Solid-state NMR study of the YadA membrane-anchor domain in the bacterial outer membrane.

MAS-NMR was used to study the structure and dynamics at ambient temperatures of the membrane-anchor domain of YadA (YadA-M) in a pellet of the outer membrane of E. coli in which it was expressed. YadA is an adhesin from the pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica that is involved in interactions with the host cell, and it is a model protein for studying the autotransport process. Existing assignments were sucessfully transferred to a large part of the YadA-M protein in the E. coli lipid environment by using 13C-13C DARR and PDSD spectra at different mixing times. The chemical shifts in most regions of YadA-M are unchanged relative to those in microcrystalline YadA-M preparations from which a structure has previously been solved, including the ASSA region that is proposed to be involved in transition-state hairpin formation for transport of the soluble domain. Comparisons of the dynamics between the microcrystalline and membrane-embedded samples indicate greater flexibility of the ASSA region in the outer-membrane preparation at physiological temperatures. This study will pave the way towards MAS-NMR structure determination of membrane proteins, and a better understanding of functionally important dynamic residues in native membrane environments

Festkörper-NMR-Studien an der Membrananker-Domäne von YadA in der bakteriellen Außenmembran.

MAS-NMR-Spektroskopie wurde verwendet, um die Struktur und Dynamik der Membrananker-Domäne von YadA (YadA-M) direkt in der bakteriellen Außenmembran zu untersuchen, in der das Protein exprimiert wurde. YadA ist ein Adhäsin des Pathogens Yersinia enterocolitica, das an Interaktionen mit Wirtszellen beteiligt ist und darüber hinaus auch als Modellprotein zu Studien des Autotransportprozesses dient. Mithilfe von 13C-13C-DARR-und PDSD-Spektren bei unterschiedlichen Mischzeiten konnten wir existierende chemische Verschiebungen für einen weiten Bereich von YadA-M in der Lipidmembran übertragen. Die chemischen Verschiebungen von YadA-M waren in den meisten Regionen im Vergleich zu denen in mikrokristallinen Präparationen, auf deren Basis bereits eine Struktur gelöst wurde, unverändert. Das trifft insbesondere auf die ASSA-Region zu, die vermutlich als Übergangszustand während des Transports der löslichen Domäne eine Haarnadelstruktur einnimmt. Vergleiche der Dynamik zwischen mikrokristallinen und in der Membran eingebetteten Proben zeigen eine höhere Flexibilität der ASSA-Region in den Außenmembran-Präparationen bei physiologischen Temperaturen. Diese Studie wird den Weg für die MAS-NMR-basierte Strukturberechnung von Membranproteinen und für ein besseres Verständnis der Funktion von dynamischen Proteinbereichen in nativen Membranen bereiten

G-protein-coupled receptor solubilization and purification for biophysical analysis and functional studies, in the total absence of detergent

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest class of membrane proteins and are a major drug target. A serious obstacle to studying GPCR structure/function characteristics is the requirement to extract the receptors from their native environment in the plasma membrane, coupled with the inherent instability of GPCRs in the detergents required for their solubilization. In the present study, we report the first solubilization and purification of a functional GPCR [human adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR)], in the total absence of detergent at any stage, by exploiting spontaneous encapsulation by styrene maleic acid (SMA) co-polymer direct from the membrane into a nanoscale SMA lipid particle (SMALP). Furthermore, the A2AR-SMALP, generated from yeast (Pichia pastoris) or mammalian cells, exhibited increased thermostability (∼5°C) compared with detergent [DDM (n-dodecyl-β-D-maltopyranoside)]-solubilized A2AR controls. The A2AR-SMALP was also stable when stored for prolonged periods at 4°C and was resistant to multiple freeze-thaw cycles, in marked contrast with the detergent-solubilized receptor. These properties establish the potential for using GPCR-SMALP in receptor-based drug discovery assays. Moreover, in contrast with nanodiscs stabilized by scaffold proteins, the non-proteinaceous nature of the SMA polymer allowed unobscured biophysical characterization of the embedded receptor. Consequently, CD spectroscopy was used to relate changes in secondary structure to loss of ligand binding ([3H]ZM241385) capability. SMALP-solubilization of GPCRs, retaining the annular lipid environment, will enable a wide range of therapeutic targets to be prepared in native-like state to aid drug discovery and understanding of GPCR molecular mechanisms

A method for detergent-free isolation of membrane proteins in their local lipid environment.

Despite the great importance of membrane proteins, structural and functional studies of these proteins present major challenges. A significant hurdle is the extraction of the functional protein from its natural lipid membrane. Traditionally achieved with detergents, purification procedures can be costly and time consuming. A critical flaw with detergent approaches is the removal of the protein from the native lipid environment required to maintain functionally stable protein. This protocol describes the preparation of styrene maleic acid (SMA) co-polymer to extract membrane proteins from prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems. Successful isolation of membrane proteins into SMA lipid particles (SMALPs) allows the proteins to remain with native lipid, surrounded by SMA. We detail procedures for obtaining 25 g of SMA (4 d); explain the preparation of protein-containing SMALPs using membranes isolated from Escherichia coli (2 d) and control protein-free SMALPS using E. coli polar lipid extract (1-2 h); investigate SMALP protein purity by SDS-PAGE analysis and estimate protein concentration (4 h); and detail biophysical methods such as circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation (svAUC) to undertake initial structural studies to characterize SMALPs (∼2 d). Together, these methods provide a practical tool kit for those wanting to use SMALPs to study membrane proteins

Gating Topology of the Proton-Coupled Oligopeptide Symporters

Proton-coupled oligopeptide transporters belong to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) of membrane transporters. Recent crystal structures suggest the MFS fold facilitates transport through rearrangement of their two six-helix bundles around a central ligand binding site; how this is achieved, however, is poorly understood. Using modeling, molecular dynamics, crystallography, functional assays, and site-directed spin labeling combined with double electron-electron resonance (DEER) spectroscopy, we present a detailed study of the transport dynamics of two bacterial oligopeptide transporters, PepTSo and PepTSt. Our results identify several salt bridges that stabilize outward-facing conformations and we show that, for all the current structures of MFS transporters, the first two helices of each of the four inverted-topology repeat units form half of either the periplasmic or cytoplasmic gate and that these function cooperatively in a scissor-like motion to control access to the peptide binding site during transport

High Yield Non-detergent Isolation of Photosystem I-Light-harvesting Chlorophyll II Membranes from Spinach Thylakoids

Styrene-maleic acid copolymer was used to effect a non-detergent partial solubilization of thylakoids from spinach. A high density membrane fraction, which was not solubilized by the copolymer, was isolated and was highly enriched in the Photosystem (PS) I-light-harvesting chlorophyll (LHC) II supercomplex and depleted of PS II, the cytochrome b(6)/f complex, and ATP synthase. The LHC II associated with the supercomplex appeared to be energetically coupled to PS I based on 77 K fluorescence, P(700) photooxidation, and PS I electron transport light saturation experiments. The chlorophyll (Chl) a/b ratio of the PS I-LHC II membranes was 3.2 ± 0.9, indicating that on average, three LHC II trimers may associate with each PS I. The implication of these findings within the context of higher plant PS I antenna organization is discussed

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Enhanced MAS NMR Spectroscopy for Structural Analysis of HIV‑1 Protein Assemblies

Mature infectious HIV-1 virions contain conical capsids comprised of CA protein, generated by the proteolytic cleavage cascade of the Gag polyprotein, termed maturation. The mechanism of capsid core formation through the maturation process remains poorly understood. We present DNP-enhanced MAS NMR studies of tubular assemblies of CA and Gag CA-SP1 maturation intermediate and report 20 – 64 fold sensitivity enhancements due to DNP at 14.1 T. These sensitivity enhancements enabled direct observation of spacer peptide 1 (SP1) resonances in CA-SP1 by dipolar based correlation experiments, unequivocally indicating that the SP1 peptide is unstructured in assembled CA-SP1 at cryogenic temperatures, corroborating our earlier results. Furthermore, the dependence of DNP enhancements and spectral resolution on magnetic field strength (9.4 – 18.8 T) and temperature (109 – 180 K) was investigated. Our results suggest that DNP-based measurements could potentially provide residue-specific dynamics information by allowing for the extraction of temperature dependence of the anisotropic tensorial or relaxation parameters. With DNP, we were able to detect multiple well-resolved isoleucine sidechain conformers, unique intermolecular correlations across two CA molecules, and functionally relevant conformationally disordered states such as the 14-residue SP1 peptide, none of which are visible at ambient temperatures. The detection of isolated conformers and intermolecular correlations can provide crucial constraints for structure determination of these assemblies. Overall, our results establish DNP-based MAS NMR as an excellent tool for characterization of HIV-1 assemblies