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Jabbour R, Raran-Kurussi S, Agarwal V, Equbal A. Tailoring solid-state DNP methods to the study of α-synuclein LLPS. Biophys Chem 2024; 313:107303. [PMID: 39126968 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2024.107303] [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: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is a technique that leverages the quantum sensing capability of electron spins to enhance the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals, especially for insensitive samples. Glassing agents play a crucial role in the DNP process by facilitating the transfer of polarization from the unpaired electron spins to the nuclear spins along with cryoprotection of biomolecules. DNPjuice comprising of glycerol-d8/D2O/H2O has been extensively used for this purpose over the past two decades. Polyethylene glycol (PEG), also used as a cryoprotectant, is often used as a crowding agent in experimental setups to mimic cellular conditions, particularly the invitro preparation of liquid-liquid phase separated (LLPS) condensates. In this study, we investigate the efficacy of PEG as an alternative to glycerol in the DNP juice, critical for signal enhancement. The modified DNP matrix leads to high DNP enhancement which enables direct study of LLPS condensates by solid-state DNP methods without adding any external constituents. An indirect advantage of employing PEG is that the PEG signals appear at ∼72.5 ppm and are relatively well-separated from the aliphatic region of the protein spectra. Large cross-effect DNP enhancement is attained for 13C-glycine by employing the PEG-water mixture as a glassing agent and ASYMPOL-POK as the state-of-art polarizing agent, without any deuteration. The DNP enhancement and the buildup rates are similar to results obtained with DNP juice, conforming to that PEG serves as a good candidate for both inducing crowding and glassing agent in the study of LLPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ribal Jabbour
- Center for Quantum and Topological Systems, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Department of Chemistry, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Vipin Agarwal
- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, Telangana, India.
| | - Asif Equbal
- Center for Quantum and Topological Systems, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Department of Chemistry, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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2
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Costello WN, Xiao Y, Mentink-Vigier F, Kragelj J, Frederick KK. DNP-assisted solid-state NMR enables detection of proteins at nanomolar concentrations in fully protonated cellular milieu. JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR NMR 2024; 78:95-108. [PMID: 38520488 DOI: 10.1007/s10858-024-00436-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
With the sensitivity enhancements conferred by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), magic angle spinning (MAS) solid state NMR spectroscopy experiments can attain the necessary sensitivity to detect very low concentrations of proteins. This potentially enables structural investigations of proteins at their endogenous levels in their biological contexts where their native stoichiometries with potential interactors is maintained. Yet, even with DNP, experiments are still sensitivity limited. Moreover, when an isotopically-enriched target protein is present at physiological levels, which typically range from low micromolar to nanomolar concentrations, the isotope content from the natural abundance isotopes in the cellular milieu can outnumber the isotope content of the target protein. Using isotopically enriched yeast prion protein, Sup35NM, diluted into natural abundance yeast lysates, we optimized sample composition. We found that modest cryoprotectant concentrations and fully protonated environments support efficient DNP. We experimentally validated theoretical calculations of the limit of specificity for an isotopically enriched protein in natural abundance cellular milieu. We establish that, using pulse sequences that are selective for adjacent NMR-active nuclei, proteins can be specifically detected in cellular milieu at concentrations in the hundreds of nanomolar. Finally, we find that maintaining native stoichiometries of the protein of interest to the components of the cellular environment may be important for proteins that make specific interactions with cellular constituents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Whitney N Costello
- Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390-8816, USA
| | - Yiling Xiao
- Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390-8816, USA
| | | | - Jaka Kragelj
- Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390-8816, USA
- Slovenian NMR centre, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Kendra K Frederick
- Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390-8816, USA.
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
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Sani MA, Rajput S, Keizer DW, Separovic F. NMR techniques for investigating antimicrobial peptides in model membranes and bacterial cells. Methods 2024; 224:10-20. [PMID: 38295893 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2024.01.012] [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: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
AMPs are short, mainly cationic membrane-active peptides found in all living organism. They perform diverse roles including signaling and acting as a line of defense against bacterial infections. AMPs have been extensively investigated as templates to facilitate the development of novel antimicrobial therapeutics. Understanding the interplay between these membrane-active peptides and the lipid membranes is considered to be a significant step in elucidating the specific mechanism of action of AMPs against prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells to aid the development of new therapeutics. In this review, we have provided a brief overview of various NMR techniques commonly used for studying AMP structure and AMP-membrane interactions in model membranes and whole cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc-Antoine Sani
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
| | - Sunnia Rajput
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - David W Keizer
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Frances Separovic
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia; School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
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4
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Becker-Baldus J, Yeliseev A, Joseph TT, Sigurdsson ST, Zoubak L, Hines K, Iyer MR, van den Berg A, Stepnowski S, Zmuda J, Gawrisch K, Glaubitz C. Probing the Conformational Space of the Cannabinoid Receptor 2 and a Systematic Investigation of DNP-Enhanced MAS NMR Spectroscopy of Proteins in Detergent Micelles. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:32963-32976. [PMID: 37720784 PMCID: PMC10500644 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c04681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
Tremendous progress has been made in determining the structures of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) and their complexes in recent years. However, understanding activation and signaling in GPCRs is still challenging due to the role of protein dynamics in these processes. Here, we show how dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-enhanced magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance in combination with a unique pair labeling approach can be used to study the conformational ensemble at specific sites of the cannabinoid receptor 2. To improve the signal-to-noise, we carefully optimized the DNP sample conditions and utilized the recently introduced AsymPol-POK as a polarizing agent. We could show qualitatively that the conformational space available to the protein backbone is different in different parts of the receptor and that a site in TM7 is sensitive to the nature of the ligand, whereas a site in ICL3 always showed large conformational freedom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Becker-Baldus
- Institute
of Biophysical Chemistry and Centre of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Alexei Yeliseev
- National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of
Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Thomas T. Joseph
- Department
of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Snorri Th. Sigurdsson
- Department
of Chemistry, Science Institute, University
of Iceland, Dunhaga 3, 107 Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Lioudmila Zoubak
- National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of
Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Kirk Hines
- National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of
Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Malliga R. Iyer
- Section
on Medicinal Chemistry, National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Arjen van den Berg
- ThermoFisher
Scientific, 7335 Executive
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21704, United States
| | - Sam Stepnowski
- ThermoFisher
Scientific, 7335 Executive
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21704, United States
| | - Jon Zmuda
- ThermoFisher
Scientific, 7335 Executive
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21704, United States
| | - Klaus Gawrisch
- National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of
Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Clemens Glaubitz
- Institute
of Biophysical Chemistry and Centre of Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
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Sani MA, Le Brun AP, Rajput S, Attard T, Separovic F. The membrane activity of the antimicrobial peptide caerin 1.1 is pH dependent. Biophys J 2023; 122:1058-1067. [PMID: 36680343 PMCID: PMC10111263 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides are an important class of membrane-active peptides that can provide alternatives or complements to classic antibiotics. Among the many classes of AMPs, the histidine-rich family is of particular interest since they may induce pH-sensitive interactions with cell membranes. The AMP caerin 1.1 (Cae-1), from Australian tree frogs, has three histidine residues, and thus we studied the pH dependence of its interactions with model cell membranes. Using NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, we showed that Cae-1 induced greater perturbation of the lipid dynamics and water penetrations within the membrane interior in an acidic environment compared with physiological conditions. Using 31P solid-state NMR, the packing, chemical environment, and dynamics of the lipid headgroup were monitored. 2H solid-state NMR showed that Cae-1 ordered the acyl chains of the hydrophobic core of the bilayer. These results supported the molecular dynamics data, which showed that Cae-1 was mainly inserted within the lipid bilayer for both neutral and negatively charged membranes, with the charged residues pulling the water and phosphate groups inward. This could be an early step in the mechanism of membrane disruption by histidine-rich antimicrobial peptides and indicated that Cae-1 acts via a transmembrane mechanism in bilayers of neutral and anionic phospholipid membranes, especially in acidic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc-Antoine Sani
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Anton P Le Brun
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Kirrawee, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sunnia Rajput
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Troy Attard
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Frances Separovic
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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Bertarello A, Berruyer P, Artelsmair M, Elmore CS, Heydarkhan-Hagvall S, Schade M, Chiarparin E, Schantz S, Emsley L. In-Cell Quantification of Drugs by Magic-Angle Spinning Dynamic Nuclear Polarization NMR. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:6734-6741. [PMID: 35385274 PMCID: PMC9026252 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c12442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The determination of intracellular drug concentrations can provide a better understanding of the drug function and efficacy. Ideally, this should be performed nondestructively, with no modification of either the drug or the target, and with the capability to detect low amounts of the molecule of interest, in many cases in the μM to nM range (pmol to fmol per million cells). Unfortunately, it is currently challenging to have an experimental technique that provides direct quantitative measurements of intracellular drug concentrations that simultaneously satisfies these requirements. Here, we show that magic-angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization (MAS DNP) can be used to fulfill these requirements. We apply a quantitative 15N MAS DNP approach in combination with 15N labeling to quantify the intracellular amount of the drug [15N]CHIR-98014, an activator of the Wingless and Int-1 signaling pathway, determining intracellular drug amounts in the range of tens to hundreds of picomoles per million cells. This is, to our knowledge, the first time that MAS DNP has been used to successfully estimate intracellular drug amounts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Bertarello
- Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pierrick Berruyer
- Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Markus Artelsmair
- Early Chemical Development, Pharmaceutical Science, R&D, AstraZeneca, SE-431 83 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Charles S Elmore
- Early Chemical Development, Pharmaceutical Science, R&D, AstraZeneca, SE-431 83 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Sepideh Heydarkhan-Hagvall
- Bioscience, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), BioPharmaceutical R&D AstraZeneca, SE-431 83 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Markus Schade
- Chemistry, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB4 0WG, U.K
| | | | - Staffan Schantz
- Oral Product Development, Pharmaceutical Technology & Development, Operations, AstraZeneca, SE-431 83 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Lyndon Emsley
- Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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