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Updated: May 19, 2026

NMR 15N Relaxation Experiments for the Investigation of Picosecond to Nanoseconds Structural Dynamics of Proteins
Published on: November 1, 2024
Backbone dynamics of ribonuclease T1 and its complex with 2'GMP studied by two-dimensional heteronuclear NMR
D Fushman1, R Weisemann, H Thüring
1Institut für Biophysikalische Chemie der Johann-Wolfgang Goethe, Universität Frankfurt am Main, Theodor-Stern Kai 7, Haus 75 A, D-60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Abstract:
The backbone dynamics of free ribonuclease T1 and its complex with the competitive inhibitor 2'GMP have been studied by (15)N longitudinal and transverse relaxation experiments, combined with {(1)H, (15)H} NOE measurements. The intensity decay of individual amide cross peaks in a series of ((1)H, (15)N)-HSQC spectra with appropriate relaxation periods (Kay, L.E. et al. (1989) Biochemistry, 28, 8972-8979; Kay, L.E. et al. (1992) J. Magn. Reson., 97, 359-375) was fitted to a single exponential by using a simplex algorithm in order to obtain (15)N T(1) and T(2) relaxation times. These experimentally obtained values were analysed in terms of the 'model-free' approach introduced by Lipari and Szabo (Lipari, G. and Szabo, A. (1982) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 104, 4546-4559; 4559-4570). The microdyramical parameters accessible by this approach clearly indicate a correlation between the structural flexibility and the tertiary structure of ribonuclease T1, as well as restricted mobility of certain regions of the protein backbone upon binding of the inhibitor. The results obtained by NMR are compared to X-ray crystallographic data and to observations made in molecular dynamics simulations.
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