title: Temperature effects on alpha-crystallin structure probed by 6-bromomethyl-2-(2-furanyl)-3-hydroxychromone, an environmentally sensitive two-wavelength fluorescent dye covalently attached to the single Cys residue.
abstract: The single Cys residue in the C-terminal domain of bovine eye lens alpha-crystallin was covalently labelled with 6-bromomethyl-2-(2-furanyl)-3-hydroxychromone. This novel SH-reactive two-band ratiometric fluorescent dye is characterized by excited state intramolecular proton transfer reaction yielding two highly emissive N* and T* bands separated by more than 100 nm. Their relative intensities are known to be highly sensitive to the H-bonding ability of the environment. Properties of the environment of the dye attached to the protein were studied under native-like conditions and at a range of elevated temperatures that are known to facilitate alpha-crystallin chaperone-like activity. We observe that on heating, the environment of the dye becomes more flexible and the H-bonding of the dye with the protein vicinity decreases. The spectroscopic properties observed on heating were partially restored after cooling, but the initial values were not reached on the time scale of our experiments (up to 3 h). This suggests that the changes of the dye microenvironment are connected with the rearrangements of alpha-crystallin quaternary structure. Since there is only one Cys residue in alphaA subunit of alpha-crystallin (whereas alphaB subunit contains no Cys), we attributed the observed temperature-induced changes of the dye's microenvironment to the particular site within alpha-crystallin molecule.
authors.affiliation: Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, 9 Leontovich str., 01030 Kiev, Ukraine. s_avilov@bk.ru
authors.forename: Sergiy V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Avilov
authors.forename: Csaba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: Ferenc G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Tolgyesi
authors.forename: Andrey S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Klymchenko
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fidy
authors.forename: Alexander P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Demchenko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D002417:Cattle; D002867:Chromones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000378:metabolism; D008956:Models, Chemical; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D011522:Protons; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D038201:alpha-Crystallins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: C479534:3-hydroxychromone; C506578:6-bromomethyl-2-(2-furanyl)-3-hydroxychromone; D002867:Chromones; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D011522:Protons; D038201:alpha-Crystallins; D003545:Cysteine