Electrostatic effects in hemoglobin: Bohr effect and ionic strength dependence of individual groups.

The electrostatic treatment applied in the preceding paper in this issue [Matthew, J. B., Hanania, G.I.H., & Gurd, F.R.N. (1979) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)] to the titration behavior of individual groups in human deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin was applied to the computation of the alkaline Bohr effect at various values of ionic strength. The enhanced proton binding of deoxyhemoglobin in the pH range of 6--9 was accounted for at ionic strength 0.01 M by the effects of the unique charge distributions of ionizable groups in the two quaternary states. At ionic strength 0.10 M the effects of 2--4 bound anions had to be considered in addition in the deoxyhemoglobin charge configuration. At the higher ionic strength 10 groups per tetramer contributed to the Bohr effect, whereas 28 groups were contributory at the lower ionic strength. The ionic strength dependence of individual groups in the two tetrameric structures as well as in the alpha-chain monomer was explained in terms of the electrostatic treatment. This examination showed that the differences in electrostatic behavior of deoxy- and oxyhemoglobin follow from particular dissymmetries in their configurations with respect to charge and static solvent accessibility.