Sensitivity of NMR internucleotide distances to B-DNA conformation: underlying mechanics

The intrinsic mechanics of B-DNA in solution characterized by NMR

Experimental characterization of the structural couplings in free B-DNA in solution has been elusive, because of subtle effects that are challenging to tackle. Here, the exploitation of the NMR measurements collected on four dodecamers containing a substantial set of dinucleotide sequences provides new, consistent correlations revealing the DNA intrinsic mechanics. The difference between two successive residual dipolar couplings (ΔRDCs) involving C6/8-H6/8, C3′-H3′ and C4′-H4′ vectors are correlated to the ³¹P chemical shifts (δP), which reflect the populations of the BI and BII backbone states. The δPs are also correlated to the internucleotide distances (D_inter) involving H6/8, H2′ and H2″ protons. Calculations of NMR quantities on high resolution X-ray structures and controlled models of DNA enable to interpret these couplings: the studied ΔRDCs depend mostly on roll, while D_inter are mainly sensitive to twist or slide. Overall, these relations demonstrate how δP measurements inform on key inter base parameters, in addition to probe the BI↔BII backbone equilibrium, and shed new light into coordinated motions of phosphate groups and bases in free B-DNA in solution. Inspection of the 5′ and 3′ ends of the dodecamers also supplies new information on the fraying events, otherwise neglected.

DNA Backbone BI/BII Distribution and Dynamics in E2 Protein-Bound Environment Determined by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

BI and BII conformational substates in the DNA backbone typify canonical B-form DNA. The BI and BII substates are important for structural variation of DNA and have been implicated in protein-nucleic acid recognition mechanisms. Recent refinements have been made to nucleic acid force fields employed in molecular dynamics simulations that demonstrate a better ability to model the BI and BII states, leading to overall improved modeling of DNA structure and dynamics. These force field improvements have yet to be significantly demonstrated in the context of a protein-DNA system extended to long time scales. Our plan was to run molecular dynamics simulations of a well-studied protein-DNA system (E2-DNA) into the microsecond time scale and determine the ability of the force field to populate BII states in the DNA backbone consistent with dinucleotide steps crystallized in the BII conformation. The results showed that the dinucleotide steps in the E2-DNA complex with the highest BII populations from simulation trajectories corresponded to the dinucleotide steps crystallized in the BII state and that decoy BI and BII states converge to the same results within approximately one microsecond.

Simulating DNA by molecular dynamics: aims, methods, and validation

The structure and dynamics of the B-DNA double helix involves subtle sequence-dependent effects which are decisive for its function, but difficult to characterize. These structural and dynamic effects can be addressed by simulations of DNA sequences in explicit solvent. Here, we present and discuss the state-of-art of B-DNA molecular dynamics simulations with the major force fields in use today. We explain why a critical analysis of the MD trajectories is required to assess their reliability, and estimate the value and limitations of these models. Overall, simulations of DNA bear great promise towards deciphering the structural and physical subtleties of this biopolymer, where much remains to be understood.

DNA structures from phosphate chemical shifts

For B-DNA, the strong linear correlation observed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) between the (31)P chemical shifts (deltaP) and three recurrent internucleotide distances demonstrates the tight coupling between phosphate motions and helicoidal parameters. It allows to translate deltaP into distance restraints directly exploitable in structural refinement. It even provides a new method for refining DNA oligomers with restraints exclusively inferred from deltaP. Combined with molecular dynamics in explicit solvent, these restraints lead to a structural and dynamical view of the DNA as detailed as that obtained with conventional and more extensive restraints. Tests with the Jun-Fos oligomer show that this deltaP-based strategy can provide a simple and straightforward method to capture DNA properties in solution, from routine NMR experiments on unlabeled samples.

Intrinsic flexibility of B-DNA: the experimental TRX scale

B-DNA flexibility, crucial for DNA–protein recognition, is sequence dependent. Free DNA in solution would in principle be the best reference state to uncover the relation between base sequences and their intrinsic flexibility; however, this has long been hampered by a lack of suitable experimental data. We investigated this relationship by compiling and analyzing a large dataset of NMR ³¹P chemical shifts in solution. These measurements reflect the BI ↔ BII equilibrium in DNA, intimately correlated to helicoidal descriptors of the curvature, winding and groove dimensions. Comparing the ten complementary DNA dinucleotide steps indicates that some steps are much more flexible than others. This malleability is primarily controlled at the dinucleotide level, modulated by the tetranucleotide environment. Our analyses provide an experimental scale called TRX that quantifies the intrinsic flexibility of the ten dinucleotide steps in terms of Twist, Roll, and X-disp (base pair displacement). Applying the TRX scale to DNA sequences optimized for nucleosome formation reveals a 10 base-pair periodic alternation of stiff and flexible regions. Thus, DNA flexibility captured by the TRX scale is relevant to nucleosome formation, suggesting that this scale may be of general interest to better understand protein-DNA recognition.

Binding of [Pt(1C3)(dien)](2+) to the duplex DNA oligonucleotide 5'-d(TGGCCA)-3': the effect of an appended positive charge on the orientation and location of anthraquinone intercalation

The binding of a platinum intercalator complex [Pt(1C3)(dien)](2+) (1C3 = 1-[(3-aminopropyl)amino]-anthracene-9,10-dione, dien = 3-azapentane-1,5-diamine) to DNA and to the self-complementary oligonucleotide 5'-d(TGGCCA)-3' has been investigated by UV-visible spectrophotometry and 2D NMR spectroscopy, respectively. The uncomplexed anthraquinone, 1C3, has an apparent DNA binding constant of 1.4 x 10(4), similar to that of ethidium bromide. Addition of the coordinatively saturated {Pt(dien)} moiety increases the binding constant to 3.7 x 10(5) M(-1), showing the effect of the increased positive charge introduced by this moiety. Multiple binding modes are evident from the lack of isosbestic points in the titration spectra and the non-linear nature of the half-reciprocal plot used to calculate the binding constant. [Pt(1C3)(dien)](2+) forms a 2 : 1 adduct with 5'-d(TGGCCA)-3' and is shown by 2D NMR to intercalate primarily in the TG:CA base pairs at the ends of the oligonucleotide with the side chain and {Pt(dien)} situated in the minor groove.

Molecular recognition of DNA base pairs by the formamido/pyrrole and formamido/imidazole pairings in stacked polyamides

Polyamides containing an N-terminal formamido (f) group bind to the minor groove of DNA as staggered, antiparallel dimers in a sequence-specific manner. The formamido group increases the affinity and binding site size, and it promotes the molecules to stack in a staggered fashion thereby pairing itself with either a pyrrole (Py) or an imidazole (Im). There has not been a systematic study on the DNA recognition properties of the f/Py and f/Im terminal pairings. These pairings were analyzed here in the context of f-ImPyPy, f-ImPyIm, f-PyPyPy and f-PyPyIm, which contain the central pairing modes, -ImPy- and -PyPy-. The specificity of these triamides towards symmetrical recognition sites allowed for the f/Py and f/Im terminal pairings to be directly compared by SPR, CD and DeltaT (M) experiments. The f/Py pairing, when placed next to the -ImPy- or -PyPy- central pairings, prefers A/T and T/A base pairs to G/C base pairs, suggesting that f/Py has similar DNA recognition specificity to Py/Py. With -ImPy- central pairings, f/Im prefers C/G base pairs (>10 times) to the other Watson-Crick base pairs; therefore, f/Im behaves like the Py/Im pair. However, the f/Im pairing is not selective for the C/G base pair when placed next to the -PyPy- central pairings.

Discrimination between BI and BII conformational substates of B-DNA based on sugar-base interproton distances

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of four water-solvated DNA duplexes were used to generate a database of approximately 27000 dinucleotide conformations. Analyzing this database, we investigated the relationship between so-called BI-BII transitions and short-range interproton distances. Four H-H distances were found particularly sensitive to BI-BII transitions: internucleotide H1'(n)-H68(n+1), H2'(n)-H68(n+1), and H2"(n)-H68(n+1), and intranucleotide H2"(n)-H68(n). Determination of these distances using classical NOESY spectroscopy can thus provide valuable indications on the existence of BII substates, complementing the existing method based on (31)P chemical shifts and (31)P-(1)H spin-spin coupling constants.

Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA curvature and flexibility: helix phasing and premelting

Recent studies of DNA axis curvature and flexibility based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on DNA are reviewed. The MD simulations are on DNA sequences up to 25 base pairs in length, including explicit consideration of counterions and waters in the computational model. MD studies are described for ApA steps, A-tracts, for sequences of A-tracts with helix phasing. In MD modeling, ApA steps and A-tracts in aqueous solution are essentially straight, relatively rigid, and exhibit the characteristic features associated with the B'-form of DNA. The results of MD modeling of A-tract oligonucleotides are validated by close accord with corresponding crystal structure results and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) and residual dipolar coupling (RDC) structures of d(CGCGAATTCGCG) and d(GGCAAAAAACGG). MD simulation successfully accounts for enhanced axis curvature in a set of three sequences with phased A-tracts studied to date. The primary origin of the axis curvature in the MD model is found at those pyrimidine/purine YpR "flexible hinge points" in a high roll, open hinge conformational substate. In the MD model of axis curvature in a DNA sequence with both phased A-tracts and YpR steps, the A-tracts appear to act as positioning elements that make the helix phasing more precise, and key YpR steps in the open hinge state serve as curvature elements. Our simulations on a phased A-tract sequence as a function of temperature show that the MD simulations exhibit a premelting transition in close accord with experiment, and predict that the mechanism involves a B'-to-B transition within A-tracts coupled with the prediction of a transition in key YpR steps from the high roll, open hinge, to a low roll, closed hinge substate. Diverse experimental observations on DNA curvature phenomena are examined in light of the MD model with no serious discrepancies. The collected MD results provide independent support for the "non-A-tract model" of DNA curvature. The "junction model" is indicated to be a special case of the non-A-tract model when there is a Y base at the 5' end of an A-tract. In accord with crystallography, the "ApA wedge model" is not supported by MD.

DNA fine structure and dynamics in crystals and in solution: The impact of BI/BII backbone conformations

Sugar-phosphate backbone conformations are an important structural element for a complete understanding of specific recognition in nucleic acid-protein interactions. They can be involved both in early stages of target discrimination and in structural adaptation upon binding. In the first part of this study, we have analyzed high-resolution structures of double-stranded B-DNA either isolated or bound to proteins, and explored the impact of both the standard BI and the unusual BII phosphate backbone conformations on neighboring sugar puckers and on selected helical parameters. Correlations are found to be similar for free and bound DNA, and in both categories, the possible facing backbone conformations (BI.BI, BI.BII, and BII.BII) define well-characterized substates in the B-DNA conformational space. Notably, BII.BII steps are characterized by specific, and sequence-independent, structural effects involving reduced standard deviations for almost all conformational parameters. In the second part of this work, we analyze four 10 ns molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent on the DNA targets of NF-kappaB and bovine papillomavirus E2 proteins, highlighting the multiplicity of backbone dynamical behavior. These results show sequence effects on the percentages of BI and BII conformers, the preferential state of facing backbones, the occurrence of coupled transitions. The backbone states can consequently be seen as a mechanism for transmitting information from the bases to the phosphate groups and thus for modulating the overall structural properties of the target DNA.

Force field dependence of NMR-Based, restrained molecular dynamics DNA structure calculations including an analysis of the influence of residual dipolar coupling restraints

Restrained molecular dynamics is widely used to calculate DNA structures from NMR data. Here, results of an in silico experiment show that the force field can be significant compared to the NMR restraints in driving the final structures to converge. Specifically, we observed that i) the influence of the force field leads to artificially tight convergence within final families of structures and ii) the precision and character of resulting structures depend on the choice of force field used in the calculations. A canonical B-DNA model was used as a target structure. Distances, dihedral angles, and simulated residual dipolar couplings were measured in the target structure and used as restraints. X-PLOR and Discover, which use force fields developed for CHARMM and AMBER programs, respectively, were tested and found to produce different final structures despite the use of identical distance and dihedral restraints. Incorporation of residual dipolar coupling restraints in X-PLOR improves convergence with the target structure and between families of structures indicating that the force field dependence can potentially be overcome if residual dipolar coupling restraints are employed.

Assessment of the molecular dynamics structure of DNA in solution based on calculated and observed NMR NOESY volumes and dihedral angles from scalar coupling constants

To assess the accuracy of the molecular dynamics (MD) models of nucleic acids, a detailed comparison between MD-calculated and NMR-observed indices of the dynamical structure of DNA in solution has been carried out. The specific focus of our comparison is the oligonucleotide duplex, d(CGCGAATTCGCG)(2), for which considerable structural data have been obtained from crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. An MD model for the structure of d(CGCGAATTCGCG)(2) in solution, based on the AMBER force field, has been extended with a 14 ns trajectory. New NMR data for this sequence have been obtained in order to allow a detailed and critical comparison between the calculated and observed parameters. Observable two-dimensional (2D) nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) volumes and scalar coupling constants were back-calculated from the MD trajectory and compared with the corresponding NMR data. The comparison of these results indicate that the MD model is in generally good agreement with the NMR data, and shows closer accord with experiment than back-calculations based on the crystal structure of d(CGCGAATTCGCG)(2) or the canonical A or B forms of the sequence. The NMR parameters are not particularly sensitive to the known deficiency in the AMBER MD model, which is a tendency toward undertwisting of the double helix when the parm.94 force field is used. The MD results are also compared with a new determination of the solution structure of d(CGCGAATTCGCG)(2) using NMR dipolar coupling data.

Unrestrained 5 ns molecular dynamics simulation of a cisplatin-DNA 1,2-GG adduct provides a rationale for the NMR features and reveals increased conformational flexibility at the platinum binding site

A 5 ns unrestrained molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of the DNA duplex d(GCCG*G*ATCGC)-d(GCGATCCGGC), bearing a cis-Pt(NH(3))(2)(2+) unit crosslinking the two G* guanine bases, is reported. The MD trajectory was a posteriori correlated with NMR data determined for the same adduct, and it is shown that interproton distances and the characteristic chemical shifts are accounted for by the simulation. The simulation and its confrontation with the NMR data have confirmed the finding derived early from static models that the cytosine complementary to the 5' G*, C17, is mobile with respect to its adjacent bases. However, in contrast to our previous description of this mobility, which included rupture of the Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds and formation of non-Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds, the MD simulation indicated that the G*4-C17 pair moves continuously along a trajectory roughly perpendicular to the local helix axis, with retention of all three Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds. The simulation indicated the reversible formation of a hydrogen bond between the 5' oriented NH(3) ligand of platinum and the C3pG*4 phosphate group, in accord with our former prediction. Furthermore, the simulation has disclosed previously undetected BI <=> BII transitions at the G*5pA6 and A6pT7 steps, connected to formation/rupture of a hydrogen bond between the 3' oriented NH(3) ligand of platinum and the N7 atom of A6. All these conformational equilibria affect the form of the minor groove and increase the conformational flexibility at the platination site, and are thus likely to facilitate recognition by cellular proteins.

Impact of CpG methylation on structure, dynamics and solvation of cAMP DNA responsive element

Methylation of CpG motifs in DNA is involved in the control of gene expression and in several other epigenic effects. It suppresses also the immuno-stimulation properties of bacterial or viral DNAs that contain CPGS: However, effects of methylation on the DNA structure and dynamics are not clear. Here we carried out a 10 ns MD simulation, confronted to an NMR analysis, of a hexadecanucleotide with the cAMP responsive element (CRE) DNA methylated at its center: d(GAGATGAmCGTCATCTC)(2) (CREmet). Methylation does not introduce significant structure modification but reduces the dynamics. Molecular mechanics and generalized Born solvation energy calculations showed that the stiffness of CREmet arises from both a restriction of the conformational space by the bulky methyl groups and a folding of DNA around the hydrophobic methyls. The latter effect is favored when the GpA steps belonging to the TGA binding half-sites adopt the BII conformation. The inability of the methylated DNAs to interact with their protein partners-either transcription factors for gene regulation or a Toll-like receptor for immunostimulation-could result from both the obstacle created by methyls, preventing crucial interactions, and the loss of DNA flexibility, reducing its adaptability. Results are discussed in the light of NMR and crystallographic data.

Bending and adaptability to proteins of the cAMP DNA-responsive element: molecular dynamics contrasted with NMR

DNA bending is assumed to play a crucial role during recognition of the cAMP-responsive element (CRE) by transcription factors. However, diverging results have been obtained for the bending direction of the unbound double helix. The refined NMR structures present a bend directed toward the minor groove, while biochemical methods conclude that there is a bend toward the major groove. The present 10-ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of d(GAGATGACGTCATCTC)(2), which contains the octamer CRE in its center, was carried out with AMBER in explicit water and counterions. It shows that CRE is a flexible segment, although it is bent slightly toward the major groove (7 degrees -8 degrees ) on the average. The MD structure agrees with both the biochemical results and unrefined NMR data. The divergence with the NMR refined structures suggests an improper electrostatic parameterization in the refinement software. The malleability of the central CpG is certainly the major contribution to the curving of the whole CRE segment in both the unbound and bound states. Comparison with the crystal structure of CRE bound to GCN4 shows that the deformation induced by the protein is concentrated mainly on the CpG step, rendering the bound structure of CRE closer to the structure of the 12-0 tetradecanoylphorbol-beta-acetate-responsive element.

Helix morphology changes in B-DNA induced by spontaneous B(I)<==>B(II) substrate interconversion

Investigations of spontaneous, i.e. not forced, B-DNA's B(I)<==>B(II) substate transitions are carried out on the d(CGCGAATTCGCG)2 EcoRI dodecamer sequence using Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Analysis of the resulting transition processes with respect to the backbone angles reveals concerted changes not only for backbone angles epsilon, zeta, and beta, but also for the 5'-delta and 5'-chi angles. For alpha and delta inside the interconverting base step, a change is seen in short lived B(II) conformers. With respect to base morphology distinct changes are observed for buckle, propeller twist, shift, roll and twist, as well as x-displacement and tip. The base mainly involved in the changes is identified as the base preceding the interconverting phosphate. Altogether single B(I)<==>B(II) interconversions result only in local distortions represented by the larger spread of most parameters. Comparison of the atomic positional fluctuations derived from the simulation with those obtained from the static X-ray structure results in striking similarities.

Solution structure of a non-palindromic 16 base-pair DNA related to the HIV-1 kappa B site: evidence for BI-BII equilibrium inducing a global dynamic curvature of the duplex

1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy have been used together with molecular modelling to determine the fine structure of a non-palindromic 16 bp DNA containing the NF-kappa B binding site. Much emphasis has been placed upon NMR optimization of both two-dimensional 31P NMR techniques to extract structural information defining the phosphodiester backbone conformation and selective homonuclear 2D COSY experiments to determine sugar conformations. NMR data show evidence for a dynamic behaviour of steps flanking the ten base-pairs of the NF-kappa B binding site. A BI-BII equilibrium at these steps is demonstrated and two models for each extreme conformation are proposed in agreement with NMR data. In the refined BII structures, the NF-kappa B binding site exhibits an intrinsic curvature towards the major groove that is magnified by the four flanking steps in the BII conformation. Furthermore, the base-pairs are translated into the major groove. Thus, we present a novel mode of dynamic intrinsic curvature compatible with the DNA curvature observed in the X-ray structure of the p50-DNA complex.