Names | |
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Other names
Iron protoporphyrin IX,
protoheme IX | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol)
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ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.114.904 |
MeSH | Heme+b |
PubChem CID
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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Properties | |
C34H32O4N4Fe | |
Molar mass | 616.487 |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Heme B or haem B (also known as protoheme IX) is the most abundant heme.[1] Hemoglobin and myoglobin are examples of oxygen transport proteins that contain heme B. The peroxidase family of enzymes also contain heme B. The COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes (cyclooxygenase) of recent fame, also contain heme B at one of two active sites.
Generally, heme B is attached to the surrounding protein matrix (known as the apoprotein) through a single coordination bond between the heme iron and an amino-acid side-chain.
Both hemoglobin and myoglobin have a coordination bond to an evolutionarily-conserved histidine, while nitric oxide synthase and cytochrome P450 have a coordination bond to an evolutionarily-conserved cysteine bound to the iron center of heme B.
Since the iron in heme B containing proteins is bound to the four nitrogens of the porphyrin (forming a plane) and a single electron donating atom of the protein, the iron is often in a pentacoordinate state. When oxygen or the toxic carbon monoxide is bound the iron becomes hexacoordinated. The correct structures of heme B and heme S were first elucidated by German chemist Hans Fischer.[2]