Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing heme pocket mutations

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing mutations around one or more of the heme pockets of the hemoglobin molecule. The invention relates particularly to mutant recombinant hemoglobins that have altered geometry or polarity around the distal portion of the heme pocket which results in mutant recombinant hemoglobins with reduced autooxidation rates, reduced or increased affinities for ligands or both reduced autooxidation and changed ligand affinity.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Loss of blood often requires replacement of both the volume of fluid that is lost and the oxygen carrying capacity of that fluid. This is typically accomplished by transfusing red blood cells, either as packed RBC's or as units of whole blood. However, it is not always possible, practical or desirable to transfuse a patient with donated blood. Human blood transfusions are associated with many risks and limitations, such as:
1) Infectious disease transmission (i.e., human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), non-A and non-B hepatitis, hepatitis B, Yersinia enterocolitica, cytomegalovirus, human T-cell leukemia virus 1)
2) Immunologic reaction (i.e., hemolytic transfusion reaction, immunosuppresion, graft versus host reaction)
3) Typing and cross-matching required prior to administration
4) Limited availability
5) Limited stability (shelf life of 42 days or less; cannot be frozen)
When human blood is not available or the risk of transfusion is too great, volume can be replaced utilizing plasma expanders such as colloid and crystalloid solutions but to date, none of the volume replacement therapies currently approved for human use can transport oxygen. In situations where replacement of lost blood is necessary and blood is not available for transfusion, a red blood cell substitute that can transport oxygen, such as a hemoglobin solution, is desirable. Administration of a hemoglobin solution can increase and/or maintain plasma volume and decrease blood viscosity in the same manner as conventional plasma expanders, but, in addition, a hemoglobin-based red blood cell substitute should be able to support adequate transport of oxygen from the lungs to peripheral tissues. Moreover, an oxygen-transporting hemoglobin-based solution may be used in most situations where red blood cells are currently utilized. For example, oxygen-transporting hemoglobin-based solution may be used to temporarily augment oxygen delivery during or after pre-donation of autologous blood prior to the return of the autologous blood to the patient.
To address this need, a number of red cell substitutes have been developed (Winslow, R. M.(1992) Hemoglobin-based Red Cell Substitutes, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 242 pp). These substitutes include synthetic perfluorocarbon solutions, (Long, D. M. European Patent 0307087), stroma-free hemoglobin solutions, both chemically crosslinked and uncrosslinked, derived from a variety of mammalian red blood cells (Rausch, C. and Feola, M., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,084,558 and 5,296,465; Sehgal, L. R., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,826,811 and 5,194,590; Vlahakes, G. J. et al., (1990) J. Thorac. Cardiovas. Surg. 100: 379-388) and hemoglobins expressed in and purified from genetically engineered organisms (for example, non-erythrocyte cells such as bacteria and yeast, Hoffman et al., WO 90/13645; bacteria, Fronticelli, C. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,061; yeast, De Angelo et al., WO 93/08831 and WO 91/16349; and transgenic mammals, Logan et al., WO 92/22646; Townes, T. M and McCune, S. L., WO 92/11283). These red blood cell substitutes have been designed to replace or augment the volume and the oxygen carrying capability of red blood cells.
The oxygen carrying portion of the red blood cell is the protein hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a tetrameric protein molecule composed of two identical alpha globin subunits (.alpha..sub.1, .alpha..sub.2), two identical beta globin subunits (.beta..sub.1, .beta..sub.2) and four heme molecules. A heme molecule is incorporated into each of the alpha and beta globins to give alpha and beta subunits. Heme is a large macrocyclic organic molecule containing an iron atom; each heme can combine reversibly with one ligand molecule such as oxygen. In a hemoglobin tetramer, each alpha subunit is associated with a beta subunit to form two stable alpha/beta dimers, which in turn associate to form the tetramer (a homodimer). The subunits are noncovalently associated through Van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds and salt bridges.
In the unliganded state (deoxygenated or "deoxy") state, the four subunits form a quaternary structure known as "T" (for "tense") state. During ligand binding, the .alpha..sub.1 .beta..sub.1 and .alpha..sub.2 .beta..sub.2 interfaces remain relatively fixed while the .alpha..sub.1 .beta..sub.2 and .alpha..sub.2 .beta..sub.1 interfaces exhibit considerable movement When a ligand is bound to the hemoglobin molecule, the intersubunit distances are increased relative to the deoxygenated distances, and the molecule assumes the "relaxed" or "R" quaternary structure which is the thermodynamically stable form of the molecule when three or more ligands are bound to the heme.
Red blood cell replacement solutions have been administered to animals and humans and have exhibited certain adverse events upon administration. These adverse reactions may include hypertension due to vasoconstriction, renal failure, neurotoxicity, and liver toxicity (Winslow, R. M., ibid., Biro, G. P. et al., (1992) Biomat., Art. Cells & Immob. Biotech. 20: 1013-1020) and in the case of perfluorocarbons, hypertension, activation of the reticulo-endothelial system, and complement activation (Reichelt, H. et al., (1992) in Blood Substitutes and Oxygen Carriers, T. M. Chang (ed.), pg. 769-772; Bentley, P. K. ibid, pp. 778-781). For hemoglobin based oxygen carriers, renal failure and renal toxicity is the result of the formation of hemoglobin .alpha./.beta. dimers. The formation of dimers can be prevented by chemically crosslinking (Sehgal, et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,826,811 and 5,194,590; Walder, J. A. US Reissue Patent RE34271) or genetically linking (Hoffman, et al., WO 90/13645) the hemoglobin dimers so that the tetramer is prevented from dissociating.
However, prevention of dimer formation has not alleviated all of the adverse events associated with hemoglobin administration. Blood pressure changes upon administration of hemoglobin solutions have been attributed to vasoconstriction resulting from the binding of endothelium derived relaxing factor (EDRF) by hemoglobin (Spahn, D. R. et al., (1994) Anesth. Analg. 78: 1000-1021; Biro, G. P., (1992) Biomat., Art. Cells & Immob. Biotech., 20: 1013-1020; Vandegriff, K. D. (1992) Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews, Volume 10: 404-453 M. P. Tombs, Editor, Intercept Ltd., Andover, England). Endothelium derived relaxing factor has been identified as nitric oxide (NO) (Moncada, S. et al., (1991) Pharmacol. Rev. 43: 109-142 for review); both inducible and constitutive NO are primarily produced in the endothelium of the vasculature and act as local modulators of vascular tone. CO has also been implicated in blood pressure regulation since it can also activate guanylate cyclase (Snyder, S. H. and Bredt, D. S. (1992) Sci. American May, 68-77). Hemoglobin can bind both nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, thus preventing vascular relaxation and potentially leading to the hypertension sometimes observed upon administration of extracellular hemoglobin solutions. In addition to direct binding to deoxyhemoglobin, NO can also oxidize oxyhemoglobin producing peroxynitrite and methemoglobin. This reaction could also lower free concentrations of NO and lead to hypertension.
Some inflammatory responses are also mediated by nitric oxide (Vandegriff, ibid., Moncada, S., et al., ibid.). For example, nitric oxide produced by the endothelium inhibits platelet aggregation and as nitric oxide is bound by cell-free hemoglobin solutions, platelet aggregation may be increased. As platelets aggregate, they release potent vasoconstrictor compounds such as thromboxane A.sub.2 and serotonin (Shuman, M. (1992) in Cecil Textbook of Medicine, J. B. Wyngaarden, L. H. Smith and J. C. Bennett, ed., W. B. Saunders Co, Philadelphia, pages 987-992). These may act synergistically with the reduced nitric oxide levels due to binding by hemoglobin to result in an exaggerated vasoconstriction.
In addition to modulating platelet aggregation, nitric oxide inhibits neutrophil attachment to cell walls. Increased adhesion of neutrophils to cell walls may lead to cell wall damage. Endothelial cell wall damage has been observed upon infusion of some hemoglobin solutions; this kind of damage is consistent with uptake of endogenous nitric oxide by hemoglobin (White, et al., (1986) J. Lab. Clin. Med. 108: 121-131; Vandegriff (1992) ibid). In all these cases, a hemoglobin molecule with reduced reactivity for either binding or oxidizing nitric oxide and with a physiologically acceptable oxygen affinity might ameliorate some of these observed adverse events while still functioning as an effective oxygen carrier.
Conversely, while a moderate production of nitric oxide is required to maintain appropriate vascular tone, excess production of nitric oxide by the endothelium and other nitric oxide producing cells, such as macrophages, may result in pathological states. These disease states include septic shock and nitric oxide mediated hypotension. In these cases, binding of excess nitric oxide or its oxidation by a hemoglobin with a particularly high reactivity for nitric oxide may be useful (Kilbourn, PCT Application Number WO 93/16721).
Another disadvantage of hemoglobin-based blood substitutes has been the tendency of the iron in the heme to undergo oxidation. The oxidation of the iron in the heme from the ferrous (Fe.sup.+2) to the ferric form (Fe.sup.+3) results in the formation of methemoglobin. Methemoglobin is a non-functional form of hemoglobin that cannot bind oxygen, thus its formation in hemoglobin solutions results in reduced capacity to bind gases and may thus require administration of larger amounts of solution to accomplish the same desired benefit or result. In addition, methemoglobin molecules are vulnerable to accelerated degradation due to hemichrome formation, heme loss, precipitation, and reaction with hydrogen peroxide to form toxic radicals and the like (Bunn, H. F. and Forget, B. G. Hemoglobin: Molecular, Genetic and Clinical Aspects, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 690 pp, hereby incorporated by reference; Rachmilewitz, E. A. (1974) Sem. Hematol. 11: 441-462).
Myoglobin is a monomeric heme protein found in muscle which binds oxygen reversibly which has often been used as a simple model for the complex chemistry of tetrameric hemoglobin. Myoglobin appears to be an adequate model for ligand binding to the alpha subunits of hemoglobin. In contrast, it is a less satisfactory model for the ligand binding and oxidative behavior of the beta subunit. Moreover, because myoglobin is a non-cooperative molecule, changes in overall ligand affinity and oxidation are not predictable when a mutation in myoglobin is transferred to the equivalent location in the hemoglobin molecule.
Nevertheless, the autooxidation rate and the discrimination between O.sub.2, CO, and NO in both myoglobin and hemoglobin appear to be the result of polar interactions between bound ligands and the histidine found at the E7 position in both proteins. In unliganded myoglobin and the subunits of hemoglobin, a H.sub.2 O molecule is hydrogen bonded to the histidine and must be displaced before a ligand can bind to the iron atom of the heme. The binding of all three ligands requires displacement of this water molecule. In the case of O.sub.2 binding, the inhibition caused by the displacement of the water molecule is overcome by much more favorable hydrogen bonding interactions between His-E7 and the polar Fe.sup..delta. (+)--O--O.sup..delta. (-) complex. No favorable interactions occur between bound CO and the histidine at the E7 position. Thus the affinity of hemoglobin for CO is primarily a function of the intrinsic strength of the covalent bond between CO and the heme iron atom, and as a result, the requirement for H.sub.2 0 displacement results in a net inhibition of CO binding. Without this inhibition, CO would bind approximately 10 fold more tightly to alpha subunits of hemoglobin, and the discrimination against it and for oxygen would be compromised. NO binding shows an intermediate situation; the inhibition due to water displacement is exactly balanced by a weak hydrogen bond with His-E7. As a result, the NO affinity of hemoglobin is similar to that of model heme compounds. Note also that the formation of the iron-oxygen/His E7 complex results in both a net enhancement of oxygen affinity relative to carbon monoxide affinity and a decrease in spontaneous iron oxidation. Thus oxygen affinity and autooxidation are often tightly coupled. In addition, oxidation can occur by an NO mediated mechanism (FIG. 1). NO is a free radical and can react rapidly with reduced iron-oxygen complexes to form peroxynitrite (--OONO) and ferric iron. In hemoglobins and myoglobins, the NO must first diffuse into the heme pocket and take a position in cavity circumscribed by Val(E11), Leu(B10), Phe(CD1), and Leu or Ile(G8) after which reaction with the bound oxygen occurs. Placement of large aromatic residues at these positions should inhibit this oxidative process and prevent NO consumption by oxyhemoglobin.
An effective extracellular hemoglobin blood substitute must bind oxygen cooperatively with moderately low affinity (P.sub.50 .gtoreq.20-30 mm Hg or 30 to 50 .mu.M free O.sub.2 measured at 37.degree. C.): where the P.sub.50 defined as the oxygen partial pressure at half saturation of hemoglobin) and must have large association and dissociation rate constants for oxygen binding to allow efficient uptake in the lungs and delivery in muscle capillaries. The rate and extent of oxygen delivery is proportional to the P.sub.50 of the extracellular hemoglobin or red cells present in muscle capillaries (Vandegriff, K. D., and Olson, J. S. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259: 12619-12627.; Lemon, D. et al., (1987) J. Appl. Physiol. 62: 798-806; Nair, P. K. et al., (1989) Microvascular Research 38: 269-285). Lowering oxygen affinity results in more efficient O.sub.2 transport and is limited only by the need to achieve 80-90% saturation in the alveolar capillaries. Unfortunately, almost all attempts to raise P.sub.50 by chemical modification, mutation, and allosteric effectors cause higher rates of autooxidation and subsequent hemin loss and denaturation. Brantley et al. (Brantley, R. E. Jr., et al., (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268: 6995-7010) have shown that there is strong inverse correlation between oxygen affinity and the rate of autooxidation, k.sub.ox, for 27 different recombinant myoglobins. Similar correlations have been noted both anecdotally and experimentally for tetrameric hemoglobins (Vandegriff, K. D. (1992) Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews 10: 403-453). This is a major stumbling block for engineering more efficient blood substitutes since stability is compromised by elevated P.sub.50 values.
The dominant mechanism for autooxidation in myoglobin, and quite likely hemoglobin, involves protonation of the Fe(II)--O.sub.2 complex and dismutation into Fe(III) and the neutral perhydroxyl radical HO.sub.2. The bimolecular reaction of molecular O.sub.2 with deoxymyoglobin containing weakly coordinated water only contributes to the observed rate when the unimolecular Fe(II)--O--O--H.sup.(+) dissociation process is slow, and then only when the O.sub.2 concentration approaches the P.sub.50. In native oxymyoglobin, the neutral side chain of His(E7) forms a hydrogen bond with the bound ligand. This interaction increases O.sub.2 affinity and, at the same time, decreases the rate of autooxidation by preventing net protonation of the Fe--O.sub.2 complex since the pK.sub.a for forming the imidazolate anion is .gtoreq.12.
Based on the physical-chemical mechanisms underlying spontaneous and NO induced autooxidation of the heme in the distal pocket and the binding of ligands at the heme group, the inventors have redesigned the active site in the region directly adjacent to the heme iron atom to moderate both the oxidation rate and ligand affinity. The present inventors have been able to develop strategies for selectively altering the specificity of recombinant heme proteins for the three physiologically important gases, O.sub.2, CO, and NO, and for decoupling the rate of oxidation of the iron atom from affinity for gaseous ligands. The present inventors have discovered that if the distal residue histidine at position E7 of either the alpha or the beta globin is replaced with certain other amino acids, the affinity of the resultant hemoglobin mutant for both NO and CO can be increased. Likewise, replacement of leucine at the B10 helical position of the alpha or beta globin can result in a hemoglobin that shows high affinity for NO without a concomittant increase in affinity for CO. In addition, the inventors have also discovered that there are mutations of the distal heme pocket that inhibit dramatically the reactions of NO and CO with hemoglobin. These mutations include replacements of Leu-B10, Val-E11, and His-E7, and various multiple combinations of these mutations, particularly double and triple combinations. Lastly, the present inventors have discovered that to protect against protonation by solvent water and subsequent oxidation of the iron, the spaces adjacent to the bound oxygen can be filled with large aromatic residues. These aromatic groups exclude water by their steric effects and partially stabilize the polar iron-oxygen complex by interactions between the phenyl ring electronic multipole and bound oxygen. The size (the free volume) of the distal pocket can be decreased by introducing these and other mutations, and this decrease in size of the distal pocket also excludes other exogenous oxidizing agents such as NO and H.sub.2 O.sub.2 from direct reaction with bound O.sub.2 (FIG. 1).
Genetic engineering techniques have allowed the expression of heterologous proteins in a number of biological expression systems, such as insect cells, plant cells, transgenic cells, yeast systems and bacterial systems. Because the sequences of alpha and beta globin of hemoglobin are known, and efficient expression criteria have been determined, it is possible that any suitable biological protein expression system can be utilized to produce large quantities of mutant recombinant hemoglobin. Indeed, hemoglobin has been expressed in a number of biological systems, including bacteria (Hoffman et al., WO 90/13645), yeast (De Angelo et al., WO 93/08831 and WO 91/16349; Hoffman et al., WO 90/13645) and transgenic mammals (Logan et al., WO 92/22646; Townes, T. M and McCune, S. L., WO 92/11283).
Mutants of hemoglobin are known and disclosed in PCT publication number WO88/09179, hereby incorporated by reference. Brief reviews of the effects of some distal pocket mutations on ligand binding to myoglobin and hemoglobin have been presented by Perutz (Perutz, M. F. (1989) Trends Biochem. Sci. 14: 42-44); Springer et al. (Springer, B. A., et al. (1994) Chem. Rev. 94: 699-714) and Mathews et al. (Mathews, A. J. et al., (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264: 16573-16583) and the differences between myoglobin and hemoglobin have been noted in these and other publications. Both the alpha and beta globin subunits have been sequenced (Hoffman and Nagai, U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,588, hereby incorporated by reference) and techniques for the mutation, expression and purification of the mutant recombinant hemoglobins have been described (Looker, D. et al. (1994) Expression of Recombinant Hemoglobin in Escherichia coli In: Methods in Enzymology 231: 364-374, S. O. Colowick, ed.; Academic Press, Inc.; Hoffman et al., WO 93/13645; Milne et al., co-pending U.S. application, Ser. No. 08/339,304, filed Nov. 14, 1994).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing mutations in or near the heme pocket of the hemoglobin molecule. More particularly, this invention relates to mutant recombinant hemoglobins that have altered geometry or polarity around the distal portion of the heme pocket.
Further, the present invention relates to mutant recombinant hemoglobin molecules containing heme pocket mutations wherein the mutations result in a mutant recombinant hemoglobin having autooxidation rates lower than autooxidation rates measured for naturally occurring purified human hemoglobin under comparable conditions. Representative examples of mutations that result in such reduced autooxidation rate hemoglobin mutants include:
Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe
Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe
both His-E7.fwdarw.Gln and Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe
both His-E7.fwdarw.Gln and Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe
His-E7.fwdarw.Gln, Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe and Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe
and
His-E7.fwdarw.Phe, Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe and Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe.
The present invention also relates to mutant recombinant hemoglobin molecules containing heme pocket mutations wherein the mutations result in a mutant recombinant hemoglobin having an affinity for gaseous ligands greater than or less than purified natural human hemoglobin measured under the same conditions. Preferably, the gaseous ligands bind to the hemoglobin at the heme pocket of the hemoglobin molecule and more preferably, the gaseous ligands are selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide and nitric oxide, most preferably the gaseous ligand is nitric oxide. The mutant recombinant hemoglobin molecules of the present invention preferably contain mutations that result in alteration of the amino acid composition of distal pocket so that the distal pocket amino acid composition no longer matches the amino acid composition of human hemoglobin. Representative examples of mutations that result in mutant recombinant hemoglobins with altered affinity for gaseous ligands include the following site specific mutations:
Leu-B10.fwdarw.Trp
Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe
Leu-B10.fwdarw.Val
Leu-B10.fwdarw.Ile
Leu-B10.fwdarw.Ala
His-E7.fwdarw.Leu
His-E7.fwdarw.Trp
and
Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe
Val-E11.fwdarw.Trp
It is also within the scope of this invention to provide methods for the preparation of mutant recombinant hemoglobins with altered affinities and/or oxidation properties by appropriate mutation of the alpha and/or beta globin gene, expression and purification of the mutant recombinant hemoglobin. Methods for selecting candidate mutations and evaluating their ligand affinities are described herein. The invention is further directed to mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing the above described mutations in the alpha subunit, the beta subunit, or both the alpha and beta subunits and having altered autooxidation or affinity for gaseous ligands, preferably having altered affinity for nitric oxide or carbon monoxide. The invention further relates to DNA's or vectors containing DNA sequences coding for the mutant recombinant hemoglobins of the invention.
The invention further relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing the mutant recombinant hemoglobins of the invention.
Specific embodiments of the present invention include hemoglobins with both unusually high and low affinities for carbon monoxide or nitric oxide. In another embodiment of the invention, hemoglobins are provided which are recombinant oxyhemoglobins with reduced affinity for NO and decreased NO and H.sub.2 O.sub.2 mediated oxidation relative to naturally occurring human hemoglobins.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof and from the claims.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are now described. Unless mentioned otherwise, the techniques employed or contemplated herein are standard methodologies well known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
For the purposes of this invention, "naturally occurring human hemoglobin", "native hemoglobin" or "conventional hemoglobin" refer to the species of hemoglobin A whose alpha and beta chains amino acid sequences are the same as the amino acid sequences given in SEQ ID.:1: and SEQ ID.:2: respectively. Note that it is conventional to identify the helical segments of the globin subunits by letters, for example, the proximal histidine of the alpha chain or the beta chain is termed F8 (residue 8 of helix F). The non-helical segments are identified by letter pairs, indicating which helical segments they connect, for example, non-helical segment BC connects helix B and helix C. The helical notation and corresponding amino acids for alpha and beta globin are shown in Table 1.
"Recombinant hemoglobin" means hemoglobin, whether native or mutant, comprising alpha-like globin proteins and/or beta-like globin proteins, at least one of which is obtained by expression of a globin gene carried by a recombinant DNA molecule in a cell other than the cell in which that hemoglobin gene and/or hemoglobin protein is naturally found, i.e., the hemoglobin gene is heterologous to the host in which it is expressed. Therefore, the expression of any human hemoglobin gene in any cell other than a human red blood cell would be considered to be a recombinant hemoglobin. Moreover, the expression of a vertebrate hemoglobin in any species of invertebrate, or any vertebrate other than the vertebrate where the hemoglobin to be expressed is naturally occurring, would be considered a recombinant hemoglobin. The expression of any naturally occurring hemoglobin mutant in any species other than the species in which it is naturally occurring, would be considered a recombinant hemoglobin. The expression of any non-naturally occurring mutant hemoglobin in any species would be considered a recombinant hemoglobin. The expression of a naturally occurring mutant hemoglobin in any individual organism, regardless of species, other than the individual organism in which said mutant is naturally expressed would be considered a recombinant hemoglobin.
An "alpha-like globin" (or domains thereof) has at least about 75% sequence identity with native human alpha globin. However, a polypeptide of lesser sequence identity may still be considered substantially homologous with alpha globin, and thus may be an alpha-like globin, if it has a greater sequence identity than would be expected from chance and also has the characteristic higher structure of alpha globin and similar biological activity. Likewise, a "beta-like globin" (or domains thereof) has at least about 75% sequence identity with native human beta globin. However, a polypeptide of lesser sequence identity may still be considered substantially homologous with beta globin, and thus may be a beta-like globin, if it has a greater sequence identity than would be expected from chance and also has the characteristic higher structure of beta globin and similar biological activity.
"Liganded hemoglobin" means hemoglobin to which a ligand is bound at the heme groups. Common preferred ligands include, but are not limited to O.sub.2, CO, NO and the like.
"Oxyhemoglobin" means hemoglobin in which each of the functional oxygen binding sites has bound to it an oxygen molecule.
"Deoxyhemoglobin" or "unliganded hemoglobin" means any hemoglobin to which no ligand is bound to the alpha globin, the beta globin, and/or any functional heme prosthetic group.
"Methemoglobin" or "oxidized hemoglobin" means any hemoglobin in which the iron has been oxidized to the ferric state.
"R-state hemoglobin" is the high affinity state of hemoglobin and is the dominant form of hemoglobin when a ligand is bound at the heme pockets. The ligand is typically oxygen, thus this state is known as the "oxy" or "R" (for relaxed) state. In the R state, intersubunit distances are increased relative to the distances in T-state hemoglobin.
"T-state hemoglobin" is the low affinity state of hemoglobin and is the dominant form of hemoglobin when it is deoxygenated ("deoxy", or "T" for "tense").
"Heme pocket" means that pocket formed around the heme of each globin subunit described by the residues and is meant to include residues within about 6 .ANG. of the heme pocket.
"Distal heme pocket" means that portion of the heme pocket above the plane of the heme that contains the free coordination site of the iron where ligand molecules can combine reversibly with the iron atom and which contains such residues as histidine E7 and valine E11. Likewise, the proximal side of the heme pocket is described by those residues below the plane of the heme and contains such residues as the proximal histidine at position F8.
"Oxidation" means the oxidation of the iron in the heme of any or all of the subunits making up the hemoglobin tetramer from the ferrous (Fe.sup.+2) to the ferric form (Fe.sup.+3). Autooxidation occurs spontaneously without the addition of exogenous oxidants, however oxidation can be induced by the presence of exogenous oxidizing agents, most notably NO and hydrogen peroxide.
"Mutations" are substitutions, deletions or additions of one or more amino acids to the amino acid sequence that constitutes naturally occurring human hemoglobin.
"Affinity" is the overall binding of a ligand to hemoglobin, and is described by the thermodynamic equilibrium constant, Keq. Affinity is the ratio of the ligand association rate and the hemoglobin--ligand dissociation rate constants, and thus changes in either rate constants can lead to changes in ligand affinity.
"Altered affinity" means the affinity of a recombinant hemoglobin for a gaseous ligand that is at least 10% different from the affinity of naturally occurring human hemoglobin for that same gaseous ligand under the same measurement conditions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows the proposed mechanism for the reaction of NO with oxyhemoglobin.
FIG. 2 shows schematic diagrams of several key distal pocket mutations which are part of the invention described in this application.
FIG. 2A shows the Leu(B10) to Phe substitution.
FIG. 2B shows the His(E7) to Gln mutation
FIG. 2C shows the double mutant containing both the Leu(B10) to Phe substitution and the His(E7) to Gln mutation, which provides optimum oxygen binding and low autooxidation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing mutations around the heme pocket of one or more of the globin subunits. Heme is the prosthetic group of hemoglobin, myoglobin, catalase, peroxidase, and cytochrome b. The heme is inserted in a cleft between the E and F helices. The heme iron is linked covalently to the imidazole nitrogen of the "proximal" F8 histidine. The distal E7 histidine and E11 valine appear to guard the access of oxygen to the heme pocket. The residues of the heme pocket include those residues that are on a nearest atom-to-nearest atom basis within 6 angstroms of the heme moiety, more preferable within 4 angstroms of the heme moiety (Fermi, et al. (1984) J. Mol. Biol. 175: 159-174). These residues include for alpha globins:
______________________________________First shell Second Shell______________________________________Distal residues:B10 Leu B13 MetCE1 Phe CE3 HisE7 His CE4 PheE11 Val E10 LysG8 Leu E14 Ala G12 LeuProximal residues:F8 His C7 Tyr F4 Leu F7 Leu FG3 Leu FG5 Val G4 Asn G5 Phe H15 Val H19 Leuand for beta globin:Distal residues:B10 Leu B13 LeuCD1 Phe CD3 SerE7 His CD4 PheE11 Val E10 LysG8 Leu E14 Ma G12 LeuProximal residues:F8 His C7 Phe F4 Leu F7 Leu FG3 Leu FG5 Val G4 Asn G5 Phe G12 Leu H15 Val H19 Leu______________________________________
Note that first shell residues are those residues in close or direct contact with the heme iron atom and/or the bound ligand, while second shell residues are those amino acids which are not in direct contact with the heme or the bound ligand but that interact directly with first shell residues. The invention also relates to mutant hemoglobins containing mutations in any of the residues noted above, as well as double, triple and higher multiple mutations.
As noted above, the protein and DNA sequences of naturally occurring human hemoglobin are known. The present inventors have recognized and identified the mechanism by which not only ligand binding but also susceptibility to oxidation can be modulated by alteration of the residues at the heme pocket. The inventors have particularly identified the regions of the hemoglobin molecule that lead to reduced autooxidation and/or altered ligand binding properties. Moreover, the present inventors have discovered that certain mutations in the region of the heme pocket of hemoglobin result in selective increases or decreases in the affinity of one ligand without a concomittant change in the affinity of other ligands. By the same token, the present inventors have discovered mutations in the same region of the heme that result in hemoglobins that are less susceptible to autooxidation but that nonetheless retain oxygen ligand binding properties that would allow their use as oxygen carriers.
Hemoglobin mutants with high affinities for carbon monoxide and nitric oxide can be used to bind excess nitric oxide or carbon monoxide in vivo for example, in cases of carbon monoxide poisoning or in disease states characterized by excess nitric oxide. In addition, such high affinity hemoglobin mutants can be used to extract nitric oxide or carbon monoxide from cell culture or solution, or can be used to measure the rate of dissociation of these gaseous ligands from other protein molecules. Hemoglobins with low affinities for nitric oxide can be used as blood substitutes with reduced side effects due to reduced binding of nitric oxide. Mutant hemoglobins with low or no affinity for ligands can be used as inert drug delivery vehicles or in non-oxygen delivery applications of hemoglobin, such as therapeutics to enhance hematopoiesis. Hemoglobin mutants that are less susceptible to autooxidation can be used in all applications where hemoglobin can be used, for example as blood substitutes, in hemoaugmentation, and for the treatment of anemias. These more stable hemoglobin mutants can also be used as stable reagents to calibrate hemoglobin measurement instrumentation in clinical applications.
Val-E11 and His-E7 are highly conserved residues which are in Van der Waals contact with the oxygen molecule liganded to the heme iron atoms of hemoglobin; by replacing these residues the intrinsic oxygen affinity of hemoglobin can be altered. Val-E11 has been replaced with Ile, Leu, Ala, Phe and Met The oxygen affinity of the Ala-E11 beta mutant was higher than that of naturally occurring human hemoglobin; that of the Ile-E11 beta mutant was lower. X-ray crystallographic study of the latter mutant showed that the delta-methyl group of the Ile side chain must be pushed to one side if oxygen is to bind to the iron atom. Another alteration that we have made is beta His(E7).fwdarw.Phe. This mutant has an extraordinarily low oxygen affinity.
In general, mutations around the heme-O.sub.2 binding site that interfere with O.sub.2 binding are also desirable because of their low-affinity O.sub.2 binding nature. Replacing residues that are adjacent to the face of heme that binds O.sub.2 can result in lower affinity. A naturally occurring mutant Hemoglobin Bristol (beta(E11) Val.fwdarw.Asp) has been described with low affinity. Other mutants that are desirable are the beta ile(E11) described herein, beta Asp(E11) and beta Glu(E11). Other residues are also in the vicinity of the O.sub.2 binding site. Histidine E7 (beta His.sup.63) can be replaced with Phe, which results in very low O.sub.2 affinity. The other likely residue for mutation is beta Phe(CD1); replacement with Trp is likely to result in low O.sub.2 affinity. The corresponding residues of the alpha chain may be altered instead of, or in addition to, these preferred mutations of the beta chain.
In order to increase CO affinity, His-E7 is replaced with Leu causing an apolar ligand binding site and the loss of internal water in the unliganded form. As a result, CO does not have to displace water and binds extremely tightly with an affinity that can be 30 times greater than that for His-E7 containing protein. This replacement also increases NO affinity for the same reason. However, O.sub.2 affinity is greatly reduced due to the lack of stabilizing hydrogen bonding interactions. Thus, the Leu-E7 mutation can be used to engineer a hemoglobin with an extremely high affinity for CO. The resultant protein can be used to "soak" up CO from the red cells of patients with carbon monoxide poisoning and to measure the amounts of this gas generated by heme oxygenase in cell suspensions or capillaries.
Selective increases in NO and O.sub.2 affinity can be achieved by replacing Leu-B10 with Phe, which displaces distal pocket water due its larger size and at the same time stabilizes both bound NO and O.sub.2 by favorable electrostatic interactions with the positive edge of the phenyl ring (FIG. 5A). The resultant mutant protein shows a 6-fold increase in selectivity of NO over CO and a 10-fold selectivity of O.sub.2 over CO. In addition, the spontaneous and chemically induced oxidations of this mutant are inhibited due to the markedly decreased size of the ligand binding pocket. This mutation in hemoglobin can be used to measure NO levels in plasma and to elevate blood pressure by removing NO generated by NO synthase in endothelial cells.
The Leu-B10 to Trp mutation inhibits markedly the binding of all three ligands. Not only are the affinities decreased 10 to 100-fold but the rates of binding are decreased to an even greater extent. The large indole side chain prevents access to the iron atom. This effect can be made even greater by incorporating large residues at the E11 position. The Trp-B10 single and double mutants interact poorly with all gases and become, in effect, inert hemoglobins and myoglobins. This allows their use as controls for measuring the effects of the proteins themselves and as vehicles for the transport of other drugs in the circulatory system without interfering with the metabolism of either NO or CO.
It has therefore been shown that the affinity of hemoglobin for gaseous ligands, particularly nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and oxygen can be altered at will by replacing residues near the ligand binding site. By adjusting ligand affinity in this way the efficiency of gas transport or gas uptake and release can be optimized to suit a specific application of the mutant recombinant hemoglobin molecule in the absence of allosteric effectors such as 2,3-DPG.
Mutations of beta residues 28 (B10), 42 (CD1), 45 (CD4), 63 (E7), 67 (E11) and 70 (E14) are of particular interest. Other beta residues of interest include 31 (B13), 44 (CD3), 66 (E10), 106 (G8) and 110 (G12). Alpha residues of interest include 29 (B10), 32(B13), 43 (CE1), 45 (CE3), 46 (CE4), 58 (E7), 61 (E10), 62 (E11), 101 (G8) and 105 (G12).
The amino acids in the immediate vicinity of bound O.sub.2 can be mutated to residues which inhibit both spontaneous and chemically induced oxidation of the iron atom and at the same time raise the partial pressure of oxygen required to achieve 50% saturation (the P.sub.50 value). In oxyhemoglobin a chemical oxidant (for example, NO) usually first diffuses into the heme pocket and take a position in the cavity circumscribed by Val(E11), Leu(B10), Phe(CD1), and Leu or Ile(G8) after which reaction with the bound oxygen occurs. Placement of large aromatic residues at these positions should inhibit this oxidative process and thus prevents NO consumption by oxyhemoglobin. The mutations can be in either the .alpha. and .beta. chains of recombinant hemoglobin or both the .alpha. and .beta. chains and include but are not limited to: (1) Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe or Trp; (2) Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe or Trp; (3) Leu or Met (B13).fwdarw.Phe or Trp; (4) Leu (G8).fwdarw.Phe or Trp; (5) His-E7.fwdarw.Gln/Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe; (6) His-E7.fwdarw.Gln/Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe; (7) His-E7.fwdarw.Gln/Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe/Val-E 11.fwdarw.Phe; and (8) His-E7.fwdarw.Phe/Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe/Val-E11.fwdarw.Phe and other multiple mutations at the primary and secondary shells of the distal pocket.
Any of the mutations of the amino acid in the hemoglobin sequence described herein can be accomplished by a number of methods that are known in the art. Mutation can occur at either the amino acid level by chemical modification of an amino acid or at the codon level by alteration of the nucleotide sequence that codes for a given amino acid. Substitution of an amino acid at any given position in a protein can be achieved by altering the codon that codes for that amino acid. This can be accomplished by site directed mutagenesis using: (1) the Amersham technique (Amersham mutagenesis kit, Amersham, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio) based on the methods of Taylor et al., Nucl. Acids Res. (1985) 13: 8749-8764; Taylor et al., (1985) Nucl. Acids Res. 13: 8764-8785; Nakamaye and Eckstein, (1986) Nucl. Acids Res. 14: 9679-9698; and Dente et al., in DNA Cloning, Glover, Ed., IRL Press (1985) pages 791-802, (2) the Promega kit (Promega Inc., Madison, Wis.) or (3) the Biorad kit (Biorad Inc., Richmond, Calif.), based on the methods of Kunkel, (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82: 488; Kunkel et al., (1987) Meth. Enzymol. 154: 367; Kunkel, U.S Pat. No. 4,873,192. It can also be accomplished by other commercially available or non-commercial means which incorporate the technique of site-directed mutagenesis (using mutant oligonucleotides to achieve mutagenesis).
Site directed mutagenesis can also be accomplished using PCR based mutagenesis such as that described in Zhengbin et al., pages 205-207 in PCR Methods and Applications, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York (1992); Jones and Howard, (1990) BioTechniques 8(2): 178; Jones and Howard, (1991) BioTechniques 10: 62-66.
Site directed mutagenesis can also be accomplished using cassette mutagenesis with techniques that are known to those of skill in the art.
Suitable pharmaceutical compositions for the mutant recombinant hemoglobins of the invention are described in application Milne, et al., Ser. No. 08/339,304, filed Nov. 14, 1995, now abandoned, and Caspari et al., Method for Facilitating the Use of Autologous Blood to Replace Lost Blood, filed Jan 13, 1995.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments reveal the general nature of the invention so that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference for their relevant teachings.
EXAMPLES
The following examples are provided by way of describing specific embodiments of the present invention without intending to limit the scope of the invention in any way.
Example 1
Production of Mutant Recombinant Hemoglobins
A. Construction of a Bacterial System for the Production of Mutant Recombinant Hemoglobins
Mutant recombinant hemoglobins were produced by fermentation of the E. coli strain 753 (described in co-pending application Ser. No. 08/188,374, filed Jan. 27, 1994) carrying either the plasmid pSGE0.0E4 or pSGE1.1E4. Plasmid pSGE0.0E4 codes for wild type recombinant human hemoglobin while pSGE1.1E4 codes for recombinant hemoglobin genetically linked by a glycine linker between the C terminus of a first alpha chain and the N terminus of a second alpha chain. Construction of the plasmids are described below and in PCT/US90/02654 and application Hoffman et al., U.S. Ser. No. 07/789,179 filed Nov. 8, 1991 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,727.
The .alpha.L29F (.alpha.LeuB10.fwdarw.Phe) mutation was constructed using oligonucleotide site-directed mutagenesis in the M13 vector phagescript according to the procedure described by Zoller and Smith (Zoller, M. J. and Smith, M. (1987) Meth. Enz. 100: 468-500) Mutants were screened by their ability to differentially hybridize to the radiolabelled mutagenic oligonucleotide at high temperature and low salt conditions. Once the mutants were identified, mutants were then sequenced to confirm the presence of the mutation. The mutated alpha gene was then subcloned back into pSGE0.0E4. If the mutant alpha gene was placed into pSGE1.1E4, three subcloning steps were required:
1) Transfer of the mutant alpha gene from phagescript as an Eag1-Pst1 fragment into the Eag 1-Pst1 digested desval alpha pGem vector. This step provided the mutant alpha gene with the correct 5' terminus.
2) A mutant dialpha gene with the mutations in the 3' alpha gene was constructed by inserting the Eag1 DNA fragment from dialpha pGem into the Eag1 site of the relevant mutant desval alpha pGem plasmid.
3)Finally each of the mutant dialpha genes were cloned into the pSGE1.1E4 expression vector as a Sma1-Pst1 fragment.
Transformations into DH5.alpha. Hoffman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,727 issued Aug. 13, 1996), now U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,721 at each step in the subcloning procedure were carried out according to standard protocols (Maniatis et al. (1982) Molecular Cloning Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.). The presence of the relevant mutation in the correct a gene was confirmed by sequencing at each stage in the subcloning procedure.
The .beta.L28F (.beta.Leu B10.fwdarw.Phe) mutation was made by cassette mutagenesis of the wild type .beta. gene. In this particular case, complementary oligonucleotides which spanned the region between the Sac II and Bgl II sites of the .beta. gene were synthesized. These oligonucleotides incorporated the .beta.L28F mutation. The mutagenesis was carried out in the pGEM1/wild type .beta. plasmid and the mutant .beta. gene was then subcloned back into the pSGE0.0E4 vector as a Pst I-Bgl II fragment.
Mutant hemoglobins containing the Leu B10.fwdarw.Phe mutation in both the alpha and beta chains were constructed by replacing the wild type beta with the mutant beta gene into the subclone that already contained the alpha mutation.
B. Fermentations
Fermentor Inoculum (500 mL Broth in 2 L Shake Flasks)
To prepare the fermentor inoculum, seed stock was thawed. Seed stock (100 ml) was grown up in 500 ml of DM1 in an Erlenmeyer flask at 37.degree. C. in s 1 inch rotary shaker (275 to 300 rpm) for 8 to 10 hours. DM1 media is:
4.1 g/L KH.sub.2 PO.sub.4
7.0 g/L K.sub.2 HPO.sub.4
2.0 g/L (NH.sub.4).sub.2 SO.sub.4
1.0 g/L Na.sub.3 Citrate. 2H.sub.2 O
153 mg/L MgSO.sub.4, .7H.sub.2 O
up to 2.30 g/L of L-proline,
2.5 mL/L of a trace metal solution containing:
32.5 .mu.g/ml FeCl.sub.3.6H.sub.2 O
1.56 .mu.g/ml ZnCl.sub.2
2.4 .mu.g/ml CoCl.sub.2.6H.sub.2 O, 2.4 .mu.g/ml Na.sub.2 MoO.sub.4
2H.sub.2 O,
1.22 mg/mL CaCl.sub.2.2H.sub.2 O,
1.54 .mu.g/ml Cu(II)SO.sub.4.5H.sub.2 O,
0.6 .mu.g/ml H.sub.3 BO.sub.3,
120 .mu.l/ml HCl dissolved in purified water
After sterilization of the above solution, the following components were added to achieve the final concentrations indicated:
20 mL/L 10% yeast extract/L
4.0 mL 60% glucose solution/L
0.06 mg/L of sterile-filtered 125 mg/mL thiamine HCl dissolved in purified water
0.1 mg/L of tetracycline in an .about.50% ethanol solution
Fermentor (1 5 L Volume)
Two flasks (approximately 900 mls total volume) of fermentor inoculum was then asceptically transferred to a 15-liter BioLaffite fermentor containing approximately 6.5 liters of a solution containing:
1.83 g/L KH.sub.2 PO.sub.4
3.27 g/L K.sub.2 HPO.sub.4
1.83 g/L (NH.sub.4).sub.2 SO.sub.4
After sterilization of the above solution, the following components were added to achieve the final concentrations indicated:
1.36 g/L Trisodium Citrate
1.36 g/L MgSO.sub.4.7H.sub.2 O
2.87 g/L proline
3.05 g/L of the Trace Metal solution described above
0.1 mg/L tetracycline in 50% ethanol solution,
0.06 mg/L thiamine HCl in purified water, sterile filtered solution
200 g/L of 70% glucose
50+10 g/L of 30% NH.sub.4 OH
2 ml PPG 2000
The fermentor was run at 30.+-.1.degree. C., pH 6.8, controlling dissolved oxygen at 20% and glucose between 0-6 g/L. At OD 30.+-.2, induction was achieved by adding approximately 5.2 mL of 100 mM isopropyl thiogalactoside (IPTG) and 6 mL of 50 mg/mL hemin. At 3 hours post induction, 8.0 mL of 50 mg/mL hemin was added and at 6 hours post induction, 10 mL of 50 mg/mL hemin was added. Harvest and further purification occurs at 10 hours post induction. Other suitable fermentation conditions are described in Looker, D. et al., (1994) Meth. Enzymol. 231: 364-374.
C. Purification
Purification of expressed protein material was performed exactly as described by Looker, D. et al., (1994) Meth. Enzymol. 231: 364-374.
Example 2
Determination of Autooxidation Rates, Rate Constants and Ligand Affinities
Association and dissociation rates for O.sub.2 and CO binding to the mutants were determined using conventional laser flash photolysis and stopped-flow rapid mixing techniques as described in detail by Rohlfs et al. (Rohlfs, R. J. et al., (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265: 3168-3176). NO association rate constants were measured by photolyzing the NO-hemoglobin complexes at 25.degree. C., pH 7.4 with an intense, 300 ns dye laser pulse at 578 nm (Phase-R 2100B) and following the time course for bimolecular recombination on appropriate time scales at 436 nm (Mathews, A. J. and Olson, J. S. (1994) Meth. Enzymol. 232: 363-386). NO dissociation reactions were carried out essentially as described by Moore and Gibson (Moore, E. G. and Gibson, Q. H. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251: 2788-2794). The mutant recombinant hemoglobin samples were prepared for determination of the NO dissociation rates by exposure of deoxygenated hemoglobin samples to NO followed by removal of excess NO by flushing the sample with nitrogen gas or by passage down a small Sephadex G-25 column equilibrated with CO-saturated sample buffer. NO dissociation was monitored in a Shimadzu UV-2101 spectrophotometer or a Hewlett-Packard HP8452 diode array spectrophotomer equipped with a temperature controlled multi-cell positioner. A concentrated, dithionite-free sample of NO-hemoglobin was injected into a sealed, 1 cm pathlength cuvette containing buffer, a bubble of pure CO, and a large excess of sodium dithionite to consume nitric oxide rapidly. The formation of the CO complex was monitored at 420-423 nm and, under these conditions, was limited by the rate of NO dissociation from the protein. The hemoglobin concentrations were 20-100 uM for the association experiments and 2-10 uM for the dissociation experiments. The buffer conditions were 0.1M potassium phosphate, pH 7.0, 20.degree. C. or 50 mM HEPES, 100 mM NaCl, pH 7.4, 25.degree. C.
Equilibrium association constants for O.sub.2, CO, and NO binding to R-state hemoglobin were computed as the ratios of the overall rate constants. Autooxidation rates for hemoglobin were measured using the techniques described by Brantley et al. (Brantley, R. E., et al. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268: 6995-7010).
Example 3
Mutant Hemoglobins with Reduced Affinity for Nitric Oxide
Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe mutations in either the alpha subunit or both the alpha and beta subunits were prepared as described in Example 1. Nitric oxide affinity was measured as described in Example 2. Only one NO association rate was observed for the photolysis of .alpha.Leu29Phe containing hemoglobins, and this corresponded to the rate observed for isolated .alpha.Leu29Phe subunits. This result suggests a large increase in the apparent quantum yield for these subunits relative to rHb0.0 and .beta.Leu28Phe subunits. Consequently, beta subunit rate constants could not be obtained for any hemoglobin containing .alpha.Leu29Phe subunits.
The Leu B10Phe mutation caused a large 9.5-fold decrease in the alpha subunit NO association rate, but only 1.5-fold decrease in the beta subunit NO association rate, which is not a significant change in light of variation of the data (Table 2). The larger change in the alpha subunit rate due to the Leu B10Phe mutation is a reflection of the intrinsically more sterically hindered nature of the alpha subunit distal heme pocket relative to that in beta subunits. The Leu B10 Phe mutation in alpha subunits caused only a small 2.6-fold increase in the rate of NO dissociation relative to rHb0.0 alpha subunits. The rate of NO dissociation from 0.0 beta subunits was not determined, but relative to human beta subunits, the rate of NO dissociation from .beta.Leu28Phe subunits was increased 11.1-fold (using the average of two determinations for .beta.Leu28Phe subunits). In terms of the association equilibrium constants, the LeuB10Phe mutation causes a 14-fold decrease in alpha subunit NO affinity, and a 4-fold decrease in beta subunit NO affinity with respect to the affinities observed for R-state native hemoglobin (Table 3). The net consequence of these mutations in hemoglobin [(.alpha.0.0)(.beta.Leu28Phe)].sub.2 is a significant decrease in NO affinity relative to that of human hemoglobin A.
A protocol similar to Example 1 was followed to prepare a mutant recombinant beta subunit except that the mutant codon coded for Trp rather than the wild type Leu. Nitric oxide affinity in these mutant beta subunits was decreased further when Leu-B1O was replaced with the even large Trp residue (Table 2). An even larger decrease in reactivity occurs for the same Trp mutation in alpha subunits. A combination of Ile-E11 and Phe or Trp-B10 mutations markedly inhibits the binding of all three gases by eliminating any available space for bound ligands.
Example 4
Mutant Hemoglobins with Enhanced Affinity for Nitric Oxide
Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing His-E7.fwdarw.Leu or His-E7.fwdarw.Phe mutations in either the alpha globin, the beta globin or both the alpha and beta globin are constructed as described in Example 1. Nitric oxide affinity is measured as described in Example 2. Replacing His-E7 with Leu or Phe causes large increases in NO affinity because water is already displaced from the distal pocket in the deoxy alpha and beta subunits. The Val-E11 to Leu mutation sterically displaces distal pocket water molecules and can also enhance NO binding. Combinations of these mutations, particularly the ValE11.fwdarw.Phe/His-E7.fwdarw.Leu double mutant produce hemoglobin subunits and hemoglobin tetramers with even higher NO affinities.
Example 5
Mutant Hemoglobins with Reduced Affinity for Carbon Monoxide
Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing Leu-B10.fwdarw.Phe mutations in either the alpha subunit or both the alpha and beta subunits were prepared as described in Example 1. Carbon monoxide affinity was measured as described in Example 2. The Leu-B10 to Phe mutation caused marked decreases in CO affinity 40- and 10-fold in the alpha and beta subunits, respectively (Table 3). Similar reductions in CO affinity were observed for the Leu-B10 to Trp mutation. Curiously, the Leu-B10 to Ile mutation had no effect in alpha subunits but decreased the affinity of beta subunits .about.10-fold (Table 3). Mutations at the CD3 site in beta globin had little effect on CO affinity. A variety of other Val-E11 substitutions reduce CO affinity including Phe-E11, Asn-E11, Gln-E11, and Trp-E11. Replacement of Phe-CD1 in beta subunits and Phe-CE1 in alpha subunits, particularly with Trp reduce CO affinity significantly. The largest decreases in CO affinity occur for Phe-B10/Ile-E11 and Phe-B10/Asn-E11 double mutants.
Example 6
Mutant Hemoglobins with Enhanced Affinity for Carbon Monoxide
Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing His-E7.fwdarw.Leu or Phe and/or Val-E11.fwdarw.Leu in either the alpha globin, the beta globin or both the alpha and beta globin are prepared as described in Example 1. Carbon monoxide affinity is measured as described in Example 2. The affinity of hemoglobin subunits for CO is enhanced by excluding distal pocket water without enhancing steric hindrance in the vicinity of the iron atom. Large increases occur when His-E7 is replaced with Leu or Phe, particularly in alpha subunits. The largest increases occur when the E7 and E11 residues are both leucines.
Example 7
Mutant Hemoglobins with Reduced Autooxidation and Oxidation by NO
Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing Leu-B 10.fwdarw.Phe mutations in either the alpha subunit or both the alpha and beta subunits are prepared as described in Example 1. Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing the mutations described below are prepared in a fashion analogous to Example 1, and autooxidation rate measurements are performed as described in Example 2. Autooxidation and NO induced oxidation rates are reduced by excluding solvents or other oxidizing or protonating agents from the distal pocket and increasing the apolar character of the distal pocket (FIG. 1). This is achieved by placing large aromatic residues at the B10, E11, and the B13, G8, and G12 positions in the back of the distal pocket. Phe-B10 or Phe-E11 substitutions in both hemoglobin subunits maintain low rates of oxidation while changing oxygen affinity (FIG. 2A). The Phe-B10/Phe-E11 and Phe-B10/Leu-E11 combinations reduce oxidation rates even further. His E7.fwdarw.Gln weakens the hydrogen bond to the bound oxygen, lowering oxygen affinity but at the same time increasing the rate of oxidation (FIG. 2B). The His E7-.fwdarw.Gln/Leu B10.fwdarw.Phe double mutant shows optimum oxygen binding with low autooxidation and oxidation by NO (FIG. 2C).
TABLE 1______________________________________AMINO ACID SEQUENCE AND HELICAL RESIDUENOTATION FOR HUMAN HEMOGLOBIN AoHelix .alpha. Helix .beta.______________________________________NA1 1Val NA1 1 Val NA2 2 HisNA2 2 Leu NA3 3 LeuA1 3 Ser A1 4 ThrA2 4 Pro A2 5 ProA3 5 Ala A3 6 GluA4 6 Asp A4 7 GluA5 7 Lys A5 8 LysA6 8 Thr A6 9 SerA7 9 Asn A7 10 AlaA8 10 Val A8 11 ValA9 11 Lys A9 12 ThrA10 12 Ala A10 13 AlaA11 13 Ala A11 14 LeuA12 14 Trp A12 15 TrpA13 15 Gly A13 16 GlyA14 16 Lys A14 17 LysA15 17 Val A15 18 ValA16 18 GlyAB1 19 AlaB1 20 His B1 19 AsnB2 21 Ala B2 20 ValB3 22 Gly B3 21 AspB4 23 Glu B4 22 GluB5 24 Tyr B5 23 ValB6 25 Gly B6 24 GlyB7 26 Ala B7 25 GlyB8 27 Glu B8 26 GluB9 28 Ala B9 27 AlaB10 29 Leu B10 28 LeuB11 30 Glu B11 29 GlyB12 31 Arg B12 30 ArgB13 32 Met B13 31 LeuB14 33 Phe B14 32 LeuB15 34 Leu B15 33 ValB16 35 Ser B16 34 ValC1 36 Phe C1 35 TyrC2 37 Pro C2 36 ProC3 38 Thr C3 37 TrpC4 39 Thr C4 38 ThrC5 40 Lys C5 39 GlnC6 41 Thr C6 40 ArgC7 42 Tyr C7 41 PheCE1 43 Phe CD1 42 PheCE2 44 Pro CD2 43 GluCE3 45 His CD3 44 SerCE4 46 Phe CD4 45 Phe CD5 46 GlyCE5 47 Asp CD6 47 AspCE6 48 Leu CD7 48 LeuCE7 49 Ser CD8 49 SerCE8 50 His D1 50 Thr D2 51 Pro D3 52 Asp D4 53 Ala D5 54 Val D6 55 MetCE9 51 Gly D7 56 GlyE1 52 Ser E1 57 AsnE2 53 Ala E2 58 ProE3 54 Gln E3 59 LysE4 55 Val E4 60 ValE5 56 Lys E5 61 LysE6 57 Gly E6 62 AlaE7 58 His E7 63 HisE8 59 Gly E8 64 GlyE9 60 Lys E9 65 LysE10 61 Lys E10 66 LysE11 62 Val E11 67 ValE12 63 Ala E12 68 LeuE13 64 Asp E13 69 GlyE14 65 Ala E14 70 AlaE15 66 Leu E15 71 PheE16 67 Thr E16 72 SerE17 68 Asn E17 73 AspE18 69 Ala E18 74 GlyE19 70 Val E19 75 LeuE20 71 Ala E20 76 AlaEF1 72 His EF1 77 HisEF2 73 Val EF2 78 LeuEF3 74 Asp EF3 79 AspEF4 75 Asp EF4 80 AsnEF5 76 Met EF5 81 LeuEF6 77 Pro EF6 82 LysEF7 78 Asn EF7 83 GlyEF8 79 Ala EF8 84 ThrF1 80 Leu F1 85 PheF2 81 Ser F2 86 AlaF3 82 Ala F3 87 ThrF4 83 Leu F4 88 LeuF5 84 Ser F5 89 SerF6 85 Asp F6 90 GluF7 86 Leu F7 91 LeuF8 87 His F8 92 HisF9 88 Ala F9 93 CysFG1 89 His FG1 94 AspFG2 90 Lys FG2 95 LysFG3 91 Leu FG3 96 LeuFG4 92 Arg FG4 97 HisFG5 93 Val FG5 98 ValG1 94 Asp G1 99AspG2 95 Pro G2 100 ProG3 96 Val G3 101 GluG4 97 Asn G4 102 AsnG5 98 Phe G5 103 PheG6 99 Lys G6 104 ArgG7 100 Leu G7 105 LeuG8 101 Leu G8 106 LeuG9 102 Ser G9 107 GlyG10 103 His G10 108 AsnG11 104 Cys G11 109 ValG12 105 Leu G12 110 LeuG13 106 Leu G13 111 ValG14 107 Val G14 112 CysG15 108 Thr G15 113 ValG16 109 Leu G16 114 LeuG17 110 Ala G17 115 AlaG18 111 Ala G18 116 HisG19 112 His G19 117 HisGH1 113 Leu GH1 118 PheGH2 114 Pro GH2 119 GlyGH3 115 Ala GH3 120 LysGH4 116 Glu GH4 121 GluGH5 117 Phe GH5 122 PheH1 118 Thr H1 123 ThrH2 119 Pro H2 124 ProH3 120 Ala H3 125 ProH4 121 Val H4 126 ValH5 122 His H5 127 GlnH6 123 Ala H6 128 AlaH7 124 Ser H7 129 AlaH8 125 Leu H8 130 TyrH9 126 Asp H9 131 GlnH10 127 Lys H10 132 LysH11 128 Phe H11 133 ValH12 129 Leu H12 134 ValH13 130 Ala H13 135 AlaH14 131 Ser H14 136 GlyH15 132 Val H15 137 ValH16 133 Ser H16 138 AlaH17 134 Thr H17 139 AsnH18 135 Val H18 140 AlaH19 136 Leu H19 141 LeuH20 137 Thr H20 142 AlaH21 138 Ser H21 143 HisHC1 139 Lys HC1 144 LysHC2 140 Tyr HC2 145 TyrHC3 141 Arg HC3 146 His______________________________________
TABLE 2______________________________________Effects of distal pocket mutations on NO binding to isolated .alpha. and.beta.subunits and .alpha. and .beta.subunits within R-state recombinant hemoglobins at pH 7.4, 25.degree. C. k'.sub.NO k.sub.NO K.sub.NO .mu.M.sup.-1 s.sup.-1 s.sup.-1 nM.sup.-1Protein .alpha. .beta. .alpha. .beta. .alpha. .beta.______________________________________Native hemoglobin A 16 34 0.000028 0.000058 570 590Native isolated .alpha. 29subunitsNative isolated .beta. 110subunitsrHb 0.0 36 140.alpha. 0.0 isolated 34.beta. 0.0 isolated 120[(.alpha.Leu 29 -> Phe/ 3.6 N/A0.0 beta subunit)].sub.2[(0.0 alpha subunit/ 36 95 0.000037 0.00058 970 160.beta.Leu 28 -> Phe)].sub.2[(.alpha.Leu-29 -> Phe/ 3.9 N/A 0.000098 0.00071 40 130.beta.Leu 28 -> Phe)].sub.2.alpha.Leu 29 -> Phe, 5.5isolated.beta.Leu 28 ->Phe, 83isolated______________________________________
Note that the designation, for example, [(.alpha.Leu -29.fwdarw.Phe/.beta.Leu 28.fwdarw.Phe)].sub.2 indicates a tetrameric hemoglobin composed of 2 alpha/beta dimers containing the indicated mutations. This notation is used throughout the table.
TABLE 3______________________________________Effects of distal pocket mutations on O.sub.2 and CO binding to .alpha.and .beta.subunits within R-state recombinant hemoglobins at pH 7, 20.degree. C. k'.sub.O2 k.sub.O2 K.sub.O2 K.sub.COProtein .mu.M.sup.-1 s.sup.-1 s.sup.-1 .mu.M.sup.-1 .mu.M.sup.-1______________________________________.alpha. (0.0) 19 15 1.3 300.alpha. (Leu B10 -> Ile) 6.0 6.9 0.9 200.alpha. (Leu B10 -> Phe) 0.9.sup.a 0.3.sup.a 3.sup.a 7.sup.a.beta. (0.0) 74 47 1.6 400.beta. (Leu B10 -> Ile) 27 4.6 6 40.beta. (Leu B10 -> Phe) 8.sup.a 12.sup.a 0.7.sup.a 30.sup.a.beta. (Leu B10 -> Trp) 0.016 0.50 0.03 40.beta. (Ser CD3 -> His) 92 24 4 500.beta. (Ser CD3 -> Lys) 76 29 3 300.beta. (Ser CD3 -> Arg) 87 30 3 300______________________________________ k'.sub.O2 = is the association rate constant for the reaction of oxygen with Rstate hemoglobin k.sub.O2 = is the dissociation rate constant for the dissociation of oxygen from Rstate hemoglobin K.sub.O2 = is the association equilibrium constant (affinity) for the binding of oxygen to Rstate hemoglobin, calculated as the ratio of k'.sub.O2 to k.sub.O2. K.sub.CO = is the association equilibrium constant (affinity) for the binding of carbon monoxide to Rstate hemoglobin. 0.0 refers to hemoglobin expressed in the pSGE0.0E4 plasmid and is described above. .sup.a The conditions for the PheB10 mutant experiments were pH 7.4, 25.degree. C.
__________________________________________________________________________# SEQUENCE LISTING- (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:- (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 8- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 141 (B) TYPE: amino aci - #d (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #1:- Val Leu Ser Pro Ala Asp Lys Thr Asn Val Ly - #s Ala Ala Trp Gly#15- Lys Val Gly Ala His Ala Gly Glu Tyr Gly Al - #a Glu Ala Leu Glu# 305- Arg Met Phe Leu Ser Phe Pro Thr Thr Lys Th - #r Tyr Phe Pro His# 45- Phe Asp Leu Ser His Gly Ser Ala Gln Val Ly - #s Gly His Gly Lys# 60- Lys Val Ala Asp Ala Leu Thr Asn Ala Val Al - #a His Val Asp Asp# 75- Met Pro Asn Ala Leu Ser Ala Leu Ser Asp Le - #u His Ala His Lys# 90- Leu Arg Val Asp Pro Val Asn Phe Lys Leu Le - #u Ser His Cys Leu# 105- Leu Val Thr Leu Ala Ala His Leu Pro Ala Gl - #u Phe Thr Pro Ala# 120- Val His Ala Ser Leu Asp Lys Phe Leu Ala Se - #r Val Ser Thr Val# 135- Leu Thr Ser Lys Tyr Arg 140- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 146 (B) TYPE: amino aci - #d (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown t - #o applicant- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein- (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: no- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #2:- Val His Leu Thr Pro Glu Glu Lys Ser Ala Va - #l Thr Ala Leu Trp#15- Gly Lys Val Asn Val Asp Glu Val Gly Gly Gl - #u Ala Leu Gly Arg# 30- Leu Leu Val Val Tyr Pro Trp Thr Gln Arg Ph - #e Phe Glu Ser Phe# 45- Gly Asp Leu Ser Thr Pro Asp Ala Val Met Gl - #y Asn Pro Lys Val# 60- Lys Ala His Gly Lys Lys Val Leu Gly Ala Ph - #e Ser Asp Gly Leu# 75- Ala His Leu Asp Asn Leu Lys Gly Thr Phe Al - #a Thr Leu Ser Glu# 90- Leu His Cys Asp Lys Leu His Val Asp Pro Gl - #u Asn Phe Arg Leu# 105- Leu Gly Asn Val Leu Val Cys Val Leu Ala Hi - #s His Phe Gly Lys# 120- Glu Phe Thr Pro Pro Val Gln Ala Ala Tyr Gl - #n Lys Val Val Ala# 135- Gly Val Ala Asn Ala Leu Ala His Lys Tyr Hi - #s# 145- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 423 (B) TYPE: nucleic a - #cid (C) STRANDEDNESS: sing - #le (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown t - #o applicant- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Other nucleic aci - #d (A) DESCRIPTION: Human - # alpha globin sequence- (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: no- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #3:# 50CGACAA GACCAACGTC AAGGCCGCCT GGGGCAAGGT# 100GCGAGT ATGGTGCGGA GGCCCTGGAG AGGATGTTCC# 150ACCAAG ACCTACTTCC CGCACTTCGA CCTGAGCCAC# 200TAAGGG CCACGGCAAG AAGGTGGCCG ACGCGCTGAC# 250ACGTGG ACGACATGCC CAACGCGCTG TCCGCCCTGA# 300CACAAG CTTCGGGTGG ACCCGGTCAA CTTCAAGCTC# 350GCTGGT GACCCTGGCC GCCCACCTCC CCGCCGAGTT# 400ACGCCT CCCTGGACAA GTTCCTGGCT TCTGTGAGCA# 423ATAC CGT- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 438 (B) TYPE: nucleic a - #cid (C) STRANDEDNESS: sing - #le (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown t - #o applicant- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Other nucleic aci - #d (A) DESCRIPTION: Human - # beta globin sequence- (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: no- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #4:# 50TGAGGA GAAGTCTGCC GTTACTGCCC TGTGGGGCAA# 100AAGTTG GTGGTGAGGC CCTGGGCAGG CTGCTGGTGG# 150CAGAGG TTCTTTGAGT CCTTTGGGGA TCTGTCCACT# 200GGGCAA CCCTAAGGTG AAGGCTCATG GCAAGAAAGT# 250GTGATG GCCTGGCTCA CCTGGACAAC CTCAAGGGCA# 300AGTGAG CTGCACTGTG ACAAGCTGCA CGTGGATCCT# 350CCTGGG CAACGTGCTG GTCTGTGTGC TGGCCCATCA# 400TCACCC CACCAGTGCA GGCTGCCTAT CAGAAAGTGG# 438 TGCC CTGGCCCACA AGTATCAC- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 423 (B) TYPE: nucleic a - #cid (C) STRANDEDNESS: sing - #le (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown t - #o applicant- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Other nucleic aci - #d (A) DESCRIPTION: Human - # alpha globin sequence for expression#E. co in- (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: no- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #5:# 50CGATAA AACCAACGTT AAAGCTGCTT GGGGTAAAGT# 100GTGAAT ACGGTGCTGA AGCTCTCGAG CGTATGTTCC# 150ACCAAA ACCTACTTCC CGCACTTCGA CCTGTCTCAC# 200TAAAGG TCACGGTAAA AAAGTTGCTG ATGCTCTGAC# 250ACGTTG ATGATATGCC GAACGCGTTG TCTGCTCTGT# 300CACAAA CTGCGTGTTG ATCCGGTTAA CTTCAAACTG# 350GCTGGT TACTCTGGCT GCTCATCTGC CGGCTGAATT# 400ATGCGT CTCTGGATAA ATTCCTGGCT TCTGTTTCTA# 423ATAC CGT- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 438 (B) TYPE: nucleic a - #cid (C) STRANDEDNESS: sing - #le (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown t - #o applicant- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Other nucleic aci - #d (A) DESCRIPTION: Human - # beta globin sequence for expression#E. col in- (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: no- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #6:# 50GGAAGA AAAATCCGCG GTTACTGCTC TGTGGGGTAA# 100AAGTTG GTGGTGAAGC TCTGGGACGT CTGCTGGTTG# 150CAGCGT TTCTTTGAAT CTTTCGGAGA TCTGTCTACC# 200GGGTAA CCCGAAAGTT AAAGCCCATG GTAAAAAAGT# 250CTGACG GTCTGGCTCA CCTGGACAAC CTGAAAGGTA# 300TCTGAG CTCCACTGCG ACAAACTGCA CGTTGACCCG# 350GCTGGG TAAAGTACTA GTTTGCGTTC TGGCTCACCA# 400TCACTC CGCCGGTTCA GGCTGCTTAC CAGAAAGTTG# 438 CGCG CTAGCTCACA AATACCAC- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 141 (B) TYPE: amino aci - #d (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown t - #o applicant- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: (A) DESCRIPTION: alpha - # globin protein sequence as expressed#E. co in- (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: no- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #7:- Met Leu Ser Pro Ala Asp Lys Thr Asn Val Ly - #s Ala Ala Trp Gly#15- Lys Val Gly Ala His Ala Gly Glu Tyr Gly Al - #a Glu Ala Leu Glu# 30- Arg Met Phe Leu Ser Phe Pro Thr Thr Lys Th - #r Tyr Phe Pro His# 45- Phe Asp Leu Ser His Gly Ser Ala Gln Val Ly - #s Gly His Gly Lys# 60- Lys Val Ala Asp Ala Leu Thr Asn Ala Val Al - #a His Val Asp Asp# 75- Met Pro Asn Ala Leu Ser Ala Leu Ser Asp Le - #u His Ala His Lys# 90- Leu Arg Val Asp Pro Val Asn Phe Lys Leu Le - #u Ser His Cys Leu# 105- Leu Val Thr Leu Ala Ala His Leu Pro Ala Gl - #u Phe Thr Pro Ala# 120- His Val Ala Ser Leu Asp Lys Phe Leu Ala Se - #r Val Ser Thr Val# 135- Leu Thr Ser Lys Tyr Arg 140- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 146 (B) TYPE: amino aci - #d (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown t - #o applicant- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE:#globin protein sequence as expressed#E. col in- (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: no- (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #8:- Met His Leu Thr Pro Glu Glu Lys Ser Ala Va - #l Thr Ala Leu Trp#15- Gly Lys Val Asn Val Asp Glu Val Gly Gly Gl - #u Ala Leu Gly Arg# 30- Leu Leu Val Val Tyr Pro Trp Thr Gln Arg Ph - #e Phe Glu Ser Phe# 45- Gly Asp Leu Ser Thr Pro Asp Ala Val Met Gl - #y Asn Pro Lys Val# 60- Lys Ala His Gly Lys Lys Val Leu Gly Ala Ph - #e Ser Asp Gly Leu# 75- Ala His Leu Asp Asn Leu Lys Gly Thr Phe Al - #a Thr Leu Ser Glu# 90- Leu His Cys Asp Lys Leu His Val Asp Pro Gl - #u Asn Phe Arg Leu# 105- Leu Gly Lys Val Leu Val Cys Val Leu Ala Hi - #s His Phe Gly Lys# 120- Glu Phe Thr Pro Pro Val Gln Ala Ala Tyr Gl - #n Lys Val Val Ala# 135- Gly Val Ala Asn Ala Leu Ala His Lys Tyr Hi - #s# 145__________________________________________________________________________

Number	Name	Date
RE34271	Walder	Jun 1993
4826811	Sehgal et al.	May 1989
5028588	Hoffman et al.	Jul 1991
5084558	Rausch	Jan 1992
5194590	Sehgal et al.	Mar 1993
5239061	Fronticelli et al.	Aug 1993

Number	Date	Country
880919	Dec 1988	WOX
9013645	Nov 1990	WOX
9116349	Oct 1991	WOX
9211283	Jul 1992	WOX
9222646	Dec 1992	WOX
9308831	May 1993	WOX
9316721	Sep 1993	WOX
0307087	Jun 1994	WOX
9704110	Feb 1997	WOX

	Number	Date	Country
Parent	158483	Nov 1993
Parent	194338	May 1988

Mutant recombinant hemoglobins containing heme pocket mutations

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