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Science advances 7(22), eabg7653 - (2021). doi:10.1126/sciadv.abg7653, In sarcomeres, α-actinin cross-links actin filaments and anchors them to the Z-disk. FATZ (filamin-, α-actinin-, and telethonin-binding protein of the Z-disk) proteins interact with α-actinin and other core Z-disk proteins, contributing to myofibril assembly and maintenance. Here, we report the first structure and its cellular validation of α-actinin-2 in complex with a Z-disk partner, FATZ-1, which is best described as a conformational ensemble. We show that FATZ-1 forms a tight fuzzy complex with α-actinin-2 and propose an interaction mechanism via main molecular recognition elements and secondary binding sites. The obtained integrative model reveals a polar architecture of the complex which, in combination with FATZ-1 multivalent scaffold function, might organize interaction partners and stabilize α-actinin-2 preferential orientation in Z-disk. Last, we uncover FATZ-1 ability to phase-separate and form biomolecular condensates with α-actinin-2, raising the question whether FATZ proteins can create an interaction hub for Z-disk proteins through membraneless compartmentalization during myofibrillogenesis., Published by Assoc., Washington, DC [u.a.]

The Pictet-Spengler (PS) cyclizations of β(3)-hTrp derivatives as arylethylamine substrates were performed with L-α-amino and D-α-amino aldehydes as carbonyl components. During the PS reaction, a new stereogenic center was created, and the mixture of cis/trans 1,3-disubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carbolines was obtained. The ratio of cis/trans diastereomers depends on the stereogenic centre of used amino aldehyde and the size of substituents. It was confirmed by 1H and 2D NMR (ROESY) spectra. The conformations of cyclic products were studied by 2D NMR ROESY spectra. Products of the PS condensation after removal of protecting group(s) can be incorporated into a peptide chain as tryptophan mimetics with the possibility of the β-turn induction.

The Pictet–Spengler (PS) reaction was performed with various types of substrates: H-Trp-OMe and dipeptides with N-terminal Trp as arylethylamine components and Z-protected amino aldehydes and peptidoaldehydes as carbonyl components. We found that the C-terminal part of Trp derivatives did not have any influence on the stereoselectivity of the reaction and the results are the same for simple esters of Trp and dipeptides. On the contrary, the selectivity of the PS reaction with peptidoaldehydes with L configuration of the C-terminus residue is totally different from that obtained with simple L-amino aldehydes. It allows us to obtain cis stereoisomers, which cannot be isolated from the reaction with amino aldehydes. But the utility of the peptidoaldehydes as substrates for the PS reaction is reduced by the side formation of enamides which decrease the yield of cyclization. Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Pictet-Spengler (PS) cyclizations of β(3)-hTrp derivatives as arylethylamine substrates were performed with L-α-amino and D-α-amino aldehydes as carbonyl components. During the PS reaction, a new stereogenic center was created, and the mixture of cis/trans 1,3-disubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carbolines was obtained. The ratio of cis/trans diastereomers depends on the stereogenic centre of used amino aldehyde and the size of substituents. It was confirmed by 1H and 2D NMR (ROESY) spectra. The conformations of cyclic products were studied by 2D NMR ROESY spectra. Products of the PS condensation after removal of protecting group(s) can be incorporated into a peptide chain as tryptophan mimetics with the possibility of the β-turn induction.

Knowledge of stepwise binding constants for complexes with higher than 1:1 stoichiometry would allow one to study the cooperativity of their formation. However, a detailed analysis of partitioning of the overall binding constant beta 12 determined by NMR titrations for the 1:2 complex of (+)-camphor with alpha-cyclodextrin into the stepwise ones K1 and K2 carried out analogously to published procedures revealed that the partitioning cannot be carried out unequivocally for K1K2. The programs for partitioning cannot be used as a black box and a satisfactory reproduction of the experimental dependence of relative shifts as a function of relative CD concentration should not be the only criterion of the reliability of the stepwise binding constants obtained using such programs.

The 103Rh,15N coupling constants and 15N chemical shifts of XRhIII(Hdmg)2L rhodoximes (Hdmg=dimethylglyoximate, L=PPh3 or pyridine, X=halide, alkyl, haloalkyl) were extracted from gradient-selected (1H,15N)-HSQC experiments. Coupling between rhodium and the equatorial oxime nitrogens is large (18–21 Hz) and shows little sensitivity to the nature of the cis-oriented ligands X and L. In contrast, coupling between rhodium and the axial pyridine nitrogen is small (6–9 Hz) for X=alkyl but increases to 16–18 Hz in the halide complexes (‘trans influence’). The structural implications are discussed in conjunction with x-ray data. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Pictet-Spengler (PS) reaction was performed with various types of substrates: H-Trp-OMe and dipeptides with N-terminal Trp as arylethylamine components and Z-protected amino aldehydes and peptidoaldehydes as carbonyl components. We found that the C-terminal part of Trp derivatives did not have any influence on the stereoselectivity of the reaction and the results are the same for simple esters of Trp and dipeptides. On the contrary, the selectivity of the PS reaction with peptidoaldehydes with L configuration of the C-terminus residue is totally different from that obtained with simple L-amino aldehydes. It allows us to obtain cis stereoisomers, which cannot be isolated from the reaction with amino aldehydes. But the utility of the peptidoaldehydes as substrates for the PS reaction is reduced by the side formation of enamides which decrease the yield of cyclization.

Endothelial and monocyte-activating polypeptide II (EMAP II) is a cytokine that plays an important role in inflammation, apoptosis and angiogenesis processes in tumour tissues. Structurally, the EMAP II is a 169 amino acid residues long C-terminal domain (residues 147-312) of auxiliary tRNA binding protein p43. In spite of existence in pdb databank of two X-ray structures there are some important aspects of EMAP II cytokine function which are still not fully understood in detail. To obtain information about 3D structure and backbone dynamic processes in solution we perform structure evaluation of human EMAP II cytokine by NMR spectroscopy. The standard approach to sequence-specific backbone assignment using 3D NMR data sets was not successful in our studies and was supplemented by recently developed 4D NMR experiments with random sampling of evolution time space. Here we report the backbone and side chain (1)H, (13)C, and (15)N chemical shifts in solution for recombinant EMAP II cytokine together with secondary structure provided by TALOS + software.

An X-ray diffraction study is reported for four molecules of mesoionic 2,3-diphenyltetrazoles. The results confirm a dipolar “mesoionic” structure, aromatic character of the tetrazole ring and no conjugation between the phenyl and tetrazole rings. The geometry of the exocyclic group is discussed in detail. The molecular parameters of the compounds investigated are correlated with13C and15N nmr data. The results obtained are compared with similar structures which have already been studied.

In this review we discuss recent advances in the field of NMR structural studies of proteins. We mention the development of new spectrometer hardware, novel experimental techniques and sample preparation. The approaches improving obtained structures, like analysis of Residual Dipolar Couplings, and enabling studies of large molecules as for example TROSY and CRINEPT are compared. As the most important, achievements in the field of fast multidimensional NMR are discussed in details.