Friedreich ataxia is a severe autosomal-recessive disease characterized by neurodegeneration, cardiomyopathy and diabetes, resulting from reduced synthesis of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. Although frataxin is ubiquitously expressed, frataxin deficiency leads to a selective loss of dorsal root ganglia neurons, cardiomyocytes and pancreatic beta cells. How frataxin normally promotes survival of these particular cells is the subject of intense debate. The predominant view is that frataxin sustains mitochondrial energy production and other cellular functions by providing iron for heme synthesis and iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) assembly and repair. We have proposed that frataxin not only promotes the biogenesis of iron-containing enzymes, but also detoxifies surplus iron thereby affording a critical anti-oxidant mechanism. These two functions have been difficult to tease apart, however, and the physiologic role of iron detoxification by frataxin has not yet been demonstrated in vivo. Here, we describe mutations that specifically impair the ferroxidation or mineralization activity of yeast frataxin, which are necessary for iron detoxification but do not affect the iron chaperone function of the protein. These mutations increase the sensitivity of yeast cells to oxidative stress, shortening chronological life span and precluding survival in the absence of the anti-oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase. Thus, the role of frataxin is not limited to promoting ISC assembly or heme synthesis. Iron detoxification is another function of frataxin relevant to anti-oxidant defense and cell longevity that could play a critical role in the metabolically demanding environment of non-dividing neuronal, cardiac and pancreatic beta cells.

We have investigated the mechanism of frataxin, a conserved mitochondrial protein involved in iron metabolism and neurodegenerative disease. Previous studies revealed that the yeast frataxin homologue (mYfh1p) is activated by Fe(II) in the presence of O 2 and assembles stepwise into a 48-subunit multimer (␣ 48 ) that sequesters >2000 atoms of iron in 2-4-nm cores structurally similar to ferritin iron cores. Here we show that mYfh1p assembly is driven by two sequential iron oxidation reactions: A ferroxidase reaction catalyzed by mYfh1p induces the first assembly step (␣ 3 ␣ 3 ), followed by a slower autoxidation reaction that promotes the assembly of higher order oligomers yielding ␣ 48 . Depending on the ionic environment, stepwise assembly is associated with accumulation of 50 -75 Fe(II)/subunit. Initially, this Fe(II) is loosely bound to mYfh1p and can be readily mobilized by chelators or made available to the mitochondrial enzyme ferrochelatase to synthesize heme. Transfer of mYfh1p-bound Fe(II) to ferrochelatase occurs in the presence of citrate, a physiologic ferrous iron chelator, suggesting that the transfer involves an intermolecular interaction. If mYfh1p-bound Fe(II) is not transferred to a ligand, iron oxidation, and mineralization proceed to completion, Fe(III) becomes progressively less accessible, and a stable iron-protein complex is formed. Iron oxidation-driven stepwise assembly is a novel mechanism by which yeast frataxin can function as an iron chaperone or an iron store.

Ferrochelatase (EC 4.99.1.1), the terminal enzyme of the heme biosynthetic pathway, catalyzes Fe2' chelation into protoporphyrin IX. Resonance Raman and W-visible absorbance spectroscopies of wild type and engineered variants of murine ferrochelatase were used to examine the proposed structural mechanism for iron insertion into protoporphyrin by ferrochelatase. The recombinant variants (Le., H207N and E287Q) are enzymes in which the conserved amino acids histidine-207 and glutamate-287 of murine ferrochelatase were substituted with asparagine and glutamine, respectively. Both of these residues are at the active site of the enzyme as deduced from the Bacillus subtilis ferrochelatase three-dimensional structure. Addition of free base or metalated porphyrins to wild type ferrochelatase and H207N variant yields a quasi 1:l complex, possibly a monomeric protein-bound species. In contrast, the addition of porphyrin (either free base or metalated) to E2874 is sub-stoichiometric, as this variant retains bound porphyrin in the active site during isolation and purification. The specificity of porphyrin binding is confirmed by the narrowing of the structure-sensitive resonance Raman lines and the vinyl vibrational mode. Resonance Raman spectra of free base and metalated porphyrins bound to the wild type ferrochelatase indicate a nonplanar distortion of the porphyrin macrocycle, although the magnitude of the distortion cannot be determined without first defining the specific type of deformation. Significantly, the extent of the nonplanar distortion varies in the case of H207N-and E287Q-bound porphyrins. In fact, resonance Raman spectral decomposition indicates a homogeneous ruffled distortion for the nickel protoporphyrin bound to the wild type ferrochelatase, whereas both a planar and ruffled conformations are present for the H207N-bound porphyrin. Perhaps more revealing is the unusual resonance 4 3 Raman spectrum of the endogenous E287Q-bound porphyrin, which has the structure-sensitive lines greatly upshifted relative to those of the free base protoporphyrin in solution. This could be interpreted as an equilibrium between protein conformers, one of which favors a highly distorted porphyrin macrocycle. Taken together these findings suggest that the mode of porphyrin distortion in murine ferrochelatase is different from that reported for yeast ferrochelatase, which requires metal binding for porphyrin distortion.

Chelatases catalyze the insertion of a specific metal ion into porphyrins, a key step in the synthesis of metalated tetrapyrroles that are essential for many cellular processes. Despite apparent common structural features among chelatases, no general reaction mechanism accounting for metal ion specificity has been established. We propose that chelatase-induced distortion of the porphyrin substrate not only enhances the reaction rate by decreasing the activation energy of the reaction but also modulates which divalent metal ion is incorporated into the porphyrin ring. We evaluate the recently recognized interaction between ferrochelatase and frataxin as a way to regulate iron delivery to ferrochelatase, and thus iron and heme metabolism. We postulate that the ferrochelatase-frataxin interaction controls the type of metal ion that is delivered to ferrochelatase.

Mitochondrial function depends on a continuous supply of iron to the iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) and heme biosynthetic pathways as well as on the ability to prevent iron-catalyzed oxidative damage. The mitochondrial protein frataxin plays a key role in these processes by a novel mechanism that remains to be fully elucidated. Recombinant yeast and human frataxin are able to self-associate in large molecular assemblies that bind and store iron as a ferrihydrite mineral. Moreover, either single monomers or polymers of human frataxin have been shown to serve as donors of Fe(II) to ISC scaffold proteins, oxidatively inactivated [3Fe-4S](+) aconitase, and ferrochelatase. These results suggest that frataxin can use different molecular forms to accomplish its functions. Here, stable monomeric and assembled forms of human frataxin purified from Escherichia coli have provided a tool for testing this hypothesis at the biochemical level. We show that human frataxin can enhance the availability of Fe(II) in monomeric or assembled form. However, the monomer is unable to prevent iron-catalyzed radical reactions and the formation of insoluble ferric iron oxides. In contrast, the assembled protein has ferroxidase activity and detoxifies redox-active iron by sequestering it in a protein-protected compartment.

Pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) is an obligatory cofactor for the homodimeric mitochondrial enzyme 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS), which controls metabolic flux into the porphyrin biosynthetic pathway in animals, fungi, and the α-subclass of proteobacteria. Recent work has provided an explanation for how this enzyme can utilize PLP to catalyze the mechanistically unusual cleavage of not one but two substrate amino acid α-carbon bonds, without violating the theory of stereoelectronic control of PLP reaction-type specificity. Ironically, the complex chemistry is kinetically insignificant, and it is the movement of an active site loop that defines kcat and ultimately, the rate of porphyrin biosynthesis. The kinetic behavior of the enzyme is consistent with an equilibrium ordered induced-fit mechanism wherein glycine must bind first and a portion of the intrinsic binding energy with succinyl-Coenzyme A is then utilized to perturb the enzyme conformational equilibrium towards a closed state wherein catalysis occurs. Return to the open conformation, coincident with ALA dissociation, is the slowest step of the reaction cycle. A diverse variety of loop mutations have been associated with hyperactivity, suggesting the enzyme has evolved to be purposefully slow, perhaps as a means to allow for rapid up-regulation of activity in response to an as yet undiscovered allosteric type effector. Recently it was discovered that human erythroid ALAS mutations can be associated with two very different diseases. Mutations that down-regulate activity can lead to X-linked sideroblastic anemia, which is characterized by abnormally high iron levels in mitochondria, while mutations that up-regulate activity are associated with X-linked dominant protoporphyria, which in contrast is phenotypically identified by abnormally high porphyrin levels. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Pyridoxal Phosphate Enzymology.

5-Aminolevulinate synthase catalyzes the pyridoxal 5-phosphate-dependent condensation of glycine and succinyl-CoA to produce carbon dioxide, CoA, and 5-aminolevulinate, in a reaction cycle involving the mechanistically unusual successive cleavage of two amino acid substrate ␣-carbon bonds. Single and multiple turnover rapid scanning stopped-flow experiments have been conducted from pH 6.8 -9.2 and 5-35°C, and the results, interpreted within the framework of the recently solved crystal structures, allow refined characterization of the central kinetic and chemical steps of the reaction cycle. Quinonoid intermediate formation occurs with an apparent pK a of 7.7 ؎ 0.1, which is assigned to His-207 acid-catalyzed decarboxylation of the ␣-amino-␤-ketoadipate intermediate to form an enol that is in rapid equilibrium with the 5-aminolevulinatebound quinonoid species. Quinonoid intermediate decay occurs in two kinetic steps, the first of which is acid-catalyzed with a pK a of 8.1 ؎ 0.1, and is assigned to protonation of the enol by Lys-313 to generate the product-bound external aldimine. The second step of quinonoid decay defines k cat and is relatively pHindependent and is assigned to opening of the active site loop to allow ALA dissociation. The data support important refinements to both the chemical and kinetic mechanisms and indicate that 5-aminolevulinate synthase operates under the stereoelectronic control predicted by Dunathan's hypothesis. 5-Aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS)3 is a homodimeric pyridoxal 5Ј-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme that is evolutionarily related to transaminases and catalyzes the first committed step of tetrapyrrole synthesis in non-plant eukaryotes, as well as the ␣-subclass of purple bacteria (1-3). Many organisms, including animals and some bacteria, are known to encode two genetically distinct ALAS genes. In animals one of these genes is expressed exclusively in developing erythrocytes, and mutations in the human erythroid-specific ALAS are correlated with hereditary X-linked sideroblastic anemia, a blood disorder characterized by iron-overloaded, heme-deficient red cells (4).PLP-dependent enzymes catalyze a wide variety of reactions, including transaminations, decarboxylations, racemizations, and retro-aldol cleavages (5, 6). In the vast majority of cases the biochemical versatility of PLP can be rationalized in terms of a single property of the cofactor, the potential to act as an electron sink, and stabilize negative charge at the ␣-carbon of the substrate amino acid. Electrons from cleaved bonds of the covalently bound substrate can delocalize into the conjugated pyridine ring system to form quinonoid intermediates, which are often sufficiently stable to be spectroscopically observable and are characterized by strong absorption maxima of ϳ500 nm. These and other changes in the spectroscopic properties of the PLP cofactor during partial or complete reaction cycles can provide important insights into the chemical and kinetic properties of these enzymes.The generally accepted chemical me...

A Animals, chlorophyll breakdown, 169-170 chlorophyll biology in, 168 physiological effects of chlorophyll catabolites, 171 chlorophylls in, 168-169 ATP synthase, 7 B Bacteriochlorophylls (BChls), 3, 136 oceans, reservoir of photosynthetic organisms and of, 136 Bilirubin biosynthesis, 208-209 Biliverdin reductase (BVR), 208 Binary ionic porphyrin nanomaterials for energy from sunlight, 229-230 applications of cooperative binary ionic (CBI) porphyrin nanostructures/ nanocomposites, solar energy CBI electrocatalysts for fuel cells, 265-266 hydrogen production using porphyrin CBI structures, 263-265 hydrogen storage, 269-270 photovoltaics and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), 266-269 solar hydrogen production, 259-263 biomimetic approach using porphyrin nanostructure, 262 carbon dioxide reduction, 271-272 exciton delocalization, 252 nanosheet solid, 255 non-linear optical materials, 270-271 optical, electronic, and catalytic properties electronic and optoelectronic properties, 252-256 photocatalysis and self-metallization to form metal nanocomposites, 256-258 photocatalytic platinization, 257 photoconductivity of Zn/Sn clovers, 253 synthesis and structures of CBI materials, 231 deposition of CBI materials at surfaces and interfaces, 248-249 ISA of CBI structures and characterization, 231-248 two-semiconductor photocatalytic system for light-driven water splitting, 262 UV-visible absorption, emission, and resonance Raman spectra, 250-252 water oxidation nanodevice, 261 Biomimetic nanodevice for artificial photosynthesis, 262 Handbook of Porphyrin Science (Volume 28) Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by 5.8.37.239 on 06/23/16. For personal use only.