4 research outputs found
Discovery and Investigation of Natural Editing Function against Artificial Amino Acids in Protein Translation
[Image: see text] Fluorine being not substantially present in the chemistry of living beings is an attractive element in tailoring novel chemical, biophysical, and pharmacokinetic properties of peptides and proteins. The hallmark of ribosome-mediated artificial amino acid incorporation into peptides and proteins is a broad substrate tolerance, which is assumed to rely on the absence of evolutionary pressure for efficient editing of artificial amino acids. We used the well-characterized editing proficient isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS) from Escherichia coli to investigate the crosstalk of aminoacylation and editing activities against fluorinated amino acids. We show that translation of trifluoroethylglycine (TfeGly) into proteins is prevented by hydrolysis of TfeGly-tRNA(Ile) in the IleRS post-transfer editing domain. The remarkable observation is that dissociation of TfeGly-tRNA(Ile) from IleRS is significantly slowed down. This finding is in sharp contrast to natural editing reactions by tRNA synthetases wherein fast editing rates for the noncognate substrates are essential to outcompete fast aa-tRNA dissociation rates. Using a post-transfer editing deficient mutant of IleRS (IleRSAla10), we were able to achieve ribosomal incorporation of TfeGly in vivo. Our work expands the knowledge of ribosome-mediated artificial amino acid translation with detailed analysis of natural editing function against an artificial amino acid providing an impulse for further systematic investigations and engineering of the translation and editing of unusual amino acids
Exploiting Oligo(amido amine) Backbones for the Multivalent Presentation of Coiled-Coil Peptides
The
investigation of coiled coil formation for one mono- and two
divalent peptideâpolymer conjugates is presented. Through the
assembly of the full conjugates on solid support, monodisperse sequence-defined
conjugates are obtained with defined positions and distances between
the peptide side chains along the polymeric backbone. A heteromeric
peptide design was chosen, where peptide K is attached to the polymer
backbone, and coiled-coil formation is only expected through complexation
with the complementary peptide E. Indeed, the monovalent peptide K-polymer
conjugate displays rapid coiled-coil formation when mixed with the
complementary peptide E sequence. The divalent systems show intramolecular
homomeric coiled-coil formation on the polymer backbone despite the
peptide design. Interestingly, this intramolecular assembly undergoes
a conformational rearrangement by the addition of the complementary
peptide E leading to the formation of heteromeric coiled coilâpolymer
aggregates. The polymer backbone acts as a template bringing the covalently
bound peptide strands in close proximity to each other, increasing
the local concentration and inducing the otherwise nonfavorable formation
of intramolecular helical assemblies
Inhibition of NGLY1 Inactivates the Transcription Factor Nrf1 and Potentiates Proteasome Inhibitor Cytotoxicity
Proteasome inhibitors
are used to treat blood cancers such as multiple
myeloma (MM) and mantle cell lymphoma. The efficacy of these drugs
is frequently undermined by acquired resistance. One mechanism of
proteasome inhibitor resistance may involve the transcription factor
Nuclear Factor, Erythroid 2 Like 1 (NFE2L1, also referred to as Nrf1),
which responds to proteasome insufficiency or pharmacological inhibition
by upregulating proteasome subunit gene expression. This âbounce-backâ
response is achieved through a unique mechanism. Nrf1 is constitutively
translocated into the ER lumen, N-glycosylated, and then targeted
for proteasomal degradation via the ER-associated degradation (ERAD)
pathway. Proteasome inhibition leads to accumulation of cytosolic
Nrf1, which is then processed to form the active transcription factor.
Here we show that the cytosolic enzyme N-glycanase 1 (NGLY1, the human
PNGase) is essential for Nrf1 activation in response to proteasome
inhibition. Chemical or genetic disruption of NGLY1 activity results
in the accumulation of misprocessed Nrf1 that is largely excluded
from the nucleus. Under these conditions, Nrf1 is inactive in regulating
proteasome subunit gene expression in response to proteasome inhibition.
Through a small molecule screen, we identified a cell-active NGLY1
inhibitor that disrupts the processing and function of Nrf1. The compound
potentiates the cytotoxicity of carfilzomib, a clinically used proteasome
inhibitor, against MM and T cell-derived acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(T-ALL) cell lines. Thus, NGLY1 inhibition prevents Nrf1 activation
and represents a new therapeutic approach for cancers that depend
on proteasome homeostasis