A variety of experiments were carried out in order to analyze the chemical mechanism of choleglobin formation in the system of hemo-globin, ascorbic acid and oxygen. The results of the experiments are summarized as follows:
1. By treating the reaction solution with NaOH and Na
2S
2O
4, the choleheme protein is converted to alkali denatured cholehemo-chrome which can be determined by means of spectrophotometry. The method enables us to follow up the present reaction process quantitative-ly and with fair exactness.
2. From the optical density of alkali denatured cholehemochrome at the wavelength of 618μp as experimentally determined, εmol. for choleheme is calculated as 1.36×10
4.
3. The structural change which occurred in the heme part of choleglobin is just the same as in that of cholehemochromogen.
4. During the process of choleheme formation in the reaction system without catalase, almost 20 moles of ascorbic acid are used up per mole of protoheme.
5. The reaction curves of choleheme production and ascorbate oxidation are in parallelism. Both of the curves are characteristic in their S-shaped type. The slope of the S-shape is pronounced either with the decrease of ascorbate concentration or by the presence of catalase or further with the lowering of the temperature.
6. Choleglobin can be obtained from hemoglobin by the direct action of H
2O
2 upon the latter and without O
2. This reaction can proceed whether ascorbate is present or not so far as the hemoglobin is kept in its Fe
++ state. Methemoglobin (Fe
+++), however, can not produce choleglobin by the same oxidant.
7. In the system of methemoglobin, ascorbic acid and O
2, methemoglobin must be first reduced to hemoglobin in order to be oxidized to choleglobin.
8. Choleglobin seems to be able to liberate iron completely by the treatment with 0.4 per cent HCl as well as by the treatment with trichloracetic acid in the deproteinization procedure.
9. Denaturation of globin part have, most likely, some important influence upon the disintegration of heme part.
From the above results, it may be concluded as follows: choleglobin is formed from hemoglobin by the action of H
2O
2 produced from ascorbic acid and O
2 in which the heme molecule itself serves as a peroxidative substrate for its own molecule. It is further suggested that in this process some sort of intermediate interposes, which must be highly active as an oxidative catalyst. Finally, a hypothetical scheme of the reaction process of choleglobin formation is presented by assuming an active role of this probable intermediate.
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