Disulfide proteins

Experimentally, the capacity of the D-penicillamine group to act as antigenic determinant has been shown by Assem and Vickers (1974), immunizing rabbits with penicillamine-disulfide protein conjugates. The immunogenicity of D-penicillamine itself, as used for treatment of Wilson s disease or in rheumatic disorders, has been demonstrated (Amos 1973), It has also been shown that penicillamine can behave as experimental contact sensitizer in guinea pigs (Levine 1960 a Caron 1963). 

Figure 11 Immobilization of the conjugate and removal via reduction of disulfide (protein structures from the PDB 1SWA and 1P56). Reprinted with permission from Heredia, K. L. Tao, L. Grover, G. N. Maynard, H. D. Polym. Chem. 2010, 1,168-170. Copyright 2010 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

A highly sensitive adsorption stripping procedure for measuring the disulfide proteins has been developed [183]. The peaks on cyclic voltam-mograms at the hanging mercury electrode at about —0.3 V associated with the reduction of disulfide bonds make it possible to quantitate the proteins at the submicromolar and nanomolar levels. 

A crucial experiment will be to reoxidize reduced RNase in glycerol, and see if the native disulfides are regenerated. It will also be valuable to see if non-disulfide proteins are renatured in these solvents. 

The three dimensional shapes of many proteins are governed and stabilized by S—S bonds connecting what would ordinarily be remote segments of the molecule We 11 have more to say about these disulfide bridges m Chapter 27... 

The shape of a large protein is influenced by many factors including of course Its primary and secondary structure The disulfide bond shown m Figure 27 18 links Cys 138 of carboxypeptidase A to Cys 161 and contributes to the tertiary structure Car boxypeptidase A contains a Zn " ion which is essential to the catalytic activity of the enzyme and its presence influences the tertiary structure The Zn ion lies near the cen ter of the enzyme where it is coordinated to the imidazole nitrogens of two histidine residues (His 69 His 196) and to the carboxylate side chain of Glu 72... 

The primary structure of a peptide is given by its ammo acid sequence plus any disulfide bonds between two cysteine residues The primary structure is determined by a systematic approach m which the protein is cleaved to smaller fragments even individual ammo acids The smaller fragments are sequenced and the mam sequence deduced by finding regions of overlap among the smaller peptides... 

Hydrogen bonding stabilizes some protein molecules in helical forms, and disulfide cross-links stabilize some protein molecules in globular forms. We shall consider helical structures in Sec. 1.11 and shall learn more about ellipsoidal globular proteins in the chapters concerned with the solution properties of polymers, especially Chap. 9. Both secondary and tertiary levels of structure are also influenced by the distribution of polar and nonpolar amino acid molecules relative to the aqueous environment of the protein molecules. Nonpolar amino acids are designated in Table 1.3. 

Keratin is the protein of hair and wool. These proteins are insoluble because of the disulfide cross-linking between cystine units. Permanent waving of... 

Equation (8.97) shows that the second virial coefficient is a measure of the excluded volume of the solute according to the model we have considered. From the assumption that solute molecules come into surface contact in defining the excluded volume, it is apparent that this concept is easier to apply to, say, compact protein molecules in which hydrogen bonding and disulfide bridges maintain the tertiary structure (see Sec. 1.4) than to random coils. We shall return to the latter presently, but for now let us consider the application of Eq. (8.97) to a globular protein. This is the objective of the following example. 

Protein-Based Adhesives. Proteia-based adhesives are aormaHy used as stmctural adhesives they are all polyamino acids that are derived from blood, fish skin, caseia [9000-71 -9] soybeans, or animal hides, bones, and connective tissue (coUagen). Setting or cross-linking methods typically used are iasolubilization by means of hydrated lime and denaturation. Denaturation methods require energy which can come from heat, pressure, or radiation, as well as chemical denaturants such as carbon disulfide [75-15-0] or thiourea [62-56-6]. Complexiag salts such as those based upon cobalt, copper, or chromium have also been used. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde donors such as h exam ethyl en etetra am in e can be used to form cross-links. Removal of water from a proteia will also often denature the material. 

Two protein hormones, inhibin and activin, have been identified in gonadal tissue. Inhibin has been isolated from ovarian foUicular fluid and found to inhibit pituitary secretion of FSH. Inhibin is a glyocoprotein heterodimer consisting of two disulfide-linked subunits, a and P two types of P-subunit,... 

Size Isomers. In solution, hGH is a mixture of monomer, dimer, and higher molecular weight oligomers. Furthermore, there are aggregated forms of hGH found in both the pituitary and in the circulation (16,17). The dimeric forms of hGH have been the most carefully studied and there appear to be at least three distinct types of dimer a disulfide dimer connected through interchain disulfide bonds (8) a covalent or irreversible dimer that is detected on sodium dodecylsulfate- (SDS-)polyacrylamide gels (see Electroseparations, Electrophoresis) and is not a disulfide dimer (19,20) and a noncovalent dimer which is easily dissociated into monomeric hGH by treatment with agents that dismpt hydrophobic interactions in proteins (21). In addition, hGH forms a dimeric complex with ( 2). Scatchard analysis has revealed that two ions associate per hGH dimer in a cooperative... 

Disulfides. The introduction of disulfide bonds can have various effects on protein stability. In T4 lyso2yme, for example, the incorporation of some disulfides increases thermal stability others reduce stability (47—49). Stabili2ation is thought to result from reduction of the conformational entropy of the unfolded state, whereas in most cases the cause of destabili2ation is the introduction of dihedral angle stress. In natural proteins, placement of a disulfide bond at most positions within the polypeptide chain would result in unacceptable constraint of the a-carbon chain. 

Fig. 9. A de novo designed P sheet protein, betabellin, formed by the dimerization of two identical four-stranded -sheets and a disulfide linking the two sheets. This model is for betabeUins 9 and later progenies the earher betabeUins contained a two-armed cross-linker connecting the sheets (51).

A fermented-egg product (EEP), patented as an attractive bait for synanthropic flies, has been shown to be attractive to coyotes and repeUent to deer (79). Its components are variable, with relative concentrations of 77% fatty acids, 13% bases, and 10% (primarily) neutrals composed of at least 54 volatiles such as ethyl esters, dimethyl disulfide, and 2-mercaptoethanol. Synthetic formulations have been evaluated to find a replacement for a patented fermented-egg protein product that attracts coyotes and repels deer. Ten aUphatic acids (C-2 to C-8), four amines (pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, and trimethyl), dimethyl disulfide, 2-mercaptoethanol, and 54 more volatiles (C-1 to C-5 esters of C-1 to C-8 acids) have been tested as synthetic fermented egg (SEE) (80) in approximately the same proportions that are present in EEP. Weathering was a problem that caused decreased efficacy, which suggests trials of controUed-release formulations. Eourteen repeUents have been examined against white-taU deer in Peimsylvania in choice tests when treated onto sheUed com (81). 

Fig. 3. Sodium dodecyl sulfate—polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic pattern for molecular weight standards (lane 1) water-extractable proteins of defatted soybean meal (lane 2) purified IIS (glycinin) (lane 3) and purified 7S (P-conglycinin) (lane 4) where the numbers represent mol wt x 10. The gel was mn in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol, resulting in the cleavage of the disulfide bond linking the acidic (A bands) and basic (B bands) polypeptides of the...

Thaumatin. Thaumatin [53850-34-3] is a mixture of proteins extracted from the fmit of a West African plant, Thaumatococcus daniellii (Beimett) Benth. Work at Unilever showed that the aqueous extract contains two principal proteins thaumatin I and thaumatin II. Thaumatin I, mol wt 22,209, contains 207 amino acids in a single chain that is cross-linked with eight disulfide bridges. Thaumatin II has the same number of amino acids, but there are five sequence differences. Production of thaumatins via genetic engineering technology has been reported (99). 

Cysteine [52-90 ] is a thiol-bearing amino acid which is readily isolated from the hydrolysis of protein. There ate only small amounts of cysteine and its disulfide, cystine, in living tissue (7). Glutathione [70-18-8] contains a mercaptomethyl group, HSCH2, and is a commonly found tripeptide in plants and animals. Coenzyme A [85-61-0] is another naturally occurring thiol that plays a central role in the synthesis and degradation of fatty acids. 

In addition to the restrictions on their mobiHty caused by steric and polar interactions between chemical groups, the protein molecules in wool fibers are covalentiy cross-linked by disulfide bonds. Permanent setting only occurs if these disulfide bonds are also rearranged to be in equiHbrium with the new shape of the fiber. Disulfide bond rearrangement occurs only at high temperature (>70° C) in wet wool and at even higher temperatures (above 100°C) in... 

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