Asymmetric MRI magnet design using a hybrid numerical method

Two-dimensional 1H/13C polarization inversion spin exchange at the magic angle experiments were applied to single crystal samples of amino acids to demonstrate their potential utility on oriented samples of peptides and proteins. High resolution is achieved and structural information obtained on backbone and side chain sites from these spectra. A triple-resonance experiment that correlates the 1H-13Calpha dipolar coupling frequency with the chemical shift frequencies of the alpha-carbon, as well as the directly bonded amide 15N site, is also demonstrated. In this experiment the large 1H-13Calpha heteronuclear dipolar interaction provides an independent frequency dimension that significantly improves the resolution among overlapping 13C resonances of oriented polypeptides, while simultaneously providing measurements of the 13Calpha chemical shift, 1H-13C dipolar coupling, and 15N chemical shift frequencies and angular restraints for backbone structure determination.     

Two- and Three-Dimensional H/C PISEMA Experiments and Their Application to Backbone and Side Chain Sites of Amino Acids and Peptides

Two-dimensional ¹H/¹³C polarization inversion spin exchange at the magic angle experiments were applied to single crystal samples of amino acids to demonstrate their potential utility on oriented samples of peptides and proteins. High resolution is achieved and structural information obtained on backbone and side chain sites from these spectra. A triple-resonance experiment that correlates the ¹H–¹³C_α dipolar coupling frequency with the chemical shift frequencies of the α-carbon, as well as the directly bonded amide ¹⁵N site, is also demonstrated. In this experiment the large ¹H–¹³C_α heteronuclear dipolar interaction provides an independent frequency dimension that significantly improves the resolution among overlapping ¹³C resonances of oriented polypeptides, while simultaneously providing measurements of the ¹³C_α chemical shift, ¹H–¹³C dipolar coupling, and ¹⁵N chemical shift frequencies and angular restraints for backbone structure determination.     

1H,13C and15N resonance assignment for barnase

The nearly complete assignment of¹H,¹³C and¹⁵N resonances for bacterial ribonuclease barnase produced byBacillus amyloliquefaciens was obtained by standard methods of heteronuclear triple-resonance nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Analysis of the secondary chemical shifts of the backbone¹H^α,¹³C^α and¹³CO nuclei reveal their strong correlation with the protein secondary structure.     

The roles of homonuclear line narrowing and the1H amide chemical shift tensor in structure determination of proteins by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

The seminal contributions of Ulrich Haeberlen to homonuclear line narrowing and the determination of¹H chemical shift tensors are crucial for protein structure determination by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The¹H chemical shift is particularly important in spectra obtained on oriented samples of membrane proteins as a mechanism for providing dispersion among resonances that are not resolved with the¹H-¹⁵N dipolar coupling and¹⁵N chemical shift frequencies. This is demonstrated with three-dimensional experiments on uniformly¹⁵N-labeled samples of Magainin antibiotic peptide and the protein Vpu from HIV-1 in oriented lipid bilayers. These experiments enable resonances in two-dimensional¹H-¹⁵N dipolar coupling/¹⁵N chemical shift planes separated by¹H chemical shift frequencies to be resolved and analyzed. These three-dimensional spectra are compared to one-dimensional spectra of full-length Vpu, the cytoplasmic domain of Vpu, and Magainin, as well as to two-dimensional spectra of fd coat protein and Colicin El polypeptide. The¹H amide chemical shift tensor provides valuable structural information, and this is demonstrated with its contributions to orientational restrictions to one of the in-plane helical residues of Magainin.     

3D HCCH3-TOCSY for Resonance Assignment of Methyl-Containing Side Chains in C-Labeled Proteins

Two 3D experiments, (H)CCH₃-TOCSY and H(C)CH₃-TOCSY, are proposed for resonance assignment of methyl-containing amino acid side chains. After the initial proton–carbon INEPT step, during which either carbon or proton chemical shift labeling is achieved (t₁), the magnetization is spread along the amino acid side chains by a carbon spin lock. The chemical shifts of methyl carbons are labeled (t₂) during the following constant time interval. Finally the magnetization is transferred, in a reversed INEPT step, to methyl protons for detection (t₃). The proposed experiments are characterized by high digital resolution in the methyl carbon dimension (t_2max = 28.6 ms), optimum sensitivity due to the use of proton decoupling during the long constant time interval, and an optional removal of CH₂, or CH₂ and CH, resonances from the F₂F₃ planes. The building blocks used in these experiments can be implemented in a range of heteronuclear experiments focusing on methyl resonances in proteins. The techniques are illustrated using a ¹⁵N, ¹³C-labeled E93D mutant of Schizosacharomyces pombe phosphoglycerate mutase (23.7 kDa).     

Resonance assignment of<Superscript>13</Superscript>C−<Superscript>15</Superscript>N-labeled snake neurotoxin II from<Emphasis Type="Italic">Naja oxiana</Emphasis>

Neurotoxin II fromNaja oxiana venom is a short-chain snake curaremimetic neurotoxin containing four disulfide bonds. We obtained¹³C-¹⁵N-labeled neurotoxin II to study its internal dynamics and surface properties with atomic resolution. The recombinant protein has the native spatial structure and is biologically active. The nearly complete assignment of¹H,¹³C and¹⁵N resonances for neurotoxin II was obtained by heteronuclear triple-resonance nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Analysis of the secondary chemical shifts of the¹H^α,¹³C^α,¹³C^β and¹³CO nuclei reveal their strong correlation with the protein secondary structure.     

Sparsely sampled high-resolution 4-D experiments for efficient backbone resonance assignment of disordered proteins

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) play important roles in many critical cellular processes. Due to their limited chemical shift dispersion, IDPs often require four pairs of resonance connectivities (H(α), C(α), C(β) and CO) for establishing sequential backbone assignment. Because most conventional 4-D triple-resonance experiments share an overlapping C(α) evolution period, combining existing 4-D experiments does not offer an optimal solution for non-redundant collection of a complete set of backbone resonances. Using alternative chemical shift evolution schemes, we propose a new pair of 4-D triple-resonance experiments--HA(CA)CO(CA)NH/HA(CA)CONH--that complement the 4-D HNCACB/HN(CO)CACB experiments to provide complete backbone resonance information. Collection of high-resolution 4-D spectra with sparse sampling and FFT-CLEAN processing enables efficient acquisition and assignment of complete backbone resonances of IDPs. Importantly, because the CLEAN procedure iteratively identifies resonance signals and removes their associating aliasing artifacts, it greatly reduces the dependence of the reconstruction quality on sampling schemes and produces high-quality spectra even with less-than-optimal sampling schemes.     

Unambiguous Correlations of Backbone Amide and Aliphatic Gamma Resonances in Deuterated Proteins

Two 3D NMR pulse sequences that correlate aliphatic gamma carbon resonance frequencies to amide proton and nitrogen chemical shifts in perdeuterated proteins are presented. The HN(COCACB)CG provides only interresidue connectivities (NH_(i)and C_γ(i-1)) while the HN(CACB)CG detects both the inter- and intraresidue (NH_(i)and C_γ(i)or C_γ(i−1)) correlations. These two experiments are useful for sequential assignments and the identification of residue type from the C_γshifts. Spectra acquired on a perdeuterated 53-kDa protein illustrate the sensitivity and utility of these experiments.     

Nitrogen-15 NMR spectroscopy of proteins in solution

Experimental results from ¹⁵N NMR studies of selectively and uniformly labeled proteins with molecular weights ranging between 6000 and 155,000 Da in solution are described. These results demonstrate the resolution available in one- and two-dimensional ¹⁵N NMR spectra as well as the selection of particular ¹⁵N and ¹H resonances on the basis of the type of amino acid residue, the number of hydrogens bonded to a nitrogen, local dynamics, and amide hydrogen exchange kinetics.     

New Multidimensional Editing Experiments for Measurement of Amide Deuterium Isotope Effects on CChemical Shifts inC,N-Labeled Proteins

Novel multidimensional NMR pulse sequences for measurement of the three- and four-bond amide deuterium isotope effect on the chemical shifts of¹³C^βin proteins are presented. The sequences result in editing into two subspectra of a heteronuclear triple resonance spectrum {ω(N), ω(C^β), ω(H^α)} according to there being a deuterium or a proton attached to¹⁵N for the pertinent correlations. The new experiments are demonstrated by an application to the first module of the¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled protein RAP 18-112 (N-terminal module of α₂-macroglobulin receptor associated protein).     

Selective Correlation of Amide Groups to Glycine Alpha Protons and of Arginine Guanidine Groups to Delta Protons in Proteins by Multiple Quantum Spectroscopy

A new 3D pulse sequence correlates backbone amide proton and nitrogen with alpha proton resonances selectively for glycine residues in a fully doubly labeled (¹⁵N,¹³C) protein. The excitation of multiple quantum coherences provides optimized resolution and sensitivity. Degenerate alpha proton groups can be promptly recognized. Correlation of guanidine NH groups to delta protons of arginine side chains is also obtained.     

Improved Resolution from Double Constant-Time Evolution of 3D and 4D Triple-Resonance Experiments

Triple-resonance NMR experiments are nearly essential for performing backbone assignments of proteins larger than 15 kDa. Our work extends the double constant-time (2CT) evolution scheme to triple-resonance 3D and 4D experiments. The modifications needed to accomplish 2CT evolution in triple resonance experiments are straight forward, are completely general, and consequently, will yield increased resolution for all out-and-back experiments. We expect that the increased resolution of experiments presented here will be useful in the study of larger proteins (>30 kDa) and in the study of highly helical proteins where¹HN,¹⁵N, and¹³C dimensions are poorly dispersed.     

Three-Dimensional C Shift/H–N Coupling/N Shift Solid-State NMR Correlation Spectroscopy

Triple-resonance experiments capable of correlating directly bonded and proximate carbon and nitrogen backbone sites of uniformly ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labeled peptides in stationary oriented samples are described. The pulse sequences integrate cross-polarization from ¹H to ¹³C and from ¹³C to ¹⁵N with flip-flop (phase and frequency switched) Lee–Goldburg irradiation for both ¹³C homonuclear decoupling and ¹H–¹⁵N spin exchange at the magic angle. Because heteronuclear decoupling is applied throughout, the three-dimensional pulse sequence yields ¹³C shift/¹H–¹⁵N coupling/¹⁵N shift correlation spectra with single-line resonances in all three frequency dimensions. Not only do the three-dimensional spectra correlate ¹³C and ¹⁵N resonances, they are well resolved due to the three independent frequency dimensions, and they can provide up to four orientationally dependent frequencies as input for structure determination. These experiments have the potential to make sequential backbone resonance assignments in uniformly ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labeled proteins.     

Triple resonance solid state NMR experiments with reduced dimensionality evolution periods

Two solid state NMR triple resonance experiments which utilize the simultaneous incrementation of two chemical shift evolution periods to obtain a spectrum with reduced dimensionality are described. The CO N CA experiment establishes the correlation of (13)C(i-1) to (13)C alpha(i) and (15)N(i) by simultaneously encoding the (13)CO(i-1) and (15)N(i) chemical shifts. The CA N COCA experiment establishes the correlation (13)Ca(i) and (15)CO(i) to (13)C alpha(i-1) and (15)N(i-1) within a single experiment by simultaneous encoding of the (13)C alpha(i) and (15)N(i) chemical shifts. This experiment establishes sequential amino acid correlations in close analogy to the solution state HNCA experiment. Reduced dimensionality 2D experiments are a practical alternative to recording multiple 3D data sets for the purpose of obtaining sequence-specific resonance assignments of peptides and proteins in the solid state.     

3D HCCH(3)-TOCSY for resonance assignment of methyl-containing side chains in (13)C-labeled proteins

Two 3D experiments, (H)CCH(3)-TOCSY and H(C)CH(3)-TOCSY, are proposed for resonance assignment of methyl-containing amino acid side chains. After the initial proton-carbon INEPT step, during which either carbon or proton chemical shift labeling is achieved (t(1)), the magnetization is spread along the amino acid side chains by a carbon spin lock. The chemical shifts of methyl carbons are labeled (t(2)) during the following constant time interval. Finally the magnetization is transferred, in a reversed INEPT step, to methyl protons for detection (t(3)). The proposed experiments are characterized by high digital resolution in the methyl carbon dimension (t(2max) = 28.6 ms), optimum sensitivity due to the use of proton decoupling during the long constant time interval, and an optional removal of CH(2), or CH(2) and CH, resonances from the F(2)F(3) planes. The building blocks used in these experiments can be implemented in a range of heteronuclear experiments focusing on methyl resonances in proteins. The techniques are illustrated using a (15)N, (13)C-labeled E93D mutant of Schizosacharomyces pombe phosphoglycerate mutase (23.7 kDa).     

HCCCH Experiment for Through-Bond Correlation of Thymine Resonances inC-Labeled DNA Oligonucleotides

Application of heteronuclear magnetic resonance pulse methods to¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled nucleic acids is important for the accurate structure determination of larger RNA and DNA oligonucleotides and protein–nucleic acid complexes. These methods have been applied primarily to RNA, due to the availability of labeled samples. The two major differences between DNA and RNA are at the C2′ of the ribose and deoxyribose and the additional methyl group on thymine versus uracil. We have enzymatically synthesized a¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled 32 base DNA oligonucleotide that folds to form an intramolecular triplex. We present two- and three-dimensional versions of a new HCCCH–TOCSY experiment that provides intraresidue correlation between the thymine H6 and methyl resonances via the intervening carbons (H6–C6–C5–Cme–Hme).     

Triple resonance experiments for aligned sample solid-state NMR of (13)C and (15)N labeled proteins

Initial steps in the development of a suite of triple-resonance (1)H/(13)C/(15)N solid-state NMR experiments applicable to aligned samples of (13)C and (15)N labeled proteins are described. The experiments take advantage of the opportunities for (13)C detection without the need for homonuclear (13)C/(13)C decoupling presented by samples with two different patterns of isotopic labeling. In one type of sample, the proteins are approximately 20% randomly labeled with (13)C in all backbone and side chain carbon sites and approximately 100% uniformly (15)N labeled in all nitrogen sites; in the second type of sample, the peptides and proteins are (13)C labeled at only the alpha-carbon and (15)N labeled at the amide nitrogen of a few residues. The requirement for homonuclear (13)C/(13)C decoupling while detecting (13)C signals is avoided in the first case because of the low probability of any two (13)C nuclei being bonded to each other; in the second case, the labeled (13)C(alpha) sites are separated by at least three bonds in the polypeptide chain. The experiments enable the measurement of the (13)C chemical shift and (1)H-(13)C and (15)N-(13)C heteronuclear dipolar coupling frequencies associated with the (13)C(alpha) and (13)C' backbone sites, which provide orientation constraints complementary to those derived from the (15)N labeled amide backbone sites. (13)C/(13)C spin-exchange experiments identify proximate carbon sites. The ability to measure (13)C-(15)N dipolar coupling frequencies and correlate (13)C and (15)N resonances provides a mechanism for making backbone resonance assignments. Three-dimensional combinations of these experiments ensure that the resolution, assignment, and measurement of orientationally dependent frequencies can be extended to larger proteins. Moreover, measurements of the (13)C chemical shift and (1)H-(13)C heteronuclear dipolar coupling frequencies for nearly all side chain sites enable the complete three-dimensional structures of proteins to be determined with this approach.     

High-throughput backbone resonance assignment of small 13C,15N-labeled proteins by a triple-resonance experiment with four sequential connectivity pathways using chemical shift-dependent, apparent 1J(1H,13C): HNCACBcodedHAHB

The proposed three-dimensional triple-resonance experiment HNCACBcodedHAHB correlates sequential 15N, 1H moieties via the chemical shifts of 13Calpha, 13Cbeta, 1Halpha, and 1Hbeta. The four sequential correlation pathways are achieved by the incorporation of the concept of chemical shift-coding [J. Biomol. NMR 25 (2003) 281] to the TROSY-HNCACB experiment. The monitored 1Halpha and 1Hbeta chemical shifts are then coded in the line shape of the cross-peaks of 13Calpha, 13Cbeta along the 13C dimension through an apparent residual scalar coupling, the size of which depends on the attached hydrogen chemical shift. The information of four sequential correlation pathways enables a rapid backbone assignment. The HNCACBcodedHAHB experiment was applied to approximately 85% labeled 13C,15N-labeled amino-terminal fragment of Vaccinia virus DNA topoisomerase I comprising residues 1-77. After one day of measurement on a Bruker Avance 700 MHz spectrometer and 8 h of manual analysis of the spectrum 93% of the backbone assignment was achieved.     

MUSIC and Aromatic Residues: Amino Acid Type-Selective H–N Correlations, III

Amino acid type-selective experiments can help to remove ambiguities in automated assignment procedures for ¹⁵N/¹³C-labeled proteins. Here we present five triple-resonance experiments that yield amino acid type-selective ¹H–¹⁵N correlations for aromatic amino acids. Four of the novel experiments are based on the MUSIC coherence transfer scheme that replaces the initial INEPT transfer and is selective for CH₂. The MUSIC sequence is combined with selective excitation pulses to create experiments for Trp (W-HSQC) as well as Phe, Tyr, and His (FYH-HSQC). In addition, an experiment selective for Trp H¹–N¹ is presented. The new experiments are recorded as two-dimensional experiments and their performance is demonstrated with the application to a protein domain of 115 amino acids.     

A solid-state NMR application of the anomeric effect in carbohydrates: galactosamine, glucosamine, and N-acetyl-glucosamine

Simple 2D 13C/15N heteronuclear correlation solid-state NMR spectroscopy was implemented to resolve the 15N resonances of the alpha and beta anomers of three amino monosaccharides: galactosamine (GalN), glucosamine hydrochloride (GlcN), and N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc) labeled specifically with 13C1/15N spin pairs. Although the 15N resonances could not be distinguished in normal 1D spectra, they were well resolved in 2D double CP/MAS correlation spectra by taking advantage of the 13C spectral resolution. The alpha and beta resonances shifted apart by 3-5 ppm in their 13C chemical shifts, and differed by 1-2 ppm in the extended 15N dimension. Aside from this, the detection of other 13C/15N correlations over short distances was also achieved arising from the C2, C3 and CO carbons present in natural abundance. 2D double CP/MAS chemical shift correlation NMR spectroscopy is a simple and powerful technique to characterize the anomeric effect of amino monosaccharides. Applications of the 2D method reveal well-resolved 15N and 13C chemical shifts might be useful for structural determination on carbohydrates of biological significance, such as glycopeptide or glycolipids.