Showing papers by "Anne Imberty published in 1989"

Relaxed potential energy surfaces of maltose

Abstract: Experimentally observed solution conformations of carbohydrate molecules might correspond to a dynamical average of several interconverting conformers in solution. In order to understand and describe more precisely molecular flexibility and motions, new computational routes have to be envisaged. Compared to conventional approaches where sugar residues are treated as rigid, the optimization of all the internal parameters—i.e., bond angles, valence angles, and all torsional angles—is an important step toward more realistic information. Here we report the calculations of potential energy surfaces where all the internal coordinates of the molecules were “relaxed” and minimized through an extensive molecular mechanics scheme. For this work, a prototypical carbohydrate system, the disaccharide α-maltose, was selected. The inclusion of the relaxed principle into conformational description of maltose does not generally alter the overall shape of the allowed low-energy regions, or the position of the local minima. However, flexibility within the ring plays a crucial role. Its principle effect is the lowering of energy barriers to conformational transitions about the glycosidic bonds, permitting pathways among the low-energy minima. This occurs with retaining the overall 4C1 conformation of the glucose residues. The torsional angles corresponding to the orientations of the hydroxyl groups, especially the primary hydroxyl ones, display stable arrangements separated by energy barriers. They create subpopulations of stable conformers and it has not been possible to take into consideration interconversion of one subpopulation to another one. A “synthetic” relaxed potential energy surface is proposed, which can provide a realistic starting base for further investigation of solution behavior of dynamic simulations.

Oligosaccharide–Protein Interactions: A Three-Dimensional View

Abstract: For carbohydrates to serve as recognition elements in cellular function, there must be 'receptors' which are capable of distinguishing between the multitude of oligosaccharide structures generated by a cell Generally these receptors are assumed to be proteins, and the plant lectins have been used as model systems to examine the molecular basis for specificity in such interactions Three aspects of the specificity of oligosaccharide-protein interactions will be discussed: (1) the conformational flexibility of oligosaccharides will be demonstrated through a quantitative analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance measurements; (2) a comparison of the measured and calculated values for the entropy barrier to oligosaccharide binding will be used to argue that the barrier arises from a loss of this conformational flexibility upon binding to the lectin (this conclusion is also supported by X-ray crystallographic studies); and (3) the thermodynamic model can be extended to the binding of glycoproteins to receptors and the high affinity of these interactions explained by either multivalency or fixation of the oligosaccharide in the 'correct' three-dimensional structure through interaction with the protein moiety