PUBLICATION

Characterization of zebrafish neuroglobin and cytoglobins 1 and 2: Zebrafish cytoglobins provide insights into the transition from six-coordinate to five-coordinate globins

Authors
Corti, P., Ieraci, M., Tejero, J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-160102-5
Date
2016
Source
Nitric oxide : biology and chemistry   53: 22-34 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
Neuroglobin, cytoglobin, nitrite reduction, protein evolution, protein-lipid interaction
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Globins/genetics
  • Globins/metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism*
  • RNA, Messenger/genetics
  • RNA, Messenger/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
PubMed
26721561 Full text @ Nitric Oxide
Abstract
Neuroglobin (Ngb) and cytoglobin (Cygb) are two six-coordinate heme proteins of unknown physiological function. Although studies on the mammalian proteins have elucidated aspects of Ngb and Cygb biophysics and indicated potential functions, the properties of non-mammalian Ngbs and Cygbs are largely uncharacterized. We have expressed the recombinant zebrafish proteins Ngb, Cygb1, and Cygb2 in E. coli and characterized their nitrite reduction rates, spectral properties, autoxidation rate constants, redox potentials and lipid binding properties. The three zebrafish proteins can catalyze the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide with a broad range of reaction rate constants (Ngb, 0.68 ± 0.04 M(-1)s(-1); Cygb1, 28.6 ± 3.1 M(-1)s(-1); Cygb2, 0.94 ± 0.18 M(-1)s(-1)).We observe that zebrafish Ngb and Cygb2 have comparable spectral features to those of human Ngb and Cygb, consistent with a six-coordinate heme, whereas unexpectedly Cygb1 has a five-coordinate heme, a slower autoxidation and in general has properties more akin to oxygen transport proteins. In agreement with a possible oxygen carrier and nitrite reductase role, we detect mRNA transcript for Cygb1 but not Cygb2 or Ngb in zebrafish blood. Unlike human Cygb, neither of the zebrafish globins binds oleic acid with high affinity. This finding suggests that lipid binding may be a trait acquired later during evolution and not an ancestral property of cytoglobins. Altogether, our results uncover unexpected properties of zebrafish globins and reveal the pivotal role of cytoglobins in the transition of heme globins from six-coordinate to five-coordinate oxygen carriers and nitrite reductases.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping