The ability to design functional proteins for medical and other uses depends critically on understanding the relationship between amino acid sequence and physico-chemical properties. This proposal seeks to investigate the factors essential to the finely tuned capacity of b-hemoproteins to recognize and bind the heme group. The starting point is the apoprotein from cytochrome b5, a marginally stable globular protein able to bind the heme group reversibly and with high affinity. Heme binding induces structural changes, mostly in the alpha-helices of the binding site, and dynamic changes throughout the protein. The subprojects will combine molecular biology, optical spectroscopy, and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy to characterize these changes in wild-type apocytochrome b5 and variants. NMR relaxation and hydrogen exchange will be used to probe the motions of the empty binding site and the folded core. Thermodynamic parameters will be extracted from denaturation experiments and the affinity for the prosthetic group will be determined with a study of the kinetics of heme binding and release. Comparison with the holoprotein data will provide a map of the perturbations imposed by binding and a comprehensive energetic description to be exploited in heme-binding site design. To test the hypothesis that the heme binding loop of the cytochrome functions as an autonomous module, this loop will be inserted into a different protein (a small subunit with the topology of an SH3 domain). The properties of the constructs will be analyzed and compared to the original parent proteins. Alternative mechanisms for the efficient recognition and binding of the heme will be searched with the characterization of the heme-binding site of FixL, a rhizobial oxygen sensor protein. The information gathered on these artificial and natural proteins will help define the principles of construction of b hemoproteins suitable for the design of artificial heme-binders.
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