Biophysical Journal 72: 363-372 (1997)
© 1997 the Biophysical Society

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Bound ligand motion in crystalline carboxypeptidase A.

Chemistry Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22901, USA.

ABSTRACT

Deuterium NMR spectra for the phenyl ring deuterons have been obtained for D-phenylalanine, L-phenylalanine, phenylacetic acid, and phenyl propionic acid in randomly oriented crystals of carboxypeptidase A as a function of water content. The spectra are analyzed using a two-site jump model for phenyl ring pi-flips when the ligand is bound to the protein, and the model includes the possibility that the ligand may exchange with isotropic or unbound environments within the crystal. Although the binding pocket may impose local dynamical constraints, a complete pi-flip motion is consistent with the spectra of all ligands at all water contents. The rate constants for the pi-flip at 298 K are found to be 7.5 x 10(5) S-1, 1.9 x 10(6) S-1, 4.0 x 10(6) S-1, and 4.0 x 10(6) S-1 for L-phenylalanine, D-phenylalanine, phenyl propionic acid, and phenylacetic acid, respectively, at water activity of 0.98. The pi-flip rate for the ligand bound to the enzyme increases with water content. Assuming that the activation barrier may be written, delta G+2 = delta G+2o + baw, where aw is the water activity, and the value of b is -1.9 kcal/mol for phenylacetic acid and phenyl propionic acid, -1.3 kcal/mol for L-phenylalanine, and -2.1 kcal/mol for D-phenylalanine. Phenylacetic acid crystals were studied as an example of a phenyl ring motion that is highly constrained by a known and symmetrical packing environment. The deuterium spectra are complex and are not consistent with pi-flip motions, but they are consistent with a superposition of ring jump motions of 24 degrees, 34 degrees, and 72 degrees, with probabilities in the ratio of 1:1:2. Because of the limited space for motion imposed by the tight packing in the crystal, these motions must be highly cooperative and probably locally coherent; however, the spectra by themselves do not prove this intuitively reasonable hypothesis.

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