Biomedical subjects

A Dér

Publications and source records attributed to A Dér.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Excitation of the L intermediate of bacteriorhodopsin: electric responses to test x-ray structures.

The L intermediate of bacteriorhodopsin was excited, and its electrical response was measured. Two positive components were found in it with respect to the direction of proton pumping: an unresolved fast component, and a slower one (tau=7 micros) of small amplitude. The fast component was assigned to a charge motion corresponding to reisomerization of the retinal moiety, whereas the slow one was attributed to charge rearrangements reestablishing the ground state. Because three x-ray crystallographic structures have recently been reported for the L intermediate, it seemed important to calculate the intramolecular dipole moment changes associated to bR-->L for all three structures, so as to compare them with similar quantities determined from the electrical signals. The results are discussed in terms of amino acid side chains possibly contributing to the observed effect. We propose to use electrical signals as a verification tool for intermediate structures of the photocycle, and thus for molecular models of proton pumping.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed2001

Buffer effects on electric signals of light-excited bacteriorhodopsin mutants.

The effects of glycyl-glycine and bis-trispropane buffers on the light-excited electric signals due to proton motion in the molecule were studied for the bacteriorhodopsin (bR) mutants D38R, D96N, E204Q, R227Q, D85N, D85T, R82Q/D85N, and D85N/D96N in purple membranes and for delipidated purple membrane containing the wild-type bR. The results show additional charge motion caused by the buffers in all cases. Arrhenius parameters calculated from the temperature dependence of the difference signals (with buffer minus without buffer) are similar to the parameters found for the wild-type bR in the case of these buffers: the values of the activation enthalpies are mostly in the range 25-50 kJ/mol; all the activation entropies are negative. The results are evaluated with the cluster hypothesis outlined previously.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

PubMed2001

Fluctuations and the Hofmeister effect.

The Hofmeister effect consists in changes of protein solubility triggered by neutral electrolyte cosolutes. Based on the assumption that salts cause stochastic fluctuations of the free energy barrier profiles, a kinetic theory of this phenomenon is proposed. An exponentially correlated noise, of amplitude proportional to the salt concentration, is added to each energy level, and the time-dependence of the mean protein concentration is calculated. It is found that the theory yields the well-known Setschenow equation if the noise correlation time is low in comparison to the aggregation time constant. Experimental data on salting-in agents are well fitted, whereas, in the case of salting-out cosolutes, two independent dichotomic fluctuations are needed to fit the data. This may result from the fact that, in both cases, the low-concentration regime is dominated by salting-in electrostatic contributions, whereas, at high salt concentrations, electron donor/acceptor interactions become important; these have opposite effects. The theory offers a novel way to metricate Hofmeister effects and also leads to thermodynamic quantities, which account for the influence of salts. The formalism may also be applied to describe kinetic phenomena in the presence of cosolutes.

Electrolytes↗

PubMed2001

Charge Motion during the Photocycle of Bacteriorhodopsin.

The function of bacteriorhodopsin in Halobacterium salinarum is to pump protons from the internal side of the plasma membrane to the external after light excitation, thereby building up electrochemical energy. This energy is transduced into biological energy forms. This review deals with one of the methods elaborated for recording the charge transfer inside the protein. In this method the current produced in oriented purple membrane containing bacteriorhodopsin is measured. It is shown that this method might be applied not only to correlate charge motion with the photocycle reactions but also for general problems like effect of water, electric field, and different ions and buffers for the functioning of proteins.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed2000

Buffer effects on electric signals of light-excited bacteriorhodopsin.

Buffers change the electric signals of light-excited bacteriorhodopsin molecules in purple membrane if their concentration and the pH of the low-salt solution are properly selected. "Positive" buffers produce a positive component, and "negative" buffers a negative component in addition to the signals due to proton pumping. Measurement of the buffer effects in the presence of glycyl-glycine or bis-tris propane revealed an increase of approximately 2 and a change of sign and a decrease to approximately -0.5 in the translocated charge in these cases, respectively. These factors do not depend on temperature. The Arrhenius parameters established from the evaluation of the kinetics indicate activation enthalpies of 35-40 kJ/mol and negative activation entropies for the additional signals. These values agree with those found by surface-bound pH-sensitive probes in the search of the timing of proton release and uptake. The electric signals were also measured in the case of D(2)O solutions with similar results, except for the increased lifetimes. We offer a unified explanation for the data obtained with surface-bound probes and electric signals based on the clusters at extracellular and cytoplasmic sites of bacteriorhodopsin participating in proton release and uptake.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed1999

Bleaching of bacteriorhodopsin by continuous light.

A new two step photobleaching process is observed under continuous illumination of bacteriorhodopsin. This photobleaching is considerable even at physiological temperatures and becomes large at 50-60 degrees C. The photobleaching also increases with increasing pH from 7 to 10. We suggest that the bleaching at its final stage could be due to the dissociation of the retinal and a local thermal denaturation-like process. These facts may question the generally held belief that BR is a stable protein in vivo for a long period of time. Our results may have relevance also to practical applications of bacteriorhodopsin where the stability of bacteriorhodopsin is a key issue. In certain instances, the use of bacteriorhodopsin may require cooled conditions. Here, we defined the conditions under which bacteriorhodopsin is stable. The permanent photobleaching offers a new way of picture imaging and information input for bacteriorhodopsin-based optical devices.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed1999

Interpretation of the spatial charge displacements in bacteriorhodopsin in terms of structural changes during the photocycle.

We have recently introduced a method, made possible by an improved orienting technique using a combination of electric and magnetic fields, that allows the three-dimensional detection of the intramolecular charge displacements during the photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin. This method generates electric asymmetry, a prerequisite for the detection of electric signal on the macroscopic sample, in all three spatial dimensions. Purple membrane fragments containing bacteriorhodopsin were oriented so that their permanent electric dipole moment vectors were perpendicular to the membrane plane and pointed in the same direction. The resulting cylindrical symmetry was broken by photoselection, i. e., by flash excitation with low intensity linearly polarized light. From the measured electric signals, the three-dimensional motion of the electric charge center in the bacteriorhodopsin molecules was calculated for the first 400 microseconds. Simultaneous absorption kinetic recording provided the time-dependent concentrations of the intermediates. Combining the two sets of data, we determined the discrete dipole moments of intermediates up to M. When compared with the results of current molecular dynamics calculations, the data provided a decisive experimental test for selecting the optimal theoretical model for the proton transport and should eventually lead to a full description of the mechanism of the bacteriorhodopsin proton pump.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed1998

Electric signals during the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle, determined over a wide pH range.

From the electric signals measured after photoexcitation, the electrogenicity of the photocycle intermediates of bacteriorhodopsin were determined in a pH range of 4.5-9. Current measurements and absorption kinetic signals at five wavelengths were recorded in the time interval from 300 ns to 0.5 s. To fit the data, the model containing sequential intermediates connected by reversible first-order reactions was used. The electrogenicities were calculated from the integral of the current signal, by using the time-dependent concentrations of the intermediates, obtained from the fits. Almost all of the calculated electrogenicities were pH independent, suggesting that the charge motions occur inside the protein. Only the N intermediate exhibited pH-dependent electrogenicity, implying that the protonation of Asp96, from the intracellular part of the protein, is not from a well-determined proton donor. The calculated electrogenicities gave good approximations of all of the details of the measured electric signals.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed1997

N-like intermediate in the photocycle of the acid purple form of bacteriorhodopsin.

The photocycle of the acid-purple form of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) was studied by multiwavelength absorption kinetic measurements. The data were evaluated using a new method based on the differences in the kinetics of the absorption changes at different wavelengths [Tokaji, Zs. (1995) FEBS Lett. 357, 156-160]. The evaluation indicates that, in contrast to the previous suggestion, the photocycle of the acid purple BR contains an intermediate that, in its spectral and kinetic properties, resembles the N intermediate of the alkaline BR photocycle.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed1996

Electrooptical measurements on purple membrane containing bacteriorhodopsin mutants.

Electrooptical measurements on purple membrane containing the wild-type and 10 different bacteriorhodopsin mutants have shown that the direction of the permanent electric dipole moment of all these membranes reverses at different pH values in the range 3.2-6.4. The induced dipole moment and the retinal angle exhibit an increased value at these pHs. The results demonstrate that the bacteriorhodopsin protein makes an important contribution to the electrooptical properties of the purple membrane.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

PubMed1995

Orientation of purple membrane in combined electric and magnetic fields.

The orientation of purple membrane in gels for photoelectric measurements is relatively poor, when they are prepared with the standard technique of applying a DC electric field and rapid polymerization. We have improved it by adding a high magnetic field (17.5 T) and increasing the viscosity of the membrane suspension. This process has resulted so far in a 3-fold increase of the photoelectric signals obtained. The magnetic susceptibility of purple membrane was determined.

Biophysics↗

PubMed1994

Photoinduced electric currents in carotenoid-deficient Chlamydomonas mutants reconstituted with retinal and its analogs.

Reconstitution of the photoelectric responses involved in photosensory transduction in "blind" cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii carotenoid-deficient mutants was studied by means of a recently developed population method. Both the photoreceptor current and the regenerative response can be restored by addition of all-trans-retinal, 9-demethyl-retinal, or dimethyl-octatrienal, while the retinal analogs prevented from 13-cis/trans isomerization, 13-demethyl-retinal and citral, are not effective. Fluence dependence, spectral sensitivity, and effect of hydroxylamine treatment on retinal-induced photoelectric responses are similar to those found earlier in green strains of Chlamydomonas, although an alternative mechanism of antenna directivity in white cells of reconstituted "blind" mutants (likely based on the focusing effect of the transparent cell bodies) leads to the reversed sign of phototaxis in mutant cells under the same conditions. The results obtained indicate that both photoreceptor current and regenerative response are initiated by the same or similar rhodopsins with arhaebacterial-like chromophore(s) and prove directly the earlier suggested identity of the photoreceptor pigment(s) involved in photomotile and photoelectric responses in flagellated algae.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Kinetic characterization of the EcaI methyltransferase.

A kinetic analysis of the EcaI adenine-N6-specific methyltransferase (MTase) is presented. The enzyme catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) to the adenine of the GGTNACC sequence with a random rapid-equilibrium mechanism. Experiments with a synthetic, 14-bp DNA substrate suggest that recognition of the specific site of DNA occurs after the binding of AdoMet. Proton concentration does not affect the dissociation constant of AdoMet while Vm and the dissociation constant of DNA show a maximum around pH 8. Increasing the amount of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine decreases the inhibitory effect of methylated DNA which proves the active role of AdoMet in site recognition. Experiments with hemimethylated DNA show that the methylase binds the double-stranded DNA asymmetrically.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Alternative translocation of protons and halide ions by bacteriorhodopsin.

Bacteriorhodopsin (bR568) in purple membrane near pH 2 shifts its absorption maximum from 568 to 605 nm forming the blue protein bRacid605, which no longer transports protons and which shows no transient deprotonation of the Schiff base upon illumination. Continued acid titration with HCl or HBr but not H2SO4 restores the purple chromophore to yield bRHCl564 or bRHBr568. These acid purple forms also regain transmembrane charge transport, but no transient Schiff base deprotonation is observed. In contrast to bR568, no rate decrease of the bRacidpurple transport kinetics is detected in 2H2O; however, the transport rate decreases by a factor of approximately 2 in bRHBr568 compared with bRHCl564. The data indicate that in the acid purple form bR transports the halide anions instead of protons. We present a testable model for the transport mechanism, which should also be applicable to halorhodopsin.

Anions↗

PubMed1986

Hydrogen evolution from dithionite and H2 photoproduction by hydrogenase incorporated into various hydrophobic matrices.

The effects of surfactants, lipids and amphiphilic viologen mediators on H2 production from dithionite as well as on Ru(bpy) sensitized H2 photoproduction by hydrogenase from Thiocapsa roseopersicina was studied. Three systems which differed as to the nature of the hydrophobic matrix around the hydrogenase were tested. An enhanced hydrogenase activity was observed in the presence of surfactants, in the 1-6 mM concentration range. Hydrogenase showed a selectivity for the amphiphilic viologens, 2C7-diCl was the most efficient electron mediator in both reactions. H2 photoproduction seemed not to be feasible in the detergent-hydrogenase system because of intensive foaming. Hydrogenase incorporated into liposomes catalyzed H2 photoevolution efficiently but the rate was decreasing in time, though reversibly. Using intact bacterial cells instead of purified hydrogenase yielded stable H2 photoevolution for at least 12 hours. This system offers several advantages for potential practical applications.

Cetrimonium↗

PubMed1985

Effect of enzyme concentration on apparent specific activity of hydrogenase.

The effect of enzyme concentration on the H2-uptake and H2-evolving activities of the reversible hydrogenase from Thiocapsa roseopersicina was examined. In the activity range assayed by a spectrophotometric technique the apparent H2-uptake specific activity varied greatly with hydrogenase concentration. Study of H2-evolving activity measured by the H2 electrode method and compared with a gas chromatographic assay also indicated that specific activity was highly dependent on enzyme concentration. The results indicate that the widely applied hydrogenase assays give systematically erroneous specific activity values. These assays should be used only for relative measurements and the hydrogenase concentration in the reaction mixture should be kept constant. To make the data from various laboratories comparable the assay parameters should be standardized.

Chromatiaceae↗

PubMed1985

Time-resolved photoelectric and absorption signals from oriented purple membranes immobilized in gel.

Kinetics of photoelectric and absorption response signals were measured on samples containing oriented purple membranes immobilized in polyacrylamide gel. The orientation and aggregation states of purple membranes remain constant independently of pH and ionic strength in such samples and the gel does not influence the proton pump. The 'gel method' described in this study enables direct investigation of proton pump of bacteriorhodopsin and a simultaneous measurement of absorption signals within a wide range of parameters of the solution surrounding purple membranes and offers possibilities for study of other types of membranes as well.

Acrylic Resins↗

PubMed1984

Long time stability of purple membranes from Halobacterium halobium.

The fast component of the electrical signal and the light absorption signals at different resolution times (at lambda = 408 nm) in an untreated purple membrane suspension were measured in order to study the stability of purple membrane fragments. It has been established that there is no change in the rate constants of L----M and M----O transitions of the photocycle in either the electrical or the light absorption signals of purple membrane suspension kept at 4 degrees C for up to 40 days. Moreover, also the amplitudes of the I (negative) and II (positive) components of the electrical signal remained unchanged during this period.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗