Increased paramagnetic effect of a lanthanide protein probe by two-point attachment

Conformational Distribution of a Multidomain Protein Measured by Single-Pair Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

The difficulty in evaluating the conformational distribution of proteins in solution often hinders mechanistic insights. One possible strategy for visualizing conformational distribution is distance distribution measurement by single-pair small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), in which the scattering interference from only a specific pair of atoms in the target molecule is extracted. Despite this promising concept, with few applications in synthetic small molecules and DNA, technical difficulties have prevented its application in protein conformational studies. This study used a synthetic tag to fix the lanthanide ion at desired sites on the protein and used single-pair SAXS with contrast matching to evaluate the conformational distribution of the multidomain protein enzyme MurD. These data highlighted the broad conformational and ligand-driven distribution shifts of MurD in solution. This study proposes an important strategy in solution structural biology that targets dynamic proteins, including multidomain and intrinsically disordered proteins.

Paramagnetic NMR restraints for the characterization of protein structural rearrangements

Mobility is a common feature of biomacromolecules, often fundamental for their function. Thus, in many cases, biomacromolecules cannot be described by a single conformation, but rather by a conformational ensemble. NMR paramagnetic data demonstrated quite informative to monitor this conformational variability, especially when used in conjunction with data from different sources. Due to their long-range nature, paramagnetic data can, for instance, i) clearly demonstrate the occurrence of conformational rearrangements, ii) reveal the presence of minor conformational states, sampled only for a short time, iii) indicate the most representative conformations within the conformational ensemble sampled by the molecule, iv) provide an upper limit to the weight of each conformation.

Rigidified and Hydrophilic DOTA-like Lanthanoid Ligands: Design, Synthesis, and Dynamic Properties

Limiting the dynamics of paramagnetic tags is crucial for the accuracy of the structural information derived from paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. A hydrophilic rigid 2,2',2″,2‴-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetrayl)tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-like lanthanoid complex was designed and synthesized following a strategy that allows the incorporation of two sets of two adjacent substituents. This resulted in a C₂ symmetric hydrophilic and rigid macrocyclic ring, featuring four chiral hydroxyl-methylene substituents. NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the conformational dynamics of the novel macrocycle upon complexation with europium and compared to DOTA and its derivatives. The twisted square antiprismatic and square antiprismatic conformers coexist, but the former is favored, which is different from DOTA. Two-dimensional ¹H exchange spectroscopy shows that ring flipping of the cyclen-ring is suppressed due to the presence of the four chiral equatorial hydroxyl-methylene substituents at proximate positions. The reorientation of the pendant arms causes conformational exchange between two conformers. The reorientation of the coordination arms is slower when the ring flipping is suppressed. This indicates that these complexes are suitable scaffolds to develop rigid probes for paramagnetic NMR of proteins. Due to their hydrophilic nature, it is anticipated that they are less likely to cause protein precipitation than their more hydrophobic counterparts.

Distinct stereospecific effect of chiral tether between a tag and protein on the rigidity of paramagnetic tag

Flexibility between the paramagnetic tag and its protein conjugates is a common yet unresolved issue in the applications of paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy in biological systems. The flexibility greatly attenuates the magnetic anisotropy and compromises paramagnetic effects especially for pseudocontact shift and residual dipolar couplings. Great efforts have been made to improve the rigidity of paramagnetic tag in the protein conjugates, however, the effect of local environment vicinal to the protein ligation site on the paramagnetic effects remains poorly understood. In the present work, the stereospecific effect of chiral tether between the protein and a tag on the paramagnetic effects produced by the tag attached via a D- and L-type linker between the protein and paramagnetic metal chelating moiety was assessed. The remarkable chiral effect of the D- and L-type tether between the tag and the protein on the rigidity of paramagnetic tag is disclosed in a number of protein-tag-Ln complexes. The chiral tether formed between the D-type tag and L-type protein surface minimizes the effect of the local environment surrounding the ligation site on the averaging of paramagnetic tag, which is helpful to preserve the rigidity of a paramagnetic tag in the protein conjugates.

The evolution of paramagnetic NMR as a tool in structural biology

Paramagnetic NMR data contain extremely accurate long-range information on metalloprotein structures and, when used in the frame of integrative structural biology approaches, they allow for the retrieval of structural details to a resolution that is not achievable using other techniques. Paramagnetic data thus represent an extremely powerful tool to refine protein models in solution, especially when coupled to X-ray or cryoelectron microscopy data, to monitor the formation of complexes and determine the relative arrangements of their components, and to highlight the presence of conformational heterogeneity. More recently, theoretical and computational advancements in quantum chemical calculations of paramagnetic NMR observables are progressively opening new routes in structural biology, because they allow for the determination of the structure within the coordination sphere of the metal center, thus acting as a loupe on sites that are difficult to observe but very important for protein function.

Paramagnetic Chemical Probes for Studying Biological Macromolecules

Paramagnetic chemical probes have been used in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for more than four decades. Recent years witnessed a great increase in the variety of probes for the study of biological macromolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, and oligosaccharides). This Review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing paramagnetic chemical probes, including chemical synthetic approaches, functional properties, and selected applications. Recent developments have seen, in particular, a rapid expansion of the range of lanthanoid probes with anisotropic magnetic susceptibilities for the generation of structural restraints based on residual dipolar couplings and pseudocontact shifts in solution and solid state NMR spectroscopy, mostly for protein studies. Also many new isotropic paramagnetic probes, suitable for NMR measurements of paramagnetic relaxation enhancements, as well as EPR spectroscopic studies (in particular double resonance techniques) have been developed and employed to investigate biological macromolecules. Notwithstanding the large number of reported probes, only few have found broad application and further development of probes for dedicated applications is foreseen.

Pseudocontact Shifts in Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy

Paramagnetic centers in biomolecules, such as specific metal ions that are bound to a protein, affect the nuclei in their surrounding in various ways. One of these effects is the pseudocontact shift (PCS), which leads to strong chemical shift perturbations of nuclear spins, with a remarkably long range of 50 Å and beyond. The PCS in solution NMR is an effect originating from the anisotropic part of the dipole-dipole interaction between the magnetic momentum of unpaired electrons and nuclear spins. The PCS contains spatial information that can be exploited in multiple ways to characterize structure, function, and dynamics of biomacromolecules. It can be used to refine structures, magnify effects of dynamics, help resonance assignments, allows for an intermolecular positioning system, and gives structural information in sensitivity-limited situations where all other methods fail. Here, we review applications of the PCS in biomolecular solution NMR spectroscopy, starting from early works on natural metalloproteins, following the development of non-natural tags to chelate and attach lanthanoid ions to any biomolecular target to advanced applications on large biomolecular complexes and inside living cells. We thus hope to not only highlight past applications but also shed light on the tremendous potential the PCS has in structural biology.

A Chiral Lanthanide Tag for Stable and Rigid Attachment to Single Cysteine Residues in Proteins for NMR, EPR and Time-Resolved Luminescence Studies

A lanthanide-binding tag site-specifically attached to a protein presents a tool to probe the protein by multiple spectroscopic techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance and time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Here a new stable chiral LnIII tag, referred to as C12, is presented for spontaneous and quantitative reaction with a cysteine residue to generate a stable thioether bond. The synthetic protocol of the tag is relatively straightforward, and the tag is stable for storage and shipping. It displays greatly enhanced reactivity towards selenocysteine, opening a route towards selective tagging of selenocysteine in proteins containing cysteine residues. Loaded with TbIII or TmIII ions, the C12 tag readily generates pseudocontact shifts (PCS) in protein NMR spectra. It produces a relatively rigid tether between lanthanide and protein, which is beneficial for interpretation of the PCSs by single magnetic susceptibility anisotropy tensors, and it is suitable for measuring distance distributions in double electron-electron resonance experiments. Upon reaction with cysteine or other thiol compounds, the TbIII complex exhibits a 100-fold enhancement in luminescence quantum yield, affording a highly sensitive turn-on luminescence probe for time-resolved FRET assays and enzyme reaction monitoring.

Conformational ensemble of a multidomain protein explored by Gd3+ electron paramagnetic resonance

Despite their importance in function, the conformational state of proteins and its changes are often poorly understood, mainly because of the lack of an efficient tool. MurD, a 47-kDa protein enzyme responsible for peptidoglycan biosynthesis, is one of those proteins whose conformational states and changes during their catalytic cycle are not well understood. Although it has been considered that MurD takes a single conformational state in solution as shown by a crystal structure, the solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study suggested the existence of multiple conformational state of apo MurD in solution. However, the conformational distribution has not been evaluated. In this work, we investigate the conformational states of MurD by the use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), especially intergadolinium distance measurement using double electron-electron resonance (DEER) measurement. The gadolinium ions are fixed on specific positions on MurD via a rigid double-arm paramagnetic lanthanide tag that has been originally developed for paramagnetic NMR. The combined use of NMR and EPR enables accurate interpretation of the DEER distance information to the structural information of MurD. The DEER distance measurement for apo MurD shows a broad distance distribution, whereas the presence of the inhibitor narrows the distance distribution. The results suggest that MurD exists in a wide variety of conformational states in the absence of ligands, whereas binding of the inhibitor eliminates variation in conformational states. The multiple conformational states of MurD were previously implied by NMR experiments, but our DEER data provided structural characterization of the conformational variety of MurD.

A Two-Armed Probe for In-Cell DEER Measurements on Proteins*

The application of double electron‐electron resonance (DEER) with site‐directed spin labeling (SDSL) to measure distances in proteins and protein complexes in living cells puts rigorous restraints on the spin‐label. The linkage and paramagnetic centers need to resist the reducing conditions of the cell. Rigid attachment of the probe to the protein improves precision of the measured distances. Here, three two‐armed Gd^III complexes, Gd^III‐CLaNP13a/b/c were synthesized. Rather than the disulfide linkage of most other CLaNP molecules, a thioether linkage was used to avoid reductive dissociation of the linker. The doubly Gd^III labeled N55C/V57C/K147C/T151C variants of T4Lysozyme were measured by 95 GHz DEER. The constructs were measured in vitro, in cell lysate and in Dictyostelium discoideum cells. Measured distances were 4.5 nm, consistent with results from paramagnetic NMR. A narrow distance distribution and typical modulation depth, also in cell, indicate complete and durable labeling and probe rigidity due to the dual attachment sites.

Dynamics of Ligand Binding to a Rigid Glycosidase*

The single-domain GH11 glycosidase from Bacillus circulans (BCX) is involved in the degradation of hemicellulose, which is one of the most abundant renewable biomaterials in nature. We demonstrate that BCX in solution undergoes minimal structural changes during turnover. NMR spectroscopy results show that the rigid protein matrix provides a frame for fast substrate binding in multiple conformations, accompanied by slow conversion, which is attributed to an enzyme-induced substrate distortion. A model is proposed in which the rigid enzyme takes advantage of substrate flexibility to induce a conformation that facilitates the acyl formation step of the hydrolysis reaction.

NMR pseudocontact shifts in a symmetric protein homotrimer

NMR pseudocontact shifts are a valuable tool for structural and functional studies of proteins. Protein multimers mediate key functional roles in biology, but methods for their study by pseudocontact shifts are so far not available. Paramagnetic tags attached to identical subunits in multimeric proteins cause a combined pseudocontact shift that cannot be described by the standard single-point model. Here, we report pseudocontact shifts generated simultaneously by three paramagnetic Tm-M7PyThiazole-DOTA tags to the trimeric molecular chaperone Skp and provide an approach for the analysis of this and related symmetric systems. The pseudocontact shifts were described by a "three-point" model, in which positions and parameters of the three paramagnetic tags were fitted. A good correlation between experimental data and predicted values was found, validating the approach. The study establishes that pseudocontact shifts can readily be applied to multimeric proteins, offering new perspectives for studies of large protein complexes by paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy.

Paramagnetic NMR in drug discovery

The presence of an unpaired electron in paramagnetic molecules generates significant effects in NMR spectra, which can be exploited to provide restraints complementary to those used in standard structure-calculation protocols. NMR already occupies a central position in drug discovery for its use in fragment screening, structural biology and validation of ligand-target interactions. Paramagnetic restraints provide unique opportunities, for example, for more sensitive screening to identify weaker-binding fragments. A key application of paramagnetic NMR in drug discovery, however, is to provide new structural restraints in cases where crystallography proves intractable. This is particularly important at early stages in drug-discovery programs where crystal structures of weakly-binding fragments are difficult to obtain and crystallization artefacts are probable, but structural information about ligand poses is crucial to guide medicinal chemistry. Numerous applications show the value of paramagnetic restraints to filter computational docking poses and to generate interaction models. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (PREs) generate a distance-dependent effect, while pseudo-contact shift (PCS) restraints provide both distance and angular information. Here, we review strategies for introducing paramagnetic centers and discuss examples that illustrate the utility of paramagnetic restraints in drug discovery. Combined with standard approaches, such as chemical shift perturbation and NOE-derived distance information, paramagnetic NMR promises a valuable source of information for many challenging drug-discovery programs.

Automated assignment of methyl NMR spectra from large proteins

As structural biology trends towards larger and more complex biomolecular targets, a detailed understanding of their interactions and underlying structures and dynamics is required. The development of methyl-TROSY has enabled NMR spectroscopy to provide atomic-resolution insight into the mechanisms of large molecular assemblies in solution. However, the applicability of methyl-TROSY has been hindered by the laborious and time-consuming resonance assignment process, typically performed with domain fragmentation, site-directed mutagenesis, and analysis of NOE data in the context of a crystal structure. In response, several structure-based automatic methyl assignment strategies have been developed over the past decade. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of all available methods and compare their input data requirements, algorithmic strategies, and reported performance. In general, the methods fall into two categories: those that primarily rely on inter-methyl NOEs, and those that utilize methyl PRE- and PCS-based restraints. We discuss their advantages and limitations, and highlight the potential benefits from standardizing and combining different methods.

Design and applications of lanthanide chelating tags for pseudocontact shift NMR spectroscopy with biomacromolecules

In this review, lanthanide chelating tags and their applications to pseudocontact shift NMR spectroscopy as well as analysis of residual dipolar couplings are covered. A complete overview is presented of DOTA-derived and non-DOTA-derived lanthanide chelating tags, critical points in the design of lanthanide chelating tags as appropriate linker moieties, their stability under reductive conditions, e.g., for in-cell applications, the magnitude of the anisotropy transferred from the lanthanide chelating tag to the biomacromolecule under investigation and structural properties, as well as conformational bias of the lanthanide chelating tags are discussed. Furthermore, all DOTA-derived lanthanide chelating tags used for PCS NMR spectroscopy published to date are displayed in tabular form, including their anisotropy parameters, with all employed lanthanide ions, C_B-Ln distances and tagging reaction conditions, i.e., the stoichiometry of lanthanide chelating tags, pH, buffer composition, temperature and reaction time. Additionally, applications of lanthanide chelating tags for pseudocontact shifts and residual dipolar couplings that have been reported for proteins, protein-protein and protein-ligand complexes, carbohydrates, carbohydrate-protein complexes, nucleic acids and nucleic acid-protein complexes are presented and critically reviewed. The vast and impressive range of applications of lanthanide chelating tags to structural investigations of biomacromolecules in solution clearly illustrates the significance of this particular field of research. The extension of the repertoire of lanthanide chelating tags from proteins to nucleic acids holds great promise for the determination of valuable structural parameters and further developments in characterizing intermolecular interactions.

Methyl group reorientation under ligand binding probed by pseudocontact shifts

Liquid-state NMR spectroscopy is a powerful technique to elucidate binding properties of ligands on proteins. Ligands binding in hydrophobic pockets are often in close proximity to methyl groups and binding can lead to subtle displacements of methyl containing side chains to accommodate the ligand. To establish whether pseudocontact shifts can be used to characterize ligand binding and the effects on methyl groups, the N-terminal domain of HSP90 was tagged with caged lanthanoid NMR probe 5 at three positions and titrated with a ligand. Binding was monitored using the resonances of leucine and valine methyl groups. The pseudocontact shifts (PCS) caused by ytterbium result in enhanced dispersion of the methyl spectrum, allowing more resonances to be observed. The effects of tag attachment on the spectrum and ligand binding are small. Significant changes in PCS were observed upon ligand binding, indicating displacements of several methyl groups. By determining the cross-section of PCS iso-surfaces generated by two or three paramagnetic centers, the new position of a methyl group can be estimated, showing displacements in the range of 1-3 Å for methyl groups in the binding site. The information about such subtle but significant changes may be used to improve docking studies and can find application in fragment-based drug discovery.

Short two-armed lanthanide-binding tags for paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy based on chiral 1,4,7,10-tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane scaffolds

A new pair of enantiomeric two-armed lanthanide-binding tags have been developed for paramagnetic NMR studies of proteins. The tags produce large and significantly different paramagnetic effects to one another when bound to the same tagging site. Additionally, they are less sensitive to sample pH than our previous two-armed tag designs.

Overview of refinement procedures within REFMAC5: utilizing data from different sources

Refinement is a process that involves bringing into agreement the structural model, available prior knowledge and experimental data. To achieve this, the refinement procedure optimizes a posterior conditional probability distribution of model parameters, including atomic coordinates, atomic displacement parameters (B factors), scale factors, parameters of the solvent model and twin fractions in the case of twinned crystals, given observed data such as observed amplitudes or intensities of structure factors. A library of chemical restraints is typically used to ensure consistency between the model and the prior knowledge of stereochemistry. If the observation-to-parameter ratio is small, for example when diffraction data only extend to low resolution, the Bayesian framework implemented in REFMAC5 uses external restraints to inject additional information extracted from structures of homologous proteins, prior knowledge about secondary-structure formation and even data obtained using different experimental methods, for example NMR. The refinement procedure also generates the `best' weighted electron-density maps, which are useful for further model (re)building. Here, the refinement of macromolecular structures using REFMAC5 and related tools distributed as part of the CCP4 suite is discussed.

Stable and rigid DTPA-like paramagnetic tags suitable for in vitro and in situ protein NMR analysis

Organic synthesis of a ligand with high binding affinities for paramagnetic lanthanide ions is an effective way of generating paramagnetic effects on proteins. These paramagnetic effects manifested in high-resolution NMR spectroscopy are valuable dynamic and structural restraints of proteins and protein-ligand complexes. A paramagnetic tag generally contains a metal chelating moiety and a reactive group for protein modification. Herein we report two new DTPA-like tags, 4PS-PyDTTA and 4PS-6M-PyDTTA that can be site-specifically attached to a protein with a stable thioether bond. Both protein-tag adducts form stable lanthanide complexes, of which the binding affinities and paramagnetic tensors are tunable with respect to the 6-methyl group in pyridine. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) effects of Gd(III) complex on protein-tag adducts were evaluated in comparison with pseudocontact shift (PCS), and the results indicated that both 4PS-PyDTTA and 4PS-6M-PyDTTA tags are rigid and present high-quality PREs that are crucially important in elucidation of the dynamics and interactions of proteins and protein-ligand complexes. We also show that these two tags are suitable for in-situ protein NMR analysis.

Methyl group assignment using pseudocontact shifts with PARAssign

A new version of the program PARAssign has been evaluated for assignment of NMR resonances of the 76 methyl groups in leucines, isoleucines and valines in a 25 kDa protein, using only the structure of the protein and pseudocontact shifts (PCS) generated with a lanthanoid tag at up to three attachment sites. The number of reliable assignments depends strongly on two factors. The principle axes of the magnetic susceptibility tensors of the paramagnetic centers should not be parallel so as to avoid correlated PCS. Second, the fraction of resonances in the spectrum of a paramagnetic sample that can be paired with the diamagnetic counterparts is critical for the assignment. With the data from two tag positions a reliable assignment could be obtained for 60% of the methyl groups and for many of the remaining resonances the number of possible assignments is limited to two or three. With a single tag, reliable assignments can be obtained for methyl groups with large PCS near the tag. It is concluded that assignment of methyl group resonances by paramagnetic tagging can be particularly useful in combination with some additional data, such as from mutagenesis or NOE-based experiments. Approaches to yield the best assignment results with PCS generating tags are discussed.

Recent excitements in protein NMR: Large proteins and biologically relevant dynamics

The advent of Transverse Relaxation Optimized SpectroscopY (TROSY) and perdeuteration allowed biomolecular NMR spectroscopists to overcome the size limitation barrier (approx. 20 kDa) in de novo structure determination of proteins. The utility of these techniques was immediately demonstrated on large proteins and protein complexes (e.g. GroELGroES, ClpP protease, Hsp90-p53, 20S proteasome, etc.). Further, recent methodological developments such as Residual Dipolar Couplings and Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement allowed accurate measurement of long-range structural restraints. Additionally, Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG), rotating frame relaxation experiments (R1(rho)) and saturation transfer experiments (CEST and DEST) created never-before accessibility to the (mu)s-ms timescale dynamic parameters that led to the deeper understanding of biological processes. Meanwhile, the excitement in the field continued with a series of developments in the fast data acquisition methods allowing rapid structural studies on less stable proteins. This review aims to discuss important developments in the field of biomolecular NMR spectroscopy in the recent past, i.e., in the post TROSY era. These developments not only gave access to the structural studies of large protein assemblies, but also revolutionized tools in the arsenal of today's biomolecular NMR and point to a bright future of biomolecular NMR spectroscopy.

Characterizing the magnetic susceptibility tensor of lanthanide-containing polymethylated-DOTA complexes

Lanthanide complexes based on the DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid) cage are commonly used as phase contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging, but can also be utilized in structural NMR applications due to their ability to induce either paramagnetic relaxation enhancement or a pseudocontact shift (PCS) depending on the choice of the lanthanide. The size and sign of the PCS for any given atom is determined by its coordinates relative to the metal center, and the characteristics of the lanthanide's magnetic susceptibility tensor. Using a polymethylated DOTA tag (Ln-M8-SPy) conjugated to ubiquitin, we calculated the position of the metal center and characterized the susceptibility tensor for a number of lanthanides (dysprosium, thulium, and ytterbium) under a range of pH and temperature conditions. We found that there was a difference in temperature sensitivity for each of the complexes studied, which depended on the size of the lanthanide ion as well as the isomeric state of the cage. Using ¹⁷O-NMR, we confirmed that the temperature sensitivity of the compounds was enhanced by the presence of an apically bound water molecule. Since amide-containing lanthanide complexes are known to be pH sensitive and can be used as probes of physiological pH, we also investigated the effect of pH on the Ln-M8-SPy susceptibility tensor, but we found that the changes in this pH range (5.0-7.4) were not significant.

Magnetic Anisotropy in Functionalized Bipyridyl Cryptates

The magnetic properties of molecular lanthanoid complexes are very important for a variety of scientific and technological applications, with the unique magnetic anisotropy being one of the most important features. In this context, a very rigid tris(bipyridine) cryptand was synthesized with a primary amine functionality for future bioconjugation. The magnetic anisotropy was investigated for the corresponding paramagnetic ytterbium cryptate. With the use of a combination of density functional theory calculations and lanthanoid-induced NMR shift analysis, the magnetic susceptibility tensor was determined and compared to the unfunctionalized cryptate analogue. The size and orientation of the axial and rhombic tensor components show remarkably great resilience toward the decrease of local symmetry around the metal and anion exchange in the inner coordination sphere. In addition, the functionalized ytterbium cryptate also exhibits efficient near-IR luminescence.

Analysis of the isomer ratios of polymethylated-DOTA complexes and the implications on protein structural studies

A rigidified and symmetrical polymethylated 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) ligand bearing four SSSS methyl groups in both the tetraaza ring and the acetate arms (SSSS-SSSS-M4DOTMA) was prepared. The isomer ratio of SSSS-SSSS-M4DOTMA complexed with a series of lanthanide ions was carefully investigated using RP-HPLC and NMR. A square antiprismatic (SAP) configuration was exclusively observed for the early lanthanides, while the twisted square antiprismatic (TSAP) geometry was preferred as the lanthanide ion size decreases. The late lanthanides preferentially adopted the TSAP geometry. One of the pendant arms was modified with a pyridyl disulfide group (SSSS-SSSS-M8SPy) for cysteine attachment and displayed a similar isomer trend as the parent compound, Ln-SSSS-SSSS-M4DOTMA. Covalent attachment to the ubiquitin S57C mutant showed resonances whose intensities are in agreement with the isomeric population observed by RP-HPLC. Furthermore, the NOE experiments combined with quantum chemical calculations have unequivocally demonstrated that the SAP of Pr-SSSS-SSSS-M4DOTMA and Pr-SSSS-SSSS-M8SPy, as well as the TSAP of Yb-SSSS-SSSS-M8SPy are more stable than their corresponding isomers.

A Focal Adhesion Kinase-Derived Peptide Binds the Src SH3 Domain in Two Orientations, As Demonstrated Using Paramagnetic Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

SH3 binding peptides contain polyproline helices and are classified according to their binding orientations as N-to-C-terminal or C-to-N-terminal. We have tested the hypothesis that such a peptide binds in both orientations but with different populations. A focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-derived peptide was tested for its binding orientation on the Src SH3 domain. Paramagnetic tags were introduced at several positions on the SH3 domain, and on the basis of the paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (PREs) of the amide protons, the positions of the paramagnetic centers were determined. Two peptides were synthesized with (13)C-enriched Ala or Pro, at the N-terminal or C-terminal side of the peptide, and the intermolecular PREs were measured. The results provide compelling evidence that the FAK-derived peptide binds the SH3 domain in two orientations. In the major state, the SH3 domain binds the peptide in the N-C orientation, whereas 20% of the time, the peptide binds in the C-N orientation. We conclude that the distinction between N-C and C-N orientations, which is based on crystal structures, might be artificial. The pseudosymmetric nature of the polyproline helix might allow for binding in both orientations in the solution state.

Enantiomeric two-armed lanthanide-binding tags for complementary effects in paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy

A new pair of two-armed lanthanide-binding tags provide distinct sets of structural restraints when attached to the same site of a protein.

Single-armed phenylsulfonated pyridine derivative of DOTA is rigid and stable paramagnetic tag in protein analysis

Single-armed DOTA-like phenylsulfonated pyridine derivatives are rigid and stable paramagnetic tags for site-specific labelling of proteins. The respective protein conjugates yield valuable long-range structural restraints for proteins.

Protein docking using an ensemble of spin labels optimized by intra-molecular paramagnetic relaxation enhancement

The effect of spin label mobility on the accuracy of protein–protein docking calculations was investigated using inter- and intra-molecular PRE data.

Nitrogen detected TROSY at high field yields high resolution and sensitivity for protein NMR

Detection of (15)N in multidimensional NMR experiments of proteins has sparsely been utilized because of the low gyromagnetic ratio (γ) of nitrogen and the presumed low sensitivity of such experiments. Here we show that selecting the TROSY components of proton-attached (15)N nuclei (TROSY (15)NH) yields high quality spectra in high field magnets (>600 MHz) by taking advantage of the slow (15)N transverse relaxation and compensating for the inherently low (15)N sensitivity. The (15)N TROSY transverse relaxation rates increase modestly with molecular weight but the TROSY gain in peak heights depends strongly on the magnetic field strength. Theoretical simulations predict that the narrowest line width for the TROSY (15)NH component can be obtained at 900 MHz, but sensitivity reaches its maximum around 1.2 GHz. Based on these considerations, a (15)N-detected 2D (1)H-(15)N TROSY-HSQC ((15)N-detected TROSY-HSQC) experiment was developed and high-quality 2D spectra were recorded at 800 MHz in 2 h for 1 mM maltose-binding protein at 278 K (τc ~ 40 ns). Unlike for (1)H detected TROSY, deuteration is not mandatory to benefit (15)N detected TROSY due to reduced dipolar broadening, which facilitates studies of proteins that cannot be deuterated, especially in cases where production requires eukaryotic expression systems. The option of recording (15)N TROSY of proteins expressed in H2O media also alleviates the problem of incomplete amide proton back exchange, which often hampers the detection of amide groups in the core of large molecular weight proteins that are expressed in D2O culture media and cannot be refolded for amide back exchange. These results illustrate the potential of (15)NH-detected TROSY experiments as a means to exploit the high resolution offered by high field magnets near and above 1 GHz.

Ligand-driven conformational changes of MurD visualized by paramagnetic NMR

Proteins, especially multi-domain proteins, often undergo drastic conformational changes upon binding to ligands or by post-translational modifications, which is a key step to regulate their function. However, the detailed mechanisms of such dynamic regulation of the functional processes are poorly understood because of the lack of an efficient tool. We here demonstrate detailed characterization of conformational changes of MurD, a 47 kDa protein enzyme consisting of three domains, by the use of solution NMR equipped with paramagnetic lanthanide probe. Quantitative analysis of pseudocontact shifts has identified a novel conformational state of MurD, named semi-closed conformation, which is found to be the key to understand how MurD regulates the binding of the ligands. The modulation of the affinity coupled with conformational changes accentuates the importance of conformational state to be evaluated in drug design.

Paramagnetic Ligand Tagging To Identify Protein Binding Sites

Transient biomolecular interactions are the cornerstones of the cellular machinery. The identification of the binding sites for low affinity molecular encounters is essential for the development of high affinity pharmaceuticals from weakly binding leads but is hindered by the lack of robust methodologies for characterization of weakly binding complexes. We introduce a paramagnetic ligand tagging approach that enables localization of low affinity protein–ligand binding clefts by detection and analysis of intermolecular protein NMR pseudocontact shifts, which are invoked by the covalent attachment of a paramagnetic lanthanoid chelating tag to the ligand of interest. The methodology is corroborated by identification of the low millimolar volatile anesthetic interaction site of the calcium sensor protein calmodulin. It presents an efficient route to binding site localization for low affinity complexes and is applicable to rapid screening of protein–ligand systems with varying binding affinity.

Practical Aspects of Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement in Biological Macromolecules

In this brief review, we summarize various aspects of NMR paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE). We discuss the types of spin labels used in NMR studies, describe the relevant theory used to accurately calculate PREs from coordinates, including how to take into account the fact that paramagnetic labels tend to be highly mobile and sample a wide range of conformational space, and outline methods to refine structures or ensembles of structures directly against PRE data using simulated annealing. Finally, we show how the PRE can be used to detect, characterize, and visualize sparsely populated states of proteins and their complexes that are invisible to all other biophysical techniques.

Integral membrane protein structure determination using pseudocontact shifts

Obtaining enough experimental restraints can be a limiting factor in the NMR structure determination of larger proteins. This is particularly the case for large assemblies such as membrane proteins that have been solubilized in a membrane-mimicking environment. Whilst in such cases extensive deuteration strategies are regularly utilised with the aim to improve the spectral quality, these schemes often limit the number of NOEs obtainable, making complementary strategies highly beneficial for successful structure elucidation. Recently, lanthanide-induced pseudocontact shifts (PCSs) have been established as a structural tool for globular proteins. Here, we demonstrate that a PCS-based approach can be successfully applied for the structure determination of integral membrane proteins. Using the 7TM α-helical microbial receptor pSRII, we show that PCS-derived restraints from lanthanide binding tags attached to four different positions of the protein facilitate the backbone structure determination when combined with a limited set of NOEs. In contrast, the same set of NOEs fails to determine the correct 3D fold. The latter situation is frequently encountered in polytopical α-helical membrane proteins and a PCS approach is thus suitable even for this particularly challenging class of membrane proteins. The ease of measuring PCSs makes this an attractive route for structure determination of large membrane proteins in general.

Compact, hydrophilic, lanthanide-binding tags for paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy

The design, synthesis and evaluation of four novel lanthanide-binding tags for paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy are reported.

The design, synthesis and evaluation of four novel lanthanide-binding tags for paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy are reported. Each tag is based on the ((2S,2′S,2′′S,2′′′S)-1,1′,1′′,1′′′-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetrayl)tetrakis(propan-2-ol)) scaffold, featuring small chiral alcohol coordinating pendants to minimise the size and hydrophobic character of each tag. The tags feature different linkers of variable length for conjugation to protein via a single cysteine residue. Each tag's ability to induce pseudocontact shifts (PCS) was assessed on a ubiquitin A28C mutant. Two enantiomeric tags of particular note, C7 and C8, produced significantly larger Δχ-tensors compared to a previously developed tag, C1, attributed to the extremely short linker utilised, limiting the mobility of the bound lanthanide ion. The C7 and C8 tags' capacity to induce PCSs was further demonstrated on GB1 Q32C and 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (HPPK) S112C/C80A mutants. Whilst factors such as the choice of lanthanide ion, pH and site of conjugation influence the size of the PCSs obtained, the tags represent a significant advance in the field.

Generation of pseudocontact shifts in proteins with lanthanides using small "clickable" nitrilotriacetic acid and iminodiacetic acid tags

Pseudocontact shifts (PCS) induced by paramagnetic lanthanide ions provide unique long-range structural information in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, but the site-specific attachment of lanthanide tags to proteins remains a challenge. Here we incorporated p-azido-phenylalanine (AzF) site-specifically into the proteins ubiquitin and GB1, and ligated the AzF residue with alkyne derivatives of small nitrilotriacetic acid and iminodiacetic acid tags using the Cu(I) -catalysed "click" reaction. These tags form lanthanide complexes with no or only a small net charge and produced sizeable PCSs with paramagnetic lanthanide ions in all mutants tested. The PCSs were readily fitted by single magnetic susceptibility anisotropy tensors. Protein precipitation during the click reaction was greatly alleviated by the presence of 150 mM NaCl.

Visualizing transient dark states by NMR spectroscopy

Myriad biological processes proceed through states that defy characterization by conventional atomic-resolution structural biological methods. The invisibility of these 'dark' states can arise from their transient nature, low equilibrium population, large molecular weight, and/or heterogeneity. Although they are invisible, these dark states underlie a range of processes, acting as encounter complexes between proteins and as intermediates in protein folding and aggregation. New methods have made these states accessible to high-resolution analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, as long as the dark state is in dynamic equilibrium with an NMR-visible species. These methods - paramagnetic NMR, relaxation dispersion, saturation transfer, lifetime line broadening, and hydrogen exchange - allow the exploration of otherwise invisible states in exchange with a visible species over a range of timescales, each taking advantage of some unique property of the dark state to amplify its effect on a particular NMR observable. In this review, we introduce these methods and explore two specific techniques - paramagnetic relaxation enhancement and dark state exchange saturation transfer - in greater detail.

A minor conformation of a lanthanide tag on adenylate kinase characterized by paramagnetic relaxation dispersion NMR spectroscopy

NMR relaxation dispersion techniques provide a powerful method to study protein dynamics by characterizing lowly populated conformations that are in dynamic exchange with the major state. Paramagnetic NMR is a versatile tool for investigating the structures and dynamics of proteins. These two techniques were combined here to measure accurate and precise pseudocontact shifts of a lowly populated conformation. This method delivers valuable long-range structural restraints for higher energy conformations of macromolecules in solution. Another advantage of combining pseudocontact shifts with relaxation dispersion is the increase in the amplitude of dispersion profiles. Lowly populated states are often involved in functional processes, such as enzyme catalysis, signaling, and protein/protein interactions. The presented results also unveil a critical problem with the lanthanide tag used to generate paramagnetic relaxation dispersion effects in proteins, namely that the motions of the tag can interfere severely with the observation of protein dynamics. The two-point attached CLaNP-5 lanthanide tag was linked to adenylate kinase. From the paramagnetic relaxation dispersion only motion of the tag is observed. The data can be described accurately by a two-state model in which the protein-attached tag undergoes a 23° tilting motion on a timescale of milliseconds. The work demonstrates the large potential of paramagnetic relaxation dispersion and the challenge to improve current tags to minimize relaxation dispersion from tag movements.

Recent advances in biological applications of cage metal complexes

This review highlights advances in biochemical and medical applications of cage metal complexes (clathrochelates) and related polyhedral compounds.

Transition Ion Strikes Back: Large Magnetic Susceptibility Anisotropy in Cobalt(II) Clathrochelates

Transition-metal complexes are rarely considered as paramagnetic tags for NMR spectroscopy due to them generally having relatively low magnetic anisotropy. Here we report cobalt(II) cage complexes with the largest (among the transition-metal complexes) axial anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, reaching as high as 12.6 × 10(-32) m(3) at room temperature. This remarkable anisotropy, which results from an unusual trigonal prismatic geometry of the complexes and translates into large negative value of the zero-field splitting energy, is high enough to promote reliable paramagnetic pseudocontact shifts at the distance beyond 2 nm. Our finding paves the way toward the applications of cobalt(II) clathrochelates as future paramagnetic tags. Given the incredible stability and functionalization versatility of clathrochelates, the fine-tuning of the caging ligand may lead to new chemically stable mononuclear single-molecule magnets, for which magnetic anisotropy is of importance.

Rapid synthesis of 1,7-bis(t-butoxycarbonylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (DO2A-t-Bu ester)

A three-step route was used to synthesize 1,7-bis(t-butoxycarbonylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (DO2A-t-Bu ester) from 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen). The overall time of reaction was reduced from a combined ~56 h to 2.3 h with an overall yield comparable to previously reported methods.

A bis(pyridine N-oxide) analogue of DOTA: relaxometric properties of the Gd(III) complex and efficient sensitization of visible and NIR-emitting lanthanide(III) cations including Pr(III) and Ho(III)

We report the synthesis of a cyclen-based ligand (4,10-bis[(1-oxidopyridin-2-yl)methyl]-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,7-diacetic acid=L1) containing two acetate and two 2-methylpyridine N-oxide arms anchored on the nitrogen atoms of the cyclen platform, which has been designed for stable complexation of lanthanide(III) ions in aqueous solution. Relaxometric studies suggest that the thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness of the Gd(III) complex may be sufficient for biological applications. A detailed structural study of the complexes by (1) H NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations indicates that they adopt an anti-Δ(λλλλ) conformation in aqueous solution, that is, an anti-square antiprismatic (anti-SAP) isomeric form, as demonstrated by analysis of the (1) H NMR paramagnetic shifts induced by Yb(III) . The water-exchange rate of the Gd(III) complex is ${k{{298\hfill \atop {\rm ex}\hfill}}}$=6.7×10(6)  s(-1) , about a quarter of that for the mono-oxidopyridine analogue, but still about 50 % higher than the ${k{{298\hfill \atop {\rm ex}\hfill}}}$ of GdDOTA (DOTA=1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid). The 2-methylpyridine N-oxide chromophores can be used to sensitize a wide range of Ln(III) ions emitting in both the visible (Eu(III) and Tb(III) ) and NIR (Pr(III) , Nd(III) , Ho(III) , Yb(III) ) spectral regions. The emission quantum yield determined for the Yb(III) complex (${Q{{{\rm L}\hfill \atop {\rm Yb}\hfill}}}$=7.3(1)×10(-3) ) is among the highest ever reported for complexes of this metal ion in aqueous solution. The sensitization ability of the ligand, together with the spectroscopic and relaxometric properties of its complexes, constitute a useful step forward on the way to efficient dual probes for optical imaging (OI) and MRI.