CO recombination to human myoglobin mutants in glycerol-water solutions

Characterization of Catalytic Activities and Heme Coordination Structures of Heme-DNA Complexes Composed of Some Chemically Modified Hemes and an All Parallel-Stranded Tetrameric G-Quadruplex DNA Formed from d(TTAGGG)

Heme binds selectively to the 3'-terminal G-quartet (G6 G-quartet) of an all parallel-stranded tetrameric G-quadruplex DNA, [d(TTAGGG)]₄, to form a heme-DNA complex. Complexes between [d(TTAGGG)]₄ and a series of chemically modified hemes possessing a heme Fe atom with a variety of electron densities were characterized in terms of their peroxidase activities to evaluate the effect of a change in the electron density of the heme Fe atom (ρ_Fe) on their activities. The peroxidase activity of a complex decreased with a decreasing ρ_Fe, supporting the idea that the activity of the complex is elicited through a reaction mechanism similar to that of a peroxidase. In the ferrous heme-DNA complex, carbon monoxide (CO) can bind to the heme Fe atom on the side of the heme opposite the G6 G-quartet, and a water molecule (H₂O) is coordinated to the Fe atom as another axial ligand, trans to the CO. The stretching frequencies of Fe-bound CO (ν_CO) and the Fe-C bond (ν_Fe-C) of CO adducts of the heme-DNA complexes were determined to investigate the structural and electronic natures of the axial ligands coordinated to the heme Fe atom. Comparison of the ν_CO and ν_Fe-C values of the heme-DNA complexes with those of myoglobin (Mb) revealed that the donor strength of the axial ligation trans to the CO in a complex is considerably weaker than that of the proximal histidine in Mb, as expected from the coordination of H₂O trans to the CO in the complex.

Rebinding dynamics of NO to microperoxidase-8 probed by time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy

Femtosecond vibrational spectroscopy was used to probe the rebinding kinetics of NO to microperoxidase-8 (Mp), an ideal model system for the active site of ligand-binding heme proteins, including myoglobin and hemoglobin, after the photodeligation of MpNO in glycerol/water (G/W) solutions at 294 K. The geminate rebinding (GR) of NO to Mp in viscous solutions was highly efficient and ultrafast and negligibly dependent on the solution viscosity, which was adjusted by changing the glycerol content from 65% to 90% by volume in G/W mixtures. The kinetics of the GR of NO to Mp in viscous solutions was well represented by an exponential function with a time constant of ca. 11 ps. Although the kinetic traces of the GR of NO to Mp in solutions with three different viscosities (18, 81, and 252 cP) almost overlap, they show a slight difference early in the decay process. The kinetic traces were also described by the diffusion-controlled reaction theory with a Coulomb potential. Since the ligand is deligated in a neutral form, an ionic pair of NO(-) and Mp(+) may be produced before forming the Mp-NO bond by an electron transfer from Mp to NO as the deligated NO is sufficiently near to the Fe atom of Mp. The strong reactivity between NO and ferrous heme may arise from the Coulomb interaction between the reacting pair, which is consistent with the harpooning mechanism for NO binding to heme.

Photolytic Cross-Linking to Probe Protein-Protein and Protein-Matrix Interactions in Lyophilized Powders

Protein structure and local environment in lyophilized formulations were probed using high-resolution solid-state photolytic cross-linking with mass spectrometric analysis (ssPC-MS). In order to characterize structure and microenvironment, protein-protein, protein-excipient, and protein-water interactions in lyophilized powders were identified. Myoglobin (Mb) was derivatized in solution with the heterobifunctional probe succinimidyl 4,4'-azipentanoate (SDA) and the structural integrity of the labeled protein (Mb-SDA) confirmed using CD spectroscopy and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Mb-SDA was then formulated with and without excipients (raffinose, guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn HCl)) and lyophilized. The freeze-dried powder was irradiated with ultraviolet light at 365 nm for 30 min to produce cross-linked adducts that were analyzed at the intact protein level and after trypsin digestion. SDA-labeling produced Mb carrying up to five labels, as detected by LC-MS. Following lyophilization and irradiation, cross-linked peptide-peptide, peptide-water, and peptide-raffinose adducts were detected. The exposure of Mb side chains to the matrix was quantified based on the number of different peptide-peptide, peptide-water, and peptide-excipient adducts detected. In the absence of excipients, peptide-peptide adducts involving the CD, DE, and EF loops and helix H were common. In the raffinose formulation, peptide-peptide adducts were more distributed throughout the molecule. The Gdn HCl formulation showed more protein-protein and protein-water adducts than the other formulations, consistent with protein unfolding and increased matrix interactions. The results demonstrate that ssPC-MS can be used to distinguish excipient effects and characterize the local protein environment in lyophilized formulations with high resolution.

The importance of individual protein molecule dynamics in developing and assessing solid state protein preparations

Processing protein solutions into the solid state is a common approach for generating stable amorphous protein mixtures that are suitable for long-term storage. Great care is typically given to protecting the protein native structure during the various drying steps that render it into the amorphous solid state. However, many studies illustrate that chemical and physical degradations still occur in spite of this amorphous material having good glassy properties and it being stored at temperatures below its glass transition temperature (Tg). Because of these persistent issues and recent biophysical studies that have refined the debate ascribing meaning to the molecular dynamical transition temperature and Tg of protein molecules, we provide an updated discussion on the impact of assessing and managing localized, individual protein molecule nondiffusive motions in the context of proteins being prepared into bulk amorphous mixtures. Our aim is to bridge the pharmaceutical studies addressing bulk amorphous preparations and their glassy behavior, with the biophysical studies historically focused on the nondiffusive internal protein dynamics and a protein's activity, along with their combined efforts in assessing the impact of solvent hydrogen-bonding networks on local stability. We also provide recommendations for future research efforts in solid-state formulation approaches.

Ultrafast dynamics of diatomic ligand binding to nitrophorin 4

Nitrophorin 4 (NP4) is a heme protein that stores and delivers nitric oxide (NO) through pH-sensitive conformational change. This protein uses the ferric state of a highly ruffled heme to bind NO tightly at low pH and release it at high pH. In this work, the rebinding kinetics of NO and CO to NP4 are investigated as a function of iron oxidation state and the acidity of the environment. The geminate recombination process of NO to ferrous NP4 at both pH 5 and pH 7 is dominated by a single approximately 7 ps kinetic phase that we attribute to the rebinding of NO directly from the distal pocket. The lack of pH dependence explains in part why NP4 cannot use the ferrous state to fulfill its function. The kinetic response of ferric NP4NO shows two distinct phases. The relative geminate amplitude of the slower phase increases dramatically as the pH is raised from 5 to 8. We assign the fast phase of NO rebinding to a conformation of the ferric protein with a closed hydrophobic pocket. The slow phase is assigned to the protein in an open conformation with a more hydrophilic heme pocket environment. Analysis of the ultrafast kinetics finds the equilibrium off-rate of NO to be proportional to the open state population as well as the pH-dependent amplitude of escape from the open pocket. When both factors are considered, the off-rate increases by more than an order of magnitude as the pH changes from 5 to 8. The recombination of CO to ferrous NP4 is observed to have a large nonexponential geminate amplitude with rebinding time scales of approximately 10(-11)-10(-9) s at pH 5 and approximately 10(-10)-10(-8) s at pH 7. The nonexponential CO rebinding kinetics at both pH 5 and pH 7 are accounted for using a simple model that has proven effective for understanding CO binding in a variety of other heme systems (Ye, X.; et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2007, 104, 14682).

Measurements of heme relaxation and ligand recombination in strong magnetic fields

Heme cooling signals and diatomic ligand recombination kinetics are measured in strong magnetic fields (up to 10 T). We examined diatomic ligand recombination to heme model compounds (NO and CO), myoglobin (NO and O(2)), and horseradish peroxidase (NO). No magnetic field induced rate changes in any of the samples were observed within the experimental detection limit. However, in the case of CO binding to heme in glycerol and O(2) binding to myoglobin, we observe a small magnetic field dependent change in the early time amplitude of the optical response that is assigned to heme cooling. One possibility, consistent with this observation, is that there is a weak magnetic field dependence of the nonradiative branching ratio into the vibrationally hot electronic ground state during CO photolysis. Ancillary studies of the "spin-forbidden" CO binding reaction in a variety of heme compounds in the absence of magnetic field demonstrate a surprisingly wide range for the Arrhenius prefactor. We conclude that CO binding to heme is not always retarded by unfavorable spin selection rules involving a double spin-flip superexchange mechanism. In fact, it appears that the small prefactor ( approximately 10(9) s(-1)) found for CO rebinding to Mb may be anomalous, rather than the general rule for heme-CO rebinding. These results point to unresolved fundamental issues that underlie the theory of heme-ligand photolysis and rebinding.

Ultrafast dynamics of ligands within heme proteins

Physiological bond formation and bond breaking events between proteins and ligands and their immediate consequences are difficult to synchronize and study in general. However, diatomic ligands can be photodissociated from heme, and thus in heme proteins ligand release and rebinding dynamics and trajectories have been studied on timescales of the internal vibrations of the protein that drive many biochemical reactions, and longer. The rapidly expanding number of characterized heme proteins involved in a large variety of functions allows comparative dynamics-structure-function studies. In this review, an overview is given of recent progress in this field, and in particular on initial sensing processes in signaling proteins, and on ligand and electron transfer dynamics in oxidases and cytochromes.

Temperature-dependent heme kinetics with nonexponential binding and barrier relaxation in the absence of protein conformational substates

We present temperature-dependent kinetic measurements of ultrafast diatomic ligand binding to the "bare" protoheme (L(1)-FePPIX-L(2), where L(1) = H(2)O or 2-methyl imidazole and L(2) = CO or NO). We found that the binding of CO is temperature-dependent and nonexponential over many decades in time, whereas the binding of NO is exponential and temperature-independent. The nonexponential nature of CO binding to protoheme, as well as its relaxation above the solvent glass transition, mimics the kinetics of CO binding to myoglobin (Mb) but on faster time scales. This demonstrates that the nonexponential kinetic response observed for Mb is not necessarily due to the presence of protein conformational substates but rather is an inherent property of the solvated heme. The nonexponential kinetic data were analyzed by using a linear coupling model with a distribution of enthalpic barriers that fluctuate on slower time scales than the heme-CO recombination time. Below the solvent glass transition (T(g) approximately 180 K), the average enthalpic rebinding barrier for H(2)O-PPIX-CO was found to be approximately 1 kJ/mol. Above T(g), the barrier relaxes and is approximately 6 kJ/mol at 290 K. Values for the first two moments of the heme doming coordinate distribution extracted from the kinetic data suggest significant anharmonicity above T(g). In contrast to Mb, the protoheme shows no indication of the presence of "distal" enthalpic barriers. Moreover, the wide range of Arrhenius prefactors (10(9) to 10(11) s(-1)) observed for CO binding to heme under differing conditions suggests that entropic barriers may be an important source of control in this class of biochemical reactions.

Determination of microscopic rate constants for CO binding and migration in myoglobin encapsulated in silica gels

CO rebinding kinetics after nanosecond photolysis of myoglobin encapsulated in wet silica gels exhibits an enhanced geminate phase that allows the determination of the microscopic rate constants and the activation barriers for distinct ligand docking sites inside the protein matrix. Using a maximum entropy method, we demonstrate that the geminate phase can be well-described by a biphasic lifetime distribution, reflecting rebinding from the distal and proximal sites. Microscopic rates and activation barriers were estimated using a four-state model.

The Position 68(E11) Side Chain in Myoglobin Regulates Ligand Capture, Bond Formation with Heme Iron, and Internal Movement into the Xenon Cavities

After photodissociation, ligand rebinding to myoglobin exhibits complex kinetic patterns associated with multiple first-order geminate recombination processes occurring within the protein and a simpler bimolecular phase representing second-order ligand rebinding from the solvent. A smooth transition from cryogenic-like to solution phase properties can be obtained by using a combination of sol-gel encapsulation, addition of glycerol as a bathing medium, and temperature tuning (-15 --> 65 degrees C). This approach was applied to a series of double mutants, myoglobin CO (H64L/V68X, where X = Ala, Val, Leu, Asn, and Phe), which were designed to examine the contributions of the position 68(E11) side chain to the appearance and disappearance of internal rebinding phases in the absence of steric and polar interactions with the distal histidine. Based on the effects of viscosity, temperature, and the stereochemistry of the E11 side chain, the three major phases, B --> A, C --> A, and D --> A, can be assigned, respectively, to ligand rebinding from the following: (i) the distal heme pocket, (ii) the xenon cavities prior to large amplitude side chain conformational relaxation, and (iii) the xenon cavities after significant conformational relaxation of the position 68(E11) side chain. The relative amplitudes of the B --> A and C --> A phases depend markedly on the size and shape of the E11 side chain, which regulates sterically both ligand return to the heme iron atom and ligand migration to the xenon cavities. The internal xenon cavities provide a transient docking site that allows side chain relaxations and the entry of water into the vacated distal pocket, which in turn slows ligand recombination markedly.

Internal dynamics and protein–matrix coupling in trehalose-coated proteins

We review recent studies on the role played by non-liquid, water-containing matrices on the dynamics and structure of embedded proteins. Two proteins were studied, in water-trehalose matrices: a water-soluble protein (carboxy derivative of horse heart myoglobin) and a membrane protein (reaction centre from Rhodobacter sphaeroides). Several experimental techniques were used: Mossbauer spectroscopy, elastic neutron scattering, FTIR spectroscopy, CO recombination after flash photolysis in carboxy-myoglobin, kinetic optical absorption spectroscopy following pulsed and continuous photoexcitation in Q(B) containing or Q(B) deprived reaction centre from R. sphaeroides. Experimental results, together with the outcome of molecular dynamics simulations, concurred to give a picture of how water-containing matrices control the internal dynamics of the embedded proteins. This occurs, in particular, via the formation of hydrogen bond networks that anchor the protein surface to the surrounding matrix, whose stiffness increases by lowering the sample water content. In the conclusion section, we also briefly speculate on how the protein-matrix interactions observed in our samples may shed light on the protein-solvent coupling also in liquid aqueous solutions.

A hierarchy of functionally important relaxations within myoglobin based on solvent effects, mutations and kinetic model

Geminate CO rebinding in myoglobin is studied for two viscous solvents, trehalose and sol-gel (bathed in 100% glycerol) at several temperatures. Mutations in key distal hemepocket residues are used to eliminate or enhance specific relaxation modes. The time-resolved data are analyzed with a modified Agmon-Hopfield model which is capable of providing excellent fits in cases where a single relaxation mode is dominant. Using this approach, we determine the relaxation rate constants of specific functionally important modes, obtaining also their Arrhenius activation energies. We find a hierarchy of distal pocket modes controlling the rebinding kinetics. The "heme access mode" (HAM) is responsible for the major slow-down in rebinding. It is a solvent-coupled cooperative mode which restricts ligand return from the xenon cavities. Bulky side-chains, like those His64 and Trp29 (in the L29W mutant), operate like overdamped pendulums which move over and block the binding site. They may be either unslaved (His64) or moderately slaved (Trp29) to the solvent. Small side-chain relaxations, most notably of leucines, are revealed in some mutants (V68L, V68A). They are conjectured to facilitate inter-cavity ligand motion. When all relaxations are arrested (H64L in trehalose), we observe pure inhomogeneous kinetics with no temperature dependence, suggesting that proximal relaxation is not a factor on the investigated timescale.

Spin-dependent mechanism for diatomic ligand binding to heme

The nature of diatomic ligand recombination in heme proteins is elucidated by using a Landau-Zener model for the electronic coupling in the recombination rate constant. The model is developed by means of explicit potential energy surfaces calculated by using density functional theory (DFT). The interaction of all possible spin states of the three common diatomic ligands, CO, NO, and O2, and high-spin heme iron is compared. The electronic coupling, rebinding barrier, and Landau-Zener force terms can be obtained and used to demonstrate significant differences among the ligands. In particular the intermediate spin states of NO (S = 32) and O2 (S = 1) are shown to be bound states. Rapid recombination occurs from these bound states in agreement with experimental data. The slower phases of O2 recombination can be explained by the presence of two higher spin states, S = 2 and S = 3, which have a small and relatively large barrier to ligand recombination, respectively. By contrast, the intermediate spin state for CO is not a bound state, and the only recombination pathway for CO involves direct recombination from the S = 2 state. This process is significantly slower according to the Landau-Zener model. Quantitative estimates of the parameters used in the rate constants provide a complete description that explains rebinding rates that range from femtoseconds to milliseconds at ambient temperature.

An electrostatic model for the frequency shifts in the carbonmonoxy stretching band of myoglobin: correlation of hydrogen bonding and the stark tuning rate

The effect of internal and applied external electric fields on the vibrational stretching frequency for bound CO (nu(CO)) in myoglobin mutants was studied using density functional theory. Geometry optimization and frequency calculations were carried out for an imidazole-iron-porphine-carbonmonoxy adduct with various small molecule hydrogen-bonding groups. Over 70 vibrational frequency calculations of different model geometries and hydrogen-bonding groups were compared to derive overall trends in the C-O stretching frequency (nu(CO)) in terms of the C-O bond length and Mulliken charge. Simple linear functions were derived to predict the Stark tuning rate using an approach analogous to the vibronic theory of activation.(1) Potential energy calculations show that the strongest interaction occurs for C-H or N-H hydrogen bonding nearly perpendicular to the Fe-C-O bond axis. The calculated frequencies are compared to the structural data available from 18 myoglobin crystal structures, supporting the hypothesis that the vast majority of hydrogen-bonding interactions with CO occur from the side, rather than the end, of the bound CO ligand. The nu(CO) frequency shifts agree well with experimental frequency shifts for multiple bands, known as A states, and site-directed mutations in the distal pocket of myoglobin. The model calculations quantitatively explain electrostatic effects in terms of specific hydrogen-bonding interactions with bound CO in heme proteins.

Spectroscopically and kinetically distinct conformational populations of sol-gel-encapsulated carbonmonoxy myoglobin. A comparison with hemoglobin

We have used sol-gel encapsulation protocols to trap kinetically and spectroscopically distinct conformational populations of native horse carbonmonoxy myoglobin. The method allows for direct comparison of functional and spectroscopic properties of equilibrium and non-equilibrium populations under the same temperature and viscosity conditions. The results implicate tertiary structure changes that include the proximal heme environment in the mechanism for population-specific differences in the observed rebinding kinetics. Differences in the resonance Raman frequency of nu(Fe-His), the iron-proximal histidine stretching mode, are attributed to differences in the positioning of the F helix. For myoglobin, the degree of separation between the F helix and the heme is assigned as the conformational coordinate that modulates both this frequency and the innermost barrier controlling CO rebinding. A comparison with the behavior of encapsulated derivatives of human adult hemoglobin indicates that these CO binding-induced conformational changes are qualitatively similar to the tertiary changes that occur within both the R and T quaternary states. Protein-specific differences in the time scale for the proposed F helix relaxation are attributed to variations in the intra-helical hydrogen bonding patterns that help stabilize the position of the F helix.

EPR studies on the photoinduced intermediates of NO complexes in recombinant ferric-Mb trapped at low temperatures

The nitrosyl complex of ferric myoglobin is EPR-silent. Upon photolysis at low temperatures, the photoinduced intermediates trapped in the distal heme cavity exhibit new EPR spectra due to the interaction between the photodissociated NO (S=1/2) and the ferric high spin heme (S=5/2). In order to elucidate the effect of distal E7 (His64) and E11 (Val68) mutations upon the electronic structure of the metal center, its immediate environment, and its interaction with the photodissociated NO, EPR spectra of the photoproducts of the NO complexes of recombinant ferric Mb mutants were measured at 5 K. EPR spectra of the photoproducts were closely related to the size and/or the polarity of the distal pocket residues. The distal pocket of the E7 mutants seemed to be sterically crowded, even decreasing the side chain volume or changing its hydrophobicity by replacing amino acid at position 64. We have found that the mobility of the photodissociated NO molecule in the distal heme pocket was strongly governed by the nature of the amino acid residue at E11 position.

Protein dynamics in an intermediate state of myoglobin: optical absorption, resonance Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray structure analysis

A metastable state of myoglobin is produced by reduction of metmyoglobin at low temperatures. This is done either by irradiation with x-rays at 80 K or by electron transfer from photoexcited tris(2, 2'-bipyridine)-ruthenium(II) at 20 K. At temperatures above 150 K, the conformational transition toward the equilibrium deoxymyoglobin is observed. X-ray crystallography, Raman spectroscopy, and temperature-dependent optical absorption spectroscopy show that the metastable state has a six-ligated iron low-spin center. The x-ray structure at 115K proves the similarity of the metastable state with metmyoglobin. The Raman spectra yield the high-frequency vibronic modes and give additional information about the distortion of the heme. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the line shape of the Soret band reveals that a relaxation within the metastable state starts at approximately 120 K. Parameters representative of static properties of the intermediate state are close to those of CO-ligated myoglobin, while parameters representative of dynamics are close to deoxymyoglobin. Thus within the metastable state the relaxation to the equilibrium is initiated by changes in the dynamic properties of the active site.

Myoglobin mutants giving the largest geminate yield in CO rebinding in the nanosecond time domain

We have measured the rebinding of carbon monoxide (CO) to some distal mutants of myoglobin (Mb) in the time range from 10(-8) to 10(-1) s by flash photolysis, in which the photodissociated CO rebinds to the heme iron without escaping to the solvent water from the protein matrix. We have found that the double mutants [His64-->Val/Val68-->Thr (H64V/V68T) and His64-->Val/Val68-->Ser (H64V/V68S)] have an extremely large geminate yield (70-80%) in water at 5 degreesC, in contrast to the 7% of the geminate yield of wild-type Mb. The CO geminate yields for these two mutants are the largest in those of Mb mutants reported so far, showing that the two mutants have a unique heme environment that favors CO geminate rebinding. Comparing the crystal structures and 1H-NMR and vibrational spectral data of H64V/V68T and H64V/V68S with those of other mutants, we discuss factors that may control the nanosecond geminate CO rebinding and CO migration in the protein matrix.

Pressure effects on the proximal heme pocket in myoglobin probed by Raman and near-infrared absorption spectroscopy

The influence of high pressure on the heme protein conformation of myoglobin in different ligation states is studied using Raman spectroscopy over the temperature range from 30 to 295 K. Photostationary experiments monitoring the oxidation state marker bands demonstrate the change of rebinding rate with pressure. While frequency changes of vibrational modes associated with rigid bonds of the porphyrin ring are <1 cm(-1), we investigate a significant shift of the iron-histidine mode to higher frequency with increasing pressure (approximately 3 cm(-1) for deltaP = 190 MPa in Mb). The observed frequency shift is interpreted structurally as a conformational change affecting the tilt angle between the heme plane and the proximal histidine and the out-of-plane iron position. Independent evidence for iron motion comes from measurements of the redshift of band III in the near-infrared with pressure. This suggests that at high pressure the proximal heme pocket and the protein are altered toward the bound state conformation, which contributes to the rate increase for CO binding. Raman spectra of Mb and photodissociated MbCO measured at low temperature and variable pressure further support changes in protein conformation and are consistent with glasslike properties of myoglobin below 160 K.

Ligand binding to heme proteins. VI. Interconversion of taxonomic substates in carbonmonoxymyoglobin

The kinetic properties of the three taxonomic A substates of sperm whale carbonmonoxy myoglobin in 75% glycerol/buffer are studied by flash photolysis with monitoring in the infrared stretch bands of bound CO at nu(A0) approximately 1967 cm-1, nu(A1) approximately 1947 cm-1, and nu(A3) approximately 1929 cm-1 between 60 and 300 K. Below 160 K the photodissociated CO rebinds from the heme pocket, no interconversion among the A substates is observed, and rebinding in each A substate is nonexponential in time and described by a different temperature-independent distribution of enthalpy barriers with a different preexponential. Measurements in the electronic bands, e.g., the Soret, contain contributions of all three A substates and can, therefore, be only approximately modeled with a single enthalpy distribution and a single preexponential. The bond formation step at the heme is fastest for the A0 substate, intermediate for the A1 substate, and slowest for A3. Rebinding between 200 and 300 K displays several processes, including geminate rebinding, rebinding after ligand escape to the solvent, and interconversion among the A substates. Different kinetics are measured in each of the A bands for times shorter than the characteristic time of fluctuations among the A substates. At longer times, fluctuational averaging yields the same kinetics in all three A substates. The interconversion rates between A1 and A3 are determined from the time when the scaled kinetic traces of the two substates merge. Fluctuations between A1 and A3 are much faster than those between A0 and either A1 or A3, so A1 and A3 appear as one kinetic species in the exchange with A0. The maximum-entropy method is used to extract the distribution of rate coefficients for the interconversion process A0 <--> A1 + A3 from the flash photolysis data. The temperature dependencies of the A substate interconversion processes are fitted with a non-Arrhenius expression similar to that used to describe relaxation processes in glasses. At 300 K the interconversion time for A0 <--> A1 + A3 is 10 microseconds, and extrapolation yields approximately 1 ns for A1 <--> A3. The pronounced kinetic differences imply different structural rearrangements. Crystallographic data support this conclusion: They show that formation of the A0 substate involves a major change of the protein structure; the distal histidine rotates about the C(alpha)-C(beta) bond, and its imidazole sidechain swings out of the heme pocket into the solvent, whereas it remains in the heme pocket in the A1 <--> A3 interconversion. The fast A1 <--> A3 exchange is inconsistent with structural models that involve differences in the protonation between A1 and A3.

Spectroscopic study of Ser92 mutants of human myoglobin: hydrogen bonding effect of Ser92 to proximal His93 on structure and property of myoglobin

Neutron diffraction studies have demonstrated that the hydroxyl group oxygen of Ser92(F7) is hydrogen bonded to the proximal His93(48) N epsilon H proton in myoglobin (Mb) [Cheng, X., & Shoenborn, B. P. (1991) J. Mol. Biol. 220, 381-399]. In order to examine the importance of this hydrogen bond, Ser92 was replaced with Ala and Asp in human Mb. By comparing the optical, 1H-NMR, resonance Raman, and IR spectra of Mb(S92A) in several spin and oxidation states with those of wild-type Mb, it was found that the mutation causes a structural change on the heme proximal side but not on the distal side. Comparison of the NMR spectra of the cyanomet form of Mb(S92A) and Mb(WT) suggests that the imidazole plane of His93 rotates somewhat around the Fe-N delta (His93) bond upon loss of the hydrogen bond between His93 and Ser92. The 2D 1H-NMR measurements of the CO complexes show that mutation of Ser92 to Ala changes the relative position of the His97 imidazole group to the heme plane, but the change is not so drastic as reported in the crystal data of Ser92 mutant of pig Mb [Smerdon et al. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 5132-5138]. On the other hand, ligand (CO, O2) binding is only slightly affected by this mutation. From these results, we conclude that the Ser92-His93 hydrogen bond maintains the protein structure of the proximal heme pocket, but it does not strongly affect the electronic structure of the heme as well as of the His93 imidazole ring.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Ligand binding to heme proteins: the effect of light on ligand binding in myoglobin

Extended illumination slows the rebinding of CO to myoglobin after photodissociation at cryogenic temperatures. Two types of models have been put forward to explain the effect: motions of the CO within the heme pocket or conformational transitions of the protein. To resolve this ambiguity, we have studied the effect of extended illumination on ligand binding to horse and sperm whale myoglobin (hMb and swMb) with temperature-derivative spectroscopy, monitoring the reaction in the CO stretch bands in the infrared and the conformation-sensitive band III near 760 nm. The experiments show that the stretch frequency of the photodissociated CO does not change upon illumination, implying that the slowing of the CO rebinding is caused by conformational relaxation of Mb from the bound state toward the deoxy structure. The light-induced relaxation (LIR) depends on the number of photons absorbed but not on the light intensity or duration separately. LIR occurs on photon absorption in either the bound or photodissociated state and depends on the temperature at which the MbCO is illuminated. The LIR proceeds in jumps through a small number of conformational substates. The effective barrier for rebinding increases with each step. The substates populated are similar to those found in the thermally-induced relaxation (TIR) that is observed above 160 K. LIR depends markedly on the structural details; it differs for swMbCO and hMbCO and even for the three A substates of swMbCO. Pronounced differences exist between the effects in MbCO and MbO2. The similarity of LIR and TIR leads to a revised model for ligand binding to swMbCO and hMbCO, in which the relaxation is crucial for the escape of the ligand from the pocket, as was first suggested by Friedman [Friedman, J. M. (1985) Science 228, 1273-1280].

1H and 15N resonance assignments and secondary structure of the carbon monoxide complex of sperm whale myoglobin

Sequence-specific backbone 1H and 15N resonance assignments have been made for 95% of the amino acids in sperm whale myoglobin, complexed with carbon monoxide (MbCO). Many assignments for side-chain resonances have also been obtained. Assignments were made by analysis of an extensive series of homonuclear 2D spectra, measured with unlabeled protein, and both 2D and 3D 1H-15N-correlated spectra obtained from uniformly 15N-labeled myoglobin. Patterns of medium-range NOE connectivities indicate the presence of eight helices in positions that are very similar to those found in the crystal structures of sperm whale myoglobin. The resonance assignments of MbCO form the basis for determination of the solution structure and for hydrogen-exchange measurements to probe the stability and folding pathways of myoglobin. They will also form a basis for assignment of the spectra of single-site mutants with altered ligand-binding properties.

Anatomy and dynamics of a ligand-binding pathway in myoglobin: the roles of residues 45, 60, 64, and 68

In order for diatomic ligands to enter and exit myoglobin, there must be substantial displacements of amino acid side chains from their positions in the static X-ray structure. One pathway, involving Arg/Lys45, His64, and Val68, has been studied in greatest detail. In an earlier study (Lambright et al., 1989) we reported the surprising result that mutation of the surface residue Lys45 to arginine lowers the inner barrier to CO rebinding. Until then, it had been thought that this barrier primarily involves interior distal pocket residues such as His64 and Val68. In this report, we present a detailed study of the CO rebinding kinetics in aqueous solution of a series of single- and double-site mutants of human myoglobin at positions 64, 68, 45, and 60. On the basis of the observed kinetics, we propose that the effect of surface residue 45 on the inner barrier can be explained by a chain of interactions between surface and pocket residues. Very large, and in some cases unexpected, changes are observed in the kinetics of recombination and in the partitioning between geminate and bimolecular recombination.

Correlation between the steric bulk of the distal E7 and E11 residues and the tilt of the FeCN unit in cyanometmyoglobin as determined by NMR from the orientation of the magnetic axes in single and double point mutants

The amino acids in the heme pocket of sperm whale myoglobin single E11 and double E7 and E11 point mutants in the metcyano form have been assigned by NMR methods to assess the role of steric bulk in modulating ligand tilt. The five mutants investigated are the single mutants His64(E7)-->Gly (H[E7]G), Val68(E11)-->Ile (V[E11]I), and Val68(E11)-->Ala (V[E11]A) and the double mutants His64-(E7)-->Gly:Val68(E11)-->Ile (H,V[E7,E11]G,I) and His64(E7)-->Gly:Val68(E11)-->Ala (H,V[E7,E11]G,A). The dipolar (NOESY) contacts on the proximal side of the heme confirm a conserved molecular structure for all of the mutants. The proximal residue coordinates, together with the dipolar shifts for proximal side residues, quantitatively yield the orientations of the magnetic susceptibility tensors, whose major axis corresponds to the orientation of the ligand. It is observed that upon reduction of the steric bulk in the V[E11]A mutant, the tilt of the ligand is significantly reduced (approximately 8 degrees) from that in the wild type (WT) (approximately 16 degrees), with little change in the direction of tilt. In the case of increased steric bulk at position 68 in the V[E11]I mutant, it is observed that the extent and direction of the tilt are essentially the same as in WT, and it is shown that this is due to the fact that Ile68 is oriented in the pocket with its C delta H3 directed away from the iron.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Discovery of new ligand binding pathways in myoglobin by random mutagenesis

A random library of single amino acid mutants of myoglobin was generated using a highly efficient, single-base-misincorporation random mutagenesis method to discover new ligand-binding pathways in myoglobin. A surprisingly large fraction of the library exhibits ligand-binding kinetics that are substantially different from the wild-type protein. In addition to residues 45, 64 and 68, which comprise the best studied ligand-binding pathway single mutations of several other clusters of residues far away from that pathway are discovered which profoundly affect the ligand-binding kinetics. These results provide a new approach to explore the relationship between the fluctuations in protein structure and function.

Ligand binding to heme proteins: III. FTIR studies of His-E7 and Val-E11 mutants of carbonmonoxymyoglobin

Fouier-transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectra of several His-E7 and Val-E11 mutants of sperm whale carbonmonoxymyoglobin were obtained by photodissociation at cryogenic temperatures. The IR absorption of the CO ligand shows characteristic features for each of the mutants, both in the ligand-bound (A) state and in the photodissociated (B) state. For most of the mutants, a single A substate band is observed, which points to the crucial role of the His-E7 residue in determining the A substrate spectrum of the bound CO in the native structure. The fact that some of the mutants show more than one stretch band of the bound CO indicates that the appearance of multiple A substates is not exclusively connected to the presence of His-E7. In all but one mutant, multiple stretch bands of the CO in the photodissociated state are observed; these B substates are thought to arise from discrete positions and/or orientations of the photodissociated ligand in the heme pocket. The red shifts of the B bands with respect to the free-gas frequency indicate weak binding in the heme pocket. The observation of similar red shifts in microperoxidase (MP-8), where there is no residue on the distal side, suggests that the photodissociated ligand is still associated with the heme iron. Photoselection experiments were performed to determine the orientation of the bound ligand with respect to the heme normal by photolyzing small fractions of the sample with linearly polarized light at 540 nm. The resulting linear dichroism in the CO stretch spectrum yielded angles alpha > 20 degrees between the CO molecular axis and the heme normal for all of the mutants. We conclude that the off-axis position of the CO ligand in the native structure does not arise from steric constraints imposed by the distal histidine. There is no clear correlation between the size of the distal residue and the alpha of the CO ligand.

Dynamics of protein relaxation in site-specific mutants of human myoglobin

We have recently reported spectroscopic evidence for structural relaxation of myoglobin (Mb) following photodissociation of MbCO [Lambright, D. G., Balasubramanian, S., & Boxer, S. G. (1991) Chem. Phys. 158, 249-260]. In this paper we report measurements for a series of single amino acid mutants of human myoglobin on the distal side of the heme pocket (positions 45, 64, and 68) in order to examine specific structural determinants involved in this conformational relaxation and to determine the nature of the coupling between relaxation and the functional process of ligand binding. The kinetics of ligand binding and conformational relaxation were monitored by transient absorption spectroscopy in the Soret spectral region, and the results are analyzed using a four-state ligand binding model. Two principal results emerge: (1) amino acid substitutions in the distal heme pocket affect the kinetics of the nonequilibrium conformational relaxation and (2) the rate of ligand escape from the protein matrix is not significantly perturbed by the distal heme pocket mutations.

Perturbations of the distal heme pocket in human myoglobin mutants probed by infrared spectroscopy of bound CO: correlation with ligand binding kinetics

The infrared spectra of CO bound to human myoglobin and myoglobin mutants at positions His-64, Val-68, Asp-60, and Lys-45 on the distal side have been measured between 100 and 300 K. Large differences are observed with mutations at His-64 and Val-68 as well as with temperature and pH. Although distal His-64 is found to affect CO bonding, Val-68 also plays a major role. The variations are analyzed qualitatively in terms of a simple model involving steric interaction between the bound CO and the distal residues. A strong correlation is found between the final barrier height to CO recombination and the CO stretch frequency: as compared to wild type, the barrier is smaller in those mutants that have a higher CO stretch frequency (vCO) and vice versa. Possible reasons for this correlation are discussed. It is emphasized that the temperature and pH dependence of both the kinetics and the infrared spectra must be measured to obtain a consistent picture.