PNNL

Abstract

We have demonstrated the application of single-molecule imaging and ultrafast spectroscopy to probe protein conformational dynamics in solution and in lipid bilayers. Dynamic protein-protein interactions involve significant conformational motions that initiate chain reactions leading to specific cellular responses. We have carried out a single molecule study of dynamic protein-protein interactions in a GTPase intracellular signaling protein Cdc42 in complex with a downstream effector protein, WASP. We were able to probe hydrophobic interactions significant to Cdc42/WASP recognition. Single molecule fluorescence intensity and polarization measurements have revealed the dynamic and inhomogeneous nature of protein-protein interactions within the Cdc42/WASP complex that is characterized by structured distributions of conformational fluctuation rates. Conducting a single-molecule fluorescence anisotropy study of calmodulin (CaM), a regulatory protein for calcium-dependent cell signaling, we were able to probe CaM conformational dynamics at a wide time scale. In this study, CaM contains a site-specifically inserted tetra-cysteine motif that reacted with FlAsH, a biarsenic fluorescein derivative that can be rotationally locked to the host protein. The study provided direct characterization of the nanosecond motions of CaM tethered to a biologically compatible surface under physiological buffer solution. The unique technical approaches are applicable of studying single-molecule dynamics of protein conformational motions and protein-protein interactions at a wide time range without the signal convolution of probe-dye molecule motions