Protein Design with Fluoroprolines: 4,4-Difluoroproline Does Not Eliminate the Rate-Limiting Step of Thioredoxin Folding. 2021

Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.

C4 -substituted fluoroprolines (4R)-fluoroproline ((4R)-Flp) and (4S)-fluoroproline ((4S)-Flp) have been used in protein engineering to enhance the thermodynamic stability of peptides and proteins. The electron-withdrawing effect of fluorine can bias the pucker of the pyrrolidine ring, influence the conformational preference of the preceding peptide bond, and can accelerate the cis/trans prolyl peptide bond isomerisation by diminishing its double bond character. The role of 4,4-difluoroproline (Dfp) in the acceleration of the refolding rate of globular proteins bearing a proline (Pro) residue in the cis conformation in the native state remains elusive. Moreover, the impact of Dfp on the thermodynamic stability and bioactivity of globular proteins has been seldom described. In this study, we show that the incorporation of Dfp caused a redox state dependent and position dependent destabilisation of the thioredoxin (Trx) fold, while the catalytic activities of the modified proteins remained unchanged. The Pro to Dfp substitution at the conserved cisPro76 in the thioredoxin variant Trx1P did not elicited acceleration of the rate-limiting trans-to-cis isomerization of the Ile75-Pro76 peptide bond. Our results show that pucker preferences in the context of a tertiary structure could play a major role in protein folding, thus overtaking the rules determined for cis/trans isomerisation barriers determined in model peptides.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011392 Proline A non-essential amino acid that is synthesized from GLUTAMIC ACID. It is an essential component of COLLAGEN and is important for proper functioning of joints and tendons. L-Proline,L Proline
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
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
D013879 Thioredoxins Hydrogen-donating proteins that participates in a variety of biochemical reactions including ribonucleotide reduction and reduction of PEROXIREDOXINS. Thioredoxin is oxidized from a dithiol to a disulfide when acting as a reducing cofactor. The disulfide form is then reduced by NADPH in a reaction catalyzed by THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE. Thioredoxin,Thioredoxin 1,Thioredoxin 2,Thioredoxin-1,Thioredoxin-2
D017510 Protein Folding Processes involved in the formation of TERTIARY PROTEIN STRUCTURE. Protein Folding, Globular,Folding, Globular Protein,Folding, Protein,Foldings, Globular Protein,Foldings, Protein,Globular Protein Folding,Globular Protein Foldings,Protein Foldings,Protein Foldings, Globular

Related Publications

Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
June 1999, Nature structural biology,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
October 2015, Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
November 1998, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
June 1997, Current biology : CB,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
December 1998, Journal of molecular biology,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
April 1996, Proteins,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
February 1997, Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
June 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
December 2006, Biochemical and biophysical research communications,
Jennie O' Loughlin, and Silvia Napolitano, and Marina Rubini
January 2000, Nature structural biology,
Copied contents to your clipboard!