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PubMed2005

Blue ferrocenium azurin: an organometalloprotein with tunable redox properties.

A ferrocene derivative (2-[(methylsulfonyl)thio]ethylferrocene) (1) has been synthesized and incorporated into apo-azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa by covalent attachment to the highly conserved Cys112. The resulting artificial organometalloprotein (a protein containing organometallic compounds in the active site) has been characterized by UV-vis, electrospray mass spectrometry, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Incorporation of 1 into azurin resulted in a higher solubility of the ferrocene group and improved stability of the ferrocenium species in aqueous solution, as shown by a more intense UV-vis absorption and a more reversible CV of the attached ferrocene group, respectively. The incorporation of 1 also increased the reduction potential of the complex from 402 to 579 mV (vs NHE), consistent with the ferrocene group being encapsulated inside the hydrophobic environment of the protein. Modulation of the reduction potential of ferrocene by residues near the secondary coordination sphere has also been demonstrated. Raising the pH from 4 to 9 resulted in a greater than 80 mV decrease in reduction potential of the protein-bound ferrocene (from 579 to 495 mV), while replacing Met121, an amino acid residue in close proximity to the ferrocene group with a positively charged Arg or negatively charged Glu, resulted in the predicted increase or decrease in reduction potential at all pH values. Similarly, substitution of Met121 with a more hydrophobic Leu raised the reduction potential. The increased solubility, stability, and tune-ability of this organometalloprotein make it an ideal choice for carrying out a number of biological reactions, such as long-range electron transfer or sensing. As an example of such applications, stoichiometric oxidation of ferrocytochrome c by the blue ferrocenium azurin was demonstrated.

Azurin↗
PubMed2005

Novel kinetic and background current selectivity in the even harmonic components of fourier transformed square-wave voltammograms of surface-confined azurin.

Fourier transform analysis of ramped square-wave voltammograms indicates the availability of a novel form of kinetic selectivity for surface-confined electron-transfer processes. Thus, for all the even harmonic components, quasi-reversible processes are sensitive to the surface coverage, the reversible potential, the electron-transfer rate constant (k(0')), and the electron-transfer coefficient (alpha), as well as to the amplitude (DeltaE) and frequency (f) of the square wave and dc scan rate. Additionally, it is insensitive to background capacitance current. In contrast, reversible processes and background currents are predicted to be absent from the even harmonics and only detectable in the odd harmonic components. The square-wave voltammetry of the surface-confined quasi-reversible azurin process azurin[Cu(II)] + e(-) right arrow over left arrow azurin[Cu(I)] at a paraffin-impregnated graphite electrode has been employed as a model system to test theoretical predictions. Most voltammetric characteristics of the even harmonic components obtained from the Fourier analysis are consistent with electrode kinetic values of k(0') = 90 s(-1) and alpha = 0.48, although some nonideality possibly due to kinetic dispersion also is apparent. Conditions also have been determined under which a readily generated waveform constructed from the Fourier series of sine waves produces voltammograms that are essentially indistinguishable from those predicted when an ideal square wave is employed.

Azurin↗
PubMed1975

A temperature-jump study of the reaction between azurin and cytochrome c oxidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The electron-transfer reaction between azurin and the cytochrome oxidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated by temperature-jump relaxation in the absence of O2 and in the presence of CO. The results show that: (i) reduced azurin exists in two forms in equilibrium, only one of which is capable of exchanging electrons with the Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase, in agreement with M. T. Wilson, C. Greenwood, M. Brunori & E. Antonini (1975) (Biochem. J. 145, 449-457); (ii) the electron transfer between azurin and Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase occurs within a molecular complex of the two proteins; this internal transfer becomes rate-limiting at high reagent concentrations.

Azurin↗
PubMed2000

Crystal structure of the disulfide bond-deficient azurin mutant C3A/C26A: how important is the S-S bond for folding and stability?

Azurin has a beta-barrel fold comprising eight beta-strands and one alpha helix. A disulfide bond between residues 3 and 26 connects the N-termini of beta strands beta1 and beta3. Three mutant proteins lacking the disulfide bond were constructed, C3A/C26A, C3A/C26I and a putative salt bridge (SB) in the C3A/S25R/C26A/K27R mutant. All three mutants exhibit spectroscopic properties similar to the wild-type protein. Furthermore, the crystal structure of the C3A/C26A mutant was determined at 2.0 A resolution and, in comparison to the wild-type protein, the only differences are found in the immediate proximity of the mutation. The mutants lose the 628 nm charge-transfer band at a temperature 10-22 degrees C lower than the wild-type protein. The folding of the zinc loaded C3A/C26A mutant was studied by guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) induced denaturation monitored both by fluorescence and CD spectroscopy. The midpoint in the folding equilibrium, at 1.3 M GdnHCl, was observed using both CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. The free energy of folding determined from CD is -24.9 kJ.mol-1, a destabilization of approximately 20 kJ.mol-1 compared to the wild-type Zn2+-protein carrying an intact disulfide bond, indicating that the disulfide bond is important for giving azurin its stable structure. The C3A/C26I mutant is more stable and the SB mutant is less stable than C3A/C26A, both in terms of folding energy and thermal denaturation. The folding intermediate of the wild-type Zn2+-azurin is not observed for the disulfide-deficient C3A/C26A mutant. The rate of unfolding for the C3A/C26A mutant is similar to that of the wild-type protein, suggesting that the site of the mutation is not involved in an early unfolding reaction.

Azurin↗
PubMed1982

Normal coordinate analysis of the copper center of azurin and the assignment of its resonance Raman spectrum.

Normal coordinate analysis that utilizes a general valence force field and the Wilson FG matrix method has been applied to several structural models representing the active site of the blue copper protein, azurin. The models included tetrahedral and square planar CuN2SS', trigonal CuN2S, and trigonal bipyramidal CuN2SS'O structures in which the Ns are imidazole nitrogens of histidines, S is the thiolate sulfur of cysteine, S' is the thioether sulfur of methionine, and O is a peptide carbonyl oxygen. For constant Cu--ligand bond lengths and initial force constants, the force field was refined against the most intense of the observed frequencies (424, 404, 369, and 261 cm-1) in the resonance Raman spectrum of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin. The most satisfactory fit between observed and calculated frequencies occurs for tetrahedral and trigonal structures. The calculations provide detailed assignments for the resonance Raman spectrum of azurin and reveal considerable mixing of Cu--S(Cys) and Cu--N(His) vibrational modes. The trigonal model is favored because it is shown that the approximately equal to 260-cm-1 vibration is an invariant feature in the resonance Raman spectra of blue copper proteins, even those lacking a methionine in the vicinity of the copper atom. The present analysis ascribes the high frequencies of the Cu--ligand stretching modes and the resonance enhancement to the coupled nature of their vibrations and the Franck-Condon overlaps with predominant (Cys)S leads to Cu(II) charge transfer bands in the visible region.

Azurin↗
PubMed1989

Long-range intramolecular electron transfer in azurins.

The Cu(II) sites of azurins, the blue single copper proteins, isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Alcaligenes spp. (Iwasaki) are reduced by CO2- radicals, produced by pulse radiolysis, in two distinct reaction steps: (i) a fast bimolecular phase, at the rates (5.0 +/- 0.8) x 10(8) M-1.s-1 (P. aeruginosa) and (6.0 +/- 1.0) x 10(8) M-1.s-1 (Alcaligenes); (ii) a slow unimolecular phase with specific rates of 44 +/- 7 s-1 in the former and 8.5 +/- 1.5 s-1 for the latter (all at 298 K, 0.1 M ionic strength). Concomitant with the fast reduction of Cu(II), the single disulfide bridge linking cysteine-3 to -26 in these proteins is reduced to the RSSR- radical ion as evidenced by its characteristic absorption band centered at 410 nm. This radical ion decays in a unimolecular process with a rate identical to that of the slow Cu(II) reduction phase in the respective protein, thus clearly suggesting that a long-range intramolecular electron transfer occurs between the RSSR- radicals and the Cu(II) site. The temperature dependence of the internal electron transfer process in both proteins was measured over the 4 degrees C to 42 degrees C range. The activation parameters derived are delta H* = 47.5 +/- 4.0 and 16.7 +/- 1.5 kJ.mol-1; and delta S not equal to = -56.5 +/- 7.0 and -171 +/- 18 J.K-1.mol-1, respectively. Using the Marcus theory, we found that the intramolecular electron transfer rates and their activation parameters observed for the two azurins correlate well with the distances between the reactive sites, their redox potential, and the nature of the separating medium. Thus, azurins with distinct structural and reactivity characteristics isolated from different bacteria or modified by site-directed mutagenesis can be used in comparing long-range electron transfer process between their conserved disulfide bridge and the Cu(II) sites.

Alcaligenes↗
PubMed1993

Electron self-exchange in azurin: calculation of the superexchange electron tunneling rate.

Electronic coupling between the copper atoms in an azurin dimer has been calculated in this conformationally well-defined system by using many-electronic wave functions. When one of the two water molecules forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the copper-ligating His-117 of the two azurins is removed, the calculated coupling element is reduced from 2.5 x 10(-6) to 1.1 x 10(-7) eV (1 eV = 1.602 x 10(-19) J). Also, the effects of the relative orientations of the two water molecules have been analyzed. The results show that water molecules may play an important role as switches for biological electron transfer. The rate of electron self-exchange between two azurins has been calculated, and the result is in very good agreement with the rate found experimentally.

Azurin↗
PubMed1998

The dynamic properties of the M121H azurin metal site as studied by NMR of the paramagnetic Cu(II) and Co(II) metalloderivatives.

The M121H azurin mutant in solution presents various species in equilibrium that can be detected and studied by 1H NMR of the Cu(II) and Co(II) paramagnetic metalloderivatives. In both cases up to three species are observed in slow exchange, the proportions of which are different for the two metalloderivatives. Above pH 5 the major species displays a tetrahedral coordination in which the His121 can be observed as a coordinated residue. Its metal site corresponds to a new type of site that is defined as a type 1.5 site. The second and third species resemble the wild type (type 1) azurin and, above pH 4.5, they are present only at a low concentration. At low pH a protonation process increases the proportion of both type 1 species at the expense of the type 1.5 species. This process, characterized by a pKa = 4.3, is assigned to the protonation of His121. At high pH the NMR spectrum of the Co(II)-M121H azurin experiences an additional transition, which is not observed in the case of the Cu(II) protein. The dynamic properties of the M121H metal site appear to be related to changes in the coordination geometry and the strength of the axial interaction between the Ndelta1 (His121) and the metal.

Azurin↗
PubMed1999

Gated and ungated electron transfer reactions from aromatic amine dehydrogenase to azurin.

Interprotein electron transfer (ET) occurs between the tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ) prosthetic group of aromatic amine dehydrogenase (AADH) and copper of azurin. The ET reactions from two chemically distinct reduced forms of TTQ were studied: an O-quinol form that was generated by reduction by dithionite, and an N-quinol form that was generated by reduction by substrate. It was previously shown that on reduction by substrate, an amino group displaces a carbonyl oxygen on TTQ, and that this significantly alters the rate of its oxidation by azurin (Hyun, Y-L., and Davidson V. L. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 12249-12254). To determine the basis for this change in reactivity, comparative kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of the ET reactions from the O-quinol and N-quinol forms of TTQ in AADH to the copper of azurin were performed. The reaction of the O-quinol exhibited values of electronic coupling (H(AB)) of 0.13 cm(-1) and reorganizational energy (lambda) of 1.6 eV, and predicted an ET distance of approximately 15 A. These results are consistent with the ET event being the rate-determining step for the redox reaction. Analysis of the reaction of the N-quinol by Marcus theory yielded an H(AB) which exceeded the nonadiabatic limit and predicted a negative ET distance. These results are diagnostic of a gated ET reaction. Solvent deuterium kinetic isotope effects of 1.5 and 3.2 were obtained, respectively, for the ET reactions from O-quinol and N-quinol AADH indicating that transfer of an exchangeable proton was involved in the rate-limiting reaction step which gates ET from the N-quinol, but not the O-quinol. These results are compared with those for the ET reactions from another TTQ enzyme, methylamine dehydrogenase, to amicyanin. The mechanism by which the ET reaction of the N-quinol is gated is also related to mechanisms of other gated interprotein ET reactions.

Alcaligenes↗
PubMed1995

The crystal structure of nickel(II)-azurin.

The nickel(II)-azurin metalloderivative has been crystallized and its structure solved at 0.205-nm resolution by X-ray diffraction. The overall structure is not modified by the metal exchange and the only differences with regard to the native copper(II)-azurin occur in the metal site region. These variations affect principally the axial ligands. Nickel co-ordinates more strongly to the carbonyl oxygen of Gly45 while its distance to the Met121 S4 enlarges up to 0.330 nm. The resulting metal center structure is intermediate between those of the Cu(II) and Zn(II) azurins, and can be described as distorted tetrahedral. However, the existence of contact interaction between Met121 and the nickel ion is still possible as has been shown by paramagnetic 1H-NMR studies in solution.

Azurin↗
PubMed1989

Photo-induced electron ejection from the reduced copper of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin.

The reduced form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin exhibits an enhanced absorbance in the UV compared to that of the oxidized protein. This enhancement has also been observed for azurins from other bacterial species and for another type I copper protein, plastocyanin. Pulsed laser excitation of the reduced azurin in the region of enhanced absorbance at 308 nm results in single photon, rapid (less than 30 ns) oxidation of the copper center and formation of the hydrated electron with a quantum yield of 0.05. The hydrated electron reacts in the expected manner with scavengers such as nitrous oxide, oxygen, acetone and nitromethane. In the absence of scavengers, the electron reacts with the protein, including the disulfide bond, to form the disulfide radical anion, observed at 410 nm. The overall photophysical event involves a charge-transfer to solvent transition although the existence of intermediate states can not be excluded.

Azurin↗
PubMed2005

Single molecule recognition between cytochrome C 551 and gold-immobilized azurin by force spectroscopy.

Recent developments in single molecule force spectroscopy have allowed investigating the interaction between two redox partners, Azurin and Cytochrome C 551. Azurin has been directly chemisorbed on a gold electrode whereas cytochrome c has been linked to the atomic force microscopy tip by means of a heterobifunctional flexible cross-linker. When recording force-distance cycles, molecular recognition events could be observed, displaying unbinding forces of approximately 95 pN for an applied loading rate of 10 nN/s. The specificity of molecular recognition was confirmed by the significant decrease of unbinding probability observed in control block experiments performed adding free azurin solution in the fluid cell. In addition, the complex dissociation kinetics has been here investigated by monitoring the unbinding forces as a function of the loading rate: the thermal off-rate was estimated to be approximately 14 s(-1), much higher than values commonly estimated for complexes more stable than electron transfer complexes. Results here discussed represent the first studies on molecular recognition between two redox partners by atomic force microscopy.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1977

[Optical and magnetic properties of azurin from Pseudomanas aeruginosa].

Optical, fluorescence and EPR spectra of azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa are described. Some properties of this protein are found to be similar to those of copper-containing proteins from plants (plastocyanin and plantacyanin). The interaction of ferricyanide with azurin bleached in alkaline media results in the formation of free radicals and an alteration in the shape of the EPR signal of azurin.

Azurin↗
PubMed1985

A selenomethionine-containing azurin from an auxotroph of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The production and spectroscopic properties of an L-selenomethionine-containing homolog of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin are described. The amino acid substitution was carried out by developing an L-methionine-dependent bacterial strain from a fully functional ATCC culture. Uptake studies monitored using L-[75Se]methionine indicated that L-selenomethionine was incorporated into the protein synthetic pathway of Pseudomonas bacteria in a manner analogous to L-methionine. Several batches of bacteria were grown, and one sample of isolated and purified selenoazurin (azurin in which methionine was substituted by selenomethionine) was found (by neutron activation analysis) to contain 5.2 +/- 0.8 seleniums/copper. Correspondingly, a residual 0.35 methionines, relative to 6.0 in the native protein, were found by amino acid analysis in this azurin sample. The redox potential and extinction coefficient of this selenoazurin were found to be 333 +/- 1 mV (pH 7.0, I = 0.22) and 5855 +/- 160 M-1 cm-1 at 626 +/- 1 nm, respectively. Visible electronic, CD, and EPR spectra are reported and Gaussian curve fitting to the former spectrum allowed assignment of the selenomethionine Se----Cu(II) transition to a band found at 18034 cm-1, based upon an observed 450 cm-1 shift to the red from the analogous band position in the native protein. The data are consistent with a relatively more covalent copper site stabilizing the reduced, Cu(I), form in the selenoprotein. A role for the methionine as a modulator of the blue copper site redox potential by metal----ligand back bonding from Cu(I) is discussed in terms of a ligand sphere which limits the valence change at copper to much less than 1 during a redox cycle.

Azurin↗
PubMed1991

Crystal structure analysis of oxidized Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin at pH 5.5 and pH 9.0. A pH-induced conformational transition involves a peptide bond flip.

The X-ray crystal structure of recombinant wild-type azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was determined by difference Fourier techniques using phases derived from the structure of the mutant His35Leu. Two data sets were collected from a single crystal of oxidized azurin soaked in mother liquor buffered at pH 5.5 and pH 9.0, respectively. Both data sets extend to 1.93 A resolution. The two pH forms were refined independently to crystallographic R-factors of 17.6% (pH 5.5) and 17.5% (pH 9.0). The conformational transition previously attributed to the protonation/deprotonation of residue His35 (pKa(red) = 7.3, pKa(ox) = 6.2), which lies in a crevice of the protein close to the copper binding site, involves a concomitant Pro36-Gly37 main-chain peptide bond flip. At the lower pH, the protonated imidazole N delta 1 of His35 forms a strong hydrogen bond with the carbonyl oxygen from Pro36, while at alkaline pH the deprotonated N delta 1 acts as an acceptor of a weak hydrogen bond from HN Gly37. The structure of the remainder of the azurin molecule, including the copper binding site, is not significantly affected by this transition.

Aurintricarboxylic Acid↗
PubMed2004

Spectroscopic evidence for interactions between hexacyanoiron(II/III) and an engineered purple CuA azurin.

Interactions between hexacyanoiron(II/III) and a dinuclear, mixed valence Cu(A) center in engineered Cu(A) azurin have been investigated by UV-visible (UV-vis) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic techniques. Addition of ferricyanide (hexacyanoiron(III)) to the Cu(A) azurin resulted in a new absorption band around 500 nm in the UV-vis and an isotropic line at g = 2.16 in the EPR spectra. Control experiments, including additions of Cu(II)SO(4) or Cu(I)(CH(3)CN)(4)PF(6) to ferricyanide or ferrocyanide, as well as gel filtration purification of the ferricyanide-Cu(A) azurin adduct indicate complex formation between cupric ion and ferrocyanide ion in the protein. Solvent or small molecule accessibility, metal oxidation state and the presence of more than one metal ion are potential factors important for the complex formation. These findings must be taken into consideration when using ferricyanide or ferrocyanide as redox agents for studying Cu(A) centers in proteins.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosai zinc azurin mutant Asn47Asp at 2.4 A resolution.

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin mutant Asn47Asp has been isolated, its spectroscopic and kinetic properties characterized, and the X-ray crystal structure of its zinc derivative determined. While the optical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra as well as the electron-transfer activity of the mutant are very similar to the wild-type values, the Asn47Asp reduction potential is slightly increased by 20 mV. The mutant crystallized in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with cell dimensions a = 57.8, b = 81.5 and c = 112.6 A. There are four molecules in the asymmetric unit, packed as a tetramer which consists of two independent dimers. The zinc site of this mutant structure is similar to the wild-type zinc azurin and, in particular, the metal-binding site is almost identical to the site found in the wild-type zinc-azurin structure [Nar, Huber, Messerschmidt, Filippou, Barth, Jaquinod, Kamp & Canters (1992). Eur. J. Biochem. 205, 1123-1129]. The Asp47 side chain at that mutation site takes on a very similar orientation to Asn47 in the wild-type structure preserving the two hydrogen bonds with the neighbouring Thr113 NH and O(gamma)H. Therefore, the increased reduction potential of the mutant is probably a result of an altered charge distribution close to the metal site.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Structure of the azurin mutant nickel-Trp48Met from Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 2.2 A resolution.

The structure of the azurin mutant nickel-Trp48Met from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been determined by difference Fourier synthesis using phases from the wild-type azurin model. The final crystallographic R value is 0.170 for 17 394 reflections to a resolution of 2.2 A. The mutant crystallized in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), a = 57.4, b = 80.4, c = 110.3 A. The four molecules in the asymmetric unit are packed as a dimer of dimers. The nickel metal site of this mutant structure is similar to the zinc metal site in the azurin Asp47 mutant. The site-specific mutation was performed at residue Trp48, which is located in the center of the protein in a highly hydrophobic environment, to investigate its suggested role in the long-range electron-transfer pathway between the disulfide bond on one side of the protein to the Cu centre. The structure around the mutation site Met48 showed no significant change compared with the wild-type structure.

Journal Article↗