Conformational changes in melittin upon complexation with an anionic melittin analog

AbstractMelittin and its Glu-(7,21,22,23,24) analog upon mixing in equimolar concentrations form a hybrid oligomer with significant helical structure, in conditions in which each peptide separately adopts a largely disordered structure. The hybrid exhibits both cold- and heat-induced denaturations similar to the phenomena exhibited by proteins. The hybrid also retains significant residual structure at higher temperature, similar to the ‘molten globular state’ that has been suggested for proteins. Melittin, at concentrations in which it forms helical tetramers, also exhibits these phenomena and may be used as a model for protein-denaturation studies

Solution structure of the DNA-binding domain of human telomeric protein, hTRF1

AbstractBackground: Mammalian telomeres consist of long tandem arrays of the double-stranded TTAGGG sequence motif packaged by a telomere repeat binding factor, TRF1. The DNA-binding domain of TRF1 shows sequence homology to each of three tandem repeats of the DNA-binding domain of the transcriptional activator c-Myb. The isolated c-Myb-like domain of human TRF1 (hTRF1) binds specifically to telomeric DNA as a monomer, in a similar manner to that of homeodomains. So far, the only three-dimensional structure of a telomeric protein to be determined is that of a yeast telomeric protein, Rap1p. The DNA-binding domain of Rap1p contains two subdomains that are structurally closely related to c-Myb repeats. We set out to determine the solution structure of the DNA-binding domain of hTRF1 in order to establish its mode of DNA binding.Results: The solution structure of the DNA-binding domain of hTRF1 has been determined and shown to comprise three helices. The architecture of the three helices is very similar to that of each Rap1p subdomain and also to that of each c-Myb repeat. The second and third helix form a helix-turn-helix (HTH) variant. The length of the third helix of hTRF1 is similar to that of the second subdomain of Rap1p.Conclusions: The hTRF1 DNA-binding domain is likely to bind to DNA in a similar manner to that of the second subdomain of Rap1p. On the basis of the Rap1p–DNA complex, a model of the hTRF1 DNA-binding domain in complex with human telomeric DNA was constructed. In addition to DNA recognition by the HTH variant, a flexible N-terminal arm of hTRF1 is likely to interact with DNA

Methods for sequential resonance assignment in solid, uniformly 13C, 15N labelled peptides: Quantification and application to antamanide

The application of adiabatic polarization-transfer experiments to resonance assignment in solid, uniformly 13C-15N-labelled polypeptides is demonstrated for the cyclic decapeptide antamanide. A homonuclear correlation experiment employing the DREAM sequence for adiabatic dipolar transfer yields a complete assignment of the Cα and aliphatic side-chain 13C resonances to amino acid types. The same information can be obtained from a TOBSY experiment using the recently introduced P91 12 TOBSY sequence, which employs the J couplings as a transfer mechanism. A comparison of the two methods is presented. Except for some aromatic phenylalanine resonances, a complete sequence-specific assignment of the 13C and 15N resonances in antamanide is achieved by a series of selective or broadband adiabatic triple-resonance experiments. Heteronuclear transfer by adiabatic-passage Hartmann-Hahn cross polarization is combined with adiabatic homonuclear transfer by the DREAM and rotational-resonance tickling sequences into two- and three-dimensional experiments. The performance of these experiments is evaluated quantitativel

Mode of disulfide bond formation of a heat-stable enterotoxin (STh) produced by a human strain of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

AbstractTo determine the modes of three disulfide linkages in the heat-stable enterotoxin (STh) produced by a human strain of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, we synthesized STh(6–18), which consists of 13 amino acid residues and has the same intramolecular disulfide linkages as native STh [(1985) FEBS Lett. 181, 138–142], by stepwise and selective formation of disulfide bonds using different types of removable protecting groups for the Cys residues. Synthesis of the peptide with different modes of disulfide bond formation provided three peptides consistent with standard STh(6–18) in their physicochemical and biological properties, thereby indicating that the disulfide bonds in STh(6–18) are