Charge Regulation in a Rieske Proton Pump Pinpoints Zero, One, and Two Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer.

The degree to which redox-driven proton pumps regulate net charge during electron transfer (ΔZET) remains undetermined due to difficulties in measuring the net charge of solvated proteins. Values of ΔZET can reflect reorganization energies or redox potentials associated with ET and can be used to distinguish ET from proton(s)-coupled electron transfer (PCET). Here, we synthesized protein "charge ladders" of a Rieske [2Fe-2S] subunit from Thermus thermophilus (truncTtRp) and made 120 electrostatic measurements of ΔZET across pH. Across pH 5-10, truncTtRp is suspected of transitioning from ET to PCET, and then to two proton-coupled ET (2PCET). Upon reduction, we found that truncTtRp became more negative at pH 6.0 by one unit (ΔZET = -1.01 ± 0.14), consistent with single ET; was isoelectric at pH 8.8 (ΔZET = -0.01 ± 0.45), consistent with PCET; and became more positive at pH 10.6 (ΔZET = +1.37 ± 0.60), consistent with 2PCET. These ΔZET values are attributed to protonation of H154 and H134. Across pH, redox potentials of TtRp (measured previously) correlated with protonation energies of H154 and H134 and ΔZET for truncTtRp, supporting a discrete proton pumping mechanism for Rieske proteins at the Fe-coordinating histidines.

DEPC modification of the CuA protein from Thermus thermophilus.

The CuA center is the initial electron acceptor in cytochrome c oxidase, and it consists of two copper ions bridged by two cysteines and ligated by two histidines, a methionine, and a carbonyl in the peptide backbone of a nearby glutamine. The two ligating histidines are of particular interest as they may influence the electronic and redox properties of the metal center. To test for the presence of reactive ligating histidines, a portion of cytochrome c oxidase from the bacteria Thermus thermophilus that contains the CuA site (the TtCuA protein) was treated with the chemical modifier diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) and the reaction followed through UV-visible, circular dichroism, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies at pH 5.0-9.0. A mutant protein (H40A/H117A) with the non-ligating histidines removed was similarly tested. Introduction of an electron-withdrawing DEPC-modification onto the ligating histidine 157 of TtCuA increased the reduction potential by over 70 mV, as assessed by cyclic voltammetry. Results from both proteins indicate that DEPC reacts with one of the two ligating histidines, modification of a ligating histidine raises the reduction potential of the CuA site, and formation of the DEPC adduct is reversible at room temperature. The existence of the reactive ligating histidine suggests that this residue may play a role in modulating the electronic and redox properties of TtCuA through kinetically-controlled proton exchange with the solvent. Lack of reactivity by the metalloproteins Sco and azurin, both of which contain a mononuclear copper center, indicate that reactivity toward DEPC is not a characteristic of all ligating histidines.

Reactive sites and course of reduction in the Rieske protein.

Rieske proteins play an essential role in electron transfer in the bc 1 complex. Rieske proteins contain a [2Fe-2S] cluster with one iron ligated by two histidines and the other iron ligated by two cysteines. All Rieske proteins have pH-dependent reduction potentials with the histidines ligating the cluster deprotonating in response to increases in pH. The addition of diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC) modifies deprotonated histidines. The previous studies on the isolated Thermus thermophilus Rieske protein have used large excesses of DEPC, and this study examines what amino acids become modified under different molar equivalents of DEPC to protein. Increasing amounts of DEPC result in more modification, and higher pH values result in faster reaction. Upon modification, the protein also becomes reduced and ~6 equivalents of DEPC are needed for 50% of the reduction to occur. Which amino acids are modified first also points to the most reactive species on the protein. Mass spectrometry analysis shows that lysine 68 is the most reactive amino acid, followed by the ligating histidine 154 and two other surfaces lysines, 76 and 43. The modification of the ligating histidine at low numbers of DEPC equivalents and correlation with a similar number of equivalents needed to reduce the protein shows that this histidine can interact with neighboring groups, and these results can be extended to the protein within the bc 1 complex, where interaction with neighboring residues or molecules may allow reduction to occur. These results may shed light on how Rieske transfers electrons and protons in the bc 1 complex.

The reduction rates of DEPC-modified mutant Thermus thermophilus Rieske proteins differ when there is a negative charge proximal to the cluster.

Rieske and Rieske-type proteins are electron transport proteins involved in key biological processes such as respiration, photosynthesis, and detoxification. They have a [2Fe-2S] cluster ligated by two cysteines and two histidines. A series of mutations, L135E, L135R, L135A, and Y158F, of the Rieske protein from Thermus thermophilus has been produced which probe the effects of the neighboring residues, in the second sphere, on the dynamics of cluster reduction and the reactivity of the ligating histidines. These properties were probed using titrations and modifications with diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) at various pH values monitored using UV-Visible and circular dichroism spectrophotometry. These results, along with results from EPR studies, provide information on ligating histidine modification and rate of reduction of each of the mutant proteins. L135R, L135A, and Y158F react with DEPC similarly to wild type, resulting in modified protein with a reduced [2Fe-2S] cluster in <90 min, whereas L135E requires >15 h under the same conditions. Thus, the negative charge slows down the rate of reduction and provides an explanation as to why negatively charged residues are rarely, if ever, found in the equivalent position of other Rieske and Rieske-type proteins.

Spectroscopic characterization of Mn2+ and Cd2+ coordination to phosphorothioates in the conserved A9 metal site of the hammerhead ribozyme.

Phosphorothioate modifications have widespread use in the field of nucleic acids. As substitution of sulfur for oxygen can alter metal coordination preferences, the phosphorothioate metal-rescue experiment is a powerful method for identifying metal coordination sites that influence specific properties in a large RNAs. The A9/G10.1 metal binding site of the hammerhead ribozyme (HHRz) has previously been shown to be functionally important through phosphorothioate rescue experiments. While an A9-SRp substitution is inhibitory in Mg2+, thiophilic Cd2+ rescues HHRz activity. Mn2+ is also often used in phosphorothioate metal-rescue studies but does not support activity for the A9-SRp HHRz. Here, we use EPR, electron spin-echo envelope modulation (ESEEM), and X-ray absorption spectroscopic methods to directly probe the structural consequences of Mn2+ and Cd2+ coordination to Rp and Sp phosphorothioate modifications at the A9/G10.1 site in the truncated hammerhead ribozyme (tHHRz). The results demonstrate that while Cd2+ does indeed bind to S in the thio-substituted ligand, Mn2+ coordinates to the non­sulfur oxo group of this phosphorothioate, regardless of isomer. Computational models demonstrate the energetic preference of MnO over MnS coordination in metal-dimethylthiophosphate models. In the case of the tHHRz, the resulting Mn2+ coordination preference of oxygen in either Rp or Sp A9 phosphorothioates differentially tunes catalytic activity, with MnO coordination in the A9-SRp phosphorothioate enzyme being inhibitory.

Chemical modification of the Rieske protein from Thermus thermophilus using diethyl pyrocarbonate modifies ligating histidine 154 and reduces the [2FE-2S] cluster.

Rieske proteins are a class of electron transport proteins that are intricately involved in respiratory and photosynthetic processes. One unique property of Rieske proteins is that the reduction potential is pH-dependent. The ionizable groups responding to changes in pH have recently been shown to be the two histidine residues that ligate the [2Fe-2S] cluster. To probe the chemical reactivity toward and the accessibility of the ligating histidines to small molecules, akin to the substrate quinol and the inhibitor stigmatellin, the Thermus thermophilus Rieske protein was reacted with diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) over a range of pH values. The modification was followed by UV-visible, circular dichroism, and EPR spectroscopies and the end product analyzed by mass spectrometry. The ligating His154, as well as the two nonligating histidines and surface-exposed lysines, were modified. Interestingly, modification of the protein by DEPC was also found to reduce the metal cluster. The ability to control the redox state was examined by the addition of oxidants and reductants and removal of the DEPC-histidine adduct by sodium hydroxide. Characterization of the DEPC-modified Rieske protein, which remains redox active, offers a probe to analyze the effects of small molecules that inhibit the function of the bc(1) complex and that have also been shown to interact with the ligating histidines of the Rieske [2Fe-2S] cluster in crystal structures of the complex.

Effects of pH on the Rieske protein from Thermus thermophilus: a spectroscopic and structural analysis.

The Rieske protein from Thermus thermophilus (TtRp) and a truncated version of the protein (truncTtRp), produced to achieve a low-pH crystallization condition, have been characterized using UV-visible and circular dichroism spectroscopies. TtRp and truncTtRp undergo a change in the UV-visible spectra with increasing pH. The LMCT band at 458 nm shifts to 436 nm and increases in intensity. The increase at 436 nm versus pH can be fit using the sum of two Henderson-Hasselbalch equations, yielding two pK(a) values for the oxidized protein. For TtRp, pK(ox1) = 7.48 +/- 0.12 and pK(ox2) = 10.07 +/- 0.17. For truncTtRp, pK(ox1) = 7.87 +/- 0.17 and pK(ox2) = 9.84 +/- 0.42. The shift to shorter wavelength and the increase in intensity for the LMCT band with increasing pH are consistent with deprotonation of the histidine ligands. A pH titration of truncTtRp monitored by circular dichroism also showed pH-dependent changes at 315 and 340 nm. At 340 nm, the fit gives pK(ox1) = 7.14 +/- 0.26 and pK(ox2) = 9.32 +/- 0.36. The change at 315 nm is best fit for a single deprotonation event, giving pK(ox1) = 7.82 +/- 0.10. The lower wavelength region of the CD spectra was unaffected by pH, indicating that the overall fold of the protein remains unchanged, which is consistent with crystallographic results of truncTtRp. The structure of truncTtRp crystallized at pH 6.2 is very similar to TtRp at pH 8.5 and contains only subtle changes localized at the [2Fe-2S] cluster. These titration and structural results further elucidate the histidine ligand characteristics and are consistent with important roles for these amino acids.

Characterization and effect of metal ions on the formation of the Thermus thermophilus Sco mixed disulfide intermediate.

The Sco protein from Thermus thermophilus has previously been shown to perform a disulfide bond reduction in the CuA protein from T. thermophilus, which is a soluble protein engineered from subunit II of cytochrome ba 3 oxidase that lacks the transmembrane helix. The native cysteines on TtSco and TtCuA were mutated to serine residues to probe the reactivities of the individual cysteines. Conjugation of TNB to the remaining cysteine in TtCuA and subsequent release upon incubation with the complementary TtSco protein demonstrated the formation of the mixed disulfide intermediate. The cysteine of TtSco that attacks the disulfide bond in the target TtCuA protein was determined to be TtSco Cysteine 49. This cysteine is likely more reactive than Cysteine 53 due to a higher degree of solvent exposure. Removal of the metal binding histidine, His 139, does not change MDI formation. However, altering the arginine adjacent to the reactive cysteine in Sco (Arginine 48) does alter the formation of the MDI. Binding of Cu2+ or Cu+ to TtSco prior to reaction with TtCuA was found to preclude formation of the mixed disulfide intermediate. These results shed light on a mechanism of disulfide bond reduction by the TtSco protein and may point to a possible role of metal binding in regulating the activity. IMPORTANCE: The function of Sco is at the center of many studies. The disulfide bond reduction in CuA by Sco is investigated herein and the effect of metal ions on the ability to reduce and form a mixed disulfide intermediate are also probed.

A novel cryoprotection scheme for enhancing the diffraction of crystals of recombinant cytochrome ba3 oxidase from Thermus thermophilus.

Cytochrome ba(3) oxidase is an integral membrane protein identified in the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus. The enzyme has now been expressed recombinantly and purified with a histidine tag. As such, it crystallizes under similar conditions and in the same space group (P4(3)2(1)2) as the native protein. A novel cryoprotection scheme is described here to obtain high-resolution diffraction from these crystals, which involves soaking in a mixture of glycerol and ethylene glycol under a layer of oil. The unit-cell parameters for these crystals are larger than the native protein, apparently deriving from increased ordering of the N-terminus and an internal loop (residues 495-500) in subunit I. Hence, compared with native cytochrome ba(3) oxidase, the recombinant His-tagged protein is accommodated in an expanded but equally well ordered lattice via an alternate set of specific intermolecular contacts. The structure was refined against data to 2.3 angstroms resolution to an R factor of 21.7% and an R(free) of 23.7%.

Mechanisms of redox-coupled proton transfer in proteins: role of the proximal proline in reactions of the [3Fe-4S] cluster in Azotobacter vinelandii ferredoxin I.

The 7Fe ferredoxin from Azotobacter vinelandii (AvFdI) contains a [3Fe-4S](+/0) cluster that binds a single proton in its reduced level. Although the cluster is buried, and therefore inaccessible to solvent, proton transfer from solvent to the cluster is fast. The kinetics and energetics of the coupled electron-proton transfer reaction at the cluster have been analyzed in detail by protein-film voltammetry, to reveal that proton transfer is mediated by the mobile carboxylate of an adjacent surface residue, aspartate-15, the pK of which is sensitive to the charge on the cluster. This paper examines the role of a nearby proline residue, proline-50, in proton transfer and its coupling to electron transfer. In the P50A and P50G mutants, a water molecule has entered the cluster binding region; it is hydrogen bonded to the backbone amide of residue-50 and to the Asp-15 carboxylate, and it is approximately 4 A from the closest sulfur atom of the cluster. Despite the water molecule linking the cluster more directly to the solvent, proton transfer is not accelerated. A detailed analysis reveals that Asp-15 remains a central part of the mechanism. However, the electrostatic coupling between cluster and carboxylate is almost completely quenched, so that cluster reduction no longer induces such a favorable shift in the carboxylate pK, and protonation of the base no longer induces a significant shift in the pK of the cluster. The electrostatic coupling is crucial for maintaining the efficiency of proton transfer both to and from the cluster, over a range of pH values.

High-resolution structure of the soluble, respiratory-type Rieske protein from Thermus thermophilus: analysis and comparison.

The structure of the soluble Rieske protein from Thermus thermophilus has been determined at a resolution of 1.3 A at pH 8.5 using multiwavelength anomalous dispersion (MAD) techniques. This is the first report of a Rieske protein from a menaquinone-utilizing organism. The structure shows an overall fold similar to previously reported Rieske proteins. A novel feature of this crystal form appears to be a shared hydrogen between the His-134 imidazole ring ligated to Fe2 of the [2Fe-2S] cluster and its symmetry partner, His-134', one being formally an imidazolate anion, Fe2-(His-134)N(epsilon)(-)...H-N(epsilon')(His-134')-Fe2', in which crystallographic C(2) axes pass equidistant between N(epsilon)...N(epsilon') and normal to the line defined by N(epsilon)...N(epsilon'). This provides evidence for a stable, oxidized cluster with a His(-) ligand and lends support to a previously proposed mechanism of coupled proton and electron transfer. A detailed comparison of the Thermus Rieske protein with six other Rieske and Rieske-type proteins indicates: (a) The cluster binding domain is tightly conserved. (b) The 3-D structure of the 10 beta-strand fold is conserved, even among the most divergent proteins. (c) There is an approximately linear relation between acid-pH redox potential and number of H-bonds to the cluster. (d) These proteins have two faces, one points into the larger complex (bc(1), b(6)f, or other), is involved in the proton coupled electron transfer function, and is highly conserved. The second is oriented toward the solvent and shows wide variation in charge, sequence, length, hydrophobicity, and secondary elements in the loops that connect the beta-sheets.

Cytochrome rC552, formed during expression of the truncated, Thermus thermophilus cytochrome c552 gene in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli, reacts spontaneously to form protein-bound 2-formyl-4-vinyl (Spirographis) heme.

Expression of the truncated (lacking an N-terminal signal sequence) structural gene of Thermus thermophilus cytochrome c(552) in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli yields both dimeric (rC(557)) and monomeric (rC(552)) cytochrome c-like proteins [Keightley, J. A., et al. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 12006-12016], which form spontaneously without the involvement of cytochrome c maturation factors. Cytochrome rC(557) is comprised of a dimer and has been structurally characterized [McRee, D., et al. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 6537-6544]. Unexpectedly, the monomeric rC(552) transforms spontaneously to a cytochrome-like chromophore having, in its reduced state, the Q(oo) transition (alpha-band) at 572 nm (therefore called p572). The X-ray crystallographic structure of rC(552), at 1.41 A resolution, shows that the 2-vinyl group of heme ring I is converted to a [heme-CO-CH(2)-S-CH(2)-C(alpha)] conjugate with cysteine 11. Electron density maps obtained from isomorphous crystals of p572 at 1.61 A resolution reveal that the 2-vinyl group has been oxidized to a formyl group. This explains the lower energy of the Q(oo)() transition, the presence of a new, high-frequency band in the resonance Raman spectra at 1666 cm(-1) for oxidized and at 1646 cm(-1) for reduced samples, and the greatly altered, paramagnetically shifted (1)H NMR spectrum observed for this species. The overall process defines a novel mechanism for oxidation of the 2-vinyl group to a 2-formyl group and adds to the surprising array of chemical reactions that occur in the interaction of heme with the CXXCH sequence motif in apocytochromes c.