當舎 武彦

Modern insulin still depends on phenol and zinc to keep the hormone stable in vials and pumps, yet both additives slow absorption and raise safety concerns. We therefore asked a simple, clinically driven question: Can we stabilize the fast-acting T-state of insulin without phenol/zinc by exploiting pH-dependent water and anion binding? Using high-resolution synchrotron crystallography (1.4-1.76 Å), we solved novel designer and acid-stable cubic insulin structures from pH 2 to 6 in citrate-sulfate buffers and mapped solvent/anion contacts onto computational analyses. Across the acidic range, we uncovered a conserved 'water-anion clamp' centered on the Phe1ᴮ-Asn3ᴮ pocket that locks insulin in its bioactive T-conformation while neutralizing the protein's positive charge. This clamp: (i) removes the need for phenolic ligands, and (ii) keeps monomers soluble at high concentration. The structural blueprint we provide can guide formulation of phenol- and zinc-free, ultra-rapid insulin for subcutaneous pumps and high-strength cartridges, addressing unmet needs in intensive diabetes management. By clarifying how simple buffer anions and structured water can replace traditional preservatives, our work may link atomic-level detail to a practical therapeutic goal: faster, safer insulin delivery.

In photoactive proteins, coupling between the chromophore and protein matrix is exquisitely tuned. Proton transfer reactions can mediate this coupling, as in proton-coupled electron transfer and excited-state proton transfer. Additional mechanisms involving proton dislocations may exist but remain undiscovered. Here, we present a femtosecond crystallographic movie of the phytochrome from Deinococcus radiodurans. The structures reveal a space-conserving mechanism for rotation of the D-ring in the excited state. We observe rearrangement of a conserved hydrogen bond network within 300 fs, which precedes the isomerization reaction of the chromophore. Aided by molecular modeling and independently confirmed by femtosecond infrared spectroscopy, we attribute these changes to a protonation shift of the strictly conserved histidine-260. Although this histidine lies close to the photoexcited π-orbitals of the chromophore, it is not directly part of them. We propose that this "remote-controlled" proton transfer relays photoexcitation near-instantaneously to the protein matrix. This mechanism may be widely used to transduce cofactor signals to their hosting enzymes.

Since the birth of biochemistry, researchers have investigated the structure-function relationship of a wide variety of proteins. However, until recently, when X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) became available, it was not possible to visualize the motion of proteins from moment to moment with excellent temporal and spatial resolution. Here, we introduce practical methods to visualize protein motions at room temperature using serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) using XFELs. With the development of this technology, it will be possible to visualize the entire reaction mechanism of many proteins in the future. We first outline a streamlined microcrystallization workflow for hen egg-white lysozyme, enabling rapid detector calibration and data-collection optimization. Next, we present a rotational seeding approach refined on copper-containing nitrite reductase that yields homogeneous microcrystals suitable for high-resolution SFX and readily adaptable to other challenging targets. Finally, we describe a time-resolved strategy combining microcrystals of fungal nitric-oxide reductase with photolabile caged substrates and synchronized UV triggering, capturing catalytic intermediates on the millisecond timescale. Together, these procedures enable investigators to progress from preparing samples to capturing dynamic structural snapshots. © 2025 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Microcrystallization of lysozyme Basic Protocol 2: Microcrystallization of copper-containing nitrite reductase Basic Protocol 3: Time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography.

Time-resolved X-ray crystallography is undergoing a renaissance due to the development of serial crystallography at synchrotron and XFEL beamlines. Crucial to such experiments are efficient and effective methods for uniformly initiating time-dependent processes within microcrystals, such as ligand binding, enzymatic reactions or signalling. A widely applicable approach is the use of photocaged substrates, where the photocage is soaked into the crystal in advance and then activated using a laser pulse to provide uniform initiation of the reaction throughout the crystal. This work characterizes photocage release of nitric oxide and binding of this ligand to two heme protein systems, cytochrome c'-β and dye-decolourizing peroxidase B using a fixed target sample delivery system. Laser parameters for photoactivation are systematically explored, and time-resolved structures over timescales ranging from 100 µs to 1.4 s using synchrotron and XFEL beamlines are described. The effective use of this photocage for time-resolved crystallography is demonstrated and appropriate illumination conditions for such experiments are determined.

Cytochromes P460 oxidise hydroxylamine within the nitrogen cycle and contain as their active site an unusual catalytic c-type haem where the porphyrin is crosslinked to the protein via a lysine residue in addition to the canonical cross links from cysteine residues. Understanding how enzymes containing P460 haem oxidise hydroxylamine into either nitrous oxide or nitric oxide has implications for climate change. Interestingly the P460-containing hydroxylamine oxidoreductase utilises a tyrosine crosslink to haem and performs similar chemistry. Previous crystal structures of cytochrome P460 from Nitrosomonas europaea (NeP460) clearly show the existence of a single crosslink between the NZ atom of lysine and the haem porphyrin, with mutagenesis studies indicating roles for the crosslink in positioning a proton transfer residue and/or influencing the distortion of the haem. Here we describe the evidence for a novel double crosslink between lysine and haem in the cytochrome P460 from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath). In order to understand the complexities of this enzyme system we applied high resolution structural biology approaches at synchrotron and XFEL sources paired with crystal spectroscopies. Linked to this, we carried out QM/MM simulations that enabled the prediction of electronic absorption spectra providing a crucial validation to linking simulations and experimental structures. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of a double crosslink in McP460 and provides an opportunity to investigate how simulations can interact with experimental structures.