Assignment of Soret MLCT band of reduced form of copper binuclear cluster in cytochrome c oxidase film

Low concentration of dithionite results in the reduction of Cu-Cn binuclear and heine a active sites of the cytochrome c oxidase thin solid film immersed in the acidic phosphate buffer, but Fe-Cu binuclear center keeps in the oxidation state. It manifests as a negative peak at 426 nm and a positive one at -408 nln in the difference spectra induced by dithionite. The former implies decrease of the oxidized form of heme a center, that is, Fea^3 →Fea^2 . And the latter results from the contribution of metal-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transition in the reduced binuclear Cu-Cu cluster, rather than from that of heine a center. This stronger Soret MLCT band must be helpful to overcoming the difficulty in distinguishing the weaker copper sign from the stronger one of iron when studying copper-iron protein.     

Proton-coupled electron transfer drives the proton pump of cytochrome c oxidase

Electron transfer in cell respiration is coupled to proton translocation across mitochondrial and bacterial membranes, which is a primary event of biological energy transduction. The resulting electrochemical proton gradient is used to power energy-requiring reactions, such as ATP synthesis. Cytochrome c oxidase is a key component of the respiratory chain, which harnesses dioxygen as a sink for electrons and links O2 reduction to proton pumping. Electrons from cytochrome c are transferred sequentially to the O2 reduction site of cytochrome c oxidase via two other metal centres, Cu(A) and haem a, and this is coupled to vectorial proton transfer across the membrane by a hitherto unknown mechanism. On the basis of the kinetics of proton uptake and release on the two aqueous sides of the membrane, it was recently suggested that proton pumping by cytochrome c oxidase is not mechanistically coupled to internal electron transfer. Here we have monitored translocation of electrical charge equivalents as well as electron transfer within cytochrome c oxidase in real time. The results show that electron transfer from haem a to the O2 reduction site initiates the proton pump mechanism by being kinetically linked to an internal vectorial proton transfer. This reaction drives the proton pump and occurs before relaxation steps in which protons are taken up from the aqueous space on one side of the membrane and released on the other.     

Expression, purification and characterization of the soluble CuA domain of cytochrome c oxidase ofParacoccus versutus

The key subunit Ⅱ of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) contains a soluble binuclear copper center (Cu_A) domain. The Cu_A domain of Paracoccus versutus was cloned, expressed, purified and characterized. The gene encoding the Cu_A domain in pET11d vector was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The results showed that the Cu_A domain was expressed mostly in inclusion bodies and the Cu_A domain protein synthesized in E. coli cells represents approximately 10 percent of the total cellular proteins. Dissolved in urea, dialyzed and recombined with Cu⁺/Cu²⁺ and purified by the Q-sepharose fast flow anion-exchange column and Sephadex G-75 gel filtration column, the soluble purple-colored protein, which shows a single band in electrophoresis, was obtained. The UV-visible absorption spectrum of Cu_A domain showed that there are intense band at 478 nm and a shoulder peak at 530 nm, and two weak bands at 360 and 806 nm respectively, which can be assigned to the charge transfer and the interactions of obitals of Cu—S and Cu——Cu in the mixed-valence binuclear metal center (Cu₂S₂R₂). The far-UV CD spectrum indicated that this domain is predominantly in β-sheet structure. The fluorescence spectra showed that its maximal excitation wavelength and maximal emission wavelength are at 280 and 345 nm, respectively.     

Reduction of cytochrome c oxidase by a second electron leads to proton translocation

Cytochrome c oxidase, the terminal enzyme of cellular respiration in mitochondria and many bacteria, reduces O(2) to water. This four-electron reduction process is coupled to translocation (pumping) of four protons across the mitochondrial or bacterial membrane; however, proton pumping is poorly understood. Proton pumping was thought to be linked exclusively to the oxidative phase, that is, to the transfer of the third and fourth electron. Upon re-evaluation of these data, however, this proposal has been questioned, and a transport mechanism including proton pumping in the reductive phase--that is, during the transfer of the first two electrons--was suggested. Subsequently, additional studies reported that proton pumping during the reductive phase can occur, but only when it is immediately preceded by an oxidative phase. To help clarify the issue we have measured the generation of the electric potential across the membrane, starting from a defined one-electron reduced state. Here we show that a second electron transfer into the enzyme leads to charge translocation corresponding to pumping of one proton without necessity for a preceding turnover.     

Pumping of protons from the mitochondrial matrix by cytochrome oxidase

The stoichiometry and mechanism of redox-linked proton translocation by the mitochondrial respiratory chain is a major issue of debate in membrane bioenergetics. The function of cytochrome oxidase is a focal point of disagreement. In 1977 it was suggested that the terminal component of the respiratory chain, cytochrome oxidase, functions as a redox-linked proton pump. That and subsequent studies were based mainly on measurements of proton ejection from mitochondria or from vesicles reconstituted with isolated cytochrome oxidase, or on measurements of translocation of electrical charge equivalents across mitochondrial and vesicle membranes. This proton-translocating function of cytochrome oxidase is confirmed here by a quantitative determination of proton uptake from the inside (matrix) of intact mitochondria.     

纳米氧化铝模板促进细胞色素c的电催化

在草酸溶液中, 通过阳极氧化铝箔制备纳米氧化铝(AAO)模板, 将细胞色素c（Cyt c）固定在纳米AAO模板和4,4-二硫二吡啶(PySSPy)修饰金电极表面, 制得Cytc/Au/AAO/PySSPy薄膜电极. 在pH 6.8的缓冲溶液中, 该电极在0.059 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) 处有一 对准可逆氧化还原峰, 为Cyt c血红素辅基Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe（Ⅱ）电对的特征峰. 在AAO/PySSPy薄膜的微环境中, Cyt c与金电极之间的电子传递加快. 紫外光谱结果表明, Cyt c在AAO薄膜中依然保持其原始构象. 该Cyt c/Au/AAO/PySSPy薄膜电极还可用于过氧化氢的催化还 原.     

Identification of the electron transfers in cytochrome oxidase that are coupled to proton-pumping

Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase is a functionally complex, membrane-bound respiratory enzyme which catalyses both the reduction of O2 to water and proton-pumping. During respiration, an exogenous donor, cytochrome c, donates four electrons to O2 bound at the bimetallic haem alpha 3 Fe-Cu centre within the enzyme. These four electron transfers are mediated by the enzyme's haem alpha and CuA redox centres and result in the translocation of four protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane. The molecular mechanism of proton translocation has not yet been delineated, however, and in the absence of direct experimental evidence all four electron transfers have been assumed to couple equally to proton-pumping. Here, I report the effects of proton-motive force and membrane potential on two equilibria involving intermediates of the bimetallic centre at different levels of O2 reduction. The results show that only two of the electron transfers, to the 'peroxy' and 'oxyferryl' intermediates of the bimetallic centre, are linked to proton translocation, a finding which strongly constrains candidate mechanisms for proton-pumping.     

纳米火棉胶膜自组装细胞色素c的直接电化学研究

用纳米火棉胶膜将细胞色素c固定在玻碳电极表面,制备了细胞色素c-火棉胶膜修饰电极.吸附在火棉胶膜上的细胞色素c可以与电极发生直接电子传递.在pH=7.0的0.1mol/LPBS缓冲溶液中可得到一对准可逆的细胞色素c的血红素辅基Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe(Ⅱ)电对氧化还原峰,实验求得细胞色素c异相电子传递速率常数k0为65.4μm/s.进一步考察了扫速、溶液pH值等因素对细胞色素c电子传递的影响,并用电化学阻抗法研究了修饰电极的电化学行为.