Resonance Raman characterization of the peroxo and hydroperoxo intermediates in cytochrome P450

A nucleobase-driven P450 peroxidase system enables regio- and stereo-specific formation of C─C and C─N bonds

P450 peroxidase activities are valued for their ability to catalyze complex chemical transformations using economical H2O2; however, they have been largely underexplored compared to their monooxygenase and peroxygenase activities. In this study, we identified an unconventional P450 enzyme, PtmB, which catalyzes the dimerization of purine nucleobases and tryptophan-containing diketopiperazines (TDKPs), yielding C3-nucleobase pyrroloindolines and nucleobase-TDKP dimers. Unlike typical TDKP P450 enzymes reliant on NAD(P)H cofactors and electron transfer systems, PtmB, and its analogs exhibit remarkable peroxidase activity in synthesizing adenine and other modified 6-aminopurine nucleobase-TDKP dimers. Structural analysis of the PtmB-substrate complex, mutation assays, and computational investigations reveal adenine's dual role as both substrate and acid-base catalyst in activating H2O2 to generate Compound I (Cpd I). This initiates a specific radical cascade reaction, facilitating the formation of precise C─C and C─N bonds. Biochemical assays and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that adenine's 6-NH2 hydrogen-bonding networks induce necessary conformational changes for H2O2 activation, thereby driving peroxidase activity. This study unveils an unusual catalytic mechanism for the P450 peroxidase system and underscores the pivotal role of nucleobases in enzyme-mediated reactions, which offers different prospects for developing P450 peroxidases and nucleobase-based biocatalysts.

A Bioinspired Nonheme FeIII-(O22-)-CuII Complex with an St = 1 Ground State

Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) is a heme copper oxidase (HCO) that catalyzes the natural reduction of oxygen to water. A profound understanding of some of the elementary steps leading to the intricate 4e-/4H+ reduction of O2 is presently lacking. A total spin St = 1 FeIII-(O22-)-CuII (IP) intermediate is proposed to reduce the overpotentials associated with the reductive O-O bond rupture by allowing electron transfer from a tyrosine moiety without the necessity of any spin-surface crossing. Direct evidence of the involvement of IP in the CcO catalytic cycle is, however, missing. A number of heme copper peroxido complexes have been prepared as synthetic models of IP, but all of them possess the catalytically nonrelevant St = 0 ground state resulting from antiferromagnetic coupling between the S = 1/2 FeIII and CuII centers. In a complete nonheme approach, we now report the spectroscopic characterization and reactivity of the FeIII-(O22-)-CuII intermediates 1 and 2, which differ only by a single -CH3 versus -H substituent on the central amine of the tridentate ligands binding to copper. Complex 1 with an end-on peroxido core and ferromagnetically (St = 1) coupled FeIII and CuII centers performs H-bonding-mediated O-O bond cleavage in the presence of phenol to generate oxoiron(IV) and exchange-coupled copper(II) and PhO• moieties. In contrast, the μ-η2:η1 peroxido complex 2, with a St = 0 ground state, is unreactive toward phenol. Thus, the implications for spin topology contributions to O-O bond cleavage, as proposed for the heme FeIII-(O22-)-CuII intermediate in CcO, can be extended to nonheme chemistry.

A Ferric-Superoxide Intermediate Initiates P450-Catalyzed Cyclic Dipeptide Dimerization

The cytochrome P450 (CYP) AspB is involved in the biosynthesis of the diketopiperazine (DKP) aspergilazine A. Tryptophan-linked dimeric DKP alkaloids are a large family of natural products that are found in numerous species and exhibit broad and often potent bioactivity. The proposed mechanisms for C-N bond formation by AspB, and similar C-C bond formations by related CYPs, have invoked the use of a ferryl-intermediate as an oxidant to promote substrate dimerization. Here, the parallel application of steady-state and transient kinetic approaches reveals a very different mechanism that involves a ferric-superoxide species as a primary oxidant to initiate DKP-assembly. Single turnover kinetic isotope effects and a substrate analog suggest the probable nature and site for abstraction. The direct observation of CYP-superoxide reactivity rationalizes the atypical outcome of AspB and reveals a new reaction manifold in heme enzymes.

Structural and spectroscopic characterization of RufO indicates a new biological role in rufomycin biosynthesis

Rufomycins constitute a class of cyclic heptapeptides isolated from actinomycetes. They are secondary metabolites that show promising treatment against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections by inhibiting a novel drug target. Several nonproteinogenic amino acids are integrated into rufomycins, including a conserved 3-nitro-tyrosine. RufO, a cytochrome P450 (CYP)-like enzyme, was proposed to catalyze the formation of 3-nitro-tyrosine in the presence of O2 and NO. To define its biological function, the interaction between RufO and the proposed substrate tyrosine is investigated using various spectroscopic methods that are sensitive to the structural change of a heme center. However, a low- to high-spin state transition and a dramatic increase in the redox potential that are commonly found in CYPs upon ligand binding have not been observed. Furthermore, a 1.89-Å crystal structure of RufO shows that the enzyme has flexible surface regions, a wide-open substrate access tunnel, and the heme center is largely exposed to solvent. Comparison with a closely related nitrating CYP reveals a spacious and hydrophobic distal pocket in RufO, which is incapable of stabilizing a free amino acid. Molecular docking validates the experimental data and proposes a possible substrate. Collectively, our results disfavor tyrosine as the substrate of RufO and point to the possibility that the nitration occurs during or after the assembly of the peptides. This study indicates a new function of the unique nitrating enzyme and provides insights into the biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptides.

Second-Sphere Hydrogen-Bond Donors and Acceptors Affect the Rate and Selectivity of Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction by Iron Porphyrins Differently

The factors that control the rate and selectivity of 4e^-/4H⁺ O₂ reduction are important for efficient energy transformation as well as for understanding the terminal step of respiration in aerobic organisms. Inspired by the design of naturally occurring enzymes which are efficient catalysts for O₂ and H₂O₂ reduction, several artificial systems have been generated where different second-sphere residues have been installed to enhance the rate and efficiency of the 4e^-/4H⁺ O₂ reduction. These include hydrogen-bonding residues like amines, carboxylates, ethers, amides, phenols, etc. In some cases, improvements in the catalysis were recorded, whereas in some cases improvements were marginal or nonexistent. In this work, we use an iron porphyrin complex with pendant 1,10-phenanthroline residues which show a pH-dependent variation of the rate of the electrochemical O₂ reduction reaction (ORR) over 2 orders of magnitude. In-situ surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy reveals the presence of different intermediates at different pH's reflecting different rate-determining steps at different pH's. These data in conjunction with density functional theory calculations reveal that when the distal 1,10-phenanthroline is neutral it acts as a hydrogen-bond acceptor which stabilizes H₂O (product) binding to the active Fe^II state and retards the reaction. However, when the 1,10-phenanthroline is protonated, it acts as a hydrogen-bond donor which enhances O₂ reduction by stabilizing Fe^III-O₂^.- and Fe^III-OOH intermediates and activating the O-O bond for cleavage. On the basis of these data, general guidelines for controlling the different possible rate-determining steps in the complex multistep 4e^-/4H⁺ ORR are developed and a bioinspired principle-based design of an efficient electrochemical ORR is presented.

Second Sphere Effects on Oxygen Reduction and Peroxide Activation by Mononuclear Iron Porphyrins and Related Systems

Activation and reduction of O₂ and H₂O₂ by synthetic and biosynthetic iron porphyrin models have proved to be a versatile platform for evaluating second-sphere effects deemed important in naturally occurring heme active sites. Advances in synthetic techniques have made it possible to install different functional groups around the porphyrin ligand, recreating artificial analogues of the proximal and distal sites encountered in the heme proteins. Using judicious choices of these substituents, several of the elegant second-sphere effects that are proposed to be important in the reactivity of key heme proteins have been evaluated under controlled environments, adding fundamental insight into the roles played by these weak interactions in nature. This review presents a detailed description of these efforts and how these have not only demystified these second-sphere effects but also how the knowledge obtained resulted in functional mimics of these heme enzymes.

Importance of Asparagine 202 in Manipulating Active Site Structure and Substrate Preference for Human CYP17A1

The multifunctional cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1) plays a crucial role in human steroid hormone synthesis (UniProtKB─P05093). It first carries out standard monooxygenase chemistry, converting pregnenolone (PREG) and progesterone (PROG) into 17OH-PREG and 17OH-PROG, utilizing a "Compound I" to initiate hydrogen abstraction and radical recombination in the classic "oxygen rebound" mechanism. Additionally, these hydroxylated products also serve as substrates in a second oxidative cycle which cleaves the 17-20 carbon-carbon bond to form dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenedione, which are key precursors in the generation of powerful androgens and estrogens. Interestingly, in humans, with 17OH-PREG, this so-called lyase reaction is more efficient than with 17OH-PROG, based on Kcat/Km values. In the present work, the asparagine residue at 202 position was replaced by serine, an alteration which can affect substrate orientation and control substrate preference for the lyase reaction. First, we report studies of solvent isotope effects for the N202S CYP17A1 mutant in the presence of 17OH-PREG and 17OH-PROG, which suggest that the ferric peroxo species is the predominant catalytically active intermediate in the lyase step. This conclusion is further supported by employing a combination of cryoradiolysis and resonance Raman techniques to successfully trap and structurally characterize the key reaction intermediates, including the peroxo, the hydroperoxo, and the crucial peroxo-hemiketal intermediate. Collectively, these studies show that the mutation causes active site structural changes that alter the H-bonding interactions with the key Fe-O-O fragment and the degree of protonation of the reactive ferric peroxo intermediate, thereby impacting lyase efficiency.

Diverse reactions catalyzed by cytochrome P450 and biosynthesis of steroid hormone

Steroid hormones modulate numerous physiological processes in various higher organisms. Research on the physiology, biosynthesis, and metabolic degradation of steroid hormones is crucial for developing drugs, agrochemicals, and anthelmintics. Most steroid hormone biosynthetic pathways, excluding those in insects, have been elucidated, and the roles of several cytochrome P450s (CYPs, P450s), heme (iron protoporphyrin IX)-containing monooxygenases, have been identified. Specifically, P450s of the animal steroid hormone biosynthetic pathways and their three dimensional structures and reaction mechanisms have been extensively studied; however, the mechanisms of several uncommon P450 reactions involved in animal steroid hormone biosynthesis and structures and reaction mechanisms of various P450s involved in plant and insect steroid hormone biosynthesis remain unclear. Recently, we determined the crystal structure of P450 responsible for the first and rate-determining step in brassinosteroids biosynthesis and clarified the regio- and stereo-selectivity in the hydroxylation reaction mechanism. In this review, we have outlined the general catalytic cycle, reaction mechanism, and structure of P450s. Additionally, we have described the recent advances in research on the reaction mechanisms of steroid hormone biosynthesis-related P450s, some of which catalyze unusual P450 reactions including C–C bond cleavage reactions by utilizing either a heme–peroxo anion species or compound I as an active oxidizing species. This review article is an extended version of the Japanese article, Structure and mechanism of cytochrome P450s involved in steroid hormone biosynthesis, published in SEIBUTSU BUTSURI Vol. 61, p. 189–191 (2021).

Mechanism of the Clinically Relevant E305G Mutation in Human P450 CYP17A1

Steroid metabolism in humans originates from cholesterol and involves several enzyme reactions including dehydrogenation, hydroxylation, and carbon-carbon bond cleavage that occur at regio- and stereo-specific points in the four-membered ring structure. Cytochrome P450s occur at critical junctions that control the production of the male sex hormones (androgens), the female hormones (estrogens) as well as the mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids. An important branch point in human androgen production is catalyzed by cytochrome P450 CYP17A1 and involves an initial Compound I-mediated hydroxylation at the 17-position of either progesterone (PROG) or pregnenolone (PREG) to form 17-hydroxy derivatives, 17OH-PROG and 17OH-PREG, with approximately similar efficiencies. Subsequent processing of the 17-hydroxy substrates involves a C17-C20 bond scission (lyase) activity that is heavily favored for 17OH-PREG in humans. The mechanism for this lyase reaction has been debated for several decades, some workers favoring a Compound I-mediated process, with others arguing that a ferric peroxo- is the active oxidant. Mutations in CYP17A1 can have profound clinical manifestations. For example, the replacement of the glutamic acid side with a glycine chain at position 305 in the CYP17A1 structure causes a clinically relevant steroidopathy; E305G CYP17A1 displays a dramatic decrease in the production of dehydroepiandrosterone from pregnenolone but surprisingly increases the activity of the enzyme toward the formation of androstenedione from progesterone. To better understand the functional consequences of this mutation, we self-assembled wild-type and the E305G mutant of CYP17A1 into nanodiscs and examined the detailed catalytic mechanism. We measured substrate binding, spin state conversion, and solvent isotope effects in the hydroxylation and lyase pathways for these substrates. Given that, following electron transfer, the ferric peroxo- species is the common intermediate for both mechanisms, we used resonance Raman spectroscopy to monitor the positioning of important hydrogen-bonding interactions of the 17-OH group with the heme-bound peroxide. We discovered that the E305G mutation changes the orientation of the lyase substrate in the active site, which alters a critical hydrogen bonding of the 17-alcohol to the iron-bound peroxide. The observed switch in substrate specificity of the enzyme is consistent with this result if the hydrogen bonding to the proximal peroxo oxygen is necessary for a proposed nucleophilic peroxoanion-mediated mechanism for CYP17A1 in carbon-carbon bond scission.

Ferric Heme Superoxide Reductive Transformations to Ferric Heme (Hydro)Peroxide Species: Spectroscopic Characterization and Thermodynamic Implications for H-Atom Transfer (HAT)

A new end-on low-spin ferric heme peroxide, [(PIm )FeIII -(O22- )]- (PIm -P), and subsequently formed hydroperoxide species, [(PIm )FeIII -(OOH)] (PIm -HP) are generated utilizing the iron-porphyrinate PIm with its tethered axial base imidazolyl group. Measured thermodynamic parameters, the ferric heme superoxide [(PIm )FeIII -(O2⋅- )] (PIm -S) reduction potential (E°') and the PIm -HP pKa value, lead to the finding of the OO-H bond-dissociation free energy (BDFE) of PIm -HP as 69.5 kcal mol-1 using a thermodynamic square scheme and Bordwell relationship. The results are validated by the observed oxidizing ability of PIm -S via hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) compared to that of the F8 superoxide complex, [(F8 )FeIII -(O2.- )] (S) (F8 =tetrakis(2,6-difluorophenyl)porphyrinate, without an internally appended axial base imidazolyl), as determined from reactivity comparison of superoxide complexes PIm -S and S with the hydroxylamine (O-H) substrates TEMPO-H and ABNO-H.

New advances in using Raman spectroscopy for the characterization of catalysts and catalytic reactions

Gaining insight into the mode of operation of heterogeneous catalysts is of great scientific and economic interest. Raman spectroscopy has proven its potential as a powerful vibrational spectroscopic technique for a fundamental and molecular-level characterization of catalysts and catalytic reactions. Raman spectra provide important insight into reaction mechanisms by revealing specific information on the catalysts' (defect) structure in the bulk and at the surface, as well as the presence of adsorbates and reaction intermediates. Modern Raman instrumentation based on single-stage spectrometers allows high throughput and versatility in design of in situ/operando cells to study working catalysts. This review highlights major advances in the use of Raman spectroscopy for the characterization of heterogeneous catalysts made during the past decade, including the development of new methods and potential directions of research for applying Raman spectroscopy to working catalysts. The main focus will be on gas-solid catalytic reactions, but (photo)catalytic reactions in the liquid phase will be touched on if it appears appropriate. The discussion begins with the main instrumentation now available for applying vibrational Raman spectroscopy to catalysis research, including in situ/operando cells for studying gas-solid catalytic processes. The focus then moves to the different types of information available from Raman spectra in the bulk and on the surface of solid catalysts, including adsorbates and surface depositions, as well as the use of theoretical calculations to facilitate band assignments and to describe (resonance) Raman effects. This is followed by a presentation of major developments in enhancing the Raman signal of heterogeneous catalysts by use of UV resonance Raman spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and shell-isolated nanoparticle surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS). The application of time-resolved Raman studies to structural and kinetic characterization is then discussed. Finally, recent developments in spatially resolved Raman analysis of catalysts and catalytic processes are presented, including the use of coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). The review concludes with an outlook on potential future developments and applications of Raman spectroscopy in heterogeneous catalysis.

Resonance Raman spectroscopic studies of peroxo and hydroperoxo intermediates in lauric acid (LA)-bound cytochrome P450 119

Cytochromes P450 bind and cleave dioxygen to generate a potent intermediate compound I, capable of hydroxylating inert hydrocarbon substrates. Cytochrome P450 119, a bacterial cytochrome P450 that serves as a good model system for the study of the intermediate states in the P450 catalytic cycle. CYP119 is found in high temperature and sulfur rich environments. Though the natural substrate and redox partner are still unknown, a potential application of such thermophilic P450s is utilizing them as biocatalysts in biotechnological industry; e.g., the synthesis of organic compounds otherwise requiring hostile environments like extremes of pH or temperature. In the present work the oxygenated complex of this enzyme bound to lauric acid, a surrogate substrate known to have a good binding affinity, was studied by a combination of cryoradiolysis and resonance Raman spectroscopy, to trap and characterize active site structures of the key fleeting enzymatic intermediates, including the peroxo and hydroperoxo species.

Heme-FeIII Superoxide, Peroxide and Hydroperoxide Thermodynamic Relationships: FeIII-O2•- Complex H-Atom Abstraction Reactivity

Establishing redox and thermodynamic relationships between metal-ion-bound O2 and its reduced (and protonated) derivatives is critically important for a full understanding of (bio)chemical processes involving dioxygen processing. Here, a ferric heme peroxide complex, [(F8)FeIII-(O22-)]- (P) (F8 = tetrakis(2,6-difluorophenyl)porphyrinate), and a superoxide complex, [(F8)FeIII-(O2•-)] (S), are shown to be redox interconvertible. Using Cr(η-C6H6)2, an equilibrium state where S and P are present is established in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at -80 °C, allowing determination of the reduction potential of S as -1.17 V vs Fc+/0. P could be protonated with 2,6-lutidinium triflate, yielding the low-spin ferric hydroperoxide species, [(F8)FeIII-(OOH)] (HP). Partial conversion of HP back to P using a derivatized phosphazene base gave a P/HP equilibrium mixture, leading to the determination of pKa = 28.8 for HP (THF, -80 °C). With the measured reduction potential and pKa, the O-H bond dissociation free energy (BDFE) of hydroperoxide species HP was calculated to be 73.5 kcal/mol, employing the thermodynamic square scheme and Bordwell relationship. This calculated O-H BDFE of HP, in fact, lines up with an experimental demonstration of the oxidizing ability of S via hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) from TEMPO-H (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperdine-N-hydroxide, BDFE = 66.5 kcal/mol in THF), forming the hydroperoxide species HP and TEMPO radical. Kinetic studies carried out with TEMPO-H(D) reveal second-order behavior, kH = 0.5, kD = 0.08 M-1 s-1 (THF, -80 °C); thus, the hydrogen/deuterium kinetic isotope effect (KIE) = 6, consistent with H-atom abstraction by S being the rate-determining step. This appears to be the first case where experimentally derived thermodynamics lead to a ferric heme hydroperoxide OO-H BDFE determination, that FeIII-OOH species being formed via HAT reactivity of the partner ferric heme superoxide complex.

Quantum-Mechanical/Molecular-Mechanical Studies of CYP11A1-Catalyzed Biosynthesis of Pregnenolone from Cholesterol Reveal a C-C Bond Cleavage Reaction That Occurs by a Compound I-Mediated Electron Transfer

We explore here a long-standing mechanistic question by using quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical (QM/MM) methodology. The question concerns the mechanism of steroid hormone biosynthesis, whereby the P450 enzyme, CYP11A1, catalyzes the C20-C22 bond-cleavage in the 20,22-hydroxylated cholesterol, 20R,22R-DiOHCH, leading to pregnenolone, which is critical for the subsequent production of all steroid hormones. This is an unusual feat whereby the P450 enzyme breaks two O-H bonds and one C-C bond, while making two C═O bonds. How does the enzyme perform such a complex and highly energy-demanding reaction? Our computational results rule out the previously proposed Compound I (Cpd I) electrophilic attack mechanism via the formation of a peroxide intermediate as well as the H-abstraction-mediated C-C cleavage mechanism. Notably, oxygen-rebound cannot transpire, in spite of the fact that the classical active species, Cpd I, participates in the catalytic process. Our findings reveal a mechanism whereby C-C bond cleavage is mediated by an electron transfer from the C22-O^--deprotonated substrate to Cpd I. As such, our QM/MM calculations demonstrate that Cpd I acts as an electron sink that facilitates the C-C bond cleavage.

Heme-Cu Binucleating Ligand Supports Heme/O2 and FeII-CuI/O2 Reactivity Providing High- and Low-Spin FeIII-Peroxo-CuII Complexes

The focus of this study is in the description of synthetic heme/copper/O₂ chemistry employing a heme-containing binucleating ligand which provides a tridentate chelate for copper ion binding. The addition of O₂ (-80 °C, tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent) to the reduced heme compound (P^ImH)Fe^II (1), gives the oxy-heme adduct, formally a heme-superoxide complex Fe^III-(O₂^•-) (2) (resonance Raman spectroscopy (rR): ν_O-O, 1171 cm^-1 (Δ¹⁸O₂, -61 cm^-1); ν_Fe-O, 575 cm^-1 (Δ¹⁸O₂, -24 cm^-1)). Simple warming of 2 to room temperature regenerates reduced complex 1; this reaction is reversible, as followed by UV-vis spectroscopy. Complex 2 is electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)-silent and exhibits upfield-shifted pyrrole resonances (δ 9.12 ppm) in ²H NMR spectroscopy, indicative of a six-coordinate low-spin heme. The coordination of the tethered imidazolyl arm to the heme-superoxide complex as an axial base ligand is suggested. We also report the new fully reduced heme-copper complex [(P^ImH)Fe^IICu^I]⁺ (3), where the copper ion is bound to the tethered tridentate portion of P^ImH. This reacts with O₂ to give a distinctive low-temperature-stable, high-spin (S = 2, overall) peroxo-bridged complex [(P^ImH)Fe^III-(O₂^2-)-Cu^II]⁺ (3a): λ_max, 420 (Soret), 545, 565 nm; δ_pyrr, 93 ppm; ν_O-O, 799 cm^-1 (Δ¹⁸O₂, -48 cm^-1); ν_Fe-O, 524 cm^-1 (Δ¹⁸O₂, -23 cm^-1). To 3a, the addition of dicyclohexylimidazole (DCHIm), which serves as a heme axial base, leads to low-spin (S = 0 overall) species complex [(DCHIm)(P^ImH)Fe^III-(O₂^2-)-Cu^II]⁺ (3b): λ_max, 425 (Soret), 538 nm; δ_pyrr, 10.2 ppm; ν_O-O, 817 cm^-1 (Δ¹⁸O₂, -55 cm^-1); ν_Fe-O, 610 cm^-1 (Δ¹⁸O₂, -26 cm^-1). These investigations into the characterization of the O₂-adducts from (P^ImH)Fe^II (1) with/without additional copper chelation advance our understanding of the dioxygen reactivity of heme-only and heme/Cu-ligand heterobinuclear system, thus potentially relevant to O₂ reduction in heme-copper oxidases or fuel-cell chemistry.

One small step for cytochrome P450 in its catalytic cycle, one giant leap for enzymology

The intermediates operating in the cytochrome P450 catalytic cycle have been investigated for more than half a century, fascinating many enzymologists. Each intermediate has its unique role to carry out diverse oxidations. Natural time course of the catalytic cycle is quite fast, hence, not all of the reactive intermediates could be isolated during physiological catalysis. Different high-valent iron intermediates have been proposed as primary oxidants: the candidates are compound 0 (Cpd 0, [FeOOH][Formula: see text]P450) and compound I (Cpd I, Fe(IV)[Formula: see text]O por[Formula: see text]P450). Among them, the role of Cpd I in hydroxylation is fairly well understood due the discovery of the peroxide shunt. This review endeavors to put the outstanding research efforts conducted to isolate and characterize the intermediates together. In addition to spectral features of each intermediate in the catalytic cycle, the oxidizing powers of Cpd 0 and Cpd I will be discussed along with most recent scientific findings.

Recent advances in metalloporphyrins for environmental and energy applications

Porphyrin-based chemistry has reached an unprecedented period of rapid development after decades of study. Due to attractive multifunctional properties, porphyrins and their analogues have emerged as multifunctional organometals for environmental and energy purposes. In particular, pioneer works have been conducted to explore their application in pollution abatement, energy conversion and storage and molecule recognition. This review summarizes recent advances of porphyrins chemistry, focusing on elucidating the nature of catalytic process. The Fenton-like redox chemistry and photo-excitability of porphyrins and their analogues are discussed, highlighting the generation of high-valent iron oxo porphyrin species. Finally, challenges in current research are identified and perspectives for future development in this area are presented.

Synthetic Fe/Cu Complexes: Toward Understanding Heme-Copper Oxidase Structure and Function

Heme-copper oxidases (HCOs) are terminal enzymes on the mitochondrial or bacterial respiratory electron transport chain, which utilize a unique heterobinuclear active site to catalyze the 4H+/4e- reduction of dioxygen to water. This process involves a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) from a tyrosine (phenolic) residue and additional redox events coupled to transmembrane proton pumping and ATP synthesis. Given that HCOs are large, complex, membrane-bound enzymes, bioinspired synthetic model chemistry is a promising approach to better understand heme-Cu-mediated dioxygen reduction, including the details of proton and electron movements. This review encompasses important aspects of heme-O2 and copper-O2 (bio)chemistries as they relate to the design and interpretation of small molecule model systems and provides perspectives from fundamental coordination chemistry, which can be applied to the understanding of HCO activity. We focus on recent advancements from studies of heme-Cu models, evaluating experimental and computational results, which highlight important fundamental structure-function relationships. Finally, we provide an outlook for future potential contributions from synthetic inorganic chemistry and discuss their implications with relevance to biological O2-reduction.

Conformational Changes in Cytochrome P450cam and the Effector Role of Putidaredoxin

The cytochromes P450 form an enormous family of over 20 000 enzyme variants found in all branches of life. They catalyze the O2 dependent monooxygenation of a wide range of substrates in reactions important to drug metabolism, biosynthesis and energy utilization. Understanding how they function is important for biomedical science and requires a full description of their notorious propensity for specificity and promiscuity. The bacterial P450cam is an unusual example, having the most well characterized chemical mechanism of all of the forms. It also undergoes an increasingly well characterized structural change upon substrate binding, which may be similar to to that displayed by some, but not all forms of P450. Finally, P450cam is one of the rare forms that have a strict requirement for a particular electron donor, putidaredoxin (pdx). Pdx provides the required electrons for enzyme turnover, but it also induces specific changes in the enzyme to allow enzyme turnover, long known as its effector role. This review summarizes recent crystallographic and double electron–electron resonance studies that have revealed the effects of substrate and pdx binding on the structure of P450cam. We describe an emerging idea for how pdx exerts its effector function by inducing a conformational change in the enzyme. This change then propagates to the active site to enable cleavage of the ferric–hydroperoxy bond during catalysis, and appears to provide a very elegant approach for P450cam to attain both high efficiency and protection from oxidative damage.

Human Cytochrome CYP17A1: The Structural Basis for Compromised Lyase Activity with 17-Hydroxyprogesterone

The multifunctional enzyme, cytochrome P450 (CYP17A1), plays a crucial role in the production of androgens, catalyzing two key reactions on pregnenolone (PREG) and progesterone (PROG), the first being a 17-hydroxylation to generate 17-OH PREG and 17-OH PROG, with roughly equal efficiencies. The second is a C-C bond scission or "lyase" reaction in which the C17-C20 bond is cleaved, leading to the eventual production of powerful androgens, whose involvement in the proliferation of prostate cancer has generated intense interest in developing inhibitors of CYP17A1. For humans, the significance of the C-C bond cleavage of 17-OH PROG is lessened, because it is about 50 times less efficient than for 17-OH PREG in terms of k_cat/K_m. Recognizing the need to clarify relevant reaction mechanisms involved with such transformations, we first report studies of solvent isotope effects, results of which are consistent with a Compound I mediated PROG hydroxylase activity, yet exclude this intermediate as a participant in the formation of androstenedione (AD) via the lyase reaction. This finding is also supported by a combination of cryoreduction and resonance Raman spectroscopy that traps and structurally characterizes the key hemiketal reaction intermediates. Adding to a previous study of PREG and 17-OH PREG metabolism, the current work provides definitive evidence for a more facile protonation of the initially formed ferric peroxo-intermediate for 17-OH PROG-bound CYP17A1, compared to the complex with 17-OH PREG. Importantly, Raman characterization also reveals an H-bonding interaction with the terminal oxygen of the peroxo fragment, rather than with the proximal oxygen, as is present for 17-OH PREG. These factors would favor a diminished lyase activity of the sample with 17-OH PROG relative to the complex with 17-OH PREG, thereby providing a convincing structural explanation for the dramatic differences in activity for these lyase substrates in humans.

How Do Ring Size and π-Donating Thiolate Ligands Affect Redox-Active, α-Imino-N-heterocycle Ligand Activation?

Considerable effort has been devoted to the development of first-row transition-metal catalysts containing redox-active imino-pyridine ligands that are capable of storing multiple reducing equivalents. This property allows abundant and inexpensive first-row transition metals, which favor sequential one-electron redox processes, to function as competent catalysts in the concerted two-electron reduction of substrates. Herein we report the syntheses and characterization of a series of iron complexes that contain both π-donating thiolate and π-accepting (α-imino)-N-heterocycle redox-active ligands, with progressively larger N-heterocycle rings (imidazole, pyridine, and quinoline). A cooperative interaction between these complementary redox-active ligands is shown to dictate the properties of these complexes. Unusually intense charge-transfer (CT) bands, and intraligand metrical parameters, reminiscent of a reduced (α-imino)-N-heterocycle ligand (L•-), initially suggested that the electron-donating thiolate had reduced the N-heterocycle. Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopic (XAS) data, however, provides evidence for direct communication, via backbonding, between the thiolate sulfur and the formally orthogonal (α-imino)-N-heterocycle ligand π*-orbitals. DFT calculations provide evidence for extensive delocalization of bonds over the sulfur, iron, and (α-imino)-N-heterocycle, and TD-DFT shows that the intense optical CT bands involve transitions between a mixed Fe/S donor, and (α-imino)-N-heterocycle π*-acceptor orbital. The energies and intensities of the optical and S K-edge pre-edge XAS transitions are shown to correlate with N-heterocycle ring size, as do the redox potentials. When the thiolate is replaced with a thioether, or when the low-spin S = 0 Fe(II) is replaced with a high-spin S = 3/2 Co(II), the N-heterocycle ligand metrical parameters and electronic structure do not change relative to the neutral L0 ligand. With respect to the development of future catalysts containing redox-active ligands, the energy cost of storing reducing equivalents is shown to be lowest when a quinoline, as opposed to imidazole or pyridine, is incorporated into the ligand backbone of the corresponding Fe complex.

Spectroscopic studies of the cytochrome P450 reaction mechanisms

The cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) are thiolate heme proteins that can, often under physiological conditions, catalyze many distinct oxidative transformations on a wide variety of molecules, including relatively simple alkanes or fatty acids, as well as more complex compounds such as steroids and exogenous pollutants. They perform such impressive chemistry utilizing a sophisticated catalytic cycle that involves a series of consecutive chemical transformations of heme prosthetic group. Each of these steps provides a unique spectral signature that reflects changes in oxidation or spin states, deformation of the porphyrin ring or alteration of dioxygen moieties. For a long time, the focus of cytochrome P450 research was to understand the underlying reaction mechanism of each enzymatic step, with the biggest challenge being identification and characterization of the powerful oxidizing intermediates. Spectroscopic methods, such as electronic absorption (UV-Vis), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), Mössbauer, X-ray absorption (XAS), and resonance Raman (rR), have been useful tools in providing multifaceted and detailed mechanistic insights into the biophysics and biochemistry of these fascinating enzymes. The combination of spectroscopic techniques with novel approaches, such as cryoreduction and Nanodisc technology, allowed for generation, trapping and characterizing long sought transient intermediates, a task that has been difficult to achieve using other methods. Results obtained from the UV-Vis, rR and EPR spectroscopies are the main focus of this review, while the remaining spectroscopic techniques are briefly summarized. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cytochrome P450 biodiversity and biotechnology, edited by Erika Plettner, Gianfranco Gilardi, Luet Wong, Vlada Urlacher, Jared Goldstone.

A structurally-characterized peroxomanganese(iv) porphyrin from reversible O2 binding within a metal-organic framework

Within a MOF, a side-on peroxomanganese(iv) porphyrin has been isolated and comprehensively examined.

The role of peroxometal species as reactive intermediates in myriad biological processes has motivated the synthesis and study of analogous molecular model complexes. Peroxomanganese(iv) porphyrin complexes are of particular interest, owing to their potential ability to form from reversible O₂ binding, yet have been exceedingly difficult to isolate and characterize in molecular form. Alternatively, immobilization of metalloporphyrin sites within a metal–organic framework (MOF) can enable the study of interactions between low-coordinate metal centers and gaseous substrates, without interference from bimolecular reactions and axial ligation by solvent molecules. Here, we employ this approach to isolate the first rigorously four-coordinate manganese(ii) porphyrin complex and examine its reactivity with O₂ using infrared spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, EPR spectroscopy, and O₂ adsorption analysis. X-ray diffraction experiments reveal for the first time a peroxomanganese(iv) porphyrin species, which exhibits a side-on, η² binding mode. Infrared and EPR spectroscopic data confirm the formulation of a peroxomanganese(iv) electronic structure, and show that O₂ binding is reversible at ambient temperature, in contrast to what has been observed in molecular form. Finally, O₂ gas adsorption measurements are employed to quantify the enthalpy of O₂ binding as h_ads = –49.6(8) kJ mol^–1. This enthalpy is considerably higher than in the corresponding Fe- and Co-based MOFs, and is found to increase with increasing reductive capacity of the M^II/III redox couple.

Phenol-Induced O-O Bond Cleavage in a Low-Spin Heme-Peroxo-Copper Complex: Implications for O2 Reduction in Heme-Copper Oxidases

This study evaluates the reaction of a biomimetic heme-peroxo-copper complex, {[(DCHIm)(F8)FeIII]-(O22-)-[CuII(AN)]}+ (1), with a phenolic substrate, involving a net H-atom abstraction to cleave the bridging peroxo O-O bond that produces FeIV═O, CuII-OH, and phenoxyl radical moieties, analogous to the chemistry carried out in heme-copper oxidases (HCOs). A 3D potential energy surface generated for this reaction reveals two possible reaction pathways: one involves nearly complete proton transfer (PT) from the phenol to the peroxo ligand before the barrier; the other involves O-O homolysis, where the phenol remains H-bonding to the peroxo OCu in the transition state (TS) and transfers the H+ after the barrier. In both mechanisms, electron transfer (ET) from phenol occurs after the PT (and after the barrier); therefore, only the interaction with the H+ is involved in lowering the O-O cleavage barrier. The relative barriers depend on covalency (which governs ET from Fe), and therefore vary with DFT functional. However, as these mechanisms differ by the amount of PT at the TS, kinetic isotope experiments were conducted to determine which mechanism is active. It is found that the phenolic proton exhibits a secondary kinetic isotope effect, consistent with the calculations for the H-bonded O-O homolysis mechanism. The consequences of these findings are discussed in relation to O-O cleavage in HCOs, supporting a model in which a peroxo intermediate serves as the active H+ acceptor, and both the H+ and e- required for O-O cleavage derive from the cross-linked Tyr residue present at the active site.

Critical Aspects of Heme-Peroxo-Cu Complex Structure and Nature of Proton Source Dictate Metal-O(peroxo) Breakage versus Reductive O-O Cleavage Chemistry

The 4H+/4e- reduction of O2 to water, a key fuel-cell reaction also carried out in biology by oxidase enzymes, includes the critical O-O bond reductive cleavage step. Mechanistic investigations on active-site model compounds, which are synthesized by rational design to incorporate systematic variations, can focus on and resolve answers to fundamental questions, including protonation and/or H-bonding aspects, which accompany electron transfer. Here, we describe the nature and comparative reactivity of two low-spin heme-peroxo-Cu complexes, LS-4DCHIm, [(DCHIm)F8FeIII-(O22-)-CuII(DCHIm)4]+, and LS-3DCHIm, [(DCHIm)F8FeIII-(O22-)-CuII(DCHIm)3]+ (F8 = tetrakis(2,6-difluorophenyl)-porphyrinate; DCHIm = 1,5-dicyclohexylimidazole), toward different proton (4-nitrophenol and [DMF·H+](CF3SO3-)) (DMF = dimethyl-formamide) or electron (decamethylferrocene (Fc*)) sources. Spectroscopic reactivity studies show that differences in structure and electronic properties of LS-3DCHIm and LS-4DCHIm lead to significant differences in behavior. LS-3DCHIm is resistant to reduction, is unreactive toward weakly acidic 4-NO2-phenol, and stronger acids cleave the metal-O bonds, releasing H2O2. By contrast, LS-4DCHIm forms an adduct with 4-NO2-phenol, which includes an H-bond to the peroxo O-atom distal to Fe (resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopy and DFT). With addition of Fc* (2 equiv overall required), O-O reductive cleavage occurs, giving water, Fe(III), and Cu(II) products; however, a kinetic study reveals a one-electron rate-determining process, ket = 1.6 M-1 s-1 (-90 °C). The intermediacy of a high-valent [(DCHIm)F8FeIV═O] species is thus implied, and separate experiments show that one-electron reduction-protonation of [(DCHIm)F8FeIV═O] occurs faster (ket2 = 5.0 M-1 s-1), consistent with the overall postulated mechanism. The importance of the H-bonding interaction as a prerequisite for reductive cleavage is highlighted.

Unveiling the crucial intermediates in androgen production

Ablation of androgen production through surgery is one strategy against prostate cancer, with the current focus placed on pharmaceutical intervention to restrict androgen synthesis selectively, an endeavor that could benefit from the enhanced understanding of enzymatic mechanisms that derives from characterization of key reaction intermediates. The multifunctional cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1) first catalyzes the typical hydroxylation of its primary substrate, pregnenolone (PREG) and then also orchestrates a remarkable C17-C20 bond cleavage (lyase) reaction, converting the 17-hydroxypregnenolone initial product to dehydroepiandrosterone, a process representing the first committed step in the biosynthesis of androgens. Now, we report the capture and structural characterization of intermediates produced during this lyase step: an initial peroxo-anion intermediate, poised for nucleophilic attack on the C20 position by a substrate-associated H-bond, and the crucial ferric peroxo-hemiacetal intermediate that precedes carbon-carbon (C-C) bond cleavage. These studies provide a rare glimpse at the actual structural determinants of a chemical transformation that carries profound physiological consequences.

Spectroscopic and Kinetic Evidence for the Crucial Role of Compound 0 in the P450cam -Catalyzed Hydroxylation of Camphor by Hydrogen Peroxide

The hydroperoxo iron(III) intermediate P450cam Fe(III) -OOH, being the true Compound 0 (Cpd 0) involved in the natural catalytic cycle of P450cam , could be transiently observed in the peroxo-shunt oxidation of the substrate-free enzyme by hydrogen peroxide under mild basic conditions and low temperature. The prolonged lifetime of Cpd 0 enabled us to kinetically examine the formation and reactivity of P450cam Fe(III) -OOH species as a function of varying reaction conditions, such as pH, and concentration of H2 O2 , camphor, and potassium ions. The mechanism of hydrogen peroxide binding to the substrate-free form of P450cam differs completely from that observed for other heme proteins possessing the distal histidine as a general acid-base catalyst and is mainly governed by the ability of H2 O2 to undergo deprotonation at the hydroxo ligand coordinated to the iron(III) center under conditions of pH≥p${K{{{\rm P450}\hfill \atop {\rm a}\hfill}}}$. Notably, no spectroscopic evidence for the formation of either Cpd I or Cpd II as products of heterolytic or homolytic OO bond cleavage, respectively, in Cpd 0 could be observed under the selected reaction conditions. The kinetic data obtained from the reactivity studies involving (1R)-camphor, provide, for the first time, experimental evidence for the catalytic activity of the P450Fe(III) -OOH intermediate in the oxidation of the natural substrate of P450cam .

Differences and comparisons of the properties and reactivities of iron(III)-hydroperoxo complexes with saturated coordination sphere

Heme and nonheme monoxygenases and dioxygenases catalyze important oxygen atom transfer reactions to substrates in the body. It is now well established that the cytochrome P450 enzymes react through the formation of a high-valent iron(IV)-oxo heme cation radical. Its precursor in the catalytic cycle, the iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex, was tested for catalytic activity and found to be a sluggish oxidant of hydroxylation, epoxidation and sulfoxidation reactions. In a recent twist of events, evidence has emerged of several nonheme iron(III)-hydroperoxo complexes that appear to react with substrates via oxygen atom transfer processes. Although it was not clear from these studies whether the iron(III)-hydroperoxo reacted directly with substrates or that an initial O-O bond cleavage preceded the reaction. Clearly, the catalytic activity of heme and nonheme iron(III)-hydroperoxo complexes is substantially different, but the origins of this are still poorly understood and warrant a detailed analysis. In this work, an extensive computational analysis of aromatic hydroxylation by biomimetic nonheme and heme iron systems is presented, starting from an iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex with pentadentate ligand system (L5(2)). Direct C-O bond formation by an iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex is investigated, as well as the initial heterolytic and homolytic bond cleavage of the hydroperoxo group. The calculations show that [(L5(2))Fe(III)(OOH)](2+) should be able to initiate an aromatic hydroxylation process, although a low-energy homolytic cleavage pathway is only slightly higher in energy. A detailed valence bond and thermochemical analysis rationalizes the differences in chemical reactivity of heme and nonheme iron(III)-hydroperoxo and show that the main reason for this particular nonheme complex to be reactive comes from the fact that they homolytically split the O-O bond, whereas a heterolytic O-O bond breaking in heme iron(III)-hydroperoxo is found.

Evidence for an elevated aspartate pK(a) in the active site of human aromatase

Aromatase (CYP19A1), the enzyme that converts androgens to estrogens, is of significant mechanistic and therapeutic interest. Crystal structures and computational studies of this enzyme shed light on the critical role of Asp(309) in substrate binding and catalysis. These studies predicted an elevated pK(a) for Asp(309) and proposed that protonation of this residue was required for function. In this study, UV-visible absorption, circular dichroism, resonance Raman spectroscopy, and enzyme kinetics were used to study the impact of pH on aromatase structure and androstenedione binding. Spectroscopic studies demonstrate that androstenedione binding is pH-dependent, whereas, in contrast, the D309N mutant retains its ability to bind to androstenedione across the entire pH range studied. Neither pH nor mutation perturbed the secondary structure or heme environment. The origin of the observed pH dependence was further narrowed to the protonation equilibria of Asp(309) with a parallel set of spectroscopic studies using exemestane and anastrozole. Because exemestane interacts with Asp(309) based on its co-crystal structure with the enzyme, its binding is pH-dependent. Aromatase binding to anastrozole is pH-independent, consistent with the hypothesis that this ligand exploits a distinct set of interactions in the active site. In summary, we assign the apparent pK(a) of 8.2 observed for androstenedione binding to the side chain of Asp(309). To our knowledge, this work represents the first experimental assignment of a pK(a) value to a residue in a cytochrome P450. This value is in agreement with theoretical calculations (7.7-8.1) despite the reliance of the computational methods on the conformational snapshots provided by crystal structures.

Spin equilibrium and O₂-binding kinetics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis CYP51 with mutations in the histidine-threonine dyad

The acidic residues of the "acid-alcohol pair" in CYP51 enzymes are uniformly replaced with histidine. Herein, we adopt the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (mt) enzyme as a model system to investigate these residues' roles in finely tuning the heme conformation, iron spin state, and formation and decay of the oxyferrous enzyme. Properties of the mtCYP51 and the T260A, T260V, and H259A mutants were interrogated using UV-Vis and resonance Raman spectroscopies. Evidence supports that these mutations induce comprehensive changes in the heme environment. The heme iron spin states are differentially sensitive to the binding of the substrate, dihydrolanosterol (DHL). DHL and clotrimazole perturb the local environments of the heme vinyl and propionate substituents. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the DHL-enzyme complexes support that the observed perturbations are attributable to changes in the DHL binding mode. Furthermore, the rates of the oxyferrous formation were measured using stopped-flow methods. These studies demonstrate that both HT mutations and DHL modulate the rates of oxyferrous formation. Paradoxically, the binding rate to the H259A mutant-DHL complex was approximately four-fold that of mtCYP51, a phenomenon that is predicted to result from the creation of an additional diffusion channel from loss of the H259-E173 ion pair in the mutant. Oxyferrous enzyme auto-oxidation rates were relatively constant, with the exception of the T260V-DHL complex. MD simulations lead us to speculate that this behavior may be attributed to the distortion of the heme macrocycle by the substrate.

Resonance Raman spectroscopy of the oxygenated intermediates of human CYP19A1 implicates a compound i intermediate in the final lyase step

CYP19A1, or aromatase, a cytochrome P450 responsible for estrogen biosynthesis in humans, is an important therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer. There is still controversy surrounding the identity of reaction intermediate that catalyzes carbon–carbon scission in this key enzyme. Probing the oxy-complexes of CYP19A1 poised for hydroxylase and lyase chemistries using resonance Raman spectroscopy and drawing a comparison with CYP17A1, we have found no significant difference in the frequencies or isotopic shifts for these two steps in CYP19A1. Our experiments implicate the involvement of Compound I in the terminal lyase step of CYP19A1 catalysis.

Role of two alternate water networks in Compound I formation in P450eryF

The P450eryF enzyme (CYP107A1) hydroxylates 6-deoxyerythronolide B to erythronolide B during erythromycin synthesis by Saccharopolyspora erythraea. In many P450 enzymes, a conserved "acid-alcohol pair" is believed to participate in the proton shuttling pathway for O2 activation that generates the reactive oxidant (Compound I, Cpd I). In CYP107A1, the alcohol-containing amino acid is replaced with alanine. The crystal structure of DEB bound to CYP107A1 indicates that one of the substrate hydroxyl groups (5-OH) may facilitate proton transfer during O2 activation. We applied molecular dynamics (MD) and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) techniques to investigate substrate-mediated O2 activation in CYP107A1. In the QM/MM calculations, the QM region was treated by density functional theory, and the MM region was represented by the CHARMM force field. The MD simulations suggest the existence of two water networks around the active site, the one found in the crystal structure involving E360 and an alternative one involving E244. According to the QM/MM calculations, the first proton transfer that converts the peroxo to the hydroperoxo intermediate (Compound 0, Cpd 0) proceeds via the E244 water network with direct involvement of the 5-OH group of the substrate. For the second proton transfer from Cpd 0 to Cpd I, the computed barriers for the rate-limiting homolytic O-O cleavage are similar for the E360 and E244 pathways, and hence both glutamate residues may serve as proton source in this step.

Using resonance Raman cross-section data to estimate the spin state populations of Cytochromes P450

The cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are heme proteins responsible for the oxidation of xenobiotics and pharmaceuticals and the biosynthesis of essential steroid products. In all cases, substrate binding initiates the enzymatic cycle, converting ferric low spin (LS) to high-spin (HS), with the efficiency of the conversion varying widely for different substrates, so documentation of this conversion for a given substrate is an important objective. Resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopy can effectively yield distinctive frequencies for the ν₃ "spin state marker" bands. Here, employing a reference cytochrome P450 (CYP101), the intensities of the ν₃ modes (I_LS) and (I_HS) relative to an internal standard (sodium sulfate) yield relative populations for the two spin states; i.e., a value of 1.24 was determined for the ratio of the relative cross sections for the ν₃ modes. Use of this value was then shown to permit a reliable calculation of relative populations of the two spin states from rR spectra of several other Cytochromes P450. The importance of this work is that, using this information, it is now possible to conveniently document by rR the spin state population without conducting separate experiments requiring different analytical methods, instrumentation and additional sample.

Kinetic solvent isotope effect in human P450 CYP17A1-mediated androgen formation: evidence for a reactive peroxoanion intermediate

Human steroid hormone biosynthesis is the result of a complex series of chemical transformations operating on cholesterol, with key steps mediated by members of the cytochrome P450 superfamily. In the formation of the male hormone dehydroepiandrosterone, pregnenolone is first hydroxylated by P450 CYP17A1 at the 17-carbon, followed a second round of catalysis by the same enzyme that cleaves the C17-C20 bond, releasing acetic acid and the 17-keto product. In order to explore the mechanism of this C-C "lyase" activity, we investigated the kinetic isotope effect on the steady-state turnover of Nanodisc-incorporated CYP17A1. Our experiments revealed the expected small positive (~1.3) isotope effect for the hydroxylase chemistry. However, a surprising result was the large inverse isotope effect (~0.39) observed for the C-C bond cleavage activity. These results strongly suggest that the P450 reactive intermediate involved in this latter step is an iron-bound ferric peroxoanion.

Catalytic intermediates of inducible nitric-oxide synthase stabilized by the W188H mutation

Nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) catalyzes nitric oxide (NO) synthesis via a two-step process: L-arginine (L-Arg) → N-hydroxy-L-arginine → citrulline + NO. In the active site the heme is coordinated by a thiolate ligand, which accepts a H-bond from a nearby tryptophan residue, Trp-188. Mutation of Trp-188 to histidine in murine inducible NOS was shown to retard NO synthesis and allow for transient accumulation of a new intermediate with a Soret maximum at 420 nm during the L-Arg hydroxylation reaction (Tejero, J., Biswas, A., Wang, Z. Q., Page, R. C., Haque, M. M., Hemann, C., Zweier, J. L., Misra, S., and Stuehr, D. J. (2008) J. Biol. Chem. 283, 33498-33507). However, crystallographic data showed that the mutation did not perturb the overall structure of the enzyme. To understand how the proximal mutation affects the oxygen chemistry, we carried out biophysical studies of the W188H mutant. Our stopped-flow data showed that the 420-nm intermediate was not only populated during the L-Arg reaction but also during the N-hydroxy-L-arginine reaction. Spectroscopic data and structural analysis demonstrated that the 420-nm intermediate is a hydroxide-bound ferric heme species that is stabilized by an out-of-plane distortion of the heme macrocycle and a cation radical centered on the tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor. The current data add important new insights into the previously proposed catalytic mechanism of NOS (Li, D., Kabir, M., Stuehr, D. J., Rousseau, D. L., and Yeh, S. R. (2007) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129, 6943-6951).

The use of deuterated camphor as a substrate in (1)H ENDOR studies of hydroxylation by cryoreduced oxy P450cam provides new evidence of the involvement of compound I

Electron paramagnetic resonance and (1)H electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopies have been used to analyze intermediate states formed during the hydroxylation of (1R)-camphor (H(2)-camphor) and (1R)-5,5-dideuterocamphor (D(2)-camphor) as induced by cryoreduction (77 K) and annealing of the ternary ferrous cytochrome P450cam-O(2)-substrate complex. Hydroxylation of H(2)-camphor produced a primary product state in which 5-exo-hydroxycamphor is coordinated with Fe(III). ENDOR spectra contained signals derived from two protons [Fe(III)-bound C5-OH(exo) and C5-H(endo)] from camphor. When D(2)-camphor was hydroxylated under the same condition in H(2)O or D(2)O buffer, both ENDOR H(exo) and H(endo) signals are absent. For D(2)-camphor in H(2)O buffer, H/D exchange causes the C5-OH(exo) signal to reappear during relaxation upon annealing to 230 K; for H(2)-camphor in D(2)O, the magnitude of the C5-OH(exo) signal decreases via H/D exchange. These observations clearly show that Compound I is the reactive species in the hydroxylation of camphor in P450cam.

Cytochrome P450(cin) (CYP176A1) D241N: investigating the role of the conserved acid in the active site of cytochrome P450s

P450(cin) (CYP176A) is a rare bacterial P450 in that contains an asparagine (Asn242) instead of the conserved threonine that almost all other P450s possess that directs oxygen activation by the heme prosthetic group. However, P450(cin) does have the neighbouring, conserved acid (Asp241) that is thought to be involved indirectly in the protonation of the dioxygen and affect the lifetime of the ferric-peroxo species produced during oxygen activation. In this study, the P450(cin) D241N mutant has been produced and found to be analogous to the P450(cam) D251N mutant. P450(cin) catalyses the hydroxylation of cineole to give only (1R)-6β-hydroxycineole and is well coupled (NADPH consumed: product produced). The P450(cin) D241N mutant also hydroxylated cineole to produce only (1R)-6β-hydroxycineole, was moderately well coupled (31±3%) but a significant reduction in the rate of the reaction (2% as compared to wild type) was observed. Catalytic oxidation of a variety of substrates by D241N P450(cin) were used to examine if typical reactions ascribed to the ferric-peroxo species increased as this intermediate is known to be more persistent in the P450(cam) D251N mutant. However, little change was observed in the product profiles of each of these substrates between wild type and mutant enzymes and no products consistent with chemistry of the ferric-peroxo species were observed to increase.