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Molecular dynamics conformational search of six cyclic peptides used in the template assembled synthetic protein approach for protein de novo design.

Six cyclic peptides, designed to act as topological templates in the TASP (template assembled synthetic protein) approach in protein de novo design, were investigated employing a 100-ps, 900-K molecular dynamics conformational search. The peptides are composed of two Lys-X-Lys (X = Gly, Ala) tripeptides connected at its N- and C-terminal end by a Pro-Gly motif and a cystine bridge (I), two Pro-Gly units (II), naphthalene derivatives (III), and tetrahydronaphthalene derivatives of different stereochemistry (IV-VI). The molecular dynamics conformational search established that template I had beta-sheet like geometry. Templates II-VI showed different preferential geometries, among them, e.g., distinct preferences for type V turns in Pro-Gly containing peptides and close spatial arrangement of hydrophobic naphthalene moieties. The orientation of the lysine side chains within preferential geometries of the individual templates is analyzed and a tentative evaluation for their potential to stabilize TASP molecules of 4-helix bundle topology is given.

Amino Acid Sequence

Proton magnetic resonance study of conformational dynamics, coordianted internal motions, and chemical shifts of tocinamide.

All proton magnetic resonance lines of the NH-CHalpha-CH2beta fragments of five amino acid residues of the heterodetic peptide, tocinamide, have been analyzed, including reassigment of certain NH, CHalpha, and CH2beta resonances. The 1H NMR spectral parameters evaluated from this analysis include (a) all chemical shifts, (b) (3JNHCH), (3Jalpha beta), and (2Jbeta beta) values, and (c) temperature dependencies of these coupling constants and chemical shifts--the latter includes aliphatic and aromatic CH protons. The (3Jalpha beta) coupling constants yielded Calpha-Cbeta rotamer populations, Pi, for five residues and these were used to explore conformational dynamics and coordinated internal motions of tocinamide. The rotamer populations and their temperature dependencies established, (1) that all Calpha-Cbeta bonds exhibit extensive internal rotation; (2) that rotamer preferences exist for every residue; (3) that the 162 conformations possible for completely free rotation around every bond of the Calpha1-Cbeta1-S1-S6-Cbeta6-Calpha6 disulfide fragment can be reduced to two or three if the concept of coordinated internal motion is introduced. We reject the possibility of a frozen conformation for the Cys1-Cys6 fragment in the eclipsed, staggered, or nonclassical rotamer states and propose the following possibilities: (a) three classical rotamers populated in the ratio 60:25:15, (b) three nonclassical rotamers not differing by +/- 15 degrees from the classical values of 180 degrees, + 60 degrees, and -60 degrees, or (c) two nonclassical but noneclipsed rotamers with a third rotamer essentially zero, and (4) that the Calpha-Cbeta rotamer populations of the Tyr2-Cys1-S-S-Cys6 fragment are consistent with coordinated internal motions of the Calpha-Cbeta bonds of all three residues. The existence of temperature coefficients, deltadelta/deltaT, POF +/- 2 ppb/degrees C for aliphatic protons can be accounted for, in part, by postulating intrinsic rotamer chemical shifts which are temperature independent. Deltadelta/deltaT values should therefore be useful for investigating conformational dynamics. A further consequence of this interpretation is that greater care should be exercised in using deltadelta/deltaT values to assign hydrogen-bonded amide protons, especially when deltadelta/deltaT approximately -2 to -4 ppb/degrees C.

Amino Acids

Dynamic conformations compared for IgE and IgG1 in solution and bound to receptors.

Dynamic conformations of two distinct immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes, murine IgE and human IgG1, were examined with fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements. The IgE mutant epsilon/C gamma 3* and the IgG1 mutant gamma/C gamma 3* each bind [5-(dimethylamino)naphthalen-1-yl]sulfonyl (DNS) in two identical antigen binding sites at the amino (N)-terminal ends of the Ig in the Fab segments. Eosin-DNS bound in these Fab sites served as the acceptor probe in these studies. Both Ig have a carboxy (C)-terminal domain (C gamma 3*) which contains genetically introduced cysteine residues. Modification of these cysteine sulfhydryls with fluorescein maleimide provided donor probes near the C-terminal ends of the Ig in the Fc segment. Energy transfer between the C-terminal and N-terminal ends was compared for these two Ig in solution and when they were found to their respective high-affinity receptors on plasma membranes: IgE-Fc epsilon RI on RBL cell membranes and IgG1-Fc gamma RI on U937 cell membranes. Previous energy-transfer measurements with these probes yielded an average end-to-end distance of 71 A for IgE in solution and 69 A for IgE bound to Fc epsilon RI, indicating that in both situations IgE is bent such that the axes of the Fab segments and the axis of the Fc segment do not form a planar Y-shape [Zheng, Shopes, Holowka, & Baird (1991) Biochemistry 30, 9125]. In the current study we found the average end-to-end distance for IgG1 in solution is 75 A and greater than or equal to 85 A for IgG1 bound to Fc gamma RI, suggesting an average bend conformation for IgG1 as well. The contributions of segmental flexibility to the average distances were assessed directly by measuring the efficiency of energy transfer as a function of variations in donor quantum yield caused by a collisional quencher and using these data to extract a Gaussian distribution of end-to-end distances. The distribution average (rho) and half-width (hw) were determined to be as follows: rho = 75 A, hw = 24 A for IgE in solution; rho = 71 A, hw = 12 A for IgE bound to Fc epsilon RI; and rho = 100 A, hw = 88 A for IgG in solution.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals

EWS-RNA Binding Protein 1: Structural Insights into Ewing Sarcoma by Conformational Dynamics Investigations.

BACKGROUND: Prior research has demonstrated that proteins play a significant role in the prognosis and treatments of various sarcomas, including Ewing sarcoma through the interplay of downstream signaling cascades. However, there is limited understanding about the strcucture conformation of EWSR1 and its structural implication in the prognosis of Ewsing Sarcoma by interaction with RNA molecules. AIMS: The primary goal of ongoing research is to determine how EWSR1 contributes to Ewing sarcoma. OBJECTIVE: The current study explores the complexity of EWSR1 structure and its conformational interactions with RNA in relation to Ewing sarcoma. METHODS: Here, we employed a comparative modeling approach to predict EWSR1 domains separately and assembled them into one structural unit using a DEMO server. Additionally, the RNA motifs interacting with EWSR1 were predicted, and the 3D model was built using RNAComposer. Protein-RNA docking and MD simulation studies were carried out to check the intermolecular interactions and stability behavior of docked EWSR1-RNA complexes. RESULTS: The overall results explore the structural insights into EWSR1 and their interactions with RNA, which may play a momentous role in co- and post-transcriptional regulation to control gene expression. CONCLUSION: Taken togather, our findings suggest that EWSR1 may be a useful therapeutic target for the diagnosis and management of Ewing sarcoma.

Sarcoma, Ewing

Conformational dynamics and intersubunit energy transfer in wild-type and mutant lipoamide dehydrogenase from Azotobacter vinelandii. A multidimensional time-resolved polarized fluorescence study.

Time-resolved fluorescence and fluorescence anisotropy data surfaces of flavin adenine dinucleotide bound to lipoamide dehydrogenase from Azotobacter vinelandii in 80% glycerol have been obtained by variation of excitation energy and temperature between 203 and 303 K. The fluorescence kinetics of a deletion mutant lacking 14 COOH-terminal amino acids were compared with the wild-type enzyme to study a possible interaction of the COOH-terminal tail with the active site of the enzyme. The flavin adenine dinucleotide fluorescence in both proteins exhibits a bimodal lifetime distribution as recovered by the maximum entropy method of data analysis. The difference in standard enthalpy and entropy of associated conformational substates was retrieved from the fractional contributions of the two lifetime classes. Activation energies of thermal quenching were obtained that confirm that the isoalloxazines in the deletion mutant are solvent accessible in contrast to the wild-type enzyme. Red-edge spectroscopy in conjunction with variation of temperature provides the necessary experimental axes to interpret the fluorescence depolarization in terms of intersubunit energy transfer rather than reorientational dynamics of the flavins. The results can be explained by a compartmental model that describes the anisotropy decay of a binary, inhomogeneously broadened, homoenergy transfer system. By using this model in a global analysis of the fluorescence anisotropy decay surface, the distance between and relative orientation of the two isoalloxazine rings are elucidated. For the wild-type enzyme, this geometrical information is in agreement with crystallographic data of the A. vinelandii enzyme, whereas the mutual orientation of the subunits in the deletion mutant is slightly altered. In addition, the ambiguity in the direction of the emission transition moment in the isoalloxazine ring is solved. The anisotropy decay parameters also provide information on electronic and dipolar relaxational properties of the flavin active site. The local environment of the prosthetic groups in the deletion mutant of the A. vinelandii enzyme is highly inhomogeneous, and a transition from slow to rapid dipolar relaxation is observed over the measured temperature range. In the highly homogeneous active site of the wild-type enzyme, dipolar relaxation is slowed down beyond the time scale of fluorescence emission at any temperature studied. Our results are in favor of a COOH-terminal polypeptide interacting with the active site, thereby shielding the isoalloxazines from the solvent. This biological system forms a very appropriate tool to test the validity of photophysical models describing homoenergy transfer.

Azotobacter vinelandii

On the structure and conformational dynamics of yeast phenylalanine-accepting transfer ribonucleic acid in solution.

The solution structure of yeast tRNAPhe was investigated by using ethidium as a fluorescent probe in the D loop and the anticodon loop. For this purpose the dihydrouracils in position 16/17 and wybutine in position 37 were substituted by ethidium. The lifetimes and the time-dependent anisotropy of ethidium fluorescence were measured by pulsed nanosecond fluorometry. The kinetics of the transitions between different states of the tRNAPheEtd derivatives were determined by chemical relaxation measurements. It was found that the ethidium label irrespective of its position exhibits three different states called T1, T2 and T3 characterized by lifetimes tau 1 = 30 ns, tau 2 = 12 ns, and tau 3 = 3 ns. The lifetime differences are due to different accessibilities of ethidium for solvent quenching in the three states. Thus, there are three different defined structural environments of the ethidium in both the anticodon and the D loop. The distribution of the three states was measured as a function of Mg2+ concentration and temperature; it was found that state T3 is favored over states T2 and T1 by both increasing Mg2+ concentration and increasing temperature. The chemical relaxation kinetics exhibit a fast transition between T1 and T2 (10--100 ms) and a slow transition between T2 and T3 (100--1000 ms). The rates of both transitions depend likewise on Mg2+ concentration and temperature. The equilibrium and kinetic data clearly show the presence of strong and weak interactions between Mg2+ and tRNA. A cooperative model accounting for this behavior is developed. The ethidium probe behaves identically when located in different regions of the tRNA regarding both its distribution of states and its transition kinetics. This suggests that the different spectroscopic states report different conformations of the tRNA structure. The dependence of the three states on Mg2+ and spermine indicates that conformation T3 is closely related to or identical with the crystal structure. The rotational diffusion constants indicate that of all three states T3 is most extended while T2 is most compact. The thermodynamic analysis reveals that the strongly bound Mg2+ ions reduce both the activation entropy and enthalpy of all transitions. The weakly bound Mg2+ ions increase both the activation enthalpy and entropy of the slow transition between T2 and T3. It is suggested that the breaking of several intramolecular bonds, e.g., hydrogen bonds, is involved in this transition.

Ethidium

Proton N.M.R. study of the conformational dynamics of porcine pancreatic colipase. Titration of aromatic residues.

The low-field portion of the 360 MHz proton N.M.R. spectrum of native porcine pancreatic colipase has been studied as a function of pH over the pH range 2-12. Resonances associated with the 26 protons of the aromatic rings of the two histidines, two phenylalanines and three tyrosines have been identified and tentatively assigned to specific residues. Titrations of pH yielded apparent pKa's of 7.9, 6.9, 10.4, 10.3 and 11.3 for His I (His 30), His II (His 86), Tyr I (Tyr 56 or 57), Tyr II (Tyr 56 or 57) and Tyr III (Tyr 53) respectively (tentative assignments). The high pKa value of His 30 is attributed to the vicinity of Asp 31. The mobility of the aromatic ring of Tyr 53 is hindered and an upper bound of 500 s-1 on the rate of rotation can be estimated. The aromatic rings of the 2 other tyrosine residues and of the 2 phenylalanine residues can rotate freely on the N.M.R. time scale. The study of perturbations in titration profiles and chemical shift values reveals a specific interaction of His 86 with Tyr I and, to a lesser extent, Tyr II. The existence of this interaction indicates that the protein folding brings in close spatial vicinity two distant regions of the covalent structure to form a "hydrophobic-aromatic" site which might be involved in the binding of bile salt micelles to pancreatic colipase.

Amino Acid Sequence

Fluorescence studies on lipoamide dehydrogenases of pig heart. I. Conformational dynamics of enzyme.

The dynamic structures of two major forms (LD(I) and LD(II) of pig heart lipoamide dehydrogenase, resolved by TEAE-cellulose column chromatography, were studied by fluorescence depolarization. FAD and ANM were used as an intrinsic and an extrinsic fluorescent probe, respectively. In the experiments with bound FAD of lipoamide dehydrogenase, no thermal dependence of the fluorescence depolarization of either enzyme was observed and the values of polarization were close to the theoretical maximum value of 0.5. Both enzymes contained two reactive thiol groups which differed in their reactivities toward ANM. When the enzymes were labeled with one mol of ANM per mol of enzyme, the rotational relaxation times of LD(I) and LD(II) were found to be 18 ns and 196 ns, respectively. These findings indicate that the sement of LD(I) labeled with ANM fluctuates in the order of nanoseconds, whereas this segment of LD(II) is fixed rigidly. On the other hand, when the enzymes were labeled with two mol of ANM per mol of enzyme, both enzymes showed the composite result of fluorescence depolarization due to the motilities of the segment of enzyme and the whole enzyme molecule. These findings indicate that both LD(I) and LD(II) have the non-equivalent motilities of segments containing one reactive thiol group between the two monomers. In other words, the segment containing the ANM binding site of the one monomer is flexible and this segment of the other monomer is fixed rigidly in both enzymes.

Animals

Static and dynamic conformational properties of AT sequences in B-DNA.

A theoretical study of the optimal conformations of nucleic acid oligomers containing tracts of AT base pairs is presented. The oligomers are studied in isolation and complexed with netropsin, a minor groove binding ligand. The flexibility of the oligomers and of their complexes is calculated by adiabatic mapping with respect to the total winding angle. The results of this study show that in uncomplexed oligomers the dinucleotide junctions AA, AT and TA have very different structural parameters and different responses to winding stress. The TA junction is clearly the most flexible and is the principal site for accommodating the imposed overwinding. Complexation by netropsin leads to two important effects: firstly, the three junctions adopt more uniform structures, the largest changes again being observed for TA, secondly, the differences in flexibility as a function of sequence are strongly attenuated.

Base Composition

1H-15N-NMR studies of bacteriorhodopsin Halobacterium halobium. Conformational dynamics of the four-helical bundle.

Series of uniformly and selectively 15N-labeled bacteriorhodopsins of Halobacterium halobium (strain ET 1001) were obtained and a 1H-15N-NMR study was performed in methanol/chloroform (1:1) and 0.1 M NH4CHOO, medium which mimics that in the membrane in vivo. Less than half of the cross-peaks expected from the amino acid sequence of uniformly 15N-labeled bacteriorhodopsin were observed, using heteronuclear 1H-15N coherence spectroscopy. In order to assign the observed cross-peaks, a selective 15N-labeling of amino acid residues (Tyr, Phe, Trp, Lys, Gly, Leu, Val or Ile) was carried out and 1H-15N-NMR spectra of bacteriorhodopsin and its fragments C1 (residues (72-231), C2 (residues 1-71), B1 (residues 1-155) and BP2 (residues 163-231) were investigated. By this procedure, all observed 1H-15N cross-peaks of the entire bacteriorhodopsin were found to belong to the transmembrane segments A, B and G. The cross-peaks from four (C, D, E and F) helical bundles (79-189 residues) were missed. These results clearly indicate that dynamic processes occur in the four helice bundle. The significance of this, in respect to bacteriorhodopsin functioning, is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence

Dynamical conformational change of DNA induced by synthetic polymers: direct observation by fluorescence microscopy.

Brownian motion and Higher-order structure of DNA molecules complexed with synthetic polymers: poly-L-arginine (pArg) and polyacrylamide (pAAm), were observed using fluorescence microscopy. Quantitative analyses of the conformation and motion of the complexes demonstrate that these two polymers influence the structure of DNA molecules in an opposite way. The electrostatic binding of pArg induces contraction of DNA, whereas the intercalative pseudo-grafting of pAAm extends DNA.

Acrylic Resins

Conformation and dynamics of an Fab'-bound peptide by isotope-edited NMR spectroscopy.

The dynamics and conformation of the peptide antigen MHKDFLEKIGGL bound to the Fab' fragment of the monoclonal antipeptide antibody B13A2, raised against a peptide from myohemerythrin, have been investigated by isotope-edited NMR techniques. The peptides were labeled with 15N (98%) or 13C (99%) at the backbone of individual amino acid residues. Well-resolved amide proton and nitrogen backbone resonances were obtained and assigned for eight of the 12 residues of this bound peptide. Significant resonance line width and chemical shift differences were observed. The 15N and 1H line width variations are attributed to differential backbone mobilities among the bound peptide residues which are consistent with the previously mapped epitope of this peptide antigen. Local structural information was obtained from isotope-directed NOE studies. The approximate distances associated with the experimental NOEs were estimated on the basis of a theoretical NOE analysis involving the relative integrated intensities of the NOE and source peaks. In this way, the sequential NH-NH NOEs obtained for seven of the Fab'-bound peptide residues were shown to correspond to interproton separations of approximately 3 A or less. Such short distances indicate that the backbone dihedral angles of these residues are in the alpha rather than the beta region of phi,psi conformational space; the peptide most likely adopts a helical conformation from F5 to G11 within the antibody combining site. The significance of these results with respect to the type and extent of conformational information obtainable from studies of high molecular weight systems is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence