Eletsky, A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2021

Validated Determination of NRG1 Ig-like Domain Structure by Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Computational Modeling

High resolution hydroxyl radical protein footprinting (HR-HRPF) is a mass spectrometry-based method that measures the solvent exposure of multiple amino acids in a single experiment, offering constraints for experimentally-informed computational modeling. HR-HRPF-based modeling has previously been used to accurately model the structure of proteins of known structure, but the technique has never been used to determine the structure of a protein of unknown structure leaving questions of unintentional bias and applicability to unknown structures unresolved. Here, we present the use of HR-HRPF-based modeling to determine the structure of the Ig-like domain of NRG1, a protein with no close homolog of known structure. Independent determination of the protein structure by both HR-HRPF-based modeling and heteronuclear NMR was carried out, with results compared only after both processes were complete. The HR-HRPF-based model was highly similar to the lowest energy NMR model, with a backbone RMSD of 1.6 [A]. To our knowledge, this is the first use of HR-HRPF-based modeling to determine a previously uncharacterized protein structure.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2019

Skp1 Dimerization Conceals its F-box Protein Binding Site

Skp1 is an adapter that links F-box proteins to cullin-1 in the Skp1/cullin-1/F-box (SCF) protein family of E3 ubiquitin ligases that targets specific proteins for polyubiquitination and subsequent protein degradation. Skp1 from the amoebozoan Dictyostelium forms a stable homodimer in vitro with a Kd of 2.5 {micro}M as determined by sedimentation velocity studies, yet is monomeric in crystal complexes with F-box proteins. To investigate the molecular basis for the difference, we determined the solution NMR structure of a doubly truncated Skp1 homodimer (Skp1{Delta}{Delta}). The solution structure of Skp1{Delta}{Delta} dimer reveals a 2-fold symmetry with an interface that buries [~]750 [A]2 of predominantly hydrophobic surface. The dimer interface overlaps with subsite-1 of the F-box interaction area, explaining why only the Skp1 monomer binds F-box proteins (FBPs). To confirm the model, Rosetta was used to predict amino acid substitutions that might disrupt the dimer interface, and the F97E substitution was chosen to potentially minimize interference with F-box interactions. A nearly full-length version of Skp1 with this substitution (Skp1{Delta}F97E) behaved as a stable monomer at concentrations up to 500 {micro}M and actively bound a model FBP, mammalian Fbs1, which suggests that the dimeric state is not required for Skp1 to carry out a basic biochemical function. Finally, Skp1{Delta}F97E is expected to serve as a monomer model for high-resolution NMR studies previously hindered by dimerization.

biochemistry↗