Yuan-Chao Lou

Human RegIV Protein Adopts A Typical C-Type Lectin Fold But Binds Mannan With Two Calcium-Independent Sites

Human RegIV protein, which contains a sequence motif homologous to calcium-dependent (C-type) lectin-like domain, is highly expressed in mucosa cells of the gastrointestinal tract during pathogen infection and carcinogenesis and may be applied in both diagnosis and treatment of gastric and colon cancers. Here, we provide evidence that, unlike other C-type lectins, human RegIV binds to polysaccharides, mannan, and heparin in the absence of calcium. To elucidate the structural basis for carbohydrate recognition by NMR, we generated the mutant with Pro91 replaced by Ser (hRegIV-P91S) and showed that the structural property and carbohydrate binding ability of hRegIV-P91S are almost identical with those of wild-type protein. The solution structure of hRegIV-P91S was determined, showing that it adopts a typical fold of C-type lectin. Based on the chemical shift perturbations of amide resonances, two calcium-independent mannan-binding sites were proposed. One site is similar to the calcium-independent sugar-binding site on human RegIII and Langerin. Interestingly, the other site is adjacent to the conserved calcium-dependent site at position Ca-2 of typical C-type lectins. Moreover, model-free analysis of (15)N relaxation parameters and simplified Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill relaxation dispersion experiments showed that a slow microsecond-to-millisecond time-scale backbone motion is involved in mannan binding by this site, suggesting a potential role for specific carbohydrate recognition. Our findings shed light on the sugar-binding mode of Reg family proteins, and we postulate that Reg family proteins evolved to bind sugar without calcium to keep the carbohydrate recognition activity under low-pH environments in the gastrointestinal tract.

Human pancreatitis-associated protein forms fibrillar aggregates with a native-like conformation.

Human pancreatitis-associated protein was identified in pathognomonic lesions of Alzheimer disease, a disease characterized by the presence of filamentous protein aggregates. Here, we showed that at physiological pH, human pancreatitis-associated protein forms non-Congo Red-binding, proteinase K-resistant fibrillar aggregates with diameters from 6 up to as large as 68 nm. Interestingly, circular dichroism and Fourier transform infrared spectra showed that, unlike typical amyloid fibrils, which have a cross-β-sheet structure, these aggregates have a very similar secondary structure to that of the native protein, which is composed of two α-helices and eight β-strands, as determined by NMR techniques. Surface structure analysis showed that the positively charged and negatively charged residues were clustered on opposite sides, and strong electrostatic interactions between molecules were therefore very likely, which was confirmed by cross-linking experiments. In addition, several hydrophobic residues were found to constitute a continuous hydrophobic surface. These results and protein aggregation prediction using the TANGO algorithm led us to synthesize peptide Thr84 to Ser116, which, very interestingly, was found to form amyloid-like fibrils with a cross-β structure. Thus, our data suggested that human pancreatitis-associated protein fibrillization is initiated by protein aggregation primarily because of electrostatic interactions, and the loop from residues 84 to 116 may play an important role in the formation of fibrillar aggregates with a native-like conformation.

Solution structure and tandem DNA recognition of the C-terminal effector domain of PmrA from Klebsiella pneumoniae

Klebsiella pneumoniae PmrA is a polymyxin-resistance-associated response regulator. The C-terminal effector/DNA-binding domain of PmrA (PmrAC) recognizes tandem imperfect repeat sequences on the promoters of genes to induce antimicrobial peptide resistance after phosphorylation and dimerization of its N-terminal receiver domain (PmrAN). However, structural information concerning how phosphorylation of the response regulator enhances DNA recognition remains elusive. To gain insights, we determined the nuclear magnetic resonance solution structure of PmrAC and characterized the interactions between PmrAC or BeF3−-activated full-length PmrA (PmrAF) and two DNA sequences from the pbgP promoter of K. pneumoniae. We showed that PmrAC binds to the PmrA box, which was verified to contain two half-sites, 5′-CTTAAT-3′ and 5′-CCTAAG-3′, in a head-to-tail fashion with much stronger affinity to the first than the second site without cooperativity. The structural basis for the PmrAC–DNA complex was investigated using HADDOCK docking and confirmed by paramagnetic relaxation enhancement. Unlike PmrAC, PmrAF recognizes the two sites simultaneously and specifically. In the PmrAF–DNA complex, PmrAN may maintain an activated homodimeric conformation analogous to that in the free form and the interactions between two PmrAC molecules aid in bending and binding of the DNA duplex for transcription activation.

Structural Basis of a Physical Blockage Mechanism for the Interaction of Response Regulator PmrA with Connector Protein PmrD from Klebsiella Pneumoniae

Background: PmrD binds to phospho-PmrA and sustains its phosphorylation state. Results: Phospho-PmrA interacts with PmrD via several specific intermolecular interactions. Conclusion: A steric inhibition mechanism was proposed for protecting phospho-PmrA against dephosphorylation. Significance: This work provides novel data revealing how a connector protein protects an activated response regulator. In bacteria, the two-component system is the most prevalent for sensing and transducing environmental signals into the cell. The PmrA-PmrB two-component system, responsible for sensing external stimuli of high Fe3+ and mild acidic conditions, can control the genes involved in lipopolysaccharide modification and polymyxin resistance in pathogens. In Klebsiella pneumoniae, the small basic connector protein PmrD protects phospho-PmrA and prolongs the expression of PmrA-activated genes. We previously determined the phospho-PmrA recognition mode of PmrD. However, how PmrA interacts with PmrD and prevents its dephosphorylation remains unknown. To address this question, we solved the x-ray crystal structure of the N-terminal receiver domain of BeF3−-activated PmrA (PmrAN) at 1.70 Å. With this structure, we applied the data-driven docking method based on NMR chemical shift perturbation to generate the complex model of PmrD-PmrAN, which was further validated by site-directed spin labeling experiments. In the complex model, PmrD may act as a blockade to prevent phosphatase from contacting with the phosphorylation site on PmrA.

Structure and dynamics of polymyxin-resistance-associated response regulator PmrA in complex with promoter DNA.

PmrA, an OmpR/PhoB family response regulator, manages genes for antibiotic resistance. Phosphorylation of OmpR/PhoB response regulator induces the formation of a symmetric dimer in the N-terminal receiver domain (REC), promoting two C-terminal DNA-binding domains (DBDs) to recognize promoter DNA to elicit adaptive responses. Recently, determination of the KdpE–DNA complex structure revealed an REC–DBD interface in the upstream protomer that may be necessary for transcription activation. Here, we report the 3.2-Å-resolution crystal structure of the PmrA–DNA complex, which reveals a similar yet different REC–DBD interface. However, NMR studies show that in the DNA-bound state, two domains tumble separately and an REC–DBD interaction is transiently populated in solution. Reporter gene analyses of PmrA variants with altered interface residues suggest that the interface is not crucial for supporting gene expression. We propose that REC–DBD interdomain dynamics and the DBD–DBD interface help PmrA interact with RNA polymerase holoenzyme to activate downstream gene transcription.

Solution structure and phospho-PmrA recognition mode of PmrD from Klebsiella pneumoniae

In bacteria, the two-component system (TCS) is the most prevalent for sensing and transducing the environmental signals into the cell. In Salmonella, the small basic protein PmrD is found to protect phospho-PmrA and prolong the expression of PmrA-activated genes. In contrast, Escherichia coli PmrD fails to protect phospho-PmrA. Here, we show that Klebsiella pneumoniae PmrD (KP-PmrD) can inhibit the dephosphrylation of phospho-PmrA, and the interaction between KP-PmrD and the N-terminal receiver domain of PmrA (PmrA(N)) is much stronger in the presence than in the absence of the phosphoryl analog beryllofluoride (BeF(3)(-)) (K(D)=1.74 ± 0.81 μM vs. K(D)=236 ± 48 μM). To better understand the molecular interactions involved, the solution structure of KP-PmrD was found to comprise six β-strands and a flexible C-terminal α-helix. Amide chemical shift perturbations of KP-PmrD in complex with BeF(3)(-)-activated PmrA(N) suggested that KP-PmrD may undergo a certain conformational rearrangement on binding to activated PmrA(N). Saturation transfer experiments revealed the binding surface to be located on one face of the β-barrel. This finding was further verified by in vivo polymyxin B susceptibility assay of the mutants of KP-PmrD. The phospho-PmrA recognition surface of KP-PmrD, which involves two KP-PmrD proteins in complex with an activated-PmrA(N) dimer, is suggested to be a contiguous patch consisting of Trp3, Trp4, Ser23, Leu26, Glu27, Met28, Thr46, Leu48, Ala49, Asp50, Ala51, Arg52, Ile65, Asn67, Ala68, Thr69, His70, Tyr71, Ser73 and Glu74. Our study furthers the understanding of how PmrD protects phopho-PmrA in the PmrAB TCS.

Structure and DNA binding characteristics of the three-Cys2His2 domain of mouse testis zinc finger protein

The C‐terminal three‐Cys2His2 zinc‐finger domain (TZD) of mouse testis zinc‐finger protein binds to the 5′‐TGTACAGTGT‐3′ at the Aie1 (aurora‐C) promoter with high specificity. Interestingly, the primary sequence of TZD is unique, possessing two distinct linkers, TGEKP and GAAP, and distinct residues at presumed DNA binding sites at each finger, especially finger 3. A Kd value of ∼10−8 M was obtained from surface plasmon resonance analysis for the TZD‐DNA complex. NMR structure of the free TZD showed that each zinc finger forms a typical ββα fold. On binding to DNA, chemical shift perturbations and the R2 transverse relaxation rate in finger 3 are significantly smaller than those in fingers 1 and 2, which indicates that the DNA binding affinity in finger 3 is weaker. Furthermore, the shift perturbations between TZD in complex with the cognate DNA and its serial mutants revealed that both ADE7 and CYT8, underlined in 5′‐ATATGTACAGTGTTAT‐3′, are critical in specific binding, and the DNA binding in finger 3 is sequence independent. Remarkably, the shift perturbations in finger 3 on the linker mutation of TZD (GAAP mutated to TGEKP) were barely detected, which further indicates that finger 3 does not play a critical role in DNA sequence‐specific recognition. The complex model showed that residues important for DNA binding are mainly located on positions −1, 2, 3, and 6 of α‐helices in fingers 1 and 2. The DNA sequence and nonsequence‐specific bindings occurring simultaneously in TZD provide valuable information for better understanding of protein–DNA recognition. Proteins 2010.

Solution structure of the C-terminal NP-repeat domain of Tic40, a co-chaperone during protein import into chloroplasts.

Chloroplasts protein precursors translated in the cytosol traverse the membranes to reach their intended destination with the help of translocon complexes called translocon at the outer envelope of chloroplasts and translocon at the inner envelope of chloroplasts (TIC), respectively. Two components of the TIC translocon, Tic110 and Tic40, which combine with Hsp93 (ClpC), are involved in protein translocation across the inner membrane into the stroma. The C-terminal NP-repeat domain of Tic40 (Tic40-NP) is homologous to the DP-repeat domain of co-chaperones Hsp70-interacting and Hsp70/Hsp90-organizing proteins. Interaction of Tic40-NP and Hsp93 stimulates ATP hydrolysis of Hsp93, but the hydrolysis is abolished in both N320A and N329A mutants of Tic40-NP. Here, we determined the nuclear magnetic resonance structure of Tic40-NP, which mainly consists of five α-helices stabilized by two hydrophobic cores. In addition, chemical shift perturbation results suggested that some residues at α1 and α5, as well as residues Asn320 and Asn329, cause conformational change on the two mutants, which may subsequently affect their binding to Hsp93. We provide valuable information for further investigating how Tic40-NP interacts with Hsp93.

1 H, 13 C and 15 N resonance assignments and secondary structures of cyclophilin 2 from Trichomonas vaginalis

Cyclophilins are peptidyl prolyl isomerases that play an important role in a wide variety of biological functions like protein folding and trafficking, intracellular and extracellular signaling pathways, nuclear translocation and in pre-mRNA splicing. Two cyclophilins have been identified in the parasitic organism Trichomonas vaginalis and were named as TvCyP1 and TvCyP2. The 2 enzymes have been found to interact with Myb transcription factors in the parasite which regulate the iron induced expression of ap65-1 gene leading to cytoadherence of the parasite to human vaginal epithelial cells to cause the disease trichomoniasis. TvCyP2 was found to interact specifically with Myb3 to regulate nuclear translocation of the transcription factor. It would be intriguing to identify the binding site of both proteins as it could pave way to newer targets for drug discovery. Here we report the 1H, 13C and 15N resonance assignments and secondary structure information of TvCyP2 that could help us investigate the interaction between Myb3 and TvCyP2 in detail using NMR.

In-depth study of DNA binding of Cys2His2 finger domains in testis zinc-finger protein

Previously, we identified that both fingers 1 and 2 in the three Cys2His2 zinc-finger domains (TZD) of testis zinc-finger protein specifically bind to its cognate DNA; however, finger 3 is non-sequence–specific. To gain insights into the interaction mechanism, here we further investigated the DNA-binding characteristics of TZD bound to non-specific DNAs and its finger segments bound to cognate DNA. TZD in non-specific DNA binding showed smaller chemical shift perturbations, as expected. However, the direction of shift perturbation, change of DNA imino-proton NMR signal, and dynamics on the 15N backbone atom significantly differed between specific and non-specific binding. Using these unique characteristics, we confirmed that the three single-finger segments (TZD1, TZD2 and TZD3) and the two-finger segment (TZD23) non-specifically bind to the cognate DNA. In comparison, the other two-finger segment (TZD12) binding to the cognate DNA features simultaneous non-specific and semi-specific binding, both slowly exchanged in terms of NMR timescale. The process of TZD binding to the cognate DNA is likely stepwise: initially TZD non-specifically binds to DNA, then fingers 1 and 2 insert cooperatively into the major groove of DNA by semi-specific binding, and finally finger 3 non-specifically binds to DNA, which promotes the specific binding on fingers 1 and 2 and stabilizes the formation of a specific TZD–DNA complex.