Measurement of Cross Correlation between Dipolar Coupling and Chemical Shift Anisotropy in the Spin Relaxation ofC,N-Labeled Proteins

We present a simple method for extracting interference effects between chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) and dipolar coupling from spin relaxation measurements in macromolecules, and we apply this method to extracting cross-correlation rates involving interference of amide¹⁵N CSA and¹⁵N–¹H dipolar coupling and interference of carbonyl¹³C′ CSA and¹⁵N–¹³C′ dipolar coupling, in a small protein. A theoretical basis for the interpretation of these rates is presented. While it proves difficult to quantitatively separate the structural and dynamic contributions to these cross-correlation rates in the presence of anisotropic overall tumbling and a nonaxially symmetric chemical shift tensor, some useful qualitative correlations of data with protein structure can be seen when simplifying assumptions are made.