CD and MCD Studies of Mouse Ribonucleotide Reductase

July 24, 2017

Title

CD and MCD Studies of Mouse Ribonucleotide Reductase

Author

Kari R. Strand, Yi-Shan Yang, K. Kristoffer Andersson, Edward I. Solomon

Year

2003

Journal

Biochemistry

Abstract

Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) catalyzes the synthesis of the four deoxyribonucleotides needed for DNA synthesis and repair in living organisms. The reduced [Fe(II)Fe(II)] form of the model mammalian enzyme, mouse RNR R2, has been studied using a combination of circular dichroism (CD), magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and variable-temperature variable-field (VTVH) MCD spectroscopies. Titrations of ferrous ion to the apo-enzyme have been performed and analyzed to investigate the metal binding affinity of the metal-binding site. Spectral features of individual iron sites have been analyzed to obtain detailed geometric and electronic structural information. VTVH MCD data have been collected and analyzed using two complementary models to obtain detailed ground state information including the zero-field splitting (ZFS) of both ferrous centers and the exchange coupling (J) between the two sites. These ground and excited state results provide a complete description of the biferrous site of mouse R2. The biferrous site consists of one 4- and one 5-coordinate iron, with positive and negative ZFS values, respectively. Weak exchange coupling between the two ferrous centers is present, consistent with having carboxylate bridges. The two sites have highly cooperative and weak metal binding affinities. This may be a novel regulatory mechanism for RNR. These results are compared with those from reduced Escherichia coli R2 and reduced acyl-carrier protein Δ9 desaturase to correlate to similarities and differences in their dioxygen reactivity.

Instrument

J-200D

Keywords

Circular dichroism, Magnetic circular dichroism, Ligand binding, Coordination chemistry, Biochemistry