NMR of intrinsically disordered proteins: A note on the application of 15N-13Cα het-TOCSY mixing for 13Cα magnetisation transfers.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) or protein regions represent functionally important biomolecules without unique structure. Their inherent flexibility prevents high-resolution structure determination by X-ray or cryo-EM methods. In contrast, NMR spectroscopy provides an extensive and still growing set of experimental approaches to obtain detailed information on structure and dynamics of IDPs. Here, it is experimentally demonstrated that 15N-13Cα band-selective heteronuclear cross-polarisation that has been successfully employed recently to achieve the efficient transfer of 15Nx magnetisation from amino acid residue 'i' to 'i + 1' and 'i - 1' residues in uniformly (15N,13C)-labelled intrinsically disordered proteins can also be applied to transfer, without significant relaxation losses, 13Cαx magnetisation from an amino acid residue to its neighbouring residues. The possibility to obtain in one-shot correlation spectra arising from the simultaneous transfer of 15Nx and 13Cαx magnetisations from an amino acid residue to neighbouring residues is also demonstrated.

Structural insights into heme binding to IL-36α proinflammatory cytokine.

Cytokines of the interleukin (IL)-1 family regulate immune and inflammatory responses. The recently discovered IL-36 family members are involved in psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and pulmonary diseases. Here, we show that IL-36α interacts with heme thereby contributing to its regulation. Based on in-depth spectroscopic analyses, we describe two heme-binding sites in IL-36α that associate with heme in a pentacoordinated fashion. Solution NMR analysis reveals structural features of IL-36α and its complex with heme. Structural investigation of a truncated IL-36α supports the notion that the N-terminus is necessary for association with its cognate receptor. Consistent with our structural studies, IL-36-mediated signal transduction was negatively regulated by heme in synovial fibroblast-like synoviocytes from rheumatoid arthritis patients. Taken together, our results provide a structural framework for heme-binding proteins and add IL-1 cytokines to the group of potentially heme-regulated proteins.

NMR experiments on the transient interaction of the intrinsically disordered N-terminal peptide of cystathionine-ß-synthase with heme.

The N-terminal segment of human cystathionine-ß-synthase (CBS(1-40)) constitutes an intrinsically disordered protein stretch that transiently interacts with heme. We illustrate that the HCBCACON experimental protocol provides an efficient alternative approach for probing transient interactions of intrinsically disordered proteins with heme in situations where the applicability of the conventional [1H, 15N]-HSQC experiment may be limited. This experiment starting with the excitation of protein side chain protons delivers information about the proline residues and thereby makes it possible to use these residues in interaction mapping experiments. Employing this approach in conjunction with site-specific mutation we show that transient heme binding is mediated by the Cys15-Pro16 motif of CBS(1-40).

1H, 13C, and 15N resonance assignments of the cytokine interleukin-36ß isoform-2.

Interleukins are cytokines performing central tasks in the human immune system. Interleukin-36ß (IL-36ß) is a member of the interleukin-1 superfamily as are its homologues IL-36α and IL-36γ. All of them interact with a common receptor composed of IL-36R and IL-1R/acP. IL-36 cytokines can activate IL-36R to proliferation of CD4 + lymphocytes or stimulate M2 macrophages as potently as IL-1ß. Within our efforts to study the structure-function relationship of the three interleukins IL-36α, IL-36ß and IL-36γ by heteronuclear multidimensional NMR, we here report the 1H, 13C, and 15N resonance assignments for the backbone and side chain nuclei of cytokine interleukin-36ß isoform-2.

Heme interaction of the intrinsically disordered N-terminal peptide segment of human cystathionine-ß-synthase.

Cystathionine-ß-synthase (CBS) belongs to a large family of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes, responsible for the sulfur metabolism. The heme-dependent protein CBS is part of regulatory pathways also involving the gasotransmitter hydrogen sulfide. Malfunction of CBS can lead to pathologic conditions like cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. Truncation of residues 1-40, absent in X-ray structures of CBS, reduces but does not abolish the activity of the enzyme. Here we report the NMR resonance assignment and heme interaction studies for the N-terminal peptide stretch of CBS. We present NMR-spectral evidence that residues 1-40 constitute an intrinsically disordered region in CBS and interact with heme via a cysteine-proline based motif.

(1)H, (13)C, and (15)N resonance assignments for the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-36α.

Interleukin-36α (IL-36α) is a recently characterised member of the interleukin-1 superfamily. It is involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis in one third of psoriasis patients. By binding of IL-36α to its receptor IL-36R via the NF-κB pathway other cytokines involved in inflammatory and apoptotic cascade are activated. The efficacy of complex formation is controlled by N-terminal processing. To obtain a more detailed view on the structure function relationship we performed a heteronuclear multidimensional NMR investigation and here report the (1)H, (13)C, and (15)N resonance assignments for the backbone and side chain nuclei of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-36α.

A Set of Efficient nD NMR Protocols for Resonance Assignments of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins.

The RF pulse scheme RN[N-CA HEHAHA]NH, which provides a convenient approach to the acquisition of different multidimensional chemical shift correlation NMR spectra leading to backbone resonance assignments, including those of the proline residues of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), is experimentally demonstrated. Depending on the type of correlation data required, the method involves the generation of in-phase ((15) N)(x) magnetisation via different magnetisation transfer pathways such as H→N→CO→N, HA→CA→CO→N, H→N→CA→N and H→CA→N, the subsequent application of (15) N-(13) C(α) heteronuclear Hartmann-Hahn mixing over a period of ≈100 ms, chemical-shift labelling of relevant nuclei before and after the heteronuclear mixing step and amide proton detection in the acquisition dimension. It makes use of the favourable relaxation properties of IDPs and the presence of (1) JCαN and (2) JCαN couplings to achieve efficient correlation of the backbone resonances of each amino acid residue "i" with the backbone amide resonances of residues "i-1" and "i+1". It can be implemented in a straightforward way through simple modifications of the RF pulse schemes commonly employed in protein NMR studies. The efficacy of the approach is demonstrated using a uniformly ((15) N,(13) C) labelled sample of α-synuclein. The different possibilities for obtaining the amino-acid-type information, simultaneously with the connectivity data between the backbone resonances of sequentially neighbouring residues, have also been outlined.

HN-NCA heteronuclear TOCSY-NH experiment for (1)H(N) and (15)N sequential correlations in ((13)C, (15)N) labelled intrinsically disordered proteins.

A simple triple resonance NMR experiment that leads to the correlation of the backbone amide resonances of each amino acid residue 'i' with that of residues 'i-1' and 'i+1' in ((13)C, (15)N) labelled intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is presented. The experimental scheme, {HN-NCA heteronuclear TOCSY-NH}, exploits the favourable relaxation properties of IDPs and the presence of (1) J CαN and (2) J CαN couplings to transfer the (15)N x magnetisation from amino acid residue 'i' to adjacent residues via the application of a band-selective (15)N-(13)C(α) heteronuclear cross-polarisation sequence of ~100 ms duration. Employing non-uniform sampling in the indirect dimensions, the efficacy of the approach has been demonstrated by the acquisition of 3D HNN chemical shift correlation spectra of α-synuclein. The experimental performance of the RF pulse sequence has been compared with that of the conventional INEPT-based HN(CA)NH pulse scheme. As the availability of data from both the HCCNH and HNN experiments will make it possible to use the information extracted from one experiment to simplify the analysis of the data of the other and lead to a robust approach for unambiguous backbone and side-chain resonance assignments, a time-saving strategy for the simultaneous collection of HCCNH and HNN data is also described.

An approach to NMR assignment of intrinsically disordered proteins.

An efficient approach to NMR assignments in intrinsically disordered proteins is presented, making use of the good dispersion of cross peaks observed in [(15) N,(13) C']- and [(13) C',(1) H(N) ]-correlation spectra. The method involves the simultaneous collection of {3D (H)NCO(CAN)H and 3D (HACA)CON(CA)HA} spectra for backbone assignments via sequential H(N) and H(α) correlations and {3D (H)NCO(CACS)HS and 3D (HS)CS(CA)CO(N)H} spectra for side-chain (1) H and (13) C assignments, employing sequential (1) H data acquisitions with direct detection of both the amide and aliphatic protons. The efficacy of the approach for obtaining resonance assignments with complete backbone and side-chain chemical shifts is demonstrated experimentally for the 61-residue [(13) C,(15) N]-labelled peptide of a voltage-gated potassium channel protein of the Kv1.4 channel subunit. The general applicability of the approach for the characterisation of moderately sized globular proteins is also demonstrated.

MAS solid state NMR of proteins: simultaneous ¹5N- ¹³CA and ¹5N- ¹³CO dipolar recoupling via low-power symmetry-based RF pulse schemes.

The generation of efficient RN n (ν)s,(ν)k symmetry-based low-power RF pulse schemes for simultaneous (15)N-(13)CA and (15)N-(13)CO dipolar recoupling is demonstrated. The method involves mixing schemes employing phase and amplitude-modulated dual band-selective 180° pulses as basic "R" element and tailoring of the RF field-modulation profile of the 180° pulses so as to obtain efficient magnetisation transfer characteristics over the resonance offset range of the nuclei involved. Mixing schemes leading to simultaneous (15)N-(13)CA and (15)N-(13)CO dipolar recoupling would permit the one-shot acquisition of different chemical shift correlation spectra that are typically utilized for protein backbone resonance assignments and thereby save data acquisition time. At representative MAS frequencies the efficacies of the mixing schemes presented here have been experimentally demonstrated via the simultaneous acquisition of {3D CONH and 3D CANH}, {3D CONH and 3D CO(CA)NH} and {3D CONH, 3D CANH, 3D CO(CA)NH and 3D CA(CO)NH} spectra generated via the magnetisation transfer pathways (1)H → (13)CO → (15)N → (1)H (CONH), (1)H → (13)CA → (15)N → (1)H (CANH) and (1)H → (13)CO → (13)CA → (15)N → (1)H (CO(CA)NH) and (1)H → (13)CA → (13)CO → (15)N → (1)H (CA(CO)NH).

Structure and biomedical applications of amyloid oligomer nanoparticles.

Amyloid oligomers are nonfibrillar polypeptide aggregates linked to diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Here we show that these aggregates possess a compact, quasi-crystalline architecture that presents significant nanoscale regularity. The amyloid oligomers are dynamic assemblies and are able to release their individual subunits. The small oligomeric size and spheroid shape confer diffusible characteristics, electrophoretic mobility, and the ability to enter hydrated gel matrices or cells. We finally showed that the amyloid oligomers can be labeled with both fluorescence agents and iron oxide nanoparticles and can target macrophage cells. Oligomer amyloids may provide a new biological nanomaterial for improved targeting, drug release, and medical imaging.

An approach to sequential NMR assignments of proteins: application to chemical shift restraint-based structure prediction.

A procedure for the simultaneous acquisition of {HNCOCANH & HCCCONH} chemical shift correlation spectra employing sequential [Formula: see text] data acquisition for moderately sized proteins is presented. The suitability of the approach for obtaining sequential resonance assignments, including complete [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] chemical shift information, is demonstrated experimentally for a [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] labelled sample of the C-terminal winged helix (WH) domain of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex of Sulfolobus solfataricus. The chemical shift information obtained was used to calculate the global fold of this winged helix domain via CS-Rosetta. This demonstrates that our procedure provides a reliable and straight-forward protocol for a quick global fold determination of moderately-sized proteins.

Sequential acquisition of multi-dimensional heteronuclear chemical shift correlation spectra with ¹H detection.

RF pulse schemes for the simultaneous acquisition of heteronuclear multi-dimensional chemical shift correlation spectra, such as {HA(CA)NH & HA(CACO)NH}, {HA(CA)NH & H(N)CAHA} and {H(N)CAHA & H(CC)NH}, that are commonly employed in the study of moderately-sized protein molecules, have been implemented using dual sequential (1)H acquisitions in the direct dimension. Such an approach is not only beneficial in terms of the reduction of experimental time as compared to data collection via two separate experiments but also facilitates the unambiguous sequential linking of the backbone amino acid residues. The potential of sequential (1)H data acquisition procedure in the study of RNA is also demonstrated here.

Sequential protein NMR assignments in the liquid state via sequential data acquisition.

Two different NMR pulse schemes involving sequential (1)H data acquisition are presented for achieving protein backbone sequential resonance assignments: (i) acquisition of 3D {HCCNH and HNCACONH} and (ii) collection of 3D {HNCOCANH and HNCACONH} chemical shift correlation spectra using uniformly (13)C,(15)N labelled proteins. The sequential acquisition of these spectra reduces the overall experimental time by a factor of ≈2 as compared to individual acquisitions. The suitability of this approach is experimentally demonstrated for the C-terminal winged helix (WH) domain of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex of Sulfolobus solfataricus.

Resonance assignment for a particularly challenging protein based on systematic unlabeling of amino acids to complement incomplete NMR data sets.

NMR-based structure determination of a protein requires the assignment of resonances as indispensable first step. Even though heteronuclear through-bond correlation methods are available for that purpose, challenging situations arise in cases where the protein in question only yields samples of limited concentration and/or stability. Here we present a strategy based upon specific individual unlabeling of all 20 standard amino acids to complement standard NMR experiments and to achieve unambiguous backbone assignments for the fast precipitating 23 kDa catalytic domain of human aprataxin of which only incomplete standard NMR data sets could be obtained. Together with the validation of this approach utilizing the protein GB1 as a model, a comprehensive insight into metabolic interconversion ("scrambling") of NH and CO groups in a standard Escherichia coli expression host is provided.

Structural insights into a wildtype domain of the oncoprotein E6 and its interaction with a PDZ domain.

The high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) oncoproteins E6 and E7 interact with key cellular regulators and are etiological agents for tumorigenesis and tumor maintenance in cervical cancer and other malignant conditions. E6 induces degradation of the tumor suppressor p53, activates telomerase and deregulates cell polarity. Analysis of E6 derived from a number of high risk HPV finally yielded the first structure of a wild-type HPV E6 domain (PDB 2M3L) representing the second zinc-binding domain of HPV 51 E6 (termed 51Z2) determined by NMR spectroscopy. The 51Z2 structure provides clues about HPV-type specific structural differences between E6 proteins. The observed temperature sensitivity of the well-folded wild-type E6 domain implies a significant malleability of the oncoprotein in vivo. Hence, the structural differences between individual E6 and their malleability appear, together with HPV type-specific surface exposed side-chains, to provide the structural basis for the different interaction networks reported for individual E6 proteins. Furthermore, the interaction of 51Z2 with a PDZ domain of hDlg was analyzed. Human Dlg constitutes a prototypic representative of the large family of PDZ proteins regulating cell polarity, which are common targets of high-risk HPV E6. Nine C-terminal residues of 51Z2 interact with the second PDZ domain of hDlg2. Surface plasmon resonance in conjunction with the NMR spectroscopy derived complex structure (PDB 2M3M) indicate that E6 residues N-terminal to the canonical PDZ-BM of E6 significantly contribute to this interaction and increase affinity. The structure of the complex reveals how residues outside of the classical PDZ-BM enhance the affinity of E6 towards PDZ domains. Such mechanism facilitates successful competition of E6 with cellular PDZ-binding proteins and may apply to PDZ-binding proteins of other viruses as well.

NMR assignment of a PDZ domain in complex with a HPV51 E6 derived N-terminally pyroglutamic acid modified peptide.

The resonance assignment of an amino-terminal pyroglutamic acid containing peptide derived from the E6 protein of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 51 in complex with PDZ domain 2 of hDlg/SAP-97 is reported. The assignments include (1)H, (13)C and (15)N resonances for the protein and peptide in the complex and all of the peptide's pyroglutamic acid nuclei.

Solid state NMR of proteins at high MAS frequencies: symmetry-based mixing and simultaneous acquisition of chemical shift correlation spectra.

We have carried out chemical shift correlation experiments with symmetry-based mixing sequences at high MAS frequencies and examined different strategies to simultaneously acquire 3D correlation spectra that are commonly required in the structural studies of proteins. The potential of numerically optimised symmetry-based mixing sequences and the simultaneous recording of chemical shift correlation spectra such as: 3D NCAC and 3D NHH with dual receivers, 3D NC'C and 3D C'NCA with sequential (13)C acquisitions, 3D NHH and 3D NC'H with sequential (1)H acquisitions and 3D CANH and 3D C'NH with broadband (13)C-(15)N mixing are demonstrated using microcrystalline samples of the ß1 immunoglobulin binding domain of protein G (GB1) and the chicken α-spectrin SH3 domain.

Chemical shift correlation at high MAS frequencies employing low-power symmetry-based mixing schemes.

An approach for conveniently implementing low-power CN ( n ) (ν) and RN ( n ) (ν) symmetry-based band-selective mixing sequences for generating homo- and heteronuclear chemical shift correlation NMR spectra of low γ nuclei in biological solids is demonstrated. Efficient magnetisation transfer characteristics are achieved by selecting appropriate symmetries requiring the application of basic RF elements of relatively long duration and numerically tailoring the RF field modulation profile of the basic element. The efficacy of the approach is experimentally shown by the acquisition of (15)N-(13)C dipolar and (13)C-(13)C scalar and dipolar coupling mediated chemical shift correlation spectra at representative MAS frequencies.