Definition of the Interaction Domain and Electron Transfer Route between Cytochrome c and Cytochrome Oxidase.

The reaction between cytochrome c () and cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) was studied using horse cytochrome c derivatives labeled with ruthenium trisbipyridine at Cys 39 (Ru-39-). Flash photolysis of a 1:1 complex between Ru-39- and bovine CcO at a low ionic strength resulted in the electron transfer from photoreduced heme c to Cu with an intracomplex rate constant of = 6 × 10 s. The K13A, K72A, K86A, and K87A Ru-39- mutants had nearly the same value but bound much more weakly to bovine CcO than wild-type Ru-39-, indicating that lysines 13, 72, 86, and 87 were involved in electrostatic binding to CcO, but were not involved in the electron transfer pathway.

Chapter 28 Use of ruthenium photoreduction techniques to study electron transfer in cytochrome oxidase.

Ruthenium photoreduction methods are described to study electron transfer from cytochrome c to cytochrome c oxidase and within cytochrome oxidase. Methods are described to prepare a ruthenium cytochrome c derivative Ru-39-Cc, by labeling the single sulfhydryl group on horse K39C with (4-bromomethyl-4'methylbipyridine) (bis-bipyridine)ruthenium(II). The ruthenium complex attached to Cys-39 on the opposite side of the heme crevice does not interfere with the interaction with cytochrome oxidase.

Double-pionic fusion of nuclear systems and the "ABC" effect: approaching a puzzle by exclusive and kinematically complete measurements.

The ABC effect-a puzzling low-mass enhancement in the pipi invariant mass spectrum, first observed by Abashian, Booth, and Crowe-is well known from inclusive measurements of two-pion production in nuclear fusion reactions. Here we report on the first exclusive and kinematically complete measurements of the most basic double-pionic fusion reaction pn-->dpi;{0}pi;{0} at beam energies of 1.03 and 1.

Proton-dependent electron transfer from CuA to heme a and altered EPR spectra in mutants close to heme a of cytochrome oxidase.

Eukaryotic cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) and homologous prokaryotic forms of Rhodobacter and Paraccocus differ in the EPR spectrum of heme a. It was noted that a histidine ligand of heme a (H102) is hydrogen bonded to serine in Rhodobacter (S44) and Paraccocus CcOs, in contrast to glycine in the bovine enzyme. Mutation of S44 to glycine shifts the heme a EPR signal from g(z) = 2.

A new ruthenium complex to study single-electron reduction of the pulsed O(H) state of detergent-solubilized cytochrome oxidase.

The first step in the catalytic cycle of cytochrome oxidase, the one-electron reduction of the fully oxidized enzyme, was investigated using a new photoactive binuclear ruthenium complex, [Ru(bipyrazine)2]2(quaterpyridine), (Ru2Z). The aim of the work was to examine differences in the redox kinetics resulting from pulsing the oxidase (i.e.

Single-electron photoreduction of the P(M) intermediate of cytochrome c oxidase.

The P(M)-->F transition of the catalytic cycle of cytochrome c oxidase from bovine heart was investigated using single-electron photoreduction and monitoring the subsequent events using spectroscopic and electometric techniques. The P(M) state of the oxidase was generated by exposing the oxidized enzyme to CO plus O2. Photoreduction results in rapid electron transfer from heme a to oxoferryl heme a3 with a time constant of about 0.

An arginine to lysine mutation in the vicinity of the heme propionates affects the redox potentials of the hemes and associated electron and proton transfer in cytochrome c oxidase.

Cytochrome c oxidase pumps protons across a membrane using energy from electron transfer and reduction of oxygen to water. It is postulated that an element of the energy transduction mechanism is the movement of protons to the vicinity of the hemes upon reduction, to favor charge neutrality. Possible sites on which protons could reside, in addition to the conserved carboxylate E286, are the propionate groups of heme a and/or heme a(3).

Direct measurement of proton release by cytochrome c oxidase in solution during the F-->O transition.

The mechanism by which electron transfer is coupled to proton pumping in cytochrome c oxidase is a major unsolved problem in molecular bioenergetics. In this work it is shown that, at least under some conditions, proton release from the enzyme occurs before proton uptake upon electron transfer to the heme/Cu active site of the enzyme. This sequence is similar to that of proton release and uptake observed for the light-activated proton pump bacteriorhodopsin.

Role of the conserved arginine pair in proton and electron transfer in cytochrome C oxidase.

A hydrogen-bonded network is observed above the hemes in all of the high-resolution crystal structures of cytochrome oxidases. It includes water and a pair of arginines, R481 and R482 (Rhodobacter sphaeroides numbering), that interact directly with heme a and the heme a(3) propionates. The hydrogen-bonded network provides potential pathways for proton release.

Role of the low-affinity binding site in electron transfer from cytochrome C to cytochrome C peroxidase.

The interaction of yeast iso-1-cytochrome c (yCc) with the high- and low-affinity binding sites on cytochrome c peroxidase compound I (CMPI) was studied by stopped-flow spectroscopy. When 3 microM reduced yCc(II) was mixed with 0.5 microM CMPI at 10 mM ionic strength, the Trp-191 radical cation was reduced from the high-affinity site with an apparent rate constant >3000 s(-1), followed by slow reduction of the oxyferryl heme with a rate constant of only 10 s(-1).

Mutants of the CuA site in cytochrome c oxidase of Rhodobacter sphaeroides: II. Rapid kinetic analysis of electron transfer.

The function of the binuclear Cu(A) center in cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) was studied using two Rhodobacter sphaeroides CcO mutants involving direct ligands of the Cu(A) center, H260N and M263L. The rapid electron-transfer kinetics of the mutants were studied by flash photolysis of a cytochrome c derivative labeled with ruthenium trisbipyridine at lysine-55. The rate constant for intracomplex electron transfer from heme c to Cu(A) was decreased from 40000 s(-1) for wild-type CcO to 16000 s(-1) and 11000 s(-1) for the M263L and H260N mutants, respectively.

Definition of the interaction domain for cytochrome c on cytochrome c oxidase. Ii. Rapid kinetic analysis of electron transfer from cytochrome c to Rhodobacter sphaeroides cytochrome oxidase surface mutants.

The reaction between cytochrome c (Cc) and Rhodobacter sphaeroides cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) was studied using a cytochrome c derivative labeled with ruthenium trisbipyridine at lysine 55 (Ru-55-Cc). Flash photolysis of a 1:1 complex between Ru-55-Cc and CcO at low ionic strength results in electron transfer from photoreduced heme c to Cu(A) with an intracomplex rate constant of k(a) = 4 x 10(4) s(-1), followed by electron transfer from Cu(A) to heme a with a rate constant of k(b) = 9 x 10(4) s(-1). The effects of CcO surface mutations on the kinetics follow the order D214N > E157Q > E148Q > D195N > D151N/E152Q approximately D188N/E189Q approximately wild type, indicating that the acidic residues Asp(214), Glu(157), Glu(148), and Asp(195) on subunit II interact electrostatically with the lysines surrounding the heme crevice of Cc.

Design of a ruthenium-cytochrome c derivative to measure electron transfer to the radical cation and oxyferryl heme in cytochrome c peroxidase.

A new ruthenium-labeled cytochrome c derivative was designed to measure the actual rate of electron transfer to the Trp-191 radical cation and the oxyferryl heme in cytochrome c peroxidase compound I {CMPI(FeIV = O,R.+)}. The H39C,C102T variant of yeast iso-1-cytochrome c was labeled at the single cysteine residue with a tris (bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) reagent to form Ru-39-Cc.

Identifying the physiological electron transfer site of cytochrome c peroxidase by structure-based engineering.

A technique was developed to evaluate whether electron transfer (ET) complexes formed in solution by the cloned cytochrome c peroxidase [CcP(MI)] and cytochromes c from yeast (yCc) and horse (hCc) are structurally similar to those seen in the respective crystal structures. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to convert the sole Cys of the parent enzyme (Cys 128) to Ala, and a Cys residue was introduced at position 193 of CcP(MI), the point of closest contact between CcP(MI) and yCc in the crystal structure. Cys 193 was then modified with a bulky sulfhydryl reagent, 3-(N-maleimidylpropionyl)-biocytin (MPB), to prevent yCc from binding at the site seen in the crystal.

Electron transfer between cytochrome c and cytochrome c peroxidase.

The reaction between cytochrome c (CC) and cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) is a very attractive system for investigating the fundamental mechanism of biological electron transfer. The resting ferric state of CcP is oxidized by hydrogen peroxide to compound I (CMPI) containing an oxyferryl heme and an indolyl radical cation on Trp-191. CMPI is sequentially reduced to CMPII and then to the resting state CcP by two molecules of CC.

Design of a ruthenium-cytochrome c derivative to measure electron transfer to the initial acceptor in cytochrome c oxidase.

A ruthenium-labeled cytochrome c derivative was prepared to meet two design criteria: the ruthenium group must transfer an electron rapidly to the heme group, but not alter the interaction with cytochrome c oxidase. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to replace His39 on the backside of yeast C102T iso-1-cytochrome c with a cysteine residue, and the single sulfhydryl group was labeled with (4-bromomethyl-4' methylbipyridine) (bis-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) to form Ru-39-cytochrome c (cyt c). There is an efficient pathway for electron transfer from the ruthenium group to the heme group of Ru-39-cyt c comprising 13 covalent bonds and one hydrogen bond.

Design of ruthenium-cytochrome c derivatives to measure electron transfer to cytochrome c peroxidase.

A new technique has been introduced to measure interprotein electron transfer which involves photoexcitation of a tris(bipyridine)ruthenium (Ru) complex covalently attached to one of the proteins. Four different strategies have been developed to specifically attach Ru to protein lysine amino groups, histidine imidazole groups, and cysteine sulhydryl groups. These strategies have been used to prepare more than 20 different singly-labeled Ru-cytochrome c derivatives.

Interaction domain for the reaction of cytochrome c with the radical and the oxyferryl heme in cytochrome c peroxidase compound I.

Site-directed mutants of cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) were created to modify the interaction domain between CcP and yeast iso-1-cytochrome c (yCC) seen in the crystal structure of the CcP-yCC complex [Pelletier & Kraut (1992) Science 258, 1748-1755]. In the crystalline CcP-yCC complex, two acidic regions of CcP contact lysine residues on yCC. Mutants E32Q, D34N, E35Q, E290N, and E291Q were used to examine the effect of converting individual carboxylate side chains in the acidic regions to amides.

Role of methionine 230 in intramolecular electron transfer between the oxyferryl heme and tryptophan 191 in cytochrome c peroxidase compound II.

The kinetics of electron transfer from cytochrome c (CC) to yeast cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) compound I were studied by flash photolysis and stopped-flow spectroscopy. Flash photolysis studies employed horse CC derivatives labeled at specific lysine amino groups with (dicarboxybipyridine)bis-(bipyridine)ruthenium (Ru-CC). Initial electron transfer from Ru-CC reduced the indole radical on Trp-191 of CcP compound I [CMPI(IV,R.

Reaction of horse cytochrome c with the radical and the oxyferryl heme in cytochrome c peroxidase compound I.

The reactions of recombinant cytochrome c peroxidase [CcP(MI)] and a number of CcP(MI) mutants with native and ruthenium-labeled horse ferrocytochrome c have been studied by stopped-flow spectroscopy and laser flash photolysis. At 100 mM ionic strength, pH 7.5, native horse ferrocytochrome c reduces the radical on the indole group of Trp-191 in cytochrome c peroxidase compound I (CMPI) with a second-order rate constant of 1.

Photoinduced electron transfer between cytochrome c peroxidase and yeast cytochrome c labeled at Cys 102 with (4-bromomethyl-4'-methylbipyridine)[bis(bipyridine)]ruthenium2+.

The synthesis of (4-bromomethyl-4'-methylbipyridine) [bis(bipyridine)]ruthenium(II) hexafluorophosphate is described. This new reagent was found to selectively label the single sulfhydryl group at Cys-102 on yeast iso-1-cytochrome c to form the (dimethylbipyridine-Cys-102-cytochrome c)[bis(bipyridine)]ruthenium derivative (Ru-102-cyt c). Excitation of Ru-102-cyt c with a short light flash resulted in formation of excited-state Ru(II*), which rapidly transferred an electron to the ferric heme group to form Fe(II).

Fluorescein isothiocyanate specifically modifies lysine 338 of cytochrome P-450scc and inhibits adrenodoxin binding.

Treatment of cytochrome P-450scc with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) resulted in covalent labeling with 1.0 +/- 0.1 eq of FITC.

The use of a specific fluorescence probe to study the interaction of adrenodoxin with adrenodoxin reductase and cytochrome P-450scc.

The single free cysteine at residue 95 of bovine adrenodoxin was labeled with the fluorescent reagent N-iodoacetylamidoethyl-1-aminonaphthalene-5-sulfonate (1,5-I-AEDANS). The modification had no effect on the interaction with adrenodoxin reductase or cytochrome P-450scc, suggesting that the AEDANS group at Cys-95 was not located at the binding site for these molecules. Addition of adrenodoxin reductase, cytochrome P-450scc, or cytochrome c to AEDANS-adrenodoxin was found to quench the fluorescence of the AEDANS in a manner consistent with the formation of 1:1 binary complexes.