Energy landscape of the Michaelis complex of lactate dehydrogenase: relationship to catalytic mechanism

Allostery and Evolution: A Molecular Journey Through the Structural and Dynamical Landscape of an Enzyme Super Family

Allosteric regulation is a powerful mechanism for controlling the efficiency of enzymes. Deciphering the evolutionary mechanisms by which allosteric properties have been acquired in enzymes is of fundamental importance. We used the malate (MalDH) and lactate deydrogenases (LDHs) superfamily as model to elucidate this phenomenon. By introducing a few of mutations associated to the emergence of allosteric LDHs into the non-allosteric MalDH from Methanopyrus kandleri, we have gradually shifted its enzymatic profile toward that typical of allosteric LDHs. We first investigated the process triggering homotropic activation. The structures of the resulting mutants show the typical compact organization of the R-active state of LDHs, but a distorted (T-like) catalytic site demonstrating that they corresponds to hybrid states. Molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations confirmed the capability of these mutants to sample the T-inactive state. By adding a final single mutation to fine-tune the flexibility of the catalytic site, we obtained an enzyme with both sigmoid (homotropic) and hyperbolic (heterotropic) substrate activation profiles. Its structure shows a typical extended T-state as in LDHs, whereas its catalytic state has as a restored configuration favorable for catalysis. Free energy calculations indicate that the T and R catalytic site configurations are in an equilibrium that depends on solvent conditions. We observed long-range communication between monomers as required for allosteric activation. Our work links the evolution of allosteric regulation in the LDH/MDH superfamily to the ensemble model of allostery at molecular level, and highlights the important role of the underlying protein dynamics.

Unnatural Amino Acids for Biological Spectroscopy and Microscopy

Due to advances in methods for site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into proteins, a large number of UAAs with tailored chemical and/or physical properties have been developed and used in a wide array of biological applications. In particular, UAAs with specific spectroscopic characteristics can be used as external reporters to produce additional signals, hence increasing the information content obtainable in protein spectroscopic and/or imaging measurements. In this Review, we summarize the progress in the past two decades in the development of such UAAs and their applications in biological spectroscopy and microscopy, with a focus on UAAs that can be used as site-specific vibrational, fluorescence, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes. Wherever applicable, we also discuss future directions.

Exploring the Key Amino Acid Residues Surrounding the Active Center of Lactate Dehydrogenase A for the Development of Ideal Inhibitors

Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) primarily catalyzes the conversion between lactic acid and pyruvate, serving as a key enzyme in the aerobic glycolysis pathway of sugar in tumor cells. LDHA plays a crucial role in the occurrence, development, progression, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and immune escape of tumors. Consequently, LDHA not only serves as a biomarker for tumor diagnosis and prognosis but also represents an ideal target for tumor therapy. Although LDHA inhibitors show great therapeutic potential, their development has proven to be challenging. In the development of LDHA inhibitors, the key active sites of LDHA are emphasized. Nevertheless, there is a relative lack of research on the amino acid residues around the active center of LDHA. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the amino acid residues around the active center of LDHA. Through structure comparison analysis, five key amino acid residues (Ala30, Met41, Lys131, Gln233, and Ala259) were identified. Subsequently, the effects of these five residues on the enzymatic properties of LDHA were investigated using site-directed mutagenesis. The results revealed that the catalytic activities of the five mutants varied to different degrees in both the reaction from lactic acid to pyruvate and pyruvate to lactic acid. Notably, the catalytic activities of LDHAM41G and LDHAK131I were improved, particularly in the case of LDHAK131I. The results of the molecular dynamics analysis of LDHAK131I explained the reasons for this phenomenon. Additionally, the optimum temperature of LDHAM41G and LDHAQ233M increased from 35 °C to 40 °C, whereas in the reverse reaction, the optimum temperature of LDHAM41G and LDHAK131I decreased from 70 °C to 60 °C. These findings indicate that Ala30, Met41, Lys131, Gln233, and Ala259 exert diverse effects on the catalytic activity and optimum temperature of LHDA. Therefore, these amino acid residues, in addition to the key catalytic site of the active center, play a crucial role. Considering these residues in the design and screening of LDHA inhibitors may lead to the development of more effective inhibitors.

Protein Dynamics and Enzymatic Catalysis

This Perspective presents a review of our work and that of others in the highly controversial topic of the coupling of protein dynamics to reaction in enzymes. We have been involved in studying this topic for many years. Thus, this perspective will naturally present our own views, but it also is designed to present an overview of the variety of viewpoints of this topic, both experimental and theoretical. This is obviously a large and contentious topic.

DHFR Mutants Modulate Their Synchronized Dynamics with the Substrate by Shifting Hydrogen Bond Occupancies

Antibiotic resistance is a global health problem in which mutations occurring in functional proteins render drugs ineffective. The working mechanisms of the arising mutants are seldom apparent; a methodology to decipher these mechanisms systematically would render devising therapies to control the arising mutational pathways possible. Here we utilize C_α-C_β bond vector relaxations obtained from moderate length MD trajectories to determine conduits for functionality of the resistance conferring mutants of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase. We find that the whole enzyme is synchronized to the motions of the substrate, irrespective of the mutation introducing gain-of-function or loss-of function. The total coordination of the motions suggests changes in the hydrogen bond dynamics with respect to the wild type as a possible route to determine and classify the mode-of-action of individual mutants. As a result, nine trimethoprim-resistant point mutations arising frequently in evolution experiments are categorized. One group of mutants that display the largest occurrence (L28R, W30G) work directly by modifying the dihydrofolate binding region. Conversely, W30R works indirectly by the formation of the E139-R30 salt bridge which releases energy resulting from tight binding by distorting the binding cavity. A third group (D27E, F153S, I94L) arising as single, resistance invoking mutants in evolution experiment trajectories allosterically and dynamically affects a hydrogen bonding motif formed at residues 59-69-71 which in turn modifies the binding site dynamics. The final group (I5F, A26T, R98P) consists of those mutants that have properties most similar to the wild type; these only appear after one of the other mutants is fixed on the protein structure and therefore display clear epistasis. Thus, we show that the binding event is governed by the entire enzyme dynamics while the binding site residues play gating roles. The adjustments made in the total enzyme in response to point mutations are what make quantifying and pinpointing their effect a hard problem. Here, we show that hydrogen bond dynamics recorded on sub-μs time scales provide the necessary fingerprints to decipher the various mechanisms at play.

LDHA: The Obstacle to T cell responses against tumor

Immunotherapy has become a successful therapeutic strategy in certain solid tumors and hematological malignancies. However, this efficacy of immunotherapy is impeded by limited success rates. Cellular metabolic reprogramming determines the functionality and viability in both cancer cells and immune cells. Extensive research has unraveled that the limited success of immunotherapy is related to immune evasive metabolic reprogramming in tumor cells and immune cells. As an enzyme that catalyzes the final step of glycolysis, lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) has become a major focus of research. Here, we have addressed the structure, localization, and biological features of LDHA. Furthermore, we have discussed the various aspects of epigenetic regulation of LDHA expression, such as histone modification, DNA methylation, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation, and transcriptional control by noncoding RNA. With a focus on the extrinsic (tumor cells) and intrinsic (T cells) functions of LDHA in T-cell responses against tumors, in this article, we have reviewed the current status of LDHA inhibitors and their combination with T cell-mediated immunotherapies and postulated different strategies for future therapeutic regimens.

Improvement in the catalytic performance of a phenylpyruvate reductase from Lactobacillus plantarum by site-directed and saturation mutagenesis based on the computer-aided design

To enhance the specific activity and catalytic efficiency (k _cat/K _m) of an NADH-dependent LpPPR, its directed modification was performed based on the computer-aided design using molecular docking simulation and multiple sequence alignment. Firstly, five single-site variants of an LpPPR-encoding gene (lpppr) were amplified and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The asymmetric reduction of 20 mM phenylpyruvic acid (PPA) was carried out using 50 mg/mL E. coli/lpppr ^R53Q or /lpppr ^A79V whole wet cells at 37 °C for 20 min, giving d-phenyllactic acid (PLA) with 41.1 or 44.3% yield, being 1.17- or 1.26-fold that by E. coli/lpppr. Secondly, double-site variants were obtained by saturation mutagenesis of Ala79 in LpPPR^R53Q. Among all tested E. coli transformants, E. coli/lpppr ^R53Q/A79V exhibited the highest d-PLA yield of 85.3%. The specific activity and k _cat/K _m of the purified LpPPR^R53Q/A79V increased to 67.5 U/mg and 169.8 mM^-1 s^-1, which were 3.0- and 13.2-fold those of LpPPR, respectively. Finally, the catalytic mechanism analysis of LpPPR^R53Q/A79V by molecular docking simulation indicated that the replacement of Arg53 in LpPPR with Gln expanded its substrate-binding pocket, while that Ala79 with Val formed an additional π-sigma interaction with phenyl group of PPA.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

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Pressure tolerance of deep-sea enzymes can be evolved through increasing volume changes in protein transitions: a study with lactate dehydrogenases from abyssal and hadal fishes

We explore the principles of pressure tolerance in enzymes of deep-sea fishes using lactate dehydrogenases (LDH) as a case study. We compared the effects of pressure on the activities of LDH from hadal snailfishes Notoliparis kermadecensis and Pseudoliparis swirei with those from a shallow-adapted Liparis florae and an abyssal grenadier Coryphaenoides armatus. We then quantified the LDH content in muscle homogenates using mass-spectrometric determination of the LDH-specific conserved peptide LNLVQR. Existing theory suggests that adaptation to high pressure requires a decrease in volume changes in enzymatic catalysis. Accordingly, evolved pressure tolerance must be accompanied with an important reduction in the volume change associated with pressure-promoted alteration of enzymatic activity ( Δ V PP ∘ ). Our results suggest an important revision to this paradigm. Here, we describe an opposite effect of pressure adaptation-a substantial increase in the absolute value of Δ V PP ∘ in deep-living species compared to shallow-water counterparts. With this change, the enzyme activities in abyssal and hadal species do not substantially decrease their activity with pressure increasing up to 1-2 kbar, well beyond full-ocean depth pressures. In contrast, the activity of the enzyme from the tidepool snailfish, L. florae, decreases nearly linearly from 1 to 2500 bar. The increased tolerance of LDH activity to pressure comes at the expense of decreased catalytic efficiency, which is compensated with increased enzyme contents in high-pressure-adapted species. The newly discovered strategy is presumably used when the enzyme mechanism involves the formation of potentially unstable excited transient states associated with substantial changes in enzyme-solvent interactions.

Structural and functional regulation of lactate dehydrogenase-A in cancer

Dysregulated metabolism is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Under normal physiological conditions, ATP is primarily generated by oxidative phosphorylation. Cancers commonly undergo a dramatic shift toward glycolysis, despite the presence of oxygen. This phenomenon is known as the Warburg effect, and requires the activity of LDHA. LDHA converts pyruvate to lactate in the final step of glycolysis and is often upregulated in cancer. LDHA inhibitors present a promising therapeutic option, as LDHA blockade leads to apoptosis in cancer cells. Despite this, existing LDHA inhibitors have shown limited clinical efficacy. Here, we review recent progress in LDHA structure, function and regulation as well as strategies to target this critical enzyme.

Effect of Protein Isotope Labeling on the Catalytic Mechanism of Lactate Dehydrogenase

We investigate how isotopic labeling of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) affects its function. LDH is of special interest because there exists a line of residues spanning the protein that are involved in the transition state (TS) of the chemical reaction coordinate (so-called promoting vibration). Hence, studies have been carried out on this protein (as well as others) using labeled protein (so-called heavy protein) along with measurements of single turnover k_cat yielding a KIE (=k_cat^light/k_cat^heavy) aimed at understanding the effect of labeling generally and more specifically this line of residues. Here, it is shown that ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and ²H atom labeling of hhLDH (human heart) affects its internal structure which in turn affects its dynamics and catalytic mechanism. Spectral studies employing advanced FTIR difference spectroscopy show that the height of the electronic potential surface of the TS is lowered (probably by ground state destabilization) by labeling. Moreover, laser-induced T-jump relaxation kinetic spectroscopy shows that the microsecond to millisecond nuclear motions internal to the protein are affected by labeling. While the effects are small, they are sufficient to contribute to the observed KIE values as well or even more than promoting vibration effects.

Active-Site Glu165 Activation in Triosephosphate Isomerase and Its Deprotonation Kinetics

Triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) catalyzes the interconversion between dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GAP) via an enediol(ate) intermediate. The active-site residue Glu165 serves as the catalytic base during catalysis. It abstracts a proton from C1 carbon of DHAP to form the reaction intermediate and donates a proton to C2 carbon of the intermediate to form product GAP. Our difference Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies on the yeast TIM (YeTIM)/phosphate complex revealed a C═O stretch band at 1706 cm^-1 from the protonated Glu165 carboxyl group at pH 7.5, indicating that the p K_a of the catalytic base is increased by >3.0 pH units upon phosphate binding, and that the Glu165 carboxyl environment in the complex is still hydrophilic in spite of the increased p K_a. Hence, the results show that the binding of the phosphodianion group is part of the activation mechanism which involves the p K_a elevation of the catalytic base Glu165. The deprotonation kinetics of Glu165 in the μs to ms time range were determined via infrared (IR) T-jump studies on the YeTIM/phosphate and ("heavy enzyme") [U-¹³C,-¹⁵N]YeTIM/phosphate complexes. The slower deprotonation kinetics in the ms time scale is due to phosphate dissociation modulated by the loop motion, which slows down by enzyme mass increase to show a normal heavy enzyme kinetic isotope effect (KIE) ∼1.2 (i.e., slower rate in the heavy enzyme). The faster deprotonation kinetics in the tens of μs time scale is assigned to temperature-induced p K_a decrease, while phosphate is still bound, and it shows an inverse heavy enzyme KIE ∼0.89 (faster rate in the heavy enzyme). The IR static and T-jump spectroscopy provides atomic-level resolution of the catalytic mechanism because of its ability to directly observe the bond breaking/forming process.

Roles of Closed- and Open-Loop Conformations in Large-Scale Structural Transitions of l-Lactate Dehydrogenase

The mechanism of l-lactate generation from pyruvate by l-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from the rabbit muscle was studied theoretically by the multistructural microiteration (MSM) method combined with the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM)-ONIOM method, where the MSM method describes the MM environment as a weighted average of multiple different structures that are fully relaxed during geometry optimization or a reaction path calculation for the QM part. The results showed that the substrate binding and product states were stabilized only in the open-loop conformation of LDH and the reaction occurred in the closed-loop conformation. In other words, before and after the chemical reaction, a large-scale structural transition from the open-loop conformation to the closed-loop conformation and vice versa occurred. The closed-loop conformation stabilized the transition state of the reaction. In contrast, the open-loop conformation stabilized the substrate binding and final states. In other words, the closed- to open-loop transition at the substrate binding state urges capture of the substrate molecule, the subsequent open- to closed-loop transition promotes the product generation, and the final closed- to open-loop transition at the final state prevents the reverse reaction going back to the substrate binding state. It is thus suggested that the exchange of stability between the closed- and open-loop conformations at different states promotes the catalytic cycle.

Difference FTIR Studies of Substrate Distribution in Triosephosphate Isomerase

Triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) catalyzes the interconversion between dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GAP), via an enediol(ate) intermediate. Determination of substrate population distribution in the TIM/substrate reaction mixture at equilibrium and characterization of the substrate-enzyme interactions in the Michaelis complex are ongoing efforts toward the understanding of the TIM reaction mechanism. By using isotope-edited difference Fourier transform infrared studies with unlabeled and 13C-labeled substrates at specific carbon(s), we are able to show that in the reaction mixture at equilibrium the keto DHAP is the dominant species and the populations of aldehyde GAP and enediol(ate) are very low, consistent with the results from previous X-ray structural and 13C NMR studies. Furthermore, within the DHAP side of the Michaelis complex, there is a set of conformational substates that can be characterized by the different C2═O stretch frequencies. The C2═O frequency differences reflect the different degree of the C2═O bond polarization due to hydrogen bonding from active site residues. The C2═O bond polarization has been considered as an important component for substrate activation within the Michaelis complex. We have found that in the enzyme-substrate reaction mixture with TIM from different organisms the number of substates and their population distribution within the DHAP side of the Michaelis complex may be different. These discoveries provide a rare opportunity to probe the interconversion dynamics of these DHAP substates and form the bases for the future studies to determine if the TIM-catalyzed reaction follows a simple linear reaction pathway, as previously believed, or follows parallel reaction pathways, as suggested in another enzyme system that also shows a set of substates in the Michaelis complex.

Resolution of Submillisecond Kinetics of Multiple Reaction Pathways for Lactate Dehydrogenase

Enzymes are known to exhibit conformational flexibility. An important consequence of this flexibility is that the same enzyme reaction can occur via multiple reaction pathways on a reaction landscape. A model enzyme for the study of reaction landscapes is lactate dehydrogenase. We have previously used temperature-jump (T-jump) methods to demonstrate that the reaction landscape of lactate dehydrogenase branches at multiple points creating pathways with varied reactivity. A limitation of this previous work is that the T-jump method makes only small perturbations to equilibrium and may not report conclusively on all steps in a reaction. Therefore, interpreting T-jump results of lactate dehydrogenase kinetics has required extensive computational modeling work. Rapid mixing methods offer a complementary approach that can access large perturbations from equilibrium; however, traditional enzyme mixing methods like stopped-flow do not allow for the observation of fast protein dynamics. In this report, we apply a microfluidic rapid mixing device with a mixing time of <100 μs that allows us to study these fast dynamics and the catalytic redox step of the enzyme reaction. Additionally, we report UV absorbance and emission T-jump results with improved signal-to-noise ratio at fast times. The combination of mixing and T-jump results yields an unprecedented view of lactate dehydrogenase enzymology, confirming the timescale of substrate-induced conformational change and presence of multiple reaction pathways.

Thermodynamic and Structural Adaptation Differences between the Mesophilic and Psychrophilic Lactate Dehydrogenases

The thermodynamics of substrate binding and enzymatic activity of a glycolytic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), from both porcine heart, phLDH (Sus scrofa; a mesophile), and mackerel icefish, cgLDH (Chamapsocephalus gunnari; a psychrophile), were investigated. Using a novel and quite sensitive fluorescence assay that can distinguish protein conformational changes close to and distal from the substrate binding pocket, a reversible global protein structural transition preceding the high-temperature transition (denaturation) was surprisingly found to coincide with a marked change in enzymatic activity for both LDHs. A similar reversible structural transition of the active site structure was observed for phLDH but not for cgLDH. An observed lower substrate binding affinity for cgLDH compared to that for phLDH was accompanied by a larger contribution of entropy to ΔG, which reflects a higher functional plasticity of the psychrophilic cgLDH compared to that of the mesophilic phLDH. The natural osmolyte, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), increases stability and shifts all structural transitions to higher temperatures for both orthologs while simultaneously reducing catalytic activity. The presence of TMAO causes cgLDH to adopt catalytic parameters like those of phLDH in the absence of the osmolyte. Our results are most naturally understood within a model of enzyme dynamics whereby different conformations of the enzyme that have varied catalytic parameters (i.e., binding and catalytic proclivity) and whose population profiles are temperature-dependent and influenced by osmolytes interconvert among themselves. Our results also show that adaptation can be achieved by means other than gene mutations and complements the synchronic evolution of the cellular milieu.

Thermal activation of 'allosteric-like' large-scale motions in a eukaryotic Lactate Dehydrogenase

Conformational changes occurring during the enzymatic turnover are essential for the regulation of protein functionality. Individuating the protein regions involved in these changes and the associated mechanical modes is still a challenge at both experimental and theoretical levels. We present here a detailed investigation of the thermal activation of the functional modes and conformational changes in a eukaryotic Lactate Dehydrogenase enzyme (LDH). Neutron Spin Echo spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics simulations were used to uncover the characteristic length- and timescales of the LDH nanoscale motions in the apo state. The modes involving the catalytic loop and the mobile region around the binding site are activated at room temperature, and match the allosteric reorganisation of bacterial LDHs. In a temperature window of about 15 degrees, these modes render the protein flexible enough and capable of reorganising the active site toward reactive configurations. On the other hand an excess of thermal excitation leads to the distortion of the protein matrix with a possible anti-catalytic effect. Thus, the temperature activates eukaryotic LDHs via the same conformational changes observed in the allosteric bacterial LDHs. Our investigation provides an extended molecular picture of eukaryotic LDH's conformational landscape that enriches the static view based on crystallographic studies alone.

Triple Isotope Effects Support Concerted Hydride and Proton Transfer and Promoting Vibrations in Human Heart Lactate Dehydrogenase

Transition path sampling simulations have proposed that human heart lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) employs protein promoting vibrations (PPVs) on the femtosecond (fs) to picosecond (ps) time scale to promote crossing of the chemical barrier. This chemical barrier involves both hydride and proton transfers to pyruvate to form l-lactate, using reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) as the cofactor. Here we report experimental evidence from three types of isotope effect experiments that support coupling of the promoting vibrations to barrier crossing and the coincidence of hydride and proton transfer. We prepared the native (light) LDH and a heavy LDH labeled with ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and nonexchangeable ²H (D) to perturb the predicted PPVs. Heavy LDH has slowed chemistry in single turnover experiments, supporting a contribution of PPVs to transition state formation. Both the [4-²H]NADH (NADD) kinetic isotope effect and the D₂O solvent isotope effect were increased in dual-label experiments combining both NADD and D₂O, a pattern maintained with both light and heavy LDHs. These isotope effects support concerted hydride and proton transfer for both light and heavy LDHs. Although the transition state barrier-crossing probability is reduced in heavy LDH, the concerted mechanism of the hydride-proton transfer reaction is not altered. This study takes advantage of triple isotope effects to resolve the chemical mechanism of LDH and establish the coupling of fs-ps protein dynamics to barrier crossing.

Vibrational Stark Effects of Carbonyl Probes Applied to Reinterpret IR and Raman Data for Enzyme Inhibitors in Terms of Electric Fields at the Active Site

IR and Raman frequency shifts have been reported for numerous probes of enzyme transition states, leading to diverse interpretations. In the case of the model enzyme ketosteroid isomerase (KSI), we have argued that IR spectral shifts for a carbonyl probe at the active site can provide a connection between the active site electric field and the activation free energy (Fried et al. Science 2014, 346, 1510-1514). Here we generalize this approach to a much broader set of carbonyl probes (e.g., oxoesters, thioesters, and amides), first establishing the sensitivity of each probe to an electric field using vibrational Stark spectroscopy, vibrational solvatochromism, and MD simulations, and then applying these results to reinterpret data already in the literature for enzymes such as 4-chlorobenzoyl-CoA dehalogenase and serine proteases. These results demonstrate that the vibrational Stark effect provides a general framework for estimating the electrostatic contribution to the catalytic rate and may provide a metric for the design or modification of enzymes. Opportunities and limitations of the approach are also described.

Conformational Heterogeneity in the Michaelis Complex of Lactate Dehydrogenase: An Analysis of Vibrational Spectroscopy Using Markov and Hidden Markov Models

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) catalyzes the interconversion of pyruvate and lactate. Recent isotope-edited IR spectroscopy suggests that conformational heterogeneity exists within the Michaelis complex of LDH, and this heterogeneity affects the propensity toward the on-enzyme chemical step for each Michaelis substate. By combining molecular dynamics simulations with Markov and hidden Markov models, we obtained a detailed kinetic network of the substates of the Michaelis complex of LDH. The ensemble-average electric fields exerted onto the vibrational probe were calculated to provide a direct comparison with the vibrational spectroscopy. Structural features of the Michaelis substates were also analyzed on atomistic scales. Our work not only clearly demonstrates the conformational heterogeneity in the Michaelis complex of LDH and its coupling to the reactivities of the substates, but it also suggests a methodology to simultaneously resolve kinetics and structures on atomistic scales, which can be directly compared with the vibrational spectroscopy.

Protein Ensembles: How Does Nature Harness Thermodynamic Fluctuations for Life? The Diverse Functional Roles of Conformational Ensembles in the Cell

All soluble proteins populate conformational ensembles that together constitute the native state. Their fluctuations in water are intrinsic thermodynamic phenomena, and the distributions of the states on the energy landscape are determined by statistical thermodynamics; however, they are optimized to perform their biological functions. In this review we briefly describe advances in free energy landscape studies of protein conformational ensembles. Experimental (nuclear magnetic resonance, small-angle X-ray scattering, single-molecule spectroscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy) and computational (replica-exchange molecular dynamics, metadynamics, and Markov state models) approaches have made great progress in recent years. These address the challenging characterization of the highly flexible and heterogeneous protein ensembles. We focus on structural aspects of protein conformational distributions, from collective motions of single- and multi-domain proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, to multiprotein complexes. Importantly, we highlight recent studies that illustrate functional adjustment of protein conformational ensembles in the crowded cellular environment. We center on the role of the ensemble in recognition of small- and macro-molecules (protein and RNA/DNA) and emphasize emerging concepts of protein dynamics in enzyme catalysis. Overall, protein ensembles link fundamental physicochemical principles and protein behavior and the cellular network and its regulation.

Mechanism of Thermal Adaptation in the Lactate Dehydrogenases

The mechanism of thermal adaptation of enzyme function at the molecular level is poorly understood but is thought to lie within the structure of the protein or its dynamics. Our previous work on pig heart lactate dehydrogenase (phLDH) has determined very high resolution structures of the active site, via isotope edited IR studies, and has characterized its dynamical nature, via laser-induced temperature jump (T-jump) relaxation spectroscopy on the Michaelis complex. These particular probes are quite powerful at getting at the interplay between structure and dynamics in adaptation. Hence, we extend these studies to the psychrophilic protein cgLDH (Champsocephalus gunnari; 0 °C) and the extreme thermophile tmLDH (Thermotoga maritima LDH; 80 °C) for comparison to the mesophile phLDH (38-39 °C). Instead of the native substrate pyruvate, we utilize oxamate as a nonreactive substrate mimic for experimental reasons. Using isotope edited IR spectroscopy, we find small differences in the substate composition that arise from the detailed bonding patterns of oxamate within the active site of the three proteins; however, we find these differences insufficient to explain the mechanism of thermal adaptation. On the other hand, T-jump studies of reduced β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) emission reveal that the most important parameter affecting thermal adaptation appears to be enzyme control of the specific kinetics and dynamics of protein motions that lie along the catalytic pathway. The relaxation rate of the motions scale as cgLDH > phLDH > tmLDH in a way that faithfully matches kcat of the three isozymes.

Transition States and transition state analogue interactions with enzymes

Enzymatic transition states have lifetimes of a few femtoseconds (fs). Computational analysis of enzyme motions leading to transition state formation suggests that local catalytic site motions on the fs time scale provide the mechanism to locate transition states. An experimental test of protein fs motion and its relation to transition state formation can be provided by isotopically heavy proteins. Heavy enzymes have predictable mass-altered bond vibration states without altered electrostatic properties, according to the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. On-enzyme chemistry is slowed in most heavy proteins, consistent with altered protein bond frequencies slowing the search for the transition state. In other heavy enzymes, structural changes involved in reactant binding and release are also influenced. Slow protein motions associated with substrate binding and catalytic site preorganization are essential to allow the subsequent fs motions to locate the transition state and to facilitate the efficient release of products. In the catalytically competent geometry, local groups move in stochastic atomic motion on the fs time scale, within transition state-accessible conformations created by slower protein motions. The fs time scale for the transition state motions does not permit thermodynamic equilibrium between the transition state and stable enzyme states. Isotopically heavy enzymes provide a diagnostic tool for fast coupled protein motions to transition state formation and mass-dependent conformational changes. The binding of transition state analogue inhibitors is the opposite in catalytic time scale to formation of the transition state but is related by similar geometries of the enzyme-transition state and enzyme-inhibitor interactions. While enzymatic transition states have lifetimes as short as 10(-15) s, transition state analogues can bind tightly to enzymes with release rates greater than 10(3) s. Tight-binding transition state analogues stabilize the rare but evolved enzymatic geometry to form the transition state. Evolution to efficient catalysis optimized this geometry and its stabilization by a transition state mimic results in tight binding. Release rates of transition state analogues are orders of magnitude slower than product release in normal catalytic function. During catalysis, product release is facilitated by altered chemistry. Compared to the weak associations found in Michaelis complexes, transition state analogues involve strong interactions related to those in the transition state. Optimum binding of transition state analogues occurs when the complex retains the system motions intrinsic to transition state formation. Conserved dynamic motion retains the entropic components of inhibitor complexes, improving the thermodynamics of analogue binding.

Free energy surface of the Michaelis complex of lactate dehydrogenase: a network analysis of microsecond simulations

It has long been recognized that the structure of a protein creates a hierarchy of conformations interconverting on multiple time scales. The conformational heterogeneity of the Michaelis complex is of particular interest in the context of enzymatic catalysis in which the reactant is usually represented by a single conformation of the enzyme/substrate complex. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) catalyzes the interconversion of pyruvate and lactate with concomitant interconversion of two forms of the cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH and NAD(+)). Recent experimental results suggest that multiple substates exist within the Michaelis complex of LDH, and they show a strong variance in their propensity toward the on-enzyme chemical step. In this study, microsecond-scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were performed on LDH to explore the free energy landscape of the Michaelis complex, and network analysis was used to characterize the distribution of the conformations. Our results provide a detailed view of the kinetic network of the Michaelis complex and the structures of the substates at atomistic scales. They also shed light on the complete picture of the catalytic mechanism of LDH.

The dynamical nature of enzymatic catalysis

As is well-known, enzymes are proteins designed to accelerate specific life essential chemical reactions by many orders of magnitude. A folded protein is a highly dynamical entity, best described as a hierarchy or ensemble of interconverting conformations on all time scales from femtoseconds to minutes. We are just beginning to learn what role these dynamics play in the mechanism of chemical catalysis by enzymes due to extraordinary difficulties in characterizing the conformational space, that is, the energy landscape, of a folded protein. It seems clear now that their role is crucially important. Here we discuss approaches, based on vibrational spectroscopies of various sorts, that can reveal the energy landscape of an enzyme–substrate (Michaelis) complex and decipher which part of the typically very complicated landscape is relevant to catalysis. Vibrational spectroscopy is quite sensitive to small changes in bond order and bond length, with a resolution of 0.01 Å or less. It is this sensitivity that is crucial to its ability to discern bond reactivity.

Using isotope edited IR approaches, we have studied in detail the role of conformational heterogeneity and dynamics in the catalysis of hydride transfer by LDH (lactate dehydrogenase). Upon the binding of substrate, the LDH·substrate system undergoes a search through conformational space to find a range of reactive conformations over the microsecond to millisecond time scale. The ligand is shuttled to the active site via first forming a weakly bound enzyme·ligand complex, probably consisting of several heterogeneous structures. This complex undergoes numerous conformational changes spread throughout the protein that shuttle the enzyme·substrate complex to a range of conformations where the substrate is tightly bound. This ensemble of conformations all have a propensity toward chemistry, but some are much more facile for carrying out chemistry than others. The search for these tightly bound states is clearly directed by the forces that the protein can bring to bear, very much akin to the folding process to form native protein in the first place. In fact, the conformational subspace of reactive conformations of the Michaelis complex can be described as a “collapse” of reactive substates compared with that found in solution, toward a much smaller and much more reactive set.

These studies reveal how dynamic disorder in the protein structure can modulate the on-enzyme reactivity. It is very difficult to account for how the dynamical nature of the ground state of the Michaelis complex modulates function by transition state concepts since dynamical disorder is not a starting feature of the theory. We find that dynamical disorder may well play a larger or similar sized role in the measured Gibbs free energy of a reaction compared with the actual energy barrier involved in the chemical event. Our findings are broadly compatible with qualitative concepts of evolutionary adaptation of function such as adaptation to varying thermal environments. Our work suggests a methodology to determine the important dynamics of the Michaelis complex.

Extracting physics of life at the molecular level: A review of single-molecule data analyses

Studying individual biomolecules at the single-molecule level has proved very insightful recently. Single-molecule experiments allow us to probe both the equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties as well as make quantitative connections with ensemble experiments and equilibrium thermodynamics. However, it is important to be careful about the analysis of single-molecule data because of the noise present and the lack of theoretical framework for processes far away from equilibrium. Biomolecular motion, whether it is free in solution, on a substrate, or under force, involves thermal fluctuations in varying degrees, which makes the motion noisy. In addition, the noise from the experimental setup makes it even more complex. The details of biologically relevant interactions, conformational dynamics, and activities are hidden in the noisy single-molecule data. As such, extracting biological insights from noisy data is still an active area of research. In this review, we will focus on analyzing both fluorescence-based and force-based single-molecule experiments and gaining biological insights at the single-molecule level. Inherently nonequilibrium nature of biological processes will be highlighted. Simulated trajectories of biomolecular diffusion will be used to compare and validate various analysis techniques.

Protein Conformational Landscapes and Catalysis. Influence of Active Site Conformations in the Reaction Catalyzed by L-Lactate Dehydrogenase

In the last decade L-Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) has become an extremely useful marker in both clinical diagnosis and in monitoring the course of many human diseases. It has been assumed from the 80s that the full catalytic process of LDH starts with the binding of the cofactor and the substrate followed by the enclosure of the active site by a mobile loop of the protein before the reaction to take place. In this paper we show that the chemical step of the LDH catalyzed reaction can proceed within the open loop conformation, and the different reactivity of the different protein conformations would be in agreement with the broad range of rate constants measured in single molecule spectrometry studies. Starting from a recently solved X-ray diffraction structure that presented an open loop conformation in two of the four chains of the tetramer, QM/MM free energy surfaces have been obtained at different levels of theory. Depending on the level of theory used to describe the electronic structure, the free energy barrier for the transformation of pyruvate into lactate with the open conformation of the protein varies between 12.9 and 16.3 kcal/mol, after quantizing the vibrations and adding the contributions of recrossing and tunneling effects. These values are very close to the experimentally deduced one (14.2 kcal·mol^-1) and ~2 kcal·mol^-1 smaller than the ones obtained with the closed loop conformer. Calculation of primary KIEs and IR spectra in both protein conformations are also consistent with our hypothesis and in agreement with experimental data. Our calculations suggest that the closure of the active site is mainly required for the inverse process; the oxidation of lactate to pyruvate. According to this hypothesis H4 type LDH enzyme molecules, where it has been propose that lactate is transformed into pyruvate, should have a better ability to close the mobile loop than the M4 type LDH molecules.

Direct evidence of catalytic heterogeneity in lactate dehydrogenase by temperature jump infrared spectroscopy

Protein conformational heterogeneity and dynamics are known to play an important role in enzyme catalysis, but their influence has been difficult to observe directly. We have studied the effects of heterogeneity in the catalytic reaction of pig heart lactate dehydrogenase using isotope edited infrared spectroscopy, laser-induced temperature jump relaxation, and kinetic modeling. The isotope edited infrared spectrum reveals the presence of multiple reactive conformations of pyruvate bound to the enzyme, with three major reactive populations having substrate C2 carbonyl stretches at 1686, 1679, and 1674 cm(-1), respectively. The temperature jump relaxation measurements and kinetic modeling indicate that these substates form a heterogeneous branched reaction pathway, and each substate catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to lactate with a different rate. Furthermore, the rate of hydride transfer is inversely correlated with the frequency of the C2 carbonyl stretch (the rate increases as the frequency decreases), consistent with the relationship between the frequency of this mode and the polarization of the bond, which determines its reactivity toward hydride transfer. The enzyme does not appear to be optimized to use the fastest pathway preferentially but rather accesses multiple pathways in a search process that often selects slower ones. These results provide further support for a dynamic view of enzyme catalysis where the role of the enzyme is not just to bring reactants together but also to guide the conformational search for chemically competent interactions.