Jeffrey A. Hanson

Illuminating the mechanistic roles of enzyme conformational dynamics

Many enzymes mold their structures to enclose substrates in their active sites such that conformational remodeling may be required during each catalytic cycle. In adenylate kinase (AK), this involves a large-amplitude rearrangement of the enzymes lid domain. Using our method of high-resolution single-molecule FRET, we directly followed AKs domain movements on its catalytic time scale. To quantitatively measure the enzymes entire conformational distribution, we have applied maximum entropy-based methods to remove photon-counting noise from single-molecule data. This analysis shows unambiguously that AK is capable of dynamically sampling two distinct states, which correlate well with those observed by x-ray crystallography. Unexpectedly, the equilibrium favors the closed, active-site-forming configurations even in the absence of substrates. Our experiments further showed that interaction with substrates, rather than locking the enzyme into a compact state, restricts the spatial extent of conformational fluctuations and shifts the enzymes conformational equilibrium toward the closed form by increasing the closing rate of the lid. Integrating these microscopic dynamics into macroscopic kinetics allows us to model lid opening-coupled product release as the enzymes rate-limiting step.

Engagement of Arginine Finger to ATP Triggers Large Conformational Changes in NtrC1 AAA+ ATPase For Remodeling Bacterial RNA Polymerase

The NtrC-like AAA+ ATPases control virulence and other important bacterial activities through delivering mechanical work to σ54-RNA polymerase to activate transcription from σ54-dependent genes. We report the first crystal structure for such an ATPase, NtrC1 of Aquifex aeolicus, in which the catalytic arginine engages the γ-phosphate of ATP. Comparing the new structure with those previously known for apo and ADP-bound states supports a rigid-body displacement model that is consistent with large-scale conformational changes observed by low-resolution methods. First, the arginine finger induces rigid-body roll, extending surface loops above the plane of the ATPase ring to bind σ54. Second, ATP hydrolysis permits Pi release and retraction of the arginine with a reversed roll, remodeling σ54-RNAP. This model provides a fresh perspective on how ATPase subunits interact within the ring-ensemble to promote transcription, directing attention to structural changes on the arginine-finger side of an ATP-bound interface.

Dynamic active-site protection by the M. tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase PtpB lid domain

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase PtpB shows resistance to the oxidative conditions that prevail within an infected host macrophage, but the mechanism of this molecular adaptation is unknown. Crystal structures of PtpB revealed previously that a closed, two-helix lid covers the active site. By measuring single-molecule Forster-type resonance energy transfer to probe the dynamics of two helices that constitute the lid, we obtained direct evidence for large, spontaneous opening transitions of PtpB with the closed form of both helices favored approximately 3:1. Despite similar populations of conformers, the two helices move asynchronously as demonstrated by different opening and closing rates under our experimental conditions. Assuming that lid closure excludes oxidant, the rates of opening and closing quantitatively accounted for the slow observed rate of oxidative inactivation. Increasing solvent viscosity using glycerol but not PEG8000 resulted in higher rates of oxidative inactivation due to an increase in the population of open conformers. These results establish that the rapid conformational gating of the PtpB lid constitutes a reversible physical blockade that transiently masks the active site and retards oxidative inactivation.

Direct Mg2+ Binding Activates Adenylate Kinase from Escherichia coli

We report evidence that adenylate kinase (AK) from Escherichia coli can be activated by the direct binding of a magnesium ion to the enzyme, in addition to ATP-complexed Mg2+. By systematically varying the concentrations of AMP, ATP, and magnesium in kinetic experiments, we found that the apparent substrate inhibition of AK, formerly attributed to AMP, was suppressed at low magnesium concentrations and enhanced at high magnesium concentrations. This previously unreported magnesium dependence can be accounted for by a modified random bi-bi model in which Mg2+ can bind to AK directly prior to AMP binding. A new kinetic model is proposed to replace the conventional random bi-bi mechanism with substrate inhibition and is able to describe the kinetic data over a physiologically relevant range of magnesium concentrations. According to this model, the magnesium-activated AK exhibits a 23- ± 3-fold increase in its forward reaction rate compared with the unactivated form. The findings imply that Mg2+ could be an important affecter in the energy signaling network in cells.

Confocal Single-Molecule FRET for Protein Conformational Dynamics

Single-molecule Fӧrster-type resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a unique technique capable of following conformational motions of individual protein molecules. The direct observation of individual proteins provides rich information that would be washed away in ensemble measurements, hence opening up new avenues for establishing the protein structure-function relationships through dynamics. Retrieving dynamics information of biomolecular motions via smFRET, though, requires careful experiment design and rigorous treatment of single-molecule statistics. Here, we describe the rudimentary steps for an smFRET experiment, including sample preparation for the microscope, building of critical parts for single-molecule FRET detection, and a robust methodology for photon-by-photon data analysis.