Circular dichroism of lamprey and human hemoglobins

Underlying assumptions in the estimation of secondary structure content in proteins by circular dichroism spectroscopy--a critical review

Recombinant DNA technology has made possible the large-scale production of proteins for pharmaceutical applications. As a result, there has been a renaissance in methodology which can provide information on the structural stability and character of these materials. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, with its sensitivity to the secondary structure adopted by the polypeptide chain, is a powerful tool in this regard. Quantitative analysis of the CD spectra of proteins is now wide-spread, aided by the availability of such algorithms on commercial instrumentation. However, there are basic assumptions made when conducting these calculations, many of which have not been addressed or summarized. Some of these assumptions are independent of the selection of basis spectra and the algorithm employed. These assumptions are listed and the available data concerning their validity is presented and discussed.

CD studies on the reversed heme orientation in monomeric Glycera dibranchiata hemoglobins

Circular dichroism spectra of three monomeric components of Glycera dibranchiata hemoglobins are reported. Contrary to what is found for most hemoglobins and myoglobins, G. dibranchiata hemoglobins display largely negative dichroic spectra in the Soret region. Independent NMR measurements have shown that the same monomeric hemoglobin components contain the heme moiety predominantly (greater than 85%) oriented in a reversed way with respect to the orientation which occurs in most hemoglobins and myoglobins. On the basis of these independent NMR studies, and also of previous data on other invertebrate hemoproteins, a correlation appears evident between reversed heme orientation in hemoglobins and negative ellipticity in the Soret CD spectrum. This represents a simple tool to evaluate this aspect of heme asymmetric environment.

Conformational properties of membrane-bound fumarate reductase of Escherichia coli

Anaerobically grown cells of Escherichia coli harboring the plasmid pFRD63 over-produce fumarate reductase, a membrane-bound complex localized in the inner membrane of the cell, where this enzyme represents at least 90% of the total membrane proteins (B. D. Lemire, J. J. Robinson, and J. H. Weiner (1982) J. Bacteriol. 152, 1126-1131). Preparations of inner membrane fractions suspended in 40% sucrose are optically clear, allowing optical spectroscopic measurements. Circular dichroism spectra showed that between pH 6 and 11 the secondary structure of the enzyme is at least 55% in alpha helix and that above pH 11 the structure abruptly changes to a beta-like conformation. The same phenomenon is observed in samples solubilized in the nonionic detergent C12E9. Absorption spectra of the enzyme either membrane bound or solubilized in detergents or exposed to alkaline pH showed that the accessibility of the active site to solvent components is modulated by the interaction of the protein with the membrane. Solubilization of the membrane-bound enzyme with 1% Triton X-100 or C12E9 produced a decrease in ellipticity and in enzymatic activity.

Myoglobin structure and regulation of solvent accessibility of heme pocket

The effects of heme removal on the molecular structure of tuna and sperm whale myoglobin have been investigated by comparing the solvent accessibility to the heme pocket of the two proteins with that of the corresponding apoproteins. Although the heme microenvironment of tuna myoglobin is more polar than that of sperm whale myoglobin, the accessibility of solvent to heme is identical in the two proteins as revealed by thermal perturbation of Soret absorption. The removal of heme produces loss of helical folding and increase of solvent accessibility but the effects are rather different for the two proteins. More precisely, the loss of helical structure upon heme removal is 50% for tuna myoglobin and 15% for sperm whale myoglobin; moreover, the solvent accessibility of the heme pocket of tuna apomyoglobin is 2-3-fold greater than that of sperm whale apomyoglobin. These results have been explained in terms of the lack of helical folding in segment D, the structural organization of which may have a relevant effect in regulating the accessibility of ligands to the heme. The effects produced by charged quenchers reveal that the ligand path from the surface of the molecule to the ion atom of the heme involves a positively charged residue which may reasonably be identified as Arg-45 (sperm whale myoglobin) or Lys-41 (tuna myoglobin) on the basis of recent X-ray crystallographic information.

Solution studies on heme proteins. Circular dichroism and optical rotation of Glycera dibranchiata hemoglobins

Circular dichroism (CD) and optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) spectra of several liganded derivatives of the monomer and polymer hemoglobin components of the marine annelid, Glycera dibranchiata were measured over the wavelength range 650--195 nm. The differences observed between the monomer and polymer components for the heme dichroic bands in the visible, Soret and ultraviolet wavelength regions seem to result from changes in the heme environment, geometry and coordination state of the central heme iron in these proteins. Within the Soret region, the liganded derivatives of the monomer hemoglobin exhibit predominantly negative circular dichroic bands. The heme band at 260 nm is also absent for the monomer hemoglobin. The ORD and CD spectra in the far-ultraviolet, peptide absorbing region suggest also differences in the alpha-helix content of the monomer and polymer hemoglobins. The values for the single-chain G. dibranchiata hemoglobin are in the expected range (about 70% alpha-helix) as predicted by the X-ray structure of this protein. The lower estimates of the alpha-helix content for the polymer hemoglobin (approx. 50%), may reflect the differences in amino acid composition, primary structure and polypeptide chain foldings. Changes in oxidation state and ligand binding appears to have no pronounced effect on the helicity of either the monomer or polymer hemoglobins. The removal of the heme moiety from the monomer hemoglobin did result in a major decrease in its helix content similar to the loss of heme from myoglobin.

Circular dichroism of soybean leghemoglobin

Circular dichroic (CD) spectra of soybean leghemoglobin, and some of its liganded derivatives were measured over the wavelength range of 650 to 200 nm. The heme-related circular dichroic bands in the visible, Soret and ultraviolet wavelength regions exhibit Cotton effects characteristic of each of the compounds examined. The positions of the dichroic bands vary with ligand substitutions and the oxidation state of the iron. All leghemoglobin derivatives, except the apoprotein, exhibit negative circular dichroic bands in the region of Soret absorption. In this region the optical activity of compounds with high-spin moments is greater than that of compounds with low or intermediate spin moments. The ellipticity of the heme band at about 260 nm is also altered by ligand binding and spin state. The dichroic spectra in the far-ultraviolet region indicated a high extent of alpha-helical structure (about 70%) in the native leghemoglobin and its liganded derivatives. The helicality of the apoprotein seems to diminish suggesting a decrease caused by the removal of the heme.