• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제30권7호
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• pp.1567-1572
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• 2009

Conformational change of ubiquitin variant with valine to alanine mutation at sequence position 26 was studied by varying solvent pH. Fluorescence emission spectra indicated that this variant ubiquitin has some residual structures in acidic and basic solution as compared to denaturant-induced unfolded state. Far-UV circular dichroic spectra indicated that the base-denatured state had more secondary structure than the acid-denatured state. Near-UV circular dichroic spectra indicated that the aromatic side-chains were in the relatively more rigid environment in the base-denatured state than those in the acid-denatured state. Although it appears that the more tertiary structure present in the base-denatured state, refolding reactions measured by stopped-flow fluorescence device suggest that both the acid- and base-denatured states occur before the major folding transition state. The acid- and base-denatured states are considered to reflect the early event of protein folding process.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.305-310
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• 2003

Hydrophobic core가 변이된 유비퀴틴 단백질이 pH 2 용액에서 보이는 구조적인 특성을 여러 분광학적 방법으로 측정하였다. 낮은 pH값을 갖는 용액에서 이 변이 유비퀴틴의 intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence emission spectrum은 unfolded 상태보다 약간 blue shift되어 있고 또한 그 intensity도 상당히 낮게 나타났다. 이는 이 용액 조건에서 이 변이 유비퀴틴의 삼차구조가 약간 남아 있는 것을 의미한다. 같은 용액에서 이 변이 유비쥐틴의 far-UV circular dichroic spectrum은 native 상태나 unfolded 상태의 spectrum과 현저히 달랐으며 220 nm 에서의 molar ellipticity 값을 통하여 볼 때 pH 2인 용액에서 상당량의 이차구조를 지니고 있었다. 또한 같은 용액에서 이 변이 유비퀴틴은 hydrophobic dye인 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid(ANS)외 fluorescence emission intensity를 증가시키고 fluorescence emission maximum이 짧은 파장에서 나타나게 하였다(blue shift). 이러한 현상은 pH 2 용액에서 이 변이 유비퀴틴의 hydrophobic core가 느슨하여져서 hydrophobic dye인 ANS가 결합할 수 있는 구조를 띠고 있음을 나타낸다. 이러한 분광학적인 관찰은 이 변이 유비귀틴이 pH 2인 용액에서 상당량의 이차구조를 지니고 있지만 hydrophobic core는 느슨하게 형성된 molten globule과 같은 형태를 지니고 있음을 나타낸다. 이 변이 유비퀴틴의 molten 히obule 형태는 단백질 폴딩 반응의 경로를 연구할 수 있는 좋은 모델이 될 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.676-683
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• 2004

The conformational properties of hydrophobic core variant ubiquitin (Val26 to Ala mutation) in an acidic solution were studied. The intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence emission spectrum, far-UV and near-UV circular dichroic spectra, the fluorescence emission spectrum of 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid in the presence of V26A ubiquitin, and urea-induced unfolding measurements indicate this variant ubiquitin to be in the partially folded molten globule conformation in solution at pH 2. The folding kinetics from molten globule to the native state was nearly identical to those from the unfolded state to the native state. This observation suggests that the equilibrium molten globule state of hydrophobic core variant ubiquitin is an on-pathway folding intermediate.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제23권9호
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• pp.1315-1327
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• 2002

The model compounds, 8-methoxypsoralen-CH2O(CH2)n-adenine (MOPCH2OCnAd, n=2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 10) in which 5 position of 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) is linked by various lengths of polymethylene bridge to N9 of adenine. UV absorption spectra are identical with the sum of MOPCH2OC3 and adenine absorption spectra. Solvent effects on the UV absorption and fluorescence emission spectra indicate that the lowest excited singlet state is the $(\pi${\rightarrow}$\pi*)$ state. The spectral characteristics of the fluorescence of MOPCH2OCnAd are strongly dependent upon the nature of the solvents. The fluorescence emission spectra in aprotic solvents are broad and structureless due to the excimer formation through the folded conformation accelerated by hydrophobic ${\pi}-{\pi}$ stacking interaction. Increasing polarity of the protic solvents leads to higher population of unfolded conformation stabilized through favorable solvation and H-bonding, and consequently to an increase in the fluorescence intensity, fluorescence lifetime, and a shift of fluorescence maximum to longer wavelengths. The decay characteristics of the fluorescence in polar protic solvents shows two exponential decays with the lifetimes of 0.6-0.8 and 1.6-1.9 ns in 5% ethanol/water, while MOPCH2OC3 shows 0.5 and 1.7 ns fluorescence lifetimes. The long-lived component of fluorescence can be attributed to the relaxed species (i.e., the species for which the solvent reorientation (or relaxation) has occurred), while the short-lived components can be associated with the unrelaxed, or only partially relaxed, species.