scholarly journals Dissecting the Polyhydroxyalkanoate-Binding Domain of the PhaF Phasin: Rational Design of a Minimized Affinity Tag

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aranzazu Mato ◽  
Francisco G. Blanco ◽  
Beatriz Maestro ◽  
Jesús M. Sanz ◽  
Jesús Pérez-Gil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Helical Conformation ◽  
Affinity Tag ◽  
Binding Properties ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pha Granule

ABSTRACT Phasin PhaF from Pseudomonas putida consists of a modular protein whose N-terminal domain (BioF) has been demonstrated to be responsible for binding to the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) granule. BioF has been exploited for biotechnological purposes as an affinity tag in the functionalization of PHA beads with fusion proteins both in vivo and in vitro. The structural model of this domain suggests an amphipathic α-helical conformation with the hydrophobic residues facing the PHA granule. In this work, we analyzed the mean hydrophobicity and the hydrophobic moment of the native BioF tag to rationally design shorter versions that maintain affinity for the granule. Hybrid proteins containing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the BioF derivatives were studied for in vivo localization on PHA, stability on the surface of the PHA granule against pH, temperature, and ionic strength, and their possible influence on PHA synthesis. Based on the results obtained, a minimized BioF tag for PHA functionalization has been proposed (MinP) that retains similar binding properties but possesses an attractive biotechnological potential derived from its reduced size. The MinP tag was further validated by analyzing the functionality and stability of the fusion proteins MinP–β-galactosidase and MinP-CueO from Escherichia coli. IMPORTANCE Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biocompatible, nontoxic, and biodegradable biopolymers with exceptional applications in the industrial and medical fields. The complex structure of the PHA granule can be exploited as a toolbox to display molecules of interest on their surface. Phasins, the most abundant group of proteins on the granule, have been employed as anchoring tags to obtain functionalized PHA beads for high-affinity bioseparation, enzyme immobilization, diagnostics, or cell targeting. Here, a shorter module based on the previously designed BioF tag has been demonstrated to maintain the affinity for the PHA granule, with higher stability and similar functionalization efficiency. The use of a 67% shorter peptide, which maintains the binding properties of the entire protein, constitutes an advantage for the immobilization of recombinant proteins on the PHA surface both in vitro and in vivo.

scholarly journals Production, Secretion, and Cell Surface Display of Recombinant Sporosarcina ureae S-Layer Fusion Proteins in Bacillus megaterium

2011 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 560-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Knobloch ◽  
Kai Ostermann ◽  
Gerhard Rödel
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Bacillus Megaterium ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Shuttle Vector ◽  
Surface Display ◽  
Fluorescent Labeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sporosarcina Ureae

ABSTRACTMonomolecular crystalline bacterial cell surface layers (S-layers) have broad application potential in nanobiotechnology due to their ability to generate functional supramolecular structures. Here, we report thatBacillus megateriumis an excellent host organism for the heterologous expression and efficient secretion of hemagglutinin (HA) epitope-tagged versions of the S-layer protein SslA fromSporosarcina ureaeATCC 13881. Three chimeric proteins were constructed, comprising the precursor, C-terminally truncated, and N- and C-terminally truncated forms of the S-layer SslA protein tagged with the human influenza hemagglutinin epitope. For secretion of fusion proteins, the open reading frames were cloned into theEscherichia coli-Bacillus megateriumshuttle vector pHIS1525. After transformation of the respective plasmids intoBacillus megateriumprotoplasts, the recombinant genes were successfully expressed and the proteins were secreted into the growth medium. The isolated S-layer proteins are able to assemblein vitrointo highly ordered, crystalline, sheetlike structures with the fused HA tag accessible to antibody. We further show by fluorescent labeling that the secreted S-layer fusion proteins are also clustered on the cell envelope ofBacillus megaterium, indicating that the cell surface can servein vivoas a nucleation point for crystallization. Thus, this system can be used as a display system that allows the dense and periodic presentation of S-layer proteins or the fused tags.

scholarly journals MSMEG_2432 of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 is a dual function enzyme that exhibits DD-carboxypeptidase and β-lactamase activities

Microbiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 166 (6) ◽  
pp. 546-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satya Deo Pandey ◽  
Diamond Jain ◽  
Neeraj Kumar ◽  
Anwesha Adhikary ◽  
Ganesh Kumar N. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Smegmatis ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Ectopic Expression ◽  
Dual Function ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli

Mycobacterial peptidoglycan (PG) is an unsolved puzzle due to its complex structure and involvement of multiple enzymes in the process of its remodelling. dd-Carboxypeptidases are low molecular mass penicillin-binding proteins (LMM-PBPs) that catalyzes the cleavage of terminal d-Ala of muramyl pentapeptide branches and thereby helps in the PG remodelling process. Here, we have assigned the function of a putative LMM-PBP, MSMEG_2432 of Mycobacterium smegmatis , by showing that it exhibits both dd-CPase and β-lactamase activities. Like conventional dd-CPase (PBP5 from E. coli), upon ectopic complementation in a deformed seven PBP deletion mutant of E. coli, MSMEG_2432 has manifested its ability to restore ~75 % of the cell population to their normal rod shape. Further, in vitro dd-CPase assay has confirmed its ability to release terminal d-Ala from the synthetic tripeptide and the peptidoglycan mimetic pentapeptide substrates ending with d-Ala-d-Ala. Also, elevated resistance against penicillins and cephalosporins upon ectopic expression of MSMEG_2432 suggests the presence of β-lactamase activity, which is further confirmed in vitro through nitrocefin hydrolysis assay. Moreover, it is found apparent that D169A substitution in MSMEG_2432 influences both of its in vivo and in vitro dd-CPase and β-lactamase activities. Thus, we infer that MSMEG_2432 is a dual function enzyme that possesses both dd-CPase and β-lactamase activities.

scholarly journals Reduced Infectivity in Cattle for an Outer Membrane Protein Mutant of Anaplasma marginale

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 2206-2214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francy L. Crosby ◽  
Kelly A. Brayton ◽  
Forgivemore Magunda ◽  
Ulrike G. Munderloh ◽  
Karen L. Kelley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rational Design ◽  
Anaplasma Marginale ◽  
Transposon Mutagenesis ◽  
Developmental Cycle ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tick Infection ◽  
Tick Transmission

ABSTRACTAnaplasma marginaleis the causative agent of anaplasmosis in cattle. Transposon mutagenesis of this pathogen using theHimar1system resulted in the isolation of anomp10operon insertional mutant referred to as theomp10::himar1mutant. The work presented here evaluated if this mutant had morphological and/or growth rate defects compared to wild-typeA. marginale. Results showed that the morphology, developmental cycle, and growth in tick and mammalian cell cultures are similar for the mutant and the wild type. Tick transmission experiments established that tick infection levels with the mutant were similar to those with wild-typeA. marginaleand that infected ticks successfully infected cattle. However, this mutant exhibited reduced infectivity and growth in cattle. The possibility of transformingA. marginaleby transposon mutagenesis coupled within vitroandin vivoassessment of altered phenotypes can aid in the identification of genes associated with virulence. The isolation of deliberately attenuated organisms that can be evaluated in their natural biological system is an important advance for the rational design of vaccines against this species.

scholarly journals 99mTc Labelling Strategies for the Development of Potential Nitroimidazolic Hypoxia Imaging Agents

Inorganics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giglio ◽  
Rey
Keyword(s):  
Rational Design ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Oxidation States ◽  
Hypoxia Imaging ◽  
Biological Target ◽  
99Mtc Radiopharmaceuticals ◽  
99Mtc Labelling

Technetium-99m has a rich coordination chemistry that offers many possibilities in terms of oxidation states and donor atom sets. Modifications in the structure of the technetium complexes could be very useful for fine tuning the physicochemical and biological properties of potential 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals. However, systematic study of the influence of the labelling strategy on the “in vitro” and “in vivo” behaviour is necessary for a rational design of radiopharmaceuticals. Herein we present a review of the influence of the Tc complexes’ molecular structure on the biodistribution and the interaction with the biological target of potential nitroimidazolic hypoxia imaging radiopharmaceuticals presented in the literature from 2010 to the present. Comparison with the gold standard [18F]Fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) is also presented.

scholarly journals High-throughput screening and rational design of biofunctionalized surfaces with optimized biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Fang ◽  
Junjian Chen ◽  
Ye Zhu ◽  
Guansong Hu ◽  
Haoqian Xin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Click Reaction ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Biomaterial Surfaces

AbstractPeptides are widely used for surface modification to develop improved implants, such as cell adhesion RGD peptide and antimicrobial peptide (AMP). However, it is a daunting challenge to identify an optimized condition with the two peptides showing their intended activities and the parameters for reaching such a condition. Herein, we develop a high-throughput strategy, preparing titanium (Ti) surfaces with a gradient in peptide density by click reaction as a platform, to screen the positions with desired functions. Such positions are corresponding to optimized molecular parameters (peptide densities/ratios) and associated preparation parameters (reaction times/reactant concentrations). These parameters are then extracted to prepare nongradient mono- and dual-peptide functionalized Ti surfaces with desired biocompatibility or/and antimicrobial activity in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrate this strategy could be extended to other materials. Here, we show that the high-throughput versatile strategy holds great promise for rational design and preparation of functional biomaterial surfaces.

scholarly journals Heterodimer Formation of the Homodimeric ABC Transporter OpuA

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5912
Author(s):  
Patricia Alvarez-Sieiro ◽  
Hendrik R. Sikkema ◽  
Bert Poolman
Keyword(s):  
Abc Transporter ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Host Organism ◽  
Affinity Tag ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Fundamental Research ◽  
Protein Multimerization ◽  
Biochemical Analyses

Many proteins have a multimeric structure and are composed of two or more identical subunits. While this can be advantageous for the host organism, it can be a challenge when targeting specific residues in biochemical analyses. In vitro splitting and re-dimerization to circumvent this problem is a tedious process that requires stable proteins. We present an in vivo approach to transform homodimeric proteins into apparent heterodimers, which then can be purified using two-step affinity-tag purification. This opens the door to both practical applications such as smFRET to probe the conformational dynamics of homooligomeric proteins and fundamental research into the mechanism of protein multimerization, which is largely unexplored for membrane proteins. We show that expression conditions are key for the formation of heterodimers and that the order of the differential purification and reconstitution of the protein into nanodiscs is important for a functional ABC-transporter complex.

scholarly journals Experimental and theoretical explorations of nanocarriers’ multistep delivery performance for rational design and anticancer prediction

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. eaba2458
Author(s):  
Weier Bao ◽  
Falin Tian ◽  
Chengliang Lyu ◽  
Bin Liu ◽  
Bin Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Cell Uptake ◽  
Anticancer Efficacy ◽  
Delivery Performance ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Multistep Process

The poor understanding of the complex multistep process taken by nanocarriers during the delivery process limits the delivery efficiencies and further hinders the translation of these systems into medicine. Here, we describe a series of six self-assembled nanocarrier types with systematically altered physical properties including size, shape, and rigidity, as well as both in vitro and in vivo analyses of their performance in blood circulation, tumor penetration, cancer cell uptake, and anticancer efficacy. We also developed both data and simulation-based models for understanding the influence of physical properties, both individually and considered together, on each delivery step and overall delivery process. Thus, beyond finding that nanocarriers that are simultaneously endowed with tubular shape, short length, and low rigidity outperformed the other types, we now have a suit of theoretical models that can predict how nanocarrier properties will individually and collectively perform in the multistep delivery of anticancer therapies.

scholarly journals Exogenous Alginate Protects Staphylococcus aureus from Killing by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2019 ◽  
Vol 202 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney E. Price ◽  
Dustin G. Brown ◽  
Dominique H. Limoli ◽  
Vanessa V. Phelan ◽  
George A. O’Toole
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Late Time ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alginate Production ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients chronically infected with both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus have worse health outcomes than patients who are monoinfected with either P. aeruginosa or S. aureus. We showed previously that mucoid strains of P. aeruginosa can coexist with S. aureus in vitro due to the transcriptional downregulation of several toxic exoproducts typically produced by P. aeruginosa, including siderophores, rhamnolipids, and HQNO (2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide). Here, we demonstrate that exogenous alginate protects S. aureus from P. aeruginosa in both planktonic and biofilm coculture models under a variety of nutritional conditions. S. aureus protection in the presence of exogenous alginate is due to the transcriptional downregulation of pvdA, a gene required for the production of the iron-scavenging siderophore pyoverdine as well as the downregulation of the PQS (Pseudomonas quinolone signal) (2-heptyl-3,4-dihydroxyquinoline) quorum sensing system. The impact of exogenous alginate is independent of endogenous alginate production. We further demonstrate that coculture of mucoid P. aeruginosa with nonmucoid P. aeruginosa strains can mitigate the killing of S. aureus by the nonmucoid strain of P. aeruginosa, indicating that the mechanism that we describe here may function in vivo in the context of mixed infections. Finally, we investigated a panel of mucoid clinical isolates that retain the ability to kill S. aureus at late time points and show that each strain has a unique expression profile, indicating that mucoid isolates can overcome the S. aureus-protective effects of mucoidy in a strain-specific manner. IMPORTANCE CF patients are chronically infected by polymicrobial communities. The two dominant bacterial pathogens that infect the lungs of CF patients are P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, with ∼30% of patients coinfected by both species. Such coinfected individuals have worse outcomes than monoinfected patients, and both species persist within the same physical space. A variety of host and environmental factors have been demonstrated to promote P. aeruginosa-S. aureus coexistence, despite evidence that P. aeruginosa kills S. aureus when these organisms are cocultured in vitro. Thus, a better understanding of P. aeruginosa-S. aureus interactions, particularly mechanisms by which these microorganisms are able to coexist in proximal physical space, will lead to better-informed treatments for chronic polymicrobial infections.

scholarly journals In Vitro Synergy and In Vivo Activity of Tigecycline-Ciprofloxacin Combination Therapy against Vibrio vulnificus Sepsis

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong Eun Kim ◽  
Hee Kyung Kim ◽  
Su-Mi Choi ◽  
Yohan Yu ◽  
Uh Jin Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rate ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Combination Therapy ◽  
Combination Treatment ◽  
Vibrio Vulnificus ◽  
Antibiotic Regimen ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Time Kill

ABSTRACT The mortality rate associated with Vibrio vulnificus sepsis remains high. An in vitro time-kill assay revealed synergism between tigecycline and ciprofloxacin. The survival rate was significantly higher in mice treated with tigecycline plus ciprofloxacin than in mice treated with cefotaxime plus minocycline. Thus, combination treatment with tigecycline-ciprofloxacin may be an effective novel antibiotic regimen for V. vulnificus sepsis.

scholarly journals ZN148 Is a Modular Synthetic Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitor That Reverses Carbapenem Resistance in Gram-Negative Pathogens In Vivo

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ørjan Samuelsen ◽  
Ove Alexander Høgmoen Åstrand ◽  
Christopher Fröhlich ◽  
Adam Heikal ◽  
Susann Skagseth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Site ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Carbapenem Resistance ◽  
Functional Space ◽  
Bactericidal Effect ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACT Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens are a critical public health threat and there is an urgent need for new treatments. Carbapenemases (β-lactamases able to inactivate carbapenems) have been identified in both serine β-lactamase (SBL) and metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) families. The recent introduction of SBL carbapenemase inhibitors has provided alternative therapeutic options. Unfortunately, there are no approved inhibitors of MBL-mediated carbapenem-resistance and treatment options for infections caused by MBL-producing Gram-negatives are limited. Here, we present ZN148, a zinc-chelating MBL-inhibitor capable of restoring the bactericidal effect of meropenem and in vitro clinical susceptibility to carbapenems in >98% of a large international collection of MBL-producing clinical Enterobacterales strains (n = 234). Moreover, ZN148 was able to potentiate the effect of meropenem against NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a murine neutropenic peritonitis model. ZN148 showed no inhibition of the human zinc-containing enzyme glyoxylase II at 500 μM, and no acute toxicity was observed in an in vivo mouse model with cumulative dosages up to 128 mg/kg. Biochemical analysis showed a time-dependent inhibition of MBLs by ZN148 and removal of zinc ions from the active site. Addition of exogenous zinc after ZN148 exposure only restored MBL activity by ∼30%, suggesting an irreversible mechanism of inhibition. Mass-spectrometry and molecular modeling indicated potential oxidation of the active site Cys221 residue. Overall, these results demonstrate the therapeutic potential of a ZN148-carbapenem combination against MBL-producing Gram-negative pathogens and that ZN148 is a highly promising MBL inhibitor that is capable of operating in a functional space not presently filled by any clinically approved compound.

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