The structural integrity of the ubiquitous enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) relies critically on the correct coordination of Cu and Zn. Loss of these cofactors not only promotes SOD1 aggregation in vitro but also seems to be a key prerequisite for pathogenic misfolding in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We examine here the consequences of Zn 2؉ loss by selectively removing the Zn site, which has been implicated as the main modulator of SOD1 stability and disease competence. After Zn-site removal, the remaining Cu ligands can coordinate a nonnative Zn 2؉ ion with M affinity in the denatured state, and then retain this ion throughout the folding reaction. Without the restriction of a metallated Zn site, however, the Cu ligands fail to correctly coordinate the nonnative Zn 2؉ ion: Trapping of a water molecule causes H48 to change rotamer and swing outwards. The misligation is sterically incompatible with the native structure. As a consequence, SOD1 unfolds locally and interacts with neighboring molecules in the crystal lattice. The findings point to a critical role for the native Zn site in controlling SOD1 misfolding, and show that even subtle changes of the metal-loading sequence can render the wild-type protein the same structural properties as ALS-provoking mutations. This frustrated character of the SOD1 molecule seems to arise from a compromise between optimization of functional and structural features. functional evolution ͉ protein disease ͉ protein misfolding

How coordination of metal ions modulates protein structures is not only important for elucidating biological function but has also emerged as a key determinant in protein turnover and protein-misfolding diseases. In this study, we show that the coordination of Zn(2+) to the ALS-associated enzyme Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is directly controlled by the protein's folding pathway. Zn(2+) first catalyzes the folding reaction by coordinating transiently to the Cu ligands of SOD1, which are all contained within the folding nucleus. Then, after the global folding transition has commenced, the Zn(2+) ion transfers to the higher affinity Zn site, which structures only very late in the folding process. Here it remains dynamically coordinated with an off rate of ∼10(-5) s(-1). This relatively rapid equilibration of metals in and out of the SOD1 structure provides a simple explanation for how the exceptionally long lifetime, >100 years, of holoSOD1 is still compatible with cellular turnover: if a dissociated Zn(2+) ion is prevented from rebinding to the SOD1 structure then the lifetime of the protein is reduced to a just a few hours.

The origin and biological role of dynamic motions of folded enzymes is not yet fully understood. In this study, we examine the molecular determinants for the dynamic motions within the β-barrel of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), which previously were implicated in allosteric regulation of protein maturation and also pathological misfolding in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Relaxation-dispersion NMR, hydrogen/deuterium exchange, and crystallographic data show that the dynamic motions are induced by the buried H43 side chain, which connects the backbones of the Cu ligand H120 and T39 by a hydrogen-bond linkage through the hydrophobic core. The functional role of this highly conserved H120-H43-T39 linkage is to strain H120 into the correct geometry for Cu binding. Upon elimination of the strain by mutation H43F, the apo protein relaxes through hydrogen-bond swapping into a more stable structure and the dynamic motions freeze out completely. At the same time, the holo protein becomes energetically penalized because the twisting back of H120 into Cubound geometry leads to burial of an unmatched backbone carbonyl group. The question then is whether this coupling between metal binding and global structural motions in the SOD1 molecule is an adverse side effect of evolving viable Cu coordination or plays a key role in allosteric regulation of biological function, or both?D ynamic motions of folded proteins in several cases are found to be essential for allosteric control of ligand binding, adaptive orientation of active-site moieties, and communication between distant sites in protein structures and complexes (1-4). Despite this fundamental role of dynamic motions in biological function, the molecular factors that control structural fluctuations and conformational heterogeneity within folded proteins remain largely unexplored. Also, it is not yet known if there is any relation, or principal difference, between the functional motions of proteins and the supposedly adverse structural fluctuations implicated in protein misfolding and aggregation (5, 6). An interesting system for shedding more light on these questions is the enzyme superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) associated with pathological misfolding and aggregation in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Native SOD1 is a symmetric homodimer of two Ig-like β-barrels, each of which coordinates one catalytic Cu +/2+ ion and one structural Zn 2+ ion. The redox active Cu +/2+ ion is ligated directly to the side of the monomer β-barrel, whereas the Zn 2+ ties together the long loops IV and VII to a densely packed dome over the active site. The role of this dome is twofold. It composes a selectivity filter for substrates to the Cu +/2+ site (7) and also provides a critical part of the dimer interface (8). As a consequence, the dimerization of SOD1 becomes tightly controlled by metal binding via the structure of loops IV and VII, and the conserved C57-C146 disulfide linkage (9): if the metals and disulfide bond are lost, t...

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