Assigning the NMR spectra of aromatic amino acids in proteins: analysis of two Ets pointed domains

The measurement of interproton nuclear Overhauser enhancements (NOEs) and dihedral angle restraints of aromatic amino acids is a critical step towards determining the structure of a protein. The complete assignment of the resonances from aromatic rings and the subsequent resolution and identification of their associated NOEs, however, can be a difficult task. Shown here is a strategy for assigning the 1H, 13C, and 15N signals from the aromatic side chains of histidine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine using a suite of homo- and hetero-nuclear scalar and NOE correlation experiments, as well as selective deuterium isotope labelling. In addition, a comparison of NOE information obtained from homonuclear NOE spectroscopy (NOESY) and 13C-edited NOESY-heteronuclear single quantum correlation experiments indicates that high-resolution homonuclear two-dimensional NOESY spectra of selectively deuterated proteins are invaluable for obtaining distance restraints to the aromatic residues.     

TROSY in triple-resonance experiments: new perspectives for sequential NMR assignment of large proteins

The NMR assignment of 13C, 15N-labeled proteins with the use of triple resonance experiments is limited to molecular weights below approximately 25,000 Daltons, mainly because of low sensitivity due to rapid transverse nuclear spin relaxation during the evolution and recording periods. For experiments that exclusively correlate the amide proton (1HN), the amide nitrogen (15N), and 13C atoms, this size limit has been previously extended by additional labeling with deuterium (2H). The present paper shows that the implementation of transverse relaxation-optimized spectroscopy ([15N,1H]-TROSY) into triple resonance experiments results in several-fold improved sensitivity for 2H/13C/15N-labeled proteins and approximately twofold sensitivity gain for 13C/15N-labeled proteins. Pulse schemes and spectra recorded with deuterated and protonated proteins are presented for the [15N, 1H]-TROSY-HNCA and [15N, 1H]-TROSY-HNCO experiments. A theoretical analysis of the HNCA experiment shows that the primary TROSY effect is on the transverse relaxation of 15N, which is only little affected by deuteration, and predicts sensitivity enhancements that are in close agreement with the experimental data.     

Three-dimensional solution structure of Callinectes sapidus metallothionein-1 determined by homonuclear and heteronuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Metallothionein is a cysteine-rich metal-binding protein whose biosynthesis is closely regulated by the level of exposure of an organism to zinc, copper, cadmium, and other metal salts. The metallothionein from Callinectes sapidus is known to bind six divalent metal ions in two separate metal-binding clusters. Heteronuclear 1H-113Cd and homonuclear 1H-1H NMR correlation experiments have been used to establish that the two clusters reside in two distinct protein domains. The three-dimensional solution structure of the metallothionein has been determined using the distance and angle constraints derived from these two-dimensional NMR data sets and a distance geometry/simulated annealing protocol. There are no interdomain short distance (< or = 4.5 A) constraints observed in this protein, enabling the calculation of structures for the N-terminal, beta domain and the C-terminal, alpha domain separately. A total of 18 structures were obtained for each domain. The structures are based on a total of 364 experimental NMR restraints consisting of 277 approximate interproton distance restraints, 12 chi 1 and 51 phi angular restraints, and 24 metal-to-cysteine connectivities obtained from 1H-113Cd correlation experiments. The only element of regular secondary structure in either of the two domains is a short segment of helix in the C-terminal alpha domain between Lys42 and Thr48. The folding of the polypeptide backbone chain in each domain, however, gives rise to several type I beta turns. There are no type II beta turns.     

Application of in-situ hybridization techniques to study human preimplantation embryos: a review

The three-dimensional solution structure of recombinant bovine myristoylated recoverin in the Ca(2+)-free state has been refined using an array of isotope-assisted multidimensional heteronuclear NMR techniques. In some experiments, the myristoyl group covalently attached to the protein N-terminus was labeled with C and the protein was unlabeled or vice versa; in others, both were C-labeled. This differential labeling strategy was essential for structural refinement and can be applied to other acylated proteins. Stereospecific assignments of 41 pairs of beta-methylene protons and 48 methyl groups of valine and leucine were included in the structure refinement. The refined structure was constructed using a total of 3679 experimental NMR restraints, comprising 3242 approximate interproton distance restraints (including 153 between the myristoyl group and the polypeptide), 140 distance restraints for 70 backbone hydrogen bonds, and 297 torsion angle restraints. The atomic rms deviations about the average minimized coordinate positions for the secondary structure region of the N-terminal and C-terminal domains are 0.44 +/- 0.07 and 0.55 +/- 0.18 A for backbone atoms, and the 1.09 +/- 0.07 and 1.10 +/- 0.15 A for all heavy atoms, respectively. The refined structure allows for a detailed analysis of the myristoyl binding pocket. The myristoyl group is in a slightly bent conformation: the average distance between C1 and C14 atoms of the myristoyl group is 14.6 A. Hydrophobic residues Leu28, Trp31, and Tyr32 from a cluster that interacts with the front end of the myristoyl (C1-C8), whereas residues Phe49, Phe56, Tyr86, Val87, and Leu90 interact with the tail end (C9-C14). The relatively deep hydrophobic pocket that binds the myristoyl group (C14:0) could also accommodate other naturally occurring acyl groups such as C12:0, C14:1, C14:2 chains.     

Circadian oscillations of serum thyroid hormones in the laboratory rat: the effect of photoperiods

Structure determination by NMR presently relies on short range restraints between atoms in close spatial proximity, principally in the form of short (< 5 A) interproton distances. In the case of modular or multidomain proteins and linear nucleic acids, the density of short interproton distance contacts between structural elements far apart in the sequence may be insufficient to define their relative orientations. In this paper we show how the dependence of heteronuclear longitudinal and transverse relaxation times on the rotational diffusion anisotropy of non-spherical molecules can be readily used to directly provide restraints for simulated annealing structure refinement that characterize long range order a priori. The method is demonstrated using the N-terminal domain of Enzyme I,a protein of 259 residues comprising two distinct domains with a diffusion anisotropy(Dparallel/Dperpendicular)of approximately 2.     

Enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in naevoid basal-cell epithelioma

The methods which have been used for the observation and assignment of resonances in the NMR spectra of proteins are reviewed. One such method, the selective deuteration of the aromatic protons of tryptophyl residues, is studied by NMR spectroscopy in model compounds in this paper, and in proteins in the following paper. On the basis of a reassignment of the PMR spectrum of the aromatic protons of L-tryptophan, the relative rates of H-D exchange in deutero-trifluoracetic acid (d-TFA) are H-2 greater than H-5 greater than H-6 greater than H-4 approximately H-7. The energies of activation for the first order exchange of both the H-2 and H-5 protons is 12 k.cal.mol-1. The rate constant for exchange of the H-2 protons of tryptophyl residues in peptides is much greater than in the amino acid itself and 5-10 times that for exchange of the H-5 protons. This suggests that the method can be used to label tryptophyl residues in proteins rapidly and specifically.     

The NMR solution structure of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein complexed with palmitate: application of a novel distance geometry algorithm

The three-dimensional solution structure of rat intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) complexed with palmitate has been determined using multidimensional triple-resonance NMR methods. The structure is based on 3889 conformational restraints derived mostly from 3-D 13C- and 15N-resolved nuclear Overhauser (NOESY) experiments. The 3-D NOESY data for this 15.4 kDa complex contained an average of nine possible interpretations per cross-peak. To circumvent this ambiguity, an eight-stage iterative procedure was employed to gradually interpret and introduce unambiguous distance restraints during subsequent rounds of structure calculations. The first stage of this procedure relied critically upon an initial structural model based on the consensus 1H/13C chemical shift-derived secondary structure and a set of symmetry-checked restraints derived from the 3-D 13C-resolved NOESY spectrum. The structures were calculated using DISTGEOM, a program that implements a novel distance geometry algorithm with pairwise Gaussian metrization. A central feature of this algorithm is the use of an iteratively optimized Gaussian distribution for the selection of trial distances, which overcomes the tendency of metrization to produce crushed structures. In addition, this algorithm randomly selects pairwise elements of the distance matrix, which results in an improved sampling of conformational space for a given computational effort. The final family of 20 distance geometry/simulated annealing structures exhibited an average pairwise C(alpha) root-mean-square deviation of 0.98 A, and their stereochemical quality, as assessed by PROCHECK, was comparable to that of 2.5 A X-ray crystal structures. The NMR structure was compared with the X-ray crystal structure of the same ligand/protein complex and was found to be essentially identical within the precision of the results. The NMR structure was also compared with that of the palmitate complex with bovine heart FABP, which shares 30% sequence identity with rat I-FABP. The overall folds were the same, but differences were noted with respect to the presence or absence of apparent conformational heterogeneity and the location and conformation of the bound fatty acid.     

A high-resolution 1H NMR approach for structure determination of membrane peptides and proteins in non-deuterated detergent: application to mastoparan X solubilized in n-octylglucoside

Application of 1H 2D NMR methods to solubilized membrane proteins and peptides has up to now required the use of selectively deuterated detergents. The unavailability of any of the common biochemical detergents in deuterated form has therefore limited to some extent the scope of this approach. Here a 1H NMR method is described which allows structure determination of membrane peptides and small membrane proteins by 1H 2D NMR in any type of non-deuterated detergent. The approach is based on regioselective excitation of protein resonances with DANTE-Z or spin-pinging pulse trains. It is shown that regioselective excitation of the amide-aromatic region of solubilized membrane proteins and peptides leads to an almost complete suppression of the two orders of magnitude higher contribution of the protonated detergent to the 1H NMR spectrum. Consistently TOCSY, COSY and NOESY sequences incorporating such regioselective excitation in the F2 dimension yield protein 1H 2D NMR spectra of quality comparable to those obtained in deuterated detergents. Regioselective TOCSY and NOESY spectra display all through-bond and through-space correlations within amide-aromatic protons and between these protons and aliphatic and alpha-protons. Regioselective COSY spectra provide scalar coupling constants between amide and alpha-protons. Application of the method to the membrane-active peptide mastoparan X, solubilized in n-octylglucoside, yields complete sequence-specific assignments and extensive secondary structure-related spatial proximities and coupling constants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Localized solution structure refinement of an F45W variant of ubiquitin using stochastic boundary molecular dynamics and NMR distance restraints

The local structure within an 8-A radius around residue 45 of a recombinant F45W variant of human ubiquitin has been determined using 67 interproton distance restraints measured by two-dimensional proton NMR. Proton chemical shift evidence indicates that structural perturbations due to the F45W mutation are minimal and limited to the immediate vicinity of the site of mutation. Simulated annealing implemented with stochastic boundary molecular dynamics was applied to refine the structure of Trp 45 and 10 neighboring residues. The stochastic boundary method allowed the entire protein to be reassembled from the refined coordinates and the outlying unrefined coordinates with little distortion at the boundary. Refinement began with four low-energy indole ring orientations of F45W-substituted wild-type (WT) ubiquitin crystal coordinates. Distance restraints were derived from mostly long-range NOE cross peaks with 51 restraints involving the Trp 45 indole ring. Tandem refinements of 64 structures were done using either (1) upper and lower bounds derived from qualitative inspection of NOE crosspeak intensities or (2) quantitative analysis of cross-peak heights using the program MARDIGRAS. Though similar to those based on qualitative restraint, structures obtained using quantitative NOE analysis were superior in terms of precision and accuracy as measured by back-calculated sixth-root R factors. The six-membered portion of the indole ring is nearly coincident with the phenyl ring of the WT and the indole NH is exposed to solvent. Accommodation of the larger ring is accompanied by small perturbations in the backbone and a 120 degrees rotation of the chi 2 dihedral angle of Leu 50.     

Solution structure of human neuropeptide Y

The three-dimensional structure of synthetic human neuropeptide Y in aqueous solution at pH 3.2 and 37 degrees C was determined from two-dimensional 1H NMR data recorded at 600 MHz. A restraint set consisting of 440 interproton distance restraints inferred from NOEs and 11 backbone and 4 side-chain dihedral angle restraints derived from spin-spin coupling constants was used as input for distance geometry calculations on DIANA and simulated annealing and restrained energy minimization in X-PLOR. The final set of 26 structures is well defined in the region of residues 11-36, with a mean pairwise rmsd of 0.51 A for the backbone heavy atoms (N, C alpha and C) and 1.34 A for all heavy atoms. Residues 13-36 form an amphipathic alpha-helix. The N-terminal 10 residues are poorly defined relative to the helical region, although some elements of local structure are apparent. At least one of the three prolines in the N-terminal region co-exists in both cis and trans conformations. An additional set of 24 distances was interpreted as intermolecular distances within a dimer. A combination of distance geometry and restrained simulated annealing yielded a model of the dimer having antiparallel packing of two helical units, whose hydrophobic faces form a well-defined core. Sedimentation equilibrium experiments confirm the observation that neuropeptide Y associates to form dimers and higher aggregates under the conditions of the NMR experiments. Our results therefore support the structural features reported for porcine neuropeptide Y [Cowley, D.J. et al. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem., 205, 1099-1106] rather than the 'aPP' fold described previously for human neuropeptide Y [Darbon, H. et al. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem., 209, 765-771].     

NMR investigation of isotopically labeled cyanide derivatives of lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase

The 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to study lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (MnP) containing deuterated histidines. LiP and MnP were obtained from a histidine auxotroph of the fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium grown in the presence of deuterated histidines. The derivatives with deuterated histidines have allowed a firm assignment of the protons of the distal and proximal histidines. We have also found that the LiP from this strain exhibits different orientations of the 2-vinyl group compared to the LiP from the strain previously studied. Mobility of the group has also been detected, thus explaining the apparent inconsistency between X-ray solid-state and NMR solution data. The 15N shift values of 15N-enriched CN- in the cyanide derivatives of LiP and MnP have also been measured. The shift patterns, both for 15N and for the proximal histidine protons of several peroxidases, are consistent with predominant contact shift contributions which reflect the bond strength of the metal-axial ligand. Finally, our results confirm a correlation between shift values of 15N and those of proximal histidine protons and the Fe3+/Fe2+ redox potentials.     

Insights into the dynamic nature of DNA duplex structure via analysis of nuclear Overhauser effect intensities

Sequence-dependent structures of DNA duplexes in solution can be reliably determined using NMR data if care is taken to determine restraint bounds accurately. This entails use of complete relaxation matrix methods to analyze nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) spectroscopic cross-peak intensities, yielding accurate distance restraints. NMR studies of various DNA duplexes have suggested that there may be some limited internal motions. First, it is typically not possible to reconcile all vicinal proton coupling constants in deoxyribose rings with a single conformer. In addition, with the increased accuracy of interproton distance measurements afforded by the complete relaxation matrix algorithm MARDIGRAS, we find inconsistencies in certain distances which can most readily be ascribed to limited conformational flexibility, since conformational averaging is nonlinear. As base-sugar interproton distances depend on both sugar pucker and glycosidic torsion angle chi, motion involving these structural variables should be reflected by experimental data. Possible motional models have been considered to account for all of the data for three DNA duplexes. Analysis of intraresidue base-sugar interproton NOE bounds patterns suggests a motional model with individual sugars in equilibrium between S (2'-endo) and N (3'-endo) conformations, with S being preferred. As sugar repuckering is correlated with changes in glycosidic torsion angle chi, different sugar conformers imply different values for chi, but this is insufficient to account for all data. A two-state jump between anti and syn glycosidic conformers was considered, but it was incapable of accounting for all data. However, a model with restricted diffusion (rocking) about the glycosidic bond in addition to sugar repuckering was capable of accommodating all experimental data. This motional model is in qualitative agreement with experimental 13C relaxation-derived order parameter values in a DNA duplex.     

A two-dimensional NMR study of Co(II)7 rabbit liver metallothionein

The 600-MHz 1H-NMR NOESY spectra on Co(II)7-reconstituted metallothionein (Co7MT), exhibiting hyperfine signals in the range 350 ppm to -50 ppm, with nuclear relaxation times of the order of a few milliseconds, have been measured and several interproton connectivities have been detected. To our knowledge, this is the largest spectral window ever reported for a two-dimensional 1H-NMR spectrum in the case of a paramagnetic metalloprotein. No scalar connectivities could be detected. The hyperfine-shifted signals belong to the cysteine-ligand protons of the Co4S11 cluster of Co7MT. Together with results from one-dimensional NOE experiments, the two-dimensional experiments allowed us to proceed with the pairwise assignment of the isotropically shifted signals of the C beta H2 groups of the metal-coordinated cysteines. With the aid of computer-graphics inspection of the four-metal-cluster domain, based on the NMR solution structure of Cd7MT, it is possible to purpose sequence-specific assignments of a few hyperfine-shifted 1H-NMR signals. In particular, a tentative assignment is given for the six signals whose shifts exhibit an antiCurie temperature dependence. The assignment relies on the theoretical model that qualitatively rationalizes the isotropic-shift pattern and its temperature dependence. Inferences on the solution structure of the Co4S11 cluster are drawn.     

Intrinsic nature of the three-dimensional structure of proteins as determined by distance geometry with good sampling properties

A protocol for distance geometry calculation is shown to have excellent sampling properties in the determination of three-dimensional structures of proteins from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data. This protocol uses a simulated annealing optimization employing mass-weighted molecular dynamics in four-dimensional space (Havel, T.F. (1991) Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol., 56, 43-78). It attains an extremely large radius of convergence, allowing a random coil conformation to be used as the initial estimate for the succeeding optimization process. Computations are performed with four systems of simulated distance data as tests of the protocol, using an unconstrained L-alanine 30mer and three different types of proteins, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, the alpha-amylase inhibitor Tendamistat, and the N-terminal domain of the 434-repressor. The test of the unconstrained polypeptide confirms that the sampled conformational space is that of the statistical random coil. In the larger and more complicated systems of the three proteins, the protocol gives complete convergence of the optimization without any trace of initial structure dependence. As a result of an exhaustive conformational sampling by the protocol, the intrinsic nature of the structures generated with distance restraints derived from NMR data has been revealed. When the sampled structures are compared with the corresponding X-ray structures, we find that the averages of the sampled structures always show a certain pattern of discrepancy from the X-ray structure. This discrepancy is due to the short distance nature of the distance restraints, and correlates with the characteristic shape of the protein molecule.     

Structural effect of complete [Rp]-phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate substitutions in the DNA strand of a model antisense inhibitor-target RNA complex

Chemically modified DNA oligonucleotides have been crucial to the success of antisense therapeutics. Although such modifications are ubiquitous in the clinic, high-resolution structural studies of pharmaceutically relevant derivatives have been limited to only a few molecules. We have completed a high-resolution NMR structural study of three DNA.RNA hybrids with the sequence d(CCTATAATCC). r(GGAUUAUAGG). All hybrids contain an unmodified RNA strand, whereas the DNA strand of each hybrid contains one of three different sugar-phosphate backbone linkages at each nucleotide: (1) phosphate, (2) [Rp]-phosphorothioate, or (3) phosphorodithioate. The UV and NMR melting profiles revealed that the normal hybrid is more stable than the [Rp]-phosphorothioate, which in turn is more stable than the phosphorodithioate. Homonuclear two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy and double quantum-filtered correlation spectroscopy afforded nearly complete non-labile proton assignments. The three molecules show nearly equivalent chemical shifts, with the exception of H3' protons, which are shifted downfield in a manner that appears correlated with the degree of sulfur substitution at phosphate. All three hybrids exhibit unusually broad linewidths for deoxyribose protons H2' and H2".Distance restraints were calculated from NOE cross-peak intensities via a complete relaxation matrix approach using the program RANDMARDI. Detailed comparison of interproton distances from each hybrid indicates that the three molecules share a common structure, with neither strand in canonical A or B form. Correlation of R factors, calculated using the program CORMA with DNA H2'-base and H3'-base distances, revealed a relative increase in the population of B-type sugar conformations for deoxyriboses in the A+T-rich center of the hybrid sequence. It is widely known that the activity of enzymes which act upon DNA.RNA hybrid substrates (e.g. ribonuclease H) is impacted when the hybrids contain phosphorothioate or phosphorodithioate substitutions. The structural similarity of the three hybrids examined here suggests that factors other than global structure may mediate the activity of these enzymes.     

Solution structure of Lqh-8/6, a toxin-like peptide from a scorpion venom--structural heterogeneity induced by proline cis/trans isomerization

Lqh-8/6 is a minor fraction isolated from the venom of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus. Here we describe the purification, amino acid sequencing and solution structure determination by NMR and molecular modeling of this peptide. Lqh-8/6 is a small polypeptide (38 residues) which contains 8 half-cystines and is highly similar to another venom component, chlorotoxin. Standard homonuclear methods were used to sequentially assign the proton NMR spectra and to collect spatial restraints for structure determination. Two populations, identified early in the assignment step, are in slow interconversion on the NMR timescale. The two conformers were shown to originate from a cis/trans peptidyl-prolyl isomerization. Using a distance geometry program and simulated annealing protocol under the NMR restraints we obtained 10 final structures for the major conformation (trans isomer). None of the structures showed NOE violations larger than 0.05 nm, and the rmsd value relative to the mean structure (considering the main chain atoms in well-defined secondary structure) is 0.07 nm. The three-dimensional structure contains a short alpha-helix strapped on a small antiparallel beta-strand and an N-terminal extended fragment. The sequence/structure and structure/function relationships of the new scorpion toxin-like peptide are discussed in the context of the present structure determination. This toxin shows a stable, highly populated cis conformer of a peptidyl-prolyl peptide bond.     

Distance geometry generates native-like folds for small helical proteins using the consensus distances of predicted protein structures

For successful ab initio protein structure prediction, a method is needed to identify native-like structures from a set containing both native and non-native protein-like conformations. In this regard, the use of distance geometry has shown promise when accurate inter-residue distances are available. We describe a method by which distance geometry restraints are culled from sets of 500 protein-like conformations for four small helical proteins generated by the method of Simons et al. (1997). A consensus-based approach was applied in which every inter-Calpha distance was measured, and the most frequently occurring distances were used as input restraints for distance geometry. For each protein, a structure with lower coordinate root-mean-square (RMS) error than the mean of the original set was constructed; in three cases the topology of the fold resembled that of the native protein. When the fold sets were filtered for the best scoring conformations with respect to an all-atom knowledge-based scoring function, the remaining subset of 50 structures yielded restraints of higher accuracy. A second round of distance geometry using these restraints resulted in an average coordinate RMS error of 4.38 A.     

Three-dimensional solution structure and stability of phage 434 Cro protein

1H NMR resonances of the phage 434 Cro protein were assigned using standard 2D NMR methods, and its solution structure determined using 867 distance constraints in distance geometry (DIANA) calculations ultimately refined by restrained molecular dynamics (GROMOS). In the 20 best NMR structures, the average pairwise backbone and heavy atom RMSDs are 0.63 +/- 0.14 and 1.53 +/- 0.15 A, respectively, for the structurally well-defined residues 4-65. Residues 1-3 and 66-71 at the N- and C-termini are structurally disordered. The region 4-65 includes five alpha-helices and tight turns which define the hydrophobic core of the protein. The backbone and heavy atom RMSDs for residues 4-65 are 0.92 +/- 0.12 and 1.99 +/- 0.12 A, respectively, for the NMR versus the crystal structures, but there are significant differences in the side-chain conformations and solvent accessibilities for some core residues. Analytical ultracentrifugation experiments confirm that 434 Cro is monomeric even at the high NMR concentrations. 434 Cro folding under NMR solution conditions is two-state as indicated by coincident urea denaturation curves from circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence measurements. They yield values for 434 Cro stability which show good correspondence to the free energy for global unfolding determined by NMR hydrogen exchange measurements for the slowest exchanging amide protons.     

Solution structure of the oxidized 2[4Fe-4S] ferredoxin from Clostridium pasteurianum

Following the recently developed approach to the solution structure of paramagnetic high-potential iron-sulfur proteins, the three-dimensional structure in solution of the oxidized Clostridium pasteurianum ferredoxin has been solved by 1H-NMR. The X-ray structure is not available. The protein contains 55 amino acids and two [4Fe-4S] clusters. In the oxidized state, the clusters have S = 0 ground states, but are paramagnetic because of thermal population of excited states. Due to the somewhat small size of the protein and to the presence of two clusters, approximately 55% of the residues have at least one proton with a non-selective T1 smaller than 25 ms. The protein has thus been used as a test system to challenge the present paramagnetic NMR methodology both in achieving an extended assignment and in obtaining a suitable number of constraints. 79% of protein protons have been assigned. Analogy with other ferredoxins of known structure has been of help to speed up the final stages of the assignment, although we have shown that this independent information is not necessary. In addition to dipolar connectivities, partially detected through tailored experiments, 3JHN-H alpha, H-bond constraints and dihedral angle constraints on the Cys chi 2 angles have been generated by using a recently derived Karplus-type relationship for the hyperfine shifts of cysteine beta CH2 protons. In total, 456 constraints have been used in distance geometry calculations. The final quality of the structures is satisfactory, with root-mean-square deviation values of 66 pm and 108 pm for backbone and heavy atoms, respectively. The resulting structure is compared with that of Clostridium acidi urici ferredoxin [Duée, E. D., Fanchon, E., Vicat, J., Sieker, L. C., Meyer, J. & Moulis, J.-M. (1994) J. Mol. Biol. 243, 683-695]. The two proteins are very similar in the overall folding, secondary structure elements and side-chain orientations. The C alpha root-mean-square deviation values between the X-ray-determined C. acidi urici ferredoxin structure and the conformer with lowest energy of the C. pasteurianum ferredoxin family is 78 pm (residues 3-53). Discrepancies in residues 26-28 may arise from the disorder observed in the X-ray structure in that region.     

Characterization of a site-directed mutant of cytochrome b5 designed to alter axial imidazole ligand plane orientation

Mutants of cytochrome b5 were designed to achieve reorientation of individual axial imidazole ligands. The orientation of the axial ligand planes is thought to modulate the reduction potential of bis(imidazole) axially ligated heme proteins. The A67V mutation achieved this goal through the substitution of a bulkier, hydrophobic ligand for a residue, in the sterically hindered hydrophobic heme binding pocket. Solution structures of mutant and wild-type proteins in the region of the mutation were calculated using restraints obtained from 1H and 15N 2D homonuclear and heteronuclear NMR spectra and 1H-15N 3D heteronuclear NMR spectra. More than 10 restraints per residue were used in the refinement of both structures. Average local rmsd for 20 refined structures was 0.30 A for the wild-type structure and 0.38 A for the A67V mutant. The transfer of amide proton resonance assignments from wild-type to the mutant protein was achieved through overlays of 15N-1H heteronuclear correlation spectra of the reduced proteins. Side chain assignments and sequential assignments were established using conventional assignment strategies. Calculation of the orientation of the components of the anisotropic paramagnetic susceptibility tensor, using methods similar to procedures applied to the wild-type protein, shows that the orientation of the in-plane components are identical in the wild-type and mutant proteins. However, the orientation of the z-component of the susceptibility tensor calculated for the mutant protein differs by 17 degrees for the A-form and by 11 degrees for the B-form from the orientation calculated for the wild-type protein. The rotation of the z-component of the susceptibility tensor (toward the delta meso proton) is in the same direction and is of the same magnitude as the rotation of the H63 imidazole ring induced by mutation.