Energetic domains analysis of bovine α-lactalbumin upon interaction with copper and dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide

Domain analysis of the dialyzed form of α-lactalbumin (m-α-LA) with varying concentrations of Cu+2 and DTAB has been carried out by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), circular dichroism (CD) and resonance Rayleigh scattering (RLS) to elucidate the effect of the ligands on the thermal and structural properties of m-α-LA. The DSC profile displayed two dissimilar temperature-induced heat-absorption peaks as well as two melting points (Tm = 305 K, Tm = 333 K). The m-α-LA is not a new form of α-LA, but rather contains a mixture of the apo- and holo-forms of α-LA (i.e., a-α-LA and h-α-LA) at low and high temperatures, respectively. The presence of Cu+2 as the metal ion and DTAB as the non-metal ion altered the two heat-absorption peaks in such a manner that, with the addition of Cu+2 to m-α-LA, the excess molar heat capacity profile showed three sub-peaks, i.e., one sub-peak for a-α-LA at 303.2 K and two other sub-peaks for h-α-LA at 325 K and 334 K. The presence of these peaks was due to the molecular population of the a-α-LA form changing into h-α-LA. Contrarily, when it came to the interaction between DTAB and m-α-LA, the DSC thermogram showed two sub-peaks, i.e., one sub-peak for a-α-LA and another sub-peak for h-α-LA, resulting from the molecular population of the h-α-LA form changing into a-α-LA. The CD experiments on m-α-LA upon interaction with Cu+2 and DTAB demonstrated an increment and a decrement, respectively, of the α-helix content relative to that of the protein in the absence of the ligands. However, the α-helix induced by Cu+2 as a metal ion inspired one energetics domain in m-α-LA, wherefore it could be deduced that the helicity content caused an increment of the energetics content of α-LA. Hence, Cu+2 and DTAB at various concentrations played important roles as good probes for defining the electrostatic moiety for domains of m-α-LA initiated through a dissimilarity with regard to the α-helicity of these domains. The RLS intensity of m-α-LA upon interaction with Cu+2 and DTAB determine the DSC and CD results for inducing h-α-LA and a-α-LA respectively.