Iron-sulfur proteins conformational change

The low reactivity of both Cyt111 and Cyt11 toward NO can be attributed to occupation of the heme iron axial coordination sites by an imidazole nitrogen and by a methionine sulfur of the protein (28). Thus, unlike other heme proteins where one axial site is empty or occupied by H20, formation of the nitrosyl complex not only involves ligand displacement but also significant protein conformational changes which inhibit the reaction with NO. However, the protein does not always inhibit reactivity given that Cat and nNOS are more reactive toward NO than is the model complex Fem(TPPS)(H20)2 (Table II). Conversely, the koS values... 

Zhao, S. Y Ragsdale, S. W. A conformational change in the methyltransferase from Clostridium thermoaceticum facilitates the methyl transfer from (6S)-methyltetrahydro-folate to the corrinoid iron-sulfur protein in the acetyl-CoA pathway. Biochemistry, 1996, 35(7), 2476-2481. 

Despite its weakness, the anisotropy of the g tensor of iron-sulfur centers can be used to determine the orientation of these centers or that of the accommodating polypeptide in relation to a more complex system such as a membrane-bound complex. For this purpose, the EPR study has to be carried out on either partially or fully oriented systems (oriented membranes or monocrystals, respectively). Lastly, the sensitivity of the EPR spectra of iron-sulfur centers to structural changes can be utilized to monitor the conformational changes induced in the protein by different factors, such as the pH and the ionic strength of the solvent or the binding of substrates and inhibitors. We return to the latter point in Section IV. 

A relationship between the redox state of an iron—sulfur center and the conformation of the host protein was furthermore established in an X-ray crystal study on center P in Azotobacter vinelandii nitroge-nase (270). In this enzyme, the two-electron oxidation of center P was found to be accompanied by a significant displacement of about 1 A of two iron atoms. In both cases, this displacement was associated with an additional ligation provided by a serine residue and the amide nitrogen of a cysteine residue, respectively. Since these two residues are protonable, it has been suggested that this structural change might help to synchronize the transfer of electrons and protons to the Fe-Mo cofactor of the enzyme (270). 

IRPl can become an IRE-binding protein in the absence of an intact iron-sulfur cluster is a reminder that apoproteins can change conformationally and acquire new functions. 

The iron-sulfur center at the active site of the IRE-BP is rather unstable, and loss of the iron triggers significant changes in protein conformation. Thus, this protein can serve as an iron-sensing factor. 

---