The structure of a synthetic peptide comprising the 28 amino-terminal residues of actin has been examined by 1H-NMR and CD spectroscopy. The peptide is largely unstructured and flexible in solution but becomes increasingly structured at higher trifluoroethanol (TFE) concentrations. As judged by CD with the use of two additional peptides (actin 1-20 and actin 18-28), TFE induces formation of up to 48% helical content within residues 1-20, while residues 21-28 exhibit no helical propensity. Similar results were obtained by using NMR-derived distance information in restrained molecular dynamics calculations. The calculated structure of actin 1-28 peptide in 80% TFE is well defined for the first 23 residues with a backbone root mean square deviation of 0.5 A. Two helices are formed from residues 4-13 and 16-20, and a beta-turn is formed from residues 13-16. The N-terminal residues 1-3 exhibit increased flexibility and a helix-like conformation while the C-terminal residues 21-28 show no regular secondary structure. These results are compared with the predicted secondary structure and the structure of the corresponding sequence in the crystal structure of actin [Kabsch et al. (1990) Nature 347, 37-44]. The significance of the TFE-induced peptide structure is discussed.

The flexibility of the polar side chains in the alpha-helical Type I antifreeze protein (AFP) near the solution freezing temperature was investigated by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These experiments were conducted to define the rotameric conformations of the proposed ice-binding groups, threonines and asparagines, in order to probe the molecular mechanism for ice binding. On the basis of the 3J alpha beta 2 NMR coupling constant values of 7.1, 8.5, 8.5, and 6.8 Hz for residues T2, T13, T24, and T35, respectively, it can be calculated that the regularly spaced ice-binding threonines sample many possible rotameric states prior to ice binding. The lack of a dominant side chain rotamer is further corroborated by nuclear Overhauser distance measurements for T13 and T24. N16 and N27, both with 3J alpha beta 2 and 3J alpha beta 3 coupling constants of 8.4 and 4.5 Hz, respectively, show a slight preference for the side chain conformation with a chi 1 of -60 degrees. These data suggest that prior to ice binding the threonine and asparagine side chains are free to rotate and that a unique preformed ice-binding structure in solution is not apparent. These observations do not support the rigid side chain model proposed recently by an X-ray study [Sicheri, F., & Yang, D. S. C. (1995) Nature 375, 427-431].

The large paramagnetic shifts and short relaxation times resulting from the presence of ap aramagnetic centre complicate NMR data acquisition and interpretation in solution. As aresult, NMR analysis of paramagnetic complexes is limited in comparison to diamagnetic compounds and often relies on theoretical models.W er eport at oolbox of 1D (1 H, proton-coupled 13 C, selective 1 H-decoupling 13 C, steady-state NOE) and 2D (COSY,NOESY,HMQC) paramagnetic NMR methods that enables unprecedented structural characterisation and in some cases,p rovides more structural information than would be observable for ad iamagnetic analogue.W ed emonstrate the toolboxsb road versatility for fields from coordination chemistry and spin-crossover complexes to supramolecular chemistry through the characterisation of Co II and highspin Fe II mononuclear complexes as well as aC o 4 L 6 cage.

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a group of structurally very diverse proteins with the unique capability of inhibiting ice crystal growth. Although significant progress has been made in the identification of different families of these proteins, the molecular mechanism of their action is unclear. The previously postulated mechanism of hydrogen bonding between the threonine residues of AFP and the water molecules in the ice surface has been disproved by mutation studies with non-polar residues. Currently, the mechanism of antifreeze activity cannot be fully understood from experimental or computational studies. Computational modeling studies have examined protein-ice interactions, mostly in vacuo. These studies have neglected the effects of the water phase. It has been shown that the vacuum is a very poor approximation for the water properties. Thus, to gain an insight into the molecular mechanism of these proteins we have computationally modeled a more realistic system comprising of AFP Type I from winter flounder (HPLC6), water and ice without any constraints. The results from this study show that the protein forms hydrogen bonds with the water molecules in the ice/water interfacial region. However, a comparison of the results with the protein in water simulations shows that there is no significant gain of hydrogen bonds for protein in the interfacial region compared to in the solvent. These results support the hypothesis that hydrogen bonding is not the primary reason for interaction of HPLC6 with the ice/water interfacial region.

Transcarboxylase (TC) from Propionibacterium shermanii, a biotin-dependent enzyme, catalyzes the transfer of a carboxyl group from methylmalonyl-CoA to pyruvate to form propionyl-CoA and oxalacetate. Within the multi-subunit enzyme complex, the 1.3S subunit functions as the carboxyl group carrier and also binds the other two subunits to assist in the overall assembly of the enzyme. The 1.3S subunit is a 123 amino acid polypeptide (12.6 kDa) to which biotin is covalently attached at Lys 89. The three-dimensional solution structure of the full-length holo-1.3S subunit of TC has been solved by multidimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. The C-terminal half of the protein (51-123) is folded into a compact all-beta-domain comprising of two four-stranded antiparallel beta-sheets connected by short loops and turns. The fold exhibits a high 2-fold internal symmetry and is similar to that of the biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP) of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, but lacks an extension that has been termed "protruding thumb" in BCCP. The first 50 residues, which have been shown to be involved in intersubunit interactions in the intact enzyme, appear to be disordered in the isolated 1.3S subunit. The molecular surface of the folded domain has two distinct surfaces: one side is highly charged, while the other comprises mainly hydrophobic, highly conserved residues.

A synthetic peptide antigen corresponding to the C-terminus of Pseudomonas aeruginosa K strain pilin has been studied by one and two-dimensional NMR techniques. This peptide exists in two isomeric forms which arise as a result of the I138-P139 amide bond. An ensemble of solution conformations for the trans form of this 17-residue disulfide-bridged peptide (PAK 128-144) has been generated using a simulated annealing procedure in conjunction with distance and torsion angle restraints derived from NMR data. One major class of backbone conformations has been identified for this potential synthetic vaccine and indicates the presence of two beta-turns in the region 134-142. The region that has been established as the epitope for the monoclonal antibody PK99H is consistent with the region of the major conformers that exhibit the most definition in the ensemble (134-140) and also includes a type I beta-turn from residues 134 to 137. The generated structures are also consistent with observed NOEs characteristic of beta-turns and amide proton temperature coefficient data, which indicate the presence of two turns between residues 134 and 142. The presence of secondary structure within the epitope substantiates the theory that immunogenic regions of proteins are those which contain surface-exposed structural elements such as beta-turns. Further implications of the structure on antigenicity and cross-reactivity are discussed.

No abstract

Chemists usually synthesize molecules using stochastic bond-forming collisions of the reactant molecules in solution. Nature follows a different strategy in biochemical synthesis. The majority of biochemical reactions are driven by machine-type protein complexes that bind and position the reactive molecules for selective transformations. Artificial "molecular assemblers" performing "mechanosynthesis" have been proposed as a new paradigm in chemistry and nanofabrication. Here we present a simple non-proteinogenic machine-type molecule which drives the endergonic condensation of vanadate to cyclic tetravanadate using light as the energy source. The system combines selective binding of the reactants, accurate positioning, and active release of the product. Hydrolysis of the product prevents inhibition of further cycles. Our prototypic system demonstrates the prerequisites that are needed to selectively drive an endergonic reaction using an external energy source.