Proximal Histidine Research Articles

Oxidation and Loss of Heme in Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase from Manduca sexta

Oxidation and loss of heme in soluble guanylyl/guanylate cyclase (sGC), the nitric oxide receptor, is thought to be a major contributor to cardiovascular disease and is the target of compounds BAY 58-2667 and HMR1766. Using spectroelectrochemical titration, we found a truncated sGC to be highly stable in the ferrous state (234 mV) and to bind ferrous heme tightly even in the presence of NO, despite the NO-induced release of the proximal histidine. In contrast, oxidized sGC readily loses ferric heme to myoglobin (0.47 ± 0.02 h(-1)). Peroxynitrite, the presumed cellular oxidant, readily oxidizes sGC in 5 mM glutathione.

Human Neuroglobin Functions as a Redox-regulated Nitrite Reductase

Neuroglobin is a highly conserved hemoprotein of uncertain physiological function that evolved from a common ancestor to hemoglobin and myoglobin. It possesses a six-coordinate heme geometry with proximal and distal histidines directly bound to the heme iron, although coordination of the sixth ligand is reversible. We show that deoxygenated human neuroglobin reacts with nitrite to form nitric oxide (NO). This reaction is regulated by redox-sensitive surface thiols, cysteine 55 and 46, which regulate the fraction of the five-coordinated heme, nitrite binding, and NO formation. Replacement of the distal histidine by leucine or glutamine leads to a stable five-coordinated geometry; these neuroglobin mutants reduce nitrite to NO ∼2000 times faster than the wild type, whereas mutation of either Cys-55 or Cys-46 to alanine stabilizes the six-coordinate structure and slows the reaction. Using lentivirus expression systems, we show that the nitrite reductase activity of neuroglobin inhibits cellular respiration via NO binding to cytochrome c oxidase and confirm that the six-to-five-coordinate status of neuroglobin regulates intracellular hypoxic NO-signaling pathways. These studies suggest that neuroglobin may function as a physiological oxidative stress sensor and a post-translationally redox-regulated nitrite reductase that generates NO under six-to-five-coordinate heme pocket control. We hypothesize that the six-coordinate heme globin superfamily may subserve a function as primordial hypoxic and redox-regulated NO-signaling proteins.

Inherently Distorted Heme as a Novel Tool for Myoglobin-Based Oxygen Carrier

The two types of artificial myoglobins (Mbs) containing inherently distorted α-ethyl-2,4-dimethyldeuteroheme and undistorted 2,4-dimethyldeuteroheme were prepared to examine the influence of nonplanar heme deformation on the reactivity of Mb. In ferrous deoxy proteins, the paramagnetic proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra showed that the deformed heme caused a 3.2-ppm lower-field shift of the proximal histidine signal, indicating a larger iron displacement from the heme plane upon the nonplanar deformation. The Mb with the nonplanar heme exhibited a markedly lower oxygen affinity as compared with the Mb containing the planar heme. The result suggests the utility of heme distortion to design the Mb-based oxygen carrier.

Primary structure of turkey myoglobin

Our objective was to determine the amino acid sequence of turkey myoglobin. Turkey myoglobin was isolated from cardiac muscles via ammonium sulphate precipitation and gel-filtration chromatography. Purified turkey myoglobin, separated as a 17 kDa band in SDS–PAGE, was subjected to digestion with trypsin or aspartic acid endopeptidase. The resulting peptides were separated by reverse-phase HPLC, and then subjected to Edman degradation to obtain the amino acid sequence. The complete amino acid sequence of turkey myoglobin was determined and compared with that of poultry and red meat myoglobins. Turkey myoglobin has 153 amino acids and nine histidine residues. Proximal (position 93) and distal (position 64) histidine residues, responsible for maintaining the stability of haeme, are conserved in turkey myoglobin. Turkey myoglobin shares 100% sequence similarity with chicken myoglobin, whereas it shares 92.5% homology with ostrich, 76.5% with pig, and less than 73% with ruminant myoglobins.

Nitrophorins: Nitrite disproportionation reaction and other novel functionalities of insect heme‐based nitric oxide transport proteins

Nitrophorins (NPs) comprise a unique class of heme proteins used by the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus to deliver the signaling gas molecule NO into the blood vessel of a host during feeding. Upon NO release, histamine can be scavenged by coordination to the heme iron. Although the protein is of similar size as the mammalian globin monomers and shares the same cofactor and proximal histidine coordination, nitrophorin structure, in contrast, is almost entirely composed of a β-barrel. Comparison of the NO and histamine association constants with the concentrations of both compounds invivo raises concerns about the very simple ligand release model in case of at least some of the NPs. Therefore, novel functionalities of the NPs were sought. As a result, catalysis of the nitrite disproportionation reaction was found, which leads to the formation of NO with nitrite as the sole substrate. This is the first example of a ferriheme protein that can perform this reaction. Furthermore, although NPs stabilize the ferriheme state, a peroxidase reactivity of the cofactor involving the higher oxidation state iron (Compound I/II) was studied with the potential to catalyze the oxidation of histamine and norepinephrine. In contrast to many other heme proteins including the globins, the ferroheme state was found to be extremely sensitive to O(2) , which is a consequence of the much lower reduction potential of the NPs, so that the 1-electron reduction of O(2) to O (•-)(2) becomes a thermodynamically favored process. Altogether, the detailed study of the NPs gives insight into the structure-function relationships required for the targeted delivery of diatomic gas molecules in biology. Moreover, the comparison of the structure-function relationships of the NPs (NO transporters) with those of the globins (O(2) transporters) will help to elucidate the architectural requirement for the respective tasks.

HUMAN NEUROGLOBIN FUNCTIONS AS A REDOX REGULATED NITRITE REDUCTASE

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a highly conserved hemoprotein of uncertain physiological function that evolved from a common ancestor to hemoglobin and myoglobin. Ngb shows a six‐coordinate heme iron with proximal and distal histidines in the heme pocket directly bound to the heme iron however coordination of the sixth ligand is reversible. Deoxygenated human neuroglobin reacts with nitrite to form nitric oxide (NO). This reaction is regulated by redox sensitive surface thiols, cysteine 55 and 46, which regulate the open probability of heme pocket, nitrite binding and NO formation. Replacement of the distal histidine by leucine (H64L) leads to a stable five‐coordinated geometry; the Ngb H64L mutant reduces nitrite to NO approximately 2000‐times faster than the wild type, while mutation of either C55 or C46 to alanine stabilizes the six‐coordinate structure and slows the reaction. Using lentivirus expression systems we show that the nitrite‐reductase activity of Ngb inhibits cellular respiration via NO binding to cytochrome c oxidase and confirm that the six‐to‐five coordinate status of Ngb regulates intracellular hypoxic NO signaling pathways. These studies suggest that Ngb may function as a physiological oxidative stress sensor and a post‐translationally redox regulated nitrite reductase, that generates NO under six‐to‐five coordinate heme pocket control.

Stabilization of the peroxy intermediate in the oxygen splitting reaction of cytochrome cbb3

The proton-pumping cbb 3-type cytochrome c oxidases catalyze cell respiration in many pathogenic bacteria. For reasons not yet understood, the apparent dioxygen (O 2) affinity in these enzymes is very high relative to other members of the heme-copper oxidase (HCO) superfamily. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations on intermediates of the oxygen scission reaction in active-site models of cbb 3- and aa 3-type oxidases, we find that a transient peroxy intermediate ( I P , Fe[III]–OOH −) is ~ 6 kcal/mol more stable in the former case, resulting in more efficient kinetic trapping of dioxygen and hence in a higher apparent oxygen affinity. The major molecular basis for this stabilization is a glutamate residue, polarizing the proximal histidine ligand of heme b 3 in the active site.

Time-Resolved Circular Dichroism Study of Protein Conformational Changes

Circular dichroism (CD) is known to be a very sensitive probe of protein conformation, in particular in the far UV where characteristics signatures of secondary structures exist. We have developed new techniques aiming to measure CD in a pump-probe experiment and applied them to the study of the dynamics of conformational changes in proteins. Two techniques were implemented, either a straightforward probe polarization modulation technique or a more sophisticated pump-induced ellipticity measurement. Thorough study of the ultrafast dynamics following photodissociation of carboxy-myoglobin will be presented. Experiments in the visible (Soret band) as well as in the far-UV (helix band) display a strong transient CD feature. Thanks to a classical coupled oscillator calculation, we show that this signal comes from a distortion of the proximal histidine following the heme doming which relaxes on a 100 psec timescale. We have also introduced this transient CD technique in a T-jump experiment in a poly(glutamic acid) sample. A 6°C T-jump is obtained by directly exciting the water at 1.5 µm with a nanosecond pulse generated by a Nd:YAG pumped OPO. CD is measured at 225 nm on a microsecond timescale with a 12 ns time resolution. At pH 4.8, we observe a decrease of the CD signal with a 0.8 µs time constant that we assign to the dynamics of the alpha helix denaturation. This technique is expected to complement other time-resolved techniques based on IR absorption or fluorescence transfer with the advantage of being more straightforwardly quantitative in terms of protein helicity.

Alkylamine-Ligated H93G Myoglobin Cavity Mutant: A Model System for Endogenous Lysine and Terminal Amine Ligation in Heme Proteins such as Nitrite Reductase and Cytochrome f

His93Gly sperm whale myoglobin (H93G Mb) has the proximal histidine ligand removed to create a cavity for exogenous ligand binding, providing a remarkably versatile template for the preparation of model heme complexes. The investigation of model heme adducts is an important way to probe the relationship between coordination structure and catalytic function in heme enzymes. In this study, we have successfully generated and spectroscopically characterized the H93G Mb cavity mutant ligated with less common alkylamine ligands (models for Lys or the amine group of N-terminal amino acids) in numerous heme iron states. All complexes have been characterized by electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy in comparison with data for parallel imidazole-ligated H93G heme iron moieties. This is the first systematic spectral study of models for alkylamine- or terminal amine-ligated heme centers in proteins. High-spin mono- and low-spin bis-amine-ligated ferrous and ferric H93G Mb adducts have been prepared together with mixed-ligand ferric heme complexes with alkylamine trans to nitrite or imidazole as heme coordination models for cytochrome c nitrite reductase or cytochrome f, respectively. Six-coordinate ferrous H93G Mb derivatives with CO, NO, and O(2) trans to the alkylamine have also been successfully formed, the latter for the first time. Finally, a novel high-valent ferryl species has been generated. The data in this study represent the first thorough investigation of the spectroscopic properties of alkylamine-ligated heme iron systems as models for naturally occurring heme proteins ligated by Lys or terminal amines.

ChemInform Abstract: Recent Studies on Gas Sensors, CooA, FixL, and Dos

AbstractReview: 23 refs.

Perturbed Heme Binding Is Responsible for the Blistering Phenotype Associated with Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans Dual Oxidase 1 (DUOX1) Peroxidase Domain

Dual oxidase (DUOX) enzymes support a wide variety of essential reactions, from cellular signaling to thyroid hormone biosynthesis. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the DUOX system (CeDUOX1/2) plays a crucial role in innate immunity and in stabilizing the cuticle by forming tyrosine cross-links. The current model suggests that superoxide generated by CeDUOX1 at the C-terminal NADPH oxidase domain is rapidly converted to H(2)O(2). The H(2)O(2) is then utilized by the N-terminal peroxidase-like domain to cross-link tyrosines. We have now created a series of mutations in the isolated peroxidase domain, CeDUOX1(1-589). One set of mutations investigate the roles of a putative distal tyrosine (Tyr(105)) and Glu(238), a proposed covalent heme-binding residue. The results confirm that Glu(238) covalently binds to the heme group. A second set of mutations (G246D and D392N) responsible for a C. elegans blistering cuticle phenotype was also investigated. Surprisingly, although not among the catalytic residues, both mutations affected heme co-factor binding. The G246D mutant bound less total heme than the wild type, but a higher fraction of it was covalently bound. In contrast, the D392N mutant appears to fold normally but does not bind heme. Molecular dynamics simulations of a CeDUOX1(1-589) homology model implicate displacements of the proximal histidine residue as the likely cause. Both enzymes are structurally stable and through altered heme interactions exhibit partial or complete loss of tyrosine cross-linking activity, explaining the blistering phenotype. This result argues that the CeDUOX peroxidase domain is primarily responsible for tyrosine cross-linking.

Recent Studies on Gas Sensors, CooA, FixL, and Dos

Heme-containing proteins, the heme proteins, are known to have physiologic functions in humans, mammalians, fish, plants, and bacteria. For example, hemoglobin and myoglobin, which belong to the globin family, have been studied in terms of their structures and functions with spectroscopic and mutagenic methods. Recently, a new class of heme proteins has been discovered, referred to as gas sensors. These are heme-based sensor proteins that play important roles in transcriptional activation, histidinekinase activities, phosphodiesterase activities, etc. CooA is a CO-sensing transcriptional activator derived from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum. FixL is a rhizobial oxygen sensor protein, and we have targeted Bj FixL derived from Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Dos from Escherichia coli is an oxygen sensor protein, which senses oxygen in the heme-containing domain and induces phosphodiesterase activity in other domains. In previous work, we studied the axial ligands and C-helix of CooA to clarify the activation mechanism. Moreover, FixL and Dos were investigated using time-resolved spectroscopic methods. Whereas FixL has a pentacoordinate heme in the ferrous deoxy form, there are a proximal histidine (His 77) and a distal methionine (Met 95) as axial ligands to coordinate to the heme iron in EcDos. However almost all gas sensors show mono-exponential rebinding (6-7 ps), while EcDosH and full-length Dos show biexponential rebinding (7 ps and 35 ps) on the internal ligand. The results were also supported by molecular dynamic simulation. Here we discuss recent work on gas sensors with implications provided by our research.

A Biomimetic Copper Corrole – Preparation, Characterization, and Reconstitution with Horse Heart Apomyoglobin

AbstractA copper corrole with biomimetic propionate side chains was prepared as a novel heme analog by metalation of the respective ligand as the dimethylester with copper(II) acetate hydrate and subsequent saponification with LiOH. The metalated dimethylester was characterized by spectroscopic and crystallographic means and shown by comparison to contain a divalent copper ion, antiferromagnetically coupled to the radical‐dianionic organic ligand. The molecular structure of this complex is characterized by a saddled macrocycle conformation. In addition, the methylpropionate side chains are not stretched out but bent to the same side of the mean copper corrole plane. In buffered solution, the saponified propionate complex slowly forms an equilibrium mixture with small, insoluble aggregates. The compound cleanly binds in 1:1 stoichiometry to horse heart apomyoglobin without a support by proximal histidine binding. The binding in the protein pocket is rather weak, and the biohybrid compound tends to decompose under the slightly acidic conditions of mass spectrometry. Reduction of the copper corrole was achieved with sodium dithionite inside the protein pocket and yielded an air‐ and buffer stable, monoanionic, and protein bound copper corrolate complex, which could be identified by its EPR spectrum.

Is Nostoc H-NOX a NO Sensor or Redox Switch?

Nostoc sp. (Ns) H-NOX is a heme protein found in symbiotic cyanobacteria, which has approximately 35% sequence identity and high structural homology to the beta subunit of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), suggesting a NO sensing function. However, UV-vis, EPR, NIR MCD, and ligand binding experiments with ferrous and ferric Ns H-NOX indicate significant functional differences between Ns H-NOX and sGC. (1) After NO binding to sGC, the proximal histidine dissociates from the heme iron, causing a conformational change that triggers activation of sGC. In contrast, formation of pentacoordinate (5c) NO heme occurs to only a limited extent in Ns H-NOX, even at >1 mM NO. (2) Unlike sGC, two different hexacoordinate (6c) NO complexes are formed in Ns H-NOX with initial and final absorbance peaks at 418 and 414 nm, and the conversion rate is linearly dependent on [NO], indicating that a second NO binds transiently to catalyze formation of the 414 nm species. (3) sGC is insensitive to oxygen, and ferric sGC prepared by ferricyanide oxidation has a 5c high-spin heme complex. In contrast, Ns H-NOX autoxidizes in 24 h if exposed to air and forms a 6c ferric heme complex, indicating a major conformational change after oxidation and coordination by a second histidine side chain. Such a large conformational transition suggests that Ns H-NOX could function as either a redox or a NO sensor in the cyanobacterium.

Molecular Insight into Intrinsic Heme Distortion in Ligand Binding in Hemoprotein

A pair of myoglobins containing inherently distorted alpha-ethyl-2,4-dimethyldeuteroheme or undistorted 2,4-dimethyldeuteroheme were prepared, and the functional consequence of intrinsic heme deformation was investigated. The visible absorption peaks of the myoglobin bearing the distorted heme exhibited a bathochromic shift, indicating that the heme was deformed in the protein pocket. Ligand affinities for the ferric myoglobin with the distorted heme were found to be higher than those of the myoglobin bearing the undistorted heme. The observation suggested that the iron atom was more displaced toward the proximal histidine to weaken the coordination of the water molecule. In the paramagnetic proton NMR spectrum of ferrous deoxy protein, the deformed heme caused a 3.2 ppm lower-field shift of the proximal histidine signal, supporting an enhanced iron-histidine interaction. The deformed heme in ferrous myoglobin lowered the oxygen and carbon monoxide affinities by 25- and 480-fold, respectively, and caused the cleavage of the iron-histidine bond in a fractional population of the nitric oxide derivative. These results demonstrate a distinctive controlling mechanism for ligand binding by the deformed heme. Upon the heme distortion, the iron atom is more attracted by the proximal histidine to reduce the affinity of exogenous ligands for the ferrous heme.

Nitric Oxide Binds to the Proximal Heme Coordination Site of the Ferrocytochrome c/Cardiolipin Complex: FORMATION MECHANISM AND DYNAMICS

Mammalian mitochondrial cytochrome c interacts with cardiolipin to form a complex (cyt. c/CL) important in apoptosis. Here we show that this interaction leads to structural changes in ferrocytochrome c that leads to an open coordinate site on the central iron, resulting from the dissociation of the intrinsic methionine residue, where NO can rapidly bind (k = 1.2 x 10(7) m(-1) s(-1)). Accompanying NO binding, the proximal histidine dissociates leaving the heme pentacoordinate, in contrast to the hexacoordinate nitrosyl adducts of native ferrocytochrome c or of the protein in which the coordinating methionine is removed by chemical modification or mutation. We present the results of stopped-flow and photolysis experiments that show that following initial NO binding to the heme, there ensues an unusually complex set of kinetic steps. The spectral changes associated with these kinetic transitions, together with their dependence on NO concentration, have been determined and lead us to conclude that NO binding to cyt. c/CL takes place via an overall scheme comparable to that described for cytochrome c' and guanylate cyclase, the final product being one in which NO resides on the proximal side of the heme. In addition, novel features not observed before in other heme proteins forming pentacoordinate nitrosyl species, include a high yield of NO escape after dissociation, rapid (<1 ms) dissociation of proximal histidine upon NO binding and its very fast binding (60 ps) after NO dissociation, and the formation of a hexacoordinate intermediate. These features all point at a remarkable mobility of the proximal heme environment induced by cardiolipin.

Amino acid sequence of myoglobin from emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) skeletal muscle

The objective of the present study was to characterize the primary structure of emu myoglobin (Mb). Emu Mb was isolated from Iliofibularis muscle employing gel-filtration chromatography. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry was employed to determine the exact molecular mass of emu Mb in comparison with horse Mb, and Edman degradation was utilized to characterize the amino acid sequence. The molecular mass of emu Mb was 17,380 Da and was close to those reported for ratite and poultry myoglobins. Similar to myoglobins from meat-producing livestock and birds, emu Mb has 153 amino acids. Emu Mb contains 9 histidines. Proximal and distal histidines, responsible for coordinating oxygen-binding property of Mb, are conserved in emu. Emu Mb shared more than 90% homology with ratite and chicken myoglobins, whereas it demonstrated only less than 70% sequence similarity with ruminant myoglobins.

Structural features promoting dioxygen production by Dechloromonas aromatica chlorite dismutase.

Chlorite dismutase (Cld) is a heme enzyme capable of rapidly and selectively decomposing chlorite (ClO(2) (-)) to Cl(-) and O(2). The ability of Cld to promote O(2) formation from ClO(2) (-) is unusual. Heme enzymes generally utilize ClO(2) (-) as an oxidant for reactions such as oxygen atom transfer to, or halogenation of, a second substrate. The X-ray crystal structure of Dechloromonas aromatica Cld co-crystallized with the substrate analogue nitrite (NO(2) (-)) was determined to investigate features responsible for this novel reactivity. The enzyme active site contains a single b-type heme coordinated by a proximal histidine residue. Structural analysis identified a glutamate residue hydrogen-bonded to the heme proximal histidine that may stabilize reactive heme species. A solvent-exposed arginine residue likely gates substrate entry to a tightly confined distal pocket. On the basis of the proposed mechanism of Cld, initial reaction of ClO(2) (-) within the distal pocket generates hypochlorite (ClO(-)) and a compound I intermediate. The sterically restrictive distal pocket probably facilitates the rapid rebound of ClO(-) with compound I forming the Cl(-) and O(2) products. Common to other heme enzymes, Cld is inactivated after a finite number of turnovers, potentially via the observed formation of an off-pathway tryptophanyl radical species through electron migration to compound I. Three tryptophan residues of Cld have been identified as candidates for this off-pathway radical. Finally, a juxtaposition of hydrophobic residues between the distal pocket and the enzyme surface suggests O(2) may have a preferential direction for exiting the active site.

The Single-domain Globin from the Pathogenic Bacterium Campylobacter jejuni: NOVEL D-HELIX CONFORMATION, PROXIMAL HYDROGEN BONDING THAT INFLUENCES LIGAND BINDING, AND PEROXIDASE-LIKE REDOX PROPERTIES

The food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni possesses a single-domain globin (Cgb) whose role in detoxifying nitric oxide has been unequivocally demonstrated through genetic and molecular approaches. The x-ray structure of cyanide-bound Cgb has been solved to a resolution of 1.35 A. The overall fold is a classic three-on-three alpha-helical globin fold, similar to that of myoglobin and Vgb from Vitreoscilla stercoraria. However, the D region (defined according to the standard globin fold nomenclature) of Cgb adopts a highly ordered alpha-helical conformation unlike any previously characterized members of this globin family, and the GlnE7 residue has an unexpected role in modulating the interaction between the ligand and the TyrB10 residue. The proximal hydrogen bonding network in Cgb demonstrates that the heme cofactor is ligated by an imidazolate, a characteristic of peroxidase-like proteins. Mutation of either proximal hydrogen-bonding residue (GluH23 or TyrG5) results in the loss of the high frequency nu(Fe-His) stretching mode (251 cm(-1)), indicating that both residues are important for maintaining the anionic character of the proximal histidine ligand. Cyanide binding kinetics for these proximal mutants demonstrate for the first time that proximal hydrogen bonding in globins can modulate ligand binding kinetics at the distal site. A low redox midpoint for the ferrous/ferric couple (-134 mV versus normal hydrogen electrode at pH 7) is consistent with the peroxidase-like character of the Cgb active site. These data provide a new insight into the mechanism via which Campylobacter may survive host-derived nitrosative stress.

Impact of heme reconstitution on the spectroscopic properties and DNA binding activity of the H82A variant of the carbon monoxide‐sensing heme transcription factor, CooA

CooA is a gas‐sensing heme protein that regulates the expression of genes responsible for growth by carbon monoxide (CO) in several bacteria. CO binding to the CooA heme groups results in an allosteric conformation change that initiates the protein's DNA binding function. All known CooA homologs have a conserved histidine residue that i) acts as the proximal heme ligand and ii) is trans to CO. Together with the results from mutagenesis studies, this observation suggests the presence of a proximal histidine ligand is required for CooA's DNA‐binding activity. However, since mutants lacking this His have been observed to lose heme upon purification, an alternative hypothesis is that the absence of heme, and not the presence of histidine per se, accounts for this loss of function. To test this hypothesis, we measured the spectroscopic properties and DNA‐binding activity of heme‐reconstituted H82A. Results obtained using electronic absorbance spectroscopy suggest heme‐reconstituted Fe(II)‐CO H82A has an iron environment similar to that of wild‐type CooA. Preliminary results from a fluorescence anisotropy assay also reveal that reconstituted H82A possesses modest DNA binding activity, which suggests the presence of His‐82 is not essential for this activity. The authors wish to thank the Valparaiso University College of Arts and Sciences for financial support.