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Membrane proteins in detergent micelles are large and dynamic complexes that present challenges for solution NMR investigations such as spectral overlap and line broadening. In this study, multiple methods are introduced to facilitate resonance assignment of β-barrel membrane proteins using Opa60 from Neisseria gonorrhoeae as a model system. Opa60 is an eight-stranded β-barrel with long extracellular loops (∼63% of the protein) that engage host receptors and induce engulfment of the bacterium. The NMR spectra of Opa60 in detergent micelles exhibits significant spectral overlap and resonances corresponding to the loop regions had variable line widths, which interfered with a complete assignment of the protein. To assign the β-barrel residues, trypsin cleavage was used to remove much of the extracellular loops while preserving the detergent solubilized β-barrel. The removal of the loop resonances significantly improved the assignment of the Opa60 β-barrel region (97% of the resonances corresponding to the β-barrel and periplasmic turns were assigned). For the loop resonance assignments, two strategies were implemented; modulating temperature and synthetic peptides. Lowering the temperature broadened many peaks beyond detection and simplified the spectra to only the most dynamic regions of the loops facilitating 27 loop resonances to be assigned. To further assign functionally important and unstructured regions of the extracellular loops, a synthetic 20 amino acid peptide was synthesized and had nearly complete spectral overlap with the full-length protein allowing 17 loop resonances to be assigned. Collectively, these strategies are effective tools that may accelerate solution NMR structure determination of β-barrel membrane proteins., (© 2013 The Protein Society.)

Micelle-forming detergents provide an amphipathic environment that can mimic lipid bilayers and are important tools for solubilizing membrane proteins for functional and structural investigations in vitro. However, the formation of a soluble protein-detergent complex (PDC) currently relies on empirical screening of detergents, and a stable and functional PDC is often not obtained. To provide a foundation for systematic comparisons between the properties of the detergent micelle and the resulting PDC, a comprehensive set of detergents commonly used for membrane protein studies are systematically investigated. Using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), micelle shapes and sizes are determined for phosphocholines with 10, 12, and 14 alkyl carbons, glucosides with 8, 9, and 10 alkyl carbons, maltosides with 8, 10, and 12 alkyl carbons, and lysophosphatidyl glycerols with 14 and 16 alkyl carbons. The SAXS profiles are well described by two-component ellipsoid models, with an electron rich outer shell corresponding to the detergent head groups and a less electron dense hydrophobic core composed of the alkyl chains. The minor axis of the elliptical micelle core from these models is constrained by the length of the alkyl chain, and increases by 1.2-1.5 Å per carbon addition to the alkyl chain. The major elliptical axis also increases with chain length; however, the ellipticity remains approximately constant for each detergent series. In addition, the aggregation number of these detergents increases by ∼16 monomers per micelle for each alkyl carbon added. The data provide a comprehensive view of the determinants of micelle shape and size and provide a baseline for correlating micelle properties with protein-detergent interactions.

The crystal structure of Ta0880, determined at 1.91 Å resolution, from Thermoplasma acidophilum revealed a dimer with each monomer composed of an α/β/α sandwich domain and a smaller lid domain. The overall fold belongs to the PfkB family of carbohydrate kinases (a family member of the Ribokinase clan) which include ribokinases, 1-phosphofructokinases, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase, inosine/guanosine kinases, fructokinases, adenosine kinases, and many more. Based on its general fold, Ta0880 had been annotated as a ribokinase-like protein. Using a coupled pyruvate kinase/lactate dehydrogenase assay, the activity of Ta0880 was assessed against a variety of ribokinase/pfkB-like family substrates; activity was not observed for ribose, fructose-1-phosphate, or fructose-6-phosphate. Based on structural similarity with nucleoside kinases (NK) from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii (MjNK, PDB 2C49, and 2C4E) and Burkholderia thailandensis (BtNK, PDB 3B1O), nucleoside kinase activity was investigated. Ta0880 (TaNK) was confirmed to have nucleoside kinase activity with an apparent KM for guanosine of 0.21 μM and catalytic efficiency of 345,000 M(-1) s(-1) . These three NKs have significantly different substrate, phosphate donor, and cation specificities and comparisons of specificity and structure identified residues likely responsible for the nucleoside substrate selectivity. Phylogenetic analysis identified three clusters within the PfkB family and indicates that TaNK is a member of a new sub-family with broad nucleoside specificities. Proteins 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Models of unregulated nitric oxide (NO) diffusion do not consistently account for the biochemistry of NO synthase (NOS)-dependent signalling in many cell systems. For example, endothelial NOS controls blood pressure, blood flow and oxygen delivery through its effect on vascular smooth muscle tone, but the regulation of these processes is not adequately explained by simple NO diffusion from endothelium to smooth muscle. Here we report a new model for the regulation of NO signalling by demonstrating that haemoglobin (Hb) α (encoded by the HBA1 and HBA2 genes in humans) is expressed in human and mouse arterial endothelial cells and enriched at the myoendothelial junction, where it regulates the effects of NO on vascular reactivity. Notably, this function is unique to Hb α and is abrogated by its genetic depletion. Mechanistically, endothelial Hb α haem iron in the Fe(3+) state permits NO signalling, and this signalling is shut off when Hb α is reduced to the Fe(2+) state by endothelial cytochrome b5 reductase 3 (CYB5R3, also known as diaphorase 1). Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of CYB5R3 increases NO bioactivity in small arteries. These data reveal a new mechanism by which the regulation of the intracellular Hb α oxidation state controls NOS signalling in non-erythroid cells. This model may be relevant to haem-containing globins in a broad range of NOS-containing somatic cells.

Rationale: Dedifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) leading to a proliferative cell phenotype significantly contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation of proteins including connexin 43 (Cx43) has been associated with VSMC proliferation in atherosclerosis., Objective: To investigate whether MAPK phosphorylation of Cx43 is directly involved in VSMC proliferation., Methods and Results: We show in vivo that MAPK-phosphorylated Cx43 forms complexes with the cell cycle control proteins cyclin E and cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) in carotids of apolipoprotein-E receptor null (ApoE(-/-)) mice and in C57Bl/6 mice treated with platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF). We tested the involvement of Cx43 MAPK phosphorylation in vitro using constructs for full-length Cx43 (Cx43) or the Cx43 C-terminus (Cx43(CT)) and produced null phosphorylation Ser>Ala (Cx43(MK4A)/Cx43(CTMK4A)) and phospho-mimetic Ser>Asp (Cx43(MK4D)/Cx43(CTMK4D)) mutations. Coimmunoprecipitation studies in primary VSMC isolated from Cx43 wild-type (Cx43(+/+)) and Cx43 null (Cx43(-/-)) mice and analytic size exclusion studies of purified proteins identify that interactions between cyclin E and Cx43 requires Cx43 MAPK phosphorylation. We further demonstrate that Cx43 MAPK phosphorylation is required for PDGF-mediated VSMC proliferation. Finally, using a novel knock-in mouse containing Cx43-MK4A mutation, we show in vivo that interactions between Cx43 and cyclin E are lost and VSMC proliferation does not occur after treatment of carotids with PDGF and that neointima formation is significantly reduced in carotids after injury., Conclusions: We identify MAPK-phosphorylated Cx43 as a novel interacting partner of cyclin E in VSMC and show that this interaction is critical for VSMC proliferation. This novel interaction may be important in the development of atherosclerotic lesions.

NMR paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) provides long-range distance constraints (~15-25 Å) that can be critical to determining overall protein topology, especially where long-range NOE information is unavailable such as in the case of larger proteins that require deuteration. However, several challenges currently limit the use of NMR PRE for α-helical membrane proteins. One challenge is the nonspecific association of the nitroxide spin label to the protein-detergent complex that can result in spurious PRE derived distance restraints. The effect of the nitroxide spin label contaminant is evaluated and quantified and a robust method for the removal of the contaminant is provided to advance the application of PRE restraints to membrane protein NMR structure determination., (Copyright © 2012 The Protein Society.)

The spontaneous folding of two Neisseria outer membrane proteins, opacity-associated (Opa)(60) and Opa(50) into lipid vesicles was investigated by systematically varying bulk and membrane properties. Centrifugal fractionation coupled with sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis mobility assays enabled the discrimination of aggregate, unfolded membrane-associated, and folded membrane-inserted protein states as well as the influence of pH, ionic strength, membrane surface potential, lipid saturation, and urea on each. Protein aggregation was reduced with increasing lipid chain length, basic pH, low salt, the incorporation of negatively charged guest lipids, or by the addition of urea to the folding reaction. Insertion from the membrane-associated form was improved in shorter chain lipids, with more basic pH and low ionic strength; it is hindered by unsaturated or ether-linked lipids. The isolation of the physical determinants of insertion suggests that the membrane surface and dipole potentials are driving forces for outer membrane protein insertion and folding into lipid bilayers., (Copyright © 2011 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Understanding the structure and dynamics of membrane proteins in their native, hydrophobic environment is important to understanding how these proteins function. EPR spectroscopy in combination with site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) can measure dynamics and structure of membrane proteins in their native lipid environment; however, until now the dynamics measured have been qualitative due to limited knowledge of the nitroxide spin label's intramolecular motion in the hydrophobic environment. Although several studies have elucidated the structural origins of EPR line shapes of water-soluble proteins, EPR spectra of nitroxide spin-labeled proteins in detergents or lipids have characteristic differences from their water-soluble counterparts, suggesting significant differences in the underlying molecular motion of the spin label between the two environments. To elucidate these differences, membrane-exposed α-helical sites of the leucine transporter, LeuT, from Aquifex aeolicus, were investigated using X-ray crystallography, mutational analysis, nitroxide side chain derivatives, and spectral simulations in order to obtain a motional model of the nitroxide. For each crystal structure, the nitroxide ring of a disulfide-linked spin label side chain (R1) is resolved and makes contacts with hydrophobic residues on the protein surface. The spin label at site I204 on LeuT makes a nontraditional hydrogen bond with the ortho-hydrogen on its nearest neighbor F208, whereas the spin label at site F177 makes multiple van der Waals contacts with a hydrophobic pocket formed with an adjacent helix. These results coupled with the spectral effect of mutating the i ± 3, 4 residues suggest that the spin label has a greater affinity for its local protein environment in the low dielectric than on a water-soluble protein surface. The simulations of the EPR spectra presented here suggest the spin label oscillates about the terminal bond nearest the ring while maintaining weak contact with the protein surface. Combined, the results provide a starting point for determining a motional model for R1 on membrane proteins, allowing quantification of nitroxide dynamics in the aliphatic environment of detergent and lipids. In addition, initial contributions to a rotamer library of R1 on membrane proteins are provided, which will assist in reliably modeling the R1 conformational space for pulsed dipolar EPR and NMR paramagnetic relaxation enhancement distance determination.

Posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression is an important mechanism for modulating protein levels in eukaryotes, especially in developmental pathways. The highly conserved homodimeric STAR/GSG proteins play a key role in regulating translation by binding bipartite consensus sequences in the untranslated regions of target mRNAs, but the exact mechanism remains unknown. Structures of STAR protein RNA binding subdomains have been determined, but structural information is lacking for the homodimerization subdomain. Here, we present the structure of the C. elegans GLD-1 homodimerization domain dimer, determined by a combination of X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, revealing a helix-turn-helix monomeric fold with the two protomers stacked perpendicularly. Structure-based mutagenesis demonstrates that the dimer interface is not easily disrupted, but the structural integrity of the monomer is crucial for GLD-1 dimerization. Finally, an improved model for STAR-mediated translational regulation of mRNA, based on the GLD-1 homodimerization domain structure, is presented.

One major obstacle to membrane protein structure determination is the selection of a detergent micelle that mimics the native lipid bilayer. Currently, detergents are selected by exhaustive screening because the effects of protein-detergent interactions on protein structure are poorly understood. In this study, the structure and dynamics of an integral membrane protein in different detergents is investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The results suggest that matching of the micelle dimensions to the protein's hydrophobic surface avoids exchange processes that reduce the completeness of the NMR observations. Based on these dimensions, several mixed micelles were designed that improved the completeness of NMR observations. These findings provide a basis for the rational design of mixed micelles that may advance membrane protein structure determination by NMR.

As a part of the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) biological targets, the structures of soluble domains of membrane proteins from Thermotoga maritima were pursued. Here, we report the crystal structure of the soluble domain of TM1634, a putative membrane protein of 128 residues (15.1 kDa) and unknown function. The soluble domain of TM1634 is an alpha-helical dimer that contains a single tetratrico peptide repeat (TPR) motif in each monomer where each motif is similar to that found in Tom20. The overall fold, however, is unique and a DALI search does not identify similar folds beyond the 38-residue TPR motif. Two different putative ligand binding sites, in which PEG200 and Co(2+) were located, were identified using crystallography and NMR, respectively.

We present a systematic analysis of the aggregation number and shape of micelles formed by nine detergents commonly used in the study of membrane proteins. Small-angle X-ray scattering measurements are reported for glucosides with 8 and 9 alkyl carbons (OG/NG), maltosides and phosphocholines with 10 and 12 alkyl carbons (DM/DDM and FC-10/FC-12), 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-phosphocholine (DHPC), 1-palmitoyl-2-hydroxy-sn-glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)] (LPPG), and 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate (CHAPS). The SAXS intensities are well described by two-component ellipsoid models, with a dense outer shell corresponding to the detergent head groups and a less electron dense hydrophobic core. These models provide an intermediate resolution view of micelle size and shape. In addition, we show that Guinier analysis of the forward scattering intensity can be used to obtain an independent and model-free measurement of the micelle aggregation number and radius of gyration. This approach has the advantage of being easily generalizable to protein-detergent complexes, where simple geometric models are inapplicable. Furthermore, we have discovered that the position of the second maximum in the scattering intensity provides a direct measurement of the characteristic head group-head group spacing across the micelle core. Our results for the micellar aggregation numbers and dimensions agree favorably with literature values as far as they are available. We de novo determine the shape of FC-10, FC-12, DM, LPPG, and CHAPS micelles and the aggregation numbers of FC-10 and OG to be ca. 50 and 250, respectively. Combined, these data provide a comprehensive view of the determinants of micelle formation and serve as a starting point to correlate detergent properties with detergent-protein interactions.

Structural studies of integral membrane proteins typically rely upon detergent micelles as faithful mimics of the native lipid bilayer. Therefore, membrane protein structure determination would be greatly facilitated by biophysical techniques that are capable of evaluating and assessing the fold and oligomeric state of these proteins solubilized in detergent micelles. In this study, an approach to the characterization of detergent-solubilized integral membrane proteins is presented. Eight Thermotoga maritima membrane proteins were screened for solubility in 11 detergents, and the resulting soluble protein-detergent complexes were characterized with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and chemical cross-linking to evaluate the homogeneity, oligomeric state, radius of gyration, and overall fold. A new application of SAXS is presented, which does not require density matching, and NMR methods, typically used to evaluate soluble proteins, are successfully applied to detergent-solubilized membrane proteins. Although detergents with longer alkyl chains solubilized the most proteins, further characterization indicates that some of these protein-detergent complexes are not well suited for NMR structure determination due to conformational exchange and protein oligomerization. These results emphasize the need to screen several different detergents and to characterize the protein-detergent complex in order to pursue structural studies. Finally, the physical characterization of the protein-detergent complexes indicates optimal solution conditions for further structural studies for three of the eight overexpressed membrane proteins.

In site-directed spin labeling, a nitroxide-containing side chain is introduced at selected sites in a protein. The EPR spectrum of the labeled protein encodes information about the motion of the nitroxide on the nanosecond time scale, which has contributions from the rotary diffusion of the protein, from internal motions in the side chain, and from backbone fluctuations. In the simplest model for the motion of noninteracting (surface) side chains, the contribution from the internal motion is sequence independent, as is that from protein rotary diffusion. Hence, differences in backbone motions should be revealed by comparing the sequence-dependent motions of nitroxides at structurally homologous sites. To examine this model, nitroxide side chains were introduced, one at a time, along the GCN4-58 bZip sequence, for which NMR (15)N relaxation experiments have identified a striking gradient of backbone mobility along the DNA-binding region [Bracken et al. (1999) J. Mol. Biol. 285, 2133]. Spectral simulation techniques and a simple line width measure were used to extract dynamical parameters from the EPR spectra, and the results reveal a mobility gradient similar to that observed in NMR relaxation, indicating that side chain motions mirror backbone motions. In addition, the sequence-dependent side chain dynamics were analyzed in the DNA/protein complex, which has not been previously investigated by NMR relaxation methods. As anticipated, the backbone motions are damped in the DNA-bound state, although a gradient of motion persists with residues at the DNA-binding site being the most highly ordered, similar to those of helices on globular proteins.

Site-directed spin labeling is a general method for investigating structure and conformational switching in soluble and membrane proteins. It will also be an important tool for exploring protein backbone dynamics. A semi-empirical analysis of nitroxide sidechain dynamics in spin-labeled proteins reveals contributions from fluctuations in backbone dihedral angles and rigid-body (collective) motions of alpha helices. Quantitative analysis of sidechain dynamics is sometimes possible, and contributions from backbone modes can be expressed in terms of relative order parameters and rates. Dynamic sequences identified by site-directed spin labeling correlate with functional domains, and so nitroxide scanning could provide an efficient strategy for identifying such domains in high-molecular weight proteins, supramolecular complexes and membrane proteins.

Two single cysteine substitution mutants at helix surface sites in T4 lysozyme (D72C and V131C) have been modified with a series of nitroxide methanethiosulfonate reagents to investigate the structural and dynamical origins of their electron paramagnetic resonance spectra. The novel reagents include 4-substituted derivatives of either the pyrroline or pyrrolidine series of nitroxides. The spectral line shapes were analyzed as a function of side chain structure and temperature using a simulation method with a single order parameter and diffusion rates about three orthogonal axes as parameters. Taken together, the results provide strong support for an anisotropic motional model of the side chain, which was previously proposed from qualitative features of the spectra and crystal structures of spin labeled T4 lysozyme. Site-specific differences in apparent order parameter are interpreted in terms of backbone dynamics modes with characteristic correlation times in the nanosecond or faster time scale. The saturated 4-substituted pyrrolidine nitroxides are shown to be a suitable template for novel "functionalized" side chains designed to mimic salient features of the native side chains they replace.

We describe a simple experimental approach for the rapid determination of protein global folds. This strategy utilizes site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) in combination with isotope enrichment to determine long-range distance restraints between amide protons and the unpaired electron of a nitroxide spin label using the paramagnetic effect on relaxation rates. The precision and accuracy of calculating a protein global fold from only paramagnetic effects have been demonstrated on barnase, a well-characterized protein. Two monocysteine derivatives of barnase, (H102C) and (H102A/Q15C), were 15N enriched, and the paramagnetic nitroxide spin label, MTSSL, attached to the single Cys residue of each. Measurement of amide 1H longitudinal relaxation times, in both the oxidized and reduced states, allowed the determination of the paramagnetic contribution to the relaxation processes. Correlation times were obtained from the frequency dependence of these relaxation processes at 800, 600, and 500 MHz. Distances in the range of 8 to 35 A were calculated from the magnitude of the paramagnetic contribution to the relaxation processes and individual amide 1H correlation times. Distance restraints from the nitroxide spin to amide protons were used as restraints in structure calculations. Using nitroxide to amide 1H distances as long-range restraints and known secondary structure restraints, barnase global folds were calculated having backbone RMSDs <3 A from the crystal structure. This approach makes it possible to rapidly obtain the overall topology of a protein using a limited number of paramagnetic distance restraints.

KcsA is a prokaryotic potassium channel. The present study employs cysteine scanning mutagenesis and site-directed spin labeling to investigate the structure of the second transmembrane segment (residues 82-120) in functional tetrameric channels reconstituted in lipid bilayers. Spin-spin interactions are observed between nitroxide side chains at symmetry-related sites close to the 4-fold axis of symmetry. To aid in quantitative analysis of these interactions, a new diamagnetic analogue of the nitroxide side chain is used to prepare magnetically dilute samples with constant structure. Using constraints imposed by the spin-spin interactions, a packing model for this segment is deduced that is in excellent agreement with the recently reported crystal structure [Doyle, D., et al. (1998) Science 280, 69-77]. The relatively immobilized state of the nitroxide side chains suggests that the channel is rigid on the electron paramagnetic resonance time scale. Moreover, the poor sulfhydryl reactivity of the cysteine at many locations indicates that the channel is not subject to the low-frequency fluctuations that permit reaction of buried cysteines. At sites expected to be located in the pore, the accessibility of the side chains to collision with O(2) or nickel(II) ethylenediaminediacetate is low. This inaccessibility, together with the generally low mobility of the side chains throughout the sequence, makes it difficult to detect the presence of the pore based on these measurements. However, the presence of a solvated pore can be directly demonstrated using a polarity parameter deduced from the EPR spectra recorded at low temperature. These measurements also reveal the presence of a polarity gradient in the phospholipid bilayer.