Structure, stability, and interconversion barriers of the rotamers of cis-[Pt(II)Cl(2)(quinoline)2] and cis-[Pt(II)Cl(2)(3-bromoquinoline)(quinoline)] from X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy and molecular mechanics evidence.

Reported are the preparations of cis-[PtCl(2)(quinoline)(2)] and cis-[PtCl(2)(3-bromoquinoline)(quinoline)] and an investigation of the stabilities and interconversion of the rotamer forms of these complexes. Both head-to-head (HTH) and head-to-tail (HTT) rotamer forms are found in the crystal structure of cis-[PtCl(2)(quinoline)(2)]. The NOESY NMR spectrum of cis-[PtCl(2)(quinoline)(2)] in dmf-d(7) at 300 K is consistent with conformational exchange brought about by rotation about the Pt-N(quinoline) bonds. H.H nonbonded distances between H atoms of the two different quinoline ligands were determined from NOESY data, and these distances are in accord with those observed in the crystal structure and derived from molecular mechanics models. cis-[PtCl(2)(3-bromoquinoline)(quinoline)] was prepared to alleviate the symmetry-imposed absence of inter-ring H2/H2 and H8/H8 NOESY cross-peaks for cis-[PtCl(2)(quinoline)(2)]. Molecular mechanics calculations on the complexes show the HTT rotamers to be 1-2 kJ mol(-)(1) more stable than the HTH forms, consistent with the (1)H spectra where the intensities of resonances for the two forms are approximately equal. Variable-temperature (1)H NMR spectra of cis-[PtCl(2)(quinoline)(2)] in dmf-d(7) indicate a rotational energy barrier of 82 +/- 4 kJ mol(-)(1). Variable-temperature (1)H NMR spectra indicate that the Br substituent on the quinoline ring does not affect the energy barrier to interconversion between the HTT and HTH forms (79 +/- 5 kJ mol(-)(1)). The steric contribution to the rotation barrier was calculated using molecular mechanics calculations and was found to be approximately 40 kJ mol(-)(1), pointing to a possible need for an electronic component to be included in future models.

Comparison of the solution conformations of human [Zn7]-metallothionein-2 and [Cd7]-metallothionein-2 using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The solution structure of native human [Zn7]-metallothionein-2 has been compared with the previously determined structure of human [Cd7]-metallothionein-2. The comparison was based on complete sequence-specific 1H nuclear magnetic resonance assignments for human [Zn7]-metallothionein-2 obtained using the sequential assignment method. The secondary structure was found to be very similar in the [Zn7]- and [Cd7]- forms of the protein. Only seven amide protons in [Zn7]- metallothionein-2 were found to have exchange rates lower than approximately 0.2 min-1 at pH 7.0 and 10 degrees C, which corresponds closely to the results of amide proton exchange studies with the [Cd7]- form of the protein. Finally, the 1H-1H distance constraints determined from nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy for human [Zn7]-metallothionein-2 were checked for compatibility with the [Cd7]-metallothionein-2 structure. Overall, although no direct method is available for identifying the metal-polypeptide co-ordinative bonds in the Zn(2+)-containing protein, these measurements provided several independent lines of evidence showing that the [Zn7]- and [Cd7]- forms of human metallothionein-2 have the same molecular architecture.

Three-dimensional structure of human [113Cd7]metallothionein-2 in solution determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The three-dimensional structure of human [113Cd7]metallothionein-2 was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in solution. Sequence-specific 1H resonance assignments were obtained using the sequential assignment method. The input for the structure calculations consisted of the metal-cysteine co-ordinative bonds identified with heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy, 1H-1H distance constraints from nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy, and spin-spin coupling constants 3JHN alpha and 3J alpha beta. The molecule consists of two domains, the beta-domain including amino acid residues 1 to 30 and three metal ions, and the alpha-domain including residues 31 to 61 and four metal ions. The nuclear magnetic resonance data present no evidence for a preferred relative orientation of the two domains. The polypeptide-to-metal co-ordinative bonds in human metallothionein-2 are identical to those in the previously determined solution structures of rat metallothionein-2 and rabbit metallothionein-2a, and the polypeptide conformations in the three proteins are also closely similar.

Amide proton exchange in human metallothionein-2 measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

In human metallothionein-2, the exchange rate constants of ten amide protons were found to range from 1.7 x 10(-4) to 1 x 10(-1) min-1 at pH 6.3 and 8 degrees C. Most of these slowly exchanging protons could be associated with hydrogen bonds in secondary structure elements of the alpha-domain. Amide proton exchange rates thus present an additional criterion for the structural characterization of different metallothioneins, which could be particularly valuable for comparisons of different homologous protein preparations containing nuclear magnetic resonance-inactive metal ions, where the metal-polypeptide co-ordinative bonds cannot be identified directly.