Electron transfer reactivity of type zero Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin

Chemical protein synthesis enabled engineering of saccharide oxidative cleavage activity in artificial metalloenzymes

Chemical protein (semi-)synthesis is a powerful technique allowing the incorporation of unnatural functionalities at any desired protein site. Herein we describe a facile one-pot semi-synthetic strategy for the construction of a type 2 copper center in the active site of azurin, which is achieved by substitution of Met121 with unnatural amino acid residues bearing a strong ligand N,N-bis(pyridylmethyl)amine (DPA) to mimic the function of typical histidine brace-bearing copper monooxygenases, such as lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) involved in polysaccharide breakdown. The semi-synthetic proteins were routinely obtained in over 10-mg scales to allow for spectroscopic measurements (UV-Vis, CD, and EPR), which provides structural evidences for the CuII-DPA-modified azurins. 4-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (PNPG) was used as a model substrate for the H2O2-driven oxidative cleavage reaction facilitated by semi-synthetic azurins, and the CuII-6 complex showed a highest activity (TTN 253). Interestingly, our semi-synthetic azurins were able to tolerate high H2O2 concentrations (up to 4000-fold of the enzyme), making them promising for practical applications. Collectively, we establish that chemical protein synthesis can be exploited as a reliable technology in affording large quantities of artificial metalloproteins to facilitate the transformation of challenging chemical reactions.

Photoinduced Electron Transfer from the Tryptophan Triplet State in Zn-Azurin

Tryptophan is one of few residues that participates in biological electron transfer reactions. Upon substitution of the native Cu²⁺ center with Zn²⁺ in the blue-copper protein azurin, a long-lived tryptophan neutral radical can be photogenerated. We report the following quantum yield values for Zn-substituted azurin in the presence of the electron acceptor Cu(II)-azurin: formation of the tryptophan neutral radical (Φ_rad), electron transfer (Φ_ET), fluorescence (Φ_fluo), and phosphorescence (Φ_phos), as well as the efficiency of proton transfer of the cation radical (Φ_PT). Increasing the concentration of the electron acceptor increased Φ_rad and Φ_ET values and decreased Φ_phos without affecting Φ_fluo. At all concentrations of the acceptor, the value of Φ_PT was nearly unity. These observations indicate that the phosphorescent triplet state is the parent state of electron transfer and that nearly all electron transfer events lead to proton loss. Similar results regarding the parent state were obtained with a different electron acceptor, [Co(NH₃)₅Cl]²⁺; however, Stern-Volmer graphs revealed that [Co(NH₃)₅Cl]²⁺ was a more effective phosphorescence quencher (K _SV = 230 000 M^-1) compared to Cu(II)-azurin (K _SV = 88 000 M^-1). Competition experiments in the presence of both [Co(NH₃)₅Cl]²⁺ and Cu(II)-azurin suggested that [Co(NH₃)₅Cl]²⁺ is the preferred electron acceptor. Implications of these results in terms of quenching mechanisms are discussed.

Role of the Triplet State and Protein Dynamics in the Formation and Stability of the Tryptophan Radical in an Apoazurin Mutant

The protein, azurin, has enabled the study of the tryptophan radical. Upon UV excitation of tyrosine-deficient apoazurin and in the presence of a Co(III) electron acceptor, the neutral radical (W48•) is formed. The lifetime of W48• in apoazurin is 41 s, which is shorter than the lifetime of several hours in Zn-substituted azurin. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed enhanced fluctuations of apoazurin which likely destabilize W48•. The photophysics of W48 was investigated to probe the precursor state for ET. The phosphorescence intensity was eliminated in the presence of an electron acceptor while the fluorescence was unchanged; this quenching of the phosphorescence is attributed to ET. The kinetics associated with W48• were examined with a model that incorporates intersystem crossing, ET, deprotonation, and decay of the cation radical. The estimated rate constants for ET (6 × 10⁶ s^–1) and deprotonation (3 × 10⁵ s^–1) are in agreement with a photoinduced mechanism where W48• is derived from the triplet state. The triplet as the precursor state for ET was supported by photolysis of apoazurin with 280 nm in the absence and presence of triplet-absorbing 405 nm light. Absorption bands from the neutral radical were observed only in the presence of blue light.

On the roles of methionine and the importance of its microenvironments in redox metalloproteins

The amino acid residue methionine (Met) is commonly thought of as a ligand in redox metalloproteins, for example in cytochromes c and in blue copper proteins. However, the roles of Met can go beyond a simple ligand. The thioether functional group of Met allows it to be considered as a hydrophobic residue as well as one that is capable of weak dipolar interactions. In addition, the lone pairs on sulphur allow Met to interact with other groups, inluding the aforementioned metal ions. Because of its properties, Met can play diverse roles in metal coordination, fine tuning of redox reactions, or supporting protein structures. These roles are strongly influenced by the nature of the surrounding medium. Herein, we describe several common interactions between Met and surrounding aromatic amino acids and how they affect the physical properties of both copper and iron metalloproteins. While the importance of interactions between Met and other groups is established in biological systems, less is known about their roles in redox metalloproteins and our view is that this is an area that is ready for greater attention.

CuA-based chimeric T1 copper sites allow for independent modulation of reorganization energy and reduction potential

Attaining rational modulation of thermodynamic and kinetic redox parameters of metalloproteins is a key milestone towards the (re)design of proteins with new or improved redox functions. Here we report that implantation of ligand loops from natural T1 proteins into the scaffold of a CuA protein leads to a series of distorted T1-like sites that allow for independent modulation of reduction potentials (E°') and electron transfer reorganization energies (λ). On the one hand E°' values could be fine-tuned over 120 mV without affecting λ. On the other, λ values could be modulated by more than a factor of two while affecting E°' only by a few millivolts. These results are in sharp contrast to previous studies that used T1 cupredoxin folds, thus highlighting the importance of the protein scaffold in determining such parameters.

Mechanical Deformation and Electronic Structure of a Blue Copper Azurin in a Solid-State Junction

Protein-based electronics is an emerging field which has attracted considerable attention over the past decade. Here, we present a theoretical study of the formation and electronic structure of a metal-protein-metal junction based on the blue-copper azurin from pseudomonas aeruginosa. We focus on the case in which the protein is adsorbed on a gold surface and is contacted, at the opposite side, to an STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscopy) tip by spontaneous attachment. This has been simulated through a combination of molecular dynamics and density functional theory. We find that the attachment to the tip induces structural changes in the protein which, however, do not affect the overall electronic properties of the protein. Indeed, only changes in certain residues are observed, whereas the electronic structure of the Cu-centered complex remains unaltered, as does the total density of states of the whole protein.

Raman and Quantum Yield Studies of Trp48-d5 in Azurin: Closed-Shell and Neutral Radical Species

Isotopologues are valuable vibrational probes that shift features in a vibrational spectrum while preserving the electronic structure of the molecule. We report the vibrational and electronic spectra of perdeuterated tryptophan in solution (l-Trp-d₅), as Trp48-d₅ in azurin, and as the photogenerated neutral tryptophan radical, Trp48-d₅^•, in azurin. The UV resonance Raman bands of the perdeuterated closed-shell tryptophan in solution and in azurin are lower in frequency relative to the protiated counterpart. The observed decrease in frequencies of l-Trp-d₅ bands relative to l-Trp-h₅ enables the analysis of vibrational markers of other amino acids, e.g., phenylalanine, that overlap with some modes of l-Trp-h₅. The Raman intensities vary between l-Trp-d₅ and l-Trp-h₅; these differences likely reflect modifications in normal mode composition upon perdeuteration. Analysis of the W3, W6, and W17 modes suggests that the W3 mode retains its utility as a conformational marker; however, the H-bond markers W6 and W17 appear to be less sensitive upon perdeuteration. The neutral tryptophan radical, Trp48-d₅^•, was generated in azurin with a slightly lower radical quantum yield than for Trp48-h₅^•. The visible resonance Raman spectrum of Trp48-d₅^• is different from that of Trp48-h₅^•, especially in terms of relative intensities, and all assignable peaks decreased in frequency upon perdeuteration. The absorption and emission spectra of the perdeuterated closed-shell and radical species exhibited hypsochromic shifts of less than 1 nm relative to the protiated species. The data presented here indicate that l-Trp-d₅ is a valuable probe of vibrational structure, with minimal modification of photoreactivity and photophysics compared to l-Trp-h₅.

Clarifying the Copper Coordination Environment in a de Novo Designed Red Copper Protein

Cupredoxins are copper-dependent electron-transfer proteins that can be categorized as blue, purple, green, and red depending on the spectroscopic properties of the Cu(II) bound forms. Interestingly, despite significantly different first coordination spheres and nuclearity, all cupredoxins share a common Greek Key β-sheet fold. We have previously reported the design of a red copper protein within a completely distinct three-helical bundle protein, α3DChC2. (1) While this design demonstrated that a β-barrel fold was not requisite to recapitulate the properties of a native cupredoxin center, the parent peptide α3D was not sufficiently stable to allow further study through additional mutations. Here we present the design of an elongated protein GRANDα3D (GRα3D) with Δ Gu = -11.4 kcal/mol compared to the original design's -5.1 kcal/mol. Diffraction quality crystals were grown of GRα3D (a first for an α3D peptide) and solved to a resolution of 1.34 Å. Examination of this structure suggested that Glu41 might interact with the Cu in our previously reported red copper protein. The previous bis(histidine)(cysteine) site (GRα3DChC2) was designed into this new scaffold and a series of variant constructs were made to explore this hypothesis. Mutation studies around Glu41 not only prove the proposed interaction, but also enabled tuning of the constructs' hyperfine coupling constant from 160 to 127 × 10-4 cm-1. X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis is consistent with these hyperfine coupling differences being the result of variant 4p mixing related to coordination geometry changes. These studies not only prove that an Glu41-Cu interaction leads to the α3DChC2 construct's red copper protein like spectral properties, but also exemplify the exact control one can have in a de novo construct to tune the properties of an electron-transfer Cu site.

The influence of pH and divalent/monovalent cations on the internal electron transfer (IET), enzymatic activity, and structure of fructose dehydrogenase

We report on the influence of pH and monovalent/divalent cations on the catalytic current response, internal electron transfer (IET), and structure of fructose dehydrogenase (FDH) by using amperometry, spectrophotometry, and circular dichroism (CD). Amperometric measurements were performed on graphite electrodes, onto which FDH was adsorbed and the effect on the response current to fructose was investigated when varying the pH and the concentrations of divalent/monovalent cations in the contacting buffer. In the presence of 10 mM CaCl₂, a current increase of up to ≈ 240% was observed, probably due to an intra-complexation reaction between Ca²⁺ and the aspartate/glutamate residues found at the interface between the dehydrogenase domain and the cytochrome domain of FDH. Contrary to CaCl₂, addition of MgCl₂ did not show any particular influence, whereas addition of monovalent cations (Na⁺ or K⁺) led to a slight linear increase in the maximum response current. To complement the amperometric investigations, spectrophotometric assays were carried out under homogeneous conditions in the presence of a 1-electron non-proton-acceptor, cytochrome c, or a 2-electron-proton acceptor, 2,6-dichloroindophenol (DCIP), respectively. In the case of cytochrome c, it was possible to observe a remarkable increase in the absorbance up to 200% when 10 mM CaCl₂ was added. However, by further increasing the concentration of CaCl₂ up to 50 mM and 100 mM, a decrease in the absorbance with a slight inhibition effect was observed for the highest CaCl₂ concentration. Addition of MgCl₂ or of the monovalent cations shows, surprisingly, no effect on the electron transfer to the electron acceptor. Contrary to the case of cytochrome c, with DCIP none of the cations tested seem to affect the rate of catalysis. In order to correlate the results obtained by amperometric and spectrophotometric measurements, CD experiments have been performed showing a great structural change of FDH when increasing the concentration CaCl₂ up to 50 mM, at which the enzyme molecules start to agglomerate, hindering the substrate access to the active site probably due to a chelation reaction occurring at the enzyme surface with the glutamate/aspartate residues.

Graphical Abstract

Protein bioelectronics: a review of what we do and do not know

We review the status of protein-based molecular electronics. First, we define and discuss fundamental concepts of electron transfer and transport in and across proteins and proposed mechanisms for these processes. We then describe the immobilization of proteins to solid-state surfaces in both nanoscale and macroscopic approaches, and highlight how different methodologies can alter protein electronic properties. Because immobilizing proteins while retaining biological activity is crucial to the successful development of bioelectronic devices, we discuss this process at length. We briefly discuss computational predictions and their connection to experimental results. We then summarize how the biological activity of immobilized proteins is beneficial for bioelectronic devices, and how conductance measurements can shed light on protein properties. Finally, we consider how the research to date could influence the development of future bioelectronic devices.

Asn47 and Phe114 modulate the inner sphere reorganization energies of type zero copper proteins

The geometric structures and electron transfer properties of type 1 Cu proteins are reasonably understood at the molecular level (E. I. Solomon and R. G. Hadt, Coord. Chem. Rev., 2011, 255, 774-789, J. J. Warren, K. M. Lancaster, J. H. Richards and H. B. Gray, J. Inorg. Biochem., 2012, 115, 119-126). Much understanding of type 1 copper electron transfer reactivity has come from site directed mutagenesis studies. For example, artificial "type zero" Cu-centres constructed in cupredoxin-azurin have showcased the capacity of outer-sphere hydrogen bonding networks to enhance Cu II/I electron transfer reactivity. In this paper, we have elaborated on earlier kinetics and electronic structural studies of type zero Cu by calculating the inner sphere reorganization energies of type 1, type 2, and type zero Cu proteins using density functional theory (DFT). Although the choice of density functionals for copper systems is not straightforward, we have benchmarked the density functionals against the recently reported ESI-PES data for two synthetic copper models (S. Niu, D.-L. Huang, P. D. Dau, H.-T. Liu, L.-S. Wang and T. J. Ichiye, Chem. Theory Comput., 2014, 10, 1283). For the Cu proteins, our calculations predict that changes in the coordination number upon metal reduction lead to large inner sphere reorganization energies for type 2 Cu sites, whereas retention in the coordination number is observed for type zero Cu sites. These variations in the coordination number are modulated by the outer-sphere coordinating residues Asn47 and Phe114, which are involved in hydrogen bonding with the Asp112 side chain.

Design of a single protein that spans the entire 2-V range of physiological redox potentials

The reduction potential (E°') is a critical parameter in determining the efficiency of most biological and chemical reactions. Biology employs three classes of metalloproteins to cover the majority of the 2-V range of physiological E°'s. An ultimate test of our understanding of E°' is to find out the minimal number of proteins and their variants that can cover this entire range and the structural features responsible for the extreme E°'. We report herein the design of the protein azurin to cover a range from +970 mV to -954 mV vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) by mutating only five residues and using two metal ions. Spectroscopic methods have revealed geometric parameters important for the high E°'. The knowledge gained and the resulting water-soluble redox agents with predictable E°'s, in the same scaffold with the same surface properties, will find wide applications in chemical, biochemical, biophysical, and biotechnological fields.

Photogeneration and Quenching of Tryptophan Radical in Azurin

Tryptophan and tyrosine can form radical intermediates that enable long-range, multistep electron transfer (ET) reactions in proteins. This report describes the mechanisms of formation and quenching of a neutral tryptophan radical in azurin, a blue-copper protein that contains native tyrosine (Y108 and Y72) and tryptophan (W48) residues. A long-lived neutral tryptophan radical W48• is formed upon UV-photoexcitation of a zinc(II)-substituted azurin mutant in the presence of an external electron acceptor. The quantum yield of W48• formation (Φ) depends upon the tyrosine residues in the protein. A tyrosine-deficient mutant, Zn(II)Az48W, exhibited a value of Φ = 0.080 with a Co(III) electron acceptor. A nearly identical quantum yield was observed when the electron acceptor was the analogous tyrosine-free, copper(II) mutant; this result for the Zn(II)Az48W:Cu(II)Az48W mixture suggests there is an interprotein ET path. A single tyrosine residue at one of the native positions reduced the quantum yield to 0.062 (Y108) or 0.067 (Y72). Wild-type azurin with two tyrosine residues exhibited a quantum yield of Φ = 0.045. These data indicate that tyrosine is able to quench the tryptophan radical in azurin.

Tryptophan-to-heme electron transfer in ferrous myoglobins

It was recently demonstrated that in ferric myoglobins (Mb) the fluorescence quenching of the photoexcited tryptophan 14 (*Trp(14)) residue is in part due to an electron transfer to the heme porphyrin (porph), turning it to the ferrous state. However, the invariance of *Trp decay times in ferric and ferrous Mbs raises the question as to whether electron transfer may also be operative in the latter. Using UV pump/visible probe transient absorption, we show that this is indeed the case for deoxy-Mb. We observe that the reduction generates (with a yield of about 30%) a low-valence Fe-porphyrin π [Fe(II)(porph(●-))] -anion radical, which we observe for the first time to our knowledge under physiological conditions. We suggest that the pathway for the electron transfer proceeds via the leucine 69 (Leu(69)) and valine 68 (Val(68)) residues. The results on ferric Mbs and the present ones highlight the generality of Trp-porphyrin electron transfer in heme proteins.

Structural studies on Laz, a promiscuous anticancer Neisserial protein

Azurin and Laz (lipidated azurin) are 2 bacterial proteins with anticancer, anti-viral and anti-parasitic activities. Azurin, isolated from the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, termed Paz, demonstrates anticancer activity against a range of cancers but not against brain tumors. In contrast, Laz is produced by members of Gonococci/Meningococci, including Neisseria meningitides which can cross the blood-brain barrier to infect brain meninges. It has been previously reported that Laz has an additional 39 amino acid moiety, called an H.8 epitope, in the N-terminal part of the azurin moiety that allows Laz to cross the entry barrier to brain tumors such as glioblastomas. Exactly, how the H.8 epitope helps the azurin moiety of Laz to cross the entry barriers to attack glioblastoma cells is unknown. In this paper, we describe the structural features of the H.8 moiety in Laz using X-ray crystallography and demonstrate that while the azurin moiety of Laz adopts a β-sandwich fold with 2 β-sheets arranged in the Greek key motif, the H.8 epitope was present as a disordered structure outside the Greek key motif. Structures of Paz and H.8 epitope-deficient Laz are well superimposed. The structural flexibility of the H.8 motif in Laz explains the extracellular location of Laz in Neisseria where it can bind the key components of brain tumor cells to disrupt their tight junctions and allow entry of Laz inside the tumors to exert cytotoxicity.

Long-Range Electron Transfer in Engineered Azurins Exhibits Marcus Inverted Region Behavior

The Marcus theory of electron transfer (ET) predicts that while the ET rate constants increase with rising driving force until it equals a reaction's reorganization energy, at higher driving force the ET rate decreases, having reached the Marcus inverted region. While experimental evidence of the inverted region has been reported for organic and inorganic ET reactions as well as for proteins conjugated with ancillary redox moieties, evidence of the inverted region in a "protein-only" system has remained elusive. We herein provide such evidence in a series of nonderivatized proteins. These results may facilitate the design of ET centers for future applications such as advanced energy conversions.

The role of protein dynamics and thermal fluctuations in regulating cytochrome c/cytochrome c oxidase electron transfer

In this overview we present recent combined electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, spectroscopic and computational studies from our group on the electron transfer reactions of cytochrome c and of the primary electron acceptor of cytochrome c oxidase, the CuA site, in biomimetic complexes. Based on these results, we discuss how protein dynamics and thermal fluctuations may impact on protein ET reactions, comment on the possible physiological relevance of these results, and finally propose a regulatory mechanism that may operate in the Cyt/CcO electron transfer reaction in vivo. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: 18th European Bioenergetic Conference.

Molecular dynamics simulations of apocupredoxins: insights into the formation and stabilization of copper sites under entatic control

Cupredoxins perform copper-mediated long-range electron transfer (ET) in biological systems. Their copper-binding sites have evolved to force copper ions into ET-competent systems with decreased reorganization energy, increased reduction potential, and a distinct electronic structure compared with those of non-ET-competent copper complexes. The entatic or rack-induced state hypothesis explains these special properties in terms of the strain that the protein matrix exerts on the metal ions. This idea is supported by X-ray structures of apocupredoxins displaying "closed" arrangements of the copper ligands like those observed in the holoproteins; however, it implies completely buried copper-binding atoms, conflicting with the notion that they must be exposed for copper loading. On the other hand, a recent work based on NMR showed that the copper-binding regions of apocupredoxins are flexible in solution. We have explored five cupredoxins in their "closed" apo forms through molecular dynamics simulations. We observed that prearranged ligand conformations are not stable as the X-ray data suggest, although they do form part of the dynamic landscape of the apoproteins. This translates into variable flexibility of the copper-binding regions within a rigid fold, accompanied by fluctuations of the hydrogen bonds around the copper ligands. Major conformations with solvent-exposed copper-binding atoms could allow initial binding of the copper ions. An eventual subsequent incursion to the closed state would result in binding of the remaining ligands, trapping the closed conformation thanks to the additional binding energy and the fastening of noncovalent interactions that make up the rack.

Tryptophan-accelerated electron flow across a protein-protein interface

We report a new metallolabeled blue copper protein, Re126W122Cu(I) Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin, which has three redox sites at well-defined distances in the protein fold: Re(I)(CO)3(4,7-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline) covalently bound at H126, a Cu center, and an indole side chain W122 situated between the Re and Cu sites (Re-W122(indole) = 13.1 Å, dmp-W122(indole) = 10.0 Å, Re-Cu = 25.6 Å). Near-UV excitation of the Re chromophore leads to prompt Cu(I) oxidation (<50 ns), followed by slow back ET to regenerate Cu(I) and ground-state Re(I) with biexponential kinetics, 220 ns and 6 μs. From spectroscopic measurements of kinetics and relative ET yields at different concentrations, it is likely that the photoinduced ET reactions occur in protein dimers, (Re126W122Cu(I))2 and that the forward ET is accelerated by intermolecular electron hopping through the interfacial tryptophan: *Re//←W122←Cu(I), where // denotes a protein-protein interface. Solution mass spectrometry confirms a broad oligomer distribution with prevalent monomers and dimers, and the crystal structure of the Cu(II) form shows two Re126W122Cu(II) molecules oriented such that redox cofactors Re(dmp) and W122-indole on different protein molecules are located at the interface at much shorter intermolecular distances (Re-W122(indole) = 6.9 Å, dmp-W122(indole) = 3.5 Å, and Re-Cu = 14.0 Å) than within single protein folds. Whereas forward ET is accelerated by hopping through W122, BET is retarded by a space jump at the interface that lacks specific interactions or water molecules. These findings on interfacial electron hopping in (Re126W122Cu(I))2 shed new light on optimal redox-unit placements required for functional long-range charge separation in protein complexes.

Designed azurins show lower reorganization free energies for intraprotein electron transfer

Low reorganization free energies are necessary for fast electron transfer (ET) reactions. Hence, rational design of redox proteins with lower reorganization free energies has been a long-standing challenge, promising to yield a deeper understanding of the underlying principles of ET reactivity and to enable potential applications in different energy conversion systems. Herein we report studies of the intramolecular ET from pulse radiolytically produced disulfide radicals to Cu(II) in rationally designed azurin mutants. In these mutants, the copper coordination sphere has been fine-tuned to span a wide range of reduction potentials while leaving the metal binding site effectively undisrupted. We find that the reorganization free energies of ET within the mutants are indeed lower than that of WT azurin, increasing the intramolecular ET rate constants almost 10-fold: changes that are correlated with increased flexibility of their copper sites. Moreover, the lower reorganization free energy results in the ET rate constants reaching a maximum value at higher driving forces, as predicted by the Marcus theory.

Catalysis of dioxygen reduction by Thermus thermophilus strain HB27 laccase on ketjen black electrodes

We present electrochemical analyses of the catalysis of dioxygen reduction by Thermus thermophilus strain HB27 laccase on ketjen black substrates. Our cathodes reliably produce 0.56 mA cm(-2) at 0.0 V vs Ag|AgCl reference at 30 °C in air-saturated buffer, under conditions of nonlimiting O(2) flux. We report the electrochemical activity of this laccase as a function of temperature, pH, time, and the efficiency of its conversion of dioxygen to water. We have measured the surface concentration of electrochemically active species, permitting the extraction of electron transfer rates at the enzyme-electrode interface: 1 s(-1) for this process at zero driving force at 30 °C and a limiting rate of 23 s(-1) at 240 mV overpotential at 50 °C.

Inner- and outer-sphere metal coordination in blue copper proteins

Blue copper proteins (BCPs) comprise classic cases of Nature's profound control over the electronic structures and chemical reactivity of transition metal ions. Early studies of BCPs focused on their inner coordination spheres, that is, residues that directly coordinate Cu. Equally important are the electronic and geometric perturbations to these ligands provided by the outer coordination sphere. In this tribute to Hans Freeman, we review investigations that have advanced the understanding of how inner-sphere and outer-sphere coordination affects biological Cu properties.

Flexibility of the metal-binding region in apo-cupredoxins

Protein-mediated electron transfer is an essential event in many biochemical processes. Efficient electron transfer requires the reorganization energy of the redox event to be minimized, which is ensured by the presence of rigid donor and acceptor sites. Electron transfer copper sites are present in the ubiquitous cupredoxin fold, able to bind one or two copper ions. The low reorganization energy in these metal centers has been accounted for by assuming that the protein scaffold creates an entatic/rack-induced state, which gives rise to a rigid environment by means of a preformed metal chelating site. However, this notion is incompatible with the need for an exposed metal-binding site and protein-protein interactions enabling metallochaperone-mediated assembly of the copper site. Here we report an NMR study that reveals a high degree of structural heterogeneity in the metal-binding region of the nonmetallated Cu(A)-binding cupredoxin domain, arising from microsecond to second dynamics that are quenched upon metal binding. We also report similar dynamic features in apo-azurin, a paradigmatic blue copper protein, suggesting a general behavior. These findings reveal that the entatic/rack-induced state, governing the features of the metal center in the copper-loaded protein, does not require a preformed metal-binding site. Instead, metal binding is a major contributor to the rigidity of electron transfer copper centers. These results reconcile the seemingly contradictory requirements of a rigid, occluded center for electron transfer, and an accessible, dynamic site required for in vivo copper uptake.

Outer-sphere contributions to the electronic structure of type zero copper proteins

Bioinorganic canon states that active-site thiolate coordination promotes rapid electron transfer (ET) to and from type 1 copper proteins. In recent work, we have found that copper ET sites in proteins also can be constructed without thiolate ligation (called "type zero" sites). Here we report multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data together with density functional theory (DFT) and spectroscopy-oriented configuration interaction (SORCI) calculations for type zero Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin variants. Wild-type (type 1) and type zero copper centers experience virtually identical ligand fields. Moreover, O-donor covalency is enhanced in type zero centers relative that in the C112D (type 2) protein. At the same time, N-donor covalency is reduced in a similar fashion to type 1 centers. QM/MM and SORCI calculations show that the electronic structures of type zero and type 2 are intimately linked to the orientation and coordination mode of the carboxylate ligand, which in turn is influenced by outer-sphere hydrogen bonding.

Spin delocalization over type zero copper

Hard-ligand, high-potential copper sites have been characterized in double mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin (C112D/M121X (X = L, F, I)). These sites feature a small A(zz)(Cu) splitting in the EPR spectrum together with enhanced electron transfer activity. Due to these unique properties, these constructs have been called "type zero" copper sites. In contrast, the single mutant, C112D, features a large A(zz)(Cu) value characteristic of the typical type 2 Cu(II). In general, A(zz)(Cu) comprises contributions from Fermi contact, spin dipolar, and orbital dipolar terms. In order to understand the origin of the low A(zz)(Cu) value of type zero Cu(II), we explored in detail its degree of covalency, as manifested by spin delocalization over its ligands, which affects A(zz)(Cu) through the Fermi contact and spin dipolar contributions. This was achieved by the application of several complementary EPR hyperfine spectroscopic techniques at X- and W-band (∼9.5 and 95 GHz, respectively) frequencies to map the ligand hyperfine couplings. Our results show that spin delocalization over the ligands in type zero Cu(II) is different from that of type 2 Cu(II) in the single C112D mutant. The (14)N hyperfine couplings of the coordinated histidine nitrogens are smaller by about 25-40%, whereas that of the (13)C carboxylate of D112 is about 50% larger. From this comparison, we concluded that the spin delocalization of type zero copper over its ligands is not dramatically larger than in type 2 C112D. Therefore, the reduced A(zz)(Cu) value of type zero Cu(II) is largely attributable to an increased orbital dipolar contribution that is related to its larger g(zz) value, as a consequence of the distorted tetrahedral geometry. The increased spin delocalization over the D112 carboxylate in type zero mutants compared to type 2 C112D suggests that electron transfer paths involving this residue are enhanced.