Fucosylated glycoconjugates are involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. However, economical production of fucosylated drugs and prebiotic supplements has been hampered by the poor catalytic efficiency of fucosyltransferases. Here, we developed a fluorescence-activated cell sorting system that enables the ultrahigh-throughput screening (>107 mutants/hour) of such enzymes and designed a companion strategy to assess the screening performance of the system. After three rounds of directed evolution, a mutant M32 of the α1,3-FucT from Helicobacter pylori was identified with 6- and 14-fold increases in catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) for the synthesis of Lewis x and 3′-fucosyllactose, respectively. The structure of the M32 mutant revealed that the S45F mutation generates a clamp-like structure that appears to improve binding of the galactopyranose ring of the acceptor substrate. Moreover, molecular dynamic simulations reveal that helix α5, is more mobile in the M32 mutant, possibly explaining its high fucosylation activity.

Hair follicle dermal sheath (DS) harbors hair follicle dermal stem cells (hfDSCs), which can be recruited to replenish DS and dermal papilla (DP). Cultured DS cells can differentiate into various cell lineages in vitro. However, it is unclear how its plasticity is modulated in vivo. Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays an important role in maintaining stem cells of various lineages and is required for HF development and regeneration. Here we report that activation of β-catenin in DS generates ectopic HF outgrowth (EF) by reprogramming HF epidermal cells and DS cells themselves, and endows DS cells with hair inducing ability. Epidermal homeostasis of pre-existing HFs is disrupted. Additionally, cell-autonomous progressive skin fibrosis is prominent in dermis, where the excessive fibroblasts largely originate from DS. Gene expression analysis of purified DS cells with activated β-catenin revealed significantly increased expression of Bmp, Fgf, and Notch ligands and administration of Bmp, Fgf, or Notch signaling inhibitor attenuates EF formation. In summary, our findings advance the current knowledge of high plasticity of DS cells and provide an insight into understanding how Wnt/β-catenin signaling controls DS cell behaviors.

In vitro compartmentalization-based fluorescence-activated cell sorting (IVC-FACS) is a powerful screening tool for directed evolution of enzymes. However, the efficiency of IVC-FACS is limited by the tendency of the fluorescent reporter to diffuse out of the droplets, which decouples the genotype and phenotype of the target gene. Herein we present a new strategy called fluorescence droplet entrapment (FDE) to solve this problem. The substrate is designed with a polarity that enables it to pass through the oil phase, react with the enzyme and generate an oil-impermeable and fluorescent product that remains entrapped inside the droplet. Several FDE substrates were designed, using two distinct substrate engineering strategies, for the detection of phosphotriesterases, carboxylesterases, and glycosidases activities. Model screening assays in which rare phosphotriesterase-active cells were enriched from large excesses of inactive cells showed that the enrichment efficiency achievable using an FDE substrate was as high as 900-fold: the highest yet reported in such an IVC-FACS system. Thus, FDE provides a means to tightly control the onset of the enzymatic reaction, minimize droplet cross-talk, and lower the background fluorescence. It therefore may serve as a useful strategy for the IVC-FACS screening of enzymes, antibodies, and other proteins.

No abstract