Chemically induced porphyria: increased microsomal heme turnover after treatment with allylisopropylacetamide

Excessive induction of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase in rats after treatment with porphyria-inducing chemicals, such as allylisopropylacetamide, is accompanied by a decrease in microsomal heme and cytochrome P450 concentrations. Measurement of the radioactive decay after labeling of the heme moiety of submicrosomal particles shows increased breakdown of heme in rats treated with allylisopropylacetamide. The effects of allylisopropylacetamide on heme synthesis and heme turnover may be interrelated     

Second spectroscopically abnormal methemoglobin associated with hereditary cyanosis

Isolation of an abnormal methemoglobin from two families exhibiting dominantly transmitted cyanosis have permitted the recognition of two different pigments of the hemoglobin M type. It is possible that the abnormal properties which characterize the acidic methemoglobin derivatives result from a crevice configuration of the heme, with two Feprotein bonds.     

Epinephrine reduction of heme: implication for understanding the transmission of an agonist stimulus

Alpha-adrenergic agonists that promote platelet aggregation were found to reduce ferric heme to ferrous heme. Agents that bind iron in heme inhibited epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation. It is proposed that epinephrine first binds to its receptor and then reduces an adjacent heme group to transmit its agonist stimulus.     

A heme export protein is required for red blood cell differentiation and iron homeostasis

Hemoproteins are critical for the function and integrity of aerobic cells. However, free heme is toxic. Therefore, cells must balance heme synthesis with its use. We previously demonstrated that the feline leukemia virus, subgroup C, receptor (FLVCR) exports cytoplasmic heme. Here, we show that FLVCR-null mice lack definitive erythropoiesis, have craniofacial and limb deformities resembling those of patients with Diamond-Blackfan anemia, and die in midgestation. Mice with FLVCR that is deleted neonatally develop a severe macrocytic anemia with proerythroblast maturation arrest, which suggests that erythroid precursors export excess heme to ensure survival. We further demonstrate that FLVCR mediates heme export from macrophages that ingest senescent red cells and regulates hepatic iron. Thus, the trafficking of heme, and not just elemental iron, facilitates erythropoiesis and systemic iron balance.     

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.     

Evidence for an inter-organismic heme biosynthetic pathway in symbiotic soybean root nodules

The successful symbiosis of soybean with Bradyrhizobium japonicum depends on their complex interactions, culminating in the development and maintenance of root nodules. A B. japonicum mutant defective in heme synthesis in culture was able to produce heme as a result of its symbiotic association with the soybean host. The bacterial mutant was incapable of synthesizing the committed heme precursor delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), but nodule plant cells formed ALA from glutamate. In addition, exogenous ALA was taken up by isolated nodule bacteria of the parent strain and of the mutant. It is proposed that bacterial heme found in nodules can be synthesized from plant ALA, hence segments of a single metabolic pathway are spatially separated into two organisms.     

Shunt bilirubin: evidence for two components

Studies with C(14)-labeled glycine and delta-aminolevulinic acid as heme-bilirubin precursors in man indicate that the early labeled or shunt bilirubin consists of two fractions. Fraction 1 requires 1 to 24 hours for maximum synthesis, is not dependent on marrow erythropoietic heme synthesis, and is possibly of anabolic origin (formed by a direct pathway from heme precursors). Fraction 2 requires 3 to 4 days for maximum production, is dependent on heme synthesis, and probably has its origin in the bone marrow, as a degradation product of red-cell heme.     

Ellipsosomes: organelles containing a cytochrome-like pigment in the retinal cones of certain fishes

Ellipsosomes are dense spherical bodies containing a very large concentration of a heme pigment spectroscopically resembling pure cytochrome c. They are located at the outer ends of the inner segments of the cones of certain fishes. Although, superficially, they resemble the similarly located oil droplets in the cones of birds and reptiles, their ultrastructure and staining properties resemble those of the neighboring mitochondria. However, like the oil droplets, they may serve as intracellular color filters.     

Fumarate reductase in the control of heme biosynthesis

A drug-induced stimulation of heme biosynthesis in mouse liver was accompanied by altered fumarate metabolism. In liver homogenate, fumarate 1,4-C(14) was incorporated, via succinate and succinyl coenzyme A, into heme at an accelerated rate. This pathway of fumarate utilization was inhibited by acetoacetate but not by beta-hydroxybutyrate. Fumarate reduction to succinate required reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. The enzyme fumarate reductase is suggested as a link between terminal oxidation and cellular control of the heme biosynthetic pathway.     

Indoleacetic acid oxidase activity of apoperoxidase

The conventional activity of electrophoretically purified horseradish peroxidase toward guaiacol, pyrogallol, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, and benzidine is abolished by removal of the heme prosthetic group with a mixture of cold acetone and hydrogen chloride. The apoenzyme, though devoid of peroxidase activity, retains its activity as an indoleacetic acid oxidase when it is supplied with 10(-5) mole of manganous ion and 2,4-dachlorophenol per liter. This oxidase activity is cyanide-sensitive; azide also inhibits under specific conditions of both pH and cofactor concentration. Partial restoration of the peroxidase activity by recombination of apoprotein with heme produces no effect on the oxidase activity, except that cofactors are no longer absolutely required. Therefore, it appears that the activity of peroxidase as an indoleacetic acid oxidase need not directly involve the heme prosthetic group, or that manganous ions and dichlorophenol can substitute for the heme group in the reaction between indoleacetic acid and oxidase.     

L-tryptophan: a common denominator of biochemical and neurological events of acute hepatic porphyria?

Hepatic porphyrias are disorders of heme synthesis characterized by genetically determined lesions of one of the key enzymes of heme synthesis. In carriers of such lesions, several factors (drugs, environmental chemicals, or diet) precipitate acute and often fatal attacks of neurologic dysfunction, which are promptly relieved by intravenous infusion of heme. However, the mechanism of such heme-induced amelioration remains elusive. To probe this mechanism, the biochemical events triggered by acute hepatic heme deficiency were examined in an animal model of chemically induced porphyria. Acute hepatic heme depletion in porphyric rats was found to impair hepatic tryptophan pyrrolase activity which, in turn, elevated tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptamine turnover in the brain. These alterations in porphyric rats were dramatically reversed by parenteral heme administration. These findings suggest that increased tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptamine in the nervous system may be responsible for the neurologic dysfunctions observed in humans with acute attacks of hepatic porphyria.     

Iron-source preference of Staphylococcus aureus infections

Although bacteria use different iron compounds in vitGro, the possibility that microbes distinguish between these iron sources during infection has hitherto not been examined. We applied stable isotope labeling to detect source-specific iron by mass spectrometry and show that Staphylococcus aureus preferentially imports heme iron over transferrin iron. By combining this approach with computational genome analysis, we identified hts (heme transport system), a gene cluster that promotes preferred heme iron import by S. aureus. Heme iron scavenging by means of hts is required for staphylococcal pathogenesis in animal hosts, indicating that heme iron is the preferred iron source during the initiation of infection.     

Significance of mitochondria for porphyrin and heme biosynthesis

It is concluded that mitochondria are involved in three steps of porphyrin and heme biosynthesis-first, in the formation of delta-aminolevulinic acid from glycine and active succinate; second, in the synthesis of protoporphyrin; third, in the incorporation of iron into the porphyrin ring-that is, in heme formation.     

"Apocatalase" of catalase-negative staphylococci

Crystalline catalase of high purity and activity was prepared from a heme-requiring Staphylococcus aureus mutant, JT/52, grown in the presence of heme. A crystalline protein was obtained from the same cells grown without heme. This enzymatically inactive protein and the catalase cross-react strongly when tested by a variety of immunochemical tests.     

捻转血矛线虫Hc-hrg-2拯救血红素缺陷型酵母生长表型

【目的】已有研究表明捻转血矛线虫（Haemonchus contortus）Hc-hrg-2属于血红素应答基因,高浓度血红素的刺激可导致该基因的转录水平上调,但其在血红素调控中的功能尚缺乏研究。研究通过同源重组技术构建血红素合成缺陷型酿酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）hem1敲除株,通过异源表达Hc-hrg-2对该敲除株进行表型拯救试验,以期验证Hc-hrg-2参与细胞内血红素转运的功能。 【方法】以S. cerevisiae BY4741基因组为模板,设计引物,扩增获得hem1（SGD:S000002640）基因序列5' 和3' 侧翼区同源臂;同时以pYES2-CT质粒为模板设计引物,扩增获得筛选标记URA3序列;利用两次重叠PCR技术依次将测序正确的上游同源臂、URA3、下游同源臂序列串联成基因敲除组件,并通过醇沉法对敲除组件进行纯化。采用醋酸锂转化法将纯化的敲除组件转化至BY4741感受态细胞中, 经SD/- URA（含250 μmol·L^-1 5-氨基乙酰丙酸（ALA））培养基筛选,并利用多对引物进行PCR鉴定,以验证Δhem1敲除株的正确性。同时以含有H. contortus 浙江株Hc-hrg-2 序列（GenBank：MK371241）及其功能域缺失序列Hc-hrg-2(Δgst-n) 和Hc-hrg-2(Δgst-c) 的质粒为模板,利用特异性引物分别进行PCR扩增,通过无缝克隆将扩增得到的目的片段插入酵母pESC-LEU表达载体,经PCR鉴定以及测序验证后,采用醋酸锂转化法将正确的表达载体转化至Δhem1感受态细胞中,通过SD/- URA/- LEU（含250 μmol·L^-1 ALA）培养基筛选以及PCR鉴定验证阳性异源表达株的正确性。通过比较Δhem1敲除株及其各异源表达株在含有或不含有250 μmol·L^-1 ALA的SD/- URA/- LEU液体培养基中的生长情况,进一步验证敲除株的表型同时排除表达载体对表型的影响。用2%半乳糖对含有阳性表达质粒的敲除株进行诱导,取部分菌液进行超裂破碎,收集蛋白,通过Western Blot鉴定目的蛋白的表达;剩余菌体用去离子水重悬至OD₆₀₀ = 0.2,用去离子水进行5倍比稀释,取4 μL稀释后的菌液点至含有250 μmol·L^-1 ALA或者不同浓度血红素的诱导平板上,28℃培养2—3 d后比较敲除株的生长情况。【结果】成功获得hem1基因敲除株Δhem1,与野生株相比,Δhem1不能合成血红素,需外源添加ALA（250 μmol·L^-1）或血红素（≥ 10 μmol·L^-1）才能生长,且异源表达株和敲除株的表型一致。Western Blot结果表明2%半乳糖能诱导Hc-hrg-2及其功能域缺失基因在敲除株中成功表达,且表达Hc-hrg-2能够在低血红素浓度下（≤ 1 μmol·L^-1）促进酵母对血红素的摄取,拯救敲除株的生长缺陷,其硫氧还蛋白样结构域（GST-N）和谷胱甘肽S-转移酶C末端结构域（GST-C）的缺失会降低拯救的效果。【结论】捻转血矛线虫血红素应答基因Hc-hrg-2可促进细胞对血红素的摄取,其GST-N和GST-C功能域在该过程中发挥着重要作用,研究成果为后续深入研究捻转血矛线虫的血红素转运机制奠定基础。     

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.     

Heme-heme orientation and electron transfer kinetic behavior of multisite oxidation-reduction enzymes

Analysis of the polarized single-crystal absorption spectra of cytochrome cd1 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa shows that the heme c and heme d1 groups in each subunit are oriented perpendicularly to each other in both oxidized and reduced forms of the enzyme. These results, together with those of previous kinetic studies, indicate that a perpendicular heme-heme orientation may be an important factor in specifying kinetically slow steps in a sequential series of electron transfer reactions.     

美国红鱼和大黄鱼β-珠蛋白基因的克隆和遗传进化分析

根据已发表的其他脊椎动物β-珠蛋白基因序列设计并合成1对特异性引物,通过RT-PCR方法首次克隆到美国红鱼和大黄鱼β-珠蛋白cDNA,其开放读码框均由447个碱基组成,编码148个氨基酸的多肽,预测的相对分子量分别为16 333和16 148 Da,两者核苷酸序列和推导的氨基酸序列同源性分别为90.4%与81.2%.将推导的美国红鱼和大黄鱼β-珠蛋白氨基酸序列与其他鱼类及人β-珠蛋白氨基酸序列进行同源性比较,其同源性在35.5%～70.3%,它们与同属真口鱼纲的真鲷、黄尾鲱鱼、鲤鱼、虹鳟等的同源性较高,而与肉鳍鱼纲的肺鱼及板鳃纲的鲨鱼的同源性较低;二级结构预测表明,美国红鱼和大黄鱼β-珠蛋白存在类似哺乳动物的8个α-螺旋区,在近端与远端与血红素结合的组氨酸高度保守.     

Heme and globin synthesis control: observations in vivo in beta thalassemia

After administration of glycine-2-(14)C to a patient with thalassemia, the specific activities of heme and globin of F hemoglobin were consistently higher than those of hemoglobin A. After reaching a maximum, the ratio of the specific activity of heme to that of globin remained constant within each hemoglobin. Explanations considered include dilution by preformed subunits, differential turnover of hemoglobins, and possibly more than one heme-synthesizing pool.