1
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Drago VN, Devos JM, Blakeley MP, Forsyth VT, Parks JM, Kovalevsky A, Mueser TC. Neutron diffraction from a microgravity-grown crystal reveals the active site hydrogens of the internal aldimine form of tryptophan synthase. CELL REPORTS. PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2024; 5:101827. [PMID: 38645802 PMCID: PMC11027755 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.101827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the biologically active form of vitamin B6, is an essential cofactor in many biosynthetic pathways. The emergence of PLP-dependent enzymes as drug targets and biocatalysts, such as tryptophan synthase (TS), has underlined the demand to understand PLP-dependent catalysis and reaction specificity. The ability of neutron diffraction to resolve the positions of hydrogen atoms makes it an ideal technique to understand how the electrostatic environment and selective protonation of PLP regulates PLP-dependent activities. Facilitated by microgravity crystallization of TS with the Toledo Crystallization Box, we report the 2.1 Å joint X-ray/neutron (XN) structure of TS with PLP in the internal aldimine form. Positions of hydrogens were directly determined in both the α- and β-active sites, including PLP cofactor. The joint XN structure thus provides insight into the selective protonation of the internal aldimine and the electrostatic environment of TS necessary to understand the overall catalytic mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria N. Drago
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Juliette M. Devos
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - V. Trevor Forsyth
- Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, and LINXS Institute for Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science, Lund, Sweden
| | - Jerry M. Parks
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Andrey Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Timothy C. Mueser
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
- Lead contact
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2
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Helliwell JR. Observations on Laue diffraction within synchrotron radiation and neutron macromolecular crystallography research and developments. STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS (MELVILLE, N.Y.) 2023; 10:061301. [PMID: 38107246 PMCID: PMC10725304 DOI: 10.1063/4.0000225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
A seminal contribution in the domain of physiologically relevant biological structure and function determination was by Keith Moffat, of Cornell and latterly of the University of Chicago proposing that synchrotrons should offer the option of a Laue method data collection mode. I enthusiastically joined in supporting this initiative. This proposal needed detailed methods development though; theoretical, experimental and software development. This work was added to the broad research and development program of synchrotron radiation at the UK's SRS. This whole program led to knowledge transfer from the UK's SRS to the ESRF as well as for neutron Laue protein crystallography to the reactor spallation sources and later to spallation neutron sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R. Helliwell
- School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
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3
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Thompson AL, White NG. Hydrogen atoms in supramolecular chemistry: a structural perspective. Where are they, and why does it matter? Chem Soc Rev 2023; 52:6254-6269. [PMID: 37599586 DOI: 10.1039/d3cs00516j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogen bonding interactions are ubiquitous across the biochemical and chemical sciences, and are of particular interest to supramolecular chemists. They have been used to assemble hydrogen bonded polymers, cages and frameworks, and are the functional motif in many host-guest systems. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies are often used as a key support for proposed structures, although this presents challenges as hydrogen atoms interact only weakly with X-rays. In this Tutorial Review, we discuss the information that can be gleaned about hydrogen bonding interactions through crystallographic experiments, key limitations of the data, and emerging techniques to overcome these limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber L Thompson
- Chemical Crystallography, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK.
| | - Nicholas G White
- Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601, ACT, Australia.
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4
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Drago VN, Dajnowicz S, Parks JM, Blakeley MP, Keen DA, Coquelle N, Weiss KL, Gerlits O, Kovalevsky A, Mueser TC. An N⋯H⋯N low-barrier hydrogen bond preorganizes the catalytic site of aspartate aminotransferase to facilitate the second half-reaction. Chem Sci 2022; 13:10057-10065. [PMID: 36128223 PMCID: PMC9430417 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc02285k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes have been extensively studied for their ability to fine-tune PLP cofactor electronics to promote a wide array of chemistries. Neutron crystallography offers a straightforward approach to studying the electronic states of PLP and the electrostatics of enzyme active sites, responsible for the reaction specificities, by enabling direct visualization of hydrogen atom positions. Here we report a room-temperature joint X-ray/neutron structure of aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) with pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate (PMP), the cofactor product of the first half reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. Between PMP NSB and catalytic Lys258 Nζ amino groups an equally shared deuterium is observed in an apparent low-barrier hydrogen bond (LBHB). Density functional theory calculations were performed to provide further evidence of this LBHB interaction. The structural arrangement and the juxtaposition of PMP and Lys258, facilitated by the LBHB, suggests active site preorganization for the incoming ketoacid substrate that initiates the second half-reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria N Drago
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo Toledo OH 43606 USA
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - Steven Dajnowicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo Toledo OH 43606 USA
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - Jerry M Parks
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin 71 Avenue des Martyrs 38000 Grenoble France
| | - David A Keen
- ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus Didcot OX11 0QX UK
| | - Nicolas Coquelle
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin 71 Avenue des Martyrs 38000 Grenoble France
| | - Kevin L Weiss
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - Oksana Gerlits
- Department of Natural Sciences, Tennessee Wesleyan University Athens TN 37303 USA
| | - Andrey Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - Timothy C Mueser
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo Toledo OH 43606 USA
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5
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Borgstahl GEO, O'Dell WB, Egli M, Kern JF, Kovalevsky A, Lin JYY, Myles D, Wilson MA, Zhang W, Zwart P, Coates L. EWALD: A macromolecular diffractometer for the second target station. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2022; 93:064103. [PMID: 35778015 DOI: 10.1063/5.0090810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Revealing the positions of all the atoms in large macromolecules is powerful but only possible with neutron macromolecular crystallography (NMC). Neutrons provide a sensitive and gentle probe for the direct detection of protonation states at near-physiological temperatures and clean of artifacts caused by x rays or electrons. Currently, NMC use is restricted by the requirement for large crystal volumes even at state-of-the-art instruments such as the macromolecular neutron diffractometer at the Spallation Neutron Source. EWALD's design will break the crystal volume barrier and, thus, open the door for new types of experiments, the study of grand challenge systems, and the more routine use of NMC in biology. EWALD is a single crystal diffractometer capable of collecting data from macromolecular crystals on orders of magnitude smaller than what is currently feasible. The construction of EWALD at the Second Target Station will cause a revolution in NMC by enabling key discoveries in the biological, biomedical, and bioenergy sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria E O Borgstahl
- Eppley Institute for Cancer and Allied Diseases, 986805 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6805, USA
| | - William B O'Dell
- Biomolecular Measurement Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA and Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0146, USA
| | - Jan F Kern
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Andrey Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Jiao Y Y Lin
- Second Target Station, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Dean Myles
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Mark A Wilson
- Department of Biochemistry and the Redox Biology Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA
| | - Wen Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 635 Barnhill Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, USA
| | - Petrus Zwart
- Center for Advanced Mathematics in Energy Research Applications, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Leighton Coates
- Second Target Station, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
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6
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Chatake T, Tanaka I, Kusaka K, Fujiwara S. Protonation states of hen egg-white lysozyme observed using D/H contrast neutron crystallography. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2022; 78:770-778. [DOI: 10.1107/s2059798322004521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) is an enzymatic protein with two acidic amino acids, Glu35 and Asp52, in its active site. Glu35 acts as a proton donor to the substrate and Asp52 interacts with the positively charged substrate, suggesting different protonation states of these residues. However, neutron crystallographic studies thus far have not provided a consistent picture of the protonation states of these residues. Only one study succeeded in observing the active protonation states of Glu35 and Asp52 in the triclinic crystal system. However, their active states in the most widely studied tetragonal crystal system are still unknown. The application of the D/H contrast technique in neutron crystallography improves the ability to locate exchangeable D/H atoms in proteins. In the present study, D2O and H2O solvent crystals were prepared. Each neutron data set was collected for only five days by combining a time-of-flight diffractometer (iBIX) and the spallation neutron source at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex. The D/H contrast map provided better visualization of the D/H atoms in HEWL than the conventional neutron scattering length density map. The neutron D/H contrast map demonstrated the alternative protonation of the OE1 and OE2 atoms in the carboxyl group of Glu35. This alternative protonation occurs in the absence of a substrate, where high selectivity of the protonation site does not occur. In this case, only the OE1—HE1 bond attacks the substrate in an equilibrium between OE1—HE1 and OE2—HE2, or the H+ ion of the OE2—HE2 bond moves to the OE1 atom just before or after substrate binding to initiate the catalytic reaction. In contrast, the carboxyl group of Asp52 is not protonated. Protonation of the carboxyl group was not observed for other Asp and Glu residues. These results are consistent with results from NMR spectroscopy and explain the protonation states at the active site in the apo form of HEWL.
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7
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Drago VN, Devos JM, Blakeley MP, Forsyth VT, Kovalevsky AY, Schall CA, Mueser TC. Microgravity crystallization of perdeuterated tryptophan synthase for neutron diffraction. NPJ Microgravity 2022; 8:13. [PMID: 35508463 PMCID: PMC9068912 DOI: 10.1038/s41526-022-00199-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Biologically active vitamin B6-derivative pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) is an essential cofactor in amino acid metabolic pathways. PLP-dependent enzymes catalyze a multitude of chemical reactions but, how reaction diversity of PLP-dependent enzymes is achieved is still not well understood. Such comprehension requires atomic-level structural studies of PLP-dependent enzymes. Neutron diffraction affords the ability to directly observe hydrogen positions and therefore assign protonation states to the PLP cofactor and key active site residues. The low fluxes of neutron beamlines require large crystals (≥0.5 mm3). Tryptophan synthase (TS), a Fold Type II PLP-dependent enzyme, crystallizes in unit gravity with inclusions and high mosaicity, resulting in poor diffraction. Microgravity offers the opportunity to grow large, well-ordered crystals by reducing gravity-driven convection currents that impede crystal growth. We developed the Toledo Crystallization Box (TCB), a membrane-barrier capillary-dialysis device, to grow neutron diffraction-quality crystals of perdeuterated TS in microgravity. Here, we present the design of the TCB and its implementation on Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) supported International Space Station (ISS) Missions Protein Crystal Growth (PCG)-8 and PCG-15. The TCB demonstrated the ability to improve X-ray diffraction and mosaicity on PCG-8. In comparison to ground control crystals of the same size, microgravity-grown crystals from PCG-15 produced higher quality neutron diffraction data. Neutron diffraction data to a resolution of 2.1 Å has been collected using microgravity-grown perdeuterated TS crystals from PCG-15.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria N Drago
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA
| | - Juliette M Devos
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000, Grenoble, France
- Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - V Trevor Forsyth
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000, Grenoble, France
- Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), 38000, Grenoble, France
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
- Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, and LINXS Institute for Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science, Lund, Sweden
| | - Andrey Y Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
| | - Constance A Schall
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA
| | - Timothy C Mueser
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA.
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8
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Neutron crystallography reveals mechanisms used by Pseudomonas aeruginosa for host-cell binding. Nat Commun 2022; 13:194. [PMID: 35017516 PMCID: PMC8752737 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27871-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major cause of nosocomial infections, uses carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) as part of its binding to host cells. The fucose-binding lectin, LecB, displays a unique carbohydrate-binding site that incorporates two closely located calcium ions bridging between the ligand and protein, providing specificity and unusually high affinity. Here, we investigate the mechanisms involved in binding based on neutron crystallography studies of a fully deuterated LecB/fucose/calcium complex. The neutron structure, which includes the positions of all the hydrogen atoms, reveals that the high affinity of binding may be related to the occurrence of a low-barrier hydrogen bond induced by the proximity of the two calcium ions, the presence of coordination rings between the sugar, calcium and LecB, and the dynamic behaviour of bridging water molecules at room temperature. These key structural details may assist in the design of anti-adhesive compounds to combat multi-resistance bacterial infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs lectins to bind to its host cells, and is known to be the major cause of lung infections. Lectin B (LecB) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa binds specifically to galactose and fucose and is important for pathogenicity, adhesion and biofilm formation. In this work, the neutron crystal structure (1.9 Å) of the deuterated LecB/Ca/fucose complex is reported. The structure, in combination with perdeuteration of the ligand and the receptor allowed the observation of hydrogen atoms, protonation states and hydrogen bonds involved in the interaction between pathogenic bacteria and host cells. Thus the study provides structural insights into the mechanism of high affinity binding of LecB to its targets.
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9
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Kono F, Kurihara K, Tamada T. Current status of neutron crystallography in structural biology. Biophys Physicobiol 2022; 19:1-10. [PMID: 35666700 PMCID: PMC9135615 DOI: 10.2142/biophysico.bppb-v19.0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen atoms and hydration water molecules in proteins are essential for many biochemical processes, especially enzyme catalysis. Neutron crystallography enables direct observation of hydrogen atoms, and reveals molecular recognition through hydrogen bonding and catalytic reactions involving proton-coupled electron transfer. The use of neutron crystallography is still limited for proteins, but its popularity is increasing owing to an increase in the number of diffractometers for structural biology at neutron facilities and advances in sample preparation. According to the characteristics of the neutrons, monochromatic or quasi-Laue methods and the time-of-flight method are used in nuclear reactors and pulsed spallation sources, respectively, to collect diffraction data. Growing large crystals is an inevitable problem in neutron crystallography for structural biology, but sample deuteration, especially protein perdeuteration, is effective in reducing background levels, which shortens data collection time and decreases the crystal size required. This review also introduces our recent neutron structure analyses of copper amine oxidase and copper-containing nitrite reductase. The neutron structure of copper amine oxidase gives detailed information on the protonation state of dissociable groups, such as the quinone cofactor, which are critical for catalytic reactions. Electron transfer via a hydrogen-bond jump and a hydroxide ion ligation in copper-containing nitrite reductase are clarified, and these observations are consistent with the results from the quantum chemical calculations. This review article is an extended version of the Japanese article, Elucidation of Enzymatic Reaction Mechanism by Neutron Crystallography, published in SEIBUTSU-BUTSURI Vol. 61, p.216–222 (2021).
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumiaki Kono
- Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology
| | - Kazuo Kurihara
- Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology
| | - Taro Tamada
- Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology
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10
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Gerlits O, Blakeley MP, Keen DA, Radić Z, Kovalevsky A. Room temperature crystallography of human acetylcholinesterase bound to a substrate analogue 4K-TMA: Towards a neutron structure. Curr Res Struct Biol 2021; 3:206-215. [PMID: 34541552 PMCID: PMC8435639 DOI: 10.1016/j.crstbi.2021.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) catalyzes hydrolysis of acetylcholine thereby terminating cholinergic nerve impulses for efficient neurotransmission. Human AChE (hAChE) is a target of nerve agent and pesticide organophosphorus compounds that covalently attach to the catalytic Ser203 residue. Reactivation of inhibited hAChE can be achieved with nucleophilic antidotes, such as oximes. Understanding structural and electrostatic (i.e. protonation states) determinants of the catalytic and reactivation processes is crucial to improve design of oxime reactivators. Here we report X-ray structures of hAChE conjugated with a reversible covalent inhibitor 4K-TMA (4K-TMA:hAChE) at 2.8 Å resolution and of 4K-TMA:hAChE conjugate with oxime reactivator methoxime, MMB4 (4K-TMA:hAChE:MMB4) at 2.6 Å resolution, both at physiologically relevant room temperature, as well as cryo-crystallographic structure of 4K-TMA:hAChE at 2.4 Å resolution. 4K-TMA acts as a substrate analogue reacting with the hydroxyl of Ser203 and generating a reversible tetrahedral hemiketal intermediate that closely resembles the first tetrahedral intermediate state during hAChE-catalyzed acetylcholine hydrolysis. Structural comparisons of room temperature with cryo-crystallographic structures of 4K-TMA:hAChE and published mAChE complexes with 4K-TMA, as well as the effect of MMB4 binding to the peripheral anionic site (PAS) of the 4K-TMA:hAChE complex, revealed only discrete, minor differences. The active center geometry of AChE, already highly evolved for the efficient catalysis, was thus indicative of only minor conformational adjustments to accommodate the tetrahedral intermediate in the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh). To map protonation states in the hAChE active site gorge we collected 3.5 Å neutron diffraction data paving the way for obtaining higher resolution datasets that will be needed to determine locations of individual hydrogen atoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oksana Gerlits
- Department of Natural Sciences, Tennessee Wesleyan University, Athens, TN, 37303, USA
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - David A. Keen
- ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - Zoran Radić
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0751, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - Andrey Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
- Corresponding author.
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11
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Kelpšas V, Caldararu O, Blakeley MP, Coquelle N, Wierenga RK, Ryde U, von Wachenfeldt C, Oksanen E. Neutron structures of Leishmania mexicana triosephosphate isomerase in complex with reaction-intermediate mimics shed light on the proton-shuttling steps. IUCRJ 2021; 8:633-643. [PMID: 34258011 PMCID: PMC8256706 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252521004619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) is a key enzyme in glycolysis that catalyses the interconversion of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and dihydroxy-acetone phosphate. This simple reaction involves the shuttling of protons mediated by protolysable side chains. The catalytic power of TIM is thought to stem from its ability to facilitate the deprotonation of a carbon next to a carbonyl group to generate an enediolate intermediate. The enediolate intermediate is believed to be mimicked by the inhibitor 2-phosphoglycolate (PGA) and the subsequent enediol intermediate by phosphoglycolohydroxamate (PGH). Here, neutron structures of Leishmania mexicana TIM have been determined with both inhibitors, and joint neutron/X-ray refinement followed by quantum refinement has been performed. The structures show that in the PGA complex the postulated general base Glu167 is protonated, while in the PGH complex it remains deprotonated. The deuteron is clearly localized on Glu167 in the PGA-TIM structure, suggesting an asymmetric hydrogen bond instead of a low-barrier hydrogen bond. The full picture of the active-site protonation states allowed an investigation of the reaction mechanism using density-functional theory calculations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinardas Kelpšas
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Octav Caldararu
- Department of Chemistry, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble, France
| | - Nicolas Coquelle
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble, France
| | - Rikkert K. Wierenga
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran katu 1, 90570 Oulu, Finland
| | - Ulf Ryde
- Department of Chemistry, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Esko Oksanen
- European Spallation Source Consortium ESS ERIC, Odarslövsvägen 113, 224 84 Lund, Sweden
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12
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Kono F, Tamada T. Neutron crystallography for the elucidation of enzyme catalysis. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2021; 71:36-42. [PMID: 34214927 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2021.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Hydrogen atoms and hydration water molecules in proteins are indispensable for many biochemical processes, especially enzymatic catalysis. The locations of hydrogen atoms in proteins are usually predicted based on X-ray structures, but it is still very difficult to know the ionization states of the catalytic residues, the hydration structure of the protein, and the characteristics of hydrogen-bonding interactions. Neutron crystallography allows the direct observation of hydrogen atoms that play crucial roles in molecular recognition and the catalytic reactions of enzymes. In this review, we present the current status of neutron crystallography in structural biology and recent neutron structural analyses of three enzymes: ascorbate peroxidase, the main protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and copper-containing nitrite reductase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumiaki Kono
- Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 2-4 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan
| | - Taro Tamada
- Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 2-4 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan.
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13
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Gajdos L, Blakeley MP, Kumar A, Wimmerová M, Haertlein M, Forsyth VT, Imberty A, Devos JM. Visualization of hydrogen atoms in a perdeuterated lectin-fucose complex reveals key details of protein-carbohydrate interactions. Structure 2021; 29:1003-1013.e4. [PMID: 33765407 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2021.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Carbohydrate-binding proteins from pathogenic bacteria and fungi have been shown to be implicated in various pathological processes, where they interact with glycans present on the surface of the host cells. These interactions are part of the initial processes of infection of the host and are very important to study at the atomic level. Here, we report the room temperature neutron structures of PLL lectin from Photorhabdus laumondii in its apo form and in complex with deuterated L-fucose, which is, to our knowledge, the first neutron structure of a carbohydrate-binding protein in complex with a fully deuterated carbohydrate ligand. A detailed structural analysis of the lectin-carbohydrate interactions provides information on the hydrogen bond network, the role of water molecules, and the extent of the CH-π stacking interactions between fucose and the aromatic amino acids in the binding site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Gajdos
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France; Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), 38000 Grenoble, France; Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CERMAV, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Atul Kumar
- CEITEC, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Wimmerová
- CEITEC, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Haertlein
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France; Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - V Trevor Forsyth
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France; Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), 38000 Grenoble, France; Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, ST5 5BG Staffordshire, UK
| | - Anne Imberty
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CERMAV, 38000 Grenoble, France.
| | - Juliette M Devos
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France; Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), 38000 Grenoble, France.
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14
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Dennison AJC, Devishvili A, Gutfreund P, Cubitt R, Vorobiev A, Zabel H, Wolff M. Graphite intercalation compound (GIC) crystal monochromators for cold neutron instruments: Characterization of KC 24 by time-of-flight neutron diffraction. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2021; 92:023306. [PMID: 33648099 DOI: 10.1063/5.0041248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) are a group of layered materials that are suitable as monochromators for cold neutrons. KC24 is a particularly interesting compound in this regard as it features a large c-axis lattice spacing of 8.74 Å, high reflectivity, and the possibility to produce large crystals with mosaicity that matches the beam divergence of cold neutron guides. GICs can be synthesized with different levels of intercalation, known as the stage of the compounds. Each stage displays a specific d-spacing. Impure GIC-monochromators containing multiple stages produce mixing of neutron wavelengths, which complicates data analysis on neutron reflectometers. We discuss the implications of GIC crystal purity and stage contamination for neutron reflectometry and show how GIC crystals can be characterized by time-of-flight neutron diffraction providing an efficient and quantifiable measure of the reflected wavelength spectrum. This allows taking into account multiple wavelength contaminations and ascertains the robustness of reflectometry measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J C Dennison
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anton Devishvili
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Robert Cubitt
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 Rue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - Alexei Vorobiev
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hartmut Zabel
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Max Wolff
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
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15
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McGregor L, Földes T, Bui S, Moulin M, Coquelle N, Blakeley MP, Rosta E, Steiner RA. Joint neutron/X-ray crystal structure of a mechanistically relevant complex of perdeuterated urate oxidase and simulations provide insight into the hydration step of catalysis. IUCRJ 2021; 8:46-59. [PMID: 33520242 PMCID: PMC7792999 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252520013615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Cofactor-independent urate oxidase (UOX) is an ∼137 kDa tetrameric enzyme essential for uric acid (UA) catabolism in many organisms. UA is first oxidized by O2 to de-hydro-isourate (DHU) via a peroxo intermediate. DHU then undergoes hydration to 5-hy-droxy-isourate (5HIU). At different stages of the reaction both catalytic O2 and water occupy the 'peroxo hole' above the organic substrate. Here, high-resolution neutron/X-ray crystallographic analysis at room temperature has been integrated with molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the hydration step of the reaction. The joint neutron/X-ray structure of perdeuterated Aspergillus flavus UOX in complex with its 8-azaxanthine (8AZA) inhibitor shows that the catalytic water molecule (W1) is present in the peroxo hole as neutral H2O, oriented at 45° with respect to the ligand. It is stabilized by Thr57 and Asn254 on different UOX protomers as well as by an O-H⋯π interaction with 8AZA. The active site Lys10-Thr57 dyad features a charged Lys10-NH3 + side chain engaged in a strong hydrogen bond with Thr57OG1, while the Thr57OG1-HG1 bond is rotationally dynamic and oriented toward the π system of the ligand, on average. Our analysis offers support for a mechanism in which W1 performs a nucleophilic attack on DHUC5 with Thr57HG1 central to a Lys10-assisted proton-relay system. Room-temperature crystallography and simulations also reveal conformational heterogeneity for Asn254 that modulates W1 stability in the peroxo hole. This is proposed to be an active mechanism to facilitate W1/O2 exchange during catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay McGregor
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King’s College London, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Tamás Földes
- Department of Chemistry, King’s College London, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Soi Bui
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King’s College London, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom
| | - Martine Moulin
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Nicolas Coquelle
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Edina Rosta
- Department of Chemistry, King’s College London, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Roberto A. Steiner
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King’s College London, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom
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16
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Abstract
Neutron and X-ray crystallography are complementary to each other. While X-ray scattering is directly proportional to the number of electrons of an atom, neutrons interact with the atomic nuclei themselves. Neutron crystallography therefore provides an excellent alternative in determining the positions of hydrogens in a biological molecule. In particular, since highly polarized hydrogen atoms (H+) do not have electrons, they cannot be observed by X-rays. Neutron crystallography has its own limitations, mainly due to inherent low flux of neutrons sources, and as a consequence, the need for much larger crystals and for different data collection and analysis strategies. These technical challenges can however be overcome to yield crucial structural insights about protonation states in enzyme catalysis, ligand recognition, as well as the presence of unusual hydrogen bonds in proteins.
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17
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Kumar M, Mandal K, Blakeley MP, Wymore T, Kent SBH, Louis JM, Das A, Kovalevsky A. Visualizing Tetrahedral Oxyanion Bound in HIV-1 Protease Using Neutrons: Implications for the Catalytic Mechanism and Drug Design. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:11605-11617. [PMID: 32478251 PMCID: PMC7254801 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c00835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
HIV-1 protease is indispensable for virus propagation and an important therapeutic target for antiviral inhibitors to treat AIDS. As such inhibitors are transition-state mimics, a detailed understanding of the enzyme mechanism is crucial for the development of better anti-HIV drugs. Here, we used room-temperature joint X-ray/neutron crystallography to directly visualize hydrogen atoms and map hydrogen bonding interactions in a protease complex with peptidomimetic inhibitor KVS-1 containing a reactive nonhydrolyzable ketomethylene isostere, which, upon reacting with the catalytic water molecule, is converted into a tetrahedral intermediate state, KVS-1TI. We unambiguously determined that the resulting tetrahedral intermediate is an oxyanion, rather than the gem-diol, and both catalytic aspartic acid residues are protonated. The oxyanion tetrahedral intermediate appears to be unstable, even though the negative charge on the oxyanion is delocalized through a strong n → π* hyperconjugative interaction into the nearby peptidic carbonyl group of the inhibitor. To better understand the influence of the ketomethylene isostere as a protease inhibitor, we have also examined the protease structure and binding affinity with keto-darunavir (keto-DRV), which similar to KVS-1 includes the ketomethylene isostere. We show that keto-DRV is a significantly less potent protease inhibitor than DRV. These findings shed light on the reaction mechanism of peptide hydrolysis catalyzed by HIV-1 protease and provide valuable insights into further improvements in the design of protease inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukesh Kumar
- Protein Crystallography
Section, Radiation Biology and Health Sciences Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Kalyaneswar Mandal
- Departments of Chemistry, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue−Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Troy Wymore
- Department of Chemistry, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Stephen B. H. Kent
- Departments of Chemistry, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - John M. Louis
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0520, United States
| | - Amit Das
- Protein Crystallography
Section, Radiation Biology and Health Sciences Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Andrey Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering
Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, United States
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18
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Kwon H, Schrader TE, Ostermann A, Blakeley MP, Raven EL, Moody PCE. Heme peroxidase-Trapping intermediates by cryo neutron crystallography. Methods Enzymol 2020; 634:379-389. [PMID: 32093841 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2020.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
By combining the normal practice for X-ray crystallography of collecting diffraction data at 100K with neutron crystallography the structures of cryo-trapped enzyme intermediates have been determined, revealing the positions of the previously hidden hydrogens that are essential to a better understanding of the involved mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Kwon
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
| | - Tobias E Schrader
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Garching, Germany
| | - Andreas Ostermann
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany
| | | | - Emma L Raven
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Peter C E Moody
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
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19
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Abstract
This chapter introduces this topic for the whole volume. It is not a review, rather it presents the basics, the key considerations and forward references to the other chapters. This starts by setting the scene of principles and overall strategy, moves onto planning an experiment including its feasibility and then outlines practicalities with options for the experiment. The crystal structure that results will lead to publication and associated with it, Protein Data Bank deposition.
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20
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Kovalevsky A, Gerlits O, Beltran K, Weiss KL, Keen DA, Blakeley MP, Louis JM, Weber IT. Proton transfer and drug binding details revealed in neutron diffraction studies of wild-type and drug resistant HIV-1 protease. Methods Enzymol 2020; 634:257-279. [PMID: 32093836 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
HIV-1 protease is an essential therapeutic target for the design and development of antiviral inhibitors to treat AIDS. We used room temperature neutron crystallography to accurately determine hydrogen atom positions in several protease complexes with clinical drugs, amprenavir and darunavir. Hydrogen bonding interactions were carefully mapped to provide an unprecedented picture of drug binding to the protease target. We demonstrate that hydrogen atom positions within the enzyme catalytic site can be altered by introducing drug resistant mutations and by protonating surface residues that trigger proton transfer reactions between the catalytic Asp residues and the hydroxyl group of darunavir. When protein perdeuteration is not feasible, we validate the use of initial H/D exchange with unfolded protein and partial deuteration in pure D2O with hydrogenous glycerol to maximize deuterium incorporation into the protein, with no detrimental effects on the growth of quality crystals suitable for neutron diffraction experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States.
| | - Oksana Gerlits
- Department of Natural Sciences, Tennessee Wesleyan University, Athens, TN, United States
| | - Kaira Beltran
- Department of Natural Sciences, Tennessee Wesleyan University, Athens, TN, United States
| | - Kevin L Weiss
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - David A Keen
- ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, United Kingdom
| | | | - John M Louis
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Irene T Weber
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States; Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
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21
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Sullivan B, Archibald R, Azadmanesh J, Vandavasi VG, Langan PS, Coates L, Lynch V, Langan P. BraggNet: integrating Bragg peaks using neural networks. J Appl Crystallogr 2019; 52:854-863. [PMID: 31396028 PMCID: PMC6662992 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576719008665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Neutron crystallography offers enormous potential to complement structures from X-ray crystallography by clarifying the positions of low-Z elements, namely hydrogen. Macromolecular neutron crystallography, however, remains limited, in part owing to the challenge of integrating peak shapes from pulsed-source experiments. To advance existing software, this article demonstrates the use of machine learning to refine peak locations, predict peak shapes and yield more accurate integrated intensities when applied to whole data sets from a protein crystal. The artificial neural network, based on the U-Net architecture commonly used for image segmentation, is trained using about 100 000 simulated training peaks derived from strong peaks. After 100 training epochs (a round of training over the whole data set broken into smaller batches), training converges and achieves a Dice coefficient of around 65%, in contrast to just 15% for negative control data sets. Integrating whole peak sets using the neural network yields improved intensity statistics compared with other integration methods, including k-nearest neighbours. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that neural networks can learn peak shapes and be used to integrate Bragg peaks. It is expected that integration using neural networks can be further developed to increase the quality of neutron, electron and X-ray crystallography data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan Sullivan
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Rick Archibald
- Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Jahaun Azadmanesh
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986805 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985870 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA
| | - Venu Gopal Vandavasi
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Patricia S. Langan
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Leighton Coates
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Vickie Lynch
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Paul Langan
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
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22
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Halsted TP, Yamashita K, Gopalasingam CC, Shenoy RT, Hirata K, Ago H, Ueno G, Blakeley MP, Eady RR, Antonyuk SV, Yamamoto M, Hasnain SS. Catalytically important damage-free structures of a copper nitrite reductase obtained by femtosecond X-ray laser and room-temperature neutron crystallography. IUCRJ 2019; 6:761-772. [PMID: 31316819 PMCID: PMC6608623 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519008285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Copper-containing nitrite reductases (CuNiRs) that convert NO2 - to NO via a CuCAT-His-Cys-CuET proton-coupled redox system are of central importance in nitrogen-based energy metabolism. These metalloenzymes, like all redox enzymes, are very susceptible to radiation damage from the intense synchrotron-radiation X-rays that are used to obtain structures at high resolution. Understanding the chemistry that underpins the enzyme mechanisms in these systems requires resolutions of better than 2 Å. Here, for the first time, the damage-free structure of the resting state of one of the most studied CuNiRs was obtained by combining X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) and neutron crystallography. This represents the first direct comparison of neutron and XFEL structural data for any protein. In addition, damage-free structures of the reduced and nitrite-bound forms have been obtained to high resolution from cryogenically maintained crystals by XFEL crystallography. It is demonstrated that AspCAT and HisCAT are deprotonated in the resting state of CuNiRs at pH values close to the optimum for activity. A bridging neutral water (D2O) is positioned with one deuteron directed towards AspCAT Oδ1 and one towards HisCAT N∊2. The catalytic T2Cu-ligated water (W1) can clearly be modelled as a neutral D2O molecule as opposed to D3O+ or OD-, which have previously been suggested as possible alternatives. The bridging water restricts the movement of the unprotonated AspCAT and is too distant to form a hydrogen bond to the O atom of the bound nitrite that interacts with AspCAT. Upon the binding of NO2 - a proton is transferred from the bridging water to the Oδ2 atom of AspCAT, prompting electron transfer from T1Cu to T2Cu and reducing the catalytic redox centre. This triggers the transfer of a proton from AspCAT to the bound nitrite, enabling the reaction to proceed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas P. Halsted
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Keitaro Yamashita
- SR Life Science Instrumentation Unit, RIKEN SPring-8 Centre, Sayo 679-5148, Japan
| | - Chai C. Gopalasingam
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Rajesh T. Shenoy
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Kunio Hirata
- SR Life Science Instrumentation Unit, RIKEN SPring-8 Centre, Sayo 679-5148, Japan
| | - Hideo Ago
- SR Life Science Instrumentation Unit, RIKEN SPring-8 Centre, Sayo 679-5148, Japan
| | - Go Ueno
- SR Life Science Instrumentation Unit, RIKEN SPring-8 Centre, Sayo 679-5148, Japan
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Robert R. Eady
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Svetlana V. Antonyuk
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Masaki Yamamoto
- SR Life Science Instrumentation Unit, RIKEN SPring-8 Centre, Sayo 679-5148, Japan
| | - S. Samar Hasnain
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
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23
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Kelpšas V, Lafumat B, Blakeley MP, Coquelle N, Oksanen E, von Wachenfeldt C. Perdeuteration, large crystal growth and neutron data collection of Leishmania mexicana triose-phosphate isomerase E65Q variant. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2019; 75:260-269. [PMID: 30950827 PMCID: PMC6450519 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x19001882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM) catalyses the interconversion of dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. Two catalytic mechanisms have been proposed based on two reaction-intermediate analogues, 2-phosphoglycolate (2PG) and phosphoglycolohydroxamate (PGH), that have been used as mimics of the cis-enediol(ate) intermediate in several studies of TIM. The protonation states that are critical for the mechanistic interpretation of these structures are generally not visible in the X-ray structures. To resolve these questions, it is necessary to determine the hydrogen positions using neutron crystallography. Neutron crystallography requires large crystals and benefits from replacing all hydrogens with deuterium. Leishmania mexicana triose-phosphate isomerase was therefore perdeuterated and large crystals with 2PG and PGH were produced. Neutron diffraction data collected from two crystals with different volumes highlighted the importance of crystal volume, as smaller crystals required longer exposures and resulted in overall worse statistics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinardas Kelpšas
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Bénédicte Lafumat
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
- European Spallation Source ESS ERIC, Odarslövsvägen 113, 224 84 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Nicolas Coquelle
- Insitut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble, France
| | - Esko Oksanen
- European Spallation Source ESS ERIC, Odarslövsvägen 113, 224 84 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 39A, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
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24
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Caldararu O, Manzoni F, Oksanen E, Logan DT, Ryde U. Refinement of protein structures using a combination of quantum-mechanical calculations with neutron and X-ray crystallographic data. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2019; 75:368-380. [PMID: 30988254 PMCID: PMC6465982 DOI: 10.1107/s205979831900175x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Neutron crystallography is a powerful method to determine the positions of H atoms in macromolecular structures. However, it is sometimes hard to judge what would constitute a chemically reasonable model, and the geometry of H atoms depends more on the surroundings (for example the formation of hydrogen bonds) than heavy atoms, so that the empirical geometry information for the H atoms used to supplement the experimental data is often less accurate. These problems may be reduced by using quantum-mechanical calculations. A method has therefore been developed to combine quantum-mechanical calculations with joint crystallographic refinement against X-ray and neutron data. A first validation of this method is provided by re-refining the structure of the galectin-3 carbohydrate-recognition domain in complex with lactose. The geometry is improved, in particular for water molecules, for which the method leads to better-resolved hydrogen-bonding interactions. The method has also been applied to the active copper site of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase and shows that the protonation state of the amino-terminal histidine residue can be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Octav Caldararu
- Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Lund University, Chemical Centre, PO Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Francesco Manzoni
- Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Lund University, Chemical Centre, PO Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Centre for Molecular Protein Science, Lund University, Chemical Centre, PO Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Esko Oksanen
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Centre for Molecular Protein Science, Lund University, Chemical Centre, PO Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Instruments Division, European Spallation Source ESS ERIC, PO Box 176, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Derek T. Logan
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Centre for Molecular Protein Science, Lund University, Chemical Centre, PO Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ulf Ryde
- Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Lund University, Chemical Centre, PO Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
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25
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Yee AW, Aldeghi M, Blakeley MP, Ostermann A, Mas PJ, Moulin M, de Sanctis D, Bowler MW, Mueller-Dieckmann C, Mitchell EP, Haertlein M, de Groot BL, Boeri Erba E, Forsyth VT. A molecular mechanism for transthyretin amyloidogenesis. Nat Commun 2019; 10:925. [PMID: 30804345 PMCID: PMC6390107 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08609-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Human transthyretin (TTR) is implicated in several fatal forms of amyloidosis. Many mutations of TTR have been identified; most of these are pathogenic, but some offer protective effects. The molecular basis underlying the vastly different fibrillation behaviours of these TTR mutants is poorly understood. Here, on the basis of neutron crystallography, native mass spectrometry and modelling studies, we propose a mechanism whereby TTR can form amyloid fibrils via a parallel equilibrium of partially unfolded species that proceeds in favour of the amyloidogenic forms of TTR. It is suggested that unfolding events within the TTR monomer originate at the C-D loop of the protein, and that destabilising mutations in this region enhance the rate of TTR fibrillation. Furthermore, it is proposed that the binding of small molecule drugs to TTR stabilises non-amyloidogenic states of TTR in a manner similar to that occurring for the protective mutants of the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Woon Yee
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Matteo Aldeghi
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Faßberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Andreas Ostermann
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Philippe J Mas
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IBS, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Martine Moulin
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Daniele de Sanctis
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Matthew W Bowler
- EMBL, Grenoble Outstation, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | | | - Edward P Mitchell
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Michael Haertlein
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France
| | - Bert L de Groot
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Faßberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - V Trevor Forsyth
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK.
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Cedex 9, Grenoble, France.
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26
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Vandavasi VG, Blakeley MP, Keen DA, Hu LR, Huang Z, Kovalevsky A. Temperature-Induced Replacement of Phosphate Proton with Metal Ion Captured in Neutron Structures of A-DNA. Structure 2018; 26:1645-1650.e3. [PMID: 30244969 PMCID: PMC6281803 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2018.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Revised: 06/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Nucleic acids can fold into well-defined 3D structures that help determine their function. Knowing precise nucleic acid structures can also be used for the design of nucleic acid-based therapeutics. However, locations of hydrogen atoms, which are key players of nucleic acid function, are normally not determined with X-ray crystallography. Accurate determination of hydrogen atom positions can provide indispensable information on protonation states, hydrogen bonding, and water architecture in nucleic acids. Here, we used neutron crystallography in combination with X-ray diffraction to obtain joint X-ray/neutron structures at both room and cryo temperatures of a self-complementary A-DNA oligonucleotide d[GTGG(CSe)CAC]2 containing 2'-SeCH3 modification on Cyt5 (CSe) at pH 5.6. We directly observed protonation of a backbone phosphate oxygen of Ade7 at room temperature. The proton is replaced with hydrated Mg2+ upon cooling the crystal to 100 K, indicating that metal binding is favored at low temperature, whereas proton binding is dominant at room temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venu Gopal Vandavasi
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37922, USA
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - David A Keen
- ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX, UK
| | | | - Zhen Huang
- Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
| | - Andrey Kovalevsky
- Neutron Scattering Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37922, USA.
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27
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Gavira JA, Conejero-Muriel M, Delgado-López JM. Seeding from silica-reinforced lysozyme crystals for neutron crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:1200-1207. [PMID: 30605134 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318016054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The fragility of protein crystals plays an important role in the final quality of the diffraction data and therefore that of the derived three-dimensional structural model. The growth of protein crystals in gels of various natures has been shown to overcome this problem, facilitating the manipulation of the crystals; this is probably owing, amongst other factors, to the incorporation of the gel fibres within the body of the crystal. In this study, lysozyme crystals were grown in silica gel at a wide range of concentrations of up to 22%(v/v) to quantitatively determine the amount of gel incorporated into the crystal structure by means of thermogravimetric analysis. The interaction between the silica fibres and the lysozyme molecules within the crystals was also investigated using Raman spectroscopy and the direct influence on the crystalline protein stability was analysed using differential scanning calorimetry. Finally, the benefits of the use of gel-grown crystals to overgrow protein crystals intended for neutron diffraction are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose A Gavira
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, IACT, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, Avenida las Palmeras 4, 18100 Granada, Spain
| | - Mayte Conejero-Muriel
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, IACT, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, Avenida las Palmeras 4, 18100 Granada, Spain
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28
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Yano N, Yamada T, Hosoya T, Ohhara T, Tanaka I, Niimura N, Kusaka K. Status of the neutron time-of-flight single-crystal diffraction data-processing software STARGazer. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:1041-1052. [PMID: 30387763 PMCID: PMC6213574 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318012081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The STARGazer data-processing software is used for neutron time-of-flight (TOF) single-crystal diffraction data collected using the IBARAKI Biological Crystal Diffractometer (iBIX) at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). This software creates hkl intensity data from three-dimensional (x, y, TOF) diffraction data. STARGazer is composed of a data-processing component and a data-visualization component. The former is used to calculate the hkl intensity data. The latter displays the three-dimensional diffraction data with searched or predicted peak positions and is used to determine and confirm integration regions. STARGazer has been developed to make it easier to use and to obtain more accurate intensity data. For example, a profile-fitting method for peak integration was developed and the data statistics were improved. STARGazer and its manual, containing installation and data-processing components, have been prepared and provided to iBIX users. This article describes the status of the STARGazer data-processing software and its data-processing algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomine Yano
- Frontier Research Center for Applied Atomic Sciences, Ibaraki University, 162-1 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan
| | - Taro Yamada
- Frontier Research Center for Applied Atomic Sciences, Ibaraki University, 162-1 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan
| | - Takaaki Hosoya
- Frontier Research Center for Applied Atomic Sciences, Ibaraki University, 162-1 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan
- College of Engineering, Ibaraki University, 4-12-1 Nakanarusawa, Hitachi, Ibaraki 316-8511, Japan
| | - Takashi Ohhara
- Neutron Science Section, J-PARC Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata-Shirane, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan
| | - Ichiro Tanaka
- Frontier Research Center for Applied Atomic Sciences, Ibaraki University, 162-1 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan
- College of Engineering, Ibaraki University, 4-12-1 Nakanarusawa, Hitachi, Ibaraki 316-8511, Japan
| | - Nobuo Niimura
- Frontier Research Center for Applied Atomic Sciences, Ibaraki University, 162-1 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan
| | - Katsuhiro Kusaka
- Frontier Research Center for Applied Atomic Sciences, Ibaraki University, 162-1 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan
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29
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Kwon H, Langan PS, Coates L, Raven EL, Moody PCE. The rise of neutron cryo-crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:792-799. [PMID: 30082515 PMCID: PMC6079629 DOI: 10.1107/s205979831800640x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of boiled-off liquid nitrogen to maintain protein crystals at 100 K during X-ray data collection has become almost universal. Applying this to neutron protein crystallography offers the opportunity to significantly broaden the scope of biochemical problems that can be addressed, although care must be taken in assuming that direct extrapolation to room temperature is always valid. Here, the history to date of neutron protein cryo-crystallography and the particular problems and solutions associated with the mounting and cryocooling of the larger crystals needed for neutron crystallography are reviewed. Finally, the outlook for further cryogenic neutron studies using existing and future neutron instrumentation is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Kwon
- Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Structural Biology, Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Leicester, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, England
| | - Patricia S. Langan
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Leighton Coates
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Emma L. Raven
- Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, England
| | - Peter C. E. Moody
- Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Structural Biology, Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Leicester, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, England
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30
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Manzoni F, Wallerstein J, Schrader TE, Ostermann A, Coates L, Akke M, Blakeley MP, Oksanen E, Logan DT. Elucidation of Hydrogen Bonding Patterns in Ligand-Free, Lactose- and Glycerol-Bound Galectin-3C by Neutron Crystallography to Guide Drug Design. J Med Chem 2018; 61:4412-4420. [PMID: 29672051 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The medically important drug target galectin-3 binds galactose-containing moieties on glycoproteins through an intricate pattern of hydrogen bonds to a largely polar surface-exposed binding site. All successful inhibitors of galectin-3 to date have been based on mono- or disaccharide cores closely resembling natural ligands. A detailed understanding of the H-bonding networks in these natural ligands will provide an improved foundation for the design of novel inhibitors. Neutron crystallography is an ideal technique to reveal the geometry of hydrogen bonds because the positions of hydrogen atoms are directly detected rather than being inferred from the positions of heavier atoms as in X-ray crystallography. We present three neutron crystal structures of the C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain of galectin-3: the ligand-free form and the complexes with the natural substrate lactose and with glycerol, which mimics important interactions made by lactose. The neutron crystal structures reveal unambiguously the exquisite fine-tuning of the hydrogen bonding pattern in the binding site to the natural disaccharide ligand. The ligand-free structure shows that most of these hydrogen bonds are preserved even when the polar groups of the ligand are replaced by water molecules. The protonation states of all histidine residues in the protein are also revealed and correlate well with NMR observations. The structures give a solid starting point for molecular dynamics simulations and computational estimates of ligand binding affinity that will inform future drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Manzoni
- Department of Biochemistry & Structural Biology , Lund University , S-221 00 Lund , Sweden
| | - Johan Wallerstein
- Department of Biophysical Chemistry , Lund University , S-221 00 Lund , Sweden
| | - Tobias E Schrader
- Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) , Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH , Lichtenbergstrasse 1 , 85747 Garching , Germany
| | - Andreas Ostermann
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) , Technische Universität München , Lichtenbergstrasse 1 , 85748 Garching , Germany
| | - Leighton Coates
- Neutron Scattering Division , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , 1 Bethel Valley Road , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
| | - Mikael Akke
- Department of Biophysical Chemistry , Lund University , S-221 00 Lund , Sweden
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Institut Laue-Langevin , 71 avenue des Martyrs , 38000 Grenoble , France
| | - Esko Oksanen
- Department of Biochemistry & Structural Biology , Lund University , S-221 00 Lund , Sweden.,Instrument Division , European Spallation Source ERIC , Box 176, S-221 00 Lund , Sweden
| | - Derek T Logan
- Department of Biochemistry & Structural Biology , Lund University , S-221 00 Lund , Sweden
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31
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Kurihara K, Hirano Y, Oikawa K, Harada M, Nakamura T, Tamada T. Instrument and shielding design of a neutron diffractometer at J-PARC for protein crystallography covering crystals with large unit-cell volume. J Appl Crystallogr 2018. [DOI: 10.1107/s1600576718004673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural information on hydrogen atoms and hydration water molecules obtained by neutron protein crystallography is expected to contribute to the elucidation and improvement of protein function. However, many proteins, especially membrane proteins and protein complexes, have large molecular weights and the unit cells of their crystals have large volumes, which are out of the range of unit-cell volumes measurable by conventional diffractometers because a large unit-cell volume causes difficulty in separating Bragg peaks close to each other in the spatial and time dimensions in diffraction images. Therefore, a new diffractometer has been designed at the Japan Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), which can measure crystals with a large unit-cell volume. The proposed diffractometer uses a large camera distance (L
2 = 800 mm) and more than 40 novel large-area detectors (larger than 320 × 320 mm). In addition, a decoupled hydrogen moderator, which has a narrow pulse width, is selected as the neutron source. This diffractometer is estimated to be able to measure crystals with a lattice length of 250 Å along each axis at d
min = 2.0 Å. Ellipsoidal and curved shapes were introduced in the vertical and horizontal guide designs, respectively, providing an estimated neutron flux of 6 × 105 n s−1 mm−2 in the wavelength range 1.5–5.5 Å.
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32
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Neutron macromolecular crystallography. Emerg Top Life Sci 2018; 2:39-55. [DOI: 10.1042/etls20170083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Neutron diffraction techniques permit direct determination of the hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) positions in crystal structures of biological macromolecules at resolutions of ∼1.5 and 2.5 Å, respectively. In addition, neutron diffraction data can be collected from a single crystal at room temperature without radiation damage issues. By locating the positions of H/D-atoms, protonation states and water molecule orientations can be determined, leading to a more complete understanding of many biological processes and drug-binding. In the last ca. 5 years, new beamlines have come online at reactor neutron sources, such as BIODIFF at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum and IMAGINE at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and at spallation neutron sources, such as MaNDi at ORNL and iBIX at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex. In addition, significant improvements have been made to existing beamlines, such as LADI-III at the Institut Laue-Langevin. The new and improved instrumentations are allowing sub-mm3 crystals to be regularly used for data collection and permitting the study of larger systems (unit-cell edges >100 Å). Owing to this increase in capacity and capability, many more studies have been performed and for a wider range of macromolecules, including enzymes, signalling proteins, transport proteins, sugar-binding proteins, fluorescent proteins, hormones and oligonucleotides; of the 126 structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank, more than half have been released since 2013 (65/126, 52%). Although the overall number is still relatively small, there are a growing number of examples for which neutron macromolecular crystallography has provided the answers to questions that otherwise remained elusive.
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33
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Kovalevsky A, Aggarwal M, Velazquez H, Cuneo MJ, Blakeley MP, Weiss KL, Smith JC, Fisher SZ, McKenna R. "To Be or Not to Be" Protonated: Atomic Details of Human Carbonic Anhydrase-Clinical Drug Complexes by Neutron Crystallography and Simulation. Structure 2018; 26:383-390.e3. [PMID: 29429876 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2018.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Revised: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/10/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Human carbonic anhydrases (hCAs) play various roles in cells, and have been drug targets for decades. Sequence similarities of hCA isoforms necessitate designing specific inhibitors, which requires detailed structural information for hCA-inhibitor complexes. We present room temperature neutron structures of hCA II in complex with three clinical drugs that provide in-depth analysis of drug binding, including protonation states of the inhibitors, hydration water structure, and direct visualization of hydrogen-bonding networks in the enzyme's active site. All sulfonamide inhibitors studied bind to the Zn metal center in the deprotonated, anionic, form. Other chemical groups of the drugs can remain neutral or be protonated when bound to hCA II. MD simulations have shown that flexible functional groups of the inhibitors may alter their conformations at room temperature and occupy different sub-sites. This study offers insights into the design of specific drugs to target cancer-related hCA isoform IX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Kovalevsky
- Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
| | - Mayank Aggarwal
- Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Hector Velazquez
- Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Cellular Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Matthew J Cuneo
- Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Kevin L Weiss
- Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Jeremy C Smith
- Center for Molecular Biophysics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Cellular Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - S Zoë Fisher
- Scientific Activities Division, Science Directorate, European Spallation Source ERIC, 22100 Lund, Sweden; Department of Biology, Lund University, 35 Sölvegatan, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Robert McKenna
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
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34
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Shi C, Zhang X, Yu CH, Yao YF, Zhang W. Geometric isotope effect of deuteration in a hydrogen-bonded host-guest crystal. Nat Commun 2018; 9:481. [PMID: 29396512 PMCID: PMC5797174 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02931-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Deuteration of a hydrogen bond by replacing protium (H) with deuterium (D) can cause geometric changes in the hydrogen bond, known as the geometric H/D isotope effect (GIE). Understanding the GIEs on global structures and bulk properties is of great importance to study structure–property relationships of hydrogen-bonded systems. Here, we report a hydrogen-bonded host–guest crystal, imidazolium hydrogen terephthalate, that exemplifies striking GIEs on its hydrogen bonds, phases, and bulk dielectric transition property. Upon deuteration, the donor–acceptor distance in the O–H···O hydrogen bonds in the host structure is found to increase, which results in a change in the global hydrogen-bonded supramolecular structure and the emergence of a new phase (i.e., isotopic polymorphism). Consequently, the dynamics of the confined guest, which depend on the internal pressure exerted by the host framework, are substantially altered, showing a downward shift of the dielectric switching temperature. Deuterating a hydrogen bond can change the bond’s geometry, a phenomenon known as the geometric isotope effect (GIE). Here, the authors find that a hydrogen-bonded host–guest crystal, imidazolium hydrogen terephthalate, exhibits significant GIE on its hydrogen bonds, changing its crystal phases and bulk dielectric properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Shi
- Ordered Matter Science Research Center and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Science and Applications of Molecular Ferroelectrics, Southeast University, 211189, Nanjing, China
| | - Xi Zhang
- Department of Physics & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Materials Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Chun-Hua Yu
- Ordered Matter Science Research Center and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Science and Applications of Molecular Ferroelectrics, Southeast University, 211189, Nanjing, China
| | - Ye-Feng Yao
- Department of Physics & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Materials Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, 200062, Shanghai, China. .,NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics at NYU Shanghai, 3663 Zhongshan Road North, 200062, Shanghai, China.
| | - Wen Zhang
- Ordered Matter Science Research Center and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Science and Applications of Molecular Ferroelectrics, Southeast University, 211189, Nanjing, China.
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35
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Direct visualization of critical hydrogen atoms in a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate enzyme. Nat Commun 2017; 8:955. [PMID: 29038582 PMCID: PMC5643538 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01060-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Enzymes dependent on pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP, the active form of vitamin B6) perform a myriad of diverse chemical transformations. They promote various reactions by modulating the electronic states of PLP through weak interactions in the active site. Neutron crystallography has the unique ability of visualizing the nuclear positions of hydrogen atoms in macromolecules. Here we present a room-temperature neutron structure of a homodimeric PLP-dependent enzyme, aspartate aminotransferase, which was reacted in situ with α-methylaspartate. In one monomer, the PLP remained as an internal aldimine with a deprotonated Schiff base. In the second monomer, the external aldimine formed with the substrate analog. We observe a deuterium equidistant between the Schiff base and the C-terminal carboxylate of the substrate, a position indicative of a low-barrier hydrogen bond. Quantum chemical calculations and a low-pH room-temperature X-ray structure provide insight into the physical phenomena that control the electronic modulation in aspartate aminotransferase. Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP) is a ubiquitous co factor for diverse enzymes, among them aspartate aminotransferase. Here the authors use neutron crystallography, which allows the visualization of the positions of hydrogen atoms, and computation to characterize the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme.
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36
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Coates L, Robertson L. Ewald: an extended wide-angle Laue diffractometer for the second target station of the Spallation Neutron Source. J Appl Crystallogr 2017; 50:1174-1178. [PMID: 28808436 PMCID: PMC5541355 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576717010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Visualizing hydrogen atoms in biological materials is one of the biggest remaining challenges in biophysical analysis. While X-ray techniques have unrivaled capacity for high-throughput structure determination, neutron diffraction is uniquely sensitive to hydrogen atom positions in crystals of biological materials and can provide a more complete picture of the atomic and electronic structures of biological macromolecules. This information can be essential in providing predictive understanding and engineering control of key biological processes, for example, in catalysis, ligand binding and light harvesting, and to guide bioengineering of enzymes and drug design. One very common and large capability gap for all neutron atomic resolution single-crystal diffractometers is the weak flux of available neutron beams, which results in limited signal-to-noise ratios giving a requirement for sample volumes of at least 0.1 mm3. The ability to operate on crystals an order of magnitude smaller (0.01 mm3) will open up new and more complex systems to studies with neutrons which will help in our understanding of enzyme mechanisms and enable us to improve drugs against multi resistant bacteria. With this is mind, an extended wide-angle Laue diffractometer, 'Ewald', has been designed, which can collect data using crystal volumes below 0.01 mm3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leighton Coates
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Lee Robertson
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
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37
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Oksanen E, Chen JCH, Fisher SZ. Neutron Crystallography for the Study of Hydrogen Bonds in Macromolecules. Molecules 2017; 22:molecules22040596. [PMID: 28387738 PMCID: PMC6154725 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22040596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2017] [Revised: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The hydrogen bond (H bond) is one of the most important interactions that form the foundation of secondary and tertiary protein structure. Beyond holding protein structures together, H bonds are also intimately involved in solvent coordination, ligand binding, and enzyme catalysis. The H bond by definition involves the light atom, H, and it is very difficult to study directly, especially with X-ray crystallographic techniques, due to the poor scattering power of H atoms. Neutron protein crystallography provides a powerful, complementary tool that can give unambiguous information to structural biologists on solvent organization and coordination, the electrostatics of ligand binding, the protonation states of amino acid side chains and catalytic water species. The method is complementary to X-ray crystallography and the dynamic data obtainable with NMR spectroscopy. Also, as it gives explicit H atom positions, it can be very valuable to computational chemistry where exact knowledge of protonation and solvent orientation can make a large difference in modeling. This article gives general information about neutron crystallography and shows specific examples of how the method has contributed to structural biology, structure-based drug design; and the understanding of fundamental questions of reaction mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esko Oksanen
- Science Directorate, European Spallation Source ERIC, Tunavägen 24, 22100 Lund, Sweden.
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 39, 22362 Lund, Sweden.
| | - Julian C-H Chen
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
| | - Suzanne Zoë Fisher
- Science Directorate, European Spallation Source ERIC, Tunavägen 24, 22100 Lund, Sweden.
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund, Sweden.
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Yee AW, Blakeley MP, Moulin M, Haertlein M, Mitchell E, Forsyth VT. Back-exchange of deuterium in neutron crystallography: characterization by IR spectroscopy. J Appl Crystallogr 2017; 50:660-664. [PMID: 28381984 PMCID: PMC5377354 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576717003624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The application of IR spectroscopy to the characterization and quality control of samples used in neutron crystallography is described. While neutron crystallography is a growing field, the limited availability of neutron beamtime means that there may be a delay between crystallogenesis and data collection. Since essentially all neutron crystallographic work is carried out using D2O-based solvent buffers, a particular concern for these experiments is the possibility of H2O back-exchange across reservoir or capillary sealants. This may limit the quality of neutron scattering length density maps and of the associated analysis. Given the expense of central facility beamtime and the effort that goes into the production of suitably sized (usually perdeuterated) crystals, a systematic method of exploiting IR spectroscopy for the analysis of back-exchange phenomena in the reservoirs used for crystal growth is valuable. Examples are given in which the characterization of D2O/H2O back-exchange in transthyretin crystals is described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Woon Yee
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38042, France
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38042, France
| | - Martine Moulin
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38042, France
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK
| | - Michael Haertlein
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38042, France
| | - Edward Mitchell
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK
- European Synchrotron Research Facility, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38043, France
| | - V. Trevor Forsyth
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38042, France
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK
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Gerlits O, Keen DA, Blakeley MP, Louis JM, Weber IT, Kovalevsky A. Room Temperature Neutron Crystallography of Drug Resistant HIV-1 Protease Uncovers Limitations of X-ray Structural Analysis at 100 K. J Med Chem 2017; 60:2018-2025. [PMID: 28195728 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
HIV-1 protease inhibitors are crucial for treatment of HIV-1/AIDS, but their effectiveness is thwarted by rapid emergence of drug resistance. To better understand binding of clinical inhibitors to resistant HIV-1 protease, we used room-temperature joint X-ray/neutron (XN) crystallography to obtain an atomic-resolution structure of the protease triple mutant (V32I/I47V/V82I) in complex with amprenavir. The XN structure reveals a D+ ion located midway between the inner Oδ1 oxygen atoms of the catalytic aspartic acid residues. Comparison of the current XN structure with our previous XN structure of the wild-type HIV-1 protease-amprenavir complex suggests that the three mutations do not significantly alter the drug-enzyme interactions. This is in contrast to the observations in previous 100 K X-ray structures of these complexes that indicated loss of interactions by the drug with the triple mutant protease. These findings, thus, uncover limitations of structural analysis of drug binding using X-ray structures obtained at 100 K.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oksana Gerlits
- UT/ORNL Joint Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tennessee , Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - David A Keen
- ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX, U.K
| | - Matthew P Blakeley
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue Langevin , 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - John M Louis
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , DHHS, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0520, United States
| | - Irene T Weber
- Departments of Chemistry and Biology, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30302, United States
| | - Andrey Kovalevsky
- Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
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Chen JCH, Unkefer CJ. Fifteen years of the Protein Crystallography Station: the coming of age of macromolecular neutron crystallography. IUCRJ 2017; 4:72-86. [PMID: 28250943 PMCID: PMC5331467 DOI: 10.1107/s205225251601664x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The Protein Crystallography Station (PCS), located at the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center (LANSCE), was the first macromolecular crystallography beamline to be built at a spallation neutron source. Following testing and commissioning, the PCS user program was funded by the Biology and Environmental Research program of the Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-OBER) for 13 years (2002-2014). The PCS remained the only dedicated macromolecular neutron crystallography station in North America until the construction and commissioning of the MaNDi and IMAGINE instruments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which started in 2012. The instrument produced a number of research and technical outcomes that have contributed to the field, clearly demonstrating the power of neutron crystallo-graphy in helping scientists to understand enzyme reaction mechanisms, hydrogen bonding and visualization of H-atom positions, which are critical to nearly all chemical reactions. During this period, neutron crystallography became a technique that increasingly gained traction, and became more integrated into macromolecular crystallography through software developments led by investigators at the PCS. This review highlights the contributions of the PCS to macromolecular neutron crystallography, and gives an overview of the history of neutron crystallography and the development of macromolecular neutron crystallography from the 1960s to the 1990s and onwards through the 2000s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian C.-H. Chen
- Bioscience Division, Protein Crystallography Station, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
| | - Clifford J. Unkefer
- Bioscience Division, Protein Crystallography Station, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
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Direct visualization of a Fe(IV)-OH intermediate in a heme enzyme. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13445. [PMID: 27897163 PMCID: PMC5141285 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2016] [Accepted: 10/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Catalytic heme enzymes carry out a wide range of oxidations in biology. They have in common a mechanism that requires formation of highly oxidized ferryl intermediates. It is these ferryl intermediates that provide the catalytic engine to drive the biological activity. Unravelling the nature of the ferryl species is of fundamental and widespread importance. The essential question is whether the ferryl is best described as a Fe(IV)=O or a Fe(IV)–OH species, but previous spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic studies have not been able to unambiguously differentiate between the two species. Here we use a different approach. We report a neutron crystal structure of the ferryl intermediate in Compound II of a heme peroxidase; the structure allows the protonation states of the ferryl heme to be directly observed. This, together with pre-steady state kinetic analyses, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray fluorescence, identifies a Fe(IV)–OH species as the reactive intermediate. The structure establishes a precedent for the formation of Fe(IV)–OH in a peroxidase. The nature of the ferryl intermediate generated in reactions catalysed by heme-containing enzymes is uncertain, due to the ambiguity of X-ray crystallography data. Here, the authors apply neutron diffraction, kinetics and other spectroscopy to directly observe a protonated ferryl intermediate in a heme peroxidase.
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Manzoni F, Saraboji K, Sprenger J, Kumar R, Noresson AL, Nilsson UJ, Leffler H, Fisher SZ, Schrader TE, Ostermann A, Coates L, Blakeley MP, Oksanen E, Logan DT. Perdeuteration, crystallization, data collection and comparison of five neutron diffraction data sets of complexes of human galectin-3C. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2016; 72:1194-1202. [PMID: 27841752 PMCID: PMC5108347 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798316015540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Galectin-3 is an important protein in molecular signalling events involving carbohydrate recognition, and an understanding of the hydrogen-bonding patterns in the carbohydrate-binding site of its C-terminal domain (galectin-3C) is important for the development of new potent inhibitors. The authors are studying these patterns using neutron crystallography. Here, the production of perdeuterated human galectin-3C and successive improvement in crystal size by the development of a crystal-growth protocol involving feeding of the crystallization drops are described. The larger crystals resulted in improved data quality and reduced data-collection times. Furthermore, protocols for complete removal of the lactose that is necessary for the production of large crystals of apo galectin-3C suitable for neutron diffraction are described. Five data sets have been collected at three different neutron sources from galectin-3C crystals of various volumes. It was possible to merge two of these to generate an almost complete neutron data set for the galectin-3C-lactose complex. These data sets provide insights into the crystal volumes and data-collection times necessary for the same system at sources with different technologies and data-collection strategies, and these insights are applicable to other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Manzoni
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
- European Spallation Source ERIC, Box 176, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Kadhirvel Saraboji
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Janina Sprenger
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Rohit Kumar
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ann-Louise Noresson
- Centre for Analysis and Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ulf J. Nilsson
- Centre for Analysis and Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Hakon Leffler
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Section MIG, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - S. Zoë Fisher
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
| | - Tobias E. Schrader
- Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Lichtenbergstrasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Andreas Ostermann
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Leighton Coates
- Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
| | | | - Esko Oksanen
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
- European Spallation Source ERIC, Box 176, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Derek T. Logan
- Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
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Cuypers MG, Mason SA, Mossou E, Haertlein M, Forsyth VT, Mitchell EP. Macromolecular structure phasing by neutron anomalous diffraction. Sci Rep 2016; 6:31487. [PMID: 27511806 PMCID: PMC4980602 DOI: 10.1038/srep31487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In this report we show for the first time that neutron anomalous dispersion can be used in a practical manner to determine experimental phases of a protein crystal structure, providing a new tool for structural biologists. The approach is demonstrated through the use of a state-of-the-art monochromatic neutron diffractometer at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in combination with crystals of perdeuterated protein that minimise the level of hydrogen incoherent scattering and enhance the visibility of the anomalous signal. The protein used was rubredoxin in which cadmium replaced the iron at the iron-sulphur site. While this study was carried out using a steady-state neutron beam source, the results will be of major interest for capabilities at existing and emerging spallation neutron sources where time-of-flight instruments provide inherent energy discrimination. In particular this capability may be expected to offer unique opportunities to a rapidly developing structural biology community where there is increasing interest in the identification of protonation states, protein/water interactions and protein-ligand interactions - all of which are of central importance to a wide range of fundamental and applied areas in the biosciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime G. Cuypers
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- ILL, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Sax A. Mason
- ILL, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Estelle Mossou
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- ILL, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | | | - V. Trevor Forsyth
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- ILL, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Edward P. Mitchell
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- ESRF, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
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O'Dell WB, Bodenheimer AM, Meilleur F. Neutron protein crystallography: A complementary tool for locating hydrogens in proteins. Arch Biochem Biophys 2016; 602:48-60. [DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2015.11.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Revised: 11/12/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Howard EI, Guillot B, Blakeley MP, Haertlein M, Moulin M, Mitschler A, Cousido-Siah A, Fadel F, Valsecchi WM, Tomizaki T, Petrova T, Claudot J, Podjarny A. High-resolution neutron and X-ray diffraction room-temperature studies of an H-FABP-oleic acid complex: study of the internal water cluster and ligand binding by a transferred multipolar electron-density distribution. IUCRJ 2016; 3:115-26. [PMID: 27006775 PMCID: PMC4775160 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252515024161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Crystal diffraction data of heart fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) in complex with oleic acid were measured at room temperature with high-resolution X-ray and neutron protein crystallography (0.98 and 1.90 Å resolution, respectively). These data provided very detailed information about the cluster of water molecules and the bound oleic acid in the H-FABP large internal cavity. The jointly refined X-ray/neutron structure of H-FABP was complemented by a transferred multipolar electron-density distribution using the parameters of the ELMAMII library. The resulting electron density allowed a precise determination of the electrostatic potential in the fatty acid (FA) binding pocket. Bader's quantum theory of atoms in molecules was then used to study interactions involving the internal water molecules, the FA and the protein. This approach showed H⋯H contacts of the FA with highly conserved hydrophobic residues known to play a role in the stabilization of long-chain FAs in the binding cavity. The determination of water hydrogen (deuterium) positions allowed the analysis of the orientation and electrostatic properties of the water molecules in the very ordered cluster. As a result, a significant alignment of the permanent dipoles of the water molecules with the protein electrostatic field was observed. This can be related to the dielectric properties of hydration layers around proteins, where the shielding of electrostatic interactions depends directly on the rotational degrees of freedom of the water molecules in the interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. I. Howard
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, CNRS, INSERM, UdS, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch CEDEX, France
- Instituto de Fisica de Liquidos y Sistemas Biologicos, CONICET, UNLP, Calle 59 No. 789, La Plata, Argentina
| | - B. Guillot
- CNRS and Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire CRM2, UMR 7036, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, F-54506, France
| | - M. P. Blakeley
- Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - M. Haertlein
- ILL–EMBL Deuteration Laboratory, Partnership for Structural Biology, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - M. Moulin
- ILL–EMBL Deuteration Laboratory, Partnership for Structural Biology, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - A. Mitschler
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, CNRS, INSERM, UdS, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch CEDEX, France
| | - A. Cousido-Siah
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, CNRS, INSERM, UdS, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch CEDEX, France
| | - F. Fadel
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, CNRS, INSERM, UdS, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch CEDEX, France
| | - W. M. Valsecchi
- Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, C1113AAD, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Takashi Tomizaki
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - T. Petrova
- Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino 142290, Russian Federation
| | - J. Claudot
- CNRS and Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire CRM2, UMR 7036, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, F-54506, France
| | - A. Podjarny
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, CNRS, INSERM, UdS, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch CEDEX, France
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Abstract
The hydration shells surrounding nucleic acids and hydrogen-bonding networks involving water molecules and nucleic acids are essential interactions for the structural stability and function of nucleic acids. Water molecules in the hydration shells influence various conformations of DNA and RNA by specific hydrogen-bonding networks, which often contribute to the chemical reactivity and molecular recognition of nucleic acids. However, X-ray crystallography could not provide a complete description of structural information with respect to hydrogen bonds. Indeed, X-ray crystallography is a powerful tool for determining the locations of water molecules, i.e., the location of the oxygen atom of H2O; however, it is very difficult to determine the orientation of the water molecules, i.e., the orientation of the two hydrogen atoms of H2O, because X-ray scattering from the hydrogen atom is very small.Neutron crystallography is a specialized tool for determining the positions of hydrogen atoms. Neutrons are not diffracted by electrons, but are diffracted by atomic nuclei; accordingly, neutron scattering lengths of hydrogen and its isotopes are comparable to those of non-hydrogen atoms. Therefore, neutron crystallography can determine both of the locations and orientations of water molecules. This chapter describes the current status of neutron nucleic acid crystallographic research as well as the basic principles of neutron diffraction experiments performed on nucleic acid crystals: materials, crystallization, diffraction experiments, and structure determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiyuki Chatake
- Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, 2, Asashironishi, Kumatori, Osaka, 590-0494, Japan,
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Haertlein M, Moulin M, Devos JM, Laux V, Dunne O, Trevor Forsyth V. Biomolecular Deuteration for Neutron Structural Biology and Dynamics. Methods Enzymol 2016; 566:113-57. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2015.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Laulumaa S, Blakeley MP, Raasakka A, Moulin M, Härtlein M, Kursula P. Production, crystallization and neutron diffraction of fully deuterated human myelin peripheral membrane protein P2. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2015; 71:1391-5. [PMID: 26527266 PMCID: PMC4631588 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x15017902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2015] [Accepted: 09/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The molecular details of the formation of the myelin sheath, a multilayered membrane in the nervous system, are to a large extent unknown. P2 is a peripheral membrane protein from peripheral nervous system myelin, which is believed to play a role in this process. X-ray crystallographic studies and complementary experiments have provided information on the structure-function relationships in P2. In this study, a fully deuterated sample of human P2 was produced. Crystals that were large enough for neutron diffraction were grown by a ten-month procedure of feeding, and neutron diffraction data were collected to a resolution of 2.4 Å from a crystal of 0.09 mm(3) in volume. The neutron crystal structure will allow the positions of H atoms in P2 and its fatty-acid ligand to be visualized, as well as shedding light on the fine details of the hydrogen-bonding networks within the P2 ligand-binding cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saara Laulumaa
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, PO Box 5400, 90014 Oulu, Finland
- European Spallation Source, Lund, Sweden
| | - Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Arne Raasakka
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, PO Box 5400, 90014 Oulu, Finland
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, 5009 Bergen, Norway
| | - Martine Moulin
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Michael Härtlein
- Life Sciences Group, Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Petri Kursula
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, PO Box 5400, 90014 Oulu, Finland
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, 5009 Bergen, Norway
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Coates L, Cuneo MJ, Frost MJ, He J, Weiss KL, Tomanicek SJ, McFeeters H, Vandavasi VG, Langan P, Iverson EB. The Macromolecular Neutron Diffractometer MaNDi at the Spallation Neutron Source. J Appl Crystallogr 2015. [DOI: 10.1107/s1600576715011243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The Macromolecular Neutron Diffractometer (MaNDi) is located on beamline 11B of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The instrument is a neutron time-of-flight wavelength-resolved Laue diffractometer optimized to collect diffraction data from single crystals. The instrument has been designed to provide flexibility in several instrumental parameters, such as beam divergence and wavelength bandwidth, to allow data collection from a range of macromolecular systems.
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50
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Blakeley MP, Hasnain SS, Antonyuk SV. Sub-atomic resolution X-ray crystallography and neutron crystallography: promise, challenges and potential. IUCRJ 2015; 2:464-74. [PMID: 26175905 PMCID: PMC4491318 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252515011239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The International Year of Crystallography saw the number of macromolecular structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank cross the 100000 mark, with more than 90000 of these provided by X-ray crystallography. The number of X-ray structures determined to sub-atomic resolution (i.e. ≤1 Å) has passed 600 and this is likely to continue to grow rapidly with diffraction-limited synchrotron radiation sources such as MAX-IV (Sweden) and Sirius (Brazil) under construction. A dozen X-ray structures have been deposited to ultra-high resolution (i.e. ≤0.7 Å), for which precise electron density can be exploited to obtain charge density and provide information on the bonding character of catalytic or electron transfer sites. Although the development of neutron macromolecular crystallography over the years has been far less pronounced, and its application much less widespread, the availability of new and improved instrumentation, combined with dedicated deuteration facilities, are beginning to transform the field. Of the 83 macromolecular structures deposited with neutron diffraction data, more than half (49/83, 59%) were released since 2010. Sub-mm(3) crystals are now regularly being used for data collection, structures have been determined to atomic resolution for a few small proteins, and much larger unit-cell systems (cell edges >100 Å) are being successfully studied. While some details relating to H-atom positions are tractable with X-ray crystallography at sub-atomic resolution, the mobility of certain H atoms precludes them from being located. In addition, highly polarized H atoms and protons (H(+)) remain invisible with X-rays. Moreover, the majority of X-ray structures are determined from cryo-cooled crystals at 100 K, and, although radiation damage can be strongly controlled, especially since the advent of shutterless fast detectors, and by using limited doses and crystal translation at micro-focus beams, radiation damage can still take place. Neutron crystallography therefore remains the only approach where diffraction data can be collected at room temperature without radiation damage issues and the only approach to locate mobile or highly polarized H atoms and protons. Here a review of the current status of sub-atomic X-ray and neutron macromolecular crystallography is given and future prospects for combined approaches are outlined. New results from two metalloproteins, copper nitrite reductase and cytochrome c', are also included, which illustrate the type of information that can be obtained from sub-atomic-resolution (∼0.8 Å) X-ray structures, while also highlighting the need for complementary neutron studies that can provide details of H atoms not provided by X-ray crystallography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew P. Blakeley
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - Samar S. Hasnain
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZX, UK
| | - Svetlana V. Antonyuk
- Molecular Biophysics Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZX, UK
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