Crowder, D. A. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2023

High sensitivity proteome-scale search for crosslinked peptides using CRIMP 2.0

Crosslinking mass spectrometry (XL-MS) is a valuable technique for the generation of point-to-point distance measurements in protein space. Applications involving in situ chemical crosslinking have created the possibility of mapping whole protein interactomes with high spatial resolution. However, an XL-MS experiment carried out directly on cells requires highly efficient software that can detect crosslinked peptides with sensitivity and controlled error rates. Many algorithmic approaches invoke a filtering strategy designed to reduce the size of the database prior to mounting a search for crosslinks, but concern has been expressed over the possibility of reduced sensitivity with such strategies. Here we present a full upgrade to CRIMP, the crosslinking app in the Mass Spec Studio, which implements a new strategy for the detection of both component peptides in the MS2 spectrum. Using several published datasets, we demonstrate that this pre-searching method is sensitive and fast, permitting whole proteome searches on a conventional desktop computer for both cleavable and noncleavable crosslinkers. We introduce a new strategy for scoring crosslinks, adapted from computer vision algorithms, that properly resolves conflicting XL hits from other crosslinking reaction products, and we present a method for enhancing the detection of protein-protein interactions that relies upon compositional data.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Doublecortin engages the microtubule lattice through a cooperative binding mode involving its C- terminal domain

Doublecortin (DCX) is a microtubule (MT) associated protein that regulates MT structure and function during neuronal development and mutations in DCX lead to a spectrum of neurological disorders. The structural properties of MT-bound DCX remain poorly resolved. Here, we describe the molecular architecture of the DCX-MT complex through an integrative modeling approach that combines data from X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM and a high-fidelity chemical crosslinking method. We demonstrate that DCX interacts with MTs through its N-terminal domain and induces a lattice-dependent self-association involving both the C-terminal structured domain and the C-tails, in a conformation that favors an open, domain-swapped state. The networked state can accommodate multiple different attachment points on the MT lattice, all of which orient the C-tails away from the lattice. As numerous disease mutations cluster in the C-terminus, and regulatory phosphorylations cluster in the C-tail, our study shows that lattice-driven self-assembly is an important property of DCX.

biochemistry↗