A study of the effect of a helix dipole on the
pK
a of a side chain functional group has been
undertaken
to determine the magnitude of these electrostatic effects in the
absence of interfering influences from a protein
matrix. Three helical peptides were prepared: two containing Asp
residues at the N- or C-terminus and one with
an Asp residue in the middle of the peptide. These peptides have
no reactive residues other than the Asp side chain
carboxylate group. Circular dichroism confirmed that these
peptides adopt helical conformations in aqueous solution
over a broad pH range. The pK
a of compound
12, where the Asp residue is at the N-terminus of the helix,
is 3.81
± 0.31. This is lower than the pK
a of an
Asp residue in a short nonhelical model compound (4.09 ± 0.21)
and
lower than the pK
a values of 23,
where the Asp residue is at the C-terminus of a helix (4.17 ± 0.24),
and 19, where
the Asp residue is in the middle of the helix (4.17 ± 0.29). No
significant perturbation was observed at the C-terminus
of a helix (compound 23), despite this being the negative
pole of the dipole. We believe that this carboxylate
is
drawn toward the N-terminus by electrostatic attraction to the positive
pole of the dipole, resulting in positioning of
the carboxylate over the middle of the helix rather than over the
C-terminus.