Hormonal interactions at the molecular level: A high resolution proton magnetic resonance study of bovine neurophysins and their interactions with oxytocin

Elucidation of isoform-dependent pH sensitivity of troponin i by NMR spectroscopy

Myocardial ischemia is characterized by reduced blood flow to cardiomyocytes, which can lead to acidosis. Acidosis decreases the calcium sensitivity and contractile efficiency of cardiac muscle. By contrast, skeletal and neonatal muscles are much less sensitive to changes in pH. The pH sensitivity of cardiac muscle can be reduced by replacing cardiac troponin I with its skeletal or neonatal counterparts. The isoform-specific response of troponin I is dictated by a single histidine, which is replaced by an alanine in cardiac troponin I. The decreased pH sensitivity may stem from the protonation of this histidine at low pH, which would promote the formation of electrostatic interactions with negatively charged residues on troponin C. In this study, we measured acid dissociation constants of glutamate residues on troponin C and of histidine on skeletal troponin I (His-130). The results indicate that Glu-19 comes in close contact with an ionizable group that has a pK(a) of ∼6.7 when it is in complex with skeletal troponin I but not when it is bound to cardiac troponin I. The pK(a) of Glu-19 is decreased when troponin C is bound to skeletal troponin I and the pK(a) of His-130 is shifted upward. These results strongly suggest that these residues form an electrostatic interaction. Furthermore, we found that skeletal troponin I bound to troponin C tighter at pH 6.1 than at pH 7.5. The data presented here provide insights into the molecular mechanism for the pH sensitivity of different muscle types.

1H NMR spectroscopic studies of calcium-binding proteins. 2. Histidine microenvironments in alpha- and beta-parvalbumins as determined by protonation and laser photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization effects

The microenvironments of the histidines in three isoforms of Ca(II)-bound parvalbumin (carp, pI = 4.25; pike, pI = 5.00; rat, pI = 5.50) have been examined with 1H NMR techniques to probe their protonation characteristics and photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarizability (photo-CIDNP). The histidine at position 26 (or 25), present in all three of these proteins, shows absolutely no photo-CIDNP enhancement of its C2H or C5H resonances. Nor does this nonpolarizable histidine possess a normal pKa: values range only from 4.20 for carp to 4.32 for pike to 4.44 for rat. The C2H and C5H resonances of the histidine in this carp isoform split into doublets as the pH is lowered. The magnitude of this splitting depends on the magnetic field strength, temperature, and pH; however, the line intensities within each doublet are temperature-independent. Although the crystal structure of carp parvalbumin indicates that His-26 is exposed to solvent [Kretsinger, R. H., & Nockolds, C. E. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 3313-3326], we conclude that in solution this residue, in its unprotonated state, is part of the hydrophobic core of the protein. In contrast, His-48 in rat parvalbumin and His-106 in pike III parvalbumin show dramatic photo-CIDNP enhancements of their C2H, C5H, and beta-CH2 1H NMR resonances. Combined with its nearly normal pKa, 6.14, and exchange-broadened C2H resonance, the photo-CIDNP enhancement results for His-48 indicate that its microenvironment differs little from random-coil exposure, consistent with its presumed position on the solvent surface of helix C.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Enthalpies of ligand binding to bovine neurophysins

Flow microcalorimetry and batch microcalorimetry have been used to survey the energetics of ligand binding by bovine neurophysins I and II. Calorimetry studies were supplemented by van't Hoff analyses of binding constants determined by circular dichroism. Free energies of binding of a series of di- and tripeptides that bind to the strong hormone binding site of neurophysin were partitioned into their enthalpic and entropic components. The results indicate that, at 25 degrees C, the binding of most peptides is an enthalpy-driven reaction associated with negative entropy and heat capacity changes. Studies elsewhere, supported by evidence here, indicate that the principal component of the negative enthalpy change does not arise from the increase in neurophysin dimerization associated with peptide binding. Accordingly, the negative enthalpy change is attributed to direct bonding interactions with peptide and possibly also to peptide-induced changes in tertiary or quaternary organization. Comparison of the binding enthalpies of different peptides indicated two types of bonding interactions that contribute to the negative enthalpy change of peptide ligation. Substitution of an aromatic- or sulfur-containing side chain for an aliphatic side chain in position 1 of bound peptides led to increases in negative enthalpy of from 1 to 6 kcal/mol, demonstrating that interactions typically classified as hydrophobic can have a significant exothermic component at 25 degrees C. Similarly, loss of hydrogen bonding potential in the peptide decreased the enthalpy change upon binding, in keeping with the expected enthalpic contribution of hydrogen bonds. In particular, the data suggested that the peptide backbone between residues 2 and 3 and the phenolic hydroxyl group in position 2 participate in hydrogen bonding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Synthesis of peptide spin-labels that bind to neurophysin and their application to distance measurements within neurophysin complexes

The synthesis of two spin-labels capable of binding to the hormone-binding site(s) of neurophysin is described. The two spin-labels are 4-(glycyl-L-phenylalanylamido)-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxy and S-[[[3-(2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxy)amino]carbonyl]methyl]-L-cysteinyl -L-tyrosine amide; synthesis of the former is achieved by a novel route to circumvent problems associated with nitroxide instability under standard conditions of peptide deblocking. NMR studies of the effects of binding these spin-labels on relaxation rates of individual proton resonances of neurophysin were used to calculate correlation times and distances between the bound nitroxides and the observed protons. The results indicate that residue 3 of peptides bound to the strong site of neurophysin is greater than or equal to 14 A from Tyr-49 and argue against a distance of < 5 A between the ortho ring protons of Tyr-49 and those of residue 2 of peptides bound to the strong site. Alternatively, the data suggest that the previously observed nuclear Overhauser effect between these protons reflects spin diffusion at the strong site and a contribution of uncertain magnitude from a second but very weak binding site; this second site is close to Tyr-49 and is detected by the increased relaxation rate of Tyr-49 ring protons when 4-(glycyl-L-phenylalanylamido)-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxy is displaced from the strong site by competing diamagnetic peptide. Additionally, the data indicate that residue 3 of bound peptides at the strong site is distant from His-80 but approximately 12 A from the amino terminus. The extended side chain of residue 1 of peptides at the strong site is calculated as less than or equal to 10 A from Tyr-49.

Drug-biomolecule interactions: proton magnetic resonance studies of complex formation between bovine neurophysins and oxytocin at molecular level

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to monitor individual amino acid residues in bovine neurophysin, in the nonapeptide hormone oxytocin, and in the complex formed between them. For neurophysin I alone, a normal titration curve for the C-2 proton resonance of the lone histidine residue was obtained with an apparent ionization constant of 6.9 addition of oxytocin to a solution of neurophysin I at pH 6.5 resulted in several changes in the spectrum. The effect on the histidine C-2 proton resonance signal indicated a slow exchange process between two states, probably representing a conformational change in the protein. The apparent pK of the histidine residue in the hormonal complex was shifted to 6.7, indicating a slightly more positive (less electron dense) environment for the histidine residue. Resonances of the single tyrosine residue of oxytocin were observed to broaden significantly, but not to shift appreciably, on the addition of neurophysin II. These observations may indicate involvement of the tyrosyl residue of oxytocin in the hormone-"carrier protein" interaction.