Conformational stability of bovine alpha-crystallin. Evidence for a destabilizing effect of ascorbate.
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Short-term incubation of bovine alpha-crystallin with ascorbate alters the protein conformational stability. The denaturation curves with urea and guanidinium-chloride show different patterns, suggesting a deviation from a two-state mechanism owing to the presence of one or more intermediates in the unfolding of ascorbate-modified alpha-crystallin. Furthermore, the latter protein profiles are shifted to lower denaturant concentrations indicating a destabilizing action of ascorbate, which is capable of facilitating protein dissociation into subunits as demonstrated by gel filtration with 1.5 M-urea. The decrease in conformational stability cannot be ascribed to any major structural alteration, but rather to localized changes in the protein molecule. In fact, no difference between native and ascorbate-treated alpha-crystallin can be detected by amino acid analysis but perturbation of the tryptophan and tyrosine environment is indicated by alterations in intrinsic fluorescence. Furthermore, turbidity and light-scattering measurements suggest an involvement of the lysine side chains, since aggregability patterns with acetylsalicylic acid are significantly altered. The ascorbate-destabilizing effect on the conformational stability of alpha-crystallin, probably exerted through oxidative modification of amino acid residues and/or the formation of covalent adducts, provokes unfavourable steric interactions between residues along the polypeptide chains, thus favouring aggregation and insolubilization of crystallins which can lead to cataract formation, as also demonstrated by proteolytic digestion patterns which show a lower rate of degradation of the ascorbate-modified alpha-crystallin. (+info)
C-terminal functional unit of Rapana thomasiana (marine snail, gastropod) hemocyanin isoform RtH1: isolation and characterization.
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Rapana thomasiana hemocyanin (RtH) is a mixture of two hemocyanin (Hc) isoforms termed RtH1 and RtH2. Both subunit types are built up of eight functional units (FUs). The C-terminal functional unit (RtH1-h) of the Rapana Hc subunit 1 has been isolated by limited trypsinolysis of the subunit polypeptide chain. The oxy- and apo-forms of the unit are characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy. Upon excitation of RtH1-h at 295 or 280 nm, tryptophyl residues buried in the hydrophobic interior of the protein globule determine the fluorescence emission. This is confirmed by quenching experiments with acrylamide, cesium chloride and potassium iodide. The copper-dioxygen system at the binuclear active site quenches the indole emission of the oxy-RtH1-h. The removal of this system increases the fluorescence quantum yield and causes structural rearrangement of the microenvironment of the emitting tryptophyl residues in the apo-RtH1-h. The thermal stability of the apo-RtH1-h is characterized fluorimetrically by the "melting" temperature T(m) (65 degrees C) and by the transition temperature T(m) (83 degrees C) obtained by differential scanning calorimetry for oxy-RtH1-h. The results confirm the role of the copper-dioxygen complex for the stabilization of the Hc structure in solution. (+info)
The single tryptophan of the PsbQ protein of photosystem II is at the end of a 4-alpha-helical bundle domain.
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We examined the microenvironment of the single tryptophan and the tyrosine residues of PsbQ, one of the three main extrinsic proteins of green algal and higher plant photosystem II. On the basis of this information and the previous data on secondary structure [Balsera, M., Arellano, J.B., Gutierrez, J.R., Heredia, P., Revuelta, J.L. & De Las Rivas, J. (2003) Biochemistry42, 1000-1007], we screened structural models derived by combining various threading approaches. Experimental results showed that the tryptophan residue is partially buried in the core of the protein but still in a polar environment, according to the intrinsic fluorescence emission of PsbQ and the fact that fluorescence quenching by iodide was weaker than that by acrylamide. Furthermore, quenching by cesium suggested that a positively charged barrier shields the tryptophan microenvironment. Comparison of the absorption spectra in native and denaturing conditions indicated that one or two out of six tyrosines of PsbQ are buried in the core of the structure. Using threading methods, a 3D structural model was built for the C-terminal domain of the PsbQ protein family (residues 46-149), while the N-terminal domain is predicted to have a flexible structure. The model for the C-terminal domain is based on the 3D structure of cytochrome b562, a mainly alpha-protein with a helical up/down bundle folding. Despite the large sequence differences between the template and PsbQ, the structural and energetic parameters for the explicit model are acceptable, as judged by the corresponding tools. This 3D model is compatible with the experimentally determined environment of the tryptophan residue and with published structural information. The future experimental determination of the 3D structure of the protein will offer a good validation point for our model and the technology used. Until then, the model can provide a starting point for further studies on the function of PsbQ. (+info)
A study of tryptophan fluorescence quenching of bifunctional alginate lyase from a marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain No. 272 by acrylamide.
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A fluorescence quenching study of a sole tryptophan residue of a bifunctional alginate lyase from Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain No. 272 was done in the presence and absence of substrates, oligomeric guluronic and its C5 isomer mannuronic acid, by a Stern-Volmer plot with a quencher, acrylamide. N-Acetyltryptophanamide and reduced and carboxymethylated alginate lyase showed large quenching constants, on the other hand, the native enzyme had small constants regardless of the presence or absence of the substrates. The result suggests that the tryptophan residue is located in a buried region of the enzyme molecule, but is barely accessible to acrylamide, and that the residue is not masked by the substrates with various degrees of polymerization. (+info)
Topology of factor VIII bound to phosphatidylserine-containing model membranes.
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Factor VIII (FVIII), a plasma glycoprotein, is an essential cofactor in the blood coagulation cascade. It is a multidomain protein, known to bind to phosphatidylserine (PS)-containing membranes. Based on X-ray and electron crystallography data, binding of FVIII to PS-containing membranes has been proposed to occur only via the C2 domain. Based on these models, the molecular topology of membrane-bound FVIII can be envisioned as one in which only a small fraction of the protein interacts with the membrane, whereas the majority of the molecule is exposed to an aqueous milieu. We have investigated the topology of the membrane-bound FVIII using biophysical and biochemical techniques. Circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence studies indicate no significant changes in the secondary and tertiary structure of FVIII associated with the membranes. Acrylamide quenching studies show that the protein is predominantly present on the surface of the membrane, exposed to the aqueous milieu. The light scattering and electron microscopy studies indicate the absence of vesicle aggregation and fusion. Binding studies with antibodies directed against specific epitopes in the A1, A2 and C2 domains suggest that FVIII binds to the membrane primarily via C2 domain including the specific phospholipid binding epitope (2303-2332) and may involve subtle conformational changes in this epitope region. (+info)
Increase in molecular rigidity of the protein conformation of brain Na+-K+-ATPase by modification with 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal.
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The effect of lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) on the protein conformation of porcine cerebral cortex Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase was examined in term of the intrinsic tryptophanyl fluorescence measurement. Treatment of ATPase with HNE resulted in a decrease in the fluorescence intensity and an increase in the fluorescence anisotropy in a concentration-dependent manner. The difference in the fluorescence intensity and fluorescence anisotropy observed between the control and HNE-modified ATPase completely disappeared after treatment of the protein with guanidine hydrochloride (1 M). These results suggest that HNE-modification of the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase induces alterations in the conformation of the enzyme molecule. This interpretation was further supported by a decrease in fluorescence quenching efficiency with acrylamide and sulfhydryl (SH) content. The decrease in quenching efficiency suggests that the proximity of the quencher molecule to the fluorophores located in the enzyme is suppressed. Modification of the enzyme with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) also resulted in a decrease in quenching efficiency with the loss of SH groups. Furthermore, a good relationship between the SH content and these fluorescence parameters (fluorescence anisotropy and quenching efficiency) were observed. On the other hand, treatment of the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase with other aldehydes such as malondialdehyde (MDA), 1-hexanal and nonanal did not affect either the quenching efficiency or SH content. Based on these results, the possibility of alterations in the physical properties of the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase associated with modification by HNE has been discussed. (+info)
Ca2+-induced rolling of tropomyosin in muscle thin filaments: the alpha- and beta-band hypothesis revisited.
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Tropomyosin is a filamentous coiled-coil protein directly involved in the regulation of the actomyosin interaction responsible for muscle contraction: it transmits the local calcium-induced conformational change in troponin to the helical array of myosin-binding sites on the surface of the actin filament. McLachlan and Stewart (McLachlan, A. D., and Stewart, M. (1976) J. Mol. Biol. 103, 271-298) proposed that the tropomyosin coiled-coil structure can be divided into 14 alternating 19- to 20-residue "alpha- and beta-bands," which could act as alternate 7-fold sets of sites for specific binding to actin in the different conformational states of the regulated thin filament. Here we present the first direct experimental evidence in support of the alpha- and beta-band hypothesis: we analyze the acrylamide quenching of the fluorescence of mutant tropomyosins containing 5-hydroxytryptophan residues at different positions along the coiled-coil structure under a variety of conditions (alone, complexed with actin, and complexed with actin and troponin with or without Ca(2+)). We show that fluorescent probes placed in the alpha-bands become less solvent-exposed in the absence of calcium, whereas those in the beta-bands become less solvent-exposed in the presence of calcium. A model in which the tropomyosin coiled-coil rolls across the actin surface in response to Ca(2+)-binding to troponin most easily explains these observations. (+info)
Elucidation of eukaryotic elongation factor-2 contact sites within the catalytic domain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A.
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces the virulence factor, ETA (exotoxin A), which catalyses an ADP-ribosyltransferase reaction of its target protein, eEF2 (eukaryotic elongation factor-2). Currently, this protein-protein interaction is poorly characterized and this study was aimed at identifying the contact sites between eEF2 and the catalytic domain of ETA (PE24H, an ETA from P. aeruginosa, a 24 kDa C-terminal fragment containing a His6 tag). Single-cysteine residues were introduced into the toxin at 21 defined surface-exposed sites and labelled with the fluorophore, IAEDANS [5-(2-iodoacetylaminoethylamino)-1-napthalenesulphonic acid]. Fluorescence quenching studies using acrylamide, and fluorescence lifetime and wavelength emission maxima analyses were conducted in the presence and absence of eEF2. Large changes in the microenvironment of the AEDANS [5-(2-aminoethylamino)-1-naphthalenesulphonic acid] probe after eEF2 binding were not observed as dictated by both fluorescence lifetime and wavelength emission maxima values. This supported the proposed minimal contact model, which suggests that only small, discrete contacts occur between these proteins. As dictated by the bimolecular quenching constant (k(q)) for acrylamide, binding of eEF2 with toxin caused the greatest change in acrylamide accessibility (>50%) when the fluorescence label was near the active site or was located within a known catalytic loop. All mutant proteins showed a decrease in accessibility to acrylamide once eEF2 bound, although the relative change varied for each labelled protein. From these data, a low-resolution model of the toxin-eEF2 complex was constructed based on the minimal contact model with the intention of enhancing our knowledge on the mode of inactivation of the ribosome translocase by the Pseudomonas toxin. (+info)