Studies on tryptophan residues of Abrus agglutinin. Stopped-flow kinetics of modification and fluorescence-quenching studies

The Role of Surface Properties on Protein Aggregation Behavior in Aqueous Solution of Different pH Values

This study aimed to investigate the effect of pH-mediated surface properties of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on protein aggregation and the changes of protein structure and colloidal stability at different solution pH levels. The hydrophobicity of BSA surface was characterized by endogenous fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence quenching of acrylamide, and fluorescence probe. The results showed that the hydrophobicity of BSA surface was similar at pH 5, 6, 7.4, followed by pH 4, 8, 9, 10, and finally by pH 3 and 11 with strong acidity and alkalinity. The positive charge on the BSA surface was increased gradually with the decrease of solution pH, while the negative charge on protein surface was increased gradually with the increase of solution pH. The degree of protein aggregation was examined by turbidimetry, flow cytometry, and SDS-PAGE. The results showed that the oscillating aggregation of BSA did not change with the solution pH, but was partially dependent on the relative contribution of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between the protein molecules. In addition, the secondary structure, conformational stability, unfolding degree, and colloidal stability of proteins were investigated by circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, protein pulse hydrolysis, and dynamic light scattering, respectively. The results suggested that the solution pH could change the structure and stability of the protein at different levels. Solution pH has distinct effects on the structural stability of protein at different levels. The change of protein surface properties mediated by solution pH is related to protein aggregation.

Conformational study of red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) protein isolate (KPI) by tryptophan fluorescence and differential scanning calorimetry

Fluorescence and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to study changes in the conformation of red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) protein isolate (KPI) under various environmental conditions. The possible relationship between fluorescence data and DSC characteristics was also discussed. Tryptophan fluorescence and fluorescence quenching analyses indicated that the tryptophan residues in KPI, exhibiting multiple fluorophores with different accessibilities to acrylamide, are largely buried in the hydrophobic core of the protein matrix, with positively charged side chains close to at least some of the tryptophan residues. GdnHCl was more effective than urea and SDS in denaturing KPI. SDS and urea caused variable red shifts, 2-5 nm, in the emission λ(max), suggesting the conformational compactness of KPI. The result was further supported by DSC characteristics that a discernible endothermic peak was still detected up to 8 M urea or 30 mM SDS, also evidenced by the absence of any shift in emission maximum (λ(max)) at different pH conditions. Marked decreases in T(d) and enthalpy (ΔH) were observed at extreme alkaline and/or acidic pH, whereas the presence of NaCl resulted in higher T(d) and ΔH, along with greater cooperativity of the transition. Decreases in T(d) and ΔH were observed in the presence of protein perturbants, for example, SDS and urea, indicating partial denaturation and decrease in thermal stability. Dithiothreitol and N-ethylmaleimide have a slight effect on the thermal properties of KPI. Interestingly, a close linear relationship between the T(d) (or ΔH) and the λ(max) was observed for KPI in the presence of 0-6 M urea.

A fluorescence spectroscopic study of a coagulating protein extracted from Moringa oleifera seeds

The fluorescence studies of coagulating protein extracted from Moringa oleifera seeds have been studied using steady-state intrinsic fluorescence. The fluorescence spectra are dominated by tryptophan emission and the emission peak maximum (lambda(max)=343+ or -2nm) indicated that the tryptophan residue is not located in the hydrophobic core of the protein. Changes in solution pH affected the protein conformation as indicated by changes in the tryptophan fluorescence above pH 9 whereas the ionic strength had minimal effect. The exposure and environments of the tryptophan residue were determined using collisional quenchers.

Fluorescence spectroscopy evaluation of fibrinogen–β-estradiol binding

Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments were performed in order to study conformational changes induced by the binding of beta-estradiol to fibrinogen at different ligand concentrations. The association constant (Ka) obtained for the fibrinogen-beta-estradiol binding was 6.47x10(6)M(-1), indicating a high affinity interaction. Fluorescence quenching experiments showed that approximately 30% of the tryptophan residues in the protein quaternary structure are accessible to ionic quenchers. The extent of quenching in the absence and presence of beta-estradiol was maximum for cesium ions and minimum for iodide, suggesting the presence of negatively charged residues in the vicinity of the tryptophan residues. The quenching parameters obtained at different beta-estradiol concentrations show alterations that confirm a conformational change, possibly due to a discrete reorganization of tryptophan residues during fibrinogen-beta-estradiol binding. This binding may be responsible for the effects of beta-estradiol on the decrease of erythrocyte aggregation and on cardiovascular risk reduction.

Kinetic analysis of protein modification reactions at equilibrium

A kinetic analysis is presented of reactions of protein modification, and/or of modification-induced enzyme inactivation, which can formally be described by a single exponential function, or by a summation of two exponential functions, of reaction time plus a constant term. The reaction schemes compatible with the kinetic formalism of these cases are given, and a simple kinetic criterion is described whereby the identification of one of these cases, strong negative protein modification co-operativity, may be carried out. The treatment outlined in this paper is applied to a case from the literature, the inactivation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase by butane-2,3-dione [Asriyants, Benkevich & Nagradova (1983) Biokhimiya (Engl. Transl.) 48, 164-171].