Heat-Induced Conformational Transition Mechanism of Heat Shock Factor 1 Investigated by Tryptophan Probe.

A transcriptional regulatory system called heat shock response (HSR) has been developed in eukaryotic cells to maintain proteome homeostasis under various stresses. Heat shock factor-1 (Hsf1) plays a central role in HSR, mainly by upregulating molecular chaperones as a transcription factor. Hsf1 forms a complex with chaperones and exists as a monomer in the resting state under normal conditions. However, upon heat shock, Hsf1 is activated by oligomerization. Thus, oligomerization of Hsf1 is considered an important step in HSR. However, the lack of information about Hsf1 monomer structure in the resting state, as well as the structural change via oligomerization at heat response, impeded the understanding of the thermosensing mechanism through oligomerization. In this study, we applied solution biophysical methods, including fluorescence spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and circular dichroism spectroscopy, to investigate the heat-induced conformational transition mechanism of Hsf1 leading to oligomerization. Our study showed that Hsf1 forms an inactive closed conformation mediated by intramolecular contact between leucine zippers (LZs), in which the intermolecular contact between the LZs for oligomerization is prevented. As the temperature increases, Hsf1 changes to an open conformation, where the intramolecular LZ interaction is dissolved so that the LZs can form intermolecular contacts to form oligomers in the active form. Furthermore, since the interaction sites with molecular chaperones and nuclear transporters are also expected to be exposed in the open conformation, the conformational change to the open state can lead to understanding the regulation of Hsf1-mediated stress response through interaction with multiple cellular components.

Structural basis for the antifolding activity of a molecular chaperone.

Molecular chaperones act on non-native proteins in the cell to prevent their aggregation, premature folding or misfolding. Different chaperones often exert distinct effects, such as acceleration or delay of folding, on client proteins via mechanisms that are poorly understood. Here we report the solution structure of SecB, a chaperone that exhibits strong antifolding activity, in complex with alkaline phosphatase and maltose-binding protein captured in their unfolded states. SecB uses long hydrophobic grooves that run around its disk-like shape to recognize and bind to multiple hydrophobic segments across the length of non-native proteins. The multivalent binding mode results in proteins wrapping around SecB. This unique complex architecture alters the kinetics of protein binding to SecB and confers strong antifolding activity on the chaperone. The data show how the different architectures of chaperones result in distinct binding modes with non-native proteins that ultimately define the activity of the chaperone.

Structural and Kinetic Views of Molecular Chaperones in Multidomain Protein Folding.

Despite recent developments in protein structure prediction, the process of the structure formation, folding, remains poorly understood. Notably, folding of multidomain proteins, which involves multiple steps of segmental folding, is one of the biggest questions in protein science. Multidomain protein folding often requires the assistance of molecular chaperones. Molecular chaperones promote or delay the folding of the client protein, but the detailed mechanisms are still unclear. This review summarizes the findings of biophysical and structural studies on the mechanism of multidomain protein folding mediated by molecular chaperones and explains how molecular chaperones recognize the client proteins and alter their folding properties. Furthermore, we introduce several recent studies that describe the concept of kinetics-activity relationships to explain the mechanism of functional diversity of molecular chaperones.

Conformational ensemble of a multidomain protein explored by Gd3+ electron paramagnetic resonance.

Despite their importance in function, the conformational state of proteins and its changes are often poorly understood, mainly because of the lack of an efficient tool. MurD, a 47-kDa protein enzyme responsible for peptidoglycan biosynthesis, is one of those proteins whose conformational states and changes during their catalytic cycle are not well understood. Although it has been considered that MurD takes a single conformational state in solution as shown by a crystal structure, the solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study suggested the existence of multiple conformational state of apo MurD in solution. However, the conformational distribution has not been evaluated. In this work, we investigate the conformational states of MurD by the use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), especially intergadolinium distance measurement using double electron-electron resonance (DEER) measurement. The gadolinium ions are fixed on specific positions on MurD via a rigid double-arm paramagnetic lanthanide tag that has been originally developed for paramagnetic NMR. The combined use of NMR and EPR enables accurate interpretation of the DEER distance information to the structural information of MurD. The DEER distance measurement for apo MurD shows a broad distance distribution, whereas the presence of the inhibitor narrows the distance distribution. The results suggest that MurD exists in a wide variety of conformational states in the absence of ligands, whereas binding of the inhibitor eliminates variation in conformational states. The multiple conformational states of MurD were previously implied by NMR experiments, but our DEER data provided structural characterization of the conformational variety of MurD.

Conformational dynamics of a multidomain protein by neutron scattering and computational analysis.

The flexible conformations of a multidomain protein are responsible for its biological functions. Although MurD, a 47-kDa protein that consists of three domains, sequentially changes its domain conformation from an open form to a closed form through a semiclosed form in its enzymatic reaction, the domain dynamics in each conformation remains unclear. In this study, we verify the conformational dynamics of MurD in the corresponding three states (apo and ATP- and inhibitor-bound states) with a combination of small-angle x-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS and SANS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), neutron backscattering (NBS), neutron spin echo (NSE) spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Applying principal component analysis of the MD trajectories, twisting and open-closed domain modes are identified as the major collective coordinates. The deviations of the experimental SAXS profiles from the theoretical calculations based on the known crystal structures become smaller in the ATP-bound state than in the apo state, and a further decrease is evident upon inhibitor binding. These results suggest that domain motions of the protein are suppressed step by step of each ligand binding. The DLS and NBS data yield collective and self-translational diffusion constants, respectively, and we used them to extract collective domain motions in nanometer and nanosecond scales from the NSE data. In the apo state, MurD shows both twisting and open-closed domain modes, whereas an ATP binding suppresses twisting domain motions, and a further reduction of open-closed mode is seen in the inhibitor-binding state. These observations are consistent with the structure modifications measured by the small-angle scattering as well as the MD simulations. Such changes in the domain dynamics associated with the sequential enzymatic reactions should be related to the affinity and reaction efficiency with a ligand that binds specifically to each reaction state.

Quadruplex Folding Promotes the Condensation of Linker Histones and DNAs via Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins and DNA has recently emerged as a possible mechanism underlying the dynamic organization of chromatin. We herein report the role of DNA quadruplex folding in liquid droplet formation via LLPS induced by interactions between DNA and linker histone H1 (H1), a key regulator of chromatin organization. Fluidity measurements inside the droplets, binding assays using G-quadruplex-selective probes, and structural analyses based on circular dichroism demonstrated that quadruplex DNA structures, such as the G-quadruplex and i-motif, promote droplet formation with H1 and decrease molecular motility within droplets. The dissolution of the droplets in the presence of additives and the LLPS of the DNA structural units indicated that, in addition to electrostatic interactions between the DNA and the intrinsically disordered region of H1, π-π stacking between quadruplex DNAs could potentially drive droplet formation, unlike in the electrostatically driven LLPS of duplex DNA and H1. According to phase diagrams of anionic molecules with various conformations, the high LLPS ability associated with quadruplex folding arises from the formation of interfaces consisting of organized planes of guanine bases and the side surfaces with a high charge density. Given that DNA quadruplex structures are well-documented in heterochromatin regions, it is imperative to understand the role of DNA quadruplex folding in the context of intranuclear LLPS.

Dynamic assembly of protein disulfide isomerase in catalysis of oxidative folding.

Time-resolved direct observations of proteins in action provide essential mechanistic insights into biological processes. Here, we present mechanisms of action of protein disulfide isomerase (PDI)-the most versatile disulfide-introducing enzyme in the endoplasmic reticulum-during the catalysis of oxidative protein folding. Single-molecule analysis by high-speed atomic force microscopy revealed that oxidized PDI is in rapid equilibrium between open and closed conformations, whereas reduced PDI is maintained in the closed state. In the presence of unfolded substrates, oxidized PDI, but not reduced PDI, assembles to form a face-to-face dimer, creating a central hydrophobic cavity with multiple redox-active sites, where substrates are likely accommodated to undergo accelerated oxidative folding. Such PDI dimers are diverse in shape and have different lifetimes depending on substrates. To effectively guide proper oxidative protein folding, PDI regulates conformational dynamics and oligomeric states in accordance with its own redox state and the configurations or folding states of substrates.

Structural insight into proline cis/trans isomerization of unfolded proteins catalyzed by the trigger factor chaperone.

Molecular chaperones often possess functional modules that are specialized in assisting the formation of specific structural elements, such as a disulfide bridges and peptidyl-prolyl bonds in cis form, in the client protein. A ribosome-associated molecular chaperone trigger factor (TF), which has a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) domain, acts as a highly efficient catalyst in the folding process limited by peptidyl-prolyl isomerization. Herein we report a study on the mechanism through which TF recognizes the proline residue in the unfolded client protein during the cis/trans isomerization process. The solution structure of TF in complex with the client protein showed that TF recognizes the proline-aromatic motif located in the hydrophobic stretch of the unfolded client protein through its conserved hydrophobic cleft, which suggests that TF preferentially accelerates the isomerization of the peptidyl-prolyl bond that is eventually folded into the core of the protein in its native fold. Molecular dynamics simulation revealed that TF exploits the backbone amide group of Ile195 to form an intermolecular hydrogen bond with the carbonyl oxygen of the amino acid residue preceding the proline residue at the transition state, which presumably stabilizes the transition state and thus accelerates the isomerization. The importance of such intermolecular hydrogen-bond formation during the catalysis was further corroborated by the activity assay and NMR relaxation analysis.

Polyethylene glycol promotes autoxidation of cytochrome c.

Cytochrome c (Cyt c) was rapidly oxidized by molecular oxygen in the presence, but not absence of PEG. The redox potential of heme c was determined by the potentiometric titration to be +236 ±â€¯3 mV in the absence of PEG, which was negatively shifted to +200 ±â€¯4 mV in the presence of PEG. The underlying the rapid oxidation was explored by examining the structural changes in Cyt c in the presence of PEG using UV-visible absorption, circular dichroism, resonance Raman, and fluorescence spectroscopies. These spectroscopic analyses suggested that heme oxidation was induced by a modest tertiary structural change accompanied by a slight shift in the heme position (<1.0 Å) rather than by partial denaturation, as is observed in the presence of cardiolipin. The near-infrared spectra showed that PEG induced dehydration from Cyt c, which triggered heme displacement. The primary dehydration site was estimated to be around surface-exposed hydrophobic residues near the heme center: Ile81 and Val83. These findings and our previous studies, which showed that hydrated water molecules around Ile81 and Val83 are expelled when Cyt c forms a complex with CcO, proposed that dehydration of these residues is functionally significant to electron transfer from Cyt c to CcO.

Conformational Disorder of the Most Immature Cu, Zn-Superoxide Dismutase Leading to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Misfolding of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is a pathological change in the familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene. SOD1 is an enzyme that matures through the binding of copper and zinc ions and the formation of an intramolecular disulfide bond. Pathogenic mutations are proposed to retard the post-translational maturation, decrease the structural stability, and hence trigger the misfolding of SOD1 proteins. Despite this, a misfolded and potentially pathogenic conformation of immature SOD1 remains obscure. Here, we show significant and distinct conformational changes of apoSOD1 that occur only upon reduction of the intramolecular disulfide bond in solution. In particular, loop regions in SOD1 lose their restraint and become significantly disordered upon dissociation of metal ions and reduction of the disulfide bond. Such drastic changes in the solution structure of SOD1 may trigger misfolding and fibrillar aggregation observed as pathological changes in the familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Energetic Mechanism of Cytochrome c-Cytochrome c Oxidase Electron Transfer Complex Formation under Turnover Conditions Revealed by Mutational Effects and Docking Simulation.

Based on the mutational effects on the steady-state kinetics of the electron transfer reaction and our NMR analysis of the interaction site (Sakamoto, K., Kamiya, M., Imai, M., Shinzawa-Itoh, K., Uchida, T., Kawano, K., Yoshikawa, S., and Ishimori, K. (2011) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108, 12271-12276), we determined the structure of the electron transfer complex between cytochrome c (Cyt c) and cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) under turnover conditions and energetically characterized the interactions essential for complex formation. The complex structures predicted by the protein docking simulation were computationally selected and validated by the experimental kinetic data for mutant Cyt c in the electron transfer reaction to CcO. The interaction analysis using the selected Cyt c-CcO complex structure revealed the electrostatic and hydrophobic contributions of each amino acid residue to the free energy required for complex formation. Several charged residues showed large unfavorable (desolvation) electrostatic interactions that were almost cancelled out by large favorable (Columbic) electrostatic interactions but resulted in the destabilization of the complex. The residual destabilizing free energy is compensated by the van der Waals interactions mediated by hydrophobic amino acid residues to give the stabilized complex. Thus, hydrophobic interactions are the primary factors that promote complex formation between Cyt c and CcO under turnover conditions, whereas the change in the electrostatic destabilization free energy provides the variance of the binding free energy in the mutants. The distribution of favorable and unfavorable electrostatic interactions in the interaction site determines the orientation of the binding of Cyt c on CcO.

Exploiting E. coli auxotrophs for leucine, valine, and threonine specific methyl labeling of large proteins for NMR applications.

A simple and cost effective method to independently and stereo-specifically incorporate [(1)H,(13)C]-methyls in Leu and Val in proteins is presented. Recombinant proteins for NMR studies are produced using a tailored set of auxotrophic E. coli strains. NMR active isotopes are routed to either Leu or Val methyl groups from the commercially available and scrambling-free precursors α-ketoisovalerate and acetolactate. The engineered strains produce deuterated proteins with stereospecific [(1)H,(13)C]-methyl labeling separately at Leu or Val amino acids. This is the first method that achieves Leu-specific stereospecific [(1)H,(13)C]-methyl labeling of proteins and scramble-free Val-specific labeling. Use of auxotrophs drastically decreases the amount of labeled precursor required for expression without impacting the yield. The concept is extended to Thr methyl labeling by means of a Thr-specific auxotroph that provides enhanced efficiency for use with the costly L-[4-(13)C,2,3-(2)H2,(15)N]-Thr reagent. The Thr-specific strain allows for the production of Thr-[(13)CH3](γ2) labeled protein with an optimal isotope incorporation using up to 50 % less labeled Thr than the traditional E. coli strain without the need for (2)H-glycine to prevent scrambling.

Investigation of the redox-dependent modulation of structure and dynamics in human cytochrome c.

Redox-dependent changes in the structure and dynamics of human cytochrome c (Cyt c) were investigated by solution NMR. We found significant structural changes in several regions, including residues 23-28 (loop 3), which were further corroborated by chemical shift differences between the reduced and oxidized states of Cyt c. These differences are essential for discriminating redox states in Cyt c by cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) during electron transfer reactions. Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) relaxation dispersion experiments identified that the region around His33 undergoes conformational exchanges on the µs-ms timescale, indicating significant redox-dependent structural changes. Because His33 is not part of the interaction site for CcO, our data suggest that the dynamic properties of the region, which is far from the interaction site for CcO, contribute to conformational changes during electron transfer to CcO.

Enzymatic and synthetic regulation of polypeptide folding.

Proper folding is essential for the biological functions of all proteins. The folding process is intrinsically error-prone, and the misfolding of a polypeptide chain can cause the formation of toxic aggregates related to pathological outcomes such as neurodegenerative disease and diabetes. Chaperones and some enzymes are involved in the cellular proteostasis systems that assist polypeptide folding to diminish the risk of aggregation. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of chaperones and related enzymes is important for understanding proteostasis systems and protein misfolding- and aggregation-related pathophysiology. Furthermore, mechanistic studies of chaperones and related enzymes provide important clues to designing chemical mimics, or chemical chaperones, that are potentially useful for recovering proteostasis activities as therapeutic approaches for treating and preventing protein misfolding-related diseases. In this Perspective, we provide a comprehensive overview of the latest understanding of the folding-promotion mechanisms by chaperones and oxidoreductases and recent progress in the development of chemical mimics that possess activities comparable to enzymes, followed by a discussion of future directions.

Conformational Distribution of a Multidomain Protein Measured by Single-Pair Small-Angle X-ray Scattering.

The difficulty in evaluating the conformational distribution of proteins in solution often hinders mechanistic insights. One possible strategy for visualizing conformational distribution is distance distribution measurement by single-pair small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), in which the scattering interference from only a specific pair of atoms in the target molecule is extracted. Despite this promising concept, with few applications in synthetic small molecules and DNA, technical difficulties have prevented its application in protein conformational studies. This study used a synthetic tag to fix the lanthanide ion at desired sites on the protein and used single-pair SAXS with contrast matching to evaluate the conformational distribution of the multidomain protein enzyme MurD. These data highlighted the broad conformational and ligand-driven distribution shifts of MurD in solution. This study proposes an important strategy in solution structural biology that targets dynamic proteins, including multidomain and intrinsically disordered proteins.

Redox-active chemical chaperones exhibiting promiscuous binding promote oxidative protein folding under condensed sub-millimolar conditions.

Proteins form native structures through folding processes, many of which proceed through intramolecular hydrophobic effect, hydrogen bond and disulfide-bond formation. In vivo, protein aggregation is prevented even in the highly condensed milieu of a cell through folding mediated by molecular chaperones and oxidative enzymes. Chemical approaches to date have not replicated such exquisite mediation. Oxidoreductases efficiently promote folding by the cooperative effects of oxidative reactivity for disulfide-bond formation in the client unfolded protein and chaperone activity to mitigate aggregation. Conventional synthetic folding promotors mimic the redox-reactivity of thiol/disulfide units but do not address client-recognition units for inhibiting aggregation. Herein, we report thiol/disulfide compounds containing client-recognition units, which act as synthetic oxidoreductase-mimics. For example, compound ßCDWSH/SS bears a thiol/disulfide unit at the wide rim of ß-cyclodextrin as a client recognition unit. ßCDWSH/SS shows promiscuous binding to client proteins, mitigates protein aggregation, and accelerates disulfide-bond formation. In contrast, positioning a thiol/disulfide unit at the narrow rim of ß-cyclodextrin promotes folding less effectively through preferential interactions at specific residues, resulting in aggregation. The combination of promiscuous client-binding and redox reactivity is effective for the design of synthetic folding promoters. ßCDWSH/SS accelerates oxidative protein folding at highly condensed sub-millimolar protein concentrations.

Atypical heat shock transcription factor HSF5 is critical for male meiotic prophase under non-stress conditions.

Meiotic prophase progression is differently regulated in males and females. In males, pachytene transition during meiotic prophase is accompanied by robust alteration in gene expression. However, how gene expression is regulated differently to ensure meiotic prophase completion in males remains elusive. Herein, we identify HSF5 as a male germ cell-specific heat shock transcription factor (HSF) for meiotic prophase progression. Genetic analyzes and single-cell RNA-sequencing demonstrate that HSF5 is essential for progression beyond the pachytene stage under non-stress conditions rather than heat stress. Chromatin binding analysis in vivo and DNA-binding assays in vitro suggest that HSF5 binds to promoters in a subset of genes associated with chromatin organization. HSF5 recognizes a DNA motif different from typical heat shock elements recognized by other canonical HSFs. This study suggests that HSF5 is an atypical HSF that is required for the gene expression program for pachytene transition during meiotic prophase in males.

Identification of α-Tocopherol succinate as an RFFL-substrate interaction inhibitor inducing peripheral CFTR stabilization and apoptosis.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase RFFL is an apoptotic inhibitor highly expressed in cancers and its knockdown suppresses cancer cell growth and sensitizes to chemotherapy. RFFL also participates in peripheral protein quality control which removes the functional cell surface ΔF508-CFTR channel and reduces the efficacy of pharmaceutical therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF). Although RFFL inhibitors have therapeutic potential for both cancer and CF, they remain undiscovered. Here, a chemical array screening has identified α-tocopherol succinate (αTOS) as an RFFL ligand. NMR analysis revealed that αTOS directly binds to RFFL's substrate-binding region without affecting the E3 enzymatic activity. Consequently, αTOS inhibits the RFFL-substrate interaction, ΔF508-CFTR ubiquitination and elimination from the plasma membrane of epithelial cells, resulting in the increased functional CFTR channel. Among the α-tocopherol (αTOL) analogs we tested, only αTOS inhibited the RFFL-substrate interaction and increased the cell surface ΔF508-CFTR, depending on RFFL expression. Similarly, the unique proapoptotic effect of αTOS was dependent on RFFL expression. Thus, unlike other αTOL analogs, αTOS acts as an RFFL protein-protein interaction inhibitor which may explain its unique biological properties among αTOL analogs. Moreover, αTOS may act as a CFTR stabilizer, a novel class of drugs that extend cell surface ΔF508-CFTR lifetime.

Convenient method for resolving degeneracies due to symmetry of the magnetic susceptibility tensor and its application to pseudo contact shift-based protein-protein complex structure determination.

Pseudo contact shifts (PCSs) induced by paramagnetic lanthanide ions fixed in a protein frame provide long-range distance and angular information, and are valuable for the structure determination of protein-protein and protein-ligand complexes. We have been developing a lanthanide-binding peptide tag (hereafter LBT) anchored at two points via a peptide bond and a disulfide bond to the target proteins. However, the magnetic susceptibility tensor displays symmetry, which can cause multiple degenerated solutions in a structure calculation based solely on PCSs. Here we show a convenient method for resolving this degeneracy by changing the spacer length between the LBT and target protein. We applied this approach to PCS-based rigid body docking between the FKBP12-rapamycin complex and the mTOR FRB domain, and demonstrated that degeneracy could be resolved using the PCS restraints obtained from two-point anchored LBT with two different spacer lengths. The present strategy will markedly increase the usefulness of two-point anchored LBT for protein complex structure determination.

Identification of an endoplasmic reticulum proteostasis modulator that enhances insulin production in pancreatic ß cells.

Perturbation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis is associated with impairment of cellular function in diverse diseases, especially the function of pancreatic ß cells in type 2 diabetes. Restoration of ER proteostasis by small molecules shows therapeutic promise for type 2 diabetes. Here, using cell-based screening, we report identification of a chemical chaperone-like small molecule, KM04794, that alleviates ER stress. KM04794 prevented protein aggregation and cell death caused by ER stressors and a mutant insulin protein. We also found that this compound increased intracellular and secreted insulin levels in pancreatic ß cells. Chemical biology and biochemical approaches revealed that the compound accumulated in the ER and interacted directly with the ER molecular chaperone BiP. Our data show that this corrector of ER proteostasis can enhance insulin storage and pancreatic ß cell function.