Use of 3D domain swapping in constructing supramolecular metalloproteins

Supramolecules, which are formed by assembling multiple molecules by noncovalent intermolecular interactions instead of covalent bonds, often show additional properties that cannot be exhibited by a single molecule. Supramolecules have evolved into molecular machines in the field of chemistry, and various supramolecular proteins are responsible for life activities in the field of biology. The design and creation of supramolecular proteins will lead to development of new enzymes, functional biomaterials, drug delivery systems, etc.; thus, the number of studies on the regulation of supramolecular proteins is increasing year by year. Several methods, including disulfide bond, metal coordination, and surface-surface interaction, have been utilized to construct supramolecular proteins. In nature, proteins have been shown to form oligomers by 3D domain swapping (3D-DS), a phenomenon in which a structural region is exchanged between molecules of the same protein. We have been studying the mechanism of 3D-DS and utilizing 3D-DS to construct supramolecular metalloproteins. Cytochrome c forms cyclic oligomers and polymers by 3D-DS, whereas other metalloproteins, such as various c-type cytochromes and azurin form small oligomers and myoglobin forms a compact dimer. We have also utilized 3D-DS to construct heterodimers with different active sites, a protein nanocage encapsulating a Zn-SO₄ cluster in the internal cavity, and a tetrahedron with a designed building block protein. Protein oligomer formation was controlled for the 3D-DS dimer of a dimer-monomer transition protein. This article reviews our research on supramolecular metalloproteins.

Human FoxP Transcription Factors as Tractable Models of the Evolution and Functional Outcomes of Three-Dimensional Domain Swapping

The association of two or more proteins to adopt a quaternary complex is one of the most widespread mechanisms by which protein function is modulated. In this scenario, three-dimensional domain swapping (3D-DS) constitutes one plausible pathway for the evolution of protein oligomerization that exploits readily available intramolecular contacts to be established in an intermolecular fashion. However, analysis of the oligomerization kinetics and thermodynamics of most extant 3D-DS proteins shows its dependence on protein unfolding, obscuring the elucidation of the emergence of 3D-DS during evolution, its occurrence under physiological conditions, and its biological relevance. Here, we describe the human FoxP subfamily of transcription factors as a feasible model to study the evolution of 3D-DS, due to their significantly faster dissociation and dimerization kinetics and lower dissociation constants in comparison to most 3D-DS models. Through the biophysical and functional characterization of FoxP proteins, relevant structural aspects highlighting the evolutionary adaptations of these proteins to enable efficient 3D-DS have been ascertained. Most biophysical studies on FoxP suggest that the dynamics of the polypeptide chain are crucial to decrease the energy barrier of 3D-DS, enabling its fast oligomerization under physiological conditions. Moreover, comparison of biophysical parameters between human FoxP proteins in the context of their minute sequence differences suggests differential evolutionary strategies to favor homoassociation and presages the possibility of heteroassociations, with direct impacts in their gene regulation function.

The crystal structure of the heme d1 biosynthesis-associated small c-type cytochrome NirC reveals mixed oligomeric states in crystallo

Monoheme c-type cytochromes are important electron transporters in all domains of life. They possess a common fold hallmarked by three α-helices that surround a covalently attached heme. An intriguing feature of many monoheme c-type cytochromes is their capacity to form oligomers by exchanging at least one of their α-helices, which is often referred to as 3D domain swapping. Here, the crystal structure of NirC, a c-type cytochrome co-encoded with other proteins involved in nitrite reduction by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, has been determined. The crystals diffracted anisotropically to a maximum resolution of 2.12 Å (spherical resolution of 2.83 Å) and initial phases were obtained by Fe-SAD phasing, revealing the presence of 11 NirC chains in the asymmetric unit. Surprisingly, these protomers arrange into one monomer and two different types of 3D domain-swapped dimers, one of which shows pronounced asymmetry. While the simultaneous observation of monomers and dimers probably reflects the interplay between the high protein concentration required for crystallization and the structural plasticity of monoheme c-type cytochromes, the identification of conserved structural motifs in the monomer together with a comparison with similar proteins may offer new leads to unravel the unknown function of NirC.

Protein surface charge effect on 3D domain swapping in cells for c-type cytochromes

Many c-type cytochromes (cyts) can form domain-swapped oligomers. The positively charged Hydrogenobacter thermophilus (HT) cytochrome (cyt) c₅₅₂ forms domain-swapped oligomers during expression in the Escherichia coli (E. coli) expression system, but the factors influencing the oligomerization remain unrevealed. Here, we found that the dimer of the negatively charged Shewanella violacea (SV) cyt c₅ exhibits a domain-swapped structure, in which the N-terminal helix is exchanged between protomers, similar to the structures of the HT cyt c₅₅₂ and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) cyt c₅₅₁ domain-swapped dimers. Positively charged horse cyt c and HT cyt c₅₅₂ domain swapped during expression in E. coli, whereas negatively charged PA cyt c₅₅₁ and SV cyt c₅ did not. Oligomers were formed during expression in E. coli for HT cyt c₅₅₂ attached to either a co- or post-translational signal peptide for transportation through the cytoplasm membrane, but not for PA cyt c₅₅₁ attached to either signal peptide. HT cyt c₅₅₂ formed oligomers in E. coli in the presence and absence of rare codons. More oligomers were obtained from the in vitro folding of horse cyt c and HT cyt c₅₅₂ by the addition of negatively charged liposomes during folding, whereas the amount of oligomers for the in vitro folding of PA cyt c₅₅₁ and SV cyt c₅ did not change significantly by the addition. These results indicate that the protein surface charge affects the oligomerization of c-type cyts in cells; positively charged c-type cyts assemble on a negatively charged membrane, inducing formation of domain-swapped oligomers during folding.

A five-residue motif for the design of domain swapping in proteins

Domain swapping is the process by which identical monomeric proteins exchange structural elements to generate dimers/oligomers. Although engineered domain swapping is a compelling strategy for protein assembly, its application has been limited due to the lack of simple and reliable design approaches. Here, we demonstrate that the hydrophobic five-residue 'cystatin motif' (QVVAG) from the domain-swapping protein Stefin B, when engineered into a solvent-exposed, tight surface loop between two β-strands prevents the loop from folding back upon itself, and drives domain swapping in non-domain-swapping proteins. High-resolution structural studies demonstrate that engineering the QVVAG stretch independently into various surface loops of four structurally distinct non-domain-swapping proteins enabled the design of different modes of domain swapping in these proteins, including single, double and open-ended domain swapping. These results suggest that the introduction of the QVVAG motif can be used as a mutational approach for engineering domain swapping in diverse β-hairpin proteins.

Structural entanglements in protein complexes

We consider multi-chain protein native structures and propose a criterion that determines whether two chains in the system are entangled or not. The criterion is based on the behavior observed by pulling at both termini of each chain simultaneously in the two chains. We have identified about 900 entangled systems in the Protein Data Bank and provided a more detailed analysis for several of them. We argue that entanglement enhances the thermodynamic stability of the system but it may have other functions: burying the hydrophobic residues at the interface and increasing the DNA or RNA binding area. We also study the folding and stretching properties of the knotted dimeric proteins MJ0366, YibK, and bacteriophytochrome. These proteins have been studied theoretically in their monomeric versions so far. The dimers are seen to separate on stretching through the tensile mechanism and the characteristic unraveling force depends on the pulling direction.

Formation and carbon monoxide-dependent dissociation of Allochromatium vinosum cytochrome c' oligomers using domain-swapped dimers

The number of artificial protein supramolecules has been increasing; however, control of protein oligomer formation remains challenging. Cytochrome c' from Allochromatium vinosum (AVCP) is a homodimeric protein in its native form, where its protomer exhibits a four-helix bundle structure containing a covalently bound five-coordinate heme as a gas binding site. AVCP exhibits a unique reversible dimer-monomer transition according to the absence and presence of CO. Herein, domain-swapped dimeric AVCP was constructed and utilized to form a tetramer and high-order oligomers. The X-ray crystal structure of oxidized tetrameric AVCP consisted of two monomer subunits and one domain-swapped dimer subunit, which exchanged the region containing helices αA and αB between protomers. The active site structures of the domain-swapped dimer subunit and monomer subunits in the tetramer were similar to those of the monomer subunits in the native dimer. The subunit-subunit interactions at the interfaces of the domain-swapped dimer and monomer subunits in the tetramer were also similar to the subunit-subunit interaction in the native dimer. Reduced tetrameric AVCP dissociated to a domain-swapped dimer and two monomers upon CO binding. Without monomers, the domain-swapped dimers formed tetramers, hexamers, and higher-order oligomers in the absence of CO, whereas the oligomers dissociated to domain-swapped dimers in the presence of CO, demonstrating that the domain-swapped dimer maintains the CO-induced subunit dissociation behavior of native ACVP. These results suggest that protein oligomer formation may be controlled by utilizing domain swapping for a dimer-monomer transition protein.