ABSTRACT
This paper describes the single channel properties of a series of synthetic analogues of gramicidin A, where all four tryptophans are replaced either by tyrosine or by several O-protected (benzyl, methyl, ethyl or t-butyl) derivatives. It is shown that, although all analogues bear similar dipole moment on their side-chains, the conductance depends on the hydrophobicity of these protecting groups. An analysis of the conductance data suggests that the conductance is governed by the binding process and a possible explanation, based on conformational considerations, is proposed.
Subject(s)
Gramicidin/chemistry , Tyrosine/chemistry , Amino Acid Sequence , Electric Conductivity , Ion Channels/chemistry , Ion Channels/physiology , Membrane Lipids/chemistry , Membrane Lipids/physiology , Membranes/chemistry , Membranes/physiology , Molecular Sequence Data , Structure-Activity Relationship , Tryptophan/chemistryABSTRACT
In order to elucidate the role of the aromatic side-chains in the mechanism of transduction of monovalent cations through the channel of linear gramicidin, two series of analogues containing non-coded aromatic amino acids were synthesized. In the first series, the four tryptophans were replaced by either four L-3-(8-quinolyl)alanyl or four L-3-(4-quinolyl)alanyl residues and single channel conductance measurements showed that these substitutions led to a strong lowering of the channel conductance, which is attributed to a modification of the orientation of the aromatic side-chains due to an increase of their hydrophobicity. In the second series, the analogues contained both tryptophyl and naphthylalanyl residues in various amounts and positions. The single channel conductance data indicated that the conductance was mainly governed by the number of polar residues (Trp) and not by their positions. The conformational consequences of these results are discussed together with their influence on the energy profile of the gramicidin channel.
Subject(s)
Gramicidin/chemistry , Gramicidin/metabolism , Ion Channels/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Alanine/analogs & derivatives , Alanine/metabolism , Cations, Monovalent/metabolism , Circular Dichroism , Lipid Bilayers/chemistry , Spectrum Analysis , Tryptophan/analogs & derivatives , Tryptophan/metabolismABSTRACT
Three different gramicidin A analogues bearing acyl chains of various length on the ethanolamine moiety have been studied by investigating their single channel behaviour and their monolayer properties. It is shown that the single channel conductance does not depend on the substitution of the ethanolamine OH group and that the channel lifetime is roughly proportional to the length of the alkyl chain. The monolayer study indicates that acylation of gramicidin A produces compounds which have medium-dependent conformations. These acylated compounds are miscible with lipids, while GA is not, and the surface potential is not modified by the esterification of the alcohol group.
