Oxidation reaction of Scapharca inaequivalvis hemoglobins with nitrite

The oxidation reaction with nitrite of the dimeric and tetrameric hemoglobins from the mollusc Scapharca inaequivalvis has been studied kinetically and at equilibrium. In line with previous findings obtained with ferricyanide as oxidant, in both proteins the stable oxidation product is a hemichrome, although the nitrite-methemoglobin complex is formed in significant amount when excess nitrite is employed. The reaction kinetics are characterized by a lag period followed by an autocatalytic phase, as in the case of human hemoglobin. However, with respect to human hemoglobin, in the two molluscan proteins the lag phase is prolonged significantly due to the instability of their met-form, an obligatory intermediate for the onset of autocatalysis. All the data obtained in spectrophotometric, EPR and sedimentation velocity experiments under a variety of experimental conditions conform to the reaction mechanism proposed for human hemoglobin (Spagnuolo et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 911 (1987) 59-63) provided hemichrome formation and nitrite binding are taken into account.