Mary Elizabeth Krause

Novel Tripeptide Model of Nickel Superoxide Dismutase

Nickel superoxide dismutase (Ni-SOD) catalyzes the disproportionation of superoxide to molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, but the overall reaction mechanism has yet to be determined. Peptide-based models of the 2N:2S nickel coordination sphere of Ni-SOD have provided some insight into the mechanism of this enzyme. Here we show that the coordination sphere of Ni-SOD can be mimicked using the tripeptide asparagine-cysteine-cysteine (NCC). NCC binds nickel with extremely high affinity at physiological pH with 2N:2S geometry, as demonstrated by electronic absorption and circular dichroism (CD) data. Like Ni-SOD, Ni-NCC has mixed amine/amide ligation that favors metal-based oxidation over ligand-based oxidation. Electronic absorption, CD, and magnetic CD (MCD) data collected for Ni-NCC are consistent with a diamagnetic Ni(II) center bound in square-planar geometry. Ni-NCC is quasi-reversibly oxidized with a midpoint potential of 0.72(2) V (vs Ag/AgCl) and breaks down superoxide in an enzyme-based assay, supporting its potential use as a model for Ni-SOD chemistry.

MAPping the Chiral Inversion and Structural Transformation of a Metal-Tripeptide Complex Having Ni-Superoxide Dismutase Activity

The metal abstraction peptide (MAP) tag is a tripeptide sequence capable of abstracting a metal ion from a chelator and binding it with extremely high affinity at neutral pH. Initial studies on the nickel-bound form of the complex demonstrate that the tripeptide asparagine-cysteine-cysteine (NCC) binds metal with 2N:2S, square planar geometry and behaves as both a structural and functional mimic of Ni superoxide dismutase (Ni-SOD). Electronic absorption, circular dichroism (CD), and magnetic CD (MCD) data collected for Ni-NCC are consistent with a diamagnetic Ni(II) center. It is apparent from the CD signal of Ni-NCC that the optical activity of the complex changes over time. Mass spectrometry data show that the mass of the complex is unchanged. Combined with the CD data, this suggests that chiral rearrangement of the complex occurs. Following incubation of the nickel-containing peptide in D(2)O and back-exchange into H(2)O, incorporation of deuterium into non-exchangeable positions is observed, indicating chiral inversion occurs at two of the α carbon atoms in the peptide. Control peptides were used to further characterize the chirality of the final nickel-peptide complex, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to validate the hypothesized position of the chiral inversions. In total, these data indicate Ni-SOD activity is increased proportionally to the degree of structural change in the complex over time. Specifically, the relationship between the change in CD signal and change in SOD activity is linear.

Embedding the Ni-SOD mimetic Ni-NCC within a polypeptide sequence alters the specificity of the reaction pathway.

The unique metal abstracting peptide asparagine-cysteine-cysteine (NCC) binds nickel in a square planar 2N:2S geometry and acts as a mimic of the enzyme nickel superoxide dismutase (Ni-SOD). The Ni-NCC tripeptide complex undergoes rapid, site-specific chiral inversion to dld-NCC in the presence of oxygen. Superoxide scavenging activity increases proportionally with the degree of chiral inversion. Characterization of the NCC sequence within longer peptides with absorption, circular dichroism (CD), and magnetic CD (MCD) spectroscopies and mass spectrometry (MS) shows that the geometry of metal coordination is maintained, though the electronic properties of the complex are varied to a small extent because of bis-amide, rather than amine/amide, coordination. In addition, both Ni-tripeptide and Ni-pentapeptide complexes have charges of -2. This study demonstrates that the chiral inversion chemistry does not occur when NCC is embedded in a longer polypeptide sequence. Nonetheless, the superoxide scavenging reactivity of the embedded Ni-NCC module is similar to that of the chirally inverted tripeptide complex, which is consistent with a minor change in the reduction potential for the Ni-pentapeptide complex. Together, this suggests that the charge of the complex could affect the SOD activity as much as a change in the primary coordination sphere. In Ni-NCC and other Ni-SOD mimics, changes in chirality, superoxide scavenging activity, and oxidation of the peptide itself all depend on the presence of dioxygen or its reduced derivatives (e.g., superoxide), and the extent to which each of these distinct reactions occurs is ruled by electronic and steric effects that emenate from the organization of ligands around the metal center.

Controlling the Chiral Inversion Reaction of the Metallopeptide Ni-Asparagine-Cysteine-Cysteine with Dioxygen

Synthetically generated metallopeptides have the potential to serve a variety of roles in biotechnology applications, but the use of such systems is often hampered by the inability to control secondary reactions. We have previously reported that the Ni(II) complex of the tripeptide LLL-asparagine-cysteine-cysteine, LLL-Ni(II)-NCC, undergoes metal-facilitated chiral inversion to dld-Ni(II)-NCC, which increases the observed superoxide scavenging activity. However, the mechanism for this process remained unexplored. Electronic absorption and circular dichroism studies of the chiral inversion reaction of Ni(II)-NCC reveal a unique dependence on dioxygen. Specifically, in the absence of dioxygen, the chiral inversion is not observed, even at elevated pH, whereas the addition of O(2) initiates this reactivity and concomitantly generates superoxide. Scavenging experiments using acetaldehyde are indicative of the formation of carbanion intermediates, demonstrating that inversion takes place by deprotonation of the alpha carbons of Asn1 and Cys3. Together, these data are consistent with the chiral inversion being dependent on the formation of a Ni(III)-NCC intermediate from Ni(II)-NCC and O(2). The data further suggest that the anionic thiolate and amide ligands in Ni(II)-NCC inhibit Cα-H deprotonation for the Ni(II) oxidation state, leading to a stable complex in the absence of O(2). Together, these results offer insights into the factors controlling reactivity in synthetic metallopeptides.

1H, 13C and 15N backbone assignment of the EC-1 domain of human E-cadherin

The Extracellular 1 (EC1) domain of E-cadherin has been shown to be important for cadherin–cadherin homophilic interactions. Cadherins are responsible for calcium-mediated cell–cell adhesion located at the adherens junction of the biological barriers (i.e., intestinal mucosa and the blood–brain barrier (BBB)). Cadherin peptides can modulate cadherin interactions to improve drug delivery through the BBB. However, the mechanism of modulating the E-cadherin interactions by cadherin peptides has not been fully elucidated. To provide a basis for subsequent examination of the structure and peptide-binding properties of the EC1 domain of human E-cadherin using solution NMR spectroscopy, the 1H, 13C and 15N backbone resonance of the uniformly labeled-EC1 were assigned and the secondary structure was determined based on the chemical shift values. These resonance assignments are essential for assessing protein–ligand interactions and are reported here.

claMP Tag: a versatile inline metal-binding platform based on the metal abstraction peptide.

Molecularly targeted research and diagnostic tools are essential to advancing understanding and detection of many diseases. Metals often impart the desired functionality to these tools, and conjugation of high-affinity chelators to proteins is carried out to enable targeted delivery of the metal. This approach has been much more effective with large lanthanide series metals than smaller transition metals. Because chemical conjugation requires additional processing and purification steps and yields a heterogeneous mixture of products, inline incorporation of a peptide tag capable of metal binding is a highly preferable alternative. Development of a transition metal binding tag would provide opportunity to greatly expand metal-based analyses. The metal abstraction peptide (MAP) sequence was genetically engineered into recombinant protein to generate the claMP Tag. The effects of this tag on recombinant epidermal growth factor (EGF) protein expression, disulfide bond formation, tertiary structural integrity, and transition metal incorporation using nickel were examined to confirm the viability of utilizing the MAP sequence to generate linker-less metal conjugates.

Mapping Site-Specific Changes that Affect Stability of the N-Terminal Domain of Calmodulin

Biophysical tools have been invaluable in formulating therapeutic proteins. These tools characterize protein stability rapidly in a variety of solution conditions, but in general, the techniques lack the ability to discern site-specific information to probe how solution environment acts to stabilize or destabilize the protein. NMR spectroscopy can provide site-specific information about subtle structural changes of a protein under different conditions, enabling one to assess the mechanism of protein stabilization. In this study, NMR was employed to detect structural perturbations at individual residues as a result of altering pH and ionic strength. The N-terminal domain of calmodulin (N-CaM) was used as a model system, and the ¹H-¹⁵N heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) experiment was used to investigate effects of pH and ionic strength on individual residues. NMR analysis revealed that different solution conditions affect individual residues differently, even when the amino acid sequence and structure are highly similar. This study shows that addition of NMR to the formulation toolbox has the ability to extend understanding of the relationship between site-specific changes and overall protein stability.