Effect of hydrophobic residue substitutions with glutamine on Ca2+ binding and exchange with the N-domain of troponin C

Troponin C (TnC) is an EF-hand Ca2+ binding protein that regulates skeletal muscle contraction. The mechanisms that control the Ca2+ binding properties of TnC and other EF-hand proteins are not completely understood. We individually substituted 27 Phe, Ile, Leu, Val, and Met residues with polar Gln to examine the role of hydrophobic residues in Ca2+ binding and exchange with the N-domain of a fluorescent TnC(F29W). The global N-terminal Ca2+ affinities of the TnCF29W mutants varied similar to2340-fold, while Ca2+ association and dissociation rates varied less than 70-fold and more than 45-fold, respectively. Greater than 2-fold increases in Ca2+ affinities were obtained primarily by slowing of Ca2+ dissociation rates, while greater than 2-fold decreases in Ca2+ affinities were obtained by slowing of Ca2+ association rates and speeding of Ca2+ dissociation rates. No correlation was found between the Ca2+ binding properties of the TnC(F29W) mutants and the solvent accessibility of the hydrophobic amino acids in the apo state, Ca2+ bound state, or the difference between the two states. However, the effects of these hydrophobic mutations on Ca2+ binding were contextual possibly because of side chain interactions within the apo and Ca2+ bound states of the N-domain. These results demonstrate that a single hydrophobic residue, which does not directly ligate Ca2+ can play a crucial role in controlling Ca2+ binding and exchange within a coupled and functional EF-hand system.