scholarly journals Engineering a switchable single‐chain TEV protease to control protein maturation in living neurons

Author(s):  
Pietro Renna ◽  
Cristian Ripoli ◽  
Onur Dagliyan ◽  
Francesco Pastore ◽  
Marco Rinaudo ◽  
...  
1983 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 1119-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Sim ◽  
M. S. Palmer ◽  
M. Puklavec ◽  
R. B. Sim

Two mouse monoclonal antibodies against the human complement control protein, Factor H (β1H), are described. The antibodies are both IgG − γ1 - subclasses and are directed against different epitopes on the human Factor H molecule. One of the antibodies, MRC OX 24, increases the cofactor activity of Factor H in Factor I-mediated cleavage of soluble C3b. The second antibody, MRC OX 23, which has no effect alone, reduces the increase in cofactor activity observed in the presence of the first antibody. However, MRC OX 24 inhibits the binding of 125I-labelled Factor H to surface-bound C3b (EAC3b). Again MRC OX 23 alone does not have any effect but decreases the inhibition in 125I-Labelled Factor H binding to EAC3b observed with MRC OX 24. These studies show clearly that the interaction of Factor H with soluble C3b is different to its interaction with surface-bound C3b. In an indirect immunoprecipitation system using these monoclonal antibodies, single-chain molecules of 150 000 mol. wt. are specifically precipitated from human serum and also from the sera of other primates - rhesus monkey, cynomolgus monkey, and African green monkey. There was no precipitation from sera of cow, pig, sheep, chick, or rabbit. Using a radioimmunoassay with radiolabelled monoclonal MRC OX 23, the concentration of Factor H in human plasma was determined.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifen Yang ◽  
Lingyu Li ◽  
Ahu Turkoz ◽  
Pohan Chen ◽  
Rona Harari-Steinfeld ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Adoptive transfer of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells combined with checkpoint inhibition may prevent T cell exhaustion and improve clinical outcomes. However, the approach is limited by cumulative costs and toxicities. Methods To overcome this drawback, we created a CAR-T (RB-340-1) that unites in one product the two modalities: a CRISPR interference-(CRISPRi) circuit prevents programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) expression upon antigen-encounter. RB-340-1 is engineered to express an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) CAR single chain variable fragment (scFv), with CD28 and CD3ζ co-stimulatory domains linked to the tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease and a single guide RNA (sgRNA) targeting the PD-1 transcription start site (TSS). A second constructs includes linker for activation of T cells (LAT) fused to nuclease-deactivated spCas9 (dCas9)-Kruppel-associated box (KRAB) via a TEV-cleavable sequence (TCS). Upon antigen encounter, the LAT-dCas9-KRAB (LdCK) complex is cleaved by TEV allowing targeting of dCas9-KRAB to the PD-1 gene TSS. Results Here, we show that RB-340-1 consistently demonstrated higher production of homeostatic cytokines, enhanced expansion of CAR-T cells in vitro, prolonged in vivo persistence and more efficient suppression of HER2+ FaDu oropharyngeal cancer growth compared to the respective conventional CAR-T cell product. Conclusions As the first application of CRISPRi toward a clinically relevant product, RB-340-1 with the conditional, non-gene editing and reversible suppression promotes CAR-T cells resilience to checkpoint inhibition, and their persistence and effectiveness against HER2-expressing cancer xenografts.


F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor E. Eliseev ◽  
Anna N. Yudenko ◽  
Vera V. Vysochinskaya ◽  
Anna A. Svirina ◽  
Anna V. Evstratyeva ◽  
...  

Background: The ability of ErbB3 receptor to functionally complement ErbB1-2 and induce tumor resistance to their inhibitors makes it a unique target in cancer therapy by monoclonal antibodies. Here we report the expression, purification and structural analysis of a new anti-ErbB3 single-chain antibody. Methods: The VHH fragment of the antibody was expressed in E. coli SHuffle cells as a SUMO fusion, cleaved by TEV protease and purified to homogeneity. Binding to the extracellular domain of ErbB3 was studied by surface plasmon resonance. For structural studies, the antibody was crystallized by hanging-drop vapor diffusion in two different forms. Results: We developed a robust and efficient system for recombinant expression of single-domain antibodies. The purified antibody was functional and bound ErbB3 with KD=15±1 nM. The crystal structures of the VHH antibody in space groups C2 and P1 were solved by molecular replacement at 1.6 and 1.9 Å resolution. The high-quality electron density maps allowed us to build precise atomic models of the antibody and the putative paratope. Surprisingly, the CDR H2 existed in multiple distant conformations in different crystal forms, while the more complex CDR H3 had a low structural variability. The structures were deposited under PDB entry codes 6EZW and 6F0D. Conclusions: Our results may facilitate further mechanistic studies of ErbB3 inhibition by single-chain antibodies. Besides, the solved structures will contribute to datasets required to develop new computational methods for antibody modeling and design.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (52) ◽  
pp. 33186-33196
Author(s):  
Mateo I. Sanchez ◽  
Quynh-Anh Nguyen ◽  
Wenjing Wang ◽  
Ivan Soltesz ◽  
Alice Y. Ting

Molecular integrators, in contrast to real-time indicators, convert transient cellular events into stable signals that can be exploited for imaging, selection, molecular characterization, or cellular manipulation. Many integrators, however, are designed as complex multicomponent circuits that have limited robustness, especially at high, low, or nonstoichiometric protein expression levels. Here, we report a simplified design of the calcium and light dual integrator FLARE. Single-chain FLARE (scFLARE) is a single polypeptide chain that incorporates a transcription factor, a LOV domain–caged protease cleavage site, and a calcium-activated TEV protease that we designed through structure-guided mutagenesis and screening. We show that scFLARE has greater dynamic range and robustness than first-generation FLARE and can be used in culture as well as in vivo to record patterns of neuronal activation with 10-min temporal resolution.


F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor E. Eliseev ◽  
Anna N. Yudenko ◽  
Vera V. Vysochinskaya ◽  
Anna A. Svirina ◽  
Anna V. Evstratyeva ◽  
...  

Background: The ability of ErbB3 receptor to functionally complement ErbB1-2 and induce tumor resistance to their inhibitors makes it a unique target in cancer therapy by monoclonal antibodies. Here we report the expression, purification and structural analysis of a new anti-ErbB3 single-chain antibody. Methods: The VHH fragment of the antibody was expressed in E. coli SHuffle cells as a SUMO fusion, cleaved by TEV protease and purified to homogeneity. Binding to the extracellular domain of ErbB3 was studied by surface plasmon resonance. For structural studies, the antibody was crystallized by hanging-drop vapor diffusion in two different forms. Results: We developed a robust and efficient system for recombinant expression of single-domain antibodies. The purified antibody was functional and bound ErbB3 with KD = 1 μM. The crystal structures of the VHH antibody in space groups C2 and P1 were solved by molecular replacement at 1.6 and 1.9 Å resolution. The high-quality electron density maps allowed us to build precise atomic models of the antibody and the putative paratope. Surprisingly, the CDR H2 existed in multiple distant conformations in different crystal forms, while the more complex CDR H3 had a low structural variability. The structures were deposited under PDB entry codes 6EZW and 6F0D. Conclusions: Our results may facilitate further mechanistic studies of ErbB3 inhibition by single-chain antibodies. Besides, the solved structures will contribute to datasets required to develop new computational methods for antibody modeling and design.


Author(s):  
W.N. Bentham ◽  
V. Rocha

It has been an interest of our lab to develop a mammary epethelial cell culture system that faithfully duplicates the in vivo condition of the lactating gland. Since the introduction of collagen as a matrix on which cells are cultivated other E.C.M. type matrices have been made available and are used in many cell culture techniques. We have previously demonstrated that cells cultured on collagen and Matrigel do not differentiate as they do in vivo. It seems that these cultures often produce cells that show a disruption in the secretory process. The appearance of large ribosomal studded vesicles, that specifically label with antibody to casein, suggest an interruption of both protein maturation and secretion at the E.R. to golgi transition. In this report we have examined cultures on collagen and Matrigel at relative high and low seeding densities and compared them to cells from the in vivo condition.


Author(s):  
P. F. Flicker ◽  
V.S. Kulkarni ◽  
J. P. Robinson ◽  
G. Stubbs ◽  
B. R. DasGupta

Botulinum toxin is a potent neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. The toxin inhibits release of neurotransmitter, causing muscle paralysis. There are several serotypes, A to G, all of molecular weight about 150,000. The protein exists as a single chain or or as two chains, with two disulfide linkages. In a recent investigation on intracellular action of neurotoxins it was reported that type B neurotoxin can inhibit the release of Ca++-activated [3H] norepinephrine only if the disulfide bonds are reduced. In order to investigate possible structural changes in the toxin upon reduction of the disulfide bonds, we have prepared two-dimensional crystals of reduced type B neurotoxin. These two-dimensional crystals will be compared with those of the native (unreduced) type B toxin.


Author(s):  
David R. Veblen

Extended defects and interfaces control many processes in rock-forming minerals, from chemical reactions to rock deformation. In many cases, it is not the average structure of a defect or interface that is most important, but rather the structure of defect terminations or offsets in an interface. One of the major thrusts of high-resolution electron microscopy in the earth sciences has been to identify the role of defect fine structures in reactions and to determine the structures of such features. This paper will review studies using HREM and image simulations to determine the structures of defects in silicate and oxide minerals and present several examples of the role of defects in mineral chemical reactions. In some cases, the geological occurrence can be used to constrain the diffusional properties of defects.The simplest reactions in minerals involve exsolution (precipitation) of one mineral from another with a similar crystal structure, and pyroxenes (single-chain silicates) provide a good example. Although conventional TEM studies have led to a basic understanding of this sort of phase separation in pyroxenes via spinodal decomposition or nucleation and growth, HREM has provided a much more detailed appreciation of the processes involved.


Author(s):  
P.E. Champness ◽  
R.W. Devenish

It has long been recognised that silicates can suffer extensive beam damage in electron-beam instruments. The predominant damage mechanism is radiolysis. For instance, damage in quartz, SiO2, results in loss of structural order without mass loss whereas feldspars (framework silicates containing Ca, Na, K) suffer loss of structural order with accompanying mass loss. In the latter case, the alkali ions, particularly Na, are found to migrate away from the area of the beam. The aim of the present study was to investigate the loss of various elements from the common silicate structures during electron irradiation at 100 kV over a range of current densities of 104 - 109 A m−2. (The current density is defined in terms of 50% of total current in the FWHM probe). The silicates so far ivestigated are:- olivine [(Mg, Fe)SiO4], a structure that has isolated Si-O tetrahedra, garnet [(Mg, Ca, Fe)3Al2Si3AO12 another silicate with isolated tetrahedra, pyroxene [-Ca(Mg, Fe)Si2O6 a single-chain silicate; mica [margarite, -Ca2Al4Si4Al4O2O(OH)4], a sheet silicate, and plagioclase feldspar [-NaCaAl3Si5O16]. Ion- thinned samples of each mineral were examined in a VG Microscopes UHV HB501 field- emission STEM. The beam current used was typically - 0.5 nA and the current density was varied by defocussing the electron probe. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectra were collected every 10 seconds for a total of 200 seconds using a Link Systems windowless detector. The thickness of the samples in the area of analysis was normally 50-150 nm.


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