Protein structure 204 Subject

Proteins are the indispensable agents of biological function, and amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The stunning diversity of the thousands of proteins found in nature arises from the intrinsic properties of only 20 commonly occurring amino acids. These features include (1) the capacity to polymerize, (2) novel acid-base properties, (3) varied structure and chemical functionality in the amino acid side chains, and (4) chirality. This chapter describes each of these properties, laying a foundation for discussions of protein structure (Chapters 5 and 6), enzyme function (Chapters 14-16), and many other subjects in later chapters. 

The opening sentence above says it all. NMR is by far the most valuable spectroscopic technique for structure determination. Although wei) just give an overview of the subject in this chapter, focusing on NMR applications to small molecules, more advanced NMR techniques are also used in biological chemistry to study protein structure and folding. 

Almost all products of modern pharmaceutical biotechnology, be they on the market or likely to gain approval in the short to intermediate term, are protein based. As such, an understanding of protein structure is central to this topic. A comprehensive treatment of the subject would easily constitute a book on its own, and many such publications are available. The aim of this chapter is to provide a basic overview of the subject in order to equip the reader with a knowledge of protein science sufficient to understand relevant concepts outlined in the remaining chapters of this book. The interested reader is also referred to the Further reading section, which lists several excellent specialist publications in the field. Much additional information may also be sourced via the web sites mentioned within the chapter. 

Ras and its relatives are subjects of intensive investigations by biological, biochemical, biophysical, and medical studies. Within just one decade more than 17,000 articles (Medline, 1966-2000) deal with function and properties of this protein. Structural and functional data, based on Ras as a prototype, have provided insight into the basic principles of GTP-binding proteins, their activation, de-activation, and signal transmission. 

Bonds and Forces - These properties are the mediators affecting the changes in size and conformation. Van der Waal forces, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, covalent bonds, and hydrophobic bonds all play a part in the original protein structure as well as in the modifications leading to altered functionality. Adequate correlations of these with functional properties are the subjects of "Functional Evaluations" 3). 

The preceding experiments prove that there is an intermediate on the reaction pathway in each case, the measured rate constants for the formation and decay of the intermediate are at least as high as the value of kcat for the hydrolysis of the ester in the steady state. They do not, however, prove what the intermediate is. The evidence for covalent modification of Ser-195 of the enzyme stems from the early experiments on the irreversible inhibition of the enzyme by organo-phosphates such as diisopropyl fluorophosphate the inhibited protein was subjected to partial hydrolysis, and the peptide containing the phosphate ester was isolated and shown to be esterified on Ser-195.1516 The ultimate characterization of acylenzymes has come from x-ray diffraction studies of nonspecific acylenzymes at low pH, where they are stable (e.g., indolylacryloyl-chymotrypsin),17 and of specific acylenzymes at subzero temperatures and at low pH.18 When stable solutions of acylenzymes are restored to conditions under which they are unstable, they are found to react at the required rate. These experiments thus prove that the acylenzyme does occur on the reaction pathway. They do not rule out, however, the possibility that there are further intermediates. For example, they do not rule out an initial acylation on His-57 followed by rapid intramolecular transfer. Evidence concerning this and any other hypothetical intermediates must come from additional kinetic experiments and examination of the crystal structure of the enzyme. 

It is possible at present to identify two main levels at which molecular similarity is of importance in proteins. First, detection of large-scale similarities between different protein structures, i.e. similarities in the way that the linear polypeptide sequence is folded up to form a three-dimensional structure. This is the subject of the remainder of Sect. 4. Second, comparative analysis of local aspects of protein structure, for example the examination of specific binding sites, or of the environments of particular sidechains. These methods are described in Sect. 5. 

We review the subject of noncovalent interactions in proteins with particular emphasis on the so-called weakly polar interactions. First, the physical bases of the noncovalent electrostatic interactions that stabilize protein structure are discussed. Second, the four types of weakly polar interactions that have been shown to occur in proteins are described with reference to some biologically significant examples of protein structure stabilization and protein-ligand binding. Third, hydrophobic effects in proteins are discussed. Fourth, an hypothesis regarding the biological importance of the weakly polar interaction is advanced. Finally, we propose adoption of a systematic classification of electrostatic interactions in proteins. 

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