metamyl, Foldamyloid, and PASTA 2.0. The LR model can be accessed at: https://github.com/KatherineEshari/Protein-aggregation-prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Eshari
- Protein Biotechnology Research Lab (PBRL), School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fahime Momeni
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Sciences, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amirreza Faraj Nezhadi
- Protein Biotechnology Research Lab (PBRL), School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Soudabeh Shemehsavar
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Sciences, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehran Habibi-Rezaei
- Protein Biotechnology Research Lab (PBRL), School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; Center of Excellence in NanoBiomedicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
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49
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Nishide G, Lim K, Tamura M, Kobayashi A, Zhao Q, Hazawa M, Ando T, Nishida N, Wong RW. Nanoscopic Elucidation of Spontaneous Self-Assembly of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Open Reading Frame 6 (ORF6) Protein. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:8385-8396. [PMID: 37707320 PMCID: PMC10544025 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Open reading frame 6 (ORF6), the accessory protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that suppresses host type-I interferon signaling, possesses amyloidogenic sequences. ORF6 amyloidogenic peptides self-assemble to produce cytotoxic amyloid fibrils. Currently, the molecular properties of the ORF6 remain elusive. Here, we investigate the structural dynamics of the full-length ORF6 protein in a near-physiological environment using high-speed atomic force microscopy. ORF6 oligomers were ellipsoidal and readily assembled into ORF6 protofilaments in either a circular or a linear pattern. The formation of ORF6 protofilaments was enhanced at higher temperatures or on a lipid substrate. ORF6 filaments were sensitive to aliphatic alcohols, urea, and SDS, indicating that the filaments were predominantly maintained by hydrophobic interactions. In summary, ORF6 self-assembly could be necessary to sequester host factors and causes collateral damage to cells via amyloid aggregates. Nanoscopic imaging unveiled the innate molecular behavior of ORF6 and provides insight into drug repurposing to treat amyloid-related coronavirus disease 2019 complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goro Nishide
- Division
of Nano Life Science in the Graduate School of Frontier Science Initiative,
WISE Program for Nano-Precision Medicine, Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
| | - Keesiang Lim
- WPI-Nano
Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
| | - Maiki Tamura
- Graduate
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba
University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan
| | - Akiko Kobayashi
- Cell-Bionomics
Research Unit, Institute for Frontier Science Initiative (INFINITI), Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
| | - Qingci Zhao
- Graduate
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba
University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan
| | - Masaharu Hazawa
- WPI-Nano
Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
- Cell-Bionomics
Research Unit, Institute for Frontier Science Initiative (INFINITI), Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
| | - Toshio Ando
- WPI-Nano
Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
| | - Noritaka Nishida
- Graduate
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba
University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan
| | - Richard W. Wong
- WPI-Nano
Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
- Cell-Bionomics
Research Unit, Institute for Frontier Science Initiative (INFINITI), Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
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50
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Perez R, Li X, Giannakoulias S, Petersson EJ. AggBERT: Best in Class Prediction of Hexapeptide Amyloidogenesis with a Semi-Supervised ProtBERT Model. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:5727-5733. [PMID: 37552230 PMCID: PMC10777593 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
The prediction of peptide amyloidogenesis is a challenging problem in the field of protein folding. Large language models, such as the ProtBERT model, have recently emerged as powerful tools in analyzing protein sequences for applications, such as predicting protein structure and function. In this article, we describe the use of a semisupervised and fine-tuned ProtBERT model to predict peptide amyloidogenesis from sequences alone. Our approach, which we call AggBERT, achieved state-of-the-art performance, demonstrating the potential for large language models to improve the accuracy and speed of amyloid fibril prediction over simple heuristics or structure-based approaches. This work highlights the transformative potential of machine learning and large language models in the fields of chemical biology and biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryann Perez
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Xinning Li
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Sam Giannakoulias
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - E. James Petersson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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