Enzymology. Coenzymes and radicals

An NAD+-type earth-abundant metal complex enabling photo-driven alcohol oxidation

For the first time, an NAD⁺-type earth-abundant metal complex [Zn(pbn)₂(H₂O)](ClO₄)₂ (1) was found to exhibit photo-induced oxidizing ability to convert various primary and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehyde and ketone compounds. In addition, a two-electron-reduced Zn(II) complex [Zn(pbnH-pbnH)(ClO₄)₂] (1red) comprising the novel C-C coupling ligand, obtained by the photo-induced oxidation of alcohols by 1, was successfully isolated and completely characterized. We clarified that the photochemical oxidation of alcohols by 1 to produce 1red proceeds via an electron transfer followed by proton transfer mechanism as elucidated by kinetic analysis on the basis of absorption spectroscopic measurements.

Radical reactions of thiamin pyrophosphate in 2-oxoacid oxidoreductases

Thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) is essential in carbohydrate metabolism in all forms of life. TPP-dependent decarboxylation reactions of 2-oxo-acid substrates result in enamine adducts between the thiazolium moiety of the coenzyme and decarboxylated substrate. These central enamine intermediates experience different fates from protonation in pyruvate decarboxylase to oxidation by the 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase complexes, the pyruvate oxidases, and 2-oxoacid oxidoreductases. Virtually all of the TPP-dependent enzymes, including pyruvate decarboxylase, can be assayed by 1-electron redox reactions linked to ferricyanide. Oxidation of the enamines is thought to occur via a 2-electron process in the 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase complexes, wherein acyl group transfer is associated with reduction of the disulfide of the lipoamide moiety. However, discrete 1-electron steps occur in the oxidoreductases, where one or more [4Fe-4S] clusters mediate the electron transfer reactions to external electron acceptors. These radical intermediates can be detected in the absence of the acyl-group acceptor, coenzyme A (CoASH). The π-electron system of the thiazolium ring stabilizes the radical. The extensively delocalized character of the radical is evidenced by quantitative analysis of nuclear hyperfine splitting tensors as detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and by electronic structure calculations. The second electron transfer step is markedly accelerated by the presence of CoASH. While details of the second electron transfer step and its facilitation by CoASH remain elusive, expected redox properties of potential intermediates limit possible scenarios. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Radical SAM enzymes and Radical Enzymology.

EPR spectroscopic and computational characterization of the hydroxyethylidene-thiamine pyrophosphate radical intermediate of pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase

The radical intermediate of pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) from Moorella thermoacetica was characterized using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at X-band and D-band microwave frequencies. EPR spectra, obtained with various combinations of isotopically labeled substrate (pyruvate) and coenzyme (thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP)), were analyzed by spectral simulations. Parameters obtained from the simulations were compared with those predicted from electronic structure calculations on various radical structures. The g-values and 14N/15N-hyperfine splittings obtained from the spectra are consistent with a planar, hydroxyethylidene-thiamine pyrophosphate (HE-TPP) pi-radical, in which spin is delocalized onto the thiazolium sulfur and nitrogen atoms. The 1H-hyperfine splittings from the methyl group of pyruvate and the 13C-hyperfine splittings from C2 of both pyruvate and TPP are consistent with a model in which the pyruvate-derived oxygen atom of the HE-TPP radical forms a hydrogen bond. The hyperfine splitting constants and g-values are not compatible with those predicted for a nonplanar, sigma/n-type cation radical.

The roads to and from the RNA world

The historical existence of the RNA world, in which early life used RNA for both genetic information and catalytic ability, is widely accepted. However, there has been little discussion of whether protein synthesis arose before DNA or what preceded the RNA world (i.e. the pre-RNA world). We outline arguments of what route life may have taken out of the RNA world: whether DNA or protein followed. Metabolic arguments favor the possibility that RNA genomes preceded the use of DNA as the informational macromolecule. However, the opposite can also be argued based on the enhanced stability, reactivity, and solubility of 2-deoxyribose as compared to ribose. The possibility that DNA may have come before RNA is discussed, although it is a less parsimonious explanation than DNA following RNA.