Nakano Masahiro, Shen Jian-Ren, Kamino Kei
Marine Biotechnology Institute, 3-75-1 Heita, Kamaishi, Iwate 026-0001, Japan.
Biomacromolecules. 2007 Jun;8(6):1830-5. doi: 10.1021/bm0612236. Epub 2007 May 23.
An underwater bioadhesive generally comprises a multiprotein complex that provides a molecular basis for self-assembly. We report here a new class of self-assembling peptide inspired by a 20 kDa barnacle cement protein. Studies on the chemically synthesized 24-residue peptide have revealed that (1) it underwent irreversible self-assembly upon the addition of salt, (2) the self-assembly was started at a salt concentration close to that of seawater with noncovalent intermolecular interactions, (3) the self-assembled material resembled a macroscopic membrane of interwoven nanofilaments, (4) incubation in an alkaline pH range formed the intramolecular disulfide bond of a peptide molecule, thus triggering a conformation change of the molecule, and (5) conformational change of the building block promoted the formation of a nanofiber, resulting in the display of a three-dimensional meshlike mesoscopic structure with defined pores having a diameter of approximately 200 nm. The peptide is likely to provide a suitable basis for further development of peptide-based materials.
水下生物粘合剂通常包含一种多蛋白复合物，该复合物为自组装提供分子基础。我们在此报告一类受20 kDa藤壶粘附蛋白启发的新型自组装肽。对化学合成的24个氨基酸残基的肽的研究表明：（1）加入盐后它会发生不可逆的自组装；（2）自组装在接近海水盐浓度时通过非共价分子间相互作用开始；（3）自组装材料类似于由交织的纳米丝组成的宏观膜；（4）在碱性pH范围内孵育会形成肽分子的分子内二硫键，从而引发分子构象变化；（5）构建模块的构象变化促进了纳米纤维的形成，从而呈现出具有约200 nm直径的确定孔隙的三维网状介观结构。该肽可能为基于肽的材料的进一步开发提供合适的基础。
