Characterization of the heme in human cystathionine beta-synthase by X-ray absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies

Human cystathionine beta-synthase is one of two key enzymes involved in intracellular metabolism of homocysteine. It catalyzes a beta-replacement reaction in which the thiolate of homocysteine replaces the hydroxyl group of serine to give the product, cystathionine. The enzyme is unusual in its dependence on two cofactors: pyridoxal phosphate and heme. The requirement for pyridoxal phosphate is expected on the basis of the nature of the condensation reaction that is catalyzed; however the function of the heme in this protein is unknown. We have examined the spectroscopic properties of the heme in order to assign the axial ligands provided by the protein. The heme Soret peak of ferric cystathionine beta-synthase is at 428 nm and shifts to approximately 395 nm upon addition of the thiol chelator, mercuric chloride. This is indicative of 6-coordinate low-spin heme converting to a 5-coordinate high-spin heme. The enzyme as isolated exhibits a rhombic EPR signal with g values of 2.5, 2.3, and 1.86, which are similar to those of heme proteins and model complexes with imidazole/thiolate ligands. Mercuric chloride treatment of the enzyme results in conversion of the rhombic EPR signal to a g = 6 signal, consistent with formation of the high-spin ferric heme. The X-ray absorption data reveal that iron in ferric cystathionine beta-synthase is 6-coordinate, with 1 high-Z scatterer and 5 low-Z scatterers. This is consistent with the presence of 5 nitrogens and 1 sulfur ligand. Together, these data support assignment of the axial ligands as cysteinate and imidazole in ferric cystathionine beta-synthase.     

Effects of heme ligand mutations including a pathogenic variant, H65R, on the properties of human cystathionine beta-synthase

Human cystathionine beta-synthase is a hemeprotein that catalyzes a pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent condensation of serine and homocysteine into cystathionine. Biophysical characterization of this enzyme has led to the assignment of the heme ligands as histidine and cysteinate, respectively, which has recently been confirmed by crystal structure determination of the catalytic core of the protein. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we confirm that C52 and H65 represent the thiolate and histidine ligands to the heme. Conversion of C52 to alanine or serine results in spectral properties of the resulting hemeprotein that are consistent with the loss of a thiolate ligand. Thus, the Soret peak blue-shifts from 428 to 415 and 417 nm in the ferric forms of the C52S and C52A mutants, respectively, and from 450 to 423 nm in the ferrous states of both mutants. Addition of CO to the dithionite-reduced ferrous C52 mutants results in spectra with Soret peaks at 420 nm. EPR spectroscopy of the ferric C52 variants reveals the predominance of a high-spin species. The H65R mutant, a variant described in a homocystinuric patient, has Soret peaks at 424, 421, and 420 nm in the ferric, ferrous, and ferrous CO states, respectively. EPR spectroscopy reveals predominance of the low-spin species. Both C52A and C52S mutations lead to protein with substoichiometric heme (19% with respect to wild type); however, the PLP content is comparable to that of wild-type enzyme. The heme and PLP contents of the H65R mutant are 40% and 75% that of wild-type enzyme. These results indicate that heme saturation does not dictate PLP saturation in these mutant enzymes. Both H65 and C52 variants display low catalytic activity, revealing that changes in the heme binding domain modulate activity, consistent with a regulatory role for this cofactor.     

Refolding processes of cytochrome P450cam from ferric and ferrous acid forms to the native conformation. Formations of folding intermediates with non-native heme coordination state

Changes in heme coordination state and protein conformation of cytochrome P450(cam) (P450(cam)), a b-type heme protein, were investigated by employing pH jump experiments coupled with time-resolved optical absorption, fluorescence, circular dichroism, and resonance Raman techniques. We found a partially unfolded form (acid form) of ferric P450(cam) at pH 2.5, in which a Cys(-)-heme coordination bond in the native conformation was ruptured. When the pH was raised to pH 7.5, the acid form refolded to the native conformation through a distinctive intermediate. Formations of similar acid and intermediate forms were also observed for ferrous P450(cam). Both the ferric and ferrous forms of the intermediate were found to have an unidentified axial ligand of the heme at the 6th coordination sphere, which is vacant in the high spin ferric and ferrous forms at the native conformation. For the ferrous form, it was also indicated that the 5th axial ligand is different from the native cysteinate. The folding intermediates identified in this study demonstrate occurrences of non-native coordination state of heme during the refolding processes of the large b-type heme protein, being akin to the well known folding intermediates of cytochromes c, in which c-type heme is covalently attached to a smaller protein.     

Mercuric chloride-induced spin or ligation state changes in ferric or ferrous human cystathionine beta-synthase inhibit enzyme activity.

Cystathionine beta-synthase is a key heme and pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme involved in homocysteine metabolism in humans. The role of the recently discovered heme in this protein remains an important open question. The axial ligands to the heme in both the ferrous and ferric states have been assigned as cysteine and histidine residues, respectively. In this study, we have examined the effect of ligation and spin state changes in the heme on the activity of the enzyme. Treatment of the ferric enzyme with HgCl2 results in the conversion of six-coordinate low-spin heme to five-coordinate high-spin heme and is paralleled by a loss of activity. In contrast, treatment of the ferrous enzyme with HgCl2 results in replacement of the cysteine ligand by an unidentified sixth ligand and retention of the six-coordinate state, and is also accompanied by loss of enzyme activity. Treatment of the five-coordinate HgCl2-treated enzyme with thiols, such as homocysteine, results in reversion to a six-coordinate state. Resonance Raman spectroscopy with 34S-labeled enzyme reveals the return of the endogenous thiol ligand under these conditions and rules out direct coordination by the thiolate of homocysteine to the heme.     

Spectroscopic investigations of ferric cytochrome P-450-CAM ligand complexes. Identification of the ligand trans to cysteinate in the native enzyme

An extensive series of ligand complexes of ferric cytochrome P-450-CAM has been examined by UV-visible absorption, magnetic circular dichroism, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy in an attempt to identify the ligand trans to cysteinate in the six-coordinate resting state of the enzyme. Thus, the ligands used have been chosen to serve as models for coordination by potential endogenous amino acids and include alcohol, amide and carboxylate oxygen donors, amine, imidazole and indole nitrogen donors and disulfide, thioether, thiol, and thiolate sulfur donors. As this investigation has been by nature an empirical one, the conclusions are strengthened by the concurrent use of three different spectroscopic techniques. All of the complexes formed except those resulting from thiolate addition display spectroscopic properties that are broadly similar to those of low spin, six-coordinate P-450. Of the sulfur donor adducts, disulfide and thioether-bound P-450 have properties that are different enough in detail to distinguish them from native P-450. While the spectral features of the thiol-bound species and of low spin ferric P-450 are alike, the former are pH dependent due to interconversion to bound thiolate, whereas the latter display essentially no spectral changes with pH. Of the oxygen donor complexes, all but carboxylate have spectra that very closely match those of the resting enzyme. Adducts formed with most nitrogenous ligands, including several imidazole derivatives, exhibit spectra that are sufficiently different from native P-450 to exclude them as candidates for the sixth ligand. Interestingly, the spectral properties of a complex formed with an imidazole derivative having a bulky electron-withdrawing substituent in the alpha position are comparable to those native P-450 except for the line shape of the EPR spectrum. Previously published theoretical work suggests that the spectral differences seen between this imidazole derivative and the other examined are electronic and not steric in origin. As no similar electronic mechanism exists for the protein to reduce the electron-donating ability or histidine, it is felt that coordination of histidine in the sixth position of P-450 can be ruled out. In conclusion, close examination of all spectral data reveals that amino acid analog adducts of P-450-CAM with amides and, in particular, alcohols, produce spectra that almost exactly duplicate those of native P-450 and suggests that the ligand trans to cysteinate in the six-coordinate ferric enzyme has an oxygen donor atom.     

Circular dichroism studies of low-spin ferric cytochrome P-450CAM ligand complexes

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has been used to probe the active site of bacterial ferric cytochrome P-450CAM. The endogenous sixth ligand to the heme iron has been displaced by an extensive series of exogenous oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and other neutral and anionic donor ligands in an attempt to examine systematically the steric and electronic factors that influence the coupling of the heme chromophore to its protein environment. General trends for each ligand class are reported and discussed. Both the wavelengths and the intensities of the CD bands vary with ligand type and structure. All but one of the complexes exhibit negative CD maxima in their delta and Soret bands. Comparison to ferric myoglobin-thiolate complexes indicates that the negative sign observed for the cytochrome P-450 spectra is not a property of the thiolate fifth ligand, but rather arises from a different interaction of the cytochrome P-450 heme with its protein environment. Complexes with neutral oxygen donors display CD spectra that most closely resemble the spectrum of the native low-spin enzyme. Hyperporphyrin (split Soret) cytochrome P-450 complexes with thiolates, phosphines and cyanide trans to cysteinate have complex CD spectra, reflecting the intrinsic non-degeneracy of the Soret pi pi transitions. The extensive work presented herein provides an empirical foundation for use in analyzing the interaction of heme chromophores with their protein surroundings, not only for the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases but also for heme proteins in general.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance investigations of exogenous ligand complexes of low-spin ferric chloroperoxidase: further support for endogenous thiolate ligation to the heme iron.

Previous spectroscopic studies of chloroperoxidase have provided evidence for endogenous thiolate sulfur donor ligation to the central heme iron of the enzyme. This conclusion is further supported by recent DNA sequence data which revealed the existence of a third cysteine residue (in addition to a disulfide pair detected earlier) in the protein available for coordination to the heme iron. Thus, chloroperoxidase shares many spectroscopic properties with cytochrome P-450, the only other known thiolate-ligated heme protein. Surprisingly, a previous electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study of low-spin ferric chloroperoxidase-ligand complexes (Hollenberg, P.F., Hager, L.P., Blumberg, W.E. and Peisach, J. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 4801-4807) was unable to provide clear support for the presence of a thiolate ligand, although sulfur coordination was implicated. This was, in part, because an insufficient number of complexes was examined. In this work, we have significantly expanded upon the previous EPR study by using an extensive variety of over twenty exogenous ligands including carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur donors. Crystal field analysis, using the procedure of Blumberg and Peisach, of the present data in comparison with data for analogous complexes of cytochrome P-450-CAM, thiolate-ligated heme model systems, and myoglobin, is clearly indicative of endogenous thiolate ligation for chloroperoxidase. In addition, the UV-visible absorption and EPR spectral data suggest that a carboxylate ligand is a possible candidate for the endogenous sixth ligand to the heme iron that is responsible for the reversible conversion of ferric chloroperoxidase from high-spin to low-spin at low temperatures (less than 200 K).     

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.     

Engineering cytochrome c peroxidase into cytochrome P450: a proximal effect on heme-thiolate ligation.

In an effort to investigate factors required to stabilize heme-thiolate ligation, key structural components necessary to convert cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) into a thiolate-ligated cytochrome P450-like enzyme have been evaluated and the H175C/D235L CcP double mutant has been engineered. The UV-visible absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra for the double mutant at pH 8.0 are reported herein. The close similarity between the spectra of ferric substrate-bound cytochrome P450cam and those of the exogenous ligand-free ferric state of the double mutant with all three techniques support the conclusion that the latter has a pentacoordinate, high-spin heme with thiolate ligation. Previous efforts to prepare a thiolate-ligated mutant of CcP with the H175C single mutant led to Cys oxidation to cysteic acid [Choudhury et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 25656-25659]. Therefore it is concluded that changing the proximal Asp235 residue to Leu is critical in forming a stable heme-thiolate ligation in the resting state of the enzyme. To further probe the versatility of the CcP double mutant as a ferric P450 model, hexacoordinate low-spin complexes have also been prepared. Addition of the neutral ligand imidazole or of the anionic ligand cyanide results in formation of hexacoordinate adducts that retain thiolate ligation as determined by spectral comparison to the analogous derivatives of ferric P450cam. The stability of these complexes and their similarity to the analogous forms of P450cam illustrates the potential of the H175C/D235L CcP double mutant as a model for ferric P450 enzymes. This study marks the first time a stable cyanoferric complex of a model P450 has been made and demonstrates the importance of the environment around the primary coordination ligands in stabilizing metal-ligand ligation.     

Replacement of the proximal histidine iron ligand by a cysteine or tyrosine converts heme oxygenase to an oxidase

The H25C and H25Y mutants of human heme oxygenase-1 (hHO-1), in which the proximal iron ligand is replaced by a cysteine or tyrosine, have been expressed and characterized. Resonance Raman studies indicate that the ferric heme complexes of these proteins, like the complex of the H25A mutant but unlike that of the wild type, are 5-coordinate high-spin. Labeling of the iron with 54Fe confirms that the proximal ligand in the ferric H25C protein is a cysteine thiolate. Resonance-enhanced tyrosinate modes in the resonance Raman spectrum of the H25Y.heme complex provide direct evidence for tyrosinate ligation in this protein. The H25C and H25Y heme complexes are reduced to the ferrous state by cytochrome P450 reductase but do not catalyze alpha-meso-hydroxylation of the heme or its conversion to biliverdin. Exposure of the ferrous heme complexes to O2 does not give detectable ferrous-dioxy complexes and leads to the uncoupled reduction of O2 to H2O2. Resonance Raman studies show that the ferrous H25C and H25Y heme complexes are present in both 5-coordinate high-spin and 4-coordinate intermediate-spin configurations. This finding indicates that the proximal cysteine and tyrosine ligand in the ferric H25C and H25Y complexes, respectively, dissociates upon reduction to the ferrous state. This is confirmed by the spectroscopic properties of the ferrous-CO complexes. Reduction potential measurements establish that reduction of the mutants by NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, as observed, is thermodynamically allowed. The two proximal ligand mutations thus destabilize the ferrous-dioxy complex and uncouple the reduction of O2 from oxidation of the heme group. The proximal histidine ligand, for geometric or electronic reasons, is specifically required for normal heme oxygenase catalysis.     

Exclusive CO binding to cytochrome oxidase

CO added to dithionite-reduced cytochrome oxidase pretreated with azide, cyanide, or fluoride yielded CO-ferrous heme a3 trapping the unliganded reduced heme. Ferrous heme a3 was either an equilibrium species initially present, or provided by dissociation of ligand-bound ferric heme a3 followed by the reduction with dithionite. In the latter case the ligand dissociation was rate-limiting for the CO compound formation. Pretreatment of the enzyme with the inhibitory ligands affected neither photodissociation and reassociation of the CO compound thus formed, nor reaction with dioxygen initiated by the flow-flash method to any significant degree. Only the cyanide treatment slightly decreased the rate of intramolecular electron transfer. These results indicate that no inhibitory ligand but CO remains in the vicinity of the heme a3-CuB center in the CO compound of cytochrome oxidase.     

The physical chemistry of hemes and hemopeptides: I. Physicochemical properties and reduction of chlorodeuterohemin in organic solvent

In this article we present the optical and magnetic properties of chlorodeuterohemin dimethyl ester in various organic solvents. In solvents inactive towards the central metallic ion, the hemichromes are formed by fixation of two molecules of ligand (imidazole, histidine). The EPR and NMR spectra of these compounds are reported. They show that iron is in the low-spin state ( ). An original method of reduction of chlorodeuterohemin dimethyl ester by sodium dithionite in the heterogeneous medium of water-organic solvent is described. In solvents inactive towards the metalloporphyrin (benzene, ethylacetate, dichloromethane) the free heme is obtained. Its reactivity towards strong ligands (pyridine, histidine), its fast oxidation by air to an oxygen-bridged dimer and the action of carbon monoxide on the hexa-coordinated compounds confirm the redox state of the central metallic ion (Fe(II)).     

Resonance Raman investigations of Escherichia coli-expressed Pseudomonas putida cytochrome P450 and P420.

High-resolution resonance Raman spectra of the ferric, ferrous, and carbonmonoxy (CO)-bound forms of wild-type Escherichia coli-expressed Pseudomonas putida cytochrome P450cam and its P420 form are reported. The ferric and ferrous species of P450 and P420 have been studied in both the presence and absence of excess camphor substrate. In ferric, camphor-bound, P450 (mos), the E. coli-expressed P450 is found to be spectroscopically indistinguishable from the native material. Although substrate binding to P450 is known to displace water molecules from the heme pocket, altering the coordination and spin state of the heme iron, the presence of camphor substrate in P420 samples is found to have essentially no effect on the Raman spectra of the heme in either the oxidized or reduced state. A detailed study of the Raman and absorption spectra of P450 and P420 reveals that the P420 heme is in equilibrium between a high-spin, five-coordinate (HS,5C) form and low-spin six-coordinate (LS,6C) form in both the ferric and ferrous oxidation states. In the ferric P420 state, H2O evidently remains as a heme ligand, while alterations of the protein tertiary structure lead to a significant reduction in affinity for Cys(357) thiolate binding to the heme iron. Ferrous P420 also consists of an equilibrium between HS,5C and LS,6C states, with the spectroscopic evidence indicating that H2O and histidine are the most likely axial ligands. The spectral characteristics of the CO complex of P420 are found to be almost identical to those of a low pH of Mb. Moreover, we find that the 10-ns transient Raman spectrum of the photolyzed P420 CO complex possesses a band at 220 cm-1, which is strong evidence in favor of histidine ligation in the CO-bound state. The equilibrium structure of ferrous P420 does not show this band, indicating that Fe-His bond formation is favored when the iron becomes more acidic upon CO binding. Raman spectra of stationary samples of the CO complex of P450 reveal VFe-CO peaks corresponding to both substrate-bound and substrate-free species and demonstrate that substrate dissociation is coupled to CO photolysis. Analysis of the relative band intensities as a function of photolysis indicates that the CO photolysis and rebinding rates are faster than camphor rebinding and that CO binds to the heme faster when camphor is not in the distal pocket.     

Ligand preference and orientation in b- and c-type heme-binding proteins

Hemes are often incorporated into designed proteins. The importance of the heme ligand type and its orientation is still a matter of debate. Here, heme ligands and ligand orientation were investigated using a nonredundant (87 structures) and a redundant (1503 structures) set of structures to compare and contrast design features of natural b- and c-type heme-binding proteins. Histidine is the most common ligand. Marked differences in ligation motifs between b- and c-type hemes are higher occurrence of His-Met in c-type heme binding motifs (16.4% vs. 1.4%) and higher occurrence of exchangeable, small molecules in b-type heme binding motifs (67.6% vs. 9.9%). Histidine ligands that are part of the c-type CXXCH heme-binding motif show a distinct asymmetric distribution of orientation. They tend to point between either the heme propionates or between the NA and NB heme nitrogens. Molecular mechanics calculations show that this asymmetry is due to the bonded constraints of the covalent attachment between the heme and the protein. In contrast, the orientations of b-type hemes histidine ligands are found evenly distributed with no preference. Observed histidine heme ligand orientations show no dominating influence of electrostatic interactions between the heme propionates and the ligands. Furthermore, ligands in bis-His hemes are found more frequently perpendicular rather than parallel to each other. These correlations support energetic constraints on ligands that can be used in designing proteins.     

Leghemoglobin. An electron paramagnetic resonance and optical spectral study of the free protein and its complexes with nicotinate and acetate.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and optical spectra are used as probes of the heme and its ligands in ferric and ferrous leghemoglobin. The proximal ligand to the heme iron atom of ferric soybean leghemoglobin is identified as imidazole by comparison of the EPR of leghemoglobin hydroxide, azide, and cyanide with the corresponding derivatives of human hemoglobin. Optical spectra show that ferric soybean leghemoglobin near room temperature is almost entirely in the high spin state. At 77 K the optical spectrum is that of a low spin compound, while at 1.6 K the EPR is that of a low spin form resembling bis-imidazole heme. Acetate binds to ferric leghemoglobin to form a high spin complex as judged from the optical spectrum. The EPR of this complex is that of high spin ferric heme in a nearly axial environment. The complexes of ferrous leghemoglobin with substituted pyridines exhibit optical absorption maxima near 685 nm, whose absorption maxima and extinctions are strongly dependent on the nature of the substitutents of the pyridine ring; electron withdrawing groups on the pyridine ring shift the absorption maxima to lower energy. A crystal field analysis of the EPR of nicotinate derivatives of ferric leghemoblobin demonstrates that the pyridine nitrogen is also bound to the heme iron in the ferric state. These findings lead us to picture leghemoglobin as a somewhat flexible molecule in which the transition region between the E and F helices may act as a hinge, opening a small amount at higher temperature to a stable configuration in which the protein is high spin and can accommodate exogenous ligand molecules and closing at low temperature to a second stable configuration in which the protein is low spin and in which close approach of the E helix permits the distal histidine to become the principal sixth ligand.     

Magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy as a probe of axial heme ligand replacement in semisynthetic mutants of cytochrome c.

Horse heart cytochrome c with either histidine or cysteine replacing the endogenous axial methionine ligand at position 80 has been characterized with magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy in the UV-visible region. Comparison of the MCD spectra of the mutant proteins in the ferric state to those of authentic bis-imidazole- and imidazole/thiolate-ligated ferric heme proteins clearly shows that the histidine-imidazole and cysteine-thiolate groups of the replacement amino acids at position 80 are coordinated to the heme iron in the mutant proteins. This study demonstrates the power of MCD spectroscopy in identifying axial ligands in mutant heme proteins. Accurate axial ligand assignment is essential for proper interpretation of the altered properties of such novel proteins.     

Insights into structure and function of the active site of SoxAX cytochromes

SoxAX cytochromes catalyze the formation of heterodisulfide bonds between inorganic sulfur compounds and a carrier protein, SoxYZ. They contain unusual His/Cys-ligated heme groups with complex spectroscopic signatures. The heme-ligating cysteine has been implicated in SoxAX catalysis, but neither the SoxAX spectroscopic properties nor its catalysis are fully understood at present. We have solved the first crystal structure for a group 2 SoxAX protein (SnSoxAX), where an N-terminal extension of SoxX forms a novel structure that supports dimer formation. Crystal structures of SoxAX with a heme ligand substitution (C236M) uncovered an inherent flexibility of this SoxA heme site, with both bonding distances and relative ligand orientation differing between asymmetric units and the new residue, Met(236), representing an unusual rotamer of methionine. The flexibility of the SnSoxAX(C236M) SoxA heme environment is probably the cause of the four distinct, new EPR signals, including a high spin ferric heme form, that were observed for the enzyme. Despite the removal of the catalytically active cysteine heme ligand and drastic changes in the redox potential of the SoxA heme (WT, -479 mV; C236M, +85 mV), the substituted enzyme was catalytically active in glutathione-based assays although with reduced turnover numbers (WT, 3.7 s(-1); C236M, 2.0 s(-1)). SnSoxAX(C236M) was also active in assays using SoxYZ and thiosulfate as the sulfur substrate, suggesting that Cys(236) aids catalysis but is not crucial for it. The SoxYZ-based SoxAX assay is the first assay for an isolated component of the Sox multienzyme system.     

Properties and function of the two hemes in Pseudomonas cytochrome c peroxidase

The oxidation-reduction potentials of the two c-type hemes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c peroxidase (ferrocytochrome c:hydrogen-peroxide oxidoreductase EC 1.11.1.5) have been determined and found to be widely different, about +320 and -330 mV, respectively. The EPR spectrum at temperatures below 77 K reveals only low-spin signals (gz 3.24 and 2.93), whereas optical spectra at room temperature indicate the presence of one high-spin and one low-spin heme in the enzyme. Optical absorption spectra of both resting and half-reduced enzyme at 77 K lack features of a high-spin compound. It is concluded that the heme ligand arrangement changes on cooling from 298 to 77 K with a concomitant change in the spin state. The active form of the peroxidase is the half-reduced enzyme, in which one heme is in the ferrous and the other in the ferric state (low-spin below 77 K with gz 2.84). Reaction of the half-reduced enzyme with hydrogen peroxide forms Compound I with the hemes predominantly in the ferric (gz 3.15) and the ferryl states. Compound I has a half-life of several seconds and is converted into Compound II apparently having a ferric-ferric structure, characterized by an EPR peak at g 3.6 with unusual temperature and relaxation behavior. Rapid-freeze experiments showed that Compound II is formed in a one-electron reduction of Compound I. The rates of formation of both compounds are consistent with the notion that they are involved in the catalytic cycle.     

SoxAX cytochromes, a new type of heme copper protein involved in bacterial energy generation from sulfur compounds

SoxAX cytochromes are essential for the function of the only confirmed pathway for bacterial thiosulfate oxidation, the so-called "Sox pathway," in which they catalyze the initial formation of a S-S bond between thiosulfate and the SoxYZ carrier protein. Our work using the Starkeya novella diheme SoxAX protein reveals for the first time that in addition to two active site heme groups, SoxAX contains a mononuclear Cu(II) center with a distorted tetragonal geometry and three to four nitrogen ligands, one of which is a histidine. The Cu(II) center enhanced SoxAX activity in a newly developed, glutathione-based assay system that mimics the natural reaction of SoxAX with SoxYZ. EPR spectroscopy confirmed that the SoxAX Cu(II) center is reduced by glutathione. At pH 7 a K(m) (app) of 0.19+/-0.028 mm and a k(cat) (app) of 5.7+/-0.25s(-1) were determined for glutathione. We propose that SoxAX cytochromes are a new type of heme-copper proteins, with SoxAX-mediated S-S bond formation involving both the copper and heme centers.