Biomedical subjects

R V Dunn

Publications and source records attributed to R V Dunn.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Enzyme activity and flexibility at very low hydration.

Recent measurements have demonstrated enzyme activity at hydrations as low as 3%. This raises the question of whether hydration-induced enzyme flexibility is important for activity. Here, to address this, picosecond dynamic neutron scattering experiments are performed on pig liver esterase powders at 0%, 3%, 12%, and 50% hydration by weight and at temperatures ranging from 120 to 300 K. At all temperatures and hydrations, significant quasielastic scattering intensity is found in the protein, indicating the presence of anharmonic, diffusive motion. As the hydration increases, a temperature-dependent dynamical transition appears and strengthens involving additional diffusive motion. The implication of these results is that, although the additional hydration-induced diffusive motion in the protein detected here may be related to increased activity, it is not required for the enzyme to function.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

The role of dynamics in enzyme activity.

Although protein function is thought to depend on flexibility, precisely how the dynamics of the molecule and its environment contribute to catalytic mechanisms is unclear. We review experimental and computational work relating to enzyme dynamics and function, including the role of solvent. The evidence suggests that fast motions on the 100 ps timescale, and any motions coupled to these, are not required for enzyme function. Proteins where the function is electron transfer, proton tunneling, or ligand binding may have different dynamical dependencies from those for enzymes, and enzymes with large turnover numbers may have different dynamical dependencies from those that turn over more slowly. The timescale differences between the fastest anharmonic fluctuations and the barrier-crossing rate point to the need to develop methods to resolve the range of motions present in enzymes on different time- and lengthscales.

Catalysis↗

PubMed2000

Enzyme activity down to -100 degrees C.

The activities of two enzymes, beef liver catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) and calf intestine alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1), have been measured down to -97 degrees C and -100 degrees C, respectively. Enzyme activity has not previously been measured at such low temperatures. For catalase, the cryosolvents used were methanol:ethylene glycol:water (70:10:20) and DMSO:ethylene glycol:water (60:20:20). For alkaline phosphatase, methanol:ethylene glycol:water (70:10:20) was used. All of the Arrhenius plots were linear over the whole of the temperature range examined. Since the lowest temperatures at which activity was measured are well below the dynamic transition observed for proteins, the results indicate that the motions which cease below the dynamic transition are not essential for enzyme activity. In all cases the use of cryosolvent led to substantial increases in Arrhenius activation energies, and this imposed practical limitations on the measurement of enzyme activity below -100 degrees C. At even lower temperatures, enzyme activity may be limited by the effect of solvent fluidity on substrate/product diffusion, but overall there is no evidence that any intrinsic enzyme property imposes a lower temperature limit for enzyme activity.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

PubMed2000

Enzyme activity and dynamics: xylanase activity in the absence of fast anharmonic dynamics.

The activity and dynamics of a simple, single subunit enzyme, the xylanase from Thermotoga maritima strain Fj SS3B.1 have been measured under similar conditions, from -70 to +10 degrees C. The internal motions of the enzyme, as evidenced by neutron scattering, undergo a sharp transition within this temperature range; they show no evidence for picosecond-timescale anharmonic behaviour (e.g. local diffusive motions or jumps between alternative conformations) at temperatures below -50 degrees C, whereas these motions are strongly activated at higher temperatures. The activity follows Arrhenius behaviour over the whole of the temperature range investigated, -70 to +10 degrees C. The results indicate that a temperature range exists over which the enzyme rate-limiting step is independent of fast anharmonic dynamics.

Enzyme Activation↗