Role of the Subunits Interactions in the Conformational Transitions in Adult Human Hemoglobin: an Explicit Solvent Molecular Dynamics Study

Hemoglobin exhibits allosteric structural changes upon ligand binding due to the dynamic interactions between the ligand binding sites, the amino acids residues and some other solutes present under physiological conditions. In the present study, the dynamical and quaternary structural changes occurring in two unligated (deoxy-) T structures, and two fully ligated (oxy-) R, R2 structures of adult human hemoglobin were investigated with molecular dynamics. It is shown that, in the sub-microsecond time scale, there is no marked difference in the global dynamics of the amino acids residues in both the oxy- and the deoxy- forms of the individual structures. In addition, the R, R2 are relatively stable and do not present quaternary conformational changes within the time scale of our simulations while the T structure is dynamically more flexible and exhibited the T\rightarrow R quaternary conformational transition, which is propagated by the relative rotation of the residues at the {\alpha}1{\beta}2 and {\alpha}2{\beta}1 interface.Comment: Reprinted (adapted) with permission from J. Phys. Chem. B DOI:10.1021/jp3022908. Copyright (2012) American Chemical Societ

Photosensitized Singlet Oxygen Luminescence from the Protein Matrix of Zn-Substituted Myoglobin

A nanosecond laser near-infrared spectrometer was used to study singlet oxygen (¹O₂) emission in a protein matrix. Myoglobin in which the intact heme is substituted by Zn-protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) was employed. Every collision of ground state molecular oxygen with ZnPP in the excited triplet state results in ¹O₂ generation within the protein matrix. The quantum yield of ¹O₂ generation was found to be equal to 0.9 ± 0.1. On the average, six from every 10 ¹O₂ molecules succeed in escaping from the protein matrix into the solvent. A kinetic model for ¹O₂ generation within the protein matrix and for a subsequent ¹O₂ deactivation was introduced and discussed. Rate constants for radiative and nonradiative ¹O₂ deactivation within the protein were determined. The first-order radiative rate constant for ¹O₂ deactivation within the protein was found to be 8.1 ± 1.3 times larger than the one in aqueous solutions, indicating the strong influence of the protein matrix on the radiative ¹O₂ deactivation. Collisions of singlet oxygen with each protein amino acid and ZnPP were assumed to contribute independently to the observed radiative as well as nonradiative rate constants