Deuterium magic angle spinning NMR used to study the dynamics of peptides adsorbed onto polystyrene and functionalized polystyrene surfaces

Protein dynamics in the solid-state from 2H NMR lineshape analysis. III. MOMD in the presence of Magic Angle Spinning

We report on a new approach to the analysis of dynamic NMR lineshapes from polycrystalline (i.e., macroscopically disordered) samples in the presence of Magic Angle Spinning (MAS). This is an application of the Stochastic Liouville Equation developed by Freed and co-workers for treating restricted (i.e., microscopically ordered) motions. The ²H nucleus in an internally-mobile C-CD₃ moiety serves as a prototype probe. The acronym is ²H/MOMD/MAS, where MOMD stands for "microscopic-order-macroscopic-disorder." The key elements describing internal motions - their type, the local spatial restrictions, and related features of local geometry - are treated in MOMD generally, within their rigorous three-dimensional tensorial requirements. Based on this representation a single physically well-defined model of local motion has the capability of reproducing experimental spectra. There exist other methods for analyzing dynamic ²H/MAS spectra which advocate simple motional modes. Yet, to reproduce satisfactorily the experimental lineshapes, one has either to use unusual parameter values, or combine several simple motional modes. The multi-simple-mode reasoning assumes independence of the constituent modes, features ambiguity as different simple modes may be used, renders inter-system comparison difficult as the overall models differ, and makes possible model-improvement only by adding yet another simple mode, i.e., changing the overall model. ²H/MOMD/MAS is free of such limitations and inherently provides a clear physical interpretation. These features are illustrated. The advantage of ²H/MOMD/MAS in dealing with sensitive but hardly investigated slow-motional lineshapes is demonstrated by applying it to actual experimental data. The results differ from those obtained previously with a two-site exchange scheme that yielded unusual parameters.

Solid state deuterium NMR study of LKα14 peptide aggregation in biosilica

In nature, organisms including diatoms, radiolaria, and marine sponges use proteins, long chain polyamines, and other organic molecules to regulate the assembly of complex silica-based structures. Here, the authors investigate structural features of small peptides, designed to mimic the silicifying activities of larger proteins found in natural systems. LKα14 (Ac-LKKLLKLLKKLLKL-C), an amphiphilic lysine/leucine repeat peptide with an α-helical secondary structure at polar/apolar interfaces, coprecipitates with silica to form nanospheres. Previous 13C magic angle spinning studies suggest that the tetrameric peptide bundles that LKα14 is known to form in solution may persist in the silica-complexed form, and may also function as catalysts and templates for silica formation. To further investigate LKα14 aggregation in silica, deuterium solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (2H ssNMR) was used to establish how leucine side-chain dynamics differ in solid LKα14 peptides isolated from aqueous solution, from phosphate-buffered solution, and in the silica-precipitated states. Modeling the 2H ssNMR line shapes probed the mechanisms of peptide preaggregation and silica coprecipitation. The resulting NMR data indicates that the peptide bundles in silica preserve the hydrophobic interior that they display in the hydrated solid state. However, NMR data also indicate free motion of the leucine residues in silica, a condition that may result from structural deformation of the aggregates arising from interactions between the surface lysine side chains and the surrounding silica matrix.

Protein Dynamics in the Solid State from (2)H NMR Line Shape Analysis. II. MOMD Applied to C-D and C-CD3 Probes

Deuterium line shape analysis from mobile C–D and C–CD₃ groups has emerged as a particularly useful tool for studying dynamics in the solid state. The theoretical models devised so far consist typically of sets of independent dynamic modes. Each such mode is simple and usually case-specific. In this scenario, model improvement entails adding yet another mode (thereby changing the overall model), comparison of different cases is difficult, and ambiguity is unavoidable. We recently developed the microscopic order macroscopic disorder (MOMD) approach as a single-mode alternative. In MOMD, the local spatial restrictions are expressed by an anisotropic potential, the local motion by a diffusion tensor, and the local molecular geometry by relative (magnetic and model-related) tensor orientations, all of adjustable symmetry. This approach provides a consistent method of analysis, thus resolving the issues above. In this study, we apply MOMD to PS-adsorbed LKα14 peptide and dimethylammonium tetraphenylborate (C–CD₃ and N–CD₃ dynamics, respectively), as well as HhaI methyltransferase target DNA and phase III of benzene-6-hexanoate (C–D dynamics). The success with fitting these four disparate cases, as well as the two cases in the previous report, demonstrates the generality of this MOMD-based approach. In this study, C–D and C–CD₃ are both found to execute axial diffusion (rates R_⊥ and R_∥) in the presence of a rhombic potential given by the L = 2 spherical harmonics (coefficients c₀² and c₂²). R_⊥ (R_∥) is in the 10²–10³ (10⁴–10⁵) s^–1 range, and c₀² and c₂² are on the order of 2–3 k_BT. Specific parameter values are determined for each mobile site. The diffusion and quadrupolar tensors are tilted at either 120° (consistent with trans–gauche isomerization) or nearly 110.5° (consistent with methyl exchange). Future prospects include extension of the MOMD formalism to include MAS, and application to ¹⁵N and ¹³C nuclei.

Protein dynamics in the solid state from 2H NMR line shape analysis: a consistent perspective

Deuterium line shape analysis of CD3 groups has emerged as a particularly useful tool for studying microsecond-millisecond protein motions in the solid state. The models devised so far consist of several independently conceived simple jump-type motions. They are comprised of physical quantities encoded in their simplest form; improvements are only possible by adding yet another simple motion, thereby changing the model. The various treatments developed are case-specific; hence comparison among the different systems is not possible. Here we develop a new methodology for (2)H NMR line shape analysis free of these limitations. It is based on the microscopic-order-macroscopic-disorder (MOMD) approach. In MOMD motions are described by diffusion tensors, spatial restrictions by potentials/ordering tensors, and geometric features by relative tensor orientations. Jump-type motions are recovered in the limit of large orientational potentials. Model improvement is accomplished by monitoring the magnitude, symmetry, and orientation of the various tensors. The generality of MOMD makes possible comparison among different scenarios. CD3 line shapes from the Chicken Villin Headpiece Subdomain and the Streptomyces Subtilisin Inhibitor are used as experimental examples. All of these spectra are reproduced by using rhombic local potentials constrained for simplicity to be given by the L = 2 spherical harmonics, and by axial diffusion tensors. Potential strength and rhombicity are found to be ca. 2-3 k(B)T. The diffusion tensor is tilted at 120° from the C-CD3 axis. The perpendicular (parallel) correlation times for local motion are 0.1-1.0 ms (3.3-30 μs). Activation energies in the 1.1-8.0 kcal/mol range are estimated. Future prospects include extension to the (2)H relaxation limit, application to the (15)N and (13)C NMR nuclei, and accounting for collective motions and anisotropic media.

A study of phenylalanine side-chain dynamics in surface-adsorbed peptides using solid-state deuterium NMR and rotamer library statistics

Extracellular matrix proteins adsorbed onto mineral surfaces exist in a unique environment where the structure and dynamics of the protein can be altered profoundly. To further elucidate how the mineral surface impacts molecular properties, we perform a comparative study of the dynamics of nonpolar side chains within the mineral-recognition domain of the biomineralization protein salivary statherin adsorbed onto its native hydroxyapatite (HAP) mineral surface versus the dynamics displayed by the native protein in the hydrated solid state. Specifically, the dynamics of phenylalanine side chains (viz., F7 and F14) located in the surface-adsorbed 15-amino acid HAP-recognition fragment (SN15: DpSpSEEKFLRRIGRFG) are studied using deuterium magic angle spinning ((2)H MAS) line shape and spin-lattice relaxation measurements. (2)H NMR MAS spectra and T1 relaxation times obtained from the deuterated phenylalanine side chains in free and HAP-adsorbed SN15 are fitted to models where the side chains are assumed to exchange between rotameric states and where the exchange rates and a priori rotameric state populations are varied iteratively. In condensed proteins, phenylalanine side-chain dynamics are dominated by 180° flips of the phenyl ring, i.e., the "π flip". However, for both F7 and F14, the number of exchanging side-chain rotameric states increases in the HAP-bound complex relative to the unbound solid sample, indicating that increased dynamic freedom accompanies introduction of the protein into the biofilm state. The observed rotameric exchange dynamics in the HAP-bound complex are on the order of 5-6 × 10(6) s(-1), as determined from the deuterium MAS line shapes. The dynamics in the HAP-bound complex are also shown to have some solution-like behavioral characteristics, with some interesting deviations from rotameric library statistics.

Silica morphogenesis by lysine-leucine peptides with hydrophobic periodicity

The use of biomimetic approaches in the production of inorganic nanostructures is of great interest to the scientific and industrial community due to the relatively moderate physical conditions needed. In this vein, taking cues from silaffin proteins used by unicellular diatoms, several studies have identified peptide candidates for the production of silica nanostructures. In the current article, we study intensively one such silica-precipitating peptide, LKα14 (Ac-LKKLLKLLKKLLKL-c), an amphiphilic lysine/leucine repeat peptide that self-organizes into an α-helical secondary structure under appropriate concentration and buffer conditions. The suggested mechanism of precipitation is that the sequestration of hydrophilic lysines on one side of this helix allows interaction with the negatively charged surface of silica nanoparticles, which in turn can aggregate further into larger structures. To investigate the process, we carry out 1D and 2D solid-state NMR (ssNMR) studies on samples with one or two uniformly (13)C- and (15)N-labeled residues to determine the backbone and side-chain chemical shifts. We also further study the dynamics of two leucine residues in the sequence through (13)C spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) to determine the impact of silica coprecipitation on their mobility. Our results confirm the α-helical secondary structure in both the neat and silica-complexed states of the peptide, and the patterns of chemical shift and relaxation time changes between the two states suggest possible mechanisms of self-aggregation and silica precipitation.