The NAMI A - human ferritin system: a biophysical characterization.
Ciambellotti, S., Pratesi, A., Severi, M., Ferraro, G., Alessio, E., Merlino, A., Messori, L.(2018) Dalton Trans 47: 11429-11437
- PubMed: 30063237 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c8dt00860d
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6FTV - PubMed Abstract: 
The reaction of the antimetastatic ruthenium(iii) drug NAMI A with human H-chain ferritin (HuHf) was investigated through a variety of biophysical methods. We observed that the addition of HuHf to NAMI A solutions significantly increases the rate of spontaneous NAMI A hydrolysis suggesting the occurrence of a direct metallodrug-protein interaction. The resulting hydrolyzed Ru species binds the protein mostly forming a relatively tight 1 : 1 ruthenium/ferritin (subunit) adduct that was then separated and characterized. Notably, this adduct shows a characteristic CD spectrum in the visible region, which is diagnostic of the existence of at least one protein bound ruthenium center. The crystal structure of this NAMI A/HuHf adduct was subsequently solved at 1.58 Å resolution; clear evidence is given for the selective binding of a single Ru ion to His105 of each subunit with concomitant release of all other original Ru ligands in agreement with previous observations. We also noted that NAMI A produces a partial inhibition of HuHf ferroxidase activity. The implications of the above results are discussed.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.