Heme Degrading Research Articles

Heme Binding to HupZ with a C-Terminal Tag from Group A Streptococcus.

HupZ is an expected heme degrading enzyme in the heme acquisition and utilization pathway in Group A Streptococcus. The isolated HupZ protein containing a C-terminal V5-His6 tag exhibits a weak heme degradation activity. Here, we revisited and characterized the HupZ-V5-His6 protein via biochemical, mutagenesis, protein quaternary structure, UV–vis, EPR, and resonance Raman spectroscopies. The results show that the ferric heme-protein complex did not display an expected ferric EPR signal and that heme binding to HupZ triggered the formation of higher oligomeric states. We found that heme binding to HupZ was an O2-dependent process. The single histidine residue in the HupZ sequence, His111, did not bind to the ferric heme, nor was it involved with the weak heme-degradation activity. Our results do not favor the heme oxygenase assignment because of the slow binding of heme and the newly discovered association of the weak heme degradation activity with the His6-tag. Altogether, the data suggest that the protein binds heme by its His6-tag, resulting in a heme-induced higher-order oligomeric structure and heme stacking. This work emphasizes the importance of considering exogenous tags when interpreting experimental observations during the study of heme utilization proteins.

From Host Heme To Iron: The Expanding Spectrum of Heme Degrading Enzymes Used by Pathogenic Bacteria.

Iron is an essential nutrient for many bacteria. Since the metal is highly sequestered in host tissues, bound predominantly to heme, pathogenic bacteria often take advantage of heme uptake and degradation mechanisms to acquire iron during infection. The most common mechanism of releasing iron from heme is through oxidative degradation by heme oxygenases (HOs). In addition, an increasing number of proteins that belong to two distinct structural families have been implicated in aerobic heme catabolism. Finally, an enzyme that degrades heme anaerobically was recently uncovered, further expanding the mechanisms for bacterial heme degradation. In this analysis, we cover the spectrum and recent advances in heme degradation by infectious bacteria. We briefly explain heme oxidation by the two groups of recognized HOs to ground readers before focusing on two new types of proteins that are reported to be involved in utilization of heme iron. We discuss the structure and enzymatic function of proteins representing these groups, their biological context, and how they are regulated to provide a more complete look at their cellular role.

Translocation of heme oxygenase-1 contributes to imatinib resistance in chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) degrades heme to bilirubin. In addition, it is upregulated in malignant disease and has been described as an important factor for cancer prognosis and therapy. Under physiological conditions HO-1 is anchored to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Under stress conditions HO-1 can be cleaved and subsequently translocates to the cytosol and nucleus.In this study we systematically investigated the influence of HO-1's catabolic activity and subcellular localization on resistance against the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib in leukemia cells by confocal laser scanning microscopy, hemoglobin synthesis experiments and cell viability assays. We created two types of monoclonal K562 cell lines stably transfected with GFP-tagged HO-1: cell lines expressing ER anchored HO-1 or anchorless HO-1. Since translocation of HO-1 disrupts the association with cytochrome P450 reductase, heme degrading activity was higher for ER anchored versus anchorless HO-1. Cell viability tests with increasing concentrations of imatinib showed IC50-values for all six cell lines with ER localized HO-1 that were similar to control cells. However, out of the seven cell lines with anchorless HO-1, two showed a statistically significant increase in the imatinib IC50 (19.76 μM and 12.35 μM versus 2.35 – 7.57 μM of sensitive cell lines) corresponding to plasma concentrations outside the therapeutic range.We conclude that the presence of translocated HO-1 in the cytosol and nucleus supports imatinib resistance while it is not sufficient to cause imatinib resistance in every cell line. In contrast, an increase in ER anchored HO-1 with high heme degrading activity does not contribute to imatinib resistance.

Inactivation of the Heme Degrading Enzyme IsdI by an Active Site Substitution That Diminishes Heme Ruffling

IsdG and IsdI are paralogous heme degrading enzymes from the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Heme bound by these enzymes is extensively ruffled such that the meso-carbons at the sites of oxidation are distorted toward bound oxygen. In contrast, the canonical heme oxygenase family degrades heme that is bound with minimal distortion. Trp-66 is a conserved heme pocket residue in IsdI implicated in heme ruffling. IsdI variants with Trp-66 replaced with residues having less bulky aromatic and alkyl side chains were characterized with respect to catalytic activity, heme ruffling, and electrochemical properties. The heme degradation activity of the W66Y and W66F variants was approximately half that of the wild-type enzyme, whereas the W66L and W66A variants were inactive. A crystal structure and NMR spectroscopic analysis of the W66Y variant reveals that heme binds to this enzyme with less heme ruffling than observed for wild-type IsdI. The reduction potential of this variant (-96 ± 7 mV versus standard hydrogen electrode) is similar to that of wild-type IsdI (-89 ± 7 mV), so we attribute the diminished activity of this variant to the diminished heme ruffling observed for heme bound to this enzyme and conclude that Trp-66 is required for optimal catalytic activity.

Direct Tests of Enzymatic Heme Degradation by the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Malaria parasites generate vast quantities of heme during blood stage infection via hemoglobin digestion and limited de novo biosynthesis, but it remains unclear if parasites metabolize heme for utilization or disposal. Recent in vitro experiments with a heme oxygenase (HO)-like protein from Plasmodium falciparum suggested that parasites may enzymatically degrade some heme to the canonical HO product, biliverdin (BV), or its downstream metabolite, bilirubin (BR). To directly test for BV and BR production by P. falciparum parasites, we DMSO-extracted equal numbers of infected and uninfected erythrocytes and developed a sensitive LC-MS/MS assay to quantify these tetrapyrroles. We found comparable low levels of BV and BR in both samples, suggesting the absence of HO activity in parasites. We further tested live parasites by targeted expression of a fluorescent BV-binding protein within the parasite cytosol, mitochondrion, and plant-like plastid. This probe could detect exogenously added BV but gave no signal indicative of endogenous BV production within parasites. Finally, we recombinantly expressed and tested the proposed heme degrading activity of the HO-like protein, PfHO. Although PfHO bound heme and protoporphyrin IX with modest affinity, it did not catalyze heme degradation in vivo within bacteria or in vitro in UV absorbance and HPLC assays. These observations are consistent with PfHO's lack of a heme-coordinating His residue and suggest an alternative function within parasites. We conclude that P. falciparum parasites lack a canonical HO pathway for heme degradation and thus rely fully on alternative mechanisms for heme detoxification and iron acquisition during blood stage infection.

Heme Degrading Protein HemS Is Involved in Oxidative Stress Response of Bartonella henselae

Bartonellae are hemotropic bacteria, agents of emerging zoonoses. These bacteria are heme auxotroph Alphaproteobacteria which must import heme for supporting their growth, as they cannot synthesize it. Therefore, Bartonella genome encodes for a complete heme uptake system allowing the transportation of this compound across the outer membrane, the periplasm and the inner membranes. Heme has been proposed to be used as an iron source for Bartonella since these bacteria do not synthesize a complete system required for iron Fe3+uptake. Similarly to other bacteria which use heme as an iron source, Bartonellae must transport this compound into the cytoplasm and degrade it to allow the release of iron from the tetrapyrrole ring. For Bartonella, the gene cluster devoted to the synthesis of the complete heme uptake system also contains a gene encoding for a polypeptide that shares homologies with heme trafficking or degrading enzymes. Using complementation of an E. coli mutant strain impaired in heme degradation, we demonstrated that HemS from Bartonella henselae expressed in E. coli allows the release of iron from heme. Purified HemS from B. henselae binds heme and can degrade it in the presence of a suitable electron donor, ascorbate or NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase. Knocking down the expression of HemS in B. henselae reduces its ability to face H2O2 induced oxidative stress.

The Heme-Heme Oxygenase System in Wound Healing; Implications for Scar Formation

Wound healing is an intricate process requiring the concerted action of keratinocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and macrophages. Here, we review the literature on normal wound healing and the pathological forms of wound healing, such as hypertrophic or excessive scar formation, with special emphasis on the heme-heme oxygenase (HO) system and the versatile effector molecules that are formed after HO-mediated heme degradation. Excessive scar formation following wounding is thought to relate to prolonged oxidative and inflammatory stress in the skin. Evidence is accumulating that the heme-HO system forms a novel and important target in the control of wound healing. Heme-protein derived heme can act as a potent oxidative and inflammatory stress inducer, and excess levels of heme may thus contribute to delayed resolution of oxidative and inflammatory insults in the skin. This emphasizes the need for a timely reduction of the levels of heme. Heme-binding proteins, heme transporters, and the heme degrading protein, HO, form therefore a necessary defense. Deficiencies in these defense proteins or a disturbed redox status, as in diabetic patients, may render individuals more prone to heme-induced deleterious effects. A better understanding of the heme-heme oxygenase system as target during wound healing may result in novel strategies to reduce scar formation.

Domains of Rat Heme Oxygenase-2: The Amino Terminus and Histidine 151 Are Required for Heme Oxidation

Cleavage of heme b (Fe-protoporphyrin IX) at the α-meso carbon bridge is catalyzed by heme oxygenase isozymes, HO-1 and HO-2, to form biliverdin IXα. Currently, we have examined the requirement for the amino terminus and the hydrophobic carboxy terminus of rat HO-2 expressed in Escherichia coli for heme degradation activity and have assessed the importance of His 151 for this activity. His 151 is in the longest span of amino acids (24 residues) which are present, with only a single conservative substitution, in seven cloned heme oxygenases including the apparent single isozyme in chicken. We show His 151 is essential for cleavage of heme, as substitution of alanine for this residue by site-directed mutagenesis resulted in expression of an inactive protein with immunoreactivity toward antibody to rat HO-2. A cDNA construct in which nucleotides encoding the 33 N-terminal amino acid residues were deleted, when expressed, produced a protein of predicted size and immunoreactivity with antibody to HO-2 but also devoid of heme degrading activity. The presence of additional residues at this terminus, for the most part, accounts for the larger size of HO-2 compared to HO-1. Conversely, the hydrophobic region at the carboxy terminus did not appear to be essential for heme degradation. A construct in which the sequence encoding the primarily hydrophobic amino acids of the carboxy terminus was replaced by a sequence encoding predominantly hydrophilic residues expressed a protein which retained full capability to convert heme to biliverdin. Further, the construct with a hydrophilic carboxy terminus was not appreciably associated with bacterial membranes, suggesting that the carboxy terminus in the wild-type protein serves as a membrane anchor for this enzyme.

Purification and properties of bovine spleen heme oxygenase. Amino acid composition and sites of action of inhibitors of heme oxidation.

Microsomal heme oxygenase has been purified from bovine spleen to homogeneity using DEAE-cellulose chromatography, initial hydroxyapatite chromatography, gel filtration, and repeat hydroxyapatite chromatography. The purified enzyme showed a single protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular weight of congruent to 31,000. It had a Km for heme of 0.93 microM, a specific activity of 6770 units/mg of protein, and a turnover number of 3.5 mol/mol of enzyme/min. Amino acid analysis of the purified enzyme revealed an abundance of glutamine and glutamic acid residues, a log tryptophan content (2 tryptophan residues/mol of enzyme), and four free sulfhydryl groups, only two of which were accessible to sulfhydryl (--SH) inactivating reagents without unfolding of the protein. Consistent with these findings, the purified enzyme had a relatively low extinction coefficient at 280 nm (E11%cm = 8.12) and was relatively resistant to inactivation by --SH inactivating reagents. NADPH-cytochrome c reductase from bovine liver was purified to homogeneity and biliverdin reductase from bovine spleen was partially purified. The heme oxygenase system was reconstituted from preparations of all three purified enzymes and, utilizing this reconstituted system, the specific sites of the inhibitory actions of --SH inactivating reagents, inorganic metals, and metalloporphyrins on the heme degrading sequence of reactions were examined. Sn-, Co-, Zn-, and Mn-protoporphyrin strongly inhibited heme degradation in a competitive manner. The Ki values for Sn-, Co-, and Zn-protoporphyrin were determined to be 0;033, 0.082, and 0.13 microM, respectively. Mg-, Ni-, and Cu-protoporphyrin had little effect on heme degradation by the reconstituted system. Metals such as Pt2+ and Hg2+ strongly inhibited the activity of the reconstituted heme oxygenase system, but the principal site of action of these metals was at the level of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase or biliverdin reductase. Similarly --SH inactivating reagents, such as p-chloromercuribenzoate, 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoate), or N-ethylmaleimide inhibited the reaction catalyzed by the reconstituted heme oxygenase system principally by inhibiting the activity of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase.

Heme catabolism in human kidneys. Effect of various nephritides

The role of the kidneys in heme metabolism was examined by determining heme oxygenase and biliverdin reductase activities in needle biopsy specimens from the kidneys of 11 female and 14 male patients with different renal diseases. The results show that both enzymes are present in human renal tissue. Our results indicate that heme oxygenase and biliverdin reductase increase slightly with age, but that there is no sex difference. A rising serum creatinine concentration is not reflected in the activity of heme degrading enzymes. Neither do the different types of nephritides, without detectable hemolysis, show significant differences in the renal activities of heme oxygenase and biliverdin reductase. This study thus outlines the basal physiological role of the human kidneys in heme degradation.