Protein folding monitored at individual residues during a two-dimensional NMR experiment

NMR Dynamic View of the Destabilization of WW4 Domain by Chaotropic GdmCl and NaSCN

GdmCl and NaSCN are two strong chaotropic salts commonly used in protein folding and stability studies, but their microscopic mechanisms remain enigmatic. Here, by CD and NMR, we investigated their effects on conformations, stability, binding and backbone dynamics on ps-ns and µs-ms time scales of a 39-residue but well-folded WW4 domain at salt concentrations ≤200 mM. Up to 200 mM, both denaturants did not alter the tertiary packing of WW4, but GdmCl exerted more severe destabilization than NaSCN. Intriguingly, GdmCl had only weak binding to amide protons, while NaSCN showed extensive binding to both hydrophobic side chains and amide protons. Neither denaturant significantly affected the overall ps-ns backbone dynamics, but they distinctively altered µs-ms backbone dynamics. This study unveils that GdmCl and NaSCN destabilize a protein before the global unfolding occurs with differential binding properties and µs-ms backbone dynamics, implying the absence of a simple correlation between thermodynamic stability and backbone dynamics of WW4 at both ps-ns and µs-ms time scales.

Monitoring protein unfolding transitions by NMR-spectroscopy

NMR-spectroscopy has certain unique advantages for recording unfolding transitions of proteins compared e.g. to optical methods. It enables per-residue monitoring and separate detection of the folded and unfolded state as well as possible equilibrium intermediates. This allows a detailed view on the state and cooperativity of folding of the protein of interest and the correct interpretation of subsequent experiments. Here we summarize in detail practical and theoretical aspects of such experiments. Certain pitfalls can be avoided, and meaningful simplification can be made during the analysis. Especially a good understanding of the NMR exchange regime and relaxation properties of the system of interest is beneficial. We show by a global analysis of signals of the folded and unfolded state of GB1 how accurate values of unfolding can be extracted and what limits different NMR detection and unfolding methods. E.g. commonly used exchangeable amides can lead to a systematic under determination of the thermodynamic protein stability. We give several perspectives of how to deal with more complex proteins and how the knowledge about protein stability at residue resolution helps to understand protein properties under crowding conditions, during phase separation and under high pressure.

Time-resolved structural analysis of an RNA-cleaving DNA catalyst

The 10-23 DNAzyme is one of the most prominent catalytically active DNA sequences^1,2. Its ability to cleave a wide range of RNA targets with high selectivity entails a substantial therapeutic and biotechnological potential². However, the high expectations have not yet been met, a fact that coincides with the lack of high-resolution and time-resolved information about its mode of action³. Here we provide high-resolution NMR characterization of all apparent states of the prototypic 10-23 DNAzyme and present a comprehensive survey of the kinetics and dynamics of its catalytic function. The determined structure and identified metal-ion-binding sites of the precatalytic DNAzyme-RNA complex reveal that the basis of the DNA-mediated catalysis is an interplay among three factors: an unexpected, yet exciting molecular architecture; distinct conformational plasticity; and dynamic modulation by metal ions. We further identify previously hidden rate-limiting transient intermediate states in the DNA-mediated catalytic process via real-time NMR measurements. Using a rationally selected single-atom replacement, we could considerably enhance the performance of the DNAzyme, demonstrating that the acquired knowledge of the molecular structure, its plasticity and the occurrence of long-lived intermediate states constitutes a valuable starting point for the rational design of next-generation DNAzymes.

An "Onion-like" Model of Protein Unfolding: Collective versus Site Specific Approaches

Approximating protein unfolding by an all-or-none cooperative event is a convenient assumption that can provide precious global information on protein stability. It is however quickly emerging that the scenario is far more complex and that global denaturation curves often hide a rich heterogeneity of states that are largely probe dependent. In this review, we revisit the importance of gaining site-specific information on the unfolding process. We focus on nuclear magnetic resonance, as this is the main technique able to provide site-specific information. We review historical and most modern approaches that have allowed an appreciable advancement of the field of protein folding. We also demonstrate how unfolding is a reporter dependent event, suggesting the outmost importance of selecting the reporter carefully.

Real-time nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the study of biomolecular kinetics and dynamics

The review describes the application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study kinetics of folding, refolding and aggregation of proteins, RNA and DNA. Time-resolved NMR experiments can be conducted in a reversible or an irreversible manner. In particular, irreversible folding experiments pose large requirements for (i) signal-to-noise due to the time limitations and (ii) synchronising of the refolding steps. Thus, this contribution discusses the application of methods for signal-to-noise increases, including dynamic nuclear polarisation, hyperpolarisation and photo-CIDNP for the study of time-resolved NMR studies. Further, methods are reviewed ranging from pressure and temperature jump, light induction to rapid mixing to induce rapidly non-equilibrium conditions required to initiate folding.

Benefits of time-resolved nonuniform sampling in reaction monitoring: The case of aza-Michael addition of benzylamine and acrylamide

Monitoring of chemical reactions is best carried out using methods that sample the test object at a rate greater than the time scale of the processes taking place. The recently proposed time-resolved nonuniform sampling (TR-NUS) method allows the use of two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra for this purpose and provides a time resolution equivalent to that achievable using one-dimensional spectra. Herein, we show that TR-NUS acquired data eliminates 2D spectral line disturbances and enables more accurate signal integration and kinetics conclusions. The considerations are exemplified with a seemingly simple aza-Michael reaction of benzylamine and acrylamide. Surprisingly, the product identification is possible only using 2D spectra, although credible monitoring requires TR-NUS.

Fast time-resolved NMR with non-uniform sampling

NMR spectroscopy is a versatile tool for studying time-dependent processes: chemical reactions, phase transitions or macromolecular structure changes. However, time-resolved NMR is usually based on the simplest among available techniques - one-dimensional spectra serving as "snapshots" of the studied process. One of the reasons is that multidimensional experiments are very time-expensive due to costly sampling of evolution time space. In this review we summarize efforts to alleviate the problem of limited applicability of multidimensional NMR in time-resolved studies. We focus on techniques based on sparse or non-uniform sampling (NUS), which lead to experimental time reduction by omitting a significant part of the data during measurement and reconstructing it mathematically, adopting certain assumptions about the spectrum. NUS spectra are faster to acquire than conventional ones and thus better suited to the role of "snapshots", but still suffer from non-stationarity of the signal i.e. amplitude and frequency variations within a dataset. We discuss in detail how these instabilities affect the spectra, and what are the optimal ways of sampling the non-stationary FID signal. Finally, we discuss related areas of NMR where serial experiments are exploited and how they can benefit from the same NUS-based approaches.

Nonstationary Two-Dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: A Method for Studying Reaction Mechanisms in Situ

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) is a versatile tool of chemical analysis allowing one to determine structures of molecules with atomic resolution. Particularly informative are two-dimensional (2D) experiments that directly identify atoms coupled by chemical bonds or a through-space interaction. Thus, NMR could potentially be powerful tool to study reactions in situ and explain their mechanisms. Unfortunately, 2D NMR is very time-consuming and thus often cannot serve as a "snapshot" technique for in situ reaction monitoring. Particularly difficult is the case of spectra, in which resonance frequencies vary in the course of reaction. This leads to resolution and sensitivity loss, often hindering the detection of transient products. In this paper we introduce a novel approach to correct such nonstationary 2D NMR signals and raise the detection limits over 10 times. We demonstrate success of its application for studying the mechanism of the reaction of AgSO₄-induced synthesis of diphenylmethane-type compounds. Several reactions occur in the studied mixture of benzene and toluene, all with rather low yield and leading to compounds with similar chemical shifts. Nevertheless, with the use of a proposed 2D NMR approach we were able to describe complex mechanisms of diphenylmethane formation involving AgSO₄-induced toluene deprotonation and formation of benzyl carbocation, followed by nucleophilic attacks.

Towards measuring reactivity on micro-to-millisecond timescales with laser pump, NMR probe spectroscopy

We present a quantitative analysis of the timescales of reactivity that are accessible to a laser pump, NMR probe spectroscopy method using para-hydrogen induced polarisation (PHIP) and identify three kinetic regimes: fast, intermediate and slow.

TReNDS-Software for reaction monitoring with time-resolved non-uniform sampling

NMR spectroscopy, used routinely for structure elucidation, has also become a widely applied tool for process and reaction monitoring. However, the most informative of NMR methods-correlation experiments-are often useless in this kind of applications. The traditional sampling of a multidimensional FID is usually time-consuming, and thus, the reaction-monitoring toolbox was practically limited to 1D experiments (with rare exceptions, e.g., single-scan or fast-sampling experiments). Recently, the technique of time-resolved non-uniform sampling (TR-NUS) has been proposed, which allows to use standard multidimensional pulse sequences preserving the temporal resolution close to that achievable in 1D experiments. However, the method existed only as a prototype and did not allow on-the-fly processing during the reaction. In this paper, we introduce TReNDS: free, user-friendly software kit for acquisition and processing of TR-NUS data. The program works on Bruker, Agilent, and Magritek spectrometers, allowing to carry out up to four experiments with interleaved TR-NUS. The performance of the program is demonstrated on the example of enzymatic hydrolysis of sucrose.

Rapid characterization of structure-dependency gas-phase ion/ion reaction via accumulative tandem MS

To enable the rapid detection of biomolecule reactivity and reaction sites, we developed a method based on gas-phase ion/ion reaction and accumulative tandem mass spectrometry (MS). Structure-dependency reactions in gas-phase were performed between biomolecule ions and their reaction partner ions with opposite polarities in a quadrupole ion trap. Gas-phase peptide bioconjugation with pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP) was chosen as a proof-of-principle example. It is found that the Coulomb attraction force holds reaction partners close together, which increasing the reaction probability. Post reaction, reaction sites were identified by the consequent accumulative tandem MS method, in which informative product ions in low abundance were enriched by more than 100 times in another quadrupole ion trap. With enough product ions, tandem MS was performed, and reaction sites could be identified unambiguously. Since those reactions are normally biomolecular structure dependent, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were also carried out to understand the reaction mechanism. The method allows for rapid characterization of structure dependent reactivity of a biomolecule, and opens a new avenue for drug development and biomolecule structure analyses.

Impact of cellular health conditions on the protein folding state in mammalian cells

By using in-cell NMR experiments, we have demonstrated that the protein folding state in cells is significantly influenced by the cellular health conditions. hAK1 was denatured in cells under stressful culture conditions, while it remained functional and properly folded in cells continuously supplied with a fresh medium.

Quick, sensitive serial NMR experiments with Radon transform

The Radon transform is a potentially powerful tool for processing the data from serial spectroscopic experiments. It makes it possible to decode the rate at which frequencies of spectral peaks shift under the effect of changing conditions, such as temperature, pH, or solvent. In this paper we show how it also improves speed and sensitivity, especially in multidimensional experiments. This is particularly important in the case of low-sensitivity techniques, such as NMR spectroscopy. As an example, we demonstrate how Radon transform processing allows serial measurements of ¹⁵N-HSQC spectra of unlabelled peptides that would otherwise be infeasible.

Optimized fast mixing device for real-time NMR applications

We present an improved fast mixing device based on the rapid mixing of two solutions inside the NMR probe, as originally proposed by Hore and coworkers (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125 (2003) 12484-12492). Such a device is important for off-equilibrium studies of molecular kinetics by multidimensional real-time NMR spectrsocopy. The novelty of this device is that it allows removing the injector from the NMR detection volume after mixing, and thus provides good magnetic field homogeneity independently of the initial sample volume placed in the NMR probe. The apparatus is simple to build, inexpensive, and can be used without any hardware modification on any type of liquid-state NMR spectrometer. We demonstrate the performance of our fast mixing device in terms of improved magnetic field homogeneity, and show an application to the study of protein folding and the structural characterization of transiently populated folding intermediates.

Artifacts in time-resolved NUS: A case study of NOE build-up curves from 2D NOESY

Multidimensional NMR spectroscopy requires time-consuming sampling of indirect dimensions and so is usually used to study stable samples. However, dynamically changing compounds or their mixtures commonly occur in problems of natural science. Monitoring them requires the use multidimensional NMR in a time-resolved manner - in other words, a series of quick spectra must be acquired at different points in time. Among the many solutions that have been proposed to achieve this goal, time-resolved non-uniform sampling (TR-NUS) is one of the simplest. In a TR-NUS experiment, the signal is sampled using a shuffled random schedule and then divided into overlapping subsets. These subsets are then processed using one of the NUS reconstruction methods, for example compressed sensing (CS). The resulting stack of spectra forms a temporal "pseudo-dimension" that shows the changes caused by the process occurring in the sample. CS enables the use of small subsets of data, which minimizes the averaging of the effects studied. Yet, even within these limited timeframes, the sample undergoes certain changes. In this paper we discuss the effect of varying signal amplitude in a TR-NUS experiment. Our theoretical calculations show that the variations within the subsets lead to t1-noise, which is dependent on the rate of change of the signal amplitude. We verify these predictions experimentally. As a model case we choose a novel 2D TR-NOESY experiment in which mixing time is varied in parallel with shuffled NUS in the indirect dimension. The experiment, performed on a sample of strychnine, provides a near-continuous NOE build-up curve, whose shape closely reflects the t1-noise level. 2D TR-NOESY reduces the measurement time compared to the conventional approach and makes it possible to verify the theoretical predictions about signal variations during TR-NUS.

Gene essentiality and synthetic lethality in haploid human cells

Although the genes essential for life have been identified in less complex model organisms, their elucidation in human cells has been hindered by technical barriers. We used extensive mutagenesis in haploid human cells to identify approximately 2000 genes required for optimal fitness under culture conditions. To study the principles of genetic interactions in human cells, we created a synthetic lethality network focused on the secretory pathway based exclusively on mutations. This revealed a genetic cross-talk governing Golgi homeostasis, an additional subunit of the human oligosaccharyltransferase complex, and a phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase β adaptor hijacked by viruses. The synthetic lethality map parallels observations made in yeast and projects a route forward to reveal genetic networks in diverse aspects of human cell biology.

Mechanisms of amyloid formation revealed by solution NMR

Amyloid fibrils are proteinaceous elongated aggregates involved in more than fifty human diseases. Recent advances in electron microscopy and solid state NMR have allowed the characterization of fibril structures to different extents of refinement. However, structural details about the mechanism of fibril formation remain relatively poorly defined. This is mainly due to the complex, heterogeneous and transient nature of the species responsible for assembly; properties that make them difficult to detect and characterize in structural detail using biophysical techniques. The ability of solution NMR spectroscopy to investigate exchange between multiple protein states, to characterize transient and low-population species, and to study high molecular weight assemblies, render NMR an invaluable technique for studies of amyloid assembly. In this article we review state-of-the-art solution NMR methods for investigations of: (a) protein dynamics that lead to the formation of aggregation-prone species; (b) amyloidogenic intrinsically disordered proteins; and (c) protein-protein interactions on pathway to fibril formation. Together, these topics highlight the power and potential of NMR to provide atomic level information about the molecular mechanisms of one of the most fascinating problems in structural biology.

Exploring the Protein Folding Pathway with High-Pressure NMR: Steady-State and Kinetics Studies

Defining the physical-chemical determinants of protein folding and stability, under normal and pathological conditions has constituted a major subfield in biophysical chemistry for over 50 years. Although a great deal of progress has been made in recent years towards this goal, a number of important questions remain. These include characterizing the structural, thermodynamic and dynamic properties of the barriers between conformational states on the protein energy landscape, understanding the sequence dependence of folding cooperativity, defining more clearly the role of solvation in controlling protein stability and dynamics and probing the high energy thermodynamic states in the native state basin and their role in misfolding and aggregation. Fundamental to the elucidation of these questions is a complete thermodynamic parameterization of protein folding determinants. In this chapter, we describe the use of high-pressure coupled to Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to reveal unprecedented details on the folding energy landscape of proteins.

Real-time protein NMR spectroscopy and investigation of assisted protein folding

BACKGROUND

During protein-folding reactions toward the native structure, short-lived intermediate states can be populated. Such intermediates expose hydrophobic patches and can self-associate leading to non-productive protein misfolding. A major focus of current research is the characterization of short-lived intermediates and how molecular chaperones enable productive folding. Real-time NMR spectroscopy, together with the development of advanced methods, is reviewed here and the potential these methods have to characterize intermediate states as well as interactions with molecular chaperone proteins at single-residue resolution is highlighted.

SCOPE OF REVIEW

Various chaperone interactions can guide the protein-folding reaction and thus are important for protein structure formation, stability, and activity of their substrates. Chaperone-assisted protein folding, characterization of intermediates, and their molecular interactions using real-time NMR spectroscopy will be discussed. Additionally, recent advances in NMR methods employed for characterization of high-energy intermediates will be discussed.

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS

Real-time NMR combines high resolution with kinetic information of protein reactions, which can be employed not only for protein-folding studies and the characterization of folding intermediates but also to investigate the molecular mechanisms of assisted protein folding.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

Real-time NMR spectroscopy remains an effective tool to reveal structural details about the interaction between chaperones and transient intermediates. Methodologically, it provides in-depth understanding of how kinetic intermediates and their thermodynamics contribute to the protein-folding reaction. This review summarizes the most recent advances in this field. This article is part of a Special Issue titled Proline-directed Foldases: Cell Signaling Catalysts and Drug Targets.

N-terminal phosphorylation of parathyroid hormone (PTH) abolishes its receptor activity

The parathyroid hormone (PTH) is an 84-residue peptide, which regulates the blood Ca(2+) level via GPCR binding and subsequent activation of intracellular signaling cascades. PTH is posttranslationally phosphorylated in the parathyroid glands; however, the functional significance of this processes is not well characterized. In the present study, mass spectrometric analysis revealed three sites of phosphorylation, and NMR spectroscopy assigned Ser1, Ser3, and Ser17 as modified sites. These sites are located at the N-terminus of the hormone, which is important for receptor recognition and activation. NMR shows further that the three phosphate groups remotely disturb the α-helical propensity up to Ala36. An intracellular cAMP accumulation assay elucidated the biological significance of this phosphorylation because it ablated the PTH-mediated signaling. Our studies thus shed light on functional implications of phosphorylation at native PTH as an additional level of regulation.

Accelerated NMR spectroscopy with low-rank reconstruction

Accelerated multi-dimensional NMR spectroscopy is a prerequisite for high-throughput applications, studying short-lived molecular systems and monitoring chemical reactions in real time. Non-uniform sampling is a common approach to reduce the measurement time. Here, a new method for high-quality spectra reconstruction from non-uniformly sampled data is introduced, which is based on recent developments in the field of signal processing theory and uses the so far unexploited general property of the NMR signal, its low rank. Using experimental and simulated data, we demonstrate that the low-rank reconstruction is a viable alternative to the current state-of-the-art technique compressed sensing. In particular, the low-rank approach is good in preserving of low-intensity broad peaks, and thus increases the effective sensitivity in the reconstructed spectra.

Time-resolved multidimensional NMR with non-uniform sampling

Time-resolved experiments demand high resolution both in spectral dimensions and in time of the studied kinetic process. The latter requirement traditionally prohibits applications of the multidimensional experiments, which, although capable of providing invaluable information about structure and dynamics and almost unlimited spectral resolution, require too lengthy data collection. Our work shows that the problem has a solution in using modern methods of NMR data collection and signal processing. A continuous fast pulsing three-dimensional experiment is acquired using non-uniform sampling during full time of the studied reaction. High sensitivity and time-resolution of a few minutes is achieved by simultaneous processing of the full data set with the multi-dimensional decomposition. The method is verified and illustrated in realistic simulations and by measuring deuterium exchange rates of amide protons in ubiquitin. We applied the method for characterizing kinetics of in vitro phosphorylation of two tyrosine residues in an intrinsically disordered cytosolic domain of the B cell receptor protein CD79b. Signals of many residues including tyrosines in both phosphorylated and unmodified forms of CD79b are found in a heavily crowded region of 2D ¹H-¹⁵N correlation spectrum and the significantly enhanced spectral resolution provided by the 3D time-resolved approach was essential for the quantitative site-specific analysis.

In situ study of reaction kinetics using compressed sensing NMR

CS-NMR improves the temporal resolution of conventional multi-dimensional NMR for species identification and study of reaction kinetics.

Protein folding on the ribosome studied using NMR spectroscopy

NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the investigation of protein folding and misfolding, providing a characterization of molecular structure, dynamics and exchange processes, across a very wide range of timescales and with near atomic resolution. In recent years NMR methods have also been developed to study protein folding as it might occur within the cell, in a de novo manner, by observing the folding of nascent polypeptides in the process of emerging from the ribosome during synthesis. Despite the 2.3 MDa molecular weight of the bacterial 70S ribosome, many nascent polypeptides, and some ribosomal proteins, have sufficient local flexibility that sharp resonances may be observed in solution-state NMR spectra. In providing information on dynamic regions of the structure, NMR spectroscopy is therefore highly complementary to alternative methods such as X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, which have successfully characterized the rigid core of the ribosome particle. However, the low working concentrations and limited sample stability associated with ribosome-nascent chain complexes means that such studies still present significant technical challenges to the NMR spectroscopist. This review will discuss the progress that has been made in this area, surveying all NMR studies that have been published to date, and with a particular focus on strategies for improving experimental sensitivity.

Perspectives in enzymology of membrane proteins by solid-state NMR

Membrane proteins catalyze reactions at the cell membrane and facilitate thetransport of molecules or signals across the membrane. Recently researchers have made great progress in understanding the structural biology of membrane proteins, mainly based on X-ray crystallography. In addition, the application of complementary spectroscopic techniques has allowed researchers to develop a functional understanding of these proteins. Solid-state NMR has become an indispensable tool for the structure-function analysis of insoluble proteins and protein complexes. It offers the possibility of investigating membrane proteins directly in their environment, which provides essential information about the intrinsic coupling of protein structure and functional dynamics within the lipid bilayer. However, to date, researchers have hardly explored the enzymology of mem-brane proteins. In this Account, we review the perspectives for investigating membrane-bound enzymes by solid-state NMR. Understanding enzyme mechanisms requires access to kinetic parameters, structural analysis of the catalytic center, knowledge of the 3D structure and methods to follow the structural dynamics of the enzyme during the catalytic cycle. In principle, solid-state NMR can address all of these issues. Researchers can characterize the enzyme kinetics by observing substrate turnover within the membrane or at the membrane interphase in a time-resolved fashion as shown for diacylglycerol kinase. Solid-state NMR has also provided a mechanistic understanding of soluble enzymes including triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) and different metal-binding proteins, which demonstrates a promising perspective also for membrane proteins. The increasing availability of high magnetic fields and the development of new experimental schemes and computational protocols have made it easier to determine 3D structure using solid-state NMR. Dynamic nuclear polarization, a key technique to boost sensitivity of solid-state NMR at low temperatures, can help with the analysis of thermally trapped catalytic intermediates, while methods to improve signal-to-noise per time unit enable the real-time measurement of kinetics of conformational changes during the catalytic cycle.

Cold denaturation of a protein dimer monitored at atomic resolution

Protein folding and unfolding are crucial for a range of biological phenomena and human diseases. Defining the structural properties of the involved transient species is therefore of prime interest. Using a combination of cold denaturation with NMR spectroscopy, we reveal detailed insight into the unfolding of the homodimeric repressor protein CylR2. Seven three-dimensional structures of CylR2 at temperatures from 25 °C to -16 °C reveal a progressive dissociation of the dimeric protein into a native-like monomeric intermediate followed by transition into a highly dynamic, partially folded state. The core of the partially folded state seems critical for biological function and misfolding.

Photo-CIDNP NMR spectroscopy of amino acids and proteins

Photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP) is a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phenomenon which, among other things, is exploited to extract information on biomolecular structure via probing solvent-accessibilities of tryptophan (Trp), tyrosine (Tyr), and histidine (His) amino acid side chains both in polypeptides and proteins in solution. The effect, normally triggered by a (laser) light-induced photochemical reaction in situ, yields both positive and/or negative signal enhancements in the resulting NMR spectra which reflect the solvent exposure of these residues both in equilibrium and during structural transformations in "real time". As such, the method can offer - qualitatively and, to a certain extent, quantitatively - residue-specific structural and kinetic information on both the native and, in particular, the non-native states of proteins which, often, is not readily available from more routine NMR techniques. In this review, basic experimental procedures of the photo-CIDNP technique as applied to amino acids and proteins are discussed, recent improvements to the method highlighted, and future perspectives presented. First, the basic principles of the phenomenon based on the theory of the radical pair mechanism (RPM) are outlined. Second, a description of standard photo-CIDNP applications is given and it is shown how the effect can be exploited to extract residue-specific structural information on the conformational space sampled by unfolded or partially folded proteins on their "path" to the natively folded form. Last, recent methodological advances in the field are highlighted, modern applications of photo-CIDNP in the context of biological NMR evaluated, and an outlook into future perspectives of the method is given.

Thermodynamic and structural properties of the acid molten globule state of horse cytochrome C

To understand the stabilization, folding, and functional mechanisms of proteins, it is very important to understand the structural and thermodynamic properties of the molten globule state. In this study, the global structure of the acid molten globule state, which we call MG1, of horse cytochrome c at low pH and high salt concentrations was evaluated by solution X-ray scattering (SXS), dynamic light scattering, and circular dichroism measurements. MG1 was globular and slightly (3%) larger than the native state, N. Calorimetric methods, such as differential scanning calorimetry and isothermal acid-titration calorimetry, were used to evaluate the thermodynamic parameters in the transitions of N to MG1 and MG1 to denatured state D of horse cytochrome c. The heat capacity change, ΔC(p), in the N-to-MG1 transition was determined to be 2.56 kJ K(-1) mol(-1), indicating the increase in the level of hydration in the MG1 state. Moreover, the intermediate state on the thermal N-to-D transition of horse cytochrome c at pH 4 under low-salt conditions showed the same structural and thermodynamic properties of the MG1 state in both SXS and calorimetric measurements. The Gibbs free energy changes (ΔG) for the N-to-MG1 and N-to-D transitions at 15 °C were 10.9 and 42.2 kJ mol(-1), respectively.

Kinetic analysis of protein aggregation monitored by real-time 2D solid-state NMR spectroscopy

It is shown that real-time 2D solid-state NMR can be used to obtain kinetic and structural information about the process of protein aggregation. In addition to the incorporation of kinetic information involving intermediate states, this approach can offer atom-specific resolution for all detectable species. The analysis was carried out using experimental data obtained during aggregation of the 10.4 kDa Crh protein, which has been shown to involve a partially unfolded intermediate state prior to aggregation. Based on a single real-time 2D (13)C-(13)C transition spectrum, kinetic information about the refolding and aggregation step could be extracted. In addition, structural rearrangements associated with refolding are estimated and several different aggregation scenarios were compared to the experimental data.

Fast mapping of global protein folding states by multivariate NMR: a GPS for proteins

To obtain insight into the functions of proteins and their specific roles, it is important to establish efficient procedures for exploring the states that encapsulate their conformational space. Global Protein folding State mapping by multivariate NMR (GPS NMR) is a powerful high-throughput method that provides such an overview. GPS NMR exploits the unique ability of NMR to simultaneously record signals from individual hydrogen atoms in complex macromolecular systems and of multivariate analysis to describe spectral variations from these by a few variables for establishment of, and positioning in, protein-folding state maps. The method is fast, sensitive, and robust, and it works without isotope-labelling. The unique capabilities of GPS NMR to identify different folding states and to compare different unfolding processes are demonstrated by mapping of the equilibrium folding space of bovine α-lactalbumin in the presence of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS, and compare these with other surfactants, acid, denaturants and heat.

A remote prolyl isomerization controls domain assembly via a hydrogen bonding network

Prolyl cis/trans isomerizations determine the rates of protein folding reactions and can serve as molecular switches and timers. In the gene-3-protein of filamentous phage, Pro-213 trans --> cis isomerization in a hinge region controls the assembly of the 2 domains N1 and N2 and, in reverse, the activation of the phage for infection. We elucidated the structural and energetic basis of this proline-limited domain assembly at the level of individual residues by real-time 2D NMR. A local cluster of inter-domain hydrogen bonds, remote from Pro-213, is stabilized up to 3,000-fold by trans --> cis isomerization. This network of hydrogen bonds mediates domain assembly and is connected with Pro-213 by rigid backbone segments. Thus, proline cis/trans switching is propagated in a specific and directional fashion to change the protein structure and stability at a distant position.

Conserved folding pathways of alpha-lactalbumin and lysozyme revealed by kinetic CD, fluorescence, NMR, and interrupted refolding experiments

In this report, it is shown by a combination of stopped-flow CD, fluorescence, and time-resolved NMR studies that the Ca(2+)-induced refolding of bovine alpha-lactalbumin (BLA) at constant denaturant concentration (4 M urea) exhibits triple-exponential kinetics. In order to distinguish between parallel folding pathways and a strictly sequential formation of the native state, interrupted refolding experiments were conducted. We show here that the Ca(2+)-induced refolding of BLA involves parallel pathways and the transient formation of a folding intermediate on the millisecond timescale. Our data furthermore suggest that the two structurally homologous proteins BLA and hen egg white lysozyme share a common folding mechanism. We provide evidence that the guiding role of long-range interactions in the unfolded state of lysozyme in mediating intersubdomain interactions during folding is replaced in the case of BLA by the Ca(2+)-binding site. Time-resolved NMR spectroscopy, in combination with fast ion release from caged compounds, enables the measurement of complex protein folding kinetics at protein concentrations as low as 100 microM and the concomitant detection of conformational transitions with rate constants of up to 8 s(-1).

ICMRBS founder's medal 2006: biological solid-state NMR, methods and applications

Solid-state NMR (ssNMR) provides increasing possibilities to study structure and dynamics of biomolecular systems. Our group has been interested in developing ssNMR-based approaches that are applicable to biomolecules of increasing molecular size and complexity without the need of specific isotope-labelling. Methodological aspects ranging from spectral assignments to the indirect detection of proton-proton contacts in multi-dimensional ssNMR are discussed and applied to (membrane) protein complexes.

Time-resolved NMR studies of RNA folding

The application of real-time NMR experiments to the study of RNA folding, as reviewed in this article, is relatively new. For many RNA folding events, current investigations suggest that the time scales are in the second to minute regime. In addition, the initial investigations suggest that different folding rates are observed for one structural transition may be due to the hierarchical folding units of RNA. Many of the experiments developed in the field of NMR of protein folding cannot directly be transferred to RNA: hydrogen exchange experiments outside the spectrometer cannot be applied since the intrinsic exchange rates are too fast in RNA, relaxation dispersion experiments on the other require faster structural transitions than those observed in RNA. On the other hand, information derived from time-resolved NMR experiments, namely the acquisition of native chemical shifts, can be readily interpreted in light of formation of a single long-range hydrogen bonding interaction. Together with mutational data that can readily be obtained for RNA and new ligation technologies that enhance site resolution even further, time-resolved NMR may become a powerful tool to decipher RNA folding. Such understanding will be of importance to understand the functions of coding and non-coding RNAs in cells.

Protein folding and unfolding studied at atomic resolution by fast two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy

Atom-resolved real-time studies of kinetic processes in proteins have been hampered in the past by the lack of experimental techniques that yield sufficient temporal and atomic resolution. Here we present band-selective optimized flip-angle short transient (SOFAST) real-time 2D NMR spectroscopy, a method that allows simultaneous observation of reaction kinetics for a large number of nuclear sites along the polypeptide chain of a protein with an unprecedented time resolution of a few seconds. SOFAST real-time 2D NMR spectroscopy combines fast NMR data acquisition techniques with rapid sample mixing inside the NMR magnet to initiate the kinetic event. We demonstrate the use of SOFAST real-time 2D NMR to monitor the conformational transition of alpha-lactalbumin from a molten globular to the native state for a large number of amide sites along the polypeptide chain. The kinetic behavior observed for the disappearance of the molten globule and the appearance of the native state is monoexponential and uniform along the polypeptide chain. This observation confirms previous findings that a single transition state ensemble controls folding of alpha-lactalbumin from the molten globule to the native state. In a second application, the spontaneous unfolding of native ubiquitin under nondenaturing conditions is characterized by amide hydrogen exchange rate constants measured at high pH by using SOFAST real-time 2D NMR. Our data reveal that ubiquitin unfolds in a gradual manner with distinct unfolding regimes.

Magnetic resonance in the solid state: applications to protein folding, amyloid fibrils and membrane proteins

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) represents a spectroscopic method to study non-crystalline molecules at atomic resolution. Advancements in spectroscopy and biochemistry provide increasing possibilities to study structure and dynamics of complex biomolecular systems by ssNMR. Here, methodological aspects and applications in the context of protein folding and aggregation are discussed. In addition, studies involving membrane proteins are considered.

Characterization of folding intermediates of a domain-swapped protein by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

We have employed two-dimensional solid-state NMR to study structure and dynamics of insoluble folding states of the domain-swapped protein Crh. Starting from the protein precipitated at its pI, conformational changes due to a modest temperature increase were investigated at the level of individual residues and in real-time. As compared to the crystalline state, Crh pI-precipitates exhibited a higher degree of molecular mobility for several regions of the protein. A rigidly intact center was observed including a subset of residues of the hydrophobic core. Raising the temperature by 13 K to 282 K created a partially unfolded intermediate state that was converted into beta-sheet-rich aggregates that are mostly of spherical character according to electron microscopy. Residue-by-residue analysis indicated that two out of three alpha-helices in aggregated Crh underwent major structural rearrangements while the third helix was preserved. Residues in the hinge region exhibited major chemical-shift changes, indicating that the domain swap was not conserved in the aggregated form. Our study provides direct evidence that protein aggregates of a domain-swapped protein retain a significant fraction of native secondary structure and demonstrates that solid-state NMR can be used to directly monitor slow molecular folding events.

A molten globule-like intermediate state detected in the thermal transition of cytochrome c under low salt concentration

To understand the stabilization mechanism of the transient intermediate state in protein folding, it is very important to understand the structure and stability of the molten globule state under a native condition, in which the native state exists stably. The thermal transitions of horse cytochrome c were thermodynamically evaluated by highly precise differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at pH 3.8-5.0. The heat capacity functions were analyzed using double deconvolution and the nonlinear least-squares method. An intermediate (I) state is clearly confirmed in the thermal native (N)-to-denatured (D) transition of horse cytochrome c. The mole fraction of the intermediate state shows the largest value, 0.4, at nearly 70 degrees C at pH 4.1. This intermediate state was also detected by the circular dichroism (CD) method and was found to have the properties of the molten globule-like structure by three-state analysis of the CD data. The Gibbs free-energy change between N and I, DeltaG(NI), and that between N and D, DeltaG(ND), were evaluated to be 9-22 kJ mol(-1) and 41-45 kJ mol(-1), respectively at 15( ) degrees C and pH 4.1.

Mutation at Glu23 eliminates the neuron growth inhibitory activity of human metallothionein-3

Human metallothionein-3 (hMT3), first isolated and identified as a neuronal growth inhibitory factor (GIF), is a metalloprotein expressed predominantly in brain. However, until now, the exact mechanism of the bioactivity of hMT3 is still unknown. In order to study the influence of acid-base catalysis on S-nitrosylation of hMT3, we constructed the E23K mutant of hMT3. During the course of bioassay, we found out unexpectedly that mutation at E23 of hMT3 eliminates the neuronal growth inhibitory activity completely. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report that other residues, besides the TCPCP motif, in the beta-domain can alter the bioactivity of hMT3. In order to figure out the causes for the loss of bioactivity of the E23K mutant, the biochemical properties were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, CD spectroscopy, pH titration, DTNB reaction, EDTA reaction, and SNOC reaction. All data demonstrated that stability of the metal-thiolate cluster and overall structure of the E23K mutant were not altered too much. However, the reaction of the E23K mutant with SNOC exhibited biphasic kinetics and the mutant protein released zinc ions much faster than hMT3 in the initial step, while hMT3 exhibited single kinetic process. The 2D [1H-15N] HSQC was also employed to characterize structural changes during the reaction of hMT3 with varying mounts of nitric oxide. It was shown that the resonance of Glu23 disappeared at a molar ratio of NO to protein of 4. Based on these results, we suggest that mutation at Glu23 may alter the NO metabolism and/or affect zinc homeostasis in brain, thus altering the neuronal growth inhibitory activity.

NMR analysis of a Tau phosphorylation pattern

The phosphorylation of the neuronal Tau protein modulates both its physiological role of microtubule binding and its aggregation into paired helical fragments observed in Alzheimer's diseased neurons. However, detailed knowledge of the role of phosphorylation at specific sites has been hampered by the analytical difficulties to evaluate the level of site-specific phosphate incorporation. Even with recombinant kinases, mass spectrometry and immunodetection are not evident for determining the full phosphorylation pattern in a qualitative and quantitative manner. We show here that heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy on a 15N labeled Tau sample modified by the cAMP dependent kinase allows identification of all phosphorylation sites, measures their level of phosphate integration, and yields kinetic data for the enzymatic modification of the individual sites. Filtering through the 15N label discards the necessity of any further sample purification and allows the in situ monitoring of kinase activity at selected sites. We finally demonstrate that the NMR approach can equally be used to evaluate potential kinase inhibitors in a straightforward manner.