Iron-sulfur clusters model

Recently Jensen and co-workers have determined the structure of a clostridial-type ferredoxin obtained from Micrococcus aerogenes (47). One of the two apparently identical iron-sulfur clusters is illustrated in Fig. 2. The structure is compatible with a model with iron and labile sulfide at alternate comers of a cube. This accounts for the equivalence of these moieties in the protein. Another 8-iron-8 labile sulfur ferredoxin, from Clostridium acidiurici, similarly contains two independent iron-sulfur clusters per molecule (48). Strahs and Kraut (49) had earlier discovered... 

If one applies the same procedure to Figure 1.10B, an iron-sulfur cluster often used as a model for those in biological systems, the same magic number of 60 would be obtained. Cluster magic numbers would occur as 48 e for a triangular clusters, 60 e for tetrahedral, 72 e for trigonal bipyramidal, 74 e for square pyramidal, 86 e for octahedral, 90 e for trigonal prisms, and 120 e for cubic structures. 

Table 3.4 lists values for A Eq and for some important oxidation and spin states found in bioinorganic molecules. Data are taken from reference 24 and from Table 1 of reference 25 for hemoglobin, myoglobin, and the picket-fence porphyrin model compound, FeTpivPP(l-Melm).25 The myoglobin and hemoglobin model compounds are discussed in Section 4.8.2. Reference 26 provides the Table 3.4 data on iron sulfur clusters found in many bioinorganic species.26 The unusual iron-sulfur and iron-molybdenum-sulfur clusters found in the enzyme nitrogenase are discussed more fully below and in Chapter 6. 

The fourth state with [Fe4S4]° shown in Table 6.1 was recently described as the most reduced form possible for the Fe-protein s [Fe4S4] cluster.16 Usually, only two oxidation states for a given metal-sulfur cluster are stable. Therefore a stable [Fe4S4]° state in Fe-protein s iron-sulfur cluster (as appears likely from experimental evidence presented in reference 16) would be unique because the cluster would then have three stable oxidation states, [Fe4S4]2+/1+/0. It appears also that the all-ferrous state is only stable in the protein-bound cluster and not for model... 

For updating the information presented in this chapter, a literature search on the keyword nitrogenase modified with structure, X ray, Mossbauer, iron sulfur cluster, or model compound will generate citations referring to the newest research results. A search of the Protein Data Bank (PDB) at the website address http //www.rcsb.org/pdb/ will yield the latest updates on X ray, NMR, and other submitted structural data. 

Figure 8.7 Simplified model of nicotiniamine (NA) function in plant cells. Iron is transported across the plasma membrane by the Strategy I or Strategy II uptake systems. Once inside the cell, NA is the default chelator of iron to avoid precipitation and catalysis of radical oxygen species. The iron is then donated to proteins, iron-sulfur clusters and haem, while ferritin and iron precipitation are only present during iron excess. (From Hell and Stephan, 2003. With kind permission of Springer Science and Business Media.)...

Some characteristic properties of iron-sulfur clusters in proteins result from interactions with invariant amino acid fragments around the clusters. In particular, clusters in peptide environments exhibit positive shifts in redox potentials relative to those in nonpeptide environments. Such shifts are observed for a variety of oligopeptide model complexes of IFe, 2Fe-2S, and 4Fe-4S proteins. 

A brief historical note on the structure of the iron-sulfur clusters in ferredoxins is relevant. After the first analytical results revealed the presence of (nearly) equimolar iron and acid-labile sulfur, it was clear that the metal center in ferredoxins did not resemble any previously characterized cofactor type. The early proposals for the Fe S center structure were based on a linear chain of iron atoms coordinated by bridging cysteines and inorganic sulfur (Blomstrom et al., 1964 Rabino-witz, 1971). While the later crystallographic analyses of HiPIP, PaFd, and model compounds (Herskovitz et al., 1972) demonstrated the cubane-type structure of the 4Fe 4S cluster, the original proposals have turned out to be somewhat prophetic. Linear chains of sulfide-linked irons are observed in 2Fe 2S ferredoxins and in the high-pH form of aconitase. Cysteines linked to several metal atoms are present in metallothionein. The chemistry of iron-sulfur clusters is rich and varied, and undoubtedly many other surprises await in the future. 

This section is organized as follows we first start with a discussion of the electrochemical behavior of the Roussin-type synthetic iron- sulfur clusters for their historic importance and as an interesting introduction to poly iron-sulfur centers redox chemistry. Then we review iron-sulfur centers in proteins and artificial models in the order of increasing iron content. Finally, biological iron-sulfur centers and artificial models directly linked to other inorganic centers, the so-called bridged molecular assemblies, are considered. 

Iron-sulfur proteins belong to the class of electron-transport proteins [29]. They contain an iron sulfur cluster, e.g. [4Fe-4S], which shuttles between different oxidation states. The structure of the cluster is quite consistent among a series of these proteins, but their redox potentials vary widely. Synthetic models of iron-sulfur proteins have been designed [30] to investigate the factors that determine the reduction potential of the core and to mimic other biologically... 

Figure 18-8 Stereoscopic ribbon diagrams of the chicken bc1 complex (A) The native dimer. The molecular twofold axis runs vertically between the two monomers. Quinones, phospholipids, and detergent molecules are not shown for clarity. The presumed membrane bilayer is represented by a gray band. (B) Isolated close-up view of the two conformations of the Rieske protein (top and long helix at right) in contact with cytochrome b (below), with associated heme groups and bound inhibitors, stigmatellin, and antimycin. The isolated heme of cytochrome c, (left, above) is also shown. (C) Structure of the intermembrane (external surface) domains of the chicken bcx complex. This is viewed from within the membrane, with the transmembrane helices truncated at roughly the membrane surface. Ball-and-stick models represent the heme group of cytochrome cy the Rieske iron-sulfur cluster, and the disulfide cysteines of subunit 8. SU, subunit cyt, cytochrome. From Zhang et al.105...

Activation of an M-CO bond for nucleophilic substitution in anion radical metallo-complexes appears to be quite a general effect (Kaim 1987 Mao et al. 1989,1992 Shut et al. 1995 Klein et al. 1996). Such activation seems to be the basis of metal-cluster catalytic activity. The iron-sulfur cluster (Bu4N)2Fe4S4(SPh)4 deserves to be mentioned here. The cluster is considered as a ferredoxin model (Inoue Nagata 1986) it catalyzes an electron transfer from //-butyl lithium or phenyl lithium to 5-phenyl thiobenzoate or phenylbenzoate (Inoue Nagata 1986). 

Figure 3 Speculative model for the hydrogenase enzyme cycle such as that from D. gigas. The highest oxidation states of the enzyme are at the top, and each step down corresponds to a one-electron reduction. Some hydrons that are transferred to sites in the protein are not shown. Redox states of the iron-sulfur clusters are omitted.

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