Fluorescence studies on the interactions of myelin basic protein in electrolyte solutions

This paper examines the influence of electrolytes on fluorescence spectral properties of the single tryptophanyl residue, Trp-115, within the 18.5-kDa species of myelin basic protein from bovine brain. Steady-state fluorescence spectra and intensities and time-correlated fluorescence lifetimes increased in the presence of increasing concentrations of mono- and divalent electrolytes (Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, ClO4-, SO4(2-), and PO4(3-)). In all cases, the increases closely paralleled the ionic strength of the bulk aqueous medium and resembled that observed upon immersion of the protein in solutions of urea. This behavior was therefore concluded to reflect changes in the solution conformation of myelin basic protein. Bimolecular quenching of Trp-115 by acrylamide was rapid (10(9) M-1 s-1), approaching the diffusion limitation, and markedly dependent on the viscosity of the bulk aqueous medium. Rotational depolarization of myelin basic protein was rapid (phi less than or equal to 1 ns), occurring at rates exceeding those predicted for a rigid particle of revolution, and markedly dependent on the viscosity of the surrounding medium. Whereas the bimolecular quenching constants were unaltered in the presence of electrolytes, rotational depolarization of myelin basic protein underwent substantial slowing as indicated by the appearance of an additional decay component characterized by a correlation time of 5-10 ns. These studies indicate that Trp-115 of myelin basic protein is readily accessible to the bulk aqueous medium and is associated with a highly mobile segment of the protein. The slowing of rotational depolarization upon immersion of myelin basic protein in electrolyte solutions is consistent with an electrolyte-induced self-association of myelin basic protein molecules and indicates a relationship between the lability of solution conformation on the one hand and the capacity for self-association on the other.