GroEL provides a folding pathway with lower apparent activation energy compared to spontaneous refolding of human carbonic anhydrase II

Differential conformational modulations of MreB folding upon interactions with GroEL/ES and TRiC chaperonin components

Here, we study and compare the mechanisms of action of the GroEL/GroES and the TRiC chaperonin systems on MreB client protein variants extracted from E. coli. MreB is a homologue to actin in prokaryotes. Single-molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and time-resolved fluorescence polarization anisotropy report the binding interaction of folding MreB with GroEL, GroES and TRiC. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements on MreB variants quantified molecular distance changes occurring during conformational rearrangements within folding MreB bound to chaperonins. We observed that the MreB structure is rearranged by a binding-induced expansion mechanism in TRiC, GroEL and GroES. These results are quantitatively comparable to the structural rearrangements found during the interaction of β-actin with GroEL and TRiC, indicating that the mechanism of chaperonins is conserved during evolution. The chaperonin-bound MreB is also significantly compacted after addition of AMP-PNP for both the GroEL/ES and TRiC systems. Most importantly, our results showed that GroES may act as an unfoldase by inducing a dramatic initial expansion of MreB (even more than for GroEL) implicating a role for MreB folding, allowing us to suggest a delivery mechanism for GroES to GroEL in prokaryotes.

GroEL/S substrate specificity based on substrate unfolding propensity

Phage P22 wild-type (WT) coat protein does not require GroEL/S to fold but temperature-sensitive-folding (tsf) coat proteins need the chaperone complex for correct folding. WT coat protein and all variants absolutely require P22 scaffolding protein, an assembly chaperone, to assemble into precursor structures termed procapsids. Previously, we showed that a global suppressor (su) substitution, T1661, which rescues several tsf coat protein variants, functioned by inducing GroEL/S. This led to an increased formation of tsf:T1661 coat protein:GroEL complexes compared with the tsf parents. The increased concentration of complexes resulted in more assembly-competent coat proteins because of a shift in the chaperone-driven kinetic partitioning between aggregation-prone intermediates toward correct folding and assembly. We have now investigated the folding and assembly of coat protein variants that carry a different global su substitution, F170L. By monitoring levels of phage production in the presence of a dysfunctional GroEL we found that tsf:F170L proteins demonstrate a less stringent requirement for GroEL. Tsf:F170L proteins also did not cause induction of the chaperones. Circular dichroism and tryptophan fluorescence indicate that the native state of the tsf: F170L coat proteins is restored to WT-like values. In addition, native acrylamide gel electrophoresis shows a stabilized native state for tsf:F170L coat proteins. The F170L su substitution also increases procapsid production compared with their tsf parents. We propose that the F170L su substitution has a decreased requirement for the chaperones GroEL and GroES as a result of restoring the tsf coat proteins to a WT-like state. Our data also suggest that GroEL/S can be induced by increasing the population of unfolding intermediates.

Conformational rearrangements of tail-less complex polypeptide 1 (TCP-1) ring complex (TRiC)-bound actin

The mechanism of chaperonins is still under intense investigation. Earlier studies by others and us on the bacterial chaperonin GroEL points to an active role of chaperonins in unfolding the target protein during initial binding. Here, a natural eukaryotic chaperonin system [tail-less complex polypeptide 1 (TCP-1) ring complex (TRiC) and its target protein actin] was investigated to determine if the active participation of the chaperonin in the folding process is evolutionary-conserved. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements on four distinct doubly fluorescein-labeled variants of actin, we have obtained a fairly detailed map of the structural rearrangements that occur during the TRiC-actin interaction. The results clearly show that TRiC has an active role in rearranging the bound actin molecule. The target is stretched as a consequence of binding to TRiC and further rearranged in a second step as a consequence of ATP binding; i.e., the mechanism of chaperonins is conserved during evolution.

Circumnavigating Misfolding Traps in the Energy Landscape through Protein Engineering: Suppression of Molten Globule and Aggregation in Carbonic Anhydrase

The native state of the enzyme human carbonic anhydrase (HCA II) has been stabilized by the introduction of a disulfide bond, the oxidized A23C/L203C mutant. This stabilized protein variant undergoes an apparent two-state unfolding process with suppression of the otherwise stable equilibrium, molten-globule intermediate, which is normally very prone to aggregation. Stopped-flow measurements also showed that lower amounts of the transiently occurring molten globule were formed during refolding. This led to a markedly lowered tendency for aggregation during equilibrium denaturing conditions and, more importantly, to significantly higher reactivation yields upon refolding of the fully denatured protein. Thus, a general strategy to circumvent aggregation during the refolding of proteins could be to stabilize the native state of a protein at the expense of partially folded intermediates, thereby shifting the unfolding behavior from a three-state process to a two-state one.

Reshaping the folding energy landscape by chloride salt: impact on molten-globule formation and aggregation behavior of carbonic anhydrase

During chemical denaturation different intermediate states are populated or suppressed due to the nature of the denaturant used. Chemical denaturation by guanidine-HCl (GuHCl) of human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II) leads to a three-state unfolding process (Cm,NI=1.0 and Cm,IU=1.9 M GuHCl) with formation of an equilibrium molten-globule intermediate that is stable at moderate concentrations of the denaturant (1-2 M) with a maximum at 1.5 M GuHCl. On the contrary, urea denaturation gives rise to an apparent two-state unfolding transition (Cm=4.4 M urea). However, 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) binding and decreased refolding capacity revealed the presence of the molten globule in the middle of the unfolding transition zone, although to a lesser extent than in GuHCl. Cross-linking studies showed the formation of moderate oligomer sized (300 kDa) and large soluble aggregates (>1000 kDa). Inclusion of 1.5 M NaCl to the urea denaturant to mimic the ionic character of GuHCl leads to a three-state unfolding behavior (Cm,NI=3.0 and Cm,IU=6.4 M urea) with a significantly stabilized molten-globule intermediate by the chloride salt. Comparisons between NaCl and LiCl of the impact on the stability of the various states of HCA II in urea showed that the effects followed what could be expected from the Hofmeister series, where Li+ is a chaotropic ion leading to decreased stability of the native state. Salt addition to the completely urea unfolded HCA II also led to an aggregation prone unfolded state, that has not been observed before for carbonic anhydrase. Refolding from this state only provided low recoveries of native enzyme.

The importance of being knotted: effects of the C-terminal knot structure on enzymatic and mechanical properties of bovine carbonic anhydrase II

In order to better understand the contribution of the knotted folding pattern to the enzymatic and mechanical properties of carbonic anhydrases, we replaced Gln-253 of bovine carbonic anhydrase II with Cys, which allowed us to measure the mechanical strength of the protein against tensile deformation by avoiding knot tightening. The expressed protein, to our surprise, turned out to contain two conformational isomers, one capable of binding an enzymatic inhibitor and the other not, which led to their separation through affinity chromatography. In near- and far-UV circular dichroism and fluorescence spectra, the separated conformers were very similar to each other and to the wild-type enzyme, indicating that they both had native-like conformations. We describe new evidence which supports the notion that the difference between the two conformers is likely to be related to the completeness of the C-terminal knot formation.

Protein substrate binding induces conformational changes in the chaperonin GroEL. A suggested mechanism for unfoldase activity

Chaperonins are molecules that assist proteins during folding and protect them from irreversible aggregation. We studied the chaperonin GroEL and its interaction with the enzyme human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II), which induces unfolding of the enzyme. We focused on conformational changes that occur in GroEL during formation of the GroEL-HCA II complex. We measured the rate of GroEL cysteine reactivity toward iodo[2-(14)C]acetic acid and found that the cysteines become more accessible during binding of a cysteine free mutant of HCA II. Spin labeling of GroEL with N-(1-oxyl-2,2,5, 5-tetramethyl-3-pyrrolidinyl)iodoacetamide revealed that this additional binding occurred because buried cysteine residues become accessible during HCA II binding. In addition, a GroEL variant labeled with 6-iodoacetamidofluorescein exhibited decreased fluorescence anisotropy upon HCA II binding, which resembles the effect of GroES/ATP binding. Furthermore, by producing cysteine-modified GroEL with the spin label N-(1-oxyl-2,2,5, 5-tetramethyl-3-pyrrolidinyl)iodoacetamide and the fluorescent label 5-((((2-iodoacetyl)amino)ethyl)amino)naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid, we detected increases in spin-label mobility and fluorescence intensity in GroEL upon HCA II binding. Together, these results show that conformational changes occur in the chaperonin as a consequence of protein substrate binding. Together with previous results on the unfoldase activity of GroEL, we suggest that the chaperonin opens up as the substrate protein binds. This opening mechanism may induce stretching of the protein, which would account for reported unfoldase activity of GroEL and might explain how GroEL can actively chaperone proteins larger than HCA II.

Catalysis, commitment and encapsulation during GroE-mediated folding

The Escherichia coli GroE chaperones assist protein folding under conditions where no spontaneous folding occurs. To achieve this, the cooperation of GroEL and GroES, the two protein components of the chaperone system, is an essential requirement. While in many cases GroE simply suppresses unspecific aggregation of non-native proteins by encapsulation, there are examples where folding is accelerated by GroE. Using maltose-binding protein (MBP) as a substrate for GroE, it had been possible to define basic requirements for catalysis of folding. Here, we have analyzed key steps in the interaction of GroE and the MBP mutant Y283D during catalyzed folding. In addition to high temperature, high ionic strength was shown to be a restrictive condition for MBP Y283D folding. In both cases, the complete GroE system (GroEL, GroES and ATP) compensates the deceleration of MBP Y283D folding. Combining kinetic folding experiments and electron microscopy of GroE particles, we demonstrate that at elevated temperatures, symmetrical GroE particles with GroES bound to both ends of the GroEL cylinder play an important role in the efficient catalysis of MBP Y283D refolding. In principle, MBP Y283D folding can be catalyzed during one encapsulation cycle. However, because the commitment to reach the native state is low after only one cycle of ATP hydrolysis, several interaction cycles are required for catalyzed folding.

EPR mapping of interactions between spin-labeled variants of human carbonic anhydrase II and GroEL: evidence for increased flexibility of the hydrophobic core by the interaction

Human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II) interacts weakly with GroEL at room temperature. To further investigate this interaction we used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to study HCA II cysteine mutants spin-labeled at selected positions. From our results it is evident that protein-protein interactions can be specifically mapped by site-directed spin-labeling and EPR measurements. HCA II needs to be unfolded to about the same extent as a GuHCl-induced molten-globule intermediate of the enzyme to interact with GroEL. The interaction with GroEL includes interactions with outer parts of the HCA II molecule, such as peripheral beta-strands and the N-terminal domain, which have previously been shown to be rather unstable. As a result of the interaction, the rigid and compact hydrophobic core exhibits higher flexibility than in the molten globule, which is likely to facilitate rearrangements of misfolded structure during the folding process. The degree of binding to GroEL and accompanying inactivation of the enzyme depend on the stability of the HCA II variant, and nonspecific hydrophobic interactions appear to be most important in stabilizing the GroEL-substrate complex.

Structural aspects of GroEL function

The chaperonin GroEL and its cofactor GroES facilitate protein folding in an ATP-regulated manner. The recently solved crystal structure of the GroEL.GroES.(ADP)7 complex shows that the lining of the cavity in the polypeptide acceptor state is hydrophobic, whereas in the protein-release state it becomes hydrophilic. Other highlights of the past year include the visualization of the allosteric states of GroEL with respect to ATP using cryo-electron microscopy, and an X-ray crystallographic analysis of the interaction between the apical domain of GroEL and a peptide.