Direct determination of product radical structure reveals the radical rearrangement pathway in a coenzyme B12-dependent enzyme

Mechanistic Insights from the Crystal Structure and Computational Analysis of the Radical SAM Deaminase DesII

Radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) enzymes couple the reductive cleavage of SAM to radical-mediated transformations that have proven to be quite broad in scope. DesII is one such enzyme from the biosynthetic pathway of TDP-desosamine where it catalyzes a radical-mediated deamination. Previous studies have suggested that this reaction proceeds via direct elimination of ammonia from an α-hydroxyalkyl radical or its conjugate base (i.e., a ketyl radical) rather than 1,2-migration of the amino group to form a carbinolamine radical intermediate. However, without a crystal structure, the active site features responsible for this chemistry have remained largely unknown. The crystallographic studies described herein help to fill this gap by providing a structural description of the DesII active site. Computational analyses based on the solved crystal structure are consistent with direct elimination and indicate that an active site glutamate residue likely serves as a general base to promote deprotonation of the α-hydroxyalkyl radical intermediate and elimination of the ammonia group.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensing for detection and mapping of key cellular biomarkers

Cellular biomarkers mainly contain proteins, nucleic acids, glycans and many small molecules including small biomolecule metabolites, reactive oxygen species and other cellular chemical entities. The detection and mapping of the key cellular biomarkers can effectively help us to understand important cellular mechanisms associated with physiological and pathological processes, which greatly promote the development of clinical diagnosis and disease treatment. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) possesses high sensitivity and is free from the influence of strong self-fluorescence in living systems as well as the photobleaching of the dyes. It exhibits rich and narrow chemical fingerprint spectra for multiplexed detection, and has become a powerful tool to detect and map cellular biomarkers. In this review, we present an overview of recent advances in the detection and mapping of different classes of cellular biomarkers based on SERS sensing. These advances fully confirm that the SERS-based sensors and sensing methods have great potential for the exploration of biological mechanisms and clinical applications. Additionally, we also discuss the limitations of present research and the future developments of the SERS technology in this field.

Mechanistic Implications of the Deamination of TDP-4-amino-4-deoxy-d-fucose Catalyzed by the Radical SAM Enzyme DesII

DesII is a radical SAM lyase that catalyzes a deamination reaction during the biosynthesis of desosamine in Streptomyces venezuelae. Competing mechanistic hypotheses for this radical-mediated reaction are differentiated according to whether a 1,2-migration takes place and the timing of proton abstraction following generation of a substrate α-hydroxyalkyl radical intermediate. In this study, the deuterated C4 epimer of the natural substrate, TDP-4-amino-4-deoxy-d-[3-²H]fucose, was prepared and shown to be a substrate for DesII undergoing deamination alone with a specific activity that is only marginally reduced (∼3-fold) with respect to that of deamination of the natural substrate. Furthermore, pH titration of the deamination reaction implicates the presence of a hydron acceptor that facilitates catalysis but does not appear to be necessary. On the basis of these as well as previously reported results, a mechanism involving direct elimination of ammonium with concerted proton transfer to the nucleofuge from the adjacent α-hydroxyalkyl radical is proposed.

Why Nature Uses Radical SAM Enzymes so Widely: Electron Nuclear Double Resonance Studies of Lysine 2,3-Aminomutase Show the 5'-dAdo• "Free Radical" Is Never Free

Lysine 2,3-aminomutase (LAM) is a radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) enzyme and, like other members of this superfamily, LAM utilizes radical-generating machinery comprising SAM anchored to the unique Fe of a [4Fe-4S] cluster via a classical five-membered N,O chelate ring. Catalysis is initiated by reductive cleavage of the SAM S-C5' bond, which creates the highly reactive 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical (5'-dAdo•), the same radical generated by homolytic Co-C bond cleavage in B12 radical enzymes. The SAM surrogate S-3',4'-anhydroadenosyl-L-methionine (anSAM) can replace SAM as a cofactor in the isomerization of L-α-lysine to L-β-lysine by LAM, via the stable allylic anhydroadenosyl radical (anAdo•). Here electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy of the anAdo• radical in the presence of (13)C, (2)H, and (15)N-labeled lysine completes the picture of how the active site of LAM from Clostridium subterminale SB4 "tames" the 5'-dAdo• radical, preventing it from carrying out harmful side reactions: this "free radical" in LAM is never free. The low steric demands of the radical-generating [4Fe-4S]/SAM construct allow the substrate target to bind adjacent to the S-C5' bond, thereby enabling the 5'-dAdo• radical created by cleavage of this bond to react with its partners by undergoing small motions, ∼0.6 Å toward the target and ∼1.5 Å overall, that are controlled by tight van der Waals contact with its partners. We suggest that the accessibility to substrate and ready control of the reactive C5' radical, with "van der Waals control" of small motions throughout the catalytic cycle, is common within the radical SAM enzyme superfamily and is a major reason why these enzymes are the preferred means of initiating radical reactions in nature.

Mechanistic Enzymology of the Radical SAM Enzyme DesII

DesII is a member of the radical SAM family of enzymes that catalyzes radical-mediated transformations of TDP-4-amino-4,6-didexoy-D-glucose as well as other sugar nucleotide diphosphates. Like nearly all radical SAM enzymes, the reactions begin with the reductive homolysis of SAM to produce a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical which is followed by regiospecific hydrogen atom abstraction from the substrate. What happens next, however, depends on the nature of the substrate radical so produced. In the case of the biosynthetically relevant substrate, a radical-mediated deamination ensues; however, when this amino group is replaced with a hydroxyl, one instead observes dehydrogenation. The factors that govern the fate of the initially generated substrate radical as well as the mechanistic details underlying these transformations have been a key focus of research into the chemistry of DesII. This review will discuss recent discoveries pertaining to the enzymology of DesII, how it may relate to understanding other radical-mediated lyases and dehydrogenases and the working hypotheses currently being investigated regarding the mechanism of DesII catalysis.

Radical SAM enzymes in the biosynthesis of sugar-containing natural products

Carbohydrates play a key role in the biological activity of numerous natural products. In many instances their biosynthesis requires radical mediated rearrangements, some of which are catalyzed by radical SAM enzymes. BtrN is one such enzyme responsible for the dehydrogenation of a secondary alcohol in the biosynthesis of 2-deoxystreptamine. DesII is another example that catalyzes a deamination reaction necessary for the net C4 deoxygenation of a glucose derivative en route to desosamine formation. BtrN and DesII represent the two most extensively characterized radical SAM enzymes involved in carbohydrate biosynthesis. In this review, we summarize the biosynthetic roles of these two enzymes, their mechanisms of catalysis, the questions that have arisen during these investigations and the insight they can offer for furthering our understanding of radical SAM enzymology. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Radical SAM enzymes and Radical Enzymology.

Radical stabilization is crucial in the mechanism of action of lysine 5,6-aminomutase: role of tyrosine-263α as revealed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

Adenosylcobalamin- and pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent lysine 5,6-aminomutase utilizes free radical intermediates to mediate 1,2-amino group rearrangement, during which an elusive high-energy aziridincarbinyl radical is proposed to be central in the mechanism of action. Understanding how the enzyme participates in stabilizing any of the radical intermediates is fundamentally significant. Y263F mutation abolished the enzymatic activity. With isotope-edited EPR methods, the roles of the Tyr263α residue in the putative active site are revealed. The Tyr263α residue stabilizes a radical intermediate, which most likely is the aziridincarbinyl radical, either by acting as a spin-relay device or serving as an anchor for the pyridine ring of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate through aromatic π-stacking interactions during spin transfer. The Tyr263α residue also protects the radical intermediate from interception by molecular oxygen. This study supports the proposed reaction mechanism, including the aziridincarbinyl radical, which has eluded detection for more than two decades.

Stoichiometry of the redox neutral deamination and oxidative dehydrogenation reactions catalyzed by the radical SAM enzyme DesII

DesII from Streptomyces venezuelae is a radical SAM (S-adenosyl-l-methionine) enzyme that catalyzes the deamination of TDP-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-d-glucose to form TDP-3-keto-4,6-dideoxy-d-glucose in the biosynthesis of TDP-d-desosamine. DesII also catalyzes the dehydrogenation of the nonphysiological substrate TDP-D-quinovose to TDP-3-keto-6-deoxy-d-glucose. These properties prompted an investigation of how DesII handles SAM in the redox neutral deamination versus the oxidative dehydrogenation reactions. This work was facilitated by the development of an enzymatic synthesis of TDP-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-d-glucose that couples a transamination equilibrium to the thermodynamically favorable oxidation of formate. In this study, DesII is found to consume SAM versus TDP-sugar with stoichiometries of 0.96 +/- 0.05 and 1.01 +/- 0.05 in the deamination and dehydrogenation reactions, respectively, using Na(2)S(2)O(4) as the reductant. Importantly, no significant change in stoichiometry is observed when the flavodoxin/flavodoxin NADP(+) oxidoreductase/NADPH reducing system is used in place of Na(2)S(2)O(4). Moreover, there is no evidence of an uncoupled or abortive process in the deamination reaction, as indicated by the observation that dehydrogenation can take place in the absence of an external source of reductant whereas deamination cannot. Mechanistic and biochemical implications of these results are discussed.

Identification of the substrate radical intermediate derived from ethanolamine during catalysis by ethanolamine ammonia-lyase

Rapid-mix freeze-quench (RMFQ) methods and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy have been used to characterize the steady-state radical in the deamination of ethanolamine catalyzed by adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)-dependent ethanolamine ammonia-lyase (EAL). EPR spectra of the radical intermediates formed with the substrates, [1-13C]ethanolamine, [2-13C]ethanolamine, and unlabeled ethanolamine were acquired using RMFQ trapping methods from 10 ms to completion of the reaction. Resolved 13C hyperfine splitting in EPR spectra of samples prepared with [1-13C]ethanolamine and the absence of such splitting in spectra of samples prepared with [2-13C]ethanolamine show that the unpaired electron is localized on C1 (the carbinol carbon) of the substrate. The 13C splitting from C1 persists from 10 ms throughout the time course of substrate turnover, and there was no evidence of a detectable amount of a product like radical having unpaired spin on C2. These results correct an earlier assignment for this radical intermediate [Warncke, K., et al. (1999) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121, 10522-10528]. The EPR signals of the substrate radical intermediate are altered by electron spin coupling to the other paramagnetic species, cob(II)alamin, in the active site. The dipole-dipole and exchange interactions as well as the 1-13C hyperfine splitting tensor were analyzed via spectral simulations. The sign of the isotropic exchange interaction indicates a weak ferromagnetic coupling of the two unpaired electrons. A Co2+-radical distance of 8.7 A was obtained from the magnitude of the dipole-dipole interaction. The orientation of the principal axes of the 13C hyperfine splitting tensor shows that the long axis of the spin-bearing p orbital on C1 of the substrate radical makes an angle of approximately 98 degrees with the unique axis of the d(z2) orbital of Co2+.

Magnetic field effect studies indicate reduced geminate recombination of the radical pair in substrate-bound adenosylcobalamin-dependent ethanolamine ammonia lyase

The apparent conflict between literature evidence for (i) radical pair (RP) stabilization in adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)-dependent enzymes and (ii) the manifestation of magnetic field sensitivity due to appreciable geminate recombination of the RP has been reconciled by pre-steady-state magnetic field effect (MFE) investigations with ethanolamine ammonia lyase (EAL). We have shown previous stopped-flow MFE studies to be insensitive to magnetically induced changes in the net forward rate of C-Co homolytic bond cleavage. Subsequently, we observed a magnetic-dependence in the continuous-wave C-Co photolysis of free AdoCbl in 75% glycerol but have not done so in the thermal homolysis of this bond in the enzyme-bound cofactor in the presence of substrate. Consequently, in the enzyme-bound state, the RP generated upon homolysis appears to be stabilized against the extent of geminate recombination required to observe an MFE. These findings have strong implications for the mechanism of RP stabilization and the unprecedented catalytic power of this important class of cobalamin-dependent enzymes.

Probing nitrogen-sensitive steps in the free-radical-mediated deamination of amino alcohols by ethanolamine ammonia-lyase

The contribution of C-N bond-breaking/making steps to the rate of the free-radical-mediated deamination of vicinal amino alcohols by adenosylcobalamin-dependent ethanolamine ammonia-lyase has been investigated by 15N isotope effects (IE's) and by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. 15N IE's were determined for three substrates, ethanolamine, (R)-2-aminopropanol, and (S)-2-aminopropanol, using isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis of the product ammonia. Measurements with all three substrates gave measurable, normal 15N IE's; however, the IE of (S)-2-aminopropanol was approximately 5-fold greater than that of the other two. Reaction mixtures frozen during the steady state show that the 2-aminopropanols give EPR spectra characteristic of the initial substrate radical, whereas ethanolamine gives spectra consistent with a product-related radical (Warncke, K.; Schmidt, J. C.; Kee, S.-C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 10522-10528). The steady-state concentration of the radical with (R)-2-aminopropanol is about half that observed with the S isomer, and with (R)-2-aminopropanol, the steady-state level of the radical is further reduced upon deuteration at C1. The results show that relative heights of kinetic barriers differ among the three substrates such that levels or identities of steady-state intermediates differ. 15N-sensitive steps are significant contributors to V/K with (S)-2-aminopropanol.

Active site reactant center geometry in the Co(II)-product radical pair state of coenzyme B12-dependent ethanolamine deaminase determined by using orientation-selection electron spin-echo envelope modulation spectroscopy

The distances and orientations among reactant centers in the active site of coenzyme B12-dependent ethanolamine deaminase from Salmonella typhimurium have been characterized in the Co(II)-product radical pair state by using X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and two-pulse electron spin-echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopies in the disordered solid state. The unpaired electron spin in the product radical is localized on C2. Our approach is based on the orientation-selection created in the EPR spectrum of the biradical by the axial electron-electron dipolar interaction. Simulation of the EPR line shape yielded a best-fit Co(II)-C2 distance of 9.3 A. ESEEM spectroscopy performed at four magnetic field values addressed the hyperfine coupling of the unpaired electron spin on C2 with 2H in the C5' methyl group of 5'-deoxyadenosine and in the beta-2H position at C1 of the radical. Global ESEEM simulations (over the four magnetic fields) were weighted by the orientation dependence of the EPR line shape. A Nelder-Mead direct search fitting algorithm was used to optimize the simulations. The results lead to a partial model of the active site, in which C5' is located a perpendicular distance of 1.6 A from the Co(II)-C2 axis, at distances of 6.3 and 3.5 A from Co(II) and C2, respectively. The van der Waals contact of the C5'-methyl group and C2 indicates that C5' remains close to the radical species during the rearrangement step. The C2-Hs-C5' angle including the strongly coupled hydrogen, Hs, and the C5'-Hs orientation relative to the C1-C2 axis are consistent with a linear hydrogen atom transfer coordinate and an in-line acceptor p-orbital orientation. The trigonal plane of the C2 atom defines sub-spaces within the active site for C5' radical migration and hydrogen atom transfers (side of the plane facing Co(II)) and amine migration (side of the plane facing away from Co(II)).

Divergent mechanisms of suicide inactivation for ethanolamine ammonia-lyase

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been used to study the mechanism of suicide inactivation of ethanolamine ammonia-lyase induced by three different substrate analogues. Analysis of the normal catalytic mechanism with 2-aminoethanol (ethanolamine) as substrate predicts that both the hydrogen-abstraction and hydrogen-reabstraction steps involving the B(12)-cofactor are likely to be exothermic. On the other hand, the proposed inactivation mechanism for the first substrate analogue, glycolaldehyde, leads to a highly stabilized radical that results in a very endothermic (by ca. 90 kJ mol(-)(1)) hydrogen-reabstraction step, which is thought to halt the normal function of the enzyme. Curiously, the energy requirements for a catalytically imposed mechanism in the case of the second substrate analogue, 2-hydroxyethylhydrazine (HEH), parallel those for the catalytic substrate, despite the fact that HEH is found to inactivate EAL experimentally. However, further analysis reveals the presence of a lower energy pathway for HEH that leads to the formation of the highly stabilized hydrazinium radical cation. In a manner similar to when glycolaldehyde is the substrate analogue, this results in an endothermicity for the hydrogen-reabstraction step that is prohibitively large. In contrast to these related inactivation mechanisms, the third substrate analogue, 2-aminoacetaldehyde, apparently accomplishes the inactivation of EAL in an entirely different manner. A pathway for the experimentally observed formation of acetic acid and ammonium cation has been identified and appears catalytic in the sense that 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical is regenerated. However, mechanisms to account for the subsequent formation of 4',5'-anhydroadenosine and degradation of the corrinoid ring of the cofactor have not been elucidated.

Characterization of the product radical structure in the Co(II)-product radical pair state of coenzyme B12-dependent ethanolamine deaminase by using three-pulse 2H ESEEM spectroscopy

Molecular structural features of the product radical in the Co(II)-product radical pair catalytic intermediate state in coenzyme B(12)- (adenosylcobalamin-) dependent ethanolamine deaminase from Salmonella typhimurium have been characterized by using X-band three-pulse electron spin-echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy in the disordered solid state. The Co(II)-product radical pair state was prepared by cryotrapping holoenzyme during steady-state turnover on excess 1,1,2,2-(2)H(4)-aminoethanol or natural abundance, (1)H(4)-aminoethanol. Simulation of the (2)H/(1)H quotient ESEEM (obtained at two microwave frequencies, 8.9 and 10.9 GHz) from the interaction of the unpaired electron localized at C2 of the product radical with nearby (2)H nuclei requires four types of coupled (2)H, which are assigned as follows: (a) a single strongly coupled (effective dipole distance, r(eff) = 2.3 A) (2)H in the C5' methyl group of 5'-deoxyadenosine, (b) two weakly coupled (r(eff) = 4.2 A) (2)H in the C5' methyl group, (c) one (2)H coupling from a beta-(2)H bonded to C1 of the product radical (isotropic hyperfine coupling, A(iso) = 4.7 MHz), and (d) a second type of C1 beta-(2)H coupling (A(iso) = 7.7 MHz). The two beta-(2)H couplings are proposed to arise from two C1-C2 rotamer states of the product radical that are present in approximately equal proportion. A model is presented, in which C5' is positioned at a distance of 3.3 A from C2, which is comparable with the C1-C5' distance in the Co(II)-substrate radical pair intermediate. Therefore, the C5'methyl group remains in close (van der Waals) contact with the substrate and product radical species during the radical rearrangement step of the catalytic cycle, and the C5' center is the sole mediator of radical pair recombination in ethanolamine deaminase.