Kinetic Analysis of a Globin-Coupled Histidine Kinase, AfGcHK: Effects of the Heme Iron Complex, Response Regulator, and Metal Cations on Autophosphorylation Activity.

The globin-coupled histidine kinase, AfGcHK, is a part of the two-component signal transduction system from the soil bacterium Anaeromyxobacter sp. Fw109-5. Activation of its sensor domain significantly increases its autophosphorylation activity, which targets the His183 residue of its functional domain. The phosphate group of phosphorylated AfGcHK is then transferred to the cognate response regulator. We investigated the effects of selected variables on the autophosphorylation reaction’s kinetics. The kcat values of the heme Fe(III)-OH–, Fe(III)-cyanide, Fe(III)-imidazole, and Fe(II)-O2 bound active AfGcHK forms were 1.1–1.2 min–1, and their KmATP values were 18.9–35.4 μM. However, the active form bearing a CO-bound Fe(II) heme had a kcat of 1.0 min–1 but a very high KmATP value of 357 μM, suggesting that its active site structure differs strongly from the other active forms. The Fe(II) heme-bound inactive form had kcat and KmATP values of 0.4 min–1 and 78 μM, respectively, suggesting that its low activi...