Mobility of Xe atoms within the oxygen diffusion channel of cytochrome ba(3) oxidase.

We use a form of "freeze-trap, kinetic crystallography" to explore the migration of Xe atoms away from the dinuclear heme a(3)/Cu(B) center in Thermus thermophilus cytochrome ba(3) oxidase. This enzyme is a member of the heme-copper oxidase superfamily and is thus crucial for dioxygen-dependent life. The mechanisms involved in the migration of oxygen, water, electrons, and protons into and/or out of the specialized channels of the heme-copper oxidases are generally not well understood. Pressurization of crystals with Xe gas previously revealed a O(2) diffusion channel in cytochrome ba(3) oxidase that is continuous, Y-shaped, 18-20 Šin length and comprised of hydrophobic residues, connecting the protein surface within the bilayer to the a(3)-Cu(B) center in the active site. To understand movement of gas molecules within the O(2) channel, we performed crystallographic analysis of 19 Xe laden crystals freeze-trapped in liquid nitrogen at selected times between 0 and 480 s while undergoing outgassing at room temperature. Variation in Xe crystallographic occupancy at five discrete sites as a function of time leads to a kinetic model revealing relative degrees of mobility of Xe atoms within the channel. Xe egress occurs primarily through the channel formed by the Xe1 → Xe5 → Xe3 → Xe4 sites, suggesting that ingress of O(2) is likely to occur by the reverse of this process. The channel itself appears not to undergo significant structural changes during Xe migration, thereby indicating a passive role in this important physiological function.

An unexpected outcome of surface engineering an integral membrane protein: improved crystallization of cytochrome ba(3) from Thermus thermophilus.

Past work has shown that it is feasible to mutate surface residues of soluble proteins and to a lesser extent membrane proteins in order to improve their crystallization behavior. Described here is a successful application of this approach to the integral membrane protein Thermus thermophilus cytochrome ba(3) oxidase. Two mutant forms of this enzyme (I-K258R and I-K258R/II-E4Q) were created in which symmetrical crystal contacts within crystals of wild-type enzyme were modified. These mutant proteins had greatly shortened crystallization times, decreasing from approximately 30 d for the wild type to 1-3 d for the mutants, and crystallization was highly reproducible. Native-like proteins crystallize in space group P4(3)2(1)2, whereas the mutant proteins crystallize in space group P4(1)2(1)2 with a different packing arrangement. Crystals of the P4(3)2(1)2 form occasionally diffracted to 2.4-2.3 A resolution following controlled dehydration, while those of the P4(1)2(1)2 form routinely diffracted to between 3.0 and 2.6 A for crystals that had been cryoprotected but not dehydrated.

Crystallographic studies of Xe and Kr binding within the large internal cavity of cytochrome ba3 from Thermus thermophilus: structural analysis and role of oxygen transport channels in the heme-Cu oxidases.

Cytochrome ba3 is a cytochrome c oxidase from the plasma membrane of Thermus thermophilus and is the preferred terminal enzyme of cellular respiration at low dioxygen tensions. Using cytochrome ba 3 crystals pressurized at varying conditions under Xe or Kr gas, and X-ray data for six crystals, we identify the relative affinities of Xe and Kr atoms for as many as seven distinct binding sites. These sites track a continuous, Y-shaped channel, 18-20 A in length, lined by hydrophobic residues, which leads from the surface of the protein where two entrance holes, representing the top of the Y, connect the bilayer to the a3-CuB center at the base of the Y. Considering the increased affinity of O2 for hydrophobic environments, the hydrophobic nature of the channel, its orientation within the bilayer, its connection to the active site, its uniform diameter, its virtually complete occupation by Xe, and its isomorphous presence in the native enzyme, we infer that the channel is a diffusion pathway for O2 into the dinuclear center of cytochrome ba3. These observations provide a basis for analyzing similar channels in other oxidases of known structure, and these structures are discussed in terms of mechanisms of O2 transport in biological systems, details of CO binding to and egress from the dinuclear center, the bifurcation of the oxygen-in and water-out pathways, and the possible role of the oxygen channel in aerobic thermophily.