Folding properties of functional domains of tropomodulin

Tropomodulin (Tmod) stabilizes the actin-tropomyosin filament by capping the slow-growing end (P-end). The N- and C-terminal halves play distinct roles; the N-terminal half interacts with the N-terminal region of tropomyosin, whereas the C-terminal half interacts with actin. Our previous study (A. Kostyukova, K. Maeda, E. Yamauchi, I. Krieger, and Y. Maéda Y., 2000, Eur. J. Biochem. 267:6470-6475) suggested that the two halves are also structurally distinct from each other. We have now studied the folding properties of the two halves, by circular dichroism spectroscopy and by differential scanning calorimetry of the expressed chicken E-type tropomodulin and its large fragments. The results showed that the C-terminal half represents a single, independently folded unit that melts cooperatively through a two-state transition. In contrast, the N-terminal half lacks a definite tertiary structure in solution. The binding of N11, a fragment that corresponds to the first 91 amino acids of the tropomodulin, to tropomyosin substantially stabilized the tropomyosin. This may indicate that the flexible structure of the N-terminal half of tropomodulin in solution is required for binding to tropomyosin and that the N-terminal half acquires its tertiary structure upon binding to tropomyosin.