Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting - June 28-July 1, 2015

New Biological Frontiers Illuminated by Molecular Sensors and Actuators

Poster Abstracts

9-POS Board 9 Globin Nitrito Heme Fe-O-N=O/ 2-Nitrovinyl Species: Impications for Myoglobin Helices Dynamics Evangelos Daskalakis 1 , Neofyta Ioannou 1 , Eftychia Pinakoulaki 2 . 1 Cyprus University of Technology, LImassol, Cyprus, 2 University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Nikosia, Cyprus. Nitrite acts as a ‘pool’ for the NO signaling molecule under hypoxic and anoxic conditions, when NO synthase activity is impaired. This is supported by the growing number of metallo-proteins that are reported to be able to reduce nitrite to nitric oxide in mammals. Nitrates and nitrites have been viewed as storage pools supporting NO signaling during metabolic stress and their bio activation, involves both enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions in tissues and blood. Nitrites react with heme proteins leading to several heme Fe adducts and the catalyzed reaction pathways play a vital role for deoxy-hemoglobin and deoxy-myoglobin (Mb) dependent nitrite reduction. Structural information based on X-ray crystallography of the unusual Mb-nitrite interactions has been reported, and mechanisms for nitrite conversion to NO have been proposed. A detailed characterization of the structures and bonding of the bound nitrite and its interaction with the protein environment in its natural environment rather than in crystals, however, is lacking. The description of biological activity in heme proteins responsible for activating small molecules requires identification of ligand movement into the metal and non-metal binding sites at the atomistic level. Mechanisms of nitrite reductase activity in globins are difficult to verify without the dynamical aspects of the ligand binding. Computational Modeling for the NO 2 - adducts of heme proteins is becoming increasingly important. The conditions under which the nitrito heme Fe-O-N=O/ 2-nitrovinyl species is generated in Mb and interacts with the protein matrix are identified at the atomistic level employing Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Density Functional Theory Calculations. Helices movement and flexibility in Mb are strongly affected upon the nitrite binding, altering also the Mb spectroscopic characteristics. We correlate these theoretical findings with results from resonance Raman Spectroscopy.

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