Intracomplex Electron-Transfer between Ruthenium-Cytochrome-C Derivatives and Cytochrome-C-Oxidase

by Pan, Lian Ping; Hibdon, Sharon; Liu, Rui Qin; Durham, Bill; Millett, Francis

The reactions of bovine cytochrome c oxidase with horse cytochrome c derivatives labeled at specific lysine amino groups with (dicarboxybipyridine)bis(bipyridine) ruthenium(II) were studied by laser flash photolysis. All of the derivatives form complexes with cytochrome c oxidase at low ionic strength (5 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7). Excitation of Ru(II) to Ru(II*) with a short laser flash resulted in rapid electron transfer to the ferric heme group of cytochrome c, followed by electron transfer to cytochrome c oxidase. The photoreduced heme Fe(II) in the cytochrome c derivative modified at lysine 25 on the periphery of the heme crevice domain transferred an electron to Cu(A) with a rate constant of 1.1 x 10(4) s-1. Cu(A) then transferred an electron to cytochrome a with a rate constant of 2.3 x 10(4) s-1. The derivatives modified at lysines 7, 39, 55, and 60 remote from the heme crevice domain of cytochrome c have nearly the same kinetics. The rate constant for electron transfer from the cytochrome c heme to Cu(A) is greater than 10(5) s-1, and the rate constant for electron transfer from Cu(A) to cytochrome a is 2 x 10(4) s-1. The cytochrome c derivatives modified at lysines 13 and 27 in the heme crevice domain react much more slowly than the other derivatives, with intracomplex rate constants for oxidation of cytochrome c ranging from 1000 to 6000 s-1. The bulky ruthenium group at the heme crevice domain of these derivatives apparently alters the binding orientation, leading to smaller electron-transfer rates. At 200 mM ionic strength the complexes of all the derivatives are fully dissociated, and second-order kinetics are observed. The derivatives modified at lysines 7, 25, 39, 55, and 60 have nearly the same second-order rate constants as native cytochrome, while the rate constants of the derivatives modified at lysines 13 and 27 are considerably smaller.

Journal
Biochemistry
Volume
32
Issue
33
Year
1993
Start Page
8492-8498
URL
https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bi00084a014
ISBN/ISSN
1520-4995; 0006-2960
DOI
10.1021/bi00084a014