Proton NMR investigation of heme and surrounding proton in low-spin cyanide-ligated bacterial hemoglobin fromVitreoscilla

1H NMR spectra of low-spin cyanide-ligated bacterial hemoglobin from Vitreoscilla (VtHb-CN) are reported. The assignments of the 1H NMR spectra of VtHb-CN have been made through MCOSY, NOESY, 1D TOE and SUPERWEFT experiments. Almost all resonance peaks of heme and ligated His85 are identified. The spin-lattice relaxation time T1's and the variation relationships of chemical shifts of these peaks with temperature have been acquired, from which the distances between the measured protons and Fe3 , and the diamagnetic chemical shifts have been acquired, respectively. The ionization constants of pKa's of ligated His85 are determined through pH titration of chemical shift, which is 4.95 for ligated His85 C2H proton. The lower pKa is attributed to the influence of the Fe3 of carrying positive charge and the coordination of His85 and Fe3 of heme.     

Modulation of the electron-proton coupling at cytochrome a by the ligation of the oxidized catalytic center in bovine cytochrome c oxidase

Cytochrome a was suggested as the key redox center in the proton pumping process of bovine cytochrome c oxidase (CcO). Recent studies showed that both the structure of heme a and its immediate vicinity are sensitive to the ligation and the redox state of the distant catalytic center composed of iron of cytochrome a₃ (Fe_a3) and copper (Cu_B). Here, the influence of the ligation at the oxidized Fe_a3³⁺–Cu_B²⁺ center on the electron–proton coupling at heme a was examined in the wide pH range (6.5-11). The strength of the coupling was evaluated by the determination of pH dependence of the midpoint potential of heme a (E_m(a)) for the cyanide (the low-spin Fe_a3³⁺) and the formate-ligated CcO (the high-spin Fe_a3³⁺). The measurements were performed under experimental conditions when other three redox centers of CcO are oxidized. Two slightly differing linear pH dependencies of E_m(a) were found for the CN– and the formate–ligated CcO with slopes of −13 mV/pH unit and −23 mV/pH unit, respectively. These linear dependencies indicate only a weak and unspecific electron–proton coupling at cytochrome a in both forms of CcO. The lack of the strong electron–proton coupling at the physiological pH values is also substantiated by the UV–Vis absorption and electron–paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy investigations of the cyanide–ligated oxidized CcO. It is shown that the ligand exchange at Fe_a³⁺ between His–Fe_a³⁺–His and His–Fe_a³⁺–OH⁻ occurs only at pH above 9.5 with the estimated pK >11.0.     

Characterization of the heme–histidine cross-link in cyanobacterial hemoglobins from<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Synechocystis</Emphasis> sp. PCC 6803 and<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Synechococcus</Emphasis> sp. PCC 7002

The recombinant product of the hemoglobin gene of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 forms spontaneously a covalent bond linking one of the heme vinyl groups to a histidine located in the C-terminal helix (His117, or H16). The present report describes the ¹H, ¹⁵N, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy experiments demonstrating that the recombinant hemoglobin from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, a protein sharing 59% identity with Synechocystis hemoglobin, undergoes the same facile heme adduct formation. The observation that the extraordinary linkage is not unique to Synechocystis hemoglobin suggests that it constitutes a noteworthy feature of hemoglobin in non-N₂-fixing cyanobacteria, along with the previously documented bis-histidine coordination of the heme iron. A qualitative analysis of the hyperfine chemical shifts of the ferric proteins indicated that the cross-link had modest repercussions on axial histidine ligation and heme electronic structure. In Synechocystis hemoglobin, the unreacted His117 imidazole had a normal pK _a whereas the protonation of the modified residue took place at lower pH. Optical experiments revealed that the cross-link stabilized the protein with respect to thermal and acid denaturation. Replacement of His117 with an alanine yielded a species inert to adduct formation, but inspection of the heme chemical shifts and ligand binding properties of the variant identified position 117 as important in seating the cofactor in its site and modifying the dynamic properties of the protein. A role for bis-histidine coordination and covalent adduct formation in heme retention is proposed.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at Abbreviations DQF-COSY double-quantum-filtered correlated spectroscopy - GlbN cyanoglobin - Hb hemoglobin - hx hexacoordinate - MALDI matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization - NOE nuclear Overhauser effect - NOESY two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy - rHb recombinant hemoglobin - rHb-A recombinant hemoglobin with covalently attached heme - rHb-R recombinant heme-reconstituted hemoglobin - S6803 Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 - S7002 Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 - TOCSY totally correlated two-dimensional spectroscopy - TPPI time-proportional phase incrementation - trHb truncated hemoglobin - WATERGATE water suppression by gradient-tailored excitation - WEFT water elimination Fourier transform     

A goose-type lysozyme from ostrich (Struthio camelus) egg white: multiple roles of His101 in its enzymatic reaction

A goose-type lysozyme from ostrich egg white (OEL) was produced by Escherichia coli expression system, and the role of His101 of OEL in the enzymatic reaction was investigated by NMR spectroscopy, thermal unfolding, and theoretical modeling of the enzymatic hydrolysis of hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose, (GlcNAc)₆. Although the binding of tri-N-acetylchitotriose, (GlcNAc)₃, to OEL perturbed several backbone resonances in the ¹H–¹⁵N HSQC spectrum, the chemical shift of the backbone resonance of His101 was not significantly affected. However, apparent pK_a values of His101 and Lys102 determined from the pH titration curves of the backbone chemical shifts were markedly shifted by (GlcNAc)₃ binding. Thermal unfolding experiments and modeling study of (GlcNAc)₆ hydrolysis using a His101-mutated OEL (H101A-OEL) revealed that the His101 mutation affected not only sugar residue affinities at subsites ?3 and ?2 but also the rate constant for bond cleavage. His101 appears to play multiple roles in the substrate binding and the catalytic reaction.     

Comparative studies of the interaction of human and bovine platelet factor 4 with heparin using histidine NMR resonances as spectroscopic probes

ThepK _a values of His-38 and His-50 of the heparin-binding protein, bovine platelet factor 4, are 5.6 and 6.5, respectively, as determined by¹H NMR spectroscopy. The¹H NMR resonance of His-38 of bovine platelet factor 4 which exhibits the lowerpK _a value is perturbed upon heparin binding to a greater degree than the resonance of His-50. Human platelet factor 4 contains the homologous residues His-23 and His-35. ThepK _a values of the two histidine residues of human platelet factor 4 are 5.3 and 6.4. The¹H NMR resonance of the histidine of human platelet factor 4 exhibiting the lowerpK _a value also is perturbed upon heparin binding to a greater degree than the histidine resonance exhibiting the higherpK _a , thereby suggesting comparable heparin-protein interactions in bovine and human platelet factor 4.     

Interaction of Ca2+ and H+ with heme A in cytochrome oxidase

Ca²⁺ ions shift the absorption spectrum of reduced cytochromea in mitochondria by acting from the outside of the membrane. In isolated cytochrome oxidase the shift may be induced by either Ca²⁺ or H⁺, the apparent pK varying between 6.20 and 5.75 depending on the state of cytochromea ₃. Studies of the Soret band show that Ca²⁺ also shifts the spectrum of ferrocytochromea ₃ in isolated oxidase in contrast to the situation in mitochondria or isolated oxidase reconstituted into liposomes. Model studies with reduced bis-imidazole heme A reveals an analogous spectral shift induced by Ca²⁺. Esterification of the propionate carboxyls of heme A abolishes the spectral shift, suggesting that it is due to interaction of Ca²⁺ with these groups. When taken together with the data with intact mitochondria, this suggests that the propionate side chains of cytochromea are accessible to Ca²⁺ and H⁺ from the outside of the mitochondrial membrane. In the soluble enzyme both hemesa anda ₃ are accessible. Thus hemea may be located near the outside of the inner membrane whereas hemea ₃ experiences a different environment in which no Ca²⁺ shift occurs.     

Complete H and C NMR chemical shift assignments of mono-, di-, and trisaccharides as basis for NMR chemical shift predictions of polysaccharides using the computer program casper

The computer program casper uses ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shift data of mono- to trisaccharides for the prediction of chemical shifts of oligo- and polysaccharides. In order to improve the quality of these predictions the ¹H and ¹³C, as well as ³¹P when applicable, NMR chemical shifts of 30 mono-, di-, and trisaccharides were assigned. The reducing sugars gave two distinct sets of NMR resonances due to the α- and β-anomeric forms. In total 35 ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shift data sets were obtained from the oligosaccharides. One- and two-dimensional NMR experiments were used for the chemical shift assignments and special techniques were employed in some cases such as 2D ¹H,¹³C-HSQC Hadamard Transform methodology which was acquired approximately 45 times faster than a regular t₁ incremented ¹H,¹³C-HSQC experiment and a 1D ¹H,¹H-CSSF-TOCSY experiment which was able to distinguish spin-systems in which the target protons were only 3.3 Hz apart. The ¹H NMR chemical shifts were subsequently refined using total line-shape analysis with the PERCH NMR software. The acquired NMR data were then utilized in the casper program (http://www.casper.organ.su.se/casper/) for NMR chemical shift predictions of the O-antigen polysaccharides from Klebsiella O5, Shigella flexneri serotype X, and Salmonella arizonae O62. The data were compared to experimental data of the polysaccharides from the two former strains and the lipopolysaccharide of the latter strain showing excellent agreement between predicted and experimental ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shifts.     

Carboxyl pKa Values and Acid Denaturation of BBL

The protein BBL undergoes structural transitions and acid denaturation between pH 1.2 and 8.0. Using NMR spectroscopy, we measured the pK_a values of all the carboxylic residues in this pH range. We employed ¹³C direct-detection two-dimensional IPAP (in-phase antiphase) CACO NMR spectroscopy to monitor the ionization state of different carboxylic groups and demonstrated its advantages over other NMR techniques in measuring pK_a values of carboxylic residues. The two residues Glu161 and Asp162 had significantly lowered pK_a values, showing that these residues are involved in a network of stabilizing electrostatic interactions, as is His166. The other carboxylates had unperturbed values. The pH dependence of the free energy of denaturation was described quantitatively by the ionizations of those three residues of perturbed pK_a, and, using thermodynamic cycles, we could calculate their pK_as in the native and denatured states as well as the equilibrium constants for denaturation of the different protonation states. We also measured ¹³C^α chemical shifts of individual residues as a function of pH. These shifts sense structural transitions rather than ionizations, and they titrated with pH consistent with the change in equilibrium constant for denaturation. Kinetic measurements of the folding of BBL E161Q indicated that, at pH 7, the stabilizing interactions with Glu161 are formed mainly in the transition state. We also found that local interactions still exist in the acid-denatured state of BBL, which attenuate somewhat the flexibility of the acid-denatured state.     

Fe- but not Mg-protophorphyrin IX binds to a transmembrane b-type cytochrome

Transmembrane b-type cytochromes, which are crucially involved in electron transfer chains, bind one or more heme (Fe-protoporphyrin IX) molecules non-covalently. Similarly, chlorophylls are typically also non-covalently bound by several membrane integral polypeptides involved in photosynthesis. While both, chlorophyll and heme, are tetrapyrrole macrocycles, they have different substituents at the tetrapyrrole ring moiety. Furthermore, the central metal ion is Mg²⁺ in chlorophyll and Fe^2+/3+ in heme. As heme and chlorophyll a have similar structures and might both be ligated by two histidine residues of a polypeptide chain, and as the local concentration of chlorophyll a might be up to 100-times higher than the concentration of heme, the question arises, as to how an organism ensures specific binding of heme, but not of chlorophyll, to transmembrane apo-cytochromes involved in photosynthetic electron transfer reactions. As shown here, Fe-protoporphyrin IX derivatives with modified substituents at the tetrapyrrole ring moiety still bind to an apo-cytochrome; however, association appears to be reduced. This indicates that hydrophobic and polar interactions of the ring substituents with the protein moiety stabilize the protein/heme-complex but are not essential per se. However, removal or replacement of the central Fe-ion completely abolishes formation of a holo-protein complex, and thus the central iron ion appears to determine heme binding to apo-cytochrome b₆.     

Biogeochemical Properties of Bacteriogenic Iron Oxides

Bacteriogenic iron oxides (BIOS) are composite materials that consist of intact and partly degraded remains of bacterial cells intermixed with variable amounts of poorly ordered hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) minerals. They form in response to chemical or bacterial oxidation of Fe²⁺, which gives rise to Fe³⁺. Once formed, Fe³⁺ tends to undergo hydrolysis to precipitate in association with bacterial cells. In acidic systems where the chemical oxidation of Fe²⁺ is slow, bacteria are capable of accelerating the reaction by several orders of magnitude. At circumneutral pH, the chemical oxidation of Fe²⁺ is fast. This requires Fe²⁺ oxidizing bacteria to exploit steep redox gradients where low pO₂ slows the abiotic reaction enough to allow the bacteria to compete kinetically. Because of their reactive surface properties, BIOS behave as potent sorbents of dissolved metal ions. Strong enrichments of Al, Cu, Cr, Mn, Sr, and Zn in the solid versus aqueous phase (log 10 K_d values range from 1.9 to 4.2) are common; however, the metal sorption properties of BIOS are not additive owing to surface chemical interactions between the constituent HFO and bacteria. These interactions have been investigated using acid-base tritrations, which show that the concentration of high pK_a sites is reduced in BIOS compared to HFO. At the same time, hydroxylamine insoluble material (i.e., residual bacterial fraction) is enriched in low pK_a sites relative to both BIOS and HFO. These differences indicate that low pK_a or acidic sites associated with bacteria in BIOS interact specifically with high pK_a or basic sites on intermixed HFO.     

1H nuclear magnetic resonance studies of histidine-containing di- and tripeptides. Estimation of the effects of charged groups on the pKa value of the imidazole ring.

The nmr titration curves of chemical shifts versus pH were observed for the protons of various histidine-containing di- and tripeptides. With these results, the macroscopic pK_a values and the chemical shifts intrinsic to each ionic species were determined by a computer curve-fitting based on a simple acid dissociation sequence. The pK_a value of the imidazole ring in N-acetyl-L -histidine methylamide was assumed to represent the intrinsic (or unperturbed) pK_a of the imidazole rings of histidine having peptide linkages at both the CO and NH sides. The pK_a values of the imidazole rings observed for most di- and tripeptides were reasonably reproduced by simple calculations using the intrinsic value and the perturbations due to the CO₂^? and NH₃⁺ groups located at various positions. Some other factors affecting the pK_a value of the imidazole ring are also discussed.     

Analysis of the paramagnetic shifts of haem carbon resonances in bovine ferricytochrome b 5

Recently published chemical shifts for haem ¹³C nuclei in bovine ferricytochrome b ₅₅ (Lee KB, Kweon J, Park H (1995) Assignment of hyperfine-shifted heme carbon resonances in ferricytochrome b ₅. FEBS Lett. 367:77–80) are analysed in terms of haem molecular orbitals with perturbed D_4h symmetry. Since a crystal structure of this protein is available, together with extensive ¹H assignments both in the oxidised and reduced forms, the paramagnetic shifts can be separated into dipolar and Fermi contact contributions by using an empirical magnetic susceptibility tensor. The results are compared with the orientation of the tensor and the geometry of the haem ligands. This comparison casts doubt on one of the ¹³C assignments and demonstrates that the asymmetry of the haem electronic structure is dominated by the influence of both of the His ligands. The ¹³C chemical shifts of two haem methyl groups in the minor form of the protein, in which the haem is approximately rotated by 180° about its 5CH15CH axis, are also evaluated.     

Steric Enhancement of Imidazole Basicity incis-Urocanic Acid Derivatives: Models for the Action of Chymotrypsin

To test the hypothesis that substrate-induced steric compression between His 57 and Asp 102 at the active site of chymotrypsin can increase the basicity of His 57, we have synthesized thecis- andtrans-isomers of 2-bromo-3-(N-tritylimidazole)-2-propenoic acid and 2-chloro-3-(N-tritylimidazole)-2-propenoic acid and compared selected properties with those ofcis-andtrans-urocanic acids. Thecis-isomers display low field¹H NMR signals at 17 ppm in dimethylsulfoxide, similar tocis-urocanic acid; whereas thetrans-isomers do not show strong hydrogen bonds. Increasing the size of the C2 substituent (H < Cl < Br) in thecis-isomers increases the pK_aof the imidazolium group from 6.78 for H to 7.81 and 9.10 for Cl and Br, respectively; whereas the pK_as of thetransisomers are all 6.0 ± 0.1. The results indicate that thecis-urocanic acid derivatives with large substituents at C2 act as proton sponges in water, and they support the concept that steric compression in the catalytic triad of chymotrypsin can increase the basicity of His 57.     

Interactions of uranyl ion with cytochrome <Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis><Subscript>5</Subscript> and its His39Ser variant as revealed by molecular simulation in combination with experimental methods

The biological toxicity of uranyl ion (UO₂²⁺) lies in interacting with proteins and disrupting their native functions. The structural and functional consequences of UO₂²⁺ interacting with cytochrome b ₅ (cyt b ₅), a small membrane heme protein, and its heme axial ligand His39Ser variant, cyt b ₅ H39S, were investigated both experimentally and theoretically. In experiments, although cyt b ₅ was only slightly affected, UO₂²⁺ binding to cyt b ₅ H39S with a K _D of 2.5 μM resulted in obvious alteration of the heme active site, and led to a decrease in peroxidase activity. Theoretically, molecular simulation proposed a uranyl ion binding site for cyt b ₅ at surface residues of Glu37 and Glu43, revealing both coordination and hydrogen bonding interactions. The information gained in this study provides insights into the mechanism of uranyl toxicity toward membrane protein at an atomic level.     

Reassignment of the active site histidines in ribonuclease A by selective deuteration studies.

The C₂H resonance of the active site histidine residue designated AS-2, which has the lower pK_a of the two active site histidines, has been correlated in both RNase A and RNase S by comparing the pH 3 to 5.5 regions of the chemical shift titration curves, the effect of the inhibitor CMP-3′ on the chemical shifts at pH 4.0, and the effect of Cu II on the line widths at pH 3.6. It has been demonstrated that resonance AS-2 is absent in the spectrum of RNase S′ reconstituted using S-peptide deuterated at the C₂ of His 12, and in that of the RNase S′-CMP-3′ complex. We thus demonstrate that histidine AS-2 is in fact His 12 in both enzymes. This finding is in agreement with out previous assignment of the exchangeable NH proton in RNase A to His 12, but reverses the assignments of the active site histidine C₂H resonances made earlier by other authors.     

19F NMR study of protein-induced rhombic perturbations on the electronic structure of the active site of myoglobin

 A novel C ₂-symmetric ring-fluorinated hemin, 13,17-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-2,8,12,18-tetramethyl-3,7-difluoroporphyrinatoiron(III), has been synthesized and was incorporated into sperm whale apomyoglobin to investigate protein-induced rhombic perturbations on the electronic structure of the active site of myoglobin (Mb) using ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. NMR signals for ¹⁹F atoms introduced as substituents on the present heme in ferrous low-spin and high-spin and ferric low-spin complexes have been observed and their shifts sharply reflect not only the electronic nature of the heme iron, but also in-plane asymmetry of the heme electronic structure. The two-fold symmetric electronic structure of the ring-fluorinated hemin is clearly manifested in the ¹⁹F and ¹H NMR spectra of its dicyano complex. The chemical equivalence of the two fluorine atoms of the heme is removed in the active site of myoglobin and the splitting of the two ¹⁹F NMR signals provides a quantitative probe for characterizing the rhombic perturbation of the heme electronic structure induced by the heme-protein interaction. The in-plane asymmetry of heme electronic structures in carbonmonoxy and deoxy Mbs have been analyzed for the first time on the basis of the shift difference between the two ¹⁹F NMR signals of the heme and is interpreted in terms of iron-ligand binding and/or the orbital ground state of the heme. A potential utility of ¹⁹F NMR, combined with the use of a symmetric fluorinated hemin, in characterizing the heme electronic structure of myoglobin in a variety of iron oxidation, spin, and ligation states, is presented. Received: 23 December 1999 / Accepted: 3 April 2000     

The heme environment of mouse neuroglobin: histidine imidazole plane orientations obtained from solution NMR and EPR spectroscopy as compared with X-ray crystallography

The ¹H NMR chemical shifts of the heme methyl groups of the ferriheme complex of metneuroglobin (Du et al. in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125:8080–8081, 2003) predict orientations of the axial histidine ligands (Shokhirev and Walker in J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 3:581–594, 1998) that are not consistent with the X-ray data (Vallone et al. in Proteins Struct. Funct. Bioinf. 56:85–94, 2004), and the EPR spectrum (Vinck et al. in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126:4516–4517, 2004) is only marginally consistent with these data. The reasons for these inconsistencies appear to be rooted in the high degree of aqueous solution exposure of the heme group and the fact that there are no strong hydrogen-bond acceptors for the histidine imidazole N–H protons provided by the protein. Similar inconsistencies may exist for other water-soluble heme proteins, and ¹H NMR spectroscopy provides a simple means to verify whether the solution structure of the heme center is the same as or different from that in the crystalline state.     

pH-dependent random coil 1H, 13C,and 15N chemical shifts of the ionizable amino acids: a guide for protein pK a measurements

The pK _a values and charge states of ionizable residues in polypeptides and proteins are frequently determined via NMR-monitored pH titrations. To aid the interpretation of the resulting titration data, we have measured the pH-dependent chemical shifts of nearly all the ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N nuclei in the seven common ionizable amino acids (X = Asp, Glu, His, Cys, Tyr, Lys, and Arg) within the context of a blocked tripeptide, acetyl-Gly-X-Gly-amide. Alanine amide and N-acetyl alanine were used as models of the N- and C-termini, respectively. Together, this study provides an essentially complete set of pH-dependent intra-residue and nearest-neighbor reference chemical shifts to help guide protein pK _a measurements. These data should also facilitate pH-dependent corrections in algorithms used to predict the chemical shifts of random coil polypeptides. In parallel, deuterium isotope shifts for the side chain ¹⁵N nuclei of His, Lys, and Arg in their positively-charged and neutral states were also measured. Along with previously published results for Asp, Glu, Cys, and Tyr, these deuterium isotope shifts can provide complementary experimental evidence for defining the ionization states of protein residues.     

Peculiarities of cyanide binding to the <Emphasis Type="Italic">ba</Emphasis><Subscript>3</Subscript>-type cytochrome oxidase from the thermophilic bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thermus thermophilus</Emphasis>

Cytochrome c oxidase of the ba ₃-type from Thermus thermophilus does not interact with cyanide in the oxidized state and acquires the ability to bind heme iron ligands only upon reduction. Cyanide complexes of the reduced heme a ₃ in cytochrome ba ₃ and in mitochondrial aa ₃-type cytochrome oxidase are similar spectroscopically, but the a ₃²⁺-CN complex of cytochrome ba ₃ is strikingly tight. Experiments have shown that the K _d value of the cytochrome ba ₃ complex with cyanide in the presence of reductants of the enzyme binuclear center does not exceed 10⁻⁸ M, which is four to five orders of magnitude less than the K _d of the cyanide complex of the reduced heme a ₃ of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase. The tightness of the cytochrome ba ₃ complex with cyanide is mainly associated with an extremely slow rate of the ligand dissociation (k _off ≤ 10⁻⁷ sec⁻¹), while the rate of binding (k _on ∼ 10² M⁻¹·sec⁻¹) is similar to the rate observed for the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase. It is proposed that cyanide dissociation from the cytochrome ba ₃ binuclear center might be hindered sterically by the presence of the second ligand molecule in the coordination sphere of Cu_B²⁺. The rate of cyanide binding with the reduced heme a ₃ does not depend on pH in the neutral area, but it approaches linear dependence on H⁺ activity in the alkaline region. Cyanide binding appears to be controlled by protonation of an enzyme group with pK _a = 8.75.     

[2-3H]ATP synthesis and 3H NMR spectroscopy of enzyme-nucleotide complexes: ADP and ADP.Vi bound to myosin subfragment 1

Summary The synthesis of [2-³H]ATP with specific activity high enough to use for ³H NMR spectroscopy at micromolar concentrations was accomplished by tritiodehalogenation of 2-Br-ATP. ATP with greater than 80% substitution at the 2-position and negligible tritium levels at other positions had a single ³H NMR peak at 8.20 ppm in 1D spectra obtained at 533 MHz. This result enables the application of tritium NMR spectroscopy to ATP utilizing enzymes.The proteolytic fragment of skeletal muscle myosin, called S1, consists of a heavy chain (95 kDa) and one alkali light chain (16 or 21 kDa) complex that retains myosin ATPase activity. In the presence of Mg²⁺, S1 converts [2-³H]ATP to [2-³H]ADP and the complex S1.Mg[2-³H]ADP has ADP bound in the active site. At 0°C, 1D ³H NMR spectra of S1.Mg[2-³H]ADP have two broadened peaks shifted 0.55 and 0.90 ppm upfield from the peak due to free [2-³H]ADP. Spectra with good signal-to-noise for 0.10 mM S1.Mg[2-³H]ADP were obtained in 180 min. The magnitude of the chemical shift caused by binding is consistent with the presence of an aromatic side chain being in the active site. Spectra were the same for S1 with either of the alkali light chains present, suggesting that the alkali light chains do not interact differently with the active site. The two broad peaks appear to be due to the two conformations of S1 that have been observed previously by other techniques. Raising the temperature to 20 °C causes small changes in the chemical shifts, narrows the peak widths from 150 to 80 Hz, and increases the relative area under the more upfield peak. Addition of orthovanadate (V_i) to produce S1.Mg[2-³H]ADP.V_i shifts both peaks slightly more upfield without chaning their widths or relative areas.