The stability of the double amino acid with respect to deamination in gas and aqueous phases

2016 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylwia Freza
2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 636-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Zolla-Pazner ◽  
Sandra Sharpe Cohen ◽  
David Boyd ◽  
Xiang-Peng Kong ◽  
Michael Seaman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAntibodies (Abs) specific for the V3 loop of the HIV-1 gp120 envelope neutralize most tier 1 and many tier 2 viruses and are present in essentially all HIV-infected individuals as well as immunized humans and animals. Vaccine-induced V3 Abs are associated with reduced HIV infection rates in humans and affect the nature of transmitted viruses in infected vaccinees, despite the fact that V3 is often occluded in the envelope trimer. Here, we link structural and experimental data showing how conformational alterations of the envelope trimer render viruses exceptionally sensitive to V3 Abs. The experiments interrogated the neutralization sensitivity of pseudoviruses with single amino acid mutations in various regions of gp120 that were predicted to alter packing of the V3 loop in the Env trimer. The results indicate that the V3 loop is metastable in the envelope trimer on the virion surface, flickering between states in which V3 is either occluded or available for binding to chemokine receptors (leading to infection) and to V3 Abs (leading to virus neutralization). The spring-loaded V3 in the envelope trimer is easily released by disruption of the stability of the V3 pocket in the unliganded trimer or disruption of favorable V3/pocket interactions. Formation of the V3 pocket requires appropriate positioning of the V1V2 domain, which is, in turn, dependent on the conformation of the bridging sheet and on the stability of the V1V2 B-C strand-connecting loop.IMPORTANCEThe levels of antibodies to the third variable region (V3) of the HIV envelope protein correlate with reduced HIV infection rates. Previous studies showed that V3 is often occluded, as it sits in a pocket of the envelope trimer on the surface of virions; however, the trimer is flexible, allowing occluded portions of the envelope (like V3) to flicker into an exposed position that binds antibodies. Here we provide a systematic interrogation of mechanisms by which single amino acid changes in various regions of gp120 (i) render viruses sensitive to neutralization by V3 antibodies, (ii) result in altered packing of the V3 loop, and (iii) activate an open conformation that exposes V3 to the effects of V3 Abs. Taken together, these and previous studies explain how V3 antibodies can protect against HIV-1 infection and why they should be one of the targets of vaccine-induced antibodies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James O. Wrabl ◽  
Keila Voortman-Sheetz ◽  
Vincent J. Hilser

'Metamorphic' proteins challenge state-of-the-art structure prediction methods reliant on amino acid similarity. Unfortunately, this obviates a more effective thermodynamic approach necessary to properly evaluate the impact of amino acid changes on the stability of two different folds. A vital capability of such a thermodynamic approach would be the quantification of the free energy differences between 1) the energy landscape minima of each native fold, and 2) each fold and the denatured state. Here we develop an energetic framework for conformational specificity, based on an ensemble description of protein thermodynamics. This energetic framework was able to successfully recapitulate the structures of high-identity engineered sequences experimentally shown to adopt either Streptococcus protein GA or GB folds, demonstrating that this approach indeed reflected the energetic determinants of fold. Residue-level decomposition of the conformational specificity suggested several testable hypotheses, notably among them that fold-switching could be affected by local de-stabilization of the populated fold at positions sensitive to equilibrium perturbation. Since this ensemble-based compatibility framework is applicable to any structure and any sequence, it may be practically useful for the future targeted design, or large-scale proteomic detection, of novel metamorphic proteins.


Synthesis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (05) ◽  
pp. 1273-1283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Baldauf ◽  
Jeffrey Bode

The α-ketoacid–hydroxylamine (KAHA) ligation allows the coupling of unprotected peptide segments. The most widely used variant employs a 5-membered cyclic hydroxylamine that forms a homoserine ester as the primary ligation product. While very effective, monomers that give canonical amino acid residues are in high demand. In order to preserve the stability and reactivity of cyclic hydroxylamines, but form a canonical amino acid residue upon ligation, we sought to prepare cyclic derivatives of serine hydroxylamine. An evaluation of several cyclization strategies led to cyclobutanone ketals as the leading structures. The preparation, stability, and amide-forming ligation of these serine-derived ketals are described.


1971 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lipke ◽  
T. Geoghegan

1. N-Bromosuccinimide cleaved proteins and pigments from fly puparia, increasing the chitin:protein ratio from 0.5 to 1.5. The product afforded subfractions (ratio 5:1) of molecular weights of 1200 and 1600 devoid of aromatic residues and N-terminal β-alanine, direct aryl links between polysaccharide chains being discounted. 2. The chitin–protein complex decreased in molecular weight when treated with Pronase, which suggested polypeptide bridges within the native chitin micelle. The limit dextrins generated by chitinase were mixtures of unsubstituted dextrins and peptidylated oligosaccharides, with the former predominating. 3. Peptidochitodextrins of similar molecular weight but markedly different solubility were prepared, which were indistinguishable with respect to amino acid, glucosamine, acetyl, X-ray or infrared characteristics. It is suggested that physical interactions contribute to the stability of the integument in addition to the covalent bonds that form during sclerotization.


1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 992-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serge St-Pierre ◽  
Claude Gilardeau ◽  
Michel Chrétien

The far ultraviolet circular dichroism spectra of sheep β-lipotropic hormone (β-LPH) were recorded under different conditions of pH, temperature, salt concentration, and solvent composition. Results confirm the stability of the hormone in strong basic or acidic solutions; moreover, temperatures up to 50 °C do not seem to affect noticeably the conformation of β-LPH. However, increasing the NaCl concentration or addition of dioxane in the solution brings about a conformational transition of the chain, interpreted as an increase in the helical content. The method of Yang (Chen, Y. H., Yang, J. T. &Martinez, H. M. (1972) Biochemistry 11, 4120–4131) was used to compute the proportion of helical, β, and unordered forms of the hormone chain. The proportions are compared with those obtained from Fasman's predictive method (Chou, P. Y. &Fasman, G. D. (1974) Biochemistry 13, 211–221 and Chou, P. Y. &Fasman, G. D. (1974) Biochemistry 13, 222–245) based on the known amino acid sequence of β-LPH.


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