Role of C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions in ALS/FTD pathogenesis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are progressive neurological disorders that share neurodegenerative pathways and features. The most prevalent genetic causes of ALS/FTD is the GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansions in the first intron region of the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) gene. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the accumulating evidences elucidating the pathogenic mechanism associated with hexanucleotide repeat expansions in ALS/FTD. These mechanisms encompass the structural polymorphism of DNA and transcribed RNA, the formation of RNA foci via phase separation, and the cytoplasmic accumulation and toxicities of dipeptide-repeat proteins. Additionally, the formation of G-quadruplex structures significantly impairs the expression and normal function of the C9orf72 protein. We also discuss the sequestration of specific RNA binding proteins by GGGGCC RNA, which further contributes to the toxicity of C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions. The deeper understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of hexanucleotide repeat expansions in ALS/FTD provides multiple potential drug targets for these devastating diseases

RIP1 autophosphorylation is promoted by mitochondrial ROS and is essential for RIP3 recruitment into necrosome

韩家淮教授课题组的这项研究揭示了活性氧簇（ROS）通过直接特异地氧化受体相互作用丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶1（RIP1）上的三个关键的半胱氨酸，进而特异地增强RIP1在S161上的自磷酸化，从而促进坏死小体的形成和程序性细胞坏死的发生。证实了RIP1的激酶活性在程序性细胞坏死中的主要功能是自磷酸化S161，且S161就是人们长期寻找的RIP1上与坏死相关的功能性磷酸化位点。坏死小体的形成是程序性细胞坏死发生的必要复合物，而S161的磷酸化是RIP1有效募集RIP3形成有功能的坏死小体所必需的。由于ROS的产生依赖于坏死小体里的RIP3的功能，因此ROS介导了程序性坏死通路里的正反馈调控。研究阐明了ROS促进程序性细胞坏死的分子机制，回答了领域内长期存在的两个科学问题，对全面解析程序性坏死机制并协助疾病治疗具有重要意义。 张荧荧和苏晟为该论文的共同第一作者。该项研究得到了973计划和国家自然科学基金委员会重点和重大研究计划项目的经费支持。【Abstract】Necroptosis is a type of programmed cell death with great significance in many pathological processes. Tumour necrosis factor-a(TNF), a proinflammatory cytokine, is a prototypic trigger of necroptosis. It is known that mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) promote necroptosis, and that kinase activity of receptor interacting protein 1 (RIP1) is required for TNF-induced necroptosis. However, how ROS function and what RIP1 phosphorylates to promote necroptosis are largely unknown. Here we show that three crucial cysteines in RIP1 are required for sensing ROS, and ROS subsequently activates RIP1 autophosphorylation on serine residue 161 (S161). The major function of RIP1 kinase activity in TNF-induced necroptosis is to autophosphorylate S161. This specific phosphorylation then enables RIP1 to recruit RIP3 and form a functional necrosome, a central controller of necroptosis. Since ROS induction is known to require necrosomal RIP3, ROS therefore function in a positive feedback circuit that ensures effective induction of necroptosis.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91029304, 31420103910, 31330047 and 81630042), the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program; 2015CB553800, 2013CB944903, 2014CB541804), the 111 Project (B12001), the National Science Foundation of China for Fostering Talents in Basic Research (J1310027)

Pyruvate Kinase regulates the Pentose-Phosphate pathway in Response to Hypoxia in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

In response to the stress of infection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) reprograms its metabolism to accommodate nutrient and energetic demands in a changing environment. Pyruvate kinase (PYK) is an essential glycolytic enzyme in the phosphoenolpyruvate–pyruvate–oxaloacetate node that is a central switch point for carbon flux distribution. Here we show that the competitive binding of pentose monophosphate inhibitors or the activator glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) to MtbPYK tightly regulates the metabolic flux. Intriguingly, pentose monophosphates were found to share the same binding site with G6P. The determination of a crystal structure of MtbPYK with bound ribose 5-phosphate (R5P), combined with biochemical analyses and molecular dynamic simulations, revealed that the allosteric inhibitor pentose monophosphate increases PYK structural dynamics, weakens the structural network communication, and impairs substrate binding. G6P, on the other hand, primes and activates the tetramer by decreasing protein flexibility and strengthening allosteric coupling. Therefore, we propose that MtbPYK uses these differences in conformational dynamics to up- and down-regulate enzymic activity. Importantly, metabolome profiling in mycobacteria reveals a significant increase in the levels of pentose monophosphate during hypoxia, which provides insights into how PYK uses dynamics of the tetramer as a competitive allosteric mechanism to retard glycolysis and facilitate metabolic reprogramming toward the pentose-phosphate pathway for achieving redox balance and an anticipatory metabolic response in Mtb

Differential roles of CaMKII isoforms in phase separation with NMDA receptors and in synaptic plasticity

Summary: Calcium calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) is critical for synaptic transmission and plasticity. Two major isoforms of CaMKII, CaMKIIα and CaMKIIβ, play distinct roles in synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation (LTP) with unknown mechanisms. Here, we show that the length of the unstructured linker between the kinase domain and the oligomerizing hub determines the ability of CaMKII to rescue the basal synaptic transmission and LTP defects caused by removal of both CaMKIIα and CaMKIIβ (double knockout [DKO]). Remarkably, although CaMKIIβ binds to GluN2B with a comparable affinity as CaMKIIα does, only CaMKIIα with the short linker forms robust dense clusters with GluN2B via phase separation. Lengthening the linker of CaMKIIα with unstructured “Gly-Gly-Ser” repeats impairs its phase separation with GluN2B, and the mutant enzyme cannot rescue the basal synaptic transmission and LTP defects of DKO mice. Our results suggest that the phase separation capacity of CaMKII with GluN2B is critical for its cellular functions in the brain

Molecular features underlying differential SHP1/SHP2 binding of immune checkpoint receptors

A large number of inhibitory receptors recruit SHP1 and/or SHP2, tandem-SH2-containing phosphatases through phosphotyrosine-based motifs immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based switch motif (ITSM). Despite the similarity, these receptors exhibit differential effector binding specificities, as exemplified by the immune checkpoint receptors PD-1 and BTLA, which preferentially recruit SHP2 and SHP1, respectively. The molecular basis by which structurally similar receptors discriminate SHP1 and SHP2 is unclear. Here, we provide evidence that human PD-1 and BTLA optimally bind to SHP1 and SHP2 via a bivalent, parallel mode that involves both SH2 domains of SHP1 or SHP2. PD-1 mainly uses its ITSM to prefer SHP2 over SHP1 via their C-terminal SH2 domains (cSH2): swapping SHP1-cSH2 with SHP2-cSH2 enabled PD-1:SHP1 association in T cells. In contrast, BTLA primarily utilizes its ITIM to prefer SHP1 over SHP2 via their N-terminal SH2 domains (nSH2). The ITIM of PD-1, however, appeared to be de-emphasized due to a glycine at pY+1 position. Substitution of this glycine with alanine, a residue conserved in BTLA and several SHP1-recruiting receptors, was sufficient to induce PD-1:SHP1 interaction in T cells. Finally, structural simulation and mutagenesis screening showed that SHP1 recruitment activity exhibits a bell-shaped dependence on the molecular volume of the pY+1 residue of ITIM. Collectively, we provide a molecular interpretation of the SHP1/SHP2-binding specificities of PD-1 and BTLA, with implications for the mechanisms of a large family of therapeutically relevant receptors

Conformational Plasticity of the 2A Proteinase from Enterovirus 71

National Basic Research Program of China (973 program) [2012CB724500]; Open Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Xiamen University [SKLCSB2012KF003]; 111 Project of Education of China [B06016]The 2A proteinase (2A(pro)) is an enterovirally encoded cysteine protease that plays essential roles in both the processing of viral precursor polyprotein and the hijacking of host cell translation and other processes in the virus life cycle. Crystallographic studies of 2A(pro) from enterovirus 71 (EV71) and its interaction with the substrate are reported here. EV71 2A(pro) was comprised of an N-terminal domain of a four-stranded antiparallel beta sheet and a C-terminal domain of a six-stranded antiparallel beta barrel with a tightly bound zinc atom. Unlike in other 2A(pro) structures, there is an open cleft across the surface of the protein in an open conformation. As demonstrated by the crystallographic studies and modeling of the complex structure, the open cleft could be fitted with the substrate. On comparison 2A(pro) of EV71 to those of the human rhinovirus 2 and coxsackievirus B4, the open conformation could be closed with a hinge motion in the bII2 and cII beta strands. This was supported by molecular dynamic simulation. The structural variation among different 2A(pro) structures indicates a conformational flexibility in the substrate-binding cleft. The open structure provides an accessible framework for the design and development of therapeutics against the viral target

Structures of Enterovirus 71 3C proteinase (strain E2004104-TW-CDC) and its complex with rupintrivir

National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) [2012CB724500]; State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Xiamen University [SKLCSB2012KF003]; 111 Project of Education of China [B06016]The crystal structure of 3C proteinase (3C(pro)) from Enterovirus 71 (EV71) was determined in space group C222(1) to 2.2 angstrom resolution. The fold was similar to that of 3C(pro) from other picornaviruses, but the difference in the beta-ribbon reported in a previous structure was not observed. This beta-ribbon was folded over the substrate-binding cleft and constituted part of the essential binding sites for interaction with the substrate. The structure of its complex with rupintrivir (AG7088), a peptido-mimetic inhibitor, was also characterized in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) to 1.96 angstrom resolution. The inhibitor was accommodated without any spatial hindrance despite the more constricted binding site; this was confirmed by functional assays, in which the inhibitor showed comparable potency towards EV71 3C(pro) and human rhinovirus 3C(pro), which is the target that rupintrivir was designed against

Fragment-wise design of inhibitors to 3C proteinase from enterovirus 71

BACKGROUND: Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a causative agent of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), which can spread its infection to central nervous and other systems with severe consequence. A key factor in the replication of EV71 is its 3C proteinase (3C(pro)), a significant drug target. Peptidomimetics were employed as inhibitors of this enzyme for developing antivirals. However, the peptide bonds in these peptidomimetics are a source of low bioavailability due to their susceptibility to protease digestion. To produce non-peptidomimetic inhibitors by replacing these peptide bonds, it would be important to gain better understanding on the contribution of each component to the interaction and potency. METHODS: A series of compounds of different lengths targeting 3C(pro) and having an α,β-unsaturated ester as the warhead were synthesized and their interactions with the enzyme were evaluated by complex structure analyses and potency assays for a better understanding on the relationship between potency and evolution of interaction. RESULTS: The P2 moiety of the compound would need to be oriented to interact in the S2 site in the substrate binding cleft and the P3-P4 moieties were required to generate sufficient potency. A hydrophobic terminal group will benefit the cellular uptake and improve the activity in vivo. CONCLUSIONS AND GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: The data presented here provide a basis for designing a new generation of non-peptidomimetics to target EV71 3C(pro)