Dr Leylands Bit Flashcards
Which isomer of amino acids is found in proteins?
L (left handed) isomer
List eight functions of proteins.
Transporters Catalysts - enzymes Structural support - collagen Ion channels Machines - muscle contraction Immune protection Receptors Ligands in cell signalling.
What are the non polar amino acids?
Glycine, alanine, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine, tryptophan, valine.
What are the charged amino acids?
Lysine, arginine, histidine, aspartate, glutamate
What are the polar uncharged amino acids?
Serine, threonine, asparagine, glutamine, tyrosine, cysteine.
Which are the aromatic amino acids?
Phenylalanine, tryptophan
What is KR, what would you expect the value to be for a stronger acid?
KR is the acid dissociation constant for the R group, represents the proportion of molecules that dissociate in a solution.
It is higher for a stronger acid.
What is pKR, what value would you expect for a stronger acid?
pKR is -log(KR) (log to base ten!!!!)
Lower for a stronger acid.
If the pH of a solution is less than pKR, would you expect the group to be protonated?
Yes.
If the pH of a solution is greater than pKR, would you expect the R group to be protonated?
No.
What are the main organelles in a cell, and their functions?
Plasma membrane - controls what enters and leaves the cell
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum - synthesis of lipids
Vacuole - storage of water and waste products
Golgi apparatus - modifies proteins from RER and secretes them.
Rough endoplasmic reticulum - post translational modification of proteins
Nucleus - contains DNA
Lysosomes - contain hydrolytic enzymes for intracellular digestion
Basal bodies - base structures of cilia and flagella.
Mitochondria - synthesis of ATP
Ribosomes - translation of mRNA to protein.
Cytosol - contains soluble enzymes, substrate for diffusion.
What bonds are important in macromolecular structure and interaction?
Hydrogen bonds
Hydrophobic interactions
Ionic interactions
Van der waals interactions
What are the properties of a peptide bond?
The N-C peptide bond has partial double bond characteristics, so it is rigid and planar. The alpha carbons, carboxylic acid carbon, the nitrogen and the hydrogen and oxygen all lie in a plane.
They are always trans, not cis.
What is the pI?
The isoelectric point of the protein - the pH at which is has no net charge.
If the pH>pI, what is the net charge on the protein?
Negatively charged as the protein will donate its proton.
If pH<pI would the protein be positively or negatively charged?
Positively as it will accept a proton.
Would an acidic protein have a high or low pI?
Low
Would a basic protein have a high or low pI?
High
How many residues per turn of an alpha helix?
3.6
What is the pitch of an alpha helix?
0.54nm
Are alpha helices right or left handed?
Right handed.
Between which atoms do hydrogen bonds form in an alpha helix?
The oxygen from the carboxy group and the hydrogen from the amino group four amino acids away.
What are the two main secondary structures of proteins?
Alpha helices and beta sheets
Which residues are strong helix formers and why?
Alanine and leucine.
They are small and hydrophobic.
What residues are helix breakers?
Proline, because you can’t rotate around the bond between the alpha carbon and the nitrogen.
Glycine because it has H as its R group which supports other conformations - rotation is unconstrained.
Consider a beta strand. What is the distance between adjacent amino acids, and what is the configuration of R groups?
0.35nm
R groups alternate between either side of the chain.
What are the different arrangements of beta strands to make a beta sheet?
Parallel - adjacent strands run in the same direction, stabilised by hydrogen bonds.
Antiparallel - adjacent strands run in opposite directions, stabilised by hydrogen bonds.
Mixed
Give two examples of motifs in a tertiary structure.
Beta - alpha - beta loop
Beta barrel
What is a domain of a polypeptide?
Part of a polypeptide chain that folds into a specific shape and often has a specific function.
If a polypeptide was folded such that hydrophobic side chains are buried inside the polypeptide and hydrophilic side chains are exposed, what could you conclude about the polypeptide?
It is likely to be water soluble.
How would you expect hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues to be arranged in a membrane protein?
You would expect hydrophilic residues in the centre lining a hydrophilic channel, and a hydrophobic exterior that will be embedded in the plasma membrane.
What forces are involved in maintaining the primary structure of a protein?
Covalent bonds.
What forces are involved in maintaining the secondary structure of a protein?
Hydrogen bonds.
What forces are involved in maintaining the tertiary and quaternary structures of a protein?
Covalent (disulphide) bonds, hydrophobic interactions, ionic bonds, van der waals forces, hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interactions between charged groups (salt bridges)
What residues are disulphide bonds formed between?
Cysteine
What is the bond energy of a disulphide bond?
214 kJ/mol
What can be used to reduce disulphide bonds?
Beta-mercaptoethanol
What is the usual fate of proteins with disulphide bonds?
Secretion from the cell.
What can denature proteins and how.
Heat increases vibrational energy, disrupts intermolecular forces
pH alters ionisation states of residues, alters ionic and hydrogen bonds.
Detergents and organic solvents disrupt hydrophobic interactions.
What diseases promote misfolding of proteins?
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
What are amyloidoses?
They are accumulations of a misfolded, insoluble form of a normally soluble protein. There is a high proportion of beta sheets which form before the rest of the protein.
It is stabilised by hydrophobic interactions between aromatic amino acids.
What diseases are characterised by amyloidoses?
Alzheimer's disease Parkinson's CJD Huntingdons Type 2 diabetes mellitus
What is the physiological role of myoglobin?
Myoglobin is an oxygen carrier in muscle, and also acts as a reservoir for oxygen in muscle.
What is the physiological role of haemoglobin?
Found in erythrocytes, transports oxygen from lungs to capillaries, and carbon dioxide and hydrogen ions from the capillaries to the lungs.
What is the structure of haem, and what is its function?
Porphyrin ring, with a central iron atom bound to the 4 nitrogen of the ring.
It binds oxygen. The Fe2+ iron can bind with two oxygen atoms, one on each side of the plane.
How is haem bound to the protein in haemoglobin and myoglobin?
By the proximal histidine residue, which binds the Fe atom.
Describe the structure of myoglobin
153 amino acids
75% alpha helical
Compact, globular
His 93 in the 8th alpha helix is covalently bound to iron.
How does oxygen binding alter the conformation of haem?
When oxygen binds the Fe atom it moves the Fe into the plane of the porphyrin ring, produces conformational change in the protein.