Feline Interleukin-31 Shares Overlapping Epitopes with the Oncostatin M Receptor and IL-31RA

Biochemistry. 2020 Jun 16;59(23):2171-2181. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00176. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Abstract

Interleukin-31 (IL-31) is a major protein involved in severe inflammatory skin disorders. Its signaling pathway is mediated through two type I cytokine receptors, IL-31RA (also known as the gp130-like receptor) and the oncostatin M receptor (OSMR). Understanding molecular details in these interactions would be helpful for developing antagonist anti-IL-31 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as potential therapies. Previous studies suggest that human IL-31 binds to IL-31RA and then recruits OSMR to form a ternary complex. In this model, OSMR cannot interact with IL-31 in the absence of IL-31RA. In this work, we show that feline IL-31 (fIL-31) binds independently with feline OSMR using surface plasmon resonance, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and yeast surface display. Moreover, competition experiments suggest that OSMR shares a partially overlapping epitope with IL-31RA. We then used deep mutational scanning to map the binding sites of both receptors on fIL-31. In agreement with previous studies of the human homologue, the binding site for IL31-RA contains fIL-31 positions E20 and K82, while the binding site for OSMR comprises the "PADNFERK" motif (P103-K110) and position G38. However, our results also revealed a new overlapping site, composed of positions R69, R72, P73, D76, D81, and E97, between both receptors that we called the "shared site". The conformational epitope of an anti-feline IL-31 mAb that inhibits both OSMR and IL-31RA also mapped to this shared site. Combined, our results show that fIL-31 binds IL-31RA and OSMR independently through a partially shared epitope. These results suggest reexamination of the putative canonical mechanisms for IL-31 signaling in higher animals.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cats
  • Epitopes / chemistry
  • Epitopes / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Interleukins / chemistry
  • Interleukins / metabolism*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Oncostatin M Receptor beta Subunit / chemistry
  • Oncostatin M Receptor beta Subunit / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Interleukin / chemistry
  • Receptors, Interleukin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Epitopes
  • Interleukins
  • Oncostatin M Receptor beta Subunit
  • Receptors, Interleukin