Thermodynamic origin of the affinity, selectivity and domain specificity of metallothionein for essential and toxic metal ions.

The small Cys-rich protein metallothionein (MT) binds several metal ions in clusters within its two domains. While the affinity of MT for both toxic and essential metals has been well studied, the thermodynamics of this binding has not. We have used isothermal titration calorimetry measurements to quantify the change in enthalpy (ΔH) and change in entropy (ΔS) when metal ions bind to the two ubiquitous isoforms of MT. The seven Zn2+ that bind sequentially at pH 7.4 do so in two populations with different coordination thermodynamics, an initial four that bind randomly with individual tetra-thiolate coordination and a subsequent three that bind with bridging thiolate coordination to assemble the metal clusters. The high affinity of MT for both populations is due to a very favourable binding entropy that far outweighs an unfavourable binding enthalpy. This originates from a net enthalpic penalty for Zn2+ displacement of protons from the Cys thiols and a favourable entropic contribution from the displaced protons. The thermodynamics of other metal ions binding to MT were determined by their displacement of Zn2+ from Zn7MT and subtraction of the Zn2+-binding thermodynamics. Toxic Cd2+, Pb2+ and Ag+, and essential Cu+, also bind to MT with a very favourable binding entropy but a net binding enthalpy that becomes increasingly favourable as the metal ion becomes a softer Lewis acid. These thermodynamics are the origin of the high affinity, selectivity and domain specificity of MT for these metal ions and the molecular basis for their in vivo binding competition.

Calculation of Crystal-Solution Dissociation Constants.

The calculation of dissociation constants is an important problem in molecular biophysics. For such a calculation, it is important to correctly calculate both terms of the binding free energy; that is, the enthalpy and entropy of binding. Both these terms can be computed using molecular dynamics simulations, but this approach is very computationally expensive, and entropy calculations are especially slow. We develop an alternative very fast method of calculating the binding entropy and dissociation constants. The main part of our approach is based on the evaluation of movement ranges of molecules in the bound state. Then, the range of molecular movements in the bound state (here, in molecular crystals) is used for the calculation of the binding entropies and, then (using, in addition, the experimentally measured sublimation enthalpies), the crystal-to-vapor dissociation constants. Previously, we considered the process of the reversible sublimation of small organic molecules from crystals to vapor. In this work, we extend our approach by considering the dissolution of molecules, in addition to their sublimation. Similar to the sublimation case, our method shows a good correlation with experimentally measured dissociation constants at the dissolution of crystals.

[Evaluation of the Accuracy of Calculation of the Standard Binding Entropy of Molecules from their Average Mobility in Molecular Crystals].

One of the main problems in attempts to predict the binding constants of molecules (or free energies of their binding) is the correct evaluation of configurational binding entropy. This evaluation is possible by methods of molecular dynamics simulation, but these simulations require a lot of computational time. Earlier, we have developed an alternative approach which allows the fast calculation of the binding entropy from summarizing the available data on sublimation of crystals. Our method is based on evaluating the mean amplitude of the movements that are restricted in the bound molecule, e.g., in a crystal, but are not restricted in the free state, e.g., in vapor. In this work, it is shown that the standard entropy of binding of molecules by crystals under standard conditions (1 atm, 25°C) can be assessed rather accurately from geometric and physical parameters of the molecule and the average amplitude of the molecule motions in crystals estimated in our previous work.

Isolated noncatalytic and catalytic subunits of F1-ATPase exhibit similar, albeit not identical, energetic strategies for recognizing adenosine nucleotides.

The function of F1-ATPase relies critically on the intrinsic ability of its catalytic and noncatalytic subunits to interact with nucleotides. Therefore, the study of isolated subunits represents an opportunity to dissect elementary energetic contributions that drive the enzyme's rotary mechanism. In this study we have calorimetrically characterized the association of adenosine nucleotides to the isolated noncatalytic α-subunit. The resulting recognition behavior was compared with that previously reported for the isolated catalytic ß-subunit (N.O. Pulido, G. Salcedo, G. Pérez-Hernández, C. José-Núñez, A. Velázquez-Campoy, E. García-Hernández, Energetic effects of magnesium in the recognition of adenosine nucleotides by the F1-ATPase ß subunit, Biochemistry 49 (2010) 5258-5268). The two subunits exhibit nucleotide-binding thermodynamic signatures similar to each other, characterized by enthalpically-driven affinities in the µM range. Nevertheless, contrary to the catalytic subunit that recognizes MgATP and MgADP with comparable strength, the noncatalytic subunit much prefers the triphosphate nucleotide. Besides, the α-subunit depends more on Mg(II) for stabilizing the interaction with ATP, while both subunits are rather metal-independent for ADP recognition. These binding behaviors are discussed in terms of the properties that the two subunits exhibit in the whole enzyme.