Structural basis of hepatitis B virus receptor binding.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV), a leading cause of developing hepatocellular carcinoma affecting more than 290 million people worldwide, is an enveloped DNA virus specifically infecting hepatocytes. Myristoylated preS1 domain of the HBV large surface protein binds to the host receptor sodium-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), a hepatocellular bile acid transporter, to initiate viral entry. Here, we report the cryogenic-electron microscopy structure of the myristoylated preS1 (residues 2-48) peptide bound to human NTCP. The unexpectedly folded N-terminal half of the peptide embeds deeply into the outward-facing tunnel of NTCP, whereas the C-terminal half formed extensive contacts on the extracellular surface. Our findings reveal an unprecedented induced-fit mechanism for establishing high-affinity virus-host attachment and provide a blueprint for the rational design of anti-HBV drugs targeting virus entry.

Spermidine activates mitochondrial trifunctional protein and improves antitumor immunity in mice.

Spermidine (SPD) delays age-related pathologies in various organisms. SPD supplementation overcame the impaired immunotherapy against tumors in aged mice by increasing mitochondrial function and activating CD8+ T cells. Treatment of naïve CD8+ T cells with SPD acutely enhanced fatty acid oxidation. SPD conjugated to beads bound to the mitochondrial trifunctional protein (MTP). In the MTP complex, synthesized and purified from Escherichia coli, SPD bound to the α and ß subunits of MTP with strong affinity and allosterically enhanced their enzymatic activities. T cell-specific deletion of the MTP α subunit abolished enhancement of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade immunotherapy by SPD, indicating that MTP is required for SPD-dependent T cell activation.

Structure of the bile acid transporter and HBV receptor NTCP.

Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) affects more than 290 million people worldwide, is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and results in an estimated 820,000 deaths annually1,2. For HBV infection to be established, a molecular interaction is required between the large glycoproteins of the virus envelope (known as LHBs) and the host entry receptor sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP), a sodium-dependent bile acid transporter from the blood to hepatocytes3. However, the molecular basis for the virus-transporter interaction is poorly understood. Here we report the cryo-electron microscopy structures of human, bovine and rat NTCPs in the apo state, which reveal the presence of a tunnel across the membrane and a possible transport route for the substrate. Moreover, the cryo-electron microscopy structure of human NTCP in the presence of the myristoylated preS1 domain of LHBs, together with mutation and transport assays, suggest a binding mode in which preS1 and the substrate compete for the extracellular opening of the tunnel in NTCP. Our preS1 domain interaction analysis enables a mechanistic interpretation of naturally occurring HBV-insusceptible mutations in human NTCP. Together, our findings provide a structural framework for HBV recognition and a mechanistic understanding of sodium-dependent bile acid translocation by mammalian NTCPs.

The structure of MgtE in the absence of magnesium provides new insights into channel gating.

MgtE is a Mg2+ channel conserved in organisms ranging from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, including humans, and plays an important role in Mg2+ homeostasis. The previously determined MgtE structures in the Mg2+-bound, closed-state, and structure-based functional analyses of MgtE revealed that the binding of Mg2+ ions to the MgtE cytoplasmic domain induces channel inactivation to maintain Mg2+ homeostasis. There are no structures of the transmembrane (TM) domain for MgtE in Mg2+-free conditions, and the pore-opening mechanism has thus remained unclear. Here, we determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the MgtE-Fab complex in the absence of Mg2+ ions. The Mg2+-free MgtE TM domain structure and its comparison with the Mg2+-bound, closed-state structure, together with functional analyses, showed the Mg2+-dependent pore opening of MgtE on the cytoplasmic side and revealed the kink motions of the TM2 and TM5 helices at the glycine residues, which are important for channel activity. Overall, our work provides structure-based mechanistic insights into the channel gating of MgtE.

The Intervening Removable Affinity Tag (iRAT) System for the Production of Recombinant Antibody Fragments.

Fv and Fab antibody fragments are versatile co-crystallization partners that aid in the structural determination of otherwise "uncrystallizable" proteins, including human/mammalian membrane proteins. Accessible methods for the rapid and reliable production of recombinant antibody fragments have been long sought. In this chapter, we describe the concept and protocols of the intervening removable affinity tag (iRAT) system for the efficient production of Fv and Fab fragments in milligram quantities, which are sufficient for structural studies. As an extension of the iRAT system, we also provide a new method for the creation of genetically encoded fluorescent Fab fragments, which are potentially useful as molecular devices in various basic biomedical and clinical procedures, such as immunofluorescence cytometry, bioimaging, and immunodiagnosis.

Crystallographic approaches to study the interaction modes of PD-1- and CTLA-4-blocking antibodies.

The programmed death 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) are negative regulators of T-cell immune function. Removal of these "brakes" in T cells results in increased activation of the immune system and controlling and eradicating tumor. The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a revolutionary milestone in tumor immunotherapy. Obtaining the atomic structure of the human immune checkpoint receptor/ICI therapeutic antibody complex is essential for understanding its inhibition mechanism and the rational design of improved biotherapeutics. In this chapter, we describe the methods for efficient production of extracellular domain of human immune checkpoint receptors and Fv fragments of ICI therapeutic antibodies in milligram quantities sufficient for structural studies, taking examples of the PD-1/pembrolizumab Fv and CTLA-4-ipilimumab Fv complexes.

Structures of the 5-HT2A receptor in complex with the antipsychotics risperidone and zotepine.

Many drugs target the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR), including second-generation antipsychotics that also target the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R). These drugs often produce severe side effects due to non-selective binding to other aminergic receptors. Here, we report the structures of human 5-HT2AR in complex with the second-generation antipsychotics risperidone and zotepine. These antipsychotics effectively stabilize the inactive conformation by forming direct contacts with the residues at the bottom of the ligand-binding pocket, the movements of which are important for receptor activation. 5-HT2AR is structurally similar to 5-HT2CR but possesses a unique side-extended cavity near the orthosteric binding site. A docking study and mutagenic studies suggest that a highly 5-HT2AR-selective antagonist binds the side-extended cavity. The conformation of the ligand-binding pocket in 5-HT2AR significantly differs around extracellular loops 1 and 2 from that in D2R. These findings are beneficial for the rational design of safer antipsychotics and 5-HT2AR-selective drugs.

Structural basis for tumor necrosis factor blockade with the therapeutic antibody golimumab.

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is a proinflammatory cytokine, and elevated levels of TNFα in serum are associated with various autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Crohn's disease (CD), psoriasis, and systemic lupus erythaematosus. TNFα performs its pleiotropic functions by binding to two structurally distinct transmembrane receptors, TNF receptor (TNFR) 1 and TNFR2. Antibody-based therapeutic strategies that block excessive TNFα signaling have been shown to be effective in suppressing such harmful inflammatory conditions. Golimumab (Simponi®) is an FDA-approved fully human monoclonal antibody targeting TNFα that has been widely used for the treatment of RA, AS, and CD. However, the structural basis underlying the inhibitory action of golimumab remains unclear. Here, we report the crystal structure of the Fv fragment of golimumab in complex with TNFα at a resolution of 2.73 Å. The resolved structure reveals that golimumab binds to a distinct epitope on TNFα that does not overlap with the binding residues of TNFR2. Golimumab exerts its inhibitory effect by preventing binding of TNFR1 and TNFR2 to TNFα by steric hindrance. Golimumab does not induce conformational changes in TNFα that could affect receptor binding. This mode of action is specific to golimumab among the four anti-TNFα therapeutic antibodies currently approved for clinical use.

High-resolution crystal structure of the therapeutic antibody pembrolizumab bound to the human PD-1.

Pembrolizumab is an FDA-approved therapeutic antibody that targets the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) to block the immune checkpoint pathway for the treatment of various types of cancer. It receives remarkable attention due to the high degree of efficacy. Very recently, the crystal structure of the Fab fragment of pembrolizumab (PemFab) in complex with the extracellular domain of human PD-1 (PD-1ECD) was reported at a resolution of 2.9 Å. However, this relatively low-resolution structural data fails to provide sufficient information on interfacial water molecules at the binding interface that substantially contribute to affinity and specificity between the therapeutic antibody and target. Here, we present the independently determined crystal structure of the Fv fragment of pembrolizumab (PemFv) in complex with the PD-1ECD at a resolution of 2.15 Å. This high-resolution structure allows the accurate mapping of the interaction including water-mediated hydrogen bonds and provides, for the first time, a coherent explanation of PD-1 antagonism by pembrolizumab. Our structural data also provides new insights into the rational design of improved anti-PD-1 therapeutics.

The intervening removable affinity tag (iRAT) production system facilitates Fv antibody fragment-mediated crystallography.

Fv antibody fragments have been used as co-crystallization partners in structural biology, particularly in membrane protein crystallography. However, there are inherent technical issues associated with the large-scale production of soluble, functional Fv fragments through conventional methods in various expression systems. To circumvent these problems, we developed a new method, in which a single synthetic polyprotein consisting of a variable light (VL ) domain, an intervening removable affinity tag (iRAT), and a variable heavy (VH ) domain is expressed by a Gram-positive bacterial secretion system. This method ensures stoichiometric expression of VL and VH from the monocistronic construct followed by proper folding and assembly of the two variable domains. The iRAT segment can be removed by a site-specific protease during the purification process to yield tag-free Fv fragments suitable for crystallization trials. In vitro refolding step is not required to obtain correctly folded Fv fragments. As a proof of concept, we tested the iRAT-based production of multiple Fv fragments, including a crystallization chaperone for a mammalian membrane protein as well as FDA-approved therapeutic antibodies. The resulting Fv fragments were functionally active and crystallized in complex with the target proteins. The iRAT system is a reliable, rapid and broadly applicable means of producing milligram quantities of Fv fragments for structural and biochemical studies.

Structure and mechanism of the mammalian fructose transporter GLUT5.

The altered activity of the fructose transporter GLUT5, an isoform of the facilitated-diffusion glucose transporter family, has been linked to disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. GLUT5 is also overexpressed in certain tumour cells, and inhibitors are potential drugs for these conditions. Here we describe the crystal structures of GLUT5 from Rattus norvegicus and Bos taurus in open outward- and open inward-facing conformations, respectively. GLUT5 has a major facilitator superfamily fold like other homologous monosaccharide transporters. On the basis of a comparison of the inward-facing structures of GLUT5 and human GLUT1, a ubiquitous glucose transporter, we show that a single point mutation is enough to switch the substrate-binding preference of GLUT5 from fructose to glucose. A comparison of the substrate-free structures of GLUT5 with occluded substrate-bound structures of Escherichia coli XylE suggests that, in addition to global rocker-switch-like re-orientation of the bundles, local asymmetric rearrangements of carboxy-terminal transmembrane bundle helices TM7 and TM10 underlie a 'gated-pore' transport mechanism in such monosaccharide transporters.

Proteoliposome-based selection of a recombinant antibody fragment against the human M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor.

The development of antibodies against human G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has achieved limited success, which has mainly been attributed to their low stability in a detergent-solubilized state. We herein describe a method that can generally be applied to the selection of phage display libraries with human GPCRs reconstituted in liposomes. A key feature of this approach is the production of biotinylated proteoliposomes that can be immobilized on the surface of streptavidin-coupled microplates or paramagnetic beads and used as a binding target for antibodies. As an example, we isolated a single chain Fv fragment from an immune phage library that specifically binds to the human M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor with nanomolar affinity. The selected antibody fragment recognized the GPCR in both detergent-solubilized and membrane-embedded forms, which suggests that it may be a potentially valuable tool for structural and functional studies of the GPCR. The use of proteoliposomes as immunogens and screening bait will facilitate the application of phage display to this difficult class of membrane proteins.

Successful Retreatment With ADOC Chemotherapy in Relapsed Thymic Carcinoma: Experiences in Two Cases.

The optimal second-line chemotherapeutic regimen for thymic carcinoma remains uncertain and predictive factors for the response have not been identified. We encountered two cases of relapsed thymic carcinoma with recurrence 1.5 and 8 years after initial response to cisplatin/doxorubicin/vincristine/cyclophosphamide (ADOC) chemotherapy. Both cases were successfully retreated with ADOC. Our observations suggest that relapsed thymic carcinoma occurring a long treatment-free time from the initial response may be sensitive to the previous chemotherapy. We described two cases of relapsed thymic carcinoma successfully retreated with ADOC chemotherapy. Both patients had partial response to initial ADOC and long disease free times.

IgG4-related airway involvement which developed in a patient receiving corticosteroid therapy for autoimmune pancreatitis.

A 66-year-old man was diagnosed with autoimmune pancreatitis in February 2009 and started 40 mg of oral prednisolone followed by a maintenance dose of 5 mg daily. The patient developed a cough in October 2010 and visited our division. He had a high serum concentration of immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 and his chest computed tomography showed airway stenosis without bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy (BHL). The bronchial biopsy specimens revealed lymphoplasmacytic infiltrations with IgG4-positive/IgG-positive plasma cells of more than 50%. Thus, we diagnosed the airway lesion with IgG4-related airway involvement. This is the first report of a patient with IgG4-related airway involvement without BHL.

Recognition of a common rDNA target site in archaea and eukarya by analogous LAGLIDADG and His-Cys box homing endonucleases.

The presence of a homing endonuclease gene (HEG) within a microbial intron or intein empowers the entire element with the ability to invade genomic targets. The persistence of a homing endonuclease lineage depends in part on conservation of its DNA target site. One such rDNA sequence has been invaded both in archaea and in eukarya, by LAGLIDADG and His-Cys box homing endonucleases, respectively. The bases encoded by this target include a universally conserved ribosomal structure, termed helix 69 (H69) in the large ribosomal subunit. This region forms the 'B2a' intersubunit bridge to the small ribosomal subunit, contacts bound tRNA in the A- and P-sites, and acts as a trigger for ribosome disassembly through its interactions with ribosome recycling factor. We have determined the DNA-bound structure and specificity profile of an archaeal LAGLIDADG homing endonuclease (I-Vdi141I) that recognizes this target site, and compared its specificity with the analogous eukaryal His-Cys box endonuclease I-PpoI. These homodimeric endonuclease scaffolds have arrived at similar specificity profiles across their common biological target and analogous solutions to the problem of accommodating conserved asymmetries within the DNA sequence, but with differences at individual base pairs that are fine-tuned to the sequence conservation of archaeal versus eukaryal ribosomes.