1
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Kohnehrouz BB, Ehsasatvatan M. Redesigning amino/carboxyl ends of DARPin G3 for high thermostability and production in tobacco transplastomic plants. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2024; 43:210. [PMID: 39126530 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-024-03307-7] [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: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE Redesigning the N- and C-capping repeats of the native DARPin G3 significantly improved its stability, and may facilitate its purification from the total soluble proteins of high-temperature dried leaf materials of transplastomic plants. Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) constitute a promising class of binding molecules that can overcome the limitations of monoclonal antibodies and enable the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Despite their inherent stability, detailed studies have revealed that the original capping repeats derived from natural ankyrin repeat proteins impair the stability of the initial DARPin design. Consequently, the development of thermodynamically stabilized antibody mimetics may facilitate the development of innovative drugs in the future. In this study, we replaced the original N- and C-capping repeats with improved caps to enhance the thermostability of native DARPin G3. Computational analyses suggested that the redesigned thermostable DARPin G3 structure possessed optimal quality and stability. Molecular dynamics simulations verified the stability of the redesigned thermostable DARPin G3 at high temperatures. The redesigned thermostable DARPin G3 was expressed at high levels in tobacco transplastomic plants and subsequently purified from high-temperature dried leaf materials. Thermal denaturation results revealed that the redesigned thermostable DARPin G3 had a higher Tm value than the native DARPin G3, with a Tm of 35.51 °C greater than that of native DARPin G3. The results of the in vitro bioassays confirmed that the purified thermostable DARPin G3 from high-temperature dried leaf materials maintained its binding activity without any loss of affinity and specifically bound to the HER2 receptor on the cell surface. These findings demonstrate the successful improvement in the thermostability of DARPin G3 without compromising its biological activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahram Baghban Kohnehrouz
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, 51666, Iran.
| | - Maryam Ehsasatvatan
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, 51666, Iran
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2
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He Y, Zhou H, Qu Y, Chi R, Xu H, Chen S, Meng C, Liu Q, Huang X, You H, Ye Y. Pharmacological modulation of gp130 signalling enhances Achilles tendon repair by regulating tenocyte migration and collagen synthesis via SHP2-mediated crosstalk of the ERK/AKT pathway. Biochem Pharmacol 2024; 226:116370. [PMID: 38880359 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2024.116370] [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: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Tendon injuries typically display limited reparative capacity, often resulting in suboptimal outcomes and an elevated risk of recurrence or rupture. While cytokines of the IL-6 family are primarily recognised for their inflammatory properties, they also have multifaceted roles in tissue regeneration and repair. Despite this, studies examining the association between IL-6 family cytokines and tendon repair remained scarce. gp130, a type of glycoprotein, functions as a co-receptor for all cytokines in the IL-6 family. Its role is to assist in the transmission of signals following the binding of ligands to receptors. RCGD423 is a gp130 modulator. Phosphorylation of residue Y759 of gp130 recruits SHP2 and SOCS3 and inhibits activation of the STAT3 pathway. In our study, RCGD423 stimulated the formation of homologous dimers of gp130 and the phosphorylation of Y759 residues without the involvement of IL-6 and IL-6R. Subsequently, the phosphorylated residues recruited SHP2, activating the downstream ERK and AKT pathways. These mechanisms ultimately promoted the migration ability of tenocytes and matrix synthesis, especially collagen I. Moreover, RCGD423 also demonstrated significant improvements in collagen content, alignment of collagen fibres, and biological and biomechanical function in a rat Achilles tendon injury model. In summary, we demonstrated a promising gp130 modulator (RCGD423) that could potentially enhance tendon injury repair by redirecting downstream signalling of IL-6, suggesting its potential therapeutic application for tendon injuries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi He
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Haiting Zhou
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Yunkun Qu
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Ruimin Chi
- Department of Rehabilitation, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Hanqing Xu
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Sheng Chen
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Chen Meng
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Qingyi Liu
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Xiaojian Huang
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China
| | - Hongbo You
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China.
| | - Yaping Ye
- Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China.
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3
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Edman NI, Phal A, Redler RL, Schlichthaerle T, Srivatsan SR, Ehnes DD, Etemadi A, An SJ, Favor A, Li Z, Praetorius F, Gordon M, Vincent T, Marchiano S, Blakely L, Lin C, Yang W, Coventry B, Hicks DR, Cao L, Bethel N, Heine P, Murray A, Gerben S, Carter L, Miranda M, Negahdari B, Lee S, Trapnell C, Zheng Y, Murry CE, Schweppe DK, Freedman BS, Stewart L, Ekiert DC, Schlessinger J, Shendure J, Bhabha G, Ruohola-Baker H, Baker D. Modulation of FGF pathway signaling and vascular differentiation using designed oligomeric assemblies. Cell 2024; 187:3726-3740.e43. [PMID: 38861993 PMCID: PMC11246234 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.05.025] [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: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Many growth factors and cytokines signal by binding to the extracellular domains of their receptors and driving association and transphosphorylation of the receptor intracellular tyrosine kinase domains, initiating downstream signaling cascades. To enable systematic exploration of how receptor valency and geometry affect signaling outcomes, we designed cyclic homo-oligomers with up to 8 subunits using repeat protein building blocks that can be modularly extended. By incorporating a de novo-designed fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)-binding module into these scaffolds, we generated a series of synthetic signaling ligands that exhibit potent valency- and geometry-dependent Ca2+ release and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation. The high specificity of the designed agonists reveals distinct roles for two FGFR splice variants in driving arterial endothelium and perivascular cell fates during early vascular development. Our designed modular assemblies should be broadly useful for unraveling the complexities of signaling in key developmental transitions and for developing future therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha I Edman
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ashish Phal
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Rachel L Redler
- Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Thomas Schlichthaerle
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Sanjay R Srivatsan
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Devon Duron Ehnes
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Ali Etemadi
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Medical Biotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran
| | - Seong J An
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Andrew Favor
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Zhe Li
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Florian Praetorius
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Max Gordon
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Thomas Vincent
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Silvia Marchiano
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Leslie Blakely
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Chuwei Lin
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Wei Yang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Brian Coventry
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Derrick R Hicks
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Longxing Cao
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Neville Bethel
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Piper Heine
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Analisa Murray
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Stacey Gerben
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Lauren Carter
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Marcos Miranda
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Babak Negahdari
- Medical Biotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran
| | - Sangwon Lee
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Cole Trapnell
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Ying Zheng
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Center for Cardiovascular Biology, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98109, USA
| | - Charles E Murry
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Center for Cardiovascular Biology, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98109, USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Medicine/Cardiology, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195, USA
| | - Devin K Schweppe
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Benjamin S Freedman
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Kidney Research Institute, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Lance Stewart
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Damian C Ekiert
- Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Joseph Schlessinger
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Jay Shendure
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Gira Bhabha
- Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Hannele Ruohola-Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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4
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Yamamoto R, Segawa R, Kato H, Niino Y, Sato T, Hiratsuka M, Hirasawa N. Identification of amino acids in transmembrane domains of mutated cytokine receptor-like factor 2 and interleukin-7 receptor α required for constitutive signal transduction. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOMEMBRANES 2024; 1866:184359. [PMID: 38862034 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2024.184359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Cytokine receptor-like factor 2 (CRLF2) and interleukin-7 receptor α (IL-7Rα) form a receptor for thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP). A somatic mutation consisting of the substitution of five amino acids (SLLLL) in the transmembrane domain of CRLF2 with three amino acids, including glutamic acid, isoleucine, and methionine (insEIM), which has been identified in acute lymphocytic leukemia, causes the TSLP-independent dimerization with IL-7Rα and activation. However, the dimerization mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we examined the involvement of the amino acids in the transmembrane domains of EIM CRLF2 and IL-7Rα in TSLP-independent activation. HEK293 cells were transfected with vectors encoding CRLF2 and IL-7Rα, or their mutants, in which the amino acid of the transmembrane domain was replaced with alanine. STAT5 phosphorylation was detected using western blotting, and receptor dimerization was analyzed using the NanoBiT assay. The substitution of glutamic acid within the insEIM mutation for alanine failed to cause the STAT5 phosphorylation in the absence of TSLP. Moreover, the alanine substation of the specific leucine residues in the transmembrane domains of both CRLF2 and IL-7Rα abrogated the TSLP-independent signal transduction and dimerization. The mutation of IL-7Rα W264 partially reduced the phosphorylation of STAT5 without affecting receptor dimerization. These results suggest that the amino acids in the transmembrane domains of EIM CRLF2 and IL-7Rα play at least three possible functions: interaction through hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interaction, and signal transduction. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the function of the transmembrane domains of cytokine receptors in their dimerization and signal transduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rio Yamamoto
- Laboratory of Pharmacotherapy of Life-Style Related Diseases, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Segawa
- Laboratory of Pharmacotherapy of Life-Style Related Diseases, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Hiyori Kato
- Laboratory of Pharmacotherapy of Life-Style Related Diseases, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Yuya Niino
- Laboratory of Pharmacotherapy of Life-Style Related Diseases, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Takeshi Sato
- Division of Liberal Arts and Science, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, 607-8414 Kyoto, Japan
| | - Masahiro Hiratsuka
- Laboratory of Pharmacotherapy of Life-Style Related Diseases, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Noriyasu Hirasawa
- Laboratory of Pharmacotherapy of Life-Style Related Diseases, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Miyagi, Japan.
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5
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Mravic M, He L, Kratochvil HT, Hu H, Nick SE, Bai W, Edwards A, Jo H, Wu Y, DiMaio D, DeGrado WF. De novo-designed transmembrane proteins bind and regulate a cytokine receptor. Nat Chem Biol 2024; 20:751-760. [PMID: 38480980 PMCID: PMC11142920 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-024-01562-z] [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: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Transmembrane (TM) domains as simple as a single span can perform complex biological functions using entirely lipid-embedded chemical features. Computational design has the potential to generate custom tool molecules directly targeting membrane proteins at their functional TM regions. Thus far, designed TM domain-targeting agents have been limited to mimicking the binding modes and motifs of natural TM interaction partners. Here, we demonstrate the design of de novo TM proteins targeting the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) TM domain in a custom binding topology competitive with receptor homodimerization. The TM proteins expressed in mammalian cells complex with EpoR and inhibit erythropoietin-induced cell proliferation. In vitro, the synthetic TM domain complex outcompetes EpoR homodimerization. Structural characterization reveals that the complex involves the intended amino acids and agrees with our designed molecular model of antiparallel TM helices at 1:1 stoichiometry. Thus, membrane protein TM regions can now be targeted in custom-designed topologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Mravic
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Li He
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Huong T Kratochvil
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hailin Hu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Sarah E Nick
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Weiya Bai
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Anne Edwards
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Hyunil Jo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yibing Wu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Daniel DiMaio
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - William F DeGrado
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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6
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Adams CS, Kim H, Burtner AE, Lee DS, Dobbins C, Criswell C, Coventry B, Kim HM, King NP. De novo design of protein minibinder agonists of TLR3. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.17.589973. [PMID: 38659926 PMCID: PMC11042314 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.17.589973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) is a pattern recognition receptor that initiates antiviral immune responses upon binding double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Several nucleic acid-based TLR3 agonists have been explored clinically as vaccine adjuvants in cancer and infectious disease, but present substantial manufacturing and formulation challenges. Here, we use computational protein design to create novel miniproteins that bind to human TLR3 with nanomolar affinities. Cryo-EM structures of two minibinders in complex with TLR3 reveal that they bind the target as designed, although one partially unfolds due to steric competition with a nearby N-linked glycan. Multimeric forms of both minibinders induce NF-κB signaling in TLR3-expressing cell lines, demonstrating that they may have therapeutically relevant biological activity. Our work provides a foundation for the development of specific, stable, and easy-to-formulate protein-based agonists of TLRs and other pattern recognition receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe S. Adams
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
| | - Hyojin Kim
- Center for Biomolecular & Cellular Structure, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34126, South Korea
| | - Abigail E. Burtner
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
| | - Dong Sun Lee
- Center for Biomolecular & Cellular Structure, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34126, South Korea
| | - Craig Dobbins
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
| | - Cameron Criswell
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
| | - Brian Coventry
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
| | - Ho Min Kim
- Center for Biomolecular & Cellular Structure, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34126, South Korea
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, South Korea
| | - Neil P. King
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195 USA
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7
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Driscoll CL, Keeble AH, Howarth MR. SpyMask enables combinatorial assembly of bispecific binders. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2403. [PMID: 38493197 PMCID: PMC10944524 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46599-9] [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: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Bispecific antibodies are a successful and expanding therapeutic class. Standard approaches to generate bispecifics are complicated by the need for disulfide reduction/oxidation or specialized formats. Here we present SpyMask, a modular approach to bispecifics using SpyTag/SpyCatcher spontaneous amidation. Two SpyTag-fused antigen-binding modules can be precisely conjugated onto DoubleCatcher, a tandem SpyCatcher where the second SpyCatcher is protease-activatable. We engineer a panel of structurally-distinct DoubleCatchers, from which binders project in different directions. We establish a generalized methodology for one-pot assembly and purification of bispecifics in 96-well plates. A panel of binders recognizing different HER2 epitopes were coupled to DoubleCatcher, revealing unexpected combinations with anti-proliferative or pro-proliferative activity on HER2-addicted cancer cells. Bispecific activity depended sensitively on both binder orientation and DoubleCatcher scaffold geometry. These findings support the need for straightforward assembly in different formats. SpyMask provides a scalable tool to discover synergy in bispecific activity, through modulating receptor organization and geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia L Driscoll
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, UK
| | - Anthony H Keeble
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, UK
| | - Mark R Howarth
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK.
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, UK.
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8
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Pekar L, Krah S, Zielonka S. Taming the beast: engineering strategies and biomedical potential of antibody-based cytokine mimetics. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2024:1-4. [PMID: 38385844 DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2024.2322062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Pekar
- Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Simon Krah
- Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Stefan Zielonka
- Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
- Biomolecular Immunotherapy, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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9
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Sarson-Lawrence KTG, Hardy JM, Iaria J, Stockwell D, Behrens K, Saiyed T, Tan C, Jebeli L, Scott NE, Dite TA, Nicola NA, Leis AP, Babon JJ, Kershaw NJ. Cryo-EM structure of the extracellular domain of murine Thrombopoietin Receptor in complex with Thrombopoietin. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1135. [PMID: 38326297 PMCID: PMC10850085 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45356-2] [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: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Thrombopoietin (Tpo) is the primary regulator of megakaryocyte and platelet numbers and is required for haematopoetic stem cell maintenance. Tpo functions by binding its receptor (TpoR, a homodimeric Class I cytokine receptor) and initiating cell proliferation or differentiation. Here we characterise the murine Tpo:TpoR signalling complex biochemically and structurally, using cryo-electron microscopy. Tpo uses opposing surfaces to recruit two copies of receptor, forming a 1:2 complex. Although it binds to the same, membrane-distal site on both receptor chains, it does so with significantly different affinities and its highly glycosylated C-terminal domain is not required. In one receptor chain, a large insertion, unique to TpoR, forms a partially structured loop that contacts cytokine. Tpo binding induces the juxtaposition of the two receptor chains adjacent to the cell membrane. The therapeutic agent romiplostim also targets the cytokine-binding site and the characterisation presented here supports the future development of improved TpoR agonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiseal T G Sarson-Lawrence
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Joshua M Hardy
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- ARC Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Josephine Iaria
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Dina Stockwell
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kira Behrens
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Tamanna Saiyed
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Cyrus Tan
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Leila Jebeli
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, 3000, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nichollas E Scott
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, 3000, Victoria, Australia
| | - Toby A Dite
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nicos A Nicola
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew P Leis
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
- ARC Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jeffrey J Babon
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia.
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Nadia J Kershaw
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia.
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia.
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10
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Satalkar V, Degaga GD, Li W, Pang YT, McShan AC, Gumbart JC, Mitchell JC, Torres MP. Generative β-hairpin design using a residue-based physicochemical property landscape. Biophys J 2024:S0006-3495(24)00070-5. [PMID: 38297834 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.01.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
De novo peptide design is a new frontier that has broad application potential in the biological and biomedical fields. Most existing models for de novo peptide design are largely based on sequence homology that can be restricted based on evolutionarily derived protein sequences and lack the physicochemical context essential in protein folding. Generative machine learning for de novo peptide design is a promising way to synthesize theoretical data that are based on, but unique from, the observable universe. In this study, we created and tested a custom peptide generative adversarial network intended to design peptide sequences that can fold into the β-hairpin secondary structure. This deep neural network model is designed to establish a preliminary foundation of the generative approach based on physicochemical and conformational properties of 20 canonical amino acids, for example, hydrophobicity and residue volume, using extant structure-specific sequence data from the PDB. The beta generative adversarial network model robustly distinguishes secondary structures of β hairpin from α helix and intrinsically disordered peptides with an accuracy of up to 96% and generates artificial β-hairpin peptide sequences with minimum sequence identities around 31% and 50% when compared against the current NCBI PDB and nonredundant databases, respectively. These results highlight the potential of generative models specifically anchored by physicochemical and conformational property features of amino acids to expand the sequence-to-structure landscape of proteins beyond evolutionary limits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vardhan Satalkar
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Gemechis D Degaga
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
| | - Wei Li
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Yui Tik Pang
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Andrew C McShan
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - James C Gumbart
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia; School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Julie C Mitchell
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
| | - Matthew P Torres
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia; School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.
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11
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Romei MG, Leonard B, Katz ZB, Le D, Yang Y, Day ES, Koo CW, Sharma P, Bevers Iii J, Kim I, Dai H, Farahi F, Lin M, Shaw AS, Nakamura G, Sockolosky JT, Lazar GA. i-shaped antibody engineering enables conformational tuning of biotherapeutic receptor agonists. Nat Commun 2024; 15:642. [PMID: 38245524 PMCID: PMC10799922 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44985-x] [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] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The ability to leverage antibodies to agonize disease relevant biological pathways has tremendous potential for clinical investigation. Yet while antibodies have been successful as antagonists, immune mediators, and targeting agents, they are not readily effective at recapitulating the biology of natural ligands. Among the important determinants of antibody agonist activity is the geometry of target receptor engagement. Here, we describe an engineering approach inspired by a naturally occurring Fab-Fab homotypic interaction that constrains IgG in a unique i-shaped conformation. i-shaped antibody (iAb) engineering enables potent intrinsic agonism of five tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) targets. When applied to bispecific antibodies against the heterodimeric IL-2 receptor pair, constrained bispecific IgG formats recapitulate IL-2 agonist activity. iAb engineering provides a tool to tune agonist antibody function and this work provides a framework for the development of intrinsic antibody agonists with the potential for generalization across broad receptor classes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G Romei
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Brandon Leonard
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Zachary B Katz
- Department of Research Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Daniel Le
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomic, Lipidomics, and Next Generation Sequencing, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yanli Yang
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Eric S Day
- Department of Pharma Technical Development, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Christopher W Koo
- Department of Structural Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Preeti Sharma
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jack Bevers Iii
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ingrid Kim
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Huiguang Dai
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Farzam Farahi
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - May Lin
- Department of Protein Chemistry, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andrey S Shaw
- Department of Research Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Gerald Nakamura
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Greg A Lazar
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA.
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12
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Morselli M, Holton TR, Pellegrini M, Yeates TO, Arbing MA. Design and Construction of a Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein (DARPin) Display Library. Curr Protoc 2024; 4:e960. [PMID: 38206591 DOI: 10.1002/cpz1.960] [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: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Protein display systems are powerful techniques used to identify protein molecules that bind with high affinity to target proteins of interest. The initial challenge in implementing a display system is the construction of a high-diversity naïve library. Here, we describe the methods to generate a designed ankyrin repeat protein (DARPin) display library using degenerate oligonucleotides. Specifically described is the construction of a single DARPin repeat module by overlap extension PCR, concatenation of the module by restriction enzyme digestion and ligation, and incorporation of the concatenated modules into a full-length DARPin sequence in a bacterial cloning or display vector containing the hydrophilic N- and C-terminal capping domains. Protocols for PCR amplification of DARPin sequences to estimate diversity of naïve and enriched libraries via next-generation sequencing are included, as is a simple Linux-based program for analysis of naïve and enriched sequences. © 2024 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Generation of a single DARPin repeat by overlap extension PCR Basic Protocol 2: Concatenation of DARPin repeats Basic Protocol 3: Ligation of internal repeats into cloning/display vector containing N- and C-terminal capping repeats Basic Protocol 4: Estimation of library size and diversity by next-generation sequencing (NGS) Basic Protocol 5: NGS analysis of naïve and enriched libraries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Morselli
- UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
- Current Address: Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Thomas R Holton
- UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Matteo Pellegrini
- UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Todd O Yeates
- UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Mark A Arbing
- UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
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13
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Papadopoulos N, Pristavec A, Nédélec A, Levy G, Staerk J, Constantinescu SN. Modulation of human thrombopoietin receptor conformations uncouples JAK2 V617F-driven activation from cytokine-induced stimulation. Blood 2023; 142:1818-1830. [PMID: 37616564 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2022019580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The thrombopoietin receptor (TpoR) plays a central role in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Mutations in JAK2, calreticulin, or TpoR itself drive the constitutive activation of TpoR and uncontrolled proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and progenitors. The JAK2 V617F mutation is responsible for most MPNs, and all driver mutants induce pathologic TpoR activation. Existing therapeutic strategies have focused on JAK2 kinase inhibitors that are unable to differentiate between the mutated MPN clone and healthy cells. Surprisingly, the targeting of TpoR itself has remained poorly explored despite its central role in pathology. Here, we performed a comprehensive characterization of human TpoR activation under physiological and pathological conditions, focusing on the JAK2 V617F mutant. Using a system of controlled dimerization of the transmembrane and cytosolic domains of TpoR, we discovered that human TpoR (hTpoR) adopts different dimeric conformations upon Tpo-induced vs JAK2 V617F-mediated activation. We identified the amino acids and specific dimeric conformation of hTpoR responsible for activation in complex with JAK2 V617F and confirmed our findings in the full-length receptor context in hematopoietic cell lines and primary bone marrow cells. Remarkably, we found that the modulation of hTpoR conformations by point mutations allowed for specific inhibition of JAK2 V617F-driven activation without affecting Tpo-induced signaling. Our results demonstrate that modulation of the hTpoR conformation is a viable therapeutic strategy for JAK2 V617F-positive MPNs and set the path for novel drug development by identifying precise residues of hTpoR involved in JAK2 V617F-specific activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Papadopoulos
- de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels, Belgium
- Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology Department, Walloon Excellence Research Institute, Wavre, Belgium
| | - Ajda Pristavec
- de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Audrey Nédélec
- de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels, Belgium
- Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology Department, Walloon Excellence Research Institute, Wavre, Belgium
| | - Gabriel Levy
- de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels, Belgium
- Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology Department, Walloon Excellence Research Institute, Wavre, Belgium
| | - Judith Staerk
- de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels, Belgium
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Nordic European Molecular Biology Laboratory Partnership, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Stefan N Constantinescu
- de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels, Belgium
- Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology Department, Walloon Excellence Research Institute, Wavre, Belgium
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
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14
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Khmelinskaia A, Bethel NP, Fatehi F, Antanasijevic A, Borst AJ, Lai SH, Wang JYJ, Mallik BB, Miranda MC, Watkins AM, Ogohara C, Caldwell S, Wu M, Heck AJR, Veesler D, Ward AB, Baker D, Twarock R, King NP. Local structural flexibility drives oligomorphism in computationally designed protein assemblies. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.18.562842. [PMID: 37905007 PMCID: PMC10614843 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.18.562842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Many naturally occurring protein assemblies have dynamic structures that allow them to perform specialized functions. For example, clathrin coats adopt a wide variety of architectures to adapt to vesicular cargos of various sizes. Although computational methods for designing novel self-assembling proteins have advanced substantially over the past decade, most existing methods focus on designing static structures with high accuracy. Here we characterize the structures of three distinct computationally designed protein assemblies that each form multiple unanticipated architectures, and identify flexibility in specific regions of the subunits of each assembly as the source of structural diversity. Cryo-EM single-particle reconstructions and native mass spectrometry showed that only two distinct architectures were observed in two of the three cases, while we obtained six cryo-EM reconstructions that likely represent a subset of the architectures present in solution in the third case. Structural modeling and molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the surprising observation of a defined range of architectures, instead of non-specific aggregation, can be explained by constrained flexibility within the building blocks. Our results suggest that deliberate use of structural flexibility as a design principle will allow exploration of previously inaccessible structural and functional space in designed protein assemblies.
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15
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Tsutsumi N, Masoumi Z, James SC, Tucker JA, Winkelmann H, Grey W, Picton LK, Moss L, Wilson SC, Caveney NA, Jude KM, Gati C, Piehler J, Hitchcock IS, Garcia KC. Structure of the thrombopoietin-MPL receptor complex is a blueprint for biasing hematopoiesis. Cell 2023; 186:4189-4203.e22. [PMID: 37633268 PMCID: PMC10528194 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.07.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Thrombopoietin (THPO or TPO) is an essential cytokine for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance and megakaryocyte differentiation. Here, we report the 3.4 Å resolution cryoelectron microscopy structure of the extracellular TPO-TPO receptor (TpoR or MPL) signaling complex, revealing the basis for homodimeric MPL activation and providing a structural rationalization for genetic loss-of-function thrombocytopenia mutations. The structure guided the engineering of TPO variants (TPOmod) with a spectrum of signaling activities, from neutral antagonists to partial- and super-agonists. Partial agonist TPOmod decoupled JAK/STAT from ERK/AKT/CREB activation, driving a bias for megakaryopoiesis and platelet production without causing significant HSC expansion in mice and showing superior maintenance of human HSCs in vitro. These data demonstrate the functional uncoupling of the two primary roles of TPO, highlighting the potential utility of TPOmod in hematology research and clinical HSC transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naotaka Tsutsumi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
| | - Zahra Masoumi
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Sophie C James
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Julie A Tucker
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Hauke Winkelmann
- Department of Biology/Chemistry and Center of Cellular Nanoanalytics, Osnabrück University, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - William Grey
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Lora K Picton
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lucie Moss
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Steven C Wilson
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Nathanael A Caveney
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kevin M Jude
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Cornelius Gati
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Biosciences Division, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Jacob Piehler
- Department of Biology/Chemistry and Center of Cellular Nanoanalytics, Osnabrück University, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Ian S Hitchcock
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK.
| | - K Christopher Garcia
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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16
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Westberg M, Song D, Duong V, Fernandez D, Huang PS, Lin MZ. Photoswitchable binders enable temporal dissection of endogenous protein function. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.14.557687. [PMID: 37745504 PMCID: PMC10515898 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.14.557687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
General methods for spatiotemporal control of specific endogenous proteins would be broadly useful for probing protein function in living cells. Synthetic protein binders that bind and inhibit endogenous protein targets can be obtained from nanobodies, designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins), and other small protein scaffolds, but generalizable methods to control their binding activity are lacking. Here, we report robust single-chain photoswitchable DARPins (psDARPins) for bidirectional optical control of endogenous proteins. We created topological variants of the DARPin scaffold by computer-aided design so fusion of photodissociable dimeric Dronpa (pdDronpa) results in occlusion of target binding at baseline. Cyan light induces pdDronpa dissociation to expose the binding surface (paratope), while violet light restores pdDronpa dimerization and paratope caging. Since the DARPin redesign leaves the paratope intact, the approach was easily applied to existing DARPins for GFP, ERK, and Ras, as demonstrated by relocalizing GFP-family proteins and inhibiting endogenous ERK and Ras with optical control. Finally, a Ras-targeted psDARPin was used to determine that, following EGF-activation of EGFR, Ras is required for sustained EGFR to ERK signaling. In summary, psDARPins provide a generalizable strategy for precise spatiotemporal dissection of endogenous protein function.
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17
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Yang H, Ulge UY, Quijano-Rubio A, Bernstein ZJ, Maestas DR, Chun JH, Wang W, Lin JX, Jude KM, Singh S, Orcutt-Jahns BT, Li P, Mou J, Chung L, Kuo YH, Ali YH, Meyer AS, Grayson WL, Heller NM, Garcia KC, Leonard WJ, Silva DA, Elisseeff JH, Baker D, Spangler JB. Design of cell-type-specific hyperstable IL-4 mimetics via modular de novo scaffolds. Nat Chem Biol 2023; 19:1127-1137. [PMID: 37024727 PMCID: PMC10697138 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01313-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
The interleukin-4 (IL-4) cytokine plays a critical role in modulating immune homeostasis. Although there is great interest in harnessing this cytokine as a therapeutic in natural or engineered formats, the clinical potential of native IL-4 is limited by its instability and pleiotropic actions. Here, we design IL-4 cytokine mimetics (denoted Neo-4) based on a de novo engineered IL-2 mimetic scaffold and demonstrate that these cytokines can recapitulate physiological functions of IL-4 in cellular and animal models. In contrast with natural IL-4, Neo-4 is hyperstable and signals exclusively through the type I IL-4 receptor complex, providing previously inaccessible insights into differential IL-4 signaling through type I versus type II receptors. Because of their hyperstability, our computationally designed mimetics can directly incorporate into sophisticated biomaterials that require heat processing, such as three-dimensional-printed scaffolds. Neo-4 should be broadly useful for interrogating IL-4 biology, and the design workflow will inform targeted cytokine therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huilin Yang
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Umut Y Ulge
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Alfredo Quijano-Rubio
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Zachary J Bernstein
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David R Maestas
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jung-Ho Chun
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Graduate Program in Biological Physics, Structure and Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Wentao Wang
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jian-Xin Lin
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and the Immunology Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kevin M Jude
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Srujan Singh
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Peng Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and the Immunology Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jody Mou
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Liam Chung
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yun-Huai Kuo
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yasmin H Ali
- College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Aaron S Meyer
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Bioinformatics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Warren L Grayson
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nicola M Heller
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - K Christopher Garcia
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Warren J Leonard
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and the Immunology Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Daniel-Adriano Silva
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jennifer H Elisseeff
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Jamie B Spangler
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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18
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Nair PC, Piehler J, Tvorogov D, Ross DM, Lopez AF, Gotlib J, Thomas D. Next-Generation JAK2 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Lessons from Structure-Based Drug Discovery Approaches. Blood Cancer Discov 2023; 4:352-364. [PMID: 37498362 PMCID: PMC10472187 DOI: 10.1158/2643-3230.bcd-22-0189] [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: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Selective inhibitors of Janus kinase (JAK) 2 have been in demand since the discovery of the JAK2 V617F mutation present in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN); however, the structural basis of V617F oncogenicity has only recently been elucidated. New structural studies reveal a role for other JAK2 domains, beyond the kinase domain, that contribute to pathogenic signaling. Here we evaluate the structure-based approaches that led to recently-approved type I JAK2 inhibitors (fedratinib and pacritinib), as well as type II (BBT594 and CHZ868) and pseudokinase inhibitors under development (JNJ7706621). With full-length JAK homodimeric structures now available, superior selective and mutation-specific JAK2 inhibitors are foreseeable. SIGNIFICANCE The JAK inhibitors currently used for the treatment of MPNs are effective for symptom management but not for disease eradication, primarily because they are not strongly selective for the mutant clone. The rise of computational and structure-based drug discovery approaches together with the knowledge of full-length JAK dimer complexes provides a unique opportunity to develop better targeted therapies for a range of conditions driven by pathologic JAK2 signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pramod C. Nair
- Cancer Program, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- Discipline of Medicine, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- Discipline of Clinical Pharmacology, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) Cancer Program, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Jacob Piehler
- Department of Biology and Center of Cellular Nanoanalytics, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Denis Tvorogov
- Centre for Cancer Biology, University of South Australia and SA Pathology, Adelaide, Australia
| | - David M. Ross
- Cancer Program, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- Discipline of Medicine, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- Centre for Cancer Biology, University of South Australia and SA Pathology, Adelaide, Australia
- Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Angel F. Lopez
- Centre for Cancer Biology, University of South Australia and SA Pathology, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Jason Gotlib
- Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Daniel Thomas
- Cancer Program, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- Discipline of Medicine, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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19
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Dowling QM, Park YJ, Gerstenmaier N, Yang EC, Wargacki A, Hsia Y, Fries CN, Ravichandran R, Walkey C, Burrell A, Veesler D, Baker D, King NP. Hierarchical design of pseudosymmetric protein nanoparticles. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.16.545393. [PMID: 37398374 PMCID: PMC10312784 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.16.545393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Discrete protein assemblies ranging from hundreds of kilodaltons to hundreds of megadaltons in size are a ubiquitous feature of biological systems and perform highly specialized functions 1-3. Despite remarkable recent progress in accurately designing new self-assembling proteins, the size and complexity of these assemblies has been limited by a reliance on strict symmetry 4,5. Inspired by the pseudosymmetry observed in bacterial microcompartments and viral capsids, we developed a hierarchical computational method for designing large pseudosymmetric self-assembling protein nanomaterials. We computationally designed pseudosymmetric heterooligomeric components and used them to create discrete, cage-like protein assemblies with icosahedral symmetry containing 240, 540, and 960 subunits. At 49, 71, and 96 nm diameter, these nanoparticles are the largest bounded computationally designed protein assemblies generated to date. More broadly, by moving beyond strict symmetry, our work represents an important step towards the accurate design of arbitrary self-assembling nanoscale protein objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quinton M Dowling
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Young-Jun Park
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Neil Gerstenmaier
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Erin C Yang
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Adam Wargacki
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Yang Hsia
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Chelsea N Fries
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Rashmi Ravichandran
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Carl Walkey
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Anika Burrell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - David Veesler
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - David Baker
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Neil P King
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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20
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McFarlane A, Pohler E, Moraga I. Molecular and cellular factors determining the functional pleiotropy of cytokines. FEBS J 2023; 290:2525-2552. [PMID: 35246947 PMCID: PMC10952290 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Cytokines are soluble factors vital for mammalian physiology. Cytokines elicit highly pleiotropic activities, characterized by their ability to induce a wide spectrum of functional responses in a diverse range of cell subsets, which makes their study very challenging. Cytokines activate signalling via receptor dimerization/oligomerization, triggering activation of the JAK (Janus kinase)/STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) signalling pathway. Given the strong crosstalk and shared usage of key components of cytokine signalling pathways, a long-standing question in the field pertains to how functional diversity is achieved by cytokines. Here, we discuss how biophysical - for example, ligand-receptor binding affinity and topology - and cellular - for example, receptor, JAK and STAT protein levels, endosomal compartment - parameters contribute to the modulation and diversification of cytokine responses. We review how these parameters ultimately converge into a common mechanism to fine-tune cytokine signalling that involves the control of the number of Tyr residues phosphorylated in the receptor intracellular domain upon cytokine stimulation. This results in different kinetics of STAT activation, and induction of specific gene expression programs, ensuring the generation of functional diversity by cytokines using a limited set of signalling intermediaries. We describe how these first principles of cytokine signalling have been exploited using protein engineering to design cytokine variants with more specific and less toxic responses for immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison McFarlane
- Division of Cell Signalling and ImmunologySchool of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeUK
| | - Elizabeth Pohler
- Division of Cell Signalling and ImmunologySchool of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeUK
| | - Ignacio Moraga
- Division of Cell Signalling and ImmunologySchool of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeUK
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21
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Kibler RD, Lee S, Kennedy MA, Wicky BIM, Lai SM, Kostelic MM, Li X, Chow CM, Carter L, Wysocki VH, Stoddard BL, Baker D. Stepwise design of pseudosymmetric protein hetero-oligomers. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.07.535760. [PMID: 37066191 PMCID: PMC10104133 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.07.535760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Pseudosymmetric hetero-oligomers with three or more unique subunits with overall structural (but not sequence) symmetry play key roles in biology, and systematic approaches for generating such proteins de novo would provide new routes to controlling cell signaling and designing complex protein materials. However, the de novo design of protein hetero-oligomers with three or more distinct chains with nearly identical structures is a challenging problem because it requires the accurate design of multiple protein-protein interfaces simultaneously. Here, we describe a divide-and-conquer approach that breaks the multiple-interface design challenge into a set of more tractable symmetric single-interface redesign problems, followed by structural recombination of the validated homo-oligomers into pseudosymmetric hetero-oligomers. Starting from de novo designed circular homo-oligomers composed of 9 or 24 tandemly repeated units, we redesigned the inter-subunit interfaces to generate 15 new homo-oligomers and recombined them to make 17 new hetero-oligomers, including ABC heterotrimers, A2B2 heterotetramers, and A3B3 and A2B2C2 heterohexamers which assemble with high structural specificity. The symmetric homo-oligomers and pseudosymmetric hetero-oligomers generated for each system share a common backbone, and hence are ideal building blocks for generating and functionalizing larger symmetric assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan D. Kibler
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Sangmin Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Madison A. Kennedy
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98006, USA
| | - Basile I. M. Wicky
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Stella M. Lai
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Resource for Native Mass Spectrometry Guided Structural Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Marius M. Kostelic
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Resource for Native Mass Spectrometry Guided Structural Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Xinting Li
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Cameron M. Chow
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Lauren Carter
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Vicki H. Wysocki
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Resource for Native Mass Spectrometry Guided Structural Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Barry L. Stoddard
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98006, USA
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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22
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Zhou Y, Stevis PE, Cao J, Saotome K, Wu J, Glatman Zaretsky A, Haxhinasto S, Yancopoulos GD, Murphy AJ, Sleeman MW, Olson WC, Franklin MC. Structural insights into the assembly of gp130 family cytokine signaling complexes. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade4395. [PMID: 36930708 PMCID: PMC10022904 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade4395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The interleukin-6 (IL-6) family cytokines signal through gp130 receptor homodimerization or heterodimerization with a second signaling receptor and play crucial roles in various cellular processes. We determined cryo-electron microscopy structures of five signaling complexes of this family, containing full receptor ectodomains bound to their respective ligands ciliary neurotrophic factor, cardiotrophin-like cytokine factor 1 (CLCF1), leukemia inhibitory factor, IL-27, and IL-6. Our structures collectively reveal similarities and differences in the assembly of these complexes. The acute bends at both signaling receptors in all complexes bring the membrane-proximal domains to a ~30 angstrom range but with distinct distances and orientations. We also reveal how CLCF1 engages its secretion chaperone cytokine receptor-like factor 1. Our data provide valuable insights for therapeutically targeting gp130-mediated signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhou
- Corresponding author. (Y.Z.); (M.C.F.)
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23
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Tsutsumi N, Hwang S, Waghray D, Hansen S, Jude KM, Wang N, Miao Y, Glassman CR, Caveney NA, Janda CY, Hannoush RN, Garcia K. Structure of the Wnt-Frizzled-LRP6 initiation complex reveals the basis for coreceptor discrimination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2218238120. [PMID: 36893265 PMCID: PMC10089208 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218238120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Wnt morphogens are critical for embryonic development and tissue regeneration. Canonical Wnts form ternary receptor complexes composed of tissue-specific Frizzled (Fzd) receptors together with the shared LRP5/6 coreceptors to initiate β-catenin signaling. The cryo-EM structure of a ternary initiation complex of an affinity-matured XWnt8-Frizzled8-LRP6 complex elucidates the basis of coreceptor discrimination by canonical Wnts by means of their N termini and linker domains that engage the LRP6 E1E2 domain funnels. Chimeric Wnts bearing modular linker "grafts" were able to transfer LRP6 domain specificity between different Wnts and enable non-canonical Wnt5a to signal through the canonical pathway. Synthetic peptides comprising the linker domain serve as Wnt-specific antagonists. The structure of the ternary complex provides a topological blueprint for the orientation and proximity of Frizzled and LRP6 within the Wnt cell surface signalosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naotaka Tsutsumi
- HHMI, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama700-8530, Japan
| | - Sunhee Hwang
- Department of Early Discovery Biochemistry, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA94080
| | - Deepa Waghray
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Simon Hansen
- Department of Early Discovery Biochemistry, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA94080
| | - Kevin M. Jude
- HHMI, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Nan Wang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Yi Miao
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Caleb R. Glassman
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Nathanael A. Caveney
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Claudia Y. Janda
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, 3584 CSUtrecht, Netherlands
| | - Rami N. Hannoush
- Department of Early Discovery Biochemistry, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA94080
| | - K. Christopher Garcia
- HHMI, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
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24
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Go YJ, Kalathingal M, Rhee YM. Elucidating activation and deactivation dynamics of VEGFR-2 transmembrane domain with coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281781. [PMID: 36795710 PMCID: PMC9934429 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281781] [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: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) is a member of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and is a dimeric membrane protein that functions as a primary regulator of angiogenesis. As is usual with RTKs, spatial alignment of its transmembrane domain (TMD) is essential toward VEGFR-2 activation. Experimentally, the helix rotations within TMD around their own helical axes are known to participate importantly toward the activation process in VEGFR-2, but the detailed dynamics of the interconversion between the active and inactive TMD forms have not been clearly elucidated at the molecular level. Here, we attempt to elucidate the process by using coarse grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We observe that inactive dimeric TMD in separation is structurally stable over tens of microseconds, suggesting that TMD itself is passive and does not allow spontaneous signaling of VEGFR-2. By starting from the active conformation, we reveal the mechanism of TMD inactivation through analyzing the CG MD trajectories. We observe that interconversions between a left-handed overlay and a right-handed one are essential for the process of going from an active TMD structure to the inactive form. In addition, our simulations find that the helices can rotate properly when the overlaying structure of the helices interconverts and when the crossing angle of the two helices changes by larger than ~40 degrees. As the activation right after the ligand attachment on VEGFR-2 will take place in the reverse manner of this inactivation process, these structural aspects will also appear importantly for the activation process. The rather large change in helix configuration for activation also explains why VEGFR-2 rarely self-activate and how the activating ligand structurally drive the whole VEGFR-2. This mechanism of TMD activation / inactivation within VEGFR-2 may help in further understanding the overall activation processes of other RTKs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeon Ju Go
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
| | - Mahroof Kalathingal
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
- Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea
| | - Young Min Rhee
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
- * E-mail:
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25
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Mravic M, He L, Kratochvil H, Hu H, Nick SE, Bai W, Edwards A, Jo H, Wu Y, DiMaio D, DeGrado WF. Designed Transmembrane Proteins Inhibit the Erythropoietin Receptor in a Custom Binding Topology. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.13.526773. [PMID: 36824741 PMCID: PMC9949092 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.13.526773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Transmembrane (TM) domains as simple as a single span can perform complex biological functions using entirely lipid-embedded chemical features. Computational design has potential to generate custom tool molecules directly targeting membrane proteins at their functional TM regions. Thus far, designed TM domain-targeting agents have been limited to mimicking binding modes and motifs of natural TM interaction partners. Here, we demonstrate the design of de novo TM proteins targeting the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) TM domain in a custom binding topology competitive with receptor homodimerization. The TM proteins expressed in mammalian cells complex with EpoR and inhibit erythropoietin-induced cell proliferation. In vitro, the synthetic TM domain complex outcompetes EpoR homodimerization. Structural characterization reveals that the complex involves the intended amino acids and agrees with our designed molecular model of antiparallel TM helices at 1:1 stoichiometry. Thus, membrane protein TM regions can now be targeted in custom designed topologies.
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26
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Chan J, Chan J, Shao L, Stawicki SS, Pham VC, Akita RW, Hafner M, Crocker L, Yu K, Koerber JT, Schaefer G, Comps-Agrar L. Systematic pharmacological analysis of agonistic and antagonistic fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 MAbs reveals a similar unique mode of action. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:102729. [PMID: 36410439 PMCID: PMC9758440 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102729] [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: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that plays a major role in developmental processes and metabolism. The dysregulation of FGFR1 through genetic aberrations leads to skeletal and metabolic diseases as well as cancer. For this reason, FGFR1 is a promising therapeutic target, yet a very challenging one due to potential on-target toxicity. More puzzling is that both agonistic and antagonistic FGFR1 antibodies are reported to exhibit similar toxicity profiles in vivo, namely weight loss. In this study, we aimed to assess and compare the mechanism of action of these molecules to better understand this apparent contradiction. By systematically comparing the binding of these antibodies and the activation or the inhibition of the major FGFR1 signaling events, we demonstrated that the molecules displayed similar properties and can behave either as an agonist or antagonist depending on the presence or the absence of the endogenous ligand. We further demonstrated that these findings translated in xenografts mice models. In addition, using time-resolved FRET and mass spectrometry analysis, we showed a functionally distinct FGFR1 active conformation in the presence of an antibody that preferentially activates the FGFR substrate 2 (FRS2)-dependent signaling pathway, demonstrating that modulating the geometry of a FGFR1 dimer can effectively change the signaling outputs and ultimately the activity of the molecule in preclinical studies. Altogether, our results highlighted how bivalent antibodies can exhibit both agonistic and antagonistic activities and have implications for targeting other receptor tyrosine kinases with antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jocelyn Chan
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Joyce Chan
- Department of Biochemical and Cellular Pharmacology, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, USA
| | - Lily Shao
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Scott S Stawicki
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Victoria C Pham
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics, Lipidomics and NGS, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Rob W Akita
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Marc Hafner
- Department of Oncology Bioinformatics, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Lisa Crocker
- Department of Translational Oncology, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Kebing Yu
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics, Lipidomics and NGS, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - James T Koerber
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Gabriele Schaefer
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California, USA.
| | - Laetitia Comps-Agrar
- Department of Biochemical and Cellular Pharmacology, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, USA.
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27
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Emerging principles of cytokine pharmacology and therapeutics. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2023; 22:21-37. [PMID: 36131080 DOI: 10.1038/s41573-022-00557-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Cytokines are secreted signalling proteins that play essential roles in the initiation, maintenance and resolution of immune responses. Although the unique ability of cytokines to control immune function has garnered clinical interest in the context of cancer, autoimmunity and infectious disease, the use of cytokine-based therapeutics has been limited. This is due, in part, to the ability of cytokines to act on many cell types and impact diverse biological functions, resulting in dose-limiting toxicity or lack of efficacy. Recent studies combining structural biology, protein engineering and receptor pharmacology have unlocked new insights into the mechanisms of cytokine receptor activation, demonstrating that many aspects of cytokine function are highly tunable. Here, we discuss the pharmacological principles underlying these efforts to overcome cytokine pleiotropy and enhance the therapeutic potential of this important class of signalling molecules.
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28
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Wang Z, Xie S, Wu L, Chen F, Qiu L, Tan W. Aptamer-Functionalized Nanodevices for Dynamic Manipulation of Membrane Receptor Signaling in Living Cells. NANO LETTERS 2022; 22:7853-7859. [PMID: 36126113 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c02522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The capacity to regulate the signaling amplitude of membrane receptors in a user-defined manner would open various opportunities for precise biological study and therapy. While partial agonists enabled downtuning of cellular responses, they required esoteric optimization of the ligand-receptor interface, limiting their practical applications. Herein, we developed an aptamer-functionalized, tweezer-like nanodevice to dynamically modulate the cellular behavior through control over the distance between receptors in the dimer with no need to involve complicated structural analysis. By combining a reversible conformation switch with aptamer-based molecular recognition, this nanodevice showed excellent performance on dynamic regulation of CD28 receptor-mediated T cell immunity. With the modular design, this nanodevice could be extended to dynamically modulate the activity of other membrane receptors (e.g., c-Met), expecting to offer a new paradigm for precise study and manipulation of specific molecular events in complex biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Wang
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Sitao Xie
- The Cancer Hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Zhejiang Cancer Hospital), Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, China
| | - Limei Wu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Fengming Chen
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Liping Qiu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Weihong Tan
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
- The Cancer Hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Zhejiang Cancer Hospital), Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, China
- Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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29
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Sathyanesan M, Newton SS. Antidepressant-like effects of trophic factor receptor signaling. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:958797. [PMID: 36081576 PMCID: PMC9445421 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.958797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A significant body of research has demonstrated that antidepressants regulate neurotrophic factors and that neurotrophins themselves are capable of independently producing antidepressant-like effects. While brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) remains the best studied molecule in this context, there are several structurally diverse trophic factors that have shown comparable behavioral effects, including basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In this review we discuss the structural and biochemical signaling aspects of these neurotrophic factors with antidepressant activity. We also include a discussion on a cytokine molecule erythropoietin (EPO), widely known and prescribed as a hormone to treat anemia but has recently been shown to function as a neurotrophic factor in the central nervous system (CNS).
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30
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Programmable DARPin-based receptors for the detection of thrombotic markers. Nat Chem Biol 2022; 18:1125-1134. [PMID: 35941237 PMCID: PMC9512699 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-022-01095-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Cellular therapies remain constrained by the limited availability of sensors for disease markers. Here we present an integrated target-to-receptor pipeline for constructing a customizable advanced modular bispecific extracellular receptor (AMBER) that combines our generalized extracellular molecule sensor (GEMS) system with a high-throughput platform for generating designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins). For proof of concept, we chose human fibrin degradation products (FDPs) as markers with high clinical relevance and screened a DARPin library for FDP binders. We built AMBERs equipped with 19 different DARPins selected from 160 hits, and found 4 of them to be functional as heterodimers with a known single-chain variable fragments binder. Tandem receptors consisting of combinations of the validated DARPins are also functional. We demonstrate applications of these AMBER receptors in vitro and in vivo by constructing designer cell lines that detect pathological concentrations of FDPs and respond with the production of a reporter and a therapeutic anti-thrombotic protein. ![]()
Merging the generalized extracellular molecule sensor (GEMS) system with screening designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) identifies an advanced modular bispecific extracellular receptor (AMBER) for detection of fibrinogen degradation products.
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31
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LAG3 ectodomain structure reveals functional interfaces for ligand and antibody recognition. Nat Immunol 2022; 23:1031-1041. [PMID: 35761082 DOI: 10.1038/s41590-022-01238-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The immune checkpoint receptor lymphocyte activation gene 3 protein (LAG3) inhibits T cell function upon binding to major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC class II) or fibrinogen-like protein 1 (FGL1). Despite the emergence of LAG3 as a target for next-generation immunotherapies, we have little information describing the molecular structure of the LAG3 protein or how it engages cellular ligands. Here we determined the structures of human and murine LAG3 ectodomains, revealing a dimeric assembly mediated by Ig domain 2. Epitope mapping indicates that a potent LAG3 antagonist antibody blocks interactions with MHC class II and FGL1 by binding to a flexible 'loop 2' region in LAG3 domain 1. We also defined the LAG3-FGL1 interface by mapping mutations onto structures of LAG3 and FGL1 and established that FGL1 cross-linking induces the formation of higher-order LAG3 oligomers. These insights can guide LAG3-based drug development and implicate ligand-mediated LAG3 clustering as a mechanism for disrupting T cell activation.
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32
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Dulmovits BM, Tang Y, Papoin J, He M, Li J, Yang H, Addorisio ME, Kennedy L, Khan M, Brindley E, Ashley RJ, Ackert-Bicknell C, Hale J, Kurita R, Nakamura Y, Diamond B, Barnes BJ, Hermine O, Gallagher PG, Steiner LA, Lipton JM, Taylor N, Mohandas N, Andersson U, Al-Abed Y, Tracey KJ, Blanc L. HMGB1-mediated restriction of EPO signaling contributes to anemia of inflammation. Blood 2022; 139:3181-3193. [PMID: 35040907 PMCID: PMC9136881 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021012048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Anemia of inflammation, also known as anemia of chronic disease, is refractory to erythropoietin (EPO) treatment, but the mechanisms underlying the EPO refractory state are unclear. Here, we demonstrate that high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1), a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule recently implicated in anemia development during sepsis, leads to reduced expansion and increased death of EPO-sensitive erythroid precursors in human models of erythropoiesis. HMGB1 significantly attenuates EPO-mediated phosphorylation of the Janus kinase 2/STAT5 and mTOR signaling pathways. Genetic ablation of receptor for advanced glycation end products, the only known HMGB1 receptor expressed by erythroid precursors, does not rescue the deleterious effects of HMGB1 on EPO signaling, either in human or murine precursors. Furthermore, surface plasmon resonance studies highlight the ability of HMGB1 to interfere with the binding between EPO and the EPOR. Administration of a monoclonal anti-HMGB1 antibody after sepsis onset in mice partially restores EPO signaling in vivo. Thus, HMGB1-mediated restriction of EPO signaling contributes to the chronic phase of anemia of inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M Dulmovits
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, and
| | | | | | - Mingzhu He
- Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
| | - Jianhua Li
- Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
| | - Huan Yang
- Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
| | - Meghan E Addorisio
- Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
| | | | | | - Elena Brindley
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, and
| | - Ryan J Ashley
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, and
| | | | - John Hale
- Red Cell Physiology Laboratory, New York Blood Center, New York, NY
| | - Ryo Kurita
- Central Blood Institute, Japanese Red Cross Society, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yukio Nakamura
- Cell Engineering Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Betty Diamond
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, and
| | - Betsy J Barnes
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, and
| | - Olivier Hermine
- INSERM Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) 1163, IMAGINE Institute, Paris, France
| | | | - Laurie A Steiner
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
| | - Jeffrey M Lipton
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, and
- Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Cohen Children's Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY
| | - Naomi Taylor
- Pediatric Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; and
| | - Narla Mohandas
- Red Cell Physiology Laboratory, New York Blood Center, New York, NY
| | - Ulf Andersson
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yousef Al-Abed
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
| | - Kevin J Tracey
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
| | - Lionel Blanc
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell, Hempstead, NY
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, and
- INSERM Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) 1163, IMAGINE Institute, Paris, France
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33
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Schamber MR, Vafabakhsh R. Mechanism of sensitivity modulation in the calcium-sensing receptor via electrostatic tuning. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2194. [PMID: 35459864 PMCID: PMC9033857 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29897-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Transfer of information across membranes is fundamental to the function of all organisms and is primarily initiated by transmembrane receptors. For many receptors, how ligand sensitivity is fine-tuned and how disease associated mutations modulate receptor conformation to allosterically affect receptor sensitivity are unknown. Here we map the activation of the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) - a dimeric class C G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and responsible for maintaining extracellular calcium in vertebrates. We show that CaSR undergoes unique conformational rearrangements compared to other class C GPCRs owing to specific structural features. Moreover, by analyzing disease associated mutations, we uncover a large permissiveness in the architecture of the extracellular domain of CaSR, with dynamics- and not specific receptor topology- determining the effect of a mutation. We show a structural hub at the dimer interface allosterically controls CaSR activation via focused electrostatic repulsion. Changes in the surface charge distribution of this hub, which is highly variable between organisms, finely tune CaSR sensitivity. This is potentially a general tuning mechanism for other dimeric receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Schamber
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Reza Vafabakhsh
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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34
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Caulier AL, Sankaran VG. Molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate human erythropoiesis. Blood 2022; 139:2450-2459. [PMID: 34936695 PMCID: PMC9029096 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021011044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
To enable effective oxygen transport, ∼200 billion red blood cells (RBCs) need to be produced every day in the bone marrow through the fine-tuned process of erythropoiesis. Erythropoiesis is regulated at multiple levels to ensure that defective RBC maturation or overproduction can be avoided. Here, we provide an overview of different layers of this control, ranging from cytokine signaling mechanisms that enable extrinsic regulation of RBC production to intrinsic transcriptional pathways necessary for effective erythropoiesis. Recent studies have also elucidated the importance of posttranscriptional regulation and highlighted additional gatekeeping mechanisms necessary for effective erythropoiesis. We additionally discuss the insights gained by studying human genetic variation affecting erythropoiesis and highlight the discovery of BCL11A as a regulator of hemoglobin switching through genetic studies. Finally, we provide an outlook of how our ability to measure multiple facets of this process at single-cell resolution, while accounting for the impact of human variation, will continue to refine our knowledge of erythropoiesis and how this process is perturbed in disease. As we learn more about this intricate and important process, additional opportunities to modulate erythropoiesis for therapeutic purposes will undoubtedly emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis L Caulier
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; and
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Vijay G Sankaran
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; and
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
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35
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Yen M, Ren J, Liu Q, Glassman CR, Sheahan TP, Picton LK, Moreira FR, Rustagi A, Jude KM, Zhao X, Blish CA, Baric RS, Su LL, Garcia KC. Facile discovery of surrogate cytokine agonists. Cell 2022; 185:1414-1430.e19. [PMID: 35325595 PMCID: PMC9021867 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Cytokines are powerful immune modulators that initiate signaling through receptor dimerization, but natural cytokines have structural limitations as therapeutics. We present a strategy to discover cytokine surrogate agonists by using modular ligands that exploit induced proximity and receptor dimer geometry as pharmacological metrics amenable to high-throughput screening. Using VHH and scFv to human interleukin-2/15, type-I interferon, and interleukin-10 receptors, we generated combinatorial matrices of single-chain bispecific ligands that exhibited diverse spectrums of functional activities, including potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by surrogate interferons. Crystal structures of IL-2R:VHH complexes revealed that variation in receptor dimer geometries resulted in functionally diverse signaling outputs. This modular platform enabled engineering of surrogate ligands that compelled assembly of an IL-2R/IL-10R heterodimer, which does not naturally exist, that signaled through pSTAT5 on T and natural killer (NK) cells. This "cytokine med-chem" approach, rooted in principles of induced proximity, is generalizable for discovery of diversified agonists for many ligand-receptor systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Yen
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Junming Ren
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Qingxiang Liu
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Caleb R Glassman
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Timothy P Sheahan
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Lora K Picton
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Fernando R Moreira
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Arjun Rustagi
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kevin M Jude
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Xiang Zhao
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Catherine A Blish
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Ralph S Baric
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Leon L Su
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - K Christopher Garcia
- Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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36
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Ding W, Nakai K, Gong H. Protein design via deep learning. Brief Bioinform 2022; 23:6554124. [PMID: 35348602 PMCID: PMC9116377 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbac102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins with desired functions and properties are important in fields like nanotechnology and biomedicine. De novo protein design enables the production of previously unseen proteins from the ground up and is believed as a key point for handling real social challenges. Recent introduction of deep learning into design methods exhibits a transformative influence and is expected to represent a promising and exciting future direction. In this review, we retrospect the major aspects of current advances in deep-learning-based design procedures and illustrate their novelty in comparison with conventional knowledge-based approaches through noticeable cases. We not only describe deep learning developments in structure-based protein design and direct sequence design, but also highlight recent applications of deep reinforcement learning in protein design. The future perspectives on design goals, challenges and opportunities are also comprehensively discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenze Ding
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.,School of Future Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.,MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.,Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Kenta Nakai
- Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo 1088639, Japan
| | - Haipeng Gong
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.,Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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37
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Glassman CR, Tsutsumi N, Saxton RA, Lupardus PJ, Jude KM, Garcia KC. Structure of a Janus kinase cytokine receptor complex reveals the basis for dimeric activation. Science 2022; 376:163-169. [PMID: 35271300 PMCID: PMC9306331 DOI: 10.1126/science.abn8933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Cytokines signal through cell surface receptor dimers to initiate activation of intracellular Janus Kinases (JAKs). We report the 3.6-Å resolution cryo-EM structure of full-length JAK1 complexed with a cytokine receptor intracellular Box1/Box2 domain, captured as an activated homodimer bearing the Val→Phe (VF) mutation prevalent in myeloproliferative neoplasms. The seven domains of JAK1 form an extended structural unit whose dimerization is mediated by close-packed pseudokinase (PK) domains. The oncogenic VF mutation lies within the core of the JAK1 PK dimer interface, enhancing packing complementarity to facilitate ligand-independent activation. The C-terminal tyrosine kinase domains are poised to phosphorylate the receptor STAT-recruiting motifs projecting from the overhanging FERM-SH2 domains. Mapping of constitutively active JAK mutants supports a two-step allosteric activation mechanism and reveals new opportunities for selective therapeutic targeting of oncogenic JAK signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb R Glassman
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Naotaka Tsutsumi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Robert A Saxton
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Patrick J Lupardus
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kevin M Jude
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - K Christopher Garcia
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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38
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ElGamacy M. Accelerating therapeutic protein design. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2022; 130:85-118. [PMID: 35534117 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2022.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Protein structures provide for defined microenvironments that can support complex pharmacological functions, otherwise unachievable by small molecules. The advent of therapeutic proteins has thus greatly broadened the range of manageable disorders. Leveraging the knowledge and recent advances in de novo protein design methods has the prospect of revolutionizing how protein drugs are discovered and developed. This review lays out the main challenges facing therapeutic proteins discovery and development, and how present and future advancements of protein design can accelerate the protein drug pipelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad ElGamacy
- University Hospital Tübingen, Division of Translational Oncology, Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen, Germany.
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39
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Holder PG, Lim SA, Huang CS, Sharma P, Dagdas YS, Bulutoglu B, Sockolosky JT. Engineering interferons and interleukins for cancer immunotherapy. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2022; 182:114112. [PMID: 35085624 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2022.114112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Cytokines are a class of potent immunoregulatory proteins that are secreted in response to various stimuli and act locally to regulate many aspects of human physiology and disease. Cytokines play important roles in cancer initiation, progression, and elimination, and thus, there is a long clinical history associated with the use of recombinant cytokines to treat cancer. However, the use of cytokines as therapeutics has been limited by cytokine pleiotropy, complex biology, poor drug-like properties, and severe dose-limiting toxicities. Nevertheless, cytokines are crucial mediators of innate and adaptive antitumor immunity and have the potential to enhance immunotherapeutic approaches to treat cancer. Development of immune checkpoint inhibitors and combination immunotherapies has reinvigorated interest in cytokines as therapeutics, and a variety of engineering approaches are emerging to improve the safety and effectiveness of cytokine immunotherapy. In this review we highlight recent advances in cytokine biology and engineering for cancer immunotherapy.
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40
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Sotolongo Bellón J, Birkholz O, Richter CP, Eull F, Kenneweg H, Wilmes S, Rothbauer U, You C, Walter MR, Kurre R, Piehler J. Four-color single-molecule imaging with engineered tags resolves the molecular architecture of signaling complexes in the plasma membrane. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2022; 2:100165. [PMID: 35474965 PMCID: PMC9017138 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Localization and tracking of individual receptors by single-molecule imaging opens unique possibilities to unravel the assembly and dynamics of signaling complexes in the plasma membrane. We present a comprehensive workflow for imaging and analyzing receptor diffusion and interaction in live cells at single molecule level with up to four colors. Two engineered, monomeric GFP variants, which are orthogonally recognized by anti-GFP nanobodies, are employed for efficient and selective labeling of target proteins in the plasma membrane with photostable fluorescence dyes. This labeling technique enables us to quantitatively resolve the stoichiometry and dynamics of the interferon-γ (IFNγ) receptor signaling complex in the plasma membrane of living cells by multicolor single-molecule imaging. Based on versatile spatial and spatiotemporal correlation analyses, we identify ligand-induced receptor homo- and heterodimerization. Multicolor single-molecule co-tracking and quantitative single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer moreover reveals transient assembly of IFNγ receptor heterotetramers and confirms its structural architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junel Sotolongo Bellón
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Oliver Birkholz
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Christian P. Richter
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Florian Eull
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Hella Kenneweg
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Stephan Wilmes
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
- Division of Cell Signalling and Immunology, University of Dundee, School of Life Sciences, Dundee, UK
| | - Ulrich Rothbauer
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, Germany
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen, Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Changjiang You
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Mark R. Walter
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Rainer Kurre
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Jacob Piehler
- Department of Biology and Center for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs), Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
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Cho B, Yoo SJ, Kim SY, Lee CH, Lee YI, Lee SR, Moon C. Second-generation non-hematopoietic erythropoietin-derived peptide for neuroprotection. Redox Biol 2021; 49:102223. [PMID: 34953452 PMCID: PMC8715119 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.102223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a well-known erythropoietic cytokine having a tissue-protective effect in various tissues against hypoxic stress, including the brain. Thus, its recombinants may function as neuroprotective compounds. However, despite considerable neuroprotective effects, the EPO-based therapeutic approach has side effects, including hyper-erythropoietic and tumorigenic effects. Therefore, some modified forms and derivatives of EPO have been proposed to minimize the side effects. In this study, we generated divergently modified new peptide analogs derived from helix C of EPO, with several amino acid replacements that interact with erythropoietin receptors (EPORs). This modification resulted in unique binding potency to EPOR. Unlike recombinant EPO, among the peptides, ML1-h3 exhibited a potent neuroprotective effect against oxidative stress without additional induction of cell-proliferation, owing to a differential activating mode of EPOR signaling. Furthermore, it inhibited neuronal death and brain injury under hypoxic stress in vitro and in an in vivo ischemic brain injury model. Therefore, the divergent modification of EPO-derivatives for affinity to EPOR could provide a basis for a more advanced and optimal neuroprotective strategy. Short peptides derived from helix C of EPO have a neuroprotective effect. Divergent modification of EPO-derived peptides has a differential affinity to EPOR. ML1 and its analogs have differential cell protective and proliferative effects. ML1-h3 protects neurons by suppressing in vitro oxidative stress. ML1-h3 mitigates brain injury in the in vivo mouse ischemic model without hematopoietic effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bongki Cho
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea; Convergence Research Advanced Centre for Olfaction, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea; Division of Biotechnology, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea
| | - Seung-Jun Yoo
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea; Convergence Research Advanced Centre for Olfaction, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea
| | - So Yeon Kim
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea; Convergence Research Advanced Centre for Olfaction, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea
| | - Chang-Hun Lee
- Department of New Biology, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea; New Biology Research Center, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea
| | - Yun-Il Lee
- Division of Biotechnology, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea
| | - Seong-Ryong Lee
- Department of Pharmacology and ODR Center, Brain Research Institute, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, 42601, South Korea.
| | - Cheil Moon
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea; Convergence Research Advanced Centre for Olfaction, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, South Korea.
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42
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Kan WL, Cheung Tung Shing KS, Nero TL, Hercus TR, Tvorogov D, Parker MW, Lopez AF. Messing with βc: A unique receptor with many goals. Semin Immunol 2021; 54:101513. [PMID: 34836771 DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2021.101513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Our understanding of the biological role of the βc family of cytokines has evolved enormously since their initial identification as bone marrow colony stimulating factors in the 1960's. It has become abundantly clear over the intervening decades that this family of cytokines has truly astonishing pleiotropic capacity, capable of regulating not only hematopoiesis but also many other normal and pathological processes such as development, inflammation, allergy and cancer. As noted in the current pandemic, βc cytokines contribute to the cytokine storm seen in acutely ill COVID-19 patients. Ongoing studies to discover how these cytokines activate their receptor are revealing insights into the fundamental mechanisms that give rise to cytokine pleiotropy and are providing tantalizing glimpses of how discrete signaling pathways may be dissected for activation with novel ligands for therapeutic benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Winnie L Kan
- The Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology and the University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
| | - Karen S Cheung Tung Shing
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
| | - Tracy L Nero
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
| | - Timothy R Hercus
- The Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology and the University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
| | - Denis Tvorogov
- The Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology and the University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
| | - Michael W Parker
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; Australian Cancer Research Foundation Rational Drug Discovery Centre, St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia.
| | - Angel F Lopez
- The Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology and the University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia; Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia; Australian Cancer Research Foundation Cancer Genomics Facility, SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
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43
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Zhu J, Avakyan N, Kakkis AA, Hoffnagle AM, Han K, Li Y, Zhang Z, Choi TS, Na Y, Yu CJ, Tezcan FA. Protein Assembly by Design. Chem Rev 2021; 121:13701-13796. [PMID: 34405992 PMCID: PMC9148388 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Proteins are nature's primary building blocks for the construction of sophisticated molecular machines and dynamic materials, ranging from protein complexes such as photosystem II and nitrogenase that drive biogeochemical cycles to cytoskeletal assemblies and muscle fibers for motion. Such natural systems have inspired extensive efforts in the rational design of artificial protein assemblies in the last two decades. As molecular building blocks, proteins are highly complex, in terms of both their three-dimensional structures and chemical compositions. To enable control over the self-assembly of such complex molecules, scientists have devised many creative strategies by combining tools and principles of experimental and computational biophysics, supramolecular chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials science, and polymer chemistry, among others. Owing to these innovative strategies, what started as a purely structure-building exercise two decades ago has, in short order, led to artificial protein assemblies with unprecedented structures and functions and protein-based materials with unusual properties. Our goal in this review is to give an overview of this exciting and highly interdisciplinary area of research, first outlining the design strategies and tools that have been devised for controlling protein self-assembly, then describing the diverse structures of artificial protein assemblies, and finally highlighting the emergent properties and functions of these assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Albert A. Kakkis
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Alexander M. Hoffnagle
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Kenneth Han
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Yiying Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Zhiyin Zhang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Tae Su Choi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Youjeong Na
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - Chung-Jui Yu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
| | - F. Akif Tezcan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
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44
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Thermostable designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) as building blocks for innovative drugs. J Biol Chem 2021; 298:101403. [PMID: 34793836 PMCID: PMC8683736 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 10/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) are antibody mimetics with high and mostly unexplored potential in drug development. By using in silico analysis and a rationally guided Ala scanning, we identified position 17 of the N-terminal capping repeat to play a key role in overall protein thermostability. The melting temperature of a DARPin domain with a single full-consensus internal repeat was increased by 8 °C to 10 °C when Asp17 was replaced by Leu, Val, Ile, Met, Ala, or Thr. We then transferred the Asp17Leu mutation to various backgrounds, including clinically validated DARPin domains, such as the vascular endothelial growth factor-binding domain of the DARPin abicipar pegol. In all cases, these proteins showed improvements in the thermostability on the order of 8 °C to 16 °C, suggesting the replacement of Asp17 could be generically applicable to this drug class. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that the Asp17Leu mutation reduces electrostatic repulsion and improves van-der-Waals packing, rendering the DARPin domain less flexible and more stable. Interestingly, this beneficial Asp17Leu mutation is present in the N-terminal caps of three of the five DARPin domains of ensovibep, a SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitor currently in clinical development, indicating this mutation could be partly responsible for the very high melting temperature (>90 °C) of this promising anti-COVID-19 drug. Overall, such N-terminal capping repeats with increased thermostability seem to be beneficial for the development of innovative drugs based on DARPins.
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45
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Hallinan JP, Doyle LA, Shen BW, Gewe MM, Takushi B, Kennedy MA, Friend D, Roberts JM, Bradley P, Stoddard BL. Design of functionalised circular tandem repeat proteins with longer repeat topologies and enhanced subunit contact surfaces. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1240. [PMID: 34716407 PMCID: PMC8556268 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02766-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Circular tandem repeat proteins (‘cTRPs’) are de novo designed protein scaffolds (in this and prior studies, based on antiparallel two-helix bundles) that contain repeated protein sequences and structural motifs and form closed circular structures. They can display significant stability and solubility, a wide range of sizes, and are useful as protein display particles for biotechnology applications. However, cTRPs also demonstrate inefficient self-assembly from smaller subunits. In this study, we describe a new generation of cTRPs, with longer repeats and increased interaction surfaces, which enhanced the self-assembly of two significantly different sizes of homotrimeric constructs. Finally, we demonstrated functionalization of these constructs with (1) a hexameric array of peptide-binding SH2 domains, and (2) a trimeric array of anti-SARS CoV-2 VHH domains. The latter proved capable of sub-nanomolar binding affinities towards the viral receptor binding domain and potent viral neutralization function. Jazmine Hallinan et al. report the development of a new generation of circular tandem repeat proteins with enhanced self-assembly. Functionalisation of these constructs with SARS CoV-2 VHH domains resulted in sub-nanomolar binding affinity to the viral receptor binding domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jazmine P Hallinan
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Lindsey A Doyle
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Betty W Shen
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Mesfin M Gewe
- Lumen Bioscience Inc., 1441 North 34th Street, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA
| | - Brittany Takushi
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Madison A Kennedy
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Della Friend
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - James M Roberts
- Lumen Bioscience Inc., 1441 North 34th Street, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA
| | - Philip Bradley
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA. .,Division of Public Health Sciences and Program in Computational Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, WA, 98009, USA.
| | - Barry L Stoddard
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
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46
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Deryusheva EI, Machulin AV, Galzitskaya OV. Structural, Functional, and Evolutionary Characteristics of Proteins with Repeats. Mol Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893321040038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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47
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Akiyama M, Ueki R, Yanagawa M, Abe M, Hiroshima M, Sako Y, Sando S. DNA‐Based Synthetic Growth Factor Surrogates with Fine‐Tuned Agonism**. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202105314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Momoko Akiyama
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology The University of Tokyo 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8656 Japan
| | - Ryosuke Ueki
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology The University of Tokyo 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8656 Japan
| | - Masataka Yanagawa
- Cellular Informatics Laboratory RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research 2-1 Hirosawa Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
| | - Mitsuhiro Abe
- Cellular Informatics Laboratory RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research 2-1 Hirosawa Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
| | - Michio Hiroshima
- Cellular Informatics Laboratory RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research 2-1 Hirosawa Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
- Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics RIKEN Center for, Biosystems Dynamics Research 6-2-3, Furuedai, Suita Osaka 565-0874 Japan
| | - Yasushi Sako
- Cellular Informatics Laboratory RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research 2-1 Hirosawa Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
| | - Shinsuke Sando
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology The University of Tokyo 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8656 Japan
- Department of Bioengineering The University of Tokyo 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8656 Japan
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48
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Roy A, Shrivastva S, Naseer S. In and out: Traffic and dynamics of thrombopoietin receptor. J Cell Mol Med 2021; 25:9073-9083. [PMID: 34448528 PMCID: PMC8500957 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.16878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Thrombopoiesis had long been a challenging area of study due to the rarity of megakaryocyte precursors in the bone marrow and the incomplete understanding of its regulatory cytokines. A breakthrough was achieved in the early 1990s with the discovery of the thrombopoietin receptor (TpoR) and its ligand thrombopoietin (TPO). This accelerated research in thrombopoiesis, including the uncovering of the molecular basis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and the advent of drugs to treat thrombocytopenic purpura. TpoR mutations affecting its membrane dynamics or transport were increasingly associated with pathologies such as MPN and thrombocytosis. It also became apparent that TpoR affected hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) quiescence while priming hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) towards the megakaryocyte lineage. Thorough knowledge of TpoR surface localization, dimerization, dynamics and stability is therefore crucial to understanding thrombopoiesis and related pathologies. In this review, we will discuss the mechanisms of TpoR traffic. We will focus on the recent progress in TpoR membrane dynamics and highlight the areas that remain unexplored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Roy
- Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
| | - Saurabh Shrivastva
- Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
| | - Saadia Naseer
- Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
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49
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Hitchcock IS, Hafer M, Sangkhae V, Tucker JA. The thrombopoietin receptor: revisiting the master regulator of platelet production. Platelets 2021; 32:770-778. [PMID: 34097561 PMCID: PMC8292222 DOI: 10.1080/09537104.2021.1925102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Thrombopoietin (TPO) and its receptor, MPL, are the primary regulators of platelet production and critical for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance. Since TPO was first cloned in 1994, the physiological and pathological roles of TPO and MPL have been well characterized, culminating in the first MPL agonists being approved for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenia in 2008. Dysregulation of the TPO-MPL signaling axis contributes to the pathogenesis of hematological disorders: decreased expression or function results in severe thrombocytopenia progressing to bone marrow failure, while hyperactivation of MPL signaling, either by mutations in the receptor or associated Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), results in pathological myeloproliferation. Despite its importance, it was only recently that the long-running debate over the mechanism by which TPO binding activates MPL has been resolved. This review will cover key aspects of TPO and MPL structure and function and their importance in receptor activation, discuss how these are altered in hematological disorders and consider how a greater understanding could lead to the development of better-targeted and more efficacious therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian S. Hitchcock
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Maximillian Hafer
- Department of Biology and Center of Cellular Nanoanalytics, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Veena Sangkhae
- Center for Iron Disorders, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Julie A. Tucker
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
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50
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Principles and Methods in Computational Membrane Protein Design. J Mol Biol 2021; 433:167154. [PMID: 34271008 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.167154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Revised: 07/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
After decades of progress in computational protein design, the design of proteins folding and functioning in lipid membranes appears today as the next frontier. Some notable successes in the de novo design of simplified model membrane protein systems have helped articulate fundamental principles of protein folding, architecture and interaction in the hydrophobic lipid environment. These principles are reviewed here, together with the computational methods and approaches that were used to identify them. We provide an overview of the methodological innovations in the generation of new protein structures and functions and in the development of membrane-specific energy functions. We highlight the opportunities offered by new machine learning approaches applied to protein design, and by new experimental characterization techniques applied to membrane proteins. Although membrane protein design is in its infancy, it appears more reachable than previously thought.
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