Fe(II)/Fe(III) Redox Process Can Significantly Modulate the Conformational Dynamics and Electrostatics of Pirin in...

Pirin is an iron (Fe)-dependent regulatory protein of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) transcription factors. Binding studies have suggested that the oxidative state of iron plays a crucial role in modulating the binding of Pirin to NF-κB p65, in turn enhancing the binding of p65 to DNA. The Fe(III) form of Pirin is the active form and binds to NF-κB, whereas the Fe(II) form does not bind to NF-κB. However, the surprising consequence of a single charge perturbation in the functional modulation of NF-κB is not well understood. Here, we use quantum mechanical calculations and microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulations to explore the free-energy landscapes of the Fe(II) and Fe(III) forms of Pirin. We show that the restricted conformational space and electrostatic complementarity of the Fe(III) form of Pirin are crucial for binding and regulation of NF-κB. Our results suggest that a subtle single-electron redox trigger could significantly modulate the conformational dynamics and electrostatics of proteins in subcellular allosteric regulatory processes.