15N Chemical Shift Anisotropy Research Articles

Characterization of retinal chromophore and protonated Schiff base in Thermoplasmatales archaeon heliorhodopsin using solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Heliorhodopsin (HeR) is a seven-helical transmembrane protein with a retinal chromophore that corresponds to a new rhodopsin family. HeR from the archaebacterium Thermoplasmatales archaeon (TaHeR) exhibits unique features, such as the inverted protein orientation in the membrane compared to other rhodopsins and a long photocycle. Here, we used solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to investigate the 13C and 15N NMR signals of the retinal chromophore and protonated Schiff base (RPSB) in TaHeR embedded in POPE/POPG membrane. Although the 14- and 20-13C retinal signals indicated 13-trans/15-anti (all-trans) configurations, the 20-13C chemical shift value was different from that of other microbial rhodopsins, indicating weakly steric hinderance between Phe203 and the C20 methyl group. 15N RPSB/λmax plot deviated from the linear correlation based on retinylidene-halide model compounds. Furthermore, 15N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) suggested that Ser112 and Ser234 polar residues distinguish the electronic environment tendencies of RPSB from those of other microbial rhodopsins. Our NMR results revealed that the retinal chromophore and the RPSB in TaHeR exhibit unique electronic environments.

15N NMR studies provide insights into physico-chemical properties of room-temperature ionic liquids.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have gained a lot of attention as alternative solvents in many fields of science in the last two decades. It is known that the type of anion has a significant influence on the macroscopic properties of the IL. To gain insights into the molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects it is important to characterize these systems at the microscopic level. Such information can be obtained from nuclear spin-relaxation studies which for compounds with natural isotope abundance are typically performed using direct 1H or 13C measurements. Here we used direct 15N measurements to characterize spin relaxation of non-protonated nitrogens in imidazolium-based ILs which are liquid at ambient temperature. We report heteronuclear 1H-15N scalar coupling constants (nJHN) and 15N relaxation parameters for non-protonated nitrogens in ten 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ([C2C1IM]+)-based ILs containing a broad range of anions. The 15N relaxation rates and steady-state heteronuclear 15N-{1H} NOEs were measured using direct 15N detection at 293.2 K and two magnetic field strengths, 9.4 T and 16.4 T. The experimental data were analyzed to determine hydrodynamic characteristics of ILs and to assess the contributions to 15N relaxation from 15N chemical shift anisotropy and from 1H-15N dipolar interactions with non-bonded protons. We found that the rotational correlation times of the [C2C1IM]+ cation determined from 15N relaxation measurements at room temperature correlate linearly with the macroscopic viscosity of the ILs. Depending on the selected anion, the 15N relaxation characteristics of [C2C1IM]+ differ considerably reflecting the influence of the anion on the physicochemical properties of the IL.

Mobility of Histidine Side Chains Analyzed with 15N NMR Relaxation and Cross-Correlation Data: Insight into Zinc-Finger-DNA Interactions.

Due to chemical exchange, the mobility of histidine (His) side chains of proteins is typically difficult to analyze by NMR spectroscopy. Using an NMR approach that is uninfluenced by chemical exchange, we investigated internal motions of the His imidazole NH groups that directly interact with DNA phosphates in the Egr-1 zinc-finger-DNA complex. In this approach, the transverse and longitudinal cross-correlation rates for 15N chemical shift anisotropy and 15N-1H dipole-dipole relaxation interference were analyzed together with 15N longitudinal relaxation rates and heteronuclear Overhauser effect data at two magnetic field strengths. We found that the zinc-coordinating His side chains directly interacting with DNA phosphates are strongly restricted in mobility. This makes a contrast to the arginine and lysine side chains that retain high mobility despite their interactions with DNA phosphates in the same complex. The entropic effects of side-chain mobility on the molecular association are discussed.

Rapid automated determination of chemical shift anisotropy values in the carbonyl and carboxyl groups of fd-y21m bacteriophage using solid state NMR.

Determination of chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) in immobilized proteins and protein assemblies is one of several tools to determine protein dynamics on the timescales of microseconds and faster. The large CSA values of C=O groups in the rigid limit makes them in particular attractive for measurements of large amplitude motions, or their absence. In this study, we implement a 3D R-symmetry-based sequence that recouples the second spatial component of the 13C CSA with the corresponding isotropic 13C'-13C cross-peaks in order to probe backbone and sidechain dynamics in an intact fd-y21m filamentous phage viral capsid. The assignment of the isotropic cross-peaks and the analysis were conducted automatically using a new software named 'Raven'. The software can be utilized to auto-assign any 2D 13C-13C or 15N-13C spectrum given a previously-determined assignment table and generates simultaneously all intensity curves acquired in the third dimension. Here, all CSA spectra were automatically generated, and subsequently matched against a simulated set of CSA curves to yield their values. For the multi-copy, 50-residue-long protein capsid of fd-y21m, the backbone of the helical region is rigid, with reduced CSA values of ~ 12.5kHz (~ 83ppm). The N-terminus shows motionally-averaged CSA lineshapes and the carboxylic sidechain groups of four residues indicate large amplitude motions for D4, D5, D12 and E20. The current results further strengthen our previous studies of 15N CSA values and are in agreement with qualitative analysis of 13C-13C dipolar build-up curves, which were automatically obtained using our software. Our automated analysis technique is general and can be applied to study protein structure and dynamics, with data resulting from experiments that probe different variables such as relaxation rates and scaled anisotropic interactions.

Solid-State 15N and 17O NMR Studies of S-Nitrosothiols.

We report a solid-state 15N and 17O NMR study of two representative S-nitrosothiols (RSNO): S-nitroso N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). The 15N and 17O NMR tensors are experimentally determined for the first time for this important class of nitric-oxide (NO)-related compounds. The observed NMR characteristics for RSNO include large 15N and 17O chemical shift anisotropies and large 17O quadrupole coupling constants. Quantum chemical calculations are also performed for the 15N and 17O NMR tensors in two simple RSNO models: t-BuSNO and MeSNO. On the basis of computational results, we have identified the molecular orbitals that are responsible for the observed large chemical shift anisotropies in RSNO compounds.

HIV-1 Capsid Function Is Regulated by Dynamics: Quantitative Atomic-Resolution Insights by Integrating Magic-Angle-Spinning NMR, QM/MM, and MD.

HIV-1 CA capsid protein possesses intrinsic conformational flexibility, which is essential for its assembly into conical capsids and interactions with host factors. CA is dynamic in the assembled capsid, and residues in functionally important regions of the protein undergo motions spanning many decades of time scales. Chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors, recorded in magic-angle-spinning NMR experiments, provide direct residue-specific probes of motions on nano- to microsecond time scales. We combined NMR, MD, and density-functional-theory calculations, to gain quantitative understanding of internal backbone dynamics in CA assemblies, and we found that the dynamically averaged 15N CSA tensors calculated by this joined protocol are in remarkable agreement with experiment. Thus, quantitative atomic-level understanding of the relationships between CSA tensors, local backbone structure, and motions in CA assemblies is achieved, demonstrating the power of integrating NMR experimental data and theory for characterizing atomic-resolution dynamics in biological systems.

Quantifying protein dynamics in the ps-ns time regime by NMR relaxation.

Both 15N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) and sufficiently rapid exchange linebroadening transitions exhibit relaxation contributions that are proportional to the square of the magnetic field. Deconvoluting these contributions is further complicated by residue-dependent variations in protein amide 15N CSA values which have proven difficult to accurately measure. Exploiting recently reported improvements for the implementation of T1 and T1ρ experiments, field strength-dependent studies have been carried out on the B3 domain of protein G (GB3) as well as on the immunophilin FKBP12 and a H87V variant of that protein in which the major conformational exchange linebroadening transition is suppressed. By applying a zero frequency spectral density rescaling analysis to the relaxation data collected at magnetic fields from 500 to 900MHz 1H, differential residue-specific 15N CSA values have been obtained for GB3 which correlate with those derived from solid state and liquid crystalline NMR measurements to a level similar to the correlation among those previously reported studies. Application of this analysis protocol to FKBP12 demonstrated an efficient quantitation of both weak exchange linebroadening contributions and differential residue-specific 15N CSA values. Experimental access to such differential residue-specific 15N CSA values should significantly facilitate more accurate comparisons with molecular dynamics simulations of protein motion that occurs within the timeframe of global molecular tumbling.

Natural Abundance Nitrogen-15 NMR in Thermotropic Liquid Crystals With Cyano-Group

Abstract We present natural abundance nitrogen-15 (NAN15) NMR spectroscopy in thermotropic liquid crystals. It is demonstrated that high resolution NAN15 NMR spectra in mesophases can be accurately recorded in non-spinning samples with a high orientational molecular order and strong anisotropic spin interactions. In this technique, due to low demand on radio-frequency decoupling power, standard solution-state probes can be used, which generally provide superior sensitivity and spectroscopic resolution in comparison to solid-state probes. We show that 15N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) can be used as a sensitive probe of molecular orientational dynamics in liquid crystals. This method is exploited here to measure the orientational molecular order parameter of the nematic 4-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (5CB). Since the nitrogen spectra are obtained from the molecules constituting the mesophase rather than from probe molecules, the information is direct and the analysis and interpretation is straightforward. Nitrogen CSA of immobilized molecules, required in the analysis, is obtained using a DFT calculation. The approach provided consistent results for the order parameter in the nematic 5CB in the whole temperature range, in good agreement with literature data.

15N CSA tensors and 15N–1H dipolar couplings of protein hydrophobic core residues investigated by static solid-state NMR

In this work, we assess the usefulness of static 15N NMR techniques for the determination of the 15N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensor parameters and 15N–1H dipolar splittings in powder protein samples. By using five single labeled samples of the villin headpiece subdomain protein in a hydrated lyophilized powder state, we determine the backbone 15N CSA tensors at two temperatures, 22 and −35°C, in order to get a snapshot of the variability across the residues and as a function of temperature. All sites probed belonged to the hydrophobic core and most of them were part of α-helical regions. The values of the anisotropy (which include the effect of the dynamics) varied between 130 and 156ppm at 22°C, while the values of the asymmetry were in the 0.32–0.082 range. The Leu-75 and Leu-61 backbone sites exhibited high mobility based on the values of their temperature-dependent anisotropy parameters. Under the assumption that most differences stem from dynamics, we obtained the values of the motional order parameters for the 15N backbone sites. While a simple one-dimensional line shape experiment was used for the determination of the 15N CSA parameters, a more advanced approach based on the “magic sandwich” SAMMY pulse sequence (Nevzorov and Opella, 2003) was employed for the determination of the 15N–1H dipolar patterns, which yielded estimates of the dipolar couplings. Accordingly, the motional order parameters for the dipolar interaction were obtained. It was found that the order parameters from the CSA and dipolar measurements are highly correlated, validating that the variability between the residues is governed by the differences in dynamics. The values of the parameters obtained in this work can serve as reference values for developing more advanced magic-angle spinning recoupling techniques for multiple labeled samples.

Orientation and Order of the Amide Group of Sphingomyelin in Bilayers Determined by Solid-State NMR

Sphingomyelin (SM) and cholesterol (Chol) are considered essential for the formation of lipid rafts; however, the types of molecular interactions involved in this process, such as intermolecular hydrogen bonding, are not well understood. Since, unlike other phospholipids, SM is characterized by the presence of an amide group, it is essential to determine the orientation of the amide and its order in the lipid bilayers to understand the nature of the hydrogen bonds in lipid rafts. For this study, 1′-13C-2-15N-labeled and 2′-13C-2-15N-labeled SMs were prepared, and the rotational-axis direction and order parameters of the SM amide in bilayers were determined based on 13C and 15N chemical-shift anisotropies and intramolecular 13C-15N dipole coupling constants. Results revealed that the amide orientation was minimally affected by Chol, whereas the order was enhanced significantly in its presence. Thus, Chol likely promotes the formation of an intermolecular hydrogen-bond network involving the SM amide without significantly changing its orientation, providing a higher order to the SM amide. To our knowledge, this study offers new insight into the significance of the SM amide orientation with regard to molecular recognition in lipid rafts, and therefore provides a deeper understanding of the mechanism of their formation.

Correction to “Cytochrome P450–Cytochrome-b5 Interaction in a Membrane Environment Changes 15N Chemical Shift Anisotropy Tensors”

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVAddition/CorrectionORIGINAL ARTICLEThis notice is a correctionCorrection to “Cytochrome P450–Cytochrome-b5 Interaction in a Membrane Environment Changes 15N Chemical Shift Anisotropy Tensors”Manoj Kumar Pandey, Subramanian Vivekanandan, Shivani Ahuja, Rui Huang, Sang-Choul Im, Lucy Waskell, and Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy*Cite this: J. Phys. Chem. B 2014, 118, 20, 5616Publication Date (Web):May 12, 2014Publication History Published online12 May 2014Published inissue 22 May 2014https://doi.org/10.1021/jp504183hCopyright © 2014 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views141Altmetric-Citations1LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (104 KB) Get e-Alerts Get e-Alerts

A probe to monitor performance of 15N longitudinal relaxation experiments for proteins in solution

The magnitude of the ¹⁵N longitudinal relaxation rate typically decreases as magnetic field strength increases in globular proteins in solution. Thus, it is important to test the performance of ¹⁵N longitudinal relaxation experiments at high field strength. Herein, a tool to investigate systematic errors in ¹⁵N longitudinal relaxation rate, R₁, is introduced. The tool, a difference in R₁ values between the two components of the ¹H-coupled ¹⁵N magnetizations, R₁(1)-R₁(2), conveniently detects inefficiencies in cancellation of cross correlation between ¹H-¹⁵N dipolar coupling and ¹⁵N chemical shift anisotropy. Experiments, in varying conditions, and simulations of a two-spin system indicate that insufficient cancellation of the cross correlation is due to (1) ¹H pulse imperfection and (2) ¹H off-resonance effect, and (3) is further amplified by residual ¹⁵N transverse magnetization that is caused by the ¹⁵N off-resonance effect. Results also show that this problem can be easily and practically remedied by discarding the initial decay points when recording ¹⁵N longitudinal relaxation in proteins.

Rotational velocity rescaling of molecular dynamics trajectories for direct prediction of protein NMR relaxation

Rotational velocity rescaling (RVR) enables 15N relaxation data for the anisotropically tumbling B3 domain of Protein G (GB3) to be accurately predicted from 1μs of constant energy molecular dynamics simulation without recourse to any system-specific adjustable parameters. Superposition of adjacent trajectory frames yields the unique rotation axis and angle of rotation that characterizes each transformation. By proportionally scaling the rotation angles relating each consecutive pair of frames, the rotational diffusion in the RVR-MD trajectory was adjusted to correct for the elevated self-diffusion rate of TIP3P water. 15N T1 and T2 values for 32 residues in the regular secondary structures of GB3 were predicted with an rms deviation of 2.2%, modestly larger than the estimated experimental uncertainties. Residue-specific chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) values reported from isotropic solution, liquid crystal and microcrystalline solid measurements less accurately predict GB3 relaxation than does applying a constant CSA value, potentially indicating structure-dependent correlated variations in 1H15N bond length and 15N CSA. By circumventing the quasi-static analysis of NMR order parameters often applied in MD studies, a more direct test is provided for assessing the accuracy with which molecular simulations predict protein motion in the ps–ns timeframe. Since no assumption of separability between global tumbling and internal motion is required, utility in analyzing simulations of mobility in disordered protein segments is anticipated.

Determination of 15N chemical shift anisotropy from a membrane-bound protein by NMR spectroscopy.

Chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors are essential in the structural and dynamic studies of proteins using NMR spectroscopy. Results from relaxation studies in biomolecular solution and solid-state NMR experiments on aligned samples are routinely interpreted using well-characterized CSA tensors determined from model compounds. Since CSA tensors, particularly the (15)N CSA, highly depend on a number of parameters including secondary structure, electrostatic interaction, and the amino acid sequence, there is a need for accurately determined CSA tensors from proteins. In this study, we report the backbone amide-(15)N CSA tensors for a 16.7-kDa membrane-bound and paramagnetic-heme containing protein, rabbit Cytochrome b(5) (cytb(5)), determined using the (15)N CSA/(15)N-(1)H dipolar transverse cross-correlation rates. The mean values of (15)N CSA determined for residues in helical, sheet, and turn regions are -187.9, -166.0, and -161.1 ppm, respectively, with an overall average value of -171.7 ppm. While the average CSA value determined from this study is in good agreement with previous solution NMR experiments on small globular proteins, the CSA value determined for residues in helical conformation is slightly larger, which may be attributed to the paramagnetic effect from Fe(III) of the heme unit in cytb(5). However, like in previous solution NMR studies, the CSA values reported in this study are larger than the values measured from solid-state NMR experiments. We believe that the CSA parameters reported in this study will be useful in determining the structure, dynamics, and orientation of proteins, including membrane proteins, using NMR spectroscopy.

Slowly Relaxing Local Structure (SRLS) Analysis of 15N–H Relaxation from the Prototypical Small Proteins GB1 and GB3

15N-H relaxation parameters from the first (GB1) and third (GB3) immunoglobulin-binding domains of streptococcal protein G were analyzed previously with the traditional model-free (MF) method. These proteins comprise an α-helix and a four-stranded β-sheet. An extensive study of GB1 (GB3) used combined three-field (five-field) data acquired in the 278-323 K range (at 297 K). For successful analysis of the GB3 data, it was necessary to allow for variations in the 15N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensor and virtually eliminate the local motion. In the case of GB1, the spectral density was parametrized. Here, we analyze these data with the slowly relaxing local structure (SRLS) approach, which is the generalization of MF in allowing for general tensorial properties, and accounting for mode-coupling. A standard (featuring constant magnetic tensors) SRLS fitting scheme is used. This analysis accounts for the important asymmetry of the local spatial restrictions; it provides physical order parameters, local diffusion rates, related activation energies, and key features of local geometry. Using data from GB3 we show that the main local ordering axis is C(i-1)(α) - C(i)(α), and the average axial (rhombic) order parameter is -0.457 ± 0.017 (1.156 ± 0.015) for the α-helix and -0.484 ± 0.002 (1.10 ± 0.04) for the rest of the polypeptide chain. The N-H bonds within (outside of) the α-helix reorient locally with an average correlation time, (τ), of 310 (130) ps, as compared to 3.33 ns for the global tumbling. Several N-H bonds in the loops β1/β2, β2/α-helix, and α-helix/β3 have (τ) of 380, 320, and 750 ps, respectively. The distinctive experimental data of the α-helix are due to relatively weak and substantially rhombic local ordering and slow local motion. For GB1, we derive activation energies from local diffusion rates. They are 43.3 ± 7.1 kJ/mol for the β-strands, 24.7 ± 3.9 kJ/mol for the α-helix (and approximately for the loop β3/β4), and 18.9 ± 1.8 kJ/mol for the other loops. The physical SRLS description provides new insights into the backbone dynamics of GB1 and GB3 in particular, and proteins in general.

Structure determination in “shiftless” solid state NMR of oriented protein samples

An efficient formalism for calculating protein structures from oriented-sample NMR data in the torsion-angle space is presented. Angular anisotropies of the NMR observables are treated by utilizing an irreducible spherical basis of rotations. An intermediate rotational transformation is introduced that greatly speeds up structural fitting by rendering the dependence on the torsion angles Φ and Ψ in a purely diagonal form. Back-calculation of the simulated solid-state NMR spectra of protein G involving 15N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA), and 1H– 15N and 1H α– 13C α dipolar couplings was performed by taking into account non-planarity of the peptide linkages and experimental uncertainty. Even a relatively small (to within 1 ppm) random variation in the CSA values arising from uncertainties in the tensor parameters yields the RMSD’s of the back-calculated structures of more than 10 Å. Therefore, the 15N CSA has been substituted with heteronuclear dipolar couplings which are derived from the highly conserved bond lengths and bond angles associated with the amino-acid covalent geometry. Using the additional 13C α– 15N and 13C′– 15N dipolar couplings makes it possible to calculate protein structures entirely from “shiftless” solid-state NMR data. With the simulated “experimental” uncertainty of 15 Hz for protein G and 120 Hz for a helical hairpin derived from bacteriorhodopsin, back-calculation of the synthetic dipolar NMR spectra yielded a converged set of solutions. The use of distance restraints dramatically improves structural convergence even if larger experimental uncertainties are assumed.

Dynamics Studies of HIV-1 CA Protein Assemblies by Solid-State MAS NMR Spectroscopy

The capsids of mature retroviruses perform the essential function of organizing the viral genome for efficient replication. In mature HIV-1 virions, the 25.6 kDa CA protein assemblies into a fullerene cone, a closed shell. Tyrosine residues in the capsid proteins of retroviruses play important roles in protein folding and assembly packing1. In HIV-1 CA protein, Y145, which is located in the linker region between N- and C-terminal domains might play a pivot role in HIV-1 capsid assembly.2,3 However, the molecular interactions involving Y145 that stabilize the assembly, including the dynamic behavior of this residue in the assembled and unassembled CA are unknown. We have recently determined that MAS NMR spectroscopy can yield atomic- resolution information on assembled CA capsids and reported partial resonance assignments and secondary structure analysis of conical assemblies.4 Herein, we present studies of the internal dynamics of the Tyr resiudes in CA as probed by various solid-state NMR methods. 15N/1H chemical shift anisotropies (CSA) and 1H-15N/1H-13C dipolar order parameters have been obtained in selectively labeled 13C, 15N -Tyr HIV-1 CA protein assemblies of conical morphologies, as well as in N- and C-terminal domains of CA. Our results demonstrate that Y145 exhibits reduced 15N and 1H chemical shift anisotropy, as well as smaller 1H-15N and 1H-13C dipolar order parameters, presumably due to its backbone mobility on nano- to microsecond timescales. Moreover, the NMR parameters of Y145 are strongly temperature dependent, another evidence of internal conformational dynamics. In contrast, the other three Tyr residues, Y130, Y164 and Y169, which are located in α-helical regions of CA, display rigid-limit chemical shielding anisotropies and dipolar order parameters.

Solid-State NMR and Density Functional Theory Studies of Ionization States of Thiamin

Thiamin diphosphate (ThDP) is a key coenzyme in sugar metabolism. The 4'-aminopyrimidine ring of ThDP cycles through several ionization and tautomeric states during enzyme catalysis, but it is not fully understood which states are adopted during the individual steps of the catalytic cycle. Thiamin has been synthesized with labels selectively inserted into the C2 and C6' positions, as well as into the amino group, creating [C2, C6'-(13)C(2)] thiamin and [N4'-(15)N] thiamin. Magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy has been employed to record the (13)C and (15)N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors for C2, C6', and N4' atoms. Our results indicate that the isotropic chemical shifts as well as the principal components of the (13)C and (15)N CSA tensors are very sensitive to the protonation states in these compounds and, therefore, permit differentiating between the two ionization states, 4-aminopyrimidine and 4-aminopyrimidinium. Using density functional theory (DFT), we have calculated the magnetic shielding anisotropy tensors of C2, C6', and N4' and found excellent agreement between the computed and the experimental tensors. Our findings indicate that MAS NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with DFT calculations is a sensitive probe of ionization states in the thiamin cofactor. The results of this study will serve as a guide for characterization of ionization and tautomeric states of thiamin in complexes with thiamin-dependent enzymes.

Order Parameters of a Transmembrane Helix in a Fluid Bilayer: Case Study of a WALP Peptide

A new solid-state NMR-based strategy is established for the precise and efficient analysis of orientation and dynamics of transmembrane peptides in fluid bilayers. For this purpose, several dynamically averaged anisotropic constraints, including 13C and 15N chemical shift anisotropies and 13C-15N dipolar couplings, were determined from two different triple-isotope-labeled WALP23 peptides (2H, 13C, and 15N) and combined with previously published quadrupolar splittings of the same peptide. Chemical shift anisotropy tensor orientations were determined with quantum chemistry. The complete set of experimental constraints was analyzed using a generalized, four-parameter dynamic model of the peptide motion, including tilt and rotation angle and two associated order parameters. A tilt angle of 21° was determined for WALP23 in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, which is much larger than the tilt angle of 5.5° previously determined from 2H NMR experiments. This approach provided a realistic value for the tilt angle of WALP23 peptide in the presence of hydrophobic mismatch, and can be applied to any transmembrane helical peptide. The influence of the experimental data set on the solution space is discussed, as are potential sources of error.

Dynamics of Reassembled Thioredoxin Studied by Magic Angle Spinning NMR: Snapshots from Different Time Scales

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy can be used to probe internal protein dynamics in the absence of the overall molecular tumbling. In this study, we report (15)N backbone dynamics in differentially enriched 1-73(U-(13)C,(15)N)/74-108(U-(15)N) reassembled thioredoxin on multiple time scales using a series of 2D and 3D MAS NMR experiments probing the backbone amide (15)N longitudinal relaxation, (1)H-(15)N dipolar order parameters, (15)N chemical shift anisotropy (CSA), and signal intensities in the temperature-dependent and (1)H T(2)'-filtered NCA experiments. The spin-lattice relaxation rates R(1) (R(1) = 1/T(1)) were observed in the range from 0.012 to 0.64 s(-1), indicating large site-to-site variations in dynamics on pico- to nanosecond time scales. The (1)H-(15)N dipolar order parameters, <S>, and (15)N CSA anisotropies, delta(sigma), reveal the backbone mobilities in reassembled thioredoxin, as reflected in the average <S> = 0.89 +/- 0.06 and delta(sigma) = 92.3 +/- 5.2 ppm, respectively. From the aggregate of experimental data from different dynamics methods, some degree of correlation between the motions on the different time scales has been suggested. Analysis of the dynamics parameters derived from these solid-state NMR experiments indicates higher mobilities for the residues constituting irregular secondary structure elements than for those located in the alpha-helices and beta-sheets, with no apparent systematic differences in dynamics between the alpha-helical and beta-sheet residues. Remarkably, the dipolar order parameters derived from the solid-state NMR measurements and the corresponding solution NMR generalized order parameters display similar qualitative trends as a function of the residue number. The comparison of the solid-state dynamics parameters to the crystallographic B-factors has identified the contribution of static disorder to the B-factors. The combination of longitudinal relaxation, dipolar order parameter, and CSA line shape analyses employed in this study provides snapshots of dynamics and a new insight on the correlation of these motions on multiple time scales.