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Department of Pharmaceutics, Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, California 91320, USA
Reprint requests to: David N. Brems, Department of Pharmaceutics, Amgen Inc., One Amgen Center Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, USA.; e-mail: dbrems{at}amgen.com; fax: (805) 375-5794.
(RECEIVED February 27, 2002; FINAL REVISION June 14, 2002; ACCEPTED July 16, 2002)
Article and publication are at http://www.proteinscience.org/cgi/doi/10.1110/ps.0206202.
| Abstract |
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I1
I2
N; where U represents the unfolded protein, I1 represents intermediate state 1, I2 represents intermediate state 2, and N represents the native state. I1 is characterized as having approximately one-half of the native-like helical structure and none of the native-like fluorescence. I2 has 100% of the native helical structure and most of the trp-118 and little of the trp-58 native-like fluorescence. Thus refolding occurs in distinct stages with half of the helix forming first followed by the remaining half of the helix including the third helix and finally the loop between the first and second helices folds. Keywords: Folding; fluorescence; G-CSF; intermediates; stopped-flow kinetics
| Introduction |
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G-CSF has 174 amino acids with two disulfide bonds. G-CSF is a member of the long chain four-helical bundle structural superfamily of cytokines (Mott and Campbell 1995; Wells and de Vos 1996). The four helices are arranged in an upup and downdown topology, with two long connecting loops between the first and second helices and between the third and fourth helices. The solution and crystal structure of G-CSF and in its receptor complex has been determined (Hill et al. 1993; Zink et al. 1994; Aritomi et al. 1999). The four long helices are contained within residues 1139, 7191, 100123, and 143172. The two long loops contain
20 residues and permit the above topology of the helices. G-CSF contains two trp moieties: one at residue 58 and one at 118. The fluorescence of trp58 is a spectral probe related to the folding of the first long loop and trp118 is a part of the third helix (see Fig. 1
).
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| Results |
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-helices. Fluorescence intensity at 340 nm represents the combined quenching and solvent burial of the local region surrounding the two trp moieties at 58 and 118.
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45% for the faster reaction and
55% for the slower reaction. For increased GdnHCl concentrations within the transition zone of denaturation (between 2 M and 3.5 M) the faster reaction amplitude decreased and the slower reaction amplitude correspondingly increased. The amplitudes of these folding reactions conducted in GdnHCl concentrations of the denaturation transition zone show that the fast folding species was depopulated and converted into slow-folding species. The decreased amplitude of the fast folding reaction reflects the stability of this species to GdnHCl. Figure 5
0.5 M. Analysis of the kinetic intermediate stability curve results in a Gibbs free energy of unfolding of 7.7 kcal/mole, which is 1.3 kcal/mole less stable than the native state.
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Folding kinetics as detected by circular dichroism
The results for the kinetic refolding as determined by circular dichroism at 222 nm are shown in Figure 6
. Refolding in final denaturant concentrations of <2 M GdnHCl resulted in only one kinetic time constant of 4070 msec that corresponded to the fast time constant of refolding observed by fluorescence. For refolding in final denaturant concentrations of >2 M GdnHCl two kinetic time constants were observed that corresponded to the fast and slow refolding reactions detected by fluorescence.
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50% of the expected change in circular dichroism. Thus,
50% of the circular dichroism change was not directly observed, and resulted prior to the dead time of the stopped-flow measurement. For refolding in final denaturant concentrations >2 M GdnHCl, the amplitude for the fast reaction diminished with increased denaturant while the amplitude for the slower reaction increased. The species refolding with a fast time constant was unstable to >2 M GdnHCl and folding proceeded through the slower folding pathway.
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The results of the amplitudes for refolding of the trp replacement analogs were most interesting. Figure 8
demonstrates the refolding amplitude results for the W118F G-CSF analog. With a single trp present at residue 58 and for refolding of <2 M denaturant, 70%80% of the fluorescence detected refolding occurred with the slow time constant compared to 50%55% for the wild-type. Above 2 M denaturant and higher, the minor amount of fast folding diminished and converted to the slow folding reaction. The trp moieties are probes of the local conformation surrounding their environment and the trp 58 moiety predominantly reports the slow folding reaction. Thus, the region surrounding trp 58, the first long loop that connects the second and third helices, predominantly folds during the slow folding reaction.
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30 msec. Above 1.5 M GdnHCl concentration and higher the amplitude of the fast folding reaction diminished and the slow folding time constant increased in amplitude. The species that fold through the fast folding reaction appear to convert into the slow folding form in the high concentration of denaturant. The decrease in the amplitude of the fast folding reaction above 1.5 M denaturant reflects the instability in the fast folding species to GdnHCl.
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| Discussion |
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The kinetic folding results were more complex than a two-state process. At least two exponential terms (kinetic time constants) were required to fit the refolding data. Scheme 1
is the simplest and most consistent explanation for refolding results in low concentrations of GdnHCl (<2 M). Scheme 2
is consistent with the refolding data in higher concentrations of denaturant (>2 M).
![]() | (Scheme 1.) |
![]() | (Scheme 2.) |
Folding reaction U
I1
This reaction step was not directly observed, and was deduced from the circular dichroism detected refolding results. Whether refolding was in low or high denaturant, only 50 to 80% of the expected reaction was observed. For refolding below 2 M GdnHCl,
50% of the expected change in circular dichroism was consistently observed. The total expected change in circular dichroism for any concentration of GdnHCl was carefully determined through comparison of stopped-flow measurements utilizing a mix of unfolded protein with diluents of completely denaturing concentrations of GdnHCl compared to refolding concentrations of GdnHCl. The expected change in circular dichroism in refolding experiments not observed must occur too rapidly to detect by the stopped-flow technology employed. The dead-time of our instrument is estimated at 1 msec. Therefore, in low denaturant
50% of the helical structure was formed prior to 1 msec.
Folding reaction I1
I2
The time constant for this reaction ranged from 20 to 100 msec and corresponded to the faster refolding reaction observed by fluorescence and the observable reaction detected by circular dichroism. The remaining helical structure not formed during the earlier reaction was formed during the I1
I2 step in low denaturant concentrations or in the I1
N step for refolding in high concentrations of denaturant. Under refolding conditions of low denaturant (<2 M) 40 to 50% of the detected fluorescence change was associated with this I1
I2 reaction step. Refolding at denaturant concentrations of >2 M caused a decrease in the amplitude of the fluorescence detected I1
I2 reaction. The loss of amplitude in the fluorescence detected I1
I2 reaction is counteracted by an increase in the amplitude of the slower reaction (Fig. 4
). The decrease in amplitude of the fluorescence detected I1
I2 reaction at high concentrations of denaturant reflects the instability of the I2 species. The loss of the fast-folding species and a corresponding increase in the slow-folding species as detected by fluorescence provides justification for the precursor and product relationship of I2 and N. Figure 5
compares the stability of I2 to N. I2 is 1.3 kcal/mole less stable than N. At higher concentrations of denaturant the refolding pathway proceeds in the absence of the I2 species according to Scheme 2
due to the instability I2.
G-CSF contains two trp moieties. The fluorescent-detected folding results of the analogs in which each trp was mutated provide insight into the I1
I2 reaction step (see Figs. 8,9![]()
). For both analogs the time constants for refolding were similar to the wild type, but the amplitudes for the reactions were different. At low concentrations of denaturant, the W58Q analog had 80% of refolding amplitude in the fast folding reaction compared to 45% for the wild type. This demonstrates that when the single trp at 118 is the only fluorescence probe, then the I1
I2 reaction step dominated, indicating that I1 has predominantly denatured-type fluorescence properties while I2 has mostly native-like fluorescence properties with respect to trp 118. At higher concentrations of denaturant (>1.5 M) the amplitude of the fast-folding reaction of the W58Q analog decreased and the amplitude for the slow-folding reaction increased. Again, this reflects the instability of the I2 species to higher concentrations of denaturant. Close to 100% of all the expected change in fluorescence was observed in the detectable time range for the fluorescence related refolding experiments.
Approximately 50% of the expected circular dichroism change occurred during this I1
I2 folding step. I1 is characterized as having
50% helical structure and denatured-like fluorescent properties. Most of the trp 118 native-like fluorescence was formed during the formation of the I2 state. Trp 118 is located within the third helix, and is a spectroscopic probe for specific folding in this region. Thus, we conclude that the third helix was formed specifically during the I1
I2 folding step. The third helix is part of the latest of the helical segments to fold.
Folding reaction I2
N
This reaction step was tracked by the slow-folding species observed by fluorescence. The time constant for this reaction was 200 sec to 1 sec (Fig. 3
) for low denaturant concentrations (<2 M). At low concentrations of denaturant the amplitude for this slow reaction accounts for
55% of the expected fluorescence change as a result of folding (Fig. 4
). Above 2 M GdnHCl and higher the I2 species was destabilized and folding proceeded predominantly through the I1
N pathway (Fig. 4
) as illustrated in Scheme 2
. As a result of the destabilization of I2 the observed folding eventually slowed to a time constant of 50 sec and the amplitude increased to 100% for the high concentration of denaturant.
The results of the W118F analog provide insight into this reaction. At low concentrations of denaturant 80% of the expected fluorescence change occurred with the slow folding reaction compared to 55% for the wild type. This demonstrates that when trp 58 is the only fluorescent probe, then the I2
N step became more predominate, indicating that I2 has mostly denatured-like trp 58 fluorescent properties.
Below 2 M GdnHCl the circular dichroism detected refolding results showed no change corresponding to the I2
N step. Thus, complete native-like helical structure was formed in the I2 state. The I2 state is characterized by having mostly native-like fluorescence surrounding the trp 118 moiety, mostly denatured-like fluorescence surrounding the trp 58 moiety, and native-like helicity. Trp 58 is located within the long loop between the first and second helices, and is a spectroscopic probe of the folding events of the surrounding region. Therefore, we conclude that the conformation of this long loop was the latest event observed in the folding of G-CSF.
All kinetic refolding experiments were at the acidic pH of 4.0. Under these conditions, G-CSF exists as a monomer, and there is no evidence for self-association of the native state. The refolding results were independent of protein concentration, suggesting that under acidic conditions none of the intermediates participate in aggregation reactions. However, these same intermediates may be populated under neutral pH conditions, and may contribute to the neutral pH aggregation phenomenon. A future step will be to determine the role of the acidic intermediates observed in this study to aggregation at neutral pH.
| Materials and methods |
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Methods
Equilibrium denaturation
Circular dichroism-detected denaturation results were collected on an Aviv 62DS spectropolarimeter at 222 nm. Fluorescence detected denaturation was obtained on an Aviv model ATF 105 spectrofluorometer with excitation at 295 nm. Samples of varying concentrations of GdnHCl were prepared using an automated titration system furnished by Aviv Associates. The system was composed of a Hamilton pump and two syringes that are programmed to deliver and mix specified volumes. One syringe was filled with concentrated GdnHCl (typically
6 M), protein, and buffer. The cuvette contained the same concentration of protein without denaturant. The software calculated the appropriate injection volume, and the second syringe removed an equivalent volume from the cuvette before injection of the first syringe. The entire titration was performed in this manner to facilitate a change in denaturant concentration while holding the volume in the cuvette constant. The starting material in a 1-cm pathlength cuvette contained protein at 25 µg/mL in 20 mM acetate, 20 mM MES, 50 mM Tris, and pH 4. The Hamilton syringe contained the same concentration of protein, buffer, and 6 M GdnHCl. The concentration of GdnHCl was determined by refractometry using a Milton Roy Abbe 3-L refractometer. Between titration injections the sample was stirred and allowed to equilibrate for 3 min before the spectral signal was recorded. This equilibration time has been experimentally determined to be adequate for G-CSF conformational states to reach equilibrium. The equilibrium denaturation transitions were analyzed by the linear extrapolation method of Pace et al. (1987).
Stopped-flow kinetics
The kinetics of unfolding and refolding of G-CSF and analogs were obtained using an Applied Photophysics
*-180 spectrometer. Fluorescence signals were measured with an excitation of 295 nm and an emission cutoff filter of 320 nm. Circular dichroism signals were monitored at a wavelength of 222 nm. All kinetic experiments utilized a 2-mm pathlength and were at 10°C. Kinetic refolding was achieved by first denaturing and equilibrating the protein at 0.6 mg/mL in 4 M GdnHCl, 20 mM acetate, and pH 4 followed by a rapid mixing of five parts of diluent with one part of denatured protein solution. The diluent was 20 mM acetate, pH 4, with varying concentrations of GdnHCl to obtain the desired final concentration of denaturant. Kinetic unfolding was accomplished by starting with native protein at 0.6 mg/mL in 20 mM acetate pH 4 and rapidly mixing of five parts of diluent with one part of the native protein solution. The diluent was 20 mM acetate, pH 4, with varying concentrations of GdnHCl to achieve the desired final concentration of denaturant. Circular dichroism detected curves were the average of at least three individual measurements. A single measurement was sufficient to obtain high quality fluorescent detected curves.
The obtained unfolding and refolding kinetic curves were analyzed using a data fitting program supplied by Applied Photophysics. The kinetic curves were fit to a first-order rate equation containing either one or two exponentials. The double exponential rate equation was:
, where A(t) is the experimentally observed spectroscopic signal at time t, A1 is the amplitude of the first kinetic phase, k1 is the observed rate constant for the first kinetic phase, and A2 is the amplitude of the second kinetic phase, k2 is the observed rate constant for the second kinetic phase, and C is an offset constant that represents the final signal obtained at infinite time. All kinetic rate constants were reported as time constants, which are the inverse of rate constants. Amplitudes were reported as a percentage, which is the value A1 or A2 from the rate equation divided by the total expected change in the spectroscopic signal. The total expected change in the spectroscopic signal was experimentally determined for each denaturant concentration. The total expected change for refolding experiments was the difference in signal obtained by mixing one part of the starting denatured protein solution with five parts of buffer containing the identical starting denaturant concentration compared to the final signal C. The total expected change for unfolding experiments was the difference in signal obtained by mixing one part of the starting native protein solution with five parts of buffer compared to the final signal C. These experiments in which the denaturant concentrations were not altered always resulted in a flat signal. The minimum number of exponential terms needed to fit the data were determined from the goodness of fit, and was deemed sufficient when the residual difference between the data and fit was not improved by adding an additional exponential term to the rate equation.
| Acknowledgments |
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The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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