Structural background of cyclodextrin-protein interactions

F. L. Aachmann, D. E. Otzen, K. L. Larsen, R. Wimmer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

107 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cyclodextrins are cyclic oligosaccharides with the shape of a hollow truncated cone. Their exterior is hydrophilic and their cavity is hydrophobic, which gives cyclodextrins the ability to accommodate hydrophobic molecules/moieties in the cavity. This special molecular arrangement accounts for the variety of beneficial effects cyclodextrins have on proteins, which is widely used in pharmacological applications. We have studied the interaction between β-cyclodextrin and four non-carbohydrate-binding model proteins: ubiquitin, chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2), S6 and insulin SerB9Asp by NMR spectroscopy at varying structural detail. We demonstrate that the interaction of β-cyclodextrin and our model proteins takes place at specific sites on the protein surface, and that solvent accessibility of those sites is a necessary but not compelling condition for the occurrence of an interaction. If this behaviour can be generalized, it might explain the wide range of different effects of cyclodextrins on different proteins: aggregation suppression (if residues responsible for aggregation are highly solvent accessible), protection against degradation (if point of attack of a protease is sterically 'masked' by cyclodextrin), alteration of function (if residues involved in function are 'masked' by cyclodextrin). The exact effect of cyclodextrins on a given protein will always be related to the particular structure of this protein.

Original languageEnglish
JournalProtein Engineering
Volume16
Issue12
Pages (from-to)905-912
Number of pages8
ISSN0269-2139
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2003

Keywords

  • Cyclodextrin-protein interaction
  • Inclusion complex formation
  • NMR

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