A dynamic Zn site in helicobacter pylori HypA : A potential mechanism for metal-specific protein activity

HypA is an accessory protein and putative metallochaperone that is critical for supplying nickel to the active site of NiFe hydrogenases. In addition to binding Ni(II), HypA is known to contain a Zn site that has been suggested to play a structural role. X-ray absorption spectroscopy has been used to show that the Zn site changes structure upon binding nickel, from a S3(O/N)-donor ligand environment to an S4-donor ligand environment. This provides a potential mechanism for discriminating Ni(II) from other divalent metal ions. The Ni(II) site is shown to be a six-coordinate complex composed of O/N-donors including two histidines. As such, it resembles the nickel site in UreE, a nickel metallochaperone involved in nickel incorporation into urease.