Use of High Pressure NMR Spectroscopy to Rapidly Identify Proteins with Internal Ligand-Binding Voids

Small molecule binding within internal cavities provides a way to control protein function and structure, as exhibited in numerous natural and artificial settings. Unfortunately, most ways to identify suitable cavities require high-resolution structures a priori and may miss potential cryptic sites. Here we address this limitation via high-pressure solution NMR spectroscopy, taking advantage of the distinctive nonlinear pressure-induced chemical shift changes observed in proteins containing internal cavities and voids. We developed a method to rapidly characterize such nonlinearity among backbone 1H and 15N amide signals without needing to have sequence-specific chemical shift assignments, taking advantage of routinely available 15N-labeled samples, instrumentation, and 2D 1H/15N HSQC experiments. From such data, we find a strong correlation in the site-to-site variability in such nonlinearity with the total void volume within proteins, providing insights useful for prioritizing domains for ligand binding and indicating mode-of-action among such protein/ligand systems. We suggest that this approach provides a rapid and useful way to rapidly assess otherwise hidden dynamic architectures of protein that reflect fundamental properties associated with ligand binding and control. Significance Statement Many proteins can be regulated by internally binding small molecule ligands, but it is often not clear a priori which proteins are controllable in such a way. Here we describe a rapid method to address this challenge, using solution NMR spectroscopy to monitor the response of proteins to the application of high pressure. While the locations of NMR signals from most proteins respond to high pressure with linear chemical shift changes, proteins containing internal cavities that can bind small molecule ligands respond with easily identified non-linear changes. We demonstrate this approach on several proteins and protein/ligand complexes, suggesting that it has general utility. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.