Nature of haem-haem interaction

Haem-haem interaction consists of a change of tension at the haems, caused by a transition between two alternative quaternary structures of the protein. Dr Perutz describes how spin changes that accompany reaction with ligands alter the oxygen affinity of the haems.     

Was the loss of the D helix in alpha globin a functionally neutral mutation?

Proteins in the globin family are found in a variety of species from bacteria to man. From the many globin sequences known, evolutionary trees have been constructed showing that alpha and beta globins diverged from a common ancestor between 425 and 500 million years ago, after vertebrate species had appeared and roughly when sharks and bony vertebrates diverged. The alpha and beta globins assemble to form tetrameric haemoglobin, alpha 2 beta 2, which can switch between quaternary states having high and low oxygen affinity. This allows the protein to bind oxygen cooperatively and therefore efficiently transport oxygen from the lungs to respiring tissues. The alpha and beta globins have closely related tertiary structures, being alpha-helical proteins with similar haem-binding sites. Most globins consist of eight helices, designated A to H from the N terminus, connected by short nonhelical segments, but all known vertebrate alpha globins lack a D helix. Because the loss of this helix by alpha globin occurred shortly before tetrameric haemoglobin appeared, it might be a functionally important mutation required for a tetramer assembly or allostery. We have now tested this idea by engineering human haemoglobins containing beta subunits without a D helix and alpha subunits with a D helix. Both of these mutations have little effect on the oxygen-binding properties of the molecule. Thus it is possible that deletion of the D helix in the alpha subunit was caused by a neutral mutation.     

The role of the distal histidine in myoglobin and haemoglobin

The distal E7 histidine in vertebrate myoglobins and haemoglobins has been strongly conserved during evolution and is thought to be important in fine-tuning the ligand affinities of these proteins. A hydrogen bond between the N epsilon proton of the distal histidine and the second oxygen atom may stabilize O2 bound to the haem iron. The proximity of the imidazole side chain to the sixth coordination position, which is required for efficient hydrogen bonding, has been postulated to inhibit sterically the binding of CO and alkyl isocyanides. To test these ideas, engineered mutants of sperm whale myoglobin and the alpha- and beta-subunits of human haemoglobin were prepared in which E7 histidine was replaced by glycine. Removal of the distal imidazole in myoglobin and the alpha-subunits of intact, R-state haemoglobin caused significant changes in the affinity for oxygen, carbon monoxide and methyl isocyanide; in contrast, the His-E7 to Gly substitution produced little or no effect on the rates and extents of O2, CO and methyl isocyanide binding to beta-chains within R-state haemoglobin. In the beta-subunit the distal histidine seems to be less significant in regulating the binding of ligands to the haem iron in the high affinity quaternary conformation. Structural differences in the oxygen binding pockets shown by X-ray crystallographic studies account for the functional differences of these proteins.     

3-十二烷氧基-2-羟基丙基-三甲基溴化铵的晶体结构测定及性能表征

用脂肪醇与环氯丙烷在碱性条件下合成了季铵盐型阳离子表面活性剂。所得产品用X-射线单晶衍射法测定了晶体结构。该化合物采用双分子层结构,整个化合物由交叉的线性烷基链、季胺阳离子和溴离子组成。用偏光显微镜、差示扫描量热（DSC）技术研究了其液晶行为,证明该化合物为近晶相热致液晶。     

A human recombinant haemoglobin designed for use as a blood substitute.

The need to develop a blood substitute is now urgent because of the increasing concern over blood-transmitted viral and bacterial pathogens. Cell-free haemoglobin solutions and human haemoglobin synthesized in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been investigated as potential oxygen-carrying substitutes for red blood cells. But these haemoglobins cannot be used as a blood substitute because (1) the oxygen affinity in the absence of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate is too high to allow unloading of enough oxygen in the tissues, and (2) they dissociate into alpha beta dimers that are cleared rapidly by renal filtration, which can result in long-term kidney damage. We have produced a human haemoglobin using an expression vector containing one gene encoding a mutant beta-globin with decreased oxygen affinity and one duplicated, tandemly fused alpha-globin gene. Fusion of the two alpha-globin subunits increases the half-life of this haemoglobin molecule in vivo by preventing its dissociation into alpha beta dimers and therefore also eliminates renal toxicity.     

C60甲苯溶液自然结晶的研究

用ＳＥＭ研究了纯Ｃ６０和Ｃ６０／Ｃ７０混合物的甲苯溶液在硅片上自然结晶的形态．结果表明纯Ｃ６０结晶遵循晶面淘汰律，Ｃ７０影响Ｃ６０结晶的形态，Ｃ６０／Ｃ７０混合物的结晶与纯Ｃ６０结晶有较大的差异．用溶液逐次结晶，制备１ｍｍ量级的Ｃ６０晶体，并进行了Ｘ射线劳厄相分析，证明该晶体是单晶     

Primary sequence of a dimeric bacterial haemoglobin from Vitreoscilla

Vitreoscilla, a filamentous bacterium in the Beggiatoa family, synthesizes a soluble haem-protein which has two identical subunits of relative molecular mass 15,775 and two b haems per molecule. It is synthesized in relatively large quantities when the organism, a strict aerobe, is grown under hypoxic conditions. It forms a relatively stable oxygenated form which is spectrally similar to oxymyoglobin (oxyHb) and oxyhaemoglobin (oxyHb). The amino acid sequence of this protein has been determined and aligned to fit the helical regions of several animal and plant globins. This alignment is consistent with its being a structural homologue of the eucaryotic haemoglobins although it diverged from the others in the N-terminal region and may lack an A-helix. It showed the maximum sequence homology (24%) with lupin leghaemoglobin (Lb). Vitreoscilla Hb is the first bacterial haemoglobin to be sequenced. It may function to enable the organism to survive in oxygen-limited environments by acting as an oxygen storage-trap or to facilitate oxygen diffusion.     

水／乙二醇混合溶剂中微波辅助合成碳酸钙

在水/乙二醇混合溶剂中,通过微波辅助加热的方法,研究溶液过饱和度对碳酸钙成核生长的影响。分别采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X-射线粉末衍射(XRD)对所得的样品进行了表征。结果表明,过饱和度的改变对碳酸钙形貌和晶型具有非常明显的影响,分别获得了菱面体状方解石、纤维捆扎状文石、松树枝状球霰石为主体的碳酸钙晶体。     

用近红外光谱技术实现生物组织含氧量的无损检测

为了实现利用近红外光谱技术进行生物组织氧合无损检测, 引入了光在强散射介质中的吸收定律,利用 Ｍｏｎｔｅ Ｃａｒｌｏ 方法计算了光子在组织中的迁移路径长度。在此基础上设计了双波长反射式近红外组织氧合变化监护仪。通过组织液体模型和人体骨骼肌含氧量检测的实验,证实了其有效性。     

Inhibition by chloroquine of a novel haem polymerase enzyme activity in malaria trophozoites.

The incidence of human malaria has increased during the past 20 years; 270 million people are now estimated to be infected with the parasite. An important contribution to this increase has been the appearance of malaria organisms resistant to quinoline-containing antimalarials such as chloroquine and quinine. These drugs accumulate in the acid food vacuoles of the intraerythrocytic-stage malaria parasite, although the mechanism of their specific toxicity in this organelle is uncertain. The primary function of the food vacuole is the proteolysis of ingested red cell haemoglobin to provide the growing parasite with essential amino acids. Haemoglobin breakdown in the food vacuole releases haem, which if soluble can damage biological membranes and inhibit a variety of enzymes. Rather than degrading or excreting the haem, the parasite has evolved a novel pathway for its detoxification by incorporating it into an insoluble crystalline material called haemozoin or malaria pigment. These crystals form in the food vacuole of the parasite concomitant with haemoglobin degradation, where they remain until the infected red cell bursts. The structure of haemozoin comprises a polymer of haems linked between the central ferric ion of one haem and a carboxylate side-group oxygen of another. This structure does not form spontaneously from either free haem or haemoglobin under physiological conditions, and the biochemistry of its formation is unclear. Here we report the identification and characterization of a haem polymerase enzyme activity from extracts of Plasmodium falciparum trophozoites, and show that this enzyme is inhibited by quinoline-containing drugs such as chloroquine and quinine. This provides a possible explanation for the highly stage-specific antimalarial properties of these drugs.     

相转移催化合成正丁基苯基醚

相转移催化剂是一种良好的催化剂.评述了由聚乙二醇、季铵盐、三乙醇胺、聚氯乙烯固载聚乙二醇树脂、聚苯乙烯固载季铵盐树脂、聚苯乙烯固载吡啶树脂、聚苯乙烯固载多乙烯多胺树脂、聚苯乙烯固载三乙醇胺树脂、聚苯乙烯固载二乙醇胺树脂、聚氯乙烯固载多乙烯多胺树脂催化合成正丁基苯基醚的方法和高分子相转移催化剂的重复使用性能.     

不同平均分子量PEG组合体系对合成LiFePO_4/C复合材料结构与电化学性能的影响

以不同平均分子量的聚乙二醇（PEG）组合体系为纳米结构控制剂和碳源,采用旋转蒸干法制备了LiFePO4/C复合材料。采用X射线衍射（XRD）、扫描电镜（SEM）、透射电镜（TEM）和恒电流充放电测试等手段对其晶体结构、形貌与电化学性能进行了表征。结果表明：不同的PEG组合体系对LiFePO4的晶体尺寸和颗粒形貌具有调控...     

高分子液晶膜的形成及其氧氮渗透性

应用偏光显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、ＤＳＣ以及测定氧氮渗透性，对乙基纤维素液晶溶液和低分子液晶共混膜在电场下取向膜和非取膜的结构和性能进行研究，结果表明：高分子液晶和低分子液晶在电场下的均发生排列取向，渗透系数提高，渗透比稍微降低；各向同性溶液在电场下不发生取向；撤离电场后，发生部分分解取向，解取向程度与ＭＢＨｐＡ的含量和实验温度有磋。     

纤维状形貌TS-1分子筛的形成

采用常规水热方法制备自堆积纤维状TS-1分子筛。考察配料温度、老化时间、反应时间对TS-1分子筛形貌的影响,并用X线衍射仪(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)表征TS-1晶体纤维状结构的形成。结果表明:TS-1分子筛的形貌主要受配料温度的影响。配料温度越高,越容易快速形成大量尺寸均一的晶核,不仅使晶体快速生长,而且促进了自堆积形貌的形成。进入MFI骨架中的Ti诱导产生的晶体颗粒间羟基的脱水缩合反应发生在TS-1晶体生长初期。     

定向凝固制备多晶硅柱状晶的研究

为了控制定向凝固过程中柱状晶的稳定生长,结合真空定向凝固技术,在一定的工艺参数下,利用真空定向凝固设备成功制备出具有单向凝固组织的多晶硅材料,通过对制备的多晶硅锭从纵截面和不同位置横截面的微观组织进行研究,分析得出了定向凝固过程中多晶硅垂直于底部的柱状晶和大晶粒形成的最佳工艺参数,通过X射线衍射检测,显示晶体择优取向为<111>面,文章还利用晶粒淘汰机制和柱状晶合并机制合理解释柱状晶体长大过程.     

Growth of centimeter-sized C60 single crystals

C60 single crystals larger than one centimeter in size are grown with vapor method by nucleation control and by a proper time-dependent temperature process which allows only one nucleus growing larger and larger. X-ray diffraction patterns exhibit the high quality of the sample. As an example of the applications of large single C60 crystals,svnchrotron radiation photoemission spectra are measured to investigate the fine structure of valence bands of C60 crystals.     

Influence of microgravity on protein crystal structures

Structural determination and comparison of microgravity and ground grown protein crystals have been carried out in order to investigate the effect of microgravity on the structure of protein crystals. Following the structural studies on the hen egg-white lysozyme cystals grown in space and on the ground, the same kind of comparative studies was performed with acidic phospholipase A₂ crystals grown in different gravities. Based on the results obtained so far, a conclusion could be made that microgravity might not be strong enough to change the conformation of polypeptide chain of proteins, but it may improve the bound waters’ structure, and this might be an important factor for microgravity to improve the protein crystal quality. In addition, the difference in the improvement between the two kinds of protein crystals may imply that the degree of improvement of a protein crystal in microgravity may be related to the solvent content in the protein crystal.     

Distal residues in the oxygen binding site of haemoglobin studied by protein engineering

The geometries of the Fe-O2 and Fe-CO bonds in myoglobin and haemoglobin differ significantly from those in free porphyrin model compounds. It has been suggested that steric hindrance by Val-E11 and His-E7 and a hydrogen bond between His-E7 and oxygen affect the geometry and electronic state of the Fe-ligand bond, and that these interactions may be important in controlling oxygen affinity. We have produced mutant haemoglobins in E. coli having Val(67 beta)E11 replaced by Ala, Met, Leu or Ile and His(58 beta)E7 by Gln, Val or Gly. We have studied the effect of these mutations on the equilibrium and kinetics of ligand binding. The conformation of the new side chains and their effect on the protein structure have been examined by X-ray crystallography, and the vibrational properties of the Fe-CO bond observed by resonance Raman spectroscopy. We found that the steric hindrance of ligand binding by the E11 residue and the polarity of the E7 residue in the beta subunit are critical for fine-tuning ligand affinity.     

Structure of porphobilinogen deaminase reveals a flexible multidomain polymerase with a single catalytic site.

The three-domain structure of porphobilinogen deaminase, a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of tetrapyrroles, has been defined by X-ray analysis at 1.9 A resolution. Two of the domains structurally resemble the transferrins and periplasmic binding proteins. The dipyrromethane cofactor is covalently linked to domain 3 but is bound by extensive salt-bridges and hydrogen-bonds within the cleft between domains 1 and 2, at a position corresponding to the binding sites for small-molecule ligands in the analogous proteins. The X-ray structure and results from site-directed mutagenesis provide evidence for a single catalytic site. Interdomain flexibility may aid elongation of the polypyrrole product in the active-site cleft of the enzyme.