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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Use of hemopexin domains and monoclonal antibodies to hemopexin to probe the molecular determinants of hemopexin-mediated heme transport.

Plasmin cleaves rabbit serum apohemopexin (Mr = 60,000) at a single site producing a heme-binding domain (I, Mr = 35,000) and a second domain (II, Mr = 25,000) (W. T. Morgan and A. Smith (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 12001-12005). The absorbance spectra of heme-domain I are indicative of a bis-histidyl coordination complex with the central heme iron atom. Chemical modification of the 5 histidine residues of apo-domain I with diethylpyrocarbonate abolished heme binding, supporting this assignment. Upon binding heme, domain I migrates more rapidly in sucrose gradients, and, in sedimentation velocity experiments, the s value of domain I increases from 3.17 +/- 0.04 to 3.71 +/- 0.09, a notably large increase which indicates that the domain becomes much more compact. This conformational change which plays a pivotal role in hemopexin function requires the bis-histidyl coordination with heme iron and leads to a tighter association between domain I and domain II shown by the co-migration of heme-domain I and domain II in sucrose gradients. In turn, the association of heme-domain I with domain II increases the thermal stability of the heme-domain I chromophore. Results of binding studies using mouse hepatoma cells and isolated domains indicate that domain I not only binds heme but also plays a vital part in the hemopexin-receptor interaction. The change in conformation of domain I upon heme binding and the association between domains I and II induced by heme are both notable determinants of the strength of the hemopexin-receptor interaction, but an intact "hinge region" between the domains is not necessary for receptor binding. The importance of both domains in bringing about the transport function of hemopexin is confirmed by the ability of three (two specific for domain I and one for domain II) of seven monoclonal antibodies raised against hemopexin to inhibit the hemopexin-receptor interaction.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Interaction of hemopexin with Sn-protoporphyrin IX, an inhibitor of heme oxygenase. Role for hemopexin in hepatic uptake of Sn-protoporphyrin IX and induction of mRNA for heme oxygenase.

Sn-protoporphyrin IX (SnPP), an inhibitor of heme oxygenase and a potential therapeutic agent for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, is bound tightly by hemopexin. The apparent dissociation constant (Kd) at pH 7.4 is 0.25 +/- 0.15 microM, but estimation of the Kd for the SnPP-hemopexin complex is hampered by the fact that at physiological pH SnPP exists as monomers and dimers, both of which are bound by hemopexin. SnPP is readily displaced from hemopexin by heme (Kd less than 1 pM). The hemopexin-SnPP interaction, like that of heme-hemopexin, is dependent on the histidine residues of hemopexin. However, as expected from the differences in the coordination chemistries of tin and iron, the stability of the histidyl-metalloporphyrin complex is lower for SnPP-hemopexin than for mesoheme-hemopexin. Nevertheless, when SnPP binds to hemopexin, certain of the ligand-induced changes in the conformation of hemopexin which increase the affinity of the protein for its receptor are produced. Binding of SnPP produces the conformational change in hemopexin which protects the hinge region of hemopexin from proteolysis, but SnPP does not produce the characteristic increase in the ellipticity of hemopexin at 231 nm that heme does. Competition experiments confirmed that human serum albumin (apparent Kd = 4 +/- 2 microM) has a significantly lower affinity for SnPP than does hemopexin. Appreciable amounts of SnPP (up to 35% in adults and 20% in neonates) would be bound by hemopexin in the circulation, and the remainder of SnPP would be associated with albumin due to the latter's high concentration in serum. Essentially no non-protein-bound SnPP is present. Importantly, SnPP-hemopexin binds to the hemopexin receptor on mouse hepatoma cells with an affinity comparable to that of heme-hemopexin and treatment of the hepatoma cells with SnPP-hemopexin causes a rapid increase in the steady state level of heme oxygenase messenger RNA. These results show that hemopexin participates in the transport of SnPP to heme oxygenase and in its regulation by SnPP.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Interaction of rabbit hemopexin with rose bengal and photooxidation of the rose bengal-hemopexin complex.

Rabbit hemopexin associates with rose bengal producing a hypochromic shift in the absorption spectrum of the dye; the extinction coefficient of the dye bound to heme-saturated hemopexin is approximately 20% lower than that of the dye bound to the apoprotein. The interaction of apo- and heme-saturated hemopexin with rose bengal was studied in detail by difference spectroscopy. Apo-hemopexin has one tight binding site for the dye with a dissociation constant in the micromolar range and a set of several weaker binding sites. In contrast, heme-saturated hemopexin has a very low affinity for the dye. Evidence that histidine residues of hemopexin participate in the binding of heme was obtained by photooxidation of hemopexin sensitized by rose bengal. Progressive modification of the 16 histidine residues of hemopexin is effected by illumination of the dye-hemopexin complexes. The midpoint of this pH-dependent reaction is at pH 6.8 +/- 0.1. In 15 min of irradiation, apo-hemopexin loses 50% of its ability to form a low spin hemichrome complex with deuteroheme while only 10% of the ligand coordination to heme iron of the deuteroheme-hemopexin is lost. At that time, approximately 2 more histidine residues are modified in apo-hemopexin than in deuteroheme-hemopexin, and no change is found in other potentially photolabile amino acid residues. The characteristic circular dichroism positive extremum at 231 nm of hemopexin also was decreased by photooxidation, and the loss was slower in the deuteroheme-hemopexin complex than in the apoprotein. When deuteroporphyrin IX was used as the photosensitizing agent, similar results were obtained.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Hemopexin from four species inhibits the association of heme with cultured hepatoma cells or primary rat hepatocytes exhibiting a small number of species specific hemopexin receptors.

Hemopexin (Hx) binds heme with a very high affinity (Kd<0.1 pmol/L). It has been implicated as a major vehicle for the transport of heme into liver cells, involving a receptor-mediated recycling mechanism. However, previous studies indicated that heme is not taken up by cultured embryonic chick or adult rat hepatocytes by such a mechanism, because heme added as heme hemopexin failed to affect heme-responsive activities of 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase and heme oxygenase. Here, we investigated the importance of hemopexin in hepatic heme uptake in cultured rat hepatocytes and human HepG2 hepatoma cells, and determined the number and species specificity of hemopexin receptors on the rat hepatocytes. We also tested whether there is a difference between heterologous and homologous hemopexins. We found the following: 1) heme is inhibited from associating with hepatocytes by apo hemopexins from rat, human, rabbit, and chicken; 2) heme readily associates with hepatocytes when heme hemopexin preparations are added in which the ratio of heme to hemopexin exceeds 1.0; 3) heme induces heme oxygenase mRNA in rat hepatocytes and this induction is prevented by excess hemopexin; and 4) rat hepatocytes exhibit only about 2,000 hemopexin receptors per cell when using rat hemopexin, and none when using hemopexin of rabbit and human. We conclude that hemopexin plays a limited role in heme uptake by cultured hepatocytes and hepatoma cells, and that heme which exceeds the hemopexin binding capacity is taken up directly from heme-albumin.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Growth inhibition of Bacteroides fragilis by hemopexin: proteolytic degradation of hemopexin to overcome heme limitation.

The stimulatory effect of heme on growth of Bacteroides fragilis, an anaerobic human pathogen, was strongly inhibited by hemopexin, an avid (Kd<1 pM) heme-binding plasma protein. Both rabbit and human hemopexins were bacteriostatic for a limited period of time, suggesting an adaptation by B. fragilis to heme-limited growth, and that hemopexin-bound heme can eventually be utilized by the bacteria. The inhibitory effect of hemopexin was lost when heme in the medium was replaced by protoporphyrin IX, which is bound less strongly by hemopexin (Kd approximately 1 microM). Protease activity was detected in the culture supernatant of B. fragilis grown in the presence of heme plus hemopexin but not in the presence of free heme, protoporphyrin IX or protoporphyrin IX plus hemopexin, suggesting that the enzyme(s) is induced by heme macrocycle limitation due to the scavenging effect of hemopexin. This protease activity was able to degrade rabbit hemopexin and human hemopexin, as well as human transferrin and ovalbumin, and may be a due to a serine protease since it was inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) but not by EDTA, leupeptin, pepstatin A or aprotinin. Thus, B. fragilis may overcome hemopexin-mediated heme limitation by secreting inducible protease(s), shown here to make protein-bound heme available to the microorganism.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Effect of hemoglobin and hematin on plasma clearance of hemopexin, photo-inactivated hemopexin and albumin (38575).

The plasma half clearance time (T1/2) of isotope-labeled rabbit hemopexin was 35.5 plus or minus 1.9 hr in rabbits. After intra-and extra-vascular equilibration of 125I-hemopexin and 131I-albumin, injection of either hematin, hemoglobin or methemoglobin (12.5 mg of heme/kg body wt) resulted in the rapid removal of 60-80% of circulating hemopexin (T1/2 = 7.2 plus or minus 0.6 hr) but did not affect albumin catabolism. After selective photo-inactivation of hemopexin, the T1/2 of this hemopexin was comparable to that of the native molecule. However, its plasma disappearance curve was not appreciably affected by administration of hematin. These findings demonstrate that hemopexin is cleared and catabolized at an enhanced rate during states of plasma heme load, and that modification of critical histidine residues of hemopexin eliminates its biological function in plasma heme disposal.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Hemopexin-mediated heme uptake by liver. Characterization of the interaction of heme-hemopexin with isolated rabbit liver plasma membranes.

Plasma membranes isolated from rabbit liver retain the ability to interact specifically with heme-hemopexin. In this system, apohemopexin does not compete effectively with heme-hemopexin for binding. The membranes bind heme-hemopexin complexes with high affinity (KD = 6.8 X 10(-7) M) and with an apparent capacity of 2.3 pmol/mg of membrane protein. These membranes also retain the ability to remove heme from heme-hemopexin. The release of heme reaches a plateau after 15-30 min at 30 degrees C and does not involve metabolic energy, proteolysis of hemopexin or pH gradients. The apohemopexin formed is rapidly released from the membranes. The accumulation of heme is saturable and is affected by pH and temperature with maximum uptake occurring between pH 5.5 and 6.5 and at 30 degrees C. Interestingly, much more heme (approximately 25 pmol/mg of membrane protein) is accumulated than hemopexin at saturation, implying that the receptor can turn over several times and that a heme-binding component exists in the rabbit liver plasma membrane.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Depletion of serum hemopexin in fulminant rhabdomyolysis. Evidence for an interaction of hemopexin with myoglobin-derived heme.

Hemopexin is a normal serum glycoprotein that functions as a carrier for intravascularly liberated free heme. Although its role is well established in the reutilization of hemoglobin-derived heme, there have been no previous clinical data to support its suspected interaction with heme released in the degradation of myoglobin. In a patient with fulminant rhabdomyolysis, we found depletion of serum hemopexin in the presence of high serum levels of myoglobin with normal levels of haptoglobin and hemoglobin. This combination of laboratory findings is evidence for an interaction between myoglobin-derived heme and hemopexin and implies a role for hemopexin in the catabolism of myoglobin. These findings support the proposed induction mechanism for observed increases of serum hemopexin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and in polymyositis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

Synthesis and secretion of hemopexin in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. Demonstration of an intracellular precursor of hemopexin.

Secretion of hemopexin (20% carbohydrate) and its dependence on glycosylation was studied in primary rat hepatocyte cultures in comparison to the secretion of transferrin (5% carbohydrate). In pulse-chase experiments with [35S]methionine half of the labeled hemopexin was secreted in 30 min. By contrast, it took approximately 50 min for secretion of half of the transferrin. Tunicamycin treatment of cultures significantly delayed the secretion of hemopexin but not that of transferrin. During the pulse period a prominent intracellular precursor of hemopexin, smaller than the mature protein, was evident. It is concluded that the extent of glycosylation of a secretory protein is not necessarily a determinant of the transit time required for intracellular processing and secretion. In the case of hemopexin the glycosylation apparently facilitates the secretion although it is not an absolute prerequisite for the exocytosis of this protein.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Catabolism of homologous and heterologous hemopexin in the rat and uptake of hemopexin by isolated perfused rat liver.

Iodinated hemopexin (Hx) from three different species, rabbit, human and rat, was injected into rats and its clearance from the plasma measured. Rabbit, human and rat apo-Hx were cleared from the plasma with a T 1/2 of 20--31 h, 31--32 h, and 48--60 h respectively. Heme injection (10 mg/kg) after equilibration of the protein immediately accelerates elimination of the hemopexins of all three species (T 1/2 of 4.5 to 10 h). This indicates that the two heterologous hemopexins maintain their function in heme transport. The T 1/2 of rabbit and human Hx return to pre-heme injection values 16 to 20 hours after the injection of heme. For rat Hx, however, the T 1/2, which was 54 +/- 3.5 h before heme injection, was reduced to 25 +/- 1.3 h 20 hours after heme injection. Administration of 1.2--1.3 mg of protoporphyrin IX or uroporphyrin III, after equilibration of iodinated rat Hx, did not change the T 1/2 of the protein, whereas the same amount of coproporphyrin III significantly reduced its T 1/2 from 54 +/- 3.5 to 37 +/- 0.4 h. In addition, the uptake of rat apo-Hx, heme-Hx and albumin by rat liver tissue was measured in an isolated liver perfusion system using radioiodinated proteins screened in vivo. The uptake of apo-Hx by the liver after 2 h (46.8 ml/100 g) was less than that of heme-Hx (67.3 ml/100 g). The amount of apo-Hx and heme-Hx associated with the liver, relative to that circulating in the perfusate, was greater than that of albumin (12.1 ml/100 g). These results are considered to represent selective uptake of Hx by the liver induced by its interaction with heme.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Identification of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) binding site on the hemopexin carboxyl domain of human gelatinase A by site-directed mutagenesis. The hierarchical role in binding TIMP-2 of the unique cationic clusters of hemopexin modules III and IV.

Cell surface activation of progelatinase A occurs in a quaternary complex with the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) and two membrane-type matrix metalloproteinases. We have mutated the unique cationic clusters found in hemopexin modules III and IV of the carboxyl domain (C domain) of human gelatinase A to determine their role in binding TIMP-2. Twelve single, double, and triple site-directed mutations were produced that exhibited different TIMP-2 binding properties. Notably, single alanine substitutions at Lys547 and Lys617 reduced TIMP-2 binding by an order of magnitude from that of the recombinant wild-type C domain. Mutations that completely disrupted the C domain.TIMP-2 interaction were K558A/R561A, K610T/K617A, and K566A/K568A/K617A. A triple mutation, K566A/K568A/K575A, having TIMP-2 binding indistinguishable from the wild-type C domain (Kd 3.0 x 10(-8) M), showed that simple reduction of net positive charge does not reduce TIMP-2 affinity. Because the double mutation K566A/K568A also did not alter TIMP-2 binding, these data do not confirm previously reported chimera studies that indicated the importance of the triple lysine cluster at positions 566/567/568 in TIMP-2 binding. Nonetheless, a subtle role in TIMP-2 interaction for the 566/567/568-lysine triad is indicated from the enhanced reduction in TIMP-2 binding that occurs when mutations here were combined with K617A. Thus, these analyses indicate that the TIMP-2 binding surface lies at the junction of hemopexin modules III and IV on the peripheral rim of the gelatinase A C domain. This location implies that considerable molecular movement of the TIMP-2. C domain complex would be needed for the bound TIMP-2 to inhibit in cis the gelatinase A active site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

In vivo fate of hemopexin and heme-hemopexin complexes in the rat.

The disposition in the rat of the plasma heme-binding protein hemopexin (Hx), as the native apoprotein and as its heme complex (HHx), has been studied using the residualizing protein label dilactitol-125I-tyramine (*I-DLT). The aim of this work was to identify the tissue sites of Hx uptake and catabolism, independent of heme binding, and to evaluate how heme loading affects Hx catabolism at these sites. *I-DLT-Hx had a circulating half-life of approximately 1.2 days and was recovered in degraded form in comparable amounts in visceral (liver, kidney, spleen) and peripheral (skin, muscle) tissues, indicating a generalized diffuse catabolism of the protein throughout the body. The plasma half-life of *I-DLT-Hx injected as a preformed heme-Hx complex was the same as that of the apoprotein; however, injection of the complex resulted in about a twofold increase in hepatic degradation of Hx. The lack of an effect of heme on overall catabolism of the preformed HHx complex was consistent with the approximately 1-h half-life of heme, injected as 14C-heme-Hx, in the circulation; however, as much as 20-fold more 14C-heme than Hx protein was recovered in liver from 14C-heme-Hx. The absolute amount of *I-DLT-Hx degraded in liver was significantly increased when heme was injected in excess of the heme binding capacity of circulating Hx, while 131I-DLT-albumin catabolism in liver was unaffected. Thus, depending on the physiological conditions studied, the data are consistent with a model in which, following hepatic uptake of heme from HHx, varying proportions of the protein are either returned to the circulation or degraded in the liver.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The type II hemopexin interleukin-6 response element predominates the transcriptional regulation of the hemopexin acute phase responsiveness.

Hemopexin (Hx) is induced during the acute phase response (APR) by the cytokine interleukin (IL)-6. A type II IL-6 response element (RE) of the Hx gene has been characterized recently (J. Biol. Chem. (1994); 269, 12654-12661). To assess Hx gene regulation by other agents, various cytokines and growth factors were tested for their ability to induce Hx in rat hepatoma H-35 cells. IL-6-type cytokines, IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha, in contrast to transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), hepatocyte growth factor and insulin significantly increased Hx gene expression. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity in H-35 cells transfected with constructs that contained the 5'-flanking Hx promoter region or multiple copies of the Hx IL-6-RE fused to the CAT gene was upregulated only by IL-6-type cytokines, although to varying degrees. These data indicate that signal transduction pathways mediated by IL-6-type cytokines but not those by IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha converge on the common Hx IL-6-RE.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Affinity, conservation, and surface exposure of hemopexin-binding proteins in Haemophilus influenzae.

Haemophilus influenzae can acquire heme from hemopexin for use as a source of both essential porphyrin and iron. In classical ligand-binding studies, we observed time-dependent, saturable, and displaceable binding of human 125I-labelled hemopexin to intact cells of H. influenzae type b (Hib) strain 760705 grown in an iron-restricted medium. From these experiments, which demonstrate that hemopexin associates with a single class of binding site, the affinities (Kds) and receptor numbers were calculated for heme-hemopexin (Kd, 205 nM; 3,200 receptors per cell) and apohemopexin (Kd, 392 nM; 4,400 receptors per cell). Thus, Hib expresses a specific hemopexin receptor which shows some preference for the heme-protein complex. Affinity chromatography on hemopexin-Sepharose 4B of detergent-solubilized membranes from Hib strain 760705 results in the copurification of three proteins with molecular masses of 57, 38, and 29 kDa. Trypsinization of whole cells of Hib 760705 abolishes hemopexin binding and correlates with the disappearance of the 57-kDa hemopexin-binding protein and appearance of a 52-kDa species which does not bind either hemopexin in ligand blot assays or a monoclonal antibody (MAbT11-30) raised against the 57-kDa protein. From immunoblotting assays and NH2-terminal amino acid sequence analysis, the 38-kDa protein isolated following hemopexin affinity chromatography was identified as the porin protein P2. These data, taken together with the receptor-binding studies which support a single class of hemopexin-binding site, suggest that P2 and the 29-kDa protein function as accessory proteins to the 57-kDa hemopexin-binding protein to facilitate the uptake of heme from receptor-bound hemopexin. To determine whether hemopexin binding and the 57-kDa protein are conserved in Haemophilus strains, whole-cell dot blots and immunoblots of the outer membrane proteins prepared from strains belonging to each of 21 different Hib outer membrane protein subtypes, six nontypeable strains, and five Haemophilus parainfluenzae strains were probed with either hemopexin or MAbT11-30. Only the H. parainfluenzae strains which lack the 57-kDa protein do not bind hemopexin. Since H. influenzae has also been shown to produce a soluble 100-kDa hemopexin-binding protein, cell-free culture supernatants were also examined for the presence of this protein. Apart from Hib 760705 and H. parainfluenzae, the 100-kDa hemopexin-binding protein was detected in all the other Haemophilus strains. The abilities of Hib 760705 to both bind and acquire heme from hemopexin without expressing a 100-kDa soluble hemopexin-binding protein show that in strain 760705, this 100-kDa protein is not essential for the utilization of heme from hemopexin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Identification and characterization of an iron-regulated hemopexin receptor in Haemophilus influenzae type b.

Heme can serve Haemophilus influenzae as a source of both essential porphyrin and iron. In extracellular mammalian body fluids neither free heme nor free iron is available, since they are tightly bound to hemopexin and transferrin, respectively. Since H. influenzae grows in the presence of iron-transferrin and heme-hemopexin and is known to express a saturable receptor for transferrin, we investigated the process by which this pathogen acquired heme from hemopexin for use as an iron source. The ability of human and rabbit hemopexin to donate heme as a source of iron to H. influenzae type b strains was demonstrated by plate bioassays. With a dot enzyme assay with biotinylated hemopexin as ligand, H. influenzae bound heme-hemopexin and apo-hemopexin following growth in iron-restricted, but not in iron-sufficient, medium. Competitive binding studies with heme-hemopexin and apo-hemopexin demonstrated saturability of binding. Neither heme, protoporphyrin IX, hemoglobin, nor transferrin blocked the binding of hemopexin to whole cells, demonstrating the specificity of binding. Treatment of whole H. influenzae cells with trypsin abolished binding. Taken together, these observations suggest that H. influenzae type b expresses an outer membrane protein(s) which acts as a receptor for hemopexin and which is regulated by the availability of iron in the growth medium. In iron-restricted media, H. influenzae 706705 and DL42 did not express the 100-kDa hemopexin-binding protein previously reported (M.S. Hanson, S.E. Pelzel, J. Latimer, U. Muller-Eberhard, and E.J. Hansen, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:1973-1977, 1992). The putative iron-regulated hemopexin receptor was solubilized from cell envelopes of H. influenzae 706705, DL42, and Eagan with the detergent CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethyl-ammonio]-1-propanesulfonate) and isolated by affinity chromatography on heme-hemopexin-Sepharose 4B. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the proteins bound to the affinity resin revealed three proteins of 29, 38, and 57 kDa, of which the 57- and 29-kDa proteins bound hemopexin after Western blotting (immunoblotting). A monoclonal antibody to the 57-kDa hemopexin-binding protein of 706705 recognized a 57-kDa protein on Western blots of the cell envelope proteins of 706705, DL42, and Eagan; no reaction was observed with the 100-kDa hemopexin-binding protein of DL42. These data suggest that some H. influenzae strains possess at least two hemopexin receptors, the expression of which is determined by the prevailing growth environment.

Aerobiosis↗