Platinum Stabilises a Molten‐Globule Conformation of a Small Globular Cytosolic Protein SUMO1

Abstract

Proteins are generally resistant to large conformational changes under physiological conditions. Here, we show that platinum (Pt(II)), which is widely‐used metal centre in cancer therapeutic drugs, binds to a cytosolic protein, small ubiquitin‐like modifier 1 (SUMO1), under physiological conditions and changes its conformation to a molten globule (MG). Mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) studies confirmed stoichiometric Pt(II) binding to SUMO1. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed Tyr fluorescence quenching and increased ANS binding. Fluorescence assays on Trp‐mutants indicated conformational changes and circular dichroism (CD) suggested MG formation upon Pt(II) binding. In contrast, structural homologues of SUMO1 (ubiquitin (Ubq) and SUMO2) showed no conformational changes on Pt(II) titration. Further studies compared the impact of distinct His residues in SUMO1 on Pt(II) binding and protein structure to SUMO2 and Ubq. Experiments at low pH (5.0) implicated His residues interacting with Pt(II), corroborated by the absence of conformational change in the H75L mutant of SUMO1. Pt(II)‐His binding in SUMO1 unravels key molecular determinants of Pt(II)‐protein interactions and their conformational consequences. SUMO1 with other SUMOylation components are shown to have enhanced expression in several cancers, hence, our study suggests a possible fate of the non‐targetability of Pt(II)‐based drugs on SUMOylation in cancer cells, upon interaction with SUMO1.