Andrei G. Kutateladze

Multivalent Mechanism of Membrane Insertion by the FYVE Domain

Targeting of a wide variety of proteins to membranes involves specific recognition of phospholipid head groups and insertion into lipid bilayers. For example, proteins that contain FYVE domains are recruited to endosomes through interaction with phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P). However, the structural mechanism of membrane docking and insertion by this domain remains unclear. Here, the depth and angle of micelle insertion and the lipid binding properties of the FYVE domain of early endosome antigen 1 are estimated by NMR spectroscopy. Spin label probes incorporated into micelles identify a hydrophobic protuberance that inserts into the micelle core and is surrounded by interfacially active polar residues. A novel proxyl PtdIns(3)P derivative is developed to map the position of the phosphoinositide acyl chains, which are found to align with the membrane insertion element. Dual engagement of the FYVE domain with PtdIns(3)P and dodecylphosphocholine micelles yields a 6-fold enhancement of affinity. The additional interaction of phosphatidylserine with a conserved basic site of the protein further amplifies the micelle binding affinity and dramatically alters the angle of insertion. Thus, the FYVE domain is targeted to endosomes through the synergistic action of stereospecific PtdIns(3)P head group ligation, hydrophobic insertion and electrostatic interactions with acidic phospholipids.

Rapid Photoassisted Access to N,O,S‐Polyheterocycles with Benzoazocine and Hydroquinoline Cores: Intramolecular Cycloadditions of Photogenerated Azaxylylenes

o-Azaxylylenes have been known for half a century,[1] but remained in relative synthetic obscurity until a decade ago, when in this journal Corey reported their first preparation under simple mild conditions via base-induced elimination of hydrogen chloride from derivatives of o-chloromethylaniline,[2] noting that “Surprisingly, simplest method possible for o-azaxylylene production [...] has never been reported.”

Membrane insertion of the FYVE domain is modulated by pH.

The FYVE domain associates with phosphatidylinositol 3‐phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] in membranes of early endosomes and penetrates bilayers. Here, we detail principles of membrane anchoring and show that the FYVE domain insertion into PtdIns(3)P‐enriched membranes and membrane‐mimetics is substantially increased in acidic conditions. The EEA1 FYVE domain binds to POPC/POPE/PtdIns(3)P vesicles with a Kd of 49 nM at pH 6.0, however associates ∼24 fold weaker at pH 8.0. The decrease in the affinity is primarily due to much faster dissociation of the protein from the bilayers in basic media. Lowering the pH enhances the interaction of the Hrs, RUFY1, Vps27p and WDFY1 FYVE domains with PtdIns(3)P‐containing membranes in vitro and in vivo, indicating that pH‐dependency is a general function of the FYVE finger family. The PtdIns(3)P binding and membrane insertion of the FYVE domain is modulated by the two adjacent His residues of the R(R/K)HHCRXCG signature motif. Mutation of either His residue abolishes the pH‐sensitivity. Both protonation of the His residues and nonspecific electrostatic contacts stabilize the FYVE domain in the lipid‐bound form, promoting its penetration and increasing the membrane residence time. Proteins 2009.

Minimalist Relativistic Force Field: Prediction of Proton–Proton Coupling Constants in 1H NMR Spectra Is Perfected with NBO Hybridization Parameters

We previously developed a reliable method for multiparametric scaling of Fermi contacts to achieve fast and accurate prediction of proton-proton spin-spin coupling constants (SSCC) in (1)H NMR. We now report that utilization of NBO hybridization coefficients for carbon atoms in the involved C-H bonds allows for a significant simplification of this parametric scheme, requiring only four general types of SSCCs: geminal, vicinal, 1,3-, and long-range constants. The method is optimized for inexpensive B3LYP/6-31G(d) molecular geometries. A new DU8 basis set, based on a training set of 475 experimental spin-spin coupling constants, is developed for hydrogen and common non-hydrogen atoms (Li, B, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, Cl, Se, Br, I) to calculate Fermi contacts. On a test set of 919 SSCCs from a diverse collection of natural products and complex synthetic molecules the method gave excellent accuracy of 0.29 Hz (rmsd) with the maximum unsigned error not exceeding 1 Hz.

Relativistic Force Field: Parametric Computations of Proton–Proton Coupling Constants in 1H NMR Spectra

Spin-spin coupling constants in (1)H NMR carry a wealth of structural information and offer a powerful tool for deciphering molecular structures. However, accurate ab initio or DFT calculations of spin-spin coupling constants have been very challenging and expensive. Scaling of (easy) Fermi contacts, fc, especially in the context of recent findings by Bally and Rablen (Bally, T.; Rablen, P. R. J. Org. Chem. 2011, 76, 4818), offers a framework for achieving practical evaluation of spin-spin coupling constants. We report a faster and more precise parametrization approach utilizing a new basis set for hydrogen atoms optimized in conjunction with (i) inexpensive B3LYP/6-31G(d) molecular geometries, (ii) inexpensive 4-31G basis set for carbon atoms in fc calculations, and (iii) individual parametrization for different atom types/hybridizations, not unlike a force field in molecular mechanics, but designed for the fcs. With the training set of 608 experimental constants we achieved rmsd <0.19 Hz. The methodology performs very well as we illustrate with a set of complex organic natural products, including strychnine (rmsd 0.19 Hz), morphine (rmsd 0.24 Hz), etc. This precision is achieved with much shorter computational times: accurate spin-spin coupling constants for the two conformers of strychnine were computed in parallel on two 16-core nodes of a Linux cluster within 10 min.

Thiosulfonates: Synthesis, Reactions and Practical Applications

Abstract The present review covers basic work on the synthesis, chemical reactions and practical application of organic thiosulfonates published before 1969, and gives more detailed attention to papers which appeared in the literature during the last 20 years. Three approaches to the synthesis of thiosulfonates, namely, (i) oxidation-reduction techniques, (ii) nucleophilic and, (iii) electrophilic introduction of an RSO2S moiety into an organic substrate, are presented in this review. (The synthetic part is divided into two subchapters: the synthesis of “symmetric” thiosulfonates and of “unsymmetric” ones). Nucleophilic substitution, electrophilic reactions, thermolysis and photolysis of thiosulfonates are also described. A special chapter serves as a brief summary of some practical applications of thiosulfonates.

Computational Methods in Photochemistry

Some Theoretical Applications in Organic Photochemistry. Excited State and Open Shell Examples. Computational Investigation of Photochemical Reaction Mechanisms. Spin-Orbit Coupling. Photochemistry from First Principles and Direct Dynamics. The Study of Nitrenes by Theoretical Methods. Semiempirical MR-CI Calculations for Organic Photoreactions. Natural Bond Orbital Analysis of Photochemical Excitation, with Illustrative Applications to Vinoxy Radical. A Theoretical Approach to Solid State Organic Photochemistry Mechanistic and Exploratory Organic Photochemistry.

Harvesting the strain installed by a Paternò-Büchi step in a synthetically useful way: high-yielding photoprotolytic oxametathesis in polycyclic systems.

High-yielding one-pot photoinduced transformation of readily available endoaroyl and heteroaroyl Diels-Alder adducts into novel polycyclic aldehydes or their hemiacetals, decorated by carbo- and heterocyclic pendants, is described.

Direct screening of solution phase combinatorial libraries encoded with externally sensitized photolabile tags

Solution phase combinatorial chemistry holds an enormous promise for modern drug discovery. Much needed are direct methods to assay such libraries for binding of biological targets. An approach to encoding and screening of solution phase libraries has been developed based on the conditional photorelease of externally sensitized photolabile tags. The encoding tags are released into solution only when a sought-for binding event occurs between the ligand and the receptor, outfitted with an electron-transfer sensitizer. The released tags are analyzed in solution revealing the identity of the lead ligand or narrowing the range of potential leads.

Investigation of the Binding Geometry of a Peripheral Membrane Protein

A growing number of modules including FYVE domains target key signaling proteins to membranes through specific recognition of lipid headgroups and hydrophobic insertion into bilayers. Despite the critical role of membrane insertion in the function of these modules, the structural mechanism of membrane docking and penetration remains unclear. In particular, the three-dimensional orientation of the inserted proteins with respect to the membrane surface is difficult to define quantitatively. Here, we determined the geometry of the micelle penetration of the early endosome antigen 1 (EEA1) FYVE domain by obtaining NMR-derived restraints that correlate with the distances between protein backbone amides and spin-labeled probes. The 5- and 14-doxyl-phosphatidylcholine spin-labels were incorporated into dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles, and the reduction of amide signal intensities of the FYVE domain due to paramagnetic relaxation enhancement was measured. The vector of the FYVE domain insertion was estimated relative to the molecular axis by minimizing the paramagnetic restraints obtained in phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P)-enriched micelles containing only DPC or mixed with phosphatidylserine (PS). Additional distance restraints were obtained using a novel spin-label mimetic of PI(3)P that contains a nitroxyl radical near the threitol group of the lipid. Conformational changes indicative of elongation of the membrane insertion loop (MIL) were detected upon micelle interaction, in which the hydrophobic residues of the loop tend to move deeper into the nonpolar core of micelles. The micelle insertion mechanism of the FYVE domain defined in this study is consistent with mutagenesis data and chemical shift perturbations and demonstrates the advantage of using the spin-label NMR approach for investigating the binding geometry by peripheral membrane proteins.