Monitoring insulin fibrillation kinetics using chromatographic analysis.

Insulin is a small protein widely used to treat patients with diabetes and is a commonly used model for protein fibrillation studies. Under specific conditions, such as low pH and high temperature, insulin monomers aggregate to form fibrils. This aggregation is problematic for manufacturing and storage of insulin. The thioflavin T (ThT) assay is commonly used to study amyloid fibrillation but suffers from several limitations, such as the effect of protein concentration, the size of the amyloid fibrillar bundles, competitive binding, and fibril aggregation, all of which hinder precise quantitative analysis. Here, we present a method for studying the kinetics of insulin fibrillation utilizing ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). This method enables the quantitative detection of soluble insulin components, including chemically modified components. The formation of a deamidated species could be monitored at the early stage of fibrillation, and this species was likely included in the fibrils. In addition, in the presence of inhibitors known to compete with ThT for binding to fibrils, UPLC analysis showed the disappearance of soluble components even though the ThT assay did not indicate the presence of fibrils. These results suggest that the UPLC-based analysis presented here can complement the ThT assay for investigating the kinetics of protein fibrillation.

The ABCF proteins in Escherichia coli individually cope with 'hard-to-translate' nascent peptide sequences.

Organisms possess a wide variety of proteins with diverse amino acid sequences, and their synthesis relies on the ribosome. Empirical observations have led to the misconception that ribosomes are robust protein factories, but in reality, they have several weaknesses. For instance, ribosomes stall during the translation of the proline-rich sequences, but the elongation factor EF-P assists in synthesizing proteins containing the poly-proline sequences. Thus, living organisms have evolved to expand the translation capability of ribosomes through the acquisition of translation elongation factors. In this study, we have revealed that Escherichia coli ATP-Binding Cassette family-F (ABCF) proteins, YheS, YbiT, EttA and Uup, individually cope with various problematic nascent peptide sequences within the exit tunnel. The correspondence between noncanonical translations and ABCFs was YheS for the translational arrest by nascent SecM, YbiT for poly-basic sequence-dependent stalling and poly-acidic sequence-dependent intrinsic ribosome destabilization (IRD), EttA for IRD at the early stage of elongation, and Uup for poly-proline-dependent stalling. Our results suggest that ATP hydrolysis-coupled structural rearrangement and the interdomain linker sequence are pivotal for handling 'hard-to-translate' nascent peptides. Our study highlights a new aspect of ABCF proteins to reduce the potential risks that are encoded within the nascent peptide sequences.

Proximity labeling and identification of endogenous client proteins recruited to Y15-based artificial granules tethering a bait protein.

Protein clustering is a ubiquitous event in diverse cellular processes. Self-association of proteins triggers recruitment of downstream proteins to regulate cellular signaling. To investigate the interactions in detail, chemical biology tools to identify proteins recruited to defined assemblies are required. Here, we exploit an identification of proteins recruited in artificial granules (IPRAG) platform that combines intracellular Y15-based supramolecule construction with a proximity labeling method. We validated the IPRAG tool using Nck1 as a target bait protein. We constructed Nck1-tethering granules, labeled the recruited proteins with biotin, and analyzed them by LC-MS/MS. As a result, we successfully identified proteins that directly or indirectly interact with Nck1.

Identification of Surface Markers and Functional Characterization of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cell-Like Adherent Cells.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC)-like adherent cells (MLACs) are a recently identified CD11b+ F4/80- myeloid cell subset that can infiltrate tumors early in development and promote their growth. Because of these functions, MLACs play an important role in establishing an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the lack of MLAC-specific markers has hampered further characterization of this cell type. This study identifies the gene signature of MLACs by analyzing RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and public single-cell RNA-seq data, revealing that MLACs are an independent cell population that are distinct from other intratumoral myeloid cells. After combining proteome analysis of membrane proteins with RNA-seq data, H2-Ab1 and CD11c are indicated as marker proteins that can support the isolation of MLAC subsets from CD11b+ F4/80- myeloid cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The CD11b+ F4/80- H2-Ab1+ and CD11b+ F4/80- CD11c+ MLAC subsets represent approximately half of the MLAC population that is isolated based on their adhesion properties and possess gene signatures and functional properties similar to those of the MLAC population. Additionally, membrane proteome analysis suggests that MLACs express highly heterogeneous surface proteins. This study facilitates an integrated understanding of heterogeneous intratumoral myeloid cells, as well as the molecular and cellular details of the development of an immunosuppressive TME.

Mechanistic dissection of premature translation termination induced by acidic residues-enriched nascent peptide.

Ribosomes polymerize nascent peptides through repeated inter-subunit rearrangements between the classic and hybrid states. The peptidyl-tRNA, the intermediate species during translation elongation, stabilizes the translating ribosome to ensure robust continuity of elongation. However, the translation of acidic residue-rich sequences destabilizes the ribosome, leading to a stochastic premature translation cessation termed intrinsic ribosome destabilization (IRD), which is still ill-defined. Here, we dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying IRD in Escherichia coli. Reconstitution of the IRD event reveals that (1) the prolonged ribosome stalling enhances IRD-mediated translation discontinuation, (2) IRD depends on temperature, (3) the destabilized 70S ribosome complex is not necessarily split, and (4) the destabilized ribosome is subjected to peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase-mediated hydrolysis of the peptidyl-tRNA without subunit splitting or recycling factors-mediated subunit splitting. Collectively, our data indicate that the translation of acidic-rich sequences alters the conformation of the 70S ribosome to an aberrant state that allows the noncanonical premature termination.

Regulated N-Terminal Modification of Proteins Synthesized Using a Reconstituted Cell-Free Protein Synthesis System.

The N-terminal modification of nascent proteins, such as acetylation and myristoylation, is one of the most abundant post-translational modifications. To analyze the function of the modification, it is important to compare the modified and unmodified proteins under defined conditions. However, it is technically difficult to prepare unmodified proteins because cell-based systems contain endogenous modification systems. In this study, we developed a cell-free method to conduct N-terminal acetylation and myristoylation of nascent proteins in vitro using a reconstituted cell-free protein synthesis system (PURE system). Proteins synthesized using the PURE system were successfully acetylated or myristoylated in a single-cell-free mixture in the presence of modifying enzymes. Furthermore, we performed protein myristoylation in giant vesicles, which resulted in their partial localization to the membrane. Our PURE-system-based strategy is useful for the controlled synthesis of post-translationally modified proteins.

ATP-Responsive Nanoparticles Covered with Biomolecular Machine "Chaperonin GroEL".

Herein, we report an ATP-responsive nanoparticle (GroEL NP) whose surface is fully covered with the biomolecular machine "chaperonin protein GroEL". GroEL NP was synthesized by DNA hybridization between a gold NP with DNA strands on its surface and GroEL carrying complementary DNA strands at its apical domains. The unique structure of GroEL NP was visualized by transmission electron microscopy including under cryogenic conditions. The immobilized GroEL units retain their machine-like function and enable GroEL NP to capture denatured green fluorescent protein and release it in response to ATP. Interestingly, the ATPase activity of GroEL NP per GroEL was 4.8 and 4.0 times greater than those of precursor cys GroEL and its DNA-functionalized analogue, respectively. Finally, we confirmed that GroEL NP could be iteratively extended to double-layered ( GroEL ) 2 ${{^{({\rm GroEL}){_{2}}}}}$ NP.

Identification and Characterization of Proteins That Are Involved in RTP1S-Dependent Transport of Olfactory Receptors.

Olfaction is mediated via olfactory receptors (ORs) that are expressed on the cilia membrane of olfactory sensory neurons in the olfactory epithelium. The functional expression of most ORs requires the assistance of receptor-transporting proteins (RTPs). We examined the interactome of RTP1S and OR via proximity biotinylation. Deubiquitinating protein VCIP135, the F-actin-capping protein sub-unit alpha-2, and insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 were biotinylated via AirID fused with OR, RTP1S-AirID biotinylated heat shock protein A6 (HSPA6), and double-stranded RNA-binding protein Staufen homolog 2 (STAU2). Co-expression of HSPA6 partially enhanced the surface expression of Olfr544. The surface expression of Olfr544 increased by 50-80%. This effect was also observed when RTP1S was co-expressed. Almost identical results were obtained from the co-expression of STAU2. The interactions of HSPA6 and STAU2 with RTP1S were examined using a NanoBit assay. The results show that the RTP1S N-terminus interacted with the C-terminal domain of HSP6A and the N-terminal domain of STAU2. In contrast, OR did not significantly interact with STAU2 and HSPA6. Thus, HSP6A and STAU2 appear to be involved in the process of OR traffic through interaction with RTP1S.

Prediction of chaperonin GroE substrates using small structural patterns of proteins.

Molecular chaperones are indispensable proteins that assist the folding of aggregation-prone proteins into their functional native states, thereby maintaining organized cellular systems. Two of the best-characterized chaperones are the Escherichia coli chaperonins GroEL and GroES (GroE), for which in vivo obligate substrates have been identified by proteome-wide experiments. These substrates comprise various proteins but exhibit remarkable structural features. They include a number of α/ß proteins, particularly those adopting the TIM ß/α barrel fold. This observation led us to speculate that GroE obligate substrates share a structural motif. Based on this hypothesis, we exhaustively compared substrate structures with the MICAN alignment tool, which detects common structural patterns while ignoring the connectivity or orientation of secondary structural elements. We selected four (or five) substructures with hydrophobic indices that were mostly included in substrates and excluded in others, and developed a GroE obligate substrate discriminator. The substructures are structurally similar and superimposable on the 2-layer 2α4ß sandwich, the most popular protein substructure, implying that targeting this structural pattern is a useful strategy for GroE to assist numerous proteins. Seventeen false positives predicted by our methods were experimentally examined using GroE-depleted cells, and 9 proteins were confirmed to be novel GroE obligate substrates. Together, these results demonstrate the utility of our common substructure hypothesis and prediction method.

A method to enrich polypeptidyl-tRNAs to capture snapshots of translation in the cell.

Life depends on proteins, which all exist in nascent states when the growing polypeptide chain is covalently attached to a tRNA within the ribosome. Although the nascent chains, i.e. polypeptidyl-tRNAs (pep-tRNAs), are considered as merely transient intermediates during protein synthesis, recent advances have revealed that they are directly involved in a variety of cell functions, such as gene expression control. An increasing appreciation for fine-tuning at translational levels demands a general method to handle the pep-tRNAs on a large scale. Here, we developed a method termed peptidyl-tRNA enrichment using organic extraction and silica adsorption (PETEOS), and then identify their polypeptide moieties by mass spectrometry. As a proof-of-concept experiment using Escherichia coli, we identified ∼800 proteins derived from the pep-tRNAs, which were markedly biased towards the N-termini in the proteins, reflecting that PETEOS captured the intermediate pep-tRNA population during translation. Furthermore, we observed the changes in the pep-tRNA set in response to heat shock or antibiotic treatments. In summary, PETEOS will complement conventional methods to investigate nascent chains in the cell.

Prophage excision switches the primary ribosome rescue pathway and rescue-associated gene regulations in Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli has multiple pathways to release nonproductive ribosome complexes stalled at the 3' end of nonstop mRNA: tmRNA (SsrA RNA)-mediated trans-translation and stop codon-independent termination by ArfA/RF2 or ArfB (YaeJ). The arfA mRNA lacks a stop codon and its expression is repressed by trans-translation. Therefore, ArfA is considered to complement the ribosome rescue activity of trans-translation, but the physiological situations in which ArfA is expressed have not been elucidated. Here, we found that the excision of CP4-57 prophage adjacent to E. coli ssrA leads to the inactivation of tmRNA and switches the primary rescue pathway from trans-translation to ArfA/RF2. This "rescue-switching" rearranges not only the proteome landscape in E. coli but also the phenotype such as motility. Furthermore, among the proteins with significantly increased abundance in the ArfA+ cells, we found ZntR, whose mRNA is transcribed together as the upstream part of nonstop arfA mRNA. Repression of ZntR and reconstituted model genes depends on the translation of the downstream nonstop ORFs that trigger the trans-translation-coupled exonucleolytic degradation by polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase). Namely, our studies provide a novel example of trans-translation-dependent regulation and re-define the physiological roles of prophage excision.

Nascent peptide-induced translation discontinuation in eukaryotes impacts biased amino acid usage in proteomes.

Robust translation elongation of any given amino acid sequence is required to shape proteomes. Nevertheless, nascent peptides occasionally destabilize ribosomes, since consecutive negatively charged residues in bacterial nascent chains can stochastically induce discontinuation of translation, in a phenomenon termed intrinsic ribosome destabilization (IRD). Here, using budding yeast and a human factor-based reconstituted translation system, we show that IRD also occurs in eukaryotic translation. Nascent chains enriched in aspartic acid (D) or glutamic acid (E) in their N-terminal regions alter canonical ribosome dynamics, stochastically aborting translation. Although eukaryotic ribosomes are more robust to ensure uninterrupted translation, we find many endogenous D/E-rich peptidyl-tRNAs in the N-terminal regions in cells lacking a peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase, indicating that the translation of the N-terminal D/E-rich sequences poses an inherent risk of failure. Indeed, a bioinformatics analysis reveals that the N-terminal regions of ORFs lack D/E enrichment, implying that the translation defect partly restricts the overall amino acid usage in proteomes.

Application of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to investigate the dynamics of a ribosome-associated trigger factor in Escherichia coli.

Co-translational protein folding is one of the central topics in molecular biology. In Escherichia coli, trigger factor (TF) is a primary chaperone that facilitates co-translational folding by directly interacting with nascent polypeptide chains on translating ribosomes. In this study, we applied fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), which can analyze the diffusion properties of fluorescent molecules by measuring the fluctuations of the fluorescent intensity, to investigate the interaction between TF and a nascent chain on translating ribosomes both in vitro and in vivo. The FCS analysis with a reconstituted cell-free translation system revealed that the interaction of fluorescently labeled TF with a nascent chain depended on the emergence of the nascent chain from the ribosome exit tunnel, and this interaction was not inhibited by excess amounts of other chaperones. Furthermore, the translation-dependent interaction between GFP-fused TFs and nascent chains was also observed in living E. coli cells. The FCS-based approach established here could be an effective method to investigate the dynamics of other ribosome-associated chaperones besides TF.

Shotgun Proteomics Revealed Preferential Degradation of Misfolded In Vivo Obligate GroE Substrates by Lon Protease in Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli chaperonin GroEL/ES (GroE) is one of the most extensively studied molecular chaperones. So far, ~80 proteins in E. coli are identified as GroE substrates that obligately require GroE for folding in vivo. In GroE-depleted cells, these substrates, when overexpressed, tend to form aggregates, whereas the GroE substrates expressed at low or endogenous levels are degraded, probably due to misfolded states. However, the protease(s) involved in the degradation process has not been identified. We conducted a mass-spectrometry-based proteomics approach to investigate the effects of three ATP-dependent proteases, Lon, ClpXP, and HslUV, on the E. coli proteomes under GroE-depleted conditions. A label-free quantitative proteomic method revealed that Lon protease is the dominant protease that degrades the obligate GroE substrates in the GroE-depleted cells. The deletion of DnaK/DnaJ, the other major E. coli chaperones, in the ∆lon strain did not cause major alterations in the expression or folding of the obligate GroE substrates, supporting the idea that the folding of these substrates is predominantly dependent on GroE.

Conversion of a PROTAC Mutant Huntingtin Degrader into Small-Molecule Hydrophobic Tags Focusing on Drug-like Properties.

The onset of neurodegenerative disorders (NDs), such as Alzheimer's disease, is associated with the accumulation of aggregates of misfolded proteins. We previously showed that chemical knockdown of ND-related aggregation-prone proteins can be achieved by proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs). However, hetero-bifunctional PROTACs generally show poor permeability into the central nervous system, where NDs are located. Here, we document the conversion of one of our PROTACs into hydrophobic tags (HyTs), another class of degraders bearing hydrophobic degrons. This conversion decreases the molecular weight and the number of hydrogen bond donors/acceptors. All the developed HyTs lowered the level of mutant huntingtin, an aggregation-prone protein, with potency comparable to that of the parent PROTAC. Through IAM chromatography analysis and in vivo brain penetration assay of the HyTs, we discovered a brain-permeable HyT. Our results and mechanistic analysis indicate that conversion of protein degraders into HyTs could be a useful approach to improve their drug-like properties.

Amyloid conformation-dependent disaggregation in a reconstituted yeast prion system.

Disaggregation of amyloid fibrils is a fundamental biological process required for amyloid propagation. However, due to the lack of experimental systems, the molecular mechanism of how amyloid is disaggregated by cellular factors remains poorly understood. Here, we established a robust in vitro reconstituted system of yeast prion propagation and found that heat-shock protein 104 (Hsp104), Ssa1 and Sis1 chaperones are essential for efficient disaggregation of Sup35 amyloid. Real-time imaging of single-molecule fluorescence coupled with the reconstitution system revealed that amyloid disaggregation is achieved by ordered, timely binding of the chaperones to amyloid. Remarkably, we uncovered two distinct prion strain conformation-dependent modes of disaggregation, fragmentation and dissolution. We characterized distinct chaperone dynamics in each mode and found that transient, repeated binding of Hsp104 to the same site of amyloid results in fragmentation. These findings provide a physical foundation for otherwise puzzling in vivo observations and for therapeutic development for amyloid-associated neurodegenerative diseases.

Intracellular photocatalytic-proximity labeling for profiling protein-protein interactions in microenvironments.

Intracellular photocatalytic-proximity labeling (iPPL) was developed to profile protein-protein interactions in the microenvironment of living cells. Acriflavine was found to be an efficient cell-membrane-permeable photocatalyst for introduction into the genetically HaloTag-fused protein of interest for iPPL with a radical labeling reagent, 1-methyl-4-arylurazole. iPPL was applied to the histone-associated protein H2B in HaloTag-H2B expressing HEK293FT cells. The proteins directly interacting with histones and RNA-binding proteins were selectively labeled in the intracellular environment, suggesting that the iPPL method has a smaller labeling radius (CA. 6 nm) than the BioID and APEX methods.

Nascent polypeptide within the exit tunnel stabilizes the ribosome to counteract risky translation.

Continuous translation elongation, irrespective of amino acid sequences, is a prerequisite for living organisms to produce their proteomes. However, nascent polypeptide products bear an inherent risk of elongation abortion. For example, negatively charged sequences with occasional intermittent prolines, termed intrinsic ribosome destabilization (IRD) sequences, weaken the translating ribosomal complex, causing certain nascent chain sequences to prematurely terminate translation. Here, we show that most potential IRD sequences in the middle of open reading frames remain cryptic and do not interrupt translation, due to two features of the nascent polypeptide. Firstly, the nascent polypeptide itself spans the exit tunnel, and secondly, its bulky amino acid residues occupy the tunnel entrance region, thereby serving as a bridge and protecting the large and small ribosomal subunits from dissociation. Thus, nascent polypeptide products have an inbuilt ability to ensure elongation continuity.

C9orf72-derived arginine-rich poly-dipeptides impede phase modifiers.

Nuclear import receptors (NIRs) not only transport RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) but also modify phase transitions of RBPs by recognizing nuclear localization signals (NLSs). Toxic arginine-rich poly-dipeptides from C9orf72 interact with NIRs and cause nucleocytoplasmic transport deficit. However, the molecular basis for the toxicity of arginine-rich poly-dipeptides toward NIRs function as phase modifiers of RBPs remains unidentified. Here we show that arginine-rich poly-dipeptides impede the ability of NIRs to modify phase transitions of RBPs. Isothermal titration calorimetry and size-exclusion chromatography revealed that proline:arginine (PR) poly-dipeptides tightly bind karyopherin-ß2 (Kapß2) at 1:1 ratio. The nuclear magnetic resonances of Kapß2 perturbed by PR poly-dipeptides partially overlapped with those perturbed by the designed NLS peptide, suggesting that PR poly-dipeptides target the NLS binding site of Kapß2. The findings offer mechanistic insights into how phase transitions of RBPs are disabled in C9orf72-related neurodegeneration.

Connecting primitive phase separation to biotechnology, synthetic biology, and engineering.

One aspect of the study of the origins of life focuses on how primitive chemistries assembled into the first cells on Earth and how these primitive cells evolved into modern cells. Membraneless droplets generated from liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) are one potential primitive cell-like compartment; current research in origins of life includes study of the structure, function, and evolution of such systems. However, the goal of primitive LLPS research is not simply curiosity or striving to understand one of life's biggest unanswered questions, but also the possibility to discover functions or structures useful for application in the modern day. Many applicational fields, including biotechnology, synthetic biology, and engineering, utilize similar phaseseparated structures to accomplish specific functions afforded by LLPS. Here, we briefly review LLPS applied to primitive compartment research and then present some examples of LLPS applied to biomolecule purification, drug delivery, artificial cell construction, waste and pollution management, and flavor encapsulation. Due to a significant focus on similar functions and structures, there appears to be much for origins of life researchers to learn from those working on LLPS in applicational fields, and vice versa, and we hope that such researchers can start meaningful cross-disciplinary collaborations in the future.