| 1. |
- Abrishami, Vahid, et al.
(författare)
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Localized reconstruction in Scipion expedites the analysis of symmetry mismatches in cryo-EM data
- 2021
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Ingår i: Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0079-6107 .- 1873-1732. ; 160, s. 43-52
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Technological advances in transmission electron microscopes and detectors have turned cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) into an essential tool for structural biology. A commonly used cryo-EM data analysis method, single particle analysis, averages hundreds of thousands of low-dose images of individual macromolecular complexes to determine a density map of the complex. The presence of symmetry in the complex is beneficial since each projection image can be assigned to multiple views of the complex. However, data processing that applies symmetry can average out asymmetric features and consequently data analysis methods are required to resolve asymmetric structural features. Scipion is a cryo-EM image processing framework that integrates functions from different image processing packages as plugins. To extend its functionality for handling symmetry mismatches, we present here a Scipion plugin termed LocalRec implementing the localized reconstruction method. When tested on an adenovirus data set, the plugin enables resolving the symmetry-mismatched trimeric fibre bound to the five-fold vertices of the capsid. Furthermore, it improves the structure determination of the icosahedral capsid by dealing with the defocus gradient across the particle. LocalRec is expected to be widely applicable in a range of cryo-EM investigations of flexible and symmetry mismatched complexes.
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| 2. |
- Giorgi, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanistic Insights into the Activation of Lecithin-Cholesterol Acyltransferase in Therapeutic Nanodiscs Composed of Apolipoprotein A-I Mimetic Peptides and Phospholipids
- 2022
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Ingår i: Molecular Pharmaceutics. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1543-8392 .- 1543-8384. ; 19:11, s. 4135-4148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mechanistic details behind the activation of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) by apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and its mimetic peptides are still enigmatic. Resolving the fundamental principles behind LCAT activation will facilitate the design of advanced HDL-mimetic therapeutic nanodiscs for LCAT deficiencies and coronary heart disease and for several targeted drug delivery applications. Here, we have combined coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations with complementary experiments to gain mechanistic insight into how apoA-Imimetic peptide 22A and its variants tune LCAT activity in peptide-lipid nanodiscs. Our results highlight that peptide 22A forms transient antiparallel dimers in the rim of nanodiscs. The dimerization tendency considerably decreases with the removal of C-terminal lysine K22, which has also been shown to reduce the cholesterol esterification activity of LCAT. In addition, our simulations revealed that LCAT prefers to localize to the rim of nanodiscs in a manner that shields the membrane-binding domain (MBD), αA-αA′, and the lid amino acids from the water phase, following previous experimental evidence. Meanwhile, the location and conformation of LCAT in the rim of nanodiscs are spatially more restricted when the active site covering the lid of LCAT is in the open form. The average location and spatial dimensions of LCAT in its open form were highly compatible with the electron microscopy images. All peptide 22A variants studied here had a specific interaction site in the open LCAT structure flanked by the lid and MBD domain. The bound peptides showed different tendencies to form antiparallel dimers and, interestingly, the temporal binding site occupancies of the peptide variants affected their in vitro ability to promote LCAT-mediated cholesterol esterification.
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| 3. |
- Habjan, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient production of Rift Valley fever virus-like particles : the antiviral protein MxA can inhibit primary transcription of bunyaviruses
- 2009
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Ingår i: Virology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0042-6822 .- 1096-0341. ; 385:2, s. 400-408
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a highly pathogenic member of the family Bunyaviridae that needs to be handled under biosafety level (BSL) 3 conditions. Here, we describe reverse genetics systems to measure RVFV polymerase activity in mammalian cells and to generate virus-like particles (VLPs). Recombinant polymerase (L) and nucleocapsid protein (N), expressed together with a minireplicon RNA, formed transcriptionally active nucleocapsids. These could be packaged into VLPs by additional expression of viral glycoproteins. The VLPs resembled authentic virus particles and were able to infect new cells. After infection, VLP-associated nucleocapsids autonomously performed primary transcription, and co-expression of L and N in VLP-infected cells allowed subsequent replication and secondary transcription. Bunyaviruses are potently inhibited by a human interferon-induced protein, MxA. However, the affected step in the infection cycle is not entirely characterized. Using the VLP system, we demonstrate that MxA inhibits both primary and secondary transcriptions of RVFV. A set of infection assays distinguishing between virus attachment, entry, and subsequent RNA synthesis confirmed that MxA is able to target immediate early RNA synthesis of incoming RVFV particles. Thus, our reverse genetics systems are useful for dissecting individual steps of RVFV infection under non-BSL3 conditions.
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| 4. |
- Huiskonen, Juha T, et al.
(författare)
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Electron cryo-microscopy and single-particle averaging of Rift Valley fever virus : evidence for GN-GC glycoprotein heterodimers
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Virology. - 0022-538X .- 1098-5514. ; 83:8, s. 3762-3769
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a member of the genus Phlebovirus within the family Bunyaviridae. It is a mosquito-borne zoonotic agent that can cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. The enveloped RVFV virions are known to be covered by capsomers of the glycoproteins G(N) and G(C), organized on a T=12 icosahedral lattice. However, the structural units forming the RVFV capsomers have not been determined. Conflicting biochemical results for another phlebovirus (Uukuniemi virus) have indicated the existence of either G(N) and G(C) homodimers or G(N)-G(C) heterodimers in virions. Here, we have studied the structure of RVFV using electron cryo-microscopy combined with three-dimensional reconstruction and single-particle averaging. The reconstruction at 2.2-nm resolution revealed the organization of the glycoprotein shell, the lipid bilayer, and a layer of ribonucleoprotein (RNP). Five- and six-coordinated capsomers are formed by the same basic structural unit. Molecular-mass measurements suggest a G(N)-G(C) heterodimer as the most likely candidate for this structural unit. Both leaflets of the lipid bilayer were discernible, and the glycoprotein transmembrane densities were seen to modulate the curvature of the lipid bilayer. RNP densities were situated directly underneath the transmembrane densities, suggesting an interaction between the glycoprotein cytoplasmic tails and the RNPs. The success of the single-particle averaging approach taken in this study suggests that it is applicable in the study of other phleboviruses, as well, enabling higher-resolution description of these medically important pathogens.
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| 5. |
- Karki, Sudeep, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular view of ER membrane remodeling by the Sec61/TRAP translocon
- 2023
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Ingår i: EMBO Reports. - 1469-221X. ; 24:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Protein translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane is an essential step during protein entry into the secretory pathway. The conserved Sec61 protein-conducting channel facilitates polypeptide translocation and coordinates cotranslational polypeptide-processing events. In cells, the majority of Sec61 is stably associated with a heterotetrameric membrane protein complex, the translocon-associated protein complex (TRAP), yet the mechanism by which TRAP assists in polypeptide translocation remains unknown. Here, we present the structure of the core Sec61/TRAP complex bound to a mammalian ribosome by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Ribosome interactions anchor the Sec61/TRAP complex in a conformation that renders the ER membrane locally thinner by significantly curving its lumenal leaflet. We propose that TRAP stabilizes the ribosome exit tunnel to assist nascent polypeptide insertion through Sec61 and provides a ratcheting mechanism into the ER lumen mediated by direct polypeptide interactions.
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| 6. |
- Kelly, John J., et al.
(författare)
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Snapshots of actin and tubulin folding inside the TRiC chaperonin
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1545-9993 .- 1545-9985. ; 29:5, s. 420-429
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The integrity of a cell’s proteome depends on correct folding of polypeptides by chaperonins. The chaperonin TCP-1 ring complex (TRiC) acts as obligate folder for >10% of cytosolic proteins, including he cytoskeletal proteins actin and tubulin. Although its architecture and how it recognizes folding substrates are emerging from structural studies, the subsequent fate of substrates inside the TRiC chamber is not defined. We trapped endogenous human TRiC with substrates (actin, tubulin) and cochaperone (PhLP2A) at different folding stages, for structure determination by cryo-EM. The already-folded regions of client proteins are anchored at the chamber wall, positioning unstructured regions toward the central space to achieve their native fold. Substrates engage with different sections of the chamber during the folding cycle, coupled to TRiC open-and-close transitions. Further, the cochaperone PhLP2A modulates folding, acting as a molecular strut between substrate and TRiC chamber. Our structural snapshots piece together an emerging model of client protein folding within TRiC.
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| 7. |
- Niemela, Tuomas Aarni Akseli, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanistic Insights into the Activation of Lecithin-Cholesterol Acyltransferase in Therapeutic Nanodiscs Composed of Apolipoprotein A-I Mimetic Peptides and Phospholipids
- 2023
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Ingår i: European Biophysics Journal. - 1432-1017 .- 0175-7571. ; 52:SUPPL 1, s. S98-S98
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) maturates high density lipoprotein (HDL) particles enabling reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). Its primary cofactor on HDL is apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1). In order to boost RCT efficiency to combat atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, apoA1 mimetic peptides have been developed, such as 22 amino acid long 22A. Despite being ~10 % the size of apoA1, when 22A is formulated to a synthetic HDL particle, called a nanodisc, it is able to activate LCAT as well as apoA1 based HDL. However, the mechanism of how 22A, or apoA1, activates LCAT is not known. We set out to explain this mechanism with a combination of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, LCAT activity assays and electron microscopy (EM). The computational data matched the experimental data in two ways. First, EM imaging showed that LCAT binds to the perimeter of 22A based nanodiscs, which was replicated by the simulations. The overall binding pose was also consistent. Second, by simulating and assaying a set of 22A mutants, we were able to see a correlation between the in silico binding kinetics of a peptide to aspecific site in LCAT and how well the peptide activates LCAT in vitro. Taken together, we’ve shown that these simulated systems can be exploited for designing peptides with increased efficacy. A more detailed description is found in our similarly titled article in Mol. Pharmaceutics 19: 4135 -4148, 2022.
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| 8. |
- Rissanen, Ilona, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular rationale for antibody-mediated targeting of the hantavirus fusion glycoprotein
- 2020
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Ingår i: eLIFE. - : eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The intricate lattice of Gn and Gc glycoprotein spike complexes on the hantavirus envelope facilitates host-cell entry and is the primary target of the neutralizing antibody-mediated immune response. Through study of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody termed mAb P-4G2, which neutralizes the zoonotic pathogen Puumala virus (PUUV), we provide a molecular-level basis for antibody-mediated targeting of the hantaviral glycoprotein lattice. Crystallographic analysis demonstrates that P-4G2 binds to a multi-domain site on PUUV Gc and may preclude fusogenic rearrangements of the glycoprotein that are required for host-cell entry. Furthermore, cryoelectron microscopy of PUUV-like particles in the presence of P-4G2 reveals a lattice-independent configuration of the Gc, demonstrating that P-4G2 perturbs the (Gn-Gc)(4) lattice. This work provides a structure-based blueprint for rationalizing antibody-mediated targeting of hantaviruses.
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