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

NMR Studies of Aromatic Ring Flips to Probe Conformational Fluctuations in Proteins

Aromatic residues form a significant part of the protein core, where they make tight interactions with multiple surrounding side chains. Despite the dense packing of internal side chains, the aromatic rings of phenylalanine and tyrosine residues undergo 180° rotations, or flips, which are mediated by transient and large-scale "breathing" motions that generate sufficient void volume around the aromatic ring. Forty years after the seminal work by Wagner and Wüthrich, NMR studies of aromatic ring flips are now undergoing a renaissance as a powerful means of probing fundamental dynamic properties of proteins. Recent developments of improved NMR methods and isotope labeling schemes have enabled a number of advances in addressing the mechanisms and energetics of aromatic ring flips. The nature of the transition states associated with ring flips can be described by thermodynamic activation parameters, including the activation enthalpy, activation entropy, activation volume, and also the isothermal volume compressibility of activation. Consequently, it is of great interest to study how ring flip rate constants and activation parameters might vary with protein structure and external conditions like temperature and pressure. The field is beginning to gather such data for aromatic residues in a variety of environments, ranging from surface exposed to buried. In the future, the combination of solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy together with molecular dynamics simulations and other computational approaches is likely to provide detailed information about the coupled dynamics of aromatic rings and neighboring residues. In this Perspective, we highlight recent developments and provide an outlook toward the future.

Characterizing Fast Conformational Exchange of Aromatic Rings Using Residual Dipolar Couplings: Distinguishing Jumplike Flips from Other Exchange Mechanisms

Aromatic ring flips are a hallmark of protein dynamics. They are experimentally studied by NMR spectroscopy, where recent advances have led to improved characterization across a wide range of time scales. Results on different proteins have been interpreted as continuous diffusive ring rotations or jumplike flips, leading to diverging views of the protein interior as being fluidlike or solidlike, respectively. It is challenging to distinguish between these mechanisms and other types of conformational exchange because chemical-shift-mediated line broadening provides only conclusive evidence for ring flips only if the system can be moved from the slow- to intermediate/fast-exchange regime. Moreover, whenever the chemical shift difference between the two symmetry-related sites is close to zero, it is not generally possible to determine the exchange time scale. Here we resolve these issues by measuring residual dipolar coupling (RDC)-mediated exchange contributions using NMR relaxation dispersion experiments on proteins dissolved in dilute liquid crystalline media. Excellent agreement is found between the experimental difference in RDC between the two symmetry-related sites and the value calculated from high-resolution X-ray structures, demonstrating that dynamics measured for F52 in the B1 domain of protein G reports on distinct, jumplike flips rather than other types of conformational exchange.

Hadamard acquisition of 13 C-13 C 2-D correlation NMR spectra

We show that a multiselective excitation with Hadamard encoding is a powerful tool for 2-D acquisition of ¹³ C─¹³ C homonuclear correlations. This method is not designed to improve the sensitivity, but rather to reduce the experiment time, provided there is sufficient sensitivity. Therefore, it allows fast acquisition of such 2-D spectra in labeled molecules. The technique has been demonstrated using a U─¹³ C─¹⁵ N histidine hydrochloride monohydrate sample allowing each point of the build-up curves of the ¹³ C─¹³ C cross-peaks to be recorded within 4 min 35 s, which is very difficult with conventional methods. Using the U─¹³ C─¹⁵ N f-MLF sample, we have demonstrated that the method can be applied to molecules with 14 ¹³ C resonances with a minimum frequency separation of 240 Hz.

Aromatic Ring Dynamics, Thermal Activation, and Transient Conformations of a 468 kDa Enzyme by Specific 1H-13C Labeling and Fast Magic-Angle Spinning NMR

Aromatic residues are located at structurally important sites of many proteins. Probing their interactions and dynamics can provide important functional insight but is challenging in large proteins. Here, we introduce approaches to characterize the dynamics of phenylalanine residues using ¹H-detected fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR combined with a tailored isotope-labeling scheme. Our approach yields isolated two-spin systems that are ideally suited for artifact-free dynamics measurements, and allows probing motions effectively without molecular weight limitations. The application to the TET2 enzyme assembly of ∼0.5 MDa size, the currently largest protein assigned by MAS NMR, provides insights into motions occurring on a wide range of time scales (picoseconds to milliseconds). We quantitatively probe ring-flip motions and show the temperature dependence by MAS NMR measurements down to 100 K. Interestingly, favorable line widths are observed down to 100 K, with potential implications for DNP NMR. Furthermore, we report the first ¹³C R_1ρ MAS NMR relaxation-dispersion measurements and detect structural excursions occurring on a microsecond time scale in the entry pore to the catalytic chamber and at a trimer interface that was proposed as the exit pore. We show that the labeling scheme with deuteration at ca. 50 kHz MAS provides superior resolution compared to 100 kHz MAS experiments with protonated, uniformly ¹³C-labeled samples.

Phenyl-Ring Dynamics in Amyloid Fibrils and Proteins: The Microscopic-Order-Macroscopic-Disorder Perspective

We have developed the microscopic-order-macroscopic-disorder (MOMD) approach for studying internal mobility in polycrystalline proteins with ²H lineshape analysis. The motion itself is expressed by a diffusion tensor, R, the local spatial restraints by a potential, u, and the "local geometry" by the relative orientation of the model-related and nuclear magnetic resonance-related tensors. Here, we apply MOMD to phenyl-ring dynamics in several Αβ₄₀-amyloid-fibrils, and the villin headpiece subdomain (HP36). Because the available data are limited in extent and sensitivity, we adjust u and R in the relevant parameter ranges, fixing the "local geometry" in accordance with standard stereochemistry. This yields a physically well-defined and consistent picture of phenyl-ring dynamics, enabling comparison between different systems. In the temperature range of 278-308 K, u has a strength of (1.7-1.8) kT and a rhombicity of (2.4-2.6) kT, and R has components of 5.0 × 10² ≤ R_⊥ ≤ 2.0 × 10³ s^-1 and 6.3 × 10⁵ ≤ R_∥ ≤ 2.0 × 10⁶ s^-1. At 278 K, fibril hydration increases the axiality of both u and R; HP36 hydration has a similar effect at 295 K, reducing R_⊥ considerably. The D23N mutation slows down the motion of the probe; Aβ₄₀ polymorphism affects both this motion and the related local potential. The present study identifies the impact of various factors on phenyl-ring mobility in amyloid fibrils and globular proteins; the difference between the two protein forms is considerable. The distinctive impact of hydration on phenyl-ring motion and previously studied methyl-group motion is also examined. The ²H lineshapes considered here were analyzed previously with various multi-simple-mode (MSM) models, where several simple motional modes are combined. The MOMD and MSM interpretations differ in essence.

Simple and Robust Study of Backbone Dynamics of Crystalline Proteins Employing 1H-15N Dipolar Coupling Dispersion

We report a new solid-state multidimensional NMR approach based on the cross-polarization with variable-contact pulse sequence [ Paluch , P. ; Pawlak , T. ; Amoureux , J.-P. ; Potrzebowski , M. J. J. Magn. Reson. 233 , 2013 , 56 ], with ¹H inverse detection and very fast magic angle spinning (ν_R = 60 kHz), dedicated to the measurement of local molecular motions of ¹H-¹⁵N vectors. The introduced three-dimensional experiments, ¹H-¹⁵N-¹H and hCA(N)H, are particularly useful for the study of molecular dynamics of proteins and other complex structures. The applicability and power of this methodology have been revealed by employing as a model sample the GB-1 small protein doped with Na₂CuEDTA. The results clearly prove that the dispersion of ¹H-¹⁵N dipolar coupling constants well correlates with higher order structure of the protein. Our approach complements the conventional studies and offers a fast and reasonably simple method.

Imaging the spatial distribution of radiofrequency field, sample and temperature in MAS NMR rotor

We investigate using nutation experiments the spatial distribution of radiofrequency (rf) field, sample, temperature and cross-polarization transfer efficiency in 1.3 mm rotor. First, two-dimensional (2D) ¹H nutation experiments on silicone thin cylinders in the presence of B₀ field gradient generated by shim coils are used to image the spatial distribution of rf field inside the rotor. These experiments show that the rf field is asymmetrical with respect to the center of the rotor. Moreover, they show the large inhomogeneity that still remains across the sample when using spacers, and that even in this case, the rf-field close to the drive cap is decreased to ca. only 20% of its maximum value. Such 2D nutation experiment in the presence of B₀ field gradient are also employed to demonstrate the migration of adamantane sample from the center of the rotor to its ends during Magic-Angle Spinning (MAS). Furthermore, 2D ¹H nutation experiments on nickelocene exhibiting temperature-dependent isotropic chemical shift provides insights into the temperature distribution inside rotor. Finally three-dimensional (3D) ¹H → ¹³C Cross-Polarization under MAS (CPMAS) nutation experiment indicates that only nuclei subject to the largest rf field contribute to the CPMAS transfer, when using rf field of constant amplitude on both channels. Such high selectivity allows the determination of accurate dipolar coupling constants in the Cross-Polarization with Variable Contact (CP-VC) experiment under fast MAS, at the expense of low sensitivity. Conversely when using ramped-amplitude on the ¹H channel during the CPMAS transfer, nuclei subject to smaller rf field contributes to the transfer, which increases the sensitivity of CPMAS experiment but does not allow an accurate determination of dipolar coupling constants using CP-VC experiment.

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.

Fast magic-angle sample spinning solid-state NMR at 60-100kHz for natural abundance samples

In spite of tremendous progress made in pulse sequence designs and sophisticated hardware developments, methods to improve sensitivity and resolution in solid-state NMR (ssNMR) are still emerging. The rate at which sample is spun at magic angle determines the extent to which sensitivity and resolution of NMR spectra are improved. To this end, the prime objective of this article is to give a comprehensive theoretical and experimental framework of fast magic angle spinning (MAS) technique. The engineering design of fast MAS rotors based on spinning rate, sample volume, and sensitivity is presented in detail. Besides, the benefits of fast MAS citing the recent progress in methodology, especially for natural abundance samples are also highlighted. The effect of the MAS rate on (1)H resolution, which is a key to the success of the (1)H inverse detection methods, is described by a simple mathematical factor named as the homogeneity factor k. A comparison between various (1)H inverse detection methods is also presented. Moreover, methods to reduce the number of spinning sidebands (SSBs) for the systems with huge anisotropies in combination with (1)H inverse detection at fast MAS are discussed.

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.

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Enhanced MAS NMR Spectroscopy for Structural Analysis of HIV-1 Protein Assemblies

Mature infectious HIV-1 virions contain conical capsids composed of CA protein, generated by the proteolytic cleavage cascade of the Gag polyprotein, termed maturation. The mechanism of capsid core formation through the maturation process remains poorly understood. We present DNP-enhanced MAS NMR studies of tubular assemblies of CA and Gag CA-SP1 maturation intermediate and report 20-64-fold sensitivity enhancements due to DNP at 14.1 T. These sensitivity enhancements enabled direct observation of spacer peptide 1 (SP1) resonances in CA-SP1 by dipolar-based correlation experiments, unequivocally indicating that the SP1 peptide is unstructured in assembled CA-SP1 at cryogenic temperatures, corroborating our earlier results. Furthermore, the dependence of DNP enhancements and spectral resolution on magnetic field strength (9.4-18.8 T) and temperature (109-180 K) was investigated. Our results suggest that DNP-based measurements could potentially provide residue-specific dynamics information by allowing for the extraction of the temperature dependence of the anisotropic tensorial or relaxation parameters. With DNP, we were able to detect multiple well-resolved isoleucine side-chain conformers; unique intermolecular correlations across two CA molecules; and functionally relevant conformationally disordered states such as the 14-residue SP1 peptide, none of which are visible at ambient temperatures. The detection of isolated conformers and intermolecular correlations can provide crucial constraints for structure determination of these assemblies. Overall, our results establish DNP-based MAS NMR spectroscopy as an excellent tool for the characterization of HIV-1 assemblies.