A Conformation-specific Nanobody Targeting the NMN-activated State of SARM1

Upon axonal injury, Sterile alpha (SAM) and Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) motif containing 1 (SARM1) is activated by nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) to deplete NAD and consequently promote the process of axon degeneration (AxD). Currently, only the inactive form of SARM1 in its auto-inhibitory conformation has been resolved. The flexibility of the enzymatically active form of SARM1 has so far precluded its structural determination. To solve the problem, we generated a stabilizing nanobody, Nb-C6, that specifically recognized only the NMN-activated form of SARM1. The conformation specificity was verified by immunoprecipitation and surface plasmon resonance. Fluorescently labeled Nb-C6 could immunostain only the activated SARM1 in cells stimulated with CZ-48, a permeant mimetic of NMN. Expression of Nb-C6 in live cells resulted in stabilization of the active form of the endogenous and exogenous SARM1, producing and elevating cellular levels of cyclic ADP-ribose, a calcium messenger. Cryo-EM of the NMN-activated SARM1 complexed by Nb-C6 showed an octameric structure resembling a "blooming lotus" with the ARM domains bending significantly inward and swinging out together with the TIR domains to form the "petals of the lotus". Nb-C6 bound to the SAM domain of the activated SARM1 and stabilized its Armadillo repeat motif domain. Analyses using hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), and cross-linking MS (XL-MS) indicate that the activated SARM1 is highly dynamic and flexible and the neighboring TIRs form dimers via the surface close to one BB loop. The Nanobody is thus a valuable tool for delineating the mechanism of activation of SARM1 in AxD and other cellular processes.