Rapid characterization of spike variants via mammalian cell surface display.

The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is a critical component of vaccines and a target for neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (nAbs). Spike is also undergoing immunogenic selection with variants that increase infectivity and partially escape convalescent plasma. Here, we describe Spike Display, a high-throughput platform to rapidly characterize glycosylated spike ectodomains across multiple coronavirus-family proteins. We assayed ∼200 variant SARS-CoV-2 spikes for their expression, ACE2 binding, and recognition by 13 nAbs. An alanine scan of all five N-terminal domain (NTD) loops highlights a public epitope in the N1, N3, and N5 loops recognized by most NTD-binding nAbs. NTD mutations in variants of concern B.1.1.7 (alpha), B.1.351 (beta), B.1.1.28 (gamma), B.1.427/B.1.429 (epsilon), and B.1.617.2 (delta) impact spike expression and escape most NTD-targeting nAbs. Finally, B.1.351 and B.1.1.28 completely escape a potent ACE2 mimic. We anticipate that Spike Display will accelerate antigen design, deep scanning mutagenesis, and antibody epitope mapping for SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging viral threats.

Sera Antibody Repertoire Analyses Reveal Mechanisms of Broad and Pandemic Strain Neutralizing Responses after Human Norovirus Vaccination.

Rapidly evolving RNA viruses, such as the GII.4 strain of human norovirus (HuNoV), and their vaccines elicit complex serological responses associated with previous exposure. Specific correlates of protection, moreover, remain poorly understood. Here, we report the GII.4-serological antibody repertoire-pre- and post-vaccination-and select several antibody clonotypes for epitope and structural analysis. The humoral response was dominated by GII.4-specific antibodies that blocked ancestral strains or by antibodies that bound to divergent genotypes and did not block viral-entry-ligand interactions. However, one antibody, A1431, showed broad blockade toward tested GII.4 strains and neutralized the pandemic GII.P16-GII.4 Sydney strain. Structural mapping revealed conserved epitopes, which were occluded on the virion or partially exposed, allowing for broad blockade with neutralizing activity. Overall, our results provide high-resolution molecular information on humoral immune responses after HuNoV vaccination and demonstrate that infection-derived and vaccine-elicited antibodies can exhibit broad blockade and neutralization against this prevalent human pathogen.

A census of human soluble protein complexes.

Cellular processes often depend on stable physical associations between proteins. Despite recent progress, knowledge of the composition of human protein complexes remains limited. To close this gap, we applied an integrative global proteomic profiling approach, based on chromatographic separation of cultured human cell extracts into more than one thousand biochemical fractions that were subsequently analyzed by quantitative tandem mass spectrometry, to systematically identify a network of 13,993 high-confidence physical interactions among 3,006 stably associated soluble human proteins. Most of the 622 putative protein complexes we report are linked to core biological processes and encompass both candidate disease genes and unannotated proteins to inform on mechanism. Strikingly, whereas larger multiprotein assemblies tend to be more extensively annotated and evolutionarily conserved, human protein complexes with five or fewer subunits are far more likely to be functionally unannotated or restricted to vertebrates, suggesting more recent functional innovations.

Systematic bromodomain protein screens identify homologous recombination and R-loop suppression pathways involved in genome integrity.

Bromodomain proteins (BRD) are key chromatin regulators of genome function and stability as well as therapeutic targets in cancer. Here, we systematically delineate the contribution of human BRD proteins for genome stability and DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair using several cell-based assays and proteomic interaction network analysis. Applying these approaches, we identify 24 of the 42 BRD proteins as promoters of DNA repair and/or genome integrity. We identified a BRD-reader function of PCAF that bound TIP60-mediated histone acetylations at DSBs to recruit a DUB complex to deubiquitylate histone H2BK120, to allowing direct acetylation by PCAF, and repair of DSBs by homologous recombination. We also discovered the bromo-and-extra-terminal (BET) BRD proteins, BRD2 and BRD4, as negative regulators of transcription-associated RNA-DNA hybrids (R-loops) as inhibition of BRD2 or BRD4 increased R-loop formation, which generated DSBs. These breaks were reliant on topoisomerase II, and BRD2 directly bound and activated topoisomerase I, a known restrainer of R-loops. Thus, comprehensive interactome and functional profiling of BRD proteins revealed new homologous recombination and genome stability pathways, providing a framework to understand genome maintenance by BRD proteins and the effects of their pharmacological inhibition.

Engineering a human P2X2 receptor with altered ligand selectivity in yeast.

P2X receptors are a family of ligand gated ion channels found in a range of eukaryotic species including humans but are not naturally present in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We demonstrate the first recombinant expression and functional gating of the P2X2 receptor in baker's yeast. We leverage the yeast host for facile genetic screens of mutant P2X2 by performing site saturation mutagenesis at residues of interest, including SNPs implicated in deafness and at residues involved in native binding. Deep mutational analysis and rounds of genetic engineering yield mutant P2X2 F303Y A304W, which has altered ligand selectivity toward the ATP analog AMP-PNP. The F303Y A304W variant shows over 100-fold increased intracellular calcium amplitudes with AMP-PNP compared to the WT receptor and has a much lower desensitization rate. Since AMP-PNP does not naturally activate P2X receptors, the F303Y A304W P2X2 may be a starting point for downstream applications in chemogenetic cellular control. Interestingly, the A304W mutation selectively destabilizes the desensitized state, which may provide a mechanistic basis for receptor opening with suboptimal agonists. The yeast system represents an inexpensive, scalable platform for ion channel characterization and engineering by circumventing the more expensive and time-consuming methodologies involving mammalian hosts.

Panorama of ancient metazoan macromolecular complexes.

Macromolecular complexes are essential to conserved biological processes, but their prevalence across animals is unclear. By combining extensive biochemical fractionation with quantitative mass spectrometry, here we directly examined the composition of soluble multiprotein complexes among diverse metazoan models. Using an integrative approach, we generated a draft conservation map consisting of more than one million putative high-confidence co-complex interactions for species with fully sequenced genomes that encompasses functional modules present broadly across all extant animals. Clustering reveals a spectrum of conservation, ranging from ancient eukaryotic assemblies that have probably served cellular housekeeping roles for at least one billion years, ancestral complexes that have accrued contemporary components, and rarer metazoan innovations linked to multicellularity. We validated these projections by independent co-fractionation experiments in evolutionarily distant species, affinity purification and functional analyses. The comprehensiveness, centrality and modularity of these reconstructed interactomes reflect their fundamental mechanistic importance and adaptive value to animal cell systems.

Large-scale analysis of post-translational modifications in E. coli under glucose-limiting conditions.

BACKGROUND: Post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins is central to many cellular processes across all domains of life, but despite decades of study and a wealth of genomic and proteomic data the biological function of many PTMs remains unknown. This is especially true for prokaryotic PTM systems, many of which have only recently been recognized and studied in depth. It is increasingly apparent that a deep sampling of abundance across a wide range of environmental stresses, growth conditions, and PTM types, rather than simply cataloging targets for a handful of modifications, is critical to understanding the complex pathways that govern PTM deposition and downstream effects. RESULTS: We utilized a deeply-sampled dataset of MS/MS proteomic analysis covering 9 timepoints spanning the Escherichia coli growth cycle and an unbiased PTM search strategy to construct a temporal map of abundance for all PTMs within a 400 Da window of mass shifts. Using this map, we are able to identify novel targets and temporal patterns for N-terminal N α acetylation, C-terminal glutamylation, and asparagine deamidation. Furthermore, we identify a possible relationship between N-terminal N α acetylation and regulation of protein degradation in stationary phase, pointing to a previously unrecognized biological function for this poorly-understood PTM. CONCLUSIONS: Unbiased detection of PTM in MS/MS proteomics data facilitates the discovery of novel modification types and previously unobserved dynamic changes in modification across growth timepoints.

Identification and characterization of the constituent human serum antibodies elicited by vaccination.

Most vaccines confer protection via the elicitation of serum antibodies, yet more than 100 y after the discovery of antibodies, the molecular composition of the human serum antibody repertoire to an antigen remains unknown. Using high-resolution liquid chromatography tandem MS proteomic analyses of serum antibodies coupled with next-generation sequencing of the V gene repertoire in peripheral B cells, we have delineated the human serum IgG and B-cell receptor repertoires following tetanus toxoid (TT) booster vaccination. We show that the TT(+) serum IgG repertoire comprises ∼100 antibody clonotypes, with three clonotypes accounting for >40% of the response. All 13 recombinant IgGs examined bound to vaccine antigen with Kd ∼ 10(-8)-10(-10) M. Five of 13 IgGs recognized the same linear epitope on TT, occluding the binding site used by the toxin for cell entry, suggesting a possible explanation for the mechanism of protection conferred by the vaccine. Importantly, only a small fraction (<5%) of peripheral blood plasmablast clonotypes (CD3(-)CD14(-)CD19(+)CD27(++)CD38(++)CD20(-)TT(+)) at the peak of the response (day 7), and an even smaller fraction of memory B cells, were found to encode antibodies that could be detected in the serological memory response 9 mo postvaccination. This suggests that only a small fraction of responding peripheral B cells give rise to the bone marrow long-lived plasma cells responsible for the production of biologically relevant amounts of vaccine-specific antibodies (near or above the Kd). Collectively, our results reveal the nature and dynamics of the serological response to vaccination with direct implications for vaccine design and evaluation.

Bacteriophages use an expanded genetic code on evolutionary paths to higher fitness.

Bioengineering advances have made it possible to fundamentally alter the genetic codes of organisms. However, the evolutionary consequences of expanding an organism's genetic code with a noncanonical amino acid are poorly understood. Here we show that bacteriophages evolved on a host that incorporates 3-iodotyrosine at the amber stop codon acquire neutral and beneficial mutations to this new amino acid in their proteins, demonstrating that an expanded genetic code increases evolvability.

Controlled Measurement and Comparative Analysis of Cellular Components in E. coli Reveals Broad Regulatory Changes in Response to Glucose Starvation.

How do bacteria regulate their cellular physiology in response to starvation? Here, we present a detailed characterization of Escherichia coli growth and starvation over a time-course lasting two weeks. We have measured multiple cellular components, including RNA and proteins at deep genomic coverage, as well as lipid modifications and flux through central metabolism. Our study focuses on the physiological response of E. coli in stationary phase as a result of being starved for glucose, not on the genetic adaptation of E. coli to utilize alternative nutrients. In our analysis, we have taken advantage of the temporal correlations within and among RNA and protein abundances to identify systematic trends in gene regulation. Specifically, we have developed a general computational strategy for classifying expression-profile time courses into distinct categories in an unbiased manner. We have also developed, from dynamic models of gene expression, a framework to characterize protein degradation patterns based on the observed temporal relationships between mRNA and protein abundances. By comparing and contrasting our transcriptomic and proteomic data, we have identified several broad physiological trends in the E. coli starvation response. Strikingly, mRNAs are widely down-regulated in response to glucose starvation, presumably as a strategy for reducing new protein synthesis. By contrast, protein abundances display more varied responses. The abundances of many proteins involved in energy-intensive processes mirror the corresponding mRNA profiles while proteins involved in nutrient metabolism remain abundant even though their corresponding mRNAs are down-regulated.

Molecular deconvolution of the monoclonal antibodies that comprise the polyclonal serum response.

We have developed and validated a methodology for determining the antibody composition of the polyclonal serum response after immunization. Pepsin-digested serum IgGs were subjected to standard antigen-affinity chromatography, and resulting elution, wash, and flow-through fractions were analyzed by bottom-up, liquid chromatography-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Identification of individual monoclonal antibodies required the generation of a database of IgG variable gene (V-gene) sequences constructed by NextGen sequencing of mature B cells. Antibody V-gene sequences are characterized by short complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of high diversity adjacent to framework regions shared across thousands of IgGs, greatly complicating the identification of antigen-specific IgGs from proteomically observed peptides. By mapping peptides marking unique V(H) CDRH3 sequences, we identified a set of V-genes heavily enriched in the affinity chromatography elution, constituting the serum polyclonal response. After booster immunization in a rabbit, we find that the antigen-specific serum immune response is oligoclonal, comprising antibodies encoding 34 different CDRH3s that group into 30 distinct antibody V(H) clonotypes. Of these 34 CDRH3s, 12 account for ∼60% of the antigen-specific CDRH3 peptide mass spectral counts. For comparison, antibodies with 18 different CDRH3s (12 clonotypes) were represented in the antigen-specific IgG fraction from an unimmunized rabbit that fortuitously displayed a moderate titer for BSA. Proteomically identified antibodies were synthesized and shown to display subnanomolar affinities. The ability to deconvolute the polyclonal serum response is likely to be of key importance for analyzing antibody responses after vaccination and for more completely understanding adaptive immune responses in health and disease.

Proteomic identification of monoclonal antibodies from serum.

Characterizing the in vivo dynamics of the polyclonal antibody repertoire in serum, such as that which might arise in response to stimulation with an antigen, is difficult due to the presence of many highly similar immunoglobulin proteins, each specified by distinct B lymphocytes. These challenges have precluded the use of conventional mass spectrometry for antibody identification based on peptide mass spectral matches to a genomic reference database. Recently, progress has been made using bottom-up analysis of serum antibodies by nanoflow liquid chromatography/high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry combined with a sample-specific antibody sequence database generated by high-throughput sequencing of individual B cell immunoglobulin variable domains (V genes). Here, we describe how intrinsic features of antibody primary structure, most notably the interspersed segments of variable and conserved amino acid sequences, generate recurring patterns in the corresponding peptide mass spectra of V gene peptides, greatly complicating the assignment of correct sequences to mass spectral data. We show that the standard method of decoy-based error modeling fails to account for the error introduced by these highly similar sequences, leading to a significant underestimation of the false discovery rate. Because of these effects, antibody-derived peptide mass spectra require increased stringency in their interpretation. The use of filters based on the mean precursor ion mass accuracy of peptide-spectrum matches is shown to be particularly effective in distinguishing between "true" and "false" identifications. These findings highlight important caveats associated with the use of standard database search and error-modeling methods with nonstandard data sets and custom sequence databases.

Directed evolution of an orthogonal transcription engine for programmable gene expression in eukaryotes.

T7 RNA polymerase has enabled orthogonal control of gene expression and recombinant protein production across diverse prokaryotic host chassis organisms for decades. However, the absence of 5' methyl guanosine caps on T7 RNAP derived transcripts has severely limited its utility and widespread adoption in eukaryotic systems. To address this shortcoming, we evolved a fusion enzyme combining T7 RNAP with the single subunit capping enzyme from African swine fever virus using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We isolated highly active variants of this fusion enzyme, which exhibited roughly two orders of magnitude higher protein expression compared to the wild-type enzyme. We demonstrate the programmable control of gene expression using T7 RNAP-based genetic circuits in yeast and validate enhanced performance of these engineered variants in mammalian cells. This study presents a robust, orthogonal gene regulatory system applicable across diverse eukaryotic hosts, enhancing the versatility and efficiency of synthetic biology applications.

Systematic profiling of ale yeast protein dynamics across fermentation and repitching.

Studying the genetic and molecular characteristics of brewing yeast strains is crucial for understanding their domestication history and adaptations accumulated over time in fermentation environments, and for guiding optimizations to the brewing process itself. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewing yeast) is among the most profiled organisms on the planet, yet the temporal molecular changes that underlie industrial fermentation and beer brewing remain understudied. Here, we characterized the genomic makeup of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae ale yeast widely used in the production of Hefeweizen beers, and applied shotgun mass spectrometry to systematically measure the proteomic changes throughout 2 fermentation cycles which were separated by 14 rounds of serial repitching. The resulting brewing yeast proteomics resource includes 64,740 protein abundance measurements. We found that this strain possesses typical genetic characteristics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ale strains and displayed progressive shifts in molecular processes during fermentation based on protein abundance changes. We observed protein abundance differences between early fermentation batches compared to those separated by 14 rounds of serial repitching. The observed abundance differences occurred mainly in proteins involved in the metabolism of ergosterol and isobutyraldehyde. Our systematic profiling serves as a starting point for deeper characterization of how the yeast proteome changes during commercial fermentations and additionally serves as a resource to guide fermentation protocols, strain handling, and engineering practices in commercial brewing and fermentation environments. Finally, we created a web interface (https://brewing-yeast-proteomics.ccbb.utexas.edu/) to serve as a valuable resource for yeast geneticists, brewers, and biochemists to provide insights into the global trends underlying commercial beer production.

Proteomic and protein interaction network analysis of human T lymphocytes during cell-cycle entry.

Regulating the transition of cells such as T lymphocytes from quiescence (G(0)) into an activated, proliferating state involves initiation of cellular programs resulting in entry into the cell cycle (proliferation), the growth cycle (blastogenesis, cell size) and effector (functional) activation. We show the first proteomic analysis of protein interaction networks activated during entry into the first cell cycle from G(0). We also provide proof of principle that blastogenesis and proliferation programs are separable in primary human T cells. We employed a proteomic profiling method to identify large-scale changes in chromatin/nuclear matrix-bound and unbound proteins in human T lymphocytes during the transition from G(0) into the first cell cycle and mapped them to form functionally annotated, dynamic protein interaction networks. Inhibiting the induction of two proteins involved in two of the most significantly upregulated cellular processes, ribosome biogenesis (eIF6) and hnRNA splicing (SF3B2/SF3B4), showed, respectively, that human T cells can enter the cell cycle without growing in size, or increase in size without entering the cell cycle.

Rapid, scalable, combinatorial genome engineering by marker-less enrichment and recombination of genetically engineered loci in yeast.

A major challenge to rationally building multi-gene processes in yeast arises due to the combinatorics of combining all of the individual edits into the same strain. Here, we present a precise and multi-site genome editing approach that combines all edits without selection markers using CRISPR-Cas9. We demonstrate a highly efficient gene drive that selectively eliminates specific loci by integrating CRISPR-Cas9-mediated double-strand break (DSB) generation and homology-directed recombination with yeast sexual assortment. The method enables marker-less enrichment and recombination of genetically engineered loci (MERGE). We show that MERGE converts single heterologous loci to homozygous loci at ∼100% efficiency, independent of chromosomal location. Furthermore, MERGE is equally efficient at converting and combining multiple loci, thus identifying compatible genotypes. Finally, we establish MERGE proficiency by engineering a fungal carotenoid biosynthesis pathway and most of the human α-proteasome core into yeast. Therefore, MERGE lays the foundation for scalable, combinatorial genome editing in yeast.

Systematic Profiling of Ale Yeast Protein Dynamics across Fermentation and Repitching.

Studying the genetic and molecular characteristics of brewing yeast strains is crucial for understanding their domestication history and adaptations accumulated over time in fermentation environments, and for guiding optimizations to the brewing process itself. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewing yeast) is amongst the most profiled organisms on the planet, yet the temporal molecular changes that underlie industrial fermentation and beer brewing remain understudied. Here, we characterized the genomic makeup of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae ale yeast widely used in the production of Hefeweizen beers, and applied shotgun mass spectrometry to systematically measure the proteomic changes throughout two fermentation cycles which were separated by 14 rounds of serial repitching. The resulting brewing yeast proteomics resource includes 64,740 protein abundance measurements. We found that this strain possesses typical genetic characteristics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ale strains and displayed progressive shifts in molecular processes during fermentation based on protein abundance changes. We observed protein abundance differences between early fermentation batches compared to those separated by 14 rounds of serial repitching. The observed abundance differences occurred mainly in proteins involved in the metabolism of ergosterol and isobutyraldehyde. Our systematic profiling serves as a starting point for deeper characterization of how the yeast proteome changes during commercial fermentations and additionally serves as a resource to guide fermentation protocols, strain handling, and engineering practices in commercial brewing and fermentation environments. Finally, we created a web interface (https://brewing-yeast-proteomics.ccbb.utexas.edu/) to serve as a valuable resource for yeast geneticists, brewers, and biochemists to provide insights into the global trends underlying commercial beer production.

SARS-COV-2 Omicron variants conformationally escape a rare quaternary antibody binding mode.

The ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 into more easily transmissible and infectious variants has provided unprecedented insight into mutations enabling immune escape. Understanding how these mutations affect the dynamics of antibody-antigen interactions is crucial to the development of broadly protective antibodies and vaccines. Here we report the characterization of a potent neutralizing antibody (N3-1) identified from a COVID-19 patient during the first disease wave. Cryogenic electron microscopy revealed a quaternary binding mode that enables direct interactions with all three receptor-binding domains of the spike protein trimer, resulting in extraordinary avidity and potent neutralization of all major variants of concern until the emergence of Omicron. Structure-based rational design of N3-1 mutants improved binding to all Omicron variants but only partially restored neutralization of the conformationally distinct Omicron BA.1. This study provides new insights into immune evasion through changes in spike protein dynamics and highlights considerations for future conformationally biased multivalent vaccine designs.

Two-tiered approach identifies a network of cancer and liver disease-related genes regulated by miR-122.

MicroRNAs function as important regulators of gene expression and are commonly linked to development, differentiation, and diseases such as cancer. To better understand their roles in various biological processes, identification of genes targeted by microRNAs is necessary. Although prediction tools have significantly helped with this task, experimental approaches are ultimately required for extensive target search and validation. We employed two independent yet complementary high throughput approaches to map a large set of mRNAs regulated by miR-122, a liver-specific microRNA implicated in regulation of fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism, hepatitis C infection, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The combination of luciferase reporter-based screening and shotgun proteomics resulted in the identification of 260 proteins significantly down-regulated in response to miR-122 in at least one method, 113 of which contain predicted miR-122 target sites. These proteins are enriched for functions associated with the cell cycle, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. Among these miR-122-sensitive proteins, we identified a large group with strong connections to liver metabolism, diseases, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Additional analyses, including examination of consensus binding motifs for both miR-122 and target sequences, provide further insight into miR-122 function.

Antibody escape and cryptic cross-domain stabilization in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron spike protein.

The worldwide spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the repeated emergence of variants of concern. For the Omicron variant, sub-lineages BA.1 and BA.2, respectively, contain 33 and 29 nonsynonymous and indel spike protein mutations. These amino acid substitutions and indels are implicated in increased transmissibility and enhanced immune evasion. By reverting individual spike mutations of BA.1 or BA.2, we characterize the molecular effects of the Omicron spike mutations on expression, ACE2 receptor affinity, and neutralizing antibody recognition. We identified key mutations enabling escape from neutralizing antibodies at a variety of epitopes. Stabilizing mutations in the N-terminal and S2 domains of the spike protein can compensate for destabilizing mutations in the receptor binding domain, enabling the record number of mutations in Omicron. Our results provide a comprehensive account of the mutational effects in the Omicron spike protein and illustrate previously uncharacterized mechanisms of host evasion.