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Knop JM, Mukherjee S, Jaworek MW, Kriegler S, Manisegaran M, Fetahaj Z, Ostermeier L, Oliva R, Gault S, Cockell CS, Winter R. Life in Multi-Extreme Environments: Brines, Osmotic and Hydrostatic Pressure─A Physicochemical View. Chem Rev 2023; 123:73-104. [PMID: 36260784 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Elucidating the details of the formation, stability, interactions, and reactivity of biomolecular systems under extreme environmental conditions, including high salt concentrations in brines and high osmotic and high hydrostatic pressures, is of fundamental biological, astrobiological, and biotechnological importance. Bacteria and archaea are able to survive in the deep ocean or subsurface of Earth, where pressures of up to 1 kbar are reached. The deep subsurface of Mars may host high concentrations of ions in brines, such as perchlorates, but we know little about how these conditions and the resulting osmotic stress conditions would affect the habitability of such environments for cellular life. We discuss the combined effects of osmotic (salts, organic cosolvents) and hydrostatic pressures on the structure, stability, and reactivity of biomolecular systems, including membranes, proteins, and nucleic acids. To this end, a variety of biophysical techniques have been applied, including calorimetry, UV/vis, FTIR and fluorescence spectroscopy, and neutron and X-ray scattering, in conjunction with high pressure techniques. Knowledge of these effects is essential to our understanding of life exposed to such harsh conditions, and of the physical limits of life in general. Finally, we discuss strategies that not only help us understand the adaptive mechanisms of organisms that thrive in such harsh geological settings but could also have important ramifications in biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jim-Marcel Knop
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
| | - Sanjib Mukherjee
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
| | - Michel W Jaworek
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
| | - Simon Kriegler
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
| | - Magiliny Manisegaran
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
| | - Zamira Fetahaj
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
| | - Lena Ostermeier
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
| | - Rosario Oliva
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany.,Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 4, 80126Naples, Italy
| | - Stewart Gault
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, EH9 3FDEdinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Charles S Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, EH9 3FDEdinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Roland Winter
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, D-44221Dortmund, Germany
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2
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Makhatadze GI, Chen CR, Khutsishvili I, Marky LA. The volume changes of unfolding of dsDNA. Biophys J 2022; 121:4892-4899. [PMID: 35962547 PMCID: PMC9811605 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
High hydrostatic pressure can have profound effects on the stability of biomacromolecules. The magnitude and direction (stabilizing or destabilizing) of this effect is defined by the volume changes in the system, ΔV. Positive volume changes will stabilize the starting native state, whereas negative volume changes will lead to the stabilization of the final unfolded state. For the DNA double helix, experimental data suggested that when the thermostability of dsDNA is below 50°C, increase in hydrostatic pressure will lead to destabilization; i.e., helix-to-coil transition has negative ΔV. In contrast, the dsDNA sequences with the thermostability above 50°C showed positive ΔV values and were stabilized by hydrostatic pressure. In order to get insight into this switch in the response of dsDNA to hydrostatic pressure as a function of temperature, first we further validated this trend using experimental measurements of ΔV for 10 different dsDNA sequences using pressure perturbation calorimetry. We also developed a computational protocol to calculate the expected volume changes of dsDNA unfolding, which was benchmarked against the experimental set of 50 ΔV values that included, in addition to our data, the values from the literature. Computation predicts well the experimental values of ΔV. Such agreement between computation and experiment lends credibility to the computation protocol and provides molecular level rational for the observed temperature dependence of ΔV that can be traced to the hydration. Difference in the ΔV value for A/T versus G/C basepairs is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- George I Makhatadze
- Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Chemical Biology, and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.
| | - Calvin R Chen
- Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Chemical Biology, and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
| | - Irine Khutsishvili
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986025 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Luis A Marky
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986025 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
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3
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Avagyan S, Makhatadze GI. Volumetric Properties of the Transition State Ensemble for Protein Folding. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7615-7620. [PMID: 36150186 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how high hydrostatic pressure affects biomacromolecular interaction is important for deciphering the molecular mechanisms by which organisms adapt to live at the bottom of the ocean. The relative effect of hydrostatic pressure on the rates of folding/unfolding reactions is defined by the volumetric properties of the transition state ensemble relative to the folded and unfolded states. All-atom structure-based molecular dynamics simulations combined with quantitative computational protocol to compute volumes from three-dimensional coordinates allow volumetric mapping of protein folding landscape. This, is turn, provides qualitative understanding of the effects of hydrostatic pressure on energy landscape of proteins. The computational results for six different proteins are directly benchmark against experimental data and show an excellent agreement. Both experiments and computation show that the transition-state ensemble volume appears to be in-between the folded and unfolded state volumes, and thus the hydrostatic pressure accelerates protein unfolding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samvel Avagyan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States.,Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - George I Makhatadze
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States.,Department on Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States.,Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
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4
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Chalikian TV, Macgregor RB. Volumetric Properties of Four-Stranded DNA Structures. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:813. [PMID: 34440045 PMCID: PMC8389613 DOI: 10.3390/biology10080813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Four-stranded non-canonical DNA structures including G-quadruplexes and i-motifs have been found in the genome and are thought to be involved in regulation of biological function. These structures have been implicated in telomere biology, genomic instability, and regulation of transcription and translation events. To gain an understanding of the molecular determinants underlying the biological role of four-stranded DNA structures, their biophysical properties have been extensively studied. The limited libraries on volume, expansibility, and compressibility accumulated to date have begun to provide insights into the molecular origins of helix-to-coil and helix-to-helix conformational transitions involving four-stranded DNA structures. In this article, we review the recent progress in volumetric investigations of G-quadruplexes and i-motifs, emphasizing how such data can be used to characterize intra-and intermolecular interactions, including solvation. We describe how volumetric data can be interpreted at the molecular level to yield a better understanding of the role that solute-solvent interactions play in modulating the stability and recognition events of nucleic acids. Taken together, volumetric studies facilitate unveiling the molecular determinants of biological events involving biopolymers, including G-quadruplexes and i-motifs, by providing one more piece to the thermodynamic puzzle describing the energetics of cellular processes in vitro and, by extension, in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tigran V. Chalikian
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3M2, Canada;
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5
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Levengood JD, Peterson J, Tolbert BS, Roche J. Thermodynamic stability of hnRNP A1 low complexity domain revealed by high-pressure NMR. Proteins 2021; 89:781-791. [PMID: 33550645 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We have investigated the pressure- and temperature-induced conformational changes associated with the low complexity domain of hnRNP A1, an RNA-binding protein able to phase separate in response to cellular stress. Solution NMR spectra of the hnRNP A1 low-complexity domain fused with protein-G B1 domain were collected from 1 to 2500 bar and from 268 to 290 K. While the GB1 domain shows the typical pressure-induced and cold temperature-induced unfolding expected for small globular domains, the low-complexity domain of hnRNP A1 exhibits unusual pressure and temperature dependences. We observed that the low-complexity domain is pressure sensitive, undergoing a major conformational transition within the prescribed pressure range. Remarkably, this transition has the inverse temperature dependence of a typical folding-unfolding transition. Our results suggest the presence of a low-lying extended and fully solvated state(s) of the low-complexity domain that may play a role in phase separation. This study highlights the exquisite sensitivity of solution NMR spectroscopy to observe subtle conformational changes and illustrates how pressure perturbation can be used to determine the properties of metastable conformational ensembles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey D Levengood
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Jake Peterson
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Blanton S Tolbert
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Julien Roche
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
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6
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Anumalla B, Prabhu NP. Chain Compaction and Synergistic Destabilization of Globular Proteins by Mixture of Denaturants. ChemistrySelect 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/slct.201903122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bramhini Anumalla
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life SciencesUniversity of Hyderabad Hyderabad – 500 046 India
| | - N. Prakash Prabhu
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life SciencesUniversity of Hyderabad Hyderabad – 500 046 India
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7
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Pollack JD, Gerard D, Makhatadze GI, Pearl DK. Evolutionary conservation and structural localizations suggest a physical trace of metabolism’s progressive geochronological emergence. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2019; 38:3700-3719. [DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2019.1679666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Dennis Pollack
- Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - David Gerard
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, American University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - George I. Makhatadze
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
| | - Dennis K. Pearl
- Department of Statistics, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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8
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Chalikian TV, Macgregor RB. On empirical decomposition of volumetric data. Biophys Chem 2018; 246:8-15. [PMID: 30597448 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2018.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Volumetric characterization of proteins and their recognition events has been instrumental in providing information on the role of intra- and intermolecular interactions, including hydration, in stabilizing biomolecules. The credibility of molecular models and interpretation schemes used to rationalize experimental data are essential for the validity of microscopic insights derived from volumetric results. Current empirical schemes used to interpret volumetric data suffer from a lack of theoretical and computational substantiation. In this contribution, we take advantage age of recent MD simulations of proteins in solution coupled with Voronoi-Delaunay tessellation of simulated structures that have provided an exceptional level of structural detail on the nature of protein-water interfaces. We use these structural insights to re-evaluate empirical frameworks used for interpretation of volumetric data. An important issue in this respect is the actual dividing surface between water and protein atoms that is used in volumetric studies when the solute and solvent are treated as hard spheres enclosed within their respective van der Waals surfaces. In one development, using Voronoi tessellation of MD simulated protein-water systems the dividing surface has been defined as the points equidistant from the water and protein atoms. The interstitial void volume between the solute and the dividing surface corresponds to thermal volume envisaged by Scaled Particle Theory. In this communication, we explicitly account for the contributions of thermal volume to the partial molar volume, compressibility, and expansibility of proteins and re-examine and redefine the intrinsic and hydration volumetric contributions. We discuss the implications of our results for protein transitions and association events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tigran V Chalikian
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
| | - Robert B Macgregor
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada
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9
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Roche J, Royer CA. Lessons from pressure denaturation of proteins. J R Soc Interface 2018; 15:rsif.2018.0244. [PMID: 30282759 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is now relatively well understood how sequence defines and impacts global protein stability in specific structural contexts, the question of how sequence modulates the configurational landscape of proteins remains to be defined. Protein configurational equilibria are generally characterized by using various chemical denaturants or by changing temperature or pH. Another thermodynamic parameter which is less often used in such studies is high hydrostatic pressure. This review discusses the basis for pressure effects on protein structure and stability, and describes how the unique mechanisms of pressure-induced unfolding can provide unique insights into protein conformational landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Roche
- Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Catherine A Royer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
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10
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Lopes-Rodrigues M, Puiggalí-Jou A, Martí-Balleste D, del Valle LJ, Michaux C, Perpète EA, Alemán C. Thermomechanical Response of a Representative Porin for Biomimetics. ACS OMEGA 2018; 3:7856-7867. [PMID: 31458928 PMCID: PMC6644815 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b00463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The thermomechanical response of Omp2a, a representative porin used for the fabrication of smart biomimetic nanomembranes, has been characterized using microcantilever technology and compared with standard proteins. For this purpose, thermally induced transitions involving the conversion of stable trimers to bigger aggregates, local reorganizations based on the strengthening or weakening of intermolecular interactions, and protein denaturation have been detected by the microcantilever resonance frequency and deflection as a function of the temperature. Measurements have been carried out on arrays of 8-microcantilevers functionalized with proteins (Omp2a, lysozyme and bovine serum albumin). To interpret the measured nanofeatures, the response of proteins to temperature has been also examined using other characterization techniques, including real time wide angle X-ray diffraction. Results not only demonstrate the complex behavior of porins, which exhibit multiple local thermal transitions before undergoing denaturation at temperatures higher than 105 °C, but also suggest a posttreatment to control the orientation of immobilized Omp2a molecules in functionalized biomimetic nanomembranes and, thus, increase their efficacy in ion transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilien Lopes-Rodrigues
- Departament
d’Enginyeria Química, EEBE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/ Eduard Maristany, 10-14, Ed.
I2, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona
Research Center for Multiscale Science and Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Eduard Maristany, 10-14, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
- Laboratoire
de Chimie Physique des Biomolécules, Unité de Chimie
Physique Théorique et Structurale (UCPTS), University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles, 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Anna Puiggalí-Jou
- Departament
d’Enginyeria Química, EEBE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/ Eduard Maristany, 10-14, Ed.
I2, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona
Research Center for Multiscale Science and Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Eduard Maristany, 10-14, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Didac Martí-Balleste
- Departament
d’Enginyeria Química, EEBE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/ Eduard Maristany, 10-14, Ed.
I2, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona
Research Center for Multiscale Science and Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Eduard Maristany, 10-14, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luis J. del Valle
- Departament
d’Enginyeria Química, EEBE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/ Eduard Maristany, 10-14, Ed.
I2, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona
Research Center for Multiscale Science and Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Eduard Maristany, 10-14, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Catherine Michaux
- Laboratoire
de Chimie Physique des Biomolécules, Unité de Chimie
Physique Théorique et Structurale (UCPTS), University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles, 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Eric A. Perpète
- Laboratoire
de Chimie Physique des Biomolécules, Unité de Chimie
Physique Théorique et Structurale (UCPTS), University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles, 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Carlos Alemán
- Departament
d’Enginyeria Química, EEBE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/ Eduard Maristany, 10-14, Ed.
I2, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona
Research Center for Multiscale Science and Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Eduard Maristany, 10-14, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
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