The electronic state of heme in cytochrome oxidase II. Oxidation-reduction potential interactions and heme iron spin state behavior observed in reductive titrations.

Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and optical absorption spectroscopies have been used to monitor the concentrations of oxidized and reduced heme and copper during stoichiometric reductive titrations of purified beef heart cytochrome oxidase. The MCD data are deconvoluted to obtain the concentrations of reduced cytochromes a and a3 during the titrations; analysis of the EPR spectra provides complementary data on the concentrations of the EPR-detectable species. For the native enzyme in the absence of exogenous ligands, cytochromes a and a3 are reduced to approximately the same extent at all points in the titration. The reduction of the EPR-detectable copper, on the other hand, initially lags the reduction of the two cytochromes but in the final stages of the titration is completely reduced prior to either cytochrome a or a3. These non-Nernstian titration results are interpreted to indicate that the primary mode of heme-heme interaction in cytochrome oxidase involves shifts in oxidation-reduction potential for each of the two cytochromes such that a change in oxidation state for one of the hemes lowers the oxidation-reduction potential of the second heme by approximately 135 mV. In these titrations high spin species are detected which account for 0.25 spin/oxidase maximally. Evidence is presented to indicate that at least some of these signals can be attributed to cytochrome a3+ which has undergone a low-spin to high-spin state transition in the course of the titration. In the presence of carbon monoxide the oxidation-reduction properties of cytochromes a and a3 are markedly altered. The a32+. CO complex is fully formed prior to reduction of either cytochrome a3+ or the EPR-detectable copper. The g = 3 EPR signal attributed to cytochrome a3+ decreases as the MCD intensity of cytochrome a2+ increases; no significant high-spin intensity is observed at any intermediate stage of reduction. We interpret these Nernstian titration results to indicate that in the presence of ligands the oxidation-reduction potential of cytochrome a relative to cytochrome a3 is determined by the oxidation-reduction state of the stabilized cytochrome a3 ligand complex; if ligand binding occurs to reduced cytochrome a3 then cytochrome a titrates with a lower potential; cytochrome a titrates with a higher potential if oxidized cytochrome a3 is stabilized by ligand binding.     

Some thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the primary photochemical reactants in a complex from a green photosynthetic bacterium.

We have examined the bacteriochlorophyll reaction-center complex of Chlorobium limicola f. thiosulfatophilum, strain Tassajara. Our results indicate that the midpoint potential of the primary electron donor bacteriochlorophyll of the reaction center is +250 mV at pH 6.8, while that of cytochrome c-553 is +165 mV. There are two cytochrome c-553 hemes per reaction center, and the light-induced oxidation of each is biphasic (t1/2 of less than 5 mus and approximately 50 mus). We belive that this indicates a two state equilibrium with each cytochrome heme being either close to, or a little removed from, the reaction-center bacteriochlorophyll. We have also titrated the primary electron acceptor of the reaction center. Its equilibrium midpoint potential at pH 6.8 is below -450 mV. This is very much lower than the previous estimate for green bacteria, and also substantially lower than values obtained for purple bacteria. Such a low-potential primary acceptor would be thermodynamically capable of direct reduction of NAD+ via ferredoxin in a manner analagous to photosystem I in chloroplasts and blue-green algae.     

Kinetic characterization of the interaction between cytochrome oxidase and cytochrome c

The mechanism of electron transfer catalyzed by cytochrome oxidase was investigated by monitoring the reaction of cytochrome oxidase with cytochrome c under carefully controlled anaerobic conditions. The kinetics of the reaction were examined by varying conditions of ionic strength, inhibitor binding, and oxidation-reduction potential. An analogue of cytochrome c in which the iron atom was replaced with cobalt was used to probe the effect of redox potential on the reaction. Under conditions of low ionic strength, there is very rapid oxidation of cytochrome c and reduction of oxidase which occurs at a rate of 3 X 10(7) M-1 s-1. The number of electrons transferred exhibit a hyperbolic dependence on the concentration of cytochrome c reaching a maximum of 2 electrons transferred at the highest concentration of reduced cytochrome c employed. The total number of electrons transferred was always observed to be distributed equally between cytochrome a and a second acceptor which appears to be the associated copper center; electron transfer to cytochrome a3 did not occur in the absence of oxygen. Substitution of cytochrome c by the cobalt analogue (which represents a decrease in oxidation-reduction potential of about 400 mV) yielded identical results indicating that the origin of the lack of reactivity of cytochrome a3 is of a kinetic nature. The effect of increasing the ionic strength on the reaction was 2-fold: a marked decrease in reaction rate and the appearance of biphasic kinetics with the amplitude of the very fast absorbance changes at 605 nm decreasing from 80% to 40% of the total anticipated from static absorbance measurements. Each of the two phases accounted for a maximum of 1 electron at the highest ionic strength employed. These results are simulated in terms of a sample kinetic reaction scheme involving a two-step electron transfer at one binding site.     

Two types of cytochrome cd1 in the aerobic photosynthetic bacterium, Erythrobacter sp. OCh 114

Components I and II of cytochrome cd1 which had different spectral features were purified from the aerobic photosynthetic bacterium, Erythrobacter sp. strain OCh 114. Component I showed an absorption maxima at 700 and 406 nm in the oxidized form, and at 621, 552.5, 548 and 416 nm in the reduced form. Component II showed an absorption maxima at 635 and 410 nm in the oxidized form and at 628, 552.5, 548 and 417 nm in the reduced form. The relative molecular mass, Mr, of both cytochromes was determined to be 135,000 with two identical subunits. Components I and II showed pI values of 7.6 and 6.8, respectively. The redox potential of hemes ranged from +234 mV to +242 mV, except for the heme d1 of component I (Em7 = +134 mV). Components I and II showed both cytochrome c oxidase and nitrite reductase activities. Cytochrome c oxidase activity was strongly inhibited by a low concentration of nitrite and cyanide. Erythrobacter cytochromes c-551 and c-552 were utilized as electron donors for the cytochrome c oxidase reaction. The high affinity of cytochrome c-552 to component II (Km = 1.27 microM) suggested a physiological significance for this cytochrome. Erythrobacter cytochromes cd1 are unique in their presence in cells grown under aerobic conditions as compared to other bacterial cytochromes cd1 which are formed only under denitrifying conditions.     

Kinetics of reduction of cytochrome c oxidase by dithionite and the effect of hydrogen peroxide

The reduction of cytochrome c oxidase by dithionite was reinvestigated with a flow-flash technique and with varied enzyme preparations. Since cytochrome a3 may be defined as the heme in oxidase which can form a photolabile CO adduct in the reduced state, it is possible to follow the time course of cytochrome a3 reduction by monitoring the onset of photosensitivity. The onset of photosensitivity and the overall rate of heme reduction were compared for Yonetani and Hartzell-Beinert preparations of cytochrome c oxidase and for the enzyme isolated from blue marlin and hammerhead shark. For all of these preparations the faster phase of heme reduction, which is dithionite concentration-dependent, is almost completed when the fraction of photosensitive material is still small. We conclude that cytochrome a3 in the resting enzyme is consistently reduced by an intramolecular electron transfer mechanism. To determine if this is true also for the pulsed enzyme, we examined the time course of dithionite reduction of the peroxide complex of the pulsed enzyme. It has been previously shown that pulsed cytochrome c oxidase can interact with H2O2 and form a stable room temperature peroxide adduct (Bickar, D., Bonaventura, J., and Bonaventura, C. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 2661-2666). Rather complex kinetics of heme reduction are observed when dithionite is added to enzyme preparations that contain H2O2. The time courses observed provide unequivocal evidence that H2O2 can, under these conditions, be used by cytochrome c oxidase as an electron acceptor. Experiments carried out in the presence of CO show that a direct dithionite reduction of cytochrome a3 in the peroxide complex of the pulsed enzyme does not occur.     

Comparative solvent perturbation of horse heart cytochrome c and Rhodospirillum rubrum cytochrome c2.

The extent of exposure of heme to solvent in horse heart cytochrome c and Rhodospirillum rubrum c2 was investigated to determine whether a correlation exists between the properties of these oxidation-reduction proteins and their heme environments. Solvent perturbation absorption difference spectra were measured using ethylene glycol, glycerol, and sucrose at concentrations between 0 and 30%. Cytochrome c appears to exhibit a somewhat greater extent of heme exposure than cytochrome c2 for both the oxidized and reduced states. These results suggest that the lower oxidation-reduction potential of cytochrome c may in part be due to a greater extent of exposure of the heme. The oxidized state of both proteins appears to exhibit a greater exposure than that of the reduced state which is consistent with a more favorable environment for the charge on the ferric heme coordination center.     

Purification and properties of a cross-linked complex between cytochrome c and cytochrome c peroxidase.

Cytochrome c (horse heart) was covalently linked to yeast cytochrome c peroxidase by using the cleavable bifunctional reagent dithiobis-succinimidyl propionate in 5 mM-sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. A cross-linked complex of molecular weight 48 000 was purified in approx. 10% yield from the reaction mixture, which contained 1 mol of cytochrome c and 1 mol of cytochrome c peroxidase/mol. Of the total 40 lysine residues, four to six were blocked by the cross-linking agent. Dithiobis-succinimidylpropionate can also cross-link cytochrome c to ovalbumin, but cytochrome c peroxidase is the preferred partner for cytochrome c in a mixture of the three proteins. The cytochrome c cross-linked to the peroxidase can be rapidly reduced by free cytochrome c-557 from Crithidia oncopelti, and the equilibrium obtained can be used to calculate a mid-point oxidation-reduction potential for the cross-linked cytochrome of 243 mV. Mitochondrial NADH-cytochrome c reductase will reduce the bound cytochrome only very slowly, but the rate of reduction by ascorbate at high ionic strength approaches that for free cytochrome c. Bound cytochrome c reduced by ascorbate can be re-oxidized within 10s by the associated peroxidase in the presence of equimolar H2O2. In the standard peroxidase assay the cross-linked complex shows 40% of the activity of the free peroxidase. Thus the intrinsic ability of each partner in the complex to take part in electron transfer is retained, but the stable association of the two proteins affects access of reductants.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of tetraheme cytochrome c3. Modification of oxidoreduction potentials after heme axial ligand replacement.

The nature of the axial ligands of a heme group is an important factor in maintaining the oxidation-reduction potential of a c-type cytochrome. Cytochrome c3 from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough contains four bis-histidinyl coordinated hemes with low oxidation-reduction potentials. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to generate a mutant in which histidine 70, the sixth axial ligand of heme 4, has been replaced by a methionine. The mutant protein was expressed in Desulfovibrio desulfuricans G200 at a level similar to the wild type cytochrome. A model for the three-dimensional structure of D. vulgaris Hildenborough cytochrome c3 was generated on the basis of the crystal structure of D. vulgaris Miyazaki cytochrome c3 in order to investigate the effects of the H70M mutation. The model, together with NMR data, suggested that methionine 70 has effectively replaced histidine 70 as the sixth axial ligand of heme 4 without significant alteration of the structure. A large increase of at least 200 mV of one of the four oxidation-reduction potentials was observed by electrochemistry and is interpreted in terms of structure/potential relationships.     

Photo-induced cyclic electron transfer involving cytochrome bc1 complex and reaction center in the obligate aerobic phototroph Roseobacter denitrificans.

Flash-induced redox changes of b-type and c-type cytochromes have been studied in chromatophores from the aerobic photosynthetic bacterium Roseobacter denitrificans under redox-controlled conditions. The flash-oxidized primary donor P+ of the reaction center (RC) is rapidly re-reduced by heme H1 (Em,7 = 290 mV), heme H2 (Em,7 = 240 mV) or low-potential hemes L1/L2 (Em,7 = 90 mV) of the RC-bound tetraheme, depending on their redox state before photoexcitation. By titrating the extent of flash-induced low-potential heme oxidation, a midpoint potential equal to -50 mV has been determined for the primary quinone acceptor QA. Only the photo-oxidized heme H2 is re-reduced in tens of milliseconds, in a reaction sensitive to inhibitors of the bc1 complex, leading to the concomitant oxidation of a cytochrome c spectrally distinct from the RC-bound hemes. This reaction involves cytochrome c551 in a diffusional process. Participation of the bc1 complex in a cyclic electron transfer chain has been demonstrated by detection of flash-induced reduction of cytochrome b561, stimulated by antimycin and inhibited by myxothiazol. Cytochrome b561, reduced upon flash excitation, is re-oxidized slowly even in the absence of antimycin. The rate of reduction of cytochrome b561 in the presence of antimycin increases upon lowering the ambient redox potential, most likely reflecting the progressive prereduction of the ubiquinone pool. Chromatophores contain approximately 20 ubiquinone-10 molecules per RC. At the optimal redox poise, approximately 0.3 cytochrome b molecules per RC are reduced following flash excitation. Cytochrome b reduction titrates out at Eh < 100 mV, when low-potential heme(s) rapidly re-reduce P+ preventing cyclic electron transfer. Results can be rationalized in the framework of a Q-cycle-type model.     

Rates and Equilibrium of CuA to heme a electron transfer in Paracoccus denitrificans cytochrome c oxidase

Intramolecular electron transfer between CuA and heme a in solubilized bacterial (Paracoccus denitrificans) cytochrome c oxidase was investigated by pulse radiolysis. CuA, the initial electron acceptor, was reduced by 1-methylnicotinamide radicals in a diffusion-controlled reaction, as monitored by absorption changes at 825 nm, followed by partial restoration of the absorption and paralleled by an increase in the heme a absorption at 605 nm. The latter observations indicate partial reoxidation of the CuA center and the concomitant reduction of heme a. The rate constants for heme a reduction and CuA reoxidation were identical within experimental error and independent of the enzyme concentration and its degree of reduction, demonstrating that a fast intramolecular electron equilibration is taking place between CuA and heme a. The rate constants for CuA --> heme a ET and the reverse heme a --> CuA process were found to be 20,400 s(-1) and 10,030 s(-1), respectively, at 25 degrees C and pH 7.5, which corresponds to an equilibrium constant of 2.0. Thermodynamic and activation parameters of these intramolecular ET reactions were determined. The significance of the results, particularly the low activation barriers, is discussed within the framework of the enzyme's known three-dimensional structure, potential ET pathways, and the calculated reorganization energies.     

Membrane-bound cytochrome c is an alternative electron donor for cytochrome aa3 in Nitrobacter winogradskyi.

We purified membrane-bound cytochrome c-550 [cytochrome c-550(m)] to an electrophoretically homogeneous state from Nitrobacter winogradskyi. The cytochrome showed peaks at 409 and 525 nm in the oxidized form and peaks at 416, 521, and 550 nm in the reduced form. The molecular weight of the cytochrome was estimated to be 18,400 on the basis of protein and heme c contents and 18,600 by gel filtration. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of cytochrome c-550(m) was determined to be A-P-T-S-A-A-D-A-E-S-F-N-K-A-L-A-S-A-?-A-E-?-G-A-?-L-V-K-P. We previously purified soluble cytochrome c-550 cytochrome c-550(s)] from N. winogradskyi and determined its complete amino acid sequence (Y. Tanaka, Y. Fukumori, and T. Y. Yamanaka, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 707:14-20, 1982). Although the sequence of cytochrome c-550(m) was completely different from that of cytochrome c-550(s), ferrocytochrome c-550(m) was rapidly oxidized by the cytochrome c oxidase of the bacterium. Furthermore, the liposomes into which nitrite cytochrome c oxidoreductase, cytochrome c oxidase, and nitrite were incorporated showed nitrite oxidase activity in the presence of cytochrome c-550(m). These results suggest that cytochrome c-550(m) may be an alternative electron mediator between nitrite cytochrome c oxidoreductase and cytochrome c oxidase.     

Filling the catalytic site of cytochrome c oxidase with electrons. Reduced CuB facilitates internal electron transfer to heme a3

In the reductive phase of its catalytic cycle, cytochrome c oxidase receives electrons from external electron donors. Two electrons have to be transferred into the catalytic center, composed of heme a(3) and Cu(B), before reaction with oxygen takes place. In addition, this phase of catalysis appears to be involved in proton translocation. Here, we report for the first time the kinetics of electron transfer to both heme a(3) and Cu(B) during the transition from the oxidized to the fully reduced state. The state of reduction of both heme a(3) and Cu(B) was monitored by a combination of EPR spectroscopy, the rapid freeze procedure, and the stopped-flow method. The kinetics of cytochrome c oxidase reduction by hexaamineruthenium under anaerobic conditions revealed that the rate-limiting step is the initial electron transfer to the catalytic site that proceeds with apparently identical rates to both heme a(3) and Cu(B). After Cu(B) is reduced, electron transfer to oxidized heme a(3) is enhanced relative to the rate of entry of the first electron.     

Ionic strength dependence of the kinetics of electron transfer from bovine mitochondrial cytochrome c to bovine cytochrome c oxidase.

The effect of ionic strength on the one-electron reduction of oxidized bovine cytochrome c oxidase by reduced bovine cytochrome c has been studied by using flavin semiquinone reductants generated in situ by laser flash photolysis. In the absence of cytochrome c, direct reduction of the heme a prosthetic group of the oxidase by the one-electron reductant 5-deazariboflavin semiquinone occurred slowly, despite a driving force of approximately +1 V. This is consistent with a sterically inaccessible heme a center. This reduction process was independent of ionic strength from 10 to 100 mM. Addition of cytochrome c resulted in a marked increase in the amount of reduced oxidase generated per laser flash. Reduction of the oxidase at the heme a site was monophasic, whereas oxidation of cytochrome c was multiphasic, the fastest phase corresponding in rate constant to the reduction of the heme a. During the fast kinetic phase, 2 equiv of cytochrome c was oxidized per heme a reduced. We presume that the second equivalent was used to reduce the Cua center, although this was not directly measured. The first-order rate-limiting process which controls electron transfer to the heme a showed a marked ionic strength effect, with a maximum rate constant occurring at mu = 110 mM (1470 s-1), whereas the rate constant obtained at mu = 10 mM was 630 s-1 and at mu = 510 mM was 45 s-1. There was no effect of "pulsing" the enzyme on this rate-limiting one-electron transfer process. These results suggest that there are structural differences in the complex(es) formed between mitochondrial cytochrome c and cytochrome c oxidase at very low and more physiologically relevant ionic strengths, which lead to differences in electron-transfer rate constants.     

Strategic roles of axial histidines in structure formation and redox regulation of tetraheme cytochrome c3

Tetraheme cytochrome c 3 (cyt c 3) exhibits extremely low reduction potentials and unique properties. Since axial ligands should be the most important factors for this protein, every axial histidine of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F cyt c 3 was replaced with methionine, one by one. On mutation at the fifth ligand, the relevant heme could not be linked to the polypeptide, revealing the essential role of the fifth histidine in heme linking. The fifth histidine is the key residue in the structure formation and redox regulation of a c-type cytochrome. A crystal structure has been obtained for only H25M cyt c 3. The overall structure was not affected by the mutation except for the sixth methionine coordination at heme 3. NMR spectra revealed that each mutated methionine is coordinated to the sixth site of the relevant heme in the reduced state, while ligand conversion takes place at hemes 1 and 4 during oxidation at pH 7. The replacement of the sixth ligand with methionine caused an increase in the reduction potential of the mutated heme of 222-244 mV. The midpoint potential of a triheme H52M cyt c 3 is higher than that of the wild type by approximately 50 mV, suggesting a contribution of the tetraheme architecture to the lowering of the reduction potentials. The hydrogen bonding of Thr24 with an axial ligand induces a decrease in reduction potential of approximately 50 mV. In conclusion, the bis-histidine coordination is strategically essential for the structure formation and the extremely low reduction potential of cyt c 3.     

Oxidation and reduction of cytochrome c bound to the phosphoprotein phosvitin

The oxidation-reduction reactions and structural characteristics of phosvitin-bound cytochrome c were examined at various ratios of cytochrome c to phosvitin. At binding ratios below half the maximum, the rate constants for the oxidation reactions with cytochrome c oxidase and ferricyanide and the rate constants for the reduction reactions with cytochrome b2 and ascorbate were low, but at higher ratios these rate constants gradually increased to that of free cytochrome c and, in particular, the rate constant for oxidation by cytochrome c oxidase was raised to two to three times that of the free form. This binding-ratio dependence of the rate constants for the oxidation and reduction reactions was different from that of the net charge of the cytochrome c-phosvitin complex, implying that the negative charges of phosvitin are unlikely to modulate the rates. In contrast, the broadening of the NMR signals for the heme and methionine-80 methyl groups and the conformational transition in the vicinity of the heme moiety on change from the native to the cyanide-bound or urea-denatured form of cytochrome c showed a similar binding-ratio dependence to the rate constants for the oxidation and reduction reactions. Since the conformation and electronic structure in the heme environment of ferric and ferrous cytochromes c were not changed significantly by binding to phosvitin, and since the binding strength of cytochrome c to phosvitin at binding ratios below half the maximum is different from that at higher ratios, these findings suggest that a difference in the movement of cytochrome c in its complex with phosvitin may modulate its oxidation-reduction reactions.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in the cytochrome c/cytochrome c oxidase complex using thiouredopyrenetrisulfonate-labeled cytochrome c. Optical multichannel detection

Intramolecular electron transfer in the electrostatic cytochrome c oxidase/cytochrome c complex was investigated using a novel photoactivatable dye. Laser photolysis of thiouredopyrenetrisulfonate (TUPS), covalently linked to cysteine 102 on yeast iso-1-cytochrome c, generates a triplet state of the dye, which donates an electron to cytochrome c, followed by electron transfer to cytochrome c oxidase. Time-resolved optical absorption difference spectra were collected at delay times from 100 ns to 200 ms between 325 and 650 nm. On the basis of singular value decomposition (SVD) and multiexponential fitting, three apparent lifetimes were resolved. A sequential kinetic mechanism is proposed from which the microscopic rate constants and spectra of the intermediates were determined. The triplet state of TUPS donates an electron to cytochrome c with a forward rate constant of approximately 2.0 x 10(4) s(-1). A significant fraction of the triplet returns back to the ground state on a similar time scale. The reduction of cytochrome c is followed by faster electron transfer from cytochrome c to Cu(A), with the equilibrium favoring the reduced cytochrome c. Subsequently, Cu(A) equilibrates with heme a with an apparent rate constant of approximately 1 x 10(4) s(-1). On a millisecond time scale, the oxidized TUPS returns to the ground state and heme a becomes reoxidized. The extracted intermediate spectra are in excellent agreement with model spectra of the postulated intermediates, supporting the proposed mechanism.     

Electron transfer rates and equilibrium within cytochrome c oxidase.

Intramolecular electron transfer (ET) between the CuA center and heme a in bovine cytochrome c oxidase was investigated by pulse radiolysis. CuA, the initial electron acceptor, was reduced by 1-methyl nicotinamide radicals in a diffusion-controlled reaction, as monitored by absorption changes at 830 nm. After the initial reduction phase, the 830 nm absorption was partially restored, corresponding to reoxidation of the CuA center. Concomitantly, the absorption at 445 nm and 605 nm increased, indicating reduction of heme a. The rate constants for heme a reduction and CuA reoxidation were identical within experimental error and independent of the enzyme concentration. This demonstrates that a fast intramolecular electron equilibration is taking place between CuA and heme a. The rate constants for CuA --> heme a ET and the reverse (heme a --> CuA) process were found to be 13 000 s-1 and 3700 s-1, respectively, at 25 degrees C and pH 7.4. This corresponds to an equilibrium constant of 3.4 under these conditions. Thermodynamic and activation parameters of the ET reactions were determined. The significance of these results, particularly the observed low activation barriers, are discussed within the framework of the known three-dimensional structure, ET pathways and reorganization energies.     

The kinetics of electron transfer between pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c-551 and its oxidase.

The redox reaction between cytochrome c-551 and its oxidase from the respiratory chain of pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied by rapid-mixing techniques at both pH7 and 9.1. The electron transfer in the direction of cytochrome c-551 reduction, starting with the oxidase in the reduced and CO-bound form, is monophasic, and the governing bimolecular rate constants are 1.3(+/- 0.2) x 10(7) M-1 . s-1 at pH 9.1 and 4 (+/- 1) x 10(6) M-1 . s-1 at pH 7.0. In the opposite direction, i.e. mixing the oxidized oxidase with the reduced cytochrome c-551 in the absence of O2, both a lower absorbance change and a more complex kinetic pattern were observed. With oxidized azurin instead of oxidized cytochrome c-551 the oxidation of the c haem in the CO-bound oxidase is also monophasic, and the second-order rate constant is 2 (+/- 0.7) x 10(6) M-1 . s-1 at pH 9.1. The redox potential of the c haem in the oxidase, as obtained from kinetic titrations of the completely oxidized enzyme with reduced azurin as the variable substrate, is 288 mV at pH 7.0 and 255 mV at pH 9.1. This is in contrast with the very high affinity observed in similar titrations performed with both oxidized azurin and oxidized cytochrome c-551 starting from the CO derivative of the reduced oxidase. It is concluded that: (i) azurin and cytochrome c-551 are not equally efficient in vitro as reducing substrates of the oxidase in the respiratory chain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; (ii) CO ligation to the d1 haem in the oxidase induces a large decrease (at least 80 mV) in the redox potential of the c-haem moiety.     

Zinc cytochrome c fluorescence as a probe for conformational changes in cytochrome c oxidase.

Zinc cytochrome c forms tight 1:1 complexes with a variety of derivatives of cytochrome c oxidase. On complex-formation the fluorescence of zinc cytochrome c is diminished. Titrations of zinc cytochrome c with cytochrome c oxidase, followed through the fluorescence emission of the former, have yielded both binding constants (K approximately 7 x 10(6) M-1 for the fully oxidized and 2 x 10(7) M-1 for the fully reduced enzyme) and distance information. Comparison of steady-state measurements obtained by absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy in the presence and in the absence of cyanide show that it is the reduction of cytochrome a and/or CuA that triggers a conformational change: this increases the zinc cytochrome c to acceptor (most probably cytochrome a itself) distance by some 0.5 nm. Ligand binding to the fully oxidized or fully reduced enzyme leaves the extent of fluorescence quenching unchanged, whereas binding of cyanide to the half-reduced enzyme (a2+CuA+CuB2+-CN(-)-a3(3+)) enhances fluorescence emission relative to that for the fully reduced enzyme, implying further relative movement of donor and acceptor.     

Stopped-flow and rapid-scan studies of the redox behavior of cytochrome aco from facultative alkalophilic Bacillus

Cytochrome aco purified from an alkalophilic bacterium grown at pH 10 contains hemes a, b, and c as prosthetic groups, and their redox behavior was examined by using stopped-flow and rapid-scan techniques. Under anaerobic conditions the reduction of both heme a and c moieties with dithionite proceeded exponentially but with different rates, usually the former being reduced about 4 times faster than the latter. The reduction of protoheme was much slower, and a time-difference spectrum for this species was of a high spin type with absorption peaks at 433, 557, and 609 nm. Only the protoheme combined with CO, fulfilling the criteria for cytochrome o. Potentiometric titrations determined a midpoint potential of c heme to be 95 mV at pH 7.0 and 25 degrees C and suggested the presence of two forms of a heme with midpoint potentials of 250 and 323 mV. Cytochrome aco utilizes ascorbate plus N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) to reduce oxygen relatively rapidly without added cytochrome c (Qureshi, M. H., Yumoto, I., Fujiwara, T., Fukumori, Y., Yamanaka, T. (1990) J. Biochem. 107, 480-485). During the steady state, however, heme a stayed almost fully reduced in contrast to a partial reduction of heme c. Even after exhaustion of the dissolved oxygen the extent of reduction of heme c was 60-70% that attained by the dithionite reduction. When ascorbate plus TMPD-reduced cytochrome aco was exposed to oxygen the reduced heme c was oxidized rapidly whereas the oxidation of reduced a heme was negligibly slow. The full reduction of heme a during the steady state and its extremely slow oxidation rendered participation of heme a in the oxidase reaction less likely. A novel peak appearing transiently around 567 nm during the reaction was tentatively ascribed to an intermediate form of protoheme, or o heme, which was thus supposed to react directly with molecular oxygen. These results suggest strongly that the main electron transfer pathway would be c----o----oxygen. A possible role of a in regulating the electron flow through the main pathway and its functional relationship to a heme in the aa3-type cytochrome oxidase were discussed.