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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Measuring Nucleotide Binding to Intact, Functional Membrane Proteins in Real Time
Published on: March 11, 2021
Nucleotide-binding sites in the functional unit of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase as studied by photoaffinity
1Fachbereich Chemie, Universität Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Abstract:
2-N3-SL-ATP [2-azido-2',3'-O-(1-oxyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-carbonyl-pyrroline) adenosine triphosphate], a photoaffinity spin-labeled derivative of ATP with a nitroxide moiety attached to the ribose ring and an azido group attached to C2 of the adenine ring, was used to study the nucleotide-binding site stoichiometry of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase. The label was shown to bind at the catalytic site of the enzyme, even though the rate of hydrolysis was poor. A maximal binding ratio of 1 mol/mol of ATPase was found. The ESR spectra showed signals from spin-spin interactions between two radicals corresponding to a distance of about 15 A between labels bound to adjacent sites on the enzyme. This indicates that the minimal functional unit of the Ca2+-ATPase is a dimer with the nucleotide-binding sites in close proximity.
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