Funding Organization(s): National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS), National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (NIH/NIA)
Primary Citation of Related Structures:   8F6Q, 8F6R
PubMed Abstract: 
Many growth factors and cytokines signal by binding to the extracellular domains of their receptors and driving association and transphosphorylation of the receptor intracellular tyrosine kinase domains, initiating downstream signaling cascades. To enable systematic exploration of how receptor valency and geometry affect signaling outcomes, we designed cyclic homo-oligomers with up to 8 subunits using repeat protein building blocks that can be modularly extended. By incorporating a de novo-designed fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)-binding module into these scaffolds, we generated a series of synthetic signaling ligands that exhibit potent valency- and geometry-dependent Ca 2+ release and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation. The high specificity of the designed agonists reveals distinct roles for two FGFR splice variants in driving arterial endothelium and perivascular cell fates during early vascular development. Our designed modular assemblies should be broadly useful for unraveling the complexities of signaling in key developmental transitions and for developing future therapeutic applications.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Medical Biotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Medical Biotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Center for Cardiovascular Biology, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98109, USA.
Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Center for Cardiovascular Biology, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98109, USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Medicine/Cardiology, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195, USA.
Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Kidney Research Institute, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: hannele@uw.edu.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: dabaker@uw.edu.