Cold denaturation of monomeric peptide helices
Cold denaturation of monomeric peptide helices
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DOI:
10.1021/ja961143h
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发表时间:
1996-10-23
影响因子:
15
通讯作者:
Tong, H
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Andersen, NH;Cort, JR;Tong, H
From the perspective of thermodynamics, the stable conformation of globular proteins represents a delicate compromise between very large opposing entropy and enthalpy terms with the hydrophobic effect playing a significant role. 1 Cold denaturation studies, typically carried out with the addition of limited quantities of denaturants2 or at nonoptimal pH3 to reduce the enthalpic advantage of the folded state, have had a pivotal role in elucidating the thermodynamics of protein folding. Cold denaturation is expected for any macroscopic two-state unfolding when the unfolded state has a larger heat capacity; proteins with significant burial of fatty residues typically display ΔCp values of 60-70 (JK-1)/residue (res). Cold denaturation has been observed for molten globule states of proteins4 and for helical peptide oligomers; 5 however, it has never been observed for a monomeric helical peptide. 6 Peptide helices display very broad melting transitions both calorimetrically and by circular dichroism (CD) and this precludes a direct measurement of ΔCp. 9 Calculations of the ΔCp expected for the unfolding of an alanine-rich helix range from-27 to+ 8.3 (JK-1)/res (based on the estimated changes in apolar versus polar surface area). 10 The largest ΔCp derived from experimental data for a peptide helix is+ 19 (JK-1)/res6c. We now report that dramatic cold denaturation can be observed in aqueous hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) for both amphiphilic helices and alanine-rich helices with zero hydrophobic moment. The phenomenon is illustrated with data collected for the four peptides shown here (the extent the helix in fluoroalcohol-rich media is indicated by underlining).