A single ligand is sufficient to activate EGFR dimers.

Crystal structures of human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with bound ligand revealed symmetric, doubly ligated receptor dimers thought to represent physiologically active states. Such complexes fail to rationalize negative cooperativity of epidermal growth factor (EGF) binding to EGFR and the behavior of the ligandless EGFR homolog ErbB2/HER2, however. We report cell-based assays that provide evidence for active, singly ligated dimers of human EGFR and its homolog, ErbB4/HER4. We also report crystal structures of the ErbB4/HER4 extracellular region complexed with its ligand Neuregulin-1ß that resolve two types of ErbB dimer when compared to EGFR:Ligand complexes. One type resembles the recently reported asymmetric dimer of Drosophila EGFR with a single high-affinity ligand bound and provides a model for singly ligated human ErbB dimers. These results unify models of vertebrate and invertebrate EGFR/ErbB signaling, imply that the tethered conformation of unliganded ErbBs evolved to prevent crosstalk among ErbBs, and establish a molecular basis for both negative cooperativity of ligand binding to vertebrate ErbBs and the absence of active ErbB2/HER2 homodimers in normal conditions.

In vitro enzymatic characterization of near full length EGFR in activated and inhibited states.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a single-pass transmembrane protein with an extracellular ligand-binding region and a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase. Ligand binding activates the tyrosine kinase, which in turn initiates signaling cascades that influence cell proliferation and differentiation. EGFR activity is essential for normal development of many multicellular organisms, and inappropriate activation of EGFR is associated with multiple human cancers. Several drugs targeting EGFR activity are approved cancer therapies, and new EGFR-targeted therapies are being actively pursued. Much of what is known about EGFR structure and function is derived from studies of soluble receptor fragments. We report here an approach to producing an active, membrane-spanning form of EGFR of suitable purity, homogeneity, and quantity for structural and functional studies. We show that EGFR is capable of direct autophosphorylation of tyrosine 845, which is located on its kinase activation loop, and that the kinase activity of EGFR is approximately 500-fold higher in the presence of EGF vs the inhibitory anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab. The potencies of the small molecule EGFR kinase inhibitors erlotinib and lapatinib for various forms of EGFR were measured, and the therapeutic and mechanistic implications of these results considered.

Dissecting the human serum antibody response to secondary dengue virus infections.

Dengue viruses (DENVs) are mosquito-borne flaviviruses and the causative agents of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. As there are four serotypes of DENV (DENV1-4), people can be infected multiple times, each time with a new serotype. Primary infections stimulate antibodies that mainly neutralize the serotype of infection (type-specific), whereas secondary infections stimulate responses that cross-neutralize 2 or more serotypes. Previous studies have demonstrated that neutralizing antibodies induced by primary infections recognize tertiary and quaternary structure epitopes on the viral envelope (E) protein that are unique to each serotype. The goal of the current study was to determine the properties of neutralizing antibodies induced after secondary infection with a different (heterotypic) DENV serotypes. We evaluated whether polyclonal neutralizing antibody responses after secondary infections consist of distinct populations of type-specific antibodies to each serotype encountered or a new population of broadly cross-neutralizing antibodies. We observed two types of responses: in some individuals exposed to secondary infections, DENV neutralization was dominated by cross-reactive antibodies, whereas in other individuals both type-specific and cross-reactive antibodies contributed to neutralization. To better understand the origins of type-specific and cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies, we analyzed sera from individuals with well-documented sequential infections with two DENV serotypes only. These individuals had both type-specific and cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies to the 2 serotypes responsible for infection and only cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies to other serotypes. Collectively, the results demonstrate that the quality of neutralizing (and presumably protective) antibodies are different in individuals depending on the number of previous exposures to different DENV serotypes. We propose a model in which low affinity, cross-reactive antibody secreting B-cell clones induced by primary exposure evolve during each secondary infection to secrete higher affinity and more broadly neutralizing antibodies.

Single cell cloning of a stable mammalian cell line.

Isolate cell lines with improved stability or expression properties from a parental cell line.

Generating mammalian stable cell lines by electroporation.

Expression of functional, recombinant mammalian proteins often requires expression in mammalian cells (see Single Cell Cloning of a Stable Mammalian Cell Line). If the expressed protein needs to be made frequently, it can be best to generate a stable cell line instead of performing repeated transient transfections into mammalian cells. Here, we describe a method to generate stable cell lines via electroporation followed by selection steps. This protocol will be limited to the CHO dhfr-Urlaub et al. (1983) and LEC1 cell lines, which in our experience perform the best with this method.

Transient mammalian cell transfection with polyethylenimine (PEI).

Standard protein expression systems, such as E. coli, often fail to produce folded, monodisperse, or functional eukaryotic proteins (see Small-scale Expression of Proteins in E. coli). The expression of these proteins is greatly benefited by using a eukaryotic system, such as mammalian cells, that contains the appropriate folding and posttranslational machinery. Here, we describe methods for both small- and large-scale transient expression in mammalian cells using polyethylenimine (PEI). We find this procedure to be more cost-effective and quicker than the more traditional route of generating stable cell lines. First, optimal transfection conditions are determined on a small-scale, using adherent cells. These conditions are then translated for use in large-scale suspension cultures. For further details on generating stable cell lines please (see Rapid creation of stable mammalian cell lines for regulated expression of proteins using the Gateway® Recombination Cloning Technology and Flp-In T-REx® lines or Generating mammalian stable cell lines by electroporation).

Mechanistic insights into the activation of oncogenic forms of EGF receptor.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is commonly activated by mutation in non-small cell lung cancer. The mechanism of this oncogenic activation is not completely understood, but in contrast to that of the wild-type EGFR, it is proposed to be independent of kinase domain dimerization. Mechanistic studies on EGFR have mainly relied on cell-based assays or isolated kinase domain measurements. Here we show, using purified, near full-length human EGFR proteins (tEGFRs), that two oncogenic mutants are fully active independently of EGF and highly resistant to the therapeutic and endogenous inhibitors cetuximab, lapatinib and MIG6. Based on the pattern of inhibition and the effects of additional asymmetric kinase dimer interface mutations, we propose that these oncogenic EGFR mutants drive and strongly depend on the formation of the asymmetric kinase dimer for activation, which has implications for drug design and cancer treatment strategies.

Glucose and weight control in mice with a designed ghrelin O-acyltransferase inhibitor.

Ghrelin is a gastric peptide hormone that stimulates weight gain in vertebrates. The biological activities of ghrelin require octanoylation of the peptide on Ser(3), an unusual posttranslational modification that is catalyzed by the enzyme ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT). Here, we describe the design, synthesis, and characterization of GO-CoA-Tat, a peptide-based bisubstrate analog that antagonizes GOAT. GO-CoA-Tat potently inhibits GOAT in vitro, in cultured cells, and in mice. Intraperitoneal administration of GO-CoA-Tat improves glucose tolerance and reduces weight gain in wild-type mice but not in ghrelin-deficient mice, supporting the concept that its beneficial metabolic effects are due specifically to GOAT inhibition. In addition to serving as a research tool for mapping ghrelin actions, GO-CoA-Tat may help pave the way for clinical targeting of GOAT in metabolic diseases.

The extracellular region of ErbB4 adopts a tethered conformation in the absence of ligand.

The human ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases comprises the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ErbB1/HER1), ErbB2 (HER2/Neu), ErbB3 (HER3), and ErbB4 (HER4). ErbBs play fundamental roles in cell growth and differentiation events in embryonic and adult tissues, and inappropriate ErbB activity has been implicated in several human cancers. We report here the 2.4 A crystal structure of the extracellular region of human ErbB4 in the absence of ligand and show that it adopts a tethered conformation similar to inactive forms of ErbB1 and ErbB3. This structure completes the gallery of unliganded ErbB receptors and demonstrates that all human ligand-binding ErbBs adopt the autoinhibited conformation. We also show that the binding of neuregulin-1beta to ErbB4 and ErbB3 and the binding of betacellulin to both ErbB4 and ErbB1 does not decrease at low pH, unlike the binding of epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor-alpha to ErbB1. These results indicate an important role for ligand in determining pH-dependent binding and may explain different responses observed when the same ErbB receptor is stimulated by different ligands.

Netrin binds discrete subdomains of DCC and UNC5 and mediates interactions between DCC and heparin.

Netrins are secreted proteins that elicit both attractive and repulsive responses in migrating cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Netrins interact with members of two distinct families of transmembrane receptors, represented by DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) and UNC5. A human netrin fragment (soluble netrin; sNetrin) was purified from an engineered Chinese hamster ovary cell line and used in a pull-down assay to map the interactions between netrin and its receptors. We find that sNetrin binds exclusively to the fifth fibronectin type III repeat of DCC and to each immunoglobulin repeat of UNC5. Both DCC and UNC5 bind to sNetrin with 1:1 stoichiometry in solution, and the minimal receptor fragments behave similarly to larger fragments in cross-linking experiments with purified sNetrin. We find no evidence for formation of a ternary complex between sNetrin and soluble forms of DCC and UNC5. We also find no evidence for an interaction between DCC and heparin and instead demonstrate that a loop on the fifth fibronectin type III repeat of DCC previously implicated in mediating interactions with heparin is important for sNetrin binding. Since netrin binds heparin, our results suggest that interactions between DCC and heparin are probably mediated by netrin.