Comparison of ligand migration and binding in heme proteins of the globin family

The binding of small diatomic ligands such as carbon monoxide or dioxygen to heme proteins is among the simplest biological processes known. Still, it has taken many decades to understand the mechanistic aspects of this process in full detail. Here, we compare ligand binding in three heme proteins of the globin family, myoglobin, a dimeric hemoglobin, and neuroglobin. The combination of structural, spectroscopic, and kinetic experiments over many years by many laboratories has revealed common properties of globins and a clear mechanistic picture of ligand binding at the molecular level. In addition to the ligand binding site at the heme iron, a primary ligand docking site exists that ensures efficient ligand binding to and release from the heme iron. Additional, secondary docking sites can greatly facilitate ligand escape after its dissociation from the heme. Although there is only indirect evidence at present, a preformed histidine gate appears to exist that allows ligand entry to and exit from the active site. The importance of these features can be assessed by studies involving modified proteins（via site-directed mutagenesis） and comparison with heme proteins not belonging to the globin family.

Two-beam phase correlation spectroscopy:a label-free holographic method to quantify particle flow in biofluids

We introduce two-beam phase correlation spectroscopy(2B-ΦCS)as a label-free technique to measure the dynamics of flowing particles;e.g.,in vitro or in vivo blood flow.2B-ΦCS combines phase imaging with correlation spectroscopy,using the intrinsic refractive index contrast of particles against the fluid background in correlation analysis.This method starts with the acquisition of a time series of phase images of flowing particles using partially coherent point-diffraction digital holographic microscopy.Then,phase fluctuations from two selected circular regions in the image series are correlated to determine the concentration and flow velocity of the particles by fitting pair correlation curves with a physical model.2B-ΦCS is a facile procedure when using a microfluidic channel,as shown by the measurements on flowing yeast microparticles,polymethyl methacrylate microparticles,and diluted rat blood.In the latter experiment,the concentration and average diameter of rat blood cells were determined to be(4.7±1.9)×10^(6)μL^(-1)and 4.6±0.4μm,respectively.We further analyzed the flow of mainly red blood cells in the tail vessels of live zebrafish embryos.Arterial and venous flow velocities were measured as290±110μm s^(-1)and 120±50μm s^(-1),respectively.We envision that our technique will find applications in imaging transparent organisms and other areas of the life sciences and biomedicine.