Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1988 Apr 19;27(8):2790-800.
doi: 10.1021/bi00408a020.

On the reaction of ferric heme proteins with nitrite and sulfite

Affiliations

On the reaction of ferric heme proteins with nitrite and sulfite

L J Young et al. Biochemistry. .

Abstract

Optical and EPR spectroscopy of ferric heme proteins of the porphyrin, oxyporphyrin, and isobacteriochlorin classes has indicated that nitrite reacts with these proteins at the heme iron. Sulfite has been conclusively proven to react only with proteins containing the isobacteriochlorin macrocycle. Quantitative EPR spectroscopy of these nitrite and sulfite adducts showed that most contained a substantial quantity of undetectable heme. It is suggested that protein-induced autoreduction of nitrite (but not sulfite) and a strained and/or uniaxial g-tensor are the principal ways by which the silent state is produced.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types