Comparison of heme environments and proximal ligands in peroxidases and other hemoproteins through carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of carbon monoxide complexes

Corynebacterium diphtheriae HmuT: dissecting the roles of conserved residues in heme pocket stabilization

The heme-binding protein HmuT is part of the Corynebacterium diphtheriae heme uptake pathway and is responsible for the delivery of heme to the HmuUV ABC transporter. HmuT binds heme with a conserved His/Tyr heme axial ligation motif. Sequence alignment revealed additional conserved residues of potential importance for heme binding: R237, Y272 and M292. In this study, site-directed mutations at these three positions provided insight into the nature of axial heme binding to the protein and its effect on the thermal stability of the heme-loaded protein fold. UV-visible absorbance, resonance Raman (rR) and thermal unfolding experiments, along with collision-induced dissociation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, were used to probe the contributions of each mutated residue to the stability of ϖ HmuT. Thermal unfolding and rR experiments revealed that R237 and M292 are important residues for heme binding. Arginine 237 is a hydrogen-bond donor to the phenol side chain of Y235, which serves as an axial heme ligand. Methionine 292 serves a supporting structural role, favoring the R237 hydrogen-bond donation, which elicits a, heretofore, unobserved modulating influence on π donation by the axial tyrosine ligand in the heme carbonyl complex, HmuT-CO.

NMR, IR, Mössbauer and quantum chemical investigations of metalloporphyrins and metalloproteins

We review contributions made towards the elucidation of CO and O2binding geometries in respiratory proteins. Nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography and quantum chemistry have all been used to investigate the Fe –ligand interactions. Early experimental results showed linear correlations between17O chemical shifts and the infrared stretching frequency (νCO) of the CO ligand in carbonmonoxyheme proteins and between the17O chemical shift and the13CO shift. These correlations led to early theoretical investigations of the vibrational frequency of carbon monoxide and of the13C and17O NMR chemical shifts in the presence of uniform and non-uniform electric fields. Early success in modeling these spectroscopic observables then led to the use of computational methods, in conjunction with experiment, to evaluate ligand-binding geometries in heme proteins. Density functional theory results are described which predict57Fe chemical shifts and Mössbauer electric field gradient tensors,17O NMR isotropic chemical shifts, chemical shift tensors and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants (e2qQ/h) as well as13C isotropic chemical shifts and chemical shift tensors in organometallic clusters, heme model metalloporphyrins and in metalloproteins. A principal result is that CO in most heme proteins has an essentially linear and untilted geometry (τ = 4 °, β = 7 °) which is in extremely good agreement with a recently published X-ray synchrotron structure. CO / O2discrimination is thus attributable to polar interactions with the distal histidine residue, rather than major Fe–C–O geometric distortions.

Multinuclear (13C, 17O, 57Fe) NMR studies of carbonmonoxy heme proteins and synthetic model compounds

13C, 17O and 57Fe NMR spectra of several carbonmonoxy hemoprotein models with varying polar and steric effects of the distal organic superstructure, constraints of the proximal side, and porphyrin ruffling are reported. Both heme models and heme proteins obey a similar excellent linear delta(13C) versus nu(C-O) relationship which is primarily due to modulation of pi-back-bonding from the Fe d(pi) to CO pi* orbital by the distal pocket polar interactions. The lack of correlation between delta(13C) and delta(17O) suggests that the two probes do not reflect a similar type of electronic and structural perturbation. delta(17O) is not primarily influenced by the local distal field interactions and does not correlate with any single structural property of the Fe-C-O unit; however, atropisomerism and deformation of the porphyrin geometry appear to play a significant role. 57Fe shieldings vary by nearly 900 ppm among various hemes and an excellent correlation was found between delta(57Fe) and the absolute crystallographic average displacement of the meso carbon atoms, /Cm/, relative to the porphyrin core mean plane. The excellent correlation between iron-57 shieldings and the average shieldings of the meso carbons of the porphyrin skeleton of TPP derivatives suggests that the two probes reflect a similar type of electronic and structural perturbation which is primarily porphyrin ruffling.

13C- and 57Fe-NMR studies of the Fe-C-O unit of heme proteins and synthetic model compounds in solution: comparison with IR vibrational frequencies and X-ray structural data

13C- and 57Fe-NMR spectra of several carbon monoxide hemoprotein models with varying polar and steric effects of the distal organic superstructure, constraints of the proximal side, and solvent polarity are reported. The 13C shieldings of heme models cover a 4.0 ppm range that is extended to 7.0 ppm when several hemoglobin CO and myoglobin CO species at different pHs are included. Both heme models and heme proteins obey a similar excellent linear delta(13C) versus nu(C-O) relationship that is primarily due to modulation of pi backbonding from Fe d pi to the CO pi* orbital by the distal pocket polar interactions. There is no direct correlation between delta(13C) and Fe-C-O geometry. The poor monotonic relation between delta(13C) and nu(Fe-C) indicates that the iron-carbon pi bonding is not a primary factor influencing delta(13C) and delta(57Fe). The delta(57Fe) was found to be extremely sensitive to deformation of the porphyrin geometry, and increased shielding by more than 600 ppm with increased ruffling was observed for various heme models of known X-ray structures.

Spectral analysis of lactoperoxidase. Evidence for a common heme in mammalian peroxidases

The identity of the non-extractable heme of mammalian lactoperoxidase (LPO) has remained unsolved for over 40 years. Accepted possibilities include a constrained heme b or an 8-thiomethylene-modified heme b. Recent studies of myeloperoxidase (MPO) (Fenna, R., Zeng, J., and Davey, C. (1995) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 316, 653-656; Taylor, K. L., Strobel, F., Yue, K. T., Ram, P., Pohl, J., Woods, A. S., and Kinkade, J. M., Jr. (1995) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 316, 635-642) suggest possible prosthetic group similarities between MPO and LPO. To address heme identity for LPO, we used comparative magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy of LPO versus myoglobin (Mb), horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and MPO. MCD spectra of native Fe3+-LPO and Fe3+-CN--LPO are approximately 10 nm red shifted from analogous forms of Mb and HRP, including the formate-Mb adduct. MCD spectra of native LPO and MPO are opposite in sign, and MCD spectra of their cyanoadducts also differ. These data indicate the LPO heme is distinct from heme b of Mb and HRP as well as from "heme m" of MPO. From this work and literature analysis, we suggest that the non-extractable "heme l" of LPO has the two vinyl groups of heme b but lacks the 2-sulfonium-vinyl linkage of heme m. The observed red shifts in LPO spectra may derive from ester linkages to protein as for MPO. Strong spectral analogies between LPO and mammalian peroxidases (e.g. from saliva, eosinophils, thyroid, intestine) indicate similar prosthetic heme moieties.

Substrate interactions in cytochrome P-450: correlation between carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts and C-O vibrational frequencies

13CO NMR chemical shifts and 12CO infrared stretching frequencies have been measured for cytochrome P-450cam-CO in the presence of D-camphor and of various camphor analogues. A linear correlation between both parameters delta (13C) and v(CO) was found indicating that the steric and electrostatic interactions acting on the CO ligand are influenced by the substrate. It has been proved that P-450 complexes are on another line in this correlation than hemoglobins which is explained by the different proximal ligand.

Distinct heme active-site structure in lactoperoxidase revealed by resonance Raman spectroscopy

Low-frequency resonance Raman spectra of the cyanide and carbon monoxide adducts of lactoperoxidase are obtained with Soret excitation. The nu(Fe-CN) and delta(Fe-C-N) modes are detected at 360 and 453 cm-1, respectively. Upon the isotopic substitution of 13C14N, 12C15N, and 13C15N, the band at 453 cm-1 in the natural abundance adduct shifts to 448, 452, and 445 cm-1, while the 360-cm-1 peak shifts to 358, 357, and 356 cm-1, respectively. The 360-cm-1 band is shifted to 355 cm-1 when the pH is changed from 7.0 to 10.5. On the basis of a previous normal-mode analysis of the cyanoferric adduct of myeloperoxidase, a bent Fe-C-N linkage is suggested for the cyanide adduct of lactoperoxidase. The nu(Fe-CN) (374 cm-1) and delta(Fe-C-N) (480 cm-1) modes are observed for the cyanide adduct of reduced lactoperoxidase. For the carbon monoxide adduct, the nu(Fe-CO) (533 cm-1) and delta(Fe-C-O) (578 cm-1) modes at pH 7.0 are observed to shift to 498 and 570 cm-1 as the pH is raised from 7.0 to 10.0. The strong intensity of delta(Fe-C-O) at both acid and alkaline pHs, along with a suggested bent structure of the Fe-C-N moiety, implies a narrow heme pocket for lactoperoxidase.

Distal and proximal ligand interactions in heme proteins: correlations between C-O and Fe-C vibrational frequencies, oxygen-17 and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts, and oxygen-17 nuclear quadrupole coupling constants in C17O- and 13CO-labeled species

We have obtained the oxygen-17 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of a variety of C17O-labeled heme proteins, including sperm whale (Physeter catodon) myoglobin, two synthetic sperm whale myoglobin mutants (His E7----Val E7; His E7----Phe E7), adult human hemoglobin, rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) hemoglobin, horseradish (Cochlearia armoracia) peroxidase (E.C. 1.11.1.7) isoenzymes A and C, and Caldariomyces fumago chloroperoxidase (E.C. 1.11.1.10), in some cases as a function of pH, and have determined their isotropic 17O NMR chemical shifts, delta i, and spin-lattice relaxation times, T1. We have also obtained similar results on a picket fence prophyrin, [5,10,15,20-tetrakis(alpha, alpha, alpha, alpha, alpha-pivalamidophenyl)porphyrinato]iron(II) (1-MeIm)CO, both in solution and in the solid state. Our results show an excellent correlation between the infrared C-O vibrational frequencies, v(C-O), and delta i, between v(C-O) and the 17O nuclear quadrupole coupling constant (e2qQ/h, derived from T1), and as expected between e2qQ/h and delta i. Taken together with the work of others on the 13C NMR of 13CO-labeled proteins, where we find an excellent correlation between delta i(13C) and v(Fe-C), our results suggest that IR and NMR measurements reflect the same interaction, which is thought to be primarily the degree of pi-back-bonding from Fe d to CO pi* orbitals, as outlined previously [Li, X.-Y., & Spiro, T.G. (1988) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 110, 6024]. The modulation of this interaction by the local charge field of the distal heme residue (histidine, glutamine, arginine, and possibly lysine) in a variety of species and mutants, as reflected in the NMR and IR measurements, is discussed, as is the effect of cysteine as the proximal heme ligand.

13C-NMR study of labeled vinyl groups in paramagnetic myoglobin derivatives

The 13C-NMR spectra of high-spin met-aquo myoglobin, spin-equilibrium met-azido myoglobin, low-spin met-cyano myoglobin, deoxy myoglobin and carbonmonoxy myoglobin from sperm whale reconstituted with hemin 13C enriched at both vinyl alpha or beta positions have been recorded. In all cases the labeled vinyl 13C signals are clearly resolved and useful spectra could be obtained within approx. 15 minutes. The decoupling of multiplet structure due to attached proton(s) has led to the specific assignment of vinyl 13C alpha signals in all paramagnetic derivatives and the 13C beta signals in met-cyano myoglobin. In all other cases, the collapse of the proton multiplet structure as a function of 1H decoupling frequency has located, but not assigned, the attached 1H resonance positions which are obscured by the intense diamagnetic envelope in the 1H-NMR spectrum. The resulting vinyl 13C hyperfine shifts follow Curie behavior, and the patterns closely resemble those in the appropriate model complexes in the same oxidation/spin/ligation state, except that the protein exhibits more in-plane asymmetry. The hyperfine shift patterns are indicative of dominant pi contact shifts for all ferric complexes. Deoxy myoglobin vinyl 13C and 1H contact shifts provide little evidence for pi bonding.

Structural characterization of lactoperoxidase in the heme environment by proton NMR spectroscopy

The heme environmental structures of lactoperoxidase (LP) have been studied by the use of hyperfine-shifted proton NMR and optical absorption spectra. The NMR spectra of the enzyme in native and cyanide forms in H2O indicated that the fifth ligand of the heme iron is the histidyl imidazole with an anionic character and that the sixth coordination site is possibly vacant. These structural characteristics are quite similar to those of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), suggesting that these may be prerequisite to peroxidase activity. The pH dependences of the spectra of LP in cyanide and azide forms showed the presence of two ionizable groups with pK values of 6 and 7.4 in the heme vicinity, which is consistent with the kinetic results. The group with pK = 7.4 is associated with azide binding to LP in a slow NMR exchange limit, which is in contrast to the fast entry of azide to HRP.

High resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of lactoperoxidase

The first high resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra are reported for the native ferric and ferric cyano complexes of bovine lactoperoxidase. The spectrum of the native species exhibits broad heme signals in a far downfield region characteristic of the high-spin ferric state. The low-spin cyano complex yields a proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum with signals as far as 68.5 ppm downfield and as far as -28 ppm upfield of the tetramethylsilane reference. These peak positions are anomalous with respect to those seen only as far as 35 ppm downfield in other cyano hemoprotein complexes. An extreme asymmetry in the unpaired spin delocalization pattern of the iron porphyrin is suggested. The unusual proton nuclear magnetic resonance properties parallel distinctive optical spectral properties and the exceptional resistance to heme displacement from the enzyme. Lactoperoxidase utilized in these studies was isolated from raw milk and purified by an improved, rapid chromatographic procedure.