J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 259, Issue 14, 8826-8831, Jul, 1984
A 1H NMR comparison of the met-cyano complexes of elephant and sperm whale myoglobin. Assignment of labile proton resonances in the heme cavity and determination of the distal glutamine orientation from relaxation data
R Krishnamoorthi, GN La Mar, H Mizukami and A Romero
The met-cyano complex of elephant myoglobin has been investigated by high
field 1H NMR spectroscopy, with special emphasis on the use of exchangeable
proton resonances in the heme cavity to obtain structural information on
the distal glutamine. Analysis of the distance dependence of relaxation
rates and the exchange behavior of the four hyperfine shifted labile proton
resonances has led to the assignment of the proximal His-F8 ring and
peptide NHs and the His-FG3 ring NH and the distal Gln-E7 amide NH. The
similar hyperfine shift patterns for both the apparent heme resonances as
well as the labile proton peaks of conserved resonances in elephant and
sperm whale met-cyano myoglobins support very similar electronic/molecular
structures for their heme cavities. The essentially identical dipolar
shifts and dipolar relaxation times for the distal Gln-E7 side chain NH and
the distal His- E7 ring NH in sperm whale myoglobin indicate that those
labile protons occupy the same geometrical position relative to the iron
and heme plane. This geometry is consistent with the distal residue
hydrogen bonding to the coordinated ligand. The similar rates and identical
mechanisms of exchange with bulk water of the labile protons for the three
conserved residues in the elephant and sperm whale heme cavity indicate
that the dynamic stability of the proximal side of the heme pocket is
unaltered upon the substitution (His----Gln). The much slower exchange rate
(by greater than 10(4] of the distal NH in elephant relative to sperm whale
myoglobin supports the assignment of the resonance to the intrinsically
less labile amide side chain.