PART V: PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION Flashcards
What is structural biology?
- the determination and analysis of the 3D structures of biological macromolecules
What does the structure/molecular details of a macromolecule (protein and/or polynucleotide) allow us to understand?
- Chemistry behind the molecular mechanism or role in the cell
What are 7 areas that structural biology can take part in?
- Drug action
- Vitamins and minerals
- Immune system
- toxins and poisons
- Molecular basis of disease
- blood clotting
- Viruses
What two things must be submitted to the PDB?
- Final structure AND experimental diffraction data
What two key things are available from accessing the PDBID?
- The 3D x,y,z coordinates of all the atoms in a macromolecular structure
- the DATA used to determine the structure
In the PDB information file, will the more complex proteins have multiple chain identifiers?
- YES
In the PDB information file, which structures is the B-factor important in?
- Only meaningful in structures determined using X-ray diffraction
what is the B factor an indication of ?
- B factor is an indication of the mobility of an atom (individual atom)
High B factor= protein (atoms) that are _____
Highly mobile
Are atoms on the surface of a protein generally quite mobile?
- YES
Are atoms buried in the core of the protein generally quite mobile?
- NO
- Hardly moving at all
What can be the case if part of the molecule of interest has high B factors?
- the position of the atoms is NOT WELL DETERMINED
- So best to take caution as it absorbs ERRORS
If looking at a protein structure in terms of the B factor areas, what do the red and blue areas mean respectively?
- Red= HOT for high B values
- Blue= COLD for low B values
What type of resolution method for protein visualisation makes up the majority of proteins on PDB?
- X ray crystallography
Out of X ray crystallography, NMR and CryoEM, which one is the most up and coming?
- CryoEM
What are the 10 common questions asked when solving a protein strucutre?
- Where are the alpha helices and beta sheets?
- What residues form the hydrophobic core?
- What is the distance between the two positions?
- What are the backbone angles?
- Is the protein MULTIMERIC?
- Where are the conserved residues?
- What is the surface electrostatic potential?
- Do two proteins have SIMILAR strucutres?
- Where is the active site?
- How does the protein/RNA/DNA function?
What are the 8 steps in Protein structure determination by X-ray crystallography?
- Express/purify the protein
- Crystallize the protein
- Collect diffraction data
- Determine the space group, unit cell dimensions, and number/symmetry of molecules per unit cell
- Solve the “phase” problem
- Calculate an electron density map
- build a molecular model to fit the electron density map
- REFINE the model
In X ray crysallography, what is 50% of the crystal made up of?
- 50% made up of solvent
What are the general steps for obtaining samples for structure determination?
- Clone the gene and INSERT into E.coli Expression Plasmid
- grow E.coli to express the protein
- Extract and purify the protein (multiple steps)
- EITHER CRYSTALLIZE PROTEIN FOR X RAY DIFFRACTION OR DISSOLVE PROTEIN IN BUFFER (at high []) FOR NMR
What is the key to a crystals use for diffraction experiments?
- It is made of repeating units –> repeating in 3 dimensions
Why do we need crystals for X ray crystallography?
- Electrons within single molecule will scatter X rays, however we are unable to measure scattering…
- Crystal contains REPEATING pattern of molecules –> provides a way of AMPLIFYING the signal of the scattered X rays.
What is involved in the X-ray diffraction pattern method?
- Number of diffractions images are recorded as the crystal is rotated
- INTENSITY of each crystal is measured
- Each reflection is given a unique INDEX
What does each black spot in the diffraction pattern represent?
- X-ray reflection that results from the X-rays scattering from electrons about the protein in the crystal
In X-ray crystallography, what are X-rays scattered by?
- The electrons in the crystal
Can we measure the phase angle directly?
- NO
In X-ray crystallography, what is required for each reflection before structure determination can proceed?
- A phase angle
In X ray crystallography, once the reflections are indexed, what happens next?
- Intensity is measured and phase angle determined for each reflection –> then can calculate where the electrons are in molecule–> then displayed as a 3-D contour map
What is an issue with X-ray crystallography in terms of the focusing and what solves this?
- X rays are hard to focus –> bc. machine uses same wavelength (1 angstrom= 1*10E-10 meters) as X rays so resolution can’t be determined
- Crystal structure ‘solves’ this as they are used to ‘mathematically focus’ the X rays
What does 1 angstrom = ?
- 1*10E-10 Meters
What are 4 reasons why we use X rays?
- Will never be possible to visualise X rays using visible light even with the most powerful microscopes
- For an object to be seen ,its size must be at least HALF of its wavelength of the light being used to see it
- Visible light has a wavelength MUCH LONGER than the distance b/w atoms thus USELESS to see molecules
- X rays have a wavelength on the order of bond length, which must be used to visualise molecules
What are 4 typical bonds in macromolecules?
- C-C: 1.54A
- C-N: 1.47A
- C-O: 1.43A
- C-S: 1.82A
What does a smaller value correspond to in terms of Angstroms?
- The smaller the number, the HIGHER the resolution
e. g. 3A is worse resolution than 2A - An even smaller number means that there is sampling MORE OFTEN thus more acctrate
What value does a HIGH resolution correspond to?
- Better than 2A
What does an ULTRA HIGH resolution correspond to?
- Better than 1A
In terms of the accuracy of the protein model on PDB, what is it useful looking up?
- The electron density map
- Will show you how accurate the protein structure is
- Can get parts of a protein that are not as accurate in structure as others
What are the key 3 methods for analysing proteins?
- X ray
- NMR
- Electron Microscopy (CryoEM)
What are the SUPER basic steps for structure determination using X-ray crystallography?
- Crystal
- Data collection
- Diffraction
- Electron density
- Structure
In NMR what units is the frequency given in on the X and Y axis?
- Ppm
What are 3 things that NMR can be used for?
- To study STRUCTRE and DYNAMICS + detecting molecular interactions
- To study peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides and carbohydrates
- Used to SOLVE the structure of biological molecules in solution (up to 25kDa in size EASILY but also up to 100KDa)
Where is the NMR signal derived from?
- The radiofrequency signals of magnetically SUSCEPTIBLE nuclei -> rotate (precess) around the magnetic field
In NMR, what are the nuclei we observe in the study of proteins?
- 1H, 13C, 15N
Out of 1H, 13C and 15N, which one is naturally abundant, and which other two must be prepared in an isotopically rich sample?
- 1H is NAUTURALLY ABUNDANT
- 13C and 15N must be observed by preparing an isotopically rich sample
In the NMR experiment, if there is a small molecule that is spinning FAST, does the signal last for a short or long time?
- Signal lasts for a LONG time
In the NMR experiment, if there is a large molecule that is spinning SLOW, does the signal last for a long or short amount of time?
If there is LARGE molecule that is spinning SLOW –> signal decays FAST so signal lasts for SHORT time (gone before you can measure it) -> this is the limitation of the NMR method
Why can NMR only be used to measure small proteins?
- Because the larger molecules spin SLOW –> this means the frequency will last for a SHORT time (i.e. decay quickly) before it can be measured
In NMR, what does rf mean?
- Rf= Radiofrequency pulse
What is Bo?
-The constant, homogeneous magnetic field used to polarize spins, creating magnetization
What effect does the rf pulse have in NMR?
- Purtubing the net magnetization so it’s no longer aligned with Bo. –> System then returns back to equilibrium
in the context of NMR, which aa has NO NH side chain?
- Proline
In a 2D spectra of NMR, what are protons that are correlated rise to?
- they rise to a CROSSPEAK
In a 2D NOESY spectra (NMR), what is the intesnity of the crosspeak proportional to?
- Proportional to how close the pair of protons are
In 2D NMR (NOESY), what do you have to first work out to then be able to determine the structure of a protein?
- First must work out which pair of protons give rise to a NOESY crosspeak
In 2D NMR (NOESY), if two protons are less than 5A apart, what must be the structural explanation for that in terms of the protein?
- There must be a fold in the protein structure
What does TOCSY do in terms of 2D NMR?
- It is another type of experiment that is a CORRELATION SPECTRUM
- Spots whenever there are COVALENTLY attached protons
Are NOESY and TOCSY for 2D NMR used in isolation or combination?
- Used in combination to deduce which peaks correspond to which nuclei in the protein sequence
What is a limitation of 2D 1H NMR?
- Because of the overlap, it is difficult to assign the spectrum and UNAMBIGUOUSLY identify and measure NOE constraints –> then more sophisticated strategy is required
What is multidimensional heteronuclear NMR?
- When a protein is prepared with isotopic labels and 2D and 3D NMR experiments are conducted–> Allow through-bond connections and NOES to be visualised and measured
- There are SPOTS at the intersection of 3 different fragments –> thus can ASSIGN spectrum (which spot belongs to which aa)
Can multidimensional heteronuclear NMR allow the structure to be derived using the same principles of using NOE and torsional angle constraints?
- YES
What sized protein is Multidimensional heteronuclear NMR employed for?
- Any LARGER protein (but still up to 100kDa)
What are the steps in protein strucutre determination in NMR spectroscopy?
- Express the protein and enrich in stable isotopes (15N, 13C)
- Optimize sample conditions (high conc., soluble)
- Assign the 1H, 15N, 13C signals in spectra
- Collect spectra to identify PAIRS OF ATOMS THAT ARE CLOSE IN SPACE
- Use distance information to calculate a family of structures
- Iterate through previous steps to refine the structural ensemble (i.e. if the computer comes up with the same answer repeatedly, then you can say you have the same structure)
What is the requirement for the sample preparation with X-ray and NMR respectively?
-X ray: Need to crystallize, NMR: Need to dissolve at high concentration
What is the requirement for the data collection with X-ray and NMR respectively?
- Fast (Minutes to hours) and Slow (days to weeks)
What is the requirement for the data analysis with X-ray and NMR respectively?
Solving the phase problem can be slow (otherwise the process for rest is fast for X ray), NMR is relatively SLOW (increasingly automated)
What is the requirement for the result with X-ray and NMR respectively?
- Single strucutre
- Ensemble of structures
What is the requirement for the best resolution with X-ray and NMR respectively?
- Atomic detail (X ray)
- Generally lower resolution than X ray (NMR)
Is there a size limitation with X ray and NMR respectively?
- No size limitation (X-ray)
- Must be <40KDa (routinely)
What other information obtainable does X ray and NMR contain respectively?
- X-ray has binding site information that is available sometimes
- NMR has binding site info, dynamics, equilibrium, kinetics, chemical processes
Which technique would you try first to determine the structure of a protein? (out of X-ray and NMR in general)
- X-ray because the resolution is much higher than NMR
What was the HSQC experiment used to study (also what does it stand for) ?
- Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence (HSQC) exp. is an example of 2D heteronuclear exp. which is used OFTEN to study protein interactions
Where does the HSQC experiment show signals?
- Shows signals at 1H and 15N frequencies of each N-H in the protein (i.e. one for each amino acid backbone N-H)
- Signal for every covalently attached N and Proton
What is the HSQC experiment like for the protein?-
A “fingerprint”
What is an example of how the HSQC experiment can be used?
- Determining which amino acids of the protein RTP (replication terminator protein) are involved in binding its target DNA
Does the HSQC experiment work for every aa?
- NO
- Every aa EXCEPT for proline
In the HSQC titration experiment (with the RTP protein), what did some NH crosspeaks moving indicate?
- Indicated that the electronic environment of the proton or nitrogen had been PERTUBED due to DNA binding
- Interpreted as being DIERCTLY involved in the binding or indirectly pertubed due to conformational change.