REFINED CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF INSULIN AT 1.8A RESOLUTION——HYDROGEN BONDS AND BOUND WATER

The hydrogen bonds in insulin fall into three cases: the helical hydrogen bonds in α- or 3_(10)helices, the non-helical one formed by polar groups of insulin itself, and the hydrogen bondsformed between insulin and water. By using the information obtained, the results of a seriesof biochemical investigations on insulin analogs related to B-chain C-terminal peptide can beinterpreted and it can also be inferred that the complex behaviours of the aggregation ofinsulin may play a protective role for the unique conformation of the molecule. Water structure also appears in the refined model. About one third of the water in anasymmetric unit is hydrogen-bonded to insulin molecules or each other, which are referred toas bound water. The polar and charged groups of insulin all show the tendencies to bind towater molecules as many as possible, which is a significant factor for the stabilization of theunique conformation of the molecule. The binding way of water molecules to insulin mole-cules is also analysed.