Phosphorylation in intrinsically disordered regions regulates the activity of Neurogenin2.

BACKGROUND: Neuronal differentiation is largely under the control of basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) proneural transcription factors that play key roles during development of the embryonic nervous system. In addition to well-characterised regulation of their expression, increasing evidence is emerging for additional post-translational regulation of proneural protein activity. Of particular interest is the bHLH proneural factor Neurogenin2 (Ngn2), which orchestrates progression from neural progenitor to differentiated neuron in several regions of the central nervous system. Previous studies have demonstrated a key role for cell cycle-dependent multi-site phosphorylation of Ngn2 protein at Serine-Proline (SP) sites for regulation of its neuronal differentiation activity, although the potential structural and functional consequences of phosphorylation at different regions of the protein are unclear. RESULTS: Here we characterise the role of phosphorylation of specific regions of Ngn2 on the stability of Ngn2 protein and on its neuronal differentiation activity in vivo in the developing embryo, demonstrating clearly that the location of SP sites is less important than the number of SP sites available for control of Ngn2 activity in vivo. We also provide structural evidence that Ngn2 contains large, intrinsically disordered regions that undergo phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks). CONCLUSIONS: Phosphorylation of Ngn2 occurs in both the N- and C-terminal regions, either side of the conserved basic Helix-Loop-Helix domain. While these phosphorylation events do not change the intrinsic stability of Ngn2, phosphorylation on multiple sites acts to limit its ability to drive neuronal differentiation in vivo. Phosphorylated regions of Ngn2 are predicted to be intrinsically disordered and cdk-dependent phosphorylation of these intrinsically disordered regions contributes to Ngn2 regulation.This work was supported by MRC Research Grant G0700758 (AP), a Cancer Research UK Studentship (CH) and an MRC DTA Studentship (GM). Support was also received (IL) from the TGE RMN THC (FR-3050, France). We acknowledge support for international collaboration by a BQR fellowship from Lille North of France University. The NMR facilities were funded by the Région Nord, CNRS, Pasteur Institute of Lille, European Community (FEDER), French Research Ministry and the University of Sciences and Technologies of Lille 1.This is the final version. It was first published by BioMed Central at http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2091/15/2

Comparative analysis of Erk phosphorylation suggests a mixed strategy for measuring phospho-form distributions.

The functional impact of multisite protein phosphorylation can depend on both the numbers and the positions of phosphorylated sites-the global pattern of phosphorylation or 'phospho-form'-giving biological systems profound capabilities for dynamic information processing. A central problem in quantitative systems biology, therefore, is to measure the 'phospho-form distribution': the relative amount of each of the 2(n) phospho-forms of a protein with n-phosphorylation sites. We compared four potential methods-western blots with phospho-specific antibodies, peptide-based liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS; pepMS), protein-based LC/MS (proMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR)-on differentially phosphorylated samples of the well-studied mitogen-activated protein kinase Erk2, with two phosphorylation sites. The MS methods were quantitatively consistent with each other and with NMR to within 10%, but western blots, while highly sensitive, showed significant discrepancies with MS. NMR also uncovered two additional phosphorylations, for which a combination of pepMS and proMS yielded an estimate of the 16-member phospho-form distribution. This combined MS strategy provides an optimal mixture of accuracy and coverage for quantifying distributions, but positional isomers remain a challenging problem

Structure and antagonism of the receptor complex mediated by human TSLP in allergy and asthma

The pro-inflammatory cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is pivotal to the pathophysiology of widespread allergic diseases mediated by type 2 helper T cell (Th2) responses, including asthma and atopic dermatitis. The emergence of human TSLP as a clinical target against asthma calls for maximally harnessing its therapeutic potential via structural and mechanistic considerations. Here we employ an integrative experimental approach focusing on productive and antagonized TSLP complexes and free cytokine. We reveal how cognate receptor TSLPR allosterically activates TSLP to potentiate the recruitment of the shared interleukin 7 receptor a-chain (IL-7Ra) by leveraging the flexibility, conformational heterogeneity and electrostatics of the cytokine. We further show that the monoclonal antibody Tezepelumab partly exploits these principles to neutralize TSLP activity. Finally, we introduce a fusion protein comprising a tandem of the TSLPR and IL-7Ra extracellular domains, which harnesses the mechanistic intricacies of the TSLP-driven receptor complex to manifest high antagonistic potency

Microtubule and MAPs: thermodynamics of complex formation by AUC, ITC, fluorescence, and NMR.

International audienceMicrotubules are implicated in many essential cellular processes such as architecture, cell division, and intracellular traffic, due to their dynamic instability. This dynamicity is tightly regulated by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), such as tau and stathmin. Despite extensive studies motivated by their central role in physiological functions and pathological role in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, the precise mechanisms of tau and stathmin binding to tubulin and their consequences on microtubule stability are still not fully understood. One of the most crucial points missing is a quantitative thermodynamic description of their interaction with tubulin/microtubules and of the tubulin complexes formed upon these interactions. In this chapter, we will focus on the use of analytical ultracentrifugation, isothermal titration calorimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance-three powerful and complementary techniques in the field of MAP-tubulin/microtubule interactions, in addition to the spectrometric techniques and co-sedimentation approach. We will present the limits of these techniques to study this particular interaction and precautions that need to be taken during MAPs preparation. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern MAPs action on microtubular network will not only shed new light on the role of this crucial family of protein in the biology of the cell, but also hopefully open new paths to increase the therapeutic efficiency of microtubule-targeting drugs in cancers therapies and neurodegeneratives diseases prevention

Molecular Implication of PP2A and Pin1 in the Alzheimer's Disease Specific Hyperphosphorylation of Tau

Tau phosphorylation and dephosphorylation regulate in a poorly understood manner its physiological role of microtubule stabilization, and equally its integration in Alzheimer disease (AD) related fibrils. A specific phospho-pattern will result from the balance between kinases and phosphatases. The heterotrimeric Protein Phosphatase type 2A encompassing regulatory subunit PR55/Bα (PP2A(T55α)) is a major Tau phosphatase in vivo, which contributes to its final phosphorylation state. We use NMR spectroscopy to determine the dephosphorylation rates of phospho-Tau by this major brain phosphatase, and present site-specific and kinetic data for the individual sites including the pS202/pT205 AT8 and pT231 AT180 phospho-epitopes.We demonstrate the importance of the PR55/Bα regulatory subunit of PP2A within this enzymatic process, and show that, unexpectedly, phosphorylation at the pT231 AT180 site negatively interferes with the dephosphorylation of the pS202/pT205 AT8 site. This inhibitory effect can be released by the phosphorylation dependent prolyl cis/trans isomerase Pin1. Because the stimulatory effect is lost with the dimeric PP2A core enzyme (PP2A(D)) or with a phospho-Tau T231A mutant, we propose that Pin1 regulates the interaction between the PR55/Bα subunit and the AT180 phospho-epitope on Tau.Our results show that phosphorylation of T231 (AT180) can negatively influence the dephosphorylation of the pS202/pT205 AT8 epitope, even without an altered PP2A pool. Thus, a priming dephosphorylation of pT231 AT180 is required for efficient PP2A(T55α)-mediated dephosphorylation of pS202/pT205 AT8. The sophisticated interplay between priming mechanisms reported for certain Tau kinases and the one described here for Tau phosphatase PP2A(T55α) may contribute to the hyperphosphorylation of Tau observed in AD neurons

Structural activation of the transcriptional repressor EthR from Mycobacterium tuberculosis by single amino acid change mimicking natural and synthetic ligands

Ethionamide is an antituberculous drug for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This antibiotic requires activation by the monooxygenase EthA to exert its activity. Production of EthA is controlled by the transcriptional repressor EthR, a member of the TetR family. The sensitivity of M. tuberculosis to ethionamide can be artificially enhanced using synthetic ligands of EthR that allosterically inactivate its DNA-binding activity. Comparison of several structures of EthR co-crystallized with various ligands suggested that the structural reorganization of EthR resulting in its inactivation is controlled by a limited portion of the ligand-binding-pocket. In silico simulation predicted that mutation G106W may mimic ligands. X-ray crystallography of variant G106W indeed revealed a protein structurally similar to ligand-bound EthR. Surface plasmon resonance experiments established that this variant is unable to bind DNA, while thermal shift studies demonstrated that mutation G106W stabilizes EthR as strongly as ligands. Proton NMR of the methyl regions showed a lesser contribution of exchange broadening upon ligand binding, and the same quenched dynamics was observed in apo-variant G106W. Altogether, we here show that the area surrounding Gly106 constitutes the molecular switch involved in the conformational reorganization of EthR. These results also shed light on the mechanistic of ligand-induced allosterism controlling the DNA binding properties of TetR family repressors

DEB025 (Alisporivir) Inhibits Hepatitis C Virus Replication by Preventing a Cyclophilin A Induced Cis-Trans Isomerisation in Domain II of NS5A

DEB025/Debio 025 (Alisporivir) is a cyclophilin (Cyp)-binding molecule with potent anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity both in vitro and in vivo. It is currently being evaluated in phase II clinical trials. DEB025 binds to CypA, a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase which is a crucial cofactor for HCV replication. Here we report that it was very difficult to select resistant replicons (genotype 1b) to DEB025, requiring an average of 20 weeks (four independent experiments), compared to the typically <2 weeks with protease or polymerase inhibitors. This indicates a high genetic barrier to resistance for DEB025. Mutation D320E in NS5A was the only mutation consistently selected in the replicon genome. This mutation alone conferred a low-level (3.9-fold) resistance. Replacing the NS5A gene (but not the NS5B gene) from the wild type (WT) genome with the corresponding sequence from the DEB025res replicon resulted in transfer of resistance. Cross-resistance with cyclosporine A (CsA) was observed, whereas NS3 protease and NS5B polymerase inhibitors retained WT-activity against DEB025res replicons. Unlike WT, DEB025res replicon replicated efficiently in CypA knock down cells. However, DEB025 disrupted the interaction between CypA and NS5A regardless of whether the NS5A protein was derived from WT or DEB025res replicon. NMR titration experiments with peptides derived from the WT or the DEB025res domain II of NS5A corroborated this observation in a quantitative manner. Interestingly, comparative NMR studies on two 20-mer NS5A peptides that contain D320 or E320 revealed a shift in population between the major and minor conformers. These data suggest that D320E conferred low-level resistance to DEB025 probably by reducing the need for CypA-dependent isomerisation of NS5A. Prolonged DEB025 treatment and multiple genotypic changes may be necessary to generate significant resistance to DEB025, underlying the high barrier to resistance

Investigation de la limite de (non)-structuration des protéines (étude du cas de protéines intrinsèquement désordonnées)

De nombreuses protéines ou domaines de protéines sont intrinsèquement non structurés/désordonnés (IUPs), mais possèdent néanmoins des fonctions diverses et importantes in vivo. La technique de choix pour étudier les IUPs est la Résonance Magnétique Nucléaire (RMN). Cependant, pour obtenir de l'information à partir des différentes expériences de RMN possibles, les spectres doivent d'abord être attribués. Pour faciliter cette attribution, un outil graphique, semi-automatique qui utilise le concept des plans produit et somme a été développé. Cet outil a permis l'étude de deux IUPs individuelles, Tau et NS5A VHC. Les résonances RMN du squelette et des Cb ont été attribuées entièrement pour deux fragments de Tau (F3 et F5) et partiellement pour Tau entier P301L. Ces attributions RMN de Tau pourraient mener à davantage de compréhension sur le comportement structural de cette protéine quand elle se lie à, ou polymérise des microtubules. Aussi la formation des agrégés de Tau, qui est une des caractéristiques de la maladie d'Alzheimer, pourrait être étudiée plus en détail. Dans un deuxième temps, la protéine non structurale 5A (NS5A) du virus de l'Hépatite C (VHC) a été étudiée. Les propriétés structurales du deuxième et troisième domaine (sur trois) de cette protéine ont été évaluées. De la structure hélice alpha résiduelle a été observée, ce qui pourrait indiquer des régions prédisposées à interagir avec d'autres partenaires cellulaires. On a également examiné l'interaction entre CypA et CypB et les domaines D2 et D3 de NS5A, car ces PPIases pourraient jouer un rôle dans la réplication de VHCMany proteins and protein regions have been shown be intrinsically unstructured/disordered (IUPs) and still carry out diverse and important functions in vivo. The technique of choice for studying IUPs is Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). However, to be able to obtain information of many possible NMR spectra, these must first be assigned. This process is complicated in the case of IUPs by the increased amount of signal overlap. To facilitate the assignment, a graphical semi-automatic assignment tool using the concept of product and sum planes was developed. Using this tool, the study of individual IUPs by NMR became conceivable. A first considered IUP is human Tau. The backbone and Cb resonances have been fully assigned for two Tau fragments (F3 and F5) and partially assigned for full-length Tau P301L. These NMR assignments of Tau could eventually lead to more insight in the structural behaviour of the protein upon its binding to or polymerisation of microtubules, and in its aggregated form which is observed to be one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Secondly, the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) was considered. The structural properties of both the second and third domain (out of three) of this protein have been assessed and some residual a-helical structure was observed, which could be indicative of regions prone to interaction with other cellular partners. We have also examined the interaction between both CypA and CypB and the domains D2 and D3 of NS5A, as these PPIases might be involved in HCV replicationLILLE1-Bib. Electronique (590099901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Elucidating Tau function and dysfunction in the era of cryo-EM

International audienceTau is a microtubule-associated protein involved in the regulation of axonal microtubules in neurons. In pathological conditions, it forms fibrils that are molecular hallmarks of neurological disorders known as Tauopathies. In the last two years, cryo-EM has given unprecedented high-resolution views of Tau in both physiological and pathological conditions. We review here these new findings and put them into the context of the knowledge about Tau before this structural breakthrough. The first structures of Tau fibrils, a molecular hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), werebased on fibrils from the brain of an individual with AD and, along with similar patient-derived structures, have set the gold standard for the field. Cryo-EM structures of Tau fibers in three distinct diseases, AD, Pick’s disease (PiD) and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), represent the end-points of Tau’s molecular trajectory. We propose that the recent Tau structures may call for a re-examination of databases that link differentTau variants to various forms of dementia. We also address the question how this structural information may link Tau’s functional and pathological aspects. Because this structural information on Tau was obtained in a very short period, the new structures should be viewed in light of earlier structural observations and past and present functional data to shed additional light on Tau function and dysfunction