Cytosolic Ca2+ and Na+ allosterically regulate Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) proteins to vary the NCX-mediated Ca2+ entry/exit rates in diverse cell types. To resolve the structure-based dynamic mechanisms underlying the ion-dependent allosteric regulation in mammalian NCXs, we analyze the apo, Ca2+, and Na+-bound species of the brain NCX1.4 variant using hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Ca2+ binding to the cytosolic regulatory domains (CBD1 and CBD2) rigidifies the intracellular regulatory loop (5L6) and promotes its interaction with the membrane domains. Either Na+ or Ca2+ stabilizes the intracellular portions of transmembrane helices TM3, TM4, TM9, TM10, and their connecting loops (3L4 and 9L10), thereby exposing previously unappreciated regulatory sites. Ca2+ or Na+ also rigidifies the palmitoylation domain (TMH2), and neighboring TM1/TM6 bundle, thereby uncovering a structural entity for modulating the ion transport rates. The present analysis provides new structure-dynamic clues underlying the regulatory diversity among tissue-specific NCX variants.

• MeSH
• Sodium-Calcium Exchanger * chemistry   MeSH
• Mammals * MeSH
• Protein Structure, Secondary MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Sodium-Calcium Exchanger * MeSH

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) is a well-established analytical technique that enables monitoring of protein dynamics and interactions by probing the isotope exchange of backbone amides. It has virtually no limitations in terms of protein size, flexibility, or reaction conditions and can thus be performed in solution at different pH values and temperatures under controlled redox conditions. Thanks to its coupling with mass spectrometry (MS), it is also straightforward to perform and has relatively high throughput, making it an excellent complement to the high-resolution methods of structural biology. Given the recent expansion of artificial intelligence-aided protein structure modeling, there is considerable demand for techniques allowing fast and unambiguous validation of in silico predictions; HDX-MS is well-placed to meet this demand. Here we present a protocol for HDX-MS and illustrate its use in characterizing the dynamics and structural changes of a dimeric heme-containing oxygen sensor protein as it responds to changes in its coordination and redox state. This allowed us to propose a mechanism by which the signal (oxygen binding to the heme iron in the sensing domain) is transduced to the protein's functional domain.

• Keywords
• Globin-coupled histidine kinase, Heme-containing oxygen sensors, Hydrogen/deuterium exchange, Ligand binding, Mass spectrometry, Protein conformational dynamics, Signal transduction,
• MeSH
• Deuterium MeSH
• Heme chemistry   MeSH
• Hemeproteins * MeSH
• Mass Spectrometry methods   MeSH
• Oxygen metabolism   MeSH
• Artificial Intelligence MeSH
• Deuterium Exchange Measurement methods   MeSH
• Hydrogen chemistry   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Deuterium MeSH
• Heme MeSH
• Hemeproteins * MeSH
• Oxygen MeSH
• Hydrogen MeSH

The limited information available on the structure of complexes involving transcription factors and cognate DNA response elements represents a major obstacle in the quest to understand their mechanism of action at the molecular level. We implemented a concerted structural proteomics approach, which combined hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX), quantitative protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid cross-linking (XL), and homology analysis, to model the structure of the complex between the full-length DNA binding domain (DBD) of Forkhead box protein O4 (FOXO4) and its DNA binding element (DBE). The results confirmed that FOXO4-DBD assumes the characteristic forkhead topology shared by these types of transcription factors, but its binding mode differs significantly from those of other members of the family. The results showed that the binding interaction stabilized regions that were rather flexible and disordered in the unbound form. Surprisingly, the conformational effects were not limited only to the interface between bound components, but extended also to distal regions that may be essential to recruiting additional factors to the transcription machinery. In addition to providing valuable new insights into the binding mechanism, this project provided an excellent evaluation of the merits of structural proteomics approaches in the investigation of systems that are not directly amenable to traditional high-resolution techniques.

• Keywords
• DNA, FOXO4, cross-linking, molecular modeling, protein, protein-nucleic acid cross-linking, trans-dichlorodiamineplatinum(II), hydrogen-deuterium exchange, transcription factor, transplatin,
• MeSH
• DNA-Binding Proteins chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• DNA chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Mass Spectrometry MeSH
• Molecular Structure MeSH
• Response Elements MeSH
• Transcription Factors chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Deuterium Exchange Measurement MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Names of Substances
• DNA-Binding Proteins MeSH
• DNA MeSH
• Transcription Factors MeSH