XH/π interactions with the π system of porphyrin ring in porphyrin-containing proteins

Searching structures of porphyrin-containing proteins from the Protein Data Bank revealed that the π system of every porphyrin ring is involved in XH/π interactions, with most of the porphyrins having several interactions. Both five-membered pyrrole rings and six-membered chelate rings are involved in XH/π interactions; the number of interactions with five-membered rings is larger than the number of interactions with six-membered rings. We found interactions with C–H and N–H groups as hydrogen-atom donors; however, the number of CH/π interactions is much larger than the number of NH/π interactions. The amino acids involved in the interactions show a high conservation score. Our results that every porphyrin is involved in XH/π interactions and that amino acids involved in these interactions are highly conserved demonstrate that XH/π interactions play an important role in porphyrin–protein stability.