Biology subjects

Stollar, E. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Stollar, E. J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

How a highly acidic SH3 domain folds in the absence of its charged peptide target

Charged residues on the surface of proteins are critical for both protein stability and interactions. However, many proteins contain binding regions with a high net-charge that may destabilize the protein but are useful for binding to oppositely charged targets. We hypothesized that these domains would be marginally stable, as electrostatic repulsion would compete with favorable hydrophobic collapse during folding. Furthermore, by increasing the salt concentration we predict that these protein folds would be stabilized by mimicking some of the favorable electrostatic interactions that take place during target binding. We varied the salt and urea concentrations to probe the contributions of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions for the folding of the 60-residue yeast SH3 domain found in Abp1p. The SH3 domain was significantly stabilized with increased salt concentrations according to the Debye-Huckel limiting law. Molecular dynamics and NMR show that sodium ions interact with all 15 acidic residues but do little to change backbone dynamics or overall structure. Folding kinetics experiments show that the addition of urea or salt primarily affects the folding rate, indicating that almost all the hydrophobic collapse and electrostatic repulsion occurs in the transition state. After the transition state formation, modest yet favorable short-range salt-bridges are formed along with hydrogen bonds, as the native state fully folds. Thus, hydrophobic collapse offsets electrostatic repulsion to ensure this highly charged binding domain can still fold and be ready to bind to its charged peptide targets, a property that is likely evolutionarily conserved over one billion years. Statement for broader audienceSome protein domains are highly charged because they are adapted to bind oppositely charged proteins and nucleic acids. However, it is unknown how these highly charged domains fold as during folding there will be significant repulsion between like-charges. We investigate how one of these highly charged domains folds in the presence of salt, which can screen the charge repulsion and make folding easier, allowing us to understand how folding occurs despite the proteins high charge. Supplementary materialO_LISupplementary material document containing additional details on protein expression methods, thermodynamics and kinetics equations, and the effect of urea on electrostatic interactions, as well as 4 supplemental figures and 4 supplemental data tables. (Supplementary_Material.docx), 15 pages C_LIO_LISupplemental excel file containing covariation data across AbpSH3 orthologs (FileS1.xlsx) C_LI O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=104 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/532811v1_fig4.gif" ALT="Figure 4"> View larger version (21K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@185b8eeorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@303c18org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b98532org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d7ce68_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure 4.C_FLOATNO Analysis of domain backbone dynamics. A. 1H-15N heteronuclear NOE of AbpSH3 domain at 0 and 800 mM NaCl. B. Backbone 15N order parameters calculated from Modelfree. Error bars come from the fit. C. Atomic fluctuations of the AbpSH3 domain in no salt, 300 mM NaCl, 800 mM NaCl, and 800 mM KCl simulations. Average standard deviations in the atomic fluctuations (0.2 [A], 0.2 [A], 0.3 [A], and 0.1 [A] respectively) are larger than the difference between the lines. C_FIG

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2021

Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics reveals that a proline-rich signaling peptide frequently samples cis conformations when unbound

Disordered proline-rich motifs are common across the proteomes of many species and are often involved in protein-protein interactions. Proline is a unique amino acid due to the covalent bond between the backbone nitrogen and the proline side chain. The resulting five-membered ring allows proline to sample the cis state about its peptide bond, which other residues cannot do as readily. Because proline-rich disordered sequences exist as ensembles that likely include structures with the proline peptide bond in cis, a robust methodology to accurately account for these conformations in the overall ensemble is crucial. Observing the cis conformations of proline in a disordered sequence is challenging both experimentally and computationally. Nitrogen-hydrogen NMR spectroscopy cannot directly observe proline residues, which lack an amide bond, and computational methods struggle to overcome the large kinetic barrier between the cis and trans states, since isomerization usually occurs on the order of seconds. In the current work, Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics was used to overcome this free energy barrier and simulate proline isomerization in a tetrapeptide (KPTP) and in the 12-residue proline-rich SH3 binding peptide, ArkA. We found that Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics, when combined with a lowered peptide bond dihedral angle potential energy barrier (15 kcal/mol), allowed sufficient sampling of the proline cis and trans states on a microsecond timescale. All ArkA prolines spend a significant fraction of time in cis, leading to a more compact ensemble with less polyproline II helix structure than an ArkA ensemble with all peptide bonds in trans. The ensemble containing cis prolines also matches more closely to in vitro circular dichroism data than the all-trans ensemble. The ability of the ArkA prolines to isomerize likely affects the peptides ability to bind its partner SH3 domain, and should be studied further. This is the first molecular dynamics simulation study of proline isomerization in a biologically relevant proline-rich sequence that we know of, and a similar protocol could be applied to study multi-proline isomerization in other proline-containing proteins to improve conformational diversity and agreement with in vitro data.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

A disordered encounter complex is central to the yeast Abp1p SH3 domain binding pathway

Protein-protein interactions are involved in a wide range of cellular processes. These interactions often involve intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and protein binding domains. However, the details of IDP binding pathways are hard to characterize using experimental approaches, which can rarely capture intermediate states present at low populations. SH3 domains are common protein interaction domains that typically bind proline-rich disordered segments and are involved in cell signaling, regulation, and assembly. We hypothesized, given the flexibility of SH3 binding peptides, that their binding pathways include multiple steps important for function. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to characterize the steps of binding between the yeast Abp1p SH3 domain (AbpSH3) and a proline-rich IDP, ArkA. Before binding, the N-terminal segment 1 of ArkA is pre-structured and adopts a polyproline II helix, while segment 2 of ArkA (C-terminal) adopts a 310 helix, but is far less structured than segment 1. As segment 2 interacts with AbpSH3, it becomes more structured, but retains flexibility even in the fully engaged state. Binding simulations reveal that ArkA enters a flexible encounter complex before forming the fully engaged bound complex. In the encounter complex, transient nonspecific hydrophobic and long-range electrostatic contacts form between ArkA and the binding surface of SH3. The encounter complex ensemble includes conformations with segment 1 in both the forward and reverse orientation, suggesting that segment 2 may play a role in stabilizing the correct binding orientation. While the encounter complex forms quickly, the slow step of binding is the transition from the disordered encounter ensemble to the fully engaged state. In this transition, ArkA makes specific contacts with AbpSH3 and buries more hydrophobic surface. Simulating the binding between ApbSH3 and ArkA provides insight into the role of encounter complex intermediates and nonnative hydrophobic interactions for other SH3 domains and IDPs in general. Author SummaryComplex cellular processes are mediated by interactions between proteins, and to determine how these interactions affect cellular function and binding kinetics we often must understand the protein binding pathway. Many protein interaction domains, such as the SH3 domain, bind to intrinsically disordered proteins in a coupled folding and binding process. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we find that the binding of the disordered ArkA peptide to the yeast Abp1p SH3 domain proceeds through a flexible, disordered encounter complex before reaching a stable fully bound state. The encounter complex is stabilized by nonspecific long-range electrostatic interactions and nonspecific hydrophobic interactions between the peptide and domain. Our simulations highlight the important role of hydrophobic interactions in the entire SH3 binding process: both nonspecific hydrophobic contacts in the encounter complex and specific hydrophobic contacts in the fully bound complex. The encounter complex could be key to understanding the functional behavior of SH3 domain interactions because the encounter complex forms very quickly and the transition to the fully bound state is slower. In cells, an SH3 domain may form an encounter complex quickly and nonspecifically with many potential binding partners, allowing it to search for the correct recognition sequence before completing the binding process.

biophysics↗