Redox potential, cytochrome

J-C Marchon, T Mashiko, CA Reed. How does nature control cytochrome redox potentials In C Ho, ed. Electron Transport and Oxygen Utilization. New York Elsevier North-Holland, 1982, pp 67-72. 

Electron Transport Between Photosystem I and Photosystem II Inhibitors. The interaction between PSI and PSII reaction centers (Fig. 1) depends on the thermodynamically favored transfer of electrons from low redox potential carriers to carriers of higher redox potential. This process serves to communicate reducing equivalents between the two photosystem complexes. Photosynthetic and respiratory membranes of both eukaryotes and prokaryotes contain stmctures that serve to oxidize low potential quinols while reducing high potential metaHoproteins (40). In plant thylakoid membranes, this complex is usually referred to as the cytochrome b /f complex, or plastoquinolplastocyanin oxidoreductase, which oxidizes plastoquinol reduced in PSII and reduces plastocyanin oxidized in PSI (25,41). Some diphenyl ethers, eg, 2,4-dinitrophenyl 2 -iodo-3 -methyl-4 -nitro-6 -isopropylphenyl ether [69311-70-2] (DNP-INT), and the quinone analogues,... 

AK Churg, A Warshel. Control of the redox potential of cytochrome c and microscopic dielectric effects m proteins. Biochemistry 25 1675, 1986. 

VS Shenoy. Contribution of Protein Environment to Redox Potentials of Rubredoxm and Cytochrome c. M.S. Thesis. Pullman, WA Washington State University, 1992. 

When the second-site revertants were segregated from the original mutations, the bci complexes carrying a single mutation in the linker region of the Rieske protein had steady-state activities of 70-100% of wild-type levels and cytochrome b reduction rates that were approximately half that of the wild type. In all these mutants, the redox potential of the Rieske cluster was increased by about 70 mV compared to the wild type (51). Since the mutations are in residues that are in the flexible linker, at least 27 A away from the cluster, it is extremely unlikely that any of the mutations would have a direct effect on the redox potential of the cluster that would be observed in the water-soluble fragments. However, the mutations in the flexible linker will affect the mobility of the Rieske protein. Therefore, the effect of the mutations described is due to the interaction between the positional state of the Rieske protein and its electrochemical properties (i.e., the redox potential of the cluster). 

Figure 26 shows the redox potential of 40 monolayers of cytochrome P450scc on ITO glass plate in 0.1 KCl containing 10 mM phosphate buffer. It can be seen that when the cholesterol dissolved in X-triton 100 was added 50 pi at a time, the redox peaks were well distinguishable, and the cathodic peak at -90 mV was developed in addition to the anodic peak at 16 mV. When the potential was scanned from 400 to 400 mV, there could have been reaction of cholesterol. It is possible that the electrochemical process donated electrons to the cytochrome P450scc that reacted with the cholesterol. The kinetics of adsorption and the reduction process could have been the ion-diffusion-controlled process. 

Ubiquinone or Q (coenjyme Q) (Figure 12-5) finks the flavoproteins to cytochrome h, the member of the cytochrome chain of lowest redox potential. Q exists in the oxidized quinone or reduced quinol form under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, respectively. The structure of Q is very similar to that of vitamin K and vitamin E (Chapter 45) and of plastoquinone, found in chloroplasts. Q acts as a mobile component of the respiratory chain that collects reducing equivalents from the more fixed flavoprotein complexes and passes them on to the cytochromes. 

The electron transfer properties of the cytochromes involve cycling of the iron between the +2 and +3 oxidation states (Cytochrome)Fe + e" (Cytochrome)Fe ° = -0.3Vto+ 0.4V Different cytochromes have different side groups attached to the porphyrin ring. These side groups modify the electron density in the delocalized iz system of the porphyrin, which in turn changes the redox potential of the iron cation in the heme. 

The reduction of ground state O2 with organic substances is fairly slow in aqueous or nonaqueous solutions [57] in spite of the high redox potential of O2. The O2 is utilized effectively, however, as the terminal oxidant in the respiratory chain in a biomembrane with redox enzymes composed of membrane proteins such as heme proteins containing cytochrome c oxidase [58-60] or quinol oxidase [61,62]. 

Postgate (51) observed a high concentration of a type of cytochrome, designated cytochrome cz, in the strictly anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desul/ovibrio. The cytochrome Cz Desulfovibrio vulgaris has been shown to possess a very low redox potential (—0.205 V), two heme groups per mole and a sequence which implies two half sections, each of which binds a heme group (52). 

Fig. 3 illustrates schematically the structures of some well characterized hemoproteins. In the cytochrome series the desired range of redox potentials is achieved by variations in the axial ligands, contributed by the porphyrin moiety, as well as by substitutions around the periphery of the tetrapyrrole nucleus with groups of differing electron-attracting ability. 

O-insertion from 02 (high-redox potential) Fe Cytochrome P-450... 

The large number of cytochromes identified contain a variety of porphyrin ring systems. The classification of the cytochromes is complicated because they differ from one organism to the next the redox potential of a given cytochrome is tailored to the specific needs of the electron transfer sequences of the particular system. The cytochromes are one-electron carriers and the electron flow passes from one cytochrome type to another. The terminal member of the chain, cytochrome c oxidase, has the property of reacting directly with oxygen such that, on electron capture, water is formed ... 

The realization of the widespread occurrence of amino acid radicals in enzyme catalysis is recent and has been documented in several reviews (52-61). Among the catalytically essential redox-active amino acids glycyl [e.g., anaerobic class III ribonucleotide reductase (62) and pyruvate formate lyase (63-65)], tryptophanyl [e.g., cytochrome peroxidase (66-68)], cysteinyl [class I and II ribonucleotide reductase (60)], tyrosyl [e.g., class I ribonucleotide reductase (69-71), photosystem II (72, 73), prostaglandin H synthase (74-78)], and modified tyrosyl [e.g., cytochrome c oxidase (79, 80), galactose oxidase (81), glyoxal oxidase (82)] are the most prevalent. The redox potentials of these protein residues are well within the realm of those achievable by biological oxidants. These redox enzymes have emerged as a distinct class of proteins of considerable interest and research activity. 

Flavoprotein dehydrogenases usually accept electrons from reduced pyridine nucleotides and donate them to a suitable electron acceptor. The oxidation-reduction midpoint potential of the FAD of the oxidase has been determined by ESR spectroscopy and shown to be -280 mV. The NADP+/ NADPH redox potential is -320 mV and that of the cytochrome b is -245 mV hence, the flavin is thermodynamically capable of accepting electrons from NADPH and transferring them to cytochrome b. As two electrons are transferred from NADPH, although O2 reduction requires only one electron, the scheme of electron transfer shown in Figure 5.8 has been proposed by Cross and Jones (1991). 

Table 12 shows redox properties of some redox systems of biochemical nature. Generally, the redox potentials are modest, cytochrome P450 possibly being an exception. If cytochrome P450 functions as an electron transfer oxidant towards xenobiotic molecules, it is necessary to postulate a considerably higher potential (1.3-1.8V) from considerations of the Marcus theory (Eberson, 1990). 

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