Localized and Collective Motions in HET-s(218-289) Fibrils from Combined NMR Relaxation and MD Simulation

Proton-Detected Solid-State NMR for Deciphering Structural Polymorphism and Dynamic Heterogeneity of Cellular Carbohydrates in Pathogenic Fungi

Carbohydrate polymers in their cellular context display highly polymorphic structures and dynamics essential to their diverse functions, yet they are challenging to analyze biochemically. Proton-detection solid-state NMR spectroscopy offers high isotopic abundance and sensitivity, enabling rapid and high-resolution structural characterization of biomolecules. Here, an array of 2D/3D 1H-detection solid-state NMR techniques are tailored to investigate polysaccharides in fully protonated or partially deuterated cells of three prevalent pathogenic fungi: Rhizopus delemar, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans, representing filamentous species and yeast forms. Selective detection of acetylated carbohydrates reveals fifteen forms of N-acetylglucosamine units in R. delemar chitin, which coexists with chitosan as separate domains or polymers and associates with proteins only at limited sites. This is supported by distinct order parameters and effective correlation times of their motions, analyzed through relaxation measurements and model-free analysis. Five forms of α-1,3-glucan with distinct structural origins and dynamics were identified in A. fumigatus, important for this buffering polysaccharide to perform diverse roles of supporting wall mechanics and regenerating soft matrix under antifungal stress. Eight α-1,2-mannan sidechain variants in C. albicans were resolved, highlighting the crucial role of mannan sidechains in maintaining interactions with other cell wall polymers to preserve structural integrity. These methodologies provide novel insights into the functional structures of key fungal polysaccharides and create new opportunities for exploring carbohydrate biosynthesis and modifications across diverse organisms.

Probing the Dynamics of Yersinia Adhesin A (YadA) in Outer Membranes Hints at Requirements for β-Barrel Membrane Insertion

The vast majority of cells are protected and functionalized by a dense surface layer of glycans, proteoglycans, and glycolipids. This surface represents an underexplored space in structural biology that is exceedingly challenging to recreate in vitro. Here, we investigate β-barrel protein dynamics within an asymmetric outer membrane environment, with the trimeric autotransporter Yersinia adhesin A (YadA) as an example. Magic-angle spinning NMR relaxation data and a model-free approach reveal increased mobility in the second half of strand β2 after the conserved G72, which is responsible for membrane insertion and autotransport, and in the subsequent loop toward β3. In contrast, the protomer-protomer interaction sites (β1i-β4i-1) are rigid. Intriguingly, the mobility in the β-strand section following G72 is substantially elevated in the outer membrane and less so in the detergent environment of microcrystals. A possible source is revealed by molecular dynamics simulations that show the formation of a salt bridge involving E79 and R76 in competition with a dynamic interplay of calcium binding by E79 and the phosphate groups of the lipids. An estimation of overall barrel motion in the outer membrane and detergent-containing crystals yields values of around 41 ns for both. The global motion of YadA in the outer membrane has a stronger rotational component orthogonal to the symmetry axis of the trimeric porin than in the detergent-containing crystal. In summary, our investigation shows that the mobility in the second half of β2 and the loop to β3 required for membrane insertion and autotransport is maintained in the final folded form of YadA.

Analysis of the Dynamics of the Human Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor Reveals Insights into the Energy Landscape of the Molecule

G protein-coupled receptors initiate signal transduction in response to ligand binding. Growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), the focus of this study, binds the 28 residue peptide ghrelin. While structures of GHSR in different states of activation are available, dynamics within each state have not been investigated in depth. We analyze long molecular dynamics simulation trajectories using "detectors" to compare dynamics of the apo and ghrelin-bound states yielding timescale-specific amplitudes of motion. We identify differences in dynamics between apo and ghrelin-bound GHSR in the extracellular loop 2 and transmembrane helices 5-7. NMR of the GHSR histidine residues reveals chemical shift differences in these regions. We evaluate timescale specific correlation of motions between residues of ghrelin and GHSR, where binding yields a high degree of correlation for the first 8 ghrelin residues, but less correlation for the helical end. Finally, we investigate the traverse of GHSR over a rugged energy landscape via principal component analysis.

New experimental evidence for pervasive dynamics in proteins

There is ample computational, but only sparse experimental data suggesting that pico-ns motions with 1 Å amplitude are pervasive in proteins in solution. Such motions, if present in reality, must deeply affect protein function and protein entropy. Several NMR relaxation experiments have provided insights into motions of proteins in solution, but they primarily report on azimuthal angle variations of vectors of covalently-linked atoms. As such, these measurements are not sensitive to distance fluctuations, and cannot but under-represent the dynamical properties of proteins. Here we analyze a novel NMR relaxation experiment to measure amide proton transverse relaxation rates in uniformly 15 N labeled proteins, and present results for protein domain GB1 at 283 and 303 K. These relaxation rates depend on fluctuations of dipolar interactions between 1 HN and many nearby protons on both the backbone and sidechains. Importantly, they also report on fluctuations in the distances between these protons. We obtained a large mismatch between rates computed from the crystal structure of GB1 and the experimental rates. But when the relaxation rates were calculated from a 200 ns molecular dynamics trajectory using a novel program suite, we obtained a substantial improvement in the correspondence of experimental and theoretical rates. As such, this work provides novel experimental evidence of widespread motions in proteins. Since the improvements are substantial, but not sufficient, this approach may also present a new benchmark to help improve the theoretical forcefields underlying the molecular dynamics calculations.

Explicit models of motions to analyze NMR relaxation data in proteins

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a tool of choice to characterize molecular motions. In biological macromolecules, pico- to nano-second motions, in particular, can be probed by nuclear spin relaxation rates which depend on the time fluctuations of the orientations of spin interaction frames. For the past 40 years, relaxation rates have been successfully analyzed using the Model Free (MF) approach which makes no assumption on the nature of motions and reports on the effective amplitude and time-scale of the motions. However, obtaining a mechanistic picture of motions from this type of analysis is difficult at best, unless complemented with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In spite of their limited accuracy, such simulations can be used to obtain the information necessary to build explicit models of motions designed to analyze NMR relaxation data. Here, we present how to build such models, suited in particular to describe motions of methyl-bearing protein side-chains and compare them with the MF approach. We show on synthetic data that explicit models of motions are more robust in the presence of rotamer jumps which dominate the relaxation in methyl groups of protein side-chains. We expect this work to motivate the use of explicit models of motion to analyze MD and NMR data.

Field and magic angle spinning frequency dependence of proton resonances in rotating solids

Proton detection in solid state NMR is continuously developing and allows one to gain new insights in structural biology. Overall, this progress is a result of the synergy between hardware development, new NMR methodology and new isotope labeling strategies, to name a few factors. Even though current developments are rapid, it is worthwhile to summarize what can currently be achieved employing proton detection in biological solids. We illustrate this by analysing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for spectra obtained for a microcrystalline α-spectrin SH3 domain protein sample by (i) employing different degrees of chemical dilution to replace protons by incorporating deuterons in different sites, by (ii) variation of the magic angle spinning (MAS) frequencies between 20 and 110 kHz, and by (iii) variation of the static magnetic field B₀. The experimental SNR values are validated with numerical simulations employing up to 9 proton spins. Although in reality a protein would contain far more than 9 protons, in a deuterated environment this is a sufficient number to achieve satisfactory simulations consistent with the experimental data. The key results of this analysis are (i) with current hardware, deuteration is still necessary to record spectra of optimum quality; (ii) 13CH3 isotopomers for methyl groups yield the best SNR when MAS frequencies above 100 kHz are available; and (iii) sensitivity increases with a factor beyond B0 3/2 with the static magnetic field due to a transition of proton-proton dipolar interactions from a strong to a weak coupling limit.

1H-Detected Biomolecular NMR under Fast Magic-Angle Spinning

Since the first pioneering studies on small deuterated peptides dating more than 20 years ago, 1H detection has evolved into the most efficient approach for investigation of biomolecular structure, dynamics, and interactions by solid-state NMR. The development of faster and faster magic-angle spinning (MAS) rates (up to 150 kHz today) at ultrahigh magnetic fields has triggered a real revolution in the field. This new spinning regime reduces the 1H-1H dipolar couplings, so that a direct detection of 1H signals, for long impossible without proton dilution, has become possible at high resolution. The switch from the traditional MAS NMR approaches with 13C and 15N detection to 1H boosts the signal by more than an order of magnitude, accelerating the site-specific analysis and opening the way to more complex immobilized biological systems of higher molecular weight and available in limited amounts. This paper reviews the concepts underlying this recent leap forward in sensitivity and resolution, presents a detailed description of the experimental aspects of acquisition of multidimensional correlation spectra with fast MAS, and summarizes the most successful strategies for the assignment of the resonances and for the elucidation of protein structure and conformational dynamics. It finally outlines the many examples where 1H-detected MAS NMR has contributed to the detailed characterization of a variety of crystalline and noncrystalline biomolecular targets involved in biological processes ranging from catalysis through drug binding, viral infectivity, amyloid fibril formation, to transport across lipid membranes.

Solid-State NMR: Methods for Biological Solids

In the last two decades, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy has transformed from a spectroscopic technique investigating small molecules and industrial polymers to a potent tool decrypting structure and underlying dynamics of complex biological systems, such as membrane proteins, fibrils, and assemblies, in near-physiological environments and temperatures. This transformation can be ascribed to improvements in hardware design, sample preparation, pulsed methods, isotope labeling strategies, resolution, and sensitivity. The fundamental engagement between nuclear spins and radio-frequency pulses in the presence of a strong static magnetic field is identical between solution and ssNMR, but the experimental procedures vastly differ because of the absence of molecular tumbling in solids. This review discusses routinely employed state-of-the-art static and MAS pulsed NMR methods relevant for biological samples with rotational correlation times exceeding 100's of nanoseconds. Recent developments in signal filtering approaches, proton methodologies, and multiple acquisition techniques to boost sensitivity and speed up data acquisition at fast MAS are also discussed. Several examples of protein structures (globular, membrane, fibrils, and assemblies) solved with ssNMR spectroscopy have been considered. We also discuss integrated approaches to structurally characterize challenging biological systems and some newly emanating subdisciplines in ssNMR spectroscopy.

Experimental Characterization of the Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Dynamics by Solid-State NMR

Protein plasticity and dynamics are important aspects of their function. Here we use solid-state NMR to experimentally characterize the dynamics of the 3.5 MDa hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsid, assembled from  240 copies of the Cp149 core protein. We measure both T₁ and T_1ρ relaxation times, which we use to establish detectors on the nanosecond and microsecond timescale. We compare our results to those from a 1 microsecond all-atom Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation trajectory for the capsid. We show that, for the constituent residues, nanosecond dynamics are faithfully captured by the MD simulation. The calculated values can be used in good approximation for the NMR-non-detected residues, as well as to extrapolate into the range between the nanosecond and microsecond dynamics, where NMR has a blind spot at the current state of technology. Slower motions on the microsecond timescale are difficult to characterize by all-atom MD simulations owing to computational expense, but are readily accessed by NMR. The two methods are, thus, complementary, and a combination thereof can reliably characterize motions covering correlation times up to a few microseconds.

A method to construct the dynamic landscape of a bio-membrane with experiment and simulation

Biomolecular function is based on a complex hierarchy of molecular motions. While biophysical methods can reveal details of specific motions, a concept for the comprehensive description of molecular dynamics over a wide range of correlation times has been unattainable. Here, we report an approach to construct the dynamic landscape of biomolecules, which describes the aggregate influence of multiple motions acting on various timescales and on multiple positions in the molecule. To this end, we use 13C NMR relaxation and molecular dynamics simulation data for the characterization of fully hydrated palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine bilayers. We combine dynamics detector methodology with a new frame analysis of motion that yields site-specific amplitudes of motion, separated both by type and timescale of motion. In this study, we show that this separation allows the detailed description of the dynamic landscape, which yields vast differences in motional amplitudes and correlation times depending on molecular position.

Deuteration for High-Resolution Detection of Protons in Protein Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) Solid-State NMR

Proton detection developed in the last 20 years as the method of choice to study biomolecules in the solid state. In perdeuterated proteins, proton dipolar interactions are strongly attenuated, which allows yielding of high-resolution proton spectra. Perdeuteration and backsubstitution of exchangeable protons is essential if samples are rotated with MAS rotation frequencies below 60 kHz. Protonated samples can be investigated directly without spin dilution using proton detection methods in case the MAS frequency exceeds 110 kHz. This review summarizes labeling strategies and the spectroscopic methods to perform experiments that yield assignments, quantitative information on structure, and dynamics using perdeuterated samples. Techniques for solvent suppression, H/D exchange, and deuterium spectroscopy are discussed. Finally, experimental and theoretical results that allow estimation of the sensitivity of proton detected experiments as a function of the MAS frequency and the external B₀ field in a perdeuterated environment are compiled.

Towards a native environment: structure and function of membrane proteins in lipid bilayers by NMR

Solid-state NMR (ssNMR) is a versatile technique that can be used for the characterization of various materials, ranging from small molecules to biological samples, including membrane proteins. ssNMR can probe both the structure and dynamics of membrane proteins, revealing protein function in a near-native lipid bilayer environment. The main limitation of the method is spectral resolution and sensitivity, however recent developments in ssNMR hardware, including the commercialization of 28 T magnets (1.2 GHz proton frequency) and ultrafast MAS spinning (<100 kHz) promise to accelerate acquisition, while reducing sample requirement, both of which are critical to membrane protein studies. Here, we review recent advances in ssNMR methodology used for structure determination of membrane proteins in native and mimetic environments, as well as the study of protein functions such as protein dynamics, and interactions with ligands, lipids and cholesterol.

Model-Free or Not?

Relaxation in nuclear magnetic resonance is a powerful method for obtaining spatially resolved, timescale-specific dynamics information about molecular systems. However, dynamics in biomolecular systems are generally too complex to be fully characterized based on NMR data alone. This is a familiar problem, addressed by the Lipari-Szabo model-free analysis, a method that captures the full information content of NMR relaxation data in case all internal motion of a molecule in solution is sufficiently fast. We investigate model-free analysis, as well as several other approaches, and find that model-free, spectral density mapping, LeMaster's approach, and our detector analysis form a class of analysis methods, for which behavior of the fitted parameters has a well-defined relationship to the distribution of correlation times of motion, independent of the specific form of that distribution. In a sense, they are all "model-free." Of these methods, only detectors are generally applicable to solid-state NMR relaxation data. We further discuss how detectors may be used for comparison of experimental data to data extracted from molecular dynamics simulation, and how simulation may be used to extract details of the dynamics that are not accessible via NMR, where detector analysis can be used to connect those details to experiments. We expect that combined methodology can eventually provide enough insight into complex dynamics to provide highly accurate models of motion, thus lending deeper insight into the nature of biomolecular dynamics.

Protein structural dynamics by Magic-Angle Spinning NMR

Magic-Angle Spinning (MAS) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a fast-developing technique, capable of complementing solution NMR, X-ray crystallography, and electron microscopy for the biophysical characterization of microcrystalline, poorly crystalline or disordered protein samples, such as enzymes, biomolecular assemblies, membrane-embedded systems or fibrils. Beyond structures, MAS NMR is an ideal tool for the investigation of dynamics, since it is unique in its ability to distinguish static and dynamic disorder, and to characterize not only amplitudes but also timescales of motion. Building on seminal work on model proteins, the technique is now ripe for widespread application in structural biology. This review briefly summarizes the recent evolutions in biomolecular MAS NMR and accounts for the growing number of systems where this spectroscopy has provided a description of conformational dynamics over the very last few years.

How wide is the window opened by high-resolution relaxometry on the internal dynamics of proteins in solution?

The dynamics of molecules in solution is usually quantified by the determination of timescale-specific amplitudes of motions. High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry experiments-where the sample is transferred to low fields for longitudinal (T₁) relaxation, and back to high field for detection with residue-specific resolution-seeks to increase the ability to distinguish the contributions from motion on timescales slower than a few nanoseconds. However, tumbling of a molecule in solution masks some of these motions. Therefore, we investigate to what extent relaxometry improves timescale resolution, using the "detector" analysis of dynamics. Here, we demonstrate improvements in the characterization of internal dynamics of methyl-bearing side chains by carbon-13 relaxometry in the small protein ubiquitin. We show that relaxometry data leads to better information about nanosecond motions as compared to high-field relaxation data only. Our calculations show that gains from relaxometry are greater with increasing correlation time of rotational diffusion.

SRLS Analysis of 15N-1H NMR Relaxation from the Protein S100A1: Dynamic Structure, Calcium Binding, and Related Changes in Conformational Entropy

We report on amide (N-H) NMR relaxation from the protein S100A1 analyzed with the slowly relaxing local structure (SRLS) approach. S100A1 comprises two calcium-binding "EF-hands" (helix-loop-helix motifs) connected by a linker. The dynamic structure of this protein, in both calcium-free and calcium-bound form, is described as the restricted local N-H motion coupled to isotropic protein tumbling. The restrictions are given by a rhombic potential, u (∼10 kT), the local motion by a diffusion tensor with rate constant D₂ (∼10⁹ s^-1), and principal axis tilted from the N-H bond at angle β (10-20°). This parameter combination provides a physically insightful picture of the dynamic structure of S100A1 from the N-H bond perspective. Calcium binding primarily affects the C-terminal EF-hand, among others slowing down the motion of helices III and IV approximately 10-fold. Overall, it brings about significant changes in the shape of the local potential, u, and the orientation of the local diffusion axis, β. Conformational entropy derived from u makes an unfavorable entropic contribution to the free energy of calcium binding estimated at 8.6 ± 0.5 kJ/mol. The N-terminal EF-hand undergoes moderate changes. These findings provide new insights into the calcium-binding process. The same data were analyzed previously with the extended model-free (EMF) method, which is a simple limit of SRLS. In that interpretation, the protein tumbles anisotropically. Locally, calcium binding increases ordering in the loops of S100A1 and conformational exchange (R_ex) in the helices of its N-terminal EF-hand. These are very unusual features. We show that they most likely stem from problematic data-fitting, oversimplifications inherent in EMF, and experimental imperfections. R_ex is shown to be mainly a fit parameter. By reanalyzing the experimental data with SRLS, which is largely free of these deficiencies, we obtain-as delineated above-physically-relevant structural, kinetic, geometric, and binding information.

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an atomic-level method used to determine the chemical structure, three-dimensional structure, and dynamics of solids and semi-solids. This Primer summarizes the basic principles of NMR as applied to the wide range of solid systems. The fundamental nuclear spin interactions and the effects of magnetic fields and radiofrequency pulses on nuclear spins are the same as in liquid-state NMR. However, because of the anisotropy of the interactions in the solid state, the majority of high-resolution solid-state NMR spectra is measured under magic-angle spinning (MAS), which has profound effects on the types of radiofrequency pulse sequences required to extract structural and dynamical information. We describe the most common MAS NMR experiments and data analysis approaches for investigating biological macromolecules, organic materials, and inorganic solids. Continuing development of sensitivity-enhancement approaches, including 1H-detected fast MAS experiments, dynamic nuclear polarization, and experiments tailored to ultrahigh magnetic fields, is described. We highlight recent applications of solid-state NMR to biological and materials chemistry. The Primer ends with a discussion of current limitations of NMR to study solids, and points to future avenues of development to further enhance the capabilities of this sophisticated spectroscopy for new applications.

A Methionine Chemical Shift Based Order Parameter Characterizing Global Protein Dynamics

Coupling of side chain dynamics over long distances is an important component of allostery. Methionine side chains show the largest intrinsic flexibility among methyl-containing residues but the actual degree of conformational averaging depends on the proximity and mobility of neighboring residues. The ¹³ C NMR chemical shifts of the methyl groups of methionine residues located at long distances in the same protein show a similar scaling with respect to the values predicted from the static X-ray structure by quantum methods. This results in a good linear correlation between calculated and observed chemical shifts. The slope is protein dependent and ranges from zero for the highly flexible calmodulin to 0.7 for the much more rigid calcineurin catalytic domain. The linear correlation is indicative of a similar level of side-chain conformational averaging over long distances, and the slope of the correlation line can be interpreted as an order parameter of the global side-chain flexibility.

Recent advances in solid-state relaxation dispersion techniques

This review describes two rotating-frame (R_1ρ) relaxation dispersion methods, namely the Bloch-McConnell Relaxation Dispersion and the Near-rotary Resonance Relaxation Dispersion, which enable the study of microsecond time-scale conformational fluctuations in the solid state using magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The goal is to provide the reader with key ideas, experimental descriptions, and practical considerations associated with R_1ρ measurements that are needed for analyzing relaxation dispersion and quantifying conformational exchange. While the focus is on protein motion, many presented concepts can be equally well adapted to study the microsecond time-scale dynamics of other bio- (e.g. lipids, polysaccharides, nucleic acids), organic (e.g. pharmaceutical compounds), or inorganic molecules (e.g., metal organic frameworks). This article summarizes the essential contributions made by recent theoretical and experimental solid-state NMR studies to our understanding of protein motion. Here we discuss recent advances in fast MAS applications that enable the observation and atomic level characterization of sparsely populated conformational states which are otherwise inaccessible for other experimental methods. Such high-energy states are often associated with protein functions such as molecular recognition, ligand binding, or enzymatic catalysis, as well as with disease-related properties such as misfolding and amyloid formation.

Two decades of progress in structural and dynamic studies of amyloids by solid-state NMR

In this perspective article I briefly highlight the rapid progress made over the past two decades in atomic level structural and dynamic studies of amyloids, which are representative of non-crystalline biomacromolecular assemblies, by magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Given new and continuing developments in solid-state NMR instrumentation and methodology, ongoing research in this area promises to contribute to an improved understanding of amyloid structure, polymorphism, interactions, assembly mechanisms, and biological function and toxicity.

Reducing bias in the analysis of solution-state NMR data with dynamics detectors

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is sensitive to dynamics on a wide range of correlation times. Recently, we have shown that analysis of relaxation rates via fitting to a correlation function with a small number of exponential terms could yield a biased characterization of molecular motion in solid-state NMR due to limited sensitivity of experimental data to certain ranges of correlation times. We introduced an alternative approach based on "detectors" in solid-state NMR, for which detector responses characterize motion for a range of correlation times and reduce potential bias resulting from the use of simple models for the motional correlation functions. Here, we show that similar bias can occur in the analysis of solution-state NMR relaxation data. We have thus adapted the detector approach to solution-state NMR, specifically separating overall tumbling motion from internal motions and accounting for contributions of chemical exchange to transverse relaxation. We demonstrate that internal protein motions can be described with detectors when the overall motion and the internal motions are statistically independent. We illustrate the detector analysis on ubiquitin with typical relaxation data sets recorded at a single high magnetic field or at multiple high magnetic fields and compare with results of model-free analysis. We also compare our methodology to LeMaster's method of dynamics analysis.