Transmembrane Polyproline Helix

J Phys Chem Lett. 2018 May 3;9(9):2170-2174. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b00829. Epub 2018 Apr 13.

Abstract

The third most abundant polypeptide conformation in nature, the polyproline-II helix, is a polar, extended secondary structure with a local organization stabilized by intercarbonyl interactions within the peptide chain. Here we design a hydrophobic polyproline-II helical peptide based on an oligomeric octahydroindole-2-carboxylic acid scaffold and demonstrate its transmembrane alignment in model lipid bilayers by means of solid-state 19F NMR. As result, we provide a first example of a purely artificial transmembrane peptide with a structural organization that is not based on hydrogen-bonding.

MeSH terms

  • Carboxylic Acids / chemical synthesis
  • Carboxylic Acids / chemistry*
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Indoles / chemical synthesis
  • Indoles / chemistry*
  • Lipid Bilayers / chemistry
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Membrane Proteins / chemical synthesis
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry*
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Protein Structure, Secondary

Substances

  • Carboxylic Acids
  • Indoles
  • Lipid Bilayers
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Peptides
  • octahydroindole-2-carboxylic acid
  • polyproline