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Abstract: Excess light causes damage to the photosynthetic apparatus of plants and algae primarily via reactive oxygen species. Singlet oxygen can be formed by interaction of chlorophyll (Chl) triplet states, especially in the Photosystem II reaction center, with oxygen. Whether Chls in the light-harvesting antenna complexes play direct role in oxidative photodamage is less clear. In this work, light-induced photobleaching of Chls in the major trimeric light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) is investigated in different molecular environments – protein aggregates, embedded in detergent micelles or in reconstituted membranes (proteoliposomes). The effects of intense light treatment were analyzed by absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopy, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence and EPR spectroscopy. The rate and quantum yield of photobleaching was estimated from the light-induced Chl absorption changes. Photobleaching occurred mainly in Chl a and was accompanied by strong fluorescence quenching of the remaining unbleached Chls. The rate of photobleaching increased by 140% when LHCII was embedded in lipid membranes, compared to detergent-solubilized LHCII. Removing oxygen from the medium or adding antioxidants largely suppressed the bleaching, confirming its oxidative mechanism. Singlet oxygen formation was monitored by EPR spectroscopy using spin traps and spin labels to detect singlet oxygen directly and indirectly, respectively. The quantum yield of Chl a photobleaching in membranes and detergent was found to be 3.4 × 10–5 and 1.4 × 10–5, respectively. These values compare well with the yields of ROS production estimated from spin-trap EPR spectroscopy (around 4 × 10–5 and 2 × 10–5). A kinetic model is proposed, quantifying the generation of Chl and carotenoid triplet states and singlet oxygen. The high quantum yield of photobleaching, especially in the lipid membrane, suggest that direct photodamage of the antenna occurs with rates relevant to photoinhibition in vivo. The results represent further evidence that the molecular environment of LHCII has profound impact on its functional characteristics, including, among others, the susceptibility to photodamage.

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Abstract: Lipidic bicelles have been widely used for the analysis of integral membrane proteins where their spontaneous alignment in an magnetic field has been exploited for oriented sample solid-state NMR studies. Many of their physical properties however make them well suited to the analysis of membrane proteins by circular dichroism (CD) and synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD). In this paper we have identified bicelle compositions that permit comparable studies of integral membrane proteins by solid-state NMR, CD, and SRCD; complementary methods that can provide insights into protein structure and the interactions with drugs and other small molecules. Furthermore we have been able to identify bicelle compositions that allow the magnetic alignment of the bicelles at fields routinely available in magnetic CD instruments. This potentially provides a route to the preparation of samples for oriented CD that mitigates many of the issues associated with the preparation of mechanically aligned samples, although we demonstrate that the dynamics present within the system can complicate the analysis of such spectra.

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Abstract: Dedicated chemistries for on-demand capture and release of biomolecules at the solid–liquid interface are required for applications in drug delivery, for the synthesis of switchable surfaces used in analytical devices and for the assembly of next-generation biomaterials with complex architectures and functions. Here we report the engineering of a binary self-assembling polypeptide system for reversible protein capture, immobilisation and controlled thermo-responsive release from a solid surface. The first element of the binary system is a universal protein substrate immobilised on a solid surface. This protein is bio-inspired by the neuronal SNAP25, which is the protein involved in the docking and fusion of synaptic vesicles to the synaptic membrane. The second element is an artificial chimeric protein engineered to include distinct domains from three different proteins: Syntaxin, VAMP and SNAP25. These native proteins constitute the machinery dedicated to vesicle trafficking in eukaryotes. We removed approximately 70% of native protein sequence from these proteins and constructed a protein chimera capable of high affinity interaction and self-assembly with immobilised substrate. The interaction of the two parts of the engineered protein complex is strong but fully-reversible and therefore the chimera can be recombinantly fused as a tag to a protein of interest, to allow spontaneous assembly and stimuli-sensitive release from the surface upon heating at a predetermined temperature. Two thermo-responsive tags are reported: the first presents remarkable thermal stability with melting temperature of the order of 80 °C; the second disassembles at a substantially lower temperature of about 45 °C. The latter is a promising candidate for remote-controlled localised delivery of therapeutic proteins, as physiologically tolerable local increase of temperatures in the 40–45 °C range can be achieved using magnetic fields, infra-red light or focused ultrasound. Importantly, these two novel polypeptides provide a broader blueprint for the engineering of future functional proteins with predictable folding and response to external stimuli.

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Abstract: Conjugation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with biologically relevant molecules underpins many applications in medicine and biochemistry. Immobilization of functional proteins on AuNPs often affects protein structure and function. Such effects are protein dependent and require thorough investigation using suitable quantitative tests. Good experimental design and the use of a comprehensive set of control samples are essential when characterizing the consequences of protein immobilization and its effect on protein structure and function. However, traditional approaches to making control samples, that is, immobilized protein versus protein in solution in absence of any nanoparticles, do not provide sufficiently identical reaction conditions and complicate interpretation of the results. Accurate quantification of protein conjugation to AuNPs and ensuring complete removal of unconjugated protein remain the two key challenges in such functional assays. This report describes a simple and straightforward procedure allowing for quantitative analysis of protein conjugation to AuNPs. The principles are illustrated using fluorescence and circular dichroism measurements, and can be applied to other analytical techniques or be adapted with minor modifications for use with other proteins.

Open Access

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Abstract: The eye lens is mainly composed of the highly ordered water-soluble (WS) proteins named crystallins. The aggregation and insolubilization of these proteins lead to progressive lens opacification until cataract onset. Although this is a well-known disease, the mechanism of eye lens protein aggregation is not well understood; however, one of the recognized causes of proteins modification is related to the exposure to UV light. For this reason, the spectroscopic properties of WS lens proteins and their stability to UV irradiation have been evaluated by different biophysical methods including synchrotron radiation circular dichroism, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopies. Moreover, dynamic light scattering, gel electrophoresis, transmission electron microscopy, and protein digestion followed by tandem LC–MS/MS analysis were used to study the morphological and structural changes in protein aggregates induced by exposure to UV light. Our results clearly indicated that the exposure to UV radiation modified the protein conformation, inducing a loss of ordered structure and aggregation. Furthermore, we confirmed that these changes were attributable to the generation of reactive oxygen species due to the irradiation of the protein sample. This approach, involving the photodenaturation of proteins, provides a benchmark in high-throughput screening of small molecules suitable to prevent protein denaturation and aggregation.