title: Mapping the structure and conformational movements of proteins with transition metal ion FRET.
abstract: Visualizing conformational dynamics in proteins has been difficult, and the atomic-scale motions responsible for the behavior of most allosteric proteins are unknown. Here we report that fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between a small fluorescent dye and a nickel ion bound to a dihistidine motif can be used to monitor small structural rearrangements in proteins. This method provides several key advantages over classical FRET, including the ability to measure the dynamics of close-range interactions, the use of small probes with short linkers, a low orientation dependence, and the ability to add and remove unique tunable acceptors. We used this 'transition metal ion FRET' approach along with X-ray crystallography to determine the structural changes of the gating ring of the mouse hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-regulated ion channel HCN2. Our results suggest a general model for the conformational switch in the cyclic nucleotide-binding site of cyclic nucleotide-regulated ion channels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Justin W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Taraska
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Puljung
authors.forename: Nelson B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Olivier
authors.forename: Galen E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: William N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Zagotta
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002413:Cations, Divalent; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D064428:Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D015221:Potassium Channels; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002413:Cations, Divalent; C578711:Hcn2 protein, mouse; D064428:Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels; D007473:Ion Channels; D010455:Peptides; D015221:Potassium Channels; D011506:Proteins; D009532:Nickel; D000242:Cyclic AMP