scholarly journals Structure and Function of Synaptotagmin 1 C2 Domains as Determined by Site-Directed Spin Labeling

2011 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 144a
Author(s):  
Dawn Z. Herrick ◽  
Weiwei Kuo ◽  
Jeffrey F. Ellena ◽  
David S. Cafiso
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elka R. Georgieva

AbstractCellular membranes and associated proteins play critical physiological roles in organisms from all life kingdoms. In many cases, malfunction of biological membranes triggered by changes in the lipid bilayer properties or membrane protein functional abnormalities lead to severe diseases. To understand in detail the processes that govern the life of cells and to control diseases, one of the major tasks in biological sciences is to learn how the membrane proteins function. To do so, a variety of biochemical and biophysical approaches have been used in molecular studies of membrane protein structure and function on the nanoscale. This review focuses on electron paramagnetic resonance with site-directed nitroxide spin-labeling (SDSL EPR), which is a rapidly expanding and powerful technique reporting on the local protein/spin-label dynamics and on large functionally important structural rearrangements. On the other hand, adequate to nanoscale study membrane mimetics have been developed and used in conjunction with SDSL EPR. Primarily, these mimetics include various liposomes, bicelles, and nanodiscs. This review provides a basic description of the EPR methods, continuous-wave and pulse, applied to spin-labeled proteins, and highlights several representative applications of EPR to liposome-, bicelle-, or nanodisc-reconstituted membrane proteins.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.B. Nyenhuis ◽  
A. Thapa ◽  
D. S. Cafiso

AbstractSynaptotagmin 1 acts as the Ca2+-sensor for synchronous neurotransmitter release; however, the mechanism by which it functions is not understood and is presently a topic of considerable interest. Here we describe measurements on full-length membrane reconstituted synaptotagmin 1 using site-directed spin labeling where we characterize the linker region as well as the cis (vesicle membrane) and trans (cytoplasmic membrane) binding of its two C2 domains. In the full-length protein, the C2A domain does not undergo membrane insertion in the absence of Ca2+; however, the C2B domain will bind to and penetrate in trans to a membrane containing phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate (PIP2), even if phosphatidylserine (PS) is present in the cis membrane. In the presence of Ca2+, the Ca2+-binding loops of C2A and C2B both insert into the membrane interface; moreover, C2A preferentially inserts into PS containing bilayers and will bind in a cis configuration to membranes containing PS even if a PIP2 membrane is presented in trans. The data are consistent with a bridging activity for Syt1 where the two domains bind to opposing vesicle and plasma membranes. The failure of C2A to bind membranes in the absence of Ca2+ and the long unstructured segment linking C2A to the vesicle membrane indicates that synaptotagmin 1 could act to significantly shorten the vesicle-plasma membrane distance with increasing levels of Ca2+.


2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 283-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Böhme ◽  
Heinz-Jürgen Steinhoff ◽  
Johann P. Klare

Investigations on the structure and function of biomolecules often depend on the availability of topological information to build up structural models or to characterize conformational changes during function. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in combination with site–directed spin labeling (SDSL) allow to determine intra- and intermolecular distances in the range from 4–70 Å, covering the range of interest for biomolecules. The approach does not require crystalline samples and is well suited also for molecules exhibiting intrinsic flexibility. This article is intended to give an overview on pulsed EPR in conjunction with SDSL to study protein interactions as well as conformational changes, exemplified on the tRNA modifying enzyme MnmE.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Venkatesan Kathiresan ◽  
Yaoyi Chen ◽  
Yanping Hu ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
...  

<div> <p>Site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) of large RNAs for electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy remains challenging up-to-date. We here demonstrate an efficient and generally applicable posttranscriptional SDSL method for large RNAs under non-denaturing conditions using an expanded genetic alphabet containing the NaM-TPT3 unnatural base pair (UBP). An alkyne-modified TPT3 ribonucleotide triphosphate (rTPT3<sup>CO</sup>TP) is synthesized and site-specifically incorporated into large RNAs by <i>in vitro</i> transcription, which allows attachment of the azide-containing nitroxide through click chemistry. We validate this strategy using a 419-nucleotide Ribonuclease P (RNase P) RNA from Bacillus <i>stearothermophilus. </i>The effects of site-directed UBP incorporation and subsequent spin labeling to global structure and function of RNase P are marginal as evaluated by Circular Dichroism spectroscopy, Small Angle X-ray Scattering, and enzymatic assay. Continuous-wave EPR analyses reveal that the labeling reaction is efficient and specific, and Pulsed Electron-Electron Double Resonance measurements yield an inter-spin distance distribution that agrees well with the crystal structure. Thus, the labeling strategy as presented overcomes the size constraint of RNA labeling, opening new possibilities for application of EPR spectroscopy in investigating structure and dynamics of large RNA.</p> </div> <br>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Venkatesan Kathiresan ◽  
Yaoyi Chen ◽  
Yanping Hu ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
...  

<div> <p>Site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) of large RNAs for electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy remains challenging up-to-date. We here demonstrate an efficient and generally applicable posttranscriptional SDSL method for large RNAs under non-denaturing conditions using an expanded genetic alphabet containing the NaM-TPT3 unnatural base pair (UBP). An alkyne-modified TPT3 ribonucleotide triphosphate (rTPT3<sup>CO</sup>TP) is synthesized and site-specifically incorporated into large RNAs by <i>in vitro</i> transcription, which allows attachment of the azide-containing nitroxide through click chemistry. We validate this strategy using a 419-nucleotide Ribonuclease P (RNase P) RNA from Bacillus <i>stearothermophilus. </i>The effects of site-directed UBP incorporation and subsequent spin labeling to global structure and function of RNase P are marginal as evaluated by Circular Dichroism spectroscopy, Small Angle X-ray Scattering, and enzymatic assay. Continuous-wave EPR analyses reveal that the labeling reaction is efficient and specific, and Pulsed Electron-Electron Double Resonance measurements yield an inter-spin distance distribution that agrees well with the crystal structure. Thus, the labeling strategy as presented overcomes the size constraint of RNA labeling, opening new possibilities for application of EPR spectroscopy in investigating structure and dynamics of large RNA.</p> </div> <br>


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document