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Liu G, Ekmen E, Jalalypour F, Mertens HDT, Jeffries CM, Svergun D, Atilgan AR, Atilgan C, Sayers Z. Conformational multiplicity of bacterial ferric binding protein revealed by small angle x-ray scattering and molecular dynamics calculations. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:085101. [PMID: 36859088 DOI: 10.1063/5.0136558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This study combines molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements to investigate the range of conformations that can be adopted by a pH/ionic strength (IS) sensitive protein and to quantify its distinct populations in solution. To explore how the conformational distribution of proteins may be modified in the environmental niches of biological media, we focus on the periplasmic ferric binding protein A (FbpA) from Haemophilus influenzae involved in the mechanism by which bacteria capture iron from higher organisms. We examine iron-binding/release mechanisms of FbpA in varying conditions simulating its biological environment. While we show that these changes fall within the detectable range for SAXS as evidenced by differences observed in the theoretical scattering patterns calculated from the crystal structure models of apo and holo forms, detection of conformational changes due to the point mutation D52A and changes in ionic strength (IS) from SAXS scattering profiles have been challenging. Here, to reach conclusions, statistical analyses with SAXS profiles and results from different techniques were combined in a complementary fashion. The SAXS data complemented by size exclusion chromatography point to multiple and/or alternative conformations at physiological IS, whereas they are well-explained by single crystallographic structures in low IS buffers. By fitting the SAXS data with unique conformations sampled by a series of MD simulations under conditions mimicking the buffers, we quantify the populations of the occupied substates. We also find that the D52A mutant that we predicted by coarse-grained computational modeling to allosterically control the iron binding site in FbpA, responds to the environmental changes in our experiments with conformational selection scenarios that differ from those of the wild type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goksin Liu
- Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Orhanli, Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Erhan Ekmen
- Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Orhanli, Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Farzaneh Jalalypour
- Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Orhanli, Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Haydyn D T Mertens
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory - Hamburg Unit, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Cy M Jeffries
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory - Hamburg Unit, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dmitri Svergun
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory - Hamburg Unit, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ali Rana Atilgan
- Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Orhanli, Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Canan Atilgan
- Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Orhanli, Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Zehra Sayers
- Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Orhanli, Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Türkiye
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Avsar B. Effective Strategies for Heterologous Expression of Plant Heterotrimeric
G-protein γ Subunits without Gβ Subunit Partners. Protein Pept Lett 2022; 29:429-439. [DOI: 10.2174/0929866529666220203094448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 11/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Background:
In plants, heterotrimeric G-protein (Gγ) subunits are diverse, and they have
structural plasticity to provide functional selectivity to the heterotrimer. Although the Gβ and Gγ
subunits dimerize to function in the signaling pathway, the interaction mechanism of various Gγ
subunits with the Gβ subunit partners is still elusive.
Objective:
To better understand the interaction mechanism, one approach is to separate the subunits
for the re-assembly in vitro. Hence, developing a reliable method for achieving the efficient
production and purification of these proteins has become necessary.
Method:
In this study, Gγ1 and Gγ2 proteins from Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana were
successfully identified, cloned, expressed in bacteria, and purified as recombinant proteins with the
fusion tags. Highly expressed recombinant Gγ subunits in E. coli were digested by proteases, which
were also produced in the presented study.
Results:
Preliminary structural characterization studies without the Gβ partners showed that Gγ1
proteins have disordered structures with coiled-coil, α-helix extensions, and loops, whereas the Gγ2
protein has a more dominant β-sheet and turns structure. Finally, computational analyses performed
on Gγ genes have laid the foundation of new targets for biotechnological purposes.
Conclusion:
The proposed optimized expression and purification protocol can contribute to
investigations on the Gβγ binding mechanism in plant G-protein signaling. The investigations on
selective binding are critical to shed light on the role(s) of different plant Gγ subunit types in
biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bihter Avsar
- Department of Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci
University, Istanbul, Turkey
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Ungerer A, Staufer T, Schmutzler O, Körnig C, Rothkamm K, Grüner F. X-ray-Fluorescence Imaging for In Vivo Detection of Gold-Nanoparticle-Labeled Immune Cells: A GEANT4 Based Feasibility Study. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:5759. [PMID: 34830917 PMCID: PMC8616134 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13225759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The growing field of cellular therapies in regenerative medicine and oncology calls for more refined diagnostic tools that are able to investigate and monitor the function and success of said therapies. X-ray Fluorescence Imaging (XFI) can be applied for molecular imaging with nanoparticles, such as gold nanoparticles (GNPs), which can be used in immune cell tracking. We present a Monte Carlo simulation study on the sensitivity of detection and associated radiation dose estimations in an idealized setup of XFI in human-sized objects. Our findings demonstrate the practicability of XFI in human-sized objects, as immune cell tracking with a minimum detection limit of 4.4 × 105 cells or 0.86 μg gold in a cubic volume of 1.78 mm3 can be achieved. Therefore, our results show that the current technological developments form a good basis for high sensitivity XFI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Ungerer
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, Medical Faculty, University of Hamburg, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; (A.U.); (K.R.)
- Universität Hamburg and Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Institute for Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany; (T.S.); (O.S.); (C.K.)
| | - Theresa Staufer
- Universität Hamburg and Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Institute for Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany; (T.S.); (O.S.); (C.K.)
| | - Oliver Schmutzler
- Universität Hamburg and Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Institute for Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany; (T.S.); (O.S.); (C.K.)
| | - Christian Körnig
- Universität Hamburg and Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Institute for Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany; (T.S.); (O.S.); (C.K.)
| | - Kai Rothkamm
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, Medical Faculty, University of Hamburg, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; (A.U.); (K.R.)
| | - Florian Grüner
- Universität Hamburg and Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Institute for Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany; (T.S.); (O.S.); (C.K.)
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Chen K, Zhang W, La T, Bastians PA, Guo T, Cao C. Microstructure investigation of plant architecture with X-ray microscopy. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 311:110986. [PMID: 34482923 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.110986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, the plant morphology has been well studied by multiple approaches at cellular and subcellular levels. Two-dimensional (2D) microscopy techniques offer imaging of plant structures on a wide range of magnifications for researchers. However, subcellular imaging is still challenging in plant tissues like roots and seeds. Here we use a three-dimensional (3D) imaging technology based on the X-ray microscope (XRM) and analyze several plant tissues from different plant species. The XRM provides new insights into plant structures using non-destructive imaging at high-resolution and high contrast. We also utilized a workflow aiming to acquire accurate and high-quality images in the context of the whole specimen. Multiple plant samples including rice, tobacco, Arabidopsis and maize were used to display the differences of phenotypes. Our work indicates that the XRM is a powerful tool to investigate plant microstructure in high-resolution scale. Our work also provides evidence that evaluate and quantify tissue specific differences for a range of plant species. We also characterize novel plant tissue phenotypes by the XRM, such as seeds in Arabidopsis, and utilize them for novel observation measurement. Our work represents an evaluated spatial and temporal resolution solution on seed observation and screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Chen
- Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Technology in Rice Breeding, Guangzhou, 510640, Guangdong, China; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), 23955-6900, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Wenting Zhang
- Crops Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Ting La
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | | | - Tao Guo
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Chunjie Cao
- Carl Zeiss (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, Beijing, 100191, China.
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Niggenaber J, Hardick J, Lategahn J, Rauh D. Structure Defines Function: Clinically Relevant Mutations in ErbB Kinases. J Med Chem 2019; 63:40-51. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Janina Niggenaber
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 4a, 44227 Dortmund, (Germany)
- Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD) am Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), TU Dortmund University, 44227 Dortmund (Germany)
| | - Julia Hardick
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 4a, 44227 Dortmund, (Germany)
- Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD) am Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), TU Dortmund University, 44227 Dortmund (Germany)
| | - Jonas Lategahn
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 4a, 44227 Dortmund, (Germany)
- Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD) am Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), TU Dortmund University, 44227 Dortmund (Germany)
| | - Daniel Rauh
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 4a, 44227 Dortmund, (Germany)
- Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD) am Zentrum für Integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW), TU Dortmund University, 44227 Dortmund (Germany)
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Li J, Jiao A, Chen S, Wu Z, Xu E, Jin Z. RETRACTED: Application of the small-angle X-ray scattering technique for structural analysis studies: A review. J Mol Struct 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2017.12.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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7
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Chen R, Chen G. Tumor-induced disorder of iron metabolism in major organs: a new insight from chemical speciation of iron. J Int Med Res 2017; 46:70-78. [PMID: 28718696 PMCID: PMC6011321 DOI: 10.1177/0300060517718711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective To investigate the evolution of iron speciation in major organs of tumor-bearing mice and its role in cancer formation and cancer-associated complications. Methods The concentration and chemical speciation of iron in the spleen, liver, lung, kidney, heart, blood, muscle, and tumor tissue of healthy mice and tumor-bearing mice were studied by synchrotron radiation-based total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SR-TXRF) coupled with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Results The TXRF and XAS results showed that the iron content, especially the ferritin content, significantly decreased in the blood and spleen but significantly increased in the liver, lung, and muscle of mice after tumor implantation. The chemical speciation of iron in the tumor mainly comprised ferrous-sulfide-like iron and ferritin. Conclusion The tumors disturbed the iron metabolism in major organs, and the evolution of iron may be involved in iron deficiency anemia, cancer growth, and immunity. Additionally, iron speciation-based markers may be further developed as clinical indicators for cancer and cancer-associated complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rujie Chen
- 1 Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Guangcun Chen
- 2 Division of Nanobionics, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, China
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Angell CA, Magazù S, Migliardo F. Science for life - Recent advances in biochemical and biophysical methods. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2016; 1861:3501-3503. [PMID: 27657805 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2016.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C Austen Angell
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Salvatore Magazù
- Department of Mathematical and Informatics Sciences, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, Viale D'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Federica Migliardo
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale D'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
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