Cysteine maleimide-activated

After a carrier protein has been activated with sulfo-SMCC, it is often useful to measure the degree of maleimide incorporation prior to coupling an expensive hapten. Ellman s reagent may be used in an indirect method to assess the level of maleimide activity of sulfo-SMCC-activated proteins and other carriers. First, a sulfhydryl-containing compound such as 2-mercaptoethanol or cysteine is reacted in excess with the activated protein. The amount of unreacted sulfhydryls remaining in solution is then determined using the Ellman s reaction (Chapter 1, Section 4.1). Comparison of the response of the sample to a blank reaction using... 

Figure 19.19 shows a plot of the results of such an assay done to determine the maleimide content of activated BSA. This particular assay used 2-mercaptoethanol which is relatively unaffected by metal-catalyzed oxidation. For the use of cysteine or cysteine-containing peptides in the assay, however, the addition of EDTA is required to prevent disulfide formation. Without the presence of EDTA at 0.1 M, the metal contamination of some proteins (especially serum proteins such as BSA) is so great that disulfide formation proceeds preferential to maleimide coupling. Figure 19.20 shows a similar assay for maleimide-activated BSA using the more innocuous cysteine as the sulfhydryl-containing compound. 

Using this type of cysteine-uptake assay, it is possible to determine the percentage of maleimides that reacted over time. Thus, an indication of the reaction efficiency of a sulfhydryl-containing compound coupling with a maleimide-activated protein may be determined. Figure 19.21 shows the reaction rate for the coupling of cysteine to maleimide-activated BSA. Note that maximal coupling is obtained in less than 2 hours, and over 80 percent yield is achieved in less than 30 minutes. 

Figure 19.20 Cysteine also may be used in an Ellman s assay to determine the maleimide activation level of SMCC-derivatized proteins. Reaction of the activated carrier with different amounts of cysteine results in various levels of sulfhydryls remaining after the reaction. The coupling must be done in the presence of EDTA to prevent metal-catalyzed oxidation of sulfhydryls. Detection of the remaining thiols using an Ellman s assay indirectly indicates the amount of sulfhydryl uptake into the activated carrier. Comparison of the Ellman s response to the same quantity of cysteine plus an unactivated carrier indicates the absolute amount of sulfhydryl that reacted. Calculation of the maleimide activation level then can be done.

Figure 19.21 The rate of reaction of cysteine with maleimide-activated BSA was determined using an Ellman s assay for remaining sulfhydryl groups after the reaction, according to Figure 19.20. Nearly all of the available maleimides are coupled with sulfhydryls within 2 hour.

In recent years, biochemists have developed an arsenal of reactions that are relatively specific to the side chains of particular amino acids. These reactions can be used to identify functional amino acids at the active sites of enzymes or to label proteins with appropriate reagents for further study. Cysteine residues in proteins, for example, react with one another to form disulfide species and also react with a number of reagents, including maleimides (typically A ethylmaleimide), as shown in Figure 4.11. Cysteines also react effectively... 

Reaction of purified Ca " -ATPase with 0.3 mM NBD-Cl in the presence of 1 mM AMP-PNP and 1 mM CaCl2 caused inhibition of ATPase activity with the incorporation of 2= 15 nmol NBD-Cl per mg protein [335]. The inhibition was attributed to the binding of 7-8 nmol NBD-Cl/mg enzyme protein, corresponding to = 1 mol NBD-Cl per mol ATPase. The NBD-labeled enzyme was digested with pepsin and several NBD-labeled peptides were isolated [335]. All peptides contained the Gly-X (Cys) sequence that occurs only in one place in the Ca -ATPase, i.e., at Gly343-Cys344. Therefore NBD-Cl reacts with the same cysteine 344 residue that is also modified by maleimide derivatives [319]. The NBD modified enzyme had only 5-10% of the ATPase activity of the control ATPase, but the steady state concentration of the phosphoenzyme intermediate was only slightly reduced [335]. The Ca ... 

An affinity label is a molecule that contains a functionality that is chemically reactive and will therefore form a covalent bond with other molecules containing a complementary functionality. Generally, affinity labels contain electrophilic functionalities that form covalent bonds with protein nucleophiles, leading to protein alkylation or protein acylation. In some cases affinity labels interact selectively with specific amino acid side chains, and this feature of the molecule can make them useful reagents for defining the importance of certain amino acid types in enzyme function. For example, iodoacetate and A-ethyl maleimide are two compounds that selectively modify the sulfur atom of cysteine side chains. These compounds can therefore be used to test the functional importance of cysteine residues for an enzyme s activity. This topic is covered in more detail below in Section 8.4. 

React the protein with activated dendrimer for 2 hours at room temperature with mixing. At the completion of the reaction, cysteine may be added at 50 mM to block excess maleimide-reactive sites, which are not coupled with protein. 

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