Abstract

The native form of inhibitory serine protease inhibitors (serpins) is strained, which is critical for their inhibitory activity. Previous studies on stabilizing mutations of alpha(1)-antitrypsin, a prototype of serpins, indicated that cavities provide a structural basis for the native strain of the molecule. We have systematically mapped the cavities of alpha(1)-antitrypsin that play such structural and functional roles by designing cavity-filling mutations at residues that line the walls of the cavities. Results show that energetically unfavorable cavities are distributed throughout the alpha(1)-antitrypsin molecule, and the cavity-filling mutations stabilized the native conformation at 8 out of 10 target sites. The stabilization effect of the individual cavity-filling mutations of alpha(1)-antitrypsin varied (0.2-1.9 kcal/mol for each additional methylene group) and appeared to depend largely on the structural flexibility of the cavity environment. Cavity-filling mutations that decreased inhibitory activity of alpha(1)-antitrypsin were localized in the loop regions that interact with beta-sheet A distal from the reactive center loop. The results are consistent with the notion that beta-sheet A and the structure around it mobilize when alpha(1)-antitrypsin forms a complex with a target protease. Study holds ProTherm entries: 11578, 11579, 11580, 11581, 11582, 11583, 11584, 11585, 11586, 11587, 11588, 11589, 11590, 11591, 11592, 11593, 11594, 11595, 11596, 11597, 11598, 11599, 11600, 11601, 11602, 11603, 11604, 11605 Extra Details: additive : EDTA(1 mM), alpha1-antitrypsin; cavity-filling mutations; conformational stability;,native strain; molecular packing

Submission Details

ID: bGQQcUSY3

Submitter: Connie Wang

Submission Date: April 24, 2018, 8:42 p.m.

Version: 1

Publication Details

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