1
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Diessner EM, Takahashi GR, Butts CT, Martin RW. Comparative analysis of thermal adaptations of extremophilic prolyl oligopeptidases. Biophys J 2024; 123:3143-3162. [PMID: 39014897 PMCID: PMC11427779 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Prolyl oligopeptidases from psychrophilic, mesophilic, and thermophilic organisms found in a range of natural environments are studied using a combination of protein structure prediction, atomistic molecular dynamics, and trajectory analysis to determine how the S9 protease family adapts to extreme thermal conditions. We compare our results with hypotheses from the literature regarding structural adaptations that allow proteins to maintain structure and function at extreme temperatures, and we find that, in the case of prolyl oligopeptidases, only a subset of proposed adaptations are employed for maintaining stability. The catalytic and propeller domains are highly structured, limiting the range of mutations that can be made to enhance hydrophobicity or form disulfide bonds without disrupting the formation of necessary secondary structure. Rather, we observe a pattern in which overall prevalence of bound interactions (salt bridges and hydrogen bonds) is conserved by using increasing numbers of increasingly short-lived interactions as temperature increases. This suggests a role for an entropic rather than energetic strategy for thermal adaptation in this protein family.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gemma R Takahashi
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Carter T Butts
- Departments of Sociology, Statistics, Computer Science, and EECS, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California.
| | - Rachel W Martin
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California.
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2
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Barron MP, Vilseck JZ. A λ-Dynamics Investigation of Insulin Wakayama and Other A3 Variant Binding Affinities to the Insulin Receptor. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:5657-5670. [PMID: 38963805 PMCID: PMC11268370 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2024] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Insulin Wakayama is a clinical insulin variant where a conserved valine at the third residue on insulin's A chain (ValA3) is replaced with a leucine (LeuA3), weakening insulin receptor (IR) binding by 140-500-fold. This severe impact on binding from a subtle modification has posed an intriguing problem for decades. Although experimental investigations of natural and unnatural A3 mutations have highlighted the sensitivity of insulin-IR binding at this site, atomistic explanations of these binding trends have remained elusive. We investigate this problem computationally using λ-dynamics free energy calculations to model structural changes in response to perturbations of the ValA3 side chain and to calculate associated relative changes in binding free energy (ΔΔGbind). The Wakayama LeuA3 mutation and seven other A3 substitutions were studied in this work. The calculated ΔΔGbind results showed high agreement compared to experimental binding potencies with a Pearson correlation of 0.88 and a mean unsigned error of 0.68 kcal/mol. Extensive structural analyses of λ-dynamics trajectories revealed that critical interactions were disrupted between insulin and the insulin receptor as a result of the A3 mutations. This investigation also quantifies the effect that adding an A3 Cδ atom or losing an A3 Cγ atom has on insulin's binding affinity to the IR. Thus, λ-dynamics was able to successfully model the effects of mutations to insulin's A3 side chain on its protein-protein interactions with the IR and shed new light on a decades-old mystery: the exquisite sensitivity of hormone-receptor binding to a subtle modification of an invariant insulin residue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica P Barron
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
| | - Jonah Z Vilseck
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
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3
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Amangeldina A, Tan ZW, Berezovsky IN. Living in trinity of extremes: Genomic and proteomic signatures of halophilic, thermophilic, and pH adaptation. Curr Res Struct Biol 2024; 7:100129. [PMID: 38327713 PMCID: PMC10847869 DOI: 10.1016/j.crstbi.2024.100129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Since nucleic acids and proteins of unicellular prokaryotes are directly exposed to extreme environmental conditions, it is possible to explore the genomic-proteomic compositional determinants of molecular mechanisms of adaptation developed by them in response to harsh environmental conditions. Using a wealth of currently available complete genomes/proteomes we were able to explore signatures of adaptation to three environmental factors, pH, salinity, and temperature, observing major trends in compositions of their nucleic acids and proteins. We derived predictors of thermostability, halophilic, and pH adaptations and complemented them by the principal components analysis. We observed a clear difference between thermophilic and salinity/pH adaptations, whereas latter invoke seemingly overlapping mechanisms. The genome-proteome compositional trade-off reveals an intricate balance between the work of base paring and base stacking in stabilization of coding DNA and r/tRNAs, and, at the same time, universal requirements for the stability and foldability of proteins regardless of the nucleotide biases. Nevertheless, we still found hidden fingerprints of ancient evolutionary connections between the nucleotide and amino acid compositions indicating their emergence, mutual evolution, and adjustment. The evolutionary perspective on the adaptation mechanisms is further studied here by means of the comparative analysis of genomic/proteomic traits of archaeal and bacterial species. The overall picture of genomic/proteomic signals of adaptation obtained here provides a foundation for future engineering and design of functional biomolecules resistant to harsh environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidana Amangeldina
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), National University of Singapore (NUS), 8 Medical Drive, 117579, Singapore
| | - Zhen Wah Tan
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
| | - Igor N. Berezovsky
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), National University of Singapore (NUS), 8 Medical Drive, 117579, Singapore
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4
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Martinez-Martin I, Crousilles A, Ochoa JP, Velazquez-Carreras D, Mortensen SA, Herrero-Galan E, Delgado J, Dominguez F, Garcia-Pavia P, de Sancho D, Wilmanns M, Alegre-Cebollada J. Titin domains with reduced core hydrophobicity cause dilated cardiomyopathy. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113490. [PMID: 38052212 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113490] [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: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The underlying genetic defect in most cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a common inherited heart disease, remains unknown. Intriguingly, many patients carry single missense variants of uncertain pathogenicity targeting the giant protein titin, a fundamental sarcomere component. To explore the deleterious potential of these variants, we first solved the wild-type and mutant crystal structures of I21, the titin domain targeted by pathogenic variant p.C3575S. Although both structures are remarkably similar, the reduced hydrophobicity of deeply buried position 3575 strongly destabilizes the mutant domain, a scenario supported by molecular dynamics simulations and by biochemical assays that show no disulfide involving C3575. Prompted by these observations, we have found that thousands of similar hydrophobicity-reducing variants associate specifically with DCM. Hence, our results imply that titin domain destabilization causes DCM, a conceptual framework that not only informs pathogenicity assessment of gene variants but also points to therapeutic strategies counterbalancing protein destabilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines Martinez-Martin
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Audrey Crousilles
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg Unit, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Juan Pablo Ochoa
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain; Heart Failure and Inherited Cardiac Diseases Unit, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, IDIPHIM, CIBERCV, 28222 Madrid, Spain; Health in Code, 15008 A Coruña, Spain
| | | | - Simon A Mortensen
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg Unit, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Elias Herrero-Galan
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Delgado
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Fernando Dominguez
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain; Heart Failure and Inherited Cardiac Diseases Unit, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, IDIPHIM, CIBERCV, 28222 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Garcia-Pavia
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain; Heart Failure and Inherited Cardiac Diseases Unit, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, IDIPHIM, CIBERCV, 28222 Madrid, Spain
| | - David de Sancho
- Polimero eta Material Aurreratuak: Fisika, Kimika eta Teknologia, Kimika Fakultatea, UPV/EHU, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Euskadi, Spain; Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Euskadi, Spain
| | - Matthias Wilmanns
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg Unit, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
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5
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Elias M, Guan X, Hudson D, Bose R, Kwak J, Petrounia I, Touah K, Mansour S, Yue P, Errasti G, Delacroix T, Ghosh A, Chakrabarti R. Evolution of Organic Solvent-Resistant DNA Polymerases. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:3170-3188. [PMID: 37611245 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00515] [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: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
The introduction of thermostable polymerases revolutionized the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and biotechnology. However, many GC-rich genes cannot be PCR-amplified with high efficiency in water, irrespective of temperature. Although polar organic cosolvents can enhance nucleic acid polymerization and amplification by destabilizing duplex DNA and secondary structures, nature has not selected for the evolution of solvent-tolerant polymerase enzymes. Here, we used ultrahigh-throughput droplet-based selection and deep sequencing along with computational free-energy and binding affinity calculations to evolve Taq polymerase to generate enzymes that are both stable and highly active in the presence of organic cosolvents, resulting in up to 10% solvent resistance and over 100-fold increase in stability at 97.5 °C in the presence of 1,4-butanediol, as well as tolerance to up to 10 times higher concentrations of the potent cosolvents sulfolane and 2-pyrrolidone. Using these polymerases, we successfully amplified a broad spectrum of GC-rich templates containing regions with over 90% GC content, including templates recalcitrant to amplification with existing polymerases, even in the presence of cosolvents. We also demonstrated dramatically reduced GC bias in the amplification of genes with widely varying GC content in quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). By expanding the scope of solvent systems compatible with nucleic acid polymerization, these organic solvent-resistant polymerases enable a dramatic reduction of sequence bias not achievable through thermal resistance alone, with significant implications for a wide range of applications including sequencing and synthetic biology in mixed aqueous-organic media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Elias
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
| | - Xiangying Guan
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
| | - Devin Hudson
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
| | - Rahul Bose
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
| | - Joon Kwak
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
| | - Ioanna Petrounia
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
| | - Kenza Touah
- Center for Protein Engineering & Drug Discovery, PMC Isochem SAS, 32 Rue Lavoisier, Vert-Le-Petit 91710, France
| | - Sourour Mansour
- Center for Protein Engineering & Drug Discovery, PMC Isochem SAS, 32 Rue Lavoisier, Vert-Le-Petit 91710, France
| | - Peng Yue
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
| | - Gauthier Errasti
- Center for Protein Engineering & Drug Discovery, PMC Isochem SAS, 32 Rue Lavoisier, Vert-Le-Petit 91710, France
| | - Thomas Delacroix
- Center for Protein Engineering & Drug Discovery, PMC Isochem SAS, 32 Rue Lavoisier, Vert-Le-Petit 91710, France
| | - Anisha Ghosh
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
- McGill University, 845 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Raj Chakrabarti
- Chakrabarti Advanced Technology, LLC, PMC Group Building, 1288 Route 73, Suite 110, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054, United States
- Center for Protein Engineering & Drug Discovery, PMC Isochem SAS, 32 Rue Lavoisier, Vert-Le-Petit 91710, France
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6
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Li ZL, Buck M. A proteome-scale analysis of vertebrate protein amino acid occurrence: Thermoadaptation shows a correlation with protein solvation but less so with dynamics. Proteins 2023; 91:3-15. [PMID: 36053994 PMCID: PMC10087973 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Despite differences in behaviors and living conditions, vertebrate organisms share the great majority of proteins, often with subtle differences in amino acid sequence. Here, we present a simple way to analyze the difference in amino acid occurrence by comparing highly homologous proteins on a subproteome level between several vertebrate model organisms. Specifically, we use this method to identify a pattern of amino acid conservation as well as a shift in amino acid occurrence between homeotherms (warm-blooded species) and poikilotherms (cold-blooded species). Importantly, this general analysis and a specific example further establish a broad correlation, if not likely connection between the thermal adaptation of protein sequences and two of their physical features: on average a change in their protein dynamics and, even more strongly, in their solvation. For poikilotherms, such as frog and fish, the lower body temperature is expected to increase the protein-protein interaction due to a decrease in protein internal dynamics. In order to counteract the tendency for enhanced binding caused by low temperatures, poikilotherms enhance the solvation of their proteins by favoring polar amino acids. This feature appears to dominate over possible changes in dynamics for some proteins. The results suggest that a general trend for amino acid choice is part of the mechanism for thermoadaptation of vertebrate organisms at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen-Lu Li
- School of Life Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.,Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Matthias Buck
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Departments of Pharmacology and of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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7
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Nguyen C, Yearwood LM, McCully ME. Thermostabilization mechanisms in thermophilic versus mesophilic three-helix bundle proteins. J Comput Chem 2022; 43:197-205. [PMID: 34738662 PMCID: PMC8665064 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.26782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The engineered three‐helix bundle, UVF, is thermostabilized entropically due to heightened, native‐state dynamics. However, it is unclear whether this thermostabilization strategy is observed in natural proteins from thermophiles. We performed all‐atom, explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations of two three‐helix bundles from thermophilic H. butylicus (2lvsN and 2lvsC) and compared their dynamics to a mesophilic three‐helix bundle, the Engrailed homeodomain (EnHD). Like UVF, 2lvsC had heightened native dynamics, which it maintained without unfolding at 100°C. Shortening and rigidification of loops in 2lvsN and 2lvsC and increased surface hydrogen bonds in 2lvsN were observed, as is common in thermophilic proteins. A buried disulfide and salt bridge in 2lvsN and 2lvsC, respectively, provided some stabilization, and addition of a homologous disulfide bond in EnHD slowed unfolding. The transferability and commonality of stabilization strategies among members of the three‐helix bundle fold suggest that these strategies may be general and deployable in designing thermostable proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catrina Nguyen
- Department of Biology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, USA
| | - Lauren M Yearwood
- Department of Biology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, USA
| | - Michelle E McCully
- Department of Biology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, USA
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8
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Determination of the Amino Acid Recruitment Order in Early Life by Genome-Wide Analysis of Amino Acid Usage Bias. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12020171. [PMID: 35204672 PMCID: PMC8961565 DOI: 10.3390/biom12020171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms shaping the amino acids recruitment pattern into the proteins in the early life history presently remains a huge mystery. In this study, we conducted genome-wide analyses of amino acids usage and genetic codons structure in 7270 species across three domains of life. The carried-out analyses evidenced ubiquitous usage bias of amino acids that were likely independent from codon usage bias. Taking advantage of codon usage bias, we performed pseudotime analysis to re-determine the chronological order of the species emergence, which inspired a new species relationship by tracing the imprint of codon usage evolution. Furthermore, the multidimensional data integration showed that the amino acids A, D, E, G, L, P, R, S, T and V might be the first recruited into the last universal common ancestry (LUCA) proteins. The data analysis also indicated that the remaining amino acids most probably were gradually incorporated into proteogenesis process in the course of two long-timescale parallel evolutionary routes: I→F→Y→C→M→W and K→N→Q→H. This study provides new insight into the origin of life, particularly in terms of the basic protein composition of early life. Our work provides crucial information that will help in a further understanding of protein structure and function in relation to their evolutionary history.
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9
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Gavrilov Y, Kümmerer F, Orioli S, Prestel A, Lindorff-Larsen K, Teilum K. Double Mutant of Chymotrypsin Inhibitor 2 Stabilized through Increased Conformational Entropy. Biochemistry 2022; 61:160-170. [PMID: 35019273 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The conformational heterogeneity of a folded protein can affect not only its function but also stability and folding. We recently discovered and characterized a stabilized double mutant (L49I/I57V) of the protein CI2 and showed that state-of-the-art prediction methods could not predict the increased stability relative to the wild-type protein. Here, we have examined whether changed native-state dynamics, and resulting entropy changes, can explain the stability changes in the double mutant protein, as well as the two single mutant forms. We have combined NMR relaxation measurements of the ps-ns dynamics of amide groups in the backbone and the methyl groups in the side chains with molecular dynamics simulations to quantify the native-state dynamics. The NMR experiments reveal that the mutations have different effects on the conformational flexibility of CI2: a reduction in conformational dynamics (and entropy estimated from this) of the native state of the L49I variant correlates with its decreased stability, while increased dynamics of the I57V and L49I/I57V variants correlates with their increased stability. These findings suggest that explicitly accounting for changes in native-state entropy might be needed to improve the predictions of the effect of mutations on protein stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulian Gavrilov
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and the Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Felix Kümmerer
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and the Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Simone Orioli
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and the Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.,Structural Biophysics, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Andreas Prestel
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and the Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and the Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Kaare Teilum
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and the Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
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10
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Hossain KR, Clayton D, Goodchild SC, Rodger A, Payne RJ, Cornelius F, Clarke RJ. Order-disorder transitions of cytoplasmic N-termini in the mechanisms of P-type ATPases. Faraday Discuss 2021; 232:172-187. [PMID: 34549220 DOI: 10.1039/d0fd00040j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Membrane protein structure and function are modulated via interactions with their lipid environment. This is particularly true for integral membrane pumps, the P-type ATPases. These ATPases play vital roles in cell physiology, where they are associated with the transport of cations and lipids, thereby generating and maintaining crucial (electro-)chemical potential gradients across the membrane. Several pumps (Na+, K+-ATPase, H+, K+-ATPase and the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase) which are located in the asymmetric animal plasma membrane have been found to possess polybasic (lysine-rich) domains on their cytoplasmic surfaces, which are thought to act as phosphatidylserine (PS) binding domains. In contrast, the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, located within an intracellular organelle membrane, does not possess such a domain. Here we focus on the lysine-rich N-termini of the plasma-membrane-bound Na+, K+- and H+, K+-ATPases. Synthetic peptides corresponding to the N-termini of these proteins were found, via quartz crystal microbalance and circular dichroism measurements, to interact via an electrostatic interaction with PS-containing membranes, thereby undergoing an increase in helical or other secondary structure content. As well as influencing ion pumping activity, it is proposed that this interaction could provide a mechanism for sensing the lipid asymmetry of the plasma membrane, which changes drastically when a cell undergoes apoptosis, i.e. programmed cell death. Thus, polybasic regions of plasma membrane-bound ion pumps could potentially perform the function of a "death sensor", signalling to a cell to reduce pumping activity and save energy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Clayton
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Sophia C Goodchild
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Alison Rodger
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Richard J Payne
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Flemming Cornelius
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Ronald J Clarke
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. .,The University of Sydney Nano Institute, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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11
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Ando N, Barquera B, Bartlett DH, Boyd E, Burnim AA, Byer AS, Colman D, Gillilan RE, Gruebele M, Makhatadze G, Royer CA, Shock E, Wand AJ, Watkins MB. The Molecular Basis for Life in Extreme Environments. Annu Rev Biophys 2021; 50:343-372. [PMID: 33637008 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-100120-072804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Sampling and genomic efforts over the past decade have revealed an enormous quantity and diversity of life in Earth's extreme environments. This new knowledge of life on Earth poses the challenge of understandingits molecular basis in such inhospitable conditions, given that such conditions lead to loss of structure and of function in biomolecules from mesophiles. In this review, we discuss the physicochemical properties of extreme environments. We present the state of recent progress in extreme environmental genomics. We then present an overview of our current understanding of the biomolecular adaptation to extreme conditions. As our current and future understanding of biomolecular structure-function relationships in extremophiles requires methodologies adapted to extremes of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition, advances in instrumentation for probing biophysical properties under extreme conditions are presented. Finally, we briefly discuss possible future directions in extreme biophysics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nozomi Ando
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - Blanca Barquera
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA;
| | - Douglas H Bartlett
- Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0202, USA
| | - Eric Boyd
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Audrey A Burnim
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Amanda S Byer
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Daniel Colman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Richard E Gillilan
- Center for High Energy X-ray Sciences (CHEXS), Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Martin Gruebele
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA.,Department of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA.,Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - George Makhatadze
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA;
| | - Catherine A Royer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA;
| | - Everett Shock
- GEOPIG, School of Earth & Space Exploration, School of Molecular Sciences, Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
| | - A Joshua Wand
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77845, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77845, USA.,Department of Molecular & Cellular Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77845, USA
| | - Maxwell B Watkins
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
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12
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Chakravorty A, Higham J, Henchman RH. Entropy of Proteins Using Multiscale Cell Correlation. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 60:5540-5551. [PMID: 32955869 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A new multiscale method is presented to calculate the entropy of proteins from molecular dynamics simulations. Termed Multiscale Cell Correlation (MCC), the method decomposes the protein into sets of rigid-body units based on their covalent-bond connectivity at three levels of hierarchy: molecule, residue, and united atom. It evaluates the vibrational and topographical entropy from forces, torques, and dihedrals at each level, taking into account correlations between sets of constituent units that together make up a larger unit at the coarser length scale. MCC gives entropies in close agreement with normal-mode analysis and smaller than those using quasiharmonic analysis as well as providing much faster convergence. Moreover, MCC provides an insightful decomposition of entropy at each length scale and for each type of amino acid according to their solvent exposure and whether they are terminal residues. While the residue entropy depends weakly on solvent exposure, there is greater variation in entropy components for larger, more polar amino acids, which have increased conformational entropy but reduced vibrational entropy with greater solvent exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arghya Chakravorty
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Jonathan Higham
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom
| | - Richard H Henchman
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, United Kingdom.,Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
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13
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Soni A, Augsburg M, Buchholz F, Pisabarro MT. Nearest-neighbor amino acids of specificity-determining residues influence the activity of engineered Cre-type recombinases. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13985. [PMID: 32814809 PMCID: PMC7438526 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70867-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The tyrosine-type site-specific DNA recombinase Cre recombines its target site, loxP, with high activity and specificity without cross-recombining the target sites of highly related recombinases. Understanding how Cre achieves this precision is key to be able to rationally engineer site-specific recombinases (SSRs) for genome editing applications. Previous work has revealed key residues for target site selectivity in the Cre/loxP and the related Dre/rox recombinase systems. However, enzymes in which these residues were changed to the respective counterpart only showed weak activity on the foreign target site. Here, we use molecular modeling and dynamics simulation techniques to comprehensively explore the mechanisms by which these residues determine target recognition in the context of their flanking regions in the protein-DNA interface, and we establish a structure-based rationale for the design of improved recombination activities. Our theoretical models reveal that nearest-neighbors to the specificity-determining residues are important players for enhancing SSR activity on the foreign target site. Based on the established rationale, we design new Cre variants with improved rox recombination activities, which we validate experimentally. Our work provides new insights into the target recognition mechanisms of Cre-like recombinases and represents an important step towards the rational design of SSRs for applied genome engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjali Soni
- Structural Bioinformatics, BIOTEC, TU Dresden, Tatzberg 47-51, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Martina Augsburg
- University Carl Gustav Carus and Medical Faculty, UCC, Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, Dresden, Germany
| | - Frank Buchholz
- University Carl Gustav Carus and Medical Faculty, UCC, Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, Dresden, Germany
| | - M Teresa Pisabarro
- Structural Bioinformatics, BIOTEC, TU Dresden, Tatzberg 47-51, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
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14
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Affiliation(s)
- Lavi S. Bigman
- Department of Structural BiologyWeizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 76100 Israel
| | - Yaakov Levy
- Department of Structural BiologyWeizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 76100 Israel
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15
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Effects of Single Mutations on Protein Stability Are Gaussian Distributed. Biophys J 2020; 118:2872-2878. [PMID: 32416078 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The distribution of protein stability effects is known to be well approximated by a Gaussian distribution from previous empirical fits. Starting from first-principles statistical mechanics, we more rigorously motivate this empirical observation by deriving per-residue-position protein stability effects to be Gaussian. Our derivation requires the number of amino acids to be large, which is satisfied by the standard set of 20 amino acids found in nature. No assumption is needed on the number of residues in close proximity in space, in contrast to previous applications of the central limit theorem to protein energetics. We support our derivation results with computational and experimental data on mutant protein stabilities across all types of protein residues.
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16
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Avagyan S, Vasilchuk D, Makhatadze GI. Protein adaptation to high hydrostatic pressure: Computational analysis of the structural proteome. Proteins 2020; 88:584-592. [PMID: 31618488 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Hydrostatic pressure has a vital role in the biological adaptation of the piezophiles, organisms that live under high hydrostatic pressure. However, the mechanisms by which piezophiles are able to adapt their proteins to high hydrostatic pressure is not well understood. One proposed hypothesis is that the volume changes of unfolding (ΔVTot ) for proteins from piezophiles is distinct from those of nonpiezophilic organisms. Since ΔVTot defines pressure dependence of stability, we performed a comprehensive computational analysis of this property for proteins from piezophilic and nonpiezophilic organisms. In addition, we experimentally measured the ΔVTot of acylphosphatases and thioredoxins belonging to piezophilic and nonpiezophilic organisms. Based on this analysis we concluded that there is no difference in ΔVTot for proteins from piezophilic and nonpiezophilic organisms. Finally, we put forward the hypothesis that increased concentrations of osmolytes can provide a systemic increase in pressure stability of proteins from piezophilic organisms and provide experimental thermodynamic evidence in support of this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samvel Avagyan
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
| | - Daniel Vasilchuk
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
| | - George I Makhatadze
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
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17
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Timr S, Madern D, Sterpone F. Protein thermal stability. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2020; 170:239-272. [PMID: 32145947 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Proteins, in general, fold to a well-organized three-dimensional structure in order to function. The stability of this functional shape can be perturbed by external environmental conditions, such as temperature. Understanding the molecular factors underlying the resistance of proteins to the thermal stress has important consequences. First of all, it can aid the design of thermostable enzymes able to perform efficient catalysis in the high-temperature regime. Second, it is an essential brick of knowledge required to decipher the evolutionary pathways of life adaptation on Earth. Thanks to the development of atomistic simulations and ad hoc enhanced sampling techniques, it is now possible to investigate this problem in silico, and therefore provide support to experiments. After having described the methodological aspects, the chapter proposes an extended discussion on two problems. First, we focus on thermophilic proteins, a perfect model to address the issue of thermal stability and molecular evolution. Second, we discuss the issue of how protein thermal stability is affected by crowded in vivo-like conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stepan Timr
- CNRS, Université de Paris, UPR 9080, Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Paris, France; Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique-Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | | | - Fabio Sterpone
- CNRS, Université de Paris, UPR 9080, Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Paris, France; Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique-Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
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18
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Hait S, Mallik S, Basu S, Kundu S. Finding the generalized molecular principles of protein thermal stability. Proteins 2019; 88:788-808. [PMID: 31872464 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Are there any generalized molecular principles of thermal adaptation? Here, integrating the concepts of structural bioinformatics, sequence analysis, and classical knot theory, we develop a robust computational framework that seeks for mechanisms of thermal adaptation by comparing orthologous mesophilic-thermophilic and mesophilic-hyperthermophilic proteins of remarkable structural and topological similarities, and still leads us to context-independent results. A comprehensive analysis of 4741 high-resolution, non-redundant X-ray crystallographic structures collected from 11 hyperthermophilic, 32 thermophilic and 53 mesophilic prokaryotes unravels at least five "nearly universal" signatures of thermal adaptation, irrespective of the enormous sequence, structure, and functional diversity of the proteins compared. A careful investigation further extracts a set of amino acid changes that can potentially enhance protein thermal stability, and remarkably, these mutations are overrepresented in protein crystallization experiments, in disorder-to-order transitions and in engineered thermostable variants of existing mesophilic proteins. These results could be helpful to find a precise, global picture of thermal adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suman Hait
- Department of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
| | - Saurav Mallik
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sudipto Basu
- Department of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India.,Center of Excellence in Systems Biology and Biomedical Engineering (TEQIP Phase-III), University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
| | - Sudip Kundu
- Department of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India.,Center of Excellence in Systems Biology and Biomedical Engineering (TEQIP Phase-III), University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
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19
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Romero-Romero S, Martínez-Delgado G, Balleza D. Voltage vs. Ligand II: Structural insights of the intrinsic flexibility in cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. Channels (Austin) 2019; 13:382-399. [PMID: 31552786 PMCID: PMC6768053 DOI: 10.1080/19336950.2019.1666456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2019] [Revised: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In the preceding article, we present a flexibility analysis of the voltage-gated ion channel (VGIC) superfamily. In this study, we describe in detail the flexibility profile of the voltage-sensor domain (VSD) and the pore domain (PD) concerning the evolution of 6TM ion channels. In particular, we highlight the role of flexibility in the emergence of CNG channels and describe a significant level of sequence similarity between the archetypical VSD and the TolQ proteins. A highly flexible S4-like segment exhibiting Lys instead Arg for these membrane proteins is reported. Sequence analysis indicates that, in addition to this S4-like segment, TolQ proteins also show similarity with specific motifs in S2 and S3 from typical V-sensors. Notably, S3 flexibility profiles from typical VSDs and S3-like in TolQ proteins are also similar. Interestingly, TolQ from early divergent prokaryotes are comparatively more flexible than those in modern counterparts or true V-sensors. Regarding the PD, we also found that 2TM K+-channels in early prokaryotes are considerably more flexible than the ones in modern microbes, and such flexibility is comparable to the one present in CNG channels. Voltage dependence is mainly exhibited in prokaryotic CNG channels whose VSD is rigid whereas the eukaryotic CNG channels are considerably more flexible and poorly V-dependent. The implication of the flexibility present in CNG channels, their sensitivity to cyclic nucleotides and the cation selectivity are discussed. Finally, we generated a structural model of the putative cyclic nucleotide-modulated ion channel, which we coined here as AqK, from the thermophilic bacteria Aquifex aeolicus, one of the earliest diverging prokaryotes known. Overall, our analysis suggests that V-sensors in CNG-like channels were essentially rigid in early prokaryotes but raises the possibility that this module was probably part of a very flexible stator protein of the bacterial flagellum motor complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Romero-Romero
- Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico. Current address: Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Gustavo Martínez-Delgado
- Laboratorio de Genómica de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Daniel Balleza
- Departamento de Química ICET, Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
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20
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Gavrilov Y, Dagan S, Reich Z, Scherf T, Levy Y. An NMR Confirmation for Increased Folded State Entropy Following Loop Truncation. J Phys Chem B 2018; 122:10855-10860. [PMID: 30411894 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b09658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies conducted on flexible loop regions in proteins revealed that the energetic consequences of changing loop length predominantly arise from the entropic cost of ordering a loop during folding. However, in an earlier study of human acylphosphatase (hmAcP) using experimental and computational approaches, we showed that thermodynamic stabilization upon loop truncation can be attributed mainly to the increased entropy of the folded state. Here, using 15N NMR spectroscopy, we studied the effect of loop truncation on hmAcP backbone dynamics on the picosecond-nanosecond timescale with the aim of confirming the effect of folded state entropy on protein stability. NMR-relaxation-derived N-H squared generalized order parameters reveal that loop truncation results in a significant increase in protein conformational flexibility. Comparison of these results with previously acquired all-atom molecular dynamics simulation, analyzed here in terms of squared generalized NMR order parameters, demonstrates general agreement between the two methods. The NMR study not only provides direct evidence for the enhanced conformational entropy of the folded state of hmAcP upon loop truncation but also gives a quantitative measure of the observed effects.
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21
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Georgiou CD. Functional Properties of Amino Acid Side Chains as Biomarkers of Extraterrestrial Life. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:1479-1496. [PMID: 30129781 PMCID: PMC6211371 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The present study proposes to search our solar system (Mars, Enceladus, Europa) for patterns of organic molecules that are universally associated with biological functions and structures. The functions are primarily catalytic because life could only have originated within volume/space-constrained compartments containing chemical reactions catalyzed by certain polymers. The proposed molecular structures are specific groups in the side chains of amino acids with the highest catalytic propensities related to life on Earth, that is, those that most frequently participate as key catalytic groups in the active sites of enzymes such as imidazole, thiol, guanidinium, amide, and carboxyl. Alternatively, these or other catalytic groups can be searched for on non-amino-acid organic molecules, which can be tested for certain hydrolytic catalytic activities. The first scenario assumes that life may have originated in a similar manner as the terrestrial set of α-amino acids, while the second scenario does not set such a requirement. From the catalytic propensity perspective proposed in the first scenario, life must have invented amino acids with high catalytic propensity (His, Cys, Arg) in order to overcome, and be complemented by, the low catalytic propensity of the initially available abiogenic amino acids. The abiogenic and the metabolically invented amino acids with the lowest catalytic propensity can also serve as markers of extraterrestrial life when searching for patterns on the basis of the following functional propensities related to protein secondary/quaternary structure: (1) amino acids that are able to form α-helical intramembrane peptide domains, which can serve as primitive transporters in protocell membrane bilayers and catalysts of simple biochemical reactions; (2) amino acids that tend to accumulate in extremophile proteins of Earth and possibly extraterrestrial life. The catalytic/structural functional propensity approach offers a new perspective in the search for extraterrestrial life and could help unify previous amino acid-based approaches.
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22
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Finch AJ, Kim JR. Thermophilic Proteins as Versatile Scaffolds for Protein Engineering. Microorganisms 2018; 6:microorganisms6040097. [PMID: 30257429 PMCID: PMC6313779 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms6040097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2018] [Revised: 09/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Literature from the past two decades has outlined the existence of a trade-off between protein stability and function. This trade-off creates a unique challenge for protein engineers who seek to introduce new functionality to proteins. These engineers must carefully balance the mutation-mediated creation and/or optimization of function with the destabilizing effect of those mutations. Subsequent research has shown that protein stability is positively correlated with "evolvability" or the ability to support mutations which bestow new functionality on the protein. Since the ultimate goal of protein engineering is to create and/or optimize a protein's function, highly stable proteins are preferred as potential scaffolds for protein engineering. This review focuses on the application potential for thermophilic proteins as scaffolds for protein engineering. The relatively high inherent thermostability of these proteins grants them a great deal of mutational robustness, making them promising scaffolds for various protein engineering applications. Comparative studies on the evolvability of thermophilic and mesophilic proteins have strongly supported the argument that thermophilic proteins are more evolvable than mesophilic proteins. These findings indicate that thermophilic proteins may represent the scaffold of choice for protein engineering in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J Finch
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University, 6 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA.
| | - Jin Ryoun Kim
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University, 6 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA.
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23
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Beerens K, Mazurenko S, Kunka A, Marques SM, Hansen N, Musil M, Chaloupkova R, Waterman J, Brezovsky J, Bednar D, Prokop Z, Damborsky J. Evolutionary Analysis As a Powerful Complement to Energy Calculations for Protein Stabilization. ACS Catal 2018. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.8b01677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Koen Beerens
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Stanislav Mazurenko
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Antonin Kunka
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Sergio M. Marques
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Niels Hansen
- Institute of Thermodynamics and Thermal Process Engineering, University of Stuttgart, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Milos Musil
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Information Technology, Brno University of Technology, 612 66 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radka Chaloupkova
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Waterman
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Jan Brezovsky
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - David Bednar
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Zbynek Prokop
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Damborsky
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
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24
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Goethe M, Fita I, Rubi JM. Entropic Stabilization of Cas4 Protein SSO0001 Predicted with Popcoen. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2018; 20:e20080580. [PMID: 33265669 PMCID: PMC7513108 DOI: 10.3390/e20080580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Popcoen is a method for configurational entropy estimation of proteins based on machine-learning. Entropy is predicted with an artificial neural network which was trained on simulation trajectories of a large set of representative proteins. Popcoen is extremely fast compared to other approaches based on the sampling of a multitude of microstates. Consequently, Popcoen can be incorporated into a large class of protein software which currently neglects configurational entropy for performance reasons. Here, we apply Popcoen to various conformations of the Cas4 protein SSO0001 of Sulfolobus solfataricus, a protein that assembles to a decamer of known toroidal shape. We provide numerical evidence that the native state (NAT) of a SSO0001 monomer has a similar structure to the protomers of the oligomer, where NAT of the monomer is stabilized mainly entropically. Due to its large amount of configurational entropy, NAT has lower free energy than alternative conformations of very low enthalpy and solvation free-energy. Hence, SSO0001 serves as an example case where neglecting configurational entropy leads to incorrect conclusion. Our results imply that no refolding of the subunits is required during oligomerization which suggests that configurational entropy is employed by nature to largely enhance the rate of assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Goethe
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio Fita
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC, Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence), Carrer Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - J. Miguel Rubi
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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25
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Smaldone G, Balasco N, Vigorita M, Ruggiero A, Cozzolino S, Berisio R, Del Vecchio P, Graziano G, Vitagliano L. Domain communication in Thermotoga maritima Arginine Binding Protein unraveled through protein dissection. Int J Biol Macromol 2018; 119:758-769. [PMID: 30059738 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.07.172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Substrate binding proteins represent a large protein family that plays fundamental roles in selective transportation of metabolites across membrane. The function of these proteins relies on the relative motions of their two domains. Insights into domain communication in this class of proteins have been here collected using Thermotoga maritima Arginine Binding Protein (TmArgBP) as model system. TmArgBP was dissected into two domains (D1 and D2) that were exhaustively characterized using a repertoire of different experimental and computational techniques. Indeed, stability, crystalline structure, ability to recognize the arginine substrate, and dynamics of the two individual domains have been here studied. Present data demonstrate that, although in the parent protein both D1 and D2 cooperate for the arginine anchoring; only D1 is intrinsically able to bind the substrate. The implications of this finding on the mechanism of arginine binding and release by TmArgBP have been discussed. Interestingly, both D1 and D2 retain the remarkable thermal/chemical stability of the parent protein. The analysis of the structural and dynamic properties of TmArgBP and of the individual domains highlights possible routes of domain communication. Finally, this study generated two interesting molecular tools, the two stable isolated domains that could be used in future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicole Balasco
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Marilisa Vigorita
- Department of Sciences and Technologies, Università del Sannio, via Port'arsa 11, 82100 Benevento, Italy
| | - Alessia Ruggiero
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Serena Cozzolino
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, via Cintia, 80126 Napoli, Italy
| | - Rita Berisio
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Pompea Del Vecchio
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, via Cintia, 80126 Napoli, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Graziano
- Department of Sciences and Technologies, Università del Sannio, via Port'arsa 11, 82100 Benevento, Italy
| | - Luigi Vitagliano
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
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26
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Goethe M, Fita I, Rubi JM. Testing the mutual information expansion of entropy with multivariate Gaussian distributions. J Chem Phys 2018; 147:224102. [PMID: 29246041 DOI: 10.1063/1.4996847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The mutual information expansion (MIE) represents an approximation of the configurational entropy in terms of low-dimensional integrals. It is frequently employed to compute entropies from simulation data of large systems, such as macromolecules, for which brute-force evaluation of the full configurational integral is intractable. Here, we test the validity of MIE for systems consisting of more than m = 100 degrees of freedom (dofs). The dofs are distributed according to multivariate Gaussian distributions which were generated from protein structures using a variant of the anisotropic network model. For the Gaussian distributions, we have semi-analytical access to the configurational entropy as well as to all contributions of MIE. This allows us to accurately assess the validity of MIE for different situations. We find that MIE diverges for systems containing long-range correlations which means that the error of consecutive MIE approximations grows with the truncation order n for all tractable n ≪ m. This fact implies severe limitations on the applicability of MIE, which are discussed in the article. For systems with correlations that decay exponentially with distance, MIE represents an asymptotic expansion of entropy, where the first successive MIE approximations approach the exact entropy, while MIE also diverges for larger orders. In this case, MIE serves as a useful entropy expansion when truncated up to a specific truncation order which depends on the correlation length of the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Goethe
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio Fita
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC, Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence), Carrer Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Miguel Rubi
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Goethe M, Gleixner J, Fita I, Rubi JM. Prediction of Protein Configurational Entropy (Popcoen). J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 14:1811-1819. [PMID: 29351717 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b01079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
A knowledge-based method for configurational entropy prediction of proteins is presented; this methodology is extremely fast, compared to previous approaches, because it does not involve any type of configurational sampling. Instead, the configurational entropy of a query fold is estimated by evaluating an artificial neural network, which was trained on molecular-dynamics simulations of ∼1000 proteins. The predicted entropy can be incorporated into a large class of protein software based on cost-function minimization/evaluation, in which configurational entropy is currently neglected for performance reasons. Software of this type is used for all major protein tasks such as structure predictions, proteins design, NMR and X-ray refinement, docking, and mutation effect predictions. Integrating the predicted entropy can yield a significant accuracy increase as we show exemplarily for native-state identification with the prominent protein software FoldX. The method has been termed Popcoen for Prediction of Protein Configurational Entropy. An implementation is freely available at http://fmc.ub.edu/popcoen/ .
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Goethe
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics , University of Barcelona , Carrer Martí i Franqués 1 , 08028 Barcelona , Spain
| | - Jan Gleixner
- Faculty of Biosciences , Heidelberg University , Im Neuenheimer Feld 234 , 69120 Heidelberg , Germany
| | - Ignacio Fita
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC, Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence) , Carrer Baldiri Reixac 4-8 , 08028 Barcelona , Spain
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Sawle L, Huihui J, Ghosh K. All-Atom Simulations Reveal Protein Charge Decoration in the Folded and Unfolded Ensemble Is Key in Thermophilic Adaptation. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:5065-5075. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Sawle
- Department of Physics and
Astronomy, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado 80208, United States
| | - Jonathan Huihui
- Department of Physics and
Astronomy, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado 80208, United States
| | - Kingshuk Ghosh
- Department of Physics and
Astronomy, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado 80208, United States
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29
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Perplexing cooperative folding and stability of a low-sequence complexity, polyproline 2 protein lacking a hydrophobic core. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:2241-2246. [PMID: 28193869 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1609579114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The burial of hydrophobic side chains in a protein core generally is thought to be the major ingredient for stable, cooperative folding. Here, we show that, for the snow flea antifreeze protein (sfAFP), stability and cooperativity can occur without a hydrophobic core, and without α-helices or β-sheets. sfAFP has low sequence complexity with 46% glycine and an interior filled only with backbone H-bonds between six polyproline 2 (PP2) helices. However, the protein folds in a kinetically two-state manner and is moderately stable at room temperature. We believe that a major part of the stability arises from the unusual match between residue-level PP2 dihedral angle bias in the unfolded state and PP2 helical structure in the native state. Additional stabilizing factors that compensate for the dearth of hydrophobic burial include shorter and stronger H-bonds, and increased entropy in the folded state. These results extend our understanding of the origins of cooperativity and stability in protein folding, including the balance between solvent and polypeptide chain entropies.
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30
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Pica A, Graziano G. Shedding light on the extra thermal stability of thermophilic proteins. Biopolymers 2017; 105:856-63. [PMID: 27449333 DOI: 10.1002/bip.22923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2016] [Revised: 07/12/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
An entropic stabilization mechanism has recently gained attention and credibility as the physical ground for the extra thermal stability of globular proteins from thermophilic microorganisms. An empirical result, obtained from the analysis of thermodynamic data for a large set of proteins, strengthens the general reliability of the theoretical approach originally devised to rationalize the occurrence of cold denaturation [Graziano, PCCP 2014, 16, 21755-21767]. It is shown that this theoretical approach can readily account for the entropic stabilization mechanism. On decreasing the conformational entropy gain associated with denaturation, the thermal stability of a model globular protein increases markedly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Pica
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant'Angelo, Via Cintia, Napoli, 80126, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Graziano
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie, Università del Sannio, Via Port'Arsa 11, Benevento, 82100, Italy.
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31
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Berezovsky IN, Guarnera E, Zheng Z. Basic units of protein structure, folding, and function. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 128:85-99. [PMID: 27697476 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Revised: 09/05/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Study of the hierarchy of domain structure with alternative sets of domains and analysis of discontinuous domains, consisting of remote segments of the polypeptide chain, raised a question about the minimal structural unit of the protein domain. The hypothesis on the decisive role of the polypeptide backbone in determining the elementary units of globular proteins have led to the discovery of closed loops. It is reviewed here how closed loops form the loop-n-lock structure of proteins, providing the foundation for stability and designability of protein folds/domain and underlying their co-translational folding. Simplified protein sequences are considered here with the aim to explore the basic principles that presumably dominated the folding and stability of proteins in the early stages of structural evolution. Elementary functional loops (EFLs), closed loops with one or few catalytic residues, are, in turn, units of the protein function. They are apparent descendants of the prebiotic ring-like peptides, which gave rise to the first functional folds/domains being fused in the beginning of the evolution of protein structure. It is also shown how evolutionary relations between protein functional superfamilies and folds delineated with the help of EFLs can contribute to establishing the rules for design of desired enzymatic functions. Generalized descriptors of the elementary functions are proposed to be used as basic units in the future computational design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor N Berezovsky
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), National University of Singapore (NUS), 8 Medical Drive, 117579, Singapore.
| | - Enrico Guarnera
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
| | - Zejun Zheng
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
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32
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Goethe M, Fita I, Rubi JM. Vibrational entropy of a protein: large differences between distinct conformations. J Chem Theory Comput 2016; 11:351-9. [PMID: 26574230 DOI: 10.1021/ct500696p] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In this article, it is investigated whether vibrational entropy (VE) is an important contribution to the free energy of globular proteins at ambient conditions. VE represents the major configurational-entropy contribution of these proteins. By definition, it is an average of the configurational entropies of the protein within single minima of the energy landscape, weighted by their occupation probabilities. Its large part originates from thermal motion of flexible torsion angles giving rise to the finite peak widths observed in torsion angle distributions. While VE may affect the equilibrium properties of proteins, it is usually neglected in numerical calculations as its consideration is difficult. Moreover, it is sometimes believed that all well-packed conformations of a globular protein have similar VE anyway. Here, we measure explicitly the VE for six different conformations from simulation data of a test protein. Estimates are obtained using the quasi-harmonic approximation for three coordinate sets, Cartesian, bond-angle-torsion (BAT), and a new set termed rotamer-degeneracy lifted BAT coordinates by us. The new set gives improved estimates as it overcomes a known shortcoming of the quasi-harmonic approximation caused by multiply populated rotamer states, and it may serve for VE estimation of macromolecules in a very general context. The obtained VE values depend considerably on the type of coordinates used. However, for all coordinate sets we find large entropy differences between the conformations, of the order of the overall stability of the protein. This result may have important implications on the choice of free energy expressions used in software for protein structure prediction, protein design, and NMR refinement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Goethe
- Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona , Martı́ i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio Fita
- Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona , (CSIC), Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Miguel Rubi
- Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona , Martı́ i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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33
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Abstract
![]()
We review how major cell behaviors,
such as bacterial growth laws,
are derived from the physical chemistry of the cell’s proteins.
On one hand, cell actions depend on the individual biological functionalities
of their many genes and proteins. On the other hand, the common physics
among proteins can be as important as the unique biology that distinguishes
them. For example, bacterial growth rates depend strongly on temperature.
This dependence can be explained by the folding stabilities across
a cell’s proteome. Such modeling explains how thermophilic
and mesophilic organisms differ, and how oxidative damage of highly
charged proteins can lead to unfolding and aggregation in aging cells.
Cells have characteristic time scales. For example, E. coli can duplicate as fast as 2–3 times per hour. These time scales
can be explained by protein dynamics (the rates of synthesis and degradation,
folding, and diffusional transport). It rationalizes how bacterial
growth is slowed down by added salt. In the same way that the behaviors
of inanimate materials can be expressed in terms of the statistical
distributions of atoms and molecules, some cell behaviors can be expressed
in terms of distributions of protein properties, giving insights into
the microscopic basis of growth laws in simple cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kingshuk Ghosh
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Denver , Denver, Colorado 80209, United States
| | - Adam M R de Graff
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology and Departments of Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University , Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Lucas Sawle
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Denver , Denver, Colorado 80209, United States
| | - Ken A Dill
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology and Departments of Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University , Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
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34
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Proteases from Thermophiles and Their Industrial Importance. Ind Biotechnol (New Rochelle N Y) 2016. [DOI: 10.1201/b19347-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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35
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Purification and characterization of thermostable serine proteases encoded by the genes ttha0099 and ttha01320 from Thermus thermophilus HB8. Extremophiles 2016; 20:493-502. [DOI: 10.1007/s00792-016-0839-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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36
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Gavrilov Y, Dagan S, Levy Y. Shortening a loop can increase protein native state entropy. Proteins 2015; 83:2137-46. [PMID: 26369935 DOI: 10.1002/prot.24926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Revised: 08/20/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Protein loops are essential structural elements that influence not only function but also protein stability and folding rates. It was recently reported that shortening a loop in the AcP protein may increase its native state conformational entropy. This effect on the entropy of the folded state can be much larger than the lower entropic penalty of ordering a shorter loop upon folding, and can therefore result in a more pronounced stabilization than predicted by polymer model for loop closure entropy. In this study, which aims at generalizing the effect of loop length shortening on native state dynamics, we use all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study how gradual shortening a very long or solvent-exposed loop region in four different proteins can affect their stability. For two proteins, AcP and Ubc7, we show an increase in native state entropy in addition to the known effect of the loop length on the unfolded state entropy. However, for two permutants of SH3 domain, shortening a loop results only with the expected change in the entropy of the unfolded state, which nicely reproduces the observed experimental stabilization. Here, we show that an increase in the native state entropy following loop shortening is not unique to the AcP protein, yet nor is it a general rule that applies to all proteins following the truncation of any loop. This modification of the loop length on the folded state and on the unfolded state may result with a greater effect on protein stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulian Gavrilov
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Shlomi Dagan
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Yaakov Levy
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
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37
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Karshikoff A, Nilsson L, Ladenstein R. Rigidity versus flexibility: the dilemma of understanding protein thermal stability. FEBS J 2015; 282:3899-917. [PMID: 26074325 DOI: 10.1111/febs.13343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 176] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Revised: 05/17/2015] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The role of fluctuations in protein thermostability has recently received considerable attention. In the current literature a dualistic picture can be found: thermostability seems to be associated with enhanced rigidity of the protein scaffold in parallel with the reduction of flexible parts of the structure. In contradiction to such arguments it has been shown by experimental studies and computer simulation that thermal tolerance of a protein is not necessarily correlated with the suppression of internal fluctuations and mobility. Both concepts, rigidity and flexibility, are derived from mechanical engineering and represent temporally insensitive features describing static properties, neglecting that relative motion at certain time scales is possible in structurally stable regions of a protein. This suggests that a strict separation of rigid and flexible parts of a protein molecule does not describe the reality correctly. In this work the concepts of mobility/flexibility versus rigidity will be critically reconsidered by taking into account molecular dynamics calculations of heat capacity and conformational entropy, salt bridge networks, electrostatic interactions in folded and unfolded states, and the emerging picture of protein thermostability in view of recently developed network theories. Last, but not least, the influence of high temperature on the active site and activity of enzymes will be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Karshikoff
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Lennart Nilsson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Rudolf Ladenstein
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
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38
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Berezovsky IN, Zheng Z, Kurotani A, Tokmakov AA, Kurochkin IV. Organization of the multiaminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex and the cotranslational protein folding. Protein Sci 2015; 24:1475-85. [PMID: 26131561 DOI: 10.1002/pro.2735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Revised: 06/23/2015] [Accepted: 06/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) play an essential role in the protein synthesis by catalyzing an attachment of their cognate amino acids to tRNAs. Unlike their prokaryotic counterparts, ARSs in higher eukaryotes form a multiaminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex (MARS), consisting of the subset of ARS polypeptides and three auxiliary proteins. The intriguing feature of MARS complex is the presence of only nine out of twenty ARSs, specific for Arg, Asp, Gln, Glu, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, and Pro, regardless of the organism, cell, or tissue types. Although existence of MARSs complex in higher eukaryotes has been already known for more than four decades, its functional significance remains elusive. We found that seven of the nine corresponding amino acids (Arg, Gln, Glu, Ile, Leu, Lys, and Met) together with Ala form a predictor of the protein α-helicity. Remarkably, all amino acids (besides Ala) in the predictor have the highest possible number of side-chain rotamers. Therefore, compositional bias of a typical α-helix can contribute to the helix's stability by increasing the entropy of the folded state. It also appears that position-specific α-helical propensity, specifically periodic alternation of charged and hydrophobic residues in the helices, may well be provided by the structural organization of the complex. Considering characteristics of MARS complex from the perspective of the α-helicity, we hypothesize that specific composition and structure of the complex represents a functional mechanism for coordination of translation with the fast and correct folding of amphiphilic α-helices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor N Berezovsky
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (a*STAR), Singapore, 138671.,Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, 117579
| | - Zejun Zheng
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (a*STAR), Singapore, 138671
| | - Atsushi Kurotani
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS), Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | | | - Igor V Kurochkin
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (a*STAR), Singapore, 138671
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39
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Gavrilov Y, Hagai T, Levy Y. Nonspecific yet decisive: Ubiquitination can affect the native-state dynamics of the modified protein. Protein Sci 2015; 24:1580-92. [PMID: 25970168 DOI: 10.1002/pro.2688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Ubiquitination is one of the most common post-translational modifications of proteins, and mediates regulated protein degradation among other cellular processes. A fundamental question regarding the mechanism of protein ubiquitination is whether and how ubiquitin affects the biophysical nature of the modified protein. For some systems, it was shown that the position of ubiquitin within the attachment site is quite flexible and ubiquitin does not specifically interact with its substrate. Nevertheless, it was revealed that polyubiquitination can decrease the thermal stability of the modified protein in a site-specific manner because of alterations of the thermodynamic properties of the folded and unfolded states. In this study, we used detailed atomistic simulations to focus on the molecular effects of ubiquitination on the native structure of the modified protein. As a model, we used Ubc7, which is an E2 enzyme whose in vivo ubiquitination process is well characterized and known to lead to degradation. We found that, despite the lack of specific direct interactions between the ubiquitin moiety and Ubc7, ubiquitination decreases the conformational flexibility of certain regions of the substrate Ubc7 protein, which reduces its entropy and thus destabilizes it. The strongest destabilizing effect was observed for systems in which Lys48-linked tetra-ubiquitin was attached to sites used for in vivo degradation. These results reveal how changes in the configurational entropy of the folded state may modulate the stability of the protein's native state. Overall, our results imply that ubiquitination can modify the biophysical properties of the attached protein in the folded state and that, in some proteins, different ubiquitination sites will lead to different biophysical outcomes. We propose that this destabilizing effect of polyubiquitin on the substrate is linked to the functions carried out by the modification, and in particular, regulatory control of protein half-life through proteasomal degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulian Gavrilov
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Tzachi Hagai
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Yaakov Levy
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
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40
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Meysman P, Zhou C, Cule B, Goethals B, Laukens K. Mining the entire Protein DataBank for frequent spatially cohesive amino acid patterns. BioData Min 2015; 8:4. [PMID: 25657820 PMCID: PMC4318390 DOI: 10.1186/s13040-015-0038-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2014] [Accepted: 01/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The three-dimensional structure of a protein is an essential aspect of its functionality. Despite the large diversity in protein structures and functionality, it is known that there are common patterns and preferences in the contacts between amino acid residues, or between residues and other biomolecules, such as DNA. The discovery and characterization of these patterns is an important research topic within structural biology as it can give fundamental insight into protein structures and can aid in the prediction of unknown structures. RESULTS Here we apply an efficient spatial pattern miner to search for sets of amino acids that occur frequently in close spatial proximity in the protein structures of the Protein DataBank. This allowed us to mine for a new class of amino acid patterns, that we term FreSCOs (Frequent Spatially Cohesive Component sets), which feature synergetic combinations. To demonstrate the relevance of these FreSCOs, they were compared in relation to the thermostability of the protein structure and the interaction preferences of DNA-protein complexes. In both cases, the results matched well with prior investigations using more complex methods on smaller data sets. CONCLUSIONS The currently characterized protein structures feature a diverse set of frequent amino acid patterns that can be related to the stability of the protein molecular structure and that are independent from protein function or specific conserved domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter Meysman
- Advanced Database Research and Modelling (ADReM), Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Biomedical Informatics Research Center Antwerp (biomina), University of Antwerp/Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Cheng Zhou
- Advanced Database Research and Modelling (ADReM), Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Boris Cule
- Advanced Database Research and Modelling (ADReM), Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Bart Goethals
- Advanced Database Research and Modelling (ADReM), Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Kris Laukens
- Advanced Database Research and Modelling (ADReM), Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Biomedical Informatics Research Center Antwerp (biomina), University of Antwerp/Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
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41
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Costanzo JA, O'Brien CJ, Tiller K, Tamargo E, Robinson AS, Roberts CJ, Fernandez EJ. Conformational stability as a design target to control protein aggregation. Protein Eng Des Sel 2014; 27:157-67. [DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzu008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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42
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Goncearenco A, Ma BG, Berezovsky IN. Molecular mechanisms of adaptation emerging from the physics and evolution of nucleic acids and proteins. Nucleic Acids Res 2013; 42:2879-92. [PMID: 24371267 PMCID: PMC3950714 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt1336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA, RNA and proteins are major biological macromolecules that coevolve and adapt to environments as components of one highly interconnected system. We explore here sequence/structure determinants of mechanisms of adaptation of these molecules, links between them, and results of their mutual evolution. We complemented statistical analysis of genomic and proteomic sequences with folding simulations of RNA molecules, unraveling causal relations between compositional and sequence biases reflecting molecular adaptation on DNA, RNA and protein levels. We found many compositional peculiarities related to environmental adaptation and the life style. Specifically, thermal adaptation of protein-coding sequences in Archaea is characterized by a stronger codon bias than in Bacteria. Guanine and cytosine load in the third codon position is important for supporting the aerobic life style, and it is highly pronounced in Bacteria. The third codon position also provides a tradeoff between arginine and lysine, which are favorable for thermal adaptation and aerobicity, respectively. Dinucleotide composition provides stability of nucleic acids via strong base-stacking in ApG dinucleotides. In relation to coevolution of nucleic acids and proteins, thermostability-related demands on the amino acid composition affect the nucleotide content in the second codon position in Archaea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Goncearenco
- CBU, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway, Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway, Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671 Singapore and Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
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43
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Garrett SC, Rosenthal JJC. A role for A-to-I RNA editing in temperature adaptation. Physiology (Bethesda) 2013; 27:362-9. [PMID: 23223630 DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00029.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A-to-I RNA editing can recode mRNAs, giving organisms the option to express diverse, functionally distinct protein isoforms. Here, we propose that RNA editing is inherently geared for temperature adaptation because it tends to recode to smaller, less stabilizing amino acids. Studies on how editing affects protein function support this idea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra C Garrett
- Institute of Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Chin IS, Murad AMA, Mahadi NM, Nathan S, Bakar FDA. Thermal stability engineering of Glomerella cingulata cutinase. Protein Eng Des Sel 2013; 26:369-75. [DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzt007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Mamonova TB, Glyakina AV, Galzitskaya OV, Kurnikova MG. Stability and rigidity/flexibility-two sides of the same coin? BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2013; 1834:854-66. [PMID: 23416444 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2013.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2012] [Revised: 12/21/2012] [Accepted: 02/07/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Protein molecules require both flexibility and rigidity for functioning. The fast and accurate prediction of protein rigidity/flexibility is one of the important problems in protein science. We have determined flexible regions for four homologous pairs from thermophilic and mesophilic organisms by two methods: the fast FoldUnfold which uses amino acid sequence and the time consuming MDFirst which uses three-dimensional structures. We demonstrate that both methods allow determining flexible regions in protein structure. For three of the four thermophile-mesophile pairs of proteins, FoldUnfold predicts practically the same flexible regions which have been found by the MD/First method. As expected, molecular dynamics simulations show that thermophilic proteins are more rigid in comparison to their mesophilic homologues. Analysis of rigid clusters and their decomposition provides new insights into protein stability. It has been found that the local networks of salt bridges and hydrogen bonds in thermophiles render their structure more stable with respect to fluctuations of individual contacts. Such network includes salt bridge triads Agr-Glu-Lys and Arg-Glu-Arg, or salt bridges (such as Arg-Glu) connected with hydrogen bonds. This ionic network connects alpha helices and rigidifies the structure. Mesophiles can be characterized by stand alone salt bridges and hydrogen bonds or small ionic clusters. Such difference in the network of salt bridges results in different flexibility of homologous proteins. Combining both approaches allows characterizing structural features in atomic detail that determine the rigidity/flexibility of a protein structure. This article is a part of a Special Issue entitled: The emerging dynamic view of proteins: Protein plasticity in allostery, evolution and self-assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatyana B Mamonova
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
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Rahaman O, Melchionna S, Laage D, Sterpone F. The effect of protein composition on hydration dynamics. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2013; 15:3570-6. [PMID: 23381660 DOI: 10.1039/c3cp44582h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Water dynamics at the surface of two homologous proteins with different thermal resistances is found to be unaffected by the different underlying amino-acid compositions, and when proteins are folded it responds similarly to temperature variations. Upon unfolding the water dynamics slowdown with respect to bulk decreases by a factor of two. Our findings are explained by the dominant topological perturbation induced by the protein on the water hydrogen bond dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Rahaman
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, CNRS, UPR9080, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Paris, France
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Diez-García F, Chakrabartty A, González C, Laurents DV. An Arg-rich putative prebiotic protein is as stable as its Lys-rich variant. Arch Biochem Biophys 2012; 528:118-26. [DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2012.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2012] [Revised: 09/14/2012] [Accepted: 09/15/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Jaspard E, Macherel D, Hunault G. Computational and statistical analyses of amino acid usage and physico-chemical properties of the twelve late embryogenesis abundant protein classes. PLoS One 2012; 7:e36968. [PMID: 22615859 PMCID: PMC3353982 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2012] [Accepted: 04/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins (LEAPs) are ubiquitous proteins expected to play major roles in desiccation tolerance. Little is known about their structure - function relationships because of the scarcity of 3-D structures for LEAPs. The previous building of LEAPdb, a database dedicated to LEAPs from plants and other organisms, led to the classification of 710 LEAPs into 12 non-overlapping classes with distinct properties. Using this resource, numerous physico-chemical properties of LEAPs and amino acid usage by LEAPs have been computed and statistically analyzed, revealing distinctive features for each class. This unprecedented analysis allowed a rigorous characterization of the 12 LEAP classes, which differed also in multiple structural and physico-chemical features. Although most LEAPs can be predicted as intrinsically disordered proteins, the analysis indicates that LEAP class 7 (PF03168) and probably LEAP class 11 (PF04927) are natively folded proteins. This study thus provides a detailed description of the structural properties of this protein family opening the path toward further LEAP structure - function analysis. Finally, since each LEAP class can be clearly characterized by a unique set of physico-chemical properties, this will allow development of software to predict proteins as LEAPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Jaspard
- Université d'Angers, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences, INRA, Agrocampus-Ouest, Université d'Angers, SFR 4207 QUASAV, LUNAM Université, Angers, France.
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Roberts KE, Cushing PR, Boisguerin P, Madden DR, Donald BR. Computational design of a PDZ domain peptide inhibitor that rescues CFTR activity. PLoS Comput Biol 2012; 8:e1002477. [PMID: 22532795 PMCID: PMC3330111 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2011] [Accepted: 02/27/2012] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is an epithelial chloride channel mutated in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The most prevalent CFTR mutation, ΔF508, blocks folding in the endoplasmic reticulum. Recent work has shown that some ΔF508-CFTR channel activity can be recovered by pharmaceutical modulators (“potentiators” and “correctors”), but ΔF508-CFTR can still be rapidly degraded via a lysosomal pathway involving the CFTR-associated ligand (CAL), which binds CFTR via a PDZ interaction domain. We present a study that goes from theory, to new structure-based computational design algorithms, to computational predictions, to biochemical testing and ultimately to epithelial-cell validation of novel, effective CAL PDZ inhibitors (called “stabilizers”) that rescue ΔF508-CFTR activity. To design the “stabilizers”, we extended our structural ensemble-based computational protein redesign algorithm to encompass protein-protein and protein-peptide interactions. The computational predictions achieved high accuracy: all of the top-predicted peptide inhibitors bound well to CAL. Furthermore, when compared to state-of-the-art CAL inhibitors, our design methodology achieved higher affinity and increased binding efficiency. The designed inhibitor with the highest affinity for CAL (kCAL01) binds six-fold more tightly than the previous best hexamer (iCAL35), and 170-fold more tightly than the CFTR C-terminus. We show that kCAL01 has physiological activity and can rescue chloride efflux in CF patient-derived airway epithelial cells. Since stabilizers address a different cellular CF defect from potentiators and correctors, our inhibitors provide an additional therapeutic pathway that can be used in conjunction with current methods. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease that causes the body to produce thick mucus that clogs the lungs and obstructs the breakdown and absorption of food. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is mutated in CF patients, and the most common mutation causes three defects in CFTR: misfolding, decreased function, and rapid degradation. Drugs are currently being studied to correct the first two CFTR defects, but the problem of rapid degradation remains. Recently, key protein-protein interactions have been discovered that implicate the protein CAL in CFTR degradation. Here we have developed new computational protein design algorithms and used them to successfully predict peptide inhibitors of the CAL-CFTR interface. Our algorithm uses a structural ensemble-based evaluation of protein sequences and conformations to calculate accurate predictions of protein-peptide binding affinities. The algorithm is general and can be applied to a wide variety of protein-protein interface designs. All of our designed inhibitors bound CAL with high affinity. We tested our top binding peptide and observed that the inhibitor could successfully rescue CFTR function in CF patient-derived epithelial cells. Our designed inhibitors provide a novel therapeutic path which could be used in combination with existing CF therapeutics for additive benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle E. Roberts
- Department of Computer Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Patrick R. Cushing
- Department of Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Prisca Boisguerin
- Institute for Medical Immunology, Charite Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dean R. Madden
- Department of Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Bruce R. Donald
- Department of Computer Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
Surface charges of proteins have in several cases been found to function as "structural gatekeepers," which avoid unwanted interactions by negative design, for example, in the control of protein aggregation and binding. The question is then if side-chain charges, due to their desolvation penalties, play a corresponding role in protein folding by avoiding competing, misfolded traps? To find out, we removed all 32 side-chain charges from the 101-residue protein S6 from Thermus thermophilus. The results show that the charge-depleted S6 variant not only retains its native structure and cooperative folding transition, but folds also faster than the wild-type protein. In addition, charge removal unleashes pronounced aggregation on longer timescales. S6 provides thus an example where the bias toward native contacts of a naturally evolved protein sequence is independent of charges, and point at a fundamental difference in the codes for folding and intermolecular interaction: specificity in folding is governed primarily by hydrophobic packing and hydrogen bonding, whereas solubility and binding relies critically on the interplay of side-chain charges.
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