Porphyrin pi-stacking in a heme protein scaffold tunes gas ligand affinity.
Weinert, E.E., Phillips-Piro, C.M., Marletta, M.A.(2013) J Inorg Biochem 127C: 7-12
- PubMed: 23831583 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2013.06.004
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
4FDK - PubMed Abstract: 
The role of π-stacking in controlling redox and ligand binding properties of porphyrins has been of interest for many years. The recent discovery of H-NOX domains has provided a model system to investigate the role of porphyrin π-stacking within a heme protein scaffold. Removal of a phenylalanine-porphyrin π-stack dramatically increased O2, NO, and CO affinities and caused changes in redox potential (~40mV) without any structural changes. These results suggest that small changes in redox potential affect ligand affinity and that π-stacking may provide a novel route to engineer heme protein properties for new functions.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.