Biomaterial Database

Analytical Ultracentrifugation as a Tool to Study Nonspecific Protein-DNA Interactions. 2015

Teng-Chieh Yang, and Carlos Enrique Catalano, and Nasib Karl Maluf

Pfizer, Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Chesterfield, Missouri, USA.

Analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) is a powerful tool that can provide thermodynamic information on associating systems. Here, we discuss how to use the two fundamental AUC applications, sedimentation velocity (SV), and sedimentation equilibrium (SE), to study nonspecific protein-nucleic acid interactions, with a special emphasis on how to analyze the experimental data to extract thermodynamic information. We discuss three specific applications of this approach: (i) determination of nonspecific binding stoichiometry of E. coli integration host factor protein to dsDNA, (ii) characterization of nonspecific binding properties of Adenoviral IVa2 protein to dsDNA using SE-AUC, and (iii) analysis of the competition between specific and nonspecific DNA-binding interactions observed for E. coli integration host factor protein assembly on dsDNA. These approaches provide powerful tools that allow thermodynamic interrogation and thus a mechanistic understanding of how proteins bind nucleic acids by both specific and nonspecific interactions.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008958	Models, Molecular	Models used experimentally or theoretically to study molecular shape, electronic properties, or interactions; includes analogous molecules, computer-generated graphics, and mechanical structures.	Molecular Models,Model, Molecular,Molecular Model
D011485	Protein Binding	The process in which substances, either endogenous or exogenous, bind to proteins, peptides, enzymes, protein precursors, or allied compounds. Specific protein-binding measures are often used as assays in diagnostic assessments.	Plasma Protein Binding Capacity,Binding, Protein
D011506	Proteins	Linear POLYPEPTIDES that are synthesized on RIBOSOMES and may be further modified, crosslinked, cleaved, or assembled into complex proteins with several subunits. The specific sequence of AMINO ACIDS determines the shape the polypeptide will take, during PROTEIN FOLDING, and the function of the protein.	Gene Products, Protein,Gene Proteins,Protein,Protein Gene Products,Proteins, Gene
D004247	DNA	A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).	DNA, Double-Stranded,Deoxyribonucleic Acid,ds-DNA,DNA, Double Stranded,Double-Stranded DNA,ds DNA
D000465	Algorithms	A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task.	Algorithm
D001667	Binding, Competitive	The interaction of two or more substrates or ligands with the same binding site. The displacement of one by the other is used in quantitative and selective affinity measurements.	Competitive Binding
D013816	Thermodynamics	A rigorously mathematical analysis of energy relationships (heat, work, temperature, and equilibrium). It describes systems whose states are determined by thermal parameters, such as temperature, in addition to mechanical and electromagnetic parameters. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 12th ed)	Thermodynamic
D014461	Ultracentrifugation	Centrifugation with a centrifuge that develops centrifugal fields of more than 100,000 times gravity. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)