Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) binding to bacterial flagellin activates NF-κB signaling and triggers an innate immune response to the invading pathogen. To elucidate the structural basis and mechanistic implications of TLR5-flagellin recognition, we determined the crystal structure of zebrafish TLR5, as a VLR-hybrid protein, in complex with the D1/D2 fragment of Salmonella flagellin, FliC, at 2.47 Å resolution. TLR5 interacts primarily with the three helices of the FliC D1 domain using its lateral side. Two TLR5-FliC 1:1 heterodimers assemble into a 2:2 tail-to-tail signaling complex that is stabilized by quaternary contacts of the FliC D1 domain with the convex surface of the opposing TLR5. The proposed signaling mechanism is supported by structure-guided mutagenesis and deletion analysis on CBLB502, a therapeutic protein derived from FliC.

Unlike reversible quiescence, cellular senescence is characterized by a large flat cell morphology, β-gal staining and irreversible loss of regenerative (i.e., replicative) potential. Conversion from proliferative arrest to irreversible senescence, a process named geroconversion, is driven in part by growth-promoting pathways such as mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). During cell cycle arrest, mTOR converts reversible arrest into senescence. Inhibitors of mTOR can suppress geroconversion, maintaining quiescence instead. It was shown that hypoxia inhibits mTOR. Therefore, we suggest that hypoxia may suppress geroconversion. Here we tested this hypothesis. In HT-p21-9 cells, expression of inducible p21 caused cell cycle arrest without inhibiting mTOR, leading to senescence. Hypoxia did not prevent p21 induction and proliferative arrest, but instead inhibited the mTOR pathway and geroconversion. Exposure to hypoxia during p21 induction prevented senescent morphology and loss of regenerative potential, thus maintaining reversible quiescence so cells could restart proliferation after switching p21 off. Suppression of geroconversion was p53-and HIF-1-independent, as hypoxia also suppressed geroconversion in cells lacking functional p53 and HIF-1α. Also, in normal fibroblasts and retinal cells, hypoxia inhibited the mTOR pathway and suppressed senescence caused by etoposide without affecting DNA damage response, p53/p21 induction and cell cycle arrest. Also hypoxia suppressed geroconversion in cells treated with nutlin-3a, a nongenotoxic inducer of p53, in cell lines susceptible to nutlin-3a-induced senescence (MEL-10, A172, and NKE). Thus, in normal and cancer cell lines, hypoxia suppresses geroconversion caused by diverse stimuli. Physiological and clinical implications of the present findings are discussed.oncology | gerontology | biology R ecent evidence emerges that the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is involved in cellular aging (1, 2). Nutrients, cytokines, growth factors, and hormones activate the mTOR pathway, which drives cellular mass growth (3, 4). In proliferating cells, cellular growth in size is balanced by cell division. When the cell cycle is arrested and cells thus do not divide, inappropriate activation of growth-promoting pathways such as mTOR converts cell cycle arrest into senescence (1, 2). Senescence is characterized by a large flat cell morphology, β-gal staining, and a hypersecretory phenotype (5, 6). In a widely used cellular model, induction of ectopic p21 by isopropyl-thio-galactosidase (IPTG) arrests HT-p21-9 cells (7,8). Initially (during 2-3 d), this condition is reversible: when p21 is switched off, cells resume proliferation (7,8). While inhibiting the cell cycle, p21 does not inhibit mTOR, which in turn converts arrest into irreversible senescence (1). By day 3, cells become large, flat, and β-gal-positive, and lose regenerative potential (RP): cells cannot resume proliferation when p21 is switched off. The conversion from reversible arrest to senescence, a process na...

In normal human cells, oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) depends on induction of DNA damage response. Oxidative stress and hyperreplication of genomic DNA have been proposed as major causes of DNA damage in OIS cells. Here, we report that down-regulation of deoxyribonucleoside pools is another endogenous source of DNA damage in normal human fibroblasts (NHFs) undergoing HRAS(G12V)-induced senescence. NHF-HRAS(G12V) cells underexpressed thymidylate synthase (TS) and ribonucleotide reductase (RR), two enzymes required for the entire de novo deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis, and possessed low dNTP levels. Chromatin at the promoters of the genes encoding TS and RR was enriched with retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein and histone H3 tri-methylated at lysine 9. Importantly, ectopic coexpression of TS and RR or addition of deoxyribonucleosides substantially suppressed DNA damage, senescence-associated phenotypes, and proliferation arrest in two types of NHF-expressing HRAS(G12V). Reciprocally, short hairpin RNA-mediated suppression of TS and RR caused DNA damage and senescence in NHFs, although less efficiently than HRAS(G12V). However, overexpression of TS and RR in quiescent NHFs did not overcome proliferation arrest, suggesting that unlike quiescence, OIS requires depletion of dNTP pools and activated DNA replication. Our data identify a previously unknown role of deoxyribonucleotides in regulation of OIS.

A simple, accurate, sensitive and robust assay that can rapidly and specifically measure the death of target cells would have applications in many areas of biomedicine and particularly for the development of novel cellular- and immune-therapeutics. In this study, we describe a novel cytotoxicity assay, termed the Matador assay, which takes advantage of the extreme brightness, stability and glow-like characteristics of recently discovered novel marine luciferases and their engineered derivatives. The assay involves expression of a luciferase of interest in target cells in a manner so that it is preferentially retained within the healthy cells but is either released from dead and dying cells or whose activity can be preferentially measured in dead and dying cells. We demonstrate that this assay is highly sensitive, specific, rapid, and can be performed in a single-step manner without the need for any expensive equipment. We further validate this assay by demonstrating its ability to detect cytotoxicity induced by several cellular and immune-therapeutic agents including antibodies, natural killer cells, chimeric antigen receptor expressing T cells and a bispecific T cell engager.

Bubbles that rise to the surface of a cell suspension can damage cells when they pop. This phenomenon is particularly problematic in the biotechnology industry, as production scale bioreactors require continuous injection of oxygen bubbles to maintain cell growth. Previous studies have linked cell damage to high energy dissipation rates (EDR) and have predicted that for small bubbles the EDR could exceed values that would kill many cells used in bioreactors, including Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. However, it’s unclear how many cells would be damaged by a particular bursting bubble, or more precisely how much volume around the bubble experiences these large energy dissipation rates. Here we quantify these volumes using numerical simulations and demonstrate that even though the volume exceeding a particular EDR increases with bubble size, on a volume-to-volume basis smaller bubbles have a more significant impact. We validate our model with high-speed experiments and present our results in a non-dimensionalized framework, enabling predictions for a variety of liquids and bubble sizes. The results are not restricted to bubbles in bioreactors and may be relevant to a variety of applications ranging from fermentation processes to characterizing the stress levels experienced by microorganisms within the sea surface microlayer.

The large increase in antibody titers over the past two decades has created significant challenges for downstream processes; however, there have been no quantitative studies of the effect of feed concentration on the dynamic binding capacity in Protein A chromatography. Small scale experiments were performed using pre-packed ProSep® Ultra Plus columns over a range of feed flow rates and antibody concentrations. The data clearly demonstrate that the dynamic binding capacity decreases with increasing concentration of the monoclonal antibody at short residence times. This reduction in DBC is due to non-equilibrium mass transfer effects in the porous resin, with the experimental results consistent with predictions of a simple mathematical model based on a linear driving force with solid phase diffusion. These results provide important insights into the behavior of Protein A chromatography and provide a framework for the proper design of Protein A capture steps for high titer products.

The development of more selective immunosuppressive agents to mitigate transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases requires effective strategies of blocking signaling pathways in T cells. Current immunosuppressive strategies use cyclosporin A (CsA) or FK506 to inhibit calcineurin, which dephosphorylates and promotes the nuclear import of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) transcription factors. These nuclear NFATs then transactivate cytokine genes that regulate proliferative responses of T cells. Both CsA and FK506 have debilitating side effects, including nephrotoxicity, hypertension, diabetes, and seizures, that argue for the development of alternative or complementary agents. To this end, we developed cell-based assays for monitoring NFAT dynamics in nonlymphoid cells to identify small molecules that inhibit NFAT nuclear import. Interestingly, we found that the majority of these small molecules suppress NFAT signaling by interfering with ''capacitative'' or ''store-operated'' calcium mobilization, thus raising the possibility that such mobilization processes are relevant targets in immunosuppression therapy. Further, these small molecules also show dose-dependent suppression of cytokine gene expression in T cells. Significantly, the IC50 of CsA in primary T cells was reduced by the addition of suboptimal concentrations of these compounds, suggesting the possibility that such small molecules, in combination with CsA, offer safer means of immunosuppression.capacitative calcium entry ͉ store-operated calcium channels ͉ cyclosporin A D rugs that destroy T cells or block their antigen-dependent activation have been the mainstays of treatment of organ transplant rejection (1). The latter group is represented chief ly by the natural products cyclosporin A (CsA) and FK506, both of which act by suppressing the protein phosphatase calcineurin (2-4). Calcineurin's activity depends on calcium signaling and plays an essential role in T cell signal transduction by controlling the nuclear import of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) family of transcription factors. The NFATs are Rel-related transcription factors encoded by four genes (NFATc1-4) that are widely expressed in cells of the immune, cardiovascular, and nervous systems (4 -6). In resting cells, NFATs are localized to the cytoplasm due to a phosphorylation-dependent intramolecular masking of their nuclear location signals (NLSs) (7). During calcium signaling, calcineurin unmasks these NLSs, resulting in a rapid nuclear import of the dephosphorylated NFATs and transcriptional activation of cytokine genes (8). Besides unmasking the NLSs on the NFATs, calcineurin also masks their nuclear export signals, thereby preventing the futile cycling of these transcription factors across the nuclear envelope, thus ensuring their transcriptional functions in the nucleus (9, 10). NFAT proteins are essential for T cell activation and therefore represent potential targets for new immunosuppressive therapies. Interestingly, recent data from mouse knockout studie...

For commercial protein therapeutics, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have an established history of safety, proven capability to express a wide range of therapeutic proteins and high volumetric productivities. Expanding global markets for therapeutic proteins and increasing concerns for broadened access of these medicines has catalyzed consideration of alternative approaches to this platform. Reaching these objectives likely will require an order of magnitude increase in volumetric productivity and a corresponding reduction in the costs of manufacture. For CHO‐based manufacturing, achieving this combination of targeted improvements presents challenges. Based on a holistic analysis, the choice of host cells was identified as the single most influential factor for both increasing productivity and decreasing costs. Here we evaluated eight wild‐type eukaryotic micro‐organisms with prior histories of recombinant protein expression. The evaluation focused on assessing the potential of each host, and their corresponding phyla, with respect to key attributes relevant for manufacturing, namely (a) growth rates in industry‐relevant media, (b) adaptability to modern techniques for genome editing, and (c) initial characterization of product quality. These characterizations showed that multiple organisms may be suitable for production with appropriate engineering and development and highlighted that yeast in general present advantages for rapid genome engineering and development cycles.