Evidence for Dramatic Acceleration of a C−H Bond Ionization Rate in Thiamin Diphosphate Enzymes by the Protein Environment

Structural Views along the Mycobacterium tuberculosis MenD Reaction Pathway Illuminate Key Aspects of Thiamin Diphosphate-Dependent Enzyme Mechanisms

Menaquinone (MQ) is an essential component of the respiratory chains of many pathogenic organisms, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The first committed step in MQ biosynthesis is catalyzed by 2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6-hydroxy-3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylate synthase (MenD), a thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzyme. Catalysis proceeds through two covalent intermediates as the substrates 2-oxoglutarate and isochorismate are successively added to the cofactor before final cleavage of the product. We have determined a series of crystal structures of Mtb-MenD that map the binding of both substrates, visualizing each step in the MenD catalytic cycle, including both intermediates. ThDP binding induces a marked asymmetry between the coupled active sites of each dimer, and possible mechanisms of communication can be identified. The crystal structures also reveal conformational features of the two intermediates that facilitate reaction but prevent premature product release. These data fully map chemical space to inform early-stage drug discovery targeting MenD.

The Design of "Neutral" Carbanions with Intramolecular Charge Compensation

Strategies to construct zwitterionic anions from the parent anions are proposed. Two principles are employed; the cationic counterpart is (a) attached as a substituent or (b) inserted as an integral part at a remote location in the assembly. The optimized geometries reveal that a striking similarity exists between the zwitterions and the respective precursor parent anion. The computed vibrational frequencies emphasize that these novel entities are minima on their respective potential energy surfaces. A substantial HOMO-LUMO gap indicates that the proposed structures do not show instability in their respective electronic states and that the higher energy configuration states do not contribute to the ground state viability. The separation of charge between the monopoles in these zwitterions is demonstrated by moderately large nonzero dipole moments. Significant large energy barriers for rearrangement to the closely related positional isomers, demonstrated in a few cases, advocate the thermal stability (associated with spectroscopic viability) of the novel molecules. The donor capacity (basicity) of the anionic subunit in these zwitterions is comparable to that of the respective parent anions. Since the qualitative and quantitative features in the designed charged compensated complexes are conserved as anions, these molecules may perhaps be employed in synthetic organic or organometallic chemistry.

A thiamin-utilizing ribozyme decarboxylates a pyruvate-like substrate

Vitamins are hypothesized to be relics of an RNA world, and were probably participants in RNA-mediated primordial metabolism. If catalytic RNAs, or ribozymes, could harness vitamin cofactors to aid their function in a manner similar to protein enzymes, it would enable them to catalyse a much larger set of chemical reactions. The cofactor thiamin diphosphate, a derivative of vitamin B1 (thiamin), is used by enzymes to catalyse difficult metabolic reactions, including decarboxylation of stable α-keto acids such as pyruvate. Here, we report a ribozyme that uses free thiamin to decarboxylate a pyruvate-based suicide substrate (LnkPB). Thiamin conjugated to biotin was used to isolate catalytic individuals from a pool of random-sequence RNAs attached to LnkPB. Analysis of a stable guanosine adduct obtained via digestion of an RNA sequence (clone dc4) showed the expected decarboxylation product. The discovery of a prototypic thiamin-utilizing ribozyme has implications for the role of RNA in orchestrating early metabolic cycles.

Catalysis in Enzymatic Decarboxylations: Comparison of Selected Cofactor-dependent and Cofactor-independent Examples

This review is focused on three types of enzymes decarboxylating very different substrates: (1) Thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzymes reacting with 2-oxo acids; (2) Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes reacting with α-amino acids; and (3) An enzyme with no known co-factors, orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase (OMPDC). While the first two classes have been much studied for many years, during the past decade studies of both classes have revealed novel mechanistic insight challenging accepted understanding. The enzyme OMPDC has posed a challenge to the enzymologist attempting to explain a 10¹⁷-fold rate acceleration in the absence of cofactors or even metal ions. A comparison of the available evidence on the three types of decarboxylases underlines some common features and more differences. The field of decarboxylases remains an interesting and challenging one for the mechanistic enzymologist notwithstanding the large amount of information already available.

Determination of pre-steady-state rate constants on the Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase complex reveals that loop movement controls the rate-limiting step

Spectroscopic identification and characterization of covalent and noncovalent intermediates on large enzyme complexes is an exciting and challenging area of modern enzymology. The Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (PDHc), consisting of multiple copies of enzymic components and coenzymes, performs the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and is central to carbon metabolism linking glycolysis to the Krebs cycle. On the basis of earlier studies, we hypothesized that the dynamic regions of the E1p component, which undergo a disorder-order transition upon substrate binding to thiamin diphosphate (ThDP), play a critical role in modulation of the catalytic cycle of PDHc. To test our hypothesis, we kinetically characterized ThDP-bound covalent intermediates on the E1p component, and the lipoamide-bound covalent intermediate on the E2p component in PDHc and in its variants with disrupted active-site loops. Our results suggest that formation of the first covalent predecarboxylation intermediate, C2α-lactylthiamin diphosphate (LThDP), is rate limiting for the series of steps culminating in acetyl-CoA formation. Substitutions in the active center loops produced variants with up to 900-fold lower rates of formation of the LThDP, demonstrating that these perturbations directly affected covalent catalysis. This rate was rescued by up to 5-fold upon assembly to PDHc of the E401K variant. The E1p loop dynamics control covalent catalysis with ThDP and are modulated by PDHc assembly, presumably by selection of catalytically competent loop conformations. This mechanism could be a general feature of 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase complexes because such interfacial dynamic regions are highly conserved.

THEORETICAL STUDY TOWARD UNDERSTANDING THE CATALYTIC MECHANISM OF PYRUVATE DEHYDROGENASE MULTIENZYME COMPLEX E1 COMPONENT

Density functional calculations are employed to investigate the mechanisms of all elementary reaction steps involved in the catalytic reaction of pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex E1 (PDHc E1). We have obtained the free energy profiles for all reaction steps, and have demonstrated the importance of some key residues (Glu571, Glu522, His640 and a water molecule) near the active center in each individual step. Glu571 plays an essential role in the ylide formation, the addition of pyruvate, and the release of acetaldehyde. Glu522 helps to orientate the carboxyl of pyruvate in favor of the addition reaction of pyruvate. The protonation of the enamine is found to proceed through a concerted double proton transfer transition state involving His640 and a water molecule. All reaction steps are calculated to be thermodynamically favorable, except for the release of acetaldehyde which is slightly endothermic. The protonation of the enamine is a rate-limiting step with a barrier of 24.5 kcal/mol in the protein environment. Comparing the energetics of the catalytic reaction in PDHc E1 with that in PDC, we find that the relative orientation of some conserved residues and the conformation of the cofactor ThDP have a significant impact on the reaction rates of individual steps.

Detection and time course of formation of major thiamin diphosphate-bound covalent intermediates derived from a chromophoric substrate analogue on benzoylformate decarboxylase

The mechanism of the enzyme benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFDC), which carries out a typical thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent nonoxidative decarboxylation reaction, was studied with the chromophoric alternate substrate (E)-2-oxo-4(pyridin-3-yl)-3-butenoic acid (3-PKB). Addition of 3-PKB resulted in the appearance of two transient intermediates formed consecutively, the first one to be formed a predecarboxylation ThDP-bound intermediate with lambda(max) at 477 nm, and the second one corresponding to the first postdecarboxylation intermediate the enamine with lambda(max) at 437 nm. The time course of formation/depletion of the PKB-ThDP covalent complex and of the enamine showed that decarboxylation was slower than formation of the PKB-ThDP covalent adduct. When the product of decarboxylation 3-(pyridin-3-yl)acrylaldehyde (PAA) was added to BFDC, again an absorbance with lambda(max) at 473 nm was formed, corresponding to the tetrahedral adduct of PAA with ThDP. Addition of well-formed crystals of BFDC to a solution of PAA resulted in a high resolution (1.34 A) structure of the BFDC-bound adduct of ThDP with PAA confirming the tetrahedral nature at the C2alpha atom, rather than of the enamine, and supporting the assignment of the lambda(max) at 473 nm to the PAA-ThDP adduct. The structure of the PAA-ThDP covalent complex is the first example of a product-ThDP adduct on BFDC. Similar studies with 3-PKB indicated that decarboxylation had taken place. Evidence was also obtained for the slow formation of the enamine intermediate when BFDC was incubated with benzaldehyde, the product of the decarboxylation reaction thus confirming its presence on the reaction pathway.

Saturation mutagenesis of putative catalytic residues of benzoylformate decarboxylase provides a challenge to the accepted mechanism

Benzoylformate decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida (PpBFDC) is a thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzyme that carries out the nonoxidative decarboxylation of aromatic 2-keto acids. The x-ray structure of PpBFDC suggested that Ser-26, His-70, and His-281 would play important roles in its catalytic mechanism, and the S26A, H70A, and H281A variants all exhibited greatly impaired catalytic activity. Based on stopped-flow studies with the alanine mutants, it was proposed that the histidine residues acted as acid-base catalysts, whereas Ser-26 was involved in substrate binding and played a significant, albeit less well defined, role in catalysis. While developing a saturation mutagenesis protocol to examine residues involved in PpBFDC substrate specificity, we tested the procedure on His-281. To our surprise, we found that His-281, which is thought to be necessary for protonation of the carbanion/enamine intermediate, could be replaced by phenyl alanine with only a 5-fold decrease in k(cat). Even more surprising were our subsequent observations (i) that His-70 could be replaced by threonine or leucine with approximately a 30-fold decrease in k(cat)/K(m) compared with a 4,000-fold decrease for the H70A variant and (ii) that Ser-26, which forms hydrogen bonds with the substrate carboxylate, could be replaced by threonine, leucine, or methionine without significant loss of activity. These results call into question the assigned roles for Ser-26, His-70, and His-281. Further, they demonstrate the danger in assigning catalytic function based solely on results with alanine mutants and show that saturation mutagenesis is a valuable tool in assessing the role and relative importance of putative catalytic residues.

Glyoxylate carboligase lacks the canonical active site glutamate of thiamine-dependent enzymes

Thiamine diphosphate (ThDP), a derivative of vitamin B1, is an enzymatic cofactor whose special chemical properties allow it to play critical mechanistic roles in a number of essential metabolic enzymes. It has been assumed that all ThDP-dependent enzymes exploit a polar interaction between a strictly conserved glutamate and the N1' of the ThDP moiety. The crystal structure of glyoxylate carboligase challenges this paradigm by revealing that valine replaces the conserved glutamate. Through kinetic, spectroscopic and site-directed mutagenesis studies, we show that although this extreme change lowers the rate of the initial step of the enzymatic reaction, it ensures efficient progress through subsequent steps. Glyoxylate carboligase thus provides a unique illustration of the fine tuning between catalytic stages imposed during evolution on enzymes catalyzing multistep processes.

Amino acids allosterically regulate the thiamine diphosphate-dependent alpha-keto acid decarboxylase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The gene rv0853c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv codes for a thiamine diphosphate-dependent alpha-keto acid decarboxylase (MtKDC), an enzyme involved in the amino acid degradation via the Ehrlich pathway. Steady state kinetic experiments were performed to determine the substrate specificity of MtKDC. The mycobacterial enzyme was found to convert a broad spectrum of branched-chain and aromatic alpha-keto acids. Stopped-flow kinetics showed that MtKDC is allosterically activated by alpha-keto acids. Even more, we demonstrate that also amino acids are potent activators of this thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme. Thus, metabolic flow through the Ehrlich pathway can be directly regulated at the decarboxylation step. The influence of amino acids on MtKDC catalysis was investigated, and implications for other thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes are discussed.

Crystallographic snapshots of oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase give insights into catalysis by nonoxidative ThDP-dependent decarboxylases

Despite more than five decades of extensive studies of thiamin diphosphate (ThDP) enzymes, there remain many uncertainties as to how these enzymes achieve their rate enhancements. Here, we present a clear picture of catalysis for the simple nonoxidative decarboxylase, oxalyl-coenzyme A (CoA) decarboxylase, based on crystallographic snapshots along the catalytic cycle and kinetic data on active site mutants. First, we provide crystallographic evidence that, upon binding of oxalyl-CoA, the C-terminal 13 residues fold over the substrate, aligning the substrate alpha-carbon for attack by the ThDP-C2 atom. The second structure presented shows a covalent reaction intermediate after decarboxylation, interpreted as being nonplanar. Finally, the structure of a product complex is presented. In accordance with mutagenesis data, no side chains of the enzyme are implied to directly participate in proton transfer except the glutamic acid (Glu-56), which promotes formation of the 1',4'-iminopyrimidine tautomer of ThDP needed for activation.

The crystal structure of phenylpyruvate decarboxylase from Azospirillum brasilense at 1.5 Å resolution

Phenylpyruvate decarboxylase (PPDC) of Azospirillum brasilense, involved in the biosynthesis of the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid and the antimicrobial compound phenylacetic acid, is a thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme that catalyses the nonoxidative decarboxylation of indole- and phenylpyruvate. Analogous to yeast pyruvate decarboxylases, PPDC is subject to allosteric substrate activation, showing sigmoidal v versus [S] plots. The present paper reports the crystal structure of this enzyme determined at 1.5 A resolution. The subunit architecture of PPDC is characteristic for other members of the pyruvate oxidase family, with each subunit consisting of three domains with an open alpha/beta topology. An active site loop, bearing the catalytic residues His112 and His113, could not be modelled due to flexibility. The biological tetramer is best described as an asymmetric dimer of dimers. A cysteine residue that has been suggested as the site for regulatory substrate binding in yeast pyruvate decarboxylase is not conserved, requiring a different mechanism for allosteric substrate activation in PPDC. Only minor changes occur in the interactions with the cofactors, thiamine diphosphate and Mg2+, compared to pyruvate decarboxylase. A greater diversity is observed in the substrate binding pocket accounting for the difference in substrate specificity. Moreover, a catalytically important glutamate residue conserved in nearly all decarboxylases is replaced by a leucine in PPDC. The consequences of these differences in terms of the catalytic and regulatory mechanism of PPDC are discussed.

The 1',4'-iminopyrimidine tautomer of thiamin diphosphate is poised for catalysis in asymmetric active centers on enzymes

Thiamin diphosphate, a key coenzyme in sugar metabolism, is comprised of the thiazolium and 4'-aminopyrimidine aromatic rings, but only recently has participation of the 4'-aminopyrimidine moiety in catalysis gained wider acceptance. We report the use of electronic spectroscopy to identify the various tautomeric forms of the 4'-aminopyrimidine ring on four thiamin diphosphate enzymes, all of which decarboxylate pyruvate: the E1 component of human pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, the E1 subunit of Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, yeast pyruvate decarboxylase, and pyruvate oxidase from Lactobacillus plantarum. It is shown that, according to circular dichroism spectroscopy, both the 1',4'-iminopyrimidine and the 4'-aminopyrimidine tautomers coexist on the E1 component of human pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and pyruvate oxidase. Because both tautomers are seen simultaneously, these two enzymes provide excellent evidence for nonidentical active centers (asymmetry) in solution in these multimeric enzymes. Asymmetry of active centers can also be induced upon addition of acetylphosphinate, an excellent electrostatic pyruvate mimic, which participates in an enzyme-catalyzed addition to form a stable adduct, resembling the common predecarboxylation thiamin-bound intermediate, which exists in its 1',4'-iminopyrimidine form. The identification of the 1',4'-iminopyrimidine tautomer on four enzymes is almost certainly applicable to all thiamin diphosphate enzymes: this tautomer is the intramolecular trigger to generate the reactive ylide/carbene at the thiazolium C2 position in the first fundamental step of thiamin catalysis.

Electronic and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic features of the 1',4'-iminopyrimidine tautomeric form of thiamin diphosphate, a novel intermediate on enzymes requiring this coenzyme

Appropriate compounds were synthesized to create models for the 1',4'-imino tautomer of the 4'-aminopyrimidine ring of thiamin diphosphate recently found to exist on the pathway of enzymatic reactions requiring this cofactor [Jordan, F., and Nemeria, N. S. (2005) Bioorg. Chem. 33, 190-215]. The N1-methyl-4-aminopyrimidinium compounds synthesized on treatment with a strong base produce the 1,4-imino tautomer whose UV spectrum indicates a maximum between 300 and 320 nm, depending on the absence or presence of a methyl group at the 4-amino nitrogen. The lambda(max) found is in the same wavelength range as the positive circular dichroism band observed on several enzymes and showed a very strong dependence on solvent dielectric constant. To help with the 15N chemical shift assignments, the model compounds were specifically labeled with 15N at the amino nitrogen atom. The chemical shift of the amino nitrogen was deshielded by N1-methylation and then dramatically further deshielded by more than 100 ppm on formation of the 1,4-iminopyrimidine tautomer. Both the UV spectroscopic values and the 15N chemical shift for the 1,4-iminopyrimidine tautomer should serve as useful guides to the assignment of enzyme-bound signals.

Acetohydroxyacid synthase and its role in the biosynthetic pathway for branched-chain amino acids

The branched-chain amino acids are synthesized by plants, fungi and microorganisms, but not by animals. Therefore, the enzymes of this pathway are potential target sites for the development of antifungal agents, antimicrobials and herbicides. Most research has focused upon the first enzyme in this biosynthetic pathway, acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) largely because it is the target site for many commercial herbicides. In this review we provide a brief overview of the important properties of each enzyme within the pathway and a detailed summary of the most recent AHAS research, against the perspective of work that has been carried out over the past 50 years.

The catalytic cycle of a thiamin diphosphate enzyme examined by cryocrystallography

Enzymes that use the cofactor thiamin diphosphate (ThDP, 1), the biologically active form of vitamin B(1), are involved in numerous metabolic pathways in all organisms. Although a theory of the cofactor's underlying reaction mechanism has been established over the last five decades, the three-dimensional structures of most major reaction intermediates of ThDP enzymes have remained elusive. Here, we report the X-ray structures of key intermediates in the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate, a central reaction in carbon metabolism catalyzed by the ThDP- and flavin-dependent enzyme pyruvate oxidase (POX)3 from Lactobacillus plantarum. The structures of 2-lactyl-ThDP (LThDP, 2) and its stable phosphonate analog, of 2-hydroxyethyl-ThDP (HEThDP, 3) enamine and of 2-acetyl-ThDP (AcThDP, 4; all shown bound to the enzyme's active site) provide profound insights into the chemical mechanisms and the stereochemical course of thiamin catalysis. These snapshots also suggest a mechanism for a phosphate-linked acyl transfer coupled to electron transfer in a radical reaction of pyruvate oxidase.

Experimental observation of thiamin diphosphate-bound intermediates on enzymes and mechanistic information derived from these observations

Thiamin diphosphate (ThDP), the vitamin B1 coenzyme, is an excellent representative of coenzymes, which carry out electrophilic catalysis by forming a covalent complex with their substrates. The function of ThDP is to greatly increase the acidity of two carbon acids by stabilizing their conjugate bases, the ylide/C2-carbanion of the thiazolium ring and the C2alpha-carbanion (or enamine) once the substrate binds to ThDP. In recent years, several ThDP-bound intermediates on such pathways have been characterized by both solution and solid-state (X-ray) methods. Prominent among these advances are X-ray crystallographic results identifying both oxidative and non-oxidative intermediates, rapid chemical quench followed by NMR detection of a several intermediates which are stable under acidic conditions, and circular dichroism detection of the 1',4'-imino tautomer of ThDP in some of the intermediates. Some of these methods also enable the investigator to determine the rate-limiting step in the complex series of steps.