Many disease pathologies can be understood through the elucidation of localized biomolecular networks, or microenvironments. To this end, enzymatic proximity labeling platforms are broadly applied ...for mapping the wider spatial relationships in subcellular architectures. However, technologies that can map microenvironments with higher precision have long been sought. Here, we describe a microenvironment-mapping platform that exploits photocatalytic carbene generation to selectively identify protein-protein interactions on cell membranes, an approach we term MicroMap (μMap). By using a photocatalyst-antibody conjugate to spatially localize carbene generation, we demonstrate selective labeling of antibody binding targets and their microenvironment protein neighbors. This technique identified the constituent proteins of the programmed-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) microenvironment in live lymphocytes and selectively labeled within an immunosynaptic junction.
Front‐line tuberculosis (TB) drugs have been characterized extensively in vitro and in vivo with respect to gene expression and cell viability. However, little work has been devoted to understanding ...their effects on the physiology of the cell envelope, one of the main targets of this clinical regimen. Herein, we use metabolic labeling methods to visualize the effects of TB drugs on cell envelope dynamics in mycobacterial species. We developed a new fluorophore–trehalose conjugate to visualize trehalose monomycolates of the mycomembrane using super‐resolution microscopy. We also probed the relationship between mycomembrane and peptidoglycan dynamics using a dual metabolic labeling strategy. Finally, we found that metabolic labeling of both cell envelope structures reports on drug effects on cell physiology in two hours, far faster than a genetic sensor of cell envelope stress. Our work provides insight into acute drug effects on cell envelope biogenesis in live mycobacteria.
TB or not TB? A new fluorophore–trehalose conjugate was developed to image trehalose monomycolates of the mycomembrane (MM). MM and peptidoglycan (PG) dynamics were simultaneously probed using a dual metabolic labeling strategy. The results showed that front‐line TB drugs produce acute changes in cell envelope biogenesis.
Mycobacteria are endowed with a highly impermeable mycomembrane that confers intrinsic resistance to many antibiotics. Several unique mycomembrane glycolipids have been isolated and structurally ...characterized, but the underlying organization and dynamics of glycolipids within the cell envelope remain poorly understood. We report here a study of mycomembrane dynamics that was enabled by trehalose–fluorophore conjugates capable of labeling trehalose glycolipids in live actinomycetes. We identified fluorescein–trehalose analogues that are metabolically incorporated into the trehalose mycolates of representative Mycobacterium, Corynebacterium, Nocardia, and Rhodococcus species. Using these probes, we studied the mobilities of labeled glycolipids by time-lapse microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments and found that mycomembrane fluidity varies widely across species and correlates with mycolic acid structure. Finally, we discovered that treatment of mycobacteria with ethambutol, a front-line tuberculosis (TB) drug, significantly increases mycomembrane fluidity. These findings enhance our understanding of mycobacterial cell envelope structure and dynamics and have implications for development of TB drug cocktails.
The development of new antimicrobial drugs is a priority to combat the increasing spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. This development is especially problematic in gram-negative bacteria due to ...the outer membrane (OM) permeability barrier and multidrug efflux pumps. Therefore, we screened for compounds that target essential, nonredundant, surface-exposed processes in gram-negative bacteria. We identified a compound, MRL-494, that inhibits assembly of OM proteins (OMPs) by the β-barrel assembly machine (BAM complex). The BAM complex contains one essential surface-exposed protein, BamA. We constructed a bamA mutagenesis library, screened for resistance to MRL-494, and identified the mutation bamAE470K
. BamAE470K restores OMP biogenesis in the presence of MRL-494. The mutant protein has both altered conformation and activity, suggesting it could either inhibit MRL-494 binding or allow BamA to function in the presence of MRL-494. By cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), we determined that MRL-494 stabilizes BamA and BamAE470K from thermally induced aggregation, indicating direct or proximal binding to both BamA and BamAE470K. Thus, it is the altered activity of BamAE470K responsible for resistance to MRL-494. Strikingly, MRL-494 possesses a second mechanism of action that kills gram-positive organisms. In microbes lacking an OM, MRL-494 lethally disrupts the cytoplasmic membrane. We suggest that the compound cannot disrupt the cytoplasmic membrane of gram-negative bacteria because it cannot penetrate the OM. Instead, MRL-494 inhibits OMP biogenesis from outside the OM by targeting BamA. The identification of a small molecule that inhibits OMP biogenesis at the cell surface represents a distinct class of antibacterial agents.
Several important human pathogens are represented in the Corynebacterineae suborder, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Corynebacterium diphtheriae. These bacteria are surrounded by a ...multilayered cell envelope composed of a cytoplasmic membrane, a peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall, a second polysaccharide layer called the arabinogalactan (AG), and finally an outer membrane-like layer made of mycolic acids. Several anti-tuberculosis drugs target the biogenesis of this complex envelope, but their efficacy is declining due to resistance. New therapies are therefore needed to treat diseases caused by these organisms, and a better understanding of the mechanisms of envelope assembly should aid in their discovery. To this end, we generated the first high-density library of transposon insertion mutants in the model organism C. glutamicum. Transposon-sequencing was then used to define its essential gene set and identify loci that, when inactivated, confer hypersensitivity to ethambutol (EMB), a drug that targets AG biogenesis. Among the EMBs loci were genes encoding RipC and the FtsEX complex, a PG cleaving enzyme required for proper cell division and its predicted regulator, respectively. Inactivation of the conserved steAB genes (cgp_1603-1604) was also found to confer EMB hypersensitivity and cell division defects. A combination of quantitative microscopy, mutational analysis, and interaction studies indicate that SteA and SteB form a complex that localizes to the cytokinetic ring to promote cell separation by RipC-FtsEX and may coordinate its PG remodeling activity with the biogenesis of other envelope layers during cell division.
Over half of new therapeutic approaches fail in clinical trials due to a lack of target validation. As such, the development of new methods to improve and accelerate the identification of cellular ...targets, broadly known as target ID, remains a fundamental goal in drug discovery. While advances in sequencing and mass spectrometry technologies have revolutionized drug target ID in recent decades, the corresponding chemical-based approaches have not changed in over 50 y. Consigned to outdated stoichiometric activation modes, modern target ID campaigns are regularly confounded by poor signal-to-noise resulting from limited receptor occupancy and low crosslinking yields, especially when targeting low abundance membrane proteins or multiple protein target engagement. Here, we describe a broadly general platform for photocatalytic small molecule target ID, which is founded upon the catalytic amplification of target-tag crosslinking through the continuous generation of high-energy carbene intermediates via visible light-mediated Dexter energy transfer. By decoupling the reactive warhead tag from the small molecule ligand, catalytic signal amplification results in unprecedented levels of target enrichment, enabling the quantitative target and off target ID of several drugs including (+)-JQ1, paclitaxel (Taxol), dasatinib (Sprycel), as well as two G-protein-coupled receptors-ADORA2A and GPR40.
We describe a general synthetic strategy for developing high‐affinity peptide binders against specific epitopes of challenging protein biomarkers. The epitope of interest is synthesized as a ...polypeptide, with a detection biotin tag and a strategically placed azide (or alkyne) presenting amino acid. This synthetic epitope (SynEp) is incubated with a library of complementary alkyne or azide presenting peptides. Library elements that bind the SynEp in the correct orientation undergo the Huisgen cycloaddition, and are covalently linked to the SynEp. Hit peptides are tested against the full‐length protein to identify the best binder. We describe development of epitope‐targeted linear or macrocycle peptide ligands against 12 different diagnostic or therapeutic analytes. The general epitope targeting capability for these low molecular weight synthetic ligands enables a range of therapeutic and diagnostic applications, similar to those of monoclonal antibodies.
Match made in situ: 12 peptide ligands against distinct epitopes of challenging proteins were developed using a general strategy. A synthetic epitope with an azide was screened against an alkyne‐containing macrocyclic library to identify the best binder. These macrocyclic ligands can enable antibody‐like therapeutic and diagnostic applications, with small molecular footprints.
The characterization of ligand binding modes is a crucial step in the drug discovery process and is especially important in campaigns arising from phenotypic screening, where the protein target and ...binding mode are unknown at the outset. Elucidation of target binding regions is typically achieved by X-ray crystallography or photoaffinity labeling (PAL) approaches; yet, these methods present significant challenges. X-ray crystallography is a mainstay technique that has revolutionized drug discovery, but in many cases structural characterization is challenging or impossible. PAL has also enabled binding site mapping with peptide- and amino-acid-level resolution; however, the stoichiometric activation mode can lead to poor signal and coverage of the resident binding pocket. Additionally, each PAL probe can have its own fragmentation pattern, complicating the analysis by mass spectrometry. Here, we establish a robust and general photocatalytic approach toward the mapping of protein binding sites, which we define as identification of residues proximal to the ligand binding pocket. By utilizing a catalytic mode of activation, we obtain sets of labeled amino acids in the proximity of the target protein binding site. We use this methodology to map, in vitro, the binding sites of six protein targets, including several kinases and molecular glue targets, and furthermore to investigate the binding site of the STAT3 inhibitor MM-206, a ligand with no known crystal structure. Finally, we demonstrate the successful mapping of drug binding sites in live cells. These results establish μMap as a powerful method for the generation of amino-acid- and peptide-level target engagement data.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from an infectious bacterial disease. Poor diagnostic tools to detect active disease plague TB control programs and affect patient care. Accurate ...detection of live
(Mtb), the causative agent of TB, could improve TB diagnosis and patient treatment. We report that mycobacteria and other corynebacteria can be specifically detected with a fluorogenic trehalose analog. We designed a 4-
-dimethylamino-1,8-naphthalimide-conjugated trehalose (DMN-Tre) probe that undergoes >700-fold increase in fluorescence intensity when transitioned from aqueous to hydrophobic environments. This enhancement occurs upon metabolic conversion of DMN-Tre to trehalose monomycolate and incorporation into the mycomembrane of Actinobacteria. DMN-Tre labeling enabled the rapid, no-wash visualization of mycobacterial and corynebacterial species without nonspecific labeling of Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. DMN-Tre labeling was detected within minutes and was inhibited by heat killing of mycobacteria. Furthermore, DMN-Tre labeling was reduced by treatment with TB drugs, unlike the clinically used auramine stain. Lastly, DMN-Tre labeled Mtb in TB-positive human sputum samples comparably to auramine staining, suggesting that this operationally simple method may be deployable for TB diagnosis.
Modern proximity labeling techniques have enabled significant advances in understanding biomolecular interactions. However, current tools primarily utilize activation modes that are incompatible with ...complex biological environments, limiting our ability to interrogate cell- and tissue-level microenvironments in animal models. Here, we report μMap-Red, a proximity labeling platform that uses a red-light-excited SnIV chlorin e6 catalyst to activate a phenyl azide biotin probe. We validate μMap-Red by demonstrating photonically controlled protein labeling in vitro through several layers of tissue, and we then apply our platform in cellulo to label EGFR microenvironments and validate performance with STED microscopy and quantitative proteomics. Finally, to demonstrate labeling in a complex biological sample, we deploy μMap-Red in whole mouse blood to profile erythrocyte cell-surface proteins. This work represents a significant methodological advance toward light-based proximity labeling in complex tissue environments and animal models.
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