A Spectroscopic Study on PtCl4(2−) Binding to Rabbit SkeletalMuscle G‐Actin

Abstract

It was found that the binding of PtCl42− to G-actin and the consequent conformational changes are different with those for hard acids. It is a two-step process depending on molar ratio PtCl42−/actin (R). In the first step, R less than 25, the PtCl42− ions are bound to sulfur-containing groups preferentially. These high-affinity sites determined by Scatchard approach are characterized by n1 = 30 with average binding constant K1=1.0×107M-1. The conformational changes are significant as characterized by N-(1-pyrenyl) maleimide(NPM) labeled fluorescence, intrinsic fluorescence and CD spectra. EPR spectroscopy of maleimide spin labeled(MSL) actin demonstrated that even PtCl42−binding is limited to a very small fraction of high-affinity sites(R<1), it can bring about a pronounced change of conformation. In the range of R=25-40, high-affinity sites accessible are saturated. In the second step(R>40) , deep-buried binding sites turn out to be accessible as a result of the accumulated conformational changes. These new binding sites are estimated to be n2=26 with average binding constant K2=2.1×106M-1. Although in this step the quenching of intrinsic fluorescence goes on and the NPM-labled thiols moves to more hydrophilic environment, no change in α-helix content was found. These results suggested that with increasing in PtCl4(2−) binding, the G-actin turns to an open and loose structure in a discontinuous mode.