Calcium effects on calmodulin lysine reactivities

Abstract

The differential reactivities of individual lysines on porcine testicular calmodulin were determined by trace labeling with high specific activity [ 3H]acetic anhydride as a function of the molar ratio of Ca 2+ to calmodulin. In progressing from the Ca 2+-depleted form of the protein to a Ca 2+:calmodulin molar ratio of 5:1, six of the seven lysyl residues exhibited a modest 1.5- to 3.0-fold increase in reactivity. Lys 75, in contrast, was enhanced in reactivity greater than 20-fold. When the change in reactivity of each lysine was normalized as a percentage of the maximum change, most of the residues were found to fall into two distinct classes. One class, comprising lysines 94 and 148 from the two carboxy terminal Ca 2+-binding domains 3 and 4, respectively, exhibited about 90% of their reactivity change when the Ca 2+:calmodulin molar ratio was 2:1, and these residues were perturbed very little upon further addition of Ca 2+. The other class, encompassing lysines 13, 21, and 30 from the amino terminal domain 1 and Lys 75 from the extended helix connecting the two globular lobes of calmodulin, underwent most of their overall reactivity change (55–70%) between 2 and 5 equivalents of Ca 2+ per mol of calmodulin. Lys 77 was distinct in its pattern of change, undergoing approximately equal changes with each Ca 2+ increment. These results are consistent with a model where Ca 2+ first binds to the two carboxy terminal sites of calmodulin with no apparent preference, concomitant with minor alterations in the microenvironments of lysines in the unoccupied amino terminal domains. The third and fourth Ca 2+ ions then bind to these latter two domains, again with no evidence of preference, with little change in the lysine reactivities at the carboxy terminus of the molecule. The environments of groups in the central helix appear to undergo changes in a manner that reflects their proximity to the amino and carboxy terminal domains. In the course of this work, it was found that Lys 94 in apocalmodulin is specifically perturbed by the addition of EGTA, suggesting that the chelating agent may interact with calmodulin at or near the third Ca 2+-binding domain.