title: The heme-iron geometry of ferrous nitrosylated heme-serum lipoproteins, hemopexin, and albumin: a comparative EPR study.
abstract: Serum high and low density lipoproteins, albumin, and hemopexin (HDL, LDL, SA, and HPX, respectively) serve as traps of toxic plasma heme and participate in its complete clearance by transportation to the liver. Moreover, SA-(heme) and HPX-heme have been proposed to facilitate NO scavenging in vivo. Here, the EPR-spectroscopic properties of ferrous nitrosylated heme-human high and low density lipoproteins (HDL-heme-NO and LDL-heme-NO, respectively) as well as of ferrous nitrosylated heme-rabbit serum hemopexin (HPX-heme-NO) are reported and analyzed in parallel with those of ferrous nitrosylated heme-human serum albumin (SA-heme-NO). HDL-heme-NO and LDL-heme-NO as well as SA-heme-NO, in the absence of allosteric effectors (i.e., N-form), are five-coordinate heme-iron species, characterized by the three-line splitting observed in the high magnetic field region of the X-band EPR spectrum. On the other hand, SA-heme-NO, in the presence of drugs (i.e., B-form), and HPX-heme-NO are six-coordinate heme-iron species, characterized by an X-band EPR spectrum with an axial geometry. The heme-iron coordination state of HDL-heme-NO, LDL-heme-NO, SA-heme-NO, and HPX-heme-NO is in keeping with values of ferric heme dissociation rate constants which decrease in the following order: LDL>HDL>SA>HPX. Altogether, these observations suggest that HPX displays a cleft much more suitable for heme binding than other heme-carriers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Insubria, Via Jean H. Dunant 3, I-21100 Varese, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fasano
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mattu
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coletta
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ascenzi
mesh_terms: D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006418:Heme; D006420:Hemeproteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006466:Hemopexin; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D009603:Nitroso Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D006420:Hemeproteins; D008074:Lipoproteins; D009603:Nitroso Compounds; D012709:Serum Albumin; D006418:Heme; D006466:Hemopexin; D007501:Iron