Characterization of the intermediates in the reaction of mixed-valence state soluble cytochrome oxidase with oxygen at low temperatures by optical and electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy.

The reaction of soluble mixed-valence-state (a3+CuA 2+.CuB + A32+) cytochrome oxidase with O2 at low temperature was studied by optical and e.p.r. spectroscopy. The existence of three intermediates [Clore & Chance (1978) Biochem. J. 173, 799-8101] was confirmed. From the e.p.r data it is clear that cytochrome a and CuA remain in the low-spin ferric and cupric states respectively throughout the reaction. No e.p.r. signals attributable to cytochrome a3 or CuB were seen in the intermediates. The difference spectra (intermediates minus unliganded mixed-valence-state cytochrome oxidase) and absolute spectra of the three intermediates were obtained. The chemcal nature of the three intermediates is discussed in terms of their spectroscopic properties. A catalytic cycle for cytochrome oxidase is proposed.     

The mechanism of reaction of ferricyanide-pretreated mixed-valence-state membrane-bound cytochrome oxidase with oxygen at 173 K.

1. The results of non-linear optimization studies on the mechanism of reaction of ferricyanide-pretreated mixed-valence-state cytochrome oxidase with O2 at 173 K are presented. The analysis is carried out on data obtained by means of dual-wavelength multi-channel spectroscopy at four wavelength pairs (444-463 nm, 604-630 nm, 608-630 nm and 830-940 nm) and at two O2 concentrations (360 micron and 520 micron). The only model that satisfies the triple requirement of a standard deviation within the standard error of the experimental data, a random distribution of residuals and good determination of the optimized parameters, is a three-intermediate sequential mechanism. 2. On the basis of the optimized values of the relative absorption coefficients of the intermediates at each wavelength obtained from the present paper together with data from optical wavelength scanning and e.p.r. spectroscopy obtained by low-temperature trapping studies, the possible valence states of the metal centres in each of the intermediates are discussed.     

Determination of the positions of bound water molecules in the solution structure of reduced human thioredoxin by heteronuclear three-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The presence of bound water molecules in the solution structure of reduced human thioredoxin has been investigated using three-dimensional 1H rotating frame Overhauser 1H-15N multiple quantum coherence spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that the backbone amide protons of Lys21, Lys39, Lys82, Gly83 and Asn102, as well as the side-chain amide group of Asn102, are in close proximity to bound water molecules. Examination of the high-resolution solution structure of reduced human thioredoxin reveals that these results are best accounted for by four bound water molecules. Subsequent simulated annealing calculations carried out on the basis of interproton distance and hydrogen bonding restraints to the bound water molecules, supplemented by the original set of experimental restraints used in the calculation of the three-dimensional structure of human thioredoxin, permit a more precise localization of the bound water positions. Potential hydrogen bonds to these water molecules are described and a comparison is made to corresponding bound water molecules in the crystal structure of oxidized Escherichia coli thioredoxin.     

Comparison of the solution nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray crystal structures of human recombinant interleukin-1 beta

The solution structure of interleukin-1 beta determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is compared to three independently solved X-ray structures at 2 A resolution. It is shown that the solution and X-ray structures are very similar, both locally and globally. The atomic root-mean-square (r.m.s.) difference between the solution and X-ray structures is approximately 0.9 A for backbone atoms, approximately 1.5 A for all atoms and approximately 1 A for all atoms of internal residues. The largest differences are confined to some of the loops and turns connecting beta-strands. The atomic r.m.s. distribution of the 32 calculated solution structures about their mean co-ordinate positions (approximately 0.4 A for backbone atoms, approximately 0.8 A for all atoms and approximately 0.5 A for all atoms of internal residues) is approximately the same as the atomic r.m.s. differences between the three X-ray structures, indicating that the positional errors in the atomic co-ordinates determined by the two methods are similar.     

Pyruvic acid is attached through its central carbon atom to the amino terminus of the recombinant DNA-derived DNA-binding protein Ner of bacteriophage Mu.

Ner protein of bacteriophage Mu, produced by recombinant DNA techniques in Escherichia coli, has been found to possess a molecule of pyruvic acid attached covalently through carbon-2 to the amino-terminal cysteine residue. The intact protein and the amino-terminal chymotryptic peptide were found by mass spectrometry to be 70 mass units heavier than expected. The modified peptide was unstable under mildly acid or mildly basic conditions. Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the modified and unmodified forms of the amino-terminal chymotryptic peptide was consistent with the presence of pyruvate linked through carbon-2 to the amino-terminal Cys residue. Treatment of the modified form with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine in acid medium led to the expected hydrazone of pyruvic acid, which was identified by high pressure liquid chromatography. Of the two proteins known to be modified by pyruvate through its central carbon (the other being human adult hemoglobin, in which the modified form represents only a very minor fraction), Ner is the first protein found to be modified quantitatively. Given the instability of the modification, it may be more prevalent than recognized hitherto. Incubation with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine may offer a useful means of detecting the presence of pyruvate linked to proteins in this way.     

Identification and localization of bound internal water in the solution structure of interleukin 1 beta by heteronuclear three-dimensional 1H rotating-frame Overhauser 15N-1H multiple quantum coherence NMR spectroscopy

The presence and location of bound internal water molecules in the solution structure of interleukin 1 beta have been investigated by means of three-dimensional 1H rotating-frame Overhauser 1H-15N multiple quantum coherence spectroscopy (ROESY-HMQC). In this experiment through-space rotating-frame Overhauser (ROE) interactions between NH protons and bound water separated by less than or equal to 3.5 A are clearly distinguished from chemical exchange effects, as the cross-peaks for these two processes are of opposite sign. The identification of ROEs between NH protons and water is rendered simple by spreading out the spectrum into a third dimension according to the 15N chemical shift of the directly bonded nitrogen atoms. By this means, the problems that prevent, in all but a very few limited cases, the interpretation, identification, and assignment of ROE peaks between NH protons and water in a 2D 1H-1H ROESY spectrum of a large protein such as interleukin 1 beta, namely, extensive NH chemical shift degeneracy and ROE peaks obscured by much stronger chemical exchange peaks, are completely circumvented. We demonstrate the existence of 15 NH protons that are close to bound water molecules. From an examination of the crystal structure of interleukin 1 beta [Finzel, B. C., Clancy, L. L., Holland, D. R., Muchmore, S. W., Watenpaugh, K. D., & Einspahr, H. M. (1989) J. Mol. Biol. 209, 779-791], the results can be attributed to 11 water molecules that are involved in interactions bridging hydrogen-bonding interactions with backbone amide and carbonyl groups which stabilize the 3-fold pseudosymmetric topology of interleukin 1 beta and thus constitute an integral part of the protein structure in solution.     

13C NMR evidence for three slowly interconverting conformations of the dihydrofolate reductase-NADP+-folate complex

The 3-carboxamido-¹³C resonance of NADP⁺ in its complex with $\text{Lactobacillus}\text{casei}$ dihydrofolate reductase and folate has been studied as a function of pH. At low pH a single resonance is observed, while at high pH two resonances are observed, neither of which has the same chemical shift as that seen at low pH. The rates of interconversion between the three states of the complex represented by these resonances are < 19 s^?1 at 11°C.