1vwt | pdb_00001vwt
T STATE HUMAN HEMOGLOBIN [ALPHA V96W], ALPHA AQUOMET, BETA DEOXY
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 PubMedOne of the most promising approaches for the development of a synthetic blood substitute has been the engineering of novel mutants of human hemoglobin (Hb) A which maintain cooperativity, but possess lowered oxygen affinity. We describe here two crystal structures of one such potential blood substitute, recombinant (r) Hb(alpha 96Val-->Trp), refined to 1.9 A resolution in an alpha-aquomet, beta-deoxy T-state, and to 2.5 A resolution in a carbonmonoxy R-state. On the basis of molecular dynamics simulations, a particular conformation had been predicted for the engineered Trp residue, and the lowered oxygen affinity had been attributed to a stabilization of the deoxy T-state interface by alpha 96Trp-beta 99Asp hydrogen bonds. Difference Fourier maps of the T-state structure clearly show that alpha 96Trp is in a conformation different from that predicted by the simulation, with its indole side chain directed away from the interface and into the central cavity. In this conformation, the indole nitrogen makes novel water-mediated hydrogen bonds across the T-state interface with beta 101Glu. We propose that these water-mediated hydrogen bonds are the structural basis for the lowered oxygen affinity of rHb(alpha 96Val-->Trp), and discuss the implications of these findings for future molecular dynamics studies and the design of Hb mutants. Novel water-mediated hydrogen bonds as the structural basis for the low oxygen affinity of the blood substitute candidate rHb(alpha 96Val-->Trp).,Puius YA, Zou M, Ho NT, Ho C, Almo SC Biochemistry. 1998 Jun 30;37(26):9258-65. PMID:9649306[3] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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