Effects of Vanadate on the Rotational Dynamics of Spin-Labeled Calcium Adenosinetriphosphatase in Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Membranes?

ABSTRACT: We have studied the effects of vanadate on the rotational motion of the calcium adenosine-triphosphatase (Ca-ATPase) from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), using saturation-transfer electron para-magnetic resonance (ST-EPR). Vanadate has been proposed to act as a phosphate analogue and produce a stable intermediate state similar to the phosphoenzyme. This study provides evidence about the physical state of this intermediate. In particular, since ST-EPR provides a sensitive measure of microsecond protein rotational mobility, and hence of protein-protein association, these studies allowed us to ask (a) whether the vanadate-induced protein association observed in electron micrographs of S R vesicles also occurs unde