Spectroscopy and dynamics of beta-lactoglobulin complexed with rifampicin

In this paper, we report the binding interaction of milk protein, beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), with an antibiotic against tuberculosis, rifampicin (RIF). BLG intrinsic fluorescence from tryptophan (Trp) amino acids was monitored to understand protein-drug interactions. Binding parameters and stoichiometry were estimated with the help of fluorescence spectral changes. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to exclusively monitor the Trp and Tyrosine (Tyr) environment in the presence of RIF. With the help of steady state fluorescence at different temperatures supported by time-resolved fluorescence, we confirmed that the protein forms a static complex with RIF. Thermodynamic parameters, ΔH and ΔS values, showed the involvement of hydrophobic forces between the RIF and BLG. Competitive displacement assay with ANS confirmed the BLG calyx as the binding site for RIF. Energy transfer mechanism from Trp to RIF was attributed to the fluorescence changes in protein upon complexation. The Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) was used to find distance, energy transfer efficiency and rate of energy transfer between donor (BLG) and acceptor (RIF). Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was utilized for estimating changes in the secondary structure of BLG induced by RIF. Molecular docking was used to visualise the binding location of RIF on BLG. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies showed a consistent binding interactions between BLG and RIF during the 100 ns simulation period and this well supported the increased beta sheet content in FTIR. Overall our results establish the potential of intrinsic fluorescence of BLG in combination with biophysical tools to rationalize drug-protein interactions.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.