Jean Christophe Lambry

Geminate Recombination of Nitric Oxide to Endothelial Nitric-oxide Synthase and Mechanistic Implications

The nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) catalyzes the oxidation of l-arginine to l-citrulline and NO through consumption of oxygen bound to the heme. Because NO is produced close to the heme and may bind to it, its subsequent role in a regulatory mechanism should be scrutinized. We therefore examined the kinetics of NO rebinding after photodissociation in the heme pocket of human endothelial NOS by means of time-resolved absorption spectroscopy. We show that geminate recombination of NO indeed occurs and that this process is strongly modulated by l-Arg. This NO rebinding occurs in a multiphasic fashion and spans over 3 orders of magnitude. In both ferric and ferrous states of the heme, a fast nonexponential picosecond geminate rebinding first takes place followed by a slower nanosecond phase. The rates of both phases decreased, whereas their relative amplitudes are changed by the presence ofl-Arg; the overall effect is a slow down of NO rebinding. For the isolated oxygenase domain, the picosecond rate is unchanged, but the relative amplitude of the nanosecond binding decreased. We assigned the nanosecond kinetic component to the rebinding of NO that is still located in the protein core but not in the heme pocket. The implications for a mechanism of regulation involving NO binding are discussed.

Coherent infrared emission from myoglobin crystals: An electric field measurement

We introduce coherent infrared emission interferometry as a χ(2) vibrational spectroscopy technique and apply it to studying the initial dynamics upon photoactivation of myoglobin (Mb). By impulsive excitation (using 11-fs pulses) of a Mb crystal, vibrations that couple to the optical excitation are set in motion coherently. Because of the order in the crystal lattice the coherent oscillations of the different proteins in the crystal that are associated with charge motions give rise to a macroscopic burst of directional multi-teraHertz radiation. This radiation can be detected in a phase-sensitive way by heterodyning with a broad-band reference field. In this way both amplitude and phase of the different vibrations can be obtained. We detected radiation in the 1,000–1,500 cm−1 frequency region, which contains modes sensitive to the structure of the heme macrocycle, as well as peripheral protein modes. Both in carbonmonoxy-Mb and aquomet-Mb we observed emission from six modes, which were assigned to heme vibrations. The phase factors of the modes contributing to the protein electric field show a remarkable consistency, taking on values that indicate that the dipoles are created “emitting” at t = 0, as one would expect for impulsively activated modes. The few deviations from this behavior in Mb-CO we propose are the result of these modes being sensitive to the photodissociation process and severely disrupted by it.

Direct observation of ligand transfer and bond formation in cytochrome c oxidase by using mid-infrared chirped-pulse upconversion.

We have implemented the recently demonstrated technique of chirped-pulse upconversion of midinfrared femtosecond pulses into the visible in a visible pump–midinfrared probe experiment for high-resolution, high-sensitivity measurements over a broad spectral range. We have succeeded in time-resolving the CO ligand transfer process from the heme Fe to the neighboring CuB atom in the bimetallic active site of mammalian cytochrome c oxidase, which was known to proceed in <1 ps, using the full CO vibrational signature of Fe–CO bond breaking and CuB–CO bond formation. Our differential transmission results show a delayed onset of the appearance of the CuB-bound species (200 fs), followed by a 450-fs exponential rise. Trajectories calculated by using molecular-dynamics simulations with a Morse potential for the CuB–C interaction display a similar behavior. Both experimental and calculated data strongly suggest a ballistic contribution to the transfer process.

Photoionization and dynamic solvation of the excited states of 7-azaindole

The excited-state photophysics of the biological probe, 7-azaindole, are examined in water and methanol. Electrons in a presolvated state absorbing in the infrared appear within the excitation pulse width of 130 fs. 330±100 fs is required for the presolvated electron to achieve the spectrum characteristic of the completely solvated electron. An excited-state transient absorbance decays in ∼350 fs for 7-azaindole and its methylated analog, N 1 -methyl-7-azaindole (IM7AI), in the region 400-450 nm in water and methanol. The instantaneous appearance of the electron in the infrared is attributed to the decay of the 1 L b excited-state that overlaps the 1 L a excited state of 7-azaindole

NO Formation by Neuronal NO-Synthase can be Controlled by Ultrafast Electron Injection from a Nanotrigger

Synchronized catalysis in native enzyme: We used a photoactive nanotrigger (NT) to study the initial electron transfer to FAD in native neuronal NOS catalysis. Modeling and fluorescence spectroscopy showed that selective NT binding to NADPH sites is able to override Phe1395 regulation, thus permitting ultrafast injection of electrons into the protein electron pathway. That NT initiation of flavoenzyme catalysis led to the formation of NO is promising for time‐resolved X‐ray and other cellular applications.