title: On the effect of a point mutation on the reactivity of CuZn superoxide dismutase: a theoretical study.
abstract: In this paper, we investigate the effects of a point mutation on the enzymatic activity of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, which we recently studied in detail by means of a theoretical-computational procedure. Comparison of the reactivity of the initial catalytic steps in this mutant (G93A mutation far from the active site) with our previous data, reveals the beautiful mechanical-dynamical architecture of the enzyme, altered by such an apparently irrelevant mutation. Finally, our results suggest a possible atomic-molecular-based explanation for the mutant-pathology correlation, in line with the most recent experimental data.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche Università di Roma "Tor Vergata", Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy. andrea.amadei@uniroma2.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amadei
authors.forename: Maira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Alessandro
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paci
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Nola
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aschi
mesh_terms: D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017354:Point Mutation; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D013482:Superoxide Dismutase