Mb and Hb, & Proteins (Final) Flashcards
Describe Myoglobin.
- monomer
- muscle cells
- takes O2 from the bloodstream and distributes it to muscles
Describe Hemoglobin.
- tetramer
- red blood cells
- takes O2 from our lungs and delivers it to the periphery and back
What is the primary function of Mb and Hb?
Oxygen binding
What was the first protein to be crystallized?
Sperm whale myoglobin
What is the secondary structure of myoglobin?
- it is made up of 8 alpha helices labelled helix A->H
What is the key functional group of myoglobin?
the heme group
What is heme?
- a porphyrin derivative
- made of 4 pyrrole rings
- heme is a planar molecule
Describe the structure of a pyrrole ring?
- 5 membered ring with 1 nitrogen molecule
What is the purpose of pyrrole nitrogen?
Pyrrole N is critical to the function of heme because that is where iron binds
What are the 6 things Fe binds to in a heme in myoglobin?
- 4 pyrrole Ns
- 1 histidine
- O2
Describe the heme complex in myoglobin?
Valine and phenylalanine are two hydrophobic groups that pack against porphyrin and keep your heme groups in place in the protein
Show the reaction that Fe participates in in an isolated heme.
Fe(II) + O2 —> Fe(III) - O - O(-)
- Fe is reduced in the beginning, it donates electrons and gets oxidized in this reaction
- Oxygen accepts electrons and gets reduced in this reaction
What does an isolated heme mean?
A heme not found in myoglobin
What does the protein portion of myoglobin cause?
The protein portion of myoglobin makes O2 binding reversible
In myoglobin what is oxygen binding dependent on?
Binding is dependent on [O2]
- O2 concentration
What else can a heme bind to?
- heme can bind to CO, NO, H2S
- heme binds to these molecules with greater affinity than O2, and this binding is not/not as reversible
- CO poisoning
What does Mb primarily facilitate?
- O2 diffusion into muscle
Describe seal/whale Mb.
- In seals and whales Mb stores O2
- these animals (marine mammals) have 50x higher Mb than humans
What is fractional saturation?
- YO2
- amount of oxygen bound myoglobin over total myoglobin
- (Percent of total Mb bound to oxygen)
What do you graph in an oxygen binding curve?
- YO2 (fractional saturation/percent oxygen bound) on Y axis
- pO2 - partial pressure of oxygen on X axis
What is the dissociation constant for myoglobin?
k = [Mb][O2] / [MbO2]
What is pO2?
partial pressure of O2 / oxygen tension
- measured in torr
What do low and high pO2 indicate in general about YO2?
Low pO2 = low Yo2
High pO2 = high Yo2
What is P50?
- the value of pO2 where 50% of the total Mb is bound to oxygen
What does a lower P50 value indicate?
higher affinity to O2
- less oxygen pressure is required for 50% of Mb to be bound to O2
What is the equation for fractional saturation for Mb?
YO2 = (pO2) / (P50 + pO2)
How is YO2 affected in Mb when there are lower pO2 levels?
When pO2 levels are low, and they change there is a more dramatic change in Yo2
When is O2 released?
As pressure changes from arterial to venous blood
How much O2 is released when Mb travels from arterial to venous blood?
- 6% of bound oxygen is released
- not very efficient at releasing oxygen in our venous system
What is hemoglobin primarily responsible for?
- responsible for O2 transport in blood
- found in red blood cells
Describe the makeup of RBCs.
- 34% of their weight is hemoglobin
- they do not have a nucleus or organelles
What is the general structure of hemoglobin?
alpha2 beta2 tetramer
Describe the similarity of the alpha and beta subunits.
- between alpha and beta there is little 1 degree sequence homology, but high structural similarity (tertiary structures are similar)
How does O2 binding impact hemoglobin?
O2 binding causes a dramatic structural change
What occurs when crystallized deoxy Hb is exposed to O2?
The change in structure will cause it to shatter
What structural changes occur when deoxyhemoglobin turns into oxyhemoglobin (oxygen binds)?
- beta subunits move closer together
- contacts between alpha1-beta2 and alpha2-beta1 change
- there is 15 degree rotation of the alpha beta dimer
Describe the O2 - Mb binding (general).
- hyperbolic O2 binding curve
- non-cooperative (each binding event is independent of the other)
Describe the O2 - Hb binding (general).
- sigmoidal O2 binding curve
- cooperative binding (binding at one site affects other sites)
Describe the sigmoidal binding curve.
- high oxygen bound at high PO2
- low oxygen bound at low PO2
- releases O2 when at low arterial pressure
What is the hill equation?
- Equation that describes YO2 for hemoglobin