Relevance of Internal Friction and Structural Constraints for the Dynamics of Denatured Bovine Serum Albumin

J Phys Chem Lett. 2018 May 17;9(10):2469-2473. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b00825. Epub 2018 Apr 26.

Abstract

A general property of disordered proteins is their structural expansion that results in a high molecular flexibility. The structure and dynamics of bovine serum albumin (BSA) denatured by guanidinium hydrochloride (GndCl) were investigated using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and neutron spin-echo spectroscopy (NSE). SANS experiments demonstrated the relevance of intrachain interactions for structural expansion. Using NSE experiments, we observed a high internal flexibility of denatured BSA in addition to center-of-mass diffusion detected by dynamic light scattering. Internal motions measured by NSE were described using concepts based on polymer theory. The contribution of residue-solvent friction was accounted for using the Zimm model including internal friction (ZIF). Disulfide bonds forming loops of amino acids of the peptide backbone have a major impact on internal dynamics that can be interpreted with a reduced set of Zimm modes.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Dynamic Light Scattering
  • Guanidine / chemistry
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Neutron Diffraction
  • Protein Denaturation
  • Scattering, Small Angle
  • Serum Albumin, Bovine / chemistry*
  • Serum Albumin, Bovine / metabolism

Substances

  • Serum Albumin, Bovine
  • Guanidine