1
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Liu C, Xiao K, Yu C, Lei Y, Lyu K, Tian T, Zhao D, Zhou F, Tang H, Zeng J. A probabilistic knowledge graph for target identification. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011945. [PMID: 38578805 PMCID: PMC11034645 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Early identification of safe and efficacious disease targets is crucial to alleviating the tremendous cost of drug discovery projects. However, existing experimental methods for identifying new targets are generally labor-intensive and failure-prone. On the other hand, computational approaches, especially machine learning-based frameworks, have shown remarkable application potential in drug discovery. In this work, we propose Progeni, a novel machine learning-based framework for target identification. In addition to fully exploiting the known heterogeneous biological networks from various sources, Progeni integrates literature evidence about the relations between biological entities to construct a probabilistic knowledge graph. Graph neural networks are then employed in Progeni to learn the feature embeddings of biological entities to facilitate the identification of biologically relevant target candidates. A comprehensive evaluation of Progeni demonstrated its superior predictive power over the baseline methods on the target identification task. In addition, our extensive tests showed that Progeni exhibited high robustness to the negative effect of exposure bias, a common phenomenon in recommendation systems, and effectively identified new targets that can be strongly supported by the literature. Moreover, our wet lab experiments successfully validated the biological significance of the top target candidates predicted by Progeni for melanoma and colorectal cancer. All these results suggested that Progeni can identify biologically effective targets and thus provide a powerful and useful tool for advancing the drug discovery process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Liu
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Kaimin Xiao
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Joint Graduate Program of Peking-Tsinghua-NIBS, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Cuinan Yu
- Machine Learning Department, Silexon AI Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yipin Lei
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Kangbo Lyu
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Tingzhong Tian
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Dan Zhao
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Fengfeng Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
| | - Haidong Tang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jianyang Zeng
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Research Center for Industries of the Future and School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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2
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Song Y, Jiang Q, Liu D. Vertically Stacked Transparent Organic Photodetectors for Light Intensity-Independent Wavelength Recognition. Small 2024; 20:e2305973. [PMID: 37919096 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202305973] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Wavelength recognition is one of the important functions of photodetectors. However, wavelength recognition of the reported photodetectors generally depends on light intensity, which limits the practical applications. Here, a light intensity-independent wavelength recognition scheme based on vertically stacked transparent photodetectors is reported. By analyzing light intensity attenuation behavior in the multiple stacked photodetectors, the wavelength of incident light can be accurately determined. Due to the high transparency of the detectors, the multiple stacked detectors allow incident light to pass through. Meanwhile, since the attenuation coefficients at different wavelengths are attributed to the detector's absorption characteristics, the intensity of incident light and its wavelength can be determined by analyzing the attenuation coefficients measured through each stacked detector. Consistent wavelength values obtained at different light intensities verify the light intensity-independence of the multistacked detector system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinyin Song
- Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, China
- Key Laboratory of 3D Micro/Nano Fabrication and Characterization of Zhejiang Province, Research Center for Industries of the Future, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310030, China
- Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310024, China
| | - Qianqing Jiang
- Key Laboratory of 3D Micro/Nano Fabrication and Characterization of Zhejiang Province, Research Center for Industries of the Future, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310030, China
- Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310024, China
| | - Dianyi Liu
- Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, China
- Key Laboratory of 3D Micro/Nano Fabrication and Characterization of Zhejiang Province, Research Center for Industries of the Future, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310030, China
- Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310024, China
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3
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Li Y, Liu H, He C, Ma L. Comparison of transcriptome-wide N6-methyladenosine profiles from healthy trio families reveals regulator-mediated methylation alterations. Genetics 2024; 226:iyad206. [PMID: 38001375 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad206] [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: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is a highly conserved RNA modification found in eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs). It plays a vital role in regulating various biological processes. Dysregulation of m6A modifications has been linked to a range of complex genetic diseases in humans. However, there has been a lack of comprehensive characterization and comparison of m6A modifications at the transcriptome-wide level within families. To address this gap, we profiled transcriptome-wide m6A methylation in 18 individuals across 6 Yoruba trio families. The m6A methylomes of these 18 individuals revealed that m6A modifications in children showed greater similarity to each other than to their parents. This suggests that m6A modifications are influenced by multiple factors rather than solely determined by genetic factors. Additionally, we found that mRNAs exhibiting m6A modifications specific to children were enriched in cell cycle control processes, while those with m6A modifications specific to parents were associated with chromatin modifications. Furthermore, our analysis on the interactions between differentially expressed m6A-related regulatory genes and age-related genes suggested that age might be one of the factors influencing m6A modifications. In summary, our study provided a valuable dataset that highlighted the differences and functional diversity of m6A modifications within and between trio families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yini Li
- School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 201100, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, 600 Dunyu Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hang Liu
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, 600 Dunyu Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Chuan He
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program/Committee on Cancer Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Lijia Ma
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, 600 Dunyu Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
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4
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Chen J, Qiu Z, Huang J. Structure and Dynamics of Confined Water Inside Diphenylalanine Peptide Nanotubes. ACS Omega 2023; 8:42936-42950. [PMID: 38024738 PMCID: PMC10652825 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c06071] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Diphenylalanine (FF) peptides exhibit a unique ability to self-assemble into nanotubes with confined water molecules playing pivotal roles in their structure and function. This study investigates the structure and dynamics of diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes (FFPNTs) using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) and grand canonical Monte Carlo combined with MD (GCMC/MD) simulations with both the CHARMM additive and Drude polarizable force fields. The occupancy and dynamics of confined water molecules were also examined. It was found that less than 2 confined water molecules per FF help stabilize the FFPNTs on the x-y plane. Analyses of the kinetics of confined water molecules revealed distinctive transport behaviors for bound and free water, and their respective diffusion coefficients were compared. Our results validate the importance of polarizable force field models in studying peptide nanotubes and provide insights into our understanding of nanoconfined water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Chen
- College
of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China
- Key
Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life
Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
- Westlake
AI Therapeutics Lab, Westlake Laboratory
of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Zongyang Qiu
- Key
Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life
Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
- Westlake
AI Therapeutics Lab, Westlake Laboratory
of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Key
Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life
Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
- Westlake
AI Therapeutics Lab, Westlake Laboratory
of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
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5
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Cao T, Bai Y, Buschbeck P, Tan Q, Cantrell MB, Chen Y, Jiang Y, Liu RZ, Ries NK, Shi X, Sun Y, Ware MA, Yang F, Zhang H, Han J, Zhang L, Huang J, Lohr M, Peers G, Li X. An unexpected hydratase synthesizes the green light-absorbing pigment fucoxanthin. Plant Cell 2023; 35:3053-3072. [PMID: 37100425 PMCID: PMC10396388 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The ketocarotenoid fucoxanthin and its derivatives can absorb blue-green light enriched in marine environments. Fucoxanthin is widely adopted by phytoplankton species as a main light-harvesting pigment, in contrast to land plants that primarily employ chlorophylls. Despite its supreme abundance in the oceans, the last steps of fucoxanthin biosynthesis have remained elusive. Here, we identified the carotenoid isomerase-like protein CRTISO5 as the diatom fucoxanthin synthase that is related to the carotenoid cis-trans isomerase CRTISO from land plants but harbors unexpected enzymatic activity. A crtiso5 knockout mutant in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum completely lacked fucoxanthin and accumulated the acetylenic carotenoid phaneroxanthin. Recombinant CRTISO5 converted phaneroxanthin into fucoxanthin in vitro by hydrating its carbon-carbon triple bond, instead of functioning as an isomerase. Molecular docking and mutational analyses revealed residues essential for this activity. Furthermore, a photophysiological characterization of the crtiso5 mutant revealed a major structural and functional role of fucoxanthin in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes of diatoms. As CRTISO5 hydrates an internal alkyne physiologically, the enzyme has unique potential for biocatalytic applications. The discovery of CRTISO5 illustrates how neofunctionalization leads to major diversification events in evolution of photosynthetic mechanisms and the prominent brown coloration of most marine photosynthetic eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjun Cao
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yu Bai
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Paul Buschbeck
- Institut für Molekulare Physiologie, Johannes Gutenberg-University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Qiaozhu Tan
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Michael B Cantrell
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Yinjuan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, School of Science, Instrumentation and Service Center for Molecular Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yanyou Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Run-Zhou Liu
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, School of Science, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Nana K Ries
- Institut für Molekulare Physiologie, Johannes Gutenberg-University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Xiaohuo Shi
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, School of Science, Instrumentation and Service Center for Molecular Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yan Sun
- College of Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Maxwell A Ware
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Fenghua Yang
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Huan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Jichang Han
- College of Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Lihan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Precise Synthesis of Functional Molecules of Zhejiang Province, School of Science, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Institute of Natural Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Martin Lohr
- Institut für Molekulare Physiologie, Johannes Gutenberg-University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Graham Peers
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Xiaobo Li
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China
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6
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Makowski C, Wang H, Srinivasan A, Qi A, Qiu Y, van der Meer D, Frei O, Zou J, Visscher P, Yang J, Chen CH. Larger cerebral cortex is genetically correlated with greater frontal area and dorsal thickness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2214834120. [PMID: 36893272 PMCID: PMC10089183 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2214834120] [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: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Human cortical expansion has occurred non-uniformly across the brain. We assessed the genetic architecture of cortical global expansion and regionalization by comparing two sets of genome-wide association studies of 24 cortical regions with and without adjustment for global measures (i.e., total surface area, mean cortical thickness) using a genetically informed parcellation in 32,488 adults. We found 393 and 756 significant loci with and without adjusting for globals, respectively, where 8% and 45% loci were associated with more than one region. Results from analyses without adjustment for globals recovered loci associated with global measures. Genetic factors that contribute to total surface area of the cortex particularly expand anterior/frontal regions, whereas those contributing to thicker cortex predominantly increase dorsal/frontal-parietal thickness. Interactome-based analyses revealed significant genetic overlap of global and dorsolateral prefrontal modules, enriched for neurodevelopmental and immune system pathways. Consideration of global measures is important in understanding the genetic variants underlying cortical morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Makowski
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Hao Wang
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Anjali Srinivasan
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Anna Qi
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Yuqi Qiu
- School of Statistics, East China Normal University, Shanghai20050, China
| | - Dennis van der Meer
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research Centre, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo, Oslo0450, Norway
| | - Oleksandr Frei
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research Centre, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo, Oslo0450, Norway
| | - Jingjing Zou
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Peter M. Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD4072, Australia
| | - Jian Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang310024, China
| | - Chi-Hua Chen
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
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7
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Hou N, Shuai L, Zhang L, Xie X, Tang K, Zhu Y, Yu Y, Zhang W, Tan Q, Zhong G, Wen Z, Wang C, He X, Huo H, Gao H, Xu Y, Xue J, Peng C, Zou J, Schindewolf C, Menachery V, Su W, Yuan Y, Shen Z, Zhang R, Yuan S, Yu H, Shi PY, Bu Z, Huang J, Hu Q. Development of Highly Potent Noncovalent Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. ACS Cent Sci 2023; 9:217-227. [PMID: 36844503 PMCID: PMC9885526 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.2c01359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) is an essential enzyme for the replication of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses and thus is a target for coronavirus drug discovery. Nearly all inhibitors of coronavirus 3CLpro reported so far are covalent inhibitors. Here, we report the development of specific, noncovalent inhibitors of 3CLpro. The most potent one, WU-04, effectively blocks SARS-CoV-2 replications in human cells with EC50 values in the 10-nM range. WU-04 also inhibits the 3CLpro of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV with high potency, indicating that it is a pan-inhibitor of coronavirus 3CLpro. WU-04 showed anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity similar to that of PF-07321332 (Nirmatrelvir) in K18-hACE2 mice when the same dose was administered orally. Thus, WU-04 is a promising drug candidate for coronavirus treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningke Hou
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Westlake University; Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake
Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine; Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Lei Shuai
- State
Key
Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, No.678 Haping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, China
- National
High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin 150069, China
| | - Lijing Zhang
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
- Zhejiang
University, 866 Yuhangtang
Rd, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xuping Xie
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute for Human Infection
and Immunity, University of Texas Medical
Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Kaiming Tang
- State Key
Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology,
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University
of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yunkai Zhu
- Key Laboratory
of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical
Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory,
Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yin Yu
- Key Laboratory
of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical
Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory,
Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Wenyi Zhang
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - Qiaozhu Tan
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - Gongxun Zhong
- State
Key
Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, No.678 Haping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, China
- National
High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin 150069, China
| | - Zhiyuan Wen
- State
Key
Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, No.678 Haping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, China
- National
High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin 150069, China
| | - Chong Wang
- State
Key
Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, No.678 Haping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, China
- National
High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin 150069, China
| | - Xijun He
- State
Key
Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, No.678 Haping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, China
- National
High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin 150069, China
| | - Hong Huo
- State
Key
Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, No.678 Haping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, China
| | - Haishan Gao
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - You Xu
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - Jing Xue
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - Chen Peng
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - Jing Zou
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute for Human Infection
and Immunity, University of Texas Medical
Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Craig Schindewolf
- Department
of Microbiology and Immunology, University
of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Vineet Menachery
- Department
of Microbiology and Immunology, University
of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Wenji Su
- WuXi AppTec
(Shanghai) Co., Ltd. 288 Middle Fu Te Road, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Youlang Yuan
- WuXi AppTec
(Shanghai) Co., Ltd. 288 Middle Fu Te Road, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Zuyuan Shen
- WuXi AppTec
(Shanghai) Co., Ltd. 288 Middle Fu Te Road, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Rong Zhang
- Key Laboratory
of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical
Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory,
Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Shuofeng Yuan
- State Key
Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology,
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University
of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Hongtao Yu
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - Pei-Yong Shi
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute for Human Infection
and Immunity, University of Texas Medical
Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Zhigao Bu
- State
Key
Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, No.678 Haping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, China
- National
High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin 150069, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
| | - Qi Hu
- Key Laboratory
of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences,
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life
Sciences and Biomedicine, Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute
for Advanced Study, Westlake University, No.18 Shilongshan Road Cloud Town,
Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang China
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8
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Jiang H, Bian W, Sui Y, Li H, Zhao H, Wang W, Li X. FBXO42 facilitates Notch signaling activation and global chromatin relaxation by promoting K63-linked polyubiquitination of RBPJ. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabq4831. [PMID: 36129980 PMCID: PMC9491713 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq4831] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Dysregulation of the Notch-RBPJ (recombination signal-binding protein of immunoglobulin kappa J region) signaling pathway has been found associated with various human diseases including cancers; however, precisely how this key signaling pathway is fine-tuned via its interactors and modifications is still largely unknown. In this study, using a proteomic approach, we identified F-box only protein 42 (FBXO42) as a previously unidentified RBPJ interactor. FBXO42 promotes RBPJ polyubiquitination on lysine-175 via lysine-63 linkage, which enhances the association of RBPJ with chromatin remodeling complexes and induces a global chromatin relaxation. Genetically depleting FBXO42 or pharmacologically targeting its E3 ligase activity attenuates the Notch signaling-related leukemia development in vivo. Together, our findings not only revealed FBXO42 as a critical regulator of the Notch pathway by modulating RBPJ-dependent global chromatin landscape changes but also provided insights into the therapeutic intervention of the Notch pathway for leukemia treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Jiang
- Fudan University, Shanghai 310018, China
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Weixiang Bian
- Fudan University, Shanghai 310018, China
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yue Sui
- Fudan University, Shanghai 310018, China
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Huanle Li
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Han Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenqi Wang
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Xu Li
- Fudan University, Shanghai 310018, China
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang, China
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Hou N, Peng C, Zhang L, Zhu Y, Hu Q. BRET-Based Self-Cleaving Biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro Inhibitor Discovery. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0255921. [PMID: 35758897 PMCID: PMC9430692 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02559-21] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an attractive drug target for developing antivirals against SARS-CoV-2. A few small molecule inhibitors of 3CLpro are in clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments, and more inhibitors are under development. One limiting factor for 3CLpro inhibitors development is that the cellular activities of such inhibitors should be evaluated in Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories. Here, we design DNA-coded biosensors that can be used in BSL-2 laboratories to set up cell-based assays for 3CLpro inhibitor discovery. The biosensors were constructed by linking a green fluorescent protein (GFP2) to the N-terminus and a Renilla luciferase (RLuc8) to the C-terminus of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro, with the linkers derived from the cleavage sequences of 3CLpro. After overexpression of the biosensors in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells, 3CLpro can be released from GFP2 and RLuc by self-cleavage, resulting in a decrease of the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) signal. Using one of these biosensors, pBRET-10, we evaluated the cellular activities of several 3CLpro inhibitors. These inhibitors restored the BRET signal by blocking the proteolysis of pBRET-10, and their relative activities measured using pBRET-10 were consistent with their previously reported anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities. We conclude that the biosensor pBRET-10 is a useful tool for SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitor discovery. IMPORTANCE The virus proteases 3CLpro are validated drug targets for developing antivirals to treat coronavirus diseases, such as COVID-19. However, the development of 3CLpro inhibitors relies heavily on BSL-3 laboratories. Here, we report a series of BRET-based self-cleaving biosensors that can be used to set up cell-based assays to evaluate the cell permeability and cellular activity of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors in BSL-2 laboratories. The cell-based assay is suitable for high-throughput screening for 3CLpro inhibitors because of the simplicity and good reproducibility of our biosensors. The design strategy can also be used to design biosensors for other viral proteases for which the activation processes involve the self-cleavage of polyproteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningke Hou
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University; Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Chen Peng
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University; Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Lijing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University; Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yuyao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University; Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qi Hu
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University; Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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10
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Pan Z, Zhang Y, Luo J, Li D, Zhou Y, He L, Yang Q, Dong M, Tao L. Functional analyses of epidemic Clostridioides difficile toxin B variants reveal their divergence in utilizing receptors and inducing pathology. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009197. [PMID: 33507919 PMCID: PMC7842947 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile toxin B (TcdB) is a key virulence factor that causes C. difficile associated diseases (CDAD) including diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. TcdB can be divided into multiple subtypes/variants based on their sequence variations, of which four (TcdB1-4) are dominant types found in major epidemic isolates. Here, we find that these variants are highly diverse in their receptor preference: TcdB1 uses two known receptors CSPG4 and Frizzled (FZD) proteins, TcdB2 selectively uses CSPG4, TcdB3 prefers to use FZDs, whereas TcdB4 uses neither CSPG4 nor FZDs. By creating chimeric toxins and systematically switching residues between TcdB1 and TcdB3, we determine that regions in the N-terminal cysteine protease domain (CPD) are involved in CSPG4-recognition. We further evaluate the pathological effects induced by TcdB1-4 with a mouse intrarectal installation model. TcdB1 leads to the most severe overall symptoms, followed by TcdB2 and TcdB3. When comparing the TcdB2 and TcdB3, TcdB2 causes stronger oedema while TcdB3 induces severer inflammatory cell infiltration. These findings together demonstrate divergence in the receptor preference and further lead to colonic pathology for predominant TcdB subtypes. Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of nosocomial and community-associated gastrointestinal infections. The bacterium produces three exotoxins including TcdA, TcdB, and CDT, of which TcdB is known as a key virulence factor causing the diseases. Since C. difficile was first linked to antibiotic-associated infections in 1978, a large number of clinically relevant strains were characterized and many of them were found to harbor some variant forms of TcdB. In this study, we examined four predominant TcdB variants from epidemic C. difficile strains. We found that these variants are highly diverse in preference to the known receptors, CSPG4 and Frizzled proteins. By conducting a systematically designed mutagenesis study, we determined that TcdB interacts with CSPG4 via regions across multiple domains. We also found that TcdB variants could induce distinguishable pathological phenotypes in a mouse model, suggesting C. difficile strains harboring divergent TcdB variants might exhibit different disease progression. Our study provides new insights into the toxicology and pathology of C. difficile toxin variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenrui Pan
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yuanyuan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jianhua Luo
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Danyang Li
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yao Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Liuqing He
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qi Yang
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Min Dong
- Department of Urology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massechusetts, United States of America
- Department of Surgery and Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massechusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (MD); (LT)
| | - Liang Tao
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
- * E-mail: (MD); (LT)
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