A comparative study of various computational approaches in calculating the structure of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent beta-lyase protein. The importance of protein environment

Crystallographic, spectroscopic, and computational analysis of a flavin C4a-oxygen adduct in choline oxidase

Flavin C4a-OO(H) and C4a-OH adducts are critical intermediates proposed in many flavoenzyme reaction mechanisms, but they are rarely detected even by rapid transient kinetics methods. We observe a trapped flavin C4a-OH or C4a-OO(H) adduct by single-crystal spectroscopic methods and in the 1.86 A resolution X-ray crystal structure of choline oxidase. The microspectrophotometry results show that the adduct forms rapidly in situ at 100 K upon exposure to X-rays. Density functional theory calculations establish the electronic structures for the flavin C4a-OH and C4a-OO(H) adducts and estimate the stabilization energy of several active site hydrogen bonds deduced from the crystal structure. We propose that the enzyme-bound FAD is reduced in the X-ray beam. The aerobic crystals then form either a C4a-OH or C4a-OO(H) adduct, but an insufficient proton inventory prevents their decay at cryogenic temperatures.

General base catalysis for cleavage by the active-site cytosine of the hepatitis delta virus ribozyme: QM/MM calculations establish chemical feasibility

The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme is an RNA motif embedded in human pathogenic HDV RNA. Previous experimental studies have established that the active-site nucleotide C75 is essential for self-cleavage of the ribozyme, although its exact catalytic role in the process remains debated. Structural data from X-ray crystallography generally indicate that C75 acts as the general base that initiates catalysis by deprotonating the 2'-OH nucleophile at the cleavage site, while a hydrated magnesium ion likely protonates the 5'-oxygen leaving group. In contrast, some mechanistic studies support the role of C75 acting as general acid and thus being protonated before the reaction. We report combined quantum chemical/molecular mechanical calculations for the C75 general base pathway, utilizing the available structural data for the wild type HDV genomic ribozyme as a starting point. Several starting configurations differing in magnesium ion placement were considered and both one-dimensional and two-dimensional potential energy surface scans were used to explore plausible reaction paths. Our calculations show that C75 is readily capable of acting as the general base, in concert with the hydrated magnesium ion as the general acid. We identify a most likely position for the magnesium ion, which also suggests it acts as a Lewis acid. The calculated energy barrier of the proposed mechanism, approximately 20 kcal/mol, would lower the reaction barrier by approximately 15 kcal/mol compared with the uncatalyzed reaction and is in good agreement with experimental data.

Is the Protein Surrounding the Active Site Critical for Hydrogen Peroxide Reduction by Selenoprotein Glutathione Peroxidase? An ONIOM Study

In this ONIOM(QM:MM) study, we evaluate the role of the protein surroundings in the mechanism of H2O2 reduction catalyzed by the glutathione peroxidase enzyme, using the whole monomer (3113 atoms in 196 amino acid residues) as a model. A new optimization scheme that allows the full optimization of transition states for large systems has been utilized. It was found that in the presence of the surrounding protein the optimized active site structure bears a closer resemblance to the one in the X-ray structure than that without the surrounding protein. H2O2 reduction occurs through a two-step mechanism. In the first step, the selenolate anion (E-Se(-)) formation occurs with a barrier of 16.4 kcal/mol and is endothermic by 12.0 kcal/mol. The Gln83 residue plays the key role of the proton abstractor, which is in line with the experimental suggestion. In the second step, the O-O bond is cleaved, and selenenic acid (R-Se-OH) and a water molecule are formed. The calculated barrier for this process is 6.0 kcal/mol, and it is exothermic by 80.9 kcal/mol. The overall barrier of 18.0 kcal/mol for H2O2 reduction is in reasonable agreement with the experimentally measured barrier of 14.9 kcal/mol. The protein surroundings has been calculated to exert a net effect of only 0.70 kcal/mol (in comparison to the "active site only" model including solvent effects) on the overall barrier, which is most likely due to the active site being located at the enzyme surface.