No abstract

In this paper, we systematically presented the orientation determination of protein helical secondary structures using vibrational spectroscopic methods, particularly the nonlinear Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy, along with linear vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as infrared spectroscopy and Raman scattering. SFG amide I signals can be collected using different polarization combinations of the input laser beams and output signal beam to measure the second order nonlinear optical susceptibility components of the helical amide I modes, which are related to their molecular hyperpolarizability elements through the orientation distribution of these helices. The molecular hyperpolarizability elements of amide I modes of a helix can be calculated based on the infrared transition dipole moment and Raman polarizability tensor of the helix; these quantities are determined by using the bond additivity model to sum over the individual infrared dipole transition moments and Raman polarizability tensors, respectively, of the peptide units (or the amino acid residues). The computed overall infrared transition dipole moment and Raman polarizability tensor of a helix can be validated by experimental data using polarized infrared and polarized Raman spectroscopy on samples with well-aligned helical structures. From the deduced SFG hyperpolarizability elements and measured SFG second order nonlinear susceptibility components, orientation information regarding helical structures can be determined. Even though such orientation information can also be measured using polarized infrared or polarized Raman amide I signals, SFG has a much lower detection limit, which can be used to study the orientation of a helix when its surface coverage is much lower than a monolayer. In addition, the combination of different vibrational spectroscopic techniques, e.g., SFG and Attenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, provides more measured parameters for orientation determination, aiding in the deduction of more complicated orientation distributions. In this paper, we discussed two types of helices: the α-helix and 3–10 helix. However, the orientation determination method presented here is general, and thus can be applied to study other helices as well. The calculations of SFG amide I hyperpolarizability components for α-helical and 3–10 helical structures with different chain lengths have also been performed. It was found that when the helices reach a certain length, the number of peptide units in the helix should not alter the data analysis substantially. It was shown in the calculation, however, that when the helix chain is short, the SFG hyperpolarizability component ratios can vary substantially when the chain length is changed. Because 3–10 helical structures can be quite short in proteins, the orientation determination for a short 3–10 helix needs to take into account the number of peptide units in the helix.

Accurate determination of protein structures at the interface is essential to understand the nature of interfacial protein interactions, but it can only be done with a few, very limited experimental methods. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy can unambiguously differentiate the interfacial protein secondary structures by combining surface-sensitive amide I and amide III spectral signals. This combination offers a powerful tool to directly distinguish random-coil (disordered) and α-helical structures in proteins. From a systematic study on the interactions between several antimicrobial peptides (including LKα14, mastoparan X, cecropin P1, melittin, and pardaxin) and lipid bilayers, it is found that the spectral profiles of the random-coil and α-helical structures are well separated in the amide III spectra, appearing below and above 1260 cm(-1), respectively. For the peptides with a straight backbone chain, the strength ratio for the peaks of the random-coil and α-helical structures shows a distinct linear relationship with the fraction of the disordered structure deduced from independent NMR experiments reported in the literature. It is revealed that increasing the fraction of negatively charged lipids can induce a conformational change of pardaxin from random-coil to α-helical structures. This experimental protocol can be employed for determining the interfacial protein secondary structures and dynamics in situ and in real time without extraneous labels.

In this paper, we investigated the molecular interactions of Magainin 2 with model cell membranes using Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy and Attenuated Total Reflectance -Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Symmetric 1-Palmitoyl-2-Oleoyl-snGlycero-3-[Phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)] (POPG) and 1-Palmitoyl-2-Oleoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine (POPC) bilayers, which model the bacterial and mammalian cell membranes respectively, were used in the studies. It was observed by SFG that Magainin 2 orients relatively parallel to the POPG lipid bilayer surface at low solution concentrations, around 200 nM. When increasing the Magainin 2 concentration to 800 nM, both SFG and ATR-FTIR results indicate that Magainin 2 molecules insert into the POPG bilayer and adopt a transmembrane orientation with an angle of about 20 degrees from the POPG bilayer normal. For the POPC bilayer, even at a much higher peptide concentration of 2.0 µM, no ATR-FTIR signal was detected. For this concentration on POPC, SFG studies indicated that Magainin 2 molecules adopt an orientation nearly parallel to the bilayer surface, with an orientation angle of 75 degrees from the surface normal. This shows that SFG has a much better detection limit than ATR-FTIR and can therefore be applied to study interfacial molecules with much lower surface coverage. This Magainin 2 orientation study and further investigation of the lipid bilayer SFG signals support the proposed toroidal pore model for the antimicrobial activity of Magainin 2.

Structures of membrane associated peptides and molecular interactions between peptides and cell membrane bilayers govern biological functions of these peptides. Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy has been demonstrated to be a powerful technique to study such structures and interactions at the molecular level. In this research, SFG has been applied, supplemented by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), to characterize interactions between alamethicin (a model for larger channel proteins) and different lipid bilayers in the absence of membrane potential. The orientation of alamethicin in lipid bilayers has been determined using SFG amide I spectra detected with different polarization combinations. It was found that alamethicin adopts a mixed α-helical and 3 10 -helical structure in fluid-phase lipid bilayers. The helix (mainly α-helix) at the N-terminus tilts at about 63° versus the surface normal in a fluid-phase 1,2-Dimyristoyl-D54-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine-1,1,2,2-D4-N,N,N-trimethyl-D9 (d-DMPC)/ 1,2-Dimyristoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine (DMPC) bilayer. The 3 10 helix at the C-terminus (beyond the Pro14 residue) tilts at about 43° versus the surface normal. This is the first time to apply SFG to study a 3 10 helix experimentally. When interacting with a gel-phase lipid bilayer, alamethicin lies down on the gel-phase bilayer surface and/or aggregates, which does not have significant insertion into the lipid bilayer.

Ion channels play crucial roles in transport and regulatory functions of living cells. Understanding the gating mechanisms of these channels is important to understanding and treating diseases that have been linked to ion channels. One potential model peptide for studying the mechanism of ion channel gating is alamethicin, which adopts a split alpha/310 helix structure and responds to changes in electric potential. In this study, sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS), supplemented by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), has been applied to characterize interactions between alamethicin (a model for larger channel proteins) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) lipid bilayers in the presence of an electric potential across the membrane. The membrane potential difference was controlled by changing the pH of the solution in contact with the bilayer, and measured using fluorescence spectroscopy. The orientation angle of alamethicin in POPC lipid bilayers was then determined at different pH values using polarized SFG amide I spectra. Assuming that all molecules adopt the same orientation (a δ distribution), at pH=6.7 the α-helix at the N-terminus and the 310 helix at the C-terminus tilt at about 72° (θ1) and 50° (θ2) versus the surface normal, respectively. When pH increases to 11.9, θ1 and θ2 decrease to 56.5° and 45°, respectively. The δ distribution assumption was verified using a combination of SFG and ATR-FTIR measurements, which showed a quite narrow distribution in the angle of θ1 for both pH conditions. This indicates that all alamethicin molecules at the surface adopt a nearly identical orientation in POPC lipid bilayers. The localized pH change in proximity to the bilayer modulates the membrane potential and thus induces a decrease in both the tilt and bend angles of the two helices in alamethicin. This is the first reported application of SFG to the study of model ion channel gating mechanisms in model cell membranes.

A surface sensitive second order nonlinear optical technique, sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy, was applied to study peptide orientation on polymer surfaces, supplemented by a linear vibrational spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Using the antimicrobial peptide Cecropin P1 as a model system, we have quantitatively demonstrated that chemically immobilized peptides on polymers adopt a more ordered orientation than less tightly bound physically adsorbed peptides. These differences were also observed in different chemical environments, e.g., air versus water. Although numerous studies have reported a direct correlation between the choice of immobilization method and the performance of an attached biological molecule, the lack of direct biomolecular structure and orientation data has made it difficult to elucidate the relationship between structure, orientation and function at a surface. In this work, we directly studied the effect of chemical immobilization method on biomolecular orientation/ordering, an important step for future studies of biomolecular activity. The methods for orientation analysis described within are also of relevance to understanding biosensors, biocompatibility, marine-antifouling, membrane protein functions, and antimicrobial peptide activities.

Amyloid formation has been implicated in many fatal diseases, but its mechanism remains to be clarified due to a lack of effective methods that can capture the transient intermediates. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy can unambiguously discriminate the intermediates during amyloid formation at the lipid membrane in situ and in real time by combining the chiral amide I and achiral amide II and amide III spectral signals of the protein backbone. Such a combination can directly identify the formation of β-hairpin-like monomers and β-sheet oligomers and fibrils. A strong correlation between the amide II signals and the formation of β-sheet oligomers and fibrils was found. With this approach, the structural evolution of human islet amyloid polypeptides (hIAPP) at negative lipid bilayers was elucidated. It was firmly confirmed that hIAPP populates through β-sheet conformers without involving α-helical intermediates. The membrane-associated assembly of hIAPP proceeds by assembling with a β-hairpin-like monomer at the lipid bilayer surface, rather than by inserting the preassembled β-sheet oligomers in solution. This newly established protocol is ready to be utilized in revealing the mechanism of amyloid aggregation at the lipid membrane.