Marco Benevento

Adenovirus composition, proteolysis, and disassembly studied by in-depth qualitative and quantitative proteomics.

Background: Adenoviruses (AdV) are broadly employed as gene delivery vectors. Results: Copy numbers of all AdV proteins were measured, and the release of proteins upon heat stress investigated. Conclusion: The viral protease plays a distinct role in the segmented release of AdV proteins. Significance: Our characterization by mass spectrometry provides new insight in HAdV disassembly during entry into host cells. Using high-resolution MS-based proteomics in combination with multiple protease digestion, we profiled, with on average 90% sequence coverage, all 13 viral proteins present in an human adenovirus (HAdV) vector. This in-depth profile provided multiple peptide-based evidence on intrinsic protease activity affecting several HAdV proteins. Next, the generated peptide library was used to develop a targeted proteomics method using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) aimed at quantitative profiling of the stoichiometry of all 13 proteins present in the HAdV. We also used this method to probe the release of specific virus proteins initiated by thermal stimulation, mimicking the early stage of HAdV disassembly during entry into host cells. We confirmed the copy numbers of the most well characterized viral capsid components and established the copy numbers for proteins whose stoichiometry has so far not been accurately defined. We also found that heating HAdV induces the complete release of the penton base and fiber proteins as well as a substantial release of protein VIII and VI. For these latter proteins, maturational proteolysis by the adenoviral protease leads to the differential release of fragments with certain peptides being fully released and others largely retained in the AdV particles. This information is likely to be beneficial for the ongoing interpretation of high resolution cryoEM and x-ray electron density maps.

Daily Rhythms in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus Probed by High-resolution Mass Spectrometry–based Proteomics Reveals a Small Defined Set of Cyclic Proteins

Circadian rhythms are self-sustained and adjustable cycles, typically entrained with light/dark and/or temperature cycles. These rhythms are present in animals, plants, fungi, and several bacteria. The central mechanism behind these “pacemakers” and the connection to the circadian regulated pathways are still poorly understood. The circadian rhythm of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (S. elongatus) is highly robust and controlled by only three proteins, KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC. This central clock system has been extensively studied functionally and structurally and can be reconstituted in vitro. These characteristics, together with a relatively small genome (2.7 Mbp), make S. elongatus an ideal model system for the study of circadian rhythms. Different approaches have been used to reveal the influence of the central S. elongatus clock on rhythmic gene expression, rhythmic mRNA abundance, rhythmic DNA topology changes, and cell division. However, a global analysis of its proteome dynamics has not been reported yet. To uncover the variation in protein abundances during 48 h under light and dark cycles (12:12 h), we used quantitative proteomics, with TMT 6-plex isobaric labeling. We queried the S. elongatus proteome at 10 different time points spanning a single 24-h period, leading to 20 time points over the full 48-h period. Employing multidimensional separation and high-resolution mass spectrometry, we were able to find evidence for a total of 82% of the S. elongatus proteome. Of the 1537 proteins quantified over the time course of the experiment, only 77 underwent significant cyclic variations. Interestingly, our data provide evidence for in- and out-of-phase correlation between mRNA and protein levels for a set of specific genes and proteins. As a range of cyclic proteins are functionally not well annotated, this work provides a resource for further studies to explore the role of these proteins in the cyanobacterial circadian rhythm.

CD24 tracks divergent pluripotent states in mouse and human cells

Reprogramming is a dynamic process that can result in multiple pluripotent cell types emerging from divergent paths. Cell surface protein expression is a particularly desirable tool to categorize reprogramming and pluripotency as it enables robust quantification and enrichment of live cells. Here we use cell surface proteomics to interrogate mouse cell reprogramming dynamics and discover CD24 as a marker that tracks the emergence of reprogramming-responsive cells, while enabling the analysis and enrichment of transgene-dependent (F-class) and -independent (traditional) induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) at later stages. Furthermore, CD24 can be used to delineate epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in mouse pluripotent culture. Importantly, regulated CD24 expression is conserved in human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), tracking the conversion of human ESCs to more naive-like PSC states. Thus, CD24 is a conserved marker for tracking divergent states in both reprogramming and standard pluripotent culture.

Proteome adaptation in cell reprogramming proceeds via distinct transcriptional networks

The ectopic expression of Oct4, Klf4, c-Myc and Sox2 (OKMS) transcription factors allows reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The reprogramming process, which involves a complex network of molecular events, is not yet fully characterized. Here we perform a quantitative mass spectrometry-based analysis to probe in-depth dynamic proteome changes during somatic cell reprogramming. Our data reveal defined waves of proteome resetting, with the first wave occurring 48 h after the activation of the reprogramming transgenes and involving specific biological processes linked to the c-Myc transcriptional network. A second wave of proteome reorganization occurs in a later stage of reprogramming, where we characterize the proteome of two distinct pluripotent cellular populations. In addition, the overlay of our proteome resource with parallel generated -omics data is explored to identify post-transcriptionally regulated proteins involved in key steps during reprogramming.

The Cleaved N-Terminus of pVI Binds Peripentonal Hexons in Mature Adenovirus

Mature human adenovirus particles contain four minor capsid proteins, in addition to the three major capsid proteins (penton base, hexon and fiber) and several proteins associated with the genomic core of the virion. Of the minor capsid proteins, VI plays several crucial roles in the infection cycle of the virus, including hexon nuclear targeting during assembly, activation of the adenovirus proteinase (AVP) during maturation and endosome escape following cell entry. VI is translated as a precursor (pVI) that is cleaved at both N- and C-termini by AVP. Whereas the role of the C-terminal fragment of pVI, pVIc, is well established as an important co-factor of AVP, the role of the N-terminal fragment, pVIn, is currently elusive. In fact, the fate of pVIn following proteolytic cleavage is completely unknown. Here, we use a combination of proteomics-based peptide identification, native mass spectrometry and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry to show that pVIn is associated with mature human adenovirus, where it binds at the base of peripentonal hexons in a pH-dependent manner. Our findings suggest a possible role for pVIn in targeting pVI to hexons for proper assembly of the virion and timely release of the membrane lytic mature VI molecule.

Role of mass spectrometry-based proteomics in the study of cellular reprogramming and induced pluripotent stem cells.

The generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from differentiated cells holds important clinical implications. Human iPSCs represent the most promising resource for regenerative medicine by enabling the use of patient-specific cells of any lineage without the need for embryonic material. However, before therapeutic applications using human iPSCs are carried out, extensive analyses are needed to assess molecular differences and similarities between human iPSCs and their natural counterparts, human embryonic stem cells. The pluralism of mechanisms acting in a biological system can be better approached by studying several elements simultaneously in an unbiased manner. This review will discuss recent genome-wide analyses of iPSCs (e.g., transcripts and epigenetics) and will introduce the huge potential of mass spectrometry–based proteomics in decoding the unique mechanisms underlying the reprogramming process and the molecular nature of cellular identity.

Fluctuations in histone H4 isoforms during cellular reprogramming monitored by middle‐down proteomics

Cellular reprogramming remodels the gene expression program by re‐setting the epigenome of somatic cells into an embryonic‐like pluripotent state. Post‐translational modifications of histones play an important role in this process. Previously, we found by ChIP‐seq widespread changes of specific histone H3 marks in two divergent reprogramming routes leading to alternative pluripotent sates . Here, using an unbiased middle‐down proteomics approach we have identified 72 unique isoforms of histone H4 and quantified 56 of them in the same set of samples. We found substantial differences between somatic and late‐phase reprogramming cells. Also, ESCs and iPSCs displayed higher levels of H4 acetylation and tri‐methylation concomitantly with lower levels of mono‐ and di‐methylation when compared to cells undergoing reprogramming. Our data shows that the epigenetic remodeling induced by the reprogramming process goes beyond histone H3 and reveals the importance of H4 modifications as well. The presented data is a valuable resource to study the epigenetic mechanisms involved in the acquisition of induced pluripotency. All MS data have been deposited in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD002062 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD002062).

Erratum: Genome-wide characterization of the routes to pluripotency (Nature (2014) 516 (198-206) DOI: 10.1038/nature14046)

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/nature14046

Erratum: Corrigendum: Genome-wide characterization of the routes to pluripotency

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/nature14046

Corrigendum: Genome-wide characterization of the routes to pluripotency

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/nature14046