Foundations of

Chemical Biology
C. MI. Dobson
Department of Chemistry,University of Cambridge

J. A. Gerrard
Department of Plant and Microbial Sciences,Universityof Canterbury,
Christchurch, N e w Zealand

A. J. Pratt
Department of Chemistry, University of Canterbury,
Christchurch, N e w Zealand

OXlFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
 OXFORD
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0 C. M. Dobson, J. A. Gerrard, and A. J. Pratt, 2001
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Series Editor’s Foreword
Huge progress towards the understanding of biological systems and
processes continues to be made through the application of the principles
and techniques of organic chemistry. As a result, chemical biology now
forms part of organic chemistry and biochemistry courses at University.
This Oxford Chemistry Primer provides a concise introduction to chem-
ical biology for chemistry and biochemistry students at the start of their
University apprenticeships, and will serve to stimulate and excite their
interest in this important area of science where chemistry overlaps with
biology. As with other ‘Foundation’ Chemistry Primers this primer will
also be of interest to young people studying chemistry or biology in their
final year at school or college and their teachers.

Professor Stephen G. Davies

The Dyson Perrins Laboratory
University of Oxford

Preface

Chemical biology is a subject born out of a desire to understand the Chemical biology is a subject in
molecular basis of life. What are the molecules found in cells? How do which the principles of chemistry
are applied to understand the
their intrinsic properties equip them to perform all the complex processes function of biological
found in living systems? This book introduces the fundamental chemistry in their cellular environment.
of the molecules that are essential to all cells. The molecules we discuss
include amino acids and sugar phosphate derivatives, and the macro-
molecules derived from them (proteins and nucleic acids, respectively),
and the phospholipids and their derivatives that form the basis of bio-
The solution of research
logical membranes. In such a short text, it is not possible to provide a problems in chemical biology is
comprehensive account Of the chemistry Of these mOleCUleS; instead, this the basis bv which the subiect
book attempts to introduce important concepts concerning their intrinsic develops. ?his type of research is
chemistry. The aim is to provide the fundamental ideas relating to the leading both to an increased
Of the
chemistry of life that can then be applied in due course to more advanced
basis of life, and to exciting new
aspects of chemical biology. applications of chemistry in
This book developed from a course of lectures and classes that the three subjects such as medicine and
of us taught together for several years to undergraduate chemists and materials science.
Series Editor’s Foreword
Huge progress towards the understanding of biological systems and
processes continues to be made through the application of the principles
and techniques of organic chemistry. As a result, chemical biology now
forms part of organic chemistry and biochemistry courses at University.
This Oxford Chemistry Primer provides a concise introduction to chem-
ical biology for chemistry and biochemistry students at the start of their
University apprenticeships, and will serve to stimulate and excite their
interest in this important area of science where chemistry overlaps with
biology. As with other ‘Foundation’ Chemistry Primers this primer will
also be of interest to young people studying chemistry or biology in their
final year at school or college and their teachers.

Professor Stephen G. Davies

The Dyson Perrins Laboratory
University of Oxford

Preface

Chemical biology is a subject born out of a desire to understand the Chemical biology is a subject in
molecular basis of life. What are the molecules found in cells? How do which the principles of chemistry
are applied to understand the
their intrinsic properties equip them to perform all the complex processes function of biological
found in living systems? This book introduces the fundamental chemistry in their cellular environment.
of the molecules that are essential to all cells. The molecules we discuss
include amino acids and sugar phosphate derivatives, and the macro-
molecules derived from them (proteins and nucleic acids, respectively),
and the phospholipids and their derivatives that form the basis of bio-
The solution of research
logical membranes. In such a short text, it is not possible to provide a problems in chemical biology is
comprehensive account Of the chemistry Of these mOleCUleS; instead, this the basis bv which the subiect
book attempts to introduce important concepts concerning their intrinsic develops. ?his type of research is
chemistry. The aim is to provide the fundamental ideas relating to the leading both to an increased
Of the
chemistry of life that can then be applied in due course to more advanced
basis of life, and to exciting new
aspects of chemical biology. applications of chemistry in
This book developed from a course of lectures and classes that the three subjects such as medicine and
of us taught together for several years to undergraduate chemists and materials science.
iv Preface

biochemists at the University of Oxford. It was our students on this

course, and a group of graduates and post-doctoral research assistants
This book uses specific case
who acted as their mentors, inspired this book. They, and many others
studies to illustrate key features of who have been exposed to parts of this material, have provided invaluable
chemical biology. It is impossible feedback for which we are very grateful.
to acknowledge all the scientists We should also like to take the opportunity to thank specifically our
who have contributed to these colleagues who have provided detailed assistance in the production of the
studies, but they are the other
inspiration of this book. Special
final version of book: Lorna Smith and Phillip Rendle were of great help
mention should, however, be in producing some of the diagrams involving macromolecular structures;
made of the pioneering research Jack Heinemann kindly helped us avoid errors of genetics in Chapter 9;
on globins by Max Perutz and and Peter Steel provided wise advice on organic chemistry. The input of
colleagues which forms the basis Ashley Sparrow and Claire Vallance, who criticized earlier drafts of the
of much of Chapter 4; and of the
research onTlM by Jeremy
whole book from the perspective of non-specialists, was especially useful.
Knowles and colleagues which is The errors that remain are, of course, solely our responsibility. A. J. P.
highlighted in Chapter 5. gratefully acknowledges funding from the University of Canterbury in the
The depictions of three-dimen- form of an Erskine Fellowship and study leave. Without such generous
sional protein structures were support, this book would have had an even more prolonged gestation
produced using the program
‘Molscript’ (P. J. Kraulis (1991)
period.
Journal of Applied Crystal-
lography, 24, pp. 946-50). Cambridge C. M. D.
Christchzkrch J. A. G.
July 2001 A. J. P.
 ontents
1 The chemicals of biological systems 1
2 Introduction to amino acids and proteins 7
3 The structures of proteins 19
4 From structure to metabolic function: the globins 29
5 Proteins as catalysts 39
6 Sugars and phosphates: an introduction 51
7 Metabolism and the biochemistry of glucose 59
8 Lipids: cells as compartments 69
9 Genetic information: nucleotides and nucleic acids 77
10 Epilogue: where to from here? 93
Index 95
1 The chemicals of
bioIogical systems

1.1 Introduction
This book is concerned with the chemistry taking place in the cells of living
organisms. Cells consist of a semipermeable membrane enclosing an
aqueous solution rich in a diverse range of chemicals (Fig. 1.1). To the
chemist, cells are, in essence, sophisticated machines that undertake a wide
range of chemistry in an organized fashion. Cells have the potential to
grow, replicate and produce closely related daughter cells, thereby
handing down their controlled chemistry to the next generation. These
remarkable characteristics all emerge from the chemical properties of the
constituent molecules of cells.
The chemicals present in cells appear to have been selected by the
Figure 1.1 illustrates some gross
processes of evolution for their chemical utility. The aim of this text is to
features of a typical prokaryotic
show that many cellular processes can be understood in simple molecular cell-a cell lacking a nucleus. All
terms. Although many biochemical molecules have complex structures, bacteria are prokaryotes,
their biological properties can often be rationalized in terms of rather whereas all complex multicellular
simple chemistry. A comprehensive account of the chemistry of biological organisms such as plants and
animals, as well as many
systems is not the objective of this book; instead, a series of examples will
unicellular species, are
be used to exemplify many of the principles that are important for eukaryotes-their cells have a
understanding the chemistry of cells. nucleus which houses DNA.
Eukaryotic cells are rather more
Cytosokan aqueous solution of Ribosome-an assembly complex in structure and function;
water-soluble inorganic ions, e.g. K+ of polymers (proteins and for mechanical strength they may
and CI-; small water-soluble organic RNA) which catalyses f/age//un+-molecular utilize an internal skeleton in
compounds, e.g. sugars and amino the production of proteins, ;machine to propel addition to, or instead of, an
acids; and water-soluble organic --‘\ essential to all bacteria, built from external cell wall; and they
polymers, e.g. proteins and nucleic, ’’ aspects of life \ \,fibrous proteins
contain a range of discrete
acids I I I \
internal compartments. Although
the detailed workings of
prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
,-organic compounds, 1 are different, the types of
lipids, of low solubility# chemicals present, and the
in water, associated factors affecting their location,
with water-insoluble are similar: lipids, and other
organic polymer proteins, provide a
molecules with non-
of high mechanical I semipermeable barrier
strength D N A - a n organic polymer, acts to the surroundings
polar surfaces, are found in
as the genetic information store membranes; and polar entities
such as sugars and amino acids
Fig. 1.1 A chemist’s schematic view of a bacterial cell. are retained in aqueous solution.
2 The chemicals of biological systems

1.2 The elemental composition of cells

The contents of cells are related to, although different from, the chemical
composition of their external environment. It is possible to rationalize
After C, H,N and 0, the other the similarities and differences between cells and their environment in
elements important, or essential, molecular terms. The use of particular chemicals by biology is related to
to life are B, Ca, CI, Co, Cu, Fe, K, their availability (now and in the past) and their chemical utility. The
Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, S, Se, Si
and Zn.
chemistry of cells is dominated by compounds made up of a small
number of elements. For example, 99 per cent of the atoms are of four
The composition of sea water has elements: hydrogen (62.8 per cent); oxygen (25.4 per cent); carbon (9.4
also been modified during the
course of life on earth. The
per cent) and nitrogen (1.4 per cent). This fact reflects the predominant
co-evolution of life and the earth role of water in cells. Indeed, as can be seen from Fig. 1.2, the compo-
form the basis of the ‘Gaia’ sition of cells is related to the composition of sea water: in general,
hypothesis that has been put elements abundant in sea water are abundant in cells and vice versa. This
forward and discussed by James is presumably because chemicals present in sea water were available
Lovelock.
during evolution. For example, as in sea water, many inorganic ions such
Elements which are abundant in as sodium, potassium and chloride are present at high levels in cells. The
the earth’s crust, e.g. Al (8.2 per composition of sea water, in turn, reflects the chemicals available at the
cent of the atoms) and Si (28 per
cent of the atoms), but which are
surface of the earth, modified by their water solubility.
not readily soluble, are present at The way in which the composition of cells differs from that of sea water
only low levels in sea water and sheds light on the chemistry of life. All cells must concentrate and retain
often only present at low levels in foodstuffs and other essential chemicals. Cells must also discard unwanted
cells (Fig. 1.2). chemicals into the environment. Some chemicals plentiful within cells are
For elements lying close to the absent, or present at lower Ievels, in the sea. These chemicals are enriched
diagonal line in Fig. 1.2, the in cells because of their chemical utility. In Fig. 1.2 the elements which are
average concentration found in enriched in cells appear above the diagonal line, e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus
the human body is comparable
with that found in sea water.
and iron.
Iron is an example of an element
more plentiful within cells than in
the oceans. Iron carries out a
diverse range of chemistry that is
ON
indispensable to cells. For over a OP
half of the 4.5 billion years of the
earth’s existence, its surface
environment is believed to have
been more highly reducing than at
present. In particular, oxygen is
thought to have accumulated to
significant levels only about 2
billion years ago. Before the
accumulation of oxygen, much of
the iron on the surface of the
earth was present as moderately
soluble iron (11) salts. Once
oxygen accumulated, however,
more iron became trapped as iron
(111) hydroxide that is very
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
insoluble. As the availability of
iron decreased, organisms Log [element] in sea water (concentrationin parts perlolo)
evolved the ability to concentrate
this element from their Fig. 1.2 Comparison of the concentrations of elements in the human body and in
environment. sea water.
 Foundations of chemical biology 3
Tablel.1 Approximate chemical
1.3 The molecules present in cells composition of a typical cell.
Many different organic compounds are found in cells. The interconver- ~

Per cent of total

sion of organic compounds is critical to the functioning of a cell-it cell weight
provides both the chemical energy required to fuel the cell's activities and
the materials needed by the cell to construct other molecular species. The Water 70
reactions of chemicals within cells are collectively known as metabolism inorganic ions 1
Sugars 3
and so these organic compounds are known as metabolites. Amino acids 0.5
Some of the small organic metabolites are used as building blocks of Nucleotides 0.5
polymers synthesized and used by cells. These polymers include proteins, Lipids 2
constructed from amino acids, and nucleic acids, which are derived from Macro- 22
sugars and phosphate ions in combination with another class of organic molecules
compound, the heterocyclic bases. The properties of these polymers are
one of the most distinctive chemical features of living cells.
Life is inextricably linked with water. The interior of a cell is an aqueous
Hydrogen bonding results from an
solution, rich in a variety of chemicals including simple inorganic species electrostatic attraction between
such as salts, small organic molecules, and a range of polymers derived an electron-deficient hydrogen
from these molecules. This solution of water-soluble chemicals is enclosed atom and an electron-rich centre.
by membranes comprised of molecules not freely soluble in water. The When hydrogen is attached to an
electronegative element, it
interaction of cellular molecules with water is crucial in determining their
becomes relatively positive and
biological properties and provides a focus for much of this book. can interact favourably with
relatively negative centres.
For example, in water:
1.4 The importance of water
Because of their non-polar nature, most organic compounds cannot form 0 is more electronegative
than H, resulting in a dipole
hydrogen bonds with water molecules and so do not dissolve in aqueous I
solutions. Alkanes, for example, are immiscible with water and float on top
of it. This arrangement minimizes the surface area of the organic com-
pound in contact with water, leaving the water molecules free to hydrogen
bond with each other. Molecules that have a very highly non-polar surface
are relatively rare in biochemistry. Fats, e.g. triglycerides, are of this type hydrogen bond due to
electrostatic attraction
(Fig. 1.3); they are immiscible with water and segregate themselves from
the aqueous environment. Molecules, and portions of molecules, which 'Hydrophobic' is derived from the
prefer to avoid contact with water are termed hydrophobic. Greek words 'hydro' for water and
The only organic compounds freely soluble in water bear polar groups 'phobic' for fearing.
on the carbon framework which can hydrogen bond with water. Hydroxyl
groups fall into this category. Sugars, such as glucose, dissolve in water by
virtue of the hydroxyl groups attached to the carbon framework (Fig. 1.4).
Functional groups that interact favourably with water are termed
hydrophilic.
Hydroxyl groups can
hydrogen bond
0 effectively with water

Fig.1.4 Glucose: an example of

a water-solu ble biochemical
H'C - O-~-CH2CH,CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH,CH,CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 molecule.
H2C( p
0- C-CH2CH2CH2CH2CH&H2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH,CH2CH2CH2CH3 'Hydrophilic' is derived from the
Greek words 'hydro' for water and
Fig. 1.3 A triglyceride: a water-insoluble biochemical molecule. 'philic' for loving.
4 The chemicals of biological systems

The interaction of compounds + HC

with water is an equilibrium H 0 w N H 2 f
+ k------- \
phenomenon. It can be related to
Gibbs free energy changes (AG); Ethanolamine
I
these, in turn, have enthalpy (AH) - H+ k--, I

and entropy (AS)components:

CH3CO2H f b
CH3CO; '\ ._Hydrogen bonding
AG = AH - TAS
where Tis the temperature. AH is
a measure of changes in heat Glycine w
Under physiological conditions these equilibria
associated with a process,
lie to the right; charged forms predominate
whereas AS is a measure of
changes of the degree of Fig. 1.5 Representative water-soluble organic ions.
disorder of a system. Favourable
processes involve an overall Many inorganic salts are soluble in water. Likewise, the introduction of
decrease in free energy
(AG< 0) because of either
charge into organic molecules enhances hydrophilicity. Charge arises in
the liberation of heat ( A H <0) organic molecules primarily via acid-base chemistry, e.g. the protonation
or an increase in disorder, of amines to form ammonium salts. As examples (Fig. 1.5), ethanolamine,
(AS> 0) or both. a biochemically important amine, is protonated at neutral pH, while acetic
(ethanoic) acid is deprotonated. Both are charged at normal physiological
Dispersing a non-polar organic pH. By analogy, amino acids, such as glycine, contain two opposite
compound in water would force charges under the conditions found in cells.
the water to adopt a more The interactions of molecules with water are crucial in determining their
ordered structure in an effort to biological functions. These interactions, in turn, are determined by the
retain as much hydrogen bonding type, number and distribution of polar functional groups over the non-
as possible. Segregation of the
organic compounds from water polar hydrocarbon backbone of a molecule.
minimizes this unfavourable
entropy effect.
1.5 Ordered molecular structures in biology
Phosphates are another A key feature of many important biochemical molecules is that they adopt
important class of ionic functional ordered structures. This ordering is the basis of their biological function.
group found in many metabolites. Two classes of ordering are highlighted in this text: the organized linking
These deprotonated forms of
phosphoric acids also hydrogen of monomers to form polymers, and the formation of ordered three-
bond readily with water. They are dimensional structures by some classes of biological molecule when they
discussed extensively in the latter come into contact with water.
half of the book. In biological polymers derived from a family of monomer units (notably
proteins and nucleic acids) the monomers are covalently linked in a specific
Figure 1.6 illustrates a single order in the final polymer chain, as illustrated schematically in Fig. 1.6.
tetramer, ABCD, formed from four Organic molecules, whether small or large, which contain both hydro-
distinct monomer units. There are phobic and hydrophilic portions, have the potential to adopt
a total of 24 possible tetramers
derived from combining a set of ordered structures in water. There is a driving force for such molecules to
four different monomers
(4x 3 x 2 x 1 =24). Up to 256
tetramers (i.e.
4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 256) are possible
if any combination of such a
family of monomers may be
88g-m
A family of related monomers can be
polymerization
Controlled
Polymer with we//-defined
sequence of monomers
employed, corresponding linked in different orders to form polymers
to choosing any of the four
monomers at each position, e.g. Fig.1.6 A schematic representation of the ordering of monomers in biological
ABAD. polymers.
 Foundations of chemical biology 5
n
maximize the interaction of hydrophilic portions with water, whilst
minimizing the exposure of hydrophobic regions. Proteins, nucleic acids
and lipids all owe their biological function to the emergence of well-
defined structures on interaction with water.
There are two different ways by which ordered structures emerge when
biological molecules are in contact with water. A polymer chain can fold
8
into a three-dimensional structure in which hydrophobic regions are buried
away from the solvent, water (Fig. 1.7). This type of structure is found for
most proteins and some nucleic acids (e.g. see Sections 3.6,4.4 and 9.6).
Alternatively, molecules can associate non-covalently to form organized
assemblies. This ordering is observed for both large and small molecules.
Some biological polymers come together to form multimeric structures (Fig. In water, some individual
1.8). This association is important for the biological functioning of many
proteins (e.g. see Sections 3.4 and 4.4). The DNA double helix (Section 9.9)
also involves t h s type of molecular interaction. Lipids are small molecules
rather than polymers. Their spontaneous association to form bilayer assem-
blies (Fig. 1.9) is the basis of biological membrane formation (Chapter 8).
I polymer chains associate
to give multirneric
structures which minimize
contact of non-polargroups
with the solvent.

\-----.
-
polymerbackbone

n Linear polymer with polar

and non-polar side chains
folds into a conformation
which minimizes contact of
non-polar groups with water

Monomer umts
0
H2° H 2H20 0
0 O H 2 ' H2O

Fig.1.8 Schematic view of poly-

mer chains associating to form a
multirneric structure.

Individual lipid molecules are not

H20 H20 H20 H2O covalently linked together in
membranes; the bilayer structure
involves non-covalent
Fig.1.7 Schematic view of a polymer folding into a well-defined shape in water. assemblies of molecules. The
same chemical principles are
In water, individual lipid responsible for the adoption of
molecules with polar and these non-covalent assemblies
non-polar regions associate as in the adoption of well-defined
into a bilayer structure that structures by proteins and nucleic
minimizes contact of acids. Individual lipid molecules
non-polargroups with water contain both hydrophilic and
hydrophobic regions. The bilayer
; structure allows the hydrophobic
regions of lipid molecules to be
buried away from water, leaving
only the hydrophilic portions
Fig. 1.9 Schematic view of lipids associating to form a bilayer. exposed.
6 The chemicals of biological systems

A great deal of contemporary 1.6 An overview of the book: the emergence of

research in chemistry is asso- biological function
ciated with trying to understand
and learn from biology. The study Much of this book discusses the way in which small molecules present in
of simple chemical systems which cells combine to generate ordered structures with biological function (Fig.
mimic the chemistry found in 1.10). To this end, the small molecules, and their derivatives, are con-
complex biological systems is an
important area of research known
sidered in two groups. The first half of the book (Chapters 2-5) introduces
as biomimetic chemistry (e.g. see one family of molecules: amino acids and proteins. The second half
Section 4.5). It is useful in unra- (Chapters 6-9) deals with molecules derived from sugars and phosphates,
velling some of the basic princi- including the nucleic acids. In each half of the book, the individual
ples underlying the chemistry components are described and then the discussion is elaborated to illus-
found in cells.
trate how biological function is facilitated as these individual units come
together to form complex entities.

a-Amino acids are the building Proteins are key polymers responsible for
CH3
blocks of proteins. Their intrinsic many cellular functions They fold into
well-defined three-dimensionalstructures
H2N +C02H
which are the basis of their biological
Alanine, a typical functions. These structures are discussed
a-amino acid in Chapter 3.
Proteins can bind small molecules on parts of their
1I
surfaces. This property is exploited as a means 1
of, for example, storing and transporting small 6
molecules (discussed in Chapter 4) and catalysingff Myoglobm, a pfoteln
chemical reactions.The catalysis of a key [ which stores oxygen
biochemical reaction of sugar phosphates, by
DNA double helix an enzyme, is discussed in Chapter 5. B H - P H

Sugar phosphate derivatives are used as linking groups in key 1 CH,OP03*-

biochemicals When non-polar groups are appended, they adopt D-G/ycera/dehyde-3-pbosphate,
ordered structures in water Some such molecules, lipids, form the a typical sugar phosphate
basis of biological membranes (discussed in Chapter 8). A family Sugar phosphates are discussed in Chapter 6.
of polymeric derivatives, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), are Chapter 7 illustrates their role in the chemical
discussed in Chapter 9 They are the carriers of genetic information reactions of cells (metabolism)

Fig. 1.10 A schematic overview of the book.

The science of new materials is

one area which benefits from the
principles learned from biology.
As an example, one goal of Further reading
current chemistry is to make An overview of cell biology is given in: H. Lodish, D. Baltimore, A. Berk, S. L.
molecular devices, where Zipursky, P. Matsudaira and J. Darnel1 (1995) Molecular Biology of the Cell,
individual molecules undertake a 3rd edn, W H Freeman & Co Ltd, Oxford.
role normally performed by a Bioinorganic chemistry is discussed in: P. A. Cox (1995) The Elements on Earth,
large-scale machine. 'Molecular Oxford University Press, Oxford; P. C. Wilkins and R. G. Wilkins (1997)
machines' have been found to Zizorgaizic Chemistry in Biologj), Oxford University Press, Oxford; and R. J. P.
play an important role in biology Williams and J. J. R. Frausto da Silva (1997) The Natural Selection of the
(e.g. see Chapter 8). Such Cheinical Elements, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
research into 'nanotechnology' is Good recent general biochemistry texts include: C. K. Mathews, K. E. van Holde
hoped to provide new levels of and K. G. Ahern (2000) Biochemistry, 3rd edn, Benjamin/Cummings, San
miniaturization for future Francisco; and R. H. Garrett and C. M. Grisham (1998) Biochemistry, 2nd edn,
technological applications. Sanders College Publishers, Fort Worth.
2 Introductionto amino acids
and proteins

2.1 Overview: what are proteins and

why are they special?
Proteins are biological polymers play important roles in virtually all the
chemical processes of life. As such, they are abundant in all cells, repre-
sentingapproximately 15per cent of the total cell mass. There are thousands
of different types of proteins in even simple cells, but all proteins are derived
from the same basic building blocks: a set of amino acids. An understanding
of the chemistry ofthese amino acids, and how their properties change when
they are polymerized in a protein, is therefore of key importance in the
analysis of the molecular basis of the biological properties of proteins.
Proteins are linear polymers derived from a-amino acid monomers (see
O
*,H
,,
Figs 2.1 and 2.2). These a-amino acids are carboxylic acids with an amino
amino carboxyl
group, a hydrogen atom, and a further substituent (R) attached to the
a-carbon (i.e. the carbon adjacent to the carboxyl group). In proteins, the Fig. 2.1 Generalized structure of
substituent R is limited to one of 20 possible groups (or occasionally a an a-amino acid. In aqueous
derivative of one of these groups) and the individual amino acids are joined solution these occur as ‘zwitter-
viaamide linkages to form a polypeptide chain. An amide linkage is the result ions’ (see Section 2.2).
of the condensation of the amine and carboxylic acid functional groups of
adjacent monomers; the remaining portion of one monomer is termed an
amino acid residue. A protein is typically a polypeptide chain of several
hundred such residues. Shorter polymers are frequently calledpeptides. The term ‘peptide bond’ is often
used to signify the amide bond
amino acid between 0-amino acids in
amide bond peptides and proteins.
residue ,‘ formed by
- ,
-
In this book, bonds designated
indicate a continuation of the
polymer chain.
H H

Hydrolysis, i.e. +H,O Dehydration, i.e. -H,O

The term ‘peptide’ is generally
used to signify a polymer with
L less than about 30 residues. For
simplicity, in this book the term
H H
0 protein is used for all biological
polypeptides regardless of
Fig. 2.2 Generalized protein structure: amino acids are joined in a linear chain. their size.
8 Introduction to amino acids and proteins

Proteins are not the only linear polymers of amino acids, e.g. nylon-6 is a
synthetic analogue. A distinguishing feature of proteins is that they are
composed of a variety of monomer units linked together in a defined
Nylon-6 is a polymer of sequence, i.e. not just a repeated pattern of one or two simple monomers as
6-arninohexanoic acid. found in a synthetic polymer such as nylon. The huge variety of possible
proteins underpins the diverse roles for which they are suited: as examples,
some proteins act in a structural capacity, e.g. collagen and keratin (found in
tendons and hair, respectively) function in biology as fibres; others, such as
haemoglobin, are involved in transport of molecules within organisms; and
yet more, enzymes, act as catalysts for the essential chemical reactions of cells.
It is the presence of a range ofdifferent functional groups (R', R", R"', etc.
in Fig. 2.2) attached to the a-carbon of each amino acid residue that provides
the structural and chemical versatility essential to protein function. These
functional groups branch off the polymer backbone, the main chain, and are
termed side chains. Proteins are generated in biological systems by con-
trolled, sequential addition of monomer units. The specific amino acids
present in a protein, and their order within the chain, give rise to the dis-
tinctive shape and chemical functionality of each final polymer.
In order to understand the structures and functions of proteins, the
The importance of polar and chemistry of the functional groups present in the protein will be examined.
non-polar substituents in Proteins usually adopt highly ordered structures in the cellularenvironment,
determining the structures that
polymers adopt in aqueous based on the nature of the substituents on the polymer chain (polar and non-
solution was outlined in Section polar) and on the stereochemical features of both the amino acids and the
1.5. peptide bonds that link them. An appreciation of these structural principles
will be used in analysingcase studiesof well-studied proteins in later chapters.

Acidity reflects the tendency for a

bond to break and generate a 2.2 The acid-base chemistry of a-amino
proton. Basicity reflects the acids and proteins
reverse process: the tendency to
An understanding of the structures and simple chemical features of
form a bond between a proton
and an atom with an available pair a-amino acids is important for appreciating the properties of proteins.
of electrons. The ease with which Acidity and basicity of amino acids, and hence of proteins, is the chemistry
these processes occur for parti- which will be discussed in most detail. These are important chemical
cular chemical functional groups properties in biological systems. Simple acid-base chemistry will be illu-
is quantified in terms of the equi-
strated using glycine, the simplest amino acid. Initially, the properties of
librium constant, Ka, for the reac-
tions. A general reaction of this free glycine will be described, followed by a discussion of the way in which
type in which a functional group these properties are modified when glycine is incorporated into proteins.
HA, the conjugate acid, dis-
sociates to give a proton and A -, 2.2.1 Glycine
the conjugate base, is The simplest amino acid is glycine, in which two hydrogens are attached to
H-A + H+ + A - the a-carbon, i.e. the substituent, R in Fig. 2.1, is hydrogen. The overall
chemical properties of such a molecule reflect the combination of the
K, is the ratio of concentrations properties of the various functional groups of the molecule, each of which
(a more precise analysis uses has a distinctive chemistry.
'activities' rather than con-
centrations) of products to
Glycine exists primarily as charged
starting materials, i.e. species in aqueous solution as &
O
.H
..
explained later (see Fig. 2.5).
Glycine 0
 Foundations of chemical biology 9

In glycine, the only functional groups attached to the hydrocarbon Theacidityof carboxylicacids is
duetothestabilityofthe carbox-
framework are an amino group and a carboxyl group. Each of these ylate anion relative to theacid.The
groups can exist in different protonated forms, depending on the pH. charge of the carboxylate resides,
In strong acid solution the carboxyl group will be present in the free primarily, on two equivalent elec-
acid form (i.e. as a C02H group). This group is acidic as it can lose a tronegative oxygens; each oxygen
proton, in response to the addition of base, to form a carboxylate ion. has to accommodate only half a
negative charge.

RKoH
===
0
H+ Rvo-0
The equivalence of the two oxy-
gens in the carboxylate anion is
not clear in a single structure
comprised of simple bonds and
charges. This problem can be
The change of pH as base is added to an aqueous solution of a typical addressed by imagining the over-
carboxylic acid is shown in Fig. 2.3. At pH values above ca 5 (the pK, of all structure as a weighted aver-
the acid), the carboxylate form predominates. In this case, the conjugate age of simple structures (canonical
base is a charged species, and the acidity of the carboxylic acid group or resonance forms). Here two
reflects the stability of this anionic species relative to the uncharged structures are drawn, corre-
sponding to the charge residing on
molecule in aqueous solution. either of the two oxygens. These
The characteristic features of a base are the presence of a non-bonded structures are equivalent and have
electron pair and a relatively high stability of the corresponding proto- identical energies. The ‘real’ struc-
nated form. The other functional group of glycine is an amine which ture is envisaged as the ‘average’
contains a nitrogen atom with a non-bonded pair of electrons. of these extreme representations
(not a rapidly interconverting mix-
L
ture of two discrete structures).
I
Mid-point A _____ M - (when
Equivalence
\ the amount
point
(pH = pK,)-----
of base added is

1 [RCopl[H+l I
Ka= [RCO,H]
At the mid-point
- - -- - - - - -
Predominant I
I

I
equal to the original
amount of acid)
The relationship between these
two canonical forms can be
shown using ‘curly arrows’ which
are used in organic chemistry to
[RCOz-] = [RCOZH] species : I
denote the movement of pairs of
Therefore Ka = [H’] RCO2H electrons.
I
B-
Amount of base added
R~ oo5
Fig. 2.3 Titration curve for a typical carboxylic acid. The negative
1
00.5- chargels shared.

Acidity is quantified interms of pKa

values. At the mid-point of a titra-
tion, an acid, HA, is half deproto-
nated, the concentrations of HA
and A- are equal, and the equili-
brium constant K, = [H+]. The
equilibrium constants for differ-
ent acid-base reactions have
widely differing values. By ana-
logy to pH, logarithms are used
to compress the scale. Since
most acids of interest are only
‘0 Amount of base added partly dissociated, the sign of the
logarithm is changed so
Fig. 2.4 Titration curve for a typical amine. that most values are positive
10 Introduction to amino acids and proteins

numbers:
i.e. log K, = pK,
The smaller the value of the pK,
the stronger the acid.
Some approximate pK, values:
Alcohols, ROH, 17
Carboxylic acids, RC02H, 4-5
Thiols, RSH, 8
Ammonium ions, RNH;, 10.

A zwitterion is a neutral molecule

that carries equal numbers of
oppositely charged functional predominates I
groups. Zwitterions have many of
the properties of salts.
Fig. 2.5 Titration curve for glycine.
pK, values vary somewhat,
depending on the precise mole-
cular structure and the environ- The conjugate acid of an amine, a substituted ammonium ion, is rela-
ment in which the acid-base tively stable in aqueous solution. Such an ion in aqueous solution can be
chemistry is taking place. deprotonated, but less readily than a carboxylic acid; the pK, is corre-
For example, the carboxylic acid spondingly higher. The acid-base equilibrium and titration curve is shown
group of glycine is more acidic
than a simple carboxylic acid in Fig. 2.4. Only at a pH above ca 10 (the pK, of the substituted ammo-
(pK, = 2.35 rather than ca 4-5) nium ion) does the amine exist predominantly in the uncharged form.
since the corresponding carbox- Since glycine contains both an amine and a carboxylic acid moiety, its
ylate anion is more stable in the titration behaviour incorporates both features, as can be seen in Fig. 2.5.
presence of the adjacent, posi- The pK, values of the carboxylic acid and ammonium groups of glycine
tively charged, ammonium ion.
The effect of the environment on are 2.35 and 9.78, respectively. In neutral aqueous solution (pH 7) both
pK, is particularly important in the functional groups of glycine are charged (Fig. 2.5). Therefore, glycine
non-polar conditions, such as in and other amino acids are really ammonium carboxylate ‘zwitterions’
the interior of proteins.

[
rather than ‘amino acids’; subsequent structures will reflect this.

R < r H L R * H R ] 0-
2.2.2 The chemistry of amides: polymers of glycine
What are the acid-base properties of glycine when incorporated into a
Canonical structures polypeptide? When the simple dimer, glycyl-glycine, is compared with its

“d 7:ral bonding and

charge distribution
constituent monomers, the ammonium group of one glycine and the car-
boxylate group of the other are still present in the dimer, and their acid-
base chemistry is little affected. The other ammonium and carboxylate
groups are no longer present, since they are linked to form an amide bond.
Fig. 2.6 The structure and Amide bond-
bonding of amides. H.\ 0

O- H3N+ 0-
When a nitrogen is positioned 0 H O H
adjacent to an unsaturated Glycyl-glycine
carbon in a molecule, it is gen- By contrast with the nitrogen atom of the amine, the amide nitrogen is
erally found to adopt a trigonal essentially non-basic. There is an additional interaction between the
planar, rather than pyramidal,
nitrogen and the unsaturated carbon atom, resulting in partial double-
shape. By adopting this shape,
the C-N bond is more stable: the bond character. This can be depicted using canonical structures (Fig. 2.6),
electrons are delocalized in a in an analogous fashion to those drawn to explain the special stability of
partial double bond. the carboxylate anion.
 Foundutions of chemical biology 11

As well as being weak bases, amides are also only weak acids. Depro- The low basicity of amides can be
attributed to the fact that the extra
tonation of an amide produces an anionic conjugate base. This is similar electrons on nitrogen are not a
in structure to a carboxylate ion, but with one of the oxygens replaced by a non-bonded lone pair, but
nitrogen atom. Since nitrogen is less electronegative than oxygen, this involved in a favourable bonding
species is less stable than a carboxylate ion, and hence harder to form. interaction (see Fig. 2.6);
The fact that amides are neither strong acids nor bases is important for protonation of the nitrogen atom
destroys this interaction.
the chemistry of proteins. The overall acid-base properties of the main Under strongly acidic conditions
chain of a typical protein are essentially the same as those of glycine: there (e.g. conc. H2S04)amides
is an ammonium group at one end and a carboxylate group at the other; actually protonate on oxygen
the intervening main chain, comprised of amide linkages, plays essentially rather than nitrogen, since the
no part in the acid-base chemistry of the final molecules. The chemical oxygen of an amide does possess
non-bonded electrons.
potential of proteins is not focused in the main chain; instead it is the
Protonation of the amide oxygen
range of chemical groups found in the side chains of the other amino acids catalyses the reaction of
which gives rise to the varied properties of proteins. nucleophiles with amides. Hence,
when polypeptides are heated in
the presence of strong aqueous
acid, they hydrolyse. (The
2.3 A survey of the a-amino acids of proteins hydrolysis of amides is discussed
The proteins found in all living organisms are derived from a repertoire of further in Section 7.2.)
20 a-amino acids: glycine and 19 others. Not all proteins contain all The breakdown of proteins during
digestion is helped by the low pH
20 amino acids, although most do, and in certain cases modifications to environment found in the stomach.
some of these amino acids can occur. However, with a few exceptions, the ‘Indigestion’can result from an
20 a-amino acids provide the building blocks for proteins from whatever excess of acid, and most treat-
source. This reflects the universal nature of the genetic code (see Section ments for this condition aim to
9.11). It is important to have a thorough appreciation of the side chains of neutralize this excess.
the amino acids found in proteins. These side chains are not special to
biology, but include many of the simple functional groups familiar from
organic chemistry.

2.3.1 Amino acid residues with hydrocarbon side chains

The side chains of several of the amino acids in proteins are simple
hydrocarbons. Thus, when they are incorporated into a protein chain, no
additional functional groups are introduced into the molecule. The non-
polar nature of these residues, which precludes hydrogen bonding, plays a
critical role in the structure of proteins, as will become apparent later:
these residues are hydrophobic.
H

The methyl group of alanine is the

only unbranched hydrocarbon
side chain found among the
0 0 0 0 0 protein amino acids. Simple
alanine valine isoleucine leucine phenylalanine homologues, such as ethyl or
residue residue residue residue residue n-propyl, are not found.

When the substituent is a methyl group, the amino acid is alanine. The
remaining side chains in this class are either branched hydrocarbon chains
(i-propyl (in valine) and two butyl isomers (in leucine and isoleucine)) or
’aromatic‘ groups as in phenylalanine.
12 Introduction to amino acids and proteins

Because of the carboxylic acid 2.3.2 Amino acid residues with carboxylic acid side chains
function, aspartic and glutamic
acids are often termed ‘acidic’ The side chains of two of the amino acids, aspartic and glutamic acids,
residues.This terminology can be contain carboxylic acid functional groups linked by a hydrocarbon spacer,
confusing: since they are usually of one or two methylene groups respectively, to the a-carbon. The side
found in proteins in the conjugate chain of each of these groups behaves as a simple carboxylic acid with a
base form, the side chains of these pK, of approximately 4-5. At neutral pH, these groups will, therefore, be
amino acids often act as bases in
biochemistry (see Chapter 5). present in the anionic conjugate base form (aspartate and glutamate).
For amino acid side chains which
are involved in acid-base equili-
bria, the acid or base form which
predominates at physiological pH
is boxed in the structures which H H
0 0 0 0
accompany this section of the
text. aspartate residue glutamate residue

The titration curves for aspartic 2.3.3 Amino acid residues with amide side chains
and glutamic acid residues
resemble those of simple car- A further two amino acids, asparagine and glutamine, are closely related
boxylic acids (cf. Fig. 2.3). Note to aspartic and glutamic acids. In these, instead of a carboxylic acid, the
that the exact pK, of functional side chain contains an amide group. Amides can participate in hydrogen
groups varies a little depending bonding, but they are neither strong acids nor bases, and do not affect the
on the environment (either in
response to other functional
acid-base chemistry of proteins.
groups in the molecule, or in the
surrounding solvent, etc).
f CoNH2
rCONH2

“ N Y “ N Y
H H asparagine residue glutamine residue
0

The amino acids in this section

2.3.4 Acyclic amino acid residues with basic
are often said to have ‘basic’ side nitrogen-containing side chains
chains.This reflects the fact that Two of the protein amino acids have side chains consisting of a linear
they are readily protonated. If they carbon chain terminating in a basic nitrogen functional group. The side
are present in a protein in an
unprotonated form, they can act
chain of lysine is a four-carbon chain ending in an amino group. This pri-
as bases. If they are present in a mary amine bears a non-bonding electron pair and is of similar basicity to the
protonated form, they can act as amines considered previously. The pK, of the corresponding ammonium
acids. ion is 10.5 and, at neutral pH, this group is present in solution as a cation.

H +

(x’“
0
lysine residue H H
0
arginine residue”

In the case of arginine, protonation of the basic nitrogen leads to a

It is a useful exercise to draw cation in which the positive charge is dispersed over three nitrogen atoms.
canonical structures of the
protonated form of arginine to
This factor ensures an enhanced stability to the protonated form of
illustrate the dispersal of charge arginine which has a pK, of 12.5 and is present as a cation under phy-
over all three side chain nitrogens. siological conditions.
 Foundutioiis of chemical biology 13

2.3.5 Amino acid residues with hydroxyl functional groups

The side chains of three amino acids contain hydroxyl groups. Serine and
threonine are simple alcohols. For each of these residues, the hydroxyl
group is attached to a carbon adjacent to the a-carbon. Threonine is
distinguished from serine by an extra methyl group that makes it a sec-
ondary, rather than a primary, alcohol. An isolated hydroxyl group can
\q ; R
0
serine residue

act as an acid or a base, but neither process is especially favourable (the H3C OH
pK, of the hydroxyl of serine is approximately 16).
In tyrosine, the hydroxyl function is attached to an aromatic ring. Here
the functional group is a phenol. The aromatic ring stabilizes the charge
on the deprotonated form. This enhances the stability of the conjugate
%N
II;T.
H H
Z

0
threonine residue
base and lowers the pK, (to ca 10) facilitating acid-base chemistry. Tyr-
osine is usually found in the hydroxyl form, but it is occasionally found to
act as an acid under physiological conditions.

p .o- The negative charge of the

deprotonated form of tyrosine can
be dispersed over three of the
carbons of the aromatic ring.
Convince yourself about the
charge distribution of the
H H
0 conjugate base of tyrosine by
tyrosine residue drawing canonical structures.

2.3.6 Sulphur-containing amino acid residues

The side chains of two protein amino acids have sulphur-based functional
groups. Cysteine is the sulphur analogue of serine, containing a thiol
functional group rather than a hydroxyl function. In aqueous solution
such groups are moderately acidic (pK, ca 8). However, the properties of
sulphur differ from those of oxygen and thiols do not form strong
hydrogen bonds. In general, sulphur-containing side chains behave as
relatively non-polar groups. In addition, the thiol group has unique che- PH Hs\
mical properties: it is the most readily oxidized of all the functional groups
under consideration (Fig. 2.7). When two thiols are oxidized, a disulphide
bond results. Disulphide bonds are important features of some protein
structures and are considered in Chapter 3.

CSH
“NAf\Nf.+
H H
0 0
cysteine residue methionine residue
Disulphide-linked residues,
known as a cystine residue
The amino acid methionine contains a thioether group rather than a
thiol. For the present discussion, the most significant feature of the Fig. 2.7 Redox chemistry of
methionine side chain is its generally non-polar character. cysteine.
14 In froduction to amino acids and proteins

A heterocyclic compound 2.3.7 Amino acids containing nitrogen heterocycles

contains a ring in which one of the
ring atoms is not carbon.
The final three protein amino acids are rather different from one another,
but they each contain cyclic structures involving nitrogen which are
H responsible for their distinctive chemistry.

".*
Tryptophan has a nitrogen embedded in a large aromatic framework
(an indole) which behaves as a non-basic nitrogen, although it can form
hydrogen bonds. Tryptophan is more like the side chain of phenylalanine
tryptophan residue than most of the remaining nitrogen-containing side chains. It is a
H H hydrophobic residue.
0
Histidine also has a side chain with an aromatic ring. In this case the
ring (an imidazole) has two nitrogen atoms, and can be protonated. The
If both protonated and non- charge on the cation of the protonated form is dispersed over the two
protonated forms are present,
then the side chain can act as
nitrogen atoms. Histidine is moderately basic with the pK, of the con-
both an acid and a base. This is jugate acid being ca 7. Such a pK, allows both conjugate acid and base
the situation for histidine. For this forms to be readily accessible at neutral pH. Histidine is ideally placed to
reason, histidine residues are act as an acid-base catalyst in proteins operating at around pH 7.
often important in catalysing
biochemical acid-base Protonated and neutral H H
processes. The special chemistry forms of histidine are both
of histidine is important in the physiologicallyimportant.
functioning of many proteins.Two This evenly balanced
of the succeeding chapters equilibrium underpins H-
describe proteins which have histidine's key role in
essential histidine residues: the biological acid-base H H H H
globins in Chapter 4, and chemistry. 0 0
histidine residue
triose phosphate isomerase in
Chapter 5.
Finally, proline is fundamentally different from the other protein amino
acids. The side chain comprises a three-carbon chain and, as with other
hydrocarbon side chains, contributes no unusual chemical features to the
amino acid or derivatives. In this case, however, a ring structure is formed
0
by the side chain linking back to the a-amino nitrogen. This cyclic
I

The side chain links back and

structure constrains the shapes which this amino acid can adopt. As a
connects to the a-nitrogen, forming result, the presence of proline in a protein has significant effects on its
a ring. three-dimensional structure (see Section 3.3).

2.4 The stereochemistry of a-amino acids

Stereochemistry is concerned with the shape of molecules. The properties
of molecules are strongly influenced by their stereochemistry. An under-
standing of the stereochemical features of amino acids is essential for an
appreciation of the fundamental principles of the structures of proteins.
Tetrahedral arrangement of four All amino acids except glycine have four different substituents attached
single bonds to carbon: to the a-carbon. There are two distinct ways in which these substituents
can be arranged in three-dimensional space. These two forms, con3gura-
tions, are mirror images of each other. All amino acid residues in natural
proteins have the same absolute configuration. These properties are illu-
strated in Fig. 2.8 for a typical amino acid, serine.
In serine the a-carbon is surrounded by four different groups: an
ammonium, a carboxylate, a hydroxymethyl and a hydrogen atom. The
 Foundations of chemicul biology 15

mirror plane

Fig. 2.8 The enantiomers of serine.

bonds to these substituents point towards the apices of a tetrahedron.

Different configurations related in this mirror image fashion are known as
Emil Fischer undertook pioneer-
enantiomers and the a-carbon of serine is a chiral centre.
ing research on the stereo-
chemistry of natural products. In
2.4.1 The L and D stereochemical notation 1891, he reported the
It was known that all amino acids found in proteins have the same chir- stereochemistry of a range of
sugars. He introduced
ality, long before it was possible to tell which of the two absolute con- representations (so-called
figurations was present in this class of molecules. In early stereochemical Fischer projections) to show the
studies, the configuration of amino acids was related to known materials stereochemical relationships
by a process of chemical correlation. One of the important reference between related natural products.
compounds for stereochemical studies was glyceraldehyde. Glyceralde- For these representations,
Fischer compared the
hyde has a single chiral centre; two enantiomers are possible, both of stereochemistry of the compound
which were known at that time; Emil Fischer introduced the terms L and D of interest with that of L- and D-
to describe the two forms. The groups about the chu-a1 centres of serine glyceraldehyde.
and glyceraldehyde are closely related-both have hydroxymethyl and Fischer carried out a great deal
hydrogen substituents. If the amino and carboxyl functional groups of of research on the amino acids
found in proteins. He synthesized
serine are considered to be analogous to the hydroxyl and aldehyde serine in 1902 and resolved
groups, respectively, of glyceraldehyde, then serine (derived from a pro- synthetic serine into the two
tein) has the same absolute configuration as L-glyceraldehyde. Since the enantiomeric forms in 1906.
structures of the other chiral amino acids from proteins are analogous to
serine, all these amino acids are said to have the L-configuration.

L-glyceraldehyde o-glyceraldehyde L-serine o-serine L-amino acid D-amino acid

HOiiii'
O H C b gH: :<H G:shH
HOHPC CH2OH HOH2C

2.4.2 The Cahn-Ingold-Prelog rules for describing stereochemistry

The L and D terminology is a convenient notation for the stereochemistry of Make molecular models of the
two enantiomers of serine to
simple amino acids. However, it becomes difficult and subjective to use in
convince yourself that the two
other molecules when the analogies that have to be invoked are more ten- structures are not identical.
uous than those so far described. In addition, some important molecules,
such as the amino acid threonine, have more than one chiral centre. A wide
variety of chiral compounds is now known, and the absolute configuration
of chiral centres within these molecules can be determined using X-ray
crystallographic methods. To deal with this situation, chemists have devised
a notation, known as the Cuhn-Ingold-Prelog (C-I-P) rules, to describe
unambiguously the absolute configuration about any chiral centre.
16 Introduction to ainino acids and proteins

An abbreviated version of the

C-I-P rules is given below
(i) Priorities The
assigning
biochemist’s
L and Dview: The chemist’s view:
Decreasing priorities, numbered 3
H
N; ‘<‘ ////,/, + assigning R and S
1-4, are assigned to the atoms
attached to the chiral centre. CH3
Higher priority is given to atoms View from the side of from the side co;
cO, the hydrogen atom
of higher atomic number. In the
case of all chiral amino acids
found in natural proteins, this
leads to the priorities N > C
“3N 0 C H 3
(carboxyl), C (side chain) > H.The
+

amino group is numbered 1 and Assign C-I-P

Identify the carbonyl (CO) of the carboxyl
the hydrogen atom 4. When, as group, the side chain substituent (R, in this priorities to the three
here, consideration of these non-hydrogengroups
case CH,) and the amino (N) groups
atoms leaves an ambiguity, it is
resolved by extending the rules to
the next attached atoms. The
priority of these atoms is
assigned, as before.
(ii) Translating priorities into
descriptions
The chiral centre is viewed from
the side opposite the lowest-
N &$
u
For L-amino acids,
following the substituents
in a clockwise manner
a,
3
2

Decreasing
priorities running
anticlockwise
indicates S
priority ligand. If the direction of spells CORN
decreasing priority (1,2,3) of the
other three groups is clockwise, Fig. 2.9 Identifying the configuration of amino acids: alanine as an example.
the configuration is designated R,
whereas an anticlockwise order-
ing is designated s. The C-I-P rules involve assigning ‘priorities’ to the groups attached to
the chiral centre and then relating these priorities to a description of the
chiral centre. The two possibilities are known as R and S configurations.
As an example, these rules are illustrated for alanine in Fig. 2.9.
In the case of alanine, the priorities of the atoms attached to the
a-carbon are N > C > H. Hence the amino group is numbered 1 and the
hydrogen 4. Of the two carbon substituents, the side chain carbon is
bonded to hydrogen, whereas the carboxyl carbon is bonded to oxygen;
hence the latter has the higher priority. The overall priority order is,
therefore, N > C (carboxyl) > C (side chain) > H. When the a-carbon is
viewed from the side opposite the hydrogen (priority 4), the decreasing
priority of the other groups follows an anticlockwise pattern, and the
configuration is designated S.
It is a useful exercise to draw out All chiral amino acids found in natural proteins have the S configura-
the structure of cysteine; assign tion, except cysteine where the presence of a sulphur atom only one
priorities to the substituents
around the a-carbon according to
carbon removed from the chiral centre changes the priority rules about the
the C-I-P rules; and use these a-carbon. Thus although cysteine has essentially the same shape as serine,
priorities to assign the it ends up with the opposite stereochemical descriptor! This kind
configuration of i-cysteine as R. of anomaly does not deter organic chemists who can see the benefits
of the C-I-P rules in a wider context, but is sufficient to make many
biochemists prefer the original Fischer terminology. Hence the biological
chemistry literature includes both notations and students should be
familiar with both.
 Foundations of chemical biology 17

2.5 Significance of the configurations of a-amino acids The 0-enantiomers of some

amino acids are found in rare
It is not clear whether L-rather than D-amino acids are found in proteins instances in nature, often in an
for any reason other than a historical accident propagated by evolution. effort to avoid the normal
However, it is intrinsically simpler for nature to use just one form as a metabolism of their L-configured
counterparts. An example is
building block for proteins. Indeed, for a protein with a defined sequence
0-alanine which is a constituent of
of 100 amino acid residues in which amino acids are incorporated with the cell walls of bacteria. Peptides
either D or L stereochemistry randomly at each position, there are 2"' (ca formed from this amino acid are
lo3') different stereoisomeric structures. If the stereochemistry is fixed, fundamentally different in shape
however, there is only a single stereoisomer for a given sequence. Main- from polymers made of L-amino
acids. They cannot be degraded
taining the similarity in the configurations of the monomer amino acids
by the usual enzymes which
therefore leads to well defined structures of the corresponding polymers, digest proteins.This use of
i.e. proteins. Since biological chemistry involves the interactions of chiral D-amino acids can be seen as a
molecules, the chemistry carried out by cells is greatly simplified by using a protective measure for bacteria to
single chirality. The vast majority of cells have the facility to construct allow them to resist destruction
by other organisms. The
(biosynfhesize)L-amino acids and polymers derived from them, and also
metabolism of different
to break them down (in digestion). organisms varies, and this
variation can be exploited in the
2.6 The stereochemistry of peptide bonds preparation of pharmaceutical
agents, as will be noted later. In
Proteins are, therefore, linear polymers of L-a-amino acids linked via pep- the case of 0-alanine, since its
tide (amide) bonds. The nitrogen of an amide bond adopts a planar trigonal metabolism is essential to
shape because a partial double bond is formed with the adjacent carbonyl bacteria but not humans,
carbon (see Fig. 2.6). T h s extra bonding is worth about 80kJ mol- The '. molecules which interfere
selectively with these metabolic
overall stereochemical requirements of a peptide bond are that the carbonyl processes are antibacterial
carbon, the nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen atoms and the two neighbouring a- agents. The most successful
carbons are all constrained to lie in a plane. Disruption of t h s coplanarity group of antibiotics, the
by rotation about the carbon-nitrogen bond would lead to loss of some ,/?-lactams(which include
penicillins and cephalosporins),
double-bond character. Under biological conditions, this effectivelyrestricts owe their activity to the inhibition
the peptide bond to one of two possible structures: cis or trans. of enzymes, acting on o-amino
Preference for one of these two forms, the trans form, arises from a ten- acid derivatives, essential to
dency to minimize unfavourable interactions due to too close a proximity bacterial cell wall biosynthesis
of bulky groups (minimization of 'steric crowding' between the substituents (see Section 5.10).
on the carbonyl carbon and the nitrogen). Of the two substituents on the
carbonyl carbon, it is the a-carbon, rather than the oxygen, that is bulkier.
Likewise, the a-carbon is the bigger of the two substituents attached to the
nitrogen. For 19 of the 20 protein amino acids, the other substituent on
nitrogen is hydrogen; the other amino acid, proline, is discussed below. Amide bonds are planar

c' 1 2-
N'

I
'= Trans
Unfavourable steric
interaction as main
- arrangement chain folds back on
0
\LANAH1 -
= Cis
H
of main chain itself at a cis-amid;;
linkage #,\\
v
arrangement
of main chain

The steric preferences of proline are rather different from all the other
amino acids since it has an alkyl chain rather than a hydrogen atom as the It is useful to make
molecular models of cis- and
second substituent on nitrogen. For all amide bonds, except those which trans-dipeptides to convince
involve the nitrogen of proline, there is a significant thermodynamic yourself of the extra steric
preference (ca 8 kJ mol - ') for the a-carbon substituents to be as far apart constraints associated with the
as possible, i.e. for the peptide to exist in a trans form. cis arrangement.
18 Introduction t o amino acids and proteins

Irrespective of whether a peptide

Steric clash similar
bond to proline is cis or trans, the
to that of a 'normal'
a-carbon of the other amino acid cis-peptide bond and /
is involved in unfavourable steric Greater steric clash
comparable to that
interactions with a carbon sub- of the trans-peptide I
stituent attached to the proline bond to proline -; ,
0
nitrogen.
In natural proteins about 10 per In the case of peptides involving the nitrogen of proline, this preference
cent of all peptide bonds involving
the nitrogen of proline are cis.
is smaller since the a-carbon of the neighbouring residue must avoid either
This poses particular problems the a-carbon or the other carbon attached to the nitrogen; hence the cis
for generating unique structures form is not dramatically disadvantaged relative to the trans form.
for proteins with prolines.

2.7 Summary
Proteins are linear polymers of a-amino acids linked via peptide bonds.
Each of the 20 monomers bears a characteristic side chain that introduces
chemical diversity into the polymer. Side chain substituents include a
range of non-polar and polar groups. An appreciation of the acid-base
properties of the functional groups found in these side chains is essential
to a proper understanding of protein chemistry. The absolute orientation
in space of the amino, carboxyl, hydrogen and side chain is the same for all
protein amino acids and is usually referred to as the L-configuration,
although the R,S nomenclature of organic chemistry is also widely used.
The peptide bonds that link monomeric amino acids are planar and
generally exist in a trans rather than a cis form. Proline, with its cyclic
structure, and glycine, with two hydrogens on the a-carbon, have unusual
structural features that set them apart from the remainder of the amino
acids.

Further reading
M. Hornby and J. Peach (1993) Foundations of Organic Chemistry, Oxford
Chemistry Primer, Oxford University Press, Oxford, provides a useful intro-
duction to organic chemical conventions.
J. Clayden, N. Greeves, S. Warren and P. Wothers (2000) Organic Chemistry,
Oxford University Press, Oxford, and C. K. Mathews, K. E. van Holde and
K. G. Ahern (2000) Biochenzistrj., 3rd edn, Benjamin/Cummings, San
Francisco, are excellent general textbooks for organic chemistry and bio-
chemistry, respectively.
For information on other aspects of amino acid and protein chemistry, see:
J. H. Jones (1992) Amino Acid and Peptide Synthesis, Oxford Chemistry Primer,
Oxford University Press, Oxford.
 st ructures of proteins

3.1 Overview
The properties of a protein are determined by its shape and its chemical
functionality. Proteins form well-defined three-dimensional structures
which are the basis of their biological function. The role of some proteins
as structural materials can be understood in terms of their molecular
architecture; specific examples, including keratins and silk, will be used to
illustrate this. Most proteins, however, adopt compact globular structures Keratins form the protective
covering of all land vertebrates,
and this type of structure will be illustrated by that of an enzyme, triose including materials such as hair,
phosphate isomerase. wool, fur, hooves, horns, scales,
The overall structure of a protein is related to the order of the monomer beaks and feathers.
units in the chain (primary structure) and the conformation that each
monomer residue adopts. Where successive monomers adopt the same
conformation, regular structural units result. Two classes of structural
motif predominate: the a-helix and the P-sheet; these motifs satisfy local
steric preferences and optimize longer range interactions, especially
hydrogen bonding. These local structural components (secondary struc-
ture) can be arranged in different ways relative to one another in the
overall organization of a protein chain (the tertiary structure). Finally,
protein chains sometimes associate with each other, and the way they are
arranged together is described as the quaternary structure. The factors Sequence information can be
which lead to the formation of specific tertiary and quaternary structures determined by chemical
are not fully understood, but a major influence is the nature of the degradation. Sanger developed a
interactions between a protein and the surrounding solvent. method of reacting the N-terminal
residue of a protein selectively
and won his first Nobel prize for
3.2 Primary structure of proteins using this methodology to
sequence insulin.This method
Proteins fulfil a wide variety of roles within organisms. For example, there has been extended by Edman and
are thought to be ca30,OOO different proteins in a human body. In any others and it can readily be auto-
individual protein, the order of individual residues is fixed, imparting mated. This chemistry can, how-
ever, only provide information
specific properties to the final polymer. In recognition of this, a protein is about approximately 20 residues
described by its sequence (known as the primary structure) indicating the in a single experiment. Sanger
order of the amino acid residues in the chain. won a second Nobel prize for
devising a method of sequencing
DNA. This methodology can pro-
vide huge amounts of sequence
information and is the basis of the
'human genome project' which
has succeeded in defining the
Residue 1 Residue 2 Residue 3 Residue 4 Residue 5 entire sequence of human DNA.
alanine cysteine aspartate glycine glutamine Nowadays most protein sequence
This is: alanyl-cysteinyl-aspartyl-glycyl-glutamine,or H-Ala-Cys-Asp-Gly-GIn-OH information is generated by
(H and OH are the groups attached to the terminal NH and CO of the peptide chain) sequencing DNA and inferring the
sequence of a protein from the
Fig. 3.1 A structure of a representative peptide. DNA sequence (see Chapter 9).
20 The structures of proteins

Three-letter abbreviations are The terminology used to describe this primary structure is illustrated for
commonly used for protein amino a representative peptide in Fig. 3.1. The ends of the chain are labelled the
acids. For 16 of the 20, the
abbreviation is simply the first amino and carboxy, or N and C, termini which in this case are alanine and
three letters of the name: glutamine residues, respectively. The order of residues in the chain is then
Alanine, Arginine, Aspartate given by numbering the monomers from the N to C direction.
Cysteine, Glutamate, Glycine,
Histidine, Leucine, Lysine,
3.3 Secondary structure of proteins
Methionine, Phenylalanine,
Proline, Serine, Threonine, 3.3.1 Conformational preferences for amino acid residues
mrosine-and Valine. within a protein chain
The remaining four amino acids
are not so named to avoid An appreciation of the three-dimensional structures of proteins can best
ambiguities.The abbreviations for be achieved by considering first the stereochemical preferences of a short
these are: Asnforasparagineand stretch of a polypeptide chain (secondary structure); structures of com-
Glnforglutamine (in each case plete proteins (tertiary and quaternary structure) are examined in Sections
there is a related amino acid with
3.4-3.6.
the same first three letters); Ilefor
isoleucine (which avoids Is0 which As discussed in Chapter 2, the a-carbon of each chiral amino acid has
is acommon prefix in chemistry); the L-configuration and, in a protein, is flanked by two amide linkages
and Wpfor tryptophan (which both fixed in a planar (generally trans) arrangement. This arrangement
avoidsTry which might easily be represents the main chain of a protein. Rotation is only possible around
confused withTyr).
two bonds per residue: the N-C" and C"-C bonds; these are described by
Planar
+,
two dihedral angles $ and respectively (Fig. 3.2). A dihedral angle of 0"
corresponds to the situation where the backbone substituents are eclipsed
(lie over one another). Positive dihedral angles (up to 180") correspond to
rotating the bond such that the rear substituents move in a clockwise
fashion. Conversely, rotation of the rear substituent counterclockwise
_. Tetrahedral corresponds to a negative dihedral angle.
The steric effects associated with rotation about these bonds are illu-
strated in Figs 3.3 and 3.4 for a typical L-amino acid. The conformation of
the N-C" bond where the carbonyl groups lie over one another ( & = O )
involves an unfavourable interaction between these groups. Rotation of
the rear substituents of the N-C" bond in an anticlockwise direction
Rotation is only possible about relieves this steric clash. By contrast, an analogous rotation in a clockwise
two bonds of the main chain, direction relieves this interaction, but only at the expense of introducing a
corresponding to relative rotation
of adjacent amide units. The two
new unfavourable interaction between the side chain and the carbonyl of
relevant dihedral angles, q5 and $, the preceding residue. Therefore, L-amino acids are expected to prefer
are labelled in the diagram. conformations where $ lies between approximately -60" and -180".
It is useful to make molecular
models of a simple dipeptide and
examine, for yourself, the effect
of changing the two dihedral
angles q5 and 6. Ca-C bond
H
Viewing from either end of the
bond yields the same value for Dihedral Cgle $
the dihedral angle-check this
H -- of ca+150

for yourself. In the diagram here, 0

the dihedral angles are assessed The relative orientation of the bonds
The relative orientation of the bonds
by viewing from the direction of the main chain about the Ca-C
of the main chain about the N-Ca
nearest the amino end of the bond is the dihedral angle,$.
bond is the dihedral angle,$.
chain, i.e. N to C" for $and C"
to C for G. Fig. 3.2 The dihedral angles 4 and 4.
 between C --,a
Unfavourable
steric

substituents
Clockwise rotation
Foundations of chemical biology 21

Note that glycine, which lacks a

chiral centre, is less constrained
than the other amino acids found
in proteins. By contrast, proline is
more constrained; it is forced,
Anticlockwise R by its ring structure, to adopt a
H of the rear
rotation of the rear d = o" N s u b s t i t u e n t s by 120" conformation with a 4 value of

&
substituents by 120" ca -60".

Unfavourablq- - k R
steric - _ _ I
@ - -60"
interaction
unless R = H
o=c R H c=o
H Ring restrict:,
H
conformation
= +120"
d = -120" Proline

Fig. 3.3 The effect of varying the dihedral angle $.

The dihedral angle preferences
Unfavourable steric are conveniently represented by a
interaction between '- -IH plot of C$values against $values,
N substituents a 'Ramachandran plot', named
after the scientist who pioneered
Rear substituent rotated Rear substituent rotated this type of analysis.
anticlockwise by 60" &H clockwise by 60"

HN H* R 0 = 0" %HN Dihedralangles correspondingto

unfavourablesteric interactions.
* = -60"

a a
t
Rotation by Unfavourable -' Rotation
further 60" steric interaction by further 60'
unless R = H
HN HN

',
Unfavourable steric interaction unless R = H
o&:=+'20
R NH

d
Fig. 3.4 The effect of varying the dihedral angle $. Fig. 3.5 Stylized Ramachandran
plot for an L-amino acid.

A similar analysis of the effects of rotation about the Ca-C bond In Fig. 3.5, a and 4 denote regions
indicates that L-amino acids will prefer conformations in which $ is either with favourable dihedral angles
in the region of - 60" or in the region of +120 to +180". that are found in a-helices and
&sheets, respectively.

3.3.2 Regular structures

Given that individual amino acid residues in a protein chain have relatively
well-defined conformational preferences, it is reasonable to ask what hap-
pens when successive residues adopt the same conformation. Repetition of
a specific pair of dihedral angles always gives rise to some form of a helix.
22 The structures of proteins

The predicted dihedral angle Of the various possible helices, two fit well with the simple steric preferences
preferences accord well with the
outlined in Section 3.3.1. These give rise to the most important regular
observed values of these angles
determined from the structures structures, the a-helix and the P-sheet, which are common components of
of proteins as shown in Fig. 3.6. the structures of proteins (the P-sheet consists of individual P-strands
stacked up side by side; each strand is actually a type of helix, see below).
The a-helix (4 = -60"; $! = -50", Fig. 3.7) is a rather compact helix
where, as the chain turns back on itself, linear hydrogen bonds are formed
between a carbonyl oxygen and the hydrogen atom of an amide group
four residues further down the chain. The overall structure of this unit is a
right-handed helix with 3.6 amino acid residues per turn. For every turn of
the helix, the chain extends by 0.54nm (this is termed the pitch of the
helix). The side chains of the amino acid residues involved in an a-helix
-1 80 0 +I 80
4 point out from the helix and interact with either solvent or neighbouring
portions of the protein. All amino acid residues except proline can be
Fig. 3.6 Ramachandran diagram
in which the experimental 4, $ readily accommodated within an a-helix (although some have a greater
angles for a range of residues tendency than others to adopt this structure).
other than glycine are shown for The second major class of regular repeated secondary structure found in
a representative set of proteins. proteins is the P-sheet, comprised of @-strands (4 = -120"; $= +120",
Fig. 3.8). A @-strand is an almost completely extended helix; the main
The presence of an extra alkyl chain amide groups, therefore, cannot hydrogen bond with neighbouring
group rather than a hydrogen residues. They are, however, ideally placed to interact with a neighbouring
atom on the amide nitrogen of chain of residues having a similar secondary structure. Two side-by-side
proline not only precludes forma-
tion of a stabilizing hydrogen
bond with the usual carbonyl In an a-helix hydrogen bonds are formed *_*-
--
___----_
--._
group but also introduces a steric between the main chain C=O of a given
residue and the N-H of the amino acid
repulsion with that group. Proline
four residues along the chain.
often acts to terminate a-helices Thus residue I is hydrogen bonded to
and is sometimes called a 'helix residue V, residue II to residue VI, etc.
breaker'. .. ..
I 0

Typical amino acid R ,,,

H-bond

+
H O

No hydrogen on
-.--_
Proline
nitrogen. Proline
cannot act as a \
H-bond donor. '-4 H
0

The right-handedness of the

The pitch of
a-helix is a consequence of the the a-helix
chirality of the a-carbon. (0.54 nm)
It is remarkable that for an a-helix
not only is each of the Q,$ angles
such as to minimize steric strain,
but all hydrogen bonds are at an The a -helix structure
optimum length and angle, and all found in proteins.
main chain atoms are close
packed to maximize van der
Waals forces of attraction. Fig. 3.7 a-Helix.
 Foundations of chemical biology 23

P-Sheet structures
involve hydrogen ~

\
bonding between \
\
C=O and N-H
groups of two
adjacent chains of
protein

pleated structure
R
r-----7 --A> In schematic representations of <--
protein structures, each strand
of a P-sheet is often depicted as
P
When the main chains are oriented In the same an arrOW ,ndlcatlngthe When the main chains are oriented in the opposite
direction the structure is a parallel p-sheet direction the structure IS an ant/parallelp-sheet
dlrectlonality of the

Fig. 3.8 The two types of B-sheet structures.

Glycine and proline are often

found in /3-turns because of
their unusual conformational
- H-d )=eii-d 3 preferences.The structure of
proline encourages a turn and
Generalized'
Bturn structure
the small steric bulk of glycine
Pro-Gly is a favourable sequence for a p-turn
accommodates the unusual
Fig. 3.9 /%Turn structures. structure.

arrangements are possible in whch neighbouring strands are oriented in

the same or opposite directions (parallel and antiparallel @-sheets,
The hydrogen bond geometry is
respectively). The hydrogen bonding arrangements are somewhat differ- more favourable in an antiparallel
ent for these two structures, but in either case a sheet-like structure with a sheet than in a parallel one. The
gentle helical twist results. The side chains of individual residues point former is more common in
alternately above and below the plane of the sheet and interact with either proteins.
solvent or neighbouring portions of the protein.
Connection of the individual strands making up a j3-sheet takes the form
of a loop. This need not be a regular structure, in the sense that adjacent
residues in a turn often adopt different conformations. One class of local
structure, the @-turn, is found in many protein structures and provides a
common means for a protein chain to fold back on itself (Fig. 3.9).

3.4 Tertiary and quaternary structure: a-Keratin

With a knowledge of the secondary structures found in short stretches of
protein, the overall structures adopted by proteins can now be analysed.
24 The structures of proteins

For proteins that reside in an aqueous environment, the burial of non-

polar regions is a major driving force favouring the adoption of well-
defined overall structures (see Section 1.5). This burial can be achieved by
interaction with another non-polar region of the same protein chain to
produce an ordered tertiary structure. A similar effect can be achieved by
the association of separate protein chains to form a cohesive multimeric
The reason that the heptad repeat structure, known as a quaternary structure. Specific examples of both
sequence of a-keratin (Fig. 3.10) types of structure are described below.
adopts an a-helical structure is The a-keratins, which are key structural proteins in animals, provide
partly because the residues the basis for such materials as hair, wool and fingernails. Early X-ray
involved have a high
propensity for the a-region
diffraction experiments on proteins included measurements on a-keratins
of conformational space, and and revealed that these proteins incorporate some regular structural fea-
partly because of the favourable tures. These were recognized, after a series of model-building experiments
overall structure which results by Linus Pauling, as being due to the presence of a-helices.
from packing the helices When the order of amino acids in a-keratin was determined, regula-
together.
rities were found in the sequence of the main body of the protein. In
almost all of this region, chemically similar but not identical residues
a b c d e f g occur in a repeating cycle of seven residues. It turns out that this

a
276
Glu Ser W A s n Glu Glu
275

282
sequence, which can be abbreviated as (a-k-d-e-f-g),, predisposes the
protein to adopt an a-helical structure; large non-polar amino acids
Ala Tyr m L y s Lys Asn appear at positions a and d and the remaining sites are mostly occupied
a Glu Glu Glu Met Arg Asp
289 by polar residues (Fig. 3.10).

a Gin A s n m Ser Thr 8;

Because there are approximately 3.6 residues in each turn of an a-helix,
the hydrophobic amino acids are oriented as a ribbon along the edge of
@ Gin A s n m Ser Thr 8;
the helix (Fig. 3.11). Whilst the remainder of the helix is well solvated by
water, this ribbon is not, and there is a thermodynamic driving force to
Large non-polar residues are boxed;
the numbers refer to the order of the bury this region away from solvent. The extended rod-like structure of
residues in the linear sequence. a-keratin does not allow this burial to take place within a single protein
Fig. 3.10 A portion of the chain; instead, two chains associate and form a coiled coil. The resulting
sequence of mouse a-keratin rope-like structure equips this protein for its role as a constituent of
illustrating the heptad repeat. biological fibres.
This discussion has identified several forces that impact on the overall
structure of proteins: steric interactions; hydrogen bonding in secondary
It is a useful exercise to draw structural units; and the burial of non-polar residues to avoid unfavour-
out the precise structure of each able solvation effects. In addition, the interactions between side chains in
side chain to confirm the polar tertiary and quaternary structures can be consolidated by covalent cross-
and non-polar character of the linking. As we have seen before, the side chain of cysteine includes a thiol
residues in the above sequence.
group. If two cysteine residues are sufficiently close in space, a covalent
disulphide link can be formed by oxidation. This stabilizes the structure in
the form in which the cross-link is made (see Fig. 2.7; although the two
cysteine residues must be close in space for disulphide bond formation to
In the a-keratin structure occur, they need not be near one another in the protein sequence).
(Fig. 3.11) the helices are oriented As an example, a-keratin contains some cysteine residues. In hair, these
at an angle of about 20" to one are generally in the form of disulphde links with neighbouring protein
another. This type of coiled-coil chains. These hold adjacent fibres in fixed orientations with respect to one
structure had been predicted by
Francis Crick in 1953, before the another. Reduction of these links, followed by reorientation of the fibres
detailed structure of any proteins and reoxidation, changes the overall shape of the hair. This is exploited
were known. commercially by hairdressers-it is called a 'permanent wave' or 'perm'.
 Foundations qf chemical biology 25

As was noted in Section 1.4,

entropy effects are important in
determining the interaction of
non-polar residues with water.
Burial of non-polar residues,
away from water, decreases the
unfavourable ordering of the sol-
vent (overall decrease in entropy)
that would occur if the non-polar
residues were exposed.
When proteins adopt compact
folded structures in water, the
Side-on viewof an End-on view looking increased ordering (unfavourable
a-helix of a-keratin from the carboxyl entropy) of the protein chain is
end of the helix more than offset by the increased

a In water, pairs of helices associate

to bury the non-polar residues
a disorder of water when the
non-polar side chains are buried.

Folded, ordered, protein structure

(low entropy for protein chain)

Hydrophobic
side chains
hl
Helices intertwine
to form a rope-like
Unfolded, disordered state
interdigitate structure
(high entropy for protein chain)
Shaded circles represent non-polar amino acid side chains; Disulphide bonds do not
open circles represent other side chains; significantly affect the degree of
a, b, c, d, e, f and g refer to the order of residues in the
order of the solvent or the folded
heptad repeat as shown in Fig. 3.10
structure, but they restrict the
Fig. 3.11 The structure and packing of a-helices of a-keratin. freedom of the unfolded protein
chain. Thus, entropically, by com-
parison with the non-disulphide
case, the folded structure is stabi-
3.5 Other structural proteins
lized relative to the unfolded state.
There is a large family of proteins that adopt the coiled-coil type of
structure found in a-keratin. For example, tropomyosin is an important
fibrous protein in muscle. This protein, which contains nearly 300 amino S
I
acid residues, also displays a characteristic heptad repeat. Although the
structure of this protein is not known in detail, it is closely related
(homologous) to that of a-keratin. When proteins have evolved from a
common ancestor, they share similar structural features (residues with
similar or identical side chains appear in the same order in the related 7S
proteins), and they are said to be homologous. This will be illustrated in
Chapter 4. The identification of homologies to proteins of known struc-
ture is an important aid in the prediction of the three-dimensional struc- Disulphide bonds reduce the degree
ture of a protein from its amino acid sequence. of disorder in the unfolded state
26 The structures of proteins

Although it is possible to
rationalize why a protein adopts
a particular structure, the
prediction of the three-
dimensional structure of a protein
from its amino acid sequence is
extremely difficult. This is
because of the complexity of
proteins and the folding process
by which a particular structure
emerges. It is, however, a very
important area of research
View from
because of the vastly increased edge of p-shee
knowledge of protein sequences
generated by the human genome p-Sheets stack;
project and related research. We substituents
do not know the structures interdigitate
adopted by the vast majority of Lllj
these sequences. ‘Structural
genomics’ is a term coined to = CH3 or CH,OH, a
describe research aimed at
generating structural information 0 =H,b
about proteins which have been
identified by genome sequencing. Fig. 3.12 The structure of fibroin.

The crystalline /3-sheet region of

Stacked antiparallel @-sheetsare found as key structural features of
cocoon silk of the silkworm fibroin proteins, which are found in silk fibres, and of /3-keratins, which
Bombyx mori is responsible for its are components of bird feathers. In a @-sheetstructure, the side chains of
mechanical strength. This region amino acids point alternately above and below the plane of the sheet. It is
comprises repeats of the not surprising, therefore, that these proteins which form stable repeating
sequence:
(Gly-Ala-Gly-Ala-Gly-Ser),.
@-sheetstructures show a repeated diad pattern (a-b), (Fig. 3.12), corre-
This forms a rigid stacked sponding to the alternation of two types of amino acid residue, over much
structure as shown in Fig. 3.12. of their length.
As discussed above, proline cannot be accommodated within a regular
a-helix, but proline-rich proteins can form an alternative (extended) helix.
Other regions of this silk protein Interwound helices of this type are found in collagen, a high tensile
(fibroin) are glycine rich and
strength material which is the principal constituent of connective tissue in
adopt an amorphous structure
that provides the flexibility of this animals, including tendons, cartilage and blood vessels.
material. In conclusion, three basic structures are found in fibrous proteins: the
a-helix, the P-sheet and the collagen triple helix. Diverse materials are
Collagen is a rigid, triple helix,
made by adapting and varying these basic forms. Flexible and elastic
rich in glycine and proline. The materials are often made from a-helical structures with hydrogen bonding
three individual chains intertwine within, rather than between, chains. Materials based on @-sheetscan be
in a coiled coil structure, in a strong and flexible; these structures are exploited particularly by insects as
somewhat analogous fashion to fibres, resistant to stretching. Collagen, a triple-helical structure, is used
that described for the double
helix of a-keratin in Section 3.4.
by animals to make strong, rigid materials, capable of efficiently trans-
mitting mechanical force.

3.6 Globular proteins

Most proteins adopt ‘globular’ structures in which a-helix and/or
@-strandunits are linked by turns, allowing the protein chain to fold into a
 Foundations of chemical biology 21

-
points to solution-- -
Polar face of the helix.-,
Y End-on view of
The globin family of proteins
provides another example of
A / Tq
.
helix, a3 (the
third a-helix
tertiary and quaternary globular
$0 protein structures. The oxygen
points to protein core
Glu -165
\ 85
storage protein myoglobin
.$“”‘.. .=( consists of a series of a-helices
folded into a compact tertiary
/Tyr-164,H-N /Ii* ,127 structure. In the oxygen transport
H-N protein haemoglobin four protein
b0.- k I
0 w chains, similar to myoglobin,
Aia(163 Cys -126 Proline residues are found
\ at turns in the structure,
associate to form a well-defined
e.g. Pro-57 is found in the quaternary structure. This is
turn between a2 and 83
discussed in detail in Section 4.4.
H-N
)al-162
+
, H -”>=
>eu-125
o,,H-N2=
’
/Leu-93
In Fig. 3.13, amino acid residues
are numbered according to their
ko’
.
81-161
N-H
11e124
\
I leg2
\
order in the linear sequence of
TIM. In addition, the polarity of the
individual residues is indicated by
/V8l-160 /Va1-123 the way the residues are labelled.
/Val-91
Large, non-polar, hydrophobic
residues are labelled in boldface
and charged highly polar resi-
dues are labelled in italics.
Representativesectm of P-sh
The residues in the middle of the p-
p4,85,86 (the fourth, fifth and sixth strands are non-polar.There are
strands from the N-terminus). H--N occasional residues in the @-sheet
Note the wevalence of non-polar ‘i
residues (labelledin boldfa&). which are polar, but these are at the
ends of strands and point into solu-
Fig. 3.13 The tertiary structure of triose phosphate isomerase. tion, rather than into the core of the
protein. As an example, Glu-165,
bearing a carboxylate side chain,
is at the end of a @-strand.As dis-
compact overall structure. In these structures, large non-polar residues are cussed in Chapter 5, this residue is
buried in the core of the protein away from solvent water, whereas polar at the active site of the enzyme; it
is on the surface of the protein and
residues are predominantly on the surface of the protein. This type of interacts with the enzyme sub-
arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 3.13 for triose phosphate isomerase, strate. Another key residue at the
TIM, an enzyme that is discussed in detail in Chapter 5. active site is His-95; this is two
The three-dimensional structure of TIM has been determined in detail residues beyond the end of one of
by X-ray crystallography. The enzyme is a symmetrical dimer. The ter- the other &strands shown. This
illustrates how the folded nature of
tiary structure of each TIM monomer (see Fig. 3.13) comprises alternate globular proteins brings residues,
&strands and a-helices linked by turns. The overall shape is like a barrel. which are far apart in the primary
The eight @-strands at the centre are arranged in a parallel P-sheet, sequence, close together in space
resembling a cylinder. Since this forms the core of the protein, all the in the final structure.
amino acid residues in the middle of the 0-sheet are hydrophobic. Sur- ‘Amphiphilic’ is derived from
rounding the ,&sheet are a series of amphiphilic helices, which have a non- Greek, meaning ‘lover of both’. An
polar face pointing towards the protein core and a polar face pointing into amphiphilic helix is one that likes
both polar and non-polar envir-
solution. The overall structure has a close-packed non-polar core and a onments, by virtue of having
predominantly polar surface that interacts with solution. Residual non- polar and non-polar faces.
polar regions of the surface of individual TIM molecules are buried when The close-packed nature of glob-
they associate to form a dimer, the native quaternary structure of the ular proteins maximizes van der
enzyme. As will be discussed in Chapter 5, the interaction of a particular Waals interactions that help to
stabilize the structure and provide
part of the surface of each protein chain, the ‘active site’, with substrate the rigidity essential for their
molecules is responsible for the catalytic activity of this enzyme. function.
28 The structures of proteins

In order to achieve its 3.7 Summary

functional state after synthesis on
the ribosome (see Section 9.11), a Steric interactions limit the conformational opportunities open to most
protein must fold to the specific amino acid residues in a protein chain. Two regular structural units, the
structure unique to its particular a-helix and P-sheet, which conform with these requirements, and which
sequence. The manner in which exploit favourable hydrogen bonding arrangements, are common in
this occurs is the subject of
intense investigation by proteins. These secondary structural units, when extended along a
experimentalists and sequence, can form fibres. In most proteins, they are connected by loops
theoreticians. It is a key link which allow the protein chain to fold into a compact ‘globular’ structure.
between sequence and Individual protein chains often fold into regular structures, and some-
structure, and hence to our
times aggregate, in order to bury non-polar regions of the protein that
ability to predict structures,
understand protein functions, would otherwise be exposed to solvent. The resulting well-defined struc-
and design new proteins for tures can be consolidated by covalent cross-linking, e.g. by disulphide
specific tasks. formation. We now know a great deal about the structures of some pro-
teins and this knowledge provides a solid basis for understanding their
In conditions such as Alzheimer’s properties; however, whilst it is possible to rationalize why a particular
disease and ‘mad cow disease’, structure is preferred, it is difficult to predict the three-dimensional
proteins that are normally structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence. The generation of
globular and soluble misfold and three-dimensional structural information for proteins whose sequences
adopt a largely /3-sheet structure
(related to the fibroin structure
are known continues to be a major research challenge, particularly in
described in Section 3.6). In this attempts to define structures and functions for the large number of pro-
form the proteins aggregate to teins identified in the sequencing of the human genome. It forms the core
form an extended /3-sheet of a contemporary field of research known as structural genomics.
structure. The resulting insoluble
material that is deposited in the
diseased tissue is thought to be at
least partly responsible for the Further reading
characteristic degeneration of the C. Branden and J. Tooze (1999) Introduction to Protein Structure, 2nd edn,
brain associated with these Garland Publishing Inc., New York and London, is an excellent introductory
diseases. It is believed that textbook in this area.
incorrectly folded proteins can C. Cohen and D. A. D. Parry (1986) Trends in Biocl~emicalSciences, 11, pp. 245-8,
promote the misfolding of other gives a good general overview of the structure of proteins related to a-keratin.
molecules, and hence that such M. Perutz (1992) Protein Structure, W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, provides
proteins,‘prions’, can cause some an overview of protein structure and medicinal applications.
diseases of this type to be A. R. Fersht (1999) Structure and Meckaizisni in Protein Science, W. H. Freeman
transmissible or ‘infectious’. and Co., New York, is an outstanding text that discusses many aspects of
protein structure and folding.
Other diseases associated with C. M. Dobson (1999) Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 24, pp. 329-32, gives a brief
protein misfolding include cystic account of diseases related to protein misfolding.
fibrosis and one type of diabetes. R. H. Pain (ed.) (2000) Fundamentals of Protein Folding, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, provides a comprehensive account of protein folding and the diseases
associated with misfolding.
 From structure to metabolic
function: the globins

4.1 Overview
In Chapter 2 the basic principles of protein structure were outlined. In
Chapter 3 these principles were used to analyse the structures of proteins,
including some which serve a purely mechanical function. In this chapter,
the role of proteins in metabolism is introduced, using the globins as an
example.
Globins are responsible for oxygen transport in many multicellular
organisms: oxygen is collected from the atmosphere and delivered to the
cells. The molecular mechanism by which this process takes place is one of
the best understood examples of the relationship between a structure of a
protein and its function, and is examined in detail here.
After a brief introduction, the structures of two such proteins, myo-
globin and haemoglobin, will be explored. These provide specific exam-
ples of how the basic principles of protein structure can be used to
understand the complex functions of large macromolecules. The mole-
cular properties of myoglobin and haemoglobin are then examined in
relation to their physiological roles. This is followed by an analysis of the
relationship between the structure of the proteins and their function, in
atomic detail. Finally, a brief look will be taken at how changes in protein
structures affect their function, with sickle-cell anaemia given as an
example of a so-called ‘molecular disease’.

4.2 Introduction
Many organisms oxidize organic compounds as a means of generating Oxidation is defined as the loss of
energy (see Chapter 7). Aerobic organisms use oxygen to mediate this electrons. Oxygen is an oxidizing
chemistry. In unicellular organisms, sufficient oxygen for respiration is agent because it readily accepts
available through simple diffusion into cells. In large multicellular organisms electrons. When an oxygen
the diffusion rate is too slow to fuel the metabolic rate, and a need arises for molecule receives electrons it is
reduced, ultimately to water.
an oxygen transport and storage system. The globin molecules, a family of
proteins, have evolved to fill this need in vertebrates. These proteins bind and
release oxygen in response to the needs of the organism; they provide a simple
introduction to the interactions between proteins and small metabolites.
The function of haemoglobin is to take up oxygen from the atmosphere Note that myoglobin and
and transport it to the various tissues of the body. The function of haemoglobin are NOTenzymes.
myoglobin is to collect oxygen from the haemoglobin in the tissues, and Unlike enzymes, the globins
do not catalyse chemical
store it for later use, freeing the haemoglobin molecules to collect more transformations of the molecules
oxygen. These different, but related, functions are performed by different, which they bind. Enzymes are
but related, proteins. the subject of Chapter 5.
30 From structure to metabolic function: the globins

The various globin molecules are Myoglobin is a monomer. Haemoglobin is a tetramer in which each of
similar in sequence and structure; its four component subunits resembles myoglobin. The subunits of hae-
they are ‘homologous’proteins.
They have evolved from a common moglobin, however, have somewhat different properties from myoglobin
ancestor by gradual changes in both because of small differences in primary structure and by virtue of the
sequence, to generate a family of interaction of the four subunits. The differing behaviour of myoglobin
proteins with properties tailored to and haemoglobin provides a useful lesson in how subtle changes to protein
their current biochemical roles. structure are used to fine-tune important aspects of their function.
Comparisons of one protein of the
family with another provides useful
information about structure and
4.3 The physiological role of the globins
function, as well as insights into the
evolutionary history of the organ- Myoglobin is an oxygen storage protein and is particularly abundant in
isms in which they are found. skeletal and cardiac muscle; it binds oxygen at all but the very lowest
A particularly rich source of concentrations encountered in active muscle. Oxygen is only released
myoglobin are the muscles of when the concentration of oxygen has fallen to very low levels. Hae-
deep-sea diving mammals, such
as whales. Why? moglobin is the oxygen transport protein and is abundant in the blood; it
The behaviour of myoglobin (Mb) binds oxygen in the lungs and releases it in the capillaries where oxygen is
can be understood in terms of the required by respiring tissues.
equilibrium between oxygenated In order for the globins to fulfil their respective roles, haemoglobin
and deoxygenated forms: must have a lower affinity for oxygen than myoglobin at all oxygen
MbOp + Mb +0 2 concentrations. This feature is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.1. It is also
The equilibrium constant for the apparent from the graph that the oxygen affinities of myoglobin and
dissociation of oxymyoglobin, haemoglobin vary with oxygen concentration in a different fashion. It is
KMb, can be written as important to recognize the physiological significance of this difference in
oxygen binding patterns, as is also shown in Fig. 4.1, and to explain how
this difference is achieved at a molecular level.
Afraction, YMb, ofthemyoglobin
molecules have bound oxygen The behaviour of myoglobin can be readily explained by assuming that
(Fig.4.1); theremainder (1 -yMb) each molecule has a constant binding affinity for oxygen irrespective of
are deoxygenated. Hence, the oxygen concentration. At very low concentrations of oxygen, most
myoglobin molecules do not contain a bound oxygen molecule. As the
KMb = (1 -YMb)[OZ]/yMb
concentration of oxygen increases, an increasing proportion of myoglobin
which can be rearranged into the
form Myoglobin

Fraction of globin
molecules with
This equation describes the Haemoglobin
behaviour shown in Fig. 4.1.At
.’ I

high concentrations of O p ,[O,] I

I
>>KMb and YMb is approximately
I
[02]/[02], i.e. it approaches 1. At
low concentrations of O p ,[OZ]
<KMb and YMb approximates to
[ 0 2 ] / K ~ b ,i.e. it is proportional to I oxygen level
the O2 Concentration. K M b is a Low levels of oxygen lungs:
measure of the affinity of myoglo- oglobin
bin for 02;a small value of K M b myoglobin, as well as capillaries and muscle: absorbs oxygen
corresponds to a high affinity for haemoglobin, releases haemoglobin releases oxygen;
02.A similar mathematical rela- oxygen myoglobin absorbs oxygen
tionship is found in Chapter 5
describing the properties of pro-
teins which act as catalysts. Fig. 4.1 The oxygen binding properties of myoglobin and haemoglobin.
 Foundations of chemical biology 3 1

molecules have oxygen bound; they are now referred to as oxymyoglobin.

At higher oxygen concentrations, the solution of myoglobin becomes
saturated as all the myoglobin is in this oxy form.
The behaviour of haemoglobin, however, is clearly more complicated The cooperative behaviour of
than that of myoglobin and cannot be explained in terms of the simple haernoglobin provides a classic
arguments above. As the oxygen concentration increases, the affinity of the example of allosferic behaviour
remaining haemoglobin molecules for oxygen appears to increase. This in proteins. Allostery, the
phenomenon, known as cooperativity,puzzled biochemists for many years. phenomenon whereby the
binding of a molecule at one
The cooperative binding of oxygen to haemoglobin allows it to carry site on a protein surface alters
out its biological role very efficiently. At low oxygen concentrations, most the functional properties of the
of the oxygen is released to the tissues, whereas at high oxygen con- protein at a distant site, is an
centrations (e.g. in the lungs) virtually all molecules of haemoglobin important mechanism for
become saturated with oxygen. regulating biological phenomena.
Cells control a wide variety of
The structures of myoglobin and haemoglobin, with and without bound
processes by regulating the
oxygen, have been elucidated and are examined in the next section. The activity of key proteins. This
differences between the structures are then used to account for their dif- regulation is brought about by
ferent behaviour in Section 4.5. controlling the amount of these
proteins (see the discussion of
the regulation of gene expression
4.4 The structure of the globin molecules in Section 9.11) and their activity
within the cell. Allostery plays
4.4.1 The structure of myoglobin and oxymyoglobin
a key role in the latter type of
Myoglobin was the first globular protein to have its structure determined regulation.
in atomic detail. Many of its features are now well understood, and have
proved common to a large number of protein structures that have since
been elucidated. For example, the residues in myoglobin are found to be
very efficiently packed together (see Fig. 4.2); also, the hydrophobic
amino acid residues are found to be buried in the core of the protein,
whilst the more hydrophilic residues are exposed at the surface, as dis-
cussed in Section 3.6.
The protein chain of myoglobin (Fig. 4.2) contains 153 amino acid resi-
dues and is made up of 8 secondary structural units, all a-helices. In contrast
to the extended a-helical structure found in a-keratin (Section 3.4), the Q-
helices in myoglobin are connected by short loop regions that allow the
chain to fold back on itself to make a compact overall structure. The lengths
of the helices range from 7 to 28 amino acid residues. Careful inspection of
the tertiary structure reveals that helices adjacent to one another in the
protein sequence are not always close to one another in space.
Detailed examination of the full structure of myoglobin allows us to
rationalize the arrangement of helices using some of the principles of
secondary structure which were outlined in Chapters 2 and 3. For
instance, the a-helices often pack against one another at an angle of
approximately 50"; this angle allows a favourable interaction between a
ribbon of side chains protruding from the surface of one helix and the
groove bordered by two such ribbons in the other helix. This is one
arrangement of a-helices that occurs commonly in protein structures.
The eight helices (A-H) enclose a hydrophobic pocket in which resides a
haem group. This pocket is the active site of a globin molecule and it binds
a single oxygen molecule; it will be examined in more detail in Section 4.5.
32 From structure to metabolic function: the globins

Low-polarity side chains buried

m water at helix interf

N-terminus
In this ribbon representationof the main c
amino acid side chains of low of myoglobin, the helices are labelled
polarity; open circles represent alphabeticallyfrom the N-terminus and the Space-filling representationof myoglobin,
turns are labelledby pairs of letters denoting illustrating the close-packed nature of the
the flanking helices. structure (the haem group is shown in black).
The haem group and the two histidine residues
Side view to illustratethe burial of non-polar
residues away from water in the folded structure
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ r ~ ~ ~ ~
ball-and-skk representacon.
side Of

Fig. 4.2 The structure of myoglobin.

In this discussion of the globins, From a structural viewpoint it is important to note that both the hydro-
the amino acid residues are phobic nature and the precise geometry of the haem pocket, so critical to
identified by their position relative
to the N-terminal end of each
its function, are preserved in all known globins.
individual helix, e.g. His F8 Oxymyoglobin has almost the same structure as myoglobin: the oxygen
refers to a histidine residue which molecule is bound to the haem group causing a slight change in tertiary
occurs as the eighth residue structure, specifically at the F-helix.
within the F-helix.

The haem group is an organic 4.4.2 The structure of haemoglobin and oxyhaemoglobin
molecule, not a protein (see All vertebrate haemoglobins have been found to have similar structures:
Fig. 4.5). Such a molecule that
is permanently associated with a
they comprise a tetramer of globin molecules, each molecule containing a
protein, in its functional state, is haem group in a hydrophobic pocket. Each haem group can bind one
termed a prostheticgroup. These oxygen molecule, which means that each haemoglobin molecule may
species are closely related in carry a maximum of four molecules of oxygen. The protein chains are
function to coenzymes (see generally of two types, termed the a and /3 chains, which have slightly
Chapter 7) and are used when the
intrinsic chemistry of the normal
different sequences and tertiary structures. Most haemoglobins are made
amino acid side chains is insuffi- up of two copies of each type of monomer and can be represented as (a,&.
cient to perform the chemical Each protein chain has a structure closely resembling that of myoglo-
function required of the protein. bin, as can be seen in Fig. 4.3. The four chains are arranged symmetrically
in a tetrahedral array. This arrangement creates a roughly spherical
molecule, with the haem groups separated from one another in space. The
arrangement of the four protein chains within the tetrameric assembly is
termed the quaternary structure of haemoglobin. The interactions
between the four chains are responsible for the allosteric properties of
haemoglobin and will therefore be examined in some detail. Most of these
interactions are between a and ,B chains, as will be explained below.
It turns out that the origin of the allosteric behaviour of haemoglobin
results from the fact that this protein can exist in two slightlydifferent forms,
 Foundations of chemical biology 33
The problem of predicting the full
structure of the globins from their
amino acid sequence alone
should be apparent from Fig. 4.3.
The importance and difficulty of
predicting protein structures from
their sequences was discussed in
Chapter 3.

In Fig. 4.3 one of the monomers,

$1, is drawn in a similar
orientation to that of myoglobin
in Fig. 4.2 and the helices are
labelled A-H to allow a structural
comparison to be made.

By comparison with the analysis

of oxygen binding by myoglobin in
Section 4.3, the behaviour of
haemoglobin, Hb (Fig. 4.1), can be
described by an equation of the
form

This ribbon representation of haemoglobin shows the main chains of the four sub-units
a l , a2,p1 and p2. The right- and left- hand halves, allpl and a2432 act as pairs.
The haem groups are highlighted as black ball-and-stick representations. where YHb is the fraction of
haemoglobin molecules with
Fig. 4.3 The structure of haemoglobin. oxygen bound and KHb is an
effective equilibrium dissociation
constant of oxyhaemoglobin.
known as R and T states. At high oxygen concentrations, haemoglobin is This equation reflects the fact that
predominantly oxygenated and in the R form, which has an affinity for haemoglobin can bind up to four
oxygen comparable to the free myoglobin-like subunits; at low oxygen molecules of 02. If the binding of
oxygen molecules by each chain
concentrations, haemoglobin is substantially deoxygenated and most
were completely independent,
molecules are in the T form, which has a considerably lower affinity for then haemoglobin would have
oxygen than free subunits. The differences in structure between the two similar oxygen binding properties
forms must account for the difference in oxygen affinities. The challenge for to myoglobin, i.e. n = l . On the
the chemical biologist is to rationalize this relationship at an atomic level. other hand if the binding of
Detailed studies have shown that the structures of haemoglobin in its R oxygen were an ‘all-or-nothing’
process, the equilibrium would
and T forms differ primarily in the relative orientation of the individual depend on [O2I4i.e. , n = 4. In
protein subunits. A close inspection of the structures of the two forms of practice, the behaviour of
haemoglobin shows that, in addition to minor changes in tertiary struc- haemoglobin is in between
ture, specific ap-subunit interactions (Fig. 4.4) differ; there are more salt these two extremes and can
bridges and hydrogen bonds in the T form of haemoglobin than in the R be described by the above
equation where n = 2.8.
form. This extra stabilization of the T form encourages the adoption of
this low oxygen affinity structure in the absence of oxygen. The binding of ‘Salt bridge’ is a general term for
oxygen offsets this stabilization, favouring the R form, as will be described the electrostatic attraction
between adjacent side chains
in section 4.5.
bearing complementary charges.
On transition from the R to the T form, interactions between subunits This is an important stabilizing
a1 and ,/3l and between a2 and p2 tend to remain constant; indeed hae- interaction for charged residues
moglobin can be regarded as a dimer of a@dimers. However, the inter- of proteins that are not fully
actions between subunits a1 and 8 2 and a2 and pl change; as such they exposed to solvent.
are known as sliding contacts. Interconversion of the R and T forms can
34 From structure to metabolic function: the globins

During oxygen binding to

haemoglobin, the change from
the T to the R form involves a net
reduction in the number of salt 0-
bridges and hydrogen bonds, and In the T to R transition one aB
hence involves an expenditure of dimer turns relative to the other 'H
energy. This explains why the
affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen O-H
is always lower than that of
myoglobin-an extra energy price
has to be paid when O2 is bound.

As shown in Fig. 4.4, the cup

contact acts as a two-way switch.

Note how a detailed

understanding of the structural
changes requires a knowledge of
the specific chemical functionality
of the particular amino acids
involved. It is useful to refer back
to Chapter 2 to remind yourself of
the precise molecular structures
of the amino acids concerned.
Fig. 4.4 Schematic diagram showing structural differences between the Tand R
forms of haemoglobin. (Redrawn after Perutz (1990).)

be described in global terms as a 15" rotation of one a,B dimer relative to

the other (Fig. 4.4); this change in structure is the basis of the mechanism
of cooperativity of haemoglobin which is discussed in the next section.
The haem group of myoglobin
imparts the characteristic red
colour to muscle tissue, whilst 4.5 The molecular mechanism of oxygen transport
haemoglobin is responsible for The haem group consists of an Fe2+ ion encased in a porphyrin ligand.
the red colour of blood.
The Fe2+ ion has six coordination sites; the porphyrin ligand takes up
four of these, leaving two free binding sites on opposite sides of the metal
ion. If a free haem group is present in aqueous solution, these sites may be
The role of His F8 provides
another example of how the occupied by water molecules. In globin molecules, one site is coordinated
specific character of an amino to a histidine residue (His F8) and the other is available to bind oxygen,
acid side chain is exploited in a being protected from solvent molecules by the protein chain (Fig. 4.5).
functional protein structure. In an aqueous solution containing oxygen, a free Fe2+-haem group
binds oxygen molecules but, unlike the globin molecules, binding results
in irreversible oxidation of the Fe2+ ions to Fe3+.The oxidation destroys
the oxygen-binding activity of the iron.
In globin molecules, the oxygen molecules are bound to the haem
reversibly, and no oxidation occurs. The protein environment protects the
Fe2+ from oxidation. The exact mechanism of protection has been inves-
tigated by studying the active site of the globins, and then synthesizing
 Foundations of chemical biology 35

Oxygen-binding site Simple iron porphyrins

irreversibly oxidize, in the
presence of oxygen, via a
series of dimerization processes
co, as outlined below:

/N
H
q Histidine side chain
coordinatedto iron (His F8)

Fig. 4.5 The environment of Fez+ in the haem group of the globins.

Benzene ring caps one

face of the porphyrin p-0x0 dimer

The capped porphyrin shown

in Fig. 4.6, designed by Baldwin,
can bind oxygen reversibly. When
oxygen binds to this porphyrin, it
cannot interact freely with solvent
or other porphyrins as outlined
above. Instead the cap protects
' 1-Methyiimidazole,
the oxygen-binding site as shown
f.)
MeN
coordinated to iron on
the open face, mimics
His F8 of the globins
below:

Fig. 4.6 A synthetic mimic of myoglobin: a porphyrin modified to allow reversible

binding of oxygen.

porphyrins which mimic this environment, thereby establishing the

requirements for reversible oxygen binding. In globins, the haem with
bound oxygen is somewhat buried in a hydrophobic environment. Access to
solvent is restricted, and there is no opportunity for the haem to interact
directly with other haem groups.
Synthetic porphyrins (Fig. 4.6) have been prepared which have a
hydrophobic 'cap' over the oxygen-binding site of the iron. Oxygen bound
at this site cannot interact directly with solvent, or with other porphyrins.
Such molecules do indeed bind oxygen reversibly. These studies are
important for two reasons: they help identify exactly the features required
for an oxygen-carrying protein, and they may provide the basis for the
development of artificial blood. I

4.5.1 The nature of the oxygen-binding site

The geometry of the haem group in myoglobin is depicted in Fig. 4.7.
MeNr>
When oxygen binds to the Fe2+, it causes a change to its electronic
36 From structure to metabolic function: the globins

The synthetic porphyrins, which structure which results in a slight reduction in its atomic radius. This
reversibly bind oxygen, provide a allows the Fe2+ to move into the plane of the porphyrin ring, which in turn
good example of biomimetic
chemistry. In this field of research, pulls His F8 towards the haem group. This process explains the small
chemistry is used to provide difference in tertiary structure observed between myoglobin and oxy-
insights into biological systems. In myoglobin (Fig. 4.7).
turn, such research provides new Although the change in the electronic configuration of the Fe2+ on
compounds with interesting oxygen binding causes only a small change in tertiary structure, this
properties that can sometimes
be exploited in technological transition has been exploited as the crucial trigger associated with the
applications. For example, transition from the R form to the T form in haemoglobin. The movement
compounds that reversibly of His F8 necessarily results in a movement of the F-helix of which it is a
bind oxygen have potential as part. Since this helix is a rigid entity, it acts as a lever and magnifies the
components of artificial blood. small movement, transmitting a larger change to the subunit interface.
Thus, movement of the F-helix favours the rotation of the a@dimers
relative to one another and, in so doing, forces the salt bridges (which
The electronic structure of an stabilize the T form) to break.
Fez+ ion is i s 2 2s2 2p6 3s’ 3p6 Progressive binding of oxygen to haemoglobin, therefore, increases the
3d6; there are six electrons in the
outer d shell. These electrons are stability of the R state, relative to the T state, hence increasing the relative
organized in one of two distinct population of the high-affinity form of the haemoglobin molecules in
ways. In one configuration the d solution. In other words, the binding of oxygen to one subunit of hae-
electrons are present as three moglobin has facilitated a change in the structure of the tetramer, which
electron pairs. Since there is no increases the affinity of the remaining haem groups in the molecule for
residual electron spin, this is
known as the low-spin oxygen. In this way, communication between subunits is achieved, and the
configuration. Such ions have a phenomenon of cooperativity of oxygen binding to haemoglobin is
relatively small ionic radius. The
alternative is the high-spin
arrangement in which the
maximum number of electrons
are unpaired. In this form the
Fez ion adopts an electronic
+

configuration with two of the d His E7 A comparison of the

electrons paired and the other R state Rstate (shown in
four unpaired. Such ions are small F$+ fits black and white) and
larger than the low-spin variant. into the plane of - - , the Tstak? (shown
Different ligand environments the porphyrin to fit irito the pjme of
\ tho porphyrin shaded) of
around the Fe2+ion favour \ haernoglobin.
different configurations. In the \

absence of oxygen, the Fez+ ’\ Q ! In the T slate the

Fezflies below a
ion adopts the high-spin
configuration. The binding of bent porphyrin ring.
oxygen favours a change to When the
the smaller, low-spin, form as haernoglobin adopts
shown in Fig. 4.7. the R state, the Fez+
moves into the plane
the porphyrin ring
becomes planar, and
In its deoxy form, the haem Change from the F-helix is pulled
porphyrin distorts from the Tslale to R state; upwards.
normal planar array to a domed F-helix is pulled up \

structure, in an effort to
accommodate the large Fez+ Fig. 4.7 The effect of oxygen binding on the haem group and adjacent parts of
ion, as shown schematically the structure of haemoglobin. (Redrawn after Perutz (1990)J
in Fig. 4.7.
 Foundations of chemical biology 37

explained. This phenomenon is now understood in great detail. Indeed, it Chemicals that bind to the T
structure, and stabilize it,
has proved possible to set up a detailed mathematical model and simulate
disfavour the T to R transition.
the oxygen-binding curves shown in Fig. 4.1 very closely. This will, therefore, diminish the
affinity of haemoglobin for
oxygen. This effect is exploited as
4.6 How changing protein structure alters protein a means of regulating the oxygen
binding of haemoglobin. As an
function: sickle-cell anaemia and molecular disease example, the pH of muscle is
Sickle-cell anaemia provides the classic example of a disease which can be lower than that of the lungs.
explained in terms of an unwelcome change in protein structure; as such, it Protons bind to, and selectively
stabilize, the T state. This prop-
has been termed a ‘molecular disease’. erty, known as the ‘Bohr effect‘,
The symptoms of sickle-cell anaemia include headache, weakness and enhances the efficiency of
dizziness, all of which are attributable to a lack of oxygen. These symp- release of oxygen by
toms are particularly acute in situations where the body’s oxygen supply is haemoglobin in the tissues.
restricted, e.g. at high altitudes or during vigorous exercise. An exam- Molecules which affect the
allosteric equilibrium are known
ination of the patient’s red blood cells reveals that many are sickle shaped, as ‘allosteric effectors’. Other
rupture easily and cause capillary blockage. examples of species which act as
More detailed investigation reveals that this sickling is a consequence of allosteric effectors for hae-
a change in the haemoglobin itself, which has an abnormally low solubility moglobin are CI -, COPand a
in its T state. At low oxygen concentrations, where the T state pre- metabolite 2,3-bispho-
sphoglycerate. The latter is
dominates, the defective haemoglobin tends to form a fibrous precipitate involved in the adaptation of
which deforms the cells and gives them their distinctive sickle shape. humans to high altitude: changes
The cause of this low solubility turns out to be a single amino acid in its concentration act to
substitution in a key position on the surface of the defective haemoglobin: enhance the efficiency with which
a valine has been substituted for a glutamate at position 6 in the ,43 chain. oxygen is offloaded to the tissues.
This apparently small change in structure has a profound effect on the Sickle-cell anaemia is more
properties of the haemoglobin molecule. This is because valine is a prevalent amongst certain ethnic
groups, e.g. people of central
hydrophobic residue and, unlike the polar glutamate, prefers to be buried African descent. The chronic
in the interior of the protein. A single haemoglobin molecule is unable to effects of sickling are only
bury the valine residue within its hydrophobic core. Aggregation of the manifest when an individual has
defective deoxyhaemoglobin molecules, however, happens to be a inherited mutant haemoglobin
favourable process, due to the presence of a complementary hydrophobic genes from both parents; humans
who have inherited a mutant gene
area in the EF corner of each ,O chain in neighbouring molecules. This area from one parent, and a normal
is not exposed to the surface in oxyhaemoglobin, which explains why the version from the other are
problem is exacerbated at low oxygen concentrations. relatively unaffected by anaemia.
Aggregation of defective deoxyhaemoglobin molecules results in long This group, however, is more
helical fibres of protein molecules which can be readily observed in an resistant to the effects of malaria.
In countries where malaria is
electron micrograph. The single amino acid substitution results in a small endemic, there is therefore a
local change in structure, but changes the overall protein structure from a genetic benefit in having a single
soluble, globular tetramer, to an extended fibre, and disables the oxygen copy of the sickle-cell gene. This
transport function. An understanding of the principles of protein struc- explains why sickle-cell anaemia
ture and function has allowed us to explain this clinical phenomenon in has not disappeared in the course
of evolution.
molecular terms.
Chapter 3 outlined some
diseases related to protein
misfolding. Sickle-cell anaemia
4.7 Summary provides another example of a
disease caused by the
Myoglobin is an oxygen storage molecule prevalent in muscle tissue. aggregation of proteins into an
Haemoglobin is an oxygen transport molecule found in red blood cells. insoluble fibrous precipitate.
38 From structure t o metabolic function: the globins

Drawing the Precise molecular The two molecules have very different oxygen affinities over a range of
structures Of glutamate and oxygen concentrations and this allows them to fulfil their respective bio-
is a useful way of understanding
the change in chemical logical roles. In particular, haemoglobin is found to bind oxygen coop-
functionality that is involved in eratively: the binding of one molecule of oxygen enhances the binding of
the sickle-cell mutation. the next.
Myoglobin has a monomeric structure with eight a-helices that pack to
form a hydrophobic pocket. This pocket binds a haem group containing
Fe2+ in a specific geometry; the haem group is the active site of the
molecule and binds the oxygen. Haemoglobin is a tetrameric molecule
comprised of four myoglobin-like subunits; it exists in two forms, R and
T, which differ in oxygen affinity. The existence of two forms with dif-
ferent affinities explains the cooperative behaviour of haemoglobin, and
can be rationalized after examining the difference in the quaternary
structure of the two forms, and the tertiary structures of the individual
subunits.
Detailed experiments suggest that the molecular mechanism of oxygen
transport depends on reversible binding of oxygen to the iron atom in the
haem group; the reversibility of this process is facilitated by the specific
binding environment. A change in electronic configuration of the iron, on
binding oxygen, provides an atomic trigger that accompanies a change in
structure from the R to T form.
Small changes in the structure of the protein can have profound effects
on its function. Sickle-cell anaemia provides a classic example of this
phenomenon: a single amino acid substitution results in defective hae-
moglobin and clinically detectable symptoms.

Further reading
C. Branden and J. Tooze (1999) Introduction to Protein Structure, 2nd edn,
Garland Publishing Inc., New York and London, Chapter 3, describes
structural details of &-helicalproteins including myoglobin.
General biochemistry texts, such as those listed in Chapter 1, describe aspects of
the biochemistry of myoglobins and haemoglobin. Another biochemistry text
with extensive coverage of the globins is L. Stryer (2000), Biochemistry, 4th edn,
W. H. Freeman and Co., Basingstoke.
M. F. Perutz (1990) Mechanisnzs of Cooperativity and Allosteric Regulation in
Proteins, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, provides a comprehensive
account of allostery in general, including details of the structure and molecular
mechanism of haemoglobin.
5.1 Overview
As we have seen, proteins adopt well-defined three-dimensional structures
and are capable of binding small molecules reversibly at one or more
specific sites on their surfaces. This property is exploited by some types of
proteins, enzymes, to catalyse chemical reactions. Enzymes generally
catalyse specific reactions of particular molecules and the enhancements
of reaction rate are often remarkably high; indeed some enzymes are so
efficient that the rate-limiting factor in the catalysed reaction is the dif-
fusion of the reactants to the enzyme.
An appreciation of the chemistry of enzyme catalysis provides insights
into the biochemical details of cells, as well as into chemical catalysis itself.
Enzyme chemistry is also the basis for much important applied science,
e.g. the development of novel pharmaceutical compounds. Many features
of enzyme catalysis will be illustrated by considering one important
enzyme, triose phosphate isomerase, which is understood in great detail.
The principles that emerge in considering this enzyme can then be exten-
ded to provide a general appreciation of our understanding of enzymes
and the methodology by which these fascinating catalysts are studied.

.2 Triose phosphate isomerase

Cells carry out a vast range of chemical reactions in an organised fashion. The of enzymes are
The chemical transformations essential to cells are catalysed by enzymes, derived by adding the suffix-ase
as required by the organism. One of these reactions, that catalysed by to the name of the substrate and
triose phosphate isomerase (TIM), is considered here as an illustrative the nature of the reaction cata-
example. The reaction catalysed by TIM is a key step in the chemistry used ?~~~~~~'~~~~
by cells to derive chemical energy from the oxidation of sugars (see iSOmerizeS triose phosphates,
Chapter 7).
TIM catalyses the interconversion of two phosphorylated sugars:
~-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (D-GAP)and dihydroxyacetone phosphate
(DHAP). Here, the details of this reaction are analysed, and some
experiments that have led to our current knowledge of the mechanism of
the catalytic process are outlined. The chemical transformation of the
aldehyde- D-GAP to the ketone DHAP is relatively simple: a carbonyl
group and alcohol group are interconverted. The structures and chemistry of
phosphorylated sugars, including
H D-GAPand DHAP, are discussed
H. I
in Chapter 6.The numbering
scheme used for phosphorylated
., sugars is described there; it is
DHAP shown here for D-GAPsince it is
used later in this chapter.
40 Proteins as catalysts

The interconversion of D-GAP 5.3 The rate of the reaction catalysed by TIM
and DHAP can be accelerated
somewhat, in the absence of When a sample of D-GAP is dissolved in water, in the absence of a cat-
TIM, by simple acid- or alyst, it slowly isomerises (Fig. 5.1). Eventually, a stable mixture results at
base-catal ysis. a point where 96 per cent of the aldehyde has been converted to DHAP.
This final composition reflects the equilibrium position of this reaction in
aqueous solution.
If the experiment is repeated in the presence of even a small amount of
The isomerization of D-GAPand TIM, a more rapid reaction takes place, but the final equilibrium position
DHAP is a reversible process. is the same. TIM acts as a catalyst accelerating the rate of attainment, but
not the position, of the equilibrium. Detailed inspection of the TIM-
ki
D-GAP+ DHAP catalysed reaction shows that the initial rate of conversion of D-GAP to
k- 1
DHAP (represented by the slope of the curve at time zero (Fig. 5.1)) can be
As the reaction proceeds, D-GAP very rapid. This rate gradually slows until, at the equilibrium point, no
and DHAP are constantly being overall change takes place. Only at the very start of the reaction does the
interconverted. Irrespective of measured reaction rate correspond simply to the conversion of aldehyde to
the relative starting concentra- ketone. As ketone accumulates, the reverse reaction (ketone to aldehyde)
tions of D-GAPand DHAP, the
reaction reaches a point (the
becomes significant, decreasing the overall (net) rate (but not the intrinsic
equilibrium position) where the rate) of conversion of aldehyde to ketone. The measured rate of reaction
concentrations of the two near equilibrium is therefore difficult to analyse in a simple manner.
species reflect their relative Hence, most meaningful studies of enzyme catalysis use initial rate data.
thermodynamic stabilities. At Information about the nature of catalysis can be obtained by measuring
this stage, D-GAPand DHAP are
being interconverted at equal
the effect on the reaction rate of changing the reaction conditions. Firstly,
rates, and no overall change in a procedure is required to measure the rate of reaction precisely. Then,
their relative concentrations keeping all other factors constant, the initial rate of reaction is measured
results. The ratio of the as different variables are altered in turn.
concentrations at this point is Varying the concentration of TIM changes the rate of the enzyme-
the equilibrium constant, K:
catalysed reaction, as shown in Fig. 5.2. The initial rate varies in direct
K = [DHAP]/[D-GAP] proportion to the concentration of TIM present: if the enzyme con-
centration is doubled, the rate doubles; trebling the enzyme concentration
The equilibrium constant can trebles the rate, and so on. In the terminology of physical chemistry, the
also be described in terms of
the rate constants for the
reaction is first order in enzyme.
forward and back reactions, The effect of changing the concentration of D-GAP, whilst keeping the
ki and k - 1 , respectively. At amount of enzyme fixed, is illustrated in Fig. 5.3. At low concentrations of
equilibrium the rate of substrate, the initial rate changes in direct proportion to the amount of
formation of DHAP is equal
to the rate at which DHAP is
reverting to D-GAP, i.e.

kl [D-GAP] = k-i [DHAP]

Therefore 50-1 a \
[DHAP]/[D-GAP] = k i / k - l

Hence the equilibrium

constant, K , is equal to
kilk - 1 . 1
large time
An assay used for the interval
measurement of catalysis by TIM
is mentioned in Section 7.4.3. Fig. 5.1 The isomerization of D-GAP to DHAP.
 Foundations of chemical biology 41

Initial rate of
TIM-catalysed Each data point represents an initial The rate behaviour shown in
reaction rate of change of D-GAP measured Fig. 5.3 is similar in form to that
at a particular starting concentration found for O2binding by myoglobin
of TIM (see Fig. 5.1) (see Section 4.3). These
phenomena can both be
100 understood in terms of the
reversible binding of a molecule
at an active site on the surface
Fig, 5.2 Measured initial rate of reaction vs concentration of TIM.
of a protein.
The initial rate of theTIM-cata-
lysed reaction (when there is no
Initial rate of
significant back reaction) can be
represented by a simplified
scheme whereTlM reversibly
represents an initial binds the substrate, D-GAP, and
rate of reaction of catalysis takes place on the
D-GAPmeasured at bound substrate:
a particular starting
concentration of
D-GAP D-GAP DHAP
D-GAP(see Fig. 5.1) + + . + +
TIM TIM TIM
0 1 2 3 4 5
[D-GAP](mM) The initial rate of reaction will be

Fig. 5.3 Measured initial rate of reaction vs starting amount of D-GAP. rate = k[o-GAPoTIM]

D -GAP DHAP The concentration of enzyme-

+ + substrate complex is the total
Product

-
Substrate Reaction enzyme concentration, [TIM],
7
binds
-
h
occurs
diffuses
- away multiplied by the fraction of
TIM molecules, hIM,
bound substrate:
with

Enzyme-substrate Enzyme-product [D-GAPoTIM]= [TIMIYT~M

complex (D-GAP*TIM) complex (DHAP TIM)
Substrate binding is
Fig. 5.4 Schematic overview of catalysis byTIM. analogous to the 02-binding
behaviour of myoglobin
substrate. Under these conditions, the reaction is first order in substrate. (see Section 4.3). Thus it
As the substrate concentration is increased to higher levels, the initial rate can readily be shown that
the fraction of TIM
gradually approaches a maximum value. The way in which the rate varies
molecules with bound
as the concentration of D-GAP is changed provides information about the substrate is of the form
nature of the enzyme-catalysed process.
This type of behaviour can be understood by analogy to the binding of [D-GAP]
YTIM =
0 2 by myoglobin described in Chapter 4. As we have seen, myoglobin +
KTIM [D-GAP]
stores oxygen in the muscle by binding the oxygen at a specific site on the
where K T ~ Mis a constant
surface of the protein. The amount of oxygen molecule bound by myo- related to the dissociation
globin increases as the concentration of oxygen increases. Eventually, at equilibrium of substrate from
high concentrations of oxygen, effectively all the binding sites are occupied the enzyme.
and the myoglobin is saturated with 02.This saturation behaviour is Hence the rate is given by
analogous to that of an enzyme such as TIM in the presence of its substrate.
A simple scheme for catalysis by TIM, drawn by analogy with myoglobin,
and annotated for the conversion of D-GAPto DHAP, is shown in Fig. 5.4.
(
rate = k[TIM] KTI !::-: A PI)
42 Proteins as catalysts

The kinetic behaviour of TIM is In the first stage of catalysis, the substrate binds reversibly at the active
typical of many enzymes. This site of TIM; the substrate then undergoes a chemical reaction. At low
behaviour is generalized in the
Michaelis- Menten equation: concentrations of substrate, the active sites of relatively few TIM mole-
cules are occupied; molecules of D-GAP can therefore bind and react each
rate of formation of product
time one meets an enzyme molecule. Hence the rate is proportional to the
concentration of D-GAP as well as that of TIM. At high concentrations of
D-GAP, however, most of the enzyme molecules are already involved in
where E and S represent enzyme catalysis; some D-GAP molecules therefore encounter TIM molecules
and substrate, respectively, k is with occupied active-sites. Since the substrate cannot bind, these
the catalytic rate constant and K,
encounters cannot lead to an enzyme-catalysed reaction. The rate is
is the Michaelis constant.
therefore no longer simply proportional to the concentration of D-GAP.
At high concentrations of
This simple scheme explains why the reaction rate reaches a maximum
substrate, essentially all the
enzyme molecules are engaged when the active site is saturated at high concentrations of D-GAP.
in catalysis. The fraction of
enzyme with substrate bound,
+
[ S ] I ( K , [ S ] ) ,approaches 1 5.4 The chemical nature of the TIM-catalysed reaction
(K,<<[S]) and the Michaelis- The catalytic behaviour of TIM has so far been rationalised in terms of a
Menten equation
simplifies to process whereby D-GAP is bound at the active site of the enzyme and,
rate FZ k[E] when bound, undergoes a chemical reaction to produce DHAP. To
k [ E ] is therefore the maximum explain the dramatic rate enhancement brought about by TIM, we need to
rate, representing the point at develop an understanding of the molecular details of the chemistry that
which the enzyme saturates, and takes place on the enzyme surface.
increasing the concentration of S Various mechanisms can be postulated for the isomerisation of D-GAP
no longer influences the rate of to DHAP, catalysed by TIM. Two chemically reasonable possibilities are
product formation.
shown in Fig. 5.5. In (a), a hydrogen atom migrates within the molecule
At low substrate concentrations, from C-2 to C-1, whereas in (b), a proton (hydrogen ion) is removed from
[ S ] KK, and the fraction of
enzyme with substrate bound is
C-2 and then, in a subsequent step, a proton is added to C-1.
approximately [SIIK,. The These possibilities have been investigated using a radioactive labelling
Michaelis-Menten equation then experiment (Fig. 5.6). An isotopically labelled form of D-GAP was made
simplifies to with radioactive hydrogen (tritium) attached to C-2. When TIM catalysed
rate FZ - k[EI IS1 the conversion of tritium-labelled D-GAP to DHAP, some of the radio-
Km activity appeared in the solvent, rather than DHAP. This is incompatible
i.e. the rate is first order in enzyme with mechanism (a), proving that the hydrogen does not exclusively
and substrate. The ratio of con-
stants, klK,, is the effective rate
migrate within the molecule.
constant under these conditions.
(a) Hydrogen migration
Insights into the mechanism of
chemical reactions, the nature of
the bond-forming and bond-
breaking processes, are
usually established by postulating
different alternatives, and then (b) Deprotonation and reprotonation (B- is a base)
undertaking experiments which -
R f B
distinguish between them. In this
way, incorrect mechanisms can
be discounted. A mechanism
can never be proved correct, but
a mechanism that fits all the
2-
03P0 OH
D -GAP
H

0,pO
I
H
LIH
-OH+ 2-

OQPO
-
aoH B-

DHAP
H

information generated in an V
intensive study is likely to be
close to the truth. Fig. 5.5 Two mechanistic possibilities for the interconversion of D-GAPand DHAP.
 Foundations of chemical biology 43

Tritium was used because its

3 chemistry is analogous to that of
2 2 TIM
0 d normal hydrogen and its radio-
%OH activity allows it to be detected
0,PO OH HZO Some tritium is
washed into the
readily (only very small amounts
Tritiated o-GAP Partia//ytritiated DHAP of the tritiated molecules need be
Only some of the tritium from water as the
0-GAP appears in the DHAP reaction proceeds present).The fate of the tritium in
as discussed below the reaction can be determined
and used to infer what happens to
Fig. 5.6 Investigating the mechanism of TIM using tritiated D-GAP. the equivalent hydrogen in the
'normal' reaction.
Mechanism (b) is compatible with the outcome of the tritium-labelled Mechanisms based on deprotona-
D-GAP experiment. This mechanism implies that a basic functional group tion chemistry are reasonable,
is located on the protein surface (at the active site). The next stage in since protons attached to carbons
unravelling the mechanism was to investigate whether there is an amino adjacent to acarbonyl group are
acid residue capable of acting as a base at the active site of TIM. moderatelyacidic; atypical pK,
value would be approximately 20.
Sincethesidechainsofaminoacid
5.5 Identifying the active site of TIM residues in proteins contain both
acidicand basic functional groups,
Molecules that resemble D-GAP or DHAP, but have different chemical it is also reasonable that the
properties, have been used to identify the active site of TIM. One such enzymecould useacid-and/or
molecule, which is sufficiently similar in structure to DHAP to bind to the base-catal ysis.
active site of TIM, is iodohydroxyacetone phosphate. As is typical of alkyl
iodides, iodohydroxyacetone phosphate undergoes alkylation reactions
with nucleophiles (the iodide ion is a good leaving group).
0,PO
2- -0
When TIM was incubated with iodohydroxyacetone phosphate, the
enzyme was irreversibly inhibited (converted into a form incapable of lodohydroxyacetonephosphate
catalysing the isomerization of triose phosphates) as shown in Fig. 5.7. The number of inhibitor mole-
The degree of inhibition increased as more inhibitor was added, until no cules attached to each protein
molecule, and their site of
enzyme activity remained. At this point, one molecule of inhibitor had attachment, were determined by
become covalently attached to each protein chain. The inhibitor was inhibiting TIM with radioactively
attached to a particular glutamate residue, Glu-165 (see Section 3.6). labelled iodohydroxyacetone
The simplest explanation of these results (see Fig. 5.8) is that Glu-165 is phosphate.This compound forms
present at the active site of TIM in the correct position to act as a base for a covalent bond to the enzyme.
Measuring the amount of radio-
the removal of a proton required for isomerisation. When iodohydrox- activity of the inhibited enzyme
yacetone phosphate is incubated with TIM, it binds to the active site, in showed that 1mol of inhibitor
the same way as does a normal substrate. In this case, however, the glu- reacts with 1 mol of enzyme. The
tamate acts as a nucleophile and forms a covalent bond to this substrate radioactively labelled enzyme,
analogue. Once securely attached to the active site of the enzyme, there is generated by this experiment,
was degraded into a mixture of
small peptide fragments. Of
these, only the fragment that had
reacted with the inhibitor was
radioactive. This peptide was iso-
lated. Determination of the
number and order of the amino
acids present allowed its position
in the overall primary structure of
- TIM to be identified. In turn, the
radioactivity of this peptide was
Concentration of inhibitor added
found to reside at the point corre-
Fig. 5.7 Inhibition of the catalytic activity of TIM as a function of the concentration sponding to a single glutamate
of iodohydroxyacetone phosphate added. residue, Glu-165, which was,
44 Proteins as catalysts

DHAP lodohydroxyacetone phosphate

Deprotonation of DHAP Alkylation of a glutamate residue by
by a glutamate residue iodohydroxyacetonephosphate

Fig. 5.8 The chemistry of DHAP and iodohydroxyacetone phosphate at the active site of TIM.

no possibility that this molecule can diffuse away to free the active site for
therefore, tentatively identified as catalysis. Since it is no longer possible for a substrate to bind at the active
the active-site base.
site, the enzyme is inhibited.
Labelling experiments, of the type The sequence of TIM has been determined for enzymes produced by a
used to identify Glu-165 as an wide variety of organisms. The sequences are similar and, in each case, the
active-site residue, must be monomeric protein has a molecular weight of approximately 26,000. The
interpreted carefully. Checks must
be made that the inhibitor has three-dimensional structure of the enzyme has been determined by X-ray
actually reacted at the active site, crystallography (Fig. 3.13) and was discussed in Section 3.6.
rather than elsewhere on the The structure of TIM is complex, but insights into its catalytic role can
enzyme. Furthermore, the be obtained without studying all of it in detail. The majority of the protein
presence of an amino acid can be regarded as a support for the active site which has the right shape,
capable of acting as a base does
not prove that that residue acts as
chemical functionality and flexibility to carry out the catalytic process.
a base in the enzyme-catalysed Glu-165, the residue implicated as the catalytic base, lies in a pocket close
reaction. to one end of the barrel (see p27). Close examination of this region of the
During evolution the sequences surface of the protein reveals other amino acid residues with side chains
of proteins alter. Changes of close to that of Glu-165 and which, therefore, may play a role in the
amino acids that are involved in catalytic events. Of the other amino acid residues, lysine at position 13
catalysis are more likely to (Lys-13) and histidine at position 95 (His-95) are best positioned to assist
reduce the effectiveness of the
enzyme and so are less likely to
in catalysis. Notice that these amino acid residues are close together in
persist. When the sequences of space, but come from very different parts of the protein chain.
enzymes from various organisms In this particular case, confirmatory evidence that this region is the
are compared, a disproportionate active site has been obtained by determining the X-ray structure of TIM in
number of the conserved amino the presence of DHAP. The DHAP molecule was found to bind in the
acids (those which occur at the
equivalent place in each linear
pocket adjacent to Glu-165 and very close to Lys-13 and His-95. Such
sequence) are often associated detailed information allows firm conclusions to be drawn about the exact
with active sites. A comparison of nature of catalysis by TIM.
13 sequences of TIM, isolated
from different sources, reveals
that 44 of approximately 250 5.6 A possible mechanism for TIM catalysis
residues are completely
conserved (identical in all A mechanism for the TIM-catalysed interconversion of triose phosphates
sequences) including Glu-165. that accommodates all the experimental information described above is
Two-thirds of these conserved shown in Fig. 5.9. Firstly, D-GAP binds at the active site, with the hydrogen
residues are within 12A of the atom on C-2 close to Glu-165. The glutamate removes a proton to form an
pocket containing Glu-165, intermediate anion which can subsequently accept a proton at C-1, to pro-
identified as the active site.
duce the product DHAP. The product can then diffuse out of the active site.
 Foundations of chemical biology 45

Glu-165 Proton transfer between oxygen

atoms, such as that shown for the
intermediate in Fig. 5.9, occurs
readily in water.
0 0-
In the intermediate, the proton
I H H
U removed from D-GAP becomes
HH attached to Glu-165. This proton
can then be exchanged with
0 protons in the solvent. This
exchange is the basis for the
observed washout of radioactivity
D-GAP*TIM Intermediate *TIM DHAP-TIM from tritiated D-GAP, described in
Section 5.4.
Fig. 5.9 A mechanism for the interconversion of D-GAPand DHAP catalysed by
TIM.
The overall reaction in the presence of TIM proceeds a billion (lo9) times
faster than the same process in solution catalysed by a simple carboxylate In the interaction of substrate with
the enzyme, the same range of
ion, such as acetate. Indeed, the limiting factor in the reaction rate is the forces that are available to
speed at which substrates and products can diffuse to and from the enzyme. stabilize protein structures
How can this dramatic rate acceleration be explained in molecular terms? (Chapter 3) can be employed to
Several factors can be identified which contribute to the remarkable facilitate chemical
rate enhancement brought about by TIM. Because of the range of func- transformations: electrostatic
attraction and repulsion (of
tional groups available on amino acid side chains, enzymes are able to use
charged and dipolar entities),
acid- and base-catalysis. In contrast to conventional chemistry, where one along with hydrogen bonding and
might employ either acids (e.g. hydrochloric acid) OT bases (e.g. sodium weaker interactions such as van
hydroxide) to speed up reactions, enzymes can use both types of catalysis der Waals forces (although
simultaneously, and all at pH 7. This is possible because the enzyme individual interactions of this type
are small, the great number
surrounds the substrate, and different functional groups interact specifi-
possible when an enzyme
cally with different parts of the substrate. envelopes a substrate can
The enzyme binds the substrate in a precise fashion at the active site, produce a significant
prior to any chemistry taking place. The subsequent chemistry is more cumulative effect-a good
efficient than non-enzymatic reactions occurring between pairs of mole- analogy is with aVelcro
fastener, where the cumulative
cules in free solution: at the active site there are no solvent molecules to
effects of many individual hooks
interfere with the chemistry, and everything is preorganized and optimally lead to a strong grip).
aligned for reaction.
The nature of the binding of substrates, products and intermediates to
enzymes is a distinguishing feature of the observed catalysis. Energy
profiles of the acetate-catalysed and TIM-catalysed interconversion of
D-GAP and DHAP are illustrated in Fig. 5.10. These diagrams show the
relative free energies of the different species that occur as the reaction
proceeds. They depict information about the rate of the reaction (the
lower the energy barrier, the faster the reaction) and equilibrium position
(the relative energies of the starting material and product).
Isomerisation of D-GAP involves passing through a high-energy tran-
sition state and producing a deprotonated intermediate. The formation of
DHAP from this intermediate occurs in a similar fashion. The acetate-
catalysed reaction (Fig. 5.10a) is relatively slow because there is a large
energy difference between D-GAP (and DHAP) and the transition states.
This energy barrier must be overcome for isomerization to occur. The
formation of the intermediate is unfavourable because it is higher in
46 Proteins as catalysts

The energy profile shown in (a) The energy profile (b) The energy profile in
Fig. 5.10 depicts AG for the inter- in the presence of acetate the presence of TIM
conversion of D-GAPand DHAP. Energy TIM-catalysed
The energy of D-GAPis little Energy
AG Transition AG isornerization
affected on binding toTIM, .states for-,
(kJ mol-’) Iisornerizationl (kJ rnol-’)
but DHAP is actually slightly
destabilized. Raising the energy
of a reactant complements the
100 100
Reversible
binding of
D-GAP
.
Transition
states for-,
{isornerization.
Reversible
binding of
DHAP
lowering of the energy of the high- 80 80 \ I
energy species: both factors 60 60
narrow the energy gap which has
to be surmounted. 40 40
An important feature of enzyme 20 20
catalysis is that the rate of one 0 0
reaction is enhanced, whilst side *
D-GAP TIM TIM TM
! DHAP
reactions are minimised.The \ D-GAP i DHAP
geometry of D-GAP, bound at the D-GAP DHAP
active site, is ideal for deprotona-
tion; it also suppresses the loss of Fig. 5.10 Energy profiles for the acetate-catalysed and TIM-catalysed
phosphate by ,B-elimination, interconversion of D-GAPand DHAP.
which is a major competing
reaction in the ‘normal’chemical
isomerization. energy than either D-GAP or DHAP. The overall process is, however,
When D-GAP binds toTIM, the favourable since DHAP is lower in energy than D-GAP.
phosphate group is held away The energy profile of the reaction catalysed by TIM involves two
from the plane of the hydrogen additional steps: the reversible binding of D-GAP and DHAP to TIM
that is removed:
(Fig. 5.10b). These binding steps do not greatly affect the energies of
H
.. D-GAP and DHAP. In the TIM-catalysed reaction, however, the inter-
mediate and the adjacent transition states are greatly stabilized; this can be
seen by comparing the two energy profiles (Fig. 5.10a and b). The net
effect of lowering the energies of the transition states and the reaction
A different conformation of D-GAP intermediate is roughly to halve the energy barrier to isomerisation. This
is required for &elimination: corresponds to the enormous rate enhancement that is observed in the
TIM-catalysed reaction.
In conclusion, detailed experiments have revealed that TIM binds
substrates and products relatively weakly, and intermediates and transi-
tion states tightly. This selective binding of high-energy species is often
termed ‘transition state stabilization’. The high-energy species ‘fit better‘
8-elimination is facile at the active site than do the substrates and products. The net effect is that
the energy barriers to reaction have all been reduced to the point where the
broken in the reaction,
isomerization proceeds as fast as is physically possible, i.e. as fast as dif-
are in the same plane. fusion to, and from, the active site of the enzyme allows.

5.7 Testing the proposed mechanism

Dealing firstly with the enzyme, the mechanistic and structural studies
suggest that the functional groups of Glu-165 and His-95 are essential for
efficient catalysis. If the nature or position of these groups (carboxylate and
By controlling the conformation of
imidazole, respectively) is changed, catalytic efficiency should drop. Devel-
the bound D-GAP,TIMcontrols its opments in genetic engineering make it possible to change amino acids of
fate. interest within a protein sequence. Changing Glu-165 to an aspartate
 Foundations of chemical biology 41

residue decreases the rate of reaction by a factor of 1000; even a small The primary sequence of a
protein is determined by genetic
change in the orientation of the carboxylate group of t h s crucial amino information carried in the form of
acid, relative to the substrate, is sufficient to disrupt catalysis. When His-95 DNA. DNA, and the proteins it
is changed to a glutamine, the catalytic effectiveness drops more than 200- encodes, can be manipulated by
fold. This result indicates the importance of the imidazole functional group ‘genetic engineering’. The DNA
of histidine. that encodes a protein of interest
can be modified using a technique
Turning now to the substrate, the proposed mechanism for catalysis
called ‘site-directed mutagen-
by TIM involves the generation of a high-energy intermediate during the esis’. The protein with a change in
reaction. One source of catalysis is believed to be the tight binding of this the sequence can then be pro-
species by the enzyme. If this is so, then small molecules which resemble duced from the modified DNA.
this high-energy intermediate should also bind tightly and compete with An introductory account of
substrates for the active site. This will decrease the rate of the reaction. DNA, and genetic engineering, is
Several molecules which resemble the proposed high-energy inter- given in Section 9.t2.
In the mutagenesis experiments,
mediate in the D-GAP-DHAP interconversion have been examined for glutamate at position 165 was
their effect on catalysis by TIM. For example, phosphoglycolohydrox- changed to aspartate since the
amate has been found to bind very tightly to TIM and thereby inhibit the only difference between these
reaction. It binds at the active site and the structure of the enzyme with residues is a shortened side
this inhibitor bound has been determined by X-ray crystallography (Fig. chain; the carboxylate group is
retained. Glutamine was chosen
5.11). Structures of this type have provided important information about to replace histidine at position 95
the enzyme-substrate geometry during catalysis. since it is similar in size and
polarity, but lacks the imidazole
group. Here, differences in cata-
5.8 General principles of enzyme catalysis lysis can be related to the chan-
ged functional group.
A relatively detailed analysis of the catalysis of a reaction by one enzyme, X-ray crystallography has pro-
TIM, has been presented. The focus on one example has been used to vided detailed information about
give a flavour of what is known about enzyme catalysis and the experi- the interactions betweenTlM and
ments which provided these insights. The concepts and methodology substrates, and related com-
pounds. Glu-165 and His-95 both
that have been highlighted for TIM are applicable to a wide range of
hydrogen bond to substrates and
enzymes. analogues.They are ideally placed
Enzymes, for the most part, catalyse reactions that have direct counter- to act as acid- base catalysts.
parts in organic chemistry. Moreover, the mechanisms of enzyme-catalysed Further experiments have rein-
reactions are usually directly related to those of organic chemistry. The forced theview that they act in this
principal differences lie in the speed and, especially, the specificity of fashion inthe catalytic process.
enzyme-catalysed processes. The origin of the latter difference (the fact
that only certain molecules react and these do so only in particular ways)
lies in the fact that enzyme catalysis involves the binding of reactants Phosphoglycolohydroxamateis a
at an active site on the protein. This binding process is specific to structural analogue of a proposed
intermediate in theTlM-catalysed
reaction:

0,PO?
2- -O
-H 0-

Molecules which resemble a high-

U
energy intermediate of a reaction
are often effective enzyme inhibi-
tors. They are frequently, but
somewhat misleadingly, labelled
collectively as ‘transition state
Fig. 5.11 Schematic view of the active site of TIM with an inhibitor bound. analogue inhibitors’.
48 Proteins as catalysts

molecules that have the right shape and functional groups to interact with
the enzyme.
Once bound at the active site, the substrate is in contact with several of
the amino acid residues of the protein chain. Since these residues may
contain acidic, basic and nucleophilic groups, reactions which can be
The use of coenzymes for catalysed by these types of functionalities can be brought about by pro-
catalysis is analogous to the use teins without the need for additional reagents. Reactions that require
of iron and a porphyrin group by
myoglobin and haemoglobin to other types of chemistry, such as oxidative or reductive processes, can also
bind oxygen, as described in be catalysed by enzymes; in order to do so, however, enzymes conscript
Chapter 4; this process could not other molecules or ions (termed coenzymes) which have the requisite
be effected by a protein chain properties (see e.g. Section 7.4).
alone.
Enzymes catalysing readily reversible reactions generally bind sub-
A variety of methods is available strates and products only weakly. They do, however, decrease the barrier
to obtain values of the rate to reaction by binding high-energy species tightly. This selective use of
parameters ( k and K,) from binding and the benefits of proximity, controlled reaction geometry and
measured rate data. One simple
method (although not the most exclusion of interfering solvent molecules leads to many enzymes being
accurate) is the double reciprocal extremely efficient catalysts. They can speed the reaction of interest
or ‘Lineweaver-Burk plot, where and suppress possible side reactions. Enzymes which are such good
the reciprocal of the rate is plotted catalysts that the rate-limiting factor in the reaction is diffusion of reac-
against the reciprocal of the tants to and from the active site of the enzyme are sometimes called
substrate concentration (Ilrate
vs l/[S]).The values of the max- ‘perfect’ catalysts.
imum rate and the Michaelis
constant can be obtained from
the intercepts. 5.9 The methods of enzyme chemistry
I /rate I Since a primary function of enzymes is to enhance reaction rates, mea-

I l/(max rate)
II” A/
suring the rates of these reactions gives information about enzyme action.
A detailed analysis of how the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction is
altered by changing the reaction conditions provides great insights into
enzyme catalysis.
represents an initial Determining the structure of the enzyme by X-ray crystallography, once
/I rate measurement
we know the location of the active site, can be used to identify the
L.. 1/[SI amino acids involved in catalysis. The roles of these amino acids can be
-llK,.,,
evaluated by changing them, in a controlled fashion, using site-directed
The Michaelis constant, K,, is the mutagenesis.
value of [S] at which the initial
rate is half its maximum value. It is
Isotopically labelled substrates and inhibitors are useful in probing the
a measure of the affinity of an details of enzyme chemistry and inhibition. Enzyme inhibitors, in general,
enzyme for a substrate: small K, play a major role in enzyme chemistry. Two important kinds of enzyme
values indicate that the enzyme inhibitor have been mentioned in this chapter. Firstly, molecules which
has a high affinity for substrate resemble substrates for an enzyme, but which are electrophilic, can react
and vice versa.
with nucleophiles at the active site of an enzyme. Once they are covalently
tethered at the active site, the enzyme is prevented from carrying out
further chemistry. Such inhibitors provide information about the identity
of the active site. Secondly, molecules which resemble high-
energy intermediates (or transition states) involved in the reaction can
bind non-covalently, but tightly, to the enzyme active site. These inhibi-
tors can provide information about the mechanism of catalysis.
In addition to their utility in unravelling the details of enzyme action,
enzyme inhibitors have important technological applications. Since
 Foundations of chemical biology 49

enzyme-catalysed reactions are essential to the correct functioning of a Measuring the precise way in
which an enzyme-catalysed
cell, disruption of an enzyme-catalysed process is usually debilitating. A reaction rate is affected by
molecule that inhibits an enzyme catalysing a reaction essential to all cells an inhibitor provides
is likely to damage any cell it enters, and so will probably be very toxic. detailed insights into the nature
Knowledge of such toxins is important for human health. of inhibition.
Enzyme inhibitors are not all bad, however. In fact they form a major
part of a very important business: the pharmaceutical industry. An ana-
lysis of the role of enzyme inhibitors as therapeutic drugs will conclude The use of antibiotics has
contributed greatly to human
this discussion.
health, especially during the
latter half of the twentieth century.
Bacteria, however, counter this
challenge. They evolve means of
5.10 Enzyme inhibitors as drugs becoming resistant to antibiotics.
The range of reactions carried out by different organisms varies. For A bacterium that resists the
effects of an antibiotic can grow
instance, it is essential for bacteria to carry out some reactions that have
where others cannot; they are at
no human counterpart. We can exploit these biochemical differences for an advantage in environments
therapeutic ends. A compound which inhibits an enzyme which is essential where antibiotics are present.
to an organism that humans would like to kill (such as some bacteria or Resistant strains of bacteria can,
fungi) can be used to destroy the organism. If humans have no equivalent therefore, be selected by an
inappropriate use of antibiotics.
enzyme, then they may remain unaffected by this compound. For exam-
There is an ongoing battle
ple, penicillins (Fig. 5.12), probably the most famous of all antibiotics, between microbes and antibiotic
inhibit a family of bacterial enzymes which catalyse the production of use by humans. This fosters the
strong outer cell walls. Since human cells lack walls of this type, we do not need for new antibiotics, and for
have equivalent enzymes. Penicillin therefore kills bacteria, but is gen- antibiotics to be used more wisely
in order to maintain their
erally innocuous to humans. The careful use of penicillin is of great
effectiveness.
benefit to human society. Since the discovery of penicillin, many other
therapeutically useful enzyme inhibitors have been found. The success of
antibacterial and antifungal drugs testifies to the importance of enzyme
inhibitors, and they will continue to be exploited for many years to come An important structural feature
of bacterial cell walls is the
in fighting disease.
presence of peptides derived
from D-amino acids (a
discussion about the L and o
Acyl-0-Ala-D-Ala: a precursor stereochemistries of amino
of bacterial cell walls. Several PenicillinG, a typical penicillin, acids was presented in
bacterial enzymes bind to this resembles acyl-0-Ala-0-Alaand binds Sections 2.4 and 2.5). The use
molecule and catalyse to bacterial enzymes which act on this of 0- rather than L-amino acids
chemistry at the highlighted peptide. Once bound, the unusual presumably provides a defence
carbonyl group. reactivity of the highlightedcarbonyl against enzymes that rapidly
group can lead to enzyme inhibition. degrade proteins derived from
I-amino acids. Penicillins inhibit
bacterial enzymes which catalyse
reactions of acyl-0-Ala-o-Ala.
They are analogues of these
o-alanine-derived peptides, but
are unusually reactive. Once
1.1
I bound at the target enzymes,
1 The reactivity of this carbonyl
group, incorporated into a strained they become covalently
The chemistry of this carbonyl
group is important in bacterial four-membered ring, is enhanced attached and inhibit further
cell wall biosynthesis. relative to that of a normal peptide. chemistry. The integrity of the
bacterial cell wall is undermined
Fig. 5.12 Penicillins, important antibiotics, are inhibitors of bacterial enzymes. and the bacteria die.
50 Proteins as catalysts

5.11 Summary
Triose phosphate isomerase is a well-studied protein whose properties
illustrate many of the general features of the way enzymes work. An
enzyme is a protein that acts as a catalyst, often dramatically increasing
the rate of a specific chemical change by binding a substrate molecule at an
active site on its surface. This site provides appropriate functional groups
to bring about the reaction. Like many other enzymes, triose phosphate
isomerase binds especially tightly to the transition state(s) and high-energy
enzyme intermediate(s) involved in the chemical transformation, thereby
greatly decreasing the activation energy for reaction. A large number of
techniques have been developed to probe the molecular details of enzyme
catalysis. Enzyme inhibitors provide information about catalysis and also
have important applications, e.g. as pharmaceuticals.

Further reading
Useful texts on enzymology include: A. R. Fersht (1999) Structure and Mechanism
in Protein Science, W. H. Freeman and Co., New York; and N. C. Price and
L. Stevens (1999) Fundamentals of Enzymology, 3rd edn, Oxford University
Press, Oxford.
A biochemistry text with a strong emphasis on enzyme chemistry is R. H. Abeles,
P. A. Frey and W. P. Jencks (1992) Biochemistry, Jones and Bartlett Publishers
Inc., Boston and London.
Aspects of pharmaceutical chemistry are introduced in: G. L. Patrick (1995) An
htroduction to Medicinal Chemistry, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Many of the details of catalysis by triosephosphate isomerase are discussed in a
review by J. R. Knowles and W. J. Albery (1977) Accounts of Chemical
Research, 10, pp. 105-1 1; structural information and references to more
recent research are reported in R. C. Davenport et al. (1991) Biockemistry. 30,
pp. 5821-6.
6 ugars and phosphates:
an introduction

6.1 Overview
Chapter 5 gave an introductory account of enzymes, those proteins which
catalyse chemical transformations within cells. The particular enzyme
highlighted in that chapter, triose phosphate isomerase, catalyses the
interconversion of two sugar phosphates. Sugars and their derivatives are
important molecules in biochemistry. They are manipulated to provide
building blocks for the synthesis of other organic compounds. They are
also used as fuel for the generation of cellular energy (and hence act as
energy stores), as structural materials, and as components of the molecules
of genetic information. An appreciation of the properties of these mole-
cules is therefore essential in understanding the chemistry of cells.
The most important derivatives of sugars in cells are phosphate esters,
such as the triose phosphates that were encountered in the last chapter. All
the remaining chapters of the book will discuss aspects of the chemistry of
such molecules. This chapter will focus on the structural and chemical
properties of sugars and their phosphate esters. Succeeding chapters will
discuss their biological importance. Chapter 7 outlines the way in which
chemical reactions of sugar phosphates are used within cells. Chapter 8
describes derivatives of sugar phosphates that are key constituents of the
membranes which surround cells. Finally in Chapter 9, polymeric sugar
phosphate derivatives, used to store the genetic information of cells, are
described.

6.2 What are sugars?

Derivatives of sugars include
A simple sugar or ‘monosaccharide’ can be represented as a straight-chain compounds with a wide range of
aldehyde or ketone that bears hydroxyl groups on each of the non-car- chemical functional groups. As
bony1 carbons. The overall molecular formula of such a compound is noted in the main text, oxidation
(CH,O),; hence these molecules are also known as carbohydrates. Sugars of sugars can generate
carboxylic acids. Amine groups
and their derivatives are ubiquitous in nature. Common derivatives are present in amino sugars.
include esters, and oxidized and reduced forms such as carboxylic acids Hence, the key functional groups
and polyols, respectively. Figure 6.1 shows the structure of a very simple of a-amino acids can be found in
sugar, glyceraldehyde, and two simple derivatives. As with amino acids, some sugar derivatives. Polymers
and glycoproteins, in which
the presence of multiple functional groups in a single molecule allows the
sugars are attached to proteins,
possibility of polymerization. Polymers formed by linking individual are also important in biology,
sugars together are known as polysaccharides and have a wide variety of particularly at cellular
roles in biology, as will be mentioned in Section 6.4. membranes and surfaces.
52 Sugars and phosphates: an introduction

The alcohol groups of sugars can Glyceraldehyde, CH

,O
,,
form esters with a variety of acids.
An ester is simply the product of
combining an acid and an alcohol
with the loss of water. Esters
formed from carboxylic acids
and, especially, phosphoric acid
Phosphoric
acid HO -p
4 -0-
To 3
The carbon chain of a
sugar is numbered from the
OH end nearer the C=O group

[l:llH
predominate in biochemistry.
2 0 Ore\
Glycerol is a component of Sugar portion
common lipids and is discussed \,/-- C=O group
further in Chapter 8. has been
lp
0 - P - \ 0- HfyH reduced
\ 0;
OH
Phosphate group
Glycerol:
Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate:an ester of a sugar a reduced sugar derivative

Fig. 6.1 A sugar, glyceraldehyde, and two simple derivatives.

6.3 Understanding the structures of sugars

Most sugars and their derivatives are complex molecules. The plethora of
functional groups in a typical sugar often strikes terror into the heart of a
student who glances at them, especially if the aim is to memorize the
precise structures. It is important for any fully fledged chemical biologist
to have an exact knowledge of the structure of biochemically important
sugars. In the first instance, however, it is more important to acquire a
familiarity with their general nature. As with amino acids and proteins, an
appreciation of the biological chemistry of sugars rests on a combination
of structural and chemical concepts.
There is a huge variety of mole-
The structural features of sugars will be illustrated by looking firstly at
cules which fit the simplest
description of a carbohydrate some small, relatively simple examples, e.g. glyceraldehyde and dihy-
(CH20),. These result from droxyacetone (three-carbon chain, n = 3). An analysis of their properties
varying three parameters: the will be extended to discuss ribose (n = 5) and glucose (n = 6), more com-
length of the carbon chain, n, plex sugars. Finally, the properties of polymers and phosphate esters of
(up to six carbons is common, sugars will be considered.
although longer sugars are
known); the position of the
carbonyl group along the chain; 6.3.1 Trioses: sugars with a three-carbon chain
and the configuration of the Glyceraldehyde (Fig. 6.2) comprises a three-carbon chain and hence is
chiral centres associated with described as a triose. Since the carbonyl group is in the form of an alde-
each of the internal carbons hyde, glyceraldehydeis an aldose. The central carbon is a chiral centre; two
(other than the carbonyl group).
enantiomers of glyceraldehyde are therefore possible. Sugars in biology
are usually found predominantly in only one absolute configuration. As
with amino acids, the enantiomers are traditionally labelled L and D; the
two enantiomers of glyceraldehyde were arbitrarily assigned as L and D by
Fischer and used as the reference compounds for the naming of other
Dihydroxyacetone, in which the metabolites (see Chapter 2).
only internal carbon is present as
Dihydroxyacetone (Fig. 6.2) is the only other possible triose. It is an
a carbonyl group, is the only
sugar with a chain length of 3 or isomer of glyceraldehyde in which the carbonyl group resides at the cen-
greater which does not contain a tral carbon instead of the terminus. Since it is a ketone, dihydroxyacetone
chiral centre. is described as a ketose.
 Foundations of chemical biology 53

Carbonyl group, internal to the

Carbonyl group present as chain, present as a ketone = kebse
an aldehyde = aldose
i
," CH,OH
'\A I
HO+H
chain =
Since there are two configura-
friose CHZOH CHzOH CHZOH
tions of a chiral centre, when an
D -enantiomer L -enantiomer
additional chiral centre is present
Dihydroxyacetone:a kefotriose
Glyceraldehyde: an aldofriose in a molecule the number of
possible stereoisomers doubles.
Fig. 6.2 The structures of three trioses. Sometimes, duplications arise
and the total number of isomers is
less than expected. In general, if a
6.3.2 Extending the chain: tetroses, pentoses and hexoses molecule possesses x chiral
The trioses glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone (Fig. 6.2) illustrate the centres there are up to 2'
possible stereoisomers.
principles of how isomeric sugars arise by variation in the position of a
carbonyl group along the chain, and in the configuration of chiral centres. Given the possibility of varying
Another variable parameter is the length of the carbon chain; it is there- both chain length and
fore appropriate to consider some possible tetroses which arise by stereochemistry, at internal chiral
centres, there is a vast array of
extending the chain by one carbon. The resulting aldoses are similar to sugar molecules potentially
glyceraldehyde, but have two chiral centres. Four stereoisomers are pos- available to a biological
sible, corresponding to two pairs of enantiomers; one of these pairs, system. Some forms (e.g.
D- and L-erythrose, is shown below. o-glucose) are utilized much
more than others.
Erythrose: an aldotetrose
CHO -
CHO
-
In addition to L- and D-
erythrose, there is another pair
Same configuration
: : I H HO&: of enantiomeric aldotetroses:
as o-glyceraldehyde, L- and D-threose. The D-form
therefore a D-sugar -\yf! HO
-
- is shown below.
CHZOH CH2OH
D-Erythrose L-Erythrose
CHO
The number of possible isomers increases dramatically as the size of a
HO-
sugar increases. Biochemistry textbooks generally provide exhaustive
information about the names and structures of all the sugars found in Hx : H
nature. At this point it is sufficient to realize that these variations on a CH20H
simple theme give rise to a wealth of molecular complexity. Most of the o-Threose
important sugars in biochemistry have six or fewer carbons in the chain. You should be able to draw the
L-form by analogy.
CHO CHO
CHO CHO - As the carbon chain is extended

Hi
further, additional ketoses also
H
H 3 O OH
H HO O z ; arise, e.g. L- and D-erythrulose
are the two enantiomeric
H - OH HO -

1;;
ketotetroses.
CHpOH CH,OH
D-Ribose L-Ribose
CH,OH CH,OH
biochemically D-Glucose L-Glucose H
important biochemically
\important
J
Ribose: an aldopentose
Y CH,OH
Glucose: an aldohexose
D-Erythrulose:
Fig. 6.3 Structures of representative pentoses and hexoses. a ketotetrose
54 Sugars and phosphates: an introduction

Ribose and glucose are examples of sugars with longer carbon chains,
representing a pentose and a hexose, respectively. The D-enantiomers of
these sugars are very important in biochemistry and they are discussed
further in later chapters. The names ribose and glucose each refer to
enantiomeric pairs of stereoisomers with the relative stereochemistries
shown in Fig. 6.3. As will be discussed further in Chapter 7, D-glucose and
its derivatives are important in the metabolism of all cells. D-Ribose is a
component of nucleic acids, molecules associated with the genetic infor-
mation of cells, and these will be the focus of Chapter 9.

The structures of sugars in aqueous solution

When D-glyceraldehyde is dissolved in water, it does not all remain as a
free aldehyde. Carbonyl groups are polarized and the carbonyl carbon is
relatively electron deficient. Water is a good nucleophile and can add to
the carbonyl group to form a hydrate (Fig. 6.4). In aqueous solution an
equilibrium is established between D-glyceraldehyde and its hydrate.
This addition reaction is not restricted to water, and other nucleo-
The formation of a hydrate, as philes, such as the hydroxyl group of an alcohol, can react in an analogous
with related reactions described fashion. Sugars contain many such hydroxyl groups and so most are
later, is freely reversible and is prone to undergo internal addition reactions of this type to give cyclic
catalysed by both acids and
structures. For example, unlike D-glyceraldehyde, only a trace of D-ribose
bases. Figure 6.4 illustrates the
mechanism of this reaction when is present as an acyclic molecule under equilibrium conditions. Figure 6.5
catalysed by acid. shows how the linear structure of ribose can be redrawn to emphasize the
ease with which it cyclizes to form a five-membered ring.
Because of the preferred bond
Note that the carbon
angles of carbon and oxygen, originally present as a
small rings, i.e. those with fewer carbonyl group is still
than five atoms in the ring, are recognizable: it is the
strained. By contrast, five- and only carbon with two
six-membered rings are the least bonds to oxygen
strained ring structures. Sugars CHzOH CHZOH
of chain length 4 or greater, which o-glyceraldehyde Hydrate of D-glyceraldehyde
are capable of forming such
rings, tend to cyclize. Fig. 6.4 Hydration of D-glyceraldehyde,

In the cyclization reaction, the CHO

carbonyl group is converted into a
‘hemi-acetal’group.The carbon of
this group is sometimes called an
-
‘anomeric centre’. The anomeric Cyclization equilibrium
analogous to the hydration
carbon is actually a chiral centre reaction shown in Fig. 6.4 Hd OH
and so two stereoisomers are CH2 OH
Usual linear representation Cyclic representation
possible; these are termed
anomers. Since hemi-acetal for-
mation is freely reversible in the
cell, the two anomers are readily
interconverted.The isomer in
a Clockwise
rotation by 90”

H H H
Formationof an
unstrained ring

H O H , C ~ ~I ~ ~ ~ I c H o CHO
which the new hydroxyl group lies
below the plane of the ring, as OH OH OH
drawn, is called the a-anomer; Alternative linear representation HO OH
the other isomer is known as the
p-anomer. Fig. 6.5 Visualizing the relationship between linear and cyclic forms of ribose.
 Foundations of chemical biology 55

Glucose can adopt a ‘chair’

conformation, as shown in
Fig. 6.6, in which all the
substituents (other than at
the anomeric centre) are in an
‘equatorial’ position. It may be
that the thermodynamic stability
of this arrangement, where steric
clashes are minimized, is one of
the reasons why glucose is the
Fig. 6.6 Cyclization of o-glucose.
most common hexose in nature.
Likewise, glucose exists primarily in cyclic forms. In this case, a six-
membered ring is the preferred structure. This is illustrated in Fig. 6.6.

6.4 Polymeric derivatives of sugars

As with amino acids, sugars are elaborated into polymers by dehydration Short biological polymers are
chemistry. Since these polymers are of great biochemical significance, often named oligomers. Oligomer
their properties will be outlined briefly here. After initial analysis of a is a term derived from the Greek
‘oligo’, meaning few. As an
dimer, maltose, discussion will be extended to the macromolecules starch
example, relatively short
and cellulose. Maltose is a common disaccharide produced, for example, polymers derived from sugars
in the malting process during beer production. It is derived from glucose are called oligosaccharides,
(Fig. 6.7). It corresponds to reaction of one of the alcohol groups of whereas longer polymers are
glucose (that on C-4) with the carbonyl carbon (C-1) of a second glucose. called polysaccharides. This
distinction parallels the
The formation of maltose from glucose is a dehydration reaction, so the
difference between the
reverse reaction, liberating glucose from maltose, is a hydrolytic process. names peptide and protein.
In an aqueous environment, the hydrolysis of oligosaccharides to the
component monomeric sugars is thermodynamically favourable (maltose
The formation of maltose from
can therefore act as a store of glucose). Nonetheless, oligosaccharides and glucose is a nucleophilic
polysaccharides are kinetically stable in the absence of specific enzymes substitution reaction. It is formally
that speed up the hydrolysis reaction, and they serve important functions the displacement of hydroxide
in cells. from the C-1 position of one
As with amino acids, the formation of polymers from sugars can glucose by a nucleophilic
hydroxyl group at the C-4
generate a vast array of macromolecules. Different monomers can be position of the other glucose.
This is an acid-catalysed
CHZOH reaction taking place via an SN1
mechanism. Protonation of the
hydroxyl of C-1 (to produce a
good leaving group) and loss of
water generates a relatively
stabilized carbocation.
Nucleophilic attack on this ion,
by the C-4-hydroxyl group of
a second glucose molecule,
generates the ‘acetal’ linkage
between the two glucose mono-
mers. It is a useful exercise to
draw out this mechanism in full.
Maltose: a disaccharide H O ~ C H O H
formed by linking two glucose OH In the P-anomer the oxygen
units via an a-(1,4)linkage substituent is above the plane of
the ring. The structure of cellulose
Fig. 6.7 Maltose: an example of a disaccharide. in Fig. 6.8 provides an example.
56 Sugars and phosphates: an introduction

Sugar derivatives, especially CHZOH

glycoproteins (macromolecules ~ - Acetal linkage, with a-configuration
-,
between successive glucose residues
made from a combination of
proteins and polysaccharides),
are important in molecular
recognition processes
Starch: rich in CH,OH The a-(1,4) linkage of
occurring at the surface of poIy-a-(I,4)- D-glucose starch causes the chain to
cells (see Chapter 8). curl back on itself; starch
IS primarily a store of

D -glUCOSe
Acetals are less reactive than residue
hemi-acetals (both are sensitive
to acids but only hemi-acetals are CHZOH
sensitive to base). Acetal linkages
are stable in the cell in the
absence of enzymes able to HO
catalyse their hydrolysis. Hence, B-Confiauration at HO
in contrast to hemi-acetals, the 'the centres --' D-glucose Thep-(1,4) linkage of cellulose
configuration at the anomeric residue leads to an extended chain; cellulose
centre of an acetal is stable in the is useful as a fibre (analoaous to
cell. Starch and cellulose, which Cellulose: rich in poIy-P-(1,4)-~-glucose a-keratin, see Chapter 3)'
differ in the configuration at this
centre, are, therefore, distinct Fig. 6.8 Starch and cellulose: two polysaccharides.
molecules.

incorporated into the growing chain; the stereochemistry of the linking

anomeric centre can be in either of two configurations; and the presence of
multiple hydroxyl groups within sugars allows a variety of linkages to be
made and facilitates branching (in cases where more than one of the
hydroxyl groups of a sugar monomer is used to form an acetal linkage).
With this structural diversity available, it is not surprising that poly-
saccharides are involved in a wide variety of biochemical roles.
Despite their possible complexity, many polysaccharides involve simple
repeating patterns. So, for example, two of the most common poly-
0 saccharides, starch and cellulose, are primarily polymers of glucose which
are linked by acetal groups between the C-1 and C-4 substituents of glu-
cose monomers (Fig. 6.8).
Cellulose has an extended rod-like structure and it is used as a struc-
tural material, notably as a fibrous constituent of plant tissue. Amylose,
a polysaccharide component of starch, is used as a store of chemical
energy, e.g. plant tubers, such as potatoes, are rich in this polymer. This is
a helical polymer (see Fig. 6.9) which is broken down into glucose which,
Fig. 6.9 Representation of the in turn, is oxidized to liberate chemical energy when the plant grows (see
structure of starch amylose
(some groups are omitted for
Chapter 7).
clarity).

In the structure of amylose the 6.5 Sugar phosphates

chain twists in a constant way at Another important class of sugar derivatives, of great biochemical sig-
each residue. This results in a
nificance, is that of the phosphate esters. Their biochemical utilization can
helical structure in an analogous
fashion to those found in protein be understood with reference to a few fundamental chemical properties,
secondary structures, such as which are listed as headings below. The biological significance of these
a-helices. properties will emerge in more detail in subsequent chapters.
 Foundations of chemical biology 5 1

There are three types of phosphate ester

Phosphoric acid has three acidic protons. Hence phosphoric acids can
form three different types of ester: monoesters, diesters and triesters (the
latter type is not important in biological systems). The ability to form
diesters allows sugar phosphates to form polymeric chains.
0 0
0 0

/P\
11 +ROH / -H,O
0 \ - 11
P
/ \
+ROH / -H20

Ho dH OH +%POI -ROH Ho JH ORYH20 I -ROH Ro A H OR + G O / -ROH

-NP\
RO I OR
OR
I'
P
+ROH /-H,O
-
11

Phosphoric Phosphate Phosphate Phosphate

acid monoester diester triester
(not biochemically
important)
Simple phosphates are anionic in cells
Phosphoric acid and simple derivatives of it that retain at least a single
hydroxyl group (e.g. monoesters and diesters) are all strong acids. They Phosphoric acid is a tribasic acid:
are found as anions under physiological conditions. The ionic nature of H3PO4
phosphates has several ramifications. Incorporation of a phosphate group
into an organic compound usually increases its solubility in water. Since
+H+ 11 -H+ pKa - 2
H2PO4-
every cell is separated from the outside world by a non-polar membrane,
which cannot easily be crossed by ions, simple phosphates are usually +H+ 11 -H+ P K ~- 7
retained within cells. HPOf

Q
II -H+
0
II
+H+ 11 -H+ pKa - 12
P
I'OH
OR
- +H+
L p
RO/I'O-
OR
Further deprotonation
can occur if an R
group is hydrogen
~ 0 ~ 3 -

Since pKa = pH at the mid-point

PKa- 2
Anionic forms of equilibrium, phosphates are
predominate only fully protonated at pH values
when pH z 2 significantly lower than 2.
Phosphates, as anions, can
Phosphate derivatives hydrolyse slowly interact strongly with molecules
The formation of esters from acids and alcohols is a reversible process. In through electrostatic forces.
These interactions provide useful
fact the reverse reaction, hydrolysis, is thermodynamically favoured in sources of binding energy and
water. However, in the absence of catalysis, most phosphate esters and molecular selectivity.
related compounds hydrolyse only slowly, and once made are essentially
The electrostatic repulsion
stable under physiological conditions. They can, therefore, be used by cells between the oxygen atom of
and broken down when appropriate. water and the negative charge of

,' 0
-- a phosphate group raises the
energy of the transition state
There is electrostatic repulsion between / , \ 11 \ \

required for nucleophilic

the electrons of the attacking nucleophile O
H
:2
-p
,n
,
and those of the anionic oxygen RO I 0- substitution; this provides a
OR rationalization for the relative
slowness of the hydrolysis of
phosphate derivatives. Divalent
Phosphates are good leaving groups cations, e.g. Mg2+, are frequently
used to speed up biochemical
Many of the important reactions of biological chemistry are nucleophilic phosphate chemistry by
substitution and elimination reactions. For these reactions to be facile, diminishing electrostatic
a 'good leaving group' is required. Phosphates are widely employed in repulsion.
58 Sugars and phosphates: an introduction

A good leaving group is typically biochemistry when good leaving groups are required (e.g. in protein
the conjugate base of a strong synthesis, see Section 7.2).
acid (e.g. hydrochloric acid is a
strong acid and the chloride ion is
a good leaving group; see the 6.6 The importance of sugars and derivatives
discussion in Chapter 2). Why does biology make so much use of sugars? Sugars are available in the
biosphere through the reduction of carbon dioxide, the most plentiful
inorganic carbon source. Importantly, sugars can be readily inter-
A combination of acid and base
catalysis can bring about the converted into other sugars when appropriate catalysts are available.
migration of the carbonyl group Enzymes are well equipped for this role, as was described for one such
along the carbon chain example, triose phosphate isomerase, in Chapter 5. In short, access to
(discussed in detail in Chapter 5), appropriate enzymes makes it possible for cells to convert virtually any
the interconversion of configura- sugar, or simple derivative, into any other sugar or related derivative.
tions of chiral centres, and
changes in the length of the Sugars are molecules with a rich variety of chemistry which are capable of
carbon chain of a sugar (chains acting as a universal currency in the biochemical economy.
can be cleaved to form smaller Most monomeric sugars are handled within cells as phosphate ester
sugars and, conversely, smaller derivatives (Fig. 6.10). The anionic phosphate group ensures substantial
chains can be assembled into water solubility, prevents loss of the sugar phosphate through the cell mem-
larger sugars). Although some of
the details of this chemistry are brane, provides a ‘handle’ for recognition by proteins, and is a reactive
discussed in other chapters, a chemical functional group which can be exploited when necessary.
thorough analysis is beyond the
scope of this book. An excellent 6.7 Summary
account is given in Organic
Chemistry by Kemp and Vellacio At one level, sugars are simple molecules: linear chains of carbon atoms
(see Further reading). including a carbonyl group, having hydroxyl groups on the other carbons.
This simple description quickly becomes complex as the chain increases in
length, due to variations in the position of the carbonyl group and the
Phosphate - - - I 9 stereochemistry of chiral centres. The complexity is increased by the wide
range of simple derivatives of sugars that is possible. The combination of
functional groups in sugars and their derivatives allows a rich range of
organic transformations to be carried out under mild conditions. The
challenge of sugar chemistry is to perform the desired transformations in a
OH ’ selective fashion, when so many alternatives exist. Simple acid- and base-
~-Glucose-6-phosphate:
an important derivative of catalysis can interconvert sugars, but not in a controlled way. Cells pro-
glucose (see Chapter 7). duce enzymes which increase the rate of specific reactions relative to others;
they can therefore readily convert a particular sugar to a single product at
Fig. 6.10 A representative sugar will by employing an appropriate enzyme. Sugars are a universal bio-
phosphate. chemical currency. Selective reactions of sugars and their derivatives can
provide cells with a variety of organic building blocks and can be used to
generate chemical energy. These principles will be illustrated with reference
to some aspects of glucose biochemistry in the next chapter.

Further reading
D. S . Kemp and F. Vellacio (1980) Organic Chemistry, Worth Publishers, Inc.,
New York, contains some excellent discussions of the chemistry of sugars and
related compounds, especially in chapters 25 and 27.
Another general textbook with a good coverage of sugars is M. Jones Jr (1997)
Organic Chemistry,W. W. Norton & Co., New York, especially chapter 24.
F. H. Westheimer (1987) Why Nature Chose Phosphates, Science, 235,
pp. 1173-8, analyses the exploitation of phosphates in biochemistry.
7 Metaboli
biochemistry of

7.1 Overview
Cells continually degrade organic compounds and synthesize new ones. The biochemical breakdown of
The breakdown of complex compounds provides simple organic building organic compounds into simpler
blocks for the synthesis of other biological compounds as they are ‘IJeciesis Often
catabolism, whereas the
required. Chemical transformations of simple organic compounds are also synthesis of complex
used by cells to generate energy in a usable form. These chemical inter- from simpler precursors is known
conversions of ‘metabolites’ are the basis of metabolism. Of all the asanabolism.
metabolites involved in these transformations, sugars and their simple
derivatives play a central role.
This chapter describes the nature of chemical energy within cells and
how this energy is harnessed from enzyme-catalysed reactions. Cellular
energy is related to the ability to facilitate dehydration chemistry in
aqueous solution and the primary source of dehydrating power in cells, a
phosphate derivative (ATP), is introduced.
Having established the nature of biochemical energy, the biochemistry
of glucose is used as an example of the manipulation of chemicals in cells:
degradation to common building blocks; use of these building blocks to
prepare other chemicals; and the generation of biochemical energy. Some
features of coenzyme chemistry are also introduced in this discussion.

7.2 The chemical energy of cells

Cells use many forms of energy, including mechanical energy (e.g. in
muscle contraction) and electrical energy (e.g. in nerve signals), as well as
chemical energy. However, all the energy-requiring processes of cells are
related to chemical energy and this will provide the focus of our discus-
sion. The nature of chemical energy within cells relates to the ability to
turn processes that would normally be unfavourable into favourable ones;
it is easiest to understand this concept by the use of examples.
Precisely constructed polymers are characteristic of life. The polymers
common to all living systems correspond to the joining of monomer units
with concomitant loss of water. They are known as condensationpolymers,
and include proteins derived from amino acids (shown schematically in
Fig. 2.2, see Section 2. l), polysaccharides derived from sugars (introduced
in Section 6.4) and nucleic acids, the molecules associated with genetic
information, which will be described in Chapter 9.
To a considerable extent, we can identify the capacity to carry
out controlled dehydration reactions as a key chemical feature of cells.
Since cells are approximately 70 per cent water, dehydration chemistry is
60 Metabolism and the biochemistry of glucose

generally unfavourable. In dilute aqueous solution the hydrolysis of

condensation polymers is the more thermodynamically favourable pro-
cess. When we digest meat (mainly protein) and potatoes (mainly poly-
Chemical energy is used to drive saccharides), we catalyse the favourable hydrolysis of polymers into the
all energy-dependent processes
corresponding monomers in an aqueous environment. It is the construc-
in biology. For example,
mechanical energy, as tion of polymers from these monomers that requires energy.
exemplified by moving muscle, In order for a dehydration reaction to occur in a cell, the overall process
actually corresponds to moving must be made thermodynamically favourable; and the rate of reaction
protein fibres relative to one must be appropriate at the temperature found within cells. Enzymes can
another, and is brought about by
be used to address the latter (kinetic) issue but not the former, as they alter
cycles of dehydration and
hydrolysis chemistry. the rate of attainment, but not the position, of equilibrium. A molecule
that can be used by cells to make a dehydration process thermo-
dynamically favourable in an aqueous environment has, however, the
potential to act as a source of chemical energy.

7.2.1 An important biochemical dehydrating agent: ATP

The molecule most commonly identified as a source of chemical energy
within cells is an acid anhydride, adenosine triphosphate, commonly
Adenosine, and related abbreviated to ATP. ATP is a complex molecule but only a certain portion
phosphate esters (nucleotides), of the molecule is associated with its role as a store of chemical energy. It is
act as ‘handles’ for a number of the triphosphate portion, a phosphate anhydride group (Fig. 7. l), which is
enzyme cofactors. The structures a dehydrating agent; the remainder of the molecule, adenosine, can be
of adenosine and related
molecules are analysed in more thought of as a ‘handle’ to carry this functional group, facilitating effec-
detail in Chapter 9. tive binding by enzymes.
ATP can react with nucleophiles at any of the phosphate centres.
Figure 7.2 shows a nucleophilic substitution at the y-phosphate. Such
The three phosphate centres are reactions, e.g. hydrolysis, result in the displacement of a good leaving
denoted by cl; p and y, in order of group-a phosphate derivative, in this case adenosine diphosphate
increasing separation from the (ADP). A key feature of phosphoric anhydrides is that nucleophilic sub-
adenosine unit-see Fig. 7.2. In stitution reactions are energetically favourable; however they generally
metabolic reactions, nucleophilic
substitution occurs most occur slowly (see Section 6.5) in the absence of a catalyst.
commonly at the y- and The fact that phosphoric anhydrides are thermodynamically unstable
a-phosphates. but kinetically stable allows them to be maintained in relatively high
concentrations in cells. Consequently their reactions with a variety of
nucleophiles are controlled by specific enzymes.

0 0 0
II II II
- -
-01
/s 0/ 1s0/s
_____
10-Ad
-0 -0 -0
(Ad = adenyl)
Triphosphate
(reactive group) HO OH Simplified representation of ATP

f U / / SffUCfUre Of ATP Adenosine (handle)

Fig. 7.1 ATP: a phosphoric acid anhydride.

 Foundations of chemical biology 61

0 0 0 0 0 0 As mentioned in Section 6.5, one

II II -H+ II II It factor that slows the rate of
P P nucleophilic substitution at
O - A T N U / ~ +~ - o
~Ol~d~\O-Ad phosphate derivatives is the
-0 -0 -0 -0 electrostatic repulsion between
ATP ADP the attacking lone pair of
H-NU= nucleophile, e.g. HO
, electrons on the nucleophile and
the anionic oxygens of the
Fig. 7.2 Overview of a nucleophilic substitution at ATP phosphate group.

R w,, + H2NR'* R hlUD'

I", I"
+ H20 Removing water
drives the equilibrium
in favour of product
The fact that proteins are
condensation polymers was

Activation
of the acid J
0
(X-= good
leaving group) 0 Favourable substitution;
rate of reverse
introduced in Section 2.1.

+ H,NR'f-- + HX reaction is negligible

R NHR'

Fig. 7.3 Amide bond formation-two alternatives.

7.2.2 Protein biosynthesis: an example of controlled dehydration in cells

The production of a wide array of proteins is essential to cellular function. The biosynthesis of proteins
The synthesis of proteins involves controlled addition of amino acids to a takes place on ribosomes,
complex assemblies of
growing polypeptide chain, corresponding to the elimination of one ribonucleic acid and a variety of
molecule of water for each amide bond formed (Fig. 2.2). Faced with the proteins. The basis of ribosomal
challenge of making amide bonds from amines and acids, chemists synthesis of proteins is discussed
manipulate the position of the equilibrium by one of two strategies: in Section 9.11. The discussion in
changing the concentration of one of the species involved, notably this section focuses on the
background chemical issues
removing water as it is formed; or making a derivative of the acid, e.g. an associated with peptide bond
anhydride or an ester, such that subsequent formation of the amide is formation.
favourable (illustrated schematically in Fig. 7.3). The first option is not
possible in the aqueous environment of the cell. The second approach,
In the two-stage process,
which circumvents the production of free water, is viable in cells and is the
involving the activation of the
one adopted by nature: a carboxylic acid is converted into a derivative acid, water is not produced.
which has a better leaving group. Instead, it forms part of the
The first stage in the biosynthesis of proteins is the reaction of an amino leaving group that is displaced by
acid with ATP. Nucleophilic attack by the carboxylate group at the the amine nucleophile.
a-phosphate centre generates an acyl phosphate (Fig. 7.4). This acid
derivative, a mixed acid anhydride, is activated with respect to nucleo-
philic substitution: the carbonyl centre now bears a good leaving group.
The acyl phosphate produced is rapidly converted to an ester, an inter-
mediate which is relatively stable (Fig. 7.4). The ester is formed with an
RA1 O R

alcohol of complex structure, a polymer known as a 'transfer RNA', or Simple carboxylic acid
anhydrides (see above) react
tRNA. This class of molecule will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 9.
efficiently with amines to form
The esters formed between the tRNA and the amino acid are then amides, but they hydrolyse
transformed into proteins by a favourable series of nucleophilic sub- readily in water and are not used
stitution reactions (Fig. 7.5). as dehydrating agents in cells.
62 Metabolism and the biochemistry of glucose

Amino acid activation involves

attack at the a-phosphate, rather
than the y-phosphate, of ATP. The
overall reaction is more
favourable because of the ready
subsequent hydrolysis of the
other reaction product:
0
II
-O/r\O/p
R*
0
"I-
II
n
-

@TYo-Ad
II
0
II
0
II

Pyrophosphate Enzyme-bound
pyrophosphate. Formation of acyl 0- -0 O 0 acyl phosphate
phosphates from ATP and ATP
carboxylates is energetically
unfavourable; under normal
conditions, the back reaction tRNA-OH is a macromolecular alcohol,
would predominate. The whose structure is described in Chapter 9
hydrolysis of 1 mol of pyrophos- II
phate to 2 mol of phosphate is
catalysed efficiently by cells. This 0-
Ester
reaction is strongly favourable;
pyrophosphate is destroyed as it Fig. 7.4 The two-step formation of an activated amino acid,

-
is formed and is, therefore, not
available for the back reaction. 0 H,NR
NHR, + tRNA-OH
R*AO-tRNA R*
The peptide bond formation
Activated amino acid Peptide
process shown in Fig. 7.5
corresponds to the generation of Fig 7.5 Peptide bond formation by nucleophilic substitution of tRNA esters.
a growing polypeptide chain on
the ribosome. The overall process
is represented schematically in
Overall, the formation of each amide bond is associated with the
Fig. 9.21. Suggest a mechanism hydrolysis of a molecule of ATP. This process removes the water that
for this nucleophilic substitution would otherwise have to be displaced. Hence, ATP fulfils the role of a
reaction. water-compatible dehydrating agent. When cells undertake processes to
generate energy, this typically corresponds to the production of ATP. This
process, and other aspects of metabolism, will now be illustrated by
considering some of the biochemistry of glucose.

7.3 Overview of the catabolism of glucose

All the chiral sugars involved in Chemical reactions of sugars, and their derivatives, are a central feature of
the catabolism of glucose have metabolism. As an example, glucose is converted to other sugars and
the o-configuration (see
Chapter 6). In this chapter, for
derivatives in cells as a means of generating chemical energy. The oxida-
simplicity, the stereochemistry of tion of glucose by oxygen, to generate carbon dioxide and water, is
the sugars is not explicitly strongly exothermic (Fig. 7.6). Many cells in oxidizing environments
labelled. derive energy by 'burning' sugars; the energy is harvested in a controlled
fashion, yielding reactive chemicals rather than heat.
Controlled oxidation is accomplished by carrying out the breakdown of
glucose via a series of discrete chemical reactions, each of which is
mediated by a particular enzyme. These reactions lead to the progressive
shortening of the carbon chain. Reactive chemicals, ATP in particular, are
generated by this oxidative chemistry and can be used when required to
bring about chemical reactions in the cell which would otherwise be
unfavourable. The small molecules that result from the breakdown of the
sugar can also be used as building blocks for the construction of other
chemical compounds.
 Foundations of clzenzical biology 63

H
HOH& *

OH
CHOH + 602
-
many steps

I
+{ CH3C0C0ZH
many steps

+-}
I
6 CO, + 6 HzO
The oxidative metabolism of
glucose to carbon dioxide (by
glycolysis and the tricarboxylic
acid cycle, as described in this
chapter and in Chapter 8)
C6H1206
Overall free energy change
AG = - 2900 kJ/ mol-' I produces up to 38 mol of ATP
(from ADP and phosphate) per
mol of glucose. The free energy of
Fig. 7.6 Oxidative breakdown of glucose. hydrolysis of ATP is
approximately -36 kJ mol-'.
7.4 The oxidative metabolism of lucose: glycolysi Hence the chemical energy
harvested, in the form of the
The breakdown of glucose to a three-carbon acid, pyruvate, is known as dehydrating agent ATP, is
glycolysis. It is useful to consider the strategy underlying the overall approximately -1350 kJ mol-' of
process before turning to the specific details. Firstly, the cell takes up glucose. This is more than 45 per
glucose from its surroundings and retains it by phosphorylating it; sec- cent of the maximum theoretical
ondly, the six-carbon chain of the sugar is cleaved to generate two amount. Judged against the
standards of most man-made
equivalent three-carbon units; finally the three-carbon fragments are devices, humans utilize energy
manipulated to generate useful building blocks and chemical energy in the very efficiently; the average adult
form of ATP. These three stages are described in the following three dietary 'calorific' intake is about
subsections. 10 000 kJ (2400 kcal) per day. This
corresponds to an average
energy consumption of
7.4.1 Glucose uptake by cells approximately 120 W, about the
same as a light bulb.
Glucose is readily taken up by many cells. In the absence of any other
process, glucose would flow into a cell until the concentrations inside and
outside the cell are the same. It is obviously of benefit to cells to draw in as
much glucose as possible (ideally all of the available glucose) and retain it.
Cells achieve both aims by making a phosphate ester of glucose, glucose-6-
phosphate, inside the cell.
Glucose is phosphorylated by ATP in a reaction catalysed by the Enzymes which catalyse the
enzyme hexokinase. This process, the formation of an ester with dis- attachment of phosphate groups
placement of a phosphate leaving group (ADP), is favourable and to organic molecules are known
as 'kinases'. Hexokinase is so
essentially all the glucose within the cell is phosphorylated (Fig. 7.7). This named because it undertakes this
means that the concentration of free glucose within the cell is kept close to chemistry on hexoses.
zero and a concentration gradient favouring entry of more glucose into
the cell is maintained. The structures of ATP and ADP
Not only does any available glucose enter the cell, but once phos- are shown in Figs 7.2 and 7.3.
phorylated, it is in an ionic form, unable to flow freely through the cell
In this chapter sugars are
CHO CHO represented as straight-chain
structures.This is done to make it
easier to follow the chemical
transformations. It is important to
. P T A + remember that these are often
not the predominant forms of
these sugars in solution (see
H,C- OH Chapter 6).
Glucose The cell membrane has a
0-
Glucose-6-phosphate non-polar core, which provides a
barrier to the movement of ionic
Fig. 7.7 Phosphorylation of glucose. species (see Chapter 8).
64 Metaholisnz and the biochemistry of glucose

Many processes by which small membrane, and hence it is trapped. This illustrates how the chemical
molecules and ions pass through energy of ATP can be used to manipulate concentration gradients in a
cell membranes are 'coupled' to
ATP chemistry. Either ATP is fashion useful to cells.
consumed as the cell generates a
concentration gradient, or ATP is 7.4.2 Fragmentation of the carbon skeleton
generated as ions flow across a After glucose has entered a cell and been phosphorylated to glucose-6-
membrane to redress a
concentration imbalance.(see
phosphate, it is broken down into smaller organic molecules. In overall
Sections 8.4 and 8.5). terms, this six-carbon sugar is converted into two molecules of a three-
carbon sugar, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, which is subsequently oxi-
Based on the material in
dized; the net result of the oxidation process is the production of ATP. All
Chapter 5, suggest a mechanism the intermediates in this pathway are anionic and so are retained by cells.
for the interconversion of In the first stage, the carbonyl group of glucose-6-phosphate is moved
glucose-6-phosphate and along the chain. This isomerization generates the compound fructose-6-
fructose-6-phosphate. phosphate. A phosphate group is then added to the other end of the chain,
producing fructose- 1,6-bisphosphate (Fig. 7.8). With phosphate groups
Phosphorylation of fructose-6-
phosphate to fructose-1,6- on each end of the chain, fragmentation can generate two smaller mole-
bisphosphate is the point at which cules, each of which is anionic.
the cell expends energy (ATP) to Fructose-l,6-bisphosphateis in fact split into two phosphorylated trioses:
commit these molecules to gly- glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (Fig. 7.9).
colysis.The activity of the enzyme
that catalyses this step, phos- 0
phofructokinase, is regulated in kC//0 //
many cells so that it is only highly --
active when the cell requires H OH
more glycolysis to take place. In
HO +ATP HO
the presence of high levels of ti0 H -
7
PEP, a product of glycolysis (see H OH H H
Fig. 7.13), the activity of this
H OH H H
enzyme drops. This control is 4
flo
mediated by allosteric effects H2C-O-P, H26-0-P, - H2C- 0-P,
(see margin notes pp 31 and 37). I 0- I 0 I 0-
0- 0- 0-
PEP binds to the surface of
phosphofructokinase, stabilizing Glucose-6-phosphate Fructose-6-phosphate Fructose-I,6-bisphosphate
a structure with decreased
Fig. 7.8 Conversion of glucose-6-phosphate to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.
catalytic activity.

lsomerization of a glucose skele-

ton into a fructose unit places the
carbonyl group in a position
where carbon-carbon bond
cleavage generates two three-
carbon sugars. Carbon-carbon Di hydroxyacetone
bonds can be made and broken phosphate
by simple acid-base chemistry H&-O-p, //
when they are 3- to a carbonyl
I O-
group. This chemistry is known as 0-
aldol chemistry. 0-
Fructose-I,6-
Bond a-to tarbony1 bisphosphate Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
\
___-__ 0
Bond p- to - - - _HO dihydroxyacetone phosphate
~

carbonyl can be --
formed and broken H
H
OH
Overall reaction: fructose-I ,6-bisphosphate ======= +
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
by aldol chemistry
Fig. 7.9 Fragmentation of the six-carbon chain into two three-carbon units.
 Foundations of chemical biology 65

Although two isomeric triose phosphates are produced, only one of

these, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, is subsequently oxidized. For complete The aldehyde group of the aldose
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatecan
oxidation of glucose, therefore, the dihydroxyacetone phosphate must be be readily oxidized. By contrast,
converted into glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. This interconversion is cata- dihydroxyacetone phosphate is a
lysed by TIM and was discussed in detail in Chapter 5. This combination of ketose and ketone groups are
chemical reactions has succeeded in converting the six-carbon sugar into much harder to oxidize.
two equivalent smaller units in readiness for further manipulation.

If the C-C bond cleavage

chemistry were carried out on
7.4.3 Energy production
glucose-6-phosphate, it would
The reactions described so far have not involved any oxidative chemistry generate a four-carbon sugar
and have actually used up cellular ATP, rather than generated it! It is the phosphate, erythrose-4-
oxidation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate that leads to the production of phosphate, and a two-carbon
sugar, glycolaldehyde.
the first batch of ATP molecules from glucose metabolism. This process is
catalysed by glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase.
The side chain functional groups of proteins provide a variety of acid- Note that a wide variety of sugars
base and hydrogen bonding potential, but only limited redox chemistry can be converted into the triose
(notably cysteine/cystine interconversion, see Section 2.3). The latter is phosphates, which can then be
not sufficient for all the redox needs of cells. For more complex redox metabolized in a common
fashion.This illustrates the
reactions, an organic molecule, a coenzyme, can be conscripted to carry biochemical versatility of sugars
out the oxidation chemistry. In the case of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and the benefit of generating
dehydrogenase, this coenzyme, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide or common metabolites.
N A D f , is a complex pyridine derivative (Fig. 7.10). It is the chemistry of
this pyridine group that is utilized by the enzyme.
The oxidation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate does not lead to the
corresponding acid directly; instead, the reaction product is an activated Cells exploit a range of chemistry
not intrinsically present in simple
acid derivative, an acyl phosphate (Fig. 7.11). proteins by utilizing other chemi-
cal species to provide the extra
H chemical diversity. An example,
I H H

- Reduction H ~ c o N
The remainder of the
H coenzyme,
z R, can be
regarded as a 'handle',
discussed in Chapter 4, was the
use of a cofactor by myoglobin
and haemoglobin. These proteins
Oxidation both utilize Fe2+, encased in a
H H analogous to the role of
I H I adenosine in ATP (Fig. haem group, to bind oxygen.
R R 7.2). In fact, R also Key building blocks for the con-
Oxidized form of the Reduced form of the contains an adenosine struction of coenzymes are often
coenzyme: "AD+' coenzyme: 'NADH' unit (see Fig. 9.6). vitamins: essential trace nutrients
in the diet. Nicotinic acid (niacin),
Fig. 7.10 The redox chemistry of nicotinamide coenzymes. incorporated into nicotinamides,
falls into this category:
HOP0;- H

In the formation of glycerate-1,3-

R I bisphosphate, shown in Fig. 7.11,
Glyceraldehyde- Glycerate-l,3-bisphosphate NADH
NAD the extra phosphate is introduced
3-phosphate
+

from inorganic .phosphate,

. rather
Fig. 7.11 Enzyme-catalysed oxidation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. than ATP.-
66 Metabolism and the biochemistry of glucose

In contrast to most simple organic

species, NADH absorbs light
strongly at 340 nm; NAD+ does
not absorb appreciably at this
wavelength. Hence the rate of the
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
OL .dl '\?
0

0 f
I
n
P
(ADP)

U'I'O-Ad-
-n
-0 '
C
1P
I'0'
-0
..
D
.'\
1 0/
-0
+
-0
D
I
\ 0-Ad

dehydrogenase reaction can be O Y O-

monitored in a laboratory experi- OHH
ment by following the increase in Glycerate-3-phosphatk opof-
absorbance at 340 nm as a
function of time.This provides a
useful assay for the activity of this Fig. 7.12 The generation of ATP from glycerate-l,3-bisphosphate.
enzyme, that can also be adapted
to measure catalysis byTIM. A further enzyme catalyses the reaction of the resulting acyl phosphate
Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
(D-GAP) is produced byTIM- with ADP to generate ATP (Fig. 7.12). In the overall process, chemical
catalysed isomerization of dihy- energy has been harnessed in the form of a new phosphate anhydride
droxyacetone phosphate (DHAP). bond. Thus chemical energy, in the form of ATP, has been produced from
By adding excess glycer- the overall conversion of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to glycerate-3-
aldehyde-3-phosphate dehy- phosphate.
drogenase, and appropriate
additives, to a mixture of TIM and
The product of glycolysis so far is glycerate-3-phosphate. The ATP that
DHAP, the D-GAP is oxidized as was expended in order to accumulate glucose within the cell has been
soon as it is formed. Under these exactly offset by that gained from the oxidation of glyceraldehyde-3-
conditions, the rate of increase of phosphate (two molecules for each glucose metabolized). An overall gain
absorbance at 340 nm is of ATP is obtained by further metabolism of the product. The first two
determined by the rate of pro-
duction of D-GAP, i.e. it is a direct
chemical reactions of this sequence produce a molecule capable of pro-
measure ducing ATP. The phosphate group is moved along the chain to form
of catalysis by TIM. This is an glycerate-2-phosphate which then undergoes elimination of water to form
example of a coupled enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate, PEP (Fig. 7.13).
assay. The phosphate group of PEP is then transferred to ADP to form ATP
(Fig. 7.14). In this way two further molecules of ATP are produced from
At the active site of glycer- the overall metabolism of each glucose molecule.
aldehyde-3-phosphate
dehydrogenase, the aldehyde
group of thesubstratereactswith a
thiol group of a cysteine side chain
and the resulting intermediate is
oxidized bythe NAD+ toproducea
thioester.This species undergoes
nucleophilic substitution with Phosphoenolpyruvate
phosphate to give the acyl Glycerate-3-phosphate Glycerate-2-phosphate (PEP)
phosphate product.Thioesters are
important reactive functional Fig. 7.13 Formation of PEP.
groups in biochemistry and
they are discussed further in
Chapter 8.

P yH3C
ruvat~O +

The formation of PEP from

gl ycerate-2-phosphate
is a rare example of a simple
dehydration reaction which is
favourable in aqueous solution
(equilibrium constant ca 4).
Fig. 7.14 The formation of ATP from PEP.
 Foundations of chemical biology 67

Further metabolism of the pyruvate and NADH produced by glycolysis The phosphorylation of ADP by
PEP is favourable because, in the
provides still more ATP. This process is discussed in Chapter 8. overall reaction, a carbon-
carbon double bond in the PEP is
replaced by a carbon-oxygen
double bond in the final product of
the reaction, pyruvate; the latter
7.5 Pyruvate as a building block bond is more stable than the
Glycolysis produces two molecules of pyruvate from each molecule of carbon-carbon double bond.
glucose. Pyruvate is a ubiquitous metabolite and undergoes a variety of
chemical transformations within cells. As an example, pyruvate has the
same carbon skeleton as the amino acid alanine (Fig. 7.15) and cells can Alanine is one of the amino
interconvert pyruvate and alanine. Many organisms convert pyruvate into acids incorporated in proteins
alanine, thereby providing one of the amino acids required for protein (Chapter 2).
biosynthesis. This example illustrates the way in which metabolites pro-
duced by one set of biochemical transformations can then be used to
produce other organic compounds that cells require. Humans have a diet rich in pro-
teins and so they consume plen-
tiful supplies of alanine. Some of
this alanine can be converted into
pyruvate and metabolized further
to produce energy. In this case,
the surplus nitrogen liberated is
ultimately excreted in the form of
Pyruvate Alanine
urea.

Fig. 7.15 Pyruvate and alanine are related metabolites.

As a further example of the rela-

tionship between metabolites
produced by glycolysis and amino
7.6 Summary acids, glycerate-3-phosphate is a
biosynthetic precursor of serine

+
Acid anhydrides can act as dehydrating agents, thereby promoting and cysteine.
reactions that would normally be unfavourable in water. For this 2-
reason, polyphosphates (anhydrides of phosphoric acids) are exploited in /opo3
biochemistry to store chemical energy. The oxidative metabolism of glu-
cose exemplifies several features of the sugar phosphate chemistry intro- HO
duced in Chapter 6, including the facile interconversion of sugar 0-
derivatives, and the role of anionic phosphate groups in retaining meta- Glycerate-3-phosphate
bolites within cells. It illustrates the way in which complex molecules can
be converted into simpler ones with the energy liberated ultimately har-
nessed in the form of a triphosphate, ATP. These simpler common
metabolites can, in turn, be used as building blocks for the biosynthesis of
other compounds.
The oxidation reactions of sugar metabolism require chemical reactivity Serine Cysteine
not available in simple proteins. Coenzymes are conscripted to provide Thioesters are used alongside
the needed reactivity. A range of coenzymes are exploited in biochemistry polyphosphates as biological
for specific catalytic tasks. Coenzymes typically consist of a functional dehydrating agents. They have
been mentioned in passing in this
group, with the distinctive chemistry required, attached to a ‘handle’, chapter (see margin note in
that facilitates effective binding by enzymes. They are discussed further Section 7.4.3) and will be
in Chapter 9. discussed further in Chapter 8.
68 Metabolism and the biochemistry of glucose

Further reading
All major biochemistry textbooks, such as those referred to at the end of Chapter
1, discuss glycolysis. Chemical energetics and glucose metabolism is particularly
well covered in R. H. Abeles, P. A. Frey and W. P. Jencks (1992) Biochemistry,
Jones and Bartlett Publishers Inc., chapters 9 and 21.
The chemistry of glycolysis is discussed in chapter 25 of D. S. Kemp and
F. Vellacio (1980) Organic Chemistry, Worth Publishers Inc., NY.
Phosphate biochemistry is discussed by F. H. Westheimer (1987) Why Nature
Chose Phosphates, Science, 235, pp. 1173-8.
8 Lipids: cells as compartments

8.1 Introduction
Compartmentalisation is an essential part of life as we know it; the con- As discussed in Chapter 3,
tents of cells are different from their surroundings. Cells maintain a dis- proteins in aqueous solution
tinct repertoire of chemical processes and in order to do so they minimise tend to adopt structures in which
polar residues, which interact
the uptake of undesirable chemicals and the loss of desirable ones. The favourably with solvent, lie
compartments of living organisms are bounded by semipermeable mem- predominantly on the surface;
branes. So far, attention has been focused on the internal contents of cells, non-polar residues tend to be
a collection of water-soluble chemicals. This chapter examines the mole- buried away from water. The
cular components of the membranes enclosing these compounds. factors responsible for the
association of lipids into
Most organic compounds are immiscible with water and tend to membranes are closely related
associate in aqueous solution. This association is exploited by cells, which to those that determine the
use a class of compounds, the lipids, to form the basic structures of cell tertiary structures of proteins.
membranes.
This chapter develops an awareness of the intrinsic chemistry of the
most common lipids, phospholipids; the basis of their association to form Amphiphilicity was introduced in
Section 3.3, with reference to
membranes; and some of the implications of compartmentalisation. a-helices. Amphiphilic helices are
often found in soluble protein
structures; the hydrophilic face of
8.2 Common phospholipids found in membranes the helix hydrogen bonds with
water and points towards the
The membranes found in biological systems are formed by the sponta- solution, whilst the hydrophobic
neous association of relatively small organic molecules, lipids (Fig. 8.1). face is buried away from water.
The membrane structures arise because of the amphiphilic nature of lipid
molecules; one end (the ‘polar head group’) is hydrophilic, the remainder
is a hydrophobic tail. The biochemistry of sugar
The most common lipids, phospholipids, are sugar phosphate deriva- phosphates was introduced in
tives. Glycerol-3-phosphate (Fig. 8.2), the core of phospholipids, is ideally Sections 6.5 and 6.6.
suited to act as a molecular scaffold. Both the acid group of the phosphate

membrane
Schematic view of
a phospholipid
(cf. Fig. 8.2)
Hydrophobic
,’ tail

.
rnernurane
nrntoinc
Phospholipid group

Fig. 8.1 A typical membrane and its constituent lipids.

70 Lipids: cells as compartments

Glycerol-3-phosphate, the sugar Hydrophobic tail

phosphate core of phospholipids,
is simply a reduced form of the
triose phosphates, e.g. DHAP,
which have been discussed in
Chapters 5-7.

Phosphate, and its monoesters,

exist as a mixture of mono- and
Polar head group glycerol-3-phosphate
di-anions at neutral pH. For clarity
in this chapter such phosphate Schematic view of a A typical phospholipid
derivatives are represented as phospholipid (cf. Fig. 8.1)
mono-anions.
Fig. 8.2 The core of phospholipids is derived from glycerol-3-phosphate.

and the hydroxyl groups of the sugar derivative are useful sites for the
In mammals, the chains of fatty attachment of other functionalities. The ability of both sugar and phos-
acids incorporated into lipids are
typically between 12 and 20
phate portions to form esters allows sugar phosphates to act as linking
carbons in length. They comprise groups. In phospholipids, the polar phosphate group combines with polar
an even number of carbons alcohols to form the hydrophilic head group, and large non-polar chains are
because they are biosynthesized connected to the sugar portion to produce the hydrophobic tail.
by successive additions of a
two-carbon unit-a derivative of
acetic acid, acetyl CoA (the
8.2.1 The hydrophobic tail of phospholipids
generation of acetyl CoA is In phospholipids, the two free hydroxyl groups of glycerol-3-phosphate
mentioned in an aside to Section form ester links to a class of carboxylic acids-fatty acids. Fatty acids
8.6). Common unsaturated fatty consist of a linear hydrocarbon chain with a carboxylic acid group at one
acids contain up to six double
bonds; the double-bond geo-
metry is usually cis and, where 0
more than one double bond is
found, there is usually a single OH
methylene group separating the Palmitic acid: a saturated fatty acid
0
double bonds.
OH
Some cells generate esters of
Oleic acid: a mono-unsaturated fatty acid 0
glycerol with three links to fatty
acids. These triglycerides, found
for example in animal fat, are OH
insoluble in water. They are not Arachidonic acid: a poly-unsaturatedfatty acid
used in membranes but are
deposited inside cells, providing Fig. 8.3 Typical fatty acids.
stores of useful chemicals; they
are laid down in times of plenty,
and metabolized in times of need
to provide energy. CH3(CH2)13CH2 2 fatty acids
joined via
C15H31 Coo HO)=o
+ HO a
C15H31 coo
1 0C0C15H31

A triglyceride, tripalmitoyl
glycerol
CH3(CH2)13CH2

HO F0
0
\
T y O H
-0 0
-2 HZO

A phosphatidic acid P-OH

-0
I\
0

Fig. 8.4 Phosphatidic acids: esters derived from fatty acids and glycerol-3-
phosphate.
 Foundations of chemical biology 71

end. Many fatty acids are devoid of other functionalities; some, however,
contain double bonds. Three common fatty acids are shown in Fig. 8.3.
The combination of glycerol-3-phosphate and two fatty acids is known as
a phosphatidic acid (Fig. 8.4); such compounds are typical phospholipids.

8.2.2 The polar head group of phospholipids

Phosphatidic acids are phosphate monoesters capable of forming further
ester linkages. In the common phospholipids, the diacyl-glycerol-3-
phosphate is linked to an alcohol bearing one or two charged groups. This
arrangement provides a highly hydrophilic head group. Serine, one of the
amino acids found in proteins, is one such alcohol. The other alcohols
commonly utilised, ethanolamine and choline, are related to serine. Ethanolamine is derived from
serine by decarboxylation (loss of
cog
HO\/\+NH~ Ho \/\+NM~, carbon dioxide). Addition of three
methyl groups to the amino group
Ho 4 f N H 3
H Ethanolamine Choline of ethanolamine results in
Serine (protonated at physiological pH) choline.

The most common phospholipids, phosphatidylethanolamine and

phosphatidylcholine, are phosphate diesters (Fig. 8.5) in which the Polar alcohol
phosphate group retains a negative charge, whilst the polar alcohol RCOO
introduces a positively charged functional group. The presence of a pair of
matched charged groups at one end of a phospholipid augments the PhoSPhatidic
acid
9
polarity difference within the lipid molecule but leaves these lipids with no
-0
net overall charge, they are 'Zwitterions'. n

8.3 Biological membranes: association of lipids

RCOO
When phospholipids, such as phosphatidylethanolamine, are introduced
into water, the charged hydrophilic 'head group' interacts favourably with
water. By contrast, the large non-polar surfaces of the fatty acid chains
9/%/- +NRj
IP+O
disrupt the hydrogen bonding properties of water. To avoid this unfa- -0
vourable interaction with water, lipid molecules associate to form large R' = H: phosphatidylethanolarnine;
assemblies that prevent the fatty acids from coming into contact with R = CH3: phosphatidylcholine
(also known as lecithin)
water (Fig.
. - 8.6).
The overall structure adopted is like a sandwich, with the polar head Fig. 8.5 Common phospholipids.
groups acting as slices of bread on the outside, and the non-polar groups
buried as a filling. A layer of lipid molecules presents an array of polar

CH3(CH2)13CH2 -------- -. Schematic view of Polar surface interacts

CH3(CH2)13CH2 0 Po '.
Hydroppobic tail
a phospholipid (cf.

18-
Figs 8.1 and 8.2)

i
'--____--
,,.------____
A
association in
0 water to form
O==( 0 ,'/' a bilayer H,O H,O H,O HZO H,O contact with water
\ b'/\/+NR3 Polar head group
P-0
-d \\0 Simplified representation of
a lipid bilayer (cf. Fig. 8.1)
A typical phospholipid (cf. Fig. 8.5)

Fig. 8.6 The association of lipids to form a bilayer.

72 Lipids: cells as compartments

The proteins found in membranes functional groups to the solvent. The corresponding non-polar chains
are specifically inserted there for associate with the non-polar surface of a second layer of lipids. In asso-
functional purposes. They expose
largely non-polar surfaces to the ciating to form a bilayer, the hydrophobic portions of lipids become buried
non-polar core of the membrane. away from water. The core of the bilayer is a sheet of non-polar material
This situation contrasts with that prevents the free passage of polar species from one side to the other.
water-soluble proteins, where
such residues are found buried 8.4 Cells as compartments
away from the surface.
Membrane-bound proteins can Cells are surrounded by a membrane. This allows them to maintain a
often be identified from their controlled environment appropriate for their chemical processes. Cells
amino acid composition: the are, however, in dynamic interaction with the world, since the membrane
regions of the molecule
embedded in a membrane are is semipermeable and allows cells to concentrate useful chemicals, such as
rich in non-polar residues. foodstuffs. There is also a selective advantage for cells to deplete the levels
of some chemicals relative to their environment, e.g. it is important to
Proteins and oligosaccharides excrete undesirable materials. The movement of chemicals into and out of
provide a wide variety of cells is mediated, primarily, by proteins embedded within the membrane.
molecular structures. When
membrane bound, they play an
The membranes surrounding cells are thus rather more complex than
important role in molecular simple lipid bilayers (Fig. 8.7).
recognition processes. For Proteins are more highly functionalised than lipids and add chemical
example, antibodies are glyco- variety to the membrane. In particular, many membrane-bound proteins
proteins (proteins with oligo- allow the migration of selected species through the membrane. Some of
saccharides attached) found on
the surface of some blood cells.
these channels simply allow free migration of a particular ion or molecule
They recognise possible infective through the membrane, thereby equilibrating internal and external con-
agents by interacting specifically centrations. Others act as pumps, or as gates-pening selectively in
with foreign molecules; these response to specific needs of the cell.
molecular recognition processes The concentration of nutrients is of obvious benefit to cells. Cells use
mediate the immune response.
energy to concentrate some chemicals internally, thereby creating con-
Proteins spanning the cell centration gradients with the environment. Cells also actively pump out
membrane allow communication some chemicals. This is not just true of unwanted waste products; it is also
with the outside world. Some play true of some simple ions, such as protons and metal ions. Once the con-
a role in ‘signal transduction’ centration of ions is higher outside the cell than inside, there is a thermo-
where specific interactions with a
molecule outside the cell trigger dynamic driving force for the ion to return and equalise the concentrations.
changes inside the cell. This pumping mechanism is actually exploited as a store of chemical energy.
Hormones, e.g. insulin, present in
the bloodstream exert their Proteins spanning the membrane Proteins attached to the lipid
influence on the activity of cells in can act as gates or pores bilayer interact with other
this way. , membrane-boundmolecules
----_ ,
I

Glucose metabolism provides an

example of the concentration of
chemicals from the environment.
As was discussed in Chapter 7,
the first step in glycolysis is
phosphorylation of glucose. This
step consumes ATP and is used
to drive the sequestration of
glucose from the surrounding ‘*-- The surface of membrane-boundproteins,
media. which interacts with the bilayer, is non-polar

Fig. 8.7 A schematic view of membrane-bound proteins in a lipid bilayer.

 Foundations of chemical biology 1 3

Proteins in the membrane open and close to act

as selective pumps and gates to control ion flow
I \

Z+
z+
/
,
/ '\- Z+
z+ Z+ , Z+
t
Z+
Z+ Z+

Energy is expended, actively

I pumping out Z+, to create a

concentration imbalance

Energy is liberated when Z+is

allowed to flow back into the cell
_ + to equalize the concentrations

Z+ Z+ Z+ z+ '
High-energy situation: the concentration imbalance
Low-energy situation: equal concentrations of Z+ inside makes it favourable for Z+ ions to flow into the cell
and outside the cell; no driving force for ions to flow

Fig. 8.8 Schematic view of the manipulation of concentration gradients by cells, illustrated for a typical ion Z +.

Table 8.1 Approximate concentrations of some common ionic species (mmol L -')

Ca2+ CI - Na+ K+
Sea water 10 550 450 10
Squid nerve cell (outside) 10 550 450 10 The importance of inorganic ions
Squid nerve cell (inside) 1 100 50 400
for living systems was discussed
Mammalian muscle cell (outside) 2 120 150 5
in Chapter 1.
Mammalian muscle cell (inside) 10-~ 5 10 150
Sodium-potassium ATPase
hydrolyses ATP to create con-
centration gradients of ions. The
Favourable chemical reactions are used to establish a concentration gra- reverse process is also possible,
dient. When ions are allowed to re-enter the cell, to redress the imbalance, the namely proteins can synthesize
flow of ions is coupled to the regeneration of chemical energy (Fig. 8.8). ATP at the expense of dissipating
Sea water is rich in sodium chloride, together with other ions such as a concentration gradient. An
important example of this is
potassium, magnesium and calcium. These ions are essential for all life. described in Section 8.5.
Cells manipulate the relative concentrations of these ions inside and
outside cells, and exploit the resulting concentration gradients in a variety
of ways. As an example, it is common for multicellular organisms to
maintain comparatively low concentrations of sodium ions within cells
relative to the extracellular environment (Table 8.1). In animals this is
achieved by the action of a membrane-bound protein, sodium-potassium
ATPase. This protein is a pump that exploits the energetically favourable
hydrolysis of ATP to move sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions
into the cell. For each ATP molecule that is hydrolysed, three sodium ions
are pumped out of the cell and two potassium ions are pumped in. The ,
action of this pump generates concentration gradients of these ions and Pore in membrane allows
leads to an electrical potential across the cell membrane. Such phenomena favourable return of Na+, only if
are exploited by cells for a variety of purposes. accompanied by an amino acid
With a much higher concentration outside the cell than in, the re-entry Fig. 8.9 Schematic view of the
of sodium ions is favourable. As an example, some cells in the intestine use coupling of sodium ion gradients
this driving force to facilitate the uptake of nutrients (Fig. 8.9). Special to amino acid uptake.
74 Lipids: cells as compartments

proteins act as channels in the membrane allowing sodium ions to

enter the cell, but only if this process is accompanied by the entry
of an amino acid, e.g. alanine, or a monosaccharide, e.g. glucose. In
this way the favourable entry of sodium ions drives the uptake of
another nutrient.
The propagation of electrical signals along nerve cells is a related
phenomenon. In response to a chemical signal from a neighbouring nerve
cell, sodium ions (Table 8.1) are allowed to flow into a nerve cell through
sodium ion-selective pores. This inflow of cations increases the positive
Metal ions, other than sodium, charge within the cell and hence results in a change in the electrical
are also used in biological potential across the membrane. The result is that an electrical signal
signalling. For example, the
concentration of calcium ions in
propagates along the nerve cell to transmit the nerve signal.
the cytosol of eukaryotic cells is
kept low (Table 8.1).The selective
uptake of calcium ions provides a 8.5 Oxidative phosphorylation
signalling mechanism for a wide
range of processes, such as the Hydrogen is a central element for life, being a key component of water and
activation of enzymes involved in organic compounds. In addition, concentration gradients of hydrogen ions,
blood clotting and digestion. protons, are a critical feature of cellular activity; they are used to generate
ATP as part of a two-stage process termed ‘oxidative phosphorylation’
NADH Oxygen (Fig. 8.11). Favourable redox reactions are carried out at a membrane and
donates accepts used to drive the export of protons, thereby producing a proton concen-
electrons electrons
tration gradient. In a second stage, the re-entry of protons is coupled to the
2 NADH 2 HZO
production of ATP. This coupling is discussed in a little more detail below.

2 NAD+
t
02
The oxidative conversion of glucose to pyruvate (Chapter 7) produces
two molecules of ATP directly for each molecule of glucose that has been
+ + metabolised. The other product of the redox chemistry is the reduced
4e- -+ --+ 4e-
Electron transfer +
nicotinamide compound, NADH. In the presence of an appropriate oxi-
occurs indirectly H+ dising agent, this species can be reoxidised. The oxygen in an aerobic
by a series of atmosphere is a powerful electron acceptor. Electrons liberated from
discrete steps
NADH are transferred indirectly to oxygen, reducing it to water (Fig.
Fig. 8.10 Oxidation of NADH to 8.10). This series of favourable electron transfer steps take place at the cell
NAD+, and reduction of O2 to membrane and is coupled to the export of protons (Fig. 8.11). The
H 2 0 occur in parallel at favourable return of protons, which redresses the concentration imbal-
membranes. ance, is used to generate ATP.
In eukaryotic cells (cells with a nucleus, such as those found in animals),
oxidative phosphorylation (Fig. 8.11) is carried out in specialised bodies

In anaerobic organisms, electron H+ H+ H+ lntermembrane space

acceptors other than oxygen are A I A..
._ .. I
used’for this form of energy I

generation. For example, some Inner

bacteria use carbon dioxide to membrane
accept electrons. The carbon
dioxide ends up as methane.
Return of H+
These organisms, methanogens, Individual electron Mitochondria1matrix: protons is -’
are responsible for the methane transfer steps are coupled a centre of oxidative coupled to ATP production
produced in marshes (marsh to export of protons metabolism
gas) and in the insides of
ruminants such as cows. Fig. 8.11 Schematic view of oxidative phosphorylation by mitochondria.
 Foundations of chemical biologj) 1 5

Inner membrane - --- -

Outer membrane - -,A Mitochondria are small bodies
(‘organelles’) capable of carrying
out oxidative phosphorylation;
they are found within eukaryotic
(but not prokaryotic) cells. By
comparison, aerobic bacteria
undertake oxidative
phosphorylation at the bacterial
membrane. The mitochondria1
and bacterial systems are very
L
similar. It is thought that they are
I
Electron transfer processes ,IT ancestrally related. On this view,
at inner membrane a?- - ~.
coupled to export of protons
‘ Re-entrY of Protons at ;
specific membrane protein
mitochondria are descendents of
bacteria that established an
is coupled to ATP synthesis
interdependent (‘symbiotic’)
Fig. 8.12 Overview of oxidative phosphorylation at mitochondria. relationship with early eukaryotic
cells.

within the cell, known as mitochondria (Fig. 8.12). A series of electron The protein complex that
transfer steps is catalysed by protein complexes embedded in the inner mediates proton re-entry and ATP
membrane. This electron transfer chemistry results in the export of pro- production, F1-Fo ATPase,
mediates a similar type of pro-
tons from the interior of the mitochondria to an intermembrane space. A cess to the Na-K ATPase (Sec-
further protein complex in the inner membrane acts as a channel to allow tion 8.4). In this case the process
the re-entry of protons but only when coupled to the synthesis of ATP is run in the reverse direction to
from ADP and phosphate. produce ATP from a concentra-
tion gradient. F, -Fo ATPase is a
Oxidative phosphorylation liberates the equivalent of three molecules
complex assembly of proteins
of ATP for each NADH molecule reacted. This corresponds to six which acts like a molecular motor.
molecules of ATP for each molecule of glucose undergoing glycolysis. It is a good example of a mole-
Therefore, the majority of ATP produced by glycolysis arises from the cular device (see Section 1.6).
indirect means of oxidative phosphorylation rather than directly as
described in Chapter 7. As well as oxidising the reduced
cofactors produced by gl ycolysis,
mitochondria also mediate the
further oxidative metabolism of
pyruvate. Firstly pyruvate is oxi-
Sugars and phosphates can both form esters with more than one partner, dised to produce carbon dioxide
and so are useful as linking units in the construction of complex mole- and a thioester derivative of acet-
cules. A phosphate group retains its polar ionic character when linked, in ate, acetyl CoA. The latter is then
oxidised by a series of reactions
this fashion, to two alcohols. By appending a combination of non-polar known as the tricarboxylic acid
fatty acid groups and a polar alcohol to a glycerol phosphate core, cycle (also known as the citric
molecules containing both non-polar and polar regions are produced. acid cycle, or the Krebs cycle).
These lipid molecules spontaneously associate in water to bury the non- The overall effect of this cycle is to
polar regions, whilst leaving the polar groups exposed. As a result they convert the two carbons of acetyl
CoA into carbon dioxide and
form membranes which are exploited by cells as a means of compart- generate more nucleoside
mentalisation. Proteins embedded within the membrane add chemical triphosphate, both directly and via
diversity and render the membrane semipermeable; they interact with the further oxidative phosphorylation
outside world, and can be used to manipulate the flow of chemicals into of the reduced cofactors that are
and out of cells. Compartmentalisation allows the generation and produced. A combination of all
these processes produces 38
exploitation of concentration gradients of ions. These gradients play an molecules of ATP for each mole-
important role in many aspects of biochemistry, such as signalling and cule of glucose oxidized com-
energy generation. pletely to carbon dioxide.
76 Lipids: cells as compartments

It is a useful exercise to analyse Further reading-

the chemistry of the oxidative
metabolism of pyruvate and Major biochemistry textbooks, such as those listed in Chapter 1, all discuss
relate it to the metabolic lipids and compartmentalisation. An accessible text on bioenergenetics is
chemistry described in F. M. Harold (1986) The Vital Force: A Study OfBioenergetics, W. H. Freeman
Chapters 7 and 8. and Co., New York.
A detailed account of membrane biochemistry - is given
- in R. B. Gennis (1989)
Biomembranes: Molecular Structure and Function, Springer-Verlag.
9 Genetic information:
nucleotides and nucleic acids

9.1 Introduction
Cells are complex entities, localized capsules of chemicals that can
reproduce to generate new cells of a near-identical nature. The nature of a
particular cell depends on the array of chemicals within the cell and the
nature of their interconversion. Proteins play a key role in establishing this
identity; they are intimately involved in all the activities of the cell, e.g. the The use of different information by
uptake and transport of small molecules, and the catalysis of chemical cells with equivalent genetic
reactions. The information used by a cell is, therefore, related to the inheritance is a feature of both
multicellular and unicellular
repertoire of proteins present. creatures. For example, human
In general, a cell contains a ‘permanent’ information store that contains brain cells and liver cells possess
the blueprint needed to carry out all the processes of which the cell is the same ‘permanent’
capable. This is the genetic information that is inherited when a cell information, but whilst each uses
divides and produces more cells. Not all of this information will be in use some proteins in common, some
specialized proteins are
at any one time and place. Cells of all kinds make and use particular produced only in liver cells and
proteins at different times, in response to particular demands; this flex- some only in brain cells.
ibility derives from the use of a ‘transient’ form of information. Similarly, microorganisms
‘Permanent’ and ‘transient’ information storage in cells is associated tailor the range of enzymes they
with nucleic acids: the polymers cleoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribo- make to optimize the use of the
nucleic acid (RNA), respectively. These polymers are built from nucleo- nutrients available in their
surroundings.
tide monomer units. The information carried by nucleic acids is contained
in the nature of the monomer units and their order along the polymeric
chain. Amongst other things, this ordering provides the information for
the construction of the proteins produced by cells. Regulating the activity of proteins
This chapter will discuss the nature of nucleotides and of the polymers is a key feature of cells. Control of
that derive from them-nucleic acids. These polymers fold into ordered the rate of protein synthesis is
structures for similar reasons to those that result in protein folding and known as the regulation of gene
expression (see Section 9.11). In
give rise to the spontaneous assembly of lipids into membranes. The addition, the activity of many
structural features of nucleic acids, which are exploited in their role as individual proteins within a cell
information stores, are described first. This is followed by an outline of the can be modulated; this is often
way in which this information is accessed and transmitted from generation achieved by the allosteric
to generation. properties of multimeric proteins
(e.9. haemoglobin, as discussed
in Chapter 4).

9.2 Nucleotides Heterocyclic compounds were

introduced in Section 2.3. In
Nucleotides are formed from three components: a sugar, ribose or the of heterocyclic bases,
2-deoxyribose; a phosphate group; and a heterocyclic base (Fig. 9.1), one nitrogen atoms are present in
of a set of related, nitrogen-containing compounds. the rings.
78 Genetic information: nucleotides and nucleic acids

Nucleotides based on ribose are The sugars The heterocyclic bases

used for a wide variety of tasks in H
O.- 5 Purines
biochemistry-both as small 1 NH2 0
molecules, e.g. ATP, and CHOH
incorporated into the polymer,
RNA. By contrast, the 8
biochemistry of nucleotides HO OH L 9 4 N NH2
derived from 2-deoxyribose is far Ribose Phosphate 3 H 3
more specialized; it is dominated 0
by their use as monomers for the II Adenine Guanine
construction of DNA. The choice
of 2-deoxyribose is closely
related to the specific role of DNA
as a long-term information store
(see Section 9.10).

H6 H R = H: uracil
Three of the heterocyclic bases, Cytosine
2-Deoxyribose R = CH:, thymine
adenine, guanine and cytosine,
are common to both RNA and
DNA. RNA and DNA differ, Fig. 9.1 The components of nucleotides and nucleic acids
however, in the fourth base 0
employed: uracil is found in RNA II
and thymine is found in DNA. The 5 /p\
II
HO HO I 0
difference in structure is only 0-
/P\ CHOH CHOH
subtle: a methyl group replaces
one of the hydrogen atoms
HO I OH i-
0-
attached to the ring. This has no HO X
significant effect on the chemical X = OH: ribose-5-phosphate
X = OH: ribose
properties, and the two bases X = H: 2-deoxyribose X = H: 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate
behave in very similar ways.
Fig. 9.2 The sugar phosphate backbone of common nucleotides.
In the acyclic form of ribose, the
carbonyl group is an aldehyde; 9.2.1 The sugar phosphates of nucleotides
ribose is, therefore, an
The sugar found in most nucleotide derivatives, including RNA, is a five-
aldo-pentose. The relationship
between the acyclic and carbon sugar, ribose. DNA is based on a closely related sugar, 2-deoxy-
five-membered ring forms of ribose, a ribose derivative in which the hydroxyl group on C-2 is replaced by
ribose is shown in Fig. 6.5. In the hydrogen. As explained in Chapter 6, these sugars adopt cyclic structures.
cyclic structures of ribose and Like a lipid, a nucleotide is a phosphate ester of a sugar. Ribose and
2-deoxyribose, the former
2-deoxyribose both have more than one free alcohol group and so can
carbonyl carbon, C-1, is still
distinct and recognizable by the form more than one ester link. The most common unit for nucleotides,
fact that it forms two bonds to including that forming the building blocks of DNA and RNA, involves a
oxygen. phosphate ester linkage to the primary alcohol function at C-5 (Fig. 9.2).
Although RNA is built from four 9.2.2 Heterocyclic bases: the third component of nucleic acids
basic monomers, modification of
some bases is observed in The component that distinguishes a nucleotide from the other classes of
certain circumstances. This molecule discussed so far is the heterocyclic base. The bases found in
parallels the situation in proteins nucleotides are planar, cyclic, aromatic molecules containing an array of
where a basic repertoire of 20 nitrogen-based functional groups; oxygen-derived functional groups are
building blocks is sometimes
augmented by modification of a
also present in three of the bases, and, like the nitrogen-based ones, are
side chain after biosynthesis of a capable of hydrogen bonding.
protein molecule. There are two classes of heterocyclic bases (Fig. 9.1); both contain a six-
membered ring with two nitrogens in a 1,3 arrangement. In one class, only
 Foundutions of’ chemical biology 79

Low-polarity gen bonding

surfacesabove ,’ ity in the
and below the *, ’
....- - _ _ -~
plane of the ring
of the ring

Fig. 9.3 Adenine illustrates the hydrogen bonding and low-polarity features of
bases.
An imidazole group is also found
in the side chain of the amino acid
histidine, see Section 2.3.
a single ring is present; these heterocycles are known as pyrimidines. In the
other class, a second (five-membered)ring, an imidazole, is fused onto the
six-membered ring, resulting in a bicyclic structure known as a purine. The
biologically important purines and pyrimidines are each of two types,
depending on whether they have oxygen or nitrogen substituents at key The links between the
positions on the ring (see Fig. 9.1). components of nucleotides
correspond to the products of
The bases as a whole are not, however, very polar molecules, and they dehydration reactions. The latter
are not readily solvated by water: the faces of the rings provide a large are all ultimately driven by the
surface area of low polarity (see Fig. 9.3); the edges provide hydrogen chemical reactivity of polyphos-
bonding capability. phates, e.g. ATP. The bond-
forming processes involve
nucleophilic substitution
9.2.3 The structures of nucleotides reactions with phosphates
utilized as good leaving groups.
Nucleotides are generated by forming a link between a particular nitrogen
atom of a heterocyclic base (N-1 of pyrimidines and N-9 of purines) and In the structure of nucleotides the
the C-1 atom of the sugar phosphate unit (Fig. 9.4). heterocyclic base is found in a
There are four types of nucleotide in RNA and DNA. They are dis- particular orientation relative to
tinguished by the identity of the particular base incorporated (Fig. 9.5). In the sugar ring. It is above the
plane of the ring, as nucleotides
the case of ribonucleotides, the four bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine are conventionally drawn. This is
and uracil. The combination of a heterocyclic base and ribose, without a the so-called 8-anomer (see
phosphate group present, is known as a nucleoside: adenosine, guanosine, Section 6.3).
cytidine and uridine, respectively. Nucleotides are generally named as
phosphate esters of nucleosides. Hence the corresponding nucleotides are
adenosine-5 ‘-monophosphate (AMP), guanosine-5 ’-monophosphate The full names of the nucleotide
building blocks of DNA are
(GMP), cytidine-5’-monophosphate (CMP) and uridine-5’-monopho- 2 ’-deoxyadenosine-5’-mono-
sphate (UMP). The presence of the deoxyribose sugar is sometimes phosphate (dAMP), 2’-deoxy-
denoted by the prefix d. Hence, the abbreviated names for the four guanosine-5 ’-monophosphate
deoxyribonucleoside-5‘-monophosphates are dAMP, dGMP, dCMP and (dGMP), 2’-deoxycytidine-5’-
dTMP (Fig. 9.5). monophosphate (dCMP), and
2 ’-deoxythymidine-5 ’-
monophosphate (dTMP).

Care must be taken to avoid con-

fusion with the names of hetero-
cyclic bases and nucleosides. For
example, aden@ is a base and
aden- a nucleoside, but
cytosine is a base and c y t e a
I \ nucleoside.
HO X HO X

Fig. 9.4 A schematic view of the link between base and sugar phosphate in
nucleotides.
80 Genetic infornzation: nucleotides and nucleic acids

A complication arises in
numbering the positions of atoms
in nucleotides since there are two
discrete frameworks: the
heterocyclic base and the ribose
ring.To avoid ambiguity, the
atoms of the base are numbered
X = OH: CMP
normally and those of the ribose
distinguished by the use of a
X=H:dAMP I X = H: dCMP

prime, i.e. 1’, 2’, 3’, 4 ’ and 5’. HO HO

0
0
X = OH: GMP X = OH; R = H: UM
X = H: dGMP X = H; R = CH,: dTM
HO X HO X

Fig. 9.5 Nucleotide structures.

9.3 Some important nucleotide derivatives

Remember that a coenzyme is Nucleotides are important components of all cells; they are used both for
the name given to an organic their intrinsic chemistry and as building blocks. AMP, in particular,
molecule conscripted by an provides a molecular scaffold for several coenzymes. The coenzymes
enzyme to aid in catalysis of a
particular chemical
NADt and CoA-SH, encountered in Chapters 7 and 8, consist of a
transformation. reactive functional group (the basis of the chemical role of the coenzyme)
appended to a nucleotide group that includes an AMP unit (Fig. 9.6).
,----.
Reactive CONH,
ATP is a nucleotide bearing a
O v
H
N q E
f
SH
functional
group
,.
’.-/’
triphosphate, rather than a
monophosphate, group at the
5’-position. It can be viewed as a
derivative of AMP. As discussed
in Chapters 7 and 8,
triphosphates are utilized as a
”” d
J; 0” ‘p
o--b >- OH J,,

form of chemical energy in cells.

Nucleotide-
-n
v
I I
\ I 1 nH ‘handle’ OH OH
n=P--n

-0/ Nicotinarnide adenine dinucleotide (NAD’)

Coenzyme A (CoA-SH)

Fig. 9.6 CoA-SH and NADt: coenzymes built on a nucleotide framework.

9.4 Nucleic acids are polymers of nucleotides

Details of the biosynthesis of
nucleic acids are discussed in Nucleotides are phosphate monoesters and, as such, can form further ester
Section 9.11. links to other alcohols. Since nucleotides themselves possess further
alcohol groups, polymers can be formed by dehydration chemistry
between nucleotides. Nucleic acids are polymers of this type, in which each
sugar phosphate is linked to the hydroxyl group on the C-3’ of another
 Foundations of chemical biology 8 1

ribose phosphate unit. The oxygen substituents involved lie on opposite

faces of the sugar, and this phosphodiester arrangement leads to an
extended linear polymer that bears a single anionic charge at each phos-
phate centre (Figs 9.7 and 9.8).

Fig. 9.7 The phosphodiester link of nucleic acids.

9.5 Primary structure of nucleic acids

In nucleic acids the individual nucleotides are identified by single-letter The existence of directionality in
abbreviations. The order of monomer residues along the polymer chain nucleic acid chains is analogous
to the situation in the polypeptide
can therefore be designated by a string of letters (Fig. 9.8), provided that
chains of proteins (Chapter 3).
the directionality of the chain is clear. Conventionally, nucleic acid The convention of writing nucleic
structures are represented as sequences written in the 5' to 3' direction. acid sequences in the 5'to 3 '
order is akin to describing protein
RNA, base: Cytosine (C) Guanine (G) Uracil (U, R = H) Adenine (A)
DNA, base: Cytosine (C) Guanine (G) Thymine (T, R = CH,) sequences in terms of the
Adenine (A)
appearance of residues in the N to
In accordance with this con-
vention, the directionality of the
nucleic acid chain depicted in
Fig. 9.8 is
)5'
-I 3'

DNA: X = H .

0-
Single-letterabbreviation of this sequence
5'
RNA: C G U A3'
DNA: 5'c G T A3'

Fig. 9.8 Representations of a specimen nucleic acid sequence.

9.6 RNA folds into well-defined shapes

RNA carries out a range of biochemical tasks. There are three major
classes of RNA molecules in cells, categorized according to their different
82 Genetic information: nucleotides and nucleic acids

As is discussed later, either DNA biochemical function: messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries the
or RNA can act as the repository information for the sequence of a protein from DNA; transfer RNA
of genetic information for viruses.
(tRNA), which decodes this information during the biosynthesis of pro-
Ribosomes are particles made up teins; and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which is associated with ribosomes,
of RNA and protein, found in the the protein-synthesizing machinery. By contrast, DNA has a single bio-
cytoplasm of cells. They are the chemical role, as the molecule associated with storage of genetic infor-
catalytic machinery through mation. In the following discussion the structural properties of RNA,
which proteins are produced.
which make it such a versatile polymer, will initially be elaborated. The
structural features of DNA, which equip it for its specialized biochemical
niche, will be described subsequently.
The way in which the amphiphilic Like proteins and lipids, nucleic acids are amphiphilic molecules. These
character of lipids leads to molecules adopt ordered structures in water which present polar regions
ordered bilayer structures was
discussed in Chapter 8. to solvent and bury non-polar regions. As with proteins, nucleic acids fold
into structures containing helical regions. In these structures the sugar
As was described in Chapter 3, in phosphate backbone of nucleic acids interacts effectively with water while
any non-planar polymer where the low-polarity heterocyclic bases (Fig. 9.3) are buried. The structure of
succeeding monomer units adopt several members one class of RNA, tRNA, have been determined in detail
the same conformations the by X-ray crystallography, and one example is shown in Fig. 9.9.
overall structure is a helix.
The structure of a tRNA molecule (Fig. 9.9) reveals several interesting
structural features. As with globular proteins, local helical regions are
As was introduced in Chapter 7, linked by turns to allow this molecule to fold into a compact structure.
tRNA forms esters with amino The sugar phosphate backbone runs like a ribbon over the surface of the
acids and these are used in the
biosynthesis of proteins. tRNA molecule with most of the bases encapsulated within. Almost all of the
plays the role of an adaptor bases (71 of 76) are stacked on top of one another (Fig. 9.10). This
molecule, translating the arrangement allows the non-polar faces of the bases to make intimate
information of nucleic acids into contact with each other and avoid contact with water.
that of proteins.There is at least
one tRNA molecule for each
amino acid incorporated into
proteins. tRNAPherefers to a tRNA NA features helical structures
molecule dedicated to the The tRNA structure (Fig. 9.9) resembles an ‘L’ shape, being made up of
introduction of phenylalanine
(Phe) into proteins. two short helical regions connected by a hinge. Each helical segment
This topic is described in more consists of two portions of the RNA chain running in opposite directions,
detail in Section 9.11; some of the
labels in Fig. 9.9 refer to issues
discussed there. stacked base pairs S’end 3’ end, site of
.‘ attachment of
3‘

\ I

Non-polar faces in intimate contact 3‘ 5‘

Fig. 9.10 An example of the

stacking of bases in RNA: the 3 ’
end of tRNA (highlighted in
Fig. 9.9).

Fig. 9.9 Schematic view of the structure of yeast tRNAPhe.

 Foundations of chemical biology 83

with each step of the helix consisting of a purine and a pyrimidine. These The adoption of helical structures
by proteins was discussed in
purinepyrimidine pairs interact in a particular way, known as Watson- Chapter 3.The structures of nucleic
Crick base pairing (Fig. 9.11). The overall geometries of these two pairs acids provide another variation on
are very similar and allow the formation of regular secondary structure. this theme. The ,%sheet structure
Purine-purine and pyrimidine-pyrimidine pairs cannot be accommodated of proteins (Section 3.3) is some-
within this regular structure. Hydrogen bonding takes place between the what analogous to the situation
observed in tRNA; the polymeric
edges of the six-membered ring of each partner and allows only two dis- chain folds back to allow hydrogen
crete combinations in which the hydrogen bonding properties of the bases bonding between the edges of two
are complementary: adenosine pairs with uridine (A-U pair) and gua- strands. Another analogy is with
nosine pairs with cytidine (G-C pair). the coiled-coil structure of a-kera-
tin (Section 3.4) where two helical
A-U pair G-C pair H strands, each with a hydrophobic
H\
face, intertwine to form a double-
helical rope structure. This analogy
is even more striking in the double-
/ helical structure of DNA (Section
ribose
\ 9.9) where two separate chains
0 ribose N-H--O ribose associate.
H
Adenosine Uridine Guanosine Cytidine W a t s o d r i c k base pairing was
first postulated by Watson and
Fig. 9.11 Watson-Crick base pairing. Crick when they proposed the
double-helical structure of DNA
Steric constraints favour purine-pyrimidine pairs and specific hydrogen (see Section 9.9).
bonding determines the particular combinations observed. The chemical The bases preferentially hydrogen
bond to one another, rather than to
basis for these preferences is considered in detail below.
water, because it is energetically
favourable for their non-polar
faces to be buried away from the
9.8 Hydrogen bonding properties of nucleotide bases aqueous environment (Fig. 9.3).
It is necessary to consider the hydrogen bonding properties of the het-
erocyclic bases in order to understand the specific way in which genetic A comparison has been drawn
between lipids and nucleotides.
information is stored and transmitted. The pairs of purines and of pyr- One contrast between the fatty
imidines present in nucleotides differ in the pattern of nitrogen and oxygen acids of lipids and the bases of
substituents around the ring. nucleotides is the range of func-
The information content of nucleic acids ultimately resides in a small tional groups present in the latter.
and subtle molecular distinction: the different chemistry, including A key feature of RNA is that both
the heterocyclic bases and the 2’-
hydrogen bonding properties, of an oxygen compared with a nitrogen OH group are capable of hydrogen
substituent on the heterocyclic rings. Figure 9.12 illustrates the com- bonding. This chemical potential is
plementary hydrogen bonding patterns of the two Watson-Crick base exploited in cells. It is now known
pairs, and relates these to the location of nitrogen and oxygen substituents. that some RNA molecules fold into
The location of oxygen and nitrogen in the six-membered rings affects well-defined three-dimensional
shapes capable of catalysing
the chemical properties of the heterocyclic structure. In all cases, the reactions. This behaviour, analo-
oxygen or nitrogen substituent is attached to a carbon which is also gous to that of enzymes, has led
attached to a nitrogen in the ring. When the substituent is oxygen, there to these RNA molecules being
are two possible structures (tautomers) depending on whether the proton dubbed ribozymes. Catalysis by
associated with the chemical functional group lies on oxygen or on RNA is important in a range of
biochemical processes involving
nitrogen (Fig. 9.13). In one tautomer, the proton is associated with the RNA, including the operation of
nitrogen, whereas in the other it is bonded to the exocyclic oxygen. The the ribosome, the molecular fac-
former structure is lower in energy under normal conditions and the ‘keto’ tory which produces proteins
form predominates. (Sections 7.2.2 and 9.11).
84 Genetic ilzformation: nucleotides and nucleic acids

An exocyclic group is one that lies H

outside the ring, as opposed to an
endocyclic one that is
incorporated as part of the
covalent structure of the ring.
..
N vs 0
Adenosine
In guanosine there is an extra
~

‘..--r---__
\
exocyclic amino group on the ~ C =
acceptor
six-membered ring.This allows it
to form an extra hydrogen bond
with the pyrimidine base (see Fig.
9.11).This stabilizes the G-C base
ribose
/N N+N-H- donor acceptor 3 N , q

pair, but is not responsible for the k N \

selectivity of base pairing, since N-H Cytidine 0 ribose
Guanosine 1
both pyrimidines have a keto H
group at the complementary
position. Fig. 9.12 Summary of hydrogen bonding properties related to the relative posi-
tions of oxygen and nitrogen substituents.

‘Keto’ form ‘Enol’form

Structures that have the same
pattern of bonds except for the
location of protons which can be The ‘keto’ form
H-bondacceptor __ H-bond donor ,

exchanged relatively readily, are predominates

known as ‘tautomers’. Since their when the ring
interconversion is easier than substituent
is oxygen
most other kinds of isomerism, it
is given a special name:
‘tautomerism’. @ /

H-bond donor H-bond acceptor

Fig. 9.13 Tautomers of oxygen-substituted heterocyclic bases.

‘Imino’ form ‘Enamino’form

H-bondacceptor H-bonddonor

The ‘enamino’form
predominates when
the ring substituent
is nitrogen

H-bond donor H-bondacceptor

Fig. 9.14 Tautomers of nitrogen-substituted heterocyclic bases.

When the substituent is nitrogen, there is a total of two protons bonded to

the relevant nitrogen atoms; again there are two possible ways of arranging
these protons (Fig. 9.14). In one tautomer, the ‘imino’ form (analogous to
the ‘keto’ tautomer described above), each nitrogen has a proton attached,
whereas in the other, the ‘enamino’ form, the exocyclic nitrogen has both
protons and the ring nitrogen has none. The latter structure is lower in
energy under normal conditions; the ‘enamino’ form predominates.
 Foundutions of chemical biology 8 5

Thus the change of nitrogen to oxygen (and vice versa) changes the
nature of the preferred tautomer. This, in turn, changes a hydrogen bond
donor-acceptor combination to an acceptor-donor arrangement. This
apparently innocuous difference is a key factor underlying the mechanism
by which DNA encodes genetic information.

9.9 Double-stranded nucleic acids and genetic

information
The structure of tRNA demonstrates that appropriate nucleic acid Duplex is a term often used to
sequences running in opposite directions can form stable helical structures describe an arrangement in
with complementary hydrogen bonding patterns. In this case a tightly
packed structure can be generated by folding the chain in a manner
~~~~i~~i~c~,PI,esm~
associated,
analogous to that of the polypeptide chains in globular proteins. The same
structural preference can stabilize dimer formation between a pair of
nucleic acid chains. If two discrete nucleic acid chains running in opposite
directions (antiparallel) bear complementary sequences of bases, then a The generation of
stable helical structure results-a double helix. In such a structure, both complementary strands of
chains independently carry information. It is this complementarity which nucleicacids as a Of
duplicating and manipulating
lies at the heart of the transfer of genetic information. These duplexes can genetic information will be
be formed by RNA, by DNA, and by a 1 : 1 mixture of RNA and DNA. discussed further in Section 9.11.
Representative duplexes are shown in Fig. 9.15.

Antiparallel pair of DNA chains

3' 5' The overall features of duplexes
formed by complementary chains
of RNA and DNA are the same;
they both adopt antiparallel
helical structures. The exact
details differ because of slight
differences in the conformational
preferences of ribonucleotide and
deoxyribonucleotide residues.

3' 5'
5' 3'
Antiparallel pair of RNA chains
3' 5'
3' 5'

Adopts helical
structure

3' 5'
5' 3'

Fig. 9.15 Examples of double helices formed by RNA and DNA.

86 Genetic information: rzucleotides and nucleic acids

2-Deoxyribonucleotides are 9.10 DNA: the genetic information of cells

generated from ribonucleotides
by enzyme-mediated reduction. As has been mentioned previously, RNA is used in a variety of roles in
Some people view this as biology. By contrast, DNA is the polymer associated with genetic
evidence that 2-deoxy- inheritance. Why is DNA so suitable for this particular role? The two
ribonucleotides are specialized polymers are distinguished by the nature of the sugar utilized in the
adaptations of ribonucleotides.
backbone. In DNA the sugar is 2-deoxyribose rather than ribose itself.
Internal attack by the hydroxyl
group at C-2’ leads to the This apparently minor modification in structure has a dramatic effect on
generation of a cyclic phosphate the chemical stability of the polymer and underpins the adoption of DNA
diester (Fig. 9.16).This, in turn, as the molecule of genetic inheritance of cells.
hydrolyses further to generate an
acyclic phosphate monoester. 9.10.1 The relative stability of RNA and DNA
RNA is hydrolysed rather readily in water as a result of acid or, parti-
The other difference between cularly, base catalysis. Phosphate esters in general are relatively slow to
DNA and RNA is in the identity hydrolyse because of electrostatic repulsion between the anionic phos-
of one of the pyrimidine bases:
phate group and the incoming nucleophile. In RNA, the hydroxyl group
Tvs U. This also reflects the need
for accuracy in maintaining at C-2’ of the ring is held in close proximity to the phosphate linkage,
substantial stores of genetic providing a specific mechanism for nucleophilic attack (Fig. 9.16).
information. C derivatives By removing the hydroxyl group on C-2’, this facile mechanism for
undergo slow hydrolysis to U cleavage of the phosphate backbone of the polymer is eliminated (Fig.
analogues (see below). This pro- 9.17). DNA is, therefore, less prone to hydrolysis in aqueous solution.
cess damages the reliability of
genetic information: U has the This increased stability is of benefit in maintaining intact the substantial
opposite hydrogen bonding pat- nucleic acid chains that carry genetic information for whole organisms.
tern to C, and so A rather than G Hydrolytic instability is not as great a problem for a molecule acting
would be introduced into a com- as a ‘transient’ form of information as it is for a molecule acting as the
plementary strand. By adding a ‘permanent‘genetic information of a complex organism. RNA is well suited
methyl group to U, this problem
can be minimized.T has the same to this type of role, and it can readily be recycled once its job is done.
hydrogen bonding properties as
U, but the two can be dis-
tinguished. ‘Editing’ enzymes
patrol DNA and any nucleotides
containing U, rather thanT, can be
(4, (4,
identified as errors and then
repaired.

-0

Fig. 9.16 Base-catalysed hydrolysis of the backbone of RNA

In cells, RNA acts as a ‘transient’ -0

2) P/O
2

w
H
No hydroxyl group to
act as a of
capable nucleophile
cleaving

the backbone of DNA

form of information; errors are not \

-0
transmitted to the next generation
and, with fidelity less important, Fig. 9.17 The absence of a 2’-hydroxyl group in DNA increases hydrolytic
U suffices. stability.
 Foundations of chenzical biology 87

9.11 The flow of information in cells Generating an RNA sequence

from a selected portion of DNA
This section outlines the three main processes of information transfer in can be likened to transcribing a
cells. DNA replication, the production of an identical copy of DNA message. Hence the description
during cell division, occurs in order to pass genetic information to future of this process as 'transcription',
generations of cells. Transcription is the process whereby the specific and the name for the resulting
RNA, which carries the message
information contained within DNA is read by making an RNA comple- for the protein, as messenger
ment of a selected segment of DNA. Some of this RNA, mRNA, carries RNA (or mRNA).The information
the information required for protein synthesis. This information is carried as the nucleic acids RNA
decoded to allow the production of proteins of defined sequence, a process and DNA is in a common
known as translation. 'language', but requires
'translation' into the language of
9.1 1.1 Nucleic acid biosynthesis proteins. The translating molecule
which carries information in both
In the double-helical structures of nucleic acids (Fig. 9.1S), each individual languages, and which transfers
strand carries all the information required for the generation of another amino acids to the growing
copy of the other strand. Given one strand, a complementary strand can protein chain, is known as
be produced by placing G opposite C and A opposite U or T. Likewise, transfer RNA, or tRNA (Fig. 9.21).
a strand of one nucleic acid can be used as a template to generate a
complementary strand of a different type.
The chemistries of DNA and RNA polymerization are closely related Synthesis of DNA molecules is
catalysed by enzymes known as
(Fig. 9.18). In each case, a growing chain is hydrogen bonded to a tem- DNA polymerases. Likewise RNA
plate strand. A nucleoside triphosphate, complementary to that on polymerases mediate the
the template chain, binds at the next vacant site. An enzyme catalyses the synthesis of new strands of RNA.
nucleophilic attack by the 3'hydroxyl group of the growing chain at the
a-phosphate of the monomer to generate the phosphate ester linkage.
9.11.2 DNA replication: the basis of genetic inheritance
In normal cellular activity, DNA
The permanent store of genetic information in cells is double-stranded information is converted into RNA
DNA. When a cell divides, both daughter cells require a copy of the and thence into proteins. The
double-stranded DNA. Each daughter cell receives one of the original 'languages' of RNA and DNA are
parental strands, whilst DNA synthesis provides a new copy of the equivalent and it is possible to
complementary strand (Fig. 9.19). The overall effect is that two copies of use RNA as a template to make
DNA. This process, known as
the original double-stranded DNA are produced; the DNA is replicated. 'reverse transcription', is a feature

Template
Complementary hydrogen bonding
between bases B & B"; B' & \ B"'
strand 3 ' m B ; ' B;"-5'
\

3 ' m B"
E l
RNA: X = OH
DNA: X = H
of some viruses which use RNA
as their principal information
store. This type of virus includes
HIV, responsible for AIDS (viruses
;
\ \
\\ I ?'-5'
are discussed further in an aside
on the next page).
I
B, 'B'
B\
-
\ Catalysis by \
*x enzyme
polymerase

. OH 0

0-- 0-
+ ryiup

Fig. 9.18 The biosynthesis of nucleic acids.

88 Genetic information: nucleotides and nucleic ucids

Viruses cannot reproduce by

themselves; instead they invade
cells and hijack cellular enzymes
Daughter cell
and metabolites to produce more
viral material. Avirus is com-
prised of a segment of RNA or
DNA encapsulated in a ‘coat’
made from protein molecules, the
sequences of which are encoded
by the viral nucleic acid. Viruses
I DNA is replicated
on cell division
DNA DNA

have much less genetic

information than other organisms
and so they do not require this Daughter cell --
information to be as stable-in
fact, they benefit from errors to
the extent that these increase the Hydrogen bonding - - / I Each daughter cell
between complementary receives one of the
rate of evolution.
bases of nucleic acids original DNA strands,
together with a newly
Although information can be synthesized DNA DNP
interconverted between RNA and complementary strand
DNA, the flow of information into
proteins is one way-proteins Fig. 9.19 Schematic view of DNA replication occurring on cell division.
cannot be used as templates for
nucleic acid generation. This 9.1 1.3 Transcription and translation: proteins on demand
asymmetry between the Individual portions of the DNA molecule provide the information for the
information content of nucleic construction of various RNA molecules and proteins. RNA correspond-
acids and proteins is often termed
the ‘central dogma’ of molecular
ing to a region of interest is produced by transcription-the process
biology. whereby an RNA strand is synthesized from a DNA template (see Fig.
In a region of double-stranded 9.18). The information for protein synthesis is not accessed directly.
DNA associated with a gene (a Instead it resides in one of the classes of RNA, ‘messenger’ RNA
functional unit of genetic informa- (‘m-RNA’), produced by transcription.
tion that typically codes for a Messenger RNA is used to direct the production of protein. It carries
specific protein), one strand the information required for the production of a particular protein to the
corresponds to the gene and the
other, a ’template’ strand, is its ribosomes where protein biosynthesis occurs. The relationship between
complement. The mRNA is the linear sequence of an mRNA molecule and the linear sequence of the
constructed on the template corresponding protein is known as the ‘genetic code’. There are four types
strand and is, therefore, of nucleotide, but 20 amino acid building blocks in proteins. There
effectively a copy of the cannot, therefore, be a 1 : 1 correspondence between the nucleotide order
‘informational’ strand (noting, of
course, the change in sugar and and the amino acid order. Instead, the RNA is read in triplets: three
the presence of U, rather thanT, contiguous nucleotides specify a single amino acid. There are 64 (43)such
residues). This is shown in ‘codons’ (Fig. 9.20).
Fig. 9.22.
Because there are 64 codons and
21 items to encode (20 amino I Amino acidkodons I Amino acid/codons I Amino acid/codons I
acids and a stop signal), there are
redundancies in the code. It can
be seen from Fig. 9.20 that most
of these redundancies are
associated with the third position
of the triplet. For many amino
acids, the first two positions of the
codon are specific, but some
changes can be tolerated at the
third site. Fig. 9.20 The genetic code
 Foundutions of chemical biology 89

Transfer RNA acts as an intermediary in the translation of mRNA into Each amino acid is loaded onto the
protein, recognizing triplets ('reading the code') and specifying the amino correct tRNA by a specific enzyme,
an amino acyl tRNA synthetase.
acid to be incorporated. There is a family of tRNA molecules, each Each of these enzymes recognizes
member specifying a particular amino acid. As part of its structure, each both a specific amino acid and the
tRNA contains a segment called the anti-codon (Fig. 9.9), a sequence of correct tRNA. These enzymes,
three ribonucleotides which form complementary hydrogen bonds to the therefore, act as the discriminators
triplet codon sequence. The tRNA bears the amino acid specified by this that recognize the languages of
both nucleic acids and proteins by
codon sequence, bound by an ester link to the 3'-hydroxyl of the identifying characteristic features
3'-terminal ribose. of the tRNA and the corresponding
The codons on the mRNA are read in sequence. Formation of com- amino acid.
plementary hydrogen bonds between the set of three ribonucleotides of a Section 7.2 discussed the chem-
codon on the mRNA, and those comprising the anti-codon of the tRNA, istry of protein biosynthesis.
bring the appropriate amino acid into position for enzyme-mediated A gene typically has three regions:
transfer to the growing protein chain (Fig. 9.21). a promoter where RNA poly-
An overview of transcription and translation is given in Fig. 9.22. RNA merase binds before trans-
polymerase, the enzyme which catalyses transcription of DNA into RNA, cribing the subsequent nucleo-
binds at a region of DNA called the promoter. Then, the RNA polymerase tide sequence; the coding region,
which encodes a particular pro-
catalyses the generation of an RNA copy of the succeeding sequence of tein; and finally a further specific
DNA. The binding of RNA polymerase can be controlled to regulate the base sequence which signals the
amount of mRNA, and ultimately protein, produced. end of a gene.

-
Hydrogen bonding Proteins are produced from
?
:-;w
t een I .
complementary . I _

the mRNA at the ribosomes

Dases 01nucieic acios \
5

(3
1
,
\ \
r. Protein
h
\'
'
,
Transcription (1 ----!* Translation '

I - - _ _
4
DNA is temporarily
unwound locally to
allow an RNA copy
of a selected region
- -
- - -
5' 3'
#
Recognition of three bases of the mRNA,
the codon, by three complementary bases
of the tRNA. the anti-codon.
to be made

Fig. 9.21 Schematic view of the flow of information between DNA, RNA and protein.

'Promoter' region: site where ~.

--4 _ _ _ - - _-_'Template
_
RNA polymerase binds to I' 3,r lac k--

-- - - --
ATT---~' strand
start transcription: influences DNA
the amount of RNA produced 5-'ATG k-
TAA 3' n
-- -- 'informational
make RNA copy of lower DNA strand using upper strand'
Ribosome-bindingsite: strand as a template (T residues correspond to U)
influences amount of protein 'Start'
,-
..-- -3 "e-z?:
a
mRNA

a
produced from mRNA
One of three
'stop' codons
'Met is incorporated as the N-terminaln,-, ; talsn.rT make protein encoded by mRNA strand
amino acid residue (this is often ,--..-+
removed later in the final protein) C Protein
fMet

Fig. 9.22 Schematic overview of transcription and translation.

90 Genetic information: nucleotides and izucleic acids
The amount of a protein produced
The generation of protein from RNA takes place at ribosomes, a
(the level of ’gene expression’) is
regulated by controlling the activ- complex assembly of proteins and RNA. Ribosomes bind at the 5’ end of
ity of the relevant polymerase mRNA (at the ‘ribosome-binding site’). The presence of a nearby AUG
enzymes. Some proteins, e.g., triplet indicates a start site of the ‘coding region’. A new protein chain is
bind at the promoter region and started at this point using N-formyl methionine as the first amino acid.
prevent RNA polymerase binding,
This identifies the ‘reading frame’ since succeeding triplets are read in
there by decreasing the amount of
mRNA and, consequently, protein register. The subsequent presence of one of three ‘stop codons’ specifies
generated. Conversely, proteins the point at which construction of the protein chain ends. The completed
that bind to DNA and stimulate protein is then released from the ribosome.
RNA polymerase binding can
increase the amount of mRNA,
and hence protein, synthesized.
9.12 Genetic engineering
The first residue of a growing pro- Cells have the ability to replicate their DNA and produce proteins via the
tein chain is N-formyl methionine processes of transcription and translation. Foreign DNA entering a cell
(f) Met in which the amino group is can hijack this replicative ability, provided it contains the information
masked: required for the appropriate cellular enzymes to act. For example, viruses
infect cells and use cellular nucleic acid polymerases and ribosomes to
generate more viral nucleic acid and proteins which then self-assemble to
produce new viruses.
This replicative ability is also exploited in the field of ‘genetic engi-
neering’. Genetic engineering involves the artificial generation of modified
AUG codons have a dual role:
specifying incorporation of N- organisms by changing the DNA content of cells (Fig. 9.23).
formyl methionine at the start Introduction of DNA that encodes a protein can lead to a new
point and ‘normal’ methionine organism that produces this extra protein. The new organism may be of
within the coding region itself. interest in its own right (e.g. the protein might correct a genetic defect in

A few important genetic engineer-

ing techniques are listed below, to Site where DNA can be DNA of interest ‘,
/-..-’
provide a glimpse of the methodol-
ogies that have been developed.
cut specifically ----- ‘J. cut
vector
- Join
DNA
DNA can be cut at specific sites
with enzymes called restriction Origin of
replication:
‘\.

a
enzymes. DNA fragments from dif-
ferent sources, cut by a particular
enzyme, can be stuck together
Introduce DNA
(‘ligated’) by the use of enzymes into cells
called ligases. DNA is a charged Marker to allow identificationof
cells containing extra DNA (transformation
molecule and will not enter cells or transfection)
without assistance; methods have
been developed which allow DNA
to be introduced into cells, e.g.
‘transformation’of E. coli is usually
facilitated by bathing the cells in
aqueous CaCI2.DNA sequencing
has now become so efficient that
the ordering of nucleotides in
complete genomes (billions of Genetically engineered cell producing
bases in a unique sequence) can protein encoded by DNA of interest
be determined. Finally, preparation
of synthetic DNA is now so sophis- c J
ticated that it can be accomplished
efficiently by machine. Fig. 9.23 Stylized overview of genetic engineering.
 Foundations of chemical biology 91

the original host, the basis of ‘gene therapy’) or may simply be a useful A DNA molecule that can be used
to replicate an attached piece of
source of the new protein. Genetic engineering experiments depend on the DNA is called a vector. The vector
ability to isolate and characterize DNA of interest and combine it with DNA shown in Fig. 9.23 is a ’plas-
DNA that allows the new sequence to be replicated in the chosen host mid’: circular DNA, which can
organism. It is necessary to be able to hydrolyse DNA at specific sites, join replicate in a host organism by
pieces of DNA from different sources, introduce DNA into cells, and virtue of having an ‘origin of repli-
cation’ (a site recognized by host
identify and grow cells that contain the extra DNA. The ability to DNA replication enzymes). Vector
sequence and synthesize DNA chemically is also a very valuable tool. DNA also includes one or more
Extensive research during the latter stages of the twentieth century ‘markers’ which allow identifica-
established this methodology, and genetic engineering has become a tion of cells that have taken up
routine scientific technique. plasmid DNA. Bacteria, such as
Genetically engineered microorganisms can be used to produce large f. coli, are common host organ-
isms and resistance to antibiotics
amounts of proteins for many purposes, e.g. human insulin is is an important type of marker.
now produced for the treatment of diabetes using this methodology. For example, E. coli cannot grow
Proteins can also be manipulated in a systematic way. By changing the in the presence of significant
DNA that encodes a given protein, the protein sequence can be altered. amounts of penicillin (see Section
5.10). Enzymes, known as P-
As an example, Section 5.7 described how changing specific amino acids
lactamases, which catalyse the
in an enzyme (TIM) has been used to provide detailed information about destruction of penicillins, allow
catalysis. E. coli to grow in penicillin-con-
taining media. DNA which
encodes P-lactamase can be
used as a marker: if cells pro-
9.13 Summary duced by a genetic engineering
Nucleotides are heterocyclic bases linked to a sugar phosphate residue, experiment are grown in peni-
derived from either ribose or 2-deoxyribose. These units can polymerize to cillin-containing media, only cells
which have taken up plasmid DNA
give nucleic acids by ester formation between an alcohol of one nucleotide (containing the P-lactamase gene
and a phosphate of another. The sugar phosphate backbone of a nucleic and the gene of interest) will grow.
acid is polar, whilst the bases are less polar. In aqueous solution, nucleic In an analogous fashion, genes
acids adopt ordered structures in which the sugar phosphate groups are in encoding resistance to herbicides
contact with water and the bases are buried. An important feature is that can be introduced into plants.This
technology has been used to
helices can form between nucleic acid strands running in opposite direc-
produce genetically modified
tions. These strands interact through complementary hydrogen bonding food-producing plants. When
patterns between bases, determined by the substitution patterns on the harvested these plants give rise
heterocyclic bases. This complementary hydrogen bonding is the basis of to‘GM’ foods whose production
the storage and transmission of genetic information. It is used in dupli- and availability has caused
considerable debate.
cating DNA, the permanent information store of the organism, and in
transcription to form RNA, which is used to generate proteins via
translation. Genetic engineering exploits biological replication to produce
and manipulate proteins of interest.

Scientific American is a useful

starting point for finding out about
Further reading the science behind some con-
Biochemistry textbooks, such as those listed in Chapter 1, discuss nucleic acid temporary issues in genetic
biochemistry, e.g. C. K. Mathews, K. E. van Holde and K. G. Ahern (2000) engineering. Some recent topics
Biochemistry, 3rd edn, Benjamin/Cummings, San Francisco, Part V; an over- include: research on transgenic
view of genetic engineering techniques is given in pp. 969-79. animals, Sci. Am., Dec. 1998, pp
An overview of genetic engineering is given in J. D. Watson, M. Gilman, 30-35; and human genome
J. Witkowski and M. Zoller (1992) Recombinant DNA, 2nd edn, W. H. research, Sci. Am., Jul. 2000,
Freeman, Basingstoke. pp. 38-57.
92 Genetic irfornzation: nucleotides and nucleic acids

Wider human genetic engineering issues are addressed in K. A. Drlica (1994)

Double-Edged Sword, Helix Books, Reading, Massachusetts.
As an example of a contemporary genetic engineering issue, the pros and cons of
genetically engineered food are discussed in A. McHughen (2000) A Consuiners
Guide to GM Food, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
10 Epilogue: wheretofrom here?

This book has introduced some of the intrinsic chemical properties of

important types of biological molecules, especially amino acids, sugar
phosphate derivatives and related macromolecules (proteins and nucleic
acids). It has shown how a small number of fundamental chemical
properties (particularly acid-base chemistry, electrostatic charge, hydro-
gen bonding and stereochemistry) can be used to understand many of the The ability to self-assemble into
biological functions of these molecules. As well as discussing the chemical complex structures is one of the
potential of the functional groups found in biological molecules, this book most remarkable and important
has highlighted the way in which amphiphilic molecules, e.g. macro- features of the molecules within
living systems.
molecules and lipids, can adopt ordered, functionalised structures in an
aqueous environment.
The availability of such ordered structures with diverse chemical
functional groups provides the foundations for the molecular basis of life.
In particular, macromolecules that adopt extended structures are used by
The same factors that are
biology as fibres (proteins and polysaccharides) and for information exploited by nature to produce
storage (DNA);proteins that fold into compact structures are used to bind molecules with interesting
other molecules for the purposes of transport (proteins) and catalysis properties are increasingly used
(proteins and RNA). In addition, structures built from macromolecules in other areas of chemistry. As an
and from assemblies of phospholipids provide crucial interfaces between example, synthetic organic
materials, such as polyesters,
different biological compartments, and between their compartments and are now produced with
the outside world. sophisticated properties tailored
We hope that this book provides a good starting point for under- to particular needs. It is
standing chemical biology. The best way to further your understanding is informative to apply and extend
by solving problems, e.g. answering questions found in textbooks. But the knowledge gained from this
book to such related areas of
science really is about developing a questioning attitude to the world and science. As well as
you can generate your own problems by questioning what you read and understanding more about the
see about you. For example, when you encounter a metabolic reaction for world we live in, this will also
the first time, you might ask: is this like any metabolic reaction I have seen consolidate your understanding
before? What are the possible organic chemical mechanisms for the pro- of chemical biology.
cess? How might an enzyme catalyse the reaction? If a coenzyme is needed,
what is its chemical role? What is the role of the process for the organism
that undertakes it? Chemical biology has many
As you study further, you will see the basic concepts of chemical biology exciting applications which are
applied to ever more sophisticated systems. You will encounter more types also the focus of a great deal of
research. Important areas include
of naturally occurring molecule, more metabolic reactions, more complex medical diagnosis and
macromolecular structures and the use of more chemical elements. All treatment (new drugs and
these chemical processes are organized and regulated in a sophisticated therapies), environmental
manner. The basic chemical principles, however, remain the same as those science, materials science and
that you will have read about in this book. forensic science (e.g. DNA
fingerprinting).
94 Epilogue: where to from here?

Furthermore, you will find that at the frontiers of chemical biology

there is a vast range of exciting problems that challenge the ingenuity of
research scientists. How can we make and modify complex molecules
found in nature? How do proteins fold to form complex structures? Can
we predict such structures from amino acid sequences? How can we
understand the biologcal functions of proteins identified by the sequen-
cing of the human genome? How can we study individual biological
molecules in action? What chemistry can we study as it takes place in
living cells? And finally, can chemical, a subject that promises so much for
our future health and prosperity, even provide a molecular glimpse into
the past to understand how life began on primitive earth?
The answers to these and a myriad of other equally fascinating and
important questions will undoubtedly emerge in the future, as research in
this interdisciplinary area continues to attract scientists from a wide
variety of traditional disciplines. We hope that this short book has excited
your interest to the extent that you will follow the future developments in
chemical biology, and perhaps might even have stimulated you to take
part in some of the many research opportunities and challenges that lie
ahead.
INDEX

Index Terms Links

acetal 55
acid anhydride 60
acid-base chemistry 4 8 43 57
active site 27 43 47
acyl phosphate 61 65
AIDS 87
alanine 11 67
aldehyde 51 65
aldol reaction 64
aldose 52
allostery 31 33 37 75
Alzheimer’s disease 28
amide 7 10 17 61
amino sugars 51
amphiphilic 27 68 82
anabolism 59
anomer 54
antibiotics 17 49 91
arginine 12
aromatic ring 13
asparagine 12
aspartate 12 47
association 5 37 69
ATP 60

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Index Terms Links
B
biomimetic chemistry 6 35-6
Bohr effect 37

Cahn-Ingold-Prelog rules 15
calcium 73-4
canonical structure 9 10 12 13
carboxylate 9
catabolism 59
catalysis 40 46 83
cell wall 1 17 49 51
cellulose 56
channels 74
chiral centre 15 52
cis-isomer 17 8
codon 88
coenzymes 48 65 80
coiled coil 24
collagen helix 26
composition of cells 2
concentration gradients 63 72
configuration 14 52
conformation 20
conjugate acids and bases 8
cooperativity 3 1
CORN rule 16
cross-linking 24
cysteine 13 24
cystic fibrosis 28
cystine 25
cytosol 1

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Index Terms Links

D-amino acids 17 49
dehydration 59 66
deoxyribose 78
dihedral angle 20
dihydroxyacetone phosphate 39 64
dibydroxyacetone 52
disulphide bond 13 25
DNA replication 87
double helix (duplex) 85

electron transfer 74
electrophilic 48
enantiomer 15 52
enthalpy 4
entropy 4 25
enzyme assay 66
enzyme inhibition 43 47
enzyme kinetics 40 48
enzyme mechanism 42
enzymes 8 39
equilibria 4 30 40 54 61
erythrose 53
erythrulose 53
eukaryote 1
evolution 26 30 37 44

fatty acids 70
fibres 24 37
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Index Terms Links

fibroin 26
Fischer 15 52
fructose 64

gene expression 31 77 90
gene therapy 91
gene 89
genetic code 88
genetic engineering 90
genome project 19 26 94
Gibbs free energy 4 46
globins 27 29
globular protein structures 27
glucose 53 55 62
glucose-phosphate 58 63
glutamate 12 27 37 43 47
glutamine 12 47
glyceraldehyde 15 51
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate 39 64
glycerate-3-phosphate 66
glycerol 52 70
glycerol-phosphate 70
glycine 8 23 26
glycolysis 63
glycoproteins 51 69 72
GM food 91

haem group 32 34
haemoglobin 29

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Index Terms Links

α-helix 19 22 24 31
hemi-acetal 54
heterocyclic base 77 83
hexose 53
histidine 14 27 34 44 47
HIV 87
homology 25 30 44
hydrate 54
hydrogen bonding 3 22 83-4
hydrolysis 60
hydrophilic 3 5 70
hydrophobic tail 70
hydrophobic 3 5 24-5 32 37
hydroxyl group 13 51 54

imidazole 14 47 79
initial rate 40
inorganic salts 2 73
insulin 91
iron 2 36
isoleucine 11

keratin 19 24
ketone 51 65
ketose 52 65
kinase 63

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Index Terms Links

β-lactamase 91
leaving group 57 60
leucine 11
ligation of DNA 90
lipids 1 5 69
lysine 12 44

mad cow disease 28

main chain 8
malaria 37
maltose 55
membranes 1 69 71
messenger RNA 88
metabolites and metabolism 3 59
methionine 13 90
Michaelis–Menten 42 48
mitochondria 75
molecular devices 6 75
molecular disease 37
mutagenesis 47
mutant 37
myoglobin 29 36

nanotechnology 6
nerve signals 74
niacin 65
nucleic acid 77 80
nucleophile 11 48 54 60
This page has been reformatted by Knovel to provide easier navigation.
Index Terms Links

nucleotides 77 79 86
nylon 8

oligosaccharides 55
oxidative phosphorylation 74
oxygen binding 30 33

penicillin 17 49 91
pentose 53
peptide bond 7 17 62
peptides 7 62
phenol 13
phenylalanine 11
phosphates 51 56 70 77
phosphatidic acid 71
phosphoenolpyruvate 66
phospholipids 69
pitch of a helix 22
pKa 9
plasmid 91
polar head group 69 71
polypeptide 7
polyphosphates 67
polysaccharides 51 56
porphyrin 35
potassium 2 73
primary structure 19 81
prion diseases 28
prokaryote 1

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Index Terms Links

proline 14 17 21 22 23
26
promoter 89
protein biosynthesis 61 89
protein folding 28
protein structure prediction 26 28 33 93
proteins 7 19
purines 79
pyrimidines 79
pyruvate 67 75

quaternary structure 19 23

radioactive labelling 42
Ramachandran 21
redox chemistry 13 24 29 65 74
regulation 31 64 77 90
residue 7
restriction enzymes 90
ribose 53 78
ribosomes 1 82 83 90
ribozymes 83
R-state 33

salt bridge 33
Sanger 19
secondary structure 19 20
sequencing 19 90

This page has been reformatted by Knovel to provide easier navigation.

Index Terms Links

serine 13 26 71
β-sheet 19 23 26
β-strand 22 26
sickle-cell anaemia 37
side chain 8
signal transduction 72
silk 26
sodium 2 72
starch 56
stereochemistry 14 52
steric effects 17 20
structural genomics 26 28
sugars 51

tautomer 83
tertiary structure 19 23
tetrose 53
thioester 66 67 75
thioether 13
thiol 13 24
threonine 13
threose 53
titration 9 10
trans-isomer 17
transcription 87
transfer RNA 82 89
transition state 46
translation 87
tricarboxylic acid (Krebs) cycle 75
triglycerides 3
triose phosphate isomerase 27 39 66

This page has been reformatted by Knovel to provide easier navigation.

Index Terms Links

triose 52
tropomyosin 25
tryptophan 14
T-state 33
β-turn 23
tyrosine 13

valine 11 37
vector 90
viruses 88 90
vitamin 65

Watson–Crick base pairing 83

X-ray crystallography 24. 27 44 47 82

zwitterion 10 71

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