Structural studies of an oligodeoxynucleotide containing a trimethylene interstrand cross-link in a 5'-(CpG) motif: model of a malondialdehyde cross-link.

Malondialdehyde (MDA), a known mutagen and suspected carcinogen, is a product of lipid peroxidation and byproduct of eicosanoid biosynthesis. MDA can react with DNA to generate potentially mutagenic adducts on adenine, cytosine, and particularly guanine. In addition, repair-dependent frame shift mutations in a GCGCGC region of Salmonella typhimurium hisD3052 have been attributed to formation of interstrand cross-links (Mukai, F. H. and Goldstein, B. D. Science 1976, 191, 868--869). The cross-linked species is unstable and has never been characterized but has been postulated to be a bis-imino linkage between N(2) positions of guanines. An analogous linkage has now been investigated as a stable surrogate using the self-complementary oligodeoxynucleotide sequence 5'-d(AGGCG*CCT)(2,) in which G* represents guanines linked via a trimethylene chain between N(2) positions. The solution structure, obtained by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics using a simulated annealing protocol, revealed the cross-link only minimally distorts duplex structure in the region of the cross-link. The tether is accommodated by partially unwinding the duplex at the lesion site to produce a bulge and tipping the guanine residues; the two guanines and the tether attain a nearly planar conformation. This distortion did not result in significant bending of the DNA, a result which was confirmed by gel electrophoresis studies of multimers of a 21-mer duplex containing the cross-link.     

Sub-additive ergodic theorems for countable amenable groups

In this paper we generalize Kingman's sub-additive ergodic theorem to a large class of infinite countable discrete amenable group actions.     

Optimization of butyltin measurements for seawater,tissue, and marine sediment samples

Optimized techniques for measuring butyltins at the sub-part-per-trillion (ppb; 1:10¹²) level in seawater and at the part-per-billion (ppb; 1:10⁹) level in tissues and sediments are presented. Purge and trap/hydride derivatization followed by atomic absorption (AA) detection was optimized to give better sensitivity than was previously attained for seawater, yielding environmental detection limits of 0.08–0.2 ng dm^?3. Improvement in precision and reproducibility in measurement of butyltins in tissues and sediments was attained by adjustment of the concentration in an organic extract to minimize matrix effects and by use of internal standards. The tissues and sediments were homogenized and extracted with methylene chloride (CH₂Cl₂) after acidification. The butyltins in the organic layer were derivatized with hexylmagnesium bromide and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with a flame photometric detector (FPD). The absolute detection limits in tissues and sedimets were 0.1 ng for tributyltin (TBT), 0.12 ng for dibutyltin (DBT) and 0.29 ng for monobutyltin (MBT).     

The mass spectra of ω-amino acid derivatives. The role of ω-activation in production of ions upon electron-impact

The mass spectra of a series of N-phthaloyl and N-trifluoroacetyl derivatives of ω-amino acids ranging from 3-aminopropionic acid to 6-aminohexanoic acid were determined. Ions of significant intensity resulting from the loss of neutral fragments from precursor ions were observed. Deuterium labeling studies indicate the initial fragmentation loss of a neutral molecule; i.e. the loss of water from the molecular ion involves ω-hydrogen loss from the alkyl chain. A fragmentation scheme consistent with metastable, high resolution and deuterium labeling data is presented.     

Enantiomer-specific binding of ruthenium(II) molecular wires by the amine oxidase of Arthrobacter globiformis

The copper amine oxidase from Arthrobacter globiformis (AGAO) is reversibly inhibited by molecular wires comprising a Ru(II) complex head group and an aromatic tail group joined by an alkane linker. The crystal structures of a series of Ru(II)-wire-AGAO complexes differing with respect to the length of the alkane linker have been determined. All wires lie in the AGAO active-site channel, with their aromatic tail group in contact with the trihydroxyphenylalanine quinone (TPQ) cofactor of the enzyme. The TPQ cofactor is consistently in its active ("off-Cu") conformation, and the side chain of the so-called "gate" residue Tyr296 is consistently in the "gate-open" conformation. Among the wires tested, the most stable complex is produced when the wire has a -(CH2)4- linker. In this complex, the Ru(II)(phen)(bpy)2 head group is level with the protein molecular surface. Crystal structures of AGAO in complex with optically pure forms of the C4 wire show that the linker and head group in the two enantiomers occupy slightly different positions in the active-site channel. Both the Lambda and Delta isomers are effective competitive inhibitors of amine oxidation. Remarkably, inhibition by the C4 wire shows a high degree of selectivity for AGAO in comparison with other copper-containing amine oxidases.     

Spectroscopic, computational, and kinetic studies of the mu4-sulfide-bridged tetranuclear CuZ cluster in N2O reductase: pH effect on the edge ligand and its contribution to reactivity

A combination of spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations has been used to evaluate the pH effect at the CuZ site in Pseudomonas nautica (Pn) nitrous oxide reductase (N2OR) and Achromobacter cycloclastes (Ac) N2OR and its relevance to catalysis. Absorption, magnetic circular dichroism, and electron paramagnetic resonance with sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectra of the enzymes at high and low pH show minor changes. However, resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopy of PnN2OR at high pH shows that the 415 cm-1 Cu-S vibration (observed at low pH) shifts to higher frequency, loses intensity, and obtains a 9 cm-1 18O shift, implying significant Cu-O character, demonstrating the presence of a OH- ligand at the CuICuIV edge. From DFT calculations, protonation of either the OH- to H2O or the mu4-S2- to mu4-SH- would produce large spectral changes which are not observed. Alternatively, DFT calculations including a lysine residue at an H-bonding distance from the CuICuIV edge ligand show that the position of the OH- ligand depends on the protonation state of the lysine. This would change the coupling of the Cu-(OH) stretch with the Cu-S stretch, as observed in the rR spectrum. Thus, the observed pH effect (pKa approximately 9.2) likely reflects protonation equilibrium of the lysine residue, which would both raise E degrees and provide a proton for lowering the barrier for the N-O cleavage and for reduction of the [Cu4S(im)7OH]2+ to the fully reduced 4CuI active form for turnover.     

Nitrite oxidation in ion chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (IC-ESI-MS/MS)

Nitrite anions are formed in the human body and in the natural environment as intermediate chemical compounds during the reduction of nitrate, a ubiquitous anthropogenic contaminant introduced into the environment primarily through fertilizer use. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in ion chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (IC-ESI-MS/MS) is a promising new technique for quantifying and confirming the identity of anions in complex aqueous mixtures. In this article, we present the results of a short investigation devised to: (1) compare the signal generated by the MRM transitions for nitrite with those for nitrate, (2) isolate the source of the signal from these MRM transitions occurring within the IC-ESI-MS/MS instrument and (3) assess the relationship between the observed MRM signals for nitrite. The MRM transitions used in this study were m/z 62 (NO(3)(-))→m/z 46 (NO(2)(-)) and m/z 46 (NO(2)(-))→m/z 46 (NO(2)(-)). Results of the investigation revealed the association of both MRM transitions with the nitrite chromatographic peak, indicating the occurrence of nitrite oxidation to nitrate at the ESI interface before the first quadrupole. Calibrations for both MRM signals, as well as their sum, were found to be linear. However, the ratio of m/z 62→m/z 46 to m/z 46→m/z 46 (indicating an extent of oxidation) ranged from 35 to 56% over a nitrite concentration range of 10 to 100 ppm, showing no clear trend associated with concentration.     

Role of the Tyr-Cys cross-link to the active site properties of galactose oxidase

The catalytically relevant, oxidized state of the active site [Cu(II)-Y·-C] of galactose oxidase (GO) is composed of antiferromagnetically coupled Cu(II) and a post-translationally generated Tyr-Cys radical cofactor [Y·-C]. The thioether bond of the Tyr-Cys cross-link has been shown experimentally to affect the stability, the reduction potential, and the catalytic efficiency of the GO active site. However, the origin of these structural and energetic effects on the GO active site has not yet been investigated in detail. Here we present copper and sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption data and a systematic computational approach for evaluating the role of the Tyr-Cys cross-link in GO. The sulfur contribution of the Tyr-Cys cross-link to the redox active orbital is estimated from sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectra of oxidized GO to be about 24 ± 3%, compared to the values from computational models of apo-GO (15%) and holo-GO (22%). The results for the apo-GO computational models are in good agreement with the previously reported value for apo-GO (20 ± 3% from EPR). Surprisingly, the Tyr-Cys cross-link has only a minimal effect on the inner sphere, coordination geometry of the Cu site in the holo-protein. Its effect on the electronic structure is more striking as it facilitates the delocalization of the redox active orbital onto the thioether sulfur derived from Cys, thereby reducing the spin coupling between the [Y·-C] radical and the Cu(II) center (752 cm(-1)) relative to the unsubstituted [Y·] radical and the Cu(II) center (2210 cm(-1)). Energetically, the Tyr-Cys cross-link lowers the reduction potential by about 75 mV (calculated) allowing a more facile oxidation of the holo active site versus the site without the cross-link. Overall, the Tyr-Cys cross-link confers unique ground state properties on the GO active site that tunes its function in a remarkably nuanced fashion.     

Comparison of 1H–19F two‐dimensional NMR scalar coupling correlation pulse sequences

The effectiveness of hetero‐COSY, HETCOR, HMQC, and HSQC two‐dimensional NMR pulse sequences for detection of ¹⁹F–¹H correlations by scalar coupling was evaluated on monofluorinated and polyfluorinated test compounds. All four of these sequences were effective in observing ¹H–¹⁹F correlations, using either ¹⁹F or ¹H as the observe nucleus. All four sequences were amenable, to some degree, to adjustment to observe larger or smaller couplings preferentially. A 1/2J echo filter was effectively applied to remove artifacts from ²J_FF strong coupling. The HETCOR experiments afforded the best overall combination of sensitivity, resolution and selectivity for J_HF. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.