Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance studies of cyclic derivatives of phosphorus oxy-acids

Contribution of protein phosphorylation to binding-induced folding of the SLBP-histone mRNA complex probed by phosphorus-31 NMR

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SLBP is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) in the absence of RNA.

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A phosphothreonine in the SLBP RNA-binding domain stabilizes the SLBP–histone mRNA complex.

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This phosphate exhibits torsional strain as revealed by its ³¹P NMR chemical shift.

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Phosphates can play structural roles in stabilizing tertiary structure in IDPs.

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³¹P NMR can be a good spectroscopic probe for folding of phosphorylated IDPs.

Phosphorus-31 (³¹P) NMR can be used to characterize the structure and dynamics of phosphorylated proteins. Here, I use ³¹P NMR to report on the chemical nature of a phosphothreonine that lies in the RNA binding domain of SLBP (stem-loop binding protein). SLBP is an intrinsically disordered protein and phosphorylation at this threonine promotes the assembly of the SLBP–RNA complex. The data show that the ³¹P chemical shift can be a good spectroscopic probe for phosphate-coupled folding and binding processes in intrinsically disordered proteins, particularly where the phosphate exhibits torsional strain and is involved in a network of hydrogen-bonding interactions.

Effect of temperature and pH on 31P nuclear magnetic resonances of phospholipids in cholate micelles

Accurate and precise determination of phospholipid composition by 31P NMR spectroscopy requires correct assignments and adequate spectral resolution. Because temperature and pH may affect chemical shifts (delta), our first aim was to establish the temperature coefficient (Deltadelta/DeltaT) of common phospholipid classes when using sodium cholate as detergent. This parameter can then be used to aid in resonance assignments. The second goal was to investigate the pH dependence of delta so that, in addition to temperature, pH control can be used to minimize spectral overlap. For phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, dihydrosphingomyelin and phosphatidylglycerol, delta values were invariant with pH and temperature. Whereas the Deltadelta/DeltaT for phosphatidylinositol was 4 x 10(-3)ppm/ degrees C, regardless of pH, these coefficients were highly pH-dependent for phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine, exhibiting maximal variations with the deprotonation of the headgroup, particularly for phosphatidic acid. These trends indicate the importance of H-bonding on delta and Deltadelta/DeltaT for phospholipid resonances.

Studies on reactions of nucleoside H-phosphonates with bifunctional reagents. Part VI. Reaction with diols

Reactions of nucleoside H-phosphonates with various diols using different types of condensing agents have been studied. Depending on the coupling procedure and the length of a polymethylene chain of the diol, acyclic H-phosphonate diesters or cyclic phosphite triesters were formed. The course of oxidation with iodine to produce cyclic nucleoside alkyl phosphotriesters or hydroxyalkyl nucleoside phosphodiesters can be controlled by the amount of water present in the reaction medium.

Conversion of lysophospholipids to cyclic lysophosphatidic acid by phospholipase D

Phospholipase D from Streptomyces chromofuscus hydrolyzes lysophosphatidylcholine or lysophosphatidylethanolamine in aqueous 1% Triton X-100 solution. In situ monitoring of this reaction by 31P NMR revealed the formation of cyclic lysophosphatidic acid (1-acyl 2,3-cyclic glycerophosphate) as an intermediate which was hydrolyzed further by the enzyme at a functionally distinct active site to lysophosphatidic acid (lyso-PA). Synthetic cyclic lyso-PA (1-octanoyl 2,3-cyclic glycerophosphate) was found to be stable in aqueous neutral solutions at room temperature. It was hydrolyzed by the bacterial phospholipase D to lyso-PA at a rate which was approximately 4-fold slower than the rate of formation of cyclic lyso-PA. The addition of 5-10 mM sodium vanadate could partially inhibit the ring opening reaction and thus increase substantially the cyclic lyso-PA accumulation. Cyclic lyso-PA may act as a dormant configuration of the physiologically active lyso-PA or may even possess specific activities which await verification.

Lipid-amphotericin B complex structure in solution: a possible first step in the aggregation process in cell membranes

The interactions between the polyene antibiotic amphotericin B with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine were investigated in vesicles (using circular dichroism) and in chloroform solution (using circular dichroism and 1H, 13C, and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance). The results show that amphotericin B readily aggregates in vesicles and that the extent of aggregation depends on the lipid:drug concentration ratio. Introduction of sterol molecules into the membrane hastens the process of aggregation of amphotericin B. In chloroform solutions amphotericin B strongly interacts with phospholipid molecules to form a stoichiometric complex. The results suggest that there are interactions between the conjugated heptene stretch of amphotericin B and the methylene groups of lipid acyl chains, while the sugar moiety interacts with the phosphate head group by the formation of a hydrogen bond. A model is proposed for the lipid-amphotericin B complex, in which amphotericin B interacts equally well with the two lipid acyl chains, forming a 1:1 complex.

Aged and non-aged pyrenebutyl-containing organophosphoryl conjugates of chymotrypsin. Preparation and comparison by 31P-NMR spectroscopy

Homologous pairs of non-aged and aged pyrene-containing phosphoryl conjugates of chymotrypsin were prepared in order to characterize by NMR and optical spectroscopy putative differences in the conformation of non-aged and aged organophosphoryl conjugates of serine hydrolases. Pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(OC2H5)F and pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(OC2H5)Cl were used to obtain the non-aged form pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(OC2H5)-Cht, whereas pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)Cl2, pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(p-nitrophenoxy)Cl, and pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(p-nitrophenoxy)2 were used to produce the aged conjugate pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(O )-Cht. These ligands bind covalently to the active site of serine hydrolases. The absorption spectra of both the non-aged and aged conjugates fitted approximately a 1:1 stoichiometry of bound organophosphate and enzyme in the non-aged and aged conjugates. Pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(OC2H5)-Cht could be reactivated by pyridine-3-aldoxime methiodide, whereas no reactivation was observed for the similarly treated pyrenebutyl-O-P(O)(O-)-Cht. The 31P-NMR and reactivation data taken together strongly support the hypothesis that the aged form of the OP-Cht conjugate contains a P--O- bond. These results provide a partial interpretation for the known resistance of the aged conjugates of serine hydrolases to reactivation.

P NMR and mass spectrometry of atropinesterase and some serine proteases phosphorylated with a transition-state analogue

The serine residue in the active center of atropinesterase (AtrE), alpha-chymotrypsin (Chymo), and subtilisin A (Sub) and in alpha-chymotrypsinogen (Chymogen) was labeled with a diisopropylphosphoryl (DP) group. The labeled proteins were studied in buffered aqueous solution under various native and denaturing conditions with 31P NMR before and after being subjected to "ageing", a process leading to conversion of the DP group into a monoisopropylphosphoryl (MP) group. Besides, the model compounds Gly-Ser(DP), Gly-Glu-Ser(DP)-Gly-OEt, and diisopropyl hydrogen phosphate were investigated under similar conditions and in other solvents with different hydrogen-bonding capacity. Mass spectrometry was used to analyze products resulting from ageing in the presence of H2(18)O. The 31P chemical shift of the DP proteins increases according to a simple titration curve upon lowering the pH from 9.0 to 5.0. This is ascribed to protonation of a particular histidine residue in the active center that interacts with a nearby isopropoxy group by hydrogen bonding with the ester oxygen. In DP-AtrE, hydrogen bonding at the phosphoryl oxygen dominates the interaction between substituent and protein; in the other DP proteins, nonbonding interactions become more dominant in the order Chymogen less than Chymo less than Sub. DP-AtrE, DP-Chymo, and DP-Sub age according to first-order kinetics. The pH dependence of the reaction rate constant ka indicates that ageing is catalyzed by the protonated histidine, which is responsible for the increase in chemical shift. The direct interaction between the phosphoryl group and the histidine is lost upon ageing whereas there is an increase in the nonbonding interaction of the remaining isopropyl group with the protein in the order Chymo less than Sub less than AtrE. The maximum value of ka when the histidine is fully protonated (kam) increases in the same order. Ageing of the DP enzymes occurs exclusively by C-O fission, yielding 2-propanol and propene. Since the amount of 2-propanol decreased and that of propene increased in the order Chymo to Sub to AtrE, the increase in kam has been interpreted as a shift in character of ageing from mainly SN2 for Chymo to considerably SN1 for AtrE and Sub. This has been attributed to preferential stabilization of the SN1 transition state by an interplay of hydrogen-bonding and nonbonding interactions between the phosphoryl group and the protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A combined proton and phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of the combining site of M603, a phosphocholine-binding myeloma protein

Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies on the two phosphorus nuclei of the phosphonium analogue (Me3P+CH2CH2OPO3(2-)) of phosphocholine are used to monitor the charged subsites in the phosphocholine-binding immunoglobulin A mouse myeloma M603. Comparison of the 270-MHz 1H NMR difference spectrum on addition of either this analogue or phosphocholine to M603 and the almost identical changes in the pKa values of the phosphate groups on binding to M603 confirm that the analogue is a good model for phosphocholine. The pKa of the phosphate groups is decreased by 0.5 unit on binding to M603, which is consistent with the phosphate group being hydrogen bonding to Tyr-33H and Arg-95L, as suggested from the X-ray structure, and also implies that the binding energies for the mono- and dianion are similar. The P+Me3 moiety is used to probe the electrostatic interactions in the choline subsite. Titration of the chemical shift of the phosphonium phosphorus reflects a group on the protein that has a pKa value of less than or equal to 5, which from the refined X-ray structure (D.R. Davies, personal communication) of the site is assigned to Asp-97L. The choline subsite is monitored by using 1H NMR difference spectra, which indicates that the subsite is highly aromatic as expected from the crystal structure that places Trp-107H and Tyr-100L in this subsite. The ring current interactions from these rings can account for the 1H NMR chemical shift data on choline.

A phosphorus-magnetic-resonance study of the interaction of Mg2+ with adenyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate. Binding sites of Mg2+ ion on the phosphate chain

The interaction of Mg2+ ions with adenyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate, AMP-P(NH)P, has been studied at basic and acidic pH values by phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy in aqueous solution. The results suggest that Mg2+ binds simultaneously to one (or both) of the two free oxygen atoms of the beta-phosphate moiety and to the nitrogen atom of the phosphate chain (P alpha-O-P beta-N-P gamma). The interaction arises from 1: 1 complexing of Mg2+ to AMP-P(NH)P. The mode of the Mg2+ binding on the phosphate chain remains the same at both basic and acidic pH values. As in the case of ATP and ADP, the association of Mg2+ reduces the pK by about 1.5 units. On the other hand phosphorus titration curves showed that when the phosphate chain does not possess the regular periodicity (O-P alpha-O-P beta-X-P gamma-O,X not equal to O) as in the case of ATP, protonation of the terminal phosphate group may induce a 31P chemical shift variation less important for this group than for the preceding one.

Phosphorus-31 Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance study of mononucleotides and dinucleotides. 1. Chemical shifts

A phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of adenine, uracil, and thymine mononucleotides, their cyclic analogues, and the corresponding dinucleotides is reported. From the pH dependence of phosphate chemical shifts, pKa values of 6.25-6.30 are found for all 5'-mononucleotides secondary phosphate ionization, independently from the nature of the base and the presence of a hydroxyl group at the 2' position. Conversely, substitution of a hydrogen atom for a 2'-OH lowers the pKa of 3'-monoribonucleotides from 6.25 down to 5.71-5.85. This indication of a strong influence of the 2'-hydroxyl group on the 3'-phosphate is confirmed by the existence of a 0.4 to 0.5 ppm downfield shift induced by the 2'-OH on the phosphate resonance of 3'-monoribonucleotides, and 3',5'-cyclic nucleotides and dinucleotides with respect to the deoxyribosyl analogues. Phosphate chemical shifts and titration curves are affected by the ionization and the type of the base. Typically, deviations from the theoretical Henderson-Hasselbalch plots are observed upon base titration. In addition, purine displays a more deshielding influence than pyrimidine on the phosphate groups of most of the mononucleotides (0.10 to 0.25 ppm downfield shift) with a reverse situation for dinucleotides. These effects together with the importance of stereochemical arrangement (furanose ring pucker, furanose-phosphate backbone conformation, O-P-O bond angle) on the phosphate chemical shifts are discussed.