Electrostatic effect on electron transfer between cytochrome b5 and cytochrome c

The binding and electron transfer between wild type, E44A, E56A, E44/56A, E44/48/56A/D60Aand F35Y variants of cytochrome b5 and cytochrome c were studied. When mixed with cytochrome c, the cytochrome b5E44/48/56A/D60A did not show the typical UV-vis difference spectrum of absorption, indicating that the alteration ofthe surface electrostatic potential obviously influenced the spectrum. The electron transfer rates of wild type cytochromeb5, its variants and cytochrome e at different temperature and ionic strength exhibited an order of F35Y > wild type >E56A > E44A > E44/48/56A/D60A. The enthalpy and entropy of the reaction did not change obviously, suggestingthat the mutation did not significantly disturb the electron transfer conformation. The investigation of electron transfer rateconstants at different ionic strength demonstrated that electrostatic interaction obviously affected the electron transfer pro-cess. The significant difference of Cyt b5 F35Y and E44/48/56A/D60A from the wild type protein further confirmed thegreat importance of the electrostatic interaction in the protein electron transfer.     

Electrostatic effect on electron transfer between cytochrome b5 and cytochrome c

The binding and electron transfer between wild type, E44A, E56A, E44/56A, E44/48/56A/D60A and F35Y variants of cytochrome b5 and cytochrome c were studied. When mixed with cytochrome c, the cytochrome b, E44/48/56A/D60A did not show the typical UV-vis difference spectrum of absorption, indicating that the alteration of the surface electrostatic potential obviously influenced the spectrum. The electron transfer rates of wild type cytochrome bj, its variants and cytochrome c at different temperature and ionic strength exhibited an order of F35Y > wild type > E56A > E44A > E44/48/56A/D60A. The enthalpy and entropy of the reaction did not change obviously, suggesting that the mutation did not significantly disturb the electron transfer conformation. The investigation of electron transfer rate constants at different ionic strength demonstrated that electrostatic interaction obviously affected the electron transfer process. The significant difference of Cyt b, F35Y and E44/48/56A/D60A from the wild type protein further confirmed the great importance of the electrostatic interaction in the protein electron transfer.     

Proton translocation by cytochrome c oxidase.

Cell respiration in mitochondria and some bacteria is catalysed by cytochrome c oxidase, which reduces O2 to water, coupled with translocation of four protons across the mitochondrial or bacterial membrane. The enzyme's catalytic cycle consists of a reductive phase, in which the oxidized enzyme receives electrons from cytochrome c, and an oxidative phase, in which the reduced enzyme is oxidized by O2. Previous studies indicated that proton translocation is coupled energetically only to the oxidative phase, but this has been challenged. Here, with the purified enzyme inlaid in liposomes, we report time-resolved measurements of membrane potential, which show that half of the electrical charges due to proton-pumping actually cross the membrane during reduction after a preceding oxidative phase. pH measurements confirm that proton translocation also occurs during reduction, but only when immediately preceded by an oxidative phase. We conclude that all the energy for proton translocation is conserved in the enzyme during its oxidation by O2. One half of it is utilized for proton-pumping during oxidation, but the other half is unlatched for this purpose only during re-reduction of the enzyme.     

Structure of cytochrome c nitrite reductase.

The enzyme cytochrome c nitrite reductase catalyses the six-electron reduction of nitrite to ammonia as one of the key steps in the biological nitrogen cycle, where it participates in the anaerobic energy metabolism of dissimilatory nitrate ammonification. Here we report on the crystal structure of this enzyme from the microorganism Sulfurospirillum deleyianum, which we solved by multiwavelength anomalous dispersion methods. We propose a reaction scheme for the transformation of nitrite based on structural and spectroscopic information. Cytochrome c nitrite reductase is a functional dimer, with 10 close-packed haem groups of type c and an unusual lysine-coordinated high-spin haem at the active site. By comparing the haem arrangement of this nitrite reductase with that of other multihaem cytochromes, we have been able to identify a family of proteins in which the orientation of haem groups is conserved whereas structure and function are not.