The inactivation of trypsin by ultraviolet light. I. The correlation of inactivation with the disruption of constituent cystine

Phasing macromolecular structures with UV-induced structural changes

Experimental phasing of macromolecular crystal structures relies on the accurate measurement of two or more sets of reflections from isomorphous crystals, where the scattering power of a few atoms is different for each set. Recently, it was demonstrated that X-ray-induced intensity differences can also contain phasing information, exploiting specific structural changes characteristic of X-ray damage. This method (radiation damage-induced phasing; RIP) has the advantage that it can be performed on a single crystal of the native macromolecule. However, a drawback is that X-rays introduce many small changes to both solvent and macromolecule. In this study, ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been used to induce specific changes in the macromolecule alone, leading to a larger contrast between radiation-susceptible and nonsusceptible sites. Unlike X-ray RIP, UV RIP does not require the use of a synchrotron. The method has been demonstrated for a series of macromolecules.

High probability of disrupting a disulphide bridge mediated by an endogenous excited tryptophan residue

It is well known that ultraviolet (UV) radiation may reduce or even abolish the biological activity of proteins and enzymes. UV light, as a component of sunlight, is illuminating all light-exposed parts of living organisms, partly composed of proteins and enzymes. Although a considerable amount of empirical evidence for UV damage has been compiled, no deeper understanding of this important phenomenon has yet emerged. The present paper presents a detailed analysis of a classical example of UV-induced changes in three-dimensional structure and activity of a model enzyme, cutinase from Fusarium solani pisi. The effect of illumination duration and power has been investigated. A photon-induced mechanism responsible for structural and functional changes is proposed. Tryptophan excitation energy disrupts a neighboring disulphide bridge, which in turn leads to altered biological activity and stability. The loss of the disulphide bridge has a pronounced effect on the fluorescence quantum yield, which has been monitored as a function of illumination power. A general theoretical model for slow two-state chemical exchange is formulated, which allows for calculation of both the mean number of photons involved in the process and the ratio between the quantum yields of the two states. It is clear from the present data that the likelihood for UV damage of proteins is directly proportional to the intensity of the UV radiation. Consistent with the loss of the disulphide bridge, a complex pH-dependent change in the fluorescence lifetimes is observed. Earlier studies in this laboratory indicate that proteins are prone to such UV-induced radiation damage because tryptophan residues typically are located as next spatial neighbors to disulphide bridges. We believe that these observations may have far-reaching implications for protein stability and for assessing the true risks involved in increasing UV radiation loads on living organisms.

Modification of cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels by ultraviolet light

We irradiated cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels in situ with ultraviolet light to probe the role of aromatic residues in ion channel function. UV light reduced the current through excised membrane patches from Xenopus oocytes expressing the alpha subunit of bovine retinal cyclic nucleotide-gated channels irreversibly, a result consistent with permanent covalent modification of channel amino acids by UV light. The magnitude of the current reduction depended only on the total photon dose delivered to the patches, and not on the intensity of the exciting light, indicating that the functionally important photochemical modification(s) occurred from an excited state reached by a one-photon absorption process. The wavelength dependence of the channels' UV light sensitivity (the action spectrum) was quantitatively consistent with the absorption spectrum of tryptophan, with a small component at long wavelengths, possibly due to cystine absorption. This spectral analysis suggests that UV light reduced the currents at most wavelengths studied by modifying one or more "target" tryptophans in the channels. Comparison of the channels' action spectrum to the absorption spectrum of tryptophan in various solvents suggests that the UV light targets are in a water-like chemical environment. Experiments on mutant channels indicated that the UV light sensitivity of wild-type channels was not conferred exclusively by any one of the 10 tryptophan residues in a subunit. The similarity in the dose dependences of channel current reduction and tryptophan photolysis in solution suggests that photochemical modification of a small number of tryptophan targets in the channels is sufficient to decrease the currents.

Free radical initiation in proteins and amino acids by ionizing and ultraviolet radiations and lipid oxidation--Part 22: ultraviolet radiation and photolysis

Parallels and similarities in chemical and functional damage to proteins by ionizing and UV radiations and oxidizing lipids have been recognized for some time. However, only recently have oxidizing lipids been shown directly by electron spin resonance to be radiomimetic also in their capacity for protein free radical production. Free radicals play a key role in the transformation of energy to molecular and cellular damage. It is thus of critical importance to elucidate the general mechanisms of free radical formation and reactions in proteins in order to understand protein involvement in various pathological conditions and in food deterioration. Accordingly, this review is a detailed comparison of gamma radiation, UV radiation, and lipid oxidation for what is presently known concerning (1) the specific modes of energy deposition and free radical formation, (2) the free radicals formed in proteins and amino acids, and (3) the typical damage correlating with these radicals.

A comparison of the effects of ultraviolet and ionizing radiations on trypsin activity and on its constituent amino acids

Photons of 254nm. u.v. light, (60)Co gamma-rays and 1Mev electrons produce different patterns of destruction of individual amino acids in dried films of trypsin and in the corresponding amino acid mixture. For example, in the amino acid mixture u.v. light destroys tyrosine, tryptophan and cystine, whereas in trypsin only cystine is disrupted but with 10 times the initial yield. Further, in the amino acid mixture loss of half-cystine is a simple exponential function of dose, but in trypsin there appear to be two exponential components of the loss with yields that differ by a factor of 35. Both the gamma-rays and electrons destroy half-cystine, tryptophan, histidine and methionine in the amino acid mixture with remarkably high yields, whereas in trypsin doses that destroy almost all of the enzymic activity produce no detectable destruction of amino acid residues. These marked differences between the two preparations show that the radiation-sensitivity of a given amino acid alone and in a protein is different, and suggests that in trypsin there is fairly extensive migration of energy, charge or both with localization of damage at specific sites determined by this enzyme's internal organization. All three types of radiation produce appreciable amounts of ;damaged' (not completely inactivated) molecules which are prevented from reassuming an active configuration by the addition of 5.5m-urea; thiol reagents have a similar effect after bombardment with u.v. light or electrons. The patterns of destruction produced by gamma-rays and by electrons in both the amino acid mixture and in trypsin are different (some of the yields vary by a factor of 30). This result appears to be inconsistent with the popular belief that most of the energy absorbed from gamma-rays is associated with very-high-energy electrons.

Photochemical yields in ribonuclease and oxidized glutathione irradiated at different wavelengths in the ultraviolet

The quantum yields for the disruption of various amino acids in glutathione and ribonuclease by 229, 254, 265, and 280 nm UV photons have been determined. The results of the measurements on the destruction of tyrosine and histidine and the loss of enzymic function in RNAse and the disruption of cystine in both compounds lead to the following conclusions: (a) The photodestruction of some and perhaps many constituent amino acid residues does not cause RNAse inactivation. (b) Contrary to the basic premise of proposals made by other authors, the photochemical yields of constituent residues in a protein are not the same as that for the same amino acids in solution alone-the difference is a function of the exciting wavelength. Further, the extent of histidine destruction varies by a large factor among three proteins. (c) Consistent with previous predictions, the present results show that photons absorbed in the aromatic residues of RNAse cause the disruption of cystines elsewhere in the enzyme. (d) Although cystine disruption appears to be the most prevalent mode of RNAse inactivation by photons of the four wavelengths studied, some of the minor mechanisms leading to loss of enzymic function may vary with the UV energy.