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1 Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
2 Laboratoire de Chimie Physique des Polymères et Membranes, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
3 BioMade Technology Foundation, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Reprint requests to: G.T. Robillard, BioMaDe Technology Foundation, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands; e-mail: Robillard{at}biomade.nl; fax: 031-050-3634429.
(RECEIVED November 13, 2001; FINAL REVISION January 31, 2002; ACCEPTED February 13, 2002)
4 Present address: IECB, 16 Avenue Pey Berland, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France. ![]()
5 Present address: University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Rd., Houston, TX 77204, USA. ![]()
Article and publication are at http://www.proteinscience.org/cgi/doi/10.1110/ps.4540102.
| Abstract |
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-helical state that is formed upon binding to a hydrophobic solid, and the ß-sheet state, which is formed at the airwater interface. Here, we show that the formation of the ß-sheet state of SC3 proceeds via two intermediates. The first intermediate has an infrared spectrum indistinguishable from that of the
-helical state of SC3. The second intermediate is rich in ß-sheet structure and has a featureless appearance under the electron microscope. The end state has the same secondary structure, but is characterized by the familiar 10-nm-wide rodlets. Keywords: Hydrophobin; circular dichroism spectroscopy; infrared spectroscopy; electron microscopy; structural changes; interface
Abbreviations: S. commune, Schizophyllum commune EM, electron microscopy AFM, atomic force microscopy IR, infrared ATR-FTIR, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy CD, circular dichroism spectroscopy TFA, trifluoroacetic acid PM-IRRAS, polarization-modulation infraRed reflection absorption spectroscopy SDS, sodium dodecyl sulfate
| Introduction |
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SC3 of Schizophyllum commune is the best-characterized hydrophobin and serves as a model for other hydrophobins. During self-assembly, the conformation of SC3 changes and three states of SC3 have been identified (de Vocht et al. 1998) as follows: a monomeric state that is soluble in water, an
-helical state, which is induced in SC3 upon interaction with a hydrophobic solid support such as Teflon, and a ß-sheet state, which occurs after self-assembly at the airwater interface. More is known about the ß-sheet state, which displays a characteristic rodlet pattern when observed with EM or AFM (Wösten et al. 1993; de Vocht et al. 1998).
To understand the process of self-assembly of SC3, the changes in secondary structure and morphology were studied in more detail with CD, IR, and EM. The conformational changes at the airwater interface were followed directly with PMIRRAS. This technique allows the recording of IR spectra at the airwater interface directly and avoids the problem of strong water-vapor bands in the area of interest (Cornut et al. 1996; Boncheva and Vogel 1997; Ulrich and Vogel 1999). The amide I band of the IR spectrum is sensitive to the secondary structure of the protein, and in this way, the conformation of SC3 can be followed during self-assembly. The rodlet formation at the airwater interface was followed with EM to correlate secondary structure changes to changes in morphology.
| Results |
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-helical or random coil structure (Goormaghtigh et al. 1994).
The experiment was repeated in D2O to compare the PMIRRAS with the ATRFTIR spectra reported previously (de Vocht et al. 1998). The first IR spectrum showed that the amide II band between 1500 and 1590 cm-1 had disappeared completely, indicating complete H/D exchange. The same gradual increase of the amide I' band was observed as in H2O, but due to the slow buildup of the initial layer, it was impossible to isolate a spectrum of the intermediate state. However, when the spectra were normalized (bottom, Fig. 1
), it became clear that a change in band shape also occurs in D2O. The relative intensity at 1650 cm-1 (indicative of
-helix or random coil structure) decreased in time compared with the peak at 1624 cm-1 (indicative of ß-sheet). Thus, self-assembly of SC3 at the airH2O and airD2O interface proceeds via a structural intermediate that contains relatively more
-helix or random coil to a final state that is rich in ß-sheet.
The
-helical state can be converted to the ß-sheet state
SC3 bound to hydrophobic substrates, such as Teflon, cannot be removed by treatment with 2% SDS at 100°C (Wösten et al. 1994, 1995). Surprisingly, however, SC3 could be removed from the surface by addition of 0.1% Tween-20 at 25°C and a monomeric state of SC3 was observed, which remained in the supernatant after the colloidal Teflon was spun down (Fig. 2
). In contrast, when Tween-20 was added at 85°C, the SC3 remained bound to the Teflon and the structure changed to the ß-sheet state.
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-helix to the ß-sheet state in the presence of a hydrophobic solid is induced by the combination of heat and detergent. Subsequent cooling of the cuvette to 25°C did not affect the ß-sheet structure, nor the binding of SC3, even in the presence of Tween-20.
This shows that the ß-sheet state of SC3 binds more strongly to the Teflon than the
-helical state (see next section also). In fact, the standard assay for strong binding of hydrophobins, heating for 10 min at 100°C in 2% SDS (Wösten et al. 1994, 1995) also induced formation of ß-sheet structure (data not shown). These results support the hypothesis that the
-helical state is an intermediate state induced by interaction with a hydrophobic solid support, which is then converted to the ß-sheet state by heat plus detergent.
Binding to a hydrophobic surface after assembly at the airwater interface
SC3 self-assembles at the airwater interface into an amphipathic film with the hydrophobic side exposed to the air (Wösten et al. 1994). We studied whether this film binds to a hydrophobic solid with preservation of the ß-sheet structure. To this end, a Teflon sheet was carefully brought in contact with the surface of a solution of 2 µg/mL of 35S-labeled SC3, on top of which the hydrophobin had assembled overnight, and, after 2 min of interaction, the Teflon was retracted. A layer of SC3 had adsorbed to the Teflon that was 85% resistant to extraction with 2% SDS at 100°C, similar to SC3 that had been assembled directly on Teflon (data not shown). In a control experiment in which a fresh SC3 solution was used (i.e., in the absence of an assembled hydrophobin film at the surface of the solution), five times less SC3 adsorbed could be picked up. This procedure clearly allows one to specifically pick up the layer of assembled SC3.
The entire procedure was repeated, but with silanized germanium (contact angle >100°; for review, see de Vocht et al. 1998) as the hydrophobic substrate. After picking up a layer of self-assembled SC3, the ATRFTIR spectrum was determined, before (Fig. 3
, thick line) and after (Fig. 3
, thin line) SDS extraction at 100°C. Both spectra are typical for ß-sheet structure with a maximum at 1630 cm-1. Heating in SDS reduced the intensity of the amide I' band by 20%, but did not affect the shape, showing that the protein can bind strongly to a hydrophobic substrate in the ß-sheet state and that the secondary structure is not affected by the SDS treatment. The spectra are essentially the same as the spectrum of SC3 after vortexing and drying down on a germanium crystal (Fig. 3
, dashed line) and the spectrum of SC3 at the airwater interface as determined by PMIRRAS (Fig. 3
, dotted line), although the peak maximum is shifted by 6 cm-1. Careful examination of the amide II band showed that in the ATRFTIR experiments, the H2O was not completely exchanged for D2O after flushing with D2O-saturated Nitrogen gas. This can explain the difference in the position of the peak maximum of the ATRFTIR spectra compared with the PMIRRAS spectrum.
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| Discussion |
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-helical state after binding to a hydrophobic substrate, and the ß-sheet state after self-assembly at the airwater interface (de Vocht et al. 1998).
Four different pieces of evidence indicate that the
-helical state is actually an intermediate in the assembly process. (1) The intermediate state observed with PMIRRAS during the self-assembly shows a spectrum indistinguishable from that of the
-helical state of SC3 (see Fig. 1
). (2) During the spontaneous self-assembly of alkylated SC3 (see de Vocht et al. 2000), the
-helical state was also observed as an intermediate. In this case, no interface is present. (3) After picking up a layer of assembled protein on hydrophobic Germanium, the ß-sheet end-state was observed (see Fig. 3
), which shows that SC3 can also bind to a hydrophobic solid in the ß-sheet state. (4) The
-helical state can change to the ß-sheet state after interaction with detergent, but not vise versa (see Fig. 2
). From these results, we conclude that the
-helical state, found on a hydrophobic solid, is, in fact, an intermediate state in the self-assembly process of SC3 and that the hydrophobin is arrested in this state at a hydrophobic solid.
Recently, it was shown that the hydrophobin rodlets show many similarities with amyloid fibrils (de Vocht et al. 2000; Butko et al. 2001; Mackay et al. 2001). In general, amyloid fibril formation is induced by conditions that destabilize the native fold of a protein (Chiti et al. 1999). Therefore, it is not surprising that heat also induces a conformational change to the amyloid-like ß-sheet state in SC3. The presence of detergent is required for the conformational transition at the Teflon surface. Possibly, the detergent gives the protein some flexibility and/or mobility, permitting the transition to the ß-sheet state. The resistance of the binding of SC3 to treatment with hot detergent shows that the ß-sheet state binds strongly to the hydrophobic solid. Interestingly, SC3 in the
-helical state can be extracted from the Teflon (in the monomeric state) by incubation in 0.1% Tween-20 at 25°C (Fig. 2
). In contrast, SC3 in the ß-sheet state is not affected by these conditions and can only be removed by use of TFA or formic acid (de Vries et al. 1993; de Vocht et al. 1998). This shows that the ß-sheet state is the most stable state.
ATRFTIR-spectroscopy on a Germanium crystal showed that the ß-sheet layer formed at the airwater interface binds strongly to a hydrophobic solid support with preservation of the ß-sheet state (Fig. 3
). Furthermore, this layer is resistant to heating in SDS. This supports the hypothesis that this ß-sheet state is identical to that of SC3 bound to the Teflon surface after treatment with detergent at 85°C (Fig. 2
). It also confirms that the ß-sheet state is the final state of self-assembly both on a hydrophobic support and on the airwater interface.
The changes in morphology associated with the assembly of SC3 at the airwater interface were followed by EM after transferring the protein film onto perforated carbon film grids, which is known to be the least perturbative transfer method (Brisson et al. 1999). The first identifiable intermediate observed by TEM was a mechanically stable, but amorphous protein layer (Fig. 4A
). On the basis of PMIRRAS experiments, this intermediate would correspond to the ß-sheet state and is now called the ß-sheet1 state. After a few hours of incubation, the typical rodlet layer was observed. Because no changes in secondary structure were observed during the rodlet formation, this state is called the ß-sheet2 state (Fig. 5
). However, it is possible that a reorientation occurs of the molecules within the layer during the rodlet formation. Hence, the accumulation of SC3 in the ß-sheet state at the airwater interface is required before rodlet formation can commence. This is consistent with our observation that self-assembly of SC3 can only occur above a critical concentration of SC3 in the monomeric state (M.L. de Vocht, unpubl.).
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The induction of the ß-sheet state is also important from a technological perspective. For many applications of hydrophobins (e.g., coating of implants, binding to biosensors) a strong interaction with the surface is required. Because the protein binds strongest to surfaces in the ß-sheet state, the induction of this state is important to obtain good binding. We conclude that self-assembly on the airwater interface and on a hydrophobic solid are, in principle, the same; however, in the latter case, the intermediate
-helical state is trapped on the surface, and to be converted to the ß-sheet state, must be exposed to detergent at elevated temperature (Fig. 5
).
| Materials and methods |
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Polarization-modulated infrared spectroscopy
PMIRRAS was used to follow the secondary structure directly at the airwater interface. A total of 16 mL of 2.5 µg/mL SC3 in 50 mM phosphate (pH 7) in H2O or D2O was put into a homemade glass trough, and spectrum recording was started within 30 sec. For D2O measurements, the trough was enclosed in a gas-tight chamber that had been flushed with nitrogen for 1 h before introduction of the sample. The spectra were recorded on a Vector 22 Spectrometer (Bruker, Karlsruhe, Germany) equipped with an external polarization modulation setup. All other conditions were the same as described (Ulrich and Vogel 1999). A total of 2500 scans were recorded at 4-cm-1 resolution. The spectra were apodized with a triangular function and Fourier transformed with one level of zero filling. The spectra were not smoothed. The same solution without protein was used for the background spectra.
Circular dichroism spectroscopy
The secondary structure of SC3 was studied with CD spectroscopy. The CD spectra were recorded over the wavelength region 190250 nm on an Aviv 62A DS CD spectrometer, using a 1-mm quartz cuvette and 1-sec averaging per point with other conditions as described (de Vocht et al. 1998). To follow the changes in the secondary structure at a hydrophobic solid support, SC3 was added to colloidal Teflon and the CD spectrum was determined (surface coverage 9%; for review, see de Vocht et al. 1998). Concentrated Tween-20 was then added to this mixture at 25 or 85°C to a final concentration of 0.1% Tween-20.
Binding of self-assembled SC3
The possibility of selectively picking up a layer of SC3 assembled at the airwater interface was assessed with Teflon-binding experiments, following the procedure described (Wösten et al. 1994). A glass compartment was filled with 2 µg/mL 35S-labeled SC3. After 5 min or 16 h of incubation, the airwater interface was approached carefully with a Teflon sheet of 1.5 cm2 and allowed to contact the water surface for 2 min. The Teflon was retracted and the amount of SC3 bound to the Teflon was determined by counting the sheet in scintillation liquid, before and after hot extraction for 10 min with 2% SDS at 100°C.
To study the secondary structure of SC3 self-assembled at the airwater interface after adsorption to a solid hydrophobic surface, the same procedure was used, but with unlabeled SC3 and a silanized Germanium crystal as the hydrophobic substrate (for review, see de Vocht et al. 1998). The IR spectrum was determined with ATRFTIR, before and after hot-SDS extraction, following the same procedure as described (de Vocht et al. 1998).
Transmission electron microscopy
For transmission electron microscopy, 17-µL Teflon wells were filled with 10100-µg/mL SC3 solutions. Holey carbon film grids (Sjöstrand and Rhodin 1957) were applied to the surface of the wells after assembly periods ranging from a few minutes to 16 h. Assembly was performed in a constant humidity chamber. The specimens were stained with 1% uranyl acetate and observed in a Philips CM120 electron microscope equipped with a LaB6 cathode operated at 120 kV.
| 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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