Helix conformation changes with

Different from trigger proteins, parvalbumin and calbindinD9k frmction as calcium-buffer proteins. Calcium binding to both proteins does not lead to conformational change with an exposed hydrophobic surface. The structure of a carp parvalbumin was the first structure in the EF-hand protein family. It has two isoforms (a and fi) with very similar stmctures. Oncomodulin is the mammahan beta hnkage parvalbumin. The stmcture of parvalbumin comprises three helix-loop-helix motifs, called AB, CD, and EF initially (Figure 11). The calcium-binding loop in the first... 

The high degree of cooperativity that is characteristic of the helix-coil transition is not a prerequisite for coupling of a conformational change with the isotropic-nematic transition, although it may serve to accentuate the effect. Significant effects may be expected in other circumstances. 

Figure 6.21 Schematic diagram of the conformational changes of calmodulin upon peptide binding, (a) In the free form the calmodulin molecule is dumhhell-shaped comprising two domains (red and green), each having two EF hands with bound calcium (yellow), (b) In the form with bound peptides (blue) the a helix linker has been broken, the two ends of the molecule are close together and they form a compact globular complex. The internal structure of each domain is essentially unchanged. The hound peptide binds as an a helix.

The elegant genetic studies by the group of Charles Yanofsky at Stanford University, conducted before the crystal structure was known, confirm this mechanism. The side chain of Ala 77, which is in the loop region of the helix-turn-helix motif, faces the cavity where tryptophan binds. When this side chain is replaced by the bulkier side chain of Val, the mutant repressor does not require tryptophan to be able to bind specifically to the operator DNA. The presence of a bulkier valine side chain at position 77 maintains the heads in an active conformation even in the absence of bound tryptophan. The crystal structure of this mutant repressor, in the absence of tryptophan, is basically the same as that of the wild-type repressor with tryptophan. This is an excellent example of how ligand-induced conformational changes can be mimicked by amino acid substitutions in the protein. 

The 3 isozymes are activated by G protein-coupled receptors through two different mechanisms [2]. The first involves activated a-subunits of the Gq family of heterotrimeric G proteins (Gq, Gn, Gi4, G15/16). These subunits activate the (31, (33 and (34 PLC isozymes through direct interaction with a sequence in the C terminus. The domain on the Gqa-subunit that interacts with the (3 isozymes is located on a surface a-helix that is adjacent to the Switch III region, which undergoes a marked conformational change during activation. The second mechanism of G protein activation of PLC 3 isozymes involves (3y-subunits released from Gi/0 G proteins by their pertussis toxin-sensitive activation by certain receptors. The 3y-subunits activate the 32 and 33 PLC isozymes by interacting with a sequence between the conserved X and Y domains. 

This is, for instance, the case of PTFE, which at atmospheric pressure presents two reversible first-order transitions at 19 °C and 30 °C [67], In the transition at 19 °C the molecular conformation changes slightly, from a 13/6 to a 15/7 helix and the molecular packing changes from an ordered structure with a triclinic unit cell (corresponding to a positioning of the chain axes nearly hexagonal) toward a partially disordered structure (partial intermolecular rotational disorder) with a... 

There are two broad kinds of polyion conformation the random coil and the ordered helix. In a helix there are regularly repeated structures along the coil there are none in the case of a random coil. In this book we are concerned with the latter where there are often several conformations with approximately equal free energies and, thus, conformational changes occur readily. 

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