Salt potentiates methylamine counteraction system to offset the deleterious effects of urea on protein stability and function

PLoS One. 2015 Mar 20;10(3):e0119597. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119597. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Cellular methylamines are osmolytes (low molecular weight organic compounds) believed to offset the urea's harmful effects on the stability and function of proteins in mammalian kidney and marine invertebrates. Although urea and methylamines are found at 2:1 molar ratio in tissues, their opposing effects on protein structure and function have been questioned on several grounds including failure to counteraction or partial counteraction. Here we investigated the possible involvement of cellular salt, NaCl, in urea-methylamine counteraction on protein stability and function. We found that NaCl mediates methylamine counteracting system from no or partial counteraction to complete counteraction of urea's effect on protein stability and function. These conclusions were drawn from the systematic thermodynamic stability and functional activity measurements of lysozyme and RNase-A. Our results revealed that salts might be involved in protein interaction with charged osmolytes and hence in the urea-methylamine counteraction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Enzyme Activation
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Methylamines / pharmacology*
  • Muramidase / chemistry
  • Muramidase / metabolism
  • Protein Stability / drug effects*
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Ribonuclease, Pancreatic / chemistry
  • Ribonuclease, Pancreatic / metabolism
  • Salts / pharmacology*
  • Thermodynamics
  • Urea / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Methylamines
  • Proteins
  • Salts
  • Urea
  • methylamine
  • Ribonuclease, Pancreatic
  • Muramidase

Grants and funding

The authors thank Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (India) for financial support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.