화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.120, No.22, 4878-4889, 2016
Radical Formation Initiates Solvent-Dependent Unfolding and beta-sheet Formation in a Model Helical Peptide
We examined the effects of C-alpha-centered radical formation on the stability of a model helical peptide, N-Ac-KK(AL)(10)KK-NH2. Three, 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations using the OPLS-AA force field were carried out on each alpha-helical peptide in six distinct binary TIP4P water/2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) mixtures. The alpha-helicity was at a maximum in 20% TFE, which was inversely proportional to the number of H-bonds between water molecules and the peptide backbone. The radial distribution of TFE around the peptide backbone was highest in 20% TFE, which enhanced helix stability. The C-alpha-centered radical initiated the formation of a turn within 5 ns, which was a smaller kink at high TFE concentrations, and a loop at lower TFE concentrations. The highest helicity of the peptide radical was measured in 100% TFE. The formation of hydrogen bonds between the peptide backbone and water destabilized the helix, whereas the clustering of TFE molecules around the radical center stabilized the helix. Following radical termination, the once helical structure converted to a beta-sheet rich state in 100% water only, and this transition did not occur in the nonradical control peptide. This study gives evidence on how the formation of peptide radicals can initiate alpha-helical to beta-sheet transitions under oxidative stress conditions.