Spontaneous mutations at numerous sites distant from the active site of HIV-1 protease enable resistance to inhibitors while retaining enzymatic activity. As a benchmark for probing the effects of these mutations on the conformational adaptability of this dimeric β-barrel protein, the folding free energy surface of a pseudo wild-type variant, HIV-PR*, was determined by a combination of equilibrium and kinetic experiments on the urea-induced unfolding/refolding reactions. The equilibrium unfolding reaction was well-described by a two-state model involving only the native dimeric form and the unfolded monomer. The global analysis of the kinetic folding mechanism reveals the presence of a fully-folded monomeric intermediate that associates to form the native dimeric structure. Independent analysis of a stable monomeric version of the protease demonstrated that a small amplitude fluorescence phase in refolding and unfolding, not included in the global analysis of the dimeric protein, reflects the presence of a transient intermediate in the monomer folding reaction. The partially-folded and fully-folded monomers are only marginally stable with respect to the unfolded state, and the dimerization reaction provides a modest driving force at micromolar concentrations of protein. The thermodynamic properties of this system are such that mutations can readily shift the equilibrium from the dimeric native state towards weakly-folded states that have a lower affinity for inhibitors, but that could be induced to bind to their target proteolytic sites. Presumably, subsequent secondary mutations increase the stability of the native dimeric state in these variants and, thereby, optimize the catalytic properties of the resistant HIV-1 protease. Keywords thermodynamics; kinetics; dimer folding mechanisms; jelly-roll β-barrel motif; global analysis Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the viral infection that causes AIDS, has come to the forefront as a global public health crisis since the initial identification of this disease twentyfive years ago. 1,2 HIV-1 protease, the protein responsible for viral maturation through multiple cleavages of the Gag and Gag-Pol polyproteins, has been a therapeutic target in the treatment of AIDS for a number of years. 3 Structure-based drug design guided the development of the first generation of HIV-1 protease inhibitors. 4 Though these inhibitors initially showed great promise, the high frequency of mutations in the viral genome resulted in multiple HIV-1 protease variants that maintain activity yet are drug-resistant. 5 The presence of both active site and non-active site mutations in these variants 6 suggests that the retention of activity for the non-active site variants may arise from an altered free energy landscape that provides access to alternative HIV-1 protease conformations. 7 The proposal that differential perturbations in
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript the conformational ensemble of protease may be responsible for resistance is cons...
The thermal denaturation of hen egg-white lysozyme was studied in the presence of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) at various pH values using micro differential scanning calorimetry. Quantitative thermodynamic parameters accompanying the thermal transitions were evaluated. It is observed that thermal unfolding of lysozyme in the presence of TFE upto a concentration of 4.0 mol dm follows a two-state denaturation mechanism as indicated by the equality y3 of van't Hoff and calorimetric enthalpies. The finer details of interaction were studied by measuring the partial molar volume of some constituent amino acids and glycine peptides from water to aqueous TFE at 298.15 K. The physicochemical properties of aqueous TFE: apparent molar heat capacities, apparent molar volumes and surface tension were measured to understand the intrinsic properties of the cosolvent as well. From the correlation among the thermal unfolding data on lysozyme in aqueous TFE, calculated preferential interaction parameters, physico chemical properties of aqueous TFE and partial molar volumes of transfer, it is concluded that both solvent mediated effect and direct interaction constitute the mechanism of TFE-protein interactions.
The thermal denaturation of alpha-lactalbumin was studied at pH 7.0 and 9.0 in aqueous 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) by high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry. The conformation of the protein was analyzed by a combination of fluorescence and circular dichroism measurements. The most obvious effect of HFIP was lowering of the transition temperature with an increase in the concentration of the alcohol up to 0.30M, beyond which no calorimetric transition was observed. Up to 0.30M HFIP the calorimetric and van't Hoff enthalpy remained the same, indicating the validity of the two-state approximation for the thermal unfolding of alpha-lactalbumin. The quantitative thermodynamic parameters accompanying the thermal transitions have been evaluated. Spectroscopic observations confirm that alpha-lactalbumin is in the molten globule state in the presence of 0.50M HFIP at pH 7.0 and 0.75M HFIP at pH 9.0. The results also demonstrate that alpha-lactalbumin in the molten globule state undergoes a noncooperative thermal transition to the denatured state. It is observed that two of four tryptophans are exposed to the solvent in the HFIP induced molten globule state of alpha-lactalbumin compared to four in the 8.5M urea induced denatured state of the protein. It is also observed that the HFIP induced molten globule states at the two pH values are different from the acid induced molten globule state (A state) of alpha-lactalbumin.
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