title: A FTIR spectroscopy evidence of the interactions between wheat germ agglutinin and N-acetylglucosamine residues.
abstract: Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), a lectin binding a N-acetyl-D-neuraminic acid (NeuNAc) and/or N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) group, was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Deconvolution of the FTIR spectrum of WGA alone indicated the presence of few alpha-helices and beta-sheets, in contrast to many other lectins. These results agree with previous WGA crystal data. The WGA conformational changes, induced by GlcNAc-bearing liposomes or GlcNAc oligomers, were studied by infrared differential spectroscopy. The GlcNAc binding to WGA resulted in a decrease of turns and alpha-helices and a concomitant appearance of beta-sheets, inducing more or less peptidic N-H deuteration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physico-chimie biologique, CNRS UPRESA 5013, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon I, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonnin
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Besson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gelhausen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chierici
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roux
mesh_terms: D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006017:Glycolipids; D008081:Liposomes; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins; D000117:Acetylglucosamine