A steric mechanism for inhibition of CO binding to heme proteins

The crystal structures of myoglobin in the deoxy- and carbon monoxide-ligated states at a resolution of 1.15 angstroms show that carbon monoxide binding at ambient temperatures requires concerted motions of the heme, the iron, and helices E and F for relief of steric inhibition. These steps constitute the main mechanism by which heme proteins lower the affinity of the heme group for the toxic ligand carbon monoxide.     

Cytochrome a3 structure in carbon monoxide-bound cytochrome oxidase

The iron-carbon monoxide stretching mode and the iron-carbon-oxygen bending mode in carbon monoxide-bound cytochrome oxidase have been assigned at 520 and 578 cm-1, respectively. The frequencies, widths, and intensities of these modes show that the Fe-C-O grouping in carbon monoxide-cytochrome a3 is linear but tilted from the normal to the heme plane; that the iron-histidine bond in both five- and six-coordinate cytochrome a3 is strained; and that the carbon monoxide and the proximal histidine each have characteristic, well-defined orientations in all molecules. These data can account for the binding affinities of carbon monoxide and dioxygen under physiological conditions.     

Rate theories and puzzles of hemeprotein kinetics

The binding of dioxygen and carbon monoxide to heme proteins such as myoglobin and hemoglobin has been studied with flash photolysis. At temperatures below 200 K, binding occurs from within the heme pocket and, contrary to expectation, with nearly equal rates for both ligands. This observation has led to a reexamination of the theory of the association reaction taking into account friction, protein structure, and the nature of electronic transitions. The rate coefficients for the limiting cases of large and small friction are found with simple arguments that use characteristic lengths and times. The arguments indicate how transition state theory as well as calculations based on nonadiabatic perturbation theory, which is called the Golden Rule, may fail. For ligand-binding reactions the data suggest the existence of intermediate states not directly observed so far. The general considerations may also apply to other biomolecular processes such as electron transport.     

Direct observation of global protein motion in hemoglobin and myoglobin on picosecond time scales

Picosecond phase-grating spectroscopy is highly sensitive to density changes and provides a new holographic approach to the study of protein dynamics. Photodissociation of carbon monoxide from heme proteins induces a well-defined transition from a ligated to a deoxy structure that is important to hemoglobin and myoglobin functionality. Grating spectroscopy was used to observe protein-driven density waves on a picosecond time scale after carbon monoxide dissociation. This result demonstrates that global tertiary structure changes of proteins occur on an extremely fast time scale and provides new insight into the biomechanics of deterministic protein motion.     

Regulation of the erythropoietin gene: evidence that the oxygen sensor is a heme protein

Erythropoietin (Epo), the hormone that stimulates red blood cell production, is synthesized in the kidney and liver in response to hypoxia. The human hepatoma cell line Hep3B regulates its production of Epo in a physiologic manner. Either hypoxia or cobalt chloride markedly increases expression of Epo mRNA as well as production of biologically active and immunologically distinct Epo protein. New protein synthesis is required before the induction of increased levels of hypoxia- or cobalt-induced Epo mRNA. Hypoxia, cobalt chloride, and nickel chloride appear to stimulate Epo production through a common pathway. The inhibition of Epo production at low partial pressures of oxygen by carbon monoxide provides evidence that a heme protein is integrally involved in the oxygen-sensing mechanism. This hypothesis is further supported by the finding that when heme synthesis is blocked, hypoxia-, cobalt-, and nickel-induced Epo production are all markedly inhibited. A model is proposed in which a ligand-dependent conformational change in a heme protein accounts for the mechanism by which hypoxia as well as cobalt and nickel stimulate the production of Epo.     

Carboxyhemoglobin elevation after exposure to dichloromethane

Inhalation of dichloromethane vapor in concentrations of 500 to 1000 parts per million for 1 to 2 hours promptly initiated the formation of significant quantities of carbon monoxide in human subjects. The evidence suggests that carbon monoxide may be a metabolite of dichloromethane and, that exposure to concentrations of dichloromethane below the industrial threshold limit values may result in the formation of carbon monoxide in amounts that exceed the allowable limits.     

Carbon monoxide balance in nature

Consideration of the steady-state equations for stable carbon monoxide and for radioactive carbon monoxide in the troposphere leads to the conclusion that carbon monoxide is produced at a rate of 5x10(15) grams per year, a value some 25 times greater than the rate of carbon monoxide production from combustion. The concomitant residence time for carbon monoxide is 0.1 year, in agreement with a previous estimate of Weinstock. Hydroxyl radicals are shown to account for both the production of this large amount of carbon monoxide by methane oxidation and for its removal by carbon monoxide oxidation. The average concentration of hydroxyl radicals in the troposphere required to achieve this effect is 2.3x10(6) molecules per cubic centimeter, with a daytime concentration of twice that. Levy and McConnell, McElroy, and Wofsy have deduced concentrations of hydroxyl radicals in the troposphere of the same magnitude from purely photochemical considerations, in support of this model.     

将透明颤菌血红蛋白基因(vgb)转移到链霉菌染色体整合载体的构建

链霉菌抗生素的生物合成对培养环境中氧的供应相当敏感,为了改善这一溶氧问题,本研究通过将透明颤菌血红蛋白基因(vgb)克隆到含ФC31int,attP基因的诱导型表达载体pU8600上,构建了可接合转移到链霉菌的整合型表达vgb基因的质粒pHZ1276。pHZ1276通过接合转移导入变铅青链霉菌(Streptomyces lividans),所得重组子经Southern杂交验证后,进行诱导表达,菌体经破碎后所得蛋白粗提物经Western杂交和CO结合试验表明vgb基因在该菌中表达出了有活性的VHb蛋白。     

Soil as a sink for atmospheric carbon monoxide

The rate of carbon monoxide oxidation by soil increased with increasing carbon monoxide concentration in the gas phase, in line with Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Rates of carbon monoxide oxidation were determined for 20 soils at 0 degrees , 10 degrees , 20 degrees , and 30 degrees C. The observed oxidation rates were used to calculate a global soil uptake rate of atmospheric carbon monoxide of 4.1 x 10(14) grams per year, which is slightly less than the amount of carbon monoxide believed to be produced annually as a result of fossil fuel combustion.     

Toward separation and purification of olefins using dithiolene complexes: an electrochemical approach

The complex Ni[S2C2(CF3)2]2 reacts with light olefins, including ethylene and propylene, selectively and reversibly. The reaction is not poisoned by hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide, acetylene, or hydrogen sulfide, which are commonly present in olefin streams, presumably because olefin binding occurs through the sulfur ligand rather than the metal center. The reversible reaction of olefins with Ni[S2C2(CN)2]2n (n = 0, -1, -2) can be controlled electrochemically, where the oxidation state-dependent binding and release of olefins are fast on the electrochemical time scale. The observed tolerance to poisons and controllable electrochemical reactivity present an alternative approach to the separation of olefins from complex streams.     

Normal atmosphere: large radical and formaldehyde concentrations predicted

A steady-state model of the normal (unpolluted) surface atmosphere predicts a daytime concentration of hydroxyl, hydroperoxyl, and methylperoxyl radicals approaching 5 x 10(8)molecules per cubic centimeter and a formaldehyde concentration of 5 x 10(10) molecules per cubic centimeter or 2 parts per billion. A radical chain reaction is proposed for the rapid removal of carbon monoxide, leading to a carbon monoxide lifetime as low as 0.2 year in the surface atmosphere.     

Microwave measurements of carbon monoxide on titan

The ratio of the flux density of Titan was measured in two 200-megahertz bands, one centered on the (1-0) rotation line of carbon monoxide at 115.3 gigahertz and the other 2600 megahertz lower. The measurements were made with a complex-correlation technique on the new millimeter-wavelength interferometer at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, Big Pine, California. The excess flux in the carbon monoxide band is interpreted as a strong detection of carbon monoxide and a mixing ratio, assumed constant, of 6 x 10(-5). The brightness temperature of Titan at 112.6 gigahertz is 69 +/- 10 kelvins, consistent with atmospheric emission from just below the tropopause.     

Carbon Monoxide in the Earth's Atmosphere: Increasing Trend

The results of an analysis of more than 60,000 atmospheric measurements of carbon monoxide taken over 3(1/2) years at Cape Meares, Oregon (45 degrees N, 125 degrees W), indicate that the background concentration of this gas is increasing. The rate of increase, although uncertain, is about 6 percent per year on average. Human activities are the likely cause of a substantial portion of this observed increase; however, because of the short atmospheric lifetime of carbon monoxide and the relatively few years of observations, fluctuations of sources and sinks related to the natural variability of climate may have affected the observed trend. Increased carbon monoxide may deplete tropospheric hydroxyl radicals, slowing down the removal of dozens of man-made and anthropogenic trace gases and thus indirectly affecting the earth's climate and possibly the stratospheric ozone layer.     

水杨酸与DNA相互作用的电化学研究

采用紫外光谱法和电化学法研究了水杨酸(SA)与鲱鱼精DNA的相互作用。紫外吸收光谱法结果表明,SA与DNA的相互作用为嵌插方式。在pH 5.8的NaH2PO4-Na2HPO4缓冲液中对SA进行循环伏安扫描,SA在玻碳电极上于1.070 V(Ag/AgCl参比电极)有1个阳极氧化峰,随着DNA的加入,氧化峰电流降低,峰电位正移,进一步表明SA嵌插到DNA分子的双螺旋结构中,二者相互作用生成了一种非电活性的超分子复合物。通过电化学方法可计算出SA与DNA复合物的结合比为3∶1,结合常数β为2.53×1012。