Singh Ritu, Ali Dar Tanveer, Ahmad Shandar, Moosavi-Movahedi Ali Akbar, Ahmad Faizan
Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-110 025, India.
Biophys Chem. 2008 Mar;133(1-3):81-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bpc.2007.12.006. Epub 2007 Dec 27.
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provides authentic and accurate value of DeltaC(p)(X), the constant-pressure heat capacity change associated with the N (native state)<-->X (heat denatured state), the heat-induced denaturation equilibrium of the protein in the absence of a chemical denaturant. If X retains native-like buried hydrophobic interaction, DeltaC(p)(X) must be less than DeltaC(p)(D), the constant-pressure heat capacity change associated with the transition, N<-->D, where the state D is not only more unfolded than X but it also has its all groups exposed to water. One problem is that for most proteins D is observed only in the presence of chemical denaturants such as guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) and urea. Another problem is that DSC cannot yield authentic DeltaC(p)(D), for its measurement invokes the existence of putative specific binding sites for the chemical denaturants on N and D. We have developed a non-calorimetric method for the measurements of DeltaC(p)(D), which uses thermodynamic data obtained from the isothermal GdmCl (or urea)-induced denaturation and heat-induced denaturation in the presence of the chemical denaturant concentration at which significant concentrations of both N and D exist. We show that for each of the proteins (ribonuclease-A, lysozyme, alpha-lactalbumin and chymotrypsinogen) DeltaC(p)(D) is significantly higher than DeltaC(p)(X). DeltaC(p)(D) of the protein is also compared with that estimated using the known heat capacities of amino acid residues and their fractional area exposed on denaturation.
差示扫描量热法(DSC)可提供ΔC(p)(X)的真实准确值,ΔC(p)(X)是与蛋白质在无化学变性剂时的热诱导变性平衡N(天然态)⇌X(热变性态)相关的恒压热容变化。如果X保留类似天然态的埋藏疏水相互作用,那么ΔC(p)(X)必定小于ΔC(p)(D),ΔC(p)(D)是与转变N⇌D相关的恒压热容变化,其中D态不仅比X态更展开,而且其所有基团都暴露于水中。一个问题是,对于大多数蛋白质,只有在诸如氯化胍(GdmCl)和尿素等化学变性剂存在时才能观察到D态。另一个问题是,DSC无法得出真实的ΔC(p)(D),因为其测量涉及到N态和D态上化学变性剂假定的特异性结合位点的存在。我们开发了一种非量热法来测量ΔC(p)(D),该方法使用从等温GdmCl(或尿素)诱导变性以及在同时存在显著浓度的N态和D态的化学变性剂浓度下的热诱导变性获得的热力学数据。我们表明,对于每种蛋白质(核糖核酸酶 - A、溶菌酶、α - 乳白蛋白和胰凝乳蛋白酶原),ΔC(p)(D)显著高于ΔC(p)(X)。还将蛋白质的ΔC(p)(D)与使用氨基酸残基的已知热容及其变性时暴露的分数面积估算的值进行了比较。