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Al Masri C, Wan B, Yu J. Nonspecific vs. specific DNA binding free energetics of a transcription factor domain protein. Biophys J 2023; 122:4476-4487. [PMID: 37897044 PMCID: PMC10722393 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.10.025] [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: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription factor (TF) proteins regulate gene expression by binding to specific sites on the genome. In the facilitated diffusion model, an optimized search process is achieved by the TF alternating between 3D diffusion in the bulk and 1D diffusion along DNA. While undergoing 1D diffusion, the protein can switch from a search mode for fast diffusion along nonspecific DNA to a recognition mode for stable binding to specific DNA. It was recently noticed that, for a small TF domain protein, reorientations on DNA happen between the nonspecific and specific DNA binding. We here conducted all-atom molecular dynamics simulations with steering forces to reveal the protein-DNA binding free energetics, confirming that the search and recognition modes are distinguished primarily by protein orientations on the DNA. As the binding free energy difference between the specific and nonspecific DNA system slightly deviates from that being estimated directly from dissociation constants on 15-bp DNA constructs, we hypothesize that the discrepancy can come from DNA sequences flanking the 6-bp central binding sites that impact on the dissociation kinetics measurements. The hypothesis is supported by a simplified spherical protein-DNA model along with stochastic simulations and kinetic modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Al Masri
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California
| | - Biao Wan
- Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jin Yu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, NSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research, University of California, Irvine, California.
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2
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A monomeric mycobacteriophage immunity repressor utilizes two domains to recognize an asymmetric DNA sequence. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4105. [PMID: 35835745 PMCID: PMC9283540 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31678-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulation of bacteriophage gene expression involves repressor proteins that bind and downregulate early lytic promoters. A large group of mycobacteriophages code for repressors that are unusual in also terminating transcription elongation at numerous binding sites (stoperators) distributed across the phage genome. Here we provide the X-ray crystal structure of a mycobacteriophage immunity repressor bound to DNA, which reveals the binding of a monomer to an asymmetric DNA sequence using two independent DNA binding domains. The structure is supported by small-angle X-ray scattering, DNA binding, molecular dynamics, and in vivo immunity assays. We propose a model for how dual DNA binding domains facilitate regulation of both transcription initiation and elongation, while enabling evolution of other superinfection immune specificities. Bacteriophage repressor proteins downregulate viral lytic gene expression. Herein, the authors present the X-ray crystal structure of a monomeric repressor that binds an asymmetric DNA sequence using two independent domains.
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Liao Q, Lüking M, Krüger DM, Deindl S, Elf J, Kasson PM, Lynn Kamerlin SC. Long Time-Scale Atomistic Simulations of the Structure and Dynamics of Transcription Factor-DNA Recognition. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:3576-3590. [PMID: 30952192 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b12363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent years have witnessed an explosion of interest in computational studies of DNA binding proteins, including both coarse-grained and atomistic simulations of transcription factor-DNA recognition, to understand how these transcription factors recognize their binding sites on the DNA with such exquisite specificity. The present study performs microsecond time scale all-atom simulations of the dimeric form of the lactose repressor (LacI), both in the absence of any DNA and in the presence of both specific and nonspecific complexes, considering three different DNA sequences. We examine, specifically, the conformational differences between specific and nonspecific protein-DNA interactions, as well as the behavior of the helix-turn-helix motif of LacI when interacting with the DNA. Our simulations suggest that stable LacI binding occurs primarily to bent A-form DNA, with a loss of LacI conformational entropy and optimization of correlated conformational equilibria across the protein. In addition, binding to the specific operator sequence involves a slightly larger number of stabilizing DNA-protein hydrogen bonds (in comparison to nonspecific complexes), which may account for the experimentally observed specificity for this operator. In doing so, our simulations provide a detailed atomistic description of potential structural drivers for LacI selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinghua Liao
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Chemistry-BMC , Uppsala University , BMC Box 576, S-751 24 Uppsala , Sweden
| | - Malin Lüking
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Chemistry-BMC , Uppsala University , BMC Box 576, S-751 24 Uppsala , Sweden
| | - Dennis M Krüger
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology , Uppsala University , BMC Box 596, S-751 23 Uppsala , Sweden.,Department for Epigenetics and Systems Medicine in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bioinformatics Unit , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Göttingen , von Siebold Strasse 3A , 37075 Göttingen , Germany
| | - Sebastian Deindl
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology , Uppsala University , BMC Box 596, S-751 23 Uppsala , Sweden
| | - Johan Elf
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology , Uppsala University , BMC Box 596, S-751 23 Uppsala , Sweden
| | - Peter M Kasson
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology , Uppsala University , BMC Box 596, S-751 23 Uppsala , Sweden
| | - Shina Caroline Lynn Kamerlin
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Chemistry-BMC , Uppsala University , BMC Box 576, S-751 24 Uppsala , Sweden
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4
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Chen H, Crum M, Chavan D, Vu B, Kourentzi K, Willson RC. Nanoparticle-Based Proximity Ligation Assay for Ultrasensitive, Quantitative Detection of Protein Biomarkers. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2018; 10:31845-31849. [PMID: 30168312 PMCID: PMC6209106 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b01377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Proximity ligation assay (PLA) achieves extremely low limits of detection but requires the synthesis of antibody-DNA conjugates recognizing multiple target epitopes with appropriate proximity. In this work, we introduce a more generally applicable method by replacing antibody-DNA conjugates with nanoparticles which create ultradetectable PCR templates by capturing biotinylated oligonucleotides and catalyzing ligation. A competitive PCR readout was used to make the assay quantitative. We have demonstrated that NP-PLA can detect and quantitate human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels as low as 2.6 fM (∼0.1 pg/mL), nearly 1000 times more sensitive than the current state of the art ELISA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Chen
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Mary Crum
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Dimple Chavan
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Binh Vu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Katerina Kourentzi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Richard C. Willson
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
- Tecnológico de Monterrey, Departamento de Biotecnología e Ingeniería de Alimentos, Monterrey, Nuevo León 64849, Mexico
- Corresponding Author:
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5
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Xu JS, Hewitt MN, Gulati JS, Cruz MA, Zhan H, Liu S, Matthews KS. Lactose repressor hinge domain independently binds DNA. Protein Sci 2018; 27:839-847. [PMID: 29318690 PMCID: PMC5866929 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2017] [Revised: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The short 8-10 amino acid "hinge" sequence in lactose repressor (LacI), present in other LacI/GalR family members, links DNA and inducer-binding domains. Structural studies of full-length or truncated LacI-operator DNA complexes demonstrate insertion of the dimeric helical "hinge" structure at the center of the operator sequence. This association bends the DNA ∼40° and aligns flanking semi-symmetric DNA sites for optimal contact by the N-terminal helix-turn-helix (HtH) sequences within each dimer. In contrast, the hinge region remains unfolded when bound to nonspecific DNA sequences. To determine ability of the hinge helix alone to mediate DNA binding, we examined (i) binding of LacI variants with deletion of residues 1-50 to remove the HtH DNA binding domain or residues 1-58 to remove both HtH and hinge domains and (ii) binding of a synthetic peptide corresponding to the hinge sequence with a Val52Cys substitution that allows reversible dimer formation via a disulfide linkage. Binding affinity for DNA is orders of magnitude lower in the absence of the helix-turn-helix domain with its highly positive charge. LacI missing residues 1-50 binds to DNA with ∼4-fold greater affinity for operator than for nonspecific sequences with minimal impact of inducer presence; in contrast, LacI missing residues 1-58 exhibits no detectable affinity for DNA. In oxidized form, the dimeric hinge peptide alone binds to O1 and nonspecific DNA with similarly small difference in affinity; reduction to monomer diminished binding to both O1 and nonspecific targets. These results comport with recent reports regarding LacI hinge interaction with DNA sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph S Xu
- Department of BioSciences, MS-140, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251
| | - Madeleine N Hewitt
- Department of BioSciences, MS-140, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251
| | - Jaskeerat S Gulati
- Department of BioSciences, MS-140, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251
| | - Matthew A Cruz
- Department of BioSciences, MS-140, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251
| | - Hongli Zhan
- Department of BioSciences, MS-140, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251
| | - Shirley Liu
- Department of BioSciences, MS-140, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251
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Gardini S, Furini S, Santucci A, Niccolai N. A structural bioinformatics investigation on protein–DNA complexes delineates their modes of interaction. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2017; 13:1010-1017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7mb00071e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
A non-redundant dataset of 629 protein–DNA complexes has been used to investigate on amino acid composition of protein-DNA interfaces. Structural proteins, transcription factors and DNA-related enzymes show specific patterns accounting for different modes of their interaction with DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Gardini
- Department of Biotechnology
- Chemistry and Pharmacy
- University of Siena
- Italy
| | - Simone Furini
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies
- University of Siena
- Siena
- Italy
| | - Annalisa Santucci
- Department of Biotechnology
- Chemistry and Pharmacy
- University of Siena
- Italy
| | - Neri Niccolai
- Department of Biotechnology
- Chemistry and Pharmacy
- University of Siena
- Italy
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