Tilted hydrocarbon chains of dipalmitoyl lecithin become perpendicular to the bilayer before melting.

Differential scanning calorimetry studies of dipalmitoyl lecithin show two reversible transitions as the temperature is changed between 20 and 50 degrees C. A pretransition endotherm occurs at 35 degrees C prior to the main chain melting endotherm which occurs at 42 degrees C. X-ray diffraction studies show that below 33 degrees C the chains of the lecithin are fully extended, packed in a hexagonal crystalline lattice but tilted with respect to the plane of the bilayer. Between 35 and 42 degrees C the chains are similarly packed but oriented perpendicular to the bilayer plane. Above 44 degrees C the chains are "melted" or disordered. Monolayer studies of dipalmitoyl lecithin using continuous recording of pressure with molecular area reveal the existence of two solid condensed phases corresponding to these tilted and verticle chain structures. The tilted to perpendicular transition would account for the pretransition endotherm of the lipid; the crystalline to melted change corresponds to the larger transition observed at 42 degrees C.     

Effects of hydrostatic pressure on the molecular structure and endothermic phase transitions of phosphatidylcholine bilayers: a Raman scattering study

The temperature dependences of the Raman spectra of aqueous dispersions of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) were monitored at different but constant pressures between 1 and 1210 bar. The changes observed in these Raman spectra are discussed in terms of the effects of high pressure on the phase state and molecular structure of lipid bilayers. It is demonstrated that the temperature of the endothermic gel to liquid-crystal phase transition, as well as the temperature of the pretransition, increases linearly with increasing hydrostatic pressure. The dTm/dP values obtained from a wide range of pressures are 20.8 degrees C X kbar-1 for DPPC and 20.1 degrees C X kbar-1 for DMPC. The dTp/dP value for DPPC is 16.2 degrees C X kbar-1. It is also shown that the volume change that occurs at the gel to liquid-crystal transition is not constant; i.e., d delta Vm/dP decreases by 6.2% (DPPC) or 6.3% (DMPC) per kilobar pressure. The volume change at the pretransition is also pressure dependent; the d delta Vp/dP value of DPPC decreases by 4.7% per kilobar pressure.     

Methyl group substitution at C(1), C(2) or C(3) of the glycerol backbone of a diether phosphocholine: a comparative study of bilayer chain disorder in the gel and liquid-crystalline phases

Alterations in the inter- and intramolecular packing characteristics of aqueous dispersions of methyl derivatives of di-O-hexadecylglycerophosphocholine (DHPC), an ether lipid in which the methyl group is substituted at the 1, 2 or 3 position of the glycerol backbone, were monitored by changes in the vibrational frequencies and intensities of selected spectral features by Raman spectroscopy. Temperature profiles constructed from spectra reflecting intermolecular order/disorder rearrangements (C-H stretching mode region) and intramolecular order/disorder processes (C-C stretching mode region) provide insight into several important structural properties of diether lipid bilayers. The introduction of a methyl group into any position of the glycerol backbone alters both the characteristics of the DHPC pretransition and the temperature of the gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition. The main gel to liquid-crystalline phase transitions are 42.8 degrees C in the pure diether lipid, 41.6 degrees C for 3-Me-DHPC, 40.5 degrees C for 2-Me-DHPC and 38.1 degrees C for 1-Me-DHPC. Temperature profiles indicate that the degree of disordering for both the gel and liquid-crystalline states follows the sequence 2-Me-DHPC less than 3-Me-DHPC less than DHPC less than 1-Me-DHPC. Phase transition widths, delta T, determined from the spectroscopic temperature profiles, are discussed in terms of van't Hoff enthalpy functions involving both interchain and trans/gauche effects.     

Evidence for acyl chain trans/gauche isomerization during the thermal pretransition of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayer dispersions

In order to clarify, in dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine multilayers, the effect of the 34 degrees C thermal pretransition on the acyl chain intramolecular disordering process, Raman spectra of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine gels at 20 and 34 degrees C were compared in the 1000--1200 cm-1 skeletal C-C stretching region. In addition to an overall intensity decrease associated with a change in chain packing characteristics, the growth of intensity in the 1080--1090 and 1122 cm-1 regions in the 34--20 degrees C) difference spectrum clearly indicates that the thermal pretransition is accompanied by an increase in the population of hydrocarbon chain gauche rotamers toward the center of the bilayer.     

Temperature dependence of the Raman spectrum of DNA. II. Raman signatures of premelting and melting transitions of poly(dA).poly(dT) and comparison with poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT).

The temperature dependence of the Raman spectrum of poly(dA).poly(dT) (dA: deoxyadenosine; dT: thymidine), a model for DNA containing consecutive adenine.thymine (A.T) pairs, has been analyzed using a spectrometer of high spectral precision and sensitivity. Three temperature intervals are distinguished: (a) premelting (10 < t < 70 degrees C), in which the native double helix is structurally altered but not dissociated into single strands; (b) melting (70 < t < 80 degrees C), in which the duplex is dissociated into single strands; and (c) postmelting (80 < t degrees C), in which no significant structural change can be detected. The distinctive Raman difference signatures observed between 10 and 70 degrees C and between 70 and 80 degrees C are interpreted in terms of the structural changes specific to premelting and melting transitions, respectively. Premelting alters the low-temperature conformation of the deoxyribose-phosphate backbone and eliminates base hydrogen bonding that is distinct from canonical Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding; these premelting perturbations occur without disruption of base stacking. Conversely, melting eliminates canonical Watson-Crick pairing and base stacking. The results are compared with those reported previously on poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT), the DNA structure consisting of alternating A.T and T.A pairs (L. Movileanu, J. M. Benevides, and G. J. Thomas, Jr. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 1999, Vol. 30, pp. 637-649). Poly(dA).poly(dT) and poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT) exhibit strikingly dissimilar temperature-dependent Raman profiles prior to the onset of melting. However, the two duplexes exhibit very similar melting transitions, including the same Raman indicators of ruptured Watson-Crick pairing, base unstacking and collapse of backbone order. A detailed analysis of the data provides a comprehensive Raman assignment scheme for adenosine and thymidine residues of B-DNA, delineates Raman markers diagnostic of consecutive A.T and alternating A.T/T.A tracts of DNA, and identifies the distinct Raman difference signatures for premelting and melting transitions in the two types of sequences.     

Raman spectroscopy of the thermal properties of reassembled high-density lipoprotein: apolipoprotein A-I complexes of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine

Isolated complexes of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major apoprotein of human plasma high-density lipoproteins, and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) have been prepared and studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Raman spectroscopy. DSC studies establish that complexes having lipid to protein ratios of 200, 100, and 50 to 1 each exhibit a broad reversible thermal transition at Tc = 27 degrees C. The enthalpy of lipid melting for each of the three complexes is about 3 kcal/mol of DMPC. Raman spectroscopy indicates that the physical state of lipid molecules in the complexes is different from that in DMPC multilamellar liposomes. Analysis of the C-H stretching region (2800-3000 cm-1) of the complexes and of the pure components in water suggests that below 24 degrees C (Tc for DMPC) there is considerably less lateral order among lipid acyl chains in the complexes than in DMPC liposomes. Above 24 degrees C, these types of interactions appear to contribute equally or slightly less to the complex structure than in pure DMPC. The temperature dependence of peaks in the C-C stretching region (1000-1180 cm-1) reveals a continuous increase in the number of lipid acyl chain C-C gauche isomers over a broad range with increasing temperature. Compared to liposomes, DMPC in the complexes has more acyl chain trans isomers at temperatures above 24 degrees C; at temperatures above ca. 30 degrees C, trans isomer content is about the same for complexes and liposomes. A large change was observed in a protein vibrational band at 1340 cm-1 for pure vs. complexed apoA-I, indicating that protein hydrocarbon side chains are immobilized by lipid binding. The Raman data indicate that the reduction in melting enthalpy for complexes DMPC (approximately 3 kcal/mol) compared to that for free DMPC (approximately 6 kcal/mol) is due to reduced van der Waals interactions in the low-temperature lipid phase.     

Solution conformations of DNAs containing binding sites of the catabolite gene activator protein and lac repressor protein: characterization by Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectra from three subfragments of the Escherichia coli lactose promoter region were obtained in 0.1 M NaCl. The three DNAs are 21, 40, and 62 bp in length. The 21 and 62 bp DNAs contain the binding site for the catabolite gene activator protein (CAP). The 40 bp DNA contains the binding site for the lac repressor. A quantitative analysis of Raman band characteristics indicates an overall B-type conformation for these gene regulatory sites. Bands which correspond to A-family (807 cm-1) and B-family (834 cm-1) deoxyribose phosphate vibrations have the same intensities as bands found in heterogeneous DNAs. The spectra of the 21 bp CAP site have, however, a small band at 867 cm-1 and several other small differences similar to some characteristics observed in C-DNA spectra. Several dG nucleosides in the CAP site appear to be altered from the conventional C2'-endo/anti conformation. At 45 degrees C, well below the melting region of these DNAs, small changes occur in the spectra of the 40 bp lac repressor site which are not observed in the other DNAs. A weak band occurs at 705 cm-1, and intensity changes are observed at 497, 682, and 792 cm-1. The changes suggest that the conformations of several dG nucleosides are altered and that a small region may exist with characteristics of an A-family backbone. This conformational change at 45 degrees C coincides with previous NMR observations indicating an enhanced imino proton exchange rate at a GTG sequence within the lac operator site.     

Raman spectroscopic studies of dimyristoylphosphatidic acid and its interactions with ferricytochrome c in cationic binary and ternary lipid-protein complexes.

The vibrational Raman spectra of both pure 1-alpha-dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA) liposomes and DMPA multilayers reconstituted with ferricytochrome c at pH 7 and pH 4, with either sodium or calcium as the cation, are reported as a function of temperature. Multilayers composed of a 1:1 mol ratio DMPA and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine with perdeuterated acyl chains (DMPC-d54) have also been reconstituted with approximately 10(-4) M ferricytochrome c for Raman spectroscopic observation. Total integrated band intensities and relative peak height intensity ratios, two spectral Raman scattering parameters used to characterize bilayer properties, are sensitive to the presence of both ferricytochrome c and the cation in the reconstituted liposomes. Temperature profiles, derived from the various Raman intensity parameters for the 3,100-2,800 cm-1 lipid acyl chain C-H stretching mode region specifically reflect bilayer perturbations due to the interactions of ferricytochrome c. At pH 4 the calcium DMPA multilamellar gel to liquid crystalline phase transition temperatures Tm, defined by either the C-H stretching mode I2850/I2880 and I2935/I2880 peak height intensity ratios, are 58.5 +/- 0.5 degrees C and 60.0 +/- 0.3 degrees C, respectively. This difference in Tm's resolves the phase transition process into first an expansion of the lipid lattice and then a melting of the lipid acyl chains. At pH 7 the calcium DMPA liposomes show no distinct phase transition characteristics below 75 degrees C. For sodium DMPA liposomes reconstituted with ferricytochrome c at either pH 4.0 or pH 7.0, spontaneous Raman spectra show altered lipid structures at temperatures above 40 degrees C. Resonance Raman spectra indicate that ferricytochrome c reconstituted in either calcium or sodium DMPA liposomes changes irreversibly above Tm. For either the binary lipid or ternary lipid-protein systems reconstituted with DMPC-d54, linewidth parameters of the DMPC-d54 acyl chain CD2 symmetric stretching modes at 2,103 cm-1 provide a sensitive measure of the conformational and dynamic properties of the perdeuterated lipid component, while the 3,000 cm-1 C-H spectral region reflects the bilayer characteristics of the DMPA species in the complex. Although calcium clearly induces a lateral phase separation in the DMPA/DMPC-d54 system at pH 7.5 (Kouaouci, R., J.R. Silvius, I. Grah, and M. Pezolet. 1985. Biochemistry. 24:7132-7140), no distinct lateral segregation of the lipid components is observed in the mixed DMPA/DMPC-d54 lipid system in the presence of either ferricytochrome c or the sodium and calcium cations at pH 4.0.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Dynamics of appearance and disappearance of the ripple structure in multilamellar liposomes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine

The physical properties of the pretransition (P beta'----L beta') of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes were investigated using freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The kinetics of pretransition examined in the previous paper using TEMPO spin probe (Tsuchida, K., et al. (1985) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 812, 249-254) was extensively studied by observing the ripple structures in the freeze-fractured surfaces at different time intervals. When the temperature is decreased from 38 degrees C to 30 degrees C, the ripple structure disappears in the following steps. The intervals between ripples begin to expand with the decrease of ripple density upon the temperature shift, and this process continues for several tens minutes. Then, each ripple disappears gradually and changes into a completely smooth surface at 3 h after the temperature shift. The comparison of relaxation times between the previous ESR measurement and the present experiment suggests that the fast relaxation observed in the previous study corresponds to the expansion of the intervals between ripples. On the other hand, the ripple structure of regular intervals appears rapidly in some places and then spreads over the whole area of fractured surface when the temperature is increased from 23 degrees C to 35 degrees C. The results obtained in this work and the previous ESR work strongly suggest that the formation and disappearance of ripple structure is closely related to the relaxation processes near the pretransition temperature.     

Melting and premelting phenomenon in DNA by laser Raman scattering.

Raman spectra of DNA from calf thymus DNA have been taken over a wide range of temperatures (25°–95°) in both D₂O and H₂O. A study of the temperature dependence of the Raman spectra shows that the temperature profiles of the intensities and frequencies of the various bands fall into four different categories: (1) base bands that show a reversible increase in intensity prior to the melting region, i.e., a definite premelting phenomenon; (2) base bands that show little or no temperature dependence; (3) deoxyribose-phosphate backbone vibrations that show no temperature dependence up to the melting region, at which point large decreases in intensity occur; and (4) slow frequency changes in certain in-plane vibrations of guanine and adenine due to deuteration of the C-8 hydrogen of these purines in D₂O. Certain Raman bands arising from each of the four bases, adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine have been found to undergo a gradual increase in intensity prior to the melting region at which point large, abrupt increases in intensity occur. The carbonyl stretching band of thymine, involved in the interbase hydrogen bonding actually undergoes both a gradual shift to a lower frequency as well as an increase in intensity. These changes provide evidence that some change in the geometry of the bases relative to each other begins to occur around 50°C, well below the melting region of 70°–85°C. From the spectra taken at various temperatures, the DNA appears to remain in the B conformation until the melting point is reached, at which time the DNA progresses into a disordered random-coil form. No A-form conformation is found either in the premelting or the melting region.     

Study on temperature-dependent changes in hydrogen bonds in cellulose Ibeta by infrared spectroscopy with perturbation-correlation moving-window two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy

Infrared (IR) spectra were measured for cellulose Ibeta prepared from the mantle of Halocynthia roretzi over a temperature range of 30-260 degrees C to explore the temperature-dependent changes in hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) in the crystal. Structural changes at the phase transition temperature of 220 degrees C are elucidated at the functional group level by perturbation-correlation moving-window two-dimensional (PCMW2D) correlation spectroscopy. The PCMW2D correlation spectra show that the intensities of bands arising from O3-H3...O5 and O2-H2...O6 intrachain H-bonds dramatically decrease at 220 degrees C, whereas the intensity changes of bands due to interchain H-bonds are not observed adequately. These results suggest that the phase transition is induced by the dissociation of the O3-H3...O5 and O2-H2...O6 intrachain H-bonds. However, the interchain H-bonds are not so much responsible for the transition directly.     

Deuteron nuclear magnetic resonance studies of phase equilibria in a lecithin-water system

Water deuteron NMR spectra have been studied for the system dipalmitoyllecithin (DPL)-heavy water (D2O) at different compositions and temperatures. From an analysis of the spectra in terms of quadrupole splittings, a phase diagram has been constructed for the temperature range 25-60 degrees C and the composition range 4-15 mol of D2O/mol of DPL. Evidence is given that the "pretransition" observed by differential scanning calorimetry is caused by a crossing of a three-phase line. Strong support for a specific hydration of about 11 water molecules per lecithin molecule in the phase between the pretransition and main transition is also found.     

DNA melting investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and Raman spectroscopy.

Thermal denaturation of the B form of double-stranded DNA has been probed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Raman spectroscopy of 160 base pair (bp) fragments of calf thymus DNA. The DSC results indicate a median melting temperature Tm = 75.5 degrees C with calorimetric enthalpy change delta Hcal = 6.7 kcal/mol (bp), van't Hoff enthalpy change delta HVH = 50.4 kcal/mol (cooperative unit), and calorimetric entropy change delta Scal = 19.3 cal/deg.mol (bp), at the experimental conditions of 55 mg DNA/ml in 5 mM sodium cacodylate at pH 6.4. The average cooperative melting unit (nmelt) comprises 7.5 bp. The Raman signature of 160 bp DNA is highly sensitive to temperature. Analyses of several conformation-sensitive Raman bands indicate the following ranges for thermodynamic parameters of melting: 43 < delta HVH < 61 kcal/mol (cooperative unit), 75 < Tm < 80 degrees C and 6 < (nmelt) < 9 bp, consistent with the DSC results. The changes observed in specific Raman band frequencies and intensities as a function of temperature reveal that thermal denaturation is accompanied by disruption of Watson-Crick base pairs, unstacking of the bases and disordering of the B form backbone. These three types of structural change are highly correlated throughout the investigated temperature range of 20 to 93 degrees C. Raman bands diagnostic of purine and pyrimidine unstacking, conformational rearrangements in the deoxyribose-phosphate moieties, and changes in environment of phosphate groups have been identified. Among these, bands at 834 cm-1 (due to a localized vibration of the phosphodiester group), 1240 cm-1 (thymine ring) and 1668 cm-1 (carbonyl groups of dT, dG and dC), are shown by comparison with DSC results to be the most reliable quantitative indicators of DNA melting. Conversely, the intensities of Raman marker bands at 786 cm-1 (cytosine ring), 1014 cm-1 (deoxyribose ring) and 1092 cm-1 (phosphate group) are largely invariant to melting and are proposed as appropriate standards for intensity normalizations.     

Temperature dependent vibrational modes of glycosidic bond in disaccharide sugars

We studied the temperature dependent vibrational modes of the glycosidic bond in trehalose, sucrose, and maltose at wavenumbers ranging from 1000 to 1200 cm(-1). We found that the slope of temperature dependent Raman shifts of the glycosidic bond in trehalose and sucrose changed at temperatures around 120 degrees C, indicating a bond length or a bond angle (dihedral and torsional angles) change. However, we did not observe any slope change in maltose because the melting temperature of maltose is very close to 120 degrees C. We also found, at temperatures below 120 degrees C, that Raman shifts of the vibrational modes of the glycosidic bond in trehalose showed the strongest temperature dependence among the three disaccharides.     

Structural change of bacteriorhodopsin in the purple membrane above pH 10 decreases heterogeneity of the irreversible photobleaching components

Kinetic investigations of irreversible photobleaching of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) in purple membrane (PM) at high temperature have previously shown two kinds of bR species upon light illumination. The bR species consist of kinetically fast- and slow-denatured components, whose proportions were dependent upon structural changes in dark, as shown by CD. In order to elucidate electrostatic contribution on the heterogeneous stability and the bR structure in PM, photobleaching behaviour and structural changes over a wide pH range were investigated by kinetics as well as various spectroscopic techniques. Kinetics revealed that photobleaching below pH 9 obeyed double-exponential functions, whereas measurements above pH 10 were characterized by a single-decay component. FT-IR deconvoluted spectra showed a alpha(II)-to-alpha(I) transition in the transmembrane helices around pH 10. Near-IR Raman scattering spectra demonstrated the equilibrium shift of retinal isomers from all trans to 13-cis form. Near-UV CD spectra suggested configurational changes in the aromatic residues around the retinal pocket. An exciton-to-positive transition in visible CD spectrum was observed. This indicates disorganization in the 2D-crystalline lattice of PM, which occurred concomitantly with the changes above pH 10. A model for the changes in kinetic behaviour and molecular structure around pH 10 is discussed, focusing on changes in charge distribution upon alkalinization.     

Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy and principal component analysis studies of temperature-dependent IR spectra of cotton-cellulose

The FTIR spectra were measured for raw Uplands Sicala-V2 cotton fibers over a temperature range of 40-325 degrees C to explore the temperature-dependent changes in the hydrogen bonds of cellulose. These cotton-cellulose spectra exhibited complicated patterns in the 3800-2800 cm(-1) region and thus were analyzed by both the exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) and two-dimensional (2-D) correlation spectroscopy methods. The exploratory PCA showed that the spectra separate into two groups on the basis of thermal degradation of the cotton-cellulose and the consequent breakage of intersheet H-bonds present in its structure. Frequency variables, which strongly contributed to each principal component highlighted in its loadings plot, were linked to the frequencies assigned to vibrations of the OH groups involved in different kinds of H-bonds, as well as to vibrations of the CH groups. Deeper insights into reorganization of the temperature-dependent hydrogen bonding were obtained by 2-D correlation spectroscopy. Synchronous and asynchronous spectra were analyzed in the temperature ranges of 40 to 150 and 250 to 320 degrees C, the ranges indicated by PCA. Detailed band assignments of the OH stretching region and changes in the patterns of the hydrogen bonding network of the cotton-cellulose were proposed with the aid of the 2-D correlation spectroscopy analysis. Below 150 degrees C, distinctly different bands assigned to the less stable Ialpha and the more stable Ibeta interchain H-bonds O-6-H-6...O-3' were observed at about 3230 and 3270 cm(-1), respectively. Evaporation of water entrapped in the cellulose network was examined by means of the band at about 3610 cm(-1). The cooperativity of hydrogen bonds, which play a key role in the cellulose conformation, was monitored by frequencies assigned to intrachain H-bonds. It was possible to separate the frequencies assigned to the O-2-H-2...O-6 and O-3-H-3...O-5 intrachain H-bonds into two separate ranges, the spread of which was controlled by the cooperativity effect. The temperature dependence of the asynchronous spectra indicated that the less stable O-3-H-3...O-5 bonds gave rise to an absorption extending from 3300 to 3384 cm(-1), while the more stable O-2-H-2...O-6 bonds were characterized by the absorption between 3400 and 3470 cm(-1). The final breaking of the inter- and intrachain H-bonds, which occurs at the higher temperatures, was monitored by the asynchronous peaks at 3533 and 3590 cm(-1), respectively. On the basis of both the exploratory PCA and 2-D correlation spectroscopy investigations, it was possible to extract well-defined wavenumber ranges assigned to different kinds of intra- and interchain hydrogen bonds, as well as to the free OH groups of the cotton-cellulose.     

Metastability and polymorphism in the gel phase of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-SN-phosphatidylcholine. A Fourier transform infrared study of the subtransition.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the metastability of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-sn-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) at temperatures near 0 degrees C. It was found that when DPPC is incubated at 2 degrees C for three days the two-dimensional acyl chain packing changes from one resulting in spectra typical of an orthorhombic subcell to one resembling that found in triclinically packed acyl systems. This transition proceeds in two stages. The first step, requiring less than one day, approximates first-order kinetics; the second stage proceeds with second- or higher-order kinetics. Comparison of spectra recorded at -36 degrees C with and without prior incubation at 2 degrees C shows that there are two stable low temperature forms of DPPC; that is, DPPC is metastable only within a narrow temperature range. A study of the thermotropic behavior in the range 0-45 degrees C shows that the subtransition near 15 degrees C is a transition from the alternate form to one with orthorhombic characteristics. Spectral changes at the pretransition and the main phase transition demonstrate that there are differences in behavior that are related to the thermal history of the sample.     

Effects of anesthetic tetradecenols on phosphatidylcholine phase transitions. Implications for the mechanism of the bilayer pretransition.

The effects of cis- and trans-9,10-tetradecenols on the phase transitions of dimyristoyl-, dipalmitoyl-, and distearoyl-phosphatidylcholines were investigated using high sensitivity scanning calorimetry and Raman spectroscopy. Both alcohols lowered the gel to liquid crystalline phase transition temperatures for all three phosphatidylcholines, with cis-tetradecenol showing a considerably greater effect than trans-tetradecenol in each case. While both alcohols increased the temperature of the dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine pretransition, and decreased the temperature of the distearoylphosphatidylcholine pretransition, cis-tetradecenol lowered the temperature of the dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine pretransition, while trans-tetradecenol dramatically raised the pretransition temperature. These results are interpreted in terms of the reduction in gel (L beta) phase chain tilt and changes in the ease of acyl chain trans-gauche isomerization which are introduced by the alcohols, and the consequent effects of these changes on the pretransition and the gel to liquid crystalline phase transition. The data clearly show that caution is necessary in applying information on lipid-anesthetic interactions obtained from model membranes to the problem of clinical anesthesia, since qualitatively different results may be obtained when lipids of differing acyl chain lengths are employed. Superficial interpretation of such data might lead to erroneous conclusions.     

Accessing the global minimum conformation of stefin A dimer by annealing under partially denaturing conditions.

Stefin A folds as a monomer under strongly native conditions. We have observed that under partially denaturing conditions in the temperature range from 74 to 93 degrees C it folds into a dimer, while it is monomeric above the melting temperature of 95 degrees C. Below 74 degrees C the dimer is trapped and it does not dissociate. The dimer is a folded and structured protein as judged by CD and NMR, nevertheless it is no more functional as an inhibitor of cysteine proteases. The monomer-dimer transition proceeds at a slow rate and the activation energy of dimerization at 99 kcal/mol is comparable to the unfolding enthalpy. A large and negative dimerization enthalpy of -111(+/- 8) kcal/mol was calculated from the temperature dependence of the dissociation constant. An irreversible pretransition at 10-15 deg. below the global unfolding temperature has been observed previously by DSC and can now be assigned to the monomer-dimer transition. Backbone resonances of all the dimer residues were assigned using 15N isotopically enriched protein. The dimer is symmetric and the chemical shift differences between the monomer and dimer are localized around the tripartite hydrophobic wedge, which otherwise interacts with cysteine proteases. Hydrogen exchange protection factors of the residues affected by dimer formation are higher in the dimer than in the monomer. The monomer to dimer transition is accompanied by a rapid exchange of all of the amide protons which are protected in the dimer, indicating that the transition state is unfolded to a large extent. Our results demonstrate that the native monomeric state of stefin A is actually metastable but is favored by the kinetics of folding. The substantial energy barrier which separates the monomer from the more stable dimer traps each state under native conditions.     

Alpha-helix to random-coil transition of two-chain, coiled coils: experiments on the thermal denaturation of doubly cross-linked beta beta tropomyosin

Equilibrium thermal denaturation curves (by circular dichroism) are reported for doubly cross-linked beta beta tropomyosin two-chain coiled coils. Cross-linking was performed by reaction of sulfhydryls with either ferricyanide or 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate) (NbS2). The extent of reaction was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and either by titration of residual sulfhydryls with NbS2 (ferricyanide cross-linking) or by determination of mixed disulfide (protein-S-SbN) through reaction with dithiothreitol (NbS2 cross-linking). The results indicate approximately 90% conversion to molecules with interchain cross-links at both C-36 and C-190. Thermal unfolding curves are compared with those obtained previously for non-cross-linked species. The curves are indistinguishable up to approximately 40 degrees C. Above approximately 40 degrees C, the doubly cross-linked species is more stable, but the transition is less steep. This relationship is also compared with that found between alpha alpha tropomyosin (a similar coiled coil made of a genetic variant chain having a sulfhydryl only at C-190) and its singly cross-linked derivative. Thermal curves for alpha alpha and beta beta non-cross-linked species are very similar, alpha alpha being somewhat more stable. For cross-linked alpha alpha, however, the curve sags at temperatures somewhat below the region of principal cooperative loss of helix, the latter occurring at higher temperature but with the same steepness as in the non-cross-linked case. The sag has been ascribed to a "pretransition" in the region of C-190. Thus, doubly and singly cross-linked species differ in that the former show no pretransition and decreased steepness in the principal transition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)