1
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Cox JR, Fox A, Lenahan C, Pivnik L, Manion M, Blazeck J. Engineering CREB-activated promoters for adenosine-induced gene expression. Biotechnol J 2024; 19:e2300446. [PMID: 38403442 PMCID: PMC10901447 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202300446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Accumulation of the ribonucleoside, adenosine (ADO), triggers a cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)-mediated signaling pathway to suppress the function of immune cells in tumors. Here, we describe a collection of CREB-activated promoters that allow for strong and tunable ADO-induced gene expression in human cells. By optimizing number of CREB transcription factor binding sites and altering the core promoter region of CREB-based hybrid promoters, we created synthetic constructs that drive gene expression to higher levels than strong, endogenous mammalian promoters in the presence of ADO. These synthetic promoters are induced up to 47-fold by ADO, with minimal expression in their "off" state. We further determine that our CREB-based promoters are activated by other compounds that act as signaling analogs, and that combinatorial addition of ADO and these compounds has a synergistic impact on gene expression. Surprisingly, we also detail how background ADO degradation caused by the common cell culture media additive, fetal bovine serum (FBS), confounds experiments designed to determine ADO dose-responsiveness. We show that only after long-term heat deactivation of FBS can our synthetic promoters enable gene expression induction at physiologically relevant levels of ADO. Finally, we demonstrate that the strength of a CREB-based promoter is enhanced by incorporating other transcription factor binding sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Robert Cox
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Andrea Fox
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Conor Lenahan
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Liza Pivnik
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Matthew Manion
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - John Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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2
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Jennings MR, Min S, Xu GS, Homayuni K, Suresh B, Haikal YA, Blazeck J. Optimized expression and purification of a human adenosine deaminase in E. coli and characterization of its Asp8Asn variant. Protein Expr Purif 2024; 213:106362. [PMID: 37683902 PMCID: PMC10664833 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2023.106362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Homo sapiens adenosine deaminase isoform 1 (HsADA1) hydrolyzes adenosine and 2-deoxyadenosine as a key step in the purine nucleoside salvage pathway. Some HsADA1 mutations have severe deleterious effects, as is the case in a severe combined immunodeficiency resulting from loss of enzyme activity (ADA-SCID). Other mutations that reduce enzyme activity, for instance the Asp8Asn (D8N) variant, do not cause ADA-SCID but are correlated with other consequences to health. To ease further study of HsADA1 and its variants, we optimized an inexpensive, recombinant expression process in an Escherichia coli host through multiplexed parameter testing enabled by a lysate-based microtiter plate assay. We demonstrate the importance of gene codon usage, induction time and temperature, and alcohol supplementation towards improving enzyme yield to a final titer of 5 mg per liter of culture. We further show that use of a double-histidine-tag (his-tag) system greatly improves purity. We then utilize our expression and purification framework to produce the HsADA1 D8N variant, which had previously not been purified to homogeneity. We confirm that the D8N variant is ∼30% less active than the wildtype HsADA1 and show that it better retains its activity in human serum. Additionally, we show that both HsADA1 and the D8N variant have heightened activity in serum, driven in part by a previously undescribed phenomenon involving albumin. Therefore, this work presents a valuable process to produce HsADA1 that allows for insights into it and its variants' behavior. We also confirm the utility of lysate-based activity assays towards finding optimal E. coli expression conditions for enzymes and show how fusing his-tags in tandem can enhance product purity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Rain Jennings
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Soohyon Min
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Grace S Xu
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Kassandra Homayuni
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Bhavana Suresh
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Yusef Amir Haikal
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - John Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
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3
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Cox J, Jennings M, Lenahan C, Manion M, Courville S, Blazeck J. Corrigendum to "Rational engineering of an improved adenosine deaminase 2 enzyme for weaponizing T-cell therapies": [Immuno-Oncology and Technology 10 (2023) 100394]. Immunooncol Technol 2023; 20:100410. [PMID: 37886680 PMCID: PMC10597844 DOI: 10.1016/j.iotech.2023.100410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.iotech.2023.100394.].
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Affiliation(s)
- J.R. Cox
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - M. Jennings
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - C. Lenahan
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - M. Manion
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - S. Courville
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - J. Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
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4
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Cazier A, Irvin OM, Chávez LS, Dalvi S, Abraham H, Wickramanayake N, Yellayi S, Blazeck J. A Rapid Antibody Enhancement Platform in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using an Improved, Diversifying CRISPR Base Editor. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:3287-3300. [PMID: 37873982 PMCID: PMC10661033 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used to interrogate and screen protein variants and to perform directed evolution studies to develop proteins with enhanced features. While several techniques have been described that help enable the use of yeast for directed evolution, there remains a need to increase their speed and ease of use. Here we present yDBE, a yeast diversifying base editor that functions in vivo and employs a CRISPR-dCas9-directed cytidine deaminase base editor to diversify DNA in a targeted, rapid, and high-breadth manner. To develop yDBE, we enhanced the mutation rate of an initial base editor by employing improved deaminase variants and characterizing several scaffolded guide constructs. We then demonstrate the ability of the yDBE platform to improve the affinity of a displayed antibody scFv, rapidly generating diversified libraries and isolating improved binders via cell sorting. By performing high-throughput sequencing analysis of the high-activity yDBE, we show that it enables a mutation rate of 2.13 × 10-4 substitutions/bp/generation over a window of 100 bp. As yDBE functions entirely in vivo and can be easily programmed to diversify nearly any such window of DNA, we posit that it can be a powerful tool for facilitating a variety of directed evolution experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew
P. Cazier
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Olivia M. Irvin
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Lizmarie S. Chávez
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Saachi Dalvi
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Hannah Abraham
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Nevinka Wickramanayake
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Sreenivas Yellayi
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - John Blazeck
- School
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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5
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Cox J, Jennings M, Lenahan C, Manion M, Courville S, Blazeck J. Rational engineering of an improved adenosine deaminase 2 enzyme for weaponizing T-cell therapies. Immunooncol Technol 2023; 19:100394. [PMID: 37519414 PMCID: PMC10374970 DOI: 10.1016/j.iotech.2023.100394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Adenosine is a potent immunosuppressive metabolite that accumulates in the extracellular space within solid tumors and inhibits the antitumor function of native immune cell responses as well as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. Here, we show that engineered human cells can degrade extracellular adenosine through secretion of adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzymes-a possible therapeutic enhancement for CAR T cells. We first determine that the high-activity ADA1 isoform is naturally intracellularly restricted and show that the addition of canonical or computationally predicted secretory peptides did not allow for improved secretion. We did, however, determine that the lower-activity ADA2 isoform is naturally secreted. Thus, we utilized phylogenetic-based structural comparisons to guide a mutational survey of ADA2 active site residues, which when coupled with a high-throughput screen for enhanced ADA2-mediated extracellular adenosine rate allowed isolation of the most catalytically efficient ADA2 variant reported to date. When expressed by human cells, this variant exhibits 30× higher extracellular adenosine degradation activity than the wild-type enzyme. Finally, we demonstrate that Jurkat and CAR T cells engineered to express this secreted, high-activity ADA2 variant can degrade significant amounts of extracellular adenosine in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.R. Cox
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - M. Jennings
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - C. Lenahan
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - M. Manion
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - S. Courville
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - J. Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
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6
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Holland K, Blazeck J. High throughput mutagenesis and screening for yeast engineering. J Biol Eng 2022; 16:37. [PMID: 36575525 PMCID: PMC9793380 DOI: 10.1186/s13036-022-00315-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The eukaryotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a model host utilized for whole cell biocatalytic conversions, protein evolution, and scientific inquiries into the pathogenesis of human disease. Over the past decade, the scale and pace of such studies has drastically increased alongside the advent of novel tools for both genome-wide studies and targeted genetic mutagenesis. In this review, we will detail past and present (e.g., CRISPR/Cas) genome-scale screening platforms, typically employed in the context of growth-based selections for improved whole cell phenotype or for mechanistic interrogations. We will further highlight recent advances that enable the rapid and often continuous evolution of biomolecules with improved function. Additionally, we will detail the corresponding advances in high throughput selection and screening strategies that are essential for assessing or isolating cellular and protein improvements. Finally, we will describe how future developments can continue to advance yeast high throughput engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kendreze Holland
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Bioengineering Program, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia USA
| | - John Blazeck
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Bioengineering Program, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia USA
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7
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Blazeck J, Karamitros CS, Ford K, Somody C, Qerqez A, Murray K, Burkholder NT, Marshall N, Sivakumar A, Lu WC, Tan B, Lamb C, Tanno Y, Siddiqui MY, Ashoura N, Coma S, Zhang XM, McGovern K, Kumada Y, Zhang YJ, Manfredi M, Johnson KA, D’Arcy S, Stone E, Georgiou G. Bypassing evolutionary dead ends and switching the rate-limiting step of a human immunotherapeutic enzyme. Nat Catal 2022; 5:952-967. [PMID: 36465553 PMCID: PMC9717613 DOI: 10.1038/s41929-022-00856-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The Trp metabolite kynurenine (KYN) accumulates in numerous solid tumours and mediates potent immunosuppression. Bacterial kynureninases (KYNases), which preferentially degrade kynurenine, can relieve immunosuppression in multiple cancer models, but immunogenicity concerns preclude their clinical use, while the human enzyme (HsKYNase) has very low activity for kynurenine and shows no therapeutic effect. Using fitness selections, we evolved a HsKYNase variant with 27-fold higher activity, beyond which exploration of >30 evolutionary trajectories involving the interrogation of >109 variants led to no further improvements. Introduction of two amino acid substitutions conserved in bacterial KYNases reduced enzyme fitness but potentiated rapid evolution of variants with ~500-fold improved activity and reversed substrate specificity, resulting in an enzyme capable of mediating strong anti-tumour effects in mice. Pre-steady-state kinetics revealed a switch in rate-determining step attributable to changes in both enzyme structure and conformational dynamics. Apart from its clinical significance, our work highlights how rationally designed substitutions can potentiate trajectories that overcome barriers in protein evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Blazeck
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Christos S. Karamitros
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Kyle Ford
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Catrina Somody
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Ahlam Qerqez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Kyle Murray
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA
| | - Nathaniel T. Burkholder
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Nicholas Marshall
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Anirudh Sivakumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Wei-Cheng Lu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Bing Tan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Candice Lamb
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Yuri Tanno
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Menna Y. Siddiqui
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Norah Ashoura
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Silvia Coma
- Ikena Oncology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | - Yoichi Kumada
- Department of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yan Jessie Zhang
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | | | - Kenneth A. Johnson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Sheena D’Arcy
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA
| | - Everett Stone
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
- Department of Oncology, University of Texas Dell Medical School, LiveSTRONG Cancer Institutes, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - George Georgiou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, Texas, USA
- Department of Oncology, University of Texas Dell Medical School, LiveSTRONG Cancer Institutes, Austin, Texas, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Austin, TX, USA
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8
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Ma MT, Jennings MR, Blazeck J, Lieberman RL. Catalytically active holo Homo sapiens adenosine deaminase I adopts a closed conformation. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2022; 78:91-103. [PMID: 34981765 PMCID: PMC8725166 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321011785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Homo sapiens adenosine deaminase 1 (HsADA1; UniProt P00813) is an immunologically relevant enzyme with roles in T-cell activation and modulation of adenosine metabolism and signaling. Patients with genetic deficiency in HsADA1 suffer from severe combined immunodeficiency, and HsADA1 is a therapeutic target in hairy cell leukemias. Historically, insights into the catalytic mechanism and the structural attributes of HsADA1 have been derived from studies of its homologs from Bos taurus (BtADA) and Mus musculus (MmADA). Here, the structure of holo HsADA1 is presented, as well as biochemical characterization that confirms its high activity and shows that it is active across a broad pH range. Structurally, holo HsADA1 adopts a closed conformation distinct from the open conformation of holo BtADA. Comparison of holo HsADA1 and MmADA reveals that MmADA also adopts a closed conformation. These findings challenge previous assumptions gleaned from BtADA regarding the conformation of HsADA1 that may be relevant to its immunological interactions, particularly its ability to bind adenosine receptors. From a broader perspective, the structural analysis of HsADA1 presents a cautionary tale for reliance on homologs to make structural inferences relevant to applications such as protein engineering or drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minh Thu Ma
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Maria Rain Jennings
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - John Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Raquel L Lieberman
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
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9
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Cox JR, Blazeck J. Protein engineering: a driving force toward synthetic immunology. Trends Biotechnol 2021; 40:509-521. [PMID: 34627648 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2021.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The full application of the diverse toolkit of protein engineering has made it easier to control the immune system. In particular, synthetic cytokine variants and engineered immune receptor platforms have shown promise for the treatment of various indications with dysregulated immune function, particularly cancer. Here, we review recent advances in the control of immune cell signaling and therapeutic potency that have employed protein engineering strategies. We further discuss how safety concerns are driving the design of immunotherapeutics toward 'user-defined' control or requiring multiple distinct inputs before a functional response, highlighting emergent control strategies employed for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Cox
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - John Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
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10
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Jennings MR, Munn D, Blazeck J. Immunosuppressive metabolites in tumoral immune evasion: redundancies, clinical efforts, and pathways forward. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 9:e003013. [PMID: 34667078 PMCID: PMC8527165 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumors accumulate metabolites that deactivate infiltrating immune cells and polarize them toward anti-inflammatory phenotypes. We provide a comprehensive review of the complex networks orchestrated by several of the most potent immunosuppressive metabolites, highlighting the impact of adenosine, kynurenines, prostaglandin E2, and norepinephrine and epinephrine, while discussing completed and ongoing clinical efforts to curtail their impact. Retrospective analyses of clinical data have elucidated that their activity is negatively associated with prognosis in diverse cancer indications, though there is a current paucity of approved therapies that disrupt their synthesis or downstream signaling axes. We hypothesize that prior lukewarm results may be attributed to redundancies in each metabolites' synthesis or signaling pathway and highlight routes for how therapeutic development and patient stratification might proceed in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Rain Jennings
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - David Munn
- Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA
| | - John Blazeck
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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11
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Cazier AP, Blazeck J. Advances in promoter engineering: novel applications and predefined transcriptional control. Biotechnol J 2021; 16:e2100239. [PMID: 34351706 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202100239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic biology continues to progress by relying on more robust tools for transcriptional control, of which promoters are the most fundamental component. Numerous studies have sought to characterize promoter function, determine principles to guide their engineering, and create promoters with stronger expression or tailored inducible control. In this review, we will summarize promoter architecture and highlight recent advances in the field, focusing on the novel applications of inducible promoter design and engineering towards metabolic engineering and cellular therapeutic development. Additionally, we will highlight how the expansion of new, machine learning techniques for modeling and engineering promoter sequences are enabling more accurate prediction of promoter characteristics. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew P Cazier
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst St. NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
| | - John Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst St. NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
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12
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Ashoura NE, Dekker J, Triplett TA, Garrison K, Blazeck J, Karamitros C, Lamb C, Tanno Y, Ehrlich LIR, Zhang M, Manfredi MG, Stone E, Georgiou G. The Force Awakens: Illuminating the Role of Kynurenine in Cancer Progression and Treatment. The Journal of Immunology 2020. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.204.supp.240.16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, with an estimated 40% of all Americans expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Despite progress in treatment options, major obstacles in current therapies must be overcome to limit their harmful side effects on patients. To evade immune clearance, many cancers elevate tryptophan (Trp) catabolism in the tumor microenvironment (TME) by upregulating the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). As a result, cancer cells (1) monopolize extracellular tryptophan and (2) release L-kynurenine into the TME, an independent immune signal. This change in metabolism generates immune suppression in the TME, but whether the cause arises from Trp depletion or the accumulation of the IDO product kynurenine (L-Kyn) remains highly controversial. Kynurenine is known to induce immunosuppressive phenotypes through aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation. However, the functional role of this binding is still poorly understood, despite an explosion of interest and information in the field. Our strategy uses the enzyme kynureninase (KynU) to degrade kynurenine into non-toxic products, thereby restoring anti-tumor immunity without harming the tryptophan metabolism of healthy cells. Moreover, this work aims to determine kynurenine’s molecular effect on T cells to better understand why its depletion successfully relieves tumor burden.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Todd A Triplett
- 2LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
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13
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Coma S, Cavanaugh J, Nolan J, Tchaicha J, McGovern K, Stone E, Blazeck J, Lamb C, Georgiou G, Manfredi MG, Zhang M. Abstract B008: Treatment of IDO1 and TDO2 positive tumors with a kynurenine-degrading enzyme: A highly differentiated approach from IDO1 inhibition. Cancer Immunol Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1158/2326-6074.cricimteatiaacr18-b008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Despite the sustained clinical benefit demonstrated by immune checkpoint inhibitors, a majority of patients derive minimal or no appreciable benefit, indicating the urgent need to incorporate novel immunomodulatory targets and therapeutic strategies. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase 2 (TDO2) catalyze the first and rate-limiting step in the immunosuppressive tryptophan/kynurenine pathway and are both upregulated in a number of tumor types. Although small-molecule IDO1 inhibitors are being clinically evaluated in several tumor types, so far they have not demonstrated significant clinical benefits either as a single agent or in combination with immune checkpoint inhibition. We are developing pegylated kynureninase (Kynase), a kynurenine degrading enzyme, to treat a broader population with IDO1 and/or TDO2 expressing tumors. We believe that a more robust antitumor immune response can be achieved by depleting kynurenine, produced by both IDO1 and TDO2, with Kynase, than by inhibiting only IDO1. The human Kynase (HsKYN) has been successfully engineered to exhibit vastly improved catalytic activity and stability toward kynurenine over the wild-type human enzyme. HsKYN achieved durable and near complete plasma kynurenine depletion in mice, rats and non-human primates. HsKYN demonstrated single agent efficacy in CT26, MC38 and B16-IDO syngeneic mouse models. Tumor gene expression analysis using NanoString revealed that HsKYN treatment upregulated T-cell and NK cell activation signature. More importantly, HsKYN significantly increased the tumor-infiltrating CD8 T-cells and their activation/polyfunctionality, and reduced the Treg population. As a direct comparison, the lead IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat did not impose any meaningful effects on the same immune cell populations. Furthermore, HsKYN showed beneficial combination efficacy with anti-PD-1 that was superior to combined Epacadostat / anti-PD-1. Evidence to date suggest that HsKYN is well tolerated in multiple species. Therefore, immunoprofiling, efficacy and safety results strongly support that Kynase is a more effective therapeutic approach than IDO1 inhibition. HsKYN is moving toward clinical development for treatment of cancers where IDO1 and/or TDO2 pathways play a significant immunosuppressive role.
Citation Format: Silvia Coma, Jillian Cavanaugh, James Nolan, Jeremy Tchaicha, Karen McGovern, Everett Stone, John Blazeck, Candice Lamb, George Georgiou, Mark G Manfredi, Michelle Zhang. Treatment of IDO1 and TDO2 positive tumors with a kynurenine-degrading enzyme: A highly differentiated approach from IDO1 inhibition [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; Sept 30-Oct 3, 2018; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2019;7(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B008.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Coma
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Jillian Cavanaugh
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - James Nolan
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Jeremy Tchaicha
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Karen McGovern
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Everett Stone
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - John Blazeck
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Candice Lamb
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - George Georgiou
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Mark G Manfredi
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Michelle Zhang
- Kyn Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA; University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX
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Ashoura NE, Dekker JD, Triplett T, Garrison K, Blazeck J, Karamitros C, Lamb C, Tanno Y, Ehrlich LI, Zhang M, Manfredi MG, Stone E, Georgiou G. The Force Awakens: Illuminating the role of kynurenine in cancer progression and treatment. The Journal of Immunology 2018. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.200.supp.177.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US and, despite progress in treatment options, there is a critical need for novel treatments that specifically target cancerous cells. Our immune system routinely identifies potential cancer cells and eliminates them without the need for clinical intervention. However, to evade immune clearance, many cancers elevate tryptophan catabolism in the tumor microenvironment (TME) by upregulating the enzymes indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) or, alternatively, tryptophan 2, 3- dioxygenase (TDO). This results in greater tryptophan turnover, accumulation of IDO/TDO product, kynurenine (L-kyn), and immune suppression in the TME. Whether the resulting immunosuppression arises from tryptophan depletion or L-kyn accumulation remains highly controversial. This work aims to (1) clarify L-kyn’s effect on T-cells and (2) whether its depletion can relieve tumor burden. Exposing T cells to L-kyn in vitro results in gene expression changes consistent with regulatory T-cell generation and the suppression of naïve T-cell proliferation; establishing L-kyn as a key therapeutic target for depletion to relieve TME immune suppression. Using a pharmacologically optimized kynureninase (KynU) enzyme, we tested L-kyn depletion therapy in murine cancers. KynU administration potently inhibits tumor growth, reduces L-kyn concentration, and results in a significant increase in the infiltration and proliferation of polyfunctional T-lymphocytes. Our ongoing study of KynU’s efficacy and L-kyn’s in vitro effects will illuminate details of L-kyn’s elusive mechanism of action, resolving critical mechanisms of tumor tolerance while creating a more innovative and effective cancer treatment strategy.
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Liu L, Markham K, Blazeck J, Zhou N, Leon D, Otoupal P, Alper HS. Surveying the lipogenesis landscape in Yarrowia lipolytica through understanding the function of a Mga2p regulatory protein mutant. Metab Eng 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2015.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Blazeck J, Hill A, Liu L, Knight R, Miller J, Pan A, Otoupal P, Alper HS. Harnessing Yarrowia lipolytica lipogenesis to create a platform for lipid and biofuel production. Nat Commun 2014; 5:3131. [PMID: 24445655 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 380] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2013] [Accepted: 12/17/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Economic feasibility of biosynthetic fuel and chemical production hinges upon harnessing metabolism to achieve high titre and yield. Here we report a thorough genotypic and phenotypic optimization of an oleaginous organism to create a strain with significant lipogenesis capability. Specifically, we rewire Yarrowia lipolytica's native metabolism for superior de novo lipogenesis by coupling combinatorial multiplexing of lipogenesis targets with phenotypic induction. We further complete direct conversion of lipid content into biodiesel. Tri-level metabolic control results in saturated cells containing upwards of 90% lipid content and titres exceeding 25 g l(-1) lipids, which represents a 60-fold improvement over parental strain and conditions. Through this rewiring effort, we advance fundamental understanding of lipogenesis, demonstrate non-canonical environmental and intracellular stimuli and uncouple lipogenesis from nitrogen starvation. The high titres and carbon-source independent nature of this lipogenesis in Y. lipolytica highlight the potential of this organism as a platform for efficient oleochemical production.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Blazeck
- 1] McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, Texas 78712, USA [2]
| | - Andrew Hill
- 1] McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, Texas 78712, USA [2]
| | - Leqian Liu
- 1] McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, Texas 78712, USA [2]
| | - Rebecca Knight
- Section of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station Stop A6700, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Jarrett Miller
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Anny Pan
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Peter Otoupal
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Hal S Alper
- 1] McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, Texas 78712, USA [2] Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2500 Speedway Avenue, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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Blazeck J, Liu L, Knight R, Alper HS. Heterologous production of pentane in the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. J Biotechnol 2013; 165:184-94. [PMID: 23602802 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2012] [Revised: 04/03/2013] [Accepted: 04/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The complete biosynthetic replacement of petroleum transportation fuels requires a metabolic pathway capable of producing short chain n-alkanes. Here, we report and characterize a proof-of-concept pathway that enables microbial production of the C5 n-alkane, pentane. This pathway utilizes a soybean lipoxygenase enzyme to cleave linoleic acid to pentane and a tridecadienoic acid byproduct. Initial expression of the soybean lipoxygenase enzyme within a Yarrowia lipolytica host yielded 1.56 mg/L pentane. Efforts to improve pentane yield by increasing substrate availability and strongly overexpressing the lipoxygenase enzyme successfully increased pentane production three-fold to 4.98 mg/L. This work represents the first-ever microbial production of pentane and demonstrates that short chain n-alkane synthesis is conceivable in model cellular hosts. In this regard, we demonstrate the potential pliability of Y. lipolytica toward the biosynthetic production of value-added molecules from its generous fatty acid reserves.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Blazeck
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton Street Stop C0400, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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Blazeck J, Alper HS. Promoter engineering: Recent advances in controlling transcription at the most fundamental level. Biotechnol J 2012; 8:46-58. [DOI: 10.1002/biot.201200120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 237] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2012] [Revised: 06/25/2012] [Accepted: 07/17/2012] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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Blazeck J, Garg R, Reed B, Alper HS. Controlling promoter strength and regulation inSaccharomyces cerevisiaeusing synthetic hybrid promoters. Biotechnol Bioeng 2012; 109:2884-95. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.24552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2012] [Revised: 04/20/2012] [Accepted: 04/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Reed B, Blazeck J, Alper H. Evolution of an alkane-inducible biosensor for increased responsiveness to short-chain alkanes. J Biotechnol 2012; 158:75-9. [PMID: 22326628 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2012.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2011] [Revised: 01/13/2012] [Accepted: 01/24/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic alkane-inducible biosensors have applications as detectors for environmental hydrocarbon contamination and as novel inducible expression systems with low-cost inducers. Here, we have assembled and evolved an alkane-responsive biosensor with a fluorescence output signal in Escherichia coli by utilizing regulatory machinery from Pseudomonas putida's alkane metabolism. Within our system, the transcriptional regulator, AlkSp, is activated by the presence of alkanes and binds to the P(alkB) promoter, stimulating transcription of a Green Fluorescent Protein reporter. Through two successive rounds of directed evolution via error prone PCR and fluorescence activated cell sorting, we isolated alkS mutants enabling up to a 5 fold increase in fluorescence output signal in response to short-chain alkanes such as hexane and pentane. Further characterization of selected mutants demonstrated altered responsiveness to a wide range of linear alkanes (pentane to dodecane). Sequence analysis highlighted the S470T mutation as a likely candidate responsible for increased effectiveness of the AlkS protein for short-chain alkanes. This work represents the first evolution of a synthetic biosensor system for alkanes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Reed
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C0400, Austin, TX 78712, United States
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Abstract
The advent of high throughput genome-scale bioinformatics has led to an exponential increase in available cellular system data. Systems metabolic engineering attempts to use data-driven approaches--based on the data collected with high throughput technologies--to identify gene targets and optimize phenotypical properties on a systems level. Current systems metabolic engineering tools are limited for predicting and defining complex phenotypes such as chemical tolerances and other global, multigenic traits. The most pragmatic systems-based tool for metabolic engineering to arise is the in silico genome-scale metabolic reconstruction. This tool has seen wide adoption for modeling cell growth and predicting beneficial gene knockouts, and we examine here how this approach can be expanded for novel organisms. This review will highlight advances of the systems metabolic engineering approach with a focus on de novo development and use of genome-scale metabolic reconstructions for metabolic engineering applications. We will then discuss the challenges and prospects for this emerging field to enable model-based metabolic engineering. Specifically, we argue that current state-of-the-art systems metabolic engineering techniques represent a viable first step for improving product yield that still must be followed by combinatorial techniques or random strain mutagenesis to achieve optimal cellular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Blazeck
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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