Selectivity of interaction of phospholipids with bovine spinal cord myelin basic protein studied by spin-label electron spin resonance

The selectivity of interaction between bovine spinal cord myelin basic protein (MBP) and eight different spin-labeled lipid species in complexes with dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (DMPG) and between spin-labeled phosphatidylglycerol and spin-labeled phosphatidylcholine in complexes of MBP with various mixtures of DMPG and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) has been studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. In DMPC/DMPG mixtures, the protein binding gradually decreased with increasing mole fraction of DMPC in a nonlinear fashion. The lipid-protein binding assays indicated a preferential binding of the protein to phosphatidylglycerol relative to phosphatidylcholine without complete phase separation of the two lipids. The outer hyperfine splittings (2Amax) of both phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine labeled at C-5 of the sn-2 chain (5-PGSL and 5-PCSL, respectively) were monitored in the lipid-protein complexes as a function of the mole fraction of DMPC. The increases in the value of Amax induced on binding of the protein were larger for 5-PGSL than for 5-PCSL, up to 0.25 mole fraction of DMPC. Beyond this mole fraction the spectral perturbations induced by the protein were similar for both lipid labels. The ESR spectra of phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine labeled at C-12 of the sn-2 chain were two component in nature, indicating indicating a direct interaction of the protein with the lipid chains, at mole fractions of DMPC up to 0.25. Quantitation of the motionally restricted spin-label population by spectral subtraction again indicated a preferential interaction of the protein with phosphatidylglycerol relative to phosphatidylcholine. Up to DMPC mode fractions of 0.25, the microenvironment of the protein was enriched in DMPG.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)