Online citizen science with the Zooniverse for analysis of biological volumetric data.

Public participation in research, also known as citizen science, is being increasingly adopted for the analysis of biological volumetric data. Researchers working in this domain are applying online citizen science as a scalable distributed data analysis approach, with recent research demonstrating that non-experts can productively contribute to tasks such as the segmentation of organelles in volume electron microscopy data. This, alongside the growing challenge to rapidly process the large amounts of biological volumetric data now routinely produced, means there is increasing interest within the research community to apply online citizen science for the analysis of data in this context. Here, we synthesise core methodological principles and practices for applying citizen science for analysis of biological volumetric data. We collate and share the knowledge and experience of multiple research teams who have applied online citizen science for the analysis of volumetric biological data using the Zooniverse platform ( www.zooniverse.org ). We hope this provides inspiration and practical guidance regarding how contributor effort via online citizen science may be usefully applied in this domain.

SuRVoS 2: Accelerating Annotation and Segmentation for Large Volumetric Bioimage Workflows Across Modalities and Scales.

As sample preparation and imaging techniques have expanded and improved to include a variety of options for larger sized and numbers of samples, the bottleneck in volumetric imaging is now data analysis. Annotation and segmentation are both common, yet difficult, data analysis tasks which are required to bring meaning to the volumetric data. The SuRVoS application has been updated and redesigned to provide access to both manual and machine learning-based segmentation and annotation techniques, including support for crowd sourced data. Combining adjacent, similar voxels (supervoxels) provides a mechanism for speeding up segmentation both in the painting of annotation and by training a segmentation model on a small amount of annotation. The support for layers allows multiple datasets to be viewed and annotated together which, for example, enables the use of correlative data (e.g. crowd-sourced annotations or secondary imaging techniques) to guide segmentation. The ability to work with larger data on high-performance servers with GPUs has been added through a client-server architecture and the Pytorch-based image processing and segmentation server is flexible and extensible, and allows the implementation of deep learning-based segmentation modules. The client side has been built around Napari allowing integration of SuRVoS into an ecosystem for open-source image analysis while the server side has been built with cloud computing and extensibility through plugins in mind. Together these improvements to SuRVoS provide a platform for accelerating the annotation and segmentation of volumetric and correlative imaging data across modalities and scales.

Beamline K11 DIAD: a new instrument for dual imaging and diffraction at Diamond Light Source.

The Dual Imaging and Diffraction (DIAD) beamline at Diamond Light Source is a new dual-beam instrument for full-field imaging/tomography and powder diffraction. This instrument provides the user community with the capability to dynamically image 2D and 3D complex structures and perform phase identification and/or strain mapping using micro-diffraction. The aim is to enable in situ and in operando experiments that require spatially correlated results from both techniques, by providing measurements from the same specimen location quasi-simultaneously. Using an unusual optical layout, DIAD has two independent beams originating from one source that operate in the medium energy range (7-38 keV) and are combined at one sample position. Here, either radiography or tomography can be performed using monochromatic or pink beam, with a 1.4 mm × 1.2 mm field of view and a feature resolution of 1.2 µm. Micro-diffraction is possible with a variable beam size between 13 µm × 4 µm and 50 µm × 50 µm. One key functionality of the beamline is image-guided diffraction, a setup in which the micro-diffraction beam can be scanned over the complete area of the imaging field-of-view. This moving beam setup enables the collection of location-specific information about the phase composition and/or strains at any given position within the image/tomography field of view. The dual beam design allows fast switching between imaging and diffraction mode without the need of complicated and time-consuming mode switches. Real-time selection of areas of interest for diffraction measurements as well as the simultaneous collection of both imaging and diffraction data of (irreversible) in situ and in operando experiments are possible.

Highly selective inhibition of histone demethylases by de novo macrocyclic peptides.

The JmjC histone demethylases (KDMs) are linked to tumour cell proliferation and are current cancer targets; however, very few highly selective inhibitors for these are available. Here we report cyclic peptide inhibitors of the KDM4A-C with selectivity over other KDMs/2OG oxygenases, including closely related KDM4D/E isoforms. Crystal structures and biochemical analyses of one of the inhibitors (CP2) with KDM4A reveals that CP2 binds differently to, but competes with, histone substrates in the active site. Substitution of the active site binding arginine of CP2 to N-ɛ-trimethyl-lysine or methylated arginine results in cyclic peptide substrates, indicating that KDM4s may act on non-histone substrates. Targeted modifications to CP2 based on crystallographic and mass spectrometry analyses results in variants with greater proteolytic robustness. Peptide dosing in cells manifests KDM4A target stabilization. Although further development is required to optimize cellular activity, the results reveal the feasibility of highly selective non-metal chelating, substrate-competitive inhibitors of the JmjC KDMs.

Pan-histone demethylase inhibitors simultaneously targeting Jumonji C and lysine-specific demethylases display high anticancer activities.

In prostate cancer, two different types of histone lysine demethylases (KDM), LSD1/KDM1 and JMJD2/KDM4, are coexpressed and colocalize with the androgen receptor. We designed and synthesized hybrid LSD1/JmjC or "pan-KDM" inhibitors 1-6 by coupling the skeleton of tranylcypromine 7, a known LSD1 inhibitor, with 4-carboxy-4'-carbomethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine 8 or 5-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline 9, two 2-oxoglutarate competitive templates developed for JmjC inhibition. Hybrid compounds 1-6 are able to simultaneously target both KDM families and have been validated as potential antitumor agents in cells. Among them, 2 and 3 increase H3K4 and H3K9 methylation levels in cells and cause growth arrest and substantial apoptosis in LNCaP prostate and HCT116 colon cancer cells. When tested in noncancer mesenchymal progenitor (MePR) cells, 2 and 3 induced little and no apoptosis, respectively, thus showing cancer-selective inhibiting action.

5-Carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline is a Broad Spectrum 2-Oxoglutarate Oxygenase Inhibitor which Causes Iron Translocation.

2-Oxoglutarate and iron dependent oxygenases are therapeutic targets for human diseases. Using a representative 2OG oxygenase panel, we compare the inhibitory activities of 5-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline (IOX1) and 4-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline (4C8HQ) with that of two other commonly used 2OG oxygenase inhibitors, N-oxalylglycine (NOG) and 2,4-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (2,4-PDCA). The results reveal that IOX1 has a broad spectrum of activity, as demonstrated by the inhibition of transcription factor hydroxylases, representatives of all 2OG dependent histone demethylase subfamilies, nucleic acid demethylases and γ-butyrobetaine hydroxylase. Cellular assays show that, unlike NOG and 2,4-PDCA, IOX1 is active against both cytosolic and nuclear 2OG oxygenases without ester derivatisation. Unexpectedly, crystallographic studies on these oxygenases demonstrate that IOX1, but not 4C8HQ, can cause translocation of the active site metal, revealing a rare example of protein ligand-induced metal movement.

Plant growth regulator daminozide is a selective inhibitor of human KDM2/7 histone demethylases.

The JmjC oxygenases catalyze the N-demethylation of N(ε)-methyl lysine residues in histones and are current therapeutic targets. A set of human 2-oxoglutarate analogues were screened using a unified assay platform for JmjC demethylases and related oxygenases. Results led to the finding that daminozide (N-(dimethylamino)succinamic acid, 160 Da), a plant growth regulator, selectively inhibits the KDM2/7 JmjC subfamily. Kinetic and crystallographic studies reveal that daminozide chelates the active site metal via its hydrazide carbonyl and dimethylamino groups.

Inhibition of 2-oxoglutarate dependent oxygenases.

2-Oxoglutarate (2OG) dependent oxygenases are ubiquitous iron enzymes that couple substrate oxidation to the conversion of 2OG to succinate and carbon dioxide. In humans their roles include collagen biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, DNA repair, RNA and chromatin modifications, and hypoxic sensing. Commercial applications of 2OG oxygenase inhibitors began with plant growth retardants, and now extend to a clinically used pharmaceutical compound for cardioprotection. Several 2OG oxygenases are now being targeted for therapeutic intervention for diseases including anaemia, inflammation and cancer. In this critical review, we describe studies on the inhibition of 2OG oxygenases, focusing on small molecules, and discuss the potential of 2OG oxygenases as therapeutic targets (295 references).

Quantitative high-throughput screening identifies 8-hydroxyquinolines as cell-active histone demethylase inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: Small molecule modulators of epigenetic processes are currently sought as basic probes for biochemical mechanisms, and as starting points for development of therapeutic agents. N(ε)-Methylation of lysine residues on histone tails is one of a number of post-translational modifications that together enable transcriptional regulation. Histone lysine demethylases antagonize the action of histone methyltransferases in a site- and methylation state-specific manner. N(ε)-Methyllysine demethylases that use 2-oxoglutarate as co-factor are associated with diverse human diseases, including cancer, inflammation and X-linked mental retardation; they are proposed as targets for the therapeutic modulation of transcription. There are few reports on the identification of templates that are amenable to development as potent inhibitors in vivo and large diverse collections have yet to be exploited for the discovery of demethylase inhibitors. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: High-throughput screening of a ∼236,000-member collection of diverse molecules arrayed as dilution series was used to identify inhibitors of the JMJD2 (KDM4) family of 2-oxoglutarate-dependent histone demethylases. Initial screening hits were prioritized by a combination of cheminformatics, counterscreening using a coupled assay enzyme, and orthogonal confirmatory detection of inhibition by mass spectrometric assays. Follow-up studies were carried out on one of the series identified, 8-hydroxyquinolines, which were shown by crystallographic analyses to inhibit by binding to the active site Fe(II) and to modulate demethylation at the H3K9 locus in a cell-based assay. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrate that diverse compound screening can yield novel inhibitors of 2OG dependent histone demethylases and provide starting points for the development of potent and selective agents to interrogate epigenetic regulation.

Development of homogeneous luminescence assays for histone demethylase catalysis and binding.

Covalent modifications to histones play important roles in chromatin dynamics and the regulation of gene expression. The JumonjiC (JmjC)-containing histone demethylases (HDMs) catalyze the demethylation of methylated lysine residues on histone tails. Here we report the development of homogeneous luminescence-based assay methods for measuring the catalytic activity and the binding affinities of peptides to HDMs. The assays use amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay (ALPHA) technology, are sensitive and robust, and can be used for small molecule inhibitor screening of HDMs. We have profiled known inhibitors of JMJD2E and demonstrate a correlation between the inhibitor potencies determined by the ALPHA and other types of assays. Although this study focuses on the JMJD2E isoform, the catalytic turnover and binding assays described here can be used in studies on other HDMs. The assays should be useful for the development of small molecule inhibitors selective for HDM isoforms.

Selective inhibitors of the JMJD2 histone demethylases: combined nondenaturing mass spectrometric screening and crystallographic approaches.

Ferrous ion and 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) oxygenases catalyze the demethylation of N(epsilon)-methylated lysine residues in histones. Here we report studies on the inhibition of the JMJD2 subfamily of histone demethylases, employing binding analyses by nondenaturing mass spectrometry (MS), dynamic combinatorial chemistry coupled to MS, turnover assays, and crystallography. The results of initial binding and inhibition assays directed the production and analysis of a set of N-oxalyl-d-tyrosine derivatives to explore the extent of a subpocket at the JMJD2 active site. Some of the inhibitors were shown to be selective for JMJD2 over the hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase PHD2. A crystal structure of JMJD2A in complex with one of the potent inhibitors was obtained; modeling other inhibitors based on this structure predicts interactions that enable improved inhibition for some compounds.

Large-scale structural analysis of the classical human protein tyrosine phosphatome.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) play a critical role in regulating cellular functions by selectively dephosphorylating their substrates. Here we present 22 human PTP crystal structures that, together with prior structural knowledge, enable a comprehensive analysis of the classical PTP family. Despite their largely conserved fold, surface properties of PTPs are strikingly diverse. A potential secondary substrate-binding pocket is frequently found in phosphatases, and this has implications for both substrate recognition and development of selective inhibitors. Structural comparison identified four diverse catalytic loop (WPD) conformations and suggested a mechanism for loop closure. Enzymatic assays revealed vast differences in PTP catalytic activity and identified PTPD1, PTPD2, and HDPTP as catalytically inert protein phosphatases. We propose a "head-to-toe" dimerization model for RPTPgamma/zeta that is distinct from the "inhibitory wedge" model and that provides a molecular basis for inhibitory regulation. This phosphatome resource gives an expanded insight into intrafamily PTP diversity, catalytic activity, substrate recognition, and autoregulatory self-association.