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Pandemic influenza A virus (IAV) remains a significant threat to global health. Preparedness relies primarily upon a single class of neuraminidase (NA) targeted antivirals, against which resistance is steadily growing. The M2 proton channel is an alternative clinically proven antiviral target, yet a near-ubiquitous S31N polymorphism in M2 evokes resistance to licensed adamantane drugs. Hence, inhibitors capable of targeting N31 containing M2 (M2-N31) are highly desirable.Rationalin silicodesign andin vitroscreens delineated compounds favouring either lumenal or peripheral M2 binding, yielding effective M2-N31 inhibitors in both cases. Hits included adamantanes as well as novel compounds, with some showing low micromolar potency versus pandemic “swine” H1N1 influenza (Eng195) in culture. Interestingly, a published adamantane-based M2-N31 inhibitor rapidly selected a resistant V27A polymorphism (M2-A27/N31), whereas this was not the case for non-adamantane compounds. Nevertheless, combinations of adamantanes and novel compounds achieved synergistic antiviral effects, and the latter synergised with the neuraminidase inhibitor (NAi), Zanamivir. Thus, site-directed drug combinations show potential to rejuvenate M2 as an antiviral target whilst reducing the risk of drug resistance.

Pandemic influenza A virus (IAV) remains a significant threat to global health. Preparedness relies primarily upon a single class of neuraminidase (NA) targeted antivirals, against which resistance is steadily growing. The M2 proton channel is an alternative clinically proven antiviral target, yet a near-ubiquitous S31N polymorphism in M2 evokes resistance to licensed adamantane drugs. Hence, inhibitors capable of targeting N31 containing M2 (M2-N31) are highly desirable. Rational in silico design and in vitro screens delineated compounds favouring either lumenal or peripheral M2 binding, yielding effective M2-N31 inhibitors in both cases. Hits included adamantanes as well as novel compounds, with some showing low micromolar potency versus pandemic “swine” H1N1 influenza (Eng195) in culture. Interestingly, a published adamantane-based M2-N31 inhibitor rapidly selected a resistant V27A polymorphism (M2-A27/N31), whereas this was not the case for non-adamantane compounds. Nevertheless, combinations of adamantanes and novel compounds achieved synergistic antiviral effects, and the latter synergised with the neuraminidase inhibitor (NAi), Zanamivir. Thus, site-directed drug combinations show potential to rejuvenate M2 as an antiviral target whilst reducing the risk of drug resistance., Author summary "Swine flu" illustrated that the spread of influenza pandemics in the modern era is rapid, making antiviral drugs the best way of limiting disease. One proven influenza drug target is the M2 proton channel, which plays an essential role during virus entry. However, resistance against licensed drugs targeting this protein is now ubiquitous, largely due to an S31N change in the M2 sequence. Understandably, considerable effort has focused on developing M2-N31 inhibitors, yet this has been hampered by controversy surrounding two potential drug binding sites. Here, we show that both sites can in fact be targeted by new M2-N31 inhibitors, generating synergistic antiviral effects. Developing such drug combinations should improve patient outcomes and minimise the emergence of future drug resistance.

Background: Sigma-1 receptor is a ligand-regulated membrane protein chaperone involved in BiP regulation and the ER stress response. Results: The chaperone domain of human sigma-1 receptor is mostly helical with short extended regions. Conclusion: Regions of the sigma-1 receptor chaperone domain implicated in ligand and cholesterol binding can be mapped to separate helices. Significance: A structural framework for delineating sigma-1 receptor BiP and ligand interactions is presented., The sigma-1 receptor (S1R) is a ligand-regulated membrane protein chaperone involved in the ER stress response. S1R activity is implicated in diseases of the central nervous system including amnesia, schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer disease, and addiction. S1R has been shown previously to regulate the Hsp70 binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP) and the inositol triphosphate receptor calcium channel through a C-terminal domain. We have developed methods for bacterial expression and reconstitution of the chaperone domain of human S1R into detergent micelles that enable its study by solution NMR spectroscopy. The chaperone domain is found to contain a helix at the N terminus followed by a largely dynamic region and a structured, helical C-terminal region that encompasses a membrane associated domain containing four helices. The helical region at residues ∼198–206 is strongly amphipathic and proposed to anchor the chaperone domain to micelles and membranes. Three of the helices in the C-terminal region closely correspond to previously identified cholesterol and drug recognition sites. In addition, it is shown that the chaperone domain interacts with full-length BiP or the isolated nucleotide binding domain of BiP, but not the substrate binding domain, suggesting that the nucleotide binding domain is sufficient for S1R interactions.

The integral membrane protein M2 of influenza virus forms pH-gated proton channels in the viral lipid envelope. The low pH of an endosome activates the M2 channel before haemagglutinin-mediated fusion. Conductance of protons acidifies the viral interior and thereby facilitates dissociation of the matrix protein from the viral nucleoproteins--a required process for unpacking of the viral genome. In addition to its role in release of viral nucleoproteins, M2 in the trans-Golgi network (TGN) membrane prevents premature conformational rearrangement of newly synthesized haemagglutinin during transport to the cell surface by equilibrating the pH of the TGN with that of the host cell cytoplasm. Inhibiting the proton conductance of M2 using the anti-viral drug amantadine or rimantadine inhibits viral replication. Here we present the structure of the tetrameric M2 channel in complex with rimantadine, determined by NMR. In the closed state, four tightly packed transmembrane helices define a narrow channel, in which a 'tryptophan gate' is locked by intermolecular interactions with aspartic acid. A carboxy-terminal, amphipathic helix oriented nearly perpendicular to the transmembrane helix forms an inward-facing base. Lowering the pH destabilizes the transmembrane helical packing and unlocks the gate, admitting water to conduct protons, whereas the C-terminal base remains intact, preventing dissociation of the tetramer. Rimantadine binds at four equivalent sites near the gate on the lipid-facing side of the channel and stabilizes the closed conformation of the pore. Drug-resistance mutations are predicted to counter the effect of drug binding by either increasing the hydrophilicity of the pore or weakening helix-helix packing, thus facilitating channel opening.

Dynamic processes are implicit in the catalytic function of all enzymes. To obtain insights into the relationship between the dynamics and thermodynamics of protein fluctuations and catalysis, we have measured millisecond time scale motions in the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase using NMR relaxation methods. Studies of a ternary complex formed from the substrate analog folate and oxidized NADP + cofactor revealed conformational exchange between a ground state, in which the active site loops adopt a closed conformation, and a weakly populated (4.2% at 30°C) excited state with the loops in the occluded conformation. Fluctuations between these states, which involve motions of the nicotinamide ring of the cofactor into and out of the active site, occur on a time scale that is directly relevant to the structural transitions involved in progression through the catalytic cycle.

▪ Abstract Molecular motions are widely regarded as contributing factors in many aspects of protein function. The enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), and particularly that from Escherichia coli, has become an important system for investigating the linkage between protein dynamics and catalytic function, both because of the location and timescales of the motions observed and because of the availability of a large amount of structural and mechanistic data that provides a detailed context within which the motions can be interpreted. Changes in protein dynamics in response to ligand binding, conformational change, and mutagenesis have been probed using numerous experimental and theoretical approaches, including X-ray crystallography, fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), molecular dynamics simulations, and hybrid quantum/classical dynamics methods. These studies provide a detailed map of changes in conformation and dynamics throughout the catalytic cycle of DHFR and give new insights into the role of protein motions in the catalytic activity of this enzyme.

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) has several flexible active site loops that facilitate ligand binding and catalysis. Previous studies of backbone dynamics in several complexes of DHFR indicate that the time scale and amplitude of motion depend on the conformation of the active site loops. In this study, information on dynamics is extended to methyl-containing side chains. To understand the role of side chain dynamics in ligand binding and loop conformation, methyl deuterium relaxation rates of Escherichia coli DHFR in binary folate and ternary folate:NADP+ complexes have been measured, together with chi(1) rotamer populations for threonine, isoleucine, and valine residues, determined from measurements of 3J(CgammaCO) and 3J(CgammaN) coupling constants. The results indicate that, in addition to backbone motional restriction in the adenosine-binding site, side chain flexibility in the active site and the surrounding active site loops is diminished upon binding NADP+. Resonances for several methyls in the active site and the surrounding active site loops were severely broadened in the folate:NADP+ ternary complex, suggesting the presence of motion on the chemical shift time scale. The side chains of Ile14 and Ile94, which pack against the nicotinamide and pterin rings of the cofactor and substrate, respectively, exhibit rotamer disorder in the ternary folate:NADP+ complex. Conformational fluctuations of these side chains may play a role in transition state stabilization; the observed line broadening for Ile14 suggests motions on a microsecond/millisecond time scale.

Correlated networks of amino acids have been proposed to play a fundamental role in allostery and enzyme catalysis. These networks of amino acids can be traced from surface-exposed residues all the way into the active site, and disruption of these networks can decrease enzyme activity. Substitution of the distal Gly121 residue in Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase results in an up to 200-fold decrease in the hydride transfer rate despite the fact that the residue is located 15 Å from the active-site center. In this study, nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation experiments are used to demonstrate that dynamics on the picosecond to nanosecond and microsecond to millisecond time scales are changed significantly in the G121V mutant of dihydrofolate reductase. In particular, picosecond to nanosecond time scale dynamics are decreased in the FG loop (containing the mutated residue at position 121) and the neighboring active-site loop (the Met20 loop) in the mutant compared to those of the wild-type enzyme, suggesting that these loops are dynamically coupled. Changes in methyl order parameters reveal a pathway by which dynamic perturbations can be propagated more than 25 Å across the protein from the site of mutation. All of the enzyme complexes, including the model Michaelis complex with folate and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate bound, assume an occluded ground-state conformation, and we do not observe sampling of a higher-energy closed conformation by (15)N R2 relaxation dispersion experiments. This is highly significant, because it is only in the closed conformation that the cofactor and substrate reactive centers are positioned for reaction. The mutation also impairs microsecond to millisecond time scale fluctuations that have been implicated in the release of product from the wild-type enzyme. Our results are consistent with an important role for Gly121 in controlling protein dynamics critical for enzyme function and further validate the dynamic energy landscape hypothesis of enzyme catalysis.

The twin-arginine translocase (Tat) carries out the remarkable process of translocating fully folded proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane of prokaryotes and the thylakoid membrane of plant chloroplasts. Tat is required for bacterial pathogenesis and for photosynthesis in plants. TatA, the protein-translocating element of the Tat system, is a small transmembrane protein that assembles into ring-like oligomers of variable size. We have determined a structural model of the Escherichia coli TatA complex in detergent solution by NMR. TatA assembly is mediated entirely by the transmembrane helix. The amphipathic helix extends outwards from the ring of transmembrane helices, permitting assembly of complexes with variable subunit numbers. Transmembrane residue Gln8 points inward, resulting in a short hydrophobic pore in the center of the complex. Simulations of the TatA complex in lipid bilayers indicate that the short transmembrane domain distorts the membrane. This finding suggests that TatA facilitates protein transport by sensitizing the membrane to transient rupture.

The influenza A virus M2 proton channel equilibrates pH across the viral membrane during entry and across the trans-Golgi membrane of infected cells during viral maturation. It is an important target of adamantane-family antiviral drugs, but drug resistance has become a critical problem. Two different sites for drug interaction have been proposed. One is a lipid-facing pocket between 2 adjacent transmembrane helices (around Asp-44), at which the drug binds and inhibits proton conductance allosterically. The other is inside the pore (around Ser-31), at which the drug directly blocks proton passage. Here, we describe structural and functional experiments on the mechanism of drug inhibition and resistance. The solution structure of the S31N drug-resistant mutant of M2, a mutant of the highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N1, shows that replacing Ser-31 with Asn has little effect on the structure of the channel pore, but dramatically reduces drug binding to the allosteric site. Mutagenesis and liposomal proton flux assays show that replacing the key residue (Asp-44) in the lipid-facing binding pocket with Ala has a dramatic effect on drug sensitivity, but that the channel remains fully drug sensitive when replacing Ser-31 with Ala. Chemical cross-linking studies indicate an inverse correlation between channel stability and drug resistance. The lipid-facing pocket contains residues from 2 adjacent channel-forming helices. Therefore, it is present only when the helices are tightly packed in the closed conformation. Thus, drug-resistant mutants impair drug binding by destabilizing helix–helix assembly.

To elucidate the influence of local motion of the polypeptide chain on the catalytic mechanism of an enzyme, we have measured (15)N relaxation data for Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase in three different complexes, representing different stages in the catalytic cycle of the enzyme. NMR relaxation data were analyzed by the model-free approach, corrected for rotational anisotropy, to provide insights into the backbone dynamics. There are significant differences in the backbone dynamics in the different complexes. Complexes in which the cofactor binding site is occluded by the Met20 loop display large amplitude motions on the picosecond/nanosecond time scale for residues in the Met20 loop, the adjacent betaF-betaG loop and for residues 67-69 in the adenosine binding loop. Formation of the closed Met20 loop conformation in the ternary complex with folate and NADP(+), results in attenuation of the motions in the Met20 loop and the betaF-betaG loop but leads to increased flexibility in the adenosine binding loop. New fluctuations on a microsecond/millisecond time scale are observed in the closed E:folate:NADP(+) complex in regions that form hydrogen bonds between the Met20 and the betaF-betaG loops. The data provide insights into the changes in backbone dynamics during the catalytic cycle and point to an important role of the Met20 and betaF-betaG loops in controlling access to the active site. The high flexibility of these loops in the occluded conformation is expected to promote tetrahydrofolate-assisted product release and facilitate binding of the nicotinamide ring to form the Michaelis complex. The backbone fluctuations in the Met20 loop become attenuated once it closes over the active site, thereby stabilizing the nicotinamide ring in a geometry conducive to hydride transfer. Finally, the relaxation data provide evidence for long-range motional coupling between the adenosine binding loop and distant regions of the protein.

Signal transduction is essential for many biological processes, such as mitosis, cell regeneration, and muscle contraction. Muscle-Specific Kinase (MuSK) is in a complex with low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4), and upon binding of the substrate Agrin to LRP4, conformational changes of these proteins initiate a signalling cascade, stimulating aggregation of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs), which results the downstream organization of neuromuscular synapses. Mutations and/or autoantibodies against MuSK affects its ability to aggregate acetylcholine receptors, resulting in the disease myasthenia gravis, which is characterised by impaired muscle contractions. Approximately 70% of the structure of the full-length MuSK protein has been determined (consisting of the most of the extracellular domain and the intracellular kinase domain). However, crucially the transmembrane domain has not been characterised, and the structure of the transmembrane dimer that MuSK forms has not been determined. Here we apply a multi-scale MD simulation method to examine at the behaviour of MuSK TM helices in a lipid bilayer vs. a detergent micelle environment. Coarse-grained (CG) simulations, which make an extended timescale readily accessible, are used to examine initial TM helix dimerisation events. Subsequent atomistic simulations serve to refine the model of the interactions observed in CG simulations. These computational studies highlight the effect of lipids vs. detergents on the interactions of the transmembrane helices within the dimer.