In 2014, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated the Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG) program to identify and improve our understanding of poorly characterized proteins that can potentially be modulated using small molecules or biologics. Two resources produced from these efforts are: The Target Central Resource Database (TCRD) (http://juniper.health.unm.edu/tcrd/) and Pharos (https://pharos.nih.gov/), a web interface to browse the TCRD. The ultimate goal of these resources is to highlight and facilitate research into currently understudied proteins, by aggregating a multitude of data sources, and ranking targets based on the amount of data available, and presenting data in machine learning ready format. Since the 2017 release, both TCRD and Pharos have produced two major releases, which have incorporated or expanded an additional 25 data sources. Recently incorporated data types include human and viral-human protein–protein interactions, protein–disease and protein–phenotype associations, and drug-induced gene signatures, among others. These aggregated data have enabled us to generate new visualizations and content sections in Pharos, in order to empower users to find new areas of study in the druggable genome.
The ClpP protease complex and its regulatory ATPases, ClpC1 and ClpX, in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are essential and, therefore, promising drug targets. The Mtb ClpP protease consists of two heptameric rings, one composed of ClpP1 and the other of ClpP2 subunits. Formation of the enzymatically active ClpP1P2 complex requires binding of N-blocked dipeptide activators. We have found a new potent activator, benzoyl-leucine-leucine (Bz-LL), that binds with higher affinity and promotes 3-4-fold higher peptidase activity than previous activators. Bz-LL-activated ClpP1P2 specifically stimulates the ATPase activity of Mtb ClpC1 and ClpX. The ClpC1P1P2 and ClpXP1P2 complexes exhibit 2-3-fold enhanced ATPase activity, peptide cleavage, and ATP-dependent protein degradation. The crystal structure of ClpP1P2 with bound Bz-LL was determined at a resolution of 3.07 Å and with benzyloxycarbonyl-Leu-Leu (Z-LL) bound at 2.9 Å. Bz-LL was present in all 14 active sites, whereas Z-LL density was not resolved. Surprisingly, Bz-LL adopts opposite orientations in ClpP1 and ClpP2. In ClpP1, Bz-LL binds with the C-terminal leucine side chain in the S1 pocket. One C-terminal oxygen is close to the catalytic serine, whereas the other contacts backbone amides in the oxyanion hole. In ClpP2, Bz-LL binds with the benzoyl group in the S1 pocket, and the peptide hydrogen bonded between parallel -strands. The ClpP2 axial loops are extended, forming an open axial channel as has been observed with bound ADEP antibiotics. Thus occupancy of the active sites of ClpP allosterically alters sites on the surfaces thereby affecting the association of ClpP1 and ClpP2 rings, interactions with regulatory ATPases, and entry of protein substrates.
Summary Phylogenetic analysis reveals AMPA, kainate and NMDA receptor families in insect genomes, suggesting conserved functional properties corresponding to their vertebrate counterparts. However, heterologous expression of the Drosophila kainate receptor DKaiR1D and the AMPA receptor DGluR1A revealed novel ligand selectivity at odds with the classification used for vertebrate glutamate receptor ion channels (iGluRs). DKaiR1D forms a rapidly activating and desensitizing receptor that is inhibited by both NMDA and the NMDA receptor antagonist AP5; crystallization of the KaiR1D ligand-binding domain reveals that these ligands stabilize open cleft conformations explaining their action as antagonists. Surprisingly, the AMPA receptor DGluR1A shows weak activation by its namesake agonist AMPA and also by quisqualate. Crystallization of the DGluR1A ligand-binding domain reveals amino acid exchanges that interfere with binding of these ligands. The unexpected ligand binding profiles of insect iGluRs allows classical tools to be used in novel approaches for the study of synaptic regulation.
The Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ), at which glutamate acts as the excitatory neurotransmitter, is a widely used model for genetic analysis of synapse function and development. Despite decades of study, the inability to reconstitute NMJ glutamate receptor function using heterologous expression systems has complicated the analysis of receptor function, such that it is difficult to resolve the molecular basis for compound phenotypes observed in mutant flies. We find that Drosophila Neto functions as an essential component required for the function of NMJ glutamate receptors, permitting analysis of glutamate receptor responses in Xenopus oocytes. In combination with a crystallographic analysis of the GluRIIB ligand binding domain, we use this system to characterize the subunit dependence of assembly, channel block, and ligand selectivity for Drosophila NMJ glutamate receptors.T he amino acid L-glutamate is the major neurotransmitter at vertebrate excitatory central synapses and at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of insects and crustaceans (1-3). Many vertebrate AMPA and kainate receptors, as well as GluRI from the worm Caenorhabditis elegans and AvGluR1 from the rotifer Adineta vaga, can form functional homomeric ion channels (1, 4, 5). In contrast, genetic studies suggest that assembly of Drosophila NMJ type A and type B glutamate receptors requires four subunits: either GluRIIA or GluRIIB, plus GluRIIC, GluRIID, and GluRIIE (6-9); both subtypes desensitize rapidly, with time constants of 18.8 and 2.0 ms, respectively (6). In flies, lack of GluRIIA and GluRIIB or any other single subunit induces embryonic paralysis. Furthermore, in the absence of GluRIIA and GluRIIB, or any other subunit, none of the remaining iGluR subunits cluster at nascent synapses, suggesting that recruitment and stabilization of iGluRs at synaptic sites requires heterotetramers. Despite a decade of work, the molecular basis for this unique profile has remained obscure. In part, this is because the reconstitution of functional glutamate receptors (iGluRs) in heterologous systems, which has been a powerful tool for analysis of receptor function in other species, has not been achieved for the Drosophila NMJ (10).We recently demonstrated that the synaptic distribution of Drosophila NMJ iGluRs requires Neto (Neuropillin and Tolloidlike), a protein essential for NMJ function (11). Neto belongs to a family of highly conserved auxiliary proteins that modulate the function of vertebrate kainate receptors (12) and C. elegans AMPA receptors (13,14). In these species Neto plays a minor role in delivery and synaptic targeting, and instead modulates receptor gating properties. In contrast, in flies Neto is absolutely required for clustering of iGluRs at the NMJ and lack of Neto induces embryonic paralysis (11). This finding may reflect a role for Neto in receptor assembly, surface expression, synaptic trafficking and stabilization, or modulation of iGluR gating. To distinguish among these possibilities, a recombinant expression system for...
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