The University of Birmingham School of Biosciences

R. Madigan

Problem-based Learning: Proteins and Molecular Diseases

Apply the lecture content and your reading on the properties of amino acids to Q 1 – 2 and the case studies
overleaf on SCA and Brittle Bones Disease. Bring your prepared answers for discussion at the Feedback
session. No work is taken in or marked, and likewise, all discussion / feedback is live in the session.

Additional notes for Case Study 2:

a) Under the conditions of electrophoreses described, aka denaturing conditions, peptides migrate
according to molecular mass. Small peptides migrate faster than large ones.
b) 2-mercaptoethanol is a reducing agent that reduces (breaks) disulfide bridges without affecting
peptide bonds.

1. Given a peptide with the following amino acid sequence:

Asp – Cys – Ser – Ile – Phe – Lys – Cys – Trp - Leu

Identify all the residues under these headings (more than one may apply for these amino acids):

polar:

aromatic:

sulphur-containing:

hydrophobic:

Give another example(s) of each of the four types of amino acid.

2. Given A Pro B Cys C Tyr D Arg E Ala F Gly

Which of these amino acids
a) is positively charged at physiological pH and is involved in the urea cycle?
b) is a major plasma amino acid and, in its alternative form, is a building block of the B vitamin
pantothenic acid?
c) can stabilise protein structures by forming covalent cross links between parts of a single chain or
between chains?
d) is not a true amino acid and tends to terminate α helices in globular proteins?
e) Is a precursor for compounds, such as adrenaline. Name some other physiologically important
derivatives of the same amino acid.

Q2 will not be covered in the PBL feedback session but it indicates the general knowledge that you
should develop about the properties of some of the free amino acids and/or the amino acids as they
occur in proteins in the body.
The University of Birmingham School of Biosciences
R. Madigan

The significance of the primary structure of proteins

Case Study 1: Sickle cell anaemia