Pooled-matrix protein interaction screens using Barcode Fusion Genetics.

High-throughput binary protein interaction mapping is continuing to extend our understanding of cellular function and disease mechanisms. However, we remain one or two orders of magnitude away from a complete interaction map for humans and other major model organisms. Completion will require screening at substantially larger scales with many complementary assays, requiring further efficiency gains in proteome-scale interaction mapping. Here, we report Barcode Fusion Genetics-Yeast Two-Hybrid (BFG-Y2H), by which a full matrix of protein pairs can be screened in a single multiplexed strain pool. BFG-Y2H uses Cre recombination to fuse DNA barcodes from distinct plasmids, generating chimeric protein-pair barcodes that can be quantified via next-generation sequencing. We applied BFG-Y2H to four different matrices ranging in scale from ~25 K to 2.5 M protein pairs. The results show that BFG-Y2H increases the efficiency of protein matrix screening, with quality that is on par with state-of-the-art Y2H methods.

Reconstitution of human RNA interference in budding yeast.

Although RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) is a widely conserved process among eukaryotes, including many fungi, it is absent from the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three human proteins, Ago2, Dicer and TRBP, are sufficient for reconstituting the RISC complex in vitro. To examine whether the introduction of human RNAi genes can reconstitute RNAi in S. cerevisiae, genes encoding these three human proteins were introduced into S. cerevisiae. We observed both siRNA and siRNA- and RISC-dependent silencing of the target gene GFP. Thus, human Ago2, Dicer and TRBP can functionally reconstitute human RNAi in S. cerevisiae, in vivo, enabling the study and use of the human RNAi pathway in a facile genetic model organism.

Guanine nucleotide exchange factor independence of the G-protein eEF1A through novel mutant forms and biochemical properties.

Most G-proteins require a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) to regulate a variety of critical cellular processes. Interestingly, a small number of G-proteins switch between the active and inactive forms without a GEF. Translation elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) normally requires the GEF eEF1Balpha to accelerate nucleotide dissociation. However, several mutant forms of eEF1A are functional independent of this essential regulator in vivo. GEF-independent eEF1A mutations localize close to the G-protein motifs that are crucial for nucleotide binding. Kinetic analysis demonstrated that reduced GDP affinity correlates with wild type growth and high translation activities of GEF-independent mutants. Furthermore, the mutant forms show an 11-22-fold increase in rates of GDP dissociation from eEF1A compared with the wild type protein. All mutant forms have dramatically enhanced stability at elevated temperatures. This, coupled with data demonstrating that eEF1A is also more stable in the presence of nucleotides, suggests that both the GEF and nucleotide have stabilizing effects on eEF1A. The biochemical properties of these eEF1A mutants provide insight into the mechanism behind GEF-independent G-protein function.

Gamendazole, an orally active indazole carboxylic acid male contraceptive agent, targets HSP90AB1 (HSP90BETA) and EEF1A1 (eEF1A), and stimulates Il1a transcription in rat Sertoli cells.

Gamendazole was recently identified as an orally active antispermatogenic compound with antifertility effects. The cellular mechanism(s) through which these effects occur and the molecular target(s) of gamendazole action are currently unknown. Gamendazole was recently designed as a potent orally active antispermatogenic male contraceptive agent. Here, we report the identification of binding targets and propose a testable mechanism of action for this antispermatogenic agent. Both HSP90AB1 (previously known as HSP90beta [heat shock 90-kDa protein 1, beta]) and EEF1A1 (previously known as eEF1A [eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1]) were identified as binding targets by biotinylated gamendazole (BT-GMZ) affinity purification from testis, Sertoli cells, and ID8 ovarian cancer cells; identification was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and Western blot analysis. BT-GMZ bound to purified yeast HSP82 (homologue to mammalian HSP90AB1) and EEF1A1, but not to TEF3 or HBS1, and was competed by unlabeled gamendazole. However, gamendazole did not inhibit nucleotide binding by EEF1A1. Gamendazole binding to purified Saccharomyces cerevisiae HSP82 inhibited luciferase refolding and was not competed by the HSP90 drugs geldanamycin or novobiocin analogue, KU-1. Gamendazole elicited degradation of the HSP90-dependent client proteins AKT1 and ERBB2 and had an antiproliferative effect in MCF-7 cells without inducing HSP90. These data suggest that gamendazole may represent a new class of selective HSP90AB1 and EEF1A1 inhibitors. Testis gene microarray analysis from gamendazole-treated rats showed a marked, rapid increase in three interleukin 1 genes and Nfkbia (NF-kappaB inhibitor alpha) 4 h after oral administration. A spike in II1a transcription was confirmed by RT-PCR in primary Sertoli cells 60 min after exposure to 100 nM gamendazole, demonstrating that Sertoli cells are a target. AKT1, NFKB, and interleukin 1 are known regulators of the Sertoli cell-spermatid junctional complexes. A current model for gamendazole action posits that this pathway links interaction with HSP90AB1 and EEF1A1 to the loss of spermatids and resulting infertility.

Unique classes of mutations in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae G-protein translation elongation factor 1A suppress the requirement for guanine nucleotide exchange.

G-proteins play critical roles in many cellular processes and are regulated by accessory proteins that modulate the nucleotide-bound state. Such proteins, including eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A (eEF1A), are frequently reactivated by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs). In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, only the catalytic subunit of the GEF complex, eEF1Balpha, is essential for viability. The requirement for the TEF5 gene encoding eEF1Balpha can be suppressed by the presence of excess substrate, eEF1A. These cells, however, have defects in growth and translation. Two independent unbiased screens performed to dissect the cause of these phenotypes yielded dominant suppressors that bypass the requirement for extra eEF1A. Surprisingly, all mutations are in the G-protein eEF1A and cluster in its GTP-binding domain. Five mutants were used to construct novel strains expressing only the eEF1A mutant at normal levels. These strains show no growth defects and little to no decreases in total translation, which raises questions as to the evolutionary expression of GEF complexity and other potential functions of this complex. The location of the mutations on the eEF1A-eEF1Balpha structure suggests that their mechanism of suppression may depend on effects on the conserved G-protein elements: the P-loop and NKXD nucleotide-binding element.