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A C McLaughlin

Publications and source records attributed to A C McLaughlin.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Phosphorus-31 and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance studies of divalent cation binding to phosphatidylserine membranes: use of cobalt as a paramagnetic probe.

The paramagnetic divalent cation cobalt has large and well-understood effects on NMR signals from ligands bound in the first coordination sphere, i.e., inner-sphere ligands, and we have used these effects to identify divalent cation binding sites at the surface of phosphatidylserine membranes. 31P NMR results show that 13% of the bound cobalt ions are involved in inner-sphere complexes with the phosphodiester group, while 13C NMR results show that 54% of the bound cobalt ions are involved in unidentate inner sphere complexes with the carboxyl group. No evidence is found for cobalt binding to the carbonyl groups, but proton release studies suggest that 32% of the bound cobalt ions are involved in chelate complexes that contain both the carboxyl and the amine groups. All (i.e., 13% + 54% + 32% = 99%) of the bound cobalt ions can thus be accounted for in terms of inner sphere complexes with the phosphodiester group or the carboxyl group. We suggest that the unidentate inner-sphere complex between cobalt and the carboxyl group of phosphatidylserine and the inner-sphere complex between cobalt and the phosphodiester group of phosphatidylserine provide reasonable models for complexes between alkaline earth cations and phosphatidylserine membranes.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

The kinetics of ionophore X-537A-mediated transport of manganese through dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles. A 1H-NMR study.

We have studied the kinetics of ionophore X-537A-mediated transport of manganese ions into small unilamellar vesicles formed from dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine. To follow the transport we used the paramagnetic effect of manganese on the 1H-NMR signal from choline trimethylammonium groups on the inner phospholipid monolayer. The transport of only one manganese ion produces an intravesicular concentration which is high enough (approx. 1 mM) to substantially broaden this signal. The observed signal thus arises predominantly from those vesicles which contain no manganese. Therefore, as manganese is transported into the vesicles the observed signal decreases in intensity, but does not broaden. The initial time-dependence of the intensity of the signal, S(t), can be approximated by the simple first-order rate law: S(t) = S(0) exp(-k't), where k' is the probability per unit time for the transport of a manganese ion from the external medium to the intravesicular space. From the dependence of k' on the ionophore X-537A concentration we conclude that manganese is transported into the vesicles via both 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 complexes with ionophore X-537A. At low ratios of ionophore X-537A to vesicles transport via the 1 : 1 complex predominates; at high ratios transport via the 2 : 1 complex predominates. From the dependence of k' on manganese concentration we determined that under our conditions the equilibration of ionophore X-537A between vesicles is much faster than the transport of manganese through the vesicles. Lastly, from the dependence of k' on temperature, we conclude that the ionophore X-537A-mediated transport of manganese into the dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles is very sensitive to the gel-liquid crystalline phase transition.

Kinetics↗
PubMed1981

The location and nature of calcium-binding sites in salivary acidic proline-rich phosphoproteins.

The location of the calcium-binding sites in the human acidic proline-rich proteins, salivary proteins A and C, were determined by equilibrium dialysis of the tryptic peptides with buffers containing 45Ca. All the calcium-binding sites are located in the NH2-terminal tryptic peptide (TX peptide). The nature of the calcium binding sites in the TX peptide and native salivary proteins A and C, as well as dephosphorylated proteins were compared. Two types of sites can be distinguished in peptide TX. Type I sites have an apparent dissociation constant (K) of 38 microM and are responsible for the binding of 2.6 mol of Ca/mol of peptide. The corresponding figures for Type II sites are 780 microM and 5.3 mol of Ca/mol of peptide. In the native proteins, the amount of calcium bound at the type II sites decreases to 3.9 mol of Ca/mol of proteins A and C and K increases to 1100 microM. The amount of calcium bound at type I sites decreases to 1.5 mol/mol of protein A and 0.6 mol/mol of protein C, but there is no change in K. Dephosphorylation affects the calcium binding at both types of sites. The experiments indicate that the COOH-terminal parts of the native proteins affect the number and the nature of the protein calcium-binding sites. Proton and phosphorous NMR data demonstrate that beta-COOH in aspartic acid, as well as phosphoserine, are part of the calcium-binding sites. The difference in calcium binding to salivary proteins A and C may be due at least partially to differences in the environment of one or more aspartic acids.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1981

31P-NMR studies of oriented multilayers formed from isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum and reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum.

31P-NMR spectra were obtained from oriented multilayer preparations of normal sarcoplasmic reticulum and reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum with lipid to protein ratios varying between 41 : 1 and 110 : 1. The dependence of the 31P-NMr spectra on the alignment of the membranes with respect to the magnetic field was used to draw two conclusions about the motion of the phospholipid molecules that contribute to the observed spectra. First, the phosphate group and the two adjacent methylene groups are able to rapidly rotate (i.e., tau R much less than 10-5 S) around the normal to the plane of the membrane. Second, the restricted internal motion of the phosphate group and the glycerol CH2OP group is very similar to that found in liposomes formed from sarcoplasmic reticulum phospholipids. Calibration experiments showed that all (100 +/- 7%) of the phospholipid molecules in the membrane can be accounted for in the observed spectra. Thus, essentially all the phospholipid molecules in the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes have the same motion in the polar headgroup region as found in model bilayer membranes. Since a large fraction of the phospholipid molecules (between one-quarter and one-half, depending on ;the lipid to protein ratio) are immediately surrounding the calcium-pump protein, we conclude that the calcium-pump protein does not perturb the motion of these 'boundary-layer' lipids.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Use of 13C NMR for investigation of ethanol metabolism in perfused liver.

Time courses of 13C labels from alanine or lactate and ethanol in perfused mouse livers have been followed by NMR. The enrichment at specific carbons of glucose, glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, acetate, acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and lactate has been measured. The specific labeling of glutamate in the presence of labelled alanine and labeled or unlabeled ethanol shows that under these conditions alanine enters the tricarboxylic cycle almost exclusively through pyruvate carboxylation, whereas ethanol is the exclusive source of acetyl-CoA. By comparing the randomization of 13C between C3 and C2 of glutamate it is possible to estimate the mitochondrial fumarase activity; the C6-to-C5 ratios in glucose give the additional scrambling by cytosolic fumarase exchange. These two ratios provide the basis for a continuous study of the activity of the malate-aspartate cycle during the metabolism of ethanol.

Alanine↗
PubMed1979

Effects of ethanol on alanine metabolism in perfused mouse liver studied by 13C NMR.

Time courses of 13C labeling from alanine and ethanol in perfused mouse livers have been followed by NMR. The enrichment at specific carbons of glucose, glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, acetate, acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and lactate has been measured. The specific labeling of glutamate in the presence of labeled alanine and labeled or unlabeled ethanol shows that, under these conditions, alanine enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle almost exclusively through pyruvate carboxylation, whereas ethanol is the exclusive source of acetyl-CoA. In the absence of ethanol, the alanine label flows through both paths. By comparing the scrambling of 13C between C3 and C2 of glutamate it is possible to estimate the mitochondrial fumarase activity; the C6-to-C5 ratios in glucose give the additional scrambling by cytosolic fumarase activity. In addition, the C6-to-C1 and C5-to-C2 ratios in glucose show that there is about 15% flux through the pentose cycle. Finally, the C4-to-C2 ratios in glutamine and glutamate are unequal at any time (the glutamine labels reflect the label distribution in glutamate measured 1 hr earlier), providing a method for studying flow through glutamine synthetase in situ.

Alanine↗
PubMed1979

Rapid ATP assays in perfused mouse liver by 31P NMR.

31P NMR was used to continuously monitor ATP and inorganic phosphate levels in perfused mouse liver. Under "optimal" conditions, the time resolution of the technique was approximately 1 min. In the absence of any metabolic perturbations the ATP level remained constant for at least 2 hr and decreased by only approximately 20% in 18 hr. Both ATP and inorganic phosphate levels responded to alterations in the oxygen supply to the liver. The half-time for this response was approximately 1 min, and the response to short periods of hypoxia or ischemia was partially reversible. The addition of insulin caused only a minor decrease in the ATP level but significantly decreased the rate of response of ATP and phosphate levels to hypoxia and ischemia.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1977

Specificity of interactions of hapten side chains with the combining site of the myeloma protein MOPC 315.

The pKa values of the three histidine residues in the Fv fragment (variable region of the heavy and light chains) of the mouse myeloma protein MOPC 315, measured by high resolution n.m.r. (nuclear magnetic resonance), are 5.9, 6.9 and 8.2. The perturbation of the pKa of one of the histidines (pKa 6.9) on the addition of hapten and the narrow linewidth of its proton resonances suggests that it is at the edge of the combining site. References to the model of the Fv fragment [Padlan, Davies, Pecht, Givol & Wright (1976) Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 41, in the press] allows assignment of the three histidine residues, histidine-102H, histidine-97L and histidine-44L. The determination of the pKa of the phosphorus group, by 31P n.m.r., of a homologous series of Dnp- and Tnp- (di- and tri-nitrophenyl) haptens has located a positively charged residue. Molecular-model studies on the conformations of these haptens show that the residue is at the edge of the site. The model suggests that the positively charged residue is either arginine-95L or lysine-52H.

Antibody Specificity↗
PubMed1977

The determination of molecular-motion parameters from proton-relaxation-enhancement measurements in a number of Gd(III) - antibody-fragment complexes. A comparative study.

Longitudinal and transverse proton relaxation rates for water in the hydration spheres of Gd(III) bound to the non-immune rabbit IgG fragments Fc (C-terminal half of heavy-chain dimer), pFc' (C-terminal quarter of heavy-chain dimer) and Fab (N-terminal half of heavy and light chain) have been measured at a number of frequencies and temperatures using pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. For the fragments Fc and pFc', a full computer analysis showed that the results could be fitted by parameters of similar magnitude to those found previously for IgG. In contrast to the results for the other complexes the Fab -Gd(III) complex showed no slow exchange contribution to the relaxation rates. Under these circumstances it was found possible to obtain an accurate value for the hydration number (q) from measurements of the longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates at a chosen frequency such that the product of the nuclear Larmor frequency (omega1) and the correlation time for the dipolar relaxation processes (tauc) was approximately unity. Water-proton relaxation rates were also determined for the complex of Gd(III) with the Fv fragment of the mouse myeloma protein MOPC 315. A computer analysis of the results revealed a slow exchange contribution to the rates and this gave errors in the variable parameters similar to those observed previously for IgG, Fc and pFc'. The conclusions drawn from the different systems are discussed in terms of the present state of application of the proton relaxation enhancement technique in biology.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Difficulties in determining accurate molecular motion parameters from proton relaxation enhancement measurements as illustrated by the immunoglobulin G-Gd(III) system.

Longitudinal and traverse proton magnetic relaxation rates for water in the hydration sphere of Gd(III) bound to non-immune rabbit IgG (immunoglobulin G) have been determined over a wide range of frequencies (4-84 MHz) at constant temperature (19 degrees C) using pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. The rates have also been determined at temperatures between 0 and 40 degrees C for two frequencies (61 and 84 MHz). The rates were fitted to existing theory using a computer least-squares procedure. Further computer analysis was then carried out to determine the sensitivity of the best-fit error to variation in the variable parameters in the theoretical expressions used. These include the water co-ordination number (q) for which it was found large variations could occur (between approximately 2 and 8) for only small changes in the error of best-fit. It was concluded that a slow exchange contribution to the relaxation rates was important in deciding which parameters are poorly determined. A rotational correlation time (tau r) was obtained which suggested there might be considerable internal motion of the Fc region (C-terminal half of heavy-chain dimer) of the IgG molecule. However the possibility of large errors in this value prevented unequivocal conclusions being drawn.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Magnetic resonance study of the three-dimensional structure of creatine kinase-substrate complexes. Implications for substrate specificity and catalytic mechanism.

The paramagnetic effects of the bound manganese ion and of a covalently attached spin label on proton nuclear spin relaxation rates have been used to calculate distances for a structural model of the MnADP and creatine complexed to creatine kinase from rabbit muscle. The nucleotide and guanidino substrates are so aligned on the enzyme that the transferable phosphoryl group on one substrate is in apposition to the acceptor moiety on the second substrate. The divalent metal ion is most probably liganded to the alpha and beta phosphates of the nucleotide substrate, both in the abortive MnADP-creatine-enzyme complex and in the active MnATP-creatine-enzyme complex. The metal ion-formate distance approximately 5 A in the Mn(II)ADP-formate-creatine-enzyme complex and less than 5 A in the Co(II)ADP-formate-creatine-enzyme complex is consistent with the suggestion that the monovalent anion is binding at the site normally occupied by the transferable phosphoryl group, thus producing a complex which mimics the transition state. Although only an upper limit of the distance from Mn(II) to the guanidino substrate could be determined in the presence of formate, it could be concluded that the disposition of the guanidino substrate changes upon addition of formate, since the relative distances of the methyl and methylene group are inverted. The effect of formate and nitrate on increasing the residence time of creatine in the MnADP-creatine-enzyme complex as determined by NMR provides evidence that the complexes observed by NMR are identical with those involved in the catalytic mechanism, since a parallel effect of formate and nitrate is observed in the kinetics of the enzymatic reaction, where the dissociation constant of creatine from the abortive quaternary complex decreases in the presence of the anions as had been determined from their inhibition of the forward reaction (Milner-White, E.J., and Watts, D.C. (1971) Biochem. J. 122, 727-740). Although the guanidino substrate is not directly liganded to the divalent metal ion, the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum of manganese in the transition state analog complexes, i.e. nitrate-ADP-guanidino substrate-enzyme, is strongly dependent on catalytic activity of the guanidino substrate. The structural differences observed by EPR among transition state analog complexes with various guanidino substrates were not reflected in distances from Mn(II) to the guanidino substrate, which were 10% and 0.3% as active as creatine. Within the experimental error of 1 A, the distances were the same. The enzyme or the enzyme-substrate complexes may be considered to exist in a number of structurally distinct conformations in equilibrium based on the EPR spectra and on the anomalous temperature-dependence of the relaxation rates of the formate proton of the transition state analog complexes...

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1976

Interactions of the lanthanide- and hapten-binding sites in the Fv fragment from the myeloma protein MOPC 315.

1. The interactions of lanthanide metals and dinitrophenyl spin-label haptens with the Fv fragment of the mouse myeloma protein MOPC 315 were investigated by the techniques of fluorescence, e.s.r. (electron spin resonance) and high-resolution n.m.r. (nuclear magnetic resonance). 2. The protein fluorescence of Fv fragment at 340nm is quenched by the haptens (fluorescence enhancement, epsilon=0.15) and enhanced by Gd(III) (epsilon=1.14) and other lanthanides. The binding of the haptens studied here is insensitive to pH in the range 5.5-7.0 (dissociation constant KH=0.3-1.0 muM) and shows 1:1 stoicheiometry. The binding of Gd(III) also shows 1:1 stoicheiometry, but is pH-dependent; the binding constant (KM) varies from 10 muM at pH7.0 to 700 muM at pH4.8. La(III) binding is less sensitive to pH. The pH-dependences of the metal-binding constants imply that a group in the protein with pKa greater than or equal to 6.2 is involved in the binding, and probably also other groups with lower pKa values. 3. The apparent binding of the haptens is weakened about 20-fold by Gd(III), and vice versa. An equilibrium scheme involving a ternary complex with an interaction between the two binding sites is derived in Appendix I to explain the experimental results at two pH values. 4. Time-dependent fluorescence changes are observed in the presence of Gd(III) at pH5.5. A two-state kinetic scheme involving a 'slow' conformational change in the Fv fragment is derived in Appendix II to explain this time-dependence. This scheme is consistent with the antagonistic equilibrium behaviour. 5. The e.s.r. changes in the spin-label haptens on binding to Fv fragment and on the subsequent addition of lanthanides are consistent with the binding scheme for haptens and lanthanides proposed from the fluorescence studies. A difference between the limiting quenching of the e.s.r. signal from the bound haptens in the presence of saturating concentrations of Gd(III) and La(III) is attributed to dipolar interactions between bound Gd(III) and the nitroxide moiety of the bound hapten. The residual quenching with Gd(III) allows an estimate of 1.2nm to be made for the distance between the two paramagnetic centres. 6. The 270 MHz proton difference spectrum of the Fv fragment resulting from the addition of La(III) suggests that any metal-induced conformational changes are small and involve relatively few amino acid residues on the Fv fragment...

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Antibody--hapten interactions in solution.

This paper reports the initial progress in a research programme to identify and obtain the relative orientations, in solution, of the amino acid residues that constitute the combining site of the myeloma protein MOPC 315. This protein has a molecular mass of 150,000, but enzymic digestion yields the Fv fragment of molecular mass 25,000 which still has the combining site intact, as judged by the affinity for dinitrophenyl haptens. Analysis of the e.s.r. spectra of a series of dinitrophenyl spin labelled haptens has allowed the dimensions, rigidity and polarity profile of the combining site to be determined. The combining site is a cleft of overall dimensions 1.1 nm x 0.9 nm x 0.6 nm which has considerable structural rigidity. One of these spin labels has also been used to perturb the n.m.r. spectrum of the Fv and using difference spectroscopy the 270 MHz proton n.m.r. spectrum of the amino acid residues in and around the combining site has been obtained. This spectrum contains only the equivalent of about 30 aromatic and 21 aliphatic protons. Comparison of this difference spectrum with that obtained using a diamagnetic analogue suggests that any conformational changes on hapten binding are mainly localized to the combining site. By the use of (n.m.r.) difference spectroscopy the protons of the three histidine residues in the Fv are observed to titrate with pH and have pKa values of about 8.1, 6.9 and 6.1. The histidine resonances with pKa values 6.9 and 6.1 alter slightly in the presence of haptens and also appear in the spin label difference spectrum, and must therefore be in or near to the combining site. These are assigned to His 102H and His 97L. The existence of lanthanide binding sites on the Fv, necessary for the mapping studies, has been demonstrated by measurements of Gd III water relaxation rates in Fv solutions and also by the changes in the Fv tryptophan fluorescence on addition of Gd III. At pH 5.5 there is one tight binding site for the lanthanides (KD approximately 80 muM) but in the presence of hapten this is weakened 10-20 fold with a reciprocal effect on the hapten binding. Measurements of the Gd III quenching of the e.s.r. spectrum of a spin labelled hapten bound to Fv indicate that the lanthanide site is ca. 1.5 nm from the nitroxide moiety.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1975

The binding of lanthanides to non-immune rabbit immunoglobulin G and its fragments.

The binding of Gd(III) to rabbit IgG (immunoglobulin G) and the Fab (N-terminal half of heavy and light chain), (Bab')2 (N-terminal half of heavy and light chains joined by inter-chain disulphide bond), Fc (C-terminal half of heavy-chain dimer)and pFc' (C-terminal quarter of heavy-chain dimer) fragments was demonstrated by measurements of the enhancement of the solvent-water proton relaxation rates in the appropriate Gd(III) solutions. At pH 5.5 there are six specific Gd(III)-binding sites on the IgG. These six sites can be divided into two classes; two very 'tight' sites on the Fc fragment (Kd approx. 5 muM) and two weaker sites on each Fab region (Kd approx. 140 muM). Ca(II) does not apparently compete for these metal-binding sites. The metal-binding parameters for IgG can be explained as the sum of the metal binding to the isolated Fab and Fc fragments, suggesting that there is no apparent interaction between the Fab and Fc regions in the IgG molecule. The binding of Gd(III) to Fab and Fc fragments was also monitored by measuring changes in the electron-spin-resonance spectrum of Gd(III) in the presence of each fragment and also by monitoring the effects of Gd(III) on the protein fluorescence at 340 nm (excitation 295 nm). The fluorescence of Tb(III) solutions of 545 nm (excitation 295 nm) is enhanced slightly on addition of Fab or Fc.

Animals↗