Serial crystallography captures enzyme catalysis in copper nitrite reductase at atomic resolution from one crystal

Relating individual protein crystal structures to an enzyme mechanism remains a major and challenging goal for structural biology. Serial crystallography using multiple crystals has recently been reported in both synchrotron-radiation and X-ray free-electron laser experiments. In this work, serial crystallography was used to obtain multiple structures serially from one crystal (MSOX) to studyin crystalloenzyme catalysis. Rapid, shutterless X-ray detector technology on a synchrotron MX beamline was exploited to perform low-dose serial crystallography on a single copper nitrite reductase crystal, which survived long enough for 45 consecutive 100 K X-ray structures to be collected at 1.07–1.62 Å resolution, all sampled from the same crystal volume. This serial crystallography approach revealed the gradual conversion of the substrate bound at the catalytic type 2 Cu centre from nitrite to nitric oxide, following reduction of the type 1 Cu electron-transfer centre by X-ray-generated solvated electrons. Significant, well defined structural rearrangements in the active site are evident in the series as the enzyme moves through its catalytic cycle, namely nitrite reduction, which is a vital step in the global denitrification process. It is proposed that such a serial crystallography approach is widely applicable for studying any redox or electron-driven enzyme reactions from a single protein crystal. It can provide a `catalytic reaction movie' highlighting the structural changes that occur during enzyme catalysis. The anticipated developments in the automation of data analysis and modelling are likely to allow seamless and near-real-time analysis of such data on-site at some of the powerful synchrotron crystallographic beamlines.</jats:p

Recent structural insights into the function of copper nitrite reductases.

Copper nitrite reductases (CuNiR) carry out the first committed step of the denitrification pathway of the global nitrogen cycle, the reduction of nitrite (NO2(-)) to nitric oxide (NO). As such, they are of major agronomic and environmental importance. CuNiRs occur primarily in denitrifying soil bacteria which carry out the overall reduction of nitrate to dinitrogen. In this article, we review the insights gained into copper nitrite reductase (CuNiR) function from three dimensional structures. We particularly focus on developments over the last decade, including insights from serial femtosecond crystallography using X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) and from the recently discovered 3-domain CuNiRs

Änglainskriptionen på den medeltida kyrkklockan i Grava, Värmland

Den förkomna kyrkklockan i Grava i Värmland bar en inskrift som länge varit ett mindre mysterium. Detta har berott på otydliga bokstavsformer och spegelvänd skrift, men visar sig också bero på att inskriften var en ovanlig magisk formel bestående till största delen av änglanamn, varav ett par är märkliga

Marginally hydrophobic transmembrane α-helices shaping membrane protein folding

Most membrane proteins are inserted into the membrane co-translationally utilizing the translocon, which allows a sufficiently long and hydrophobic stretch of amino acids to partition into the membrane. However, X-ray structures of membrane proteins have revealed that some transmembrane helices (TMHs) are surprisingly hydrophilic. These marginally hydrophobic transmembrane helices (mTMH) are not recognized as TMHs by the translocon in the absence of local sequence context. We have studied three native mTMHs, which were previously shown to depend on a subsequent TMH for membrane insertion. Their recognition was not due to specific interactions. Instead, the presence of basic amino acids in their cytoplasmic loop allowed membrane insertion of one of them. In the other two, basic residues are not sufficient unless followed by another, hydrophobic TMH. Post-insertional repositioning are another way to bring hydrophilic residues into the membrane. We show how four long TMHs with hydrophilic residues seen in X-ray structures, are initially inserted as much shorter membrane-embedded segments. Tilting is thus induced after membrane-insertion, probably through tertiary packing interactions within the protein. Aquaporin 1 illustrates how a mTMH can shape membrane protein folding and how repositioning can be important in post-insertional folding. It initially adopts a four-helical intermediate, where mTMH2 and TMH4 are not inserted into the membrane. Consequently, TMH3 is inserted in an inverted orientation. The final conformation with six TMHs is formed by TMH2 and 4 entering the membrane and TMH3 rotating 180°. Based on experimental and computational results, we propose a mechanism for the initial step in the folding of AQP1: A shift of TMH3 out from membrane core allows the preceding regions to enter the membrane, which provides flexibility for TMH3 to re-insert in its correct orientation.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript.</p

Mechanism for cyclization reaction by clavaminic acid synthase. Insights from modeling studies.

The mechanism of the oxidative cyclization reaction catalyzed by clavaminic acid synthase (CAS) was studied in silico. First, a classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed to obtain a realistic structure of the CAS-Fe(IV)=O-succinate-substrate complex; then potential of mean force (PMF) was calculated to assess the feasibility of the beta-lactam ring, more specifically its C4' corner, approaching the oxo atom. Based on the MD structure, a relatively large model of the active site region was selected and used in the B3LYP investigation of the reaction mechanism. The computational results suggest that once the oxoferryl species is formed, the oxidative cyclization catalyzed by CAS most likely involves either a mechanism involving C4'(S)-H bond cleavage of the monocyclic beta-lactam ring, or a biosynthetically unprecedented mechanism comprising (1) oxidation of the hydroxyl group of PCA to an O-radical, (2) retro-aldol-like decomposition of the O-radical to an aldehyde and a C-centered radical, which is stabilized by the captodative effect, (3) abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the C4'(S) position of the C-centered radical by the Fe(III)-OH species yielding an azomethine ylide, and (4) 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to the ylide with aldehyde acting as a dipolarophile. Precedent for the new proposed mechanism comes from the reported synthesis of oxapenams via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of aldehydes and ketones

Ouabain Modulates the Functional Interaction Between Na,K-ATPase and NMDA Receptor.

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor plays an essential role in glutamatergic transmission and synaptic plasticity and researchers are seeking for different modulators of NMDA receptor function. One possible mechanism for its regulation could be through adjacent membrane proteins. NMDA receptors coprecipitate with Na,K-ATPase, indicating a potential interaction of these two proteins. Ouabain, a mammalian cardiotonic steroid that specifically binds to Na,K-ATPase and affects its conformation, can protect from some toxic effects of NMDA receptor activation. Here we have examined whether NMDA receptor activity and downstream effects can be modulated by physiological ouabain concentrations. The spatial colocalization between NMDA receptors and the Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunits on dendrites of cultured rat hippocampal neurons was analyzed with super-resolution dSTORM microscopy. The functional interaction was analyzed with calcium imaging of single hippocampal neurons exposed to 10 μM NMDA in presence and absence of ouabain and by determination of the ouabain effect on NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation. We show that NMDA receptors and the Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunits alpha1 and alpha3 exist in same protein complex and that ouabain in nanomolar concentration consistently reduces the calcium response to NMDA. Downregulation of the NMDA response is not associated with internalization of the receptor or with alterations in its state of Src phosphorylation. Ouabain in nanomolar concentration elicits a long-term potentiation response. Our findings suggest that ouabain binding to a fraction of Na,K-ATPase molecules that cluster with the NMDA receptors will, via a conformational effect on the NMDA receptors, cause moderate but consistent reduction of NMDA receptor response at synaptic activation.QC 20201130</p

Gene Duplication Leads to Altered Membrane Topology of a Cytochrome P450 Enzyme in Seed Plants

International audienceEvolution of the phenolic metabolism was critical for the transition of plants from water to land. A cytochrome P450, CYP73, with cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) activity, catalyzes the first plant-specific and rate-limiting step in this pathway. The CYP73 gene is absent from green algae, and first detected in bryophytes. A CYP73 duplication occurred in the ancestor of seed plants and was retained in Taxaceae and most angiosperms. In spite of a clear divergence in primary sequence, both paralogs can fulfill comparable cinnamate hydroxylase roles both in vitro and in vivo. One of them seems dedicated to the biosynthesis of lignin precursors. Its N-terminus forms a single membrane spanning helix and its properties and length are highly constrained. The second is characterized by an elongated and variable N-terminus, reminiscent of ancestral CYP73s. Using as proxies the Brachypodium distachyon proteins, we show that the elongation of the N-terminus does not result in an altered subcellular localization, but in a distinct membrane topology. Insertion in the membrane of endoplasmic reticulum via a double-spanning open hairpin structure allows reorientation to the lumen of the catalytic domain of the protein. In agreement with participation to a different functional unit and supramolecular organization, the protein displays modified heme proximal surface. These data suggest the evolution of divergent C4H enzymes feeding different branches of the phenolic network in seed plants. It shows that specialization required for retention of gene duplicates may result from altered protein topology rather than change in enzyme activity