Protein Composition Determines the Effect of Crowding on the Properties of Disordered Proteins

PEG-mCherry interactions beyond classical macromolecular crowding

The dense cellular environment influences bio-macromolecular structure, dynamics, interactions, and function. Despite advancements in understanding protein-crowder interactions, predicting their precise effects on protein structure and function remains challenging. Here, we elucidate the effects of PEG-induced crowding on the fluorescent protein mCherry using molecular dynamics simulations and fluorescence-based experiments. We identify and characterize specific PEG-induced structural and dynamical changes in mCherry. Importantly, we find interactions in which PEG molecules wrap around specific surface-exposed residues in a binding mode previously observed in protein crystal structures. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy experiments capture PEG-induced changes, including aggregation, suggesting a potential role for the specific PEG-mCherry interactions identified in simulations. Additionally, mCherry fluorescence lifetimes are influenced by PEG and not by the bulkier crowder dextran or by another linear polymer, polyvinyl alcohol, highlighting the importance of crowder-protein soft interactions. This work augments our understanding of macromolecular crowding effects on protein structure and dynamics.

Liquid-liquid phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins: Effect of osmolytes and crowders

The formation of membraneless organelles is vital for the intracellular organization of macromolecules and in regulating many cellular processes. The membraneless organelles are formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) mainly constituted of proteins and polynucleotides. The primary factor driving the liquid demixing into two phases is the multivalency of the proteins involved, a general characteristic of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) or proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). This chapter discusses the role of IDP/IDRs in biomolecular condensate formation and the physical characteristics of these states. Further, the LLPS formation of individual proteins induced by molecular crowding and its relevance to physiological conditions are presented. The studies on the effects of small molecular osmolytes and a hydrotrope, ATP on the phase separation temperature, protein concentration, and reentrant behavior are discussed. The advancements and limitations of the computational methods to predict the phase separation behavior of IDPs, and to analyze the interactions and dynamics of the proteins in condensates are presented. The roles of phase separation in cancer, neurological disorders, and cardiovascular diseases are highlighted.

Sequence-dependent conformational transitions of disordered proteins during condensation

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) can form biomolecular condensates through phase separation. It is recognized that the conformation of IDPs in the dense and dilute phases, as well as at the interfaces of condensates, can critically impact their functionality. However, a residue-level understanding of the conformational transitions of IDPs during condensation remains elusive. In this study, we employ a coarse-grained polyampholyte model, comprising an equal number of oppositely charged residues-glutamic acid and lysine-whereby conformations and phase behavior can be tuned by altering the protein sequence. By manipulating sequence patterns from perfectly alternating to block-like, we obtain chains with ideal-like conformations to semi-compact structures in the dilute phase. In the dense phase, however, the chain conformation approaches that of an ideal chain, regardless of the sequence. Simulations across different concentrations reveal that chains transition from small oligomeric clusters in the dilute phase to the dense phase, with a gradual swelling of individual chains. These findings are further validated with naturally occurring protein sequences involved in biological condensate formation. Additionally, we show that chain conformations at the interface display a strong sequence dependence, remaining more collapsed than those in the bulk-like dense phase. This study provides detailed insights into how the conformations of a specific subclass of IDPs (lacking secondary structures) change within condensates and in solution, as governed by their sequences.

Crowder titrations enable the quantification of driving forces for macromolecular phase separation

Macromolecular solubility is an important contributor to the driving forces for phase separation. Formally, the driving forces in a binary mixture comprising a macromolecule dissolved in a solvent can be quantified in terms of the saturation concentration, which is the threshold macromolecular concentration above which the mixture separates into coexisting dense and dilute phases. In addition, the second virial coefficient, which measures the effective strength of solvent-mediated intermolecular interactions provides direct assessments of solvent quality. The sign and magnitude of second virial coefficients will be governed by a combination of solution conditions and the nature of the macromolecule of interest. Here, we show, using a combination of theory, simulation, and in vitro experiments, that titrations of crowders, providing they are true depletants, can be used to extract the intrinsic driving forces for macromolecular phase separation. This refers to saturation concentrations in the absence of crowders and the second virial coefficients that quantify the magnitude of the incompatibility between macromolecules and the solvent. Our results show how the depletion-mediated attractions afforded by crowders can be leveraged to obtain comparative assessments of macromolecule-specific, intrinsic driving forces for phase separation.

Design of functional intrinsically disordered proteins

Many proteins do not fold into a fixed three-dimensional structure, but rather function in a highly disordered state. These intrinsically disordered proteins pose a unique challenge to protein engineering and design: How can proteins be designed de novo if not by tailoring their structure? Here, we will review the nascent field of design of intrinsically disordered proteins with focus on applications in biotechnology and medicine. The design goals should not necessarily be the same as for de novo design of folded proteins as disordered proteins have unique functional strengths and limitations. We focus on functions where intrinsically disordered proteins are uniquely suited including disordered linkers, desiccation chaperones, sensors of the chemical environment, delivery of pharmaceuticals, and constituents of biomolecular condensates. Design of functional intrinsically disordered proteins relies on a combination of computational tools and heuristics gleaned from sequence-function studies. There are few cases where intrinsically disordered proteins have made it into industrial applications. However, we argue that disordered proteins can perform many roles currently performed by organic polymers, and that these proteins might be more designable due to their modularity.

Sequence-Dependent Conformational Transitions of Disordered Proteins During Condensation

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) can form biomolecular condensates through phase separation. It is recognized that the conformation of IDPs in the dense and dilute phases as well as at the interfaces of condensates can critically impact the resulting properties associated with their functionality. However, a comprehensive understanding of the conformational transitions of IDPs during condensation remains elusive. In this study, we employ a coarse-grained polyampholyte model, comprising an equal number of oppositely charged residues-glutamic acid and lysine-whereby conformations and phase behavior can be readily tuned by altering the protein sequence. By manipulating the sequence patterns from perfectly alternating to block-like, we obtain chains with ideal-like conformations to semi-compact structures in the dilute phase, while in the dense phase, the chain conformation is approximately that of an ideal chain, irrespective of the protein sequence. By performing simulations at different concentrations, we find that the chains assemble from the dilute phase through small oligomeric clusters to the dense phase, accompanied by a gradual swelling of the individual chains. We further demonstrate that these findings are applicable to several naturally occurring proteins involved in the formation of biological condensates. Concurrently, we delve deeper into the chain conformations within the condensate, revealing that chains at the interface show a strong sequence dependence, but remain more collapsed than those in the bulk-like dense phase. This study addresses critical gaps in our knowledge of IDP conformations within condensates as a function of protein sequence.

Excluded Volume and Weak Interactions in Crowded Solutions Modulate Conformations and RNA Binding of an Intrinsically Disordered Tail

The cellular milieu is a solution crowded with a significant concentration of different components (proteins, nucleic acids, metabolites, etc.). Such a crowded environment affects protein conformations, dynamics, and interactions. Intrinsically disordered proteins and regions are particularly sensitive to these effects. Here, we investigate the impact on an intrinsically disordered tail that flanks a folded domain, the N-terminal domain, and the RNA-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. We mimic the crowded environment of the cell using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and study its impact on protein conformations using single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer. We found that high-molecular-weight PEG induces a collapse of the disordered N-terminal tail, whereas low-molecular-weight PEG induces a chain expansion. Our data can be explained by accounting for two opposing contributions: favorable interactions between the protein and crowder molecules and screening of excluded volume interactions. We further characterized the interaction between protein and RNA in the presence of crowding agents. While for all PEG molecules tested, we observed an increase in the binding affinity, the trend is not monotonic as a function of the degree of PEG polymerization. This points to the role of nonspecific protein-PEG interactions on binding in addition to the entropic effects due to crowding. To separate the enthalpic and entropic components of the effects, we investigated the temperature dependence of the association constants in the absence and presence of crowders. Finally, we compared the effects of crowding across mutations in the disordered region and found that the threefold difference in association constants for two naturally occurring variants of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein is reduced to almost identical affinities in the presence of crowders. Overall, our data provide new insights into understanding and modeling the contribution of crowding effects on disordered regions, including the impact of interactions between proteins and crowders and their interplay when binding a ligand.

Crowder titrations enable the quantification of driving forces for macromolecular phase separation

Macromolecular solubility is an important contributor to the driving forces for phase separation. Formally, the driving forces in a binary mixture comprising a macromolecule dissolved in a solvent can be quantified in terms of the saturation concentration, which is the threshold macromolecular concentration above which the mixture separates into coexisting dense and dilute phases. Additionally, the second virial coefficient, which measures the effective strength of solvent-mediated intermolecular interactions provides direct assessments of solvent quality. The sign and magnitude of second virial coefficients will be governed by a combination of solution conditions and the nature of the macromolecule of interest. Here, we show, using a combination of theory, simulation, and in vitro experiments, that titrations of crowders, providing they are true depletants, can be used to extract the intrinsic driving forces for macromolecular phase separation. This refers to saturation concentrations in the absence of crowders and the second virial coefficients that quantify the magnitude of the incompatibility between macromolecules and the solvent. Our results show how the depletion-mediated attractions afforded by crowders can be leveraged to obtain comparative assessments of macromolecule-specific, intrinsic driving forces for phase separation.

SIGNIFICANCE

Phase separation has emerged as a process of significant relevance to sorting macromolecules into distinct compartments, thereby enabling spatial and temporal control over cellular matter. Considerable effort is being invested into uncovering the driving forces that enable the separation of macromolecular solutions into coexisting phases. At its heart, this process is governed by the balance of macromolecule-solvent, inter-macromolecule, and solvent-solvent interactions. We show that the driving forces for phase separation, including the coefficients that measure interaction strengths between macromolecules, can be extracted by titrating the concentrations of crowders that enable macromolecules to phase separate at lower concentrations. Our work paves the way to leverage specific categories of measurements for quantitative characterizations of driving forces for phase separation.

Conformational Plasticity in α-Synuclein and How Crowded Environment Modulates It

A 140-residue intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), α-synuclein (αS), is known to adopt conformations that are vastly plastic and susceptible to environmental cues and crowders. However, the inherently heterogeneous nature of αS has precluded a clear demarcation of its monomeric precursor between aggregation-prone and functionally relevant aggregation-resistant states and how a crowded environment could modulate their mutual dynamic equilibrium. Here, we identify an optimal set of distinct metastable states of αS in aqueous media by dissecting a 73 μs-long molecular dynamics ensemble via building a comprehensive Markov state model (MSM). Notably, the most populated metastable state corroborates with the dimension obtained from PRE-NMR studies of αS monomer, and it undergoes kinetic transition at diverse time scales with a weakly populated random-coil-like ensemble and a globular protein-like state. However, subjecting αS to a crowded environment results in a nonmonotonic compaction of these metastable conformations, thereby skewing the ensemble by either introducing new tertiary contacts or by reinforcing the innate contacts. The early stage of dimerization process is found to be considerably expedited in the presence of crowders, albeit promoting nonspecific interactions. Together with this, using an extensively sampled ensemble of αS, this exposition demonstrates that crowded environments can potentially modulate the conformational preferences of IDP that can either promote or inhibit aggregation events.

Liquid structure of bistable responsive macromolecules using mean-field density-functional theory

Macromolecular crowding typically applies to biomolecular and polymer-based systems in which the individual particles often feature a two-state folded/unfolded or coil-to-globule transition, such as found for proteins and peptides, DNA and RNA, or supramolecular polymers. Here, we employ a mean-field density functional theory (DFT) of a model of soft and bistable responsive colloids (RCs) in which the size of the macromolecule is explicitly resolved as a degree of freedom living in a bimodal 'Landau' energy landscape (exhibiting big and small states), thus directly responding to the crowding environment. Using this RC-DFT we study the effects of self-crowding on the liquid bulk structure and thermodynamics for different energy barriers and softnesses of the bimodal energy landscape, in conditions close to the coil-to-globule transition. We find substantial crowding effects on the internal distributions, a complex polydispersity behavior, and quasi-universal compression curves for increasing (generalized) packing fractions. Moreover, we uncover distinct signatures of bimodal versus unimodal behavior in the particle compression. Finally, the analysis of the pair structure - derived from the test particle route - reveals that the microstructure of the liquid is quite inhomogeneous due to local depletion effects, tuneable by particle softness.

Crowder-directed interactions and conformational dynamics in multistimuli-responsive intrinsically disordered protein

The consequences of crowding on the dynamic conformational ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) remain unresolved because of their ultrafast motion. Here, we report crowder-induced interactions and conformational dynamics of a prototypical multistimuli-responsive IDP, Rec1-resilin. The effects of a range of crowders of varying sizes, forms, topologies, and concentrations were examined using spectroscopic, spectrofluorimetric, and contrast-matching small- and ultrasmall-angle neutron scattering investigation. To achieve sufficient neutron contrast against the crowders, deuterium-labeled Rec1-resilin was biosynthesized successfully. Moreover, the ab initio "shape reconstruction" approach was used to obtain three-dimensional models of the conformational assemblies. The IDP revealed crowder-specific systematic extension and compaction with the level of macromolecular crowding. Last, a robust extension-contraction model has been postulated to capture the fundamental phenomena governing the observed behavior of IDPs. The study provides insights and fresh perspectives for understanding the interactions and structural dynamics of IDPs in crowded states.

From dilute to concentrated solutions of intrinsically disordered proteins: Interpretation and analysis of collected data

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) have a broad energy landscape and consequently sample many different conformations in solution. The innate flexibility of IDPs is exploited in their biological function, and in many instances allows a single IDP to regulate a range of processes in vivo. Due to their highly flexible nature, characterizing the structural properties of IDPs is not straightforward. Often solution-based methods such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), and Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) are used. SAXS is indeed a powerful technique to study the structural and conformational properties of IDPs in solution, and from the obtained SAXS spectra, information about the average size, shape, and extent of oligomerization can be determined. In this chapter, we will introduce model-free methods that can be used to interpret SAXS data and introduce methods that can be used to interpret SAXS data beyond analytical models, for example, by using atomistic and different levels of coarse-grained models in combination with molecular dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo simulations.

Effect of Charge Distribution on the Dynamics of Polyampholytic Disordered Proteins

The stability and physiological function of many biomolecular coacervates depend on the structure and dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that typically contain a significant fraction of charged residues. Although the effect of relative arrangement of charged residues on IDP conformation is a well-studied problem, the associated changes in dynamics are far less understood. In this work, we systematically interrogate the effects of charge distribution on the chain-level and segmental dynamics of polyampholytic IDPs in dilute solutions. We study a coarse-grained model polyampholyte consisting of an equal fraction of two oppositely charged residues (glutamic acid and lysine) that undergoes a transition from an ideal chain-like conformation for uniformly charge-patterned sequences to a semi-compact conformation for highly charge-segregated sequences. Changes in the chain-level dynamics with increasing charge segregation correlate with changes in conformation. The chain-level and segmental dynamics conform to simple homopolymer models for uniformly charge-patterned sequences but deviate with increasing charge segregation, both in the presence and absence of hydrodynamic interactions. We discuss the significance of these findings, obtained for a model polyampholyte, in the context of a charge-rich intrinsically disordered region of the naturally occurring protein LAF-1. Our findings have important implications for understanding the effects of charge patterning on the dynamics of polyampholytic IDPs in dilute conditions using polymer scaling theories.

Quantification of Entropic Excluded Volume Effects Driving Crowding-Induced Collapse and Folding of a Disordered Protein

We investigate the conformational properties of the intrinsically disordered DNA-binding domain of CytR in the presence of the polymeric crowder polyethylene glycol (PEG). Integrating circular dichroism, nuclear magnetic resonance, and single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer measurements, we demonstrate that disordered CytR populates a well-folded minor conformation in its native ensemble, while the unfolded ensemble collapses and folds with an increase in crowder density independent of the crowder size. Employing a statistical-mechanical model, the effective reduction in the accessible conformational space of a residue in the unfolded state is estimated to be 10% at 300 mg/mL PEG8000, relative to dilute conditions. The experimentally consistent PEG-temperature phase diagram thus constructed reveals that entropic effects can stabilize disordered CytR by 10 kJ mol^-1, driving the equilibrium toward folded conformations under physiological conditions. Our work highlights the malleable conformational landscape of CytR, the presence of a folded conformation in the disordered ensemble, and proposes a scaling relation for quantifying excluded volume effects on protein stability.

Crowding affects structural dynamics and contributes to membrane association of the NS3/4A complex

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we describe how crowded environments affect the internal dynamics and diffusion of the hepatitis C virus proteases NS3/4A. This protease plays a key role in viral replication and is successfully used as a target for antiviral treatment. The NS3 enzyme requires a peptide cofactor, called NS4A, with its central part interacting with the NS3 β-sheet, and flexible, protruding terminal tails that are unstructured in water solution. The simulations describe the enzyme and water molecules at atomistic resolution, whereas crowders are modeled via either all-atom or coarse-grained models to emphasize different aspects of crowding. Crowders reflect the polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules used in the experiments to mimic the crowded surrounding. A bead-shell model of folded coarse-grained PEG molecules considers mainly the excluded volume effect, whereas all-atom PEG models afford more protein-like crowder interactions. Circular dichroism spectroscopy experiments of the NS4A N-terminal tail show that a helical structure is formed in the presence of PEG crowders. The simulations suggest that crowding may assist in the formation of an NS4A helical fragment, positioned exactly where a transmembrane helix would fold upon the NS4A contact with the membrane. In addition, partially interactive PEGs help the NS4A N-tail to detach from the protease surface, thus enabling the process of helix insertion and potentially helping the virus establish a replication machinery needed to produce new viruses. Results point to an active role of crowding in assisting structural changes in disordered protein fragments that are necessary for their biological function.

Macromolecular crowding effects on electrostatic binding affinity: Fundamental insights from theoretical, idealized models

The crowded cellular environment can affect biomolecular binding energetics, with specific effects depending on the properties of the binding partners and the local environment. Often, crowding effects on binding are studied on particular complexes, which provide system-specific insights but may not provide comprehensive trends or a generalized framework to better understand how crowding affects energetics involved in molecular recognition. Here, we use theoretical, idealized molecules whose physical properties can be systematically varied along with samplings of crowder placements to understand how electrostatic binding energetics are altered through crowding and how these effects depend on the charge distribution, shape, and size of the binding partners or crowders. We focus on electrostatic binding energetics using a continuum electrostatic framework to understand effects due to depletion of a polar, aqueous solvent in a crowded environment. We find that crowding effects can depend predictably on a system's charge distribution, with coupling between the crowder size and the geometry of the partners' binding interface in determining crowder effects. We also explore the effect of crowder charge on binding interactions as a function of the monopoles of the system components. Finally, we find that modeling crowding via a lowered solvent dielectric constant cannot account for certain electrostatic crowding effects due to the finite size, shape, or placement of system components. This study, which comprehensively examines solvent depletion effects due to crowding, complements work focusing on other crowding aspects to help build a holistic understanding of environmental impacts on molecular recognition.

Collapse transition of a heterogeneous polymer in a crowded medium

Long chain molecules can be entropically compacted in a crowded medium. We study the compaction transition of a heterogeneous polymer with ring topology by crowding effects in a free or confined space. For this, we use molecular dynamics simulations in which the effects of crowders are taken into account through effective interactions between chain segments. Our parameter choices are inspired by the Escherichia coli chromosome. The polymer consists of small and big monomers; the big monomers dispersed along the backbone are to mimic the binding of RNA polymerases. Our results show that the compaction transition is a two-step process: initial compaction induced by the association (clustering) of big monomers followed by a gradual overall compaction. They also indicate that cylindrical confinement makes the initial transition more effective; for representative parameter choices, the initial compaction accounts for about 60% reduction in the chain size. Our simulation results support the view that crowding promotes clustering of active transcription units into transcription factories.

Crowding Effects on the Structure and Dynamics of the Intrinsically Disordered Nuclear Chromatin Protein NUPR1

The intracellular environment is crowded with macromolecules, including sugars, proteins and nucleic acids. In the cytoplasm, crowding effects are capable of excluding up to 40% of the volume available to any macromolecule when compared to dilute conditions. NUPR1 is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) involved in cell-cycle regulation, stress-cell response, apoptosis processes, DNA binding and repair, chromatin remodeling and transcription. Simulations of molecular crowding predict that IDPs can adopt compact states, as well as more extended conformations under crowding conditions. In this work, we analyzed the conformation and dynamics of NUPR1 in the presence of two synthetic polymers, Ficoll-70 and Dextran-40, which mimic crowding effects in the cells, at two different concentrations (50 and 150 mg/ml). The study was carried out by using a multi-spectroscopic approach, including: site-directed spin labelling electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (SDSL-EPR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), circular dichroism (CD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). SDSL-EPR spectra of two spin-labelled mutants indicate that there was binding with the crowders and that the local dynamics of the C and N termini of NUPR1 were partially affected by the crowders. However, the overall disordered nature of NUPR1 did not change substantially in the presence of the crowders, as shown by circular dichroism CD and NMR, and further confirmed by EPR. The changes in the dynamics of the paramagnetic probes appear to be related to preferred local conformations and thus crowding agents partially affect some specific regions, further pinpointing that NUPR1 flexibility has a key physiological role in its activity.

It is time to crowd your cell culture media - Physicochemical considerations with biological consequences

In vivo, the interior and exterior of cells is populated by various macromolecules that create an extremely crowded milieu. Yet again, in vitro eukaryotic cell culture is conducted in dilute culture media that hardly imitate the native tissue density. Herein, the concept of macromolecular crowding is discussed in both intracellular and extracellular context. Particular emphasis is given on how the physicochemical properties of the crowding molecules govern and determine kinetics, equilibria and mechanism of action of biochemical and biological reactions, processes and functions. It is evidenced that we are still at the beginning of appreciating, let alone effectively implementing, the potential of macromolecular crowding in permanently differentiated and stem cell culture systems.

Impact of In-Cell and In-Vitro Crowding on the Conformations and Dynamics of an Intrinsically Disordered Protein

The conformations and dynamics of proteins can be influenced by crowding from the large concentrations of macromolecules within cells. Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) exhibit chain compaction in crowded solutions in vitro, but no such effects were observed in cultured mammalian cells. Here, to increase intracellular crowding, we reduced the cell volume by hyperosmotic stress and used an IDP as a crowding sensor for in-cell single-molecule spectroscopy. In these more crowded cells, the IDP exhibits compaction, slower chain dynamics, and much slower translational diffusion, indicating a pronounced concentration and length-scale dependence of crowding. In vitro, these effects cannot be reproduced with small but only with large polymeric crowders. The observations can be explained with polymer theory and depletion interactions and indicate that IDPs can diffuse much more efficiently through a crowded cytosol than a globular protein of similar dimensions.

Molecular crowding accelerates aggregation of α-synuclein by altering its folding pathway

Intracellular macromolecular crowding can lead to increased aggregation of proteins, especially those that lack a natively folded conformation. Crowding may also be mimicked by the addition of polymers like polyethylene glycol (PEG) in vitro. α-Synuclein is an intrinsically disordered protein that exhibits increased aggregation and amyloid fibril formation in a crowded environment. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain this observation. One is the excluded volume effect positing that reduced water activity in a crowded environment leads to increased effective protein concentration, promoting aggregation. An alternate explanation is that increased crowding facilitates conversion to a non-native form increasing the rate of aggregation. In this work, we have segregated these two hypotheses to investigate which one is operating. We show that mere increase in concentration of α-synuclein is not enough to induce aggregation and consequent fibrillation. In vitro, we find a complex relationship between PEG concentrations and aggregation, in which smaller PEGs delay fibrillation; while, larger ones promote fibril nucleation. In turn, while PEG600 did not increase the rate of aggregation, PEG1000 did and PEG4000 and PEG12000 slowed it but led to a higher overall fibril burden in the latter to cases. In cells, PEG4000 reduces the aggregation of α-synuclein but in a way specific to the cellular environment/due to cellular factors. The aggregation of the similarly sized, globular lysozyme does not increase in vitro when at the same concentrations with either PEG8000 or PEG12000. Thus, natively disordered α-synuclein undergoes a conformational transition in specific types of crowded environment, forming an aggregation-prone conformer.

The Effects of Chain Length on the Structural Properties of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins in Concentrated Solutions

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP) are proteins that sample a heterogeneous ensemble of conformers in solution. An estimated 25–30% of all eukaryotic proteins belong to this class. In vivo, IDPs function under conditions that are highly crowded by other biological macromolecules. Previous research has highlighted that the presence of crowding agents can influence the conformational ensemble sampled by IDPs, resulting in either compaction or expansion. The effects of self-crowding of the disordered protein Histatin 5 has, in an earlier study, been found to have limited influence on the conformational ensemble. In this study, it is examined whether the short chain length of Histatin 5 can explain the limited effects of crowding observed, by introducing (Histatin 5)₂, a tandem repeat of Histatin 5. By utilizing small-angle X-ray scattering, it is shown that the conformational ensemble is conserved at high protein concentrations, in resemblance with Histatin 5, although with a lowered protein concentration at which aggregation arises. Under dilute conditions, atomistic molecular dynamics and coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulations, as well as an established scaling law, predicted more extended conformations than indicated by experimental data, hence implying that (Histatin 5)₂ does not behave as a self-avoiding random walk.

Engineering crowding sensitivity into protein linkers

The intracellular environment contains a high concentration of biomacromolecules that present steric barriers and ample surface area for weak chemical interactions. Consequently, these forces influence protein conformations and protein self-assembly, with an outcome that depends on the sum of the effects resulting from crowding. Linkers are disordered domains that lack tertiary structure, and this flexible nature would render them susceptible to compression or extension under crowded conditions, compared to the equilibrium conformation in a dilute buffer. The change in distance between the linked proteins can become essential where it attenuates protein activity. In this chapter, we first discuss the experimental findings in vitro and in the cell on how linkers and other relevant macromolecules are affected by crowding. We focus on the dependence on the linker's size, flexibility, and the intra- and intermolecular interactions. Although the experimental data on the systematic variation of proteins in a buffer and cells is limited, extrapolating the available insights allows us to propose a protocol on how to engineer the directionality of crowding effects in the linker. Finally, we describe a straightforward experimental protocol on the determination of crowding sensitivity in a buffer and cell.

Model for disordered proteins with strongly sequence-dependent liquid phase behavior

Phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins is important for the formation of membraneless organelles or biomolecular condensates, which play key roles in the regulation of biochemical processes within cells. In this work, we investigated the phase separation of different sequences of a coarse-grained model for intrinsically disordered proteins and discovered a surprisingly rich phase behavior. We studied both the fraction of total hydrophobic parts and the distribution of hydrophobic parts. Not surprisingly, sequences with larger hydrophobic fractions showed conventional liquid-liquid phase separation. The location of the critical point was systematically influenced by the terminal beads of the sequence due to changes in interfacial composition and tension. For sequences with lower hydrophobicity, we observed not only conventional liquid-liquid phase separation but also re-entrant phase behavior in which the liquid phase density decreases at lower temperatures. For some sequences, we observed the formation of open phases consisting of aggregates, rather than a normal liquid. These aggregates had overall lower densities than the conventional liquid phases and exhibited complex geometries with large interconnected string-like or membrane-like clusters. Our findings suggest that minor alterations in the ordering of residues may lead to large changes in the phase behavior of the protein, a fact of significant potential relevance for biology.

Packing and dynamics of a protein solution approaching the jammed state

The packing of proteins and their collective behavior in crowded media is crucial for the understanding of biological processes. Here we study the structural and dynamical evolution of solutions of the globular protein bovine serum albumin with increasing concentration via drying using small angle X-ray scattering and dynamic light scattering. We probe an evolving correlation peak on the scattering profile, corresponding to the inter-protein distance, ξ, which decreases following a power law of the protein volume fraction, φ. The rate of decrease in ξ becomes faster above a protein concentration of ∼200 mg ml-1 (φ = 0.15). The power law exponent changes from 0.33, which is typical of colloidal or protein solutions, to 0.41. During the entire drying process, we observe the development and the growth of two-step relaxation dynamics with increasing φ as revealed by dynamic light scattering. We find three different regimes of the dependence of ξ as a function of φ. In the dilute regime (φ < 0.22), protein molecules are far apart from each other compared to their size. In this case, the dynamics mainly corresponds to Brownian motion. At an intermediate concentration (0.22 < φ < 0.47), inter-protein distances become comparable to the size of protein molecules, leading to a preferential orientation of the ellipsoidal protein molecules along with a possible deformation. In this regime, the dynamics shows two distinct relaxation times. At a very high concentration (φ > 0.47), the system reaches a jammed state. Subsequently, the secondary relaxation time in this state becomes extremely slow. In this state, the protein molecules have approximately one hydration layer. This study contributes to the understanding of protein molecular packing in crowded environments and the phenomenon of density-driven jamming for soft matter systems.

Protein folding and assembly in confined environments: Implications for protein aggregation in hydrogels and tissues

In the biological milieu of a cell, soluble crowding molecules and rigid confined environments strongly influence whether the protein is properly folded, intrinsically disordered proteins assemble into distinct phases, or a denatured or aggregated protein species is favored. Such crowding and confinement factors act to exclude solvent volume from the protein molecules, resulting in an increased local protein concentration and decreased protein entropy. A protein's structure is inherently tied to its function. Examples of processes where crowding and confinement may strongly influence protein function include transmembrane protein dimerization, enzymatic activity, assembly of supramolecular structures (e.g., microtubules), nuclear condensates containing transcriptional machinery, protein aggregation in the contexts of disease and protein therapeutics. Historically, most protein structures have been determined from pure, dilute protein solutions or pure crystals. However, these are not the environments in which these proteins function. Thus, there has been an increased emphasis on analyzing protein structure and dynamics in more "in vivo-like" environments. Complex in vitro models using hydrogel scaffolds to study proteins may better mimic features of the in vivo environment. Therefore, analytical techniques need to be optimized for real-time analysis of proteins within hydrogel scaffolds.

Depletion interactions modulate the binding between disordered proteins in crowded environments

The molecular environment in a biological cell is much more crowded than the conditions commonly used in biochemical and biophysical experiments in vitro. It is therefore important to understand how the conformations and interactions of biological macromolecules are affected by such crowding. Addressing these questions quantitatively, however, has been challenging owing to a lack of sufficiently detailed experimental information and theoretical concepts suitable for describing crowding, especially when polymeric crowding agents and biomolecules are involved. Here, we use the combination of extensive single-molecule experiments with established and recent theoretical concepts to investigate the interaction between two intrinsically disordered proteins. We observe pronounced effects of crowding on their interactions and provide a quantitative framework for rationalizing these effects.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) abound in cellular regulation. Their interactions are often transitory and highly sensitive to salt concentration and posttranslational modifications. However, little is known about the effect of macromolecular crowding on the interactions of IDPs with their cellular targets. Here, we investigate the influence of crowding on the interaction between two IDPs that fold upon binding, with polyethylene glycol as a crowding agent. Single-molecule spectroscopy allows us to quantify the effects of crowding on a comprehensive set of observables simultaneously: the equilibrium stability of the complex, the association and dissociation kinetics, and the microviscosity, which governs translational diffusion. We show that a quantitative and coherent explanation of all observables is possible within the framework of depletion interactions if the polymeric nature of IDPs and crowders is incorporated based on recent theoretical developments. The resulting integrated framework can also rationalize important functional consequences, for example, that the interaction between the two IDPs is less enhanced by crowding than expected for folded proteins of the same size.

Features of molecular recognition of intrinsically disordered proteins via coupled folding and binding

The sequence-structure-function paradigm of proteins has been revolutionized by the discovery of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) or intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). In contrast to traditional ordered proteins, IDPs/IDRs are unstructured under physiological conditions. The absence of well-defined three-dimensional structures in the free state of IDPs/IDRs is fundamental to their function. Folding upon binding is an important mode of molecular recognition for IDPs/IDRs. While great efforts have been devoted to investigating the complex structures and binding kinetics and affinities, our knowledge on the binding mechanisms of IDPs/IDRs remains very limited. Here, we review recent advances on the binding mechanisms of IDPs/IDRs. The structures and kinetic parameters of IDPs/IDRs can vary greatly, and the binding mechanisms can be highly dependent on the structural properties of IDPs/IDRs. IDPs/IDRs can employ various combinations of conformational selection and induced fit in a binding process, which can be templated by the target and/or encoded by the IDP/IDR. Further studies should provide deeper insights into the molecular recognition of IDPs/IDRs and enable the rational design of IDP/IDR binding mechanisms in the future.

Modeling Crowded Environment in Molecular Simulations

Biomolecules perform their various functions in living cells, namely in an environment that is crowded by many macromolecules. Thus, simulating the dynamics and interactions of biomolecules should take into account not only water and ions but also other binding partners, metabolites, lipids and macromolecules found in cells. In the last decade, research on how to model macromolecular crowders around proteins in order to simulate their dynamics in models of cellular environments has gained a lot of attention. In this mini-review we focus on the models of crowding agents that have been used in computer modeling studies of proteins and peptides, especially via molecular dynamics simulations.

Temperature-Controlled Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Disordered Proteins

The liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is a commonly observed phenomenon within the cell, and such condensates are also highly attractive for applications in biomaterials and drug delivery. A better understanding of the sequence-dependent thermoresponsive behavior is of immense interest as it will aid in the design of protein sequences with desirable properties and in the understanding of cellular response to heat stress. In this work, we use a transferable coarse-grained model to directly probe the sequence-dependent thermoresponsive phase behavior of IDPs. To achieve this goal, we develop a unique knowledge-based amino acid potential that accounts for the temperature-dependent effects on solvent-mediated interactions for different types of amino acids. Remarkably, we are able to distinguish between more than 35 IDPs with upper or lower critical solution temperatures at experimental conditions, thus providing direct evidence that incorporating the temperature-dependent solvent-mediated interactions to IDP assemblies can capture the difference in the shape of the resulting phase diagrams. Given the success of the model in predicting experimental behavior, we use it as a high-throughput screening framework to scan through millions of disordered sequences to characterize the composition dependence of protein phase separation.

Intrinsically Disordered Protein Exhibits Both Compaction and Expansion under Macromolecular Crowding

Conformational malleability allows intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) to respond agilely to their environments, such as nonspecifically interacting with in vivo bystander macromolecules (or crowders). Previous studies have emphasized conformational compaction of IDPs due to steric repulsion by macromolecular crowders, but effects of soft attraction are largely unexplored. Here we studied the conformational ensembles of the IDP FlgM in both polymer and protein crowders by small-angle neutron scattering. As crowder concentrations increased, the mean radius of gyration of FlgM first decreased but then exhibited an uptick. Ensemble optimization modeling indicated that FlgM conformations under protein crowding segregated into two distinct populations, one compacted and one extended. Coarse-grained simulations showed that compacted conformers fit into an interstitial void and occasionally bind to a surrounding crowder, whereas extended conformers snake through interstitial crevices and bind multiple crowders simultaneously. Crowder-induced conformational segregation may facilitate various cellular functions of IDPs.

Thermodynamically driven assemblies and liquid-liquid phase separations in biology

The sustenance of life depends on the high degree of organization that prevails through different levels of living organisms, from subcellular structures such as biomolecular complexes and organelles to tissues and organs. The physical origin of such organization is not fully understood, and even though it is clear that cells and organisms cannot maintain their integrity without consuming energy, there is growing evidence that individual assembly processes can be thermodynamically driven and occur spontaneously due to changes in thermodynamic variables such as intermolecular interactions and concentration. Understanding the phase separation in vivo requires a multidisciplinary approach, integrating the theory and physics of phase separation with experimental and computational techniques. This paper aims at providing a brief overview of the physics of phase separation and its biological implications, with a particular focus on the assembly of membraneless organelles. We discuss the underlying physical principles of phase separation from its thermodynamics to its kinetics. We also overview the wide range of methods utilized for experimental verification and characterization of phase separation of membraneless organelles, as well as the utility of molecular simulations rooted in thermodynamics and statistical physics in understanding the governing principles of thermodynamically driven biological self-assembly processes.

Intrinsically disordered proteins in crowded milieu: when chaos prevails within the cellular gumbo

Effects of macromolecular crowding on structural and functional properties of ordered proteins, their folding, interactability, and aggregation are well documented. Much less is known about how macromolecular crowding might affect structural and functional behaviour of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) or intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDPRs). To fill this gap, this review represents a systematic analysis of the available literature data on the behaviour of IDPs/IDPRs in crowded environment. Although it was hypothesized that, due to the excluded-volume effects present in crowded environments, IDPs/IDPRs would invariantly fold in the presence of high concentrations of crowding agents or in the crowded cellular environment, accumulated data indicate that, based on their response to the presence of crowders, IDPs/IDPRs can be grouped into three major categories, foldable, non-foldable, and unfoldable. This is because natural cellular environment is not simply characterized by the presence of high concentration of "inert" macromolecules, but represents an active milieu, components of which are engaged in direct physical interactions and soft interactions with target proteins. Some of these interactions with cellular components can cause (local) unfolding of query proteins. In other words, since crowding can cause both folding and unfolding of an IDP or its regions, the outputs of the placing of a query protein to the crowded environment would depend on the balance between these two processes. As a result, and because of the spatio-temporal heterogeneity in structural organization of IDPs, macromolecular crowding can differently affect structures of different IDPs. Recent studies indicate that some IDPs are able to undergo liquid-liquid-phase transitions leading to the formation of various proteinaceous membrane-less organelles (PMLOs). Although interiors of such PMLOs are self-crowded, being characterized by locally increased concentrations of phase-separating IDPs, these IDPs are minimally foldable or even non-foldable at all (at least within the physiologically safe time-frame of normal PMLO existence).

Atomistic Modeling of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Under Polyethylene Glycol Crowding: Quantitative Comparison with Experimental Data and Implication of Protein-Crowder Attraction

The malleability of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) has generated great interest in understanding how their conformations respond to crowded cellular environments. Experiments can report gross properties such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency but cannot resolve the conformational ensembles of IDPs and their interactions with macromolecular crowders. Computation can in principle provide the latter information but in practice has been hampered by the enormous expense for realistic modeling of IDPs and crowders and for sufficient conformational sampling. Here, taking advantage of a powerful method called FMAP (fast Fourier transform-based modeling of atomistic protein-crowder interactions), we computed how the conformational ensembles of three IDPs are modified in concentrated polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 solutions. We represented the IDPs at the all-atom level and the PEG molecules at a coarse-grained level and calculated the experimental observable, i.e., FRET efficiency. Whereas accounting for only steric repulsion of PEG led to overestimation of crowding effects, quantitative agreement with experimental data was obtained upon including mild IDP-PEG attraction. The present work demonstrates that realistic modeling of IDPs under crowded conditions for direct comparison with experiments is now achievable.

Computational modeling highlights the role of the disordered Formin Homology 1 domain in profilin-actin transfer

Formins accelerate actin polymerization, assumed to occur through flexible Formin Homology 1 (FH1) domain-mediated transfer of profilin-actin to the barbed end. To study FH1 properties and address sequence effects, including varying length/distribution of profilin-binding proline-rich motifs, we performed all-atom simulations of a set of representative FH1 domains of formins: mouse mDia1 and mDia2, budding yeast Bni1 and Bnr1, and fission yeast Cdc12, For3, and Fus1. We find FH1 has flexible regions between high-propensity polyproline helix regions. A coarse-grained model retaining sequence specificity, assuming rigid polyproline segments, describes their size. Multiple bound profilins or profilin-actin complexes expand mDia1-FH1, which may be important in cells. Simulations of the barbed end bound to Bni1-FH1-FH2 dimer show that the leading FH1 can better transfer profilin or profilin-actin, with decreasing probability as the distance from FH2 increases.

Sequence determinants of protein phase behavior from a coarse-grained model

Membraneless organelles important to intracellular compartmentalization have recently been shown to comprise assemblies of proteins which undergo liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). However, many proteins involved in this phase separation are at least partially disordered. The molecular mechanism and the sequence determinants of this process are challenging to determine experimentally owing to the disordered nature of the assemblies, motivating the use of theoretical and simulation methods. This work advances a computational framework for conducting simulations of LLPS with residue-level detail, and allows for the determination of phase diagrams and coexistence densities of proteins in the two phases. The model includes a short-range contact potential as well as a simplified treatment of electrostatic energy. Interaction parameters are optimized against experimentally determined radius of gyration data for multiple unfolded or intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). These models are applied to two systems which undergo LLPS: the low complexity domain of the RNA-binding protein FUS and the DEAD-box helicase protein LAF-1. We develop a novel simulation method to determine thermodynamic phase diagrams as a function of the total protein concentration and temperature. We show that the model is capable of capturing qualitative changes in the phase diagram due to phosphomimetic mutations of FUS and to the presence or absence of the large folded domain in LAF-1. We also explore the effects of chain-length, or multivalency, on the phase diagram, and obtain results consistent with Flory-Huggins theory for polymers. Most importantly, the methodology presented here is flexible so that it can be easily extended to other pair potentials, be used with other enhanced sampling methods, and may incorporate additional features for biological systems of interest.

Liquid liquid phase separation (LLPS) of low-complexity protein sequences has emerged as an important research topic due to its relevance to membraneless organelles and intracellular compartmentalization. However a molecular level understanding of LLPS cannot be easily obtained by experimental methods due to difficulty of determining structural properties of phase separated protein assemblies, and of choosing appropriate mutations. Here we advance a coarse-grained computational framework for accessing the long time scale phase separation process and for obtaining molecular details of LLPS, in conjunction with state of the art enhanced sampling methods. We are able to qualitatively capture the changes of the phase diagram due to specific mutations, inclusion of a folded domain, and variation of chain length. The model is flexible and can be used with different knowledge-based potential energy functions, as we demonstrate. We expect a wide application of the presented framework for advancing our understanding of the formation of liquid-like protein assemblies.

Molecular simulations of cellular processes

It is, nowadays, possible to simulate biological processes in conditions that mimic the different cellular compartments. Several groups have performed these calculations using molecular models that vary in performance and accuracy. In many cases, the atomistic degrees of freedom have been eliminated, sacrificing both structural complexity and chemical specificity to be able to explore slow processes. In this review, we will discuss the insights gained from computer simulations on macromolecule diffusion, nuclear body formation, and processes involving the genetic material inside cell-mimicking spaces. We will also discuss the challenges to generate new models suitable for the simulations of biological processes on a cell scale and for cell-cycle-long times, including non-equilibrium events such as the co-translational folding, misfolding, and aggregation of proteins. A prominent role will be played by the wise choice of the structural simplifications and, simultaneously, of a relatively complex energetic description. These challenging tasks will rely on the integration of experimental and computational methods, achieved through the application of efficient algorithms. Graphical abstract.

Simulations of disordered proteins and systems with conformational heterogeneity

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and protein regions can facilitate a wide variety of complex physiological processes such as binding, signaling, and formation of membraneless organelles. They can however also play pathological roles by aggregating into cytotoxic oligomers and fibrils. Characterizing the structure and function of disordered proteins is an onerous task, primarily because these proteins adopt transient structures, which are difficult to capture in experiments. Simulations have emerged as a powerful tool for interpreting and augmenting experimental measurements of IDPs. In this review we focus on computer simulations of disordered protein structures, functions, assemblies, and emerging questions that, taken together, give an overview of the field as it exists today.

Protein folding, binding, and droplet formation in cell-like conditions

The many bystander macromolecules in the crowded cellular environments present both steric repulsion and weak attraction to proteins undergoing folding or binding and hence impact the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of these processes. The weak but nonrandom binding with bystander macromolecules may facilitate subcellular localization and biological function. Weak binding also leads to the emergence of a protein-rich droplet phase, which has been implicated in regulating a variety of cellular functions. All these important problems can now be addressed by realistic modeling of intermolecular interactions. Configurational sampling of concentrated protein solutions is an ongoing challenge.