No abstract

Protein misfolding is now recognized as playing a crucial role in both normal and pathogenic folding reactions. An interesting example of misfolding at the earliest state of a natural folding reaction is provided by the alpha subunit of tryptophan synthase, a (β/α) 8 TIM barrel protein. The molecular basis for the formation of this off-pathway misfolded intermediate, I BP , and a subsequent on-pathway intermediate, I1, was probed by mutational analysis of 20 branched aliphatic side chains distributed throughout the sequence. The elimination of I BP and the substantial destabilization of I1 by replacement of a selective set of the isoleucine, leucine or valine residues (ILV) with alanine in a large ILV cluster external-to-the-barrel and spanning the N-and C-termini (Cluster 2) implies tightpacking at most sites in both intermediates. Differential effects on I BP and I1 for replacements in α3, β 4 and α 8 at the boundaries of Cluster 2 suggest that their incorporation into I1 but not I BP reflects non-native folds at the edges of the crucial (β/α) 1-2 β 3 core in I BP . The retention of I BP and the smaller and consistent destabilization of both I BP and I1 by similar replacements in an internal-to-the-barrel ILV cluster (Cluster 1) and a second external-to-the-barrel ILV cluster (Cluster 3) imply molten globule-like packing. The tight packing inferred in part for I BP or for all of I1 in Cluster 2, but not in Clusters 1 and 3, may reflect the larger size of Cluster 2 and/or the enhanced number of isoleucine, leucine and valine self-contacts in and between contiguous elements of secondary structure. Tightlypacked ILV-dominated hydrophobic clusters could serve as an important driving force for the earliest events in the folding and misfolding of the TIM barrel and other members of the (β/α) n class of proteins.

It is generally held that random coil polypeptide chains undergo a barrier-less continuous collapse when the solvent conditions are changed to favor the fully-folded native conformation. We test this hypothesis by probing intramolecular distance distributions during folding in one of the paradigms of folding reactions, that of cytochrome c. The Trp59 to heme distance was probed by time-resolved Förster resonance energy transfer (trFRET) in the microsecond time range of refolding. Contrary to expectation, a state with a Trp59-heme distance close to that of the GdnHCl denatured state is present after ~27 µs of folding. A concomitant decrease in the population of this state and an increase in the population of a compact high-FRET state (efficiency > 90%) show that the collapse is barrier-limited. Small-angle x-ray scattering measurements over a similar time range show that the radius of gyration under native favoring conditions is comparable to that of the GdnHCl denatured unfolded state. An independent comprehensive global thermodynamic analysis reveals that marginally stable partially folded structures are also present in the nominally unfolded GdnHCl denatured state. These observations suggest that specifically collapsed intermediate structures with low stability in rapid equilibrium with the unfolded state may contribute to the apparent chain contraction observed in previous fluorescence studies using steady state detection. In the absence of significant dynamic averaging of marginally stable partially folded states and with use of probes sensitive to distance distributions, barrier-limited chain contraction is observed upon transfer of the GdnHCl denatured state ensemble to native like conditions.

Size-exclusion chromatography in line with small-angle X-ray scattering (SEC-SAXS) has emerged as an important method for investigation of heterogeneous and self-associating systems, but presents specific challenges for data processing including buffer subtraction and analysis of overlapping peaks. This paper presents novel methods based on singular value decomposition (SVD) and Guinier-optimized linear combination (LC) to facilitate analysis of SEC-SAXS data sets and high-quality reconstruction of protein scattering directly from peak regions. It is shown that Guinier-optimized buffer subtraction can reduce common subtraction artifacts and that Guinier-optimized linear combination of significant SVD basis components improves signal-to-noise and allows reconstruction of protein scattering, even in the absence of matching buffer regions. In test cases with conventional SAXS data sets for cytochrome c and SEC-SAXS data sets for the small GTPase Arf6 and the Arf GTPase exchange factors Grp1 and cytohesin-1, SVD-LC consistently provided higher quality reconstruction of protein scattering than either direct or Guinier-optimized buffer subtraction. These methods have been implemented in the context of a Python-extensible Mac OS X application known as (), which provides convenient tools for data-set selection, beam intensity normalization, SVD, and other relevant processing and analytical procedures, as well as automated Python scripts for common SAXS analyses and Guinier-optimized reconstruction of protein scattering.

The thermodynamic hypothesis of Anfinsen postulates that structures and stabilities of globular proteins are determined by their amino acid sequences. Chain topology, however, is known to influence the folding reaction, in that motifs with a preponderance of local interactions typically fold more rapidly than those with a larger fraction of non-local interactions. Together, the topology and sequence can modulate the energy landscape and influence the rate at which the protein folds to the native conformation. To explore the relationship of sequence and topology in the folding of βα-repeat proteins, which are dominated by local interactions, a combined experimental and simulation analysis was performed on two members of the flavodoxin-like, α/β/α sandwich fold. Spo0F and the N-terminal receiver domain of NtrC (NT-NtrC) have similar topologies but low sequence identity, enabling a test of the effects of sequence on folding. Experimental results demonstrated that both response-regulator proteins fold via parallel channels through highly structured sub-millisecond intermediates before accessing their cis prolyl peptide bond-containing native conformations. Global analysis of the experimental results preferentially places these intermediates off the productive folding pathway. Sequence-sensitive Gō-model simulations conclude that frustration in the folding in Spo0F, corresponding to the appearance of the off-pathway intermediate, reflects competition for intra-subdomain van der Waals contacts between its N-and C-terminal subdomains. The extent of transient, premature structure appears to correlate with the number of isoleucine, leucine and valine (ILV) side-chains that form a large sequence-local cluster involving the central β-sheet and helices α2, α3 and α4. The failure to detect the off-pathway species in the simulations of NT-NtrC may reflect the reduced number of ILV side-chains in its corresponding hydrophobic cluster. The location of the hydrophobic clusters in the structure may also be related to the differing functional properties of Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access