α-葡萄糖苷酶与米格列醇相互作用及其进化关系

用生物信息学的方法分析不同物种的α-葡糖糖苷酶的亲缘关系,分析降血糖药物米格列醇与甜菜(Beta vulgaris)的α-葡糖糖苷酶相互作用位点在其他亲缘关系较近的物种中相应的氨基酸变化特点,结果表明米格列醇位于一个凹向酶分子内部的狭窄的结合口袋中,其间的相互作用主要以静电相互作用、氢键和范德华力为主。由于米格列醇的强水溶性和多羟基的特点,与酸性的天冬氨酸之间形成多个Ο-Η氢键,对甜菜(Beta vulgaris)的α-葡萄糖苷酶具有较好的抑制作用。通过TMHMM预测甜菜(Beta vulgaris)的α-葡萄糖苷酶的序列,结果未发现跨膜区。通过多序列比对发现,在米格列醇与甜菜(Beta vulgaris)的α-葡萄糖苷酶相互作用位点处的氨基酸中,在与其亲缘关系较近的5个物种茶(Camellia sinensis),黄瓜(Cucumis sativus),木本棉(Gossypium arboretum),甘庶属割手密(Spontaneum)和蒺藜状苜蓿(Medicago truncatula)中有81.82%的氨基酸都是保守的,且主要是极性的氨基酸,如色氨酸和天冬氨酸。这为进一步研究降血糖药物在其他物种中的表现及相互作用提供了重要的科学依据。     

血清白蛋白与抗肿瘤药物莪术醇的相互作用关系

莪术醇是近年来发现的重要的新的抗肿瘤中药单体之一。分析莪术醇与转运蛋白—血清白蛋白之间的相互作用能够帮助研究者更好的理解药物的作用机制。本文通过用多序列分析、进化关系和分子对接技术等分析莪术醇与人血清白蛋白相互作用位点及其在其他亲缘关系较近的物种中的特点。结果表明,莪术醇与人血清白蛋白相互作用的结合位点II和III处周围几乎都是疏水性的氨基酸,分子间的疏水作用起着很重要的作用,其最低结合能分别是-7.22 Kcal/mol和-8.34 Kcal/mol。莪术醇与人血清白蛋白之间的作用位点在其他亲缘关系较近的狼(Canis lupus)、绵羊(Ovine)、牦牛(Bos mutus)、家牛(Bos Taurus)物种中都较为保守,少数有变化的氨基酸基本是在极性相同的氨基酸之间发生的。与分子相互作用前的结构相比,莪术醇中的羟基的结构在活性位点处发生了最明显的变化。     

血清白蛋白序列中的相似氨基酸突变特点分析

血清白蛋白是必不可少的生命物质,在生命运动和发展延续中起着重要的作用。它不仅能维持正常的血浆渗透压,最重要的是能够储存和运输众多的内源性和外源性物质。本文利用生物信息学的方法分析了几种不同物种的血清白蛋白的结构信息和疏水性特点,研究表明人、牛、猴、兔、狼、猫的血清白蛋白序列均属于亲水性蛋白质,在100 bp以内的疏水性值差别比较明显。通过对血清白蛋白进行多序列比对分析,发现兔血清白蛋白的氨基酸突变的数目是最多的。在这几种血清白蛋白序列中,氨基酸突变更容易发生在结构相似、极性相似和能量比较接近的氨基酸之间,如D和L、E和D。对于人血清白蛋白来说,从疏水性的丙氨酸A到酸性的谷氨酸E的突变比较多,使得人血清白蛋白在进化过程中的亲水性增强,是个很好的储存和运输小分子的载体。这些基于生物信息学方面的血清白蛋白的突变及其进化关系的研究,为进一步研究药物与血清白蛋白的相互作用在其他物种中表现和特点提供了良好的基础。     

具有α-葡糖苷酶抑制作用的抗糖尿病药物

α -葡糖苷酶抑制剂是一类具有糖结构的新型抗糖尿病药物 ,已经被广泛用于临床 ,包括阿卡波糖、伏格列波糖和米格列醇。这类药物可以明显降低Ⅱ型糖尿病人餐后血糖水平 ,减少糖尿病并发症的发生。本文简要综述了这类药物的发现、制备和作用机制及药效学、药动学和临床疗效等。     

香菇中麦角钙化甾醇含量的测定及其在人体内的传输机制

在阳光照射和自然阴干两种干燥方式下,测定了香菇中麦角钙化甾醇的含量。在不同实验条件下,测定了麦角甾醇转化为麦角钙化甾醇的转化率。在模拟生理条件下,通过荧光光谱、同步荧光光谱、三维荧光光谱、位点竞争实验、紫外可见吸收光谱和分子对接方法对麦角钙化甾醇与人血清白蛋白相互作用过程中的机制和构象变化进行了系统研究,从而揭示了麦角钙化甾醇在体内的传输机制。结果表明,阳光照射能够提高香菇中麦角钙化甾醇含量。麦角甾醇在溶液状态下经过紫外光照射4h,麦角甾醇转化为麦角钙化甾醇的转化率为21%。荧光光谱表明麦角钙化甾醇通过静态猝灭机制猝灭人血清白蛋白的内源荧光。在288K时有利于麦角钙化甾醇与人血清白蛋白的结合,在较高温度下麦角钙化甾醇不能与人血清白蛋白结合。热力学参数分析和分子对接结果表明,疏水作用、氢键和范德华力是结合过程中的主要作用力。位点竞争实验和同步荧光光谱表明位点I是麦角钙化甾醇和人血清白蛋白相互作用的主要结合位点。结合过程中能够发生能量转移,结合距离是3.46nm。结合过程轻微地改变人血清白蛋白的结构和微环境。     

从蝉花虫草提取的N6-(2-羟乙基)腺苷的降压活性及其与人血清白蛋白的相互作用

从蝉花虫草中提取分离了N ⁶-(2-羟乙基)腺苷[N ⁶-(2-hydroxyethyl) -adenosine,HEA],对其降压机制及其与人血清白蛋白的相互作用进行了研究,揭示了降压机制以及在体内的传输机制。研究结果表明使用水沉醇提法提取HEA,HEA的纯度达到95%以上。HEA低（2.5mg/kg）、中（5mg/kg）、高（7.5mg/kg）浓度组腹腔注射高血压大鼠体内,HEA具有显著降压效果,中浓度组表现出较稳定的降压作用,其机制可能是激活腺苷A1受体。在HEA 与人血清白蛋白结合过程中,范德华力、氢键和疏水作用力是结合过程中的主要作用力,HEA在位点I与人血清白蛋白进行结合,结合过程轻微地改变人血清白蛋白的结构和微环境。分子对接结果表明,Ser-192、Lys-195、Arg-257、Ser-287和Arg-291是HEA与人血清白蛋白结合过程中重要的氨基酸残基。     

胡椒碱分子键合人血清白蛋白位点的表征

利用荧光光谱法、紫外光谱法并结合计算机模拟技术在分子水平上研究了胡椒碱与人血清白蛋白(human serum albumin HSA)的键合作用.同步荧光及紫外光谱图表明,胡椒碱对HSA微环境有影响.位点竞争试验证明,胡椒碱分子键合在HSA的位点Ⅱ区.通过荧光光谱滴定数据求得不同温度下(300K 310K和318 K)药物与蛋白相互作用的结合常数及结合位点数.分子模拟的结果显示了胡椒碱与HSA的键合区域和键合模式,表明药物与蛋白有较强的键合作用;维持药物与蛋白质的相互作用力主要是疏水用,兼有氢键(位于氨基酸残基Arg 257,Arg 222及Arg218位).通过实验数据计算得到的热力学参数(ΔH0与ΔS0的值分别为原33.11 kJ·mol-1和原18.90 J·mol原1·K-1)确定了胡椒碱与HSA分子的相互作用力类型主要为氢键兼范德华力.     

以α-葡萄糖苷酶活性抑制率为指标优化山茱萸果肉的提取条件

山茱萸(Cornus officinalis Sieb.et Zucc.)的干燥成熟果肉是三大名贵木本药材之一[1].新鲜山茱萸果肉中含有单糖、多糖、有机酸、苷类、环烯醚萜类、黄酮、蒽醌、甾体和内酯等成分[2],临床上多用山萸肉和酒山萸肉;山茱萸是常用的降血糖药物[3],常出现在中医降血糖的组方中.现代药理研究结果表明:山茱萸所含的糖蛋白、熊果酸、齐墩果酸、多糖、苷类、鞣质和环烯醚萜类等成分都具有降血糖效果[4-11].α-葡萄糖苷酶抑制剂通过抑制小肠黏膜刷状缘α-葡萄糖苷酶对食物中淀粉和糖类的降解,延迟并减少葡萄糖的吸收,从而降低餐后血糖;目前常用的此类降糖药物有阿卡波糖、伏格列波糖和米格列醇,但价格高、副反应和毒副作用较大,因此从天然动植物和矿物中寻找低毒、高效的α-葡萄糖苷酶抑制剂具有广阔的应用前景.     

苏太猪ELOVL7基因的生物信息学分析

不同于人、鼠等物种ELOVL7基因的高相似度,不同品种的猪ELOVL7基因相似度较低。为了探究该基因的特性,本研究运用生物信息学的方法对苏太猪ELOVL7基因及其氨基酸序列的同源性、理化性质、保守结构域、亚细胞定位、信号肽、跨膜结构域、亲水性/疏水性、二级结构、功能预测以及磷酸化位点等进行预测分析。结果表明：在苏太猪中,ELOVL7全长2 324 bp,编码区为846 bp,共编码281个氨基酸。其结构稳定,分子量为33 387.4 Da,带正电荷,偏碱性。该基因所编码的蛋白质最可能位于细胞膜上,主要的功能是运输和结合,为跨膜、非分泌型疏水蛋白质,含有1个GNS1/SUR4家族的保守结构域,并有15个丝氨酸激酶、15个苏氨酸激酶和20个酪氨酸激酶潜在磷酸化位点。α螺旋是ELOVL7二级结构和三级结构中最主要的结构元件。另外ELOVL7与大部分物种的氨基酸序列相似性达90%以上,且亲缘关系较近。分析ELOVL7基因及其氨基酸序列的特征,能够为进一步挖掘该基因内的突变对长链脂肪酸表型的影响以及合成、代谢机理提供分子依据。     

血清白蛋白与酪胺分子的体外相互作用分析

利用毛细管电泳 (capillary electrophoresis, CE)建立牛血清白蛋白(bovine serum albumin, BSA)-酪胺(tyramine, TA)分子作用机制的分析方法,构建TA-BSA相互作用模型,并研究其相互作用机理. 生理条件下,采用HD法(Hummel-Dreyer, HD),前沿分析法(frontal analysis, FA)和空峰法(vacant peak, VP)研究TA与BSA的结合机制,构建TA-BSA理论模型,获取TA和BSA相互作用参数,分析理论模型的适用度. 通过分子模拟,构建TA与BSA的结合模型,考察TA的BSA结合机制. 结果表明,HD法和VP法均适用于分析TA-BSA体系的相互作用,VP法最优. 模型适用度分析得出双对数方程最适合模拟TA-BSA相互作用,TA与BSA结合强度较弱,且只有单一类型的结合位点. 构建的TA与BSA结合模型表明,TA与BSA的相互作用力主要是氢键和范德华力,兼有疏水作用力. 本文结果可为分析生物胺-蛋白质分子作用机制研究提供有意义的参考.     

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy study of the interaction of the antitumoral drug emodin with human serum albumin

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy was employed in this work to study the interaction between the antitumoral drug emodin and human serum albumin (HSA), as well as the influence of fatty acids in this interaction. We demonstrated that the drug/protein interaction can take place through two different binding sites which are probably localized in the IIA and IIIA hydrophobic pockets of HSA and which correspond to Sudlow's I and II binding sites, respectively. The primary interaction site of this drug seems to be site II in the defatted albumin. Fatty acids seem to displace the drug from site II to site I in nondefatted HSA, due to the high affinity of fatty acids for site II. The drug interacts with the protein through its dianionic form in defatted HSA (when placed in the site II) and through its neutral form in the site I of nondefatted albumins.     

Ligand-apomyoglobin interactions. Configurational adaptability of the haem-binding site.

1. The interaction of the haem-binding region of apomyoglobin with different ligands was examined by ultrafiltration, equilibrium dialysis and spectrophotometry, to study unspecific features of protein-ligand interactions such as they occur in, for example, serum albumin binding. 2. Apomyoglobin, in contrast with metmyoglobin, binds at pH 7, with a high affinity, one molecule of Bromophenol Blue, bilirubin and protoporphyrin IX, two molecules of n-dodecanoate and n-decyl sulphate and four molecules of n-dodecyl sulphate and n-tetradecyl sulphate. 3. The number of high-affinity sites and/or association constants for the alkyl sulphates are enhanced by an increase of hydrocarbon length, indicating hydrophobic interactions with the protein. 4. Measurements of the temperature-dependence of the association constants of the high-affinity sites imply that the binding processes are largely entropy-driven. 5. Binding studies in the presence of two ligands show that bilirubin plus Bromophenol Blue and dodecanoate plus Bromophenol Blue can be simultaneously bound by apomyoglobin, but with decreased affinities. By contrast, the apomyoglobin-protoporphyrin IX complex does not react with Bromophenol Blue. 6. Optical-rotatory-dispersion measurements show that the laevorotation of apomyoglobin is increased towards that of metmyglobin in the presence of haemin and protoporphyrin IX. Small changes in the optical-rotatory-dispersion spectrum of apomyoglobin are observed in the presence of the other ligands. 7. It is concluded that the binding sites on apomyoglobin probably do not pre-exist but appear to be moulded from predominantly non-polar amino acid residues by reaction with hydrophobic ligands. 8. Comparison with data in the literature indicates that apomyoglobin on a weight basis has a larger hydrophobic area avaialble for binding of ligands than has human serum albumin. On the other hand, the association constants of serum for the ligands used in this study are generally somewhat larger than those of apomyoglobin.     

Dissection of the Neonatal Fc Receptor (FcRn)-Albumin Interface Using Mutagenesis and Anti-FcRn Albumin-blocking Antibodies

Albumin is the most abundant protein in blood and plays a pivotal role as a multitransporter of a wide range of molecules such as fatty acids, metabolites, hormones, and toxins. In addition, it binds a variety of drugs. Its role as distributor is supported by its extraordinary serum half-life of 3 weeks. This is related to its size and binding to the cellular receptor FcRn, which rescues albumin from intracellular degradation. Furthermore, the long half-life has fostered a great and increasing interest in utilization of albumin as a carrier of protein therapeutics and chemical drugs. However, to fully understand how FcRn acts as a regulator of albumin homeostasis and to take advantage of the FcRn-albumin interaction in drug design, the interaction interface needs to be dissected. Here, we used a panel of monoclonal antibodies directed towards human FcRn in combination with site-directed mutagenesis and structural modeling to unmask the binding sites for albumin blocking antibodies and albumin on the receptor, which revealed that the interaction is not only strictly pH-dependent, but predominantly hydrophobic in nature. Specifically, we provide mechanistic evidence for a crucial role of a cluster of conserved tryptophan residues that expose a pH-sensitive loop of FcRn, and identify structural differences in proximity to these hot spot residues that explain divergent cross-species binding properties of FcRn. Our findings expand our knowledge of how FcRn is controlling albumin homeostasis at a molecular level, which will guide design and engineering of novel albumin variants with altered transport properties.     

Effect of molecular parameters on the binding of phenoxyacetic acid derivatives to albumins

The interaction of 12 phenoxyacetic acid derivatives with human and serum albumin as well as with egg albumin was studied by charge-transfer reversed-phase (RP) thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and the relative strength of interaction was calculated. Each phenoxyacetic acid derivative interacted with human and bovine serum albumins whereas no interaction was observed with egg albumin. Stepwise regression analysis proved that the lipophilicity of the derivatives exert a significant impact on their capacity to bind to serum albumins. This result supports the hypothesis that the binding of phenoxyacetic acid derivatives to albumins may involve hydrophobic forces occurring between the corresponding apolar substructures of these derivatives and the amino acid side chains.     

Hydrophobic binding of phenoxyacetic and phenylacetic acids to horseradish peroxidase and human serum albumin: structure-activity relationships

Studies of protein binding in homologous series of drugs are of great interest for drug research. Apparent binding constants of phenoxyacetic and phenylacetic acids to horseradish peroxidase and to human serum albumin are evaluated by NMR studies and an optical method. These constants are good parameters to describe hydrophobic interactions, and the results are in a good agreement with our protein binding model described previously.     

Steady-state and time resolved fluorescence of albumins interacting with N-oleylethanolamine, a component of the endogenous N-acylethanolamines

The functions of N-acylethanolamines, minor constituents of mammalian cells, are poorly understood. It was suggested that NAEs might have some pharmacological actions and might serve as a cytoprotective response, whether mediated by physical interactions with membranes or enzymes or mediated by activation of cannabinoid receptors. Albumins are identified as the major transport proteins in blood plasma for many compounds including fatty acids, hormones, bilirubin, ions, and many drugs. Moreover, albumin has been used as a model protein in many areas, because of its multifunctional binding properties. Bovine (BSA) and human (HSA) serum albumin are similar in sequence and conformation, but differ for the number of tryptophan residues. This difference can be used to monitor unlike protein domains. Our data suggest that NOEA binds with high affinity to both albumins, modifying their conformational features. In both proteins, NOEA molecules are linked with higher affinity to hydrophobic sites near Trp-214 in HSA or Trp-212 in BSA. Moreover, fluorescence data support the hypothesis of the presence of other NOEA binding sites on BSA, likely affecting Trp-134 environment. The presence of similar binding sites is not measurable on HSA, because it lacks of the second Trp residue.     

The CH3PH2 and CH3PH isomers: isomerization,hydrogen release,thermodynamic, and spectroscopy properties

Curcumin has been reported to be therapeutically active but has poor bioavailability, half life, and high rate of metabolic detoxifcation. Most of the hydrophobic and acidic drugs get transported through human serum albumin (HSA). Binding of drugs to serum protein increases their half-life. The present study is focused to analyze interaction of curcumin with HSA by NMR and docking studies. In order to investigate the binding affinity of curcumin with HSA, NMR based diffusion techniques and docking study have been carried out. We report that curcumin has shown comparable binding affinity value vis-a-vis standard, the accessible surface area (ASA) of human serum albumin (uncomplexed) and its docked complex with curcumin at both binding sites was calculated and found to be close to that of warfarin and diazepam respectively. Conclusion drawn from our study demonstrates that curcumin interacts with HSA strongly thereby its poor half life is due to high rate of its metabolic detoxification as reported in literature.

Identification of inhibitor binding sites of the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase 4

Using the technique of site-directed mutagenesis, point mutants of human PDE4A have been developed in order to identify amino acids involved in inhibitor binding. Relevant amino acids were selected according to a peptidic binding site model for PDE4 inhibitors, which suggests interaction with two tryptophan residues, one histidine and one tyrosine residue, as well as one Zn(2+) ion. Mutations were directed at those tryptophan, histidine, and tyrosine residues, which are conserved among the PDE4 subtypes (PDE4A-D) and lie within the high-affinity 4-[3-(cyclopentoxyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2-pyrrolidone (rolipram) binding domain of human PDE4A (amino acids 276-681 according to the PDE4A sequence L20965). Truncations to this region do not alter enzyme activity or inhibitor sensitivity. The mutants were expressed in COS1 cells, and the recombinant cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) forms have been characterized in terms of their catalytic activity and inhibitor sensitivities. Tyrosine residues 432 and 602, as well as histidine 588, were found to be involved in inhibitor binding, but no interaction was detected between tryptophan and PDE inhibitors tested. To test the possibility that other amino acids are of importance for hydrophobic interactions, selected phenylalanine residues were also mutated. We found phenylalanine 613 and 645 to influence inhibitor binding to PDE4. The significant differences in the inhibitor sensitivities of the mutants show that the various inhibitors have different enzyme binding sites. Based on the assumption that the known side effects of PDE4 inhibitors (like emesis and nausea) are caused directly by selective inhibition of different conformation states of PDE4, our results may be a hint to differ between PDE4 inhibitors, which have emetic side effects (like rolipram), and those that do not have side effects (like N-(3,5-dichlorpyrid-4-yl)-[1-(4-fluorbenzyl)-5-hydroxy-indol-3-yl]-glyoxylateamide [AWD12-281]) by the differences of their binding sites and in that context contribute to the development of novel drugs. Furthermore, the identification of amino acid interactions proposed by the peptidic binding site model, which was used for the mutant selection, verifies the PrGen modeling as a useful method for the prediction of inhibitor binding sites in cases where detailed knowledge of the protein structure is not available.