The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram negative bacteria is a well-known inducer of the innate immune response. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD-2) form a heterodimer that recognizes a common 'pattern' in structurally diverse LPS molecules. To understand the ligand specificity and receptor activation mechanism of the TLR4-MD-2-LPS complex we determined its crystal structure. LPS binding induced the formation of an m-shaped receptor multimer composed of two copies of the TLR4-MD-2-LPS complex arranged symmetrically. LPS interacts with a large hydrophobic pocket in MD-2 and directly bridges the two components of the multimer. Five of the six lipid chains of LPS are buried deep inside the pocket and the remaining chain is exposed to the surface of MD-2, forming a hydrophobic interaction with the conserved phenylalanines of TLR4. The F126 loop of MD-2 undergoes localized structural change and supports this core hydrophobic interface by making hydrophilic interactions with TLR4. Comparison with the structures of tetra-acylated antagonists bound to MD-2 indicates that two other lipid chains in LPS displace the phosphorylated glucosamine backbone by approximately 5 A towards the solvent area. This structural shift allows phosphate groups of LPS to contribute to receptor multimerization by forming ionic interactions with a cluster of positively charged residues in TLR4 and MD-2. The TLR4-MD-2-LPS structure illustrates the remarkable versatility of the ligand recognition mechanisms employed by the TLR family, which is essential for defence against diverse microbial infection.
TLR2 in association with TLR1 or TLR6 plays an important role in the innate immune response by recognizing microbial lipoproteins and lipopeptides. Here we present the crystal structures of the human TLR1-TLR2-lipopeptide complex and of the mouse TLR2-lipopeptide complex. Binding of the tri-acylated lipopeptide, Pam(3)CSK(4), induced the formation of an "m" shaped heterodimer of the TLR1 and TLR2 ectodomains whereas binding of the di-acylated lipopeptide, Pam(2)CSK(4), did not. The three lipid chains of Pam(3)CSK(4) mediate the heterodimerization of the receptor; the two ester-bound lipid chains are inserted into a pocket in TLR2, while the amide-bound lipid chain is inserted into a hydrophobic channel in TLR1. An extensive hydrogen-bonding network, as well as hydrophobic interactions, between TLR1 and TLR2 further stabilize the heterodimer. We propose that formation of the TLR1-TLR2 heterodimer brings the intracellular TIR domains close to each other to promote dimerization and initiate signaling.
TLR4 and MD-2 form a heterodimer that recognizes LPS (lipopolysaccharide) from Gram-negative bacteria. Eritoran is an analog of LPS that antagonizes its activity by binding to the TLR4-MD-2 complex. We determined the structure of the full-length ectodomain of the mouse TLR4 and MD-2 complex. We also produced a series of hybrids of human TLR4 and hagfish VLR and determined their structures with and without bound MD-2 and Eritoran. TLR4 is an atypical member of the LRR family and is composed of N-terminal, central, and C-terminal domains. The beta sheet of the central domain shows unusually small radii and large twist angles. MD-2 binds to the concave surface of the N-terminal and central domains. The interaction with Eritoran is mediated by a hydrophobic internal pocket in MD-2. Based on structural analysis and mutagenesis experiments on MD-2 and TLR4, we propose a model of TLR4-MD-2 dimerization induced by LPS.
Focal cortical dysplasia type II (FCDII) is a sporadic developmental malformation of the cerebral cortex characterized by dysmorphic neurons, dyslamination and medically refractory epilepsy. It has been hypothesized that FCD is caused by somatic mutations in affected regions. Here, we used deep whole-exome sequencing (read depth, 412-668×) validated by site-specific amplicon sequencing (100-347,499×) in paired brain-blood DNA from four subjects with FCDII and uncovered a de novo brain somatic mutation, mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR) c.7280T>C (p.Leu2427Pro) in two subjects. Deep sequencing of the MTOR gene in an additional 73 subjects with FCDII using hybrid capture and PCR amplicon sequencing identified eight different somatic missense mutations found in multiple brain tissue samples of ten subjects. The identified mutations accounted for 15.6% of all subjects with FCDII studied (12 of 77). The identified mutations induced the hyperactivation of mTOR kinase. Focal cortical expression of mutant MTOR by in utero electroporation in mice was sufficient to disrupt neuronal migration and cause spontaneous seizures and cytomegalic neurons. Inhibition of mTOR with rapamycin suppressed cytomegalic neurons and epileptic seizures. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first evidence that brain somatic activating mutations in MTOR cause FCD and identifies mTOR as a treatment target for intractable epilepsy in FCD.
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