Stability of the heme Fe-N-terminal amino group coordination bond in denatured cytochrome c

In the denatured states of Hydrogenobacter thermophilus cytochrome c(552) (HT) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c(551) (PA), and their mutants, the N-terminal amino group of the polypeptide chain is coordinated to heme Fe in place of the axial Met, the His-N(term) form being formed. The coordination of the N-terminal amino group to heme Fe leads to loop formation by the N-terminal stretch preceding the first Cys residue bound to the heme, and the N-terminal stretches of HT and PA are different from each other in terms of both the sequence and the number of constituent amino acid residues. The His-N(term) form was shown to be rather stable, and hence it can influence the stability of the denatured state. We have investigated the heme Fe coordination structures and stabilities of the His-N(term) forms emerging upon guanidine hydrochloric acid-induced unfolding of the oxidized forms of the proteins. The Fe-N(term) coordination bond in the His-N(term) form with a 9-residue N-terminal stretch of HT proteins was found to be tilted to some extent away from the heme normal, as reflected by the great heme methyl proton shift spread. On the other hand, the small heme methyl proton shift spread of the His-N(term) form with an 11-residue stretch of PA proteins indicated that its Fe-N(term) bond is nearly parallel with the heme normal. The stability of the His-N(term) form was found to be affected by the structural properties of the N-terminal stretch, such as its length and the N-terminal residue. With a given N-terminal residue, the stability of the His-N(term) form is higher for a 9-residue N-terminal stretch than an 11-residue one. In addition, with a given length of the N-terminal stretch, the His-N(term) form with an N-terminal Glu is stabilized by a few kJ mol(-1) relative to that with an N-terminal Asn. These results provide a novel insight into the stabilizing interactions in the denatured cyts c that will facilitate elucidation of the folding/unfolding mechanisms of the proteins.