Volkhard Helms

Protein translocation across the ER membrane.

Protein translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the first and decisive step in the biogenesis of most extracellular and many soluble organelle proteins in eukaryotic cells. It is mechanistically related to protein export from eubacteria and archaea and to the integration of newly synthesized membrane proteins into the ER membrane and the plasma membranes of eubacteria and archaea (with the exception of tail anchored membrane proteins). Typically, protein translocation into the ER involves cleavable amino terminal signal peptides in precursor proteins and sophisticated transport machinery components in the cytosol, the ER membrane, and the ER lumen. Depending on the hydrophobicity and/or overall amino acid content of the precursor protein, transport can occur co- or posttranslationally. The respective mechanism determines the requirements for certain cytosolic transport components. The two mechanisms merge at the level of the ER membrane, specifically, at the heterotrimeric Sec61 complex present in the membrane. The Sec61 complex provides a signal peptide recognition site and forms a polypeptide conducting channel. Apparently, the Sec61 complex is gated by various ligands, such as signal peptides of the transport substrates, ribosomes (in cotranslational transport), and the ER lumenal molecular chaperone, BiP. Binding of BiP to the incoming polypeptide contributes to efficiency and unidirectionality of transport. Recent insights into the structure of the Sec61 complex and the comparison of the transport mechanisms and machineries in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the human parasite Trypanosoma brucei, and mammals have various important mechanistic as well as potential medical implications. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Protein translocation across or insertion into membranes.

Proton shuttle in green fluorescent protein studied by dynamic simulations.

As a direct simulation of a multistep proton transfer reaction involving protein residues, the proton relay shuttle between A and I forms of green fluorescent protein (GFP) is simulated in atomic detail by using a special molecular dynamics simulation technique. Electronic excitation of neutral chromophore in wild-type GFP is generally followed by excited-state proton transfer to a nearby glutamic acid residue via a water molecule and a serine residue. Here we show that the second and third transfer steps occur ultrafast on time scales of several tens of femtoseconds. Proton back-shuttle in the ground state is slower and occurs in a different sequence of events. The simulations provide atomic models of various intermediates and yield realistic rate constants for proton transfer events. In particular, we argue that the I form observed spectroscopically under equilibrium conditions may differ from the I form observed as a fast intermediate by an anti to syn rotation of the carboxyl proton of neutral Glu-222.

Dynamic water networks in cytochrome C oxidase from Paracoccus denitrificans investigated by molecular dynamics simulations.

We present a molecular dynamics study of cytochrome c oxidase from Paracoccus denitrificans in the fully oxidized state, embedded in a fully hydrated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer membrane. Parallel simulations with different levels of protein hydration, 1.125 ns each in length, were carried out under conditions of constant temperature and pressure using three-dimensional periodic boundary conditions and full electrostatics to investigate the distribution and dynamics of water molecules and their corresponding hydrogen-bonded networks inside cytochrome c oxidase. The majority of the water molecules had residence times shorter than 100 ps, but a few water molecules are fixed inside the protein for up to 1.125 ns. The hydrogen-bonded network in cytochrome c oxidase is not uniformly distributed, and the degree of water arrangement is variable. The average number of solvent sites in the proton-conducting K- and D-pathways was determined. In contrast to single water files in narrow geometries we observe significant diffusion of individual water molecules along these pathways. The highly fluctuating hydrogen-bonded networks, combined with the significant diffusion of individual water molecules, provide a basis for the transfer of protons in cytochrome c oxidase, therefore leading to a better understanding of the mechanism of proton pumping.

Adhesive water networks facilitate binding of protein interfaces

Water structure has an essential role in biological assembly. Hydrophobic dewetting has been documented as a general mechanism for the assembly of hydrophobic surfaces; however, the association mechanism of hydrophilic interfaces remains mysterious and cannot be explained by simple continuum water models that ignore the solvent structure. Here we study the association of two hydrophilic proteins using unbiased extensive molecular dynamics simulations that reproducibly recovered the native bound complex. The water in the interfacial gap forms an adhesive hydrogen-bond network between the interfaces stabilizing early intermediates before native contacts are formed. Furthermore, the interfacial gap solvent showed a reduced dielectric shielding up to distances of few nanometres during the diffusive phase. The interfacial gap solvent generates an anisotropic dielectric shielding with a strongly preferred directionality for the electrostatic interactions along the association direction.

Atomistic simulation of water percolation and proton hopping in Nafion fuel cell membrane.

We have performed a detailed analysis of water clustering and percolation in hydrated Nafion configurations generated by classical molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that at low hydration levels H(2)O molecules are isolated and a continuous hydrogen-bonded network forms as the hydration level is increased. Our quantitative analysis has established a hydration level (λ) between 5 and 6 H(2)O/SO(3)(-) as the percolation threshold of Nafion. We have also examined the effect of such a network on proton transport by studying the structural diffusion of protons using the quantum hopping molecular dynamics method. The mean residence time of the proton on a water molecule decreases by 2 orders of magnitude when the λ value is increased from 5 to 15. The proton diffusion coefficient in Nafion at a λ value of 15 is about 1.1 × 10(-5) cm(2)/s in agreement with experiment. The results provide quantitative atomic-level evidence of water network percolation in Nafion and its effect on proton conductivity.

BiP‐mediated closing of the Sec61 channel limits Ca2+ leakage from the ER

In mammalian cells, signal peptide‐dependent protein transport into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is mediated by a dynamic protein‐conducting channel, the Sec61 complex. Previous work has characterized the Sec61 channel as a potential ER Ca2+ leak channel and identified calmodulin as limiting Ca2+ leakage in a Ca2+‐dependent manner by binding to an IQ motif in the cytosolic aminoterminus of Sec61α. Here, we manipulated the concentration of the ER lumenal chaperone BiP in cells in different ways and used live cell Ca2+ imaging to monitor the effects of reduced levels of BiP on ER Ca2+ leakage. Regardless of how the BiP concentration was lowered, the absence of available BiP led to increased Ca2+ leakage via the Sec61 complex. When we replaced wild‐type Sec61α with mutant Sec61αY344H in the same model cell, however, Ca2+ leakage from the ER increased and was no longer affected by manipulation of the BiP concentration. Thus, BiP limits ER Ca2+ leakage through the Sec61 complex by binding to the ER lumenal loop 7 of Sec61α in the vicinity of tyrosine 344.

Statistical analysis of predominantly transient protein–protein interfaces

A non‐redundant set of 170 protein–protein interfaces of known structure was statistically analyzed for residue and secondary‐structure compositions, pairing preferences and side‐chain–backbone interaction frequencies. By focussing mainly on transient protein–protein interfaces, the results underline previous findings for protein–protein interfaces but also show some new interesting aspects of transient interfaces. The residue compositions at interfaces found in this study correlate well with the results of other studies. On average, contacts between pairs of hydrophobic and polar residues were unfavorable, and the charged residues tended to pair subject to charge complementarity. Secondary structure composition analysis shows that neither helices nor β‐sheets are dominantly populated at interfaces. Analyzing the pairing preferences of the secondary structure elements revealed a higher affinity within the same elements and alludes to tight packings. In addition, the results for the side‐chain and backbone interaction frequencies, which were measured under more stringent conditions, showed a high occurrence of side‐chain–backbone interactions. Taking a closer look at the helix and β‐sheet binding frequencies for a given side‐chain and backbone interaction underlined the relevance of tight packings. The polarity of interfaces increased with decreasing interface size. These types of information may be useful for scoring complexes in protein–protein docking studies or for prediction of protein–protein interfaces from the sequences alone. Proteins 2005.

Thermodynamics of water mediating protein-ligand interactions in cytochrome P450cam: a molecular dynamics study

Ordered water molecules are observed by crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance to mediate protein-ligand interactions. Here, we examine the energetics of hydrating cavities formed at protein-ligand interfaces using molecular dynamics simulations. The free energies of hydrating two cavities in the active site of two liganded complexes of cytochrome P450cam were calculated by multiconfigurational thermodynamic integration. The complex of cytochrome P450cam with 2-phenyl-imidazole contains a crystallographically well defined water molecule mediating hydrogen bonds between the protein and the inhibitor. We calculate that this water molecule is stabilized by a binding free energy of -11.6 +/- kJ/mol. The complex of cytochrome P450cam with its natural substrate, camphor, contains a cavity that is empty in the crystal structure although a water molecule in it could make a hydrogen bond to camphor. Here, solvation of this cavity is calculated to be unfavorable by +15.8 +/- 5.0 kJ/mol. The molecular dynamics simulations can thus distinguish a hydrated interfacial cavity from an empty one. They also provide support for the notion that protein-ligand complexes can accommodate empty interfacial cavities and that such cavities are likely to be unhydrated unless more than one hydrogen bond can be made to a water molecule in the cavity.

Molecular dynamics simulation of proton transport with quantum mechanically derived proton hopping rates (Q-HOP MD)

A very efficient scheme is presented to simulate proton transport by classical molecular dynamics simulation coupled with quantum mechanically derived proton hopping. Simulated proton transfer rates and proton diffusion constants for an excess proton in a box of water molecules are in good agreement with experimental data and with previous simulations that employed empirical valence bond (EVB) theory. For the first time, the proton occupancy of an aspartic acid residue in water was computed directly by MD simulations. Locally enhanced sampling or multi copy techniques were used to facilitate proton release in simulations of an imidazole ring in a solvent box. Summarizing, a quasiclassical description of proton transfer dynamics has been able to capture important kinetic and thermodynamic features of these systems at less than 50% computational overhead compared to standard molecular dynamics simulations. The method can be easily generalized to simulate the protonation equilibria of a large number of titra...

Low-lying electronic excitations of the green fluorescent protein chromophore ☆

Abstract Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a spontaneously fluorescent protein due to its p - hydroxylbenzylideneimidazolidinone chromophore. It has absorbance maxima at two different wavelengths that are attributed to different protonation states of the chromophore. The rich photophysical behaviour GFP exhibits and the equilibrium between its protonation forms is influenced by both internal and external factors. Here, we characterize the structure and electronic spectra of the neutral and anionic forms of the chromophore in vacuo by restricted and unrestricted Hartree–Fock, by single excitation CI, and by MCSCF/PT calculations. The calculated chromophore structure is in good accord with recently obtained crystallographic data, whereas the electronic spectra agree with recent absorption and optical hole-burning studies. The low-lying singlet state excitations are solely due to π→π ∗ transitions and include a strong HOMO→LUMO coupling in particular (oscillator strength 1.54 for neutral chromphore and 2.19 for anionic chromophore). Vertical excitation does not induce a significant charge transfer between both rings but rather leads to a charge transfer between the two ring systems and the bridging group in both neutral and anionic chromophores. Furthermore, geometry relaxation of the S 1 -states employing planar symmetry constraints completely alters the bonding pattern of the two ring-bridging bonds, which reflects the intrinsic tendency of the chromophore for isomerization in its S 1 excited state.