Hydrogen-deuterium exchange of cytochrome c. II. Effect of pH

Three-dimensional solution structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae reduced iso-1-cytochrome c

Two-dimensional 1H NMR spectra of Saccharomyces cerevisiae reduced iso-1-cytochrome c have been used to confirm and slightly extend the assignment available in the literature. 1702 NOESY cross-peaks have been assigned, and their intensities have been measured. Through the program DIANA and related protocols (Güntert, 1992), a solution structure has been obtained by using 1442 meaningful NOEs and 13 hydrogen-bond constraints. The RMSD values with respect to the mean structure for the backbone and all heavy atoms for a family of 20 structures are 0.61 +/- 0.09 and 0.98 +/- 0.09 A, the average target function value being as small as 0.57 A2. The larger number of slowly exchanging amide NHs observed in this system compared to that observed in the cyanide derivative of oxidized Ala 80 cytochrome c suggests that the oxidized form is much more flexible and that the backbone protons are more solvent accessible. Comparison of the present structure with the crystal structures of reduced yeast cytochrome c and of the complex between cytochrome c peroxidase and oxidized yeast cytochrome c reveals substantial similarity among the backbone conformations but differences in the residues located in the region of protein-protein interaction. Interestingly, in solution the peripheral residues involved in the interaction with cytochrome c peroxidase are on average closer to the position found in the crystal structure of the complex than to the solid state structure of the isolated reduced from.

Increase in apparent compressibility of cytochrome c upon oxidation

The apparent molal adiabatic compressibilities of ferri- and ferrocytochrome c have been determined from measurements of density and sound velocity. The values found were +2.99 X 10(-8) and -2.40 X 10(-8) cm5 mol-1 dyne-1 for the ferri and ferro forms, respectively. Experiments were performed on identical solutions containing either the oxidized or reduced form of protein. Solutions of ferricytochrome c were found to have significantly greater adiabatic compressibility than equivalent solutions of ferrocytochrome c at 25 degrees C and pH 7.15. The remarkable similarity of the three-dimensional structures of the ferri and ferro proteins [Takano, T. & Dickerson, R.E. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 6371-6375] strongly suggests that this difference in compressibility is due to an increase in volume fluctuations within ferricytochrome c relative to the ferro form rather than a change in equilibrium structure or hydration. Such a difference in the dynamic properties of the structures is consistent with both the crystallographic thermal B factors and the observed increase in amide hydrogen exchange kinetics when ferrocytochrome c is oxidized. The relative magnitude of the root mean square volume fluctuations is approximated from an ideal solution treatment of the compressibility data and yields a ratio of delta Vrms (ferri cyt c)/ delta Vrms (ferro cyt c) = 1.3.

Syncatalytic conformational changes in aspartate aminotransferase determined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange

Catalysis-linked conformational transitions of aspartate aminotransferase (cytosolic isoenzyme from pig heart; L-aspartate:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.1) have been probed by infrared spectrophotometric measurement of hydrogen-deuterium exchange. In the unliganded pyridoxal form of the enzyme at pH 6.0 and 20 degrees, 43% of the total 411 peptide hydrogens per subunit exchange within the first 10 min. An additional 9% exchange slowly in the following time period to 360 min. A quite similar exchange curve is obtained with the pyridoxamine form of the enzyme, indicating close correspondence in conformation of both unliganded forms of the enzyme. Formation of a nonproductive adsorption complex of the pyridoxal enzyme with 2-oxoglutarate or of the pyridoxamine enzyme with glutamate alters the exchange characteristics only slightly. In contrast, the formation of an equilibrium mixture of the covalent transamination intermediates, which occurs in the silultaneous presence of the amino acid and the keto acid substrate, results in a marked retardation of hydrogen exchange, reflecting a substantial tightening of the structure of the enzyme. The exchange reactions of at least 26 peptide hydrogens per subunit (6% of the total) are retarded by a factor of 6 on the average. The occurrence of such syncatalytic conformational changes reflects energetic coupling of the covalency changes at the active site with conformational changes of the macromolecular protein matrix that may contribute to optimizing the free energy profile of enzymic transamination.

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of slowly exchanging peptide protons in cytochrome c in aqueous solution

The slowly exchanging protons in oxidized and reduced horse heart cytochrome c (D20, uncorrected pH meter reading 6.5 room temperature) have been monitored by recording the 270 and 360 MHz proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the reduced protein between 5 and 11 parts per million downfield from 2,2-dimethyl-2-silapentane-5-sulfonate.

Hydrogen-isotope exchange of oxidized and reduced cytochrome c. A comparison of mass spectrometry and infrared methods

Hydrogen-deuterium exchange in 2H20 solutions of the two redox states of horse heart cytochrome c was investigated at 20 degrees C, pH 7, by mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy. Mass spectrometry indicates that ferricytochrome has 20 hydrogens unexchanged after 24 h, 28 hydrogens exchanging between 10 min and 24 h, and 156 hydrogens exchanging within 10 min; comparative values for ferrocytochrome are 45, 19 and 140. The displacement of the exchange curves obtained by infrared corresponds to 8 to 9 peptide hydrogens. These combined methods show many non-peptide hydrogens exchanging rapidly (87 and 79 for ferricytochrome c and ferrocytochrome c respectively), whereas others, probably buried inside the molecule and involved in hydrogen bonds, are not exchanged, even after 24 h (14 and 30 hydrogens respectively, which is relatively large for a small protein). Infrared results are given in terms of changes of standard free energy for the transconformational reaction which exposes the peptide hydrogens to solvent: in ferricytochrome c and ferrycoytochrome c, 30% and 40% respectively of the peptide hydrogens are protected by conformational transitions stabilized by more than 5 kcal/mol (21 kJ/mol), which implies a large increase in rigidity for the reduced form.