Transcript Document
Basic protein structure and stability I:
Formation of peptide bonds/
properties of amino acids
Biochem 565, Fall 2008
08/25/08
Proteins are the primary functional
manifestation of the information in genomes
DNA sequence
transcription
RNA sequence
translation
protein
sequence
atgcaaactctttctgaacgcctcaagaagaggcgaattgcgttaaaaatgacgcaaaccgaa
ctggcaaccaaagccggtgttaaacagcaatcaattcaactgattgaagctggagtaaccaa
gcgaccgcgcttcttgtttgagattgctatggcgcttaactgtgatccggtttggttacagtacgg
aactaaacgcggtaaagccgcttaa
augcaaacucuuucugaacgccucaagaagaggcgaauugcguuaaaaaugacgcaaacc
gaacuggcaaccaaagccgguguuaaacagcaaucaauucaacugauugaagcuggagua
accaagcgaccgcgcuucuuguuugagauugcuauggcgcuuaacugugauccgguuug
guuacaguacggaacuaaacgcgguaaagccgcuuaa
MQTLSERLKKRRIALKMTQTELATKAGVKQQSIQLIEAGVT
KRPRFLFEIAMALNCDPVWLQYGTKRGKAA
protein
structure
protein
function
alpha carbon
O
H2N
CH
C
O
OH
H3N
R
O
The zwitterionic form is
the predominant form at
neutral pH
side chain
O
C
a-amino acids-the building blocks
of proteins
C
R
carboxylic acid
group
amino group
CH
H3N
O
C
H
R
The alpha carbon is
a chiral center--natural
proteins are made of
L amino acids (shown
above) as opposed to
D
The protein alphabet--the 20 amino acid R
groups
NH3
O
O
2
O
2
CH2
1
HN
C
O
2
1
N
1
C
CH2
CH3
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH2
H
CH2
CH
A
C
E
F
G
H
I
D
H2N
NH2
C
CH3
S
CH2
CH2
1
O
NH2 2
O
C
C
CH2
HC
a
P
2 H3C
CH2 1
CH
CH2
CH2
2
CH3
CH2
L
2
1 H3C
K
1
OH
NH
3
NH
1 HO
CH2
CH2
CH2
OH
CH2
CH2
CH2
Q
R
S
2
3
CH3
2
CH
H2
C
CH2 H2C
N
NH2 2
CH2
CH3
SH
M
2
1
1
CH2
1 H3C
CH3
1
1
2
CH2
CH
N
T
V
W
Y
Aromatic ring numbering/naming (IUPAC)
2
1 HN
3
7a
H2
C
CH
3a
7
NH2
C
4
1
a
N
2
O
OH
NH2
H2
C
CH
3
C
4
6
OH
5
5
6
4
HO
1
3
2
a
5
HN
NH2
H2
C
CH
a
C
OH
IUPAC nomenclature:
http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iupac/AminoAcid/index.html
O
O
Proteins are made by controlled polymerization
of amino acids
water is eliminated
O
two amino acids
condense to form...
H2 N
CH
O
C
OH
H2 N
CH
R1
OH
R2
N or amino
terminus
H2N
...a dipeptide. If
there are more it
becomes a polypeptide.
Short polypeptide chains
are usually called peptides
while longer ones are called
proteins.
C
O
CH
C
R1
O
NH
CH
C
R2
peptide bond is formed
residue 1
residue 2
C or carboxy
terminus
OH
+ HOH
Solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS)
P2
P1
O
Fmoc
HN
O
AA2
Fmoc
OH
AA1
HN
Resin
A
activation
deblocking
Fmoc
P2
P1
O
Fmoc
HN
O
AA2
AA1
H2N
Resin
Resin
A
solid support
Fmoc
P1
fmoc protecting group
P2
AA1
AA2
A
A
protecting groups
for side chains
1st and 2nd
amino acids
carbonyl activating
group
P2
P1
O
Fmoc
HN
AA2
repeat steps
for each amino
acid in peptide,
then deblock,
deprotect,
cleave off resin
coupling
O
NH
AA1
Resin
adapted from Sigma-Aldrich website
Solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS)
P2
P1
O
Fmoc
HN
at the end a final
deblocking is done
followed by removal of
the side-chain
protecting groups and
cleavage from the
resin to recover the
peptide
NH
AA1
Fmoc
final
deblocking
P2
P1
O
AA2
H2N
SPPS using Fmoc can
be used to make
peptides up to 70-100
residues in length
(chemical ligation can
be used to make
longer ones)
AA2
O
Resin
P2
O
NH
AA1
AA2
Resin
deprotection and
cleavage
P1
O
H2N
Resin
O
NH
AA1
OH
Peptide bond formation in vivo
P-site
t-RNA
A-site
NH2
NH2
N
N
N
N
O
O
P
N
O
P
O
H
H
O
H
H
O
OH
H
H
H
H
OH
O
H
O
R1
NH
peptide
N
O
O
O
O
N
N
O
aminoacyl
t-RNA ester
activates
carbonyl, making
peptide bond
formation favorable
O
H2N
adenine 2451
R2
of 23S ribosomal
RNA abstracts proton
from amino group,
catalyzing nucleophilic attack
H
chemical protecting groups
are not necessary because
the ribosomal machinery
ensures selective positioning
and activation of the reactants
Peptide bond formation in vivo
new aminoacyl t-RNA comes into
A-site
peptidyl t-RNA shifts to P-site
P-site
A-site
NH2
NH2
N
N
N
N
O
O
P
N
O
P
H
O
O
O
O
O
N
N
O
H
OH
H
H
O
OH
H
H
H
H
deacylated t-RNA
leaves P-site
O
OH
O
H
N
O
R2
HN
peptide
H
R1
H
N
Properties of the amino acid side chains
•
•
•
•
•
•
size
acid-base equilibria
hydrophobicity/polarity
tautomerism
oxidation/reduction of cysteine
chemical reactivity (next lecture)
Sizes of amino acids
a.a
A
R
D
N
C
E
Q
G
H
I
L
K
vol (Å3)
88.6
173.4
111.1
114.1
108.5
138.4
143.8
60.1
153.2
166.7
166.7
168.6
surface area(Å2) a.a
vol (Å3) surface area(Å2)
M
162.9
185
115
F
189.9
210
225
P
112.7
145
150
S
89.0
115
160
T
116.1
140
135
W
227.8
255
Y
193.6
230
190
V
140.0
155
180
75
195
volume: Zamyatin A Prog Biophys Mol Biol 24, 107 (1972)
surface area: Chothia C J Mol Biol 105, 1 (1975)
175
170
200
Acid-base titration curves of ionizable side chains
base
1
eq.
OHadded
Asp
and
Glu
Cys
His+
Lys+
Tyr
pKa
Arg+
0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
physiological pH
pH
acid
The basic side chains
NH2
H2N
NH3
C
NH
CH2
HN
HO
C
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH
NH
CH2
NH2
O
pct occurrence
in proteins
lysine
Lys
K
5.9%
arginine
Arg
R
5.1%
histidine
His
H
2.3%
pKa ~ 10
almost always
positively charged
in proteins
pKa ~ 12
almost always
positively charged
in proteins
pKa ~ 6
means that
often it is
not charged
The acidic side chains
O
O
O
HO
C
O
C
C
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH
and these
carboxylic
acid side chains
are closely
related to their
amide versions...
HO
NH2
NH2
O
C
O
C
C
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH
NH2
O
O
aspartate
Asp
D
5.3%
NH2
glutamate
Glu
E
6.3%
generally negative charged in proteins
because conjugate carboxylic acids have
pKa of about 4
asparagine
Asn
N
4.3%
glutamine
Gln
Q
4.3%
Shifting of side chain titration curves
base
1
NH
H2
C
N
eq.
OHadded
His+
pKa
NH
H2
C
N
H
0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
physiological pH
pH
acid
Poorly populated but highly reactive forms of
amino acids
base form of lysine not highly populated in general at
physiological pH, but is a reactive nucleophile, and if
present even in minuscule amounts may do chemistry
H
NH3
NH2
CH2
CH2
R
N
O
– H+
CH2
CH2
CH2
pH 7
CH2
H
N
C
O
CH
CH2
NH
H
N
C
O
H
R
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH
NH
HO
C
O
CH
H2O
NH2
Kyte-Doolittle hydropathy of amino-acid residues
side chain
Ile
Val
Leu
Phe
Cys
Met
Ala
Gly
Thr
Trp
hydropathy index
4.5
4.2
3.8
2.8
2.5
1.9
1.8
-0.4
-0.7
-0.9
side chain
Ser
Tyr
Pro
His
Glu
Gln
Asp
Asn
Lys
Arg
hydropathy index
-0.8
-1.3
-1.6
-3.2
-3.5
-3.5
-3.5
-3.5
-3.9
-4.5
Many attempts have been made to quantify polarity, nonpolarity
(hydrophobicity) of amino-acid residues in terms of scales. Kyte-Doolittle is a
classic one. It is based on transfer free energies from nonpolar solvents to
water combined with measurements of the tendency of residues to be buried
in proteins.
nonpolar--blue; polar--red; ambiguous--purple
Kyte J & Doolittle RF J Mol Biol 157, 105-32 (1982)
The aliphatic amino acids (plus methionine)
CH3
CH3
S
CH3
CH3
CH3
H
HO
C
CH
H3C
CH
H3C
H3C
H
CH
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH2
HO
NH2
O
C
NH
O
glycine
Gly
G
7.2%
sometimes
considered
a "polar"
amino acid
alanine
Ala
A
7.8%
the aminoacid equivalent
of vanilla
ice cream
valine
Val
V
6.6%
isoleucine
Ile
I
5.3%
these are branched
at the beta-carbon
leucine
Leu
L
9.1%
the most
common
type in
proteins
proline
Pro
P
5.2%
methionine
Met
M
2.2%
only amino acid with
side-chain fused to
backbone in two places
to make a ring
not aliphatic
because of
sulfur
but is similar
in character
in many ways
(nonaromatic,
nonpolar
residue)
Aromatic side chains
OH
HN
NH
N
CH2
CH2
-O
C
CH
CH2
CH2
NH3+
O
tryptophan
Trp
W
1.4%
phenylalanine
Phe
F
3.9%
both these usually also
considered hydrophobic
amino acids
tyrosine
Tyr
Y
3.2%
histidine
His
H
2.3%
also sometimes
considered an
uncharged polar
residue
often not grouped
with other
aromatics
and also can be
charged/polar
The polar uncharged side chains
OH
NH2
HN
NH2
OH
CH2
HO
C
CH
O
serine
Ser
S
6.8%
HO
H
SH
O
O
N
C
CH2
CH2
CH2
CH3
CH2
C
CH2
CH2
histidine
His
H
2.3%
tyrosine
Tyr
Y
3.2 %
pKa ~ 6
for conjugate
acid means
that sometimes it's
charged in
proteins
not really
very polar
NH2
threonine
Thr
T
5.9%
also has
some
hydrophobic
character
due to methyl
cysteine
Cys
C
6.8%
not as polar
as its sister
serine but
much easier
to ionize to
anion
asparagine
Asn
N
4.3%
glutamine
Gln
Q
4.3%
these two have
a bifunctional
character in the
sense of having
both hydrogen bond
donor and acceptor
groups
pKa ~ 10
means that
it can be
deprotonated
3 (2)
Histidine--the
“ambidextrous”
side chain
Histidine is just barely
acidic enough to
populate base forms at
neutral pH
therefore, its base
form is about the
strongest base that can
exist under
physiological conditions
the base form has two
tautomers: one nitrogen
can act as a base/
nucleophile, while the
other can act as a
hydrogen donor-”ambidextrous”
2 (1)
HN
NH
4 (2)
1 (1)
acid
5 ()
H2C
N
H
O
pKa ~ 7
HN
N
N
NH
base
CH2
H2C
N
H
N
H
O
O
predominant form in model peptides
Cysteine and cystine
Pairs of cysteines frequently undergo oxidation to a disulfide bonded form called “cystine”
disulfide
formation
2
CH2SH
1/2O2
CH2S
2 cysteines
SCH2
H2O
cystine
more hydrophobic than cysteine
disulfide
exchange
R1
S
R2S
SR2
R2
S
R1S
disulfide exchange occurs through the thiolate anion at neutral to basic pH
SR2
Key points about the character of amino
acid side chains
• amino acids don’t fall neatly into classes--they are
different combinations of small/large,
charged/uncharged, polar/nonpolar properties
• how we casually speak of them can affect the way we
think about their behavior. For example, if you think
of Cys as a polar residue, you might be surprised to
find it in the hydrophobic core of a protein unpaired to
any other polar group. But this does happen.
• the properties of a residue type can also vary with
conditions/environment
Grouping the amino acids by properties
from http://www.russell.embl-heidelberg.de/aas/
which adapted it from Livingstone & Barton, CABIOS, 9, 745-756, 1993.