Cysteine Derivatives (cysteine + derivative)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The Application of 199Hg NMR and 199mHg Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) Spectroscopy to Define the Biological Chemistry of HgII: A Case Study with Designed Two- and Three-Stranded Coiled Coils

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 33 2007
Olga Iranzo Dr.
Abstract The use of de novo designed peptides is a powerful strategy to elucidate HgII,protein interactions and to gain insight into the chemistry of HgII in biological systems. Cysteine derivatives of the designed ,-helical peptides of the TRI family [Ac-G-(LaKbAcLdEeEfKg)4 -G-NH2] bind HgII at high pH values and at peptide/HgII ratios of 3:1 with an unusual trigonal thiolate coordination mode. The resulting HgII complexes are good water-soluble models for HgII binding to the protein MerR. We have carried out a parallel study using 199Hg NMR and 199mHg perturbed angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy to characterize the distinct species that are generated under different pH conditions and peptide TRI,L9C/HgII ratios. These studies prove for the first time the formation of [Hg{(TRI,L9C)2 -(TRI,L9CH)}], a dithiolate,HgII complex in the hydrophobic interior of the three-stranded coiled coil (TRI,L9C)3. 199Hg NMR and 199mHg PAC data demonstrate that this dithiolate,HgII complex is different from the dithiolate [Hg(TRI,L9C)2], and that the presence of third ,-helix, containing a protonated cysteine, breaks the symmetry of the coordination environment present in the complex [Hg(TRI,L9C)2]. As the pH is raised, the deprotonation of this third cysteine generates the trigonal thiolate,HgII complex Hg(TRI,L9C)3, on a timescale that is slower than the NMR timescale (0.01,10,ms). The formation of the species [Hg{(TRI,L9C)2(TRI,L9CH)}] is the result of a compromise between the high affinity of HgII to form dithiolate complexes and the preference of the peptide to form a three-stranded coiled coil. [source]


Crystallographic rationalization of the reactivity and spectroscopic properties of (2R)- S -(2,5-dihydroxyphenyl)cysteine

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION C, Issue 4 2010
Gabriele Kociok-Köhn
At 150,K, the title compound, C9H11NO4S, crystallizes in the orthorhombic form as a zwitterion and has a low gauche conformation [, = ,46.23,(16)°] for an acyclic cysteine derivative. A difference in bond length is observed for the alkyl C,S bond [1.8299,(15),Å] and the aryl C,S bond [1.7760,(15),Å]. The ,NH3+ group is involved in four hydrogen bonds, two of which are intermolecular and two intramolecular. The compound forms an infinite three-dimensional network constructed from four intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Characterization data (13C NMR, IR and optical rotation) are reported to supplement the incomplete data disclosed previously in the literature. [source]


A novel approach to enhancing cellular glutathione levels

JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2008
Pamela Maher
Abstract GSH and GSH-associated metabolism provide the major line of defense for the protection of cells from oxidative and other forms of toxic stress. Of the three amino acids that comprise GSH, cysteine is limiting for GSH synthesis. As extracellularly cysteine is readily oxidized to form cystine, cystine transport mechanisms are essential to provide cells with cysteine. Cystine uptake is mediated by system xc,, a Na+ -independent cystine/glutamate antiporter. Inhibition of system xc, by millimolar concentrations of glutamate, a pathway termed oxidative glutamate toxicity, results in GSH depletion and nerve cell death. Recently, we described a series of compounds derived from the conjugation of epicatechin (EC) with cysteine and cysteine derivatives that protected nerve cells in culture from oxidative glutamate toxicity by maintaining GSH levels. In this study, we characterize an additional EC conjugate, cysteamine-EC, that is 5- to 10-fold more potent than the earlier conjugates. In addition, we show that these EC conjugates maintain GSH levels by enhancing the uptake of cystine into cells through induction of a disulfide exchange reaction, thereby uncoupling the uptake from system xc,. Thus, these novel EC conjugates have the potential to enhance GSH synthesis under a wide variety of forms of toxic stress. [source]


An improved sample preparation for an LC method used in the age estimation based on aspartic acid racemization from human dentin

JOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 1 2007
Raja Yekkala
Abstract The determination of age on the basis of aspartic acid (Asp) racemization in teeth is one of the most reliable and accurate methods to date. In this paper, the usefulness of HPLC coupled with fluorescence detection for determination of Asp racemization was evaluated. A modified sample preparation is proposed for better stability of o -phthaldialdehyde- N -acetyl- L -cysteine derivatives of D/L -Asp (due to the instability below pH 7). To ensure the accuracy of the method, the validation parameters' specificity, precision, linearity, and LOD were determined. Three dentin samples of premolar teeth, extracted from living individuals (bucco-lingual longitudinal sections of 1 mm thickness), were analyzed and quantitative results are discussed. [source]