1
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Dahlström KM, Salminen TA. Apprehensions and emerging solutions in ML-based protein structure prediction. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2024; 86:102819. [PMID: 38631107 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2024.102819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
The three-dimensional structure of proteins determines their function in vital biological processes. Thus, when the structure is known, the molecular mechanism of protein function can be understood in more detail and obtained information utilized in biotechnological, diagnostics, and therapeutic applications. Over the past five years, machine learning (ML)-based modeling has pushed protein structure prediction to the next level with AlphaFold in the front line, predicting the structure for hundreds of millions of proteins. Further advances recently report promising ML-based approaches for solving remaining challenges by incorporating functionally important metals, co-factors, post-translational modifications, structural dynamics, and interdomain and multimer interactions in the structure prediction process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Käthe M Dahlström
- Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Tykistökatu 6A, 20520 Turku, Finland; InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, Finland
| | - Tiina A Salminen
- Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Tykistökatu 6A, 20520 Turku, Finland; InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, Finland.
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2
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Fazekas Z, K Menyhárd D, Perczel A. LoCoHD: a metric for comparing local environments of proteins. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4029. [PMID: 38740745 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48225-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein folds and the local environments they create can be compared using a variety of differently designed measures, such as the root mean squared deviation, the global distance test, the template modeling score or the local distance difference test. Although these measures have proven to be useful for a variety of tasks, each fails to fully incorporate the valuable chemical information inherent to atoms and residues, and considers these only partially and indirectly. Here, we develop the highly flexible local composition Hellinger distance (LoCoHD) metric, which is based on the chemical composition of local residue environments. Using LoCoHD, we analyze the chemical heterogeneity of amino acid environments and identify valines having the most conserved-, and arginines having the most variable chemical environments. We use LoCoHD to investigate structural ensembles, to evaluate critical assessment of structure prediction (CASP) competitors, to compare the results with the local distance difference test (lDDT) scoring system, and to evaluate a molecular dynamics simulation. We show that LoCoHD measurements provide unique information about protein structures that is distinct from, for example, those derived using the alignment-based RMSD metric, or the similarly distance matrix-based but alignment-free lDDT metric.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsolt Fazekas
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- ELTE Hevesy György PhD School of Chemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dóra K Menyhárd
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- HUN-REN-ELTE Protein Modeling Research Group, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - András Perczel
- Laboratory of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
- HUN-REN-ELTE Protein Modeling Research Group, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
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3
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Manfredi M, Savojardo C, Iardukhin G, Salomoni D, Costantini A, Martelli PL, Casadio R. Alpha&ESMhFolds: A Web Server for Comparing AlphaFold2 and ESMFold Models of the Human Reference Proteome. J Mol Biol 2024:168593. [PMID: 38718922 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
We develop a novel database Alpha&ESMhFolds which allows the direct comparison of AlphaFold2 and ESMFold predicted models for 42,942 proteins of the Reference Human Proteome, and when available, their comparison with 2,900 directly associated PDB structures with at least a structure to sequence coverage of 70%. Statistics indicate that good quality models tend to overlap with a TM-score >0.6 as long as some PDB structural information is available. As expected, a direct model superimposition to the PDB structure highlights that AlphaFold2 models are slightly superior to ESMFold ones. However, some 55% of the database is endowed with models overlapping with TM-score <0.6. This highlights the different outputs of the two methods. The database is freely available for usage at https://alpha-esmhfolds.biocomp.unibo.it/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Manfredi
- Biocomputing Group, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Castrense Savojardo
- Biocomputing Group, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Italy.
| | - Georgii Iardukhin
- Biocomputing Group, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Italy
| | | | | | - Pier Luigi Martelli
- Biocomputing Group, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Italy.
| | - Rita Casadio
- Biocomputing Group, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Italy
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4
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Burley SK, Piehl DW, Vallat B, Zardecki C. RCSB Protein Data Bank: supporting research and education worldwide through explorations of experimentally determined and computationally predicted atomic level 3D biostructures. IUCRJ 2024; 11:279-286. [PMID: 38597878 PMCID: PMC11067742 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252524002604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
The Protein Data Bank (PDB) was established as the first open-access digital data resource in biology and medicine in 1971 with seven X-ray crystal structures of proteins. Today, the PDB houses >210 000 experimentally determined, atomic level, 3D structures of proteins and nucleic acids as well as their complexes with one another and small molecules (e.g. approved drugs, enzyme cofactors). These data provide insights into fundamental biology, biomedicine, bioenergy and biotechnology. They proved particularly important for understanding the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic. The US-funded Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) and other members of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) partnership jointly manage the PDB archive and support >60 000 `data depositors' (structural biologists) around the world. wwPDB ensures the quality and integrity of the data in the ever-expanding PDB archive and supports global open access without limitations on data usage. The RCSB PDB research-focused web portal at https://www.rcsb.org/ (RCSB.org) supports millions of users worldwide, representing a broad range of expertise and interests. In addition to retrieving 3D structure data, PDB `data consumers' access comparative data and external annotations, such as information about disease-causing point mutations and genetic variations. RCSB.org also provides access to >1 000 000 computed structure models (CSMs) generated using artificial intelligence/machine-learning methods. To avoid doubt, the provenance and reliability of experimentally determined PDB structures and CSMs are identified. Related training materials are available to support users in their RCSB.org explorations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen K. Burley
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Biology Protein Data Bank, San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Dennis W. Piehl
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Brinda Vallat
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Christine Zardecki
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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Dapkūnas J, Timinskas A, Olechnovič K, Tomkuvienė M, Venclovas Č. PPI3D: a web server for searching, analyzing and modeling protein-protein, protein-peptide and protein-nucleic acid interactions. Nucleic Acids Res 2024:gkae278. [PMID: 38619046 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Structure-resolved protein interactions with other proteins, peptides and nucleic acids are key for understanding molecular mechanisms. The PPI3D web server enables researchers to query preprocessed and clustered structural data, analyze the results and make homology-based inferences for protein interactions. PPI3D offers three interaction exploration modes: (i) all interactions for proteins homologous to the query, (ii) interactions between two proteins or their homologs and (iii) interactions within a specific PDB entry. The server allows interactive analysis of the identified interactions in both summarized and detailed manner. This includes protein annotations, structures, the interface residues and the corresponding contact surface areas. In addition, users can make inferences about residues at the interaction interface for the query protein(s) from the sequence alignments and homology models. The weekly updated PPI3D database includes all the interaction interfaces and binding sites from PDB, clustered based on both protein sequence and structural similarity, yielding non-redundant datasets without loss of alternative interaction modes. Consequently, the PPI3D users avoid being flooded with redundant information, a typical situation for intensely studied proteins. Furthermore, PPI3D provides a possibility to download user-defined sets of interaction interfaces and analyze them locally. The PPI3D web server is available at https://bioinformatics.lt/ppi3d.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justas Dapkūnas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio av. 7, Vilnius LT-10257, Lithuania
| | - Albertas Timinskas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio av. 7, Vilnius LT-10257, Lithuania
| | - Kliment Olechnovič
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio av. 7, Vilnius LT-10257, Lithuania
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LJK, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Miglė Tomkuvienė
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio av. 7, Vilnius LT-10257, Lithuania
| | - Česlovas Venclovas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio av. 7, Vilnius LT-10257, Lithuania
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Vallat B, Berman HM. Structural highlights of macromolecular complexes and assemblies. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2024; 85:102773. [PMID: 38271778 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The structures of macromolecular assemblies have given us deep insights into cellular processes and have profoundly impacted biological research and drug discovery. We highlight the structures of macromolecular assemblies that have been modeled using integrative and computational methods and describe how open access to these structures from structural archives has empowered the research community. The arsenal of experimental and computational methods for structure determination ensures a future where whole organelles and cells can be modeled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brinda Vallat
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank and the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
| | - Helen M Berman
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank and the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA 90089, USA
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Szikszai M, Magnus M, Sanghi S, Kadyan S, Bouatta N, Rivas E. RNA3DB: A structurally-dissimilar dataset split for training and benchmarking deep learning models for RNA structure prediction. J Mol Biol 2024:168552. [PMID: 38552946 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
With advances in protein structure prediction thanks to deep learning models like AlphaFold, RNA structure prediction has recently received increased attention from deep learning researchers. RNAs introduce substantial challenges due to the sparser availability and lower structural diversity of the experimentally resolved RNA structures in comparison to protein structures. These challenges are often poorly addressed by the existing literature, many of which report inflated performance due to using training and testing sets with significant structural overlap. Further, the most recent Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP15) has shown that deep learning models for RNA structure are currently outperformed by traditional methods. In this paper we present RNA3DB, a dataset of structured RNAs, derived from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), that is designed for training and benchmarking deep learning models. The RNA3DB method arranges the RNA 3D chains into distinct groups (Components) that are non-redundant both with regard to sequence as well as structure, providing a robust way of dividing training, validation, and testing sets. Any split of these structurally-dissimilar Components are guaranteed to produce test and validations sets that are distinct by sequence and structure from those in the training set. We provide the RNA3DB dataset, a particular train/test split of the RNA3DB Components (in an approximate 70/30 ratio) that will be updated periodically. We also provide the RNA3DB methodology along with the source-code, with the goal of creating a reproducible and customizable tool for producing structurally-dissimilar dataset splits for structural RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcell Szikszai
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA
| | - Marcin Magnus
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA
| | - Siddhant Sanghi
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York 10027, NY, USA; College of Biological Sciences, UC Davis, Davis 95616, CA, USA
| | - Sachin Kadyan
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York 10027, NY, USA
| | - Nazim Bouatta
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, MA, USA
| | - Elena Rivas
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA
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8
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Caparotta M, Perez A. Advancing Molecular Dynamics: Toward Standardization, Integration, and Data Accessibility in Structural Biology. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:2219-2227. [PMID: 38418288 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have become a valuable tool in structural biology, offering insights into complex biological systems that are difficult to obtain through experimental techniques alone. The lack of available data sets and structures in most published computational work has limited other researchers' use of these models. In recent years, the emergence of online sharing platforms and MD database initiatives favor the deposition of ensembles and structures to accompany publications, favoring reuse of the data sets. However, the lack of uniform metadata collection, formats, and what data are deposited limits the impact and its use by different communities that are not necessarily experts in MD. This Perspective highlights the need for standardization and better resource sharing for processing and interpreting MD simulation results, akin to efforts in other areas of structural biology. As the field moves forward, we will see an increase in popularity and benefits of MD-based integrative approaches combining experimental data and simulations through probabilistic reasoning, but these too are limited by uniformity in experimental data availability and choices on how the data are modeled that are not trivial to decipher from papers. Other fields have addressed similar challenges comprehensively by establishing task forces with different degrees of success. The large scope and number of communities to represent the breadth of types of MD simulations complicates a parallel approach that would fit all. Thus, each group typically decides what data and which format to upload on servers like Zenodo. Uploading data with FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles in mind including optimal metadata collection will make the data more accessible and actionable by the community. Such a wealth of simulation data will foster method development and infrastructure advancements, thus propelling the field forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Caparotta
- Department of Chemistry and Quantum Theory Project, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Alberto Perez
- Department of Chemistry and Quantum Theory Project, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
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9
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Szikszai M, Magnus M, Sanghi S, Kadyan S, Bouatta N, Rivas E. RNA3DB: A structurally-dissimilar dataset split for training and benchmarking deep learning models for RNA structure prediction. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.30.578025. [PMID: 38352531 PMCID: PMC10862857 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.30.578025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
With advances in protein structure prediction thanks to deep learning models like AlphaFold, RNA structure prediction has recently received increased attention from deep learning researchers. RNAs introduce substantial challenges due to the sparser availability and lower structural diversity of the experimentally resolved RNA structures in comparison to protein structures. These challenges are often poorly addressed by the existing literature, many of which report inflated performance due to using training and testing sets with significant structural overlap. Further, the most recent Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP15) has shown that deep learning models for RNA structure are currently outperformed by traditional methods. In this paper we present RNA3DB, a dataset of structured RNAs, derived from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), that is designed for training and benchmarking deep learning models. The RNA3DB method arranges the RNA 3D chains into distinct groups (Components) that are non-redundant both with regard to sequence as well as structure, providing a robust way of dividing training, validation, and testing sets. Any split of these structurally-dissimilar Components are guaranteed to produce test and validations sets that are distinct by sequence and structure from those in the training set. We provide the RNA3DB dataset, a particular train/test split of the RNA3DB Components (in an approximate 70/30 ratio) that will be updated periodically. We also provide the RNA3DB methodology along with the source-code, with the goal of creating a reproducible and customizable tool for producing structurally-dissimilar dataset splits for structural RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcell Szikszai
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA
| | - Marcin Magnus
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA
| | - Siddhant Sanghi
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, 10027, NY, USA
- College of Biological Sciences, UC Davis, Davis, 95616, CA, USA
| | - Sachin Kadyan
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, 10027, NY, USA
| | - Nazim Bouatta
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02115, MA, USA
| | - Elena Rivas
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA
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Arrowsmith CH. Structure-guided drug discovery: back to the future. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2024; 31:395-396. [PMID: 38486110 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-024-01244-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl H Arrowsmith
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Sriramoju MK, Ko KT, Hsu STD. Tying a true topological protein knot by cyclization. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2024; 696:149470. [PMID: 38244314 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.149470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Knotted proteins are fascinating to biophysicists because of their robust ability to fold into intricately defined three-dimensional structures with complex and topologically knotted arrangements. Exploring the biophysical properties of the knotted proteins is of significant interest, as they could offer enhanced chemical, thermal, and mechanostabilities. A true mathematical knot requires a closed path; in contrast, knotted protein structures have open N- and C-termini. To address the question of how a truly knotted protein differs from the naturally occurring counterpart, we enzymatically cyclized a 31 knotted YibK protein from Haemophilus influenza (HiYibK) to investigate the impact of path closure on its structure-function relationship and folding stability. Through the use of a multitude of structural and biophysical tools, including X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, small angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, and isothermal calorimetry, we showed that the path closure minimally perturbs the native structure and ligand binding of HiYibK. Nevertheless, the cyclization did alter the folding stability and mechanism according to chemical and thermal unfolding analysis. These molecular insights contribute to our fundamental understanding of protein folding and knotting that could have implications in the protein design with higher stabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kuang-Ting Ko
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Shang-Te Danny Hsu
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan; Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106319, Taiwan; International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (SKCM(2)), Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, 739-8527, Japan.
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