Yun-Wei Chiang

New members of a class of dinitrosyliron complexes (DNICs): the characteristic EPR signal of the six-coordinate and five-coordinate {Fe(NO)2}9 DNICs.

Compared to the tetrahedral {Fe(NO)(2)}(9) dinitrosyliron complexes (DNICs) [(L)(2)Fe(NO)(2)](-) (L=SR, imidazolate) displaying EPR signal g=2.03, the newly synthesized six-/five-coordinate {Fe(NO)(2)}(9) DNICs [(TPA)Fe(NO)(2)][BF(4)] (1-TPA) (TPA=2-[CH(2)-C(5)H(4)N](3)N), [((iPr)PDI)Fe(NO)(2)][BF(4)] (2-(iPr)PDI) ((iPr)PDI=2,6-[2,6-(i)Pr(2)-C(6)H(3)N=CMe](2)C(5)H(3)N) and [(PyImiS)Fe(NO)(2)] (4-PyImiS) (PyImiS=2-[2-(C(5)H(4)N)CMe=N]C(6)H(4)S) exhibit the distinct EPR signal g=2.015-2.018. The Fe K-edge pre-edge energy (7113.4-7113.6eV) derived from the 1s→3d transition in the octahedral and square-pyramidal environment of the Fe center, falling within the range of 7113.4-7113.8eV for the tetrahedral {Fe(NO)(2)}(9) DNICs, implicates that the iron cores of DNICs 1-TPA, 2-(iPr)PDI and 4-PyImiS are tailored to minimize the electronic changes accompanying changes in coordination geometry. In contrast to the thermally stable 1-TPA, 2-(iPr)PDI and 4-PyImiS, the spontaneous transformation of the proposed thermally unstable five-coordinate {Fe(NO)(2)}(9) DNIC [(PyPepS-H)Fe(NO)(2)](-) (6-PyPepS) (PyPepS-H=[SC(6)H(4)-o-NC(O)(C(5)H(4)N)]) into the {Fe(NO)}(7)-{Fe(NO)}(7) [(μ-PyPepS-H)Fe(NO)](2) (7) along with release of nitroxyl demonstrates that the distinct electron-donating ability of the coordinated ligands ([PyPepS-H]>[PyImiS]~[TPA]>[(iPr)PDI]) regulates the stability and geometric structure of {Fe(NO)(2)}(9) DNICs. This study also shows the aspect of how the geometric structure of {Fe(NO)(2)}(9) DNICs imposed by the electron-donating ability and conformation of the coordinated ligands (tridentate [(iPr)PDI] vs tridentate [PyImiS] vs tetradentate [TPA] vs tridentate [PyPepS-H] vs bidentate [SC(6)H(4)-o-NC(O)Ph](2-)) regulates the Fe-NO bonding of {Fe(NO)(2)}(9) DNICs and presumably the release of nitroxyl from DNICs.

Solution Structure of Apoptotic BAX Oligomer: Oligomerization Likely Precedes Membrane Insertion

Proapoptotic BAX protein is largely cytosolic in healthy cells, but it oligomerizes and translocates to mitochondria upon receiving apoptotic stimuli. A long-standing challenge has been the inability to capture any structural information beyond the onset of activation. Here, we present solution structures of an activated BAX oligomer by means of spectroscopic and scattering methods, providing details about the monomer-monomer interfaces in the oligomer and how the oligomer is assembled from homodimers. We show that this soluble oligomer undergoes a direct conversion into membrane-inserted oligomer, which has the ability of inducing apoptosis and structurally resembles a membrane-embedded oligomer formed from BAX monomers in lipid environment. Structural differences between the soluble and the membrane-inserted oligomers are manifested in the C-terminal helices. Our data suggest an alternative pathway of apoptosis in which BAX oligomer formation occurs prior to membrane insertion.

Mesopores provide an amorphous state suitable for studying biomolecular structures at cryogenic temperatures

In nano-confinements, aqueous solutions can be found to remain in a liquid state at subfreezing temperatures. The finding provides a means of entering into previously inaccessible temperature regions for studying the dynamics and structure of bulk liquid. Here we show that studying biomolecular structures in nano-confinements improves the accuracy of cryostructures and provides better insight into the relationship between hydration water and biomolecules. Synthetic prion protein peptides are studied in two experimental conditions: (i) in confined nanochannels within mesoporous materials, and (ii) in vitrified bulk solvents, with a temperature range of 50–275 K, using cw/pulse ESR techniques. A large inhomogeneous lineshape broadening is only observed for the spectra from the vitrified bulk solvent below 70 K, suggesting a possible peptide clustering in the solution. The spin-counting and distance measurements by DEER-ESR provide further evidence that peptides are dispersed homogeneously in mesopores but heterogeneously in vitrified solvents wherein the biomolecular structure is disturbed due to heterogeneity in the bulk solvent structure. Our study demonstrates that the nanospace within mesoporous materials provides an amorphous environment that is better than vitrified bulk solvent for studying biostructures at cryogenic temperatures.

Cs3UGe7O18: A Pentavalent Uranium Germanate Containing Four- and Six-Coordinate Germanium

A pentavalent uranium germanate, Cs(3)UGe(7)O(18), was synthesized under high-temperature, high-pressure hydrothermal conditions at 585 °C and 160 MPa and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The valence state of uranium was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance. The room-temperature EPR spectrum can be simulated with two components using an axial model that are consistent with two distinct sites of uranium(V). In the structure of the title compound, each ([6])GeO(6) octahedron is bonded to six three-membered single-ring ([4])Ge(3)O(9)(6-) units to form germanate triple layers in the ab plane. Each layer contains nine-ring windows; however, these windows are blocked by adjacent layers. The triple layers are further connected by UO(6) octahedra to form a three-dimensional framework with intersecting six-ring channels along the <1 ̅10> directions. The Cs(+) cation sites are fully occupied, ordered, and located in the cavities of the framework. Pentavalent uranium germanates or silicates are very rare, and only two uranium silicates and one germanate analogue have been published. However, all of them are iso-structural with those of the Nb or Ta analogues. In contrast, the title compound adopts a new structural type and contains both four- and six-coordinate germanium. Crystal data of Cs(3)UGe(7)O(18): trigonal, P3̅c1 (No. 165), a = 12.5582(4) Å, c = 19.7870(6) Å, V = 2702.50(15) Å(3), Z = 6, D(calc) = 5.283 g·cm(-3), μ(Mo Kα) = 26.528 mm(-1), R(1) = 0.0204, wR(2) = 0.0519 for 1958 reflections with I > 2σ(I). GooF = 1.040, ρ(max,min) = 1.018, and -1.823 e·Å(-3).

Intrinsic Optical Properties and Divergent Doping Effects of Manganese(II) on Luminescence for Tin(II) Phosphite Grown from a Deep-Eutectic Solvent

This is the first study on the ionothermal synthesis, intrinsic photoluminescence (PL), and dopant effects for tin(II) phosphite, a stereochemically active 5s(2) lone-pair-electron-containing compound, the fundamental properties of which have rarely been explored before. In a new deep-eutectic solvent, single-phased products of SnHPO(3) (1) and Sn(1-x)Mn(x)HPO(3) (2) have been achieved in high yield. The crystalline powder of 1 is nonenantiomorphic, with an intense second-harmonic generation comparable to that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Under UV excitation, it unexpectedly emits white PL, an important intrinsic property never discovered in tin(II) oxysalts. Electron paramagnetic resonance hyperfine splitting characteristic of manganese has been detected on 2 and a three-pulse electron-spin-echo envelope modulation technique implemented to locate its corresponding location in the inorganic host. On the basis of temperature-dependent PL and lifetime measurements, the incorporated Mn(2+) uncommonly acts as a sensitizer in enhancing white emission until extremely low temperatures, in which it would resume its normal role as an activator to give out characteristic orange light.

Dynamics and local ordering of spin-labeled prion protein: an ESR simulation study of a highly PH-sensitive site.

Abstract Valine 160 on β-sheet-2 (S2) of mouse prion (moPrPC) has been previously identified as the most highly pH-sensitive site on moPrPC by ESR spectroscopy using site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) technique. However, no further theoretical analysis to reveal the molecular dynamics reported on the experimental ESR spectra is available. The X-band ESR spectra of R1 nitroxide spin label at V160 and four other sites are carefully analyzed over large pH and temperature ranges using a spectral simulation method based upon stochastic Liouville equation (SLE). The results clearly reveal the dynamics and ordering of the local environment of V160R1 showing that (i) molecular mobility of V160R1 on S2 gradually increases with a decrease of pH from 7.5 to 4.5; (ii) two distinctly different spectral components are simultaneously present in all spectra of V160R1 studied. The spectral components are, respectively, denoted as immobile (Im), characterized by lower molecular mobility and higher ordering, and mobile (Mb) component of high mobility and low ordering. The population ratio (Im/Mb) increases with increasing pH, while Im remains dominant in all V160R1 spectra. It suggests a more mobile and disordered dynamic molecular structure for mouse PrPC, which is very likely correlated with increased β-sheet content at low pH, as the environment changes from neutral to acidic pH. Together with the results of the SLE-based analyses on the spectra of other sites that appear pH-insensitive, we suggest that the simultaneous presence of the spectral components for V160R1 is strongly correlated with the coexistence of multiple protein conformations in local structure of PrPC over the varied pH range. It demonstrates that the combined approach of the SDSL technique and the SLE-based analysis leads to a powerful method for unraveling the complexity of protein dynamics.

Determination of Interspin Distance Distributions by cw-ESR Is a Single Linear Inverse Problem

Cw-ESR distance measurement method is extremely valuable for studying the dynamics-function relationship of biomolecules. However, extracting distance distributions from experiments has been a highly technique-demanding procedure. It has never been conclusively identified, to our knowledge, that the problems involved in the analysis are ill posed and are best solved using Tikhonov regularization. We treat the problems from a novel point of view. First of all, we identify the equations involved and uncover that they are actually two linear first-kind Fredholm integral equations. They can be combined into one single linear inverse problem and solved in a Tikhonov regularization procedure. The improvement with our new treatment is significant. Our approach is a direct and reliable mathematical method capable of providing an unambiguous solution to the ill-posed problem. It need not perform nonlinear least-squares fitting to infer a solution from noise-contaminated data and, accordingly, substantially reduces the computation time and the difficulty of analysis. Numerical tests and experimental data of polyproline II peptides with variant spin-labeled sites are provided to demonstrate our approach. The high resolution of the distance distributions obtainable with our new approach enables a detailed insight into the flexibility of dynamic structure and the identification of conformational species in solution state.

ESR Study of Interfacial Hydration Layers of Polypeptides in Water-Filled Nanochannels and in Vitrified Bulk Solvents

There is considerable evidence for the essential role of surface water in protein function and structure. However, it is unclear to what extent the hydration water and protein are coupled and interact with each other. Here, we show by ESR experiments (cw, DEER, ESEEM, and ESE techniques) with spin-labeling and nanoconfinement techniques that the vitrified hydration layers can be evidently recognized in the ESR spectra, providing nanoscale understanding for the biological interfacial water. Two peptides of different secondary structures and lengths are studied in vitrified bulk solvents and in water-filled nanochannels of different pore diameter (6.1∼7.6 nm). The existence of surface hydration and bulk shells are demonstrated. Water in the immediate vicinity of the nitroxide label (within the van der Waals contacts, ∼0.35 nm) at the water-peptide interface is verified to be non-crystalline at 50 K, and the water accessibility changes little with the nanochannel dimension. Nevertheless, this water accessibility for the nanochannel cases is only half the value for the bulk solvent, even though the peptide structures remain largely the same as those immersed in the bulk solvents. On the other hand, the hydration density in the range of ∼2 nm from the nitroxide spin increases substantially with decreasing pore size, as the density for the largest pore size (7.6 nm) is comparable to that for the bulk solvent. The results demonstrate that while the peptides are confined but structurally unaltered in the nanochannels, their surrounding water exhibits density heterogeneity along the peptide surface normal. The causes and implications, especially those involving the interactions between the first hydration water and peptides, of these observations are discussed. Spin-label ESR techniques are proven useful for studying the structure and influences of interfacial hydration.

Slow spontaneous α-to-β structural conversion in a non-denaturing neutral condition reveals the intrinsically disordered property of the disulfide-reduced recombinant mouse prion protein.

In prion diseases, the normal prion protein is transformed by an unknown mechanism from a mainly α-helical structure to a β-sheet-rich, disease-related isomer. In this study, we surprisingly found that a slow, spontaneous α-to-coil-to-β transition could be monitored by circular dichroism spectroscopy in one full-length mouse recombinant prion mutant protein, denoted S132C/N181C, in which the endogenous cysteines C179 and C214 were replaced by Ala and S132 and N181 were replaced by Cys, during incubation in a non-denaturing neutral buffer. No denaturant was required to destabilize the native state for the conversion. The product after this structural conversion is toxic β-oligomers with high fluorescence intensity when binding with thioflavin T. Site-directed spin-labeling ESR data suggested that the structural conversion involves the unfolding of helix 2. After examining more protein mutants, it was found that the spontaneous structural conversion is due to the disulfide-deletion (C to A mutations). The recombinant wild-type mouse prion protein could also be transformed into β-oligomers and amyloid fibrils simply by dissolving and incubating the protein in 0.5 mM NaOAc (pH 7) and 1 mM DTT at 25°C with no need of adding any denaturant to destabilize the prion protein. Our findings indicate the important role of disulfide bond reduction on the structural conversion of the recombinant prion protein, and highlight the special “intrinsically disordered” conformational character of the recombinant prion protein.

NMR characterization of the electrostatic interaction of the basic residues in HDGF and FGF2 during heparin binding

Electrostatic interaction is a major driving force in the binding of proteins to highly acidic glycosaminoglycan, such as heparin. Although NMR backbone chemical shifts have generally been used to identify the heparin-binding site on a protein, however, there is no correlation between the binding free energies and the perturbed backbone chemical shifts for individual residues. The binding event occurs at the end of a side chain of basic residue, and does not require causing significant alterations in the backbone environment at a distance of multiple bonds. We used the H2CN NMR pulse sequence to detect heparin binding through the side-chain resonances Hε-Cε-Nζ of Lys and Hδ-Cδ-Nε of Arg in the two proteins of hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2). H2CN titration experiments revealed chemical shift perturbations in the side chains, which were correlated with the free energy changes in various mutants. The residues K19 in HDGF and K125 in FGF2 demonstrated the most significant perturbations, consistent with our previous observation that the two residues are crucial for binding. The result suggests that H2CN NMR provides a precise evaluation for the electrostatic interactions. The discrepancy observed between backbone and side chain chemical shifts is correlated to the solvent accessibility of residues that the K19 and K125 backbones are highly buried with the restricted backbone conformation and are not strongly affected by the events at the end of the side chains.