Prothrombin is a binding partner of the human receptor of advanced glycation end products.

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) plays a key role in mammal physiology and in the etiology and progression of inflammatory and oxidative stress-based diseases. In adults, RAGE expression is normally high only in the lung where the protein concentrates in the basal membrane of alveolar Type I epithelial cells. In diseases, RAGE levels increase in the affected tissues and sustain chronic inflammation. RAGE exists as a membrane glycoprotein with an ectodomain, a transmembrane helix, and a short carboxyl-terminal tail, or as a soluble ectodomain that acts as a decoy receptor (sRAGE). VC1 domain is responsible for binding to the majority of RAGE ligands including advanced glycation end products (AGEs), S100 proteins, and HMGB1. To ascertain whether other ligands exist, we analyzed by MS the material pulled down by VC1 from human plasma. Twenty of 295 identified proteins were selected and associated to coagulation and complement processes and to extracellular matrix. Four of them contained a γ-carboxyl glutamic acid (Gla) domain, a calcium-binding module, and prothrombin (PT) was the most abundant. Using MicroScale thermophoresis, we quantified the interaction of PT with VC1 and sRAGE in the absence or presence of calcium that acted as a competitor. PT devoid of the Gla domain (PT des-Gla) did not bind to sRAGE, providing further evidence that the Gla domain is critical for the interaction. Finally, the presence of VC1 delayed plasma clotting in a dose-dependent manner. We propose that RAGE is involved in modulating blood coagulation presumably in conditions of lung injury.

An improved expression system for the VC1 ligand binding domain of the receptor for advanced glycation end products in Pichia pastoris.

The receptor for the advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily and binds a variety of unrelated ligands sharing a negative charge. Most ligands bind to the extracellular V or VC1 domains of the receptor. In this work, V and VC1 of human RAGE were produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris and directed to the secretory pathway. Fusions to a removable C-terminal His-tag evidenced proteolytic processing of the tag by extracellular proteases and also intracellular degradation of the N-terminal portion of V-His. Expression of untagged forms was attempted. While the V domain was retained intracellularly, VC1 was secreted into the medium and was functionally active in binding AGEs. The glycosylation state of VC1 was analyzed by mass spectrometry and peptide-N-glycosidase F digestion. Like RAGE isolated from mammalian sources, the degree of occupancy of the N-glycosylation sites was full at Asn25 and partial at Asn81 which was also subjected to non-enzymatic deamidation. A simple procedure for the purification to homogeneity of VC1 from the medium was developed. The folded state of the purified protein was assessed by thermal shift assays. Recombinant VC1 from P. pastoris showed a remarkably high thermal stability as compared to the protein expressed in bacteria. Our in vivo approach indicates that the V and C1 domains constitute a single folding unit. The stability and solubility of the yeast-secreted VC1 may be beneficial for future in vitro studies aimed to identify new ligands or inhibitors of RAGE.

Cu2+-binding to S100B triggers polymerization of disulfide cross-linked tetramers with enhanced chaperone activity against amyloid-ß aggregation.

S100B is an extracellular protein implicated in Alzheimer's Disease and a suppressor of amyloid-ß aggregation. Herein we report a mechanism tying Cu2+ binding to a change in assembly state yielding disulfide cross-linked oligomers with higher anti-aggregation activity. This chemical control of chaperone function illustrates a regulatory process relevant under metal and proteostasis dysfunction as in neurodegeneration.

Dynamic interactions and Ca2+-binding modulate the holdase-type chaperone activity of S100B preventing tau aggregation and seeding.

The microtubule-associated protein tau is implicated in the formation of oligomers and fibrillar aggregates that evade proteostasis control and spread from cell-to-cell. Tau pathology is accompanied by sustained neuroinflammation and, while the release of alarmin mediators aggravates disease at late stages, early inflammatory responses encompass protective functions. This is the case of the Ca2+-binding S100B protein, an astrocytic alarmin which is augmented in AD and which has been recently implicated as a proteostasis regulator, acting over amyloid ß aggregation. Here we report the activity of S100B as a suppressor of tau aggregation and seeding, operating at sub-stoichiometric conditions. We show that S100B interacts with tau in living cells even in microtubule-destabilizing conditions. Structural analysis revealed that tau undergoes dynamic interactions with S100B, in a Ca2+-dependent manner, notably with the aggregation prone repeat segments at the microtubule binding regions. This interaction involves contacts of tau with a cleft formed at the interface of the S100B dimer. Kinetic and mechanistic analysis revealed that S100B inhibits the aggregation of both full-length tau and of the microtubule binding domain, and that this proceeds through effects over primary and secondary nucleation, as confirmed by seeding assays and direct observation of S100B binding to tau oligomers and fibrils. In agreement with a role as an extracellular chaperone and its accumulation near tau positive inclusions, we show that S100B blocks proteopathic tau seeding. Together, our findings establish tau as a client of the S100B chaperone, providing evidence for neuro-protective functions of this inflammatory mediator across different tauopathies.

Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products is Involved in Platelet Hyperactivation and Arterial Thrombosis during Chronic Kidney Disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a high cardiovascular mortality due to increased rates of vascular lesions and thrombotic events, as well as serum accumulation of uremic toxins. A subgroup of these toxins (advanced glycation end products [AGEs] and S100 proteins) can interact with the receptor for AGEs (RAGE). In this study, we analyzed the impact of CKD on platelet function and arterial thrombosis, and the potential role of RAGE in this process. METHODS: Twelve weeks after induction of CKD in mice, platelet function and time to complete carotid artery occlusion were analyzed in four groups of animals (sham-operated, CKD, apolipoprotein E [Apoe]-/-, and Apoe-/-/Ager-/- mice). RESULTS: Analysis of platelet function from whole blood and platelet-rich plasma showed hyperactivation of platelets only in CKD Apoe-/- mice. There was no difference when experiments were done on washed platelets. However, preincubation of such platelets with AGEs or S100 proteins induced RAGE-mediated platelet hyperactivation. In vivo, CKD significantly reduced carotid occlusion times of Apoe-/- mice (9.2 ± 1.1 vs. 11.1 ± 0.6 minutes for sham, p < 0.01). In contrast, CKD had no effect on occlusion times in Apoe-/-/Ager-/- mice. Moreover, carotid occlusion in Apoe-/- CKD mice occurred significantly faster than in Apoe-/-/Ager-/- CKD mice (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our results show that CKD induces platelet hyperactivation, accelerates thrombus formation in a murine model of arterial thrombosis, and that RAGE deletion has a protective role. We propose that RAGE ligands binding to RAGE is involved in CKD-induced arterial thrombosis.

A capture method based on the VC1 domain reveals new binding properties of the human receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE).

The Advanced Glycation and Lipoxidation End products (AGEs and ALEs) are a heterogeneous class of compounds derived from the non-enzymatic glycation or protein adduction by lipoxidation break-down products. The receptor for AGEs (RAGE) is involved in the progression of chronic diseases based on persistent inflammatory state and oxidative stress. RAGE is a pattern recognition receptor (PRR) and the inhibition of the interaction with its ligands or of the ligand accumulation have a potential therapeutic effect. The N-terminal domain of RAGE, the V domain, is the major site of AGEs binding and is stabilized by the adjacent C1 domain. In this study, we set up an affinity assay relying on the extremely specific biological interaction AGEs ligands have for the VC1 domain. A glycosylated form of VC1, produced in the yeast Pichia pastoris, was attached to magnetic beads and used as insoluble affinity matrix (VC1-resin). The VC1 interaction assay was employed to isolate specific VC1 binding partners from in vitro generated AGE-albumins and modifications were identified/localized by mass spectrometry analysis. Interestingly, this method also led to the isolation of ALEs produced by malondialdehyde treatment of albumins. Computational studies provided a rational-based interpretation of the contacts established by specific modified residues and amino acids of the V domain. The validation of VC1-resin in capturing AGE-albumins from complex biological mixtures such as plasma and milk, may lead to the identification of new RAGE ligands potentially involved in pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses, independently of their structures or physical properties, and without the use of any covalent derivatization process. In addition, the method can be applied to the identification of antagonists of RAGE-ligand interaction.

Alzheimer beta-amyloid homodimers facilitate A beta fibrillization and the generation of conformational antibodies.

We reported previously that stabilized beta-amyloid peptide dimers were derived from mutant amyloid precursor protein with a single cysteine in the ectodomain juxtamembrane position. In vivo studies revealed that two forms of SDS-stable A beta homodimers exist, species ending at A beta 40 and A beta 42. The phenomenon of the transformation of the initially deposited 42-residue beta-amyloid peptide into the amyloid fibrils of Alzheimer's disease plaques remains to be explained in physical terms, i.e. energetically and structurally. We therefore performed spectroscopic analyses revealing that engineered dimeric peptides ending at residue 42 displayed a much more pronounced beta-structural transition than corresponding monomers. Specifically, the single chemically induced dimerization of A beta peptides significantly increased the beta-sheet content by a factor of 2. The C-terminal residues Ile-41 and Ala-42 of dimeric forms further increased the beta-sheet content by roughly one-third. In contrast to A beta 42, the beta-sheet content of the alpha- and gamma-secretase-generated p3 fragments did not necessarily correlate with the tendency to form fibrils, although p3/17-42 had a pronounced thread forming character with fibril lengths of up to 2.5 microM. Electron microscopic images show that forms of p3/17-42 generated smaller granular particles than forms ending at residue 40. We discuss these findings in terms of A beta 1-42 dimers representing paranuclei, which self-aggregate into ribbon-like ordered fibrils by elongation. Based on A beta 42 dimer-specific titers of a polyclonal antiserum we propose that the A beta homodimer represents a nidus for plaque formation and a well defined novel therapeutic target.