Proton nuclear magnetic resonance studies of hemoglobin

Derivation and numerical profile analysis of a hierarchically formulated microscopic model of hemoglobin oxygen binding

To address complex thermodynamic systems with multiple interacting events, we have developed the concept of hierarchical thermodynamic interactions. In this study, this concept is extended to protein-ligand systems with similar but not identical protein subunits, and applied to the analysis of previously published NMR and UV-vis monitored hemoglobin oxygen binding data. Non-linear regression provided estimated errors for statistically significant parameters, but not for null (zero) valued parameters. A numerical/graphical profiling approach was therefore used to assess confidence intervals and correlations for both the statistically significant and nulled valued parameters in this model. Individual parameters were set to fixed values around their best-fit value, and the subset of statistically significant parameters re-minimized against hemoglobin oxygen binding data. Plots provide a graphical representation of parameter confidence intervals and correlations, and demonstrate how the two different data types - UV-vis and NMR - constrain the range of values for each parameter. This analysis further illustrates the value of hierarchically formulated models for the analysis of complex state systems, and illuminates the complexity of parameter space around the derived minimum microscopic model of hemoglobin oxygen binding.

Early development of arterial spin labeling to measure regional brain blood flow by MRI

Two major avenues of work converged in the late 1980's and early 1990's to give rise to brain perfusion MRI. The development of anatomical brain MRI quickly had as a major goal the generation of angiograms using tricks to label flowing blood in macroscopic vessels. These ideas were aimed at getting information about microcirculatory flow as well. Over the same time course the development of in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy had as its primary goal the assessment of tissue function and in particular, tissue energetics. For this the measurement of the delivery of water to tissue was critical for assessing tissue oxygenation and viability. The measurement of the washin/washout of "freely" diffusible tracers by spectroscopic based techniques pointed the way for quantitative approaches to measure regional blood flow by MRI. These two avenues came together in the development of arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI techniques to measure regional cerebral blood flow. The early use of ASL to measure brain activation to help verify BOLD fMRI led to a rapid development of ASL based perfusion MRI. Today development and applications of regional brain blood flow measurements with ASL continues to be a major area of activity.

Structure-function relationship in a variant hemoglobin: a combined computational-experimental approach

Our study examines the functional and structural effects of amino acid substitution in the distal side of beta-chains of human Hb Duarte (alpha(2)beta(2)(62Ala-->Pro)). We have compared the functional properties of the purified Hb Duarte with those of HbA, and through proton NMR and molecular dynamics simulations we have investigated their tertiary and quaternary structures. The variant exhibits an increased oxygen affinity with a normal Hill coefficient and Bohr effect. The abnormal function of Hb Duarte is attributed to the presence of a proline residue at the beta62 position, since the functional properties of another Hb variant in the same position, Hb J-Europa (beta(62Ala-->Asp)), have been described as normal. Thereafter (1)H-NMR studies have shown that the beta62 Ala-->Pro substitution causes structural modifications of the tertiary structure of the beta globins, leaving the quaternary structure unaltered. These results have been confirmed by extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. All these findings lead to the conclusion that the beta62 Ala-->Pro substitution produces a destabilization of the E-helix extending downward to the CD corner. Particularly, a cavity near the distal histidine of the beta-chains, connecting the heme pocket to the solvent, is affected, altering the functional properties of the protein molecule.

Chain-selective isotopic labeling for NMR studies of large multimeric proteins: application to hemoglobin

Multidimensional, multinuclear NMR has the potential to elucidate the mechanisms of allostery and cooperativity in multimeric proteins under near-physiological conditions. However, NMR studies of proteins made up of non-equivalent subunits face the problem of severe resonance overlap, which can prevent the unambiguous assignment of resonances, a necessary step in interpreting the spectra. We report the application of a chain-selective labeling technique, in which one type of subunit is labeled at a time, to carbonmonoxy-hemoglobin A (HbCO A). This labeling method can be used to extend previous resonance assignments of key amino acid residues, which are important to the physiological function of hemoglobin. Among these amino acid residues are the surface histidyls, which account for the majority of the Bohr effect. In the present work, we report the results of two-dimensional heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC) experiments performed on recombinant (15)N-labeled HbCO A. In addition to the C2-proton (H epsilon(1)) chemical shifts, these spectra also reveal the corresponding C4-proton (H delta(2)) resonances, correlated with the N epsilon(2) and N delta(1) chemical shifts of all 13 surface histidines per alpha beta dimer. The HMQC spectrum also allows the assignment of the H delta(1), H epsilon(1), and N epsilon(1) resonances of all three tryptophan residues per alpha beta dimer in HbCO A. These results indicate that heteronuclear NMR, used with chain-selective isotopic labeling, can provide resonance assignments of key regions in large, multimeric proteins, suggesting an approach to elucidating the solution structure of hemoglobin, a protein with molecular weight 64.5 kDa.

Synthesis of the 6,7-bis[2-methoxycarbonyl(1,1- dideutero)-ethyl] derivative of protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester

A new total synthesis of a protoporphyrin IX derivative in which the α-methylene protons of the 13,17-(2-methoxycarbonylethyl) substituents are regioselectively deuterated is described. The deuterated porphyrin was obtained using the oxidative cyclization of an a,c-biladiene dihydrobromide.

The artificial alpha1beta1-contact mutant hemoglobin, Hb Phe-35beta, shows only small functional abnormalities

It was previously reported that Hb Philly with a mutation of Phe for Tyr at 35(C1)beta showed non-cooperative oxygen binding with a very high affinity and instability leading to hemolysis. Further, it lacked the 1H-NMR signal at 13.1 ppm from 2,2-dimethyl-2-silapentane-5-sulfonate in normal hemoglobin (Hb A), so that this signal was assigned to a hydrogen bond formed by Tyr-35(C1)beta. Surprisingly, our artificial mutant hemoglobin with the same mutation as Hb Philly showed slightly lowered oxygen affinity, almost normal cooperativity, the 1H-NMR signal at 13.1 ppm and no sign of instability. Our results indicate that the mutation reported for Hb Philly and the assignment of the 13.1 ppm signal need reexamination.

Structure changes in hemoglobin upon deletion of C-terminal residues, monitored by resonance Raman spectroscopy

Loss of C-terminal residues in hemoglobin raises oxygen affinity and reduces both cooperativity and the Bohr effect. These functional changes are expected from the loss of C-terminal salt bridges, which are seen crystallographically to stabilize the T quaternary structure. Ultraviolet resonance Raman (UVRR) difference spectroscopy confirms that the strength of the T state contacts is diminished when the C-terminal and also the penultimate residues are removed chemically. Deoxy minus CO difference signals arising from the Trpbeta37-Aspalpha94 and Tyralpha42-Aspbeta99 H bonds at the alpha1 beta2 subunit interface are diminished, and at pH 9, the difference spectra reveal a shift to the R quaternary structure. These effects are small for desHisbeta146 Hb and large for desArgalpha141 Hb, consistent with the order of functional changes. In addition, the H bond between the A and E helices is strengthened by removal of Argalpha141 and is further strengthened when the effector molecule IHP (inositol hexaphosphate) is added to deoxy-desArgalpha141 Hb or when its pH is lowered to 5.8. This effect is attributed to the loss of the C-terminal anchor of the alpha chain H helix, which supports the F and A helices. The beta chain is not as sensitive because it has extra F-H interhelix H bonds. Removal of both Hisbeta146 and Tauyrbeta145 produce UVRR changes which are intermediate between desHisbeta146 and desArgalpha141 Hb, although the functional consequences are greater than for desArgalpha141 Hb. Removal of Tyralpha140 as well as Argalpha141 abolishes cooperative binding as well as the Bohr effect, and the UVRR difference signals are also lost, suggesting that quaternary constraints are removed in both the T and the R states. When the approximately 220 cm-1 iron-histidine stretching vibration of the deoxy-proteins is examined, using Raman excitation in resonance with the heme Soret band, the frequency is observed to diminish toward that of deoxyHb A (215 cm-1) as the pH is lowered and IHP is added and to increase toward a completely relaxed value (223 cm-1) as the pH is raised to 9. The relaxation is in the same order as the functional perturbations: desHisbeta146 < desArgalpha141 < desHisbeta146-Tyrbeta145 < desArgalpha141-Tyralpha140. However, even desArgalpha141-Tyralpha140 Hb shows significant reduction in the Fe-His frequency as IHP is added at low pH. The Fe-His frequency is sensitive to both tertiary and quaternary structure changes and is a global indicator of forces at the heme. The order of affinity changes can be understood on the basis of the number of stabilizing H bonds between the F and H helices. Titration curves of the Fe-His frequency against pH are not sigmoidal, consistent with a multiplicity of contributions to the Bohr effect.

Heme compounds in dinosaur trabecular bone

Six independent lines of evidence point to the existence of heme-containing compounds and/or hemoglobin breakdown products in extracts of trabecular tissues of the large theropod dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex. These include signatures from nuclear magnetic resonance and electron spin resonance that indicate the presence of a paramagnetic compound consistent with heme. In addition, UV/visible spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography data are consistent with the Soret absorbance characteristic of this molecule. Resonance Raman profiles are also consistent with a modified heme structure. Finally, when dinosaurian tissues were extracted for protein fragments and were used to immunize rats, the resulting antisera reacted positively with purified avian and mammalian hemoglobins. The most parsimonious explanation of this evidence is the presence of blood-derived hemoglobin compounds preserved in the dinosaurian tissues.

Proton-NMR investigation of the heme cavity in the cyanomet derivative of the cooperative homodimeric hemoglobin from Scapharca inaequivalvis

The active-site structure of the paramagnetic cyanomet complex of the cooperative homodimeric hemoglobin from Scapharca inaequivalvis has been investigated by solution homonuclear NMR. In spite of the large size (32 kDa), the residues on the key proximal F- and distal E-helices could be sequence-specifically assigned and placed in the heme pocket in a manner common to diamagnetic systems. These backbone assignments were greatly facilitated by the significant dispersion of backbone chemical shifts by the highly anisotropic paramagnetic susceptibility tensor of the low-spin ferric state. The remainder of the residues in contact with the heme are assigned based on unique contacts to the heme predicted by the crystal structure and the observations of scalar connectivities diagnostic for the residues. The magnitude of the dipolar shifts for non-ligated residues was used to determine the anisotropy and orientation of the paramagnetic susceptibility tensor, and the major axis found tilted from the normal in a manner similar to that found for the Fe-CO unit in the crystal structure. The combination of NOESY inter-residue and heme-residue contacts, paramagnetic-induced relaxation and correlation between observed and dipolar shifts provide a description of the heme cavity in cyanomet Hb that is essentially the same as found in the carbonmonoxy Hb crystal structure. The pattern of both the heme methyl dominant contact shifts and the heme meso-proton dominant dipolar shifts are shown to be consistent with the orientation of the axial His. It is concluded that the present homonuclear NMR methods allow effective solution structure determination in the cyanomet form for dimeric Hb and suggest profitable extension to the tetrameric vertebrate hemoglobins.