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Related Experiment Videos

High and low density intracellular water.

P M Wiggins1

  • 1Genesis Research and Development Corp. Ltm., Auckland, New Zealand. p.wiggins@genesis.co.nz

Cellular and Molecular Biology (Noisy-Le-Grand, France)
|December 1, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Liquid water exists as distinct high and low-density microdomains. Solutes interacting with these domains influence biological processes like protein folding and enzyme function.

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • The structure of liquid water is often simplified, yet its complex nature, potentially involving distinct microdomains, may be crucial for biological functions.
  • Understanding water's role in biological systems requires considering its microscale properties and interactions with solutes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the implications of a proposed model of liquid water, consisting of rapidly exchanging high- and low-density polymorphs, on the roles of water in biological processes.
  • To explore how solutes partition between these water polymorphs and the resulting thermodynamic consequences.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical examination of the microdomain model of liquid water.
  • Analysis of solute partitioning (chaotropes and kosmotropes) between high- and low-density water polymorphs.
  • Thermodynamic assessment of water equilibrium displacement.

Main Results:

  • Chaotropes favor low-density water, shifting the equilibrium towards high-density water.
  • Kosmotropes favor high-density water, inducing low-density water.
  • Thermodynamic costs associated with water equilibrium displacement are significant and appear to drive protein folding, DNA folding, biopolymer aggregation, and non-polar kosmotrope insolubility.

Conclusions:

  • The microdomain model provides a framework for understanding water's influence on protein and DNA folding, biopolymer aggregation, and solute solubility.
  • Cells appear to regulate intracellular water microdomains and solute concentrations to optimize enzyme function.
  • While bulk water properties may be averaged, local nanoscale differences in intracellular water are significant and utilized by enzymes for various functions, including cation transport and synthesis.

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