L. Czerski et Cr. Sanders, Thiol modification of diacylglycerol kinase: dependence upon site membranedisposition and reagent hydrophobicity, FEBS LETTER, 472(2-3), 2000, pp. 225-229
Reaction rates were determined between disulfide reagents of varying hydrop
hobicity and single-cysteine mutants of diacylglycerol kinase, an integral
membrane protein, Polar reagents reacted most rapidly with surface-exposed
sites. However, a very non-polar reagent also reacted more rapidly with exp
osed cysteines than with membrane sites, Moreover, this non-polar reagent u
sually reacted more slowly with membrane sites than did more polar reagents
. These results are consistent with the notion that disulfide exchange reac
tions involving buried cysteines of diacylglycerol kinase are very slow in
the membrane interior, such that the competing rates of reactions which occ
ur when normally buried cysteine sites make motional excursions to hydrated
regions of the interface can be significant. (C) 2000 Federation of Europe
an Biochemical Societies.