Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.1.31.1 (micrococcal nuclease)
2,818 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The preservation of enzyme activity and protein binding capacity upon protein adsorption at solid interfaces is important for biotechnological and medical applications. Because these properties are partly related to the protein flexibility and mobility, we have studied the internal dynamics and the whole-body reorientational rates of two enzymes, staphylococcal nuclease (SNase) and hen egg white lysozyme, over the temperature range of 20-80 degrees C when the proteins are adsorbed at the silica/water interface and, for comparison, when they are dissolved in buffer. The data were obtained using a combination of two experimental techniques, total internal reflection fluorescence spectroscopy and time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurements in the frequency domain, with the protein Trp residues as intrinsic fluorescence probes. It has been found that the internal dynamics and the whole-body rotation of SNase and lysozyme are markedly reduced upon adsorption over large temperature ranges. At elevated temperatures, both protein molecules appear completely immobilized and the fractional amplitudes for the whole-body rotation, which are related to the order parameter for the local rotational freedom of the Trp residues, remain constant and do not approach zero. This behavior indicates that the angular range of the Trp reorientation within the adsorbed proteins is largely restricted even at high temperatures, in contrast to that of the dissolved proteins. The results of this study thus provide a deeper understanding of protein activity at solid surfaces.
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PMID:Reorientational dynamics of enzymes adsorbed on quartz: a temperature-dependent time-resolved TIRF anisotropy study. 1266 61

This article presents a study of the molecular charge distributions of the genetically encoded amino acids (AA), one that builds on the previous determination of their equilibrium geometries and the demonstrated transferability of their common geometrical parameters. The properties of the charge distributions are characterized and given quantitative expression in terms of the bond and atomic properties determined within the quantum theory of atoms-in-molecules (QTAIM) that defines atoms and bonds in terms of the observable charge density. The properties so defined are demonstrated to be remarkably transferable, a reflection of the underlying transferability of the charge distributions of the main chain and other groups common to the AA. The use of the atomic properties in obtaining an understanding of the biological functions of the AA, whether free or bound in a polypeptide, is demonstrated by the excellent statistical correlations they yield with experimental physicochemical properties. A property of the AA side chains of particular importance is the charge separation index (CSI), a quantity previously defined as the sum of the magnitudes of the atomic charges and which measures the degree of separation of positive and negative charges in the side chain of interest. The CSI values provide a correlation with the measured free energies of transfer of capped side chain analogues, from the vapor phase to aqueous solution, yielding a linear regression equation with r2 = 0.94. The atomic volume is defined by the van der Waals isodensity surface and it, together with the CSI, which accounts for the electrostriction of the solvent, yield a linear regression (r2 = 0.98) with the measured partial molar volumes of the AAs. The changes in free energies of transfer from octanol to water upon interchanging 153 pairs of AAs and from cyclohexane to water upon interchanging 190 pairs of AAs, were modeled using only three calculated parameters (representing electrostatic and volume contributions) yielding linear regressions with r2 values of 0.78 and 0.89, respectively. These results are a prelude to the single-site mutation-induced changes in the stabilities of two typical proteins: ubiquitin and staphylococcal nuclease. Strong quadratic correlations (r2 approximately 0.9) were obtained between DeltaCSI upon mutation and each of the two terms DeltaDeltaH and TDeltaDeltaS taken from recent and accurate differential scanning calorimetry experiments on ubiquitin. When the two terms are summed to yield DeltaDeltaG, the quadratic terms nearly cancel, and the result is a simple linear fit between DeltaDeltaG and DeltaCSI with r2 = 0.88. As another example, the change in the stability of staphylococcal nuclease upon mutation has been fitted linearly (r2 = 0.83) to the sum of a DeltaCSI term and a term representing the change in the van der Waals volume of the side chains upon mutation. The suggested correlation of the polarity of the side chain with the second letter of the AA triplet genetic codon is given concrete expression in a classification of the side chains in terms of their CSI values and their group dipole moments. For example, all amino acids with a pyrimidine base as their second letter in mRNA possess side-chain CSI < or = 2.8 (with the exception of Cys), whereas all those with CSI > 2.8 possess an purine base. The article concludes with two proposals for measuring and predicting molecular complementarity: van der Waals complementarity expressed in terms of the van der Waals isodensity surface and Lewis complementarity expressed in terms of the local charge concentrations and depletions defined by the topology of the Laplacian of the electron density. A display of the experimentally accessible Laplacian distribution for a folded protein would offer a clear picture of the operation of the "stereochemical code" proposed as the determinant in the folding process.
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PMID:Atoms-in-molecules study of the genetically encoded amino acids. III. Bond and atomic properties and their correlations with experiment including mutation-induced changes in protein stability and genetic coding. 1286 50

Sugars are known to stabilize proteins. This study addresses questions of the nature of sugar and proteins incorporated in solid sugar films. Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy was used to examine trehalose and sucrose films and glycerol/water solvent. Proteins and indole-containing compounds that are imbedded in the sugar films were studied by IR and optical (absorption, fluorescence, and phosphorescence) spectroscopy. Water is able to move in the sugar films in the temperature range of 20-300 K as suggested by IR absorption bands of HOH bending and OH stretching modes that shift continuously with temperature. In glycerol/water these bands reflect the glass transition at approximately 160 K. The fluorescence of N-acetyl-L-tryptophanamide and tryptophan of melittin, Ca-free parvalbumin, and staphylococcal nuclease in dry trehalose/sucrose films remains broad and red-shifted over a temperature excursion of 20-300 K. In contrast, the fluorescence of these compounds in glycerol/water solvent shift to the blue as temperature decreases. The fluorescence of the buried tryptophan in Ca-bound parvalbumin in either sugar film or glycerol/water remains blue-shifted and has vibronic resolution over the entire temperature range. The red shift for fluorescence of indole groups exposed to solvent in the sugars is consistent with the motion of water molecules around the excited-state molecule that occurs even at low temperature, although the possibility of static complex formation between the excited-state molecule and water or other factors is discussed. The phosphorescence yield for protein and model indole compounds is sensitive to the matrix glass transition. Phosphorescence emission spectra are resolved and shift little in different solvents or temperature, as predicted by the small dipole moment of the excited triplet state molecule. The conclusion is that the sugar film maintains the environment present at the glass formation temperature for surface Trp and amide groups over a wide temperature excursion. In glycerol/water these groups reflect local changes in the environment as temperature changes.
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PMID:Protein in sugar films and in glycerol/water as examined by infrared spectroscopy and by the fluorescence and phosphorescence of tryptophan. 1294 11

We studied the pressure-induced folding/unfolding transition of staphylococcal nuclease (SN) over a pressure range of approximately 1-3 kilobars at 25 degrees C by small-angle neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulations. We find that applying pressure leads to a twofold increase in the radius of gyration derived from the small-angle neutron scattering spectra, and P(r), the pair distance distribution function, broadens and shows a transition from a unimodal to a bimodal distribution as the protein unfolds. The results indicate that the globular structure of SN is retained across the folding/unfolding transition although this structure is less compact and elongated relative to the native structure. Pressure-induced unfolding is initiated in the molecular dynamics simulations by inserting water molecules into the protein interior and applying pressure. The P(r) calculated from these simulations likewise broadens and shows a similar unimodal-to-bimodal transition with increasing pressure. The simulations also reveal that the bimodal P(r) for the pressure-unfolded state arises as the protein expands and forms two subdomains that effectively diffuse apart during initial stages of unfolding. Hydrophobic contact maps derived from the simulations show that water insertions into the protein interior and the application of pressure together destabilize hydrophobic contacts between these two subdomains. The findings support a mechanism for the pressure-induced unfolding of SN in which water penetration into the hydrophobic core plays a central role.
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PMID:Pressure denaturation of staphylococcal nuclease studied by neutron small-angle scattering and molecular simulation. 1534 83

The ionizable amino acid side chains of proteins are usually located at the surface. However, in some proteins an ionizable group is embedded in an apolar internal region. Such buried ionizable groups destabilize the protein and may trigger conformational changes in response to pH variations. Because of the prohibitive energetic cost of transferring a charged group from water to an apolar medium, other stabilizing factors must be invoked, such as ionization-induced water penetration or structural changes. To examine the role of water penetration, we have measured the 17O and 2H magnetic relaxation dispersions (MRD) for the V66E and V66K mutants of staphylococcal nuclease, where glutamic acid and lysine residues are buried in predominantly apolar environments. At neutral pH, where these residues are uncharged, we find no evidence of buried water molecules near the mutation site. This contrasts with a previous cryogenic crystal structure of the V66E mutant, but is consistent with the room-temperature crystal structure reported here. MRD measurements at different pH values show that ionization of Glu-66 or Lys-66 is not accompanied by penetration of long-lived water molecules. On the other hand, the MRD data are consistent with a local conformational change in response to ionization of the internal residues.
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PMID:Stabilization of internal charges in a protein: water penetration or conformational change? 1537 17

The ionization properties of Lys and Glu residues buried in the hydrophobic core of staphylococcal nuclease (SN) suggest that the interior of this protein behaves as a highly polarizable medium with an apparent dielectric constant near 10. This has been rationalized previously in terms of localized conformational relaxation concomitant with the ionization of the internal residue, and with contributions by internal water molecules. Paradoxically, the crystal structure of the SN V66E variant shows internal water molecules and the structure of the V66K variant does not. To assess the structural and dynamical character of interior water molecules in SN, a series of 10-ns-long molecular dynamics (MD) simulations was performed with wild-type SN, and with the V66E and V66K variants with Glu66 and Lys66 in the neutral form. Internal water molecules were identified based on their coordination state and characterized in terms of their residence times, average location, dipole moment fluctuations, hydrogen bonding interactions, and interaction energies. The locations of the water molecules that have residence times of several nanoseconds and display small mean-square displacements agree well with the locations of crystallographically observed water molecules. Additional, relatively disordered water molecules that are not observed crystallographically were found in internal hydrophobic locations. All of the interior water molecules that were analyzed in detail displayed a distribution of interaction energies with higher mean value and narrower width than a bulk water molecule. This underscores the importance of protein dynamics for hydration of the protein interior. Further analysis of the MD trajectories revealed that the fluctuations in the protein structure (especially the loop elements) can strongly influence protein hydration by changing the patterns or strengths of hydrogen bonding interactions between water molecules and the protein. To investigate the dynamical response of the protein to burial of charged groups in the protein interior, MD simulations were performed with Glu66 and Lys66 in the charged state. Overall, the MD simulations suggest that a conformational change rather than internal water molecules is the dominant determinant of the high apparent polarizability of the protein interior.
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PMID:Molecular dynamics study of water penetration in staphylococcal nuclease. 1597 Dec 6

We model the hydration contribution to short-range electrostatic/dispersion protein interactions embodied in the osmotic second virial coefficient, B(2), by adopting a quasi-chemical description in which water molecules associated with the protein are identified through explicit molecular dynamics simulations. These water molecules reduce the surface complementarity of highly favorable short-range interactions, and therefore can play an important role in mediating protein-protein interactions. Here we examine this quasi-chemical view of hydration by predicting the interaction part of B(2) and comparing our results with those derived from light-scattering measurements of B(2) for staphylococcal nuclease, lysozyme, and chymotrypsinogen at 25 degrees C as a function of solution pH and ionic strength. We find that short-range protein interactions are influenced by water molecules strongly associated with a relatively small fraction of the protein surface. However, the effect of these strongly associated water molecules on the surface complementarity of short-range protein interactions is significant, and must be taken into account for an accurate description of B(2). We also observe remarkably similar hydration behavior for these proteins despite substantial differences in their three-dimensional structures and spatial charge distributions, suggesting a general characterization of protein hydration.
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PMID:Light-scattering studies of protein solutions: role of hydration in weak protein-protein interactions. 1598 Jan 82

The presence of a spanning hydrogen-bonded network of water at the surface of biomolecules is important for their conformational stability, dynamics, and function. We have studied by computer simulations the clustering and percolation of water in the hydration shell of a small elastinlike peptide (ELP) and the medium-size protein staphylococcal nuclease (SNase), in aqueous solution. We have found that in both systems a spanning network of hydration water exists at low temperatures and breaks up with increasing temperature via a quasi-two-dimensional percolation transition. The thermal breaking of the spanning water network occurs at biologically relevant temperatures, in the temperature range, which is close to the temperature of the "inverse temperature transition" of ELP and the unfolding temperature of SNase, respectively.
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PMID:Thermal breaking of spanning water networks in the hydration shell of proteins. 1637 8

Temperature- and pressure-induced unfolding of staphylococcal nuclease (SNase) was studied by Royer, Winter et al. using a variety of experimental techniques (SAXS, FT-IR and fluorescence spectroscopy, DSC, PPC, densimetry). For a more detailed understanding of the underlying mechanistic processes of the different unfolding scenarios, we have carried out a series of molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations on SNase. We investigated the initial changes of the structure of the protein upon application of pressure (up to 5 kbar) and discuss volumetric and structural differences between the native and pressure pre-denatured state. Additionally, we have obtained the compressibility of the protein and hydration water and compare these data with experimental results. As water plays a crucial role in determining the structure, dynamics and function of proteins, we undertook a detailed analysis of the structure of the interfacial water and the protein-solvent H-bond network as well. Moreover, we report here also MD results on the temperature-induced unfolding of SNase. The time evolution of the protein volume and solvent accessible surface area during thermal unfolding have been investigated, and we present a detailed discussion of the temperature-induced unfolding pathway of SNase in terms of secondary and tertiary structural changes.
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PMID:A molecular dynamics simulation of SNase and its hydration shell at high temperature and high pressure. 1646 48

Products of riboflavin-mediated photosensitization of 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG) and thymidylyl-(3'-5')-2'-deoxyguanosine (TpdG) by 350-nm light in oxygen-saturated aqueous solution have been isolated and identified as 1-(2-deoxy-beta-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl) oxaluric acid (beta-dOx) and thymidylyl-(3'-5')-1-(2-deoxy-beta-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl) oxaluric acid (Tpbeta-dOx), respectively. In aqueous solution the modified beta-deoxyribonucleoside is slowly converted to the alpha-anomer, generating alpha-dOx and Tpalpha-dOx. These modified nucleosides and dinucleoside monophosphates have been isolated by HPLC and characterized by proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and enzymatic analyses. Both alpha-dOx and Tpalpha-dOx slowly convert back into the modified beta-deoxyribonucleoside, indicating that the furanosidic anomers are in dynamic equilibrium. Relative to TpdG, the rate of hydrolysis of Tpbeta-dOx and Tpalpha-dOx by spleen phosphodiesterase is greatly reduced. Hot piperidine (1.0 M, 90 degrees C, 30 min) destroys Tpbeta-dOx and Tpalpha-dOx. Riboflavin-mediated photosensitization of TpdG in D2O instead of H2O has no detectable effect on the yield of Tpbeta-dOx, suggesting that oxaluric acid is generated through a Type-I reaction mechanism, likely through the intermediary on initially generated 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine.
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PMID:Identification of the alpha and beta anomers of 1-(2-deoxy-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)-oxaluric acid at the site of riboflavin-mediated photooxidation of guanine in 2'-deoxyguanosine and thymidylyl-(3'-5')-2'-deoxyguanosine. 1648 51


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