1
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Brodmerkel MN, Thiede L, De Santis E, Uetrecht C, Caleman C, Marklund EG. Collision induced unfolding and molecular dynamics simulations of norovirus capsid dimers reveal strain-specific stability profiles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:13094-13105. [PMID: 38628116 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp06344e] [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: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Collision induced unfolding (CIU) is a method used with ion mobility mass spectrometry to examine protein structures and their stability. Such experiments yield information about higher order protein structures, yet are unable to provide details about the underlying processes. That information can however be provided using molecular dynamics simulations. Here, we investigate the gas-phase unfolding of norovirus capsid dimers from the Norwalk and Kawasaki strains by employing molecular dynamics simulations over a range of temperatures, representing different levels of activation, together with CIU experiments. The dimers have highly similar structures, but their CIU reveals different stability that can be explained by the different dynamics that arises in response to the activation seen in the simulations, including a part of the sequence with previously observed strain-specific dynamics in solution. Our findings show how similar protein variants can be examined using mass spectrometric techniques in conjunction with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to reveal differences in stability as well as differences in how and where unfolding takes place upon activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxim N Brodmerkel
- Department of Chemistry - BMC, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Lars Thiede
- CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Leibniz Institute of Virology (LIV), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Chemistry and Metabolomics, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Emiliano De Santis
- Department of Chemistry - BMC, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden.
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Charlotte Uetrecht
- CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Leibniz Institute of Virology (LIV), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Chemistry and Metabolomics, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Carl Caleman
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFEL, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Erik G Marklund
- Department of Chemistry - BMC, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden.
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2
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Cordes MS, Gallagher ES. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Native Protein Charging via Proton Transfer during Electrospray Ionization with Grotthuss Diffuse H 3O . Anal Chem 2024; 96:4146-4153. [PMID: 38427846 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c05089] [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: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Unraveling the mechanism by which native proteins are charged through electrospray ionization (ESI) has been the focus of considerable research because observable charge states can be correlated to biophysical characteristics, such as protein folding and, thus, solution conformation. Difficulties in characterizing electrosprayed droplets have catalyzed the use of molecular dynamics (MD) to provide insights into the mechanisms by which proteins are charged and transferred to the gas phase. However, prior MD studies have utilized metal ions, primarily Na+, as charge carriers, even though proteins are primarily detected as protonated ions in the mass spectra. Here, we propose a modified MD protocol for simulating discrete Grotthuss diffuse H3O+ that is capable of dynamically altering amino-acid protonation states to model electrospray charging and gaseous ion formation of model proteins, ubiquitin, and myoglobin. Application of the protocol to the evaporation of acidic droplets enables a molecular perspective of H3O+ coordination and proton transfer to/from proteins, which is unfeasible with the metal charge carriers used in previous MD studies of ESI. Our protocol recreates experimentally observed charge-state distributions and supports the charge residue model (CRM) as the dominant mechanism of native protein ionization during ESI. Additionally, our results suggest that protonation is highly specific to individual residues and is correlated to the formation of localized hydrated regions on the protein surface as droplets desolvate. Considering the use of discrete H3O+ instead of Na+, the developed protocol is a necessary step toward developing a more comprehensive model of protein ionization during ESI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Cordes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
| | - Elyssia S Gallagher
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
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3
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Xu A, Tang LC, Jovanovic M, Regev O. Uncovering Distinct Peptide Charging Behaviors in Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Using a Large-Scale Dataset. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2024; 35:90-99. [PMID: 38095561 PMCID: PMC10767741 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.3c00325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Electrospray ionization is a powerful and prevalent technique used to ionize analytes in mass spectrometry. The distribution of charges that an analyte receives (charge state distribution, CSD) is an important consideration for interpreting mass spectra. However, due to an incomplete understanding of the ionization mechanism, the analyte properties that influence CSDs are not fully understood. Here, we employ a machine learning-based approach and analyze CSDs of hundreds of thousands of peptides. Interestingly, half of the peptides exhibit charges that differ from what one would naively expect (the number of basic sites). We find that these peptides can be classified into two regimes (undercharging and overcharging) and that these two regimes display markedly different charging characteristics. Notably, peptides in the overcharging regime show minimal dependence on basic site count, and more generally, the two regimes exhibit distinct sequence determinants. These findings highlight the rich ionization behavior of peptides and the potential of CSDs for enhancing peptide identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allyn
M. Xu
- Department
of Mathematics, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, New York 10012, United States
| | - Lauren C. Tang
- Department
of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Marko Jovanovic
- Department
of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Oded Regev
- Computer
Science Department, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, New York 10012, United States
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4
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Moore CC, Staroverov VN, Konermann L. Using Density Functional Theory for Testing the Robustness of Mobile-Proton Molecular Dynamics Simulations on Electrosprayed Ions: Structural Implications for Gaseous Proteins. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:4061-4071. [PMID: 37116098 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c01581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Current experiments only provide low-resolution information on gaseous protein ions generated by electrospray ionization (ESI). Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can yield complementary insights. Unfortunately, conventional MD does not capture the mobile nature of protons in gaseous proteins. Mobile-proton MD (MPMD) overcomes this limitation. Earlier MPMD data at 300 K indicated that protein ions generated by "native" ESI retain solution-like structures with a hydrophobic core and zwitterionic exterior [Bakhtiari, M.; Konermann, L. J. Phys. Chem. B 2019, 123, 1784-1796]. MPMD redistributes protons using electrostatic and proton affinity calculations. The robustness of this approach has never been scrutinized. Here, we close this gap by benchmarking MPMD against density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G* level, which is well suited for predicting proton affinities. The computational cost of DFT necessitated the use of small peptides. The MPMD energetic ranking of proton configurations was found to be consistent with DFT single-point energies, implying that MPMD can reliably identify favorable protonation sites. Peptide MPMD runs converged to DFT-optimized structures only when applying 300-500 K temperature cycling, which was necessary to prevent trapping in local minima. Temperature cycling MPMD was then applied to gaseous protein ions. Native ubiquitin converted to slightly expanded structures with a zwitterionic core and a nonpolar exterior. Our data suggest that such inside-out protein structures are intrinsically preferred in the gas phase, and that they form in ESI experiments after moderate collisional excitation. This is in contrast to native ESI (with minimal collisional excitation, simulated by MPMD at 300 K), where kinetic trapping promotes the survival of solution-like structures. In summary, this work validates the MPMD approach for simulations on gaseous peptides and proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conrad C Moore
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Viktor N Staroverov
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Lars Konermann
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
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5
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Schultz M, Parker SL, Fernando MT, Wellalage MM, Thomas DA. Diserinol Isophthalamide: A Novel Reagent for Complexation with Biomolecular Anions in Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2023; 34:745-753. [PMID: 36975839 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.3c00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Transferring biomolecules from solution to vacuum facilitates a detailed analysis of molecular structure and dynamics by isolating molecules of interest from a complex environment. However, inherent in the ion desolvation process is the loss of solvent hydrogen bonding partners, which are critical for the stability of a condensed-phase structure. Thus, transfer of ions to vacuum can favor structural rearrangement, especially near solvent-accessible charge sites, which tend to adopt intramolecular hydrogen bonding motifs in the absence of solvent. Complexation of monoalkylammonium moieties (e.g., lysine side chains) with crown ethers such as 18-crown-6 can disfavor structural rearrangement of protonated sites, but no equivalent ligand has been investigated for deprotonated groups. Herein we describe diserinol isophthalamide (DIP), a novel reagent for the gas-phase complexation of anionic moieties within biomolecules. Complexation is observed to the C-terminus or side chains of the small model peptides GD, GE, GG, DF-OMe, VYV, YGGFL, and EYMPME in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) studies. In addition, complexation is observed with the phosphate and carboxylate moieities of phosphoserine and phosphotyrosine. DIP performs favorably in comparison to an existing anion recognition reagent, 1,1'-(1,2-phenylene)bis(3-phenylurea), that exhibits moderate carboxylate binding in organic solvent. This improved performance in ESI-MS experiments is attributed to reduced steric constraints to complexation with carboxylate groups of larger molecules. Overall, diserinol isophthalamide is an effective complexation reagent that can be applied in future work to study retention of solution-phase structure, investigate intrinsic molecular properties, and examine solvation effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline Schultz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, United States
| | - Sarah L Parker
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, United States
| | - Maleesha T Fernando
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, United States
| | - Miyuru M Wellalage
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, United States
| | - Daniel A Thomas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, United States
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6
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Xu AM, Tang LC, Jovanovic M, Regev O. A high-throughput approach reveals distinct peptide charging behaviors in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.31.535171. [PMID: 37066236 PMCID: PMC10103939 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.31.535171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Electrospray ionization is a powerful and prevalent technique used to ionize analytes in mass spectrometry. The distribution of charges that an analyte receives (charge state distribution, CSD) is an important consideration for interpreting mass spectra. However, due to an incomplete understanding of the ionization mechanism, the analyte properties that influence CSDs are not fully understood. Here, we employ a machine learning-based high-throughput approach and analyze CSDs of hundreds of thousands of peptides. Interestingly, half of the peptides exhibit charges that differ from what one would naively expect (number of basic sites). We find that these peptides can be classified into two regimes-undercharging and overcharging-and that these two regimes display markedly different charging characteristics. Strikingly, peptides in the overcharging regime show minimal dependence on basic site count, and more generally, the two regimes exhibit distinct sequence determinants. These findings highlight the rich ionization behavior of peptides and the potential of CSDs for enhancing peptide identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allyn M. Xu
- Department of Mathematics, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, NY, USA
| | - Lauren C. Tang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marko Jovanovic
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Oded Regev
- Computer Science Department, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, NY, USA
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7
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Fu D, Habtegabir SG, Wang H, Feng S, Han Y. Understanding of protomers/deprotomers by combining mass spectrometry and computation. Anal Bioanal Chem 2023:10.1007/s00216-023-04574-1. [PMID: 36737499 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-023-04574-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Multifunctional compounds may form different prototropic isomers under different conditions, which are known as protomers/deprotomers. In biological systems, these protomer/deprotomer isomers affect the interaction modes and conformational landscape between compounds and enzymes and thus present different biological activities. Study on protomers/deprotomers is essentially the study on the acidity/basicity of each intramolecular functional group and its effect on molecular structure. In recent years, the combination of mass spectrometry (MS) and computational chemistry has been proven to be a powerful and effective means to study prototropic isomers. MS-based technologies are developed to discriminate and characterize protomers/deprotomers to provide structural information and monitor transformations, showing great superiority than other experimental methods. Computational chemistry is used to predict the thermodynamic stability of protomers/deprotomers, provide the simulated MS/MS spectra, infrared spectra, and calculate collision cross-section values. By comparing the theoretical data with the corresponding experimental results, the researchers can not only determine the protomer/deprotomer structure, but also investigate the structure-activity relationship in a given system. This review covers various MS methods and theoretical calculations and their devotion to isomer discrimination, structure identification, conformational transformation, and phase transition investigation of protomers/deprotomers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dali Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, People's Republic of China
| | - Sara Girmay Habtegabir
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, People's Republic of China
| | - Haodong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, People's Republic of China
| | - Shijie Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, People's Republic of China
| | - Yehua Han
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, People's Republic of China.
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8
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Nash S, Vachet RW. Gas-Phase Unfolding of Protein Complexes Distinguishes Conformational Isomers. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:22128-22139. [PMID: 36414315 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c09573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Proteins can adopt different conformational states that are important for their biological function and, in some cases, can be responsible for their dysfunction. The essential roles that proteins play in biological systems make distinguishing the structural differences between these conformational states both fundamentally and practically important. Here, we demonstrate that collision-induced unfolding (CIU), in combination with ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) measurements, distinguish subtly different conformational states for protein complexes. Using the open and closed states of the β-lactoglobulin (βLG) dimer as a model, we show that these two conformational isomers unfold during collisional activation to generate distinct states that are readily separated by IM-MS. Extensive molecular modeling of the CIU process reproduces the distinct unfolding intermediates and identifies the molecular details that explain why the two conformational states unfold in distinct ways. Strikingly, the open conformational state forms new electrostatic interactions upon collisional heating, while the closed state does not. These newly formed electrostatic interactions involve residues on the loop differentially positioned in the two βLG conformational isomers, highlighting that gas-phase unfolding pathways reflect aspects of solution structure. This combination of experiment and theory provides a path forward for distinguishing subtly different conformational isomers for protein complexes via gas-phase unfolding experiments. Our results also have implications for understanding how protein complexes dissociate in the gas phase, indicating that current models need to be refined to explain protein complex dissociation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey Nash
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Richard W Vachet
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003 United States
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9
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Eldrid C, Cragnolini T, Ben-Younis A, Zou J, Raleigh DP, Thalassinos K. Linking Gas-Phase and Solution-Phase Protein Unfolding via Mobile Proton Simulations. Anal Chem 2022; 94:16113-16121. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Charles Eldrid
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, SouthamptonSO16 1BJ, U.K
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Bioscience, University College London, LondonWC1E 6BT, U.K
| | - Tristan Cragnolini
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck College, University of London, LondonWC1E 7HX, U.K
| | - Aisha Ben-Younis
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Bioscience, University College London, LondonWC1E 6BT, U.K
| | - Junjie Zou
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Rd., Stony Brook, New York11794, United States
| | - Daniel P. Raleigh
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Bioscience, University College London, LondonWC1E 6BT, U.K
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Rd., Stony Brook, New York11794, United States
| | - Konstantinos Thalassinos
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Bioscience, University College London, LondonWC1E 6BT, U.K
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck College, University of London, LondonWC1E 7HX, U.K
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10
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Stability and conformational memory of electrosprayed and rehydrated bacteriophage MS2 virus coat proteins. Curr Res Struct Biol 2022; 4:338-348. [PMID: 36440379 PMCID: PMC9685359 DOI: 10.1016/j.crstbi.2022.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins are innately dynamic, which is important for their functions, but which also poses significant challenges when studying their structures. Gas-phase techniques can utilise separation and a range of sample manipulations to transcend some of the limitations of conventional techniques for structural biology in crystalline or solution phase, and isolate different states for separate interrogation. However, the transfer from solution to the gas phase risks affecting the structures, and it is unclear to what extent different conformations remain distinct in the gas phase, and if resolution in silico can recover the native conformations and their differences. Here, we use extensive molecular dynamics simulations to study the two distinct conformations of dimeric capsid protein of the MS2 bacteriophage. The protein undergoes notable restructuring of its peripheral parts in the gas phase, but subsequent simulation in solvent largely recovers the native structure. Our results suggest that despite some structural loss due to the experimental conditions, gas-phase structural biology techniques provide meaningful data that inform not only about the structures but also conformational dynamics of proteins. Presented extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulation data investigating protein vacuum exposure and rehydration dynamics. Demonstrated that the majority of the protein structure recovers their initial solution conformation after vacuum exposure. Explored the potential gain for structural biology of using MD simulation to refine gas-phase determined protein structures.
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11
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Konermann L, Kim S. Grotthuss Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Modeling Proton Hopping in Electrosprayed Water Droplets. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:3781-3794. [PMID: 35544700 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Excess protons in water exhibit unique transport properties because they can rapidly hop along H-bonded water wires. Considerable progress has been made in unraveling this Grotthuss diffusion mechanism using quantum mechanical-based computational techniques. Unfortunately, high computational cost tends to restrict those techniques to small systems and short times. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can be applied to much larger systems and longer time windows. However, standard MD methods do not permit the dissociation/formation of covalent bonds, such that Grotthuss diffusion cannot be captured. Here, we bridge this gap by combining atomistic MD simulations (using Gromacs and TIP4P/2005 water) with proton hopping. Excess protons are modeled as hydronium ions that undergo H3O+ + H2O → H2O + H3O+ transitions. In accordance with ab initio MD data, these Grotthuss hopping events are executed in "bursts" with quasi-instantaneous hopping across one or more waters. The bursts are separated by regular MD periods during which H3O+ ions undergo Brownian diffusion. The resulting proton diffusion coefficient agrees with the literature value. We apply this Grotthuss MD technique to highly charged water droplets that are in a size regime encountered during electrospray ionization (5 nm radius, ∼17,000 H2O). The droplets undergo rapid solvent evaporation and occasional H3O+ ejection, keeping them at ca. 81% of the Rayleigh limit. The simulated behavior is consistent with phase Doppler anemometry data. The Grotthuss MD technique developed here should be useful for modeling the behavior of various proton-containing systems that are too large for high-level computational approaches. In particular, we envision future applications related to electrospray processes, where earlier simulations used metal cations while in reality excess protons dominate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Konermann
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Scott Kim
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
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12
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Rolland AD, Biberic LS, Prell JS. Investigation of Charge-State-Dependent Compaction of Protein Ions with Native Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry and Theory. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2022; 33:369-381. [PMID: 35073092 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.1c00351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The precise relationship between native gas-phase protein ion structure, charge, desolvation, and activation remains elusive. Much evidence supports the Charge Residue Model for native protein ions formed by electrospray ionization, but scaling laws derived from it relate only to overall ion size. Closer examination of drift tube CCSs across individual native protein ion charge state distributions (CSDs) reveals deviations from global trends. To investigate whether this is due to structure variation across CSDs or contributions of long-range charge-dipole interactions, we performed in vacuo force field molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of multiple charge conformers of three proteins representing a variety of physical and structural features: β-lactoglobulin, concanavalin A, and glutamate dehydrogenase. Results from these simulated ions indicate subtle structure variation across their native CSDs, although effects of these structural differences and long-range charge-dependent interactions on CCS are small. The structure and CCS of smaller proteins may be more sensitive to charge due to their low surface-to-volume ratios and reduced capacity to compact. Secondary and higher order structure from condensed-phase structures is largely retained in these simulations, supporting the use of the term "native-like" to describe results from native ion mobility-mass spectrometry experiments, although, notably, the most compact structure can be the most different from the condensed-phase structure. Collapse of surface side chains to self-solvate through formation of new hydrogen bonds is a major feature of gas-phase compaction and likely occurs during the desolvation process. Results from these MD simulations provide new insight into the relationship of gas-phase protein ion structure, charge, and CCS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber D Rolland
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, 1253 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1253, United States
| | - Lejla S Biberic
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, 1253 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1253, United States
| | - James S Prell
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, 1253 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1253, United States
- Materials Science Institute, University of Oregon, 1252 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1252, United States
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13
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Crilly CJ, Brom JA, Warmuth O, Esterly HJ, Pielak GJ. Protection by desiccation-tolerance proteins probed at the residue level. Protein Sci 2022; 31:396-406. [PMID: 34766407 PMCID: PMC8819849 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Extremotolerant organisms from all domains of life produce protective intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) in response to desiccation stress. In vitro, many of these IDPs protect enzymes from dehydration stress better than U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved excipients. However, as with most excipients, their protective mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we apply thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and liquid-observed vapor exchange (LOVE) NMR to study the protection of two model globular proteins (the B1 domain of staphylococcal protein G [GB1] and chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 [CI2]) by two desiccation-tolerance proteins (CAHS D from tardigrades and PvLEA4 from an anhydrobiotic midge), as well as by disordered and globular protein controls. We find that all protein samples retain similar amounts of water and possess similar glass transition temperatures, suggesting that neither enhanced water retention nor vitrification is responsible for protection. LOVE NMR reveals that IDPs protect against dehydration-induced unfolding better than the globular protein control, generally protect the same regions of GB1 and CI2, and protect GB1 better than CI2. These observations suggest that electrostatic interactions, charge patterning, and expanded conformations are key to protection. Further application of LOVE NMR to additional client proteins and protectants will deepen our understanding of dehydration protection, enabling the streamlined production of dehydrated proteins for expanded use in the medical, biotechnology, and chemical industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Candice J. Crilly
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Julia A. Brom
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Owen Warmuth
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Harrison J. Esterly
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Gary J. Pielak
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA,Department of Biochemistry & BiophysicsUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA,Lineberger Cancer CenterUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA,Integrative Program for Biological and Genome SciencesUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC‐CH)Chapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
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14
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Abramsson ML, Sahin C, Hopper JTS, Branca RMM, Danielsson J, Xu M, Chandler SA, Österlund N, Ilag LL, Leppert A, Costeira-Paulo J, Lang L, Teilum K, Laganowsky A, Benesch JLP, Oliveberg M, Robinson CV, Marklund EG, Allison TM, Winther JR, Landreh M. Charge Engineering Reveals the Roles of Ionizable Side Chains in Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry. JACS AU 2021; 1:2385-2393. [PMID: 34977906 PMCID: PMC8717373 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.1c00458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In solution, the charge of a protein is intricately linked to its stability, but electrospray ionization distorts this connection, potentially limiting the ability of native mass spectrometry to inform about protein structure and dynamics. How the behavior of intact proteins in the gas phase depends on the presence and distribution of ionizable surface residues has been difficult to answer because multiple chargeable sites are present in virtually all proteins. Turning to protein engineering, we show that ionizable side chains are completely dispensable for charging under native conditions, but if present, they are preferential protonation sites. The absence of ionizable side chains results in identical charge state distributions under native-like and denaturing conditions, while coexisting conformers can be distinguished using ion mobility separation. An excess of ionizable side chains, on the other hand, effectively modulates protein ion stability. In fact, moving a single ionizable group can dramatically alter the gas-phase conformation of a protein ion. We conclude that although the sum of the charges is governed solely by Coulombic terms, their locations affect the stability of the protein in the gas phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia L. Abramsson
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 23A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Cagla Sahin
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 23A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
- Linderstrøm-Lang
Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jonathan T. S. Hopper
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K.
| | - Rui M. M. Branca
- Department
of Oncology-Pathology, Science for Life
Laboratory and Karolinska Institutet, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jens Danielsson
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm
University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mingming Xu
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm
University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Shane A. Chandler
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K.
| | - Nicklas Österlund
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm
University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Leopold L. Ilag
- Department
of Material and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Axel Leppert
- Department
of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska
Institutet, Neo, 141 83 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Joana Costeira-Paulo
- Department
of Chemistry−BMC, Uppsala University, Box 576, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lisa Lang
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm
University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kaare Teilum
- Linderstrøm-Lang
Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Arthur Laganowsky
- Department
of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Justin L. P. Benesch
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K.
| | - Mikael Oliveberg
- Department
of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm
University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Carol V. Robinson
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K.
| | - Erik G. Marklund
- Department
of Chemistry−BMC, Uppsala University, Box 576, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Timothy M. Allison
- Biomolecular
Interaction Centre, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - Jakob R. Winther
- Linderstrøm-Lang
Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Michael Landreh
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 23A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
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15
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Konermann L, Aliyari E, Lee JH. Mobile Protons Limit the Stability of Salt Bridges in the Gas Phase: Implications for the Structures of Electrosprayed Protein Ions. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:3803-3814. [PMID: 33848419 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c00944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Electrosprayed protein ions can retain native-like conformations. The intramolecular contacts that stabilize these compact gas-phase structures remain poorly understood. Recent work has uncovered abundant salt bridges in electrosprayed proteins. Salt bridges are zwitterionic BH+/A- contacts. The low dielectric constant in the vacuum strengthens electrostatic interactions, suggesting that salt bridges could be a key contributor to the retention of compact protein structures. A problem with this assertion is that H+ are mobile, such that H+ transfer can convert salt bridges into neutral B0/HA0 contacts. This possible salt bridge annihilation puts into question the role of zwitterionic motifs in the gas phase, and it calls for a detailed analysis of BH+/A- versus B0/HA0 interactions. Here, we investigate this issue using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and electrospray experiments. MD data for short model peptides revealed that salt bridges with static H+ have dissociation energies around 700 kJ mol-1. The corresponding B0/HA0 contacts are 1 order of magnitude weaker. When considering the effects of mobile H+, BH+/A- bond energies were found to be between these two extremes, confirming that H+ migration can significantly weaken salt bridges. Next, we examined the protein ubiquitin under collision-induced unfolding (CIU) conditions. CIU simulations were conducted using three different MD models: (i) Positive-only runs with static H+ did not allow for salt bridge formation and produced highly expanded CIU structures. (ii) Zwitterionic runs with static H+ resulted in abundant salt bridges, culminating in much more compact CIU structures. (iii) Mobile H+ simulations allowed for the dynamic formation/annihilation of salt bridges, generating CIU structures intermediate between scenarios (i) and (ii). Our results uncover that mobile H+ limit the stabilizing effects of salt bridges in the gas phase. Failure to consider the effects of mobile H+ in MD simulations will result in unrealistic outcomes under CIU conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Konermann
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Elnaz Aliyari
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Justin H Lee
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
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16
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Bellamy‐Carter J, O'Grady L, Passmore M, Jenner M, Oldham NJ. Decoding Protein Gas‐Phase Stability with Alanine Scanning and Collision‐Induced Unfolding Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/anse.202000019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Louisa O'Grady
- School of Chemistry University of Nottingham University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD UK
| | - Munro Passmore
- Department of Chemistry University of Warwick Coventry CV4 7AL UK
| | - Matthew Jenner
- Department of Chemistry University of Warwick Coventry CV4 7AL UK
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre University of Warwick Coventry CV4 7AL UK
| | - Neil J. Oldham
- School of Chemistry University of Nottingham University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD UK
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17
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Zhou M, Lantz C, Brown KA, Ge Y, Paša-Tolić L, Loo JA, Lermyte F. Higher-order structural characterisation of native proteins and complexes by top-down mass spectrometry. Chem Sci 2020; 11:12918-12936. [PMID: 34094482 PMCID: PMC8163214 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc04392c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In biology, it can be argued that if the genome contains the script for a cell's life cycle, then the proteome constitutes an ensemble cast of actors that brings these instructions to life. Their interactions with each other, co-factors, ligands, substrates, and so on, are key to understanding nearly any biological process. Mass spectrometry is well established as the method of choice to determine protein primary structure and location of post-translational modifications. In recent years, top-down fragmentation of intact proteins has been increasingly combined with ionisation of noncovalent assemblies under non-denaturing conditions, i.e., native mass spectrometry. Sequence, post-translational modifications, ligand/metal binding, protein folding, and complex stoichiometry can thus all be probed directly. Here, we review recent developments in this new and exciting field of research. While this work is written primarily from a mass spectrometry perspective, it is targeted to all bioanalytical scientists who are interested in applying these methods to their own biochemistry and chemical biology research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mowei Zhou
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland WA 99354 USA
| | - Carter Lantz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles CA 90095 USA
| | - Kyle A Brown
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison WI 53706 USA
| | - Ying Ge
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison WI 53706 USA
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison WI 53706 USA
| | - Ljiljana Paša-Tolić
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland WA 99354 USA
| | - Joseph A Loo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles CA 90095 USA
| | - Frederik Lermyte
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technical University of Darmstadt 64287 Darmstadt Germany
- Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, MolSys Research Unit, University of Liège 4000 Liège Belgium
- School of Engineering, University of Warwick Coventry CV4 7AL UK
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18
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Allison TM, Barran P, Cianférani S, Degiacomi MT, Gabelica V, Grandori R, Marklund EG, Menneteau T, Migas LG, Politis A, Sharon M, Sobott F, Thalassinos K, Benesch JLP. Computational Strategies and Challenges for Using Native Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry in Biophysics and Structural Biology. Anal Chem 2020; 92:10872-10880. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b05791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M. Allison
- School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Biomolecular Interaction Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - Perdita Barran
- Michael Barber Centre for Collaborative Mass Spectrometry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah Cianférani
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse BioOrganique (LSMBO), Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Matteo T. Degiacomi
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Valérie Gabelica
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM and CNRS, ARNA Laboratory, IECB site, 2 Rue Robert Escarpit, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Rita Grandori
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126, Milan, Italy
| | - Erik G. Marklund
- Department of Chemistry - BMC, Uppsala University, Box 576, 75123, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Thomas Menneteau
- Division of Biosciences, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College of London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Lukasz G. Migas
- Michael Barber Centre for Collaborative Mass Spectrometry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, United Kingdom
| | - Argyris Politis
- Department of Chemistry, King’s College London, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom
| | - Michal Sharon
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Frank Sobott
- Biomolecular & Analytical Mass Spectrometry, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Konstantinos Thalassinos
- Department of Chemistry, King’s College London, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom
| | - Justin L. P. Benesch
- Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
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19
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Sever AIM, Konermann L. Gas Phase Protein Folding Triggered by Proton Stripping Generates Inside-Out Structures: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:3667-3677. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c01934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander I. M. Sever
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Lars Konermann
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
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20
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Zhou M, Liu W, Shaw JB. Charge Movement and Structural Changes in the Gas-Phase Unfolding of Multimeric Protein Complexes Captured by Native Top-Down Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem 2020; 92:1788-1795. [PMID: 31869201 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b03469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The extent to which noncovalent protein complexes retain native structure in the gas phase is highly dependent on experimental conditions. Energetic collisions with background gas can cause structural changes ranging from unfolding to subunit dissociation. Additionally, recent studies have highlighted the role of charge in such structural changes, but the mechanism is not completely understood. In this study, native top down (native TD) mass spectrometry was used to probe gas-phase structural changes of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, 4mer) under varying degrees of in-source activation. Changes in covalent backbone fragments produced by electron capture dissociation (ECD) or 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) were attributed to structural changes of the ADH 4mer. ECD fragments indicated unfolding started at the N-terminus, and the charge states of UVPD fragments enabled monitoring of charge migration to the unfolded regions. Interestingly, UVPD fragments also indicated that the charge at the "unfolding" N-terminus of ADH decreased at high in-source activation energies after the initial increase. We proposed a possible "refolding-after-unfolding" mechanism, as further supported by monitoring hydrogen elimination from radical a-ions produced by UVPD at the N-terminus of ADH. However, "refolding-after-unfolding" with increasing in-source activation was not observed for charge-reduced ADH, which likely adopted compact structures that are resistant to both charge migration and unfolding. When combined, these results support a charge-directed unfolding mechanism for protein complexes. Overall, an experimental framework was outlined for utilizing native TD to generate structure-informative mass spectral signatures for protein complexes that complement other structure characterization techniques, such as ion mobility and computational modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mowei Zhou
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , 3335 Innovation Boulevard , Richland , Washington 99354 , United States
| | - Weijing Liu
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , 3335 Innovation Boulevard , Richland , Washington 99354 , United States
| | - Jared B Shaw
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , 3335 Innovation Boulevard , Richland , Washington 99354 , United States
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21
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Hong S, Bush MF. Collision-Induced Unfolding Is Sensitive to the Polarity of Proteins and Protein Complexes. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2019; 30:2430-2437. [PMID: 31502225 DOI: 10.1007/s13361-019-02326-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 08/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Collision-induced unfolding (CIU) uses ion mobility to probe the structures of ions of proteins and noncovalent complexes as a function of the extent of gas-phase activation prior to analysis. CIU can be sensitive to domain structures, isoform identities, and binding partners, which makes it appealing for many applications. Almost all previous applications of CIU have probed cations. Here, we evaluate the application of CIU to anions and compare the results for anions with those for cations. Towards that end, we developed a "similarity score" that we used to quantify the differences between the results of different CIU experiments and evaluate the significance of those differences relative to the variance of the underlying measurements. Many of the differences between anions and cations that were identified can be attributed to the lower absolute charge states of anions. For example, the extents of the increase in collision cross section over the full range of energies depended strongly on absolute charge state. However, over intermediate energies, there are significant difference between anions and cations with the same absolute charge state. Therefore, CIU is sensitive to the polarity of protein ions. Based on these results, we propose that the utility of CIU to differentiate similar proteins or noncovalent complexes may also depend on polarity. More generally, these results indicate that the relationship between the structures and dynamics of native-like cations and anions deserve further attention and that future studies may benefit from integrating results from ions of both polarities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seoyeon Hong
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Box 351700, Seattle, WA, 98195-1700, USA
| | - Matthew F Bush
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Box 351700, Seattle, WA, 98195-1700, USA.
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22
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Rolland AD, Prell JS. Computational Insights into Compaction of Gas-Phase Protein and Protein Complex Ions in Native Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry. Trends Analyt Chem 2019; 116:282-291. [PMID: 31983791 PMCID: PMC6979403 DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2019.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Native ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) is a rapidly growing field for studying the composition and structure of biomolecules and biomolecular complexes using gas-phase methods. Typically, ions are formed in native IM-MS using gentle nanoelectrospray ionization conditions, which in many cases can preserve condensed-phase stoichiometry. Although much evidence shows that large-scale condensed-phase structure, such as quaternary structure and topology, can also be preserved, it is less clear to what extent smaller-scale structure is preserved in native IM-MS. This review surveys computational and experimental efforts aimed at characterizing compaction and structural rearrangements of protein and protein complex ions upon transfer to the gas phase. A brief summary of gas-phase compaction results from molecular dynamics simulations using multiple common force fields and a wide variety of protein ions is presented and compared to literature IM-MS data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber D. Rolland
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1253 University
of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA, 97403-1253
| | - James S. Prell
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1253 University
of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA, 97403-1253
- Materials Science Institute, 1252 University of Oregon,
Eugene, OR, USA 97403-1252
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23
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Liu L, Dong X, Liu Y, Österlund N, Gräslund A, Carloni P, Li J. Role of hydrophobic residues for the gaseous formation of helical motifs. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:5147-5150. [PMID: 30977489 DOI: 10.1039/c9cc01898k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The secondary structure content of proteins and their complexes may change significantly on passing from aqueous solution to the gas phase (as in mass spectrometry experiments). In this work, we investigate the impact of hydrophobic residues on the formation of the secondary structure of a real protein complex in the gas phase. We focus on a well-studied protein complex, the amyloid-β (1-40) dimer (2Aβ). Molecular dynamics simulations reproduce the results of ion mobility-mass spectrometry experiments. In addition, a helix (not present in the solution) is identified involving 19FFAED23, consistent with infrared spectroscopy data on an Aβ segment. Our simulations further point to the role of hydrophobic residues in the formation of helical motifs - hydrophobic sidechains "shield" helices from being approached by residues that carry hydrogen bond sites. In particular, two hydrophobic phenylalanine residues, F19 and F20, play an important role for the helix, which is induced in the gas phase in spite of the presence of two carboxyl-containing residues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Liu
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, 350002 Fuzhou, China.
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24
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Bleiholder C, Liu FC. Structure Relaxation Approximation (SRA) for Elucidation of Protein Structures from Ion Mobility Measurements. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:2756-2769. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b11818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Bleiholder
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States
| | - Fanny C. Liu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States
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25
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Bakhtiari M, Konermann L. Protein Ions Generated by Native Electrospray Ionization: Comparison of Gas Phase, Solution, and Crystal Structures. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:1784-1796. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b12173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Bakhtiari
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Lars Konermann
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
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26
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Hansen K, Lau AM, Giles K, McDonnell JM, Struwe WB, Sutton BJ, Politis A. A Mass-Spectrometry-Based Modelling Workflow for Accurate Prediction of IgG Antibody Conformations in the Gas Phase. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018; 57:17194-17199. [PMID: 30408305 PMCID: PMC6392142 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201812018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Immunoglobulins are biomolecules involved in defence against foreign substances. Flexibility is key to their functional properties in relation to antigen binding and receptor interactions. We have developed an integrative strategy combining ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) with molecular modelling to study the conformational dynamics of human IgG antibodies. Predictive models of all four human IgG subclasses were assembled and their dynamics sampled in the transition from extended to collapsed state during IM-MS. Our data imply that this collapse of IgG antibodies is related to their intrinsic structural features, including Fab arm flexibility, collapse towards the Fc region, and the length of their hinge regions. The workflow presented here provides an accurate structural representation in good agreement with the observed collision cross section for these flexible IgG molecules. These results have implications for studying other nonglobular flexible proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kjetil Hansen
- Department of ChemistryKing's College London7 Trinity StreetLondonSE1 1DBUK
| | - Andy M. Lau
- Department of ChemistryKing's College London7 Trinity StreetLondonSE1 1DBUK
| | | | | | | | - Brian J. Sutton
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular BiophysicsKing's College LondonUK
| | - Argyris Politis
- Department of ChemistryKing's College London7 Trinity StreetLondonSE1 1DBUK
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27
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Hansen K, Lau AM, Giles K, McDonnell JM, Struwe WB, Sutton BJ, Politis A. A Mass‐Spectrometry‐Based Modelling Workflow for Accurate Prediction of IgG Antibody Conformations in the Gas Phase. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201812018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kjetil Hansen
- Department of Chemistry King's College London 7 Trinity Street London SE1 1DB UK
| | - Andy M. Lau
- Department of Chemistry King's College London 7 Trinity Street London SE1 1DB UK
| | - Kevin Giles
- Waters Corp. Stamford Road Wilmslow SK9 4AX UK
| | - James M. McDonnell
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics King's College London UK
| | | | - Brian J. Sutton
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics King's College London UK
| | - Argyris Politis
- Department of Chemistry King's College London 7 Trinity Street London SE1 1DB UK
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28
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Schneeberger EM, Breuker K. Replacing H + by Na + or K + in phosphopeptide anions and cations prevents electron capture dissociation. Chem Sci 2018; 9:7338-7353. [PMID: 30542537 PMCID: PMC6237128 DOI: 10.1039/c8sc02470g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 07/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
By successively replacing H+ by Na+ or K+ in phosphopeptide anions and cations, we show that the efficiency of fragmentation into c and z˙ or c˙ and z fragments from N-Cα backbone bond cleavage by negative ion electron capture dissociation (niECD) and electron capture dissociation (ECD) substantially decreases with increasing number of alkali ions attached. In proton-deficient phosphopeptide ions with a net charge of 2-, we observed an exponential decrease in electron capture efficiency with increasing number of Na+ or K+ ions attached, suggesting that electrons are preferentially captured at protonated sites. In proton-abundant phosphopeptide ions with a net charge of 3+, the electron capture efficiency was not affected by replacing up to four H+ ions with Na+ or K+ ions, but the yield of c, z˙ and c˙, z fragments from N-Cα backbone bond cleavage generally decreased next to Na+ or K+ binding sites. We interpret the site-specific decrease in fragmentation efficiency as Na+ or K+ binding to backbone amide oxygen in competition with interactions of protonated sites that would otherwise lead to backbone cleavage into c, z˙ or c˙, z fragments. Our findings seriously challenge the hypothesis that the positive charge responsible for ECD into c, z˙ or c˙, z fragments can generally be a sodium or other metal ion instead of a proton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva-Maria Schneeberger
- Institute of Organic Chemistry , Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80/82 , 6020 Innsbruck , Austria . ; http://www.bioms-breuker.at/
| | - Kathrin Breuker
- Institute of Organic Chemistry , Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80/82 , 6020 Innsbruck , Austria . ; http://www.bioms-breuker.at/
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Konermann L, Metwally H, McAllister RG, Popa V. How to run molecular dynamics simulations on electrospray droplets and gas phase proteins: Basic guidelines and selected applications. Methods 2018; 144:104-112. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2018.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Revised: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
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30
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Fundamentals of ion mobility spectrometry. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2018; 42:51-59. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2017.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 186] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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