Review
Version 1
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Are Protein Cavities and Pockets Commonly Used by Redox Active Signalling Molecules?
Version 1
: Received: 22 May 2023 / Approved: 23 May 2023 / Online: 23 May 2023 (07:12:09 CEST)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Hancock, J.T. Are Protein Cavities and Pockets Commonly Used by Redox Active Signalling Molecules? Plants 2023, 12, 2594. Hancock, J.T. Are Protein Cavities and Pockets Commonly Used by Redox Active Signalling Molecules? Plants 2023, 12, 2594.
Abstract
It has been well known for a long time that inert gases, such as xenon (Xe), have significant biological effects. As these atoms are extremely unlikely to partake in direct chemical reactions with bio-molecules, such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, there must be some other mode of action to account for the effects reported. It has been shown that the topology of proteins allows for cavities and hydrophobic pockets, and it is through an interaction with such protein structures that inert gases are thought to have their action. Recently, it has been mooted that the relatively inert gas molecular hydrogen (H2), also may have its effects through such a mechanism, and so influencing protein structures and actions. H2 is thought to also act through interaction with redox active compounds, particularly the hydroxyl radical (·OH) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-), but not nitric oxide (NO·), superoxide anions (O2·-) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However, instead of having a direct interaction with H2, is there any evidence that these redox compounds can also interact with Xe pockets and cavities in proteins, so either having an independent effect on proteins or interfering with the action of inert gases. This suggestion with be explored here.
Keywords
argon; hydrogen peroxide; hydrogen sulfide; hydroxyl radicals; molecular hydrogen; nitric oxide; peroxynitrite; protein cavities; superoxide; xenon
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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