IA3, an aspartic proteinase inhibitor from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is intrinsically unstructured in solution

IA(3) is a highly specific and potent 68-amino acid endogenous inhibitor of yeast proteinase A (YprA), and X-ray crystallographic studies have shown that IA(3) binds to YprA as an alpha-helix [Li, M., Phylip, L. H., Lees, W. E., Winther, J. R., Dunn, B. M., Wlodawer, A., Kay, J., and Gustchina, A. (2000) Nat. Struct. Biol. 7, 113-117]. Surprisingly, only residues 2-32 of IA(3) are seen in the X-ray structure, and the remaining residues are believed to be disordered in the complex. We have used circular dichroism (CD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to show that IA(3) is unstructured in the absence of YprA. Specifically, IA(3) produced a CD spectrum characteristic of an unstructured peptide, and the (15)N HSQC NMR spectra of IA(3) were characteristic of a polypeptide lacking intrinsic structure. We characterized the unstructured state of IA(3) by using singular-value decomposition (SVD) to analyze the CD data in the presence of TFE, by fully assigning the unbound IA(3) protein by NMR and comparing the chemical shifts to published random-coil values, and by measuring (1)H-(15)N heteronuclear NOEs, which are all consistent with an unfolded protein. The IA(3) samples used for NMR analyses were active and inhibited YprA with an inhibition constant (K(i)) of 1.7 nM, and the addition of YprA led to a large spectral transition in IA(3). Calorimetric (ITC) data also show that the overall enthalpy of the interaction between IA(3) and YprA is exothermic.     

Two peptide fragments G55-I72 and K97-A109 from staphylococcal nuclease exhibit different behaviors in conformational preferences for helix formation

Two synthetic peptides, SNasealpha1 and SNasealpha2, corresponding to residues G55-I72 and K97-A109, respectively, of staphylococcal nuclease (SNase), are adopted for detecting the role of helix alpha1 (E57-A69) and helix alpha2 (M98-Q106) in the initiation of folding of SNase. The helix-forming tendencies of the two SNase peptide fragments are investigated using circular dichroism (CD) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods in water and 40% trifluoroethanol (TFE) solutions. The coil-helix conformational transitions of the two peptides in the TFE-H2O mixture are different from each other. SNasealpha1 adopts a low population of localized helical conformation in water, and shows a gradual transition to helical conformation with increasing concentrations of TFE. SNasealpha2 is essentially unstructured in water, but undergoes a cooperative transition to a predominantly helical conformation at high TFE concentrations. Using the NMR data obtained in the presence of 40% TFE, an ensemble of alpha-helical structures has been calculated for both peptides in the absence of tertiary interactions. Analysis of all the experimental data available indicates that formation of ordered alpha-helical structures in the segments E57-A69 and M98-Q106 of SNase may require nonlocal interactions through transient contact with hydrophobic residues in other parts of the protein to stabilize the helical conformations in the folding. The folding of helix alpha1 is supposed to be effective in initiating protein folding. The formation of helix alpha2 depends strongly on the hydrophobic environment created in the protein folding, and is more important in the stabilization of the tertiary conformation of SNase.     

Characterization of the non-native trifluoroethanol-induced intermediate conformational state of the Shiga toxin B-subunit

The effect of increasing concentrations of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) on the conformational stability of the Shiga toxin B-subunit (STxB), a bacterial homopentameric protein involved in cell-surface binding and intracellular transport, has been studied by far-, near-UV circular dichroism (CD), intrinsic fluorescence, analytical ultracentrifugation, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under equilibrium conditions. Our data show that the native structure of STxB is highly perturbed by the presence of TFE. In fact, at concentrations of TFE above 20% (v/v), the native pentameric conformation of the protein is cooperatively transformed into a helix-rich monomeric and partially folded conformational state with no significant tertiary structure. Additionally, no cooperative transition was detected upon a further increase in the TFE concentration (above 40% (v/v)). The thermal stability of STxB was investigated at several different TFE concentrations using DSC and CD spectroscopy. Thermal transitions at TFE concentrations of up to 20% (v/v) were successfully fitted to the two-state folding/unfolding coupled to oligomerization model consistent with the transition between a pentameric folded conformation to a monomeric state of the protein, which the presence of TFE stabilizes as a partially folded conformation.     

Does trifluoroethanol affect folding pathways and can it be used as a probe of structure in transition states?

Nonaqueous co-solvents, particularly 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE), have been used as tools to study protein folding. By analyzing FKBP12, an alpha/beta-protein that folds with two-state kinetics, we have been able to address three key questions concerning the use of TFE. First, does TFE perturb the folding pathway? Second, can the observed changes in the rate of folding and unfolding in TFE be attributed to a change in free energy of a single state? Finally, can TFE be used to infer information on secondary structure formation in the transition state? Protein engineering experiments on FKBP12, coupled with folding and unfolding experiments in 0% and 9.6% TFE, conclusively show that TFE does not perturb the folding pathway of this protein. Our results also suggest that the changes in folding and unfolding rates observed in 9.6% TFE are due to a global effect of TFE on the protein, rather than the stabilization of any elements of secondary structure in the transition state. Thus, studies with TFE and other co-solvents can be accurately interpreted only when combined with other techniques.     

Folding pathway of FKBP12 and characterisation of the transition state.

The folding pathway of human FKBP12, a 12 kDa FK506-binding protein (immunophilin), has been characterised. Unfolding and refolding rate constants have been determined over a wide range of denaturant concentrations and data are shown to fit to a two-state model of folding in which only the denatured and native states are significantly populated, even in the absence of denaturant. This simple model for folding, in which no intermediate states are significantly populated, is further supported from stopped-flow circular dichroism experiments in which no fast "burst" phases are observed. FKBP12, with 107 residues, is the largest protein to date which folds with simple two-state kinetics in water (kF=4 s(-1)at 25 degrees C). The topological crossing of two loops in FKBP12, a structural element suggested to cause kinetic traps during folding, seems to have little effect on the folding pathway.The transition state for folding has been characterised by a series of experiments on wild-type FKBP12. Information on the thermodynamic nature of, the solvent accessibility of, and secondary structure in, the transition state was obtained from experiments measuring the unfolding and refolding rate constants as a function of temperature, denaturant concentration and trifluoroethanol concentration. In addition, unfolding and refolding studies in the presence of ligand provided information on the structure of the ligand-binding pocket in the transition state. The data suggest a compact transition state relative to the unfolded state with some 70 % of the surface area buried. The ligand-binding site, which is formed mainly by two loops, is largely unstructured in the transition state. The trifluoroethanol experiments suggest that the alpha-helix may be formed in the transition state. These results are compared with results from protein engineering studies and molecular dynamics simulations (see the accompanying paper).     

Comparison between long-range interactions and contact order in determining the folding rate of two-state proteins: application of long-range order to folding rate prediction.

The contact order is believed to be an important factor for understanding protein folding mechanisms. In our earlier work, we have shown that the long-range interactions play a vital role in protein folding. In this work, we analyzed the contribution of long-range contacts to determine the folding rate of two-state proteins. We found that the residues that are close in space and are separated by at least ten to 15 residues in sequence are important determinants of folding rates, suggesting the presence of a folding nucleus at an interval of approximately 25 residues. A novel parameter "long-range order" has been proposed to predict protein folding rates. This parameter shows as good a relationship with the folding rate of two-state proteins as contact order. Further, we examined the minimum limit of residue separation to determine the long-range contacts for different structural classes. We observed an excellent correlation between long-range order and folding rate for all classes of globular proteins. We suggest that in mixed-class proteins, a larger number of residues can serve as folding nuclei compared to all-alpha and all-beta proteins. A simple statistical method has been developed to predict the folding rates of two-state proteins using the long-range order that produces an agreement with experimental results that is better or comparable to other methods in the literature.     

Characterization of a common intermediate of pea lectin in the folding pathway induced by TFE and HFIP

When pea lectin was exposed to a low pH range, it was found that the secondary structure of the lectin resisted conformational changes to a large extent up to pH 2.4 and below this pH, a sharp transition was observed which could be due to the presence of 27 acidic amino acid residues present in the protein. The effects of 1,1,1,3,3,3 hexafluoro-isopropanol (HFIP) and 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol (TFE) on the conformation of pea lectin at pH 2.4 were studied using circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. Analysis varying the TFE concentration showed that up to 80% TFE (v/v) protein retained the residual beta-structure accompanied by a loss in tertiary structure. A similar conformation is presumed to exist at 4% HFIP (v/v), with an increase in HFIP concentration structural rearrangements occurred and a transition from beta-structure to alpha-helical structure started from 12% HFIP which completed at 30% HFIP. Our studies show the occurrence of a common intermediate in the folding pathway of pea lectin induced by two different fluoroalcohols, which differ in their mode of action to stabilize the secondary structure of a given protein. While TFE was not found to induce any alpha-helical structure, HFIP caused the transition of pea lectin, which is predominantly a beta-sheet protein, to a structure rich in alpha-helical contacts. Thus, our results also point out the possibility of a non-hierarchical model of protein folding in lectins.     

Evidence concerning rate-limiting steps in protein folding from the effects of trifluoroethanol

The refolding kinetics of 13 proteins have been studied in the presence of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE). Low concentrations of TFE increased the folding rates of all the proteins, whereas higher concentrations have the opposite effect. The extent of deceleration of folding correlates closely with similar effects of guanidine hydrochloride and can be related to the burial of accessible surface area during folding. For those proteins folding in a two-state manner, the extent of acceleration of folding correlates closely with the number of local backbone hydrogen bonds in the native structure. For those proteins that fold in a multistate manner, however, the extent of acceleration is much smaller than that predicted from the data for two-state proteins. These results support the concept that for two-state proteins the search for native-like contacts is a key aspect of the folding reaction, whereas the rate-determining steps for folding of multistate proteins are associated with the reorganization of stable structure within a collapsed state or with the search for native-like interactions within less structured regions.     

Critical nucleation size in the folding of small apparently two-state proteins

For apparently two-state proteins, we found that the size (number of folded residues) of a transition state is mostly encoded by the topology, defined by total contact distance (TCD) of the native state, and correlates with its folding rate. This is demonstrated by using a simple procedure to reduce the native structures of the 41 two-state proteins with native TCD as a constraint, and is further supported by analyzing the results of eight proteins from protein engineering studies. These results support the hypothesis that the major rate-limiting process in the folding of small apparently two-state proteins is the search for a critical number of residues with the topology close to that of the native state.     

The dynamical contact order: Protein folding rate parameters based on quantum conformational transitions

Protein folding is regarded as a quantum transition between the torsion states of a polypeptide chain. According to the quantum theory of conformational dynamics, we propose the dynamical contact order (DCO) defined as a characteristic of the contact described by the moment of inertia and the torsion potential energy of the polypeptide chain between contact residues. Consequently, the protein folding rate can be quantitatively studied from the point of view of dynamics. By comparing theoretical calculations and experimental data on the folding rate of 80 proteins, we successfully validate the view that protein folding is a quantum conformational transition. We conclude that (i) a correlation between the protein folding rate and the contact inertial moment exists; (ii) multi-state protein folding can be regarded as a quantum conformational transition similar to that of two-state proteins but with an intermediate delay. We have estimated the order of magnitude of the time delay; (iii) folding can be classified into two types, exergonic and endergonic. Most of the two-state proteins with higher folding rate are exergonic and most of the multi-state proteins with low folding rate are endergonic. The folding speed limit is determined by exergonic folding.     

Identification of initiation sites for T4 lysozyme folding using CD and NMR spectroscopy of peptide fragments

Using CD and 2D (1)H NMR spectroscopy, we have identified potential initiation sites for the folding of T4 lysozyme by examining the conformational preferences of peptide fragments corresponding to regions of secondary structure. CD spectropolarimetry showed most peptides were unstructured in water, but adopted partial helical conformations in TFE and SDS solution. This was also consistent with the (1)H NMR data which showed that the peptides were predominantly disordered in water, although in some cases, nascent or small populations of partially folded conformations could be detected. NOE patterns, coupling constants, and deviations from random coil Halpha chemical shift values complemented the CD data and confirmed that many of the peptides were helical in TFE and SDS micelles. In particular, the peptide corresponding to helix E in the native enzyme formed a well-defined helix in both TFE and SDS, indicating that helix E potentially forms an initiation site for T4 lysozyme folding. The data for the other peptides indicated that helices D, F, G, and H are dependent on tertiary interactions for their folding and/or stability. Overall, the results from this study, and those of our earlier studies, are in agreement with modeling and HD-deuterium exchange experiments, and support an hierarchical model of folding for T4 lysozyme.     

Protein self-assembly and lipid binding in the folding of the potassium channel KcsA

Moderate concentrations of the alcohol 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) cause the coupled unfolding and dissociation into subunits of the homotetrameric potassium channel KcsA, in a process that is partially irreversible when the protein is solubilized in plain dodecyl beta-d-maltoside (DDM) micelles [Barrera et al. (2005) Biochemistry 44, 14344-52]. Here we report that the transition from the folded tetramer to the unfolded monomer becomes completely reversible when KcsA is solubilized in mixed micelles composed of the detergent DDM and the lipids DOPE (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine) and DOPG (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)]). This result suggests that lipids may act as effectors in the tetramerization of KcsA. The observed reversibility allowed the determination of the standard free energy of the folding reaction of KcsA: DeltaG = 30.5 +/- 3.1 kcal x mol-1. We also observed that, prior to the unfolding of the tetramer, the presence of lower TFE concentrations causes the disassembly of supramolecular clusters of KcsA into the individual tetrameric molecules. Within the limits of experimental resolution, this is also a reversible process, but unlike the tetramer to monomer transition from above, the level of clustering is not influenced by the presence of solubilized lipids. These observations suggest a distinct role of the lipids in the different in vitro assembly steps (folding/tetramerization and clustering) of KcsA.     

Solution structure of a peptide model of a region important for the folding of alpha-lactalbumin provides evidence for the formation of nonnative structure in the denatured state

Elucidating the properties of the denatured state of proteins under conditions relevant for their folding is a key factor in understanding the folding process. We show that a peptide corresponding to residues 111-120 of human alpha-lactalbumin has a pronounced propensity to adopt nonnative structure in aqueous solution. Two-dimensional NMR provides evidence for a structured, nonnative conformation in fast exchange with a random coil ensemble. A total of 78 Rotating Frame Overhauser Effects (ROEs) were used to calculate the conformation of the structured population. A nonnative cluster of hydrophobic residues involving the side chains of K114, W118, Ll119, and A120 is observed, which helps to stabilize a turn-like conformation in the vicinity of residues 115-118. The structure in 30% (vol/vol) TFE was also calculated. Interestingly, the addition of TFE did not simply amplify the population of the structured conformer observed in H2O, but instead induced a new conformation. The implications for the folding of the intact protein are discussed. We also discuss the implications of this study for the relevance of the use of mixed TFE/H2O solvent systems to study isolated peptides.     

Equilibrium and kinetic studies of protein cooperativity using urea-induced folding/unfolding of a Ubq-UIM fusion protein

Understanding the origins of cooperativity in proteins remains an important topic in protein folding. This study describes experimental folding/unfolding equilibrium and kinetic studies of the engineered protein Ubq-UIM, consisting of ubiquitin (Ubq) fused to the sequence of the ubiquitin interacting motif (UIM) via a short linker. Urea-induced folding/unfolding profiles of Ubq-UIM were monitored by far-UV circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopies and compared to those of the isolated Ubq domain. It was found that the equilibrium data for Ubq-UIM is inconsistent with a two-state model. Analysis of the kinetics of folding shows similarity in the folding transition state ensemble between Ubq and Ubq-UIM, suggesting that formation of Ubq domain is independent of UIM. The major contribution to the stabilization of Ubq-UIM, relative to Ubq, was found to be in the rates of unfolding. Moreover, it was found that the kinetic m-values for Ubq-UIM unfolding, monitored by different probes (far-UV circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopies), are different; thereby, further supporting deviations from a two-state behavior. A thermodynamic linkage model that involves four states was found to be applicable to the urea-induced unfolding of Ubq-UIM, which is in agreement with the previous temperature-induced unfolding study. The applicability of the model was further supported by site-directed variants of Ubq-UIM that have altered stabilities of Ubq/UIM interface and/or stabilities of individual Ubq- and UIM-domains. All variants show increased cooperativity and one variant, E43N_Ubq-UIM, appears to behave very close to an equilibrium two-state.     

Mutational analysis of the folding transition state of the C-terminal domain of ribosomal protein L9: a protein with an unusual beta-sheet topology

The C-terminal domain of ribosomal protein L9 (CTL9) is a 92-residue alpha-beta protein which contains an unusual three-stranded mixed parallel and antiparallel beta-sheet. The protein folds in a two-state fashion, and the folding rate is slow. It is thought that the slow folding may be caused by the necessity of forming this unusual beta-sheet architecture in the transition state for folding. This hypothesis makes CTL9 an interesting target for folding studies. The transition state for the folding of CTL9 was characterized by phi-value analysis. The folding of a set of hydrophobic core mutants was analyzed together with a set of truncation mutants. The results revealed a few positions with high phi-values (> or = 0.5), notably, V131, L133, H134, V137, and L141. All of these residues were found in the beta-hairpin region, indicating that the formation of this structure is likely to be the rate-limiting step in the folding of CTL9. One face of the beta-hairpin docks against the N-terminal helix. Analysis of truncation mutants of this helix confirmed its importance in folding. Mutations at other sites in the protein gave small phi-values, despite the fact that some of them had major effects on stability. The analysis indicates that formation of the antiparallel hairpin is critical and its interactions with the first helix are also important. Thus, the slow folding is not a consequence of the need to fully form the unusual three-stranded beta-sheet in the transition state. Analysis of the urea dependence of the folding rates indicates that mutations modulate the unfolded state. The folding of CTL9 is broadly consistent with the nucleation-condensation model of protein folding.     

Protein folding transition states probed by loop extension

We propose a new way to characterize protein folding transition states by (1) insertion of one or more residues into an unstructured protein loop, (2) measurement of the effect on protein folding kinetics and thermodynamics, and (3) analysis of the results in terms of a rate-equilibrium free energy relationship, alpha(Loop). alpha(Loop) reports on the fraction of molecules that form the perturbed loop in the transition state. Interpretation of the changes in equilibrium free energy using standard polymer theory can help detect residual structure in the unfolded state. We illustrate our approach with data for the model proteins CI2 and the alpha spectrin SH3 domain.     

Three-dimensional structure of the two peptides that constitute the two-peptide bacteriocin lactococcin G

The three-dimensional structures of the two peptides, lactococcin G-alpha (LcnG-alpha; contains 39 residues) and lactococcin G-beta (LcnG-beta, contains 35 residues), that constitute the two-peptide bacteriocin lactococcin G (LcnG) have been determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the presence of DPC micelles and TFE. In DPC, LcnG-alpha has an N-terminal alpha-helix (residues 3-21) that contains a GxxxG helix-helix interaction motif (residues 7-11) and a less well defined C-terminal alpha-helix (residues 24-34), and in between (residues 18-22) there is a second somewhat flexible GxxxG-motif. Its structure in TFE was similar. In DPC, LcnG-beta has an N-terminal alpha-helix (residues 6-19). The region from residues 20 to 35, which also contains a flexible GxxxG-motif (residues 18-22), appeared to be fairly unstructured in DPC. In the presence of TFE, however, the region between and including residues 23 and 32 formed a well defined alpha-helix. The N-terminal helix between and including residues 6 and 19 seen in the presence of DPC, was broken at residues 8 and 9 in the presence of TFE. The N-terminal helices, both in LcnG-alpha and -beta, are amphiphilic. We postulate that LcnG-alpha and -beta have a parallel orientation and interact through helix-helix interactions involving the first GxxxG (residues 7-11) motif in LcnG-alpha and the one (residues 18-22) in LcnG-beta, and that they thus lie in a staggered fashion relative to each other.     

Folding of a LysM domain: entropy-enthalpy compensation in the transition state of an ideal two-state folder

Protein-engineering methods (Φ-values) were used to investigate the folding transition state of a lysin motif (LysM) domain from Escherichia coli membrane-bound lytic murein transglycosylase D. This domain consists of just 48 structured residues in a symmetrical βααβ arrangement and is the smallest αβ protein yet investigated using these methods. An extensive mutational analysis revealed a highly robust folding pathway with no detectable transition state plasticity, indicating that LysM is an example of an ideal two-state folder. The pattern of Φ-values denotes a highly polarised transition state, with significant formation of the helices but no structure within the β-sheet. Remarkably, this transition state remains polarised after circularisation of the domain, and exhibits an identical Φ-value pattern; however, the interactions within the transition state are uniformly weaker in the circular variant. This observation is supported by results from an Eyring analysis of the folding rates of the two proteins. We propose that the folding pathway of LysM is dominated by enthalpic rather than entropic considerations, and suggest that the lower entropy cost of formation of the circular transition state is balanced, to some extent, by the lower enthalpy of contacts within this structure.     

Insight into a Random Coil Conformation and an Isolated Helix: Structural and Dynamical Characterisation of the C-Helix Peptide from Hen Lysozyme

A 17 residue peptide corresponding to the C-helix of hen lysozyme (residues 86 to 102) has been investigated in detail to assess the factors that determine its conformation in both aqueous and trifluoroethanol (TFE) solutions. A thorough characterisation of the peptide by CD and NMR techniques under both conditions has been performed including the determination of complete NMR proton sequential assignments, and measurement of NOE effects,³J_HNαcoupling constants, temperature coefficients and residue-specific hydrogen-exchange rates. In water, the peptide adopts a largely unstructured conformation and NMR data, particularly coupling constants and chemical shift deviations, have been shown to agree closely with predictions from a model for a random coil based on the φ,ψ distributions in a protein database. This indicates that under these conditions the intrinsic conformational preferences of the individual amino acid residues are the dominating factors that determine the population of conformers adopted. With increasing concentrations of TFE a cooperative transition to an extensively helical conformation occurs and the resultant changes in CαH chemical shifts have been shown to correlate with the changes in φ,ψ populations. Using NOE and coupling constant data for this state, an ensemble of structures has been calculated and provides a model for a helix in the absence of tertiary interactions. In this model fluctuations, which increase in amplitude towards the termini, occur about the average helical φ,ψ angles and are responsible for increasing the values of³J_HNαcoupling constants above those anticipated for a static helix. The residue-specific rates of hydrogen exchange for the peptide in 50% TFE-d₃are consistent with such a model, the maximum protection from exchange being observed for residues in the centre of the helix.