Exploring Protein-Protein Interactions Involving Newly Synthesized Mitochondrial DNA-Encoded Proteins

Author(s):  
Darryl Horn ◽  
Flavia Fontanesi ◽  
Antoni Barrientos
mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Springstein ◽  
Padraig Deighan ◽  
Grzegorz J. Grabe ◽  
Ann Hochschild

Understanding how virally encoded proteins interact with one another is essential in elucidating basic viral biology, providing a foundation for therapeutic discovery. Here, we describe the use of a versatile bacterium-based system to investigate the interactions of the protein set encoded by SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic.


2019 ◽  
pp. 20-48
Author(s):  
Geoffrey E. Hill

To understand the evolutionary consequences of poor coadaptation of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, it is necessary to consider in molecular detail the manifestations of mitochondrial dysfunction. Most considerations of mitochondrial dysfunction resulting from mitonuclear incompatibilities focus on protein–protein interactions in the electron transport system, but the interactions of mitochondrial and nuclear genes in enabling the transcription, translation, and replication of mitochondrial DNA can play an equally important role in mitonuclear coevolution and coadaptation. This chapter reviews the extensive literature on how mitochondrial dysfunction is the cause of many inherited human diseases and explains how this biomedical literature connects to a rapidly growing body of research on the evolution and maintenance of coadaptation of mitochondrial and nuclear genes among non-human eukaryotes. The goal of the chapter is to establish the fundamental importance of coadaptation between co-functioning mitochondrial and nuclear genes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Hochschild ◽  
Benjamin L Springstein ◽  
Padraig Deighan ◽  
Grzegorz Grabe

Methods for detecting and dissecting the interactions of virally encoded proteins are essential for probing basic viral biology and providing a foundation for therapeutic advances. The dearth of targeted therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19, an ongoing global health crisis, underscores the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of the interactions of SARS-CoV-2-encoded proteins. Here we describe the use of a convenient bacteria-based two-hybrid (B2H) system to analyze the SARS-CoV-2 proteome. We identify sixteen distinct intraviral protein-protein interactions (PPIs), involving sixteen proteins. We find that many of the identified proteins interact with more than one partner. We further show how our system facilitates the genetic dissection of these interactions, enabling the identification of selectively disruptive mutations. We also describe a modified B2H system that permits the detection of disulfide bond-dependent PPIs in the normally reducing Escherichia coli cytoplasm and we use this system to detect the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) with its cognate cell surface receptor ACE2. We then examine how the RBD-ACE2 interaction is perturbed by several RBD amino acid substitutions found in currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. Our findings illustrate the utility of a genetically tractable bacterial system for probing the interactions of viral proteins and investigating the effects of emerging mutations. In principle, the system could also facilitate the identification of potential therapeutics that disrupt specific interactions of virally encoded proteins. More generally, our findings establish the feasibility of using a B2H system to detect and dissect disulfide bond-dependent interactions of eukaryotic proteins.


2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (08) ◽  
Author(s):  
LC König ◽  
M Meinhard ◽  
C Sandig ◽  
MH Bender ◽  
A Lovas ◽  
...  

1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (03) ◽  
pp. 403-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence Cartwright

SummaryA method is described for the extraction with buffers of near physiological pH of a plasminogen activator from porcine salivary glands. Substantial purification of the activator was achieved although this was to some extent complicated by concomitant extraction of nucleic acid from the glands. Preliminary characterization experiments using specific inhibitors suggested that the activator functioned by a similar mechanism to that proposed for urokinase, but with some important kinetic differences in two-stage assay systems. The lack of reactivity of the pig gland enzyme in these systems might be related to the tendency to protein-protein interactions observed with this material.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador Guardiola ◽  
Monica Varese ◽  
Xavier Roig ◽  
Jesús Garcia ◽  
Ernest Giralt

<p>NOTE: This preprint has been retracted by consensus from all authors. See the retraction notice in place above; the original text can be found under "Version 1", accessible from the version selector above.</p><p><br></p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p><br></p><p>Peptides, together with antibodies, are among the most potent biochemical tools to modulate challenging protein-protein interactions. However, current structure-based methods are largely limited to natural peptides and are not suitable for designing target-specific binders with improved pharmaceutical properties, such as macrocyclic peptides. Here we report a general framework that leverages the computational power of Rosetta for large-scale backbone sampling and energy scoring, followed by side-chain composition, to design heterochiral cyclic peptides that bind to a protein surface of interest. To showcase the applicability of our approach, we identified two peptides (PD-<i>i</i>3 and PD-<i>i</i>6) that target PD-1, a key immune checkpoint, and work as protein ligand decoys. A comprehensive biophysical evaluation confirmed their binding mechanism to PD-1 and their inhibitory effect on the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. Finally, elucidation of their solution structures by NMR served as validation of our <i>de novo </i>design approach. We anticipate that our results will provide a general framework for designing target-specific drug-like peptides.<i></i></p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador Guardiola ◽  
Monica Varese ◽  
Xavier Roig ◽  
Jesús Garcia ◽  
Ernest Giralt

<p>NOTE: This preprint has been retracted by consensus from all authors. See the retraction notice in place above; the original text can be found under "Version 1", accessible from the version selector above.</p><p><br></p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p><br></p><p>Peptides, together with antibodies, are among the most potent biochemical tools to modulate challenging protein-protein interactions. However, current structure-based methods are largely limited to natural peptides and are not suitable for designing target-specific binders with improved pharmaceutical properties, such as macrocyclic peptides. Here we report a general framework that leverages the computational power of Rosetta for large-scale backbone sampling and energy scoring, followed by side-chain composition, to design heterochiral cyclic peptides that bind to a protein surface of interest. To showcase the applicability of our approach, we identified two peptides (PD-<i>i</i>3 and PD-<i>i</i>6) that target PD-1, a key immune checkpoint, and work as protein ligand decoys. A comprehensive biophysical evaluation confirmed their binding mechanism to PD-1 and their inhibitory effect on the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. Finally, elucidation of their solution structures by NMR served as validation of our <i>de novo </i>design approach. We anticipate that our results will provide a general framework for designing target-specific drug-like peptides.<i></i></p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Frederich ◽  
Ananya Sengupta ◽  
Josue Liriano ◽  
Ewa A. Bienkiewicz ◽  
Brian G. Miller

Fusicoccin A (FC) is a fungal phytotoxin that stabilizes protein–protein interactions (PPIs) between 14-3-3 adapter proteins and their phosphoprotein interaction partners. In recent years, FC has emerged as an important chemical probe of human 14-3-3 PPIs implicated in cancer and neurological diseases. These previous studies have established the structural requirements for FC-induced stabilization of 14-3-3·client phosphoprotein complexes; however, the effect of different 14-3-3 isoforms on FC activity has not been systematically explored. This is a relevant question for the continued development of FC variants because there are seven distinct isoforms of 14-3-3 in humans. Despite their remarkable sequence and structural similarities, a growing body of experimental evidence supports both tissue-specific expression of 14-3-3 isoforms and isoform-specific functions <i>in vivo</i>. Herein, we report the isoform-specificity profile of FC <i>in vitro</i>using recombinant human 14-3-3 isoforms and a focused library of fluorescein-labeled hexaphosphopeptides mimicking the C-terminal 14-3-3 recognition domains of client phosphoproteins targeted by FC in cell culture. Our results reveal modest isoform preferences for individual client phospholigands and demonstrate that FC differentially stabilizes PPIs involving 14-3-3s. Together, these data provide strong motivation for the development of non-natural FC variants with enhanced selectivity for individual 14-3-3 isoforms.


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