Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « FKBP12-ligands interaction »

Introduction The liver hormone hepcidin is the master regulator of iron metabolism that modulates iron release into the circulation by binding and blocking the iron exporter ferroportin (Nemeth et al., 2004). Hepcidin expression is under the control of the BMP-SMAD pathway (Babitt et al., 2006), whose activation requires the formation of a hexameric complex composed of a dimer of BMP receptors type I (BMPR-Is), a dimer of BMPR type II (BMPR-IIs) and dimeric ligands. ALK2 and ALK3, as BMPR-Is (Steinbiecker et al., 2011), BMPR2 and ACVR2A, as BMPR-IIs (Mayeur et al., 2014), and BMP2 (Koch et al, 2017) and BMP6 (Meynard et al., 2009), as ligands, control hepcidin expression in vivo. We previously demonstrated that the immunophilin FKBP12 limits hepcidin expression in hepatocytes by binding ALK2 (Colucci et al., 2017). However, the molecular mechanism whereby FKBP12 regulates ALK2 and its relationship with BMPR-IIs and ligands in the regulation of the BMP-SMAD pathway and hepcidin expression are still unclear. Methods: BMPR-Is dimerization was evaluated by co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP) experiments performed in the HuH7 human hepatoma cell line. BMP-SMAD pathway and hepcidin promoter activation were analyzed by using a reporter vector with the luciferase under the control of BMP responsive elements or of the human hepcidin promoter, respectively. Endogenous hepcidin expression was measured by qRT-PCR. Results: Since BMPRIs act as dimers, we first tested whether FKBP12 modulates the dimerization process. MYC- and FLAG-tagged ALK2 or ALK3 were transfected in HuH7 cells in the presence of FKBP12. Cells were treated or not with tacrolimus (TAC), an immunosuppressive drug that sequesters FKBP12 from ALK2. FKBP12 promotes ALK2 homodimers, functionally inactive in the absence of ligands, with no effect on ALK3 homodimerization. TAC promotes increased ALK2 homodimerization and SMAD1/5/8 phosphorylation, demonstrating that in the absence of FKBP12, ALK2 homodimers are stabilized and functionally active. We next focused on BMP6, the physiologic ligand that binds preferentially ALK2 and plays a fundamental role in hepcidin regulation in vivo. In HuH7 cells transfected with FKBP12 and ALK2, BMP6 treatment reduced FKBP12-ALK2 binding and increased ALK2 homodimers. In agreement, SMAD1/5/8 phosphorylation was increased, indicating that FKBP12 displacement allows the formation of functional receptor complexes responsive to BMP6. BMPR-Is activate SMAD1/5/8 following BMPR-IIs phosphorylation. Since TAC induces SMAD1/5/8 phosphorylation in the absence of ligands, we hypothesized that FKBP12 displacement also affects the formation of BMPR-I/BMPR-II oligomers. HuH7 cells were transfected with ALK2, BMPR2 or ACVR2A and FKBP12, and treated or not with TAC. FKBP12 sequestration by TAC enhances the ALK2-BMPR2 and ALK2-ACVR2A interaction and accordingly activates SMAD1/5/8 signaling. Given that FKBP12 modulates BMP receptor interaction, we wondered how this functionally impacts on the response to BMP ligands, as BMP2, that guarantees basal hepcidin levels by binding ALK3, and BMP6, upregulated in iron overload that signals preferentially through ALK2. ALK3 upregulates the BMP pathway and hepcidin expression in a similar way in response to BMP2 and BMP6, in agreement with the evidence that both ligands bind ALK3. ALK2, which failed to activate the pathway in the absence ligands, leads to a greater response to BMP6, consistent with the fact that it is the BMP6 receptor. Thus FKBP12 quantitatively, rather than qualitatively, modulates the BMP-SMAD pathway activation in response to BMP ligands. Conclusions: Altogether our results clarify the molecular mechanisms of hepcidin regulation demonstrating that: 1) FKBP12 limits hepcidin expression by inducing the formation of inactive ALK2 homodimers in the absence of ligands. 2) Decreased FKBP12 binding to ALK2, by TAC or BMP6, favors the formation of active ALK2 homodimers. 3) FKBP12 sequestration increases the binding of ALK2 with the BMPR-IIs, thus favoring SMAD1/5/8 phosphorylation and pathway activation. 4) FKBP12 quantitatively modulates the response of BMPRIs to the ligands BMP2 and BMP6. Disclosures Camaschella: Vifor Iron Core: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy.

The quantum mechanical interaction energies between FKBP12 as well as H1N1 neuraminidase and their inhibitors were directly calculated with an efficient density functional theory by mimicking the whole protein with a protein model composed of the amino acids surrounding the ligands. It was found that the calculated quantum mechanical interaction energies correlate well with the experimental binding free energies with the correlation coefficients of 0.88, 0.86, and the standard deviation of 0.93 and 1.00 kcal/mol, respectively. To compare with force field approach, the binding free energies with the correlation coefficient R = 0.80 and 0.47 were estimated by AutoDock 4.0 programs. It was indicated that the quantum interaction energy shows a better performance in rank-ordering the binding affinity between FKBP12 and H1N1 neuraminidase inhibitors than those of AutoDock 4.0 program. In combination protein model with density functional theory, the estimated quantum interaction energy could be a good predictor or scoring function in structure-based computer-aided drug design. Finally, five new FKBP12 inhibitors were designed based on calculated quantum mechanical interaction energy. In particular, the theoretical K i value of one compound is as low as 0.05 nM, nearly 8-fold more active than FK506.

Abstract The BMP-SMAD pathway is activated when a dimeric ligand (BMP) interacts with a dimeric serine threonine kinase receptor (BMPRII) and triggers the activation of a dimeric BMP type I receptor (BMPRI). Catalytically active BMPRIs phosphorylate SMAD1/5/8 that, upon SMAD4 binding, translocate to the nucleus to regulate the expression of BMP target genes, including hepcidin. Hepcidin is the main regulator of iron homeostasis that controls body iron levels by binding and blocking the sole iron exporter ferroportin. In agreement, hepcidin expression is homeostatically activated by serum and liver iron, and its deficiency is a common hallmark of Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HH) and the major cause of iron overload in beta thalassemia. The components of the BMP-SMAD pathway relevant for hepcidin regulation are ALK2 and ALK3 (BMPRI); BMPR2 and ACVR2A (BMPRII), BMP2 and BMP6 (BMP ligands). Recently, we have identified the immunophilin FKBP12 as an inhibitor of hepcidin and demonstrated that FKBP12 binds ALK2 to avoid ligand-independent activation of the BMP-SMAD pathway. To investigate the mechanism of BMP-SMAD pathway and hepcidin regulation by FKBP12, we performed in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies. We found that FKBP12 sequestration by the immunosuppressive drug Tacrolimus (TAC) stabilizes ALK2-ALK2 homodimers and ALK2-ALK3 heterodimers in a transfected human hepatoma cell line. In addition, it increases the interaction of ALK2 with ACVR2A and BMPR2. To investigate the role of FKBP12 on BMP-SMAD signaling, BMPRI and II were silenced in murine primary hepatocytes. Despite FKBP12 co-immunoprecipitates only with ALK2, silencing of Alk2 and Alk3 completely blunts TAC-mediated BMP-SMAD pathway activation, suggesting that FKBP12 functionally interacts also with ALK3. Acvr2a silencing impairs TAC-dependent hepcidin upregulation, whereas Bmpr2 silencing does not. As expected, Fkbp12 silencing abrogates hepcidin upregulation by TAC, confirming the main role of this immunophilin in hepcidin regulation. In vivo, TAC treatment upregulates hepcidin in wild type and HH mouse models, but surprisingly, Fkbp12 mRNA downregulation by ASOs does not. Interestingly, Fkbp 2, 4 and 8 are highly expressed in murine hepatocytes and, according to literature data, are able to bind to TAC. Of note, Fkbp12 is the least expressed immunophilin in murine primary hepatocytes. To further investigate the FKBPs involved in TAC-dependent hepcidin regulation, Fkbp2, 4 and 8 were knockdown in murine primary HCs that were then treated with TAC. The TAC effect is preserved in siFkbp2- and siFkbp4-derived HCs, but abolished when Fkbp8 was downregulated. Overall these data suggest that: 1) FKBP12 regulates BMP-SMAD signaling by favoring ALK2-ALK3 homo and heterodimerization, and interaction with BMPRII in the absence of ligands; 2) TAC-mediated hepcidin upregulation is dependent upon ALK2, ALK3, ACVR2A, FKBP12 and FKBP8. 3) In vivo, TAC treatment upregulates hepcidin whereas Fkbp12 silencing does not, suggesting the existence of redundancy between the different FKBPs. Further studies are needed to dissect the role of FKBP8 in BMP-SMAD pathway and hepcidin regulation. Disclosures Aghajan: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Current Employment. Muckenthaler: Silence Therapeutics: Research Funding. Guo: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Current Employment.

We have demonstrated recently that CICR (Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release) activity of RyR1 (ryanodine receptor 1) is held to a low level in mammalian skeletal muscle (‘suppression’ of the channel) and that this is largely caused by the interdomain interaction within RyR1 [Murayama, Oba, Kobayashi, Ikemoto and Ogawa (2005) Am. J. Physiol. Cell Physiol. 288, C1222–C1230]. To test the hypothesis that aberration of this suppression mechanism is involved in the development of channel dysfunctions in MH (malignant hyperthermia), we investigated properties of the RyR1 channels from normal and MHS (MH-susceptible) pig skeletal muscles with an Arg615→Cys mutation using [3H]ryanodine binding, single-channel recordings and SR (sarcoplasmic reticulum) Ca2+ release. The RyR1 channels from MHS muscle (RyR1MHS) showed enhanced CICR activity compared with those from the normal muscle (RyR1N), although there was little or no difference in the sensitivity to several ligands tested (Ca2+, Mg2+ and adenine nucleotide), nor in the FKBP12 (FK506-binding protein 12) regulation. DP4, a domain peptide matching the Leu2442–Pro2477 region of RyR1 which was reported to activate the Ca2+ channel by weakening the interdomain interaction, activated the RyR1N channel in a concentration-dependent manner, and the highest activity of the affected channel reached a level comparable with that of the RyR1MHS channel with no added peptide. The addition of DP4 to the RyR1MHS channel produced virtually no further effect on the channel activity. These results suggest that stimulation of the RyR1MHS channel caused by affected inter-domain interaction between regions 1 and 2 is an underlying mechanism for dysfunction of Ca2+ homoeostasis seen in the MH phenotype.

FKBP12 est une protéine ubiquitaire, principalement cytosolique, qui est au carrefour de plusieurs voies signalétiques. Son abondance naturelle dans les tissus nerveux peut être reliée à son implication dans les maladies neurodégénératives telles que les maladies d'Alzheimer et de Parkinson ainsi que dans les neuropathies périphériques et diabétiques ou dans des blessures des cordons spinaux. De nombreuses études ont montré que des molécules exogènes (ligands) venant se fixer sur cette protéine permettent la régénération d'un grand nombre de connexions neuronales endommagées. Une difficulté provient cependant du fait que, pour un ligand donné, il n'existe aucune relation claire entre sa structure et sa capacité de liaison à FKBP12. Notre étude vise ainsi à rationaliser la relation entre la structure d'un ligand et son affinité pour cette protéine. Deux complexes modèles, formés entre FKBP12 et chacun des deux ligands 8 et 308, ont été utilisés. Ces deux ligands de haute affinité ont des structures différentes. Notre travail s'est appuyé sur des simulations de dynamique moléculaire pour caractériser l'état intermédiaire qui est formé transitoirement lors du processus de complexation entre la protéine et son ligand. Dans cet état particulier, l'identification des interactions naissantes entre les partenaires a permis (i) de comprendre l'implication des différentes parties du ligand dans le mécanisme de reconnaissance avec FKBP12 et (ii) de rationaliser les affinités de certains ligands apparentés
FKBP12 is an ubiquitous, mostly cytosolic, protein found at the crossroads of several signaling pathways. Its natural abundance in the nervous tissues can be related to its implication in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's as well as in peripheral neuropathies and diabetes or in injuries of the spinal cords. Several studies have demonstrated that exogenous molecules (ligands) that can bind to FKBP12 allow the regeneration of many damaged neuron connections. However, there is no clear relationship between the structure of a ligand and its ability to bind to FKBP12. Our study aims at rationalizing the relationship between the structure of a ligand and its affinity to FKBP12. Two model complexes, formed between FKBP12 and each of the two high-affinity ligands 8 and 308, were studied. These two ligands are structurally different. We used molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the intermediate state that is transiently formed during the binding process between the protein and its ligand. In this state, the analysis of the nascent interactions allowed (i) to unravel the role played by the various ligand moieties in the recognition process with FKBP12 and (ii) to rationalize the affinities of related ligands

The interactions between biomolecules and phospholipid membranes are a key topic to understand biological complexity since many cellular processes occur at specific sites of the cell membrane: not only receptor molecules are localized on its surface but the mechanism of action of different classes of biomolecules, including peptides, enzyme, nucleic acids, cholesterol derivatives and proteins, depends on the way they interact with the cell membrane. We investigated different models of cell membrane with different radii of curvature and composition with special emphasis on phenomena of lateral phase separation that produce transient microdomains, known as lipid raft. Lipid rafts are implicated in processes such as endocytosis, exocytosis, and vesicular trafficking (transport of vesicles across the cell) and are associated to regions of enhanced membrane curvature. Localized changes to membrane curvature in cells are essential for inter- and intracellular communication, in model systems, externally induced curvature changes are expected to drive the lateral organization of the membrane components. Recently, one of the recent reasons of interest for lipid rafts is the increasing experimental evidence of the implication of these domains in pathologically relevant phenomena, which involve the spatiotemporal regulated distribution of membrane-associated proteins, in terms of accumulation and segregation and eventually misfolding and aggregation. Lipid rafts were reproduced in different membrane models in order to investigate both their structure and dynamics in different model systems and to discriminate any preferential interactions of proteins with these ordered microdomains. We chose lysozyme as model protein since previous work reported that lysozyme aggregates into amyloid-like assemblies under conditions, such as acidic pH, high temperatures, presence of organic solvents or under physiological conditions in the presence of lipid membranes. This makes the protein an ideal model to study the effect of membranes on the unfolding and aggregation of pathologically relevant proteins. In parallel, we explored the behavior of a series of inhibitor of FKBP12, a protein of the family of immunophilins, and their interaction with the biological membrane. Due to its central role in immunosuppression and cell proliferation and due to its specific peptidyl-prolyl-isomerase (PPI) function, the FKBP protein family is at the crossroad of several important metabolic pathways. Members of this family, and notably FK506 binding protein (FKBP12), are thought to be involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, as well as in proliferation disorders and cancer. Unravelling the mechanism of interaction and inclusion of effective inhibitors in biomimetic membrane models pave the way to drug-delivery strategies and biomimetic nanosensors for the FKBP12 protein. We successfully tested the inhibition of FKBP12 in solution in presence of natural ligands, as FK506 and Rifaximin and with a class of nanomolar ligands newly synthesized, ELTEX compounds. The binding process of the different ligands has been studied by means of photophysical measurements investigating the fluorescence quenching of the tryptophan residue in the binding pocket of FKBP12 by addition of the ligand in solution. At the same time we screened the possibility to include ligands of FKBP12 in planar and curved membrane models to investigate drug-membrane interaction, this study is of importance to understand the mechanism of passage through the membrane, for development of nanosystems, and for delivery of drugs. A biomimetic strategy was followed for the immobilization of the ligands: we selected different phospholipid nanoarchitectures differing in lipid composition, fluidity, number of layers and method of production (incubation versus co-spreading). We studied the incorporation of ligands of FKBP12 in mono and supported lipid bilayers prepared both with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique and for fusion of vesicles as a function of the ligand concentration. The effective incorporation of the ligands in LB film has been verified with UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence measurements which were compared with the respective samples prepared in the absence of binders. More importantly, the experiments demonstrated that the ligands in the LB scaffolds efficiently quench FKBP12 fluorescence in solution as a consequence of ligand-binding to the protein. Among ELTEX compounds, ElteN378, a new low atomic weight ligand, showed activity comparable to that of the macrolide Rapamycin, a compound with high affinity for FKBP12 used as standard. These results open the way for design of a sensor for FKBP12, a possible biomarker for early diagnosis in AD or PD. A FKBP sensor device can be envisaged by judiciously attaching to ElteN378 a suitable polymeric chain ending with an anchoring group for biochemical sensing in Self-Assembled Monolayers or Supported Lipid Bilayers deposited on Gold surfaces. We also faced the problem of efficient delivery and transfer of the drug, generally nanoparticles or liposomal systems are used as carriers of release. We explored also micellar systems because previous in vitro and in vivo experimental results show that micellar polymeric systems incorporate effectively FK506, thus suggesting a wider application as vehicles of release of other biologically active and poorly soluble compounds, such as ELTEX compounds. We investigated micelles and nanocomposite sponges, containing different fluorescent hydrophobic compounds as drug-like molecules that mimic the potential drug in order to monitor the stimulated release. We characterized a biocompatible device for on-demand chemical release in the form of a light-activatable sponge-like nanocomposite scaffold, which assures an excellent control over the principal parameters of the chemical release and dosage in order to sustain effective therapeutic action. The sponge consists of a porous biopolymer scaffold containing a dispersion of gold nanorods, which acts as an absorber of the incoming laser light, and of thermosensitive micelles, which serve as a reservoir for the drug molecules to be released. The photothermal response of the nanoparticles contained inside the sponge triggers a contraction in proximal micelles, thus promoting the expulsion of the drug that in turn is released from the sponge to the external environment. The peculiar physiochemical and structural properties of the nanocomposite sponges impart a number of interesting features to the proposed drug release system, including the possibility of spatially-confining the therapeutic treatment as well as of precisely controlling the amount of released drug as a function of duration and power of the excitation light.