Mutant enzymes thermodynamic stability

Figure B3.5.12 Effect of mutations detected by CD. The far-UV CD spectra (A) show that the secondary structure of p-lactamase PC1 (solid line) from Staphylococcus aureus is essentially unaffected by point mutations P2 (Thr 140—>lle dashed line) and P54 (Asp 146->Asn dotted line). The crystallographic structure of P54 (Herzberget al., 1991) confirms that, apart from a loop region, the main body of the molecule that contains the thirteen tyrosine residues is very closely similar to that in the wild-type enzyme. The intensity of the tyrosine ellipticity (B) is, however, markedly decreased in each of the mutants, the lower thermodynamic stabilities of which support the interpretation of increased dynamics (Craig et al., 1985).

Thermodynamic stability is a global property of the enzyme structure, and contributions of individual amino acids toward the free energy of folding are additive and highly cooperative. Analysis of mutant proteins has defined the contributions of various amino acids toward the overall stability of the protein. Replacements which alter the formation of ion pairs, hydrogen bonds, van der Waals contacts, or hydrophobic interactions each tend to destabilize the folded protein by a qualitatively comparable amount (14). In one approach to this problem, site-specific substitution of amino acids has provided new approaches toward dissecting the kinetic mechanisms of protein folding (27). 

ProTherm (16) is a large collection of thermodynamic data on protein stability, which has information on 1) protein sequence and stmcture (2) mutation details (wild-type and mutant amino acid hydrophobic to polar, charged to hydrophobic, aliphatic to aromatic, etc.), 3) thermodynamic data obtained from thermal and chemical denaturation experiments (free energy change, transition temperature, enthalpy change, heat capacity change, etc.), 4) experimental methods and conditions (pH, temperature, buffer and ions, measurement and method, etc.), 5) functionality (enzyme activity, binding constants, etc.), and 6) literature. 

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