Dataset Information

Role of loops connecting secondary structure elements in the stabilization of proteins isolated from thermophilic organisms.

ABSTRACT: It has been recently discovered that the connection of secondary structure elements (ββ-unit, βα- and αβ-units) in proteins follows quite stringent principles regarding the chirality and the orientation of the structural units (Koga et al., Nature 2012;491:222-227). By exploiting these rules, a number of protein scaffolds endowed with a remarkable thermal stability have been designed (Koga et al., Nature 2012;491:222-227). By using structural databases of proteins isolated from either mesophilic or thermophilic organisms, we here investigate the influence of supersecondary associations on the thermal stability of natural proteins. Our results suggest that β-hairpins of proteins from thermophilic organisms are very frequently characterized by shortenings of the loops. Interestingly, this shortening leads to states that display a very strong preference for the most common connectivity of the strands observed in native protein hairpins. The abundance of selective states in these proteins suggests that they may achieve a high stability by adopting a strategy aimed to reduce the possible conformations of the unfolded ensemble. In this scenario, our data indicate that the shortening is effective if it increases the adherence to these rules. We also show that this mechanism may operate in the stabilization of well-known protein folds (thioredoxin and RNase A). These findings suggest that future investigations aimed at defining mechanism of protein stabilization should also consider these effects.

SUBMITTER: Balasco N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3719095 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundA wide variety of stabilizing factors have been invoked so far to elucidate the structural basis of protein thermostability. These include, amongst the others, a higher number of ion-pairs interactions and hydrogen bonds, together with a better packing of hydrophobic residues. It has been frequently observed that packing of hydrophobic side chains is improved in hyperthermophilic proteins, when compared to their mesophilic counterparts. In this work, protein crystal structures from hyper/thermophilic organisms and their mesophilic homologs have been compared, in order to quantify the difference of apolar contact area and to assess the role played by the hydrophobic contacts in the stabilization of the protein core, at high temperatures.ResultsThe construction of two datasets was carried out so as to satisfy several restrictive criteria, such as minimum redundancy, resolution and R-value thresholds and lack of any structural defect in the collected structures. This approach allowed to quantify with relatively high precision the apolar contact area between interacting residues, reducing the uncertainty due to the position of atoms in the crystal structures, the redundancy of data and the size of the dataset. To identify the common core regions of these proteins, the study was focused on segments that conserve a similar main chain conformation in the structures analyzed, excluding the intervening regions whose structure differs markedly. The results indicated that hyperthermophilic proteins underwent a significant increase of the hydrophobic contact area contributed by those residues composing the alpha-helices of the structurally conserved regions.ConclusionThis study indicates the decreased flexibility of alpha-helices in proteins core as a major factor contributing to the enhanced termostability of a number of hyperthermophilic proteins. This effect, in turn, may be due to an increased number of buried methyl groups in the protein core and/or a better packing of alpha-helices with the rest of the structure, caused by the presence of hydrophobic beta-branched side chains.

Dataset Information

Role of loops connecting secondary structure elements in the stabilization of proteins isolated from thermophilic organisms.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets