Surface processes in the crystallization of turnip yellow mosaic virus visualized by atomic force microscopy.

In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate surface evolution during the growth of single crystals of turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV). Growth of the (101) face of TYMV crystals proceeded by two-dimensional nucleation. The molecular structure of the step edges and adsorption of individual virus particles and their aggregates on the crystalline surface were recorded. The surfaces of individual virions within crystals were visualized and seen to be quite distinctive with the hexameric and pentameric capsomers of the T = 3 capsids being clearly resolved. This, so far as we are aware, is the first direct visualization of the capsomere structure of a virus by AFM. In the course of recording the in situ development of the crystals, a profound restructuring of the surface arrangement was observed. This transformation was highly cooperative in nature, but the transitions were unambiguous and readily explicable in terms of an organized loss of classes of virus particles from specific lattice positions. In some cases areas of a single crystal surface were recorded in which were captured successive phases of the transition. We believe this provides the first visual record of a cooperative restructuring of the surface of a supramolecular crystal.     

The effect of protein impurities on lysozyme crystal growth

While bulk crystallization from impure solutions is used industrially as a purification step for a wide variety of materials, it is a technique that has rarely been used for proteins. Proteins have a reputation for being difficult to crystallize and high purity of the initial crystallization solution is considered paramount for success in the crystallization. Although little is written on the purifying capability of protein crystallization or of the effect of impurities on the various aspects of the crystallization process, recent published reports show that crystallization shows promise and feasibility as a purification technique for proteins. To further examine the issue of purity in macromolecule crystallization, this study investigates the effect of the protein impurities, avidin, ovalbumin, and conalbumin at concentrations up to 50%, on the solubility, crystal face growth rates, and crystal purity of the protein lysozyme. Solubility was measured in batch experiments while a computer controlled video microscope system was used to measure the ?110? and ?101? lysozyme crystal face growth rates. While little effect was observed on solubility and high crystal purity was obtained (>99.99%), the effect of the impurities on the face growth rates varied from no effect to a significant face specific effect leading to growth cessation, a phenomenon that is frequently observed in protein crystal growth. The results shed interesting light on the effect of protein impurities on protein crystal growth and strengthen the feasibility of using crystallization as a unit operation for protein purification.     

Protein crystal growth. Growth kinetics for tetragonal lysozyme crystals

A method for immobilizing protein crystals has been devised for determining face growth rates, and used to investigate the growth kinetics of hen egg white lysozyme crystals. Growth rates were determined at 22 degrees C in 0.1 M sodium acetate, 5% NaCl, pH 4.0, on the visually identified (110) face of tetragonal lysozyme crystals. Protein concentrations ranged from 13 to 57 mg/ml (saturation concentration = 1.7 mg/ml). Growth rate data were fit to the equation R = kappa sigma ri, where R = rate in cm/s; kappa = constant; sigma i = solute growth interface supersaturation; and r = rate dependence upon super-saturation, with the result that kappa = 0.146 X 10(-8) cm/s and r = 2.0. A model of the growth process was developed and the experimental data were used to determine the relative roles of transport and interfacial kinetics in the growth of this crystal. Values for the width of the boundary layer delta, the interfacial concentration Ci, and growth rate R were determined. The model may be used to extrapolate to other growth conditions. The relative role of transport and interfacial kinetics can be expressed by the coefficient gamma = (CB - Ci)/(CB - Cs), when CB is the bulk concentration and Cs the saturation. Values for gamma were found to range from much less than 0.1 for submicron-size crystals to approximately 0.15 for cm sizes. The results indicate that attachment or surface effects are rate-limiting in lysozyme crystal growth in Earth's gravity because solutal convection always provides more transport of solute than can be accommodated by the interface. In order to grow such crystals under transport limiting conditions, it would be necessary to suppress this solutal convection.     

Effects of high pressure on the solubility and growth kinetics of monoclinic lysozyme crystals.

Average growth rates of the (0 1 0) and (0 1 0) faces (R<0 1 0>) of monoclinic lysozyme crystals were measured in situ under 0.1 and 100 MPa. From the dependence of the growth rates on the lysozyme concentration, we determined the solubility of the crystal as a function of temperature at 0.1 and 100 MPa. The solubility increased with an increase in pressure. From the comparison between the growth rates under 0.1 and 100 MPa at the same supersaturation level, we found that the growth rates of the monoclinic lysozyme crystals kinetically increase with an increase in pressure. Supersaturation dependencies of the growth rates under 0.1 and 100 MPa were well fitted with a two-dimensional (2D) nucleation growth model of a birth-and-spread type. The fitting results suggest that the increase in the growth rates with pressure can be explained by the decrease in the average ledge surface energy of 2D island, the average distance between the kinks on a step and the activation energies in the incorporation processes of solute molecules.     

Visualization of RNA crystal growth by atomic force microscopy.

The crystallization of transfer RNA (tRNA) was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) over the temperature range from 4 to 16 degrees C, and this produced the first in situ AFM images of developing nucleic acid crystals. The growth of the (110) face of hexagonal yeast tRNAPhe crystals was observed to occur at steps on vicinal hillocks generated by multiple screw dislocation sources in the temperature range of 13.5-16 degrees C. Two-dimensional nucleation begins to dominate at 13.5 degrees C, with the appearance of three-dimensional nuclei at 12 degrees C. The changes in growth mechanisms are correlated with variations in supersaturation which is higher in the low temperature range. Growth of tRNA crystals was characterized by a strong anisotropy in the tangential step movement and transformation of growth modes on single crystals were directly observed by AFM over the narrow temperature range utilized. Finally, lattice resolution images of the molecular structure of surface layers were recorded. The implications of the strong temperature dependence of tRNAPhe crystal growth are discussed in view of improving and better controlling crystallization of nucleic acids.     

Structural and chemical complementarity between antibodies and the crystal surfaces they recognize

The sequences of the variable regions of three monoclonal antibodies with different specificities to cholesterol monohydrate and 1,4-dinitrobenzene crystals were determined. The structures of their binding sites were then modeled, based on homology to other antibodies of known structure. Two of these antibodies were previously shown to specifically recognize each one well-defined face of one of the crystals, out of a number of crystal faces of closely related structure. The binding site of the antibody which recognizes the stepped (301) face of the cholesterol crystal is predicted to assume the shape of a step with one hydrophobic and one hydrophilic side, complementary to the corresponding crystal surface. Within the step, the hydroxyl groups of five tyrosines are located such that they can interact with the hydroxyl and water molecules on the cholesterol crystal face, while hydrophobic contacts are made between the cholesterol backbone and hydrophobic amino acid sidechains. In contrast, the modeled binding site of the antibody which recognizes the flat (101) face of 1,4-dinitrobenzene crystals is remarkably flat. It is lined by aromatic and polar residues, that can make favorable contacts with the aromatic ring and nitro groups of the dinitrobenzene molecules, respectively.     

On the crystallization of proteins

We report on theoretical and experimental work aimed at a systematic approach to the crystallization of proteins. Successful crystallization depends on the competition between the growth rates for compact three-dimensional structures and long-chain structures leading to an amorphous precipitate. Quasi-elastic light scattering was used to monitor the size and shape distribution of small aggregates in a model system (lysozyme) during the pre-nucleation stage. With the aid of a simple model, the line-width of the scattered light was used to predict whether crystals or an amorphous precipitate would result. Once visible crystals appeared, the lysozyme concentration near the crystal surface was monitored and the kinetic parameters for growth obtained. A peculiar self-limiting phenomenon causes crystals to stop growing after a certain size has been reached. When these terminal size crystals were cleaved, growth occurred at the surface until the original size was approximately restored.     

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry: a new tool for probing interactions between proteins and metal surfaces. Use in dental implantology.

The fixation in the bone of an artificial titanium tooth root is believed to be initiated by the rapid adsorption of the proteins present in the surgical cavity on the titanium surface. The study of this adsorption should make it possible to predict the osseointegration capacities of new implant surface treatments. We describe here a new method, based on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), for quantifying proteins adsorbed on titanium surfaces fully identical to these designed for implantology. The key step of this method is a new MALDI-MS sample preparation allowing the adsorbed proteins to be removed from the surface and to be homogeneously dispersed in the matrix crystals. The adsorption of a model protein (lysozyme) on two titanium surfaces (polished and sandblasted) was studied in order to evaluate the method. The absolute MALDI-MS intensity was shown to vary linearly with the amount of adsorbed lysozyme. After dipping the titanium surfaces for different times in lysozyme solutions at different concentrations, the maximum amount of adsorbed lysozyme was measured by MALDI-MS and was shown to correspond to a lysozyme monolayer, which is consistent with results described in the literature.     

Crystal structures of egg-white lysozyme of hen in acetate-free medium and of lysozyme complexes with N-acetylglucosamine and beta-methyl N-acetylglucosaminide.

The binding of beta-methyl N-acetylglucosaminide (betaMeGlcNAc) to egg-white lysozyme of hen in the tetragonal crystal form was studied by X-ray diffraction techniques to a resolution of 0.25 nm. The binding of the beta-methyl glycoside is almost identical with the binding of beta-N-acetylglucosamine (betaGlcNAc). Real-space refinement of the lysozyme-alpha/beta GlcNAc and lysozyme-betaMeGlcNAc complexes allowed preliminary analysis of the conformational changes observed on binding monosaccharide inhibitors, specially in the region involving tryptophan-62 and residues 70--76. Tetagonal lysozyme crystals, grown in the absence of acetate ions, were examined by X-ray diffraction to 0.25nm resolution. The resulting difference Fourier synthesis shows no firm evidence for bound acetate ions and indicates only minor conformational changes in the side-chain positions of aspartic acid-101 and asparagine-103. The close similarity of the lysozyme structures in the presence and absence of acetate is contrary to expectations from previous n.m.r. studies.     

Simulations of nucleation and early growth stages of protein crystals.

Analysis of known protein crystal structures reveals that interaction energies between monomer pairs alone are not sufficient to overcome entropy loss related to fixing monomers in the crystal lattice. Interactions with several neighbors in the crystal are required for stabilization of monomers in the lattice. A microscopic model of nucleation and early growth stages of protein crystals, based on the above observations, is presented. Anisotropy of protein molecules is taken into account by assigning free energies of association (proportional to the buried surface area) to individual monomer-monomer contacts in the lattice. Lattice simulations of the tetragonal lysozyme crystal based on the model correctly reproduce structural features of the movement of dislocation on the (110) crystal face. The dislocation shifts with the speed equal to the one determined experimentally if the geometric probability of correct orientation is set to 10(-5), in agreement with previously published estimates. At this value of orientational probability, the first nuclei, the critical size of which for lysozyme is four monomers, appear in 1 ml of supersaturated solution on a time scale of microseconds. Formation of the ordered phase proceeds through the growth of nuclei (rather then their association) and requires nucleations on the surface at certain stages.     

Use of regularly structured bacterial cell envelope layers as matrix for the immobilization of macromolecules

Summary Carboxyl groups present on the outer face of the hexagonally ordered S-layer lattices from Bacillus stearothermophilus PV72 and Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum L111-69 were activated with carbodiimide. The reaction of the activated carboxyl groups with free amino groups of low molecular weight nucleophiles was controlled by labelling with polycationized ferritin, a net positively charged topographical marker for electron microscopy, which densely binds to S-layers possessing free carboxyl groups. Carbodiimide-activated carboxyl groups were also allowed to react with amino groups of ferritin (MW 440 000) and invertase (MW 270 000). Covalent attachment of ferritin was examined by electron microscopy. Using invertase, approximately 1 mg enzyme was bound per mg S-layer protein indicating a high packing density of invertase molecules on the outer face of the S-layer lattice. The immobilized invertase retained 70% of its original activity.     

Crystallographic structure of the foliated calcite of bivalves

The foliated layer of bivalves is constituted by platy calcite crystals, or laths, surrounded by an organic layer, and which are arranged into sheets (folia). Therefore, the foliated microstructure can be considered the calcitic analogue to nacre. In this paper, the foliated microstructure has been studied in detail using electron and X-ray diffraction techniques, together with SEM observations on naturally decalcified shells, to investigate the crystallographic organization on different length scales and to resolve among previous contradictory results. This layer is highly organized and displays a coherent crystallographic orientation. The surface of the laths of the foliated layer is constituted by calcite crystals oriented with their c-axis tilted opposite to the growth direction of the laths and one of its {101 4} rhombohedral faces looking in the growth direction. These faces are only expressed as the terminal faces of the laths, whereas the main surfaces of laths coincide with {101 8} rhombohedral faces. This arrangement was consistently found in all specimens studied, which leads us to the provisional conclusion that, unlike previous studies, there is only one possible crystallographic arrangement for the foliated layer. Future studies on other species will help to ascertain this assertion.     

Studies of crystal growth mechanisms of proteins by electron microscopy

We have used electron microscopy to examine the surfaces of lysozyme crystals and deduce mechanisms of crystal growth. We find that growth occurs by a lattice defect mechanism at low supersaturation and by two-dimensional nucleation at high supersaturation. Step velocities and two-dimensional nucleation rates are obtained, and their dependence on supersaturation is compared with theory. Some features of the observed surface structure can be related to the specific topology and strengths of the bonds in the P4(3)2(1)2 lattice. Preliminary results on the early stages of nucleation and the phenomenon of cessation of growth are presented.     

Binding of substrate analogs to hen egg-white lysozyme with an ester linkage between Glu 35 and Trp 108.

The interactions of the substrate analogs beta-methyl-GlcNAc, (GlcNAc)2, and (GlcNAc)3 with hen egg-white lysozyme [EC 3.2.1.17] in which an ester linkage had been formed between Glu 35 and Trp 108 (108 ester lysozyme), were studied by the circular dichroic and fluorescence techniques, and were compared with those for intact lysozyme. The binding constants of beta-methyl-GlcNAc and (GlcNAc)2 to 108 ester lysozyme were essentially the same as those for intact lysozyme in the pH range of 1 to 5. Above pH 5, the binding constants of these saccharides to 108 ester lysozyme did not change with pH, while the binding constants to intact lysozyme decreased. This indicates that Glu 35 (pK 6.0 in intact lysozyme) participates in the binding of these saccharides. The extent and direction of the pK shifts of Asp 52 (pK 3.5), Asp 48 (pK 4.4), and Asp 66 (pK 1.3) observed when beta-methyl-GlcNAc is bound to 108 ester lysozyme were the same as those for intact lysozyme. The participation of Asp 101 and Asp 66 in the binding of (GlcNAc)2 to 108 ester lysozyme was also the same as that for intact lysozyme. These findings indicate that the conformations of subsites B and C are not changed by the formation of the ester linkage. On the other hand, the binding constants of (GlcNAc)3 to 108 ester lysozyme were higher than those for intact lysozyme at all pH values studied. This result is interpreted in terms of an increase in the affinity for a GlcNAc residue of subsite D, which is situated near the esterified Glu 35.     

On the edge of the denaturation process: application of X-ray diffraction to barnase and lysozyme cross-linked crystals with denaturants in molar concentrations

Structural data about the early step of protein denaturation were obtained from cross-linked crystals for two small proteins: barnase and lysozyme. Several denaturant agents like urea, bromoethanol or thiourea were used at increasing concentrations up to a limit leading to crystal disruption (>or=2 to 6 M). Before the complete destruction of the crystal order started, specific binding sites were observed at the protein surfaces, an indication that the preliminary step of denaturation is the disproportion of intermolecular polar bonds to the benefit of the agent "parasiting" the surface. The analysis of the thermal factors first agree with a stabilization effect at low or moderate concentration of denaturants rapidly followed by a destabilization at specific weak points when the number of sites increase (overflooding effect).     

Why does insect antifreeze protein from Tenebrio molitor produce pyramidal ice crystallites?

The antifreeze protein (AFP) reduces the growth rates of the ice crystal facets. In that process the ice morphology undergoes a modification. An AFP-induced surface pinning mechanism, through matching of periodic bond chains in two dimensions, enables two-dimensional regular ice-binding surfaces (IBSs) of the insect AFPs to engage a certain class of ice surfaces, called primary surfaces. They are kinetically stable surfaces with unambiguous and predetermined orientations. In this work, the orientations and molecular compositions of the primary ice surfaces that undergo growth rate reduction by the insect AFPs are obtained from first principles. Besides the basal face and primary prism, the ice surfaces engaged by insect AFPs include the specific ice pyramids produced by the insect AFP Tenebrio molitor (TmAFP). TmAFP-induced pyramids differ fundamentally from the ice pyramids produced by fish AFPs and antifreeze protein glycoproteins (AFPGs) as regards the ice surface configurations and the mode of interaction with the protein IBS. The molecular compositions of the TmAFP-induced pyramids are strongly bonded in two dimensions and have the constant face indices (101). In contrast, the molecular composition of the ice pyramids produced by fish AFPs and AFPGs are strongly bonded in only one direction and have variable face indices (h 0 l), none of which equal (101). The thus far puzzling behavior of the TmAFP in producing pyramidal crystallites is fully explained in agreement with experiment.     

Molecular mechanisms of microheterogeneity-induced defect formation in ferritin crystallization

We apply in situ atomic force microscopy to the crystallization of ferritins from solutions containing approximately 5% (w/w) of their inherent molecular dimers. Molecular resolution imaging shows that the dimers consist of two bound monomers. The constituent monomers are likely partially denatured, resulting in increased hydrophobicity of the dimer surface. Correspondingly, the dimers strongly adsorb on the crystal surface. The adsorbed dimers hinder step growth and on incorporation by the crystal initiate stacks of up to 10 triple and single vacancies in the subsequent crystal layers. The molecules around the vacancies are shifted by approximately 0.1 molecular dimensions from their crystallographic positions. The shifts strain the lattice and, as a consequence, at crystal sizes > 200 microm, the accumulated strain is resolved by a plastic deformation whereupon the crystal breaks into mosaic blocks 20-50 microm in size. The critical size for the onset of mosaicity is similar for ferritin and apoferritin and close to the value for a third protein, lysozyme; it also agrees with theoretical predictions. Trapped microcrystals in ferritin and apoferritin induce strain with a characteristic length scale equal to that of a single point defect, and, as a consequence, trapping does not contribute to the mosaicity. The sequence of undesired phenomena that include heterogeneity generation, adsorption, incorporation, and the resulting lattice strain and mosaicity in this and other proteins systems, could be avoided by improved methods to separate similar proteins species (microheterogeneity) or by increasing the biochemical stability of the macromolecules against oligomerization.     

Role of His101 in the Protein Folding/Unfolding of a Goose-Type Lysozyme from Ostrich (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Struthio camelus</Emphasis>) Egg White

To understand the role of His101 in protein structure stabilization of goose-type (G-type) lysozyme, we conducted thermal unfolding/refolding experiments using native G-type lysozyme from ostrich egg white (nOEL), the recombinant G-type lysozyme (rOEL), and the mutant lysozyme, in which His101 is mutated to alanine (H101A-OEL). Thermal stability on lytic activity and in-gel refolding experiments provided similar profiles for all three OELs. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy was used to determine the secondary structure of three OELs as a function of temperature. Unfolding/refolding experiments (30–90 °C) monitored by CD spectroscopy revealed an unfolding transition at 65–67 °C and a complete refolding at almost the same temperature. Notably, a slightly lower thermal stability was observed for H101A-OEL, corresponding to the calculated difference in transition free energy of thermal unfolding (??G _m) between rOEL and H101A-OEL of ?0.63 kcal/mol. To assess the effects of H101A mutation on the electrostatic behavior, we examined the pH-activity profile of the three OELs. nOEL and rOEL exhibit bimodal relationship between pH and lytic activity showing optima at pH 3.0 and 7.0, while optima for H101A-OEL activity were pH 4.0 and 6.0. Electrostatic environment surrounding His101 was affected by the H101A mutation resulting in the slightly lower thermal stability.     

Far-infrared spectrum of crystalline lysozyme

The far-ir absorption spectrum of lysozyme was measured at room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures. Dried layers of single crystals of tetragonal lysozyme chloride with a diameter of 100–300 μm were grown on a silicon plate. Such single-crystalline samples were considered to have the following advantages in obtaining far-ir spectra: (1) surface scattering is reduced, (2) the protein molecules are closely packed, and (3) air-drying of the crystals reduces the number of water molecules without considerably changing the original configuration. The spectrum obtained consisted of a strong background absorption and a number of absorption peaks that were not clearly observed with the sample in the form of lyophilized powder. The peaks were ascribed to various delocalized vibrations of the main and side chains in the molecule. The peaks were also compared with the positions of Raman lines. The uniform background was assigned to the water molecules remaining in the crystals.     

Raman spectroscopic characterization of tryptophan side chains in lysozyme bound to inhibitors: role of the hydrophobic box in the enzymatic function.

The state of H-bonding and the hydrophobic interaction of six tryptophan side chains in lysozyme bound to substrate-analogous inhibitors were investigated by combining H----D exchange labeling and Raman difference spectroscopy. The frequency of the W17 band due to Trp-63 shifts downward upon inhibitor binding, indicating a specific and strong H-bond formation between the N1 site of the side chain and the inhibitor molecule. On the other hand, the H-bonding state of Trp-62 in the complex is as weak as that in inhibitor-free lysozyme, suggesting no contribution of this residue to the inhibitor binding. Intensity increases of W17 and W18 bands observed upon inhibitor binding are, respectively, ascribed to an increase at Trp-28 and a decrease at Trp-111 in hydrophobic interactions with the environment. The environmental changes are explained consistently by a movement of the Met-105 side chain sandwiched by two indole rings of Trp-28 and 111 in the direction from Trp-111 to Trp-28. The sandwich structure in a core domain, hydrophobic box, and its rearrangement are considered to play an important role in the enzymatic function of lysozyme.