In the recently determined crystal structure of human thioredoxin (hTRX), the protein is a dimer, covalently linked via an intermolecular disulfide bond involving Cys73 from each monomer (Weichsel et al., 1996). The active site loop, comprising Trp31-Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys35, forms part of the dimer interface and is blocked. Surprisingly, even a mutant protein in which Cys73 is replaced by Ser, is dimeric in the crystal, which led to the suggestion that the dimer of hTRX may be of physiological importance (Weichsel et al., 1996). In addition, the role of Asp60 in dimer formation was probed both crystallographically and with a dimerization assay using diamide as the oxidant (Andersen et al., 1997). Since no evidence for the presence of a dimer was found in the solution NMR structure of hTRX (Qin et al., 1994), it was suggested that the threonine for methionine substitution at position 74 in the hTRX used for the NMR studies might be responsible for this difference between crystal and solution states (Weichsel et al., 1996). To resolve this issue, we have examined the molecular weight and rotational correlation time of hTRX by analytical ultracentrifugation and NMR spectroscopy, respectively. Two variants were investigated, namely hTRX identical in amino acid sequence to the one whose NMR structure we previously determined (C62A, C69A, C73A, M74T) and hTRX (C62A, C69A, C73A, M74) containing the wild-type amino acid methionine at position 74.

α-Macroglobulin inhibits a broad spectrum of proteinases by forming macromolecular cages inside which proteinases are cross-linked and trapped. Upon formation of a complex with proteinase, α-macroglobulin undergoes a large conformational change that results in the exposure of its receptor-binding domain (RBD). Engagement of this domain by α-macroglobulin receptor permits clearance of the α-macroglobulin: proteinase complex from circulation. The crystal structure of rat α1-macroglobulin RBD has been determined at 2.3 Å resolution. The RBD is composed of a nine-stranded β-sandwich and a single α-helix that has been implicated as part of the receptor binding site and that lies on the surface of the β-sandwich. The crystallographic asymmetric unit contains a dimer of RBDs related by approximate twofold symmetry such that the putative receptor recognition sites of the two monomers are contiguous. By gel filtration and ultracentrifugation, it is shown that RBD dimers form in solution with a dissociation constant of ∼50 μM. The structure of the RBD dimer might mimic a conformation of transformed α-macroglobulin in which the proposed receptor binding residues are exposed on one face of the dimer. A pair of phenylalanine residues replaces a cystine that is conserved in other members of the macroglobulin family. These residues participate in a network of aromatic side-chain interactions that appears to stabilize the dimer interface.

Lyme borreliosis is a multisystem disorder caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi that is transmitted to humans by the tick Ixodes dammini. The immune response against the 31 kDa OspA, which is one of the most abundant B. burgdorferi proteins, appears to be critical in preventing infection and tissue inflammation. Detailed knowledge of the immunological and molecular characteristics of the OspA protein is important for the development of reliable diagnostic assays. In this study, we characterized a new conformational epitope present within the middle part of B. burgdorferi OspA. Our approach used enzymatic proteolyses of the immune complex followed by mass spectrometric identification of the peptides bound to the antibody. It appears to be one of the first reports on the characterization of a discontinuous epitope using mass spectrometry.

The hydrogen exchange behavior of exchangeable protons in proteins can provide important information for understanding the principles of protein structure and function. The positions and exchange rates of the slowly-exchanging amide protons in sperm whale myoglobin have been mapped using 15N-1H NMR spectroscopy. The slowest-exchanging amide protons are those that are hydrogen bonded in the longest helices, including members of the B, E, and H helices. Significant protection factors were observed also in the A, C, and G helices, and for a few residues in the D and F helices. Knowledge of the identity of slowly-exchanging amide protons forms the basis for the extensive quench-flow kinetic folding experiments that have been performed for myoglobin, and gives insights into the tertiary interactions and dynamics in the protein.

Viscosities of aqueous solutions of guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) were measured in the presence of varying amounts of glucose. At high concentrations of glucose or GuHCl, the measured viscosities showed significant deviation from the values computed using a method proposed by Tanford (1966, J Biol Chem 241:3228–3232). This method was originally derived to allow the calculation of the effects of buffer or low concentrations of salts and other additives on the density and viscosity of aqueous solutions of urea or GuHCl. Recently it has been used to estimate the viscosity of denaturant solutions that contain high concentrations of viscogens. Our results show that the extrapolation of this approach to solutions of highly concentrated viscous co-solutes leads to significant errors. The implications for experimental studies of the viscosity dependence of conformational transitions in proteins is discussed.

The Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) receptor is a tyrosine kinase that mediates the biological effects of ligands such as EGF and transforming growth factor alpha. An understanding of the molecular basis of its action has been hindered by a lack of structural and mutational data on the receptor. We have constructed comparative models of the four extracellular domains of the EGF receptor that are based on the structure of the first three domains of the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptor. The first and third domains of the EGF receptor, L1 and L2, are right-handed beta helices. The second and fourth domains of the EGF receptor, S1 and S2, consist of the modules held together by disulfide bonds, which, except for the first module of the S1 domain, form rod-like structures. The arrangement of the L1 and S1 domains of the model are similar to that of the first two domains of the IGF-1 receptor, whereas that of the L2 and S2 domains appear to be significantly different. Using the EGF receptor model and limited information from the literature, we have proposed a number of regions that may be involved in the functioning of the receptor. In particular, the faces containing the large beta sheets in the L1 and L2 domains have been suggested to be involved with ligand binding of EGF to its receptor.

The Escherichia coli tryptophan repressor protein (TR) represses the transcription of several genes in response to the concentration of tryptophan in the environment. In the co-crystal structure of TR bound to a DNA fragment containing its target very few direct contacts between TR and the DNA were observed. In contrast, a number of solvent mediated contacts were apparent. NMR solution structures, however, did not resolve any solvent mediated bonds at the complex interface. To probe for the role of water in TR operator recognition, the effect of osmolytes on the interactions between TR and a target oligonucleotide bearing the operator site was examined. In the absence of specific solvent mediated hydrogen bonding interactions between the protein and the DNA, increasing osmolyte concentration is expected to strongly stabilize the TR operator interaction due to the large amount of macromolecular surface area buried upon complexation. The results of our studies indicate that xylose did not alter the binding affinity significantly, while glycerol and PEG had a small stabilizing effect. A study of binding as a function of betaine concentration revealed that this osmolyte at low concentration results in a stabilization of the 1:1 TR/operator complex, but at higher concentrations leads to a switching between binding modes to favor tandem binding. Analysis of the effects of betaine on the 1:1 complex suggest that this osmolyte has about 78% of the expected effect. If one accepts the analysis in terms of the number of water molecules excluded upon complexation, these results suggest that about 75 water molecules remain at the interface of the 1:1 dimer/DNA complex. This value is consistent with the number of water molecules found at the interface in the crystallographically determined structure and supports the notion that interfacial waters play an important thermodynamic role in the specific complexation of one TR dimer with its target DNA. However, the complexity of the effects of betaine and the small or negligible effects of the other osmolytes could also arise from osmolyte induced competition between antagonistic coupled reactions.

We carry out a systematic analysis of the correlation between similarity of protein three-dimensional structures and their evolutionary relationships. The structural similarity is quantitatively identified by an all-against-all comparison of the spatial arrangement of secondary structural elements in nonredundant 967 representative proteins, and the evolutionary relationship is judged according to the definition of superfamily in the SCOP database. We find the following symmetry rule: a protein pair that has similar folds but belong to different superfamilies has (with a very rare exception) certain internal symmetry in its common similar folds. Possible reasons behind the symmetry rule are discussed.

The hypersensitivity resistance response directed by the N′ gene in Nicotiana sylvestris is elicited by the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) coat protein R46G, but not by the U1 wild-type TMV coat protein. In this study, the structural and hydrodynamic properties of R46G and wild-type coat proteins were compared for variations that may explain N′ gene elicitation. Circular dichroism spectroscopy reveals no significant secondary or tertiary structural differences between the elicitor and nonelicitor coat proteins. Analytical ultracentrifugation studies, however, do show different concentration dependencies of the weight average sedimentation coefficients at 4 °C. Viral reconstitution kinetics at 20 °C were used to determine viral assembly rates and as an initial assay of the rate of 20S formation, the obligate species for viral reconstitution. These kinetic results reveal a decreased lag time for reconstitution performed with R46G that initially lack the 20S aggregate. However, experiments performed with 20S initially present reveal no detectable differences indicating that the mechanism of viral assembly is similar for the two coat protein species. Therefore, an increased rate of 20S formation from R46G subunits may explain the differences in the viral reconstitution lag times. The inferred increase in the rate of 20S formation is verified by direct measurement of the 20S boundary as a function of time at 20 °C using velocity sedimentation analysis. These results are consistent with the interpretation that there may be an altered size distribution and/or lifetime of the small coat protein aggregates in elicitors that allows N. sylvestris to recognize the invading virus.

The factors that influence the enhanced stability observed experimentally of human rhinovirus 14 (HRV14) upon binding a hydrophobic antiviral drug have been investigated by molecular dynamics. Simulations centered about the HRV14 drug-binding pocket allow the reliable assessment of differences in capsid protein motions of HRV14 and drug-bound HRV14. We propose that the experimentally observed stabilization of the ligated virus arises from higher entropy, rather than enthalpy. Time-averaged interaction energies between the viral protein and molecules occupying the pocket are less favorable in the presence of the drug, consistent with the proposal that the observed stability arises from entropic effects. Interaction energies characterizing subunit–subunit contacts within one viral protomer are found to be substantially stronger than those between two protomers. Such distinction in subunit interaction would have clear implications on assembly and disassembly. Drug binding is found to affect large-scale, collective properties, while leaving local atomic properties unperturbed. Specifically, the simulations reveal a weakening of long-range correlations in atomic motions upon drug binding. On the other hand, neither the fast time scale RMS fluctuations of individual atomic positions nor the fluctuation build-up curves from the capsid β-sandwich forming the drug-binding pocket show a consistent distinction between the drug-bound and drug-free viral simulations. Collectively, the detailed description available from the simulations provides an understanding of the experimental observations on the drug-induced changes in thermal stability and protease sensitivity reported for picornaviruses. The predicted significance of binding entropy can be explored experimentally and should be considered in the design of new antiviral compounds.

Lipidation catalyzed by protein prenyltransferases is essential for the biological function of a number of eukaryotic proteins, many of which are involved in signal transduction and vesicular traffic regulation. Sequence similarity searches reveal that the α-subunit of protein prenyltransferases (PTα) is a member of the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) superfamily. This finding makes the three-dimensional structure of the rat protein farnesyltransferase the first structural model of a TPR protein interacting with its protein partner. Structural comparison of the two TPR domains in protein farnesyltransferase and protein phosphatase 5 indicates that variation in TPR consensus residues may affect protein binding specificity through altering the overall shape of the TPR superhelix. A general approach to evolutionary analysis of proteins with repetitive sequence motifs has been developed and applied to the protein prenyltransferases and other TPR proteins. The results suggest that all members in PTα family originated from a common multirepeat ancestor, while the common ancestor of PTα and other members of TPR superfamily is likely to be a single repeat protein.

By means of a kinetic test, it was demonstrated that one of the folding intermediates (Iα) of hen lysozyme with α-domain folded and β-domain unfolded is on the folding pathway under the classical definition. Iα folds to the native (N) state directly (unfolded (U) [hArr ] Iα [hArr ] N) without having to unfold to U and then refold to N through alternative folding pathways as in Iα [hArr ] U [hArr ] N.

The distance between Ca2+-binding site III in the C-terminal domain and Cys35 in the N-terminal domain in cardiac muscle troponin C (cTnC) was determined with a single-tryptophan mutant using bound Tb3+ as the energy donor and iodoacetamidotetramethylrhodamine linked to the cysteine residue as energy acceptor. The luminescence of bound Tb3+ was generated through sensitization by the tryptophan located in the 12-residue binding loop of site III upon irradiation at 295 nm, and this sensitized luminescence was the donor signal transferred to the acceptor. In the absence of bound cation at site II, the mean interdomain distance was found to be 48–49 Å regardless of whether the cTnC was unbound or bound to cardiac troponin I, or reconstituted into cardiac troponin. These results suggest that cTnC retains its overall length in the presence of bound target proteins. The distribution of the distances was wide (half-width >9 Å) and suggests considerable interdomain flexibility in isolated cTnC, but the distributions became narrower for cTnC in the complexes with the other subunits. In the presence of bound cation at the regulatory site II, the interdomain distance was shortened by 6 Å for cTnC, but without an effect on the half-width. The decrease in the mean distance was much smaller or negligible when cTnC was complexed with cTnI or cTnI and cTnT under the same conditions. Although free cTnC has considerable interdomain flexibility, this dynamics is slightly reduced in troponin. These results indicate that the transition from the relaxed state to an activated state in cardiac muscle is not accompanied by a gross alteration of the cTnC conformation in cardiac troponin.

The DNA-binding domain of the yeast heat shock transcription factor (HSF) contains a strictly conserved proline that is at the center of a kink. To define the role of this conserved proline-centered kink, we replaced the proline with a number of other residues. These substitutions did not diminish the ability of the full-length protein to support growth of yeast or to activate transcription, suggesting that the proline at the center of the kink is not conserved for function. The stability of the isolated mutant DNA-binding domains was unaltered from the wild-type, so the proline is not conserved to maintain the stability of the protein. The crystal structures of two of the mutant DNA-binding domains revealed that the helices in the mutant proteins were still kinked after substitution of the proline, suggesting that the proline does not cause the α-helical kink. So why are prolines conserved in this and the majority of other kinked α-helices if not for structure, function, or stability? The mutant DNA-binding domains are less soluble than wild-type when overexpressed. In addition, the folding kinetics, as measured by stopped-flow fluorescence, is faster for the mutant proteins. These two results support the premise that the presence of the proline is critical for the folding pathway of HSF's DNA-binding domain. The finding may also be more general and explain why kinked helices maintain their prolines.

The bacterial toxin colicin E9 is secreted by producing Escherichia coli cells with its 9.5 kDa inhibitor protein Im9 bound tightly to its 14.5 kDa C-terminal DNase domain. Double- and triple-resonance NMR spectra of the isolated DNase domain uniformly labeled with 13C/15N bound to unlabeled Im9 contain more signals than expected for a single DNase conformer, consistent with the bound DNase being present in more than one form. The presence of chemical exchange cross peaks in 750 MHz 15N–1H–15N HSQC–NOESY–HSQC spectra for backbone NH groups of Asp20, Lys21, Trp22, Leu23, Lys69, and Asn70 showed that the bound DNase was in dynamic exchange. The rate of exchange from the major to the minor form was determined to be 1.1 ± 0.2 s−1 at 298 K. Previous NMR studies have shown that the free DNase interchanges between two conformers with a forward rate constant of 1.61 ± 0.11 s−1 at 288 K, and that the bound Im9 is fixed in one conformation. The NMR studies of the bound DNase show that Im9 binds similarly to both conformers of the DNase and that the buried Trp22 is involved in the dynamic process. For the free DNase, all NH groups within a 9 Å radius of any point of the Trp22 ring exhibit heterogeneity suggesting that a rearrangement of the position of this side chain is connected with the conformational interchange. The possible functional significance of this feature of the DNase is discussed.

The usefulness of molecular dynamics to assess the structural integrity of mutants containing several mutations has been investigated. Our goal was to determine whether molecular dynamics would be able to discriminate mutants of a protein having a close–to–wild-type fold, from those that are not folded under the same conditions. We used as a model the B1 domain of protein G in which we replaced the unique central α-helix by the sequence of the second β-hairpin, which has a strong intrinsic propensity to form this secondary structure in solution. In the resulting protein, one-third of the secondary structure has been replaced by a non-native one. Models of the mutants were built based on the three-dimensional structure of the wild-type GB1 domain. During 2 ns of molecular dynamics simulations on these models, mutants containing up to 10 mutations in the helix retained the native fold, while another mutant with an additional mutation unfolded. This result is in agreement with our circular dichroism and NMR experiments, which indicated that the former mutants fold into a structure similar to the wild-type, as opposed to the latter mutant which is partly unfolded. Additionally, a mutant containing six mutations scattered through the surface of the domain, and which is unfolded, was also detected by the simulation. This study suggests that molecular dynamics calculations could be performed on molecular models of mutants of a protein to evaluate their foldability, prior to a mutagenesis experiment.

We have used the homonuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) to characterize a model protein: carbonic anhydrase B. We have obtained NOE difference spectra for this protein, centering the on-resonance signals either at the methyl-proton or at the water-proton signals. The spin-diffusion spectra obtained as a function of protein concentration and temperature provide direct evidence of much greater protein–water interaction in the molten-globule state than in the native and denatured states. Furthermore, although the protein loses its gross tertiary structure in both the molten-globule and denatured states, it remains almost as compact in its molten-globule state as it is in the native state. The spin-diffusion spectra, obtained as a function of a variable delay time after the saturation pulse, allowed us to measure the relaxation times of several types of proton in the solution. These spectra contain enough information to distinguish between those water molecules solvating the protein and the free ones present as bulk water.

Using a combination of theoretical sequence structure recognition predictions and experimental disulfide bond assignments, a three-dimensional (3D) model of human interleukin-7 (hIL-7) was constructed that predicts atypical surface chemistry in helix D that is important for receptor activation. A 3D model of hIL-7 was built using the X-ray crystal structure of interleukin-4 (IL-4) as a template (Walter MR et al., 1992, J Mol Biol. 224:1075–1085; Walter MR et al., 1992, J Biol Chem 267:20371–20376). Core secondary structures were constructed from sequences of hIL-7 predicted to form helices. The model was constructed by superimposing IL-7 helices onto the IL-4 template and connecting them together in an up–up down–down topology. The model was finished by incorporating the disulfide bond assignments (Cys3, Cys142), (Cys35, Cys130), and (Cys48, Cys93), which were determined by MALDI mass spectroscopy and site-directed mutagenesis (Cosenza L, Sweeney E, Murphy JR, 1997, J Biol Chem 272:32995–33000). Quality analysis of the hIL-7 model identified poor structural features in the carboxyl terminus that, when further studied using hydrophobic moment analysis, detected an atypical structural property in helix D, which contains Cys130 and Cys142. This analysis demonstrated that helix D had a hydrophobic surface exposed to bulk solvent that accounted for the poor quality of the model, but was suggestive of a region in IL-7 that maybe important for protein interactions. Alanine (Ala) substitution scanning mutagenesis was performed to test if the predicted atypical surface chemistry of helix D in the hIL-7 model is important for receptor activation. This analysis resulted in the construction, purification, and characterization of four hIL-7 variants, hIL-7(K121A), hIL-7(L136A), hIL-7(K140A), and hIL-7(W143A), that displayed reduced or abrogated ability to stimulate a murine IL-7 dependent pre-B cell proliferation. The mutant hIL-7(W143A), which is biologically inactive and displaces [125I]-hIL-7, is the first reported IL-7R system antagonist.

Low catalytic efficiency of basal-state protein kinases often depends on activation loop residues blocking substrate access to the catalytic cleft. Using the recombinant soluble form of the insulin receptor's kinase domain (IRKD) in its unphosphorylated state, activation loop conformation was analyzed by limited proteolysis. The rate of activation loop cleavage by trypsin is slow in the apo-IRKD. Bound Mg-adenine nucleoside di- and triphosphates increased the cleavage rate with half-maximal effects observed at 0.4–0.9 mM nucleotide. Adenosine monophosphate at concentrations up to 10 mM was not bound appreciably by the IRKD and had virtually no impact on activation loop cleavage. Amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal core-flanking regions of the IRKD had no statistically significant impact on the ligand-dependent or -independent activation loop cleavages. Furthermore, the core-flanking regions did not change the inherent conformational stability of the active site or the global stability of the IRKD, as determined by guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation. These measurements indicate that the intrasterically inhibitory conformation encompasses ≥90% of the ligand-free basal state kinase. However, normal intracellular concentrations of Mg-adenine nucleotides, which are in the millimolar range, would favor a basal-state conformation of the activation loop that is more accessible.

The sequences of several members of the myosin family of molecular motors are evaluated using ASP (Ambivalent Structure Predictor), a new computational method. ASP predicts structurally ambivalent sequence elements by analyzing the output from a secondary structure prediction algorithm. These ambivalent sequence elements form secondary structures that are hypothesized to function as switches by undergoing conformational rearrangement. For chicken skeletal muscle myosin, 13 discrete structurally ambivalent sequence elements are identified. All 13 are located in the heavy chain motor domain. When these sequence elements are mapped into the myosin tertiary structure, they form two compact regions that connect the actin binding site to the adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) site, and the ATP site to the fulcrum site for the force-producing bending of the motor domain. These regions, predicted by the new algorithm to undergo conformational rearrangements, include the published known and putative switches of the myosin motor domain, and they form plausible allosteric connections between the three main functional sites of myosin. The sequences of several other members of the myosin I and II families are also analyzed.