Richardson J S
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Aug;73(8):2619-23. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.8.2619.
In a crossover connection, the polypeptide chain leaves one end of a beta sheet, forms a loop of any length and any conformation, and reenters the same beta sheet from the opposite end. Of the 85 examples of crossover connections which occur in the known protein structures, 83 are righthanded and only two are lefthanded. It is proposed that consistent handedness, even in long irregular loops, could be produced by the preferred twist direction of extended chain and the righthandedness of alpha-helices, provided certain conditions hold during the protein folding process.
在交叉连接中,多肽链从β折叠的一端离开,形成任意长度和任意构象的环,然后从相反的一端重新进入同一β折叠。在已知蛋白质结构中出现的85个交叉连接实例中,83个是右手性的,只有两个是左手性的。有人提出,只要在蛋白质折叠过程中满足某些条件,即使在长的不规则环中,一致的手性也可能由延伸链的优选扭曲方向和α螺旋的右手性产生。