Domain swapping proceeds via complete unfolding: a 19F- and 1H-NMR study of the Cyanovirin-N protein

Domain swapping creates protein oligomers by exchange of structural units between identical monomers. At present, no unifying molecular mechanism of domain swapping has emerged. Here we used the protein Cyanovirin-N (CV-N) and (19)F-NMR to investigate the process of domain swapping. CV-N is an HIV inactivating protein that can exist as a monomer or a domain-swapped dimer. We measured thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the conversion process and determined the size of the energy barrier between the two species. The barrier is very large and of similar magnitude to that for equilibrium unfolding of the protein. Therefore, for CV-N, overall unfolding of the polypeptide is required for domain swapping.     

Thermodynamic Control of Domain Swapping by Modulating the Helical Propensity in the Hinge Region of Myoglobin

Domain swapping is an exception to Anfinsen's dogma, and more than one structure can be produced from the same amino acid sequence by domain swapping. We have previously shown that myoglobin (Mb) can form a domain‐swapped dimer in which the hinge region is converted to a helical structure. In this study, we showed that domain‐swapped dimerization of Mb was achieved by a single Ala mutation of Gly at position 80. Multiple Ala mutations at positions 81 and 82 in addition to position 80 facilitated dimerization of Mb by stabilization of the dimeric states. Domain swapping tendencies correlated well with the helical propensity of the mutated residue in a series of Mb mutants with amino acids introduced to the hinge region. These findings demonstrate that a single mutation in the hinge loop to modify helical propensity can control oligomer formation, providing new ideas to create high‐order protein oligomers using domain swapping.     

Domains in bovine seminal ribonuclease

Bovine seminal ribonuclease is the only pancreatic-type ribonuclease to possess a dimeric structure: the two identical subunits are covalently linked by two disulfide bridges. Actually, the protein exists in two different dimeric structures owing to the possibility of swapping the N-terminal α-helical segments: the swapped MxM dimer, and the non-swapped M=M dimer. The thermal denaturation of the two separated forms is investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. The process is reversible and can be represented by two sequential two-state transitions, indicating the presence of two domains in BS-RNase, regardless of the swapping phenomenon. Inspection of the structural models leads to the tentative identification of an external domain and a core domain, the latter more stable.     

Structural and oxygen binding properties of dimeric horse myoglobin

Myoglobin (Mb) stores dioxygen in muscles, and is a fundamental model protein widely used in molecular design. The presence of dimeric Mb has been known for more than forty years, but its structural and oxygen binding properties remain unknown. From an X-ray crystallographic analysis at 1.05 ? resolution, we found that dimeric metMb exhibits a domain-swapped structure with two extended α-helices. Each new long α-helix is formed by the E and F helices and the EF-loop of the original monomer, and as a result the proximal and distal histidines of the heme originate from different protomers. The heme orientation in the dimer was in the normal mode as in the monomer, but regulated faster from the reverse to normal orientation. The dimer possessed the oxygen binding property, although it exhibited a slightly higher oxygen binding affinity (～1.4 fold) compared to the monomer and showed no cooperativity for oxygen binding. The oxygen binding rate constant (k(on)) of the dimer ((14.0 ± 0.7) × 10(6) M(-1) s(-1)) was similar to that of the monomer, whereas the oxygen dissociation rate constant (k(off)) of the dimer (8 ± 1 s(-1)) was smaller than that of the monomer (12 ± 1 s(-1)). We attribute the similar k(on) values to their active site structures being similar, whereas the faster regulation of the heme orientation and the smaller k(off) in the dimer are presumably due to the slight change in the active site structure and/or more rigid structure compared to the monomer. These results show that domain swapping may be a new tool for protein engineering.     

Rational Design of Heterodimeric Protein using Domain Swapping for Myoglobin

Protein design is a useful method to create novel artificial proteins. A rational approach to design a heterodimeric protein using domain swapping for horse myoglobin (Mb) was developed. As confirmed by X‐ray crystallographic analysis, a heterodimeric Mb with two different active sites was produced efficiently from two surface mutants of Mb, in which the charges of two amino acids involved in the dimer salt bridges were reversed in each mutant individually, with the active site of one mutant modified. This study shows that the method of constructing heterodimeric Mb with domain swapping is useful for designing artificial multiheme proteins.     

基于凝胶过滤色谱的β2微球蛋白标准品单体定量检测方法

β2微球蛋白（B2M）标准品是研究透析相关淀粉样变和评估血液透析器透过效率的重要试剂。B2M易于聚集的特性导致其作为标准品的单体浓度降低,使得检测结果准确性下降。为了准确评价B2M标准品的质量,该研究建立了基于凝胶过滤色谱的B2M样品中非聚集单体的定量检测方法。使用TSKgel SuperSW2000（30 cm×4.6 mm,4 μm）凝胶筛分色谱柱,流动相为0.01 mol/L磷酸盐缓冲液（PBS,pH 7.2~7.4）,流速为0.5 mL/min,柱温为25℃。使用紫外检测器,检测波长为280 nm,外标法定量。在0.05~0.50 g/L的B2M单体质量浓度范围内线性良好,相关系数为0.9948。定量限（信噪比为10）为0.08 g/L,添加水平为0.10~0.30 g/L时,回收率为85.0%~96.7%,相对标准偏差为1.7%~3.3%。使用该方法对实验室自制重组人B2M标准品进行了质量检测,结果显示,该方法处理简单,准确度高,稳定性好,且不受溶液中B2M二聚体的干扰,适用于B2M标准品的质量分析。     

An oligopeptide containing the C-terminal sequence of RNase a has a potent RNase a binding property

We demonstrate that an oligopeptide containing the C-terminal sequence of RNase A binds to RNase A in a stoichiometric and site-specific manner. Our observations are consistent with the interaction found in the major domain-swapped RNase A dimer, so that the peptide binding may be promoted through the swapping with the C-terminal beta-sheet of RNase A. Because the design of a protein-binding peptide is much simpler than other methods such as the combinatorial method, we propose that investigation using an oligopeptide may be of general application to domain swapping in proteins as well as for the development of an oligopeptide tool that specifically binds to a target protein.     

Development of a fluorescent microplate assay for determining cyanovirin-N levels in plasma

A sensitive immunosorbent competition assay was developed for quantitation of the anti-HIV protein cyanovirin-N (CV-N) in plasma using a 96-well plate format and a fluorescent endpoint. The assay is based on the binding of CV-N in plasma to plate-bound anti-CV-N antibodies, followed by removal of the plasma and addition of europium-labeled CV-N (Eu³⁺-CV-N) to compete for the remaining antibody sites. Detection by addition of a dissociative fluorescence enhancement solution and time-resolved fluorescence measurements allowed correlation to the concentration of the native CV-N in plasma. A linear detection range of 1–100 nM (r²>0.99) was obtained for CV-N in mouse plasma. This assay was then utilized for analysis of plasma levels of CV-N samples following subcutaneous injection of CV-N into mice. The results of these studies confirmed the reliability and sensitivity of this assay and the feasibility of its use for pharmacokinetic studies in a variety of species.     

O-atom effect on the dynamic balance between redox-induced viologen derivative radical and its dimer modulated by cucurbit[8]uril

A series of viologen derivatives were synthesised, which can form stable 1:1 inclusion complexes with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) in aqueous solution. The one-electron-reduced viologen radical cations and its dimerisation encapsulated into CB[8] were studied spectroscopically. The monomer–dimer dynamic balance would exist in the molecules containing O-atom, while the molecules without O-atom retain the form of radical monomer in CB[8] cavity. The result demonstrated that the dynamic balance of radical monomer and dimer of these complexes can be modulated by CB[8].     

Protein reconstitution and 3D domain swapping

The native structures of proteins are governed by a large number of non-covalent interactions yielding a high specificity for the native packing of structural elements. This allows for the reconstitution of proteins from disconnected polypeptide fragments. The specificity for the native arrangement also enables interchange of structural elements with another identical protein chain resulting in dimers with swapped segments. Proteins are not static structures, but open up repetitively on a timescale of minutes to years depending on the identity of the protein and solution conditions. The open protein may self-close and return to the native state, or it may close with another polypeptide chain leading to 3D domain swapping. The term describes two or more protein molecules swapping identical domains or smaller secondary structure elements. The non-covalent intra-molecular interactions between domains in the monomer are thus broken and restored in the oligomer by identical inter-molecular contacts. This review will discuss 3D domain swapping in relation to protein reconstitution and fibril formation. Examples of reconstituted and domain-swapped proteins will be given. The physiological benefits of 3D domain swapping will be discussed, as well as its role in the evolution of proteins and pathology.     

Thermodynamics and kinetics of aggregation for the GNNQQNY peptide

The energy landscape of the monomer and dimer are explored for the amyloidogenic heptapeptide GNNQQNY from the N-terminal prion-determining domain of the yeast protein Sup35. The peptide is modeled by a united-atom potential and an implicit solvent representation. Replica exchange molecular dynamics is used to explore the conformational space, and discrete path sampling is employed to investigate the pathways that interconvert the most populated minima on the free energy surfaces. For the monomer, we find a rapid fluctuation between four different conformations, where a geometry intermediate between compact and extended structures is the most thermodynamically favorable. The GNNQQNY dimer forms three stable sheet structures, namely in-register parallel, off-register parallel, and antiparallel. The antiparallel dimer is stabilized by strong electrostatic interactions resulting from interpeptide hydrogen bonds, which restrict its conformational flexibility. The in-register parallel dimer, which is close to the amyloid beta-sheet structure, has fewer interpeptide hydrogen bonds, making hydrophobic interactions more important and increasing the conformational entropy compared to the antiparallel sheet. The estimated two-state rate constants indicate that the formation of dimers from monomers is fast and that the dimers are kinetically stable against dissociation at room temperature. Interconversions between the different dimers are feasible processes and are more likely than dissociation.     

Probing pH-dependent dissociation of HdeA dimers

HdeA protein is a small, ATP-independent, acid stress chaperone that undergoes a dimer-to-monomer transition in acidic environments. The HdeA monomer binds a broad range of proteins to prevent their acid-induced aggregation. To understand better HdeA's function and mechanism, we perform constant-pH molecular dynamics simulations (CPHMD) to elucidate the details of the HdeA dimer dissociation process. First the pK(a) values of all the acidic titratable groups in HdeA are obtained and reveal a large pK(a) shift only for Glu(37). However, the pH-dependent monomer charge exhibits a large shift from -4 at pH > 6 to +6 at pH = 2.5, suggesting that the dramatic change in charge on each monomer may drive dissociation. By combining the CPHMD approach with umbrella sampling, we demonstrate a significant stability decrease of the HdeA dimer when the environmental pH changes from 4.0 to 3.5 and identify the key acidic residue-lysine interactions responsible for the observed pH sensing in HdeA chaperon activity function.     

PHOTO-CIDNP STUDY OF PYRIMIDINE DIMER SPLITTING II: REACTIONS INVOLVING PYRIMIDINE RADICAL ANION INTERMEDIATES

A series of photo-CIDNP (chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization) experiments were performed on pyrimidine monomers and dimers, using the electron-donor Nα-acetyltryptophan (AcTrp) as a photosensitizer. The CIDNP spectra give evidence for the existence of both the dimer radical anion, which is formed by electron transfer from the excited AcTrp* to the dimer, and its dissociation product, the monomer radical anion. The AcTrp spectra are completely different from those obtained with an oxidizing sensitizer like anthraquinone-2-sulfonate, because of different unpaired electron spin density distributions in pyrimidine radical anion and cation. In the spectra of the anti (1,3-dimethyluracil) dimers, polarization is detected that originates from a spin-sorting process in the dimer radical pair, pointing to a relatively long lifetime of the dimer radical anions involved. Although the dimer radical anions of the 1,1′-trimethylene-bridged pyrimidines may have a relatively long lifetime as well, their protons have only very weak hyperfine interaction, which explains why no polarization originating from the dimer radical pair is detected. In the spectra of the bridged pyrimidines, polarized dimer protons are observed as a result of spin sorting in the monomer radical pair, from which it follows that the dissociation of dimer radical anion into monomer radical anion is reversible. A study of CIDNP intensities as a function of pH shows that a pH between 3 and 4 is optimal for observing monomer polarization that originates from spin-sorting in the monomer radical pair. At higher pH the geminate recombination polarization is partly cancelled by escape polarization arising in the same product.     

Domain-swapped cytochrome cb 562 dimer and its nanocage encapsulating a Zn–SO4 cluster in the internal cavity

Protein nanostructures have been gaining in interest, along with developments in new methods for construction of novel nanostructures. We have previously shown that c-type cytochromes and myoglobin form oligomers by domain swapping. Herein, we show that a four-helix bundle protein cyt cb ₅₆₂, with the cyt b ₅₆₂ heme attached to the protein moiety by two Cys residues insertion, forms a domain-swapped dimer. Dimeric cyt cb ₅₆₂ did not dissociate to monomers at 4 °C, whereas dimeric cyt b ₅₆₂ dissociated under the same conditions, showing that heme attachment to the protein moiety stabilizes the domain-swapped structure. According to X-ray crystallographic analysis of dimeric cyt cb ₅₆₂, the two helices in the N-terminal region of one protomer interacted with the other two helices in the C-terminal region of the other protomer, where Lys51–Asp54 served as a hinge loop. The heme coordination structure of the dimer was similar to that of the monomer. In the crystal, three domain-swapped cyt cb ₅₆₂ dimers formed a unique cage structure with a Zn–SO₄ cluster inside the cavity. The Zn–SO₄ cluster consisted of fifteen Zn²⁺ and seven SO₄ ^2– ions, whereas six additional Zn²⁺ ions were detected inside the cavity. The cage structure was stabilized by coordination of the amino acid side chains of the dimers to the Zn²⁺ ions and connection of two four-helix bundle units through the conformation-adjustable hinge loop. These results show that domain swapping can be applied in the construction of unique protein nanostructures.     

Mechanical unfolding of segment-swapped protein G dimer: results from replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations

The protein G dimer (pdb code 1Q10) is a mutated dimeric form of the immunoglobulin-binding domain B1 of streptococcal protein G, in which the two monomeric units have swapped elements of their secondary structure. We have used replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations to study how this dimer responds to a mechanical force that pulls the N-terminus of one unit and the C-terminus of the other apart. We have further compared the mechanical response of the dimer to that of the protein G monomer. When the pulling force is low enough, the mechanical unfolding can be viewed as a thermally activated barrier crossing process. For each protein, we have computed the corresponding free energy barrier and its dependence on the pulling force. While the dimer is found to be less resistant to mechanical unfolding than its monomeric counterpart, the two proteins exhibit essentially the same mechanical unfolding mechanism involving separation of the terminal parallel strands. On the basis of our results, we speculate that the mechanical properties of natural adhesives, composites, fibers, and other materials may be optimized not only at a single molecule level but also at the mesoscopic level through the interactions among individual chains.     

Effect of pH on one-electron oxidation chemistry of organoselenium compounds in aqueous solutions

Pulse radiolysis coupled with absorption detection has been employed to study one-electron oxidation of selenomethionine (SeM), selenocystine (SeCys), methyl selenocysteine (MeSeCys), and selenourea (SeU) in aqueous solutions. Hydroxyl radicals (*OH) in the pH range from 1 to 7 and specific one-electron oxidants Cl2*- (pH 1) and Br2*- (pH 7) have been used to carry out the oxidation reactions. The bimolecular rate constants for these reactions were reported to be in the range of 2 x 10(9) to 10 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). Reactions of oxidizing radicals with all these compounds produced selenium-centered radical cations. The structure and stability of the radical cation were found to depend mainly on the substituent and pH. SeM, at pH 7, produced a monomer radical cation (lambdamax approximately 380 nm), while at pH 1, a dimer radical cation was formed by the interaction between oxidized and parent SeM (lambdamax approximately 480 nm). Similarly, SeCys, at pH 7, on one-electron oxidation, produced a monomer radical cation (lambdamax approximately 460 nm), while at pH 1, the reaction produced a transient species with (lambdamax approximately 560 nm), which is also a monomer radical cation. MeSeCys on one-electron oxidation in the pH range from 1 to 7 produced monomer radical cations (lambdamax approximately 350 nm), while at pH < 0, the reaction produced dimer radical cations (lambdamax approximately 460 nm). SeU at all the pH ranges produced dimer radical cations (lambdamax approximately 410 nm). The association constants of the dimer radical cations of SeM, MeSeCys, and SeU were determined by following absorption changes at lambdamax as a function of concentration. From these studies it is concluded that formation of monomer and dimer radical cations mainly depends on the substitution, pH, and the heteroatoms like N and O. The availability of a lone pair on an N or O atom at the beta or gamma position results in monomer radical cations having intramolecular stabilization. When such a lone pair is not available, the monomer radical cation is converted into a dimer radical cation which acquires intermolecular stabilization by the other selenium atom. The pH dependency confirms the role of protonation on stabilization. The oxidation chemistry of these selenium compounds is compared with that of their sulfur analogues.     

大豆Em(LEA1)蛋白保守结构域的结构和聚集特性

采用圆二色谱(CD)和核磁共振波谱(NMR)方法研究了大豆Em(LEA1)蛋白保守基序Em-C和Em-2M多肽在不同环境中的结构及聚集行为.研究表明,在水和DMPG溶液中,两种多肽主要以无规结构形式存在.在50％ TFE溶液中,Em-C多肽折叠结构增加,含疏水残基的部分区域可能形成α-螺旋结构,且分子以二聚体形式存在;而Em-2M则以单体形式存在,且有序结构较少.以上结果表明,环境变化可能导致两种多肽的空间结构和聚集行为改变,这有助于理解Em蛋白在不同环境中的结构特点,及其重要区域在全长蛋白中所起的作用.     

Cytochrome display on amyloid fibrils

Protein amyloid fibrils can be functionalized by coating the core protofilament with high concentrations of proteins and enzymes. This can be done elegantly by appending a functional domain to an amyloidogenic protein monomer, then assembling the monomers into a fibril. To display an array of biologically functional porphyrins on the surface of protein fibrils, we have fused the sequence of the small, soluble cytochrome b562 to an SH3 dimer sequence that can form classical amyloid fibrils rapidly under well-defined conditions. The resulting fusion protein also forms amyloid fibrils and, in addition, binds metalloporphyrins, at half of the porphyrin binding sites as shown by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopies. Once metalloporphyrins are bound to the fibrils, the resulting holo-cytochrome domains are spectroscopically identical to the wild type cytochrome. The concentration of metalloporphyrins on a saturated fibril is estimated to be of the order of approximately 20 mM, suggesting that they could be interesting systems for applications in nanotechnology.     

Monomer–Dimer Control and Crystal Engineering in TASPs

We have reported a template assembled synthetic protein (cavitein Q4) as an unexpected dimer in the solid state and as a monomer–dimer equilibrium in solution. We have since reported an ability to bias a cavitein’s monomer–dimer equilibrium in solution by sequence design involving histidine metal chelation or disulfide incorporation. However, little remains known about the forces contributing to dimeric cavitein crystal nucleation and lattice stabilization. We, therefore, designed glutamine variants to probe factors involved in dimeric cavitein crystallization. It was found that a key glutamate hydrogen-bonding interaction between dimers is integral to crystal formation and stabilization. Additionally, we obtained a crystal structure of a cavitein (Q4-E3H) designed to bias the dimeric structure via histidine metal coordination. The resolved structure indicates a histidine cluster interaction that likely accounts for the biased dimeric form observed in solution.