Moving toward generalizable NZ-1 labeling for 3D structure determination with optimized epitope-tag insertion

タンパク質の抗体ラベリング技術を改良し、構造解析をアシスト --電子顕微鏡やX線結晶解析による構造決定を加速化--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-04-20.Antibody labeling has been conducted extensively for structure determination using both X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy (EM). However, establishing target-specific antibodies is a prerequisite for applying antibody-assisted structural analysis. To expand the applicability of this strategy, an alternative method has been developed to prepare an antibody complex by inserting an exogenous epitope into the target. It has already been demonstrated that the Fab of the NZ-1 monoclonal antibody can form a stable complex with a target containing a PA12 tag as an inserted epitope. Nevertheless, it was also found that complex formation through the inserted PA12 tag inevitably caused structural changes around the insertion site on the target. Here, an attempt was made to improve the tag-insertion method, and it was consequently discovered that an alternate tag (PA14) could replace various loops on the target without inducing large structural changes. Crystallographic analysis demonstrated that the inserted PA14 tag adopts a loop-like conformation with closed ends in the antigen-binding pocket of the NZ-1 Fab. Due to proximity of the termini in the bound conformation, the more optimal PA14 tag had only a minor impact on the target structure. In fact, the PA14 tag could also be inserted into a sterically hindered loop for labeling. Molecular-dynamics simulations also showed a rigid structure for the target regardless of PA14 insertion and complex formation with the NZ-1 Fab. Using this improved labeling technique, negative-stain EM was performed on a bacterial site-2 protease, which enabled an approximation of the domain arrangement based on the docking mode of the NZ-1 Fab

Mechanistic insights into intramembrane proteolysis by E. coli site-2 protease homolog RseP

細胞膜の中ではたらく特殊なタンパク質分解酵素の構造を解明 --細菌感染症の新たな治療法の開発へ期待--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-25.Site-2 proteases are a conserved family of intramembrane proteases that cleave transmembrane substrates to regulate signal transduction and maintain proteostasis. Here, we elucidated crystal structures of inhibitor-bound forms of bacterial site-2 proteases including Escherichia coli RseP. Structure-based chemical modification and cross-linking experiments indicated that the RseP domains surrounding the active center undergo conformational changes to expose the substrate-binding site, suggesting that RseP has a gating mechanism to regulate substrate entry. Furthermore, mutational analysis suggests that a conserved electrostatic linkage between the transmembrane and peripheral membrane-associated domains mediates the conformational changes. In vivo cleavage assays also support that the substrate transmembrane helix is unwound by strand addition to the intramembrane β sheet of RseP and is clamped by a conserved asparagine residue at the active center for efficient cleavage. This mechanism underlying the substrate binding, i.e., unwinding and clamping, appears common across distinct families of intramembrane proteases that cleave transmembrane segments

Structural Basis for Variant-Specific Neuroligin-Binding by α-Neurexin

Neurexins (Nrxs) are presynaptic membrane proteins with a single membrane-spanning domain that mediate asymmetric trans-synaptic cell adhesion by binding to their postsynaptic receptor neuroligins. α-Nrx has a large extracellular region comprised of multiple copies of laminin, neurexin, sex-hormone-binding globulin (LNS) domains and epidermal growth factor (EGF) modules, while that of β-Nrx has but a single LNS domain. It has long been known that the larger α-Nrx and the shorter β-Nrx show distinct binding behaviors toward different isoforms/variants of neuroligins, although the underlying mechanism has yet to be elucidated. Here, we describe the crystal structure of a fragment corresponding to the C-terminal one-third of the Nrx1α ectodomain, consisting of LNS5-EGF3-LNS6. The 2.3 Å-resolution structure revealed the presence of a domain configuration that was rigidified by inter-domain contacts, as opposed to the more common flexible “beads-on-a-string” arrangement. Although the neuroligin-binding site on the LNS6 domain was completely exposed, the location of the α-Nrx specific LNS5-EGF3 segment proved incompatible with the loop segment inserted in the B+ neuroligin variant, which explains the variant-specific neuroligin recognition capability observed in α-Nrx. This, combined with a low-resolution molecular envelope obtained by a single particle reconstruction performed on negatively stained full-length Nrx1α sample, allowed us to derive a structural model of the α-Nrx ectodomain. This model will help us understand not only how the large α-Nrx ectodomain is accommodated in the synaptic cleft, but also how the trans-synaptic adhesion mediated by α- and β-Nrxs could differentially affect synaptic structure and function

サイキンガタ コウゴウセイ ハンノウ チュウシン ノ ケッショウ コウゾウ カイセキ : マク タンパクシツ タイネツカ キコウ オヨビ デンシ デンタツ ハンノウ キコウ

京都大学0048新制・課程博士博士(理学)甲第8750号理博第2322号新制||理||1212(附属図書館)UT51-2001-F80京都大学大学院理学研究科化学専攻(主査)教授 三木 邦夫, 教授 伊藤 維昭, 教授 丸岡 啓二学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of ScienceKyoto UniversityDA

Structural Basis for Specific Recognition of Reelin by Its Receptors

SummaryApolipoprotein E receptor 2 (ApoER2) and very-low-density lipoprotein receptor, members of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) protein family, function as neuronal receptors for a secreted glycoprotein reelin during brain development. In both receptors, the first LDLR class A (LA1) module is sufficient to bind reelin. Analysis of a 2.6 Å crystal structure of the reelin receptor-binding fragment in complex with the LA1 of ApoER2 revealed that Lys2467 of reelin is recognized by both a conserved Trp residue and calcium-coordinating acidic residues from LA1, which together with Lys2360 plays a critical role in the interaction. This “double-Lys” recognition mode is, in fact, shared among other LDLR family proteins in ligand binding. The interface between reelin and LA1 covers a small surface area of ∼350 Å2 on each side, which ensures a stable complex formation under physiological conditions. An examination of structure-guided mutagenesis on interface residues revealed key features of this interaction

Roles of the membrane-reentrant β-hairpin-like loop of RseP protease in selective substrate cleavage.

Molecular mechanisms underlying substrate recognition and cleavage by Escherichia coli RseP, which belongs to S2P family of intramembrane-cleaving proteases, remain unclear. We examined the function of a conserved region looped into the membrane domain of RseP to form a β-hairpin-like structure near its active site in substrate recognition and cleavage. We observed that mutations disturbing the possible β-strand conformation of the loop impaired RseP proteolytic activity and that some of these mutations resulted in the differential cleavage of different substrates. Co-immunoprecipitation and crosslinking experiments suggest that the loop directly interacts with the transmembrane segments of substrates. Helix-destabilising mutations in the transmembrane segments of substrates suppressed the effect of loop mutations in an allele-specific manner. These results suggest that the loop promotes substrate cleavage by selectively recognising the transmembrane segments of substrates in an extended conformation and by presenting them to the proteolytic active site, which contributes to substrate discrimination

Higher-Order Architecture of Cell Adhesion Mediated by Polymorphic Synaptic Adhesion Molecules Neurexin and Neuroligin

Polymorphic adhesion molecules neurexin and neuroligin (NL) mediate asymmetric trans-synaptic adhesion, which is crucial for synapse development and function. It is not known whether or how individual synapse function is controlled by the interactions between variants and isoforms of these molecules with differing ectodomain regions. At a physiological concentration of Ca2+, the ectodomain complex of neurexin-1 β isoform (Nrx1β) and NL1 spontaneously assembled into crystals of a lateral sheet-like superstructure topologically compatible with transcellular adhesion. Correlative light-electron microscopy confirmed extracellular sheet formation at the junctions between Nrx1β- and NL1-expressing non-neuronal cells, mimicking the close, parallel synaptic membrane apposition. The same NL1-expressing cells, however, did not form this higher-order architecture with cells expressing the much longer neurexin-1 α isoform, suggesting a functional discrimination mechanism between synaptic contacts made by different isoforms of neurexin variants