Ion-specific effects on peptides and proteins are key to biomolecular structure and stability. The subtle roles of the cations are far less understood, compared to the pronounced effects of the anions on proteins. Most importantly, divalent cations such as Ca and Mg are crucial to several biological functions. Herein, we demonstrate that an amide-iminolate equilibrium is triggered by the binding of the divalent cations to the amide oxygen in aqueous solution. The excellent agreement between the experimental and theoretical results confirms the arrest of an unusual amide tautomer by the divalent cations, which is a rarely known phenomenon that might open up an array of applications in chemistry and biology.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b08463 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Compositional heterogeneity of secondary minerals in mine waste rock: Origins and implications for water quality.
J Hazard Mater
January 2025
Department of Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada. Electronic address:
Secondary minerals in mine waste materials impose strong controls on water quality by scavenging solutes of concern. This study investigates the mineralogical and compositional characteristics of secondary Fe(oxy)hydroxides and Ca-sulfates, two globally ubiquitous secondary precipitates, in weathered mine waste rock. Bulk analyses show that Si, Ca, Fe, Al, and S-bearing primary phases were the most abundant in the entire samples, but up to a few wt% of secondary Fe(oxy)hydroxides and Ca-sulfates were present as well.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDysregulation of Podocyte BK Channels and Nephrosis: Effects of Circulating Factors and Auxiliary β4 Subunits.
Cells
December 2024
Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA.
Podocytes express large-conductance Ca-activated K channels (BK channels) and at least two different pore-forming KCa1.1 subunit C-terminal splice variants, known as VEDEC and EMVYR, along with auxiliary β and γ subunits. Podocyte KCa1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffect of Divalent Cations on Polarity and Hydration at the Lipid/Water Interface Probed by 4-Aminophthalimide-Based Dyes.
J Phys Chem B
January 2025
Spectroscopy Laboratory, School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
The ion binding to the lipid/water interface can substantially influence the structural, functional, and dynamic properties of the cell membrane. Despite extensive research on ion-lipid interactions, the specific effects of ion binding on the polarity and hydration at the lipid/water interface remain poorly understood. This study explores the influence of three biologically relevant divalent cations─Mg, Ca, and Zn─on the depth-dependent interfacial polarity and hydration of zwitterionic DPPC lipid in its gel phase at room temperature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom Pseudocyclic to Macrocyclic Ionophores: Strategies toward the Synthesis of Cyclic Monensin Derivatives.
J Org Chem
January 2025
Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 8, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.
There has been a long search for a simple preparation of new cyclic analogues of ionophore antibiotics. We report a simple and general synthesis of three new cyclic derivatives of polyether ionophore, monensin A (MON). The application of the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azides and terminal alkynes to macrocyclization results in a concise, synthetic route to monensin lacton or lactam in only 4 steps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurpassing protein specificity in biomimetics of bacterial amyloids.
Int J Biol Macromol
January 2025
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:
In nature, nontoxic protein amyloids serve as dynamic, protein-specific depots, exemplified by both bacterial inclusion bodies and secretory granules from the endocrine system. Inspired by these systems, chemically defined and regulatory-compliant artificial protein microgranules have been developed for clinical applications as endocrine-like protein repositories. This has been achieved by exploiting the reversible coordination between histidine residues and divalent cations such as Zn, that promotes protein-protein interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!