scholarly journals Alpha helix propensity of amino acids

Science ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 262 (5135) ◽  
pp. 917-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Shortle ◽  
N Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Helix Propensity

scholarly journals Characterization of porcine osteonectin extracted from foetal calvariae

1988 ◽  
Vol 253 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Domenicucci ◽  
H A Goldberg ◽  
T Hofmann ◽  
D Isenman ◽  
S Wasi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Secondary Structure ◽  
Type I Collagen ◽  
Culture Shock ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Type I ◽  
Homologous Proteins ◽  
Compact Structure ◽  
Significant Difference

Osteonectin, extracted from foetal porcine calvariae with 0.5 M-EDTA, was purified to homogeneity by using gel filtration and polyanion anion-exchange fast protein liquid chromatography under dissociative conditions without the need of reducing agents. The purified protein migrated with an Mr of 40,300 on SDS/polyacrylamide gels and was similar to bovine osteonectin in both amino acid composition and in its ability to bind to hydroxyapatite in the presence of 4 M-guanidinium hydrochloride (GdmCl). However, unlike the bovine protein, porcine osteonectin did not bind selectively to hydroxyapatite when EDTA tissue extracts were used. In addition, purified porcine osteonectin did not show any apparent affinity for either native or denatured type I collagen, but did bind to serum albumin. Primary sequence analysis revealed an N-terminal alanine residue, with approximately one-half of the subsequent 35 residues identified as small hydrophobic amino acids and one-quarter as acidic amino acids. The only significant difference between the N-terminal sequences of the bovine and porcine proteins was the deletion of the tripeptide Val-Ala-Glu in porcine osteonectin. In contrast with bovine osteonectin, far-u.v.c.d. of porcine osteonectin revealed considerable secondary structure, of which 27% was alpha-helix and 39% was beta-sheet. Cleavage of the molecule with CNBr under non-reducing conditions generated five fragments, of which two major fragments (Mr 27,900 and 12,400) stained blue with Stains All, a reagent that stains sialic-acid-rich proteins/phosphate-containing proteins and/or Ca2+-binding proteins blue while staining other proteins pink. The 12,400-Mr fragment bound 45Ca2+ selectively, indicating a Ca2+-binding site in this part of the molecule. The 27,900-Mr fragment did not bind Ca2+, and since biosynthetic studies with 32PO4(3-) did not show phosphorylation of porcine osteonectin, this fragment is likely to be highly acidic. The incomplete cleavage of the molecule with CNBr and the ability of the molecule to regain its secondary structure after exposure to 7 M-urea are features consistent with the molecule having a compact structure that is stabilized by numerous disulphide bridges. The chemical and binding properties of porcine osteonectin are closely similar to the recently described ‘culture shock’, SPARC and BM-40 proteins, indicating that these are homologous proteins.

Sequence of cDNA comprising the human pur gene and sequence-specific single-stranded-DNA-binding properties of the encoded protein

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5673-5682 ◽  
Author(s):  
A D Bergemann ◽  
Z W Ma ◽  
E M Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Sequence Element ◽  
Single Stranded Dna ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Consensus Motif ◽  
Rich Domain ◽  
Amphipathic Alpha Helix ◽  
Dna Binding Properties

The human Pur factor binds strongly to a sequence element repeated within zones of initiation of DNA replication in several eukaryotic cells. The protein binds preferentially to the purine-rich single strand of this element, PUR. We report here the cloning and sequencing of a cDNA encoding a protein with strong affinity for the PUR element. Analysis with a series of mutated oligonucleotides defines a minimal single-stranded DNA Pur-binding element. The expressed Pur open reading frame encodes a protein of 322 amino acids. This protein, Pur alpha, contains three repeats of a consensus motif of 23 amino acids and two repeats of a second consensus motif of 26 amino acids. Near its carboxy terminus, the protein possesses an amphipathic alpha-helix and a glutamine-rich domain. The repeat region of Pur cDNA is homologous to multiple mRNA species in each of several human cell lines and tissues. The HeLa cDNA library also includes a clone encoding a related gene, Pur beta, containing a version of the 23-amino-acid consensus motif similar, but not identical, to those in Pur alpha. Results indicate a novel type of modular protein with capacity to bind repeated elements in single-stranded DNA.

scholarly journals The Charge Structure of Helix 1 in the Prion Protein Regulates Conversion to Pathogenic PrPSc

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (17) ◽  
pp. 8521-8529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric M. Norstrom ◽  
James A. Mastrianni
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Surface Expression ◽  
Cell Surface Expression ◽  
Salt Bridges ◽  
Subsequent Work ◽  
Complete Reversal ◽  
Terminal Amino

ABSTRACT The prion diseases are transmissible neurodegenerative disorders linked to a pathogenic conformer (PrPSc) of the normal prion protein (PrPC). Accumulation of PrPSc occurs via a poorly defined process in which PrPSc complexes with and converts endogenous PrPC to nascent PrPSc. Recent experiments have focused on the highly charged first alpha helix (H1) of PrP. It has been proposed that two putative asparagine-to-arginine intrahelical salt bridges stabilize H1 in PrPC yet form intermolecular ionic bonds with adjacent PrP molecules during conversion of PrPC to PrPSc (M. P. Morrissey and E. I. Shakhnovich, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:11293-11298, 1999). Subsequent work (J. O. Speare et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278:12522-12529, 2003 using a cell-free assay of PrPSc conversion suggested that rather than promoting conversion, the salt bridges stabilize PrPC against it. However, the role of individual H1 charges in PrPSc generation has not yet been investigated. To approach this question, we systematically reversed or neutralized each charged residue in H1 and tested the effect on conversion to PrPSc in scrapie-infected murine neuroblastoma (ScN2a) cells. We find that replacements of charged H1 residues with like charges permit conversion, while charge reversals hinder it. Neutralization of charges in the N-terminal (amino acids 143 to 146) but not the C-terminal (amino acids 147 to 151) half of H1 permits conversion, while complete reversal of charge orientation of the putative salt bridges produces a nonconvertible PrP. Circular dichroism spectroscopy studies and confocal microscopy immunofluorescence localization studies indicated that charge substitutions did not alter the secondary structure or cell surface expression of PrPC. These data support the necessity of specific charge orientations in H1 for a productive PrPSc-PrPC complex.

scholarly journals Homochirality Is Originated from Handedness of Helices

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shubin Liu
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Asymmetric Synthesis ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Macromolecular Assembly ◽  
Nucleotide Sugars ◽  
Cooperativity Effects ◽  
Natural Amino Acids ◽  
Origin Of Homochirality

Homochirality is a common feature of amino acids and carbohydrates, whose origin is still unknown. For example, 19 of 20 natural amino acids are L-chiral but deoxyribose sugars in DNA are always D-chiral. Meanwhile, right-handed helices are ubiquitous in nature. Are these two phenomena intrinsically correlated? Here, we propose that homochirality of amino acids and nucleotide sugars is originated from the handedness of helices. We show that right-handed 3<sub>10-</sub>helix and alpha-helix favor the L-chiral form for amino acids, but for deoxyribose sugars right-handed helices prefer the D-chiral form instead. Our analyses unveil that there exist strong cooperativity effects dominated by electrostatic interactions. This work not only resolves the mystery of homochirality by providing a unified explanation for the origin of homochirality in proteins and DNA using helical secondary structures as the root cause, but also ratifies the Principle of Chirality Hierarchy, where chirality of a higher hierarchy dictates that of lower ones. Possible applications of the present work to asymmetric synthesis and macromolecular assembly are discussed.

scholarly journals Arac/XylS family of transcriptional regulators

1997 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-410
Author(s):  
M T Gallegos ◽  
R Schleif ◽  
A Bairoch ◽  
K Hofmann ◽  
J L Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Carbon Metabolism ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Biochemical Data ◽  
Dimerization Domain ◽  
Multiple Alignments ◽  
The Family

The ArC/XylS family of prokaryotic positive transcriptional regulators includes more than 100 proteins and polypeptides derived from open reading frames translated from DNA sequences. Members of this family are widely distributed and have been found in the gamma subgroup of the proteobacteria, low- and high-G + C-content gram-positive bacteria, and cyanobacteria. These proteins are defined by a profile that can be accessed from PROSITE PS01124. Members of the family are about 300 amino acids long and have three main regulatory functions in common: carbon metabolism, stress response, and pathogenesis. Multiple alignments of the proteins of the family define a conserved stretch of 99 amino acids usually located at the C-terminal region of the regulator and connected to a nonconserved region via a linker. The conserved stretch contains all the elements required to bind DNA target sequences and to activate transcription from cognate promoters. Secondary analysis of the conserved region suggests that it contains two potential alpha-helix-turn-alpha-helix DNA binding motifs. The first, and better-fitting motif is supported by biochemical data, whereas existing biochemical data neither support nor refute the proposal that the second region possesses this structure. The phylogenetic relationship suggests that members of the family have recruited the nonconserved domain(s) into a series of existing domains involved in DNA recognition and transcription stimulation and that this recruited domain governs the role that the regulator carries out. For some regulators, it has been demonstrated that the nonconserved region contains the dimerization domain. For the regulators involved in carbon metabolism, the effector binding determinants are also in this region. Most regulators belonging to the AraC/XylS family recognize multiple binding sites in the regulated promoters. One of the motifs usually overlaps or is adjacent to the -35 region of the cognate promoters. Footprinting assays have suggested that these regulators protect a stretch of up to 20 bp in the target promoters, and multiple alignments of binding sites for a number of regulators have shown that the proteins recognize short motifs within the protected region.

PATTERNS OF HYDROPHOBICITY FOUND IN THE FIRST AND SECOND TRANSMEMBRANE DOMAINS OF SOLUTE TRANSPORTERS SUGGEST A POSSIBLE ROLE IN NASCENT PROTEIN ANCHORING AND ORGANIZATION

2011 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 471-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVE HODGKINSON ◽  
WOLFGANG P. KASCHKA
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Transmembrane Domains ◽  
Integral Membrane Proteins ◽  
Challenging Problem ◽  
Functional Protein ◽  
Spatial Organisation ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Solute Transporters

Solute transporters (STs) are an important subgroup of integral membrane proteins that facilitate the translocation of a diverse range of solutes such as sugars, amino acids, and neurotransmitters across cell membranes. Sequence analysis indicates that STs possess multiple stretches of hydrophobic-rich amino acids that are organized into the transmembrane domains (TMDs) of the functional protein, but exactly how the correct spatial arrangement of these domains is achieved remains a challenging problem. We hypothesized that perhaps differences in interdomain hydrophobicity might play some role in this process. To test this hypothesis, we generated a heptadic model of the alpha helix and mapped the average hydrophobicities (coaxial) and hydrophobic moments (radial) of 108 TMDs found in 9 different human ST proteins. Our results, taken together with earlier work from other groups, suggest that spatial patterns of hydrophobicity found in TMDs 1 and 2 are consistent with a role for these domains in the initial anchoring of the nascent ST protein to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), as it emerges from the ribosome complex and perhaps in the subsequent spatial organisation of STs.

scholarly journals Identification of amino acids essential for DNA binding and dimerization in p67SRF: implications for a novel DNA-binding motif

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-132
Author(s):  
A D Sharrocks ◽  
H Gille ◽  
P E Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Serum Response Factor ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Amino Acid Peptide ◽  
Serum Response

The serum response factor (p67SRF) binds to a palindromic sequence in the c-fos serum response element (SRE). A second protein, p62TCF binds in conjunction with p67SRF to form a ternary complex, and it is through this complex that growth factor-induced transcriptional activation of c-fos is thought to take place. A 90-amino-acid peptide, coreSRF, is capable for dimerizing, binding DNA, and recruiting p62TCF. By using extensive site-directed mutagenesis we have investigated the role of individual coreSRF amino acids in DNA binding. Mutant phenotypes were defined by gel retardation and cross-linking analyses. Our results have identified residues essential for either DNA binding or dimerization. Three essential basic amino acids whose conservative mutation severely reduced DNA binding were identified. Evidence which is consistent with these residues being on the face of a DNA binding alpha-helix is presented. A phenylalanine residue and a hexameric hydrophobic box are identified as essential for dimerization. The amino acid phasing is consistent with the dimerization interface being presented as a continuous region on a beta-strand. A putative second alpha-helix acts as a linker between these two regions. This study indicates that p67SRF is a member of a protein family which, in common with many DNA binding proteins, utilize an alpha-helix for DNA binding. However, this alpha-helix is contained within a novel domain structure.

scholarly journals A novel method for achieving an optimal classification of the proteinogenic amino acids

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Then ◽  
Karel Mácha ◽  
Bashar Ibrahim ◽  
Stefan Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Interaction Potential ◽  
Binary Separation ◽  
Multiple Alignments ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Optimal Classification ◽  
Helix Propensity ◽  
Α Helix

Abstract The classification of proteinogenic amino acids is crucial for understanding their commonalities as well as their differences to provide a hint for why life settled on the usage of precisely those amino acids. It is also crucial for predicting electrostatic, hydrophobic, stacking and other interactions, for assessing conservation in multiple alignments and many other applications. While several methods have been proposed to find “the” optimal classification, they have several shortcomings, such as the lack of efficiency and interpretability or an unnecessarily high number of discriminating features. In this study, we propose a novel method involving a repeated binary separation via a minimum amount of five features (such as hydrophobicity or volume) expressed by numerical values for amino acid characteristics. The features are extracted from the AAindex database. By simple separation at the medians, we successfully derive the five properties volume, electron–ion-interaction potential, hydrophobicity, α-helix propensity, and π-helix propensity. We extend our analysis to separations other than by the median. We further score our combinations based on how natural the separations are.

scholarly journals Circular dichroism analysis of ligand-induced conformational changes in protein kinase C. Mechanism of translocation of the enzyme from the cytosol to the membranes and its implications

1993 ◽  
Vol 290 (3) ◽  
pp. 827-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Boscá ◽  
F Morán
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Protein Kinase C ◽  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Phorbol Esters ◽  
Fluorescence Emission ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Fluorescence Measurements ◽  
Kinase C ◽  
Beta Structure

The structural changes following the binding to protein kinase C (PKC) of activators that promote its translocation to lipid environments were studied by far-u.v. c.d. and intrinsic fluorescence measurements of the protein. In the absence of activators, PKC contained 40% alpha-helix, with an average size of 13 amino acids per alpha-helix segment, and 12% beta-structure as deduced from c.d. spectral analysis while fitting a set of model proteins of known structure. Ligands that promote translocation and activation of the enzyme, such as Ca2+ ions and phorbol esters, produced drastic changes in the c.d. spectra which may be interpreted as a reduction in the average number of consecutive amino acids in the alpha-helix. Most of the total alpha-helix structure was conserved and an increase in beta-structure was produced by active phorbol esters. These activators differentially affected the fluorescence of PKC: phorbol esters shifted the emission maximum to the red, whereas Ca2+ produced a marked decrease in the intensity of the fluorescence emission, suggesting in both cases that tryptophan residues were exposed to increased polar environments after binding of the ligands.

scholarly journals A 10-amino-acid sequence in the N-terminal A/B domain of thyroid hormone receptor alpha is essential for transcriptional activation and interaction with the general transcription factor TFIIB.

1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 4507-4517 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Hadzic ◽  
V Desai-Yajnik ◽  
E Helmer ◽  
S Guo ◽  
S Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Thyroid Hormone ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Thyroid Hormone Receptor ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Terminal Region ◽  
Binding Studies

The effects of the thyroid hormone (3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine [T3]) on gene transcription are mediated by nuclear T3 receptors (T3Rs). alpha- and beta-isoform T3Rs (T3R alpha and -beta) are expressed from different genes and are members of a superfamily of ligand-dependent transcription factors that also includes the receptors for steroid hormones, vitamin D, and retinoids. Although T3 activates transcription by mediating a conformational change in the C-terminal approximately 220-amino-acid ligand-binding domain (LBD), the fundamental mechanisms of T3R-mediated transcriptional activation remain to be determined. We found that deletion of the 50-amino-acid N-terminal A/B domain of chicken T3R alpha (cT3R alpha) decreases T3-dependent stimulation of genes regulated by native thyroid hormone response elements about 10- to 20-fold. The requirement of the A/B region for transcriptional activation was mapped to amino acids 21 to 30, which contain a cluster of five basic amino acids. The A/B region of cT3R alpha is not required for T3 binding or for DNA binding of the receptor as a heterodimer with retinoid X receptor. In vitro binding studies indicate that the N-terminal region of cT3R alpha interacts efficiently with TFIIB and that this interaction requires amino acids 21 to 30 of the A/B region. In contrast, the LBD interacts poorly with TFIIB. The region of TFIIB primarily involved in the binding of cT3R alpha includes an amphipathic alpha helix contained within residues 178 to 201. Analysis using a fusion protein containing the DNA-binding domain of GAL4 and the entire A/B region of cT3R alpha suggests that this region does not contain an intrinsic activation domain. These and other studies indicate that cT3R alpha mediates at least some of its effects through TFIIB in vivo and that the N-terminal region of DNA-bound cT3R alpha acts to recruit and/or stabilize the binding of TFIIB to the transcription complex. T3 stimulation could then result from ligand-mediated changes in the LBD which may lead to the interaction of other factors with cT3R alpha, TFIIB, and/or other components involved in the initiation of transcription.

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