1
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Tatulian SA. Analysis of protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions by isotope-edited infrared spectroscopy. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:21930-21953. [PMID: 39108200 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp01136h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
The objective of this work is to highlight the power of isotope-edited Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in resolving important problems encountered in biochemistry, biophysics, and biomedical research, focusing on protein-protein and protein membrane interactions that play key roles in practically all life processes. An overview of the effects of isotope substitutions in (bio)molecules on spectral frequencies and intensities is given. Data are presented demonstrating how isotope-labeled proteins and/or lipids can be used to elucidate enzymatic mechanisms, the mode of membrane binding of peripheral proteins, regulation of membrane protein function, protein aggregation, and local and global structural changes in proteins during functional transitions. The use of polarized attenuated total reflection FTIR spectroscopy to identify the spatial orientation and the secondary structure of a membrane-bound interfacial enzyme and the mode of lipid hydrolysis is described. Methods of production of site-directed, segmental, and domain-specific labeling of proteins by the synthetic, semisynthetic, and recombinant strategies, including advanced protein engineering technologies such as nonsense suppression and frameshift quadruplet codons are overviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suren A Tatulian
- Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
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2
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Phillips AH, Kriwacki RW. The role of intrinsic protein disorder in regulation of cyclin-dependent kinases. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2024; 88:102906. [PMID: 39142260 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2024.102906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
While the structure/function paradigm for folded domains was established decades ago, our understanding of how intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) contribute to biological function is still evolving. IDRs exist as conformational ensembles that can range from highly compact to highly extended depending on their sequence composition. IDR sequences are less conserved than those of folded domains, but often display short, conserved segments termed short linear motifs (SLiMs), that often mediate protein-protein interactions and are often regulated by posttranslational modifications, giving rise to complex functionality when multiple, differently regulated SLiMs are combined. This combinatorial functionality was associated with signaling and regulation soon after IDRs were first recognized as functional elements within proteins. Here, we discuss roles for disorder in proteins that regulate cyclin-dependent kinases, the master timekeepers of the eukaryotic cell cycle. We illustrate the importance of intrinsic flexibility in the transmission of regulatory signals by these entirely disordered proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron H Phillips
- Department of Structural Biology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Richard W Kriwacki
- Department of Structural Biology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.
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3
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Ashraf HN, Uversky VN. Intrinsic Disorder in the Host Proteins Entrapped in Rabies Virus Particles. Viruses 2024; 16:916. [PMID: 38932209 PMCID: PMC11209445 DOI: 10.3390/v16060916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
A proteomics analysis of purified rabies virus (RABV) revealed 47 entrapped host proteins within the viral particles. Out of these, 11 proteins were highly disordered. Our study was particularly focused on five of the RABV-entrapped mouse proteins with the highest levels of disorder: Neuromodulin, Chmp4b, DnaJB6, Vps37B, and Wasl. We extensively utilized bioinformatics tools, such as FuzDrop, D2P2, UniProt, RIDAO, STRING, AlphaFold, and ELM, for a comprehensive analysis of the intrinsic disorder propensity of these proteins. Our analysis suggested that these disordered host proteins might play a significant role in facilitating the rabies virus pathogenicity, immune system evasion, and the development of antiviral drug resistance. Our study highlighted the complex interaction of the virus with its host, with a focus on how the intrinsic disorder can play a crucial role in virus pathogenic processes, and suggested that these intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and disorder-related host interactions can also be a potential target for therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hafiza Nimra Ashraf
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA;
| | - Vladimir N. Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA;
- USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
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4
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Gupta MN, Uversky VN. Protein structure-function continuum model: Emerging nexuses between specificity, evolution, and structure. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4968. [PMID: 38532700 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
The rationale for replacing the old binary of structure-function with the trinity of structure, disorder, and function has gained considerable ground in recent years. A continuum model based on the expanded form of the existing paradigm can now subsume importance of both conformational flexibility and intrinsic disorder in protein function. The disorder is actually critical for understanding the protein-protein interactions in many regulatory processes, formation of membrane-less organelles, and our revised notions of specificity as amply illustrated by moonlighting proteins. While its importance in formation of amyloids and function of prions is often discussed, the roles of intrinsic disorder in infectious diseases and protein function under extreme conditions are also becoming clear. This review is an attempt to discuss how our current understanding of protein function, specificity, and evolution fit better with the continuum model. This integration of structure and disorder under a single model may bring greater clarity in our continuing quest for understanding proteins and molecular mechanisms of their functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munishwar Nath Gupta
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
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5
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Maiti S, Singh A, Maji T, Saibo NV, De S. Experimental methods to study the structure and dynamics of intrinsically disordered regions in proteins. Curr Res Struct Biol 2024; 7:100138. [PMID: 38707546 PMCID: PMC11068507 DOI: 10.1016/j.crstbi.2024.100138] [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: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic proteins often feature long stretches of amino acids that lack a well-defined three-dimensional structure and are referred to as intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) or regions (IDRs). Although these proteins challenge conventional structure-function paradigms, they play vital roles in cellular processes. Recent progress in experimental techniques, such as NMR spectroscopy, single molecule FRET, high speed AFM and SAXS, have provided valuable insights into the biophysical basis of IDP function. This review discusses the advancements made in these techniques particularly for the study of disordered regions in proteins. In NMR spectroscopy new strategies such as 13C detection, non-uniform sampling, segmental isotope labeling, and rapid data acquisition methods address the challenges posed by spectral overcrowding and low stability of IDPs. The importance of various NMR parameters, including chemical shifts, hydrogen exchange rates, and relaxation measurements, to reveal transient secondary structures within IDRs and IDPs are presented. Given the high flexibility of IDPs, the review outlines NMR methods for assessing their dynamics at both fast (ps-ns) and slow (μs-ms) timescales. IDPs exert their functions through interactions with other molecules such as proteins, DNA, or RNA. NMR-based titration experiments yield insights into the thermodynamics and kinetics of these interactions. Detailed study of IDPs requires multiple experimental techniques, and thus, several methods are described for studying disordered proteins, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations. The potential for integrating these complementary techniques, each offering unique perspectives, is explored to achieve a comprehensive understanding of IDPs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aakanksha Singh
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, WB, 721302, India
| | - Tanisha Maji
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, WB, 721302, India
| | - Nikita V. Saibo
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, WB, 721302, India
| | - Soumya De
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, WB, 721302, India
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6
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Holehouse AS, Kragelund BB. The molecular basis for cellular function of intrinsically disordered protein regions. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2024; 25:187-211. [PMID: 37957331 DOI: 10.1038/s41580-023-00673-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered protein regions exist in a collection of dynamic interconverting conformations that lack a stable 3D structure. These regions are structurally heterogeneous, ubiquitous and found across all kingdoms of life. Despite the absence of a defined 3D structure, disordered regions are essential for cellular processes ranging from transcriptional control and cell signalling to subcellular organization. Through their conformational malleability and adaptability, disordered regions extend the repertoire of macromolecular interactions and are readily tunable by their structural and chemical context, making them ideal responders to regulatory cues. Recent work has led to major advances in understanding the link between protein sequence and conformational behaviour in disordered regions, yet the link between sequence and molecular function is less well defined. Here we consider the biochemical and biophysical foundations that underlie how and why disordered regions can engage in productive cellular functions, provide examples of emerging concepts and discuss how protein disorder contributes to intracellular information processing and regulation of cellular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex S Holehouse
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
- Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Birthe B Kragelund
- REPIN, Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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7
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Sisk TR, Robustelli P. Folding-upon-binding pathways of an intrinsically disordered protein from a deep Markov state model. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313360121. [PMID: 38294935 PMCID: PMC10861926 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313360121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
A central challenge in the study of intrinsically disordered proteins is the characterization of the mechanisms by which they bind their physiological interaction partners. Here, we utilize a deep learning-based Markov state modeling approach to characterize the folding-upon-binding pathways observed in a long timescale molecular dynamics simulation of a disordered region of the measles virus nucleoprotein NTAIL reversibly binding the X domain of the measles virus phosphoprotein complex. We find that folding-upon-binding predominantly occurs via two distinct encounter complexes that are differentiated by the binding orientation, helical content, and conformational heterogeneity of NTAIL. We observe that folding-upon-binding predominantly proceeds through a multi-step induced fit mechanism with several intermediates and do not find evidence for the existence of canonical conformational selection pathways. We observe four kinetically separated native-like bound states that interconvert on timescales of eighty to five hundred nanoseconds. These bound states share a core set of native intermolecular contacts and stable NTAIL helices and are differentiated by a sequential formation of native and non-native contacts and additional helical turns. Our analyses provide an atomic resolution structural description of intermediate states in a folding-upon-binding pathway and elucidate the nature of the kinetic barriers between metastable states in a dynamic and heterogenous, or "fuzzy", protein complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R. Sisk
- Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH03755
| | - Paul Robustelli
- Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH03755
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8
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Basu S, Zhao B, Biró B, Faraggi E, Gsponer J, Hu G, Kloczkowski A, Malhis N, Mirdita M, Söding J, Steinegger M, Wang D, Wang K, Xu D, Zhang J, Kurgan L. DescribePROT in 2023: more, higher-quality and experimental annotations and improved data download options. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D426-D433. [PMID: 37933852 PMCID: PMC10767971 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad985] [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: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The DescribePROT database of amino acid-level descriptors of protein structures and functions was substantially expanded since its release in 2020. This expansion includes substantial increase in the size, scope, and quality of the underlying data, the addition of experimental structural information, the inclusion of new data download options, and an upgraded graphical interface. DescribePROT currently covers 19 structural and functional descriptors for proteins in 273 reference proteomes generated by 11 accurate and complementary predictive tools. Users can search our resource in multiple ways, interact with the data using the graphical interface, and download data at various scales including individual proteins, entire proteomes, and whole database. The annotations in DescribePROT are useful for a broad spectrum of studies that include investigations of protein structure and function, development and validation of predictive tools, and to support efforts in understanding molecular underpinnings of diseases and development of therapeutics. DescribePROT can be freely accessed at http://biomine.cs.vcu.edu/servers/DESCRIBEPROT/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushmita Basu
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Bi Zhao
- Genomics Program, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Bálint Biró
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, Hungary
| | - Eshel Faraggi
- Physics Department, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jörg Gsponer
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gang Hu
- School of Statistics and Data Science, LPMC and KLMDASR, Nankai University, Tianjin, P.R. China
| | - Andrzej Kloczkowski
- The Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, USA
| | - Nawar Malhis
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Milot Mirdita
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Johannes Söding
- Quantitative and Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Martin Steinegger
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Artificial Intelligence Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Duolin Wang
- Department of Electrical Engineer and Computer Science, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
| | - Kui Wang
- School of Statistics and Data Science, LPMC and KLMDASR, Nankai University, Tianjin, P.R. China
| | - Dong Xu
- Department of Electrical Engineer and Computer Science, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
| | - Jian Zhang
- School of Computer and Information Technology, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, P.R. China
| | - Lukasz Kurgan
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
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9
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Omari S, Lee H, Wang J, Zeng SX, Lu H. Extracellular and intracellular functions of coiled-coil domain containing 3. J Mol Cell Biol 2023; 15:mjad037. [PMID: 37263799 PMCID: PMC10849165 DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjad037] [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: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Coiled-coil domain containing 3 (CCDC3, also called Favine) is a highly conserved protein initially identified as a protein secreted from adipocytes and endothelial cells in the vascular system with endocrine-like functions. Recently, CCDC3 was also found to function as a nuclear tumor suppressor in breast cancers. Although it is still understudied, CCDC3, since its discovery, has been shown to play multiple roles in lipid metabolism, fatty liver, abdominal obesity, anti-inflammation, atherosclerosis, and cancer. This essay is thus composed to offer an overview of these extracellular endocrine-like and intracellular (nuclear) functions of CCDC3. We also discuss the possible underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of CCDC3, the implications for clinical translation, and the remaining puzzles about this special molecule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Omari
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
- Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Hyemin Lee
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
- Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Jieqiong Wang
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
- Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Shelya X Zeng
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
- Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Hua Lu
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
- Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
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10
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Kurgan L, Hu G, Wang K, Ghadermarzi S, Zhao B, Malhis N, Erdős G, Gsponer J, Uversky VN, Dosztányi Z. Tutorial: a guide for the selection of fast and accurate computational tools for the prediction of intrinsic disorder in proteins. Nat Protoc 2023; 18:3157-3172. [PMID: 37740110 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00876-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsic disorder is instrumental for a wide range of protein functions, and its analysis, using computational predictions from primary structures, complements secondary and tertiary structure-based approaches. In this Tutorial, we provide an overview and comparison of 23 publicly available computational tools with complementary parameters useful for intrinsic disorder prediction, partly relying on results from the Critical Assessment of protein Intrinsic Disorder prediction experiment. We consider factors such as accuracy, runtime, availability and the need for functional insights. The selected tools are available as web servers and downloadable programs, offer state-of-the-art predictions and can be used in a high-throughput manner. We provide examples and instructions for the selected tools to illustrate practical aspects related to the submission, collection and interpretation of predictions, as well as the timing and their limitations. We highlight two predictors for intrinsically disordered proteins, flDPnn as accurate and fast and IUPred as very fast and moderately accurate, while suggesting ANCHOR2 and MoRFchibi as two of the best-performing predictors for intrinsically disordered region binding. We link these tools to additional resources, including databases of predictions and web servers that integrate multiple predictive methods. Altogether, this Tutorial provides a hands-on guide to comparatively evaluating multiple predictors, submitting and collecting their own predictions, and reading and interpreting results. It is suitable for experimentalists and computational biologists interested in accurately and conveniently identifying intrinsic disorder, facilitating the functional characterization of the rapidly growing collections of protein sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukasz Kurgan
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
| | - Gang Hu
- School of Statistics and Data Science, LPMC and KLMDASR, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Kui Wang
- School of Statistics and Data Science, LPMC and KLMDASR, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Sina Ghadermarzi
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Bi Zhao
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Nawar Malhis
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gábor Erdős
- MTA-ELTE Momentum Bioinformatics Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Jörg Gsponer
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
- Byrd Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
| | - Zsuzsanna Dosztányi
- MTA-ELTE Momentum Bioinformatics Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
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11
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Kind L, Driver M, Raasakka A, Onck PR, Njølstad PR, Arnesen T, Kursula P. Structural properties of the HNF-1A transactivation domain. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1249939. [PMID: 37908230 PMCID: PMC10613711 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1249939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1α (HNF-1A) is a transcription factor with important gene regulatory roles in pancreatic β-cells. HNF1A gene variants are associated with a monogenic form of diabetes (HNF1A-MODY) or an increased risk for type 2 diabetes. While several pancreatic target genes of HNF-1A have been described, a lack of knowledge regarding the structure-function relationships in HNF-1A prohibits a detailed understanding of HNF-1A-mediated gene transcription, which is important for precision medicine and improved patient care. Therefore, we aimed to characterize the understudied transactivation domain (TAD) of HNF-1A in vitro. We present a bioinformatic approach to dissect the TAD sequence, analyzing protein structure, sequence composition, sequence conservation, and the existence of protein interaction motifs. Moreover, we developed the first protocol for the recombinant expression and purification of the HNF-1A TAD. Small-angle X-ray scattering and synchrotron radiation circular dichroism suggested a disordered conformation for the TAD. Furthermore, we present functional data on HNF-1A undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation, which is in line with in silico predictions and may be of biological relevance for gene transcriptional processes in pancreatic β-cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kind
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Mark Driver
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Arne Raasakka
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Patrick R. Onck
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Pål Rasmus Njølstad
- Mohn Center for Diabetes Precision Medicine, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Children and Youth Clinic, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Thomas Arnesen
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Petri Kursula
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine & Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
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12
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Konstantinidou M, Visser EJ, Vandenboorn E, Chen S, Jaishankar P, Overmans M, Dutta S, Neitz RJ, Renslo AR, Ottmann C, Brunsveld L, Arkin MR. Structure-Based Optimization of Covalent, Small-Molecule Stabilizers of the 14-3-3σ/ERα Protein-Protein Interaction from Nonselective Fragments. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:20328-20343. [PMID: 37676236 PMCID: PMC10515640 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c05161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
The stabilization of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) has emerged as a promising strategy in chemical biology and drug discovery. The identification of suitable starting points for stabilizing native PPIs and their subsequent elaboration into selective and potent molecular glues lacks structure-guided optimization strategies. We have previously identified a disulfide fragment that stabilized the hub protein 14-3-3σ bound to several of its clients, including ERα and C-RAF. Here, we show the structure-based optimization of the nonselective fragment toward selective and highly potent small-molecule stabilizers of the 14-3-3σ/ERα complex. The more elaborated molecular glues, for example, show no stabilization of 14-3-3σ/C-RAF up to 150 μM compound. Orthogonal biophysical assays, including mass spectrometry and fluorescence anisotropy, were used to establish structure-activity relationships. The binding modes of 37 compounds were elucidated with X-ray crystallography, which further assisted the concomitant structure-guided optimization. By targeting specific amino acids in the 14-3-3σ/ERα interface and locking the conformation with a spirocycle, the optimized covalent stabilizer 181 achieved potency, cooperativity, and selectivity similar to the natural product Fusicoccin-A. This case study showcases the value of addressing the structure, kinetics, and cooperativity for molecular glue development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markella Konstantinidou
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Emira J. Visser
- Laboratory
of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute
for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven
University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Edmee Vandenboorn
- Laboratory
of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute
for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven
University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Sheng Chen
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Priyadarshini Jaishankar
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Maurits Overmans
- Laboratory
of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute
for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven
University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Shubhankar Dutta
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - R. Jeffrey Neitz
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Adam R. Renslo
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
| | - Christian Ottmann
- Laboratory
of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute
for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven
University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Luc Brunsveld
- Laboratory
of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute
for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven
University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Michelle R. Arkin
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, United States
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13
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Roterman I, Stapor K, Konieczny L. Engagement of intrinsic disordered proteins in protein-protein interaction. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1230922. [PMID: 37583961 PMCID: PMC10423874 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1230922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteins from the intrinsically disordered group (IDP) focus the attention of many researchers engaged in protein structure analysis. The main criteria used in their identification are lack of secondary structure and significant structural variability. This variability takes forms that cannot be identified in the X-ray technique. In the present study, different criteria were used to assess the status of IDP proteins and their fragments recognized as intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). The status of the hydrophobic core in proteins identified as IDPs and in their complexes was assessed. The status of IDRs as components of the ordering structure resulting from the construction of the hydrophobic core was also assessed. The hydrophobic core is understood as a structure encompassing the entire molecule in the form of a centrally located high concentration of hydrophobicity and a shell with a gradually decreasing level of hydrophobicity until it reaches a level close to zero on the protein surface. It is a model assuming that the protein folding process follows a micellization pattern aiming at exposing polar residues on the surface, with the simultaneous isolation of hydrophobic amino acids from the polar aquatic environment. The use of the model of hydrophobicity distribution in proteins in the form of the 3D Gaussian distribution described on the protein particle introduces the possibility of assessing the degree of similarity to the assumed micelle-like distribution and also enables the identification of deviations and mismatch between the actual distribution and the idealized distribution. The FOD (fuzzy oil drop) model and its modified FOD-M version allow for the quantitative assessment of these differences and the assessment of the relationship of these areas to the protein function. In the present work, the sections of IDRs in protein complexes classified as IDPs are analyzed. The classification "disordered" in the structural sense (lack of secondary structure or high flexibility) does not always entail a mismatch with the structure of the hydrophobic core. Particularly, the interface area, often consisting of IDRs, in many analyzed complexes shows the compliance of the hydrophobicity distribution with the idealized distribution, which proves that matching to the structure of the hydrophobic core does not require secondary structure ordering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Roterman
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University—Medical College, Kraków, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Stapor
- Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Automatic, Electronics and Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Leszek Konieczny
- Chair of Medical Biochemistry, Medical College, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
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14
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Sisk T, Robustelli P. Folding-upon-binding pathways of an intrinsically disordered protein from a deep Markov state model. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.21.550103. [PMID: 37546728 PMCID: PMC10401938 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.21.550103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
A central challenge in the study of intrinsically disordered proteins is the characterization of the mechanisms by which they bind their physiological interaction partners. Here, we utilize a deep learning based Markov state modeling approach to characterize the folding-upon-binding pathways observed in a long-time scale molecular dynamics simulation of a disordered region of the measles virus nucleoprotein NTAIL reversibly binding the X domain of the measles virus phosphoprotein complex. We find that folding-upon-binding predominantly occurs via two distinct encounter complexes that are differentiated by the binding orientation, helical content, and conformational heterogeneity of NTAIL. We do not, however, find evidence for the existence of canonical conformational selection or induced fit binding pathways. We observe four kinetically separated native-like bound states that interconvert on time scales of eighty to five hundred nanoseconds. These bound states share a core set of native intermolecular contacts and stable NTAIL helices and are differentiated by a sequential formation of native and non-native contacts and additional helical turns. Our analyses provide an atomic resolution structural description of intermediate states in a folding-upon-binding pathway and elucidate the nature of the kinetic barriers between metastable states in a dynamic and heterogenous, or "fuzzy", protein complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Sisk
- Dartmouth College, Department of Chemistry, Hanover, NH, 03755
| | - Paul Robustelli
- Dartmouth College, Department of Chemistry, Hanover, NH, 03755
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15
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Schweitzer-Stenner R. The relevance of short peptides for an understanding of unfolded and intrinsically disordered proteins. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:11908-11933. [PMID: 37096579 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp00483j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Over the last thirty years the unfolded state of proteins has attracted considerable interest owing to the discovery of intrinsically disordered proteins which perform a plethora of functions despite resembling unfolded proteins to a significant extent. Research on both, unfolded and disordered proteins has revealed that their conformational properties can deviate locally from random coil behavior. In this context results from work on short oligopeptides suggest that individual amino acid residues sample the sterically allowed fraction of the Ramachandran plot to a different extent. Alanine has been found to exhibit a peculiarity in that it has a very high propensity for adopting polyproline II like conformations. This Perspectives article reviews work on short peptides aimed at exploring the Ramachandran distributions of amino acid residues in different contexts with experimental and computational means. Based on the thus provided overview the article discussed to what extent short peptides can serve as tools for exploring unfolded and disordered proteins and as benchmarks for the development of a molecular dynamics force field.
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16
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Saurabh S, Nadendla K, Purohit SS, Sivakumar PM, Cetinel S. Fuzzy Drug Targets: Disordered Proteins in the Drug-Discovery Realm. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:9729-9747. [PMID: 36969402 PMCID: PMC10034788 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c07708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and regions (IDRs) form a large part of the eukaryotic proteome. Contrary to the structure-function paradigm, the disordered proteins perform a myriad of functions in vivo. Consequently, they are involved in various disease pathways and are plausible drug targets. Unlike folded proteins, that have a defined structure and well carved out drug-binding pockets that can guide lead molecule selection, the disordered proteins require alternative drug-development methodologies that are based on an acceptable picture of their conformational ensemble. In this review, we discuss various experimental and computational techniques that contribute toward understanding IDP "structure" and describe representative pursuances toward IDP-targeting drug development. We also discuss ideas on developing rational drug design protocols targeting IDPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suman Saurabh
- Molecular
Sciences Research Hub, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Karthik Nadendla
- Center
for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, Lensfield
Road, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
| | - Shubh Sanket Purohit
- Department
of Clinical Haematology, Sahyadri Superspeciality
Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra 411038, India
| | - Ponnurengam Malliappan Sivakumar
- Institute
of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
- School
of Medicine and Pharmacy, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
- Nanotechnology
Research and Application Center (SUNUM), Sabanci University, Istanbul 34956, Turkey
| | - Sibel Cetinel
- Nanotechnology
Research and Application Center (SUNUM), Sabanci University, Istanbul 34956, Turkey
- Faculty of
Engineering and Natural Sciences, Molecular Biology, Genetics and
Bioengineering Program, Sabanci University, Istanbul 34956, Turkey
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17
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Chakravarty D, Schafer JW, Porter LL. Distinguishing features of fold-switching proteins. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4596. [PMID: 36782353 PMCID: PMC9951197 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Though many folded proteins assume one stable structure that performs one function, a small-but-increasing number remodel their secondary and tertiary structures and change their functions in response to cellular stimuli. These fold-switching proteins regulate biological processes and are associated with autoimmune dysfunction, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection, and more. Despite their biological importance, it is difficult to computationally predict fold switching. With the aim of advancing computational prediction and experimental characterization of fold switchers, this review discusses several features that distinguish fold-switching proteins from their single-fold and intrinsically disordered counterparts. First, the isolated structures of fold switchers are less stable and more heterogeneous than single folders but more stable and less heterogeneous than intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Second, the sequences of single fold, fold switching, and intrinsically disordered proteins can evolve at distinct rates. Third, proteins from these three classes are best predicted using different computational techniques. Finally, late-breaking results suggest that single folders, fold switchers, and IDPs have distinct patterns of residue-residue coevolution. The review closes by discussing high-throughput and medium-throughput experimental approaches that might be used to identify new fold-switching proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devlina Chakravarty
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Joseph W. Schafer
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Lauren L. Porter
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
- Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
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18
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Gupta MN, Uversky VN. Pre-Molten, Wet, and Dry Molten Globules en Route to the Functional State of Proteins. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032424. [PMID: 36768742 PMCID: PMC9916686 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Transitions between the unfolded and native states of the ordered globular proteins are accompanied by the accumulation of several intermediates, such as pre-molten globules, wet molten globules, and dry molten globules. Structurally equivalent conformations can serve as native functional states of intrinsically disordered proteins. This overview captures the characteristics and importance of these molten globules in both structured and intrinsically disordered proteins. It also discusses examples of engineered molten globules. The formation of these intermediates under conditions of macromolecular crowding and their interactions with nanomaterials are also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munishwar Nath Gupta
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Vladimir N. Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-813-494-5816
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19
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Peng Z, Li Z, Meng Q, Zhao B, Kurgan L. CLIP: accurate prediction of disordered linear interacting peptides from protein sequences using co-evolutionary information. Brief Bioinform 2023; 24:6858950. [PMID: 36458437 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbac502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
One of key features of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) is facilitation of protein-protein and protein-nucleic acids interactions. These disordered binding regions include molecular recognition features (MoRFs), short linear motifs (SLiMs) and longer binding domains. Vast majority of current predictors of disordered binding regions target MoRFs, with a handful of methods that predict SLiMs and disordered protein-binding domains. A new and broader class of disordered binding regions, linear interacting peptides (LIPs), was introduced recently and applied in the MobiDB resource. LIPs are segments in protein sequences that undergo disorder-to-order transition upon binding to a protein or a nucleic acid, and they cover MoRFs, SLiMs and disordered protein-binding domains. Although current predictors of MoRFs and disordered protein-binding regions could be used to identify some LIPs, there are no dedicated sequence-based predictors of LIPs. To this end, we introduce CLIP, a new predictor of LIPs that utilizes robust logistic regression model to combine three complementary types of inputs: co-evolutionary information derived from multiple sequence alignments, physicochemical profiles and disorder predictions. Ablation analysis suggests that the co-evolutionary information is particularly useful for this prediction and that combining the three inputs provides substantial improvements when compared to using these inputs individually. Comparative empirical assessments using low-similarity test datasets reveal that CLIP secures area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.8 and substantially improves over the results produced by the closest current tools that predict MoRFs and disordered protein-binding regions. The webserver of CLIP is freely available at http://biomine.cs.vcu.edu/servers/CLIP/ and the standalone code can be downloaded from http://yanglab.qd.sdu.edu.cn/download/CLIP/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenling Peng
- Research Center for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China.,Frontier Science Center for Nonlinear Expectations, Ministry of Education, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Zixia Li
- Center for Applied Mathematics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Qiaozhen Meng
- College of Intelligence and Computing, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Bi Zhao
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
| | - Lukasz Kurgan
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
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20
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Ando T. Functional Implications of Dynamic Structures of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Revealed by High-Speed AFM Imaging. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12121876. [PMID: 36551304 PMCID: PMC9776203 DOI: 10.3390/biom12121876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The unique functions of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) depend on their dynamic protean structure that often eludes analysis. High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) can conduct this difficult analysis by directly visualizing individual IDP molecules in dynamic motion at sub-molecular resolution. After brief descriptions of the microscopy technique, this review first shows that the intermittent tip-sample contact does not alter the dynamic structure of IDPs and then describes how the number of amino acids contained in a fully disordered region can be estimated from its HS-AFM images. Next, the functional relevance of a dumbbell-like structure that has often been observed on IDPs is discussed. Finally, the dynamic structural information of two measles virus IDPs acquired from their HS-AFM and NMR analyses is described together with its functional implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshio Ando
- Nano Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
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21
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NMR insights into dynamic, multivalent interactions of intrinsically disordered regions: from discrete complexes to condensates. Essays Biochem 2022; 66:863-873. [PMID: 36416859 PMCID: PMC9760423 DOI: 10.1042/ebc20220056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The spatial and temporal organization of interactions between proteins underlie the regulation of most cellular processes. The requirement for such interactions to be specific predisposes a view that protein-protein interactions are relatively static and are formed through the stable complementarity of the interacting partners. A growing body of reports indicate, however, that many interactions lead to fuzzy complexes with an ensemble of conformations in dynamic exchange accounting for the observed binding. Here, we discuss how NMR has facilitated the characterization of these discrete, dynamic complexes and how such characterization has aided the understanding of dynamic, condensed phases of phase-separating proteins with exchanging multivalent interactions.
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22
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Fang M, He Y, Du Z, Uversky VN. DeepCLD: An Efficient Sequence-Based Predictor of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins. IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS 2022; 19:3154-3159. [PMID: 34727037 DOI: 10.1109/tcbb.2021.3124273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsic disorder is common in proteins, plays important roles in protein functionality, and is commonly associated with various human diseases. To have an accurate tool for the annotation of intrinsic disorder in proteins, this paper proposes a novel algorithm, DeepCLD, for sequence-based prediction of intrinsically disordered proteins. This algorithm uses amino acid position specific scoring matrix (PSSM) to capture the intrinsic variability characteristic of sequence patterns, ResNet to preserve feature space structure, and bidirectional CudnnLSTM as recurrent layer to further improve the efficiency. Futhermore, DeepCLD also utilized the attention mechanism to solve the problem of gradient disappearing in deep network. Comparative analyses show that DeepCLD has faster training speed and higher prediction accuracy than comparable methods.
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23
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Kastano K, Mier P, Dosztányi Z, Promponas VJ, Andrade-Navarro MA. Functional Tuning of Intrinsically Disordered Regions in Human Proteins by Composition Bias. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12101486. [PMID: 36291695 PMCID: PMC9599065 DOI: 10.3390/biom12101486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in protein sequences are flexible, have low structural constraints and as a result have faster rates of evolution. This lack of evolutionary conservation greatly limits the use of sequence homology for the classification and functional assessment of IDRs, as opposed to globular domains. The study of IDRs requires other properties for their classification and functional prediction. While composition bias is not a necessary property of IDRs, compositionally biased regions (CBRs) have been noted as frequent part of IDRs. We hypothesized that to characterize IDRs, it could be helpful to study their overlap with particular types of CBRs. Here, we evaluate this overlap in the human proteome. A total of 2/3 of residues in IDRs overlap CBRs. Considering CBRs enriched in one type of amino acid, we can distinguish CBRs that tend to be fully included within long IDRs (R, H, N, D, P, G), from those that partially overlap shorter IDRs (S, E, K, T), and others that tend to overlap IDR terminals (Q, A). CBRs overlap more often IDRs in nuclear proteins and in proteins involved in liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). Study of protein interaction networks reveals the enrichment of CBRs in IDRs by tandem repetition of short linear motifs (rich in S or P), and the existence of E-rich polar regions that could support specific protein interactions with non-specific interactions. Our results open ways to pin down the function of IDRs from their partial compositional biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Kastano
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Biozentrum I, Hans-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Pablo Mier
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Biozentrum I, Hans-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Zsuzsanna Dosztányi
- Department of Biochemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Vasilis J. Promponas
- Bioinformatics Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Miguel A. Andrade-Navarro
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Biozentrum I, Hans-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Correspondence:
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24
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Algrain M, Hennebert E, Bertemes P, Wattiez R, Flammang P, Lengerer B. In the footsteps of sea stars: deciphering the catalogue of proteins involved in underwater temporary adhesion. Open Biol 2022; 12:220103. [PMID: 35975651 PMCID: PMC9382459 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.220103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea stars adhere strongly but temporarily to underwater substrata via the secretion of a blend of proteins, forming an adhesive footprint that they leave on the surface after detachment. Their tube feet enclose a duo-gland adhesive system comprising two types of adhesive cells, contributing different layers of the footprint and de-adhesive cells. In this study, we characterized the catalogue of sea star footprint proteins (Sfps) in the species Asterias rubens to gain insights in their potential function. We identified 16 Sfps and mapped their expression to type 1 and/or type 2 adhesive cells or to de-adhesive cells by double fluorescent in situ hybridization. Based on their cellular expression pattern and their conserved functional domains, we propose that the identified Sfps serve different functions during attachment, with two Sfps coupling to the surface, six providing cohesive strength and the rest forming a binding matrix. Immunolabelling of footprints with antibodies directed against one protein of each category confirmed these roles. A de-adhesive gland cell-specific astacin-like proteinase presumably weakens the bond between the adhesive material and the tube foot surface during detachment. Overall, we provide a model for temporary adhesion in sea stars, including a comprehensive list of the proteins involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgane Algrain
- Laboratory of Biology of Marine Organisms and Biomimetics, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, Mons 7000, Belgium
| | - Elise Hennebert
- Laboratory of Cell Biology, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, Mons 7000, Belgium
| | - Philip Bertemes
- Institute of Zoology and Center of Molecular Biosciences, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | - Ruddy Wattiez
- Laboratory of Proteomics and Microbiology, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, Mons 7000, Belgium
| | - Patrick Flammang
- Laboratory of Biology of Marine Organisms and Biomimetics, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, Mons 7000, Belgium
| | - Birgit Lengerer
- Institute of Zoology and Center of Molecular Biosciences, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
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25
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Piersimoni L, Abd El Malek M, Bhatia T, Bender J, Brankatschk C, Calvo Sánchez J, Dayhoff GW, Di Ianni A, Figueroa Parra JO, Garcia-Martinez D, Hesselbarth J, Köppen J, Lauth LM, Lippik L, Machner L, Sachan S, Schmidt L, Selle R, Skalidis I, Sorokin O, Ubbiali D, Voigt B, Wedler A, Wei AAJ, Zorn P, Dunker AK, Köhn M, Sinz A, Uversky VN. Lighting up Nobel Prize-winning studies with protein intrinsic disorder. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:449. [PMID: 35882686 PMCID: PMC11072364 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04468-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDPs and IDRs) and their importance in biology are becoming increasingly recognized in biology, biochemistry, molecular biology and chemistry textbooks, as well as in current protein science and structural biology curricula. We argue that the sequence → dynamic conformational ensemble → function principle is of equal importance as the classical sequence → structure → function paradigm. To highlight this point, we describe the IDPs and/or IDRs behind the discoveries associated with 17 Nobel Prizes, 11 in Physiology or Medicine and 6 in Chemistry. The Nobel Laureates themselves did not always mention that the proteins underlying the phenomena investigated in their award-winning studies are in fact IDPs or contain IDRs. In several cases, IDP- or IDR-based molecular functions have been elucidated, while in other instances, it is recognized that the respective protein(s) contain IDRs, but the specific IDR-based molecular functions have yet to be determined. To highlight the importance of IDPs and IDRs as general principle in biology, we present here illustrative examples of IDPs/IDRs in Nobel Prize-winning mechanisms and processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lolita Piersimoni
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Marina Abd El Malek
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Twinkle Bhatia
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Julian Bender
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Christin Brankatschk
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Jaime Calvo Sánchez
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Guy W Dayhoff
- Department of Chemistry, College of Art and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Alessio Di Ianni
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | - Dailen Garcia-Martinez
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Julia Hesselbarth
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Janett Köppen
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Luca M Lauth
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Laurin Lippik
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Lisa Machner
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Shubhra Sachan
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Lisa Schmidt
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Robin Selle
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Ioannis Skalidis
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Oleksandr Sorokin
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Daniele Ubbiali
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Bruno Voigt
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Alice Wedler
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Alan An Jung Wei
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Peter Zorn
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Alan Keith Dunker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Marcel Köhn
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
| | - Andrea Sinz
- Research Training Group RTG2467, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
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26
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Hartmann AM, Nothwang HG. NKCC1 and KCC2: Structural insights into phospho-regulation. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:964488. [PMID: 35935337 PMCID: PMC9355526 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.964488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Inhibitory neurotransmission plays a fundamental role in the central nervous system, with about 30–50% of synaptic connections being inhibitory. The action of both inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma-aminobutyric-acid (GABA) and glycine, mainly relies on the intracellular Cl– concentration in neurons. This is set by the interplay of the cation chloride cotransporters NKCC1 (Na+, K+, Cl– cotransporter), a main Cl– uptake transporter, and KCC2 (K+, Cl– cotransporter), the principle Cl– extruder in neurons. Accordingly, their dysfunction is associated with severe neurological, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders. This has triggered great interest in understanding their regulation, with a strong focus on phosphorylation. Recent structural data by cryogenic electron microscopy provide the unique possibility to gain insight into the action of these phosphorylations. Interestingly, in KCC2, six out of ten (60%) known regulatory phospho-sites reside within a region of 134 amino acid residues (12% of the total residues) between helices α8 and α9 that lacks fixed or ordered three-dimensional structures. It thus represents a so-called intrinsically disordered region. Two further phospho-sites, Tyr903 and Thr906, are also located in a disordered region between the ß8 strand and the α8 helix. We make the case that especially the disordered region between helices α8 and α9 acts as a platform to integrate different signaling pathways and simultaneously constitute a flexible, highly dynamic linker that can survey a wide variety of distinct conformations. As each conformation can have distinct binding affinities and specificity properties, this enables regulation of [Cl–]i and thus the ionic driving force in a history-dependent way. This region might thus act as a molecular processor underlying the well described phenomenon of ionic plasticity that has been ascribed to inhibitory neurotransmission. Finally, it might explain the stunning long-range effects of mutations on phospho-sites in KCC2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Maria Hartmann
- Division of Neurogenetics, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Center for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- *Correspondence: Anna-Maria Hartmann,
| | - Hans Gerd Nothwang
- Division of Neurogenetics, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Center for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Center of Excellence Hearing4all, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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27
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Corrigan AN, Lemkul JA. Electronic Polarization at the Interface between the p53 Transactivation Domain and Two Binding Partners. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:4814-4827. [PMID: 35749260 PMCID: PMC9267131 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c02268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are an abundant class of highly charged proteins that participate in numerous crucial biological processes, often in regulatory roles. IDPs do not have one major free energy minimum with a dominant structure, instead existing as conformational ensembles of multiple semistable conformations. p53 is a prototypical protein with disordered regions and binds to many structurally diverse partners, making it a useful model for exploring the role of electrostatic interactions at IDP binding interfaces. In this study, we used the Drude-2019 force field to simulate the p53 transactivation domain with two protein partners to probe the role of electrostatic interactions in IDP protein-protein interactions. We found that the Drude-2019 polarizable force field reasonably reproduced experimental chemical shifts of the p53 transactivation domain (TAD) in one complex for which these data are available. We also found that the proteins in these complexes displayed dipole response at specific residues of each protein and that residues primarily involved in binding showed a large percent change in dipole moment between the unbound and complexed states. Probing the role of electrostatic interactions in IDP binding can allow us greater fundamental understanding of these interactions and may help with targeting p53 or its partners for drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Justin A. Lemkul
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 20461, United States,Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 20461, United States,Corresponding Author: , Address: 111 Engel Hall, 340 West Campus Dr., Blacksburg, VA 24061, Phone: +1 (540) 231-3129
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28
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Intrinsically disordered proteins and proteins with intrinsically disordered regions in neurodegenerative diseases. Biophys Rev 2022; 14:679-707. [DOI: 10.1007/s12551-022-00968-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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29
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Schaefer‐Ramadan S, Aleksic J, Al‐Thani NM, Malek JA. Novel protein contact points among TP53 and minichromosome maintenance complex proteins 2, 3, and 5. Cancer Med 2022; 11:4989-5000. [PMID: 35567389 PMCID: PMC9761056 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.4805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Identify protein contact points between TP53 and minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex proteins 2, 3, and 5 with high resolution allowing for potential novel Cancer drug design. METHODS A next-generation sequencing-based protein-protein interaction method developed in our laboratory called AVA-Seq was applied to a gold-standard human protein interaction set. Proteins including TP53, MCM2, MCM3, MCM5, HSP90AA1, PCNA, NOD1, and others were sheared and ligated into the AVA-Seq system. Protein-protein interactions were then identified in both mild and stringent selective conditions. RESULTS Known interactions among MCM2, MCM3, and MCM5 were identified with the AVA-Seq system. The interacting regions detected between these three proteins overlap with the structural data of the MCM complex, and novel domains were identified with high resolution determined by multiple overlapping fragments. Fragments of wild type TP53 were shown to interact with MCM2, MCM3, and MCM5, and details on the location of the interactions were provided. Finally, a mini-network of known and novel cancer protein interactions was provided, which could have implications for fundamental changes in multiple cancers. CONCLUSION We provide a high-resolution mini-interactome that could direct novel drug targets and implicate possible effects of specific cancer mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jovana Aleksic
- Department of Genetic MedicineWeill Cornell Medicine in QatarDohaQatar
| | - Nayra M. Al‐Thani
- Department of Genetic MedicineWeill Cornell Medicine in QatarDohaQatar
| | - Joel A. Malek
- Department of Genetic MedicineWeill Cornell Medicine in QatarDohaQatar
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30
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Sluchanko NN. Recent advances in structural studies of 14-3-3 protein complexes. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2022; 130:289-324. [PMID: 35534110 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2021.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Being phosphopeptide-binding hubs, 14-3-3 proteins coordinate multiple cellular processes in eukaryotes, including the regulation of apoptosis, cell cycle, ion channels trafficking, transcription, signal transduction, and hormone biosynthesis. Forming constitutive α-helical dimers, 14-3-3 proteins predominantly recognize specifically phosphorylated Ser/Thr sites within their partners; this generally stabilizes phosphotarget conformation and affects its activity, intracellular distribution, dephosphorylation, degradation and interactions with other proteins. Not surprisingly, 14-3-3 complexes are involved in the development of a range of diseases and are considered promising drug targets. The wide interactome of 14-3-3 proteins encompasses hundreds of different phosphoproteins, for many of which the interaction is well-documented in vitro and in vivo but lack the structural data that would help better understand underlying regulatory mechanisms and develop new drugs. Despite obtaining structural information on 14-3-3 complexes is still lagging behind the research of 14-3-3 interactions on a proteome-wide scale, recent works provided some advances, including methodological improvements and accumulation of new interesting structural data, that are discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolai N Sluchanko
- A.N. Bach Institute of Biochemistry, Federal Research Center "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation.
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31
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Guharoy M, Lazar T, Macossay-Castillo M, Tompa P. Degron masking outlines degronons, co-degrading functional modules in the proteome. Commun Biol 2022; 5:445. [PMID: 35545699 PMCID: PMC9095673 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03391-z] [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: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective organization of proteins into functional modules (networks, pathways) requires systems-level coordination between transcription, translation and degradation. Whereas the cooperation between transcription and translation was extensively studied, the cooperative degradation regulation of protein complexes and pathways has not been systematically assessed. Here we comprehensively analyzed degron masking, a major mechanism by which cellular systems coordinate degron recognition and protein degradation. For over 200 substrates with characterized degrons (E3 ligase targeting motifs, ubiquitination sites and disordered proteasomal entry sequences), we demonstrate that degrons extensively overlap with protein-protein interaction sites. Analysis of binding site information and protein abundance comparisons show that regulatory partners effectively outcompete E3 ligases, masking degrons from the ubiquitination machinery. Protein abundance variations between normal and cancer cells highlight the dynamics of degron masking components. Finally, integrative analysis of gene co-expression, half-life correlations and functional relationships between interacting proteins point towards higher-order, co-regulated degradation modules (‘degronons’) in the proteome. Systematic bioinformatics analysis of cooperative degradation of protein complexes indicates that degrons extensively overlap with protein-protein interaction sites, hiding degrons from ubiquitination machinery and suggesting the existence of co-degrading functional modules in the proteome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mainak Guharoy
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium. .,Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium. .,VIB Bioinformatics Core, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Tamas Lazar
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.,Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mauricio Macossay-Castillo
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.,Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Peter Tompa
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium. .,Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium. .,Institute of Enzymology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1117, Budapest, Hungary.
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32
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Biró B, Zhao B, Kurgan L. Complementarity of the residue-level protein function and structure predictions in human proteins. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:2223-2234. [PMID: 35615015 PMCID: PMC9118482 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.05.003] [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: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Sequence-based predictors of the residue-level protein function and structure cover a broad spectrum of characteristics including intrinsic disorder, secondary structure, solvent accessibility and binding to nucleic acids. They were catalogued and evaluated in numerous surveys and assessments. However, methods focusing on a given characteristic are studied separately from predictors of other characteristics, while they are typically used on the same proteins. We fill this void by studying complementarity of a representative collection of methods that target different predictions using a large, taxonomically consistent, and low similarity dataset of human proteins. First, we bridge the gap between the communities that develop structure-trained vs. disorder-trained predictors of binding residues. Motivated by a recent study of the protein-binding residue predictions, we empirically find that combining the structure-trained and disorder-trained predictors of the DNA-binding and RNA-binding residues leads to substantial improvements in predictive quality. Second, we investigate whether diverse predictors generate results that accurately reproduce relations between secondary structure, solvent accessibility, interaction sites, and intrinsic disorder that are present in the experimental data. Our empirical analysis concludes that predictions accurately reflect all combinations of these relations. Altogether, this study provides unique insights that support combining results produced by diverse residue-level predictors of protein function and structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bálint Biró
- Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, Hungary
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Bi Zhao
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Lukasz Kurgan
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
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33
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Viola MG, Perdikari TM, Trebino CE, Rahmani N, Mathews KL, Pena CM, Chua XY, Xuan B, LaBreck CJ, Fawzi NL, Camberg JL. An enhancer sequence in the intrinsically disordered region of FtsZ promotes polymer-guided substrate processing by ClpXP protease. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4306. [PMID: 35481648 PMCID: PMC8996474 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The essential bacterial division protein in Escherichia coli, FtsZ, assembles into the FtsZ-ring at midcell and recruits other proteins to the division site to promote septation. A region of the FtsZ amino acid sequence that links the conserved polymerization domain to a C-terminal protein interaction site was predicted to be intrinsically disordered and has been implicated in modulating spacing and architectural arrangements of FtsZ filaments. While the majority of cell division proteins that directly bind to FtsZ engage either the polymerization domain or the C-terminal interaction site, ClpX, the recognition and unfolding component of the bacterial ClpXP proteasome, has a secondary interaction with the predicted intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of FtsZ when FtsZ is polymerized. Here, we use NMR spectroscopy and reconstituted degradation reactions in vitro to demonstrate that this linker region is indeed disordered in solution and, further, that amino acids in the IDR of FtsZ enhance the degradation in polymer-guided interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marissa G. Viola
- Department of Cell and Molecular BiologyUniversity of Rhode IslandKingstonRhode IslandUSA
| | | | - Catherine E. Trebino
- Department of Cell and Molecular BiologyUniversity of Rhode IslandKingstonRhode IslandUSA
| | - Negar Rahmani
- Department of Cell and Molecular BiologyUniversity of Rhode IslandKingstonRhode IslandUSA
| | - Kaylee L. Mathews
- Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, & Biochemistry Graduate ProgramBrown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Carolina Mejia Pena
- Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, & Biochemistry Graduate ProgramBrown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Xien Yu Chua
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & BiotechnologyBrown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Botai Xuan
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & BiotechnologyBrown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Christopher J. LaBreck
- Department of Cell and Molecular BiologyUniversity of Rhode IslandKingstonRhode IslandUSA
| | - Nicolas L. Fawzi
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & BiotechnologyBrown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Jodi L. Camberg
- Department of Cell and Molecular BiologyUniversity of Rhode IslandKingstonRhode IslandUSA
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34
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Antifeeva IA, Fonin AV, Fefilova AS, Stepanenko OV, Povarova OI, Silonov SA, Kuznetsova IM, Uversky VN, Turoverov KK. Liquid-liquid phase separation as an organizing principle of intracellular space: overview of the evolution of the cell compartmentalization concept. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:251. [PMID: 35445278 PMCID: PMC11073196 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04276-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
At the turn of the twenty-first century, fundamental changes took place in the understanding of the structure and function of proteins and then in the appreciation of the intracellular space organization. A rather mechanistic model of the organization of living matter, where the function of proteins is determined by their rigid globular structure, and the intracellular processes occur in rigidly determined compartments, was replaced by an idea that highly dynamic and multifunctional "soft matter" lies at the heart of all living things. According this "new view", the most important role in the spatio-temporal organization of the intracellular space is played by liquid-liquid phase transitions of biopolymers. These self-organizing cellular compartments are open dynamic systems existing at the edge of chaos. They are characterized by the exceptional structural and compositional dynamics, and their multicomponent nature and polyfunctionality provide means for the finely tuned regulation of various intracellular processes. Changes in the external conditions can cause a disruption of the biogenesis of these cellular bodies leading to the irreversible aggregation of their constituent proteins, followed by the transition to a gel-like state and the emergence of amyloid fibrils. This work represents a historical overview of changes in our understanding of the intracellular space compartmentalization. It also reflects methodological breakthroughs that led to a change in paradigms in this area of science and discusses modern ideas about the organization of the intracellular space. It is emphasized here that the membrane-less organelles have to combine a certain resistance to the changes in their environment and, at the same time, show high sensitivity to the external signals, which ensures the normal functioning of the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iuliia A Antifeeva
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Alexander V Fonin
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Anna S Fefilova
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Olesya V Stepanenko
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Olga I Povarova
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Sergey A Silonov
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Irina M Kuznetsova
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC07, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
| | - Konstantin K Turoverov
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Av., 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia.
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35
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Chakrabarti P, Chakravarty D. Intrinsically disordered proteins/regions and insight into their biomolecular interactions. Biophys Chem 2022; 283:106769. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2022.106769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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36
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Kulkarni P, Bhattacharya S, Achuthan S, Behal A, Jolly MK, Kotnala S, Mohanty A, Rangarajan G, Salgia R, Uversky V. Intrinsically Disordered Proteins: Critical Components of the Wetware. Chem Rev 2022; 122:6614-6633. [PMID: 35170314 PMCID: PMC9250291 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Despite the wealth of knowledge gained about intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) since their discovery, there are several aspects that remain unexplored and, hence, poorly understood. A living cell is a complex adaptive system that can be described as a wetware─a metaphor used to describe the cell as a computer comprising both hardware and software and attuned to logic gates─capable of "making" decisions. In this focused Review, we discuss how IDPs, as critical components of the wetware, influence cell-fate decisions by wiring protein interaction networks to keep them minimally frustrated. Because IDPs lie between order and chaos, we explore the possibility that they can be modeled as attractors. Further, we discuss how the conformational dynamics of IDPs manifests itself as conformational noise, which can potentially amplify transcriptional noise to stochastically switch cellular phenotypes. Finally, we explore the potential role of IDPs in prebiotic evolution, in forming proteinaceous membrane-less organelles, in the origin of multicellularity, and in protein conformation-based transgenerational inheritance of acquired characteristics. Together, these ideas provide a new conceptual framework to discern how IDPs may perform critical biological functions despite their lack of structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakash Kulkarni
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - Supriyo Bhattacharya
- Integrative Genomics Core, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - Srisairam Achuthan
- Division of Research Informatics, Center for Informatics, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Amita Behal
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - Mohit Kumar Jolly
- Center for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Sourabh Kotnala
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - Atish Mohanty
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - Govindan Rangarajan
- Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
- Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Ravi Salgia
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - Vladimir Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
- Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutskiy pereulok, 9, Dolgoprudny, Moscow region 141700, Russia
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37
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Kulkarni P, Leite VBP, Roy S, Bhattacharyya S, Mohanty A, Achuthan S, Singh D, Appadurai R, Rangarajan G, Weninger K, Orban J, Srivastava A, Jolly MK, Onuchic JN, Uversky VN, Salgia R. Intrinsically disordered proteins: Ensembles at the limits of Anfinsen's dogma. BIOPHYSICS REVIEWS 2022; 3:011306. [PMID: 38505224 PMCID: PMC10903413 DOI: 10.1063/5.0080512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are proteins that lack rigid 3D structure. Hence, they are often misconceived to present a challenge to Anfinsen's dogma. However, IDPs exist as ensembles that sample a quasi-continuum of rapidly interconverting conformations and, as such, may represent proteins at the extreme limit of the Anfinsen postulate. IDPs play important biological roles and are key components of the cellular protein interaction network (PIN). Many IDPs can interconvert between disordered and ordered states as they bind to appropriate partners. Conformational dynamics of IDPs contribute to conformational noise in the cell. Thus, the dysregulation of IDPs contributes to increased noise and "promiscuous" interactions. This leads to PIN rewiring to output an appropriate response underscoring the critical role of IDPs in cellular decision making. Nonetheless, IDPs are not easily tractable experimentally. Furthermore, in the absence of a reference conformation, discerning the energy landscape representation of the weakly funneled IDPs in terms of reaction coordinates is challenging. To understand conformational dynamics in real time and decipher how IDPs recognize multiple binding partners with high specificity, several sophisticated knowledge-based and physics-based in silico sampling techniques have been developed. Here, using specific examples, we highlight recent advances in energy landscape visualization and molecular dynamics simulations to discern conformational dynamics and discuss how the conformational preferences of IDPs modulate their function, especially in phenotypic switching. Finally, we discuss recent progress in identifying small molecules targeting IDPs underscoring the potential therapeutic value of IDPs. Understanding structure and function of IDPs can not only provide new insight on cellular decision making but may also help to refine and extend Anfinsen's structure/function paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakash Kulkarni
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA
| | - Vitor B. P. Leite
- Departamento de Física, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Susmita Roy
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, West Bengal 741246, India
| | - Supriyo Bhattacharyya
- Translational Bioinformatics, Center for Informatics, Department of Computational and Quantitative Medicine, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA
| | - Atish Mohanty
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA
| | - Srisairam Achuthan
- Center for Informatics, Division of Research Informatics, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA
| | - Divyoj Singh
- Center for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Rajeswari Appadurai
- Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Govindan Rangarajan
- Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Keith Weninger
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
| | | | - Anand Srivastava
- Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Mohit Kumar Jolly
- Center for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Jose N. Onuchic
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005-1892, USA
| | | | - Ravi Salgia
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA
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Bondos SE, Dunker AK, Uversky VN. Intrinsically disordered proteins play diverse roles in cell signaling. Cell Commun Signal 2022; 20:20. [PMID: 35177069 PMCID: PMC8851865 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-022-00821-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Signaling pathways allow cells to detect and respond to a wide variety of chemical (e.g. Ca2+ or chemokine proteins) and physical stimuli (e.g., sheer stress, light). Together, these pathways form an extensive communication network that regulates basic cell activities and coordinates the function of multiple cells or tissues. The process of cell signaling imposes many demands on the proteins that comprise these pathways, including the abilities to form active and inactive states, and to engage in multiple protein interactions. Furthermore, successful signaling often requires amplifying the signal, regulating or tuning the response to the signal, combining information sourced from multiple pathways, all while ensuring fidelity of the process. This sensitivity, adaptability, and tunability are possible, in part, due to the inclusion of intrinsically disordered regions in many proteins involved in cell signaling. The goal of this collection is to highlight the many roles of intrinsic disorder in cell signaling. Following an overview of resources that can be used to study intrinsically disordered proteins, this review highlights the critical role of intrinsically disordered proteins for signaling in widely diverse organisms (animals, plants, bacteria, fungi), in every category of cell signaling pathway (autocrine, juxtacrine, intracrine, paracrine, and endocrine) and at each stage (ligand, receptor, transducer, effector, terminator) in the cell signaling process. Thus, a cell signaling pathway cannot be fully described without understanding how intrinsically disordered protein regions contribute to its function. The ubiquitous presence of intrinsic disorder in different stages of diverse cell signaling pathways suggest that more mechanisms by which disorder modulates intra- and inter-cell signals remain to be discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E. Bondos
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843 USA
| | - A. Keith Dunker
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
| | - Vladimir N. Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612 USA
- Institute for Biological Instrumentation of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center “Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia 142290
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Shukla S, Agarwal P, Kumar A. Disordered regions tune order in chromatin organization and function. Biophys Chem 2022; 281:106716. [PMID: 34844028 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2021.106716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins or hybrid proteins with ordered domains and disordered regions (both collectively designated as IDP(R)s) defy the well-established structure-function paradigm due to their ability to perform multiple biological functions even in the absence of a well-defined 3D structure. IDP(R)s have a unique ability to exist as a functional heterogeneous ensemble, where they adopt multiple thermodynamically stable conformations with low energy barriers between states. The resultant structural plasticity or conformational adaptability provides them with a high functional diversity and ease of regulation. Hence, IDP(R)s are highly efficient biological machinery to mediate intricate cellular functions such as signaling, gene expression, and assembly of complex structures. One such structure is the nucleoprotein complex known as Chromatin. Interestingly, the proteins involved in shaping up the structure and function of chromatin are abundant in disordered regions, which serve more than just as mere flexible linkers. The disordered regions are involved in crucial processes such as gene expression regulation, chromatin architecture maintenance, and liquid-liquid phase separation initiation. This review is an attempt to explore the advantages and the functional and regulatory roles of intrinsic disorder in several Chromatin Associated Proteins from a mechanistic standpoint.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivangi Shukla
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, India
| | - Prakhar Agarwal
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, India
| | - Ashutosh Kumar
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, India.
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Abstract
This mini-review represents a brief, disorder-centric consideration of the interplay between order and disorder in proteins. The goal here is to show that inside the cell, folding, non-folding, and misfolding of proteins are interlinked on multiple levels. This is evidenced by the highly heterogeneous spatio-temporal structural organization of a protein molecule, where one can find differently (dis)ordered components that can undergo local or global order-to-disorder and disorder-to-order transitions needed for functionality. This is further illustrated by the fact that at particular moments of their life, most notably during their synthesis and degradation, all proteins are at least partially disordered. In addition to these intrinsic forms of disorder, proteins are constantly facing extrinsic disorder, which is intrinsic disorder in their functional partners. All this comprises the multileveled protein disorder cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612 USA
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Molisso D, Coppola M, Buonanno M, Di Lelio I, Monti SM, Melchiorre C, Amoresano A, Corrado G, Delano-Frier JP, Becchimanzi A, Pennacchio F, Rao R. Tomato Prosystemin Is Much More than a Simple Systemin Precursor. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11010124. [PMID: 35053122 PMCID: PMC8772835 DOI: 10.3390/biology11010124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Prosystemin is a 200 amino acid precursor that releases, upon wounding and biotic attacks, an 18 amino acid peptide called Systemin. This peptide was traditionally considered as the principal actor of the resistance of tomato plants induced by triggering multiple defense pathways in response to a wide range of biotic/abiotic stress agents. Recent findings from our group discovered the disordered structure of Prosystemin that promotes the binding of different molecular partners and the possible activation of multiple stress-related pathways. All of our recent findings suggest that Prosystemin could be more than a simple precursor of Systemin peptide. Indeed, we hypothesized that it contains other sequences able to activate multiple stress-related responses. To verify this hypothesis, we produced a truncated Prosystemin protein deprived of the Systemin peptide and the relative deleted gene. Experiments with transgenic tomato plants overexpressing the truncated Prosystemin and with plants exogenously treated with the recombinant truncated protein demonstrated that both transgenic and treated plants modulated the expression of defense-related genes and were protected against a noctuid moth and a fungal pathogen. Taken together, our results demonstrated that Prosystemin is not a mere scaffold of Systemin, but itself contains other biologically active regions. Abstract Systemin (Sys) is an octadecapeptide, which upon wounding, is released from the carboxy terminus of its precursor, Prosystemin (ProSys), to promote plant defenses. Recent findings on the disordered structure of ProSys prompted us to investigate a putative biological role of the whole precursor deprived of the Sys peptide. We produced transgenic tomato plants expressing a truncated ProSys gene in which the exon coding for Sys was removed and compared their defense response with that induced by the exogenous application of the recombinant truncated ProSys (ProSys(1-178), the Prosystemin sequence devoid of Sys region). By combining protein structure analyses, transcriptomic analysis, gene expression profiling and bioassays with different pests, we demonstrate that truncated ProSys promotes defense barriers in tomato plants through a hormone-independent defense pathway, likely associated with the production of oligogalacturonides (OGs). Both transgenic and plants treated with the recombinant protein showed the modulation of the expression of genes linked with defense responses and resulted in protection against the lepidopteran pest Spodoptera littoralis and the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Our results suggest that the overall function of the wild-type ProSys is more complex than previously shown, as it might activate at least two tomato defense pathways: the well-known Sys-dependent pathway connected with the induction of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and the successive activation of a set of defense-related genes, and the ProSys(1-178)-dependent pathway associated with OGs production leading to the OGs mediate plant immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donata Molisso
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy; (D.M.); (M.C.); (I.D.L.); (G.C.); (A.B.); (F.P.)
- Materias s.r.l., Corso N. Protopisani 50, 80146 Naples, Italy
| | - Mariangela Coppola
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy; (D.M.); (M.C.); (I.D.L.); (G.C.); (A.B.); (F.P.)
| | - Martina Buonanno
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Naples, Italy;
| | - Ilaria Di Lelio
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy; (D.M.); (M.C.); (I.D.L.); (G.C.); (A.B.); (F.P.)
| | - Simona Maria Monti
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Naples, Italy;
- Correspondence: (S.M.M.); (R.R.)
| | - Chiara Melchiorre
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant’Angelo, Via Cinthia 4, 80126 Naples, Italy; (C.M.); (A.A.)
| | - Angela Amoresano
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant’Angelo, Via Cinthia 4, 80126 Naples, Italy; (C.M.); (A.A.)
| | - Giandomenico Corrado
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy; (D.M.); (M.C.); (I.D.L.); (G.C.); (A.B.); (F.P.)
| | - John Paul Delano-Frier
- Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) Irapuato, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Km. 9.6 Libramiento Norte Carretera Irapuato-León, Irapuato 36500, Mexico;
| | - Andrea Becchimanzi
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy; (D.M.); (M.C.); (I.D.L.); (G.C.); (A.B.); (F.P.)
| | - Francesco Pennacchio
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy; (D.M.); (M.C.); (I.D.L.); (G.C.); (A.B.); (F.P.)
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BAT Center), University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy
| | - Rosa Rao
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy; (D.M.); (M.C.); (I.D.L.); (G.C.); (A.B.); (F.P.)
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BAT Center), University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Naples, Italy
- Correspondence: (S.M.M.); (R.R.)
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Marques MA, de Andrade GC, Silva JL, de Oliveira GAP. Protein of a thousand faces: The tumor-suppressive and oncogenic responses of p53. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:944955. [PMID: 36090037 PMCID: PMC9452956 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.944955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The p53 protein is a pleiotropic regulator working as a tumor suppressor and as an oncogene. Depending on the cellular insult and the mutational status, p53 may trigger opposing activities such as cell death or survival, senescence and cell cycle arrest or proliferative signals, antioxidant or prooxidant activation, glycolysis, or oxidative phosphorylation, among others. By augmenting or repressing specific target genes or directly interacting with cellular partners, p53 accomplishes a particular set of activities. The mechanism in which p53 is activated depends on increased stability through post-translational modifications (PTMs) and the formation of higher-order structures (HOS). The intricate cell death and metabolic p53 response are reviewed in light of gaining stability via PTM and HOS formation in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayra A. Marques
- *Correspondence: Mayra A. Marques, ; Guilherme A. P. de Oliveira,
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Alghamdi M, Alamry SA, Bahlas SM, Uversky VN, Redwan EM. Circulating extracellular vesicles and rheumatoid arthritis: a proteomic analysis. Cell Mol Life Sci 2021; 79:25. [PMID: 34971426 PMCID: PMC11072894 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-021-04020-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound nanoparticles secreted by most cells for intracellular communication and transportation of biomolecules. EVs carry proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and receptors that are involved in human physiology and pathology. EV cargo is variable and highly related to the type and state of the cellular origin. Three subtypes of EVs have been identified: exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies. Exosomes are the smallest and the most well-studied class of EVs that regulate different biological processes and participate in several diseases, such as cancers and autoimmune diseases. Proteomic analysis of exosomes succeeded in profiling numerous types of proteins involved in disease development and prognosis. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), exosomes revealed a potential function in joint inflammation. These EVs possess a unique function, as they can transfer specific autoantigens and mediators between distant cells. Current proteomic data demonstrated that exosomes could provide beneficial effects against autoimmunity and exert an immunosuppressive action, particularly in RA. Based on these observations, effective therapeutic strategies have been developed for arthritis and other inflammatory disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Alghamdi
- Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
- Laboratory Department, University Medical Services Center, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sultan Abdulmughni Alamry
- Immunology Diagnostic Laboratory Department, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, P.O Box 80215, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sami M Bahlas
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80215, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Elrashdy M Redwan
- Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
- Therapeutic and Protective Proteins Laboratory, Protein Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications, New Borg EL-Arab, 21934, Alexandria, Egypt.
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44
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Seera S, Nagarajaram HA. Effect of Disease Causing Missense Mutations on Intrinsically Disordered Regions in Proteins. Protein Pept Lett 2021; 29:254-267. [PMID: 34825861 DOI: 10.2174/0929866528666211126161200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is well known that disease-causing missense mutations (DCMMs) reduce the structural stability/integrity of the proteins with well-defined 3D structures, thereby impacting their molecular functions. However, it is not known in what way DCMMs affect the intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that do not adopt well defined stable 3D structures. METHODS In order to investigate how DCMMs may impact intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in proteins, we undertook Molecular Dynamics (MD) based studies on three different examples of functionally important IDRs with known DCMMs. Our studies revealed that the functional impact of DCMMs is in reducing the conformational heterogeneity of IDRs, which is intrinsic and quintessential for their multi-faceted cellular roles. RESULTS These results are reinforced by energy landscapes of the wildtype and mutant IDRs where the former is characterized by many local minima separated by low barriers, whereas the latter are characterized by one global minimum and several local minima separated by high energy barriers. Our MD based studies also indicate that DCMMs stabilize very few structural possibilities of IDRs either by the newly formed interactions induced by the substituted side chains or by means of restricted or increased flexibilities of the backbone conformations at the mutation sites. CONCLUSION Furthermore, the structural possibilities stabilized by DCMMs do not support the native functional roles of the IDRs, thereby leading to disease conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hampapathalu A Nagarajaram
- Laboratory of Computational Biology, Department of Systems and Computational Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
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Chio US, Liu Y, Chung S, Shim WJ, Chandrasekar S, Weiss S, Shan SO. Subunit cooperation in the Get1/2 receptor promotes tail-anchored membrane protein insertion. J Cell Biol 2021; 220:212681. [PMID: 34614151 PMCID: PMC8530227 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202103079] [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: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The guided entry of tail-anchored protein (GET) pathway, in which the Get3 ATPase delivers an essential class of tail-anchored membrane proteins (TAs) to the Get1/2 receptor at the endoplasmic reticulum, provides a conserved mechanism for TA biogenesis in eukaryotic cells. The membrane-associated events of this pathway remain poorly understood. Here we show that complex assembly between the cytosolic domains (CDs) of Get1 and Get2 strongly enhances the affinity of the individual subunits for Get3•TA, thus enabling efficient capture of the targeting complex. In addition to the known role of Get1CD in remodeling Get3 conformation, two molecular recognition features (MoRFs) in Get2CD induce Get3 opening, and both subunits are required for optimal TA release from Get3. Mutation of the MoRFs attenuates TA insertion into the ER in vivo. Our results demonstrate extensive cooperation between the Get1/2 receptor subunits in the capture and remodeling of the targeting complex, and emphasize the role of MoRFs in receptor function during membrane protein biogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Un Seng Chio
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
| | - Yumeng Liu
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
| | - SangYoon Chung
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Woo Jun Shim
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
| | - Sowmya Chandrasekar
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
| | - Shimon Weiss
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.,Department of Physics, Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Shu-Ou Shan
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
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Kumar A, Kumar P, Saumya KU, Giri R. Investigating the conformational dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 NSP6 protein with emphasis on non-transmembrane 91-112 & 231-290 regions. Microb Pathog 2021; 161:105236. [PMID: 34648928 PMCID: PMC8505028 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2021.105236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
The NSP6 protein of SARS-CoV-2 is a transmembrane protein, with some regions lying outside the membrane. Besides a brief role of NSP6 in autophagosome formation, this is not studied significantly. Also, there is no structural information available to date. Based on the prediction by TMHMM server for transmembrane prediction, it is found that the N-terminal residues (1-11), middle region residues (91–112), and C-terminal residues (231–290) lies outside the membrane. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations showed that NSP6 consists of helical structures. In contrast, the membrane outside lying region (91–112) showed partial helicity, which was further used as a model and obtained disordered type conformation during 1.5 μs. Additionally, a 200ns simulation study of residues 231–290 have shown significant conformational changes. As compared to helical and beta-sheet conformations in its structure model, the 200ns simulation resulted in the loss of beta-sheet structures while helical regions remained intact. Further, we have experimentally characterized the residue 91–112 by using reductionist approaches. CD spectroscopy suggests that the NSP6 (91–112) is disordered-like region in isolation, which gains helical conformation in different biological mimic environmental conditions. These studies can be helpful to study NSP6 (91–112) interactions with host proteins, where different protein conformations might play a significant role. The present study adds up more information about the NSP6 protein aspect, which could be exploited for its host protein interaction and pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Kumar
- School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, VPO Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, 175005, India
| | - Prateek Kumar
- School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, VPO Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, 175005, India
| | - Kumar Udit Saumya
- School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, VPO Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, 175005, India
| | - Rajanish Giri
- School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, VPO Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, 175005, India.
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Target-binding behavior of IDPs via pre-structured motifs. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2021; 183:187-247. [PMID: 34656329 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2021.07.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Pre-Structured Motifs (PreSMos) are transient secondary structures observed in many intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and serve as protein target-binding hot spots. The prefix "pre" highlights that PreSMos exist a priori in the target-unbound state of IDPs as the active pockets of globular proteins pre-exist before target binding. Therefore, a PreSMo is an "active site" of an IDP; it is not a spatial pocket, but rather a secondary structural motif. The classical and perhaps the most effective approach to understand the function of a protein has been to determine and investigate its structure. Ironically or by definition IDPs do not possess structure (here structure refers to tertiary structure only). Are IDPs then entirely structureless? The PreSMos provide us with an atomic-resolution answer to this question. For target binding, IDPs do not rely on the spatial pockets afforded by tertiary or higher structures. Instead, they utilize the PreSMos possessing particular conformations that highly presage the target-bound conformations. PreSMos are recognized or captured by targets via conformational selection (CS) before their conformations eventually become stabilized via structural induction into more ordered bound structures. Using PreSMos, a number of, if not all, IDPs can bind targets following a sequential pathway of CS followed by an induced fit (IF). This chapter presents several important PreSMos implicated in cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, and other diseases along with discussions on their conformational details that mediate target binding, a structural rationale for unstructured proteins.
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Santos J, Pallarès I, Iglesias V, Ventura S. Cryptic amyloidogenic regions in intrinsically disordered proteins: Function and disease association. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:4192-4206. [PMID: 34527192 PMCID: PMC8349759 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The amyloid conformation is considered a fundamental state of proteins and the propensity to populate it a generic property of polypeptides. Multiple proteome-wide analyses addressed the presence of amyloidogenic regions in proteins, nurturing our understanding of their nature and biological implications. However, these analyses focused on highly aggregation-prone and hydrophobic stretches that are only marginally found in intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). Here, we explore the prevalence of cryptic amyloidogenic regions (CARs) of polar nature in IDRs. CARs are widespread in IDRs and associated with IDPs function, with particular involvement in protein–protein interactions, but their presence is also connected to a risk of malfunction. By exploring this function/malfunction dichotomy, we speculate that ancestral CARs might have evolved into functional interacting regions playing a significant role in protein evolution at the origins of life.
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Key Words
- APR, Aggregation-prone region
- Aggregation
- Amyloid
- CARs, Cryptic amyloidogenic regions
- CD, Circular dichroism
- CR, Congo red
- Evolution
- FTIR, Fourier transform infrared
- IDPs, Intrinsically disordered proteins
- IDRs, Intrinsically disordered regions
- Intrinsically disordered proteins
- PBS, Phosphate buffer saline
- PPI, Protein-protein interactions
- Protein disorder
- Protein–protein interactions
- Rb, Retinoblastoma associated proteins
- RbC, Core region of Rb
- TEM, Transmission electron microscopy
- Th-T, Thioflavin-T
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Santos
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Irantzu Pallarès
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Valentín Iglesias
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Ventura
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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Enthalpy-Entropy Compensation in the Promiscuous Interaction of an Intrinsically Disordered Protein with Homologous Protein Partners. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11081204. [PMID: 34439869 PMCID: PMC8391806 DOI: 10.3390/biom11081204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) can engage in promiscuous interactions with their protein targets; however, it is not clear how this feature is encoded in the primary sequence of the IDPs and to what extent the surface properties and the shape of the binding cavity dictate the binding mode and the final bound conformation. Here we show, using a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), that the promiscuous interaction of the intrinsically disordered regulatory domain of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase MKK4 with p38α and JNK1 is facilitated by folding-upon-binding into two different conformations, despite the high sequence conservation and structural homology between p38α and JNK1. Our results support a model whereby the specific surface properties of JNK1 and p38α dictate the bound conformation of MKK4 and that enthalpy–entropy compensation plays a major role in maintaining comparable binding affinities for MKK4 towards the two kinases.
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50
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Lindorff-Larsen K, Kragelund BB. On the potential of machine learning to examine the relationship between sequence, structure, dynamics and function of intrinsically disordered proteins. J Mol Biol 2021; 433:167196. [PMID: 34390736 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.167196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) constitute a broad set of proteins with few uniting and many diverging properties. IDPs-and intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) interspersed between folded domains-are generally characterized as having no persistent tertiary structure; instead they interconvert between a large number of different and often expanded structures. IDPs and IDRs are involved in an enormously wide range of biological functions and reveal novel mechanisms of interactions, and while they defy the common structure-function paradigm of folded proteins, their structural preferences and dynamics are important for their function. We here discuss open questions in the field of IDPs and IDRs, focusing on areas where machine learning and other computational methods play a role. We discuss computational methods aimed to predict transiently formed local and long-range structure, including methods for integrative structural biology. We discuss the many different ways in which IDPs and IDRs can bind to other molecules, both via short linear motifs, as well as in the formation of larger dynamic complexes such as biomolecular condensates. We discuss how experiments are providing insight into such complexes and may enable more accurate predictions. Finally, we discuss the role of IDPs in disease and how new methods are needed to interpret the mechanistic effects of genomic variants in IDPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory & Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen. Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
| | - Birthe B Kragelund
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory & Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen. Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
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