Sven G. Hyberts

An ARC/Mediator subunit required for SREBP control of cholesterol and lipid homeostasis

The sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription activators are critical regulators of cholesterol and fatty acid homeostasis. We previously demonstrated that human SREBPs bind the CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300 acetyltransferase KIX domain and recruit activator-recruited co-factor (ARC)/Mediator co-activator complexes through unknown mechanisms. Here we show that SREBPs use the evolutionarily conserved ARC105 (also called MED15) subunit to activate target genes. Structural analysis of the SREBP-binding domain in ARC105 by NMR revealed a three-helix bundle with marked similarity to the CBP/p300 KIX domain. In contrast to SREBPs, the CREB and c-Myb activators do not bind the ARC105 KIX domain, although they interact with the CBP KIX domain, revealing a surprising specificity among structurally related activator-binding domains. The Caenorhabditis elegans SREBP homologue SBP-1 promotes fatty acid homeostasis by regulating the expression of lipogenic enzymes. We found that, like SBP-1, the C. elegans ARC105 homologue MDT-15 is required for fatty acid homeostasis, and show that both SBP-1 and MDT-15 control transcription of genes governing desaturation of stearic acid to oleic acid. Notably, dietary addition of oleic acid significantly rescued various defects of nematodes targeted with RNA interference against sbp-1 and mdt-15, including impaired intestinal fat storage, infertility, decreased size and slow locomotion, suggesting that regulation of oleic acid levels represents a physiologically critical function of SBP-1 and MDT-15. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that ARC105 is a key effector of SREBP-dependent gene regulation and control of lipid homeostasis in metazoans.

Application of iterative soft thresholding for fast reconstruction of NMR data non-uniformly sampled with multidimensional Poisson Gap scheduling

The fast Fourier transformation has been the gold standard for transforming data from time to frequency domain in many spectroscopic methods, including NMR. While reliable, it has as a drawback that it requires a grid of uniformly sampled data points. This needs very long measuring times for sampling in multidimensional experiments in all indirect dimensions uniformly and even does not allow reaching optimal evolution times that would match the resolution power of modern high-field instruments. Thus, many alternative sampling and transformation schemes have been proposed. Their common challenges are the suppression of the artifacts due to the non-uniformity of the sampling schedules, the preservation of the relative signal amplitudes, and the computing time needed for spectra reconstruction. Here we present a fast implementation of the Iterative Soft Thresholding approach (istHMS) that can reconstruct high-resolution non-uniformly sampled NMR data up to four dimensions within a few hours and make routine reconstruction of high-resolution NUS 3D and 4D spectra convenient. We include a graphical user interface for generating sampling schedules with the Poisson-Gap method and an estimation of optimal evolution times based on molecular properties. The performance of the approach is demonstrated with the reconstruction of non-uniformly sampled medium and high-resolution 3D and 4D protein spectra acquired with sampling densities as low as 0.8%. The method presented here facilitates acquisition, reconstruction and use of multidimensional NMR spectra at otherwise unreachable spectral resolution in indirect dimensions.

Poisson-gap sampling and forward maximum entropy reconstruction for enhancing the resolution and sensitivity of protein NMR data.

The Fourier transform has been the gold standard for transforming data from the time domain to the frequency domain in many spectroscopic methods, including NMR spectroscopy. While reliable, it has the drawback that it requires a grid of uniformely sampled data points, which is not efficient for decaying signals, and it also suffers from artifacts when dealing with nondecaying signals. Over several decades, many alternative sampling and transformation schemes have been proposed. Their common problem is that relative signal amplitudes are not well-preserved. Here we demonstrate the superior performance of a sine-weighted Poisson-gap distribution sparse-sampling scheme combined with forward maximum entropy (FM) reconstruction. While the relative signal amplitudes are well-preserved, we also find that the signal-to-noise ratio is enhanced up to 4-fold per unit of data acquisition time relative to traditional linear sampling.

PDCD4 inhibits translation initiation by binding to eIF4A using both its MA3 domains

Programmed Cell Death 4 (PDCD4) is a protein known to bind eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A), inhibit translation initiation, and act as a tumor suppressor. PDCD4 contains two C-terminal MA3 domains, which are thought to be responsible for its inhibitory function. Here, we analyze the structures and inhibitory functions of these two PDCD4 MA3 domains by x-ray crystallography, NMR, and surface plasmon resonance. We show that both MA3 domains are structurally and functionally very similar and bind specifically to the eIF4A N-terminal domain (eIF4A-NTD) using similar binding interfaces. We found that the PDCD4 MA3 domains compete with the eIF4G MA3 domain and RNA for eIF4A binding. Our data provide evidence that PDCD4 inhibits translation initiation by displacing eIF4G and RNA from eIF4A. The PDCD4 MA3 domains act synergistically to form a tighter and more stable complex with eIF4A, which explains the need for two tandem MA3 domains.

Applications of non-uniform sampling and processing

Modern high-field NMR instruments provide unprecedented resolution. To make use of the resolving power in multidimensional NMR experiment standard linear sampling through the indirect dimensions to the maximum optimal evolution times (~1.2T (2)) is not practical because it would require extremely long measurement times. Thus, alternative sampling methods have been proposed during the past 20 years. Originally, random nonlinear sampling with an exponentially decreasing sampling density was suggested, and data were transformed with a maximum entropy algorithm (Barna et al., J Magn Reson 73:69-77, 1987). Numerous other procedures have been proposed in the meantime. It has become obvious that the quality of spectra depends crucially on the sampling schedules and the algorithms of data reconstruction. Here we use the forward maximum entropy (FM) reconstruction method to evaluate several alternate sampling schedules. At the current stage, multidimensional NMR spectra that do not have a serious dynamic range problem, such as triple resonance experiments used for sequential assignments, are readily recorded and faithfully reconstructed using non-uniform sampling. Thus, these experiments can all be recorded non-uniformly to utilize the power of modern instruments. On the other hand, for spectra with a large dynamic range, such as 3D and 4D NOESYs, choosing optimal sampling schedules and the best reconstruction method is crucial if one wants to recover very weak peaks. Thus, this chapter is focused on selecting the best sampling schedules and processing methods for high-dynamic range spectra.

1H nuclear magnetic resonance assignments for d-(GCATTAATGC))2 using experimental refinements of established procedures

Sequence-specific 1H nuclear magnetic resonance assignments are presented for d-(GCATTAATGC)2. Using omega 1-scaled double quantum-filtered correlated spectroscopy, two-quantum spectroscopy, relayed coherence transfer spectroscopy and detailed analysis of the fine structure in these phase-sensitive spectra, the spin system of the bases and deoxyribose rings were identified entirely via scalar proton-proton couplings. The sequential connectivities were established with two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectra recorded with a short mixing time of 60 milliseconds. These spectra contain only a small number of cross-peaks, corresponding to the shortest proton-proton distances prevailing in the DNA. They are thus easy to interpret, and therefore the presently proposed modifications of the established assignment procedures should enable studies of larger DNA duplexes with intrinsically more complex nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and they also provided an improved basis for conformational studies of DNA fragments.

Perspectives in magnetic resonance: NMR in the post-FFT era.

Multi-dimensional NMR spectra have traditionally been processed with the fast Fourier transformation (FFT). The availability of high field instruments, the complexity of spectra of large proteins, the narrow signal dispersion of some unstructured proteins, and the time needed to record the necessary increments in the indirect dimensions to exploit the resolution of the highfield instruments make this traditional approach unsatisfactory. New procedures need to be developed beyond uniform sampling of the indirect dimensions and reconstruction methods other than the straight FFT are necessary. Here we discuss approaches of non-uniform sampling (NUS) and suitable reconstruction methods. We expect that such methods will become standard for multi-dimensional NMR data acquisition with complex biological macromolecules and will dramatically enhance the power of modern biological NMR.

Exploring signal-to-noise ratio and sensitivity in non-uniformly sampled multi-dimensional NMR spectra.

It is well established that non-uniform sampling (NUS) allows acquisition of multi-dimensional NMR spectra at a resolution that cannot be obtained with traditional uniform acquisition through the indirect dimensions. However, the impact of NUS on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensitivity are less well documented. SNR and sensitivity are essential aspects of NMR experiments as they define the quality and extent of data that can be obtained. This is particularly important for spectroscopy with low concentration samples of biological macromolecules. There are different ways of defining the SNR depending on how to measure the noise, and the distinction between SNR and sensitivity is often not clear. While there are defined procedures for measuring sensitivity with high concentration NMR standards, such as sucrose, there is no clear or generally accepted definition of sensitivity when comparing different acquisition and processing methods for spectra of biological macromolecules with many weak signals close to the level of noise. Here we propose tools for estimating the SNR and sensitivity of NUS spectra with respect to sampling schedule and reconstruction method. We compare uniformly acquired spectra with NUS spectra obtained in the same total measuring time. The time saving obtained when only 1/k of the Nyquist grid points are sampled is used to measure k-fold more scans per increment. We show that judiciously chosen NUS schedules together with suitable reconstruction methods can yield a significant increase of the SNR within the same total measurement time. Furthermore, we propose to define the sensitivity as the probability to detect weak peaks and show that time-equivalent NUS can considerably increase this detection sensitivity. The sensitivity gain increases with the number of NUS indirect dimensions. Thus, well-chosen NUS schedules and reconstruction methods can significantly increase the information content of multidimensional NMR spectra of challenging biological macromolecules.

FM reconstruction of non-uniformly sampled protein NMR data at higher dimensions and optimization by distillation

Non-uniform sampling (NUS) enables recording of multidimensional NMR data at resolutions matching the resolving power of modern instruments without using excessive measuring time. However, in order to obtain satisfying results, efficient reconstruction methods are needed. Here we describe an optimized version of the Forward Maximum entropy (FM) reconstruction method, which can reconstruct up to three indirect dimensions. For complex datasets, such as NOESY spectra, the performance of the procedure is enhanced by a distillation procedure that reduces artifacts stemming from intense peaks.

The C-terminal domain of eukaryotic initiation factor 5 promotes start codon recognition by its dynamic interplay with eIF1 and eIF2β.

Recognition of the proper start codon on mRNAs is essential for protein synthesis, which requires scanning and involves eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) eIF1, eIF1A, eIF2, and eIF5. The carboxyl terminal domain (CTD) of eIF5 stimulates 43S preinitiation complex (PIC) assembly; however, its precise role in scanning and start codon selection has remained unknown. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, we identified the binding sites of eIF1 and eIF2β on eIF5-CTD and found that they partially overlapped. Mutating select eIF5 residues in the common interface specifically disrupts interaction with both factors. Genetic and biochemical evidence indicates that these eIF5-CTD mutations impair start codon recognition and impede eIF1 release from the PIC by abrogating eIF5-CTD binding to eIF2β. This study provides mechanistic insight into the role of eIF5-CTDs dynamic interplay with eIF1 and eIF2β in switching PICs from an open to a closed state at start codons.