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Thompson AJ, Sanchez-Weatherby J, Williams LJ, Mikolajek H, Sandy J, Worrall JAR, Hough MA. Efficient in situ screening of and data collection from microcrystals in crystallization plates. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2024; 80:279-288. [PMID: 38488731 PMCID: PMC10994175 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798324001955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
A considerable bottleneck in serial crystallography at XFEL and synchrotron sources is the efficient production of large quantities of homogenous, well diffracting microcrystals. Efficient high-throughput screening of batch-grown microcrystals and the determination of ground-state structures from different conditions is thus of considerable value in the early stages of a project. Here, a highly sample-efficient methodology to measure serial crystallography data from microcrystals by raster scanning within standard in situ 96-well crystallization plates is described. Structures were determined from very small quantities of microcrystal suspension and the results were compared with those from other sample-delivery methods. The analysis of a two-dimensional batch crystallization screen using this method is also described as a useful guide for further optimization and the selection of appropriate conditions for scaling up microcrystallization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy J. Thompson
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Juan Sanchez-Weatherby
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Lewis J. Williams
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Halina Mikolajek
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - James Sandy
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan A. R. Worrall
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. Hough
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
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Lee J, Ryu B, Kim T, Kim KK. Cryo-EM structure of a 16.5-kDa small heat-shock protein from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 258:128763. [PMID: 38103675 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The small heat-shock protein (sHSP) from the archaea Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, MjsHSP16.5, functions as a broad substrate ATP-independent holding chaperone protecting misfolded proteins from aggregation under stress conditions. This protein is the first sHSP characterized by X-ray crystallography, thereby contributing significantly to our understanding of sHSPs. However, despite numerous studies assessing its functions and structures, the precise arrangement of the N-terminal domains (NTDs) within this sHSP cage remains elusive. Here we present the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of MjsHSP16.5 at 2.49-Å resolution. The subunits of MjsHSP16.5 in the cryo-EM structure exhibit lesser compaction compared to their counterparts in the crystal structure. This structural feature holds particular significance in relation to the biophysical properties of MjsHSP16.5, suggesting a close resemblance to this sHSP native state. Additionally, our cryo-EM structure unveils the density of residues 24-33 within the NTD of MjsHSP16.5, a feature that typically remains invisible in the majority of its crystal structures. Notably, these residues show a propensity to adopt a β-strand conformation and engage in antiparallel interactions with strand β1, both intra- and inter-subunit modes. These structural insights are corroborated by structural predictions, disulfide bond cross-linking studies of Cys-substitution mutants, and protein disaggregation assays. A comprehensive understanding of the structural features of MjsHSP16.5 expectedly holds the potential to inspire a wide range of interdisciplinary applications, owing to the renowned versatility of this sHSP as a nanoscale protein platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joohyun Lee
- Department of Precision Medicine, Graduate School of Basic Medical Science (GSBMS), Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Therapeutics, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Bumhan Ryu
- Research Solution Center, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34126, Republic of Korea
| | - Truc Kim
- Department of Precision Medicine, Graduate School of Basic Medical Science (GSBMS), Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Therapeutics, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
| | - Kyeong Kyu Kim
- Department of Precision Medicine, Graduate School of Basic Medical Science (GSBMS), Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Therapeutics, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
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Sharma S, Skaist Mehlman T, Sagabala RS, Boivin B, Keedy DA. High-resolution double vision of the allosteric phosphatase PTP1B. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2024; 80:1-12. [PMID: 38133579 PMCID: PMC10833341 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x23010749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) plays important roles in cellular homeostasis and is a highly validated therapeutic target for multiple human ailments, including diabetes, obesity and breast cancer. However, much remains to be learned about how conformational changes may convey information through the structure of PTP1B to enable allosteric regulation by ligands or functional responses to mutations. High-resolution X-ray crystallography can offer unique windows into protein conformational ensembles, but comparison of even high-resolution structures is often complicated by differences between data sets, including non-isomorphism. Here, the highest resolution crystal structure of apo wild-type (WT) PTP1B to date is presented out of a total of ∼350 PTP1B structures in the PDB. This structure is in a crystal form that is rare for PTP1B, with two unique copies of the protein that exhibit distinct patterns of conformational heterogeneity, allowing a controlled comparison of local disorder across the two chains within the same asymmetric unit. The conformational differences between these chains are interrogated in the apo structure and between several recently reported high-resolution ligand-bound structures. Electron-density maps in a high-resolution structure of a recently reported activating double mutant are also examined, and unmodeled alternate conformations in the mutant structure are discovered that coincide with regions of enhanced conformational heterogeneity in the new WT structure. These results validate the notion that these mutations operate by enhancing local dynamics, and suggest a latent susceptibility to such changes in the WT enzyme. Together, these new data and analysis provide a detailed view of the conformational ensemble of PTP1B and highlight the utility of high-resolution crystallography for elucidating conformational heterogeneity with potential relevance for function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivani Sharma
- Structural Biology Initiative, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, New York, NY 10031, USA
- PhD Program in Biology, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Tamar Skaist Mehlman
- Structural Biology Initiative, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Reddy Sudheer Sagabala
- Department of Nanobioscience, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Albany, NY 12203, USA
| | - Benoit Boivin
- Department of Nanobioscience, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Albany, NY 12203, USA
| | - Daniel A. Keedy
- Structural Biology Initiative, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, New York, NY 10031, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
- PhD Programs in Biochemistry, Biology and Chemistry, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY 10016, USA
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Pei X, Bhatt N, Wang H, Ando N, Meisburger SP. Introduction to diffuse scattering and data collection. Methods Enzymol 2023; 688:1-42. [PMID: 37748823 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
A long-standing goal in X-ray crystallography has been to extract information about the collective motions of proteins from diffuse scattering: the weak, textured signal that is found in the background of diffraction images. In the past few years, the field of macromolecular diffuse scattering has seen dramatic progress, and many of the past challenges in measurement and interpretation are now considered tractable. However, the concept of diffuse scattering is still new to many researchers, and a general set of procedures needed to collect a high-quality dataset has never been described in detail. Here, we provide the first guidelines for performing diffuse scattering experiments, which can be performed at any macromolecular crystallography beamline that supports room-temperature studies with a direct detector. We begin with a brief introduction to the theory of diffuse scattering and then walk the reader through the decision-making processes involved in preparing for and conducting a successful diffuse scattering experiment. Finally, we define quality metrics and describe ways to assess data quality both at the beamline and at home. Data obtained in this way can be processed independently by crystallographic software and diffuse scattering software to produce both a crystal structure, which represents the average atomic coordinates, and a three-dimensional diffuse scattering map that can then be interpreted in terms of models for protein motions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaokun Pei
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Neti Bhatt
- Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Haoyue Wang
- Graduate Field of Biophysics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Nozomi Ando
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States; Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States; Graduate Field of Biophysics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States.
| | - Steve P Meisburger
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States.
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Thompson MC. Combining temperature perturbations with X-ray crystallography to study dynamic macromolecules: A thorough discussion of experimental methods. Methods Enzymol 2023; 688:255-305. [PMID: 37748829 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Temperature is an important state variable that governs the behavior of microscopic systems, yet crystallographers rarely exploit temperature changes to study the structure and dynamics of biological macromolecules. In fact, approximately 90% of crystal structures in the Protein Data Bank were determined under cryogenic conditions, because sample cryocooling makes crystals robust to X-ray radiation damage and facilitates data collection. On the other hand, cryocooling can introduce artifacts into macromolecular structures, and can suppress conformational dynamics that are critical for function. Fortunately, recent advances in X-ray detector technology, X-ray sources, and computational data processing algorithms make non-cryogenic X-ray crystallography easier and more broadly applicable than ever before. Without the reliance on cryocooling, high-resolution crystallography can be combined with various temperature perturbations to gain deep insight into the conformational landscapes of macromolecules. This Chapter reviews the historical reasons for the prevalence of cryocooling in macromolecular crystallography, and discusses its potential drawbacks. Next, the Chapter summarizes technological developments and methodologies that facilitate non-cryogenic crystallography experiments. Finally, the chapter discusses the theoretical underpinnings and practical aspects of multi-temperature and temperature-jump crystallography experiments, which are powerful tools for understanding the relationship between the structure, dynamics, and function of proteins and other biological macromolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, United States.
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