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Paul D Barker

Publications and source records attributed to Paul D Barker.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

An induced fit conformational change underlies the binding mechanism of the heme transport proteobacteria-protein HemS.

Bacteria rely on their environment and/or host to acquire iron and have evolved specialized systems to sequester and transport heme. The heme uptake system HemRSTUV is common to proteobacteria, and a major challenge is to understand the molecular mechanism of heme binding and transfer between the protein molecules that underlie this heme transport relay process. In the Gram-negative pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica, the HemRSTUV system culminates with the cytoplasmic recipient HemS, which stores and delivers heme for cellular needs. HemS belongs to a family of proteins essential and unique to proteobacteria. Here we report on the binding mechanism of HemS based on structural data from its apo- and ligand-loaded forms. This heme carrier protein associates with its cargo through a novel, partly preformed binding pocket, formed between a large beta-sheet dome and a three-helix subdomain. In addition to a histidine interacting with the iron, the complex is stabilized by a distal non-coordinating arginine that packs along the porphyrin plane and extensive electrostatic contacts that firmly anchor the heme propionate groups within the protein. Comparison of apo- and ligand-bound HemS crystal structures reveals striking conformational changes that underlie a "heme-induced fit" binding mechanism. Local shifts in amino acid positions combine with global, rigid body-like domain movements, and together, these bring about a switch from an open, apo-form to a closed, bound state. This is the first report in which both liganded and unliganded forms of a heme transport protein are described, thus providing penetrating insights into its mechanism of heme binding and release.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed2006

Cytochrome display on amyloid fibrils.

Protein amyloid fibrils can be functionalized by coating the core protofilament with high concentrations of proteins and enzymes. This can be done elegantly by appending a functional domain to an amyloidogenic protein monomer, then assembling the monomers into a fibril. To display an array of biologically functional porphyrins on the surface of protein fibrils, we have fused the sequence of the small, soluble cytochrome b562 to an SH3 dimer sequence that can form classical amyloid fibrils rapidly under well-defined conditions. The resulting fusion protein also forms amyloid fibrils and, in addition, binds metalloporphyrins, at half of the porphyrin binding sites as shown by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopies. Once metalloporphyrins are bound to the fibrils, the resulting holo-cytochrome domains are spectroscopically identical to the wild type cytochrome. The concentration of metalloporphyrins on a saturated fibril is estimated to be of the order of approximately 20 mM, suggesting that they could be interesting systems for applications in nanotechnology.

Amyloid↗
PubMed2006

Macroscopic 2D networks self-assembled from nanometer-sized protein/DNA complexes.

We demonstrate the self-assembly of DNA and DNA binding proteins into two-dimensional networks that are then addressable by sending a second protein to a specific recognition site on the DNA network. These networks cover centimeters in area but can be addressed with nanometer precision. This hierarchical self-assembly of specific DNA protein complexes will be the basis for complex positioning of single molecules in two and three dimensions.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Why isn't 'standard' heme good enough for c-type and d1-type cytochromes?

This perspective seeks to discuss why biology often modifies the fundamental iron-protoporphyrin IX moiety that is the very versatile cofactor of many heme proteins. A very common modification is the attachment of this cofactor via covalent bonds to two (or rarely one) sulfur atoms of cysteine residue side chains. This modification results in c-type cytochromes, which have diverse structures and functions. The covalent bonds are made in different ways depending on the cell type. There is little understanding of the reasons for this complexity in assembly routes but proposals for the rationale behind the covalent modification are presented. In contrast to the widespread c-type cytochromes, the d1 heme is restricted to a single enzyme, the cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase that catalyses the one-electron reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide. This is an extensively derivatised heme; a comparison is drawn with another type of respiratory nitrite reductase in which the active site is a c-type heme, but the product ammonia.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed2004

Effects of heme on the structure of the denatured state and folding kinetics of cytochrome b562.

Heme-linked proteins, such as cytochromes, are popular subjects for protein folding studies. There is the underlying question of whether the heme affects the structure of the denatured state by cross-linking it and forming other interactions, which would perturb the folding pathway. We have studied wild-type and mutant cytochrome b562 from Escherichia coli, a 106 residue four-alpha-helical bundle. The holo protein apparently refolds with a half-life of 4 micros in its ferrous state. We have analysed the folding of the apo protein using continuous-flow fluorescence as well as stopped-flow fluorescence and CD. The apo protein folded much more slowly with a half-life of 270 micros that was unaffected by the presence of exogenous heme. We examined the nature of the denatured states of both holo and apo proteins by NMR methods over a range of concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride. The starting point for folding of the holo protein in concentrations of denaturant around the denaturation transition was a highly ordered native-like species with heme bound. Fully denatured holo protein at higher concentrations of denaturant consisted of denatured apo protein and free heme. Our results suggest that the very fast folding species of denatured holo protein is in a compact state, whereas the normal folding pathway from fully denatured holo protein consists of the slower folding of the apo protein followed by the binding of heme. These data should be considered in the analysis of folding of heme proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Design and characterisation of an artificial DNA-binding cytochrome.

We aim to design novel proteins that link specific biochemical binding events, such as DNA recognition, with electron transfer functionality. We want these proteins to form the basis of new molecules that can be used for templated assembly of conducting cofactors or for thermodynamically linking DNA binding with cofactor chemistry for nanodevice applications. The first examples of our new proteins recruit the DNA-binding basic helix region of the leucine zipper protein GCN4. This basic helix region was attached to the N and C termini of cytochrome b(562) (cyt b(562)) to produce new, monomeric, multifunctional polypeptides. We have fully characterised the DNA and haem-binding properties of these proteins, which is a prerequisite for future application of the new molecules. Attachment of a single basic helix of GCN4 to either the N or C terminus of the cytochrome does not result in specific DNA binding but the presence of DNA-binding domains at both termini converts the cytochrome into a specific DNA-binding protein. Upon binding haem, this chimeric protein attains the spectral characteristics of wild-type cyt b(562). The three forms of the protein, apo, oxidised holo and reduced holo, all bind the designed (ATGAcgATGA) target DNA sequence with a dissociation constant, K(D), of approximately 90 nM. The protein has a lower affinity (K(D) ca. 370 nM) for the wild-type GCN4 recognition sequence (ATGAcTCAT). The presence of only half the consensus DNA sequence (ATGAcgGGCC) shifts the K(D) value to more than 2500 nM and the chimera does not bind specifically to DNA sequences with no target recognition sites. Ultracentrifugation revealed that the holoprotein-DNA complex is formed with a 1:1 stoichiometry, which indicates that a higher-order protein aggregate is not responsible for DNA binding. Mutagenesis of a loop linking helices 2 and 3 of the cytochrome results in a chimera with a haem-dependent DNA binding affinity. This is the first demonstration that binding of a haem group to a designed monomeric protein can allosterically modulate the DNA binding affinity.

Cytochrome b Group↗
PubMed2003

A cytochrome b562 variant with a c-type cytochrome CXXCH heme-binding motif as a probe of the Escherichia coli cytochrome c maturation system.

Cytochrome b562 is a periplasmic Escherichia coli protein; previous work has shown that heme can be attached covalently in vivo as a consequence of introduction of one or two cysteines into the heme-binding pocket. A heterogeneous mixture of products was obtained, and it was not established whether the covalent bond formation was catalyzed or spontaneous. Here, we show that coexpression from plasmids of a variant of cytochrome b562 containing a CXXCH heme-binding motif with the E. coli cytochrome c maturation (Ccm) proteins results in an essentially homogeneous product that is a correctly matured c-type cytochrome. Formation of the holocytochrome was accompanied by substantial production of its apo form, in which, for the protein as isolated, there is a disulfide bond between the two cysteines in the CXXCH motif. Following addition of heme to reduced CXXCH apoprotein, spontaneous covalent addition of heme to polypeptide occurred in vitro. Strikingly, the spectral properties were very similar to those of the material obtained from cells in which presumed uncatalyzed addition of heme (i.e. in the absence of Ccm) had been observed. The major product from uncatalyzed heme attachment was an incorrectly matured cytochrome with the heme rotated by 180 degrees relative to its normal orientation. The contrast between Ccm-dependent and Ccm-independent covalent attachment of heme indicates that the Ccm apparatus presents heme to the protein only in the orientation that results in formation of the correct product and also that heme does not become covalently attached to the apocytochrome b562 CXXCH variant without being handled by the Ccm system in the periplasm. The CXXCH variant of cytochrome b562 was also expressed in E. coli strains deficient in the periplasmic reductant DsbD or oxidant DsbA. In the DsbA- strain under aerobic conditions, c-type cytochromes were made abundantly and correctly when the Ccm proteins were expressed. This contrasts with previous reports indicating that DsbA is essential for cytochrome c biogenesis in E. coli.

Amino Acid Motifs↗
PubMed2003

Designing redox metalloproteins from bottom-up and top-down perspectives.

The design of redox-active metalloproteins has been approached from two different directions. The de novo design approach has recently reached an important stage, at which structural information on several different designed metalloproteins has been obtained. This new information highlights the real challenge of this approach. The alternative approach involving re-engineering of evolved proteins has also made significant advances recently.

Computational Biology↗
PubMed2002

Solution structure and characterization of the heme chaperone CcmE.

The covalent attachment of the heme cofactor in c-type cytochromes is a surprisingly complex process, which in bacteria involves a number of different proteins. Among the latter, the ccmE gene product is known to perform a key role in the heme delivery pathway in Gram-negative bacteria. The solution structure of the soluble domain of apo-CcmE from Shewanella putrefaciens was determined through NMR spectroscopy on a 13C,15N-labeled sample. The structure is characterized by a compact core with large regions of beta structure, while the N-terminal and C-terminal regions are essentially unstructured. The overall folding is similar to that of the so-called oligo-binding proteins (OB fold). Solvent-exposed aromatic residues, conserved in all CcmE homologues, have been found in the proximity of His131, the putative heme-binding residue, that could have a role in the interaction with heme. No interaction between CcmE and heme, as well as between CcmE and holocytochrome c, could be detected in vitro by electronic spectroscopy or by NMR. The data available suggest that the heme transfer process is likely to involve a heterooligomeric protein complex and occur under a tight enzymatic control.

Aspartate-tRNA Ligase↗