title: RVCaB, a calcium-binding protein in radish vacuoles, is predominantly an unstructured protein with a polyproline type II helix.
abstract: A unique acidic calcium-binding protein RVCaB, rich in glutamic acid and proline and lacking aromatic amino-acid residues, exists in radish vacuoles, and is thought to be involved in the vacuole Ca(2+)-storage function. In the present study, we focused on the protein physicochemical properties of RVCaB to understand its uniqueness in terms of structure and Ca(2+)-binding function. On differential scanning calorimetry, the protein did not show any sharp transition of heat-denaturation of the folded protein except for a gradual excess of heat capacity when heated up to 99 degrees C from 20 degrees C. The Ca(2+)-binding ability of RVCaB was retained after heat treatment. No alpha-helix or beta-sheet was detected in the far-UV CD spectra of RVCaB as judged by several computer programs for protein structure analysis. However, further analyses with CD spectroscopy suggest that RVCaB has a left-handed polyproline type II (PPII) helix, which is known to be in a collagen chain conformation. The number of Ca(2+) bound to RVCaB was determined to be 21.6, and a 360 M(-1) Ka value for Ca(2+) binding was determined by isothermal titration calorimetry. The analysis also revealed that the binding of Ca(2+) to RVCaB is an entropy-driven phenomenon. We prepared tryptophan-inserted mutants of RVCaB (V136W and V202W) to probe the Ca(2+)-induced structural change by fluorescent spectroscopy. The analysis suggests a small structural rearrangement of RVCaB upon Ca(2+)-binding and that the induced Trp residues at 136 and 202 are exposed to solvent in each mutant. These results suggest that RVCaB does not have a definitive protein fold except for the extended PPII structure and that its structure changes slightly by the binding of Ca(2+) or heat treatment. These findings suggest that the unique structure of RVCaB with its PPII helices is closely related to its high-capacity and low-affinity Ca(2+)-binding properties.
authors.affiliation: Structural Biophysics Laboratory, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Harima Institute, Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo, 679-5148, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ishijima
authors.forename: Nahoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagasaki
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maeshima
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyano
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D008024:Ligands; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D031224:Raphanus / Q000378:metabolism*; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D008024:Ligands; D010455:Peptides; D010940:Plant Proteins; C423442:RVCaB protein, Raphanus sativus; C011083:polyproline; D002118:Calcium