skip to main content


Title: Beyond structure: Deciphering site‐specific dynamics in proteins from double histidine‐based EPR measurements
Abstract

Site‐specific dynamics in proteins are at the heart of protein function. While electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has potential to measure dynamics in large protein complexes, the reliance on flexible nitroxide labels is limitating especially for the accurate measurement of site‐specific β‐sheet dynamics. Here, we employed EPR spectroscopy to measure site‐specific dynamics across the surface of a protein, GB1. Through the use of the double Histidine (dHis) motif, which enables labeling with a Cu(II) – nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) complex, dynamics information was obtained for both α‐helical and β‐sheet sites. Spectral simulations of the resulting CW‐EPR report unique site‐specific fluctuations across the surface of GB1. Additionally, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to complement the EPR data. The dynamics observed from MD agree with the EPR results. Furthermore, we observe small changes ingǁvalues for different sites, which may be due to small differences in coordination geometry and/or local electrostatics of the site. Taken together, this work expands the utility of Cu(II)NTA‐based EPR measurements to probe information beyond distance constraints.

 
more » « less
Award ID(s):
2006154
NSF-PAR ID:
10391970
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Protein Science
Volume:
31
Issue:
7
ISSN:
0961-8368
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    Protein dynamics is at the heart of all cellular processes. Here, we utilize the dHis‐CuIINTA label to obtain site‐specific information on dynamics for both an α‐helix and β‐sheet site of GB1, the immunoglobulin binding domain of protein G. Spectral features found in our CW‐EPR measurements were consistent with the overall rigid nature of GB1 and with predictions from molecular dynamics simulations. Using this information, we show the potential of this approach to elucidate the role of dynamics in substrate binding of a functionally necessary α‐helix in human glutathione transferase A1‐1 (hGSTA1‐1). We observe two dynamical modes for the helix. The addition of the inhibitor GS‐Met and GS‐Hex resulted in hGSTA1‐1 to favor the more rigid active state conformation, while the faster mode potentially aids the search for substrates. Together the results illustrate the remarkable potential of the dHis‐based labelling approach to measure site‐specific dynamics using room temperature lineshape analysis.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    Protein dynamics is at the heart of all cellular processes. Here, we utilize the dHis‐CuIINTA label to obtain site‐specific information on dynamics for both an α‐helix and β‐sheet site of GB1, the immunoglobulin binding domain of protein G. Spectral features found in our CW‐EPR measurements were consistent with the overall rigid nature of GB1 and with predictions from molecular dynamics simulations. Using this information, we show the potential of this approach to elucidate the role of dynamics in substrate binding of a functionally necessary α‐helix in human glutathione transferase A1‐1 (hGSTA1‐1). We observe two dynamical modes for the helix. The addition of the inhibitor GS‐Met and GS‐Hex resulted in hGSTA1‐1 to favor the more rigid active state conformation, while the faster mode potentially aids the search for substrates. Together the results illustrate the remarkable potential of the dHis‐based labelling approach to measure site‐specific dynamics using room temperature lineshape analysis.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract

    This review describes the use of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) to measure residue specific dynamics in proteins with a specific focus on Cu(II)‐based spin labels. First, we outline approaches used to measure protein motion by nitroxide‐based spin labels. Here, we describe conceptual details and outline challenges that limit the use of nitroxide spin labels to solvent‐exposed α‐helical sites. The bulk of this review showcases the use of newly developed Cu(II)‐based protein labels. In this approach, the strategic mutation of native residues on a protein to generate two neighboring Histidine residues (i.e., the dHis motif) is exploited to enable a rigid site‐selective binding of a Cu(II) complex. The chelation of the Cu(II) complex to dHis directly anchors the Cu(II) spin label to the protein backbone. The improvement in rigidity expands both the spin‐labeling toolkit as well as the resolution of many EPR measurements. We describe how EPR measurements of the Cu(II) label directly reflect backbone motion and fluctuations. The EPR are complemented by Molecular Dynamics simulations. Finally, the dHis motif provides access to the measurement of site‐specific dynamics at both α‐helices and β‐sheets. The review outlines the limitations of the dHis method and provides an outlook for future developments.

     
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    Structure and functions of S100 proteins are regulated by two distinct calcium binding EF hand motifs. In this work, we used solution‐state NMR spectroscopy to investigate the cooperativity between the two calcium binding sites and map the allosteric changes at the target binding site. To parse the contribution of the individual calcium binding events, variants of S100A12 were designed to selectively bind calcium to either the EF‐I (N63A) or EF‐II (E31A) loop, respectively. Detailed analysis of the backbone chemical shifts for wildtype protein and its mutants indicates that calcium binding to the canonical EF‐II loop is the principal trigger for the conformational switch between ‘closed’ apo to the ‘open’ Ca2+‐bound conformation of the protein. Elimination of binding in S100‐specific EF‐I loop has limited impact on the calcium binding affinity of the EF‐II loop and the concomitant structural rearrangement. In contrast, deletion of binding in the EF‐II loop significantly attenuates calcium affinity in the EF‐I loop and the structure adopts a ‘closed’ apo‐like conformation. Analysis of experimental amide nitrogen (15N) relaxation rates (R1,R2, and15N–{1H} NOE) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations demonstrate that the calcium bound state is relatively floppy with pico–nanosecond motions induced in functionally relevant domains responsible for target recognition such as the hinge domain and the C‐terminal residues. Experimental relaxation studies combined with MD simulations show that while calcium binding in the EF‐I loop alone does not induce significant motions in the polypeptide chain, EF‐I regulates fluctuations in the polypeptide in the presence of bound calcium in the EF‐II loop. These results offer novel insights into the dynamic regulation of target recognition by calcium binding and unravels the role of cooperativity between the two calcium binding events in S100A12.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    Pulsed dipolar EPR spectroscopy (PDS) in combination with site‐directed spin labeling is a powerful tool in structural biology. However, the commonly used spin labels are conjugated to biomolecules via rather long and flexible linkers, which hampers the translation of distance distributions into biomolecular conformations. In contrast, the spin label copper(II)‐nitrilotriacetic acid [Cu2+(NTA)] bound to two histidines (dHis) is rigid and yields narrow distance distributions, which can be more easily translated into biomolecular conformations. Here, we use this label on the 71 kDaYersiniaouter protein O (YopO) to decipher whether a previously experimentally observed bimodal distance distribution is due to two conformations of the biomolecule or of the flexible spin labels. Two different PDS experiments, that is, pulsed electron–electron double resonance (PELDOR aka DEER) and relaxation‐induced dipolar modulation enhancement (RIDME), yield unimodal distance distribution with the dHis‐Cu2+(NTA) motif; this result suggests that the α‐helical backbone of YopO adopts a single conformation in frozen solution. In addition, we show that the Cu2+(NTA) label preferentially binds to the target double histidine (dHis) sites even in the presence of 22 competing native histidine residues. Our results therefore suggest that the generation of a His‐null background is not required for this spin labeling methodology. Together these results highlight the value of the dHis‐Cu2+(NTA) motif in PDS experiments.

     
    more » « less