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Bonsor M, Ammar O, Schnoegl S, Wanker EE, Silva Ramos E. Polyglutamine disease proteins: Commonalities and differences in interaction profiles and pathological effects. Proteomics 2024; 24:e2300114. [PMID: 38615323 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202300114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Currently, nine polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion diseases are known. They include spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 17), spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA), and Huntington's disease (HD). At the root of these neurodegenerative diseases are trinucleotide repeat mutations in coding regions of different genes, which lead to the production of proteins with elongated polyQ tracts. While the causative proteins differ in structure and molecular mass, the expanded polyQ domains drive pathogenesis in all these diseases. PolyQ tracts mediate the association of proteins leading to the formation of protein complexes involved in gene expression regulation, RNA processing, membrane trafficking, and signal transduction. In this review, we discuss commonalities and differences among the nine polyQ proteins focusing on their structure and function as well as the pathological features of the respective diseases. We present insights from AlphaFold-predicted structural models and discuss the biological roles of polyQ-containing proteins. Lastly, we explore reported protein-protein interaction networks to highlight shared protein interactions and their potential relevance in disease development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Bonsor
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Orchid Ammar
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sigrid Schnoegl
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Erich E Wanker
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eduardo Silva Ramos
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
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2
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van der Wel PC. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance in the structural study of polyglutamine aggregation. Biochem Soc Trans 2024; 52:719-731. [PMID: 38563485 PMCID: PMC11088915 DOI: 10.1042/bst20230731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The aggregation of proteins into amyloid-like fibrils is seen in many neurodegenerative diseases. Recent years have seen much progress in our understanding of these misfolded protein inclusions, thanks to advances in techniques such as solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy and cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). However, multiple repeat-expansion-related disorders have presented special challenges to structural elucidation. This review discusses the special role of ssNMR analysis in the study of protein aggregates associated with CAG repeat expansion disorders. In these diseases, the misfolding and aggregation affect mutant proteins with expanded polyglutamine segments. The most common disorder, Huntington's disease (HD), is connected to the mutation of the huntingtin protein. Since the discovery of the genetic causes for HD in the 1990s, steady progress in our understanding of the role of protein aggregation has depended on the integrative and interdisciplinary use of multiple types of structural techniques. The heterogeneous and dynamic features of polyQ protein fibrils, and in particular those formed by huntingtin N-terminal fragments, have made these aggregates into challenging targets for structural analysis. ssNMR has offered unique insights into many aspects of these amyloid-like aggregates. These include the atomic-level structure of the polyglutamine core, but also measurements of dynamics and solvent accessibility of the non-core flanking domains of these fibrils' fuzzy coats. The obtained structural insights shed new light on pathogenic mechanisms behind this and other protein misfolding diseases.
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3
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Elena-Real CA, Mier P, Sibille N, Andrade-Navarro MA, Bernadó P. Structure-function relationships in protein homorepeats. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2023; 83:102726. [PMID: 37924569 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Homorepeats (or polyX), protein segments containing repetitions of the same amino acid, are abundant in proteomes from all kingdoms of life and are involved in crucial biological functions as well as several neurodegenerative and developmental diseases. Mainly inserted in disordered segments of proteins, the structure/function relationships of homorepeats remain largely unexplored. In this review, we summarize present knowledge for the most abundant homorepeats, highlighting the role of the inherent structure and the conformational influence exerted by their flanking regions. Recent experimental and computational methods enable residue-specific investigations of these regions and promise novel structural and dynamic information for this elusive group of proteins. This information should increase our knowledge about the structural bases of phenomena such as liquid-liquid phase separation and trinucleotide repeat disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos A Elena-Real
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS. 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France. https://twitter.com/carloselenareal
| | - Pablo Mier
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Hans-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS. 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Miguel A Andrade-Navarro
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Hans-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS. 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France.
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4
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Abdelkader EH, Qianzhu H, Huber T, Otting G. Genetic Encoding of 7-Aza-l-tryptophan: Isoelectronic Substitution of a Single CH-Group in a Protein for a Nitrogen Atom for Site-Selective Isotope Labeling. ACS Sens 2023; 8:4402-4406. [PMID: 37890165 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.3c01904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Genetic encoding of a noncanonical amino acid (ncAA) in an in vivo expression system requires an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase that specifically recognizes the ncAA, while the ncAA must not be recognized by the canonical protein expression machinery. We succeeded in genetically encoding 7-aza-tryptophan (7AW), which is isoelectronic with tryptophan. The system is fully orthogonal to protein expression in Escherichia coli, enabling high-yielding site-selective isotope labeling in vivo. 7AW is readily synthesized from serine and 7-aza-indole using a tryptophan synthetase β-subunit (TrpB) mutant, affording easy access to isotope-labeled 7AW. Using labeled 7AW produced from 15N/13C-labeled serine, we produced 7AW mutants of the 25 kDa Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease. 15N-HSQC spectra display single cross-peaks at chemical shifts near those observed for the wild-type protein labeled with 15N/13C-tryptophan, confirming the structural integrity of the protein and yielding straightforward NMR resonance assignments for site-specific probing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elwy H Abdelkader
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide & Protein Science, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Haocheng Qianzhu
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Thomas Huber
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Gottfried Otting
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide & Protein Science, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
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5
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Elena-Real CA, Urbanek A, Imbert L, Morató A, Fournet A, Allemand F, Sibille N, Boisbouvier J, Bernadó P. Site-Specific Introduction of Alanines for the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Investigation of Low-Complexity Regions and Large Biomolecular Assemblies. ACS Chem Biol 2023; 18:2039-2049. [PMID: 37582223 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of large biomolecular machines and highly repetitive proteins remain challenging due to the difficulty of assigning frequencies to individual nuclei. Here, we present an efficient strategy to address this challenge by engineering a Pyrococcus horikoshii tRNA/alanyl-tRNA synthetase pair that enables the incorporation of up to three isotopically labeled alanine residues in a site-specific manner using in vitro protein expression. The general applicability of this approach for NMR assignment has been demonstrated by introducing isotopically labeled alanines into four distinct proteins: huntingtin exon-1, HMA8 ATPase, the 300 kDa molecular chaperone ClpP, and the alanine-rich Phox2B transcription factor. For large protein assemblies, our labeling approach enabled unambiguous assignments while avoiding potential artifacts induced by site-specific mutations. When applied to Phox2B, which contains two poly-alanine tracts of nine and twenty alanines, we observed that the helical stability is strongly dependent on the homorepeat length. The capacity to selectively introduce alanines with distinct labeling patterns is a powerful tool to probe structure and dynamics of challenging biomolecular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos A Elena-Real
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Lionel Imbert
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), 71, avenue des martyrs, F-38044 Grenoble, France
| | - Anna Morató
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Aurélie Fournet
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Frédéric Allemand
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Jérôme Boisbouvier
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), 71, avenue des martyrs, F-38044 Grenoble, France
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
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Barbosa Pereira PJ, Manso JA, Macedo-Ribeiro S. The structural plasticity of polyglutamine repeats. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2023; 80:102607. [PMID: 37178477 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
From yeast to humans, polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat tracts are found frequently in the proteome and are particularly prominent in the activation domains of transcription factors. PolyQ is a polymorphic motif that modulates functional protein-protein interactions and aberrant self-assembly. Expansion of the polyQ repeated sequences beyond critical physiological repeat length thresholds triggers self-assembly and is linked to severe pathological implications. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge on the structures of polyQ tracts in the soluble and aggregated states and discusses the influence of neighboring regions on polyQ secondary structure, aggregation, and fibril morphologies. The influence of the genetic context of the polyQ-encoding trinucleotides is briefly discussed as a challenge for future endeavors in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro José Barbosa Pereira
- IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal.
| | - José A Manso
- IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sandra Macedo-Ribeiro
- IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal
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7
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Elena-Real CA, Urbanek A, Lund XL, Morató A, Sagar A, Fournet A, Estaña A, Bellande T, Allemand F, Cortés J, Sibille N, Melki R, Bernadó P. Multi-site-specific isotopic labeling accelerates high-resolution structural investigations of pathogenic huntingtin exon-1. Structure 2023:S0969-2126(23)00126-0. [PMID: 37119819 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2023.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Huntington's disease neurodegeneration occurs when the number of consecutive glutamines in the huntingtin exon-1 (HTTExon1) exceeds a pathological threshold of 35. The sequence homogeneity of HTTExon1 reduces the signal dispersion in NMR spectra, hampering its structural characterization. By simultaneously introducing three isotopically labeled glutamines in a site-specific manner in multiple concatenated samples, 18 glutamines of a pathogenic HTTExon1 with 36 glutamines were unambiguously assigned. Chemical shift analyses indicate the α-helical persistence in the homorepeat and the absence of an emerging toxic conformation around the pathological threshold. Using the same type of samples, the recognition mechanism of Hsc70 molecular chaperone has been investigated, indicating that it binds to the N17 region of HTTExon1, inducing the partial unfolding of the poly-Q. The proposed strategy facilitates high-resolution structural and functional studies in low-complexity regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos A Elena-Real
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Xamuel L Lund
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France; Institut Laue Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Anna Morató
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Amin Sagar
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Aurélie Fournet
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Alejandro Estaña
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France; LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31400, Toulouse, France
| | - Tracy Bellande
- Institut François Jacob, Molecular Imaging Center (MIRCen), Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) and Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA-Fontenay-aux-Roses Bâtiment 61, 18, route du Panorama, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Rses cedex, France
| | - Frédéric Allemand
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Juan Cortés
- LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31400, Toulouse, France
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Ronald Melki
- Institut François Jacob, Molecular Imaging Center (MIRCen), Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) and Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA-Fontenay-aux-Roses Bâtiment 61, 18, route du Panorama, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Rses cedex, France
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France.
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8
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Bravo-Arredondo JM, Venkataraman R, Varkey J, Isas JM, Situ AJ, Xu H, Chen J, Ulmer TS, Langen R. Molecular basis of Q-length selectivity for the MW1 antibody-huntingtin interaction. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104616. [PMID: 36931390 PMCID: PMC10124945 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease is caused by a polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion in the huntingtin protein. Huntingtin exon 1 (Httex1), as well as other naturally occurring N-terminal huntingtin fragments with expanded polyQ are prone to aggregation, forming potentially cytotoxic oligomers and fibrils. Antibodies and other N-terminal huntingtin binders are widely explored as biomarkers and possible aggregation-inhibiting therapeutics. A monoclonal antibody, MW1, is known to preferentially bind to huntingtin fragments with expanded polyQ lengths, but the molecular basis of the polyQ length specificity remains poorly understood. Using solution NMR, EPR, and other biophysical methods, we investigated the structural features of the Httex1-MW1 interaction. Rather than recognizing residual α-helical structure, which is promoted by expanded Q-lengths, MW1 caused the formation of a new, non-native, conformation in which the entire polyQ is largely extended. This non-native polyQ structure allowed the formation of large mixed Httex1-MW1 multimers (600-2900 kD), when Httex1 with pathogenic Q-length (Q46) was used. We propose that these multivalent, entropically favored interactions, are available only to proteins with longer Q-lengths and represent a major factor governing the Q-length preference of MW1. The present study reveals that it is possible to target proteins with longer Q-lengths without having to stabilize a natively favored conformation. Such mechanisms could be exploited in the design of other Q-length specific binders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose M Bravo-Arredondo
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Rajashree Venkataraman
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jobin Varkey
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jose Mario Isas
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Alan J Situ
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hui Xu
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jeannie Chen
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tobias S Ulmer
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA; Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Ralf Langen
- Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA; Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
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9
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Elena-Real CA, Sagar A, Urbanek A, Popovic M, Morató A, Estaña A, Fournet A, Doucet C, Lund XL, Shi ZD, Costa L, Thureau A, Allemand F, Swenson RE, Milhiet PE, Crehuet R, Barducci A, Cortés J, Sinnaeve D, Sibille N, Bernadó P. The structure of pathogenic huntingtin exon 1 defines the bases of its aggregation propensity. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2023; 30:309-320. [PMID: 36864173 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-023-00920-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG expansion in the first exon of the HTT gene, resulting in an extended polyglutamine (poly-Q) tract in huntingtin (httex1). The structural changes occurring to the poly-Q when increasing its length remain poorly understood due to its intrinsic flexibility and the strong compositional bias. The systematic application of site-specific isotopic labeling has enabled residue-specific NMR investigations of the poly-Q tract of pathogenic httex1 variants with 46 and 66 consecutive glutamines. Integrative data analysis reveals that the poly-Q tract adopts long α-helical conformations propagated and stabilized by glutamine side chain to backbone hydrogen bonds. We show that α-helical stability is a stronger signature in defining aggregation kinetics and the structure of the resulting fibrils than the number of glutamines. Our observations provide a structural perspective of the pathogenicity of expanded httex1 and pave the way to a deeper understanding of poly-Q-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos A Elena-Real
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Amin Sagar
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Annika Urbanek
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Matija Popovic
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Anna Morató
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Alejandro Estaña
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
- LAAS-CNRS, University of Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Aurélie Fournet
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Christine Doucet
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Xamuel L Lund
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
- Institute of Laue Langevin, Grenoble, France
| | - Zhen-Dan Shi
- The Chemistry and Synthesis Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Luca Costa
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Frédéric Allemand
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Rolf E Swenson
- The Chemistry and Synthesis Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | | | - Ramon Crehuet
- Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alessandro Barducci
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Juan Cortés
- LAAS-CNRS, University of Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Davy Sinnaeve
- Univ. Lille, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE - Risk Factors and Molecular Determinants of Aging-Related Diseases, Lille, France
- CNRS, EMR9002, Integrative Structural Biology, Lille, France
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre for Structural Biology, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
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10
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Rowlinson B, Crublet E, Kerfah R, Plevin MJ. Specific isotopic labelling and reverse labelling for protein NMR spectroscopy: using metabolic precursors in sample preparation. Biochem Soc Trans 2022; 50:1555-1567. [PMID: 36382942 DOI: 10.1042/bst20210586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
The study of protein structure, dynamics and function by NMR spectroscopy commonly requires samples that have been enriched ('labelled') with the stable isotopes 13C and/or 15N. The standard approach is to uniformly label a protein with one or both of these nuclei such that all C and/or N sites are in principle 'NMR-visible'. NMR spectra of uniformly labelled proteins can be highly complicated and suffer from signal overlap. Moreover, as molecular size increases the linewidths of NMR signals broaden, which decreases sensitivity and causes further spectral congestion. Both effects can limit the type and quality of information available from NMR data. Problems associated with signal overlap and signal broadening can often be alleviated though the use of alternative, non-uniform isotopic labelling patterns. Specific isotopic labelling 'turns on' signals at selected sites while the rest of the protein is NMR-invisible. Conversely, specific isotopic unlabelling (also called 'reverse' labelling) 'turns off' selected signals while the rest of the protein remains NMR-visible. Both approaches can simplify NMR spectra, improve sensitivity, facilitate resonance assignment and permit a range of different NMR strategies when combined with other labelling tools and NMR experiments. Here, we review methods for producing proteins with enrichment of stable NMR-visible isotopes, with particular focus on residue-specific labelling and reverse labelling using Escherichia coli expression systems. We also explore how these approaches can aid NMR studies of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Rowlinson
- York Structural Biology Laboratory, York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, U.K
| | - Elodie Crublet
- NMR-Bio, World Trade Center- 5 Place Robert Schuman, 38025 Grenoble Cedex 1, France
| | - Rime Kerfah
- NMR-Bio, World Trade Center- 5 Place Robert Schuman, 38025 Grenoble Cedex 1, France
| | - Michael J Plevin
- York Structural Biology Laboratory, York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, U.K
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11
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Low Complexity Induces Structure in Protein Regions Predicted as Intrinsically Disordered. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12081098. [PMID: 36008992 PMCID: PMC9405754 DOI: 10.3390/biom12081098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that many intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in proteins play key functional roles through interactions with other proteins or nucleic acids. These interactions often exhibit a context-dependent structural behavior. We hypothesize that low complexity regions (LCRs), often found within IDRs, could have a role in inducing local structure in IDRs. To test this, we predicted IDRs in the human proteome and analyzed their structures or those of homologous sequences in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). We then identified two types of simple LCRs within IDRs: regions with only one (polyX or homorepeats) or with only two types of amino acids (polyXY). We were able to assign structural information from the PDB more often to these LCRs than to the surrounding IDRs (polyX 61.8% > polyXY 50.5% > IDRs 39.7%). The most frequently observed polyX and polyXY within IDRs contained E (Glu) or G (Gly). Structural analyses of these sequences and of homologs indicate that polyEK regions induce helical conformations, while the other most frequent LCRs induce coil structures. Our work proposes bioinformatics methods to help in the study of the structural behavior of IDRs and provides a solid basis suggesting a structuring role of LCRs within them.
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12
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Abstract
In-cell structural biology aims at extracting structural information about proteins or nucleic acids in their native, cellular environment. This emerging field holds great promise and is already providing new facts and outlooks of interest at both fundamental and applied levels. NMR spectroscopy has important contributions on this stage: It brings information on a broad variety of nuclei at the atomic scale, which ensures its great versatility and uniqueness. Here, we detail the methods, the fundamental knowledge, and the applications in biomedical engineering related to in-cell structural biology by NMR. We finally propose a brief overview of the main other techniques in the field (EPR, smFRET, cryo-ET, etc.) to draw some advisable developments for in-cell NMR. In the era of large-scale screenings and deep learning, both accurate and qualitative experimental evidence are as essential as ever to understand the interior life of cells. In-cell structural biology by NMR spectroscopy can generate such a knowledge, and it does so at the atomic scale. This review is meant to deliver comprehensive but accessible information, with advanced technical details and reflections on the methods, the nature of the results, and the future of the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francois-Xavier Theillet
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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13
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Mier P, Paladin L, Tamana S, Petrosian S, Hajdu-Soltész B, Urbanek A, Gruca A, Plewczynski D, Grynberg M, Bernadó P, Gáspári Z, Ouzounis CA, Promponas VJ, Kajava AV, Hancock JM, Tosatto SCE, Dosztanyi Z, Andrade-Navarro MA. Disentangling the complexity of low complexity proteins. Brief Bioinform 2021; 21:458-472. [PMID: 30698641 PMCID: PMC7299295 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbz007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
There are multiple definitions for low complexity regions (LCRs) in protein sequences, with all of them broadly considering LCRs as regions with fewer amino acid types compared to an average composition. Following this view, LCRs can also be defined as regions showing composition bias. In this critical review, we focus on the definition of sequence complexity of LCRs and their connection with structure. We present statistics and methodological approaches that measure low complexity (LC) and related sequence properties. Composition bias is often associated with LC and disorder, but repeats, while compositionally biased, might also induce ordered structures. We illustrate this dichotomy, and more generally the overlaps between different properties related to LCRs, using examples. We argue that statistical measures alone cannot capture all structural aspects of LCRs and recommend the combined usage of a variety of predictive tools and measurements. While the methodologies available to study LCRs are already very advanced, we foresee that a more comprehensive annotation of sequences in the databases will enable the improvement of predictions and a better understanding of the evolution and the connection between structure and function of LCRs. This will require the use of standards for the generation and exchange of data describing all aspects of LCRs. Short abstract There are multiple definitions for low complexity regions (LCRs) in protein sequences. In this critical review, we focus on the definition of sequence complexity of LCRs and their connection with structure. We present statistics and methodological approaches that measure low complexity (LC) and related sequence properties. Composition bias is often associated with LC and disorder, but repeats, while compositionally biased, might also induce ordered structures. We illustrate this dichotomy, plus overlaps between different properties related to LCRs, using examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Mier
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Lisanna Paladin
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stella Tamana
- Bioinformatics Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Sophia Petrosian
- Biological Computation and Process Laboratory, Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Thessalonica, Greece
| | - Borbála Hajdu-Soltész
- MTA-ELTE Lendület Bioinformatics Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale, INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Aleksandra Gruca
- Institute of Informatics, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Dariusz Plewczynski
- Center of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.,Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale, INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Zoltán Gáspári
- Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Christos A Ouzounis
- Biological Computation and Process Laboratory, Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Thessalonica, Greece
| | - Vasilis J Promponas
- Bioinformatics Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Andrey V Kajava
- Centre de Recherche en Biologie Cellulaire de Montpellier, CNRS-UMR, Institut de Biologie Computationnelle, Universite de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,Institute of Bioengineering, University ITMO, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - John M Hancock
- Earlham Institute, Norwich, UK.,ELIXIR Hub, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
| | - Silvio C E Tosatto
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.,CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Padova, Italy
| | - Zsuzsanna Dosztanyi
- MTA-ELTE Lendület Bioinformatics Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miguel A Andrade-Navarro
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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14
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Andrikopoulos PC, Chaudhari AS, Liu Y, Konold PE, Kennis JTM, Schneider B, Fuertes G. QM calculations predict the energetics and infrared spectra of transient glutamine isomers in LOV photoreceptors. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:13934-13950. [PMID: 34142688 PMCID: PMC8246142 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp00447f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Photosensory receptors containing the flavin-binding light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) domain are modular proteins that fulfil a variety of biological functions ranging from gene expression to phototropism. The LOV photocycle is initiated by blue-light and involves a cascade of intermediate species, including an electronically excited triplet state, that leads to covalent bond formation between the flavin mononucleotide (FMN) chromophore and a nearby cysteine residue. Subsequent conformational changes in the polypeptide chain arise due to the remodelling of the hydrogen bond network in the cofactor binding pocket, whereby a conserved glutamine residue plays a key role in coupling FMN photochemistry with LOV photobiology. Although the dark-to-light transition of LOV photosensors has been previously addressed by spectroscopy and computational approaches, the mechanistic basis of the underlying reactions is still not well understood. Here we present a detailed computational study of three distinct LOV domains: EL222 from Erythrobacter litoralis, AsLOV2 from the second LOV domain of Avena sativa phototropin 1, and RsLOV from Rhodobacter sphaeroides LOV protein. Extended protein-chromophore models containing all known crucial residues involved in the initial steps (femtosecond-to-microsecond) of the photocycle were employed. Energies and rotational barriers were calculated for possible rotamers and tautomers of the critical glutamine side chain, which allowed us to postulate the most energetically favoured glutamine orientation for each LOV domain along the assumed reaction path. In turn, for each evolving species, infrared difference spectra were constructed and compared to experimental EL222 and AsLOV2 transient infrared spectra, the former from original work presented here and the latter from the literature. The good agreement between theory and experiment permitted the assignment of the majority of observed bands, notably the ∼1635 cm-1 transient of the adduct state to the carbonyl of the glutamine side chain after rotation. Moreover, both the energetic and spectroscopic approaches converge in suggesting a facile glutamine flip at the adduct intermediate for EL222 and more so for AsLOV2, while for RsLOV the glutamine keeps its initial configuration. Additionally, the computed infrared shifts of the glutamine and interacting residues could guide experimental research addressing early events of signal transduction in LOV proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prokopis C Andrikopoulos
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Průmyslová 595, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Czechia.
| | - Aditya S Chaudhari
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Průmyslová 595, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Czechia.
| | - Yingliang Liu
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Průmyslová 595, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Czechia.
| | - Patrick E Konold
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 De Boelelaan, 1081HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - John T M Kennis
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 De Boelelaan, 1081HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bohdan Schneider
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Průmyslová 595, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Czechia.
| | - Gustavo Fuertes
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Průmyslová 595, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Czechia.
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15
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Dyson HJ, Wright PE. NMR illuminates intrinsic disorder. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2021; 70:44-52. [PMID: 33951592 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2021.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has long been instrumental in the characterization of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). This method continues to offer rich insights into the nature of IDPs in solution, especially in combination with other biophysical methods such as small-angle scattering, single-molecule fluorescence, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and mass spectrometry. Substantial advances have been made in recent years in studies of proteins containing both ordered and disordered domains and in the characterization of problematic sequences containing repeated tracts of a single or a few amino acids. These sequences are relevant to disease states such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases, where disordered proteins misfold into harmful amyloid. Innovative applications of NMR are providing novel insights into mechanisms of protein aggregation and the complexity of IDP interactions with their targets. As a basis for understanding the solution structural ensembles, dynamic behavior, and functional mechanisms of IDPs and IDRs, NMR continues to prove invaluable.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Jane Dyson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology and Skaggs Institute of Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, 92037, California, USA
| | - Peter E Wright
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology and Skaggs Institute of Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, 92037, California, USA.
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16
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Chiki A, Ricci J, Hegde R, Abriata LA, Reif A, Boudeffa D, Lashuel HA. Site-Specific Phosphorylation of Huntingtin Exon 1 Recombinant Proteins Enabled by the Discovery of Novel Kinases. Chembiochem 2021; 22:217-231. [PMID: 32805086 PMCID: PMC8698011 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) within the first 17 amino acids (Nt17) of exon 1 of the Huntingtin protein (Httex1) play important roles in modulating its cellular properties and functions in health and disease. In particular, phosphorylation of threonine and serine residues (T3, S13, and/or S16) has been shown to inhibit Htt aggregation in vitro and inclusion formation in cellular and animal models of Huntington's disease (HD). In this paper, we describe a new and simple methodology for producing milligram quantities of highly pure wild-type or mutant Httex1 proteins that are site-specifically phosphorylated at T3 or at both S13 and S16. This advance was enabled by 1) the discovery and validation of novel kinases that efficiently phosphorylate Httex1 at S13 and S16 (TBK1), at T3 (GCK) or T3 and S13 (TNIK and HGK), and 2) the development of an efficient methodology for producing recombinant native Httex1 proteins by using a SUMO-fusion expression and purification strategy.[26] As a proof of concept, we demonstrate how this method can be applied to produce Httex1 proteins that are both site-specifically phosphorylated and fluorescently or isotopically labeled. Together, these advances should increase access to these valuable tools and expand the range of methods and experimental approaches that can be used to elucidate the mechanisms by which phosphorylation influences Httex1 or HTT structure, aggregation, interactome, and function(s) in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anass Chiki
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Jonathan Ricci
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Ramanath Hegde
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Luciano A. Abriata
- Protein Production and Structure Core Facility and Laboratory for Biomolecular ModelingEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB)1015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Andreas Reif
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Driss Boudeffa
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Hilal A. Lashuel
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
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17
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Morató A, Elena-Real CA, Popovic M, Fournet A, Zhang K, Allemand F, Sibille N, Urbanek A, Bernadó P. Robust Cell-Free Expression of Sub-Pathological and Pathological Huntingtin Exon-1 for NMR Studies. General Approaches for the Isotopic Labeling of Low-Complexity Proteins. Biomolecules 2020; 10:E1458. [PMID: 33086646 PMCID: PMC7603387 DOI: 10.3390/biom10101458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The high-resolution structural study of huntingtin exon-1 (HttEx1) has long been hampered by its intrinsic properties. In addition to being prone to aggregate, HttEx1 contains low-complexity regions (LCRs) and is intrinsically disordered, ruling out several standard structural biology approaches. Here, we use a cell-free (CF) protein expression system to robustly and rapidly synthesize (sub-) pathological HttEx1. The open nature of the CF reaction allows the application of different isotopic labeling schemes, making HttEx1 amenable for nuclear magnetic resonance studies. While uniform and selective labeling facilitate the sequential assignment of HttEx1, combining CF expression with nonsense suppression allows the site-specific incorporation of a single labeled residue, making possible the detailed investigation of the LCRs. To optimize CF suppression yields, we analyze the expression and suppression kinetics, revealing that high concentrations of loaded suppressor tRNA have a negative impact on the final reaction yield. The optimized CF protein expression and suppression system is very versatile and well suited to produce challenging proteins with LCRs in order to enable the characterization of their structure and dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS and Université de Montpellier. 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France; (A.M.); (C.A.E.-R.); (M.P.); (A.F.); (K.Z.); (F.A.); (N.S.)
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS and Université de Montpellier. 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France; (A.M.); (C.A.E.-R.); (M.P.); (A.F.); (K.Z.); (F.A.); (N.S.)
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18
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Chavali S, Singh AK, Santhanam B, Babu MM. Amino acid homorepeats in proteins. Nat Rev Chem 2020; 4:420-434. [PMID: 37127972 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-020-0204-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Amino acid homorepeats, or homorepeats, are polypeptide segments found in proteins that contain stretches of identical amino acid residues. Although abnormal homorepeat expansions are linked to pathologies such as neurodegenerative diseases, homorepeats are prevalent in eukaryotic proteomes, suggesting that they are important for normal physiology. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the biological functions of homorepeats, which range from facilitating subcellular protein localization to mediating interactions between proteins across diverse cellular pathways. We explore how the functional diversity of homorepeat-containing proteins could be linked to the ability of homorepeats to adopt different structural conformations, an ability influenced by repeat composition, repeat length and the nature of flanking sequences. We conclude by highlighting how an understanding of homorepeats will help us better characterize and develop therapeutics against the human diseases to which they contribute.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreenivas Chavali
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, India.
| | - Anjali K Singh
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, India
| | - Balaji Santhanam
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Structural Biology and Center for Data Driven Discovery, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - M Madan Babu
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Structural Biology and Center for Data Driven Discovery, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
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19
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Wu Y, Wang Z, Qiao X, Li J, Shu X, Qi H. Emerging Methods for Efficient and Extensive Incorporation of Non-canonical Amino Acids Using Cell-Free Systems. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:863. [PMID: 32793583 PMCID: PMC7387428 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) has emerged as a novel protein expression platform. Especially the incorporation of non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) has led to the development of numerous flexible methods for efficient and extensive expression of artificial proteins. Approaches were developed to eliminate the endogenous competition for ncAAs and engineer translation factors, which significantly enhanced the incorporation efficiency. Furthermore, in vitro aminoacylation methods can be conveniently combined with cell-free systems, extensively expanding the available ncAAs with novel and unique moieties. In this review, we summarize the recent progresses on the efficient and extensive incorporation of ncAAs by different strategies based on the elimination of competition by endogenous factors, translation factors engineering and extensive incorporation of novel ncAAs coupled with in vitro aminoacylation methods in CFPS. We also aim to offer new ideas to researchers working on ncAA incorporation techniques in CFPS and applications in various emerging fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wu
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Zhaoguan Wang
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Xin Qiao
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jiaojiao Li
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Xiangrong Shu
- Department of Pharmacy, Tianjin Huanhu Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Hao Qi
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
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20
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Urbanek A, Popovic M, Morató A, Estaña A, Elena-Real CA, Mier P, Fournet A, Allemand F, Delbecq S, Andrade-Navarro MA, Cortés J, Sibille N, Bernadó P. Flanking Regions Determine the Structure of the Poly-Glutamine in Huntingtin through Mechanisms Common among Glutamine-Rich Human Proteins. Structure 2020; 28:733-746.e5. [PMID: 32402249 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2020.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The causative agent of Huntington's disease, the poly-Q homo-repeat in the N-terminal region of huntingtin (httex1), is flanked by a 17-residue-long fragment (N17) and a proline-rich region (PRR), which promote and inhibit the aggregation propensity of the protein, respectively, by poorly understood mechanisms. Based on experimental data obtained from site-specifically labeled NMR samples, we derived an ensemble model of httex1 that identified both flanking regions as opposing poly-Q secondary structure promoters. While N17 triggers helicity through a promiscuous hydrogen bond network involving the side chains of the first glutamines in the poly-Q tract, the PRR promotes extended conformations in neighboring glutamines. Furthermore, a bioinformatics analysis of the human proteome showed that these structural traits are present in many human glutamine-rich proteins and that they are more prevalent in proteins with longer poly-Q tracts. Taken together, these observations provide the structural bases to understand previous biophysical and functional data on httex1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Matija Popovic
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Anna Morató
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Alejandro Estaña
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France; LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Carlos A Elena-Real
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Pablo Mier
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Aurélie Fournet
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Frédéric Allemand
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Stephane Delbecq
- Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire (LBCM-EA4558 Vaccination Antiparasitaire), UFR Pharmacie, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Miguel A Andrade-Navarro
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Juan Cortés
- LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France.
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21
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Urbanek A, Popovic M, Elena-Real CA, Morató A, Estaña A, Fournet A, Allemand F, Gil AM, Cativiela C, Cortés J, Jiménez AI, Sibille N, Bernadó P. Evidence of the Reduced Abundance of Proline cis Conformation in Protein Poly Proline Tracts. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:7976-7986. [PMID: 32266815 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c02263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Proline is found in a cis conformation in proteins more often than other proteinogenic amino acids, where it influences structure and modulates function, being the focus of several high-resolution structural studies. However, until now, technical and methodological limitations have hampered the site-specific investigation of the conformational preferences of prolines present in poly proline (poly-P) homorepeats in their protein context. Here, we apply site-specific isotopic labeling to obtain high-resolution NMR data on the cis/trans equilibrium of prolines within the poly-P repeats of huntingtin exon 1, the causative agent of Huntington's disease. Screening prolines in different positions in long (poly-P11) and short (poly-P3) poly-P tracts, we found that, while the first proline of poly-P tracts adopts similar levels of cis conformation as isolated prolines, a length-dependent reduced abundance of cis conformers is observed for terminal prolines. Interestingly, the cis isomer could not be detected in inner prolines, in line with percentages derived from a large database of proline-centered tripeptides extracted from crystallographic structures. These results suggest a strong cooperative effect within poly-Ps that enhances their stiffness by diminishing the stability of the cis conformation. This rigidity is key to rationalizing the protection toward aggregation that the poly-P tract confers to huntingtin. Furthermore, the study provides new avenues to probe the structural properties of poly-P tracts in protein design as scaffolds or nanoscale rulers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Matija Popovic
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Carlos A Elena-Real
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Anna Morató
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Alejandro Estaña
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France.,LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Aurélie Fournet
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Frédéric Allemand
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Ana M Gil
- Departamento de Quı́mica Orgánica, Instituto de Sı́ntesis Quı́mica y Catálisis Homogénea (ISQCH), CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Carlos Cativiela
- Departamento de Quı́mica Orgánica, Instituto de Sı́ntesis Quı́mica y Catálisis Homogénea (ISQCH), CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Juan Cortés
- LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Ana I Jiménez
- Departamento de Quı́mica Orgánica, Instituto de Sı́ntesis Quı́mica y Catálisis Homogénea (ISQCH), CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier. 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France
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22
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Escobedo A, Chiesa G, Salvatella X. Recombinant Production of Monomeric Isotope-Enriched Aggregation-Prone Peptides: Polyglutamine Tracts and Beyond. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2141:211-231. [PMID: 32696359 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0524-0_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
High solvent exposure of certain sequences located in intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) may eventually lead to aggregation, as is the case for some low-complexity regions (LCRs) and short linear motifs (SLiMs). In particular, polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts are LCRs of variable length highly enriched in glutamine residues. They are common in transcription factors, and their length can have an impact on transcriptional activity. In nine proteins, polyQ tract expansions beyond specific thresholds cause nine neurodegenerative diseases, and aggregates formed by the protein harboring the polyQ tract can be detected in affected individuals. A structural characterization of polyQ proteins in their monomeric form is key to understand how their expansion can affect their aggregation propensity. In this regard, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can provide high-resolution structural information. Here, we present a protocol to prepare monomeric samples of isotope-enriched short helical polyQ peptides based on the sequence of the androgen receptor (AR) suitable for NMR characterization and suggest different ways to adapt it for the production and monomerization of other relatively short IDR sequences and SLiMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Escobedo
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Giulio Chiesa
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xavier Salvatella
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.
- Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Barcelona, Spain.
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain.
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23
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Urbanek A, Elena-Real CA, Popovic M, Morató A, Fournet A, Allemand F, Delbecq S, Sibille N, Bernadó P. Site-Specific Isotopic Labeling (SSIL): Access to High-Resolution Structural and Dynamic Information in Low-Complexity Proteins. Chembiochem 2019; 21:769-775. [PMID: 31697025 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201900583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Remarkable technical progress in the area of structural biology has paved the way to study previously inaccessible targets. For example, large protein complexes can now be easily investigated by cryo-electron microscopy, and modern high-field NMR magnets have challenged the limits of high-resolution characterization of proteins in solution. However, the structural and dynamic characteristics of certain proteins with important functions still cannot be probed by conventional methods. These proteins in question contain low-complexity regions (LCRs), compositionally biased sequences where only a limited number of amino acids is repeated multiple times, which hamper their characterization. This Concept article describes a site-specific isotopic labeling (SSIL) strategy, which combines nonsense suppression and cell-free protein synthesis to overcome these limitations. An overview on how poly-glutamine tracts were made amenable to high-resolution structural studies is used to illustrate the usefulness of SSIL. Furthermore, we discuss the potential of this methodology to give further insights into the roles of LCRs in human pathologies and liquid-liquid phase separation, as well as the challenges that must be addressed in the future for the popularization of SSIL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Carlos A Elena-Real
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Matija Popovic
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Anna Morató
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Aurélie Fournet
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Frédéric Allemand
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Stephane Delbecq
- Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, (LBCM-EA4558 Vaccination Antiparasitaire), UFR Pharmacie, Université de Montpellier, 15, Av. Charles Flahault, BP 14491, 34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 29, rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France
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24
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Escobedo A, Topal B, Kunze MBA, Aranda J, Chiesa G, Mungianu D, Bernardo-Seisdedos G, Eftekharzadeh B, Gairí M, Pierattelli R, Felli IC, Diercks T, Millet O, García J, Orozco M, Crehuet R, Lindorff-Larsen K, Salvatella X. Side chain to main chain hydrogen bonds stabilize a polyglutamine helix in a transcription factor. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2034. [PMID: 31048691 PMCID: PMC6497633 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09923-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts are regions of low sequence complexity frequently found in transcription factors. Tract length often correlates with transcriptional activity and expansion beyond specific thresholds in certain human proteins is the cause of polyQ disorders. To study the structural basis of the association between tract length, transcriptional activity and disease, we addressed how the conformation of the polyQ tract of the androgen receptor, associated with spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), depends on its length. Here we report that this sequence folds into a helical structure stabilized by unconventional hydrogen bonds between glutamine side chains and main chain carbonyl groups, and that its helicity directly correlates with tract length. These unusual hydrogen bonds are bifurcate with the conventional hydrogen bonds stabilizing α-helices. Our findings suggest a plausible rationale for the association between polyQ tract length and androgen receptor transcriptional activity and have implications for establishing the mechanistic basis of SBMA. Polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts are low-complexity regions and their expansion is linked to certain neurodegenerative diseases. Here the authors combine experimental and computational approaches to find that the length of the androgen receptor polyQ tract correlates with its helicity and show that the polyQ helical structure is stabilized by hydrogen bonds between the Gln side chains and main chain carbonyl groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Escobedo
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Busra Topal
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Micha B A Kunze
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Juan Aranda
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Giulio Chiesa
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniele Mungianu
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Bahareh Eftekharzadeh
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Margarida Gairí
- NMR Facility, Scientific and Technological Centers University of Barcelona (CCiTUB), Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Roberta Pierattelli
- CERM and Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via Luigi Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Florence, Italy
| | - Isabella C Felli
- CERM and Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via Luigi Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Florence, Italy
| | - Tammo Diercks
- CIC bioGUNE, Bizkaia Science and Technology Park bld 801A, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Oscar Millet
- CIC bioGUNE, Bizkaia Science and Technology Park bld 801A, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Jesús García
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ramon Crehuet
- Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Xavier Salvatella
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. .,Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. .,ICREA, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain.
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25
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Bravo-Arredondo JM, Kegulian NC, Schmidt T, Pandey NK, Situ AJ, Ulmer TS, Langen R. The folding equilibrium of huntingtin exon 1 monomer depends on its polyglutamine tract. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:19613-19623. [PMID: 30315108 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.004808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Expansion of the polyglutamine (polyQ) tract in exon 1 of the huntingtin protein (Httex1) leads to Huntington's disease resulting in fatal neurodegeneration. However, it remains poorly understood how polyQ expansions alter protein structure and cause toxicity. Using CD, EPR, and NMR spectroscopy, we found here that monomeric Httex1 consists of two co-existing structural states whose ratio is determined by polyQ tract length. We observed that short Q-lengths favor a largely random-coil state, whereas long Q-lengths increase the proportion of a predominantly α-helical state. We also note that by following a mobility gradient, Httex1 α-helical conformation is restricted to the N-terminal N17 region and to the N-terminal portion of the adjoining polyQ tract. Structuring in both regions was interdependent and likely stabilized by tertiary contacts. Although little helicity was present in N17 alone, each Gln residue in Httex1 enhanced helix stability by 0.03-0.05 kcal/mol, causing a pronounced preference for the α-helical state at pathological Q-lengths. The Q-length-dependent structuring and rigidification could be mimicked in proteins with shorter Q-lengths by a decrease in temperature, indicating that lower temperatures similarly stabilize N17 and polyQ intramolecular contacts. The more rigid α-helical state of Httex1 with an expanded polyQ tract is expected to alter interactions with cellular proteins and modulate the toxic Httex1 misfolding process. We propose that the polyQ-dependent shift in the structural equilibrium may enable future therapeutic strategies that specifically target Httex1 with toxic Q-lengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose M Bravo-Arredondo
- From the Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience and.,the Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Calzada Apizaquito S/N, 90300 Apizaco, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Natalie C Kegulian
- Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033 and
| | - Thomas Schmidt
- Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033 and
| | | | - Alan J Situ
- From the Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience and
| | - Tobias S Ulmer
- From the Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience and.,Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033 and
| | - Ralf Langen
- From the Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience and .,Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033 and
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26
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Ceccon A, Schmidt T, Tugarinov V, Kotler SA, Schwieters CD, Clore GM. Interaction of Huntingtin Exon-1 Peptides with Lipid-Based Micellar Nanoparticles Probed by Solution NMR and Q-Band Pulsed EPR. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:6199-6202. [PMID: 29727175 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b02619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Lipid-based micellar nanoparticles promote aggregation of huntingtin exon-1 peptides. Here we characterize the interaction of two such peptides, httNTQ 7 and httNTQ 10 comprising the N-terminal amphiphilic domain of huntingtin followed by 7 and 10 glutamine repeats, respectively, with 8 nm lipid micelles using NMR chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST), circular dichroism and pulsed Q-band EPR. Exchange between free and micelle-bound httNTQ n peptides occurs on the millisecond time scale with a KD ∼ 0.5-1 mM. Upon binding micelles, residues 1-15 adopt a helical conformation. Oxidation of Met7 to a sulfoxide reduces the binding affinity for micelles ∼3-4-fold and increases the length of the helix by a further two residues. A structure of the bound monomer unit is calculated from the backbone chemical shifts of the micelle-bound state obtained from CEST. Pulsed Q-band EPR shows that a monomer-dimer equilibrium exists on the surface of the micelles and that the two helices of the dimer adopt a parallel orientation, thereby bringing two disordered polyQ tails into close proximity which may promote aggregation upon dissociation from the micelle surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Ceccon
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics , National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , Maryland 20892-520 , United States
| | - Thomas Schmidt
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics , National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , Maryland 20892-520 , United States
| | - Vitali Tugarinov
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics , National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , Maryland 20892-520 , United States
| | - Samuel A Kotler
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics , National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , Maryland 20892-520 , United States
| | - Charles D Schwieters
- Imaging Sciences Laboratory , Center for Information Technology, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , Maryland 20892-5624 , United States
| | - G Marius Clore
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics , National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , Maryland 20892-520 , United States
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27
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Urbanek A, Morató A, Allemand F, Delaforge E, Fournet A, Popovic M, Delbecq S, Sibille N, Bernadó P. A General Strategy to Access Structural Information at Atomic Resolution in Polyglutamine Homorepeats. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018; 57:3598-3601. [PMID: 29359503 PMCID: PMC5901001 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201711530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Revised: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Homorepeat (HR) proteins are involved in key biological processes and multiple pathologies, however their high-resolution characterization has been impaired due to their homotypic nature. To overcome this problem, we have developed a strategy to isotopically label individual glutamines within HRs by combining nonsense suppression and cell-free expression. Our method has enabled the NMR investigation of huntingtin exon1 with a 16-residue polyglutamine (poly-Q) tract, and the results indicate the presence of an N-terminal α-helix at near neutral pH that vanishes towards the end of the HR. The generality of the strategy was demonstrated by introducing a labeled glutamine into a pathological version of huntingtin with 46 glutamines. This methodology paves the way to decipher the structural and dynamic perturbations induced by HR extensions in poly-Q-related diseases. Our approach can be extended to other amino acids to investigate biological processes involving proteins containing low-complexity regions (LCRs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Urbanek
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
| | - Anna Morató
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
| | - Frédéric Allemand
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
| | - Elise Delaforge
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
| | - Aurélie Fournet
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
| | - Matija Popovic
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
| | - Stephane Delbecq
- Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, (LBCM-EA4558 Vaccination Antiparasitaire)UFR PharmacieUniversité de MontpellierMontpellierFrance
| | - Nathalie Sibille
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
| | - Pau Bernadó
- Centre de Biochimie Structurale (CBS), INSERM, CNRSUniversité de Montpellier29 rue de Navacelles34090MontpellierFrance
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