Circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopic analyses of a proline‐rich glycoprotein from human parotid saliva

A proline‐rich glycoprotein (PRG) was isolated from human parotid saliva and examined by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. Addition of guanidine hydrochloride to PRG labeled with an extrinsic dansyl probe had no effect on the fluorescence spectra's 511 nm lambda‐max location. Thermodynamic calculations supported the contention that PRG has no significant tertiary structure. Circular dichroism results for PRG were simulated by computer and a secondary structure composed of 70% random coil and 30%β‐form conformation was predicted. Circular dichroism of PRG failed to detect either poly‐L‐proline type I or II structures. Deglycosylation of PRG had no measurable effect on the circular dichroism spectrum, indicating that the carbohydrate side chains had little influence on PRG secondary structure. Based upon mathematical calculations, β‐turns were predicted around three glycosylated Asn residues of PRG. These collective data suggest that PRG is composed of a disordered polypeptide chain with at least three of the N‐linked Asn residues participating in some type of β‐turn.