Structural Basis for the Effects of Phenylalanine on Tuning the Reduction Potential of Type 1 Copper in Azurin

Yiwei Liu, Nicholas M. Marshall, Sheng Song Yu, Wantae Kim, Yi Gui Gao, Howard Robinson, Mark J. Nilges, Yan Zhang, Siu Yee New, Yi Lu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In order to investigate the effects of the secondary coordination sphere in fine-tuning redox potentials (E°′) of type 1 blue copper (T1Cu) in cupredoxins, we have introduced M13F, M44F, and G116F mutations both individually and in combination in the secondary coordination sphere of the T1Cu center of azurin (Az) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These variants were found to differentially influence the E°′ of T1Cu, with M13F Az decreasing E°′, M44F Az increasing E°′, and G116F Az showing a negligible effect. In addition, combining the M13F and M44F mutations increases E°′ by 26 mV relative to WT-Az, which is very close to the combined effect of E°′ by each mutation. Furthermore, combining G116F with either M13F or M44F mutation resulted in negative and positive cooperative effects, respectively. Crystal structures of M13F/M44F-Az, M13F/G116F-Az, and M44F/G116F-Az combined with that of G116F-Az reveal these changes arise from steric effects and fine-tuning of hydrogen bond networks around the copper-binding His117 residue. The insights gained from this study would provide another step toward the development of redox-active proteins with tunable redox properties for many biological and biotechnological applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)11618-11625
Number of pages8
JournalInorganic Chemistry
Volume62
Issue number29
Early online dateJul 10 2023
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 24 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

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