Lavinia Liguori

Liposomes-mediated delivery of pro-apoptotic therapeutic membrane proteins

The delivery of functional therapeutic proteins by lipid vesicles into targeted living cells is one of the most promising strategies for treatment of different diseases and cancer. The use of this system in the delivery of membrane proteins directly into cells remains to be tested because the methods for producing membrane proteins are difficult to perform. Here we describe the effect of proteoliposomes containing the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) and pro-apoptotic Bak, both produced with an optimized cell-free expression system. For the first time, recombinant VDAC and Bak proteins are synthesized and directly integrated into the lipidic bilayer of natural liposomes in a one-step reaction. VDAC has been shown to play an essential role in apoptosis in mammalian cells by regulating cytochrome c release from mitochondria and Bak modulates mitochondrial membrane permeability upon activation. Internalization of recombinant proteoliposomes into mammalian cells induces apoptosis by release of cytochrome c and caspases activation. These results highlight that membrane proteins integrated in natural liposomes can represent an excellent candidate for cancer protein therapy.

A Simple Method for the Reconstitution of Membrane Proteins into Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

A simple method for the reconstitution of membrane protein from submicron proteoliposomes into giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) is presented here: This method does not require detergents, fusion peptides or a dehydration step of the membrane protein solution. In a first step, GUVs of lipids were formed by electroformation, purified and concentrated; and in a second step, the concentrated GUV solution was added to a small volume of vesicles or proteoliposomes. Material transfer from submicron vesicles and proteoliposomes to GUVs occurred spontaneously and was characterized with fluorescent microscopy and patch-clamp recordings. As a functional test, the voltage-dependent, anion-selective channel protein was reconstituted into GUVs, and its electrophysiological activity was monitored with the patch clamp. This method is versatile since it is independent of the presence of the protein, as demonstrated by the fusion of fluorescently labeled submicron vesicles and proteoliposomes with GUVs.

Crystallization of the membrane protein hVDAC1 produced in cell-free system

Structural studies of membrane proteins are in constant evolution with the development of new improvements for their expression, purification, stabilization and crystallization. However, none of these methods still provides a universal approach to solve the structure of membrane proteins. Here we describe the crystallization of the human voltage-dependent anion channel-1 produced by a bacterial cell-free expression system. While VDAC structures have been recently solved, we propose an alternative strategy for producing the recombinant protein, which can be applied to other membrane proteins reluctant to expression, purification and crystallization by classical approaches. Despite a lot of efforts to crystallize a cell-free expressed membrane protein, this study is to our knowledge one of the first reports of a successful crystallization. Focusing on expression in a soluble and functional state, in a detergent environment, is the key to get crystals. Although the diffraction of VDAC crystals is limited, the simplicity and the rapidity to set-up and optimize this technology are drastic advantages in comparison to other methods.

Production of membrane proteins using cell-free expression systems.

Different overexpression systems are widely used in the laboratory to produce proteins in a reasonable amount for functional and structural studies. However, to optimize these systems without modifying the cellular functions of the living organism remains a challenging task. Cell-free expression systems have become a convenient method for the high-throughput expression of recombinant proteins, and great effort has been focused on generating high yields of proteins. Furthermore, these systems represent an attractive alternative for producing difficult-to-express proteins, such as membrane proteins. In this review, we highlight the recent improvements of these cell-free expression systems and their direct applications in the fields of membrane proteins production, protein therapy and modern proteomics.

Characterization of the Cell-penetrating Properties of the Epstein-Barr Virus ZEBRA trans-Activator

The Epstein-Barr virus basic leucine zipper transcriptional activator ZEBRA was shown recently to cross the outer membrane of live cells and to accumulate in the nucleus of lymphocytes. We investigated the potential application of the Epstein-Barr virus trans-activator ZEBRA as a transporter protein to facilitate transduction of cargo proteins. Analysis of different truncated forms of ZEBRA revealed that the minimal domain (MD) required for internalization spans residues 170–220. MD efficiently transported reporter proteins such as enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and β-galactosidase in several normal and tumor cell lines. Functionality of internalized cargo proteins was confirmed by β-galactosidase activity in transduced cells, and no MD-associated cell toxicity was detected. Translocation of MD through the cell membrane required binding to cell surface-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycans as shown by strong inhibition of protein uptake in the presence of heparin. We found that internalization was blocked at 4 °C, whereas no ATP was required as shown by an only 25% decreased uptake efficiency in energy-depleted cells. Common endocytotic inhibitors such as nystatin, chlorpromazine, and wortmannin had no significant impact on MD-EGFP uptake. Only methyl-β-cyclodextrin inhibited MD-EGFP uptake by 40%, implicating the lipid raft-mediated endocytotic pathway. These data suggest that MD-reporter protein transduction occurs mostly via direct translocation through the lipid bilayer and not by endocytosis. This mechanism of MD-mediated internalization is suitable for the efficient delivery of biologically active proteins and renders ZEBRA-MD a promising candidate for therapeutic protein delivery applications.

A 3D Toolbox to Enhance Physiological Relevance of Human Tissue Models

We discuss the current challenges and future prospects of flow-based organoid models and 3D self-assembling scaffolds. The existing paradigm of 3D culture suffers from a lack of control over organoid size and shape; can be an obstacle for cell harvesting and extended cellular and molecular analysis; and does not provide access to the function of exocrine glands. Moreover, existing organ-on-chip models are mostly composed of 2D extracellular matrix (ECM)-coated elastomeric membranes that do not mimic real organ architectures. A new comprehensive 3D toolbox for cell biology has emerged to address some of these issues. Advances in microfabrication and cell-culturing approaches enable the engineering of sophisticated models that mimic organ 3D architectures and physiological conditions, while supporting flow-based drug screening and secretomics-based diagnosis.

A Bacterial Cell‐Free Expression System to Produce Membrane Proteins and Proteoliposomes: From cDNA to Functional Assay

Limitations in the production of folded membrane proteins represent the major bottleneck for functional and structural studies of this huge category of macromolecules. Cell‐free expression systems provide an attractive alternative to the classical overexpression systems for producing membrane proteins. However, optimization of these systems remains a challenging task, considering the hydrophobic properties of these molecules. This unit describes the production of eukaryotic membrane proteins either in soluble form or integrated into liposomes using a bacterial cell‐free expression system. Liposomes in the reaction mixture induce the direct insertion of freshly produced membrane proteins into the bilayer and allow the formation of functional proteoliposomes in which the membrane proteins are correctly folded. Curr. Protoc. Protein Sci. 54:5.22.1‐5.22.30.

Raman micro-spectroscopy: A powerful tool for the monitoring of dynamic supramolecular changes in living cells

Cellular imaging techniques have become powerful tools in cell biology. With respect to others, the techniques based on vibrational spectroscopy present a clear advantage: the molecular composition and the modification of subcellular compartments can be obtained in label-free conditions. In fact, from the evolution of positions, intensities and line widths of Raman and infrared bands in the cell spectra, characteristic information on cellular activities can be achieved, and particularly, cellular death can be investigated. In this work we present the time evolution of the Raman spectra of single live Jurkat cells (T-lymphocyte) by looking at the high frequency part of their Raman spectra, that is the CH stretching region, around 3000cm(-1). In particular, investigation into the composition or rearrangement of CH bounds, markers of cellular membrane fatty acids, can represent an important method to study and to recognize cell death. The experimental procedure we used, together with the analysis of these high frequency vibrational bands, may represent a new, improved and advantageous approach to this kind of study.

Single-step production of functional OEP24 proteoliposomes.

The pea chloroplastic outer envelope protein OEP24 is a voltage-dependent channel that can function as a general solute channel in plants. OEP24 is a close functional homologue of VDAC which, in mammalian cells, modulates the permeability of the outer mitochondrial membrane. Here, we describe the production in a one-step reaction of active OEP24 in proteoliposomes or in soluble form using a cell-free expression system. We combine evidence from electrophysiological experiments, biophysical characterization, and biochemical analysis demonstrating that OEP24 is present as a functional channel in liposomes. Thus, production of OEP-containing proteoliposomes may provide a helpful tool for deciphering the role of the OEP family members.

Functional Characterisation of the WW Minimal Domain for Delivering Therapeutic Proteins by Adenovirus Dodecahedron

Protein transduction offers a great therapeutic potential by efficient delivery of biologically active cargo into cells. The Adenovirus Dd (Dodecahedron) has recently been shown to deliver proteins fused to the tandem WW2-3-4 structural domains from the E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4. In this study, we conclusively show that Dd is able to efficiently deliver cargo inside living cells, which mainly localize in fast moving endocytic vesicles, supporting active transport along the cytoskeleton. We further improve this delivery system by expressing a panel of 13 WW-GFP mutant forms to characterize their binding properties towards Dd. We identified the domain WW3 and its mutant form WW3_10_13 to be sufficient for optimal binding to Dd. We greatly minimise the interacting WW modules from 20 to 6 kDa without compromising its efficient delivery by Dd. Using these minimal WW domains fused to the tumor suppressor p53 protein, we show efficient cellular uptake and distribution into cancer cells, leading to specific induction of apoptosis in these cells. Taken together, these findings represent a step further towards the development of a Dd-based delivery system for future therapeutic application.