Structure and conformation of spin-labeled amino acids in frozen solutions determined by electron nuclear double resonance. 2. Methyl N-(2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxypyrrolinyl-3-carbonyl)-L-tryptophanate, a molecule with multiple conformations

Chromophoric spin-labeled beta-lactam antibiotics for ENDOR structural characterization of reaction intermediates of class A and class C beta-lactamases

The chromophoric spin-label substrate 6-N-[3-(2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxypyrrolin-3-yl)-propen-2-oyl]penicillanic acid (SLPPEN) was synthesized by acylation of 6-aminopenicillanic acid with the acid chloride of 3-(2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxypyrrolinyl)-2-propenoic acid and characterized by physical methods. By application of angle-selected electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), we have determined the molecular structure of SLPPEN in solution. SLPPEN exhibited UV absorption properties that allowed accurate monitoring of the kinetics of its enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis. The maximum value of the (substrate-product) difference extinction coefficient was 2824 M(-1) cm(-1) at 275 nm compared to 670 M(-1) cm(-1) at 232 nm for SLPEN [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 117 (1995) 6739]. For SLPPEN, the steady-state kinetic parameters kcat and kcat/KM, determined under initial velocity conditions, were 637 +/- 36 s(-1) and 13.8 +/- 1.4 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1), respectively, for hydrolysis catalyzed by TEM-1 beta-lactamase of E. coli, and 0.5 +/- 0.04 s(-1) and 3.9 +/- 0.4 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1) for hydrolysis catalyzed by the beta-lactamase of Enterobacter cloacae P99. We have also observed "burst kinetics" for the hydrolysis of SLPPEN with P99 beta-lactamase, indicative of formation of an acylenzyme reaction intermediate. In DMSO:H2O (30:70, v:v) cryosolvent mixtures buffered to pH* 7.0, the half-life of the acylenzyme intermediate formed with the P99 enzyme at -5 degrees C was > or = 3 min, suitable for optical characterization. The observation of burst kinetics in the hydrolysis of SLPPEN catalyzed by P99 beta-lactamase suggests that this chromophoric spin-labeled substrate is differentially sensitive to active site interactions underlying the cephalosporinase and penicillinase reactivity of this class C enzyme.

Structure of spin-labeled methylmethanethiolsulfonate in solution and bound to TEM-1 beta-lactamase determined by electron nuclear double resonance spectroscopy

Site-directed spin-labeling of proteins whereby the spin-label methyl 3-(2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxypyrrolinyl)methanethiolsulfonate (SLMTS) is reacted with the -SH groups of cysteinyl residues incorporated into a protein by mutagenesis has been successfully applied to investigate secondary structure and conformational transitions of proteins. In these studies, it is expected that the spin-label moiety adopts different conformations dependent on its local environment. To determine the conformation of SLMTS in solution reacted with L-cysteine (SLMTCys) and bound in the active site of the Glu240Cys mutant of TEM-1 beta-lactamase, we have synthesized SLMTS both of natural abundance isotope composition and in site-specifically deuterated forms for electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) studies. ENDOR-determined electron-proton distances from the unpaired electron of the nitroxyl group of the spin-label to the methylene and methyl protons of SLMTS showed three conformations of the oxypyrrolinyl ring with respect to rotation around the S-S bond dependent on the solvent dielectric constant. For SLMTCys, two conformations of the molecule were compatible with the ENDOR-determined electron-nucleus distances to the side-chain methylene protons and to H(alpha) and H(beta1,2) of cysteine. To determine SLMTS conformation reacted with the Glu240Cys mutant of TEM-1 beta-lactamase, enzyme was overexpressed in both ordinary and perdeuterated minimal medium. Resonance features of H(alpha) and H(beta1,2) of the Cys240 residue of the mutant and of the side-chain methylene protons within the spin-label moiety yielded electron-proton distances that sterically accommodated the two conformations of free SLMTCys in solution.

Electron nuclear double resonance determined structures of enzyme reaction intermediates: structural evidence for substrate destabilization

Angle selective ENDOR of nitroxyl spin-labels is briefly reviewed to illustrate the methodology of structure analysis developed in our laboratory for characterizing catalytically competent intermediates of enzyme catalyzed reactions. ENDOR structure determination of a reaction intermediate of alpha-chymotrypsin formed with a kinetically specific spin-labeled substrate and of an enzyme-inhibitor complex formed with a spin-labeled transition-state inhibitor analog is briefly described. Both spin-labeled molecules bound in the active site of the enzyme are found in torsionally distorted conformations. It is suggested that this torsionally distorted state in which the bound ligand is of higher potential energy than in the ground state conformation reflects substrate destabilization in the course of the enzyme catalyzed reaction.