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Globular proteins
Perform different functions:
Synthesis
Binding and Transport
Catalysis and Metabolism
They are compact structures folded on themselves
Different ways to show/study/display proteins
Bovin Pancreatic
Trypsin Inhibitor
BPTI
58 aa
Prevents trypsin
from catalysing
peptide hydrolysis
FMN FMN
Flavodoxin
Prof. G. Gilardi - Biological Chemistry 3
Varieties of protein folds
sandwich
Parallel barrel
-turns
Prof. G. Gilardi - Biological Chemistry 6
Study of 3ary structure
Fluorescence
X-ray crystallography
NMR
Detection of proteins
Prof. G. Gilardi - Biological Chemistry 8
Fluorescence spectroscopy
Fluorimeter
B0 nucleus
17
Definitions
Proteins can associate to form complexes
made of multi-subunits
This level of structure is called 4ary
The interactions that provide the energy to
stabilize the multi-subunit structure are the
same kind that stabilize the 3ary structure:
Salt bridges, H-bonds, van der Waals interaction,
hydrophobic interactions, in some case di-sulphide
bridges
Depending on the type of subunits, we can
have:
Homotypic protein-protein interactions
Heterotypic protein-protein interactions
Prof. G. Gilardi - Biological Chemistry 18
Homotypic protein-protein
interactions
When subunits associate, different levels of
symmetry can arise:
1. Helical symmetry
2. Point-group symmetry
These have different axis of symmetry and are classified
on that basis
Herpesvirus with
icosahedral geometry
X-ray structure of the complex
The modelling of protein-protein
complexes is very successful, more
advanced than the 3D structure
prediction Prof. G. Gilardi - Biological Chemistry 22
Outline of what
you must now know: