CombiFlow: Combinatorial AML-specific plasma membrane expression profiles allow longitudinal tracking of clones

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often presents as an oligoclonal disease whereby multiple genetically distinct subclones can co-exist within patients. Differences in signaling and drug sensitivity of such subclones complicates treatment and warrants tools to identify them and track disease progression. We previously identified over 50 AML-specific plasma membrane (PM) proteins and seven of these (CD82, CD97, FLT3, IL1RAP, TIM3, CD25 and CD123) were implemented in routine diagnostics in patients with AML (n=256) and MDS (n=33). We developed a pipeline termed CombiFlow in which expression data of multiple PM markers is merged, allowing a Principle Component-based analyses to identify distinctive marker expression profiles and to generate single cell tSNE landscapes to longitudinally track clonal evolution. Positivity for one or more of the markers after 2 courses of intensive chemotherapy predicted a shorter relapse-free survival supporting a role of these markers in measurable residual disease (MRD) detection. CombiFlow also allowed the tracking of clonal evolution in paired diagnosis and relapse samples (n=12). Extending the panel to 36 AML-specific markers further refined the CombiFlow pipeline. In conclusion, CombiFlow provides a valuable tool in the diagnosis, MRD detection, clonal tracking, and the understanding of clonal heterogeneity in AML.

A region within the third extracellular loop of rat Aquaporin 6 precludes trafficking to plasma membrane in a heterologous cell line

The inability to over-express Aquaporin 6 (AQP6) in the plasma membrane of heterologous cells has hampered efforts to further characterize the function of this aquaglyceroporin membrane protein at atomic detail using crystallographic approaches. Using an Aquaporin 3-tGFP Reporter (AGR) system we have identified a region within loop C of AQP6 that is responsible for severely hampering plasma membrane expression. Serine substitution corroborated that amino acids present within AQP6194–213 of AQP6 loop C contribute to intracellular endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention. This intracellular retention signal may preclude proper plasma membrane trafficking and severely curtail expression of AQP6 in heterologous expression systems.

Systematic Profiling of Temperature- and Retinal-Sensitive Rhodopsin Variants by Deep Mutational Scanning

Membrane protein variants with diminished conformational stability often exhibit enhanced cellular expression at reduced growth temperatures. The expression of temperature-sensitive variants is also typically sensitive to corrector molecules that bind and stabilize the native conformation. In this work, we employ deep mutational scanning to compare the effects of reduced growth temperature and an investigational corrector (9-cis-retinal) on the plasma membrane expression of 700 rhodopsin variants in HEK293T cells. We find that the change in expression at reduced growth temperatures is correlated with the response to retinal among variants bearing mutations within a hydrophobic transmembrane domain (TM2). The most sensitive variants within this helix appear to disrupt a network of hydrogen bonds that stabilizes a native helical kink. By comparison, mutants that alter a polar transmembrane domain (TM7) exhibit weaker responses to temperature and retinal that are poorly correlated. Statistical analyses suggest this insensitivity primarily arises from an abundance of mutations that enhance its membrane integration, stabilize its native conformation, and/ or perturb the retinal binding pocket. Finally, we show that the characteristics of purified temperature- and retinal-sensitive variants suggest that the proteostatic effects of retinal may be manifested during translation and cotranslational folding. Together, our findings elucidate various factors that mediate the sensitivity of genetic variants to temperature and to small molecule correctors.

Medically Important Alterations in Transport Function and Trafficking of ABCG2

Several polymorphisms and mutations in the human ABCG2 multidrug transporter result in reduced plasma membrane expression and/or diminished transport function. Since ABCG2 plays a pivotal role in uric acid clearance, its malfunction may lead to hyperuricemia and gout. On the other hand, ABCG2 residing in various barrier tissues is involved in the innate defense mechanisms of the body; thus, genetic alterations in ABCG2 may modify the absorption, distribution, excretion of potentially toxic endo- and exogenous substances. In turn, this can lead either to altered therapy responses or to drug-related toxic reactions. This paper reviews the various types of mutations and polymorphisms in ABCG2, as well as the ways how altered cellular processing, trafficking, and transport activity of the protein can contribute to phenotypic manifestations. In addition, the various methods used for the identification of the impairments in ABCG2 variants and the different approaches to correct these defects are overviewed.

SAT-LB137 Rescue of Misfolded G-Protein Coupled Estrogen Receptor, GPER, from the Endoplasmic Reticulum via Natural and Synthetic Estrogens

GPER bears structural and functional characteristics shared by members of the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, the largest class of cell surface receptors, with more than 800 members encoded in the human genome. GPER is localized predominately in intracellular membranes, in many but not all cell types, and its surface expression is modulated by steroid hormones and during tissue homeostasis. An intracellular staining pattern is not unique among GPCRs, which deploy a diverse array of posttranslational regulatory mechanisms to determine cell surface expression, effectively regulating cognate ligand binding and activity. Here, we show nascent GPER undergoes strict quality control via endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation (ERAD) requiring direct poly-ubiquitinylation of GPER and valosin-containing protein VCP/p97-mediated segregation of misfolded proteins from the ER membrane to the cytoplasm for delivery to the 26S proteasome. Specifically, we find that inhibition of p97 using the pharmacological compound, CB-5083, or by doxycycline-inducible p97 shRNA results in the accumulation of immature glycosylated GPER in the ER. Inhibition of proteasome function facilitates anterograde trafficking with the transport of nonfunctional GPER to the plasma membrane as indicated by no increase in specific estrogen binding using 3H-17β-estradiol in a radioreceptor assay. The forward trafficking of misfolded GPER requires transit through the Golgi as treatment with brefeldin A (BFA) prevents GPER plasma membrane expression. Substitution of all three lysines (K333, K342, and K357) encoded in the cytoplasmic tail of GPER with arginines blunts its polyubiquitinylation and allows GPER to evade degradation by quality control but does not result in increased plasma membrane expression suggesting that additional structural motifs encoded within GPER control its anterograde trafficking. In contrast, functional GPER is recovered at the plasma membrane of human SKBR3 breast cancer cells treated with either 17β-estradiol or the GPER selective antagonist, G15, in the presence of cycloheximide resulting in increased surface GPER. Thus, our findings suggest that estrogens, both natural and synthetic, can function as pharmacochaperones capable of promoting the correct folding of GPER and enhanced expression of functional GPER at the plasma membrane.

Probing biophysical sequence constraints within the transmembrane domains of rhodopsin by deep mutational scanning

Membrane proteins must balance the sequence constraints associated with folding and function against the hydrophobicity required for solvation within the bilayer. We recently found the expression and maturation of rhodopsin are limited by the hydrophobicity of its seventh transmembrane domain (TM7), which contains polar residues that are essential for function. On the basis of these observations, we hypothesized that rhodopsin’s expression should be less tolerant of mutations in TM7 relative to those within hydrophobic TM domains. To test this hypothesis, we used deep mutational scanning to compare the effects of 808 missense mutations on the plasma membrane expression of rhodopsin in HEK293T cells. Our results confirm that a higher proportion of mutations within TM7 (37%) decrease rhodopsin’s plasma membrane expression relative to those within a hydrophobic TM domain (TM2, 25%). These results in conjunction with an evolutionary analysis suggest solvation energetics likely restricts the evolutionary sequence space of polar TM domains.

p97 regulates GluA1 homomeric AMPA receptor formation and plasma membrane expression

The α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid subtype glutamate receptors (AMPARs) mediate the fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the mammalian brain and are important for synaptic plasticity. In particular, the rapid insertion of the GluA1 homomeric (GluA1-homo) AMPARs into the postsynaptic membrane is considered to be critical in the expression of hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP), which is important for certain forms of learning and memory. However, how the formation and trafficking of GluA1-homo AMPARs are regulated remains poorly understood. Here, we report that p97 specifically interacts with and promotes the formation of GluA1-homo AMPARs. The association with p97 retains GluA1-homo AMPARs in the intracellular compartment under basal conditions, and its dissociation allows GluA1-homo AMPARs to be rapidly inserted into the postsynaptic membrane shortly after LTP induction. Thus, our results shed lights into the molecular mechanisms by which p97 regulates GluA1-homo AMPARs formation and trafficking, thereby playing a critical role in mediating synaptic plasticity.