3-D structures of a number of cytochrome b5 and yeast flavocytochrome b2 are known. The fold belongs to the α+β class, with two hydrophobic cores on each side of a β-sheet. The larger hydrophobic core constitutes the heme-binding pocket, closed off on each side by a pair of helices connected by a turn. The smaller hydrophobic core may have only a structural role and is formed by spatially close N-terminal and C-terminal segments. The two histidine residues provide the fifth and sixth heme ligands, and the propionate edge of the heme group lies at the opening of the heme crevice. Two isomers of cytochrome b5, referred to as the A (major) and B (minor) forms, differ by a 180° rotation of the heme about an axis defined by the α- and γ-meso carbons.
Napier JA, Michaelson LV, Sayanova O (February 2003). "The role of cytochrome b5 fusion desaturases in the synthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids". Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids. 68 (2): 135–43. doi:10.1016/S0952-3278(02)00263-6. PMID12538077.
Rivera M, Barillas-Mury C, Christensen KA, Little JW, Wells MA, Walker FA (December 1992). "Gene synthesis, bacterial expression, and 1H NMR spectroscopic studies of the rat outer mitochondrial membrane cytochrome b5". Biochemistry. 31 (48): 12233–40. doi:10.1021/bi00163a037. PMID1333795.
