TY - JOUR
T1 - Analysis of the interactions of sulfur-containing amino acids in membrane proteins
AU - Gómez-Tamayo, José C.
AU - Cordomí, Arnau
AU - Olivella, Mireia
AU - Mayol, Eduardo
AU - Fourmy, Daniel
AU - Pardo, Leonardo
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - © 2016 The Protein Society The interactions of Met and Cys with other amino acid side chains have received little attention, in contrast to aromatic–aromatic, aromatic–aliphatic or/and aliphatic–aliphatic interactions. Precisely, these are the only amino acids that contain a sulfur atom, which is highly polarizable and, thus, likely to participate in strong Van der Waals interactions. Analysis of the interactions present in membrane protein crystal structures, together with the characterization of their strength in small-molecule model systems at the ab-initio level, predicts that Met–Met interactions are stronger than Met–Cys ≈ Met–Phe ≈ Cys–Phe interactions, stronger than Phe–Phe ≈ Phe–Leu interactions, stronger than the Met–Leu interaction, and stronger than Leu–Leu ≈ Cys–Leu interactions. These results show that sulfur-containing amino acids form stronger interactions than aromatic or aliphatic amino acids. Thus, these amino acids may provide additional driving forces for maintaining the 3D structure of membrane proteins and may provide functional specificity.
AB - © 2016 The Protein Society The interactions of Met and Cys with other amino acid side chains have received little attention, in contrast to aromatic–aromatic, aromatic–aliphatic or/and aliphatic–aliphatic interactions. Precisely, these are the only amino acids that contain a sulfur atom, which is highly polarizable and, thus, likely to participate in strong Van der Waals interactions. Analysis of the interactions present in membrane protein crystal structures, together with the characterization of their strength in small-molecule model systems at the ab-initio level, predicts that Met–Met interactions are stronger than Met–Cys ≈ Met–Phe ≈ Cys–Phe interactions, stronger than Phe–Phe ≈ Phe–Leu interactions, stronger than the Met–Leu interaction, and stronger than Leu–Leu ≈ Cys–Leu interactions. These results show that sulfur-containing amino acids form stronger interactions than aromatic or aliphatic amino acids. Thus, these amino acids may provide additional driving forces for maintaining the 3D structure of membrane proteins and may provide functional specificity.
KW - membrane proteins
KW - mining of crystal structures
KW - sulfur-containing amino acids
KW - van der Waals interactions
U2 - 10.1002/pro.2955
DO - 10.1002/pro.2955
M3 - Article
SP - 1517
EP - 1524
JO - Protein Science
JF - Protein Science
SN - 0961-8368
ER -