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PROTEINS AND ENZYMES

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THE AMINO ACIDS

NAME SYM STRUCTURE R-GROUP GROUP / OTHER
GLYCINE Gly

G

Proton NONPOLAR, ALIPHATIC

The only NON-CHIRAL amino acid.

Minimal hindrance allows much more structural flexibility.

ALANINE Ala

A

Methyl NONPOLAR, ALIPHATIC
VALINE Val

V

Isopropyl NONPOLAR, ALIPHATIC
LEUCINE Leu

L

Isobutyl NONPOLAR, ALIPHATIC
ISOLEUCINE Ile

I

sec-Butyl NONPOLAR, ALIPHATIC

Not that it has TWO CHIRAL CENTERS -- at alpha-Carbon and at first Carbon of chain.

PROLINE Pro

P

Cyclopentyl Amine NONPOLAR, ALIPHATIC

Rigid configuration = less structural flexibility.

Only a.a. with a 2 amino group. Side chain is covalently bonded to the nitrogen of the amide.

Often found at beta-turns (corners) of beta strands and sheets

SERINE Ser

S

1 Alcohol POLAR, UNCHARGED
THREONINE Thr

T

2 Alcohol POLAR, UNCHARGED

Also has TWO CHIRAL CENTERS.

CYSTEINE Cys

C

Thiol POLAR, UNCHARGED

Readily oxidized to form cystine = two cysteine molecules joined by a disulfide bridge.

METHIONINE Met

M

Sulfur Ether POLAR, UNCHARGED

Cannot form a disulfide bridge.

ASPARAGINE Asn

N

Amide, connected at alpha-Carbon POLAR, UNCHARGED

The amide of aspartate.

The shortest of the two a.a.'s containing amides in the side chain.

GLUTAMINE Gln

Q

Amide, connected at beta-Carbon POLAR, UNCHARGED

The amide of glutamate.

PHENYLALANINE Phe

F

Toluene AROMATIC

A phenyl group is substituted for one of the H's of alanine -- hence the name.

TYROSINE Tyr

Y

para-Methyl-phenol AROMATIC

Crystalline substances found on crusty cheese. Named for "Tyros," Greek God of cheese.

Can form hydrogen bonds. Important in enzymatic activity -- tyrosine cascade.

More polar than phenylalanine.

TRYPTOPHAN Trp

W

AROMATIC

More polar than phenylalanine.

Strongly absorbs ultraviolet light.

Only bicyclic side-chain.

Known as an INDOLE structure.

LYSINE

pKa 10.

Lys

K

Butyl amine POSITIVELY CHARGED (BASIC)

If pH of environment < 10, the group is positively charged.

If pH > 10, the group is neutral.

ARGININE

pKa 12: MOST BASIC of all amino acids.

Arg

R

Guanidino Group POSITIVELY CHARGED (BASIC)

Arginine is almost always positively charged. No biological environment is basic enough to neutralize it.

HISTIDINE

pKa 7

His

H

Imidazole group POSITIVELY CHARGED (BASIC)

It's charge is specifically controlled by the pH of its biological environment.

ASPARTATE

ASPARTIC ACID

pKa 5 for the SIDE CHAIN.

pKa = 2-3 for the PEPTIDE CHAIN, as it usually does.

Asp

D

NEGATIVELY CHARGED (ACIDIC)

At pH < 5, it is acidic (with COOH) and called aspartic acid.

At pH > 5, it is in form COO-and called aspartate.

GLUTAMATE

GLUTAMIC ACID

pKa 5 for the COOH SIDE CHAIN.

pKa = 2-3 for the PEPTIDE CHAIN, as it usually does.

Glu

E

NEGATIVELY CHARGED (ACIDIC)

At pH < 5, it is acidic (with COOH) and called glutamic

At pH > 5, it is in form COO- and called glutamate


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BASIC PROTEIN STRUCTURE

Classifications of Proteins:

Ways to show a protein:

Chirality: alpha-Carbon is chiral, in all amino acids except Glycine.

Other Amino Acids not found in proteins:

Weak Acid / Acid Equilibrium Constant:

Henderson Hesselbach Equation:

Tyrosine as a weak acid:

Isoelectric Point: The point at which the net charge on the protein is zero, and the concentration of zwitterion is at its highest.

Ultraviolet Absorption of Proteins:

Post-Translational Modifications:

Structural Analysis of Proteins:

Clinical Example of Too Little Protein: Spherocytosis

Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis: PAGE gel, separating proteins after detergent with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (which denatures the protein).

Clinical Example of Too Much Protein: Myeloma

Primary Structure: The sequence of amino acids.

Secondary Structure: Alpha-Helices and Beta-sheets. The interactions and special orientations of neighboring amino acids.

Supersecondary Structures: Locally folded domains. The folding in local regions of a protein.

Tertiary Structure: The folding and three-dimensional shape of entire proteins, resulting from covalent and non-covalent interactions between regions.

Quaternary Structure: The non-covalent (physical) interactions between different monomers of a polymeric protein, such as hemoglobin (4 subunits) and tubulin (2 subunits).

Techniques for Structural Analysis of Tertiary Conformation:

Heme Group: Coordinate ligands form, usually with Fe in the middle. The best example of a prosthetic (non-amino-acid) group in a globular protein.

Non-Covalent Interactions: Important to secondary and tertiary structure

Peptide Bond: A Condensation Reaction, formed by the exclusion of water between two amino acids.

Alpha Helix:

Beta-Strand: Form an approximate plane.

Ramachandran Plot: Plot of Psi -vs- Phi angles, showing what theoretical values of Psi and Phi are possible between residues, and what secondary conformations they dictate.

Hypercholesterolemia: Results from the single-point mutation of Apo-B (gigantic protein), from Gly ------> Val. Gives us 2 to 4 times too much LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol is a result.

Primary Structural Analysis: Strategy of putting puzzle pieces together

Protein Chaperones (Heat Shock): Proteins that aid proteins in folding and unfolding. They unfold proteins so that they can get through a membrane intact, and then refold them on the other side.

Fluorescent Spectroscopy: Identification technique to tell the relative abundance of the aromatic amino acids. It will distinguish between a polar and non-polar environment for these residues.


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HEMOGLOBIN, MYOGLOBIN, OXYGEN TRANSPORT

Hemoglobin: Oxygen affinity

Myoglobin: Similar to hemoglobin, it has even higher affinity for O2 (and can take O2 from Hb). Found in skeletal and cardiac "red" muscle.

The Bohr Effect, CO2 / Hemoglobin Interactions:

Carbonic Anhydrase: The enzyme that catalyzes CO2 + H2O ------> HCO3- + H+, to store CO2 in plasma.

Oxygen Dissociation Curve: A graph of the Partial Pressure of O2 in the blood -vs- the Hb-Saturation -- the percentage of Hemoglobins that have O2 bound.

Hemoglobin Structure:

Bohr Effect: Negative effectors that decrease O2-affinity

Bohr Effect: Positive effectors that increase O2-affinity.

Hemoglobin-F: Fetal Hemoglobin

Mutant Hemoglobins: If the mutation is harmful, then it is an hemoglobinopathy. However, many Hb mutations are "silent."


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COLLAGEN

Hallmark Structure of all Collagens: Triple Helix. There are different types, use SCAB to remember:

Diseases Caused by Collagen Mutations:

Structure of the Collagen Chain:

Tropocollagen: A soluble form of collagen that must be further processed to form a fiber.

Biosynthesis of Collagen:

Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Revisited. Type I Collagen defects.


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ENZYMES

Osteoarthritis: Collagenase is not repressed during adult life, resulting in digestion of collagen in joints. Collagenase is only supposed to be active during development for reshaping of collagen.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tissue proliferates and invades the joints.

Cancer Metastasis: Proteolytic Enzymes are required for cancer cells to metastasize, as they must degrade the basement membrane of the origin tissue to get through to the lymph system, and degrade the basal membrane of the target tissue to get into it.

Phenylketonuria: A disorder caused by mutation in the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase, which converts phenylalanine to tyrosine.

Thermodynamics:

Zero-Order Kinetics: Rate of the reaction is constant.

First-Order Kinetics: Rate of the reaction is dependent on concentration of one of the substrates

Concentration of Reactant, [A]: At any time, it is equal to (rate of reverse reaction) - (rate of forward reaction)

Second-Order Kinetics:

Standard Free Energy: How to get standard free energy from the Keq

Free Energy of any particular reaction:

Relation between Free Energy of Activation and K: Increasing the activation energy causes an exponential decrease in the rate constant.

Classifications of Enzymes:

Cofactor: A non-enzyme component of a reaction that is required for the reaction to run. Usually a vitamin or mineral. Cofactors are usually easily separated from their enzyme.

Coenzyme: A cofactor that is also itself an enzyme.

Prosthetic Group: Cofactors that are more tightly bound to an enzyme, usually covalently, as in the heme group of hemoglobin.

Unique Features of Enzymes:

ACTIVE SITE: The part of the enzyme where the reaction takes place.

MICHAELIS-MENTON KINETICS:

IRREVERSIBLE INHIBITION: An inhibitor that covalently and permanently alters an enzyme, rendering it dysfunctional.

REVERSIBLE INHIBITORS:

alpha1 Proteinase Inhibitors: A mutation in alpha1-antitrypsin (Serine-Proteinase-Inhibitor family, SERPINs) caused it to mimic caused the protein to inhibit thrombin instead of trypsin, which led to hemophiliac symptoms! Mutation of Arg for Met.

alpha2 Macroglobulin: Molecular Trap: Sterically hinders (traps) endopeptidases. This enzyme is found in serum in large quantities.

Principles of Enzyme Assay:

Collagenase: Collagenase cuts collagen at one locale in order to denature all three sub-chains.

Measuring a Reaction by Coupling it to another Reaction:

UNITS: Amount of product produces / unit time. A measurement of enzyme activity.

SPECIFIC ACTIVITY: Units / mg protein. A measurement of the reactivity of a protein, or the relative rate of reaction for an enzyme. It is total enzyme activity / total protein.

ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA): A way of measuring the amount of enzyme present, not its activity.

NEOEPITOPE ANTIBODY ASSAY: It measures newly regulated antibody binding sites. Can be sued to measure the cleavage products of collagenase.

Mechanisms of Enzyme Catalysis:

Protease: Describes both endopeptidases and exopeptidases.

Proteinases: Cleave proteins and are thus only endopeptidases.

Serine Proteases: Enzyme that use Ser as a nucleophile in the active site, in order to cleave proteins at specific residues.

Cysteine Proteases: Similar to Ser proteases, except Cysteine does the cleaving at the active site. Cysteine has sulfur (thiol) -vs- Serine's oxygen (alkoxide) as the nucleophile.

Aspartic Proteases: Have two Asp residues as the active cleavers.

Metalloproteases: Often contain Zn+2 in the active site.

CATALYTIC MECHANISM OF CHYMOTRYPSIN: A Serine Protease

Cofactors and Coenzymes:

RIBOZYMES: RNA-Enzymes

Blood Coagulation:

Thrombolysis: Regulation and reversal of clotting

Enzyme Regulation in the Duodenum:

Reversible Covalent Modifications:

Isozymes: Enzymes that have different chemical and physical properties, but that catalyze the same reaction. They may have different kinetics.

ASPARTATE TRANSCARBAMYLASE (ATCase):

Concerted Model: Allosteric Effects

Sequential Model: Has a combination form possible (intermediate) of half T-form and half R-form.


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