Strong Protein Adhesives through Lanthanide-enhanced Structure Folding and Stack Density

Generating strong adhesion by engineered proteins has the potential for high technical applications. Current studies of adhesive proteins are primarily limited to marine organisms, e.g., mussel adhesive proteins. Here, we present a modular engineering strategy to generate a type of exotic protein adhesives with super strong adhesion behaviors. In the protein complexes, the lanmodulin (LanM) underwent α-helical conformational transition induced by lanthanides, thereby enhancing the stacking density and molecular interactions of adhesive protein. The resulting adhesives exhibited outstanding lap-shear strength of ≈31.7 MPa, surpassing many supramolecular and polymer adhesives. The extreme temperature (−196 to 200 °C) resistance capacity and underwater adhesion performance can significantly broaden their practical application scenarios. Ex vivo and in vivo experiments further demonstrated the persistent adhesion performance for surgical sealing and healing applications.     

Protein Structure Determination with Three- and Four-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy

Structural biology has made important contributions to the understanding of biological processes. In recent years an increasing amount of structural information has also been derived from NMR spectroscopic studies, often with special emphasis on dynamic aspects. The introduction of three- and four-dimensional techniques has greatly simplified protein structure determination by NMR Spectroscopy, which has in fact become routine. In the past it was more of an art to interpret the complicated NOESY spectra of proteins, but the application of three-dimensional techniques now makes the interpretation of protein spectra straightforward. In this review we discuss the most important multidimensional NMR techniques along with suitable applications. The emphasis is put less on the discussion of individual pulse sequences than on their application to the structure determination of proteins.     

Tertiary Motifs in RNA Structure and Folding

Specific tertiary structural motifs determine the complete architecture of RNA molecules (see picture for examples). Within the last few years a number of high-resolution crystal structures of complex RNAs have led to new insights into the mechanisms by which these complex folds are attained. In this review the structures of these tertiary motifs and how they influence the folding pathway of biological RNAs are discussed, as well as new developments in modeling RNA structure based upon these findings.     

用于真实蛋白质结构预测的一种新的优化方法

用"相对熵"作为优化函数,提出了一个有效快速的折叠预测优化算法.使用了非格点模型,预测只关心蛋白质主链的走向.其中只用到了蛋白质主链上的两两连续的Cα原子间的距离信息以及20种氨基酸的接触势的一个扩展形式.对几个真实蛋白质做了算法测试,预测的初始结构都为比较大的去折叠态,预测构象相对于它们天然结构的均方根偏差(RMSD)为5～7 A.从原理上讲,该方法是对能量优化的改进.     

Contributions of a Surface Hydrophobic Cluster to the Folding and Structural Stability of Ubiquitin

The role of the small exterior hydrophobic cluster (SEHC) in the strand region of the N‐terminal β‐hairpin of ubiquitin on the structural stability and the folding/unfolding kinetics of the protein have been examined. We introduce a Phe→Ala substitution at residue 4 in the strand region of the N‐terminal β‐hairpin of the ubiquitin. A peptide with the same amino acid sequence as the first 21 residues of the mutated ubiquitin has also been synthesized. The F4A mutation unfolds the hairpin structure of the peptide segment without disruption of the turn. The same mutation does not seem to affect the overall structure, but the stability of the mutated full‐length protein decreases by approx. 2 kcal/mol. Kinetically, the entire hairpin structure is implicated in the transition state during folding of the wild type protein. The rate of refolding is retarded by the F4A mutation in ～80% of the protein molecules. The F4A substitution also increases the unfolding rate of the protein by 10 fold. Thus the hydrophobic side‐chain of Phe‐4 not only contributes to the stability of the hairpin, but also to the stability of the entire protein by forming a cluster together with the hydrophobic residues on the C‐terminal strand.     

SIAM,a Novel NMR Experiment for the Determination of Homonuclear Coupling Constants

The simultaneous acquisition of in-phase and antiphase multiplets with high sensitivity and minimum overlap (see section of 2D spectra on the right) is possible in a novel NMR experiment. Based on this method, homonuclear coupling constants such as the ³J(H^N,H^α) couplings in peptides and proteins can be determined quantitatively without isotope labeling.     

Protein fold recognition

Summary An important, yet seemingly unattainable, goal in structural molecular biology is to be able to predict the native three-dimensional structure of a protein entirely from its amino acid sequence. Prediction methods based on rigorous energy calculations have not yet been successful, and best results have been obtained from homology modelling and statistical secondary structure prediction. Homology modelling is limited to cases where significant sequence similarity is shared between a protein of known structure and the unknown. Secondary structure prediction methods are not only unreliable, but also do not offer any obvious route to the full tertiary structure. Recently, methods have been developed whereby entire protein folds are recognized from sequence, even where little or no sequence similarity is shared between the proteins under consideration. In this paper we review the current methods, including our own, and in particular offer a historical background to their development. In addition, we also discuss the future of these methods and outline the developments under investigation in our laboratory.     

Molecular Machines: How Motion and Other Functions of Living Organisms Can Result from Reversible Chemical Changes

Certain model proteins dramatically fold and become more ordered on raising the temperature. When the temperature is raised to drive folding and assembly, these model proteins can lift weights and perform work; they can produce motion. The temperature of warm-blooded animals, however, is kept constant. Therefore, motion cannot result from a change in temperature. In this case, a free energy change, caused, for example, by an increase in the concentration of a chemical, can lower the temperature at which the protein folding and assembly transition occurs from above to below physiological temperature. Raising the concentration of a chemical isothermally has indeed been shown to result in motion and the efficient performance of work. These model proteins and the mechanism they reveal provide insight into the molecular basis for diverse biological functions; they are models for the molecular machines that comprise the living organism, and they provide a new class of materials for both medical and nonmedical applications.     

Protein Oligomer Engineering: A New Frontier for Studying Protein Structure,Function, and Toxicity

Prevalent in nature, protein oligomers play critical roles both physiologically and pathologically. The multimeric nature and conformational transiency of protein oligomers greatly complicate a more detailed glimpse into the molecular structure as well as function. In this minireview, the oligomers are classified and described on the basis of biological function, toxicity, and application. We also define the bottlenecks in recent oligomer studies and further review numerous frontier methods for engineering protein oligomers. Progress is being made on many fronts for a wide variety of applications, and protein grafting is highlighted as a promising and robust method for oligomer engineering. These advances collectively allow the engineering and design of stabilized oligomers that bring us one step closer to understanding their biological functions, toxicity, and a wide range of applications.     

The Wako-Saitô-Muñoz-Eaton Model for Predicting Protein Folding and Dynamics

Despite the recent advances in the prediction of protein structures by deep neutral networks, the elucidation of protein-folding mechanisms remains challenging. A promising theory for describing protein folding is a coarse-grained statistical mechanical model called the Wako-Saitô-Muñoz-Eaton (WSME) model. The model can calculate the free-energy landscapes of proteins based on a three-dimensional structure with low computational complexity, thereby providing a comprehensive understanding of the folding pathways and the structure and stability of the intermediates and transition states involved in the folding reaction. In this review, we summarize previous and recent studies on protein folding and dynamics performed using the WSME model and discuss future challenges and prospects. The WSME model successfully predicted the folding mechanisms of small single-domain proteins and the effects of amino-acid substitutions on protein stability and folding in a manner that was consistent with experimental results. Furthermore, extended versions of the WSME model were applied to predict the folding mechanisms of multi-domain proteins and the conformational changes associated with protein function. Thus, the WSME model may contribute significantly to solving the protein-folding problem and is expected to be useful for predicting protein folding, stability, and dynamics in basic research and in industrial and medical applications.     

基于序列特征筛选与支持向量回归预测蛋白质折叠速率

折叠速率预测对阐明蛋白质折叠机理意义重大.本文收集了115条目前已知折叠速率的蛋白质样本(包括二态、多态和混态蛋白),为了较全面地表征蛋白质分子的一级结构信息,提取序列长度、氨基酸残基多尺度组分、成对残基k-space特征与基于残基物理化学性质的地统计学关联总共9357维特征.经改进的二元矩阵重排过滤器和多轮末尾淘汰非线性筛选,获得23个物理化学意义明确的保留特征,建立的非线性支持向量回归模型Jackknife交叉验证的相关系数R=0.95,优于文献报道及其他参比特征选择方法.支持向量回归解释体系表明折叠速率与保留描述符的非线性回归极显著,分析了各保留描述符对折叠速率的影响,结果表明蛋白质折叠速率与序列长度、中短程关联特征、三联体残基组份特征等密切相关.     

The Construction of New Proteins and Enzymes-a Prospect for the Future?

Only a vanishingly small proportion of the almost infinite number of possible proteins occur in nature. Can this remaining potential of structural and functional diversity be used in the construction of new proteins? Is a “second evolution” of proteins and enzymes about to occur? These questions have suddenly become of interest because the recombinant DNA technique allows the synthesis of any given amino acid sequence. Examples of enzyme models demonstrate clearly that the unusual catalytic properties of enzymes are associated with the presence of a specifically folded polypeptide chain which has a complex three-dimensional form. The critical hurdle in the path of artificial proteins is thus the design of amino acid sequences which are able to fold into tertiary structures. — Recent studies on the topology and the mechanism of folding have provided considerable insight into the occurrence of, and the rules governing the three-dimensional architecture of proteins. Secondary structures apparently play a key role in the folding process; helices and “β-structures” act as nucleation centers directing folding and account for the surprisingly small number of different folding topologies. The problem of secondary structure formation can be investigated directly by means of conformational studies on model peptides. Oligopeptides with tailormade physicochemical, structural and conformational properties can already be designed. The theoretical and experimental basis for the construction of polypeptides with stable tertiary structures is therefore established. The path to macromolecules with an immense variety of novel properties lays before us.     

An Off‐Pathway Folding Intermediate of an Acyl Carrier Protein Domain Coexists with the Folded and Unfolded States under Native Conditions

A protein can exist in multiple states under native conditions and those states with low populations are often critical to biological function and self‐assembly. To investigate the role of the minor states of an acyl carrier protein, NMR techniques were applied to determine the number of minor states and characterize their structures and kinetics. The acyl carrier protein from Micromonospora echinospora was found to exist in one major folded state (95.2 %), one unfolded state (4.1 %), and one intermediate state (0.7 %) under native conditions. The three states are in dynamic equilibrium and the intermediate state very likely adopts a native‐like structure and is an off‐pathway folding product. The intermediate state may mediate the formation of oligomers in vitro and play an important role in the recognition of partner enzymes in vivo.     

The Thermodynamics of Folding of a β Hairpin Peptide Probed Through Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Peptides that possess a well defined native state are ideal model systems to study the folding of proteins. They possess many of the complexities of larger proteins, yet their small size renders their study computationally tractable. Recent advances in sampling techniques, including replica exchange molecular dynamics, now permit a full characterization of the thermodynamics of folding of small peptides. These simulations not only yield insight into the folding of larger proteins, but equally importantly, they allow, through comparison with experiment, an objective test of the accuracy of force fields, water models and of different numerical schemes for dealing with electrostatic interactions. In this account, we present a molecular dynamics simulation of a small β-hairpin peptide using the replica exchange algorithm and illustrate how this enhanced sampling scheme enables a thorough characterization of the native and unfolded states, and sheds new light into its folding mechanism.     

A Chemical Approach to Protein Design—Template-Assembled Synthetic Proteins (TASP)

Advances in methodology in both chemistry and molecular biology allow us to take a fresh look at protein science. Chemical synthesis of peptides and site-directed mutagenesis are now standard research tools, paving the way for the construction of new proteins with tailor-made structural and functional properties. The decisive hurdle on the way lies not in the synthesis of the molecules proper but rather in a better understanding of the complex folding pathways of polypeptide chains into spatially well-defined structures. Can the chemist use his synthetic tools to bypass the notorious “folding problem?” In this article, we present a new approach developed in our laboratory, which opens a chemical route to artificial proteins with predetermined three-dimensional structures, allowing a first step towards the synthesis of new proteins with functional properties.     

Use of Molecular‐Dynamics Simulation for Optimizing Protein Stability: Consensus‐Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins

In earlier work, two highly homologous (87% sequence identity) ankyrin repeat (AR) proteins, E3_5 and E3_19, were studied using molecular‐dynamics (MD) simulation. Their stabilities were compared, and it was found that the C‐terminal capping unit is unstable in the protein E3_19, in agreement with CD experiments. The different stabilities of these two very similar proteins could be explained by the different charge distributions among the AR units of the two proteins. Here, another AR protein, N3C, with yet another charge distribution has been simulated using MD, and its stability was analyzed. In agreement with the experimental data, the structure of N3C was found to be less stable than that of E3_5, but, in contrast to E3_19, secondary structure was only slightly lost, while structurally N3C is closer to E3_19 than to E3_5. The results suggest that a homogeneous charge distribution over the repeat units does enhance the stability of design AR proteins in aqueous solution, which, however, may be modulated by the bulkiness of amino‐acid side chains involved in the mutations.