N-terminal protein modification using simple aminoacyl transferase substrates

Methods for synthetically manipulating protein structure enable greater flexibility in the study of protein function. Previous characterization of the Escherichia coli aminoacyl tRNA transferase (AaT) has shown that it can modify the N-terminus of a protein with an amino acid from a tRNA or a synthetic oligonucleotide donor. Here, we demonstrate that AaT can efficiently use a minimal adenosine substrate, which can be synthesized in one to two steps from readily available starting materials. We have characterized the enzymatic activity of AaT with aminoacyl adenosyl donors and found that reaction products do not inhibit AaT. The use of adenosyl donors removes the substrate limitations imposed by the use of synthetases for tRNA charging and avoids the complex synthesis of an oligonucleotide donor. Thus, our AaT donors increase the potential substrate scope and reaction scale for N-terminal protein modification under conditions that maintain folding.     

The incorporation of a photoisomerizable amino acid into proteins in E. coli

An orthogonal aminoacyl tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair has been evolved that allows the incorporation of the photoisomerizable amino acid phenylalanine-4'-azobenzene (AzoPhe) into proteins in E. coli in response to the amber nonsense codon. Further, we show that AzoPhe can be used to photoregulate the binding affinity of catabolite activator protein to its promoter. The ability to selectively incorporate AzoPhe into proteins at defined sites should make it possible to regulate a variety of biological processes with light, including enzyme, receptor, and ion channel activity.     

A New Orthogonal Suppressor tRNA/Aminoacyl‐tRNA Synthetase Pair for Evolving an Organism with an Expanded Genetic Code

Several steps have been completed toward the development of a method for the site‐specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids into proteins in vivo. Our approach consists of the generation of amber suppressor tRNA/aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetase pairs that are orthogonal to all Escherichia coli endogenous tRNA/synthetase pairs, followed by directed evolution of the orthogonal aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetases to alter their amino‐acid specificities. A new orthogonal suppressor tRNA/aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetase pair in E. coli has been derived from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae tRNA^Asp and aspartyl‐tRNA synthetase, and the in vitro and in vivo characteristics of this pair were determined. Two different antibiotic resistance selections were compared using this novel pair in an effort to develop a tunable positive selection for a mutant synthetase capable of charging its cognate suppressor tRNA with an unnatural amino acid.     

Addition of p-azido-L-phenylalanine to the genetic code of Escherichia coli

We report the selection of a new orthogonal aminoacyl tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair for the in vivo incorporation of a photocrosslinker, p-azido-l-phenylalanine, into proteins in response to the amber codon, TAG. The amino acid is incorporated in good yield with high fidelity and can be used to crosslink interacting proteins.     

A rationally designed pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase mutant with a broad substrate spectrum

Together with tRNA(CUA)(Pyl), a rationally designed pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase mutant N346A/C348A has been successfully used for the genetic incorporation of a variety of phenylalanine derivatives with large para substituents into superfolder green fluorescent protein at an amber mutation site in Escherichia coli. This discovery greatly expands the genetically encoded noncanonical amino acid inventory and opens the gate for the genetic incorporation of other phenylalanine derivatives using engineered pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase-tRNA(CUA)(Pyl) pairs.     

Modeling the reactive properties of tandemly activated tRNAs

Tandemly activated tRNAs, bearing amino acid moieties at both the 2'- and 3'-positions of the 3'-terminal adenosine moiety (A(76)), have been shown to participate efficiently in protein synthesis [B. Wang, J. Zhou, M. Lodder, R. D. Anderson, III and S. M. Hecht, J. Biol. Chem., 2006, 281, 13865]. The mechanism by which such activated tRNAs are able to donate both amino acids to the growing polypeptide chain is not well understood. Here we report the chemical behavior and participation in protein synthesis of new bisaminoacyl derivatives of pdCpA and tRNA. Both amino moieties of the aminoacyl groups are shown to be important to enable participation in protein synthesis; paradoxically, they also confer an unanticipated chemical stability toward different nucleophiles. The results obtained suggest a model for participation of bisaminoacylated tRNAs in protein synthesis.     

A general approach for the generation of orthogonal tRNAs

BACKGROUND: The addition of new amino acids to the genetic code of Escherichia coli requires an orthogonal suppressor tRNA that is uniquely acylated with a desired unnatural amino acid by an orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. A tRNA(Tyr)(CUA)-tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase pair imported from Methanococcus jannaschii can be used to generate such a pair. In vivo selections have been developed for selecting mutant suppressor tRNAs with enhanced orthogonality, which can be used to site-specifically incorporate unnatural amino acids into proteins in E. coli. RESULTS: A library of amber suppressor tRNAs derived from M. jannaschii tRNA(Tyr) was generated. tRNA(Tyr)(CUA)s that are substrates for endogenous E. coli aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases were deleted from the pool by a negative selection based on suppression of amber nonsense mutations in the barnase gene. The remaining tRNA(Tyr)(CUA)s were then selected for their ability to suppress amber nonsense codons in the beta-lactamase gene in the presence of the cognate M. jannaschii tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS). Four mutant suppressor tRNAs were selected that are poorer substrates for E. coli synthetases than M. jannaschii tRNA(Tyr)(CUA), but still can be charged efficiently by M. jannaschii TyrRS. CONCLUSIONS: The mutant suppressor tRNA(Tyr)(CUA) together with the M. jannaschii TyrRS is an excellent orthogonal tRNA-synthetase pair for the in vivo incorporation of unnatural amino acids into proteins. This general approach may be expanded to generate additional orthogonal tRNA-synthetase pairs as well as probe the interactions between tRNAs and their cognate synthetases.     

In situ chemical aminoacylation with amino acid thioesters linked to a peptide nucleic acid

tRNA-specific chemical aminoacylation was achieved with nonnatural amino acids. A nonnatural amino acid was activated as a thioester derivative, and the latter was linked through a spacer to the N-terminal of a 9-mer peptide nucleic acid that is complementary to the 3'-terminal region of yeast phenylalanine tRNA. Efficient aminoacylation was observed when the amino acid thioester-spacer-PNA conjugate was mixed with the tRNA. The PNA-assisted aminoacylation was also successful in an Escherichia coli in vitro protein synthesizing system that contained an orthogonalized tRNA. The in situ aminoacylation/in vitro translation gave a mutant protein in which the nonnatural amino acid was incorporated into the position directed by a CGGG 4-base codon/anticodon pair.     

A Synthetic Adenylation‐Domain‐Based tRNA‐Aminoacylation Catalyst

The incorporation of non‐proteinogenic amino acids represents a major challenge for the creation of functionalized proteins. The ribosomal pathway is limited to the 20–22 proteinogenic amino acids while nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are able to select from hundreds of different monomers. Introduced herein is a fusion‐protein‐based design for synthetic tRNA‐aminoacylation catalysts based on combining NRPS adenylation domains and a small eukaryotic tRNA‐binding domain (Arc1p‐C). Using rational design, guided by structural insights and molecular modeling, the adenylation domain PheA was fused with Arc1p‐C using flexible linkers and achieved tRNA‐aminoacylation with both proteinogenic and non‐proteinogenic amino acids. The resulting aminoacyl‐tRNAs were functionally validated and the catalysts showed broad substrate specificity towards the acceptor tRNA. Our strategy shows how functional tRNA‐aminoacylation catalysts can be created for bridging the ribosomal and nonribosomal worlds. This opens up new avenues for the aminoacylation of tRNAs with functional non‐proteinogenic amino acids.     

The genetic incorporation of a distance probe into proteins in Escherichia coli

The unnatural amino acid p-nitrophenylalanine (pNO2-Phe) was genetically introduced into proteins in Escherichia coli in response to the amber nonsense codon with high fidelity and efficiency by means of an evolved tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair from Methanocuccus jannaschii. It was shown that pNO2-Phe efficiently quenches the intrinsic fluorescence of Trp in a distance-dependent manner in a model GCN4 basic region leucine zipper (bZIP) protein. Thus, the pNO2-Phe/Trp pair should be a useful biophysical probe of protein structure and function.     

Biomimetic aminoacylation of ribonucleotides and RNA with aminoacyl phosphate esters and lanthanum salts

Aminoacylation of tRNA in cells involves activation of the amino acid as an aminoacyl adenylate, a mixed anhydride with AMP, which reacts with tRNA. We have now established that aminoacyl phosphate esters in the presence of lanthanide ions in water will acylate hydroxyls at the 3'-terminus of RNA or a simple nucleotide. By extension, this will permit synthetically aminoacylated tRNA to be produced in a single-step biomimetic process. The reactions of Boc-4-fluorophenylalanyl ethyl phosphate were followed by HPLC separation, MS, and 19F NMR analysis. In stoichiometric combination with lanthanum salts in aqueous buffer, Boc-4-fluorophenylalanyl ethyl phosphate rapidly produces 2'- and 3'-monoesters of cytidine and cytidine monophosphate. Reaction of the reagent with RNA in the presence of lanthanum and magnesium salts introduces a specifically detectable signal into the RNA, which is evidence of formation of the aminoacyl ester. When the same RNA is initially oxidized with periodate to convert the 3'-terminal vicinal diol to the cleaved dialdehyde, reaction with the aminoacyl phosphate no longer occurs as evidenced by the lack of a signal in the 19F NMR spectrum. The results are consistent with a requisite chelation mechanism in which lanthanum serves as a template for both the aminoacyl phosphate and the 3'-terminal diol of RNA and nucleotides. The coordinated diol will then react through specific base-catalyzed intramolecular addition of the alkoxide nucleophile to the acyl group of the aminoacyl phosphate. Assessment of the method with a single tRNA was also achieved using the fluorescent reagent N-dansyl-glycyl ethyl phosphate. Lanthanide-promoted aminoacylation at the 3'-terminus of tRNAPhe is detected by the introduction of fluorescence (detected directly and by antibody-enhanced emission). This does not occur if the 3'-terminus is converted to the dialdehyde by reaction with periodate.     

A Facile System for Encoding Unnatural Amino Acids in Mammalian Cells

A shuttle system has been developed to genetically encode unnatural amino acids in mammalian cells using aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) evolved in E. coli. A pyrrolysyl‐tRNA synthetase (PylRS) mutant was evolved in E. coli that selectively aminoacylates a cognate nonsense suppressor tRNA with a photocaged lysine derivative. Transfer of this orthogonal tRNA–aaRS pair into mammalian cells made possible the selective incorporation of this unnatural amino acid into proteins.

     

Controlled Genetic Encoding of Unnatural Amino Acids in a Protein Nanopore

Conventional protein engineering methods for modifying protein nanopores are typically limited to 20 natural amino acids, which restrict the diversity of the nanopores in structure and function. To enrich the chemical environment inside the nanopore, we employed the genetic code expansion (GCE) technique to site-specifically incorporate the unnatural amino acid (UAA) into the sensing region of aerolysin nanopores. This approach leveraged the efficient pyrrolysine-based aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-tRNA pair for a high yield of pore-forming protein. Both molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and single-molecule sensing experiments demonstrated that the conformation of UAA residues provided a favorable geometric orientation for the interactions of target molecules and the pore. This rationally designed chemical environment enabled the direct discrimination of multiple peptides containing hydrophobic amino acids. Our work provides a new framework for endowing nanopores with unique sensing properties that are difficult to achieve using classical protein engineering approaches.     

Expanding the genetic code

The ability to incorporate unnatural amino acids into proteins directly in living cells will provide new tools to study protein and cellular function, and may generate proteins or even organisms with enhanced properties. Due to the limited promiscuity of some synthetases, natural amino acids can be substituted with close analogs at multiple sites using auxotrophic strains. Alternatively, this can be achieved by deactivating the editing function of some synthetases. The addition of new amino acids to the genetic code, however, requires additional components of the protein biosynthetic machinery including a novel tRNA-codon pair, an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, and an amino acid. This new set of components functions orthogonally to the counterparts of the common 20 amino acids, i.e., the orthogonal synthetase (and only this synthetase) aminoacylates the orthogonal tRNA (and only this tRNA) with the unnatural amino acid only, and the resulting acylated tRNA inserts the unnatural amino acid only in response to the unique codon. Using this strategy, the genetic code of Escherichia coli has been expanded to incorporate unnatural amino acids with a fidelity rivaling that of natural amino acids. This methodology is being applied to other cell types and unnatural analogs with a variety of functionalities.     

Inhibition of sulfur incorporation to transfer RNA by ultraviolet-A radiation in Escherichia coli

tRNA sulfurtransferase activity was assayed in Escherichia coli cell extracts obtained from bacterial suspensions exposed to a sub-lethal dose of ultraviolet-A radiation (fluence 148 kJ m(-2)) imparted at a low fluence rate (41 W m(-2)). We found that the irradiation reduced the enzymatic activity to one fourth of the control value, indicating that ultraviolet-A exposure inhibits the synthesis of 4-thiouridine, the most abundant thionucleoside in E. coli tRNA. Changes in the tRNA content of 4-thiouridine and its derived photoproduct 5-(4'-pyrimidin 2'-one) cytosine were studied in bacteria growing under ultraviolet-A irradiation. In these conditions the accumulation of photoproduct was limited, and the kinetics of this process was non-coincident with disappearance of 4-thiouridine. The results, which are compatible with the fact that ultraviolet-A induces an inhibition of the 4-thiouridine synthesis, suggest that the effect of radiation on tRNA modification is relevant to tRNA photo-inactivation in growing bacteria.     

Advances in glycoprotein synthesis

The development of chemical and enzymatic methods for the synthesis of homogeneous glycoproteins is a fascinating challenge at the interface between chemistry and biology. Discussed here are the currently available methods for preparation of homogeneous glycoproteins. These methods include (1) glycopeptide ligation; (2) glycoprotein remodeling; and (3) in vivo suppressor tRNA technology.     

A genetically encoded infrared probe

An orthogonal tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair has been evolved that makes it possible to selectively and efficiently incorporate para-cyanophenylalanine (pCNPhe) into proteins in E. coli at sites specified by the amber nonsense codon, TAG. Substitution of pCNPhe for histidine-64 in myoglobin (Mb) affords a sensitive vibrational probe of ligand binding. This methodology provides a useful infrared reporter of protein structure, biomolecular interactions, and conformational changes.     

Amino acid backbone specificity of the Escherichia coli translation machinery

Using a pure Escherichia coli translation system, we tested the intrinsic specificity of the protein biosynthetic machinery by determining the relative yields of peptide synthesis for incorporation of a series of acyl-%@mt;sys@%tRNA%@sx@%GAC%@be@%AsnB%@sxx@%%@mx@% 's with varied backbone structures at the sense codon GUU (Val). The results showed that different amino acids on the same tRNA adaptor give significantly different peptide yields and the potential for cross-talk between the amino acid and tRNA body/anticodon in aa-tRNA decoding by the ribosome. They further support the substrate plasticity of the ribosomal biosynthetic machinery and provide immediate candidates for ribosomally encoded polymer synthesis.     

Semisynthesis of 3′(2′)‐O‐(Aminoacyl)‐tRNA Derivatives as Ribosomal Substrate

An efficient synthesis of (3′‐terminally) 3′(2′)‐O‐aminoacylated pCpA derivatives is described, which could lead to the production of (aminoacyl)‐tRNAs following T4 RNA ligase mediated ligation. The tetrahydrofuranyl (thf) group was used as a permanent protective group for the 2′‐OH of the cytidine moiety which can be removed during the purification of the 3′(2′)‐O‐aminoacylated‐pCpA. This approach allowed for a general synthesis of (3′‐terminally) 3′(2′)‐O‐aminoacylated oligonucleotides. The fully protected pCpA 14 was synthesized by phosphoramidite chemistry and treated with NH₃ solution to remove the 2‐cyanoethyl and benzoyl groups (→ 15 ; Schemes 1 and 2). The 2′‐O‐thf‐protected‐pCpA 15 was coupled with α‐amino acid cyanomethyl esters, and the products 20a – c were deprotected and purified with AcOH buffer to afford 3′(2′)‐O‐aminoacylated pCpA 21a – c in high yields. The 3′(2′)‐O‐aminoacylated pCpA were efficiently ligated with tRNA(? CA) to yield (aminoacyl)‐tRNA which was an active substrate for the ribosome.