scholarly journals Role of dimerization in the control of the functioning of the human haemoglobin mutant haemoglobin Howick (β37 Trp→Gly)

1994 ◽  
Vol 300 (2) ◽  
pp. 553-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Brittain

Haemoglobin Howick shows a high oxygen affinity (p50 = 1 mmHg) and a low co-operativity (n = 1.3). Equilibrium studies show the protein to be essentially totally dimeric in the oxygenated form. A wide range of rapid kinetic experiments indicate that the deoxygenated form of the protein exists in a tetramer<-->dimer equilibrium with an associated equilibrium constant of 3 microM. These kinetic data also indicate that the oxygenated form of the protein exists in a tetramer<-->dimer equilibrium with an associated equilibrium constant of 35 mM, and furthermore clearly identifies a large increase in the rate of the tetramer-to-dimer dissociation process as the origin of the vastly increased dissociation equilibrium constants. Simulations of the protein-concentration-dependence of the oxygen-binding properties of haemoglobin Howick, based on the measured equilibrium parameters, closely fits the experimental data. The change in dimerization constant for the deoxygenated form of the protein corresponds remarkably well to the free-energy change predicted for the simple transfer of the amino acid side chain at position beta 37 from a hydrophobic to a hydrophilic environment during the dimerization process.

1986 ◽  
Vol 237 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
E H Braswell ◽  
J R Knox ◽  
J M Frère

The beta-lactamases (EC 3.5.2.6) from TEM plasmid RP4, Bacillus licheniformis 749/C and Enterobacter cloacae P99 were studied in solution over a wide concentration range by equilibrium sedimentation. Though crystal symmetries indicate that all three enzymes are potentially dimeric in their crystal forms, in 50 mM-sodium cacodylate at pH 6.5 the enzymes show only a small tendency to associate, indicated by a weight-average Mr (Mw) at 3% (w/v) concentration about 9% greater than that of the monomer. Although the mode of association could not be determined, this extent of association corresponded to a dimerization constant of about 2 × 10(2) M-1. In 2.1 M-(NH4)2SO4 the B. licheniformis enzyme shows some association at concentrations over 1%, displaying an Mw value at 7% concentration about 60% more than the monomer. Under the same conditions Mw for the Entero. P99 enzyme is about 60% greater than the monomer near the solubility limit of about 2%. However, the Mw for the TEM enzyme is over twice that of the monomer at its solubility limit (3%) in 1.7 M-(NH4)2SO4. Fitting the sedimentation data of the TEM enzyme in 1.7 M-(NH4)2SO4 with a dimerization model and an indefinite-isodesmic-association model yielded equilibrium constants of 1.5 × 10(4) and 3.3 × 10(2) M-1 respectively, with the indefinite-isodesmic model giving the better fit. Fitting the data for the other two enzymes yielded values of 1.4 × 10(3) and 1.7 × 10(2) M-1 respectively for the Entero. P99 enzyme and 4.5 × 10(2) and 45 M-1 respectively for the B. licheniformis enzyme. It could not be determined which model was the better fit for these two enzymes. Since none of the beta-lactamases studied here showed strong evidence of the terminal aggregate being a dimer, we conclude that crystalline dimers, if they exist, will not be tightly associated or physiologically significant.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (12) ◽  
pp. 1443-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N Glew

Sixteen new measurements of high precision for structure I methane hydrate with water between 31.93 and 47.39 °C are shown to be metastable and exhibit higher methane pressures than found by earlier workers. Comparison of earlier measurements between 26.7 and 47.2 °C permit positive identification of the structure II and the structure I hydrates. Forty-nine equilibrium constants Kp(h1[Formula: see text]l1g) for dissociation of structure I methane hydrate into water and methane, 32 between –0.29 and 26.7 °C for the stable hydrate and 17 between 31.93 and 47.39 °C for the metastable hydrate, are best represented by a three-parameter thermodynamic equation, which indicates a standard error (SE) of 0.63% on a single Kp(h1[Formula: see text]l1g) determination. The congruent dissociation melting point C(h1l1gxm) of metastable structure I methane hydrate is at 47.41 °C with SE 0.02 °C and at pressure 505 MPa. The congruent equilibrium constant Kp(h1[Formula: see text]l1g) is 102.3 MPa with SE 0.2 MPa. ΔH°t(h1[Formula: see text]l1g) is 62 281 J mol–1 with SE 184 J mol–1, and the congruent formula is CH4·5.750H2O with SE 0.059H2O. At the congruent point, ΔV(h1[Formula: see text]l1g) is zero within experimental precision, and its estimate is 1.3 with SE 1.6 cm3 mol–1. The stability range of structure I methane hydrate with water extends from quadruple point Q(s1h1l1g) at –0.29 °C up to quadruple point Q(h1h2l1g) at 26.7 °C, and its metastability range with water extends from 26.7 °C up to the congruent dissociation melting point C(h1l1gxm) at 47.41 °C. Key words: methane hydrate, clathrate structure I, metastability range, dissociation equilibrium constant, formula, congruent melting point, metastability of structure I hydrate.


1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 1914-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. V. Seixas ◽  
W. F. de Azevedo ◽  
M. F. Colombo

In this work, initial crystallographic studies of human haemoglobin (Hb) crystallized in isoionic and oxygen-free PEG solution are presented. Under these conditions, functional measurements of the O2-linked binding of water molecules and release of protons have evidenced that Hb assumes an unforeseen new allosteric conformation. The determination of the high-resolution structure of the crystal of human deoxy-Hb fully stripped of anions may provide a structural explanation for the role of anions in the allosteric properties of Hb and, particularly, for the influence of chloride on the Bohr effect, the mechanism by which Hb oxygen affinity is regulated by pH. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.87 Å resolution using a synchrotron-radiation source. Crystals belong to the space group P21212 and preliminary analysis revealed the presence of one tetramer in the asymmetric unit. The structure is currently being refined using maximum-likelihood protocols.


2008 ◽  
Vol 276 (1658) ◽  
pp. 833-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Øivind Andersen ◽  
Ola Frang Wetten ◽  
Maria Cristina De Rosa ◽  
Carl Andre ◽  
Cristiana Carelli Alinovi ◽  
...  

A major challenge in evolutionary biology is to identify the genes underlying adaptation. The oxygen-transporting haemoglobins directly link external conditions with metabolic needs and therefore represent a unique system for studying environmental effects on molecular evolution. We have discovered two haemoglobin polymorphisms in Atlantic cod populations inhabiting varying temperature and oxygen regimes in the North Atlantic. Three-dimensional modelling of the tetrameric haemoglobin structure demonstrated that the two amino acid replacements Met55β 1 Val and Lys62β 1 Ala are located at crucial positions of the α 1 β 1 subunit interface and haem pocket, respectively. The replacements are proposed to affect the oxygen-binding properties by modifying the haemoglobin quaternary structure and electrostatic feature. Intriguingly, the same molecular mechanism for facilitating oxygen binding is found in avian species adapted to high altitudes, illustrating convergent evolution in water- and air-breathing vertebrates to reduction in environmental oxygen availability. Cod populations inhabiting the cold Arctic waters and the low-oxygen Baltic Sea seem well adapted to these conditions by possessing the high oxygen affinity Val55–Ala62 haplotype, while the temperature-insensitive Met55–Lys62 haplotype predominates in the southern populations. The distinct distributions of the functionally different haemoglobin variants indicate that the present biogeography of this ecologically and economically important species might be seriously affected by global warming.


2000 ◽  
Vol 346 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella CORDA ◽  
Maria C. DE ROSA ◽  
Maria G. PELLEGRINI ◽  
Maria T. SANNA ◽  
Alessandra OLIANAS ◽  
...  

Haemoglobin (Hb) J-Sardegna [α50(CE8)His → Asp] is a haemoglobin variant characteristic of subjects from the island of Sardinia. Here we report a study of the functional properties of both fetal and adult Hb J-Sardegna. The results indicate that adult Hb J-Sardegna displays an oxygen affinity that is higher than that of adult Hb only in the presence of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG). On the contrary, at 20 °C, the oxygen affinity of fetal Hb J-Sardegna is identical to that of normal fetal haemoglobin, both in the presence and in the absence of 2,3-DPG. A significant difference between these two systems (i.e. a higher oxygen affinity of fetal Hb J-Sardegna) shows up very clearly only when temperature is increased to 37 °C. Hence in fetal Hb, the main effect of the amino acid substitution is a decrease in the overall enthalpy change of oxygenation. The results outline the role of the α1-β1 interface in assessing the thermodynamics of oxygen binding. The functional properties of both adult and fetal Hb J-Sardegna have been interpreted at the structural level in light of the results obtained by a computational modelling approach performed in comparison with HbA and Hb Aichi, a variant characterized by a different mutation [α50(CE8)His → Arg] at the same position.


1982 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 273-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. BRADFORD ◽  
A. C. TAYLOR

The respiration of Cancer pagurus under normoxic conditions and its respiratory responses to hypoxia are described. Respiration of quiescent crabs is characterized by a rhythmic pattern of ventilation and cardiac activity in which periods of apnoea and bradycardia of approximately 5 min duration alternate with longer periods of active ventilation and cardiac activity. The significance of this rhythmic ventilatory behaviour is discussed and evidence is presented to account for this behaviour in terms of allowing energy savings to be made during periods of inactivity. During a ventilatory pause the PO2 of the post-branchial blood falls from its normal level of 94 ± 5 torr to only 24 ± 3 torr. The blood of Cancer provides a store of oxygen which is used during pausing to maintain aerobic metabolism. Anaerobic metabolism does not appear to contribute significantly to energy production during these periods since no increase in the blood lactate concentration was recorded. Cancer haemocyanin has a high oxygen affinity (P50 = 5–10 torr) and exhibits a large, positive Bohr shift (Δ log P50/pH = −1.18). However, under normal conditions the pigment has only a minor role in supplying oxygen to the tissues, since over 91% is carried in solution. Cancer pagurus exhibits quite a high degree of respiratory independence and is able to maintain its rate of oxygen consumption approximately constant over a wide range of ambient oxygen tension, down to a PO2 of 60–80 torr, below which it declines. Similarly there was little change in heart rate during hypoxia until a PO2 of 20–40 torr was reached below which it also declined sharply. Oxygen consumption during hypoxia was maintained primarily as a result of an increase in ventilation volume and oxygen extraction. During hypoxia the PO2 of both the pre- and post-branchial blood declined and resulted in a reduction in the PO2 gradient across the respiratory surface (ΔPO2). Oxygen uptake during hypoxia was facilitated, however, by an increase in the transfer factor (TO2).


1980 ◽  
Vol 238 (2) ◽  
pp. G135-G140 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Takeuchi ◽  
G. R. Speir ◽  
L. R. Johnson

Specific binding of 125I-labeled gastrin to rat gastric mucosal membranes was found to vary with serum gastrin levels. The dissociation equilibrium constants were not significantly different between receptor preparations. However, the binding capacities of the membrane preparations were directly correlated with serum gastrin levels. Fasting, feeding a liquid diet, and antrectomy significantly decreased serum gastrin and the concentrations of the gastrin receptor. Treatment of fasted and liquid-fed animals with pentagastrin prevented the decrease in receptors. Vagotomy increased both binding capacity and serum gastrin levels. These data indicate that gastrin stimulates the production of its own receptor. The upregulation of the gastrin receptor was evident if the binding capacity was expressed per milligram of protein, per microgram of DNA, or per amount of 125I-labeled choleragen bound to the same membrane preparation. This indicates that the biological response to gastrin is controlled in part by the regulation of the number of gastrin receptors present and that gastrin plays a role in this regulatory process.


1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1827-1836 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Lister ◽  
P. Rosenblum

Measurements are reported on the formation of complex ions in solutions containing cupric and chloride or bromide ions, and solutions of nickel or cobalt with chloride. In each case the halide was present in very low amount. With copper a spectrophotometric method was used, and a cell voltage method with nickel and cobalt. The ionic strength was kept constant, but the temperature was varied. The data show difficulties of interpretation if it is assumed that only MX+ ions (M is the metal, X is the halogen) are formed, the difficulties arising from the anomalous variation of the equilibrium constant with temperature, and from the general drift of the calculated constants from the e.m.f. measurements. Various explanations are considered and it is shown that postulation of M2X+3 ions is at least a possible explanation.


1976 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Hlastala ◽  
H. P. McKenna ◽  
R. L. Franada ◽  
J. C. Detter

The oxygen dissociation curve and Bohr effect were measured in normal whole blood as a function of carboxyhemoglobin concentration [HbCO]. pH was changed by varying CO2 concentration (CO2 Bohr effect) or by addition of isotonic NaOH or HCl at constant PCO2 (fixed acid Bohr effect). As [HbCO] varied through the range of 2, 25, 50, and 75%, P50 was 26.3, 18.0, 11.6, and 6.5 mmHg, respectively. CO2 Bohr effect was highest at low oxygen saturations. This effect did not change as [HbCO] was increased. However, as [HbCO] was increased from 2 to 75%, the fixed acid Bohr factor increased in magnitude from -0.20 to -0.80 at very low oxygen saturations. The effect of molecular CO2 binding (carbamino) on oxygen affinity was eliminated at high [HbCO]. These results are consistent with the initial binding of O2 or CO to thealpha-chain of hemoglobin. The results also suggest that heme-heme interaction is different for oxygen than for carbon monoxide.


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