Amino-acid based radicals are involved in a range of productive and destructive processes in living organisms. Functional, and typically highly controlled, radical chemistry occurs in enzymes that use amino acids as catalytically active redox cofactors. In contrast, oxidative stress conditions are well known to generate a range of uncontrolled, and for the organism, potentially harmful protein radical reactions. Despite the fact that the number of amino-acid radical enzymes and pathological conditions linked to dysfunctional amino-acid radical chemistry continuously increases, experimental characterization of parameters involved in protein radical reactions is still rudimentary. This situation reflects the simple fact that the characteristically reactive and thermodynamically """"""""hot"""""""" radical state is highly challenging to study in the natural systems. The overall aim of the work described here is to use a library of well-structured model proteins specifically made to facilitate electrochemical, structural and spectroscopic studies of tyrosine and tryptophan radicals. During the proposed five-year funding period, we will structurally characterize the reduced and oxidized states of phenol-labeled proteins whose redox properties have already been determined by voltammetry techniques. Solution structures of reduced 2-, 3- and 4-mercaptophenol-13C will be obtained by NMR spectroscopy. The hydrogen-bonding interactions of the oxidized phenols in the 2- and 3-mercaptophenol-13C proteins will be determined by electron magnetic-resonance spectroscopy. The latter project involves cryo-trapping the phenol radicals using a specifically constructed UV/Vis absorption/photolytic spectrometer. The cryo-trapped radicals will be studied by CW and pulsed EPR, ENDOR and ESEEM spectroscopy at 9 and 94 GHz to determine the number and the strength of hydrogen bonds present between the protein matrix and the oxidized phenols. Once the structural studies have been completed, the redox properties of the mercaptophenol-13C proteins will be investigated by quantum chemical methods. Thus, experimental and calculated phenol potentials will be directly connected to protein structural motifs. This level of information is not available for any naturally occurring amino-acid radical. A similar set of voltammetry, structural and theoretical studies is proposed for a model protein enineered to contain a buried tyrosine-histidine hydrogen-bonded complex. Finally, the redox properties of tryptophan will be studied as a function of solvent exposure and electrostatic interactions. The short-term objective with the proposed experimental and theoretical studies is to correlate specific structural features with the reduction potentials and pKa values of tyrosine and tryptophan radicals in the model proteins. The long-term objective with the proposed work is to build a knowledge platform on which to quantitatively model the reduction potentials of functional and dysfunctional amino-acid radicals in natural systems. The studies described in this application have a clear potential to make a significant step towards realizing this long-term objective.

Public Health Relevance

Protein radicals are involved in a range of both beneficial as well as harmful chemical reactions in living organisms. Little is know about these species since they are highly challenging to study experimentally in the natural systems. To increase our knowledge in this research area, we have developed a library of well- structured model proteins specifically made to study the chemical properties of protein radicals.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM079190-02
Application #
7667933
Study Section
Macromolecular Structure and Function E Study Section (MSFE)
Program Officer
Anderson, Vernon
Project Start
2008-08-04
Project End
2013-05-31
Budget Start
2009-06-01
Budget End
2010-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$228,375
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
042250712
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104
O'Brien, Evan S; Lin, Danny W; Fuglestad, Brian et al. (2018) Improving yields of deuterated, methyl labeled protein by growing in H2O. J Biomol NMR 71:263-273
Glover, Starla D; Tyburski, Robin; Liang, Li et al. (2018) Pourbaix Diagram, Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer, and Decay Kinetics of a Protein Tryptophan Radical: Comparing the Redox Properties of W32• and Y32• Generated Inside the Structurally Characterized ?3W and ?3Y Proteins. J Am Chem Soc 140:185-192
Lee, Wankyu; Kasanmascheff, Müge; Huynh, Michael et al. (2018) Properties of Site-Specifically Incorporated 3-Aminotyrosine in Proteins To Study Redox-Active Tyrosines: Escherichia coli Ribonucleotide Reductase as a Paradigm. Biochemistry 57:3402-3415
Ravichandran, Kanchana R; Zong, Allan B; Taguchi, Alexander T et al. (2017) Formal Reduction Potentials of Difluorotyrosine and Trifluorotyrosine Protein Residues: Defining the Thermodynamics of Multistep Radical Transfer. J Am Chem Soc 139:2994-3004
Ravichandran, Kanchana R; Taguchi, Alexander T; Wei, Yifeng et al. (2016) A >200 meV Uphill Thermodynamic Landscape for Radical Transport in Escherichia coli Ribonucleotide Reductase Determined Using Fluorotyrosine-Substituted Enzymes. J Am Chem Soc 138:13706-13716
Ravichandran, Kanchana R; Taguchi, Alexander T; Wei, Yifeng et al. (2016) A >200 meV Uphill Thermodynamic Landscape for Radical Transport in Escherichia coli Ribonucleotide Reductase Determined Using Fluorotyrosine-Substituted Enzymes. J Am Chem Soc :
O'Brien, Evan S; Nucci, Nathaniel V; Fuglestad, Brian et al. (2015) Defining the Apoptotic Trigger: THE INTERACTION OF CYTOCHROME c AND CARDIOLIPIN. J Biol Chem 290:30879-87
Glover, Starla D; Jorge, Christine; Liang, Li et al. (2014) Photochemical tyrosine oxidation in the structurally well-defined ?3Y protein: proton-coupled electron transfer and a long-lived tyrosine radical. J Am Chem Soc 136:14039-51
Ravichandran, Kanchana R; Liang, Li; Stubbe, JoAnne et al. (2013) Formal reduction potential of 3,5-difluorotyrosine in a structured protein: insight into multistep radical transfer. Biochemistry 52:8907-15
Tommos, Cecilia; Valentine, Kathleen G; Martínez-Rivera, Melissa C et al. (2013) Reversible phenol oxidation and reduction in the structurally well-defined 2-Mercaptophenol-??C protein. Biochemistry 52:1409-18

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