Prediction of Xaa-Pro peptide bond conformation from sequence and chemical shifts

We present a program, named Promega, to predict the Xaa-Pro peptide bond conformation on the basis of backbone chemical shifts and the amino acid sequence. Using a chemical shift database of proteins of known structure together with the PDB-extracted amino acid preference of cis Xaa-Pro peptide bonds, a cis/trans probability score is calculated from the backbone and (13)C(beta) chemical shifts of the proline and its neighboring residues. For an arbitrary number of input chemical shifts, which may include Pro-(13)C(gamma), Promega calculates the statistical probability that a Xaa-Pro peptide bond is cis. Besides its potential as a validation tool, Promega is particularly useful for studies of larger proteins where Pro-(13)C(gamma) assignments can be challenging, and for on-going efforts to determine protein structures exclusively on the basis of backbone and (13)C(beta) chemical shifts.

Triple-resonance multidimensional NMR study of calmodulin complexed with the binding domain of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase: indication of a conformational change in the central helix

Heteronuclear 3D and 4D NMR experiments have been used to obtain 1H, 13C, and 15N backbone chemical shift assignments in Ca(2+)-loaded calmodulin complexed with a 26-residue synthetic peptide (M13) corresponding to the calmodulin-binding domain (residues 577-602) of rabbit skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase. Comparison of the chemical shift values with those observed in peptide-free calmodulin [Ikura, M., Kay, L. E., & Bax, A. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 4659-4667] shows that binding of M13 peptide induces substantial chemical shift changes that are not localized in one particular region of the protein. The largest changes are found in the first helix of the Ca(2+)-binding site I (E11-E14), the N-terminal portion of the central helix (M72-D78), and the second helix of the Ca(2+)-binding site IV (F141-M145). Analysis of backbone NOE connectivities indicates a change from alpha-helical to an extended conformation for residues 75-77 upon complexation with M13. This conformational change is supported by upfield changes in the C alpha and carbonyl chemical shifts of these residues relative to M13-free calmodulin and by hydrogen-exchange experiments that indicate that the amide protons of residues 75-82 are in fast exchange (kexch greater than 10 s-1 at pH 7, 35 degrees C) with the solvent. No changes in secondary structure are observed for the first helix of site I or the C-terminal helix of site IV. Upon complexation with M13, a significant decrease in the amide exchange rate is observed for residues T110, L112, G113, and E114 at the end of the second helix of site III.

Structure and dynamics of micelle-associated human immunodeficiency virus gp41 fusion domain

The N-terminal fusion domain of the HIV-1 gp41 envelope glycoprotein is responsible for initiating the fusion of viral and cellular membranes, leading to the subsequent infection of the host cell by HIV-1. We have investigated the backbone structure and dynamics of the 30 N-terminal residues of HIV-1 gp41 in membrane-mimicking environments using NMR spectroscopy and (15)N- and (15)N,(13)C,(2)H-labeled peptides. Similar (15)N-(1)H HSQC spectra were obtained in a variety of detergents, including SDS, DPC, mixed DPC/SDS, and LPPG micelles, indicating that the peptide structure is not strongly influenced by the type of detergent used. Detailed characterization was carried out in SDS micelles, where the long-term sample stability was found to be optimal. In addition to J-coupling and NOE restraints, a nearly complete set of backbone residual dipolar coupling restraints was recorded for the fusion domain-micelle complex aligned with respect to the magnetic field using a stretched polyacrylamide gel. Backbone amide (15)N spin relaxation and amide hydrogen exchange rates with the solvent were also measured. The ensemble of NMR structures reveals an uninterrupted alpha-helix for the least mobile residues (S(2) > 0.65), Ile-4 to Met-19, with transient helical character extending up to Ala-22. A 12-residue (Ile-4 to Ala-15) segment is fully shielded from solvent, with Gly-3 and Gly-16 found at micelle-solvent interfaces. Residues external to the micelle exhibit enhanced picosecond to nanosecond time scale dynamics relative to the residues buried in the micelle, and their mobility increases with the distance from the micelle.

Insights into the mobility of methyl-bearing side chains in proteins from (3)J(CC) and (3)J(CN) couplings

Side-chain dynamics in proteins can be characterized by the NMR measurement of (13)C and (2)H relaxation rates. Evaluation of the corresponding spectral densities limits the slowest motions that can be studied quantitatively to the time scale on which the overall molecular tumbling takes place. A different measure for the degree of side-chain order about the C(alpha)-C(beta) bond (chi(1) angle) can be derived from (3)J(C)(')(-)(C)(gamma) and (3)J(N)(-)(C)(gamma) couplings. These couplings can be measured at high accuracy, in particular for Thr, Ile, and Val residues. In conjunction with the known backbone structures of ubiquitin and the third IgG-binding domain of protein G, and an extensive set of (13)C-(1)H side-chain dipolar coupling measurements in oriented media, these (3)J couplings were used to parametrize empirical Karplus relationships for (3)J(C)(')(-)(C)(gamma) and (3)J(N)(-)(C)(gamma). These Karplus curves agree well with results from DFT calculations, including an unusual phase shift, which causes the maximum (3)J(CC) and (3)J(CN) couplings to occur for dihedral angles slightly smaller than 180 degrees, particularly noticeable in Thr residues. The new Karplus curves permit determination of rotamer populations for the chi(1) torsion angles. Similar rotamer populations can be derived from side-chain dipolar couplings. Conversion of these rotamer populations into generalized order parameters, S(J)(2) and S(D)(2), provides a view of side-chain dynamics that is complementary to that obtained from (13)C and (2)H relaxation. On average, results agree well with literature values for (2)H-relaxation-derived S(rel)(2) values in ubiquitin and HIV protease, but also identify a fraction of residues for which S(J,D)(2) < S(rel)(2). This indicates that some of the rotameric averaging occurs on a time scale too slow to be observable in traditional relaxation measurements.

Bicelle-based liquid crystals for NMR-measurement of dipolar couplings at acidic and basic pH values

It is demonstrated that mixtures of ditetradecyl-phosphatidylcholine or didodecyl-phoshatidylcholine and dihexyl-phosphatidylcholine in water from lyotropic liquid crystalline phases under similar conditions as previously reported for bicelles consisting of dimyristoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dihexanoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DHPC). The carboxy-ester bonds present in DMPC and DHPC are replaced by ether linkages in their alkyl analogs, which prevents acid- or base-catalyzed hydrolysis of these compounds. 15N-1H dipolar couplings measured for ubiquitin over the 2.3-10.4 pH range indicate that this protein retains a backbone conformation which is very similar to its structure at pH 6.5 over this entire range.

Staphylococcal nuclease: sequential assignments and solution structure

Sequential assignments are reported for backbone 15N and 1H of nearly all residues of staphylococcal nuclease (Nase) complexed with thymidine 3',5'-diphosphate and Ca2+. Because of the relatively large size of the Nase ternary complex, Mr 18K, the crucial element of our assignment strategy was the use of isotope-edited two-dimensional NMR spectra, particularly 15N-edited nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY), 15N-edited J-correlated spectroscopy (COSY), and 1H/15N or 1H/13C heteronuclear multiple quantum shift correlation spectroscopy (HMQC). These experiments, together with the more conventional NOESY, COSY, and homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn spectra of natural abundance or deuteriated samples, yielded backbone assignments of 127 of the 136 residues in the structured part of the protein. Using the NOESY data, we identified three helical domains and several beta-sheets which were in close correspondence with secondary structure identified in the crystal structure. Moreover, many long-range NOESY connectivities were identified that were in agreement with distances derived from the crystal structure. The region of the sequence in the neighborhood of residue 50 appears to be more flexible and disordered in solution than in the crystal. Very slowly exchanging amide protons are those found to be hydrogen bonded in the crystal structure; however, even hydrogen-bonded amides located within similar types of regular secondary structures, e.g., alpha-helices, exchange with greatly different rates.

Improved fitting of solution X-ray scattering data to macromolecular structures and structural ensembles by explicit water modeling

A new procedure, AXES, is introduced for fitting small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data to macromolecular structures and ensembles of structures. By using explicit water models to account for the effect of solvent, and by restricting the adjustable fitting parameters to those that dominate experimental uncertainties, including sample/buffer rescaling, detector dark current, and, within a narrow range, hydration layer density, superior fits between experimental high resolution structures and SAXS data are obtained. AXES results are found to be more discriminating than standard Crysol fitting of SAXS data when evaluating poorly or incorrectly modeled protein structures. AXES results for ensembles of structures previously generated for ubiquitin show improved fits over fitting of the individual members of these ensembles, indicating these ensembles capture the dynamic behavior of proteins in solution.

Overall structure and sugar dynamics of a DNA dodecamer from homo- and heteronuclear dipolar couplings and 31P chemical shift anisotropy

The solution structure of d(CGCGAATTCGCG)(2) has been determined on the basis of an exceptionally large set of residual dipolar couplings. In addition to the heteronuclear (13)C-(1)H and (15)N-(1)H and qualitative homonuclear (1)H-(1)H dipolar couplings, previously measured in bicelle medium, more than 300 quantitative (1)H-(1)H and 22 (31)P-(1)H dipolar restraints were obtained in liquid crystalline Pf1 medium, and 22 (31)P chemical shift anisotropy restraints. High quality DNA structures can be obtained solely on the basis of these new restraints, and these structures are in close agreement with those calculated previously on the basis of (13)C-(1)H and (15)N-(1)H dipolar couplings. In the newly calculated structures, (31)P-(1)H dipolar and (3)JsubH3(')Psub couplings and (31)P CSA data restrain the phosphodiester backbone torsion angles. The final structure represents a quite regular B-form helix with a modest bending of approximately 10 degrees, which is essentially independent of whether or not electrostatic terms are used in the calculation. Combined, the number of homo- and heteronuclear dipolar couplings significantly exceeds the number of degrees of freedom in the system. Results indicate that the dipolar coupling data cannot be fit by a single structure, but are compatible with the presence of rapid equilibria between C2(')-endo and C3(')-endo deoxyribose puckers (sugar switching). The C2(')-H2(')/H2(") dipolar couplings in B-form DNA are particularly sensitive to sugar pucker and yield the largest discrepancies when fit to a single structure. To resolve these discrepancies, we suggest a simplified dipolar coupling analysis that yields N/S equilibria for the ribose sugar puckers, which are in good agreement with previous analyses of NMR J(HH) couplings, with a population of the minor C3(')-endo form higher for pyrimidines than for purines.

Limits on variations in protein backbone dynamics from precise measurements of scalar couplings

3JHN,Halpha, 3JHN,Cbeta, and 3JHN,C' couplings, all related to the backbone torsion angle phi, were measured for the third immunoglobulin binding domain of protein G, or GB3. Measurements were carried out using both previously published methods and novel sequences based on the multiple-quantum principle, which limit attenuation of experimental couplings caused by finite lifetimes of the spin states of passive spins. High reproducibility between the multiple-quantum and conventional approaches confirms the accuracy of the measurements. With few exceptions, close agreement between 3JHN,Halpha, 3JHN,Cbeta, and 3JHN,C' and values predicted by their respective Karplus equations is observed. For the three types of couplings, up to 20% better agreement is obtained when fitting the experimental couplings to a dynamic ensemble NMR structure, which has a phi angle root-mean-square spread of 9 +/- 4 degrees and was previously calculated on the basis of a very extensive set of residual dipolar couplings, than for any single static NMR structure. Fits of 3J couplings to a 1.1-A X-ray structure, with hydrogens added in idealized positions, are 40-90% worse. Approximately half of the improvement when fitting to the NMR structures relates to the amide proton deviating from its idealized, in-peptide-plane position, indicating that the positioning of hydrogens relative to the backbone atoms is one of the factors limiting the accuracy at which the backbone torsion angle phi can be extracted from 3J couplings. Introducing an additional, residue-specific variable for the amplitude of phi angle fluctuations does not yield a statistically significant improvement when fitting to a set of dynamic Karplus curves, pointing to a homogeneous behavior of these amplitudes.

An Empirical Backbone−Backbone Hydrogen-Bonding Potential in Proteins and Its Applications to NMR Structure Refinement and Validation

A new multidimensional potential is described that encodes for the relative spatial arrangement of the peptidyl backbone units as observed within a large database of high-resolution X-ray structures. The detailed description afforded by such an analysis provides an opportunity to study the atomic details of hydrogen bonding in proteins. The specification of the corresponding potential of mean force (PMF) is based on a defined set of physical principles and optimized to yield the maximum advantage when applied to protein structure refinement. The observed intricate differences between hydrogen-bonding geometries within various patterns of secondary structure allow application of the PMF to both validation of protein structures and their refinement. A pronounced improvement of several aspects of structural quality is observed following the application of such a potential to a variety of NMR-derived models, including a noticeable decrease in backbone coordinate root-mean-square deviation relative to the X-ray structures and a considerable improvement in the Ramachandran map statistics.

Characterization of phospholipid mixed micelles by translational diffusion

The concentration dependence of the translational self diffusion rate, D (s), has been measured for a range of micelle and mixed micelle systems. Use of bipolar gradient pulse pairs in the longitudinal eddy current delay experiment minimizes NOE attenuation and is found critical for optimizing sensitivity of the translational diffusion measurement of macromolecules and aggregates. For low volume fractions Phi (Phi\\ le 15% v/v) of the micelles, experimental measurement of the concentration dependence, combined with use of the D (s)= D (o)(1-3.2lambdaPhi) relationship, yields the hydrodynamic volume. For proteins, the hydrodynamic volume, derived from D (s) at infinitely dilute concentration, is found to be about 2.6 times the unhydrated molecular volume. Using the data collected for hen egg white lysozyme as a reference, diffusion data for dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholine (DHPC) micelles indicate approximately 27 molecules per micelle, and a critical micelle concentration of 14 mM. Differences in translational diffusion rates for detergent and long chain phospholipids in mixed micelles are attributed to rapid exchange between free and micelle-bound detergent. This difference permits determination of the free detergent concentration, which, for a high detergent to long chain phospholipid molar ratio, is found to depend strongly on this ratio. The hydrodynamic volume of DHPC/POPC bicelles, loaded with an M2 channel peptide homolog, derived from translational diffusion, predicts a rotational correlation time that slightly exceeds the value obtained from peptide (15)N relaxation data.

Homonuclear decoupling for enhancing resolution and sensitivity in NOE and RDC measurements of peptides and proteins

Application of band-selective homonuclear (BASH) (1)H decoupling pulses during acquisition of the (1)H free induction decay is shown to be an efficient procedure for removal of scalar and residual dipolar couplings between amide and aliphatic protons. BASH decoupling can be applied in both dimensions of a homonuclear 2D NMR experiment and is particularly useful for enhancing spectral resolution in the H(N)-H(α) region of NOESY spectra of peptides and proteins, which contain important information on the backbone torsion angles. The method then also prevents generation of zero quantum and Hz(N)-Hz(α) terms, thereby facilitating analysis of intraresidue interactions. Application to the NOESY spectrum of a hexapeptide fragment of the intrinsically disordered protein α-synuclein highlights the considerable diffusion anisotropy present in linear peptides. Removal of residual dipolar couplings between H(N) and aliphatic protons in weakly aligned proteins increases resolution in the (1)H-(15)N HSQC region of the spectrum and allows measurement of RDCs in samples that are relatively strongly aligned. The approach is demonstrated for measurement of RDCs in protonated (15)N/(13)C-enriched ubiquitin, aligned in Pf1, yielding improved fitting to the ubiquitin structure.

Evaluation of uncertainty in alignment tensors obtained from dipolar couplings

Residual dipolar couplings and their corresponding alignment tensors are useful for structural analysis of macromolecules. The error in an alignment tensor, derived from residual dipolar couplings on the basis of a known structure, is determined not only by the accuracy of the measured couplings but also by the uncertainty in the structure (structural noise). This dependence is evaluated quantitatively on the basis of simulated structures using Monte-Carlo type analyses. When large numbers of dipolar couplings are available, structural noise is found to result in a systematic underestimate of the magnitude of the alignment tensor. Particularly in cases where only few dipolar couplings are available, structural noise can cause significant errors in best-fitted alignment tensor values, making determination of the relative orientation of small fragments and evaluation of local backbone mobility from dipolar couplings difficult. An example for the protein ubiquitin demonstrates the inherent limitations in characterizing motions on the basis of local alignment tensor magnitudes.

Prediction of charge-induced molecular alignment of biomolecules dissolved in dilute liquid-crystalline phases

Alignment of macromolecules in nearly neutral aqueous lyotropic liquid-crystalline media such as bicelles, commonly used in macromolecular NMR studies, can be predicted accurately by a steric obstruction model (Zweckstetter and Bax, 2000). A simple extension of this model is described that results in improved predictions for both the alignment orientation and magnitude of protein and DNA solutes in charged nematic media, such as the widely used medium of filamentous phage Pf1. The extended model approximates the electrostatic interaction between a solute and an ordered phage particle as that between the solute's surface charges and the electric field of the phage. The model is evaluated for four different proteins and a DNA oligomer. Results indicate that alignment in charged nematic media is a function not only of the solute's shape, but also of its electric multipole moments of net charge, dipole, and quadrupole. The relative importance of these terms varies greatly from one macromolecule to another, and evaluation of the experimental data indicates that these terms scale differently with ionic strength. For several of the proteins, the calculated alignment is sensitive to the precise position of the charged groups on the protein surface. This suggests that NMR alignment measurements can potentially be used to probe protein electrostatics. Inclusion of electrostatic interactions in addition to steric effects makes the extended model applicable to all liquid crystals used in biological NMR to date.