Isotope effects on order in nematic solutions. Deuterium quadrupole coupling constants for CDH2I

Estimating side-chain order in methyl-protonated, perdeuterated proteins via multiple-quantum relaxation violated coherence transfer NMR spectroscopy

Relaxation violated coherence transfer NMR spectroscopy (Tugarinov et al. in J Am Chem Soc 129:1743-1750, 2007) is an established experimental tool for quantitative estimation of the amplitudes of side-chain motions in methyl-protonated, highly deuterated proteins. Relaxation violated coherence transfer experiments monitor the buildup of methyl proton multiple-quantum coherences that can be created in magnetically equivalent spin-systems as long as their transverse magnetization components relax with substantially different rates. The rate of this build-up is a reporter of the methyl-bearing side-chain mobility. Although the build-up of multiple-quantum (1)H coherences is monitored in these experiments, the decay of the methyl signal during relaxation delays occurs when methyl proton magnetization is in a single-quantum state. We describe a relaxation violated coherence transfer approach where the relaxation of multiple-quantum (1)H-(13)C methyl coherences during the relaxation delay period is quantified. The NMR experiment and the associated fitting procedure that models the time-dependence of the signal build-up, are applicable to the characterization of side-chain order in [(13)CH(3)]-methyl-labeled, highly deuterated protein systems up to ~100 kDa in molecular weight. The feasibility of extracting reliable measures of side-chain order is experimentally verified on methyl-protonated, perdeuterated samples of an 8.5-kDa ubiquitin at 10°C and an 82-kDa Malate Synthase G at 37°C.

Variation in quadrupole couplings of alpha deuterons in ubiquitin suggests the presence of C(alpha)-H(alpha)...O=C hydrogen bonds

Nuclear quadrupolar couplings are sensitive probes of hydrogen bonding. Experimental quadrupolar coupling constants of alpha deuterons (D(alpha) QCC) are reported for the residues of human ubiquitin that do not experience large-amplitude internal dynamics on the pico- to nanosecond time scale. Two different methods for D(alpha) QCC estimation are employed: (i) direct estimation of D(alpha) QCC values from R(1) and R(2) (2)H D(alpha) rates using the dynamics parameters (S(C(alpha)-H(alpha))(2)) derived from 1 micros molecular dynamics simulations as well as from (13)C(alpha) relaxation measurements and (ii) indirect measurements via scalar relaxation of the second kind that affects (13)C(alpha) relaxation rates in (13)C(alpha)-D(alpha) spin systems. A relatively large variability of D(alpha) QCC values is produced by both methods. The average value of 170.6 +/- 3 kHz is derived from the combined data set, with D(alpha) QCC values ranging from 159.2 to 177.2 kHz. The set of lowest quadrupolar couplings in all data sets corresponds to the residues that are likely to form weak C(alpha)-H(alpha)...O=C hydrogen bonds as predicted from the analysis of short H(alpha)...O distances in three-dimensional structures of ubiquitin. These D(alpha) nuclei show up to 10 kHz reduction in their QCC values, which is in agreement with earlier solid-state NMR measurements in alpha deuterons of glycine. A statistically significant correlation is observed between the QCC values of alpha-deuterons and the inverse cube of C(alpha)-H(alpha)...O=C distances in ubiquitin.

Deuterium spin probes of backbone order in proteins: 2H NMR relaxation study of deuterated carbon alpha sites

(2)H spin relaxation NMR experiments to study the dynamics of deuterated backbone alpha-positions, D(alpha), are developed. To date, solution-state (2)H relaxation measurements in proteins have been confined to side-chain deuterons-primarily (13)CH(2)D or (13)CHD(2) methyl groups. It is shown that quantification of (2)H relaxation rates at D(alpha) backbone positions and the derivation of associated order parameters of C(alpha)-D(alpha) bond vector motions in small [U-(15)N,(13)C,(2)H]-labeled proteins is feasible with reasonable accuracy. The utility of the developed methodology is demonstrated on a pair of proteins-ubiquitin (8.5 kDa) at 10, 27, and 40 degrees C, and a variant of GB1 (6.5 kDa) at 22 degrees C. In both proteins, the D(alpha)-derived parameters of the global rotational diffusion tensor are in good agreement with those obtained from (15)N relaxation rates. Semiquantitative solution-state NMR measurements yield an average value of the quadrupolar coupling constant, QCC, for D(alpha) sites in proteins equal to 174 kHz. Using a uniform value of QCC for all D(alpha) sites, we show that C(alpha)-D(alpha) bond vectors are motionally distinct from the backbone amide N-H bond vectors, with (2)H-derived squared order parameters of C(alpha)-D(alpha) bond vector motions, S(2)(CalphaDalpha), on average slightly higher than their N-H amides counterparts, S(2)(NH). For ubiquitin, the (2)H-derived backbone mobility compares well with that found in a 1-mus molecular dynamics simulation.

Relaxation rates of degenerate 1H transitions in methyl groups of proteins as reporters of side-chain dynamics

Experiments for quantifying the amplitudes of motion of methyl-containing side chains are presented that exploit the rich network of cross-correlated spin relaxation interactions between intra-methyl dipoles in highly deuterated, selectively 13CH2D- or 13CH3-labeled proteins. In particular, the experiments measure spin relaxation rates of degenerate 1H transitions in methyl groups that, for high-molecular-weight proteins, are very simply related to methyl three-fold symmetry axis order parameters. The methodology presented is applied to studies of dynamics in a pair of systems, including the 7.5-kDa protein L and the 82-kDa enzyme malate synthase G. Good agreement between 1H- and 2H-derived measures of side-chain order are obtained on highly deuterated proteins with correlation times exceeding approximately 10 ns (correlation coefficients greater than 0.95). Although 2H- and 13C-derived measures of side-chain dynamics are still preferred, the present work underscores the potential of using 1H relaxation for semiquantitative estimates of methyl side-chain flexibility, while the high level of consistency between the different spin probes of motion establishes the reliability of the dynamics parameters.