Characterization of fluorescence of ANS-tear lipocalin complex: evidence for multiple-binding modes

ANS is widely used as a probe for locating binding sites of proteins and studying structural changes under various external conditions. However, the nature of ANS-binding sites in proteins and the accompanying changes in fluorescence properties are controversial. We examined the steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence of the ANS-protein complexes for tear lipocalin (TL) and its mutants in order to discern the origin of lifetime components via analysis that included the multiexponential decay and the model-free maximum entropy methods. Fluorescence lifetimes of ANS-TL complexes can be grouped into two species, 14.01-17.42 ns and 2.72-4.37 ns. The log-normal analyses of fluorescence spectral shapes reveal the heterogeneous nature of both long- and short-lifetime species. The constructed time-resolved emission, amplitude (TRES) and area normalized (TRANES), and decay-associated spectra are consistent with a model that includes heterogeneous modes of ANS binding with two separate lifetime components. The two lifetime components are not derived from solvent relaxation, but rather may represent different binding modes.     

Global and target analysis of time-resolved fluorescence spectra of Di-9H-fluoren-9-yldimethylsilane: dynamics and energetics for intramolecular excimer formation

Dynamics and energetics for intramolecular excimer formation of a diarylsilane, di-9H-fluoren-9-yldimethylsilane (DFYDMS) have been investigated by means of ps time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and ab initio calculation. Multiple fluorescence decay curves were globally deconvolved to generate time-resolved fluorescence spectra and decay-associated spectra (DAS), from which species-associated spectra (SAS) were obtained. It is shown in the global analysis that there are at least three excited states: Two states are the locally excited (LE) states (lambda(max) approximately 320 nm) having lifetimes of 0.70 +/- 0.04 and 1.75 +/- 0.02 ns, and another is the excimer state (lambda(max) approximately 400 nm) having a lifetime of 7.34 +/- 0.02 ns. The species which decays with 0.70 ns evolves into a species with a red-shifted spectrum, which in turn decays in 7.34 ns. The experimental and ab initio results indicate that the rise time of 0.70 ns corresponds to the conversion of the initial S(1) LE state having a near sandwich geometry to the S(1) excimer state adopting a true sandwich geometry.     

Dependence of tryptophan emission wavelength on conformation in cyclic hexapeptides

The wavelength of maximum emission of tryptophan depends on the local electrostatic environment of the indole chromophore. The time-resolved emission spectra of seven rigid cyclic hexapeptides containing a single tryptophan residue were measured. The emission maxima of the three decay-associated spectra for the seven peptides ranged from 341 to 359 nm, suggesting that different tryptophan rotamers have different emission maxima even in the case of solvent-exposed tryptophans. This conclusion is supported by quantum mechanical/molecular dynamics simulations of the six canonical side chain rotamers of tryptophan in solvated hexapeptides. The calculated range of emission maxima for the tryptophan rotamers of the seven peptides is 344-365 nm. The precision of the wavelength calculations and the peptide, water, and charged side chain contributions to the spectral shifts are examined. The results indicate that the emission maxima of decay-associated spectra can aid in the assignment of fluorescence lifetimes to tryptophan rotamers.     

Fluorescence quenching and time-resolved fluorescence studies on Trichosanthes dioica seed lectin

Fluorescence quenching and time-resolved fluorescence studies have been carried out on the Trichosanthes dioica seed lectin (TDSL). The emission lambdamax of native TDSL, seen at 328nm, shifts to 343nm upon denaturation with 6M guanidinium chloride. Quenching titrations were performed with neutral (acrylamide and succinimide) and ionic (I(-) and Cs(+)) quenchers in order to probe the exposure and accessibility of tryptophan residues of the protein. Maximum quenching was observed with acrylamide, followed by succinimide, iodide and Cs(+). Dramatic increase in the extent of quenching and other quenching parameters by all the quenchers were observed upon denaturation of TDSL, suggesting that all the tryptophan residues in native TDSL are buried in the hydrophobic core of the protein. Increase in the extent of quenching upon denaturation of TDSL was maximum with I(-) and minimum with Cs(+), suggesting the presence of positively charged residue(s), near at least one tryptophan residue. Addition of saccharide ligands such as methyl-beta-d-galactopyranoside and lactose led to a small, but reproducible decrease in the fluorescence intensity of the lectin. The presence of lactose provided a partial protection against quenching by I(-), Cs(+) and succinimide, but not acrylamide. In time-resolved fluorescence measurements the fluorescence decay curves could be best fitted to biexponential patterns with lifetimes of 4.09 and 1.53ns for native lectin, 3.40 and 1.65ns for the lectin in presence of 0.1M lactose and 3.50 and 1.40ns for denatured lectin.     

Hexamerization of the bacteriophage T4 capsid protein gp23 and its W13V mutant studied by time-resolved tryptophan fluorescence

The bacteriophage T4 capsid protein gp23 was studied using time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence of the intrinsic protein fluorophore tryptophan. In-vitro gp23 consists mostly of monomers at low temperature but forms hexamers at room temperature. To extend our knowledge of the structure and hexamerization characteristics of gp23, the temperature-dependent fluorescence properties of a tryptophan mutant (W13V) were compared to those of wild-type gp23. The W13V mutation is located in the N-terminal part of the protein, which is cleaved off after prohead formation in the live bacteriophage. Results show that W13 plays a role in the hexamerization process but is not needed to stabilize the hexamer once it is formed. Furthermore, besides the monomer-to-hexamer temperature transition (15-23 degrees C and 12-43 degrees C for wild-type and W13V gp23, respectively), we were able to observe denaturation of the N-terminus in hexameric wild-type gp23 around 40 degrees C. In addition, with the aid of a recently published homology model of gp23, the lifetimes obtained from time-resolved fluorescence measurements could tentatively be assigned to specific tryptophan residues.     

基于时间分辨方法的LicT蛋白荧光动力学特性

使用时间分辨荧光方法,结合紫外吸收光谱和稳态荧光光谱技术,测量了LicT蛋白中色氨酸残基的荧光动力学特性,进而对LicT蛋白质激活前后的局部微环境和结构变化进行了研究。LicT蛋白质的激活态使得有关糖类利用的基因转录过程继续进行,促进机体新陈代谢。通过色氨酸残基的荧光发射和寿命的差异判断出激活型蛋白AC 141和野生型蛋白Q 22不同的结构性质和微环境差异。在此基础上,通过衰减相关光谱(DAS)和时间分辨发射光谱(TRES)阐释了两种蛋白色氨酸残基和溶剂的相互作用,说明了激活型AC 141的比野生型Q 22的结构更加紧密。此外,TRES还说明了蛋白中的色氨酸残基存在连续光谱弛豫过程。各向异性结果则对残基和整个蛋白的构象运动进行了阐述,说明了色氨酸残基在蛋白质体系内有独立的局部运动,且在激活型蛋白中该运动更加强烈。     

GLOBAL ANALYSIS OF THE TIME-RESOL VED FLUORESCENCE OF α-CHYMOTRYPSINOGEN A AND α-CHYMOTRYPSIN POWDERS AS A FUNCTION OF HYDRATION

The time-resolved tryptophyl fluorescence of alpha-chymotrypsin A and alpha-chymotrypsin in the crystalline state and in buffer solution at room temperature was analyzed globally. Triple-exponential decay functions are necessary to adequately describe the tryptophyl fluorescence decay surfaces of the protein powders as a function of hydration and in solution. The fluorescence lifetimes of alpha-chymotrypsinogen A (tau 1 = 0.32, tau 2 = 1.30 ns, tau 3 = 3.98 ns) and alpha-chymotrypsin(tau 1 = 0.66 n s, tau 2 = 2.26 ns, tau 3 = 5.40 ns) are constant over the entire hydration range. The spectral positions of the decay-associated spectra of the hydrated powders do not shift as a function of hydration. This indicates that the structures of the zymogen and the active enzyme are unaffected by hydration. The lifetimes of alpha-chymotrypsinogen A in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 are tau 1 = 0.37 ns, tau 2 = 1.17 ns and tau 3 = 3.44 ns while the respective values of alpha-chymotrypsin are tau 1 = 0.47 ns, tau 2 = 1.40 and tau 1 = 3.89 ns.     

Multivariate analysis of emission decay matrices for distinguishing ground state heterogeneity and excited state reactions of tryptophan

The amino acid tryptophan displays emission solvatochromism, an emission maximum that shifts with solvent polarity, which is often used in protein studies to indicate local environment hydrophobicity. Use of tryptophan solvatochromism in time-resolved protein studies has traditionally been complicated due to the undescribed photokinetics that result in a characteristic multiexponential emission decay. For the first time, by application of the photokinetic matrix decomposition (PMD) multivariate curve resolution method to time-resolved emission decay (TRED) data, a distinguishment between ground state heterogeneous (GSH) and excited state reaction (ESR) type photokinetics of tryptophan in solution is made possible. It is found that molecular tryptophan displays two emission spectra that decay independently, suggesting GSH type photokinetics, one at 347 nm with a lifetime of 0.5 ns and one at 363 nm with a lifetime of 3.1 ns. When tryptophan is incorporated into a peptide, mastoparan X, the data similarly contain two emission spectra that decay independently, but are shifted in wavelength. Photobleaching experiments confirm that the PMD method is sensitive to tryptophan emission quenching, and therefore may be applied to determine the photokinetics of tryptophan that occur in proteins. Future applications of PMD analysis of tryptophan TRED data as a bioanalytical tool for further characterizing dynamic protein processes are discussed.     

Fluorescence quenching, time-resolved fluorescence and chemical modification studies on the tryptophan residues of snake gourd (Trichosanthes anguina) seed lectin

Fluorescence quenching and time-resolved fluorescence studies have been performed on the galactose-specific lectin purified from snake gourd (Trichosanthes anguina) seeds, in order to investigate the tryptophan accessibility and environment in the native protein and in the presence of bound ligand. Estimation of the tryptophan content by N-bromosuccinimide modification in the presence of 8 M urea yields four residues per dimeric molecule. The emission spectrum of native lectin in the absence as well as in the presence of 50 mM methyl--d-galatopyranoside (MeGal) shows a maximum around 331 nm, which shifts to 361.8 nm upon reduction of the disulfide bonds and denaturation with 8 M urea, indicating that all four tryptophan residues in the native state of this protein are in a hydrophobic environment. The extent of quenching that is observed is highest with acrylamide, intermediate with succinimide, and low with Cs⁺ and I⁻, further supporting the idea that the tryptophan residues are predominantly buried in the hydrophobic core of the protein. The presence of MeGal (50 mM) affects the quenching only marginally. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements yield bi-exponential decay curves with lifetimes of 1.45 and 4.99 ns in the absence of sugar, and 1.36 and 4.8 ns in its presence. These results suggest that the tryptophan residues are not directly involved in the saccharide binding activity of the T. anguina lectin. Of the four quenchers employed in this study, the cationic quencher, Cs⁺, is found to be a very sensitive probe for the tryptophan environment of this lectin and may be useful in investigating the environment of partially buried tryptophan residues and unfolding processes in other proteins as well.     

Fluorescence Study of the Conformational Properties of Recombinant Tick Anticoagulant Peptide (Ornithodorus moubata) Using Multifrequency Phase Fluorometry

Abstract— Steady-state and multifrequency phase fluorometry were used to characterize the conformational state and conformational dynamics of recombinant tick anticoagulant peptide ( Ornithodorus moubata ) (TAP). The TAP contains two tryptophan residues at positions 11 and 37. The fluorescence emission varies sigmoidally as a function of pH with a pK_a of 6.01 ± 0.07. This pH dependency suggests that tryptophan fluorescence is quenched by His43 at low pH. This is confirmed by modification of the his-tidine with diethylpyrocarbonate. At pH 9 the fluorescence decay is well described by a sum of three exponentials (0.52,1.9 and 5.4 ns), which decrease all three at pH 4 (0.25, 1.61 and 4.4 ns). From the reactivity of the fluorescence lifetimes toward N -bromosuccinimide and from the calculation of the accessibility we can attribute the long lifetime to Trpll, the short one to Trp37 and the middle one to both. The anisotropy decay was resolved into two components of 3.85 ns and 0.27 ns at pH 4 and 4.5 ns and 0.6 ns at pH 9. The long anisotropy decay time corresponds to the rotational correlation time of the protein, the short one to local mobility of the tryptophan residues.     

Binding of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate to lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase studied by fluorescence techniques

The solvatochromic fluorescent probe 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) has been used to study the hydrophobicity and conformational dynamics of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). The ANS to LCAT binding constant was estimated from titrations with ANS, keeping a constant concentration of LCAT (2 microM). Apparent binding constant was found to be dependent on the excitation. For the direct excitation of ANS at 375 nm the binding constant was 4.7 microM(-1) and for UV excitation at 295 nm was 3.2 microM(-1). In the later case, not only ANS but also tryptophan (Trp) residues of LCAT is being excited. Fluorescence spectra and intensity decays show an efficient energy transfer from tryptophan residues to ANS. The apparent distance from Trp donor to ANS acceptor, estimated from the changes in donor lifetime was about 3 nm and depends on the ANS concentration. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence emission and anisotropies have been characterized. The lifetime of ANS bound to LCAT was above 16 ns which is characteristic for it being in a hydrophobic environment. The ANS labeled LCAT fluorescence anisotropy decay revealed the correlation time of 42 ns with a weak residual motion of 2.8 ns. These characteristics of ANS labeled LCAT fluorescence show that ANS is an excellent probe to study conformational changes of LCAT protein and its interactions with other macromolecules.     

FLUORESCENCE OF TRYPTOPHAN IN KERATIN

The excitation and emission spectra have been determined for the fluorescence from trypto-phan residues in dry keratin. The fluorescence decay was also measured and shown to be a single exponential with a rather long lifetime of 6.9 ns. It is suggested that the emission takes place from a state formed by interaction between the ¹L_a state of the tryptophan residues and neighbouring polar or polarizable groups in the protein. The fluorescence excitation spectrum displays a peak at 290 nm, and its appearance at this position rather than at 280 nm, which is the absorption maximum of tryptophan, is believed to arise from inner filtering by the tyrosine residues in keratin.     

Ultrafast fluorescence dynamics of tryptophan in the proteins monellin and IIAGlc

The complete time-resolved fluorescence of tryptophan in the proteins monellin and IIA(Glc) has been investigated, using both an upconversion spectrophotofluorometer with 150 fs time resolution and a time-correlated single photon counting apparatus on the 100 ps to 20 ns time scale. In monellin, the fluorescence decay displays multiexponential character with decay times of 1.2 and 16 ps, and 0.6, 2.2, and 4.2 ns. In contrast, IIA(Glc) exhibited no component between 1.2 ps and 0.1 ns. For monellin, surprisingly, the 16 ps fluorescence component was found to have positive amplitude even at longer wavelengths (e.g., 400 nm). In conjunction with quantum mechanical simulation of tryptophan in monellin, the experimental decay associated spectra (DAS) and time-resolved emission spectra (TRES) indicate that this fluorescence decay time should be ascribed to a highly quenched conformer. Recent models (Peon, J.; et al. Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2002, 99, 10964) invoked exchange-coupled relaxation of protein water to explain the fluorescence decay of monellin.     

Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence studies on Trichosanthes cucumerina seed lectin

Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopic studies have been carried out on Trichosanthes cucumerina seed lectin (TCSL). The fluorescence emission maximum of TCSL in the native state as well as in the presence of 0.1 M lactose is centered around 331 nm, which shifts to 347 nm upon denaturation with 8 M urea, indicating that all the tryptophan residues of this protein in the native state are in a predominantly hydrophobic environment. The exposure and accessibility of the tryptophan residues of TCSL and the effect of ligand binding on them were probed by quenching studies employing two neutral quenchers (acrylamide and succinimide), an anionic quencher (I(-)) and a cationic quencher (Cs(+)). Quenching was highest with acrylamide and succinimide with the latter, which is bulkier, yielding slightly lower quenching values, whereas the extent of quenching obtained with the ionic quenchers, I(-) and Cs(+) was significantly lower. The presence of 0.1 M lactose led to a slight increase in the quenching with acrylamide and iodide, whereas quenching with succinimide and cesium ion was not significantly affected. When TCSL was denatured with 8 M urea, both acrylamide and succinimide yielded upward-curving Stern-Volmer plots, indicating that the quenching mechanism involves both dynamic and static components. Quenching data obtained with I(-) and Cs(+) on the urea-denatured protein suggest that charged residues could be present in close proximity to some of the Trp residues. The Stern-Volmer plots with Cs(+) yielded biphasic quenching profiles, indicating that the Trp residues in TCSL fall into at least two groups that differ considerably in their accessibility and/or environment. In time-resolved fluorescence experiments, the decay curves could be best fit to biexponential patterns, with lifetimes of 1.78 and 4.75 ns for the native protein and 2.15 and 5.14 ns in the presence of 0.1 M lactose.     

Fluorescence lifetimes and spectral properties of protochlorophyllide in organic solvents in relation to the respective parameters in vivo

In this work, absorption and fluorescence spectra of protochlorophyllide (Pchlide), as well as its fluorescence lifetime, were investigated in organic solvents having different physical properties. The obtained Pchlide spectral features are discussed in relation to the parameters describing solvent properties (refractive index and dielectric constant) and taking into account the specific solvent-Pchlide interaction. The correlation of Pchlide Qy and Soret absorption bands with solvent polarizability function ((n2 - 1)/(n2 + 2)) has been found; however, the dispersion of the observed points was rather high. A small Stokes shift of a magnitude between 50 and 300 cm(-1) was found, which indicates low sensitivity of Pchlide to nonspecific solvation. The fluorescence decay of Pchlide was single exponential in all the investigated solvents, with the lifetime value ranging from 5.2 ns for dioxane to 3.5 ns for methanol. Dependence of the obtained fluorescence lifetimes on the solvent orientation polarizability, a parameter being the function of both refractive index and dielectric constant, was discussed. In water-methanol mixtures, a further decrease of the fluorescence lifetime was observed, giving values of 2.9 ns for 25% methanol. Double-exponential decay of Pchlide fluorescence was found for Pchlide in a solution of 15% methanol with the lifetimes of 4.5 +/- 0.5 ns and 1.2 +/- 0.3 ns and in pure water with the lifetimes of 2.5 +/- 0.5 ns and 0.4 +/- 0.1 ns. The obtained results are discussed in relation to spectroscopic properties of Pchlide in vivo.     

Fluorescence lifetime distribution of folded and unfolded proteins

Time-resolved fluorescence of single tryptophan proteins have demonstrated the complexity of protein dynamic and protein structure. In particular, for some single tryptophan proteins, their fluorescence decay is best described by a distribution of fluorescence lifetimes rather than one or two lifetimes. Such results have provided further confirmation that the protein system is one which fluctuates between a hierarchy of many conformational substates. With this scenario as a theoretical framework, the correlations between protein dynamic and structure are investigated by studying the time-resolved fluorescence and anisotropy decay of holo and apo human superoxide dismutase (HSOD) at different denaturant concentrations. As a function of guanidine hydrochloride (GdHCl), the width of the fluorescence lifetime distribution of HSOD displays a maximum which is not coincident with the fully denatured form of HSOD at 6.5M GdHCl. Furthermore, the width of the fluorescence lifetime distribution for the fully denatured forms of holo and apo HSOD is greater than that of the native forms.     

Energy migration in novel pH-triggered self-assembled beta-sheet ribbons

Energy migration between tryptophan residues has been experimentally demonstrated in self-assembled peptide tapes. Each peptide contains 11 amino acids with a Trp at position 6. The peptide self-assembly is pH-sensitive and forms amphiphilic tapes, which further stack in ribbons (double tapes) and fibrils in water depending on the concentration. Fluorescence spectra, quenching, and anisotropy experiments showed that when the pH is lowered from 9 to 2, the peptide self-assembly buries the tryptophan in a hydrophobic and restricted environment in the interior of stable ribbons as expected on the basis of the peptide design. These fluorescence data support directly and for the first time the presence of such ribbons which are characterized by a highly packed and stable hydrophobic interior. In common with Trp in many proteins, fluorescence lifetimes are nonexponential, but the average lifetime is shorter at low pH, possibly due to quenching with neighboring Phe residues. Unexpectedly, time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy does not change significantly with self-assembly when in water. In highly viscous sucrose-water mixtures, the anisotropy decay at low pH was largely unchanged compared to that in water, whereas at high pH, the anisotropy decay increased significantly. We concluded that depolarization at low pH was not due to rotational diffusion but mainly due to energy migration between adjacent tryptophan residues. This was supported by a master equation kinetic model of Trp-Trp energy migration, which showed that the simulated and experimental results are in good agreement, although on average only three Trp residues were visited before emission.     

FLUORESCENCE LIFETIMES OF OCULAR LENS CHROMOPHORES

Abstract— Fluorescence lifetimes are reported for intact human lenses in vitro. Two spectral regions were investigated: The first was excited at 296nm and detected at 332 or 370nm and corresponds to emission from tryptophan residues in the lens proteins. The second spectral region was excited at 359 nm and detected at 435 nm and corresponds to non-tryptophan 'fluorogen' fluorescence. The latter displayed a constant lifetime, 3.8 ns, independent of the anatomical part of the lens excited. This value was compared with measured lifetimes for some model fluorogens. The tryptophan fluorescence lifetime (332 nm detection) was found to vary from 1.8 to 2.8 ns depending on the anatomical part of the lens excited.     

RESOLUTION OF SPECTRAL AND LIFETIME HETEROGENEITY OF TRYPTOPHAN FLUORESCENCE IN BACTERIORHODOPSIN

Abstract— The picosecond time-resolved fluorescence decay of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) was analyzed by the maximum entropy method. Results showed five distributions of lifetimes indicating at least five decay components. A wavelength-dependent study of emission decay of BR was carried out in the wavelength region from 310 to 390 nm. The decay at each wavelength was resolvable into four decay components by the discrete exponential analysis. The three short lifetime components (100 ± 20 ps, 400 ± 50 ps and 1.0 ± 0.1 ns) were independent of wavelength, whereas the longest lifetime component was wavelength dependent (varying from 4.1 ns at 310 nm to 5.7 ns at 390 nm). These results are inconsistent with the existing model of associating the fluorescence of bacteriorhodopsin with two or four lifetime components. An attempt is made to associate the five decay components with the emitting tryptophans of BR.