Alex S. Holehouse

Phase separation of a yeast prion protein promotes cellular fitness

Biophysical responses of proteins to stress Much recent work has focused on liquid-liquid phase separation as a cellular response to changing physicochemical conditions. Because phase separation responds critically to small changes in conditions such as pH, temperature, or salt, it is in principle an ideal way for a cell to measure and respond to changes in the environment. Small pH changes could, for instance, induce phase separation of compartments that store, protect, or inactivate proteins. Franzmann et al. used the yeast translation termination factor Sup35 as a model for a phase separation–induced stress response. Lowering the pH induced liquid-liquid phase separation of Sup35. The resulting liquid compartments subsequently hardened into gels, which sequestered the termination factor. Raising the pH triggered dissolution of the gels, concomitant with translation restart. Protecting Sup35 in gels could provide a fitness advantage to recovering yeast cells that must restart the translation machinery after stress. Science, this issue p. eaao5654 The prion domain of Sup35 is a pH sensor that promotes stress survival by phase separation. INTRODUCTION The formation of dynamic, membraneless compartments using intracellular phase transitions such as phase separation and gelation provides an efficient way for cells to respond to environmental changes. Recent work has identified a special class of intrinsically disordered domains enriched for polar amino acids such as glycine, glutamine, serine, or tyrosine as potential drivers of phase separation in cells. However, more traditional work has highlighted the ability of these domains to drive the formation of fibrillar aggregates. Such domains are also known as prion domains. They have first been identified in budding yeast proteins that form amyloid-like aggregates. Because these aggregates are heritable and change the activity of the prion-domain–containing protein, they are thought to be a common mechanism for phenotypic inheritance in fungi and other organisms. However, the aggregation of prion domains has also been associated with neurodegenerative diseases in mammals. Therefore, the relationship between the role of these domains as drivers of phase separation and their ability to form prion-like aggregates is unknown. RATIONALE The budding yeast translation termination factor Sup35 is an archetypal prion-domain–containing protein. Sup35 forms irreversible heritable aggregates, and these aggregates have been proposed to be either a disease or an adaptation that generates heritable phenotypic variation in populations of budding yeast. Despite having been described almost 25 years ago, the physiological functions of the Sup35 prion domain and other prion-like domains remain unclear. Uncovering these functions is a prerequisite for understanding the evolutionary pressures shaping prion-like sequences and how their physiological and pathological transitions affect cellular fitness. RESULTS Here, we show that the prion domain of Sup35 drives the reversible phase separation of the translation termination factor into biomolecular condensates. These condensates are distinct and different from fibrillar amyloid-like prion particles. Combining genetic analysis in cells with in vitro reconstitution protein biochemistry and quantitative biophysical methods, we demonstrate that Sup35 condensates form by pH-induced liquid-like phase separation as a response to sudden stress. The condensates are liquid-like initially but subsequently solidify to form protective protein gels. Cryo–electron tomography demonstrates that these gel-like condensates consist of cross-linked Sup35 molecules forming a porous meshwork. A cluster of negatively charged amino acids functions as a pH sensor and regulates condensate formation. The ability to form biomolecular condensates is shared among distantly related budding yeast and fission yeast. This suggests that condensate formation is a conserved and ancestral function of the prion domain of Sup35. In agreement with an important physiological function of the prion domain, the catalytic guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) domain of the translation termination factor Sup35 readily forms irreversible aggregates in the absence of the prion domain. Consequently, cells lacking the prion domain exhibit impaired translational activity and a growth defect when recovering from stress. These data demonstrate that the prion domain rescues the essential GTPase domain of Sup35 from irreversible aggregation, thus ensuring that the translation termination factor remains functional during harsh environmental conditions. CONCLUSION The prion domain of Sup35 is a highly regulated molecular device that has the ability to sense and respond to physiochemical changes within cells. The N-terminal prion domain provides the interactions that drive liquid phase separation. Phase separation is regulated by the adjacent stress sensor. The synergy of these two modules enables the essential translation termination factor to rapidly form protective condensates during stress. This suggests that prion domains are protein-specific stress sensors and modifiers of protein phase transitions that allow cells to respond to specific environmental conditions. The Sup35 prion domain regulates phase separation of the translation termination factor Sup35 during cellular stress. The translation termination factor Sup35 (depicted in the magnifying glass) consists of a disordered prion domain (cyan) a disordered stress sensor domain (red) and a folded catalytic domain (blue). During growth, Sup35 catalyzes translation termination. During cell stress, the prion domain and the sensor domain act together to promote phase separation into protective and reversible biomolecular condensates. Despite the important role of prion domains in neurodegenerative disease, their physiological function has remained enigmatic. Previous work with yeast prions has defined prion domains as sequences that form self-propagating aggregates. Here, we uncovered an unexpected function of the canonical yeast prion protein Sup35. In stressed conditions, Sup35 formed protective gels via pH-regulated liquid-like phase separation followed by gelation. Phase separation was mediated by the N-terminal prion domain and regulated by the adjacent pH sensor domain. Phase separation promoted yeast cell survival by rescuing the essential Sup35 translation factor from stress-induced damage. Thus, prion-like domains represent conserved environmental stress sensors that facilitate rapid adaptation in unstable environments by modifying protein phase behavior.

Intrinsically disordered linkers determine the interplay between phase separation and gelation in multivalent proteins

Phase transitions of linear multivalent proteins control the reversible formation of many intracellular membraneless bodies. Specific non-covalent crosslinks involving domains/motifs lead to system-spanning networks referred to as gels. Gelation transitions can occur with or without phase separation. In gelation driven by phase separation multivalent proteins and their ligands condense into dense droplets, and gels form within droplets. System spanning networks can also form without a condensation or demixing of proteins into droplets. Gelation driven by phase separation requires lower protein concentrations, and seems to be the biologically preferred mechanism for forming membraneless bodies. Here, we use coarse-grained computer simulations and the theory of associative polymers to uncover the physical properties of intrinsically disordered linkers that determine the extent to which gelation of linear multivalent proteins is driven by phase separation. Our findings are relevant for understanding how sequence-encoded information in disordered linkers influences phase transitions of multivalent proteins.

CIDER: Resources to Analyze Sequence-Ensemble Relationships of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins.

Intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDPs) represent a large class of proteins that are defined by conformational heterogeneity and lack of persistent tertiary/secondary structure. IDPs play important roles in a range of biological functions, and their dysregulation is central to numerous diseases, including neurodegeneration and cancer. The conformational ensembles of IDPs are encoded by their amino acid sequences. Here, we present two computational tools that are designed to enable rapid and high-throughput analyses of a wide range of physicochemical properties encoded by IDP sequences. The first, CIDER, is a user-friendly webserver that enables rapid analysis of IDP sequences. The second, localCIDER, is a high-performance software package that enables a wide range of analyses relevant to IDP sequences. In addition to introducing the two packages, we demonstrate the utility of these resources using examples where sequence analysis offers biophysical insights.

OSCAR is a receptor for Surfactant Protein D that activates TNF-α release from human CCR2+ inflammatory monocytes

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is critical for maintenance of lung homeostasis and provides a first line of defense to pathogens at mucosal surfaces. Polymorphisms in the SP-D–encoding gene SFTPD have been associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ulcerative colitis. Identification of the immunoreceptors that bind SP-D is essential for understanding its contribution to lung homeostasis and mucosal defense. We located a putative binding motif for the osteoclast-associated receptor (OSCAR) within the SP-D collagenous domain. An OSCAR-Fc fusion protein specifically bound to the collagenous region of recombinant SP-D and captured native SP-D from human bronchoalveolar lavage. OSCAR localized in an intracellular compartment of alveolar macrophages together with SP-D. Moreover, we found OSCAR on the surface of interstitial lung and blood CCR2+ inflammatory monocytes, which secreted TNF-α when exposed to SP-D in an OSCAR-dependent fashion. OSCAR and SP-D did not exclusively colocalize in lung, as they were also highly expressed in atherosclerotic plaques of human aorta, supporting a role for this interaction in atherosclerosis. Our results identify the OSCAR:SP-D interaction as a potential therapeutic target in chronic inflammatory diseases of the lung as well as other diseases involving tissue accumulation of SP-D, infiltration of inflammatory monocytes, and release of TNF-α.

ProteomeScout: a repository and analysis resource for post-translational modifications and proteins

ProteomeScout (https://proteomescout.wustl.edu) is a resource for the study of proteins and their post-translational modifications (PTMs) consisting of a database of PTMs, a repository for experimental data, an analysis suite for PTM experiments, and a tool for visualizing the relationships between complex protein annotations. The PTM database is a compendium of public PTM data, coupled with user-uploaded experimental data. ProteomeScout provides analysis tools for experimental datasets, including summary views and subset selection, which can identify relationships within subsets of data by testing for statistically significant enrichment of protein annotations. Protein annotations are incorporated in the ProteomeScout database from external resources and include terms such as Gene Ontology annotations, domains, secondary structure and non-synonymous polymorphisms. These annotations are available in the database download, in the analysis tools and in the protein viewer. The protein viewer allows for the simultaneous visualization of annotations in an interactive web graphic, which can be exported in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. Finally, quantitative data measurements associated with public experiments are also easily viewable within protein records, allowing researchers to see how PTMs change across different contexts. ProteomeScout should prove useful for protein researchers and should benefit the proteomics community by providing a stable repository for PTM experiments.

Protein polymers: Encoding phase transitions

Intrinsically disordered protein polymers can be designed to encode tunable lower or upper critical solution temperatures in physiological solutions.

A Molecular Grammar Governing the Driving Forces for Phase Separation of Prion-like RNA Binding Proteins.

Proteins such as FUS phase separate to form liquid-like condensates that can harden into less dynamic structures. However, how these properties emerge from the collective interactions of many amino acids remains largely unknown. Here, we use extensive mutagenesis to identify a sequence-encoded molecular grammar underlying the driving forces of phase separation of proteins in the FUS family and test aspects of this grammar in cells. Phase separation is primarily governed by multivalent interactions among tyrosine residues from prion-like domains and arginine residues from RNA-binding domains, which are modulated by negatively charged residues. Glycine residues enhance the fluidity, whereas glutamine and serine residues promote hardening. We develop a model to show that the measured saturation concentrations of phase separation are inversely proportional to the product of the numbers of arginine and tyrosine residues. These results suggest it is possible to predict phase-separation properties based on amino acid sequences.

Evolutionary fine-tuning of conformational ensembles in FimH during host-pathogen interactions

Evolutionary selection fine-tunes conformational ensembles of FimH for optimal bladder colonization by E. coli during UTI. Positive selection in the two-domain type 1 pilus adhesin FimH enhances Escherichia coli fitness in urinary tract infection (UTI). We report a comprehensive atomic-level view of FimH in two-state conformational ensembles in solution, composed of one low-affinity tense (T) and multiple high-affinity relaxed (R) conformations. Positively selected residues allosterically modulate the equilibrium between these two conformational states, each of which engages mannose through distinct binding orientations. A FimH variant that only adopts the R state is severely attenuated early in a mouse model of uncomplicated UTI but is proficient at colonizing catheterized bladders in vivo or bladder transitional-like epithelial cells in vitro. Thus, the bladder habitat has barrier(s) to R state–mediated colonization possibly conferred by the terminally differentiated bladder epithelium and/or decoy receptors in urine. Together, our studies reveal the conformational landscape in solution, binding mechanisms, and adhesive strength of an allosteric two-domain adhesin that evolved “moderate” affinity to optimize persistence in the bladder during UTI.

Quantitative analysis of multilayer organization of proteins and RNA in nuclear speckles at super resolution

ABSTRACT Nuclear speckles are self-assembled organelles composed of RNAs and proteins. They are proposed to act as structural domains that control distinct steps in gene expression, including transcription, splicing and mRNA export. Earlier studies identified differential localization of a few components within the speckles. It was speculated that the spatial organization of speckle components might contribute directly to the order of operations that coordinate distinct processes. Here, by performing multi-color structured illumination microscopy, we characterized the multilayer organization of speckles at a higher resolution. We found that SON and SC35 (also known as SRSF2) localize to the central region of the speckle, whereas MALAT1 and small nuclear (sn)RNAs are enriched at the speckle periphery. Coarse-grained simulations indicate that the non-random organization arises due to the interplay between favorable sequence-encoded intermolecular interactions of speckle-resident proteins and RNAs. Finally, we observe positive correlation between the total amount of RNA present within a speckle and the speckle size. These results imply that speckle size may be regulated to accommodate RNA accumulation and processing. Accumulation of RNA from various actively transcribed speckle-associated genes could contribute to the observed speckle size variations within a single cell. Summary: Multi-color structured illumination microscopy imaging studies reveal a multilayer organization of nuclear speckles due to the interplay between favorable sequence-encoded intermolecular interactions of speckle-resident proteins and RNAs.

Collapse Transitions of Proteins and the Interplay Among Backbone, Sidechain, and Solvent Interactions

Proteins can collapse into compact globules or form expanded, solvent-accessible, coil-like conformations. Additionally, they can fold into well-defined three-dimensional structures or remain partially or entirely disordered. Recent discoveries have shown that the tendency for proteins to collapse or remain expanded is not intrinsically coupled to their ability to fold. These observations suggest that proteins do not have to form compact globules in aqueous solutions. They can be intrinsically disordered, collapsed, or expanded, and even form well-folded, elongated structures. This ability to decouple collapse from folding is determined by the sequence details of proteins. In this review, we highlight insights gleaned from studies over the past decade. Using a polymer physics framework, we explain how the interplay among sidechains, backbone units, and solvent determines the driving forces for collapsed versus expanded states in aqueous solvents. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biophysics Volume 47 is May 20, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.