Creation of a Site-Directed Mutant of Hen Egg White Lysozyme Working Toward Site-Specific Oxidation as it Relates to Protein Structure

Abstract

Metal catalyzed oxidation of protein involves a reaction between hydrogen peroxide and protein-bound metal ions. Production of the highly-reactive hydroxyl radical leads to oxidative damage in the immediate vicinity of the bound-metal ion. To examine the relationship between protein structure and oxidative damage a series of site-directed mutants of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) were created. This project focuses on generation of the site directed mutant where residue His15 will be altered to a serinyl residue (H15S), also work on the preliminary purification and characterization of the putative mutant would be touched on.