Heme Iron Center Research Articles

Purification and characterization of a hydroperoxidase from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803: identification of its gene by peptide mass mapping using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A cytosolic catalase-peroxidase from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 was purified to homogeneity by a six-step purification procedure. It is a homodimeric enzyme with a subunit molecular mass of 85 kDa. The isoelectric point of the protein is at pH 5.5; Michaelis constant, turnover number, and catalytic efficiency of the catalase activity for H 2O 2 were measured to be 4.8 mM, 3450 s −1, and 7.2×10 5 M −1 s −1, respectively. Preparation and spectroscopy of the pyridine ferrohemochrome identified an iron protoporphyrin IX as the prosthetic group. The enzyme was shown to exhibit both catalase and peroxidase activities, both of which were inhibited by cyanide, leading to a high-spin to low-spin transition of the heme iron center as detected by a shift of the Soret peak from 405 to 421 nm. The catalase-specific inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole proved ineffective. o-Dianisidine, pyrogallol and guaiacol functioned as a peroxidatic substrate, but no reaction was detected with NADH, NADPH, glutathione, and ascorbate. Peptide mass mapping using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry showed the identity between the purified protein and a putative katG gene derived from the genome of Synechocystis PCC 6803. A comparison of amino acid sequences of the catalase-peroxidase from Synechocystis PCC 6803 and those from other bacteria showed a high homology around the assumed distal and proximal histidine residues, suggesting a highly conserved histidine as the fifth ligand of the heme iron.

Split-soret cytochrome [formula omitted] from desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774, a novel protein that contains both heme and non-heme iron centers

Split-soret cytochrome [formula omitted] from desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774, a novel protein that contains both heme and non-heme iron centers

A nuclear paramagnetic relaxation study of the interaction of the cyclopentanedione substrate with chloroperoxidase

Association of the physiological substrate cyclopentanedione (CPDO) with chloroperoxidase (CPO) was confirmed from both line-width and longitudinal relaxation time measurements of the proton NMR signals of CPDO. A dissociation constant of 33 mM for the enzyme-substrate complex was calculated from proton NMR relaxation experiments. Chloride ion does not affect the stability of the complex, but iodide ion greatly decreased the stability of the CPO-CPDO complex. Binding of cyanide ion to the heme iron center of CPO also decreased the stability of the CPO-CPDO complex. This result indicates the critical influence of perturbation in the heme active site on the affinity of CPO toward its substrate. Titration of CPO with CPDO revealed that CPDO does not bind directly to the heme iron of CPO. A distance of 7.1 Å between the heme center of CPO and the protons of bound CPDO is deduced from the Solomon-Bloembergen relationship. This distance is 1 to 3 Å shorter than those reported for the complexes formed between CPO and organic sulfide and unreactive phenol substrates, but the distance approximates that for reactive phenol substrates.

Charge reversal of a critical active-site residue of cytochrome-c peroxidase: characterization of the Arg48-->Glu variant.

A new variant of cytochrome-c peroxidase in which the positively charged Arg48 present in the distal heme-binding pocket has been replaced with a Glu residue has been prepared and characterized to explore, in part, the possibility that a negative charge close to the heme could contribute to stabilization of a porphyrin-centered pi-cation radical in the compound I derivative of the variant. Between pH 4 and 8, this variant forms three pH-linked spectroscopic species. The electronic absorption and 1H-NMR spectra of the predominant form at low pH (HS1) are indicative of a high-spin, pentacoordinate heme iron system. Near neutral pH, a second high-spin species (HS2) is dominant, in which the heme iron center is hexacoordinated, with a water molecule as the sixth axial ligand. At high pH, the third form (LS) exhibits the spectroscopic characteristics of a low-spin, hexacoordinate heme center with bishistidine axial ligation. The apparent pKa values for these transitions are 4.4 and 7.4, respectively, in phosphate buffers and 5.0 and 7.1, respectively, in phosphate/nitrate buffers. Replacement of Arg48 with Glu reduces the thermal stability of the enzyme and also decreases the Fe(III)/Fe(II) reduction potential of the enzyme by approximately 50 mV relative to that of the wild-type enzyme. The stability of compound I formed by the variant is decreased although the rate at which it forms is just one order of magnitude less than that of the wild-type enzyme, thus confirming previous results which indicate that the function of residue 48 in the wild-type peroxidase is more related to the stability of compound I than to its formation [Erman, J. E., Vitello, L. B., Miller, M. A. & Kraut, J. (1992) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114, 6592-6593; Vitello, L. B., Erman, J. E., Miller, M. A., Wang, J. & Kraut, J. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 9807-9818]. Stopped-flow studies failed to detect even transient formation of a porphyrin-centered radical following addition of hydrogen peroxide to the Fe(III)-enzyme. The consequences of this drastic electrostatic modification of the active site on the steady-state kinetics of the variant are relatively minor.

Isolation and properties of PS II membrane fragments depleted of the non heme iron center

The functional properties and the content of non heme iron and cytochrome b559 were investigated by measuring flash induced transient changes of the relative fluorescence quantum yield and applying Mössbauer spectroscopy. It was found that untreated PS II membrane fragments contain a heterogeneous population of two types of non heme iron centers and about 2 cytochrome b559 per PS II. Twofold treatment of these samples with a recently described ‘iron depletion’ procedure (MacMillan, F., Lendzian, F., Renger, G. and Lubitz, W. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 3144–8156) leads to a complete loss (below the detection limit of Mössbauer spectroscopy) of the non heme iron center while more than 50% of the PS II complexes retain the functional integrity for light induced formation of the ‘stable’ radical pair Y Z OX P680Pheo Q A −.. This sample type deprived of virtually all non heme iron in PS II provides a most suitable material for magnetic resonance studies that require an elimination of the interaction between Fe 2+ and nearby radicals.

Origin of the pH-dependent spectroscopic properties of pentacoordinate metmyoglobin variants.

The pH dependence of the electronic and EPR spectra of two variants of horse heart myoglobin (Mb) in which the distal His64 ligand has been replaced by either Thr or Ile has been studied. Both of these variants exhibit spectroscopic changes with pH that are indicative of a transition between two ferric high-spin forms that occurs with a pKa of 9.49 for the His64Thr variant and 9.26 for the His64Ile variant and that is distinctly different from the pH-dependent spectroscopic changes related to titration of the distal aquo ligand of wild-type Mb. The electronic and EPR spectra of both variants at all values of pH studied are consistent with the presence of a pentacoordinate heme iron center. For the His64Thr variant, a high-resolution (1.9 A) structure determination establishes the lack of the distal aquo ligand and demonstrates an out-of-plane movement of the ferric iron toward the proximal histidine together with a decrease of the Fe-His bond length. Investigation of this pH-linked equilibrium by EPR spectroscopy reveals rhombically split high-spin signals at both pH 7 and 11 with a greater degree of rhombicity exhibited by the alkaline species. We propose that the pH-linked spectroscopic transition exhibited by these distal histidine variants results from the deprotonation of the proximal His93 residue to produce imidazolate ligation at alkaline pH.

X-ray Absorption Near Edge Studies of Cytochrome P-450-CAM, Chloroperoxidase, and Myoglobin: DIRECT EVIDENCE FOR THE ELECTRON RELEASING CHARACTER OF A CYSTEINE THIOLATE PROXIMAL LIGAND

The low spin ferric and low and high spin ferrous forms of myoglobin, bacterial cytochrome P-450-CAM, and chloroperoxidase have been examined by Fe-K x-ray absorption edge spectroscopy. The positions of the absorption edge and the shapes of preedge and edge regions of imidazole adducts of ferric P-450-CAM and chloroperoxidase are essentially the same when compared with thiolate-ligated ferric myoglobin. As these three protein derivatives all have six-coordinate, low spin, ferric hemes with axial imidazole and thiolate ligands, the superposition of x-ray absorption edge spectral properties demonstrates that the protein environment does not effect the spectra, provided one compares heme iron centers with identical coordination numbers, spin and oxidation states, and ligand sets. In contrast, a 0.96 eV difference is observed in the energy of the absorption edge for imidazole- and thiolate-ligated ferric myoglobin with the latter shifted to lower energy as observed for ferrous myoglobin states. Similarly, in the low spin ferric-imidazole and ferrous-CO states, the energies of the absorption edge for chloroperoxidase and P-450-CAM are shifted in the direction of the ferrous state (to lower energy) when compared with those for analogous myoglobin derivatives. In the deoxyferrous high spin state, comparison of the edge spectra of chloroperoxidase with analogous data for cytochrome P-450-CAM suggests that the electron density at the iron is similar for these two protein states. The shifts observed in the energies of the x-ray absorption edge for the thiolate-ligated states of these proteins relative to derivatives lacking a thiolate ligand provide a direct measure of the electron releasing character of a thiolate axial ligand. These results therefore support the suggested role of the cysteinate proximal ligand of P-450 as a strong internal electron donor to promote O-O bond cleavage in the putative ferric-peroxide intermediate to generate the proposed ferryl-oxo "active oxygen" state of the reaction cycle.

The proximal ligand variant His93Tyr of horse heart myoglobin

The spectroscopic and structural properties of the His93Tyr variant of horse heart myoglobin have been studied to assess the effects of replacing the proximal His residue of this protein with a tyrosyl residue as occurs in catalases from various sources. The variant in the ferric form exhibits electronic spectra that are independent of pH between pH 7 and 10, and it exhibits changes in absorption maxima and intensity that are consistent with a five-coordinate heme iron center at the active site. The EPR spectrum of the variant is that of a high-spin, rhombic system similar to that reported for bovine liver catalase. The 1D 1H-NMR spectrum of the variant confirms the five-coordinate nature of the heme iron center and exhibits a broad resonance at 112.5 ppm that is attributable to the meta protons of the phenolate ligand. This result indicates that the new Tyr ligand flips at a significant rate in this protein. The thermal stability of the Fe(III) derivative is unchanged from that of the wild-type protein (pH 8) while the midpoint reduction potential [-208 mV vs SHE (pH 8.0, 25 degrees C)] is about 250 mV lower. The three-dimensional structure of the variant determined by X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the five-coordinate nature of the heme iron center and establishes that the introduction of a proximal Tyr ligand is accommodated by a shift of the F helix (residues 88-99) in which this residue resides away from the heme pocket. Additional effects of this change are small shifts in the positions of Leu29, a heme propionate, and a heme vinyl group that are accompanied by altered hydrogen bonding interactions with the heme prosthetic group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A model for the ‘shuttling ligand’ of cytochrome c oxidase. The synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of allyl-Fe(TPP) and CpFe(TPP)

Cytochrome c oxidase catalyzes the reduction of molecular oxygen to water and has been the subject of many studies. The focus of previous studies has been the characterization of intermediates that occur in the reduction of dioxygen to water. Cytochrome a 3, one of the hemes in cytochrome c oxidase, contains a farnesyl tail which is though to ‘shuttle’ in and out of the binuclear site during the course of the catalytic reaction. While in the binuclear site, the tail is though to be coordinated to the heme iron center in a π-allyl fashion. With this though in mind, the synthesis and characterization of two model complexes for this π-allyl intermediate are reported here.

The crystal structure of manganese peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium at 2.06-A resolution

The crystal structure of manganese peroxidase (MnP) from the lignin-degrading basidiomycetous fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium has been solved using molecular replacement techniques and refined to R = 0.20 at 2.0 A. The overall structure is similar to that of two other fungal peroxidases, lignin peroxidase from P. chrysosporium and Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase. Like the other fungal peroxidases, MnP has two structural calcium ions. MnP also has two N-acetylglucosamine residues N-linked to Asn131 that are readily visible in the electron density map. The active site, consisting of a proximal His ligand H-bonded to an Asp residue and a distal side peroxide binding pocket consisting of a catalytic His and Arg, is the same as in the aforementioned fungal peroxidases as well as yeast cytochrome c peroxidase. MnP differs in having five rather than four disulfide bonds. The additional disulfide bond, Cys341-Cys348, is located near the C terminus of the polypeptide chain. Importantly, a new cation binding site, which we propose is the manganese-binding site of MnP, was located in the crystal structure. The ligands constituting the Mn(2+)-binding site include Asp179, Glu35, Glu39, a heme propionate, and two water molecules. Electron transfer from Mn2+ to the heme edge or iron center is envisioned to occur through a sigma-bonded pathway along a heme propionate.

Effect of the Chemical Modification by Viologen on the Reduction of Metmyoglobin

Abstract Metmyoglobin covalently linked with viologen was prepared and reduced by dithionite ions faster than the native metmyoglobin, suggesting that the reduction by dithionite of the attached viologen was followed by a rapid intramolecular electron transfer from the viologen radical cation to the heme iron center.

High valent iron oxo intermediates might be involved during activation of ribonucleotide reductase: Single oxygen atom donors generate the tyrosyl radical

The active form of protein B2, the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase from E. Coli, contains a binuclear non heme iron center and a tyrosyl radical. MetB2 is an inactive form that lacks the radical but retains the Fe(III) center. We earlier proposed that the function of the iron center was to catalyze the one-electron oxidation of the tyrosine residue from metB2 by dioxygen. We now report that incubation of metB2 with single oxygen atom donors, hydrogen peroxide, 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid, monoperoxophtalate and 2-iodosobenzoate, also results in the formation of the tyrosyl radical, as monitored by UV-visible and EPR spectroscopy. A mechanism of reductive activation of dioxygen by the binuclear non heme iron center involving iron-oxo intermediates is proposed.

Analysis of low-spin ESR spectra of ferric heme proteins: A reexamination

Explicit derivations are presented for the expressions necessary to analyze the ESR spectra of low-spin heme iron centers. Emphasis is placed on those centers which satisfy commonly assumed conditions; at the same time, tests for the validity of those assumptions are developed. The means of selecting the correct coordinate system in which to state the results from ESR measurements on powder samples are examined. Furthermore, attention is called to the signs of the principal g values for each center and the limited degree to which these signs are arbitrary. All of the expressions developed are written in a manner intended to facilitate their use. They are illustrated by applying them to data from several categories of hemoglobin derivatives and from ferricytochrome c.