The machinery used by the cell to perform essential biological processes is made up of large molecular assemblies. One such complex, the proteasome, is the central molecular machine for removal of damaged and misfolded proteins from the cell. Here we show that for the 670-kilodalton 20S proteasome core particle it is possible to overcome the molecular weight limitations that have traditionally hampered quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy studies of such large systems. This is achieved by using an isotope labelling scheme where isoleucine, leucine and valine methyls are protonated in an otherwise highly deuterated background in concert with experiments that preserve the lifetimes of the resulting NMR signals. The methodology has been applied to the 20S core particle to reveal functionally important motions and interactions by recording spectra on complexes with molecular weights of up to a megadalton. Our results establish that NMR spectroscopy can provide detailed insight into supra-molecular structures over an order of magnitude larger than those routinely studied using methodology that is generally applicable.

The essential splicing factors SF1 and U2AF play an important role in the recognition of the pre-mRNA 3' splice site during early spliceosome assembly. The structure of the C-terminal RRM (RRM3) of human U2AF(65) complexed to an N-terminal peptide of SF1 reveals an extended negatively charged helix A and an additional helix C. Helix C shields the potential RNA binding surface. SF1 binds to the opposite, helical face of RRM3. It inserts a conserved tryptophan into a hydrophobic pocket between helices A and B in a way that strikingly resembles part of the molecular interface in the U2AF heterodimer. This molecular recognition establishes a paradigm for protein binding by a subfamily of noncanonical RRMs.

During spliceosome assembly, splicing factor 1 (SF1) specifically recognizes the intron branch point sequence (BPS) UACUAAC in the pre-mRNA transcripts. We show that the KH-QUA2 region of SF1 defines an enlarged KH (hn RNP K) fold which is necessary and sufficient for BPS binding. The 3' part of the BPS (UAAC), including the conserved branch point adenosine (underlined), is specifically recognized in a hydrophobic cleft formed by the Gly-Pro-Arg-Gly motif and the variable loop of the KH domain. The QUA2 region recognizes the 5' nucleotides of the BPS (ACU). The branch point adenosine acting as the nucleophile in the first biochemical step of splicing is deeply buried. BPS RNA recognition suggests how SF1 may facilitate subsequent formation of the prespliceosomal complex A.

The proteasome catalyzes the majority of protein degradation in the cell and plays an integral role in cellular homeostasis. Control over proteolysis by the 20S core-particle (CP) proteasome is achieved by gated access of substrate; thus, an understanding of the molecular mechanism by which these gates regulate substrate entry is critical. We used methyl-transverse relaxation optimized nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to show that the amino-terminal residues that compose the gates of the alpha subunits of the Thermoplasma acidophilum proteasome are highly dynamic over a broad spectrum of time scales and that gating termini are in conformations that extend either well inside (closed gate) or outside (open gate) of the antechamber. Interconversion between these conformers on a time scale of seconds leads to a dynamic regulation of 20S CP proteolysis activity.

The highly conserved, 300-kDa cylindrical protease ClpP is an important component of the cellular protein quality machinery. It consists of 14 subunits arranged into two heptameric rings that enclose a large chamber containing the protease active sites. ClpP associates with ClpX and ClpA ATPases that unfold and translocate substrates into the protease catalytic chamber through axial pores located at both ends of the ClpP cylinder. Although the pathway of substrate delivery is well established, the pathway of product release is unknown. Here, we use recently developed transverse relaxation optimized spectroscopy (TROSY) of methyl groups to show that the interface between the heptameric rings exchanges between two structurally distinct conformations. The conformational exchange process has been quantified by magnetization exchange and methyl TROSY relaxation dispersion experiments recorded between 0.5°C and 40°C, so that the thermodynamic properties for the transition could be obtained. Restriction of the observed motional freedom in ClpP through the introduction of a cysteine linkage results in a protease where substrate release becomes significantly slowed relative to the rate observed in the reduced enzyme, suggesting that the observed motions lead to the formation of transient side pores that may play an important role in product release. methyl transverse relaxation optimized spectroscopy ͉ protein dynamics ͉ ClpP protease C lpP (1) is a representative member of the family of cylindrical self-compartmentalizing proteases (2, 3) that include the bacterial protein HslV (4) as well as the archaeal and eukaryotic 20S proteasomes (5, 6). The proteolytic active sites of these proteases are located in an enclosed catalytic chamber separated from the cellular milieu. Proteins targeted for degradation are recognized by AAA ϩ chaperones that unfold and translocate substrates in an ATP-dependent manner into the lumen of the protease. In the case of ClpP (Fig. 1 a-c), it is well established that ClpX and ClpA deliver substrates through axial pores into the protease catalytic chamber for subsequent degradation (Fig. 1a) (1,7,8). In contrast, the pathway of product release remains controversial. For ClpP (1, 9, 10) and for the proteasome (11), it has been proposed that the entrance pores might also function as product exit sites. However, this proposal is problematic, because it requires the chaperones, which can bind to both ends of the protease simultaneously, to interrupt translocation to allow product release (12).Recently, it has been shown that the ClpP handle region that forms the main interface between two ClpP rings (Fig. 1b) can be deleted without disrupting the oligomeric state of the protein. Furthermore, the x-ray structure of an A153P mutation of Streptococcus pneumoniae ClpP (13) shows that the mutation causes two turns of helix E to become unstructured. Nevertheless, the mutant protein remains a double heptamer, which suggests a high plasticity for the handle region (Fig. 1d). Here, we used recently develo...

ClpP is a conserved serine-protease with two heptameric rings that enclose a large chamber containing the protease active sites. Each ClpP subunit can be divided into a handle region, which mediates ring-ring interactions, and a head domain. ClpP associates with the hexameric ATPases ClpX and ClpA, which can unfold and translocate substrate proteins through the ClpP axial pores into the protease lumen for degradation. We have determined the x-ray structure of Streptococcus pneumoniae ClpP(A153P) at 2.5 Å resolution. The structure revealed two novel features of ClpP which are essential for ClpXP and ClpAP functional activities. First, the Ala 3 Pro mutation disrupts the handle region, resulting in an altered ring-ring dimerization interface, which, in conjunction with biochemical data, demonstrates the unusual plasticity of this region. Second, the structure shows the existence of a flexible Nterminal loop in each ClpP subunit. The loops line the axial pores in the ClpP tetradecamer and then protrude from the protease apical surface. The sequence of the N-terminal loop is highly conserved in ClpP across all kingdoms of life. These loops are essential determinants for complex formation between ClpP and ClpX/ClpA. Mutation of several amino acid residues in this loop or the truncation of the loop impairs ClpXP and ClpAP complex formation and prevents the coupling between ClpX/ClpA and ClpP activities.

A pair of experiments is presented for measuring intra-methyl 1H-1H dipolar cross-correlated spin relaxation rates in highly deuterated, methyl protonated proteins with significantly improved sensitivity relative to previously developed experiments that measure dynamics via 1H spin relaxation. In applications to proteins with correlation times in the macromolecular limit, these cross-correlation rates are related directly to order parameters, characterizing the amplitude of motion of methyl-containing side-chains. The experimental approach is validated by comparing extracted order parameters with those obtained via 2H and 13C spin relaxation methods for both protein L (7.5 kDa) and malate synthase G (82 kDa), with excellent correlations obtained. The methodology is applied to study Ile, Leu, and Val side-chain dynamics in a 360 kDa "half-proteasome" complex. In particular, order parameters obtained from the WT complex and from a second complex where the proteasome gating residues are deleted establish that the relative levels of dynamics in each of the two molecules are very similar. It thus becomes clear that there is no communication between gating residues and other regions of the molecule involving pico- to nanosecond time-scale dynamics of these methyl-containing side-chains.

Post-translational histone modifications and linker histone incorporation regulate chromatin structure and genome activity. How these systems interface on a molecular level is unclear. Using biochemistry and NMR spectroscopy, we deduced mechanistic insights into the modification behavior of N-terminal histone H3 tails in different nucleosomal contexts. We find that linker histones generally inhibit modifications of different H3 sites and reduce H3 tail dynamics in nucleosomes. These effects are caused by modulations of electrostatic interactions of H3 tails with linker DNA and largely depend on the C-terminal domains of linker histones. In agreement, linker histone occupancy and H3 tail modifications segregate on a genome-wide level. Charge-modulating modifications such as phosphorylation and acetylation weaken transient H3 tail-linker DNA interactions, increase H3 tail dynamics, and, concomitantly, enhance general modifiability. We propose that alterations of H3 tail-linker DNA interactions by linker histones and charge-modulating modifications execute basal control mechanisms of chromatin function.