Gas-phase conformations of capistruin - comparison of lasso, branched-cyclic and linear topologies

Capistruin is a peptide synthesized by Burkholderia thailandensis E264, which displays a lasso topology. This knot-like structure confers interesting properties to peptides (e.g. antibacterial). Therefore, it is important to evaluate the sensitivity of structural characterization methods to such topological constraints.

Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) experiments, using both drift tube and travelling wave instruments, were performed on lasso capistruin and on peptides with the same sequence, but displaying a branched-cyclic (un-threaded) or linear topology. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were then performed to further interpret the IMS results in terms of conformation.

The collision cross sections (CCSs) measured via IMS for the different forms of capistruin were found to be similar, despite their different topologies for the doubly charged species, but significant differences arise as the charge state is increased. MD simulations for the doubly charged linear peptide were consistent with the hypothesis that salt bridges are present in the gas phase. Moreover, through CCS measurements for peptides with site-specific mutations, the arginine residue at position 11 was found to play a major role in the stabilization of compact structures for the linear peptide.

Differences in peptide topologies did not yield marked signatures in their respective IMS spectra. Such signatures were only visible for relatively high charge states, that allow Coulomb repulsion to force unfolding. At low charge states, the topologically unconstrained linear form of capistruin was found to adopt charge solvation-constrained structures, possibly including salt bridges, with CCSs comparable to those measured for the topologically constrained lasso form.