Molecular dynamics study of an alpha-cyclodextrin-phosphatidylinositol inclusion complex

Factors Affecting the Formation of 2:1 Host:Guest Inclusion Complexes of 2-[(R-Phenyl)amine]-1,4-naphthalenediones (PAN) in β- and γ-Cyclodextrins

The molecular hosts cyclodextrins form inclusion complexes with a wide variety of guests, resulting in complexes with various host:guest stoichiometries. In the case of a series of 19 1,4-naphthoquinolines as guests with either β- or γ-cyclodextrin studied using electrospray mass spectroscopy, in most cases only 1:1 complexes were observed, with 2:1 host:guest complexes observed in just 6 out of 38 host:guest combinations. It is shown that these higher-order complexes were observed only in the case of small (or no) electronically withdrawing substituents, and were much less likely in the case of the larger γ-cyclodextrin host. The size and electronic properties of the substituents involved shows that both steric and electronic factors must be taken into account in predicting which cyclodextrin host:guest stoichiometries will be stable enough to form (or once formed, be robust enough to be observed in the ESI-MS experiments). It is clear that the prediction of host-guest stoichiometry for a specific host-guest pair is complicated, and involves a subtle interplay of both electronic and steric factors. However, there are definite trends, which can be used to help predict host:guest stoichiometry for a given host-guest pair.

The Glycophosphatidylinositol Anchor Oppositely Affects Unfolding and Refolding of Alkaline Phosphatase

Regarding the world wide success of artificial chaperone-assisted protein refolding technique and based on its well worked-out mechanism, it is anticipated that the lipid moieties of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) group, which is present in some membrane proteins, might interfere with the capturing step of the technique. To find an answer, we evaluated the chemical denaturation and also the refolding behavior of insoluble and soluble alkaline phosohatase (ALP), with or without GPI group, respectively. The results indicated that the presence of GPI in the enzyme increased the stability of the protein against chemical denaturation while it decreased its refolding yield by the artificial chaperone refolding technique. The lower refolding yield, compared to soluble ALP (sALP), might be due to a less efficient stripping step caused by new interactions imparted to the refolding elements of the system especially those among the hydrophobic tails of GPI and the capturing agent of the technique. These new interactions will interrupt the kinetics of detergent stripping from the captured molecules by the stripping agent (i.e., cyclodextrins). This situation will lead to higher intermolecular hydrophobic interactions among the refolding protein intermediates leading to their higher misfolding and aggregation.

Three-dimensional structure of the inclusion complex between phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin

The inclusion of phloridzin into beta-cyclodextrin was studied as a model of molecular recognition in membranes. Effects on 1H NMR spectra and NOE correlational peaks between phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin were observed in the complex. Strong NOEs were observed between hydrogens of a phenol group in phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin. The three-dimensional structure of the inclusion complex between phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin was simulated with distance constraints estimated by the intensity of NOE peaks using the DADAS90 programs. Two inclusion possibilities were suggested-the large rim of beta-cyclodextrin as an entrance of the inclusion and the small rim of beta-cyclodextrin as the entrance. In both cases, the phenol group of phloridzin was included in the hydrophobic space of beta-cyclodextrin.