A Comparative Study on Nickel Binding to Hpn-like Polypeptides from Two Helicobacter pylori Strains

Combined potentiometric titration and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) methods were used to study the interactions of nickel(II) ions with the N-terminal fragments and histidine-rich fragments of Hpn-like protein from two Helicobacter pylori strains (11637 and 26695). The ITC measurements were performed at various temperatures and buffers in order to extract proton-independent reaction enthalpies of nickel binding to each of the studied protein fragments. We bring up the problem of ITC results of nickel binding to the Hpn-like protein being not always compatible with those from potentiometry and MS regarding the stoichiometry and affinity. The roles of the ATCUN motif and multiple His…