Spectrin promotes the association of F-actin with the cytoplasmic surface of the human erythrocyte membrane

We studied the binding of actin to the erythrocyte membrane by a novel application of falling ball viscometry. Our approach is based on the notion that if membranes have multiple binding sites for F-actin they will be able to cross-link and increase the viscosity of actin. Spectrin- and actin-depleted inside-out vesicles reconstituted with purified spectrin dimer or tetramer induce large increases in the viscosity of actin. Comparable concentrations of spectrin alone, inside-out vesicles alone, inside-out vesicles plus heat-denatured spectrin dimmer or tetramer induce large increases in the viscosity of actin. Comparable concentrations of spectrin alone, inside-out vesicles alone, inside-out plus heat denatured spectrin, ghosts, or ghosts plus spectrin have no effect on the viscosity of actin. Centrifugation experiments show that the amount of actin bound to the inside-out vesicles is enhanced in the presence of spectrin. The interactions detected by low-shear viscometry reflect actin interaction with membrane- bound spectrin because (a) prior removal of band 4.1 and ankyrin (band 2.1, the high- affinity membrane attachment site for spectrin) reduces both spectrin binding to the inside-out vesicles and their capacity to stimulate increase in viscosity of actin in the presence of spectrin + actin are inhibited by the addition of the water-soluble 72,000- dalton fragment of ankyrin, which is known to inhibit spectrin reassociation to the membrane. The increases in viscosity of actin induced by inside-out vesicles reconstituted with purified spectrin dimer or tetramer are not observed when samples are incubated at 0 degrees C. This temperature dependence may be related to the temperature-dependent associations we observe in solution studies with purified proteins: addition of ankyrin inhibits actin cross-linking by spectrin tetramer plus band 4.1 at 0 degrees C, and enhances it at 32 degrees C. We conclude (a) that falling ball viscometry can be used to assay actin binding to membranes and (b) that spectrin is involved in attaching actin filaments or oligomers to the cytoplasmic surface of the erythrocyte membrane.     

Spectrin-dependent and -independent association of F-actin with the erythrocyte membrane

Binding of F-actin to spectrin-actin-depleted erythrocyte membrane inside-out vesicles was measured using [3H]F-actin. F-actin binding to vesicles at 25 degrees C was stimulated 5-10 fold by addition of spectrin dimers or tetramers to vesicles. Spectrin tetramer was twice as effective as dimer in stimulating actin binding, but neither tetramer nor dimer stimulated binding at 4 degrees C. The addition of purified erythrocyte membrane protein band 4.1 to spectrin- reconstituted vesicles doubled their actin-binding capacity. Trypsinization of unreconstituted vesicles that contain < 10% of the spectrin but nearly all of the band 4.1, relative to ghosts, decreased their F-actin-binding capacity by 70%. Whereas little or none of the residual spectrin was affected by trypsinization, band 4.1 was significantly degraded. Our results show that spectrin can anchor actin filaments to the cytoplasmic surface of erythrocyte membranes and suggest that band 4.1 may be importantly involved in the association.     

Structural unit of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton. Isolation and electron microscopic examination

We isolated a protein complex containing major cytoskeletal components from the Triton shell of bovine erythrocytes. This protein complex, which we called the 26-S complex, consisted of three major components, spectrin, band-4.1 protein and actin, and one minor component, band-4.9 protein. The molar ratio of spectrin heterodimer:band 4.1:actin was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gel electrophoresis to be about 1:2:2, approximately the same as that for the Triton shell. By electron microscopic examinations of rotary-shadowed specimens, it was revealed that the 26-S complex had a "spider-like" morphology with a central core and several spectrin heterodimers radiating from it. The number of spectrin arms in the complex was not constant but was in the range between 3 and 6. The complexes with five spectrin heterodimers were the most numerous. The results showed that the 26-S complex contained on the average five spectrin heterodimers, ten band-4.1 polypeptides and ten actin monomers. As judged from the formation of oligomeric 26-S complexes through spectrin arms, the central core of the complex presumably contains band 4.1 and actin. Supporting this conclusion, the central core acted as a nucleus for actin polymerization when the 26-S complex was mixed with G-actin under an actin-polymerizing condition. The 26-S complex could form large aggregates under a certain condition that spectrin was promoted to associate from dimer to tetramer. We conclude that the 26-S complex is the structural unit of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton.     

Spontaneous, reversible protein cross-linking in the human erythrocyte membrane. Temperature and pH dependence.

Changes in pH significantly affect the morphology and physical properties of red cell membranes. We have explored the molecular basis for these phenomena by characterizing the pattern of protein disulfide cross-linkages formed spontaneously in ghost exposed to acid pH or elevated temperature (37 degrees C). Protein aggregation was analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. incubation of ghosts at pH 4.0 to 5.5 (0-4 degrees C) yielded (i) complexes of spectrin and band 3, (ii) complexes of actin and band 3, (iii) band 3 complexes, i.e. dimer and trimer, and (iv) heterogeneous aggregates involving spectrin, band 3, band 4.2, and actin in varying proportions. Aggregation was maximal near the isoelectric points of the major membrane proteins, and appeared to reflect (i) the aggregation of intramembrane particles including band 3 and (ii) more intimate contact between spectrin-actin meshwork and band 3.     

The elasticity of spectrin-actin gels at high protein concentration

Human erythrocyte spectrin of high purity was studied alone and mixed with rabbit skeletal actin by dynamic rheometry as a function of protein concentration at pH 7.4 and 24 degrees C. Pure spectrin had a very low storage modulus, G', increasing slightly with increase in protein concentration (approximately 3 dynes/cm at 25 mg/ml). In contrast, unpurified cytoskeletal extracts containing spectrin, actin, and band 4.1 showed a marked concentration dependence for G', increasing to 150 dynes/cm at 20 mg/ml. Mixtures of purified spectrin and skeletal actin at a weight ratio of 4:1 also showed G' markedly dependent on concentration (approximately 150-200 dynes/cm at 20 mg/ml). Maximum elasticity of spectrin-actin gels occurred at a molar ratio of actin monomers to spectrin tetramers of 14:1. We conclude that the reconstituted in vitro spectrin-actin network consists of actin fibers cross-linked by spectrin tetramers at regular intervals. The gel is rapidly reformed after mechanical disruption or thermal collapse, indicating that the polymer fibers are in equilibrium with the constituent monomers.     

Biochemical characterization of complex formation by human erythrocyte spectrin, protein 4.1, and actin

Ternary complex formation between the major human erythrocyte membrane skeletal proteins spectrin, protein 4.1, and actin was quantified by measuring cosedimentation of spectrin and band 4.1 with F-actin. Complex formation was dependent upon the concentration of spectrin and band 4.1, each of which promoted the binding of the other to F-actin. Simultaneous measurement of the concentrations of spectrin and band 4.1 in the sedimentable complex showed that a single molecule of band 4.1 was sufficient to promote the binding of a spectrin dimer to F-actin. However, the molar ratio of band 4.1/spectrin in the complex was not fixed, ranging from approximately 0.6 to 2.2 as the relative concentration of added spectrin to band 4.1 was decreased. A mole ratio of 0.6 band 4.1/spectrin suggests that a single molecule of band 4.1 can promote the binding of more than one spectrin dimer to an actin filament. Saturation binding studies showed that in the presence of band 4.1 every actin monomer in a filament could bind at least one molecule of spectrin, yielding ternary complexes with spectrin/actin mole ratios as high as 1.4. Electron microscopy of such complexes showed them to consist of actin filaments heavily decorated with spectrin dimers. Ternary complex formation was not affected by alteration in Mg2+ or Ca2+ concentration but was markedly inhibited by KCl above 100 mM and nearly abolished by 10 mM 2,3-diphosphoglycerate or 10 mM adenosine 5'-triphosphate. Our data are used to refine the molecular model of the red cell membrane skeleton.     

Hemoglobin enhances the self-association of spectrin heterodimers in human erythrocytes

Spectrin in isolated erythrocyte membranes is known to undergo tetramer to dimer transformation upon hypotonic incubation at 37 degrees C. In the present study, we detect no such transformation in intact erythrocytes in which hypotonicity is achieved by valinomycin treatment followed by hypotonic swelling. The inhibition of spectrin tetramer to dimer transformation is attributable to intracellular hemoglobin, since the addition of hemoglobin to isolated membranes or spectrin extracts blocks a similar spectrin transformation. However, the inhibitory effect is not limited to hemoglobin; other proteins including heme-containing proteins and basic proteins such as cytochrome c, ribonuclease, and albumin are also effective. The magnitude of their effect is proportional to the increased pI value of these proteins. We conclude that the stabilizing effect of these proteins on spectrin tetramers under hypotonic conditions is partly due to their non-ideality, which excludes water from spectrin and thus increases the effective concentration of spectrin, and to their electrostatic interactions with spectrin. In addition, promotion of spectrin self-association by hemoglobin under hypotonic conditions increases the stability of membrane skeletons against mechanical shearing. More importantly, the hemoglobin effect on spectrin self-association is demonstrable at physiological hemoglobin concentration, pH, and osmolarity, suggesting that in intact red cells the spectrin dimer-dimer association, as well as the membrane skeletal structure, is strengthened by intracellular hemoglobin.     

Ca2(+)-dependent regulation of the spectrin/actin interaction by calmodulin and protein 4.1

The Ca2(+)-dependent regulation of the erythroid membrane cytoskeleton was investigated. The low-salt extract of erythroid membranes, which is mainly composed of spectrin, protein 4.1, and actin, confers a Ca2+ sensitivity on its interaction with F-actin. This Ca2+ sensitivity is fortified by calmodulin and antagonized by trifluoperazine, a potent calmodulin inhibitor. Additionally, calmodulin is detected in the low-salt extract. These results suggest that calmodulin is the sole Ca2(+)-sensitive factor in the low-salt extract. The main target of calmodulin in the erythroid membrane cytoskeleton was further examined. Under native conditions, calmodulin forms a stable and equivalent complex with protein 4.1 as determined by calmodulin affinity chromatography, cross-linking experiments, and fluorescence binding assays with an apparent Kd of 5.5 x 10(-7) M irrespective of the free Ca2+ concentration. Domain mapping with chymotryptic digestion reveals that the calmodulin-binding site resides within the N-terminal 30-kDa fragment of protein 4.1. In contrast, the interaction of calmodulin with spectrin is unexpectedly weak (Kd = 1.2 x 10(-4) M). Given the content of calmodulin in erythrocytes (2-5 microM), these results imply that the major target for calmodulin in the erythroid membrane cytoskeleton is protein 4.1. Low- and high-shear viscometry and binding assays reveal that an equivalent complex of calmodulin with protein 4.1 regulates the spectrin/actin interaction in a Ca2(+)-dependent manner. At a low Ca2+ concentration, protein 4.1 potentiates the actin cross-linking and the actin binding activities of spectrin. At a high Ca2+ concentration, the protein 4.1-potentiated actin cross-linking activity but not the actin binding activity of spectrin is suppressed by Ca2+/calmodulin. The Ca2(+)-dependent regulation of the spectrin/protein 4.1/calmodulin/actin interaction is discussed.     

Protein 4.1 is involved in a structural thermotropic transition of the red blood cell membrane detected by a spin-labeled stearic acid

Proteins involved in a structural transition in red blood cell membranes detected at 8 +/- 1.5 degrees C by a stearic acid spin-label have been investigated. Calcium loading of red blood cells with ionophore A23187 caused the disappearance of the 8 degrees C transition. Protein 4.1 appears to be the most susceptible protein to Ca2+ treatment. Antibodies specific for spectrin, band 3 (43K cytoplasmic domain), and protein 4.1 have been utilized as specific probes to modify membrane thermotropic properties. The 8 degrees C transition was eliminated by anti-4.1 protein antibodies but was not modified by the other antibodies. To further characterize the protein(s) involved in the transition, ghosts were subjected to sequential extraction of skeletal proteins. The extraction of band 6, spectrin, and actin did not modify the 8 degrees C transition. In contrast, high-salt extraction (1 M KCl) of spectrin-actin-depleted vesicles, a procedure that extracts proteins 2.1 and 4.1, was able to eliminate the 8 degrees C transition. Rebinding of purified protein 4.1 to the high salt extracted vesicles restored the 8 degrees C transition. These results indicate the involvement of protein 4.1 in the transition and suggest a functional membrane association of this protein. The binding of protein 4.1 to the membrane seems to contribute significantly to the thermotropic properties of red blood cells.     

Ultrastructure of unit fragments of the skeleton of the human erythrocyte membrane

We have examined fragments of the filamentous network underlying the human erythrocyte membrane by high-resolution electron microscopy. Networks were released from ghosts by extraction with Triton X-100, freed of extraneous proteins in 1.5 M NaCl, and collected by centrifugation onto a sucrose cushion. These preparations contained primarily protein bands 1 + 2 (spectrin), band 4.1 and band 5 (actin). The networks were partially disassembled by incubation at 37 degrees C in 2 mM NaPi (pH 7), which caused the preferential dissociation of spectrin tetramers to dimers. The fragments so generated were fractionated by gel filtration chromatography and visualized by negative staining with uranyl acetate on fenestrated carbon films. Unit complexes, which sedimented at approximately 40S, contained linear filaments approximately 7-8 nm diam from which several slender and convoluted filaments projected. The linear filaments had a mean length of 52 +/- 17 nm and a serrated profile reminiscent of F-actin. They could be decorated in an arrowhead pattern with S1 fragments of muscle heavy meromyosin which, incidentally, displaced the convoluted filaments. Furthermore, the linear filaments nucleated the polymerization of rabbit muscle G-actin, predominantly but not exclusively from the fast-growing ends. On this basis, we have identified the linear filaments as F-actin; we infer that the convoluted filaments are spectrin. Spectrin molecules were usually attached to actin filaments in clusters that showed a preference for the ends of the F-actin. We also observed free globules up to 15 nm diam, usually associated with three spectrin molecules, which also nucleated actin polymerization; these may be simple junctional complexes of spectrin, actin, and band 4.1. In larger ensembles, spectrin tetramers linked actin filaments and/or globules into irregular arrays. Intact networks were an elaboration of the basic pattern manifested by the fragments. Thus, we have provided ultrastructural evidence that the submembrane skeleton is organized, as widely inferred from less direct information, into short actin filaments linked by multiple tetramers of spectrin clustered at sites of association with band 4.1.     

Modulation of actin polymerization by the spectrin-band 4.1 complex

The effect of human erythrocyte spectrin dimer and band 4.1 on the polymerization of actin was studied by two independent methods: by following the increase in fluorescence of actin covalently conjugated to N-pyrenyl-iodoacetamide (pyrenylactin) and by following the increase in light scattered by actin polymers. Both techniques indicated that the complex of spectrin dimer and band 4.1, but neither spectrin nor band 4.1 alone, stimulates the rate of nucleation (decreases the lag phase of polymerization) and stabilizes oligomers of F-actin. While the band 4.1-spectrin complex, but not spectrin alone, had no immediate effect on the rate of polymerization after the lag phase, it eventually decreases the rate of actin filament growth when the molecular ratio of actin-spectrin-band 4.1 approaches the physiological range. The complex has no detectable effect on the critical actin concentration and does not significantly alter the apparent order of the nucleation reaction.     

Preparation of red-cell-membrane cytoskeletal constituents and characterisation of protein 4.1

A new and rapid method is described for the preparation of protein 4.1, the protein which modulates the interaction between spectrin and actin in the membrane cytoskeleton of the red cell. The method is based on the dissociation of purified membrane cytoskeletons in concentrated Tris at neutral pH, followed by gel filtration in the same medium. This procedure also yields spectrin and actin, as well as the fourth cytoskeletal constituent, protein 4.9, in relatively pure form, and ankyrin. Protein 4.1 is monomeric under our conditions of solvent and protein concentration, with a relative molecular mass, as determined from sedimentation equilibrium, of about 78 000; its sedimentation coefficient and Stokes' radius are those of a globular, though somewhat asymmetric or flexible molecule. It forms a strong complex with F-actin and spectrin. Protein 4.9 is also recovered in active form, and will bind strongly to F-actin.     

The role of band 4.1 in the association of actin with erythrocyte membranes

Spectrin stimulates the association of F-actin with erythrocyte inside-out vesicles. Although inside-out vesicles are nearly devoid of two of the three major cytoskeletal proteins, spectrin and actin, they retain nearly all of the cytoskeletal protein designated band 4.1. Inside-out vesicles which have been substantially depleted of band 4.1 by extraction in 1 M KCl, 0.4 M urea and then reconstituted with spectrin show a markedly diminished ability to bind actin by comparison with vesicles containing normal amounts of band 4.1. This diminution is not due to an impaired ability of the vesicles to bind spectrin. Addition of purified band 4.1 to vesicles either before or after they have been reconstituted with spectrin restores their actin binding capacity to near normal levels as does addition of a spectrin-band 4.1 complex prepared by sucrose gradient centrifugation. Band 4.1 bound to vesicles in the absence of added spectrin has no effect on actin binding. Our results suggest that a spectrin band 4.1 complex is responsible for binding actin to erythrocyte membranes.     

The structural basis of ankyrin function. II. Identification of two functional domains

Human erythrocyte ankyrin was cleaved by restricted proteolysis at 0 degrees C into two distinct chemical domains. The site on ankyrin that binds spectrin was found to be within a 55,000-dalton domain by spectrin affinity chromatography and co-sedimentation with spectrin in a sucrose gradient. A 32,000-dalton fragment of this domain was prepared (tryptic digest, 0 degrees C, 24 h), separated by gel filtration, and shown to inhibit spectrin binding to the membrane. By comparison with previous two-dimensional peptide maps, the spectrin-binding site was located within this 32,000-dalton fragment near the end of the molecule. The band 3-binding site was identified within an 82,000-dalton domain by binding to a band 3 affinity column. Gel electrophoresis in the absence of detergents confirmed these results and demonstrated that a peptide from the cytoplasmic portion of band 3 retained the capacity to bind the 82,000-dalton domain. The binding properties of the structural domains of ankyrin were correlated with a determination of the affinity constant of the intact molecule. Ankyrin bound with a high affinity to the cytoplasmic portion of band 3 (KD = 8 X 10(-8) M) and to spectrin tetramer (KD = 1 X 10(-7) M) but less so to spectrin dimer (KD = 1 X 10(-6) M). These findings are summarized in a preliminary structural and functional model of ankyrin's role in linking spectrin to the membrane.     

Hereditary spherocytosis of man. Defective cytoskeletal interactions in the erythrocyte membrane.

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is an inherited abnormality of red cell shape and results from defective interactions amongst the components of the cytoskeleton. It is known that spectrin/actin dissociates in low ionic strength media from ghosts and cytoskeletons at a rate which is slower for HS than normal preparations. Hybridization experiments have established that this behaviour is not due to a defective spectrin or actin but resides in a spectrin-binding component of the membrane [Hill, Sawyer, Howlett & Wiley (1981) Biochem. J. 201, 259-266]. In the present study erythrocyte shells have been examined in low ionic strength media and a similar difference in the rate of solubilization has been revealed. Since band 4.1 (but not band 2.1) is a common component of cytoskeletons and shells it is possible that 4.1 may be abnormal in the HS condition. The interaction of band 4.1 with spectrin/actin was examined by low shear falling ball viscometry. The addition of a mixture of band 2.1 and 4.1 to a solution of actin and spectrin tetramer increased the viscosity due to cross-linking of the cytoskeletal elements by band 4.1. When band 2.1/4.1 mixtures were derived from five HS families the viscosity was increased to a greater extent than in the normal controls. This difference was not a result of alterations in the calcium dependence of the spectrin/actin-band 4.1 interaction. The results imply that band 4.1 may be defective in the HS condition.     

An examination of the soluble oligomeric complexes extracted from the red cell membrane and their relation to the membrane cytoskeleton

A part of the spectrin extracted from red cell membranes at low ionic strength occurs in the form of a high-molecular weight oligomeric complex with actin and proteins 4.1 and 4.9. When the extraction is performed at 35 degrees, the spectrin is present in this complex as the dimer, all higher forms being dissociated. We have been unable to establish any correlation between the fraction of the spectrin thus complexed and the metabolic state of the cell. At least a large part of the complex appears to be a defined monodisperse species, sedimenting at 31S. The actin is present as short protofilaments. The average number of spectrin molecules associated with each molecule of complex has been studied by cytochalasin binding and electron microscopy. The complexes present the appearance in the electron microscope of spiders, in which the legs are spectrin dimers, attached to a globular element, containing by inference, actin and proteins 4.1 and 4.9; they are active in nucleating the polymerization of G-actin. The complexes are extremely stable, being resistant to dissociation under the conditions of the deoxyribonuclease assay, even after treatment with trypsin to degrade the actin-associated proteins. It is suggested that the complexes represent intact junctions of the membrane cytoskeletal network. Relevant structural features of the network are revealed by electron microscopy. The results lead to inferences concerning the mechanism of dissociation of the network from the membrane.     

Spectrin-actin associations studied by electron microscopy of shadowed preparations

By shadowing specimens dried onto mica sheets we have obtained clear images of actin crosslinked by spectrin, an actin-binding protein found in erythrocytes. We conclude that spectrin dimers possess a single binding site for F actin. Tetramers formed by head-to-head association of two dimers possess two actin binding sites, one at each tail. Polymerizing G actin in the presence of spectrin tetramers or mixing preformed F actin with spectrin tetramer plus band 4.1 results in an extensively crosslinked network of actin filaments. When G actin is polymerized in the presence of spectrin at spectrin:actin mole ratios close to that present on the erythrocyte membrane, large amorphous protein networks are formed. These networks are clusters of spectrin around 25 nm diameter structures which may be actin protofilaments. These networks are similar to the cytoskeletal network seen after erythrocyte membranes are extracted with detergent, and may represent the first in vitro assembly of a cytoskeletal complex resembling that of the native cell both biochemically and structurally.     

Purification of erythrocyte band 4.1 and other cytoskeletal components using hydroxyapatite-Ultrogel

An improved method for purifying erythrocyte band 4.1, the protein which mediates the interaction between spectrin and actin, has been developed. The new procedure, using adsorption chromatography on hydroxylapatite crystals immobilized within a crosslinked agarose gel (HA-Ultrogel), is simple and reproducibly provides a high yield of band 4.1 which is essentially free of protein kinase. Other components eluted from the hydroxylapatite matrix include band 4.9, ankyrin, and a 35,000-Da polypeptide that appears to be glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase that remains bound to the erythrocyte membrane in 150 mM NaCl.     

Salt and temperature-dependent conformation changes in spectrin from human erythrocyte membranes.

ORD and CD measurements of spectrin, in both the dimer and tetramer association state, indicate a high proportion of alpha-helix in this protein. At temperatures below 27 degrees C and in 0.1 M NaCl, the tetramer has an apparent helix content of 73% and the dimer, 68%. The conformation of both states is dependent on salt concentration and temperature. Low ionic strength solutions of spectrin display lowered sedimentation coefficients and a decreased apparent helix content, indicating perhaps a slight refolding and expansion of the molecule. In addition, spectrin in low ionic strength solutions undergoes a broad temperature-dependent transition spread from 20 to 50 degrees C, while in the presence of salt the transition is sharp and centered on 49 degrees C. The temperature-dependent changes in low ionic strength solutions appear to parallel the dissociation of tetramer to dimer.     

Analysis of human red cell spectrin tetramer (head-to-head) assembly using complementary univalent peptides.

The mass-driven assembly of spectrin dimers to form tetramers involves two equal head-to-head alpha-beta associations and requires at least 30 degrees C for interconversion to occur readily. In this paper, the properties of tetramer formation were investigated using two complementary univalent peptides (the alpha I domain and beta monomers). Since the alpha I domain lacks an essential nucleation site required for side-to-side (lateral) heterodimer assembly [Speicher et al. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 14775-14782], these two peptides can only assemble head-to-head at a single site. This head-to-head assembly readily occurs at lower temperatures, indicating the temperature barrier for dimer-tetramer interconversion is caused by a conformational constraint of the dimer. This constraint, a closed hairpin loop, is released when the laterally associated partner is removed. The univalent alpha I-beta binding affinity at 37 degrees C (Ka = 1.4 x 10(5) M-1) is similar to the dimer-tetramer association constant at the same temperature. As the temperature is decreased from 37 to 0 degrees C, the alpha I-beta binding affinity increases about 32-fold. In contrast with head-to-head associations involving dimers, the second-order rate constants of two complementary univalent peptides (i.e., alpha I and beta) are dramatically higher, and the estimated activation energy (about 50 kJ mol-1) is about 5-fold lower. An open dimer conformation is an obligatory high-energy intermediate required for dimer-tetramer interconversion, and opening the dimer hairpin loop contributes about 190 kJ mol-1 to the activation energy for tetramer association.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)