A high-throughput method for orthophosphate determination of thermostable membrane-bound pyrophosphatase activity

Membrane-bound pyrophosphatases (mPPases) are homodimeric integral membrane proteins that hydrolyse pyrophosphate into orthophosphates coupled to the active transport of protons or sodium ions across membranes. They occur in bacteria, archaea, plants, and protist parasites. As they are essential in protist parasites and there are no homologous proteins in animals and humans, these enzymes represent an excellent drug target for treating protistal diseases. Experimental screening to find drug candidates is an important step to discover new hit compounds. For that, a cheap, simple, and robust assay is needed. Here we report the application of the molybdenum blue reaction method for a medium throughput microplate activity assay of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima mPPase and the possible application of the assay to screen inhibitors of membrane-bound pyrophosphatases.Peer reviewe

Yersinia infection tools-characterization of structure and function of adhesins

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Recent advances in the understanding of trimeric autotransporter adhesins

Adhesion is the initial step in the infection process of gram-negative bacteria. It is usually followed by the formation of biofilms that serve as a hub for further spread of the infection. Type V secretion systems engage in this process by binding to components of the extracellular matrix, which is the first step in the infection process. At the same time they provide protection from the immune system by either binding components of the innate immune system or by establishing a physical layer against aggressors. Trimeric autotransporter adhesins (TAAs) are of particular interest in this family of proteins as they possess a unique structural composition which arises from constraints during translocation. The sequence of individual domains can vary dramatically while the overall structure can be very similar to one another. This patchwork approach allows researchers to draw conclusions of the underlying function of a specific domain in a structure-based approach which underscores the importance of solving structures of yet uncharacterized TAAs and their individual domains to estimate the full extent of functions of the protein a priori. Here, we describe recent advances in understanding the translocation process of TAAs and give an overview of structural motifs that are unique to this class of proteins. The role of BpaC in the infection process of Burkholderia pseudomallei is highlighted as an exceptional example of a TAA being at the centre of infection initiation.Peer reviewe

mPPases create a conserved anionic membrane fingerprint as identified via multiscale simulations

Publisher Copyright: Copyright: © 2022 Holmes et al.Membrane-integral pyrophosphatases (mPPases) are membrane-bound enzymes responsible for hydrolysing inorganic pyrophosphate and translocating a cation across the membrane. Their function is essential for the infectivity of clinically relevant protozoan parasites and plant maturation. Recent developments have indicated that their mechanism is more complicated than previously thought and that the membrane environment may be important for their function. In this work, we use multiscale molecular dynamics simulations to demonstrate for the first time that mPPases form specific anionic lipid interactions at 4 sites at the distal and interfacial regions of the protein. These interactions are conserved in simulations of the mPPases from Thermotoga maritima, Vigna radiata and Clostridium leptum and characterised by interactions with positive residues on helices 1, 2, 3 and 4 for the distal site, or 9, 10, 13 and 14 for the interfacial site. Due to the importance of these helices in protein stability and function, these lipid interactions may play a crucial role in the mPPase mechanism and enable future structural and functional studies.Peer reviewe

The Function of Membrane Integral Pyrophosphatases From Whole Organism to Single Molecule

Membrane integral pyrophosphatases (mPPases) are responsible for the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate. This enzymatic mechanism is coupled to the pumping of H+ or Na+ across membranes in a process that can be K+ dependent or independent. Understanding the movements and dynamics throughout the mPPase catalytic cycle is important, as this knowledge is essential for improving or impeding protein function. mPPases have been shown to play a crucial role in plant maturation and abiotic stress tolerance, and so have the potential to be engineered to improve plant survival, with implications for global food security. mPPases are also selectively toxic drug targets, which could be pharmacologically modulated to reduce the virulence of common human pathogens. The last few years have seen the publication of many new insights into the function and structure of mPPases. In particular, there is a new body of evidence that the catalytic cycle is more complex than originally proposed. There are structural and functional data supporting a mechanism involving half-of-the-sites reactivity, inter-subunit communication, and exit channel motions. A more advanced and in-depth understanding of mPPases has begun to be uncovered, leaving the field of research with multiple interesting avenues for further exploration and investigation.Peer reviewe

Expression and purification of the extracellular domain of wild-type humanRET and the dimeric oncogenic mutant C634R

The receptor tyrosine kinase RET is essential in a variety of cellular processes. RET gain-of-function is strongly associated with several cancers, notably multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN 2A), while RET loss-of-function causes Hirschsprung's disease and Parkinson's disease. To investigate the activation mechanism of RET as well as to enable drug development, over-expressed recombinant protein is needed for in vitro functional and structural studies. By comparing insect and mammalian cells expression of the RET extracellular domain (RETECD), we showed that the expression yields of RETECD using both systems were comparable, but mammalian cells produced monomeric functional RETECD, whereas RETECD expressed in insect cells was non-functional and multimeric. This was most likely due to incorrect disulfide formation. By fusing an Fc tag to the C-terminus of RETECD, we were able to produce, in HEK293T cells, dimeric oncogenic RETECD (C634R) for the first time. The protein remained dimeric even after cleavage of the tag via the cysteine disulfide, as in full-length RET in the context of MEN 2A and related pathologies. Our work thus provides valuable tools for functional and structural studies of the RET signaling system and its oncogenic activation mechanisms. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Integral membrane pyrophosphatases : A novel drug target for human pathogens?

Membrane-integral pyrophosphatases (mPPases) are found in several human pathogens, including Plasmodium species, the protozoan parasites that cause malaria. These enzymes hydrolyze pyrophosphate and couple this to the pumping of ions (H+ and/or Na+) across a membrane to generate an electrochemical gradient. mPPases play an important role in stress tolerance in plants, protozoan parasites, and bacteria. The solved structures of mPPases from Vigna radiata and Thermotoga maritima open the possibility of using structure-based drug design to generate novel molecules or repurpose known molecules against this enzyme. Here, we review the current state of knowledge regarding mPPases, focusing on their structure, the proposed mechanism of action, and their role in human pathogens. We also summarize different methodologies in structure-based drug design and propose an example region on the mPPase structure that can be exploited by these structure-based methods for drug targeting. Since mPPases are not found in animals and humans, this enzyme is a promising potential drug target against livestock and human pathogens. © 2016, Adrian Goldman, et al.Peer reviewe

Obesity Risk Gene TMEM18 Encodes a Sequence-Specific DNA-Binding Protein

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The C-terminal head domain of Burkholderia pseudomallei BpaC has a striking hydrophilic core with an extensive solvent network

Gram-negative pathogens like Burkholderia pseudomallei use trimeric autotransporter adhesins such as BpaC as key molecules in their pathogenicity. Our 1.4 angstrom crystal structure of the membrane-proximal part of the BpaC head domain shows that the domain is exclusively made of left-handed parallel beta-roll repeats. This, the largest such structure solved, has two unique features. First, the core, rather than being composed of the canonical hydrophobic Ile and Val, is made up primarily of the hydrophilic Thr and Asn, with two different solvent channels. Second, comparing BpaC to all other left-handed parallel beta-roll structures showed that the position of the head domain in the protein correlates with the number and type of charged residues. In BpaC, only negatively charged residues face the solvent-in stark contrast to the primarily positive surface charge of the left-handed parallel beta-roll "type" protein, YadA. We propose extending the definitions of these head domains to include the BpaC-like head domain as a separate subtype, based on its unusual sequence, position, and charge. We speculate that the function of left-handed parallel beta-roll structures may differ depending on their position in the structure.Peer reviewe