Quaternary structure and spin equilibria in ferric hemoglobins. A room temperature study

Bonding of heme Fe(III) with dioxygen: observation and characterization of an incipient bond

While ferrous heme (Fe(II)) within hemoproteins binds dioxygen efficiently, it has not yet been possible to observe the analog complex with ferric heme (Fe(III)). We present the first observation and characterization of the latter complex in a cooled ion trap. The bond formation enthalpy of ferric heme-O2 has been derived from the Van't Hoff equation by means of temperature dependent measurements. The binding energy of the [heme Fe(III)-O2](+) ionic complex is rather strong as compared to that of [heme Fe(III)-N2](+), showing the formation of an incipient Fe-O bond, which is confirmed by the electronic absorption spectra of the two complexes. This first observation of the [heme Fe(III)-O2](+) complex lays the basis for the precise description of its electronic states.

Studies on the linkage between spin equilibria and protein structure in carp ferric hemoglobin

The effects of protein conformation on the spin-state equilibria of several derivatives of carp hemoglobin have been examined. This has been done by measuring the pH dependence of the paramagnetic susceptibilities of these derivatives in the presence and absence of inositol hexakisphosphate, P6-inositol. In all cases the addition of P6-inositol at low pH and the lowering of the pH in the presence of P6-inositol shift the spin-state equilibrium in favor of the high-spin electronic configuration. The P6-inositol and pH dependence of these magnetic properties parallels the pH and P6-inositol dependence of the conformational state of the hemoglobin as determined in earlier studies and further supports a thermodynamic linkage between the electronic state of the iron atoms and the quaternary structure of the hemoglobin molecule.

Intrinsic fluorescence of carp hemoglobin: a study of the R----T transition

The intrinsic fluorescence of hemoglobins is known to respond to ligand-induced changes in the quaternary structure of the protein. Carp hemoglobin is an interesting model to study the quaternary transition since its R----T equilibrium is pH-dependent and at low pH, in the presence of organic phosphate, it remains in the T or 'deoxy' quaternary structure, even when saturated with ligand. In this study, using front-face fluorometry, we show that the intrinsic fluorescence intensity exhibited by carp carboxyhemoglobin increases as the pH is lowered below 6.5 in the presence of inositol hexaphosphate. At low pH, carp methemoglobin is less affected by the addition of inositol hexaphosphate than is the CO derivative, while little or no change is observed in the met-azide derivative. We conclude: (1) the exact nature of the R to T state transition induced by inositol hexaphosphate differs for carp carboxy-, met- and met-azide hemoglobin derivatives; (2) the chromophores responsible for the changes observed with absorption spectroscopy may not be the same as those chromophores responsible for the fluorescence differences; and (3) alpha 46-Trp is tentatively assigned as one source of fluorescence emission. Furthermore, fluorescence properties of carp hemoglobin are compared to those of human hemoglobin.