Human ileal bile acid-binding protein (hI-BABP) has a key role in the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts. Its two internal binding sites exhibit positive cooperativity accompanied by a site-selectivity of glycocholate (GCA) and glycochenodeoxycholate (GCDA), the two most abundant bile salts in humans. To improve our understanding of the role of dynamics in ligand binding, we introduced functionally impairing single-residue mutations at two key regions of the protein and subjected the mutants to NMR relaxation analysis and MD simulations. According to our results, mutation in both the vicinity of the C/D (Q51A) and the G/H (Q99A) turns results in a redistribution of motional freedom in apo hI-BABP. Mutation Q51A, deteriorating the site-selectivity of GCA and GCDA, results in the channeling of ms fluctuations into faster motions in the binding pocket hampering the realization of key side chain interactions. Mutation Q99A, abolishing positive binding cooperativity for GCDA, leaves ms motions in the C-terminal half unchanged but by decoupling βD from a dynamic cluster of the N-terminal half displays an increased flexibility in the vicinity of site 1. MD simulations of the variants indicate structural differences in the portal region and mutation-induced changes in dynamics, which depend on the protonation state of histidines. A dynamic coupling between the EFGH portal, the C/D-region, and the helical cap is evidenced highlighting the interplay of structural and dynamic effects in bile salt recognition in hI-BABP.

A tremendous number of solvents, either as liquids or vapors, contaminate the environment on a daily basis worldwide. Olefin metathesis, which has been widely used as high-yielding protocols for ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), ring-closing metathesis (RCM), and isomerization reactions, is typically performed in toxic and volatile solvents such as dichloromethane. In this study, the results of our systematic experiments with the Grubbs G1, G2, and Hoveyda-Grubbs HG2 catalysts proved that benzotrifluoride (BTF) can replace dichloromethane (DCM) in these reactions, providing high yields and similar or even higher reaction rates in certain cases. The ROMP of norbornene resulted not only in high yields but also in polynorbornenes with a high molecular weight at low catalyst loadings. Ring-closing metathesis (RCM) experiments proved that, with the exception of the G1 catalyst, RCM occurs with similar high efficiencies in BTF as in DCM. It was found that isomerization of (Z)-but-2-ene-1,4-diyl diacetate with the G2 and HG2 catalysts proceeds at significantly higher initial rates in BTF than in DCM, leading to rapid isomerization with high yields in a short time. Overall, BTF is a suitable solvent for olefin metathesis, such as polymer syntheses by ROMP and the ring-closing and isomerization reactions.