A small-molecule inhibitor of the BRCA2-RAD51 interaction modulates RAD51 assembly and potentiates DNA damage-induced cell death.

BRCA2 controls RAD51 recombinase during homologous DNA recombination (HDR) through eight evolutionarily conserved BRC repeats, which individually engage RAD51 via the motif Phe-x-x-Ala. Using structure-guided molecular design, templated on a monomeric thermostable chimera between human RAD51 and archaeal RadA, we identify CAM833, a 529 Da orthosteric inhibitor of RAD51:BRC with a Kd of 366 nM. The quinoline of CAM833 occupies a hotspot, the Phe-binding pocket on RAD51 and the methyl of the substituted α-methylbenzyl group occupies the Ala-binding pocket. In cells, CAM833 diminishes formation of damage-induced RAD51 nuclear foci; inhibits RAD51 molecular clustering, suppressing extended RAD51 filament assembly; potentiates cytotoxicity by ionizing radiation, augmenting 4N cell-cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death and works with poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP)1 inhibitors to suppress growth in BRCA2-wildtype cells. Thus, chemical inhibition of the protein-protein interaction between BRCA2 and RAD51 disrupts HDR and potentiates DNA damage-induced cell death, with implications for cancer therapy.

Two distinct conformational states define the interaction of human RAD51-ATP with single-stranded DNA.

An essential mechanism for repairing DNA double-strand breaks is homologous recombination (HR). One of its core catalysts is human RAD51 (hRAD51), which assembles as a helical nucleoprotein filament on single-stranded DNA, promoting DNA-strand exchange. Here, we study the interaction of hRAD51 with single-stranded DNA using a single-molecule approach. We show that ATP-bound hRAD51 filaments can exist in two different states with different contour lengths and with a free-energy difference of ~4 kBT per hRAD51 monomer. Upon ATP hydrolysis, the filaments convert into a disassembly-competent ADP-bound configuration. In agreement with the single-molecule analysis, we demonstrate the presence of two distinct protomer interfaces in the crystal structure of a hRAD51-ATP filament, providing a structural basis for the two conformational states of the filament. Together, our findings provide evidence that hRAD51-ATP filaments can exist in two interconvertible conformational states, which might be functionally relevant for DNA homology recognition and strand exchange.

Development of a multipurpose scaffold for the display of peptide loops.

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) determine a wide range of biological processes and analysis of these dynamic networks is increasingly becoming a mandatory tool for studying protein function. Using the globular ATPase domain of recombinase RadA as a scaffold, we have developed a peptide display system (RAD display), which allows for the presentation of target peptides, protein domains or full-length proteins and their rapid recombinant production in bacteria. The design of the RAD display system includes differently tagged versions of the scaffold, which allows for flexibility in the protein purification method, and chemical coupling for small molecule labeling or surface immobilization. When combined with the significant thermal stability of the RadA protein, these features create a versatile multipurpose scaffold system. Using various orthogonal biophysical techniques, we show that peptides displayed on the scaffold bind to their natural targets in a fashion similar to linear parent peptides. We use the examples of CK2ß/CK2α kinase and TPX2/Aurora A kinase protein complexes to demonstrate that the peptide displayed by the RAD scaffold can be used in PPI studies with the same binding efficacy but at lower costs compared with their linear synthetic counterparts.

Quantitative Affinity Determination by Fluorescence Anisotropy Measurements of Individual Nanoliter Droplets.

Fluorescence anisotropy measurements of reagents compartmentalized into individual nanoliter droplets are shown to yield high-resolution binding curves from which precise dissociation constants (Kd) for protein-peptide interactions can be inferred. With the current platform, four titrations can be obtained per minute (based on ∼100 data points each), with stoichiometries spanning more than 2 orders of magnitude and requiring only tens of microliters of reagents. In addition to affinity measurements with purified components, Kd values for unpurified proteins in crude cell lysates can be obtained without prior knowledge of the concentration of the expressed protein, so that protein purification can be avoided. Finally, we show how a competition assay can be set up to perform focused library screens, so that compound labeling is not required anymore. These data demonstrate the utility of droplet compartments for the quantitative characterization of biomolecular interactions and establish fluorescence anisotropy imaging as a quantitative technique in a miniaturized droplet format, which is shown to be as reliable as its macroscopic test tube equivalent.

Engineering Archeal Surrogate Systems for the Development of Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitors against Human RAD51.

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are increasingly important targets for drug discovery. Efficient fragment-based drug discovery approaches to tackle PPIs are often stymied by difficulties in the production of stable, unliganded target proteins. Here, we report an approach that exploits protein engineering to "humanise" thermophilic archeal surrogate proteins as targets for small-molecule inhibitor discovery and to exemplify this approach in the development of inhibitors against the PPI between the recombinase RAD51 and tumour suppressor BRCA2. As human RAD51 has proved impossible to produce in a form that is compatible with the requirements of fragment-based drug discovery, we have developed a surrogate protein system using RadA from Pyrococcus furiosus. Using a monomerised RadA as our starting point, we have adopted two parallel and mutually instructive approaches to mimic the human enzyme: firstly by mutating RadA to increase sequence identity with RAD51 in the BRC repeat binding sites, and secondly by generating a chimeric archaeal human protein. Both approaches generate proteins that interact with a fourth BRC repeat with affinity and stoichiometry comparable to human RAD51. Stepwise humanisation has also allowed us to elucidate the determinants of RAD51 binding to BRC repeats and the contributions of key interacting residues to this interaction. These surrogate proteins have enabled the development of biochemical and biophysical assays in our ongoing fragment-based small-molecule inhibitor programme and they have allowed us to determine hundreds of liganded structures in support of our structure-guided design process, demonstrating the feasibility and advantages of using archeal surrogates to overcome difficulties in handling human proteins.

Glyphosate resistance by engineering the flavoenzyme glycine oxidase.

Glycine oxidase from Bacillus subtilis is a homotetrameric flavoprotein of great potential biotechnological use because it catalyzes the oxidative deamination of various amines and d-isomer of amino acids to yield the corresponding alpha-keto acids, ammonia/amine, and hydrogen peroxide. Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine), a broad spectrum herbicide, is an interesting synthetic amino acid: this compound inhibits 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase in the shikimate pathway, which is essential for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids in plants and certain bacteria. In recent years, transgenic crops resistant to glyphosate were mainly generated by overproducing the plant enzyme or by introducing a 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase insensitive to this herbicide. In this work, we propose that the enzymatic oxidation of glyphosate could be an effective alternative to this important biotechnological process. To reach this goal, we used a rational design approach (together with site saturation mutagenesis) to generate a glycine oxidase variant more active on glyphosate than on the physiological substrate glycine. The glycine oxidase containing three point mutations (G51S/A54R/H244A) reaches an up to a 210-fold increase in catalytic efficiency and a 15,000-fold increase in the specificity constant (the k(cat)/K(m) ratio between glyphosate and glycine) as compared with wild-type glycine oxidase. The inspection of its three-dimensional structure shows that the alpha2-alpha3 loop (comprising residues 50-60 and containing two of the mutated residues) assumes a novel conformation and that the newly introduced residue Arg(54) could be the key residue in stabilizing glyphosate binding and destabilizing glycine positioning in the binding site, thus increasing efficiency on the herbicide.

The structure of neuroglobin at high Xe and Kr pressure reveals partial conservation of globin internal cavities.

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a hexacoordinate globin expressed in the brain of vertebrates. Ferrous Ngb binds dioxygen with high affinity and the O(2) adduct is able to scavenge NO. Convincing in vitro and in vivo data indicate that Ngb is involved in neuroprotection during hypoxia and ischemia. The 3D structure of Ngb reveals the presence of a wide internal cavity connecting its heme active site with the bulk. To explore the role of this "tunnel" in the control of ligand binding, we determined the structure of metNgb and NgbCO equilibrated with Xe or Kr. We show four docking sites for Xe (only two for Kr); two of the four Xe sites are within the large cavity. They are only partially conserved in globins, since the two proximal Xe sites identified in myoglobin (Xe1 and Xe2) are absent in Ngb, as well as in cytoglobin. The Xe docking sites in Ngb map a pathway within the protein matrix, leading to the heme, which becomes more accessible in the ligand-bound species. This may be of significance in connection with the redox chemistry that may be the primary function of this hexacoordinate globin.

Failure of apoptosis-inducing factor to act as neuroglobin reductase.

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a hexacoordinate globin expressed in the nervous system of vertebrates, where it protects neurons against hypoxia. Ferrous Ngb has been proposed to favor cell survival by scavenging NO and/or reducing cytochrome c released into the cytosol during hypoxic stress. Both catalytic functions require an as yet unidentified Ngb-reductase activity. Such an activity was detected both in tissue homogenates of human brain and liver and in Escherichia coli extracts. Since NADH:flavorubredoxin oxidoreductase from E. coli, that was shown to reduce ferric Ngb, shares sequence similarity with the human apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), AIF has been proposed by us as a candidate Ngb reductase. In this study, we tested this hypothesis and show that the Ngb-reductase activity of recombinant human AIF is negligible and hence incompatible with such a physiological function.

An X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy joint study of neuroglobin.

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a member of the globin family expressed in the vertebrate brain, involved in neuroprotection. A combined approach of X-ray diffraction (XRD) on single crystal and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in solution, allows to determine the oxidation state and the structure of the Fe-heme both in the bis-histidine and the CO-bound (NgbCO) states. The overall data demonstrate that under X-ray the iron is photoreduced fairly rapidly, and that the previously reported X-ray structure of ferric Ngb [B. Vallone, K. Nienhaus, M. Brunori, G.U. Nienhaus, Proteins 56 (2004) 85-92] very likely refers to a photoreduced species indistinguishable from the dithionite reduced protein. Results from the XAS analysis of NgbCO in solution are in good agreement with XRD data on the crystal. However prolonged X-ray exposure at 15K determines CO release. This preliminary result paves the way to experiments aimed at the characterization of pentacoordinate ferrous Ngb, the only species competent in binding external ligands such as O2, CO or NO.

Neuroglobin: enzymatic reduction and oxygen affinity.

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a hexacoordinate globin expressed in the nervous system of vertebrates, involved in neuroprotection. O(2) equilibrium measurements on mouse Ngb yielded significantly different P(50) values, ranging from approximately 2 torr to approximately 10 torr. By a kinetic approach minimizing the effects of protein autoxidation, we measured P(50)=2.2 torr at 20 degrees C. As predicted from the structure, O(2) binds to the Y44D Ngb mutant more quickly (k=2.2s(-1) vs 0.15s(-1)) and with slightly higher affinity (P(50)=1.3 torr) than wild-type. In addition, we introduced a novel reduction protocol for metNgb based on NADH:flavorubredoxin oxidoreductase (FlRd-red) from Escherichia coli, a candidate for the Ngb reducing activity recently identified in E. coli extracts. Interestingly, E. coli FlRd-red shares sequence similarity with the FAD-binding domain of the human apoptosis-inducing factor, a finding which may have unexpected significance with reference to the mechanism of neuroprotection by Ngb.