Publisher Summary This chapter explores that the changes that take place in the protein molecules during denaturation constitute one of the most interesting and complex classes of reactions that can be found either in nature or in the laboratory These reactions are important because of the information they can provide about the more intimate details of protein structure and function They are also significant because they challenge the chemist with a difficult area for the application of chemical principles The chapter reviews that the denaturation is a process in which the spatial arrangement of the polypeptide chains within the molecule is changed from that typical of the native protein to a more disordered arrangement The chapter also discusses the classification of protein structures: primary, secondary, and tertiary structures The primary structure is that expressed by the structural chemical formula and depends entirely on the chemical valence bonds that the classical organic chemist would write down for the protein molecule The secondary structure is the configuration of the polypeptide chain that results from the satisfaction of the hydrogen bonding potential between the peptide N-H and C=O groups The tertiary structure is the pattern according to which the secondary structures are packed together within the native protein molecule The term “denaturation” as used in this chapter is indented to include changes in both the secondary and tertiary structures

Some factors in the interpretation of protein denaturation.

A 30-amino-acid segment of C/EBP, a newly discovered enhancer binding protein, shares notable sequence similarity with a segment of the cellular Myc transforming protein. Display of these respective amino acid sequences on an idealized alpha helix revealed a periodic repetition of leucine residues at every seventh position over a distance covering eight helical turns. The periodic array of at least four leucines was also noted in the sequences of the Fos and Jun transforming proteins, as well as that of the yeast gene regulatory protein, GCN4. The polypeptide segments containing these periodic arrays of leucine residues are proposed to exist in an alpha-helical conformation, and the leucine side chains extending from one alpha helix interdigitate with those displayed from a similar alpha helix of a second polypeptide, facilitating dimerization. This hypothetical structure is referred to as the "leucine zipper," and it may represent a characteristic property of a new category of DNA binding proteins.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/240/4860/1759.full.pdf

The leucine zipper: a hypothetical structure common to a new class of DNA binding proteins

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with the recent developments regarding the description and nature of the conformation of proteins and polypeptides with special reference to the stereochemical aspects of the problem. This chapter considers the parameters that are required for an adequate description of a polypeptide chain. This chapter focuses the attention on what may be called “internal parameters”—that is, those which can be defined in terms of the relationships among atoms or units that form the building blocks of the polypeptide chains. This chapter also provides an account of the mathematical method of utilizing these parameters for calculating the coordinates of all the atoms in a suitable frame of reference, so that all the interatomic distances, and bond angles, can be calculated and their consequences worked out. This chapter observes conformations in amino acids, peptides, polypeptides, and proteins.

Conformation of Polypeptides and Proteins

Collagen is the most abundant protein in animals. This fibrous, structural protein comprises a right-handed bundle of three parallel, left-handed polyproline II-type helices. Much progress has been made in elucidating the structure of collagen triple helices and the physicochemical basis for their stability. New evidence demonstrates that stereoelectronic effects and preorganization play a key role in that stability. The fibrillar structure of type I collagen—the prototypical collagen fibril—has been revealed in detail. Artificial collagen fibrils that display some properties of natural collagen fibrils are now accessible using chemical synthesis and self-assembly. A rapidly emerging understanding of the mechanical and structural properties of native collagen fibrils will guide further development of artificial collagenous materials for biomedicine and nanotechnology.

/pdf/collagen-structure-and-stability-4a8qztbno6.pdf

Collagen Structure and Stability

Publisher Summary The vibrational spectrum of a molecule is determined by its three-dimensional structure and its vibrational force field. An analysis of this (usually infrared (IR) and Raman) spectrum can therefore provide information on the structure and on intramolecular and intermolecular interactions. The more probing the analysis, the more detailed is the information that can be obtained. Detailed analyses of the vibrational spectra of macromolecules, however, have provided a deeper understanding of structure and interactions in these systems. An important advance in this direction for proteins came with the determination of the normal modes of vibration of the peptide group in N-methylacetamide, and the characterization of several specific amide vibrations in polypeptide systems. Extensive use has been made of spectra-structure correlations based on some of these amide modes, including attempts to determine secondary structure composition in proteins. Polypeptide molecules exhibit many more vibrational frequencies than the amide modes. Over the years, some normal-mode calculations have provided greater insight into the spectra of particular molecules. However, these have often been based on approximate structures or have employed limited force fields. These force fields can now serve as a basis for detailed analyses of spectral and structural questions in other polypeptide molecules. The aim of this chapter is to present these recent developments in the vibrational spectroscopy of peptides, polypeptides, and proteins.

Vibrational spectroscopy and conformation of peptides, polypeptides, and proteins.

Chain conformation in the collagen molecule.

Structure of α-keratin: Structural implication of the amino acid sequences of the type I and type II chain segments

Molecular conformation and packing in collagen fibrils

Solvent makes a significant contribution to the diffracted intensity of crystals and fibres of large biological molecules. Allowance for this contribution must be made in the refinement of trial structures and an improved method is described for the calculation of solvent scattering.

An improved method for calculating the contribution of solvent to the X‐ray diffraction pattern of biological molecules

Keratinized epidermal appendages have mechanical properties which are typical of those expected for composite materials with a filament-matrix texture At 100% relative humidity the matrix is highly hydrated, mechanically weak and exhibits viscoelastic behaviour As the water content is reduced the matrix becomes progressively stiffer until at 0% relative humidity its properties approach those of the filaments In the normally encountered range of relative humidities the advantages of such a texture are that stress is evenly distributed over the filaments, which constitute the load-bearing elements, thus preventing the propagation of cracks from local imperfections Based on studies of synthetic filament-matrix composites potentialities for the adaptation of the mechanical properties to specific functions are to be found in variation of the properties of the filaments and the matrix and also of the cross-linking Since keratin is a filament-matrix composite at the molecular level the great diversity of molecular species presumably has its origin in such adaptation Superimposed on filament and matrix composition and properties are the variables of filament orientation and proportion and there is abundant evidence that many of the subtler properties of keratinized appendages stem from variations in these factors

R.D.B. Fraser

Papers

Chain conformation in the collagen molecule.

Structure of α-keratin: Structural implication of the amino acid sequences of the type I and type II chain segments

Molecular conformation and packing in collagen fibrils

An improved method for calculating the contribution of solvent to the X‐ray diffraction pattern of biological molecules

Molecular structure and mechanical properties of keratins.