A comprehensive description is presented of the effects on two-spin coherences (i.e., superpositionsof zero- and double-quantum coherences) of cross-correlation between the fluctuations of two different relaxationmechanisms in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Dipole-dipole (DD) interactions between four nuclei andchemical shift anisotropy (CSA) of two of these nuclei are considered. Two complementary experiments havebeen designed for
15N,
13C-labeled proteins to quantify the effects of cross-correlation between the
13C
-
1H
and
15N-
1H
N dipolar interactions on two-spin coherences involving
13C
of the
ith residue with the
15N of the(
i+1)th amino acid. Two other experiments allow one to quantify the effect of cross-correlation between the
13C' (carbonyl) CSA and the
13C
-
1H
dipolar coupling on the relaxation of two-spin coherences involvingthe
13C' and
13C
nuclei on the same residue of the protein. These experiments have been used to extractrelevant cross-correlation rates in
15N,
13C-labeled human ubiquitin. These rates show a high degree of correlationwith the backbone
angles in proteins.