Pyrococcus furiosus Prolyl Oligopeptidase: A Dynamic Supramolecular Host for Peptidase and Dirhodium Catalysis

Supramolecular catalysis involves the design and characterization of synthetic macromolecules that catalyze chemical reactions. While enzymes are often cited as the inspiration for such catalysts, enzymes can also serve as hosts for non-native catalytic components. Protein-based hosts can be readily produced in E. coli and rapidly evolved for particular applications. Moreover, inherent properties of these systems, including their conformational dynamics, can be exploited for non-native transformations that occur within their interior. Studies on the peptidase activity of a prolyl oligopeptidase from Pyrococcus furiosus (Pfu POP) suggest that its unique two-domain architecture regulates substrate access and specificity. We have established that Pfu POP also serves as an efficient host for asymmetric cyclopropanation upon active-site modification with a dirhodium cofactor. To understand how Pfu POP controls both peptidase and dirhodium catalysis, we determined the crystal structures of this enzyme and its S477C mutant and used these structures as starting points for MD simulations of both the apo structures and systems containing a covalently linked peptidase inhibitor or a dirhodium catalyst. Pfu POP was crystalized in an open conformation, and MD simulations reveal spontaneous transitions between open and closed states, in addition to a number of smaller scale conformational changes, suggesting facile inter-domain movement. Importantly, key aspects of previously reported peptidase kinetics and cyclopropanation selectivity can be rationalized in the context of this inter-domain opening and closing. This finding constitutes a remarkable example in which the conformational dynamics of a supramolecular host affect two different catalytic activities and suggests that Pfu POP could serve as a host for a wide range of non-native catalysts.

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Constant pH Molecular Dynamics Reveals How Proton Release Drives the Conformational Transition of a Transmembrane Efflux Pump

10.26434/chemrxiv.5496907 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jana Shen ◽

Zhi Yue ◽

Helen Zgurskaya ◽

Wei Chen

Keyword(s):

Molecular Dynamics ◽

Conformational Changes ◽

Transmembrane Domain ◽

Conformational Transition ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Proton Release ◽

Intrinsic Resistance ◽

Constant Ph ◽

Wide Range ◽

Constant Ph Molecular Dynamics

AcrB is the inner-membrane transporter of E. coli AcrAB-TolC tripartite efflux complex, which plays a major role in the intrinsic resistance to clinically important antibiotics. AcrB pumps a wide range of toxic substrates by utilizing the proton gradient between periplasm and cytoplasm. Crystal structures of AcrB revealed three distinct conformational states of the transport cycle, substrate access, binding and extrusion, or loose (L), tight (T) and open (O) states. However, the specific residue(s) responsible for proton binding/release and the mechanism of proton-coupled conformational cycling remain controversial. Here we use the newly developed membrane hybrid-solvent continuous constant pH molecular dynamics technique to explore the protonation states and conformational dynamics of the transmembrane domain of AcrB. Simulations show that both Asp407 and Asp408 are deprotonated in the L/T states, while only Asp408 is protonated in the O state. Remarkably, release of a proton from Asp408 in the O state results in large conformational changes, such as the lateral and vertical movement of transmembrane helices as well as the salt-bridge formation between Asp408 and Lys940 and other sidechain rearrangements among essential residues.Consistent with the crystallographic differences between the O and L protomers, simulations offer dynamic details of how proton release drives the O-to-L transition in AcrB and address the controversy regarding the proton/drug stoichiometry. This work offers a significant step towards characterizing the complete cycle of proton-coupled drug transport in AcrB and further validates the membrane hybrid-solvent CpHMD technique for studies of proton-coupled transmembrane proteins which are currently poorly understood.

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Correlation of membrane protein conformational and functional dynamics

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-24660-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Raghavendar Reddy Sanganna Gari ◽

Joel José Montalvo‐Acosta ◽

George R. Heath ◽

Yining Jiang ◽

Xiaolong Gao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Membrane Protein ◽

Conformational Changes ◽

Single Channel ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Md Simulations ◽

High Temporal Resolution ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Functional Dynamics ◽

Ph Dependent ◽

Open States

AbstractConformational changes in ion channels lead to gating of an ion-conductive pore. Ion flux has been measured with high temporal resolution by single-channel electrophysiology for decades. However, correlation between functional and conformational dynamics remained difficult, lacking experimental techniques to monitor sub-millisecond conformational changes. Here, we use the outer membrane protein G (OmpG) as a model system where loop-6 opens and closes the β-barrel pore like a lid in a pH-dependent manner. Functionally, single-channel electrophysiology shows that while closed states are favored at acidic pH and open states are favored at physiological pH, both states coexist and rapidly interchange in all conditions. Using HS-AFM height spectroscopy (HS-AFM-HS), we monitor sub-millisecond loop-6 conformational dynamics, and compare them to the functional dynamics from single-channel recordings, while MD simulations provide atomistic details and energy landscapes of the pH-dependent loop-6 fluctuations. HS-AFM-HS offers new opportunities to analyze conformational dynamics at timescales of domain and loop fluctuations.

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High-Speed AFM directly visualizes conformational dynamics of the HIV-Vif protein complex

10.1101/2020.05.18.102749 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yangang Pan ◽

Luda S. Shlyakhtenko ◽

Yuri L. Lyubchenko

Keyword(s):

Conformational Changes ◽

Protein Complex ◽

High Speed ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Md Simulations ◽

Time Lapse ◽

Hiv Treatment ◽

X Ray Crystallography ◽

Host Cell Proteins ◽

Virus Survival

AbstractViral infectivity factor (Vif) is a protein that is essential for the replication of the HIV-1 virus. The key function of Vif is to disrupt the antiviral activity of APOBEC3 proteins, which mutate viral nucleic acids. Inside the cell, Vif binds to the host cell proteins Elongin-C, Elongin-B, and CBF-β, forming a four-protein complex called VCBC. The structure of VCBC in complex with the Cullin5 (Cul5) protein has been solved by X-ray crystallography, and recently, using molecular dynamic (MD) simulations, the dynamics of VCBC and VCBC-Cul5 complexes were characterized. Here, we applied time-lapse high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to visualize the conformational changes of the VCBC complex. We determined the three most favorable conformations of the VCBC complex, which we identified as triangle, dumbbell, and globular structures. In addition, we characterized the dynamics of each of these structures. While our data show a very dynamic behavior for all these structures, we found the triangle and dumbbell structures to be the most dynamic. These findings provide insight into the structure and dynamics of the VCBC complex and support further research into the improvement of HIV treatment, as Vif is essential for virus survival in the cell.

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Constant pH Molecular Dynamics Reveals How Proton Release Drives the Conformational Transition of a Transmembrane Efflux Pump

10.26434/chemrxiv.5496907.v1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jana Shen ◽

Zhi Yue ◽

Helen Zgurskaya ◽

Wei Chen

Keyword(s):

Molecular Dynamics ◽

Conformational Changes ◽

Transmembrane Domain ◽

Conformational Transition ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Proton Release ◽

Intrinsic Resistance ◽

Constant Ph ◽

Wide Range ◽

Constant Ph Molecular Dynamics

AcrB is the inner-membrane transporter of E. coli AcrAB-TolC tripartite efflux complex, which plays a major role in the intrinsic resistance to clinically important antibiotics. AcrB pumps a wide range of toxic substrates by utilizing the proton gradient between periplasm and cytoplasm. Crystal structures of AcrB revealed three distinct conformational states of the transport cycle, substrate access, binding and extrusion, or loose (L), tight (T) and open (O) states. However, the specific residue(s) responsible for proton binding/release and the mechanism of proton-coupled conformational cycling remain controversial. Here we use the newly developed membrane hybrid-solvent continuous constant pH molecular dynamics technique to explore the protonation states and conformational dynamics of the transmembrane domain of AcrB. Simulations show that both Asp407 and Asp408 are deprotonated in the L/T states, while only Asp408 is protonated in the O state. Remarkably, release of a proton from Asp408 in the O state results in large conformational changes, such as the lateral and vertical movement of transmembrane helices as well as the salt-bridge formation between Asp408 and Lys940 and other sidechain rearrangements among essential residues.Consistent with the crystallographic differences between the O and L protomers, simulations offer dynamic details of how proton release drives the O-to-L transition in AcrB and address the controversy regarding the proton/drug stoichiometry. This work offers a significant step towards characterizing the complete cycle of proton-coupled drug transport in AcrB and further validates the membrane hybrid-solvent CpHMD technique for studies of proton-coupled transmembrane proteins which are currently poorly understood.

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Conformational Transition Pathways in Major Facilitator Superfamily Transporters

10.1101/708289 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Dylan Ogden ◽

Kalyan Immadisetty ◽

Mahmoud Moradi

Keyword(s):

Conformational Changes ◽

Glucose Transporter ◽

Conformational Transition ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Salt Bridge ◽

Md Simulations ◽

Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽

Glucose Transporter 1 ◽

Major Facilitator ◽

Mfs Transporters

AbstractMajor facilitator superfamily (MFS) of transporters consists of three classes of membrane transporters: symporters, uniporters, and antiporters. Despite such diverse functions, MFS transporters are believed to undergo similar conformational changes within their distinct transport cycles. While the similarities between conformational changes are noteworthy, the differences are also important since they could potentially explain the distinct functions of symporters, uniporters, and antiporters of MFS superfamily. We have performed a variety of equilibrium, non-equilibrium, biased, and unbiased all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of bacterial proton-coupled oligopeptide transporter GkPOT, glucose transporter 1 (GluT1), and glycerol-3-phosphate transporter (GlpT) to compare the similarities and differences of the conformational dynamics of three different classes of transporters. Here we have simulated the apo protein in an explicit membrane environment. Our results suggest a very similar conformational transition involving interbundle salt-bridge formation/disruption coupled with the orientation changes of transmembrane (TM) helices, specifically H1/H7 and H5/H11, resulting in an alternation in the accessibility of water at the cyto- and periplasmic gates.

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Molecular dynamics simulations disclose early stages of the photo-activation of cryptochrome 4

10.1101/324962 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. R. Kattnig ◽

C. Nielsen ◽

I. A. Solov’yov

Keyword(s):

Molecular Dynamics ◽

Conformational Changes ◽

Large Scale ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Md Simulations ◽

Quantum Processes ◽

Helical Segment ◽

High Betweenness ◽

Dynamics Simulations ◽

Fad Binding

AbstractBirds appear to be equipped with a light-dependent, radical-pair-based magnetic compass that relies on truly quantum processes. While the identity of the sensory protein has remained speculative, cryptochrome 4 has recently been identified as the most auspicious candidate. Here, we report on allatom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations addressing the structural reorganisations that accompany the photoreduction of the flavin cofactor in a model of the European robin cryptochrome 4 (ErCry4). Extensive MD simulations reveal that the photo-activation of ErCry4 induces large-scale conformational changes on short (hundreds of nanoseconds) timescales. Specifically, the photo-reduction is accompanied with the release of the C-terminal tail, structural rearrangements in the vicinity of the FAD-binding site, and the noteworthy formation of an α-helical segment at the N-terminal part. Some of these rearrangements appear to expose potential phosphorylation sites. We describe the conformational dynamics of the protein using a graph-based approach that is informed by the adjacency of residues and the correlation of their local motions. This approach reveals densely coupled reorganisation communities, which facilitate an efficient signal transduction due to a high density of hubs. These communities are interconnected by a small number of highly important residues characterized by high betweenness centrality. The network approach clearly identifies the sites restructuring upon photoactivation, which appear as protrusions or delicate bridges in the reorganisation network. We also find that, unlike in the homologous cryptochrome from D. melanogaster, the release of the C-terminal domain does not appear to be correlated with the transposition of a histidine residue close to the FAD cofactor.

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Ligand-Induced Conformational Dynamics of A Tyramine Receptor from Sitophilus oryzae

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-52478-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mac Kevin E. Braza ◽

Jerrica Dominique N. Gazmen ◽

Eizadora T. Yu ◽

Ricky B. Nellas

Keyword(s):

Conformational Changes ◽

Cellular Response ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Sitophilus Oryzae ◽

Md Simulations ◽

Homology Model ◽

Activation Process ◽

Intracellular Loop ◽

Binding Effect ◽

Natural Ligand

Abstract Tyramine receptor (TyrR) is a biogenic amine G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) associated with many important physiological functions in insect locomotion, reproduction, and pheromone response. Binding of specific ligands to the TyrR triggers conformational changes, relays the signal to G proteins, and initiates an appropriate cellular response. Here, we monitor the binding effect of agonist compounds, tyramine and amitraz, to a Sitophilus oryzae tyramine receptor (SoTyrR) homology model and their elicited conformational changes. All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of SoTyrR-ligand complexes have shown varying dynamic behavior, especially at the intracellular loop 3 (IL3) region. Moreover, in contrast to SoTyrR-tyramine, SoTyrR-amitraz and non-liganded SoTyrR shows greater flexibility at IL3 residues and were found to be coupled to the most dominant motion in the receptor. Our results suggest that the conformational changes induced by amitraz are different from the natural ligand tyramine, albeit being both agonists of SoTyrR. This is the first attempt to understand the biophysical implication of amitraz and tyramine binding to the intracellular domains of TyrR. Our data may provide insights into the early effects of ligand binding to the activation process of SoTyrR.

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Crystal Structure and Conformational Dynamics of Pyrococcus furiosus Prolyl Oligopeptidase

Biochemistry ◽

10.1021/acs.biochem.9b00031 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 58 (12) ◽

pp. 1616-1626 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ken Ellis-Guardiola ◽

Huan Rui ◽

Ryan L. Beckner ◽

Poonam Srivastava ◽

Narayanasami Sukumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structure ◽

Pyrococcus Furiosus ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Prolyl Oligopeptidase

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Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry captures distinct dynamics upon substrate and inhibitor binding to a transporter

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-20032-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ruyu Jia ◽

Chloe Martens ◽

Mrinal Shekhar ◽

Shashank Pant ◽

Grant A. Pellowe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Conformational Changes ◽

Conformational Transition ◽

Substrate Binding ◽

Conformational Dynamics ◽

Md Simulations ◽

Allosteric Coupling ◽

Exchange Mass Spectrometry ◽

Hydrogen Deuterium ◽

Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry ◽

Hdx Ms

AbstractProton-coupled transporters use transmembrane proton gradients to power active transport of nutrients inside the cell. High-resolution structures often fail to capture the coupling between proton and ligand binding, and conformational changes associated with transport. We combine HDX-MS with mutagenesis and MD simulations to dissect the molecular mechanism of the prototypical transporter XylE. We show that protonation of a conserved aspartate triggers conformational transition from outward-facing to inward-facing state. This transition only occurs in the presence of substrate xylose, while the inhibitor glucose locks the transporter in the outward-facing state. MD simulations corroborate the experiments by showing that only the combination of protonation and xylose binding, and not glucose, sets up the transporter for conformational switch. Overall, we demonstrate the unique ability of HDX-MS to distinguish between the conformational dynamics of inhibitor and substrate binding, and show that a specific allosteric coupling between substrate binding and protonation is a key step to initiate transport.

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