High-pressure effects on horse heart metmyoglobin studied by small-angle neutron scattering

Small-angle neutron scattering experiments were performed on horse azidometmyoglobin (MbN3) at pressures up to 300 MPa. Other spectroscopic techniques have shown that a reorganization of the secondary structure and of the active site occur in this pressure range. The present measurements, performed using various concentrations of MbN3, show that the compactness of the protein is not altered as the value of its radius of gyration remains constant up to 300 MPa. The value of the second virial coefficient of the protein solution indicates that the interactions between the molecules are always strongly repulsive even if their magnitude decreases with increasing pressure. Taking advantage of the pressure-induced contrast variation, these experiments allow the partial specific volume of MbN3 to be determined as a function of pressure. Its value decreases by 5.4% between atmospheric pressure and 300 MPa. In this pressure range the isothermal compressibility of hydrated MbN3 is found to be almost constant. Its value is (1.6 +/- 0.1) 10-4 MPa-1.