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T-to-THigh Quaternary Transitions in Human Hemoglobin: alphaL91A deoxy low-salt
Structural highlights
DiseaseHBA_HUMAN Defects in HBA1 may be a cause of Heinz body anemias (HEIBAN) [MIM:140700. This is a form of non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia of Dacie type 1. After splenectomy, which has little benefit, basophilic inclusions called Heinz bodies are demonstrable in the erythrocytes. Before splenectomy, diffuse or punctate basophilia may be evident. Most of these cases are probably instances of hemoglobinopathy. The hemoglobin demonstrates heat lability. Heinz bodies are observed also with the Ivemark syndrome (asplenia with cardiovascular anomalies) and with glutathione peroxidase deficiency.[1] Defects in HBA1 are the cause of alpha-thalassemia (A-THAL) [MIM:604131. The thalassemias are the most common monogenic diseases and occur mostly in Mediterranean and Southeast Asian populations. The hallmark of alpha-thalassemia is an imbalance in globin-chain production in the adult HbA molecule. The level of alpha chain production can range from none to very nearly normal levels. Deletion of both copies of each of the two alpha-globin genes causes alpha(0)-thalassemia, also known as homozygous alpha thalassemia. Due to the complete absence of alpha chains, the predominant fetal hemoglobin is a tetramer of gamma-chains (Bart hemoglobin) that has essentially no oxygen carrying capacity. This causes oxygen starvation in the fetal tissues leading to prenatal lethality or early neonatal death. The loss of three alpha genes results in high levels of a tetramer of four beta chains (hemoglobin H), causing a severe and life-threatening anemia known as hemoglobin H disease. Untreated, most patients die in childhood or early adolescence. The loss of two alpha genes results in mild alpha-thalassemia, also known as heterozygous alpha-thalassemia. Affected individuals have small red cells and a mild anemia (microcytosis). If three of the four alpha-globin genes are functional, individuals are completely asymptomatic. Some rare forms of alpha-thalassemia are due to point mutations (non-deletional alpha-thalassemia). The thalassemic phenotype is due to unstable globin alpha chains that are rapidly catabolized prior to formation of the alpha-beta heterotetramers. Note=Alpha(0)-thalassemia is associated with non-immune hydrops fetalis, a generalized edema of the fetus with fluid accumulation in the body cavities due to non-immune causes. Non-immune hydrops fetalis is not a diagnosis in itself but a symptom, a feature of many genetic disorders, and the end-stage of a wide variety of disorders. Defects in HBA1 are the cause of hemoglobin H disease (HBH) [MIM:613978. HBH is a form of alpha-thalassemia due to the loss of three alpha genes. This results in high levels of a tetramer of four beta chains (hemoglobin H), causing a severe and life-threatening anemia. Untreated, most patients die in childhood or early adolescence.[2] FunctionHBA_HUMAN Involved in oxygen transport from the lung to the various peripheral tissues. Evolutionary Conservation Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf. Publication Abstract from PubMedA detailed description of hemoglobin cooperativity requires knowledge of the dimer-dimer interactions responsible for the low ligand affinity of the quaternary-T tetramer, the "quaternary-T constraints", along with stereochemical pathways that specify how ligand binding disrupts these quaternary constraints. The recent mutagenic screen of Noble et al. [Noble, R. W., et al. (2001) Biochemistry 40, 12357-12368] has identified the major region of quaternary constraint to be a cluster of residues at the alpha1beta2 interface that is centered at Trp37beta. In this paper, crystallographic studies are presented for most of the mutant hemoglobins studied by Noble et al. These crystallographic experiments identify structural transitions-referred to as T-to-T(High) transitions-between the quaternary-T structure of wild-type deoxyhemoglobin and an ensemble of related T-like quaternary structures that are induced by some mutations in the Trp37beta cluster and/or by exposing crystals of wild-type or mutant deoxyhemoglobins to oxygen. The T-to-T(High) quaternary transitions consist of a rotation of the alpha1beta1 dimer relative to the alpha2beta2 dimer as well as a coupled alphabeta dimer bending component that consists of a small rotation of the alpha1 subunit relative to the beta1 subunit (and a symmetry related rotation of the alpha2 subunit relative to the beta2 subunit). In addition, differences in subunit tertiary structure associated with the T-to-T(High) transitions suggest two stereochemical pathways (one associated with the alpha subunits and one associated with the betasubunits) by which ligand binding specifically disrupts quaternary constraints in the Trp37beta cluster. In the alpha subunits, ligand binding induces a shift of the heme iron producing tension in a chain of covalent bonds that extends from the Fe-N(epsilon)(2)His(F8)alpha1 bond to the peptide backbone bonds of residues His87(F8)alpha1 and Ala88(F9)alpha1. This tension induces an alpha-to-pi transition in the COOH-terminal end of the F-helix that shifts the beta-carbon of Ala88alpha1 by approximately 1.5 A directly into the side chain of Tyr140alpha1 (a key residue in the Trp37beta2 cluster). Collectively these structural changes constitute a relatively short pathway by which ligand binding forces Tyr140alpha1 into the alpha1beta2 interface disrupting quaternary constraints associated with the Trp37beta2 cluster. In the beta subunits, our analysis suggests a more extended energy transduction pathway in which ligand-induced beta1-heme movement triggers tertiary changes in the beta1 subunit that promote alpha1beta1 dimer bending that disrupts quaternary constraints in the Trp37beta2 cluster at the alpha1beta2 interface. Crystallographic evidence for a new ensemble of ligand-induced allosteric transitions in hemoglobin: the T-to-T(high) quaternary transitions.,Kavanaugh JS, Rogers PH, Arnone A Biochemistry. 2005 Apr 26;44(16):6101-21. PMID:15835899[3] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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