Axial ligand complexes of the Rhodnius nitrophorins: reduction potentials, binding constants, EPR spectra, and structures of the 4-iodopyrazole and imidazole complexes of NP4

Nitric oxide delivery and heme-assisted S-nitrosation by the bedbug nitrophorin

Nitrophorins are heme proteins used by blood feeding insects to deliver nitric oxide (NO) to a victim, leading to vasodilation and antiplatelet activity. Cimex lectularius (bedbug) nitrophorin (cNP) accomplishes this with a cysteine ligated ferric (Fe(III)) heme. In the acidic environment of the insect's salivary glands, NO binds tightly to cNP. During a blood meal, cNP-NO is delivered to the feeding site where dilution and increased pH lead to NO release. In a previous study, cNP was shown to not only bind heme, but to also nitrosate the proximal cysteine, leading to Cys-NO (SNO) formation. SNO formation requires oxidation of the proximal cysteine, which was proposed to be metal-assisted through accompanying reduction of ferric heme and formation of Fe(II)-NO. Here, we report the 1.6 Å crystal structure of cNP first chemically reduced and then exposed to NO, and show that Fe(II)-NO is formed but SNO is not, supporting a metal-assisted SNO formation mechanism. Crystallographic and spectroscopic studies of mutated cNP show that steric crowding of the proximal site inhibits SNO formation while a sterically relaxed proximal site enhances SNO formation, providing insight into specificity for this poorly understood modification. Experiments examining the pH dependence for NO implicate direct protonation of the proximal cysteine as the underlying mechanism. At lower pH, thiol heme ligation predominates, leading to a smaller trans effect and 60-fold enhanced NO affinity (Kd = 70 nM). Unexpectedly, we find that thiol formation interferes with SNO formation, suggesting cNP-SNO is unlikely to form in the insect salivary glands.

Ligand-Based Regulation of Dynamics and Reactivity of Hemoproteins

Hemoproteins include several heme-binding proteins with distinct structure and function. The presence of the heme group confers specific reactivity and spectroscopic properties to hemoproteins. In this review, we provide an overview of five families of hemoproteins in terms of dynamics and reactivity. First, we describe how ligands modulate cooperativity and reactivity in globins, such as myoglobin and hemoglobin. Second, we move on to another family of hemoproteins devoted to electron transport, such as cytochromes. Later, we consider heme-based reactivity in hemopexin, the main heme-scavenging protein. Then, we focus on heme-albumin, a chronosteric hemoprotein with peculiar spectroscopic and enzymatic properties. Eventually, we analyze the reactivity and dynamics of the most recently discovered family of hemoproteins, i.e., nitrobindins.

The Biologically Relevant Coordination Chemistry of Iron and Nitric Oxide: Electronic Structure and Reactivity

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule that is involved in a wide range of physiological and pathological events in biology. Metal coordination chemistry, especially with iron, is at the heart of many biological transformations involving NO. A series of heme proteins, nitric oxide synthases (NOS), soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), and nitrophorins, are responsible for the biosynthesis, sensing, and transport of NO. Alternatively, NO can be generated from nitrite by heme- and copper-containing nitrite reductases (NIRs). The NO-bearing small molecules such as nitrosothiols and dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) can serve as an alternative vehicle for NO storage and transport. Once NO is formed, the rich reaction chemistry of NO leads to a wide variety of biological activities including reduction of NO by heme or non-heme iron-containing NO reductases and protein post-translational modifications by DNICs. Much of our understanding of the reactivity of metal sites in biology with NO and the mechanisms of these transformations has come from the elucidation of the geometric and electronic structures and chemical reactivity of synthetic model systems, in synergy with biochemical and biophysical studies on the relevant proteins themselves. This review focuses on recent advancements from studies on proteins and model complexes that not only have improved our understanding of the biological roles of NO but also have provided foundations for biomedical research and for bio-inspired catalyst design in energy science.

Thyroxine binding to type III iodothyronine deiodinase

Iodothyronine deiodinases (Dios) are important selenoproteins that control the concentration of the active thyroid hormone (TH) triiodothyronine through regioselective deiodination. The X-ray structure of a truncated monomer of Type III Dio (Dio3), which deiodinates TH inner rings through a selenocysteine (Sec) residue, revealed a thioredoxin-fold catalytic domain supplemented with an unstructured Ω-loop. Loop dynamics are driven by interactions of the conserved Trp207 with solvent in multi-microsecond molecular dynamics simulations of the Dio3 thioredoxin(Trx)-fold domain. Hydrogen bonding interactions of Glu200 with residues conserved across the Dio family anchor the loop’s N-terminus to the active site Ser-Cys-Thr-Sec sequence. A key long-lived loop conformation coincides with the opening of a cryptic pocket that accommodates thyroxine (T₄) through an I⋯Se halogen bond to Sec170 and the amino acid group with a polar cleft. The Dio3-T₄ complex is stabilized by an I⋯O halogen bond between an outer ring iodine and Asp211, consistent with Dio3 selectivity for inner ring deiodination. Non-conservation of residues, such as Asp211, in other Dio types in the flexible portion of the loop sequence suggests a mechanism for regioselectivity through Dio type-specific loop conformations. Cys168 is proposed to attack the selenenyl iodide intermediate to regenerate Dio3 based upon structural comparison with related Trx-fold proteins.

Mycobacterial and Human Nitrobindins: Structure and Function

Aims: Nitrobindins (Nbs) are evolutionary conserved all-β-barrel heme-proteins displaying a highly solvent-exposed heme-Fe(III) atom. The physiological role(s) of Nbs is almost unknown. Here, the structural and functional properties of ferric Mycobacterium tuberculosis Nb (Mt-Nb(III)) and ferric Homo sapiens Nb (Hs-Nb(III)) have been investigated and compared with those of ferric Arabidopsis thaliana Nb (At-Nb(III), Rhodnius prolixus nitrophorins (Rp-NP(III)s), and mammalian myoglobins. Results: Data here reported demonstrate that Mt-Nb(III), At-Nb(III), and Hs-Nb(III) share with Rp-NP(III)s the capability to bind selectively nitric oxide, but display a very low reactivity, if any, toward histamine. Data obtained overexpressing Hs-Nb in human embryonic kidney 293 cells indicate that Hs-Nb localizes mainly in the cytoplasm and partially in the nucleus, thanks to a nuclear localization sequence encompassing residues Glu124-Leu154. Human Hs-Nb corresponds to the C-terminal domain of the human nuclear protein THAP4 suggesting that Nb may act as a sensor possibly modulating the THAP4 transcriptional activity residing in the N-terminal region. Finally, we provide strong evidence that both Mt-Nb(III) and Hs-Nb(III) are able to scavenge peroxynitrite and to protect free l-tyrosine against peroxynitrite-mediated nitration. Innovation: Data here reported suggest an evolutionarily conserved function of Nbs related to their role as nitric oxide sensors and components of antioxidant systems. Conclusion: Human THAP4 may act as a sensing protein that couples the heme-based Nb(III) reactivity with gene transcription. Mt-Nb(III) seems to be part of the pool of proteins required to scavenge reactive nitrogen and oxygen species produced by the host during the immunity response.

Replacement of the heme axial lysine as a test of conformational adaptability in the truncated hemoglobin THB1

Amino acid replacement is a useful strategy to assess the roles of axial heme ligands in the function of native heme proteins. THB1, the protein product of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii THB1 gene, is a group 1 truncated hemoglobin that uses a lysine residue in the E helix (Lys53, at position E10 by reference to myoglobin) as an iron ligand at neutral pH. Phylogenetic evidence shows that many homologous proteins have a histidine, methionine or arginine at the same position. In THB1, these amino acids would each be expected to convey distinct reactive properties if replacing the native lysine as an axial ligand. To explore the ability of the group 1 truncated Hb fold to support alternative ligation schemes and distal pocket conformations, the properties of the THB1 variants K53A as a control, K53H, K53M, and K53R were investigated by electronic absorption, EPR, and NMR spectroscopies. We found that His53 is capable of heme ligation in both the Fe(III) and Fe(II) states, that Met53 can coordinate only in the Fe(II) state, and that Arg53 stabilizes a hydroxide ligand in the Fe(III) state. The data illustrate that the group 1 truncated Hb fold can tolerate diverse rearrangement of the heme environment and has a strong tendency to use two protein side chains as iron ligands despite accompanying structural perturbations. Access to various redox pairs and different responses to pH make this protein an excellent test case for energetic and dynamic studies of heme ligation.

Structure and dynamics of the membrane attaching nitric oxide transporter nitrophorin 7

Nitrophorins represent a unique class of heme proteins that are able to perform the delicate transportation and release of the free-radical gaseous messenger nitric oxide (NO) in a pH-triggered manner. Besides its ability to bind to phospholipid membranes, the N-terminus contains an additional Leu-Pro-Gly stretch, which is a unique sequence trait, and the heme cavity is significantly altered with respect to other nitrophorins. These distinctive features encouraged us to solve the X-ray crystallographic structures of NP7 at low and high pH and bound with different heme ligands (nitric oxide, histamine, imidazole). The overall fold of the lipocalin motif is well preserved in the different X-ray structures and resembles the fold of other nitrophorins. However, a chain-like arrangement in the crystal lattice due to a number of head-to-tail electrostatic stabilizing interactions is found in NP7. Furthermore, the X-ray structures also reveal ligand-dependent changes in the orientation of the heme, as well as in specific interactions between the A-B and G-H loops, which are considered to be relevant for the biological function of nitrophorins. Fast and ultrafast laser triggered ligand rebinding experiments demonstrate the pH-dependent ligand migration within the cavities and the exit route. Finally, the topological distribution of pockets located around the heme as well as from inner cavities present at the rear of the protein provides a distinctive feature in NP7, so that while a loop gated exit mechanism to the solvent has been proposed for most nitrophorins, a more complex mechanism that involves several interconnected gas hosting cavities is proposed for NP7.

NMR studies of the dynamics of high-spin nitrophorins: comparative studies of NP4 and NP2 at close to physiological pH

The β-barrel nitrophorin (NP) heme proteins are found in the saliva of the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus, which synthesizes and stores nitric oxide (NO) in the salivary glands. NO is bound to iron of the NPs and is released by dilution and an increase in pH when the insect spits its saliva into the tissues of a victim, to aid in obtaining a blood meal. In the adult insect, there are four nitrophorins, NP1–NP4, which have sequence similarities in two pairs, NP1 and NP4 (90% identical) and NP2 and NP3 (80% identical). The available crystal structures of NP4 have been used to propose that pH-dependent changes in the conformation of two loops between adjacent β-strands at the front opening of the protein, the A–B and G–H loops, determine the rate of NO release. At pH 7.3, NP4 releases NO 17 times faster than NP2 does. In this work, the aqua complexes of NP4 and NP2 have been investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation measurements to probe the pico- to nanosecond and micro- to millisecond time scale motions at two pH values, 6.5 and 7.3. It is found that NP4-OH₂ is fairly rigid and only residues in the loop regions show dynamics at pH 6.5; at pH 7.3, much more dynamics of the loops and most of the β-strands are observed while the α-helices remain fairly rigid. In comparison, NP2-OH₂ shows much less dynamics, albeit somewhat more than that of the previously reported NP2-NO complex [Muthu, D., Berry, R. E., Zhang, H., and Walker, F. A. (2013) Biochemistry 52, 7910–7925]. The reasons for this major difference between NP4 and NP2 are discussed.

Dimerization of nitrophorin 4 at low pH and comparison to the K1A mutant of nitrophorin 1

Nitrophorin 4, one of the four NO-carrying heme proteins from the salivary glands of Rhodnius prolixus, forms a homodimer at pH 5.0 with a Kd of ∼8 μM. This dimer begins to dissociate at pH 5.5 and is completely dissociated to monomer at pH 7.3, even at 3.7 mM. The dimer is significantly stabilized by binding NO to the heme and at pH 7.3 would require dilution to well below 0.2 mM to completely dissociate the NP4-NO homodimer. The primary techniques used for investigating the homodimer and the monomer-dimer equilibrium were size-exclusion fast protein liquid chromatography at pH 5.0 and (1)H{(15)N} heteronuclear single-quantum coherence spectroscopy as a function of pH and concentration. Preparation of site-directed mutants of NP4 (A1K, D30A, D30N, V36A/D129A/L130A, K38A, R39A, K125A, K125E, D132A, L133V, and K38Q/R39Q/K125Q) showed that the N-terminus, D30, D129, D132, at least one heme propionate, and, by association, likely also E32 and D35 are involved in the dimerization. The "closed loop" form of the A-B and G-H flexible loops of monomeric NP4, which predominates in crystal structures of the monomeric protein reported at pH 5.6 but not at pH 7.5 and which involves all of the residues listed above except D132, is required for dimer formation. Wild-type NP1 does not form a homodimer, but NP1(K1A) and native N-terminal NP1 form dimers in the presence of NO. The homodimer of NP1, however, is considerably less stable than that of NP4 in the absence of NO. This suggests that additional aspartate or glutamate residues present in the C-terminal region of NP4, but not NP1, are also involved in stabilizing the dimer.

Halogen-enriched fragment libraries as chemical probes for harnessing halogen bonding in fragment-based lead discovery

Halogen bonding has recently experienced a renaissance, gaining increased recognition as a useful molecular interaction in the life sciences. Halogen bonds are favorable, fairly directional interactions between an electropositive region on the halogen (the σ-hole) and a number of different nucleophilic interaction partners. Some aspects of halogen bonding are not yet understood well enough to take full advantage of its potential in drug discovery. We describe and present the concept of halogen-enriched fragment libraries. These libraries consist of unique chemical probes, facilitating the identification of favorable halogen bonds by sharing the advantages of classical fragment-based screening. Besides providing insights into the nature and applicability of halogen bonding, halogen-enriched fragment libraries provide smart starting points for hit-to-lead evolution.

NMR investigations of nitrophorin 2 belt side chain effects on heme orientation and seating of native N-terminus NP2 and NP2(D1A)

Nitrophorin 2 (NP2), one of the four NO-storing and NO-releasing proteins found in the saliva of the blood-sucking bug Rhodnius prolixus, has a more ruffled heme and a high preference for a particular heme orientation (B) compared with nitrophorin 1 and nitrophorin 4, which show not a preference (A to B ratio of approximately 1:1), suggesting that it fits more tightly in the β-barrel protein. In this work we have prepared a series of "belt" mutants of NP2(D1A) and (ΔM0)NP2 aimed at reducing the size of aromatic or other residues that surround the heme, and investigated them as the high-spin aqua and low-spin N-methylimidazole complexes. The belt mutants included Y38A, Y38F, F42A, F66A, Y85A, Y85F, Y104A, I120T, and a triple mutant of NP2(D1A), the F42L, L106F, I120T mutant. Although I120 has been mainly considered to be a distal pocket residue, CδH3 of I120 lies directly above the heme 3-methyl, at 2.67 Å, of heme orientation B, or the 2-vinyl of A, and it thus plays a role as a belt mutant, a role that turns out to be extremely important in creating the strong favoring of the B heme orientation [A to B ratio of 1:14 for NP2(D1A) or 1:12 for (ΔM0)NP2]. The results show that the 1D (1)H NMR spectra of the high-spin forms are quite sensitive to changes in the shape of the heme binding cavity. The single mutation I120T eliminates the favorability of the B heme orientation by producing a heme A to B orientation ratio of 1:1, whereas the single mutation F42A reverses the heme orientation from an A to B ratio of 1:14 seen for NP2(D1A) to 10:1 for NP2(D1A,F42A). The most extreme ratio was found for the triple mutant of NP2(D1A), NP2(D1A,F42L,L105F,I120T), in which the A to B ratio is approximately 25:1, a ΔG change of about -3.5 kcal/mol or -14.1 kJ/mol with respect to NP2(D1A). The seating of the heme is modified as well in that mutant and in several others, by rotations of the heme by up to 4° from the seating observed in NP2(D1A), in order to relieve steric interactions between a vinyl β-carbon and a protein side chain, or to fill a cavity created by replacing a large protein side chain by a much smaller one; the latter was observed for all tyrosine to alanine mutants. These relatively small changes in seating have a measurable effect on the NMR spectra of the mutants, but are indeed minor in terms of overall seating and reactivity of the NP2(D1A) protein. The (1)H NMR resonances of the hemin substituents of the low-spin N-methylimidazole complexes of NP2(D1A,F42L,L105F,I120T) as well as NP2(D1A,I120T), NP2(D1A,Y104A), and NP2(D1A,F42A) have been assigned using natural abundance (1)H{(13)C} heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation and (1)H-(1)H nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy spectra.

NMR studies of the dynamics of nitrophorin 2 bound to nitric oxide

The Rhodnius nitrophorins are β-barrel proteins of the lipocalin fold with a heme protruding from the open end of the barrel. They are found in the saliva of the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus, which synthesizes and stores nitric oxide (NO) in the salivary glands, where NO is bound to iron. NO is released by dilution and an increase in pH when the insect spits its saliva into the tissues of a victim, to aid in obtaining a blood meal. In the adult insect, there are four nitrophorins, NP1-NP4. At pH 7.3, NP4 releases NO 17 times faster than NP2 does, as measured by stopped-flow kinetics. A number of crystal structures of the least abundant protein, NP4, are available. These structures have been used to propose that two loops between adjacent β-strands at the front opening of the protein, the A-B and G-H loops, determine the rate of NO release. To learn how the protein loops contribute to the release of NO for each of the nitrophorins, the dynamics of these proteins are being studied in our laboratory. In this work, the NP2-NO complex has been investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation measurements to probe the picosecond-to-nanosecond and microsecond-to-millisecond time scale motions at three pH values, 5.0, 6.5, and 7.3. It is found that at pH 5.0 and 6.5, the NP2-NO complex is rigid and only a few residues in the loop regions show dynamics, while at pH 7.3, somewhat more dynamics, particularly of the A-B loop, are observed. Comparison to other lipocalins shows that all are relatively rigid, and that the dynamics of lipocalins in general are much more subtle than those of mainly α-helical proteins.

Electron spin density on the axial His ligand of high-spin and low-spin nitrophorin 2 probed by heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy

The electronic structure of heme proteins is exquisitely tuned by the interaction of the iron center with the axial ligands. NMR studies of paramagnetic heme systems have been focused on the heme signals, but signals from the axial ligands have been rather difficult to detect and assign. We report an extensive assignment of the (1)H, (13)C and (15)N resonances of the axial His ligand in the NO-carrying protein nitrophorin 2 (NP2) in the paramagnetic high-spin and low-spin forms, as well as in the diamagnetic NO complex. We find that the high-spin protein has σ spin delocalization to all atoms in the axial His57, which decreases in size as the number of bonds between Fe(III) and the atom in question increases, except that within the His57 imidazole ring the contact shifts are a balance between positive σ and negative π contributions. In contrast, the low-spin protein has π spin delocalization to all atoms of the imidazole ring. Our strategy, adequately combined with a selective residue labeling scheme, represents a straightforward characterization of the electron spin density in heme axial ligands.

Native N-terminus nitrophorin 2 from the kissing bug: similarities to and differences from NP2(D1A)

The first amino acid of mature native nitrophorin 2 is aspartic acid, and when expressed in E. coli, the wild-type gene of the mature protein retains the methionine-0, which is produced by translation of the start codon. This form of NP2, (M0)NP2, has been found to have different properties from its D1A mutant, for which the Met0 is cleaved by the methionine aminopeptidase of E. coli (R. E. Berry, T. K. Shokhireva, I. Filippov, M. N. Shokhirev, H. Zhang, F. A. Walker, Biochemistry 2007, 46, 6830). Native N-terminus nitrophorin 2 ((ΔM0)NP2) has been prepared by employing periplasmic expression of NP2 in E. coli using the pelB leader sequence from Erwinia carotovora, which is present in the pET-26b expression plasmid (Novagen). This paper details the similarities and differences between the three different N-terminal forms of nitrophorin 2, (M0)NP2, NP2(D1A), and (ΔM0)NP2. It is found that the NMR spectra of high- and low-spin (ΔM0)NP2 are essentially identical to those of NP2(D1A), but the rate and equilibrium constants for histamine and NO dissociation/association of the two are different.

A caged cyanide

A photoactivatable caged cyanide, 1-(2-nitrophenyl)ethyl (NPE) cyanide, was synthesized, which upon irradiation in the near UV releases cyanide. It is demonstrated that the compound can be used to induce formation of the Fe(III)-CN(-) complex in the heme protein nitrophorin 4 from Rhodnius prolixus.

Nuclear inelastic scattering and Mössbauer spectroscopy as local probes for ligand binding modes and electronic properties in proteins: vibrational behavior of a ferriheme center inside a β-barrel protein

In this work, we present a study of the influence of the protein matrix on its ability to tune the binding of small ligands such as NO, cyanide (CN(-)), and histamine to the ferric heme iron center in the NO-storage and -transport protein Nitrophorin 2 (NP2) from the salivary glands of the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus. Conventional Mössbauer spectroscopy shows a diamagnetic ground state of the NP2-NO complex and Type I and II electronic ground states of the NP2-CN(-) and NP2-histamine complex, respectively. The change in the vibrational signature of the protein upon ligand binding has been monitored by Nuclear Inelastic Scattering (NIS), also called Nuclear Resonant Vibrational Spectroscopy (NRVS). The NIS data thus obtained have also been calculated by quantum mechanical (QM) density functional theory (DFT) coupled with molecular mechanics (MM) methods. The calculations presented here show that the heme ruffling in NP2 is a consequence of the interaction with the protein matrix. Structure optimizations of the heme and its ligands with DFT retain the characteristic saddling and ruffling only if the protein matrix is taken into account. Furthermore, simulations of the NIS data by QM/MM calculations suggest that the pH dependence of the binding of NO, but not of CN(-) and histamine, might be a consequence of the protonation state of the heme carboxyls.

NMR studies of nitrophorin distal pocket side chain effects on the heme orientation and seating of NP2 as compared to NP1

The nitrophorins (NP) of the adult blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus fall into two pairs based on sequence identity (NP1,4 (90%) and NP2,3 (79%)), which differ significantly in the size of side chains of residues which contact the heme. These residues include those in the distal pocket of NP2 (I120) and NP1 (T121) and the "belt" that surrounds the heme of NP2 (S40, F42), and NP1(A42, L44). To determine the importance of these residues and others conserved or very similar for the two pairs, including L122(123), L132(133), appropriate mutants of NP2 and NP1 have been prepared and studied by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Wild-type NP2 has heme orientation ratio (A:B) of 1:8 at equilibrium, while wild-type NP1 has A:B ~1:1 at equilibrium. Another difference between NP2 and NP1 is in the heme seating with regard to His57(59). It is found that among the distal pocket residues investigated, the residue most responsible for heme orientation and seating is I120(T121). F42(L44) and L106(F107) may also be important, but must be investigated in greater detail.

Nitrophorins: nitrite disproportionation reaction and other novel functionalities of insect heme-based nitric oxide transport proteins

Nitrophorins (NPs) comprise a unique class of heme proteins used by the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus to deliver the signaling gas molecule NO into the blood vessel of a host during feeding. Upon NO release, histamine can be scavenged by coordination to the heme iron. Although the protein is of similar size as the mammalian globin monomers and shares the same cofactor and proximal histidine coordination, nitrophorin structure, in contrast, is almost entirely composed of a β-barrel. Comparison of the NO and histamine association constants with the concentrations of both compounds invivo raises concerns about the very simple ligand release model in case of at least some of the NPs. Therefore, novel functionalities of the NPs were sought. As a result, catalysis of the nitrite disproportionation reaction was found, which leads to the formation of NO with nitrite as the sole substrate. This is the first example of a ferriheme protein that can perform this reaction. Furthermore, although NPs stabilize the ferriheme state, a peroxidase reactivity of the cofactor involving the higher oxidation state iron (Compound I/II) was studied with the potential to catalyze the oxidation of histamine and norepinephrine. In contrast to many other heme proteins including the globins, the ferroheme state was found to be extremely sensitive to O(2) , which is a consequence of the much lower reduction potential of the NPs, so that the 1-electron reduction of O(2) to O (•-)(2) becomes a thermodynamically favored process. Altogether, the detailed study of the NPs gives insight into the structure-function relationships required for the targeted delivery of diatomic gas molecules in biology. Moreover, the comparison of the structure-function relationships of the NPs (NO transporters) with those of the globins (O(2) transporters) will help to elucidate the architectural requirement for the respective tasks.

Ultrafast dynamics of diatomic ligand binding to nitrophorin 4

Nitrophorin 4 (NP4) is a heme protein that stores and delivers nitric oxide (NO) through pH-sensitive conformational change. This protein uses the ferric state of a highly ruffled heme to bind NO tightly at low pH and release it at high pH. In this work, the rebinding kinetics of NO and CO to NP4 are investigated as a function of iron oxidation state and the acidity of the environment. The geminate recombination process of NO to ferrous NP4 at both pH 5 and pH 7 is dominated by a single approximately 7 ps kinetic phase that we attribute to the rebinding of NO directly from the distal pocket. The lack of pH dependence explains in part why NP4 cannot use the ferrous state to fulfill its function. The kinetic response of ferric NP4NO shows two distinct phases. The relative geminate amplitude of the slower phase increases dramatically as the pH is raised from 5 to 8. We assign the fast phase of NO rebinding to a conformation of the ferric protein with a closed hydrophobic pocket. The slow phase is assigned to the protein in an open conformation with a more hydrophilic heme pocket environment. Analysis of the ultrafast kinetics finds the equilibrium off-rate of NO to be proportional to the open state population as well as the pH-dependent amplitude of escape from the open pocket. When both factors are considered, the off-rate increases by more than an order of magnitude as the pH changes from 5 to 8. The recombination of CO to ferrous NP4 is observed to have a large nonexponential geminate amplitude with rebinding time scales of approximately 10(-11)-10(-9) s at pH 5 and approximately 10(-10)-10(-8) s at pH 7. The nonexponential CO rebinding kinetics at both pH 5 and pH 7 are accounted for using a simple model that has proven effective for understanding CO binding in a variety of other heme systems (Ye, X.; et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2007, 104, 14682).

1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic studies of the ferriheme resonances of three low-spin complexes of wild-type nitrophorin 2 and nitrophorin 2(V24E) as a function of pH

The ferriheme resonances of the low-spin (S = 1/2) complexes of wild-type (wt) nitrophorin 2 (NP2) and its heme pocket mutant NP2(V24E) with imidazole (ImH), histamine (Hm), and cyanide (CN⁻) as the sixth ligand have been investigated by NMR spectroscopy as a function of pH (4.0–7.5). For the three wt NP2 complexes, the ratio of the two possible heme orientational isomers, A and B, remains almost unchanged (ratio of A:B approximately 1:6 to 1:5) over this wide pH range. However, strong chemical exchange cross peaks appear in the nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy/exchange spectroscopy (NOESY/EXSY) spectra for the heme methyl resonances at low pH (pH* 4.0–5.5), which indicate chemical exchange between two species. We have shown these to be two different exogenous ImH or Hm orientations that are denoted B and B′, with the ImH plane nearly parallel and perpendicular to the ImH plane of the protein-provided His57, respectively. The wt NP2–CN complex also shows EXSY cross peaks due to chemical exchange, which is shown to be a result of interchange between two ruffling distortions of the heme. The same ruffling distortion interchange is also responsible for the ImH and Hm chemical exchange. For the three NP2(V24E) ligand complexes, no EXSY cross peaks are observed, but the A:B ratios change dramatically with pH. The fact that heme favors the A orientation highly for NP2(V24E) at low pH as compared with wt NP2 is believed to be due to the steric effect of the V24E mutation. The existence of the B′ species at lower pH for wt NP2 complexes and the increase in A heme orientation at lower pH for NP2(V24E) are believed to be a result of a change in structure near Glu53 when it is protonated at low pH. ¹H{¹³C} heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC) spectra are very helpful for the assignment of heme and nearby protein side chain resonances.

pH-dependent mechanism of nitric oxide release in nitrophorins 2 and 4

Nitrophorins are NO carrier proteins that transport and release NO through a pH-dependent conformational change. They bind NO tightly in a low pH environment and release it in a higher pH environment. Experimental evidence shows that the increase in the NO dissociation equilibrium constant, K(d), is due mainly to an increase in the NO release rate. Structural and kinetic data strongly suggest that NPs control NO escape by modulating its migration from the active site to the solvent through a pH-dependent conformational change. NP2 and NP4 are two representative proteins of the family displaying a 39% overall sequence identity, and interestingly, NP2 releases NO slower than NP4. The proposal that NPs' NO release relies mainly on the NO escape rate makes NPs a very peculiar case among typical heme proteins. The connection between the pH-dependent conformational change and ligand release mechanism is not fully understood and the structural basis for the pH induced structural transition and the different NO release patterns in NPs are unresolved, yet interesting issues. In this work, we have used state of the art molecular dynamics simulations to study the NO escape process in NP2 and NP4 in both the low and high pH states. Our results show that both NPs modulate NO release by switching between a "closed" conformation in a low pH environment and an "open" conformation at higher pH. In both proteins, the change is caused by the differential protonation of a common residue Asp30 in NP4 and Asp29 in NP2, and the NO escape route is conserved. Finally, our results show that, in NP2, the conformational change to the "open" conformation is smaller than that for NP4 which results in a higher barrier for NO release.

Effect of mutation of carboxyl side-chain amino acids near the heme on the midpoint potentials and ligand binding constants of nitrophorin 2 and its NO, histamine, and imidazole complexes

Nitrophorins (NPs) are a group of NO-carrying heme proteins found in the saliva of a blood-sucking insect from tropical Central and South America, Rhodnius prolixus, the "kissing bug". NO is kept stable for long periods of time by binding it as an axial ligand to a ferriheme center. The fact that the nitrophorins are stabilized as Fe(III)-NO proteins is a unique property because most heme proteins are readily autoreduced by excess NO and bind NO to the Fe(II) heme irreversibly (K(d)s in the picomolar range). In contrast, the nitrophorins, as Fe(III) heme centers, have K(d)s in the micromolar to nanomolar range and thus allow NO to dissociate upon dilution following injection into the tissues of the victim. This NO can cause vasodilation and thereby allow more blood to be transported to the site of the wound. We prepared 13 site-directed mutants of three major nitrophorins, NP2, NP1, and NP4, to investigate the stabilization of the ferric-NO heme center and preservation of reversible binding that facilitates these proteins' NO storage, transport, and release functions. Of the mutations in which Glu and/or Asp were replaced by Ala, most of these carboxyls show a significant role stabilizing Fe(III)-NO over Fe(II)-NO, with buried E53 of NP2 or E55 of NP1 and NP4 being the most important and partially buried D29 of NP2 or D30 of NP4 being second in importance. The pK(a)s of the carboxyl groups studied vary significantly but all are largely deprotonated at pH 7.5 except E124.

Low-frequency mode activity of heme: femtosecond coherence spectroscopy of iron porphine halides and nitrophorin

The low-frequency mode activity of metalloporphyrins has been studied for iron porphine-halides (Fe(P)(X), X = Cl, Br) and nitrophorin 4 (NP4) using femtosecond coherence spectroscopy (FCS) in combination with polarized resonance Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT). It is confirmed that the mode symmetry selection rules for FCS are the same as for Raman scattering and that both Franck-Condon and Jahn-Teller mode activities are observed for Fe(P)(X) under Soret resonance conditions. The DFT-calculated low-frequency (20-400 cm (-1)) modes, and their frequency shifts upon halide substitution, are in good agreement with experimental Raman and coherence data, so that mode assignments can be made. The doming mode is located at approximately 80 cm (-1) for Fe(P)(Cl) and at approximately 60 cm (-1) for Fe(P)(Br). NP4 is also studied with coherence techniques, and the NO-bound species of ferric and ferrous NP4 display a mode at approximately 30-40 cm (-1) that is associated with transient heme doming motion following NO photolysis. The coherence spectra of three ferric derivatives of NP4 with different degrees of heme ruffling distortion are also investigated. We find a mode at approximately 60 cm (-1) whose relative intensity in the coherence spectra depends quadratically on the magnitude of the ruffling distortion. To quantitatively account for this correlation, a new "distortion-induced" Raman enhancement mechanism is presented. This mechanism is unique to low-frequency "soft modes" of the molecular framework that can be distorted by environmental forces. These results demonstrate the potential of FCS as a sensitive probe of dynamic and functionally important nonplanar heme vibrational excitations that are induced by the protein environmental forces or by the chemical reactions in the aqueous phase.

Assignment of the ferriheme resonances of high- and low-spin forms of the symmetrical hemin-reconstituted nitrophorins 1-4 by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy: the dynamics of heme ruffling deformations

The four major nitrophorins (NPs) of the adult blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus have been reconstituted with the "symmetrical hemin" 2,4-dimethyldeuterohemin, and their NMR spectra have been investigated as the high-spin (S=5/2) aqua and low-spin (S=1/2) N-methylimidazole (NMeIm) and cyanide complexes. The NMeIm complexes allow assignment of the high-spin hemin resonances by saturation transfer difference spectroscopy. The cyanide complexes were investigated as paramagnetic analogues of the NO complexes. It is shown that the hemin ring is highly distorted from planarity, much more so for NP2 than for NP1 and NP4 (with ruffling being the major distortion mode), for both high- and low-spin forms. For the cyanide complexes, the conformation of the distorted ring changes on the NMR timescale to yield chemical exchange (exchange spectroscopy, EXSY) cross peaks for NP1sym(CN), NP3sym(CN) and NP4sym(CN) but not for NP2sym(CN). These changes in nonplanar conformation are visualized as a "rolling" of the ruffled macrocycle ridges through some number of degrees, the lowest-energy ruffling mode. This probably occurs in response to slow protein dynamics that cause the I120 and L132 side chains in the distal heme pocket to move in opposite directions (up and away vs. down and toward the hemin ring). This in turn changes the out-of-plane displacements of the 2M and 3M of the symmetrical hemin on the NMR timescale. Two other types of dynamics, i.e., changes in heme seating and NMeIm rotation, are also observed. The highly distorted heme and the dynamics it causes are unique to the NPs and a few other heme proteins with highly distorted macrocycles.

Assignment of Ferriheme Resonances for High- and Low-Spin Forms of Nitrophorin 3 by H and C NMR Spectroscopy and Comparison to Nitrophorin 2: Heme Pocket Structural Similarities and Differences

Nitrophorin 3 (NP3) is the only one of the four major NO-binding heme proteins found in the saliva of the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus (also called the Kissing Bug) for which it has not been possible to obtain crystals of diffraction quality for structure determination by X-ray crystallography. Thus we have used NMR spectroscopy, mainly of the hyperfine-shifted ferriheme substituent resonances, to learn about the similarities and differences in the heme pocket and the iron active site of NP3 as compared to NP2, which has previously been well-characterized by both X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Only one residue in the heme pocket differs between the two, F27 of NP2 is Y27 for NP3; in both cases this residue is expected to interact strongly with the 2-vinyl side chain of the B heme rotational isomer or the 4-vinyl of the A heme rotational isomer. Both the high-spin (S = 5/2) aquo complex, NP3-H(2)O, and the low-spin (S = 1/2) N-methylimidazole (NMeIm) complex of NP3 have been studied. It is found that the chemical shifts of the protons of both forms are similar to those of the corresponding NP2 complexes, but with minor differences that indicate a slightly different angle for the proximal histidine (H57) ligand plane. The B heme rotational isomer is preferred by both NP3 and NP2 in both spin states, but to a greater extent when phenylalanine is present at position 27 (A:B = 1:8 for NP2, 1:6 for NP3-Y27F, 1:4 for NP3, and 1:3 for NP2-F27Y). Careful analysis of the 5Me and 8Me shifts of the A and B isomers of the two high-spin nitrophorins leads to the conclusion that the heme environment for the two isomers differs in some way that cannot be explained at the present time. The kinetics of deprotonation of the high-spin complexes of NP2 and NP3 are very different, with NP2 giving well-resolved high-spin aquo and "low-spin" hydroxo proton NMR spectra until close to the end of the titration, while NP3 exhibits broadened (1)H NMR spectra indicative of an intermediate rate of exchange on the NMR timescale between the two forms throughout the titration. The heme methyl shifts of NP2-OH are similar in magnitude and spread to those of NP2-CN, while those of metmyoglobin-hydroxo complexes are much larger in magnitude but not spread. It is concluded that the hydroxo complex of NP2 is likely S = 1/2 with a mixed (d(XY))(2)(d(XZ),d(YZ))(3)/(d(xy))(1)(d(xz),d(yz))(4) electron configuration, while those of met-Mb-OH are likely S = 1/2,3/2 mixed spin systems.

Spectroscopic and functional characterization of nitrophorin 7 from the blood-feeding insect Rhodnius prolixus reveals an important role of its isoform-specific N-terminus for proper protein function

Nitrophorins (NPs) are a class of NO-transporting and histamine-sequestering heme b proteins that occur in the saliva of the bloodsucking insect Rhodnius prolixus. A detailed study of the newly described member, NP7, is presented herein. NO association constants for NP7 [KIII(eq)(NO)] reveal a drastic change when the pH is varied from 5.5 (reflecting the insect's saliva) to slightly above plasma pH (7.5) (>10(9) M-1 --> 4.0 x 10(6) M-1); thus, the protein promotes the storage of NO in the insect's saliva and its release inside the victim's tissues. In contrast to the other nitrophorins, NP1-4, histamine sequestering cannot be accomplished in vivo due to the low binding constant [KIII(eq)(histamine)] of 10(5) M-1 compared to the histamine concentration of 1-10 x 10(-9) M in the blood. A major part of this study deals with the N-terminus, 1Leu-Pro-Gly-Glu-Cys5 of NP7, which is not found in NP1-4. Since NP7 has not been isolated from the insects but was recognized in a cDNA library instead, the N-terminal site of signal peptidase cleavage upon protein secretion was predicted by the program SIGNALP [Andersen, J. F., Gudderra, N. P., Francischetti, I. M. B., Valenzuela, J. G., and Ribeiro, J. M. C. (2004) Biochemistry 43, 6987-6994]. In marked contrast to wild-type NP7, NP7(Delta1-3) exhibits a very high NO affinity at pH 7.5 [KIII(eq)(NO) approximately 10(9) M-1], suggesting that the release of NO in the plasma cannot efficiently be accomplished by the truncated form. Comparison of the reduction potentials of both constructs by spectroelectrochemistry revealed an average increase of +85 mV for various distal ligands bound to the heme iron when the 1Leu-Pro-Gly3 peptide was removed. However, 1H NMR and EPR spectroscopy show that the electronic properties of the FeIII cofactor are similar in both wild-type NP7 and NP7(Delta1-3). Further, thermal denaturation that revealed a higher stability of wild-type NP7 compared to NP7(Delta1-3), in combination with a homology model based on the NP2 crystal structure (rmsd = 0.39 A), suggests that interaction of the 1Leu-Pro-Gly3 peptide with the A-B and/or G-H loops is key for proper protein function.

Effect of the N-terminus on heme cavity structure, ligand equilibrium, rate constants, and reduction potentials of nitrophorin 2 from Rhodnius prolixus

The D1A mutant of recombinant NP2 has been prepared and shown to have the expression-initiation methionine-0 cleaved during expression in E. coli, as is the case for recombinant NP4, where Ala is the first amino acid for the recombinant protein as well as for the mature native protein. The heme substituent 1H NMR chemical shifts of NP2-D1A and those of its imidazole, N-methylimidazole, and cyanide complexes are rather different from those of NP2-M0D1. This difference is likely due to the much smaller size of the N-terminal amino acid (A) of NP2-D1A, which allows the formation of the closed loop form of this protein, as it does for NP4 (Weichsel, A., Andersen, J. F., Roberts, S. A., and Montfort, W. R. (2000) Nature Struct. Biol. 7, 551-554). The ratio of the two hemin rotational isomers A and B is different for the two proteins, and the rate at which the A:B ratio reaches equilibrium is strikingly different (NP2-M0D1 t1/2 for heme rotation approximately 2 h, NP2-D1A t1/2 approximately 43 h). This difference is consistent with the high stability of the closed loop form of the NP2-D1A protein and infrequent opening of the loops that could allow heme to at least partially exit the binding pocket in order to rotate about its alpha,gamma-meso axis. Consistent with this, the rates of histamine binding and release to/from NP2-D1A are significantly slower than those for NP2-M0D1 at pH 7.5. This work suggests that care must be taken in interpreting data obtained from proteins that carry the expression-initiation M0.

Assignment of the ferriheme resonances of the low-spin complexes of nitrophorins 1 and 4 by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy: comparison to structural data obtained from X-ray crystallography

In this work we report the assignment of the majority of the ferriheme resonances of low-spin nitrophorins (NP) 1 and 4 and compare them to those of NP2, published previously. It is found that the structure of the ferriheme complexes of NP1 and NP4, in terms of the orientation of the ligand(s), can be determined with good accuracy by NMR techniques in the low-spin forms and that angle plots proposed previously (Shokhirev, N. V.; Walker, F. A. J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 1998, 3, 581-594) describe the angle of the effective nodal plane of the axial ligands in solution. The effective nodal plane of low-spin NP1, NP4, and NP2 complexes is in all cases of imidazole and histamine complexes quite similar to the average of the His-59 or -57 and the exogenous ligand angles seen in the X-ray crystal structures. For the cyanide complexes of the nitrophorins, however, the effective nodal plane of the axial ligand does not coincide with the actual histidine-imidazole plane orientation. This appears to be a result of the contribution of an additional source of asymmetry, the orientation of one of the zero-ruffling lines of the heme. Probably this effect exists for the imidazole and histamine complexes as well, but because the effect of asymmetry that occurs from planar exogenous axial ligands is much larger than the effect of heme ruffling the effect of the zero-ruffling line can only be detected for the cyanide complexes, where the only ligand plane is that of the proximal histidine. The three-dimensional structures of the three NP-CN complexes, including that of NP2-CN reported herein, confirm the high degree of ruffling of these complexes. There is an equilibrium between the two heme orientations (A and B) that depends on the heme cavity shape and changes somewhat with exogenous axial ligand. The A:B ratio can be much more accurately measured by NMR spectroscopy than by X-ray crystallography.

Assignment of the ferriheme resonances of the high-spin forms of nitrophorins 1 and 4 by 1H NMR spectroscopy: comparison to structural data obtained from X-ray crystallography

In this work, we report the assignment of the majority of the ferriheme resonances of high-spin nitrophorins (NPs) 1 and 4 and compare them to those of NP2, published previously. It is found that the structures of the ferriheme complexes of NP1 and NP4, in terms of the orientation of the histidine imidazole ligand, can be described with good accuracy by NMR techniques and that the angle plot proposed previously for the high-spin form of the NPs (Shokhireva, T. Kh.; Shokhirev, N. V.; Walker, F. A. Biochemistry 2003, 42, 679-693) describes the angle of the effective nodal plane of the axial histidine imidazole in solution. There is an equilibrium between the two heme orientations (A and B), which depends on the heme cavity shape, which can be altered by mutation of amino acids with side chains (phenyl vs tyrosyl) near the potential position where a heme vinyl group would be in one of the isomers. The A:B ratio can be much more accurately measured by NMR spectroscopy than by X-ray crystallography.

Structural Dynamics Controls Nitric Oxide Affinity in Nitrophorin 4

Nitrophorin 4 (NP4) is one of seven nitric oxide (NO) transporting proteins in the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus. In its physiological function, NO binds to a ferric iron centered in a highly ruffled heme plane. Carbon monoxide (CO) also binds after reduction of the heme iron. Here we have used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures to study CO and NO binding and migration in NP4, complemented by x-ray cryo-crystallography on xenon-containing NP4 crystals to identify cavities that may serve as ligand docking sites. Multiple infrared stretching bands of the heme-bound ligands indicate different active site conformations with varying degrees of hydrophobicity. Narrow infrared stretching bands are observed for photodissociated CO and NO; temperature-derivative spectroscopy shows that these bands are associated with ligand docking sites close to the extremely reactive heme iron. No rebinding from distinct secondary sites was detected, although two xenon binding cavities were observed in the x-ray structure. Photolysis studies at approximately 200 K show efficient NO photoproduct formation in the more hydrophilic, open NP4 conformation. This result suggests that ligand escape is facilitated in this conformation, and blockage of the active site by water hinders immediate reassociation of NO to the ferric iron. In the closed, low-pH conformation, ligand escape from the active site of NP4 is prevented by an extremely reactive heme iron and the absence of secondary ligand docking sites.