Study of the Individual Cytochrome b5 and Cytochrome b5 Reductase Domains of Ncb5or Reveals a Unique Heme Pocket and a Possible Role of the CS Domain

摘要

NADH cytochrome b5 oxidoreductase (Ncb5or) is found in animals and contains three domains similar to cytochrome b5 (b5), CHORD-SGT1 (CS), and cytochrome b5 reductase (b5R). Ncb5or has an important function, as suggested by the diabetes and lipoatrophy phenotypes in Ncb5or null mice. To elucidate the structural and functional properties of human Ncb5or, we generated its individual b5 and b5R domains (Ncb5or-b5 and Ncb5or-b5R, respectively) and compared them with human microsomal b5 (Cyb5A) and b5R (Cyb5R3). A 1.25 Å x-ray crystal structure of Ncb5or-b5 reveals nearly orthogonal planes of the imidazolyl rings of heme-ligating residues His⁸⁹ and His¹¹², consistent with a highly anisotropic low spin EPR spectrum. Ncb5or is the first member of the cytochrome b5 family shown to have such a heme environment. Like other b5 family members, Ncb5or-b5 has two helix-loop-helix motifs surrounding heme. However, Ncb5or-b5 differs from Cyb5A with respect to location of the second heme ligand (His¹¹²) and of polypeptide conformation in its vicinity. Electron transfer from Ncb5or-b₅R to Ncb5or-b₅ is much less efficient than from Cyb5R3 to Cyb5A, possibly as a consequence of weaker electrostatic interactions. The CS linkage probably obviates the need for strong interactions between b₅ and b₅R domains in Ncb5or. Studies with a construct combining the Ncb5or CS and b₅R domains suggest that the CS domain facilitates docking of the b₅ and b₅R domains. Trp¹¹⁴ is an invariant surface residue in all known Ncb5or orthologs but appears not to contribute to electron transfer from the b₅R domain to the b₅ domain.