Functionally specific binding regions of microtubule-associated protein 2c exhibit distinct conformations and dynamics

Microtubule-associated protein 2c (MAP2c) is a 49-kDa intrinsically disordered protein regulating the dynamics of microtubules in developing neurons. MAP2c differs from its sequence homologue Tau in the pattern and kinetics of phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Moreover, the mechanisms through which MAP2c interacts with its binding partners and the conformational changes and dynamics associated with these interactions remain unclear. Here, we used NMR relaxation and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement techniques to determine the dynamics and long-range interactions within MAP2c. The relaxation rates revealed large differences in flexibility of individual regions of MAP2c, with the lowest flexibility observed in the known and proposed binding sites. Quantitative conformational analyses of chemical shifts, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement measurements disclosed that MAP2c regions interacting with important protein partners, including Fyn tyrosine kinase, plectin, and PKA, adopt specific conformations. High populations of polyproline II and alpha-helices were found in Fyn- and plectin-binding sites of MAP2c, respectively. The region binding the regulatory subunit of PKA consists of two helical motifs bridged by a more extended conformation. Of note, although MAP2c and Tau did not differ substantially in their conformations in regions of high sequence identity, we found that they differ significantly in long-range interactions, dynamics, and local conformation motifs in their N-terminal domains. These results highlight that the N-terminal regions of MAP2c provide important specificity to its regulatory roles and indicate a close relationship between MAP2c's biological functions and conformational behavior

Comprehensive analysis of relaxation decays from high-resolution relaxometry

Relaxometry consists in measuring relaxation rates over orders of magnitude of magnetic fields to probe motions of complex systems. High-resolution relaxometry (HRR) experiments can be performed on conventional high-field NMR magnets equipped with a sample shuttle. During the experiment, the sample shuttle transfers the sample between the high-field magnetic center and a chosen position in the stray field for relaxation during a variable delay, thus using the stray field as a variable field. As the relaxation delay occurs outside of the probe, HRR experiments cannot rely on the control of cross-relaxation pathways, which is standard in high-field relaxation pulse sequences. Thus, decay rates are not pure relaxation rates, which may impair a reliable description of the dynamics. Previously, we took into account cross-relaxation effects in the analysis of high- resolution relaxometry data by applying a correction factor to relaxometry decay rates in order to estimate relaxation rates. These correction factors were obtained from the iterative simulation of the relaxation decay while the sample lies outside of the probe and a preceding analysis of relaxation rates which relies on the approximation of a priori multi-exponential decays by mono-exponential functions. However, an analysis protocol matching directly experimental and simulated relaxometry decays should be more self consistent. Here, we introduce Matching INtensities for the Optimization of Timescales and Amplitudes of motions Under Relaxometry (MINOTAUR), a framework for the analysis of high-resolution relaxometry that takes as input the intensity decays at all fields. This approach uses the full relaxation matrix to calculate intensity decays, allowing complex relaxation pathways to be taken into account. Therefore, it eliminates the need for a correction of decay rates and for fitting multi-exponential decays with mono-exponential functions. The MINOTAUR software is designed as a flexible framework where relaxation matrices and spectral density functions corresponding to various models of motions can be defined on a case-by-case basis. The agreement with our previous analyses of protein side-chain dynamics from carbon-13 relaxation is excellent, while providing a more robust analysis tool. We expect MINOTAUR to become the tool of choice for the analysis of high-resolution relaxometry

Surprising absence of strong homonuclear coupling at low magnetic field explored by two-field NMR spectroscopy

International audienceStrong coupling of nuclear spins, which is achieved when their scalar coupling is greater than or comparable to the difference in their Larmor precession frequencies in an external magnetic field, gives rise to efficient coherent longitudinal polarization transfer. The strong-coupling regime can be achieved when the external magnetic field is sufficiently low, as is reduced proportional to the field strength. In the present work, however, we demonstrate that in heteronuclear spin systems these simple arguments may not hold, since heteronuclear spin-spin interactions alter the value. The experimental method that we use is two-field NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), exploiting sample shuttling between a high field, at which NMR spectra are acquired, and low field, where strong couplings are expected, at which NMR pulses can be applied to affect the spin dynamics. By using this technique, we generate zero-quantum spin coherences by means of non-adiabatic passage through a level anticrossing and study their evolution at low field. Such zero-quantum coherences mediate the polarization transfer under strong coupling conditions. Experiments performed with an 13 C labelled amino acid clearly show that the coherent polarization transfer at low field is pronounced in the 13 C-spin subsystem under proton decoupling. However, in the absence of proton decoupling, polarization transfer by coherent processes is dramatically reduced, demonstrating that heteronuclear spin-spin interactions suppress the strong coupling regime even when the external field is low. A theoretical model is presented, which can model the reported experimental results

Explicit Models of Motion to Understand Protein Side-Chain Dynamics

International audienceNuclear magnetic relaxation is widely used to probe protein dynamics. For decades, most analyses of relaxation in proteins have relied successfully on the model-free approach, forgoing mechanistic descriptions of motions. Model-free types of correlation functions cannot describe a large carbon-13 relaxation dataset in protein sidechains. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to design explicit models of motion and solve Fokker-Planck diffusion equations. These models of motion provide better agreement with relaxation data, mechanistic insight and a direct link to configuration entropy

Boosting the resolution of low-field 15 N relaxation experiments on intrinsically disordered proteins with triple-resonance NMR

International audienceImproving our understanding of nanosecond motions in disordered proteins requires the enhanced sampling of the spectral density function obtained from relaxation at low magnetic fields. High-resolution relaxometry and two-field NMR measurements of relaxation have, so far, only been based on the recording of one-or two-dimensional spectra, which provide insufficient resolution for challenging disordered proteins. Here, we introduce a 3D-HNCO-based two-field NMR experiment for measurements of protein backbone 15 N amide longitudinal relaxation rates. The experiment provides accurate longitudinal relaxation rates at low field (0.33 T in our case) preserving the resolution and sensitivity typical for high-field NMR spectroscopy. Radiofrequency pulses applied on 6 different radiofrequency channels are used to manipulate the spin system at both fields. The experiment was demonstrated on the C-terminal domain of δ subunit of RNA polymerase from Bacillus subtilis, a protein with highly repetitive amino-acid sequence and very low dispersion of backbone chemical shifts

Detection of metabolite-protein interactions in complex biological samples by high-resolution relaxometry: toward interactomics by NMR

International audienceMetabolomics, the systematic investigation of metabolites in biological fluids, cells or tissues, reveals essential information about metabolism and diseases. Metabolites have functional roles in myriads of biological processes, as substrates and products of enzymatic reactions, but also as cofactors and regulators of large numbers of biochemical mechanisms. These functions involve interactions of metabolites with macromolecules. Yet, methods to systematically investigate these interactions are hitherto still scarce. In particular, there is a need for techniques suited to identify and characterize weak metabolite-macromolecule interactions directly in complex media such as biological fluids. Here, we introduce a method to investigate weak interactions between metabolites and macromolecules in biological fluids. Our approach is based on high-resolution NMR relaxometry and does not require any invasive procedure or separation step. We show that we can detect interactions between small and large molecules in human blood serum and quantify the size of the complex. Our work opens the way for investigations of metabolite-(or other small molecules) protein interactions in biological fluids for interactomics or pharmaceutical applications

Convergent vews on disordered protein dynamics from NMR and computational approaches

International audienceIntrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) or intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) is a class of biologically important proteins exhibiting specific biophysical characteristics. They lack a hydrophobic core, and their conformational behavior is strongly influenced by electrostatic interactions. IDPs and IDRs are highly dynamic, and a characterization of the motions of IDPs and IDRs is essential for their physically correct description. NMR together with molecular dynamics simulations are the methods best suited to such a task because they provide information about dynamics of proteins with atomistic resolution. Here, we present a study of motions of a disordered C-terminal domain of the delta subunit of RNA polymerase from Bacillus subtilis. Positively and negatively charged residues in the studied domain form transient electrostatic contacts critical for the biological function. Our study is focused on investigation of ps-ns dynamics of backbone of the delta subunit based on analysis of amide 15N NMR relaxation data and molecular dynamics simulations. In order to extend an informational content of NMR data to lower frequencies, which are more sensitive to slower motions, we combined standard (high-field) NMR relaxation experiments with high-resolution relaxometry. Altogether, we collected data reporting the relaxation at 12 different magnetic fields, resulting in an unprecedented data set. Our results document that the analysis of such data provides a consistent description of dynamics and confirms the validity of so far used protocols of the analysis of dynamics of IDPs also for a partially folded protein. In addition, the potential to access detailed description of motions at the timescale of tens of ns with the help of relaxometry data is discussed. Interestingly, in our case, it appears to be mostly relevant for a region involved in the formation of temporary contacts within the disordered region, which was previously proven to be biologically important

Detection of Metabolite-Protein Interactions in Complex Biological Samples by High-Resolution Relaxometry: Towards Interactomics by NMR

In this manuscript, we introduce an NMR method to investigate the interaction of metabolites and other small molecules with proteins in biological fluids. Our approach, based on high-resolution relaxometry identifies the interaction of small molecules with proteins in blood serum and is used for the quantitative analysis of binding competition in situ

Quantitative Conformational Analysis of Functionally Important Electrostatic Interactions in the Intrinsically Disordered Region of Delta Subunit of Bacterial RNA Polymerase

International audienceElectrostatic interactions play important roles in the functional mechanisms exploited by intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). The atomic resolution description of long-range and local structural propensities that can both be crucial for the function of highly charged IDPs presents significant experimental challenges. Here, we investigate the conformational behavior of the δ subunit of RNA polymerase from Bacillus subtilis whose unfolded domain is highly charged, with 7 positively charged amino acids followed by 51 acidic amino acids. Using a specifically designed analytical strategy, we identify transient contacts between the two regions using a combination of NMR paramagnetic relaxation enhancements, residual dipolar couplings (RDCs), chemical shifts, and small-angle scattering. This strategy allows the resolution of long-range and local ensemble averaged structural contributions to the experimental RDCs, and reveals that the negatively charged segment folds back onto the positively charged strand, compacting the conformational sampling of the protein while remaining highly flexible in solution. Mutation of the positively charged region abrogates the long-range contact, leaving the disordered domain in an extended conformation, possibly due to local repulsion of like-charges along the chain. Remarkably, in vitro studies show that this mutation also has a significant effect on transcription activity, and results in diminished cell fitness of the mutated bacteria in vivo. This study highlights the importance of accurately describing electrostatic interactions for understanding the functional mechanisms of IDPs

Values of the ¹⁵N spectral density functions for FC27 (left) and 3D7 (right) MSP2, as determined from reduced spectral density mapping from the auto-relaxation rates and steady-state ¹⁵N-¹H NOE (black) and cross-correlated relaxation rates (red).

<p>The sequence regions of MSP2 are colour-coded as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0119899#pone.0119899.g001" target="_blank">Fig. 1</a>.</p