Dataset Information

Effects of macromolecular crowding on the structure of a protein complex: a small-angle scattering study of superoxide dismutase.

ABSTRACT: Macromolecular crowding can alter the structure and function of biological macromolecules. We used small-angle scattering to measure the effects of macromolecular crowding on the size of a protein complex, SOD (superoxide dismutase). Crowding was induced using 400 MW PEG (polyethylene glycol),TEG (triethylene glycol), ?-MG (methyl-?-glucoside), and TMAO (trimethylamine n-oxide). Parallel small-angle neutron scattering and small-angle x-ray scattering allowed us to unambiguously attribute apparent changes in radius of gyration to changes in the structure of SOD. For a 40% PEG solution, we find that the volume of SOD was reduced by 9%. Considering the osmotic pressure due to PEG, this deformation corresponds to a highly compressible structure. Small-angle x-ray scattering done in the presence of TEG suggests that for further deformation-beyond a 9% decrease in volume-the resistance to deformation may increase dramatically.

SUBMITTER: Rajapaksha A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4336365 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Effects of macromolecular crowding on the structure of a protein complex: a small-angle scattering study of superoxide dismutase.

Rajapaksha Ajith A Stanley Christopher B CB Todd Brian A BA

Biophysical journal 20150201 4

Macromolecular crowding can alter the structure and function of biological macromolecules. We used small-angle scattering to measure the effects of macromolecular crowding on the size of a protein complex, SOD (superoxide dismutase). Crowding was induced using 400 MW PEG (polyethylene glycol),TEG (triethylene glycol), α-MG (methyl-α-glucoside), and TMAO (trimethylamine n-oxide). Parallel small-angle neutron scattering and small-angle x-ray scattering allowed us to unambiguously attribute apparen ...[more]

PMID: 25692601

Similar Datasets

Project description:Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to study the behavior of equine metmyoglobin (Mb) and bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) at concentrations up to 0.4 and 0.15 g/mL, respectively, in solutions also containing 50% D2O and 1 M urea. For both proteins, significant effects because of interference between x-rays scattered by different molecules (interparticle interference) were observed, indicating nonideal behavior at high concentrations. The experimental data were analyzed by comparison of the observed scattering profiles with those predicted by crystal structures of the proteins and a hard-sphere fluid model used to represent steric exclusion effects. The Mb scattering data were well fit by the hard-sphere model using a sphere radius of 18 Å, only slightly smaller than that estimated from the three-dimensional structure (20 Å). In contrast, the scattering profiles for BPTI in phosphate buffer displayed substantially less pronounced interparticle interference than predicted by the hard-sphere model and the radius estimated from the known structure of the protein (15 Å). Replacing the phosphate buffer with 3-(N-morpolino)propane sulfonic acid (MOPS) led to increased interparticle interference, consistent with a larger effective radius and suggesting that phosphate ions may mediate attractive intermolecular interactions, as observed in some BPTI crystal structures, without the formation of stable oligomers. The scattering data were also used to estimate second virial coefficients for the two proteins: 2.0 ×10(-4) cm(3)mol/g(2) for Mb in phosphate buffer, 1.6 ×10(-4) cm(3)mol/g(2) for BPTI in phosphate buffer and 9.2 ×10(-4) cm(3)mol/g(2) for BPTI in MOPS. The results indicate that the behavior of Mb, which is nearly isoelectric under the conditions used, is well described by the hard-sphere model, but that of BPTI is considerably more complex and is likely influenced by both repulsive and attractive electrostatic interactions. The hard-sphere model may be a generally useful tool for the analysis of small-angle scattering data from concentrated macromolecular solutions.

Dataset Information

Effects of macromolecular crowding on the structure of a protein complex: a small-angle scattering study of superoxide dismutase.

Publications

Effects of macromolecular crowding on the structure of a protein complex: a small-angle scattering study of superoxide dismutase.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets