Itch receptor MRGPRX4 interacts with the receptor activity-modifying proteins.

Cholestatic itch is a severe and debilitating symptom in liver diseases with limited treatment options. The class A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) Mas-related GPCR subtype X4 (MRGPRX4) has been identified as a receptor for bile acids, which are potential cholestatic pruritogens. An increasing number of GPCRs have been shown to interact with receptor activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs), which can modulate different aspects of GPCR biology. Using a combination of multiplexed immunoassay and proximity ligation assay, we show that MRGPRX4 interacts with RAMPs. The interaction of MRGPRX4 with RAMP2, but not RAMP1 or 3, causes attenuation of basal and agonist-dependent signaling, which correlates with a decrease of MRGPRX4 cell surface expression as measured using a quantitative NanoBRET pulse-chase assay. Finally, we use AlphaFold Multimer to predict the structure of the MRGPRX4-RAMP2 complex. The discovery that RAMP2 regulates MRGPRX4 may have direct implications for future drug development for cholestatic itch.

Biochemical and structural analysis of the interaction between ß-amyloid and fibrinogen.

The majority of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) suffer from impaired cerebral circulation. Accumulating evidence suggests that fibrinogen, the main protein component of blood clots, plays an important role in this circulatory dysfunction in AD. Fibrinogen interacts with ß-amyloid (Aß), forming plasmin-resistant abnormal blood clots, and increased fibrin deposition is found in the brains of AD patients and mouse models. In this study, we investigated the biochemical and structural details of the Aß-fibrinogen interaction. We identified the central region of Aß42 as the most critical region for the interaction, which can be inhibited by specific antibodies against the central region of Aß and by naturally occurring p3 peptides, Aß17-40 and Aß17-42. X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that Aß42 binding to fragment D of fibrinogen induced a structural change in the C-terminal region of the fibrinogen ß-chain (ß384-393). Furthermore, we identified an additional Aß-binding site within the αC region of fibrinogen. Aß binding to this αC region blocked plasmin-mediated fibrin cleavage at this site, resulting in the generation of increased levels of a plasmin-resistant fibrin degradation fragment. Overall, our study elucidates the Aß-fibrinogen interaction and clarifies the mechanism by which Aß-fibrinogen binding delays fibrinolysis by plasmin. These results may facilitate the development of effective therapeutics against the Aß-fibrinogen interaction to treat cerebrovascular abnormalities in AD.

Bispecific antibodies directed to CD4 domain 2 and HIV envelope exhibit exceptional breadth and picomolar potency against HIV-1.

In the absence of an effective HIV-1 vaccine, passive immunization using broadly neutralizing Abs or Ab-like molecules could provide an alternative to the daily administration of oral antiretroviral agents that has recently shown promise as preexposure prophylaxis. Currently, no single broadly neutralizing Ab (bNAb) or combination of bNAbs neutralizes all HIV-1 strains at practically achievable concentrations in vivo. To address this problem, we created bispecific Abs that combine the HIV-1 inhibitory activity of ibalizumab (iMab), a humanized mAb directed to domain 2 of human CD4, with that of anti-gp120 bNAbs. These bispecific bNAbs (BibNAbs) exploit iMab's potent anti-HIV-1 activity and demonstrated clinical efficacy and safety to anchor and thereby concentrate a second broadly neutralizing agent at the site of viral entry. Two BibNabs, PG9-iMab and PG16-iMab, exhibit exceptional breadth and potency, neutralizing 100% of the 118 viruses tested at low picomolar concentrations, including viruses resistant to both parental mAbs. The enhanced potency of these BibNAbs was entirely dependent on CD4 anchoring, not on membrane anchoring per se, and required optimal Ab geometry and linker length. We propose that iMab-based BibNAbs, such as PG9-iMab and PG16-iMab, are promising candidates for passive immunization to prevent HIV-1 infection.

OpenTn5: Open-Source Resource for Robust and Scalable Tn5 Transposase Purification and Characterization.

Tagmentation combines DNA fragmentation and sequencing adapter addition by leveraging the transposition activity of the bacterial cut-and-paste Tn5 transposase, to enable efficient sequencing library preparation. Here we present an open-source protocol for the generation of multi-purpose hyperactive Tn5 transposase, including its benchmarking in CUT&Tag, bulk and single-cell ATAC-seq. The OpenTn5 protocol yields multi-milligram quantities of pG-Tn5E54K, L372P protein per liter of E. coli culture, sufficient for thousands of tagmentation reactions and the enzyme retains activity in storage for more than a year.

Mechanism of glycoform specificity and protection against antibody dependent enhancement by an anti-afucosylated IgG nanobody.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies contain a single, complex N -glycan on each IgG heavy chain protomer embedded in the hydrophobic pocket between its Cγ2 domains. The presence of this glycan contributes to the structural organization of the Fc domain and determines its specificity for Fcγ receptors, thereby determining distinct cellular responses. On the Fc, the variable construction of this glycan structure leads to a family of highly-related, but non-equivalent glycoproteins known as glycoforms. We previously reported the development of synthetic nanobodies that distinguish IgG glycoforms without cross-reactivity to off-target glycoproteins or free glycans. Here, we present the X-ray crystal structure of one such nanobody, X0, in complex with its specific binding partner, the Fc fragment of afucosylated IgG1. Two X0 nanobodies bind a single afucosylated Fc homodimer at the upper Cγ2 domain, making both protein-protein and protein-carbohydrate contacts and overlapping the binding site for Fcγ receptors. Upon binding, the elongated CDR3 loop of X0 undergoes a conformational shift to access the buried N -glycan and acts as a 'glycan sensor', forming hydrogen bonds with the afucosylated IgG N -glycan that would otherwise be sterically hindered by the presence of a core fucose residue. Based on this structure, we designed X0 fusion constructs that disrupt pathogenic afucosylated IgG1-FcγRIIIa interactions and rescue mice in a model of dengue virus infection.

Mechanism of glycoform specificity and in vivo protection by an anti-afucosylated IgG nanobody.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies contain a complex N-glycan embedded in the hydrophobic pocket between its heavy chain protomers. This glycan contributes to the structural organization of the Fc domain and determines its specificity for Fcγ receptors, thereby dictating distinct cellular responses. The variable construction of this glycan structure leads to highly-related, but non-equivalent glycoproteins known as glycoforms. We previously reported synthetic nanobodies that distinguish IgG glycoforms. Here, we present the structure of one such nanobody, X0, in complex with the Fc fragment of afucosylated IgG1. Upon binding, the elongated CDR3 loop of X0 undergoes a conformational shift to access the buried N-glycan and acts as a 'glycan sensor', forming hydrogen bonds with the afucosylated IgG N-glycan that would otherwise be sterically hindered by the presence of a core fucose residue. Based on this structure, we designed X0 fusion constructs that disrupt pathogenic afucosylated IgG1-FcγRIIIa interactions and rescue mice in a model of dengue virus infection.

From screen to structure with a harvestable microfluidic device.

Advances in automation have facilitated the widespread adoption of high-throughput vapour-diffusion methods for initial crystallization screening. However, for many proteins, screening thousands of crystallization conditions fails to yield crystals of sufficient quality for structural characterization. Here, the rates of crystal identification for thaumatin, catalase and myoglobin using microfluidic Crystal Former devices and sitting-drop vapour-diffusion plates are compared. It is shown that the Crystal Former results in a greater number of identified initial crystallization conditions compared with vapour diffusion. Furthermore, crystals of thaumatin and lysozyme obtained in the Crystal Former were used directly for structure determination both in situ and upon harvesting and cryocooling. On the basis of these results, a crystallization strategy is proposed that uses multiple methods with distinct kinetic trajectories through the protein phase diagram to increase the output of crystallization pipelines.

Enhanced SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by dimeric IgA.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), primarily infects cells at mucosal surfaces. Serum neutralizing antibody responses are variable and generally low in individuals that suffer mild forms of COVID-19. Although potent immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies can neutralize the virus, less is known about secretory antibodies such as IgA that might affect the initial viral spread and transmissibility from the mucosa. Here, we characterize the IgA response to SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of 149 convalescent individuals after diagnosis with COVID-19. IgA responses in plasma generally correlated with IgG responses. Furthermore, clones of IgM-, IgG-, and IgA-producing B cells were derived from common progenitor cells. Plasma IgA monomers specific to SARS-CoV-2 proteins were demonstrated to be twofold less potent than IgG equivalents. However, IgA dimers, the primary form of antibody in the nasopharynx, were, on average, 15 times more potent than IgA monomers against the same target. Thus, dimeric IgA responses may be particularly valuable for protection against SARS-CoV-2 and for vaccine efficacy.

Crystal engineering of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase for structure-based drug design.

HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) is a primary target for anti-AIDS drugs. Structures of HIV-1 RT, usually determined at approximately 2.5-3.0 A resolution, are important for understanding enzyme function and mechanisms of drug resistance in addition to being helpful in the design of RT inhibitors. Despite hundreds of attempts, it was not possible to obtain the structure of a complex of HIV-1 RT with TMC278, a nonnucleoside RT inhibitor (NNRTI) in advanced clinical trials. A systematic and iterative protein crystal engineering approach was developed to optimize RT for obtaining crystals in complexes with TMC278 and other NNRTIs that diffract X-rays to 1.8 A resolution. Another form of engineered RT was optimized to produce a high-resolution apo-RT crystal form, reported here at 1.85 A resolution, with a distinct RT conformation. Engineered RTs were mutagenized using a new, flexible and cost effective method called methylated overlap-extension ligation independent cloning. Our analysis suggests that reducing the solvent content, increasing lattice contacts, and stabilizing the internal low-energy conformations of RT are critical for the growth of crystals that diffract to high resolution. The new RTs enable rapid crystallization and yield high-resolution structures that are useful in designing/developing new anti-AIDS drugs.

Enhanced SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization by Secretory IgA in vitro.

SARS-CoV-2 primarily infects cells at mucosal surfaces. Serum neutralizing antibody responses are variable and generally low in individuals that suffer mild forms of the illness. Although potent IgG antibodies can neutralize the virus, less is known about secretory antibodies such as IgA that might impact the initial viral spread and transmissibility from the mucosa. Here we characterize the IgA response to SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of 149 individuals. IgA responses in plasma generally correlate with IgG responses and clones of IgM, IgG and IgA producing B cells that are derived from common progenitors are evident. Plasma IgA monomers are 2-fold less potent than IgG equivalents. However, IgA dimers, the primary form in the nasopharynx, are on average 15 times more potent than IgA monomers. Thus, secretory IgA responses may be particularly valuable for protection against SARS-CoV-2 and for vaccine efficacy.

A Combination of Human Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies against Hepatitis B Virus HBsAg with Distinct Epitopes Suppresses Escape Mutations.

Although there is no effective cure for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, antibodies are protective and correlate with recovery from infection. To examine the human antibody response to HBV, we screened 124 vaccinated and 20 infected, spontaneously recovered individuals. The selected individuals produced shared clones of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) that targeted 3 non-overlapping epitopes on the HBV S antigen (HBsAg). Single bNAbs protected humanized mice against infection but selected for resistance mutations in mice with prior established infection. In contrast, infection was controlled by a combination of bNAbs targeting non-overlapping epitopes with complementary sensitivity to mutations that commonly emerge during human infection. The co-crystal structure of one of the bNAbs with an HBsAg peptide epitope revealed a stabilized hairpin loop. This structure, which contains residues frequently mutated in clinical immune escape variants, provides a molecular explanation for why immunotherapy for HBV infection may require combinations of complementary bNAbs.

Enterococcus faecium secreted antigen A generates muropeptides to enhance host immunity and limit bacterial pathogenesis.

We discovered that Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium), a ubiquitous commensal bacterium, and its secreted peptidoglycan hydrolase (SagA) were sufficient to enhance intestinal barrier function and pathogen tolerance, but the precise biochemical mechanism was unknown. Here we show E. faecium has unique peptidoglycan composition and remodeling activity through SagA, which generates smaller muropeptides that more effectively activates nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2) in mammalian cells. Our structural and biochemical studies show that SagA is a NlpC/p60-endopeptidase that preferentially hydrolyzes crosslinked Lys-type peptidoglycan fragments. SagA secretion and NlpC/p60-endopeptidase activity was required for enhancing probiotic bacteria activity against Clostridium difficile pathogenesis in vivo. Our results demonstrate that the peptidoglycan composition and hydrolase activity of specific microbiota species can activate host immune pathways and enhance tolerance to pathogens.

Identification of a Mycothiol-Dependent Nitroreductase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The success of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) as a pathogen depends on the redundant and complex mechanisms it has evolved for resisting nitrosative and oxidative stresses inflicted by host immunity. Improving our understanding of these defense pathways can reveal vulnerable points in Mtb pathogenesis. In this study, we combined genetic, structural, computational, biochemical, and biophysical approaches to identify a novel enzyme class represented by Rv2466c. We show that Rv2466c is a mycothiol-dependent nitroreductase of Mtb and can reduce the nitro group of a novel mycobactericidal compound using mycothiol as a cofactor. In addition to its function as a nitroreductase, Rv2466c confers partial protection to menadione stress.

Structural Mapping and Functional Characterization of Zebrafish Class B G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) with Dual Ligand Selectivity towards GLP-1 and Glucagon.

GLP-1 and glucagon regulate glucose metabolism through a network of metabolic pathways initiated upon binding to their specific receptors that belong to class B G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The therapeutic potential of glucagon is currently being evaluated, while GLP-1 is already used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Development of a second generation of GLP-1 based therapeutics depends on a molecular and structural understanding of the interactions between the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) and its ligand GLP-1. There is considerable sequence conservation between GLP-1 and glucagon and between the hGLP-1R and human glucagon receptor (hGCGR), yet each receptor recognizes only its own specific ligand. Glucagon receptors in fish and frogs also exhibit ligand selectivity only towards glucagon and not GLP-1. Based on competitive binding experiments and assays of increase in intracellular cAMP, we demonstrate here that a GPCR in zebrafish (Danio rerio) exhibits dual ligand selectivity towards GLP-1 and glucagon, a characteristic not found in mammals. Further, many structural features found in hGLP-1R and hGCGR are also found in this zebrafish GPCR (zfGPCR). We show this by mapping of its sequence and structural features onto the hGLP-1R and hGCGR based on their partial and complementary crystal structures. Thus, we propose that zfGPCR represents a dual GLP-1R/GCGR. The main differences between the three receptors are in their stalk regions that connect their N-terminal extracellular domains (NECDs) with their transmembrane domains and the absence of loop 3 in the NECD in zfGLP-1R/GCGR. These observations suggest that the interactions between GLP-1 and glucagon with loop 3 and the stalk regions may induce different conformational changes in hGLP-1R and hGCGR upon ligand binding and activation that lead to selective recognition of their native ligands.

Strategic addition of an N-linked glycan to a monoclonal antibody improves its HIV-1-neutralizing activity.

Ibalizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds human CD4--a key receptor for HIV--and blocks HIV-1 infection. However, HIV-1 strains with mutations resulting in loss of an N-linked glycan from the V5 loop of the envelope glycoprotein gp120 are resistant to ibalizumab. Previous structural analysis suggests that this glycan fills a void between the gp120 V5 loop and the ibalizumab light chain, perhaps causing steric hindrance that disrupts viral entry. If this void contributes to HIV-1 resistance to ibalizumab, we reasoned that 'refilling' it by engineering an N-linked glycan into the ibalizumab light chain at a position spatially proximal to gp120 V5 may restore susceptibility to ibalizumab. Indeed, one such ibalizumab variant neutralized 100% of 118 diverse HIV-1 strains tested in vitro, including 10 strains resistant to parental ibalizumab. These findings demonstrate that the strategic placement of a glycan in the variable region of a monoclonal antibody can substantially enhance its activity.

Structural basis of BLyS receptor recognition.

B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS), a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily, is a cytokine that induces B-cell proliferation and immunoglobulin secretion. We have determined the three-dimensional structure of BLyS to 2.0 A resolution and identified receptor recognition segments using limited proteolysis coupled with mass spectrometry. Similar to other structurally determined TNF-like ligands, the BLyS monomer is a beta-sandwich and oligomerizes to form a homotrimer. The receptor-binding region in BLyS is a deeper, more pronounced groove than in other cytokines. The conserved elements on the 'floor' of this groove allow for cytokine recognition of several structurally related receptors, whereas variations on the 'walls' and outer rims of the groove confer receptor specificity.