Abstract
Annexin I is a member of the in family of calcium dependent phospholipid banding proteins and is an in vitro phospholipase $A_2$ (PLA$_2$) inhibitor. The mechanism of PLA$_2$ inhibition by annexin I is still ambiguous. The structure of annexin I was studied at the atomic level by using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), circular dichrotsm (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. Recombinant human annexin I and N-terminally truncated annexin I (1-31 deleted: d-annexin I) were purified and their NMR spectra were compared. The NMR spectra of the two were similar. When $Ca^{2+}$ ion added to annexin I ad d-annexin I, peak broadening occurred, but no significant spectroscopic change was observed. When porcine pancreatic PLA$_2$ was added to deuterium labeled annexin I, an interaction of annexin I with PLA$_2$ was observed as indicated by the disappearance and shift of several peaks in the NMR spectrum. This result supports a protein-protein interaction mechanism for PLA$_2$ inhibition by annexin I.I.
