Histidine-93(F8) in human myoglobin (Mb), which is the proximal ligand of the heme iron, has been replaced with cysteine or tyrosine by site-directed mutagenesis. The resultant proximal cysteine and tyrosine mutant Mbs (H93C and H93Y Mbs, respectively) exhibit the altered axial ligation analogous to P-450, chloroperoxidase, and catalase. Coordination of cysteine or tyrosine to the ferric heme iron is confirmed by spectroscopic measurements including electronic absorption, hyperfine-shifted 1H-NMR, EPR, resonance Raman spectroscopies, and redox potential measurements of ferric/ferrous couple. H93C Mb is five-coordinate ferric high-spin with the proximal cysteine. H93Y Mb bearing the proximal tyrosine ligated to the iron is also in a ferric high-spin, five-coordinate state. The reactions of the mutants with cumene hydroperoxide show that the thiolate ligand enhances heterolytic O-O bond cleavage of the oxidant, while the phenolate ligand hardly affects the heterolysis/homolysis ratio for O-O bond scission in comparison with wild-type Mb. Monooxygenase activities such as epoxidation of styrene and N-demethylation of N,N-dimethylaniline, and catalase activity (dismutation of hydrogen peroxide) by wild-type Mb and the mutants, are examined by using H2O2. The increase of the catalytic activities by the mutation was, at most, 5-fold in the epoxidation reaction.

To investigate protein folding dynamics in terms of compactness, we developed a continuous-flow mixing device to make smallangle x-ray scattering measurements with the time resolution of 160 s and characterized the radius of gyration (Rg) of two folding intermediates of cytochrome c (cyt c). The early intermediate possesses Ϸ20 Å of R g, which is smaller by Ϸ4 Å than that of the acid-unfolded state. The R g of the later intermediate is Ϸ18 Å, which is close to that of the molten globule state. Considering the ␣-helix content ( fH) of the intermediates, we clarified the folding pathway of cyt c on the conformational landscape defined by R g and fH. Cyt c folding proceeds with a collapse around a specific region of the protein followed by a cooperative acquisition of secondary structures and compactness. P roteins are unique heteropolymers that possess a remarkable property to fold quickly to compact and specific conformations. Interiors of proteins are densely packed with minimum void volumes (1), indicating the specific interresidue contacts that determine secondary and tertiary structures. The compactness is therefore an essential property of the folded conformations of proteins; however, the dynamics of compaction in the process of protein folding from the extended random-coil structures are still poorly understood. Two classical models of protein folding, the hydrophobic collapse (2) and the framework models (3), suppose that proteins acquire compactness in a distinct dynamical process separated from the secondary structure formations. In the hydrophobic collapse model (2), a nonspecific collapse of protein main chain is hypothesized to trigger the tertiary and secondary structure formations. In contrast, the framework model assumes that the initial formation of secondary structures urges the subsequent folding into compact conformations (3). Recent theoretical investigations, however, suggest that main-chain collapse and secondary structure formation are mostly concerted (4). Although the different equilibrium conformations of a certain protein indicate a linear correlation between the secondary structure content and compactness (5, 6), the relationship has not been confirmed directly for kinetic folding intermediates of proteins. Experimental investigations on the protein folding dynamics in terms of compactness are urgently needed to differentiate these models, that is, to understand how unfolded proteins kinetically explore for the native states on the conformational landscape defined by compactness and secondary structure content.Cytochrome c (cyt c) is a globular protein of 104 aa, whose folding dynamics has been the subject of extensive experimental investigations (7-21). A heme group is covalently connected to the main chain (22) and surrounded by the three major helices called N-terminal residues 6-14), C-terminal (residues 87-102), and 60's helices (residues 60-69). The time-resolved circular dichroism (CD) measurement on the folding process of cyt c clarified the stepwise formation of these helices...

The characterization of protein folding dynamics in terms of secondary and tertiary structures is important in elucidating the features of intraprotein interactions that lead to specific folded structures. Apomyoglobin (apoMb), possessing seven helices termed A-E, G, and H in the native state, has a folding intermediate composed of the A, G, and H helices, whose formation in the submillisecond time domain has not been clearly characterized. In this study, we used a rapid-mixing device combined with circular dichroism and small-angle x-ray scattering to observe the submillisecond folding dynamics of apoMb in terms of helical content (f H) and radius of gyration (R g), respectively. The folding of apoMb from the acid-unfolded state at pH 2.2 was initiated by a pH jump to 6.0. A significant collapse, corresponding to Ϸ50% of the overall change in R g from the unfolded to native conformation, was observed within 300 s after the pH jump. The collapsed intermediate has a f H of 33% and a globular shape that involves >80% of all its atoms. Subsequently, a stepwise helix formation was detected, which was interpreted to be associated with a conformational search for the correct tertiary contacts. The characterized folding dynamics of apoMb indicates the importance of the initial collapse event, which is suggested to facilitate the subsequent conformational search and the helix formation leading to the native structure.

Progesterone-receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1/Sigma-2 receptor) is a haem-containing protein that interacts with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cytochromes P450 to regulate cancer proliferation and chemoresistance; its structural basis remains unknown. Here crystallographic analyses of the PGRMC1 cytosolic domain at 1.95 Å resolution reveal that it forms a stable dimer through stacking interactions of two protruding haem molecules. The haem iron is five-coordinated by Tyr113, and the open surface of the haem mediates dimerization. Carbon monoxide (CO) interferes with PGRMC1 dimerization by binding to the sixth coordination site of the haem. Haem-mediated PGRMC1 dimerization is required for interactions with EGFR and cytochromes P450, cancer proliferation and chemoresistance against anti-cancer drugs; these events are attenuated by either CO or haem deprivation in cancer cells. This study demonstrates protein dimerization via haem–haem stacking, which has not been seen in eukaryotes, and provides insights into its functional significance in cancer.

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The earliest steps in the folding of proteins are complete on an extremely rapid time scale that is difficult to access experimentally. We have used rapid-mixing quench-flow methods to extend the time resolution of folding studies on apomyoglobin and elucidate the structural and dynamic features of members of the ensemble of intermediate states that are populated on a submillisecond time scale during this process. The picture that emerges is of a continuum of rapidly interconverting states. Even after only 0.4 ms of refolding time a compact state is formed that contains major parts of the A, G, and H helices, which are sufficiently well folded to protect amides from exchange. The B, C, and E helix regions fold more slowly and fluctuate rapidly between open and closed states as they search docking sites on this core; the secondary structure in these regions becomes stabilized as the refolding time is increased from 0.4 to 6 ms. No further stabilization occurs in the A, G, H core at 6 ms of folding time. These studies begin to timeresolve a progression of compact states between the fully unfolded and native folded states and confirm the presence an ensemble of intermediates that interconvert in a hierarchical sequence as the protein searches conformational space on its folding trajectory.protein folding ͉ pulse labeling ͉ rapid mixing M ost proteins fold rapidly from the highly heterogeneous conformational ensemble of the unfolded state into their well defined native conformations. For proteins with Ͼ100 residues, collapsed, partially folded intermediates are formed within hundreds of microseconds after the initiation of folding (1-4). Quench-flow pulse-labeling experiments have yielded considerable information about the development of secondary structure in such intermediates, on a time scale of milliseconds (5, 6). However, little is known about the processes that occur within the dead time (Ϸ6 ms) of the conventional quench flow apparatus, nor about the dynamic behavior of the kinetic folding intermediates. To gain insights into the early folding processes for sperm whale apomyoglobin, we have performed pulsed hydrogen-deuterium (H/D) exchange experiments with submillisecond time resolution.Apomyoglobin has been studied extensively by kinetic and equilibrium methods as a paradigm for understanding protein folding pathways and the structure of folding intermediates (7). The structure of apomyoglobin is similar to that of the holoprotein except that residues in the F helix and the C terminus of the H helix are disordered (8-10). During refolding, apomyoglobin forms an on pathway kinetic intermediate, in which major portions of the A, G, and H helices and part of the B helix are folded, within the 6-ms burst phase of conventional quench-flow H/D exchange experiments (11)(12)(13)(14). These same regions adopt stable secondary structure in the equilibrium molten globule intermediate formed at pH 4.2 (10,(15)(16)(17). Recent H/D exchange experiments under a variety of conditions detected heterogeneity in the apomyogl...

Structural and functional roles of the hydrogen bonding network that surrounds the heme-thiolate coordination of P450(cam) from Pseudomonas putida were investigated. A hydrogen bond between the side chain amide of Gln360 and the carbonyl oxygen of the axial Cys357 was removed in Q360L. The side chain hydrogen bond and the electrostatic interaction between the polypeptide amide proton of Gln360 and the sulfur atom of Cys357 were simultaneously removed in Q360P. The increased electron donation of the axial thiolate in Q360L and Q360P was evidenced by negative shifts of their reduction potentials by 45 and 70 mV, respectively. Together with the results on L358P in which the amide proton at position 358 was removed (Yoshioka, S., Takahashi, S., Ishimori, K., Morishima, I. J. Inorg. Biochem. 2000, 81, 141-151), we propose that the side chain hydrogen bond and the electrostatic interaction of the amide proton with the thiolate ligand cause approximately 45 and approximately 35 mV of positive shifts, respectively, of the redox potential of the heme in P450(cam). The resonance Raman spectra of the ferrous-CO form of the Q360 mutants showed a downshifted Fe-CO stretching mode at 482 approximately 483 cm(-)(1) compared with that of wild-type P450(cam) at 484 cm(-)(1). The Q360 mutants also showed the upshift by 4 approximately 5 cm(-)(1) of the Fe-NO stretching mode in the ferrous-NO form. These Raman results indicate the increase in the sigma-electron donation of the thiolate ligand in the reduced state of the Q360 mutants and were in contrast to the increased pi-back-donation of the thiolate in L358P having an upshifted Fe-CO stretching mode at 489 cm(-)(1). The catalytic activities of the Q360 mutants for the unnatural substrates were similar to those of the wild-type enzyme, indicating that the increased sigma-electron donation does not promote the O-O bond heterolysis in the Q360 mutants, although the increased pi-electron donation in L358P promoted the heterolysis of the O-O bond. We conclude that the functions of the proximal hydrogen bonding network in P450(cam) are to stabilize the heme-thiolate coordination, and to regulate the redox potential of the heme iron. Furthermore, we propose that the pi-electron donation, not the sigma-electron donation, of the thiolate ligand promotes the heterolysis of the O-O bond of dioxygen.

HutZ, one of the crucial proteins of the iron uptake system in Vibrio cholerae, was purified, which binds to heme at a stoichiometry of 1 : 1. In the presence of ascorbic acid, the HutZ-bound heme degrades via the same intermediates observed in heme oxygenase, suggesting that HutZ works as a heme degradation enzyme.