Die Molekulare Zusammensetzung von erstarrten Phosphor-Schwefel-Schmelzen und die Kristallstruktur von β-P4S6

The Molecular Composition of Solidified Phosphorus-Sulfur Melts and the Crystal Structure of β-P₄S₆ Phosphorus sulfur melts were annealed for one week at 673 K and then quenched in ice water. The solids were dissolved in CS₂ and the concentrations of phosphorus sulfides were determined by ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. Samples containing between 44 and 70 mol% sulfur dissolved completely in CS₂. Between 0 and 42 mol% remains an insoluble residue of red phosphorus. Above 72 mol% it consisted of sulfur chains linked by phosphorus atoms. The solutions contained mainly the congruently melting compounds P₄S₃, P₄S₇, and P₄S₁₀ having maximum concentrations at their stoichiometric compositions. Other compounds P₄S_n (n = 4–9) which decompose on heating, according to the phase diagram, were also found in surprisingly high concentrations. One of these was β-P₄S₆ which crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c with the lattice parameters a = 702.4(2), b = 1 205.6(2), c = 1 148.9(6) pm and β = 103.4(2)°. Reaction of white phosphorus with sulfur was also investigated. In contrast to the results of previous authors, who described the system P₄–S₈ below 373 K as eutectic, we found that the elements reacted below this temperature.     

Modeling the interactions of a peptide-major histocompatibility class I ligand with its receptors. I. Recognition by two αβ T cell receptors

A three-dimensional model of the complex between an Influenza Hemagglutinin peptide, Ha_255–262, and its restricting element, the mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, K^k, was built by homology modeling and subsequently refined by simulated annealing and restrained molecular dynamics. Next, three-dimensional models of two different T cell receptors (TCRs) both specific for the Ha_255–262/K^k complex were generated based on previously published TCR X-ray structures. Finally, guided by the recently published X-ray structures of ternary TCR/peptide/MHC-I complexes, the TCR models were successfully docked into the Ha_255–262/K^k model. We have previously used a systematic and exhaustive panel of 144 single amino acid substituted analogs to analyze both MHC binding and T cell recognition of the parental viral peptide. This large body of experimental data was used to evaluate the models. They were found to account well for the experimentally obtained data, lending considerable support to the proposed models and suggesting a universal docking mode for TCRs to MHC-peptide complexes. Such models may also be useful in guiding future rational experimentation.     

Analysis of Methylcitric Acid by Enantioselective Multidimensional Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Methylcitric acid (2-hydroxybutane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid–MCA) is a structural analogue of citric acid, but due to an additional methyl group it is a chiral molecule with two stereogenic centers and thus four stereoisomers are conceivable. MCA occurs naturally as prominent metabolite in body fluids of patients with inherited metabolic diseases such as propionic acidemia, methylmalonic aciduria, or holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency. Therefore methylcitric acid is considered to be an important diagnostic marker for these diseases. MCA is most likely produced from accumulated propionyl-CoA in these diseases by the enzyme si-citrate synthase from the citric acid cycle; however, there are other enzymes known which could catalyze the same reaction with different stereoselectivity, such as re-citrate synthase or the more specific enzyme methylcitrate synthase, found in microorganisms. Almost all methods dealing with MCA in the literature are non-enantioselective. For that reason there is no information about occurrence of MCA enantiomers in healthy people, patients with propionic acidemia, methylmalonic aciduria, or holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency and about value of enantiomeric distribution for diagnosis and long-term treatment. The enantioselective analysis of MCA as corresponding trimethyl ester was achieved by enantioselective multidimensional gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry using heptakis-(2,3-di-O-methyl-6-O-tert-butyl-dimethylsilyl)-β-cyclodextrin as chiral stationary phase. The described method allows a reliable screening of MCA in complex matrices like urine without time consuming sample preparation and with mass selective detection. During this investigation urine samples from various patients and healthy controls were analyzed. As concluded, MCA is a good diagnostic marker and can be easily measured by the method presented. Only the two stereoisomers (2S,3R) and (2S,3S) were detectable in patients and healthy controls. The varying ratios of these stereoisomers cannot presently be correlated with the health status of patients, although there are some indications that this might be possible. However, the quantitative levels of MCA, determined as the ratio of MCA absolute peak area divided by 1,000 to the creatinine contents of urine samples in this investigation, showed a dependence on the state of health and MCA would thus also be a possible marker for long-term treatment. Such a substance is of major interest nowadays since there are different studies searching for such a long-term marker in propionic acidemia or methylmalonic aciduria.     

Unwinding of the C‐Terminal Residues of Neuropeptide Y is critical for Y2 Receptor Binding and Activation

Despite recent breakthroughs in the structural characterization of G‐protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs), there is only sparse data on how GPCRs recognize larger peptide ligands. NMR spectroscopy, molecular modeling, and double‐cycle mutagenesis studies were integrated to obtain a structural model of the peptide hormone neuropeptide Y (NPY) bound to its human G‐protein‐coupled Y₂ receptor (Y₂R). Solid‐state NMR measurements of specific isotope‐labeled NPY in complex with in vitro folded Y₂R reconstituted into phospholipid bicelles provided the bioactive structure of the peptide. Guided by solution NMR experiments, it could be shown that the ligand is tethered to the second extracellular loop by hydrophobic contacts. The C‐terminal α‐helix of NPY, which is formed in a membrane environment in the absence of the receptor, is unwound starting at T³² to provide optimal contacts in a deep binding pocket within the transmembrane bundle of the Y₂R.