Specific chemical modification as a probe of calmodulin function

Calmodulin binding to recombinant myosin-1c and myosin-1c IQ peptides

BACKGROUND

Bullfrog myosin-1c contains three previously recognized calmodulin-binding IQ domains (IQ1, IQ2, and IQ3) in its neck region; we identified a fourth IQ domain (IQ4), located immediately adjacent to IQ3. How calmodulin binds to these IQ domains is the subject of this report.

RESULTS

In the presence of EGTA, calmodulin bound to synthetic peptides corresponding to IQ1, IQ2, and IQ3 with Kd values of 2-4 microM at normal ionic strength; the interaction with an IQ4 peptide was much weaker. Ca2+ substantially weakened the calmodulin-peptide affinity for all of the IQ peptides except IQ3. To reveal how calmodulin bound to the linearly arranged IQ domains of the myosin-1c neck, we used hydrodynamic measurements to determine the stoichiometry of complexes of calmodulin and myosin-1c. Purified myosin-1c and T701-Myo1c (a myosin-1c fragment with all four IQ domains and the C-terminal tail) each bound 2-3 calmodulin molecules. At a physiologically relevant temperature (25 degrees C) and under low-Ca2+ conditions, T701-Myo1c bound two calmodulins in the absence and three calmodulins in the presence of 5 microM free calmodulin. Ca2+ dissociated nearly all calmodulins from T701-Myo1c at 25 degrees C; one calmodulin was retained if 5 microM free calmodulin was present.

CONCLUSIONS

We inferred from these data that at 25 degrees C and normal cellular concentrations of calmodulin, calmodulin is bound to IQ1, IQ2, and IQ3 of myosin-1c when Ca2+ is low. The calmodulin bound to one of these IQ domains, probably IQ2, is only weakly associated. Upon Ca2+ elevation, all calmodulin except that bound to IQ3 should dissociate.

Mechanism of 2-chloro-(epsilon-amino-Lys75)-[6-[4-(N,N- diethylamino)phenyl]-1,3,5-triazin-4-yl]calmodulin interactions with smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase and derived peptides

The mechanism of the interactions of 2-chloro-(epsilon-amino-Lys75)-[6-[4-(N,N-diethylamino)phenyl]- 1,3,5-triazin-4-yl]calmodulin (TA-calmodulin) with smooth muscle myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) and two 17-residue peptides, Ac-R-R-K-W-Q-K-T-G-H-A-V-R-A-I-G-R-L-CONH2 (Trp peptide) and Tyr peptide, in which W is replaced by Y, were studied by measurements of equilibrium and transient fluorescence changes in the nanomolar range. Most reactions were carried out in 100 microM CaCl2 at ionic strength 0.15 M, pH 7.0, and 21 degrees C. In each case association of MLCK or peptide to TA-calmodulin could be described by a two-step process, a bimolecular step and an isomerization. In the case of the interaction between TA-calmodulin and Tyr peptide it was shown that the isomerization involved the binary complex of TA-calmodulin and Tyr peptide as opposed to an isomerization of either TA-calmodulin or Tyr peptide in isolation. These distinctions depended in part on development for transient kinetic experiments of a general theory to quantify relative phase amplitudes in two-step mechanisms. The kinetics for all three association reactions were then interpreted in terms of a bimolecular association (rate constants k+1 and k-1) followed by an isomerization of the binary complex (rate constants k+2 and k-2). For the interaction of TA-calmodulin and Tyr peptide, values of the rate constants are k+1, 8.8 x 10(8) M-1 s-1; k-1, 5.7 s-1; k+2, 0.38 s-1; and k-2, 0.65 s-1. The fluorescence intensities (lambda ex 365 nm, lambda ex 365 nm, lambda em > 400 nm) of TA-calmodulin, the initial binary complex of TA-calmodulin and Tyr peptide, and the isomerized binary complex are in the ratio 1:2.8:1.3. Analogous mechanisms were found for TA-calmodulin binding to Trp peptide and to MLCK, but values for the rate constants and relative fluorescence intensities of the binary complexes were generally not so completely defined. Values for the Trp peptide and MLCK, respectively, are k+1, 8.8 x 10(8) M-1 s-1 and 1.1 x 10(8) M-1 s-1; (k+2 + k-2), 0.97 s-1 and 1.3 s-1; and k-1k-2/(k+2 + k-2), 0.0079 s-1 and 0.025-0.056 s-1. Equilibrium dissociation constants (Kd) for interactions of TA-calmodulin and targets determined from these data are Tyr peptide, 4.1 nM; Trp peptide, 0.011 nM; and MLCK, 0.23-0.51 nM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Preparation, characterization and biological properties of biotinylated derivatives of calmodulin

Biotinylated derivatives of calmodulin (CaM) were prepared and their biological properties characterized by using enzyme assays, affinity and hydrophobic-interaction chromatography. Several N-hydroxysuccinimidobiotin derivatives [sulphosuccinimidobiotin (sulpho-NHS) and sulphosuccinimido-6-(biotinamido)hexanoate (BNHS-LC)] differing in spacer arm length were used to modify CaM. The shorter-spacer-arm CaM derivative (sulpho-CaM) activated CaM-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase and CaM-dependent protein kinase II; preincubation with avidin blocked its ability to activate these enzymes. The extended-spacer-arm derivative (BNHS-LC-CaM) activated CaM-dependent enzymes both in the presence and in the absence of avidin, suggesting that the longer spacer arm diminished steric effects from avidin preincubation. Other biotinylated CaM derivatives were prepared with biotinylated tyrosine and/or histidine residues (diazobenzoylbiocytin; DBB-CaM) or nucleophilic sites (photobiotin acetate; photo-CaM). These derivatives activated CaM-dependent enzymes in the presence and in the absence of avidin. Oriented affinity columns were constructed with covalently immobilized avidin complexed to each biotinylated CaM derivative. The chromatographic profiles obtained revealed that each column interacted with a specific subset of CaM-binding proteins. Elution profiles of biotinyl CaM derivatives on phenyl-Sepharose hydrophobic-interaction chromatography suggested that several derivatives displayed diminished binding to the matrix in the presence of Ca2+. Development and characterization of a series of biotinylated CaM molecules can be used to identify domains of CaM that interact with specific CaM-dependent enzymes.

Domain II of calmodulin is involved in activation of calcineurin

A family of mutant proteins related to calmodulin (CaM) has been produced using cDNA constructs in bacterial expression vectors. The new proteins contain amino acid substitutions in Ca2+-binding domains I, II, both I and II, or both II and IV. The calmodulin-like proteins have been characterized with respect to mobility on SDS-polyacrylamide gels, Ca2+-dependent enhancement of tyrosine fluorescence, and abilities to activate the CaM-dependent phosphatase calcineurin. These studies suggest that an intact Ca2+-binding domain II is minimally required for full activation of calcineurin.

A C-terminal, calmodulin-like regulatory domain from the plasma membrane Ca2+-pumping ATPase

A cDNA that encodes what appears to be the inhibitory domain of the plasma membrane calcium-pumping ATPase (Ca2+-ATPase) has been isolated by screening a lambda gt11 bovine brain cDNA library with antibodies prepared against the human erythrocyte membrane Ca2+-ATPase. This screening resulted in isolation of a bacteriophage containing a 1.5-kilobase cDNA insert encoding a 71-residue polypeptide, the remainder being a large 3' terminal noncoding region. A portion of this deduced peptide sequence was identical to that of a peptide isolated from a V8 protease digest of the human erythrocyte Ca2+-ATPase except for 1 residue. Antibodies purified by immunoabsorption to the fusion protein containing this cDNA-encoded polypeptide reacted only with those fragments of a limited trypsin digest of the human erythrocyte Ca2+-ATPase that contain the inhibitory domain. Moreover, these antibodies were able to partially stimulate basal enzyme activity and block further activation by calmodulin. The encoded polypeptide bears homology to the glutamic acid-rich regions N-terminal to the Ca2+-binding loops of calmodulin and to a lesser extent with the loops themselves. This encoded polypeptide also represents the C terminus of the Ca2+-ATPase. Portions of the isolated cDNA were homologous to the 3' noncoding region of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase cDNA, indicating a possible mechanism for the evolution of these distinct membrane Ca2+ pumps.

Two trifluoperazine-binding sites on calmodulin predicted from comparative molecular modeling with troponin-C

Among the known regulatory proteins that are conformationally sensitive to the binding of calcium ions, calmodulin and troponin-C have the greatest primary sequence homology. This observation has led to the conclusion that the most accurate predicted molecular model of calmodulin would be based on the X-ray crystallographic coordinates of the highly refined structure of turkey skeletal troponin-C. This paper describes the structure of calmodulin built from such a premise. The resulting molecular model was subjected to conjugate gradient energy minimization to remove unacceptable intramolecular non-bonded contacts. In the analysis of the resulting structure, many features of calmodulin, including the detailed conformation of the Ca2+-binding loops, the amino- and carboxy-terminal hydrophobic patches of the Ca2+-bound form, and the several clusters of acidic residues can be reconciled with much of the previously published solution data. Calmodulin is missing the N-terminal helix characteristic of troponin-C. The deletion of three residues from the central helical linker (denoted D/E in troponin-C) shortens the molecule and changes the orientation of the two domains of calmodulin by 60 degrees relative to those in troponin-C. The molecular model has been used to derive two possible binding sites for the antipsychotic drug trifluoperazine, a potent competitive inhibitor of calmodulin activity.