Reversible temperature-dependent high- to low-spin transition in the heme Fe–Cu binuclear center of cytochrome ba3 oxidase

Reversible thermally induced spin crossover in the myoglobin-nitrito adduct directly monitored by resonance Raman spectroscopy

Myoglobin has been demonstrated to function as a nitrite reductase to produce nitric oxide during hypoxia. One of the most intriguing aspects of the myoglobin/nitrite interactions revealed so far is the unusual O-binding mode of nitrite to the ferric heme iron, although conflicting data have been reported for the electronic structure of this complex also raising the possibility of linkage isomerism. In this work, we applied resonance Raman spectroscopy in a temperature-dependent approach to investigate the binding of nitrite to ferric myoglobin and the properties of the formed adduct from ambient to low temperatures (293 K to 153 K). At ambient temperature the high spin state of the ferric heme Fe-O-N[double bond, length as m-dash]O species is present and upon decreasing the temperature the low spin state is populated, demonstrating that a thermally-induced spin crossover phenomenon takes place analogous to what has been observed in many transition metal complexes. The observed spin crossover is fully reversible and is not due to linkage isomerism, since the O-binding mode is retained upon the spin transition. The role of the heme pocket environment in controlling the nitrite binding mode and spin transition is discussed.

Discrete Ligand Binding and Electron Transfer Properties of ba3-Cytochrome c Oxidase from Thermus thermophilus: Evolutionary Adaption to Low Oxygen and High Temperature Environments

Cytochrome c oxidase (C cO) couples the oxidation of cytochrome c to the reduction of molecular oxygen to water and links these electron transfers to proton translocation. The redox-driven C cO conserves part of the released free energy generating a proton motive force that leads to the synthesis of the main biological energy source ATP. Cytochrome ba₃ oxidase is a B-type oxidase from the extremely thermophilic eubacterium Thermus thermophilus with high O₂ affinity, expressed under elevated temperatures and limited oxygen supply and possessing discrete structural, ligand binding, and electron transfer properties. The origin and the cause of the peculiar, as compared to other C cOs, thermodynamic and kinetic properties remain unknown. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and time-resolved step-scan FTIR (TRS²-FTIR) spectroscopies have been employed to investigate the origin of the binding and electron transfer properties of cytochrome ba₃ oxidase in both the fully reduced (FR) and mixed valence (MV) forms. Several independent and not easily separated factors leading to increased thermostability and high O₂ affinity have been determined. These include (i) the increased hydrophobicity of the active center, (ii) the existence of a ligand input channel, (iii) the high affinity of Cu_B for exogenous ligands, (iv) the optimized electron transfer (ET) pathways, (v) the effective proton-input channel and water-exit pathway as well the proton-loading/exit sites, (vi) the specifically engineered protein structure, and (vii) the subtle thermodynamic and kinetic regulation. We correlate the unique ligand binding and electron transfer properties of cytochrome ba₃ oxidase with the existence of an adaption mechanism which is necessary for efficient function. These results suggest that a cascade of structural factors have been optimized by evolution, through protein architecture, to ensure the conversion of cytochrome ba₃ oxidase into a high O₂-affinity enzyme that functions effectively in its extreme native environment. The present results show that ba₃-cytochrome c oxidase uses a unique structural pattern of energy conversion that has taken into account all the extreme environmental factors that affect the function of the enzyme and is assembled in such a way that its exclusive functions are secured. Based on the available data of CcOs, we propose possible factors including the rigidity and nonpolar hydrophobic interactions that contribute to the behavior observed in cytochrome ba₃ oxidase.