Recent advances in functional genomics tools have ushered in a new era of genetic editing to identify molecular pathways relevant to developmental and disease biology. However, limited model systems are available that adequately mimic cell states and phenotypes associated with human disease pathways. Here, we quantitatively analyzed the founder population bottleneck effect and demonstrated how the population changes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to hematopoietic stem cells and to the final induced macrophage population. We then engineered a key gene encoding an enzyme in the myeloid cell antiviral pathway-SAMHD1-knockout (KO) hiPSCs and characterized the hiPSC line with RNA-Seq and induced macrophages from two distinct protocols with functional analysis. We then generated SAMHD1 KO CRISPR-dCAS9 KRAB hiPSCs through lentiviral transduction aiming to increase the efficiency of lentiviral mediated gene transfer. We demonstrated increased lentiviral transduction efficiency in induced macrophages, as well as microglia induced with two distinct protocols. This model allows for efficient gene knockdown, as well as large-scale functional genomics screens in mature hiPSC-derived macrophages or microglia with applications in innate immunity and chronic inflammatory disease biology. These experiments highlight the broad applicability of this platform for disease-relevant target identification and may improve our ability to run large-scale screens in hiPSC-derived myeloid model systems.

Recent advances in functional genomics tools have ushered in a new era of genetic editing to identify molecular pathways relevant to developmental and disease biology. However, limited model systems are available that adequately mimic cell states and phenotypes associated with human disease pathways. Here, we quantitatively analyzed the founder population bottleneck effect and demonstrated how the population changes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to hematopoietic stem cells and to the final induced macrophage population. We then engineered SAMHD1 knockout (KO) iPSC and characterized the iPSC line with RNA Seq, and induced macrophages from two distinct protocols with functional analysis. We then generated SAMHD1 KO CRISPR-dCAS9 KRAB iPSC through lenti-viral transduction aiming to increase the efficiency of lentiviral mediated gene transfer. We demonstrated increased lenti-viral transduction efficiency in induced macrophage, as well as microglia induced with two distinct protocols. This model allows for efficient gene knock down, as well as large-scale functional genomics screens in mature iPSC-derived macrophages or microglia with applications in innate immunity and chronic inflammatory disease biology. These experiments highlight the broad applicability of this platform for disease-relevant target identification and may improve our ability to run large-scale screens in iPSC-derived myeloid model systems. ### Competing Interest Statement MA, YAY, RE and SS are employees of GSK.

CRISPR genome editing approaches theoretically enable researchers to define the function of each human gene in specific cell types, but challenges remain to efficiently perform genetic perturbations in relevant models. In this work, we develop a library cloning protocol that increases sgRNA uniformity and greatly reduces bias in existing genome-wide libraries. We demonstrate that our libraries can achieve equivalent or better statistical power compared to previously reported screens using an order of magnitude fewer cells. This improved cloning protocol enables genome-scale CRISPR screens in technically challenging cell models and screen formats.

In humans, the Serine Incorporator 5 (Serinc5) protein acts as an anti-HIV restriction factor, inhibiting the infection of new cells by nascent virion. HIV counteracts this intrinsic immune response by targeting Serinc5 for degradation utilizing its auxiliary protein Nef. The remarkable functionality of Nef is conferred by its ability to target multiple host proteins for degradation. Nef interacts with the host’s clathrin adaptor protein complex 2 (AP2), directing clathrin mediated endocytosis machinery to target many of the host cell’s own anti-HIV lines of defense.

ABSTRACT The development of CRISPR genetic screening tools has improved functional genomics, as these tools enable precise genomic editing, provide broad access to genomic regions beyond protein-coding genes, and have fewer off-target effects than other functional genomics modalities, allowing for novel applications with smaller library sizes compared to prior technologies. Pooled functional genomics screens require high cellular coverage per perturbation to accurately quantify phenotypes and average out phenotype-independent variability across the population. While more compact libraries have decreased the number of cells needed for a given screen, the cell coverage required for large-scale CRISPR screens still poses technical hurdles to screen in more challenging systems, such as iPSC-derived and primary cells. A major factor that influences cell coverage is screening library uniformity, as larger variation in individual guide RNA abundance requires higher cell coverage to reliably measure low-abundance guides. In this work, we have systematically optimized guide RNA cloning procedures to decrease bias. We implement these protocols to demonstrate that CRISPRi screens using 10-fold fewer cells than the current standard provides equivalent statistically significant hit-calling results to screens run at higher coverage, opening the possibility of conducting genome-wide and other large-scale CRISPR screens in technically challenging models.

Resistance to clinical antiandrogens has plagued the evolution of effective therapeutics for advanced prostate cancer. As with the first-line therapeutic bicalutamide (Casodex), resistance to newer antiandrogens (enzalutamide, ARN-509) develops quickly in patients, despite the fact that these drugs have ∼10-fold better affinity for the androgen receptor than bicalutamide. Improving affinity alone is often not sufficient to prevent resistance, and alternative strategies are needed to improve antiandrogen efficacy. Covalent and reversible covalent drugs are being used to thwart drug resistance in other contexts, and activated aryl nitriles are among the moieties being exploited for this purpose. We capitalized on the presence of an aryl nitrile in bicalutamide, and the existence of a native cysteine residue (Cys784) in the androgen receptor ligand binding pocket, to develop 5N-bicalutamide, a cysteine-reactive antiandrogen. 5N-bicalutamide exhibits a 150-fold improvement in Ki and 20-fold improvement in IC50 over the parent compound. We attribute the marked improvement in affinity and activity to the formation of a covalent adduct with Cys784, a residue that is not among the more than 160 androgen receptor point mutations associated with prostate cancer. Increasing the residence time of bound antiandrogen via formation of a covalent adduct may forestall the drug resistance seen with current clinical antiandrogens.

Transmission electron microscopy allows the collection of multiple views of specimens and their computerized three-dimensional reconstruction and analysis with electron tomography. Here we describe development of methods for automated multi-tilt data acquisition, tilt-series processing, and alignment which allow assembly of electron tomographic data from a greater number of tilt series, yielding enhanced data quality and increasing contrast associated with weakly stained structures. This scheme facilitates visualization of nanometer scale details of fine structure in volumes taken from plastic-embedded samples of biological specimens in all dimensions. As heavy metal-contrasted plastic-embedded samples are less sensitive to the overall dose rather than the electron dose rate, an optimal resampling of the reconstruction space can be achieved by accumulating lower dose electron micrographs of the same area over a wider range of specimen orientations. The computerized multiple tilt series collection scheme is implemented together with automated advanced procedures making collection, image alignment, and processing of multi-tilt tomography data a seamless process. We demonstrate high-quality reconstructions from samples of well-described biological structures. These include the giant Mimivirus and clathrin-coated vesicles, imaged in situ in their normal intracellular contexts. Examples are provided from samples of cultured cells prepared by high-pressure freezing and freeze-substitution as well as by chemical fixation before epoxy resin embedding.

Significance Maintenance and reprogramming of pluripotency are among the most important issues in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Pluripotency is governed by several key transcription factors regulating transcription of other factors. Among these, regulation of OCT4 transcription by NANOG (from Irish myth-ology Tír na nÓg) is a critical interaction. We present here the crystal structure of human NANOG homeodomain in complex with the OCT4 promoter DNA and, through a series of ration-ally designed mutations, we identify key functional residues in the protein–DNA interaction, protein stability, and maintenance of mouse ESC self-renewal. Furthermore, we describe a mutation, NANOG L122A, which enhances DNA binding affinity, protein stability, mouse ESC self-renewal, and reprogramming into ground state from primed state pluripotency.

Androgen receptor (AR) is a major therapeutic target that plays pivotal roles in prostate cancer (PCa) and androgen insensitivity syndromes. We previously proposed that compounds recruited to ligand-binding domain (LBD) surfaces could regulate AR activity in hormone-refractory PCa and discovered several surface modulators of AR function. Surprisingly, the most effective compounds bound preferentially to a surface of unknown function [binding function 3 (BF-3)] instead of the coactivator-binding site [activation function 2 (AF-2)]. Different BF-3 mutations have been identified in PCa or androgen insensitivity syndrome patients, and they can strongly affect AR activity. Further, comparison of AR x-ray structures with and without bound ligands at BF-3 and AF-2 showed structural coupling between both pockets. Here, we combine experimental evidence and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate whether BF-3 mutations affect AR LBD function and dynamics possibly via allosteric conversation between surface sites. Our data indicate that AF-2 conformation is indeed closely coupled to BF-3 and provide mechanistic proof of their structural interconnection. BF-3 mutations may function as allosteric elicitors, probably shifting the AR LBD conformational ensemble toward conformations that alter AF-2 propensity to reorganize into subpockets that accommodate N-terminal domain and coactivator peptides. The induced conformation may result in either increased or decreased AR activity. Activating BF-3 mutations also favor the formation of another pocket (BF-4) in the vicinity of AF-2 and BF-3, which we also previously identified as a hot spot for a small compound. We discuss the possibility that BF-3 may be a protein-docking site that binds to the N-terminal domain and corepressors. AR surface sites are attractive pharmacological targets to develop allosteric modulators that might be alternative lead compounds for drug design.

The human nuclear factor related to kappa-B-binding protein (NFRKB) is a 1299-residue protein that is a component of the metazoan INO80 complex involved in chromatin remodeling, transcription regulation, DNA replication and DNA repair. Although full length NFRKB is predicted to be around 65% disordered, comparative sequence analysis identified several potentially structured sections in the N-terminal region of the protein. These regions were targeted for crystallographic studies, and the structure of one of these regions spanning residues 370-495 was determined using the JCSG high-throughput structure determination pipeline. The structure reveals a novel, mostly helical domain reminiscent of the winged-helix fold typically involved in DNA binding. However, further analysis shows that this domain does not bind DNA, suggesting it may belong to a small group of winged-helix domains involved in protein-protein interactions.

Thyroid hormone receptor (TR)/peroxisome proliferator activated receptor coactivator (PGC-1α) interactions are required for T3-dependent transcriptional responses involved in adaptive thermogenesis and liver. Thus, it is important to define TR/PGC-1α contact modes and to understand their significance in gene expression. Previous studies have shown that TRβ1 recruits PGC-1α to target promoters via contacts between the hormone-dependent TRβ1 activation function 2 (AF-2) in the C-terminal ligand binding domain (LBD) and a major PGC-1α nuclear receptor (NR) interaction box (consensus LxxLL) at amino acids 142–146. While our studies verify the existence and importance of this interaction, we present evidence that TRβ1 also binds PGC-1α in a second ligand and LxxLL motif independent mode and show that this interaction requires the TRβ1 N-terminal domain (NTD) and the PGC-1α N-terminal activation domain (AD) at amino acids 1–130. Transfection assays suggest that optimal PGC-1α coactivation requires the TRβ1 NTD and that these contacts are needed for utilization of the PGC-1α C-terminal AD, which does not bind TR and is implicated in basal transcription machinery contacts. We propose that TR AF-1/PGC-1α contacts are needed for transition between activities of PGC-1α N-and C-terminal ADs in gene expression. Our findings provide insights into possible roles for TR and NR AF-1 in gene expression.

We report the three-dimensional structure of a β-catenin armadillo repeat in complex with the liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) ligand binding domain at 2.8 Å resolution as the first structure of β-catenin in complex with any nuclear receptor. The surface of β-catenin that binds LRH-1 partly overlaps defined contact sites for peptide segments of β-catenin partners, including T-cell factor-4. The surface of LRH-1 that engages β-catenin is comprised of helices 1, 9, and 10 and is distinct from known interaction surfaces of LRH-1, including corepressor and coactivator binding sites. Targeted mutagenesis of amino acids forming both sides of the LRH-1/β-catenin interface reveals that they are essential for stable interactions between these proteins in solution. The LRH-1 binding site in β-catenin is also required for association with androgen receptor, providing evidence that the observed LRH-1/β-catenin interaction may be prototypic.

Nuclear receptors are important targets for pharmaceuticals, but similarities between family members cause difficulties in obtaining highly selective compounds. Synthetic ligands that are selective for thyroid hormone (TH) receptor β (TRβ) vs. TRα reduce cholesterol and fat without effects on heart rate; thus, it is important to understand TRβ-selective binding. Binding of 3 selective ligands (GC-1, KB141, and GC-24) is characterized at the atomic level; preferential binding depends on a nonconserved residue (Asn-331β) in the TRβ ligand-binding cavity (LBC), and GC-24 gains extra selectivity from insertion of a bulky side group into an extension of the LBC that only opens up with this ligand. Here we report that the natural TH 3,5,3′-triodothyroacetic acid (Triac) exhibits a previously unrecognized mechanism of TRβ selectivity. TR x-ray structures reveal better fit of ligand with the TRα LBC. The TRβ LBC, however, expands relative to TRα in the presence of Triac (549 Å 3 vs. 461 Å 3 ), and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that water occupies the extra space. Increased solvation compensates for weaker interactions of ligand with TRβ and permits greater flexibility of the Triac carboxylate group in TRβ than in TRα. We propose that this effect results in lower entropic restraint and decreases free energy of interactions between Triac and TRβ, explaining subtype-selective binding. Similar effects could potentially be exploited in nuclear receptor drug design.

Some nuclear receptor (NR) ligands promote dissociation of radiolabeled bound hormone from the buried ligand binding cavity (LBC) more rapidly than excess unlabeled hormone itself. This result was interpreted to mean that challenger ligands bind allosteric sites on the LBD to induce hormone dissociation, and recent findings indicate that ligands bind weakly to multiple sites on the LBD surface. Here, we show that a large fraction of thyroid hormone receptor (TR) ligands promote rapid dissociation (T1/2 < 2 h) of radiolabeled T3 vs. T3 (T1/2 ≈ 5–7 h). We cannot discern relationships between this effect and ligand size, activity or affinity for TRβ. One ligand, GC-24, binds the TR LBC and (weakly) to the TRβ-LBD surface that mediates dimer/heterodimer interaction, but we cannot link this interaction to rapid T3 dissociation. Instead, several lines of evidence suggest that the challenger ligand must interact with the buried LBC to promote rapid T3 release. Since previous molecular dynamics simulations suggest that TR ligands leave the LBC by several routes, we propose that a subset of challenger ligands binds and stabilizes a partially unfolded intermediate state of TR that arises during T3 release and that this effect enhances hormone dissociation.

It is desirable to obtain new antagonists for thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) and other nuclear receptors (NRs). We previously used X-ray structural models of TR ligand binding domains (LBDs) to design compounds, such as NH-3, that impair coactivator binding to activation function 2 (AF-2) and block thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine, T(3)) actions. However, TRs bind DNA and are transcriptionally active without ligand. Thus, NH-3 could modulate TR activity via effects on other coregulator interaction surfaces, such as activation function (AF-1) and corepressor binding sites. Here, we find that NH-3 blocks TR-LBD interactions with coactivators and corepressors and also inhibits activities of AF-1 and AF-2 in transfections. While NH-3 lacks detectable agonist activity at T(3)-activated genes in GC pituitary cells it nevertheless activates spot 14 (S14) in HTC liver cells with the latter effect accompanied by enhanced histone H4 acetylation and coactivator recruitment at the S14 promoter. Surprisingly, T(3) promotes corepressor recruitment to target promoters. NH-3 effects vary; we observe transient recruitment of N-CoR to S14 in GC cells and dismissal and rebinding of N-CoR to the same promoter in HTC cells. We propose that NH-3 will generally behave as an antagonist by blocking AF-1 and AF-2 but that complex effects on coregulator recruitment may result in partial/mixed agonist effects that are independent of blockade of T(3) binding in some contexts. These properties could ultimately be utilized in drug design and development of new selective TR modulators.

Thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine, T3) is known to activate transcription by binding heterodimers of thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs). RXR-TRs bind to T3 response elements (TREs) composed of direct repeats of the sequence AGGTCA spaced by four nucleotides (DR-4). In other TREs, however, the half-sites can be arranged as inverted palindromes and palindromes (Pal). Here we show that TR homodimers and monomers activate transcription from representative TREs with alternate half-site placements. TRβ activates transcription more efficiently than TRα at an inverted palindrome (F2), and this correlates with preferential TRβ homodimer formation at F2 in vitro. Furthermore, reconstruction of TR transcription complexes in yeast indicates that TRβ homodimers are active at F2, whereas RXR-TRs are active at DR-4 and Pal. Finally, analysis of TRβ mutations that block homodimer and/or heterodimer formation reveal TRE-selective requirements for these surfaces in mammalian cells, which suggest that TRβ homodimers are active at F2, RXR-TRs at DR-4, and TR monomers at Pal. TRβ requires higher levels of hormone for activation at F2 than other TREs, and this differential effect is abolished by a dimer surface mutation suggesting that it is related to composition of the TR·TRE complex. We propose that interactions of particular TR oligomers with different elements play unappreciated roles in TRE-selective actions of liganded TRs in vivo.

Current approaches to inhibit nuclear receptor (NR) activity target the hormone binding pocket but face limitations. We have proposed that inhibitors, which bind to nuclear receptor surfaces that mediate assembly of the receptor's binding partners, might overcome some of these limitations. The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in prostate cancer, but conventional inhibitors lose effectiveness as cancer treatments because anti-androgen resistance usually develops. We conducted functional and x-ray screens to identify compounds that bind the AR surface and block binding of coactivators for AR activation function 2 (AF-2). Four compounds that block coactivator binding in solution with IC 50 ≈ 50 μM and inhibit AF-2 activity in cells were detected: three nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and the thyroid hormone 3,3′,5-triiodothyroacetic acid. Although visualization of compounds at the AR surface reveals weak binding at AF-2, the most potent inhibitors bind preferentially to a previously unknown regulatory surface cleft termed binding function (BF)-3, which is a known target for mutations in prostate cancer and androgen insensitivity syndrome. X-ray structural analysis reveals that 3,3′,5-triiodothyroacetic acid binding to BF-3 remodels the adjacent interaction site AF-2 to weaken coactivator binding. Mutation of residues that form BF-3 inhibits AR function and AR AF-2 activity. We propose that BF-3 is a previously unrecognized allosteric regulatory site needed for AR activity in vivo and a possible pharmaceutical target.

The development of nuclear hormone receptor antagonists that directly inhibit the association of the receptor with its essential coactivators would allow useful manipulation of nuclear hormone receptor signaling. We previously identified 3-(dibutylamino)-1-(4-hexylphenyl)-propan-1-one (DHPPA), an aromatic beta-amino ketone that inhibits coactivator recruitment to thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRbeta), in a high-throughput screen. Initial evidence suggested that the aromatic beta-enone 1-(4-hexylphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one (HPPE), which alkylates a specific cysteine residue on the TRbeta surface, is liberated from DHPPA. Nevertheless, aspects of the mechanism and specificity of action of DHPPA remained unclear. Here, we report an x-ray structure of TRbeta with the inhibitor HPPE at 2.3-A resolution. Unreacted HPPE is located at the interface that normally mediates binding between TRbeta and its coactivator. Several lines of evidence, including experiments with TRbeta mutants and mass spectroscopic analysis, showed that HPPE specifically alkylates cysteine residue 298 of TRbeta, which is located near the activation function-2 pocket. We propose that this covalent adduct formation proceeds through a two-step mechanism: 1) beta-elimination to form HPPE; and 2) a covalent bond slowly forms between HPPE and TRbeta. DHPPA represents a novel class of potent TRbeta antagonist, and its crystal structure suggests new ways to design antagonists that target the assembly of nuclear hormone receptor gene-regulatory complexes and block transcription.

To provide alternative methods for regulation of gene transcription initiated by the binding of thyroid hormone (T3) to the thyroid receptor (TR), we have developed a high-throughput method for discovering inhibitors of the interaction of TR with its transcriptional coactivators. The screening method is based on fluorescence polarization (FP), one of the most sensitive and robust high-throughput methods for the study of protein-protein interactions. A fluorescently labeled coactivator is excited by polarized light. The emitted polarized light is a function of the molecular properties of the labeled coactivator, especially Brownian molecular rotation, which is very sensitive to changes in the molecular mass of the labeled complex. Dissociation of hormone receptor from fluorescently labeled coactivator peptide in the presence of small molecules can be detected by this competition method, and the assay can be performed in a high-throughput screening format. Hit compounds identified by this method are evaluated by several secondary assay methods, including a dose-response analysis, a semiquantitative glutathione- S -transferase assay, and a hormone displacement assay. Subsequent in vitro transcription assays can detect inhibition of thyroid signaling at low micromolar concentrations of small molecules in the presence of T3.

Estrogen receptors alpha and beta (ERα and ERβ) differentially activate genes with AP-1 elements. ERα activates AP-1 targets via activation functions with estrogens (the AF-dependent pathway), whereas ERβ, and a short version of ERα (ERα DBD-LBD) activate only with anti-estrogens (AF-independent pathway). The DNA binding domain (DBD) plays an important role in both pathways, even though neither pathway requires ERE recognition.