Understanding the key features of the spontaneous formation of bona fide prions through a novel methodology that enables their swift and consistent generation.

Among transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases affecting humans, sporadic forms such as sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are the vast majority. Unlike genetic or acquired forms of the disease, these idiopathic forms occur seemingly due to a random event of spontaneous misfolding of the cellular PrP (PrPC) into the pathogenic isoform (PrPSc). Currently, the molecular mechanisms that trigger and drive this event, which occurs in approximately one individual per million each year, remain completely unknown. Modelling this phenomenon in experimental settings is highly challenging due to its sporadic and rare occurrence. Previous attempts to model spontaneous prion misfolding in vitro have not been fully successful, as the spontaneous formation of prions is infrequent and stochastic, hindering the systematic study of the phenomenon. In this study, we present the first method that consistently induces spontaneous misfolding of recombinant PrP into bona fide prions within hours, providing unprecedented possibilities to investigate the mechanisms underlying sporadic prionopathies. By fine-tuning the Protein Misfolding Shaking Amplification method, which was initially developed to propagate recombinant prions, we have created a methodology that consistently produces spontaneously misfolded recombinant prions in 100% of the cases. Furthermore, this method gives rise to distinct strains and reveals the critical influence of charged surfaces in this process.

Effect of ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L1 autophagy E3-like complex on the ability of LC3/GABARAP proteins to induce vesicle tethering and fusion.

In macroautophagy, the autophagosome (AP) engulfs portions of cytoplasm to allow their lysosomal degradation. AP formation in humans requires the concerted action of the ATG12 and LC3/GABARAP conjugation systems. The ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L1 or E3-like complex (E3 for short) acts as a ubiquitin-like E3 enzyme, promoting LC3/GABARAP proteins anchoring to the AP membrane. Their role in the AP expansion process is still unclear, in part because there are no studies comparing six LC3/GABARAP family member roles under the same conditions, and also because the full human E3 was only recently available. In the present study, the lipidation of six members of the LC3/GABARAP family has been reconstituted in the presence and absence of E3, and the mechanisms by which E3 and LC3/GABARAP proteins participate in vesicle tethering and fusion have been investigated. In the absence of E3, GABARAP and GABARAPL1 showed the highest activities. Differences found within LC3/GABARAP proteins suggest the existence of a lipidation threshold, lower for the GABARAP subfamily, as a requisite for tethering and inter-vesicular lipid mixing. E3 increases and speeds up lipidation and LC3/GABARAP-promoted tethering. However, E3 hampers LC3/GABARAP capacity to induce inter-vesicular lipid mixing or subsequent fusion, presumably through the formation of a rigid scaffold on the vesicle surface. Our results suggest a model of AP expansion in which the growing regions would be areas where the LC3/GABARAP proteins involved should be susceptible to lipidation in the absence of E3, or else a regulatory mechanism would allow vesicle incorporation and phagophore growth when E3 is present.

CryoEM structural exploration of catalytically active enzyme pyruvate carboxylase.

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is a tetrameric enzyme that contains two active sites per subunit that catalyze two consecutive reactions. A mobile domain with an attached prosthetic biotin links both reactions, an initial biotin carboxylation and the subsequent carboxyl transfer to pyruvate substrate to produce oxaloacetate. Reaction sites are at long distance, and there are several co-factors that play as allosteric regulators. Here, using cryoEM we explore the structure of active PC tetramers focusing on active sites and on the conformational space of the oligomers. The results capture the mobile domain at both active sites and expose catalytic steps of both reactions at high resolution, allowing the identification of substrates and products. The analysis of catalytically active PC tetramers reveals the role of certain motions during enzyme functioning, and the structural changes in the presence of additional cofactors expose the mechanism for allosteric regulation.

Autophagy protein LC3C binding to phospholipid and interaction with lipid membranes.

Autophagy is a process in which parts of the eukaryotic cell are selectively degraded in the lysosome. The materials to be catabolized are first surrounded by a double-membrane structure, the autophagosome. Autophagosome generation is a complex event, in which many proteins are involved. Among the latter, yeast Atg8 or its mammalian orthologues are essential in autophagosome membrane elongation, shaping and closure. A subfamily of the human Atg8 orthologues is formed by the proteins LC3A, LC3B, and LC3C. Previous studies suggest that, at variance with the other two, LC3C does not participate in cardiolipin-mediated mitophagy. The present study was devoted to exploring the binding of LC3C to lipid vesicles, bilayers and monolayers, and the ensuing protein-dependent perturbing effects, in the absence of the mitochondrial lipid cardiolipin. All Atg8 orthologues are covalently bound to a phospholipid prior to their involvement in autophagosome elongation. In our case, a mutant in the C-terminal amino acid, LC3C G126C, together with the use of a maleimide-derivatized phosphatidyl ethanolamine, ensured LC3C lipidation, up to 100% under certain conditions. Ultracentrifugation, surface pressure measurements, spectroscopic and cryo-electron microscopic techniques revealed that lipidated LC3C induced vesicle aggregation (5-fold faster in sonicated than in large unilamellar vesicles) and inter-vesicular lipid mixing (up to 82%), including inner-monolayer lipid mixing (up to 32%), consistent with in vitro partial vesicle fusion. LC3C was also able to cause the release of 80-90% vesicular aqueous contents. The data support the idea that LC3C would be able to help in autophagosome elongation/fusion in autophagy phenomena.

3D architecture and structural flexibility revealed in the subfamily of large glutamate dehydrogenases by a mycobacterial enzyme.

Glutamate dehydrogenases (GDHs) are widespread metabolic enzymes that play key roles in nitrogen homeostasis. Large glutamate dehydrogenases composed of 180 kDa subunits (L-GDHs180) contain long N- and C-terminal segments flanking the catalytic core. Despite the relevance of L-GDHs180 in bacterial physiology, the lack of structural data for these enzymes has limited the progress of functional studies. Here we show that the mycobacterial L-GDH180 (mL-GDH180) adopts a quaternary structure that is radically different from that of related low molecular weight enzymes. Intersubunit contacts in mL-GDH180 involve a C-terminal domain that we propose as a new fold and a flexible N-terminal segment comprising ACT-like and PAS-type domains that could act as metabolic sensors for allosteric regulation. These findings uncover unique aspects of the structure-function relationship in the subfamily of L-GDHs.

The hexameric structure of the human mitochondrial replicative helicase Twinkle.

The mitochondrial replicative helicase Twinkle is involved in strand separation at the replication fork of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Twinkle malfunction is associated with rare diseases that include late onset mitochondrial myopathies, neuromuscular disorders and fatal infantile mtDNA depletion syndrome. We examined its 3D structure by electron microscopy (EM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and built the corresponding atomic models, which gave insight into the first molecular architecture of a full-length SF4 helicase that includes an N-terminal zinc-binding domain (ZBD), an intermediate RNA polymerase domain (RPD) and a RecA-like hexamerization C-terminal domain (CTD). The EM model of Twinkle reveals a hexameric two-layered ring comprising the ZBDs and RPDs in one layer and the CTDs in another. In the hexamer, contacts in trans with adjacent subunits occur between ZBDs and RPDs, and between RPDs and CTDs. The ZBDs show important structural heterogeneity. In solution, the scattering data are compatible with a mixture of extended hexa- and heptameric models in variable conformations. Overall, our structural data show a complex network of dynamic interactions that reconciles with the structural flexibility required for helicase activity.

Functional conformations for pyruvate carboxylase during catalysis explored by cryoelectron microscopy.

The tetrameric enzyme pyruvate carboxylase (PC), a biotin-dependent carboxylase, produces oxaloacetate by two consecutive reactions that take place in distant active sites. Previous crystal structures revealed two different configurations for PC tetramers, the so-called symmetric and asymmetric, which were understood as characteristic molecular architectures for PC from different organisms. We have analyzed PC samples from Staphylococcus aureus while the enzyme generates oxaloacetate, expecting PC tetramers to display the conformational landscape relevant for its functioning. Using cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) and sorting techniques, we detect previously defined symmetric and asymmetric architectures, demonstrating that PC maps both arrangements by large conformational changes. Furthermore, we observe that each configuration is coupled to one of the two consecutive enzymatic reactions. The findings describe the structural transitions relevant for the allosteric control of the multifunctional PC and demonstrate that by cryo-EM and classification, we can characterize freely working macromolecules.

The cryo-EM structure of the UPF-EJC complex shows UPF1 poised toward the RNA 3' end.

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a eukaryotic surveillance pathway that degrades aberrant mRNAs containing premature termination codons (PTCs). NMD is triggered upon the assembly of the UPF surveillance complex near a PTC. In humans, UPF assembly is prompted by the exon junction complex (EJC). We investigated the molecular architecture of the human UPF complex bound to the EJC by cryo-EM and using positional restraints from additional EM, MS and biochemical interaction data. The heptameric assembly is built around UPF2, a scaffold protein with a ring structure that closes around the CH domain of UPF1, keeping the helicase region in an accessible and unwinding-competent state. UPF2 also positions UPF3 to interact with the EJC. The geometry is such that this transient complex poises UPF1 to elicit helicase activity toward the 3' end of the mRNP.

Electron microscopy studies on the quaternary structure of p53 reveal different binding modes for p53 tetramers in complex with DNA.

The multidomain homotetrameric tumor suppressor p53 has two modes of binding dsDNA that are thought to be responsible for scanning and recognizing specific response elements (REs). The C termini bind nonspecifically to dsDNA. The four DNA-binding domains (DBDs) bind REs that have two symmetric 10 base-pair sequences. p53 bound to a 20-bp RE has the DBDs enveloping the DNA, which is in the center of the molecule surrounded by linker sequences to the tetramerization domain (Tet). We investigated by electron microscopy structures of p53 bound to DNA sequences consisting of a 20-bp RE with either 12 or 20 bp nonspecific extensions on either end. We found a variety of structures that give clues to recognition and scanning mechanisms. The 44- and 60-bp sequences gave rise to three and four classes of structures, respectively. One was similar to the known 20-bp structure, but the DBDs in the other classes were loosely arranged and incompatible with specific DNA recognition. Some of the complexes had density consistent with the C termini extending from Tet to the DNA, adjacent to the DBDs. Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments detected the approach of the C termini towards the DBDs on addition of DNA. The structural data are consistent with p53 sliding along DNA via its C termini and the DNA-binding domains hopping on and off during searches for REs. The loose structures and posttranslational modifications account for the affinity of nonspecific DNA for p53 and point to a mechanism of enhancement of specificity by its binding to effector proteins.

Structure of ratcheted ribosomes with tRNAs in hybrid states.

During protein synthesis, tRNAs and mRNA move through the ribosome between aminoacyl (A), peptidyl (P), and exit (E) sites of the ribosome in a process called translocation. Translocation is accompanied by the displacement of the tRNAs on the large ribosomal subunit toward the hybrid A/P and P/E states and by a rotational movement (ratchet) of the ribosomal subunits relative to one another. So far, the structure of the ratcheted state has been observed only when translation factors were bound to the ribosome. Using cryo-electron microscopy and classification, we show here that ribosomes can spontaneously adopt a ratcheted conformation with tRNAs in their hybrid states. The peptidyl-tRNA molecule in the A/P state, which is visualized here, is not distorted compared with the A/A state except for slight adjustments of its acceptor end, suggesting that the displacement of the A-site tRNA on the 50S subunit is passive and is induced by the 30S subunit rotation. Simultaneous subunit ratchet and formation of the tRNA hybrid states precede and may promote the subsequent rapid and coordinated tRNA translocation on the 30S subunit catalyzed by elongation factor G.