Determination of relative tensor orientations by γ-encoded chemical shift anisotropy/heteronuclear dipolar coupling 3D NMR spectroscopy in biological solids

Hydrogen bonding in duplex DNA probed by DNP enhanced solid-state NMR N-H bond length measurements

Numerous biological processes and mechanisms depend on details of base pairing and hydrogen bonding in DNA. Hydrogen bonds are challenging to quantify by X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM due to difficulty of visualizing hydrogen atom locations but can be probed with site specificity by NMR spectroscopy in solution and the solid state with the latter particularly suited to large, slowly tumbling DNA complexes. Recently, we showed that low-temperature dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) enhanced solid-state NMR is a valuable tool for distinguishing Hoogsteen base pairs (bps) from canonical Watson-Crick bps in various DNA systems under native-like conditions. Here, using a model 12-mer DNA duplex containing two central adenine-thymine (A-T) bps in either Watson-Crick or Hoogsteen confirmation, we demonstrate DNP solid-state NMR measurements of thymine N3-H3 bond lengths, which are sensitive to details of N-H···N hydrogen bonding and permit hydrogen bonds for the two bp conformers to be systematically compared within the same DNA sequence context. For this DNA duplex, effectively identical TN3-H3 bond lengths of 1.055 ± 0.011 Å and 1.060 ± 0.011 Å were found for Watson-Crick A-T and Hoogsteen A (syn)-T base pairs, respectively, relative to a reference amide bond length of 1.015 ± 0.010 Å determined for N-acetyl-valine under comparable experimental conditions. Considering that prior quantum chemical calculations which account for zero-point motions predict a somewhat longer effective peptide N-H bond length of 1.041 Å, in agreement with solution and solid-state NMR studies of peptides and proteins at ambient temperature, to facilitate direct comparisons with these earlier studies TN3-H3 bond lengths for the DNA samples can be readily scaled appropriately to yield 1.083 Å and 1.087 Å for Watson-Crick A-T and Hoogsteen A (syn)-T bps, respectively, relative to the 1.041 Å reference peptide N-H bond length. Remarkably, in the context of the model DNA duplex, these results indicate that there are no significant differences in N-H···N A-T hydrogen bonds between Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen bp conformers. More generally, high precision measurements of N-H bond lengths by low-temperature DNP solid-state NMR based methods are expected to facilitate detailed comparative analysis of hydrogen bonding for a range of DNA complexes and base pairing environments.

Determination of the mutual orientation between proton CSA tensors mediated through band-selective 1H-1H recoupling under fast MAS

The mutual orientation of nuclear spin interaction tensors provides critical information on the conformation and arrangement of molecules in chemicals, materials, and biological systems at an atomic level. Proton is a ubiquitous and important element in a variety of substances, and its NMR is highly sensitive due to their virtually 100% natural abundance and large gyromagnetic ratio. Nevertheless, the measurement of mutual orientation between the ¹H CSA tensors has remained largely untouched in the past due to strong ¹H-¹H homonuclear interactions in a dense network of protons. In this study, we have developed a proton-detected 3D ¹H CSA/¹H CSA/¹H CS correlation method that utilizes three techniques to manage homonuclear interactions, namely fast magic-angle spinning, windowless C-symmetry-based CSA recoupling (windowless-ROCSA), and a band-selective ¹H-¹H polarization transfer. The asymmetric ¹H CSA/¹H CSA correlated powder patterns produced by the C-symmetry-based methods are highly sensitive to the sign and asymmetry parameter of the ¹H CSA, and the Euler angle β as compared to the symmetric pattern obtained by the existing γ-encoded R-symmetry-based CSA/CSA correlation methods and allows a larger spectral area for data fitting. These features are beneficial for determining the mutual orientation between the nuclear spin interaction tensors with improved accuracy.

Determination of the relative orientation between 15N-1H dipolar coupling and 1H chemical shift anisotropy tensors under fast MAS solid-state NMR

In this work, we have proposed a proton-detected three-dimensional (3D) ¹⁵N-¹H dipolar coupling (DIP)/¹H chemical shift anisotropy (CSA)/¹H chemical shift (CS) correlation experiment to measure the relative orientation between the ¹⁵N-¹H dipolar coupling and the ¹H CSA tensors under fast magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR. In the 3D correlation experiment, the ¹⁵N-¹H dipolar coupling and ¹H CSA tensors are recoupled using our recently developed windowless C-symmetry-based C3₃¹-ROCSA (recoupling of chemical shift anisotropy) DIPSHIFT and C3₃¹-ROCSA pulse-based methods, respectively. The 2D ¹⁵N-¹H DIP/¹H CSA powder lineshapes extracted using the proposed 3D correlation method are shown to be sensitive to the sign and asymmetry of the ¹H CSA tensor, a feature that allows the determination of the relative orientation between the two correlating tensors with improved accuracy. The experimental method developed in this study is demonstrated on a powdered U-¹⁵N L-Histidine.HCl·H₂O sample.

Ultrafast Magic Angle Spinning Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy: Advances in Methodology and Applications

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is one of the most commonly used techniques to study the atomic-resolution structure and dynamics of various chemical, biological, material, and pharmaceutical systems spanning multiple forms, including crystalline, liquid crystalline, fibrous, and amorphous states. Despite the unique advantages of solid-state NMR spectroscopy, its poor spectral resolution and sensitivity have severely limited the scope of this technique. Fortunately, the recent developments in probe technology that mechanically rotate the sample fast (100 kHz and above) to obtain "solution-like" NMR spectra of solids with higher resolution and sensitivity have opened numerous avenues for the development of novel NMR techniques and their applications to study a plethora of solids including globular and membrane-associated proteins, self-assembled protein aggregates such as amyloid fibers, RNA, viral assemblies, polymorphic pharmaceuticals, metal-organic framework, bone materials, and inorganic materials. While the ultrafast-MAS continues to be developed, the minute sample quantity and radio frequency requirements, shorter recycle delays enabling fast data acquisition, the feasibility of employing proton detection, enhancement in proton spectral resolution and polarization transfer efficiency, and high sensitivity per unit sample are some of the remarkable benefits of the ultrafast-MAS technology as demonstrated by the reported studies in the literature. Although the very low sample volume and very high RF power could be limitations for some of the systems, the advantages have spurred solid-state NMR investigation into increasingly complex biological and material systems. As ultrafast-MAS NMR techniques are increasingly used in multidisciplinary research areas, further development of instrumentation, probes, and advanced methods are pursued in parallel to overcome the limitations and challenges for widespread applications. This review article is focused on providing timely comprehensive coverage of the major developments on instrumentation, theory, techniques, applications, limitations, and future scope of ultrafast-MAS technology.

Determination of accurate 19F chemical shift tensors with R-symmetry recoupling at high MAS frequencies (60-100 kHz)

Fluorination is a versatile and valuable modification for numerous systems, and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy is the premier method for their structural characterization. ¹⁹F chemical shift anisotropy is a sensitive probe of structure and dynamics, even though ¹⁹F chemical shift tensors have been reported for only a handful of systems to date. Here, we explore γ-encoded R-symmetry based recoupling sequences for the determination of ¹⁹F chemical shift tensors in fully protonated organic solids at high, 60-100 kHz MAS frequencies. We show that the performance of ¹⁹F-RNCSA experiments improves with increasing MAS frequencies, and that ¹H decoupling is required to determine accurate chemical shift tensor parameters. In addition, these sequences are tolerant to B₁-field inhomogeneity making them suitable for a wide range of systems and experimental conditions.

Solid-State NMR Dipolar and Chemical Shift Anisotropy Recoupling Techniques for Structural and Dynamical Studies in Biological Systems

With the development of NMR methodology and technology during the past decades, solid-state NMR (ssNMR) has become a particularly important tool for investigating structure and dynamics at atomic scale in biological systems, where the recoupling techniques play pivotal roles in modern high-resolution MAS NMR. In this review, following a brief introduction on the basic theory of recoupling in ssNMR, we highlight the recent advances in dipolar and chemical shift anisotropy recoupling methods, as well as their applications in structural determination and dynamical characterization at multiple time scales (i.e., fast-, intermediate-, and slow-motion). The performances of these prevalent recoupling techniques are compared and discussed in multiple aspects, together with the representative applications in biomolecules. Given the recent emerging advances in NMR technology, new challenges for recoupling methodology development and potential opportunities for biological systems are also discussed.

Dihedral Angle Measurements for Structure Determination by Biomolecular Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

In structural studies of immobilized, aggregated and self-assembled biomolecules, solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy can provide valuable high-resolution structural information. Among the structural restraints provided by magic angle spinning (MAS) ssNMR the canonical focus is on inter-atomic distance measurements. In the current review, we examine the utility of ssNMR measurements of angular constraints, as a complement to distance-based structure determination. The focus is on direct measurements of angular restraints via the judicious recoupling of multiple anisotropic ssNMR parameters, such as dipolar couplings and chemical shift anisotropies. Recent applications are highlighted, with a focus on studies of nanocrystalline polypeptides, aggregated peptides and proteins, receptor-substrate interactions, and small molecule interactions with amyloid protein fibrils. The review also examines considerations of when and where ssNMR torsion angle experiments are (most) effective, and discusses challenges and opportunities for future applications.

Scaled recoupling of chemical shift anisotropies at high magnetic fields under MAS with interspersed C-elements

The power of chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) measurements for probing structure and dynamics of molecules has been long recognized. NMR pulse sequences that allow measurement of CSA values in an indirect dimension of a protein correlation spectrum have been employed for aliphatic groups, but for practical reasons, carbonyl functional groups have been little studied, despite the fact that carbonyls are expected to give particularly varied and informative CSA values. Specifically, the wide spectral widths of carbonyl tensors make their measurements difficult with typically attainable spectrometer settings. We present here an extended family of experiments that enable the recovery of static CSA lineshapes in an indirect dimension of magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR experiments, except for various real valued scaling factors. The experiment is suitable for uniformly labeled material, at moderate MAS rates (10 kHz-30 kHz) and at higher magnetic fields (ν_0H > 600 MHz). Specifically, the experiments are based on pulse sequence elements from a previous commonly used pulse sequence for CSA measurement, recoupling of chemical shift anisotropy (ROCSA), while modification of scaling factors is achieved by interspersing different blocks of C-elements of the same Cn_n ¹ cycle. Using experimental conditions similar to the parent ROCSA sequence, a CSA scaling factor between 0 and 0.272 can be obtained, thus allowing a useful practical range of possibilities in experimental conditions for measurement of larger CSA values. Using these blocks, it is also possible to make a constant-time CSA recoupling sequence. The effectiveness of this approach, fROCSA, is shown on model compounds 1-¹³C-Gly, U-¹³C,¹⁵N-l-His, and microcrystalline U-¹³C,¹⁵N-Ubiquitin.

A modification of γ-encoded RN symmetry pulses for increasing the scaling factor and more accurate measurements of the strong heteronuclear dipolar couplings

Symmetry based γ-encoded RN_n^ν elements are broadly used in magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR experiments to achieve selective recoupling of the heteronuclear dipolar interactions. The recoupled dipolar couplings in such experiments are scaled by a factor, K_sc, which theoretically depends on the chosen symmetry numbers N, n, and ν. However, the maximum theoretical value of K_sc for γ-encoded RN_n^ν pulses is limited to ~0.25, resulting in long RN_n^ν experiment times. Also, the dependence of K_sc on the experimental parameters can result in systematic errors in the experimental determination of the dipolar couplings, especially at low and moderate MAS rates. In this manuscript, we investigate the use of MODifiEd RN_n^ν symmetry (MODERN_n^ν(ϕ_M)) pulses that increase the dipolar scaling factor by at least 1.45 fold compared to γ-encoded RN_n^ν. The second advantage of MODERN_n^ν(ϕ_M) pulses with respect to traditional RN_n^ν pulses is the reduced influence of experimental parameters on K_sc, which allows for more accurate measurement of short-range distances. The robustness of MODERN_n^ν(ϕ_M) is compared with γ-encoded R14₂³ symmetry pulses. The enhanced performance is demonstrated on two uniformly-¹³C-enriched samples, N-acetyl valine and the microcrystalline protein GB1, at a 31.111 kHz MAS rate.

Determination of the 15 N chemical shift anisotropy in natural abundance samples by proton-detected 3D solid-state NMR under ultrafast MAS of 70 kHz

Chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) is a sensitive probe of electronic environment at a nucleus, and thus, it offers deeper insights into detailed structural and dynamic properties of different systems, for example, chemical, biological, and materials. Over the years, massive efforts have been made to develop recoupling methods that reintroduce CSA interaction under magic angle spinning (MAS) conditions. Most of them require slow or moderate MAS (≤20 kHz) and isotopically enriched samples. On the other hand, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no ¹³ C or ¹⁵ N CSA recoupling schemes at ultrafast MAS (≥60 kHz) suitable for cost-effective natural abundant samples have been developed. We present here a proton-detected 3D ¹⁵ N CS/¹⁵ N CSA/¹ H CS correlation experiment which employs ¹ H indirect detection for sensitivity enhancement and a γ-encoded RNnν -symmetry-based CSA recoupling scheme. In particular, two different symmetries, that is, R8³₇ and R10⁴₉ , are first tested, in a 2D ¹⁵ N CSA/¹ H CS version, on [U-¹⁵ N]-L-histidine·HCl·H₂ O as a model sample under 70 kHz MAS. Then the 3D experiment is applied on glycyl-L-alanine at natural abundance, resulting in site-resolved ¹⁵ N CSA lineshapes from which CSA parameters are retrieved by SIMPSON numerical fittings. We demonstrate that this 3D R-symmetry-based pulse sequence is highly robust with respect to wide-range offset mismatches and weakly dependent to rf inhomogeneity within mis-sets of ±10% from the theoretical value.

Proton-detected 3D 1H anisotropic/14N/1H isotropic chemical shifts correlation NMR under fast magic angle spinning on solid samples without isotopic enrichment

The chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) interaction of a nucleus is an important indicator of the local electronic environment particularly for the contributions arising from hydrogen (H)-bonding, electrostatic and π-π interactions. CSAs of protons bonded to nitrogen atoms are of significant interest due to their common role as H-bonding partners in many chemical, pharmaceutical and biological systems. Although very fast (∼100 kHz) magic angle sample spinning (MAS) experiments have enabled the measurement of proton CSAs directly from solids, due to a narrow chemical shift (CS) distribution, overlapping NH proton resonances are common and necessitate the introduction of an additional frequency dimension to the regular 2D ¹H CSA/¹H CS correlation method to achieve sufficient resolution. While this can be accomplished by using the isotropic shift frequency of ¹⁴N or ¹⁵N nuclei, the use of the naturally-abundant ¹⁴N nucleus avoids ¹⁵N isotopic labeling and therefore would be useful for a variety of solids. To this end, we propose a proton-detected 3D ¹H CSA/¹⁴N/¹H CS correlation method under fast MAS (90 kHz) to determine the CSA tensors of NH protons in samples without isotopic enrichment. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed 3D NMR experiment is capable of resolving the overlapping ¹H resonances of amide (NH) groups through the ¹⁴N isotropic shift frequency dimension and enables the accurate measurement of site-specific ¹H CSAs directly from powder samples under fast MAS conditions. In addition to the 3D ¹H CSA/¹⁴N/¹H CS experiment, an approach employing ¹⁴N-edited 2D ¹H CSA/¹H CS experiment is also demonstrated as an additional means to address spectral overlap of NH resonances with aliphatic and other proton resonances in solids.

Determination of the Full 207Pb Chemical Shift Tensor of Anglesite, PbSO4, and Correlation of the Isotropic Shift to Lead–Oxygen Distance in Natural Minerals

The full 207 Pb chemical shift (CS) tensor of lead in the mineral anglesite, PbSO 4 , was determined from orientation-dependent nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of a large natural single crystal, using a global fit over two rotation patterns. The resulting tensor is characterised by the reduced anisotropy Δ δ = ( - 327 ± 4 ) ppm, asymmetry η C S = 0 . 529 ± 0 . 002 , and δ i s o = ( - 3615 ± 3 ) ppm, with the isotropic chemical shift δ i s o also verified by magic-angle spinning NMR on a polycrystalline sample. The initially unknown orientation of the mounted single crystal was included in the global data fit as well, thus obtaining it from NMR data only. By use of internal crystal symmetries, the amount of data acquisition and processing for determination of the CS tensor and crystal orientation was reduced. Furthermore, a linear correlation between the 207 Pb isotropic chemical shift and the shortest Pb–O distance in the co-ordination sphere of Pb 2 + solely surrounded by oxygen has been established for a large database of lead-bearing natural minerals.

Peptide bond conformation in peptides and proteins probed by dipolar coupling-chemical shift tensor correlation solid-state NMR

Multidimensional magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR experiments are described that permit cis and trans peptide bonds in uniformly 13C,15N-labeled peptides and proteins to be unambiguously distinguished in residue-specific manner by determining the relative orientations of the amide 13C' CSA and 1H-15N dipolar coupling tensors. The experiments are demonstrated for model peptides glycylglycine and 2,5-diketopiperazine containing trans and cis peptide bonds, respectively. Subsequently, the measurements are extended to two representative proteins that contain exclusively trans peptide bonds, microcrystalline B3 immunoglobulin domain of protein G and Y145Stop human prion protein amyloid fibrils, to illustrate their applicability to a wide range of protein systems.

Setting the magic angle for fast magic-angle spinning probes

Fast magic-angle spinning, coupled with ¹H detection is a powerful method to improve spectral resolution and signal to noise in solid-state NMR spectra. Commercial probes now provide spinning frequencies in excess of 100 kHz. Then, one has sufficient resolution in the ¹H dimension to directly detect protons, which have a gyromagnetic ratio approximately four times larger than ¹³C spins. However, the gains in sensitivity can quickly be lost if the rotation angle is not set precisely. The most common method of magic-angle calibration is to optimize the number of rotary echoes, or sideband intensity, observed on a sample of KBr. However, this typically uses relatively low spinning frequencies, where the spinning of fast-MAS probes is often unstable, and detection on the ¹³C channel, for which fast-MAS probes are typically not optimized. Therefore, we compare the KBr-based optimization of the magic angle with two alternative approaches: optimization of the splitting observed in ¹³C-labeled glycine-ethylester on the carbonyl due to the Cα-C' J-coupling, or optimization of the H-N J-coupling spin echo in the protein sample itself. The latter method has the particular advantage that no separate sample is necessary for the magic-angle optimization.

Measurement of amide proton chemical shift anisotropy in perdeuterated proteins using CSA amplification

Measuring ¹H chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) is useful for probing proton environments and dynamics but remains a challenge due to strong homonuclear interaction and relatively small shift anisotropy, especially in proteins with multiple proton sites. Here the extended chemical shift anisotropy amplification (xCSA) method is applied for amide proton CSA measurement in uniformly ²H enriched proteins under fast magic angle spinning. The xCSA method is capable of distinguishing the sign of the CSA asymmetry parameter, complimenting other multiple-pulse recoupling methods. A three-dimensional xCSA experiment is demonstrated for measuring the proton CSA of amide sites in aGB1 protein sample and the possible correlation of amide proton CSA with protein secondary structure is discussed.

γ-Independent through-space hetero-nuclear correlation between spin-1/2 and quadrupolar nuclei in solids

We introduce novel sequences using indirect detection to correlate quadrupolar nuclei and spin-1/2 isotopes, other than ¹H and ¹⁹F. These sequences use γ-encoded symmetry-based RN_n^ν schemes that reintroduce the space component |m| = 1 of the heteronuclear dipolar coupling. These schemes can be applied to the indirectly detected spin in Dipolar-mediated Heteronuclear Multiple-Quantum Correlation (D-HMQC) sequence or to the detected isotope in a novel sequence, named Dipolar-mediated Heteronuclear Universal-Quantum Correlation (D-HUQC). We show that the signal of these sequences using γ-encoded recoupling does not depend on the γ Euler angle relating the inter-nuclear vector between the coupled spins to the MAS rotor-fixed frame. Therefore, the transfer efficiency of these sequences is in principle higher than that of D-HMQC methods using non-γ-encoded recoupling. Furthermore, numerical simulations show that the heteronuclear correlation experiments employing γ-encoded recoupling are more robust to Chemical Shift Anisotropy (CSA) of the irradiated spin and MAS frequency fluctuations. These results are confirmed by ¹³C-{¹⁵N} heteronuclear correlation on glycine and ³¹P-²⁷Al ones on VPI-5 and Na₇(AlP₂O₇)₄PO₄. These experiments indicate that R16₃⁵ recoupling produces the highest signal-to-noise ratio in heteronuclear correlation 2D experiments when the detected spin-1/2 nuclei are subject to large CSA.

Structural biology of supramolecular assemblies by magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

In recent years, exciting developments in instrument technology and experimental methodology have advanced the field of magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to new heights. Contemporary MAS NMR yields atomic-level insights into structure and dynamics of an astounding range of biological systems, many of which cannot be studied by other methods. With the advent of fast MAS, proton detection, and novel pulse sequences, large supramolecular assemblies, such as cytoskeletal proteins and intact viruses, are now accessible for detailed analysis. In this review, we will discuss the current MAS NMR methodologies that enable characterization of complex biomolecular systems and will present examples of applications to several classes of assemblies comprising bacterial and mammalian cytoskeleton as well as human immunodeficiency virus 1 and bacteriophage viruses. The body of work reviewed herein is representative of the recent advancements in the field, with respect to the complexity of the systems studied, the quality of the data, and the significance to the biology.

HIV-1 Capsid Function Is Regulated by Dynamics: Quantitative Atomic-Resolution Insights by Integrating Magic-Angle-Spinning NMR, QM/MM, and MD

HIV-1 CA capsid protein possesses intrinsic conformational flexibility, which is essential for its assembly into conical capsids and interactions with host factors. CA is dynamic in the assembled capsid, and residues in functionally important regions of the protein undergo motions spanning many decades of time scales. Chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors, recorded in magic-angle-spinning NMR experiments, provide direct residue-specific probes of motions on nano- to microsecond time scales. We combined NMR, MD, and density-functional-theory calculations, to gain quantitative understanding of internal backbone dynamics in CA assemblies, and we found that the dynamically averaged 15N CSA tensors calculated by this joined protocol are in remarkable agreement with experiment. Thus, quantitative atomic-level understanding of the relationships between CSA tensors, local backbone structure, and motions in CA assemblies is achieved, demonstrating the power of integrating NMR experimental data and theory for characterizing atomic-resolution dynamics in biological systems.

Characterization of fibril dynamics on three timescales by solid-state NMR

A multi-timescale analysis of the backbone dynamics of HET-s (218-289) fibrils is described based on multiple site-specific R 1 and R 1ρ data sets and S (2) measurements via REDOR for most backbone (15)N and (13)Cα nuclei. (15)N and (13)Cα data are fitted with motions at three timescales. Slow motion is found, indicating a global fibril motion. We further investigate the effect of (13)C-(13)C transfer in measurement of (13)Cα R 1. Finally, we show that it is necessary to go beyond the Redfield approximation for slow motions in order to obtain accurate numerical values for R 1ρ.

Proton-detected 3D (15)N/(1)H/(1)H isotropic/anisotropic/isotropic chemical shift correlation solid-state NMR at 70kHz MAS

Chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors offer a wealth of information for structural and dynamics studies of a variety of chemical and biological systems. In particular, CSA of amide protons can provide piercing insights into hydrogen-bonding interactions that vary with the backbone conformation of a protein and dynamics. However, the narrow span of amide proton resonances makes it very difficult to measure (1)H CSAs of proteins even by using the recently proposed 2D (1)H/(1)H anisotropic/isotropic chemical shift (CSA/CS) correlation technique. Such difficulties due to overlapping proton resonances can in general be overcome by utilizing the broad span of isotropic chemical shifts of low-gamma nuclei like (15)N. In this context, we demonstrate a proton-detected 3D (15)N/(1)H/(1)H CS/CSA/CS correlation experiment at fast MAS frequency (70kHz) to measure (1)H CSA values of unresolved amide protons of N-acetyl-(15)N-l-valyl-(15)N-l-leucine (NAVL).

Accurate NMR determination of C-H or N-H distances for unlabeled molecules

Cross-Polarization with Variable Contact-time (CP-VC) is very efficient at ultra-fast MAS (νR ≥ 60 kHz) to measure accurately the dipolar interactions corresponding to C-H or N-H short distances, which are very useful for resonance assignment and for analysis of dynamics. Here, we demonstrate the CP-VC experiment with (1)H detection. In the case of C-H distances, we compare the CP-VC signals with direct ((13)C) and indirect ((1)H) detection and find that the latter allows a S/N gain of ca. 2.5, which means a gain of ca. 6 in experimental time. The main powerful characteristics of CP-VC methods are related to the ultra-fast spinning speed and to the fact that most of the time only the value of the dipolar peak separation has to be used to obtain the information. As a result, CP-VC methods are: (i) easy to set up and to use, and robust with respect to (ii) rf-inhomogeneity thus allowing the use of full rotor samples, (iii) rf mismatch, and (iv) offsets and chemical shift anisotropies. It must be noted that the CP-VC 2D method with indirect (1)H detection requires the proton resolution and is thus mainly applicable to small or perdeuterated molecules. We also show that an analysis of the dynamics can even be performed, with a reasonable experimental time, on unlabeled samples with (13)C or even (15)N natural abundance.

Improving dipolar recoupling for site-specific structural and dynamics studies in biosolids NMR: windowed RN-symmetry sequences

Experimental characterization of one-bond heteronuclear dipolar couplings is essential for structural and dynamics characterization of molecules by solid-state NMR. Accurate measurement of heteronuclear dipolar tensor parameters in magic-angle spinning NMR requires that the recoupling sequences efficiently reintroduce the desired heteronuclear dipolar coupling term, fully suppress other interactions (such as chemical shift anisotropy and homonuclear dipolar couplings), and be insensitive to experimental imperfections, such as radio frequency (rf) field mismatch. In this study, we demonstrate that the introduction of window delays into the basic elements of a phase-alternating R-symmetry (PARS) sequence results in a greatly improved protocol, termed windowed PARS (wPARS), which yields clean dipolar lineshapes that are unaffected by other spin interactions and are largely insensitive to experimental imperfections. Higher dipolar scaling factors can be attained in this technique with respect to PARS, which is particularly useful for the measurement of relatively small dipolar couplings. The advantages of wPARS are verified experimentally on model molecules N-acetyl-valine (NAV) and a tripeptide Met-Leu-Phe (MLF). The incorporation of wPARS into 3D heteronuclear or homonuclear correlation experiments permits accurate site-specific determination of dipolar tensors in proteins, as demonstrated on dynein light chain 8 (LC8). Through 3D wPARS recoupling based spectroscopy we have determined both backbone and side chain dipolar tensors in LC8 in a residue-resolved manner. We discuss these in the context of conformational dynamics of LC8. We have addressed the effect of paramagnetic relaxant Cu(ii)-EDTA doping on the dipolar coupling parameters in LC8 and observed no significant differences with respect to the neat sample permitting fast data collection. Our results indicate that wPARS is advantageous with respect to the windowless version of the sequence and is applicable to a broad range of systems including but not limited to biomolecules.

Analysis of local molecular motions of aromatic sidechains in proteins by 2D and 3D fast MAS NMR spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations

We report a new multidimensional magic angle spinning NMR methodology, which provides an accurate and detailed probe of molecular motions occurring on timescales of nano- to microseconds, in sidechains of proteins. The approach is based on a 3D CPVC-RFDR correlation experiment recorded under fast MAS conditions (ν(R) = 62 kHz), where (13)C-(1)H CPVC dipolar lineshapes are recorded in a chemical shift resolved manner. The power of the technique is demonstrated in model tripeptide Tyr-(d)Ala-Phe and two nanocrystalline proteins, GB1 and LC8. We demonstrate that, through numerical simulations of dipolar lineshapes of aromatic sidechains, their detailed dynamic profile, i.e., the motional modes, is obtained. In GB1 and LC8 the results unequivocally indicate that a number of aromatic residues are dynamic, and using quantum mechanical calculations, we correlate the molecular motions of aromatic groups to their local environment in the crystal lattice. The approach presented here is general and can be readily extended to other biological systems.

Spatial reorientation experiments for NMR of solids and partially oriented liquids

Motional reorientation experiments are extensions of Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) where the rotor axis is changed in order to average out, reintroduce, or scale anisotropic interactions (e.g. dipolar couplings, quadrupolar interactions or chemical shift anisotropies). This review focuses on Variable Angle Spinning (VAS), Switched Angle Spinning (SAS), and Dynamic Angle Spinning (DAS), all of which involve spinning at two or more different angles sequentially, either in successive experiments or during a multidimensional experiment. In all of these experiments, anisotropic terms in the Hamiltonian are scaled by changing the orientation of the spinning sample relative to the static magnetic field. These experiments vary in experimental complexity and instrumentation requirements. In VAS, many one-dimensional spectra are collected as a function of spinning angle. In SAS, dipolar couplings and/or chemical shift anisotropies are reintroduced by switching the sample between two different angles, often 0° or 90° and the magic angle, yielding a two-dimensional isotropic-anisotropic correlation spectrum. Dynamic Angle Spinning (DAS) is a related experiment that is used to simultaneously average out the first- and second-order quadrupolar interactions, which cannot be accomplished by spinning at any unique rotor angle in physical space. Although motional reorientation experiments generally require specialized instrumentation and data analysis schemes, some are accessible with only minor modification of standard MAS probes. In this review, the mechanics of each type of experiment are described, with representative examples. Current and historical probe and coil designs are discussed from the standpoint of how each one accomplishes the particular objectives of the experiment(s) it was designed to perform. Finally, applications to inorganic materials and liquid crystals, which present very different experimental challenges, are discussed. The review concludes with perspectives on how motional reorientation experiments can be applied to current problems in chemistry, molecular biology, and materials science, given the many advances in high-field NMR magnets, fast spinning, and sample preparation realized in recent years.

Measuring (13)C/(15)N chemical shift anisotropy in [(13)C,(15)N] uniformly enriched proteins using CSA amplification

Extended chemical shift anisotropy amplification (xCSA) is applied for measuring (13)C/(15)N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) of uniformly labeled proteins under magic-angle spinning (MAS). The amplification sequence consists of a sequence of π-pulses that repetitively interrupt MAS averaging of the CSA interaction. The timing of the pulses is designed to generate amplified spinning sideband manifolds which can be fitted to extract CSA parameters. The (13)C/(13)C homonuclear dipolar interactions are not affected by the π-pulses due to the bilinear nature of the spin operators and are averaged by MAS in the xCSA experiment. These features make the constant evolution-time experiment suitable for measuring CSA of uniformly labeled samples. The incorporation of xCSA with multi-dimensional (13)C/(15)N correlation is demonstrated with a GB1 protein sample as a model system for measuring (13)C/(15)N CSA of all backbone (15)NH, (13)CA and (13)CO sites.

Determination of relative orientation between (1)H CSA tensors from a 3D solid-state NMR experiment mediated through (1)H/(1)H RFDR mixing under ultrafast MAS

To obtain piercing insights into inter and intramolecular H-bonding, and π-electron interactions measurement of (1)H chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors is gradually becoming an obvious choice. While the magnitude of CSA tensors provides unique information about the local electronic environment surrounding the nucleus, the relative orientation between these tensors can offer further insights into the spatial arrangement of interacting nuclei in their respective three-dimensional (3D) space. In this regard, we present a 3D anisotropic/anisotropic/isotropic proton chemical shift (CSA/CSA/CS) correlation experiment mediated through (1)H/(1)H radio frequency-driven recoupling (RFDR) which enhances spin diffusion through recoupled (1)H-(1)H dipolar couplings under ultrafast magic angle spinning (MAS) frequency (70kHz). Relative orientation between two interacting 1H CSA tensors is obtained by fitting two-interacting (1)H CSA tensors by fitting two-dimensional (2D) (1)H/(1)H CSA/CSA spectral slices through extensive numerical simulations. To recouple (1)H CSAs in the indirect frequency dimensions of a 3D experiment we have employed γ-encoded radio frequency (RF) pulse sequence based on R-symmetry (R188(7)) with a series of phase-alternated 2700(°)-90180(°) composite-180° pulses on citric acid sample. Due to robustness of applied (1)H CSA recoupling sequence towards the presence of RF field inhomogeneity, we have successfully achieved an excellent (1)H/(1)H CSA/CSA cross-correlation efficiency between H-bonded sites of citric acid.

Magic angle spinning NMR of viruses

Viruses, relatively simple pathogens, are able to replicate in many living organisms and to adapt to various environments. Conventional atomic-resolution structural biology techniques, X-ray crystallography and solution NMR spectroscopy provided abundant information on the structures of individual proteins and nucleic acids comprising viruses; however, viral assemblies are not amenable to analysis by these techniques because of their large size, insolubility, and inherent lack of long-range order. In this article, we review the recent advances in magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy that enabled atomic-resolution analysis of structure and dynamics of large viral systems and give examples of several exciting case studies.

MAS NMR of HIV-1 protein assemblies

The negative global impact of the AIDS pandemic is well known. In this perspective article, the utility of magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy to answer pressing questions related to the structure and dynamics of HIV-1 protein assemblies is examined. In recent years, MAS NMR has undergone major technological developments enabling studies of large viral assemblies. We discuss some of these evolving methods and technologies and provide a perspective on the current state of MAS NMR as applied to the investigations into structure and dynamics of HIV-1 assemblies of CA capsid protein and of Gag maturation intermediates.

Theoretical study of CP-VC: a simple, robust and accurate MAS NMR method for analysis of dipolar C-H interactions under rotation speeds faster than ca. 60 kHz

We show that Cross-Polarization with Variable Contact-time (CP-VC) allows an accurate determination of C-H dipolar interactions, which permits an easy detailed analysis of bond lengths and local dynamics, e.g. in biomolecules. The method presents a large dipolar scaling factor of 1/√2, leading to a better determination of dipolar interactions, especially for long C-H distances, and it allows the observation of very small local details such as those related either to CH(2) three spin systems, or even to hydrogen bonds. CP-VC is very simple to set up and very robust with respect to most experimental parameters, such as: rf-offsets, chemical-shift anisotropies, imperfect Hartmann-Hahn setting, and rf-inhomogeneity. The only required condition is the use of a sufficiently fast MAS spinning speed of at least ca. 60 kHz.

A Magic-Angle Spinning NMR Method for the Site-Specific Measurement of Proton Chemical-Shift Anisotropy in Biological and Organic Solids

Proton chemical shifts are a rich probe of structure and hydrogen bonding environments in organic and biological molecules. Until recently, measurements of ¹H chemical shift tensors have been restricted to either solid systems with sparse proton sites or were based on the indirect determination of anisotropic tensor components from cross-relaxation and liquid-crystal experiments. We have introduced an MAS approach that permits site-resolved determination of CSA tensors of protons forming chemical bonds with labeled spin-1/2 nuclei in fully protonated solids with multiple sites, including organic molecules and proteins. This approach, originally introduced for the measurements of chemical shift tensors of amide protons, is based on three RN-symmetry based experiments, from which the principal components of the ¹H CS tensor can be reliably extracted by simultaneous triple fit of the data. In this article, we expand our approach to a much more challenging system involving aliphatic and aromatic protons. We start with a review of the prior work on experimental-NMR and computational-quantum-chemical approaches for the measurements of ¹H chemical shift tensors and for relating these to the electronic structures. We then present our experimental results on U-¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled histdine demonstrating that ¹H chemical shift tensors can be reliably determined for the ¹H¹⁵N and ¹H¹³C spin pairs in cationic and neutral forms of histidine. Finally, we demonstrate that the experimental ¹H(C) and ¹H(N) chemical shift tensors are in agreement with Density Functional Theory calculations, therefore establishing the usefulness of our method for characterization of structure and hydrogen bonding environment in organic and biological solids.

Probing structure and dynamics of protein assemblies by magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

In living organisms, biological molecules often organize into multicomponent complexes. Such assemblies consist of various proteins and carry out essential functions, ranging from cell division, transport, and energy transduction to catalysis, signaling, and viral infectivity. To understand the biological functions of these assemblies, in both healthy and disease states, researchers need to study their three-dimensional architecture and molecular dynamics. To date, the large size, the lack of inherent long-range order, and insolubility have made atomic resolution studies of many protein assemblies challenging or impractical using traditional structural biology methods such as X-ray diffraction and solution NMR spectroscopy. In the past 10 years, we have focused our work on the development and application of magic angle spinning solid-state NMR (MAS NMR) methods to characterize large protein assemblies at atomic-level resolution. In this Account, we discuss the rapid progress in the field of MAS NMR spectroscopy, citing work from our laboratory and others on methodological developments that have facilitated the in-depth analysis of biologically important protein assemblies. We emphasize techniques that yield enhanced sensitivity and resolution, such as fast MAS (spinning frequencies of 40 kHz and above) and nonuniform sampling protocols for data acquisition and processing. We also discuss the experiments for gaining distance restraints and for recoupling anisotropic tensorial interactions under fast MAS conditions. We give an overview of sample preparation approaches when working with protein assemblies. Following the overview of contemporary MAS NMR methods, we present case studies into the structure and dynamics of two classes of biological systems under investigation in our laboratory. We will first turn our attention to cytoskeletal microtubule motor proteins including mammalian dynactin and dynein light chain 8. We will then discuss protein assemblies from the HIV-1 retrovirus.

Broadband homonuclear correlation spectroscopy driven by combined R2(n)(v) sequences under fast magic angle spinning for NMR structural analysis of organic and biological solids

We recently described a family of experiments for R2n(v) Driven Spin Diffusion (RDSD) spectroscopy suitable for homonuclear correlation experiments under fast MAS conditions [G. Hou, S. Yan, S.J. Sun, Y. Han, I.J. Byeon, J. Ahn, J. Concel, A. Samoson, A.M. Gronenborn, T. Polenova, Spin diffusion drive by R-symmetry sequencs: applications to homonuclear correlation spectroscopy in MAS NMR of biological and organic solids, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133 (2011) 3943-3953]. In these RDSD experiments, since the broadened second-order rotational resonance conditions are dominated by the radio frequency field strength and the phase shifts, as well as the size of reintroduced dipolar couplings, the different R2n(v) sequences display unique polarization transfer behaviors and different recoupling frequency bandwidths. Herein, we present a series of modified R2n(v) sequences, dubbed COmbined R2n(v)-Driven (CORD), that yield broadband homonuclear dipolar recoupling and give rise to uniform distribution of cross peak intensities across the entire correlation spectrum. We report NMR experiments and numerical simulations demonstrating that these CORD spin diffusion sequences are suitable for broadband recoupling at a wide range of magnetic fields and MAS frequencies, including fast-MAS conditions (νr=40 kHz and above). Since these CORD sequences are largely insensitive to dipolar truncation, they are well suited for the determination of long-range distance constraints, which are indispensable for the structural characterization of a broad range of systems. Using U-(13)C,(15)N-alanine and U-(13)C,(15)N-histidine, we show that under fast-MAS conditions, the CORD sequences display polarization transfer efficiencies within broadband frequency regions that are generally higher than those offered by other existing spin diffusion pulse schemes. A 89-residue U-(13)C,(15)N-dynein light chain (LC8) protein has also been used to demonstrate that the CORD sequences exhibit uniformly high cross peak intensities across the entire chemical shift range.

Recoupling of chemical shift anisotropy by R-symmetry sequences in magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

(13)C and (15)N chemical shift (CS) interaction is a sensitive probe of structure and dynamics in a wide variety of biological and inorganic systems, and in the recent years several magic angle spinning NMR approaches have emerged for residue-specific measurements of chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors in uniformly and sparsely enriched proteins. All of the currently existing methods are applicable to slow and moderate magic angle spinning (MAS) regime, i.e., MAS frequencies below 20 kHz. With the advent of fast and ultrafast MAS probes capable of spinning frequencies of 40-100 kHz, and with the superior resolution and sensitivity attained at such high frequencies, development of CSA recoupling techniques working under such conditions is necessary. In this work, we present a family of R-symmetry based pulse sequences for recoupling of (13)C∕(15)N CSA interactions that work well in both natural abundance and isotopically enriched systems. We demonstrate that efficient recoupling of either first-rank (σ(1)) or second-rank (σ(2)) spatial components of CSA interaction is attained with appropriately chosen γ-encoded RN(n)(v) symmetry sequences. The advantage of these γ-encoded RN(n)(v)-symmetry based CSA (RNCSA) recoupling schemes is that they are suitable for CSA recoupling under a wide range of MAS frequencies, including fast MAS regime. Comprehensive analysis of the recoupling properties of these RN(n)(v) symmetry sequences reveals that the σ(1)-CSA recoupling symmetry sequences exhibit large scaling factors; however, the partial homonuclear dipolar Hamiltonian components are symmetry allowed, which makes this family of sequences suitable for CSA measurements in systems with weak homonuclear dipolar interactions. On the other hand, the γ-encoded symmetry sequences for σ(2)-CSA recoupling have smaller scaling factors but they efficiently suppress the homonuclear dipole-dipole interactions. Therefore, the latter family of sequences is applicable for measurements of CSA parameters in systems with strong homonuclear dipolar couplings, such as uniformly-(13)C labeled biological solids. We demonstrate RNCSA NMR experiments and numerical simulations establishing the utility of this approach to the measurements of (13)C and (15)N CSA parameters in model compounds, [(15)N]-N-acetyl-valine (NAV), [U-(13)C, (15)N]-alanine, [U-(13)C,(15)N]-histidine, and present the application of this approach to [U-(13)C∕(15)N]-Tyr labeled C-terminal domain of HIV-1 CA protein.

Multidimensional magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy for site-resolved measurement of proton chemical shift anisotropy in biological solids

The proton chemical shift (CS) tensor is a sensitive probe of structure and hydrogen bonding. Highly accurate quantum-chemical protocols exist for computation of (1)H magnetic shieldings in the various contexts, making proton chemical shifts potentially a powerful predictor of structural and electronic properties. However, (1)H CS tensors are not yet widely used in protein structure calculation due to scarcity of experimental data. While isotropic proton shifts can be readily measured in proteins even in the solid state, determination of the (1)H chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors remains challenging, particularly in molecules containing multiple proton sites. We present a method for site-resolved measurement of amide proton CSAs in fully protonated solids under magic angle spinning. The approach consists of three concomitant 3D experiments yielding spectra determined by either mainly (1)H CSA, mainly (1)H–(15)N dipolar, or combined (1)H CSA and (1)H–(15)N dipolar interactions. The anisotropic interactions are recoupled using RN-sequences of appropriate symmetry, such as R12(1)(4), and (15)N/(13)C isotropic CS dimensions are introduced via a short selective (1)H–(15)N cross-polarization step. Accurate (1)H chemical shift tensor parameters are extracted by simultaneous fit of the lineshapes recorded in the three spectra. An application of this method is presented for an 89-residue protein, U-(13)C,(15)N-CAP-Gly domain of dynactin. The CSA parameters determined from the triple fits correlate with the hydrogen-bonding distances, and the trends are in excellent agreement with the prior solution NMR results. This approach is generally suited for recording proton CSA parameters in various biological and organic systems, including protein assemblies and nucleic acids.

Constant time tensor correlation experiments by non-gamma-encoded recoupling pulse sequences

Constant-time tensor correlation under magic-angle spinning conditions is an important technique in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the measurements of backbone or side-chain torsion angles of polypeptides and proteins. We introduce a general method for the design of constant-time tensor correlation experiments under magic-angle spinning. Our method requires that the amplitude of the average Hamiltonian must depend on all the three Euler angles bringing the principal axis system to the rotor-fixed frame, which is commonly referred to as non-gamma encoding. We abbreviate this novel approach as COrrelation of Non-Gamma-Encoded Experiment (CONGEE), which exploits the orientation-dependence of non-gamma-encoded sequences with respect to the magic-angle rotation axis. By manipulating the relative orientation of the average Hamiltonians created by two non-gamma-encoded sequences, one can obtain a modulation of the detected signal, from which the structural information can be extracted when the tensor orientations relative to the molecular frame are known. CONGEE has a prominent feature that the number of rf pulses and the total pulse sequence duration can be maintained to be constant so that for torsion angle determination the effects of systematic errors owing to the experimental imperfections and/or T(2) effects could be minimized. As a proof of concept, we illustrate the utility of CONGEE in the correlation between the C' chemical shift tensor and the C(α)-H(α) dipolar tensor for the backbone psi angle determination. In addition to a detailed theoretical analysis, numerical simulations and experiments measured for [U-(13)C, (15)N]-L-alanine and N-acetyl-[U-(13)C, (15)N]-D,L-valine are used to validate our approach at a spinning frequency of 20 kHz.

Quantifying conformational dynamics using solid-state R₁ρ experiments

We demonstrate the determination of quantitative rates of molecular reorientation in the solid state with rotating frame (R(1ρ)) relaxation measurements. Reorientation of the carbon chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensor was used to probe site-specific conformational exchange in a model system, d(6)-dimethyl sulfone (d(6)-DMS). The CSA as a probe of exchange has the advantage that it can still be utilized when there is no dipolar mechanism (i.e. no protons attached to the site of interest). Other works have presented R(1ρ) measurements as a general indicator of dynamics, but this study extracts quantitative rates of molecular reorientation from the R(1ρ) values. Some challenges of this technique include precise knowledge of sample temperature and determining the R(2)(0) contribution to the observed relaxation rate from interactions other than molecular reorientation, such as residual dipolar couplings or fast timescale dynamics; determination of this term is necessary in order to quantify the exchange rate due to covariance between the 2 terms. Low-temperature experiments measured an R(2)(0) value of 1.8±0.2s(-1) Allowing for an additional relaxation term (R(2)(0)), which was modeled as both temperature-dependent and temperature-independent, rates of molecular reorientation were extracted from field strength-dependent R(1ρ) measurements at four different temperatures and the activation energy was determined from these exchange rates. The activation energies determined were 74.7±4.3kJ/mol and 71.7±2.9kJ/mol for the temperature-independent and temperature-dependent R(2)(0) models respectively, in excellent agreement with literature values. The results of this study suggest important methodological considerations for the application of the method to more complicated systems such as proteins, such as the importance of deuterating samples and the need to make assumptions regarding the R(2)(0) contribution to relaxation.

1H-13C/1H-15N heteronuclear dipolar recoupling by R-symmetry sequences under fast magic angle spinning for dynamics analysis of biological and organic solids

Fast magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy is becoming increasingly important in structural and dynamics studies of biological systems and inorganic materials. Superior spectral resolution due to the efficient averaging of the dipolar couplings can be attained at MAS frequencies of 40 kHz and higher with appropriate decoupling techniques, while proton detection gives rise to significant sensitivity gains, therefore making fast MAS conditions advantageous across the board compared with the conventional slow- and moderate-MAS approaches. At the same time, many of the dipolar recoupling approaches that currently constitute the basis for structural and dynamics studies of solid materials and that are designed for MAS frequencies of 20 kHz and below, fail above 30 kHz. In this report, we present an approach for (1)H-(13)C/(1)H-(15)N heteronuclear dipolar recoupling under fast MAS conditions using R-type symmetry sequences, which is suitable even for fully protonated systems. A series of rotor-synchronized R-type symmetry pulse schemes are explored for the determination of structure and dynamics in biological and organic systems. The investigations of the performance of the various RN(n)(v)-symmetry sequences at the MAS frequency of 40 kHz experimentally and by numerical simulations on [U-(13)C,(15)N]-alanine and [U-(13)C,(15)N]-N-acetyl-valine, revealed excellent performance for sequences with high symmetry number ratio (N/2n > 2.5). Further applications of this approach are presented for two proteins, sparsely (13)C/uniformly (15)N-enriched CAP-Gly domain of dynactin and U-(13)C,(15)N-Tyr enriched C-terminal domain of HIV-1 CA protein. Two-dimensional (2D) and 3D R16(3)(2)-based DIPSHIFT experiments carried out at the MAS frequency of 40 kHz, yielded site-specific (1)H-(13)C/(1)H-(15)N heteronuclear dipolar coupling constants for CAP-Gly and CTD CA, reporting on the dynamic behavior of these proteins on time scales of nano- to microseconds. The R-symmetry-based dipolar recoupling under fast MAS is expected to find numerous applications in studies of protein assemblies and organic solids by MAS NMR spectroscopy.

Ultrahigh resolution protein structures using NMR chemical shift tensors

NMR chemical shift tensors (CSTs) in proteins, as well as their orientations, represent an important new restraint class for protein structure refinement and determination. Here, we present the first determination of both CST magnitudes and orientations for (13)Cα and (15)N (peptide backbone) groups in a protein, the β1 IgG binding domain of protein G from Streptococcus spp., GB1. Site-specific (13)Cα and (15)N CSTs were measured using synchronously evolved recoupling experiments in which (13)C and (15)N tensors were projected onto the (1)H-(13)C and (1)H-(15)N vectors, respectively, and onto the (15)N-(13)C vector in the case of (13)Cα. The orientations of the (13)Cα CSTs to the (1)H-(13)C and (13)C-(15)N vectors agreed well with the results of ab initio calculations, with an rmsd of approximately 8°. In addition, the measured (15)N tensors exhibited larger reduced anisotropies in α-helical versus β-sheet regions, with very limited variation (18 ± 4°) in the orientation of the z-axis of the (15)N CST with respect to the (1)H-(15)N vector. Incorporation of the (13)Cα CST restraints into structure calculations, in combination with isotropic chemical shifts, transferred echo double resonance (13)C-(15)N distances and vector angle restraints, improved the backbone rmsd to 0.16 Å (PDB ID code 2LGI) and is consistent with existing X-ray structures (0.51 Å agreement with PDB ID code 2QMT). These results demonstrate that chemical shift tensors have considerable utility in protein structure refinement, with the best structures comparable to 1.0-Å crystal structures, based upon empirical metrics such as Ramachandran geometries and χ(1)/χ(2) distributions, providing solid-state NMR with a powerful tool for de novo structure determination.

Spin diffusion driven by R-symmetry sequences: applications to homonuclear correlation spectroscopy in MAS NMR of biological and organic solids

We present a family of homonuclear (13)C-(13)C magic angle spinning spin diffusion experiments, based on R2(n)(v) (n = 1 and 2, v = 1 and 2) symmetry sequences. These experiments are well suited for (13)C-(13)C correlation spectroscopy in biological and organic systems and are especially advantageous at very fast MAS conditions, where conventional PDSD and DARR experiments fail. At very fast MAS frequencies the R2(1)(1), R2(2)(1), and R2(2)(2) sequences result in excellent quality correlation spectra both in model compounds and in proteins. Under these conditions, individual R2(n)(v) display different polarization transfer efficiency dependencies on isotropic chemical shift differences: R2(2)(1) recouples efficiently both small and large chemical shift differences (in proteins these correspond to aliphatic-to-aliphatic and carbonyl-to-aliphatic correlations, respectively), while R2(1)(1) and R2(2)(2) exhibit the maximum recoupling efficiency for the aliphatic-to-aliphatic or carbonyl-to-aliphatic correlations, respectively. At moderate MAS frequencies (10-20 kHz), all R2(n)(v) sequences introduced in this work display similar transfer efficiencies, and their performance is very similar to that of PDSD and DARR. Polarization transfer dynamics and chemical shift dependencies of these R2-driven spin diffusion (RDSD) schemes are experimentally evaluated and investigated by numerical simulations for [U-(13)C,(15)N]-alanine and the [U-(13)C,(15)N] N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (MLF) tripeptide. Further applications of this approach are illustrated for several proteins: spherical assemblies of HIV-1 U-(13)C,(15)N CA protein, U-(13)C,(15)N-enriched dynein light chain DLC8, and sparsely (13)C/uniformly (15)N enriched CAP-Gly domain of dynactin. Due to the excellent performance and ease of implementation, the presented R2(n)(v) symmetry sequences are expected to be of wide applicability in studies of proteins and protein assemblies as well as other organic solids by MAS NMR spectroscopy.