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Abstract: Multiprotein complexes catalyze vital biological functions in the cell. A paramount objective of the SPINE2 project was to address the structural molecular biology of these multiprotein complexes, by enlisting and developing enabling technologies for their study. An emerging key prerequisite for studying complex biological specimens is their recombinant overproduction. Novel reagents and streamlined protocols for rapidly assembling co-expression constructs for this purpose have been designed and validated. The high-throughput pipeline implemented at IGBMC Strasbourg and the ACEMBL platform at the EMBL Grenoble utilize recombinant overexpression systems for heterologous expression of proteins and their complexes. Extension of the ACEMBL platform technology to include eukaryotic hosts such as insect and mammalian cells has been achieved. Efficient production of large multicomponent protein complexes for structural studies using the baculovirus/insect cell system can be hampered by a stoichiometric imbalance of the subunits produced. A polyprotein strategy has been developed to overcome this bottleneck and has been successfully implemented in our MultiBac baculovirus expression system for producing multiprotein complexes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Control of transcription allows the regulation of cell activity in response to external stimuli and research in the field has greatly benefited from efforts in structural biology. In this review, based on specific examples from the European SPINE2-COMPLEXES initiative, we illustrate the impact of structural proteomics on our understanding of the molecular basis of gene expression. While most atomic structures were obtained by X-ray crystallography, the impact of solution NMR and cryo-electron microscopy is far from being negligible. Here, we summarize some highlights and illustrate the importance of specific technologies on the structural biology of protein–protein or protein/DNA transcription complexes: structure/function analysis of components the eukaryotic basal and activated transcription machinery with focus on the TFIID and TFIIH multi-subunit complexes as well as transcription regulators such as members of the nuclear hormone receptor families. We also discuss molecular aspects of promoter recognition and epigenetic control of gene expression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The baculovirus expression vector system is recognized as a powerful and versatile tool for producing large quantities of recombinant proteins that cannot be obtained in Escherichia coli. Here we report (i) the purification of the recombinant cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-activating kinase (CAK) complex, which includes CDK7, cyclin H, and MAT1 proteins, and (ii) the functional characterization of CAK together with a detailed analysis and mapping of the phosphorylation states and sites using mass spectrometry (MS). In vitro kinase assay showed that recombinant CAK is able to phosphorylate the cyclin-dependent kinase CDK2 implicated in cell cycle progression and the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the eukaryotic RNA polymerase II. An original combination of MS techniques was used for the determination of the phosphorylation sites of each constitutive subunit at both protein and peptide levels. Liquid chromatography (LC)–MS analysis of intact proteins demonstrated that none of the CAK subunits was fully modified and that the phosphorylation pattern of recombinant CAK is extremely heterogeneous. Finally, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)–MS and nanoLC–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) techniques were used for the analysis of the major phosphorylation sites of each subunit, showing that all correspond to Ser/Thr phosphorylation sites. Phosphorylations occurred on Ser164 and Thr170 residues of CDK7, Thr315 residue of cyclin H, and Ser279 residue of MAT1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Trichothiodystrophy (TTD) is a rare hereditary multi-system disorder associated with defects in nucleotide excision repair (NER) and transcription as consequences of mutations in XPB, XPD and p8/TTD-A subunits of transcription factor IIH (TFIIH). Here, we report the solution structure of the p8/TTD-A protein, a small α/β protein built around an antiparallel β-sheet that forms a homodimer with an extended interface. In order to characterize the dimer interface, we have introduced a mutation at position 44, which destabilizes the dimeric form of the protein. We have shown that this mutation has no effect on the intrinsic ability of p8/TTD-A to stimulate NER in vitro, but affects the capacity of p8/TTD-A to restore TFIIH concentration in TTD-A fibroblasts. Point mutations found in TTD-A patients are discussed on the basis of the present structure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fighting bacterial resistance is a challenging task in the field of medicinal chemistry. DNA gyrase represents a validated antibacterial target and has drawn much interest in recent years. By a structure-based approach we have previously discovered compound 1, an indolinone derivative, possessing inhibitory activity against DNA gyrase. In the present paper, a detailed biophysical characterization of this inhibitor is described. Using mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and fluorescence experiments we have demonstrated that compound 1 binds reversibly to the ATP-binding site of the 24kDa N-terminal fragment of DNA gyrase B from Escherichia coli (GyrB24) with low micromolar affinity. Based on these data, a plausible molecular model of compound 1 in the active site of GyrB24 was constructed. The predicted binding mode explains the competitive inhibitory mechanism with respect to ATP and forms a useful basis for further development of potent DNA gyrase inhibitors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The multi-subunit transcription/DNA repair factor TFIIH was used as a model system to show that the expression of FLAG fusion proteins in insect cells constitutes a versatile tool for both structural and functional investigations. In the present study, we have constructed recombinant baculoviruses expressing the four core TFIIH subunits fused at their N-terminus to the FLAG peptide. Using these recombinant viruses we have established protocols based on anti-FLAG immunoaffinity chromatography that allow the systematic analysis of pairwise interaction within multiprotein complexes and have developed a double tag strategy (FLAG and hexahistidine tags) for the identification and purification of stable TFIIH subcomplexes. A simple purification procedure was developed that leads to the isolation of recombinant TFIIH containing the full set of subunits. The purified recombinant TFIIH was shown to be active in a transcription assay and to be structurally homologous to the endogenous complex by electron microscopy and image analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • PROSS can be implemented by protein scientists without a background in protein design. • PROSS designs showed improved expression and stability in bacterial and eukaryotic systems. • There is a correlation between the number of designed mutations and the gain in thermal stability. • Successful application may depend on tailoring experimental conditions to the target protein. Recent years have seen a dramatic improvement in protein-design methodology. Nevertheless, most methods demand expert intervention, limiting their widespread adoption. By contrast, the PROSS algorithm for improving protein stability and heterologous expression levels has been successfully applied to a range of challenging enzymes and binding proteins. Here, we benchmark the application of PROSS as a stand-alone tool for protein scientists with no or limited experience in modeling. Twelve laboratories from the Protein Production and Purification Partnership in Europe (P4EU) challenged the PROSS algorithm with 14 unrelated protein targets without support from the PROSS developers. For each target, up to six designs were evaluated for expression levels and in some cases, for thermal stability and activity. In nine targets, designs exhibited increased heterologous expression levels either in prokaryotic and/or eukaryotic expression systems under experimental conditions that were tailored for each target protein. Furthermore, we observed increased thermal stability in nine of ten tested targets. In two prime examples, the human Stem Cell Factor (hSCF) and human Cadherin-Like Domain (CLD12) from the RET receptor, the wild type proteins were not expressible as soluble proteins in E. coli , yet the PROSS designs exhibited high expression levels in E. coli and HEK293 cells, respectively, and improved thermal stability. We conclude that PROSS may improve stability and expressibility in diverse cases, and that improvement typically requires target-specific expression conditions. This study demonstrates the strengths of community-wide efforts to probe the generality of new methods and recommends areas for future research to advance practically useful algorithms for protein science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purified protein expression level and quality are contingent upon specific host expression systems. This differential production is particularly observed for proteins of high molecular weight, hampering further structural studies. We developed an expression method aimed at producing proteins in Escherichia coli, insect, and mammalian systems. Our novel protocol was used to produce in large scale the full-length 160-kDa steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1), a coregulator of nuclear receptors. The results indicate that we can produce biologically active human SRC-1 in mammalian and insect cells in large scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We report a set of baculovirus transfer vectors for parallel expression of proteins in fusion with a panel of affinity tags including GST, protein A, thioredoxin, CBP, and FLAG. This suite includes vectors to generate recombinant baculovirus by homologous recombination in insect cells or using the Bac-to-Bac technology. An application of the vector suite approach to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a protein mainly expressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli, is presented. We found that expression in fusion with GST and protein A provided an efficient compromise of excellent purification with acceptable yields and costs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]