Structural basis for innate immune sensing by M-ficolin and its control by a pH-dependent conformational switch

Ficolins are soluble oligomeric proteins with lectin-like activity, assembled from collagen fibers prolonged by fibrinogen-like recognition domains. They act as innate immune sensors by recognizing conserved molecular markers exposed on microbial surfaces and thereby triggering effector mechanisms such as enhanced phagocytosis and inflammation. In humans, L- and H-ficolins have been characterized in plasma, whereas a third species, M-ficolin, is secreted by monocytes and macrophages. To decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying their recognition properties, we previously solved the structures of the recognition domains of L- and H-ficolins, in complex with various model ligands (Garlatti, V., Belloy, N., Martin, L., Lacroix, M., Matsushita, M., Endo, Y., Fujita, T., Fontecilla-Camps, J. C., Arlaud, G. J., Thielens, N. M., and Gaboriaud, C. (2007) EMBO J. 24, 623-633). We now report the ligand-bound crystal structures of the recognition domain of M-ficolin, determined at high resolution (1.75-1.8 A), which provides the first structural insights into its binding properties. Interaction with acetylated carbohydrates differs from the one previously described for L-ficolin. This study also reveals the structural determinants for binding to sialylated compounds, a property restricted to human M-ficolin and its mouse counterpart, ficolin B. Finally, comparison between the ligand-bound structures obtained at neutral pH and nonbinding conformations observed at pH 5.6 reveals how the ligand binding site is dislocated at acidic pH. This means that the binding function of M-ficolin is subject to a pH-sensitive conformational switch. Considering that the homologous ficolin B is found in the lysosomes of activated macrophages (Runza, V. L., Hehlgans, T., Echtenacher, B., Zahringer, U., Schwaeble, W. J., and Mannel, D. N. (2006) J. Endotoxin Res. 12, 120-126), we propose that this switch could play a physiological role in such acidic compartments.     

Identification of a novel series of benzimidazoles as potent and selective antagonists of the human melanocortin-4 receptor

A novel series of benzimidazoles was identified and optimized, leading to the discovery of potent and selective antagonists of the human melanocortin-4 receptor. In addition, compound 5i was shown to cross the blood-brain barrier after intravenous dosing in rats.     

USP19 is a ubiquitin-specific protease regulated in rat skeletal muscle during catabolic states

Ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis is activated in skeletal muscle atrophying in response to various catabolic stimuli. Previous studies have demonstrated activation of ubiquitin conjugation. Because ubiquitination can also be regulated by deubiquitinating enzymes, we used degenerate oligonucleotides derived from conserved sequences in the ubiquitin-specific protease (UBP) family of deubiquitinating enzymes in RT-PCR with skeletal muscle RNA to amplify putative deubiquitinating enzymes. We identified USP19, a 150-kDa deubiquitinating enzyme that is widely expressed in various tissues including skeletal muscle. Expression of USP19 mRNA increased by approximately 30-200% in rat skeletal muscle atrophying in response to fasting, streptozotocin-induced diabetes, dexamethasone treatment, and cancer. Increased mRNA levels during fasting returned to normal with refeeding, but 1 day later than the normalization of rates of proteolysis and coincided instead with recovery of muscle mass. Indeed, in all catabolic treatments, USP19 mRNA was inversely correlated with muscle mass and provided an index of muscle mass that may be useful in many pathological conditions, using small human muscle biopsies. The increased expression of this deubiquitinating enzyme under conditions of increased proteolysis suggests that it may play a role in regeneration of free ubiquitin either coincident with or after proteasome-mediated degradation of substrates. USP19 may also be involved in posttranslational processing of polyubiquitin produced de novo in response to induction of the polyubiquitin genes seen under these conditions. Deubiquitinating enzymes thus appear involved in muscle wasting and implicate a widening web of regulation of genes in the ubiquitin system in this process.     

Synapsin associates with cyclophilin B in an ATP- and cyclosporin A-dependent manner

Immunophilins are ubiquitous enzymes responsible for proline isomerisation during protein synthesis and for the chaperoning of several membrane proteins. These activities can be blocked by the immunosuppressants cyclosporin A, FK506 and rapamycin. It has been shown that all three immunosuppressants have neurotrophic activity and can modulate neurotransmitter release, but the molecular basis of these effects is currently unknown. Here, we show that synapsin I, a synaptic vesicle-associated protein, can be purified from Torpedo cholinergic synaptosomes through its affinity to cyclophilin B, an immunophilin that is particularly abundant in brain. The interaction is direct and conserved in mammals, and shows a dissociation constant of about 0.5 microM in vitro. The binding between the two proteins can be disrupted by cyclosporin A and inhibited by physiological concentrations of ATP. Furthermore, cyclophilin B co-localizes with synapsin I in rat synaptic vesicle fractions and its levels in synaptic vesicle-containing fractions are decreased in synapsin knockout mice. These results suggest that immunophilins are involved in the complex protein networks operating at the presynaptic level and implicate the interaction between cyclophilin B and synapsins in presynaptic function.     

Altered responses in skeletal muscle protein turnover during aging in anabolic and catabolic periods

One of the most important effects of aging is sarcopenia, which is associated with impaired locomotion and general weakness. In addition, there is increased susceptibility to illness in aging, which often results in muscle wasting episodes. In such instances, the mobilization of muscle proteins provides free amino acids that are used for energetic purpose, the synthesis of acute phase proteins, and the immune response. However, since muscle protein mass is already depleted, the ability of the aged organism to recover from stress is impaired. Therefore, elucidating the mechanisms that result in sarcopenia is of obvious importance. Age-related changes in protein synthesis and proteolysis are rather small and our current methodology does not enable one to establish unequivocally whether sarcopenia results from depressed protein synthesis, increased proteolysis or both. By contrast, in anabolic and catabolic periods, a number of dysregulations in muscle protein turnover became clearly apparent. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of such altered responses to nutrients and catabolic treatments, which may ultimately contribute to explain sarcopenia. This includes impaired recovery in catabolic states, impaired anabolic effects of nutrients, in particular leucine, and a lack of regulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic system. These alterations are discussed with respect to modifications in the insulin/IGF-1 axis and glucocorticoid related effects.     

Synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of ferrocenyl ethambutol analogues and ferrocenyl diamines

A new series of ferrocenyl diamino alcohols and diamines were synthesized and their inhibitory potencies were probed with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Interestingly, ferrocenyl diamines 6a and b display significant activities against M. tuberculosis H37Rv.     

Selection of T cell clones expressing high-affinity public TCRs within Human cytomegalovirus-specific CD8 T cell responses

Assessment of clonal diversity of T cell responses against human CMV (HCMV), a major cause of morbidity in immunodepressed patients, provides important insights into the molecular basis of T cell immunodominance, and has also clinical implications for the immunomonitoring and immunotherapy of HCMV infections. We performed an in-depth molecular and functional characterization of CD8 T cells directed against an immunodominant HLA-A2-restricted epitope derived from HCMV protein pp65 (NLV/A2) in steady state and pathological situations associated with HCMV reactivation. NLV/A2-specific T cells in healthy HCMV-seropositive donors showed limited clonal diversity and usage of a restricted set of TCR Vbeta regions. Although TCRbeta-chain junctional sequences were highly diverse, a large fraction of NLV/A2-specific T cells derived from distinct individuals showed several recurrent (so-called "public") TCR features associated in some cases with full conservation of the TCRalpha chain junctional region. A dramatic clonal focusing of NLV/A2-specific T cells was observed in situations of HCMV reactivation and/or chronic inflammation, which resulted in selection of a single clonotype displaying similar public TCR features in several patients. In most instances the NLV/A2-specific dominant clonotypes showed higher affinity for their Ag than subdominant ones, thus suggesting that TCR affinity/avidity is the primary driving force underlying repertoire focusing along chronic antigenic stimulation.     

Biocompatible fluorescent nanocrystals for immunolabeling of membrane proteins and cells

A methodology for simple convenient preparation of bright, negatively or positively charged, water-soluble CdSe/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals (NCs) and their stabilization in aqueous solution is described. Single NCs can be detected using a standard epifluorescent microscope, ensuring a detection limit of one molecule coupled with an NC. NCs solubilized in water by DL-Cys were stabilized, to avoid aggregation, by poly(allylamine) and conjugated with polyclonal anti-mouse antibodies (Abs). NC-Abs conjugates were tested in dot-blots and exhibited retention of binding capacity within several nanograms of antigen detected. We further demonstrated the advantages of NC-Abs conjugates in the immunofluorescent detection and three-dimensional (3D) confocal analysis of p-glycoprotein (p-gp), one of the main mediators of the MDR phenotype, overexpressed in the membrane of MCF7r breast adenocarcinoma cells. Immunolabeling of p-gp with NC-Abs conjugates was 4200-, 2600-, and 420-fold more resistant to photobleaching than its labeling with fluorescein isothiocyanate-Abs, R-phycoerythrin-Abs, and AlexaFluor488-Abs, respectively. The labeling of p-gp with NC-Abs conjugates was highly specific, and the data were used for confocal reconstruction of 3D images of the p-gp distribution in the MCF7r cell membrane. Finally, we demonstrated the applicability of NC-Abs conjugates obtained by the method described to specific detection of antigens in paraffin-embedded formaldehyde-fixed cancer tissue specimens, using immunostaining of cytokeratin in skin basal carcinoma as an example. We conclude that the NC-Abs conjugates may serve as easy-to-do, highly sensitive, photostable labels for immunofluorescent analysis, immunohistochemical detection, and 3D confocal studies of membrane proteins and cells.