Folding of a highly conserved diverging turn motif from the SH3 domain

Electrostatic effects in the folding of the SH3 domain of the c-Src tyrosine kinase: pH-dependence in 3D-domain swapping and amyloid formation

The SH3 domain of the c-Src tyrosine kinase (c-Src-SH3) aggregates to form intertwined dimers and amyloid fibrils at mild acid pHs. In this work, we show that a single mutation of residue Gln128 of this SH3 domain has a significant effect on: (i) its thermal stability; and (ii) its propensity to form amyloid fibrils. The Gln128Glu mutant forms amyloid fibrils at neutral pH but not at mild acid pH, while Gln128Lys and Gln128Arg mutants do not form these aggregates under any of the conditions assayed. We have also solved the crystallographic structures of the wild-type (WT) and Gln128Glu, Gln128Lys and Gln128Arg mutants from crystals obtained at different pHs. At pH 5.0, crystals belong to the hexagonal space group P6₅22 and the asymmetric unit is formed by one chain of the protomer of the c-Src-SH3 domain in an open conformation. At pH 7.0, crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁, with two molecules at the asymmetric unit showing the characteristic fold of the SH3 domain. Analysis of these crystallographic structures shows that the residue at position 128 is connected to Glu106 at the diverging β-turn through a cluster of water molecules. Changes in this hydrogen-bond network lead to the displacement of the c-Src-SH3 distal loop, resulting also in conformational changes of Leu100 that might be related to the binding of proline rich motifs. Our findings show that electrostatic interactions and solvation of residues close to the folding nucleation site of the c-Src-SH3 domain might play an important role during the folding reaction and the amyloid fibril formation.

α-helix to β-hairpin transition of human amylin monomer

The human islet amylin polypeptide is produced along with insulin by pancreatic islets. Under some circumstances, amylin can aggregate to form amyloid fibrils, whose presence in pancreatic cells is a common pathological feature of Type II diabetes. A growing body of evidence indicates that small, early stage aggregates of amylin are cytotoxic. A better understanding of the early stages of the amylin aggregation process and, in particular, of the nucleation events leading to fibril growth could help identify therapeutic strategies. Recent studies have shown that, in dilute solution, human amylin can adopt an α-helical conformation, a β-hairpin conformation, or an unstructured coil conformation. While such states have comparable free energies, the β-hairpin state exhibits a large propensity towards aggregation. In this work, we present a detailed computational analysis of the folding pathways that arise between the various conformational states of human amylin in water. A free energy surface for amylin in explicit water is first constructed by resorting to advanced sampling techniques. Extensive transition path sampling simulations are then employed to identify the preferred folding mechanisms between distinct minima on that surface. Our results reveal that the α-helical conformer of amylin undergoes a transformation into the β-hairpin monomer through one of two mechanisms. In the first, misfolding begins through formation of specific contacts near the turn region, and proceeds via a zipping mechanism. In the second, misfolding occurs through an unstructured coil intermediate. The transition states for these processes are identified. Taken together, the findings presented in this work suggest that the inter-conversion of amylin between an α-helix and a β-hairpin is an activated process and could constitute the nucleation event for fibril growth.

Insights into protein aggregation by NMR characterization of insoluble SH3 mutants solubilized in salt-free water

Protein aggregation in vivo has been extensively associated with a large spectrum of human diseases. On the other hand, mechanistic insights into protein aggregation in vitro were incomplete due to the inability in solubilizing insoluble proteins for high-resolution biophysical investigations. However, a new avenue may be opened up by our recent discovery that previously-thought insoluble proteins can in fact be solubilized in salt-free water. Here we use this approach to study the NMR structural and dynamic properties of an insoluble SH3 mutant with a naturally-occurring insertion of Val22 at the tip of the diverging turn. The obtained results reveal: 1) regardless of whether the residue is Val, Ala, Asp or Arg, the insertion will render the first hNck2 SH3 domain to be insoluble in buffers. Nevertheless, all four mutants could be solubilized in salt-free water and appear to be largely unfolded as evident from their CD and NMR HSQC spectra. 2) Comparison of the chemical shift deviations reveals that while in V22-SH3 the second helical region is similarly populated as in the wild-type SH3 at pH 2.0, the first helical region is largely unformed. 3) In V22-SH3, many non-native medium-range NOEs manifest to define non-native helical conformations. In the meanwhile a small group of native-like long-range NOEs still persists, indicating the existence of a rudimentary native-like tertiary topology. 4) Although overall, V22-SH3 has significantly increased backbone motions on the ps-ns time scale, some regions still own restricted backbone motions as revealed by analyzing ¹⁵N relaxation data. Our study not only leads to the establishment of the first high-resolution structural and dynamic picture for an insoluble protein, but also shed more light on the molecular events for the nonhierarchical folding mechanism. Furthermore, a general mechanism is also proposed for in vivo protein aggregation triggered by the genetic mutation and posttranslational modification.

Parallel folding pathways in the SH3 domain protein

The transition-state ensemble (TSE) is the set of protein conformations with an equal probability to fold or unfold. Its characterization is crucial for an understanding of the folding process. We determined the TSE of the src-SH3 domain protein by using extensive molecular dynamics simulations of the Go model and computing the folding probability of a generated set of TSE candidate conformations. We found that the TSE possesses a well-defined hydrophobic core with variable enveloping structures resulting from the superposition of three parallel folding pathways. The most preferred pathway agrees with the experimentally determined TSE, while the two least preferred pathways differ significantly. The knowledge of the different pathways allows us to design the interactions between amino acids that guide the protein to fold through the least preferred pathway. This particular design is akin to a circular permutation of the protein. The finding motivates the hypothesis that the different experimentally observed TSEs in homologous proteins and circular permutants may represent potentially available pathways to the wild-type protein.

An Efficient, Path-Independent Method for Free-Energy Calculations

Classical free-energy methods depend on the definition of physical or nonphysical integration paths to calculate free-energy differences between states. This procedure can be problematic and computationally expensive when the states of interest do not overlap and are far apart in phase space. Here we introduce a novel method to calculate free-energy differences that is path-independent by transforming each end state into a reference state in which the vibrational entropy is the sole component of the total entropy, thus allowing direct computation of the relative free energy. We apply the method to calculate side-chain entropies of a beta-hairpin-forming peptide in a variety of backbone conformations, demonstrating its importance in determining structural propensities. We find that low-free-energy conformations achieve their stability through optimal trade off between enthalpic gains due to favorable interatomic interactions and entropic losses incurred by the same.

Folding and aggregation kinetics of a beta-hairpin

We have investigated the solution structure, equilibrium properties, and folding kinetics of a 17-residue beta-hairpin-forming peptide derived from the protein ubiquitin. NMR experiments show that at 4 degrees C the peptide has a highly populated beta-hairpin conformation. At protein concentrations higher than 0.35 mM, the peptide aggregates. Sedimentation equilibrium measurements show that the aggregate is a trimer, while NMR indicates that the beta-hairpin conformation is maintained in the trimer. The relaxation kinetics in nanosecond laser temperature-jump experiments reveal a concentration-independent microsecond phase, corresponding to beta-hairpin unfolding-refolding, and a concentration-dependent millisecond phase due to oligomerization. Kinetic modeling of the relaxation rates and amplitudes yields the folding and unfolding rates for the monomeric beta-hairpin, as well as assembly and disassembly rates for trimer formation consistent with the equilibrium constant determined by sedimentation equilibrium. When the net charge on the peptides and ionic strength were taken into account, the rate of trimer assembly approaches the Debye-Smoluchowski diffusion limit. At 300 K, the rate of formation of the monomeric hairpin is (17 micros)(-1), compared to rates of (0.8 micros)(-1) to (52 micros)(-1) found for other peptides. After using Kramers theory to correct for the temperature dependence of the pre-exponential factor, the activation energy for hairpin formation is near zero, indicating that the barrier to folding is purely entropic. Comparisons with previously measured rates for a series of hairpins are made to distinguish between zipper and hydrophobic collapse mechanisms. Overall, the experimental data are most consistent with the zipper mechanism in which structure formation is initiated at the turn, the mechanism predicted by the Ising-like statistical mechanical model that was developed to explain the equilibrium and kinetic data for the beta-hairpin from protein GB1. In contrast, the majority of simulation studies favor a hydrophobic collapse mechanism. However, with few exceptions, there is little or no quantitative comparison of the simulation results with experimental data.

Helix-coil transition of alanine peptides in water: force field dependence on the folded and unfolded structures

The force fields used in classical modeling studies are semiempirical in nature and rely on their validation by comparison of simulations with experimental data. The all-atom replica-exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) methodology allows us to calculate the thermodynamics of folding/unfolding of peptides and small proteins, and provides a way of evaluating the reliability of force fields. We apply the REMD to obtain equilibrium folding/unfolding thermodynamics of a 21-residue peptide containing only alanine residues in explicit aqueous solution. The thermodynamics of this peptide is modeled with both the OPLS/AA/L and the A94/MOD force fields. We find that the helical content and the values for the helix propagation and nucleation parameters for this alanine peptide are consistent with measurements on similar peptides and with calculations using the modified AMBER force field (A94/MOD). The nature of conformations, both folded and unfolded, that contributes to the helix-coil transition profile, however, is quite different between these two force fields.

Convergence of replica exchange molecular dynamics

Replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) method is one of the generalized-ensemble algorithms which performs random walk in energy space and helps a system to escape from local energy traps. In this work, we studied the accuracy and efficiency of REMD by examining its ability to reproduce the results of multiple extended conventional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and to enhance conformational sampling. Two sets of REMD simulations with different initial configurations, one from the fully extended and the other from fully helical conformations, were conducted on a fast-folding 21-amino-acid peptide with a continuum solvent model. Remarkably, the two REMD simulation sets started to converge even within 1.0 ns, despite their dramatically different starting conformations. In contrast, the conventional MD within the same time and with identical starting conformations did not show obvious signs of convergence. Excellent convergence between the REMD sets for T>300 K was observed after 14.0 ns REMD simulations as measured by the average helicity and free-energy profiles. We also conducted a set of 45 MD simulations at nine different temperatures with each trajectory simulated to 100.0 and 200.0 ns. An excellent agreement between the REMD and the extended MD simulation results was observed for T>300 K, showing that REMD can accurately reproduce long-time MD results with high efficiency. The autocorrelation times of the calculated helicity demonstrate that REMD can significantly enhance the sampling efficiency by 14.3+/-6.4, 35.1+/-0.2, and 71.5+/-20.4 times at, respectively, approximately 360, approximately 300, and approximately 275 K in comparison to the regular MD. Convergence was less satisfactory at low temperatures (T<300 K) and a slow oscillatory behavior suggests that longer simulation time was needed to reach equilibrium. Other technical issues, including choice of exchange frequency, were also examined.

Reconstruction of the src-SH3 Protein Domain Transition State Ensemble using Multiscale Molecular Dynamics Simulations

We use an integrated computational approach to reconstruct accurately the transition state ensemble (TSE) for folding of the src-SH3 protein domain. We first identify putative TSE conformations from free energy surfaces generated by importance sampling molecular dynamics for a fully atomic, solvated model of the src-SH3 protein domain. These putative TSE conformations are then subjected to a folding analysis using a coarse-grained representation of the protein and rapid discrete molecular dynamics simulations. Those conformations that fold to the native conformation with a probability (P(fold)) of approximately 0.5, constitute the true transition state. Approximately 20% of the putative TSE structures were found to have a P(fold) near 0.5, indicating that, although correct TSE conformations are populated at the free energy barrier, there is a critical need to refine this ensemble. Our simulations indicate that the true TSE conformations are compact, with a well-defined central beta sheet, in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical studies. A structured central beta sheet was found to be present in a number of pre-TSE conformations, however, indicating that this element, although required in the transition state, does not define it uniquely. An additional tight cluster of contacts between highly conserved residues belonging to the diverging turn and second beta-sheet of the protein emerged as being critical elements of the folding nucleus. A number of commonly used order parameters to identify the transition state for folding were investigated, with the number of native Cbeta contacts displaying the most satisfactory correlation with P(fold) values.

Multiple folding pathways of the SH3 domain

Experimental observations suggest that proteins follow different folding pathways under different environmental conditions. We perform molecular dynamics simulations of a model of the c-Crk SH3 domain over a broad range of temperatures, and identify distinct pathways in the folding transition. We determine the kinetic partition temperature-the temperature for which the c-Crk SH3 domain undergoes a rapid folding transition with minimal kinetic barriers-and observe that below this temperature the model protein may undergo a folding transition by multiple folding pathways via only one or two intermediates. Our findings suggest the hypothesis that the SH3 domain, a protein fold for which only two-state folding kinetics was observed in previous experiments, may exhibit intermediate states under conditions that strongly stabilize the native state.

The stability and dynamics of the human calcitonin amyloid peptide DFNKF

The stability and dynamics of the human calcitonin-derived peptide DFNKF (hCT(15-19)) are studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Experimentally, this peptide is highly amyloidogenic and forms fibrils similar to the full length calcitonin. Previous comparative MD studies have found that the parallel beta-stranded sheet is a stable organization of the DFNKF protofibril. Here, we probe the stability and dynamics of the small parallel DFNKF oligomers. The results show that even small DFNKF oligomers, such as trimers and tetramers, are stable for a sufficient time in the MD simulations, indicating that the crucial nucleus seed size for amyloid formation can be quite small. The simulations also show that the stability of DFNKF oligomers increases with their sizes. The small but stable seed may reflect the experimental rapid formation of the DFNKF fibrils. Further, a noncooperative process of parallel beta-sheet formation from the out-of-register trimer is observed in the simulations. In general, the residues of DFNKF peptides near the N-/C-termini are more flexible, whereas the interior residues are more stable. Simulations of mutants and capped peptides show that both interstrand hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions play important roles in stabilizing the DFNKF parallel oligomers. This study provides insights into amyloid formation.

Nature of structural inhomogeneities on folding a helix and their influence on spectral measurements

Extensive conformational sampling and calculations of vibrational coupling provide a quantitative basis for the structurally inhomogeneous spectra of the amide unit in aqueous solutions containing folded and unfolded state distributions of helices. Replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations of the capped helical peptide, AA(AAKAA)(3)AAY, is carried out over a range of temperatures, where the system populates the folded and unfolded states. This sampling defines a set of ensembles that characterizes the conformational variability for configurations identified by their fraction of helical content. The effects of hydrogen bonding, both internal and external (with water), and the coupling between amide-I modes are computed as a function of temperature and helical content. End-to-end distance and coupling distributions are also computed. The solvent H-bonding, which is present at all temperatures, shifts the amide-I band toward lower frequency compared with the unsolvated band. Upon thermal denaturation of the peptide, the amide-I band shifts to higher frequency because the increase in solvent H-bonding fails to compensate for the loss in internal (helical) H-bonds. The loss of uniformity of the mode coupling along the helix at higher temperatures accounts for the well-known thermal broadening of the amide IR spectrum. The calculated inhomogeneities of segments of the peptide predict experimental properties of isotope-edited helices.

Transition states for protein folding have native topologies despite high structural variability

We present a structural analysis of the folding transition states of three SH3 domains. Our results reveal that the secondary structure is not yet fully formed at this stage of folding and that the solvent is only partially excluded from the interior of the protein. Comparison of the members of the transition state ensemble with a database of native folds shows that, despite substantial local variability, the transition state structures can all be classified as having the topology characteristic of an SH3 domain. Our results suggest a mechanism for folding in which the formation of a network of interactions among a subset of hydrophobic residues ensures that the native topology is generated. Such a mechanism enables high fidelity in folding while minimizing the need to establish a large number of specific interactions in the conformational search.

Five Hierarchical Levels of Sequence-Structure Correlation in Proteins

This article reviews recent work towards modelling protein folding pathways using a bioinformatics approach. Statistical models have been developed for sequence-structure correlations in proteins at five levels of structural complexity: (i) short motifs; (ii) extended motifs; (iii) nonlocal pairs of motifs; (iv) 3-dimensional arrangements of multiple motifs; and (v) global structural homology. We review statistical models, including sequence profiles, hidden Markov models (HMMs) and interaction potentials, for the first four levels of structural detail. The I-sites (folding Initiation sites) Library models short local structure motifs. Each succeeding level has a statistical model, as follows: HMMSTR (HMM for STRucture) is an HMM for extended motifs; HMMSTR-CM (Contact Maps) is a model for pairwise interactions between motifs; and SCALI-HMM (HMMs for Structural Core ALIgnments) is a set of HMMs for the spatial arrangements of motifs. The parallels between the statistical models and theoretical models for folding pathways are discussed in this article; however, global sequence models are not discussed because they have been extensively reviewed elsewhere. The data used and algorithms presented in this article are available at http://www.bioinfo.rpi.edu/~bystrc/ (click on "servers" or "downloads") or by request to bystrc@rpi.edu .

Simulation of the folding equilibrium of alpha-helical peptides: a comparison of the generalized Born approximation with explicit solvent

We compare simulations using the generalized Born/surface area (GB/SA) implicit solvent model with simulations using explicit solvent (transferable intermolecular potential 3 point, TIP3P) to test the GB/SA algorithm. We use the replica exchange molecular dynamics method to sample the conformational phase space of two alpha-helical peptides, A21 and the Fs, by using two different classical potentials and both water models. We find that when using GB/SA: (i) A21 is predicted to be more helical than the Fs peptide at all temperatures; (ii) the native structure of the Fs peptide is predicted to be a helical bundle instead of a single helix; and (iii) the persistence length and most probable end-to-end distance are too large in the unfolded state when compared against the explicit solvent simulations. We find that the potential of mean force in the phi(psi) plane is markedly different in the two solvents, making the two simulated peptides respond differently when the backbone torsions are perturbed. A fit of the temperature melting curves obtained in these simulations to a Lifson-Roig model finds that the GB/SA model has an unphysically large nucleation parameter, whereas the explicit solvent model produces values similar to experiment.