Elizeu/sandbox/citocromo c

From Proteopedia

Revision as of 09:08, 21 January 2015 by Anna Lohning (Talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search

The Structure Function Relationship of Haemoglobin

Introduction

Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate

Haemoglobin is a tetrameric globular protein able to transport small molecules such as oxygen and carbon dioxide around the body to support life. Its a great example of how a protein's binding affinity to its ligand can change in response to changes in its environment. This is facilitated by small conformational changes that occur in and between subunits in a cooperative manner ultimately allowing oxygen to be picked up in the lungs and delivered to the tissues. This is . Embedded in each monomer is the haeme prosthetic group with bound (ferrous) iron. Iron makes 6 coordination bonds. Four in the plane of the haeme to 4 nitrogens (blue); one to the proximal Histidine imidizole nitrogen and one reserved for oxygen.

Exploring the Structure

Image:OxyHb.png

Personal tools