Qingxin Li

Application of microbial enhanced oil recovery technique to Daqing Oilfield

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P-1) and its metabolic products (PIMP) of 10% could enhance the oil recovery in the model reservoir by 11.2% and also decrease injection pressure by 40.1%. Further, PIMP (10%) could reduce the crude oil viscosity by 38.5%. In the pilot tests, about 80% of wells used showed a significant increase in crude oil production after PIMP injection and shut-in for about 1 month. The pilot tests also revealed that PIMP could prolong cycle of oil well washing so that the total oil production increased.

Solution NMR study of integral membrane proteins

Signals between a cell and its environment are often transmitted through membrane proteins; therefore, many membrane proteins, including G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ion channels, are important drug targets. Structural information about membrane proteins remains limited owing to challenges in protein expression, purification and the selection of membrane-mimicking systems that will retain protein structure and function. This review describes recent advances in solution NMR applied to the structural study of integral membrane proteins. The examples herein demonstrate that solution NMR spectroscopy will play a unique role not only in structural analysis, but also drug discovery of membrane proteins.

NMR solution structure of the N-terminal domain of hERG and its interaction with the S4-S5 linker.

The human Ether-à-go-go Related Gene (hERG) potassium channel mediates the rapid delayed rectifier current (IKr) in the cardiac action potential. Mutations in the 135 amino acid residue N-terminal domain (NTD) cause channel dysfunction or mis-translocation. To study the structure of NTD, it was overexpressed and purified from Escherichia coli cells using affinity purification and gel filtration chromatography. The purified protein behaved as a monomer under purification conditions. Far- and near-UV, circular dichroism (CD) and solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies showed that the purified protein was well-folded. The solution structure of NTD was obtained and the N-terminal residues 13-23 forming an amphipathic helix which may be important for the protein-protein or protein-membrane interactions. NMR titration experiment also demonstrated that residues from 88 to 94 in NTD are important for the molecular interaction with the peptide derived from the S4-S5 linker.

Expression, purification, and initial structural characterization of nonstructural protein 2B, an integral membrane protein of Dengue-2 virus, in detergent micelles.

Dengue virus causes serious diseases affecting people in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The nonstructural (NS) protein 2B is an integral membrane protein and important for the regulation of viral protease NS3, which is significant for virus replication. The NS2B-NS3 complex is an important drug target for treating dengue fever. However, little is known about the structure of NS2B in its entirety. Herein, we describe the expression and purification of this integral membrane protein from cell membrane and inclusion bodies of Escherichia coli cells. The initial nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and circular dichroism (CD) results indicate that the purified protein adopts alpha-helical structures in LMPG and TDPC micelles.

Membrane topology of NS2B of dengue virus revealed by NMR spectroscopy.

Non-structural (NS) proteins of dengue virus (DENV) are important for viral replication. There are four membrane proteins that are coded by viral genome. NS2B was shown to be one of the membrane proteins and its main function was confirmed to regulate viral protease activity. Its membrane topology is still not known because only few studies have been conducted to understand its structure. Here we report the determination of membrane topology of NS2B from DENV serotype 4 using NMR spectroscopy. NS2B of DENV4 was expressed and purified in detergent micelles. The secondary structure of NS2B was first defined based on backbone chemical resonance assignment. Four helices were identified in NS2B. The membrane topology of NS2B was defined based on relaxation analysis and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement experiments. The last three helices were shown to be more stable than the first helix. The NS3 protease cofactor region between α2 and α3 is highly dynamic. Our results will be useful for further structural and functional analysis of NS2B.

Solution structure of the transmembrane domain of the insulin receptor in detergent micelles

The insulin receptor (IR) binds insulin and plays important roles in glucose homeostasis by regulating the tyrosine kinase activity at its C-terminus. Its transmembrane domain (TMD) is shown to be important for transferring conformational changes induced by insulin across the cell membrane to regulate kinase activity. In this study, a construct IR(940-988) containing the TMD was expressed and purified for structural studies. Its solution structure in dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles was determined. The sequence containing residues L962 to Y976 of the TMD of the IR in micelles adopts a well-defined helical structure with a kink formed by glycine and proline residues present at its N-terminus, which might be important for its function. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) and relaxation experimental results suggest that residues following the TMD are flexible and expose to aqueous solution. Although purified IR(940-988) in micelles existed mainly as a monomeric form verified by gel filtration and relaxation analysis, cross-linking study suggests that it may form a dimer or oligomers under micelle conditions.

An NMR study of the N-terminal domain of wild-type hERG and a T65P trafficking deficient hERG mutant

The human Ether‐à‐go‐go Related Gene (hERG) potassium channel plays an important role in the heart by controlling the rapid delayed rectifier current. The N‐terminal 135 residues (NTD) contain a Per‐Arnt‐Sim (PAS) domain and an N‐terminal amphipathic helix. NMR relaxation analysis and H/D exchange experiments on the NTD demonstrated that the amphipathic helix is rigid and solvent accessible. An NTD containing a T65P mutation, which causes a hERG channel trafficking deficiency, was purified from E.coli. The mutant protein did not aggregate in gel filtration analysis and the amide cross peaks of its residues disappeared in an HSQC spectrum indicating the possibility of structural changes. A carbon chemical shift comparison of the residues with cross peaks in the HSQC spectrum showed no clear difference between the purified wild‐type protein and the purified mutant. There were multiple conformations observed for the T65P mutant protein at high temperatures from HSQC experiments and a thermal stability assay showed that the T65P mutation reduced the thermal stability of NTD. This instability may affect protein folding or structural dynamics of other regions. Proteins 2011;

The solution structure of the S4-S5 linker of the hERG potassium channel.

The human ether‐à‐go‐go related gene (hERG) encodes a protein that forms a voltage‐gated potassium channel and plays an important role in the heart by controlling the rapid delayed rectifier K+ current (IKr). The S4–S5 linker was shown to be important for the gating of the hERG channel. Nuclear magnetic resonance study showed that a peptide derived from the S4–S5 linker had no well‐ordered structure in aqueous solution and adopted a 310‐helix (E544‐Y545‐G546) structure in detergent micelles. The existence of an amphipathic helix was confirmed, which may be important for interaction with cell membrane. Close contact between side chains of residues R541 and E544 was observed, which may be important for its regulation of channel gating. Copyright

Structure of the C-terminal Region of the Frizzled Receptor 1 in Detergent Micelles

The C-terminal domains of the Frizzleds (FZDs) contain a short conserved motif (KTXXXW). It has been demonstrated that FZDs interacted with the PDZ domain of the cytoplasmic proteins such as Dishevelled through this motif and mutations in this motif disrupted Wnt/β-catenin signaling. We carried out structural studies for a peptide derived from the C-terminal domain of the FZD1 in different solvents using circular dichroism and solution NMR spectroscopy. Our results showed that this domain was unstructured in an aqueous solution and formed a helical structure in detergent micelles. Fluorescence studies suggested that the tryptophan residue (W630) in the motif interacted with micelles. The solution structure of the peptide in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles was determined and an amphipathic helix was identified. This helix may have similar function to the helix 8 of other G protein-coupled receptors.

Solution NMR Study of the Transmembrane Domain of Single-Span Membrane Proteins: Opportunities and Strategies

Membrane proteins play important roles in signal transduction across the cell membrane. Structural information for the membrane proteins is still limited due to many technical challenges. Membrane proteins containing a single α- helical transmembrane (TM) domain are very important in several pathways. Solution NMR spectroscopy is an important tool for the study of the structure of the TM domain of these types of proteins due to their small size. In this review, we summarize the importance of some single-span membrane proteins in signal transduction and the importance of understanding the structure of the TM domain. We discussed the current progress in the structural study of these types of proteins using solution NMR spectroscopy. We summarize the structures solved during last several years. The structures of the regulatory domain of the ion channels such as KCNE1, integrin and viral proteins such as the M2 channel are described. The binding interface of single TM-TM domains is discussed based on NMR structural studies. Strategies including sample preparation, detergent screening, and structural determination of single-span membrane protein are summarized. We also discuss the potential application of NMR spectroscopy to drug discovery of proteins with a single-span TM domain.