Temperature-dependent studies of NO recombination to heme and heme proteins

The rebinding kinetics of NO to the heme iron of myoglobin (Mb) is investigated as a function of temperature. Below 200 K, the transition-state enthalpy barrier associated with the fastest (approximately 10 ps) recombination phase is found to be zero and a slower geminate phase (approximately 200 ps) reveals a small enthalpic barrier (approximately 3 +/- 1 kJ/mol). Both of the kinetic rates slow slightly in the myoglobin (Mb) samples above 200 K, suggesting that a small amount of protein relaxation takes place above the solvent glass transition. When the temperature dependence of the NO recombination in Mb is studied under conditions where the distal pocket is mutated (e.g., V68W), the rebinding kinetics lack the slow phase. This is consistent with a mechanism where the slower (approximately 200 ps) kinetic phase involves transitions of the NO ligand into the distal heme pocket from a more distant site (e.g., in or near the Xe4 cavity). Comparison of the temperature-dependent NO rebinding kinetics of native Mb with that of the bare heme (PPIX) in glycerol reveals that the fast (enthalpically barrierless) NO rebinding process observed below 200 K is independent of the presence or absence of the proximal histidine ligand. In contrast, the slowing of the kinetic rates above 200 K in MbNO disappears in the absence of the protein. Generally, the data indicate that, in contrast to CO, the NO ligand binds to the heme iron through a "harpoon" mechanism where the heme iron out-of-plane conformation presents a negligible enthalpic barrier to NO rebinding. These observations strongly support a previous analysis (Srajer et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1988, 110, 6656-6670) that primarily attributes the low-temperature stretched exponential rebinding of MbCO to a quenched distribution of heme geometries. A simple model, consistent with this prior analysis, is presented that explains a variety of MbNO rebinding experiments, including the dependence of the kinetic amplitudes on the pump photon energy.     

Resonance Raman spectroscopy of nitric oxide reductase and cbb(3) heme-copper oxidase

Elucidating the structure and properties of the active sites in cbb3 heme-copper oxidase and in nitric oxide reductase (Nor) is crucial in understanding the reaction mechanisms of oxygen and nitric oxide reduction by both enzymes. In the work here, we have applied resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy to investigate the structure and properties of the binuclear heme b3-CuB center of cbb3 heme-copper oxidase from Pseudomonas stutzeri and the dinuclear heme b3-FeB center of Nor from Paracoccus denitrificans in the ligand-free and CO-bound forms and in the reactions with O2 and NO. The RR data demonstrate that in the Nor/NO reaction, the formation of the N-N bond occurs with the His-Fe heme b3 bond intact, and reformation of the heme b3-O-FeB dinuclear center causes the rupture of the proximal His-Fe heme b3 bond. In the reactions of Nor and cbb3 with O2, distinct oxidized heme b3 species, which differ from the as-isolated oxidized forms, have been characterized. The activation and reduction of O2 and NO by cbb3 oxidase and nitric oxide reductase are compared and discussed.     

Catalytic reduction of NO to N2O by a designed heme copper center in myoglobin: implications for the role of metal ions

The effects of metal ions on the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) with a designed heme copper center in myoglobin (F43H/L29H sperm whale Mb, CuBMb) were investigated under reducing anaerobic conditions using UV-vis and EPR spectroscopic techniques as well as GC/MS. In the presence of Cu(I), catalytic reduction of NO to N2O by CuBMb was observed with turnover number of 2 mol NO.mol CuBMb-1.min-1, close to 3 mol NO.mol enzyme-1.min-1 reported for the ba3 oxidases from T. thermophilus. Formation of a His-heme-NO species was detected by UV-vis and EPR spectroscopy. In comparison to the EPR spectra of ferrous-CuBMb-NO in the absence of metal ions, the EPR spectra of ferrous-CuBMb-NO in the presence of Cu(I) showed less-resolved hyperfine splitting from the proximal histidine, probably due to weakening of the proximal His-heme bond. In the presence of Zn(II), formation of a five-coordinate ferrous-CuBMb-NO species, resulting from cleavage of the proximal heme Fe-His bond, was shown by UV-vis and EPR spectroscopic studies. The reduction of NO to N2O was not observed in the presence of Zn(II). Control experiments using wild-type myoglobin indicated no reduction of NO in the presence of either Cu(I) or Zn(II). These results suggest that both the identity and the oxidation state of the metal ion in the CuB center are important for NO reduction. A redox-active metal ion is required to deliver electrons, and a higher oxidation state is preferred to weaken the heme iron-proximal histidine toward a five-coordinate key intermediate in NO reduction.     

Dynamic docking and electron-transfer between cytochrome b5 and a suite of myoglobin surface-charge mutants. Introduction of a functional-docking algorithm for protein-protein complexes

Horse myoglobin (Mb) provides a convenient "workbench" for probing the effects of electrostatics on binding and reactivity in the dynamic [Mb, cytochrome b(5)] electron-transfer (ET) complex. We have combined mutagenesis and heme neutralization to prepare a suite of six Mb surface-charge variants: the [S92D]Mb and [V67R]Mb mutants introduce additional charges on the "front" face, and incorporation of the heme di-ester into each of these neutralizes the charge on the heme propionates which further increases the positive charge on the "front" face. For this set of mutants, the nominal charge of Mb changes by -1 to +3 units relative to that for native Mb. For each member of this set, we have measured the bimolecular quenching rate constant (k(2)) for the photoinitiated (3)ZnDMb --> Fe(3+)b(5) ET reaction as a function of ionic strength. We find: (i) a dramatic decoupling of binding and reactivity, in which k(2) varies approximately 10(3)-fold within the suite of Mbs without a significant change in binding affinity; (ii) the ET reaction occurs within the "thermodynamic" or "rapid exchange" limit of the "Dynamic Docking" model, in which a large ensemble of weakly bound protein-protein configurations contribute to binding, but only a few are reactive, as shown by the fact that the zero-ionic-strength bimolecular rate constant varies exponentially with the net charge on Mb; (iii) Brownian dynamic docking profiles allow us to visualize the microscopic basis of dynamic docking. To describe these results we present a new theoretical approach which mathematically combines PATHWAY donor/acceptor coupling calculations with Poisson-Boltzmann-based electrostatics estimates of the docking energetics in a Monte Carlo (MC) sampling framework that is thus specially tailored to the intermolecular ET problem. This procedure is extremely efficient because it targets only the functionally active complex geometries by introducing a "reactivity filter" into the computations themselves, rather than as a subsequent step. This efficiency allows us to employ more computationally expensive and accurate methods to describe the relevant intermolecular interaction energies and the protein-mediated donor/acceptor coupling interactions. It is employed here to compute the changes in the bimolecular rate constant for ET between Mb and cyt b(5) upon variations in the myoglobin surface charge, pH, and ionic strength.     

Direct electrochemistry and Raman spectroscopy of sol-gel-encapsulated myoglobin

The direct electrochemistry of myoglobin (Mb) has been observed at a glassy carbon (GC) electrode coated with silica sol-gel-encapsulated Mb film. A well-behaved cyclic voltammogram is observed with a midpoint potential (E(1/2)) of -0.25 V vs Ag/AgCl in a pH 7.0 phosphate buffer. This potential, which is pH-dependent, is 70-90 mV more negative than the formal potential values obtained by using the spectroeletrochemical titration method at the same pH. Square wave voltametry (SWV) also shows a peak potential of -0.25 V for the reduction of Mb under the same experimental conditions. Both cathodic and anodic peak currents have a linear relationship with the scan rate. The midpoint potential decreases with pH, having a slope of -30 mV/pH. UV-vis and resonance Raman spectroscopic studies reveal that the sol-gel provides a bio-compatible environment where Mb retains a structure similar to its solution form, a 6-coordinated aquomet myoglobin. These results suggest that the silica sol-gel is a useful matrix for studying direct electrochemistry of other heme proteins.     

Evaluation of electron-withdrawing group effects on heme binding in designed proteins: implications for heme a in cytochrome c oxidase

Heme a, the metalloporphyrin cofactor unique to cytochrome c oxidases, differs from the more common heme b by two chemical modifications, a C-2 hydroxyethylfarnesyl group and a C-8 formyl group. To elucidate a role of the C-8 formyl group, we compare the heme affinity, spectroscopy, and electrochemistry of a heme a mimic, Fe(diacetyldeuterioporphyrin IX) or Fe(DADPIX), with heme b, Fe(protoporphryrin IX) or Fe(PPIX), incorporated into a designed heme protein. The [Delta7-H3m]2 protein ligand, or maquette, selected for this study contains two equivalent bis-(3-methyl-L-histidine) heme binding sites within a four-alpha-helix bundle scaffold. The spectroscopic data on Fe(PPIX) and Fe(DADPIX) bound to [Delta7-H3m]2 demonstrate that these complexes are excellent synthetic analogues for natural cytochromes b and a, respectively. Comparison of the spectroscopic, electrochemical, and equilibrium thermodynamic data measured for the Fe(PPIX)-[Delta7-H3m]2 maquette with the previously reported Fe(PPIX)-[Delta7-His]2 complex demonstrates that changing the heme axial ligands to 3-methyl-L-histidine from L-histidine does not alter the resulting heme protein properties significantly in either oxidation state. Heme binding studies demonstrate that [Delta7-H3m]2 binds two ferrous Fe(DADPIX) or Fe(PPIX) moieties with similar dissociation constant values. However, in the ferric state, the data show that [Delta7-H3m]2 only binds a single Fe(DADPIX) and that one 2500-fold weaker than oxidized Fe(PPIX). The data demonstrate that the 4.6 kcal mol(-1) weakened affinity of [Delta7-H3m]2 for oxidized Fe(DADPIX) results in the majority of the 160 mV, 3.7 kcal mol(-1), positive shift in the heme reduction potential relative to Fe(PPIX). These data indicate that a role of the formyl group on heme a is to raise the iron reduction potential, thus making it a better electron acceptor, but that it does so by destabilizing the affinity of bis-imidazole sites for the ferric state.     

Photoinduced carbon monoxide migration in a synthetic heme-copper complex

Time-resolved infrared (TRIR) flash photolytic techniques have been employed to initiate and observe the efficient dissociation of CO from a synthetic heme-CO/copper complex, [((6)L)Fe(II)(CO)..Cu(I)](+) (2), in CH(3)CN and acetone at room temperature. In CH(3)CN, a significant fraction of the photodissociated CO molecules transiently bind to copper (nu(CO)(Cu) = 2091 cm(-)(1)) giving [((6)L)Fe(II)..Cu(I)(CO)](+) (4), with an observed rate constant, k(1) = 1.5 x 10(5) s(-)(1). That is followed by a slower direct transfer of CO from the copper moiety back to the heme (nu(CO)(Fe) = 1975 cm(-)(1)) with k(2) = 1600 s(-)(1). Additional transient absorption (TA) UV-vis spectroscopic experiments have been performed monitoring the CO-transfer reaction by following the Soret band. Eyring analysis of the temperature-dependent data yields DeltaH(double dagger) = 43.9 kJ mol(-)(1) for the 4-to-2 transformation, similar to that for CO dissociation from [Cu(I)(tmpa)(CO)](+) in CH(3)CN (DeltaH(double dagger) = 43.6 kJ mol(-)(1)), suggesting CO dissociation from copper regulates the binding of small molecules to the heme within [((6)L)Fe(II)..Cu(I)](+)(3). Our observations are analagous to those observed for the heme(a3)/Cu(B) active site of cytochrome c oxidase, where photodissociated CO from the heme(a3) site immediately (ps) transfers to Cu(B) followed by millisecond transfer back to the heme.     

Dioxygenation of human serum albumin having a prosthetic heme group in a tailor-made heme pocket

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant plasma protein in our bloodstream and serves as a transporter for small hydrophobic molecules such as fatty acids, bilirubin, and steroids. Hemin dissociated from methemoglobin is also bound within a narrow D-shaped cavity in subdomain IB of HSA. In terms of the general hydrophobicity of the alpha-helical pocket, HSA potentially has features similar to the heme-binding site of myoglobin (Mb) or hemoglobin (Hb). However, the reduced ferrous HSA-heme complex is immediately oxidized by O2, because HSA lacks the proximal histidine that enables the heme group to bind O2. In this paper, we report the introduction of a proximal histidine into the subdomain IB of HSA by site-directed mutagenesis to construct a tailor-made heme pocket (I142H/Y161L), which allows a reversible O2 binding to the prosthetic heme group. Laser flash photolysis experiments revealed that this artificial hemoprotein appears to have two different geometries of the axial-imidazole coordination, and these two species (I and II) showed rather low O2 binding affinities (P1/2O2 = 18 and 134 Torr) relative to those of Mb and Hb.     

Detection of the His-heme Fe2+-NO species in the reduction of NO to N2O by ba3-oxidase from thermus thermophilus

Reaction pathways in the enzymatic formation and cleavage of the N-N and N-O bonds, respectively, are difficult to verify without the structure of the intermediates, but we now have such information on the heme a(3)(2+)-NO species formed in the reaction of ba(3)-oxidase with NO from resonance Raman spectroscopy. We have identified the His-heme a(3)(2+)-NO/Cu(B)(1+) species by its characteristic Fe-NO and N-O stretching frequencies at 539 and 1620 cm(-)(1), respectively. The Fe-NO and N-O frequencies in ba(3)-oxidase are 21 and 7 cm(-)(1) lower and higher, respectively, than those observed in Mb-NO. From these results and earlier Raman and FTIR measurements, we demonstrate that the protein environment of the proximal His384 that is part of the Q-proton pathway controls the strength of the Fe-His384 bond upon ligand (CO vs NO) binding. We also show by time-resolved FTIR spectroscopy that Cu(B)(1+) has a much lower affinity for NO than for CO. We suggest that the reduction of NO to N(2)O by ba(3)-oxidase proceeds by the fast binding of the first NO molecule to heme a(3) with high-affinity, and the second NO molecule binds to Cu(B) with low-affinity, producing the temporal co-presence of two NO molecules in the heme-copper center. The low-affinity of Cu(B) for NO binding also explains the NO reductase activity of the ba(3)-oxidase as opposed to other heme-copper oxidases. With the identification of the His-heme a(3)(2+)-NO/Cu(B)(1+) species, the structure of the binuclear heme a(3)-Cu(B)(1+) center in the initial step of the NO reduction mechanism is known.     

Coherence spectroscopy investigations of the low-frequency vibrations of heme: effects of protein-specific perturbations

Femtosecond coherence spectroscopy is used to probe the low-frequency (20-200 cm(-1)) vibrational modes of heme proteins in solution. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP), myoglobin (Mb), and Campylobacter jejuni globin (Cgb) are compared and significant differences in the coherence spectra are revealed. It is concluded that hydrogen bonding and ligand charge do not strongly affect the low-frequency coherence spectra and that protein-specific deformations of the heme group lower its symmetry and control the relative spectral intensities. Such deformations potentially provide a means for proteins to tune heme reaction coordinates, so that they can perform a broad array of specific functions. Native HRP displays complex spectral behavior above approximately 50 cm(-1) and very weak activity below approximately 50 cm(-1). Binding of the substrate analog, benzhydroxamic acid, leads to distinct changes in the coherence and Raman spectra of HRP that are consistent with the stabilization of a heme water ligand. The CN derivatives of the three proteins are studied to make comparisons under conditions of uniform heme coordination and spin-state. MbCN is dominated by a doming mode near 40 cm(-1), while HRPCN displays a strong oscillation at higher frequency (96 cm(-1)) that can be correlated with the saddling distortion observed in the X-ray structure. In contrast, CgbCN displays low-frequency coherence spectra that contain strong modes near 30 and 80 cm(-1), probably associated with a combination of heme doming and ruffling. HRPNO displays a strong doming mode near 40 cm(-1) that is activated by photolysis. The damping of the coherent motions is significantly reduced when the heme is shielded from solvent fluctuations by the protein material and reduced still further when T approximately < 50 K, as pure dephasing processes due to the protein-solvent phonon bath are frozen out.     

The H93G Myoglobin Cavity Mutant as a Versatile Scaffold for Modeling Heme Iron Coordination Structures in Protein Active Sites and Their Characterization with Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy

Preparation of heme model complexes is a challenging subject of long-standing interest for inorganic chemists. His93Gly sperm whale myoglobin (H93G Mb) has the proximal His replaced with the much smaller non-coordinating Gly. This leaves a cavity on the proximal side of the heme into which a wide variety of exogenous ligands can be delivered. The end result is a remarkably versatile scaffold for the preparation of model heme adducts to mimic the heme iron coordination structure of native heme proteins. In this review, we first summarize the quantitative evidence for differential ligand binding affinities of the proximal and distal pockets of the H93G Mb cavity mutant that facilitates the preparation of mixed-ligand derivatives. Then we review our use of magnetic circular dichroism and electronic absorption spectroscopy to characterize nitrogen-, oxygen-, and sulfur-donor-ligated H93G Mb adducts with an emphasis on species not easily prepared by other heme model system approaches and those that serve as spectroscopic models for native heme proteins.     

Direct probe of iron vibrations elucidates NO activation of heme proteins

We use nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS) to identify the Fe-NO stretching frequency in the NO adduct of myoglobin (MbNO) and in the related six-coordinate porphyrin Fe(TPP)(1-MeIm)(NO). Frequency shifts observed in MbNO Raman spectra upon isotopic substitution of Fe or the nitrosyl nitrogen confirm and extend the NRVS results. In contrast with previous assignments, the Fe-NO frequency of these six-coordinate complexes lies 70-100 cm-1 lower than in the analogous five-coordinate nitrosyl complexes, indicating a significant weakening of the Fe-NO bond in the presence of a trans imidazole ligand. This result supports proposed mechanisms for NO activation of heme proteins and underscores the value of NRVS as a direct probe of metal reactivity in complex biomolecules.     

Dynamic docking of cytochrome b5 with myoglobin and alpha-hemoglobin: heme-neutralization "squares" and the binding of electron-transfer-reactive configurations

Intracomplex electron transfer (ET) occurs most often in intrinsically transient, low affinity complexes. As a result, the means by which adequate specificity and reactivity are obtained to support effective ET is still poorly understood. We report here on two such ET complexes: cytochrome b5 (cyt b5) in reaction with its physiological partners, myoglobin (Mb) and hemoglobin (Hb). These complexes obey the Dynamic Docking (DD) paradigm: a large ensemble of weakly bound protein-protein configurations contribute to binding in the rapid-exchange limit, but only a few are ET-active. We report the ionic-strength dependence of the second-order rate constant, k2, for photoinitiated ET from within all four combinations of heme-neutralized Zn deuteroporphyrin-substituted Mb/alphaHb undergoing ET with cyt b5, the four "corners" of a "heme-neutralization square". These experiments provide insights into the relative importance of both global and local electrostatic contributions to the binding of reactive configurations, which are too few to be observed directly. To interpret the variations of k2 arising from heme neutralization, we have developed a procedure by which comparisons of the ET rate constants for a heme-neutralization square permit us to decompose the free energy of reactive binding into individual local electrostatic contributions associated with interactions between (i) the propionates of the two hemes and (ii) the heme of each protein with the polypeptide of its partner. Most notably, we find the contribution from the repulsion between propionates of partner hemes to the reactive binding free energy to be surprisingly small, DeltaG(Hb) approximately +1 kcal/mol at ambient temperature, 18 mM ionic strength, and we speculate about possible causes of this observation. To confirm the fundamental assumption of these studies, that the structure of a heme-neutralized protein is unaltered either by substitution of Zn or by heme neutralization, we have obtained the X-ray structure of ZnMb prepared with the porphyrin dimethyl ester and find it to be nearly isostructural with the native protein.     

Dioxygen reactivity of copper and heme-copper complexes possessing an imidazole-phenol cross-link

Recent spectroscopic, kinetics, and structural studies on cytochrome c oxidases (CcOs) suggest that the histidine-tyrosine cross-link at the heme a3-CuB binuclear active site plays a key role in the reductive O2-cleavage process. In this report, we describe dioxygen reactivity of copper and heme/Cu assemblies in which the imidazole-phenol moieties are employed as a part of copper ligand LN4OH (2-{4-[2-(bis-pyridin-2-ylmethyl-amino)-ethyl]-imidazol-1-yl}-4,6-di -tert-butyl-phenol). Stopped-flow kinetic studies reveal that low-temperature oxygenation of [CuI(LN4OH)]+ (1) leads to rapid formation of a copper-superoxo species [CuII(LN4OH)(O2-)]+ (1a), which further reacts with 1 to form the 2:1 Cu:O2 adduct, peroxo complex [{CuII(LN4OH)}2(O2(2-))]2+ (1b). Complex 1b is also short-lived, and a dimer Cu(II)-phenolate complex [CuII(LN4O-)]2(2+) (1c) eventually forms as a final product in the later stage of the oxygenation reaction. Dioxygen reactivities of 1 and its anisole analogue [CuI(LN4OMe)]+ (2) in the presence of a heme complex (F8)FeII (3) (F8 = tetrakis(2,6,-difluorotetraphenyl)-porphyrinate) are also described. Spectroscopic investigations including UV-vis, 1H and 2H NMR, EPR, and resonance Raman spectroscopies along with spectrophotometric titration reveal that low-temperature oxygenation of 1/3 leads to formation of a heme-peroxo-copper species [(F8)FeIII-(O2(2-))-CuII(LN4OH)]+ (4), nu(O-O) = 813 cm(-1). Complex 4 is an S = 2 spin system with strong antiferromagnetic coupling between high-spin iron(III) and copper(II) through a bridging peroxide ligand. A very similar complex [(F8)FeIII-(O2(2-))-CuII(LN4OMe)]+ (5) (nu(O-O) = 815 cm(-1)) can be generated by utilizing the anisole compound 2, which indicates that the cross-linked phenol moiety in 4 does not interact with the bridging peroxo group between heme and copper. This investigation thus reveals that a stable heme-peroxo-copper species can be generated even in the presence of an imidazole-phenol group (i.e., possible electron/proton donor source) in close proximity. Future studies are needed to probe key factors that can trigger the reductive O-O cleavage in CcO model compounds.     

Synthesis and characterization of reduced heme and heme/copper carbonmonoxy species

Carbon monoxide readily binds to heme and copper proteins, acting as a competitive inhibitor of dioxygen. As such, CO serves as a probe of protein metal active sites. In our ongoing efforts to mimic the active site of cytochrome c oxidase, reactivity toward carbon monoxide offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the binding and spectroscopic characteristics of synthetic model compounds. In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of CO-adducts of ((5/6)L)Fe(II), [((5/6)L)Fe(II)...Cu(I)](B(C(6)F(5))(4)), and [(TMPA)Cu(I)(CH(3)CN)](B(C(6)F(5))(4)), where TMPA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine and (5/6)L = a tetraarylporphyrinate tethered in either the 5-position ((5)L) or 6-position ((6)L) to a TMPA copper binding moiety. Reaction of ((5/6)L)Fe(II) [in THF (293 K): UV-vis 424 (Soret), 543-544 nm; (1)H NMR delta(pyrrole) 52-59 ppm (4 peaks); (2)H NMR (from ((5)L-d(8))Fe(II)) delta(pyrrole) 53.3, 54.5, 55.8, 56.4 ppm] with CO in solution at RT yielded ((5/6)L)Fe(II)-CO [in THF (293 K): UV-vis 413-414 (Soret), 532-533 nm; IR nu(CO)(Fe) 1976-1978 cm(-1); (1)H NMR delta(pyrrole) 8.8 ppm; (2)H NMR (from ((5)L-d(8))Fe(II)-CO) delta(pyrrole) 8.9 ppm; (13)C NMR delta((CO)Fe) 206.8-207.1 ppm (2 peaks)]. Experiments repeated in acetonitrile, acetone, toluene, and dichloromethane showed similar spectroscopic data. Binding of CO resulted in a change from five-coordinate, high-spin Fe(II) to six-coordinate, low-spin Fe(II), as evidenced by the upfield shift of the pyrrole resonances to the diamagnetic region ((1)H and (2)H NMR spectra). Addition of CO to [((5/6)L)Fe(II)...Cu(I)](B(C(6)F(5))(4)) [in THF (293 K): UV-vis ((6)L only) 424 (Soret), 546 nm; (1)H NMR delta(pyrrole) 54-59 ppm (multiple peaks); (2)H NMR (from [((5)L-d(8))Fe(II).Cu(I)](B(C(6)F(5))(4))) delta(pyrrole) 53.4 ppm (br)] gave the bis-carbonyl adduct [((5/6)L)Fe(II)-CO...Cu(I)-CO](B(C(6)F(5))(4)) [in THF (293 K): UV-vis ((6)L only) 413 (Soret), 532 nm; IR nu(CO)(Fe) 1971-1973 cm(-1), nu(CO)(Cu) 2091-2093 cm(-1), approximately 2070(sh) cm(-1); (1)H NMR delta(pyrrole) 8.7-8.9 ppm; (2)H NMR (from [((5)L-d(8))Fe(II)-CO...Cu(I)-CO](B(C(6)F(5))(4))) delta(pyrrole) 8.9 ppm; (13)C NMR delta((CO)Fe) 206.8-208.1 ppm (2 peaks), delta((CO)Cu) 172.4 ((5)L), 178.2 ((6)L) ppm]. Experiments in acetonitrile, acetone, and toluene exhibited spectral features similar to those reported. The [((5/6)L)Fe(II)-CO.Cu(I)-CO](B(C(6)F(5))(4)) compounds yielded (CO)(Fe) spectra analogous to those seen for ((5/6)L)Fe(II)-CO and (CO)(Cu) spectra similar to those seen for [(TMPA)Cu(I)-CO](B(C(6)F(5))(4)) [in THF (293 K): IR nu(CO)(Cu) 2091 cm(-1), approximately 2070(sh) cm(-1); (13)C NMR delta((CO)Cu) 180.3 ppm]. Additional IR studies were performed in which the [((5)L)Fe(II)-CO...Cu(I)-CO](B(C(6)F(5))(4)) in solution was bubbled with argon in an attempt to generate the iron-only mono-carbonyl [((5)L)Fe(II)-CO.Cu(I)](B(C(6)F(5))(4)) species; in coordinating solvent or with axial base present, decreases in characteristic IR-band intensities revealed complete loss of CO from copper and variable loss of CO from the heme.     

Design of a five-coordinate heme protein maquette: a spectroscopic model of deoxymyoglobin

The substitution of 1-methyl-l-histidine for the histidine heme ligands in a de novo designed four-alpha-helix bundle scaffold results in conversion of a six-coordinate cytochrome maquette into a self-assembled five-coordinate mono-(1-methyl-histidine)-ligated heme as an initial maquette for the dioxygen carrier protein myoglobin. UV-vis, magnetic circular dichroism, and resonance Raman spectroscopies demonstrate the presence of five-coordinate mono-(1-methyl-histidine) ligated ferrous heme spectroscopically similar to deoxymyoglobin. Thermodynamic analysis of the ferric and ferrous heme dissociation constants indicates greater destabilization of the ferric state than the ferrous state. The ferrous heme protein reacts with carbon monoxide to form a (1-methyl-histidine)-Fe(II)(heme)-CO complex; however, reaction with dioxygen leads to autoxidation and ferric heme dissociation. These results indicate that negative protein design can be used to generate a five-coordinate heme within a maquette scaffold.     

肌红蛋白在双十二烷基二甲基溴化铵-粘土多双层复合薄膜电极上的电化学与电催化

将双十二烷基二甲基溴化铵(DDAB)-粘土(Clay)复合物的水分散系与肌红蛋白(Mb)水溶液的混合物涂布到热解石墨(PG)电极表面,可制得Mb-DDAB-Clay薄膜电极.在pH5.5的缓冲溶液中,该薄膜电极在-0.25V(vs.SCE)处有一对可逆的循环伏安还原氧化峰,为Mb血红素辅基Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe(Ⅱ)电对的特征峰.在DDAB-Clay薄膜的微环境中,Mb与PG电极之间的电子传递得到极大促进,并显示了很好的稳定性.Soret吸收带的位置表明,在适中的pH范围内,Mb在薄膜中保持了其原始构象.X射线衍射实验结果表明,Mb的嵌入并未对薄膜的有序多层结构有很大影响.在DDAB-Clay薄膜环境中,Mb血红素Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe(Ⅱ)电对的式量电位在pH4.5～11.0范围内与溶液pH值成线性关系,表明Mb的电化学还原很可能是一个质子伴随一个电子的电极过程.Mb-DDAB-Clay薄膜可以用于催化还原溶解氧和三氯乙酸.     

The H93G myoglobin cavity mutant as a versatile template for modeling heme proteins: ferrous, ferric, and ferryl mixed-ligand complexes with imidazole in the cavity

One of the difficulties in preparing accurate ambient-temperature model complexes for heme proteins, particularly in the ferric state, has been the generation of mixed-ligand adducts: complexes with different ligands on either side of the heme. The difference in the accessibility of the two sides of the heme in the H93G cavity mutant of myoglobin (Mb) provides a potential general solution to this problem. To demonstrate the versatility of H93G Mb for the preparation of heme protein models, numerous mixed-ligand adducts of ferrous, ferric, and ferryl imidazole-ligated H93G (H93G(Im) Mb) have been prepared. The complexes have been characterized by electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy in comparison to analogous derivatives of wild type Mb. The starting ferric H93G(Im) Mb state spectroscopically resembles wild-type ferric Mb as expected for a complex containing a single imidazole in the proximal cavity and water bound on the distal side. Addition of a sixth ligand to ferric H93G(Im) Mb, whether charge neutral (imidazole) or anionic (cyanide and azide), results in formation of six-coordinate low-spin complexes with MCD characteristics similar to those of parallel derivatives of wild-type ferric Mb. Reduction of ferric H93G(Im) Mb and subsequent exposure to either CO, NO, or O2 produces ferrous complexes (deoxy, CO, NO, and O2) that consistently exhibit MCD spectra similar to the analogous ferrous species of wild-type ferrous Mb. Most interestingly, reaction of ferric H93G(Im) Mb with H2O2 results in the formation of a stable high-valent oxoferryl complex with MCD characteristics that are essentially identical to those of oxoferryl wild-type Mb. The generation of such a wide array of mixed-ligand heme complexes demonstrates the efficacy of the H93G Mb cavity mutant as a template for the preparation of heme protein model complexes.     

Effects of solvent viscosity on ligand interconversion dynamics in the primary docking site of heme proteins

Interconversion dynamics of the ligand in the primary docking site of myoglobin (Mb) and hemoglobin (Hb) in trehalose and glycerol/D2O mixtures at 283 K was investigated by probing time-resolved vibrational spectra of CO photolyzed from these proteins. The interconversion dynamics in viscous media are similar to those in aqueous solution, indicating that it is minimally coupled to the solvent-coupled large-scale protein motion. Interconversion rates in the heme pocket of Hb in water solution are slower than those of Mb in trehalose glass, suggesting that the interconversion barrier in Hb is intrinsically higher than that in Mb and is not modified by the solvent viscosity.