Conformational changes in intact and papain-modified alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor induced by guanidinium chloride

Equilibrium unfolding-refolding processes of active and proteolytically modified alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor induced by guanidinium chloride were studied. Spectroscopic methods of ultraviolet absorption, fluorescence emission and circular dichroism were used. The functional inhibitor unfolds following a multistate process: a first transition (midpoint at 0.6 M guanidinium chloride) was observed whatever the method used and was attributed to a limited conformational modification of the region including the two tryptophan residues. At higher denaturant concentrations, two other transitions were observed, one in fluorescence (midpoint at 1.7 M guanidinium chloride), attributed to the unfolding of the polypeptide chain in the same region and the other one, observed in circular dichroism and in ultraviolet absorption (midpoint at 2.3 M guanidinium chloride), leading to the totally unfolded protein. Evidence for several intermediates was also obtained with the proteolytically modified inhibitor. If total unfolding is considered, the modified inhibitor was found to be more stable towards the denaturant than the functional form (obtained at 5.5 M and 3.5 M guanidinium chloride, respectively). The unfolding irreversibility observed was attributed to the C-terminal fragment Ser359-Lys394 associated with the main chain of the cleaved inhibitor.     

A comparative study of the unfolding thermodynamics of vertebrate metmyoglobins

Differential scanning microcalorimetry (DSC) of horse, rat, opossum, raccoon, carp, and armadillo metmyoglobins at alkaline pH gave data that fit the two-state unfolding model well. Monte Carlo studies were used to assess the impact of truncating DSC scans on the reliability of the calculated results when aggregation exotherms overlapped the unfolding endotherm at the high-temperature end of the scan. The DSC estimates for the conformational free energy at pH 8 and 298 K are compared to earlier results from isothermal acid and guanidinium chloride unfolding. Stability estimates at pH 8 for these six metmyoglobins obtained by DSC experiments do not agree with free energy estimates at pH 8 from guanidinium chloride unfolding. This is true for all three models used to extrapolate the free energy change to 0 M guanidinium chloride. Among these six myoglobins, significant variation appears in the temperature at which the myoglobin is half-unfolded, in the change in heat capacity upon unfolding, and in the change in enthalpy at 310 K. Calculations made with the hydrophobic model for protein folding [Baldwin, R.L. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 8069] suggest that a sizable variation exists for that portion of the unfolding enthalpy change assigned to forces other than the hydrophobic effect.     

Conformational free energy of armadillo metmyoglobin

The conformational free energy of armadillo metmyoglobin was examined over a pH range of 4.4-8.0 and a guanidinium chloride concentration of 0-2.3 M. For isothermal unfolding at 25 degrees essentially the same value was obtained for the conformational free energy from all the data: 27 +/- 2 kJ/mol. These data suggest that the armadillo has the least stable metmyoglobin of any mammal thus far examined. The cooperativity of the unfolding with respect to denaturant is considerably less than for other mammalian myoglobins. On unfolding only three to four side chains with a pKA of 6 in the unfolded protein are protonated instead of the six found for horse and sperm whale myoglobins.     

Thermodynamics of alligator metmyoglobin unfolding

The conformational free energy of alligator metmyoglobin was examined over a pH range of 4.4-8.0, a temperature range of 18-48 degrees C, and a guanidinium chloride concentration of 0-2.3 M. For isothermal unfolding at 25 degrees C essentially the same value was obtained for the conformational free energy from all the data: 7.0 +/- 0.5 kcal/mol. The cooperativity of the unfolding with respect to denaturant is considerably less than for mammalian myoglobins. On unfolding three to four side chains with a pKa of 6.3 in the unfolded protein are protonated instead of the six expected. The temperature at which delta H (unfolding) is zero is much lower than for previously characterized myoglobins. Alligator metmyoglobin, considerably less stable than other previously characterized myoglobins, may not be as compactly folded.     

Low-temperature unfolding of a mutant of phage T4 lysozyme. 2. Kinetic investigations

A disulfide-bridged variant of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme has been found to undergo a low- as well as high-temperature unfolding transition in guanidinium chloride [see Chen and Schellman (1989)]. The kinetics for this process have been followed for several temperatures, a range of guanidinium chloride concentrations, and a number of values of pH. Microscopic rate constants for protein unfolding and refolding were extracted from these data to explore the nature of the cold unfolding transition. The data were interpreted using transition-state theory. It was found that the Arrhenius energy is temperature dependent. The transition state is characterized by (1) a high energy and low entropy compared to the native state, (2) a heat capacity which is closer to the native state than to the unfolded state, and (3) a low exposure to solvent compared to the unfolded state, as judged by its interaction with guanidinium chloride. With increasing concentration of guanidinium chloride, the low-temperature unfolding rate increases strongly, and the refolding rate decreases very strongly.     

Guanidinium chloride- and urea-induced unfolding of FprA, a mycobacterium NADPH-ferredoxin reductase: stabilization of an apo-protein by GdmCl

The guanidinium chloride- and urea-induced unfolding of FprA, a mycobacterium NADPH-ferredoxin reductase, was examined in detail using multiple spectroscopic techniques, enzyme activity measurements and size exclusion chromatography. The equilibrium unfolding of FprA by urea is a cooperative process where no stabilization of any partially folded intermediate of protein is observed. In comparison, the unfolding of FprA by guanidinium chloride proceeds through intermediates that are stabilized by interaction of protein with guanidinium chloride. In the presence of low concentrations of guanidinium chloride the protein undergoes compaction of the native conformation; this is due to optimization of charge in the native protein caused by electrostatic shielding by the guanidinium cation of charges on the polar groups located on the protein side chains. At a guanidinium chloride concentration of about 0.8 m, stabilization of apo-protein was observed. The stabilization of apo-FprA by guanidinium chloride is probably the result of direct binding of the Gdm+ cation to protein. The results presented here suggest that the difference between the urea- and guanidinium chloride-induced unfolding of FprA could be due to electrostatic interactions stabilizating the native conformation of this protein.     

Effect of chaotropic agents on reversible unfolding of a soybean (Glycine max) seed acid phosphatase

In this work we examined the effect of urea and guanidinium chloride on the structural stability of a single isoform of soybean seed acid phosphatase, based on the intensity of tryptophan fluorescence as a function of denaturant concentration. The free energy of unfolding, DeltaGu, was calculated at 25 degrees C as a function of the concentrations of both chaotropic agents; the conformational stability, DeltaG (H2O), was determined to be 2.48 kcal mol(-1). Center of mass, determined from analysis of fluorescence data, was used as a parameter to assess conformational changes. Our results indicate that complete enzyme inactivation occurred before full enzyme unfolding in both cases, and suggest that there are differences between the conformational flexibility of the active-site and that of the macromolecule as a whole.     

Unfolding transitions of fibronectin and its domains. Stabilization and structural alteration of the N-terminal domain by heparin.

Changes in the conformational state of human plasma fibronectin and several of its fragments were studied by fluorescence emission, intrinsic fluorescence polarization and c.d. spectroscopy under conditions of guanidinium chloride-and temperature-induced unfolding. Fragments were chosen to represent all three types of internal structural homology in the protein. Low concentration (less than 2 M) of guanidinium chloride induced a gradual transition in the intact protein that was not characteristic of any of the isolated domains, suggesting the presence of interdomain interactions within the protein. Intermediate concentrations of guanidinium chloride (2-3 M) and moderately elevated temperatures (55-60 degrees C) induced a highly co-operative structural transition in intact fibronectin that was attributable to the central 110 kDa cell-binding domain. High temperatures (greater than 60 degrees C) produced a gradual unfolding in the intact protein attributable to the 29 kDa N-terminal heparin-binding and 40 kDa collagen-binding domains. Binding of heparin to intact fibronectin and to its N-terminal fragment stabilized the proteins against thermal unfolding. This was reflected in increased delta H for the unfolding transitions of the heparin-bound N-terminal fragment, as well as decreased accessibility to solvent perturbants of internal chromophores in this fragment when bound to heparin. These results help to account for the biological efficacy of the interaction between the fibronectin N-terminal domain and heparin, despite its relatively low affinity.     

金黄色葡萄球菌核酸酶及其类似物盐酸胍变性的活力与构象变化的比较

金黄色葡萄球菌核酸酶（ＳｔａｐｈｌｏｃｏｃｃａｌＮｕｃｌｅａｓｅ,ＳＮａｓｅ）与其类似物（ＳＮａｓｅＲ）的平衡态盐酸胍变性与复性曲线及比活力值均无明显差别。两者变性与复性的构象变化是可逆的,但活力恢复滞后于失活。低浓度盐酸胍对ＳＮａｓｅＲ有２０％左右的激活,而低浓度（０．１２５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ）的ＮａＣｌ可使ＳＮａｓｅＲ的活力提高近一倍。ＳＮａｓｅＲ盐酸胍变性的失活先于构象变化。比较加入底物竞争抑制剂脱氧胸腺嘧啶核苷３＇－５＇－二磷酸（ｐｄＴｐ）后得到的（ＳＮａｓｅＲ＋ｐｄＴｐ＋Ｃａ２＋）三元络合物平衡态盐酸胍变性的Ｔｒｐ与Ｔｙｒ内源荧光的变化,观测到该酶的活性部位先于整体构象发生变化,结果导致ｐｄＴｐ解离常数Ｋｄ增大．     

金黄色葡萄球菌核酸酶及其类似物盐酸胍变性的活力与构象变化的比较

金黄色葡萄球菌核酸酶（ＳｔａｐｈｌｏｃｏｃｃａｌＮｕｃｌｅａｓｅ,ＳＮａｓｅ）与其类似物（ＳＮａｓｅＲ）的平衡态盐酸胍变性与复性曲线及比活力值均无明显差别。两者变性与复性的构象变化是可逆的,但活力恢复滞后于失活。低浓度盐酸胍对ＳＮａｓｅＲ有２０％左右的激活,而低浓度（０．１２５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ）的ＮａＣｌ可使ＳＮａｓｅＲ的活力提高近一倍。ＳＮａｓｅＲ盐酸胍变性的失活先于构象变化。比较加入底物竞争抑制剂脱氧胸腺嘧啶核苷３＇－５＇－二磷酸（ｐｄＴｐ）后得到的（ＳＮａｓｅＲ＋ｐｄＴｐ＋Ｃａ２＋）三元络合物平衡态盐酸胍变性的Ｔｒｐ与Ｔｙｒ内源荧光的变化,观测到该酶的活性部位先于整体构象发生变化,结果导致ｐｄＴｐ解离常数Ｋｄ增大．     

Conformational changes in gastric mucoproteins induced by caesium chloride and guanidinium chloride

1. Caesium chloride and guanidinium chloride were shown to cause conformational changes in the high-molecular-weight mucoprotein A of water-soluble gastric mucus with no change in molecular weight. 2. Increasing concentrations of CsCl decrease the viscosity of the mucoprotein bringing about a transition which is essentially complete in 0.1m-CsCl. The shear-dependence of viscosity of the mucoprotein is abolished by low concentrations of CsCl. The normally highly expanded molecule becomes contracted in CsCl to a molecule having the same symmetry but a smaller volume and decreased solvation, in keeping with an increased sedimentation coefficient (18.7S-->33S). 3. This contracted form does not revert to the native conformation on removal of the CsCl. 4. A mechanism is discussed in terms of the effect of the Cs(+) and Cl(-)ions on water structure and the water-mucoprotein interaction. 5. Guanidinium chloride causes the CsCl-treated material to expand, in keeping with a decrease in s(0) (25,w) (33S-->26S). This is analogous to the known unfolding effect of guanidinium chloride on proteins and suggests that guanidinium chloride solubilizes groups involved in stabilizing the contracted structure. Removal of the guanidinium chloride results in a limited aggregation of four mucoprotein molecules. 6. These results show that caution must be exercised before interpreting the physical properties of mucoproteins which have been treated with CsCl and/or guanidinium chloride.     

Conformational free energies of myoglobins of small mammals

Myoglobins from three small placental mammals and one small marsupial were isolated from cardiac or skeletal muscle. The conformational free energies of these four myoglobins were estimated from guanidinium chloride unfolding data at pH 8 and 25 degrees. The myoglobins from rat and rabbit are more stable than that of the most stable myoglobin previously studied, that of the sperm whale. In addition, these two myoglobins unfold with greater cooperativity than previously characterized myoglobins. The data obtained herein demonstrate unequivocally for the first time that the stability of homeotherm myoglobins correlates with neither the size of the organism nor its metabolic rate.     

Refolding properties of antithrombin III. Mechanism of binding to heparin

The presence of two unfolding domains in antithrombin III during its denaturation in guanidinium chloride has previously been reported (Villanueva, G. B., and Allen, N. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 11010-11013). In the present work, we report the results of refolding studies on antithrombin III. Circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence studies have demonstrated that the first unfolding domain of low stability (midpoint at 0.7 M guanidinium chloride) is irreversible upon renaturation, whereas the second unfolding domain (midpoint at 2.3 M guanidinium chloride) is reversible. The intermediate form of antithrombin III, termed AT-IIIR, which has lost the structural features of the first domain was investigated. Clotting assays and electrophoretic analyses showed that AT-IIIR had lost 60% of heparin cofactor activity but was still capable of forming sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable complexes with thrombin. Although certain regions of this molecule do not refold to the conformation of native antithrombin III, the tryptophan residues refold to a conformation identical with the native state. This was demonstrated by fluorescence quenching, solvent perturbation, and chemical modification studies. However, the tryptophan-ascribed fluorescence enhancement and absorption difference spectrum which occur when heparin binds to antithrombin III are reduced by 70%. On the basis of these data, the binding of heparin to antithrombin III is interpreted in terms of a two-step mechanism. The primary binding occurs in the region without tryptophan and is followed by a secondary conformational rearrangement which affects the tryptophan environment. The mechanism of the binding of heparin and antithrombin III has been previously studied by kinetic methods, and the data also support a two-step mechanism. The agreement of these two studies employing entirely different approaches to the same problem lends support to the validity of this postulated mechanism.     

Salt bridges destabilize a leucine zipper designed for maximized ion pairing between helices

Interhelical salt bridges are common in leucine zippers and are thought to stabilize the coiled coil conformation. Here we present a detailed thermodynamic investigation of the designed, disulfide-linked leucine zipper AB(SS) whose high-resolution NMR structure shows six interhelical ion pairs between heptad positions g of one helix and e' of the other helix but no ion pairing within single helices. The average pK(a) value of the Glu side chain carboxyl groups of AB(SS) is slightly higher than the pK(a) of a freely accessible Glu in an unfolded peptide [Marti, D. N., Jelesarov, I., and Bosshard, H. R. (2000) Biochemistry 39, 12804-12818]. This indicates that the salt bridges are destabilizing, a prediction we now have confirmed by determining the pH +/- stability profile of AB(SS). Circular dichroism-monitored unfolding by urea and by heating and differential scanning calorimetry show that the coiled coil conformation is approximately 5 kJ/mol more stable when salt bridges are broken by protonation of the carboxyl side chains. Using guanidinium chloride as the denaturant, the increase in the free energy of unfolding on protonation of the carboxyl side chains is larger, approximately 17 kJ/mol. The discrepancy between urea and guanidinium chloride unfolding can be ascribed to the ionic nature of guanidinium chloride, which screens charge-charge interactions. This work demonstrates the difficulty of predicting the energetic contribution of salt bridges from structural data alone even in a case where the ion pairs are seen in high-resolution NMR structures. The reason is that the contribution to stability results from a fine balance between energetically favorable Coulombic attractions and unfavorable desolvation of charges and conformational constraints of the residues involved in ion pairing. The apparent discrepancy between the results presented here and mutational studies indicating stabilization by salt bridges is discussed and resolved. An explanation is proposed for why interhelical salt bridges are frequently found in natural coiled coils despite evidence that they do not directly contribute to stability.     

Stability, refolding and Ca2+ binding of pullulanase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus woesei.

The unfolding and refolding of the extremely heat-stable pullulanase from Pyrococcus woesei has been investigated using guanidinium chloride as denaturant. The monomeric enzyme (90 kDa) was found to be very resistant to chemical denaturation and the transition midpoint for guanidinium chloride-induced unfolding was determined to be 4.86 +/- 0.29 M for intrinsic fluorescence and 4.90 +/- 0.31 M for far-UV CD changes. The unfolding process was reversible. Reactivation of the completely denatured enzyme (in 7.8 M guanidinium chloride) was obtained upon removal of the denaturant by stepwise dilution; 100% reactivation was observed when refolding was carried out via a guanidinium chloride concentration of 4 M in the first dilution step. Particular attention has been paid to the role of Ca2+ which activates and stabilizes this archaeal pullulanase against thermal inactivation. The enzyme binds two Ca2+ ions with a Kd of 0.080 +/- 0.010 microM and a Hill coefficient H of 1.00 +/- 0.10. This cation enhances significantly the stability of the pullulanase against guanidinium chloride-induced unfolding and the DeltaGH2OD increased from 6.83 +/- 0.43 to 8.42 +/- 0.55 kcal.mol-1. The refolding of the pullulanase, on the other hand, was not affected by Ca2+.     

Assembly of apoferritin from horse spleen: comparison of the protein in its native and reassembled state

The in vitro selfassembly of apoferritin after previous dissociation and unfolding in 7.2M guanidinium chloride, pH 3.5, yields up to 80% of a protein complex exhibiting the molecular mass of the native icositetramer of greater than or equal to 450 kDa. After removal of high molecular mass byproducts, the final reassembly product proves to be indistinguishable from native apoferritin with respect to its functional and conformational properties. These refer to the intrinsic fluorescence and to the far and near UV circular dichroism. The unfolding transitions of the native and reassembled protein in aqueous guanidinium chloride or at acid pH coincide within the range of error. The reassembled protein is also able to catalyze the oxidation of Fe(II). Higher polymers of the apoferritin complex represent most of the residual 20% of the reconstituted protein. They are stabilized by non-covalent (preferentially hydrophobic) interactions, and may be disassembled to the icositetramer by preferential solvation of the protein in the presence of less than or equal to 50% (v/v) ethylene glycol. The change in fluorescence emission accompanying polymerization reflects altered surface properties of the apoferritin subunits compatible with those reported for the ferritin----hemosiderin transition.     

The volume and compressibility changes of lysozyme associated with guanidinium chloride and pressure-assisted unfolding.

The apparent specific volumes and isentropic compressibilities of hen egg white lysozyme were measured in aqueous guanidinium chloride solutions at 25 degrees C by means of a vibrational densimeter and a sing-around ultrasonic velocimeter. Little transition attributable to a protein unfolding was detected in the partial specific volume, while the partial specific isentropic compressibility decreased slightly around the transition region. The pressure-assisted unfolding was also investigated in aqueous guanidinium chloride solutions by means of ultraviolet spectroscopy. Assuming a two-state transition model, it was found that the free energy change of unfolding depends almost linearly on pressure and the unfolding reaction is accompanied by a small decrease in volume. The compressibility behavior is in conflict with the notion that a protein structure is almost completely unfolded by guanidinium chloride and most of the amino acid residues in the protein interior are exposed to solvent. These results support the current view that globular proteins have some residual structures even in the unfolded state induced by a strong denaturant.     

Reversible unfolding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus main protease in guanidinium chloride

Chemical denaturant sensitivity of the dimeric main protease from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus to guanidinium chloride was examined in terms of fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, analytical ultracentrifuge, and enzyme activity change. The dimeric enzyme dissociated at guanidinium chloride concentration of <0.4 M, at which the enzymatic activity loss showed close correlation with the subunit dissociation. Further increase in guanidinium chloride induced a reversible biphasic unfolding of the enzyme. The unfolding of the C-terminal domain-truncated enzyme, on the other hand, followed a monophasic unfolding curve. Different mutants of the full-length protease (W31 and W207/W218), with tryptophanyl residue(s) mutated to phenylalanine at the C-terminal or N-terminal domain, respectively, were constructed. Unfolding curves of these mutants were monophasic but corresponded to the first and second phases of the protease, respectively. The unfolding intermediate of the protease thus represented a folded C-terminal domain but an unfolded N-terminal domain, which is enzymatically inactive due to loss of regulatory properties. The various enzyme forms were characterized in terms of hydrophobicity and size-and-shape distributions. We provide direct evidence for the functional role of C-terminal domain in stabilization of the catalytic N-terminal domain of SARS coronavirus main protease.     

Multiparameter kinetic study on the unfolding and refolding of bovine carbonic anhydrase B

The kinetics of unfolding and refolding of bovine carbonic anhydrase B by guanidinium chloride have been studied by simultaneously monitoring several spectroscopic parameters, each of which reflects certain unique conformational features of the protein molecule. In the present report, far-UV circular dichroism (CD) was used to follow the secondary structural change, UV difference absorption was used to follow the exposure or burying of aromatic amino acid residues, and near-UV CD was used to follow tertiary structural changes during unfolding and refolding. The unfolding is described by two unimolecular rate processes, and refolding is described by three unimolecular rate processes. The minimum number of conformational species involved in the mechanism is five. The refolding of the protein followed by the above three parameters indicates that the process consists of an initial rapid phase in which the random-coiled protein is converted to an intermediate state(s) having secondary structure comparable to that of the native protein. This is followed by the burying of the aromatic amino acid residues to form the interior of the protein molecule. Subsequently, the protein molecule acquires its tertiary structure and folds into a unique conformation with the formation of aromatic clusters.     

Probing local conformational changes during equilibrium unfolding of firefly luciferase: fluorescence and circular dichroism studies of single tryptophan mutants

Firefly luciferase is a monomeric protein composed of two globular domains. There is a wide cleft between the two domains. The N-terminal domain can be further divided into A-, B-, and C-subdomains. Previous studies showed that in vitro unfolding of firefly luciferase induced by guanidinium chloride can be described as a four-state equilibrium with two inactive intermediates (Herbst, R., et al. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 7099-7105). In order to monitor spectroscopically the conformational changes that occur in the different domains and subdomains during the multi-state unfolding process, we constructed a series of single-tryptophan mutants. These mutants were purified and characterized and shown to retain essentially all of the structural properties of the wild-type luciferase. Under equilibrium conditions, the unfolding of each mutant protein were studied by means of fluorescence and circular dichroism. The results show that different conformational changes occur in specific regions, suggesting a sequential unfolding process for firefly luciferase. Under 2.5 M GdmCl, whereas the N-domain unfolds partially holding half of the secondary structure content, the C-domain unfolds almost completely. In the equilibrium intermediate I(2), the secondary structure might stem mostly from the A- and B- subdomains.