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Biomedical subjects

R W Noble

Publications and source records attributed to R W Noble.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Spin equilibria in human methemoglobin: effects of bezafibrate and inositol hexaphosphate as measured by susceptometry and visible spectroscopy.

The effects of inositol hexaphosphate (IHP) and a second allosteric effector, bezafibrate, on the spin-state equilibria of the mixed-spin derivatives of ferric human hemoglobin A are examined. Changes in spin-state equilibrium are monitored by measuring absorption spectra in the visible region (460-700 nm) as well as by direct measurements of magnetic susceptibility by means of a superconducting fluxmeter. The addition of IHP at pH 6.5 results in a measurable shift in the spin equilibria of these derivatives toward higher spin. However, the addition of bezafibrate in the presence of IHP results in still larger shifts toward the high-spin form. The changes in the free energies of the spin-state equilibria resulting from the combination of these two effectors are similar in magnitude to that which results from the R-state to T-state transition in carp hemoglobin.

Animals↗

Spin equilibrium in human methemoglobin: effects of inositol hexaphosphate and bezafibrate as measured by resonance Raman spectroscopy.

The spin equilibria of several derivatives of human methemoglobin were probed by resonance Raman scattering. The intensity of lines in the Raman spectrum gives a measure of the high-spin (S = 5/2) to low-spin (S = 1/2) ratio which agrees well with the spin equilibria determined from direct magnetic susceptibility measurements. The addition of bezafibrate (BZF) to methemoglobin in the absence of organic phosphate, IHP, has very little effect on the spin equilibrium, whereas in the presence of IHP it augments the change in spin significantly. When both IHP and BZF are added to the mixed-spin derivatives (H2O, SCN-, OCN-, and NO2-) of human methemoglobin, the spin equilibrium is shifted toward higher spin by about 700 cal/mol, similar to the spin change detected in derivatives of carp methemoglobin upon addition of IHP alone. These data support a general mechanism for the allosteric transition in which a constant fraction of the cooperative energy (approximately 20%) is detected at the heme of the ferric ligand-bound forms.

Animals↗

Effects of ligand size on pH and organic phosphate-dependent affinity changes in carp hemoglobin as measured by isonitrile binding.

The equilibria of the binding of methyl and ethyl isonitrile to carp hemoglobin have been measured at three pH values in the presence and absence of inositol hexaphosphate. The binding of methyl isonitrile is characterized by a higher overall dissociation constant, C1/2, and a higher Hill coefficient, n, than that of the ethyl derivative. The former is consistent with the greater hydrophobicity of ethyl isonitrile, and the latter is probably due to a greater intrinsic difference or heterogeneity in the binding affinities of the alpha- and beta-chains for the larger ligand. Changes in log C1/2 which result from alterations in pH or addition of organic phosphate are the same for both ligands within experimental error. This result is not consistent with affinity changes being the result of steric interactions between the protein and the ligand. At pH 6 in the presence of inositol hexaphosphate, equilibrium parameters estimated from overall rates of ligand binding and dissociation are in good agreement with direct equilibrium measurements. This is consistent with the protein being in a low-affinity, T-like state even when saturated with ligand under these conditions, resulting in a loss of cooperativity in ligand binding. At high pH, ligand binding remains cooperative, as evidenced by n values greater than unity, a general lack of agreement between measured equilibrium parameters and those estimated from overall kinetic constants, and differences in the kinetics of ligand binding as observed by rapid-mixing and flash photolysis techniques. Thus, the deoxygenated state of carp hemoglobin at high pH does not appear to be a good model of a deoxygenated R quaternary structural state.

Animals↗

Studies on the linkage between spin equilibria and protein structure in carp ferric hemoglobin.

The effects of protein conformation on the spin-state equilibria of several derivatives of carp hemoglobin have been examined. This has been done by measuring the pH dependence of the paramagnetic susceptibilities of these derivatives in the presence and absence of inositol hexakisphosphate, P6-inositol. In all cases the addition of P6-inositol at low pH and the lowering of the pH in the presence of P6-inositol shift the spin-state equilibrium in favor of the high-spin electronic configuration. The P6-inositol and pH dependence of these magnetic properties parallels the pH and P6-inositol dependence of the conformational state of the hemoglobin as determined in earlier studies and further supports a thermodynamic linkage between the electronic state of the iron atoms and the quaternary structure of the hemoglobin molecule.

Animals↗

Intrinsic fluorescence of carp hemoglobin: a study of the R----T transition.

The intrinsic fluorescence of hemoglobins is known to respond to ligand-induced changes in the quaternary structure of the protein. Carp hemoglobin is an interesting model to study the quaternary transition since its R----T equilibrium is pH-dependent and at low pH, in the presence of organic phosphate, it remains in the T or 'deoxy' quaternary structure, even when saturated with ligand. In this study, using front-face fluorometry, we show that the intrinsic fluorescence intensity exhibited by carp carboxyhemoglobin increases as the pH is lowered below 6.5 in the presence of inositol hexaphosphate. At low pH, carp methemoglobin is less affected by the addition of inositol hexaphosphate than is the CO derivative, while little or no change is observed in the met-azide derivative. We conclude: (1) the exact nature of the R to T state transition induced by inositol hexaphosphate differs for carp carboxy-, met- and met-azide hemoglobin derivatives; (2) the chromophores responsible for the changes observed with absorption spectroscopy may not be the same as those chromophores responsible for the fluorescence differences; and (3) alpha 46-Trp is tentatively assigned as one source of fluorescence emission. Furthermore, fluorescence properties of carp hemoglobin are compared to those of human hemoglobin.

Animals↗

Contribution of arginine (HC3) 141 alpha to the Bohr effect of the fourth binding step in the reaction of ligand with human hemoglobin.

A few years ago we reported that histidine (HC3) 146 beta plays a major role in the pH-dependent properties of the R-state of human hemoglobin, accounting for close to 50% of the R-state Bohr effect. We have extended these studies by examining the role of arginine 141 alpha, another group known to affect the overall Bohr effect. We have compared the pH dependencies of the rate constants for the dissociation and combination of the fourth carbon monoxide molecule, l4 and l'4, respectively, for native hemoglobin A (HbA) and a control reconstituted HbA, and des-(Arg 141 alpha) HbA, the hemoglobin molecule resulting from the enzymatic removal of the C-terminal arginine of the alpha-chain of human Hb. From these kinetic constants the pH dependence of L4, the affinity constant for the fourth carbon monoxide molecule, has been estimated. We find that the removal of arginine 141 alpha reduces the pH dependence of log L4 by about 80% between pH 6 and 8, where the alkaline Bohr effect normally occurs. The sum of the effects of the removal of His 146 beta and of Arg 141 alpha is greater than 100%. This suggests that at least one of these modifications alters the contributions of other residues of this Bohr effect.

Arginine↗

Functional properties of hemoglobins from deep-sea fish: correlations with depth distribution and presence of a swimbladder.

The ligand binding properties of the hemoglobins of several deep-sea, bottom-living fish have been examined. These include five species of rattails (Macrouridae) and Antimora rostrata, all of which possess swimbladders, and two unrelated species without swimbladders, Bathysaurus mollis and Alepocephalus sp. All of the hemolysates of these fish exhibited the Root effect with a minimum ligand affinity at about pH 6 in the presence of organic phosphate. Under these conditions the hemolysates from fish which possess swimbladders exhibit two roughly equal populations of heme groups with markedly different ligand affinities. For the deeper-dwelling species the affinities for carbon monoxide differ by some 500-fold, the low-affinity population having a p50(CO) of 100 mmHg at 15 degrees C. This very low affinity is associated with a second-order rate constant for CO combination of the order of 10(3) M-1 X s-1. Those species without swimbladders have hemoglobins which do not have such heterogeneous binding sites, suggesting a relationship between these very-low-affinity heme groups and the pumping of oxygen into a swimbladder at high hydrostatic pressures.

Air Sacs↗

Spectroscopic studies of protein-heme interactions accompanying the allosteric transition in methemoglobins.

Resonance Raman, optical absorption, and circular dichroism spectroscopic techniques have been used to examine the effect of the addition of inositol hexaphosphate (IHP) to a series of carp and human methemoglobin derivatives. Markers of spin equilibrium in the high-frequency region (1450-1650 cm-1) of the resonance Raman spectrum yield high/low-spin ratios consistent with direct magnetic susceptibility measurements. Changes in the low-frequency region (100-600 cm-1) of the resonance Raman spectrum appear to correlate with the quaternary structure transition. Changes in the ultraviolet absorption spectra and the circular dichroism spectra also appear to be related to the quaternary structure change. By using the resonance Raman spin markers, we find that those derivatives of carp methemoglobin which are in spin equilibrium have a larger ratio of high-spin to low-spin populations than the corresponding derivatives of human methemoglobin. Upon the addition of IHP to the methemoglobins the spin equilibrium is shifted toward a larger high-spin population. This change in equilibrium is larger for the carp protein than for the human protein. We obtain an IHP-induced change in the free energy difference between the high-spin and low-spin states of 300 cal/mol for those human methemoglobins in which a quaternary structure change occurs and 600 cal/mol for carp methemoglobins. Our data are consistent with a quaternary structure change induced by IHP in all the carp methemoglobins studied (F-, H2O, SCN-, NO2-, N3-, and CN-) and in the F-, H2O, and SCN- derivatives of the human protein but not in the NO2-, N3-, and CN- derivatives. The Fe-CN stretching mode has been identified by isotopic substitution and found to be unchanged in frequency in carp CN- metHb when the quaternary structure is changed. On the basis of our results we conclude that the protein forces at the heme due to the addition of IHP do not significantly affect the position of the iron atom with respect to the heme plane. Rather, the changes in spin equilibrium may be caused by protein-induced changes in the orientation of the proximal histidine or tertiary structure changes in the heme pocket which affect the porphyrin macrocycle. Either of these changes, or a combination thereof, leads to changes in the iron d orbital energies and concomitant changes in the spin equilibrium.

Allosteric Regulation↗

Reexamination of the evidence for paramagnetism in oxy- and carbonmonoxyhemoglobins.

Experiments have been carried out in an attempt to confirm previous reports of paramagnetism in the oxy- and carbonmonoxy derivatives of human and carp hemoglobin. When care is taken to ensure complete saturation of the hemoglobins with ligand and the diamagnetic contributions of all of the buffers are carefully evaluated, these hemoglobin derivatives are found to have the same gram susceptibilities as exhibited by a set of metal free proteins, suggesting that they are fully diamagnetic.

Animals↗

Allergenic components of bald-faced hornet (V. maculata) venom.

Bald-faced hornet (V. maculata) venom collected by electrical stimulation was fractionated using molecular exclusion gel-filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. Four fractions were selected for in-depth analysis. These were analyzed for phospholipase, hyaluronidase and protease enzyme activities, antigenicity as measured by reaction with anti-hornet venom rabbit serum, and allergenic activity, as determined by RAST reaction with sera from hornet-sensitive patients. The results of these studies suggest that the fractions containing phospholipase, hyaluronidase and protease possess allergenic activity. In addition, there appear to be other allergenic components in hornet venom. Allergic patients differ in their reactivity to the various allergenic components in hornet venom and may have IgE antibodies to one or more of these components.

Allergens↗

Absence of cooperative energy at the heme in liganded hemoglobins.

Using resonance Raman and infrared absorption spectroscopies, we show that there are no energetically significant structural changes at the heme upon the quaternary structure transition in six-coordinate hemoglobins. These observations are at variance with the presently accepted mechanism for cooperativity, which postulates severe strain in the T quaternary structure of liganded hemoglobin. By consideration of the present results, and studies on deoxyhemoglobins and photodissociated hemoglobins, a view of the distribution of the free energy of cooperativity emerges. In five-coordinate deoxyhemoglobins the iron-histidine bond is able to respond to the protein structure, thereby accounting for a wide variation (40 cm(1] in its frequency. In contrast, when a sixth ligand is present and the iron is pulled into plane, the histidine-heme-ligand complex becomes structurally rigid, thereby preventing protein-induced changes at the heme. Instead, in liganded hemoglobin the changes in structure that occur at the subunit interface upon the quaternary structure transition are accommodated away from the heme by relatively weak bonds in the protein.

Animals↗

A high-resolution proton nuclear-magnetic-resonance investigation of carp hemoglobin. Conformational differences between carp and human normal adult hemoglobins in solution.

The high-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of carp hemoglobin have been compared to those of human normal adult hemoglobin. Carp deoxy and carbonmonoxy hemoglobins in the deoxy-type quaternary state exhibit two downfield exchangeable proton resonances as compared to four seen in human normal adult deoxyhemoglobin. This suggests that two of the hydrogen bonds present in human normal adult deoxyhemoglobin are absent or occur in very different environments in carp hemoglobin. One of the exchangeable proton resonances of carp hemoglobin, while present in the deoxy-type quaternary state of the carbonmonoxy and deoxy derivatives, is absent in the oxy-type quaternary state of both, in agreement with the assignments of these quaternary structures by other methods. The ring-current-shifted proton resonances (sensitive tertiary structural markers) of carp carbonmonoxyhemoglobin are substantially different from those of human normal adult hemoglobin. The aromatic proton resonance region of carp hemoglobin has fewer resonances than that of human normal adult hemoglobin, consistent with its much reduced histidine content. The hyperfine-shifted proximal histidyl NH-exchangeable proton resonances of carp hemoglobin suggest that during the transition from the oxy to the deoxy quaternary structure, there is a greater alteration in the heme pocket of one type of subunits (presumably the beta chain) than that in the other subunit. The present results suggest that there are differences in both tertiary and quaternary structures between carp and human normal adult hemoglobins which could contribute to the great differences in the functional properties between these two proteins.

Adult↗

Ligand binding to heme proteins. An evaluation of distal effects.

The O2, CO, and alkyl isocyanide-binding properties of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate heme proteins have been compared in detail to those of protoheme mono-3-(1-imidazoyl)-propylamide monomethyl ester in aqueous suspensions of soap micelles. The proteins examined include: cytochrome P-450cam from Pseudomonas putida, beef heart cytochrome c oxidase, yeast cytochrome c peroxidase, alpha and beta subunits of human hemoglobin, sheep hemoglobin, carp hemoglobin, sperm whale myoglobin, horse heart myoglobin, a monomeric hemoglobin from Glycera dibranchiata, erythrocruorin from Chironomusthummii, soybean leghemoglobin, and several hemoglobins that lack distal histidines. The smallest bimolecular rates were observed for cytochrome P-450 containing bound camphor, cytochrome c oxidase, and cytochrome c peroxidase. In the case of P-450, the extremely low isonitrile binding rates (approximately 1 M-1 S-1 at 20 degrees C) are due to steric exclusion by bound camphor molecules. For the oxidase and peroxidase, inhibition of CO and isonitrile binding appears to be due to the polar nature of the active sites. In the cases of animal hemoglobins and myoglobins, the sixth coordination positions appear to be designed to accommodate diatomic molecules with no steric hindrance by distal protein residues. Protein resistance to the diffusion of CO and O2 does not limit the observed association rate constants. In contrast, ligands containing three or more atoms are sterically hindered both in their final bound positions and during diffusion to the active site. The magnitude of this hindrance (greater than or equal to 2 kcal/mol) exhibits a complex dependence on ligand size and shape. The most important protein residue appears to be His E7. In addition to restricting the size of the sixth coordination position, the distal histidine is also capable of forming a hydrogen bond with bound oxygen molecules. The strength of this hydrogen bond was estimated to be -2 and -1 kcal/mol for mammalian myoglobins and hemoglobins, respectively, and accounts for the smaller CO/O2 partition constants (M values) observed for these proteins in comparison to the constants observed for pentacoordinate model heme compounds.

Animals↗

Quaternary structure and spin equilibria in ferric hemoglobins. A room temperature study.

The effective magnetic moments for a number of human and carp methemoglobin derivatives were determined in solution at room temperature. The data permit us to confirm the dependence of the spin-state equilibrium of azide methemoglobin on the quarternary state of the hemoglobin and to demonstrate a similar dependence for both human and carp aquomethemoglobin. In addition, the pH dependence of the effective magnetic moment and the Soret spectrum of carp azidemethemoglobin are compared.

Animals↗

Magnetic and spectral properties of carp carbonmonoxyhemoglobin. Competitive effects of chloride ions and inositol hexakisphosphate.

We have extended our studies on the magnetic properties of carp carbonmonoxyhemoglobin and the dependence of these properties upon solution variables. Using an improved version of the superconducting magnetometer, we have found that the magnetic susceptibility of carp carbonmonoxyhemoglobin is sensitive to both inositol hexakisphosphate and chloride ion. The dependence upon chloride ion concentration is complex. At relatively low concentrations this anion reverses the effect of inositol hexakisphosphate, restoring paramagnetism. At higher chloride concentrations the protein is converted to a roughly diamagnetic state in the absence of inositol hexakisphosphate. Along with these susceptibility studies, we have examined the effects of these anions on other properties of carp carbonmonoxyhemoglobin. The positions of the Soret bands of human and carp methemoglobin derivatives are correlated with spin state; changes in the magnetic susceptibility of carbonmonoxyhemoglobin are similarly associated with alterations in this spectral band. We have also examined the effects of these anions on the proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of carp carbonmonoxyhemoglobin. Both chloride and inositol hexakisphosphate alter the position of the proton resonances in the ring-current-shifted region of the spectrum.

Animals↗

The contribution of histidine (HC3) (146 beta) to the R state Bohr effect of human hemoglobin.

The role of histidine (HC3) 146 beta in the previously established pH-dependent properties of the R state of human hemoglobin has been investigated. The rate constants for the dissociation and combination of the fourth carbon monoxide molecule, l4 and l'4, have been determined as a function of pH for hemoglobin A and des-(His 146 beta) hemoglobin A. From these kinetic parameters, the value of L4, the affinity constant for the 4th carbon monoxide molecules, has been calculated according to the equation L4 = l'4/l4. In addition, the effect of removal of histidine 146 beta or its replacement by arginine (hemoglobin Cochin-Port Royal) on k4, the rate of oxygen dissociation from fully liganded hemoglobin, has been determined as a function of pH. Removal of histidine 146 beta reduces the pH dependence of L4 by 47%. At the same time, it produces a similar, 45%, reduction in the pH dependence of kr. Replacement of histidine 146 beta by arginine reduces the pH dependence of k4 by 23% and that of l'4 by about 30%. These chemical modifications cause reductions in the R state Bohr effect which are remarkably similar in magnitude to the reduction which they produce in the overall Bohr effect. These results indicate that histidine 146 beta controls a major fraction of the R state Bohr effect as well as being a major participant in the overall and T state Bohr effects.

Carbon Dioxide↗