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The CTLH complex is a multi-subunit ubiquitin ligase complex that recognizes substrates with Pro/N-degrons via the substrate receptor GID4. Recently, focus has turned to this complex as a potential mediator of targeted protein degradation, but the role GID4-mediated substrate ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation plays in humans has thus far remained unclear. Here, we report PFI-7, a potent, selective, and cell-active chemical probe that antagonizes Pro/N-degron binding to human GID4. Use of PFI-7 in proximity-dependent biotinylation enabled the identification of dozens of endogenous GID4-interacting proteins that bind via the GID4 substrate binding pocket, only a subset of which possess canonical Pro/N-degron sequences. GID4 interactors are enriched for nuclear and nucleolar proteins including RNA helicases. GID4 antagonism by PFI-7 altered protein levels of several proteins including RNA helicases as measured by label-free quantitative proteomics, defining proteins that are regulated by GID4 and the CTLH complex in humans. Interactions with GID4 via Pro/N-degron pathway did not result in proteasomal degradation, demonstrating that CTLH interactors are regulated through a combination of degradative and non-degradative functions. The lack of degradation of GID4 interactors highlights potential challenges in utilizing GID4-recruiting bifunctional molecules for targeted protein degradation. Going forward, PFI-7 will be a valuable research tool for defining CTLH complex biology and honing targeted protein degradation strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly brought the healthcare systems world-wide to a breaking point along with devastating socioeconomic consequences. The SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the disease uses RNA capping to evade the human immune system. Non-structural protein (nsp) 14 is one of the 16 nsps in SARS-CoV-2 and catalyzes the methylation of the viral RNA at N7-guanosine in the cap formation process. To discover small molecule inhibitors of nsp14 methyltransferase (MT) activity, we developed and employed a radiometric MT assay to screen a library of 161 in house synthesized S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) competitive methyltransferase inhibitors and SAM analogs. Among seven identified screening hits, SS148 inhibited nsp14 MT activity with an IC50value of 70 ± 6 nM and was selective against 20 human protein lysine methyltransferases indicating significant differences in SAM binding sites. Interestingly, DS0464 with IC50value of 1.1 ± 0.2 μM showed a bi-substrate competitive inhibitor mechanism of action. Modeling the binding of this compound to nsp14 suggests that the terminal phenyl group extends into the RNA binding site. DS0464 was also selective against 28 out of 33 RNA, DNA, and protein methyltransferases. The structure-activity relationship provided by these compounds should guide the optimization of selective bi-substrate nsp14 inhibitors and may provide a path towards a novel class of antivirals against COVID-19, and possibly other coronaviruses.

Frequent outbreaks of novel coronaviruses (CoVs), highlighted by the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, necessitate the development of therapeutics that could be easily and effectively administered worldwide. The conserved mRNA-capping process enables CoVs to evade their host immune system and is a target for antiviral development. Nonstructural protein (nsp) 16 in complex with nsp10 catalyzes the final step of coronaviral mRNA capping through its 2'-O-methylation activity. Like other methyltransferases, the SARS-CoV-2 nsp10-nsp16 complex is druggable. However, the availability of an optimized assay for high-throughput screening (HTS) is an unmet need. Here, we report the development of a radioactivity-based assay for the methyltransferase activity of the nsp10-nsp16 complex in a 384-well format, kinetic characterization, and optimization of the assay for HTS (Z' factor = 0.83). Considering the high conservation of nsp16 across known CoV species, the potential inhibitors targeting the SARS-CoV-2 nsp10-nsp16 complex may also be effective against other emerging pathogenic CoVs.

SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 13 (nsp13) is a highly conserved helicase and RNA 5'-triphosphatase. It uses the energy derived from the hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphates for directional movement along the nucleic acids and promotes the unwinding of double-stranded nucleic acids. Nsp13 is essential for replication and propagation of all human and non-human coronaviruses. Combined with its defined nucleotide binding site and druggability, nsp13 is one of the most promising candidates for the development of pan-coronavirus therapeutics. Here, we report the development and optimization of bioluminescence assays for kinetic characterization of nsp13 ATPase activity in the presence and absence of single-stranded DNA. Screening of a library of 5000 small molecules in the presence of single-stranded DNA resulted in the discovery of six nsp13 small-molecule inhibitors with IC

SARS-CoV-2 nsp10-nsp16 complex is a 2'-O-methyltransferase (MTase) involved in viral RNA capping, enabling the virus to evade the immune system in humans. It has been considered a valuable target in the discovery of antiviral therapeutics, as the RNA cap formation is crucial for viral propagation. Through cross-screening of the inhibitors that we previously reported for SARS-CoV-2 nsp14 MTase activity against nsp10-nsp16 complex, we identified two compounds (SS148 and WZ16) that also inhibited nsp16 MTase activity. To further enable the chemical optimization of these two compounds towards more potent and selective dual nsp14/nsp16 MTase inhibitors, we determined the crystal structure of nsp10-nsp16 in complex with each of SS148 and WZ16. As expected, the structures revealed the binding of both compounds to S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) binding pocket of nsp16. However, our structural data along with the biochemical mechanism of action determination revealed an RNA-dependent SAM-competitive pattern of inhibition for WZ16, clearly suggesting that binding of the RNA first may help the binding of some SAM competitive inhibitors. Both compounds also showed some degree of selectivity against human protein MTases, an indication of great potential for chemical optimization towards more potent and selective inhibitors of coronavirus MTases.

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, evades the human immune system by capping its RNA. This process protects the viral RNA and is essential for its replication. Multiple viral proteins are involved in this RNA capping process, including the nonstructural protein 16 (nsp16), which is an S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM)-dependent 2'-O-methyltransferase. Nsp16 is significantly active when in complex with another nonstructural protein, nsp10, which plays a key role in its stability and activity. Here we report the development of a fluorescence polarization (FP)-based RNA displacement assay for nsp10-nsp16 complex in a 384-well format with a Z' factor of 0.6, suitable for high-throughput screening. In this process, we purified the nsp10-nsp16 complex to higher than 95% purity and confirmed its binding to the methyl donor SAM, the product of the reaction, S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (SAH), and a common methyltransferase inhibitor, sinefungin, using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The assay was further validated by screening a library of 1124 drug-like compounds. This assay provides a cost-effective high-throughput method for screening the nsp10-nsp16 complex for RNA competitive inhibitors toward developing COVID-19 therapeutics.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jbx-10.1177_24725552211026261 for Probing the SAM Binding Site of SARS-CoV-2 Nsp14 In Vitro Using SAM Competitive Inhibitors Guides Developing Selective Bisubstrate Inhibitors by Kanchan Devkota, Matthieu Schapira, Sumera Perveen, Aliakbar Khalili Yazdi, Fengling Li, Irene Chau, Pegah Ghiabi, Taraneh Hajian, Peter Loppnau, Albina Bolotokova, Karla J. F. Satchell, Ke Wang, Deyao Li, Jing Liu, David Smil, Minkui Luo, Jian Jin, Paul V. Fish, Peter J. Brown and Masoud Vedadi in SLAS Discovery

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jbx-10.1177_2472555220985040 for A High-Throughput RNA Displacement Assay for Screening SARS-CoV-2 nsp10-nsp16 Complex toward Developing Therapeutics for COVID-19 by Sumera Perveen, Aliakbar Khalili Yazdi, Kanchan Devkota, Fengling Li, Pegah Ghiabi, Taraneh Hajian, Peter Loppnau, Albina Bolotokova and Masoud Vedadi in SLAS Discovery

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, evades the human immune system by capping its RNA. This process protects the viral RNA and is essential for its replication. Multiple viral proteins are involved in this RNA capping process including the nonstructural protein 16 (nsp16) which is an S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent 2’-O-methyltransferase. Nsp16 is significantly active when in complex with another nonstructural protein, nsp10, which plays a key role in its stability and activity. Here we report the development of a fluorescence polarization (FP)-based RNA displacement assay for nsp10-nsp16 complex in 384-well format with a Z′-Factor of 0.6, suitable for high throughput screening. In this process, we purified the nsp10-nsp16 complex to higher than 95% purity and confirmed its binding to the methyl donor SAM, product of the reaction, SAH, and a common methyltransferase inhibitor, sinefungin using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC). The assay was further validated by screening a library of 1124 drug-like compounds. This assay provides a cost-effective high throughput method for screening nsp10-nsp16 complex for RNA-competitive inhibitors towards developing COVID-19 therapeutics.

SecA is the ATPase of preprotein translocase. SecA is a dimer in solution and changes in its oligomeric state may function in preprotein translocation. The SecA-N68 construct, in which the C-terminal helical domains of SecA are deleted, was used to investigate the mechanism of SecA oligomerization. SecA-N68 is in equilibrium between monomers, dimers, and tetramers. Subunit interactions in the SecA-N68 tetramer are mediated entirely by unstructured regions at its N- and C-termini: when the termini are deleted to yield SecA-N68∆NC, the construct is completely monomeric. This monomeric construct yielded crystals diffracting to 2.6 Å that were used to solve the structure of SecA-N68, including the “preprotein crosslinking domain” (PPXD) that was missing from previous E. coli SecA structures. The SecA-N68 structure was combined with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data to construct a model of the SecA-N68 tetramer that is consistent with the essential roles of the extreme N- and C-termini in oligomerization. This mode of oligomerization, which depends on binding of the extreme N-terminus to the DEAD motor domains, NBD1 and NBD2, was used to model a novel parallel and flexible SecA solution dimer that agrees well with SAXS data.

Small peptides require large carriers to stimulate the humoral immune system. The filamentous phages, such as M13, have been proposed as vectors for expressing and carrying these peptides on their capsid surface. M2e 2-9 (SLLTEVET) residues of the transmembrane protein M2 of Influenza A virus are conserved and considered as a suitable target for immunization against a wide range of Influenza A virus strains. Here, M2e (2-9) sequence of Influenza A virus was fused to the N-terminus of the major coat protein gpVIII of M13 phage and was used to immunize broiler chickens. The results showed that the SLLTEVET peptide on the surface of M13 phage was expressed, the hybrid phage was immunogenic and produced specific antibodies against M2e (2-9) in broiler chickens.

We coupled peptides from a CNBr digest of signal-sequenceless maltose-binding protein (MBP) to a surface plasmon resonance chip. SecA-N95, SecA-N68, and SecA-DM (which consists of only the DEAD Motor domains NBD1 and NBD2) bound to the immobilized peptides; ADP weakened the binding. SecA-DM, which lacks the 'preprotein cross-linking domain' (PPXD), displayed the most extensive binding, while an MBP-PPXD chimera showed no binding, demonstrating that the PPXD does not contribute to the binding. We characterized the sequence specificity using oriented peptide libraries; these results enabled synthesis of a 20-residue peptide that was used to recapitulate the results obtained with MBP-derived peptides. This study shows that there is a promiscuous and nucleotide-modulated peptide-binding site in the DEAD Motor domains of SecA.

The evolutionarily well-conserved SecA is essential for bacterial post-translational translocation. SecA uses the energy of ATP to drive preproteins through the membrane pore. The functional oligomeric state of SecA and the molecular basis for recognition of unfolded polypeptides by SecA are major unresolved questions that must be addressed to understand preprotein targeting and the molecular mechanics of SecA-mediated translocation. This thesis will address three aspects of these questions. First, the role of unstructured termini in the oligomerization and function of various SecA constructs was elucidated. By re-examining the tetramerization of a truncated SecA construct (SecA-N68), it was shown that the unstructured polypeptides at its termini are mediating its oligomerization. In turn, by removal of the first 14 N-terminal residues of the functional SecA-N95 construct, dimerization was drastically weakened. Although the weakened dimerization did not significantly affect the solution ATPase activity of SecA-N95 in vitro, it was shown that SecA-N95ΔN is not functional in vivo. Second, the interaction of unfolded polypeptides with SecA protein was investigated. It was revealed that preproteins contain sequences that can bind SecA in vitro though the binding site(s) located on the nucleotide binding domains and/or the stem region of the preprotein cross-linking domain. Both nucleotides and the N-terminal segment of SecA affected these interactions. Moreover, the sequences of several high affinity SecA binding peptides were analyzed and a possible “motif” on preproteins for interaction with SecA was identified. Finally, to acquire high-resolution insight into preprotein targeting mechanisms, we aimed at obtaining and improving the crystals of E. coli SecA-N95 and M. tuberculosis SecB (mtSecB). By removal of the unstructured termini of these proteins, larger crystals were obtained with higher frequency. Although the high-resolution structures of these molecules were not resolved, the advances made in the crystallization of these proteins paves the way for future efforts. In conclusion, this thesis has shown that SecA is able to interact with the unstructured polypeptides in vitro, and the presence of unstructured polypeptides at the termini of SecA have a profound affect on its function both in vivo and in vitro.

Recombinant antibodies have been proposed as invaluable tools for various therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Here, we describe the development of a novel latex agglutination test (LAT) using single-chain Fv recombinant antibody fragment for the detection of K99(+) enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains. For the production of a single-chain Fv antibody fragment (scFv) against the major colonization factor (FanC) of K99 antigen, the scFv gene was integrated into a bacterial expression vector under the control of T7 promoter. After high-level expression of soluble scFv (approximately 50 mg/l) in flask cultivation of E. coli DE3 and purification, scFv was immobilized on different latex particles, and then, these sensitized beads were used in LAT. Results obtained with our latex reagents revealed that the recombinant antibody-coated particles were able to give a good agglutination signal with purified antigen, intact cells displaying this protein and clinical specimens. The strength of agglutination of scFv-coated beads for antigen was comparable to that of polyclonal anti-K99-coated particles. However, the assay proved to be simple and rapid, similar to conventional LATs, and owing to more convenient and economical production of recombinant antibodies, they can be considered as a useful reagent for replacing monoclonal antibodies in LATs.

Recombinant antibodies have been proposed as invaluable tools for various therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Here, we describe the development of a novel latex agglutination test (LAT) using single-chain Fv recombinant antibody fragment for the detection of K99(+) enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains. For the production of a single-chain Fv antibody fragment (scFv) against the major colonization factor (FanC) of K99 antigen, the scFv gene was integrated into a bacterial expression vector under the control of T7 promoter. After high-level expression of soluble scFv (approximately 50 mg/l) in flask cultivation of E. coli DE3 and purification, scFv was immobilized on different latex particles, and then, these sensitized beads were used in LAT. Results obtained with our latex reagents revealed that the recombinant antibody-coated particles were able to give a good agglutination signal with purified antigen, intact cells displaying this protein and clinical specimens. The strength of agglutination of scFv-coated beads for antigen was comparable to that of polyclonal anti-K99-coated particles. However, the assay proved to be simple and rapid, similar to conventional LATs, and owing to more convenient and economical production of recombinant antibodies, they can be considered as a useful reagent for replacing monoclonal antibodies in LATs.