Contribution of proline to the pre-structuring tendency of transient helical secondary structure elements in intrinsically disordered proteins

Background IDPs function without relying on three-dimensional structures. No clear rationale for such a behavior is available yet. PreSMos are transient secondary structures observed in the target-free IDPs and serve as the target-binding "active" motifs in IDPs. Prolines are frequently found in the flanking regions of PreSMos. Contribution of prolines to the conformational stability of the helical PreSMos in IDPs is investigated. Methods MD simulations are performed for several IDP segments containing a helical PreSMo and the flanking prolines. To measure the influence of flanking-prolines on the structural content of a helical PreSMo calculations were done for wild type as well as for mutant segments with Pro → Asp, His, Lys, or Ala. The change in the helicity due to removal of a proline was measured both for the PreSMo region and for the flanking regions. Results The α-helical content in ~ 70% of the helical PreSMos at the early stage of simulation decreases due to replacement of an N-terminal flanking proline by other residues whereas the helix content in nearly all PreSMos increases when the same replacements occur at the C-terminal flanking region. The helix destabilizing/terminating role of the C-terminal flanking prolines is more pronounced than the helix promoting effect of the N-terminal flanking prolines. General significance This work represents a novel example demonstrating that a proline is encoded in an IDP with a defined purpose. The helical PreSMos presage their target-bound conformations. As they most likely mediate IDP-target binding via conformational selection their helical content can be an important feature for IDP function. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

NMR chemical shift and relaxation measurements provide evidence for the coupled folding and binding of the p53 transactivation domain

The interaction between the acidic transactivation domain of the human tumor suppressor protein p53 (p53TAD) and the 70 kDa subunit of human replication protein A (hRPA70) was investigated using heteronuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A (1)H–(15)N heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) titration experiment was performed on a (15)N-labeled fragment of hRPA70, containing the N-terminal 168 residues (hRPA70(1–168)) and p53TAD. HRPA70(1–168) residues important for binding were identified and found to be localized to a prominent basic cleft. This binding site overlapped with a previously identified single-stranded DNA-binding site, suggesting that a competitive binding mechanism may regulate the formation of p53TAD–hRPA70 complex. The amide (1)H and (15)N chemical shifts of an uniformly (15)N-labeled sample of p53TAD were also monitored before and after the addition of unlabeled hRPA70(1–168). In the presence of unlabeled hRPA70(1–168), resonance lineshapes increased and corresponding intensity reductions were observed for specific p53TAD residues. The largest intensity reductions were observed for p53TAD residues 42–56. Minimal binding was observed between p53TAD and a mutant form of hRPA70(1–168), where the basic cleft residue R41 was changed to a glutamic acid (R41E), demonstrating that ionic interactions play an important role in specifying the binding interface. The region of p53TAD most affected by binding hRPA70(1–168) was found to have some residual alpha helical and beta strand structure; however, this structure was not stabilized by binding hRPA70(1–168). (15)N relaxation experiments were performed to monitor changes in backbone dynamics of p53TAD when bound to hRPA70(1–168). Large changes in both the transverse (R(2)) and rotating frame (R(1ρ)) relaxation rates were observed for a subset of the p53TAD residues that had (1)H–(15)N HSQC resonance intensity reductions during the complex formation. The folding of p53TAD upon complex formation is suggested by the pattern of changes observed for both R(2) and R(1ρ). A model that couples the formation of a weak encounter complex between p53TAD and hRPA70(1–168) to the folding of p53TAD is discussed in the context of a functional role for the p53–hRPA70 complex in DNA repair

Conserved Helix-Flanking Prolines Modulate Intrinsically Disordered Protein:Target Affinity by Altering the Lifetime of the Bound Complex.

Appropriate integration of cellular signals requires a delicate balance of ligand-target binding affinities. Increasing the level of residual structure in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which are overrepresented in these cellular processes, has been shown previously to enhance binding affinities and alter cellular function. Conserved proline residues are commonly found flanking regions of IDPs that become helical upon interacting with a partner protein. Here, we mutate these helix-flanking prolines in p53 and MLL and find opposite effects on binding affinity upon an increase in free IDP helicity. In both cases, changes in affinity were due to alterations in dissociation, not association, rate constants, which is inconsistent with conformational selection mechanisms. We conclude that, contrary to previous suggestions, helix-flanking prolines do not regulate affinity by modulating the rate of complex formation. Instead, they influence binding affinities by controlling the lifetime of the bound complex

Structure of the type III secretion and substrate-binding domain of Yersinia YopH phosphatase

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72457/1/j.0950-382x.2001.02711.x.pd

Exon-phase symmetry and intrinsic structural disorder promote modular evolution in the human genome

A key signature of module exchange in the genome is phase symmetry of exons, suggestive of exon shuffling events that occurred without disrupting translation reading frame. At the protein level, intrinsic structural disorder may be another key element because disordered regions often serve as functional elements that can be effectively integrated into a protein structure. Therefore, we asked whether exon-phase symmetry in the human genome and structural disorder in the human proteome are connected, signalling such evolutionary mechanisms in the assembly of multi-exon genes. We found an elevated level of structural disorder of regions encoded by symmetric exons and a preferred symmetry of exons encoding for mostly disordered regions (>70% predicted disorder). Alternatively spliced symmetric exons tend to correspond to the most disordered regions. The genes of mostly disordered proteins (>70% predicted disorder) tend to be assembled from symmetric exons, which often arise by internal tandem duplications. Preponderance of certain types of short motifs (e.g. SH3-binding motif) and domains (e.g. high-mobility group domains) suggests that certain disordered modules have been particularly effective in exon-shuffling events. Our observations suggest that structural disorder has facilitated modular assembly of complex genes in evolution of the human genome. © 2013 The Author(s)

Conserved Helix-Flanking Prolines Modulate Intrinsically Disordered Protein:Target Affinity by Altering the Lifetime of the Bound Complex

Appropriate integration of cellular signals requires a delicate balance of ligand–target binding affinities. Increasing the level of residual structure in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which are overrepresented in these cellular processes, has been shown previously to enhance binding affinities and alter cellular function. Conserved proline residues are commonly found flanking regions of IDPs that become helical upon interacting with a partner protein. Here, we mutate these helix-flanking prolines in p53 and MLL and find opposite effects on binding affinity upon an increase in free IDP helicity. In both cases, changes in affinity were due to alterations in dissociation, not association, rate constants, which is inconsistent with conformational selection mechanisms. We conclude that, contrary to previous suggestions, helix-flanking prolines do not regulate affinity by modulating the rate of complex formation. Instead, they influence binding affinities by controlling the lifetime of the bound complexNational Institutes of Health (2R01CA14124406-A1 and 1R01GM115556-01A1)

The N-terminal intrinsically disordered domain of mgm101p is localized to the mitochondrial nucleoid.

The mitochondrial genome maintenance gene, MGM101, is essential for yeasts that depend on mitochondrial DNA replication. Previously, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it has been found that the carboxy-terminal two-thirds of Mgm101p has a functional core. Furthermore, there is a high level of amino acid sequence conservation in this region from widely diverse species. By contrast, the amino-terminal region, that is also essential for function, does not have recognizable conservation. Using a bioinformatic approach we find that the functional core from yeast and a corresponding region of Mgm101p from the coral Acropora millepora have an ordered structure, while the N-terminal domains of sequences from yeast and coral are predicted to be disordered. To examine whether ordered and disordered domains of Mgm101p have specific or general functions we made chimeric proteins from yeast and coral by swapping the two regions. We find, by an in vivo assay in S.cerevisiae, that the ordered domain of A.millepora can functionally replace the yeast core region but the disordered domain of the coral protein cannot substitute for its yeast counterpart. Mgm101p is found in the mitochondrial nucleoid along with enzymes and proteins involved in mtDNA replication. By attaching green fluorescent protein to the N-terminal disordered domain of yeast Mgm101p we find that GFP is still directed to the mitochondrial nucleoid where full-length Mgm101p-GFP is targeted

Comparing Models of Evolution for Ordered and Disordered Proteins

Most models of protein evolution are based upon proteins that form relatively rigid 3D structures. A significant fraction of proteins, the so-called disordered proteins, do not form rigid 3D structures and sample a broad conformational ensemble. Disordered proteins do not typically maintain long-range interactions, so the constraints on their evolution should be different than ordered proteins. To test this hypothesis, we developed and compared models of evolution for disordered and ordered proteins. Substitution matrices were constructed using the sequences of putative homologs for sets of experimentally characterized disordered and ordered proteins. Separate matrices, at three levels of sequence similarity (>85%, 85–60%, and 60–40%), were inferred for each type of protein structure. The substitution matrices for disordered and ordered proteins differed significantly at each level of sequence similarity. The disordered matrices reflected a greater likelihood of evolutionary changes, relative to the ordered matrices, and these changes involved nonconservative substitutions. Glutamic acid and asparagine were interesting exceptions to this result. Important differences between the substitutions that are accepted in disordered proteins relative to ordered proteins were also identified. In general, disordered proteins have fewer evolutionary constraints than ordered proteins. However, some residues like tryptophan and tyrosine are highly conserved in disordered proteins. This is due to their important role in forming protein–protein interfaces. Finally, the amino acid frequencies for disordered proteins, computed during the development of the matrices, were compared with amino acid frequencies for different categories of secondary structure in ordered proteins. The highest correlations were observed between the amino acid frequencies in disordered proteins and the solvent-exposed loops and turns of ordered proteins, supporting an emerging structural model for disordered proteins