Guanidinium Chloride-induced Denaturation Research Articles

Relative Solvent Exposure of the Alpha-Helix and Beta-Sheet in Water Determines the Initial Stages of Urea and Guanidinium Chloride-Induced Denaturation of Alpha/Beta Proteins.

Among several denaturants, urea and guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) are the two strong and extensively used denaturants in unfolding experiments. However, the sequences of events in terms of secondary structure melting of several proteins in these two solvents have generated diverse results. A clear molecular understanding has still not been drawn to address the differential secondary structure specificity between urea and GdmCl. Here, we present a way to predict the possible unfolding route of α/β proteins, in terms of secondary structure melting, based on the observation of relative solvent exposure of the alpha-helix and beta-sheet of protein in water. We find that while beta-sheet always melts first in urea, a diverse preference is evident for GdmCl. Larger solvent exposure of the backbone of the beta-sheet helps the beta-sheet to make favorable hydrogen bonds with urea which in turn causes the initial melting of the beta-sheet of alpha/beta proteins in urea. On the other hand, because GdmCl has hydrophobic weakening ability through preferential interaction, the region which has comparatively more hydrophobic solvent exposure melts first in GdmCl. Urea- and GdmCl-induced initial unfolding pathways of the alpha/beta protein is thus determined by the relative solvent exposure of the alpha-helix and beta-sheet of protein in water. Therefore, detailed knowledge of relative solvent exposures in water can provide a hint of the possible unfolding pathway provided the mode of action of the solvent is known.

Investigation of the role of central metal ion of Cyathus bulleri laccase 1 using guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation.

The structure and folding/unfolding kinetics of Cyathus bulleri laccase 1 (Lcc1), expressed in Pichia pastoris, were analyzed by spectroscopic methods to understand the role of central metal ion. Far UV CD structure analysis revealed major β-sheet and minor α helical segments present in the Lcc1. A significant change in the spectrum of Lcc1, indicative of unfolding of secondary structures, was observed with increasing concentrations of guanidinium chloride (GdnHCl) during Trp fluorescence, absorption and CD measurements. A similar trend was also noticed for enzyme activity with respect to GdnHCl concentrations. To establish the role of copper ion in the catalytic activity of laccase, a complete removal of copper was carried out and addition of copper was found to restore the structure and activity during the refolding process. The apo form was also reconstituted by addition of zinc ion which restored nearly 84% of enzyme activity, indicating non-essential role of copper in maintaining conformation and activity. Structural studies and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry data supported these observations.

Destabilization of Hydrophobic Core of Chicken Villin Headpiece in Guanidinium Chloride Induced Denaturation: Hint of π-Cation Interaction.

Despite their routine use as protein denaturants, the comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which urea and guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) disrupts proteins' structure is still lacking. Here, we use steered molecular dynamics simulations along with the umbrella sampling technique to elucidate the mechanism of unfolding of chicken villin headpiece (HP-36) in these two denaturants. We find that while urea denatures protein predominantly by forming hydrogen bonds with the protein backbone, GdmCl commences unfolding by weakening of the hydrophobic interactions present in the core. The potential of mean force calculation indicates the reduction of hydrophobic interactions between two benzene moieties in 6 M GdmCl as compared to 6 M urea. We observe a near parallel orientation between the guanidinium cation and aromatic side chains of the HP-36 suggesting π-cation type stacking interactions which play a crucial role in weakening of the hydrophobic interaction. We use QM/MM optimization calculations to estimate the energetics of this π-cation interaction. Additionally, the consistency of the unfolding paths between high temperature (400 K) unfolding simulations and steered molecular dynamics simulations strengthens the proposed molecular mechanism of unfolding further.

Purification and characterization of oligonucleotide binding (OB)-fold protein from medicinal plant Tinospora cordifolia.

The oligonucleotide binding fold (OB-fold) is a small structural motif present in many proteins. It is originally named for its oligonucleotide or oligosaccharide binding properties. These proteins have been identified as essential for replication, recombination and repair of DNA. We have successfully purified a protein contains OB-fold from the stem of Tinospora cordifolia, a medicinal plants of north India. Stems were crushed and centrifuged, and fraction obtained at 60% ammonium sulphate was extensively dialyzed and applied to the weak anion exchange chromatography on Hi-Trap DEAE-FF in 50mM Tris-HCl buffer at pH 8.0. Eluted fractions were concentrated and applied to gel filtration column to get pure protein. We observed a single band of 20-kDa on SDS-PAGE. Finally, the protein was identified as OB-fold by MALDI-TOF. The purified OB-fold protein was characterized for its secondary structural elements using circular dichroism (CD) in the far-UV region. Generally the OB-fold has a characteristic feature as five-stranded beta-sheet coiled to form a closed beta- barrel. To estimate its chemical stability, guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation curve was followed by observing changes in the far-UV CD as a function of the denaturant concentration. Analysis of this denaturation curve gave values of 8.90±0.25kcalmol(-1) and 3.78±0.18M for ΔGD° (Gibbs free energy change at 25°C) and Cm (midpoint of denaturation), respectively. To determine heat stability parameters of OB-fold protein, differential scanning calorimetry was performed. Calorimetric values of ΔGD°, Tm (midpoint of denaturation), ΔHm (enthalpy change at Tm), and ΔCp (constant-pressure heat capacity change) are 9.05±0.27kcalmol(-1), 85.2±0,3°C, 105±4kcalmol(-1) and 1.6±0.08kcalmol(-1)K(-1). This is the first report on the isolation, purification and characterization of OB-fold protein from a medicinal plant T. cordifolia.

Stabilization of Ferrochelatase Via Lysine Residues on the Carboxyl Terminal Extension

There are accumulating evidences suggesting that ferrochelatase is involved in different cellular functions other than heme biosynthesis. The carboxyl-terminal extension of the enzyme may play a role associated with its stability and signaling process. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this ferrochelatase-coding gene. Variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene and were implicated in novel cellular activities including gene expression. Deficiency in ferrochelatase variants is believed to be associated with its stability. In this study, mutagenesis study of the lysine residues at 357, 360 and 365 was conducted. The relative change in activity by measurement of fluorescence intensity of the mutant enzyme revealed that K365L retained > 40% activity, while the mutant K365I retained 24% activity. Other mutants with K357S and K360Q showed little enzyme activity (< 4%). The change in the tryptophan fluorescence intensity after Guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation of the mutants indicated that the enzyme become unfolded under the assay condition. The K365L mutation suggests a structural role of tryptophan in the enzyme. The stability of the enzyme attributed to conservation of lysine residues in the C-terminal extension of the enzyme. The lysine and tryptophan residues serve as a structure determinant of ferrochelatase.

Rational design of protein stability: effect of (2S,4R)-4-fluoroproline on the stability and folding pathway of ubiquitin.

BackgroundMany strategies have been employed to increase the conformational stability of proteins. The use of 4-substituted proline analogs capable to induce pre-organization in target proteins is an attractive tool to deliver an additional conformational stability without perturbing the overall protein structure. Both, peptides and proteins containing 4-fluorinated proline derivatives can be stabilized by forcing the pyrrolidine ring in its favored puckering conformation. The fluorinated pyrrolidine rings of proline can preferably stabilize either a Cγ-exo or a Cγ-endo ring pucker in dependence of proline chirality (4R/4S) in a complex protein structure. To examine whether this rational strategy can be generally used for protein stabilization, we have chosen human ubiquitin as a model protein which contains three proline residues displaying Cγ-exo puckering.Methodology/Principal FindingsWhile (2S,4R)-4-fluoroproline ((4R)-FPro) containing ubiquitinin can be expressed in related auxotrophic Escherichia coli strain, all attempts to incorporate (2S,4S)-4-fluoroproline ((4S)-FPro) failed. Our results indicate that (4R)-FPro is favoring the Cγ-exo conformation present in the wild type structure and stabilizes the protein structure due to a pre-organization effect. This was confirmed by thermal and guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation profile analyses, where we observed an increase in stability of −4.71 kJ·mol−1 in the case of (4R)-FPro containing ubiquitin ((4R)-FPro-ub) compared to wild type ubiquitin (wt-ub). Expectedly, activity assays revealed that (4R)-FPro-ub retained the full biological activity compared to wt-ub.Conclusions/SignificanceThe results fully confirm the general applicability of incorporating fluoroproline derivatives for improving protein stability. In general, a rational design strategy that enforces the natural occurring proline puckering conformation can be used to stabilize the desired target protein.

Rational Engineering of Human Cytochrome P450 2B6 for Enhanced Expression and Stability: Importance of a Leu264→Phe Substitution

Despite the emerging importance of human P450 2B6 in xenobiotic metabolism, thorough biochemical and biophysical characterization has been impeded as a result of low expression in Escherichia coli. Comparison with similar N-terminal truncated and C-terminal His-tagged constructs (rat P450 2B1dH, rabbit 2B4dH, and dog 2B11dH) revealed that P450 2B6dH showed the lowest thermal stability, catalytic tolerance to temperature, and chemical stability against guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation. Eleven P450 2B6dH mutants were rationally engineered based on sequence comparison with the three other P450 2B enzymes and the solvent accessibility of residues in the ligand-free crystal structure of P450 2B4dH. L198M, L264F, and L390P showed approximately 3-fold higher expression than P450 2B6dH. L264F alone showed enhanced stability against thermal and chemical denaturation compared with P450 2B6dH and was characterized further functionally. L264F showed similar preferential inhibition by pyridine over imidazole derivatives as P450 2B6dH. The Leu(264)-->Phe substitution did not alter the K(s) for inhibitors or the substrate benzphetamine, the K(m) for 7-ethoxy-4-(trifluoromethyl)coumarin, or the benzphetamine metabolite profiles. The enhanced stability and monodisperse nature of L264F made it suitable for isothermal titration calorimetry studies. Interaction of 1-benzylimidazole with L264F yielded a clear binding isotherm with a distinctly different thermodynamic signature from P450 2B4dH. The inhibitor docked differently in the binding pocket of a P450 2B6 homology model than in 2B4, highlighting the different chemistry of the active site of these two enzymes. Thus, L264F is a good candidate to further explore the unique structure-function relationships of P450 2B6 using X-ray crystallography and solution thermodynamics.

Inhibition of a metal-dependent viral RNA triphosphatase by decavanadate

Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus, a large DNA virus that replicates in unicellular Chlorella-like algae, encodes an RNA triphosphatase which is involved in the synthesis of the RNA cap structure found at the 5' end of the viral mRNAs. The Chlorella virus RNA triphosphatase is the smallest member of the metal-dependent RNA triphosphatases that include enzymes from fungi, DNA viruses, protozoans and microsporidian parasites. In the present study, we investigated the ability of various vanadate oxoanions to inhibit the phosphohydrolase activity of the enzyme. Fluorescence spectroscopy and CD studies were used to directly monitor the binding of decavanadate to the enzyme. Moreover, competition assays show that decavanadate is a potent non-competitive inhibitor of the phosphohydrolase activity, and mutagenesis studies indicate that the binding of decavanadate does not involve amino acids located in the active site of the enzyme. In order to provide additional insight into the relationship between the enzyme structure and decavanadate binding, we correlated the effect of decavanadate binding on protein structure using both CD and guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation as structural indicators. Our data indicated that no significant modification of the overall protein architecture was occurring upon decavanadate binding. However, both fluorescence spectroscopy and CD experiments clearly revealed that the binding of decavanadate to the enzyme significantly decreased the structural stability of the enzyme. Taken together, these studies provide crucial insights into the inhibition of metal-dependent RNA triphosphatases by decavanadate.

Mechanism and Thermodynamics of Guanidinium Chloride-induced Denaturation of ALS-associated Mutant Cu,Zn Superoxide Dismutases

Mutations in human copper zinc superoxide dismutase (hSOD) that are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been proposed to destabilize the protein and thereby enhance toxic protein aggregation. In previous studies, denaturation of metallated (holo) hSODs was found to be irreversible, and complicated by the formation of intermolecular disulfide bonds. Here, ALS-associated mutations (E100G, G93A, G85R and A4V) are introduced into a pseudo wild-type background containing no free cysteine residues. The guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation of the holo proteins is generally found to be highly reversible (except for A4V, which tended to aggregate), enabling quantitative analysis of the effects of the mutations on protein stability. Denaturation and renaturation curves were monitored by tryptophan fluorescence, circular dichroism, enzyme activity, chemical cross-linking and analytical sedimentation, as a function of equilibration time and protein concentration. There is strong kinetic hysteresis, with curves requiring exceptionally long times (many days for pseudo wild-type) to reach equilibrium, and evidence for the formation of kinetic and equilibrium intermediate(s), which are more highly populated at lower protein concentrations. The effects of metal dissociation were included in the data fitting. The full protein concentration dependence is best described using a three-state model involving metallated native dimer, metallated monomeric intermediate and unfolded monomers with no bound metals; however, at high protein concentrations the unfolding approaches a two-state transition with metal binding to both the native dimers and unfolded monomers. We show that the E100G, G93A and G85R mutations decrease overall protein stability, largely by decreasing monomer stability with little effect on dimer dissociation. Comparison of the chemical denaturation data with ALS disease characteristics suggests that aggregation of some mutant hSOD may occur through increased population of partially folded states that are less stable than the monomeric intermediate and accessed from the destabilized holo protein.

PH Corrections and Protein Ionization in Water/Guanidinium Chloride

More than 30 years ago, Nozaki and Tanford reported that the pK values for several amino acids and simple substances in 6 M guanidinium chloride differed little from the corresponding values in low salt (Nozaki, Y., and C. Tanford. 1967. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 89:736–742). This puzzling and counter-intuitive result hinders attempts to understand and predict the proton uptake/release behavior of proteins in guanidinium chloride solutions, behavior which may determine whether the ΔG N-D° values obtained from guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation data can actually be interpreted as the Gibbs energy difference between the native and denatured states (Bolen, D. W., and M. Yang. 2000. Biochemistry. 39:15208–15216). We show in this work that the Nozaki-Tanford result can be traced back to the fact that glass-electrode pH meter readings in water/guanidinium chloride do not equal true pH values. We determine the correction factors required to convert pH meter readings in water/guanidinium chloride into true pH values and show that, when these corrections are applied, the effect of guanidinium chloride on the pK values of simple substances is found to be significant and similar to that of NaCl. The results reported here allow us to propose plausible guanidinium chloride concentration dependencies for the pK values of carboxylic acids in proteins and, on their basis, to reproduce qualitatively the proton uptake/release behavior for the native and denatured states of several proteins (ribonuclease A, α-chymotrypsin, staphylococcal nuclease) in guanidinium chloride solutions. Finally, the implications of the pH correction for the experimental characterization of protein folding energetics are briefly discussed.

Equilibrium folding of dimeric class mu glutathione transferases involves a stable monomeric intermediate.

The conformational stabilities of two homodimeric class mu glutathione transferases (GSTM1-1 and GSTM2-2) were studied by urea- and guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation. Unfolding is reversible and structural changes were followed with far-ultraviolet circular dichroism, tryptophan fluorescence, enzyme activity, chemical cross-linking, and size-exclusion chromatography. Disruption of secondary structure occurs as a monophasic transition and is independent of protein concentration. Changes in tertiary structure occur as two transitions; the first is protein concentration dependent, while the second is weakly dependent (GSTM1-1) or independent (GSTM2-2). The second transition corresponds with the secondary structure transition. Loss in catalytic activity occurs as two transitions for GSTM1-1 and as one transition for GSTM2-2. These transitions are dependent upon protein concentration. The first deactivation transition coincides with the first tertiary structure transition. Dimer dissociation occurs prior to disruption of secondary structure. The data suggest that the equilibrium unfolding/refolding of the class mu glutathione transferases M1-1 and M2-2 proceed via a three-state process: N(2) <--> 2I <--> 2U. Although GSTM1-1 and GSTM2-2 are homologous (78% identity/94% homology), their N(2) tertiary structures are not identical. Dissociation of the GSTM1-1 dimer to structured monomers (I) occurs at lower denaturant concentrations than for GSTM2-2. The monomeric intermediate for GSTM1-1 is, however, more stable than the intermediate for GSTM2-2. The intermediates are catalytically inactive and display nativelike secondary structure. Guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation yields monomeric intermediates, which have a more loosely packed tertiary structure displaying enhanced solvent exposure of its tryptophans and enhanced ANS binding. The three-state model for the class mu enzymes is in contrast to the equilibrium two-state models previously proposed for representatives of classes alpha/pi/Sj26 GSTs. Class mu subunits appear to be intrinsically more stable than those of the other GST classes.

Conformational changes in the activation loop of the insulin receptor's kinase domain.

Low catalytic efficiency of basal-state protein kinases often depends on activation loop residues blocking substrate access to the catalytic cleft. Using the recombinant soluble form of the insulin receptor's kinase domain (IRKD) in its unphosphorylated state, activation loop conformation was analyzed by limited proteolysis. The rate of activation loop cleavage by trypsin is slow in the apo-IRKD. Bound Mg-adenine nucleoside di- and triphosphates increased the cleavage rate with half-maximal effects observed at 0.4-0.9 mM nucleotide. Adenosine monophosphate at concentrations up to 10 mM was not bound appreciably by the IRKD and had virtually no impact on activation loop cleavage. Amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal core-flanking regions of the IRKD had no statistically significant impact on the ligand-dependent or -independent activation loop cleavages. Furthermore, the core-flanking regions did not change the inherent conformational stability of the active site or the global stability of the IRKD, as determined by guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation. These measurements indicate that the intrasterically inhibitory conformation encompasses > or =90% of the ligand-free basal state kinase. However, normal intracellular concentrations of Mg-adenine nucleotides, which are in the millimolar range, would favor a basal-state conformation of the activation loop that is more accessible.

Engineering activity and stability of Thermotoga maritima glutamate dehydrogenase. I. introduction of a six-residue ion-pair network in the hinge region

Comparison of the recently determined three-dimensional structures of several glutamate dehydrogenases allowed for the identification of a five-residue ion-pair network in the hinge region of Pyrococcus furiosus glutamate dehydrogenase (melting temperature 113°C), that is not present in the homologous glutamate dehydrogenase from Thermotoga maritima (melting temperature 93°C). In order to study the role of this ion-pair network, we introduced it into the T. maritima enzyme using a site-directed mutagenesis approach. The resulting T. maritima glutamate dehydrogenases N97D, G376 K and N97D/G376 K as well as the wild-type enzyme were overproduced in Escherichia coli and subsequently purified. Elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of the double mutant N97D/G376 K at 3.0 Å, showed that the designed ion-pair interactions were indeed formed. Moreover, because of interactions with an additional charged residue, a six-residue network is present in this double mutant. Melting temperatures of the mutant enzymes N97D, G376 K and N97D/G376 K, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry, did not differ significantly from that of the wild-type enzyme. Identical transition midpoints in guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation experiments were found for the wild-type and all mutant enzymes. Thermal inactivation at 85°C occured more than twofold faster for all mutant enzymes than for the wild-type glutamate dehydrogenase. At temperatures of 65°C and higher, the wild-type and the three mutant enzymes showed identical specific activities. However, at 58°C the specific activity of N97D/G376 K and G376 K was found to be significantly higher than that of the wild-type and N97D enzymes. These results suggest that the engineered ion-pair interactions in the hinge region do not affect the stability towards temperature or guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation but rather affect the specific activity of the enzyme and the temperature at which it functions optimally.

Stability of aspartate aminotransferase from Sulfolobus solfataricus.

Aspartate aminotransferase from Sulfolobus solfataricus (SsAspAT) is an extremely thermophilic and thermostable dimeric enzyme which retains its structure and reaches maximal activity at 100 degrees C. The structural stability of this protein was investigated by coupling isothermally and thermally induced denaturation studies to molecular modeling. Gel filtration analysis indicated that SsAspAT unfolds with an N2 reversible 2D mechanism. In the molecular model, a cluster of hydrophobic residues was shown at the interface between the subunits of SsAspAT and suggested this cluster as a structural feature stabilizing the enzyme quaternary structure. At 25 degrees C, SsAspAT is less resistant to guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation than the cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase from pig heart (cpAspAT), which was chosen as a mesophilic counterpart in the thermodynamic analysis since it shares with SsAspAT the two-state unfolding mechanism. Therefore, in the case of aspartate aminotransferases, thermal stability does not correlate with the stability against chemical denaturants. Isothermal denaturation curves at 25 degrees C and melting profiles recorded in the presence of guanidinium chloride showed that the delta G degrees (H2O) at 25 degrees C of SsAspAT exceeds that of cpAspAT by roughly 15 kJ/mol; the parameter delta n, related to the number of binding sites for the denaturant differentially exposed in unfolded and folded states, is higher for SsAspAT than for cpAspAT; and delta Cp is lower for the thermophilic enzyme than for the mesophilic one by 8 kJ/K.mol. These results are indicative of a less hydrophobic core for SsAspAT than cpAspAT. In agreement with this, the molecular model predicts that some charged side chains are buried in SsAspAT and interact to form an H-bond/ion-pair network.

Tumor suppressor p16INK4A: structural characterization of wild-type and mutant proteins by NMR and circular dichroism.

The tumor suppressor p16INK4A with eight N-terminal amino acids deleted (p16/delta 1-8) was expressed in Escherichia coli without any fusion artifacts and purified. The integrity of p16/delta 1-8 was confirmed by mass spectrometry, and its activity was demonstrated by in vitro cdk4 inhibition assay. Various physical methods were used to characterize the molecular and structural properties of p16/delta 1-8. The protein was found to oligomerize in vitro, as demonstrated by gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and NMR. Various approaches, including changes of concentration and pH, additions of salts, detergents, and various organic solvents, and construction of a C-terminal deletion mutant and a cysteine mutant were used to try to reduce the extent of oligomerization. Only decreasing the protein concentration was found to reduce oligomerization. The affinity between p16 molecules in vivo was demonstrated by the yeast two-hybrid system. The protein was found to be very unstable on the basis of urea- and guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation studies monitored by NMR and CD, respectively. Despite these unfavorable properties, total NMR assignments were accomplished with uniform 13C and 15N isotope labeling. All multidimensional NMR experiments were performed at a very low concentration of 0.2 mM. The secondary structure was then determined from the NMR data. The results of NMR and CD studies indicate that the protein is highly alpha-helical, and the ankyrin repeat sequences show helix-turn-helix structures. This is the first structural information obtained for the important motif of ankyrin repeats. Overall, p16/delta 1-8 appears to be conformationally flexible. In order to understand the structural basis of the functional changes for some mutants existing in tumor cells, several missense mutants of p16/delta 1-8 were constructed. Four of them were expressed at high levels and purified. The molecular and structural properties of these mutants were analyzed by CD and NMR and compared with the corresponding properties of wild-type p16/delta 1-8. The results suggest that the functional changes in P114L and G101W are likely to be related to global conformational changes. In addition, we have demonstrated that the tendency of aggregation increases significantly by a single D84H mutation.

Contribution of residues in the reactive site loop of chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 to protein stability and activity.

Residues in the active site loop of the serine protease inhibitor, chymotrypsin inhibitor 2, thought to play an important role in loop stability and inhibitory activity, have been investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. Substitutions at residues 58 (threonine in wild type) and 60 (glutamic acid in wild type), which flank the scissile bond (Met-59-Glu-60) and are conserved among the potato inhibitor I family of serine protease inhibitors, are found to be of some importance in the global stability of the protein, as measured by guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation, but are essential for its inhibitory activity. Mutation of either Thr-58 or Glu-60 to alanine results in a decrease in stability of 0.7 +/- 0.1 kcal mol-1. These values reflect the loss of hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl group of Thr-58 with Glu-60 and Arg-67 and hydrogen bonds and a salt bridge between Glu-60 and Arg-62 and Arg-65. In addition, these mutants were found to be much weaker inhibitors of the serine protease subtilisin BPN'. The dissociation constants for inhibition, Ki, were found to be (7.0 +/- 0.4, 540 +/- 30, and 980 +/- 50) x 10(-13) M, for wild type, T58A, and E60A, respectively. Further, we find that these mutants are only temporary inhibitors of subtilisin BPN', unlike wild type. Over long time scales, we observe a reversal of inhibition because of hydrolysis of the inhibitor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Three-state thermodynamic analysis of the denaturation of staphylococcal nuclease mutants.

Using microcalorimetry, we found an equilibrium intermediate state during the denaturation of the wild-type and five mutant staphylococcal nuclease proteins: V66L, V66W, G88V, D77A, and E75V. The presence of two distinct heat absorption peaks allowed direct measurement of the enthalpy differences between the native, intermediate, and denatured states. Conditions of low pH and high NaCl concentration facilitated observation of the intermediate, or I-state. We propose to consider the nuclease protein as composed of two subdomains, divided along the active-site cleft. The structure of the I-state apparently consists mainly of the folded beta-barrel subdomain, as does that of a nuclease fragment protein [Shortle, D., & Abeygunawardana, C. (1993) Structure 1, 121-134]. The cooperativity of folding of the subdomains is maintained by electrostatic bonds across the active-site cleft. Removal of these bonds by the mutation D77A or E75V results in decooperation of the protein's structure and a three-state mechanism of denaturation at pH 7.0. The origins of differences in the enthalpy change of denaturation and in the m value of guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation with mutant nucleases are discussed in terms of this three-state mechanism.

Mutational analysis of the N-capping box of the alpha-helix of chymotrypsin inhibitor 2.

The N-terminus of the helix of the chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 from barley (CI2) has an N-capping box (Ser at the first position in the helix and Glu at position 4) as well as a frequently found Glu at position 3. The energetic importance of this motif has been studied by determining the free energy of unfolding of the wild-type and protein mutants derived from those residues using guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation and differential scanning microcalorimetry. Mutating N-cap residue Ser31 to either Ala or Gly destabilizes CI2 by 0.8-1 kcal mol-1. Truncation of the box in the mutants SA31EA33EA34 or SG31EA33EA34 destablizes the protein by 1.5-2 kcal mol-1. The N-capping box is an important motif in stabilizing proteins and delineating the beginning of alpha-helices in the pathway of protein folding.

Spectral characterization of environment-sensitive adducts of interleukin-1 beta.

We have determined the fluorescence properties of two covalently attached acrylodan derivatives of recombinant human interleukin-1 beta, namely the Cys-8 and Lys-103 adducts. The emission and excitation maxima indicated the presence of two operationally distinct conformers for each probe. The iodide quenching and the kinetics of fluorescence changes associated with guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation show that each covalent adduct exists both in hydrated and dehydrated environments. Furthermore, fluorescence changes associated with the binding of the adducts to a recombinant soluble murine receptor indicated that only the conformers with the label in the hydrophobic environment are competent toward the soluble murine interleukin receptor and that the hydrated and dehydrated conformers are in a dynamic equilibrium on the time scale of the binding experiments.