Identification of solvent-exposed regions of an FK-506 analog, ascomycin, bound to FKBP using a paramagnetic probe.

The solvent-exposed regions of (U-13C)ascomycin when bound to its putative target protein, FKBP, have been identified based on the different proton longitudinal relaxation rates (R1 = 1/T1) measured in the absence and presence of the paramagnetic relaxation reagent, 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidinyl-1-oxy (HyTEMPO). The proton T1S of bound ascomycin were determined using a pulse sequence (T1-HMQC) which consists of a 180 degree proton pulse and a variable delay (tau) followed by a heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation (HMQC) experiment. The solvent-exposed regions of ascomycin determined by these experiments are compared to NOE data in which ascomycin/FKBP contacts were identified and to the X-ray structure of the FK-506/FKBP complex.