Characterization of a site-directed mutant of cytochrome b5 designed to alter axial imidazole ligand plane orientation

Determination of the magnetic properties and orientation of the heme axial ligands of PpcA from Geobacter metallireducens by paramagnetic NMR

The rising interest in the use of Geobacter bacteria for biotechnological applications demands a deep understanding of how these bacteria are able to thrive in a variety of environments and perform extracellular electron transfer. The Geobacter metallireducens bacterium can couple the oxidation of a wide range of compounds to the reduction of several extracellular acceptors, including heavy metals, toxic organic compounds or electrode surfaces. The periplasmic c-type cytochrome PpcA from this bacterium is a member of a family composed of five periplasmic triheme cytochromes, which are important to bridge the electron transfer between the cytoplasm and the extracellular environment. To better understand the functional mechanism of PpcA it is essential to obtain structural data for this cytochrome. In this work, the geometry of the heme axial ligands, as well as the magnetic properties of the hemes were determined for the oxidized form of the cytochrome, using the ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of the heme α-substituents. The results were further compared with those previously obtained for the homologous cytochrome from Geobacter sulfurreducens. The orientations of the axial histidine planes and the magnetic properties of the hemes are conserved in both proteins. Overall, the results obtained allowed the definition of the orientation of the magnetic axes of PpcA from G. metallireducens, which will be used as constraints to assist the solution structure determination of the cytochrome in the oxidized form.

Redox- and pH-linked conformational changes in triheme cytochrome PpcA from Geobacter sulfurreducens

The periplasmic triheme cytochrome PpcA from Geobacter sulfurreducens is highly abundant; it is the likely reservoir of electrons to the outer surface to assist the reduction of extracellular terminal acceptors; these include insoluble metal oxides in natural habitats and electrode surfaces from which electricity can be harvested. A detailed thermodynamic characterization of PpcA showed that it has an important redox-Bohr effect that might implicate the protein in e^-/H⁺ coupling mechanisms to sustain cellular growth. This functional mechanism requires control of both the redox state and the protonation state. In the present study, isotope-labeled PpcA was produced and the three-dimensional structure of PpcA in the oxidized form was determined by NMR. This is the first solution structure of a G. sulfurreducens cytochrome in the oxidized state. The comparison of oxidized and reduced structures revealed that the heme I axial ligand geometry changed and there were other significant changes in the segments near heme I. The pH-linked conformational rearrangements observed in the vicinity of the redox-Bohr center, both in the oxidized and reduced structures, constitute the structural basis for the differences observed in the pK_a values of the redox-Bohr center, providing insights into the e^-/H⁺ coupling molecular mechanisms driven by PpcA in G. sulfurreducens.

Direct electrochemical analyses of human cytochromes b5 with a mutated heme pocket showed a good correlation between their midpoint and half wave potentials

Background

Cytochrome b₅ performs central roles in various biological electron transfer reactions, where difference in the redox potential of two reactant proteins provides the driving force. Redox potentials of cytochromes b₅ span a very wide range of ~400 mV, in which surface charge and hydrophobicity around the heme moiety are proposed to have crucial roles based on previous site-directed mutagenesis analyses.

Methods

Effects of mutations at conserved hydrophobic amino acid residues consisting of the heme pocket of cytochrome b₅ were analyzed by EPR and electrochemical methods. Cyclic voltammetry of the heme-binding domain of human cytochrome b₅ (HLMWb₅) and its site-directed mutants was conducted using a gold electrode pre-treated with β-mercarptopropionic acid by inclusion of positively-charged poly-L-lysine. On the other hand, static midpoint potentials were measured under a similar condition.

Results

Titration of HLMWb₅ with poly-L-lysine indicated that half-wave potential up-shifted to -19.5 mV when the concentration reached to form a complex. On the other hand, midpoint potentials of -3.2 and +16.5 mV were obtained for HLMWb₅ in the absence and presence of poly-L-lysine, respectively, by a spectroscopic electrochemical titration, suggesting that positive charges introduced by binding of poly-L-lysine around an exposed heme propionate resulted in a positive shift of the potential. Analyses on the five site-specific mutants showed a good correlation between the half-wave and the midpoint potentials, in which the former were 16~32 mV more negative than the latter, suggesting that both binding of poly-L-lysine and hydrophobicity around the heme moiety regulate the overall redox potentials.

Conclusions

Present study showed that simultaneous measurements of the midpoint and the half-wave potentials could be a good evaluating methodology for the analyses of static and dynamic redox properties of various hemoproteins including cytochrome b₅. The potentials might be modulated by a gross conformational change in the tertiary structure, by a slight change in the local structure, or by a change in the hydrophobicity around the heme moiety as found for the interaction with poly-L-lysine. Therefore, the system consisting of cytochrome b₅ and its partner proteins or peptides might be a good paradigm for studying the biological electron transfer reactions.

Characterization of the heme–histidine cross-link in cyanobacterial hemoglobins from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002

The recombinant product of the hemoglobin gene of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 forms spontaneously a covalent bond linking one of the heme vinyl groups to a histidine located in the C-terminal helix (His117, or H16). The present report describes the (1)H, (15)N, and (13)C NMR spectroscopy experiments demonstrating that the recombinant hemoglobin from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, a protein sharing 59% identity with Synechocystis hemoglobin, undergoes the same facile heme adduct formation. The observation that the extraordinary linkage is not unique to Synechocystis hemoglobin suggests that it constitutes a noteworthy feature of hemoglobin in non-N(2)-fixing cyanobacteria, along with the previously documented bis-histidine coordination of the heme iron. A qualitative analysis of the hyperfine chemical shifts of the ferric proteins indicated that the cross-link had modest repercussions on axial histidine ligation and heme electronic structure. In Synechocystis hemoglobin, the unreacted His117 imidazole had a normal p K(a) whereas the protonation of the modified residue took place at lower pH. Optical experiments revealed that the cross-link stabilized the protein with respect to thermal and acid denaturation. Replacement of His117 with an alanine yielded a species inert to adduct formation, but inspection of the heme chemical shifts and ligand binding properties of the variant identified position 117 as important in seating the cofactor in its site and modifying the dynamic properties of the protein. A role for bis-histidine coordination and covalent adduct formation in heme retention is proposed.

1H NMR studies of the effect of mutation at Valine45 on heme microenvironment of cytochrome b5

1D and 2D (1)H NMR were employed to probe the effects on the heme microenvironment of cytochrome b(5) caused by the mutation from Val45 to Tyr45, His45 and Glu45. Compared with wild type (WT) cytochrome b(5), in all mutants the heme ring are CCW rotated relative to the imidazole planes of axial ligands and the angles beta between two axial ligand imidazole planes are not changed, being in agreement with the temperature dependence of the shifts of the heme protons. The ratios of heme isomers (major to minor) are smaller than that in WT. The 4-vinyl group of the heme in V45Y assumes cis-orientation, being similar to that of WT, while in V45E and V45H, both cis and trans orientation are found. The relationships between the structure and biological function of the mutants are discussed in terms of the geometry of heme and axial ligands, the hydrophobicity of heme pocket and the electrostatic potential of the heme-exposed area.

Dimethyl propionate ester heme-containing cytochrome b5: structure and stability

A derivative of rat microsomal cytochrome b5, obtained by substitution of the native heme moiety with protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester, has been characterized by 1H and 15N NMR spectroscopy. Besides the two usual A and B forms, which depend on the orientation of the heme in the prostethic group cavity, two other minor forms have been detected which presumably indicate different conformations of the vinyl side chains. The shifts of the heme methyls, as well as the directions of the rhombic axes of the magnetic susceptibility tensor, indicate a small difference in the orientation of the imidazole planes of the histidine axial ligands. The solution structure was determined by using 1,303 meaningful NOEs and 241 pseudocontact shifts, the latter being derived from the native reduced protein. A family of 40 energy-minimized conformers was obtained with average RMSD of 0.56+/-0.09 A and 1.04+/-0.12 A for backbone and heavy atoms, respectively, and distance and pseudocontact shift penalty functions of 0.50+/-0.07 A2 and 0.51+/-0.02 ppm2. The structure shows some changes around the cavity and in particular a movement of the 60-70 backbone segment owing to the absence of two hydrogen bonds between the Ser64 backbone NH and side-chain OH and the carboxylate oxygen of propionate-7, present in the native protein. The analysis of the NMR spectra in the presence of unfolding agents indicates that this protein is less stable than the native form. The decrease in stability may be the result of the loss of the two hydrogen bonds connecting propionate-7 to Ser64 in the native protein. The available data on the reduction potential and the electron transfer rates are discussed on the basis of the present structural data.

The effect of mutation at valine-45 on the stability and redox potentials of trypsin-cleaved cytochrome b5

In an attempt to elucidate the determinants of redox potential and protein stability in cytochrome b5, three mutants at a highly conserved residue Val45, which is a member of heme hydrophobic pocket residues have been characterized. The V45Y mutant was designed to introduce a bulkier residue and a hydroxyl group to the heme pocket. The mutants V45H and V45E were constructed to test the effect of positive and negative charge on the stability and redox potential of proteins. The influence of these mutants on the protein stability towards thermal, urea, acid, ethanol and on the redox potential were studied. It is concluded that the decrease of hydrophobic free energy and the larger volume of the tyrosine make the phenylhydroxyl group of tyrosine still sitting inside the hydrophobic pocket, while the side chain of the mutant V45E and V45H shift away from the heme pocket. The redox potentials of mutants V45Y, V45H, V45E and wild-type of cytochrome b5 are -35 mV, 8 mV, -26 mV and -3 mV, respectively. The bigger change of the V45Y on redox potential is due to the close contact between the hydroxyl group and the heme, while the changes of the V45E and V45H result from the alteration of charge density and distribution around the heme. Different relative stability of these mutants towards heat have been observed with the order: WT > V45Y-V45H > V45E being both in the oxidized and reduced state. The relative stability induced by addition of urea decreases in the order: WT > V45Y > V45H > V45E. These results suggest that the difference in the hydrophobic free energy is a major factor contributing to the stability of the Val45 mutants. Also the loose of the helix III in the mutant V45E makes it more unstable. These results indicate that residue Val45 plays an important role in the stability and redox potential of the protein.

Solution structure of reduced microsomal rat cytochrome b5

The solution structure of the major form of the reduced soluble fragment of rat microsomal cytochrome b5 has been solved through 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The protein contains 98 amino acids. Proton assignment was available for residues 1-94, except 90 [Guiles, R. D., Basus, V. J., Kuntz, I. D. & Waskell, L. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 11,365-11,375] and has been confirmed. From 1722 NOEs, of which 1203 were found to be meaningful, a family of 40 energy-minimized structures has been obtained with average backbone rmsd (for residues 5-89) of 0.078 +/- 0.018 nm and average target function of 0.0045 nm2, no distance violations being larger than 0.029 nm. The structure has been compared with the X-ray structure of the oxidized rat mitochondrial isoenzyme and with that of the highly similar bovine microsomal isoenzyme in the oxidized form. The analysis of the elements of secondary structure is instructive in terms of their stability and of their occurrence in related structures, and of the capability of NMR and X-ray spectroscopy to observe them. Some detailed structural variations are noticed among the solved structures of the various isoenzymes and between solid and solution. The structural features in solution of the residues proposed to be involved in protein-protein recognition are found to be largely conserved with respect to the solid state.