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He X, Lin T, Xie Y, Li J, Ge Y, Zhang S, Fan J. Backbone cyclization of Salmonella typhimurium diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase to enhance the activity and stability. Protein Expr Purif 2024; 218:106447. [PMID: 38369031 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2024.106447] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase transforms D and L isomers of 2,3-diaminopropionate to pyruvate and ammonia. It catalyzes D- and l-serine less effectively. L-2,3-diaminopropionate is a precursor in the biosynthesis of oxalyl diaminopropionate as a neurotoxin in certain legume species. In this work, we cyclized the diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase from Salmonella typhimurium in vitro using the redox-responsive split intein, and identified that backbone cyclization afforded the enzyme with the improved activity, thermal stability and resistance to the exopeptidase proteolysis, different from effects of the incorporated sequence recognized by tobacco vein mottling virus protease at C-terminus. Using analyses of three fluorescent dyes including 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid, N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine, and thioflavin T, the same amounts of the cyclic protein displayed less fluorescence than those of the linear protein upon the heat treatment. The cyclic enzyme displayed the enhanced activity in Escherichia coli cells using the designed novel reporter. In this system, d-serine was added to the culture and transported into the cytoplasm. It was transformed by pre-overexpression of the diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase, and untransformed d-serine was oxidized by the coproduced human d-amino acid oxidase to generate hydrogen peroxide. This oxidant is monitored by the HyPer indicator. The current results presented that the cyclized enzyme could be applied as a better candidate to block the neurotoxin biosynthesis in certain plant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomei He
- College of Biology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu'an, 237012, PR China
| | - Tingting Lin
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Yuying Xie
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Jinjing Li
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Yuanyuan Ge
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Shuncheng Zhang
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Jun Fan
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China.
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Lin T, Ge Y, Gao Q, Zhang D, Chen X, Hu Y, Fan J. Backbone Cyclization of Flavin Mononucleotide-Based Fluorescent Protein Increases Fluorescence and Stability. J Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 33:1681-1691. [PMID: 37789714 PMCID: PMC10772547 DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2305.05011] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Flavin mononucleotide-binding proteins or domains emit cyan-green fluorescence under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, but relatively low fluorescence and less thermostability limit their application as reporters. In this work, we incorporated the codon-optimized fluorescent protein from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with two different linkers independently into the redox-responsive split intein construct, overexpressed the precursors in hyperoxic Escherichia coli SHuffle T7 strain, and cyclized the target proteins in vitro in the presence of the reducing agent. Compared with the purified linear protein, the cyclic protein with the short linker displayed enhanced fluorescence. In contrast, cyclized protein with incorporation of the long linker including the myc-tag and human rhinovirus 3C protease cleavable sequence emitted slightly increased fluorescence compared with the protein linearized with the protease cleavage. The cyclic protein with the short linker also exhibited increased thermal stability and exopeptidase resistance. Moreover, induction of the target proteins in an oxygen-deficient culture rendered fluorescent E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells brighter than those overexpressing the linear construct. Thus, the cyclic reporter can hopefully be used in certain thermophilic anaerobes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Lin
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, P.R. China
| | - Yuanyuan Ge
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, P.R. China
| | - Qing Gao
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, P.R. China
| | - Di Zhang
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, P.R. China
| | - Xiaofeng Chen
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, P.R. China
| | - Yafang Hu
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, P.R. China
| | - Jun Fan
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, P.R. China
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Sukumaran S, Tan M, Ben-Uliel SF, Zhang H, De Zotti M, Chua MS, So SK, Qvit N. Rational design, synthesis and structural characterization of peptides and peptidomimetics to target Hsp90/Cdc37 interaction for treating hepatocellular carcinoma. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:3159-3172. [PMID: 37304004 PMCID: PMC10250827 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) and cell division cycle 37 (Cdc37) work together as a molecular chaperone complex to regulate the activity of a multitude of client protein kinases. These kinases belong to a wide array of intracellular signaling networks that mediate multiple cellular processes including proliferation. As a result, Hsp90 and Cdc37 represent innovative therapeutic targets in various cancers (such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)) in which their expression levels are elevated. Conventional small molecule Hsp90 inhibitors act by blocking the conserved adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding site. However, by targeting less conserved sites in a more specific manner, peptides and peptidomimetics (modified peptides) hold potential as more efficacious and less toxic alternatives to the conventional small molecule inhibitors. Using a rational approach, we herein developed bioactive peptides targeting Hsp90/Cdc37 interaction. A six amino acid linear peptide derived from Cdc37, KTGDEK, was designed to target Hsp90. We used in silico computational docking to first define its mode of interaction, and binding orientation, and then conjugated the peptide with a cell penetrating peptide, TAT, and a fluorescent dye to confirm its ability to colocalize with Hsp90 in HCC cells. Based on the parent linear sequence, we developed a peptidomimetics library of pre-cyclic and cyclic derivatives. These peptidomimetics were evaluated for their binding affinity to Hsp90, and bioactivity in HCC cell lines. Among them, a pre-cyclic peptidomimetic demonstrates high binding affinity and bioactivity in HCC cells, causing reduced cell proliferation that is associated with induction of cell apoptosis, and down-regulation of phosphorylated MEK1/2. Overall, this generalized approach of rational design, structural optimization, and cellular validation of 'drug-like' peptidomimetics against Hsp90/Cdc37 offers a feasible and promising way to design novel therapeutic agents for malignancies and other diseases that are dependent on this molecular chaperone complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surya Sukumaran
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Henrietta Szold St. 8, Safed 1311502, Israel
| | - Mingdian Tan
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1201 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA
| | - Shulamit Fluss Ben-Uliel
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Henrietta Szold St. 8, Safed 1311502, Israel
| | - Hui Zhang
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1201 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA
| | - Marta De Zotti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Mei-Sze Chua
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1201 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA
| | - Samuel K. So
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1201 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA
| | - Nir Qvit
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Henrietta Szold St. 8, Safed 1311502, Israel
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Lin T, Zhang S, Zhang D, Chen X, Ge Y, Hu Y, Fan J. Use of the redox-dependent intein system for enhancing production of the cyclic green fluorescent protein. Protein Expr Purif 2023; 207:106272. [PMID: 37062513 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2023.106272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
To expand the reported redox-dependent intein system application, in this work, we used the split intein variant with highly trans-splicing efficiency and minimal extein dependence to cyclize the green fluorescent protein variant reporter in vitro. The CPG residues were introduced adjacent to the intein's catalytic cysteine for reversible formation of a disulfide bond to retard the trans-splicing reaction under the oxidative environment. The cyclized reporter protein in Escherichia coli cells was easily prepared by organic extraction and identified by the exopeptidase digestion. The amounts of extracted cyclized protein reporter in BL21 (DE3) cells were higher than those in hyperoxic SHuffle T7 coexpression system for facilitating the disulfide bond formation. The double His6-tagged precursor was purified for in vitro cyclization of the protein for 3 h. Compared with the purified linear counterpart, the cyclic reporter showed about twofold increase in fluorescence intensity, exhibited thermal and hydrolytic stability, and displayed better folding efficiency in BL21 (DE3) cells at the elevated temperature. Taken together, the developed redox-dependent intein system will be used for producing other cyclic disulfide-free proteins. The cyclic reporter is a potential candidate applied in certain thermophilic aerobes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Lin
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Shuncheng Zhang
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Di Zhang
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Xiaofeng Chen
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Yuanyuan Ge
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Yafang Hu
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China
| | - Jun Fan
- School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, PR China.
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Ni ZF, Li N, Xu P, Guo ZW, Zong MH, Lou WY. Enhancement of thermostability and catalytic properties of ammonia lyase through disulfide bond construction and backbone cyclization. Int J Biol Macromol 2022; 219:804-811. [PMID: 35926674 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.07.213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Ammonia lyases have great application potential in food and pharmaceuticals owing to their unique ammonia addition reaction and atom economy. A novel methylaspartate ammonia-lyase, EcMAL, from E. coli O157:H7 showed high catalytic activity. To further strengthen its thermostability and activity, disulfide bond and backbone cyclization (cyclase) variants were constructed by rational design, respectively. Among them, variant M3, with a disulfide bond introduced, exhibited a 2.3-fold increase in half-life at 50 °C, while cyclase variant M8 showed better performance, with 25.9-fold increases. The synergistic promotion effect of this combinational strategy on activity and stability was also investigated, and the combined mutant M9 exhibited a 1.1-fold improvement in catalytic efficiency while maintaining good thermostability. Circular dichroism analysis and molecular dynamics simulation confirmed that the main sources of improved thermostability were reduced atomic fluctuation and a more stable secondary structure. To our knowledge, this is the first example of combining the introduction of disulfide bonds with cyclase construction to improve enzyme stability, which was characterized by modification away from the enzyme active center, and provided a new method for adjusting enzyme thermostability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi-Fu Ni
- Laboratory of Applied Biocatalysis, School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, No. 381 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
| | - Na Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Green Chemical Product Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Pei Xu
- Laboratory of Applied Biocatalysis, School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, No. 381 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
| | - Ze-Wang Guo
- Laboratory of Applied Biocatalysis, School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, No. 381 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
| | - Min-Hua Zong
- Laboratory of Applied Biocatalysis, School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, No. 381 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
| | - Wen-Yong Lou
- Laboratory of Applied Biocatalysis, School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, No. 381 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China.
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Hemmi S, Asano R, Kimura K, Umetsu M, Nakanishi T, Kumagai I, Makabe K. Construction of a circularly connected VHH bispecific antibody (cyclobody) for the desirable positioning of antigen-binding sites. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019; 523:72-77. [PMID: 31831177 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2019.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [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: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A bispecific antibody (bsAb) is an emerging class of next-generation biological therapeutics. BsAbs are engineered antibodies possessing dual antigen-binding paratopes in one molecule. The circular backbone topology has never been demonstrated, although an enormous number of bispecific constructs have been proposed. The circular topology is potentially beneficial for fixing the orientation of two paratopes and protection from exopeptidase digestion. We construct herein a circularly connected bispecific VHH, termed cyclobody, using the split-intein circular ligation of peptides and proteins. The constructed cyclobodies are protected from proteolysis with a retained bispecificity. The anti-EGFR × anti-GFP cyclobody can specifically stain EGFR-positive cells with GFP. The anti-EGFR × anti-CD16 cyclobody shows cytotoxic activity against EGFR-positive cancer cells with comparative activity of a tandem VHH construct. Successful demonstration of a new topology for the bispecific antibody will expand the construction strategy for developing antibody-based drugs and reagents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saki Hemmi
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jyonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata, 992-8510, Japan
| | - Ryutaro Asano
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 183-8538, Japan
| | - Kouki Kimura
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 183-8538, Japan
| | - Mitsuo Umetsu
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-11-606 Aoba-yama, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, Japan
| | - Takeshi Nakanishi
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka City University, Sugimoto 3-3-138, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan
| | - Izumi Kumagai
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 183-8538, Japan
| | - Koki Makabe
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jyonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata, 992-8510, Japan.
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Rubin SJS, Tal-Gan Y, Gilon C, Qvit N. Conversion of Protein Active Regions into Peptidomimetic Therapeutic Leads Using Backbone Cyclization and Cycloscan - How to Do it Yourself! Curr Top Med Chem 2018; 18:556-565. [PMID: 29773063 DOI: 10.2174/1568026618666180518094322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Protein-protein Interactions (PPIs) are particularly important for controlling both physiologic and pathologic biological processes but are difficult to target due to their large and/or shallow interaction surfaces unsuitable for small molecules. Linear peptides found in nature interact with some PPIs, and protein active regions can be used to design synthetic peptide compounds for inhibition of PPIs. However, linear peptides are limited therapeutically by poor metabolic and conformational stability, which can compromise their bioactivity and half-life. Cyclic peptidomimetics (modified peptides) can be used to overcome these challenges because they are more resistant to metabolic degradation and can be engineered to adopt desired conformations. Backbone cyclization is a strategy that we developed to improve drug-like properties of linear peptide leads without jeopardizing the integrity of functionally relevant side-chains. Here, we provide the first description of an entire approach for developing backbone cyclized peptide compounds, based upon two straightforward 'ABC' and 'DEF' processes. We present practical examples throughout our discussion of revealing active regions important for PPIs and identifying critical pharmacophores, as well as developing backbone cyclized peptide libraries and screening them using cycloscan. Finally, we review the impact of these advances and provide a summary of current ongoing work in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J S Rubin
- Stanford Immunology Program, School of Medicine, Stanford University, 269 Campus drive, Stanford CA 94305-5174, United States
| | - Yftah Tal-Gan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 North Virginia Street, NV 89557, United States
| | - Chaim Gilon
- The Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Nir Qvit
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Henrietta Szold St. 8, POB 1589, Safed, Israel
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