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Vasilopoulou E, Chroumpi T, Skretas G. Escherichia coli strains with precise domain deletions in the ribonuclease RNase E can achieve greatly enhanced levels of membrane protein production. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4864. [PMID: 38073126 PMCID: PMC10804669 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Escherichia coli is one of the most widely utilized hosts for production of recombinant membrane proteins (MPs). Bacterial MP production, however, is usually accompanied by severe toxicity and low-level volumetric accumulation. In previous work, we had discovered that co-expression of RraA, an inhibitor of the RNA-degrading activity of RNase E, can efficiently suppress the cytotoxicity associated with the MP overexpression process and, simultaneously, enhance significantly the cellular accumulation of membrane-incorporated recombinant MPs in bacteria. Based on this, we constructed the specialized MP-producing E. coli strain SuptoxR, which can achieve dramatically enhanced volumetric yields of well-folded recombinant MPs. Ιn the present work, we have investigated whether domain deletions in the E. coli RNase E, which exhibit reduced ribonucleolytic activity, can result in suppressed MP-induced toxicity and enhanced recombinant MP production, in a manner resembling the conditions of rraA overexpression in E. coli SuptoxR. We have found that some strains encoding specific RNase E truncation variants can achieve significantly enhanced levels of recombinant MP production. Among these, we have found a single RNase E variant strain, which can efficiently suppress MP-induced toxicity and achieve greatly enhanced levels of recombinant MP production for proteins of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin. Based on its properties, and in analogy to the original SuptoxR strain, we have termed this strain SuptoxRNE22. E. coli SuptoxRNE22 can perform better than commercially available bacterial strains, which are frequently utilized for recombinant MP production. We anticipate that SuptoxRNE22 will become a widely utilized host for recombinant MP production in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Vasilopoulou
- Institute for Bio‐innovationBiomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming”VariGreece
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research FoundationAthensGreece
- Department of Biochemistry and BiotechnologyUniversity of ThessalyLarisaGreece
| | - Tania Chroumpi
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research FoundationAthensGreece
| | - Georgios Skretas
- Institute for Bio‐innovationBiomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming”VariGreece
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research FoundationAthensGreece
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Belavilas-Trovas A, Gregoriou ME, Tastsoglou S, Soukia O, Giakountis A, Mathiopoulos K. A species-specific lncRNA modulates the reproductive ability of the asian tiger mosquito. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:885767. [PMID: 36091452 PMCID: PMC9448860 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.885767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) research has emerged as an independent scientific field in recent years. Despite their association with critical cellular and metabolic processes in plenty of organisms, lncRNAs are still a largely unexplored area in mosquito research. We propose that they could serve as exceptional tools for pest management due to unique features they possess. These include low inter-species sequence conservation and high tissue specificity. In the present study, we investigated the role of ovary-specific lncRNAs in the reproductive ability of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. Through the analysis of transcriptomic data, we identified several lncRNAs that were differentially expressed upon blood feeding; we called these genes Norma (NOn-coding RNA in Mosquito ovAries). We observed that silencing some of these Normas resulted in significant impact on mosquito fecundity and fertility. We further focused on Norma3 whose silencing resulted in 43% oviposition reduction, in smaller ovaries and 53% hatching reduction of the laid eggs, compared to anti-GFP controls. Moreover, a significant downregulation of 2 mucins withing a neighboring (∼100 Kb) mucin cluster was observed in smaller anti-Norma3 ovaries, indicating a potential mechanism of in-cis regulation between Norma3 and the mucins. Our work constitutes the first experimental proof-of-evidence connecting lncRNAs with mosquito reproduction and opens a novel path for pest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Belavilas-Trovas
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Maria-Eleni Gregoriou
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Spyros Tastsoglou
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Olga Soukia
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Antonis Giakountis
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Kostas Mathiopoulos
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
- *Correspondence: Kostas Mathiopoulos,
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Birkou M, Raptis V, Marousis KD, Tsevis A, Bourikas K, Bentrop D, Episkopou V, Spyroulias GA. Impact of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism on the 3D Protein Structure and Ubiquitination Activity of E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Arkadia. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:844129. [PMID: 35281275 PMCID: PMC8905620 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.844129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are genetic variations which can play a vital role in the study of human health. SNP studies are often used to identify point mutations that are associated with diseases. Arkadia (RNF111) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that enhances transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling by targeting negative regulators for degradation. Dysregulation of the TGF-β pathway is implicated in cancer because it exhibits tumor suppressive activity in normal cells while in tumor cells it promotes invasiveness and metastasis. Τhe SNP CGT > TGT generated an amino-acid (aa) substitution of Arginine 957 to Cysteine on the enzymatic RING domain of Arkadia. This was more prevalent in a tumor than in a normal tissue sample of a patient with colorectal cancer. This prompted us to investigate the effect of this mutation in the structure and activity of Arkadia RING. We used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to analyze at an atomic-level the structural and dynamic properties of the R957C Arkadia RING domain, while ubiquitination and luciferase assays provided information about its enzymatic functionality. Our study showed that the R957C mutation changed the electrostatic properties of the RING domain however, without significant effects on the structure of its core region. However, the functional studies revealed that the R957C Arkadia exhibits significantly increased enzymatic activity supporting literature data that Arkadia within tumor cells promotes aggressive and metastatic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Birkou
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - Vasilios Raptis
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | | | - Athanasios Tsevis
- School of Science and Technology, Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece
| | - Kyriakos Bourikas
- School of Science and Technology, Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece
| | - Detlef Bentrop
- Institute of Physiology II, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Vasso Episkopou
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Burlington Danes, London, United Kingdom
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Papagiannopoulos CI, Kyritsis KA, Psatha K, Mavridou D, Chatzopoulou F, Orfanoudaki G, Aivaliotis M, Vizirianakis IS. Invariable Ribosome Stoichiometry During Murine Erythroid Differentiation: Implications for Understanding Ribosomopathies. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:805541. [PMID: 35187080 PMCID: PMC8850788 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.805541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneity of the main ribosomal composition represents an emerging, yet debatable, mechanism of gene expression regulation with a purported role in ribosomopathies, a group of disorders caused by mutations in ribosomal protein genes (RPs). Ribosomopathies, mysteriously relate with tissue-specific symptoms (mainly anemia and cancer predisposition), despite the ubiquitous expression and necessity of the associated RPs. An outstanding question that may shed light into disease pathogenicity and provide potential pharmacological interventions, is whether and how the ribosomal composition is modified during, the highly affected by RP mutations, process of erythroid differentiation. To address this issue, we analyzed ribosome stoichiometry using an established model of erythroid differentiation, through sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation and quantitative proteomics. We found that differentiation associates with an extensive reprogramming of the overall ribosomal levels, characterized by an increase in monosomes and a decrease in polysomes. However, by calculating a stoichiometry score for each independent ribosomal protein, we found that the main ribosomal architecture remained invariable between immature and differentiated cells. In total, none of the 78 Ribosomal Proteins (RPs- 74 core RPs, Rack1, Fau and 2 paralogs) detected was statistically different between the samples. This data was further verified through antibody-mediated quantification of 6 representative RPs. Moreover, bioinformatic analysis of whole cell proteomic data derived out of 4 additional models of erythropoiesis revealed that RPs were co-regulated across these cell types, too. In conclusion, ribosomes maintain an invariant protein stoichiometry during differentiation, thus excluding ribosome heterogeneity from a potential mechanism of toxicity in ribosomopathies and other erythroid disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Konstantinos A. Kyritsis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Konstantina Psatha
- Functional Proteomics and Systems Biology (FunPATh)—Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Basic and Translational Research Unit, Special Unit for Biomedical Research and Education, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation of Research and Technology, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Dimitra Mavridou
- Functional Proteomics and Systems Biology (FunPATh)—Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Fani Chatzopoulou
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Georgia Orfanoudaki
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation of Research and Technology, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Michalis Aivaliotis
- Functional Proteomics and Systems Biology (FunPATh)—Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Basic and Translational Research Unit, Special Unit for Biomedical Research and Education, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation of Research and Technology, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Ioannis S. Vizirianakis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Functional Proteomics and Systems Biology (FunPATh)—Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
- *Correspondence: Ioannis S. Vizirianakis,
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