scholarly journals Rational design of protein-specific folding modifiers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anirban Das ◽  
Anju Yadav ◽  
Mona Gupta ◽  
R Purushotham ◽  
Vishram L. Terse ◽  
...  

AbstractProtein folding can go wrong in vivo and in vitro, with significant consequences for the living cell and the pharmaceutical industry, respectively. Here we propose a general design principle for constructing small peptide-based protein-specific folding modifiers. We construct a ‘xenonucleus’, which is a pre-folded peptide that resembles the folding nucleus of a protein, and demonstrate its activity on the folding of ubiquitin. Using stopped-flow kinetics, NMR spectroscopy, Förster Resonance Energy transfer, single-molecule force measurements, and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the ubiquitin xenonucleus can act as an effective decoy for the native folding nucleus. It can make the refolding faster by 33 ± 5% at 3 M GdnHCl. In principle, our approach provides a general method for constructing specific, genetically encodable, folding modifiers for any protein which has a well-defined contiguous folding nucleus.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Dienerowitz ◽  
Jamieson A. L. Howard ◽  
Steven D. Quinn ◽  
Frank Dienerowitz ◽  
Mark C. Leake

AbstractSingle-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) of molecular motors provides transformative insights into their dynamics and conformational changes both at high temporal and spatial resolution simultaneously. However, a key challenge of such FRET investigations is to observe a molecule in action for long enough without restricting its natural function. The Anti-Brownian ELectrokinetic Trap (ABEL trap) sets out to combine smFRET with molecular confinement to enable observation times of up to several seconds while removing any requirement of tethered surface attachment of the molecule in question. In addition, the ABEL trap’s inherent ability to selectively capture FRET active molecules accelerates the data acquisition process. Here we exemplify the capabilities of the ABEL trap in performing extended timescale smFRET measurements on the molecular motor Rep, which is crucial for removing protein blocks ahead of the advancing DNA replication machinery and for restarting stalled DNA replication. We are able to monitor single Rep molecules up to 6 s with 1 ms time resolution capturing multiple conformational switching events during the observation time. Here we provide a step-by-step guide for the rational design, construction and implementation of the ABEL trap for smFRET detection of Rep in vitro. We include details of how to model the electric potential at the trap site and use Hidden Markov analysis of the smFRET trajectories.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (47) ◽  
pp. 11917-11922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bishnu P. Paudel ◽  
Erica Fiorini ◽  
Richard Börner ◽  
Roland K. O. Sigel ◽  
David S. Rueda

Unlike in vivo conditions, group II intron ribozymes are known to require high magnesium(II) concentrations ([Mg2+]) and high temperatures (42 °C) for folding and catalysis in vitro. A possible explanation for this difference is the highly crowded cellular environment, which can be mimicked in vitro by macromolecular crowding agents. Here, we combined bulk activity assays and single-molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET) to study the influence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on catalysis and folding of the ribozyme. Our activity studies reveal that PEG reduces the [Mg2+] required, and we found an “optimum” [PEG] that yields maximum activity. smFRET experiments show that the most compact state population, the putative active state, increases with increasing [PEG]. Dynamic transitions between folded states also increase. Therefore, this study shows that optimal molecular crowding concentrations help the ribozyme not only to reach the native fold but also to increase its in vitro activity to approach that in physiological conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1247-1257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Dyla ◽  
Sara Basse Hansen ◽  
Poul Nissen ◽  
Magnus Kjaergaard

Abstract P-type ATPases transport ions across biological membranes against concentration gradients and are essential for all cells. They use the energy from ATP hydrolysis to propel large intramolecular movements, which drive vectorial transport of ions. Tight coordination of the motions of the pump is required to couple the two spatially distant processes of ion binding and ATP hydrolysis. Here, we review our current understanding of the structural dynamics of P-type ATPases, focusing primarily on Ca2+ pumps. We integrate different types of information that report on structural dynamics, primarily time-resolved fluorescence experiments including single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer and molecular dynamics simulations, and interpret them in the framework provided by the numerous crystal structures of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase. We discuss the challenges in characterizing the dynamics of membrane pumps, and the likely impact of new technologies on the field.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor H. Dashti ◽  
Rufika S. Abidin ◽  
Frank Sainsbury

Bioinspired self-sorting and self-assembling systems using engineered versions of natural protein cages have been developed for biocatalysis and therapeutic delivery. The packaging and intracellular delivery of guest proteins is of particular interest for both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> cell engineering. However, there is a lack of platforms in bionanotechnology that combine programmable guest protein encapsidation with efficient intracellular uptake. We report a minimal peptide anchor for <i>in vivo</i> self-sorting of cargo-linked capsomeres of the Murine polyomavirus (MPyV) major coat protein that enables controlled encapsidation of guest proteins by <i>in vitro</i> self-assembly. Using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) we demonstrate the flexibility in this system to support co-encapsidation of multiple proteins. Complementing these ensemble measurements with single particle analysis by super-resolution microscopy shows that the stochastic nature of co-encapsidation is an overriding principle. This has implications for the design and deployment of both native and engineered self-sorting encapsulation systems and for the assembly of infectious virions. Taking advantage of the encoded affinity for sialic acids ubiquitously displayed on the surface of mammalian cells, we demonstrate the ability of self-assembled MPyV virus-like particles to mediate efficient delivery of guest proteins to the cytosol of primary human cells. This platform for programmable co-encapsidation and efficient cytosolic delivery of complementary biomolecules therefore has enormous potential in cell engineering.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-221
Author(s):  
Jiafeng Wan ◽  
Xiaoyuan Zhang ◽  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Zhiqiang Su

Abstract In recent years, nanomaterials have attracted lots of attention from researchers due to their unique properties. Nanometer fluorescent materials, such as organic dyes, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), metal nano-clusters (MNCs), carbon dots (CDs), etc., are widely used in biological imaging due to their high sensitivity, short response time, and excellent accuracy. Nanometer fluorescent probes can not only perform in vitro imaging of organisms but also achieve in vivo imaging. This provides medical staff with great convenience in cancer treatment. Combined with contemporary medical methods, faster and more effective treatment of cancer is achievable. This article explains the response mechanism of three-nanometer fluorescent probes: the principle of induced electron transfer (PET), the principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), and the principle of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), showing the semiconductor QDs, precious MNCs, and CDs. The excellent performance of the three kinds of nano fluorescent materials in biological imaging is highlighted, and the application of these three kinds of nano fluorescent probes in targeted biological imaging is also introduced. Nanometer fluorescent materials will show their significance in the field of biomedicine.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1131-1140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edyta Swider ◽  
Sanish Maharjan ◽  
Karlijne Houkes ◽  
Nicolaas Koen van Riessen ◽  
Carl Figdor ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia M Lenhart ◽  
Stefan Broselid ◽  
Cordelia J Barrick ◽  
L M Fredrik Leeb-Lundberg ◽  
Kathleen M Caron

Receptor activity-modifying protein 3 (RAMP3) is a single-pass transmembrane protein known to interact with and affect the trafficking of several G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). We sought to determine whether RAMP3 interacts with GPR30, also known as G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1. GPR30 is a GPCR that binds estradiol and has important roles in cardiovascular and endocrine physiology. Using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer titration studies, co-immunoprecipitation, and confocal microscopy, we show that GPR30 and RAMP3 interact. Furthermore, the presence of GPR30 leads to increased expression of RAMP3 at the plasma membrane in HEK293 cells. In vivo, there are marked sex differences in the subcellular localization of GPR30 in cardiac cells, and the hearts of Ramp3−/− mice also show signs of GPR30 mislocalization. To determine whether this interaction might play a role in cardiovascular disease, we treated Ramp3+/+ and Ramp3−/− mice on a heart disease-prone genetic background with G-1, a specific agonist for GPR30. Importantly, this in vivo activation of GPR30 resulted in a significant reduction in cardiac hypertrophy and perivascular fibrosis that is both RAMP3 and sex dependent. Our results demonstrate that GPR30–RAMP3 interaction has functional consequences on the localization of these proteins both in vitro and in vivo and that RAMP3 is required for GPR30-mediated cardioprotection.


2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1218-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja J. Copik ◽  
M. Scott Webb ◽  
Aaron L. Miller ◽  
Yongxin Wang ◽  
Raj Kumar ◽  
...  

Abstract The mechanism through which the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) stimulates transcription is still unclear, although it is clear that the GR affects assembly of the transcriptional machinery. The binding of the TATA-binding protein (TBP) to the TATA-box is accepted as essential in this process. It is known that the GR can interact in vitro with TBP, but the direct interaction of TBP with GR has not been previously characterized quantitatively and has not been appreciated as an important step in assembling the transcriptional complex. Herein, we demonstrate that the TBP-GR interaction is functionally significant by characterizing the association of TBP and GR in vitro by a combination of techniques and confirming the role of this interaction in vivo. Combined analysis, using native gel electrophoresis, sedimentation equilibrium, and isothermal microcalorimetry titrations, characterize the stoichiometry, affinity, and thermodynamics of the TBP-GR interaction. TBP binds recombinant GR activation function 1 (AF1) with a 1:2 stoichiometry and a dissociation constant in the nanomolar range. In vivo fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments, using fluorescently labeled TBP and various GR constructs, transiently transfected into CV-1 cells, show GR-TBP interactions, dependent on AF1. AF1-deletion variants showed fluorescence resonance energy transfer efficiencies on the level of coexpressed cyan fluorescent protein and yellow fluorescent protein, indicating that the interaction is dependent on AF1 domain. To demonstrate the functional role of the in vivo GR-TBP interaction, increased amounts of TBP expressed in vivo stimulated expression of GR-driven reporters and endogenous genes, and the effect was also specifically dependent on AF1.


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (46) ◽  
pp. 33494-33506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill. B. Chen ◽  
Rama K. Mallampalli

CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CCTα) is a proteolytically sensitive enzyme essential for production of phosphatidylcholine, the major phospholipid of animal cell membranes. The molecular signals that govern CCTα protein stability are unknown. An NH2-terminal PEST sequence within CCTα did not serve as a degradation signal for the proteinase, calpain. Calmodulin (CaM) stabilized CCTα from calpain proteolysis. Adenoviral gene transfer of CaM in cells protected CCTα, whereas CaM small interfering RNA accentuated CCTα degradation by calpains. CaM bound CCTα as revealed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer and two-hybrid analysis. Mapping and site-directed mutagenesis of CCTα uncovered a motif (LQERVDKVK) harboring a vital recognition site, Gln243, whereby CaM directly binds to the enzyme. Mutagenesis of CCTα Gln243 not only resulted in loss of CaM binding but also led to complete calpain resistance in vitro and in vivo. Thus, calpains and CaM both access CCTα using a structurally similar molecular signature that profoundly affects CCTα levels. These data suggest that CaM, by antagonizing calpain, serves as a novel binding partner for CCTα that stabilizes the enzyme under proinflammatory stress.


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