Modulation of polypeptide conformation through donor–acceptor transformation of side-chain hydrogen bonding ligands

Ziyuan Song, Rachael A. Mansbach, Hua He, Kuo-Chih Shih, Ryan Baumgartner, Nan Zheng, Xiaochu Ba, Yinzhao Huang, Deepak Mani, Yun Liu, Yao Lin, Mu-Ping Nieh, Andrew L. Ferguson (), Lichen Yin () and Jianjun Cheng ()
Additional contact information
Ziyuan Song: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Rachael A. Mansbach: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Hua He: Soochow University
Kuo-Chih Shih: University of Connecticut
Ryan Baumgartner: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Nan Zheng: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Xiaochu Ba: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Yinzhao Huang: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Deepak Mani: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Yun Liu: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Yao Lin: University of Connecticut
Mu-Ping Nieh: University of Connecticut
Andrew L. Ferguson: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Lichen Yin: Soochow University
Jianjun Cheng: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Synthetic polypeptides have received increasing attention due to their ability to form higher ordered structures similar to proteins. The control over their secondary structures, which enables dynamic conformational changes, is primarily accomplished by tuning the side-chain hydrophobic or ionic interactions. Herein we report a strategy to modulate the conformation of polypeptides utilizing donor–acceptor interactions emanating from side-chain H-bonding ligands. Specifically, 1,2,3-triazole groups, when incorporated onto polypeptide side-chains, serve as both H-bond donors and acceptors at neutral pH and disrupt the α-helical conformation. When protonated, the resulting 1,2,3-triazolium ions lose the ability to act as H-bond acceptors, and the polypeptides regain their α-helical structure. The conformational change of triazole polypeptides in response to the donor-acceptor pattern was conclusively demonstrated using both experimental-based and simulation-based methods. We further showed the utility of this transition by designing smart, cell-penetrating polymers that undergo acid-activated endosomal escape in living cells.

Date: 2017
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00079-5 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-017-00079-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00079-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().