Spectral studies of horse heart porphyrin cytochrome c

Removal of the heme iron from cytochrome c to generate porphyrin cytochrome c relieves the quenching of porphyrin fluorescence and enhances the fluorescence of the single tryptophan residue and the 4 tyrosine residues. The intensity of the porphyrin fluorescence is not perturbed by denaturation of the protein at neutral pH using either urea or guanidine hydrochloride. However, the amplitude of tryptophan fluorescence is increased by these denaturants from 5 to about 85% of a model tryptophan residue using solutions of 2 microM tryptophan. In contrast to cytochrome c, the tryptophan fluorescence amplitude of denatured porphyrin cytochrome c is independent of pH over the range pH 3.0 to 7.4. Acidification of solutions of either native or denatured porphyrin cytochrome c markedly alters both the visible absorbance and fluorescence of the protein consistent with protonation of two pyrrole nitrogens on the porphyrin. Preliminary analysis of the spectral changes occurring in the acid transition suggests the presence of an intermediate form having only one of these two pyrrole nitrogens protonated.     

Synthesis and photophysical studies of covalently linked porphyrin-21-thiaporphyrin dyads

The synthesis and photophysical properties of four covalently linked unsymmetrical porphyrin dyads containing two different porphyrin cores such as N₄ and N₃S are reported. The covalently linked dyads were prepared by the coupling of appropriate porphyrin having ethynylphenyl functional group at meso-position with porphyrin having iodophenyl or bromo functional group at meso-position under mild palladium coupling conditions. The photophysical study indicated an intramolecular singlet-singlet energy transfer from N₄/ZnN₄ porphyrin sub-unit to N₃S porphyrin sub-unit in all four dyads with an efficiency of energy transfer process was typically ?97%. To probe the role of linker in through bond electronic communication between the two porphyrin sub-units in dyads, the linker was varied from diphenylethyne to phenylethyne and the study revealed that the energy transfer rates and efficiencies were much higher for phenylethyne-bridged porphyrin dyads compared with diphenylethyne-bridged porphyrin dyads.     

Role of non-linear optics and multiple photon absorbance in enhancing sensitivity of enzyme-based chemical agent detectors

Real-time chemical sensors have been developed based on the binding of the analyte to monolayers of either porphyrin alone or porphyrins incorporated into the active site of enzymes. Binding of an analyte to porphyrin alone causes a redistribution of electrons in the porphyrin, altering the energy levels of the electrons which manifests as a change in the absorbance spectrum of the porphyrin. Porphyrins incorporated into the active site of enzymes such as cholinesterases are displaced when a competitive inhibitor such as nerve agents binds to the active site; this results in the porphyrin experiencing a different microenvironment than in the protein, resulting in a change in absorbance spectrum. Based on the Beer-Lambert relationship of concentration and absorbance, the limit of detection (LOD) for porphyrin-based sensors should be approximately 2 nM although LODs several orders of magnitude lower have been published. This increased sensitivity is explained as the result of multiple photon absorbance by the porphyrin and limiting self-quenching energy transfer reactions in the evanescent monolayer.     

Porphyrin accumulation in mitochondria is mediated by 2-oxoglutarate carrier

Heme (Fe-protoporphyrin IX), an endogenous porphyrin derivative, is an essential molecule in living aerobic organisms and plays a role in a variety of physiological processes such as oxygen transport, respiration, and signal transduction. For the biosynthesis of heme or the mitochondrial heme proteins, heme or its biosynthetic precursor porphyrin must be transported into mitochondria from cytosol. The mechanism of porphyrin accumulation in the mitochondrial inner membrane is unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the mechanism of mitochondrial translocation of porphyrin derivatives. We showed that palladium meso-tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (PdTCPP), a phosphorescent porphyrin derivative, accumulated in the mitochondria of several cell lines. Using affinity latex beads, we showed that 2-oxoglutarate carrier (OGC), the mitochondrial transporter of 2-oxoglutarate, bound to PdTCPP, and in vitro PdTCPP inhibited 2-oxoglutarate uptake into mitochondria in a competitive manner (Ki = 15 microM). Interestingly, all types of porphyrin derivatives examined in this study competitively inhibited 2-oxoglutarate uptake into mitochondria, including protoporphyrin IX, coproporphyrin III, and hemin. Furthermore, mitochondrial accumulation of porphyrins was inhibited by 2-oxoglutarate or OGC inhibitor. These results suggested that porphyrin accumulation in mitochondria is mediated by OGC and that porphyrins are able to competitively inhibit 2-oxoglutarate uptake into mitochondria. This is the first report of a putative mechanism for accumulation of porphyrins in the mitochondrial inner membrane.     

The effects of pressure on yeast cytochrome c peroxidase

The effects of pressure on cytochrome c peroxidase [CcP(FeIII)], its cyano derivative (CcP X CN) and its enzyme-substrate complex (ES) have been studied. The effects of pressure on the binding of the substrate analog porphyrin cytochrome c (porphyrin c) to CcP X CN and ES have also been studied. High pressure causes CcP(FeIII) to undergo a high-spin to low-spin transition but has no detectable effect on either CcP X CN, which is already low spin, or on ES. The low-spin CcP(FeIII) structure at pressure is similar to the low-spin form at low temperature and the low-spin form of horseradish peroxidase at high pressure. delta V degree associated with the spin equilibrium is about 30 ml/mol and is independent of temperature. delta G degree is small, 4.7 kJ/mol at 0 degree C, while delta H degree is 14.2 kJ/mol at 1 bar (100 kPa). Pressure has no detectable effect on the binding equilibria of mixtures of CcP X CN plus porphyrin c or ES plus porphyrin c. This indicates that the interaction of CcP and porphyrin c results in little or no volume change; the same is true in the case of cytochrome c oxidase and porphyrin c.     

Cytochrome c interaction with membranes. Absorption and emission spectra and binding characteristics of iron-free cytochrome c.

A cytochrome c derivative from which iron is removed has been prepared and characterized. Several lines of evidence indicate that native and porphyrin cytochrome c have similar conformations: they have similar elution characteristics on Sephadex gel chromatography; in both proteins the tryptophan fluorescence is quenched and the pK values of protonation of the porphyrin are identical. Porphyrin cytochrome c does not substitute for native cytochrome c in either the oxidase reaction or in restoring electron transport in cytochrome-c-depleted mitochondria. It does however competitively inhibit native cytochrome c in these reactions, the Ki for inhibition being larger than the Km for reaction. The absorption and emission spectra, and the polarized excitation spectrum of the porphyrin cytochrome c are characteristic of free base porphyrin. The absence of fluorescence quenching of porphyrin cytochrome c when the protein is bound to cytochrome oxidase suggests that heme to heme distance between these proteins is larger than 0.5 to 0.9 nm depending upon orientation. Binding of the porphyrin cytochrome c to phospholipids or to mitochondria increases the fluorescence polarization of a positively polarized absorption band, which indicates that the bound form of the protein does not rotate freely within the time scale of relaxation from the excited state.     

Cellular uptake of phosphorothioate oligonucleotide facilitated by cationic porphyrin: a microfluorescence study

Cationic 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (1-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin was tested as a delivery agent for oligonucleotides. By using fluorescence microimaging, it has been shown that complexation of the porphyrin to the phosphorothioate analog of dT(15) labeled by rhodamine enabled its nonendocytic penetration into the cell and regular distribution in the cytoplasm and preferentially into the nucleus. Time-resolved microfluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the oligonucleotide integrity was kept. A small fraction of the porphyrin molecules seems to undergo change of the binding mode after internalization, probably due to duplex formation between the oligonucleotide and its cellular target sequences, or due to dissociation of the porphyrin from the oligonucleotide and subsequent interactions in the cellular environment.     

Halogenation of metalloporphyrins

We found that thionyl chloride can chlorinate porphyrin complexes with transient metals (Pd, Ni, or Cu) at the free β andmeso-positions of the porphyrin macrocycle. A more prolonged or rigorous treatment also causes the chlorination of side alkyl substituents, mainly, methyl groups.     

The importance of porphyrin distortions for the ferrochelatase reaction

Ferrochelatase is the terminal enzyme in haem biosynthesis, i.e. the enzyme that inserts a ferrous ion into the porphyrin ring. Suggested reaction mechanisms for this enzyme involve a distortion of the porphyrin ring when it is bound to the enzyme. We have examined the energetics of such distortions using various theoretical calculations. With the density functional B3LYP method we calculate how much energy it costs to tilt one of the pyrrole rings out of the porphyrin plane for an isolated porphyrin molecule without or with a divalent metal ion in the centre of the ring. A tilt of 30 degrees costs 65-130 kJ/mol for most metal ions, but only approximately 48 kJ/mol for free-base (neutral) porphine. This indicates that once the metal is inserted, the porphyrin becomes stiffer and flatter, and therefore binds with lower affinity to a site designed to bind a distorted porphyrin. This would facilitate the release of the product from ferrochelatase. This proposal is strengthened by the fact that the only tested metal ion with a lower distortion energy than free-base porphyrin (Cd(2+)) is an inhibitor of ferrochelatase. Moreover, it costs even less energy to tilt a doubly deprotonated porphine(2-) molecule. This suggests that the protein may lower the acid constant of the pyrrole nitrogen atoms by deforming the porphyrin molecule. We have also estimated the structure of the protoporphyrin IX substrate bound to ferrochelatase using combined quantum chemical and molecular mechanics calculations. The result shows that the protein may distort the porphyrin by approximately 20 kJ/mol, leading to a distinctly non-planar structure. All four pyrrole rings are tilted out of the porphyrin mean plane (1-16 degrees ) but most towards the putative binding site of the metal ion. The predicted tilt is considerably smaller than that observed in the crystal structure of a porphyrin inhibitor.     

The structure of sitting-atop complexes of metalloporphyrins studied by theoretical methods

The metallation of tetrapyrroles is believed to proceed via a sitting-atop (SAT) complex, in which some of the pyrrole nitrogen atoms are still protonated and the metal ion resides above the ring plane. No crystal structure of such a complex has been presented, but NMR and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data has been reported for Cu(2+) in acetonitrile. We have used density functional calculations to obtain reasonable models for SAT complexes of porphyrins with Mg(2+), Fe(2+), and Cu(2+). The results show that there are many possible SAT complexes with 1-5 solvent molecules, one or two metal ions, and cis or trans protonation of the porphyrin ring. Many of these have similar energies and their relative stabilities vary with the metal ion. A complex with two cis pyrrolenine nitrogens atoms and 2-4 solvent molecules coordinated to Cu(2+) fits the NMR and EXAFS data best. However, we cannot fully exclude the possibility that what is observed is rather a mixture of a doubly protonated porphyrin and the copper porphyrin. Mg(2+) has a lower affinity for porphyrin and stronger affinity for water, so a complex with five water molecules and only one bond to porphyrin seems to be most stable. For Fe(2+), a cis structure with two first-sphere water molecules and four interactions to the porphyrin seems to be most likely.     

氰类和酯类取代基水溶金属卟啉与DNA相互作用的共振拉曼研究

用共振拉曼和紫外－可见吸收光谱研究了水溶金属卟啉４－Ｎ－乙酸乙酯基－吡啶基铜卟啉和镍卟啉［简称Ｃｕ（ＮＥＡＥ）和Ｎｉ（ＮＥＡＥ）］及４－Ｎ－乙腈基－吡啶基铜卟啉［简称Ｃｕ（ＮＡＣＮ）］与小牛胸腺ＤＮＡ的相互作用。分析表明Ｃｕ（ＮＥＡＥ）、Ｎｉ（ＮＥＡＥ）和Ｃｕ（ＮＡＣＮ）分别以外部键联、部分插入和沟槽方式与ＤＮＡ作用;卟啉插入ＤＮＡ时吡啶基团向卟啉环平面转动但不可能转成与之共面;而以非插入方式作用时吡啶基团会向垂直于或者平行于卟啉环平面转动。吡啶取代基的大小和空间位阻是影响相互作用方式的关键因素之一。     

Bromocriptine prevents the castration-induced rise in porphyrin concentration in the harderian glands of the male Syrian hamster, Mesocricetus auratus

The Harderian glands in Syrian hamsters exhibit a striking sexual dimorphism. Male Harderian glands show two cell types and low levels of porphyrins and melatonin. Of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of melatonin, N-acetyltransferase (NAT) and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) show high and low activity levels, respectively. Female Harderian glands show but one cell type and have high porphyrin and melatonin levels, low NAT activity, and high HIOMT activity. In castrated males, the Harderian glands exhibit a female pattern of morphology, porphyrin levels, and indoleamine metabolism. In an attempt to determine whether prolactin in involved in this sexually dimorphic response of the Harderian glands, intact and castrated male and intact female hamsters were injected daily with 500 micrograms of bromocriptine, a dopamine agonist. Bromocriptine led to reduced serum prolactin levels in all groups. It had no apparent effect on the Harderian glands of intact males. In contrast, in castrated males bromocriptine prevented the postcastrational rise in porphyrin levels but had no effect on NAT or HIOMT activities. In females, bromocriptine treatment had no effect on porphyrin concentrations or HIOMT activity; it led to a statistically significant increase in NAT activity. We propose that testosterone inhibits Harderian porphyrin synthesis while dopamine or prolactin stimulates it.     

The conformational transition of horse heart porphyrin c

The heme iron of horse heart cytochrome c was selectively removed using anhydrous HF. The product, porphyrin c, exhibits the viscosity, far ultraviolet circular dichroic, and fluorescence properties characteristic for native cytochrome c. However, porphyrin c is more susceptible to denaturation by guanidine hydrochloride and by heat than is the parent cytochrome. All of the conformational parameters of porphyrin c exhibit a common reversible transition centered at 0.95 m guanidine hydrochloride at 23 degrees C and pH 7.0. Guanidine denatured porphyrin c refolds in two kinetic phases having time constants of 20 and 200 ms as detected by stopped flow absorbance or fluorescence measurement, with about 80% of the observed change in the faster phase. The kinetics of porphyrin c refolding are not significantly altered by increasing the viscosity of the refolding solvent 15-fold by addition of sucrose. We suggest that the folding of guanidine denatured cytochrome c is not a diffusion-limited process and that the requirement for protein axial ligation elicits the slow (s) kinetic phase observed in the refolding of cytochrome c.     

Potassium monopersulfate and a water-soluble manganese porphyrin complex, [Mn(TMPyP)](OAc)5, as an efficient reagent for the oxidative cleavage of DNA

Reported studies indicate that the association of potassium monopersulfate with [Mn(TMPyP)](OAc)5, a water-soluble manganese porphyrin complex, leads to an efficient reagent for the oxidative cleavage of DNA. Single-strand breaks (SSBs) are observed on double-stranded DNA at manganese porphyrin concentrations as low as 0.5 nM with a short incubation time of 1 min. The number of SSBs linearly varies with the concentration of the manganese complex, and potassium monopersulfate is at least 3 orders of magnitude more efficient as oxygen source than hydrogen peroxide. Cleavage efficiency is optimal in the pH range 7.5-9.0 for a NaCl concentration between 80 and 150 mM or for a MgCl2 concentration of 10 mM. At very low manganese porphyrin concentration and by increasing the incubation time a catalytic cleavage activity of the complex is evidenced: up to 5 SSBs per manganese porphyrin are observed. The high cleavage activity of the monopersulfate-manganese porphyrin system makes it a good candidate for DNA-footprinting experiments.     

A new thioether-ligated iron porphyrin as a model of a protonated form of P450 active site

Thioether-ligated iron porphyrin (complex 1) was synthesized as a model of the protonated form of P450 to explore the possible involvement of the protonated form in the catalytic cycle, and ether-ligated iron porphyrin (complex 2) was also synthesized for comparison. The thioether and ether ligands enhanced heterolytic O-O bond cleavage of peroxy acid-iron porphyrin complex even in highly hydrophobic media without the assistance of acid or base, using mCPPAA as an oxidant. Competitive oxidation of cyclooctane/cyclooctene catalyzed by iron porphyrins showed that complexes 1 and 2 are less effective than heme thiolate (P450 and a synthetic heme thiolate (SR complex)) in oxidizing alkane. The possibility that thiol-ligated heme, which is a protonated form of heme thiolate, is not involved in the active intermediate structure of P450 is indicated by this result. This is the first report concerning the oxidizing ability of a thioether-ligated iron porphyrin.     

Combination of two chromophores: synthesis and PDT application of porphyrin-pentamethinium conjugate

A general method for the synthesis of a novel porphyrin with pentamethine periphery substitution is described. The combination of two chromophoric systems, a porphyrin macrocycle and a polymethine moiety was achieved by transformation of tetrapyridyl porphyrin. The synthetic strategy included conversion of the tetrapyridyl porphyrin to its corresponding 2,4-dinitrophenylpyridinuim salt, which was subsequently converted to tetrakis(meso-pentamethinium salt) on the porphyrin core. This novel porphyrin exhibited PDT properties as manifested by the induction of apoptosis in the myeloid cell line HL-60 and the effective reduction of amelanotic melanoma in nude mice.     

Modulation of porphyrin binding to serum albumin by pH

In this study, we show that the difference in acidity of functional groups in porphyrin photosensitizers provides a meaningful avenue to achieve differential localization and retention of porphyrins in tissues and cells, and in the end could be a positive factor in the photodynamic treatment of cancer (PDT). We have demonstrated that meso-tetraphenylporphyrin derivative with four phosphonate (bond P(double bond O)(bond OH)(2)) moieties exists in aqueous solutions mainly in four forms that differ by a degree of protonation of the porphyrin ring and ionization of the phosphonate group. It is shown that each porphyrin form has different affinities toward the model protein (bovine serum albumin, BSA). Thus pH of the medium significantly modulates the affinity of the phosphonate porphyrin toward BSA. At lower pH (pH 6.0), the phosphonate porphyrin and BSA form a complex with affinity constant of K(b)=6.9 x 10(5) M(-1), while at pH 7.0 the K(b)=6.1 x 10(5) M(-1). At pH 8.0 the association is significantly lower. Because cancerous cells have generally lower pH (pH approximately 6.9) compared to healthy cells (pH approximately 7.4), the pH of such cells could be a decisive factor for cellular retention of the porphyrin in the form of an associate with intracellular proteins. Moreover, we have also demonstrated that the protonation/deprotonation equilibria do not negatively affect the photophysical properties or ability of phosphonate porphyrin to generate singlet oxygen.     

Analysis of porphyrin carboxylic acids in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method for the rapid and sensitive fluorometric analysis of porphyrin carboxylic acids by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is described. Separation of free porphyrin carboxylic acids was carried out with a microparticulate octadecylsilane column with elution by a gradient of methanol in phosphate buffer containing tetrabutylammonium hydroxide. Separation and quantitation of di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, and octacar-boxylic porphyrins was achieved within 25 min at picomolar concentrations. The method is also capable of separating the type I and type III isomers of tetracarboxylic through hexacarboxylic porphyrins. By using a stopped flow technique, one can record fluorescence excitation and emission spectra of porphyrin carboxylic acids. This method is directly applicable to biological fluids such as urine, plasma, red cell lysates, or medium or extracts from cell culture.     

Efficient photosensitization of malignant human cells in vitro by liposome-bound porphyrins

Comparative kinetics of porphyrin uptake and release by HeLa cells, incubated with equivalent concentrations of either hematoporphyrin (Hp) in aqueous solution or Hp and its dimethylester (HpDME) bound to unilamellar liposomes, show that liposomal porphyrins are bound at a higher rate and in considerably larger amounts. Moreover, the release of cell-bound porphyrins into the medium is remarkably reduced and slowered after cell loading with liposome-bound porphyrins. The presence of 1% bovine or human serum albumin (but not serum globulins) in the medium has no effect on uptake and release of liposome-bound porphyrins by HeLa cells, whereas it remarkably decreases the uptake of aqueous Hp. Parallel studies of cell photodamages under known concentrations of cell-bound porphyrin unequivocally demonstrate that the photodynamic effect is strictly related to the porphyrin load. As a consequence a dramatic increase of cell-photosensitizing efficiency is obtained by binding Hp (and even more HpDME) with liposomes. Electron microscopy investigations on cell damages caused by loading with liposome-bound porphyrins and subsequent illumination show that the plasmatic membrane is one important cell site of porphyrin interaction and photodynamic effect.     

The effects of selected monopyrroles on various aspects of heme biosynthesis and degradation in the rat

The effects of four monopyrroles on porphyrin biosynthesis and excretion in the rat were studied. All four compounds investigated significantly increased total urinary porphyrin excretion and hepatic porphyrin levels while the effects on fecal excretion were equivocal. Peak porphyrin production elicited by treatment with ethyl 3-acetyl-2,4-dimethylpyrrole-5-carboxylate was found to be dose dependent, as was the time of maximum excretion. The effects of 3-ethyl-5-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-Δ³-pyrrolin-2-one, a compound excreted in abnormally high levels in the urine of patients with hepatic porphyria, were studied in greater depth. It was found that this compound caused an increase in the activity of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase, in vivo, which was associated with a depression of microsomal levels of heme and cytochrome P-450. This depression of heme levels could not be related to increased catabolism or nonenzymic breakdown. It is suggested that the primary effect of this and the other compounds on porphyrin metabolism is a reduction in heme formation by a mechanism at present unclear.