Hemoglobin and heme

Yet confusion exists in the literature since authors have not always made a distinction between hemoglobin- and heme-binding plasma proteins. Nyman (N6) and Aber and Rowe (Al) have stressed the difference between these proteins. A recently discovered heme-binding (5-globulin (Nl) [originally called a2-globulin (B6)] with a higher... 

Enzyme Inhibition/Activation. A major site of toxic action for metals is interaction with enzymes, resulting in either enzyme inhibition or activation. Two mechanisms are of particular importance inhibition may occur as a result of interaction between the metal and sulfhydryl (SH) groups on the enzyme, or the metal may displace an essential metal cofactor of the enzyme. For example, lead may displace zinc in the zinc-dependent enzyme 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD), thereby inhibiting the synthesis of heme, an important component of hemoglobin and heme-containing enzymes, such as cytochromes. 

Hemoglobin and heme released from intravascular hemolysis or blood extravasations (e.g., subcutaneous hematomas) are bound, respectively, by haptoglobin and... 

The automated method differs from the ICSH method chiefly in that oxidation and ligation of heme iron occur after the hemes have been released from globin. Therefore, ferricyanide and cyanide need not diffuse into the hemoglobin and methemoglobin, respectively. Because diffusion is rate-limiting in this reaction sequence, the overall reaction time is reduced from approximately three minutes for the manual method to 3 —15 seconds for the automated method. Reaction sequences in the Coulter S + II and the Technicon H 1 and H 2 are similar. Moreover, similar reactions are used in the other Coulter systems and in the TOA and Unipath instmments. 

Cytochromes were first named and classified on the basis of their absorption spectra (Figure 21.9), which depend upon the structure and environment of their heme groups. The b cytochromes contain iron—protoporphyrin IX (Figure 21.10), the same heme found in hemoglobin and myoglobin. The c cytochromes contain heme c, derived from iron-protoporphyrin IX by the covalent attachment of cysteine residues from the associated protein. UQ-cyt c... 

Hemoproteins, such as hemoglobin and the cytochromes, contain heme. Heme is an iron-porphyrin compound (Fe -protoporphyrin IX) in... 

Imately 65 X 55 X 50 It Is composed of four polypeptide chains each resembling quite closely the myoglobin chain The three dimensional structure of the subunits Is held together by weak noncovalent bonds The polar amino acid side chains are In contact with the solvent, and the nonpolar residues are located In the Interior of the molecule or In regions which form the contacts between chains The heme group Is located In a pocket In each chain residues In contact with heme are Invariable ( e are the same In different mammalian hemoglobins) and the bonds between heme and chain are hydrophobic Interactions Contacts between like chains (a-a are... 

A marked interference with heme synthesis results in a reduction of the hemoglobin concentration in blood. Decreased hemoglobin production, coupled with an increase in erythrocyte destruction, results in a hypochromic, normocytic anemia with associated reticulocytosis. Decreased hemoglobin and anemia have been observed in lead workers and in children with prolonged exposure at higher PbB levels than those noted as threshold levels for inhibition or stimulation of enzyme activities involved in heme synthesis (EPA 1986a). 

Given that hydroxylamine reacts rapidly with heme proteins and other oxidants to produce NO [53], the hydrolysis of hydroxyurea to hydroxylamine also provides an alternative mechanism of NO formation from hydroxyurea, potentially compatible with the observed clinical increases in NO metabolites during hydroxyurea therapy. Incubation of hydroxyurea with human blood in the presence of urease results in the formation of HbNO [122]. This reaction also produces metHb and the NO metabolites nitrite and nitrate and time course studies show that the HbNO forms quickly and reaches a peak after 15 min [122]. Consistent with earlier reports, the incubation ofhy-droxyurea (10 mM) and blood in the absence of urease or with heat-denatured urease fails to produce HbNO over 2 h and suggests that HbNO formation occurs through the reactions of hemoglobin and hydroxylamine, formed by the urease-mediated hydrolysis of hydroxyurea [122]. Significantly, these results confirm that the kinetics of HbNO formation from the direct reactions of hydroxyurea with any blood component occur too slowly to account for the observed in vivo increase in HbNO and focus future work on the hydrolytic metabolism of hydroxyurea. 

Methylhydroxyurea (28, Fig. 7.5) oxidizes oxyHb to metHb and reduces metHb to deoxyHb but neither of these reactions produces HbNO, further supporting the mechanism depicted in Scheme 7.16 for the formation of NO and HbNO from the reactions of hydroxyurea and hemoglobin [115]. The O-methyl group of 27 prevents the association and further reaction of 27 with the heme iron [115]. Scheme 7.16 predicts the redox chemistry observed during the reaction of 28 with hemoglobin and the failure to detect HbNO shows the inability of 28 or any derivative radicals to transfer NO during these reactions [115]. These results indicate that nitric oxide transfer in these reactions of hydroxyurea requires an unsubstituted acylhydroxylamine (-NHOH) group. 

In addition to energy production, mitochondria play a role in several other cellular activities. For example, mitochondria help regulate the self-destruction of cells (apoptosis). They are also necessary for the production of substances such as cholesterol and heme (a component of hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood). 

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