Lactose Binding Induces Opposing Dynamics Changes in Human Galectins Revealed by NMR-Based Hydrogen–Deuterium Exchange

Galectins are β-galactoside-binding proteins implicated in a myriad of biological functions. Despite their highly conserved carbohydrate binding motifs with essentially identical structures, their affinities for lactose, a common galectin inhibitor, vary significantly. Here, we aimed to examine the molecular basis of differential lactose affinities amongst galectins using solution-based techniques. Consistent dissociation constants of lactose binding were derived from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, isothermal titration calorimetry and bio-layer interferometry for human galectin-1 (hGal1), galectin-7 (hGal7), and the N-terminal and C-terminal domains of galectin-8 (hGal8(NTD) and hGal8(CTD), respectively). Furthermore, the dissociation rates of lactose binding were extracted from NMR lineshape analyses. Structural mapping of chemical shift perturbations revealed long-range perturbations upon lactose binding for hGal1 and hGal8(NTD). We further demonstrated using the NMR-based hydrogen–deuterium exchange (HDX) that lactose binding increases the exchange rates of residues located on the opposite side of the ligand-binding pocket for hGal1 and hGal8(NTD), indicative of allostery. Additionally, lactose binding induces significant stabilisation of hGal8(CTD) across the entire domain. Our results suggested that lactose binding reduced the internal dynamics of hGal8(CTD) on a very slow timescale (minutes and slower) at the expense of reduced binding affinity due to the unfavourable loss of conformational entropy.