title: Tryptophanyl fluorescence heterogeneity of apomyoglobins. Correlation with the presence of two distinct structural domains.
abstract: The individual fluorescence of the two tryptophan residues (Trp-7 and Trp-14) of mammalian apomyoglobins has been resolved by comparing the fluorescence properties of these proteins to those of bluefin tuna apomyoglobin, which contains only Trp-14. The two tryptophan residues have been found to have different emission maxima, i.e., 321 for Trp-14 and 333 for Trp-7. The fluorescence of Trp-14 depends on the protonation of a sterically related histidyl residue in the pH range between 8.3 and 5.6, where no conformational change was detected. This residue has been identified as His-119. At pH 8.3 the quantum yield of Trp-7 is lower than that of Trp-14. An increase of the fluorescence intensity of Trp-7 occurs when the heme binding site of apomyoglobin is destroyed by acid or a low concentration of guanidine hydrochloride. An independent unfolding of the N-terminal district of the apomyoglobin molecular occurs on increasing the guanidine concentration. The two distinct structural transitions have been discussed in terms of two domains of tertiary structure.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001059:Apoproteins; D002417:Cattle; D002591:Cetacea; D005453:Fluorescence; D006146:Guanidines; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009211:Myoglobin; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013045:Species Specificity; D014364:Tryptophan; D014413:Tuna
chemical_list: D001059:Apoproteins; D006146:Guanidines; D009211:Myoglobin; C010857:apomyoglobin; D014364:Tryptophan