Annelid erythrocruorins are highly cooperative extracellular respiratory proteins with molecular masses on the order of 3.6 million Daltons. We report here the 3.5 A crystal structure of erythrocruorin from the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. This structure reveals details of symmetrical and quasi-symmetrical interactions that dictate the self-limited assembly of 144 hemoglobin and 36 linker subunits. The linker subunits assemble into a core complex with D(6) symmetry onto which 12 hemoglobin dodecamers bind to form the entire complex. Although the three unique linker subunits share structural similarity, their interactions with each other and the hemoglobin subunits display striking diversity. The observed diversity includes design features that have been incorporated into the linker subunits and may be critical for efficient assembly of large quantities of this complex respiratory protein.

Protein allostery provides mechanisms for regulation of biological function at the molecular level. We present here an investigation of global, ligand-induced allosteric transition in a protein by time-resolved x-ray diffraction. The study provides a view of structural changes in single crystals of Scapharca dimeric hemoglobin as they proceed in real time, from 5 ns to 80 s after ligand photodissociation. A tertiary intermediate structure forms rapidly (<5 ns) as the protein responds to the presence of an unliganded heme within each R-state protein subunit, with key structural changes observed in the heme groups, neighboring residues, and interface water molecules. This intermediate lays a foundation for the concerted tertiary and quaternary structural changes that occur on a microsecond time scale and are associated with the transition to a low-affinity T-state structure. Reversal of these changes shows a considerable lag as a T-like structure persists well after ligand rebinding, suggesting a slow T-to-R transition.allosteric protein transitions ͉ intersubunit communication ͉ kinetics A fundamental goal in biology is to understand how organisms respond to environmental signals. Central to this process are allosteric proteins that undergo structural transitions between alternate states in response to stimuli such as ligand binding. Although static structures of alternate states are available for a number of allosteric proteins, information about the kinetic pathway between such functionally important states is limited. Time-resolved crystallographic analysis (1-9) provides the unique opportunity to obtain direct, time-dependent structural information at high resolution on the entire protein molecule as it undergoes structural change.Much of our understanding of allosteric protein function has come from investigations into mammalian hemoglobins. Evidence of substantial structural changes accompanying ligand binding dates back to the 1930s with the observation that unliganded, high-salt, hemoglobin crystals exposed to oxygen shatter (10), foreshadowing the discovery of large quaternary changes that are linked to oxygen binding (11). Unliganded crystals of human hemoglobin grown under certain low-salt conditions can maintain their integrity upon oxygen binding; however, oxygen binding in this case is noncooperative (12). Although the ability to follow allosteric transitions in the crystalline state is limited when such large quaternary structural changes accompany cooperative ligand binding, spectroscopic investigations of hemoglobin solutions have revealed some aspects of the kinetic pathway of allosteric structural transitions (13-15). Results to date suggest a multistep pathway, with key tertiary structural transitions taking place within a few microseconds and quaternary rearrangements occurring in the range of tens of microseconds. In addition to providing structural information on high-affinity R and low-affinity T quaternary forms at the atomic level (16-18), crystallographic experiments have also succeeded...

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Summary As in many other hemoglobins, no direct route for migration of ligands between solvent and active site is evident from crystal structures of Scapharca inaequivalvis dimeric HbI. Xenon (Xe) and organic halide binding experiments along with computational analysis presented here reveal protein cavities as potential ligand migration routes. Time-resolved crystallographic experiments show that photodissociated carbon monoxide (CO) docks within 5ns at the distal pocket B-site and at more remote Xe4 and Xe2 cavities. CO rebinding is not affected by the presence of dichloroethane within the major Xe4 protein cavity, demonstrating that this cavity is not on the major exit pathway. The crystal lattice has a substantial influence on ligand migration, suggesting that significant conformational rearrangements may be required for ligand exit. Taken together, these results are consistent with a distal histidine gate as one important ligand entry and exit route, despite its participation in the dimeric interface.

Here we present a meta-analysis of a large collection of static structures of a protein in the Protein Data Bank in order to extract the progression of structural events during protein function. We apply this strategy to the homodimeric hemoglobin HbI from Scapharca inaequivalvis. We derive a simple dynamic model describing how binding of the first ligand in one of the two chemically identical subunits facilitates a second binding event in the other partner subunit. The results of our ultrafast time-resolved crystallographic studies support this model. We demonstrate that HbI functions like a homodimeric mechanical device, such as pliers or scissors. Ligandinduced motion originating in one subunit is transmitted to the other via conserved pivot points, where the E and F′ helices from two partner subunits are "bolted" together to form a stable dimer interface permitting slight relative rotation but preventing sliding.allostery | cooperativity | structural dynamics | time-resolved crystallography H emoglobins are molecular oxygen transporters in vertebrates and many invertebrates. Although the variety of quaternary assemblies of hemoglobins (1, 2) suggests considerable diversity in the strategies to achieve cooperativity, a general hypothesis remains valid: A newly ligated subunit communicates with its unligated partners via conformational changes, either tertiary or quaternary, thereby altering the ligand affinity of its partner subunits (3-5). However, the key question remains obscure: How are ligand-induced structural changes that originate in one subunit transmitted to the other to structurally modulate its ligand binding affinity? This paper harnesses structural evidence presently embedded in a large number of static and time-resolved structures of HbI and presents a simple cooperative mechanism. We take advantage of noncrystallographic symmetry (NCS) as a unique opportunity to examine asymmetric, but cooperative, behavior between subunits in different structural environments imposed by crystal lattices (6) (Fig. S1). The main finding of this study is summarized by an animated cartoon (Movie S1) showing our proposed cooperative mechanical model in action.Unlike mammalian hemoglobins, the interface of HbI homodimer consists of a longer and straight helix E and a bent helix F from each subunit (1, 7). These two helices hold a heme group in between (Figs. 1A and 2A). Each heme group is anchored to the proximal His101 located near the end of helix F. In this paper, we refer to the two subunits as A and B and the two helices in one subunit as E and F. The notations E′ and F′ refer to E and F in the partner subunit. ResultsHere we propose a simple mechanical model to explain the mechanism of cooperative change in ligand binding affinity in homodimeric HbI (Fig. 1A and Movies S1 and S2). In this model, motions transmit from one subunit to the other via two pairs of "bolted" helices E-F′ and E′-F at the dimer interface so that the majority of the intersubunit contacts remain undisturbed during transition between allo...

Residue F4 (Phe 97) undergoes the most dramatic ligand-linked transition in Scapharca dimeric hemoglobin, with its packing in the heme pocket in the unliganded (T) state suggested to be a primary determinant of its low affinity. Mutation of Phe 97 to Leu (previously reported), Val, and Tyr increases oxygen affinity from 8- to 100-fold over that of the wild type. The crystal structures of F97L and F97V show side chain packing in the heme pocket for both R and T state structures. In contrast, in the highest-affinity mutation, F97Y, the tyrosine side chain remains in the interface (high-affinity conformation) even in the unliganded state. Comparison of these mutations reveals a correlation between side chain packing in the heme pocket and oxygen affinity, indicating that greater mass in the heme pocket lowers oxygen affinity due to impaired movement of the heme iron into the heme plane. The results indicate that a key hydrogen bond, previously hypothesized to have a central role in regulation of oxygen affinity, plays at most only a small role in dictating ligand affinity. Equivalent mutations in sperm whale myoglobin alter ligand affinity by only 5-fold. The dramatically different responses to mutations at the F4 position result from subtle, but functionally critical, stereochemical differences. In myoglobin, an eclipsed orientation of the proximal His relative to the A and C pyrrole nitrogen atoms provides a significant barrier for high-affinity ligand binding. In contrast, the staggered orientation of the proximal histidine found in liganded HbI renders its ligand affinity much more susceptible to packing contacts between F4 and the heme group. These results highlight very different strategies used by cooperative hemoglobins in molluscs and mammals to control ligand affinity by modulation of the stereochemistry on the proximal side of the heme.

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