The metal-binding properties of ovotransferrin. An investigation of cobalt(II) derivatives.

Cobalt(II) ovotransferrin bicarbonate and oxalate ternary complexes were prepared and investigated in the pH range 7-10.5. Cobalt(II) provides an excellent and unique spectroscopic probe to monitor subtle structural differences in solution between the two sites of ovotransferrin and to investigate the structural dependence on pH. CD spectroscopy on one side and 1H NMR spectroscopy of isotropically shifted signals on the other are extremely sensitive techniques and are particularly suited for high spin cobalt(II)-containing compounds. In the case of the oxalate derivative the metal-binding ability of the protein is different at the two binding sites and is pH dependent; the CD spectra reveal two different sites, one of which is clearly pH dependent with a pKa of 9.5. On the contrary the bicarbonate analogue does not show any spectral difference between the two sites; both of them change with pH, the pKa being again 9.5. 1H NMR spectra of the oxalate derivatives at pH 7-8 reveal the presence of conformers, the distribution of which depends on the H2O/D2O ratio. Such conformers are not revealed in the bicarbonate system; at pH around 10 the NMR spectra of both systems show inequivalence between the two sites and/or the presence of different conformers for each site. Such differences are discussed in terms of the possible implications in mechanism and function. The overall spectral data are consistent with the donor groups being two histidines, two tyrosines, the synergistic anion, and possibly a solvent molecule.