Metalloprotein

Summary

Metalloprotein is a generic term for a protein that contains a metal ion cofactor. A large proportion of all proteins are part of this category. For instance, at least 1000 human proteins (out of ~20,000) contain zinc-binding protein domains although there may be up to 3000 human zinc metalloproteins. Abundance It is estimated that approximately half of all proteins contain a metal. In another estimate, about one quarter to one third of all proteins are proposed to require metals to carry out their functions. Thus, metalloproteins have many different functions in cells, such as storage and transport of proteins, enzymes and signal transduction proteins, or infectious diseases. The abundance of metal binding proteins may be inherent to the amino acids that proteins use, as even artificial proteins without evolutionary history will readily bind metals. Most metals in the human body are bound to proteins. For instance, the relatively high concentration of iron in the human bo

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To present and discuss important recent contributions in the field of inorganic chemistry incorporating techniques and methods. Student literature seminars based on selected publications,emanating from the last 12 months. Seminar preceded by introduction to the topic followed by group discussion.

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Unraveling the Catalytic Pathway of Metalloenzyme Farnesyltransferase through QM/MM Computation

Matteo Dal Peraro

The protein farnesyltransferase (FTase) is a Zn2+-metalloenzyme that catalyzes the farnesylation reaction, i.e., the transfer of the 15-carbon atom farnesyl group from farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) to a specific cysteine of protein substrates. Oncogenic Ras proteins, which are among the FTase substrates, are observed in about 20−30% of human cancer cells. Thus, FTase represents a target for anticancer drug design. Herein, we present a classical force-field-based and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) computational study of the FTase reaction mechanism. Our findings offer a detailed picture of the FTase catalytic pathway, describing structural features and the energetics of its saddle points. A moderate dissociation of the diphosphate group from the FPP is observed during the nucleophilic attack of the zinc-bound thiolate. At the transition state, a resonance structure is observed, which indicates the formation of a metastable carbocation. However, no stable intermediate is found along the reaction pathway. Thus, the reaction occurs via an associative mechanism with dissociative character, in agreement with the mechanism proposed by Fierke et al. ( Biochemistry 2000, 39, 2593−2602 and Biochemistry 2003, 42, 9741−9748 ). Moreover, a fluorine-substituted FPP analogue (CF3-FPP) is used to investigate the inhibitory effect of fluorine, which in turn provides additional agreement with experimental data.

2009

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The development of thermostable and solvent-tolerant metalloproteins is a long-sought goal for many applica- tions in synthetic biology and biotechnology. In this work, we were able to engineer a highly thermo- and organic solvent- stable metallo variant of the B1 domain of protein G (GB1) with a tetrahedral zinc-binding site reminiscent of the one of thermolysin. Promising candidates were designed computationally by applying a protocol based on classical and first-princi- ples molecular dynamics simulations in combination with genetic algorithm (GA) optimization. The most promising of the computationally predicted mutants was expressed and structurally characterized and yielded a highly thermostable protein. The experimental results thus confirm the predictive power of the applied computational protein engineering approach for the de novo design of highly stable metalloproteins.

2018

Multiscattering-enhanced optical biosensor: multiplexed, non-invasive and continuous measurements of cellular processes

Volodymyr Koman, Olivier Martin, Christian Santschi

The continuous measurement of uptake or release of biomarkers provides invaluable information for understanding and monitoring the metabolism of cells. In this work, a multiscattering-enhanced optical biosensor for the multiplexed, non-invasive, and continuous detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), lactate and glucose is presented. The sensing scheme is based on optical monitoring of the oxidation state of the metalloprotein cytochrome c (cyt c). The analyte of interest is enzymatically converted into H2O2 leading to an oxidation of the cyt c. Contact microspotting is used to prepare nanoliter-sized sensing spots containing either pure cyt c, a mixture of cyt c with glucose oxidase (GOx) to detect glucose, or a mixture of cyt c with lactate oxidase (LOx) to detect lactate. The sensing spots are embedded in a multiscattering porous medium that enhances the optical signal. We achieve limits of detection down to 240 nM and 110 nM for lactate and glucose, respectively. A microfluidic embodiment enables multiplexed and crosstalk-free experiments on living organisms. As an example, we study the uptake of exogenously supplied glucose by the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and simultaneously monitor the stress-related generation of H2O2. This multifunctional detection scheme provides a powerful tool to study biochemical processes at cellular level.

Optical Soc Amer2015