1
|
Kuzmina NV, Gavrilova AA, Fefilova AS, Romanovich AE, Kuznetsova IM, Turoverov KK, Fonin AV. Von-Hippel Lindau protein amyloid formation. The role of GST-tag. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2024; 715:150008. [PMID: 38685186 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.150008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
In the last decade, much attention was given to the study of physiological amyloid fibrils. These structures include A-bodies, which are the nucleolar fibrillar formations that appear in the response to acidosis and heat shock, and disassemble after the end of stress. One of the proteins involved in the biogenesis of A-bodies, regardless of the type of stress, is Von-Hippel Lindau protein (VHL). Known also as a tumor suppressor, VHL is capable to form amyloid fibrils both in vitro and in vivo in response to the environment acidification. As with most amyloidogenic proteins fusion with various tags is used to increase the solubility of VHL. Here, we first performed AFM-study of fibrils formed by VHL protein and by VHL fused with GST-tag (GST-VHL) at acidic conditions. It was shown that formed by full-length VHL fibrils are short heterogenic structures with persistent length of 2400 nm and average contour length of 409 nm. GST-tag catalyzes VHL amyloid fibril formation, superimpose chirality, increases length and level of hierarchy, but decreases rigidity of amyloid fibrils. The obtained data indicate that tagging can significantly affect the fibrillogenesis of the target protein.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalia V Kuzmina
- A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Bldg. 4, 31, Leninskiy ave., 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anastasia A Gavrilova
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky Ave., 194064, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Anna S Fefilova
- Center of Genomic Regulation (GRC), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
| | - Anna E Romanovich
- Resource Center of Molecular and Cell Technologies, St-Petersburg State University Research Park, Universitetskaya Emb. 7-9, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Irina M Kuznetsova
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky Ave., 194064, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Konstantin K Turoverov
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky Ave., 194064, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alexander V Fonin
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky Ave., 194064, St. Petersburg, Russia.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ono BI, Kawaminami H, Kobayashi H, Kubota M, Murakami Y. Effects of mutations in yeast prion [PSI+] on amyloid toxicity manifested in Escherichia coli strain BL21. Prion 2008; 2:37-41. [PMID: 19164909 DOI: 10.4161/pri.2.1.6436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously showed that over production of a fusion protein in which the prion domain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [PSI(+)] is connected to glutathione S-transferase (GST-Sup35NM) causes a marked decrease in the colony forming ability of Escherichia coli strain BL21 after reaching stationary phase. Evidence indicated that the observed toxicity was attributable to intracellular formation of fibrous aggregates of GST-Sup35NM. In this report, we describe the isolation of plasmids that encode mutant forms of GST-Sup35NM which do not confer the toxicity to E. coli strain BL21. Each of the four spontaneous mutant-forms of GST-Sup35NM obtained revealed amino acid substitutions. One substitution was located in the N domain, and the others in the M domain. Congo red binding assay indicated that none of these mutant proteins underwent conformational alteration in vitro. From these results, we conclude that the M domain, in collaboration with the N domain, plays an essential role in aggregation of Sup35NM. In addition, our data demonstrate the usefulness of the E. coli expression system in studying aggregate-forming proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bun-ichiro Ono
- Frontier Science Course, Ritsumeikan University Graduate School, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Pastor MT, Esteras-Chopo A, Serrano L. Hacking the code of amyloid formation: the amyloid stretch hypothesis. Prion 2007; 1:9-14. [PMID: 19164912 DOI: 10.4161/pri.1.1.4100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many research efforts in the last years have been directed towards understanding the factors determining protein misfolding and amyloid formation. Protein stability and amino acid composition have been identified as the two major factors in vitro. The research of our group has been focused on understanding the relationship between amino acid sequence and amyloid formation. Our approach has been the design of simple model systems that reproduce the biophysical properties of natural amyloids. An amyloid sequence pattern was extracted that can be used to detect amyloidogenic hexapeptide stretches in proteins. We have added evidence supporting that these amyloidogenic stretches can trigger amyloid formation by nonamyloidogenic proteins. Some experimental results in other amyloid proteins will be analyzed under the conclusions obtained in these studies. Our conclusions together with evidences from other groups suggest that amyloid formation is the result of the interplay between a decrease of protein stability, and the presence of highly amyloidogenic regions in proteins. As many of these results have been obtained in vitro, the challenge for the next years will be to demonstrate their validity in in vivo systems.
Collapse
|
4
|
Esteras-Chopo A, Serrano L, López de la Paz M. The amyloid stretch hypothesis: recruiting proteins toward the dark side. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005; 102:16672-7. [PMID: 16263932 PMCID: PMC1283810 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0505905102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A detailed understanding of the molecular events underlying the conversion and self-association of normally soluble proteins into amyloid fibrils is fundamental to the identification of therapeutic strategies to prevent or cure amyloid-related disorders. Recent investigations indicate that amyloid fibril formation is not just a general property of the polypeptide backbone depending on external factors, but that it is strongly modulated by amino acid side chains. Here, we propose and address the validation of the premise that the amyloidogenicity of a protein is indeed localized in short protein stretches (amyloid stretch hypothesis). We demonstrate that the conversion of a soluble nonamyloidogenic protein into an amyloidogenic prone molecule can be triggered by a nondestabilizing six-residue amyloidogenic insertion in a particular structural environment. Interestingly enough, although the inserted amyloid sequences clearly cause the process, the protease-resistant core of the fiber also includes short adjacent sequences from the otherwise soluble globular domain. Thus, short amyloid stretches accessible for intermolecular interactions trigger the self-assembly reaction and pull the rest of the protein into the fibrillar aggregate. The reliable identification of such amyloidogenic stretches in proteins opens the possibility of using them as targets for the inhibition of the amyloid fibril formation process.
Collapse
|
5
|
Zhang J, Zheng L, Zhao A, Gao B, Liu NL, Wang F, Dong J, Xin ZT, Shao NS, Wang HX, Xue YN. Identification of anti-TNFalpha peptides with consensus sequence. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2003; 310:1181-7. [PMID: 14559240 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2003.09.141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Phage displayed peptide library was used to select tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) binding peptides. After three sequential rounds of biopanning, some linear TNFalpha-binding peptides were identified from a 12-mer peptide library. A consensus sequence (L/M)HEL(Y/F)(L/M)X(W/Y/F), where X might be variable residue, was deduced from sequences of these peptides. The phages bearing these peptides showed specific binding to immobilized TNFalpha, with over 80% of phages bound being competitively eluted by free TNFalpha. To confirm the binding activity and to explore further functional properties, three peptides with typical structure were selected and expressed as GST-fused protein. These recombinant peptides effectively competed for [125I]TNFalpha binding to TNFR1 in a dose-dependent manner, with IC(50) from 10 to 160 microM. Furthermore, the GST-fused derivatives showed inhibitory effects on TNFalpha-induced cytotoxicity. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the TNFalpha-binding peptides are effective antagonists of TNFalpha and the deduced motif might be useful in development of novel low molecular weight anti-TNFalpha drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 130(3), Beijing 100850, People's Republic of China
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|