Active-site protein dynamics and solvent accessibility in native Achromobacter cycloclastes copper nitrite reductase

Microbial nitrite reductases are denitrifying enzymes that are a major component of the global nitrogen cycle. Multiple structures measured from one crystal (MSOX data) of copper nitrite reductase at 240 K, together with molecular-dynamics simulations, have revealed protein dynamics at the type 2 copper site that are significant for its catalytic properties and for the entry and exit of solvent or ligands to and from the active site. Molecular-dynamics simulations were performed using different protonation states of the key catalytic residues (AspCAT and HisCAT) involved in the nitrite-reduction mechanism of this enzyme. Taken together, the crystal structures and simulations show that the AspCAT protonation state strongly influences the active-site solvent accessibility, while the dynamics of the active-site 'capping residue' (IleCAT), a determinant of ligand binding, are influenced both by temperature and by the protonation state of AspCAT. A previously unobserved conformation of IleCAT is seen in the elevated temperature series compared with 100 K structures. DFT calculations also show that the loss of a bound water ligand at the active site during the MSOX series is consistent with reduction of the type 2 Cu atom.

XFELs for structure and dynamics in biology

The development and application of the free-electron X-ray laser (XFEL) to structure and dynamics in biology since its inception in 2009 are reviewed. The research opportunities which result from the ability to outrun most radiation-damage effects are outlined, and some grand challenges are suggested. By avoiding the need to cool samples to minimize damage, the XFEL has permitted atomic resolution imaging of molecular processes on the 100 fs timescale under near-physiological conditions and in the correct thermal bath in which molecular machines operate. Radiation damage, comparisons of XFEL and synchrotron work, single-particle diffraction, fast solution scattering, pump-probe studies on photosensitive proteins, mix-and-inject experiments, caged molecules, pH jump and other reaction-initiation methods, and the study of molecular machines are all discussed. Sample-delivery methods and data-analysis algorithms for the various modes, from serial femtosecond crystallo-graphy to fast solution scattering, fluctuation X-ray scattering, mixing jet experiments and single-particle diffraction, are also reviewed.

MAS 1H NMR Probes Freezing Point Depression of Water and Liquid-Gel Phase Transitions in Liposomes

The lipid bilayer typical of hydrated biological membranes is characterized by a liquid-crystalline, highly dynamic state. Upon cooling or dehydration, these membranes undergo a cooperative transition to a rigidified, more-ordered, gel phase. This characteristic phase transition is of significant biological and biophysical interest, for instance in studies of freezing-tolerant organisms. Magic-angle-spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy allows for the detection and characterization of the phase transitions over a wide temperature range. In this study we employ MAS ¹H NMR to probe the phase transitions of both solvent molecules and different hydrated phospholipids, including tetraoleoyl cardiolipin (TOCL) and several phosphatidylcholine lipid species. The employed MAS NMR sample conditions cause a previously noted substantial reduction in the freezing point of the solvent phase. The effect on the solvent is caused by confinement of the aqueous solvent in the small and densely packed MAS NMR samples. In this study we report and examine how the freezing point depression also impacts the lipid phase transition, causing a ssNMR-observed reduction in the lipids' melting temperature (T_m). The molecular underpinnings of this phenomenon are discussed and compared with previous studies of membrane-associated water phases and the impact of membrane-protective cryoprotectants.

Two Dynamical Regimes of the Substrate Radical Rearrangement Reaction in B12-Dependent Ethanolamine Ammonia-Lyase Resolve Contributions of Native Protein Configurations and Collective Configurational Fluctuations to Catalysis

The kinetics of the substrate radical rearrangement reaction step in B₁₂-dependent ethanolamine ammonia-lyase (EAL) from Salmonella typhimurium are measured over a 92 K temperature range. The observed first-order rate constants display a piecewise-continuous Arrhenius dependence, with linear regions over 295 → 220 K (monoexponential) and 214 → 203 K (biexponential) that are delineated by a kinetic bifurcation and kinks at 219 and 217 K, respectively. The results are interpreted by using a free energy landscape model and derived microscopic kinetic mechanism. The bifurcation and kink transitions correspond to the effective quenching of two distinct sets of native collective protein configurational fluctuations that (1) reconfigure the protein within the substrate radical free energy minimum, in a reaction-enabling step, and (2) create the protein configurations associated with the chemical step. Below 217 K, the substrate radical decay reaction persists. Increases in activation enthalpy and entropy of both the microscopic enabling and reaction steps indicate that this non-native reaction coordinate is conducted by local, incremental fluctuations. Continuity in the Arrhenius relations indicates that the same sets of protein groups and interactions mediate the rearrangement over the 295 to 203 K range, but with a repertoire of configurations below 217 K that is restricted, relative to the native configurations accessible above 219 K. The experimental features of a culled reaction step, first-order kinetic measurements, and wide room-to-cryogenic temperature range, allow the direct demonstration and kinetic characterization of protein dynamical contributions to the core adiabatic, bond-making/bond-breaking reaction in EAL.

Entropy redistribution controls allostery in a metalloregulatory protein

Allosteric communication between two ligand-binding sites in a protein is a central aspect of biological regulation that remains mechanistically unclear. Here we show that perturbations in equilibrium picosecond-nanosecond motions impact zinc (Zn)-induced allosteric inhibition of DNA binding by the Zn efflux repressor CzrA (chromosomal zinc-regulated repressor). DNA binding leads to an unanticipated increase in methyl side-chain flexibility and thus stabilizes the complex entropically; Zn binding redistributes these motions, inhibiting formation of the DNA complex by restricting coupled fast motions and concerted slower motions. Allosterically impaired CzrA mutants are characterized by distinct nonnative fast internal dynamics "fingerprints" upon Zn binding, and DNA binding is weakly regulated. We demonstrate the predictive power of the wild-type dynamics fingerprint to identify key residues in dynamics-driven allostery. We propose that driving forces arising from dynamics can be harnessed by nature to evolve new allosteric ligand specificities in a compact molecular scaffold.

Observation of the Global Dynamic Collectivity of a Hydration Shell around Apomyoglobin

Protein surface hydration is critical to the protein's structural properties and biological activities. However, it is still unknown whether the hydration shell is intrinsically connected and how its fluctuations dynamically interact with protein motion. Here, by selecting five site-specific locations with distinctly different environments around the surface of apomyoglobin, we used a tryptophan scan with femtosecond fluorescence spectroscopy and simultaneously detected hydration water dynamics and tryptophan side-chain relaxations with temperature dependence. We observed two types of relaxations for both interfacial hydration water and the tryptophan side chain. The former is always faster than the latter, and both motions show direct linear correlations with temperature changes, indicating one origin of their motions and hydration water driving of side-chain fluctuations. Significantly, we found the relaxation energy barriers are uniform across the entire protein surface, all less than 20 kJ/mol, strongly suggesting highly extended cooperative water networks and the nature of global dynamic collectivity of the entire hydration shell.

Solvent-Slaved Dynamic Processes Observed by Tryptophan Phosphorescence of Human Serum Albumin

Despite extensive experimental and computational efforts to understand the nature of the hierarchy of protein fluctuations and the modulating role of the protein hydration shell, a detailed microscopic description of the dynamics of the protein-solvent system has yet to be achieved. By using single tryptophan protein phosphorescence, we follow site-specific internal protein dynamics over a broad temperature range and demonstrate three independent dynamic processes. Process I is seen at temperatures below the bulk solvent T_g, has low activation energy, and is likely due to fast vibrations that may be enabled by water mobility on the protein surface. Process II is observed above 170 K, with activation energy typical of β relaxations in a glass; it has the same temperature dependence as fluctuations of hydration shell waters. Process III is observed at T > 200 K; it has super-Arrhenius temperature dependence and closely follows the primary relaxation of the bulk. The fluorescence of pyranine bound to the protein reports on the mobility of water in the hydration shell; it reveals a shift in emission spectra with increasing temperature, indicative of a changing H-bond network at the surface of the protein. These results support a model of solvent-slaved protein dynamics.

Backbone assignment of perdeuterated proteins by solid-state NMR using proton detection and ultrafast magic-angle spinning

Solid-state NMR (ssNMR) is a technique that allows the study of protein structure and dynamics at atomic detail. In contrast to X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, proteins can be studied under physiological conditions-for example, in a lipid bilayer and at room temperature (0-35 °C). However, ssNMR requires considerable amounts (milligram quantities) of isotopically labeled samples. In recent years, ¹H-detection of perdeuterated protein samples has been proposed as a method of alleviating the sensitivity issue. Such methods are, however, substantially more demanding to the spectroscopist, as compared with traditional ¹³C-detected approaches. As a guide, this protocol describes a procedure for the chemical shift assignment of the backbone atoms of proteins in the solid state by ¹H-detected ssNMR. It requires a perdeuterated, uniformly ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labeled protein sample with subsequent proton back-exchange to the labile sites. The sample needs to be spun at a minimum of 40 kHz in the NMR spectrometer. With a minimal set of five 3D NMR spectra, the protein backbone and some of the side-chain atoms can be completely assigned. These spectra correlate resonances within one amino acid residue and between neighboring residues; taken together, these correlations allow for complete chemical shift assignment via a 'backbone walk'. This results in a backbone chemical shift table, which is the basis for further analysis of the protein structure and/or dynamics by ssNMR. Depending on the spectral quality and complexity of the protein, data acquisition and analysis are possible within 2 months.

Measurement of 14N quadrupole couplings in biomolecular solids using indirect-detection 14N solid-state NMR with DNP

Insights into protein structure through the determination of ¹⁴N quadrupolar interactions using magic-angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization NMR.

LK peptide side chain dynamics at interfaces are independent of secondary structure

Real-time observation of the ultrafast motions of leucine side chains within model peptides at the water–air interface with representative folds – α-helix, 3₁₀-helix, β-strand – show that interfacial dynamics are mostly determined by surface interactions.

Structural biology of supramolecular assemblies by magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

In recent years, exciting developments in instrument technology and experimental methodology have advanced the field of magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to new heights. Contemporary MAS NMR yields atomic-level insights into structure and dynamics of an astounding range of biological systems, many of which cannot be studied by other methods. With the advent of fast MAS, proton detection, and novel pulse sequences, large supramolecular assemblies, such as cytoskeletal proteins and intact viruses, are now accessible for detailed analysis. In this review, we will discuss the current MAS NMR methodologies that enable characterization of complex biomolecular systems and will present examples of applications to several classes of assemblies comprising bacterial and mammalian cytoskeleton as well as human immunodeficiency virus 1 and bacteriophage viruses. The body of work reviewed herein is representative of the recent advancements in the field, with respect to the complexity of the systems studied, the quality of the data, and the significance to the biology.

Fast Motions of Key Methyl Groups in Amyloid-β Fibrils

Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide is the major component of plaques found in Alzheimer's disease patients. Using solid-state 2H NMR relaxation performed on selectively deuterated methyl groups, we probed the dynamics in the threefold symmetric and twofold symmetric polymorphs of native Aβ as well as the protofibrils of the D23N mutant. Specifically, we investigated the methyl groups of two leucine residues that belong to the hydrophobic core (L17 and L34) as well as M35 residues belonging to the hydrophobic interface between the cross-β subunits, which has been previously found to be water-accessible. Relaxation measurements performed over 310-140 K and two magnetic field strengths provide insights into conformational variability within and between polymorphs. Core packing variations within a single polymorph are similar to what is observed for globular proteins for the core residues, whereas M35 exhibits a larger degree of variability. M35 site is also shown to undergo a solvent-dependent dynamical transition in which slower amplitude motions of methyl axes are activated at high temperature. The motions, modeled as a diffusion of methyl axis, have activation energy by a factor of 2.7 larger in the twofold compared with the threefold polymorph, whereas D23N protofibrils display a value similar to the threefold polymorph. This suggests enhanced flexibility of the hydrophobic interface in the threefold polymorph. This difference is only observed in the hydrated state and is absent in the dry fibrils, highlighting the role of solvent at the cavity. In contrast, the dynamic behavior of the core is hydration-independent.

Protonation of the Hydroperoxo Intermediate of Cytochrome P450 2B4 Is Slower in the Presence of Cytochrome P450 Reductase Than in the Presence of Cytochrome b5

Microsomal cytochromes P450 (P450) require two electrons and two protons for the oxidation of substrates. Although the two electrons can be provided by cytochrome P450 reductase, the second electron can also be donated by cytochrome b5 (b5). The steady-state activity of P450 2B4 is increased up to 10-fold by b5. To improve our understanding of the molecular basis of the stimulatory effect of b5 and to test the hypothesis that b5 stimulates catalysis by more rapid protonation of the anionic ferric hydroperoxo heme intermediate of P450 (Fe³⁺OOH)^- and subsequent formation of the active oxidizing species (Fe⁺⁴═O POR^•+), we have freeze-quenched the reaction mixture during a single turnover following reduction of oxyferrous P450 2B4 by each of its redox partners, b5 and P450 reductase. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of the freeze-quenched reaction mixtures lacked evidence of a hydroperoxo intermediate when b5 was the reductant presumably because hydroperoxo protonation and catalysis occurred within the dead time of the instrument. However, when P450 reductase was the reductant, a hydroperoxo P450 intermediate was observed. The effect of b5 on the enzymatic efficiency in D₂O and the kinetic solvent isotope effect under steady-state conditions are both consistent with the ability of b5 to promote rapid protonation of the hydroperoxo species and more efficient catalysis. In summary, by binding to the proximal surface of P450, b5 stimulates the activity of P450 2B4 by enhancing the rate of protonation of the hydroperoxo intermediate and formation of Compound I, the active oxidizing species, which allows less time for side product formation.

Evidence of Coupling between the Motions of Water and Peptides

Studies of protein dynamics at low temperatures are generally performed on hydrated powders and not in biologically realistic solutions of water because of water crystallization. However, here we avoid the problem of crystallization by reducing the size of the biomolecules. We have studied oligomers of the amino acid l-lysine, fully dissolved in water, and our dielectric relaxation data show that the glass transition-related dynamics of the oligomers is determined by the water dynamics, in a way similar to that previously observed for solvated proteins. This implies that the crucial role of water for protein dynamics can be extended to other types of macromolecular systems, where water is also able to determine their conformational fluctuations. Using the energy landscape picture of macromolecules, the thermodynamic criterion for such solvent-slaved macromolecular motions may be that the macromolecules need the entropy contribution from the solvent to overcome the enthalpy barriers between different conformational substates.

Molecular Origin of Ultrafast Water-Protein Coupled Interactions

The fluctuations of hydration water and the protein are coupled together at the protein surface and often such water-protein dynamic interactions are controlled presumably by hydration water motions. However, direct evidence is scarce and it requires measuring the dynamics of hydration water and protein side chain simultaneously. Here, we use a unique protein with a single tryptophan to directly probe interfacial water and related side chain relaxations with temperature dependence. With systematic mutations to change local chemical identity and structural flexibility, we found that the side chain relaxations are always slower than hydration water motions and the two dynamic processes are linearly correlated with the same energy barriers, indicating the same origin of both relaxations. The charge mutations change the rates of hydration water relaxations but not the relaxation barriers. These results convincingly show that the water-protein relaxations are strongly coupled and the hydration water molecules govern such fluctuations on the picosecond time scales.

Predicting protein dynamics from structural ensembles

The biological properties of proteins are uniquely determined by their structure and dynamics. A protein in solution populates a structural ensemble of metastable configurations around the global fold. From overall rotation to local fluctuations, the dynamics of proteins can cover several orders of magnitude in time scales. We propose a simulation-free coarse-grained approach which utilizes knowledge of the important metastable folded states of the protein to predict the protein dynamics. This approach is based upon the Langevin Equation for Protein Dynamics (LE4PD), a Langevin formalism in the coordinates of the protein backbone. The linear modes of this Langevin formalism organize the fluctuations of the protein, so that more extended dynamical cooperativity relates to increasing energy barriers to mode diffusion. The accuracy of the LE4PD is verified by analyzing the predicted dynamics across a set of seven different proteins for which both relaxation data and NMR solution structures are available. Using experimental NMR conformers as the input structural ensembles, LE4PD predicts quantitatively accurate results, with correlation coefficient ρ = 0.93 to NMR backbone relaxation measurements for the seven proteins. The NMR solution structure derived ensemble and predicted dynamical relaxation is compared with molecular dynamics simulation-derived structural ensembles and LE4PD predictions and is consistent in the time scale of the simulations. The use of the experimental NMR conformers frees the approach from computationally demanding simulations.

Computing energy landscape maps and structural excursions of proteins

BACKGROUND

Structural excursions of a protein at equilibrium are key to biomolecular recognition and function modulation. Protein modeling research is driven by the need to aid wet laboratories in characterizing equilibrium protein dynamics. In principle, structural excursions of a protein can be directly observed via simulation of its dynamics, but the disparate temporal scales involved in such excursions make this approach computationally impractical. On the other hand, an informative representation of the structure space available to a protein at equilibrium can be obtained efficiently via stochastic optimization, but this approach does not directly yield information on equilibrium dynamics.

METHODS

We present here a novel methodology that first builds a multi-dimensional map of the energy landscape that underlies the structure space of a given protein and then queries the computed map for energetically-feasible excursions between structures of interest. An evolutionary algorithm builds such maps with a practical computational budget. Graphical techniques analyze a computed multi-dimensional map and expose interesting features of an energy landscape, such as basins and barriers. A path searching algorithm then queries a nearest-neighbor graph representation of a computed map for energetically-feasible basin-to-basin excursions.

RESULTS

Evaluation is conducted on intrinsically-dynamic proteins of importance in human biology and disease. Visual statistical analysis of the maps of energy landscapes computed by the proposed methodology reveals features already captured in the wet laboratory, as well as new features indicative of interesting, unknown thermodynamically-stable and semi-stable regions of the equilibrium structure space. Comparison of maps and structural excursions computed by the proposed methodology on sequence variants of a protein sheds light on the role of equilibrium structure and dynamics in the sequence-function relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

Applications show that the proposed methodology is effective at locating basins in complex energy landscapes and computing basin-basin excursions of a protein with a practical computational budget. While the actual temporal scales spanned by a structural excursion cannot be directly obtained due to the foregoing of simulation of dynamics, hypotheses can be formulated regarding the impact of sequence mutations on protein function. These hypotheses are valuable in instigating further research in wet laboratories.

(17)O NMR Investigation of Water Structure and Dynamics

The structure and dynamics of the bound water in barium chlorate monohydrate were studied with (17)O nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in samples that are stationary and spinning at the magic-angle in magnetic fields ranging from 14.1 to 21.1 T. (17)O NMR parameters of the water were determined, and the effects of torsional oscillations of the water molecule on the (17)O quadrupolar coupling constant (CQ) were delineated with variable temperature MAS NMR. With decreasing temperature and reduction of the librational motion, we observe an increase in the experimentally measured CQ explaining the discrepancy between experiments and predictions from density functional theory. In addition, at low temperatures and in the absence of (1)H decoupling, we observe a well-resolved (1)H-(17)O dipole splitting in the spectra, which provides information on the structure of the H2O molecule. The splitting arises because of the homogeneous nature of the coupling between the two (1)H-(17)O dipoles and the (1)H-(1)H dipole.

Structural biology applications of solid state MAS DNP NMR

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) has long been an aim for increasing sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, delivering spectra in shorter experiment times or of smaller sample amounts. In recent years, it has been applied in magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR to a large range of samples, including biological macromolecules and functional materials. New research directions in structural biology can be envisaged by DNP, facilitating investigations on very large complexes or very heterogeneous samples. Here we present a summary of state of the art DNP MAS NMR spectroscopy and its applications to structural biology, discussing the technical challenges and factors affecting DNP performance.

High resolution observed in 800 MHz DNP spectra of extremely rigid type III secretion needles

The cryogenic temperatures at which dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) solid-state NMR experiments need to be carried out cause line-broadening, an effect that is especially detrimental for crowded protein spectra. By increasing the magnetic field strength from 600 to 800 MHz, the resolution of DNP spectra of type III secretion needles (T3SS) could be improved by 22 %, indicating that inhomogeneous broadening is not the dominant effect that limits the resolution of T3SS needles under DNP conditions. The outstanding spectral resolution of this system under DNP conditions can be attributed to its low overall flexibility.

Unconstrained Enhanced Sampling for Free Energy Calculations of Biomolecules: A Review

Free energy calculations are central to understanding the structure, dynamics and function of biomolecules. Yet insufficient sampling of biomolecular configurations is often regarded as one of the main sources of error. Many enhanced sampling techniques have been developed to address this issue. Notably, enhanced sampling methods based on biasing collective variables (CVs), including the widely used umbrella sampling, adaptive biasing force and metadynamics, have been discussed in a recent excellent review (Abrams and Bussi, Entropy, 2014). Here, we aim to review enhanced sampling methods that do not require predefined system-dependent CVs for biomolecular simulations and as such do not suffer from the hidden energy barrier problem as encountered in the CV-biasing methods. These methods include, but are not limited to, replica exchange/parallel tempering, self-guided molecular/Langevin dynamics, essential energy space random walk and accelerated molecular dynamics. While it is overwhelming to describe all details of each method, we provide a summary of the methods along with the applications and offer our perspectives. We conclude with challenges and prospects of the unconstrained enhanced sampling methods for accurate biomolecular free energy calculations.

Dynamical Structures of Hsp70 and Hsp70-Hsp40 Complexes

Protein misfolding and aggregation are pathological events that place a significant amount of stress on the maintenance of protein homeostasis (proteostasis). For prevention and repair of protein misfolding and aggregation, cells are equipped with robust mechanisms that mainly rely on molecular chaperones. Two classes of molecular chaperones, heat shock protein 70 kDa (Hsp70) and Hsp40, recognize and bind to misfolded proteins, preventing their toxic biomolecular aggregation and enabling refolding or targeted degradation. Here, we review the current state of structural biology of Hsp70 and Hsp40-Hsp70 complexes and examine the link between their structures, dynamics, and functions. We highlight the power of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to untangle complex relationships behind molecular chaperones and their mechanism(s) of action.

Dynamics and mechanism of ultrafast water-protein interactions

Protein hydration is essential to its structure, dynamics, and function, but water-protein interactions have not been directly observed in real time at physiological temperature to our awareness. By using a tryptophan scan with femtosecond spectroscopy, we simultaneously measured the hydration water dynamics and protein side-chain motions with temperature dependence. We observed the heterogeneous hydration dynamics around the global protein surface with two types of coupled motions, collective water/side-chain reorientation in a few picoseconds and cooperative water/side-chain restructuring in tens of picoseconds. The ultrafast dynamics in hundreds of femtoseconds is from the outer-layer, bulk-type mobile water molecules in the hydration shell. We also found that the hydration water dynamics are always faster than protein side-chain relaxations but with the same energy barriers, indicating hydration shell fluctuations driving protein side-chain motions on the picosecond time scales and thus elucidating their ultimate relationship.

Protein Ensembles: How Does Nature Harness Thermodynamic Fluctuations for Life? The Diverse Functional Roles of Conformational Ensembles in the Cell

All soluble proteins populate conformational ensembles that together constitute the native state. Their fluctuations in water are intrinsic thermodynamic phenomena, and the distributions of the states on the energy landscape are determined by statistical thermodynamics; however, they are optimized to perform their biological functions. In this review we briefly describe advances in free energy landscape studies of protein conformational ensembles. Experimental (nuclear magnetic resonance, small-angle X-ray scattering, single-molecule spectroscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy) and computational (replica-exchange molecular dynamics, metadynamics, and Markov state models) approaches have made great progress in recent years. These address the challenging characterization of the highly flexible and heterogeneous protein ensembles. We focus on structural aspects of protein conformational distributions, from collective motions of single- and multi-domain proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, to multiprotein complexes. Importantly, we highlight recent studies that illustrate functional adjustment of protein conformational ensembles in the crowded cellular environment. We center on the role of the ensemble in recognition of small- and macro-molecules (protein and RNA/DNA) and emphasize emerging concepts of protein dynamics in enzyme catalysis. Overall, protein ensembles link fundamental physicochemical principles and protein behavior and the cellular network and its regulation.

Identification of Dynamic Modes in an Intrinsically Disordered Protein Using Temperature-Dependent NMR Relaxation

The dynamic modes and time scales sampled by intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) define their function. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin relaxation is probably the most powerful tool for investigating these motions delivering site-specific descriptions of conformational fluctuations from throughout the molecule. Despite the abundance of experimental measurement of relaxation in IDPs, the physical origin of the measured relaxation rates remains poorly understood. Here we measure an extensive range of auto- and cross-correlated spin relaxation rates at multiple magnetic field strengths on the C-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein of Sendai virus, over a large range of temperatures (268-298 K), and combine these data to describe the dynamic behavior of this archetypal IDP. An Arrhenius-type relationship is used to simultaneously analyze up to 61 relaxation rates per amino acid over the entire temperature range, allowing the measurement of local activation energies along the chain, and the assignment of physically distinct dynamic modes. Fast (τ ≤ 50 ps) components report on librational motions, a dominant mode occurs on time scales around 1 ns, apparently reporting on backbone sampling within Ramachandran substates, while a slower component (5-25 ns) reports on segmental dynamics dominated by the chain-like nature of the protein. Extending the study to three protein constructs of different lengths (59, 81, and 124 amino acids) substantiates the assignment of these contributions. The analysis is shown to be remarkably robust, accurately predicting a broad range of relaxation data measured at different magnetic field strengths and temperatures. The ability to delineate intrinsic modes and time scales from NMR spin relaxation will improve our understanding of the behavior and function of IDPs, adding a new and essential dimension to the description of this biologically important and ubiquitous class of proteins.

Atomistic details of protein dynamics and the role of hydration water

BACKGROUND

The importance of protein dynamics for their biological activity is now well recognized. Different experimental and computational techniques have been employed to study protein dynamics, hierarchy of different processes and the coupling between protein and hydration water dynamics. Yet, understanding the atomistic details of protein dynamics and the role of hydration water remains rather limited.

SCOOP OF REVIEW

Based on overview of neutron scattering, molecular dynamic simulations, NMR and dielectric spectroscopy results we present a general picture of protein dynamics covering time scales from faster than ps to microseconds and the influence of hydration water on different relaxation processes.

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS

Internal protein dynamics spread over a wide time range from faster than picosecond to longer than microseconds. We suggest that the structural relaxation in hydrated proteins appears on the microsecond time scale, while faster processes present mostly motion of side groups and some domains. Hydration water plays a crucial role in protein dynamics on all time scales. It controls the coupled protein-hydration water relaxation on 10-100ps time scale. This process defines the friction for slower protein dynamics. Analysis suggests that changes in amount of hydration water affect not only general friction, but also influence significantly the protein's energy landscape.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

The proposed atomistic picture of protein dynamics provides deeper understanding of various relaxation processes and their hierarchy, similarity and differences between various biological macromolecules, including proteins, DNA and RNA. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Science for Life" Guest Editor: Dr. Austen Angell, Dr. Salvatore Magazù and Dr. Federica Migliardo".

A dynamic look backward and forward

The 2015 Gunther Laukien Prize recognized solution NMR studies of protein dynamics and thermodynamics. This Perspective surveys aspects of the development and application of NMR spin relaxation for investigations of protein flexibility and function over multiple time scales in solution. Methods highlighted include analysis of overall rotational diffusion, theoretical descriptions of R1ρ relaxation, and molecular dynamics simulations to interpret NMR spin relaxation. Applications are illustrated for the zinc-finger domain Xfin-31, the calcium-binding proteins calbindin D9k and calmodulin, and the bZip transcription factor of GCN4.

Site-Specific Internal Motions in GB1 Protein Microcrystals Revealed by 3D ²H-¹³C-¹³C Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

(2)H quadrupolar line shapes deliver rich information about protein dynamics. A newly designed 3D (2)H-(13)C-(13)C solid-state NMR magic angle spinning (MAS) experiment is presented and demonstrated on the microcrystalline β1 immunoglobulin binding domain of protein G (GB1). The implementation of (2)H-(13)C adiabatic rotor-echo-short-pulse-irradiation cross-polarization (RESPIRATION CP) ensures the accuracy of the extracted line shapes and provides enhanced sensitivity relative to conventional CP methods. The 3D (2)H-(13)C-(13)C spectrum reveals (2)H line shapes for 140 resolved aliphatic deuterium sites. Motional-averaged (2)H quadrupolar parameters obtained from the line-shape fitting identify side-chain motions. Restricted side-chain dynamics are observed for a number of polar residues including K13, D22, E27, K31, D36, N37, D46, D47, K50, and E56, which we attribute to the effects of salt bridges and hydrogen bonds. In contrast, we observe significantly enhanced side-chain flexibility for Q2, K4, K10, E15, E19, N35, N40, and E42, due to solvent exposure and low packing density. T11, T16, and T17 side chains exhibit motions with larger amplitudes than other Thr residues due to solvent interactions. The side chains of L5, V54, and V29 are highly rigid because they are packed in the core of the protein. High correlations were demonstrated between GB1 side-chain dynamics and its biological function. Large-amplitude side-chain motions are observed for regions contacting and interacting with immunoglobulin G (IgG). In contrast, rigid side chains are primarily found for residues in the structural core of the protein that are absent from protein binding and interactions.

The heterogeneous energy landscape expression of KWW relaxation

Here we show a heterogeneous energy landscape approach to describing the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) relaxation function. For a homogeneous dynamic process, the distribution of free energy landscape is first proposed, revealing the significance of rugged fluctuations. In view of the heterogeneous relaxation given in two dynamic phases and the transmission coefficient in a rate process, we obtain a general characteristic relaxation time distribution equation for the KWW function in a closed, analytic form. Analyses of numerical computation show excellent accuracy, both in time and frequency domains, in the convergent performance of the heterogeneous energy landscape expression and shunning the catastrophic truncations reported in the previous work. The stretched exponential β, closely associated to temperature and apparent correlation with one dynamic phase, reveals a threshold value of 1/2 defining different behavior of the probability density functions. Our work may contribute, for example, to in-depth comprehension of the dynamic mechanism of glass transition, which cannot be provided by existing approaches.

General trends of dihedral conformational transitions in a globular protein

Dihedral conformational transitions are analyzed systematically in a model globular protein, cytochrome P450cam, to examine their structural and chemical dependences through combined conventional molecular dynamics (cMD), accelerated molecular dynamics (aMD) and adaptive biasing force (ABF) simulations. The aMD simulations are performed at two acceleration levels, using dihedral and dual boost, respectively. In comparison with cMD, aMD samples protein dihedral transitions approximately two times faster on average using dihedral boost, and ∼ 3.5 times faster using dual boost. In the protein backbone, significantly higher dihedral transition rates are observed in the bend, coil, and turn flexible regions, followed by the β bridge and β sheet, and then the helices. Moreover, protein side chains of greater length exhibit higher transition rates on average in the aMD-enhanced sampling. Side chains of the same length (particularly Nχ = 2) exhibit decreasing transition rates with residues when going from hydrophobic to polar, then charged and aromatic chemical types. The reduction of dihedral transition rates is found to be correlated with increasing energy barriers as identified through ABF free energy calculations. These general trends of dihedral conformational transitions provide important insights into the hierarchical dynamics and complex free energy landscapes of functional proteins.

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Enhanced MAS NMR Spectroscopy for Structural Analysis of HIV-1 Protein Assemblies

Mature infectious HIV-1 virions contain conical capsids composed of CA protein, generated by the proteolytic cleavage cascade of the Gag polyprotein, termed maturation. The mechanism of capsid core formation through the maturation process remains poorly understood. We present DNP-enhanced MAS NMR studies of tubular assemblies of CA and Gag CA-SP1 maturation intermediate and report 20-64-fold sensitivity enhancements due to DNP at 14.1 T. These sensitivity enhancements enabled direct observation of spacer peptide 1 (SP1) resonances in CA-SP1 by dipolar-based correlation experiments, unequivocally indicating that the SP1 peptide is unstructured in assembled CA-SP1 at cryogenic temperatures, corroborating our earlier results. Furthermore, the dependence of DNP enhancements and spectral resolution on magnetic field strength (9.4-18.8 T) and temperature (109-180 K) was investigated. Our results suggest that DNP-based measurements could potentially provide residue-specific dynamics information by allowing for the extraction of the temperature dependence of the anisotropic tensorial or relaxation parameters. With DNP, we were able to detect multiple well-resolved isoleucine side-chain conformers; unique intermolecular correlations across two CA molecules; and functionally relevant conformationally disordered states such as the 14-residue SP1 peptide, none of which are visible at ambient temperatures. The detection of isolated conformers and intermolecular correlations can provide crucial constraints for structure determination of these assemblies. Overall, our results establish DNP-based MAS NMR spectroscopy as an excellent tool for the characterization of HIV-1 assemblies.

Protein dynamics from nuclear magnetic relaxation

Protein dynamics are explored by a variety of methods designed to measure nuclear magnetic relaxation rates.

1020MHz single-channel proton fast magic angle spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy

This study reports a first successful demonstration of a single channel proton 3D and 2D high-throughput ultrafast magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR techniques in an ultra-high magnetic field (1020MHz) NMR spectrometer comprised of HTS/LTS magnet. High spectral resolution is well demonstrated.

Dynamics of Hydrophobic Core Phenylalanine Residues Probed by Solid-State Deuteron NMR

We conducted a detailed investigation of the dynamics of two phenylalanine side chains in the hydrophobic core of the villin headpiece subdomain protein (HP36) in the hydrated powder state over the 298-80 K temperature range. Our main tools were static deuteron NMR measurements of longitudinal relaxation and line shapes supplemented with computational modeling. The temperature dependence of the relaxation times reveals the presence of two main mechanisms that can be attributed to the ring-flips, dominating at high temperatures, and small-angle fluctuations, dominating at low temperatures. The relaxation is nonexponential at all temperatures with the extent of nonexponentiality increasing from higher to lower temperatures. This behavior suggests a distribution of conformers with unique values of activation energies. The central values of the activation energies for the ring-flipping motions are among the smallest reported for aromatic residues in peptides and proteins and point to a very mobile hydrophobic core. The analysis of the widths of the distributions, in combination with the earlier results on the dynamics of flanking methyl groups (Vugmeyster et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2013, 117, 6129-6137), suggests that the hydrophobic core undergoes slow concerted fluctuations. There is a pronounced effect of dehydration on the ring-flipping motions, which shifts the distribution toward more rigid conformers. The crossover temperature between the regions of dominance of the small-angle fluctuations and ring-flips shifts from 195 K in the hydrated protein to 278 K in the dry one. This result points to the role of solvent in softening the core and highlights aromatic residues as markers of the protein dynamical transitions.

Solid-State Dynamic Nuclear Polarization at 9.4 and 18.8 T from 100 K to Room Temperature

Efficient dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in solids, which enables very high sensitivity NMR experiments, is currently limited to temperatures of around 100 K and below. Here we show how by choosing an adequate solvent, ¹H cross effect DNP enhancements of over 80 can be obtained at 240 K. To achieve this we use the biradical TEKPol dissolved in a glassy phase of ortho-terphenyl (OTP). We study the solvent DNP enhancement of both TEKPol and BDPA in OTP in the range from 100 to 300 K at 9.4 and 18.8 T. Surprisingly, we find that the DNP enhancement decreases only relatively slowly for temperatures below the glass transition of OTP (T_g = 243 K), and ¹H enhancements around 15–20 at ambient temperature can be observed. We use this to monitor molecular dynamic transitions in the pharmaceutically relevant solids Ambroxol and Ibuprofen.

Population shuffling between ground and high energy excited states

Stochastic processes powered by thermal energy lead to protein motions traversing time-scales from picoseconds to seconds. Fundamental to protein functionality is the utilization of these dynamics for tasks such as catalysis, folding, and allostery. A hierarchy of motion is hypothesized to connect and synergize fast and slow dynamics toward performing these essential activities. Population shuffling predicts a "top-down" temporal hierarchy, where slow time-scale conformational interconversion leads to a shuffling of the free energy landscape for fast time-scale events. Until now, population shuffling was only applied to interconverting ground states. Here, we extend the framework of population shuffling to be applicable for a system interconverting between low energy ground and high energy excited states, such as the SH3 domain mutants G48M and A39V/N53P/V55L from the Fyn tyrosine kinase, providing another tool for accessing the structural dynamics of high energy excited states. Our results indicate that the higher energy gauche - rotameric state for the leucine χ2 dihedral angle contributes significantly to the distribution of rotameric states in both the major and minor forms of the SH3 domain. These findings are corroborated with unrestrained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on both the major and minor states of the SH3 domain demonstrating high correlations between experimental and back-calculated leucine χ2 rotameric populations. Taken together, we demonstrate how fast time-scale rotameric side-chain population distributions can be extracted from slow time-scale conformational exchange data further extending the scope and the applicability of the population shuffling model.

(15)N CSA tensors and (15)N-(1)H dipolar couplings of protein hydrophobic core residues investigated by static solid-state NMR

In this work, we assess the usefulness of static (15)N NMR techniques for the determination of the (15)N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensor parameters and (15)N-(1)H dipolar splittings in powder protein samples. By using five single labeled samples of the villin headpiece subdomain protein in a hydrated lyophilized powder state, we determine the backbone (15)N CSA tensors at two temperatures, 22 and -35 °C, in order to get a snapshot of the variability across the residues and as a function of temperature. All sites probed belonged to the hydrophobic core and most of them were part of α-helical regions. The values of the anisotropy (which include the effect of the dynamics) varied between 130 and 156 ppm at 22 °C, while the values of the asymmetry were in the 0.32-0.082 range. The Leu-75 and Leu-61 backbone sites exhibited high mobility based on the values of their temperature-dependent anisotropy parameters. Under the assumption that most differences stem from dynamics, we obtained the values of the motional order parameters for the (15)N backbone sites. While a simple one-dimensional line shape experiment was used for the determination of the (15)N CSA parameters, a more advanced approach based on the "magic sandwich" SAMMY pulse sequence (Nevzorov and Opella, 2003) was employed for the determination of the (15)N-(1)H dipolar patterns, which yielded estimates of the dipolar couplings. Accordingly, the motional order parameters for the dipolar interaction were obtained. It was found that the order parameters from the CSA and dipolar measurements are highly correlated, validating that the variability between the residues is governed by the differences in dynamics. The values of the parameters obtained in this work can serve as reference values for developing more advanced magic-angle spinning recoupling techniques for multiple labeled samples.