A Strategic Protein in Cytochrome c Maturation

CcmH (cytochromes cmaturation protein H) is an essential component of the assembly line necessary for the maturation of c-type cytochromes in the periplasm of Gram-negative bacteria. The protein is a membrane-anchored thiol-oxidoreductase that has been hypothesized to be involved in the recognition and reduction of apocytochrome c, a prerequisite for covalent heme attachment. Here, we present the 1.7Å crystal structure of the soluble periplasmic domain of CcmH from the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa-CcmH*). The protein contains a three-helix bundle, i.e. a fold that is different from that of all other thiol-oxidoreductases reported so far. The catalytic Cys residues of the conserved LRCXXC motif (Cys25 and Cys28), located in a long loop connecting the first two helices, form a disulfide bond in the oxidized enzyme. We have determined the pKa values of these 2 Cys residues of Pa-CcmH* (both >8) and propose a possible mechanistic role for a conserved Ser36 and a water molecule in the active site. The interaction between Pa-CcmH* and Pa-apocyt c551 (where cyt c551 represents cytochrome c551) was characterized in vitro following the binding kinetics by stopped-flow using a Trp-containing fluorescent variant of Pa-CcmH* and a dansylated peptide, mimicking the apocytochrome c551 heme binding motif. The kinetic results show that the protein has a moderate affinity to its apocyt substrate, consistent with the role of Pa-CcmH as an intermediate component of the assembly line for c-type cytochrome biogenesis.