Grafting Cell-Penetrating Poly(disulfide)s to Substrates of Interest: Dynamic Covalent Bioconjugation for Traceless Delivery.

Although increasingly understood and appreciated, thiol‐mediated uptake (TMU) remains underused because practical traceless tags that solve daily delivery problems are not yet available. The most popular cell‐penetrating poly(disulfide)s (CPDs) were initially introduced as traceless tags that could be grafted from any thiol‐containing substrate of interest (SOI) in situ and would depolymerize in the cytosol right after uptake. This approach was operational but not ideal for solving practical problems because the concentrations of SOIs >30 µM needed in neutral water are above those acceptable in most biological studies. Here, we report that CPD grafting‐to SOIs, rather than grafting‐from, provides access to dynamic covalent cysteine bioconjugation with protein concentrations down to 50 nM, which is more than 600 times below standard grafting‐from CPD chemistry. With rate constants up to 1500 M −1 s −1 , CPD grafting‐to is as fast as the record covalent cysteine bioconjugation (heteroaromatic sulfones), in the range of the best bioorthogonal reaction (IEDDA), and 3000 times faster than cystine grafting‐to. Experimental evidence for CPD grafting to probes, peptides and proteins with one, two, or several proximal thiols, efficient TMU of their conjugates, and the cytosolic release of functional SOIs, such as fluorescent antibodies against the nuclear pore complex, supports the discovery of operational traceless TMU tags, at last.

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) restrict uncontrolled nucleocytoplasmic fluxes of inert macromolecules but permit facilitated translocation of nuclear transport receptors and their cargo complexes. We probed the passive barrier of NPCs and observed sieve-like properties with a dominating mesh or channel radius of 2.6 nm, which is narrower than proposed earlier. A small fraction of diffusion channels has a wider opening, explaining the very slow passage of larger molecules. The observed dominant passive diameter approximates the distance of adjacent hydrophobic clusters of FG repeats, supporting the model that the barrier is made of FG repeat domains cross-linked with a spacing of an FG repeat unit length. Wheat germ agglutinin and the dominant-negative importin β45-462 fragment were previously regarded as selective inhibitors of facilitated NPC passage. We now observed that they do not distinguish between the passive and the facilitated mode. Instead, their inhibitory effect correlates with the size of the NPC-passing molecule. They have little effect on small species, inhibit the passage of green fluorescent protein-sized objects >10-fold and virtually block the translocation of larger ones. This suggests that passive and facilitated NPC passage proceed through one and the same permeability barrier.

Nucleoporins Directly Stimulate Expression of Developmental and Cell-Cycle Genes Inside the Nucleoplasm

Pore complexes are not confined to the nuclear envelope but can also be found in the cytoplasm of numerous cell types in the form of annulate lamellae (AL). We have induced formation of AL by exposure of rat cells (line RV) to sublethal doses of the antimitotic drug vinblastine sulfate, and compared the distribution of several nuclear pore complex proteins (nucleoporins) in the nuclear envelope and AL by immunocytochemistry, cytochemical lectin binding studies and immunoblot analyses of nuclear and AL-enriched fractions. All the antibodies used yielded punctate nuclear surface staining in immunofluorescence microscopy which is characteristic for nuclear pore complex components. When we applied antibodies against the nucleoporin p62, AL were visualized as numerous cytoplasmic dot-like structures. Immunogold electron microscopy confirmed the correspondence of the cytoplasmic bodies with stacks of AL. Antibodies to constituents of the cytoplasmic (nup180) and nucleoplasmic (nup153) filaments extending from both sides of nuclear pore complexes also stained the AL, indicating that pore complexes are intrinsically asymmetric assemblies independent of their specific intracellular topology. By contrast, AL were negative with five different antibodies against the transmembrane nuclear pore glycoprotein gp210 and the lectin concanavalin A (ConA) known to bind to the oligosaccharide side chains of gp210. Similarly, there was no staining of the AL with antibodies to the other nuclear pore membrane protein so far known in higher eukaryotes, POM121. Immunoblot analyses confirmed the presence of p62, nup180 and nup153 in both the nuclear and AL fractions and the absence of gp210 and POM121 from AL. Our results do not support the generally held view that gp210 and POM121 function in anchoring the pore complex scaffold to the pore membrane. Rather, they point to a role for these proteins in transport processes through the nuclear pore complexes. Since AL are not involved in nucleocytoplasmic transport processes they may lack components of the transport machinery.

This Perspective focuses on thiol-mediated uptake, that is, the entry of substrates into cells enabled by oligochalcogenides or mimics, often disulfides, and inhibited by thiol-reactive agents. A short chronology from the initial observations in 1990 until today is followed by a summary of cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)s (CPDs) and cyclic oligochalcogenides (COCs) as privileged scaffolds in thiol-mediated uptake and inhibitors of thiol-mediated uptake as potential antivirals. In the spirit of a Perspective, the main part brings together topics that possibly could help to explain how thiol-mediated uptake really works. Extreme sulfur chemistry mostly related to COCs and their mimics, cyclic disulfides, thiosulfinates/-onates, diselenolanes, benzopolysulfanes, but also arsenics and Michael acceptors, is viewed in the context of acidity, ring tension, exchange cascades, adaptive networks, exchange affinity columns, molecular walkers, ring-opening polymerizations, and templated polymerizations. Micellar pores (or lipid ion channels) are considered, from cell-penetrating peptides and natural antibiotics to voltage sensors, and a concise gallery of membrane proteins, as possible targets of thiol-mediated uptake, is provided, including CLIC1, a thiol-reactive chloride channel; TMEM16F, a Ca-activated scramblase; EGFR, the epithelial growth factor receptor; and protein-disulfide isomerase, known from HIV entry or the transferrin receptor, a top hit in proteomics and recently identified in the cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2.

Recent progress with chemistry tools to deliver into living cells has seen a shift of attention from counterion-mediated uptake of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) and their mimics, particularly the Schmuck cation, toward thiol-mediated uptake with cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)s (CPDs) and cyclic oligochalcogenides (COCs), here exemplified by asparagusic acid. A persistent challenge in this evolution is the simultaneous and quantitative detection of cytosolic delivery and cytotoxicity in a high-throughput format. Here, we show that the combination of the HaloTag-based chloroalkane penetration assay (CAPA) with automated high-content (HC) microscopy can satisfy this need. The automated imaging of thousands of cells per condition in multiwell plates allows us to obtain quantitative data on not only the fluorescence intensity but also on the localization in a very short time. Quantitative and statistically relevant results can be obtained from dose–response curves of the targeted delivery to selected cells and the cytotoxicity in the same experiment, even with poorly optimized cellular systems.

Bioorthogonal Reactions for Labeling Proteins

We investigated the nuclear import mechanism of Cdc7, which is essential for the initiation of DNA replication. Here we report that importin-beta binds directly to Cdc7 via the Kinase Insert II domain, promoting its nuclear import. Although both importin-alpha and -beta bind to Cdc7 via the Kinase Insert II domain in a mutually independent manner, the binding affinity of Cdc7 for importin-beta is approximately 10 times higher than for importin-alpha at low protein concentrations of an equimolar ratio. Immunodepletion of importin-beta, but not importin-alpha, abrogates Cdc7 nuclear import, and the addition of importin-beta to the importin-depleted cytosol restores Cdc7 nuclear import. Furthermore, transduction of anti-importin-beta, but not anti-importin-alpha antibodies, into live cells inhibits Cdc7 nuclear import. Unexpectedly, we found that Cdc7 nuclear import is inhibited by competitive binding of importin-alpha to Cdc7. Further studies by site-directed mutagenesis suggest that Lys306 and Lys309 within the Kinase Insert II domain are critical for Cdc7 nuclear localization.

Replicated mammalian chromosomes condense to segregate during anaphase, and they de-condense at the conclusion of mitosis. Currently, it is not understood what the factors and events are that specify de-condensation. Here, we demonstrate that chromosome de-condensation needs the function of an inner nuclear membrane (INM) protein hsSUN1 and a membrane-associated histone acetyltransferase (HAT), hALP. We propose that nascently reforming nuclear envelope employs hsSUN1 and hALP to acetylate histones for de-compacting DNA at the end of mitosis.

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are large, octagonally symmetric dynamic macromolecular assemblies responsible for exchange of proteins and RNAs between the nucleus and cytoplasm. NPCs are made up of at least 456 polypeptides from {approx}30 distinct nucleoporins. Several of these components, sharing similar structural motifs, form stable subcomplexes that form a coaxial structure containing two outer rings (the nuclear and cytoplasmic rings), two inner rings, and a membrane ring. The yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Nup145 and its human counterpart are unique among the nucleoporins, in that they undergo autoproteolysis to generate functionally distinct proteins. The human counterpart of Nup145 is expressed as two alternatively spliced mRNA transcripts. The larger 190 kDa precursor undergoes post-translational autoproteolysis at the Phe863-Ser864 peptide bond yielding the 92 kDa Nup98 and the 96 kDa Nup96. The smaller 98 kDa precursor is also autoproteolysed at an analogous site giving 92 kDa Nup98-N and a 6 kDa C-terminal fragment, which may form a noncovalent complex. The yeast Nup145 precursor [Fig. 1(A)] contains twelve repeats of a 'GLFG' peptide motif (FG repeats) at its N-terminus, an internal autoproteolytic domain (a region of high conservation with the homologous yeast nucleoporins Nup110 and Nup116, neither of which undergo autoproteolysis), followed by themore » C-terminal domain. Various forms of the FG repeats are present in nearly half of all nucleoporins; they form intrinsically disordered regions implicated in gating mechanisms that control passage of macromolecules through NPCs. Nup145 undergoes autoproteolysis at the Phe605-Ser606 peptide bond to generate two functionally distinct proteins, Nup145N and Nup145C. Subsequently, Nup145C associates with six other proteins to form the heptameric Y-complex, a component of the outer rings of the NPC. Nup145N, on the other hand, can shuttle between the NPC and the nuclear interior. It has been suggested that Nup145N, by analogy with Nup98, carries RNA between the nucleus and the NPC. Nup145 belongs to a highly conserved family of homologs found throughout eukarya. Curiously, the Phe-Ser autoproteolytic site is not always conserved, resulting in the absence of autoproteolysis for some of these closely related proteins. Our structural understanding of NPC function has benefited recently from X-ray crystal structures of segments of individual proteins. As a part of ongoing efforts at the New York SGX Research Center for Structural Genomics (www.nysgxrc.org) to determine crystal structures of distinct components of the yeast NPC, we report herein structures of Nup145N residues 443-605 [Nup145N(443-605)] from the larger autoproteolytic segment. The monomeric architecture of Nup145N(443-605) is similar to that of the autoproteolytic domain of human Nup98-N and the homologous domain of Nup116. In contrast, Nup145N(443-605) and Nup98-N show different modes of association in the crystalline state. Results of Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) in solution are consistent with the head-to-tail dimer of Nup145N(443-605), observed in two different crystal forms.« less

Enteroviruses proteolyze nuclear pore complex (NPC) proteins (Nups) during infection, leading to disruption of host nuclear transport pathways and alterations in nuclear permeability. To better understand how enteroviruses exert these effects on nuclear transport, the mechanisms and consequences of Nup98 proteolysis were examined. The results indicate that Nup98 is rapidly targeted for degradation following enterovirus infection and that this is mediated by the enterovirus 2A protease (2A(pro)). Incubation of bacterially expressed or in vitro-translated Nup98 with 2A(pro) results in proteolytic cleavage at multiple sites in vitro, indicating that 2A(pro) cleaves Nup98 directly. Site-directed mutagenesis of putative cleavage sites identified Gly374 and Gly552 as the sites of 2A(pro) proteolysis in Nup98 in vitro and in infected cells. Indirect immunofluorescence assays using an antibody that recognizes the N terminus of Nup98 revealed that proteolysis releases the N-terminal FG-rich region from the NPC. In contrast, similar analyses using an antibody to the C terminus indicated that this region is retained at the nuclear rim. Nup88, a core NPC component that serves as a docking site for Nup98, also remains at the NPC in infected cells. These findings support a model whereby the selective removal of Nup FG repeat domains leads to increased NPC permeability and inhibition of certain transport pathways, while retention of structural domains maintains the overall NPC structure and leaves other transport pathways unaffected. Enteroviruses are dependent upon host nuclear RNA binding proteins for efficient replication. This study examines the mechanisms responsible for alterations in nuclear transport in enterovirus-infected cells that lead to the cytoplasmic accumulation of these proteins. The results demonstrate that the enterovirus 2A protease directly cleaves the nuclear pore complex (NPC) protein, Nup98, at amino acid positions G374 and G552 both in vitro and in infected cells. Cleavage at these positions results in the selective removal of the FG-containing N terminus of Nup98 from the NPC, while the C terminus remains associated. Nup88, a core component of the NPC that serves as a docking site for the C terminus of Nup98, remains associated with the NPC in infected cells. These findings help to explain the alterations in permeability and nuclear transport in enterovirus-infected cells and how NPCs remain functional for certain trafficking pathways despite significant alterations to their compositions.

We have used antibodies directed against a number of nuclear pore complex (NPC) proteins to determine their mutual interactions and location within the three-dimensional structure of the NPC. A monoclonal antibody, termed QE5, recognized three NPC polypeptides, p250, NUP153, and p62 on Western blots, and labeled the nuclear envelope of several cultured cell lines by immunofluorescence microscopy. These three polypeptides contained O-linked N- acetylglucosamine residues and were released from the NPC by detergent/high-salt treatment as discrete high molecular weight complexes. p250 was found in association with a novel 75 kD protein, NUP153 was released as a homo-oligomer of about 1 megadalton, and p62 was associated with polypeptides of 58 and 54 kD (previously reported by Finlay, D. R., E. Meier, P. Bradley, J. Horecka, and D. J. Forbes. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 114:169-183). p75, p58, and p54 were not galactosylated in vitro. Xenopus oocyte NEs were labeled with gold- conjugated QE5 and prepared for electron microscopy by quick freezing/freeze drying/rotary metal shadowing. This EM preparation method enabled us to more precisely localize the epitopes of this antibody to the cytoplasmic filaments and the nuclear basket of the NPC. Since QE5 recognizes three O-linked NPC glycoproteins, its labeling was compared with that of the lectin wheat germ agglutinin which recognizes O-linked N-acetylglucosamine moieties. The two probes were found to yield similar, although not identical, distributions of label. To identify the individual proteins with particular NPC components, we have used an anti-peptide antibody against NUP153 and a monospecific anti-p250 polyclonal antibody. Labeling with these two antibodies has documented that NUP153 is a constituent of the nuclear basket with at least one of its epitopes residing in its terminal ring, whereas p250 is a constituent of the cytoplasmic filaments.

Import of exogenous plasmid DNA (pDNA) into mammalian cell nuclei represents a key intracellular obstacle to efficient non-viral gene delivery. This includes access of the pDNA to the nuclei of non-dividing cells where the presence of an intact nuclear membrane is limiting for gene transfer. Here we identify, isolate, and characterize, cytoplasmic determinants of pDNA nuclear import into digitonin-permeabilized HeLa cells. Depletion of putative DNA-binding proteins, on the basis of their ability to bind immobilized pDNA, abolished pDNA nuclear import supporting the critical role of cytoplasmic factors in this process. Elution of pDNA-bound proteins, followed by two-dimensional sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis identified several candidate DNA shuttle proteins. We show that two of these, NM23-H2, a ubiquitous c-Myc transcription-activating nucleoside diphosphate kinase, and the core histone H2B can both reconstitute pDNA nuclear import. Further, we demonstrate a significant increase in gene transfer in non-dividing HeLa cells transiently transfected with pDNA containing binding sequences from two of the DNA shuttle proteins, NM23-H2 and the homeobox transcription factor Chx10. These data support the hypothesis that exogenous pDNA binds to cytoplasmic shuttle proteins and is then translocated to the nucleus using the minimal import machinery. Importantly, increasing the binding of pDNA to shuttle proteins by re-engineering reporter plasmids with shuttle binding sequences enhances gene transfer. Increasing the potential for exogenously added pDNA to bind intracellular transport cofactors may enhance the potency of non-viral gene transfer.

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are the main conduits for macromolecular transport into and out of the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. The central component of the NPC transport mechanism is an assembly of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that fills the NPC channel. The channel interior is further crowded by large numbers of simultaneously translocating cargo-carrying and free transport proteins. How the NPC can efficiently, rapidly, and selectively transport varied cargoes in such crowded conditions remains ill understood. Past experimental results suggest that the NPC is surprisingly resistant to clogging and that transport may even become faster and more efficient as the concentration of transport protein increases. To understand the mechanisms behind these puzzling observations, we construct a computational model of the NPC comprising only a minimal set of commonly accepted consensus features. This model qualitatively reproduces the previous experimental results and identifies self-regulating mechanisms that relieve crowding. We show that some of the crowding-alleviating mechanisms-such as preventing saturation of the bulk flux-are "robust" and rely on very general properties of crowded dynamics in confined channels, pertaining to a broad class of selective transport nanopores. By contrast, the counterintuitive ability of the NPC to leverage crowding to achieve more efficient single-molecule translocation is "fine-tuned" and relies on the particular spatial architecture of the IDP assembly in the NPC channel.

Protein Modification by Strain‐Promoted Alkyne–Nitrone Cycloaddition