Yeast Display Enables Identification of Covalent Single-Domain Antibodies against Botulinum Neurotoxin Light Chain A

While covalent drug discovery is reemerging as an important route to small-molecule therapeutic leads, strategies for the discovery and engineering of protein-based irreversible binding agents remain limited. Here, we describe the use of yeast display in combination with noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) to identify irreversible variants of single-domain antibodies (sdAbs), also called VHHs and nanobodies, targeting botulinum neurotoxin light chain A (LC/A). Starting from a series of previously described, structurally characterized sdAbs, we evaluated the properties of antibodies substituted with reactive ncAAs capable of forming covalent bonds with nearby groups after UV irradiation (when using 4-azido-l-phenylalanine) or spontaneously (when using O-(2-bromoethyl)-l-tyrosine). Systematic evaluations in yeast display format of more than 40 ncAA-substituted variants revealed numerous clones that retain binding function while gaining either UV-mediated or spontaneous crosslinking capabilities. Solution-based analyses indicate that ncAA-substituted clones exhibit site-dependent target specificity and crosslinking capabilities uniquely conferred by ncAAs. Interestingly, not all ncAA substitution sites resulted in crosslinking events, and our data showed no apparent correlation between detected crosslinking levels and distances between sdAbs and LC/A residues. Our findings highlight the power of yeast display in combination with genetic code expansion in the discovery of binding agents that covalently engage their targets. This platform streamlines the discovery and characterization of antibodies with therapeutically relevant properties that cannot be accessed in the conventional genetic code.

Light-Driven CO2 Reduction by Co-Cytochrome b 562

The current trend in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is causing increasing concerns for its environmental impacts, and spurring the developments of sustainable methods to reduce CO2 to usable molecules. We report the light-driven CO2 reduction in water in mild conditions by artificial protein catalysts based on cytochrome b 562 and incorporating cobalt protoporphyrin IX as cofactor. Incorporation into the protein scaffolds enhances the intrinsic reactivity of the cobalt porphyrin toward proton reduction and CO generation. Mutations around the binding site modulate the activity of the enzyme, pointing to the possibility of further improving catalytic activity through rational design or directed evolution.

Rational development of a high-affinity secretin receptor antagonist

The secretin receptor is a prototypic class B GPCR with substantial and broad pharmacologic importance. The aim of this project was to develop a high affinity selective antagonist as a new and important pharmacologic tool and to aid stabilization of this receptor in an inactive conformation for ultimate structural characterization. Amino-terminal truncation of the natural 27-residue ligand reduced biological activity, but also markedly reduced binding affinity. This was rationally and experimentally overcome with lactam stabilization of helical structure and with replacement of residues with natural and unnatural amino acids. A key new step in this effort was the replacement of peptide residue Leu²² with L-cyclohexylalanine (Cha) to enhance potential hydrophobic interactions with receptor residues Leu³¹, Val³⁴, and Phe⁹² that were predicted from molecular modeling. Alanine-replacement mutagenesis of these residues markedly affected ligand binding and biological activity. The optimal antagonist ligand, (Y¹⁰,c[E¹⁶,K²⁰],I¹⁷,Cha²²,R²⁵)sec(6-27), exhibited high binding affinity (4 nM), similar to natural secretin, and exhibited no demonstrable biological activity to stimulate cAMP accumulation, intracellular calcium mobilization, or β-arrestin-2 translocation. It acts as an orthosteric competitive antagonist, predicted to bind within the peptide-binding groove in the receptor extracellular domain. The analogous peptide that was one residue longer, retaining Thr⁵, exhibited partial agonist activity, while further truncation of even a single residue (Phe⁶) reduced binding affinity. This sec(6-27)-based peptide will be an important new tool for pharmacological and structural studies.

Rational design of a hexameric protein assembly stabilized by metal chelation

Protein-based self-assembled nanostructures hold tremendous promise as smart materials. One strategy to control the assembly of individual protein modules takes advantage of the directionality and high affinity bonding afforded by metal chelation. Here, we describe the use of 2,2'-bipyridine units (Bpy) as side chains to template the assembly of large structures (MW approx. 35 000 Da) in a metal-dependent manner. The structures are trimers of independently folded 3-helix bundles, and are held together by 2 Me(Bpy)₃ complexes. The assemblies are stable to thermal denaturation, and are more than 90% helical at 90°C. Circular dichroism spectroscopy shows that one of the 2 possible (Bpy)₃ enantiomers is favored over the other. Because of the sequence pliability of the starting peptides, these constructs could find use to organize functional groups at controlled positions within a supramolecular assembly.

Design Strategies for Redox Active Metalloenzymes: Applications in Hydrogen Production

The last decades have seen an increased interest in finding alternative means to produce renewable fuels in order to satisfy the growing energy demands and to minimize environmental impact. Nature can serve as an inspiration for development of these methodologies, as enzymes are able to carry out a wide variety of redox processes at high efficiency, employing a wide array of earth-abundant transition metals to do so. While it is well recognized that the protein environment plays an important role in tuning the properties of the different metal centers, the structure/function relationships between amino acids and catalytic centers are not well resolved. One specific approach to study the role of proteins in both electron and proton transfer is the biomimetic design of redox active peptides, binding organometallic clusters in well-understood protein environments. Here we discuss different strategies for the design of peptides incorporating redox active FeS clusters, [FeFe]-hydrogenase organometallic mimics, and porphyrin centers into different peptide and protein environments in order to understand natural redox enzymes.

Incorporation of β-amino acids into dihydrofolate reductase by ribosomes having modifications in the peptidyltransferase center

Ribosomes containing modifications in three regions of 23S rRNA, all of which are in proximity to the ribosomal peptidyltransferase center (PTC), were utilized previously as a source of S-30 preparations for in vitro protein biosynthesis experiments. When utilized in the presence of mRNAs containing UAG codons at predetermined positions+β-alanyl-tRNA(CUA), the modified ribosomes produced enhanced levels of full length proteins via UAG codon suppression. In the present study, these earlier results have been extended by the use of substituted β-amino acids, and direct evidence for β-amino acid incorporation is provided. Presently, five of the clones having modified ribosomes are used in experiments employing four substituted β-amino acids, including α-methyl-β-alanine, β,β-dimethyl-β-alanine, β-phenylalanine, and β-(p-bromophenyl)alanine. The β-amino acids were incorporated into three different positions (10, 18 and 49) of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and their efficiencies of suppression of the UAG codons were compared with those of β-alanine and representative α-l-amino acids. The isolated proteins containing the modified β-amino acids were subjected to proteolytic digestion, and the derived fragments were characterized by mass spectrometry, establishing that the β-amino acids had been incorporated into DHFR, and that they were present exclusively in the anticipated peptide fragments. DHFR contains glutamic acid in position 17, and it has been shown previously that Glu-C endoproteinase can hydrolyze DHFR between amino acids residues 17 and 18. The incorporation of β,β-dimethyl-β-alanine into position 18 of DHFR prevented this cleavage, providing further evidence for the position of incorporation of the β-amino acid.