is a leading cause of life-threatening infections in the United States. It actively acquires the essential nutrient iron from human hemoglobin (Hb) using the iron-regulated surface-determinant (Isd) system. This process is initiated when the closely related bacterial IsdB and IsdH receptors bind to Hb and extract its hemin through a conserved tri-domain unit that contains two NEAr iron Transporter (NEAT) domains that are connected by a helical linker domain. Previously, we demonstrated that the tri-domain unit within IsdH (IsdH) triggers hemin release by distorting Hb's F-helix. Here, we report that IsdH promotes hemin release from both the α- and β-subunits. Using a receptor mutant that only binds to the α-subunit of Hb and a stopped-flow transfer assay, we determined the energetics and micro-rate constants of hemin extraction from tetrameric Hb. We found that at 37 °C, the receptor accelerates hemin release from Hb up to 13,400-fold, with an activation enthalpy of 19.5 ± 1.1 kcal/mol. We propose that hemin removal requires the rate-limiting hydrolytic cleavage of the axial HisF8 Nϵ-Fe bond, which, based on molecular dynamics simulations, may be facilitated by receptor-induced bond hydration. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments revealed that two distinct IsdH·Hb protein·protein interfaces promote hemin release. A high-affinity receptor·Hb(A-helix) interface contributed ∼95% of the total binding standard free energy, enabling much weaker receptor interactions with Hb's F-helix that distort its hemin pocket and cause unfavorable changes in the binding enthalpy. We present a model indicating that receptor-introduced structural distortions and increased solvation underlie the IsdH-mediated hemin extraction mechanism.

Bacterial microcompartments are large supramolecular structures comprising an outer proteinaceous shell that encapsulates various enzymes in order to optimize metabolic processes. The outer shells of bacterial microcompartments are made of several thousand protein subunits, generally forming hexameric building blocks based on the canonical bacterial microcompartment (BMC) domain. Among the diverse metabolic types of bacterial microcompartments, the structures of those that use glycyl radical enzymes to metabolize choline have not been adequately characterized. Here, six structures of hexameric shell proteins from type I and type II choline-utilization microcompartments are reported. Sequence and structure analysis reveals electrostatic surface properties that are shared between the four types of shell proteins described here.

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