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Feng RR, Wang M, Zhang W, Gai F. Unnatural Amino Acids for Biological Spectroscopy and Microscopy. Chem Rev 2024; 124:6501-6542. [PMID: 38722769 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Due to advances in methods for site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into proteins, a large number of UAAs with tailored chemical and/or physical properties have been developed and used in a wide array of biological applications. In particular, UAAs with specific spectroscopic characteristics can be used as external reporters to produce additional signals, hence increasing the information content obtainable in protein spectroscopic and/or imaging measurements. In this Review, we summarize the progress in the past two decades in the development of such UAAs and their applications in biological spectroscopy and microscopy, with a focus on UAAs that can be used as site-specific vibrational, fluorescence, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes. Wherever applicable, we also discuss future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran-Ran Feng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Manxi Wang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Wenkai Zhang
- Department of Physics and Applied Optics Beijing Area Major Laboratory, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Feng Gai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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Okita K, Ito N, Morishita-Watanabe N, Umakoshi H, Kasahara K, Matubayasi N. Solvation dynamics on the diffusion timescale elucidated using energy-represented dynamics theory. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:12852-12861. [PMID: 38623745 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00235k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Photoexcitation of a solute alters the solute-solvent interaction, resulting in the nonequilibrium relaxation of the solvation structure, often called a dynamic Stokes shift or solvation dynamics. Thanks to the local nature of the solute-solvent interaction, the characteristics of the local solvent environment dissolving the solute can be captured by the observation of this process. Recently, we derived the energy-represented Smoluchowski-Vlasov (ERSV) equation, a diffusion equation for molecular liquids, which can be used to analyze the solvation dynamics on the diffusion timescale. This equation expresses the time development for the solvent distribution on the solute-solvent pair interaction energy (energy coordinate). Since the energy coordinate can effectively treat the solvent flexibility in addition to the position and orientation, the ERSV equation can be utilized in various solvent systems. Here, we apply the ERSV equation to the solvation dynamics of 6-propionyl-2-dimethylamino naphthalene (Prodan) in water and different alcohol solvents (methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol) for clarifying the differences of the relaxation processes among these solvents. Prodan is a solvent-sensitive fluorescent probe and is thus widely utilized for investigating heterogeneous environments. On the long timescale, the ERSV equation satisfactorily reproduces the relaxation time correlation functions obtained from the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for these solvents. We reveal that the relaxation time coefficient on the diffusion timescale linearly correlates with the inverse of the translational diffusion coefficients for the alcohol solvents because of the Prodan-solvent energy distributions among the alcohols. In the case of water, the time coefficient deviates from the linear relationship for the alcohols due to the difference in the extent of importance of the collective motion between the water and alcohol solvents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuya Okita
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan.
| | - Natsuumi Ito
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan.
| | - Nozomi Morishita-Watanabe
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan.
| | - Hiroshi Umakoshi
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan.
| | - Kento Kasahara
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan.
| | - Nobuyuki Matubayasi
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan.
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Ito N, Watanabe NM, Okamoto Y, Umakoshi H. Multiplicity of solvent environments in lipid bilayer revealed by DAS deconvolution of twin probes: Comparative method of Laurdan and Prodan. Biophys J 2023; 122:4614-4623. [PMID: 37924207 PMCID: PMC10719072 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Laurdan and Prodan were designed for the evaluation of the surrounding hydration state. When inserted into lipid bilayer systems, both probes are located at different positions and their fluorescence properties are drastically varied, depending on their surrounding environment. In this study, a novel method using the above fluorescence probes was proposed on the basis of fluorescence lifetime (τ) and emission peak (λ), called as τ vs. λ plot, determined by global analysis of their multiple fluorescence decays and deconvolution of these decay-associated spectra. According to the evaluation of τ vs. λ plot, the existence of multiple fluorescence components in the membrane was revealed. In addition, their fluorescence distribution properties, described on τ vs. λ plot, of each probe tended to correspond to the phase state and vertical direction of the lipid membrane. To assess the contribution of environmental effect to each distribution, we defined the region in the τ vs. λ plot, which was modeled from a series of solvent mixtures (hexane, acetone, ethanol and water) to emulate the complex environment in the 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine bilayer system. The distributions of fluorescence components of Laurdan and Prodan in lipid membranes were classified into each solvent species, and Prodan partition into bulk water was distinguished. The sensitivity of Prodan to the phase pretransition of the 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine bilayer system was also observed in increasing the temperature. Noticeably, most of the fluorescence components was assigned to the solvent model, except for a single component that has longer lifetime and shorter emission wavelength. This component was dominant in solid-ordered phase; hence, it is assumed to be a specific component in lipid membranes that cannot be represented by solvents. Although these are still qualitative analytical methods, the unique approach proposed in this study provides novel insights into the multi-focal property of the membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natsuumi Ito
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan
| | - Nozomi Morishita Watanabe
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan.
| | - Yukihiro Okamoto
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Umakoshi
- Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan.
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Ragaller F, Andronico L, Sykora J, Kulig W, Rog T, Urem YB, Abhinav, Danylchuk DI, Hof M, Klymchenko A, Amaro M, Vattulainen I, Sezgin E. Dissecting the mechanisms of environment sensitivity of smart probes for quantitative assessment of membrane properties. Open Biol 2022; 12:220175. [PMID: 36099931 PMCID: PMC9470265 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.220175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The plasma membrane, as a highly complex cell organelle, serves as a crucial platform for a multitude of cellular processes. Its collective biophysical properties are largely determined by the structural diversity of the different lipid species it accommodates. Therefore, a detailed investigation of biophysical properties of the plasma membrane is of utmost importance for a comprehensive understanding of biological processes occurring therein. During the past two decades, several environment-sensitive probes have been developed and become popular tools to investigate membrane properties. Although these probes are assumed to report on membrane order in similar ways, their individual mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, using model membrane systems, we characterized the probes Pro12A, NR12S and NR12A in depth and examined their sensitivity to parameters with potential biological implications, such as the degree of lipid saturation, double bond position and configuration (cis versus trans), phospholipid headgroup and cholesterol content. Applying spectral imaging together with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and time-dependent fluorescent shift analyses, we unravelled individual sensitivities of these probes to different biophysical properties, their distinct localizations and specific relaxation processes in membranes. Overall, Pro12A, NR12S and NR12A serve together as a toolbox with a wide range of applications allowing to select the most appropriate probe for each specific research question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Ragaller
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Luca Andronico
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Jan Sykora
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Waldemar Kulig
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tomasz Rog
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Yagmur Balim Urem
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Abhinav
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Dmytro I Danylchuk
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 74 Route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
| | - Martin Hof
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Andrey Klymchenko
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 74 Route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
| | - Mariana Amaro
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Ilpo Vattulainen
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Erdinc Sezgin
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
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