Determination of an optimal potential window for catalysis by E. coli dimethyl sulfoxide reductase and hypothesis on the role of Mo(V) in the reaction pathway

In Rhodobacter sphaeroides respiratory nitrate reductase, the kinetics of substrate binding favors intramolecular electron transfer

The respiratory nitrate reductase (NapAB) from Rb. sphaeroides is a periplasmic molybdenum-containing enzyme which belongs to the DMSO reductase family. We report a study of NapAB by protein film voltammetry (PFV), and we present the first quantitative interpretation of the complex redox-state dependence of activity that has also been observed with other related enzymes. The model we use to fit the data assumes that binding of substrate partly limits turnover and is faster and weaker when the Mo ion is in the V oxidation state than when it is fully reduced. We explain how the presence in the catalytic cycle of such slow chemical steps coupled to electron transfer to the active site decreases the driving force required to reduce the MoV ion and makes exergonic the last intramolecular electron-transfer step (between the proximal cubane and the Mo cofactor). Importantly, comparison is made with all Mo enzymes for which PFV data are available, and we emphasize general features of the energetics of the catalytic cycles in enzymes of the DMSO reductase family.

Direct electrochemistry of the Desulfovibrio gigas aldehyde oxidoreductase

This work reports on the direct electrochemistry of the Desulfovibrio gigas aldehyde oxidoreductase (DgAOR), a molybdenum enzyme of the xanthine oxidase family that contains three redox-active cofactors: two [2Fe-2S] centers and a molybdopterin cytosine dinucleotide cofactor. The voltammetric behavior of the enzyme was analyzed at gold and carbon (pyrolytic graphite and glassy carbon) electrodes. Two different strategies were used: one with the molecules confined to the electrode surface and a second with DgAOR in solution. In all of the cases studied, electron transfer took place, although different redox reactions were responsible for the voltammetric signal. From a thorough analysis of the voltammetric responses and the structural properties of the molecular surface of DgAOR, the redox reaction at the carbon electrodes could be assigned to the reduction of the more exposed iron cluster, [2Fe-2S] II, whereas reduction of the molybdopterin cofactor occurs at the gold electrode. Voltammetric results in the presence of aldehydes are also reported and discussed.

Conformational reorganisation in interfacial protein electron transfer

Protein-protein electron transfer (ET) plays an essential role in all redox chains. Earlier studies which used cross-linking and increased solution viscosity indicated that the rate of many ET reactions is limited (i.e., gated) by conformational reorientations at the surface interface. These results are later supported by structural studies using NMR and molecular modelling. New insights into conformational gating have also come from electrochemical experiments in which proteins are noncovalently adsorbed on the electrode surface. These systems have the advantage that it is relatively easy to vary systematically the driving force and electronic coupling. In this review we summarize the current knowledge obtained from these electrochemical experiments and compare it with some of the results obtained for protein-protein ET.

Direct electrochemistry of a bacterial sulfite dehydrogenase

Sulfite dehydrogenase from Starkeya novella is an alphabeta heterodimer comprising a 40.6 kDa subunit (containing the Mo cofactor) and a smaller 8.8 kDa heme c subunit. The enzyme catalyses the oxidation of sulfite to sulfate with the natural electron acceptor being cytochrome c550. Its catalytic mechanism is thought to resemble that found in eukaryotic sulfite oxidases. Using protein film voltammetry and redox potentiometry, we have identified both Mo- and heme-centered redox responses from the enzyme immobilized on a pyrolytic graphite working electrode: E m,8 (Fe III/II) +177 mV; E m,8 (Mo VI/V) +211 mV and E m,8 (Mo V/IV) -118 mV vs NHE; Upon addition of sulfite to the electrochemical cell a steady-state voltammogram is observed and an apparent Michaelis constant (Km) of 26(1) microM was determined for the enzyme immobilized on the working electrode surface, which is comparable with the value obtained from solution assays.

A voltammetric study of interdomain electron transfer within sulfite oxidase

Protein film voltammetry of chicken liver sulfite oxidase (SO) bound at the pyrolytic graphite "edge" or modified gold electrodes shows that catalytic electron transport is controlled by the inherent electrochemical characteristics of the heme b domain and conformational changes that allow intramolecular electron transfer with the molybdenum active site. In the absence of sulfite, a single nonturnover electrochemical signal is observed at +90 mV (vs SHE) that is assigned to heme b. In the presence of sulfite, this signal transforms into a catalytic wave at similar potential. The shape and negligible pH dependence of this wave indicate that catalytic turnover is controlled by the one-electron transfers through heme b. The smaller turnover numbers obtained in this experiment (k(cat) approximately 2-4 s(-1), as compared to 100 s(-1) in solution) suggest that only a small fraction of SO is bound at the electrode in a manner that permits the conformational change necessary for fast interdomain electron transfer.

Detection and interpretation of redox potential optima in the catalytic activity of enzymes

It is no surprise that the catalytic activity of electron-transport enzymes may be optimised at certain electrochemical potentials in ways that are analogous to observations of pH-rate optima. This property is observed clearly in experiments in which an enzyme is adsorbed on an electrode surface which can supply or receive electrons rapidly and in a highly controlled manner. In such a way, the rate of catalysis can be measured accurately as a function of the potential (driving force) that is applied. In this paper, we draw attention to a few examples in which this property has been observed in enzymes that are associated with membrane-bound respiratory chains, and we discuss its possible origins and implications for in vivo regulation.