Novel Inhibitory Function of the Rhizomucor miehei Lipase Propeptide and Three-Dimensional Structures of Its Complexes with the Enzyme.

Many proteins are synthesized as precursors, with propeptides playing a variety of roles such as assisting in folding or preventing them from being active within the cell. While the precise role of the propeptide in fungal lipases is not completely understood, it was previously reported that mutations in the propeptide region of the Rhizomucor miehei lipase have an influence on the activity of the mature enzyme, stressing the importance of the amino acid composition of this region. We here report two structures of this enzyme in complex with its propeptide, which suggests that the latter plays a role in the correct maturation of the enzyme. Most importantly, we demonstrate that the propeptide shows inhibition of lipase activity in standard lipase assays and propose that an important role of the propeptide is to ensure that the enzyme is not active during its expression pathway in the original host.

Sym021, a promising anti-PD1 clinical candidate antibody derived from a new chicken antibody discovery platform.

Discovery of therapeutic antibodies is a field of intense development, where immunization of rodents remains a major source of antibody candidates. However, high orthologue protein sequence homology between human and rodent species disfavors generation of antibodies against functionally conserved binding epitopes. Chickens are phylogenetically distant from mammals. Since chickens generate antibodies from a restricted set of germline genes, the possibility of adapting the Symplex antibody discovery platform to chicken immunoglobulin genes and combining it with high-throughput humanization of antibody frameworks by "mass complementarity-determining region grafting" was explored. Hence, wild type chickens were immunized with an immune checkpoint inhibitor programmed cell death 1 (PD1) antigen, and a repertoire of 144 antibodies was generated. The PD1 antibody repertoire was successfully humanized, and we found that most humanized antibodies retained affinity largely similar to that of the parental chicken antibodies. The lead antibody Sym021 blocked PD-L1 and PD-L2 ligand binding, resulting in elevated T-cell cytokine production in vitro. Detailed epitope mapping showed that the epitope recognized by Sym021 was unique compared to the clinically approved PD1 antibodies pembrolizumab and nivolumab. Moreover, Sym021 bound human PD1 with a stronger affinity (30 pM) compared to nivolumab and pembrolizumab, while also cross-reacting with cynomolgus and mouse PD1. This enabled direct testing of Sym021 in the syngeneic mouse in vivo cancer models and evaluation of preclinical toxicology in cynomolgus monkeys. Preclinical in vivo evaluation in various murine and human tumor models demonstrated a pronounced anti-tumor effect of Sym021, supporting its current evaluation in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Abbreviations: ADCC, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity; CD, cluster of differentiation; CDC, complement-dependent cytotoxicity; CDR, complementarity determining region; DC, dendritic cell; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; FACS, fluorescence activated cell sorting; FR, framework region; GM-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; HRP, horseradish peroxidase; IgG, immunoglobulin G; IL, interleukin; IFN, interferon; mAb, monoclonal antibody; MLR, mixed lymphocyte reaction; NK, natural killer; PBMC, peripheral blood mono-nuclear cell; PD1, programmed cell death 1; PDL1, programmed cell death ligand 1; RT-PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; SEB, Staphylococcus Enterotoxin B; SPR, surface Plasmon Resonance; VL, variable part of light chain; VH, variable part of heavy chain.

Controlled lid-opening in Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase- An engineered switch for studying lipase function.

Here, we present a lipase mutant containing a biochemical switch allowing a controlled opening and closing of the lid independent of the environment. The closed form of the TlL mutant shows low binding to hydrophobic surfaces compared to the binding observed after activating the controlled switch inducing lid-opening. We directly show that lipid binding of this mutant is connected to an open lid conformation demonstrating the impact of the exposed amino acid residues and their participation in binding at the water-lipid interface. The switch was created by introducing two cysteine residues into the protein backbone at sites 86 and 255. The crystal structure of the mutant shows the successful formation of a disulfide bond between C86 and C255 which causes strained closure of the lid-domain. Control of enzymatic activity and binding was demonstrated on substrate emulsions and natural lipid layers. The locked form displayed low enzymatic activity (~10%) compared to wild-type. Upon release of the lock, enzymatic activity was fully restored. Only 10% binding to natural lipid substrates was observed for the locked lipase compared to wild-type, but binding was restored upon adding reducing agent. QCM-D measurements revealed a seven-fold increase in binding rate for the unlocked lipase. The TlL_locked mutant shows structural changes across the protein important for understanding the mechanism of lid-opening and closing. Our experimental results reveal sites of interest for future mutagenesis studies aimed at altering the activation mechanism of TlL and create perspectives for generating tunable lipases that activate under controlled conditions.

The Enzymatic Activity of Lipases Correlates with Polarity-Induced Conformational Changes: A Trp-Induced Quenching Fluorescence Study.

Triacylglycerol hydrolases (EC 3.1.1.3) are thought to become activated when they encounter the water-lipid interface causing a "lid" region to move and expose the catalytic site. Here, we tested this idea by looking for lid movements in Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TL lipase), and in variants with a mutated lid region of esterase (Esterase) and esterase/lipase (Hybrid) character. To measure lid movements, we employed the tryptophan-induced quenching (TrIQ) fluorescence method to measure how effectively a Trp residue on the lid of these mutants (at position 87 or 89) could quench a fluorescent probe (bimane) placed at nearby site 255 on the protein. To test if lid movement is induced when the enzyme detects a lower-polarity environment (such as at the water-lipid interface), we performed these studies in solvents with different dielectric constants (ε). The results show that lid movement is highly dependent on the particular lid residue composition and solvent polarity. The data suggest that in aqueous solution (ε = 80), the Esterase lid is in an "open" conformation, whereas for the TL lipase and Hybrid, the lid remains "closed". At lower solvent polarities (ε < 46), the lid region for all of the mutants is more "open". Interestingly, these behaviors mirror the structural changes thought to take place upon activation of the enzyme at the water-lipid interface. Together, these results support the idea that lipases are more active in low-polarity solvents because the lid adopts an "open" conformation and indicate that relatively small conformational changes in the lid region play a key role in the activation mechanism of these enzymes.

Membrane curvature enables N-Ras lipid anchor sorting to liquid-ordered membrane phases.

Trafficking and sorting of membrane-anchored Ras GTPases are regulated by partitioning between distinct membrane domains. Here, in vitro experiments and microscopic molecular theory reveal membrane curvature as a new modulator of N-Ras lipid anchor and palmitoyl chain partitioning. Membrane curvature was essential for enrichment in raft-like liquid-ordered phases; enrichment was driven by relief of lateral pressure upon anchor insertion and most likely affects the localization of lipidated proteins in general.

Molecular basis for SNX-BAR-mediated assembly of distinct endosomal sorting tubules.

Sorting nexins (SNXs) are regulators of endosomal sorting. For the SNX-BAR subgroup, a Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) domain is vital for formation/stabilization of tubular subdomains that mediate cargo recycling. Here, by analysing the in vitro membrane remodelling properties of all 12 human SNX-BARs, we report that some, but not all, can elicit the formation of tubules with diameters that resemble sorting tubules observed in cells. We reveal that SNX-BARs display a restricted pattern of BAR domain-mediated dimerization, and by resolving a 2.8 Å structure of a SNX1-BAR domain homodimer, establish that dimerization is achieved in part through neutralization of charged residues in the hydrophobic BAR-dimerization interface. Membrane remodelling also requires functional amphipathic helices, predicted to be present in all SNX-BARs, and the formation of high order SNX-BAR oligomers through selective 'tip-loop' interactions. Overall, the restricted and selective nature of these interactions provide a molecular explanation for how distinct SNX-BAR-decorated tubules are nucleated from the same endosomal vacuole, as observed in living cells. Our data provide insight into the molecular mechanism that generates and organizes the tubular endosomal network.

Improving membrane binding as a design strategy for amphipathic peptide hormones: 2-helix variants of PYY3-36.

It has been hypothesized that amphipathic peptides might bind to membranes prior to activating their cognate receptors, but this has proven difficult to test. The peptide hormone PYY3-36 is believed to perform its appetite-suppressing actions through binding to hypothalamic Y2 receptors. It has been proposed that PYY3-36 via its amphipathic α-helix binds to the plasma membrane prior to receptor docking. Here, our aim was to study the implication of this hypothesis using new analogs of PYY3-36. We first studied membrane binding of PYY3-36. Next, we designed a series of PYY3-36 analogs to increase membrane-binding affinity by substituting the N-terminal segment with a de novo designed α-helical, amphipathic sequence. These 2-helix variants of PYY3-36 were assembled by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Pharmacological studies demonstrated that even though the native peptide sequence was radically changed, highly active Y2 receptor agonists were generated. A potent analog, with a Kd of 4 nM for membranes, was structurally characterized by NMR in the membrane-bound state, which clearly showed that it formed the expected 2-helix. The topology of the peptide-micelle association was studied by paramagnetic relaxation enhancement using a spin label, which confirmed that the hydrophobic residues bound to the membrane. Our studies further support the hypothesis that PYY3-36 associates with the membrane and indicate that this can be used in the design of novel molecules with high receptor binding potency. These observations are likely to be generally important for peptide hormones and biopharmaceutical drugs derived from them. This new 2-helix variant of PYY3-36 will be useful as a tool compound for studying peptide-membrane interactions.

Intermembrane docking reactions are regulated by membrane curvature.

The polymorphism of eukaryotic cellular membranes is a tightly regulated and well-conserved phenotype. Recent data have revealed important regulatory roles of membrane curvature on the spatio-temporal localization of proteins and in membrane fusion. Here we quantified the influence of membrane curvature on the efficiency of intermembrane docking reactions. Using fluorescence microscopy, we monitored the docking of single vesicle-vesicle pairs of different diameter (30-200 nm) and therefore curvature, as mediated by neuronal soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) and streptavidin-biotin. Surprisingly, the intermembrane docking efficiency exhibited an ∼30-60 fold enhancement as a function of curvature. In comparison, synaptotagmin and calcium accelerate SNARE-mediated fusion in vitro by a factor of 2-10. To explain this finding, we formulated a biophysical model. On the basis of our findings, we propose that membrane curvature can regulate intermembrane tethering reactions and consequently any downstream process, including the fusion of vesicles and possibly viruses with their target membranes.

Constructing size distributions of liposomes from single-object fluorescence measurements.

We describe in detail a simple technique to construct the size distribution of liposome formulations from single-object fluorescence measurements. Liposomes that are fluorescently labeled in their membrane are first immobilized on a surface at dilute densities and then imaged individually using epi-fluorescence microscopy. The integrated intensities of several thousand single liposomes are collected and evaluated within minutes by automated image processing, using the user-friendly freeware ImageJ. The mean intensity of the liposome population is then calculated and scaled in units of length (nm) by relating the intensity data to the mean diameter obtained from a reference measurement with dynamic light scattering. We explain the process of constructing the size distributions in a step-by-step manner, starting with the preparation of liposomes through the final acquisition of size histograms. Detailed advice is given concerning critical parameters of image acquisition and processing. Size histograms constructed from single-particle measurements provide detailed information on complex distributions that may be easily averaged out in ensemble measurements (e.g., light scattering). In addition, the technique allows accurate measurements of polydisperse samples (e.g., nonextruded liposome preparations).

Amphipathic motifs in BAR domains are essential for membrane curvature sensing.

BAR (Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs) domains and amphipathic alpha-helices (AHs) are believed to be sensors of membrane curvature thus facilitating the assembly of protein complexes on curved membranes. Here, we used quantitative fluorescence microscopy to compare the binding of both motifs on single nanosized liposomes of different diameters and therefore membrane curvature. Characterization of members of the three BAR domain families showed surprisingly that the crescent-shaped BAR dimer with its positively charged concave face is not able to sense membrane curvature. Mutagenesis on BAR domains showed that membrane curvature sensing critically depends on the N-terminal AH and furthermore that BAR domains sense membrane curvature through hydrophobic insertion in lipid packing defects and not through electrostatics. Consequently, amphipathic motifs, such as AHs, that are often associated with BAR domains emerge as an important means for a protein to sense membrane curvature. Measurements on single liposomes allowed us to document heterogeneous binding behaviour within the ensemble and quantify the influence of liposome polydispersity on bulk membrane curvature sensing experiments. The latter results suggest that bulk liposome-binding experiments should be interpreted with great caution.

How curved membranes recruit amphipathic helices and protein anchoring motifs.

Lipids and several specialized proteins are thought to be able to sense the curvature of membranes (MC). Here we used quantitative fluorescence microscopy to measure curvature-selective binding of amphipathic motifs on single liposomes 50-700 nm in diameter. Our results revealed that sensing is predominantly mediated by a higher density of binding sites on curved membranes instead of higher affinity. We proposed a model based on curvature-induced defects in lipid packing that related these findings to lipid sorting and accurately predicted the existence of a new ubiquitous class of curvature sensors: membrane-anchored proteins. The fact that unrelated structural motifs such as alpha-helices and alkyl chains sense MC led us to propose that MC sensing is a generic property of curved membranes rather than a property of the anchoring molecules. We therefore anticipate that MC will promote the redistribution of proteins that are anchored in membranes through other types of hydrophobic moieties.

Membrane localization is critical for activation of the PICK1 BAR domain.

The PSD-95/Discs-large/ZO-1 homology (PDZ) domain protein, protein interacting with C kinase 1 (PICK1) contains a C-terminal Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) domain mediating recognition of curved membranes; however, the molecular mechanisms controlling the activity of this domain are poorly understood. In agreement with negative regulation of the BAR domain by the N-terminal PDZ domain, PICK1 distributed evenly in the cytoplasm, whereas truncation of the PDZ domain caused BAR domain-dependent redistribution to clusters colocalizing with markers of recycling endosomal compartments. A similar clustering was observed both upon truncation of a short putative alpha-helical segment in the linker between the PDZ and the BAR domains and upon coexpression of PICK1 with a transmembrane PDZ ligand, including the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor GluR2 subunit, the GluR2 C-terminus transferred to the single transmembrane protein Tac or the dopamine transporter C-terminus transferred to Tac. In contrast, transfer of the GluR2 C-terminus to cyan fluorescent protein, a cytosolic protein, did not elicit BAR domain-dependent clustering. Instead, localizing PICK1 to the membrane by introducing an N-terminal myristoylation site produced BAR domain-dependent, but ligand-independent, PICK1 clustering. The data support that in the absence of PDZ ligand, the PICK1 BAR domain is inhibited through a PDZ domain-dependent and linker-dependent mechanism. Moreover, they suggest that unmasking of the BAR domain's membrane-binding capacity is not a consequence of ligand binding to the PDZ domain per se but results from, and coincides with, recruitment of PICK1 to a membrane compartment.