The axial N -base has minor influence on Co–C bond cleavage in cobalamins

Mechanism of Methyl Transfer Reaction between CH3Co(dmgBF2)2py and PPh3Ni(Triphos)

DFT calculations were performed for the methyl group transfer reaction between CH3Co (dmgBF2)py and PPh3Ni(Triphos). The reaction mechanism and its energetics were investigated. This reaction is relevant to the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme acetyl coenzyme A synthase. BP86 and PBE functionals and dispersion corrections were used. It was found that intermolecular interactions are very important for this reaction. The influence of the solvent on the reaction was studied.

Modeling the Reactions Catalyzed by Coenzyme B12 Dependent Enzymes: Accuracy and Cost-Quality Balance

The reactions catalyzed by coenzyme B₁₂ dependent enzymes are formally initiated by the homolytic cleavage of a carbon-cobalt bond and a subsequent or concerted H-atom-transfer reaction. A reasonable model chemistry for describing those reactions should, therefore, account for an accurate description of both reactions. The inherent limitation due to the necessary system size renders the coenzyme B₁₂ system a suitable candidate for DFT or hybrid QM/MM methods; however, the accurate description of both homolytic Co-C cleavage and H-atom-transfer reactions within this framework is challenging and can lead to controversial results with varying accuracy. We present an assessment study of 16 common density functionals applied to prototypical model systems for both reactions. H-abstraction reactions were modeled on the basis of four reference reactions designed to resemble a broad range of coenzyme B₁₂ reactions. The Co-C cleavage reaction is treated by an ONIOM(QM/MM) setup that is in excellent agreement with solution-phase experimental data and is as accurate as full DFT calculations on the complete model system. We find that the meta-GGAs TPSS-D3 and M06L-D3 and the meta-hybrid M06-D3 give the best overall performance with MUEs for both types of reactions below 10 kJ mol^-1. Our recommended model chemistry allows for a fast and accurate description of coenzyme B₁₂ chemistry that is readily applicable to study the reactions in an enzymatic framework.

Theoretical analysis of C-F bond cleavage mediated by cob[I]alamin-based structures

In the present work, C-F bond cleavage mediated by the super-reduced form of cobalamin (i.e., Co^ICbl) was theoretically studied at the ONIOM(BP86/6-311++G(d,p):PM6) + SMD level of theory. Dispersion effects were introduced by employing Grimme's empirical dispersion at the ONIOM(BP86-D/6-311++G(d,p):PM6) + SMD level. In the first stage of the study, cobalamin was characterized in terms of the coordination number of the central cobalt atom. The ONIOM(BP86/6-311++G(d,p):PM6) results showed that the base-off form of the system is slightly more stable than its base-on counterpart (ΔE = E _base-off - E _base-on ~ -2 kcal/mol). The inclusion of dispersive forces in the description of the system stabilizes the base-on form, which becomes as stable as its base-off counterpart. Moreover, in the latter case, the energy barrier separating both structures was found to be negligible, with a computed value of 1.02 kcal/mol. In the second stage of the work, the reaction Co^ICbl + CH₃F → MeCbl + F^- was studied considering the base-off and the base-on forms of Co^ICbl. The reaction that occurs in the presence of the base-on form of Co^ICbl was found to be kinetically more favorable (ΔE ^≠ = 13.7 kcal/mol) than that occurring in the presence of the base-off form (ΔE ^≠ = 41.2 kcal/mol). Further reaction-force analyses of the processes showed that the energy barrier to C-F bond cleavage arises largely due to structural rearrangements when the reaction occurs on the base-on form of the Co^ICbl complex, but is mainly due to electronic rearrangements when the reaction takes place on the base-off form of the complex. The latter behavior emerges from differences in the synchronicity of the bond strengthening/weakening processes along the reaction path; the base-on mode of Co^ICbl is able to decrease the synchronicity of the chemical events. This work gives new molecular-level insights into the role of Cbl-based systems in the cleavage of C-F bonds. These insights have potential implications for research into processes for degrading fluorine-containing pollutants.

Co-C dissociation of adenosylcobalamin (coenzyme B12): role of dispersion, induction effects, solvent polarity, and relativistic and thermal corrections

Quantum-chemical cluster modeling is challenged in the limit of large, soft systems by the effects of dispersion and solvent, and well as other physical interactions. Adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl, coenzyme B12), as one of the most complex cofactors in life, constitutes such a challenge. The cleavage of its unique organometallic Co-C bond has inspired multiple studies of this cofactor. This paper reports the fully relaxed potential energy surface of Co-C cleavage of AdoCbl, including for the first time all side-chain interactions with the dissociating Ado group. Various methods and corrections for dispersion, relativistic effects, solvent polarity, basis set superposition error, and thermal and vibrational effects were investigated, totaling more than 550 single-point energies for the large model. The results show immense variability depending on method, including solvation, functional type, and dispersion, challenging the conceived accuracy of methods used for such systems. In particular, B3LYP-D3 seems to severely underestimate the Co-C bond strength, consistent with previous results, and BP86 remains accurate for cobalamins when dispersion interactions are accounted for.

Mercury methylation by HgcA: theory supports carbanion transfer to Hg(II)

Many proteins use corrinoid cofactors to facilitate methyl transfer reactions. Recently, a corrinoid protein, HgcA, has been shown to be required for the production of the neurotoxin methylmercury by anaerobic bacteria. A strictly conserved Cys residue in HgcA was predicted to be a lower-axial ligand to Co(III), which has never been observed in a corrinoid protein. Here, we use density functional theory to study homolytic and heterolytic Co-C bond dissociation and methyl transfer to Hg(II) substrates with model methylcobalamin complexes containing a lower-axial Cys or His ligand to cobalt, the latter of which is commonly found in other corrinoid proteins. We find that Cys thiolate coordination to Co facilitates both methyl radical and methyl carbanion transfer to Hg(II) substrates, but carbanion transfer is more favorable overall in the condensed phase. Thus, our findings are consistent with HgcA representing a new class of corrinoid protein capable of transferring methyl groups to electrophilic substrates.

Corrin ring-induced redox tuning

The density functional calculations suggest that the expansion of the corrin macrocycle's N(4) core by 0.06-0.10 Å leads to an appreciable lowering of 100-150 mV vs. saturated calomel electrode in the reduction potentials of two biologically important B(12) cofactors namely methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin respectively. This redox tuning of B(12) cofactors may encourage the electron transfer-based activation mechanism for B(12)-dependent enzymes.

Combined spectroscopic/computational studies of vitamin B12 precursors: geometric and electronic structures of cobinamides

Vitamin B(12) (cyanocobalamin) and its biologically active derivatives, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, are members of the family of corrinoids, which also includes cobinamides. As biological precursors to cobalamins, cobinamides possess the same structural core, consisting of a low-spin Co(3+) ion that is ligated equatorially by the four nitrogens of a highly substituted tetrapyrrole macrocycle (the corrin ring), but differ with respect to the lower axial ligation. Specifically, cobinamides possess a water molecule instead of the nucleotide loop that coordinates axially to Co(3+)cobalamins via its dimethylbenzimidazole (DMB) base. Compared to the cobalamin species, cobinamides have proven much more difficult to study experimentally, thus far eluding characterization by X-ray crystallography. In this study, we have utilized combined quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) computations to generate complete structural models of a representative set of cobinamide species with varying upper axial ligands. To validate the use of this approach, analogous QM/MM geometry optimizations were carried out on entire models of the cobalamin counterparts for which high-resolution X-ray structural data are available. The accuracy of the cobinamide structures was assessed further by comparing electronic absorption spectra computed using time-dependent density functional theory to those obtained experimentally. Collectively, the results obtained in this study indicate that the DMB → H(2)O lower axial ligand switch primarily affects the energies of the Co 3d(z(2))-based molecular orbital (MO) and, to a lesser extent, the other Co 3d-based MOs as well as the corrin π-based highest energy MO. Thus, while the energy of the lowest-energy electronic transition of cobalamins changes considerably as a function of the upper axial ligand, it is nearly invariant for the cobinamides.

Comparison of chemical properties of iron, cobalt, and nickel porphyrins, corrins, and hydrocorphins

Density functional calculations have been used to compare the geometric, electronic, and functional properties of the three important tetrapyrrole systems in biology, heme, coenzyme B 12, and coenzyme F430, formed from iron porphyrin ( Por ), cobalt corrin ( Cor ), and nickel hydrocorphin ( Hcor ). The results show that the flexibility of the ring systems follows the trend Hcor > Cor > Por and that the size of the central cavity follows the trend Cor < Por < Hcor . Therefore, low-spin Co I, Co II, and Co III fit well into the Cor ring, whereas Por seems to be more ideal for the higher spin states of iron, and the cavity in Hcor is tailored for the larger Ni ion, especially in the high-spin Ni II state. This is confirmed by the thermodynamic stabilities of the various combinations of metals and ring systems. Reduction potentials indicate that the +I and +III states are less stable for Ni than for the other metal ions. Moreover, Ni – C bonds are appreciably less stable than Co - C bonds. However, it is still possible that a Ni – CH 3 bond is formed in F 430 by a heterolytic methyl transfer reaction, provided that the donor is appropriate, e.g. if coenzyme M is protonated. This can be facilitated by the adjacent SO 3− group in this coenzyme and by the axial glutamine ligand, which stabilizes the Ni III state. Our results also show that a Ni III– CH 3 complex is readily hydrolysed to form a methane molecule and that the Ni III hydrolysis product can oxidize coenzyme B and M to a heterodisulphide in the reaction mechanism of methyl coenzyme M reductase.

Axial bonding in alkylcobalamins: DFT analysis of the inverse versus normal trans influence

Density functional theory has been applied to study the origin of the inverse and normal trans influence in alkylcobalamins. In order to cover the X-ray structural data available for alkylcobalamins with a variety of axial substituents, geometries of 28 related corrin-containing models have been optimized and analyzed. The BP86/6-31G(d) level of theory was applied which showed good reliability in reproducing the axial bond lengths. Comparison of experimental and calculated data allowed to conclude that the inverse trans influence is not a general feature of cobalamins, as it appeared from the experimental data analysis alone. Inverse trans influence is observed for the series of R groups with increasing bulk and electron donating ability. For the series of R groups having similar medium bulk, but differing significantly in the electron donating ability, normal trans influence was found. Finally, it was determined, that the axial bond lengths correlate well but differently in the two series of R groups with the orbital energies of the six molecular orbitals essential in axial interligand bonding.

DFT and ONIOM(DFT:MM) studies on Co-C bond cleavage and hydrogen transfer in B12-dependent methylmalonyl-CoA mutase. Stepwise or concerted mechanism?

The considerable protein effect on the homolytic Co-C bond cleavage to form the 5'-deoxyadenosyl (Ado) radical and cob(II)alamin and the subsequent hydrogen transfer from the methylmalonyl-CoA substrate to the Ado radical in the methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MMCM) have been extensively studied by DFT and ONIOM(DFT/MM) methods. Several quantum models have been used to systematically study the protein effect. The calculations have shown that the Co-C bond dissociation energy is very much reduced in the protein, compared to that in the gas phase. The large protein effect can be decomposed into the cage effect, the effect of coenzyme geometrical distortion, and the protein MM effect. The largest contributor is the MM effect, which mainly consists of the interaction of the QM part of the coenzyme with the MM part of the coenzyme and the surrounding residues. In particular, Glu370 plays an important role in the Co-C bond cleavage process. These effects tremendously enhance the stability of the Co-C bond cleavage state in the protein. The initial Co-C bond cleavage and the subsequent hydrogen transfer were found to occur in a stepwise manner in the protein, although the concerted pathway for the Co-C bond cleavage coupled with the hydrogen transfer is more favored in the gas phase. The assumed concerted transition state in the protein has more deformation of the coenzyme and the substrate and has less interaction with the protein than the stepwise route. Key factors and residues in promoting the enzymatic reaction rate have been discussed in detail.

Computational Mutation Analysis of Hydrogen Abstraction and Radical Rearrangement Steps in the Catalysis of Coenzyme B12-Dependent Diol Dehydratase

A mutation analysis of the catalytic functions of active-site residues of coenzyme B(12)-dependent diol dehydratase in the conversion of 1,2-propanediol to 1,1-propanediol has been carried out by using QM/MM computations. Mutants His143Ala, Glu170Gln, Glu170Ala, and Glu170Ala/Glu221Ala were considered to estimate the impact of the mutations of His143 and Glu170. In the His143Ala mutant the activation energy for OH migration increased to 16.4 from 11.5 kcal mol(-1) in the wild-type enzyme. The highest activation energy, 19.6 kcal mol(-1), was measured for hydrogen back-abstraction in this reaction. The transition state for OH migration is not sufficiently stabilized by the hydrogen-bonding interaction formed between the spectator OH group and Gln170 in the Glu170Gln mutant, which demonstrates that a strong proton acceptor is required to promote OH migration. In the Glu170Ala mutant, a new strong hydrogen bond is formed between the spectator OH group and Glu221. A computed activation energy of 13.6 kcal mol(-1) for OH migration in the Glu170Ala mutant is only 2.1 kcal mol(-1) higher than the corresponding barrier in the wild-type enzyme. Despite the low activation barrier, the Glu170Ala mutant is inactive because the subsequent hydrogen back-abstraction is energetically demanding in this mutant. OH migration is not feasible in the Glu170Ala/Glu221Ala mutant because the activation barrier for OH migration is greatly increased by the loss of COO(-) groups near the spectator OH group. This result indicates that the effect of partial deprotonation of the spectator OH group is the most important factor in reducing the activation barrier for OH migration in the conversion of 1,2-propanediol to 1,1-propanediol catalyzed by diol dehydratase.

Performance of DFT in modeling electronic and structural properties of cobalamins

Computational modeling of the enzymatic activity of B12-dependent enzymes requires a detailed understanding of the factors that influence the strength of the Co--C bond and the limits associated with a particular level of theory. To address this issue, a systematic analysis of the electronic and structural properties of coenzyme B12 models has been performed to establish the performance of three different functionals including B3LYP, BP86, and revPBE. In particular the cobalt-carbon bond dissociation energies, axial bond lengths, and selected stretching frequencies have been analyzed in detail. Current analysis shows that widely used B3LYP functional significantly underestimates the strength of the Co--C bond while the nonhybrid BP86 functional produces very consistent results in comparison to experimental data. To explain such different performance of these functionals molecular orbital analysis associated with axial bonds has been performed to show differences in axial bonding provided by hybrid and nonhybrid functionals.

A new paradigm for electrostatic catalysis of radical reactions in vitamin B12 enzymes

The catalytic power of enzymes containing coenzyme B(12) cofactor has been, in some respects, the "last bastion" for the strain hypothesis. The present work explores the origin of this effect by using simulation methods that overcome the sampling difficulties of previous energy minimization studies. It is found that the major part of the catalytic effect is due to the electrostatic interaction between the ribose and the protein, and that the strain contribution is very small. Remarkably, enzymes can use electrostatic effects even in a radical process, when the charge distribution of the reacting fragments does not change significantly during the reaction. Electrostatic catalysis can, in such cases, be obtained by attaching a polar group to the leaving fragment and designing an active site that interacts more strongly with this group in the product state than in the reactant state. The finding that evolution had to use this trick provides further evidence to the observation that it is extremely hard to catalyze enzymatic reactions by nonelectrostatic factors. The trick used by B(12) enzymes may, in fact, be a very powerful new strategy in enzyme design.

Electronic structure of Cob(I)alamin: the story of an unusual nucleophile

The electronic structure and the ligand-field spectrum of cobalt(I) corrin is reported using complete active space multiconfigurational perturbation theory (CASPT2) to address some inconsistencies and the nature of the cobalt(I) "supernucleophile", cob(I)alamin. An assignment of six of the seven intense lines in the experimental spectrum is obtained at a root-mean-square accuracy of 0.14 eV and largest error of 0.21 eV. Agreement is significantly better for CASPT2 than density functional theory (DFT), but DFT does surprisingly well. The correlated wave function implies that the ground state of Co(I) corrin is severely multiconfigurational, with only 67% of the d(8) reference configuration and prominent contributions of 20% from open-shell metal-to-ligand charge-transfer configurations. The ground state exhibits a fascinating degree of covalency between cobalt and the nitrogen orbitals, described by the bonding and antibonding orbital pair of a cobalt d-orbital and a delta-orbital linearly combined from nitrogen orbitals. Thus, the standard description of the d(8) supernucleophile is not completely valid. From a biological perspective, the mixing in of Co(II) configurations in cob(I)alamin may be an important reason for the redox accessibility of the formal Co(I) state of the cofactor, which again provides the catalytic power for one half-reaction of enzymes such as cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase.

Influence of Environment on the Electronic Structure of Cob(III)alamins: Time-Resolved Absorption Studies of the S1 State Spectrum and Dynamics

Transient absorption spectroscopy has been used to elucidate the nature of the S1 intermediate state populated following excitation of cob(III)alamin (Cbl(III)) compounds. This state is sensitive both to axial ligation and to solvent polarity. The excited-state lifetime as a function of temperature and solvent environment is used to separate the dynamic and electrostatic influence of the solvent. Two distinct types of excited states are identified, both assigned to pi3d configurations. The spectra of both types of excited states are characterized by a red absorption band (ca. 600 nm) assigned to Co 3d --> 3d or Co 3d --> corrin pi* transitions and by visible absorption bands similar to the corrin pi-->pi* transitions observed for ground state Cbl(III) compounds. The excited state observed following excitation of nonalkyl Cbl(III) compounds has an excited-state spectrum characteristic of Cbl(III) molecules with a weakened bond to the axial ligand (Type I). A similar excited-state spectrum is observed for adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) in water and ethylene glycol. The excited-state spectrum of methyl, ethyl, and n-propylcobalamin is characteristic of a Cbl(III) species with a sigma-donating alkyl anion ligand (Type II). This Type II excited-state spectrum is also observed for AdoCbl bound to glutamate mutase. The results are discussed in the context of theoretical calculations of Cbl(III) species reported in the literature and highlight the need for additional calculations exploring the influence of the alkyl ligand on the electronic structure of cobalamins.

DFT analysis of co-alkyl and co-adenosyl vibrational modes in B12-cofactors

Density functional theory (DFT)-based normal mode calculations have been carried out on models for B12-cofactors to assign reported isotope-edited resonance Raman spectra, which isolate vibrations of the organo-Co group. Interpretation is straightforward for alkyl-Co derivatives, which display prominent Co-C stretching vibrational bands. DFT correctly reproduces Co-C distances and frequencies for the methyl and ethyl derivatives. However, spectra are complex for adenosyl derivatives, due to mixing of Co-C stretching with a ribose deformation coordinate and to activation of modes involving Co-C-C bending and Co-adenosyl torsion. Despite this complexity, the computed spectra provide a satisfactory re-assignment of the experimental data. Reported trends in adenosyl-cobalamin spectra upon binding to the methylmalonyl CoA mutase enzyme, as well as on subsequent binding of substrates and inhibitors, provide support for an activation mechanism involving substrate-induced deformation of the adenosyl ligand.

First Principles Study of Coenzyme B12. Crystal Packing Forces Effect on Axial Bond Lengths

In this work we analyze the structure of coenzyme B12 (AdoCbl) by means of periodic density functional theory (DFT) in order to elucidate the influence of the corrin side chains and the crystalline environment on the properties of axial bonds. The Co-Nax axial bond is very weak and its strength of less than 8 kcal/mol is four times smaller than Co-C which in solution is approximately 31 kcal/mol. The proper description of the Co-Nax distance has been problematic in previous DFT calculations and the source of disagreement between experiment and theory remained unexplained. To resolve this discrepancy, periodic DFT calculations within the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) framework were carried out on three different structural models of increased complexity. The simplest model (DBI-Ado+) contains the naked corrin ring with a total of 96 atoms. The second model is the full coenzyme B12 (AdoCbl) with 209 atoms which has been taken from crystallographic analysis. To understand the extent to which the crystal packing forces influence the structural properties of AdoCbl the complete crystal consisting of four AdoCbl molecules plus 48 water molecules periodically repeated in space was analyzed (1008 atoms). The results show that the properties associated with the Co-C bond can be well reproduced using truncated models. This does not apply to the Co-Nax axial bond and the presence of the local environment appears to be essential for the correct prediction of its bond length. The most interesting outcome of the present analysis is the finding that the actual length of the Co-Nax bond (2.262 A) is largely influenced by crystal packing forces.

Photolysis of Methylcobalamin: Identification of the Relevant Excited States Involved in Co−C Bond Scission

The relevant excited states involved in the photolysis of methylcobalamin (MeCbl) have been examined by means of time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). The low-lying singlet and triplet excited states have been calculated along the Co-C bond at the TD-DFT/BP86/6-31g(d) level of theory in order to investigate the dissociation process of MeCbl. These calculations have shown that the photodissociation is mediated by the repulsive 3(sigmaCo-C --> sigma*Co-C) triplet state. The key metastable photoproduct involved in Co-C bond photolysis was identified as an S1 state having predominantly dCo --> pi*corrin metal-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) character.

Insight into the mechanism of biological methanol activation based on the crystal structure of the methanol-cobalamin methyltransferase complex

Some methanogenic and acetogenic microorganisms have the catalytic capability to cleave heterolytically the C O bond of methanol. To obtain insight into the elusive enzymatic mechanism of this challenging chemical reaction we have investigated the methanol-activating MtaBC complex from Methanosarcina barkeri composed of the zinc-containing MtaB and the 5-hydroxybenzimidazolylcobamide-carrying MtaC subunits. Here we report the 2.5-A crystal structure of this complex organized as a (MtaBC)(2) heterotetramer. MtaB folds as a TIM barrel and contains a novel zinc-binding motif. Zinc(II) lies at the bottom of a funnel formed at the C-terminal beta-barrel end and ligates to two cysteinyl sulfurs (Cys-220 and Cys-269) and one carboxylate oxygen (Glu-164). MtaC is structurally related to the cobalamin-binding domain of methionine synthase. Its corrinoid cofactor at the top of the Rossmann domain reaches deeply into the funnel of MtaB, defining a region between zinc(II) and the corrinoid cobalt that must be the binding site for methanol. The active site geometry supports a S(N)2 reaction mechanism, in which the C O bond in methanol is activated by the strong electrophile zinc(II) and cleaved because of an attack of the supernucleophile cob(I)amide. The environment of zinc(II) is characterized by an acidic cluster that increases the charge density on the zinc(II), polarizes methanol, and disfavors deprotonation of the methanol hydroxyl group. Implications of the MtaBC structure for the second step of the reaction, in which the methyl group is transferred to coenzyme M, are discussed.

Carbon−Cobalt Bond Distance and Bond Cleavage in One-Electron Reduced Methylcobalamin: A Failure of the Conventional DFT Method

Geometry optimizations at the HF, B3LYP, and CASSCF levels of electronic structure theory have been performed for methylcobalamin (MeCbl) model compounds in both the Co(III) (MeCbl(III)) and Co(II) (MeCbl(II)) formal oxidation states. Since the HOMO-LUMO and C-Co sigma-sigma MO gaps are significantly smaller in the MeCbl(II) compounds compared with MeCbl(III), a pseudo-Jahn Teller effect is possible. CASSCF calculations show that there is strong coupling between C-Co sigma-sigma MOs for the MeCbl(II) models leading to strong state mixing with significant total charge density transfer (approximately 0.4 e-), mainly from the C-Co sigma MO to C-Co sigma MO (approximately 0.3 e-). CASSCF(9:7) calculations show that the strong state mixing leads to an increase in the C-Co bond length for MeCbl(II) model compounds from 1.969 A (DFT and HF calculations) to 2.164 A in the base-on MeCbl(II) model and from 1.938 A to 2.144 A in the base-off MeCbl(II) model. Concomitantly, the Co-N axial bond length increases from 2.121 A (DFT) to 2.344 A in the CASSCF calculation. This coupling interaction between states can be used to explain the much lower Co-C bond dissociation enthalpy and much faster bond cleavage rate for the one-electron reduced methylcobalamin radical anion compared to MeCbl(III). It may also be important for axial bond distances in other Co(II) compounds.

Reaction mechanism of porphyrin metallation studied by theoretical methods

We have studied the reaction mechanism for the insertion of Mg2+ and Fe2+ into a porphyrin ring with density functional calculations with large basis set and including solvation, zero-point and thermal effects. We have followed the reaction from the outer-sphere complex, in which the metal is coordinated with six water molecules and the porphyrin is doubly protonated, until the metal ion is inserted into the deprotonated porphyrin ring with only one water ligand remaining. This reaction involves the stepwise displacement of five water molecules and the removal of two protons from the porphyrin ring. In addition, a step seems to be necessary in which a porphyrin pyrrolenine nitrogen atom changes its interaction from a hydrogen bond to a metal-bound solvent molecule to a direct coordination to the metal ion. If the protons are taken up by a neutral imidazole molecule, the deprotonation reactions are exothermic with minimal barriers. However, with a water molecule as an acceptor, they are endothermic. The ligand exchange reactions were approximately thermoneutral (+/-20 kJ mol(-1), with one exception) with barriers of up to 72 kJ mol(-1) for Mg and 51 kJ mol(-1) for Fe. For Mg, the highest barrier was found for the formation of the first bond to the porphyrin ring. For Fe, a higher barrier was found for the formation of the second bond to the porphyrin ring, but this barrier is probably lower in solution. No evidence was found for an initial pre-equilibrium between a planar and a distorted porphyrin ring. Instead, the porphyrin becomes more and more distorted as the number of metal-porphyrin bonds increase (by up to 191 kJ mol(-1)). This strain is released when the porphyrin becomes deprotonated and the metal moves into the ring plane. Implications of these findings for the chelatase enzymes are discussed.

How the Co-C bond is cleaved in coenzyme B12 enzymes: a theoretical study

The homolytic cleavage of the organometallic Co-C bond in vitamin B12-dependent enzymes is accelerated by a factor of approximately 10(12) in the protein compared to that of the isolated cofactor in aqueous solution. To understand this much debated effect, we have studied the Co-C bond cleavage in the enzyme glutamate mutase with combined quantum and molecular mechanics methods. We show that the calculated bond dissociation energy (BDE) of the Co-C bond in adenosyl cobalamin is reduced by 135 kJ/mol in the enzyme. This catalytic effect can be divided into four terms. First, the adenosine radical is kept within 4.2 angstroms of the Co ion in the enzyme, which decreases the BDE by 20 kJ/mol. Second, the surrounding enzyme stabilizes the dissociated state by 42 kJ/mol using electrostatic and van der Waals interactions. Third, the protein itself is stabilized by 11 kJ/mol in the dissociated state. Finally, the coenzyme is geometrically distorted by the protein, and this distortion is 61 kJ/mol larger in the Co(III) state. This deformation of the coenzyme is caused mainly by steric interactions, and it is especially the ribose moiety and the Co-C5'-C4' angle that are distorted. Without the polar ribose group, the catalytic effect is much smaller, e.g. only 42 kJ/mol for methyl cobalamin. The deformation of the coenzyme is caused mainly by the substrate, a side chain of the coenzyme itself, and a few residues around the adenosine part of the coenzyme.

Computational study on the difference between the Co–C bond dissociation energy in methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin

The bond dissociation energies of the Co-C bonds in the cobalamin cofactors methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin were calculated using the hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method IMOMM (integrated molecular orbital and molecular mechanics). Calculations were performed on models of differing complexities as well as on the full systems. We investigated the origin of the different experimental values for the Co-C bond dissociation energies in methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, and have provided an explanation for the difficulties encountered when we attempt to reproduce this difference in quantum chemistry. Additional calculations have been performed using the Miertus-Scrocco-Tomasi method in order to estimate the influence of solvent effects on the homolytic Co-C bond cleavage. Introduction of these solvation effects is shown to be necessary for the correct reproduction of experimental trends in bond dissociation energies in solution, which consequently have no direct correlation with dissociation processes in the enzyme.

Validation of semiempirical methods for modeling of corrinoid systems

Several semiempirical methods (MNDO-d, PM3tm, PM3-d, PM5, PM6, and AM1-d) have been tested against experimental data and density functional theory (DFT) results in search for the best methods that can be used for quantum-mechanical-molecular mechanics (QM/MM) modeling of corrinoid systems of vitamin B(12) co-factor. It has been found that the PM6 parametrization in its present form gives results closest to hybrid DFT calculations that are most widely used thus far. In comparison with pure DFT and experimental data the best agreement is obtained for PM3tm parametrization, while PM6 yields slightly worse results. AM1-d yields bad geometry of the corrin moiety. The worst performance was observed for MNDO-d, which has severe problem with position and orientation of the alpha-ligands.

The structure of sitting-atop complexes of metalloporphyrins studied by theoretical methods

The metallation of tetrapyrroles is believed to proceed via a sitting-atop (SAT) complex, in which some of the pyrrole nitrogen atoms are still protonated and the metal ion resides above the ring plane. No crystal structure of such a complex has been presented, but NMR and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data has been reported for Cu(2+) in acetonitrile. We have used density functional calculations to obtain reasonable models for SAT complexes of porphyrins with Mg(2+), Fe(2+), and Cu(2+). The results show that there are many possible SAT complexes with 1-5 solvent molecules, one or two metal ions, and cis or trans protonation of the porphyrin ring. Many of these have similar energies and their relative stabilities vary with the metal ion. A complex with two cis pyrrolenine nitrogens atoms and 2-4 solvent molecules coordinated to Cu(2+) fits the NMR and EXAFS data best. However, we cannot fully exclude the possibility that what is observed is rather a mixture of a doubly protonated porphyrin and the copper porphyrin. Mg(2+) has a lower affinity for porphyrin and stronger affinity for water, so a complex with five water molecules and only one bond to porphyrin seems to be most stable. For Fe(2+), a cis structure with two first-sphere water molecules and four interactions to the porphyrin seems to be most likely.

Methyl Transfer Reactivity of Five-Coordinate CH3CoIIIPc

CH3CoIIIPc (Pc = dianion of phthalocyanine) has been characterized by equilibrium studies of its trans axial ligation and cyclic voltammetry as a relatively "electron poor" model of methylcobalamin, which in noncoordinating solvents persists as a five-coordinate complex. Axial base (N-donors, PBu3, SCN-, weakly binding O-donors) inhibition of methyl transfer from CH3CoIIIPc shows that the reaction proceeds via the reactive five-coordinate species, even in coordinating solvents. The virtual inactivity of six-coordinate CH3CoIIIPc(L) complexes provides a reference point for important biological processes.

Structure-energy relations in methylcobalamin with and without bound axial base

The properties of the Co-C bond in methylcobalamin (MeCbl) are analyzed by means of first-principles molecular dynamics. The optimized structure is in very good agreement with experiments, reproducing the bent-up deformation of the corrin ring as well as the metal-ligand bond distances. The analysis of the binding energies, bond orders, and vibrational stretching frequencies shows that the axial base slightly weakens the Co-C bond (by 4%), while the alkyl ligand substantially reinforces the Co-axial base bond (by 90%). These findings support several experiments and provide insight into the conversion between the base-on and base-off forms of the MeCbl cofactor.

Catalytic Roles of Active-Site Amino Acid Residues of Coenzyme B12-Dependent Diol Dehydratase: Protonation State of Histidine and Pull Effect of Glutamate

The hydrogen abstraction and the OH migration processes catalyzed by diol dehydratase are discussed by means of a quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical method. To evaluate the push effect of His143 and the pull effect of Glu170, we considered three kinds of whole-enzyme model, the protonated and two unprotonated His143 models. A calculated activation energy for the hydrogen abstraction by the adenosyl radical is 15.6 (13.6) kcal/mol in the protonated (unprotonated) His143 model. QM/MM calculational results show that the mechanism of the OH migration is significantly changed by the protonation of His143. In the protonated His143 model, the OH group migration triggered by the full proton donation from the imidazolium to the migrating OH group occurs by a stepwise OH abstraction/re-addition process in which the water production reduces the barrier for the C-O bond cleavage. On the other hand, the OH migration in the unprotonated His143 model proceeds in a concerted manner, as we previously proposed using a simple model including only K+ ion and substrate. The latter mechanism seems to be kinetically more favorable from the calculated energy profiles and is consistent with experimental results. The activation barrier of the OH group migration step is only 1.6 kcal/mol reduced by the hydrogen-bonding interaction between the O2 of the substrate and unprotonated His143. Thus, it is predicted that His143 is not protonated, and therefore the main active-site amino acid residue that lowers the energy of the transition state for the OH group migration is determined to be Glu170.