Critical role of minor eggcase silk component in promoting spidroin chain alignment and strong fiber formation.

Natural spider silk with extraordinary mechanical properties is typically spun from more than one type of spidroin. Although the main components of various spider silks have been widely studied, little is known about the molecular role of the minor silk components in spidroin self-assembly and fiber formation. Here, we show that the minor component of spider eggcase silk, TuSp2, not only accelerates self-assembly but remarkably promotes molecular chain alignment of spidroins upon physical shearing. NMR structure of the repetitive domain of TuSp2 reveals that its dimeric structure with unique charged surface serves as a platform to recruit different domains of the main eggcase component TuSp1. Artificial fiber spun from the complex between TuSp1 and TuSp2 minispidroins exhibits considerably higher strength and Young's modulus than its native counterpart. These results create a framework for rationally designing silk biomaterials based on distinct roles of silk components.

Structural basis of NF-κB signaling by the p75 neurotrophin receptor interaction with adaptor protein TRADD through their respective death domains.

The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) is a critical mediator of neuronal death and tissue remodeling and has been implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. The death domain (DD) of p75NTR is an intracellular signaling hub and has been shown to interact with diverse adaptor proteins. In breast cancer cells, binding of the adaptor protein TRADD to p75NTR depends on nerve growth factor and promotes cell survival. However, the structural mechanism and functional significance of TRADD recruitment in neuronal p75NTR signaling remain poorly understood. Here we report an NMR structure of the p75NTR-DD and TRADD-DD complex and reveal the mechanism of specific recognition of the TRADD-DD by the p75NTR-DD mainly through electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, we identified spatiotemporal overlap of p75NTR and TRADD expression in developing cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) at early postnatal stages and discover the physiological relevance of the interaction between TRADD and p75NTR in the regulation of canonical NF-κB signaling and cell survival in CGNs. Our results provide a new structural framework for understanding how the recruitment of TRADD to p75NTR through DD interactions creates a membrane-proximal platform, which can be efficiently regulated by various neurotrophic factors through extracellular domains of p75NTR, to propagate downstream signaling in developing neurons.

The solution structure of human leptin reveals a conformational plasticity important for receptor recognition.

Leptin is a multi-potency cytokine that regulates various physiological functions, including weight control and energy homeostasis. Signaling of leptin is also important in many aging-related diseases. Leptin is required for the noncovalent crosslinking of different extracellular domains of leptin receptors, which is critical for receptor activation and downstream signaling. Nevertheless, the structure of intact apo-form leptin and the structural transition leptin undergoes upon receptor binding are not fully understood yet. Here, we determined the monomeric structure of wild-type human leptin by solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Leptin contains an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) in the internal A-B loop and the flexible helix E in the C-D loop, both of which undergo substantial local structural changes when leptin binds to its receptor. Our findings provide further insights into the molecular mechanisms of leptin signaling.

Uridine adenosine tetraphosphate induces contraction of circular and longitudinal gastric smooth muscle by distinct signaling pathways.

Extracellular nucleotides uridine-5'-triphosphate (UTP) and adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) induce contraction of gastric smooth muscle (SM). The dinucleotide uridine adenosine tetraphosphate (Up4 A), an endothelium-derived contraction factor, induces vascular SM contraction. Its effect on gastric SM contractions, however, is unknown. We addressed the hypothesis that Up4 A induces gastric SM contraction via a mechanism that may differ between circular and longitudinal muscle (CM and LM, respectively). CM and LM were isolated from rat gastric fundus for the measurement of isometric tension. Up4 A induced transient contractile responses in both CM and LM, which were similar to those induced by ATP and UTP. Up4 A failed to induce contraction of either LM or CM in the absence of extracellular Ca(2+) or in the presence of nimodipine, an inhibitor of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. P2X1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 and P2Y1, 2, 4 and 6 receptor expression was detected in gastric SM by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. IP5 I (a P2X receptor antagonist) and α,ß-methylene-ATP (a P2X receptor agonist) had no effect on Up4 A-induced contractions of either LM or CM, and α,ß-methylene-ATP alone failed to induce a contractile response in either tissue. Suramin (a P2Y receptor antagonist), on the other hand, significantly inhibited Up4 A-induced contraction of CM, but not LM. Up4 A-induced contraction of CM, but not LM, was also inhibited by pretreatment with Y-27632, an inhibitor of Rho-associated kinase. We conclude that Up4 A induces extracellular Ca(2+) -dependent contractions of rat gastric LM and CM, and Up4 A-induced contraction of CM is mediated by suramin-sensitive P2Y receptors and subsequent activation of the Rho-associated kinase pathway.

Estrogen metabolite 2-methoxyestradiol prevents hypertension in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt rats.

PURPOSE: Our early work showed that the estrogen metabolite 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME) inhibits proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and vascular contractility through an endothelium-dependent mechanism. The aim of this study was to examine whether 2ME prevents the development of hypertension in rats. METHODS: A hypertensive model was established in uninephrectomized rats using deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt. Blood pressure in response to 2ME (treatment up to 10 weeks or single bolus) was monitored. RESULTS: Our results showed that systolic blood pressure, as measured by tail-cuff plethysmography, was significantly increased in conscious rats treated with DOCA-salt for 3-10 weeks. Co-treatment with 2ME (100-300 µg/kg), but not dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), completely prevented the increase in blood pressure of DOCA-salt rats. After 10-week treatment, the mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) of anesthetized rats measured using PowerLab Data Acquisition System was: 84 ± 16 mmHg in normotensive control rats and 150 ± 9 mmHg in DOCA-salt rats, which was similar to that of DMSO-treated rats. Treatment with 2ME at low or high doses reduced MABP of DOCA-salt rats close to that of control normotensive rats. In addition, MABP of hypertensive DOCA-salt rats was significantly reduced in response to a single injection of 2ME. Delayed administration of 2ME reduced the further increase of blood pressure in DOCA-salt rats. However, inhibition of 2ME production by entacapone did not significantly affect blood pressure in either control or DOCA-salt rats. CONCLUSIONS: 2ME treatment prevents the development of hypertension in DOCA-salt rats, implicating a therapeutic potential of 2ME in hypertension treatment.

Recent progress in leptin signaling from a structural perspective and its implications for diseases.

As a multi-potency cytokine, leptin not only plays a crucial role in controlling weight and energy homeostasis but also participates in the metabolic balance in the human body. Leptin is a small helical protein with a molecular weight of 16 kDa. It can interact with multiple subtypes of its receptors to initiate intracellular signal transduction and exerts physiological effects. Disturbances in leptin signaling may lead to obesity and a variety of metabolic diseases. Leptin was also found to be a critical factor in many diseases of the elderly. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the structural and molecular mechanisms of leptin signaling through its receptors with the aim of a deeper understanding of leptin-related diseases.

Chemical shift assignments of wildtype human leptin.

Leptin is an adipose tissue-expressed 16-kDa hormone encoded by the ob/ob gene. It serves a crucial role in regulating diverse physiological processes, including body weight control, energy homeostasis regulation, promotion of cell proliferation, and more. Emerging research has also revealed potential implications of leptin in various aging-related diseases, suggesting multifaceted physiological roles of leptin. Structural investigation of wild-type leptin in apo form is of particular importance to understand its conformational plasticity for receptor interaction and recognition. Here, we report backbone and side-chain resonance assignments of wild-type human leptin as a basis for structural and functional studies on leptin-mediated signaling.

Equilibrium between monomers and dimers of the death domain of the p75 neurotrophin receptor in solution.

p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) contains a C-terminal globular protein module known as the death domain (DD), which plays a central role in apoptotic and inflammatory signaling through the formation of oligomeric protein complexes. A monomeric state of the p75NTR-DD also exists depending on its chemical environment in vitro. However, studies on the oligomeric states of the p75NTR-DD have produced conflicting findings and sparked great controversy. Here we present new evidence from biophysical and biochemical studies to demonstrate the coexistence of symmetric and asymmetric dimers of the p75NTR-DD, which may equilibrate with the monomeric form in solution and in the absence of any other protein. The reversible close-open solution behavior may be important for the p75NTR-DD to serve as an intracellular signaling hub. This result supports an intrinsic ability of the p75NTR-DD to self-associate, in congruence with the oligomerization properties of all members of the DD superfamily.

Structural insights of the toxin-antitoxin system VPA0770-VPA0769 in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are involved in both normal bacterial physiology and pathogenicity, including gene regulation, antibiotic resistance, and bacteria persistence under stressful environments. In pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus, however, TA interaction and assembly remain largely unknown. In this work, we identified a new RES-Xre type II TA module, encoded by gene cluster vpa0770-vpa0769 on chromosome II of V. parahaemolyticus. Ectopic expression of the VPA0770 toxin rapidly arrests the growth of E. coli cells, which can be neutralized by co-expression of the VPA0769 antitoxin. To decipher the action mechanism, we determined the crystal structure of the VPA0770-VPA0769 TA complex. VPA0770 and VPA0769 proteins can assemble into two types of large complexes, a W-shaped hetero-hexamer and a donut-like hetero-dodecamer, in a concentration-dependent manner in solution. Disruption of the TA interface results in a loss of the antitoxic phenotype. The toxicity of the VPA0770 toxin, which harbors a NAD+-binding pocket, may be largely ascribed to its highly effective capability to degrade intracellular NAD+. Our study provides a structural basis for a better understanding of diverse molecular mechanisms employed by human pathogens.

A Structural and Functional Perspective of Death Receptor 6.

As a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF), death receptor 6 (DR6) has a similar structural architecture to other family members. The extracellular region of DR6 contains four cysteine-rich domains, followed by a single-pass transmembrane domain and an intracellular region. Since its discovery, DR6 has become an orphan receptor ubiquitously expressed to transduce unique signaling pathways. Although the free ectodomains of ß-amyloid precursor protein (APP) can bind to DR6 to induce apoptotic signals, the natural ligands of DR6 still remain largely unknown. In this review, we focus on recent research progress of structural and functional studies on DR6 for better understanding DR6-mediated signaling and the treatment of DR6-related diseases.

Toxin-antitoxin systems in pathogenic Vibrio species: a mini review from a structure perspective.

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) genetic modules have been found to widely exist in bacterial chromosomes and mobile genetic elements. They are composed of stable toxins and less stable antitoxins that can counteract the toxicity of toxins. The interactions between toxins and antitoxins could play critical roles in the virulence and persistence of pathogenic bacteria. There are at least eight types of TA systems which have been identified in a variety of bacteria. Vibrio, a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, is widespread in aquatic environments and can cause various human diseases, such as epidemic cholera. In this review, we mainly explore the structures and functions of TA modules found in common Vibrio pathogens, mainly V. cholerae, for better understanding of TA action mechanisms in pathogenic bacteria.

1H, 15N and 13C resonance assignments of a repetitive domain of tubuliform spidroin 2.

Spider silk is renowned for its excellent mechanical properties. Among six types of silk and one silk glue produced by different abdominal glands for various purposes, tubuliform (eggcase) silk is unique due to its high serine and low glycine content. Eggcase silk is spun from at least two spidroins, tubuliform spidroin 1 (TuSp1) and TuSp2. TuSp1 and TuSp2 were identified as the major and the minor components in tubuliform glands, respectively. TuSp2 consists of multiple repetitive (RP) domains with short terminal tails and shares very limited homology to all known spidroins. Here we report backbone and side chain resonance assignments of TuSp2-RP as a basis for structural and functional studies on eggcase silk formation.

Self-assembly of tubuliform spidroins driven by hydrophobic interactions among terminal domains.

Spider silk has remarkable physical and biocompatible properties. Investigation of structure-function relationship and self-assembly process of spidroins is necessary for uncovering the mechanism of silk fiber formation. Nevertheless, how the terminal domains initiate self-assembly of soluble tubuliform spidroins to form solid eggcase silk is still not fully understood. Here we investigate the roles of both terminal domains of tubuliform spidroin 1 (TuSp1) in the silk fiber formation. We found that interactions among the terminal domains drive rapid TuSp1 self-assembly and fiber formation, which is insensitive to pH changes from 6.0 to 7.0. These interactions also contribute to the spidroin chain alignment in fiber formation upon shear-force exposure. Structural analysis and site-directed mutagenesis identified eight critical surface-exposed residues involved in hydrophobic interactions among terminal domains. Spidroins with single-point mutations of these residues fail to form intermediate micelle-like structures. The structural docking model indicates that multiple terminal domains of TuSp1 may interact with each other based on hydrophobic interactions and surface complementarity, which may lead to forming the surface of the micelle-like structure. Our results provide new insights into the structural mechanism of eggcase silk formation and the basis for designing and producing novel biomaterials derived from spider eggcase silk.

[Formation of natural silk and progress in artificial spinning].

Natural silks, produced by spiders and silkworms, are excellent materials with marvelous mechanical properties, biocompatibility and biodegradability, and widely used in the fields of textile, optics, electronics, biomedicine and environmental engineering. So far, there are many spinning methods to improve the mechanical properties of artificial fibers, such as wet spinning, dry spinning, and electrospinning. However, the performance of most artificial fibers is still inferior to natural silks. It is important to understand the correlations between hierarchical structures and performance in the field of artificial spinning. This review introduces the formation of natural silks, the relationship between the mechanical properties of silks and the hierarchical structure, the research progress in artificial spinning, and the application of silks.

Functional roles in cell signaling of adaptor protein TRADD from a structural perspective.

TRADD participates in various receptor signaling pathways and plays vital roles in many biological activities, including cell survival and apoptosis, in different cellular contexts. TRADD has two distinct functional domains, a TRAF-binding domain at the N-terminus and a death domain (DD) at the C-terminus. The TRAF binding domain of TRADD folds into an α-ß plait topology and is mainly responsible for binding TRAF2, while the TRADD-DD can interact with a variety of DD-containing proteins, including receptors and intracellular signaling molecules. After activation of specific receptors such as TNFR1 and DR3, TRADD can bind to the receptor through DD-DD interaction, creating a membrane-proximal platform for the recruitment of downstream molecules to propagate cellular signals. In this review, we highlight recent advances in the studies of the structural mechanism of TRADD adaptor functions for NF-κB activation and apoptosis induction. We also provide suggestions for future structure research related to TRADD-mediated signaling pathways.

Death domain of p75 neurotrophin receptor: a structural perspective on an intracellular signalling hub.

The death domain (DD) is a globular protein motif with a signature feature of an all-helical Greek-key motif. It is a primary mediator of a variety of biological activities, including apoptosis, cell survival and cytoskeletal changes, which are related to many neurodegenerative diseases, neurotrauma, and cancers. DDs exist in a wide range of signalling proteins including p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR ), a member of the tumour necrosis factor receptor superfamily. The specific signalling mediated by p75NTR in a given cell depends on the type of ligand engaging the extracellular domain and the recruitment of cytosolic interactors to the intracellular domain, especially the DD, of the receptor. In solution, the p75NTR -DDs mainly form a symmetric non-covalent homodimer. In response to extracellular signals, conformational changes in the p75NTR extracellular domain (ECD) propagate to the p75NTR -DD through the disulfide-bonded transmembrane domain (TMD) and destabilize the p75NTR -DD homodimer, leading to protomer separation and exposure of binding sites on the DD surface. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the study of the structural mechanism of p75NTR -DD signalling through recruitment of diverse intracellular interactors for the regulation and control of diverse functional outputs.

Characterization and analysis of a novel diguanylate cyclase PA0847 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1.

Background: As a central signaling molecule, cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) is found to regulate various bacterial phenotypes, especially those involved in pathogen infection and drug resistance. Noticeably, many microbes have up to dozens of proteins that are involved in c-di-GMP metabolism. This apparent redundancy and the relevant functional specificity have become the focus of research. While a number of these proteins have been identified and investigated, the functions of PA0847, a PAS and GGDEF domain-containing protein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, remain unclear. Materials and methods: In the current study, microbiology, biochemistry and structural biology methods were applied to characterize the gene/protein of PA0847. Results: We showed that PA0847 affects bacterial motility but not biofilm formation. We recorded the phenotypic influences of amino acids and compounds, and found that PA0847 is involved in response to various environmental nutrients and factors, suggesting its possible role in sensing environmental cues. Both in-vitro and in-vivo studies showed that PA0847 is an active diguanylate cyclase (DGC), whose activity depends on the neighboring PAS domain. Interestingly, PA0847 demonstrates no significant product inhibition, though the key residues of two I-sites for c-di-GMP binding are conserved in its GGDEF domain. A local structural change imposed by an adjacent tyrosine residue was identified, which indicates the structural and functional diversities of the GGDEF family proteins. Conclusion: Our data provide evidence for understanding the signaling mechanism of the unique c-di-GMP metabolizing protein PA0847.

1H, 15N and 13C chemical shift assignments of the C-terminal domain of TRADD.

The tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated death domain protein, TRADD, is a multifunctional intracellular molecule participating in divergent signaling pathways, such as NF-κB and apoptosis. TRADD consists of two structurally distinct domains. Its N-terminal domain displays an α-ß plaits fold while its C-terminal domain belongs to the death domain (DD) superfamily. TRADD DD is a central component in the tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 signaling. It interacts with other DD-containing proteins through homotypic interactions. TRADD DD is also involved in p75NTR-mediated signalling in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Here we report backbone and sidechain 1H, 13C and 15N chemical shift assignments of TRADD DD in pure water as a basis for further structural and functional studies.

Structure of the C-terminal domain of TRADD reveals a novel fold in the death domain superfamily.

The TNFR1-associated death domain protein (TRADD) is an intracellular adaptor protein involved in various signaling pathways, such as antiapoptosis. Its C-terminal death domain (DD) is responsible for binding other DD-containing proteins including the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). Here we present a solution structure of TRADD DD derived from high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. The TRADD DD comprises two super-secondary structures, an all-helix Greek key motif and a ß-hairpin motif flanked by two α helices, which make it unique among all known DD structures. The ß-hairpin motif is essential for TRADD DD to fold into a functional globular domain. The highly-charged surface suggests a critical role of electrostatic interactions in TRADD DD-mediated signaling. This novel structure represents a new class within the DD superfamily and provides a structural basis for studying homotypic DD interactions. NMR titration revealed a direct weak interaction between TRADD DD and p75NTR DD monomers. A binding site next to the p75NTR DD homodimerization interface indicates that TRADD DD recruitment to p75NTR requires separation of the p75NTR DD homodimer, explaining the mechanism of NGF-dependent activation of p75NTR-TRADD-mediated antiapoptotic pathway in breast cancer cell.