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The complex between calmodulin and the calmodulin-binding portion of smMLCKp has been studied. Electrostatic interactions have been anticipated to be important in this system where a strongly negative protein binds a peptide with high positive charge. Electrostatic interactions were probed by varying the pH in the range from 4 to 11 and by charge deletions in CaM and smMLCKp. The change in net charge of CaM from approximately -5 at pH 4.5 to -15 at pH 7.5 leaves the binding constant virtually unchanged. The affinity was also unaffected by mutations in CaM and charge substitutions in the peptide. The insensitivity of the binding constant to pH may seem surprising, but it is a consequence of the high charge on both protein and peptide. At low pH it is further attenuated by a charge regulation mechanism. That is, the protein releases a number of protons when binding the positively charged peptide. We speculate that the role of electrostatic interactions is to discriminate against unbound proteins rather than to increase the affinity for any particular target protein.

The ionization state of seven glutamate residues, one aspartate, and the C-terminal alpha-COOH group in bovine apo calbindin D(9k) has been studied by measurement and modeling of the pH titration curves and apparent pK(a) values. The observed pK(a) ranged from 3.0 to 6.5. Most of the observed acidic groups were half-ionized at lower pH values than those in unstructured proteins. As a rule, the ionization equilibria extended over a wider pH range than in the case of unperturbed single titrations, indicating a complex influence of protein charges on the charge state of each individual residue. Glu17, which is a backbone Ca(2+)-ligand in the N-terminal binding loop of calbindin D(9k), was half-protonated at pH 3.6 but manifested biphasic titration with apparent pK(a) values of 3.2 and 6.5. Complementary Monte Carlo simulations of the titration process and pK(a) values of the acidic groups in calbindin D(9k) reproduce the experimentally observed titration features, except for the pronounced double titration of Glu17. Discrepancies between the results from direct measurement and from modeling may be partly caused by changes in the protein structure when the net charge changes from -8 to +11 over the isoelectric point at pH 5. Proteins 1999;37:106-115.

Biological functions for a large class of calmodulin-related proteins, such as target protein activation and Ca(2+) buffering, are based on fine-tuned binding and release of Ca(2+) ions by pairs of coupled EF-hand metal binding sites. These are abundantly filled with acidic residues of so far unknown ionization characteristics, but assumed to be essential for protein function in their ionized forms. Here we describe the measurement and modeling of pK(a) values for all aspartic and glutamic acid residues in apo calbindin D(9k), a representative of calmodulin-related proteins. We point out that while all the acidic residues are ionized predominantly at neutral pH, the onset of proton uptake by Ca(2+) ligands with high pK(a) under these conditions may have functional implications. We also show that the negative electrostatic potential is focused at the bidental Ca(2+) ligand of each site, and that the potential is significantly more negative at the N-terminal binding site.

Calcium binding constants of wild-type calbindin D9k and mutant forms with one, two, and three neutralized negative charges in the vicinity of the Ca2+ binding sites are determined at varying KCl concentrations from 2 mM to 1 M. The results indicate that the added salt does not cause significant structural changes in calbindin D9k and, along with site-directed mutagenesis, can be used as a well-controlled means for modulating electrostatic interactions. The lack of structural changes at high salt concentrations is also supported by two-dimensional 1H NMR data. High salt concentrations are observed to substantially reduce the cooperativity of calcium binding to calbindin D9k. This suggests that the cooperativity is strongly dependent on electrostatic interactions. The data have been used to test a dielectric continuum model for protein electrostatics using a macroscopic dielectric constant of water throughout the system. Excellent agreement between experiment and Monte Carlo simulations is observed for the whole set of data covering changes in the binding constant of more than 6 orders of magnitude. A simplified theoretical treatment using the Kirkwood-Tanford formula, based on the Debye-Hückel approximation, yields an almost equally good agreement with the experiment.

The Michaelis-Menten parameters k,,,, Ks(app) and the second-order rate constants kll = kz/K, of acetylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of 25 acetic esters with non-ionic leaving groups have been determined at 25 "C and pH 7.5 in 0.1 5 M KCI. A linear relationship between the substrate noncovalent binding capacity and the leaving group hydrophobicity, and a multiparameter correlation of the acetylation reaction rate constant logarithm with the leaving group inductive effect, hydrophobicity, and steric effect, have been established. The acetyl-enzyme deacetylation rate constant has been calculated. Taken together, a fairly complete understanding of acetylcholinesterase specificity is possible.The data are consistent with a model of the acetylcholinesterase active site, in which the catalytically active groups are located at the bottom of a jaws-like slit with a limited range of hydrophobic walls that provide the sorption of the substrate leaving groups not longer than that in n-butyl acetate.Acetylcholinesterase has been shown to hydrolyse, in addition to its specific substrate acetylcholine, many other acetic esters [l]. This provides a prospect for extensive study of the influence of substrate leaving group structure on the effectiveness of acetylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis. A conclusion that both the substituent inductive effect and hydrophobicity are important in acetylcholinesterase reactions, can be drawn from the results of previous studies [2-121. In this paper we are concerned with quantitative evaluation of these influences in the reaction series CH3C-(O)OX, where the group X includes hydrocarbon chains and various non-ionic electronegative substituents (see Table 1).Up to now the analysis of enzyme kinetics data by means of correlation equations has been carried out mainly on chymotrypsin-catalyzed reactions [13 -161. In accordance with the three-step reaction scheme(2) (3) the structure-activity relationship for the non-covalent binding step (3) has been given by the equation where K, = k-l/kl, while E is enzyme, S substrate, ES the enzyme-substrate complex, EA the acyl-enzyme, PI and P2 the first and second products. For the acylation reaction (2), as well as for the deacylation (3), the multiparameter correlation equation log k2 = log k2" + @* O* + van + 6 E, ( 5 ) can be applied. The parameters e*, q and 6 in the equations are the intensity factors of the inductive effect, hydrophobicity and steric effect, respectively. The constants cr* and E, have their usual meanings as in physical organic chemistry [17]. The hydrophobicity constants n have been introduced by Hansch [18,19].Under the conditions where the product and substrate inhibition phenomena could be left out of consideration, the reaction sequence (1 -3) would be applicable to the acetylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of esters [20]. According to the reaction scheme the meaning of the constants kcat and Ks(app) (K, = K, if k2 < k-l) in the Michaelis-Menten equation depends on the values of the ratio kz/kj as follows : (7)

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