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Solution structure of a small protein containing a fluorinated side chain in the core.

ABSTRACT: We report the first high-resolution structure for a protein containing a fluorinated side chain. Recently we carried out a systematic evaluation of phenylalanine to pentafluorophenylalanine (Phe --> F(5)-Phe) mutants for the 35-residue chicken villin headpiece subdomain (c-VHP), the hydrophobic core of which features a cluster of three Phe side chains (residues 6, 10, and 17). Phe --> F(5)-Phe mutations are interesting because aryl-perfluoroaryl interactions of optimal geometry are intrinsically more favorable than either aryl-aryl or perfluoroaryl-perfluoroaryl interactions, and because perfluoroaryl units are more hydrophobic than are analogous aryl units. Only one mutation, Phe10 --> F(5)-Phe, was found to provide enhanced tertiary structural stability relative to the native core (by approximately 1 kcal/mol, according to guanidinium chloride denaturation studies). The NMR structure of this mutant, described here, reveals very little variation in backbone conformation or side chain packing relative to the wild type. Thus, although Phe --> F(5)-Phe mutations offer the possibility of greater tertiary structural stability from side chain-side chain attraction and/or side chain desolvation, the constraints associated with the native c-VHP fold apparently prevent the modified polypeptide from taking advantage of this possibility. Our findings are important because they complement several studies that have shown that fluorination of saturated side chain carbon atoms can provide enhanced conformational stability.

SUBMITTER: Cornilescu G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2222841 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Solution structure of a small protein containing a fluorinated side chain in the core.

Cornilescu Gabriel G Hadley Erik B EB Woll Matthew G MG Markley John L JL Gellman Samuel H SH Cornilescu Claudia C CC

Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society 20061122 1

We report the first high-resolution structure for a protein containing a fluorinated side chain. Recently we carried out a systematic evaluation of phenylalanine to pentafluorophenylalanine (Phe --> F(5)-Phe) mutants for the 35-residue chicken villin headpiece subdomain (c-VHP), the hydrophobic core of which features a cluster of three Phe side chains (residues 6, 10, and 17). Phe --> F(5)-Phe mutations are interesting because aryl-perfluoroaryl interactions of optimal geometry are intrinsically ...[more]

PMID: 17123960

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Project description:Helices are the most extensively studied secondary structures formed by ?-peptide foldamers. Among the five known ?-peptide helices, the 12-helix is particularly interesting because the internal hydrogen bond orientation and macrodipole are analogous to those of ?-peptide helices (?-helix and 3(10)-helix). The ?-peptide 12-helix is defined by i, i+3 C?O···H-N backbone hydrogen bonds and promoted by ?-residues with a five-membered ring constraint. The 12-helical scaffold has been used to generate ?-peptides with specific biological functions, for which diverse side chains must be properly placed along the backbone and, upon folding, properly arranged in space. Only two crystal structures of 12-helical ?-peptides have previously been reported, both for homooligomers of trans-2-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid (ACPC). Here we report five additional crystal structures of 12-helical ?-peptides, all containing residues that bear side chains. Four of the crystallized ?-peptides include trans-4,4-dimethyl-2-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid (dm-ACPC) residues, and the fifth contains a ?(3)-hPhe residue. These five ?-peptides adopt fully folded 12-helical conformations in the solid state. The new crystal structures, along with previously reported data, allow a detailed characterization of the 12-helical conformation; average backbone torsion angles of ?-residues and helical parameters are derived. These structural parameters are found to be similar to those for i, i+3 C?O···H-N hydrogen-bonded helices formed by other peptide backbones generated from ?- and/or ?-amino acids. The similarity between the conformational behavior of dm-ACPC and ACPC is consistent with previous NMR-based conclusions that 4,4-disubstituted ACPC derivatives are compatible with 12-helical folding. In addition, our data show how a ?(3)-residue is accommodated in the 12-helix, thus enhancing understanding of the diverse conformational behavior of this flexible class of ?-amino acids.

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Solution structure of a small protein containing a fluorinated side chain in the core.

Publications

Solution structure of a small protein containing a fluorinated side chain in the core.

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