Time-resolved europium(III) luminescence excitation spectroscopy: characterization of calcium-binding sites of calmodulin.

Pulsed-dye laser excitation and lifetime spectroscopy of the 7F0----5D0 transition of Eu3+ reveals details of the binding of this ion to the calcium-binding sites of calmodulin (labeled I-IV, starting at the N-terminus). For 10 microM calmodulin Eu3+ binds quantitatively at sites I and II and more weakly at sites III and IV with Kd values of approximately 0.5 microM and 1.0 microM at the latter sites. In D2O solution the time course of luminescence emission of Eu3+-loaded calmodulin can be separated into three exponential components with lifetimes of 2.50 (sites I and II) and 1.70 and 0.63 ms (sites III and IV). This finding permits the time resolution of the excitation spectrum by determination of the amplitudes of the three components as the excitation wavelength is scanned across the spectral profile in 0.1-nm increments. The amplitudes (intensities at time t = O) are plotted as a function of wavelength and the results fitted to three Lorentzian peaks centered at 579.20, 579.40, and 579.32 nm in order of decreasing lifetimes. In H2O solution only two exponential luminescence decay components are resolvable with lifetimes of 0.41 and 0.27 ms, corresponding to sites I and II and sites III and IV, respectively. These results indicate that two water molecules are coordinated to the Eu3+ ions at sites I and II and at either site III or site IV, with three water molecules at the remaining site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Characterization of lanthanide (III) ion binding to calmodulin using luminescence spectroscopy.

Pulsed dye laser excitation spectroscopy of the 7F0----5D0 transition of Eu(III) reveals only a single peak as this ion is titrated into apocalmodulin. A titration based on the intensity of this transition shows that the first two Eu(III) ions bind quantitatively to two tight sites, followed by weaker binding (Kd = 2 microM) to two additional sites under conditions of high ionic strength (0.5 M KC1). This excitation experiment is also shown to be a general method for measuring contaminating levels of EDTA down to 0.2 microM in proton solutions. Experiments with Tb(III) using both direct laser excitation and indirect sensitization of Tb(III) luminescence through tyrosine residues in calmodulin also give evidence for two tight and two weaker binding sites (Kd = 2-3 microM). The indirect sensitization results primarily upon binding to the two weaker sites, implying that Tb(III) binds first to domains I and II, which are remote from tyrosine-containing domains III and IV. The 7F0----5D0 excitation signal of Eu(III) was used to measure the relative overall affinities of the tripositive lanthanide ions, Ln(III), across the series. Ln(III) ions at the end of the series are found to bind more weakly than those at the beginning and middle of the series. Eu(III) excited-state lifetime measurements in H2O and D2O reveal that two water molecules are coordinated to the Eu(III) at each of the four metal ion binding sites. Measurements of Förster-type nonradiative energy-transfer efficiencies between Eu(III) and Nd(III) in the two tight sites were carried out by monitoring the excited-state lifetimes of Eu(III) in the presence and absence of the energy acceptor ion Nd(III).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)