title: Partial phase diagram of aqueous bovine carbonic anhydrase: analyses of the pressure-dependent temperatures of the low- to physiological-temperature nondenaturational conformational change and of unfolding to the molten globule state.
abstract: At 1.0 atm pressure and in 150 mM sodium phosphate (pH=7.0), bovine carbonic anhydrase undergoes a nondenaturational conformational change at 30.3 degrees C and an unfolding transition from the physiological conformer to the molten globule state at 67.4 degrees C. The pressure dependences of the temperatures of these transitions have been studied under reversible conditions for the purpose of understanding DeltaH degrees, DeltaS degrees, and DeltaV for each conformational change. Temperatures for the low-temperature to physiological-temperature conformational change TL-->P are obtained from physiologically relevant conditions using slow-scan-rate differential scanning calorimetry. Temperatures for the physiological-temperature conformation to molten globule state conversion TP-->MG are obtained from differential scanning calorimetry measurements of the apparent transition temperature in the presence of guanidine hydrochloride extrapolated to zero molar denaturant. The use of slow-scan-rate differential scanning calorimetry permits the calculation of the activation volume for the conversion of the low-temperature conformer to the physiological-temperature conformer DeltaVL-->P. At 1.0 atm pressure, the transition from the low-temperature conformer to the physiological-temperature conformer involves a volume change DeltaVL-->P=15+/-2 L/mole, which contrasts with the partial unfolding of the physiological-temperature conformer to the molten globule state (DeltaVP-->MG=26+/-9 L/mole). The activation volume for this process DeltaVL-->P=51+/-9 L/mole and is consistent with a prior thermodynamic analysis that suggests the conformational transition from the low-temperature conformation to the physiological-temperature conformation possesses a substantial unfolding quality. These results provide further evidence the structure of the enzyme obtained from crystals grown below 30 degrees C should not be regarded as the physiological structure (the normal bovine body temperature is 38.3 degrees C). These results should therefore have implications in any area that seeks to correlate the crystal structure of bovine carbonic anhydrase to physiological function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Physics, Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX 79204, USA.
authors.forename: Stacey L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: McNevin
authors.forename: Duong T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: B Mark
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Britt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases / Q000737:chemistry*; D002417:Cattle; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases