Protein Structure-function Analysis Research Articles

Transcriptome-facilitated proteomic characterization of rear-fanged snake venoms reveal abundant metalloproteinases with enhanced activity

High-throughput technologies were used to identify venom gland toxin expression and to characterize the venom proteomes of two rear-fanged snakes, Ahaetulla prasina (Asian Green Vine Snake) and Borikenophis portoricensis (Puerto Rican Racer). Sixty-nine complete toxin-coding transcripts from 12 venom protein superfamilies (A. prasina) and 50 complete coding transcripts from 11 venom protein superfamilies (B. portoricensis) were identified in the venom glands. However, only 18% (A. prasina) and 32% (B. portoricensis) of the translated protein isoforms were detected in the proteome of these venoms. Both venom gland transcriptomes and venom proteomes were dominated by P-III metalloproteinases. Three-finger toxins, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, and C-type lectins were present in moderate amounts, but other protein superfamilies showed very low abundances. Venoms contained metalloproteinase activity comparable to viperid snake venom levels, but other common venom enzymes were absent or present at negligible levels. Western blot analysis showed metalloproteinase and cysteine-rich secretory protein epitopes shared with the highly venomous Boomslang (Dispholidus typus). The abundance of metalloproteinases emphasizes the important trophic role of these toxins. Comprehensive, transcriptome-informed definition of proteomes and functional characterization of venom proteins in rear-fanged snake families help to elucidate toxin evolution and provide models for protein structure-function analyses.

A genetic system for targeted mutations to disrupt and restore genes in the obligate bacterium, Ehrlichia chaffeensis

Obligate intracellular bacteria (obligates) belonging to Rickettsiales and Chlamydiales cause diseases in hundreds of millions of people worldwide and in many animal species. Lack of an efficient system for targeted mutagenesis in obligates remains a major impediment in understanding microbial pathogenesis. Challenges in creating targeted mutations may be attributed to essential nature of majority of the genes and intracellular replication dependence. Despite success in generating random mutations, a method that works well in creating mutations in specific genes of interest followed by complementation remains problematic for obligates and is a highly sought-after goal. We describe protocols to generate stable targeted mutations by allelic exchange in Ehrlichia chaffeensis, an obligate intracellular tick-borne bacterium responsible for human monocytic ehrlichiosis. Targeted mutations in E. chaffeensis were created to disrupt two genes, and also to restore one gene by another allelic exchange mutation leading to the restoration of transcription and protein expression from the inactivated gene and the recovered organisms also express mCherry, which distinguishes from the wild type. We expect that the methods developed are broadly applicable to other obligates, particularly to rickettsial pathogens, to routinely perform targeted mutations to enable studies focused on protein structure-function analyses, host-pathogen interactions and in developing vaccines.

Prediction of intrinsically disordered regions in proteins using signal processing methods: application to heat-shock proteins.

Heat-shock protein (HSP)-based immunotherapy is believed to be a promising area of development for cancer treatment as such therapy is characterized by a unique approach to every tumour. It was shown that by inhibition of HSPs it is possible to induce apoptotic cell death in cancer cells. Interestingly, there are a great number of disordered regions in proteins associated with cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, signalling, and diabetes. HSPs and some specific enzymes were shown to have these disordered regions in their primary structures. The experimental studies of HSPs confirmed that their intrinsically disordered (ID) regions are of functional importance. These ID regions play crucial roles in regulating the specificity of interactions between dimer complexes and their interacting partners. Because HSPs are overexpressed in cancer, predicting the locations of ID regions and binding sites in these proteins will be important for developing novel cancer therapeutics. In our previous studies, signal processing methods have been successfully used for protein structure-function analysis (i.e. for determining functionally important amino acids and the locations of protein active sites). In this paper, we present and discuss a novel approach for predicting the locations of ID regions in the selected cancer-related HSPs.

DoSA: Database of Structural Alignments

Protein structure alignment is a crucial step in protein structure–function analysis. Despite the advances in protein structure alignment algorithms, some of the local conformationally similar regions are mislabeled as structurally variable regions (SVRs). These regions are not well superimposed because of differences in their spatial orientations. The Database of Structural Alignments (DoSA) addresses this gap in identification of local structural similarities obscured in global protein structural alignments by realigning SVRs using an algorithm based on protein blocks. A set of protein blocks is a structural alphabet that abstracts protein structures into 16 unique local structural motifs. DoSA provides unique information about 159 780 conformationally similar and 56 140 conformationally dissimilar SVRs in 74 705 pairwise structural alignments of homologous proteins. The information provided on conformationally similar and dissimilar SVRs can be helpful to model loop regions. It is also conceivable that conformationally similar SVRs with conserved residues could potentially contribute toward functional integrity of homologues, and hence identifying such SVRs could be helpful in understanding the structural basis of protein function.Database URL: http://bo-protscience.fr/dosa/

Platform Dependencies in Bottom-up Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry is an important method for protein structure-function analysis. The bottom-up approach uses protein digestion to localize deuteration to higher resolution, and the essential measurement involves centroid mass determinations on a very large set of peptides. In the course of evaluating systems for various projects, we established two (HDX-MS) platforms that consisted of a FT-MS and a high-resolution QTOF mass spectrometer, each with matched front-end fluidic systems. Digests of proteins spanning a 20-110 kDa range were deuterated to equilibrium, and figures-of-merit for a typical bottom-up (HDX-MS) experiment were compared for each platform. The Orbitrap Velos identified 64% more peptides than the 5600 QTOF, with a 42% overlap between the two systems, independent of protein size. Precision in deuterium measurements using the Orbitrap marginally exceeded that of the QTOF, depending on the Orbitrap resolution setting. However, the unique nature of FT-MS data generates situations where deuteration measurements can be inaccurate, because of destructive interference arising from mismatches in elemental mass defects. This is shown through the analysis of the peptides common to both platforms, where deuteration values can be as low as 35% of the expected values, depending on FT-MS resolution, peptide length and charge state. These findings are supported by simulations of Orbitrap transients, and highlight that caution should be exercised in deriving centroid mass values from FT transients that do not support baseline separation of the full isotopic composition.

New developments in protein structure–function analysis by MS and use of hydrogen–deuterium exchange microfluidics

The study of protein structure and function has evolved to become a leading discipline in the biophysical sciences. Although it is not yet possible to determine 3D protein structures from MS data alone, multiple MS-based techniques can be combined to obtain structural and functional data that are complementary to classical protein structure information obtained from NMR or X-ray crystallography. Monitoring gas-phase interactions of noncovalent complexes yields information on binding constants, complex stability, and the nature of interactions. Ion mobility MS and chemical crosslinking strategies can be applied to probe the architecture of macromolecular assemblies and protein-ligand complexes. MS analysis of hydrogen-deuterium exchange can be used to determine the localization of secondary structure elements, binding sites and conformational dynamics of proteins in solution. This minireview focuses first on new strategies that combine these techniques to gain insights into protein structure and function. Using one such strategy, we then demonstrate how a novel hydrogen-deuterium exchange microfluidics tool can be used online with an ESI mass spectrometer to monitor regional accessibility in a peptide, as exemplified with amyloid-β peptide 1-40.

Protein trans-splicing as a protein ligation tool to study protein structure and function.

Protein trans-splicing (PTS) exerted by split inteins is a protein ligation reaction which enables overcoming the barriers of conventional heterologous protein production. We provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art in split intein engineering, as well as the achievements of PTS technology in the realm of protein structure-function analyses, including incorporation of natural and artificial protein modifications, controllable protein reconstitution, segmental isotope labeling and protein cyclization. We further discuss factors crucial for the successful implementation of PTS in these protein engineering approaches, and speculate on necessary future endeavours to make PTS a universally applicable protein ligation tool.

All-codon scanning identifies p53 cancer rescue mutations

In vitro scanning mutagenesis strategies are valuable tools to identify critical residues in proteins and to generate proteins with modified properties. We describe the fast and simple All-Codon Scanning (ACS) strategy that creates a defined gene library wherein each individual codon within a specific target region is changed into all possible codons with only a single codon change per mutagenesis product. ACS is based on a multiplexed overlapping mutagenesis primer design that saturates only the targeted gene region with single codon changes. We have used ACS to produce single amino-acid changes in small and large regions of the human tumor suppressor protein p53 to identify single amino-acid substitutions that can restore activity to inactive p53 found in human cancers. Single-tube reactions were used to saturate defined 30-nt regions with all possible codon changes. The same technique was used in 20 parallel reactions to scan the 600-bp fragment encoding the entire p53 core domain. Identification of several novel p53 cancer rescue mutations demonstrated the utility of the ACS approach. ACS is a fast, simple and versatile method, which is useful for protein structure–function analyses and protein design or evolution problems.

A novel method for tissue-specific RNAi rescue in Drosophila

Targeted gene silencing by RNA interference allows the study of gene function in plants and animals. In cell culture and small animal models, genetic screens can be performed—even tissue-specifically in Drosophila—with genome-wide RNAi libraries. However, a major problem with the use of RNAi approaches is the unavoidable false-positive error caused by off-target effects. Until now, this is minimized by computational RNAi design, comparing RNAi to the mutant phenotype if known, and rescue with a presumed ortholog. The ultimate proof of specificity would be to restore expression of the same gene product in vivo. Here, we present a simple and efficient method to rescue the RNAi-mediated knockdown of two independent genes in Drosophila. By exploiting the degenerate genetic code, we generated Drosophila RNAi Escape Strategy Construct (RESC) rescue proteins containing frequent silent mismatches in the complete RNAi target sequence. RESC products were no longer efficiently silenced by RNAi in cell culture and in vivo. As a proof of principle, we rescue the RNAi-induced loss of function phenotype of the eye color gene white and tracheal defects caused by the knockdown of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan. Our data suggest that RESC is widely applicable to rescue and validate ubiquitous or tissue-specific RNAi and to perform protein structure–function analysis.

Mapping of the Signal Peptide-binding Domain of Escherichia coli SecA Using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer

Identification of the signal peptide-binding domain within SecA ATPase is an important goal for understanding the molecular basis of SecA preprotein recognition as well as elucidating the chemo-mechanical cycle of this nanomotor during protein translocation. While recent studies have addressed this topic, the precise signal-peptide binding site on SecA remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to identify the SecA signal peptide-binding site using Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). FRET provides a more global view of the binding site and circumvents the common limitations of more genetic approaches where deletion and substitution mutagenesis can confound the correct interpretation of protein structure-function analysis. This study employs a collection of functional, monocysteine SecA mutants labeled with a donor fluorophore along with cysteine-containing, acceptor fluorophore-carrying PhoA signal peptides. Fluorescence anisotropy was utilized to determine equilibrium binding constants of 1.4 μM or 10.7 μM for the alkaline phosphatase signal peptide labeled at residue 22 or 2, respectively, for SecA, with a binding stoichiometry of one signal peptide bound per SecA protomer. Distance measurements determined for nine SecA mutants indicate that the signal peptide-binding domain encompasses a region proximal to residues 225–228, 371–375, 652–657, and 771–780 when mapped onto the recent NMR structure of SecA (Gelis, I., Bonvin, A., Keramisanou, D., Koukaki, M., Gouridis, G., Karamanou, S., Economou, A., and Kalodimos, C. (2007) Cell 131, 756–769). This places the signal peptide-binding domain within the heart of SecA, surrounded by and potentially responsive to domains important for binding nucleotide, mature portions of the preprotein, and the SecYEG channel component.Funding provided by National Institute of Health

Scanning mutagenesis using T4 DNA ligase and short degenerate DNA oligonucleotides containing tri-nucleotide mismatches.

Scanning mutagenesis is an attractive tool for protein structure-function correlation analysis. With one round of this method it is possible to obtain a library containing all possible single-residue mutants of the protein of interest. The practical application of this approach is currently limited by the large number and cost of the required 30-35mer oligonucleotides. As an alternative, we studied the ligation of shorter DNA oligonucleotides (6-11mer) containing a degenerate binding site and a desired mutation mismatch to a nested set of megaprimers annealed to the gene of interest. T4 DNA ligase was able to perform this task, and the obtained ligation products were elongated by DNA polymerase. The effectiveness of ligation depends on the length of the random binding site of the mutagenic oligonucleotide, on its molar excess over the template-primer complex and on the position of the mismatching tri-nucleotide insert with respect to the joining site. The secondary structure of the DNA template close to the joining site also influences the ligation yield. Mismatching oligonucleotides, protected by a 3'-phosphate group, were joined to a nested set of megaprimers, the latter being obtained by a novel procedure called reversible chain termination, i.e., termination of the dsDNA synthesis with ddNTP followed by the subsequent removal of the incorporated ddNMP with exonuclease III. T7 sequenase 2.0 DNA polymerase elongated the ligation products after the 3'-phosphate protection group was removed with T4 polynucleotide kinase, resulting in the incorporation of a specific tri-nucleotide mismatch into dsDNA. This sequence of reactions serves as the basis for a novel scanning mutagenesis procedure.

RAMHA: A PC-based Monte-Carlo simulation of random saturation mutagenesis

Random mutagenesis is a powerful tool in protein structure-function analyses. One approach to random mutagenesis is the de novo synthesis of polypeptide-encoding oligodeoxy-nucleotides using doped nucleoside phosphoramidites. A Turbo PASCAL program, RAMHA, is described for modeling such mutagenesis. Upon entering the target sequence and the desired level of nucleotide contamination, RAMHA performs a Monte Carlo simulation of the mutagenesis, compiling statistics on the similarity of resultant mutant polypeptides to the wild-type sequence, the frequency of premature open-reading frame terminations, and other relevant outcomes. Simulated mutagenesis of two DNA targets has led to the development of two different strategies to avoid the random introduction of stop codons within mutagenized gene segments.

Neural networks and protein structure-function analysis on the macintosh

Neural networks and protein structure-function analysis on the macintosh

1] Affinity labeling—An overview

Affinity labeling by definition applies to all molecules possessing a site that binds another molecule with a certain degree of specificity and affinity. In biology the proteins are the obvious ligand-binding molecules, and in practice the affinity labeling techniques have primarily involved proteins. The complete understanding of how proteins carry out their biological function requires a detailed understanding of how this binding site is constituted, and this has become the key problem in the area of protein structure-function analysis. The purpose of this chapter is to present a descriptive overview of the current status of affinity labeling; the evolution of the concepts and techniques, the most general picture of the principles involved, the terminology and the criteria commonly applied, and the current and prospective applications of affinity labeling techniques. In this chapter the discussion is kept general and is based on hypothetical examples. The chapter explains the principles and types of reagents, the Covalent Bond formation, interpretations, variations and special considerations and the use of affinity labeling.