Amino homology

The most general methods for the syntheses of 1,2-difunctional molecules are based on the oxidation of carbon-carbon multiple bonds (p. 117) and the opening of oxiranes by hetero atoms (p. 123fl.). There exist, however, also a few useful reactions in which an a - and a d -synthon or two r -synthons are combined. The classical polar reaction is the addition of cyanide anion to carbonyl groups, which leads to a-hydroxynitriles (cyanohydrins). It is used, for example, in Strecker s synthesis of amino acids and in the homologization of monosaccharides. The ff-hydroxy group of a nitrile can be easily substituted by various nucleophiles, the nitrile can be solvolyzed or reduced. Therefore a large variety of terminal difunctional molecules with one additional carbon atom can be made. Equally versatile are a-methylsulfinyl ketones (H.G. Hauthal, 1971 T. Durst, 1979 O. DeLucchi, 1991), which are available from acid chlorides or esters and the dimsyl anion. Carbanions of these compounds can also be used for the synthesis of 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds (p. 65f.). 

Compounds of this type possess a definite Aj-selenazoline structure, while homologous compounds with at least one labile hydrogen on the 2-amino group can exist as a tautomeric equilibrium (Scheme 64). 

Fig. 3. Fluman LH, FSH, and TSH a suburnt [69431-84-1]. Amino acid numbering is relative to maximum homology between species (48). Note the 4 amino acid deletion in human a suburnt between positions 6 and 9. Consensus glycosylation sites are at Asn-56 and 82. GHO = carbohydrate chain.

Fig. 4. Human LH, FSH, and TSH P subunits. Amino acid numbeiing is relative to maximum homology between the three subunits. Consensus...

Fig. 2. Piimaiy structure of bPRL, bPL, oPL, and bGH. Amino acid numbers are relative to maximum homology among hormones (12).

Fig. 3. Human CG, hLH, and equine CG (eCG) P-subunits. Amino acid numbeiing is relative to maximum homology between the three subunits. Consensus glycosylation sites ate at Asn-13 and 30. = same amino acid as hCG/3. Underlined Asn residues indicate attachment of N-linked carbohydrate chains. Serines at positions 121, 127, 132, and 138 of hCGP are underlined to indicate sites of O-linked carbohydrate attachment. Residues 115—118,...

Insulin and Amylin. Insulin is a member of a family of related peptides, the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), including IGF-I and IGF-II (60) and amylin (75), a 37-amino acid peptide that mimics the secretory pattern of insulin. Amylin is deficient ia type 1 diabetes meUitus but is elevated ia hyperinsulinemic states such as insulin resistance, mild glucose iatolerance, and hypertension (33). Insulin is synthesized ia pancreatic P cells from proinsulin, giving rise to the two peptide chains, 4. and B, of the insulin molecule. IGF-I and IGF-II have stmctures that are homologous to that of proinsulin (see INSULIN AND OTHER ANTIDIABETIC DRUGS). 

Sulfoxides occur widely in small concentrations in plant and animal tissues, eg, aHyl vinyl sulfoxide [81898-53-5] in garlic oil and 2,2 -sulfinylbisethanol [3085-45-8] as fatty esters in the adrenal cortex (1,2). Homologous methyl sulfinyl alkyl isothiocyanates, which are represented by the formula CH3SO(CH2) NCS, where n = 3 [37791-20-1], 4 [4478-93-7], 5 [646-23-1], 8 [75272-81-0], 9 [39036-83-4], or 10 [39036-84-5], have been isolated from a number of mustard oils in which they occur as glucosides (3). Two methylsulfinyl amino acids have also been reported methionine sulfoxide [454-41-1] from cockroaches and the sulfoxide of i -methylcysteine, 3-(methylsulfinyl)alaiiine [4740-94-7]. The latter is the dominant sulfur-containing amino acid in turnips and may account in part for their characteristic odor (4). 

Sequences have been determined for plasminogen and bovine Factor XII, and they are not homologous with the other serine proteases. The amino-terminal sequence of Factor XII is homologous, however, with the active site of several naturally occurring protease inhibitors (11). 

An effective method for localizing causes of redox potentials is to plot the total backbone and side chain contributions to ( ) per residue for homologous proteins as functions of the residue number using a consensus sequence, with insertions treated by summing the contribution of the entire insertion as one residue. The results for homologous proteins should be examined for differences in the contributions to ( ) per residue that correlate with observed redox potential differences. These differences can then be correlated with any other sequence-redox potential data for proteins that lack crystal or NMR structures. In addition, any sequences of homologous proteins that lack both redox potentials and structures should be examined, because residues important in defining the redox potential are likely to have semi-sequence conservation of a few key amino acid types. 

Several motifs usually combine to form compact globular structures, which are called domains. In this book we will use the term tertiary structure as a common term both for the way motifs are arranged into domain structures and for the way a single polypeptide chain folds into one or several domains. In all cases examined so far it has been found that if there is significant amino acid sequence homology in two domains in different proteins, these domains have similar tertiary structures. 

Domains that are homologous to the epidermal growth factor, EGF, which is a small polypeptide chain of 53 amino acids. 

Serine proteinase domains that are homologous to chymotrypsin, which has about 245 amino acids arranged in two domains. 

One might expect these positions to exhibit a higher degree of amino acid conservation and hence sequence homology than the rest of the molecule. This is not, however, the case for distantly related molecules that have low sequence homology and derive from distantly related species. The sequence identity of these residues is no greater than in the rest of the... 

In Bacillus snbtilis these two reactions are catalyzed by two separate enzymes that have amino acid sequences homologous to the corresponding regions of the bifunctional enzyme from E. coli, and thus each forms a barrel... 

There is a second family of small lipid-binding proteins, the P2 family, which include among others cellular retinol- and fatty acid-binding proteins as well as a protein, P2, from myelin in the peripheral nervous system. However, members of this second family have ten antiparallel p strands in their barrels compared with the eight strands found in the barrels of the RBP superfamily. Members of the P2 family show no amino acid sequence homology to members of the RBP superfamily. Nevertheless, their three-dimensional structures have similar architecture and topology, being up-and-down P barrels. 

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