Refinement of the protein backbone angle ψ in NMR structure calculations

Cross-correlated relaxation rates involving the C(α)-H(α) dipolar interaction and the carbonyl (C') chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) have been measured using two complementary 3D experiments. We show that the protein backbone angle ψ can be directly refined against such cross-correlated relaxation rates (Γ(HαCα,C')) and the three-bond H/D isotope effect on the C(α) chemical shifts (³ΔC((ND))/(α)). By simultaneously using both experimental parameters as restraints during NMR structure calculations, a unique value for the backbone angle ψ is defined. We have applied the new refinement method to the α-Spectrin SH3 domain (a β-sheet protein) and to the Sgs1p HRDC domain (an α-helical protein) and show that the quality of the NMR structures is substantially improved, judging from the atomic coordinate precision and the Ramachandran map. In addition, the ψ-refined NMR structures of the SH3 domain deviate less from the 1.8 Å crystal structure, suggesting an improved accuracy. The proposed refinement method can be used to significantly improve the quality of NMR structures and will be applicable to larger proteins.