Bioinorganic Chemistry of Nickel

Michael J Maroney,Stefano Ciurli

doi:10.3390/inorganics7110131

Michael J Maroney, Stefano Ciurli

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics7110131

Copy DOI

Abstract

Following the discovery of the first specific and essential role of nickel in biology in 1975 (the dinuclear active site of the enzyme urease) [...]

Highlights

The understanding of the biological role of nickel from the inorganic chemistry side is reviewed on a theoretical basis by Siegbahn et al [2], who discuss the enzyme mechanisms, including the canonical mechanism of urease, in view of the recently reported crystal structure of the enzyme-substrate complex [3]
The knowledge of proteins involved in cellular nickel trafficking is summarized by Higgins in a review [5], which is complemented by a second monographic article by Nim and Wong [6], that focuses on the maturation of the nickel enzyme urease as a paradigmatic example of how cells balance nickel essentiality and toxicity. These two reviews are augmented by two original research papers on this aspect of the nickel bioinorganic chemistry field: the paper by Alfano et al [7] is focused on CooJ, an accessory protein necessary for the maturation of the nickel-dependent enzyme carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, while the paper by Barchi and Musiani [8] describes the structure-function relationships in InrS, a nickel-dependent transcription factor from cyanobacteria
Other reviews in this issue focus on aspects of nickel in human health, with the goal of making this literature more accessible to the bioinorganic community

Summary

Introduction

The understanding of the biological role of nickel from the inorganic chemistry side is reviewed on a theoretical basis by Siegbahn et al [2], who discuss the enzyme mechanisms, including the canonical mechanism of urease, in view of the recently reported crystal structure of the enzyme-substrate complex [3]. This chemistry is further elucidated by original contributions on the pH dependence of binuclear nickel peptide complexes by Keegan et al [4].

Results

Conclusion