Protein stability engineering insights revealed by domain-wide comprehensive mutagenesis.

The accurate prediction of protein stability upon sequence mutation is an important but unsolved challenge in protein engineering. Large mutational datasets are required to train computational predictors, but traditional methods for collecting stability data are either low-throughput or measure protein stability indirectly. Here, we develop an automated method to generate thermodynamic stability data for nearly every single mutant in a small 56-residue protein. Analysis reveals that most single mutants have a neutral effect on stability, mutational sensitivity is largely governed by residue burial, and unexpectedly, hydrophobics are the best tolerated amino acid type. Correlating the output of various stability-prediction algorithms against our data shows that nearly all perform better on boundary and surface positions than for those in the core and are better at predicting large-to-small mutations than small-to-large ones. We show that the most stable variants in the single-mutant landscape are better identified using combinations of 2 prediction algorithms and including more algorithms can provide diminishing returns. In most cases, poor in silico predictions were tied to compositional differences between the data being analyzed and the datasets used to train the algorithm. Finally, we find that strategies to extract stabilities from high-throughput fitness data such as deep mutational scanning are promising and that data produced by these methods may be applicable toward training future stability-prediction tools.

Particulate methane monooxygenase contains only mononuclear copper centers.

Bacteria that oxidize methane to methanol are central to mitigating emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The nature of the copper active site in the primary metabolic enzyme of these bacteria, particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO), has been controversial owing to seemingly contradictory biochemical, spectroscopic, and crystallographic results. We present biochemical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic characterization most consistent with two monocopper sites within pMMO: one in the soluble PmoB subunit at the previously assigned active site (CuB) and one ~2 nanometers away in the membrane-bound PmoC subunit (CuC). On the basis of these results, we propose that a monocopper site is able to catalyze methane oxidation in pMMO.

A robust heterodimeric Fc platform engineered for efficient development of bispecific antibodies of multiple formats.

Bispecific monoclonal antibodies can bind two protein targets simultaneously and enable therapeutic modalities inaccessible by traditional mAbs. Bispecific formats containing a heterodimeric Fc region are of particular interest, as a heterodimeric Fc empowers both bispecificity and altered valencies while retaining the developability and druggability of a monoclonal antibody. We present a robust heterodimeric Fc platform, called the XmAb® bispecific platform, engineered for efficient development of bispecific antibodies and Fc fusions of multiple formats. First, we engineer a purification solution for proteins containing a heterodimeric Fc using engineered isoelectric point differences in the Fc region that enable straightforward purification of the heterodimeric species. Then, we combine this purification solution with a novel set of Fc substitutions capable of achieving heterodimer yields over 95% with little change in thermostability. Next, we illustrate the flexibility of our heterodimeric Fc with a case study in which a wide range of tumor-associated antigen × CD3 bispecifics are generated, differing in choice of tumor antigen, affinities for both tumor antigen and CD3, and tumor antigen valency. Finally, we present manufacturing data reinforcing the robustness of the heterodimeric Fc platform at scale.

Cell-free protein synthesis enables high yielding synthesis of an active multicopper oxidase.

Multicopper oxidases (MCOs) are broadly distributed in all kingdoms of life and perform a variety of important oxidative reactions. These enzymes have potential biotechnological applications; however, the applications are impeded by low expression yields in traditional recombinant hosts, solubility issues, and poor copper cofactor assembly. As an alternative to traditional recombinant protein expression, we show the ability to use cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) to produce complex MCO proteins with high soluble titers. Specifically, we report the production of MCOs in an Escherichia coli-based cell-free transcription-translation system. Total yields as high as 1.2 mg mL(-1) were observed after a 20-h batch reaction. More than 95% of the protein was soluble and activity was obtained by simple post-CFPS addition of copper ions in the form of CuSO4 . Scale-up reactions were achieved from 15 to 100 µL without a decrease in productivity and solubility. CFPS titers were higher than in vivo expression titers and more soluble, avoiding the formation of inclusion bodies. Our work extends the utility of the cell-free platform to the production of active proteins containing copper cofactors and demonstrates a simple method for producing MCOs.

Mechanism of an ATP-independent protein disaggregase: II. distinct molecular interactions drive multiple steps during aggregate disassembly.

The ability of molecular chaperones to overcome the misfolding and aggregation of proteins is essential for the maintenance of proper protein homeostasis in all cells. Thus far, the best studied disaggregase systems are the Clp/Hsp100 family of "ATPases associated with various cellular activities" (AAA(+)) ATPases, which use mechanical forces powered by ATP hydrolysis to remodel protein aggregates. An alternative system to disassemble large protein aggregates is provided by the 38-kDa subunit of the chloroplast signal recognition particle (cpSRP43), which uses binding energy with its substrate proteins to drive disaggregation. The mechanism of this novel chaperone remains unclear. Here, molecular genetics and structure-activity analyses show that the action of cpSRP43 can be dissected into two steps with distinct molecular requirements: (i) initial recognition, during which cpSRP43 binds specifically to a recognition motif displayed on the surface of the aggregate; and (ii) aggregate remodeling, during which highly adaptable binding interactions of cpSRP43 with hydrophobic transmembrane domains of the substrate protein compete with the packing interactions within the aggregate. This establishes a useful framework to understand the molecular mechanism by which binding interactions from a molecular chaperone can be used to overcome protein aggregates in the absence of external energy input from ATP.

Experimental library screening demonstrates the successful application of computational protein design to large structural ensembles.

The stability, activity, and solubility of a protein sequence are determined by a delicate balance of molecular interactions in a variety of conformational states. Even so, most computational protein design methods model sequences in the context of a single native conformation. Simulations that model the native state as an ensemble have been mostly neglected due to the lack of sufficiently powerful optimization algorithms for multistate design. Here, we have applied our multistate design algorithm to study the potential utility of various forms of input structural data for design. To facilitate a more thorough analysis, we developed new methods for the design and high-throughput stability determination of combinatorial mutation libraries based on protein design calculations. The application of these methods to the core design of a small model system produced many variants with improved thermodynamic stability and showed that multistate design methods can be readily applied to large structural ensembles. We found that exhaustive screening of our designed libraries helped to clarify several sources of simulation error that would have otherwise been difficult to ascertain. Interestingly, the lack of correlation between our simulated and experimentally measured stability values shows clearly that a design procedure need not reproduce experimental data exactly to achieve success. This surprising result suggests potentially fruitful directions for the improvement of computational protein design technology.

Structural and functional properties of peptides based on the N-terminus of HIV-1 gp41 and the C-terminus of the amyloid-beta protein.

Given their high alanine and glycine levels, plaque formation, alpha-helix to beta-sheet interconversion and fusogenicity, FP (i.e., the N-terminal fusion peptide of HIV-1 gp41; 23 residues) and amyloids were proposed as belonging to the same protein superfamily. Here, we further test whether FP may exhibit 'amyloid-like' characteristics, by contrasting its structural and functional properties with those of Abeta(26-42), a 17-residue peptide from the C-terminus of the amyloid-beta protein responsible for Alzheimer's. FTIR spectroscopy, electron microscopy, light scattering and predicted amyloid structure aggregation (PASTA) indicated that aqueous FP and Abeta(26-42) formed similar networked beta-sheet fibrils, although the FP fibril interactions were weaker. FP and Abeta(26-42) both lysed and aggregated human erythrocytes, with the hemolysis-onsets correlated with the conversion of alpha-helix to beta-sheet for each peptide in liposomes. Congo red (CR), a marker of amyloid plaques in situ, similarly inhibited either FP- or Abeta(26-42)-induced hemolysis, and surface plasmon resonance indicated that this may be due to direct CR-peptide binding. These findings suggest that membrane-bound beta-sheets of FP may contribute to the cytopathicity of HIV in vivo through an amyloid-type mechanism, and support the classification of HIV-1 FP as an 'amyloid homolog' (or 'amylog').