scholarly journals Fenton-Chemistry-Based Oxidative Modification of Proteins Reflects Their Conformation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (18) ◽  
pp. 9927
Author(s):  
Thomas Nehls ◽  
Tim Heymann ◽  
Christian Meyners ◽  
Felix Hausch ◽  
Frederik Lermyte

In order to understand protein structure to a sufficient extent for, e.g., drug discovery, no single technique can provide satisfactory information on both the lowest-energy conformation and on dynamic changes over time (the ‘four-dimensional’ protein structure). Instead, a combination of complementary techniques is required. Mass spectrometry methods have shown promise in addressing protein dynamics, but often rely on the use of high-end commercial or custom instruments. Here, we apply well-established chemistry to conformation-sensitive oxidative protein labelling on a timescale of a few seconds, followed by analysis through a routine protein analysis workflow. For a set of model proteins, we show that site selectivity of labelling can indeed be rationalised in terms of known structural information, and that conformational changes induced by ligand binding are reflected in the modification pattern. In addition to conventional bottom-up analysis, further insights are obtained from intact mass measurement and native mass spectrometry. We believe that this method will provide a valuable and robust addition to the ‘toolbox’ of mass spectrometry researchers studying higher-order protein structure.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary VanAernum ◽  
Florian Busch ◽  
Benjamin J. Jones ◽  
Mengxuan Jia ◽  
Zibo Chen ◽  
...  

It is important to assess the identity and purity of proteins and protein complexes during and after protein purification to ensure that samples are of sufficient quality for further biochemical and structural characterization, as well as for use in consumer products, chemical processes, and therapeutics. Native mass spectrometry (nMS) has become an important tool in protein analysis due to its ability to retain non-covalent interactions during measurements, making it possible to obtain protein structural information with high sensitivity and at high speed. Interferences from the presence of non-volatiles are typically alleviated by offline buffer exchange, which is timeconsuming and difficult to automate. We provide a protocol for rapid online buffer exchange (OBE) nMS to directly screen structural features of pre-purified proteins, protein complexes, or clarified cell lysates. Information obtained by OBE nMS can be used for fast (<5 min) quality control and can further guide protein expression and purification optimization.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuwani W. Weerasinghe ◽  
Yeganeh Habibi ◽  
Kevin A. Uggowitzer ◽  
Christopher J. Thibodeaux

AbstractLanthipeptides are ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products that are biosynthesized in a multistep maturation process by enzymes (lanthipeptide synthetases) that possess relaxed substrate specificity. Recent evidence has suggested that some lanthipeptide synthetases are structurally dynamic enzymes that are allosterically activated by precursor peptide binding, and that conformational sampling of the enzyme-peptide complex may play an important role in defining the efficiency and sequence of biosynthetic events. These “biophysical” processes, while critical for defining the activity and function of the synthetase, remain very challenging to study with existing methodologies. Herein, we show that native nanoelectrospray ionization coupled to ion mobility mass spectrometry (nanoESI-IM-MS) provides a powerful and sensitive means for investigating the conformational landscapes and intermolecular interactions of lanthipeptide synthetases. Namely, we demonstrate that the class II lanthipeptide synthetase (HalM2) and its non-covalent complex with the cognate HalA2 precursor peptide can be delivered into the gas phase in a manner that preserves native structures and intermolecular enzyme-peptide contacts. Moreover, gas phase ion mobility studies of the natively-folded ions demonstrate that peptide binding and mutations to dynamic structural elements of HalM2 alter the conformational landscape of the enzyme, and that the precursor peptide itself exhibits higher order structure in the mass spectrometer. Cumulatively, these data support previous claims that lanthipeptide synthetases are structurally dynamic enzymes that undergo functionally relevant conformational changes in response to precursor peptide binding. This work establishes nanoESI-IM-MS as a versatile approach for unraveling the relationships between protein structure and biochemical function in RiPP biosynthetic systems.


Author(s):  
Zachary VanAernum ◽  
Florian Busch ◽  
Benjamin J. Jones ◽  
Mengxuan Jia ◽  
Zibo Chen ◽  
...  

It is important to assess the identity and purity of proteins and protein complexes during and after protein purification to ensure that samples are of sufficient quality for further biochemical and structural characterization, as well as for use in consumer products, chemical processes, and therapeutics. Native mass spectrometry (nMS) has become an important tool in protein analysis due to its ability to retain non-covalent interactions during measurements, making it possible to obtain protein structural information with high sensitivity and at high speed. Interferences from the presence of non-volatiles are typically alleviated by offline buffer exchange, which is timeconsuming and difficult to automate. We provide a protocol for rapid online buffer exchange (OBE) nMS to directly screen structural features of pre-purified proteins, protein complexes, or clarified cell lysates. Information obtained by OBE nMS can be used for fast (<5 min) quality control and can further guide protein expression and purification optimization.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SM Bargeen Alam Turzo ◽  
Justin Thomas Seffernick ◽  
Amber D Rolland ◽  
Micah T Donor ◽  
Sten Heinze ◽  
...  

Among a wide variety of mass spectrometry (MS) methodologies available for structural characterizations of proteins, ion mobility (IM) provides structural information about protein shape and size in the form of an orientationally averaged collision cross-section (CCS). While IM data have been predominantly employed for the structural assessment of protein complexes, CCS data from IM experiments have not yet been used to predict tertiary structure from sequence. Here, we are showing that IM data can significantly improve protein structure determination using the modeling suite Rosetta. The Rosetta Projection Approximation using Rough Circular Shapes (PARCS) algorithm was developed that allows for fast and accurate prediction of CCS from structure. Following successful rigorous testing for accuracy, speed, and convergence of PARCS, an integrative modelling approach was developed in Rosetta to use CCS data from IM experiments. Using this method, we predicted protein structures from sequence for a benchmark set of 23 proteins. When using IM data, the predicted structure improved or remained unchanged for all 23 proteins, compared to the predicted models in the absence of CCS data. For 15/23 proteins, the RMSD (root-mean-square deviation) of the predicted model was less than 5.50 Å, compared to only 10/23 without IM data. We also developed a confidence metric that successfully identified near-native models in the absence of a native structure. These results demonstrate the ability of IM data in de novo structure determination.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 5181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Corti ◽  
Claudia A. Marrano ◽  
Domenico Salerno ◽  
Stefania Brocca ◽  
Antonino Natalello ◽  
...  

Description of heterogeneous molecular ensembles, such as intrinsically disordered proteins, represents a challenge in structural biology and an urgent question posed by biochemistry to interpret many physiologically important, regulatory mechanisms. Single-molecule techniques can provide a unique contribution to this field. This work applies single molecule force spectroscopy to probe conformational properties of α-synuclein in solution and its conformational changes induced by ligand binding. The goal is to compare data from such an approach with those obtained by native mass spectrometry. These two orthogonal, biophysical methods are found to deliver a complex picture, in which monomeric α-synuclein in solution spontaneously populates compact and partially compacted states, which are differently stabilized by binding to aggregation inhibitors, such as dopamine and epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Analyses by circular dichroism and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy show that these transitions do not involve formation of secondary structure. This comparative analysis provides support to structural interpretation of charge-state distributions obtained by native mass spectrometry and helps, in turn, defining the conformational components detected by single molecule force spectroscopy.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Konijnenberg ◽  
Jinyu Li ◽  
Johny Habchi ◽  
Marion Dosnon ◽  
Giulia Rossetti ◽  
...  

AbstractIn recent years native mass spectrometry has been increasingly employed to study protein structure. As such a thorough understanding of the effect of the gas-phase on protein structure is becoming increasingly important. We show how a combination of top-down ETD and ion mobility can be used to probe the gas-phase structure of heterogeneous protein ensembles. By applying collisional activation to the non-covalently bound ETD products after IM separation, the peptide fragments can be released while maintaining the conformational information of the protein ion. We studied the unknown gas-phase structures of the measles virus (MeV) phosphoprotein X domain (PXD), which shows a wide range of different conformations in the gas-phase. We then generated structural models by state-of-the-art gas-phase steered molecular dynamics, which we verified using restraints from ion mobility and the fragment patterns observed. Our findings illustrate the applicability of ETD for obtaining conformational specific structural information on heterogeneous protein ensembles.


2015 ◽  
Vol 396 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 991-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Konijnenberg ◽  
Jeroen F. van Dyck ◽  
Lyn L. Kailing ◽  
Frank Sobott

Abstract Recent developments in native mass spectrometry and ion mobility have made it possible to analyze the composition and structure of membrane protein complexes in the gas-phase. In this short review we discuss the experimental strategies that allow to elucidate aspects of the dynamic structure of these important drug targets, such as the structural effects of lipid binding or detection of co-populated conformational and assembly states during gating on an ion channel. As native mass spectrometry relies on nano-electrospray of natively reconstituted proteins, a number of commonly used lipid- and detergent-based reconstitution systems have been evaluated for their compatibility with this approach, and parameters for the release of intact, native-like folded membrane proteins studied in the gas-phase. The strategy thus developed can be employed for the investigation of the subunit composition and stoichiometry, oligomeric state, conformational changes, and lipid and drug binding of integral membrane proteins.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Petroff II ◽  
Ailing Tong ◽  
Lawrence Chen ◽  
GregoryT. DeKoster ◽  
Farha Khan ◽  
...  

<p>Native mass spectrometry paired with ion mobility (IM-MS) provides the capacity to monitor the structure of protein complexes and simultaneously assess small molecule binding to the protein. Native IM-MS typically utilizes positive mode electrospray ionization producing a distribution of multiply charged protein species. For membrane proteins, these charge states are often too high resulting in protein gas phase unfolding or loss of noncovalent interactions. In an effort to reduce the charge of membrane proteins, the utility of alkali metal salts as a charge reducing additive was explored. Low concentrations of alkali metal salts caused marked charge reduction in the membrane protein, ELIC. The charge reducing effect was only present in membrane proteins, and could not be accounted for by conformational changes in ELIC structure. Charge reduction by alkali metal salts was also detergent dependent, and was most pronounced in long PEG-based detergents such as C10E5 and C12E8. Based on these results, a mechanism was posited for alkali metal charge reduction of membrane proteins. Addition of low concentration of alkali metals may provide an advantageous approach for charge reduction of detergent solubilized membrane proteins by native MS. <br></p>


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