Characterization of the Reconstituted and Native Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type III Secretion System Translocon

The Type III Secretion (T3S) system is a system utilized by many pathogenic bacteria to inject proteins into host cells during an infection. Effector proteins enter the host cell by passing through the proteinaceous T3S translocon, which forms a pore on the host cell membrane. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that utilizes the T3S system, and very little is known about how the P. aeruginosa translocon forms. The proteins PopB and PopD are believed to assemble into the P. aeruginosa translocon. A pore-forming heterocomplex of PopB and PopD has been reconstituted in model membranes, however this heterocomplex has not been assessed in its relation to the translocon formed on the host cell. The interaction of this heterocomplex with other T3S system components was measured to determine if this complex acts similarly to the translocon. Initial assays that can be used to compare the molecular weight of the translocon isolated from eukaryotic cells after P. aeruginosa contact to the calculated molecular weight of the heterocomplex were developed as well. This study provides insight into how the PopB:PopD heterocomplex formed in model membranes relates to the translocon formed during a P. aeruginosa infection

Functional features defining the efficacy of cholesterol-conjugated, self-deliverable, chemically modified siRNAs

Progress in oligonucleotide chemistry has produced a shift in the nature of siRNA used, from formulated, minimally modified siRNAs, to unformulated, heavily modified siRNA conjugates. The introduction of extensive chemical modifications is essential for conjugate-mediated delivery. Modifications have a significant impact on siRNA efficacy through interference with recognition and processing by RNAi enzymatic machinery, severely restricting the sequence space available for siRNA design. Many algorithms available publicly can successfully predict the activity of non-modified siRNAs, but the efficiency of the algorithms for designing heavily modified siRNAs has never been systematically evaluated experimentally. Here we screened 356 cholesterol-conjugated siRNAs with extensive modifications and developed a linear regression-based algorithm that effectively predicts siRNA activity using two independent datasets. We further demonstrate that predictive determinants for modified and non-modified siRNAs differ substantially. The algorithm developed from the non-modified siRNAs dataset has no predictive power for modified siRNAs and vice versa. In the context of heavily modified siRNAs, the introduction of chemical asymmetry fully eliminates the requirement for thermodynamic bias, the major determinant for non-modified siRNA efficacy. Finally, we demonstrate that in addition to the sequence of the target site, the accessibility of the neighboring 3\u27 region significantly contributes to siRNA efficacy

Rational design of a JAK1-selective siRNA inhibitor for the modulation of autoimmunity in the skin

Abstract Inhibition of Janus kinase (JAK) family enzymes is a popular strategy for treating inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases. In the clinic, small molecule JAK inhibitors show distinct efficacy and safety profiles, likely reflecting variable selectivity for JAK subtypes. Absolute JAK subtype selectivity has not yet been achieved. Here, we rationally design small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that offer sequence-specific gene silencing of JAK1, narrowing the spectrum of action on JAK-dependent cytokine signaling to maintain efficacy and improve safety. Our fully chemically modified siRNA supports efficient silencing of JAK1 expression in human skin explant and modulation of JAK1-dependent inflammatory signaling. A single injection into mouse skin enables five weeks of duration of effect. In a mouse model of vitiligo, local administration of the JAK1 siRNA significantly reduces skin infiltration of autoreactive CD8+ T cells and prevents epidermal depigmentation. This work establishes a path toward siRNA treatments as a new class of therapeutic modality for inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases