title: Thermodynamics of the alpha-helix-coil transition of amphipathic peptides in a membrane environment: implications for the peptide-membrane binding equilibrium.
abstract: Amphipathic alpha-helices are the membrane binding motif in many proteins. The corresponding peptides are often random coil in solution but are folded into an alpha-helix upon interaction with the membrane. The energetics of this ubiquitous folding process are still a matter of conjecture. Here, we present a new method to quantitatively analyze the thermodynamics of peptide folding at the membrane interface. We have systematically varied the helix content of a given amphipathic peptide when bound to the membrane and have correlated the thermodynamic binding parameters determined by isothermal titration calorimetry with the alpha-helix content obtained by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The peptides investigated were the antibiotic magainin 2 amide and three analogs in which two adjacent amino acid residues were substituted by their d-enantiomers. The thermodynamic parameters controlling the alpha-helix formation were found to be linearly related to the helicity of the membrane-bound peptides. Helix formation at the membrane surface is characterized by an enthalpy change of DeltaH(helix) approximately -0.7 kcal/mol per residue, an entropy change of DeltaS(helix) approximately -1.9 cal/molK residue and a free energy change of DeltaG(helix)=-0.14 kcal/mol residue. Helix formation is a strong driving force of peptide insertion into the membrane and accounts for about 50 % of the free energy of binding. An increase in temperature entails an unfolding of the membrane-bound helix. The temperature dependence can be described with the Zimm-Bragg theory and the enthalpy of unfolding agrees with that deduced from isothermal titration calorimetry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysical Chemistry, Biocenter of the University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 70, Basel, CH-4056, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wieprecht
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Apostolov
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beyermann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seelig
mesh_terms: D002151:Calorimetry; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010455:Peptides