Structural highlights
Function
[NGB_MOUSE] Involved in oxygen transport in the brain. Hexacoordinate globin, displaying competitive binding of oxygen or the distal His residue to the iron atom. Not capable of penetrating cell membranes. The deoxygenated form exhibits nitrite reductase activity inhibiting cellular respiration via NO-binding to cytochrome c oxidase. Involved in neuroprotection during oxidative stress. May exert its anti-apoptotic activity by acting to reset the trigger level of mitochondrial cytochrome c release necessary to commit the cells to apoptosis.[1] [2]
Publication Abstract from PubMed
BACKGROUND:: The mechanisms by which general anesthetics, including xenon and nitrous oxide, act are only beginning to be discovered. However, structural approaches revealed weak but specific protein-gas interactions. METHODS:: To improve knowledge, we performed x-ray crystallography studies under xenon and nitrous oxide pressure in a series of 10 binding sites within four proteins. RESULTS:: Whatever the pressure, we show (1) hydrophobicity of the gas binding sites has a screening effect on xenon and nitrous oxide binding, with a threshold value of 83% beyond which and below which xenon and nitrous oxide, respectively, binds to their sites preferentially compared to each other; (2) xenon and nitrous oxide occupancies are significantly correlated respectively to the product and the ratio of hydrophobicity by volume, indicating that hydrophobicity and volume are binding parameters that complement and oppose each other's effects; and (3) the ratio of occupancy of xenon to nitrous oxide is significantly correlated to hydrophobicity of their binding sites. CONCLUSIONS:: These data demonstrate that xenon and nitrous oxide obey different binding mechanisms, a finding that argues against all unitary hypotheses of narcosis and anesthesia, and indicate that the Meyer-Overton rule of a high correlation between anesthetic potency and solubility in lipids of general anesthetics is often overinterpreted. This study provides evidence that the mechanisms of gas binding to proteins and therefore of general anesthesia should be considered as the result of a fully reversible interaction between a drug ligand and a receptor as this occurs in classical pharmacology.
Crystallographic Studies with Xenon and Nitrous Oxide Provide Evidence for Protein-dependent Processes in the Mechanisms of General Anesthesia.,Abraini JH, Marassio G, David HN, Vallone B, Prange T, Colloc'h N Anesthesiology. 2014 Sep 10. PMID:25211169[3]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Couture M, Burmester T, Hankeln T, Rousseau DL. The heme environment of mouse neuroglobin. Evidence for the presence of two conformations of the heme pocket. J Biol Chem. 2001 Sep 28;276(39):36377-82. Epub 2001 Jul 25. PMID:11473111 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M103907200
- ↑ Dewilde S, Kiger L, Burmester T, Hankeln T, Baudin-Creuza V, Aerts T, Marden MC, Caubergs R, Moens L. Biochemical characterization and ligand binding properties of neuroglobin, a novel member of the globin family. J Biol Chem. 2001 Oct 19;276(42):38949-55. Epub 2001 Jul 25. PMID:11473128 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M106438200
- ↑ Abraini JH, Marassio G, David HN, Vallone B, Prange T, Colloc'h N. Crystallographic Studies with Xenon and Nitrous Oxide Provide Evidence for Protein-dependent Processes in the Mechanisms of General Anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 2014 Sep 10. PMID:25211169 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000000435
