Crystallography of biological macromolecules at ultra-low temperature

Refinement of multiconformer ensemble models from multi-temperature X-ray diffraction data

Conformational ensembles underlie all protein functions. Thus, acquiring atomic-level ensemble models that accurately represent conformational heterogeneity is vital to deepen our understanding of how proteins work. Modeling ensemble information from X-ray diffraction data has been challenging, as traditional cryo-crystallography restricts conformational variability while minimizing radiation damage. Recent advances have enabled the collection of high quality diffraction data at ambient temperatures, revealing innate conformational heterogeneity and temperature-driven changes. Here, we used diffraction datasets for Proteinase K collected at temperatures ranging from 313 to 363 K to provide a tutorial for the refinement of multiconformer ensemble models. Integrating automated sampling and refinement tools with manual adjustments, we obtained multiconformer models that describe alternative backbone and sidechain conformations, their relative occupancies, and interconnections between conformers. Our models revealed extensive and diverse conformational changes across temperature, including increased bound peptide ligand occupancies, different Ca2+ binding site configurations and altered rotameric distributions. These insights emphasize the value and need for multiconformer model refinement to extract ensemble information from diffraction data and to understand ensemble-function relationships.

Refinement of Multiconformer Ensemble Models from Multi-temperature X-ray Diffraction Data

Conformational ensembles underlie all protein functions. Thus, acquiring atomic-level ensemble models that accurately represent conformational heterogeneity is vital to deepen our understanding of how proteins work. Modeling ensemble information from X-ray diffraction data has been challenging, as traditional cryo-crystallography restricts conformational variability while minimizing radiation damage. Recent advances have enabled the collection of high quality diffraction data at ambient temperatures, revealing innate conformational heterogeneity and temperature-driven changes. Here, we used diffraction datasets for Proteinase K collected at temperatures ranging from 313 to 363K to provide a tutorial for the refinement of multiconformer ensemble models. Integrating automated sampling and refinement tools with manual adjustments, we obtained multiconformer models that describe alternative backbone and sidechain conformations, their relative occupancies, and interconnections between conformers. Our models revealed extensive and diverse conformational changes across temperature, including increased bound peptide ligand occupancies, different Ca2+ binding site configurations and altered rotameric distributions. These insights emphasize the value and need for multiconformer model refinement to extract ensemble information from diffraction data and to understand ensemble-function relationships.

Evaluating the impact of X-ray damage on conformational heterogeneity in room-temperature (277 K) and cryo-cooled protein crystals

Cryo-cooling has been nearly universally adopted to mitigate X-ray damage and facilitate crystal handling in protein X-ray crystallography. However, cryo X-ray crystallographic data provide an incomplete window into the ensemble of conformations that is at the heart of protein function and energetics. Room-temperature (RT) X-ray crystallography provides accurate ensemble information, and recent developments allow conformational heterogeneity (the experimental manifestation of ensembles) to be extracted from single-crystal data. Nevertheless, high sensitivity to X-ray damage at RT raises concerns about data reliability. To systematically address this critical issue, increasingly X-ray-damaged high-resolution data sets (1.02–1.52 Å resolution) were obtained from single proteinase K, thaumatin and lysozyme crystals at RT (277 K). In each case a modest increase in conformational heterogeneity with X-ray damage was observed. Merging data with different extents of damage (as is typically carried out) had negligible effects on conformational heterogeneity until the overall diffraction intensity decayed to ∼70% of its initial value. These effects were compared with X-ray damage effects in cryo-cooled crystals by carrying out an analogous analysis of increasingly damaged proteinase K cryo data sets (0.9–1.16 Å resolution). X-ray damage-associated heterogeneity changes were found that were not observed at RT. This property renders it difficult to distinguish real from artefactual conformations and to determine the conformational response to changes in temperature. The ability to acquire reliable heterogeneity information from single crystals at RT, together with recent advances in RT data collection at accessible synchrotron beamlines, provides a strong motivation for the widespread adoption of RT X-ray crystallography to obtain conformational ensemble information.

X-ray-Based Techniques to Study the Nano-Bio Interface

X-ray-based analytics are routinely applied in many fields, including physics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering. The full potential of such techniques in the life sciences and medicine, however, has not yet been fully exploited. We highlight current and upcoming advances in this direction. We describe different X-ray-based methodologies (including those performed at synchrotron light sources and X-ray free-electron lasers) and their potentials for application to investigate the nano-bio interface. The discussion is predominantly guided by asking how such methods could better help to understand and to improve nanoparticle-based drug delivery, though the concepts also apply to nano-bio interactions in general. We discuss current limitations and how they might be overcome, particularly for future use in vivo.

Instrumentation and experimental procedures for robust collection of X-ray diffraction data from protein crystals across physiological temperatures

Traditional X-ray diffraction data collected at cryo-temperatures have delivered invaluable insights into the three-dimensional structures of proteins, providing the backbone of structure-function studies. While cryo-cooling mitigates radiation damage, cryo-temperatures can alter protein conformational ensembles and solvent structure. Furthermore, conformational ensembles underlie protein function and energetics, and recent advances in room-temperature X-ray crystallography have delivered conformational heterogeneity information that can be directly related to biological function. Given this capability, the next challenge is to develop a robust and broadly applicable method to collect single-crystal X-ray diffraction data at and above room temperature. This challenge is addressed herein. The approach described provides complete diffraction data sets with total collection times as short as ∼5 s from single protein crystals, dramatically increasing the quantity of data that can be collected within allocated synchrotron beam time. Its applicability was demonstrated by collecting 1.09-1.54 Å resolution data over a temperature range of 293-363 K for proteinase K, thaumatin and lysozyme crystals at BL14-1 at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. The analyses presented here indicate that the diffraction data are of high quality and do not suffer from excessive dehydration or radiation damage.

The early history of cryo-cooling for macromolecular crystallography

This paper recounts the first successful cryo-cooling of protein crystals that demonstrated the reduction in X-ray damage to macromolecular crystals. The project was suggested by David C. Phillips in 1965 at the Royal Institution of Great Britain and continued in 1967 at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where the first cryo-cooling experiments were performed on lysozyme crystals, and was completed in 1969 at Purdue University on lactate dehydrogenase crystals. A 1970 publication in Acta Crystallographica described the cryo-procedures, the use of cryo-protectants to prevent ice formation, the importance of fast, isotropic cryo-cooling and the collection of analytical data showing more than a tenfold decrease in radiation damage in cryo-cooled lactate dehydrogenase crystals. This was the first demonstration of any method that reduced radiation damage in protein crystals, which provided crystallographers with suitable means to employ synchrotron X-ray sources for protein-crystal analysis. Today, fifty years later, more than 90% of the crystal structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank have been cryo-cooled.

Computational Nanoscopy of Tight Junctions at the Blood-Brain Barrier Interface

The selectivity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is primarily maintained by tight junctions (TJs), which act as gatekeepers of the paracellular space by blocking blood-borne toxins, drugs, and pathogens from entering the brain. The BBB presents a significant challenge in designing neurotherapeutics, so a comprehensive understanding of the TJ architecture can aid in the design of novel therapeutics. Unraveling the intricacies of TJs with conventional experimental techniques alone is challenging, but recently developed computational tools can provide a valuable molecular-level understanding of TJ architecture. We employed the computational methods toolkit to investigate claudin-5, a highly expressed TJ protein at the BBB interface. Our approach started with the prediction of claudin-5 structure, evaluation of stable dimer conformations and nanoscale assemblies, followed by the impact of lipid environments, and posttranslational modifications on these claudin-5 assemblies. These led to the study of TJ pores and barriers and finally understanding of ion and small molecule transport through the TJs. Some of these in silico, molecular-level findings, will need to be corroborated by future experiments. The resulting understanding can be advantageous towards the eventual goal of drug delivery across the BBB. This review provides key insights gleaned from a series of state-of-the-art nanoscale simulations (or computational nanoscopy studies) performed on the TJ architecture.

Specific radiation damage is a lesser concern at room temperature

Carrying out macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments at cryogenic temperatures significantly slows the rate of global radiation damage, thus facilitating the solution of high-resolution crystal structures of macromolecules. However, cryo-MX experiments suffer from the early onset of so-called specific radiation damage that affects certain amino-acid residues and, in particular, the active sites of many proteins. Here, a series of MX experiments are described which suggest that specific and global radiation damage are much less decoupled at room temperature than they are at cryogenic temperatures. The results reported here demonstrate the interest in reviving the practice of collecting MX diffraction data at room temperature and allow structural biologists to favourably envisage the development of time-resolved MX experiments at synchrotron sources.

A cryoprotectant induces conformational change in glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a glycolytic enzyme, catalyses the conversion of D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate. While mammalian and yeast GAPDHs are multifunctional proteins that have additional functions beyond those involved in glycolysis, including reactions related to nuclear RNA transport, DNA replication/repair, membrane fusion and cellular apoptosis, Escherichia coli GAPDH (ecGAPDH) has only been reported to function in glycolysis. The S-loop of GAPDH is required for interaction with its cofactor and with other proteins. In this study, the three-dimensional crystal structure of GAPDH treated with trehalose is reported at 2.0 Å resolution. Trehalose was used as a cryoprotectant for the GAPDH crystals. The structure of trehalose-bound ecGAPDH was compared with the structures of both NAD+-free and NAD+-bound ecGAPDH. At the S-loop, the bound trehalose in the GAPDH structure induces a 2.4° rotation compared with the NAD+-free ecGAPDH structure and a 3.1° rotation compared with the NAD+-bound ecGAPDH structure.

Locating and Visualizing Crystals for X-Ray Diffraction Experiments

Macromolecular crystallography has advanced from using macroscopic crystals, which might be >1 mm on a side, to crystals that are essentially invisible to the naked eye, or even under a standard laboratory microscope. As crystallography requires recognizing crystals when they are produced, and then placing them in an X-ray, electron, or neutron beam, this provides challenges, particularly in the case of advanced X-ray sources, where beams have very small cross sections and crystals may be vanishingly small. Methods for visualizing crystals are reviewed here, and examples of different types of cases are presented, including: standard crystals, crystals grown in mesophase, in situ crystallography, and crystals grown for X-ray Free Electron Laser or Micro Electron Diffraction experiments. As most techniques have limitations, it is desirable to have a range of complementary techniques available to identify and locate crystals. Ideally, a given technique should not cause sample damage, but sometimes it is necessary to use techniques where damage can only be minimized. For extreme circumstances, the act of probing location may be coincident with collecting X-ray diffraction data. Future challenges and directions are also discussed.

Contributions of charge-density research to medicinal chemistry

This article reviews efforts in accurate experimental charge-density studies with relevance to medicinal chemistry. Initially, classical charge-density studies that measure electron density distribution via least-squares refinement of aspherical-atom population parameters are summarized. Next, interaction density is discussed as an idealized situation resembling drug-receptor interactions. Scattering-factor databases play an increasing role in charge-density research, and they can be applied both to small-molecule and macromolecular structures in refinement and analysis; software development facilitates their use. Therefore combining both of these complementary branches of X-ray crystallography is recommended, and examples are given where such a combination already proved useful. On the side of the experiment, new pixel detectors are allowing rapid measurements, thereby enabling both high-throughput small-molecule studies and macromolecular structure determination to higher resolutions. Currently, the most ambitious studies compute intermolecular interaction energies of drug-receptor complexes, and it is recommended that future studies benefit from recent method developments. Selected new developments in theoretical charge-density studies are discussed with emphasis on its symbiotic relation to crystallography.

Approaches to automated protein crystal harvesting

The harvesting of protein crystals is almost always a necessary step in the determination of a protein structure using X-ray crystallographic techniques. However, protein crystals are usually fragile and susceptible to damage during the harvesting process. For this reason, protein crystal harvesting is the single step that remains entirely dependent on skilled human intervention. Automation has been implemented in the majority of other stages of the structure-determination pipeline, including cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and data collection. The gap in automation between crystallization and data collection results in a bottleneck in throughput and presents unfortunate opportunities for crystal damage. Several automated protein crystal harvesting systems have been developed, including systems utilizing microcapillaries, microtools, microgrippers, acoustic droplet ejection and optical traps. However, these systems have yet to be commonly deployed in the majority of crystallography laboratories owing to a variety of technical and cost-related issues. Automation of protein crystal harvesting remains essential for harnessing the full benefits of fourth-generation synchrotrons, free-electron lasers and microfocus beamlines. Furthermore, automation of protein crystal harvesting offers several benefits when compared with traditional manual approaches, including the ability to harvest microcrystals, improved flash-cooling procedures and increased throughput.

Breaking the radiation damage limit with Cryo-SAXS

Small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) is a versatile and widely used technique for obtaining low-resolution structures of macromolecules and complexes. SAXS experiments measure molecules in solution, without the need for labeling or crystallization. However, radiation damage currently limits the application of SAXS to molecules that can be produced in microgram quantities; for typical proteins, 10-20 μL of solution at 1 mg/mL is required to accumulate adequate signal before irreversible x-ray damage is observed. Here, we show that cryocooled proteins and nucleic acids can withstand doses at least two orders of magnitude larger than room temperature samples. We demonstrate accurate T = 100 K particle envelope reconstructions from sample volumes as small as 15 nL, a factor of 1000 smaller than in current practice. Cryo-SAXS will thus enable structure determination of difficult-to-express proteins and biologically important, highly radiation-sensitive proteins including light-activated switches and metalloenzymes.

A fibre-based crystal mounting technique for protein cryocrystallography

The CryoFibre, a crystal mounting tool, has been developed for protein cryocrystallography. The technique attaches single crystals to the tips of polyester fibres, allowing removal of excess liquid around each crystal. Single-wavelength anomalous dispersion phasing using a Cu Kα X-ray source (Cu SAD) was applied to crystals from five proteins without any derivatization, demonstrating a clear improvement in the success rate of Cu SAD compared with the conventional loop technique. In addition, a xylanase crystal on the surface of a synthetic zeolite as a hetero-epitaxic nucleant was directly mounted on the CryoFibre without separation treatment of the crystal from the zeolite. The crystal had a lower mosaicity than that observed using the conventional technique, indicating that the fibre technique is suitable for high-quality data collection from zeolite-mediated crystals.

Can radiation damage to protein crystals be reduced using small-molecule compounds?

Recent studies have defined a data-collection protocol and a metric that provide a robust measure of global radiation damage to protein crystals. Using this protocol and metric, 19 small-molecule compounds (introduced either by cocrystallization or soaking) were evaluated for their ability to protect lysozyme crystals from radiation damage. The compounds were selected based upon their ability to interact with radiolytic products (e.g. hydrated electrons, hydrogen, hydroxyl and perhydroxyl radicals) and/or their efficacy in protecting biological molecules from radiation damage in dilute aqueous solutions. At room temperature, 12 compounds had no effect and six had a sensitizing effect on global damage. Only one compound, sodium nitrate, appeared to extend crystal lifetimes, but not in all proteins and only by a factor of two or less. No compound provided protection at T=100 K. Scavengers are ineffective in protecting protein crystals from global damage because a large fraction of primary X-ray-induced excitations are generated in and/or directly attack the protein and because the ratio of scavenger molecules to protein molecules is too small to provide appreciable competitive protection. The same reactivity that makes some scavengers effective radioprotectors in protein solutions may explain their sensitizing effect in the protein-dense environment of a crystal. A more productive focus for future efforts may be to identify and eliminate sensitizing compounds from crystallization solutions.

Dark progression reveals slow timescales for radiation damage between T = 180 and 240 K

Can radiation damage to protein crystals be `outrun' by collecting a structural data set before damage is manifested? Recent experiments using ultra-intense pulses from a free-electron laser show that the answer is yes. Here, evidence is presented that significant reductions in global damage at temperatures above 200 K may be possible using conventional X-ray sources and current or soon-to-be available detectors. Specifically, `dark progression' (an increase in damage with time after the X-rays have been turned off) was observed at temperatures between 180 and 240 K and on timescales from 200 to 1200 s. This allowed estimation of the temperature-dependent timescale for damage. The rate of dark progression is consistent with an Arrhenius law with an activation energy of 14 kJ mol(-1). This is comparable to the activation energy for the solvent-coupled diffusive damage processes responsible for the rapid increase in radiation sensitivity as crystals are warmed above the glass transition near 200 K. Analysis suggests that at T = 300 K data-collection times of the order of 1 s (and longer at lower temperatures) may allow significant reductions in global radiation damage, facilitating structure solution on crystals with liquid solvent. No dark progression was observed below T = 180 K, indicating that no important damage process is slowed through this timescale window in this temperature range.

Temperature-dependent macromolecular X-ray crystallography

X-ray crystallography provides structural details of biological macromolecules. Whereas routine data are collected close to 100 K in order to mitigate radiation damage, more exotic temperature-controlled experiments in a broader temperature range from 15 K to room temperature can provide both dynamical and structural insights. Here, the dynamical behaviour of crystalline macromolecules and their surrounding solvent as a function of cryo-temperature is reviewed. Experimental strategies of kinetic crystallography are discussed that have allowed the generation and trapping of macromolecular intermediate states by combining reaction initiation in the crystalline state with appropriate temperature profiles. A particular focus is on recruiting X-ray-induced changes for reaction initiation, thus unveiling useful aspects of radiation damage, which otherwise has to be minimized in macromolecular crystallography.

Slow cooling and temperature-controlled protein crystallography

In cryocrystallography, rapid sample cooling is generally deemed essential to prevent solvent crystallization and associated sample damage. We show that by carefully and completely removing all external solvent, many protein crystals can be successfully cooled to T = 100 K at only 0.1 K/s without additional penetrating cryoprotectants. Slow cooling provides an alternative when flash cooling fails, and enables diffraction studies of protein structure and function at all temperatures between T = 300 K and T = 100 K.

E pluribus tres: the 2009 nobel prize in chemistry

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry celebrates a multitude of research areas, making the difficult selection of those most responsible for providing atomic details of the nanomachine that makes proteins according to genetic instructions. The Ribosome and RNA polymerase (recognized in 2006) structures highlight a puzzling asymmetry at the origins of biology.

Slow cooling of protein crystals

Cryoprotectant-free thaumatin crystals have been cooled from 300 to 100 K at a rate of 0.1 K s(-1) - 10(3)-10(4) times slower than in conventional flash cooling - while continuously collecting X-ray diffraction data, so as to follow the evolution of protein lattice and solvent properties during cooling. Diffraction patterns show no evidence of crystalline ice at any temperature. This indicates that the lattice of protein molecules is itself an excellent cryoprotectant, and with sodium potassium tartrate incorporated from the 1.5 M mother liquor ice nucleation rates are at least as low as in a 70% glycerol solution. Crystal quality during slow cooling remains high, with an average mosaicity at 100 K of 0.2 degrees . Most of the mosaicity increase occurs above approximately 200 K, where the solvent is still liquid, and is concurrent with an anisotropic contraction of the unit cell. Near 180 K a crossover to solid-like solvent behavior occurs, and on further cooling there is no additional degradation of crystal order. The variation of B factor with temperature shows clear evidence of a protein dynamical transition near 210 K, and at lower temperatures the slope dB/dT is a factor of 3-6 smaller than has been reported for any other protein. These results establish the feasibility of fully temperature controlled studies of protein structure and dynamics between 300 and 100 K.

Automated technologies and novel techniques to accelerate protein crystallography for structural genomics

The sequence infrastructure that has arisen through large-scale genomic projects dedicated to protein analysis, has provided a wealth of information and brought together scientists and institutions from all over the world. As a consequence, the development of novel technologies and methodologies in proteomics research is helping to unravel the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of complex multivariate diseases at both a functional and molecular level. In the late sixties, when X-ray crystallography had just been established, the idea of determining protein structure on an almost universal basis was akin to an impossible dream or a miracle. Yet only forty years after, automated protein structure determination platforms have been established. The widespread use of robotics in protein crystallography has had a huge impact at every stage of the pipeline from protein cloning, over-expression, purification, crystallization, data collection, structure solution, refinement, validation and data management- all of which have become more or less automated with minimal human intervention necessary. Here, recent advances in protein crystal structure analysis in the context of structural genomics will be discussed. In addition, this review aims to give an overview of recent developments in high throughput instrumentation, and technologies and strategies to accelerate protein structure/function analysis.

X-ray solution scattering (SAXS) combined with crystallography and computation: defining accurate macromolecular structures, conformations and assemblies in solution

Crystallography supplies unparalleled detail on structural information critical for mechanistic analyses; however, it is restricted to describing low energy conformations of macromolecules within crystal lattices. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) offers complementary information about macromolecular folding, unfolding, aggregation, extended conformations, flexibly linked domains, shape, conformation, and assembly state in solution, albeit at the lower resolution range of about 50 A to 10 A resolution, but without the size limitations inherent in NMR and electron microscopy studies. Together these techniques can allow multi-scale modeling to create complete and accurate images of macromolecules for modeling allosteric mechanisms, supramolecular complexes, and dynamic molecular machines acting in diverse processes ranging from eukaryotic DNA replication, recombination and repair to microbial membrane secretion and assembly systems. This review addresses both theoretical and practical concepts, concerns and considerations for using these techniques in conjunction with computational methods to productively combine solution scattering data with high-resolution structures. Detailed aspects of SAXS experimental results are considered with a focus on data interpretation tools suitable to model protein and nucleic acid macromolecular structures, including membrane protein, RNA, DNA, and protein-nucleic acid complexes. The methods discussed provide the basis to examine molecular interactions in solution and to study macromolecular flexibility and conformational changes that have become increasingly relevant for accurate understanding, simulation, and prediction of mechanisms in structural cell biology and nanotechnology.

Creation of hybrid nanorods from sequences of natural trimeric fibrous proteins using the fibritin trimerization motif

Stable, artificial fibrous proteins that can be functionalized open new avenues in fields such as bionanomaterials design and fiber engineering. An important source of inspiration for the creation of such proteins are natural fibrous proteins such as collagen, elastin, insect silks, and fibers from phages and viruses. The fibrous parts of this last class of proteins usually adopt trimeric, beta-stranded structural folds and are appended to globular, receptor-binding domains. It has been recently shown that the globular domains are essential for correct folding and trimerization and can be successfully substituted by a very small (27-amino acid) trimerization motif from phage T4 fibritin. The hybrid proteins are correctly folded nanorods that can withstand extreme conditions. When the fibrous part derives from the adenovirus fiber shaft, different tissue-targeting specificities can be engineered into the hybrid proteins, which therefore can be used as gene therapy vectors. The integration of such stable nanorods in devices is also a big challenge in the field of biomechanical design. The fibritin foldon domain is a versatile trimerization motif and can be combined with a variety of fibrous motifs, such as coiled-coil, collagenous, and triple beta-stranded motifs, provided the appropriate linkers are used. The combination of different motifs within the same fibrous molecule to create stable rods with multiple functions can even be envisioned. We provide a comprehensive overview of the experimental procedures used for designing, creating, and characterizing hybrid fibrous nanorods using the fibritin trimerization motif.

Hyperquenching for protein cryocrystallography

When samples having volumes characteristic of protein crystals are plunge cooled in liquid nitrogen or propane, most cooling occurs in the cold gas layer above the liquid. By removing this cold gas layer, cooling rates for small samples and modest plunge velocities are increased to 1.5 × 10(4) K s(-1), with increases of a factor of 100 over current best practice possible with 10 μm samples. Glycerol concentrations required to eliminate water crystallization in protein-free aqueous mixtures drop from ∼28% w/v to as low as 6% w/v. These results will allow many crystals to go from crystallization tray to liquid cryogen to X-ray beam without cryoprotectants. By reducing or eliminating the need for cryoprotectants in growth solutions, they may also simplify the search for crystallization conditions and for optimal screens. The results presented here resolve many puzzles, such as why plunge cooling in liquid nitrogen or propane has, until now, not yielded significantly better diffraction quality than gas-stream cooling.

Finding the groove

Envisioning how T cells might recognize antigen presented by major histocompatibility complex molecules proved to be a formidable challenge. Pamela Bjorkman describes her journey to provide structural insights into how such recognition is achieved.

Biomolecular cryocrystallography: structural changes during flash-cooling

To minimize radiation damage, crystal structures of biological macromolecules are usually determined after rapid cooling to cryogenic temperatures, some 150-200 K below the normal physiological range. The biological relevance of such structures relies on the assumption that flash-cooling is sufficiently fast to kinetically trap the macromolecule and associated solvent in a room-temperature equilibrium state. To test this assumption, we use a two-state model to calculate the structural changes expected during rapid cooling of a typical protein crystal. The analysis indicates that many degrees of freedom in a flash-cooled protein crystal are quenched at temperatures near 200 K, where local conformational and association equilibria may be strongly shifted toward low-enthalpy states. Such cryoartifacts should be most important for strongly solvent-coupled processes, such as hydration of nonpolar cavities and surface regions, conformational switching of solvent-exposed side chains, and weak ligand binding. The dynamic quenching that emerges from the model considered here can also rationalize the glass transition associated with the atomic fluctuations in the protein.

New techniques in macromolecular cryocrystallography: macromolecular crystal annealing and cryogenic helium

Cryocrystallography is used today for almost all X-ray diffraction data collection at synchrotron beam lines, with rotating-anode generators, and micro X-ray sources. Despite the widespread use of flash-cooling to place macromolecular crystals in the cryogenic state, its use can ruin crystals, trips to the synchrotron, and sometimes even an entire project. Annealing of macromolecular crystals takes little time, requires no specialized equipment, and can save crystallographic projects that might otherwise end in failure. Annealing should be tried whenever initial flash-cooling causes an unacceptable increase in mosaicity, results in ice rings, fails to provide adequate diffraction quality, or causes a crystal to be positioned awkwardly. Overall, annealing improves the quality of data and overall success rate at synchrotron beam lines. Its use should be considered whenever problems arise with a flash-cooled crystal. Helium is a more efficient cryogen than nitrogen and will deliver lower temperatures. Experiments suggest that when crystals are cooled with He rather than N2, crystals maintain order and high-resolution data are less affected by increased radiation load. Individually or in combination, these two techniques can enhance the success of crystallographic data collection, and their use should be considered essential for high-throughput programs.

Positive contribution of hydration structure on the surface of human lysozyme to the conformational stability

Water molecules make a hydration structure with the network of hydrogen bonds, covering on the surface of proteins. To quantitatively estimate the contribution of the hydration structure to protein stability, a series of hydrophilic mutant human lysozymes (Val to Ser, Tyr, Asp, Asn, and Arg) modified at three different positions on the surface, which are located in the alpha-helix (Val-110), the beta-sheet (Val-2), and the loop (Val-74), were constructed. Their thermodynamic parameters of denaturation and crystal structures were examined by calorimetry and by x-ray crystallography at 100 K, respectively. The introduced polar residues made hydrogen bonds with protein atoms and/or water molecules, sometimes changing the hydration structure around the mutation site. Changes in the stability of the mutant proteins can be evaluated by a unique equation that considers the conformational changes resulting from the substitutions. Using this analysis, the relationship between the changes in the stabilities and the hydration structures for mutant human lysozymes substituted on the surface could be quantitatively estimated. The analysis indicated that the hydration structure on protein surface plays an important role in determining the conformational stability of the protein.

Temperature dependence of near-IR excited Raman spectra of crystalline hen egg-white lysozyme

Near-IR excited Raman spectroscopy was applied to examine the structural change of hen egg-white lysozyme in tetragonal crystals at low temperatures. There was little difference found in the amide I and amide III regions between the spectra observed at 77 and 298 K, suggesting that the secondary structures of lysozyme were conserved in the temperature range from 77 to 298 K. Several bands arising from the protein side chains, particularly the methylene and phenylalanyl groups, showed significant changes in either intensity or bandwidth (or in both of them) on going from 77 to 298 K. Some of the spectral changes occurred gradually over the wide temperature range, and others occurred abruptly at around 200-240 K. The implications of these findings are discussed.

x ray crystallography

x Ray crystallography is currently the most favoured technique for structure determination of proteins and biological macromolecules. Increasingly, those interested in all branches of the biological sciences require structural information to shed light on previously unanswered questions. Furthermore, the availability of a protein structure can provide a more detailed focus for future research. The extension of the technique to systems such as viruses, immune complexes, and protein-nucleic acid complexes serves only to widen the appeal of crystallography. Structure based drug design, site directed mutagenesis, elucidation of enzyme mechanisms, and specificity of protein-ligand interactions are just a few of the areas in which x ray crystallography has provided clarification.

Observation of unstable species in enzyme-catalyzed transformations using protein crystallography

Recent advances in rapid X-ray diffraction data collection methods, cryocrystallography, and other techniques have made it possible to visualize short-lived species in enzyme-catalyzed reactions directly at atomic resolution for a significant number of crystalline enzymes. The wide range of reaction types, intermediate lifetimes, and crystal characteristics means that different methods must be employed in each case, but there are enough examples now of successful structure determinations of normally unstable species to suggest guidelines for future investigations.

Active site water molecules revealed in the 2.1 A resolution structure of a site-directed mutant of isocitrate dehydrogenase

Isocitrate dehydrogenase catalyses the two step, acid base, oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate to alpha-ketoglutarate. Lysine 230 was suggested to act as proton donor based on geometry and spatial proximity to isocitrate. To clarify further the role of lysine 230, we co-crystallized the lysine-to-methionine mutant (K230M) with isocitrate and with alpha-ketoglutarate. Crystals were flash-frozen and the two structures were determined and refined to 2. 1 A. Several new features were identified relative to the wild-type structure. Seven side-chains previously unplaced in the wild-type structure were identified and included in the model, and the amino acid terminus was extended by an alanine residue. Many additional water molecules were identified. Examination of the K230M active sites (K230M isocitrate and K230M-ketoglutarate) revealed that tyrosine 160 protrudes further into the active site in the presence of either isocitrate or alpha-ketoglutarate in K230 M than it does in the wild-type structure. Also, methionine 230 was not as fully extended, and asparagine 232 rotates approximately 30 degrees toward the ligand permitting polar interactions. Outside the active site cleft a tetragonal volume of density was identified as a sulfate molecule. Its location and interactions suggest it may influence the equilibrium between the tetragonal and the orthorhombic forms of isocitrate dehydrogenase. Differences observed in the active site water structure between the wild-type and K230M structures were due to a single point mutation. A water molecule was located in the position equivalent to that occupied by the wild-type epsilon-amine of lysine 230; a water molecule in that location in K230M suggests it may influence catalysis in the mutant. Comparison of K230M complexed with isocitrate and alpha-ketoglutarate illuminates the influence a ligand has on active site water structure.

Effects of commonly used cryoprotectants on glycogen phosphorylase activity and structure

The effects of a number of cryoprotectants on the kinetic and structural properties of glycogen phosphorylase b have been investigated. Kinetic studies showed that glycerol, one of the most commonly used cryoprotectants in X-ray crystallographic studies, is a competitive inhibitor with respect to substrate glucose-1-P with an apparent Ki value of 3.8% (v/v). Cryogenic experiments, with the enzyme, have shown that glycerol binds at the catalytic site and competes with glucose analogues that bind at the catalytic site, thus preventing the formation of complexes. This necessitated a change in the conditions for cryoprotection in crystallographic binding experiments with glycogen phosphorylase. It was found that 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol (MPD), polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of various molecular weights, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) activated glycogen phosphorylase b to different extents, by stabilizing its most active conformation, while sucrose acted as a noncompetitive inhibitor and ethylene glycol as an uncompetitive inhibitor with respect to glucose-1-P. A parallel experimental investigation by X-ray crystallography showed that, at 100 K, both MPD and DMSO do not bind at the catalytic site, do not induce any significant conformational change on the enzyme molecule, and hence, are more suitable cryoprotectants than glycerol for binding studies with glycogen phosphorylase.

The effects of cryoprotection on the structure and activity of p21 ras: implications for electron spin-echo envelope modulation spectroscopy

Electron spin-echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy is widely used to investigate the active sites of biological molecules in frozen solutions. Various cryoprotection techniques, particularly the addition of co-solvents, are commonly employed in the preparation of such samples. In conjunction with ESEEM studies of Mn(II) guanosine nucleotide complexes of p21 ras, we have investigated the effects of cryoprotection on the spectroscopy, the structure, and the activity of this protein. Echo decay times, which typically govern ESEEM spectral resolution, were found to vary linearly with the concentration of glycerol or methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside (MG), with both additives equally effective on a per-mole basis. The effect of glycerol and MG on the ESEEM amplitudes of various protein nucleiwas studied in ras p21.Mn(II). 5'guanylylimido-diphosphate(p21.Mn(II)-GMPPNP) complexes: these additives did not alter the distances of these nuclei from the Mn(II) ion. In particular, in p21 incorporating [2H-3]Thr, the Mn(II)-[2H-3]Thr35 distance was found to be unaffected by the concentration of cryoprotectant or the rate of freezing. The proximity of the cryoprotectants to the Mn(II) ion was probed by 2H ESEEM in solutions made with d5-glycerol and d7-methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside (d7-MG). In p21.Mn(II)GMPPNP, the large deuterium modulations from the d5-glycerol exhibit saturation behavior with increasing d5-glycerol concentration, implying that glycerol, a widely used cryoprotectant, replaces the aquo ligands of the Mn(II) ion. The interaction between the Mn(II) ion of p21 and MG, however, is less intimate: the deuterium ESEEM amplitudes are much smaller for samples prepared with d7-MG than with d5-glycerol. Several polyhydroxylic compounds were found to have essentially no effect on the ability of the guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) hydrolysis activating protein, GAP334, to catalyze hydrolysis of p21. guanosine 5'-triphosphate. This observation implies that the introduction of cryoprotectant does not significantly perturb the structure of p21 and gives insight into the mechanism of the GTPase reaction.

Biochemical characterization and crystalization of human Zn-alpha2-glycoprotein, a soluble class I major histocompatibility complex homolog

Zn-alpha2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is a 41-kDa soluble protein that is present in most bodily fluids. In addition, ZAG accumulates in fluids from breast cysts and in 40% of breast carcinomas, which suggests that ZAG plays a role in the development of breast diseases. However, the function of ZAG under physiological and cancerous conditions remains unknown. Because ZAG shares 30-40% sequence identity with the heavy chains of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins, we compared the biochemical properties of ZAG with those of classical class I MHC molecules. We purified human ZAG from breast cyst fluid and serum and produced a panel of anti-ZAG monoclonal antibodies. Binding assays and acid elution experiments revealed that, in contrast to class I MHC proteins, ZAG does not bind peptides or the class I light chain, beta2-microglobulin (beta2m). Nevertheless, CD studies indicated that ZAG is thermally stable in the absence of bound peptide or associated beta2m, as opposed to class I MHC molecules, which require the presence of both beta2m and peptides for stability. These data indicate that the function of ZAG has diverged from the peptide presentation and T-cell interaction functions of class I molecules. To gain insight into the function of ZAG and to compare the three-dimensional structures of ZAG and class I MHC molecules, we produced ZAG crystals that diffract beyond 2.7 A and have initiated an x-ray structure determination.

Flexibility of the NSAID binding site in the structure of human cyclooxygenase-2

The first crystal structure of human cyclooxygenase-2, in the presence of a selective inhibitor, is similar to that of cyclooxygenase-1. The structure of the NSAID binding site is also well conserved, although there are differences in its overall size and shape which may be exploited for the further development of selective COX-2 inhibitors. A second COX-2 structure with a different bound inhibitor displays a new, open conformation at the bottom of the NSAID binding site, without significant changes in other regions of the COX-2 structure. These two COX-2 structures provide evidence for the flexible nature of cyclooxygenase, revealing details about how substrate and inhibitor may gain access to the cyclooxygenase active site from within the membrane.

Trends and challenges in experimental macromolecular crystallography

Macromolecular X-ray crystallography underpins the vigorous field of structural molecular biology having yielded many protein, nucleic acid and virus structures in fine detail. The understanding of the recognition by these macromolecules, as receptors, of their cognate ligands involves the detailed study of the structural chemistry of their molecular interactions. Also these structural details underpin the rational design of novel inhibitors in modern drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, from such structures the functional details can be inferred, such as the biological chemistry of enzyme reactivity. There is then a vast number and range of types of biological macromolecules that potentially could be studied. The completion of the protein primary sequencing of the yeast genome, and the human genome sequencing project comprising some 105proteins that is underway, raises expectations for equivalent three dimensional structural databases.

Crystallization of the A alpha subunit of protein phosphatase 2A

The A alpha subunit of human protein phosphatase 2A forms crystals in space group P2(1) with cell dimensions a = 104.0, b = 174.9, c = 168.2 A, and beta angle = 90.2 degrees. At cryogenic temperatures, the crystals diffracted to a resolution limit of approximately 3.0 A. Based on the unit cell dimensions and a calculated molecular mass of 65,277 Da, the Matthews coefficient suggests eight molecules per asymmetric unit. Two native data sets were collected to a nominal resolution of 3.0 A and merged to provide a set that is 93% complete, with Rsym of 9.9%.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of recombinant pentalenene synthase

Recombinant pentalenene synthase, a 42.5-kDa sesquiterpene cyclase originally isolated from Streptomyces UC5319 and cloned in Escherichia coli, has been crystallized in space group P6(3) with unit cell dimensions a = b = 183.5 A and c = 56.5 A. Hexagonal prismatic crystals, approximately 0.2 x 0.2 x 0.3 mm, diffract to approximately 2.9 A resolution using monochromatic synchrotron radiation. From the universal (and achiral) building block, farnesyl pyrophosphate, pentalenene synthase catalyzes the formation of four stereocenters in the construction of the three fused five-membered rings of pentalenene; this novel sesquiterpene is a precursor to the pentalenolactone family of antibiotics.

High-resolution macromolecular structure determination using CCD detectors and synchrotron radiation

BACKGROUND

Synchrotron radiation sources have made impressive contributions to macromolecular crystallography. The delay in development of appropriate X-ray detectors has, however, been a significant limitation to their efficient use. New technologies, based on charge-coupled devices (CCDs), provide capabilities for faster, more accurate, automated data collection.

RESULTS

A CCD-based X-ray detector has been developed for use in macromolecular crystallography and has been in operation for about one and a half years at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. It has been used for a variety of crystallographic projects, including a number of high-resolution structural studies. The statistical quality of the data, the detector's ease and efficiency of use, and the growing number of structural results illustrate the practical utility of this new detector system.

CONCLUSIONS

The new detector has enhanced capabilities for measuring diffraction patterns from crystals of macromolecules, especially at high resolution, when the X-ray intensities are weak. The survey of results described here ranges from virus crystallography to weakly diffracting small-molecule structure determination and demonstrates the potential of CCD detectors when combined with synchrotron radiation sources.

Crystal structure at 2.2 A resolution of the MHC-related neonatal Fc receptor

The three-dimensional structure of the rat neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) is similar to the structure of molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The counterpart of the MHC peptide-binding site is closed in FcRn, making the FcRn groove incapable of binding peptides. A dimer of FcRn heterodimers seen in the crystals may represent a receptor dimer that forms when the Fc portion of a single immunoglobulin binds. An alternative use of the MHC fold for immune recognition is indicated by the FcRn and FcRn/Fc co-crystal structures.

Crystal structures of peptide complexes of the amino-terminal SH2 domain of the Syp tyrosine phosphatase

BACKGROUND

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains bind to phosphotyrosine residues in a sequence-specific manner, and thereby couple tyrosine phosphorylation to changes in the localization or catalytic activity of signal transducing molecules. Current understanding of SH2 specificity is based on the structures of SH2-peptide complexes of the closely-related Src and Lck tyrosine kinases. The tyrosine phosphatase Syp contains two SH2 domains that are relatively divergent from those of the tyrosine kinases, with distinct target specificities, and is thus well suited for structural studies aimed at extending our understanding of SH2 specificity.

RESULTS

Crystal structures of the amino-terminal SH2 domain of Syp in separate complexes with two high-affinity peptides, in complex with a non-specific peptide and in the uncomplexed form have been determined at between 2 A and 3 A resolution. The structure of the SH2 domain and the mode of high-affinity peptide binding is essentially similar to that seen in the Src and Lck structures. However, the binding interface is more extensive in Syp.

CONCLUSIONS

Most SH2 targets have hydrophobic residues at the third position following the phosphotyrosine, and the Syp structure confirms that the peptide is anchored to the SH2 surface by this residue and by the phosphotyrosine. In addition, the Syp structure has revealed that sequence specificity can extend across the five residues following the phosphotyrosine, and has shown how the SH2 domain's surface topography can be altered with resulting changes in specificity, while conserving the structure of the central core of the domain.

Crystal structure of tandem type III fibronectin domains from Drosophila neuroglian at 2.0 A

We report the crystal structure of two adjacent fibronectin type III repeats from the Drosophila neural cell adhesion molecule neuroglian. Each domain consists of two antiparallel beta sheets and is folded topologically identically to single fibronectin type III domains from the extracellular matrix proteins tenascin and fibronectin. beta bulges and left-handed polyproline II helices disrupt the regular beta sheet structure of both neuroglian domains. The hydrophobic interdomain interface includes a metal-binding site, presumably involved in stabilizing the relative orientation between domains and predicted by sequence comparision to be present in the vertebrate homolog molecule L1. The neuroglian domains are related by a near perfect 2-fold screw axis along the longest molecular dimension. Using this relationship, a model for arrays of tandem fibronectin type III repeats in neuroglian and other molecules is proposed.