人肌肌酸激酶在SDS溶液中失活与构象变化的比较研究

应用紫外差吸收光谱、荧光发射光谱、ＣＤ先谱等监测手段,研究了ＳＤＳ溶液滴定人肌肌酸激酶时的构象与活力变化的关系。结果表明酶的活力丧失先于以紫外差吸收先谱、荧先发射谱和巯基暴露数目所监测到的构象变化。ＳＤＳ滴定时引起的酶的荧光发射光谱的变化在低滴定度阶段随着ＳＤＳ滴定量的增加,荧光强度下降,发射峰位红移,当ＳＤＳ浓度达到２．１ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ时,荧光强度增大,继续增加ＳＤＳ滴定量,荧光强度又降低,发射峰位红移直至终态。紫外差吸收光谱随着ＳＤＳ溶液的加入,２８１ｎｍ．２８７ｎｍ和２９２ｎｍ的负差吸收峰增大。ＣＤ光谱结果表明在本实验所用的ＳＤＳ浓度范围内,ＳＤＳ对人肌肌酸激酶的二级结构几乎没有影响。上述结果支持了酶的活性部位构象柔性的观点。     

细胞色素C和含心磷脂的人工脂膜相互作用

 本文报告以芘为荧光探剂,研究细胞色素C和含心磷脂的人工脂膜的相互作用。1.由于芘和细胞色素C的血红素团之间的能量转移,细胞色素C与心磷脂结合引起芘的单体荧光发射峰(395nm)强度下降。这种淬灭效应受脂膜的相行为影响,在液晶相时淬灭效应小于凝胶相;2.氧化态细胞色素C与还原态相比,对心磷脂结合的视和度稍高;3.在以芘的激发二聚体荧光峰(475nm)强度与单体荧光峰强度之比做为脂膜流动性的指标,发现还原态细胞色素C与含心磷脂脂膜结合后引起流动性增加的效应高于氧化态的结合。     

Nd:YAP激光辐照对雨生红球藻生理效应的荧光分析

目的：Nd：YAP激光辐照对雨生红球藻生理效应的荧光分析j方法：利用Nd：YAG激光（功率10W,辐照剂量为15s、35s、55s）辐照雨生红球藻,在对辐照细胞进行生长测定以及色素吸收光谱分析的基础上,进一步利用激光共聚焦扫描显微镜（LSCM）,在波长488nm的Ar^＋激发光条件下,对细胞的自体荧光以及吖啶橙染色的细胞核荧光物质进行定位定量分析,获得细胞自发荧光光谱和细胞核荧光物质的荧光光谱。结果：①低剂量的Nd：YAG激光辐照（15s左右）对藻细胞有促长作用,生长速率提高20．3％,色素吸收峰的峰值提高25．3％。较高剂量的Nd：YAG激光辐照（35s、55s）对藻细胞生长有抑制作用,并有明显的致死、致突效应。②对自体荧光的分析结果表明,与对照组相比,低剂量激光辐照组的细胞,在荧光光谱的峰型及峰值上变化不大,在682nm处均有较强的荧光发射,而高剂量激光辐照组的细胞多无明显的荧光发射。③对细胞核荧光物质的分析,雨生红球藻细胞在530nm（DNA）和640nm（RNA）处均有荧光发射峰。与对照组相比,低剂量激光辐照组的DNA荧光发射有所增强,但RNA的荧光发射则有所减弱;高剂量激光辐照组的核物质荧光发射谱,在峰型上与对照组存在差异,荧光强度也明显下降。结论：低剂量的Nd：YAP激光辐照对细胞核的DNA合成与复制有一定的刺激作用,可促进光合色素的合成并提高其对光能的吸收效率,从而增强光合活性,促进细胞的增殖与生长;高剂量激光辐照则对细胞的DNA有损伤作用,是致死率上升并发生突变的可能原因。     

脲对果菠萝蛋白酶活力与构象的影响

本文用荧光光谱,紫外差示光谱和CD谱研究果菠萝蛋白酶在不同浓度的脲溶液中的构象及酶活力的变化情况。酶的荧光强度随脲浓度增大而明显增加,8mol/L脲使荧光强度增强65％,发射峰出现红移。差示谱表明在232nm和288nm出现二个正峰,它们均随脲浓度增大而加剧,前者与主链构象变化有关,而后者与生色基团(Trp、Tyr)的微环境变化相关。CD谱表明:天然酶在208nm和225nm处有二个负峰,脲变性后,225nm的负峰基本上不随脲浓度增大而变化,但208nm峰则明显发生变化并逐渐出现红移,6mol/L以上此峰则完全消失。     

Ca~（2＋）对叶绿素a／b钙结合蛋白波谱学特性的影响（Ⅱ）

用钙螯合亲和层析分离纯化得到的叶绿素ａ／ｂ钙结合蛋白,其荧光发射峰在６８０±１ｎｍ,钙结合后导致荧光发射峰强度降低。当再加入ＥＧＴＡ,螯合钙后,其荧光发射峰强度得以部分恢复。该蛋白在结合钙后,其圆二色谱也发生变化。这些结果表明该蛋白质的构象在结合钙后发生了变化。该蛋白质的荧光激发光谱在４４０ｎｍ和４７０ｎｍ处的激发峰表明此蛋白结合有叶绿素ａ和叶绿索ｂ。本文对叶绿素ａ／ｂ钙结合蛋白在光系统Ⅱ中的可能功能进行了讨论。     

绿脓杆菌apoazurin在溶液中存在两种天然构象

如何解释绿脓杆菌apoazurin变性过程的复杂机制是一个有争议的问题.最近的研究表明apoazurin的复杂变性机制可以归结为其天然态存在着至少两种构象.利用内源荧光发射谱和圆二色谱进一步研究了apoazurin的脲变性机制,发现其稳态脲变性符合表观的二态过程,但其动力学为双相过程.在高浓度脲中快反应在几秒钟内完成,而慢反应要经过几个小时.快反应和慢反应的mu值分别为2.24和2.45kJ·mol-1·M-1,去折叠活化能的差值为22kJ·mol-1.时间分辨的荧光发射谱和圆二色谱可以用天然态和完全变性态的谱图通过一个固定的比例参数进行重建.结果表明,过去被广泛接受的存在着变性中间体的机制是不正确的,而apoazurin在天然态存在至少两种构象的假设是合理的.     

紫光激发中药光敏剂用于早期胃癌的诊断

采用405nm紫光激发传统中药光敏剂(CpD4)发射的荧光中心波长在660nm。红色荧光能深入组织,因而能够应用在胃癌早期诊断及治疗中。本文测定了中药光敏剂的吸收光谱和发射荧光光谱,并提出了二种用于激发光敏剂的紫光光源。一种为“Hg-Xe”灯,发射峰为433nm;另一种为采用紫光LD,发射峰为405nm。这二种波长和中药光敏剂的吸收峰完全匹配。     

嗜热蓝藻层理鞭枝藻（Mastigocladus laminosus）藻胆体在解离过程中荧光发射光谱和光能传递的研究

研究了层理鞭枝藻胆体在不同浓度磷酸冲溶液中解离过程中荧光发射光谱的变化和光能传递,完整藻胆体的７７Ｋ荧光光谱中只有一个峰,位于６８５ｎｍ,它是末端发射体（核心－膜连接多肽和别蓝蛋白－Ｂ）的荧光峰,部分解离藻胆体的荧光光谱的主峰位移至６５２ｎｍ,次峰位于６８５ｎｍ;６６０ｎｍ为一弱荧光发射肩,它们依次为Ｃ－藻蓝蛋白,末端发射体和别藻蓝蛋白的荧光。严重解离藻胆体的荧光主峰移至６４４ｎｍ;次峰由６８５ｎ     

雨生红球藻(Haematococcus pluvialis)的光谱特性研究

实验测定了雨生红球藻不同生长阶段的色素组成,吸收光谱,荧光光谱,并对其进行了分析。结果表明,用490nm波长激发时,雨生红球藻在绿色细胞阶段存在710nm和730nm附近的长波长荧光发射峰,而在红色细胞阶段仅存在730nm的长波长荧光发射峰,预示着雨生红球藻不同生长阶段在PSⅠ结构,组成,及其色素蛋白的排布等方面有很大差异。     

意蜂蜂王浆超氧化物歧化酶的分离纯化及部分性质

以意蜂Apis mellifera蜂王浆为材料,经过硫酸铵分段盐析,DEAE-Sepharose 柱层析和Sephacryl S-200凝胶过滤,得到纯化的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD),纯化倍数104.00,比活力53.05 U/mg。该SOD经SDS-PAGE显示单一蛋白带。温度对该酶活力的影响较小。Cu、Zn、Fe和Mn等元素含量测定发现该酶只含有Cu和Zn。酶经圆二色谱测定后,其α螺旋、β折叠和无规则卷曲蛋白构型的含量分别为26.1%、53.8%和22.0%。等电聚焦电泳测得酶的等电点为4.69、4.85和5.01。NR/R单向和双向SDS-PAGE表明该酶含有链内二硫键。氨基酸组成分析发现该酶由约402个氨基酸残基组成,其中Asp、Gly、Leu、Ala、Glu和Val的含量较高。脲可抑制SOD活性,并使其紫外光谱发生变化,荧光发射峰强度变小。溴乙酸（BrAc）抑制酶的活力,使其紫外光谱发生变化,荧光发射峰强度变小。二巯基苏糖醇（DTT）使酶的活力发生变化,紫外吸收峰增大,荧光发射峰变小。     

Effect of ionic strength on folding and aggregation of the hemolytic peptide melittin in solution

Melittin is a cationic, amphipathic, hemolytic peptide composed of 26 amino acid residues. It is intrinsically fluorescent due to the presence of a single tryptophan residue, which has been shown to be crucial for its hemolytic activity. It undergoes a structural transition from a random coil monomer to an alpha-helical tetramer at high ionic strength. Although the aggregation behavior of melittin in solution is well characterized, dynamic information associated with the aggregation of melittin is lacking. In this paper, we have monitored the effect of ionic strength on the dynamics and aggregation behavior of melittin in aqueous solution by utilizing sensitive fluorescence approaches, which include the red edge excitation shift (REES) approach. Importantly, we demonstrate that REES is sensitive to the self-association of melittin induced by ionic strength. The change in environment experienced by melittin tryptophan(s) is supported by changes in fluorescence emission maximum, polarization, and lifetime. In addition, the accessibility of the tryptophan residue was probed by fluorescence quenching experiments using acrylamide and trichloroethanol as soluble and hydrophobic quenchers, respectively. Circular dichroism studies confirm the ionic strength-induced change in the secondary structure of melittin. Taken together, these results constitute the first report showing that REES could be used as a sensitive tool to monitor the aggregation behavior of melittin in particular and other proteins and peptides in general.     

Effect of pressure on the self-association of melittin

The effect of increased hydrostatic pressure (1 bar to 1.8 kbar) on the self-association of melittin was measured by using the fluorescence anisotropy of its single tryptophan residue. The degree of self-association was found to decrease with increasing pressure. The volume change (delta V) for dissociation is surprisingly large. At low pressures, delta V for dissociation is near -150 mL/mol. The magnitude of the volume change decreased with increasing pressure, possibly as a result of pressure-induced compression of free volume trapped at the subunit interface region of the tetramer. Overall, the pressure-dependent association of melittin is comparable to that expected for hydrophobic interactions and to that found for micelle formation by detergents.     

The aggregation state of mellitin in lipid bilayers. An energy transfer study

We used fluorescence non-radiative energy transfer to measure the self-association of melittin in solution and when bound to lipid bilayers. Energy transfer occurred from the tryptophan residue of unlabeled melittin to an N-methyl anthraniloyl residue covalently bound to a basic lysine residue on melittin. The extent of energy transfer from tryptophan to the label was found to increase severalfold upon the salt-induced tetramerization of melittin. When bound to vesicles of dimyristoyl-L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine, the extent of energy transfer was found to be equivalent to that of monomeric melittin, irrespective of the presence of monomeric or tetrameric melittin in the aqueous phase. We conclude that membrane-bound melittin is monomeric.     

Different states of self-association of melittin in phospholipid bilayers

Melittin is known to self-associate as tetramers in solutions of high ionic strength. Here, an N-bromosuccinimide oxidized-Trp₁₉ melittin is prepared. This derivative can act as an acceptor of the fluorescence of native melittin and is used in order to observe a possible self-association of melittin in phospholipid bilayers.Resonance energy transfer was shown to occur in solutions of high ionic strength, showing that oxidized melittin can associate with native melittin.In phospholipid bilayers, no association is detected in the absence of NaCl. In its presence, an equilibrium between monomeric melittin and oligomeric species is observed. These species are not dimers, but any other degree of association may account for our experimental results. Significant differences in characteristic transfer efficiency reveal differences in the structure of these oligomers according to the length or state of phospholipids (fluid or at the transition temperature). These bound complexes are also different from the soluble hetero-oligomer.Some models of bound complexes are proposed which may explain the leakage and the further disruption of vesicles or cells induced by melittin.Abbreviations NBS N-bromosuccinimide - NATA N-acetyl tryptophanamide - DMPC dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine - DPPC dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine - PG phosphatidylglycerol - EPC egg phosphatidylcholine - O-melittin oxindole-melittin - RET resonance energy transfer - EDTA ethylene diamine tetracetic acid - Mel melittin     

Effect of the state of association of melittin and phospholipids on their reciprocal binding

In solutions of increasing ionic strength, the molecular weight of melittin varies from 2840 (monomeric melittin) to 11 200. This polymerization, concomitant with an important change in conformation (Talbot, J.C., Dufourcq, J., De Bony, J., Faucon, J.F. and Lussan, C. (1979) FEBS Lett. 102, 191–193), is accompanied by a significant alteration in the partial specific volume of the molecule. The binding of melittin to phospholipids (phosphatidylserine, lysolecithin, dihexanoyl-, dioctanoyl- and lysolauroylphosphatidylcholine) depends on the state of association of the toxin and on the critical micelle concentration of lipids. No interaction is observed between monomeric melittin and free lipids, whereas tetrameric melittin can bind free lipids to form mixed micelles. At phospholipid concentrations above the critical micelle concentration, melittin in any state of self-association can bind lipids. The mixed micelles formed at saturation appear to be independent of the initial state of association of melittin.     

Structure, location, and lipid perturbations of melittin at the membrane interface

Melittin is arguably the most widely studied amphipathic, membrane-lytic alpha-helical peptide. Although several lines of evidence suggest an interfacial membrane location at low concentrations, melittin's exact position and depth of penetration into the hydrocarbon core are unknown. Furthermore, the structural basis for its lytic action remains largely a matter of conjecture. Using a novel x-ray absolute-scale refinement method, we have now determined the location, orientation, and likely conformation of monomeric melittin in oriented phosphocholine lipid multilayers. Its helical axis is aligned parallel to the bilayer plane at the depth of the glycerol groups, but its average conformation differs from the crystallographic structure. As observed earlier for another amphipathic alpha-helical peptide, the lipid perturbations induced by melittin are remarkably modest. Small bilayer perturbations thus appear to be a general feature of amphipathic helices at low concentrations. In contrast, a dimeric form of melittin causes larger structural perturbations under otherwise identical conditions. These results provide direct structural evidence that self-association of amphipathic helices may be the crucial initial step toward membrane lysis.     

Interaction of melittin with membrane cholesterol: a fluorescence approach

We have monitored the organization and dynamics of the hemolytic peptide melittin in membranes containing cholesterol by utilizing the intrinsic fluorescence properties of its functionally important sole tryptophan residue and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The significance of this study is based on the fact that the natural target for melittin is the erythrocyte membrane, which contains high amounts of cholesterol. Our results show that the presence of cholesterol inhibits melittin-induced leakage of lipid vesicles and the extent of inhibition appears to be dependent on the concentration of membrane cholesterol. The presence of cholesterol is also shown to reduce binding of melittin to membranes. Our results show that fluorescence parameters such as intensity, emission maximum, and lifetime of membrane-bound melittin indicate a change in polarity in the immediate vicinity of the tryptophan residue probably due to increased water penetration in presence of cholesterol. This is supported by results from fluorescence quenching experiments using acrylamide as the quencher. Membrane penetration depth analysis by the parallax method shows that the melittin tryptophan is localized at a relatively shallow depth in membranes containing cholesterol. Analysis of energy transfer results using melittin tryptophan (donor) and dehydroergosterol (acceptor) indicates that dehydroergosterol is not randomly distributed and is preferentially localized around the tryptophan residue of membrane-bound melittin, even at the low concentrations used. Taken together, our results are relevant in understanding the interaction of melittin with membranes in general, and with cholesterol-containing membranes in particular, with possible relevance to its interaction with the erythrocyte membrane.     

Structural and thermodynamic analyses of the interaction between melittin and lipopolysaccharide

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the major constituent of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, is the very first site of interactions with the antimicrobial peptides. In this work, we have determined a solution conformation of melittin, a well-known membrane active amphiphilic peptide from honey bee venom, by transferred nuclear Overhauser effect (Tr-NOE) spectroscopy in its bound state with lipopolysaccharide. The LPS bound conformation of melittin is characterized by a helical structure restricted only to the C-terminus region (residues A15-R24) of the molecule. Saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR studies reveal that several C-terminal residues of melittin including Trp19 are in close proximity with LPS. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) data demonstrates that melittin binding to LPS or lipid A is an endothermic process. The interaction between melittin and lipid A is further characterized by an equilibrium association constant (Ka) of 2.85 x 10(6) M(-1) and a stoichiometry of 0.80, melittin/lipid A. The estimated free energy of binding (delta G0), -8.8 kcal mol(-1), obtained from ITC experiments correlates well with a partial helical structure of melittin in complex with LPS. Moreover, a synthetic peptide fragment, residues L13-Q26 or mel-C, derived from the C-terminus of melittin has been found to contain comparable outer membrane permeabilizing activity against Escherichia coli cells. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence experiments of melittin and mel-C demonstrate very similar emission maxima and quenching in presence of LPS micelles. The Red Edge Excitation Shift (REES) studies of tryptophan residue indicate that both peptides are located in very similar environment in complex with LPS. Collectively, these results suggest that a helical conformation of melittin, at its C-terminus, could be an important element in recognition of LPS in the outer membrane.     

A study of protein dynamics from anisotropy decays obtained by variable frequency phase-modulation fluorometry: internal motions of N-methylanthraniloyl melittin

Internal motions of melittin and its lipid complexes were studied by anisotropy decays determined by frequency-domain fluorometry. A covalent anthraniloyl probe was attached, probably to lysine-21. The emission spectra indicate that the anthraniloyl moiety is exposed to solvent in both monomeric and tetrameric forms and is present at the lipid-water interfacial region in the lipid complexes. The fluorescence intensity decay of melittin in solution and its lipid complexes was characterized by three lifetimes. The lifetimes were near 1-2 ns, 6-7 ns and 10 ns. At increased temperatures there was an increase in the amplitude of the intermediate lifetime and a decrease in that of the longer lifetime. For all the melittin systems, at least three correlation times were required to fit the anisotropy data. Of the three correlation times, the shortest correlation time represents the local motions of the probe, while the longest represents global motions of the whole molecule. The intermediate correlation time probably represents the dynamics of domains/helices within the molecule. The melittin monomer is highly flexible, with greater than 90% of its anisotropy being lost by the local motions. Even though it is well organized (greater than 75% helical), the tetramer is still a highly flexible molecule, with 70% of its anisotropy being lost by the local motions. The internal motions of melittin decrease upon binding to lipids and are sensitive to the phase state of the lipid complexes.     

A Pro --> Ala substitution in melittin affects self-association, membrane binding and pore-formation kinetics due to changes in structural and electrostatic properties

Melittin, the main component of bee venom of Apis mellifera, contains a proline at position 14, which is highly conserved in related peptides of various bee venoms. To investigate the structural and functional role of Pro14 a melittin analogue was studied where proline is substituted by an alanine residue (P14A). The investigations were focussed on: (i) the secondary structure in aqueous solution and membranes; (ii) the self-association in solution; (iii) the binding to POPC membranes; and (iv) the P14A-induced leakage and pore formation in membrane vesicles. Circular dichroism and gel filtration experiments showed that P14A exists at concentrations < 12 microM in monomeric form with an alpha-helicity of 28 +/- 7%. A further increase in peptide concentration leads to the formation of large aggregates consisting of 9 +/- 1 monomers. While binding studies with POPC vesicles revealed for P14A a stronger binding affinity towards membranes than for melittin, the peptide-induced leakage of fluorescent markers from vesicles was less efficient for P14A than for melittin. Furthermore, an unexpected efflux behaviour at high values of bound P14A was observed which indicated that the pore formation kinetics for P14A is more complex than it was reported for melittin. The different features of P14A in aggregation, binding and efflux compared to melittin are mainly ascribable directly to structural changes caused by the proline --> alanine substitution. Furthermore, the results indicate an improved screening of the positively charged residues of P14A by counterions which contributes additionally to the observed differences in peptide activities. It is suggested that the presence of proline in melittin is not only of structural importance but also influences indirectly the electrostatic properties of the native peptide.