NMR field-cycling relaxation spectroscopy of bovine serum albumin,muscle tissue,micrococcus luteus and yeast: 14N1H-quadrupole dips

The frequency dependence of the proton spin lattice relaxation time of bovine serum albumin, muscle tissue, Micrococcus luteus and yeast has been measured by the aid of the field-cycling technique. In all systems ¹⁴N¹H-quadrupole dips have been observed. The conclusion is that amide groups are the dominating relaxation centers up to approx. 10⁷Hz. This finding can be understood by the fact that protein backbone fluctuations and, if possible, tumbling of the whole molecule rather than side group motions are the relevant mechanisms in this frequency range. A proton relaxation scheme for cells and tissue is presented.     

Deuteron field-cycling relaxation spectroscopy and translational water diffusion in protein hydration shells.

The deuterated hydration shells of bovine serum (BSA) albumin, and purple membrane sheets have been studied by the aid of deuteron field-cycling relaxation spectroscopy. The deuteron Larmor frequency range was 10(3) to 10(8) Hz. The temperature and the water content has been varied. The data distinguish translational diffusion on the protein surface from macromolecular tumbling or exchange with free water. A theory well describing all dependences has been developed on this basis. All parameters have successfully been tested concerning consistency with other sources of information. The concept is considered as a major relaxation scheme determining, apart from cross-relaxation effects, the water proton relaxation in tissue.     

A new view of water dynamics in immobilized proteins.

The inflection frequency of the deuteron magnetic relaxation dispersion from water in rotationally immobilized protein samples has recently been found to be essentially independent of temperature and protein structure. This remarkable invariance has been interpreted in terms of a universal residence time of 1 microseconds for protein-associated water molecules. We demonstrate here that this interpretation is an artifact of the conventional perturbation theory of spin relaxation, which is not valid for rotationally immobile proteins. Using a newly developed non-perturbative, stochastic theory of spin relaxation, we identify the apparent correlation time of 1 microseconds with the inverse of the nuclear quadrupole frequency, thus explaining its invariance. The observed dispersion profiles are consistent with a broad distribution of residence times, spanning the microseconds range. Furthermore, we argue that the deuteron dispersion is due to buried water molecules rather than to the traditional surface hydration previously invoked, and that the contribution from rapidly exchanging protein hydrogens cannot be neglected. The conclusions of the present work are also relevant to proton relaxation in immobilized protein samples and to magnetic resonance imaging of soft tissue.     

Orientation dependence of NMR relaxation time, T(1rho), in lipid bilayers

The orientation dependence of the low frequency NMR relaxation time, T(1rho), of protons in aligned phospholipid bilayers was measured using 13C cross polarisation and direct proton experiments. The contribution of intra- and inter-molecular interactions to proton T(1rho) was determined by using dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) with one hydrocarbon chain deuterated and dispersed in perdeuterated DMPC. The results indicated that intramolecular motions on the kHz timescale were the major cause of T(1rho) relaxation in phospholipid bilayers.     

Theory of relaxation of mobile water protons induced by protein NH moieties, with application to rat heart muscle and calf lens homogenates.

Kimmich and co-workers (cf., Winter, F., and R. Kimmich. 1982. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 719:292-298) discovered peaks in the magnetic field-dependent longitudinal relaxation rate (1/T1) of water protons of muscle tissue, cells, and dehydrated protein in the field range 0.5-5 MHz (proton Larmor frequency), and argued that the peaks resulted from cross relaxation associated with quadrupolar splittings of the 14N nuclei of protein NH groups. More recently, analogous peaks were found in homogenates of calf eye lens (Beaulieu, C.F., J.I. Clark, R.D. Brown III, M. Spiller, and S. H. Koenig, 1987. Abstr. Soc. Magn. Res. Med., 6th, New York. 598-599), which are essentially concentrated protein solutions, and were measured with sufficient precision to allow resolution of the relaxation spectra into several peaks and the intrinsic linewidths to be determined. Here, we analyze these relaxation spectra, as well as earlier data on rat heart (Koenig, S. H., R. D. Brown III, D. Adams, D. Emerson, and C. G. Harrison. 1984. Invest. Radiol. 19:76-81) in some detail, and suggest a specific pathway for the cross relaxation to which we apply the theory of relaxation quantitatively. The view that emerges is that, at fields such that the proton Zeeman energy of the NH protons matches an 14N quadrupolar splitting, relaxation of these protons is by cross relaxation to the 14N nuclei which in turn transfer excess energy to the protein. The correlation time for the NH proton interaction is the T2 of the 14N nuclei, approximately 10(-6) s, whereas T1 of the NH protons is approximately 1.25 ms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

In vivo magnetic resonance imaging of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: effect of cadmium accumulation in tissues on proton relaxation properties.

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to visualize the internal anatomy of a living blue crab. The resolution obtained in these studies was sufficient to distinguish individual organs by the differences in their proton densities and proton relaxation properties. T1 (spin-lattice relaxation time)-weighted imaging revealed the lipid-rich nature of the hepatopancreas and gonadal tissue. To evaluate the effect of metal-induced stress on the different organs, crabs were exposed to elevated levels of cadmium in their diet, which resulted in increased concentrations of both cadmium and copper in the hepatopancreas. The spin-spin relaxation time, T2, of mobile protons in the metal-exposed tissue was significantly greater than T2 in the control tissues. These measurements suggest that the excess copper in the exposed tissues was diamagnetic [Cu(I)], since the presence of paramagnetic copper [Cu(II)] would result in a decrease of observed T2 values. We hypothesize that the increased T2 value is a reflection of increased free water in the hepatopancreas. These studies show that magnetic resonance imaging is an important nondestructive tool for the study of morphological and physiological changes that occur in marine invertebrates in response to anthropogenic and natural stresses.     

Interaction among substrates, inhibitors and Mn2+ bound to glutamine synthetase as studied by NMR relaxation rate measurements

The interaction of Mn2+ with the substrate glutamate and several transition state analog inhibitors of glutamine synthetase has been studied. With Mn2+ bound to the tight binding site, the frequency and temperature dependence of the paramagnetic contribution to solvent water proton relaxation rates demonstrate changes in the structure of the metal ion environment induced by substrate or inhibitor binding. The water proton relaxation rate data also show differences in the metal ion environment in the presence of glutamate compared to methionine sulfoximine, a structural analog of an intermediate in the reaction mechanism. Additionally, the distance between the metal ion and the phosphorus atom of an inhibitor, 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid, was estimated (approximately 5 A) using NMR measurements. These data are in accord with our recent hypothesis that the role of the metal ion is to stabilize the tetrahedral adduct formed on the reaction pathway.     

Thermodynamic analysis of the physical state of water during freezing in plant tissue, based on the temperature dependence of proton spin-spin relaxation

Multi-proton spin-echo images were collected from cold-acclimated winter wheat crowns (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Cappelle Desprez at 400 MHz between 4 and ?4 °C. Water proton relaxation by the spin-spin (T2) mechanism from individual voxels in image slices was found to be mono-exponential. The temperature dependence of these relaxation rates was found to obey Arrhenius or absolute rate theory expressions relating temperature, activation energies and relaxation rates, Images whose contrast is proportional to the Arrhenius activation energy (E_a), Gibb's free energy of activation (ΔG^?), and the entropy of activation (ΔS^?) for water relaxation on a voxel basis were constructed by post-image processing. These new images exhibit contrast based on activation energies rather than rules of proton relaxation. The temperature dependence of water proton T₂ relaxation rates permits prediction of changes in the physical state of water in this tissue over modest temperature ranges. A simple model is proposed to predict the freezing temperature kof various tissue in wheat crowns. The average E_a and ΔH^? for water proton T₂ relaxation over the above temperature range in winter wheat tissue were ?6.4 ± 14.8 and ?8.6 ± 14.8kj mol^?1, respectively. This barrier is considerably lower than the E_a for proton translation in ice at 0°C, which is reported to be between 46.0 and 56.5 kj mol^?1     

Relationships between ice crystal size, water content and proton NMR relaxation times in cells

Biological specimens were frozen under controlled conditions. We questioned how the size of ice crystals, as measured in cryosectioned and cryoadsorbed sections of these biological specimens, relates to the water content and to the proton NMR relaxation times (T1 and T2) of the unfrozen specimens. The results permit the following conclusions: After rapid freezing in liquid propane cooled in a liquid nitrogen bath, the average size of ice crystals at distances of 150 microns or more from the surface of a particular tissue was always the same. Thus, the average size of the ice crystals was found to be characteristic of the type of biological tissue studied. Linear regression analysis showed average ice crystal size to have a significant correlation coefficient to T1 relaxation time and to water content. Specifically ice crystal size increased with T1 relaxation time and with water content. Multiple regression and path analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between the T1 relaxation time and the ice crystal size variation. Path analysis showed that both water content and T2 relaxation time were less directly correlated with ice crystal size. The findings from the path analysis and other observations show that the average size of ice crystals in subcellular compartments is best predicted by the proton T1 relaxation time. A working model is put forth to explain differences in ice crystal size observed between specimens enriched in globular or in parallel filamentous proteins.     

Temperature and requency dependence of solvent proton relaxation rates in solutions of manganese(II) carbonic anhydrase.

Longitudinal and transverse proton relaxation rates of water in solutions of manganese(II) bovine carbonic anhydrase have been measured by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry as a function of temperature (2-35 degrees), frequently (5-100 MHz) and pH. The pH dependence of the longitudinal relaxation rate was fitted to a sigmoidal curve with a pK value at 7.8, while the esterase activity of the manganese(II) enzyme in the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate revealed an inflection point at pK = 8.2. The hydration number of manganese(II) carbonic anhydrase could be derived using either the frequency dependence of T1p or the T1p/T2p ratio at only one (high) frequency. Both treatments are in agreement with a model in which one water molecule is bound to the metal at high pH. At low pH the relaxation data imply that no-H20 exists in the first coordination sphere of the manganese ion. The various parameters which are responsible for the proton relaxation mechanisms have been evaluated and are compared to other manganese(II) enzyme systems. The pH dependence of the binding constant of manganese to apocarbonic anhydrase is also reported.     

Solvent proton relaxation studies of cytochrome c oxidase solutions

The interaction of solvent water protons with the bound paramagnetic metal ions of beef heart cytochrome c oxidase has been examined. The observed proton relaxation rates of enzyme solutions had a negative temperature dependence, indicating a rapid exchange between solvent protons in the coordination sphere of the metal ions and bulk solvent. An analysis of the dependence of the proton relaxation rate on the observation frequency indicated that the correlation time, which modulates the interaction between solvent protons and the unpaired electrons on the metal ions, is due to the electron spin relaxation time of the heme irons of cytochrome c oxidase. This means that at least one of the hemes is exposed to solvent. The proton relaxation rate of the oxidized enzyme was found to be sensitive to changes in ionic strength and to changes in the spin states of the metal ions. Heme a3 was found to be relatively inaccessible to bulk solvent. Partial reduction of the enzyme caused a slight increase in the relaxation rate, which may be due to a change in the antiferromagnetic coupling between two of the bound paramagnetic centers. Further reduction resulted in a decreased relaxation rate, and the fully reduced enzyme was no longer sensitive to changes in ionic strength. The binding of cytochrome c to cytochrome c oxidase had little effect on the proton relaxation rates of oxidized cytochrome oxidase indicating that cytochrome c binding has little effect on solvent accessibility to the metal ion sites.     

Electron spin relaxation time of Fe(III) in high spin heme proteins.

The electron spin relaxation time of high spin Fe(III), taus, was determined from the frequency dependence (5-100 MHz) of the longitudinal proton relaxation rates of water in solutions of catalase, metmyoglobin and acid ferricytochrome c. In all three high-spin heme proteins the relaxation rates incrased below 25 MHz, while no frequency dependence was observed above that frequency. The results are interpreted by assuming that taus, which modulates the dipolar interaction between the unpaired electrons of the iron and the water protons, is frequently independent. Its value was determined to be (6 +/- 1) - 10(-11) s.     

Frequency dependence of water proton longitudinal nuclear magnetic relaxation times in mouse tissues at 20°C

We have measured the proton longitudinal relaxation times of tissue water of healthy and tumor-bearing mice as a function of the Larmor frequency in the range 6.7 to 90 MHz. These data can be rationalized according to , where A and B are constants specific to the tissue species. We present an interpretation of this frequency dependence within the Fast Exchange Two States model. It is shown that involving a distribution of correlation times for water proton-proton interaction does not yield consistent results, whereas a physically meaningful translational diffusion model pertinent to the dipolar interaction between water protons and macromolecules protons leads to the required frequency dependence. Essentially tissues would differ by the ‘bound’ versus ‘free’ proportion, or by structural properties of cells, rather than by the time-scales governing water motion.     

Nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion study of the dynamics in solid homopolypeptides

The (1)H nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion profiles were measured from 10 kHz to 30 MHz as a function of temperature for polyglycine, polyalanine, polyvaline, and polyphenylalanine to examine the contributions of different side chain motions to the polypeptide proton relaxation rate constants. The spin-fracton theory for (1)H relaxation is modified to account for high frequency motions of side chains that are dynamically connected to the linear polymer backbone. The (1)H relaxation is dominated by propagation of rare disturbances along the backbone of the polymer. The side-chain dynamics cause an off-set in the field dependence of the (1)H spin-lattice relaxation rate constants which obey a power law in the Larmor frequency in the limit of low and high magnetic field strength.     

Interaction of the complex between cloacin and its immunity protein and of cloacin with the outer and cytoplasmic membranes of sensitive cells.

Longitudinal and transverse proton relaxation rates for water in the hydration spheres of Gd(III) bound to the non-immune rabbit IgG fragments Fc (C-terminal half of heavy-chain dimer), pFc' (C-terminal quarter of heavy-chain dimer) and Fab (N-terminal half of heavy and light chain) have been measured at a number of frequencies and temperatures using pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. For the fragments Fc and pFc', a full computer analysis showed that the results could be fitted by parameters of similar magnitude to those found previously for IgG. In contrast to the results for the other complexes the Fab -Gd(III) complex showed no slow exchange contribution to the relaxation rates. Under these circumstances it was found possible to obtain an accurate value for the hydration number (q) from measurements of the longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates at a chosen frequency such that the product of the nuclear Larmor frequency (omega1) and the correlation time for the dipolar relaxation processes (tauc) was approximately unity. Water-proton relaxation rates were also determined for the complex of Gd(III) with the Fv fragment of the mouse myeloma protein MOPC 315. A computer analysis of the results revealed a slow exchange contribution to the rates and this gave errors in the variable parameters similar to those observed previously for IgG, Fc and pFc'. The conclusions drawn from the different systems are discussed in terms of the present state of application of the proton relaxation enhancement technique in biology.     

Distribution of Mn2+ ions around poly(rI).poly(rC)

The distribution of bound Mn²⁺ ions about poly(rI)·poly(rC) has been studied by measuring the effect of this paramagnetic metal ion on the relaxation behavior of poly(rI)·poly(rC) protons. By combining selective spin – lattice and spin – spin relaxation rates for various protons, some of the principle regions of ion association can be identified. The relaxation data on the CH6 proton are consistent with a < 10% occupancy of phosphate inner-sphere binding sites. The broadening of the imino proton resonance requires a substantial occupancy of sites located in the major groove, possibly near IN7. This would also be consistent with the observation that IH8 resonance is the proton most susceptible to relaxation by Mn²⁺. The relaxation data for the IH2 proton indicate a relatively low occupancy of minor-groove binding sites (e.g., IN3).     

Relationship of biochemical and morphological changes in rat thyroid and proton spin-relaxation of the tissue water.

The effect was studied of biochemical and morphological changes induced by antithyroid substances (PTU, C10(-4)) on proton spin-relaxation properties of rat thyroid gland. It was found that thyroid stimulated by PTU (0.05%) or C10(-4) (1.0%) exhibit marked morphological changes (hyperplasia and epithelial hypertrophy) with alteration of the soluble iodoprotein pattern (content and composition.). Both relaxation times spin-lattice (T1) and spin-spin (T2) were increasing with the lenght of treatment with antithyroid drugs. Reversibility of the process was noted in accordance with biochemical and morphological data. The relaxation rate (formula: see text) for thyroid tissue water was in positive correlation with the suluble protein concentration and particularly with the TG content in the gland. There was no difference in relaxation times between normal thyroid and gland of rats treated chronically with excess iodide. The observed difference in T1 between normal glands and glands of PTU,-C10(-4)--treated rats was comparable with that found in cases of human thyroid cancer. This finding is of importance when the diagnostic potential of NMR in the detection of malignancy is considered. In conclusion, a strong correlation was found between microstructural and biochemical changes of the thyroid gland and proton magnetic relaxation of tissue water. The striking difference between the proton spin-relaxation times in normal and in goiter thyroid glands of rats suggests that pulsed NMR spectroscopy could be a method for evaluation of some disturbances in thyroid gland.     

Dynamics of human serum albumin studied by acoustic relaxation spectroscopy

Sonic absorption spectra of solutions of human serum albumin (SA) in water and in aqueous phosphate buffer systems have been measured between 0.2 and 2000 MHz at different temperatures (15-35 degrees C), pH values (1.8-12.3), and protein concentrations (1-40 g/L). Several spectra, indicating relaxation processes in the whole frequency range, have been found. The spectra at neutral pH could be fitted well with an analytical function consisting of the asymptotic high frequency absorption and two relaxation contributions, a Debye-type relaxation term with discrete relaxation time and a term with asymmetric continuous distribution of relaxation times. Both relaxation contributions were observed in water and in buffer solutions and increased with protein concentration. The contribution represented by a Debye-type term is practically independent of temperature and was attributed to cooperative conformational changes of the polypeptide chain featuring a relaxation time of about 400 ns. The distribution of the relaxation times corresponding to the second relaxation contribution was characterized by a short time cutoff, between about 0.02 and 0.4 ns depending on temperature, and a long time tail extending to microseconds. Such relaxation behavior was interpreted in terms of solute-solvent interactions reflecting various hydration layers of HSA molecules. At acid and alkaline pH, an additional Debye-type contribution with relaxation time in the range of 30-100 ns exists. It seems to be due to proton transfer reactions of protein side-chain groups. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of these processes have been estimated from these first measurements to indicate the potential of acoustic spectra for the investigation of the elementary kinetics of albumin processes.     

Origin of the nonexponentiality of the water proton spin relaxations in tissues.

An attempt to explain the nonexponential recovery of the water proton spin magnetization in tissues is presented. The origin of this effect is the nonhomogeneity of the material and the distribution of slow diffusion correlation times. This proposal is based on a dispersion study of the tissue water proton spin relaxation time in the rotating frame.     

Proton magnetic relaxation time of normal and tumor cells

A proton NMR analysis of an in vitro culture of cells in heavy water has been made. The relaxation times of L-strain cells 929, He-La, transformed and normal embryonic human cells, C3H mice and isolated Yoshida sarcoma tumour cells, as well as of Yoshida sarcoma tumour tissue were determined. It turned out that spin-lattice (T1) and spin-spin (T2) relaxation times are characteristic of every cell and fairly different from those of corresponding tissues, which may be used for NMR identification of cells (NMR cytology). Furthermore, it has incontestably been proved that there is an ordered water fraction of cells, which is very slowly exchanged with surrounding heavy water.