A major unmet clinical need is a universal method for subcellular targeting of bioactive molecules to lysosomes. Delivery to this organelle enables either degradation of oncogenic receptors that are overexpressed in cancers, or release of prodrugs from antibody–drug conjugates. Here, we describe a general method that uses receptor crosslinking to trigger endocytosis and subsequently redirect trafficking of receptor:cargo complexes from their expected route, to lysosomes. By incubation of plasma membrane receptors with biotinylated cargo and subsequent addition of streptavidin to crosslink receptor:cargo–biotin complexes, we achieved rapid and selective lysosomal targeting of transferrin, an anti-MHC class I antibody, and the clinically approved anti-Her2 antibody trastuzumab. These three protein ligands each target a receptor with a distinct cellular function and intracellular trafficking profile. Importantly, we confirmed that crosslinking of trastuzumab increased lysosomal degradation of its cognate oncogenic receptor Her2 in breast cancer cell lines SKBR3 and BT474. These data suggest that crosslinking could be exploited for a wide range of target receptors, for navigating therapeutics through the endolysosomal pathway, for significant therapeutic benefit.

Bromomaleimides are versatile scaffolds that allow facile conjugation of thiolated biomolecules. Here we demonstrate that bromomaleimide‐linked GFP–rhodamine FRET pairs cleave in the cytoplasm of mammalian cells. We believe that bromomaleimide scaffolds provide a potential core structure for prodrugs designed to release bioactive cargo following cell internalisation.

Antibody affinity limits sensitivity of detection in many areas of biology and medicine. High affinity usually depends on achieving the optimal combination of the natural 20 amino acids in the antibody binding site. Here, we investigate the effect on recognition of protein targets of placing an unnatural electrophile adjacent to the target binding site. We positioned a weak electrophile, acrylamide, near the binding site between an affibody, a non-immunoglobulin binding scaffold, and its protein target. The proximity between cysteine, lysine, or histidine on the target protein drove covalent bond formation to the electrophile on the affibody. Covalent bonds did not form to a noninteracting point mutant of the target, and there was minimal cross-reactivity with serum, cell lysate, or when imaging at the cell surface. Electrophilic affibodies showed more stable protein imaging at the surface of mammalian cells, and the sensitivity of protein detection in an immunoassay improved by two orders of magnitude. Thus electrophilic affibodies combined good specificity with improved detection of protein targets.Human blood contains a panoply of proteins below the detection limit of standard immunoassays, including early markers of cancer or neurodegeneration (1, 2). Immunoassays have advanced enormously over the last 60 years, opening up whole new fields of research from the ability to detect lower and lower abundance species (3). Nearly all enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) 2 stop working at low picomolar concentration of target (4), but recently, methods such as nanowires (5) or the bio-barcode assay (6) have made leaps in detection sensitivity. These advances mean that amplification is not the limitation on immunoassay sensitivity any longer; it is the antibody itself that is the limiting factor (4). Antibody binding strength correlates with protection from disease agents (7, 8) and can be a limiting factor in live cell imaging, since antibody off-rates are on the order of 30 min (9 -11) but lifetimes of cell surface proteins are often ϳ1 day.Affinity-matured antibodies generally have micromolar to nanomolar monovalent affinity for their target (9). It has proved very difficult to generate antibodies of subnanomolar monovalent affinity. This may be because of a limit to the affinity of antibodies that can be selected in an immunized animal, as a result of the kinetics of B cell stimulation (11). In vitro selection methods based on phage display (12), mRNA/ribosome display (13), or yeast cell surface display (14) have sometimes managed to obtain femtomolar affinity antibodies. There are a few examples of antibodies that form covalent bonds to artificial small molecule antigens (15-17), but these strategies, such as the antibody made by Meares' group to an electrophilic metal chelator, do not enable recognition of protein antigens composed of the regular 20 amino acids. Immunizing mice with electrophilic antigens generated an antibody that formed SDS-stable complexes with its target, but the chemistry of the i...

The emergence of total drug-resistant tuberculosis (TDRTB) has made the discovery of new therapies for tuberculosis urgent. The cytoplasmic enzymes of peptidoglycan biosynthesis have generated renewed interest as attractive targets for the development of new anti-mycobacterials. One of the cytoplasmic enzymes, uridine diphosphate (UDP)-MurNAc-tripeptide ligase (MurE), catalyses the addition of meso-diaminopimelic acid (m-DAP) into peptidoglycan in Mycobacterium tuberculosis coupled to the hydrolysis of ATP. Mutants of M. tuberculosis MurE were generated by replacing K157, E220, D392, R451 with alanine and N449 with aspartate, and truncating the first 24 amino acid residues at the N-terminus of the enzyme. Analysis of the specific activity of these proteins suggested that apart from the 24 N-terminal residues, the other mutated residues are essential for catalysis. Variations in K(m) values for one or more substrates were observed for all mutants, except the N-terminal truncation mutant, indicating that these residues are involved in binding substrates and form part of the active site structure. These mutant proteins were also tested for their specificity for a wide range of substrates. Interestingly, the mutations K157A, E220A and D392A showed hydrolysis of ATP uncoupled from catalysis. The ATP hydrolysis rate was enhanced by at least partial occupation of the uridine nucleotide dipeptide binding site. This study provides an insight into the residues essential for the catalytic activity and substrate binding of the ATP-dependent MurE ligase. Since ATP-dependent MurE ligase is a novel drug target, the understanding of its function may lead to development of novel inhibitors against resistant forms of M. tuberculosis.

Site-selective dual labelling is affected using local protein microenvironment to control the fate of reaction between cysteine residues and 2,5-dibromohexanediamide.

A mild and highly efficient, reversible protein biotinylation method using a hydrolytically stable linker and mild disassembly conditions is described.

Selective targeting of cells for intracellular delivery of therapeutics represents a major challenge for pharmaceutical intervention in disease. Here we show pH-triggered receptor-mediated endocytosis of nanoparticles via surface ligand exposure. Gold nanoparticles were decorated with two polymers: a 2 kDa PEG with a terminal folate targeting ligand, and a di-block copolymer including a pH-responsive and a hydrophilic block. At the normal serum pH of 7.4, the pH-responsive block (apparent pK of 7.1) displayed a hydrophilic extended conformation, shielding the PEG-folate ligands, which inhibited cellular uptake of the nanoparticles. Under pH conditions resembling those of the extracellular matrix around solid tumours (pH 6.5), protonation of the pH-responsive polymer triggered a coil-to-globule polymer chain contraction, exposing folate residues on the PEG chains. In line with this, endocytosis of folate-decorated polymer-coated gold nanoparticles in cancer cells overexpressing folate receptor was significantly increased at pH 6.5, compared with pH 7.4. Thus, the tumour acidic environment and high folate receptor expression were effectively exploited to activate cell binding and endocytosis of these nanoparticles. These data provide proof-of-concept for strategies enabling extracellular pH stimuli to selectively enhance cellular uptake of drug delivery vectors and their associated therapeutic cargo.

Herein we describe a rapid, simple method for dual modification of DARPins by introduction of cysteine mutations at specific positions that results in a vast difference in their thiol nucleophilicity, allowing for sequential modification.