Use of paramagnetic 19F NMR to monitor domain movement in a glutamate transporter homolog.

Publication Type Academic Article
Authors Huang Y, Wang X, Lv G, Razavi A, Huysmans G, Weinstein H, Bracken C, Eliezer D, Boudker O
Journal Nat Chem Biol
Volume 16
Issue 9
Pagination 1006-1012
Date Published 06/08/2020
ISSN 1552-4469
Keywords Amino Acid Transport System X-AG, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Abstract In proteins where conformational changes are functionally important, the number of accessible states and their dynamics are often difficult to establish. Here we describe a novel 19F-NMR spectroscopy approach to probe dynamics of large membrane proteins. We labeled a glutamate transporter homolog with a 19F probe via cysteine chemistry and with a Ni2+ ion via chelation by a di-histidine motif. We used distance-dependent enhancement of the longitudinal relaxation of 19F nuclei by the paramagnetic metal to assign the observed resonances. We identified one inward- and two outward-facing states of the transporter, in which the substrate-binding site is near the extracellular and intracellular solutions, respectively. We then resolved the structure of the unanticipated second outward-facing state by cryo-EM. Finally, we showed that the rates of the conformational exchange are accessible from measurements of the metal-enhanced longitudinal relaxation of 19F nuclei.
DOI 10.1038/s41589-020-0561-6
PubMed ID 32514183
PubMed Central ID PMC7442671
Back to Top