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Chai Z, Li C. In-Cell 19F NMR of Proteins: Recent Progress and Future Opportunities. Chemistry 2024; 30:e202303988. [PMID: 38269421 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202303988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
In vitro, 19F NMR methodology is preferably selected as a complementary and straightforward method for unveiling the conformations, dynamics, and interactions of biological molecules. Its effectiveness in vivo has seen continuous improvement, addressing challenges faced by conventional heteronuclear NMR experiments on structured proteins, such as severe line broadening, low signal-to-noise ratio, and background signals. Herein, we summarize the distinctive advantages of 19F NMR, along with recent progress in sample preparation and applications within the realm of in-cell NMR. Additionally, we offer insights into the future directions and prospects of this methodology based on our understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaofei Chai
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430071, Wuhan, China
| | - Conggang Li
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430071, Wuhan, China
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2
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Xu G, Cheng K, Liu M, Li C. Studying protein stability in crowded environments by NMR. PROGRESS IN NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY 2024; 140-141:42-48. [PMID: 38705635 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnmrs.2024.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Most proteins perform their functions in crowded and complex cellular environments where weak interactions are ubiquitous between biomolecules. These complex environments can modulate the protein folding energy landscape and hence affect protein stability. NMR is a nondestructive and effective method to quantify the kinetics and equilibrium thermodynamic stability of proteins at an atomic level within crowded environments and living cells. Here, we review NMR methods that can be used to measure protein stability, as well as findings of studies on protein stability in crowded environments mimicked by polymer and protein crowders and in living cells. The important effects of chemical interactions on protein stability are highlighted and compared to spatial excluded volume effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guohua Xu
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Kai Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Maili Liu
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Conggang Li
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
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3
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Ikari M, Yagi H, Kasai T, Inomata K, Ito M, Higuchi K, Matsuda N, Ito Y, Kigawa T. Direct Observation of Membrane-Associated H-Ras in the Native Cellular Environment by In-Cell 19F-NMR Spectroscopy. JACS AU 2023; 3:1658-1669. [PMID: 37388687 PMCID: PMC10302746 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Ras acts as a molecular switch to control intracellular signaling on the plasma membrane (PM). Elucidating how Ras associates with PM in the native cellular environment is crucial for understanding its control mechanism. Here, we used in-cell nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy combined with site-specific 19F-labeling to explore the membrane-associated states of H-Ras in living cells. The site-specific incorporation of p-trifluoromethoxyphenylalanine (OCF3Phe) at three different sites of H-Ras, i.e., Tyr32 in switch I, Tyr96 interacting with switch II, and Tyr157 on helix α5, allowed the characterization of their conformational states depending on the nucleotide-bound states and an oncogenic mutational state. Exogenously delivered 19F-labeled H-Ras protein containing a C-terminal hypervariable region was assimilated via endogenous membrane-trafficking, enabling proper association with the cell membrane compartments. Despite poor sensitivity of the in-cell NMR spectra of membrane-associated H-Ras, the Bayesian spectral deconvolution identified distinct signal components on three 19F-labeled sites, thus offering the conformational multiplicity of H-Ras on the PM. Our study may be helpful in elucidating the atomic-scale picture of membrane-associated proteins in living cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaomi Ikari
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Hiromasa Yagi
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Takuma Kasai
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
- PRESTO/Japan
Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Kohsuke Inomata
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
- PRESTO/Japan
Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Masahiro Ito
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Kae Higuchi
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Natsuko Matsuda
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
- SI Innovation
Center, Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, Tokyo 206-0001, Japan
| | - Yutaka Ito
- Department
of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
| | - Takanori Kigawa
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
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4
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Chakravarty D, Schafer JW, Porter LL. Distinguishing features of fold-switching proteins. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4596. [PMID: 36782353 PMCID: PMC9951197 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Though many folded proteins assume one stable structure that performs one function, a small-but-increasing number remodel their secondary and tertiary structures and change their functions in response to cellular stimuli. These fold-switching proteins regulate biological processes and are associated with autoimmune dysfunction, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection, and more. Despite their biological importance, it is difficult to computationally predict fold switching. With the aim of advancing computational prediction and experimental characterization of fold switchers, this review discusses several features that distinguish fold-switching proteins from their single-fold and intrinsically disordered counterparts. First, the isolated structures of fold switchers are less stable and more heterogeneous than single folders but more stable and less heterogeneous than intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Second, the sequences of single fold, fold switching, and intrinsically disordered proteins can evolve at distinct rates. Third, proteins from these three classes are best predicted using different computational techniques. Finally, late-breaking results suggest that single folders, fold switchers, and IDPs have distinct patterns of residue-residue coevolution. The review closes by discussing high-throughput and medium-throughput experimental approaches that might be used to identify new fold-switching proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devlina Chakravarty
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Joseph W. Schafer
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Lauren L. Porter
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
- Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
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Abstract
In-cell structural biology aims at extracting structural information about proteins or nucleic acids in their native, cellular environment. This emerging field holds great promise and is already providing new facts and outlooks of interest at both fundamental and applied levels. NMR spectroscopy has important contributions on this stage: It brings information on a broad variety of nuclei at the atomic scale, which ensures its great versatility and uniqueness. Here, we detail the methods, the fundamental knowledge, and the applications in biomedical engineering related to in-cell structural biology by NMR. We finally propose a brief overview of the main other techniques in the field (EPR, smFRET, cryo-ET, etc.) to draw some advisable developments for in-cell NMR. In the era of large-scale screenings and deep learning, both accurate and qualitative experimental evidence are as essential as ever to understand the interior life of cells. In-cell structural biology by NMR spectroscopy can generate such a knowledge, and it does so at the atomic scale. This review is meant to deliver comprehensive but accessible information, with advanced technical details and reflections on the methods, the nature of the results, and the future of the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francois-Xavier Theillet
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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Speer SL, Stewart CJ, Sapir L, Harries D, Pielak GJ. Macromolecular Crowding Is More than Hard-Core Repulsions. Annu Rev Biophys 2022; 51:267-300. [PMID: 35239418 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-091321-071829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Cells are crowded, but proteins are almost always studied in dilute aqueous buffer. We review the experimental evidence that crowding affects the equilibrium thermodynamics of protein stability and protein association and discuss the theories employed to explain these observations. In doing so, we highlight differences between synthetic polymers and biologically relevant crowders. Theories based on hard-core interactions predict only crowding-induced entropic stabilization. However, experiment-based efforts conducted under physiologically relevant conditions show that crowding can destabilize proteins and their complexes. Furthermore, quantification of the temperature dependence of crowding effects produced by both large and small cosolutes, including osmolytes, sugars, synthetic polymers, and proteins, reveals enthalpic effects that stabilize or destabilize proteins. Crowding-induced destabilization and the enthalpic component point to the role of chemical interactions between and among the macromolecules, cosolutes, and water. We conclude with suggestions for future studies. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biophysics, Volume 51 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon L Speer
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA;
| | - Claire J Stewart
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA;
| | - Liel Sapir
- Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Daniel Harries
- Institute of Chemistry and The Fritz Haber Research Center, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Gary J Pielak
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; .,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,Lineberger Cancer Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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Luchinat E, Cremonini M, Banci L. Radio Signals from Live Cells: The Coming of Age of In-Cell Solution NMR. Chem Rev 2022; 122:9267-9306. [PMID: 35061391 PMCID: PMC9136931 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
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A detailed knowledge
of the complex processes that make cells and
organisms alive is fundamental in order to understand diseases and
to develop novel drugs and therapeutic treatments. To this aim, biological
macromolecules should ideally be characterized at atomic resolution
directly within the cellular environment. Among the existing structural
techniques, solution NMR stands out as the only one able to investigate
at high resolution the structure and dynamic behavior of macromolecules
directly in living cells. With the advent of more sensitive NMR hardware
and new biotechnological tools, modern in-cell NMR approaches have
been established since the early 2000s. At the coming of age of in-cell
NMR, we provide a detailed overview of its developments and applications
in the 20 years that followed its inception. We review the existing
approaches for cell sample preparation and isotopic labeling, the
application of in-cell NMR to important biological questions, and
the development of NMR bioreactor devices, which greatly increase
the lifetime of the cells allowing real-time monitoring of intracellular
metabolites and proteins. Finally, we share our thoughts on the future
perspectives of the in-cell NMR methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Luchinat
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Alma Mater Studiorum−Università di Bologna, Piazza Goidanich 60, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Magnetic Resonance Center, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Luigi Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Matteo Cremonini
- Magnetic Resonance Center, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Luigi Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Lucia Banci
- Magnetic Resonance Center, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Luigi Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metallo Proteine, Via Luigi Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
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