苏氨酸在昆虫抗冻蛋白抗冻活性中的作用

设计系列昆虫抗冻蛋白CfAFP突变体, 通过分子动力学模拟确定各突变体与冰晶的最佳作用模式, 并用半经验分子轨道方法AM1和PM3研究了其与冰晶的相互作用. 结果表明, TXT面上的苏氨酸在蛋白与冰晶相互识别和结合过程中十分关键, 对CfAFP与冰晶间相互作用的贡献大, 用其它疏水或亲水氨基酸残基替换都将削弱抗冻蛋白与冰晶的相互作用强度, 从而降低蛋白的抗冻活性. 但是, 在维系蛋白和冰晶结构匹配的基础上, 疏水基团的增加加强了抗冻蛋白与冰晶的结合, 从而增加蛋白的抗冻活性.     

两种昆虫抗冻蛋白抗冻活性差异的分子基础

云杉蚜虫(Choristoneura fumiferana)体内可产生一种抗冻蛋白(AFP), 能够保护其在寒冷的冬季安全越冬, 这类昆虫抗冻蛋白(简称 CfAFP)存在多种异构体, 其中CfAFP-501和CfAFP-337均呈现相似的左手β-螺旋结构. 实验测定, 相比CfAFP-337仅多出两个插入螺旋环的CfAFP-501的抗冻活性竟然是CfAFP-337的3倍左右. 蛋白异构体CfAFP-501显著增强的抗冻活性和它的插入环数不成比例, 当然也不能简单归因于两个插入环所导致的与冰晶作用部位及接触面积的增加. 为了探讨两种昆虫抗冻蛋白异构体抗冻活性差异的分子基础, 深入了解抗冻蛋白作用特点的普遍规律, 分别使用分子力学、分子动力学模拟和量子力学方法来系统研究蛋白及其切割体与冰晶结合的结构特征及相互作用. 结果表明, CfAFP-501中多数螺旋环比CfAFP-337具有更强的冰晶相互作用和破坏冰晶中水分子的成键的能力, 由于螺旋长度增加导致CfAFP-501中各b-螺旋环之间协同效应的增强, 是其具有显著增强的抗冻活性的主要来源. 这种协同作用对具有b-螺旋结构的抗冻蛋白起十分关键的作用和重要贡献.     

自由能计算揭示苏氨酸对抗冻蛋白与冰晶结合能力的影响

采用分子动力学模拟和自由能计算研究了中等活性黑麦草抗冻蛋白(Lolium perenne antifreeze protein, LpAFP)冰结合位点(Ice-binding site, IBS)上苏氨酸(Thr)含量对其吸附冰晶能力的影响. 构建了一系列LpAFP突变体结构, 使其IBS上苏氨酸含量逐步增加, 其中包括一个对IBS上11个位点的突变, 使每个β片段均具有Thr-x-Thr基序(x是非保守的氨基酸, 主要是疏水氨基酸). 利用重要性采样算法(WTM-eABF)计算了LpAFP及其突变体与冰晶结合过程的自由能变化, 该算法结合了Well-tempering metadynamics的“填谷”和扩展拉格朗日自适应偏置力方法的“削峰”的优点, 显著提高了算法的采样效率. 结果表明, LpAFP突变体的IBS苏氨酸含量越高, 其与冰的结合在能量上越有利. 当突变体具有重复Thr-x-Thr基序时, 其与冰的结合能力最强. 进一步分析表明, 苏氨酸含量越高, IBS结合的液态水分子越多, 与冰晶结合时锚定包合水稳定存在的时间就越长, 抗冻蛋白的IBS与冰面之间的氢键网络也越稳定, 从而提高了抗冻蛋白与冰的结合能力. 增加苏氨酸残基的含量是提高中等活性抗冻蛋白抗冻活性的方法.     

金果榄中性物的研究

旋花科(Convolvulaceae)的金果榄(Calystigia hydraceae)块根中含一中性物质。分子式曾暂定为 C_(14)H_(16)O_4,该化合物不易生成乙酸酯,与羰基试剂亦无作用,不溶于碳酸钠而溶于热苛性钠溶液中,将碱溶液酸化后可制得熔点与原物质相近的结晶,但作混合熔点测定,稍呈降低。     

水的凝固点、冰点和三相点

大学一年級无机化学在讲授到“水”这一章时,发現目前所用的某些教科书上把水的凝固点,冰点和三相点混为一談,前后矛盾。格琳卡普通化学上讲:“……一物質的凝固点(同时也是其熔点)为該物质的液相和其固相达到平衡时的温度。……0°时冰的蒸汽压和0°时水的蒸汽压相等,都等于4.6毫米。……零点称为三相点。这点的压力是4.6毫米,溫度是+0.007°。……”     

HE－1型催化剂异相聚合乙烯结晶性能研究 Ⅱ．超高分子量PE结晶行为

用小角Ｘ－射线散射，广角Ｘ－射线衍射，差示扫描量热法，研究了ＨＥ－１型钛系催化剂异相聚合超高分子量聚乙烯的稀溶液的结晶和熔融结晶的熔点，熔化热，结晶度，长周期，晶区厚度和非昌区厚度随分子量与结晶温度的关系．并着重讨论了熔融结晶和初生态结晶的不同过程机理．结果表明：ＵＨＭＷＰＥ稀溶液结晶的结晶度（Ｘｃ％），长周期（Ｌ）和晶区厚度（Ｌｃ）与分子量Ｍｗ无关，随结晶温度升高而增加，非晶区厚度（Ｌａ）与分子量和结晶温度均无关，熔点Ｔｍ随分子量增大稍有升高．熔融结晶样品长周期与分子量无关，却和结晶温度和时间有关．其结晶度和晶区厚度随分子量增大而下降，非昌区厚度和熔点均随分子量增大而增大，初生态粉末中没发现长周期，却发现有较高熔点．     

细胞内溶液的非理想性对细胞最优化低温保存程序的影响

为了对细胞的最优化低温保存方案提供理论预测,考虑细胞内溶液为非理想溶液,建立了一个新的胞内冰晶成核与生长模型.与基于修正的Mazur方程的理想溶液模型相比,新模型进一步耦合了Fahy的水输运方程与冰晶成核、扩散控制的冰晶生长理论.使用改进后的胞内冰模型详细研究了以甘油为低温保护剂的老鼠卵细胞的冷冻过程.通过比较分析两种模型下降温速率、初始甘油浓度对胞内溶液体积、胞内冰晶体积份额等的影响,我们得出较低的降温速率下,两种模型预测的结果具有比较显著的差异,而高降温速率条件下,两种模型预测的结果一致.     

依匹哌唑晶体结构的实验及理论分析

以探究依匹哌唑晶体结构为目的,溶剂扩散法制备获得依匹哌唑单晶体。单晶X射线衍射分析法解析的结果是:属单斜晶系,P21/n空间群,晶胞参数a=9. 4083(5),b=25. 9910(14),c=10. 2293(6),α=90,β=113. 061(7),γ=90,Z=4。差热和热重分析结果表明,依匹哌唑的熔点为182℃,低于该熔点温度时,依匹哌唑具有良好的稳定性,不发生吸热、放热及失重现象。应用"赫希菲尔德"表面分析的结果是:酰胺基团中氧分别与C5氢、C7氢和N3氢形成三个氢键;相邻依匹哌唑分子的苯环有部分重叠,导致晶体中存在弱的π-π堆积作用。相互作用能分析结果表明:依匹哌唑分子间存在11种数值不同的总相互作用能,其中包含酰胺二聚体的相邻分子因形成较强N3—H_3…O_2氢键,分子间相互作用能最大(-86. 8kJ·mol~(-1))。能量框架可视化的结果显示:酰胺二聚体分子间作用能转换为半径最大的圆柱体,并形成反向平行的主体框架结构。本文实验和理论分析相结合,系统地分析了依匹哌唑的晶体结构,探究了依匹哌唑晶体结构中分子间的作用关系。     

甘油对冰晶生长抑制作用的分子动力学模拟

采用分子模拟方法研究了正交晶系冰晶(020)生长面在不同浓度甘油水溶液中的生长情况. 通过统计分析氢键数、 密度分布函数、 均方根偏差和原子间径向分布函数研究了水分子和甘油分子的动态行为. 结果表明, 甘油分子在水溶液中可与水分子形成大量氢键, 这使水分子间的氢键作用受到抑制, 降低了水分子的扩散性, 致使冰晶不易成核和生长; 另外, 一些甘油分子可代替水分子吸附在晶面上, 甚至占据晶格位点, 这种行为打破了冰晶的对称性并且降低了冰晶的生长速率. 因此, 甘油可同时在晶面和液相中抑制冰晶的生长.     

冷冻升华制备的超高分子量聚乙烯寡链、多链晶体的凝聚态

在10^-3～10^-5g/mL浓度范围内,用冷冻升华法制备了超高分子量聚乙烯(UHPE)单链、寡链、多链的折叠链晶聚集体.长达几万纳米的UHPE分子链可以以不同的片晶参与结晶,或自身形成数个晶粒,即形成单链多晶.DSC研究结果表明,随着溶液浓度的降低,冷冻升华样品的熔点和结晶度均降低.由熔点估算了晶粒的体积和晶粒中包含的链数,它们亦随溶液浓度降低而降低.冷冻升华得到的小晶粒中链的缠结少,晶体具有较高的完善性.用WAXD测试晶粒的(110)和(200)面的法向尺寸,由此计算晶粒的平均体积,与熔点计算得到的数值一致.     

Calorimetric studies on an insect antifreeze protein ApAFP752 from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anatolica polita</Emphasis>

Many ectotherms organisms produce antifreeze proteins (AFPs), also known as thermal hysteresis proteins (THPs), which can lower the freezing temperature of body liquids without significantly affecting the melting point. In this article, thermal hysteresis activity (THA) of ApAFP752 from the desert beetle Anatolica polita was measured with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). When the ice fraction was less than 25.3%, a delay in the onset temperature of refreezing was observed, indicating that the ApAFP752 solution has thermal hysteresis effect. When the amount of ice in the solution was less than 5.1%, THA of the ApAFP752 reached as high as 0.76 °C. THA of ApAFP752 was concentration-dependent. Hydrophilic ability of ApAFP752 was evaluated by thermal gravimetry (TG). The results of TG showed that ApAFP752 has strong hydrophilicity. The secondary structure of ApAFP752 was studied with circular dichroism (CD). The CD spectrum from 190 to 240 nm indicated a well-defined secondary structure consisting of 11.1% α-helix, 53.6% β-sheet, 8.3% turn, and 27.0% random coil.     

Multistep purification of an antifreeze protein from Ammopiptanthus mongolicus by chromatographic and electrophoretic methods

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are known as thermal hysteresis proteins, which can depress the freezing points of the solution by noncolligative effects, but do not affect the melting points. Although some AFPs have been found in some plants, the identity of most proteins remains unclear, owing to insufficient quantity and quality to characterize them. In this report, we describe the purification of an AFP from the winter leaves of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus using a combination of column chromatography and gel electrophoresis. After homogenization in ascorbate-acid-containing Tris buffers (pH 7.4) the soluble proteins are captured by (diethylamino)ethyl-cellulose 52 material. An elution with 0.1-0.3M KCl leads to a crude active fraction. The crude fraction is further purified on a Superdex 75 prep-grade column and finally a Poros 20HP2 column. A complex, consisting of two proteins with relative molecular masses of 34,700 and 37,100, respectively, in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis, is obtained by this protein purification protocol. The recovery of two proteins from the gel is carried out by electrophoresis. The purified protein, with a molecular mass of 37,100, shows thermal hysteresis activity (THA) and can modify the normal growth of ice crystals. The THA of this purified antifreeze protein is 0.24 degrees C at the concentration of 5 mg/mL.     

A two-dimensional adsorption kinetic model for thermal hysteresis activity in antifreeze proteins

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) and antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs), collectively abbreviated as AF(G)Ps, are synthesized by various organisms to enable their cells to survive in subzero environments. Although the AF(G)Ps are markedly diverse in structure, they all function by adsorbing to the surface of embryonic ice crystals to inhibit their growth. This adsorption results in a freezing temperature depression without an appreciable change in the melting temperature. The difference between the melting and freezing temperatures, termed thermal hysteresis (TH), is used to detect and quantify the antifreeze activity. Insights from crystallographic structures of a number of AFPs have led to a good understanding of the ice-protein interaction features. Computational studies have focused either on verifying a specific model of AFP-ice interaction or on understanding the protein-induced changes in the ice crystal morphology. In order to explain the origin of TH, we propose a novel two-dimensional adsorption kinetic model between AFPs and ice crystal surfaces. The validity of the model has been demonstrated by reproducing the TH curve on two different beta-helical AFPs upon increasing the protein concentration. In particular, this model is able to accommodate the change in the TH behavior observed experimentally when the size of the AFPs is increased systematically. Our results suggest that in addition to the specificity of the AFPs for the ice, the coverage of the AFPs on the ice surface is an equally necessary condition for their TH activity.     

Differential Scanning Calorimetric and Circular Dichroistic Studies on Plant Antifreeze Proteins

Antifreeze protein (AFP) can lower the freezing point by inhibiting the growth of ice crystals. In this article, the thermal hysteresis activity (THA) of a plant AFP was measured with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). As is shown, when the amount of ice in the sample was less than 5% THA of this AFP reached as high as 0.35°C. The secondary structure of this AFP was studied with circular dichroism (CD). The CD spectrum from 195to 240 nm indicated a well-defined secondary structure consisting 11% α-helix, 34%antiparallel β-sheet and 55% random coil. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Molecular basis for antifreeze activity difference of two insect antifreeze protein isoforms

The insect spruce budworm(Choristoneura fumiferana) produces antifreeze protein(AFP) to assist in the protection of the over-wintering larval stage and contains multiple isoforms. Structures for two isoforms,known as CfAFP-501 and CfAFP-337,show that both possess similar left-handed β-helical structure,although thermal hysteresis activity of the longer isoform CfAFP-501 is three times that of CfAFP-337. The markedly enhanced activity of CfAFP-501 is not proportional to,and cannot be simply accounted for,by the increased ice-binding site resulting from the two extra coils in CfAFP-501. In or-der to investigate the molecular basis for the activity difference and gain better understanding of AFPs in general,we have employed several different computational methods to systematically study the structural properties and ice interactions of the AFPs and their deletion models. In the context of intact AFPs,a majority of the coils in CfAFP-501 has better ice interaction and causes stronger ice lattice disruption than CfAFP-337,strongly suggesting a cooperative or synergistic effect among β-helical coils. The synergistic effect would play a critical role and make significant contributions to the anti-freeze activity β-helical antifreeze proteins. This is the first time that synergistic effect and its implica-tion for antifreeze activity are reported for β-helical antifreeze proteins.     

Ice-surface adsorption enhanced colligative effect of antifreeze proteins in ice growth inhibition

This Communication describes a mechanism to explain antifreeze protein's function to inhibit the growth of ice crystals. We propose that the adsorption of antifreeze protein (AFP) molecules on an ice surface induces a dense AFP-water layer, which can significantly decrease the mole fraction of the interfacial water and, thus, lower the temperature for a seed ice crystal to grow in a super-cooled AFP solution. This mechanism can also explain the nearly unchanged melting point for the ice crystal due to the AFP's ice-surface adsorption. A mathematical model combining the Langmuir theory of adsorption and the colligative effect of thermodynamics has been proposed to find the equilibrium constants of the ice-surface adsorptions, and the interfacial concentrations of AFPs through fitting the theoretical curves to the experimental thermal hysteresis data. This model has been demonstrated by using the experimental data of serial size-mutated beetle Tenebrio molitor (Tm) AFPs. It was found that the AFP's ice-surface adsorptions could increase the interfacial AFP's concentrations by 3 to 4 orders compared with those in the bulk AFP solutions.     

Interaction of Antifreeze Proteins with Hydrocarbon Hydrates

Recombinant antifreeze proteins (AFPs), representing a range of activities with respect to ice growth inhibition, were investigated for their abilities to control the crystal formation and growth of hydrocarbon hydrates. Three different AFPs were compared with two synthetic commercial inhibitors, poly‐N‐vinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and HIW85281, by using multiple approaches, which included gas uptake, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) temperature ramping, and DSC isothermal observations. A new method to assess the induction period before heterogeneous nucleation and subsequent hydrate crystal growth was developed and involved the dispersal of water in the pore space of silica gel beads. Although hydrate nucleation is a complex phenomenon, we have shown that it can now be carefully quantified. The presence of AFPs delayed crystallization events and showed hydrate growth inhibition that was superior to that of one of the benchmark commercial inhibitors, PVP. Nucleation and growth inhibition were shown to be independent processes, which indicates a difference in the mechanisms required for these two inhibitory actions. In addition, there was no apparent correlation between the assayed activities of the three AFPs toward hexagonal ice and the cubic structure II (sII) hydrate, which suggests that there are distinctive differences in the protein interactions with the two crystal surfaces.     

Applications of type I antifreeze proteins: studies with model membranes & cryoprotectant properties

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) and antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs), found in the body fluids of many species of polar fish allow them to survive in waters colder than the equilibrium freezing point of their blood and other internal fluids. Despite their structural diversity, all AF(G)Ps kinetically depress the temperature at which ice grows in a non-colligative manner and hence exhibit thermal hysteresis. AF(G)Ps also share the ability to interact with and protect mammalian cells and tissues from hypothermic damage (e.g., improved storage of human blood platelets at low temperatures), and are able to stabilize or disrupt membrane composition during low temperature and freezing stress (e.g., cryoprotectant properties in stabilization of sperm and oocytes). This review will summarize studies of AFPs with phospholipids and plant lipids, proposed mechanisms for inhibition of leakage from membranes, and cryoprotectant studies with biological samples. The major focus will be on the alpha-helical type I antifreeze proteins, and synthetic mutants, that have been most widely studied. For completeness, data on glycoproteins will also be presented. While a number of models to explain stabilization and destabilization of different lipid systems have been proposed, it is currently not possible to predict whether a particular AFP will stabilize or destabilize a given lipid system. Furthermore the relationship between the antifreeze property of thermal hysteresis and membrane stabilization is unknown. This lack of detailed knowledge about how AFPs function in the presence of different types of materials has hampered progress toward the development of antifreezes for cold storage of cells, tissues, and organs.     

Reversible binding of the HPLC6 isoform of type I antifreeze proteins to ice surfaces and the antifreeze mechanism studied by multiple quantum filtering-spin exchange NMR experiment

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) protect organisms from freezing damage by inhibiting the growth of seed-ice crystals. It has long been hypothesized that irreversible binding of AFPs to ice surfaces is responsible for inhibiting the growth of seed-ice crystals as such a mechanism supports the popularly accepted Kelvin effect for the explanation of local freezing-point depression. However, whether the binding is reversible or irreversible is still under debate due to the lack of direct experimental evidence. Here, we report the first direct experimental result, by using the newly developed multiple quantum (MQ) filtering-spin exchange NMR experiment, that shows that the binding of HPLC6 peptides to ice surfaces is reversible. It was found that the reversible process can be explained by the model of monolayer adsorption. These results suggest that the Kelvin effect is not suitable for explaining the antifreeze mechanism, and direct interactions between the peptides and the ice-surface binding sites are the driving forces for the binding of AFPs to ice surfaces. We propose that there exists a concentration gradient of AFP from an ice-binding surface to the solution due to the affinity of ice surfaces to AFPs. This concentration gradient creates a dense layer of AFP in contact with the ice-binding surface, which depresses the local freezing point because of the colligative property, but not the Kelvin effect.