Kinetics of the Heme Oxygenase Reaction Sequence

A single turnover study of the conversion of the heme-HO-1 complex to free biliverdin has elucidated the relative rates of the catalytic steps 129). This transient kinetic study indicates that the conversion of Fe heme to Fe verdoheme is biphasic. Electron transfer to the Fe -heme HO-1 complex occurred at a rate of 0.11 s at 4°C and 0.49 s at 25°C with a 0.1 1 ratio of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase to heme HO-l complex. Oxygen binding to the reduced iron was sufficiently rapid im-der the experimental conditions that the species actually monitored 

Implications of Electrophilic Heme Oxidation by an Fe -OOH Intermediate 

A less common reactive species is the Fe peroxo anion expected from two-electron reduction of O2 at a hemoprotein iron atom (Fig. 14, structure A). Protonation of this intermediate would yield the Fe —OOH precursor (Fig. 14, structure B) of the ferryl species. However, it is now clear that the Fe peroxo anion can directly react as a nucleophile with highly electrophilic substrates such as aldehydes. Addition of the peroxo anion to the aldehyde, followed by homolytic scission of the dioxygen bond, is now accepted as the mechanism for the carbon-carbon bond cleavage reactions catalyzed by several cytochrome P450 enzymes, including aromatase, lanosterol 14-demethylase, and sterol 17-lyase (133). A similar nucleophilic addition of the Fe peroxo anion to a carbon-nitrogen double bond has been invoked in the mechanism of the nitric oxide synthases (133). 

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