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Ferrero DS, Tomás Gilabert O, Verdaguer N. Structural insights on the nucleoprotein C-terminal domain of Měnglà virus. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0237323. [PMID: 37888996 PMCID: PMC10714759 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02373-23] [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: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Filoviruses are the causative agents of severe and often fatal hemorrhagic disease in humans. Měnglà virus (MLAV) is a recently reported filovirus, isolated from fruit bats that is capable to replicate in human cells, representing a potential risk for human health. An in-depth structural and functional knowledge of MLAV proteins is an essential step for antiviral research on this virus that can also be extended to other emerging filoviruses. In this study, we determined the first crystal structures of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the MLAV nucleoprotein (NP), showing important similarities to the equivalent domain in MARV. The structural data also show that the NP CTD has the ability to form large helical oligomers that may participate in the control of cytoplasmic inclusion body formation during viral replication.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Nuria Verdaguer
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
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2
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Abstract
Filovirus-infected cells are characterized by typical cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (IBs) located in the perinuclear region. The formation of these IBs is induced mainly by the accumulation of the filoviral nucleoprotein NP, which recruits the other nucleocapsid proteins, the polymerase co-factor VP35, the polymerase L, the transcription factor VP30 and VP24 via direct or indirect protein-protein interactions. Replication of the negative-strand RNA genomes by the viral polymerase L and VP35 occurs in the IBs, resulting in the synthesis of positive-strand genomes, which are encapsidated by NP, thus forming ribonucleoprotein complexes (antigenomic RNPs). These newly formed antigenomic RNPs in turn serve as templates for the synthesis of negative-strand RNA genomes that are also encapsidated by NP (genomic RNPs). Still in the IBs, genomic RNPs mature into tightly packed transport-competent nucleocapsids (NCs) by the recruitment of the viral protein VP24. NCs are tightly coiled left-handed helices whose structure is mainly determined by the multimerization of NP at its N-terminus, and these helices form the inner layer of the NCs. The RNA genome is fixed by 2 lobes of the NP N-terminus and is thus guided by individual NP molecules along the turns of the helix. Direct interaction of the NP C-terminus with the VP35 and VP24 molecules forms the outer layer of the NCs. Once formed, NCs that are located at the border of the IBs recruit actin polymerization machinery to one of their ends to drive their transport to budding sites for their envelopment and final release. Here, we review the current knowledge on the structure, assembly, and transport of filovirus NCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Dolnik
- Institute of Virology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stephan Becker
- Institute of Virology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
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3
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Sherwood LJ, Hayhurst A. Generating Uniformly Cross-Reactive Ebolavirus spp. Anti-nucleoprotein Nanobodies to Facilitate Forward Capable Detection Strategies. ACS Infect Dis 2022; 8:343-359. [PMID: 34994194 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
It is often challenging for a single monoclonal antibody to cross-react equally with all species of a particular viral genus that are separated by time and geographies to ensure broad long-term global immunodiagnostic use. Here, we set out to isolate nanobodies or single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) with uniform cross-reactivity to the genus Ebolavirus by immunizing a llama with recombinant nucleoprotein (NP) representing the 5 cultivated species to assemble a phage display repertoire for mining. Screening sdAbs for reactivity against the C-terminal domain of NP guided the isolation of clones that could perform as both captor and tracer for polyvalent antigen in sandwich assays. Two promising sdAbs had equivalent reactivities across all 5 species and greatly enhanced the equilibrium concentration at 50% (EC50) for recombinant NP when compared with a differentially cross-reactive nonimmune sdAb isolated previously. Uniform reactivity and enhanced sensitivity were relayed to live virus titrations, resulting in lower limits of detection of 2-5 pfu for the best sdAbs, representing 10-, 20-, and 100-fold improvements for Zaire, Sudan/Reston, and Taï Forest viruses, respectively. Fusions of the sdAbs with ascorbate peroxidase (APEX2) and mNeonGreen generated one-step immunoreagents useful for colorimetric and fluorescent visualization of cellular NP. Both sdAbs were also able to recognize recombinant NPs from the recently discovered Bombali virus, a putative sixth Ebolavirus species unknown at the start of these experiments, validating the forward capabilities of the sdAbs. The simplicity and modularity of these sdAbs should enable advances in antigen-based diagnostic technologies to be retuned toward filoviral detection relatively easily, thereby proactively safeguarding human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Jo Sherwood
- Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78227, United States
| | - Andrew Hayhurst
- Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78227, United States
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4
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Davydova EK. Protein Engineering: Advances in Phage Display for Basic Science and Medical Research. BIOCHEMISTRY. BIOKHIMIIA 2022; 87:S146-S110. [PMID: 35501993 PMCID: PMC8802281 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297922140127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Functional Protein Engineering became the hallmark in biomolecule manipulation in the new millennium, building on and surpassing the underlying structural DNA manipulation and recombination techniques developed and employed in the last decades of 20th century. Because of their prominence in almost all biological processes, proteins represent extremely important targets for engineering enhanced or altered properties that can lead to improvements exploitable in healthcare, medicine, research, biotechnology, and industry. Synthetic protein structures and functions can now be designed on a computer and/or evolved using molecular display or directed evolution methods in the laboratory. This review will focus on the recent trends in protein engineering and the impact of this technology on recent progress in science, cancer- and immunotherapies, with the emphasis on the current achievements in basic protein research using synthetic antibody (sABs) produced by phage display pipeline in the Kossiakoff laboratory at the University of Chicago (KossLab). Finally, engineering of the highly specific binding modules, such as variants of Streptococcal protein G with ultra-high orthogonal affinity for natural and engineered antibody scaffolds, and their possible applications as a plug-and-play platform for research and immunotherapy will be described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena K Davydova
- The University of Chicago, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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5
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Miyake T, Farley CM, Neubauer BE, Beddow TP, Hoenen T, Engel DA. Ebola Virus Inclusion Body Formation and RNA Synthesis Are Controlled by a Novel Domain of Nucleoprotein Interacting with VP35. J Virol 2020; 94:e02100-19. [PMID: 32493824 PMCID: PMC7394894 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02100-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Ebola virus (EBOV) inclusion bodies (IBs) are cytoplasmic sites of nucleocapsid formation and RNA replication, housing key steps in the virus life cycle that warrant further investigation. During infection, IBs display dynamic properties regarding their size and location. The contents of IBs also must transition prior to further viral maturation, assembly, and release, implying additional steps in IB function. Interestingly, the expression of the viral nucleoprotein (NP) alone is sufficient for the generation of IBs, indicating that it plays an important role in IB formation during infection. In addition to NP, other components of the nucleocapsid localize to IBs, including VP35, VP24, VP30, and the RNA polymerase L. We previously defined and solved the crystal structure of the C-terminal domain of NP (NP-Ct), but its role in virus replication remained unclear. Here, we show that NP-Ct is necessary for IB formation when NP is expressed alone. Interestingly, we find that NP-Ct is also required for the production of infectious virus-like particles (VLPs), and that defective VLPs with NP-Ct deletions are significantly reduced in viral RNA content. Furthermore, coexpression of the nucleocapsid component VP35 overcomes deletion of NP-Ct in triggering IB formation, demonstrating a functional interaction between the two proteins. Of all the EBOV proteins, only VP35 is able to overcome the defect in IB formation caused by the deletion of NP-Ct. This effect is mediated by a novel protein-protein interaction between VP35 and NP that controls both regulation of IB formation and RNA replication itself and that is mediated by a newly identified functional domain of NP, the central domain.IMPORTANCE Inclusion bodies (IBs) are cytoplasmic sites of RNA synthesis for a variety of negative-sense RNA viruses, including Ebola virus. In addition to housing important steps in the viral life cycle, IBs protect new viral RNA from innate immune attack and contain specific host proteins whose function is under study. A key viral factor in Ebola virus IB formation is the nucleoprotein, NP, which also is important in RNA encapsidation and synthesis. In this study, we have identified two domains of NP that control inclusion body formation. One of these, the central domain (CD), interacts with viral protein VP35 to control both inclusion body formation and RNA synthesis. The other is the NP C-terminal domain (NP-Ct), whose function has not previously been reported. These findings contribute to a model in which NP and its interactions with VP35 link the establishment of IBs to the synthesis of viral RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsuyoshi Miyake
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Charlotte M Farley
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Benjamin E Neubauer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Thomas P Beddow
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Thomas Hoenen
- Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Daniel A Engel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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6
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Slezak T, Bailey LJ, Jaskolowski M, Nahotko DA, Filippova EV, Davydova EK, Kossiakoff AA. An engineered ultra-high affinity Fab-Protein G pair enables a modular antibody platform with multifunctional capability. Protein Sci 2019; 29:141-156. [PMID: 31622515 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Engineered recombinant antibody-based reagents are rapidly supplanting traditionally derived antibodies in many cell biological applications. A particularly powerful aspect of these engineered reagents is that other modules having myriad functions can be attached to them either chemically or through molecular fusions. However, these processes can be cumbersome and do not lend themselves to high throughput applications. Consequently, we have endeavored to develop a platform that can introduce multiple functionalities into a class of Fab-based affinity reagents in a "plug and play" fashion. This platform exploits the ultra-tight binding interaction between affinity matured variants of a Fab scaffold (FabS ) and a domain of an immunoglobulin binding protein, protein G (GA1). GA1 is easily genetically manipulatable facilitating the ability to link these modules together like beads on a string with adjustable spacing to produce multivalent and bi-specific entities. GA1 can also be fused to other proteins or be chemically modified to engage other types of functional components. To demonstrate the utility for the Fab-GA1 platform, we applied it to a detection proximity assay based on the β-lactamase (BL) split enzyme system. We also show the bi-specific capabilities of the module by using it in context of a Bi-specific T-cell engager (BiTE), which is a therapeutic assemblage that induces cell killing by crosslinking T-cells to cancer cells. We show that GA1-Fab modules are easily engineered into potent cell-killing BiTE-like assemblages and have the advantage of interchanging Fabs directed against different cell surface cancer-related targets in a plug and play fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Slezak
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Lucas J Bailey
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Mateusz Jaskolowski
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.,Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Dominik A Nahotko
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Ekaterina V Filippova
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Elena K Davydova
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Anthony A Kossiakoff
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
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7
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Sherwood LJ, Taylor AB, Hart PJ, Hayhurst A. Paratope Duality and Gullying are Among the Atypical Recognition Mechanisms Used by a Trio of Nanobodies to Differentiate Ebolavirus Nucleoproteins. J Mol Biol 2019; 431:4848-4867. [PMID: 31626803 PMCID: PMC6990103 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
We had previously shown that three anti–Marburg virus nanobodies (VHH or single-domain antibody [sdAb]) targeted a cryptotope within an alpha-helical assembly at the nucleoprotein (NP) C-terminus that was conserved through half a century of viral evolution. Here, we wished to determine whether an anti–Ebola virus sdAb, that was cross-reactive within the Ebolavirus genus, recognized a similar structural feature upstream of the ebolavirus NP C-terminus. In addition, we sought to determine whether the specificities of a less cross-reactive anti–Zaire ebolavirus sdAb and a totally specific anti–Sudan ebolavirus sdAb were the result of exclusion from this region. Binding and X-ray crystallographic studies revealed that the primary determinant of cross-reactivity did indeed appear to be a preference for the helical feature. Specificity, in the case of the Zaire ebolavirus–specific sdAb, arose from the footprint shifting away from the helices to engage more variable residues. While both sdAbs used CDRs, they also had atypical side-on approaches, with framework 2 helping to accommodate parts of the epitope in sizeable paratope gullies. The Sudan ebolavirus–specific sdAb was more remarkable and appeared to bind two C-terminal domains simultaneously via nonoverlapping epitopes—“paratope duality.” One mode involved paratope gullying, whereas the other involved only CDRs, with CDR3 restructuring to wedge in between opposing walls of an interdomain crevice. The varied routes used by sdAbs to engage antigens discovered here deepen our appreciation of the small scaffold’s architectural versatility and also reveal lucrative opportunities within the ebolavirus NP C-termini that might be leveraged for diagnostics and novel therapeutic targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Jo Sherwood
- Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, 78227, USA
| | - Alexander Bryan Taylor
- X-ray Crystallography Core Laboratory, Institutional Research Cores and Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
| | - Peter John Hart
- X-ray Crystallography Core Laboratory, Institutional Research Cores and Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA; Department of Veterans Affairs, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
| | - Andrew Hayhurst
- Disease Intervention and Prevention, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, 78227, USA. http://
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8
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Amatya P, Wagner N, Chen G, Luthra P, Shi L, Borek D, Pavlenco A, Rohrs H, Basler CF, Sidhu SS, Gross ML, Leung DW. Inhibition of Marburg Virus RNA Synthesis by a Synthetic Anti-VP35 Antibody. ACS Infect Dis 2019; 5:1385-1396. [PMID: 31120240 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.9b00091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Marburg virus causes sporadic outbreaks of severe hemorrhagic fever with high case fatality rates. Approved, effective, and safe therapeutic or prophylactic countermeasures are lacking. To address this, we used phage display to engineer a synthetic antibody, sFab H3, which binds the Marburg virus VP35 protein (mVP35). mVP35 is a critical cofactor of the viral replication complex and a viral immune antagonist. sFab H3 displayed high specificity for mVP35 and not for the closely related Ebola virus VP35. sFab H3 inhibited viral-RNA synthesis in a minigenome assay, suggesting its potential use as an antiviral. We characterized sFab H3 by a combination of biophysical and biochemical methods, and a crystal structure of the complex solved to 1.7 Å resolution defined the molecular interface between the sFab H3 and mVP35 interferon inhibitory domain. Our study identifies mVP35 as a therapeutic target using an approach that provides a framework for generating engineered Fabs targeting other viral proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parmeshwar Amatya
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
| | - Nicole Wagner
- Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Gang Chen
- Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 816-160 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Priya Luthra
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, 100 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
| | - Liuqing Shi
- Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Dominika Borek
- Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390, United States
| | - Alevtina Pavlenco
- Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 816-160 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Henry Rohrs
- Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Christopher F. Basler
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, 100 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
| | - Sachdev S. Sidhu
- Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 816-160 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Michael L. Gross
- Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Daisy W. Leung
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
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