SMS 201-995, a very potent analogue of somatostatin. Assignment of the 1H 500 MHz n.m.r. spectra and conformational analysis in aqueous solution

The conformations of a cyclic analogue of somatostatin, SMS 201-995, have been studied by n.m.r. spectroscopy at 500 MHz in aqueous solution. Assignments were made by use of 2D-correlated methods, especially by detecting long-range connectivities in order to identify the aromic amino-acid and long-range couplings between alpha protons of consecutive residues. Measurements of temperature coefficients of amide protons and of NH-C alpha H coupling constants enabled us to conclude that in water the molecule is rather flexible, with no evidence for a beta turn structure involving Thr6. An equilibrium involving two gamma turn conformations stabilized respectively by Cys2-D-Trp4 and Phe3-Lys5 hydrogen bonds, is responsible for the large upfield shift observed for the Lys5 gamma protons and is compatible with the measured JNH-C alpha H coupling constants.     

Conformation of the glycotripeptide repeating unit of antifreeze glycoprotein of polar fish as determined from the fully assigned proton n.m.r. spectrum

With its simple glycotripeptide repeating structure the antifreeze glycoprotein of polar fish may be an especially simple conformational mode for mucin glycoproteins with similar but more complex structures. The fully assigned proton n.m.r. spectrum confirms the anomeric configurations of the hexapyranosidic sugars of the side chains and the coupling constants of the alpha GalNAc and the beta Gal residues show both to be in the expected 4C1 chair conformation. The assignment of a single resonance for each proton of the (Ala-Thr-Ala)n repeat unit coupled with the observation of long range nuclear Overhauser effects (n.O.e.) implies a three-fold repeating conformation. The resonances of the two alanines are distinct and can be assigned to their correct positions in the peptide sequence by n.O.e. observed at the amide proton resonances on saturation of the alpha proton signals. The amide proton coupling constants of all three peptide residues are similar and imply a limited range of peptide backbone torsion angles, phi CN. The large n.O.e. which has been observed between the amide proton and the alpha proton of the residue preceding it in the sequence implies large positive values for the peptide dihedral angle, psi CC. Limits are placed on possible values of side chain dihedral angles by the observation of the coupling constant between the alpha and beta protons of the threonyl residue. The observation of n.O.e. between the anomeric proton of GalNAc and the threonyl side chain protons gives information on the conformation of the alpha glycosidic linkage between the disaccharide and the peptide. n.O.e. observed between the protons of the beta glycosidic linkage indicates the conformation of the disaccharide and the large amide proton coupling constant of the GalNAc residue shows a trans proton relationship. The spectroscopically derived data have been combined with conformational energy calculations to give a conformational model for antifreeze glycoprotein in which the hydrophobic surfaces of the disaccharide side chains are wrapped closely against a three-fold left handed helical peptide backbone. The hydrophilic sides of the disaccharides are aligned so that they may bind to the ice crystal face, which is perpendicular to the fast growth axis inhibiting normal crystal growth.     

Proton NMR assignments and secondary structure of the snake venom protein echistatin.

The snake venom protein echistatin is a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation. The inhibitory properties of echistatin have been attributed to the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence at residues 24-26. In this paper, sequence-specific nuclear magnetic resonance assignments are presented for the proton resonances of echistatin in water. The single-chain protein contains 49 amino acids and 4 cystine bridges. All of the backbone amide, C alpha H, and side-chain resonances, except for the eta-NH of the arginines, have been assigned. The secondary structure of the protein was characterized from the pattern of nuclear Overhauser enhancements, from the identification of slowly exchanging amide protons, from 3JC alpha H-NH coupling constants, and from circular dichroism studies. The data suggest that the secondary structure consists of a type I beta-turn, a short beta-hairpin, and a short, irregular, antiparallel beta-sheet and that the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence is in a flexible loop connecting two strands of the distorted antiparallel beta-sheet.     

1H NMR studies of plastocyanin from Scenedesmus obliquus: complete sequence-specific assignment, secondary structure analysis, and global fold

Two-dimensional 1H NMR methods have been used to make sequence-specific resonance assignments for the 97 amino acid residues of the plastocyanin from the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus. Assignments were obtained for all backbone protons and the majority of the side-chain protons. Spin system identification relied heavily on the observation of relayed connectivities to the backbone amide proton. Sequence-specific assignments were made by using the sequential assignment procedure. During this process, an extra valine residue was identified that had not been detected in the original amino acid sequence. Elements of regular secondary structure were identified from characteristic NOE connectivities between backbone protons, 3JHN alpha coupling constant values, and the observation of slowly exchanging amide protons. The protein in solution contains eight beta-strands, one short segment of helix, five reverse turns, and five loops. The beta-strands may be arranged into two beta-sheets on the basis of extensive cross-strand NOE connectivities. The chain-folding topology determined from the NMR experiments is that of a Greek key beta-barrel and is similar to that observed for French bean plastocyanin in solution and poplar plastocyanin in the crystalline state. While the overall structures are similar, several differences in local structure between the S. obliquus and higher plant plastocyanins have been identified.     

Synthesis of a docosapeptide comprising the hydrophobic membrane spanning region of glycophorin A

The docosapeptide which constitutes the membrane spanning region (amino acid residues 73-94) of the human red blood cell protein glycophorin A has been synthesized. This may be the first example of the synthesis of the entire membrane embedded domain of a membrane spanning protein. Three fully protected fragments were prepared by stepwise elongation using dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and p-nitrophenyl ester activation of N alpha-tert.-butyloxycarbonyl amino acids. The three fragments represent amino acid residues 73-79, 80-86, and 87-94 in the sequence of glycophorin A and contain a large proportion of valine, leucine, and isoleucine residues but contain no amino acids with ionizable side chain functional groups. The three fragments were condensed using both the azide method and the dicyclohexylcarbodiimide method to give fully protected docosapeptide. Benzyl groups protecting the side chains of the docosapeptide were removed by prolonged hydrogenolysis to give the desired product N alpha-tert.-butyloxycarbonyldocosapeptide ethyl ester. High resolution proton n.m.r. spectra of the protected fragments in 100% deuterochloroform showed all resonances to be broadened with the amide resonances broadened beyond recognition. In perdeuterodimethylsulfoxide all resonances were relatively sharp with all amide resonances visible and showing coupling constants of 7-8 Hz. Solvent titration of the proton spectra of two of the fragments from 100% perdeuterodimethylsulfoxide to 100% deuterochloroform demonstrated a transition to the broadened spectrum, accompanied by a decrease in the coupling constant of the amide protons (JNH-CH alpha) suggesting solvent dependent onset of intramolecular secondary structure, possibly accompanied by aggregation. A proton n.m.r. spectrum of the docosapeptide in perdeuterodimethylsulfoxide shows a few resolved amide resonances with coupling constants of 7-9 Hz. Solvent titration with perdeuterochloroform again suggests a transition to a rigid intramolecular secondary structure.     

Folding subdomains of thioredoxin characterized by native-state hydrogen exchange

Native-state hydrogen exchange (HX) studies, used in conjunction with NMR spectroscopy, have been carried out on Escherichia coli thioredoxin (Trx) for characterizing two folding subdomains of the protein. The backbone amide protons of only the slowest-exchanging 24 amino acid residues, of a total of 108 amino acid residues, could be followed at pH 7. The free energy of the opening event that results in an amide hydrogen exchanging with solvent (DeltaG(op)) was determined at each of the 24 amide hydrogen sites. The values of DeltaG(op) for the amide hydrogens belonging to residues in the helices alpha(1), alpha(2), and alpha(4) are consistent with them exchanging with the solvent only when the fully unfolded state is sampled transiently under native conditions. The denaturant-dependences of the values of DeltaG(op) provide very little evidence that the protein samples partially unfolded forms, lower in energy than the unfolded state. The amide hydrogens belonging to the residues in the beta strands, which form the core of the protein, appear to have higher values of DeltaG(op) than amide hydrogens belonging to residues in the helices, suggesting that they might be more stable to exchange. This apparently higher stability to HX of the beta strands might be either because they exchange out their amide hydrogens in a high energy intermediate preceding the globally unfolded state, or, more likely, because they form residual structure in the globally unfolded state. In either case, the central beta strands-beta(3,) beta(2), and beta(4)-would appear to form a cooperatively folding subunit of the protein. The native-state HX methodology has made it possible to characterize the free energy landscape that Trx can sample under equilibrium native conditions.     

Determination of the local structure of the protein insectotoxin I5A from the scorpion Buthus eupeus from 1H-NMR spectroscopy data

The local structure (torsion angles phi, psi and chi 1 of amino acid residues) of insectotoxin I5A (35 residues) of scorpion Buthus eupeus has been determined from cross-peak integral intensities in two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOESY) spectra and spin coupling constants of vicinal H--NC alpha--H and H--C alpha C beta--H protons. The local structure determination was carried out by fitting complete relaxation matrix of peptide unit protons (protons of a given residue and NH proton of the next residue in the amino acid sequence) with experimental NOESY cross-peak intensities. The obtained intervals of backbone torsional angles phi and psi consistent with NMR data were determined for all but Gly residues. The predominant C alpha--C beta rotamer of the side chain has been unambiguously determined for 42% of the insectotoxin amino acid residues whereas for another 46% residues experimental data are fitted equally well with two rotamers. Stereospecific assignments were obtained for 38% of beta-methylene groups. The determined torsional angles phi, psi and chi 1 correspond to the sterically allowed conformations of the amino acid residues and agree with the insectotoxin secondary structure established earlier by 1H NMR spectroscopy.     

Study of the spatial structure of des-Gly9-[Arg8]vasopressin by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and theoretical conformation analysis

2D 1H-NMR spectra of des-Gly9-[Arg8]vasopressin in dimethylsulfoxide have been taken and the 1H resonances have been assigned. The coupling constants and amide proton temperature coefficients (delta delta/delta T) have been measured and the NOE cross-peaks in the NOESY spectrum have been analyzed. The most essential information on the spatial structure of des-Gly9-[Arg8]vasopressin is extracted from the low delta delta/delta T value for Asn5 amide proton and from the NOE between the Cys1 and Cys6 alpha-protons. A diminished accessibility of the Asn5 NH proton for the solvent is ascribed to the presence of a beta-turn in the fragment 2-5. The distance between the Cys1 and Cys6 C alpha H protons seems to be less than 4 A. These constraints were taken into account in the conformational analysis of the title peptide. The derived set of the low-energy backbone conformations was analyzed against the background of the all available NMR data. The most probable conformation of the cyclic moiety in des-Gly9-[Arg8]vasopressin was found to be the type III beta-turn. The corner positions are occupied by the residues 3, 4, while the residues 1-2 and 5-6 are at the extended sites. Some NMR data indicate that this structure is in a dynamic equilibrium with other minor conformers.     

Two-dimensional NMR studies of the antimicrobial peptide NP-5

Nearly complete proton resonance assignment of the rabbit antimicrobial peptide NP-5 has been made from two-dimensional NMR data taken at a single temperature. The assignment procedure involved acquisition of phase-sensitive double-quantum-filtered correlation spectra, relayed coherence-transfer spectra, total correlation (homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn) spectra, double- and triple-quantum spectra, and nuclear Overhauser effect spectra. The combination of these complementary experiments simplified and accelerated resonance assignment of the peptide. Individual assignments were made at 20 degrees C for all amide and C alpha protons in the peptide, and for all nonlabile side-chain protons on 26 of the 33 amino acid residues in NP-5. Analysis of the proton-proton nuclear Overhauser effect connectivities, the slowly exchanging amide protons, and the proton chemical shifts in NP-5 indicates that the peptide has a stable, ordered structure in solution. These data also indicate that residues 19-29 in NP-5 are involved in an antiparallel beta-sheet that has a hairpin conformation.     

Apparent local stability of the secondary structure of Azotobacter vinelandii holoflavodoxin II as probed by hydrogen exchange: implications for redox potential regulation and flavodoxin folding.

As a first step to determine the folding pathway of a protein with an alpha/beta doubly wound topology, the 1H, 13C, and 15N backbone chemical shifts of Azotobacter vinelandii holoflavodoxin II (179 residues) have been determined using multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. Its secondary structure is shown to contain a five-stranded parallel beta-sheet (beta2-beta1-beta3-beta4-beta5) and five alpha-helices. Exchange rates for the individual amide protons of holoflavodoxin were determined using the hydrogen exchange method. The amide protons of 65 residues distributed throughout the structure of holoflavodoxin exchange slowly at pH* 6.2 [kex < 10(-5) s(-1)] and can be used as probes in future folding studies. Measured exchange rates relate to apparent local free energies for transient opening. We propose that the amide protons in the core of holoflavodoxin only exchange by global unfolding of the apo state of the protein. The results obtained are discussed with respect to their implications for flavodoxin folding and for modulation of the flavin redox potential by the apoprotein. We do not find any evidence that A. vinelandii holoflavodoxin II is divided into two subdomains based on its amide proton exchange rates, as opposed to what is found for the structurally but not sequentially homologous alpha/beta doubly wound protein Che Y.     

1H-n.m.r. studies of squash seed trypsin inhibitor

1H-n.m.r. studies at 500 MHz have been performed on a trypsin inhibitor (CMTI-III) found in squash seed (Cucurbita maxima). The sequential resonance assignments have been made using two-dimensional techniques. The chemical shifts for the assigned protons are reported at 30 degrees, pH 2.8 and form a basis for the determination of the solution structure of CMTI-III. Analysis of the NOE data, NH-alpha CH vicinal coupling constants and pattern of slowly exchanging amide protons indicates that the predominant feature of the solution conformation is a triple stranded beta sheet consisting of residues 8-10, 21-23, and 26-29. Residues 12-15 appear to form a beta turn.     

Comparison by 1H-nmr spectroscopy of the conformation of the 2600 dalton antifreeze glycopeptide of polar cod with that of the high molecular weight antifreeze glycoprotein

The antifreeze glycopeptide (AFGP-8) from polar cod, B. saida, is a 14-amino acid polypeptide having alternating glycotripeptide sequences of Ala-[Gal(β1 → 3)GalNAc(β1 → O)]-Thr-Pro and Ala-[Gal(β1 → 3)GalNAc(β1 → O)]-Thr-Ala, with alanyl residues at amino and carboxy terminals. Conformational studies of AFGP-8 have been carried out by ¹H-nmr and empirical energy calculations to investigate the difference in its antifreeze behavior from that of the more active high-molecular weight AFGP 1-4 of P. borchgrevinki. The ¹H-nmr spectra, including the resonances of the exchangeable amide protons, were assigned by two-dimensional correlated spectroscopy (COSY), one-dimensional difference decoupling, and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) measurements. For the four threonyl residues, the amide proton coupling constants and the small coupling constants between H^α and H^β indicate similar conformations, despite significant chemical shift differences. The strong NOE between the α protons and the amide protons of the residue following together with large temperature coefficients of chemical shifts, indicate an extended conformation not consisting of α-helix, turns or bends. Energy computations indicate several low-energy conformations consistent with the observed coupling constants for ?. Among these, a left-handed helical conformation with three repeating residues per turn has been proposed, which is in accordance with the observed NOE between the methyl group of the α-GalNAc and Ala H^βs. While the observed Overhauser effects in the threonyl side chain suggest a certain amount of conformational averaging, the effect involving the acetmido methyl of α-GalNAc and H^βs of Ala indicate that it as is a major conformer. In view of the close similarity between the conformations of AFGP-8 and the more active antifreeze polymer, AFGP 1-4, we propose that the difference in their activities is due to the length of the regular repeating structure with glycosylation at every third amino acid residue, and not due to any fundamental difference in their conformations.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance observation and dynamics of specific amide protons in T4 lysozyme

We have produced T4 lysozyme using a bacterial expression system which allows efficient incorporation of isotopically labeled amino acids in lysozyme. By using conditions that repress the expression of various transaminases, we have incorporated 15N-labeled amino acid into the five phenylalanine residues of the protein. The relatively large spin--spin coupling (87 +/- 3 Hz) between the 15N nucleus and the phenylalanine amide protons may then be exploited in a variety of ways to selectively observe the five phenylalanine amide proton resonances. These include a simple "echo difference" technique which displays the amide proton resonances in one dimension and a "forbidden echo" technique [Bax, A., Griffey, R. H., & Hawkins, B.L. (1983) J. Magn. Reson. 55, 301-335] which gives two-dimensional information allowing the proton and 15N chemical shifts of each amide to be determined. With these approaches, all five phenylalanine amide protons give resolved resonances. Deuterium exchange experiments demonstrate that three of the five resonances are slow to exchange (half-times of about 1 week at pH 5.5 and 4 degrees C) while the other two are rapid with complete exchange in hours or less. These observations correlate well with the secondary structure of the protein which shows three residues in alpha-helical regions and two residues in surface-exposed environments. This approach of isotopic substitution on nitrogen or carbon atoms is of general utility and should allow virtually any proton on a protein of molecular weight 20 000 or thereabout to be selectively observed.     

Transient structure of the amyloid precursor protein cytoplasmic tail indicates preordering of structure for binding to cytosolic factors

The cytoplasmic tail of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) appears to play two important roles in the cell through participation in intracellular signaling and proteolytic processing of APP. Hence, knowledge of the structure of the 47 residue cytoplasmic tail of APP is important for understanding the molecular interactions involved in normal cell function as well as in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Multidimensional solution NMR spectroscopy has been applied to examine the structural features of a 49-residue peptide (APP-C) containing two N-terminal residues (GS) and the APP cytoplasmic tail, over the pH range of 4.2-7.1. Although the peptide does not adopt a stable folded structure, regions of unstable structure exist over the pH range examined and have been characterized by a combination of H(alpha) chemical shifts, NOE analysis, and (3)J(HNH)(alpha) coupling constants and by identification of transient hydrogen bonds between amide protons and titrating carboxylate groups. These studies extend the work of others [Kroenke et al. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 8145-8152] by identifying an additional nascent helix and a hydrophobic cluster within the N-terminal 20 amino acid residues and by further characterizing the TPEE turn as a helix capping box. The transient structure of APP-C provides insight into the importance of preordering of this cytoplasmic tail in governing specificity and affinity for cytosolic binding partners.     

1H-NMR assignment and secondary structure of human insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in solution.

Human insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) was studied by two-dimensional 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Resonance assignments were obtained for all the backbone protons and almost all of the sidechain protons of the total 70 amino acid residues, using sequence-specific assignment procedures. The secondary structure elements of human IGF-I were identified by investigation of the sequential and medium range NOEs as a preliminary step in determining the three-dimensional structure of this protein by means of distance geometry calculations. The typical NOEs of d alpha beta(i,i + 3) and d alpha N(i,i + 3), as well as the successive strong NOEs of dNN connectivities and slowly exchanging amide protons confirmed the presence of three helical segments corresponding to the sequence regions, Ala8-Cys18, Gly42-Cys48, and Leu54-Cys61, and the existence of a beta-turn in the Gly19-Gly22 region. Our results definitely indicate that the secondary structure of human IGF-I in solution is consistent with that of insulin in the crystalline state.     

Extremely fast hydrogen exchange of ribonuclease-(1-118) as compared with native RNase A and its implication for the conformational energy state

RNase-(1-118) containing native disulfide bonds is similar in fold to native RNase A but not of lowest Gibbs energy as compared with the isomers containing non-native disulfide bonds. The present n.m.r. studies have indicated a dramatic increase in the exchange rate of all of the 'protected' amide protons of RNase-(1-118) over RNase A. A calculation shows a large increase in the rate of 'opening' of the structure. The exchange rate of the protected amide protons of RNase-(1-120) is slower than RNase-(1-118) but much faster than RNase A. Binding with a synthetic complementing fragment (114-124) markedly reduces the exchange rate of 20 to 25 amide protons of RNase-(1-118). It has previously been shown that binding with a complementing fragment of RNase-(1-118) generates a lowest Gibbs energy state. Thus, using available thermodynamic information for interpretation, we suggest that a) removal of six carboxy terminal residues of RNase A would disrupt coupling between these residues and those distant in the structure (loss of extra stabilizing energy), b) this would, in turn, alter the enthalpy-entropy compensation in such a way that the magnitude of Gibbs energy change favoring folding is significantly reduced without a large change of fold and c) in this activated state the molecule would be highly motile.     

Two gamma-bends in the backbone conformation of [D-Ala2]-leucine enkephalin in solution

The solution conformation of [D-Ala2]-leucine enkephalin in its zwitterionic form in DMSO-d6 has been monitored by one- and two-dimensional proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 500 MHz. The resonances from the labile amide protons and the nonlabile protons have been assigned from the shift correlated spectroscopy. The chemical shift of the amide and C-alpha protons are found to vary with temperature but in opposite directions, except the C-alpha proton of the terminal tyrosine residue. This behavior has been explained by the shifting of equilibrium between the zwitterionic and neutral forms of the [D-Ala2]-leucine enkephalin and probably conformational changes accompanying temperature variation. The low values of the temperature coefficients of leucine and glycine amide protons indicate that these protons are either intramolecularly hydrogen bonded or solvent shielded. The observation of sequential cross peaks in the nuclear Overhauser effect spectra obtained at various mixing times, tau m (200-900 ms), indicate an extended backbone, which does not corroborate with the presence of a folded structure, i.e., beta-bend type structure. The estimate of interproton distances in conjunction with the low values of temperature coefficients of the leucine and glycine amide protons and vicinal coupling constants 3JHN-C alpha H have been rationalized by the predominance of two gamma-bends in the backbone conformation of [D-Ala2]-leucine enkephalin. The gamma-bend around the D-Ala residue has phi = 80 degrees and psi = 270 degrees, while the one around Phe it has phi = 285 degrees and psi = 90 degrees.     

Assignment of the 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the trypsin inhibitor homologue K from Dendroaspis polylepis polylepis. Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance at 360 and 500 MHz

The assignment of the 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (n.m.r.) spectrum of the trypsin inhibitor homologue K from the venom of Dendroaspis polylepis polylepis is described and documented. The assignments are based entirely on the amino acid sequence and on 2-dimensional n.m.r. experiments at 360 and 500 M Hz. Individual assignments were obtained for the backbone and C beta protons of all 57 residues of the inhibitor homologue K, with the exceptions of the N-terminal amino group, the amide protons of Arg16, Gly37 and Gly40 and the C beta protons of Arg16 and Pro19. The assignments for the non-labile protons of the amino acid side-chains are complete, with the exception of Gln29, Glu49 and all the proline, lysine and arginine residues. For Asn and Trp the labile side-chain protons have also been assigned. The chemical shifts for the assigned resonances are listed for an aqueous solution at 50 degrees C and pH 3.4.     

Conformation of the eosinophil chemotactic tetrapeptides and analogues in dimethyl sulfoxide. 1H n.m.r. studies

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance parameters are reported for DMSO-d6 solutions of the eosinophil chemotactic tetrapeptides, Val1-Gly2-Ser3-Glu4 and Ala1-Gly2-Ser3-Glu4, as well as three analogues of the Val1 tetrapeptide, D-Val1, Ala2 and Ala3. The synthesis of Val-(S)-[alpha-2 H1] Gly-Ala-Glu, in which the glycine has been stereospecifically deuterated in the H alpha 3 position, has allowed the assignment of the 1H resonances belonging to individual H alpha 2 and H alpha 3 glycine methylene protons. Simulation of the glycine ABX spin system yields two vicinal coupling constants which are consistent with a highly preferred conformation about the glycine HN-C alpha bond. The chemical shifts, coupling constants, temperature coefficients of amide proton chemical shifts and calculated side chain rotamer populations are reported for all peptides. The coupling constant analysis and temperature coefficients of amide proton chemical shifts together suggest that a type I beta-turn conformation is preferred by the Ala3 analogue. The 1H n.m.r. parameters of the other peptides suggest that these can also adopt a beta-turn conformation in DMSO. There are, however, considerable differences in the extent of conformational averaging undergone by the various peptides.     

Hydrogen bonding in the carboxyl-terminal half-fragment 78-148 of calmodulin as studied by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance

The C-terminal half-fragment (residues 78-148) of scallop testis calmodulin was investigated by 500-MHz two-dimensional proton NMR in order to clarify the structure and the structural change accompanying Ca2+ binding. The sequential resonance assignment to individual amino acid residues was made in part (27 out of 71 residues) by a combination of correlated spectroscopy and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy of a 90% H2O solution. In the Ca2+-bound state, resonances of backbone amide protons of Gly-98, Gly-134, Ile-100, Asn-137, and Val-136 appear at extremely low fields. These findings suggest that amide protons of these residues are hydrogen bonded. In the Ca2+-free state, the amide resonances of Ile-100 and Gly-134 disappear into the crowded normal shift region. This observation indicates that two hydrogen bonds of Ile-100 and Gly-134 are destroyed (or weakened) as Ca2+ ions are removed from two Ca2+-binding sites. Chemical shifts of amide and alpha-protons of residues located in the Ca2+-binding loop of domain III are similar to those of domain IV. These results suggest that the conformations of the two loops are very similar. The present results can be interpreted in terms of a structure predicted by Kretsinger [Kretsinger, R.H. (1980) Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 356, 14].