SOUL in mouse eyes is a new hexameric heme-binding protein with characteristic optical absorption, resonance Raman spectral, and heme-binding properties.

SOUL is specifically expressed in the retina and pineal gland and displays more than 40% sequence homology with p22HBP, a heme protein ubiquitously expressed in numerous tissues. SOUL was purified as a dimer in the absence of heme from the Escherichia coli expression system but displayed a hexameric structure upon heme binding. Heme-bound SOUL displayed optical absorption and resonance Raman spectra typical of 6-coordinate low-spin heme protein, with one heme per monomeric unit for both the Fe(III) and Fe(II) complexes. Spectral data additionally suggest that one of the axial ligands of the Fe(III) heme complex is His. Mutation of His42 (the only His of SOUL) to Ala resulted in loss of heme binding, confirming that this residue is an axial ligand of SOUL. The K(d) value of heme for SOUL was estimated as 4.8 x 10(-9) M from the association and dissociation rate constants, suggesting high binding affinity. On the other hand, p22HBP was obtained as a monomer containing one heme per subunit, with a K(d) value of 2.1 x 10(-11) M. Spectra of heme-bound p22HBP were different from those of SOUL but similar to those of heme-bound bovine serum albumin in which heme bound to a hydrophobic cavity with no specific axial ligand coordination. Therefore, the heme-binding properties and coordination structure of SOUL are distinct from those of p22HBP, despite high sequence homology. The physiological role of the new heme-binding protein, SOUL, is further discussed in this report.