SAXS studies of X-ray induced disulfide bond damage: Engineering high-resolution insight from a low-resolution technique

The Blinking of Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Reveals the Degradation Process of Protein Crystals at Microsecond Timescale

X-ray crystallography has revolutionized our understanding of biological macromolecules by elucidating their three-dimensional structures. However, the use of X-rays in this technique raises concerns about potential damage to the protein crystals, which results in a quality degradation of the diffraction data even at very low temperatures. Since such damage can occur on the micro- to millisecond timescale, a development in its real-time measurement has been expected. Here, we introduce diffracted X-ray blinking (DXB), which was originally proposed as a method to analyze the intensity fluctuations of diffraction of crystalline particles, to small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) of a lysozyme single-crystal. This novel technique, called the small-angle X-ray blinking (SAXB) method, analyzes the fluctuation in SAXS intensity reflecting the domain fluctuation in the protein crystal caused by the X-ray irradiation, which could be correlated with the X-ray-induced damage on the crystal. There was no change in the protein crystal's domain dynamics between the first and second X-ray exposures at 95K, each of which lasted 0.7 s. On the other hand, its dynamics at 295K increased remarkably. The SAXB method further showed a dramatic increase in domain fluctuations with an increasing dose of X-ray radiation, indicating the significance of this method.

Solution structure and behaviour of the Arabidopsis thaliana HYL1 protein

In plants, microRNA biogenesis involves the complex assembly of molecular processes that are mostly governed by three proteins: RNase III protein DCL1 and two RNA binding proteins, SERRATE and HYL1. HYL1 protein is a double stranded RNA binding protein that is needed for the precise excision of miRNA/miRNA* duplex from the stem-loop containing primary miRNA gene transcripts. Moreover, HYL1 protein partners with HSP90 and CARP9 proteins to load the miRNA molecules onto the AGO1 endonuclease. HYL1 protein as a crucial player in the biogenesis pathway is regulated by its phosphorylation status to fine tune the levels of miRNA in various physiological conditions. HYL1 protein consists of two dsRNA binding domains (dsRBD) that are involved in RNA binding and dimerization and a C-terminal disordered tail of unknown function. Although the spatial structures of the individual dsRBDs have been determined there is a lack of information about the behaviour and structure of the full length protein. Using small the angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique we investigated the structure and dynamic of the HYL1 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana in solution. We show that the C-terminal domain is disordered and dynamic in solution and that HYL1 protein dimerization is dependent on the concentration. HYL1 protein lacking a C-terminal tail and a nuclear localisation signal (NLS) fragment is almost exclusively monomeric and similarly to full-length protein has a dynamic nature in solution. Our results point for the first time to the role of the C-terminal fragment in stabilisation of HYL1 dimer formation.

A SAXS-based approach to rationally evaluate radical scavengers - toward eliminating radiation damage in solution and crystallographic studies

X-ray-based techniques are a powerful tool in structural biology but the radiation-induced chemistry that results can be detrimental and may mask an accurate structural understanding. In the crystallographic case, cryocooling has been employed as a successful mitigation strategy but also has its limitations including the trapping of non-biological structural states. Crystallographic and solution studies performed at physiological temperatures can reveal otherwise hidden but relevant conformations, but are limited by their increased susceptibility to radiation damage. In this case, chemical additives that scavenge the species generated by radiation can mitigate damage but are not always successful and the mechanisms are often unclear. Using a protein designed to undergo a large-scale structural change from breakage of a disulfide bond, radiation damage can be monitored with small-angle X-ray scattering. Using this, we have quantitatively evaluated how three scavengers commonly used in crystallographic experiments - sodium nitrate, cysteine, and ascorbic acid - perform in solution at 10°C. Sodium nitrate was the most effective scavenger and completely inhibited fragmentation of the disulfide bond at a lower concentration (500 µM) compared with cysteine (∼5 mM) while ascorbic acid performed best at 5 mM but could only reduce fragmentation by ∼75% after a total accumulated dose of 792 Gy. The relative effectiveness of each scavenger matches their reported affinities for solvated electrons. Saturating concentrations of each scavenger shifted fragmentation from first order to a zeroth-order process, perhaps indicating the direct contribution of photoabsorption. The SAXS-based method can detect damage at X-ray doses far lower than those accessible crystallographically, thereby providing a detailed picture of scavenger processes. The solution results are also in close agreement with what is known about scavenger performance and mechanism in a crystallographic setting and suggest that a link can be made between the damage phenomenon in the two scenarios. Therefore, our engineered approach might provide a platform for more systematic and comprehensive screening of radioprotectants that can directly inform mitigation strategies for both solution and crystallographic experiments, while also clarifying fundamental radiation damage mechanisms.

Radiation damage to biological samples: still a pertinent issue

An understanding of radiation damage effects suffered by biological samples during structural analysis using both X-rays and electrons is pivotal to obtain reliable molecular models of imaged molecules. This special issue on radiation damage contains six papers reporting analyses of damage from a range of biophysical imaging techniques. For X-ray diffraction, an in-depth study of multi-crystal small-wedge data collection single-wavelength anomalous dispersion phasing protocols is presented, concluding that an absorbed dose of 5 MGy per crystal was optimal to allow reliable phasing. For small-angle X-ray scattering, experiments are reported that evaluate the efficacy of three radical scavengers using a protein designed to give a clear signature of damage in the form of a large conformational change upon the breakage of a disulfide bond. The use of X-rays to induce OH radicals from the radiolysis of water for X-ray footprinting are covered in two papers. In the first, new developments and the data collection pipeline at the NSLS-II high-throughput dedicated synchrotron beamline are described, and, in the second, the X-ray induced changes in three different proteins under aerobic and low-oxygen conditions are investigated and correlated with the absorbed dose. Studies in XFEL science are represented by a report on simulations of ultrafast dynamics in protic ionic liquids, and, lastly, a broad coverage of possible methods for dose efficiency improvement in modalities using electrons is presented. These papers, as well as a brief synopsis of some other relevant literature published since the last Journal of Synchrotron Radiation Special Issue on Radiation Damage in 2019, are summarized below.

Hydroxyl radical mediated damage of proteins in low oxygen solution investigated using X-ray footprinting mass spectrometry

In the method of X-ray footprinting mass spectrometry (XFMS), proteins at micromolar concentration in solution are irradiated with a broadband X-ray source, and the resulting hydroxyl radical modifications are characterized using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry to determine sites of solvent accessibility. These data are used to infer structural changes in proteins upon interaction with other proteins, folding, or ligand binding. XFMS is typically performed under aerobic conditions; dissolved molecular oxygen in solution is necessary in many, if not all, the hydroxyl radical modifications that are generally reported. In this study we investigated the result of X-ray induced modifications to three different proteins under aerobic versus low oxygen conditions, and correlated the extent of damage with dose calculations. We observed a concentration-dependent protecting effect at higher protein concentration for a given X-ray dose. For the typical doses used in XFMS experiments there was minimal X-ray induced aggregation and fragmentation, but for higher doses we observed formation of covalent higher molecular weight oligomers, as well as fragmentation, which was affected by the amount of dissolved oxygen in solution. The higher molecular weight products in the form of dimers, trimers, and tetramers were present in all sample preparations, and, upon X-ray irradiation, these oligomers became non-reducible as seen in SDS-PAGE. The results provide an important contribution to the large body of X-ray radiation damage literature in structural biology research, and will specifically help inform the future planning of XFMS, and well as X-ray crystallography and small-angle X-ray scattering experiments.