Association-dissociation and denaturation-renaturation of high-molecular-weight protein: carmin from safflower seed (Carthamus tinctorius L.) in alkaline solution

Interaction of 5,7-dihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone with a multisubunit protein, carmin: thermodynamics and kinetics of interaction

Acacetin (5,7-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy flavone) is a flavone intrinsically present in the seeds of Carthamus tinctorius. Carmin is a multimeric, high molecular weight protein from the seeds of Carthamus tinctorius. The association constant of interaction of acacetin and carmin is maximum at 37.2 degrees C with a value of (3.96 +/- 0.61) x 10(4) M-1 as measured by fluorescence quenching. Acacetin has at least two binding sites on carmin. The interaction follows pseudo-first-order kinetics with a reaction rate constant of 3.4 +/- 0.4 s-1. The titration calorimetric data suggest that binding sites for acacetin and its structural analogue, biochanin A, are conserved. The interaction does not affect the association-dissociation equilibrium of the protein. Also, the binding does not induce any significant conformational changes in the protein as monitored by circular dichroic spectra. Biochanin A (5, 7-dihydroxy-4'-methoxyisoflavone), a structural analogue, interacts with carmin with an association constant of (9.33 +/- 1.44) x 10(4) M-1 at 36.9 degrees C. This indicates that the stereochemistry of the ligand plays an important role in the binding process of flavone to protein. Interaction studies of chemically modified lysyl and tryptophanyl groups separately, and lysyl and tryptophanyl groups sequentially, in the protein carmin with the ligands reveal the involvement of tryptophanyl residues in the binding process and show that it is predominantly an entropically driven hydrophobic interaction.

Interaction of myo-inositol hexaphosphate (MIHP) with beta-globulin from Sesamum indicum L. Kinetics and thermodynamics

beta-Globulin, the low molecular weight protein fraction from Sesamum indicum L., interacts with myo-inositol hexaphosphate (MIHP) maximally at pH 3.0, with concomitant precipitation up to 85 +/- 2% at an MIHP concentration of 8 x 10(-4) M. The kinetics of interaction as followed by stopped-flow spectrophotometry suggested the reaction to be of pseudo first-order, having an initial fast step followed by a relatively slow step of rate constants 1.9 x 10(-2) s-1 and 1.2 x 10(-3) s-1, respectively at 1 x 10(-4) M MIHP concentration. The analysis of the complex indicated the presence of polymer as seen in sedimentation velocity experiment. This was accompanied by conformational change of a three-fold decrease in beta-structure and also an increase in fluorescence emission intensity accompanied with a red shift from 330 to 334 nm. Stoichiometric analysis of MIHP binding suggested four independent binding sites for MIHP, with a free energy change, delta G zero = 5.1 kcal mol-1 resulting from a binding constant of 3.6 x 10(3) M-1.

Kinetics and thermodynamics of the mechanism of interaction of sodium phytate with alpha-globulin

The precipitation mechanism of alpha-globulin in the presence of myo-inositol hexaphosphate (sodium phytate) was studied in detail. The maximum interaction was found at pH 2.3 where the protein was in a dissociated state having an 8.3S aggregate and a 1.5S monomer. This interaction was predominantly dependent upon the sodium phytate to protein ratio. Velocity sedimentation studies indicated polymer formation due to preferential progressive binding of ligand to polymer, whose size and concentration increased with an increase in sodium phytate concentration. The polymer formation was shown to be ligand mediated and exists independently in solution along with the monomer. The binding isotherm by equilibrium dialysis confirmed differential binding of sodium phytate to the polymer and the monomer as indicated by two sets of binding sites, one having 7 +/- 2 sites of a K value 1.3 x 10(-4) mol-1 and the other having 56 +/- 3 sites with a K value of 2.8 x 10(-3) mol-1. Binding resulted in perturbation of chromophores of protein due to charge effects. The kinetics of the polymer formation was shown to be a pseudo-first-order reaction having two steps. The initial fast reaction involving conformational changes has rate constants of k1 = 52.4 x 10(-3) s-1 and k' = 67.5 x 10(-3) s-1, followed by a slow reaction step of rate constants k2 = 4.3 x 10(-3) s-1 and k'2 = 2.9 x 10(-3) s-1 at sodium phytate concentrations of 1 x 10(-4) M and 5 x 10(-4) M, respectively.

Effect of acidic pH on the protein carmin from safflower seed (Carthamus tinctorius)

The effect of a decrease in pH on the structural integrity of carmin has been monitored by a variety of biophysical techniques. The protein undergoes initial dissociation up to pH 3.5-4.0 without any significant denaturation. Below this pH the process of dissociation and denaturation appears to be simultaneous. Further, in the pH range of 2.5-1.6 the protein reassociates to probably a different polymer resulting from possibly, an entropically driven hydrophobic interaction. The process of dissociation appears to be reversible to a large extent. The process of denaturation appears to be governed by the kinetic path that the denatured protein molecule follows either by a sudden decrease in pH or through a gradual decrease in pH. These results are interpreted while keeping in view the oligomeric and globular structure of carmin at neutral pH. The results would help in understanding of structure-function relationship of the protein and its role in hydrogen ion binding in vivo.