{"title":"Sorting high-affinity aptamers in a single selection round","authors":"Gayathri Kasirajan, William H. Thiel","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01917-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01917-0","url":null,"abstract":"Aptamers are short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules that can bind target molecules with high specificity and affinity and have considerable potential as therapeutic agents and diagnostic tools. A new method, UltraSELEX, identifies optimal sequences from a single round of high-throughput screening.","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"77 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144113656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Controlling lipid droplet dynamics via tether condensates","authors":"Chems Amari, Damien Simon, Emma Pasquier, Theodore Bellon, Marie-Aude Plamont, Sylvie Souquere, Gérard Pierron, Juliette Salvaing, Abdou Rachid Thiam, Zoher Gueroui","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01915-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01915-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic cellular organelles that regulate lipid metabolism and various cellular processes. Their functionality relies on a dynamic proteome and precise spatiotemporal interactions with other organelles, making LD biology highly complex. Tools that enable the sequestration and release of LDs within their intracellular environment could synchronize their behavior, providing deeper insights into their functions. To address this need, we developed Controlled Trapping of LDs (ControLD), a new method for manipulating LD dynamics. This approach uses engineered condensates to reversibly sequester LDs, temporarily halting their activity. Upon release, the LDs resume their normal functions. ControLD effectively disrupts LD remobilization during metabolic demands and prevents the formation of LD–mitochondria contact sites, which are re-established upon condensate dissociation. ControLD represents a powerful tool for advancing the study of LD biology and opens avenues for investigating and manipulating other cellular organelles.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"80 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144103956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deciphering the biosynthesis of a bacterial detergent for cleanup of marine oil spills","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01933-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01933-0","url":null,"abstract":"We uncovered the function of a cell-bound biosurfactant, a glycine-glucolipid from Alcanivorax borkumensis that is synthesized via an unusual non-ribosomal peptide synthetase pathway. The glycine-glucolipid enhances microbial adhesion to oil droplets, enabling rapid degradation of the oil. Our research provides insights into advanced bioremediation strategies.","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144103952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yinghui Wei, Pengfei Gao, Deng Pan, Guoling Li, Yufei Chen, Shangpu Li, Henan Jiang, Yang Yue, Zhenmin Wu, Zujiang Liu, Min Zhou, Yulin Chen, Kun Xu, Zhaowei Wu, Xiaolong Wang
{"title":"Engineering eukaryotic transposon-encoded Fanzor2 system for genome editing in mammals","authors":"Yinghui Wei, Pengfei Gao, Deng Pan, Guoling Li, Yufei Chen, Shangpu Li, Henan Jiang, Yang Yue, Zhenmin Wu, Zujiang Liu, Min Zhou, Yulin Chen, Kun Xu, Zhaowei Wu, Xiaolong Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01902-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01902-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Eukaryotic transposon-encoded Fanzor proteins hold great promise for genome-engineering applications as a result of their compact size and mechanistic resemblance to TnpB. However, the unmodified Fanzor systems show extremely low activity in mammalian cells. Guided by the predicted structure of a Fanzor2 complex using AlphaFold3, we engineered the NlovFz2 nuclease and its cognate ωRNA to create an evolved enNlovFz2 system, with an expanded target-adjacent motif (TAM) recognition scope (5′-NMYG) and a substantially improved genome-editing efficiency, achieving an 11.1-fold increase over the wild-type NlovFz2, comparable to two previously reported IS200 or IS605 transposon-encoded TnpBs and two CRISPR–Cas12f1 nucleases. Notably, enNlovFz2 efficiently mediated gene disruption in mouse embryos and restored dystrophin expression in a humanized Duchenne muscular dystrophy mouse model with single adeno-associated virus delivery. Our findings underscore the potential of eukaryotic RNA-guided Fanzor2 nucleases as a versatile toolbox for both biological research and therapeutic applications.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144096941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nuclear ubiquitination permits Hippo–YAP signal for liver development and tumorigenesis","authors":"Jinsong Wei, Zhifa Cao, Qing Li, Xiaoyu Li, Qingzhe Wang, Yiming Zhang, Run Zhang, Xingru Wu, Quanhui Dai, Xinyang Li, Zhaocai Zhou, Fenyong Sun, Shi Jiao, Bing Zhao","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01901-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01901-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Hippo–YAP signaling is crucial to organ development and tumorigenesis. VGLL4, which occupies TEAD to prevent YAP binding, is the main transcriptional repressor of Hippo–YAP activity. Here we identified the nuclear E3 ligase ubiquitin protein ligase E3 component n-recognin 5 (UBR5) poly-ubiquitinated VGLL4 at Lys61 for its degradation, which permits Hippo–YAP signaling for the development of the liver biliary system in mice and multiple cancers in humans. In mouse liver development, Ubr5 and Vgll4 exhibited reciprocal expression patterns spatiotemporally. Ubr5 deletion impaired cholangiocyte development and hepatocyte reprogramming, which could be efficiently rescued by restoring Hippo–YAP through ablating Vgll4. We also found that the UBR5–VGLL4–YAP axis is associated with the progression of human pan-cancers. Targeting nuclear E3 ligases in multiple types of patient-derived tumor organoids suppressed their expansion. Our identification of UBR5 as the bona fide E3 ligase of VGLL4 offers a molecular framework of nuclear Hippo–YAP regulation and suggests nuclear ubiquitination as a potential therapeutic target for YAP-dependent malignancies.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Direct nitrogen–nitrogen bond formation by an enzyme from the negamycin biosynthetic pathway","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01899-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01899-z","url":null,"abstract":"Negamcyin, a decades-old antibiotic, is a promising lead compound for the development of drugs for treatment of Gram-negative pathogens and hereditary diseases. We identified its biosynthetic gene cluster and found a new heme-dependent enzyme that directly forms its nitrogen–nitrogen bond from glycine and nitrite.","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143979366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuan Zheng, Dan Jiang, Yan Lu, Chao Zhang, Shen-Ming Huang, Haocheng Lin, Daolai Zhang, Shengchao Guo, Jifei Han, Jun Chen, Yaxuan He, Mingxiang Zhang, Yanhui Gao, Yongyuan Guo, Ran Wei, Ming Xia, Yingying Qin, Zhaoqian Liu, Fan Yang, Shaohua Ge, Fan Yi, Xiao Yu, Hui Lin, Peng Xiao, Jin-Peng Sun, Shiqing Feng
{"title":"Development of an allosteric adhesion GPCR nanobody with therapeutic potential","authors":"Yuan Zheng, Dan Jiang, Yan Lu, Chao Zhang, Shen-Ming Huang, Haocheng Lin, Daolai Zhang, Shengchao Guo, Jifei Han, Jun Chen, Yaxuan He, Mingxiang Zhang, Yanhui Gao, Yongyuan Guo, Ran Wei, Ming Xia, Yingying Qin, Zhaoqian Liu, Fan Yang, Shaohua Ge, Fan Yi, Xiao Yu, Hui Lin, Peng Xiao, Jin-Peng Sun, Shiqing Feng","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01896-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01896-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Allosteric modulation of receptor responses to endogenous agonists has therapeutic value, maintaining ligand profiles, reducing side effects and restoring mutant responses. Adhesion G-protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs), with large N termini, are ideal for allosteric modulator development. We designed a nanobody strategy targeting ADGRG2 N-terminal fragments and got a specific nanobody Nb23-bi, which promoted dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-induced ADGRG2 activation and reversed mutant-induced dysfunctions. By combining structural characterization, crosslinking mass spectrometry, mutational analysis and molecular dynamics simulations, we clarified the allosteric mechanism of how the Nb23-bi modulates conformational changes in the DHEA-binding pocket. Animal studies showed that Nb23-bi promoted the response of DHEA in alleviating testicular inflammation and reversing mutant defects. In summary, we developed an allosteric nanobody of ADGRG2 and gained insights into its functions in reversing disease-associated dysfunctions. Our study may serve as a template for developing allosteric modulators of other aGPCRs for biological and therapeutic purposes.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143979367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hiroyuki Uechi, Sindhuja Sridharan, Jik Nijssen, Jessica Bilstein, Juan M. Iglesias-Artola, Satoshi Kishigami, Virginia Casablancas-Antras, Ina Poser, Eduardo J. Martinez, Edgar Boczek, Michael Wagner, Nadine Tomschke, António M. de Jesus Domingues, Arun Pal, Thom Doeleman, Sukhleen Kour, Eric Nathaniel Anderson, Frank Stein, Hyun O. Lee, Xiaojie Zhang, Anatol W. Fritsch, Marcus Jahnel, Julius Fürsch, Anastasia C. Murthy, Simon Alberti, Marc Bickle, Nicolas L. Fawzi, André Nadler, Della C. David, Udai B. Pandey, Andreas Hermann, Florian Stengel, Benjamin G. Davis, Andrew J. Baldwin, Mikhail M. Savitski, Anthony A. Hyman, Richard J. Wheeler
{"title":"Small-molecule dissolution of stress granules by redox modulation benefits ALS models","authors":"Hiroyuki Uechi, Sindhuja Sridharan, Jik Nijssen, Jessica Bilstein, Juan M. Iglesias-Artola, Satoshi Kishigami, Virginia Casablancas-Antras, Ina Poser, Eduardo J. Martinez, Edgar Boczek, Michael Wagner, Nadine Tomschke, António M. de Jesus Domingues, Arun Pal, Thom Doeleman, Sukhleen Kour, Eric Nathaniel Anderson, Frank Stein, Hyun O. Lee, Xiaojie Zhang, Anatol W. Fritsch, Marcus Jahnel, Julius Fürsch, Anastasia C. Murthy, Simon Alberti, Marc Bickle, Nicolas L. Fawzi, André Nadler, Della C. David, Udai B. Pandey, Andreas Hermann, Florian Stengel, Benjamin G. Davis, Andrew J. Baldwin, Mikhail M. Savitski, Anthony A. Hyman, Richard J. Wheeler","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01893-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01893-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, are often associated with mutations in stress granule proteins. Aberrant stress granule condensate formation is associated with disease, making it a potential target for pharmacological intervention. Here, we identified lipoamide, a small molecule that specifically prevents cytoplasmic condensation of stress granule proteins. Thermal proteome profiling showed that lipoamide stabilizes intrinsically disordered domain-containing proteins, including SRSF1 and SFPQ, which are stress granule proteins necessary for lipoamide activity. SFPQ has redox-state-specific condensate dissolving behavior, which is modulated by the redox-active lipoamide dithiolane ring. In animals, lipoamide ameliorates aging-associated aggregation of a stress granule reporter protein, improves neuronal morphology and recovers motor defects caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-associated FUS and TDP-43 mutants. Thus, lipoamide is a well-tolerated small-molecule modulator of stress granule condensation, and dissection of its molecular mechanism identified a cellular pathway for redox regulation of stress granule formation.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"116 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143945701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiaxin Cui, Maximilian Fassl, Vaisnavi Vasanthakumaran, Maya Marita Dierig, Georg Hölzl, Tobias Karmainski, Till Tiso, Sonja Kubicki, Stephan Thies, Lars M. Blank, Karl-Erich Jaeger, Peter Dörmann
{"title":"Biosurfactant biosynthesis by Alcanivorax borkumensis and its role in oil biodegradation","authors":"Jiaxin Cui, Maximilian Fassl, Vaisnavi Vasanthakumaran, Maya Marita Dierig, Georg Hölzl, Tobias Karmainski, Till Tiso, Sonja Kubicki, Stephan Thies, Lars M. Blank, Karl-Erich Jaeger, Peter Dörmann","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01908-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01908-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The marine bacterium <i>Alcanivorax borkumensis</i> degrades alkanes derived from phytoplankton, natural hydrocarbon seeps and oil spills. We study the biosynthesis and function of a glycine-glucolipid biosurfactant from <i>A. borkumensis</i> for alkane degradation and identify a gene cluster encoding a nonribosomal peptide synthetase, glycosyltransferase and phosphopantetheinyl transferase. Analyses of <i>A. borkumensis</i> mutants and expression studies reveal that the nonribosomal peptide synthetase catalyzes the synthesis of the aglycone (tetra-<span>d</span>-3-hydroxydecanoyl-glycine) from glycine and <span>d</span>-3-hydroxydecanoyl-CoA, to which a glucose moiety is added by the glycosyltransferase. Deficiency in glycine-glucolipid impairs the ability of mutant cells to attach to the oil–water interface, compromises growth on hexadecane and affects carbon storage. The glycine-glucolipid is essential for biofilm formation on oil droplets and uptake of alkanes. The high incidence of <i>Alcanivorax</i> at oil-polluted sites can in part be explained by the accumulation of the glycine-glucolipid on the cell surface, effectively making the cells themselves act as biosurfactants.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"141 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mengting Liu, Xin Zang, Niko W. Vlahakis, Jose A. Rodriguez, Masao Ohashi, Yi Tang
{"title":"Enzymatic combinatorial synthesis of E-64 and related cysteine protease inhibitors","authors":"Mengting Liu, Xin Zang, Niko W. Vlahakis, Jose A. Rodriguez, Masao Ohashi, Yi Tang","doi":"10.1038/s41589-025-01907-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01907-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>E-64 is an irreversible cysteine protease inhibitor prominently used in chemical biology and drug discovery. Here we uncover a nonribosomal peptide synthetase-independent biosynthetic pathway for E-64, which is widely conserved in fungi. The pathway starts with epoxidation of fumaric acid to the warhead (2<i>S</i>,3<i>S</i>)-<i>trans</i>-epoxysuccinic acid with an Fe(II)/α-ketoglutarate-dependent oxygenase, followed by successive condensation with an <span>l</span>-amino acid by an adenosine triphosphate grasp enzyme and with an amine by the fungal example of amide bond synthetase. Both amide bond-forming enzymes display notable biocatalytic potential, including scalability, stereoselectivity toward the warhead and broader substrate scopes in forming the amide bonds. Biocatalytic cascade with these amide bond-forming enzymes generated a library of cysteine protease inhibitors, leading to more potent cathepsin inhibitors. Additionally, one-pot reactions enabled the preparative synthesis of clinically relevant inhibitors. Our work highlights the importance of biosynthetic investigation for enzyme discovery and the potential of amide bond-forming enzymes in synthesizing small-molecule libraries.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":18832,"journal":{"name":"Nature chemical biology","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}