Analysis of 15N–1H NMR Relaxation in Proteins by a Combined Experimental and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Approach: Picosecond–Nanosecond Dynamics of the Rho GTPase Binding Domain of Plexin-B1 in the Dimeric State Indicates Allosteric PathwaysClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Mirco Zerbetto
- Ross Anderson
- Sabine Bouguet-Bonnet
- Mariano Rech
- Liqun Zhang
- Eva Meirovitch
- Antonino Polimeno
- Matthias Buck
Abstract

We investigate picosecond–nanosecond dynamics of the Rho-GTPase Binding Domain (RBD) of plexin-B1, which plays a key role in plexin-mediated cell signaling. Backbone 15N relaxation data of the dimeric RBD are analyzed with the model-free (MF) method, and with the slowly relaxing local structure/molecular dynamics (SRLS-MD) approach. Independent analysis of the MD trajectories, based on the MF paradigm, is also carried out. MF is a widely popular and simple method, SRLS is a general approach, and SRLS-MD is an integrated approach we developed recently. Corresponding parameters from the RBD dimer, a previously studied RBD monomer mutant, and the previously studied complex of the latter with the GTPase Rac1, are compared. The L2, L3, and L4 loops of the plexin-B1 RBD are involved in interactions with other plexin domains, GTPase binding, and RBD dimerization, respectively. Peptide groups in the loops of both the monomeric and dimeric RBD are found to experience weak and moderately asymmetric local ordering centered approximately at the Ci–1α–Ciα axes, and nanosecond backbone motion. Peptide groups in the α-helices and the β-strands of the dimer (the β-strands of the monomer) experience strong and highly asymmetric local ordering centered approximately at the Ci–1α–Ciα axes (N–H bonds). N–H fluctuations occur on the picosecond time scale. An allosteric pathway for GTPase binding, providing new insights into plexin function, is delineated.
Cited By
Smart citations by scite.ai include citation statements extracted from the full text of the citing article. The number of the statements may be higher than the number of citations provided by ACS Publications if one paper cites another multiple times or lower if scite has not yet processed some of the citing articles.
This article is cited by 26 publications.
- Yaron Pshetitsky, Netanel Mendelman, Matthias Buck, Eva Meirovitch. Local Structures in Proteins from Microsecond Molecular Dynamics Simulations: A Symmetry-Based Perspective. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2024, 128
(7)
, 1557-1572. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06741
- Yaron Pshetitsky, Matthias Buck, Eva Meirovitch. Local Structures in Proteins from Microsecond Molecular Dynamics Simulations: 2. The Role of Symmetry in GTPase Binding and Dimer Formation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2024, 128
(7)
, 1573-1585. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06745
- Yaron Pshetitsky, Netanel Mendelman, Zhenlu Li, Mirco Zerbetto, Matthias Buck, Eva Meirovitch. Microsecond MD Simulations of the Plexin-B1 RBD: N–H Probability Density as Descriptor of Structural Dynamics, Dimerization-Related Conformational Entropy, and Transient Dimer Asymmetry. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2022, 126
(34)
, 6396-6407. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c03431
- Netanel Mendelman, Yaron Pshetitsky, Zhenlu Li, Mirco Zerbetto, Matthias Buck, Eva Meirovitch. Microsecond MD Simulations of the Plexin-B1 RBD: 2. N–H Probability Densities and Conformational Entropy in Ligand-Free, Rac1-Bound, and Dimer RBD. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2022, 126
(34)
, 6408-6418. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c03435
- Netanel Mendelman, Eva Meirovitch. Structural Dynamics from NMR Relaxation by SRLS Analysis: Local Geometry, Potential Energy Landscapes, and Spectral Densities. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2021, 125
(23)
, 6130-6143. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c02502
- Netanel Mendelman, Mirco Zerbetto, Matthias Buck, Eva Meirovitch. Conformational Entropy from Mobile Bond Vectors in Proteins: A Viewpoint that Unifies NMR Relaxation Theory and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Approaches. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2020, 124
(42)
, 9323-9334. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c05846
- Netanel Mendelman, Eva Meirovitch. Conformational Entropy from Restricted Bond-Vector Motion in Proteins: The Symmetry of the Local Restrictions and Relation to NMR Relaxation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2020, 124
(21)
, 4284-4292. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c02662
- Netanel Mendelman, Mirco Zerbetto, Matthias Buck, Eva Meirovitch. Local Ordering at the N–H Sites of the Rho GTPase Binding Domain of Plexin-B1: Impact of Dimerization. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2019, 123
(38)
, 8019-8033. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b05905
- Oren Tchaicheeyan, Netanel Mendelman, Mirco Zerbetto, Eva Meirovitch. Local Ordering at Mobile Sites in Proteins: Combining Perspectives from NMR Relaxation and Molecular Dynamics. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2019, 123
(13)
, 2745-2755. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b10801
- Mirco Zerbetto and Eva Meirovitch . 15N–H-Related Conformational Entropy Changes Entailed By Plexin-B1 RBD Dimerization: Combined Molecular Dynamics/NMR Relaxation Approach. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2017, 121
(14)
, 3007-3015. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b01079
- Liqun Zhang and Matthias Buck . Molecular Dynamics Simulations Reveal Isoform Specific Contact Dynamics between the Plexin Rho GTPase Binding Domain (RBD) and Small Rho GTPases Rac1 and Rnd1. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2017, 121
(7)
, 1485-1498. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b11022
- Stephen Boulton and Giuseppe Melacini . Advances in NMR Methods To Map Allosteric Sites: From Models to Translation. Chemical Reviews 2016, 116
(11)
, 6267-6304. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00718
- Oren Tchaicheeyan, Jack H. Freed, and Eva Meirovitch . Local Ordering at Mobile Sites in Proteins from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxation: The Role of Site Symmetry. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2016, 120
(11)
, 2886-2898. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b00524
- Eva Meirovitch, Zhichun Liang, and Jack H. Freed . Protein Dynamics in the Solid State from 2H NMR Line Shape Analysis: A Consistent Perspective. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2015, 119
(7)
, 2857-2868. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp511386b
- Liqun Zhang, Thomas Centa, and Matthias Buck . Structure and Dynamics Analysis on Plexin-B1 Rho GTPase Binding Domain as a Monomer and Dimer. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2014, 118
(26)
, 7302-7311. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp503668k
- Manoj Kumar Pandey, Subramanian Vivekanandan, Shivani Ahuja, Rui Huang, Sang-Choul Im, Lucy Waskell, and Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy . Cytochrome-P450–Cytochrome-b5 Interaction in a Membrane Environment Changes 15N Chemical Shift Anisotropy Tensors. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2013, 117
(44)
, 13851-13860. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp4086206
- Guowei Yin, Guohua Lv, Jerry Zhang, Hongmei Jiang, Tianqi Lai, Yushan Yang, Yong Ren, Jing Wang, Chenju Yi, Hao Chen, Yun Huang, Chaoni Xiao. Early-stage structure-based drug discovery for small GTPases by NMR spectroscopy. Pharmacology & Therapeutics 2022, 236 , 108110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2022.108110
- Zhen-lu Li, Carla Mattos, Matthias Buck. Computational studies of the principle of dynamic-change-driven protein interactions. Structure 2022, 30
(6)
, 909-916.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2022.03.008
- Matthias Buck. Membrane Proteins | The Plexin Family of Transmembrane Receptors. 2021, 594-610. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819460-7.00345-5
- Timothy Crawley, Arthur G. Palmer III. Bootstrap aggregation for model selection in the model-free formalism. Magnetic Resonance 2021, 2
(1)
, 251-264. https://doi.org/10.5194/mr-2-251-2021
- Gerald M. Carlson, Aron W. Fenton. What Mutagenesis Can and Cannot Reveal About Allostery. Biophysical Journal 2016, 110
(9)
, 1912-1923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2016.03.021
- Nina Pastor, Carlos Amero. Information flow and protein dynamics: the interplay between nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Frontiers in Plant Science 2015, 6 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00306
- Liqun Zhang, Anton Polyansky, Matthias Buck, . Modeling Transmembrane Domain Dimers/Trimers of Plexin Receptors: Implications for Mechanisms of Signal Transmission across the Membrane. PLOS ONE 2015, 10
(4)
, e0121513. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121513
- Diego U. Ferreiro, Elizabeth A. Komives, Peter G. Wolynes. Frustration in biomolecules. Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics 2014, 47
(4)
, 285-363. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033583514000092
- Eva Meirovitch. The Slowly Relaxing Local Structure Perspective of Protein Dynamics by NMR Relaxation. Israel Journal of Chemistry 2014, 54
(1-2)
, 47-59. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijch.201300090
- Yury E. Shapiro, Eva Meirovitch. The time correlation function perspective of NMR relaxation in proteins. The Journal of Chemical Physics 2013, 139
(8)
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4818877
Article Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.
Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.
The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated.