The effects of the side chains of hydrophobic aliphatic amino acid residues in an amphipathic polypeptide on the formation of alpha helix and its association.

The polypeptide alpha3, which was synthesized by us to produce an amphipathic helix structure, contains the regular three times repeated sequence (LETLAKA)(3), and alpha3 forms a fibrous assembly. To clarify how the side chains of amino acid residues affect the formation of alpha helix, Leu residues, which are located in the hydrophobic surface of an amphipathic helix, were replaced by other hydrophobic aliphatic amino acid residues systematically, and the characters of the resulting polypeptides were studied. According to the circular dichroism (CD) spectra, the Ile-substituted polypeptides formed alpha helix like alpha3. However, their helix formation ability was weaker than that of alpha3 under some conditions. The Val-substituted polypeptides formed alpha helix only under restricted condition. The Ala-substituted polypeptides did not form alpha helix under any condition. Thus, it is clear that the order of the alpha helix formation ability is as follows: Leu >or= Ile > Val > Ala. The formation of alpha helix was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra. Through electron microscopic observation, it was clarified that the formation of the alpha helix structure correlates with the formation of a fibrous assembly. The amphipathic alpha helix structure would be stabilized by the formation of the fibrous assembly.

A patient with TP53 germline mutation developed Bowen's disease and myelodysplastic syndrome with myelofibrosis after chemotherapy against ovarian cancer.

Here we report a case of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with myelofibrosis associated with Bowen's disease. A female patient had undergone an operation and chemotherapy for ovarian cancer when she was 65 years old, and she developed MDS at the age of 70 years old. PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, a Bowen's disease lesion, and normal skin showed an abnormal peak in TP53 exon5. Direct sequencing revealed that they all had missense mutation in codon 175 (G to A) of arginine switched to histidine, suggesting a germline mutation of TP53. It was speculated that p53 function was lost by TP53 germline mutation with the loss of a wild type allele induced by the chemotherapy against ovarian cancer, leading to the development of MDS. No therapeutic effects of low dose melphalan or cyclosporine A on MDS were observed, however one month of 30 mg/day prednisolone administration induced a hematological response.