Bis-histidine Coordination Research Articles

Designed Heme-Cage β-Sheet Miniproteins.

The structure and function of naturally occurring proteins are governed by a large number of amino acids (≥100). The design of miniature proteins with desired structures and functions not only substantiates our knowledge about proteins but can also contribute to the development of novel applications. Excellent progress has been made towards the design of helical proteins with diverse functions. However, the development of functional β-sheet proteins remains challenging. Herein, we describe the construction and characterization of four-stranded β-sheet miniproteins made up of about 19 amino acids that bind heme inside a hydrophobic binding pocket or "heme cage" by bis-histidine coordination in an aqueous environment. The designed miniproteins bound to heme with high affinity comparable to that of native heme proteins. Atomic-resolution structures confirmed the presence of a four-stranded β-sheet fold. The heme-protein complexes also exhibited high stability against thermal and chaotrope-induced unfolding.

Heme-Binding Properties of HupD Functioning as a Substrate-Binding Protein in a Heme-Uptake ABC-Transporter System in Listeria monocytogenes

Abstract The HupDCG protein complex is a putative ABC-transporter for heme in the pathogenic Gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, where HupD functions as a heme-binding protein. UV–vis absorption, EPR, and resonance Raman spectroscopy have revealed that HupD binds a heme with two histidine residues as the axial ligands. His105 and His259 are identified as the axial ligands by site-directed mutagenesis. HupD is the first example of a heme-binding protein having a bis-histidine coordination environment among the heme-binding proteins working in bacterial heme acquisition systems. While mutation of His259 to Ala resulted in a loss in the heme-binding ability of HupD, the H105A variant of HupD retained its heme-binding ability with lower heme-binding affinity compared with the wild type. These results suggest that His259 is an essential ligand for heme acquisition by HupD and that His105 might be responsible for regulation of the heme-binding affinity of HupD during the heme-transport process.

Copper(II)-bis-histidine coordination structure in a fibrillar amyloid β-peptide fragment and model complexes revealed by electron spin echo envelope modulation spectroscopy.

Truncated and mutated amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides are models for systematic study-in homogeneous preparations-of the molecular origins of metal ion effects on Aβ aggregation rates, types of aggregate structures formed, and cytotoxicity. The 3D geometry of bis-histidine imidazole coordination of Cu(II) in fibrils of the nonapetide acetyl-Aβ(13-21)H14A has been determined by powder (14) N electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy. The method of simulation of the anisotropic combination modulation is described and benchmarked for a Cu(II) -bis-cis-imidazole complex of known structure. The revealed bis-cis coordination mode, and the mutual orientation of the imidazole rings, for Cu(II) in Ac-Aβ(13-21)H14A fibrils are consistent with the proposed β-sheet structural model and pairwise peptide interaction with Cu(II) , with an alternating [-metal-vacancy-]n pattern, along the N-terminal edge. Metal coordination does not significantly distort the intra-β-strand peptide interactions, which provides a possible explanation for the acceleration of Ac-Aβ(13-21)H14A fibrillization by Cu(II) , through stabilization of the associated state and low-reorganization integration of β-strand peptide pair precursors.

Role of K+ binding residues in stabilization of heme spin state of Leishmania major peroxidase

The endogenous cation in peroxidases may contribute to the type of heme coordination. Here a series of ferric and ferrous derivatives of wild-type Leishmania major peroxidase (LmP) and of engineered K+ site mutants of LmP, lacking potassium cation binding site, has been examined by electronic absorption spectroscopy at 25°C. Using UV–visible spectrophotometry, we show that the removal of K+ binding site causes substantial changes in spin states of both the ferric and ferrous forms. The spectral changes are interpreted to be, most likely, due to the formation of a bis-histidine coordination structure in both the ferric and ferrous oxidation states at neutral pH 7.0. Stopped flow spectrophotometric techniques revealed that characteristics of Compound I were not observed in the K+ site double mutants in the presence of H2O2. Similarly electron donor oxidation rate was two orders less for the K+ site double mutants compared to the wild type. These data show that K+ functions in preserving the protein structure in the heme surroundings as well as the spin state of the heme iron, in favor of the enzymatically active form of LmP.

Chemical reactivity of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 hemoglobins: covalent heme attachment and bishistidine coordination

In the absence of an exogenous ligand, the hemoglobins from the cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 coordinate the heme group with two axial histidines (His46 and His70). These globins also form a covalent linkage between the heme 2-vinyl substituent and His117. The in vitro mechanism of heme attachment to His117 was examined with a combination of site-directed mutagenesis, NMR spectroscopy, and optical spectroscopy. The results supported an electrophilic addition with vinyl protonation being the rate-determining step. Replacement of His117 with a cysteine demonstrated that the reaction could occur with an alternative nucleophile. His46 (distal histidine) was implicated in the specificity of the reaction for the 2-vinyl group as well as protection of the protein from oxidative damage caused by exposure to exogenous H(2)O(2).

The heme pocket of the globin domain of the globin-coupled sensor of Geobacter sulfurreducens — An EPR study

The globin-coupled sensor (GCS) of Geobacter sulfurreducens is unique amongst GCSs in that its signalling domain is a transmembrane domain with yet unknown function. In the present work we use X-band continuous-wave and pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to investigate the ferric form of the globin domain of the G. sulfurreducens GCS ( GsGCS 162) at pH 8.5. This form shows a unique bis-histidine coordination of the heme with the F8His and E11His. In contrast with previous crystal structure data, where three conformers of the heme structure were identified, ferric GsGCS 162 assumes only one conformation in frozen solution. The EPR data of ferric GsGCS162 are compared in detail with those of other bis-histidine coordinated globins, including other GCS systems.

Strategic Roles of Axial Histidines in Structure Formation and Redox Regulation of Tetraheme Cytochrome c3

Tetraheme cytochrome c 3 (cyt c 3) exhibits extremely low reduction potentials and unique properties. Since axial ligands should be the most important factors for this protein, every axial histidine of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F cyt c 3 was replaced with methionine, one by one. On mutation at the fifth ligand, the relevant heme could not be linked to the polypeptide, revealing the essential role of the fifth histidine in heme linking. The fifth histidine is the key residue in the structure formation and redox regulation of a c-type cytochrome. A crystal structure has been obtained for only H25M cyt c 3. The overall structure was not affected by the mutation except for the sixth methionine coordination at heme 3. NMR spectra revealed that each mutated methionine is coordinated to the sixth site of the relevant heme in the reduced state, while ligand conversion takes place at hemes 1 and 4 during oxidation at pH 7. The replacement of the sixth ligand with methionine caused an increase in the reduction potential of the mutated heme of 222-244 mV. The midpoint potential of a triheme H52M cyt c 3 is higher than that of the wild type by approximately 50 mV, suggesting a contribution of the tetraheme architecture to the lowering of the reduction potentials. The hydrogen bonding of Thr24 with an axial ligand induces a decrease in reduction potential of approximately 50 mV. In conclusion, the bis-histidine coordination is strategically essential for the structure formation and the extremely low reduction potential of cyt c 3.

Structural propensities in the heme binding region of apocytochrome b5. II. Heme conjugates

In the absence of heme cofactor, the water-soluble domain of rat microsomal cytochrome b5 (cyt b5) contains a long flexible region within its 42-residue heme-binding loop. Heme capture induces this region to fold into a well-defined structure containing helices H3-H5, each separated by a turn, with His39 and His63 serving as axial ligands to the heme iron. We have shown that the H4 region of the apoprotein has the greatest tendency for disorder within the isolated binding loop. Here, the effect of the His63-iron bond and proximity of heme plane on the population of helical conformation in H4 and H5 was investigated by synthesis and characterization of a peptide-sandwiched mesoheme construct in which two H4-H5 peptides were covalently attached to a single cofactor. Spectroscopic data indicated that a holoprotein-like bis-histidine coordination state was achieved over a pH range from 7 to 9. Trifluoroethanol titrations of the construct and the analogous free peptide under these pH conditions revealed that heme proximity and iron ligation were insufficient to promote helix formation in H4 and H5. These observations were used to assess the role of disordered regions in heme capture and the loop-scaffold interface in holoprotein folding and stability.

Functional characterization of human duodenal cytochrome b (Cybrd1): Redox properties in relation to iron and ascorbate metabolism

Duodenal cytochrome b ( Dcytb or Cybrd1) is an iron-regulated protein, highly expressed in the duodenal brush border membrane. It has ferric reductase activity and is believed to play a physiological role in dietary iron absorption. Its sequence identifies it as a member of the cytochrome b 561 family. A His-tagged construct of human Dcytb was expressed in insect Sf9 cells and purified. Yields of protein were increased by supplementation of the cells with 5-aminolevulinic acid to stimulate heme biosynthesis. Quantitative analysis of the recombinant Dcytb indicated two heme groups per monomer. Site-directed mutagenesis of any of the four conserved histidine residues (His 50, 86, 120 and 159) to alanine resulted in much diminished levels of heme in the purified Dcytb, while mutation of the non-conserved histidine 33 had no effect on the heme content. This indicates that those conserved histidines are heme ligands, and that the protein cannot stably bind heme if any of them is absent. Recombinant Dcytb was reduced by ascorbate under anaerobic conditions, the extent of reduction being 67% of that produced by dithionite. It was readily reoxidized by ferricyanide. EPR spectroscopy showed signals from low-spin ferriheme, consistent with bis-histidine coordination. These comprised a signal at g max = 3.7 corresponding to a highly anisotropic species, and another at g max = 3.18; these species are similar to those observed in other cytochromes of the b 561 family, and were reducible by ascorbate. In addition another signal was observed in some preparations at g max = 2.95, but this was unreactive with ascorbate. Redox titrations indicated an average midpoint potential for the hemes in Dcytb of + 80 mV ± 30 mV; the data are consistent with either two hemes at the same potential, or differing in potential by up to 60 mV. These results indicate that Dcytb is similar to the ascorbate-reducible cytochrome b 561 of the adrenal chromaffin granule, though with some differences in midpoint potentials of the hemes.

Probing the heme-pocket structure of the paramagnetic forms of cytoglobin and a distal histidine mutant using electron paramagnetic resonance

Cytoglobin is a vertebrate globin with an as yet unidentified function. In this work, S- and X-band pulsed EPR methods were used to elucidate the heme environment of ferric wild-type human cytoglobin (wt CYGB). The data resolve an earlier conflict between two X-ray diffraction studies, and show that the heme iron is bis-histidine ligated with both Fe–His bonds having comparable strength. Similar X-band EPR techniques were applied to study the heme-pocket environment of the ferric HE7Q mutant of CYGB (HE7Q CYGB). No distal water was found to coordinate to the heme iron, in contrast to the known metaquo form of the HE7Q mutant of myoglobin. The hyperfine and nuclear–quadrupole couplings of the directly coordinating heme and histidine nitrogens in ferric wt CYGB and HE7Q CYGB are derived and compared with known data on other ferric porphyrin compounds and heme proteins. Also, X-band CW EPR techniques were used in combination with absorption spectroscopy to investigate the ligation and oxidation state of wt CYGB in E. coli cells over-expressing this globin. Wt CYGB is found predominantly in the F8His–Fe2+–E7His form, whereby a small fraction of the protein exhibits the F8His–Fe2+–NO form. All present results are compared in detail with recent studies on neuroglobin, another member of the vertebrate globin family characterized by a bis-histidine coordination of the heme iron in both its ferrous and ferric forms.

Evidence for Redox Cooperativity betweenc-Type Hemes of MauG Which Is Likely Coupled to Oxygen Activation during Tryptophan Tryptophylquinone Biosynthesis

MauG is a novel 42 kDa diheme protein which is required for the biosynthesis of tryptophan tryptophylquinone, the prosthetic group of methylamine dehydrogenase. The visible absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopic properties of each of the two c-type hemes and the overall redox properties of MauG are described. The absorption maxima for the Soret peaks of the oxidized and reduced hemes are 403 and 418 nm for the low-spin heme and 389 and 427 nm for the high-spin heme, respectively. The resonance Raman spectrum of oxidized MauG exhibits a set of marker bands at 1503 and 1588 cm(-1) which exhibit frequencies similar to those of the nu3 and nu2 bands of c-type heme proteins with bis-histidine coordination. Another set of marker bands at 1478 and 1570 cm(-1) is characteristic of a high-spin heme. Two distinct oxidation-reduction midpoint potential (E(m)) values of -159 and -244 mV are obtained from spectrochemical titration of MauG. However, the two nu3 bands located at 1478 and 1503 cm(-1) shift together to 1467 and 1492 cm(-1), respectively, upon reduction, as do the Soret peaks of the low- and high-spin hemes in the absorption spectrum. Thus, the two hemes with distinct spectral properties are reduced and oxidized to approximately the same extent during redox titrations. This indicates that the high- and low-spin hemes have similar intrinsic E(m) values but exhibit negative redox cooperativity. After the first one-electron reduction of MauG, the electron equilibrates between hemes. This makes the second one-electron reduction of MauG more difficult. Thus, the two E(m) values do not describe redox properties of distinct hemes, but the first and second one-electron reductions of a diheme system with two equivalent hemes. The structural and mechanistic implications of these findings are discussed.

Characterization of the heme-histidine cross-link in cyanobacterial hemoglobins from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002.

The recombinant product of the hemoglobin gene of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 forms spontaneously a covalent bond linking one of the heme vinyl groups to a histidine located in the C-terminal helix (His117, or H16). The present report describes the (1)H, (15)N, and (13)C NMR spectroscopy experiments demonstrating that the recombinant hemoglobin from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, a protein sharing 59% identity with Synechocystis hemoglobin, undergoes the same facile heme adduct formation. The observation that the extraordinary linkage is not unique to Synechocystis hemoglobin suggests that it constitutes a noteworthy feature of hemoglobin in non-N(2)-fixing cyanobacteria, along with the previously documented bis-histidine coordination of the heme iron. A qualitative analysis of the hyperfine chemical shifts of the ferric proteins indicated that the cross-link had modest repercussions on axial histidine ligation and heme electronic structure. In Synechocystis hemoglobin, the unreacted His117 imidazole had a normal p K(a) whereas the protonation of the modified residue took place at lower pH. Optical experiments revealed that the cross-link stabilized the protein with respect to thermal and acid denaturation. Replacement of His117 with an alanine yielded a species inert to adduct formation, but inspection of the heme chemical shifts and ligand binding properties of the variant identified position 117 as important in seating the cofactor in its site and modifying the dynamic properties of the protein. A role for bis-histidine coordination and covalent adduct formation in heme retention is proposed.

The Solution Structure of the Recombinant Hemoglobin from the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in its Hemichrome State

The product of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 gene slr2097 is a 123 amino acid polypeptide chain belonging to the truncated hemoglobin family. Recombinant, ferric heme-reconstituted Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 hemoglobin displays bis-histidine coordination of the iron ion. In addition, this protein is capable of covalently attaching a reactive histidine to the heme 2-vinyl group. The structure of the protein in the low-spin ferric state with intact vinyl substituents was solved by NMR methods. It was found that the structure differs from that of known truncated hemoglobins primarily in the orientation of the E helix, which carries His46 (E10) as the distal ligand to the iron; the length and orientation of the F helix, which carries His70 (F8) as the proximal ligand to the iron; and the H-helix, which carries His117 (H16), the reactive histidine. Regions of enhanced flexibility include the short A helix, the loop connecting the E and F helices, and the last seven residues at the carboxy end. The structural data allowed for the rationalization of physical properties of the cyanobacterial protein, such as fast on-rate for small ligand binding, unstable apoprotein fold, and cross-linking ability. Comparison to the truncated hemoglobin from the green alga Chlamydomonas eugametos also suggested how the endogenous hexacoordination affected the structure.

Truncated hemoglobin from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002: evidence for hexacoordination and covalent adduct formation in the ferric recombinant protein.

The glbN gene for the hemoglobin of Synechoccocus sp. PCC 7002, a cyanobacterium incapable of nitrogen fixation, was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The 123-residue protein was purified from inclusion bodies and reconstituted with iron protoporphyrin IX to obtain the ferric form of the holoprotein. Mass spectrometric analysis confirmed the identity of the polypeptide. NMR and optical data demonstrated that the protein so prepared contained a hexacoordinate heme group, as observed in the related globin from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 [Scott, N. L., and Lecomte, J. T. J. (2000) Protein Sci. 9, 587-597]. The data were consistent with a similar bis-histidine coordination scheme involving His46 (E10) on the distal side and His70 (F8) on the proximal side. Several aromatic residues were identified in the vicinity of the heme and were used to establish the orientation of the prosthetic group in the polypeptide matrix. In this protein, as in that from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, there was a marked preference for the heme orientation in which pyrroles C and D contact the C-E corner of the protein. Both hemoglobins were found capable of forming a product in which the heme is cross-linked to the polypeptide through modification of a vinyl group.

De Novo Design of Hemoprotein Model with Peroxidase Activity toward Lipophilic Peroxide

Abstract A single-chained 49-mer-polypeptide tethering iron(III)-porphyrin folded into a certain conformation with bis-histidine coordination and consumed favorably linoleic acid hydroperoxide rather than H2O2.

Reversible alkaline inactivation of lignin peroxidase involves the release of both the distal and proximal site calcium ions and bishistidine co-ordination of the haem

Reversible alkaline inactivation of lignin peroxidase involves the release of both the distal and proximal site calcium ions and bishistidine co-ordination of the haem

Reversible alkaline inactivation of lignin peroxidase involves the release of both the distal and proximal site calcium ions and bishistidine co-ordination of the haem

Phanerochaete chrysosporium lignin peroxidase isoenzyme H2 (LiP H2) exhibits a transition to a stable, inactive form at pH 9.0 with concomitant spectroscopic changes. The Söret peak intensity decreases some 55% with a red shift from 408 to 412 nm; the bands at 502 nm and 638 nm disappear and the peak at 536 nm increases. The EPR spectrum changes from a signal typical of high spin ferric haem to an exclusively low spin spectrum with g=2.92, 2.27, 1.50. These data indicate that the active pentaco-ordinated haem is converted into a hexaco-ordinated species at alkaline pH. Room temperature near-IR MCD data coupled with the EPR spectrum allow us to assign the haem co-ordination of alkali-inactivated enzyme as bishistidine. Re-acidification of the alkali-inactivated enzyme to pH 6 induces further spectroscopic changes and generates an irreversibly inactivated species. By contrast, a pH shift from 9.0 to 6.0 with simultaneous addition of 50 mM CaCl(2) results in the recovery of the initial activity together with the spectroscopic characteristics of the native ferric enzyme. Incubating with 50 mM CaCl(2) at a pH between 6.0 and 9.0 can also re-activate the enzyme. Divalent metals other than Ca(2+) do not result in restoration of activity. Experiments with (45)Ca indicate that two tightly bound calcium ions per enzyme monomer are lost during inactivation and reincorporated during subsequent re-activation, consistent with the presence of two structural Ca(2+) ions in LiP H2. It is concluded that both the structural Ca(2+) ions play key roles in the reversible alkaline inactivation of LiP H2.

Spectroscopic characterization of active mutants of manganese peroxidase: mutations on the proximal side affect calcium binding of the distal side.

The mutants at position 242 of manganese peroxidase (MnP), where the native Asp has been substituted with a Ser or a Glu, have been shown to be active, and are here characterized by electronic, EPR, and NMR spectroscopies. We have also mutated another residue on the proximal side, Phe 190 to Val and Leu, yielding active mutants. When studied by the above-mentioned spectroscopies, the mutants at both positions 242 and 190 exhibit three pH-dependent transitions. In contrast to the transitions observed at low and high pH, the spectroscopic studies reveal that the transition at intermediate pH has pK(a) values up to 2 units lower for the mutants at D242E and -S and F190V than for the wild type. This process is due to the ionization of a group that affects the transition to the bis-histidine coordination at the iron. The observed changes in the pK(a) values are related to the altered affinity of the calcium-binding site in the distal pocket. Other variations are observed in the other two pK(a) values. Characterization of the cyanide derivatives indicates that the location and orientation of the distal and proximal His residues are essentially identical to that in the wild type. Our results indicate that mutations on the proximal side residues can affect changes in the distal side. In particular, deprotonation of a group, whose pK(a) is influenced by the nature of the residues in the proximal side, produces a movement of helix B, which in turn induces the coordination of the distal His and the loss of the distal calcium ion.

A study of the K+-site mutant of ascorbate peroxidase: mutations of protein residues on the proximal side of the heme cause changes in iron ligation on the distal side

A series of ferric and ferrous derivatives of wild-type ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and of an engineered K(+)-site mutant of APX that has had its potassium cation binding site removed have been examined by electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy at 4 degrees C. Wild-type ferric APX has spectroscopic properties that are very similar to those of ferric cytochrome c peroxidase (CCP) and likely exists primarily as a five-coordinate high-spin heme ligated on the proximal side by a histidine at pH 7. There is also evidence for minority contributions from six-coordinate high- and low-spin species (histidine-water, histidine-hydroxide, and bis-histidine). The K(+)-site mutant of APX varies considerably in the electronic absorption and MCD spectra in both the ferric and ferrous states when compared with spectra of the wild-type APX. The electronic absorption and MCD spectra of the engineered K(+)-site APX mutant are essentially identical to those of cytochrome b5, a known bis-imidazole (histidine) ligated heme system. It therefore appears that the K(+)-site mutant of APX has undergone a conformational change to yield a bis-histidine coordination structure in both the ferric and ferrous oxidation states at neutral pH. This conformational change is the result of mutagenesis of the protein to remove the K(+)-binding site which is located approximately 8 A from the peroxide binding pocket. Thus, mutations of protein residues on the proximal side of the heme cause changes in iron ligation on the distal side.

Two enzymes with a common function but different heme ligands in the forms as isolated. Optical and magnetic properties of the heme groups in the oxidized forms of nitrite reductase, cytochrome cd1, from Pseudomonas stutzeri and Thiosphaera pantotropha.

It is shown that, in the oxidized state, heme c of Pseudomonas stutzeri (ZoBell strain) cytochrome cd1 has histidine-methionine ligation as observed for cytochrome cd1 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa [Sutherland, J., Greenwood, C., Peterson, J., and Thomson, A. J. (1986) Biochem. J. 233, 893-898]. However, the X-ray structure of Thiosphaera pantotropha cytochrome cd1 reveals bis-histidine ligation for heme c. It is confirmed by EPR and near-infrared (NIR) MCD measurements that the bis-histidine coordination remains unaltered in the solution phase. Hence, the difference between the heme c ligation states defines two distinct classes of oxidized cytochromes cd1 as isolated. A weak feature in the T. pantotropha NIR MCD at 1900 nm suggests that a small population of heme c has histidine-methionine coordination. The ligation state of heme d1 cannot be defined with the same level of confidence, because the porphyrin-to-Fe(III) charge-transfer (CT) bands are less well characterized for this class of partially reduced porphyrin ring. However, variable temperature absorption and MCD spectra show that, in the T. pantotropha enzyme, heme d1 exists in a thermal low-spin/high-spin mixture with the low-spin as the ground state, whereas in P. stutzeri cytochrome cd1, and d1 heme is low-spin at all temperatures. A weak band, assigned as the heme d1 porphyrin-pi(a1u,a2u)-to-ferric(d) charge-transfer transition has been identified for the first time at 2170 nm. Its magnetic properties show the heme d1 to have an unusual (dxz,yz)4(dxy)1 electronic ground state as is found for low-spin Fe(III) chlorins [Cheesman, M. R., and Walker, F. A. (1996) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118, 7373-7380]. It is proposed that the localization of the Fe(III) unpaired d-electron in an orbital lying in the heme plane may decrease the affinity of the Fe(III) heme for unsaturated ligands such as NO. Although heme d1 in the enzymes from P. stutzeri and T. pantotropha shows different temperature-dependent spin properties, the positions of the low-spin Fe(III) alpha-absorption band, at approximately 640 nm, are very similar to those observed for cytochromes cd1 from eight other sources, suggesting that all have similar strength fields from the axial ligands and, hence, that all have the same coordination, namely histidine-tyrosine or possibly histidine-hydroxide at the heme.