Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
11
pubmed:dateCreated
2002-3-12
pubmed:abstractText
We studied the stability and pH-induced denaturation of rhodopsin and its photoproducts as a model for alpha-helical membrane proteins. The increased stability of the dark state of rhodopsin as compared to its photoproduct states allows the initiation of unfolding of the protein by light-dependent isomerization of the chromophore. We could therefore characterize the transition from the native to either acid or alkaline denatured states by light-induced Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectroscopy. The results indicate a loss of important tertiary interactions within the protein and between the protein and the retinal chromophore in the denatured state, despite that the secondary structure of the protein is almost fully retained during the transition. We therefore propose that in this denatured state the protein adopts the conformation of a loose bundle of preserved, but only weakly interacting, transmembrane helices with a largely des-oriented and partly solvent-exposed chromophore. We further characterized the influence of salts on the stability of the rhodopsin helix bundle, which was found to follow the Hofmeister series. We found that the effect of sodium chloride may be stabilizing or destabilizing, depending on the intrinsic stability of the examined protein conformation and on salt concentration. In particular, sodium chloride is shown to counteract the formation of the denatured loose bundle state presumably by increasing the lateral pressure on the helix bundle, thereby stabilizing native-like tertiary contacts within the protein.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0006-2960
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
19
pubmed:volume
41
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
3536-45
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2002
pubmed:articleTitle
Conformation and stability of alpha-helical membrane proteins. 2. Influence of pH and salts on stability and unfolding of rhodopsin.
pubmed:affiliation
Biophysics Group, Institut für Molekulare Medizin und Zellforschung, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Strasse 9, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany. reiner.vogel@biophysik.uni-freiburg.de
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't