Specificity site directed mutagenesis

High temperatures can break native S-S bonds and form new S-S bonds which can lock the protein into a denatured eonfiguration [89]. Low pH, sodium dodecyl sulfate. Tween 80, chaotropie salts, and exogenous proteins have been used to protect proteins from thermal inaetivation [90]. Ethylene glycol at 30-50% was used to protect the antiviral activity of P-interferon preparations [91]. Human serum albumin was used in recombinant human interferon-Psei-n which resulted in increased thermal stability [62]. Water-soluble polysaeeharides sueh as dextrans and amylose [92], as well as point-specific (site-directed) mutagenesis [93] have also been used to increase thermal stability of therapeutie proteins and peptides. 

Igarashi S, Hirokawa T, and Sode K. 2004. Engineering PQQ glucose dehydrogenase with improved substrate specificity Site-directed mutagenesis studies on the active center of PQQ glucose dehydrogenase. Biomol Eng 21 81-89... 

How is the binding specificity of the heterodimer achieved compared with the specificity of Mat a2 alone The crystal structure rules out the simple model that the contacts made between the Mat a2 homeodomain and DNA are altered as a result of heterodimerization. The contacts between the Mat o2 homeodomain and DNA in the heterodimer complex are virtually indistinguishable from those seen in the structure of the Mat o2 monomer bound to DNA. However, there are at least two significant factors that may account for the increased specificity of the heterodimer. First, the Mat al homeodomain makes significant contacts with the DNA, and the heterodimeric complex will therefore bind more tightly to sites that provide the contacts required by both partners. Second, site-directed mutagenesis experiments have shown that the protein-protein interactions involving the... 

Residue 189 is at the bottom of the specificity pocket. In trypsin the Asp residue at this position interacts with the positively charged side chains Lys or Arg of a substrate. This accounts for the preference of trypsin to cleave adjacent to these residues. In chymotrypsin there is a Ser residue at position 189, which does not interfere with the binding of the substrate. Bulky aromatic groups are therefore preferred by chymotrypsin since such side chains fill up the mainly hydrophobic specificity pocket. It has now become clear, however, from site-directed mutagenesis experiments that this simple picture does not tell the whole story. 

Protein engineering is now routinely used to modify protein molecules either via site-directed mutagenesis or by combinatorial methods. Factors that are Important for the stability of proteins have been studied, such as stabilization of a helices and reducing the number of conformations in the unfolded state. Combinatorial methods produce a large number of random mutants from which those with the desired properties are selected in vitro using phage display. Specific enzyme inhibitors, increased enzymatic activity and agonists of receptor molecules are examples of successful use of this method. 

The specific role of each amino acid residue for the function of the protein can be tested by making specific mutations of the residue in question and examining the properties of the mutant protein. By combining in this way functional studies in solution, site-directed mutagenesis by recombinant DNA techniques, and three-dimensional structure determination, we are now in a position to gain fresh insights into the way protein molecules work. 

Lavoie, T. B., Drohan, W. N. and Smith-Gill, S. J. (1992), Experimental analysis by site-directed mutagenesis of somatic mutation effects on affinity and fine specificity in antibodies specific for lysozyme , f. Immunol., 148, 503-513. 

By means of genetic engineering, including cloning and site-directed mutagenesis, it has become possible for modern synthetic chemists to utilize a sufficient amount of isolated enzyme catalysts and to modify the reactivity, stability, or even specificity of enzymes. Therefore, polymerizations catalyzed by isolated enzyme are expected to create a new area of precision polymer syntheses. Furthermore, enzymatic polymerizations have great potential as an environmentally friendly synthetic process of polymeric materials. 

Shames, and S. E. Ealick, Purine nucleoside phosphorylase. 3. Reversal of purine base specificity by site-directed mutagenesis, Biochemistry 36 11725 (1997). 

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