Kenny Bravo-Rodriguez

Enzyme-Directed Mutasynthesis: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Approach to Substrate Recognition of a Polyketide Synthase

Acyltransferase domains control the extender unit recognition in Polyketide Synthases (PKS) and thereby the side-chain diversity of the resulting natural products. The enzyme engineering strategy presented here allows the alteration of the acyltransferase substrate profile to enable an engineered biosynthesis of natural product derivatives through the incorporation of a synthetic malonic acid thioester. Experimental sequence-function correlations combined with computational modeling revealed the origins of substrate recognition in these PKS domains and enabled a targeted mutagenesis. We show how a single point mutation was able to direct the incorporation of a malonic acid building block with a non-native functional group into erythromycin. This approach, introduced here as enzyme-directed mutasynthesis, opens a new field of possibilities beyond the state of the art for the combination of organic chemistry and biosynthesis toward natural product analogues.

A molecular tweezer antagonizes seminal amyloids and HIV infection

Semen is the main vector for HIV transmission and contains amyloid fibrils that enhance viral infection. Available microbicides that target viral components have proven largely ineffective in preventing sexual virus transmission. In this study, we establish that CLR01, a ‘molecular tweezer’ specific for lysine and arginine residues, inhibits the formation of infectivity-enhancing seminal amyloids and remodels preformed fibrils. Moreover, CLR01 abrogates semen-mediated enhancement of viral infection by preventing the formation of virion–amyloid complexes and by directly disrupting the membrane integrity of HIV and other enveloped viruses. We establish that CLR01 acts by binding to the target lysine and arginine residues rather than by a non-specific, colloidal mechanism. CLR01 counteracts both host factors that may be important for HIV transmission and the pathogen itself. These combined anti-amyloid and antiviral activities make CLR01 a promising topical microbicide for blocking infection by HIV and other sexually transmitted viruses. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05397.001

Predicted incorporation of non-native substrates by a polyketide synthase yields bioactive natural product derivatives

The polyether ionophore monensin is biosynthesized by a polyketide synthase that delivers a mixture of monensins A and B by the incorporation of ethyl‐ or methyl‐malonyl‐CoA at its fifth module. Here we present the first computational model of the fifth acyltransferase domain (AT5mon) of this polyketide synthase, thus affording an investigation of the basis of the relaxed specificity in AT5mon, insights into the activation for the nucleophilic attack on the substrate, and prediction of the incorporation of synthetic malonic acid building blocks by this enzyme. Our predictions are supported by experimental studies, including the isolation of a predicted derivative of the monensin precursor premonensin. The incorporation of non‐native building blocks was found to alter the ratio of premonensins A and B. The bioactivity of the natural product derivatives was investigated and revealed binding to prenyl‐binding protein. We thus show the potential of engineered biosynthetic polyketides as a source of ligands for biological macromolecules.

Molecular tweezers inhibit islet amyloid polypeptide assembly and toxicity by a new mechanism.

In type-2 diabetes (T2D), islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) self-associates into toxic assemblies causing islet β-cell death. Therefore, preventing IAPP toxicity is a promising therapeutic strategy for T2D. The molecular tweezer CLR01 is a supramolecular tool for selective complexation of K residues in (poly)peptides. Surprisingly, it inhibits IAPP aggregation at substoichiometric concentrations even though IAPP has only one K residue at position 1, whereas efficient inhibition of IAPP toxicity requires excess CLR01. The basis for this peculiar behavior is not clear. Here, a combination of biochemical, biophysical, spectroscopic, and computational methods reveals a detailed mechanistic picture of the unique dual inhibition mechanism for CLR01. At low concentrations, CLR01 binds to K1, presumably nucleating nonamyloidogenic, yet toxic, structures, whereas excess CLR01 binds also to R11, leading to nontoxic structures. Encouragingly, the CLR01 concentrations needed for inhibition of IAPP toxicity are safe in vivo, supporting its development toward disease-modifying therapy for T2D.

Substrate Flexibility of a Mutated Acyltransferase Domain and Implications for Polyketide Biosynthesis.

Polyketides are natural products frequently used for the treatment of various diseases, but their structural complexity hinders efficient derivatization. In this context, we recently introduced enzyme-directed mutasynthesis to incorporate non-native extender units into the biosynthesis of erythromycin. Modeling and mutagenesis studies led to the discovery of a variant of an acyltransferase domain in the erythromycin polyketide synthase capable of accepting a propargylated substrate. Here, we extend molecular rationalization of enzyme-substrate interactions through modeling, to investigate the incorporation of substrates with different degrees of saturation of the malonic acid side chain. This allowed the engineered biosynthesis of new erythromycin derivatives and the introduction of additional mutations into the AT domain for a further shift of the enzymes substrate scope. Our approach yields non-native polyketide structures with functional groups that will simplify future derivatization approaches, and provides a blueprint for the engineering of AT domains to achieve efficient polyketide synthase diversification.

Interactions of Aromatic Radicals with Water

The interactions of the benzyl radical (1), the anilinyl radical (2), and the phenoxyl radical (3) with water are investigated using density functional theory (DFT). In addition, we report dispersion-corrected DFT-D molecular dynamics simulations on these three systems and a matrix isolation study on 1-water. The radicals 1-3 form an interesting series with the number of lone pairs increasing from none to two. The anilinyl and benzyl radicals can act as Lewis base through their unpaired electrons, the lone pairs of the heteroatoms, or the doubly occupied π orbitals of the aromatic system. Matrix isolation experiments provide evidence for the formation of a π complex between 1 and water. By combining computational and experimental techniques we identify the possible interactions between the aromatic radicals 1-3 and water, predict the structure and vibrational spectra of the resulting complexes, and analyze the effects of substitution and temperature.

Tailored protein encapsulation into a DNA host using geometrically organized supramolecular interactions

The self-organizational properties of DNA have been used to realize synthetic hosts for protein encapsulation. However, current strategies of DNA–protein conjugation still limit true emulation of natural host–guest systems, whose formation relies on non-covalent bonds between geometrically matching interfaces. Here we report one of the largest DNA–protein complexes of semisynthetic origin held in place exclusively by spatially defined supramolecular interactions. Our approach is based on the decoration of the inner surface of a DNA origami hollow structure with multiple ligands converging to their corresponding binding sites on the protein surface with programmable symmetry and range-of-action. Our results demonstrate specific host–guest recognition in a 1:1 stoichiometry and selectivity for the guest whose size guarantees sufficient molecular diffusion preserving short intermolecular distances. DNA nanocontainers can be thus rationally designed to trap single guest molecules in their native form, mimicking natural strategies of molecular recognition and anticipating a new method of protein caging.

Conformation and Dynamics of a Cyclic Disulfide-Bridged Peptide: Effects of Temperature and Solvent

The cyclic disulfide-bridged tetrapeptide cyclo(Boc-Cys-Pro-Gly-Cys-OMe) (1) was designed as a model for the study of solvent-driven conformational changes in peptides. The three-dimensional structure and dynamics of 1 were studied using a variety of experimental and computational techniques. The crystal structure of 1 reveals a β-turn stabilized by a hydrogen bond between the two cysteine residues. In solution, the UV-CD and NMR analysis of 1 suggest a β-turn II conformation, stable up to 60 °C. The characteristic NMR (13)C shifts of the Cβ and Cγ atoms of proline show that the peptide adopts exclusively the energetically favored trans conformation of the peptidyl-prolyl bond. The combination of IR spectroscopy with Car-Parrinello MD simulations and DFT calculations allowed us to assign the absorptions in the amide I region to the individual amino acids. The NH group of Gly, which as hydrogen bond donor competes with the NH group of Cys4 for the carbonyl oxygen atom of Cys1 as hydrogen bond acceptor, plays a relevant role for the structure and spectroscopic properties of the peptide. Since Gly is more exposed to the solvent, its hydrogen-bonding capability can be partially blocked by external solvent molecules in solution or by a second peptide molecule in the crystal. Furthermore, the presence of only one molecule of acetonitrile is sufficient to change the preferred conformation of 1, and even in acetonitrile solution the simulations suggest that on average only one solvent molecule strongly interacts with the cyclic core of the peptide.

The Molecular Tweezer CLR01 Stabilizes a Disordered Protein–Protein Interface

Protein regions that are involved in protein–protein interactions (PPIs) very often display a high degree of intrinsic disorder, which is reduced during the recognition process. A prime example is binding of the rigid 14-3-3 adapter proteins to their numerous partner proteins, whose recognition motifs undergo an extensive disorder-to-order transition. In this context, it is highly desirable to control this entropy-costly process using tailored stabilizing agents. This study reveals how the molecular tweezer CLR01 tunes the 14-3-3/Cdc25CpS216 protein–protein interaction. Protein crystallography, biophysical affinity determination and biomolecular simulations unanimously deliver a remarkable finding: a supramolecular “Janus” ligand can bind simultaneously to a flexible peptidic PPI recognition motif and to a well-structured adapter protein. This binding fills a gap in the protein–protein interface, “freezes” one of the conformational states of the intrinsically disordered Cdc25C protein partner and enhances the apparent affinity of the interaction. This is the first structural and functional proof of a supramolecular ligand targeting a PPI interface and stabilizing the binding of an intrinsically disordered recognition motif to a rigid partner protein.

Inhibition of Huntingtin Exon-1 Aggregation by the Molecular Tweezer CLR01

Huntingtons disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with the expansion of the polyglutamine tract in the exon-1 domain of the huntingtin protein (htte1). Above a threshold of 37 glutamine residues, htte1 starts to aggregate in a nucleation-dependent manner. A 17-residue N-terminal fragment of htte1 (N17) has been suggested to play a crucial role in modulating the aggregation propensity and toxicity of htte1. Here we identify N17 as a potential target for novel therapeutic intervention using the molecular tweezer CLR01. A combination of biochemical experiments and computer simulations shows that binding of CLR01 induces structural rearrangements within the htte1 monomer and inhibits htte1 aggregation, underpinning the key role of N17 in modulating htte1 toxicity.