One of two unstructured domains of Ii becomes ordered in complexes with MHC class II molecules.

We studied the role of the invariant chain (Ii) protein's structure in its ability to form complexes with major histocompatibility complex class II molecules. Multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance experiments demonstrated that Ii contains two unstructured, flexible domains: a 39 residue sequence that contains a region (CLIP) critical for Ii/class II complex formation and becomes rapidly ordered when Ii/class II complexes are assembled, and a 30 residue sequence that contains the insertion point for a protease inhibitor domain included in an alternative splice form of Ii. Mobility of these domains guarantees accessibility to CLIP and the inhibitor insert, and ordering of the CLIP-containing domain may provide protection against proteolysis and contribute, along with Ii's compact 118-192 domain, to allotype-independent class II binding.

Structure of a trimeric domain of the MHC class II-associated chaperonin and targeting protein Ii.

The invariant chain (Ii) plays a critical role in MHC class II antigen processing by stabilizing peptide-free class II alphabeta heterodimers in a nonameric (alphabetaIi)3 complex soon after their synthesis and directing transport of the complex from the endoplasmic reticulum to compartments where peptide loading of class II takes place. Loading progresses following Ii proteolysis and via an intermediate complex of MHC class II with an Ii-derived peptide, CLIP. CLIP is substituted by exogenous peptidic fragments in an exchange reaction catalyzed by HLA-DM. The CLIP region of Ii, roughly residues 81-104, is one of two segments shown to interact with class II HLA-DR molecules. The other segment, Ii 118-216, is C-terminal to CLIP, mediates trimerization of the ectodomain of Ii and interferes with DM/class II binding. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of this trimeric domain, determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of a 27 kDa trimer of human Ii 118-192. The cylindrical shape of the molecule and the mapping of conserved residues delimit surfaces which may be important for interactions between Ii and class II molecules.

An asymmetric deuterium labeling strategy to identify interprotomer and intraprotomer NOEs in oligomeric proteins.

A major difficulty in determining the structure of an oligomeric protein by NMR is the problem of distinguishing inter- from intraprotomer NOEs. In order to address this issue in studies of the 27 kD compact trimeric domain of the MHC class II-associated invariant chain, we compared the 13C NOESY-HSQC spectrum of a uniformly 13C-labeled trimer with the spectrum of the same trimer labeled with 13C in only one protomer, and with deuterium in the other two protomers. The spectrum of the unmixed trimer included both inter- and intraprotomer NOEs while the spectrum of the mixed trimer included only intraprotomer peaks. NOEs clearly absent from the spectrum of the mixed trimer could be confidently assigned to interprotomer interactions. Asymmetrically labeled trimers were isolated by refolding a 13C-labeled shorter form of the protein with a 2H-labeled longer form, chromatographically purifying trimers with only one short chain, and then processing the trypsin to yield only protomers with the desired N- and C-termini. In contrast to earlier studies, in which statistical mixtures of differently labeled protomers were analyzed, our procedure generated only a well-defined 1:2 oligomer, and no other mixed oligomers were present. This increased the maximum possible concentration of NMR-active protomers and thus the sensitivity of the experiments. Related methods should be applicable to many oligomeric proteins, particularly those with slow protomer exchange rates.

Structural and theoretical studies suggest domain movement produces an active conformation of thymidine phosphorylase.

Two new crystal forms of Escherichia coli thymidine phosphorylase (EC 2.4.2.4) have been found; a monoclinic form (space group P21) and an orthorhombic form (space group I222). These structures have been solved and compared to the previously determined tetragonal form (space group P43212). This comparison provides evidence of domain movement of the alpha (residues 1 to 65, 163 to 193) and alpha/beta (residues 80 to 154, 197 to 440) domains, which is thought to be critical for enzymatic activity by closing the active site cleft. Three hinge regions apparently allow the alpha and alpha/beta-domains to move relative to each other. The monoclinic model is the most open of the three models while the tetragonal model is the most closed. Phosphate binding induces formation of a hydrogen bond between His119 and Gly208, which helps to order the 115 to 120 loop that is disordered prior to phosphate binding. The formation of this hydrogen bond also appears to play a key role in the domain movement. The alpha-domain moves as a rigid body, while the alpha/beta-domain has some non-rigid body movement that is associated with the formation of the His119-Gly208 hydrogen bond. The 8 A distance between the two substrates reported for the tetragonal form indicates that it is probably not in an active conformation. However, the structural data for these two new crystal forms suggest that closing the interdomain cleft around the substrates may generate a functional active site. Molecular modeling and dynamics simulation techniques have been used to generate a hypothetical closed conformation of the enzyme. Analysis of this model suggests several residues of possible catalytic importance. The model explains observed kinetic results and satisfies requirements for efficient enzyme catalysis, most notably through the exclusion of water from the enzyme's active site.

Direct observation of disordered regions in the major histocompatibility complex class II-associated invariant chain.

Invariant chain (Ii) is a trimeric membrane protein which binds and stabilizes major histocompatibility complex class II heterodimers in the endoplasmic reticulum and lysosomal compartments of antigen-presenting cells. In concert with an intracellular class II-like molecule, HLA-DM, Ii seems to facilitate loading of conventional class II molecules with peptides before transport of the class II-peptide complex to the cell surface for recognition by T cells. The interaction of Ii with class II molecules is thought to be mediated in large part through a region of 24 amino acids (the class II-associated Ii peptide, CLIP) which binds as a cleaved moiety in the antigenic peptide-binding groove of class II molecules in HLA-DM-deficient cell lines. Here we use nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to demonstrate that a soluble recombinant Ii ectodomain contains significant disordered regions which probably include CLIP.

Detection of an intermediate in the folding of the (beta alpha)8-barrel N-(5'-phosphoribosyl)anthranilate isomerase from Escherichia coli.

We have used thermodynamic and kinetic techniques to monitor the guanidinium chloride induced (GdmCl-induced) denaturation of N-(5'-phosphoribosyl)anthranilate isomerase from Escherichia coli (ePRAI). Although CD-monitored equilibrium denaturation curves are consistent with cooperative unfolding of the protein centered at 1.45 M GdmCl, fluorescence readings drop by over 25% in the region preceding the CD-monitored transition, suggesting non-two-state behavior. Kinetics experiments measure a slow relaxation rate with negative fluorescence amplitude when protein is diluted from 0 to 0.5 M GdmCl, corroborating results from equilibrium conditions. Detection of several unfolding and refolding rates in final GdmCl concentrations from 0 to 5.0 M indicates the presence of at least one intermediate along unfolding and refolding pathways. GdmCl dependence of the relaxation rates can be explained most easily by a nonsequential mechanism for ePRAI unfolding, though a sequential mechanism cannot be ruled out. The data corroborate the fragment complementation studies of Eder and Kirschner [Eder, J., & Kischner, K. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 3617-3625], which are consistent with unfolding of the C-terminal portion of a yeast-derived PRAI in its folding intermediate. In ePRAI, such partial unfolding would expose W391 to quenching by solvent molecules; W356, ePRAI's other tryptophan, is buried in the hydrophobic core and is unlikely to be affected by local changes in structure. A C-terminally unfolded folding intermediate has been demonstrated in the folding of tryptophan synthase (alpha-subunit), a related beta alpha-barrel enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Quantitative determination of helical propensities from trifluoroethanol titration curves.

The formation of local secondary structure is an essential step in the folding of a polypeptide from a random coil to a well-defined native conformation. Detection of hidden structural propensities in amino acid sequences may provide important insight into how this is accomplished. 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol (TFE) has been shown to induce helical structure in polypeptides, and TFE titration has been used as a qualitative probe for helical tendency. We have investigated the propensity of five synthetic peptides to adopt helical structure in TFE. The free energy of helix formation exhibits linear dependence on the mole ratio of TFE to water, and the constant of proportionality (m-value) can be perturbed systematically by altering the peptide length and unsystematically by altering the temperature. Three peptides with closely related sequences but different N-cap residues show different titration behavior from 5 to 75 degrees C, suggesting that TFE acts only within the context of a preexisting helix-coil equilibrium. These observations can be reconciled with a model for TFE/H2O exchange at peptide binding sites. Our results support the viability of TFE titration as a tool for extrapolation of quantitative helix-coil equilibrium constants for peptides with little or no apparent helical content in aqueous solution.

Aromatic-histidine interactions in the zinc finger motif: structural inequivalence of phenylalanine and tyrosine in the hydrophobic core.

The classical Zn finger (Cys-X2,4-Cys-X3-Phe-X5-Leu-X2-His-X3,4-His contains [corrected] an aromatic-histidine interaction (underlined) in its hydrophobic core whose importance is suggested by the marked destabilization of a Phe-->Leu analogue [Mortishire-Smith, R.J., Lee, M.S., Bolinger, L., & Wright, P.E. (1992) FEBS Lett. 1, 11-15]. In some Zn finger sequences the central Phe is replaced [corrected] by Tyr, and when present, this substitution is generally conserved among species. To investigate whether Tyr would participate in an analogous aromatic-histidine interaction, we have determined the solution structure in a Phe-->Tyr mutant domain. Its global fold (the beta beta alpha motif) is similar to that of the Phe domain. Although the variant Tyr maintains edge-to-face packing against the proximal histidine, the phenolic ring is displaced toward solvent. Such displacement increases the solvent accessibility of the Tyr p-OH group and reduces steric overlap (and possible electrostatic repulsion) between the Tyr O zeta and His pi electrons. The Tyr analogue exhibits reduced dynamic stability (as indicated by more rapid exchange of amide protons in D2O) and may alternate in rapid equilibrium between major and minor conformers. Inequivalent Tyr-His and Phe-His interactions are likely to be general features of Zn finger architecture. Molecular modeling based on the Zif268 cocrystal structure [Pavletich, N.P., & Pabo, C.O. (1991) Science 252, 809-817] suggests that the variant Tyr p-OH group may readily be positioned to contribute a novel hydrogen bond to a DNA phosphate.

Aromatic-aromatic interactions in the zinc finger motif. Analysis of the two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance structure of a mutant domain.

The folding and stability of globular proteins are determined by a variety of chemical mechanisms, including hydrogen bonds, salt bridges and the hydrophobic effect. Of particular interest are weakly polar interactions involving aromatic rings, which are proposed to regulate the geometry of closely packed protein interiors. Such interactions reflect the electrostatic contribution of pi-electrons and, unlike van der Waals' interactions and the hydrophobic effect, may, in principle, introduce a directional force in a protein's hydrophobic core. Although the weakly polar hypothesis is supported by a statistical analysis of protein structures, the general importance of such contributions to protein folding and stability is unclear. Here, we show the presence of alternative aromatic-aromatic interactions in the two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance structure of a mutant Zn finger. Changes in aromatic packing lead in turn to local and non-local differences between the structures of a wild-type and mutant domain. The results provide insight into the evolution of Zn finger sequences and have implications for understanding how geometric relationships may be chemically encoded in a simple sequence template.