Hemoglobin Deer Lodge (beta 2 His replaced by Arg). Consequences of altering the 2,3-diphosphoglycerate binding site

Hemoglobin Deer Lodge is an abnormal human hemoglobin with arginine substituted for histidine at the beta 2 position. X-ray crystallography of normal human hemoglobin has shown that the beta 2 residue is normally part of the binding site for 2,3-diphosphoglycerate. The substitution of arginine for histidine at beta 2 affects both the kinetics and equilibria of ligand binding. When stripped of anions, Hb Deer Lodge has an increased oxygen affinity and a decreased degree of cooperativity relative to Hb A. The alkaline Bohr effect is slightly increased and there are marked increases in oxygen affinity below pH 6 and above pH 8. In the presence of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate the cooperativity in increases to nromal and the pH dependence of oxygen binding is reduced. This contrasts with the enhanced Bohr effect seen for Hb A in the presence of organic phosphates. Due to enhanced anion binding at high pH, Hb Deer Lodge has a slightly lower oxygen affinity than Hb A at pH 9 in the presence of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate or inositol hexaphosphate. Kinetic studies at neutral pH in the absence of organic phosphates revealed biphasicity in the rate of oxygen dissociation from Hb Deer Lodge, while approximately linear time courses were observed for Hb A. The fast phase of the oxygen dissociation kinetics shows great pH sensitivity, and organic phosphates increase the rate and percentage of the fast phase without greatly affecting the slow phase. The two phases are not resolvable at high pH. CO combination kinetics are much like those of Hb A except that "fast" and "slow" phases were apparent at wavelengths near the deoxy-CO isobestic point. We suggest that functional differences between the alpha and beta chains are enhanced in Hb Deer Lodge. After flash photolysis of the CO derivative, the percentage of quickly reacting material was slightly greater for Hb Deer Lodge than for Hb A. This may imply a somewhat greater tendency to dissociate into high affinity subunits. The substitution of arginine for histidine at beta 2 thus results in a macromolecule whose ligand-binding properties are significantly altered, the primary differences being expressed at high pH where Hb Deer Lodge binds anions more strongly than Hb A. The properties of Hb Deer Lodge are compared to those of other hemoglobin variants with substitutions at residues involved in binding of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate.