Tyrosine residue model

Amino acid residue models such as a tyrosine residue model (p-cresol) lengthen remarkably the charge hopping distance, a phenomenon which can solve i he problem in the electrocatalysis mentioned in the above item 5) and enhance remarkably the catalytic activity. 

Regarding item 6) above on electrocatalysis, the coexistence of tyrosine residue model, p-cresol (p-Crej, enhanced remarkably the catalytic activity of Ru-red confined in a Nafion membrane coated on an electrode (Fig. 19.3).20) This was attributed to the nearly twofold lengthening of the charge hopping distance by p-cresol from 1.28 nm to 2.25nm). 

The current understanding on activation of Tec kinases fits into a two-step model. In the first step an intramolecular interaction between the SH3 domain and aproline-rich region in the TH domain is disrupted by binding ofthe PH domain to phosphoinositides, G protein subunits, or the FERM domain of Fak. These interactions lead to conformational changes of Tec and translocation to the cytoplasmic membrane where, in a second step, Src kinases phosphorylate a conserved tyrosine residue in the catalytic domain thereby increasing Tec kinase activity. Autophosphorylation of a tyrosine residue in the SH3 domain further prevents the inhibitory intramolecular interaction resulting in a robust Tec kinase activation. 

Tyrosine fluorescence emission in proteins and polypeptides usually has a maximum between 303 and 305 nm, the same as that for tyrosine in solution. Compared to the Stokes shift for tryptophan fluorescence, that for tyrosine appears to be relatively insensitive to the local environment, although neighboring residues do have a strong effect on the emission intensity. While it is possible for a tyrosine residue in a protein to have a higher quantum yield than that of model compounds in water, for example, if the phenol side chain is shielded from solvent and the local environment contains no proton acceptors, many intra- and intermolecular interactions result in a reduction of the quantum yield. As discussed below, this is evident from metal- and ionbinding data, from pH titration data, and from comparisons of the spectral characteristics of tyrosine in native and denatured proteins. 

An additional emission band near 350 nm has been observed for lima bean trypsin inhibitor (LBTI).(173) The authors discussed both the possibility of contamination by tryptophan and excited-state tyrosinate formation. Since this 350-nm emission has a tyrosine-like excitation spectrum that is slightly shifted compared to that of the major 302-nm emission, it is also possible that the tyrosine residue in a fraction of the LBTI molecules could be hydrogen bonded. This model is supported by the observations that the phenol side chain is shielded from solvent and has an anomalously high pKa. 

Chemical Reviews paper. We can only discuss a small number of these here, but some important categories are (1) synthetic Fe(II)-Cu(I) complexes and their reactions with O2, (2) oxidized heme-copper models (Fe(III)-X-Cu(II) complexes, where X equals 0x0- and hydroxo-bridged complexes, cyanide-bridged complexes, or other X-bridged complexes), (3) crosslinked histidine-tyrosine residues at the heme-copper center, and (4) Cua site synthetic models. 

In the first syntheses of CCK-related peptides that lack serine, threonine, or hydroxy-proline residues, sulfation of tyrosine residues was accomplished by treatment of the fully deprotected peptides with sulfuric acid. Under optimized conditions good separation between sulfated, sulfonated, and unreacted species (Scheme 2) was achieved using ion-ex-change chromatography. 3435 Sulfonation of the indole group, as observed in model studies/731 is apparently not a dominant side reaction. 

Fig. 11.4. Model of signal transduction via the IL-2 receptor. Binding of IL-2 to the IL-2 receptor initiates activation of the Janus kinases Jakl and Jak3. These phosphorylate tyrosine residues in the P-chain of the IL-2 receptor and in the transcription factor StatS. SH2 domains or PTB domains of adaptor proteins can bind to the Tyr phosphate residues of the P-chain and, as shown in the figure for the Shc/Grb2/Sos complex, can transmit a signal in the direction of the Ras pathway. The phosphorylated transcription factor StatS is translocated into the nucleus and activates the transcription of corresponding gene sections. Another signaling pathway starting from the activated IL-2 receptor involves the Lck and Syk tyrosine kinases (see Chapter 8). The pathway leads to induction of genes for transcription factors such as c-Myc and c-Fos.

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