Spectroscopic studies of inhibited alcohol dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobacter brockii: proposed structure for the catalytic intermediate state

Computationally driven design of an artificial metalloenzyme using supramolecular anchoring strategies of iridium complexes to alcohol dehydrogenase

Artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) confer non-biological reactivities to biomolecules, whilst taking advantage of the biomolecular architecture in terms of their selectivity and renewable origin. In particular, the design of ArMs by the supramolecular anchoring of metal catalysts to protein hosts provides flexible and easy to optimise systems. The use of cofactor dependent enzymes as hosts gives the advantage of both a (hydrophobic) binding site for the substrate and a cofactor pocket to accommodate the catalyst. Here, we present a computationally driven design approach of ArMs for the transfer hydrogenation reaction of cyclic imines, starting from the NADP⁺-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobacter brockii (TbADH). We tested and developed a molecular docking workflow to define and optimize iridium catalysts with high affinity for the cofactor binding site of TbADH. The workflow uses high throughput docking of compound libraries to identify key structural motifs for high affinity, followed by higher accuracy docking methods on smaller, focused ligand and catalyst libraries. Iridium sulfonamide catalysts were selected and synthesised, containing either a triol, a furane, or a carboxylic acid to provide the interaction with the cofactor binding pocket. IC₅₀ values of the resulting complexes during TbADH-catalysed alcohol oxidation were determined by competition experiments and were between 4.410 mM and 0.052 mM, demonstrating the affinity of the iridium complexes for either the substrate or the cofactor binding pocket of TbADH. The catalytic activity of the free iridium complexes in solution showed a maximal turnover number (TON) of 90 for the reduction of salsolidine by the triol-functionalised iridium catalyst, whilst in the presence of TbADH, only the iridium catalyst with the triol anchoring functionality showed activity for the same reaction (TON of 36 after 24 h). The observation that the artificial metalloenzymes developed here lacked stereoselectivity demonstrates the need for the further investigation and optimisation of the ArM. Our results serve as a starting point for the design of robust artificial metalloenzymes, exploiting supramolecular anchoring to natural NAD(P)H binding pockets.

Methanol to aromatics: isolated zinc phosphate groups on HZSM-5 zeolite enhance BTX selectivity and catalytic stability

HZSM-5 zeolite combined with unique zinc and phosphorus species, yields excellent selectivity (∼85%) to BTX (benzene, toluene, xylenes) in aromatic products. It was found that both zinc and phosphorus species were highly distributed in the pores of the zeolite channel network to form isolated zinc phosphate groups, which directly bond to the surface of zeolite, leading to a strong Lewis acidic center and an optimized surface acidity distribution favorable for BTX formation and the hydrothermal stability of the catalyst.

HZSM-5 zeolite combined with unique zinc and phosphorus species, yields excellent selectivity (∼85%) to BTX (benzene, toluene, xylenes) in aromatic products.

Role of conformational dynamics in the evolution of novel enzyme function

The free energy landscape concept that describes enzymes as an ensemble of differently populated conformational sub-states in dynamic equilibrium is key for evaluating enzyme activity, enantioselectivity, and specificity. Mutations introduced in the enzyme sequence can alter the populations of the pre-existing conformational states, thus strongly modifying the enzyme ability to accommodate alternative substrates, revert its enantiopreferences, and even increase the activity for some residual promiscuous reactions. In this feature article, we present an overview of the current experimental and computational strategies to explore the conformational free energy landscape of enzymes. We provide a series of recent publications that highlight the key role of conformational dynamics for the enzyme evolution towards new functions and substrates, and provide some perspectives on how conformational dynamism should be considered in future computational enzyme design protocols.

Horse Liver Alcohol Dehydrogenase: Zinc Coordination and Catalysis

During catalysis by liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), a water bound to the catalytic zinc is replaced by the oxygen of the substrates. The mechanism might involve a pentacoordinated zinc or a double-displacement reaction with participation by a nearby glutamate residue, as suggested by studies of human ADH3, yeast ADH1, and some other tetrameric ADHs. Zinc coordination and participation of water in the enzyme mechanism were investigated by X-ray crystallography. The apoenzyme and its complex with adenosine 5′-diphosphoribose have an open protein conformation with the catalytic zinc in one position, tetracoordinated by Cys-46, His-67, Cys-174, and a water molecule. The bidentate chelators 2,2′-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline displace the water and form a pentacoordinated zinc. The enzyme–NADH complex has a closed conformation similar to that of ternary complexes with coenzyme and substrate analogues; the coordination of the catalytic zinc is similar to that found in the apoenzyme, except that a minor, alternative position for the catalytic zinc is ∼1.3 Å from the major position and closer to Glu-68, which could form the alternative coordination to the catalytic zinc. Complexes with NADH and N-1-methylhexylformamide or N-benzylformamide (or with NAD⁺ and fluoro alcohols) have the classical tetracoordinated zinc, and no water is bound to the zinc or the nicotinamide rings. The major forms of the enzyme in the mechanism have a tetracoordinated zinc, where the carboxylate group of Glu-68 could participate in the exchange of water and substrates on the zinc. Hydride transfer in the Michaelis complexes does not involve a nearby water.

Protein flexibility and metal coordination changes in DHAP-dependent aldolases

The mobility of rhamnulose-1-phosphate aldolase (RhuA) was analysed with a normal mode description and high level calculations on models of the active site. We report the connection between the mobility and the chemical properties of the active site, and compare them to a closely related enzyme, fuculose-1-phosphate aldolase (FucA). Calculations show that the different coordination number for the zinc ion, reported in the crystal structures of RhuA and FucA, was due to a different spatial arrangement of the residues, not to their different chemical nature. Moreover, the metal coordination change is correlated with activity. The domain mobility of the enzyme can reshape the active site of RhuA into the arrangement found in the FucA structure, and vice-versa. This has a direct influence on the energy barrier for the aldol reaction catalyzed by these enzymes, thus showing a coupling of the domain movements and the catalytic effects. Hence domain movements and the coordination chemistry of the active site metal suggest an explanation of why these enzymes have similar experimental turnover rates.

Probing stereoselectivity and pro-chirality of hydride transfer during short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase activity: a combined quantitative 2H NMR and computational approach

Different members of the alcohol oxidoreductase family can transfer the hydride of NAD(P)H to either the re- or the si-face of the substrate. The enantioselectivity of transfer is very variable, even for a range of substrates reduced by the same enzyme. Exploiting quantitative isotopic (2)H NMR to measure the transfer of (2)H from NAD(P)(2)H to ethanol, a range of enantiomeric excess between 0.38 and 0.98, depending on the origin of the enzyme and the nature of the cofactor, has been determined. Critically, in no case was only (R)-[1-(2)H]ethanol or (S)-[1-(2)H]ethanol obtained. By calculating the relative energies of the active site models for hydride transfer to the re- or si-face of short-chain aldehydes by alcohol dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus brevis, it is shown that the differences in the energy of the systems when the substrate is positioned with the alkyl group in one or the other pocket of the active site could play a role in determining stereoselectivity. These experiments help to provide insight into structural features that influence the potential catalytic flexibility of different alcohol dehydrogenase activities.

Mutation of Tyr-218 to Phe in Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus secondary alcohol dehydrogenase: effects on bioelectronic interface performance

Bioelectronic interfaces that facilitate electron transfer between the electrode and a dehydrogenase enzyme have potential applications in biosensors, biocatalytic reactors, and biological fuel cells. The secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (2 degrees ADH) from Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus is especially well suited for the development of such bioelectronic interfaces because of its thermostability and facile production and purification. However, the natural cofactor for the enzyme, beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+), is more expensive and less stable than beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). PCR-based, site-directed mutagenesis was performed on 2 degrees ADH in an attempt to adjust the cofactor specificity toward NAD+ by mutating Tyr218 to Phe (Y218F 2 degrees ADH). This mutation increased the Km(app) for NADP+ 200-fold while decreasing the Km(app) for NAD+ 2.5-fold. The mutant enzyme was incorporated into a bioelectronic interface that established electrical communication between the enzyme, the NAD+, the electron mediator toluidine blue O (TBO), and a gold electrode. Cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, constant potential amperometry, and chronoamperometry were used to characterize the mutant and wild-type enzyme incorporated in the bioelectronic interface. The Y218F 2 degrees ADH exhibited a fourfold increase in the turnover ratio compared to the wild type in the presence of NAD+. The electrochemical and kinetic measurements support the prediction that the Rossmann fold of the enzyme binds to the phosphate moiety of the cofactor. During the 45 min of continuous operation, NAD+ was electrically recycled 6.7 x 10(4) times, suggesting that the Y218F 2 degrees ADH-modified bioelectronic interface is stable.

DMSO-Related Effects in Protein Characterization

DMSO is the standard solvent for preparing stock solutions of compounds for drug discovery. The assay concentration of DMSO is normally 0.1% to 5% (v/v) or 14 to 715 mM. Thus, DMSO is often one of the principal additives in assay buffers. This standardization of stock solutions does not eliminate possible pitfalls associated with the effects of the DMSO-containing solutions on individual proteins. In this article, the authors want to emphasize the importance of detailed studies of these effects in the early stages of drug discovery. Two protein systems, the extracellular soluble domain of the human growth hormone receptor (hGHbp) and the phosphatase domain of PFKFB1 (BPase), were used for the study on effects of DMSO on protein stability, protein aggregation, and binding of drug compounds. The study revealed significant differences in the proteins’ behavior in the presence and absence of low amounts of DMSO. The addition of DMSO resulted in destabilization of the proteins investigated and also changed the apparent binding property of 1 protein. The authors have also shown that low DMSO concentrations influence the ionization process in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).

Pronounced diversity in electronic and chemical properties between the catalytic zinc sites of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme and matrix metalloproteinases despite their high structural similarity

The metalloproteinase tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme (TACE) is involved in the regulation of several key physiological and pathological processes. Therefore, potent and selective synthetic inhibitors are highly sought for the study of the physiological roles of TACE as well as for therapeutic purposes. Because of the high structural similarities between the active site of TACE and those of other related zinc endopeptidases such as disintegrin (ADAMs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), the design of such tailor-made inhibitors is not trivial. To obtain new insights into this problem, we have used a selective MMP inhibitor as a probe to examine the structural and kinetic effects occurring at the active site of TACE upon inhibition. Specifically, we used the selective MMP mechanism-based inhibitor SB-3CT to characterize the fine structural and electronic differences between the catalytic zinc ions within the active sites of TACE and MMP-2. We show that SB-3CT directly binds the metal ion of TACE as observed before with MMP-2. However, in contrast to MMP-2, the binding mode of SB-3CT to the catalytic zinc ion of TACE is different in the length of the Zn-S(SB-3CT) bond distance and the total effective charge of the catalytic zinc ion. In addition, SB-3CT inhibits TACE in a non-competitive fashion by inducing significant conformational changes in the structure. For MMP-2, SB-3CT behaved as a competitive inhibitor and no significant conformational changes were observed. An examination of the second shell amino acids surrounding the catalytic zinc ion of these enzymes indicated that the active site of TACE is more polar than that of MMP-2 and of other MMPs. On the basis of these results, we propose that although there is a seemingly high structural similarity between TACE and MMP-2, these enzymes are significantly diverse in the electronic and chemical properties within their active sites.

The conserved Glu-60 residue in Thermoanaerobacter brockii alcohol dehydrogenase is not essential for catalysis

Glu-60 of the zinc-dependent Thermoanaerobacter brockii alcohol dehydrogenase (TbADH) is a strictly conserved residue in all members of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) family. Unlike most other ADHs, the crystal structures of TbADH and its analogs, ADH from Clostridium beijerinckii (CbADH), exhibit a unique zinc coordination environment in which this conserved residue is directly coordinated to the catalytic zinc ion in the native form of the enzymes. To explore the role of Glu-60 in TbADH catalysis, we have replaced it by alanine (E60A-TbADH) and aspartate (E60D-TbADH). Steady-state kinetic measurements show that the catalytic efficiency of these mutants is only four- and eightfold, respectively, lower than that of wild-type TbADH. We applied X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) and near-UV circular dichroism to characterize the local environment around the catalytic zinc ion in the variant enzymes in their native, cofactor-bound, and inhibited forms. We show that the catalytic zinc site in the studied complexes of the variant enzymes exhibits minor changes relative to the analogous complexes of wild-type TbADH. These moderate changes in the kinetic parameters and in the zinc ion environment imply that the Glu-60 in TbADH does not remain bound to the catalytic zinc ion during catalysis. Furthermore, our results suggest that a water molecule replaces this residue during substrate turnover.

Crystal structure of the alcohol dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus at 1.85 A resolution

The crystal structure of a medium-chain NAD(H)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from an archaeon has been solved by multiwavelength anomalous diffraction, using a selenomethionine-substituted enzyme. The protein (SsADH), extracted from the hyperthermophilic organism Sulfolobus solfataricus, is a homo-tetramer with a crystallographic 222 symmetry. Despite the low level of sequence identity, the overall fold of the monomer is similar to that of the other homologous ADHs of known structure. However, a significant difference is the orientation of the catalytic domain relative to the coenzyme-binding domain that results in a larger interdomain cleft. At the bottom of this cleft, the catalytic zinc ion is coordinated tetrahedrally and lacks the zinc-bound water molecule that is usually found in ADH apoform structures. The fourth coordination position is indeed occupied by a Glu residue, as found in bacterial tetrameric ADHs. Other differences are found in the architecture of the substrate pocket whose entrance is more restricted than in other ADHs. SsADH is the first tetrameric ADH X-ray structure containing a second zinc ion playing a structural role. This latter metal ion shows a peculiar coordination, with a glutamic acid residue replacing one of the four cysteine ligands that are highly conserved throughout the structural zinc-containing dimeric ADHs.

Mutation of cysteine-295 to alanine in secondary alcohol dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus affects the enantioselectivity and substrate specificity of ketone reductions

The mutation of Cys-295 to alanine in Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (SADH) was performed to give C295A SADH, on the basis of molecular modeling studies utilizing the X-ray crystal structure coordinates of the highly homologous T. brockii secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (1YKF.PDB). This mutant SADH has activity for 2-propanol comparable to wild-type SADH. However, the C295A mutation was found to cause a significant shift of enantioselectivity toward the (S)-configuration in the reduction of some ethynylketones to the corresponding chiral propargyl alcohols. This result confirms our prediction that Cys-295 is part of a small alkyl group binding pocket whose size determines the binding orientation of ketone substrates, and, hence, the stereochemical configuration of the product alcohol. Furthermore, C295A SADH has much higher activity towards t-butyl and some alpha-branched ketones than does wild-type SADH. The C295A mutation does not affect the thioester reductase activity of SADH. The broader substrate specificity and altered stereoselectivity for C295A SADH make it a potentially useful tool for asymmetric reductions.

Structural characterization of the catalytic active site in the latent and active natural gelatinase B from human neutrophils

Matrix metalloproteinases are endopeptidases that have a leading role in the catabolism of the macromolecular components of the extracellular matrix in a variety of normal and pathological processes. Human gelatinase B is a zinc-dependent proteinase and a member of the matrix metalloproteinase family that is involved in inflammation, tissue remodeling, and cancer. We have conducted x-ray absorption spectroscopy, atomic emission, and quantum mechanics studies of natural and activated human gelatinase B. Our results show that the natural enzyme contains one catalytic zinc ion that is central to catalysis. In addition, upon enzyme activation, the catalytic zinc site exhibits a conformation change that results in the expansion of the bond distances around the zinc ion and the replacement of one sulfur with oxygen. Interestingly, quantum mechanics calculations show that oxygen ligation at the catalytic zinc ion exhibits a greater affinity to the binding of an oxygen from an amino acid residue rather than from an external water molecule. These results suggest that the catalytic zinc ion plays a key role in both substrate binding and catalysis.