title: Measurement of the beta-sheet-forming propensities of amino acids.
abstract: Several model systems have been used to evaluate the alpha-helical propensities of different amino acids. In contrast, experimental quantitation of beta-sheet preferences has been addressed in only one model system, a zinc-finger peptide. Here we measure the relative propensity for beta-sheet formation of the twenty naturally occurring amino acids in a variant of the small, monomeric, beta-sheet-rich, IgG-binding domain from protein G. Amino-acid substitutions were made at a guest site on the solvent-exposed surface of the beta-sheet. Several criteria were used to establish that the mutations did not cause significant structural changes: binding to the Fc domain of IgG, calorimetric unfolding and NMR spectroscopy. Characterization of the terminal stabilities of these proteins leads to a thermodynamic scale for beta-sheet propensities that spans a range of approximately 2 kcal mol-1 for the naturally occurring amino acids, excluding proline. The magnitude of the differences suggests that beta-sheet preferences can be important determinants of protein stability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nine Cambridge Centre 02142.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Minor
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D007141:Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D011485:Protein Binding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; C029152:G-substrate; D007141:Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins