Conformational analysis of blood group A trisaccharide in solution and in the binding site of Dolichos biflorus lectin using transient and transferred nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) and rotating-frame NOE experiments

The present study is concerned with the elucidation of the conformation of the blood group A trisaccharide (α-D-GalNAc(1→3)[α-L-Fuc(1→2)]β-D-Gal-O-R) in the combining site of Dolichos biflorus seed lectin by use of 400-MHz and 600-MHz NMR spectroscopy. D. biflorus lectin displays a unique specificity for GalNAc residues. It occurs in solution as a tetrameric assembly having a molecular mass of 110 kDa, with two carbohydrate-binding sites per molecule. First, NOE build-up curves were obtained for the free blood group A trisaccharide from one-dimensional transient NOE experiments. Simulated NOE build-up curves were constructed from an ensemble of low-energy conformers derived from previous investigations. The comparison of theoretical and experimental data indicates that an equilibrium between two families of low-energy conformers most likely reflects the solution behavior of the trisaccharide in solution. Two-dimensional transferred NOE and rotating-frame enhancements (ROE) were subsequently measured for the trisaccharide complexed with the D. biflorus seed lectin. In addition to the NOEs observed for the free trisaccharide, the transferred NOESY spectrum showed several new NOEs that were identified as spin diffusion using a rotating-frame NOESY (ROESY) experiment. Experimental interglycosidic transferred nuclear Overhauser effect (TRNOE) build up-curves were compared to theoretical curves calculated for both low-energy conformers located in the D. biflorus lectin-binding site. Calculations of theoretical TROE were performed using a combination of the full relaxation matrix and the protein-ligand exchange matrix. Comparison between experimental and simulated TRNOE volumes leads to the conclusion that one conformation of blood group A trisaccharide is selected upon binding by D. biflorus lectin.