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Differential zinc and DNA binding by partial peptides of human protamine HP2

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Abstract

The Zn(II) binding by partial peptides of human protamine HP2: HP21–15; HP21–25, HP226–40, HP237–47, and HP243–57 was studied by circular dichroism (CD). Precipitation of a 20‐mer DNA by these partial peptides and the effects of Zn(II) thereon were investigated using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (GE). The results of this study suggest that reduced HP2 (thiol groups intact) can bind Zn(II) at various parts of the molecule. In the absence of DNA, the primary Zn(II) binding site in reduced HP2 is located in the 37–47 sequence (involving Cys‐37, His‐39, His‐43, and Cys‐47), while in the presence of DNA, the strongest Zn(II) binding is provided by sequences 12–22 (by His‐12, Cys‐13, His‐19, and His‐22) and 43–57 (His‐43, Cys‐47, Cys‐53, and His‐57). In its oxidized form, HP2 can bind zinc through His residues of the 7–22 sequence. Zn(II) markedly enhances DNA binding by all partial peptides. These findings suggest that Zn(II) ions may be a regulatory factor for sperm chromatin condensation processes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland

    Marcin Dyba, Zbigniew Szewczuk & Małgorzata Jeżowska‐Bojczuk

  2. Laboratory of Comparative Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, 21702-1201, USA

    Wojciech Bal, Gayatri Ramakrishna & Kazimierz S. Kasprzak

  3. Peptide Analysis and Synthesis Unit, Research Technology Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rockville, MD, 20852-1742, USA

    Jan Lukszo

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  1. Wojciech Bal
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  2. Marcin Dyba
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  3. Zbigniew Szewczuk
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  4. Małgorzata Jeżowska‐Bojczuk
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  5. Jan Lukszo
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  6. Gayatri Ramakrishna
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  7. Kazimierz S. Kasprzak
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Correspondence to Wojciech Bal.

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Bal, W., Dyba, M., Szewczuk, Z. et al. Differential zinc and DNA binding by partial peptides of human protamine HP2. Mol Cell Biochem 222, 97–106 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017971525105

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