Probing the Conformational Dynamics of Affinity-Enhanced T Cell Receptor Variants upon Binding the Peptide-Bound Major Histocompatibility Complex by Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry.

Binding of the T cell receptor (TCR) to its cognate, peptide antigen-loaded major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) is a key interaction for triggering T cell activation and ultimately elimination of the target cell. Despite the importance of this interaction for cellular immunity, a comprehensive molecular understanding of TCR specificity and affinity is lacking. We conducted hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) analyses of individual affinity-enhanced TCR variants and clinically relevant pMHC class I molecules (HLA-A*0201/NY-ESO-1) to investigate the causality between increased binding affinity and conformational dynamics in TCR-pMHC complexes.

Probing the conformational impact of detergents on the integral membrane protein LeuT by global HDX-MS.

Neurotransmitter:sodium symporters (NSS) are integral membrane proteins (IMP), responsible for reuptake of neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft. Due to challenges in production of mammalian NSS in their active form, the prokaryotic hydrophobic amino acid transporter, LeuT, served here as a steadfast model for elucidation of structure-function relationship. As NSS proteins reside within phospholipid bilayer, they require stabilization by artificial membrane systems upon their extraction.

Improving the Sequence Coverage of Integral Membrane Proteins during Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry Experiments.

Insight into the structure-function relationship of membrane proteins is important to understand basic cell function and inform drug development, as these are common targets for drugs. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is an established technique for the study of protein conformational dynamics and has shown compatibility with membrane proteins. However, the digestion and mass analysis of peptides from membrane proteins can be challenging, severely limiting the HDX-MS experiment.

Substrate-modulated unwinding of transmembrane helices in the NSS transporter LeuT.

LeuT, a prokaryotic member of the neurotransmitter:sodium symporter (NSS) family, is an established structural model for mammalian NSS counterparts. We investigate the substrate translocation mechanism of LeuT by measuring the solution-phase structural dynamics of the transporter in distinct functional states by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS). Our HDX-MS data pinpoint LeuT segments involved in substrate transport and reveal for the first time a comprehensive and detailed view of the dynamics associated with transition of the transporter between outward- and inward-facing configurations in a Na- and K-dependent manner.

The T-Cell Receptor Can Bind to the Peptide-Bound Major Histocompatibility Complex and Uncomplexed β-Microglobulin through Distinct Binding Sites.

T-Cell receptor (TCR)-mediated recognition of the peptide-bound major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) initiates an adaptive immune response against antigen-presenting target cells. The recognition events take place at the TCR-pMHC interface, and their effects on TCR conformation and dynamics are controversial. Here, we have measured the time-resolved hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) of a soluble TCR in the presence and absence of its cognate pMHC by mass spectrometry to delineate the impact of pMHC binding on solution-phase structural dynamics in the TCR.