Tryptophan ionizing groups

Distinct changes in several properties of lysozyme occur after reaction with ozone. The lytic activity of the ozonized lysozyme shows the same trend at various pHs as the native enz3mie (Fig. 2) this may suggest that the pK values of the ionizable groups involved in catalysis have not been altered by ozonplysis. The amino acid composition of ozonized lysozyme differs from that of the native enz3mie in three residues — methionine, tryptophan and t3H osine. None of the other amino acids is affected by ozone. The extensive loss of enz5miic activity must be ascribed to the oxidative modification of these three amino acid residues in the lysozyme. 

Tyrosine contains a phenolic side chain with a pKa of about 9.7-10.1. Due to its aromatic character, tyrosine is second only to tryptophan in contributing to a protein s overall absorptivity at 275-280nm. Although the amino acid is only sparingly soluble in water, the ionizable nature of the phenolic group makes it often appear in hydrophilic regions of a protein—usually... 

A number of studies on the fluorescence decay of tyrosine, tyrosine derivatives, and small tyrosyl peptides have been carried out. 36-38 Whereas the tyrosine zwitterion and tyrosine derivatives with an ionized a-carboxy group exhibited monoexponential fluorescence decay (x = 3.26-3.76 ns), double- or triple-exponential decay was observed in most other cases. As in the case of the tryptophan model compounds, the complex decay kinetics were again interpreted in terms of rotamer populations resulting from rotation around the C —Cp bond. There is evidence to indicate that the shorter fluorescence lifetimes may arise from rotamers in which the phenol ring is in close contact with a hydrated carbonyl group 36 37 and that a charge-transfer mechanism may be implicated in this quenching process. 39 ... 

Fluorescence is useful when the ionization of a group perturbs the spectrum of a neighboring tryptophan, the major fluorescent species in proteins, or causes a conformational change that perturbs the fluorescence of the protein as a whole. Tyrosines may be titrated in the absence of tryptophans (which fluoresce more strongly). 

The aromatic amino acids also have fluorescence emissions when excited by light in the UV range. Table Bl.3.3 gives the excitation wavelength, fluorescence emission wavelength, and quantum yield (Q) for tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine. The quantum yield is the ratio of photons emitted to photons absorbed. Typically, phenylalanine fluorescence is not detected in the presence of tyrosine and tryptophan due to low Q. Furthermore, tyrosine fluorescence is nearly completely quenched if the tyrosine residue is ionized or near an amino group, a carboxyl group, or a tryptophan residue (Teale, 1960 Freifelder, 1982). Therefore, tryptophan fluorescence is what is customarily measured. 

Channels internal walls and external mouths contain groups that are easily ionized, such as tyrosine, or protonated, such as tryptophan, and are likely to be affected by changes in pH. The M2 transmembrane protein, encoded by influenza viruses, forms a tetrameric transmembrane channel for protons when it infects cells [15]. 

In studies of the recombination of heme with globin Jope,. lope and O Brien (1949) have used the concept of bound tyrosine hydroxyl groups as a criterion of native character in globin, based on the spectropho-tometric study of the alkaline ionization process. They were able to show that globin preparations which were native according to this criterion could be classified as denatured on the basis of the position of their tryptophan fine-structure bands when recombined with heme. These results led them to suggest that the process of denaturation could be separated into several stages, even by spectroscopic techniques alone (see also Jope, 1949). 

For human serum albumin Tanford (1950) found by spectrophotometry that the ionization of the tyrosine hydroxyl groups was completely reversible up to pH 12. Measurements at the wavelength of the tyrosine anion maximum (2930 A.), uncorrected for the small tryptophan contribution, gave a pK of 11.7 for this process. Both the ultraviolet absorption and titration data for this protein could be quantitatively interpreted on the basis of complete freedom of all the 18 tyrosine hydroxyl groups in the molecule to ionize. In this respect human serum albumin thus resembles insulin and not ovalbumin. 

In proteins, three amino acids, tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine, are responsible for the U.V. absorption, c in proteins is detemiined at the maximum (278 nm) (Fig. 1.13) and thus, concentrations of proteins are calculated by measuring the absorbance at this wavelength. Cystine and the ionized sulfhydryl groups of cysteine absorb also in this region but much weakly than the three aromatic amino acids. Ionization of the sulfhydiyl group induces an increase in the absorption and an appearance of a new peak around 240 nm. The imidazole group of histidine absorbs in the 185-220 nm region. Finally, important absorption of the peptide bonds occurs at 190 nm. 

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