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Meersman F, Quesada-Cabrera R, Filinchuk Y, Dmitriev V, McMillan PF. Nanomechanical properties of SSTSAA microcrystals are dominated by the inter-sheet packing. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2023; 381:20220340. [PMID: 37691469 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2022.0340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils have been associated with human disease for many decades, but it has also become apparent that they play a functional, non-disease-related role in e.g. bacteria and mammals. Moreover, they have been shown to possess interesting mechanical properties that can be harnessed for future man-made applications. Here, the mechanical behaviour of SSTSAA microcrystals has been investigated. The SSTSAA peptide organization in these microcrystals has been related to that in the corresponding amyloid fibrils. Using high-pressure X-ray diffraction experiments, the bulk modulus K, which is the reciprocal of the compressibility β, has been calculated to be 2.48 GPa. This indicates that the fibrils are tightly packed, although the packing of most native globular proteins is even better. It is shown that the value of the bulk modulus is mainly determined by the compression along the c-axis, that relates to the inter-sheet distance in the fibrils. These findings corroborate earlier data obtained by AFM and molecular dynamics simulations that showed that mechanical resistance varies according to the direction of the applied strain, which can be related to packing and hydrogen bond contributions. Pressure experiments provide complementary information to these techniques and help to acquire a full mechanical characterization of biomolecular assemblies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Exploring the length scales, timescales and chemistry of challenging materials (Part 2)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip Meersman
- Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Raúl Quesada-Cabrera
- Department of Chemistry, Christopher Ingold Laboratory, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, UK
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Studies and Natural Resources (iUNAT), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas, Spain
| | - Yaroslav Filinchuk
- Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Place L. Pasteur 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Vladimir Dmitriev
- Swiss-Norwegian Beamlines, ESRF, Boite Postale 220, 38043, Grenoble, France
| | - Paul F McMillan
- Department of Chemistry, Christopher Ingold Laboratory, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, UK
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2
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Behavior of B- and Z-DNA Crystals under High Hydrostatic Pressure. CRYSTALS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/cryst12060871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Single crystals of B-DNA and Z-DNA oligomers were analyzed under high hydrostatic pressure and their behavior was compared to the A-DNA crystals already known. The amplitude of the base compression, when compared to the A-form of DNA (0.13 Å/GPa), was higher for the Z-DNA (0.32 Å/GPa) and was the highest for the B-DNA (0.42 Å/GPa). The B-DNA crystal degraded rapidly around 400–500 MPa, while the Z-structure was more resistant, up to 1.2 GPa.
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Grünbein ML, Gorel A, Foucar L, Carbajo S, Colocho W, Gilevich S, Hartmann E, Hilpert M, Hunter M, Kloos M, Koglin JE, Lane TJ, Lewandowski J, Lutman A, Nass K, Nass Kovacs G, Roome CM, Sheppard J, Shoeman RL, Stricker M, van Driel T, Vetter S, Doak RB, Boutet S, Aquila A, Decker FJ, Barends TRM, Stan CA, Schlichting I. Effect of X-ray free-electron laser-induced shockwaves on haemoglobin microcrystals delivered in a liquid jet. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1672. [PMID: 33723266 PMCID: PMC7960726 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21819-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) enable obtaining novel insights in structural biology. The recently available MHz repetition rate XFELs allow full data sets to be collected in shorter time and can also decrease sample consumption. However, the microsecond spacing of MHz XFEL pulses raises new challenges, including possible sample damage induced by shock waves that are launched by preceding pulses in the sample-carrying jet. We explored this matter with an X-ray-pump/X-ray-probe experiment employing haemoglobin microcrystals transported via a liquid jet into the XFEL beam. Diffraction data were collected using a shock-wave-free single-pulse scheme as well as the dual-pulse pump-probe scheme. The latter, relative to the former, reveals significant degradation of crystal hit rate, diffraction resolution and data quality. Crystal structures extracted from the two data sets also differ. Since our pump-probe attributes were chosen to emulate EuXFEL operation at its 4.5 MHz maximum pulse rate, this prompts concern about such data collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Luise Grünbein
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alexander Gorel
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lutz Foucar
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sergio Carbajo
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - William Colocho
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Sasha Gilevich
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Elisabeth Hartmann
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mario Hilpert
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mark Hunter
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Marco Kloos
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.434729.f0000 0004 0590 2900Present Address: European XFEL GmbH, Schenefeld, Germany
| | - Jason E. Koglin
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA ,grid.148313.c0000 0004 0428 3079Present Address: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM USA
| | - Thomas J. Lane
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA ,grid.466493.a0000 0004 0390 1787Present Address: Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jim Lewandowski
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Alberto Lutman
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Karol Nass
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.5991.40000 0001 1090 7501Present Address: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Gabriela Nass Kovacs
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christopher M. Roome
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - John Sheppard
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Robert L. Shoeman
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Miriam Stricker
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Present Address: Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim van Driel
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Sharon Vetter
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - R. Bruce Doak
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sébastien Boutet
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Andrew Aquila
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Franz Josef Decker
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Thomas R. M. Barends
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Claudiu Andrei Stan
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Department of Physics, Rutgers University Newark, Newark, NJ USA
| | - Ilme Schlichting
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
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Chalikian TV, Macgregor RB. On empirical decomposition of volumetric data. Biophys Chem 2018; 246:8-15. [PMID: 30597448 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2018.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Volumetric characterization of proteins and their recognition events has been instrumental in providing information on the role of intra- and intermolecular interactions, including hydration, in stabilizing biomolecules. The credibility of molecular models and interpretation schemes used to rationalize experimental data are essential for the validity of microscopic insights derived from volumetric results. Current empirical schemes used to interpret volumetric data suffer from a lack of theoretical and computational substantiation. In this contribution, we take advantage age of recent MD simulations of proteins in solution coupled with Voronoi-Delaunay tessellation of simulated structures that have provided an exceptional level of structural detail on the nature of protein-water interfaces. We use these structural insights to re-evaluate empirical frameworks used for interpretation of volumetric data. An important issue in this respect is the actual dividing surface between water and protein atoms that is used in volumetric studies when the solute and solvent are treated as hard spheres enclosed within their respective van der Waals surfaces. In one development, using Voronoi tessellation of MD simulated protein-water systems the dividing surface has been defined as the points equidistant from the water and protein atoms. The interstitial void volume between the solute and the dividing surface corresponds to thermal volume envisaged by Scaled Particle Theory. In this communication, we explicitly account for the contributions of thermal volume to the partial molar volume, compressibility, and expansibility of proteins and re-examine and redefine the intrinsic and hydration volumetric contributions. We discuss the implications of our results for protein transitions and association events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tigran V Chalikian
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
| | - Robert B Macgregor
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada
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5
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Nagae T, Yamada H, Watanabe N. High-pressure protein crystal structure analysis of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase complexed with folate and NADP . Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:895-905. [PMID: 30198899 PMCID: PMC6130465 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318009397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
A high-pressure crystallographic study was conducted on Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase (ecDHFR) complexed with folate and NADP+ in crystal forms containing both the open and closed conformations of the M20 loop under high-pressure conditions of up to 800 MPa. At pressures between 270 and 500 MPa the crystal form containing the open conformation exhibited a phase transition from P21 to C2. Several structural changes in ecDHFR were observed at high pressure that were also accompanied by structural changes in the NADP+ cofactor and the hydration structure. In the crystal form with the closed conformation the M20 loop moved as the pressure changed, with accompanying conformational changes around the active site, including NADP+ and folate. These movements were consistent with the suggested hypothesis that movement of the M20 loop was necessary for ecDHFR to catalyze the reaction. In the crystal form with the open conformation the nicotinamide ring of the NADP+ cofactor undergoes a large flip as an intermediate step in the reaction, despite being in a crystalline state. Furthermore, observation of the water molecules between Arg57 and folate elucidated an early step in the substrate-binding pathway. These results demonstrate the possibility of using high-pressure protein crystallography as a method to capture high-energy substates or transient structures related to the protein reaction cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Nagae
- Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Yamada
- Venture Business Laboratory, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
| | - Nobuhisa Watanabe
- Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
- Venture Business Laboratory, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
- Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
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6
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Structural investigation of ribonuclease A conformational preferences using high pressure protein crystallography. Chem Phys 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2016.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Yamada H, Nagae T, Watanabe N. High-pressure protein crystallography of hen egg-white lysozyme. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA. SECTION D, BIOLOGICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY 2015; 71:742-53. [PMID: 25849385 PMCID: PMC4388261 DOI: 10.1107/s1399004715000292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2014] [Accepted: 01/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Crystal structures of hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) determined under pressures ranging from ambient pressure to 950 MPa are presented. From 0.1 to 710 MPa, the molecular and internal cavity volumes are monotonically compressed. However, from 710 to 890 MPa the internal cavity volume remains almost constant. Moreover, as the pressure increases to 950 MPa, the tetragonal crystal of HEWL undergoes a phase transition from P43212 to P43. Under high pressure, the crystal structure of the enzyme undergoes several local and global changes accompanied by changes in hydration structure. For example, water molecules penetrate into an internal cavity neighbouring the active site and induce an alternate conformation of one of the catalytic residues, Glu35. These phenomena have not been detected by conventional X-ray crystal structure analysis and might play an important role in the catalytic activity of HEWL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Yamada
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
| | - Takayuki Nagae
- Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
| | - Nobuhisa Watanabe
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
- Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
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8
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Lee R, Howard JAK, Probert MR, Steed JW. Structure of organic solids at low temperature and high pressure. Chem Soc Rev 2014; 43:4300-11. [DOI: 10.1039/c4cs00046c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
This tutorial review summarises the current state of the art in low temperature and high pressure crystallography of molecular organic and coordination compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachael Lee
- Department of Chemistry
- Durham University
- Durham, UK
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9
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Chavas LMG, Nagae T, Yamada H, Watanabe N, Yamada Y, Hiraki M, Matsugaki N. New methodologies at PF AR-NW12A: the implementation of high-pressure macromolecular crystallography. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2013; 20:838-842. [PMID: 24121324 PMCID: PMC3795540 DOI: 10.1107/s0909049513020797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamline AR-NW12A is evolving from its original design of high-throughput crystallography to a multi-purpose end-station. Among the various options to be implemented, great efforts were made in making available high-pressure MX (HPMX) at the beamline. High-pressure molecular biophysics is a developing field that attracts the interest of a constantly growing scientific community. A plethora of activities can benefit from high pressure, and investigations have been performed on its applicability to study multimeric complex assemblies, compressibility of proteins and their crystals, macromolecules originating from extremophiles, or even the trapping of higher-energy conformers for molecules of biological interest. Recent studies using HPMX showed structural hydrostatic-pressure-induced changes in proteins. The conformational modifications could explain the enzymatic mechanism differences between proteins of the same family, living at different environmental pressures, as well as the initial steps in the pressure-denaturation process that have been attributed to water penetration into the protein interior. To facilitate further HPMX, while allowing access to various individualized set-ups and experiments, the AR-NW12A sample environment has been revisited. Altogether, the newly added implementations will bring a fresh breath of life to AR-NW12A and allow the MX community to experiment in a larger set of fields related to structural biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tadayuki Nagae
- Venture Business Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Yamada
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
| | - Nobuhisa Watanabe
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
- Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Nagoya University, Furo-cho Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8603, Japan
| | - Yusuke Yamada
- Structural Biology Research Center, PF/IMSS/KEK, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 300-0801, Japan
| | - Masahiko Hiraki
- Structural Biology Research Center, PF/IMSS/KEK, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 300-0801, Japan
| | - Naohiro Matsugaki
- Structural Biology Research Center, PF/IMSS/KEK, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 300-0801, Japan
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Fourme R, Girard E, Akasaka K. High-pressure macromolecular crystallography and NMR: status, achievements and prospects. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2012; 22:636-42. [PMID: 22959123 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2012.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2012] [Revised: 07/08/2012] [Accepted: 07/09/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Biomacromolecules are thermodynamic entities that exist in general as an equilibrium mixture of the basic folded state and various higher-energy substates including all functionally relevant ones. Under physiological conditions, however, the higher-energy substates are usually undetectable on spectroscopy, as their equilibrium populations are extremely low. Hydrostatic pressure gives a general solution to this problem. As proteins generally have smaller partial molar volumes in higher-energy states than in the basic folded state, pressure can shift the equilibrium toward the former substantially, and allows their direct detection and analysis with X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy at elevated pressures. These techniques are now mature, and their status and selected applications are presented with future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Fourme
- Synchrotron Soleil, BP48 Saint Aubin, 91192 Gif sur Yvette, France.
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Meersman F, Cabrera RQ, McMillan PF, Dmitriev V. Structural and mechanical properties of TTR105-115 amyloid fibrils from compression experiments. Biophys J 2011; 100:193-7. [PMID: 21190671 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2010.11.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2010] [Revised: 11/09/2010] [Accepted: 11/29/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils, originally associated with neurodegenerative diseases, are now recognized to have interesting mechanical properties. By using synchrotron x-ray diffraction at high pressure in a diamond anvil cell we determined the bulk modulus of TTR105-115 amyloid fibrils in water and in silicone oil to be 2.6 and 8.1 GPa, respectively. The compression characteristics of the fibrils are quite different in the two media, revealing the presence of cavities along the axis of the fibrils, but not between the β-sheets, which are separated by a dry interface as in a steric zipper motif. Our results emphasize the importance of peptide packing in determining the structural and mechanical properties of amyloid fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip Meersman
- Department of Chemistry, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, UK.
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Ascone I, Savino C, Kahn R, Fourme R. Flexibility of the Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase structure investigated at 0.57 GPa. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D: BIOLOGICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY 2010; 66:654-63. [DOI: 10.1107/s0907444910012321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2010] [Accepted: 04/01/2010] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The 2 Å resolution crystal structure of bovine erythrocyte Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) has been determined by X-ray diffraction at high pressure (0.57 GPa) and room temperature. At 0.57 GPa the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures are similar to other previously determined bovine erythrocyte CuZnSOD structures. Nevertheless, pressure has a localized impact on the atomic coordinates of Cαatoms and on side chains. The compression of the crystal and of the protein backbone is anisotropic. This anisotropy is discussed, taking into account intermolecular contacts and protein conformation. Pressure perturbation highlights the more flexible zones in the protein such as the electrostatic loop. At 0.57 GPa, a global shift of the dimetallic sites in both subunits and changes in the oxidation state of Cu were observed. The flexibility of the electrostatic loop may be useful for the interaction of different metal carriers in the copper-uptake process, whereas the flexibility of the metal sites involved in the activity of the protein could contribute to explaining the ubiquitous character of CuZnSODs, which are found in organisms living in very different conditions, including the deep-sea environment. This work illustrates the potential of combining X-ray crystallography with high pressure to promote and stabilize higher energy conformational substates.
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