Functional and cooperative stabilization of a two-metal (Ca, Zn) center in α-amylase derived from Flavobacteriaceae species

Mesophilic α-amylase from Flavobacteriaceae (FSA) is evolutionary closely related to thermophilic archaeal Pyrococcus furiosus α-amylase (PWA), but lacks the high thermostability, despite the conservation of most residues involved in the two-metal (Ca, Zn) binding center of PWA. In this study, a disulfide bond was introduced near the two-metal binding center of FSA (designated mutant EH-CC) and this modification resulted in a slight improvement in thermostability. As expected, E204G mutations in FSA and EH-CC led to the recovery of Ca²⁺-binding site. Interestingly, both Ca²⁺- and Zn²⁺-dependent thermostability were significantly enhanced; 153.1% or 50.8% activities was retained after a 30-min incubation period at 50 °C, in the presence of Ca²⁺ or Zn²⁺. The C214S mutation, which affects Zn²⁺-binding, also remarkably enhanced Zn²⁺- and Ca²⁺- dependent thermostability, indicating that Ca²⁺- and Zn²⁺-binding sites function cooperatively to maintain protein stability. Furthermore, an isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) analysis revealed a novel Zn²⁺-binding site in mutant EH-CC-E204G. This metal ion cooperation provides a possible method for the generation of α-amylases with desired thermal properties by in silico rational design and systems engineering, to generate a Zn²⁺-binding site adjacent to the conserved Ca²⁺-binding site.

Ensemble- and Rigidity Theory-Based Perturbation Approach To Analyze Dynamic Allostery

Allostery describes the functional coupling between sites in biomolecules. Recently, the role of changes in protein dynamics for allosteric communication has been highlighted. A quantitative and predictive description of allostery is fundamental for understanding biological processes. Here, we integrate an ensemble-based perturbation approach with the analysis of biomolecular rigidity and flexibility to construct a model of dynamic allostery. Our model, by definition, excludes the possibility of conformational changes, evaluates static, not dynamic, properties of molecular systems, and describes allosteric effects due to ligand binding in terms of a novel free-energy measure. We validated our model on three distinct biomolecular systems: eglin c, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B, and the lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 domain. In all cases, it successfully identified key residues for signal transmission in very good agreement with the experiment. It correctly and quantitatively discriminated between positively or negatively cooperative effects for one of the systems. Our model should be a promising tool for the rational discovery of novel allosteric drugs.

Ensemble-based modeling and rigidity decomposition of allosteric interaction networks and communication pathways in cyclin-dependent kinases: Differentiating kinase clients of the Hsp90-Cdc37 chaperone

The overarching goal of delineating molecular principles underlying differentiation of protein kinase clients and chaperone-based modulation of kinase activity is fundamental to understanding activity of many oncogenic kinases that require chaperoning of Hsp70 and Hsp90 systems to attain a functionally competent active form. Despite structural similarities and common activation mechanisms shared by cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) proteins, members of this family can exhibit vastly different chaperone preferences. The molecular determinants underlying chaperone dependencies of protein kinases are not fully understood as structurally similar kinases may often elicit distinct regulatory responses to the chaperone. The regulatory divergences observed for members of CDK family are of particular interest as functional diversification among these kinases may be related to variations in chaperone dependencies and can be exploited in drug discovery of personalized therapeutic agents. In this work, we report the results of a computational investigation of several members of CDK family (CDK5, CDK6, CDK9) that represented a broad repertoire of chaperone dependencies—from nonclient CDK5, to weak client CDK6, and strong client CDK9. By using molecular simulations of multiple crystal structures we characterized conformational ensembles and collective dynamics of CDK proteins. We found that the elevated dynamics of CDK9 can trigger imbalances in cooperative collective motions and reduce stability of the active fold, thus creating a cascade of favorable conditions for chaperone intervention. The ensemble-based modeling of residue interaction networks and community analysis determined how differences in modularity of allosteric networks and topography of communication pathways can be linked with the client status of CDK proteins. This analysis unveiled depleted modularity of the allosteric network in CDK9 that alters distribution of communication pathways and leads to impaired signaling in the client kinase. According to our results, these network features may uniquely define chaperone dependencies of CDK clients. The perturbation response scanning and rigidity decomposition approaches identified regulatory hotspots that mediate differences in stability and cooperativity of allosteric interaction networks in the CDK structures. By combining these synergistic approaches, our study revealed dynamic and network signatures that can differentiate kinase clients and rationalize subtle divergences in the activation mechanisms of CDK family members. The therapeutic implications of these results are illustrated by identifying structural hotspots of pathogenic mutations that preferentially target regions of the increased flexibility to enable modulation of activation changes. Our study offers a network-based perspective on dynamic kinase mechanisms and drug design by unravelling relationships between protein kinase dynamics, allosteric communications and chaperone dependencies.

Biochemical Regulatory Features of Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase Remain Conserved from Lampreys to Humans

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is a genome-mutating enzyme that initiates class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation of antibodies in jawed vertebrates. We previously described the biochemical properties of human AID and found that it is an unusual enzyme in that it exhibits binding affinities for its substrate DNA and catalytic rates several orders of magnitude higher and lower, respectively, than a typical enzyme. Recently, we solved the functional structure of AID and demonstrated that these properties are due to nonspecific DNA binding on its surface, along with a catalytic pocket that predominantly assumes a closed conformation. Here we investigated the biochemical properties of AID from a sea lamprey, nurse shark, tetraodon, and coelacanth: representative species chosen because their lineages diverged at the earliest critical junctures in evolution of adaptive immunity. We found that these earliest-diverged AID orthologs are active cytidine deaminases that exhibit unique substrate specificities and thermosensitivities. Significant amino acid sequence divergence among these AID orthologs is predicted to manifest as notable structural differences. However, despite major differences in sequence specificities, thermosensitivities, and structural features, all orthologs share the unusually high DNA binding affinities and low catalytic rates. This absolute conservation is evidence for biological significance of these unique biochemical properties.

Contribution of single amino acid and codon substitutions to the production and secretion of a lipase by Bacillus subtilis

Background

Bacillus subtilis produces and secretes proteins in amounts of up to 20 g/l under optimal conditions. However, protein production can be challenging if transcription and cotranslational secretion are negatively affected, or the target protein is degraded by extracellular proteases. This study aims at elucidating the influence of a target protein on its own production by a systematic mutational analysis of the homologous B. subtilis model protein lipase A (LipA). We have covered the full natural diversity of single amino acid substitutions at 155 positions of LipA by site saturation mutagenesis excluding only highly conserved residues and qualitatively and quantitatively screened about 30,000 clones for extracellular LipA production. Identified variants with beneficial effects on production were sequenced and analyzed regarding B. subtilis growth behavior, extracellular lipase activity and amount as well as changes in lipase transcript levels.

Results

In total, 26 LipA variants were identified showing an up to twofold increase in either amount or activity of extracellular lipase. These variants harbor single amino acid or codon substitutions that did not substantially affect B. subtilis growth. Subsequent exemplary combination of beneficial single amino acid substitutions revealed an additive effect solely at the level of extracellular lipase amount; however, lipase amount and activity could not be increased simultaneously.

Conclusions

Single amino acid and codon substitutions can affect LipA secretion and production by B. subtilis. Several codon-related effects were observed that either enhance lipA transcription or promote a more efficient folding of LipA. Single amino acid substitutions could improve LipA production by increasing its secretion or stability in the culture supernatant. Our findings indicate that optimization of the expression system is not sufficient for efficient protein production in B. subtilis. The sequence of the target protein should also be considered as an optimization target for successful protein production. Our results further suggest that variants with improved properties might be identified much faster and easier if mutagenesis is prioritized towards elements that contribute to enzymatic activity or structural integrity.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-017-0772-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

On the potential alternate binding change mechanism in a dimeric structure of Pyruvate Phosphate Dikinase

The pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) reaction mechanism is characterized by a distinct spatial separation of reaction centers and large conformational changes involving an opening-closing motion of the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) and a swiveling motion of the central domain (CD). However, why PPDK is active only in a dimeric form and to what extent an alternate binding change mechanism could underlie this fact has remained elusive. We performed unbiased molecular dynamics simulations, configurational free energy computations, and rigidity analysis to address this question. Our results support the hypothesis that PPDK dimerization influences the opening-closing motion of the NBDs, and that this influence is mediated via the CDs of both chains. Such an influence would be a prerequisite for an alternate binding change mechanism to occur. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a possible explanation has been suggested as to why only dimeric PPDK is active.

Role of Cys73 in the thermostability of farnesyl diphosphate synthase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus

Farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPase) is an enzyme that catalyzes the condensation between one molecule of dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and two molecules of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) to produce farnesyl diphosphate (FPP). FPP is an important precursor in the isoprenoid synthesis pathway. In this study, the crystal structure of FPPase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus (GsFPPase) was determined at 2.31 Å resolution. The structure of GsFPPase shows a three-layered all α-helical fold and conserved functional domains similar to other prenyltransferases. We have analyzed the structural features of GsFPPase related to thermostability and compared it with those of human and avian mesophilic FPPases. “Semi-conserved” regions which appear to be possible features contributing to the thermostability of FPPase were found.

Physical and molecular bases of protein thermal stability and cold adaptation

The molecular bases of thermal and cold stability and adaptation, which allow proteins to remain folded and functional in the temperature ranges in which their host organisms live and grow, are still only partially elucidated. Indeed, both experimental and computational studies fail to yield a fully precise and global physical picture, essentially because all effects are context-dependent and thus quite intricate to unravel. We present a snapshot of the current state of knowledge of this highly complex and challenging issue, whose resolution would enable large-scale rational protein design.

Improved insights into protein thermal stability: from the molecular to the structurome scale

Despite the intense efforts of the last decades to understand the thermal stability of proteins, the mechanisms responsible for its modulation still remain debated. In this investigation, we tackle this issue by showing how a multiscale perspective can yield new insights. With the help of temperature-dependent statistical potentials, we analysed some amino acid interactions at the molecular level, which are suggested to be relevant for the enhancement of thermal resistance. We then investigated the thermal stability at the protein level by quantifying its modification upon amino acid substitutions. Finally, a large scale analysis of protein stability-at the structurome level-contributed to the clarification of the relation between stability and natural evolution, thereby showing that the mutational profile of proteins differs according to their thermal properties. Some considerations on how the multiscale approach could help in unravelling the protein stability mechanisms are briefly discussed.This article is part of the themed issue 'Multiscale modelling at the physics-chemistry-biology interface'.

Effect of Mutation and Substrate Binding on the Stability of Cytochrome P450BM3 Variants

Cytochrome P450BM3 is a heme-containing enzyme from Bacillus megaterium that exhibits high monooxygenase activity and has a self-sufficient electron transfer system in the full-length enzyme. Its potential synthetic applications drive protein engineering efforts to produce variants capable of oxidizing nonnative substrates such as pharmaceuticals and aromatic pollutants. However, promiscuous P450BM3 mutants often exhibit lower stability, thereby hindering their industrial application. This study demonstrated that the heme domain R47L/F87V/L188Q/E267V/F81I pentuple mutant (PM) is destabilized because of the disruption of hydrophobic contacts and salt bridge interactions. This was directly observed from crystal structures of PM in the presence and absence of ligands (palmitic acid and metyrapone). The instability of the tertiary structure and heme environment of substrate-free PM was confirmed by pulse proteolysis and circular dichroism, respectively. Binding of the inhibitor, metyrapone, significantly stabilized PM, but the presence of the native substrate, palmitic acid, had no effect. On the basis of high-temperature molecular dynamics simulations, the lid domain, β-sheet 1, and Cys ligand loop (a β-bulge segment connected to the heme) are the most labile regions and, thus, potential sites for stabilizing mutations. Possible approaches to stabilization include improvement of hydrophobic packing interactions in the lid domain and introduction of new salt bridges into β-sheet 1 and the heme region. An understanding of the molecular factors behind the loss of stability of P450BM3 variants therefore expedites site-directed mutagenesis studies aimed at developing thermostability.

Rational Design of Disulfide Bonds Increases Thermostability of a Mesophilic 1,3-1,4-β-Glucanase from Bacillus terquilensis

1,3-1,4-β-glucanase is an important biocatalyst in brewing industry and animal feed industry, while its low thermostability often reduces its application performance. In this study, the thermostability of a mesophilic β-glucanase from Bacillus terquilensis was enhanced by rational design and engineering of disulfide bonds in the protein structure. Protein spatial configuration was analyzed to pre-exclude the residues pairs which negatively conflicted with the protein structure and ensure the contact of catalytic center. The changes in protein overall and local flexibility among the wild-type enzyme and the designated mutants were predicted to select the potential disulfide bonds for enhancement of thermostability. Two residue pairs (N31C-T187C and P102C-N125C) were chosen as engineering targets and both of them were proved to significantly enhance the protein thermostability. After combinational mutagenesis, the double mutant N31C-T187C/P102C-N125C showed a 48.3% increase in half-life value at 60°C and a 4.1°C rise in melting temperature (Tm) compared to wild-type enzyme. The catalytic property of N31C-T187C/P102C-N125C mutant was similar to that of wild-type enzyme. Interestingly, the optimal pH of double mutant was shifted from pH6.5 to pH6.0, which could also increase its industrial application. By comparison with mutants with single-Cys substitutions, the introduction of disulfide bonds and the induced new hydrogen bonds were proved to result in both local and overall rigidification and should be responsible for the improved thermostability. Therefore, the introduction of disulfide bonds for thermostability improvement could be rationally and highly-effectively designed by combination with spatial configuration analysis and molecular dynamics simulation.

Application of Rigidity Theory to the Thermostabilization of Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis

Protein thermostability is a crucial factor for biotechnological enzyme applications. Protein engineering studies aimed at improving thermostability have successfully applied both directed evolution and rational design. However, for rational approaches, the major challenge remains the prediction of mutation sites and optimal amino acid substitutions. Recently, we showed that such mutation sites can be identified as structural weak spots by rigidity theory-based thermal unfolding simulations of proteins. Here, we describe and validate a unique, ensemble-based, yet highly efficient strategy to predict optimal amino acid substitutions at structural weak spots for improving a protein’s thermostability. For this, we exploit the fact that in the majority of cases an increased structural rigidity of the folded state has been found as the cause for thermostability. When applied prospectively to lipase A from Bacillus subtilis, we achieved both a high success rate (25% over all experimentally tested mutations, which raises to 60% if small-to-large residue mutations and mutations in the active site are excluded) in predicting significantly thermostabilized lipase variants and a remarkably large increase in those variants’ thermostability (up to 6.6°C) based on single amino acid mutations. When considering negative controls in addition and evaluating the performance of our approach as a binary classifier, the accuracy is 63% and increases to 83% if small-to-large residue mutations and mutations in the active site are excluded. The gain in precision (predictive value for increased thermostability) over random classification is 1.6-fold (2.4-fold). Furthermore, an increase in thermostability predicted by our approach significantly points to increased experimental thermostability (p < 0.05). These results suggest that our strategy is a valuable complement to existing methods for rational protein design aimed at improving thermostability.

Protein thermostability is a crucial factor for biotechnological enzyme applications. However, performance studies of computational approaches for predicting effects of mutations on protein (thermo)stability have suggested that there is still room for improvement. We describe and validate a novel and unique strategy to predict optimal amino acid substitutions at structural weak spots. At variance with other rational approaches, we exploit the fact that in the majority of cases an increased structural rigidity of the folded state is the underlying cause for thermostability. When applied prospectively on lipase LipA from Bacillus subtilis, a high success rate in predicting thermostabilized lipase variants and a remarkably large increase in their thermostability is achieved. This demonstrates the value of the novel strategy, which extends the existing portfolio of methods for rational protein design.

Predicting protein thermal stability changes upon point mutations using statistical potentials: Introducing HoTMuSiC

The accurate prediction of the impact of an amino acid substitution on the thermal stability of a protein is a central issue in protein science, and is of key relevance for the rational optimization of various bioprocesses that use enzymes in unusual conditions. Here we present one of the first computational tools to predict the change in melting temperature ΔT_m upon point mutations, given the protein structure and, when available, the melting temperature T_m of the wild-type protein. The key ingredients of our model structure are standard and temperature-dependent statistical potentials, which are combined with the help of an artificial neural network. The model structure was chosen on the basis of a detailed thermodynamic analysis of the system. The parameters of the model were identified on a set of more than 1,600 mutations with experimentally measured ΔT_m. The performance of our method was tested using a strict 5-fold cross-validation procedure, and was found to be significantly superior to that of competing methods. We obtained a root mean square deviation between predicted and experimental ΔT_m values of 4.2 °C that reduces to 2.9 °C when ten percent outliers are removed. A webserver-based tool is freely available for non-commercial use at soft.dezyme.com.

Molecular Mechanisms of Glutamine Synthetase Mutations that Lead to Clinically Relevant Pathologies

Glutamine synthetase (GS) catalyzes ATP-dependent ligation of ammonia and glutamate to glutamine. Two mutations of human GS (R324C and R341C) were connected to congenital glutamine deficiency with severe brain malformations resulting in neonatal death. Another GS mutation (R324S) was identified in a neurologically compromised patient. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the impairment of GS activity by these mutations have remained elusive. Molecular dynamics simulations, free energy calculations, and rigidity analyses suggest that all three mutations influence the first step of GS catalytic cycle. The R324S and R324C mutations deteriorate GS catalytic activity due to loss of direct interactions with ATP. As to R324S, indirect, water-mediated interactions reduce this effect, which may explain the suggested higher GS residual activity. The R341C mutation weakens ATP binding by destabilizing the interacting residue R340 in the apo state of GS. Additionally, the mutation is predicted to result in a significant destabilization of helix H8, which should negatively affect glutamate binding. This prediction was tested in HEK293 cells overexpressing GS by dot-blot analysis: Structural stability of H8 was impaired through mutation of amino acids interacting with R341, as indicated by a loss of masking of an epitope in the glutamate binding pocket for a monoclonal anti-GS antibody by L-methionine-S-sulfoximine; in contrast, cells transfected with wild type GS showed the masking. Our analyses reveal complex molecular effects underlying impaired GS catalytic activity in three clinically relevant mutants. Our findings could stimulate the development of ATP binding-enhancing molecules by which the R324S mutant can be repaired extrinsically.

Glutamine synthetase (GS) catalyzes the ATP-dependent ligation of ammonia and glutamate to glutamine, which makes the enzyme essential for human nitrogen metabolism. Three mutations in human GS, R324C, R324S, and R341C, had been identified previously that lead to a glutamine deficiency, resulting in neonatal death in the case of R324C and R341C. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this impairment of GS activity have remained elusive. Our results from computational biophysics approaches suggest that all three mutants influence the first step of GS’ catalytic cycle, namely ATP or glutamate binding. The analyses reveal a complex set of effects including the loss of direct interactions to substrates, the involvement of water-mediated interactions that alleviate part of the mutation effect, and long-range effects between the catalytic site and structural parts distant from it. As to the latter, experimental validation is in line with our prediction of a significant destabilization of helix H8 in the R341C mutant, which should negatively affect glutamate binding. Finally, our findings could stimulate the development of ATP-binding enhancing molecules for the R324S mutant, which has been suggested to have residual activity, that way extrinsically “repairing” the mutant.

Trading off stability against activity in extremophilic aldolases

Understanding enzyme stability and activity in extremophilic organisms is of great biotechnological interest, but many questions are still unsolved. Using 2-deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) as model enzyme, we have evaluated structural and functional characteristics of different orthologs from psychrophilic, mesophilic and hyperthermophilic organisms. We present the first crystal structures of psychrophilic DERAs, revealing a dimeric organization resembling their mesophilic but not their thermophilic counterparts. Conversion into monomeric proteins showed that the native dimer interface contributes to stability only in the hyperthermophilic enzymes. Nevertheless, introduction of a disulfide bridge in the interface of a psychrophilic DERA did confer increased thermostability, suggesting a strategy for rational design of more durable enzyme variants. Constraint network analysis revealed particularly sparse interactions between the substrate pocket and its surrounding α-helices in psychrophilic DERAs, which indicates that a more flexible active center underlies their high turnover numbers.

Rigidity versus flexibility: the dilemma of understanding protein thermal stability

The role of fluctuations in protein thermostability has recently received considerable attention. In the current literature a dualistic picture can be found: thermostability seems to be associated with enhanced rigidity of the protein scaffold in parallel with the reduction of flexible parts of the structure. In contradiction to such arguments it has been shown by experimental studies and computer simulation that thermal tolerance of a protein is not necessarily correlated with the suppression of internal fluctuations and mobility. Both concepts, rigidity and flexibility, are derived from mechanical engineering and represent temporally insensitive features describing static properties, neglecting that relative motion at certain time scales is possible in structurally stable regions of a protein. This suggests that a strict separation of rigid and flexible parts of a protein molecule does not describe the reality correctly. In this work the concepts of mobility/flexibility versus rigidity will be critically reconsidered by taking into account molecular dynamics calculations of heat capacity and conformational entropy, salt bridge networks, electrostatic interactions in folded and unfolded states, and the emerging picture of protein thermostability in view of recently developed network theories. Last, but not least, the influence of high temperature on the active site and activity of enzymes will be considered.

Improving the Thermostability and Activity of a Thermophilic Subtilase by Incorporating Structural Elements of Its Psychrophilic Counterpart

The incorporation of the structural elements of thermostable enzymes into their less stable counterparts is generally used to improve enzyme thermostability. However, the process of engineering enzymes with both high thermostability and high activity remains an important challenge. Here, we report that the thermostability and activity of a thermophilic subtilase were simultaneously improved by incorporating structural elements of a psychrophilic subtilase. There were 64 variable regions/residues (VRs) in the alignment of the thermophilic WF146 protease, mesophilic sphericase, and psychrophilic S41. The WF146 protease was subjected to systematic mutagenesis, in which each of its VRs was replaced with those from S41 and sphericase. After successive rounds of combination and screening, we constructed the variant PBL5X with eight amino acid residues from S41. The half-life of PBL5X at 85°C (57.1 min) was approximately 9-fold longer than that of the wild-type (WT) WF146 protease (6.3 min). The substitutions also led to an increase in the apparent thermal denaturation midpoint temperature (Tm) of the enzyme by 5.5°C, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Compared to the WT, PBL5X exhibited high caseinolytic activity (25 to 95°C) and high values of Km and kcat (25 to 80°C). Our study may provide a rational basis for developing highly stable and active enzymes, which are highly desired in industrial applications.

Structural Rigidity and Protein Thermostability in Variants of Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis

Understanding the origin of thermostability is of fundamental importance in protein biochemistry. Opposing views on increased or decreased structural rigidity of the folded state have been put forward in this context. They have been related to differences in the temporal resolution of experiments and computations that probe atomic mobility. Here, we find a significant (p = 0.004) and fair (R² = 0.46) correlation between the structural rigidity of a well-characterized set of 16 mutants of lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (BsLipA) and their thermodynamic thermostability. We apply the rigidity theory-based Constraint Network Analysis (CNA) approach, analyzing directly and in a time-independent manner the statics of the BsLipA mutants. We carefully validate the CNA results on macroscopic and microscopic experimental observables and probe for their sensitivity with respect to input structures. Furthermore, we introduce a robust, local stability measure for predicting thermodynamic thermostability. Our results complement work that showed for pairs of homologous proteins that raising the structural stability is the most common way to obtain a higher thermostability. Furthermore, they demonstrate that related series of mutants with only a small number of mutations can be successfully analyzed by CNA, which suggests that CNA can be applied prospectively in rational protein design aimed at higher thermodynamic thermostability.

Rigidity Emerges during Antibody Evolution in Three Distinct Antibody Systems: Evidence from QSFR Analysis of Fab Fragments

The effects of somatic mutations that transform polyspecific germline (GL) antibodies to affinity mature (AM) antibodies with monospecificity are compared among three GL-AM Fab pairs. In particular, changes in conformational flexibility are assessed using a Distance Constraint Model (DCM). We have previously established that the DCM can be robustly applied across a series of antibody fragments (VL to Fab), and subsequently, the DCM was combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to similarly characterize five thermostabilizing scFv mutants. The DCM is an ensemble based statistical mechanical approach that accounts for enthalpy/entropy compensation due to network rigidity, which has been quite successful in elucidating conformational flexibility and Quantitative Stability/Flexibility Relationships (QSFR) in proteins. Applied to three disparate antibody systems changes in QSFR quantities indicate that the VH domain is typically rigidified, whereas the VL domain and CDR L2 loop become more flexible during affinity maturation. The increase in CDR H3 loop rigidity is consistent with other studies in the literature. The redistribution of conformational flexibility is largely controlled by nonspecific changes in the H-bond network, although certain Arg to Asp salt bridges create highly localized rigidity increases. Taken together, these results reveal an intricate flexibility/rigidity response that accompanies affinity maturation.

Antibodies are protective proteins used by the immune system to recognize and neutralize foreign objects through interactions with a specific part of the target, called an antigen. Antibody structures are Y-shaped, contain multiple protein chains, and include two antigen-binding sites. The binding sites are located at the end of the Fab fragments, which are the upward facing arms of the Y-structure. The Fab fragments maintain binding affinity by themselves, and are thus often used as surrogates to student antibody-antigen interactions. High affinity antibodies are produced during the course of an immune response by successive mutations to germline gene-encoded antibodies. Germline antibodies are more likely to be polyspecific, whereas the affinity maturation process yields monoclonal antibodies that bind specifically to the target antigen. In this work, we use a computational Distance Constraint Model to characterize how mechanical properties change as three disparate germline antibodies are converted to affinity mature. Our results reveal a rich set of mechanical responses throughout the Fab structure. Nevertheless, increased rigidity in the VH domain is consistently observed, which is consistent with the transition from polyspecificity to monospecificity. That is, flexible antibody structures are able to recognize multiple antigens, while increased affinity and specificity is achieved—in part—by structural rigidification.

Synthetic biology for the directed evolution of protein biocatalysts: navigating sequence space intelligently

The amino acid sequence of a protein affects both its structure and its function. Thus, the ability to modify the sequence, and hence the structure and activity, of individual proteins in a systematic way, opens up many opportunities, both scientifically and (as we focus on here) for exploitation in biocatalysis. Modern methods of synthetic biology, whereby increasingly large sequences of DNA can be synthesised de novo, allow an unprecedented ability to engineer proteins with novel functions. However, the number of possible proteins is far too large to test individually, so we need means for navigating the 'search space' of possible protein sequences efficiently and reliably in order to find desirable activities and other properties. Enzymologists distinguish binding (Kd) and catalytic (kcat) steps. In a similar way, judicious strategies have blended design (for binding, specificity and active site modelling) with the more empirical methods of classical directed evolution (DE) for improving kcat (where natural evolution rarely seeks the highest values), especially with regard to residues distant from the active site and where the functional linkages underpinning enzyme dynamics are both unknown and hard to predict. Epistasis (where the 'best' amino acid at one site depends on that or those at others) is a notable feature of directed evolution. The aim of this review is to highlight some of the approaches that are being developed to allow us to use directed evolution to improve enzyme properties, often dramatically. We note that directed evolution differs in a number of ways from natural evolution, including in particular the available mechanisms and the likely selection pressures. Thus, we stress the opportunities afforded by techniques that enable one to map sequence to (structure and) activity in silico, as an effective means of modelling and exploring protein landscapes. Because known landscapes may be assessed and reasoned about as a whole, simultaneously, this offers opportunities for protein improvement not readily available to natural evolution on rapid timescales. Intelligent landscape navigation, informed by sequence-activity relationships and coupled to the emerging methods of synthetic biology, offers scope for the development of novel biocatalysts that are both highly active and robust.

Distinct roles for carbohydrate-binding modules of glycoside hydrolase 10 (GH10) and GH11 xylanases from Caldicellulosiruptor sp. strain F32 in thermostability and catalytic efficiency

Xylanases are crucial for lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction and generally contain noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) accessing recalcitrant polymers. Understanding how multimodular enzymes assemble can benefit protein engineering by aiming at accommodating various environmental conditions. Two multimodular xylanases, XynA and XynB, which belong to glycoside hydrolase families 11 (GH11) and GH10, respectively, have been identified from Caldicellulosiruptor sp. strain F32. In this study, both xylanases and their truncated mutants were overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized. GH11 XynATM1 lacking CBM exhibited a considerable improvement in specific activity (215.8 U nmol(-1) versus 94.7 U nmol(-1)) and thermal stability (half-life of 48 h versus 5.5 h at 75°C) compared with those of XynA. However, GH10 XynB showed higher enzyme activity and thermostability than its truncated mutant without CBM. Site-directed mutagenesis of N-terminal amino acids resulted in a mutant, XynATM1-M, with 50% residual activity improvement at 75°C for 48 h, revealing that the disordered region influenced protein thermostability negatively. The thermal stability of both xylanases and their truncated mutants were consistent with their melting temperature (Tm), which was determined by using differential scanning calorimetry. Through homology modeling and cross-linking analysis, we demonstrated that for XynB, the resistance against thermoinactivation generally was enhanced through improving both domain properties and interdomain interactions, whereas for XynA, no interdomain interactions were observed. Optimized intramolecular interactions can accelerate thermostability, which provided microbes a powerful evolutionary strategy to assemble catalysts that are adapted to various ecological conditions.

Understanding the thermostability and activity of Bacillus subtilis lipase mutants: insights from molecular dynamics simulations

Improving the thermostability of industrial enzymes is an important protein engineering challenge. Point mutations, induced to increase thermostability, affect the structure and dynamics of the target protein in several ways and thus can also affect its activity. There appears to be no general rules for improving the thermostabilty of enzymes without adversely affecting their enzymatic activity. We report MD simulations, of wild type Bacillus subtilis lipase (WT) and its six progressively thermostable mutants (2M, 3M, 4M, 6M, 9M, and 12M), performed at different temperatures, to address this issue. Less thermostable mutants (LTMs), 2M to 6M, show WT-like dynamics at all simulation temperatures. However, the two more thermostable mutants (MTMs) show the required flexibility at appropriate temperature ranges and maintain conformational stability at high temperature. They show a deep and rugged free-energy landscape, confining them within a near-native conformational space by conserving noncovalent interactions, and thus protecting them from possible aggregation. In contrast, the LTMs having marginally higher thermostabilities than WT show greater probabilities of accessing non-native conformations, which, due to aggregation, have reduced possibilities of reverting to their respective native states under refolding conditions. Our analysis indicates the possibility of nonadditive effects of point mutations on the conformational stability of LTMs.

Interface matters: the stiffness route to stability of a thermophilic tetrameric malate dehydrogenase

In this work we investigate by computational means the behavior of two orthologous bacterial proteins, a mesophilic and a thermophilic tetrameric malate dehydrogenase (MalDH), at different temperatures. Namely, we quantify how protein mechanical rigidity at different length- and time-scales correlates to protein thermophilicity as commonly believed. In particular by using a clustering analysis strategy to explore the conformational space of the folded proteins, we show that at ambient conditions and at the molecular length-scale the thermophilic variant is indeed more rigid that the mesophilic one. This rigidification is the result of more efficient inter-domain interactions, the strength of which is further quantified via ad hoc free energy calculations. When considered isolated, the thermophilic domain is indeed more flexible than the respective mesophilic one. Upon oligomerization, the induced stiffening of the thermophilic protein propagates from the interface to the active site where the loop, controlling the access to the catalytic pocket, anchors down via an extended network of ion-pairs. On the contrary in the mesophilic tetramer the loop is highly mobile. Simulations at high temperature, could not re-activate the mobility of the loop in the thermophile. This finding opens questions on the similarities of the binding processes for these two homologues at their optimal working temperature and suggests for the thermophilic variant a possible cooperative role of cofactor/substrate.

Protein thermal stability enhancement by designing salt bridges: a combined computational and experimental study

Protein thermal stability is an important factor considered in medical and industrial applications. Many structural characteristics related to protein thermal stability have been elucidated, and increasing salt bridges is considered as one of the most efficient strategies to increase protein thermal stability. However, the accurate simulation of salt bridges remains difficult. In this study, a novel method for salt-bridge design was proposed based on the statistical analysis of 10,556 surface salt bridges on 6,493 X-ray protein structures. These salt bridges were first categorized based on pairing residues, secondary structure locations, and Cα–Cα distances. Pairing preferences generalized from statistical analysis were used to construct a salt-bridge pair index and utilized in a weighted electrostatic attraction model to find the effective pairings for designing salt bridges. The model was also coupled with B-factor, weighted contact number, relative solvent accessibility, and conservation prescreening to determine the residues appropriate for the thermal adaptive design of salt bridges. According to our method, eight putative salt-bridges were designed on a mesophilic β-glucosidase and 24 variants were constructed to verify the predictions. Six putative salt-bridges leaded to the increase of the enzyme thermal stability. A significant increase in melting temperature of 8.8, 4.8, 3.7, 1.3, 1.2, and 0.7°C of the putative salt-bridges N437K–D49, E96R–D28, E96K–D28, S440K–E70, T231K–D388, and Q277E–D282 was detected, respectively. Reversing the polarity of T231K–D388 to T231D–D388K resulted in a further increase in melting temperatures by 3.6°C, which may be caused by the transformation of an intra-subunit electrostatic interaction into an inter-subunit one depending on the local environment. The combination of the thermostable variants (N437K, E96R, T231D and D388K) generated a melting temperature increase of 15.7°C. Thus, this study demonstrated a novel method for the thermal adaptive design of salt bridges through inference of suitable positions and substitutions.

Vibrational entropy differences between mesophile and thermophile proteins and their use in protein engineering

We recently introduced ENCoM, an elastic network atomic contact model, as the first coarse-grained normal mode analysis method that accounts for the nature of amino acids and can predict the effect of mutations on thermostability based on changes vibrational entropy. In this proof-of-concept article, we use pairs of mesophile and thermophile homolog proteins with identical structures to determine if a measure of vibrational entropy based on normal mode analysis can discriminate thermophile from mesophile proteins. We observe that in around 60% of cases, thermophile proteins are more rigid at equivalent temperatures than their mesophile counterpart and this difference can guide the design of proteins to increase their thermostability through series of mutations. We observe that mutations separating thermophile proteins from their mesophile orthologs contribute independently to a decrease in vibrational entropy and discuss the application and implications of this methodology to protein engineering.

Structures of mesophilic and extremophilic citrate synthases reveal rigidity and flexibility for function

Citrate synthase (CS) catalyses the entry of carbon into the citric acid cycle and is highly-conserved structurally across the tree of life. Crystal structures of dimeric CSs are known in both "open" and "closed" forms, which differ by a substantial domain motion that closes the substrate-binding clefts. We explore both the static rigidity and the dynamic flexibility of CS structures from mesophilic and extremophilic organisms from all three evolutionary domains. The computational expense of this wide-ranging exploration is kept to a minimum by the use of rigidity analysis and rapid all-atom simulations of flexible motion, combining geometric simulation and elastic network modeling. CS structures from thermophiles display increased structural rigidity compared with the mesophilic enzyme. A CS structure from a psychrophile, stabilized by strong ionic interactions, appears to display likewise increased rigidity in conventional rigidity analysis; however, a novel modified analysis, taking into account the weakening of the hydrophobic effect at low temperatures, shows a more appropriate decreased rigidity. These rigidity variations do not, however, affect the character of the flexible dynamics, which are well conserved across all the structures studied. Simulation trajectories not only duplicate the crystallographically observed symmetric open-to-closed transitions, but also identify motions describing a previously unidentified antisymmetric functional motion. This antisymmetric motion would not be directly observed in crystallography but is revealed as an intrinsic property of the CS structure by modeling of flexible motion. This suggests that the functional motion closing the binding clefts in CS may be independent rather than symmetric and cooperative.

Structure of a His170Tyr mutant of thermostable pNPPase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus

Using directed evolution based on random mutagenesis and heat-treated selection, a thermostable His170Tyr mutant of Geobacillus stearothermophilus thermostable p-nitrophenylphosphatase (TpNPPase) was obtained. The temperature at which the His170Tyr mutant lost 50% of its activity (T1/2) was found to be 4.40 K higher than that of wild-type TpNPPase, and the melting temperature of the His170Tyr mutant increased by 2.39 K. The crystal structure of the His170Tyr mutant was then determined at 2.0 Å resolution in the presence of a sodium ion and a sulfate ion in the active site. The cap domain of chain B shows a half-closed conformation. The hydrophobic side chain of the mutated residue, the hydroxyphenyl group, forms a hydrophobic contact with the methyl group of Ala166. This hydrophobic interaction was found using the Protein Interactions Calculator (PIC) web server with an interaction distance of 4.6 Å, and might be a key factor in the thermostabilization of the His170Tyr mutant. This study potentially offers a molecular basis for both investigation of the catalytic mechanism and thermostable protein engineering.

Redistribution of flexibility in stabilizing antibody fragment mutants follows Le Châtelier's principle

Le Châtelier's principle is the cornerstone of our understanding of chemical equilibria. When a system at equilibrium undergoes a change in concentration or thermodynamic state (i.e., temperature, pressure, etc.), La Châtelier's principle states that an equilibrium shift will occur to offset the perturbation and a new equilibrium is established. We demonstrate that the effects of stabilizing mutations on the rigidity ⇔ flexibility equilibrium within the native state ensemble manifest themselves through enthalpy-entropy compensation as the protein structure adjusts to restore the global balance between the two. Specifically, we characterize the effects of mutation to single chain fragments of the anti-lymphotoxin-β receptor antibody using a computational Distance Constraint Model. Statistically significant changes in the distribution of both rigidity and flexibility within the molecular structure is typically observed, where the local perturbations often lead to distal shifts in flexibility and rigidity profiles. Nevertheless, the net gain or loss in flexibility of individual mutants can be skewed. Despite all mutants being exclusively stabilizing in this dataset, increased flexibility is slightly more common than increased rigidity. Mechanistically the redistribution of flexibility is largely controlled by changes in the H-bond network. For example, a stabilizing mutation can induce an increase in rigidity locally due to the formation of new H-bonds, and simultaneously break H-bonds elsewhere leading to increased flexibility distant from the mutation site via Le Châtelier. Increased flexibility within the VH β4/β5 loop is a noteworthy illustration of this long-range effect.

Quality matters: extension of clusters of residues with good hydrophobic contacts stabilize (hyper)thermophilic proteins

Identifying determinant(s) of protein thermostability is key for rational and data-driven protein engineering. By analyzing more than 130 pairs of mesophilic/(hyper)thermophilic proteins, we identified the quality (residue-wise energy) of hydrophobic interactions as a key factor for protein thermostability. This distinguishes our study from previous ones that investigated predominantly structural determinants. Considering this key factor, we successfully discriminated between pairs of mesophilic/(hyper)thermophilic proteins (discrimination accuracy: ∼80%) and searched for structural weak spots in E. coli dihydrofolate reductase (classification accuracy: 70%).

Engineering lipase A from mesophilic Bacillus subtilis for activity at low temperatures

Loops or unordered regions of a protein are structurally dynamic and are strongly implicated in activity, stability and proteolytic susceptibility of proteins. Diminished activity of proteins at lower temperatures is considered to be due to compromised dynamics of the protein at lower temperatures. To evolve an active mesophilic lipase (Bacillus subtilis) at low temperatures, we subjected all the loop residues (n = 88) to site saturation mutagenesis (SSM). Based on a three-level screening protocol, we identified 14 substitutions, among 16,000 mutant population, which contributed to a substantial increase in activity at 5 °C. Based on the preliminary activity of recombinants at several temperatures, 5 substitutions among the 14 were found to be beneficial. A recombinant of these five mutations, named as 5CR, exhibited 7-fold higher catalytic efficiency than wild-type (WT) lipase at 10 °C. All the mutants, individually and in a recombinant (5CR), were characterized by substrate-binding parameters, melting temperatures and secondary structure. 5CR was similar to WT in substrate preferences and showed a significant improvement in activity at both lower and higher temperatures compared with the WT. To establish the contribution of mutations on the dynamics of the protein, we performed 100-ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on the WT and mutant lipase at 10 and 37 °C. The root mean square fluctuations (RMSFs) indeed showed that the mutations enhance the protein dynamics locally in the loop region having a catalytic residue, which may help in improved activities at lower temperatures.

Change in heat capacity for enzyme catalysis determines temperature dependence of enzyme catalyzed rates

The increase in enzymatic rates with temperature up to an optimum temperature (Topt) is widely attributed to classical Arrhenius behavior, with the decrease in enzymatic rates above Topt ascribed to protein denaturation and/or aggregation. This account persists despite many investigators noting that denaturation is insufficient to explain the decline in enzymatic rates above Topt. Here we show that it is the change in heat capacity associated with enzyme catalysis (ΔC(‡)p) and its effect on the temperature dependence of ΔG(‡) that determines the temperature dependence of enzyme activity. Through mutagenesis, we demonstrate that the Topt of an enzyme is correlated with ΔC(‡)p and that changes to ΔC(‡)p are sufficient to change Topt without affecting the catalytic rate. Furthermore, using X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations we reveal the molecular details underpinning these changes in ΔC(‡)p. The influence of ΔC(‡)p on enzymatic rates has implications for the temperature dependence of biological rates from enzymes to ecosystems.

Engineering proteins for thermostability through rigidifying flexible sites

Engineering proteins for thermostability is an exciting and challenging field since it is critical for broadening the industrial use of recombinant proteins. Thermostability of proteins arises from the simultaneous effect of several forces such as hydrophobic interactions, disulfide bonds, salt bridges and hydrogen bonds. All of these interactions lead to decreased flexibility of polypeptide chain. Structural studies of mesophilic and thermophilic proteins showed that the latter need more rigid structures to compensate for increased thermal fluctuations. Hence flexibility can be an indicator to pinpoint weak spots for enhancing thermostability of enzymes. A strategy has been proven effective in enhancing proteins' thermostability with two steps: predict flexible sites of proteins firstly and then rigidify these sites. We refer to this approach as rigidify flexible sites (RFS) and give an overview of such a method through summarizing the methods to predict flexibility of a protein, the methods to rigidify residues with high flexibility and successful cases regarding enhancing thermostability of proteins using RFS.

Molecular dynamics perspective on the protein thermal stability: a case study using SAICAR synthetase

The enzyme SAICAR synthetase ligates aspartate with CAIR (5'-phosphoribosyl-4-carboxy-5-aminoimidazole) forming SAICAR (5-amino-4-imidazole-N-succinocarboxamide ribonucleotide) in the presence of ATP. In continuation with our previous study on the thermostability of this enzyme in hyper-/thermophiles based on the structural aspects, here, we present the dynamic aspects that differentiate the mesophilic (E. coli, E. chaffeensis), thermophilic (G. kaustophilus), and hyperthermophilic (M. jannaschii, P. horikoshii) SAICAR synthetases by carrying out a total of 11 simulations. The five functional dimers from the above organisms were simulated using molecular dynamics for a period of 50 ns each at 300 K, 363 K, and an additional simulation at 333 K for the thermophilic protein. The basic features like root-mean-square deviations, root-mean-square fluctuations, surface accessibility, and radius of gyration revealed the instability of mesophiles at 363 K. Mean square displacements establish the reduced flexibility of hyper-/thermophiles at all temperatures. At the simulations time scale considered here, the long-distance networks are considerably affected in mesophilic structures at 363 K. In mesophiles, a comparatively higher number of short-lived (having less percent existence time) Cα, hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions are formed, and long-lived (with higher percentage existence time) contacts are lost. The number of time-averaged salt-bridges is at least 2-fold higher in hyperthermophiles at 363 K. The change in surface accessibility of salt-bridges at 363 K from 300 K is nearly doubled in mesophilic protein compared to proteins from other temperature classes.

Efficient and robust analysis of biomacromolecular flexibility using ensembles of network topologies based on fuzzy noncovalent constraints

We describe an approach (ENT(FNC)) for performing rigidity analyses of biomacromolecules on ensembles of network topologies (ENT) generated from a single input structure. The ENT is based on fuzzy noncovalent constraints, which considers thermal fluctuations of biomacromolecules without actually sampling conformations. Definitions for fuzzy noncovalent constraints were derived from persistency data from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A very good agreement between local flexibility and rigidity characteristics from ENT(FNC) and MD simulations-generated ensembles is found. Regarding global characteristics, convincing results were obtained when relative thermostabilities of citrate synthase and lipase A structures were computed. The ENT(FNC) approach significantly improves the robustness of rigidity analyses, is highly efficient, and does not require a protein-specific parameterization. Its low computational demand makes it especially valuable for the analysis of large data sets, e.g., for data-driven protein engineering.

Structure- and sequence-analysis inspired engineering of proteins for enhanced thermostability

Protein engineering strategies for increasing stability can be improved by replacing random mutagenesis and high-throughput screening by approaches that include bioinformatics and computational design. Mutations can be focused on regions in the structure that are most flexible and involved in the early steps of thermal unfolding. Sequence analysis can often predict the position and nature of stabilizing mutations, and may allow the reconstruction of thermostable ancestral sequences. Various computational tools make it possible to design stabilizing features, such as hydrophobic clusters and surface charges. Different methods for designing chimeric enzymes can also support the engineering of more stable proteins without the need of high-throughput screening.

CNA web server: rigidity theory-based thermal unfolding simulations of proteins for linking structure, (thermo-)stability, and function

The Constraint Network Analysis (CNA) web server provides a user-friendly interface to the CNA approach developed in our laboratory for linking results from rigidity analyses to biologically relevant characteristics of a biomolecular structure. The CNA web server provides a refined modeling of thermal unfolding simulations that considers the temperature dependence of hydrophobic tethers and computes a set of global and local indices for quantifying biomacromolecular stability. From the global indices, phase transition points are identified where the structure switches from a rigid to a floppy state; these phase transition points can be related to a protein’s (thermo-)stability. Structural weak spots (unfolding nuclei) are automatically identified, too; this knowledge can be exploited in data-driven protein engineering. The local indices are useful in linking flexibility and function and to understand the impact of ligand binding on protein flexibility. The CNA web server robustly handles small-molecule ligands in general. To overcome issues of sensitivity with respect to the input structure, the CNA web server allows performing two ensemble-based variants of thermal unfolding simulations. The web server output is provided as raw data, plots and/or Jmol representations. The CNA web server, accessible at http://cpclab.uni-duesseldorf.de/cna or http://www.cnanalysis.de, is free and open to all users with no login requirement.

Constraint Network Analysis (CNA): a Python software package for efficiently linking biomacromolecular structure, flexibility, (thermo-)stability, and function

For deriving maximal advantage from information on biomacromolecular flexibility and rigidity, results from rigidity analyses must be linked to biologically relevant characteristics of a structure. Here, we describe the Python-based software package Constraint Network Analysis (CNA) developed for this task. CNA functions as a front- and backend to the graph-based rigidity analysis software FIRST. CNA goes beyond the mere identification of flexible and rigid regions in a biomacromolecule in that it (I) provides a refined modeling of thermal unfolding simulations that also considers the temperature-dependence of hydrophobic tethers, (II) allows performing rigidity analyses on ensembles of network topologies, either generated from structural ensembles or by using the concept of fuzzy noncovalent constraints, and (III) computes a set of global and local indices for quantifying biomacromolecular stability. This leads to more robust results from rigidity analyses and extends the application domain of rigidity analyses in that phase transition points ("melting points") and unfolding nuclei ("structural weak spots") are determined automatically. Furthermore, CNA robustly handles small-molecule ligands in general. Such advancements are important for applying rigidity analysis to data-driven protein engineering and for estimating the influence of ligand molecules on biomacromolecular stability. CNA maintains the efficiency of FIRST such that the analysis of a single protein structure takes a few seconds for systems of several hundred residues on a single core. These features make CNA an interesting tool for linking biomacromolecular structure, flexibility, (thermo-)stability, and function. CNA is available from http://cpclab.uni-duesseldorf.de/software for nonprofit organizations.