The structural and functional analysis of the hemoglobin D component from chicken

Abstract

Oxygen binding by chicken blood shows enhanced cooperativity at high levels of oxygen saturation. This implies that deoxy hemoglobin tetramers self-associate. The crystal structure of an R-state form of chicken hemoglobin D has been solved to 2.3-Å resolution using molecular replacement phases derived from human oxyhemoglobin. The model consists of an α2β2 tetramer in the asymmetric unit and has been refined to a R-factor of 0.222 (R-free = 0.257) for 29,702 reflections between 10.0- and 2.3-Å resolution. Chicken Hb D differs most from human oxyhemoglobin in the AB and GH corners of the α subunits and the EF corner of the β subunits. Reanalysis of published oxygen binding data for chicken Hbs shows that both chicken Hb A and Hb D possess enhanced cooperativity in vitro when inositol hexaphosphate is present. The electrostatic surface potential for a calculated model of chicken deoxy-Hb D tetramers shows a pronounced hydrophobic patch that involves parts of the D and E helices of the β subunits. This hydrophobic patch is a promising candidate for a tetramer-tetramer interface that could regulate oxygen binding via the distal histidine.