Concordance of residual dipolar couplings, backbone order parameters and crystallographic B-factors for a small alpha/beta protein: a unified picture of high probability, fast atomic motions in proteins

Using ensemble refinement of the third immunoglobulin binding domain (GB3) of streptococcal protein G (a small alpha/beta protein of 56 residues), we demonstrate that backbone (N-H, N-C', Calpha-Halpha, Calpha-C') residual dipolar coupling data in five independent alignment media, generalized order parameters from 15N relaxation data, and B-factors from a high-resolution (1.1A), room temperature crystal structure are entirely consistent with one another within experimental error. The optimal ensemble size representation is between four and eight, as assessed by complete cross-validation of the residual dipolar couplings. Thus, in the case of GB3, all three observables reflect the same low-amplitude anisotropic motions arising from fluctuations in backbone phi/psi torsion angles in the picosecond to nanosecond regime in both solution and crystalline environments, yielding a unified picture of fast, high-probability atomic motions in proteins. An understanding of these motions is crucial for understanding the impact of protein dynamics on protein function, since they provide part of the driving force for triggered conformational changes that occur, for example, upon ligand binding, signal transduction and enzyme catalysis.     

Structural Dynamics and Conformational Equilibria of SERCA Regulatory Proteins in Membranes by Solid-State NMR Restrained Simulations

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is emerging as a powerful approach to determine structure, topology, and conformational dynamics of membrane proteins at the atomic level. Conformational dynamics are often inferred and quantified from the motional averaging of the NMR parameters. However, the nature of these motions is difficult to envision based only on spectroscopic data. Here, we utilized restrained molecular dynamics simulations to probe the structural dynamics, topology and conformational transitions of regulatory membrane proteins of the calcium ATPase SERCA, namely sarcolipin and phospholamban, in explicit lipid bilayers. Specifically, we employed oriented solid-state NMR data, such as dipolar couplings and chemical shift anisotropy measured in lipid bicelles, to refine the conformational ensemble of these proteins in lipid membranes. The samplings accurately reproduced the orientations of transmembrane helices and showed a significant degree of convergence with all of the NMR parameters. Unlike the unrestrained simulations, the resulting sarcolipin structures are in agreement with distances and angles for hydrogen bonds in ideal helices. In the case of phospholamban, the restrained ensemble sampled the conformational interconversion between T (helical) and R (unfolded) states for the cytoplasmic region that could not be observed using standard structural refinements with the same experimental data set. This study underscores the importance of implementing NMR data in molecular dynamics protocols to better describe the conformational landscapes of membrane proteins embedded in realistic lipid membranes.     

Structural Dynamics and Conformational Equilibria of SERCA Regulatory Proteins in Membranes by Solid-State NMR Restrained Simulations

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is emerging as a powerful approach to determine structure, topology, and conformational dynamics of membrane proteins at the atomic level. Conformational dynamics are often inferred and quantified from the motional averaging of the NMR parameters. However, the nature of these motions is difficult to envision based only on spectroscopic data. Here, we utilized restrained molecular dynamics simulations to probe the structural dynamics, topology and conformational transitions of regulatory membrane proteins of the calcium ATPase SERCA, namely sarcolipin and phospholamban, in explicit lipid bilayers. Specifically, we employed oriented solid-state NMR data, such as dipolar couplings and chemical shift anisotropy measured in lipid bicelles, to refine the conformational ensemble of these proteins in lipid membranes. The samplings accurately reproduced the orientations of transmembrane helices and showed a significant degree of convergence with all of the NMR parameters. Unlike the unrestrained simulations, the resulting sarcolipin structures are in agreement with distances and angles for hydrogen bonds in ideal helices. In the case of phospholamban, the restrained ensemble sampled the conformational interconversion between T (helical) and R (unfolded) states for the cytoplasmic region that could not be observed using standard structural refinements with the same experimental data set. This study underscores the importance of implementing NMR data in molecular dynamics protocols to better describe the conformational landscapes of membrane proteins embedded in realistic lipid membranes.     

A structure refinement protocol combining NMR residual dipolar couplings and small angle scattering restraints

We present the implementation of a target function based on Small Angle Scattering data (Gabel et al. Eur Biophys J 35(4):313-327, 2006) into the Crystallography and NMR Systems (CNS) and demonstrate its utility in NMR structure calculations by simultaneous application of small angle scattering (SAS) and residual dipolar coupling (RDC) restraints. The efficiency and stability of the approach are demonstrated by reconstructing the structure of a two domain region of the 31 kDa nuclear export factor TAP (TIP-associated protein). Starting with the high resolution X-ray structures of the two individual TAP domains, the translational and orientational domain arrangement is refined simultaneously. We tested the stability of the protocol against variations of the SAS target parameters and the number of RDCs and their uncertainties. The activation of SAS restraints results in an improved translational clustering of the domain positions and lifts part of the fourfold degeneracy of their orientations (associated with a single alignment tensor). The resulting ensemble of structures reflects the conformational space that is consistent with the experimental SAS and RDC data. The SAS target function is computationally very efficient. SAS restraints can be activated at different levels of precision and only a limited SAS angular range is required. When combined with additional data from chemical shift perturbation, paramagnetic relaxation enhancement or mutational analysis the SAS refinement is an efficient approach for defining the topology of multi-domain and/or multimeric biomolecular complexes in solution based on available high resolution structures (NMR or X-ray) of the individual domains.     

Characterizing RNA ensembles from NMR data with kinematic models

Functional mechanisms of biomolecules often manifest themselves precisely in transient conformational substates. Researchers have long sought to structurally characterize dynamic processes in non-coding RNA, combining experimental data with computer algorithms. However, adequate exploration of conformational space for these highly dynamic molecules, starting from static crystal structures, remains challenging. Here, we report a new conformational sampling procedure, KGSrna, which can efficiently probe the native ensemble of RNA molecules in solution. We found that KGSrna ensembles accurately represent the conformational landscapes of 3D RNA encoded by NMR proton chemical shifts. KGSrna resolves motionally averaged NMR data into structural contributions; when coupled with residual dipolar coupling data, a KGSrna ensemble revealed a previously uncharacterized transient excited state of the HIV-1 trans-activation response element stem–loop. Ensemble-based interpretations of averaged data can aid in formulating and testing dynamic, motion-based hypotheses of functional mechanisms in RNAs with broad implications for RNA engineering and therapeutic intervention.     

Relationship of DNA structure to internal dynamics: correlation of helical parameters from NOE-based NMR solution structures of d(GCGTACGC)(2) and d(CGCTAGCG)(2) with (13)C order parameters implies conformational coupling in dinucleotide units

The coupling between the conformational properties of double-stranded DNA and its internal dynamics has been examined. The solution structures of the isomeric DNA oligomers d(GCGTACGC)(2) (UM) and d(CGCTAGCG)(2) (CTSYM) were determined with (1)H NMR spectroscopy by utilizing distance restraints from total relaxation matrix analysis of NOESY cross-peak intensities in restrained molecular dynamics calculations. The root-mean-square deviation of the coordinates for the ensemble of structures was 0.13 A for UM and 0.49 A for CTSYM, with crystallographic equivalent R(c)=0.41 and 0.39 and sixth-root residual R(x)=0.11 and 0.10 for UM and CTSYM, respectively. Both UM and CTSYM are B-form with straight helical axes and show sequence-dependent variations in conformation. The internal dynamics of UM and CTSYM were previously determined by analysis of (13)C relaxation parameters in the context of the Lipari & Szabo model-free formalism. Helical parameters for the two DNA oligomers were examined for linear correlations with the order parameters (S(2)) of groups of (13)C spins in base-pairs and dinucleotide units of UM and CTSYM. Correlations were found for six interstrand base-pair parameters tip, y-displacement, inclination, buckle and stretch with various combinations of S(2) for atoms in Watson-Crick base-pairs and for two inter-base-pair parameters, rise and roll with various combinations of S(2) for atoms in dinucleotides. The correlations for the interstrand base-pair helical parameters indicate that the conformations of the deoxyribose residues of each strand are dynamically coupled. Also, the inter-base-pair separation has a profound effect on the local internal motions available to the DNA, supporting the idea that rise is a principal degree of freedom for DNA conformational variability. The correlations indicate collective atomic motions of spins that may represent specific motional modes in DNA, and that base sequence has a predictable effect on the relative order of groups of spins both in the bases and in the deoxyribose ring of the DNA backbone. These observations suggest that an important functional outcome of DNA base sequence is the modulation of both the conformation and dynamic behavior of the DNA backbone.     

Structural Characterization of N-WASP Domain V Using MD Simulations with NMR and SAXS Data

Because of their large conformational heterogeneity, structural characterization of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is very challenging using classical experimental methods alone. In this study, we use NMR and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) data with multiple molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to describe the conformational ensemble of the fully disordered verprolin homology domain of the neural Aldrich syndrome protein involved in the regulation of actin polymerization. First, we studied several back-calculation software of SAXS scattering intensity and optimized the adjustable parameters to accurately calculate the SAXS intensity from an atomic structure. We also identified the most appropriate force fields for MD simulations of this IDP. Then, we analyzed four conformational ensembles of neural Aldrich syndrome protein verprolin homology domain, two generated with the program flexible-meccano with or without NMR-derived information as input and two others generated by MD simulations with two different force fields. These four conformational ensembles were compared to available NMR and SAXS data for validation. We found that MD simulations with the AMBER-03w force field and the TIP4P/2005s water model are able to correctly describe the conformational ensemble of this 67-residue IDP at both local and global level.     

p15 Is an Intrinsically Disordered Protein with Nonrandom Structural Preferences at Sites of Interaction with Other Proteins

We present to our knowledge the first structural characterization of the proliferating-cell-nuclear-antigen-associated factor p15^PAF, showing that it is monomeric and intrinsically disordered in solution but has nonrandom conformational preferences at sites of protein-protein interactions. p15^PAF is a 12 kDa nuclear protein that acts as a regulator of DNA repair during DNA replication. The p15^PAF gene is overexpressed in several types of human cancer. The nearly complete NMR backbone assignment of p15^PAF allowed us to measure 86 N-H^N residual dipolar couplings. Our residual dipolar coupling analysis reveals nonrandom conformational preferences in distinct regions, including the proliferating-cell-nuclear-antigen-interacting protein motif (PIP-box) and the KEN-box (recognized by the ubiquitin ligase that targets p15^PAF for degradation). In accordance with these findings, analysis of the ¹⁵N R₂ relaxation rates shows a relatively reduced mobility for the residues in these regions. The agreement between the experimental small angle x-ray scattering curve of p15^PAF and that computed from a statistical coil ensemble corrected for the presence of local secondary structural elements further validates our structural model for p15^PAF. The coincidence of these transiently structured regions with protein-protein interaction and posttranslational modification sites suggests a possible role for these structures as molecular recognition elements for p15^PAF.     

Ligand-induced domain rearrangement of fatty acid beta-oxidation multienzyme complex

The quaternary structure of a fatty acid beta-oxidation multienzyme complex, catalyzing three sequential reactions, was investigated by X-ray crystallographic and small-angle X-ray solution scattering analyses. X-ray crystallography revealed an intermediate structure of the complex among the previously reported structures. However, the theoretical scattering curves calculated from the crystal structures remarkably disagree with the experimental profiles. Instead, an ensemble of the atomic models, which were all calculated by rigid-body optimization, reasonably explained the experimental data. These structures significantly differ from those in the crystals, but they maintain the substrate binding pocket at the domain boundary. Comparisons among these structures indicated that binding of 3-hydroxyhexadecanoyl-CoA or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide induces domain rearrangements in the complex. The conformational changes suggest the structural events occurring during the chain reaction catalyzed by the multienzyme complex.     

Amplitudes and time scales of picosecond-to-microsecond motion in proteins studied by solid-state NMR: a critical evaluation of experimental approaches and application to crystalline ubiquitin

Solid-state NMR provides insight into protein motion over time scales ranging from picoseconds to seconds. While in solution state the methodology to measure protein dynamics is well established, there is currently no such consensus protocol for measuring dynamics in solids. In this article, we perform a detailed investigation of measurement protocols for fast motions, i.e. motions ranging from picoseconds to a few microseconds, which is the range covered by dipolar coupling and relaxation experiments. We perform a detailed theoretical investigation how dipolar couplings and relaxation data can provide information about amplitudes and time scales of local motion. We show that the measurement of dipolar couplings is crucial for obtaining accurate motional parameters, while systematic errors are found when only relaxation data are used. Based on this realization, we investigate how the REDOR experiment can provide such data in a very accurate manner. We identify that with accurate rf calibration, and explicit consideration of rf field inhomogeneities, one can obtain highly accurate absolute order parameters. We then perform joint model-free analyses of 6 relaxation data sets and dipolar couplings, based on previously existing, as well as new data sets on microcrystalline ubiquitin. We show that nanosecond motion can be detected primarily in loop regions, and compare solid-state data to solution-state relaxation and RDC analyses. The protocols investigated here will serve as a useful basis towards the establishment of a routine protocol for the characterization of ps–μs motions in proteins by solid-state NMR.     

The use of NMR residual dipolar couplings in aqueous dilute liquid crystalline medium for conformational studies of complex oligosaccharides

C-H dipolar coupling values were measured for a natural-abundance sample of the pentasaccharide beta-D-Galp-(1-->3)-[alpha-L-Fucp-(1-->4)]-beta-D-GlcNAcp-(1 -->3)-beta-D- Galp-(1-->4)-beta-D-Glcp ('lacto-N-fucopentaose 2') (LNF-2), in a 7.5% solution of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine-dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholine bicelle liquid crystals oriented in the NMR magnetic field. Interpretation of the dipolar coupling data and NOE confirms the conformational model for the Lewis(a) trisaccharide epitope based on NOE, molecular dynamics simulations, and scalar coupling data and provided new structural information for the remaining residues of the pentasaccharide. Since residual dipolar coupling provides information on long-range order, it is a valuable complement to other types of NMR data such as NOE and scalar coupling for exploring conformations of complex oligosaccharides.     

MaxOcc: a web portal for maximum occurrence analysis

The MaxOcc web portal is presented for the characterization of the conformational heterogeneity of two-domain proteins, through the calculation of the Maximum Occurrence that each protein conformation can have in agreement with experimental data. Whatever the real ensemble of conformations sampled by a protein, the weight of any conformation cannot exceed the calculated corresponding Maximum Occurrence value. The present portal allows users to compute these values using any combination of restraints like pseudocontact shifts, paramagnetism-based residual dipolar couplings, paramagnetic relaxation enhancements and small angle X-ray scattering profiles, given the 3D structure of the two domains as input. MaxOcc is embedded within the NMR grid services of the WeNMR project and is available via the WeNMR gateway at http://py-enmr.cerm.unifi.it/access/index/maxocc . It can be used freely upon registration to the grid with a digital certificate.     

Determination of the Individual Roles of the Linker Residues in the Interdomain Motions of Calmodulin Using NMR Chemical Shifts

Many protein molecules are formed by two or more domains whose structures and dynamics are closely related to their biological functions. It is thus important to develop methods to determine the structural properties of these multidomain proteins. Here, we characterize the interdomain motions in the calcium-bound state of calmodulin (Ca^2 +-CaM) using NMR chemical shifts as replica-averaged structural restraints in molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the conformational fluctuations of the interdomain linker, which are largely responsible for the overall interdomain motions of CaM, can be well described by exploiting the information provided by chemical shifts. We thus identify 10 residues in the interdomain linker region that change their conformations upon substrate binding. Five of these residues (Met76, Lys77, Thr79, Asp80 and Ser81) are highly flexible and cover the range of conformations observed in the substrate-bound state, while the remaining five (Arg74, Lys75, Asp78, Glu82 and Glu83) are much more rigid and do not populate conformations typical of the substrate-bound form. The ensemble of conformations representing the Ca^2 +-CaM state obtained in this study is in good agreement with residual dipolar coupling, paramagnetic resonance enhancement, small-angle X-ray scattering and fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements, which were not used as restraints in the calculations. These results provide initial evidence that chemical shifts can be used to characterize the conformational fluctuations of multidomain proteins.     

Conformational studies of human milk oligosaccharides using (1)H-(13)C one-bond NMR residual dipolar couplings

1H-(13)C one-bond dipolar coupling values were measured for natural abundance samples of the human milk oligosaccharides "lacto-N-fucopentaose" (LNF-1 LNF-2, and LNF-3), "lacto-N-difucohexaose" (LND-1), "lacto-N-tetraose" (LNT), and "lacto-N-neo-tetraose" (LNnT), four of which have Lewis blood group epitopes. Each oligosaccharide was dissolved in a 7.5% solution of 1, 2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/1, 2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC/DHPC) bicelle liquid crystals oriented in the NMR magnetic field. The dipolar coupling data and NOE were fitted to conformational models with calculations of an optimum orientation tensor which best represents the dipolar coupling values for a fragment hypothesized to adopt a single conformation. In the case of LNF-1, LNF-2, LNF-3, and LND-1, the models confirm previous conformational models for the Lewis epitopes based on NOE and molecular dynamics simulations. Extensions of the model provided new structural data for the remaining residues. In all cases, upper limits for the errors in the glycosidic angles of the models were estimated. Since residual dipolar coupling provides information on long-range order, it is a valuable complement to other types of NMR data such as NOE and scalar coupling for exploring conformations of complex oligosaccharides.     

p15PAF Is an Intrinsically Disordered Protein with Nonrandom Structural Preferences at Sites of Interaction with Other Proteins

We present to our knowledge the first structural characterization of the proliferating-cell-nuclear-antigen-associated factor p15^PAF, showing that it is monomeric and intrinsically disordered in solution but has nonrandom conformational preferences at sites of protein-protein interactions. p15^PAF is a 12 kDa nuclear protein that acts as a regulator of DNA repair during DNA replication. The p15^PAF gene is overexpressed in several types of human cancer. The nearly complete NMR backbone assignment of p15^PAF allowed us to measure 86 N-H^N residual dipolar couplings. Our residual dipolar coupling analysis reveals nonrandom conformational preferences in distinct regions, including the proliferating-cell-nuclear-antigen-interacting protein motif (PIP-box) and the KEN-box (recognized by the ubiquitin ligase that targets p15^PAF for degradation). In accordance with these findings, analysis of the ¹⁵N R₂ relaxation rates shows a relatively reduced mobility for the residues in these regions. The agreement between the experimental small angle x-ray scattering curve of p15^PAF and that computed from a statistical coil ensemble corrected for the presence of local secondary structural elements further validates our structural model for p15^PAF. The coincidence of these transiently structured regions with protein-protein interaction and posttranslational modification sites suggests a possible role for these structures as molecular recognition elements for p15^PAF.     

Toward a predictive understanding of slow methyl group dynamics in proteins

The development of the most recent generation of molecular mechanics force fields promises an increasingly predictive understanding of the protein dynamics-function relationship. Based on extensive validation against various types of experimental data, the AMBER force field ff99SB was benchmarked in recent years as a favorable force field for protein simulations. Recent improvements of the side chain and backbone potentials, made by different groups, led to the ff99SB-ILDN and ff99SBnmr1 force fields, respectively. The combination of these potentials into a unified force field, termed ff99SBnmr1-ILDN, was used in this study to perform a microsecond time scale molecular dynamics simulation of free ubiquitin in explicit solvent for validation against an extensive set of experimental NMR methyl group residual dipolar couplings. Our results show a high level of consistency between the experimental data and the values predicted from the molecular dynamics trajectory reflecting a systematically improved performance of ff99SBnmr1-ILDN over the original ff99SB force field. Moreover, the unconstrained ff99SBnmr1-ILDN MD ensemble achieves a similar level of agreement as the recently introduced EROS ensemble, which was constructed based on a large body of NMR data as constraints, including the methyl residual dipolar couplings. This suggests that ff99SBnmr1-ILDN provides a high-quality representation of the motions of methyl-bearing protein side chains, which are sensitive probes of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions.     

Protein conformations explored by difference high-angle solution X-ray scattering: oxidation state and temperature dependent changes in cytochrome C

We demonstrate the use of high-angle X-ray scattering to explore protein conformational states in solution by resolving oxidation state- and temperature-dependent changes in the conformation of horse heart cytochrome c. Several detailed models exist for oxidation-dependent changes in mitochondrial class I c cytochromes determined by X-ray crystallography and solution NMR techniques. These models differ in the magnitude and locations of structural change. Our scattering measurements show that high-angle X-ray scattering can discriminate between these models, and that the experimental scattering data for horse cytochrome c can be best reconciled with selected NMR models for the same protein. These results demonstrate the ability to use high-angle X-ray scattering to resolve conformational states of proteins in solution, and to relate these measurements to detailed structural models. Furthermore, temperature-dependent changes are found in the high angle scattering patterns for horse cytochrome c, illustrating the sensitivity of these measurements to dynamic aspects of protein structure. These results demonstrate the ability to use difference high angle scattering as a quantitative monitor of reaction-linked changes in protein conformation and structural dynamics. Synchrotron-based high-angle scattering holds promise as a widely applicable, high throughput technique for exploring conformational states linked to physiological protein function, for resolving configurational differences between protein structures in solution and crystalline states, and for bridging the gap between solution NMR and crystallographic structure techniques.     

Unraveling the structural complexity in a single-stranded RNA tail: implications for efficient ligand binding in the prequeuosine riboswitch

Single-stranded RNAs (ssRNAs) are ubiquitous RNA elements that serve diverse functional roles. Much of our understanding of ssRNA conformational behavior is limited to structures in which ssRNA directly engages in tertiary interactions or is recognized by proteins. Little is known about the structural and dynamic behavior of free ssRNAs at atomic resolution. Here, we report the collaborative application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations to characterize the 12 nt ssRNA tail derived from the prequeuosine riboswitch. NMR carbon spin relaxation data and residual dipolar coupling measurements reveal a flexible yet stacked core adopting an A-form-like conformation, with the level of order decreasing toward the terminal ends. An A-to-C mutation within the polyadenine tract alters the observed dynamics consistent with the introduction of a dynamic kink. Pre-ordering of the tail may increase the efficacy of ligand binding above that achieved by a random-coil ssRNA. The REMD simulations recapitulate important trends in the NMR data, but suggest more internal motions than inferred from the NMR analysis. Our study unmasks a previously unappreciated level of complexity in ssRNA, which we believe will also serve as an excellent model system for testing and developing computational force fields.