Vibrational Analysis of Amino Acids and Short Peptides in Hydrated Media. VIII. Amino Acids with Aromatic Side Chains: l-Phenylalanine, l-Tyrosine, and l-Tryptophan

Unexpectedly Enhanced Solubility of Aromatic Amino Acids and Peptides in an Aqueous Solution of Divalent Transition-Metal Cations

We experimentally observed considerable solubility of tryptophan (Trp) in a CuCl_{2} aqueous solution, which could reach 2-5 times the solubility of Trp in pure water. Theoretical studies show that the strong cation-π interaction between Cu^{2+} and the aromatic ring in Trp modifies the electronic distribution of the aromatic ring to enhance significantly the water affinity of Trp. Similar solubility enhancement has also been observed for other divalent transition-metal cations (e.g., Zn^{2+} and Ni^{2+}), another aromatic amino acid (phenylalanine), and three aromatic peptides (Trp-Phe, Phe-Phe, and Trp-Ala-Phe).

Raman microscopy of bladder cancer cells expressing green fluorescent protein

Gene engineering is a commonly used tool in cellular biology to determine changes in function or expression of downstream targets. However, the impact of genetic modulation on biochemical effects is less frequently evaluated. The aim of this study is to use Raman microscopy to assess the biochemical effects of gene silencing on T24 and UMUC-13 bladder cancer cell lines. Cellular biochemical information related to nucleic acid and lipogenic components was obtained from deconvolved Raman spectra. We show that the green fluorescence protein (GFP), the chromophore that served as a fluorescent reporter for gene silencing, could also be detected by Raman microscopy. Only the gene-silenced UMUC-13 cell lines exhibited low-to-moderate GFP fluorescence as determined by fluorescence imaging and Raman spectroscopic studies. Moreover, we show that gene silencing and cell phenotype had a greater effect on nucleic acid and lipogenic components with minimal interference from GFP expression. Gene silencing was also found to perturb cellular protein secondary structure in which the amount of disorderd protein increased at the expense of more ordered protein. Overall, our study identified the spectral signature for cellular GFP expression and elucidated the effects of gene silencing on cancer cell biochemistry and protein secondary structure.

Electrostatic Interactions at N- and C-Termini Determine Fibril Polymorphism in Serum Amyloid A Fragments

Amyloid polymorphism presents a challenge to physical theories of amyloid formation and stability. The amyloidogenic protein serum amyloid A (SAA) exhibits complex and unexplained structural polymorphism in its N-terminal fragments: the N-terminal 11-residue peptide (SAA1-11) forms left-handed helical fibrils, while extension by one residue (SAA1-12) produces a rare right-handed amyloid. In this study, we use a combination of vibrational spectroscopy and ultramicroscopy to examine fibrils of these peptides and their terminally acetylated and amidated variants, in an effort to uncover the physical basis for this effect. Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy provide evidence that SAA1-12 forms a β-helical fibril architecture, while SAA1-11 forms more typical stacked β-sheets. Importantly, N-terminal acetylation blocks fibril formation by SAA1-12 with no effect on SAA1-11, while C-terminal amidation has nearly the opposite effect. Together, these data suggest distinct electrostatic interactions at the N- and C-termini stabilize the two fibril structures; we propose model fibril structures in which C-terminal extension changes the favored intermolecular interaction between peptide monomers from an Arg1-C-terminus charge pair to an N-terminus-C-terminus charge pair. This model suggests a general mechanism for charge-mediated amyloid polymorphism and may inform strategies for design of peptide-based nanomaterials stabilized by engineered intermolecular contacts.

Electronic structures of intermolecular hydrogen bond contacts with solute in aqueous solution: glycine as a working prototype

The intermolecular hydrogen bond (H-bond) interactions play vital roles in many biological systems. Despite continued interest, the nature of their electronic structures has remained elusive. Based on the unique features of aqueous solution, a simple model depicting the H-bond electronic states by orbital hybridizations is developed. The model is demonstrated by reproducing the experimental IR data and yielding favorable solute-solvent interactions for the prototype glycine. The H-bond state for solute H, O and N atoms is found to be characterized by sp(1), sp(2), and sp(3) hybridizations, respectively. The model provides a new way for probing the intricate solute-solvent contacts.

Structural Changes of the Active Center during the Photoactivation of Xenopus (6-4) Photolyase

Photolyases (PHRs) repair the UV-induced photoproducts, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) or pyrimidine-pyrimidone (6-4) photoproduct [(6-4) PP], restoring normal bases to maintain genetic integrity. CPD and (6-4) PP are repaired by substrate-specific PHRs, CPD PHR and (6-4) PHR, respectively. Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is the chromophore of both PHRs, and the resting oxidized form (FAD(ox)), at least under in vitro purified conditions, is first photoconverted to the neutral semiquinoid radical (FADH(•)) form, followed by photoconversion into the enzymatically active fully reduced (FADH(-)) form. Previously, we reported light-induced difference Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra corresponding to the photoactivation process of Xenopus (6-4) PHR. Spectral differences between the absence and presence of (6-4) PP were observed in the photoactivation process. To identify the FTIR signals where these differences appeared, we compared the FTIR spectra of photoactivation (i) in the presence and absence of (6-4) PP, (ii) of (13)C labeling, (15)N labeling, and [(14)N]His/(15)N labeling, and (iii) of H354A and H358A mutants. We successfully assigned the vibrational bands for (6-4) PP, the α-helix and neutral His residue(s). In particular, we assigned three bands to the C ═ O groups of (6-4) PP in the three different redox states of FAD. Furthermore, the changed hydrogen bonding environments of C ═ O groups of (6-4) PP suggested restructuring of the binding pocket of the DNA lesion in the process of photoactivation.

From bulk to plasmonic nanoparticle surfaces: the behavior of two potent therapeutic peptides, octreotide and pasireotide

Structural dynamics of two potent somatostatin analogues in an aqueous environment and their binding sites on plasmonic nanoparticles were described.

Conformational and vibrational analyses of meta-tyrosine: An experimental and theoretical study

M-tyrosine is one kind of positional isomer of tyrosine which is widely applied in agrichemical, medicinal chemistry, and food science. However, the structural and vibrational features of m-tyrosine have not been reported or systematically investigated. In this work, potential energy surface (PES) calculations were used for searching and determining the stable zwitterionic conformers of m-tyrosine, and the Raman spectra of m-tyrosine and deuterated m-tyrosine were measured and interpreted based on theoretical computation. For the spectral simulation, several DFT-based quantum chemistry (QC) methods were employed, and the M06-2X functional with SMD solvent model was found to be best in reproducing the Raman spectra and geometrical property. As such, this study has not only presented a detailed study of m-tyrosine's vibrational property which is lack in the literature, but also may shed some light on the optimal choice of QC methods for calculation of conformations and vibrational properties of zwitterionic amino acids.

Temperature dependence of C-terminal carboxylic group IR absorptions in the amide I' region

Studies of structural changes in peptides and proteins using IR spectroscopy often rely on subtle changes in the amide I' band as a function of temperature. However, these changes can be obscured by the overlap with other absorptions, namely the side-chain and terminal carboxylic groups. The former were the subject of our previous report (Anderson et al., 2014). In this paper we investigate the IR spectra of the asymmetric stretch of α-carboxylic groups for amino acids representing all major types (Gly, Ala, Val, Leu, Ser, Thr, Asp, Glu, Lys, Asn, His, Trp, Pro) as well as the C-terminal groups of three dipeptides (Gly-Gly, Gly-Ala, Ala-Gly) in D₂O at neutral pH. Experimental temperature dependent IR spectra were analyzed by fitting of both symmetric and asymmetric pseudo-Voigt functions. Qualitatively the spectra exhibit shifts to higher frequency, loss in intensity and narrowing with increased temperature, similar to that observed previously for the side-chain carboxylic groups of Asp. The observed dependence of the band parameters (frequency, intensity, width and shape) on temperature is in all cases linear: simple linear regression is therefore used to describe the spectral changes. The spectral parameters vary between individual amino acids and show systematic differences between the free amino acids and dipeptides, particularly in the absolute peak frequencies, but the temperature variations are comparable. The relative variations between the dipeptide spectral parameters are most sensitive to the C-terminal amino acid, and follow the trends observed in the free amino acid spectra. General rules for modeling the α-carboxylic IR absorption bands in peptides and proteins as the function of temperature are proposed.

Chemical reactivity drives spatiotemporal organisation of bacterial metabolism

In this review, we examine how bacterial metabolism is shaped by chemical constraints acting on the material and dynamic layout of enzymatic networks and beyond. These are moulded not only for optimisation of given metabolic objectives (e.g. synthesis of a particular amino acid or nucleotide) but also for curbing the detrimental reactivity of chemical intermediates. Besides substrate channelling, toxicity is avoided by barriers to free diffusion (i.e. compartments) that separate otherwise incompatible reactions, along with ways for distinguishing damaging vs. harmless molecules. On the other hand, enzymes age and their operating lifetime must be tuned to upstream and downstream reactions. This time dependence of metabolic pathways creates time-linked information, learning and memory. These features suggest that the physical structure of existing biosystems, from operon assemblies to multicellular development may ultimately stem from the need to restrain chemical damage and limit the waste inherent to basic metabolic functions. This provides a new twist of our comprehension of fundamental biological processes in live systems as well as practical take-home lessons for the forward DNA-based engineering of novel biological objects.

An experimental and theoretical study of the amino acid side chain Raman bands in proteins

The Raman spectra of a series of tripeptides with the basic formula GlyAAGly where the central amino acid (AA) was tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine, glycine, methionine, histidine, lysine and leucine were measured in H2O. The theoretical Raman spectra obtained using density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2df,2pd) level of theory allows a precise attribution of the vibrational bands. The experimental results show that there is a blue shift in the frequencies of several bands of the amino acid side chains in tripeptides compared to free amino acids, especially in the case of AAs containing aromatic rings. On the other hand, a very good agreement was found between the Raman bands of AA residues in tripeptides and those measured on three model proteins: bovine serum albumin, β-lactoglobulin and lysozyme. The present analysis contributes to an unambiguous interpretation of the protein Raman spectra that is useful in monitoring the biological reactions involving AA side chains alteration.

Initial stages of beta-amyloid Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 oligomerization observed using fluorescence decay and molecular dynamics analyses of tyrosine

The development of Alzheimer's disease is associated with the aggregation of the beta-amyloid peptides Aβ_1-40 and Aβ_1-42. It is believed that the small oligomers formed during the early stages of the aggregation are neurotoxic and involved in the process of neurodegeneration. In this paper we use fluorescence decay measurements of beta-amyloid intrinsic fluorophore tyrosine (Tyr) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the early stages of oligomer formation for the Aβ_1-40 and Aβ_1-42 peptides in vitro. We demonstrate that the lifetime distributions of the amyloid fluorescence decay efficiently describe changes in the complex Tyr photophysics during the peptide aggregation and highlight the differences in aggregation performance of the two amyloids. Tyr fluorescence decay is found to be a more sensitive sensor of Aβ_1-40 aggregation than Aβ_1-42 aggregation. The MD simulation of the peptide aggregation is compared with the experimental data and supports a four-rotamer model of Tyr.

Octreotide used for probing the type-II' β-turn CD and Raman markers

Octreotide, a potent somatostatin (SST) analogue, is used as an antiproliferative drug in numerous endocrine tumors. Previous NMR investigations, basically performed in DMSO, had evidenced a type-II' β-turn structure for this cyclic peptide. However, apart a few incomplete studies by circular dichroism, a systematic analysis of the structural behavior of octreotide in aqueous solution as a function of concentration and ionic strength was still lacking. Here, we report the chemical synthesis and purification of octreotide for optical spectroscopic purposes accompanied by its structural analysis. Furthermore, we have used octreotide as a short size, well-defined model compound for analyzing the CD and Raman markers of a type-II' β-turn. CD data collected in the 25-250 μM range revealed the general trend of octreotide to undergo a disordered toward ordered structural transition upon increasing concentration. Especially, the β-turn CD markers could be characterized above 50 μM by a negative band at ~202 nm flanked by a shoulder at ~218 nm. On the basis of Raman spectra recorded as a function of concentration (1-20 mM), we could assign the markers at ~1678 and ~1650 cm(-1) in the amide I region, and at ~1303, ~1288, and ~1251 cm(-1) in the amide III region, to the type-II' β-turn structure. The stability of the intermolecular antiparallel β-sheet formed in octreotide could be confirmed by the rigidity of the disulfide bridge which adopts a preferential gauche-gauche-gauche rotamer along the -Cβ-S-S-Cβ- moiety of the linked cysteines. The present analysis permits a better understanding of the differences between the structural features of SST-14 and its routinely used analogue, octreotide.

Three types of induced tryptophan optical activity compared in model dipeptides: theory and experiment

The tryptophan (Trp) aromatic residue in chiral matrices often exhibits a large optical activity and thus provides valuable structural information. However, it can also obscure spectral contributions from other peptide parts. To better understand the induced chirality, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), and Raman optical activity (ROA) spectra of Trp-containing cyclic dipeptides c-(Trp-X) (where X = Gly, Ala, Trp, Leu, nLeu, and Pro) are analyzed on the basis of experimental spectra and density functional theory (DFT) computations. The results provide valuable insight into the molecular conformational and spectroscopic behavior of Trp. Whereas the ECD is dominated by Trp π-π* transitions, VCD is dominated by the amide modes, well separated from minor Trp contributions. The ROA signal is the most complex. However, an ROA marker band at 1554 cm(-1) indicates the local χ(2) angle value in this residue, in accordance with previous theoretical predictions. The spectra and computations also indicate that the peptide ring is nonplanar, with a shallow potential so that the nonplanarity is primarily induced by the side chains. Dispersion-corrected DFT calculations provide better results than plain DFT, but comparison with experiment suggests that they overestimate the stability of the folded conformers. Molecular dynamics simulations and NMR results also confirm a limited accuracy of the dispersion-DFT model in nonaqueous solvents. Combination of chiral spectroscopies with theoretical analysis thus significantly enhances the information that can be obtained from the induced chirality of the Trp aromatic residue.

An experimental and theoretical study of L-Tryptophan in an aqueous solution, combining two-layered ONIOM and SCRF calculations

ONIOM and SCRF calculations were performed to study the most stable theoretical structure of L-tryptophan in an aqueous solution phase and to observe the changes occurring in the structural and vibrational properties of L-tryptophan in the aqueous media. L-Tryptophan was characterized by infrared and Raman spectroscopies in the solid state and as an aqueous solution. Optimized geometries and relative stabilities for the L-tryptophan zwitterion were calculated while taking into account solvent effects using the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory. The obtained results in the aqueous solution were compared with those calculated for the zwitterion in the gas phase by means of two-layered ONIOM calculations. For the complete assignments of the IR and Raman spectra of L-tryptophan in the aqueous solution phase, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were combined with Pulay's scaled quantum mechanical force field (SQMFF) methodology in order to fit the theoretical wavenumber values to the experimental values. Additionally, the roles of specific and bulk contributions from solvent effects on the properties of l-tryptophan were analyzed. Furthermore, bands corresponding to the normal modes of vibration were localized and assigned, and they served as the bases for the calculations of the corresponding force constants. Significant effects on the geometrical and vibrational frequencies were found for the studied zwitterion.

Enantiomeric interactions between liquid crystals and organized monolayers of tyrosine-containing dipeptides

We have examined the orientational ordering of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) supported on organized monolayers of dipeptides with the goal of understanding how peptide-based interfaces encode intermolecular interactions that are amplified into supramolecular ordering. By characterizing the orientations of nematic LCs (4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl and TL205 (a mixture of mesogens containing cyclohexane-fluorinated biphenyls and fluorinated terphenyls)) on monolayers of l-cysteine-l-tyrosine, l-cysteine-l-phenylalanine, or l-cysteine-l-phosphotyrosine formed on crystallographically textured films of gold, we conclude that patterns of hydrogen bonds generated by the organized monolayers of dipeptides are transduced via macroscopic orientational ordering of the LCs. This conclusion is supported by the observation that the ordering exhibited by the achiral LCs is specific to the enantiomers used to form the dipeptide-based monolayers. The dominant role of the -OH group of tyrosine in dictating the patterns of hydrogen bonds that orient the LCs was also evidenced by the effects of phosphorylation of the tyrosine on the ordering of the LCs. Overall, these results reveal that crystallographic texturing of gold films can direct the formation of monolayers of dipeptides with long-range order, thus unmasking the influence of hydrogen bonding, chirality, and phosphorylation on the macroscopic orientational ordering of LCs supported on these surfaces. These results suggest new approaches based on supramolecular assembly for reporting the chemical functionality and stereochemistry of synthetic and biological peptide-based molecules displayed at surfaces.