Bohr effect of native and chemically modified hemoglobins: Quantitative analyses based on the Wyman equation

Resveratrol, a New Allosteric Effector of Hemoglobin, Enhances Oxygen Supply Efficiency and Improves Adaption to Acute Severe Hypoxia

Acute altitude hypoxia represents the cause of multiple adverse consequences. Current treatments are limited by side effects. Recent studies have shown the protective effects of resveratrol (RSV), but the mechanism remains unknown. To address this, the effects of RSV on the structure and function of hemoglobin of adult (HbA) were preliminarily analyzed using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and oxygen dissociation assays (ODA). Molecular docking was conducted to specifically analyze the binding regions between RSV and HbA. The thermal stability was characterized to further validate the authenticity and effect of binding. Changes in the oxygen supply efficiency of HbA and rat RBCs incubated with RSV were detected ex vivo. The effect of RSV on the anti-hypoxic capacity under acute hypoxic conditions in vivo was evaluated. We found that RSV binds to the heme region of HbA following a concentration gradient and affects the structural stability and rate of oxygen release of HbA. RSV enhances the oxygen supply efficiency of HbA and rat RBCs ex vivo. RSV prolongs the tolerance times of mice suffering from acute asphyxia. By enhancing the oxygen supply efficiency, it alleviates the detrimental effects of acute severe hypoxia. In conclusion, RSV binds to HbA and regulates its conformation, which enhances oxygen supply efficiency and improves adaption to acute severe hypoxia.

R and R2 quaternary structures of carbonmonoxyhemoglobins: Differential effect of inositol hexakisphosphate on their affinity for Ellman's reagent

The reaction of 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate), DTNB, with hemoglobin sulfhydryl groups is linked to three negatively contributing Bohr effect groups: His2β is present in all avian hemoglobins but absent in some mammalian hemoglobins; His77β and His143β are absent in avian but present in nearly all mammalian hemoglobins. To probe the consequences of these differences, we determined the influence of inositol hexakisphosphate (inositol-P₆) on the DTNB affinities of avian and mammalian carbonmonoxyhemoglobins. Inositol-P₆decreases by two orders of magnitude the DTNB affinity of guinea pig hemoglobin, which has His2β and the R2 quaternary structure. It decreases, or has no effect on, the DTNB affinities of hemoglobins that have His2β and whose structures lie along the R2 ⇌ R quaternary equilibrium. Finally, inositol-P₆increases by one to two orders of magnitude the DTNB affinities of hemoglobins that lack His2β. Thus His2β, DTNB and inositol-P₆, in combination, distinguish the R2 from the R quaternary structure.

Bohr effect and oxygen affinity of carp, eel and human hemoglobin: Quantitative analyses provide rationale for the Root effect

The functional properties of most fish hemoglobins are more complex than those of human hemoglobin. This complexity arises in the form of the Root effect, in which the oxygen affinity of such fish hemoglobins decreases rapidly with pH relative to that of human hemoglobin. Cooperative ligand binding is also diminished below pH ≈ 6.5. The Bohr effect, determined by acid-base titration, has been reported for the Root effect carp and anodic eel hemoglobins. Unlike for mammalian hemoglobins, the Wyman equation for the Bohr effect fails to account quantitatively for these Bohr data. We present a successful quantitative accounting for these data based on evidence for multiple T states in various fish hemoglobins and on their lack of sixhistidine Bohr groups, with pK^oxy > pK^deoxy. On the same bases we also provide a rationale for the higher pH sensitivity of the oxygen affinity of carp compared to human hemoglobin.

Bohr effect of human hemoglobin: Separation of tertiary and quaternary contributions based on the Wyman equation

As a prelude to separating tertiary from quaternary structure contributions to the Bohr effect, we employed the Wyman equation to analyze Bohr data for human hemoglobin to which 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, 2,3-BPG, is bound. Changes in the pK_as of the histidine Bohr groups result in a net reduction of their contributions to the Bohr effect at pH 7.4 compared to their contributions in stripped hemoglobin. The non-histidine 2,3-BPG binding groups - the β-chain terminal amino group and Lys82β - make negative and positive contributions, respectively, to the Bohr effect. The final result is that the Bohr effect at physiological pH is higher for 2,3-BPG bound compared to stripped hemoglobin. Contributions linked to His2β, His77β and His143β enable us to separate tertiary from quaternary Bohr contributions in stripped and in 2,3-BPG bound hemoglobin. Both contributions serve to make the Bohr effect for 2,3-BPG bound hemoglobin higher than for stripped hemoglobin at physiological pH.