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Dubanevics I, McLeish TCB. Optimising Elastic Network Models for Protein Dynamics and Allostery: Spatial and Modal Cut-offs and Backbone Stiffness. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167696. [PMID: 35810792 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The family of coarse-grained models for protein dynamics known as Elastic Network Models (ENMs) require careful choice of parameters to represent well experimental measurements or fully-atomistic simulations. The most basic ENM that represents each protein residue by a node at the position of its C-alpha atom, all connected by springs of equal stiffness, up to a cut-off in distance. Even at this level a choice is required of the optimum cut-off distance and the upper limit of elastic normal modes taken in any sum for physical properties, such as dynamic correlation or allosteric effects on binding. Additionally, backbone-enhanced ENM (BENM) may improve the model by allocating a higher stiffness to springs that connect along the protein backbone. This work reports on the effect of varying these three parameters (distance and mode cutoffs, backbone stiffness) on the dynamical structure of three proteins, Catabolite Activator Protein (CAP), Glutathione S-transferase (GST), and the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (M pro ). Our main results are: (1) balancing B-factor and dispersion-relation predictions, a near-universal optimal value of 8.5 Å is advisable for ENMs; (2) inhomogeneity in elasticity brings the first mode containing spatial structure not well-resolved by the ENM typically within the first 20; (3) the BENM only affects modes in the upper third of the distribution, and, additionally to the ENM, is only able to model the dispersion curve better in this vicinity; (4) BENM does not typically affect fluctuation-allostery, which also requires careful treatment of the effector binding to the host protein to capture.
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Design and Characterization of a Cell-Penetrating Peptide Derived from the SOX2 Transcription Factor. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22179354. [PMID: 34502261 PMCID: PMC8431565 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
SOX2 is an oncogenic transcription factor overexpressed in nearly half of the basal-like triple-negative breast cancers associated with very poor outcomes. Targeting and inhibiting SOX2 is clinically relevant as high SOX2 mRNA levels are positively correlated with decreased overall survival and progression-free survival in patients affected with breast cancer. Given its key role as a master regulator of cell proliferation, SOX2 represents an important scaffold for the engineering of dominant-negative synthetic DNA-binding domains (DBDs) that act by blocking or interfering with the oncogenic activity of the endogenous transcription factor in cancer cells. We have synthesized an interference peptide (iPep) encompassing a truncated 24 amino acid long C-terminus of SOX2 containing a potential SOX-specific nuclear localization sequence, and the determinants of the binding of SOX2 to the DNA and to its transcription factor binding partners. We found that the resulting peptide (SOX2-iPep) possessed intrinsic cell penetration and promising nuclear localization into breast cancer cells, and decreased cellular proliferation of SOX2 overexpressing cell lines. The novel SOX2-iPep was found to exhibit a random coil conformation predominantly in solution. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to characterize the interactions of both the SOX2 transcription factor and the SOX2-iPep with FGF4-enhancer DNA in the presence of the POU domain of the partner transcription factor OCT4. Predictions of the free energy of binding revealed that the iPep largely retained the binding affinity for DNA of parental SOX2. This work will enable the future engineering of novel dominant interference peptides to transport different therapeutic cargo molecules such as anti-cancer drugs into cells.
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Dubanevics I, McLeish TCB. Computational analysis of dynamic allostery and control in the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. J R Soc Interface 2021; 18:20200591. [PMID: 33402024 PMCID: PMC7879766 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has no publicly available vaccine or antiviral drugs at the time of writing. An attractive coronavirus drug target is the main protease (Mpro, also known as 3CLpro) because of its vital role in the viral cycle. A significant body of work has been focused on finding inhibitors which bind and block the active site of the main protease, but little has been done to address potential non-competitive inhibition, targeting regions other than the active site, partly because the fundamental biophysics of such allosteric control is still poorly understood. In this work, we construct an elastic network model (ENM) of the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro homodimer protein and analyse its dynamics and thermodynamics. We found a rich and heterogeneous dynamical structure, including allosterically correlated motions between the homodimeric protease's active sites. Exhaustive 1-point and 2-point mutation scans of the ENM and their effect on fluctuation free energies confirm previously experimentally identified bioactive residues, but also suggest several new candidate regions that are distant from the active site, yet control the protease function. Our results suggest new dynamically driven control regions as possible candidates for non-competitive inhibiting binding sites in the protease, which may assist the development of current fragment-based binding screens. The results also provide new insights into the active biophysical research field of protein fluctuation allostery and its underpinning dynamical structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igors Dubanevics
- School of Natural Sciences, University of York, York, UK
- Department of Physics, University of York, York, UK
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Nijjar S, Maddison D, Meigh L, de Wolf E, Rodgers T, Cann MJ, Dale N. Opposing modulation of Cx26 gap junctions and hemichannels by CO 2. J Physiol 2020; 599:103-118. [PMID: 33022747 DOI: 10.1113/jp280747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS A moderate increase in P C O 2 (55 mmHg) closes Cx26 gap junctions. This effect of CO2 is independent of changes in intra- or extracellular pH. The CO2 -dependent closing effect depends on the same residues (K125 and R104) that are required for the CO2 -dependent opening of Cx26 hemichannels. Pathological mutations of Cx26 abolish the CO2 -dependent closing of the gap junction. Elastic network modelling suggests that the effect of CO2 on Cx26 hemichannels and gap junctions is mediated through changes in the lowest entropy state of the protein. ABSTRACT Cx26 hemichannels open in response to moderate elevations of CO2 ( P C O 2 55 mmHg) via a carbamylation reaction that depends on residues K125 and R104. Here we investigate the action of CO2 on Cx26 gap junctions. Using a dye transfer assay, we found that an elevated P C O 2 of 55 mmHg greatly delayed the permeation of a fluorescent glucose analogue (NBDG) between HeLa cells coupled by Cx26 gap junctions. However, the mutations K125R or R104A abolished this effect of CO2 . Whole cell recordings demonstrated that elevated CO2 reduced the Cx26 gap junction conductance (median reduction 66.7%, 95% CI, 50.5-100.0%) but had no effect on Cx26K125R or Cx31 gap junctions. CO2 can cause intracellular acidification. Using 30 mm propionate, we found that acidification in the absence of a change in P C O 2 caused a median reduction in the gap junction conductance of 41.7% (95% CI, 26.6-53.7%). This effect of propionate was unaffected by the K125R mutation (median reduction 48.1%, 95% CI, 28.0-86.3%). pH-dependent and CO2 -dependent closure of the gap junction are thus mechanistically independent. Mutations of Cx26 associated with the keratitis ichthyosis deafness syndrome (N14K, A40V and A88V), in combination with the mutation M151L, also abolished the CO2 -dependent gap junction closure. Elastic network modelling suggests that the lowest entropy state when CO2 is bound is the closed configuration for the gap junction but the open state for the hemichannel. The opposing actions of CO2 on Cx26 gap junctions and hemichannels thus depend on the same residues and presumed carbamylation reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarbjit Nijjar
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Daniel Maddison
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Louise Meigh
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | | | - Thomas Rodgers
- School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Martin J Cann
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Nicholas Dale
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
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Barthels F, Schirmeister T, Kersten C. BANΔIT: B'-Factor Analysis for Drug Design and Structural Biology. Mol Inform 2020; 40:e2000144. [PMID: 32830452 PMCID: PMC7461025 DOI: 10.1002/minf.202000144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
The analysis of B‐factor profiles from X‐ray protein structures can be utilized for structure‐based drug design since protein mobility changes have been associated with the quality of protein‐ligand interactions. With the BANΔIT (B’‐factor analysis and ΔB’ interpretation toolkit), we have developed a JavaScript‐based browser application that provides a graphical user interface for the normalization and analysis of B’‐factor profiles. To emphasize the usability for rational drug design applications, we have analyzed a selection of crystallographic protein‐ligand complexes and have given exemplary conclusions for further drug optimization including the development of a B’‐factor‐supported pharmacophore model for SARS CoV‐2 main protease inhibitors. BANΔIT is available online at https://bandit.uni‐mainz.de. The source code can be downloaded from https://github.com/FBarthels/BANDIT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Barthels
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Tanja Schirmeister
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Christian Kersten
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 5, 55128, Mainz, Germany
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Perez-Riba A, Synakewicz M, Itzhaki LS. Folding cooperativity and allosteric function in the tandem-repeat protein class. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0188. [PMID: 29735741 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The term allostery was originally developed to describe structural changes in one binding site induced by the interaction of a partner molecule with a distant binding site, and it has been studied in depth in the field of enzymology. Here, we discuss the concept of action at a distance in relation to the folding and function of the solenoid class of tandem-repeat proteins such as tetratricopeptide repeats (TPRs) and ankyrin repeats. Distantly located repeats fold cooperatively, even though only nearest-neighbour interactions exist in these proteins. A number of repeat-protein scaffolds have been reported to display allosteric effects, transferred through the repeat array, that enable them to direct the activity of the multi-subunit enzymes within which they reside. We also highlight a recently identified group of tandem-repeat proteins, the RRPNN subclass of TPRs, recent crystal structures of which indicate that they function as allosteric switches to modulate multiple bacterial quorum-sensing mechanisms. We believe that the folding cooperativity of tandem-repeat proteins and the biophysical mechanisms that transform them into allosteric switches are intimately intertwined. This opinion piece aims to combine our understanding of the two areas and develop ideas on their common underlying principles.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Allostery and molecular machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Perez-Riba
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK
| | - Marie Synakewicz
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK
| | - Laura S Itzhaki
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK
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7
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McLeish T, Schaefer C, von der Heydt AC. The 'allosteron' model for entropic allostery of self-assembly. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170186. [PMID: 29735739 PMCID: PMC5941180 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Using the simple 'allosteron' model, we show that it is possible, in principle, to elicit pathways by which fluctuation allostery affects self-assembly of protein complexes. We treat the cases of (i) protein fibrils and nucleation, (ii) n-mer protein complexes, and (iii) weakly attractive allosteric interactions in protein-like soft nanoscale objects that can be tuned to define exclusive self-associating families.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Allostery and molecular machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom McLeish
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - C Schaefer
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - A C von der Heydt
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
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8
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Dynamic Transmission of Protein Allostery without Structural Change: Spatial Pathways or Global Modes? Biophys J 2015; 109:1240-50. [PMID: 26338443 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2015.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2015] [Revised: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We examine the contrast between mechanisms for allosteric signaling that involve structural change, and those that do not, from the perspective of allosteric pathways. In particular we treat in detail the case of fluctuation-allostery by which amplitude modulation of the thermal fluctuations of the elastic normal modes conveys the allosteric signal, and address the question of what an allosteric pathway means in this case. We find that a perturbation theory of thermal elastic solids and nonperturbative approach (by super-coarse-graining elasticity into internal bending modes) have opposite signatures in their structure of correlated pathways. We illustrate the effect from analysis of previous results from GlxR of Corynebacterium glutamicum, an example of the CRP/FNR transcription family of allosteric homodimers. We find that the visibility of both correlated pathways and disconnected sites of correlated motion in this protein suggests that mechanisms of local elastic stretch and bend are recruited for the purpose of creating and controlling allosteric cooperativity.
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Townsend PD, Rodgers TL, Glover LC, Korhonen HJ, Richards SA, Colwell LJ, Pohl E, Wilson MR, Hodgson DRW, McLeish TCB, Cann MJ. The Role of Protein-Ligand Contacts in Allosteric Regulation of the Escherichia coli Catabolite Activator Protein. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:22225-35. [PMID: 26187469 PMCID: PMC4571973 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.669267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Allostery is a fundamental process by which ligand binding to a protein alters its activity at a distant site. Both experimental and theoretical evidence demonstrate that allostery can be communicated through altered slow relaxation protein dynamics without conformational change. The catabolite activator protein (CAP) of Escherichia coli is an exemplar for the analysis of such entropically driven allostery. Negative allostery in CAP occurs between identical cAMP binding sites. Changes to the cAMP-binding pocket can therefore impact the allosteric properties of CAP. Here we demonstrate, through a combination of coarse-grained modeling, isothermal calorimetry, and structural analysis, that decreasing the affinity of CAP for cAMP enhances negative cooperativity through an entropic penalty for ligand binding. The use of variant cAMP ligands indicates the data are not explained by structural heterogeneity between protein mutants. We observe computationally that altered interaction strength between CAP and cAMP variously modifies the change in allosteric cooperativity due to second site CAP mutations. As the degree of correlated motion between the cAMP-contacting site and a second site on CAP increases, there is a tendency for computed double mutations at these sites to drive CAP toward noncooperativity. Naturally occurring pairs of covarying residues in CAP do not display this tendency, suggesting a selection pressure to fine tune allostery on changes to the CAP ligand-binding pocket without a drive to a noncooperative state. In general, we hypothesize an evolutionary selection pressure to retain slow relaxation dynamics-induced allostery in proteins in which evolution of the ligand-binding site is occurring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D Townsend
- From the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and
| | - Thomas L Rodgers
- the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Laura C Glover
- From the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and the Departments of Chemistry and
| | - Heidi J Korhonen
- the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and the Departments of Chemistry and the Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland, and
| | | | - Lucy J Colwell
- the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Ehmke Pohl
- From the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and the Departments of Chemistry and
| | - Mark R Wilson
- the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and the Departments of Chemistry and
| | - David R W Hodgson
- the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and the Departments of Chemistry and
| | - Tom C B McLeish
- the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and the Departments of Chemistry and Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Martin J Cann
- From the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, the Biophysical Sciences Institute, and
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10
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Townsend PD, Rodgers TL, Pohl E, Wilson MR, McLeish TCB, Cann MJ. Global low-frequency motions in protein allostery: CAP as a model system. Biophys Rev 2015; 7:175-182. [PMID: 26000062 PMCID: PMC4432019 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-015-0163-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 01/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Allostery is a fundamental process by which ligand binding to a protein alters its activity at a distant site. There is considerable evidence that allosteric cooperativity can be communicated by the modulation of protein dynamics without conformational change. The Catabolite Activator Protein (CAP) of Escherichia coli is an important experimental exemplar for entropically driven allostery. Here we discuss recent experimentally supported theoretical analysis that highlights the role of global low-frequency dynamics in allostery in CAP and identify how allostery arises as a natural consequence of changes in global low-frequency protein fluctuations on ligand binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D Townsend
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, UK ; School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Thomas L Rodgers
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, UK ; Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, UK ; School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Ehmke Pohl
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, UK ; School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, UK ; Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Mark R Wilson
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, UK ; Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Tom C B McLeish
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, UK ; Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, UK ; Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Martin J Cann
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, UK ; School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, UK
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11
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Townsend PD, Jungwirth B, Pojer F, Bußmann M, Money VA, Cole ST, Pühler A, Tauch A, Bott M, Cann MJ, Pohl E. The crystal structures of apo and cAMP-bound GlxR from Corynebacterium glutamicum reveal structural and dynamic changes upon cAMP binding in CRP/FNR family transcription factors. PLoS One 2014; 9:e113265. [PMID: 25469635 PMCID: PMC4254451 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2014] [Accepted: 10/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The cyclic AMP-dependent transcriptional regulator GlxR from Corynebacterium glutamicum is a member of the super-family of CRP/FNR (cyclic AMP receptor protein/fumarate and nitrate reduction regulator) transcriptional regulators that play central roles in bacterial metabolic regulatory networks. In C. glutamicum, which is widely used for the industrial production of amino acids and serves as a non-pathogenic model organism for members of the Corynebacteriales including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the GlxR homodimer controls the transcription of a large number of genes involved in carbon metabolism. GlxR therefore represents a key target for understanding the regulation and coordination of C. glutamicum metabolism. Here we investigate cylic AMP and DNA binding of GlxR from C. glutamicum and describe the crystal structures of apo GlxR determined at a resolution of 2.5 Å, and two crystal forms of holo GlxR at resolutions of 2.38 and 1.82 Å, respectively. The detailed structural analysis and comparison of GlxR with CRP reveals that the protein undergoes a distinctive conformational change upon cyclic AMP binding leading to a dimer structure more compatible to DNA-binding. As the two binding sites in the GlxR homodimer are structurally identical dynamic changes upon binding of the first ligand are responsible for the allosteric behavior. The results presented here show how dynamic and structural changes in GlxR lead to optimization of orientation and distance of its two DNA-binding helices for optimal DNA recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D. Townsend
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences & Department of Chemistry, Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Britta Jungwirth
- Institute for Genome Research and Systems Biology, Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Florence Pojer
- Global Health Institute, Protein Crystallography Core Facility, Ecole Poytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michael Bußmann
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1:Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Victoria A. Money
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences & Department of Chemistry, Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Stewart T. Cole
- Global Health Institute, Protein Crystallography Core Facility, Ecole Poytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alfred Pühler
- Institute for Genome Research and Systems Biology, Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Andreas Tauch
- Institute for Genome Research and Systems Biology, Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Michael Bott
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1:Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Martin J. Cann
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences & Department of Chemistry, Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Ehmke Pohl
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences & Department of Chemistry, Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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12
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Fuglebakk E, Tiwari SP, Reuter N. Comparing the intrinsic dynamics of multiple protein structures using elastic network models. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2014; 1850:911-922. [PMID: 25267310 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2014.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Revised: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elastic network models (ENMs) are based on the simple idea that a protein can be described as a set of particles connected by springs, which can then be used to describe its intrinsic flexibility using, for example, normal mode analysis. Since the introduction of the first ENM by Monique Tirion in 1996, several variants using coarser protein models have been proposed and their reliability for the description of protein intrinsic dynamics has been widely demonstrated. Lately an increasing number of studies have focused on the meaning of slow dynamics for protein function and its potential conservation through evolution. This leads naturally to comparisons of the intrinsic dynamics of multiple protein structures with varying levels of similarity. SCOPE OF REVIEW We describe computational strategies for calculating and comparing intrinsic dynamics of multiple proteins using elastic network models, as well as a selection of examples from the recent literature. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS The increasing interest for comparing dynamics across protein structures with various levels of similarity, has led to the establishment and validation of reliable computational strategies using ENMs. Comparing dynamics has been shown to be a viable way for gaining greater understanding for the mechanisms employed by proteins for their function. Choices of ENM parameters, structure alignment or similarity measures will likely influence the interpretation of the comparative analysis of protein motion. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE Understanding the relation between protein function and dynamics is relevant to the fundamental understanding of protein structure-dynamics-function relationship. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Recent developments of molecular dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edvin Fuglebakk
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Pb. 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway; Computational Biology Unit, Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Pb. 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.
| | - Sandhya P Tiwari
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Pb. 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway; Computational Biology Unit, Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Pb. 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.
| | - Nathalie Reuter
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Pb. 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway; Computational Biology Unit, Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Pb. 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.
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Meigh L, Greenhalgh SA, Rodgers TL, Cann MJ, Roper DI, Dale N. CO₂directly modulates connexin 26 by formation of carbamate bridges between subunits. eLife 2013; 2:e01213. [PMID: 24220509 PMCID: PMC3821526 DOI: 10.7554/elife.01213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Homeostatic regulation of the partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2) is vital for life. Sensing of pH has been proposed as a sufficient proxy for determination of PCO2 and direct CO2-sensing largely discounted. Here we show that connexin 26 (Cx26) hemichannels, causally linked to respiratory chemosensitivity, are directly modulated by CO2. A ‘carbamylation motif’, present in CO2-sensitive connexins (Cx26, Cx30, Cx32) but absent from a CO2-insensitive connexin (Cx31), comprises Lys125 and four further amino acids that orient Lys125 towards Arg104 of the adjacent subunit of the connexin hexamer. Introducing the carbamylation motif into Cx31 created a mutant hemichannel (mCx31) that was opened by increases in PCO2. Mutation of the carbamylation motif in Cx26 and mCx31 destroyed CO2 sensitivity. Course-grained computational modelling of Cx26 demonstrated that the proposed carbamate bridge between Lys125 and Arg104 biases the hemichannel to the open state. Carbamylation of Cx26 introduces a new transduction principle for physiological sensing of CO2. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01213.001 A number of gaseous molecules, including nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, play important roles in many cellular processes by acting as signalling molecules. Surprisingly, however, it has long been assumed that carbon dioxide – a gaseous molecule that is produced during cellular metabolism – is not a signalling molecule. Controlling the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in a biological system is essential to sustain life, and it was thought that the body used pH – which is the concentration of hydrogen ions – as a proxy for the level of CO2. The concentration of CO2 is related to pH because CO2 reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which quickly breaks down to form hydrogen ions and bicarbonate ions. This close relationship has led many researchers to equate pH-sensing with CO2-sensing, and to suggest that a physiological receptor for CO2 does not exist. Recent research into structures called connexin hemichannels has challenged this view. Researchers found that when pH levels were held constant, increasing the level of CO2 caused the structures to open up, suggesting that CO2 could be directly detected by the hemichannels. Each hemichannel contains six connexin subunits, but the details of how the CO2 molecules interact with the individual connexin subunits to open up the hemichannels remained mysterious. Now Meigh et al. show that CO2 molecules bind to a specific amino acid (lysine) at a particular place (residue 125) in one of the connexin subunits to form a carbamate group. This group then interacts with the amino acid (arginine) at residue 104 in a neighbouring connexin subunit to form a carbamate bridge between the two subunits. This leads to structural changes that cause the gap junction hemichannels to open and release signals that can activate other cells. Since connexin hemichannels are found throughout the human body, these results suggest that CO2 might act as a signalling molecule in processes as diverse as the control of blood flow, breathing, hearing and reproduction. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01213.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Meigh
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
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McLeish TCB, Rodgers TL, Wilson MR. Allostery without conformation change: modelling protein dynamics at multiple scales. Phys Biol 2013; 10:056004. [PMID: 24021665 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/10/5/056004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The original ideas of Cooper and Dryden, that allosteric signalling can be induced between distant binding sites on proteins without any change in mean structural conformation, has proved to be a remarkably prescient insight into the rich structure of protein dynamics. It represents an alternative to the celebrated Monod-Wyman-Changeux mechanism and proposes that modulation of the amplitude of thermal fluctuations around a mean structure, rather than shifts in the structure itself, give rise to allostery in ligand binding. In a complementary approach to experiments on real proteins, here we take a theoretical route to identify the necessary structural components of this mechanism. By reviewing and extending an approach that moves from very coarse-grained to more detailed models, we show that, a fundamental requirement for a body supporting fluctuation-induced allostery is a strongly inhomogeneous elastic modulus. This requirement is reflected in many real proteins, where a good approximation of the elastic structure maps strongly coherent domains onto rigid blocks connected by more flexible interface regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- T C B McLeish
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
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Rodgers TL, Townsend PD, Burnell D, Jones ML, Richards SA, McLeish TCB, Pohl E, Wilson MR, Cann MJ. Modulation of global low-frequency motions underlies allosteric regulation: demonstration in CRP/FNR family transcription factors. PLoS Biol 2013; 11:e1001651. [PMID: 24058293 PMCID: PMC3769225 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2013] [Accepted: 07/31/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Allostery in bacterial transcription factors arises from changes in global low-frequency protein dynamics. Amino acids that regulate low-frequency dynamics are identified and seen to be evolutionarily conserved. Allostery is a fundamental process by which ligand binding to a protein alters its activity at a distinct site. There is growing evidence that allosteric cooperativity can be communicated by modulation of protein dynamics without conformational change. The mechanisms, however, for communicating dynamic fluctuations between sites are debated. We provide a foundational theory for how allostery can occur as a function of low-frequency dynamics without a change in structure. We have generated coarse-grained models that describe the protein backbone motions of the CRP/FNR family transcription factors, CAP of Escherichia coli and GlxR of Corynebacterium glutamicum. The latter we demonstrate as a new exemplar for allostery without conformation change. We observe that binding the first molecule of cAMP ligand is correlated with modulation of the global normal modes and negative cooperativity for binding the second cAMP ligand without a change in mean structure. The theory makes key experimental predictions that are tested through an analysis of variant proteins by structural biology and isothermal calorimetry. Quantifying allostery as a free energy landscape revealed a protein “design space” that identified the inter- and intramolecular regulatory parameters that frame CRP/FNR family allostery. Furthermore, through analyzing CAP variants from diverse species, we demonstrate an evolutionary selection pressure to conserve residues crucial for allosteric control. This finding provides a link between the position of CRP/FNR transcription factors within the allosteric free energy landscapes and evolutionary selection pressures. Our study therefore reveals significant features of the mechanistic basis for allostery. Changes in low-frequency dynamics correlate with allosteric effects on ligand binding without the requirement for a defined spatial pathway. In addition to evolving suitable three-dimensional structures, CRP/FNR family transcription factors have been selected to occupy a dynamic space that fine-tunes biological activity and thus establishes the means to engineer allosteric mechanisms driven by low-frequency dynamics. Allostery is a process by which a molecule binding to one site of a protein alters the activity of the protein at another site. Allostery is typically thought to occur through a change in protein structure, but there is now clear evidence that the dynamic properties of a protein can also regulate allostery without a change in overall conformation. Here we examine two members of a large family of bacterial transcription factors and provide a mechanism to describe the allosteric binding of their activating ligands. We demonstrate, in these systems, that allostery arises as a natural consequence of changes in global low-frequency protein fluctuations on ligand binding. We further demonstrate that the higher dimensional parameter space that describes all potential variant transcription factors can be reduced to a two-dimensional free energy landscape that determines the key molecular parameters that predominantly regulate allostery. We additionally show that the amino acids we determine as contributing sensitively to allosteric control tend to be conserved in diverse bacteria; thus we identify a link between residues that contribute to low-frequency fluctuations and evolutionary selection pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas L. Rodgers
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Philip D. Townsend
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - David Burnell
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew L. Jones
- Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Shane A. Richards
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Tom C. B. McLeish
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Ehmke Pohl
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Mark R. Wilson
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Martin J. Cann
- Biophysical Sciences Institute, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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