Peptide backbone folding induced by the C(alpha)-tetrasubstituted cyclic alpha-amino acids 4-amino-1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid (Adt) and 1-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid (Ac5c). A joint computational and experimental study.
The conformational study of a new group of synthetic peptides containing 4-amino-1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid (Adt), a cysteine-related achiral residue, has been carried out through a joint application of computational and experimental methodologies. Molecular Dynamics simulations clearly suggest the tendency of this molecule to adopt a gamma-turn conformation in vacuum and help in analyzing the complex and crucial conformational behaviour of the dithiolane ring which appears to preferentially adopt a C(S)-like structure. Electronic structure calculations carried out in solution using the Density Functional Theory also indicate the preservation of the gamma-like folding in apolar solvents and the helix-like one in more polar solvents. A comparison with the achiral 1-aminocycloalkane-1-carboxylic acid (Ac5c) has been carried out using the same computational tools. NMR and IR data on dipeptide derivatives containing the Adt or Ac5c residue show that in chloroform solution all the models prefer a gamma-turn structure, centered at the cyclic residue, stabilized by an intramolecular H-bond, whereas in a more polar solvent, i.e. dimethyl sulfoxide, this folding is not maintained. The experimental conformational studies, extended to N-Boc protected tripeptides, clearly indicate the remarkable tendency of both the five-membered C(alpha)-tetrasubstituted cyclic amino acids Adt and Ac5c to induce the gamma-turn structure also in models able to adopt the beta-bend conformation.
Aschi
Massimiliano
M
Dipartimento di Chimica, Ingegneria Chimica e Materiali-Università di L'Aquila, 1-67100 Coppito, L'Aquila, Italy.
Lucente
Gino
G
Mazza
Fernando
F
Mollica
Adriano
A
Morera
Enrico
E
Nalli
Marianna
M
Paglialunga Paradisi
Mario
M
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D000598:Amino Acids, Cyclic / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003515:Cycloleucine / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000737:chemistry*
C416078:4-amino-1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid; D000596:Amino Acids; D000598:Amino Acids, Cyclic; D009842:Oligopeptides; D012997:Solvents; D013876:Thiophenes; D003515:Cycloleucine; C023863:1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid