Hemerythrin Hemocyanin

Like hemerythrin, hemocyanin is an oxygen transport non-heme-containing protein found in some arthropods and molluscs (104,105). In the 02-bound form, hemocyanin contains an antiferromagnetically coupled binuclear copper(II) system (106) ligated by histidine residues, with a sideways / 2-v2 V2 peroxo group bound to both Cu11 centers (104), which superseded the previous model (107). 

The two most important metalloprotein, other than hemoglobin and myoglobin are hemerythrins and hemocyanin which act as natural oxygen carrier. Hemocyanin is discussed in previous question. 

The antitumor antibiotic bleomycin (BLM) is believed to cause cytotoxicity through its ability, in the combined presence of dioxygen and a metal ion cofactor (204), to bind to and degrade DNA (205). Iron complexes of BLM have aroused special attention, as such complexes are the first (vide supra concerning the discussion of hemerythrin and hemocyanin) non-heme-iron complexes with a significant capacity for dioxygen activation (206). 

The parallels and differences among hemoglobin, hemerythrin. and hemocyanin illustrate the ways in which evolution has often solved what is basically the same problem in different ways in different groups of animals. i... 

The use of the prefix hem- is confusing. In this context hem connotes blood. Thus, since hemocyanin and hemerythrin lack a heme group [an iron(II) porphyrin], they are nonheme metalloproteins. 

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