Amino acid sequence restriction in relation to proteolysis

Abstract

Distributions of amino acid residues in proteins show that proline is overrepresented in sequence positions following two basic residues ({LysArg}−{LysArg}), i.e. at sites similar to those susceptible to proteolytic cleavages of hormonal pro-forms. Conformational correlations further show that {LysArg}−{LysArg}-Pro sequences are often (8/11) not adiacent to elements of secondary structure, whereas the opposite applies to {LysArg}−{LysArg}-nonPro sequences (82/103 adjacent to elements of secondary structure). These distribution patterns from proteins in general also seem applicable in individual protein groups as demonstrated for some dehydrogenases. It appears possible that {LysArg}−{LysArg}-nonPro constitutes a restricted sequence, n proteins, and that proline, in addition to elements of secondary structure, contributes a means of avoiding unacceptable proteolytic processings of proteins in general.