Modele eksperymentalne w badaniach zewnątrzkomórkowego transportu miedzi

The biological relevance of proteins and peptides for Cu(II) biology, including the extracellular transport of this element, is commonly estimated by studying stabilities and structures of their complexes. However, our experimental studies on the kinetics of formation of Cu(II) complexes of ATCUN/NTS and Xaa-His-R peptides, considered to be key actors in extracellular copper biology, revealed novel long-lived reaction intermediates. These intermediates, rather than the final reaction products fulfil the chemical criteria for actual biocomplexes derived from biological studies. Our research clearly demonstrated that understanding of the kinetic aspect of interactions is indispensable for realistic modeling of biological interactions of metal ions.