Sweeping away protein aggregation with entropic bristles: intrinsically disordered protein fusions enhance soluble expression.

Intrinsically disordered, highly charged protein sequences act as entropic bristles (EBs), which, when translationally fused to partner proteins, serve as effective solubilizers by creating both a large favorable surface area for water interactions and large excluded volumes around the partner. By extending away from the partner and sweeping out large molecules, EBs can allow the target protein to fold free from interference. Using both naturally occurring and artificial polypeptides, we demonstrate the successful implementation of intrinsically disordered fusions as protein solubilizers. The artificial fusions discussed herein have a low level of sequence complexity and a high net charge but are diversified by means of distinctive amino acid compositions and lengths. Using 6xHis fusions as controls, soluble protein expression enhancements from 65% (EB60A) to 100% (EB250) were observed for a 20-protein portfolio. Additionally, these EBs were able to more effectively solubilize targets compared to frequently used fusions such as maltose-binding protein, glutathione S-transferase, thioredoxin, and N utilization substance A. Finally, although these EBs possess very distinct physiochemical properties, they did not perturb the structure, conformational stability, or function of the green fluorescent protein or the glutathione S-transferase protein. This work thus illustrates the successful de novo design of intrinsically disordered fusions and presents a promising technology and complementary resource for researchers attempting to solubilize recalcitrant proteins.

Transcriptional repressor BCL-6 immortalizes germinal center-like B cells in the absence of p53 function.

Chromosomal rearrangements in non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma implicate BCL-6 as an oncogene, yet direct evidence for BCL-6 acting as an oncogene in B cells has been lacking. Here, we show that BCL-6 can immortalize primary B cells, but only in the absence of p53 tumor suppressor function. The expression of BCL-6 led to greatly increased B-cell proliferation, particularly in response to CD40 stimulation. Furthermore, BCL-6-infected p53-deficient B cells gave rise to immortalized cell lines that could be maintained by CD40 stimulation. We found that in primary mouse B cells, BCL-6 repressed expression of the Blimp-1, p27kip1, and cyclin D2 target genes. BCL-6 did not markedly repress the PDCD2 and BCL-XL target genes. The BCL-6 immortalized cell lines had a phenotype consistent with germinal center B cells, they expressed the germinal center-specific M17 gene, and a significant fraction of the cells stained positive with PNA. Our data indicate that BCL-6 may act to maintain B cells in a germinal center-like state, and repression of Blimp-1 by BCL-6 may be particularly crucial for stabilization of the germinal center phenotype. Our data also suggest that disruption of the p53 pathway may be crucial for the development of BCL-6-expressing B-cell lymphomas.

Repression of AP-1 function: a mechanism for the regulation of Blimp-1 expression and B lymphocyte differentiation by the B cell lymphoma-6 protooncogene.

The B cell lymphoma-6 (BCL-6) transcriptional repressor protein is an important regulator of B cell differentiation and is strongly implicated in the development of B cell lymphoma. Expression of the Blimp-1 transcription factor, which is critical for promoting B cell differentiation into plasma cells, is repressed by BCL-6. We have investigated the mechanism for how BCL-6 represses Blimp-1 transcription, and have found that BCL-6 regulates the Blimp-1 promoter through a novel mechanism involving AP-1 elements. Specifically, BCL-6 is a potent repressor of transcriptional activity mediated by AP-1 factors. We found that the zinc-finger region of BCL-6 interacts with c-Jun, JunB, and JunD proteins but does not bind c-Fos or Fra-2 proteins. An estrogen receptor ligand binding domain fusion with the BCL-6 zinc finger domain can act as a estrogen-inducible dominant negative protein and increase AP-1 activity in BCL-6(+) cells but not in BCL-6(-) cells, indicating that endogenous BCL-6 represses AP-1 activity. Additionally, we have confirmed a specific interaction between c-Jun and the zinc finger domain of BCL-6 in vivo using a mammalian two-hybrid assay. Repression of AP-1 function by BCL-6 may be a key mechanism for how BCL-6 regulates gene expression to control inflammation, lymphocyte differentiation, and lymphomagenesis.

Regulation of gene expression by the proto-oncogene BCL-6.

The proto-oncogene BCL-6 encodes a transcriptional repressor protein that is expressed at high levels in germinal center B cells and lymphomas with a germinal center B cell phenotype. The BCL-6 gene is a frequent target of chromosomal translocations, micro-deletions, and point mutations in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Studies of BCL-6-deficient mice have revealed that BCL-6 is critical for normal lymphocyte differentiation and also that BCL-6 is a negative regulator of inflammation. Recent studies have shed light on how BCL-6 controls these processes by showing that BCL-6 regulates a broad spectrum of target genes. BCL-6 represses transcription of genes involved in lymphocyte activation, differentiation, proliferation, and migration. Although much progress has been made in understanding gene regulation by BCL-6, many important questions are unresolved.