The reactivity of imidazole nitrogens in histidine to alkylation |
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Authors: | Thea Wieghardt Howard Joseph Goren |
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Affiliation: | Division of Medical Biochemistry, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
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Abstract: | Copper(II)-histidine complex was allowed to react at pH 6.0–6.1 at 22°C with bromoacetic acid. The reaction was followed by means of amino acid analysis of the histidine and Nim-carboxymethylhistidine derivatives. The results of the alkylation study indicate that the nucleophilic, active histidine molecule is coordinated to the copper(II) ion through the amino nitrogen and a carboxylate oxygen with the imidazole group turned away from the copper. This model of copper-bound histidine permitted the determination of the intrinsic nucleophilic activity of the imidazole nitrogens through their respective rate constants for alkylation. The tele-nitrogen is three times more reactive than the pros-nitrogen in the histidine and in the pros-carboxymethylhistidine-tele-carboxymethylhistidine systems. The carboxymethylation of copper(II)-histidine and bovine pancreatic ribonuclease have some analogies, which suggest that in pros-carboxymethylhistidine-119 ribonuclease the carboxylate unit of the alkylated histidine residue points into the active site. |
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Keywords: | Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. |
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