Sustained delivery of the bone morphogenetic proteins BMP-2 and BMP-7 for cartilage repair and regeneration in osteoarthritis.

Objective: Attempts to utilise growth factors (GF) such as bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) to treat osteoarthritis (OA) in the clinic have not secured widespread adoption. However, the novel crystalline GF formulation called PODS offers new perspectives. This study investigated the hypothesis that Polyhedrin Delivery System (PODS) BMP-2 and PODS BMP-7, compared with conventional BMP-2 and BMP-7 increase capacity for cartilage repair. Design: Sustained release from PODS BMP-2 and PODS BMP-7 and their effects on OA patient-derived cells as well as a chondrocyte cell line were first assessed in vitro. Here, extra cellular matrix (ECM) protein gene expression and actual ECM deposition were measured and compared to the effect achieved with conventional, soluble BMPs. Subsequently, in an established murine model of cartilage regeneration of the knee joint, changes were traced over 8 weeks and scored with two metrics, modified Pineda and Mankin. Results: Both crystalline PODS BMP formulations strongly induced proliferation in primary as well as immortal cell line chondrocytes, outperforming conventional soluble BMP-2 and BMP-7. Furthermore, ECM-producing genes were upregulated and the production of ECM could be demonstrated. In the murine cartilage regeneration model, both PODS BMP-2 and PODS-BMP-7 improved cartilage repair assessed with both histological scoring methods. Conclusions: This study showed that the sustained release of GF from PODS BMPs is effective in promoting chondrogenesis in vitro. The small animal data suggests that this novel approach of delivering therapeutic proteins sustainably and locally to the knee has promise for developing future disease-modifying therapies of OA.

Phagocytosed Polyhedrin-Cytokine Cocrystal Nanoparticles Provide Sustained Secretion of Bioactive Cytokines from Macrophages.

Many cells possess the ability to engulf and incorporate particles by phagocytosis. This active process is characteristic of microorganisms as well as higher order species. In mammals, monocytes, macrophages, and microglia are among the so-called professional phagocytes. In addition, cells such as fibroblast and chondrocytes are classified as nonprofessional phagocytes. Professional phagocytes play important roles in both the innate and adaptive immune responses, wound healing, and tissue homeostasis. Consequently, these cells are increasingly studied as targets and vectors of therapeutic intervention to treat a range of diseases. Professional phagocytes are notoriously difficult to transfect limiting their study and manipulation. Consequently, efforts have shifted towards the development of nanoparticles to deliver a cargo to phagocytic cells via phagocytosis. However, this approach carries significant technical challenges, particularly for protein cargos. We have focused on the development of nanoscale cocrystalline protein depots, known as PODS®, that contain protein cargos, including cytokines. Here, we show that PODS are readily phagocytosed by nonprofessional as well as professional phagocytic cells and have attributes, such as highly sustained release of cargo, that suggest potential utility for the study and exploitation of phagocytic cells for drug delivery. Monocytes and macrophages that ingest PODS retain normal characteristics including a robust chemotactic response. Moreover, the PODS-cytokine cargo is secreted by the loaded cell at a level sufficient to modulate the behavior of surrounding nonphagocytic cells. The results presented here demonstrate the potential of PODS nanoparticles as a novel molecular tool for the study and manipulation of phagocytic cells and for the development of Trojan horse immunotherapy strategies to treat cancer and other diseases.

Sustained Neurotrophin Release from Protein Nanoparticles Mediated by Matrix Metalloproteinases Induces the Alignment and Differentiation of Nerve Cells.

The spatial and temporal availability of cytokines, and the microenvironments this creates, is critical to tissue development and homeostasis. Creating concentration gradients in vitro using soluble proteins is challenging as they do not provide a self-sustainable source. To mimic the sustained cytokine secretion seen in vivo from the extracellular matrix (ECM), we encapsulated a cargo protein into insect virus-derived proteins to form nanoparticle co-crystals and studied the release of this cargo protein mediated by matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-8. Specifically, when nerve growth factor (NGF), a neurotrophin, was encapsulated into nanoparticles, its release was promoted by MMPs secreted by a PC12 neuronal cell line. When these NGF nanoparticles were spotted onto a cover slip to create a uniform circular field, movement and alignment of PC12 cells via their extended axons along the periphery of the NGF nanoparticle field was observed. Neural cell differentiation was confirmed by the expression of specific markers of tau, neurofilament, and GAP-43. Connections between the extended axons and the growth cones were also observed, and expression of connexin 43 was consistent with the formation of gap junctions. Extensions and connection of very fine filopodia occurred between growth cones. Our studies indicate that crystalline protein nanoparticles can be utilized to generate a highly stable cytokine gradient microenvironment that regulates the alignment and differentiation of nerve cells. This technique greatly simplifies the creation of protein concentration gradients and may lead to therapies for neuronal injuries and disease.

Translocation-coupled DNA cleavage by the Type ISP restriction-modification enzymes.

Production of endonucleolytic double-strand DNA breaks requires separate strand cleavage events. Although catalytic mechanisms for simple, dimeric endonucleases are known, there are many complex nuclease machines that are poorly understood. Here we studied the single polypeptide Type ISP restriction-modification (RM) enzymes, which cleave random DNA between distant target sites when two enzymes collide after convergent ATP-driven translocation. We report the 2.7-Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of a Type ISP enzyme-DNA complex, revealing that both the helicase-like ATPase and nuclease are located upstream of the direction of translocation, an observation inconsistent with simple nuclease-domain dimerization. Using single-molecule and biochemical techniques, we demonstrate that each ATPase remodels its DNA-protein complex and translocates along DNA without looping it, leading to a collision complex in which the nuclease domains are distal. Sequencing of the products of single cleavage events suggests a previously undescribed endonuclease model, where multiple, stochastic strand-nicking events combine to produce DNA scission.

Specific and non-specific interactions of ParB with DNA: implications for chromosome segregation.

The segregation of many bacterial chromosomes is dependent on the interactions of ParB proteins with centromere-like DNA sequences called parS that are located close to the origin of replication. In this work, we have investigated the binding of Bacillus subtilis ParB to DNA in vitro using a variety of biochemical and biophysical techniques. We observe tight and specific binding of a ParB homodimer to the parS sequence. Binding of ParB to non-specific DNA is more complex and displays apparent positive co-operativity that is associated with the formation of larger, poorly defined, nucleoprotein complexes. Experiments with magnetic tweezers demonstrate that non-specific binding leads to DNA condensation that is reversible by protein unbinding or force. The condensed DNA structure is not well ordered and we infer that it is formed by many looping interactions between neighbouring DNA segments. Consistent with this view, ParB is also able to stabilize writhe in single supercoiled DNA molecules and to bridge segments from two different DNA molecules in trans. The experiments provide no evidence for the promotion of non-specific DNA binding and/or condensation events by the presence of parS sequences. The implications of these observations for chromosome segregation are discussed.

Expression, purification and reconstitution of the 4-hydroxybenzoate transporter PcaK from Acinetobacter sp. ADP1.

The aromatic acid:H(+) symporter family of integral membrane proteins play an important role in the microbial metabolism of aromatic compounds. Here, we show that the 4-hydroxybenzoate transporter from Acinetobacter sp. ADP1, PcaK, can be successfully overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Affinity-purified PcaK is a stable, monodisperse homotrimer in the detergent n-dodecyl-ß-d-maltopyranoside supplemented with cholesteryl hemisuccinate. The purified protein has α-helical secondary structure and can be reconstituted to a functional state in synthetic proteoliposomes. Asymmetric substrate transport was observed when proteoliposomes were energized by applying an electrochemical proton gradient (Δµâ€¾H(+)) or a membrane potential (ΔΨ) but not by ΔpH alone. PcaK was selective in transporting 4-hydroxybenzoate and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate over closely related compounds, confirming previous reports on substrate specificity. However, PcaK also showed an unexpected preference for transporting 2-hydroxybenzoates. These results provide the basis for further detailed studies of the structure and function of this family of transporters.

TstI, a Type II restriction-modification protein with DNA recognition, cleavage and methylation functions in a single polypeptide.

Type II restriction-modification systems cleave and methylate DNA at specific sequences. However, the Type IIB systems look more like Type I than conventional Type II schemes as they employ the same protein for both restriction and modification and for DNA recognition. Several Type IIB proteins, including the archetype BcgI, are assemblies of two polypeptides: one with endonuclease and methyltransferase roles, another for DNA recognition. Conversely, some IIB proteins express all three functions from separate segments of a single polypeptide. This study analysed one such single-chain protein, TstI. Comparison with BcgI showed that the one- and the two-polypeptide systems differ markedly. Unlike the heterologous assembly of BcgI, TstI forms a homotetramer. The tetramer bridges two recognition sites before eventually cutting the DNA in both strands on both sides of the sites, but at each site the first double-strand break is made long before the second. In contrast, BcgI cuts all eight target bonds at two sites in a single step. TstI also differs from BcgI in either methylating or cleaving unmodified sites at similar rates. The site may thus be modified before TstI can make the second double-strand break. TstI MTase acts best at hemi-methylated sites.

Type III restriction endonucleases are heterotrimeric: comprising one helicase-nuclease subunit and a dimeric methyltransferase that binds only one specific DNA.

Fundamental aspects of the biochemistry of Type III restriction endonucleases remain unresolved despite being characterized by numerous research groups in the past decades. One such feature is the subunit stoichiometry of these hetero-oligomeric enzyme complexes, which has important implications for the reaction mechanism. In this study, we present a series of results obtained by native mass spectrometry and size exclusion chromatography with multi-angle light scattering consistent with a 1:2 ratio of Res to Mod subunits in the EcoP15I, EcoPI and PstII complexes as the main holoenzyme species and a 1:1 stoichiometry of specific DNA (sDNA) binding by EcoP15I and EcoPI. Our data are also consistent with a model where ATP hydrolysis activated by recognition site binding leads to release of the enzyme from the site, dissociation from the substrate via a free DNA end and cleavage of the DNA. These results are discussed critically in the light of the published literature, aiming to resolve controversies and discuss consequences in terms of the reaction mechanism.

Multipartite control of the DNA translocase, Mfd.

ATP-dependent nucleic acid helicases and translocases play essential roles in many aspects of DNA and RNA biology. In order to ensure that these proteins act only in specific contexts, their activity is often regulated by intramolecular contacts and interaction with partner proteins. We have studied the bacterial Mfd protein, which is an ATP-dependent DNA translocase that relocates or displaces transcription ECs in a variety of cellular contexts. When bound to RNAP, Mfd exhibits robust ATPase and DNA translocase activities, but when released from its substrate these activities are repressed by autoinhibitory interdomain contacts. In this work, we have identified an interface within the Mfd protein that is important for regulating the activity of the protein, and whose disruption permits Mfd to act indiscriminately at transcription complexes that lack the usual determinants of Mfd specificity. Our results indicate that regulation of Mfd occurs through multiple nodes, and that activation of Mfd may be a multi-stage process.

DNA looping by FokI: the impact of twisting and bending rigidity on protein-induced looping dynamics.

Protein-induced DNA looping is crucial for many genetic processes such as transcription, gene regulation and DNA replication. Here, we use tethered-particle motion to examine the impact of DNA bending and twisting rigidity on loop capture and release, using the restriction endonuclease FokI as a test system. To cleave DNA efficiently, FokI bridges two copies of an asymmetric sequence, invariably aligning the sites in parallel. On account of the fixed alignment, the topology of the DNA loop is set by the orientation of the sites along the DNA. We show that both the separation of the FokI sites and their orientation, altering, respectively, the twisting and the bending of the DNA needed to juxtapose the sites, have profound effects on the dynamics of the looping interaction. Surprisingly, the presence of a nick within the loop does not affect the observed rigidity of the DNA. In contrast, the introduction of a 4-nt gap fully relaxes all of the torque present in the system but does not necessarily enhance loop stability. FokI therefore employs torque to stabilise its DNA-looping interaction by acting as a 'torsional' catch bond.

DNA looping by FokI: the impact of synapse geometry on loop topology at varied site orientations.

Most restriction endonucleases, including FokI, interact with two copies of their recognition sequence before cutting DNA. On DNA with two sites they act in cis looping out the intervening DNA. While many restriction enzymes operate symmetrically at palindromic sites, FokI acts asymmetrically at a non-palindromic site. The directionality of its sequence means that two FokI sites can be bridged in either parallel or anti-parallel alignments. Here we show by biochemical and single-molecule biophysical methods that FokI aligns two recognition sites on separate DNA molecules in parallel and that the parallel arrangement holds for sites in the same DNA regardless of whether they are in inverted or repeated orientations. The parallel arrangement dictates the topology of the loop trapped between sites in cis: the loop from inverted sites has a simple 180° bend, while that with repeated sites has a convoluted 360° turn. The ability of FokI to act at asymmetric sites thus enabled us to identify the synapse geometry for sites in trans and in cis, which in turn revealed the relationship between synapse geometry and loop topology.

Illuminating the reaction pathway of the FokI restriction endonuclease by fluorescence resonance energy transfer.

The FokI restriction endonuclease is a monomeric protein that recognizes an asymmetric sequence and cleaves both DNA strands at fixed loci downstream of the site. Its single active site is positioned initially near the recognition sequence, distant from its downstream target 13 nucleotides away. Moreover, to cut both strands, it has to recruit a second monomer to give an assembly with two active sites. Here, the individual steps in the FokI reaction pathway were examined by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). To monitor DNA binding and domain motion, a fluorescence donor was attached to the DNA, either downstream or upstream of the recognition site, and an acceptor placed on the catalytic domain of the protein. A FokI variant incapable of dimerization was also employed, to disentangle the signal due to domain motion from that due to protein association. Dimerization was monitored separately by using two samples of FokI labelled with donor and acceptor, respectively. The stopped-flow studies revealed a complete reaction pathway for FokI, both the sequence of events and the kinetics of each individual step.

The reaction mechanism of FokI excludes the possibility of targeting zinc finger nucleases to unique DNA sites.

The FokI endonuclease is a monomeric protein with discrete DNA-recognition and catalytic domains. The latter has only one active site so, to cut both strands, the catalytic domains from two monomers associate to form a dimer. The dimer involving a monomer at the recognition site and another from free solution is less stable than that from two proteins tethered to the same DNA. FokI thus cleaves DNA with two sites better than one-site DNA. The two sites can be immediately adjacent, but they can alternatively be many hundreds of base pairs apart, in either inverted or repeated orientations. The catalytic domain of FokI is often a component of zinc finger nucleases. Typically, the zinc finger domains of two such nucleases are designed to recognize two neighbouring DNA sequences, with the objective of cutting the DNA exclusively between the target sequences. However, this strategy fails to take account of the fact that the catalytic domains of FokI can dimerize across distant sites or even at a solitary site. Additional copies of either target sequence elsewhere in the chromosome must elicit off-target cleavages.

Production of (10E,12Z)-conjugated linoleic acid in yeast and tobacco seeds.

The polyenoic fatty acid isomerase from Propioniumbacterium acnes (PAI) was expressed in E. coli and biochemically characterized. PAI catalyzes the isomerization of a methylene-interrupted double bond system to a conjugated double bond system, creating (10E,12Z)-conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). PAI accepted a wide range of free polyunsaturated fatty acids as substrates ranging from 18:2 fatty acids to 22:6, converting them to fatty acids with two or three conjugated double bonds. For expression of PAI in yeast the PAI-sequence encoding 20 N-terminal amino acid residues was altered for optimal codon usage, yielding codon optimized PAI (coPAI). The percentage of 10,12-CLA of total esterified fatty acids was 8 times higher in yeast transformed with coPAI than in cells transformed with PAI. CLA was detected in amounts up to 5.7% of total free fatty acids in yeast transformed with coPAI but none was detected in yeast transformed with PAI. PAI or coPAI under the control of the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter or the seed-specific USP promoter was transformed into tobacco plants. CLA was only detected in seeds in coPAI-transgenic plants. The amount of CLA detected in esterified fatty acids was up to 0.3%, in free fatty acids up to 15%.

Specific formation of arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid by a front-end Delta5-desaturase from Phytophthora megasperma.

The biosynthesis of arachidonic acid (20:4(Delta5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)) from linoleic acid in plants by transgenic means requires the sequential and specific action of two desaturation reactions and one elongation reaction. Here, we describe the isolation of a specific acyl-lipid-desaturase catalyzing the formation of the double bond at position 5 from a cDNA library from Phytophthora megasperma. The isolated full-length cDNA harbors a sequence of 1740 bp encoding a protein of 477 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 53.5 kDa. The desaturase sequence contained a predicted N-terminal cytochrome b(5)-like domain, as well as three histidine-rich domains. For functional identification, the cDNA was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the formation of newly formed fatty acids was analyzed. The expression of the heterologous enzyme resulted in the formation of arachidonic acid after di-homo-gamma-linolenic acid supplementation and in the formation of eicosapentaenoic acid synthesis from omega3-arachidonic acid. Results presented here on the substrate specificity identify this expressed protein as a classical Delta5-acyl-lipid-desaturase, capable of specifically introducing a double bond at the Delta5 position solely in 20-carbon-atom chain length fatty acids containing a double bond at position Delta8. Detailed analysis of the different lipid species showed a preferential occurrence of the desaturation reaction for fatty acids esterified to phosphatidylcholine.

Formation of conjugated Delta11Delta13-double bonds by Delta12-linoleic acid (1,4)-acyl-lipid-desaturase in pomegranate seeds.

For the biosynthesis of punicic acid (18:3Delta9Z,11E,13Z) a (11,14)-linoleoyl desaturase activity has been proposed. To isolate this acyl-lipid-desaturase, PCR-based cloning was used. This approach resulted in the isolation of two complete cDNAs. The first isolated full-length cDNA harbors a sequence of 1350 bp encoding a protein of 395 amino acids. The second cDNA was 1415 bp long encoding a protein of 387 amino acids. For functional identification proteins encoded by the cDNAs were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and formation of newly formed fatty acids was analyzed by gas chromatography-free induction decay (GC-FID) and GC/MS. The expression of the heterologous enzymes resulted in the first case in a significant amount of linoleic acid and in the second case, after linoleic acid supplementation, in formation of punicic acid. The results presented here identify one cDNA coding for a classical Delta12-acyl-lipid-desaturase. The other one codes for a new type of (1,4)-acyl-lipid-desaturase that converts a cis double bond located in the Delta12-position of linoleic acid or gamma-linolenic acid, but not in alpha-linolenic acid, into a conjugated cis-trans double bond system.