Α-helix

The alpha helix (α-helix) is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a righthand-coiled or spiral conformation (helix) in which every backbone N-H group donates a hydrogen bond to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located three or four residues earlier along the protein sequence. This secondary structure is also sometimes called a classic Pauling–Corey–Branson α-helix (see below). The name 3.6₁₃-helix is also used for this type of helix, denoting the average number of residues per helical turn, with 13 atoms being involved in the ring formed by the hydrogen bond. Among types of local structure in proteins, the α-helix is the most regular and the most predictable from sequence, as well as the most prevalent.

In the early 1930s, William Astbury showed that there were drastic changes in the X-ray fiber diffraction of moist wool or hair fibers upon significant stretching. The data suggested that the unstretched fibers had a coiled molecular structure with a characteristic repeat of ~5.1 ångströms (0.51 nm).

Astbury initially proposed a kinked-chain structure for the fibers. He later joined other researchers (notably the American chemist Maurice Huggins) in proposing that:

Although incorrect in their details, Astbury's models of these forms were correct in essence and correspond to modern elements of secondary structure, the α-helix and the β-strand (Astbury's nomenclature was kept), which were developed by Linus Pauling, Robert Corey and Herman Branson in 1951 (see below); that paper showed both right- and left-handed helixes, although in 1960 the crystal structure of myoglobin showed that the right-handed form is the common one. Hans Neurath was the first to show that Astbury's models could not be correct in detail, because they involved clashes of atoms. Neurath's paper and Astbury's data inspired H. S. Taylor,Maurice Huggins and Bragg and collaborators to propose models of keratin that somewhat resemble the modern α-helix.

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