High-resolution study of the three-dimensional structure of horse heart metmyoglobin

The three-dimensional structure of horse heart metmyoglobin has been refined to a final R-factor of 15.5% for all observed data in the 6.0 to 1.9 A resolution range. The final model consists of 1242 non-hydrogen protein atoms, 154 water molecules and one sulfate ion. This structure has nearly ideal bonding and bond angle geometry. A Luzzati plot of the variation in R-factor with resolution yields an estimated mean co-ordinate error of 0.18 A. An extensive analysis of the pattern of hydrogen bonds formed in horse heart metmyoglobin has been completed. Over 80% of the polypeptide chain is involved in eight helical segments, of which seven are composed mainly of alpha-helical (3.6(13))-type hydrogen bonds; the remaining helix is composed entirely of 3(10) hydrogen bonds. Altogether, of 102 hydrogen bonds between main-chain atoms only six are not involved in helical structures, and four of these six occur within beta-turns. The majority of water molecules in horse heart metmyoglobin are found in solvent networks that range in size from two to 35 members. The size of water molecule networks can be rationalized on the basis of three factors: the number of hydrogen bonds to the protein surface, the presence of charged side-chain atoms, and the ability to bridge to neighboring molecules in the crystal lattice. Bridging water networks form the dominant intermolecular interactions. The backbone conformation of horse heart metmyoglobin is very similar to sperm whale metmyoglobin, with significant differences in secondary structure occurring only near residues 119 and 120, where residues 120 to 123 in sperm whale form a distorted type I reverse turn and the horse heart protein has a type II turn at residues 119 to 122. Nearly all of the hydrogen bonds between main-chain atoms (occurring mainly in helical regions) are common to both proteins, and more than half of the hydrogen bonds involving side-chain atoms observed in horse heart are also found in sperm whale metmyoglobin. Unlike sperm whale metmyoglobin, the heme iron atom in horse heart metmyoglobin is not significantly displaced from the plane of the heme group.     

Statistical and molecular dynamics studies of buried waters in globular proteins

Buried solvent molecules are common in the core of globular proteins and contribute to structural stability. Folding necessitates the burial of polar backbone atoms in the protein core, whose hydrogen-bonding capacities should be satisfied on average. Whereas the residues in alpha-helices and beta-sheets form systematic main-chain hydrogen bonds, the residues in turns, coils and loops often contain polar atoms that fail to form intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The statistical analysis of 842 high resolution protein structures shows that well-resolved, internal water molecules preferentially reside near residues without alpha-helical and beta-sheet secondary structures. These buried waters most often form primary hydrogen bonds to main-chain atoms not involved in intramolecular hydrogen bonds, providing strong evidence that hydrating main-chain atoms is a key structural role of buried water molecules. Additionally, the average B-factor of protein atoms hydrogen-bonded to waters is smaller than that of protein atoms forming intramolecular hydrogen bonds, and the average B-factor of water molecules involved in primary hydrogen bonds with main-chain atoms is smaller than the average B-factor of water molecules involved in secondary hydrogen bonds to protein atoms that form concurrent intramolecular hydrogen bonds. To study the structural coupling between internal waters and buried polar atoms in detail we simulated the dynamics of wild-type FKBP12, in which a buried water, Wat137, forms one side-chain and multiple main-chain hydrogen bonds. We mutated E60, whose side-chain hydrogen bonds with Wat137, to Q, N, S or A, to modulate the multiplicity and geometry of hydrogen bonds to the water. Mutating E60 to a residue that is unable to form a hydrogen bond with Wat137 results in reorientation of the water molecule and leads to a structural readjustment of residues that are both near and distant to the water. We predict that the E60A mutation will result in a significantly reduced affinity of FKBP12 for its ligand FK506. The propensity of internal waters to hydrogen bond to buried polar atoms suggests that ordered water molecules may constitute fundamental structural components of proteins, particularly in regions where alpha-helical or beta-sheet secondary structure is not present.     

Crystal and molecular structure of a DNA fragment: d(CGTGAATTCACG)

The crystal structure of the dodecanucleotide d(CGTGAATTCACG) has been determined to a resolution of 2.7 A and refined to an R factor of 17.0% for 1532 reflections. The sequence crystallizes as a B-form double helix, with Watson-Crick base pairing. This sequence contains the EcoRI restriction endonuclease recognition site, GAATTC, and is flanked by CGT on the 5'-end and ACG on the 3'-end, in contrast to the CGC on the 5'-end and GCG on the 3'-end in the parent dodecamer d(CGCGAATTCGCG). A comparison with the isomorphous parent compound shows that any changes in the structure induced by the change in the sequence in the flanking region are highly localized. The global conformation of the duplex is conserved. The overall bend in the helix is 10 degrees. The average helical twist values for the present and the parent structures are 36.5 degrees and 36.4 degrees, respectively, corresponding to 10 base pairs per turn. The buckle at the substituted sites are significantly different from those seen at the corresponding positions in the parent dodecamer. Step 2 (GpT) is underwound with respect to the parent structure (27 degrees vs 36 degrees) and step 3 (TpG) is overwound (34 degrees vs 27 degrees). There is a spine of hydration in the narrow minor groove. The N3 atom of adenine on the substituted A10 and A22 bases are involved in the formation of hydrogen bonds with other duplexes or with water; the N3 atom of guanine on G10 and G22 bases in the parent structure does not form hydrogen bonds.     

Helix stability of oligoglycine,oligoalanine, and oligo‐β‐alanine dodecamers reflected by hydrogen‐bond persistence

Helices are important structural/recognition elements in proteins and peptides. Stability and conformational differences between helices composed of α‐ and β‐amino acids as scaffolds for mimicry of helix recognition has become a theme in medicinal chemistry. Furthermore, helices formed by β‐amino acids are experimentally more stable than those formed by α‐amino acids. This is paradoxical because the larger sizes of the hydrogen‐bonding rings required by the extra methylene groups should lead to entropic destabilization. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations using the second‐generation force field, AMOEBA (Ponder, J.W., et al., Current status of the AMOEBA polarizable force field. J Phys Chem B, 2010. 114 (8): p. 2549–64.) explored the stability and hydrogen‐bonding patterns of capped oligo‐β‐alanine, oligoalanine, and oligoglycine dodecamers in water. The MD simulations showed that oligo‐β‐alanine has strong acceptor+2 hydrogen bonds, but surprisingly did not contain a large content of 3₁₂‐helical structures, possibly due to the sparse distribution of the 3₁₂‐helical structure and other structures with acceptor+2 hydrogen bonds. On the other hand, despite its backbone flexibility, the β‐alanine dodecamer had more stable and persistent <3.0 Å hydrogen bonds. Its structure was dominated more by multicentered hydrogen bonds than either oligoglycine or oligoalanine helices. The 3₁ (PII) helical structure, prevalent in oligoglycine and oligoalanine, does not appear to be stable in oligo‐β‐alanine indicating its competition with other structures (stacking structure as indicated by MD analyses). These differences are among the factors that shape helical structural preferences and the relative stabilities of these three oligopeptides. Proteins 2014; 82:3043–3061. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Helix bending in alamethicin: molecular dynamics simulations and amide hydrogen exchange in methanol

Molecular dynamics simulations of alamethicin in methanol were carried out with either a regular alpha-helical conformation or the x-ray crystal structure as starting structures. The structures rapidly converged to a well-defined hydrogen-bonding pattern with mixed alpha-helical and 3(10)-helical hydrogen bonds, consistent with NMR structural characterization, and did not unfold throughout the 1-ns simulation, despite some sizable backbone fluctuations involving reversible breaking of helical hydrogen bonds. Bending of the helical structure around residues Aib10-Aib13 was associated with reversible flips of the peptide bonds involving G11 (Aib10-G11 or G11-L12 peptide bonds), yielding discrete structural states in which the Aib10 carbonyl or (rarely) the G11 carbonyl was oriented away from the peptide helix. These peptide bond reversals could be accommodated without greatly perturbing the adjacent helical structure, and intramolecular hydrogen bonding was generally maintained in bent states through the formation of new (non-alpha or 3[10]) hydrogen bonds with good geometries: G11 NH-V9 CO (inverse gamma turn), Aib13 NH-Aib8 CO (pi-helix) and, rarely, L12 NH- Q7 NH (pi-helix). These observations may reconcile potentially conflicting NMR structural information for alamethicin in methanol, in which evidence for conformational flexibility in the peptide sequence before P14 (G11-Aib13) contrasts with the stability of backbone amide NH groups to exchange with solvent. Similar reversible reorientation of the Thr11-Gly12 peptide bond of melittin is also observed in dynamics simulations in methanol (R. B. Sessions, N. Gibbs, and C. E. Dempsey, submitted). This phenomenon may have some role in the orientation of the peptide carbonyl in solvating the channel lumen in membrane ion channel states of these peptides.     

Conformational features of a hexapeptide model Ac-TGAAKA-NH2 corresponding to a hydrated alpha helical segment from glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase: implications for the role of turns in helix folding

Recent analysis of alpha helices in protein crystal structures, available in literature, revealed hydrated alpha helical segments in which, water molecule breaks open helix 5-->1 hydrogen bond by inserting itself, hydrogen bonds to both C=O and NH groups of helix hydrogen bond without disrupting the helix hydrogen bond, and hydrogen bonds to either C=O or NH of helix hydrogen bond. These hydrated segments display a variety of turn conformations and are thought to be 'folding intermediates' trapped during folding-unfolding of alpha helices. A role for reverse turns is implicated in the folding of alpha helices. We considered a hexapeptide model Ac-1TGAAKA6-NH2 from glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, corresponding to a hydrated helical segment to assess its role in helix folding. The sequence is a site for two 'folding intermediates'. The conformational features of the model peptide have been investigated by 1H 2D NMR techniques and quantum mechanical perturbative configuration interaction over localized orbitals (PCILO) method. Theoretical modeling largely correlates with experimental observations. Based upon the amide proton temperature coefficients, the observed d alpha n(i, i + 1), d alpha n(i, i + 2), dnn(i, i + 1), d beta n(i, i + 1) NOEs and the results from theoretical modeling, we conclude that the residues of the peptide sample alpha helical and neck regions of the Ramachandran phi, psi map with reduced conformational entropy and there is a potential for turn conformations at N and C terminal ends of the peptide. The role of reduced conformational entropy and turn potential in helix formation have been discussed. We conclude that the peptide sequence can serve as a 'folding intermediate' in the helix folding of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.     

Structural analysis of peptide helices containing centrally positioned lactic acid residues

The effect of insertion of lactic acid (Lac) residues into peptide helices has been probed using specifically designed sequences. The crystal structures of 11-residue and 14-residue depsipeptides Boc-Val-Val-Ala-Leu-Val-Lac-Leu-Aib-Val-Ala-Leu-OMe (1) and Boc-Val-Ala-Leu-Aib-Val-Ala-Leu-Val-Lac-Leu-Aib-Val-Ala-Leu-OMe (3), containing centrally positioned Lac residues, have been determined. The structure of an 11-residue peptide Boc-Val-Ala-Leu-Aib-Val-Ala-Leu-Aib-Val-Ala-Leu-OMe (2), analog of a which is an amide previously determined Lac-containing depsipeptide, Boc-Val-Ala-Leu-Aib-Val-Lac-Leu-Aib-Val-Ala-Leu-OMe I. L. Karle, C. Das, and P. Balaram, Biopolymers, Vol. 59, (2001) pp. 276-289], is also reported. Peptide 1 adopts a helical fold, which is stabilized by mixture of 4-->1 and 5-->1 hydrogen bonds. Peptide 2 adopts a completely alpha-helical conformation stabilized by eight successive 5-->1 hydrogen bonds. Peptide 3 appears to be predominately alpha-helical, with seven 5-->1 hydrogen bonds and three 4-->1 interaction interspersed in the sequence. In the structure of peptide 3 in addition to water molecules in the head-to-tail region, hydration at an internal segment of the helix is also observed. A comparison of five related peptide helices, containing a single Lac residue, reveals that the hydroxy acid can be comfortably accommodated at interior positions in the helix, with the closest C=O...O distances lying between 2.8 and 3.3 A.     

The k-junction motif in RNA structure

The k-junction is a structural motif in RNA comprising a three-way helical junction based upon kink turn (k-turn) architecture. A computer program written to examine relative helical orientation identified the three-way junction of the Arabidopsis TPP riboswitch as an elaborated k-turn. The Escherichia coli TPP riboswitch contains a related k-junction, and analysis of >11 000 sequences shows that the structure is common to these riboswitches. The k-junction exhibits all the key features of an N1-class k-turn, including the standard cross-strand hydrogen bonds. The third helix of the junction is coaxially aligned with the C (canonical) helix, while the k-turn loop forms the turn into the NC (non-canonical) helix. Analysis of ligand binding by ITC and global folding by gel electrophoresis demonstrates the importance of the k-turn nucleotides. Clearly the basic elements of k-turn structure are structurally well suited to generate a three-way helical junction, retaining all the key features and interactions of the k-turn.     

Hydrophobic tendencies of polar groups as a major force in molecular recognition

Proteins and nucleic acids are able to adopt their native conformation and perform their biological role only in the presence of water with which they actively interact in a mutually modifying way. Traditionally, hydrophobic effect has been considered to be the major factor stabilizing biopolymeric structures. However, solvent reorganization around polar groups is an event thermodynamically more unfavorable than solvent reorganization around nonpolar groups. Consequently, burial of polar groups with formation of complementary solute-solute hydrogen bonds out of contact with water is an energetically favorable process that also provides a major force driving macromolecular association and folding. In contrast to nonpolar groups, polar groups may form their complementary intra- or intersolute hydrogen bonds out of contact with water only provided that an appropriate solute structure has been formed with properly positioned hydrogen bond donors and acceptors. Formation of such structures is disfavored entropically and may not be possible due to steric reasons. However, the interior of a folded protein, alpha-helices and beta-sheets, double helical nucleic acid structures, and protein-ligand interfaces all provide rigid matrices where polar groups may form their complementary hydrogen bonds. For these structures, the inward drive of polar groups represents a considerable stabilizing factor.     

Crystal and molecular structure of the dehydropeptide Ac-delta Phe-Val-delta Phe-NH-Me.

The dehydropeptide Ac-delta Phe-L-Val-delta Phe-NH-Me, containing two dehydrophenylalanine (delta Phe) residues, crystallizes from methanol/water in space group P212121, with a = 12.622 (1), b = 12.979 (1), and c = 15.733 (1) A. In the solid state, the molecular structure is characterized by the presence of two intramolecular hydrogen bonds which form two consecutive beta-bends. The (phi, psi) torsion angles of the three residues are very similar and close to the standard values of type III beta-bends, so the molecular conformation corresponds to an incipient right-handed 3(10)-helix, only slightly distorted. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by head-to-tail hydrogen bonds, thus forming continuous helical columns packed in antiparallel mode. There are no lateral hydrogen bonds; the only interactions are hydrophobic contacts between the apolar side chains of neighboring helical columns.     

Collagen structure: the Madras triple helix and the current scenario

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the coiled-coil triple helical structure of collagen, first proposed by Ramachandran's group from Madras. The structure is unique among the protein secondary structures in that it requires a very specific tripeptide sequence repeat, with glycine being mandatory at every third position and readily accommodates the imino acids proline/hydroxyproline, at the other two positions. The original structure was postulated to be stabilized by two interchain hydrogen bonds, per tripeptide. Subsequent modeling studies suggested that the triple helix is stabilized by one direct inter chain hydrogen bond as well as water mediated hydrogen bonds. The hydroxyproline residues were also implicated to play an important role in stabilizing the collagen fibres. Several high resolution crystal structures of oligopeptides related to collagen have been determined in the last ten years. Stability of synthetic mimics of collagen has also been extensively studied. These have confirmed the essential correctness of the coiled-coil triple helical structure of collagen, as well as the role of water and hydroxyproline residues, but also indicated additional sequence-dependent features. This review discusses some of these recent results and their implications for collagen fiber formation.     

Conserved hydrogen-bond motifs of membrane transporters and receptors

Membrane transporters and receptors often rely on conserved hydrogen bonds to assemble transient paths for ion transfer or long-distance conformational couplings. For transporters and receptors that use proton binding and proton transfer for function, inter-helical hydrogen bonds of titratable protein sidechains that could change protonation are of central interest to formulate hypotheses about reaction mechanisms. Knowledge of hydrogen bonds common at sites of potential interest for proton binding could thus inform and guide studies on functional mechanisms of protonation-coupled membrane proteins. Here we apply graph-theory approaches to identify hydrogen-bond motifs of carboxylate and histidine sidechains in a large data set of static membrane protein structures. We find that carboxylate-hydroxyl hydrogen bonds are present in numerous structures of the dataset, and can be part of more extended H-bond clusters that could be relevant to conformational coupling. Carboxylate-carboxyamide and imidazole-imidazole hydrogen bonds are represented in comparably fewer protein structures of the dataset. Atomistic simulations on two membrane transporters in lipid membranes suggest that many of the hydrogen bond motifs present in static protein structures tend to be robust, and can be part of larger hydrogen-bond clusters that recruit additional hydrogen bonds.     

Differential dehydration effects on globular proteins and intrinsically disordered proteins during film formation

Globular proteins composed of different secondary structures and fold types were examined by synchrotron radiation circular dichroism spectroscopy to determine the effects of dehydration on their secondary structures. They exhibited only minor changes upon removal of bulk water during film formation, contrary to previously reported studies of proteins dehydrated by lyophilization (where substantial loss of helical structure and gain in sheet structure was detected). This near lack of conformational change observed for globular proteins contrasts with intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) dried in the same manner: the IDPs, which have almost completely unordered structures in solution, exhibited increased amounts of regular (mostly helical) secondary structures when dehydrated, suggesting formation of new intra‐protein hydrogen bonds replacing solvent‐protein hydrogen bonds, in a process which may mimic interactions that occur when IDPs bind to partner molecules. This study has thus shown that the secondary structures of globular and intrinsically disordered proteins behave very differently upon dehydration, and that films are a potentially useful format for examining dehydrated soluble proteins and assessing IDPs structures.     

High-Resolution Crystal Structures of Protein Helices Reconciled with Three-Centered Hydrogen Bonds and Multipole Electrostatics

Theoretical and experimental evidence for non-linear hydrogen bonds in protein helices is ubiquitous. In particular, amide three-centered hydrogen bonds are common features of helices in high-resolution crystal structures of proteins. These high-resolution structures (1.0 to 1.5 Å nominal crystallographic resolution) position backbone atoms without significant bias from modeling constraints and identify Φ = -62°, ψ = -43 as the consensus backbone torsional angles of protein helices. These torsional angles preserve the atomic positions of α-β carbons of the classic Pauling α-helix while allowing the amide carbonyls to form bifurcated hydrogen bonds as first suggested by Némethy et al. in 1967. Molecular dynamics simulations of a capped 12-residue oligoalanine in water with AMOEBA (Atomic Multipole Optimized Energetics for Biomolecular Applications), a second-generation force field that includes multipole electrostatics and polarizability, reproduces the experimentally observed high-resolution helical conformation and correctly reorients the amide-bond carbonyls into bifurcated hydrogen bonds. This simple modification of backbone torsional angles reconciles experimental and theoretical views to provide a unified view of amide three-centered hydrogen bonds as crucial components of protein helices. The reason why they have been overlooked by structural biologists depends on the small crankshaft-like changes in orientation of the amide bond that allows maintenance of the overall helical parameters (helix pitch (p) and residues per turn (n)). The Pauling 3.6₁₃ α-helix fits the high-resolution experimental data with the minor exception of the amide-carbonyl electron density, but the previously associated backbone torsional angles (Φ, Ψ) needed slight modification to be reconciled with three-atom centered H-bonds and multipole electrostatics. Thus, a new standard helix, the 3.6_13/10-, Némethy- or N-helix, is proposed. Due to the use of constraints from monopole force fields and assumed secondary structures used in low-resolution refinement of electron density of proteins, such structures in the PDB often show linear hydrogen bonding.     

The role of specific 2'-hydroxyl groups in the stabilization of the folded conformation of kink-turn RNA

The role of 2'-hydroxyl groups in stabilizing the tightly kinked geometry of the kink-turn (K-turn) has been investigated. Individual 2'-OH groups have been removed by chemical synthesis, and the kinking of the RNA has been studied by gel electrophoresis and fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The results have been analyzed by reference to a database of 11 different crystallographic structures of K-turns. The potential hydrogen bonds fall into several classes. The most important are those in the core of the turn and ribose-phosphate interactions around the bulge. Of these the single most important hydrogen bond is one donated from the 2'-OH of the 5' nucleotide of the bulge to the N1 of the adenine of the kink-proximal A*G pair. This is present in all known K-turn structures, and removal of the 2'-OH completely prevents metal ion-induced folding. Hydrogen bonds formed in the minor grooves of the helical stems are less important, and removal of the participating 2'-OH groups leads to reduced impairment of folding. These interactions are generally more polymorphic, and hydrogen bonds probably form where possible, as permitted by the global structure.     

The structure and dynamics of ACTH (1-10) on the surface of a sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) micelle: a molecular dynamics simulation study

ACTH (1-10), an adrenocorticotropin hormone fragment, was studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in the NPT ensemble in an explicit sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) micelle. Initially, distance restraints derived from NMR nuclear Overhauser enhancements were incorporated during the equilibration stage of the simulation. The analyses of the trajectories from the subsequent unrestrained MD showed that ACTH (1-10) does not conform to a helical structure at the micelle-water interface; however, the structure is amphipathic. The loss of the helical structure is due to decreased intramolecular hydrogen bonding accompanied by an increase of hydrogen bonding between the amide hydrogens of the peptide and the micelle head-groups. ACTH (1-10) was found to lie on the surface of the SDS micelle. Most of the hydrophobic interactions came from the side-chains of Met-4, Phe-7 and Trp-9. The peptide bonds were either hydrated or involved in intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Decreased hydration for the backbone of His-6 and Phe-7 was due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding with the SDS head-groups. The time correlation functions of the N-H bonds of the peptide in water and in the micelle showed that the motions of the peptide, except for the N- and C-termini, are significantly reduced when partitioned in the micelle.     

Conformation of peptides constructed from achiral amino acid residues Aib and DeltaZPhe: computational study of the effect of L/D- Leu at terminal positions

Conformational studies of the peptides constructed from achiral amino acid residues Aib and Delta(Z)Phe (I) Ac-Aib-Delta(Z)Phe-NHMe (II), and Ac-(Aib-Delta(Z)Phe)(3)-NHMe; peptides III-VI having L-Leu or D-Leu at either the N- or the C-terminal position and of peptides VII-X having Leu residues in different enantiomeric combinations at both the N- and the C-terminal positions in peptide II have been studied to design the peptide with the required helical sense. Peptide II, as expected, adopts degenerate left- and right-handed helical structures. It has been shown that the peptides IV and VI having D-Leu at either the N or the C terminus can be realized in the right-handed helical structure with the phi,psi values of -20 degrees and -60 degrees for the Aib/Delta(Z)Phe residues. L-Leu and D- Leu at both the terminals in peptides VII and VIII, respectively, have hardly any effect as both the left- and the right-handed structures are found to be degenerate. Peptides III and IX can be realized in right- and left-handed helical structures, respectively, in solvents of low polarity whereas peptides V and X are predicted to be in the right-handed helical structures stabilized by carbonyl-carbonyl interactions without the formation of hydrogen bonds. The conformational states with the phi,psi values of 0 degrees and -85 degrees in peptide V are characterized by rise per residue of 2.03 A, rotation per residue of 117.5 degrees , and 3.06 residues per turn. In all peptides having Leu residue at the N terminus, the methyl moiety of the acetyl group is involved in the CH/pi interactions with the Cepsilon--Cdelta edge of the aromatic ring of Delta(Z)Phe (3) and the amino group NH of Delta(Z)Phe is involved in the NH/pi interactions with its own aromatic ring. The CH(3) groups of the Aib residues are also involved in CH/pi interactions with the i + 1th and i + 3th Delta(Z)Phe's aromatic side chains.     

Molecular dynamics analysis of a ribonuclease C-peptide analogue

We have carried out a nanosecond molecular dynamics simulation of an analogue of the ribonuclease C-peptide in water. The overall conformation has an extended region for the first three amino acids connected to an α-helix for residues 4–13, and this basic structure is preserved throughout the simulation, with helical hydrogen bonds present 87% of the time, on average. The final helical hydrogen bond is spontaneously broken and re-formed several times, providing a detailed picture of such winding/unwinding events. The simulation was used to estimate the effects of internal motion on proton nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) intensities for several classes of important cross peaks. Within the helical regions, the effects of internal motion vary only a little from one residue to another for backbone–backbone cross peaks, and the relevant correlation functions reach plateau values within about 50 ps. The spectral simulations show, however, that it may be difficult to establish a close quantitative connection between NOESY cross-peak volumes and measures of helical content. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Helical conformations of three crystalline pentapeptide fragments of suzukacillin,a membrane channel forming polypeptide

The crystal structures of three pentapeptide fragments of suzukacillin-A have been determined. Boc-Aib-Pro-Val-Aib-Val-OMe (peptide 1–5) adopts a distorted helical conformation, stabilized by three intramolecular hydrogen bonds (two 5→1, one 4→1). Boc-Ala-Aib-Ala-Aib-Aib-OMe (peptide 6–10) and Boc-Leu-Aib-Pro-Val-Aib-OMe (peptide 16–20) adopt 3₁₀ helical structures stabilized by three and two 4→1 intramolecular hydrogen bonds, respectively. These structures provide substantial support for a largely helical conformation for the suzukacillin membrane channel.