TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of macromolecular crowding on the structure of a protein complex
T2 - A small-angle scattering study of superoxide dismutase
AU - Rajapaksha, Ajith
AU - Stanley, Christopher B.
AU - Todd, Brian A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Authors.
PY - 2015/2/17
Y1 - 2015/2/17
N2 - Macromolecular crowding can alter the structure and function of biological macromolecules. We used small-angle scattering to measure the effects of macromolecular crowding on the size of a protein complex, SOD (superoxide dismutase). Crowding was induced using 400 MW PEG (polyethylene glycol),TEG (triethylene glycol), α-MG (methyl-α-glucoside), and TMAO (trimethylamine n-oxide). Parallel small-angle neutron scattering and small-angle x-ray scattering allowed us to unambiguously attribute apparent changes in radius of gyration to changes in the structure of SOD. For a 40% PEG solution, we find that the volume of SOD was reduced by 9%. Considering the osmotic pressure due to PEG, this deformation corresponds to a highly compressible structure. Small-angle x-ray scattering done in the presence of TEG suggests that for further deformation - beyond a 9% decrease in volume - the resistance to deformation may increase dramatically.
AB - Macromolecular crowding can alter the structure and function of biological macromolecules. We used small-angle scattering to measure the effects of macromolecular crowding on the size of a protein complex, SOD (superoxide dismutase). Crowding was induced using 400 MW PEG (polyethylene glycol),TEG (triethylene glycol), α-MG (methyl-α-glucoside), and TMAO (trimethylamine n-oxide). Parallel small-angle neutron scattering and small-angle x-ray scattering allowed us to unambiguously attribute apparent changes in radius of gyration to changes in the structure of SOD. For a 40% PEG solution, we find that the volume of SOD was reduced by 9%. Considering the osmotic pressure due to PEG, this deformation corresponds to a highly compressible structure. Small-angle x-ray scattering done in the presence of TEG suggests that for further deformation - beyond a 9% decrease in volume - the resistance to deformation may increase dramatically.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84923248033&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bpj.2014.12.046
DO - 10.1016/j.bpj.2014.12.046
M3 - Article
C2 - 25692601
AN - SCOPUS:84923248033
SN - 0006-3495
VL - 108
SP - 967
EP - 974
JO - Biophysical Journal
JF - Biophysical Journal
IS - 4
ER -