Molecular mechanisms behind BRACO19 and human telomeric G-quadruplex interaction.

Human telomeres (HTs) can form DNA G-quadruplex (G4), an attractive target for anticancer and antiviral drugs. HT-G4s exhibit inherent structural polymorphism, posing challenges for understanding their specific recognition by ligands. Here, we aim to explore the impact of different topologies within a small segment of the HT (Tel22) on its interaction with BRACO19, a rationally designed G4 ligand with high quadruplex affinity, already employed in in-vivo treatments. Our multi-technique approach is based on the combined use of a set of contactless spectroscopic tools. Circular dichroism and UV resonance Raman spectroscopy probe ligand-induced conformational changes in the G4 sequence, while UV-visible absorption, coupled with steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, provides further insights into the electronic features of the complex, exploiting the photoresponsive properties of BRACO19. Overall, we find that modifying the topology of the unbound Tel22 through cations (K+ or Na+), serves as a critical determinant for ligand interactions and binding modes, thus influencing the HT-G4's assembly capabilities. Furthermore, we show how fluorescence serves as a valuable probe for recognizing cation-driven multimeric structures, which may be present in living organisms, giving rise to pathological forms.

Photocobilins integrate B12 and bilin photochemistry for enzyme control.

Photoreceptor proteins utilise chromophores to sense light and trigger a biological response. The discovery that adenosylcobalamin (or coenzyme B12) can act as a light-sensing chromophore heralded a new field of B12-photobiology. Although microbial genome analysis indicates that photoactive B12-binding domains form part of more complex protein architectures, regulating a range of molecular-cellular functions in response to light, experimental evidence is lacking. Here we identify and characterise a sub-family of multi-centre photoreceptors, termed photocobilins, that use B12 and biliverdin (BV) to sense light across the visible spectrum. Crystal structures reveal close juxtaposition of the B12 and BV chromophores, an arrangement that facilitates optical coupling. Light-triggered conversion of the B12 affects quaternary structure, in turn leading to light-activation of associated enzyme domains. The apparent widespread nature of photocobilins implies involvement in light regulation of a wider array of biochemical processes, and thus expands the scope for B12 photobiology. Their characterisation provides inspiration for the design of broad-spectrum optogenetic tools and next generation bio-photocatalysts.

Stacking Interactions and Flexibility of Human Telomeric Multimers.

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are helical four-stranded structures forming from guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences, which are thought to play a role in cancer development and malignant transformation. Most current studies focus on G4 monomers, yet under suitable and biologically relevant conditions, G4s undergo multimerization. Here, we investigate the stacking interactions and structural features of telomeric G4 multimers by means of a novel low-resolution structural approach that combines small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) with extremely coarse-grained (ECG) simulations. The degree of multimerization and the strength of the stacking interaction are quantitatively determined in G4 self-assembled multimers. We show that self-assembly induces a significant polydispersity of the G4 multimers with an exponential distribution of contour lengths, consistent with a step-growth polymerization. On increasing DNA concentration, the strength of the stacking interaction between G4 monomers increases, as well as the average number of units in the aggregates. We utilized the same approach to explore the conformational flexibility of a model single-stranded long telomeric sequence. Our findings indicate that its G4 units frequently adopt a beads-on-a-string configuration. We also observe that the interaction between G4 units can be significantly affected by complexation with benchmark ligands. The proposed methodology, which identifies the determinants that govern the formation and structural flexibility of G4 multimers, may be an affordable tool aiding in the selection and design of drugs that target G4s under physiological conditions.

Porphyrin Binding and Irradiation Promote G-Quadruplex DNA Dimeric Structure.

Nucleic acid sequences rich in guanines can organize into noncanonical DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) of variable size. The design of small molecules stabilizing the structure of G4s is a rapidly growing area for the development of novel anticancer therapeutic strategies and bottom-up nanotechnologies. Among a multitude of binders, porphyrins are very attractive due to their light activation that can make them valuable conformational regulators of G4s. Here, a structure-based strategy, integrating complementary probes, is employed to study the interaction between TMPyP4 porphyrin and a 22-base human telomeric sequence (Tel22) before and after irradiation with blue light. Porphyrin binding is discovered to promote Tel22 dimerization, while light irradiation of the Tel22-TMPyP4 complex controls dimer fraction. Such a change in quaternary structure is found to be strictly correlated with modifications at the secondary structure level, thus providing an unprecedented link between the degree of dimerization and the underlying conformational changes in G4s.

Zinc determines dynamical properties and aggregation kinetics of human insulin.

Protein aggregation is a widespread process leading to deleterious consequences in the organism, with amyloid aggregates being important not only in biology but also for drug design and biomaterial production. Insulin is a protein largely used in diabetes treatment, and its amyloid aggregation is at the basis of the so-called insulin-derived amyloidosis. Here, we uncover the major role of zinc in both insulin dynamics and aggregation kinetics at low pH, in which the formation of different amyloid superstructures (fibrils and spherulites) can be thermally induced. Amyloid aggregation is accompanied by zinc release and the suppression of water-sustained insulin dynamics, as shown by particle-induced x-ray emission and x-ray absorption spectroscopy and by neutron spectroscopy, respectively. Our study shows that zinc binding stabilizes the native form of insulin by facilitating hydration of this hydrophobic protein and suggests that introducing new binding sites for zinc can improve insulin stability and tune its aggregation propensity.

Anharmonic onsets in polypeptides revealed by neutron scattering: experimental evidences and quantitative description of energy resolution dependence.

Neutron scattering measurements on protein powders reveal two deviations from harmonic dynamics at low temperature, whose molecular origin, physical nature and biological relevance are still matter of discussion. In this study we present a new experimental and theoretical approach to evidence the resolution dependence of anharmonic onsets: the use of strategically selected homomeric polypeptides allows revealing the exact resolution dependence; a two-site energy landscape model, where resolution effects are explicitly taken into account, is able to interpret quantitatively the experimental data in terms of energy landscape parameters. The energetic description provided by this analysis, together with recent experimental evidences obtained on chemically and structurally different peptide systems, allows us to connect the protein/water energy landscape structure with the two-wells water interaction potential proposed to explain the low-density→high-density liquid-liquid transition observed in supercooled water.

Physical origin of anharmonic dynamics in proteins: new insights from resolution-dependent neutron scattering on homomeric polypeptides.

Neutron scattering reveals a complex dynamics in polypeptide chains, with two main onsets of anharmonicity whose physical origin and biological role are still debated. In this study the dynamics of strategically selected homomeric polypeptides is investigated with elastic neutron scattering using different energy resolutions and compared with that of a real protein. Our data spotlight the dependence of anharmonic transition temperatures and fluctuation amplitudes on energy resolution, which we quantitatively explain in terms of a two-site model for the protein-hydration water energy landscape. Experimental data strongly suggest that the protein dynamical transition is not a mere resolution effect but is due to a real physical effect. Activation barriers and free energy values obtained for the protein dynamical transition allow us to make a connection with the two-well interaction potential of supercooled-confined water proposed to explain a low-density→high-density liquid-liquid transition.

Molecular origin and hydration dependence of protein anharmonicity: an elastic neutron scattering study.

Two main onsets of anharmonicity are present in protein dynamics. Neutron scattering on protein hydrated powders revealed a first onset at about 150 K and a second one at about 230 K (the so called dynamical transition). In order to assess the molecular origin of protein anharmonicity, we study different homomeric polypeptides by incoherent elastic neutron scattering, thus disentangling the contribution of different molecular groups in proteins. We show that methyl group rotations are the main contributors to the low temperature onset. Concerning the dynamical transition, we show that it also occurs in absence of side chains; however, the presence and mobility of side chains substantially increases the fluctuations amplitude without influencing the transition temperature. We also investigate the role of hydration on the anharmonic contributions. Our study shows that methyl group rotations are unaffected by hydration and confirms that the dynamical transition is suppressed in dry samples. In hydrated samples, while the pure backbone contribution does not depend on the hydration h at h > or = 0.2, in the presence of side chains the anharmonic fluctuations involved in the dynamical transition are enhanced by increasing the water content.

Direct evidence of the amino acid side chain and backbone contributions to protein anharmonicity.

Elastic incoherent neutron scattering has been used to study the temperature dependence of the mean-square displacements of nonexchangeable hydrogen atoms in powders of a series of homomeric polypeptides (polyglycine, polyalanine, polyphenylalanine and polyisoleucine) in comparison with myoglobin at the same hydration level (h = 0.2). The aim of the work was to measure the dynamic behavior of different amino acid residues separately and assess the contribution of each type of side chain to the anharmonic dynamics of proteins. The results provide direct experimental evidence that the first anharmonic activation, at approximately 150 K, is largely due to methyl group rotations entering the time window of the spectrometer used; however, contributions on the order of 10-20% from the motions of other groups (e.g., the phenolic ring and the methylene groups) are present. Our data also indicate that the dynamical transition occurring at approximately 230 K can be attributed, at least at the hydration level investigated, mainly to motions involving backbone fluctuations.