Efficiency of Water-Soluble Nitroxide Biradicals for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization in Rotating Solids at 9.4†T: bcTol-M and cyolyl-TOTAPOL as New Polarizing Agents.

Nitroxide biradicals are very efficient polarizing agents in magic angle spinning (MAS) cross effect (CE) dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Many recently synthesized, new radicals show superior DNP-efficiency in organic solvents but suffer from insufficient solubility in water or glycerol/water for biological applications. We report DNP efficiencies for two new radicals, the water-soluble bcTol-M and cyolyl-TOTAPOL, and include a comparison with three known biradicals, TOTAPOL, bcTol, and AMUPol. They differ by linker groups, featuring either a 3-aminopropane-1,2-diol or a urea tether, or by the structure of the alkyl substituents that flank the nitroxide groups. For evaluating their performances, we measured both signal enhancements ϵ and DNP-enhanced sensitivity κ, and compared the results to electron spin relaxation data recorded at the same magnetic field strength (9.4 T). In our study, differences in DNP efficiency correlate with changes in the nuclear polarization dynamics rather than electron relaxation. The ratios of their individual ϵ and κ differ by up to 20 %, which is explained by starkly different nuclear polarization build-up rates. For the radicals compared here empirically, using proline standard solutions, the new radical bcTol-M performs best while being most soluble in water/glycerol mixtures.

Insight into small molecule binding to the neonatal Fc receptor by X-ray crystallography and 100 kHz magic-angle-spinning NMR.

Aiming at the design of an allosteric modulator of the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)-Immunoglobulin G (IgG) interaction, we developed a new methodology including NMR fragment screening, X-ray crystallography, and magic-angle-spinning (MAS) NMR at 100 kHz after sedimentation, exploiting very fast spinning of the nondeuterated soluble 42 kDa receptor construct to obtain resolved proton-detected 2D and 3D NMR spectra. FcRn plays a crucial role in regulation of IgG and serum albumin catabolism. It is a clinically validated drug target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases caused by pathogenic antibodies via the inhibition of its interaction with IgG. We herein present the discovery of a small molecule that binds into a conserved cavity of the heterodimeric, extracellular domain composed of an α-chain and ß2-microglobulin (ß2m) (FcRnECD, 373 residues). X-ray crystallography was used alongside NMR at 100 kHz MAS with sedimented soluble protein to explore possibilities for refining the compound as an allosteric modulator. Proton-detected MAS NMR experiments on fully protonated [13C,15N]-labeled FcRnECD yielded ligand-induced chemical-shift perturbations (CSPs) for residues in the binding pocket and allosteric changes close to the interface of the two receptor heterodimers present in the asymmetric unit as well as potentially in the albumin interaction site. X-ray structures with and without ligand suggest the need for an optimized ligand to displace the α-chain with respect to ß2m, both of which participate in the FcRnECD-IgG interaction site. Our investigation establishes a method to characterize structurally small molecule binding to nondeuterated large proteins by NMR, even in their glycosylated form, which may prove highly valuable for structure-based drug discovery campaigns.

Structural changes of TasA in biofilm formation of Bacillus subtilis.

Microorganisms form surface-attached communities, termed biofilms, which can serve as protection against host immune reactions or antibiotics. Bacillus subtilis biofilms contain TasA as major proteinaceous component in addition to exopolysaccharides. In stark contrast to the initially unfolded biofilm proteins of other bacteria, TasA is a soluble, stably folded monomer, whose structure we have determined by X-ray crystallography. Subsequently, we characterized in vitro different oligomeric forms of TasA by NMR, EM, X-ray diffraction, and analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) experiments. However, by magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR on live biofilms, a swift structural change toward only one of these forms, consisting of homogeneous and protease-resistant, ß-sheet-rich fibrils, was observed in vivo. Thereby, we characterize a structural change from a globular state to a fibrillar form in a functional prokaryotic system on the molecular level.

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Provides New Insights into Chromophore Structure in Phytochrome Photoreceptors.

Phytochromes are red/far-red photochromic photoreceptors acting as master regulators of development in higher plants, thereby controlling transcription of about 20 % of their genes. Light-induced isomerization of the bilin chromophore leads to large rearrangements in protein structure, whereby the role of protonation dynamics and charge distribution is of particular interest. To help unravel the inherent mechanisms, we present two-dimensional dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) enhanced solid-state magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra of the functional sensory module of the cyanobacterial phytochrome Cph1. To this end, the pyrrole ring nitrogen signals were assigned unequivocally, enabling us to locate the positive charge of the phycocyanobilin (PCB) chromophore. To help analyze proton exchange pathways, the proximity of PCB ring nitrogen atoms and functionally relevant H2 O molecules was also determined. Our study demonstrates the value of DNP in biological solid-state MAS NMR spectroscopy.

Temperature dependence of cross-effect dynamic nuclear polarization in rotating solids: advantages of elevated temperatures.

Dynamic nuclear polarization exploits electron spin polarization to boost signal-to-noise in magic-angle-spinning (MAS) NMR, creating new opportunities in materials science, structural biology, and metabolomics studies. Since protein NMR spectra recorded under DNP conditions can show improved spectral resolution at 180-200 K compared to 110 K, we investigate the effects of AMUPol and various deuterated TOTAPOL isotopologues on sensitivity and spectral resolution at these temperatures, using proline and reproducibly prepared SH3 domain samples. The TOTAPOL deuteration pattern is optimized for protein DNP MAS NMR, and signal-to-noise per unit time measurements demonstrate the high value of TOTAPOL isotopologues for Protein DNP MAS NMR at 180-200 K. The combined effects of enhancement, depolarization, and proton longitudinal relaxation are surprisingly sample-specific. At 200 K, DNP on SH3 domain standard samples yields a 15-fold increase in signal-to-noise over a sample without radicals. 2D and 3D NCACX/NCOCX spectra were recorded at 200 K within 1 and 13 hours, respectively. Decreasing enhancements with increasing 2H-content at the CH2 sites of the TEMPO rings in CD3-TOTAPOL highlight the importance of protons in a sphere of 4-6 Å around the nitroxyl group, presumably for polarization pickup from electron spins.

bcTol : a highly water-soluble biradical for efficient dynamic nuclear polarization of biomolecules.

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is an efficient method to overcome the inherent low sensitivity of magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR. We report a new polarizing agent (), designed for biological applications, that yielded an enhancement value of 244 in a microcrystalline SH3 domain sample at 110 K.