Oxygen and carbon monoxide kinetics of Glycera dibranchiata monomeric hemoglobin

Hemoglobin Kinetics of the Galapagos Rift Vent Tube Worm Riftia pachyptila Jones (Pogonophora; Vestimentifera)

Kinetics of the reactions of Riftia pachyptila hemoglobin with oxygen were followed spectrophotometrically by stopped-flow and laser flash photolysis techniques. The rate of oxygen dissociation increases eightfold over the range of 5 degrees to 20 degrees C (k = 2.2 sec(-1)at 10 degrees C). Oxygen recombination after flash photolysis was biphasic. The rates of both slow and fast phases of the reaction were independent of temperature from 0 degrees to 20 degrees C(k'fast = 7 x 10(6); k'slow = 1 x 16(6) liter mole (-1) sec(-1)). As the oxygen affinity is relatively temperature independent, analysis in terms of the two-state model of cooperativity requires that the conformational equilibrium constant L decrease by about 50-fold between 3 degrees and 15 degrees C.

Nonvertebrate hemoglobins: functions and molecular adaptations

Hemoglobin (Hb) occurs in all the kingdoms of living organisms. Its distribution is episodic among the nonvertebrate groups in contrast to vertebrates. Nonvertebrate Hbs range from single-chain globins found in bacteria, algae, protozoa, and plants to large, multisubunit, multidomain Hbs found in nematodes, molluscs and crustaceans, and the giant annelid and vestimentiferan Hbs comprised of globin and nonglobin subunits. Chimeric hemoglobins have been found recently in bacteria and fungi. Hb occurs intracellularly in specific tissues and in circulating red blood cells (RBCs) and freely dissolved in various body fluids. In addition to transporting and storing O(2) and facilitating its diffusion, several novel Hb functions have emerged, including control of nitric oxide (NO) levels in microorganisms, use of NO to control the level of O(2) in nematodes, binding and transport of sulfide in endosymbiont-harboring species and protection against sulfide, scavenging of O(2 )in symbiotic leguminous plants, O(2 )sensing in bacteria and archaebacteria, and dehaloperoxidase activity useful in detoxification of chlorinated materials. This review focuses on the extensive variation in the functional properties of nonvertebrate Hbs, their O(2 )binding affinities, their homotropic interactions (cooperativity), and the sensitivities of these parameters to temperature and heterotropic effectors such as protons and cations. Whenever possible, it attempts to relate the ligand binding properties to the known molecular structures. The divergent and convergent evolutionary trends evident in the structures and functions of nonvertebrate Hbs appear to be adaptive in extending the inhabitable environment available to Hb-containing organisms.

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.

Anomalously slow cyanide binding to Glycera dibranchiata monomer methemoglobin component II: implication for the equilibrium constant

In comparison to sperm whale metmyoglobin, metleghemoglobin a, methemoglobins, and heme peroxidases, the purified Glycera dibranchiata monomer methemoglobin component II exhibits anomalously slow cyanide ligation kinetics. For the component II monomer methemoglobin this reaction has been studied under pseudo-first-order conditions at pH 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0, employing 100-250-fold mole excesses of potassium cyanide at each pH. At 20 degrees C, with micromolar protein concentrations, kobsd varies between 9.11 x 10(-5) s-1 at pH 6.0, 100-fold KCN mole excess, and 1.12 x 10(-2) s-1 at pH 9.0, 250-fold KCN mole excess. Our analysis shows that the concentration-independent bimolecular rate constant (k1app) is small in comparison to those of the other heme proteins. For example, at pH 7.0 it is 0.491 M-1 s-1, compared to 1.1 x 10(5) M-1 s-1 for cytochrome c peroxidase; 111 M-1 s-1 for guinea pig methemoglobin; approximately 400 M-1 s-1 for sperm whale metmyoglobin; and 692 M-1 s-1 for soybean metleghemoglobin a, at the same pH and similar temperatures. Furthermore, our results show that the dissociation rate is extremely slow, with k-1app no larger than 10(-6) s-1. Separation of the bimolecular rate constant into contributions from kCN- (the rate constant for CN- binding) and from kHCN (the rate constant for HCN binding) shows that the former is approximately 90 times greater. These results indicate that cyanide ligation reactions are not instantaneous for this protein, which is important for those attempting to study the ligand-binding equilibria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anomalous pH dependence of the heme-bound carbon monoxide spectroscopic properties in the Glycera dibranchiata monomer hemoglobin fraction compared to vertebrate hemoglobins

The pH dependence of infrared and NMR spectroscopic parameters for carbon monoxide bound to human, equine, rabbit and Glycera dibranchiata monomer fraction hemoglobins has been examined. In all cases, the vertebrate hemoglobins exhibit CO vibrations and 13CO chemical shifts which are pH dependent, whereas the invertebrate hemoglobin does not. The Glycera dibranchiata monomer fraction exhibits the highest wavenumber CO vibration (1970 cm-1) and the most shielded chemical shift (206.2 ppm). The pH behavior of the vertebrate CO-hemoglobins is that the heme-coordinated carbon monoxide chemical shifts and principal infrared vibrations tend toward the values observed for the G. dibranchiata CO-hemoglobin fraction. These results are interpreted as originating in protonation of the distal histidine (E-7) in the vertebrate hemoglobins. The anomalous values for Glycera dibranchiata are concluded to be due to the absence of a distal histidine (E-7 His----Leu) in the heme pocket and not to gross structural dissimilarities between the proteins of the different species examined. Primary sequence similarity matrices have been constructed to compare the functional classes of amino acids at homologous positions for the CD and E helices and for the primary heme contacts in human, equine, sperm whale myoglobin, and the Glycera dibranchiata monomer hemoglobin to illustrate this point. They reveal a high correspondence for all globins and do not correlate with the spectroscopic parameters of heme-coordinated CO.

Electron addition to the (FeO2) unit of oxyhaemoglobin Glycera

Exposure of glassy solutions containing the monomeric fraction of the oxyhaemoglobin of the polychaete annelid Glycera dibranchiata to 60Co gamma-rays at 77 K resulted in electron addition to the (FeO2) moiety. The form of the g tensor components obtained from the ESR spectrum indicates that the spin-density on oxygen is much greater than that observed for similar paramagnetic centres formed in haemoglobin A or myoglobin. A major difference between these monomer haem units and normal haem units is that the distal histidine (E7 58) is replaced by leucine. We therefore postulate that the oxygen in the (FeO2)- units formed in haemoglobin A and myoglobin is hydrogen-bonded to the NH group of the distal histidine, whilst that of the (FeO2)- units in haemoglobin Glycera are not hydrogen-bonded. However, on annealing to approx. 160 K the spectrum changed irreversibly into one resembling those for (FeO2)- units in haemoglobin A and myoglobin. We postulate that this is caused by hydrogen-bonding to a water molecule in the haem pocket. Exposure of the polymeric fractions of haemoglobin Glycera to gamma-rays gave an (FeO2)- unit with an ESR spectrum remarkably similar to that obtained from oxymyoglobin. The X-ray structure of this protein is unknown but we suggest that our results could indicate the presence of a distal histidine in this material.

A kinetic study of the binding of carbon monoxide to ferrous chloroperoxidase

The binding of carbon monoxide to ferrous chloroperoxidase in the pH range 4-6.5 is influenced by a titratable group on the enzyme having a pKA of 5.5 +/- 0.2 at 20 degrees C. The basic form of the enzyme reacts much faster with carbon monoxide than does the protonated form of the enzyme. The delta H degrees for the ionization of the functional group in the enzyme involved in carbon monoxide binding is about 8 kcal mol-1, and the delta S degrees is approximately 1 cal mol-1 K-1. These pKA and delta H degrees values suggest that this functional group is an imidazole ring associated with a histidine residue situated at the active site of the enzyme. The rates of the reaction for the formation and dissociation of the complex suggest that this histidine residue is not directly liganded to the iron atom of the heme prosthetic group. The relatively good agreement between the various kinetic approaches with several methods of experimentation, data collection, and data analysis lends strength to a proposed model in which the histidine occupies a distal site close to the sixth axial ligand position of the heme iron atom.